MN: THis is the Hardcore Dragon, man. He's resilient as anything! He's a tank! He'll suck it up and come back fighting!

DM: Yeah, but he'll be walking out of Russian Roulette without his little dragonboy moniker! My main man Eric Davis in da HIZOUSE!

DT: *sigh*

The cheering crowd is heard as Cross steps into his locker room with the tape of last week's Aggression. He pops it into the VCR and presses play.

Cross: Now, let's see if the freak is telling me the truth.

There is a knock on the door.

Damn!

Cross presses pause and turns to face the door. Obviously, now he's really pissed off.

The match isn't up yet. Can't you read the sign?! DO NOT DISTURB!

Voice: Well if you're gonna get all uppity about the interruption, Xandor, I won't ask how your knee is.

The door slowly swing open and Lindsay Troy slides into the room, wearing jeans and an "I Survived the Fury of Matt Haas" T-shirt. She leans back against the wall and lets the door close on its own.

Cross: Lindsay! I'm sorry. I thought it was the producer.

Cross smiles as he sees his friend leaning on the wall.

Make yourself at home...like usual.

Troy holds up her hand and waves him off.

Troy: I'm afraid I'll have to pass. I just came to see how your knee was feeling. You took quite the shot last show.

Cross: I really haven't had it throughly checked. Probably hanging on by a thread. Had Scourge check it out now that he's a physical therapist. He says I should stop and recover. But you know me.

I'm going to kill Dis unless this tape proves otherwise.

Anyway, what do you know about this masked guy? What pocket of hell did he escape from?

Troy: I didn't know Scourge went straight. (She smirks) Well, good for him. I know he and I didn't always see things the same but it's good to know that he's doing well for himself. But as far as Dis goes (She shrugs) I know just about as much as the rest of the roster: nothing. Dan's been tight-lipped about the whole thing and we're about as close as you and I.

Cross: I don't see why this guy would show up and then pick a fight with me. He "says" there are two. This tape will show if he's on the level or if he's signed his death warrant.

If it turns out that there is only one, the shedding of the mask will be the least of his worries.

Troy: (in a Texas drawl, starts fanning herself) Whooo LAWDY. Settle down now boy, you keep gettin fired up and I'm gonna start sweatin. (Grin) Play the tape and let's see what he has to say.

Cross turns his attention to the TV. He presses play on the remote and we are taken back to the events of Dis attacking Cross.

Cross: All I see is one crazy masked man beating the hell out of my knee. He is a dead man!

Cross turns around and watches footage from after the match when he is being helped by Beast to the back.

Wait a second! Lindz, check this out!

Cross pauses the video and it shows another masked figure in the background.

What the hell?

Troy: Looks like the masked little upstart was right after all.

Cross rewinds the tape to the attack. He looks closely at the Dis who attacked him. He then fast forwards to the post match footage and looks closely at this Dis.

Cross: Damn! There are two. If the Dis that attacked me isn't the real Dis, then who the hell has the deathwish?

Cross grows serious and give Lindsay perplexed look.

Troy: Maybe it's Thalia wearing a body-suit. Shades of A1E all over again.

Cross shakes his head.

Cross: No...she doesn't have time for this. She's getting married, you know. It's someone else. Just don't know who. I'm practically new to EPW.

Troy: Whoa whoa whoa...back up a second. Say that again? You and Thalia ... are over?

Cross: Yeah, we called it off after Uncle X died. Just grew too far apart. I wanted to go to Mexico and she said we either worked it out or I could leave, but she would be gone.

I left. She left.

She's made good with her life and her portion of the inheritance Xandor left. Met someone, fell in love, and is getting married. Of course, Raquel told me all of this.

Troy was silent. She looked down at the floor and scuffed the carpet with her shoe.

Troy: Y'know, despite everything that went on between you and I and things that may or may not have been said...I really thought you two would have made it. Even after everything that happened with Uncle X...I thought. (She paused) I don't know what I thought. All I know is that I'm sorry, Xandor. You deserve to be happy in your personal life, as well as in your professional life. I just hope that, one day, you'll get both.

Cross: Thanks, Lindz. I do what I have to do. If the special someone is out there, I'll find her. You never know. She might just find me.

But until then, I deal with what's important...and that is finding who this other Dis is and making his life a living hell.

Troy: (smiling faintly) Now that's the persistent Xandor Cross that I know and thought ill of for half a year. In any event, I do need to be going...I've got a rather surly Canadian to accompany to the ring tonight.

Cross: Yeah, good luck out there. Be careful.

Troy: Aren't I always?

With a smirk and a wave, she exited the room. Cross goes back to watching the tape of the attack. He notices the painful grimace on his face then looks down at his bandaged knee.

Cross: Whoever you are, you have just opened the gates of hell...

...and you've screwed with the wrong reaper.

[Open on a hallway inside the American Airlines Center. EPW reporter KENNY LOMBARDO runs furiously down the hallway, attempting to pull on his navy suit jacket as he goes. Out of nowhere comes a much larger man, TROY DOUGLAS, wearing his tan leather jacket over a t-shirt and jeans. Lombardo runs past Douglas, but Douglas follows after him.]

DOUGLAS: Kenny! KENNY!!! Hold up!

LOMBARDO: What is it, Troy?

DOUGLAS: You checking in with Ryan?

LOMBARDO: Yeah, I’m running really late. Cab hit a ton of traffic on the way to the building. If I don’t get to Ryan’s office in the next five minutes for my assignments, he’s gonna have my ass on a platter.

DOUGLAS: Don’t worry, I won’t hold you up. Just, do me a favor and give him these when you see him.

[Douglas produces a manila envelope from his inside jacket pocket, sealed with glue, and marked with: “FOR THE EYES OF DAN RYAN ONLY” on the front in large, black letters. He hands the envelope to Lombardo, who takes it gingerly.]

LOMBARDO: What, another lawsuit?

DOUGLAS: Not this time, Kenny. Not this time. However, I do think our esteemed owner will be interested with what’s inside. Promise me you’ll deliver this?

LOMBARDO: No problem, Troy.

DOUGLAS: Oh, and Kenny? I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him who the package was from. We don’t want Danny’s judgment to be clouded because his “non-committed” employee is involved.

LOMBARDO: Got it. Good luck tonight, Troy.

[Lombardo hurries off down the hall, envelope tucked under his right arm. The camera stays with Douglas, who walks off in the other direction.]

DOUGLAS: I don’t need luck tonight, Kenny. Everything is already in motion.

[Fade.]

DT: Looks like both Cross and Troy Douglas are on the warpath here tonight. Guys, is this whole Dis thing starting to make you really curious?

DM: Hell yeah, Dave Thomas. I wanna know what's up. I wanna know who's behind those masks.

MN: I haven't heard a peep as to who it could be!

DM: Maybe it isn't anyone else... I asked Bolich at Talent Relations and all he said was, 'Dis is Dis.' But then how do you explain the second Dis?

DT: I have no idea... hey, look over at the stage!

[Cut to the stage - specifically to Empire Girl Tiffany's cage. The girl is pressed up against the far bars, squirming to try to avoid a pair of massive groping hands - they belong to a suit-clad Ivan Dalkichev, standing there leering. Erik Black is egging him on.]

DT: I can't believe this. Big Russian Love wants to get his hands on an Empire Girl.

MN: I'd wanna get my hands on Tiff too!

DM: Hey, that's MY Tiffany-

[CUE UP: "Zero" - Smashing Pumpkins as the crowd EXPLODES into a tumultuous roar. A scowl adorns Dan Ryan's face as he plods slowly out onto the stage, staring dead ahead at Dalkichev... who slowly draws his arms out of the cage.]

RYAN: Miiiiiister Dalkichev. You have five seconds to explain yourself.

[Blinking, Dalkichev stumps over to Ryan's mic...]

DALKICHEV: ...Want to give tiny woman BIG RUSSIAN LOVE!!!

[HUGE mixed reaction.]

RYAN: Hm. I see. You know, I COULD press sexual harassment charges on her behalf against you... but this is entertainment. So you're off the hook.

HOWEVER.

We all know that we hired the Empire Girls as T&A fodder... they're there for the testosterone soaked teenage boys at home to enjoy. And believe me, 'Big Russian Love', if I were a 16-year-old kid and I closed MY eyes and saw a beautiful woman like that in bed with a moose like you, I'd never... EEEEEEEVERRRRRRR... get wood again.

Pack your shit, you're both OUT OF HERE!

[The crowd ROARS a loud approval as Ivan and Erik start in shock, staring at Ryan, then at each other. Ryan points to the curtain with a grin. Finally the Crimson Calling members slink to the back like wounded puppies even as we cut to a commercial for EPW Aggression II for Playstation 2.]