Before the Return Part 3 (W.A.R/KM - Thor)

Imperial Enterprises Baltimore House
Baltimore, MD, USA
August 11, 2020
3:30 AM EDT

One of the lesser touted side effects of aging was the need for less sleep then earlier in one's life. Some nights turned into unwinnable bouts with insomnia. Such was this night that found Nathaniel Grant idly flipping through channels hunting for something to watch. As he flips through he manages through several commercial voice overs.

"2 for 1 Appetizers at Applebee's…"

"This Gluten free product contains no wheat and wheat by-products."

The voices pass by as Nathaniel switches through channels. Finally he rests on a channel just coming back from commercial. On the screen appears to be some sort of world war two setting but the first words heard are, "Guten Morgen mein freund. Ich liebe dich." Again the channel changes as Nathaniel shakes his head. His mind was reeling with dozens of thoughts. He knew he was pushing himself past the limit that a sane man would push. However, given his condition he knew he didn't have the time to do anything less intense. His channel flick finds him on Animal Planet where a documentary on pachyderms was playing.

[color=biegel"While the elephant is the biggest and best known pachyderm others include the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus…"[/color]

Nathaniel sighs and just hits mute as he stares at the television screen contemplating his current state of mind. He knew that many considered him a joke when it came to his wrestling career. It was something that he had dealt with his entire career and it still got to him. As he sits there watching a herd of elephants play at a watering hole Nathaniel clenches his firsts as she takes several deep breaths. Each breath was meant to steady his emotions yet in the end tears started to fall down his face as he sat there.

He had managed to put on a facade that had fooled most of the world when it came to Carnage Wrestling and his announcement of war. However, the thing was that he would end it all if he heard three simple words. Of course there were several variants on the words that he longed to hear from his coworkers. Words that he knew would only come after had forced them to be spoken. It still amazed him how three words could shape a person's mindset. Yet, as someone who had rarely heard the phrases "I'm proud of you," or "I respect you" the desire to hear those words without contempt attached to them was a driving force.

In his nearly thirteen and half year career, he could count the number of times he had heard those words in a way that couldn't be construed as a backhanded compliment. When he had come back to the ring after learning about brain tumor Nathaniel had hoped that his experience and accomplishments would earn him some respect. However, as had been a staple of his career he had been seen as a joke by management, the rest of the roster and the fans alike. A joke that everyone seemed to think was worth laughing at.

For some it was his age. Others it was his size. For others still the joke was in his past accomplishments. Maybe his attitude in trying to be at the head of a movement played a part in the overall lack of a respect he had received. In the end, it was that very lack of respect that had caused Nathaniel Grant to declare war on the Carnage Wrestling locker.

As they said, sometimes you had to take what you wanted on the battlefield. The whole situation with Matthew Knox and how nothing Nathaniel said was ever heard only served to highlight the reality. The reality is that even though it wasn't a secret that Nathaniel Grant was fighting on limited time, there wouldn't be any respect coming his way while he still drew breath. Even then Nathaniel had come to doubt that he would have his death and legacy treated with anything sort of respect.

No, the sad realization was that based on his past Nathaniel expected to be forgotten is less time than it took to flush a toilet. All of this and more had played into the decision to declare war on the Carnage Wrestling. He had seen that the rest of the roster was capable of giving respect yet none had come his way. Such had been the testament of his career to that point.

A career built around the hunt of three words. Three words that he had earned time again over the years yet consistently had to force out of the mouths of those he worked with. He knew what he had said in regards to the purpose of Insidious and even that was only the part that people were ready to listen to. He had learned in the past that sometimes sharing the full extent of his plans only lead to derision and apathetic loathing.

Nathaniel Grant had come to the point in his life where if he couldn't get respect he would accept being hated. After all. Hatred implied investment and given the limited nature of his remaining life Nathiel would take negative investment over outright apathy in response to his actions. However, he would continue to fight to hear those three words. As Nathaniel sits reflecting on the future and what was actually going on he watches the muted documentary just to see what each of the animals does in relation to each other.

[/b]

Imperial Enterprises Baltimore House
Baltimore, MD, USA
August 11, 2020
10:40 AM EDT

It had been a long sleepless night for Nathaniel Grant. After a point he had given up trying to sleep and eventually headed to a local hardware store. He had found the barbed wire and lighter fluid easily enough. It had taken a bit more effort to find a couple folding tables. He had gotten a strange look as he had purchased these items.

From the hardware store he had gone to the grocery store where he had gotten some steaks and burgers. While there he had gotten barbeque fixings as well some cereal. One of the boxes was "Kid tested, mother approved." Kix. It had been some time since he had a box so he figured it was worth the buy.

Now he was back at the Baltimore House and was unloading things to the backyard. The meat and other food stuff ends up in the kitchen. Meanwhile, the tables, lighter fluid, and barbed wire ends up in the backyard. Once there Nathaniel begins setting the tables up. Once they are set up he begins to wrap them with barbed wire. Each table soon becomes an approximation of a porcupine.

After putting the barbed wire around the tables Nathaniel stops to check the grill that had been brought in weeks before for summer cooks offs. As he makes sure the grill is clean and coals ready to go his phone begins to ring. Without even looking to see who was calling Nathaniel flicks the phone to speaker and continues scrub the grill clean.

"Good morning. This is Nathaniel, who is this and what can I do for you?".

“I’m never going to call you Nathaniel. And you know who this is” came the velvety, slurred monotone of Matt Knox “Or I hope you do, only known each other longer than most feds stay in business..”

There was a sharp eyebrow raise as Nathaniel lays down the grill brush and looks at his phone a moment. It was strange to hear the voice of the man who was his estranged son-in-law speak to him. Even drunk, the call came as shock considering that the last time the two had said anything to each other a brawl had broken out.

"Don't mind me if I quote Boy here. Flugelhorn. To what Captain do I own to this conversation?"

“Just another knee-jerk action I decided to take. You with my kids, or can you talk a moment? Man to man. Like you said we ought to have before shit got where it is now” A pause on the other end, and an exhale “Don’t get anything twiisted though, i’m not here to talk peace.”

"I am free to talk. Just preparing to barbeque later. As for peace, I know you well enough to know that won't come until after we faced off in the ring. Which, I am not the one holding that match back. The new boss probably wants to make a spectacle of it.

Nathanie looks over the barbed wire wrapped tables and runs a hand through his hair as he waits to hear what Matthew had to say.

“Forgive me if I don’t buy it. I don’t doubt we’d be settling this if you hadn’t used Mohr to send a message and get a shot at the cowboy, but this could have been done anywhere, any time between Ninety four, and ninety six.”

He trails off, and chuckles “They don’t gotta make it a spectacle with you, Thor. Your whole schtick, your cult, your goons. That’s spectacle enough. I hope you’re ready, because you know. I know you know, that i’m not going to lose to your three goons.” Another pause, he exhales and speaks frustratedly

“I know, what i’m doing doesn’t make sense. I get that. And i’m not foolish enough to think it makes me look any better to the girls. Hell, with you people in their ears i’m sure I just look worse. But you need to try and understand, Thor. You need to understand that I’m not going to be able to move forward and do what I got to do, not until you and Insidious are no longer a part of my life, a part of Carnage..”

He chuckles “I respect you, for what you’ve done in that ring. Here I am, trying to recapture the glory of one world title...picking a fight with you, who has so much gold Canada could run it’s economy off of it”

"I appreciate hearing that Knox. You don't know how rarely I hear that somebody respects me for my in ring accomplishments. In a lot of ways, the current structure of Insidious is built around that fact. You know how hard I had to claw to get anything of value under the Dragon and his management team. I am not sure if you have taken the time to look at the archive of my greatest matches that Isabella put together a few months back. Even for all that gold, even for all the time I have spent in the ring, I am treated like a fresh out training rookie. I have always tried to leave any company I am part of better off than when I joined it. Yet,"

Nathaniel exhales slowly as he stops to wet his lips. He had so much he wanted to say but wasn't sure how to make it come out without sounding like a muddled mess.

“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, Thor” He said curtly “You leave these places shriveled, and destroyed from what I've seen. Carve a path of destruction, probably get the biggest contract. Put down their champions and leave for a new challenge...At least, that’s how I’ve read it. And here, at Carnage you’re right there again. About to swipe at the regional title. Against a company hero. He sounds like he’s more than ready, but none of them really are...You, you can go from the rookie getting a roll up on you to maiming someone in a match like this. Flaming barbed wire tables..what a joke”

He takes an audible gulp of some liquid, and lets out a hiss as the liquid burns his throat “I’ll leave you with this, Thor. Adrienne Levi, she’s my people now. I don’t want to hear any horseshit about your gesture, throwing in extra money. You don’t get to build the army of bodies you have without being a good sales rep..So again, plainly. Adrienne Levi, Silvio Leon, Kohaku Fujihara, Mitch Heart...you keep your claws out of them and yourself away from them outside of matches...and get your affairs in order. Because Mac might not end you, but I intend to. For the good of Carnage, for my own selfish reasons. And Frankly, for your own good. I’ll see you at WAR i’m sure, Thor.”

Nathaniel nods hearing the words. It was nothing new he hadn't expected to hear. Yet, for all of that there was a need inside of him that made him need to reply with words that Knox may not expect.

"Matthew, I want you to know something. If you had been around over the years things may have been different in both our careers. There were so many times I could have used a man like you at my side. Who knows what will happen before my ticket is punched. However, I want you to know that I am proud of what you have accomplished in getting your career back. I am proud that you have decided to take a stand about something again. You may not believe me but I know how much those words can mean.

There’s a moment of silence outside of Matthew’s steady breathing. Finally, he speaks in a tone much more forgiving than any he had used since making his return “Everything is as it should be. I’d never work out in your set up, and you’d never work out in my world. Connecting as we have was a mistake. Your family, your people. They’d never mesh with me and I’d never mesh with them, not really. The only good thing from all of this, is Ivy.” He chuckles “When I end your career, I know they won’t want to see me or have a thing to do with me. So i’m asking you for one favor, you evil son of a bitch...be a good grandfather, if nothing else. I’ll be announcing what type of match we’ll be having directly after the bell rings in mine. Good luck, Thor” and with that, the line went dead with a click

Nathaniel stares at the now silent phone for a moment as he blinks away some tears. He hoped that before the end things on that front would be better. However, the call in of itself was an unexpected step towards if nothing else and out of ring truce. Yet, only time would tell what the future would bring. After reaching up to wipe the tears away Nathaniel goes back to scrubbing the grill. He had managed to have this conversation when he highly suspected that he would never with some of his children.

~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later Nathaniel and the rest of Insidious were seen scattered around the backyard. Voices echoed out from the house as teens were seen walking outside. As everyone was talking Nathaniel grabs a bottle of lighter fluid as a box of matches before walking over to where the barbed wire wrapped tables were standing. As he walks over to the tables Aaron comes over to his side.

"Are you sure you’re on the right path here Pops?"

"Honestly, I started down this road and I have to see where it takes us. Even if I wanted to take a detour there aren't any to take for the foreseeable future. If you are referring to the bar-be-que I have going at We Are Relentless. Then we will just have to see since Mac was the one who added the barbed wire to things.

Speaking of which, I'll need you to record what I am about to say."

The two men get out to the tables and Nathaniel sets the body of lighter fluid down before turning to stand behind the tables with his back to the house. He hands his phone over to Aaron who sets it up to play.

"We. Are. Relentless. Such a definitive name for what will be a night of wrestling brutality. A night that will be Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious when it comes to the action. For the last couple of shows Insidious has been involved in what can only be deemed gang violence. I have heard the word cult through around quite often to describe Insidious. Well, I will save that topic for another time. No today is for a matter that is of more immediate importance.

The Baltimore City Championship and the man who currently holds it. One Mac Bane, who as of today held the title for an impressive 134 days. Mac has held the Baltimore City Championship since the same night I made my Carnage Wrestling in ring debut. In that time the Baltimore City Championship has only been defended a trio of times. Isolation 2020 saw a triple threat elimination match vs Zephyr Queen and Trent Steel. Chaos 91 saw Joseph War cash in the shot he won at Isolation. The most recent defense was 50 days ago at Underground: redemption. Yet, to be fair the frequency of shows does lend itself towards a longer reign."

Nathaniel lets out a slow exhale and allows a small smile to crack his features as he stares into the camera, wagging a finger to accentuate his point.

"However, what is to come at We Are Relentless has been 22 days in the making. Chaos 95, was the night I made JD Mohr tap out to earn my shot at Mac and his title. Eight days ago, we all saw that I respectfully gave Mac Bane the chance to spin the Wheel of Extreme to determine the stipulation for our match. I have already gotten some questions on why I would leave a title match to the hands of fate. Simple, the perversity of the fact that I am not afraid of death. It is no secret that I am dying. Hell, I cough wrong and the brain tumor in my head could end me.. The Wheel of Extreme came up as a Flaming Tables match. A match that would have been insane enough. We all heard Mac Bane add the choice of razor wire or barbed wire. I am not afraid of the fire or the wire.

It was a simple choice since I actually respect Mac Bane for his career. However, don't think that my choosing barbed wire is in any way a sign of weakness. I am not afraid of you Mac Bane and by the end of our match you will realize that fact in vivid detail. No, I just wanted to leave something for the man to crawl home to his woman with. You see folks, as much as I respect Mac Bane for what he has down inside of a Carnage Wrestling ring, I have also come to despise him as a man. It is quite simple, he is a trained pet. A pet who answers to the whims of his much more talented girl friend. Oh, that is right his girl is the current Carnage World Champion. A woman who spends more time on twitter than my sixteen year old. A woman who is constantly hyping her work in other companies."

Nathaniel stops speaking and looks back towards the house where Isabella and few other teens were gathered.

"A woman gets praised for being such a passionate fighter for working multiple companies. A woman who benefits from the hypocrisy of the abuse I get for doing the same thing. Yet, I got side tracked from the man of the hour, Mac Bane who after our respectful exchange got himself involved in the latest Knox instigated drama. Makes me wonder if Mac is afraid to face me at full strength in our match. Is.the great Gate Keeper, Mac Bane afraid? I mean, serious question time. Where did Joseph War go after his loss? Or what about Angel Panic!? Oh that is right, they don't work in Carnage any more. I know that there are many on the roster who would love it if I just suddenly stopped working here after our match at We Are Relentless.

However, Mac let's get one thing clear. Those folks are banking on the fact that I won't win our match. Those same people are banking on the fact should I lose I will take my ball and go home. Yet, to paraphrase a conversation I overheard the other day. "My name is Abraham and I'm not a bad guy I'm just not as nice as Steve Matthews" Of course with the full context of those words it doesn't make any sense. Much like the wishes for you destroy me at We Are Relentless.

I have plans for the coming months and they start with Mac Bane. It is time for me to Carpe Diem, Seize this day and make my own destiny! If I have to burn everything down around me and rebuild it from the ground up I will. Of course, at We Are Relentless you will all learn that Insidious is bigger than it seems. Soon enough you will learn just what it means when we say. "We. Are. Insidious! It starts with the Baltimore City Championship but it won't stop there. I hope you are ready for what is to come."

With those words Nathaniel falls silent as he grabs the lighter fluid and begins to douse the tables. He drenches the tables before stepping back. Once he is far enough back he strikes some matches and tosses them at the tables. The matches hit and the pair of tables erupt into an inferno of flame. The rest of the video is the tables and barbed wire burning to cinders and charred metal. As the video ends the words "Welcome to the Barbeque appear on the screen. The words vanish into a We Are Relentless hype package.

Off Screen

Castle Thorn
Near Grand Lake, CO
August 12th, 2020

During the bar-be-que that Nathaniel had hosted at the Imperial Enterprise's Baltimore House to celebrate his upcoming match at Carnage Wrestling's We Are Relentless the need to go home had come over him. Which is why once the party had dwindled down to the point he wasn't needed Nathaniel had flown into Denver. Once there it had been a simple thing to drive home to the estate that was his family's refuge from the world. The moment he had gotten past the gates a sense of relief had washed over him. It was a relief that he couldn't place the reasoning for. Then again there might not even have been a reason for it. However now that he was home he was going to make the most of it.

In fact, as he pulls into the courtyard he can't help but smile to himself as he parks. From the look of the other cars in the driveway it would be one of the rare times he was there at the same time his wife was. He knew that the last couple of months hadn't been easy on her. Yet, besides several passing conversations the two had yet to have an in depth conversation about his condition. Upon parking Nathaniel heads into the house to go seek out the conversation that he knew needed to be had. Following a few minutes of looking around the kitchen and sitting room he calls out to her.

"Sal I am home."

”I’m in my office,” she calls, her voice echoing down the hall.

Nathaniel couldn't help but smile as he made his way towards her office. Once he arrives at the door, Nathaniel steps inside to see what project was taking up his wife's time and attention.

"What are you working on?"

In fact, behind the forest of dressmaker’s dummies and fabric rolls, Sal’s found sitting at a TV in the corner with their youngest children, the twins Kayla and Soreno. Obviously it’s break time right now.

”Ah, presently, we’re tryin’ to get to the top of the Dizzy Heights,” she laughs, glancing up at him for just a second. Right now, it’s Kayla’s turn to navigate the family’s Fall Guy, but Sal is providing small, guiding suggestions here and there, encouraging the children’s problem solving and spatial awareness.

"I see. Do you think we could talk?

Nathaniel asks as he watches his youngest kids play the computer game. His tone was even but for those who knew him well there was evidence of tension in his words.

Sal nods. ”Be back in a minute, alright?” she tells the children, adding ”Remember to take turns, aye?” as she stands up. She crosses over to her husband with a smile, but one laced with concern, and asks,Sal ”What’s wrong?”

Nathaniel smiles back and then gives her an almost bear hug until he finally lets her go. He moves them back to a spot where they could sit and talk quietly without having to leave the room entirely.

"Everything but not really. I am sorry for not talking to you before I got back in the ring. I am sorry for that and some much more."

He looks at her with a strained smile as he waits for her reply.

Sal’s reply is not immediate. She sucks in her bottom lip before sighing. ”I… look, I won’t pretend I ain’t been angry as fuck with you. I been… well, a lot of things. Mixed up. Feelin’ all kinds of different ways. I…” ...she swallows, and can feel her eyes starting to itch… ”All this has been pretty much the only thing on my mind for weeks. Really, ever since… since the doctors…” - but she has trouble finishing that thought.

"How do you think I feel Sal? I am afraid that I am going to wake up one of these days without knowing who I am. I am…"

Nathaniel reaches over and pulls Sal to him as he tries to figure out the words to express what he was feeling. She hugs him back, tightly, and whispers, ”I know.”

"...I am scared that when I am gone everything I have done will be meaningless. A part of me knows that no one can ever take away the things I have accomplished but will anyone actually remember me? I know that after the doctors in Iconic forced me to retire that I said I was done. I know that and at the time it was a logical choice. In a lot of ways that year off was what I needed. Now…"

He falls silent as he takes a deep breath to steady himself. Nathaniel had started what was a long overdue conversation that he hoped he could be able to get through.

”I… I get it. I mean, I don’t, obviously, in the sense of…” She pauses and collects herself to start again. ”If it was me I, uh… cannae say I wouldn’t want to do the same thing.” She’d been a deathmatch wrestler too, when they met. The self-destructive impulse is one she understands acutely. She glances over to the twins, their only biological children together, who are managing to not fight too much as they play. She draws him close again, resting her head on his shoulder. ”I been asking myself why you didn’t want to talk to me about it, though. I mean… I guess I know why. But it’s…” She closes her eyes. ”Please talk to me.”

Nathaniel takes a deep breath as he allows the words to form a rational thought. He exhales before speaking what was on his mind.

"It isn't just the fear of being forgotten entirely that spurred me to get back into the ring. When I found out that I was going to quietly literally lose my mind long before my tumor killed me I started thinking about what that would do to you and the kids. I know well enough what that sort of thing can do to those forced to care for someone who has lost their mentally facilities. Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't come to resent me if I was but a shell that you were forced to care for? How about the kids? Would they come to hate me for being a lingering shadow of the man they knew?"

He falls silent as he looks over to watch his kids play with only minimal bickering. As he watches he licks his lips as he blinks away some tears a few times.

”Honestly… I don’t know,” she replies quietly, her voice wavering.

"I knew that Sal. I am sure you know just how relationships of all shorts become twisted by lingering fatal illness. However, I am not saying any of you would come to hate me for the way biology decided to act up. I will admit it is slightly selfish of me to think that my dying in the ring will make my death any easier when it comes. Honestly, my death will be hard on everyone who cares about me no matter how it happens. This way..."

Nathaniel chokes up as he tries to continue speaking. This time, Sal is the one to bring his head onto her shoulder, cradling it. Her cheeks are soaked now. So many of the younger members of the family - Isabella, Ivan, Sujir and Astryd and Velvet’s children - are making their own starts in the wrestling business now. What will Nathaniel dying in the ring do to them, and their relationship with the sport, as they embark on their careers? And Sal, with her own multifarious issues with the business which caused her to quit after just a few years… will she be equipped to help the kids through that? Especially while mourning her husband? She’s stayed away from wrestling since she retired aged just 27. In the decade, or just over, that’s followed, she’s somewhat reluctantly come to help her sons, daughters, nieces and nephews with their training - mainly because she wants them to have the maturity to deal with the difficulties of the sport that she didn’t have herself. But she’s still greatly disconnected from wrestling. Thor choosing professional wrestling as his method of suicide, and the way that’s going to affect a family so closely tied to the same business, is a discussion they need to have. But… not now.

"Is it wrong that I want to die as me? That I don't want to just slowly lose myself bit by bit? I don't plan on this happening anytime soon but I know it is coming. Honestly wrestling will allow me to go out on my terms. Though that implies something else unexpected doesn't occur first. You know how much I love what I do. I know you have your issues with the business but it allows me to channel my darker tendencies. I should have talked to you about how bad it really was before I stepped back into the ring. I am sorry I didn't Sal. I was losing control and I needed to act before I became obsessed with that I couldn't change."

Nathaniel speaks the words knowing they were almost shallow in the face of what he was facing both medically and professionally. He takes a moment to just accept the comfort of his wife as his fears continue to churn in his mind.

She rubs the back of her hand across her face, not really drying it, just smearing the tears around. ”From now on please talk to me. For… for me, and for you. We cannae change what’s coming and god knows it ain’t something you can ever truly prepare for, but… we need to try to be as prepared as we can, I suppose.”


"Can you imagine how it feels knowing all the things I will miss in the years to come? If I see Isabella's eighteenth birthday I will have lasted way longer than they said I would. I try not to look at the kids and think about all the things that I know I will miss because of this. I am trying so hard to show them that I am strong in the face of it all. Yet, the truth is I want to scream and rage against this while breaking down. My biggest fear is that the kids will hate me for abandoning them. Kayla and Soreno aren't quite old enough to understand the reality of what is happening but I wonder what they will think of me once I am gone. I am not ready Sal. Not even close and yet most people only see me for what I portray in the ring. You know the amount of derision and disrespect I put up with just to wrestle."

Nathaniel falls silent as his tears turn from those of sorrow to those of frustration. He had clawed his way to every accomplishment he had ever earned. A process that seemed to be part of his continued career.

Sal could remember three distinct times in her own life that she’d come within a hair of death. Once, as a child, in a car crash. Once when she’d had an artery punctured during a deathmatch. Once after a suicide attempt which had, fortunately in hindsight, failed. The complex rush of emotions every time had been overwhelming. To know with such absolute certainty that your days were numbered… not just in the same existential sense as every human, but in a much more imminent, tangible sense… that, in itself, felt monolithically greater. Coupled with the threat of losing your own sense of self? She’d always insisted that she didn’t want to end up in some care home with dementia. She always said she wanted to be euthanized before ever becoming trapped in a nightmare of her own shattered psyche.

What Nate was doing wasn’t so different, really.

”Everyone here, everyone in the family, knows the real you,” she reassures him, ”There’s no way to make this easy on the wains but you know we’ll do everythin’ we can.” She squeezes his hands. ”You wanna scream and rage, honey, I’ll scream right alongside you. I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone.”

"I know that in my heart Sal. Oh, how I know it. Yet, for once I would like someone outside of the family to look at me without contempt or out right hatred. I know you don't follow my career besides the basics of it existing. I know I am not alone in this but knowing you at least knew what I had going on would be helpful to me. Yet, that is a conversation for another time. I know you barely watch shows but if nothing else can you please watch Isabella's first pay per view match? If you stay tuned to watch my match against Addy I will consider it a bonus."

”Of course I will,” she promises. She’d watched the tape of her daughter’s professional debut, albeit with some trepidation. She wasn’t going to miss her first pay-per-view. And she’d watch her husband’s match on the same show too. She couldn’t truthfully promise she wouldn’t grimace and moan and maybe watch through her eyes depending on how it went, or maybe dick around on her phone at moments given her antipathy towards wrestling, but she would still watch it.

"Thank you Sal. I don't know what I would do without your love and support. We will talk more before I head to work again. I think we had better go save the game for the kids."

Nathaniel chuckles slightly and wipes a hand over his face as he looks over at his youngest son and daughter.

Laughing, though with sorrow still cracking her voice, she says, “Cannae save it, it’s online. It’s multiplayer.” She chews her lip for a moment before pulling her husband in again. “I love you. Always.”

"I love you too and I always will. Well then we should save the world from our offspring."

As emotional as the moment had been it was something that had needed to happen. If only so it didn't fester inside. With a strained smile on his lips he lets his wife guide them back to where the computer was.


Plato's Pawn & Pay
Denver, CO
August 15th, 2020

Nathaniel Grant found himself inside a local pawn shop looking to see if he could find a replica phaser. It had been a task that had been alluding him for the last several hours. He had been looking hours since for the thing as the result of a bet he had made. Sure he had been drunk at the time but a bet was a bet. He just hoped he could find something that would settle his debt. Otherwise he knew he would never hear the end of it.

"Welcome to Plato's Pawn & Pay. My name is Karl. How can I be of service?"

"Yes I am looking for a replica Star Trek phaser. I know that is kind of out there but it doesn't hurt to ask."

"Actually we have a few."

Nathaniel blinks hearing this before chuckling.

"I will take them all."

"I will be right back with those."

Sure the bet had only been that he wouldn't be able to find a replica phaser before he flew back from Denver. Nathaniel was about to make good on the first part of his bet. Karl makes his way back carrying a show box. ONce back at the counter he pulls open the box to reveal five phasers of various designs.

"How much for the lot?

"After tax that will be $350 for the whole set."

Nathaniel quickly pays before grabbing the box. Moving aside he set the open box in such a way that the cash register was right behind it. He takes a quick picture before closing the box up. He heads outside and stops in front of the door to take a selfie. He makes sure to get the store's address in a shot before heading off to his car.

A few minutes later he was seated in the driver's seat of his car having set the box of phaser replicas in the passenger seat. In his hand was his phone with which he was sending a couple of texts. Each text contained one of the pictures he had taken at the pawn show. As he sits there his phone rings and Nathaniel answers it with a grin. Before he starts speaking he sets it to speaker phone in order to protect his ears.

"I take it you got the pictures I just sent you."

"You know I did Pops. I can't believe you managed to find those. Are you planning to do the other part of the bet?"

"You know I will Aaron. As much as I don't want to, I have to do the second half. I know you well enough to know to know what reneging on the bet would mean."

Aaron is heard chuckling as Nathaniel shakes his head in slight amusement.

"Of course I wouldn't pass up a prime chance to poke fun at you. I look forward to seeing that video."

Before Nathaniel can respond the line goes dead. Luckily for him he had a jet ready to head east. Having taken care of that he could for the meantime time allowed Nathaniel to relax. He would worry about what he was walking into when he was in Newark.


Prudential Center
Newark, NJ
August 17th, 2020

It was only a few short hours before Kobayashi Maru went on to the air and Nathaniel Grant knew his night was going to be a long one. After all, he would be getting in the ring with Adelaide Ainsworth. A woman he had first learned about at WresteStock. A woman who had so far met with varying degrees of success inside a Unified Global Wrestling Coalition ring. Yet, in the end that didn't even matter as it would be the first time the two of them would be fasking off in either of the center of the ring. He didn't know if any one would ever hear his thoughts regarding the match but he had to at least record something and get it posted to for the sake of the historians. He took out his phone and smiles to himself.

"It's that time again wrestling fans. Here we are just hours away from the kick off of Kobayashi Maru. A night where winning comes at a cost. While my match against Ms. Ainsworth doesn't contain a catch for winning it will be one of those matches that even winning will prove to be costly. I will be completely honest with the fact that I am not fully aware of what is going on in her life right now. However, I do know that she has been hanging around my daughter Isabella.

While I have no idea what the motivation there is I am now in a position where if I could upset Isabella by winning. Yet, I think she will be forgiving considering there is a title shot on the line. That is right folks, Adelaide and will be fighting for the number one contendership for the UGWC Chaos Championship. A title that I would love to call my own. A belt that currently belongs to one Sloane Taylor. See later tonight Addy and I will go head to head to see which of us will go against the winner of Taylor vs Ryder.

Now, don't get me wrong but the whole night is set up to be this unbeatable construct. A construct based on a test in Star Trek that was meant to judge a prospective Star Fleet Captains ability to handle a situation where the choices were varying degrees of defeat. Only the wily Captain Kirk managed to defeat the test but that was only because he changed the rules of the scenario. In short, he won by cheating the system in such a way that didn't look like he was cheating.

While I wish I could say that I have found some brilliant method of outwitting this match I can't. No tonight we will see a straight up wrestling match where two wrestlers will go out there and put it on the line to be the best. I won't stand here and guarantee success but I will however say that even if I lose tonight I will still win the night. You know what I am facing in my life and truth be told any night I walk out of the ring will be a victory to me. So I am going to go out there and fight the best I can before the bell rings end the match.

In just a few short hours I will enter the ring with every intention of walking out as the New Number One Contender for the UGWC Chaos Championship. However, I know that Adelaide will be doing the exact same thing. So it all comes down to who wants it more. And that we shall see in just a few short hours."

With those words Nathaniel pulls a Voyager style phaser out of his pocket and mimics firing it as the video cuts to nothing.