Everything was red. My eyes were burning as I tried to blink away the sting of just trying to see. People were pointing towards me from the front row, was I in a ring?

"Can you hear me?" A voice pounded in my head as a referee stood over me. Why was he covered in a red hue? What happened is what I wanted to say but the noises that were leaving my mouth were more mumbles and grunts. Why do I taste copper? Let me get up. "No, stay down buddy. We've got help on the way!"

Now he was standing and holding up an X with his arms. I know that symbol. Wait, am I hurt? What the FUCK happened?! I needed to get up but as I struggled to do so, I saw him. Charlie Nickles. I started to remember..

I remember what happened..

I lost.

========

"You gotta love those close matches! Those fucking BATTLES that end in a way that could have gone either way! A truly Savage contest between two people who are guaranteed to tear each other apart and take a pound of flesh.

I like those kinds of matches. Sure, it sucks to lose but I knew going in that he was someone on the top shelf of XWF and was going after THE Championship of this company. We DAMN sure redefined what 'Standard Rules' means.

But like a Quarterback throwing an Interception, you have to have the mentality to let it go and move on. Watch the tape, adjust where you can and know that these matches are very much at times a coin toss. Everytime we set foot inside that ring is a gamble we take and I took a gamble. I came up short.

Now onto WarGames.."

========

"Do you know where you are?" I could hear his voice but the little stinging spots on my face and the pounding of my head stole all the attention.

"Kansas?" At least now I can say something. I was wrong about the location but this feeling was familiar, I've experienced this before. I knew at this point that I had a concussion. "Can I get some water?" I desperately needed to get this taste of blood out of my mouth. Was it my own or should I be getting tested for STDs because of what Nickles COULD have? It was at this moment, I felt the need to walk through a car wash.

Rubbing at my eyes, there was still a slight burn. Feeling my face, I came across some bandaging. More of what had happened was coming back to memory as the door to the room opened and in walks Josslynn Spencer. The little grin she gave me as our eyes connected made all the pain and stinging fade. "Your personal Nurse has arrived!"

Concussion or not, I crossed my fingers that sponge baths would be involved in the healing process. From the look on her face and the way my head felt, I knew I looked like shit. I felt like shit. "Am I still pretty?" I joked and added. "I will be PISSED if he ruined my good side!"

She put her hands on both sides of my face and kissed me. "You're still MY guy.." She flicked my earlobes, she always did. She was like aloe vera to a sunburn, I would be just fine in no time. She kisses me again as her arms wrap around me.

========

"Can't say I'm a fan.. I've been in a few Wargames before, who hasn't? This is one of those matches that far too many companies put on now. Like an annual Rumble. If this were a Wrestling move, the WarGames match has become the Cutter, the Superkick of matches!

Cannabis Cup is hosting one.

XWF is hosting Four in one night? The one that can claim any kind of original format is the final War Games, the three teams inside of War Games match vying for supremacy. So in order for me to feel something new, I must truly take it to a Notorious level and leave folks like victims.

When does War become a Game? I guess when the pieces get all flustered at random. How does Raion end up on a team with Elijah Martin? More so, how did CCPE and Trilogy get put to the side for these new teams of short term alliances? I like Mac Bane, he is married to my Sister but I sure as fuck don't want to be partnering with what has been an enemy to me in CCPE…

It almost begs the question, who do you trust? Do I trust that Ned Kaye will have my back? Yeah but should I in that same mindset trust that because Raion, on the opposite team won't take my head off if my back is turned?

I'd say being able to lay into Elijah again, lumping him up into another swell with a few well placed elbows would be of interest but truth be told? Elijah is a bitch. I don't know if he became one when he got it in with Lexi or if he was always one but THAT truth is hard to remove from his own reflection. Not to mention their team name..

Meat Clowns? They better hope Angie Vaughn and Jenny Myst can carry the load or they will be left in perspiration like they have the meat sweats. I'm joking, if they want to make a funny in a match where War takes place, that's a Game they can play. People like a good joke so laugh.. Meat Clowns, super funny, let's all laugh at them. I guess not everyone can be..

Na-Na-Notorious!"

========

"No, I'm good now. It wasn't that bad.." Cashe was happy to be out of his own head for the time being. "I've been through worse."

"I'll say this.." Theo responds after he tongues some food into his cheek. "Not too many can take Chair Shots as well as you did! That was a spectacle!"

"I'm glad you were entertained!" Cashe says sarcastically. "You could argue that you've been a HUGE benefit to BOB.." Cashe snickers. "Trilogy merging into BOB is going to make headlines!"

Theo stops chewing. "Are we serious right now?"

"60/40?" He says, grabbing a cup from the table and taking a sip through a straw. Cashe glanced around. They were inside of a Waffle House. Everything seemed as normal of a setting as you would expect, except when his stare came across a shadow of a man standing in a far corner. Cashe couldn't see his face but the man wore a long black coat and a top hat. An eeriness fell over Cashe as he stared at the shadowy figure.

"Jason.." Theo says as he waves a hand in front of Cashe's face. "Are you sure there aren't any lingering effects of that concussion?"

"Huh?" Cashe was still looking at the faceless shadow. He was sure it was staring back at him.

"Josslynn is pregnant.."

A look of shock filled Cashe's face as he snapped his stare towards Theo. "Say huh?"

"I said, Joss is pregnant." Theo repeats it with a smile on his face. Cashe slaps him across the face. Not hard, almost gentle but it had a lot of 'shut your face' behind the slap.

"I'm sorry.." Sighing, Cashe shakes his head. "Why would you say that though?" The idea was frightening. That family stuff wasn't in the cards right now. Looking back to where the shadow person was before, Cashe lost sight of him. He was nowhere to be found.

"You're elsewhere, that's why!" Theo changed the subject. "Are you going to be ready for War Games?"

"... Ummm.." Giraffe necking to see around the dining area of the Waffle House, Cashe was looking for his Shadow. "I'm ready for whatever.."

"Whatever is War Games. It's a chaotic environment not to be taken lightly!"

"Are you cheering for the Notorious Alliance or Meat Clowns in the opening match?" Cashe looks at Theo, giving up on his search for the shadow man. "I'm curious.."

"I am invested in the overall. I do own part of this company afterall."

That was true. Theo Pryce was Management in XWF so his interest had to be multiple layered. Sure, he wanted his clients, those he personally represents to have success but War Games was putting a pause on that some.

"Trilogy is on hold. This show, this event isn't holding together any alliances made beforehand. You are supposed to go to War with soldiers on your own side of the conflict. Imagine what the World Wars would have looked like with the concept of picking teams with Captains like we're playing fucking Dodgeball.."

"It's really not that big of a deal." Theo took a bite of his food. As he chewed, he added. "You are representing the Trilogy even under War Game rules."

"Am I?" Cashe questions. "So if I put Raion on his back and lay into him with elbows until you can't see the whites of his teeth or eyes because of the pool of blood that breaches from his face.. Is that still representing the Trilogy?"

"Let's try NOT to do that!" Scoffing at the imagery of what Cashe was saying.

"It's War ain't it? There are Casualties of War are there not?" Cashe was asking good questions but he was also a little overanalyzing the whole situation. "Hey!" He adds some excitement to his voice. "We're all replaceable. Nobody holds up the show, it must go on, right?"

"That's very true.." Theo couldn't help but agree. "Are you going to eat that?" Nodding towards the short stack of waffles that Cashe had yet to touch. Theo was eating like he had the munchies.

"It's all yours.." Cashe says, sliding the plate across the table.

========

"Two Rings, One Cage. That's the basic outline of what all of us signed up for. We all threw our names into a hat and the selected Captains picked their teams. With all the LACK of success we have had lately, it's no short of a surprise that Trilogy was both First and Third overall Picks when teams were being selected.

Really, it's a damn shame that someone has to lose. All these newly minted teams coming together for ONE Night only and the potential of competing in not one but two matches inside the War Games setting.

Did Jenny Myst select Elijah before Angie Vaughn and if so.. How good is HER weed?

I shouldn't talk shit. I really have no room because truth be told. Like Elijah, like Raion, I have come up short when the competition got too tall. We have all been beaten and found defeat against Charlie Nickles. Maybe what War Games should have done was place the favored talent against those on the rise.

Get BOB, Alias, Flynn and NK War Criminal on the same team and you've got exactly who stands brightest in XWF right now. That's the team to beat, that is the hill to climb and I see none of them among Meat Clowns. In order to come across a Brand Name in this company, I will need to help The Notorious Alliance get to that final Match!

Do I sound bitter? I'm not, I'm just not blind. You bring a Raven to your side and suddenly you have rings on your fingers. The closer you get to controversial comments and the more opportunities you find yourself having. This is the reality we face and the odds that are stacked against us all. You want to stand out, you must measure up against those raising the bar in the environment you compete in and War Games is where that takes place.

I lost the Plump Pigeon

I got beat by Nickles

I need a reup, I need to bounce back and where better to start than here? Inside of that cage surrounding those two rings. We will go to War but the Games stop as the bell goes ding.. You won't get any Purple Hearts for getting injured in these wars. There won't be any parades for your homecoming. You flatline and you go home or your body gets used to help build the trenches.

It will get bloody like a Slaughterhouse and what we are looking to hang up to bleed dry first is the Meat of Clowns.."

========

"I think I got a contact high just being out there.." Cashe states as he sits at the edge of a bench backstage at the Velvet Rabbit. His first round match had come and gone, he won his match. He felt good about it after coming off that concussion.

"Willie Nelson performed. I think everybody is high right now!"

Josslynn laughed. Her eyes did have a red tint to them. She did take part on occasion. "However.." She whispers as her smile forms and she steps into Cashe. His hands slide over her butt as she hugs his head against her stomach. "Winning looks good on you!"

"You look good on me. What we do out there isn't supposed to look good, it's supposed to look painful."

"We all like a little pain don't we?" They had a moment to themselves. These moments were better than a nap, better than a morning piss or that first good fart of the day.


"Knock, knock.." Immediately, the voice entering the room was recognized. Looking up from Josslynn's embrace, Cashe locks eyes with Raion Kido. Someone in line for the XWF Universal Championship and fellow member of The Trilogy along with Ned Kaye. "Am I interrupting?" He asks as he steps deeper into the locker room.

"Nobody is naked yet so you're good." Cashe responds as he pushes to his feet. Josslynn turns and smiles, greeting Kido before going about her business. Cashe and Kido approach each other. "What's good Kido-San?"

They shake hands as they stand within arms reach of the other. "Nothing. I watched your match and decided to come and say hello!"

"Well shit, Hello to you back!" Cashe said jokingly. They didn't entirely know each other even as stablemates but that was the process for most stables. You didn't always know the people you aligned with. You just knew what they brought to the table and in Kido's case, it was potential for greatness. "Are YOU ready for your Title match?" Cashe asked. "That match is no joke! Dolly Waters, Nickles AND Alias? That's a hill to climb!"

"I'm as ready as I can be. For better or worse, I will reach for the stars." Kido had a sense of cosmic pride about him. A positivity that usually grew to annoy Cashe.

"Nah man, you need to drain the 'stars' of their brightness to fuel your own shine.. That nice shit works for Charity, don't be charitable, be cutthroat or get your throat cut."

They were different from one another. One could question if they will co-exist in Trilogy and in War Games, they would be on opposite sides of the cage. On different teams entirely. Something they both were well aware of..

"I also wanted to check in with you.." Kido hesitates to add to his words but does anyway. "About War Games. Theo mentioned you having some concerns?"

"Ehhh not really." Shrugging off the suggestion of it. Cashe continues. "I'm sure you'd rather be on our team anyway right?"

"... Or you on mine.."

Again Cashe shrugs. "I've teamed with Elijah before, no thanks."

The two stared at each other for a moment. Smiling, Kido places a hand on Cashe's shoulder. "Why do I get the feeling that I should watch my back inside that Cage?" In return to Kido's words, Cashe mimics the hand on shoulder.

"Are you on the Notorious Alliance?" Shaking his head, the question was rhetorical and Cashe was answering his own question with the shaking of his head. "I wouldn't say PRIME target but if everyone else is down or busy and we lock eyes?" Sucking air through his teeth. "I'd say we will at least dance a step or two.."

"Good.. Very good!" Patting Cashe's shoulder before removing his hand. Kido backs up a few steps and gives Cashe a little bow, a proper bow as found in Japan. A sign of common respect given. "Good luck in the rest of the Cannabis Cup. I look forward to seeing what unfolds at War Games! It will be an honor, my honor!"

Cashe shakes his head from side to side. "That nice guy shit makes my big toe itch." You could tell Kido didn't quite get the terminology that Cashe used. It takes a while for many. The two shook hands again before Kido waved bye to Josslynn and left the room. Cashe smiled and shrugged as he made eye contact with his girlfriend.

========

"I wasn't a Captain. Didn't want to be. Regardless of everything else going on. Putting CCPE, Trilogy, BOB, all of that aside to compete alongside Mac Bane, Ned Kaye and… Ring Master? I'm not unhappy with the roster spots that got filled. I like the makeup of this squad. I like how it matches up with those primed to go against us.

Meat Clowns. You lost the second you selected Elijah Martin but a dog can live GOOD on three legs but can you, as a unit trust that Kido can help lay that nail on a coffin on myself or Kaye when he has ties to us that matter more than just one event? Me? I don't have those problems.

This is War motherfuckers, no Games will be played by us. So be it Angie, Elijah, Kido or Miss Myst, I'm aiming to leave each and everyone of you moist and seeing red, eyesight all bloody as you leave the cage losers in the opening bout!"