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Tula Kealiʻi · (11-20-2020)

They're getting exactly what they wanted.

B.O.B. They wanted to split apart their competition. And that's exactly what is happening. They sat back while I got my shot at the Anarchy Title. They needled me and prodded me so I would unleash my frustrations on Vita Valenteen - which is exactly what I did. They then decided to sit back while Vinnie rewards Kenzi Grey with a title match, in the process putting her directly in my cross hairs.

And now? Now I am in a tag match, with Ruby on the other side of the ring. B.O.B is winning this battle right now, and it has nothing to do with their in ring abilities. They know that my pride won't allow me to just lay down and take a loss - not when I'm on the biggest hot streak of my career. And they also know Ruby and Kenzi are tough competitors who refuse to go down without a fight. So this is going to be a tough, physical battle, which just makes B.O.B laugh in whatever layer of Hell they reside in.

The big wildcard, though, is Ned Kaye. I don't know him. I've never met him. And I needed to change that.

That's why I'm standing in the middle of the men's locker room in some gym. Ned just got done working out, and he's quite the busy man. Catching him to have a conversation with him turned out to be tricky. Luckily, our mutual friend Centurion told me Ned works out at this gym at this time at least twice a week, which is good enough for me.

Boris is sitting on a bench behind me snacking on sunflower seeds as I wait for Ned to get changed in the shower. Boris is spitting the shells of these seeds everywhere, despite having his mouth covered in a level of physics I have yet to figure out.

Out from the shower area steps Ned Kaye. He is drying off the last parts of his wet hair, and seems shocked to see me as he walks into the locker area.

"You're a difficult person to get a hold of."

"That's on purpose. You're not supposed to be in here."

"I'd love to see any of those scrawny teenagers at the front desk try and throw me out. Besides, there isn't a single guy in this gym that wouldn't hop at the opportunity to show me their dick."

Ned just sort of shrugs, knowing that I'm right, but also not really caring one way or another. He starts stuffing some things into his gym bag, which gives me the opportunity to talk.

"We need to talk about our match..."

"Save it."

Ned's swift, rather stern response takes me off guard.

"I don't need another "we don't trust each other, but stay out of my way" speech. I've heard a million of them. I'm going to do what I'm going to do. I expect you to do the same. So if you think I'm going to go easy on your friend Ruby just because you ask me to, I have news for you."

"Actually, I was going to tell you not to worry about it. In fact, I want you to be the one who fights Ruby."

Ned stops packing and looks up at me, his face of apathy turned into one of confusion.

"Come again?"

"I don't want to hurt Ruby. That's not my goal. But I want to win. I like winning. I like winning more than I like almost anything else. And I need to send a message to Kenzi. So I figured, if you could take care of Ruby for me, we can win the match, and my conscience gets to stay clean."

Ned sort of scoffs at me as he packs the last of his clothes. He stands up and tosses the bag around his shoulder before getting face to face with me. His look is intense - different from the videos I watched of him in the past. He has an uncaged fire in him. The look of a wild beast ready to pounce on anything that gets in his way.

It's comforting, in a way.

"I'm not out there to do anyone's bidding but my own. I want to win - just like you - but I don't care which one of our opponents I have to pin in order to do it. You're concerned about your conscience, but that's not the thing you should worry about losing. You should worry about losing that title you carry around with you. You never know who might be gunning for you."

Ned stares me down. I get the message loud and clear. And yet, while Ned may have seen it as a threat towards me, I am actually relieved. I give Ned a smile and a quick nod. Ned glances over at Boris and gives him a nod before walking out of the locker room. Boris takes the bag of sunflower seeds and stuffs them in one of his many pockets.

"This did not go well. Ted Key wants to fight Good Friend Tulip."

"Oh, Boris. You're wrong. This went perfectly. Ned is going to be an absolutely animal in our match. He's going to be going straight after Kenzi."

Boris scratches his head.

"Boris is confused. I thought Good Friend Tulip wanted Ted Key to fight Super Rudy."

"Ruby and I will have a healthy, competitive match. It will be professional and it will be fun. Kenzi is a wildcard. She's selfish and she surrounds herself with loose cannons. I'll accept tangling with Ruby for a few minutes, but I need Kenzi to feel some pain. And I knew, if I told Ned not to go after Kenzi, he would do the exact opposite. He's too independent to listen to me."

Boris continues to look confused, which is understandable. I basically played 3D chess in front of him, and the man barely knows how to play Checkers. What's important, though, is that I got my message in the hands of the right person. Now, I will walk into Anarchy, knowing that I have a plan, and Kenzi does not.

No one will ever mistake me for being dumb ever again.

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