Trial By "Fyre" (Team Fyre) **SPOILERS**

[DARKSIDE]

In the aftermath of the Collision Course PPV, Minion's team came in 4th place. Hardly the outcome they had expected, but time moves on, and a new day had dawned. Time to look back and review what had gone so horribly wrong. What could have been done differently? Was 4th place really their best? Some critics would say "Yes". Of course, the teams who came in ahead of them would agree as well. However, there still lingers some serious doubt in the minds of those who lived through the ordeal of the past few weeks.

Nightmare has taken over the ring once again as the show comes back from commercial, and he seems to have a lot on his mind.....

Before I say another damn word, I want the rest of you to get your asses down to this ring! NOW![/b]

With that, "Doctor" Death, Minion and Angel all walk out onto the stage and make their way toward the ring.

First of all, Angel....welcome back. The family has missed you terribly! I see your transformation has come full circle. Excellent! Perhaps now, you will fare better than these other failures have in recent times.[/b]

Death and Minion both look at each other, and back to Nightmare, with a look of shock on their faces....

Don't stand there and look so clueless! You know what you've done. Or, should it be....HAVEN'T DONE? What you haven't done....is succeed. The Collision Course series was to be our defining moment in this cess pool, and what did you do? 4th place?? Explain to me how no less than three other teams had bested you. What is your excuse?[/b]

Minion steps forward and opens his mouth to say something, but Nightmare yanks the mic away...

There IS....NO.....EXCUSE! Failure was not an option, Minion. You knew this as the captain of this clusterfuck you called a team. Where are Misfitt and Trip Acid? They are as much to blame as you are.[/b]

Nightmare looks around the arena...

No matter. They are better off staying where they are. My wrath would end their pitiful lives!

So....Minion. Where did you go wrong? Was it by recruiting "Doc" and I to your team"? No! We won our match last night. As a tag team, we are nearly unstoppable! Was it your booking? Perhaps. It's hard to pick out only one thing that went wrong with this team. Our 4th place showing speaks for itself. Completely unacceptable!![/b]

"Doctor" Death lashes out and grabs the mic away from Nightmare...

LOOK, NIGHTMARE! We all had our shortfalls in this tournament. You cannot place the blame on me...or Minion....or the others. We won as a team...and we lost as a team. This is something you need to underst.....[/b]

Nightmare takes the mic back, cutting Death off mid sentence...

Well, you got that right. We DID lose. The whole team lost. No matter how strong we may have been against our opponents, we still managed to fall behind in the rankings. I still don't get how this could have ended so badly. Darkside should have begun on top, stayed on top and finished in 1st place come the end of the PPV! You know this! I know this! But, what happened instead? Darkside floundered near the bottom while Angel Fyre and his group of ringers rode the boss's bank roll all the way to the win.

Yeah, I said it! This whole thing reeks of scandal. In that group, there has always been a stink of controversy, and I am not the only one to think so. How convenient it was for all of them to make it onto the same team for Collision Course. It must have cost Fyre a small fortune to get the officials to fix so many matches in his favor. It's no shock that his team won this damn thing! It was a scam from the very beginning! I mean, come on. Whose ass did he dig that Avenger guy out from? His match against Death a few weeks back was a fucking joke! He won ever match he was in last night. At least our team looked more credible in its few losses. One has to question a man who goes undefeated against so many for so long.

Minion knows all too well how it feels to lose against Kratos and even Fyre himself. He was practically bulldozed by both of them when he faced them in the past. How can a beast who nearly wiped guys like Sentoryu and Genesis off the face of the fucking planet be made to look so weak against those two? They are no better. There has to be something else at play here.

Even Angel has fallen victim to this continuing travesty. Her wars with Ashley Milano were the bread and butter of the Amazons division for months until she was robbed of her title and suffered a breakdown that put her out of action. Milano went too far, and I assure you, she will pay dearly for hurting the woman I love...but I feel Angel must taste that vengeance for herself. She has now fully transgressed into darkness. Her journey is complete, and nothing is going to stop her.[/b]

Angel is seen with a sick, twisted grin on her face as she nods to Nightmare, acknowledging his remarks....

Every last one of us have grown weary of the bullshit and all the games going on behind our backs. The only thing the outcome of Collision Course has proven is exactly what we have all suspected the whole time.[/b]

Derogatory chants directed toward Darkside are heard from the crowd...

SILENCE!!

I said....SILENCE!!

Are we upset? Why shouldn't we be? Every last person from the 2nd place team on down should be pissed as Hell for the way they lost at Collision Course. Pissed at Team Fyre's unaccountable dominance. For the way they were all cheated out of their shot at glory because of one man who needed to stack the deck to assure his bloated ego could grow even larger. We all suffer because of that bleached ape and his exaggerated vanity! It goes far deeper than Collision Course. Our track record alone is enough to prove the point. The problem with the rest of the rodents in this company is...nobody else has the balls to stand up and say anything. WE...are no such beings! This all ends TONIGHT! That's right. Fyre's indiscretions are coming home to roost. He can hide behind all the sleazy lawyers his money can buy, but the only justice coming of this is revenge! Revenge for everything he and his team have done to us in the past. And this is how it will transpire........

From this night, until the week before the next PPV....one match each week. One member of Darkside against one member from Fyre's Collision Course team. Ordinary singles matches....no count-out...no disqualifications! No room for error. No shitty excuses. A winner WILL be decided. A four match series over the coming month's time. I will book each week's trial and determine the participants. Since we have already seen some of these possible pairings...I will place opponents who have never faced each other before. This week, Minion takes his turn. He has already battled Kratos and Fyre, so I name his next opponent.....THE AVENGER![/b]

Minion smiles and seems very eager to charge into the fray at the very mention of his opponent's name!

Call this our sick little social experiment, for it will help to determine the future as we know it. OUR future, brothers and sister. The future of Darkside in this organization. If Fyre's men manage to defeat us in the majority of these matches....then Darkside will leave I:W and never return! ALL of us!![/b]

The others are visibly agitated by Nightmare's bold decree...

What?? That's insanity!![/b]

Master! You cannot be serious![/b]

Nightmare! You cannot do this!![/b]

Oh...I can! And,....I AM!! This madness has to stop, and if even Darkside, in all its unholy might, cannot put an end to it....then our services are no longer needed here. There comes a time when one can handle only so much before he snaps. My breaking point has been reached. These humans are not worth the effort anymore. If we fail in this final test...then they can crack all the stupid jokes about us that they wish. We will not be around to hear it anymore!

I'm sure there are quite a few people in the back who would love to see Darkside gone from this company. Everyone is entitled to a point of view. From where I stand....Darkside doesn't NEED Innovation Wrestling.

Hmmmm....I wonder.....The question is....does Innovation Wrestling need Darkside??[/b]

(tag to Lionheart)

[Chris Lionheart]

Lionheart comes to the ring with a microphone, not looking too happy about what is going on in his ring at this moment.

Well, this sounds like a great idea... except that it really doesn't. It's the 9th September now, because we had a break last week, after the Collision Course PPV. So that means that the finals of this mini tournament will be fought at the September PPV, and how apt the name of the PPV is for you given the terms that you've just laid down. I:W will present ''Last Shot'' on 30th September, and it sounds like on that date it's all resting on your shoulders, Nightmare. No more excuses, no more talking of ringers and scandals. It will be ''go big or go home'' for DarkSide.

Lionheart points to the backstage area.

Do you know why Angel Fyre won the tournament? He used his head. He saw how dominant Kratos had been earlier in the season, so he made sure to snap him up. He saw that no one had picked The Avenger yet, so he go him too. You could have drafted either of those people from outside the box, but you chose your team. And I have sat and watched your team be dominant. When they want to be. Mostly on AfterDark. When the cameras aren't rolling. When the Collision Course points didn't matter. On occasion I saw your guys pull it out, like that tag match at the PPV where you and Death cleaned Sylas and Sentoryu's clock in the most impressive tag team match I have seen in years. You dominated them! So don't stand and talk about ringers and scandals, when they don't exist.

Lionheart pauses for a moment, and looks over towards Angel.

Something else that doesn't exist is Ashley Milano's I:W contract. She doesn't work here anymore, and I'm not accepting any lawsuits if she breaks a nail and isn't covered by company health insurance. You'll have to work it out with Fyre and see if he could get his old girlfriend Trinity or his new girlfriend Madison to step into Ashley's slot and directly into Angel's line of fire. Welcome back by the way, sweetheart, glad to see you looking better. Why you short-circuited after spending your time in the Amazon division mostly dominating I don't know. But here's what I do know...

Lionheart turns back to Nightmare.

I know how valuable you guys are. Individually and as part of a group. Your merchandise sells like crazy, and your fan base fills a considerable amount of seats. I think it would be your mistake to leave based purely on if a couple of matches don't go your way. Especially because I'm not playing politician backstage and helping them to go your way. Instead I'll let you go out to the ring, and let Fyre's ragtag bunch of misfits go out to the ring, and things will be on the up-and-up. But I present you with a counter offer. Even if DarkSide happens to loose the majority of this series, two of DarkSide's members have to stay, but the other two must be let go, free to return and try to impress the leader again next season.[/color]

[DARKSIDE]

Death motions to Nightmare and the four gather in a huddle. They confer amongst themselves for several moments as the crowd grows into an agitated and anxious mob. They all nod to one another in agreement of some kind of plan, and Nightmare turns toward Lionheart once again....

Say what you will about the sleazy goings-on, human. Can't expect you to always see what's happening right under your nose. I don't even care if you are being reimbursed to stay in your ignorant state. We have been around long enough to sense when something is amiss. Whether you like it or not, Lionheart...this will be resolved in one of two ways. Either we defeat our opponents in a clean and decisive manner to prove their wins have been an extended strings of flukes....or, I:W loses a valuable facet of its tag team division, and you start acquiring a taste for welfare cheese! Of course, we will all put forth our best effort in combat....but there is no guarantee of victory. That is, unless.....well, I won't say it again. I know how you are annoyed by that "R" word.

You bring up an intriguing point. This PPV next month. Would you rather we all bide our time and save the series to be played out then? Truly...Darkside's "last shot"?? It seems rather appropriate to me. And you can even book someone to fill in for Ashley Milano. She can get off easy....but her replacement will not be afforded such a reprieve. You best select the most expendable of your women. She may be left in no shape to compete after Angel has made an unrecognizable mess of her!

So, Lionheart. Are we doing this at the PPV, or what? And what do we do until then?[/b]

[Avenger]

The Avenger walks out to his music as the fans know who this is. The music fades out as the Avenger slowly lifts a mic.

People talk about controversy as it is something that needs explanation. People walk around giving excuses on why they lost except looking in the mirror at their own transgressions. The victory party for one is the pissing party for another. You come out here each and every week and complain about why you lost. The refs are bought. The matches are paid for. Always something negative out of your mouth besides the fact that maybe instead of eating those big macs you should of spent the extra time in the gym. Maybe you should of analyzed the tape more and saw the strengths and weaknesses. But no for you guys it is always us vs the world and to the Avenger that has been something that has always motivated him. It is something that never put excuses in his mouth.

You want to know why Team Fyre won? Well if you didn't know and were in a cave for most of your life then you would realize who is on the mic talking to you right now! It isn't some rookie from the indy scene trying to make an impression to get a contract. You are looking at the guy that now was but is the franchise of I:W! The man with a few others that carried this ship. A man that has done it all in this ring and many others. And tonight if you think that the Avenger is going to just come down here and worry about you or what you think or say then you got another thing coming. The Avenger has faced them all and beat them all. And tonight the Avenger will beat you once again. From the mark of being the best you must have scars. You must go through battles and wars. Not always the winner but you do learn from your past transgressions. So tonight the Avenger accepts the fight with Minion even if Fyre and the others may not. The Avenger will let him talk for what he wants to do but as far as that goes the Avenger is ready!

But you better ask yourself a question and that is if you think that you are gonna walk through what was Team Fyre then you need to look at all the parameters. First of all is the Avenger, the man who is the greatest wrestler to ever come through this company. Next you got Fyre who has been a good wrestler and shown promise to be on the card. A man who has had a few titles. Not to mention two of the young stars of this sport that have dominated the World Class division. And even with Milano gone that does not mean that your lady friend is free from a fight. Again, the Avenger can only speak for him as tonight you are on if Minion can strike up enough courage to get in the ring. But Minion let the Avenger say this and that is don't let peer pressure make you fall because if you get in the ring with me you will definitely fall. And fall hard you will. Because the Avenger comes in to make an example out of you and nothing else. It isn't personal for the Avenger even though it seems personal to Darkside. Tonight the Avenger gets in that ring and awaits. You make up your mind if you want to fight the Avenger?

[DARKSIDE]

Minion steps forward as Avenger lowers his mic...

We do not need courage to face you, Mr. Avenger. Are we not the one who challenged YOU? The need for courage is no burden of ours. Find it within yourself, then come and talk to us!

Why is it that you seem so assured of victory? Your tone does not lack a sense of surety. In life, there are NO absolutes. Not even for you. Do you have magical powers? Obviously, you think you do, but not even the "great" Avenger can formulate truth out of all these lies. You are a member of Team Fyre, and therefore...guilty! You, Kratos, Milano and Fyre. We have been watching, and the seed of doubt that was planted long ago has born its fruit since the night of Collision Course. This is why Nightmare has proposed these matches. To prove a point, and to help others to see through the smoke screens. Even with Darkside gone from this place, others will step forward to take our place and continue this witch hunt until the truth is revealed and the wrongs of the past have been righted!

You see...that is the beauty of all this! By defeating us yet again, it only serves to support our suspicions and bring more credibility to our point of view. Only in losing to us, will you...or anyone of your team mates, truly win this war by proving us wrong!

Come on, Mr. Avenger. Prove us wrong...if you dare!![/b]

Minion simply smiles in Avenger's face as he awaits a reply....

[Avenger]

The Avenger slowly lifts the mic as he had a word to say.

The Avenger won't beat you again to prove that your fantasies of injustice are true. The Avenger will beat you again because you are a weak and pathetic body that has to have some sort of excuse for the failures and transgressions in your life. The Avenger will beat you again because you are not the Avenger and the best this company and the world has ever seen. The Avenger is not the hype you may of read about but he is the man that is standing right here in front of you that you realize is more than the stories but the real thing. The titles and history that the Avenger has accomplished is about hard work and doing things the right way instead of blasting people and trying to think that everyone is against you. You come out and say we lost because of this or that. No you lost because you got your ass handed to you by a better wrestler.

So you want to come out and say ridiculous accusations all you want but at the end of the night it will be the Avenger planting you through that ring for the 1-2-3. The Avenger will and has always taken care of his business. Like the Avenger said he can't speak for Kratos or Fyre but as you have seen Milano is no longer employed. So you can count that as a win unless you are preying on another woman? But what you need to focus on is the Avenger because at the end of the night you will realize just like all the rest that have stepped in that ring with the Avenger. And that is you are a wounded animal and the Avenger is here for the rest. The Avenger is ready to take you to the place you want to go but once you are there you are gonna wish you never opened up your mouth!

Tonight the Avenger takes you to where you think you want to go but the Avenger will leave you where you are destined to go. You want to look at the stars for relief? What you need to realize is there is no relief for you once you step in this ring with the Avenger. So the Avenger is game to what you want to play. The next move is yours Minion but make a wise decision because the next move for you the Avenger is afraid is a fatal one.

[Alexander Kyros]

Before more can be said.. I Can't Wait plays over the speakers. Out walks Alexander Kyros. He has with him a mic in hand. He moves to the ring and speaks as he goes.

"Avenger, do you really believe that Team Fyre wasn't taking something. That they were on the up and up... Really you believe your line of shit. Kratos can fly and he is the biggest pill of slow guy I have seen.

Angel Fyre, can't be a man and live with his choices. So, the match didn't go for 3. He still lost. JUST LIKE when we teamed. He just got counted out on the ring apron. The ego guy wouldn't listen to the voice of reason...

I was only picked for the team for fear that I would do damage against yous..."

He is at the ring and slides in.

"Not one of the members of team Fyre showed me a bit of respect... I am the fucking MVP of I:W....

And the only respect I get is from Darkside. I have danced with quite a few here.. and all they want to say is. Go back to your bingo hall... go get your white boots and be a jobber.... I am no jobber... I am the NEW HORROR... and you will learn to respect me...

[DARKSIDE]

Minion and the rest of Darkside had grown tired of words, and the time had come for some decisive actions to be taken. Whether Minion won or lost tonight, they knew some kind of justification would come of this match....as will come from the rest of the matches in this series.

Nightmare, Death and Angel all leave the ring, casting dirty looks at Avenger as they depart. They cared not about Avenger's history and the stream of self-righteous bullshit gushing from his mouth. All they cared about was the present...and what was going to happen when Avenger faced Minion tonight!