The ballroom set for this conference is filled with reporters, as it has been for the previous two or three.
There are a few notable differences to this on however, with the main one being that it all just seems simpler. In contrast to the grandeur of the luxurious hotel that was chosen for the event, there are no title belts placed on show, and no air of mystery of what might happen or could happen.
One main thing that is definitely different, and seems pretty clear, is that this is a Nightmare production, and Rob Arnold and Chio Reto are going to star. There are no more names plastered on the front of the lavish CXA tables other than theirs. Reporters shuffle through notes and check that cameras are functioning properly before the gig is to start.
With a musical introduction, out onto the stage once again comes Robinson Renard. He acknowledges the applause from the audience, perhaps more than necessary as is his custom, and stands in the middle of the stage with microphone in hand.
“Thank you ladies and gentlemen,” he says with immense gratitude; and even though the adulation is not directed at him he completely fails to care yet again, “Today we have what promises to be another exciting press conference for you. We've had Homer and Reggie Cyde; we’ve had the Reaper and... that character called My-Ron Novaar, and today we turn to the latter two men’s opponents. Two friends who together formed a team that upstaged a number of others during their days in TXI, two men who are not afraid to tell things exactly how they see it.”
Renard pauses in order to clear his throat for the formal introductions.
“Ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you the two representatives of Nightmare. First, the man who will face,” he visibly winces as he says the next name, “My-Ron Novarr... at the CXA Reunion; he is a former TXI and TXW World Champion, he is also the final CWA Champion, ladies and gentlemen please welcome ‘The True Innovator’, Rob Arnold!”
Arnold appears to a loud applause, donning a fairly smart casual attire; a simple black polo shirt and plain black trousers. He shows his trademark smirk and puts a hand up to the public and press to acknowledge their applause. Rob stays standing for the arrival of his friend, Chio Reto.
“And joining Rob Arnold is the man who will go up against David Shand in a Trinity of Iron Match. He is also a former TXI Champion, ladies and gents, I give you Chio Reto!”
Again more applause, including that from Arnold himself. Similar to his predecessor, Chio raises a hand to acknowledge all around him, appearing in clothes even more casual than his friend’s; a Sonic T-Shirt, combat jeans and blue converse sneakers. His hair has notably been dyed blue once again, however, as well as his now-grown-out goatee. He approaches Arnold and the two shake hands, before taking a seat at the table. Before any reporters can get a word in, Arnold leans towards his microphone.
“Oh, in case you guys were wondering, we didn’t bring our titles because we don’t need to show off our egos like My-Ron and David, we know we’re that good regardless!”
This prompts laughter from the gathered audience.
“Now ladies and gents, you all know who we are, we’re not blessed with an abundance of time, so please; both of us are happy to answer questions from the floor, go ahead and fire away.”
“Erm, monsuier Arnold, I do believe it is my job to announce the question and answer session,” complains Renard in a whiny tone.
“You’ve done your bit, Robinson,” Chio informs him sternly, “Now get lost. You don’t want to get on the bad side of Nightmare, I can assure you.”
Renard’s face glows bright red, and he is about to protest further when Rob and Chio motion to get up, and he quickly decides to follow the advice given to him. He grumbles as he exits, having been shown up in front of a ballroom full of reporters for the second time in a row.
Chio and Rob cheekily wave at him, and then Reto leans into the mic.
“Alright folks, let’s get on with this, shall we?”
There’s a scuffle amongst reporters, as they are eager to be the first to get to the microphone and ask the two opponents to the Trinity members who appeared here last time.
“Starting with you Rob, you’ve been away from professional wrestling for some time now, having reportedly settled down with a wife and child,” a particularly nosy reporter grabs the microphone to note, “Now we’re seeing you back in action. Why is that? Not content with life as a husband and father?”
“Assumptions are so easy to make,” Rob answers quite bluntly to begin with, “The reality is when you choose to be a professional wrestler, it stays with you. To use the old cliché, it becomes part of your blood. For me, becoming a father and husband was a bigger achievement than anything I’ve done in wrestling, and that’s saying something!” His joke prompts a few chuckles from the crowd.
“Despite this, you always have a feel for the business. To an extent, I still need the business in my life and I’d like to think it still needs me. I’ve still been training for six months and I’ve had calls, however I’m not at all prepared to uproot my new family to start hopping all around America. I’m sorry if it disappoints some of you ladies and gents, but I’ve grown up.”
“You’ve gone from a businessman to returning wrestler really suddenly,” a different but equally obnoxious reporter asks, “Are you sure this isn’t too much of a leap in a short time?”
“People jump about from career to career all the time. I don’t know why it would suddenly be an issue because I’m a wrestler.”
“Because most careers don’t involve you getting hurt on a daily basis,” quips the reporter who asked the question.
“It’s irrelevant,” Rob retorts, “Anything in life of importance to you stays with you. Again to use a cliché, riding a bike. Just because you haven’t done it in a while doesn’t mean you can’t do it still. Regardless of this, as I mentioned before I’ve been generally training and keeping myself fit, not just for this, but just in general. I’d like to believe I’m just keeping old skills in handy. You see, gentlemen, we’re in a bit of an economic slump, so it’s always good to have a backup just in case one job falls through. I’d love to know how many of you on the floor are as prepared as I am for any income shortage for whatever reason.”
“You sound like a man ready to lose his job.” snipes a reporter, clearly not happy at Rob’s jibe.
“You sound like a man who is banking on keeping his job!” Rob smirks and shakes his head, “No, the reality is I’m a man in management; a lot of the buck stops with me. I’m far more accountable than all of you willing to snipe at me today. If you go too far it’s your editors who will get it in the neck. Yet you will continue to probe and push me - your lack of responsibility is astounding.”
Rob pauses and looks around the room, clearly some unhappy faces look back at him, “However, coming back to the original question, I’m as in the game as I ever have been, there should be no questions over my ability, let me assure you.”
“How do you feel about competing against the man now known as ‘My-Ron Novaar’?” one reporter asks.
“Ah yes, My-Ron. Good lord, each time I use that word I feel like a cyborg. Truth be told, I don’t feel much at all, how can I? I don’t really know Novaar. I know Myron Fox, well, knew him I should say, and I could share a whole host of feelings about him, but My-Ron? Never heard of him.”
The reporter decides to change his tone, “Okay, so how do you feel about facing Myron Fox?”
“Myron Fox is a master of self-promotion, something we have in common. I’d like to feel that generally that’s where the similarities end. Unlike Myron, I have gone out and genuinely achieved things in my life. I stepped out of the CWA and TXA shadows and I became an international superstar, I treaded new ground and then stomped all over it. Myron in the meanwhile turned himself into a vampire, a goth, a vampire-goth, Now he’s a what, fish-dragon? What’s next? Is he going to become a half-horse that loves to be in show choir?” This prompts laughter from the audience.
“Let’s just think about this for a moment, what kind of man looks or acts like that? I’ve only met him, and perhaps that’s why he’s more of a failure. He’s failed to kick on like I ever have, he doesn’t hold a candle to half the guys on the Reunion Show. The only reason Myron Fox ever got anywhere is he always manages to reinvent himself into something a new kind of audience will like, and he therefore sells t-shirts. Problem is with Myron; people get bored of him easily, so he has to get a new audience. He is like the product life cycle of mobile phone, you’re wanting a change after six months, but this one’s contracted to you for another six!” More murmurs of laughter rifles through the crowd.
“So, my feelings are simple, it’s a chance for me to prove him to be the fraud he really is, prove that his self-promotion is based upon lies.”
“And your self-promotion, Rob?”
“Well surely my stats would answer your question, however the performance I put in against Myron will dot any I’s and cross any T’s you so wish.”
“My-Ron’s vignettes have spoke of you as a coward, as you did not respond to him up until very recently,” the same reporter follows up with, “How do you respond to these claims?”
“Well they’re ludicrous,” Rob begins, leaning back in his chair. “He seems to believe I’ve been afraid to answer him, when that’s not really the case. He’s been making up his own assumptions that I’ve been away finding my smile and doing all these little things that would come out of a Myron storybook. The reality is pretty simple: I’ve been working, you know, earning a normal living. I’ve been quite frustrated; I’ve been wanting to talk to you guys sooner and get doing my own material…”
“So why haven’t you then, Rob?” asks a very blunt-sounding reporter, “Surely you could have done it sooner than this?”
“I would love to see you prepare for a Spring design launch, network and organise a number of marketing events, train for a match and then, whilst tending to your family, slip in some day-to-day wrestling activities. Funnily enough there are only twenty-four hours in a day, and I’ve been trying to utilise them all as much as possible,” Rob’s tone isn’t one of an impressed man, especially directing this tone towards the previous reporter, “The reality also is I had it written in to my contract that I’d join up when my work commitments were over. They are now over, so here I am. The funny thing is; despite all other bits of news you guys always seem to pick up on me as soon as it occurs, you didn’t pick up these details very well… did you?”
Rob looks around at a few sheepish faces that realise they may have not brushed up on their homework too well.
“Am I a coward? The creator of the Pyramid of Death, a coward? Rob Arnold, who walked into an Annihilation Complex match and walked back out again with the XHF Title, a coward? You have got to be kidding me. It’s another example of Myron clutching at straws, hoping for people to hear him out and believe his words as gospel.”
“The big question is the match type,” a shorter, bespectacled character with a clipboard states after a pause, “My-Ron has challenged you to a ‘Crucifixion Match’, the first of its kind. What we all want to know is... do you accept that challenge?”
“I’m shocked this wasn’t asked sooner,” Rob smirks and takes a deep breath, “Things have changed; this isn’t 2006 anymore. Time has elapsed and things aren’t so simple. When I signed up to a match with Myron I did give him first refusal of a gimmicked match. Now, his choice of match would never be binding, but then I didn’t think he’d be too keen on choosing anything out of the ordinary. I was wrong, clearly. So I now have a decision to make in accepting this match. On the one hand I could say yes, and give people the match they want. I could also inflict a whole heap of pain upon Myron.” He pauses and places his hands on his head casually.
“I then have the other side of the coin. I have a highly-paid job, a wife, and a child. I need that job to support my family, and it doesn’t take much to realise that if I’m incapacitated and cannot work, I don’t think I’m going to get sick pay based on the fact I’ve been wrestling, do you? So I have to weigh up the risks and rewards. I’ve been doing this for a while, and to be honest the only answer that appears in my head is short, and very simple. Make an example of My-Ron.” Rob emphasises the fact he’s addressed him by his preferred title on this occasion.
“So yes, yes I do accept the challenge, and I will wrestle in this Crucifixion Match. Some would argue I’ve got a lot more to lose than him; some would argue the other way.”
“What about you? Who do you think has most to lose?” asks a formally-dressed female reporter.
“It’s pretty equal I believe. He’s got a lot more fake reputation and this is his inception. I know how much it damaged me to not win the first two P.O.D matches; you take a lot of abuse.” Rob shrugs and smiles. “Then I have a lot to lose as well; if I don’t go into this in the right frame of mind I’m going to get very hurt, so I have to avoid that.”
“At least this time he won’t have a giant pyramid to fall through,” Chio chimed in with, and even Rob gets a laugh from that one.
“Yeah, there’s less chance of big “thuds” this time,” Rob muses with a smile.
“Can we expect anything special from you in this match, Rob?” another reporter questions, “Any surprises you’ve got planned for Novaar?”
Rob laughs and almost waves away the question. “This is Rob Arnold you’re talking to. I am the True Innovator, and I’m called that for a reason. I’ve kept ahead of people by keeping fresh, whilst still doing all the basics well and keeping to my strengths. Rest assured: you will see a number of things that will blow you away, and I’m not just talking about the state of Novaar’s haircut on the night!” Cue some more laughter.
“What you should generally be expecting ladies and gentlemen, is a classic Rob Arnold show. I may not have wrestled in three years, but once I climb in that ring, it will be like nothing has changed.”
“Does your appearance for CXA Reunion mean that Rob Arnold is feeling motivated again?” one reporter asks, “Will we see you taking to the ring regularly once more, after this show is over?”
“Rob Arnold was never unmotivated,” announces Rob, “despite what a lot of people thought or somehow managed to analyse, I’ve always been motivated. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I turned down enough work to justify that comment as well. Anyway, what more motivation did I need? I had My-Ron as an opponent, you may as well put a cake in front of a fat kid and say ‘enjoy’, he won’t hesitate! However, I’m saddened by the fact it could be asked. I’ve never been aware until now that my motivation was in question. Regardless of this though, come CXA Reunion, you will get everything you pay for, a top show from Rob Arnold.”
“And after this?”
This prompts a long pause from Rob.
“Well first and foremost, I’m contracted to my new work, so any decision I make would have to involve that one way or another. I think there are other questions and factors to think about. For starters, as I’ve mentioned earlier, I can’t just uproot my family. The other considerations include if I wand to keep it going, I may hate my time against Myron and want to quit altogether, but we all know it is never likely. I also think my wife would have a bit to say about it!”
He laughs, as does Chio and the rest of the audience.
“The easy answer, no matter how annoying it is, is we’ll see.”
“We’ll see?”
“Yes, we’ll see.” Rob smiles and takes a sip from his water provided for him. “Bottom line is to enjoy each night as it comes first, so that’s where I’ll be starting.”
There is some muttering amongst the reporters, and the consensus seems to be that there are no more questions they can ask Rob about his match; or none that he’ll give a straight answer to anyway.
“Moving onto you, Chio... you’ve never been a guy to main event anything,” one reporter hops in to ask Reto, “How do you think you’ll fare in this, your first major main event?”
Chio clears his throat, and seems to be readying himself for his first answer of the event.
“Well, let’s get the facts straight,” Chio begins his answer, “I’m not new to main events; I had my fair share of them in a certain old company. What I’ve lacked, however, is the marquee role in one of those bigger names, like the Central Wrestling Alliance for example. That’s what bugs me. I coined the name ‘Demi-Legend’ because, as fond as I am of myself, people built me up way too much in the old days. They were calling me a legend before my time, amongst all the hyperbole that was thrown around, but I figured people needed to see the reality: I really hadn’t done anything yet!”
“It was a bit of a self-deprecating nickname, wasn’t it?”
“Well yeah, and I know this is a business of self-promotion; just look at the event we’re at right now. It’s just... I had to nip that in the bud before people thought I was some sort of narcissistic primadonna. I mean, I was one, but I didn’t want them to think that!”
That sparks some laughter amongst the reporters, and from Rob as he sits close by.
“That was when I was younger. I guess that’s what made me different from everybody else – I still talked some bollocks about myself, with that ‘Retography’ crap and whatever else I spouted on the mic – but I knew wrestling fans. They wouldn’t let buzz-words and catchphrases skew their view of a person. More often than not, I told them how it was with me, and I think they appreciated that.”
Chio visibly sighs before continuing, “The sad fact is, I never did do anything in the end. I couldn’t even rightfully call myself a freaking Demi-Legend. I let the business down, and let myself down. It all fell apart when I joined the CWA – I just wasn’t ready for that sort of pace. It was like stepping into New York after spending all your life in some secluded village in the North. I couldn’t handle it.”
Rob seems to be giving Chio a concerned look, having not heard these feelings up to this point.
“So how will I fare, you ask?” Chio continues, “I don’t really know. But I’ve been working hard for this. I think I’m ready for that pace this time. I’ve been preparing mentally and physically, as has been reported, so now we just have to see how I take to it on the night.”
“What kept you out of the game for so long Chio?” an older reporter asks, “Four years is a long time in this business.”
“Oh yeah, it certainly is. I think the last time you saw me in the ring, it was for – funnily enough – David’s group, HKPW. I mean, even back then I wasn’t going at a hundred percent. Everything that had happened to me, inside and out of the biz, had left me a bit out of it to be honest. So I had one match there, and I was gone.”
Chio stops for a moment, almost lost in thought, before going on.
“I spent a long time in my hometown, just trying to forget about pro wrestling. It didn’t work. I had unfinished business, as they say, and try as I might to put my head under a pillow and ignore everything around me, I just couldn’t. I eventually decided that I had to do this one last thing – make this one big statement – and I started training. Two years later, here we are.”
“So after such a short time, you’ve picked on the biggest foe you could find, namely David Shand,” a fresh-faced youth with a small writing pad asks, “What made you choose him as an opponent?”
“Well, he’s David Shand,” Chio tells them with a cocky shrug, “If I’m going to make that aforementioned big statement, it has to be against him. What better example is there of a professional wrestler? What better example is there of a main eventer? I can think of none. David’s the ultimate top guy. He’s worked his arse off to get where he is, and boy does it ever show. If I want to make up for missing the boat so many times in my career - for never getting that shot at the top - what better way to do it than to wrestle him?”
“Chio, at the last conference David said he considered you as a wrestler as, in his words, ‘disappointing’. He also stated that wrestling him would only be a reminder of your many failures. How do you respond to that?”
Chio adopts a smirk, and doesn’t mull his words over for very long.
“You know, typically a guy in my position would defend themselves to the hilt, but I’m not going to do that. I’ve already admitted that my career never went the way I wanted it to, and it’s not due to management or politics or any of those other excuses washed-up wrestlers will give you. It’s all my own fault for not being able to adjust, for not trying hard enough to be the best. Yeah, David’s right. I could have been so much more, but I didn’t work for it. That’s why this whole match is even happening; so I can feel as though for just one night I can be that top guy.”
“However,” Chio is quick to follow up with, “I do not agree with David’s later statement. I believe in my heart that this is what I need. No, it will not make up for an entire career of never being good enough. It won’t match up to having worked up to the top and being in that main event in my heyday. What it will do, however, regardless of what David will tell you, is it will bring me a feeling of closure that I never had. I want to fight David Shand. Once I do that, I can say that I ventured into the dragon’s cave and came out alive – maybe not the same as I was when I entered - but alive. So yeah, this is what I need.”
There is a lot of chatter amongst the reporters, as they discuss what seems to be scepticism about that statement. Chio seems to not give a toss about it, however.
“It’s always been considered that facing David Shand is a hard enough challenge on face value,” another reporter chimes in after a moment, “Is facing him in a Trinity of Iron match a bridge too far?”
“Oh, absolutely. It’s insane.”
A little more laughter pipes up, but it’s more subdued this time.
“I mean, I was quite happy to just face David at all – it’s something I’ve never done, and would’ve been a great cap on my career,” Chio continues, “But no, I had to go and agree to a match that’s only taken place twice before and left the participants changed forever, for the worse. This is pretty much the ultimate challenge. There are no excuses in Trinity of Iron. You go in there, and for ninety gruelling minutes you suffer. It scares the hell out of me and I’ve only just seen what it’s like. On top of that, there’s David Shand. So yeah. Not easy.”
“David Shand hasn’t wrestled for a few years, but at his press conference he proved himself to be in excellent shape,” says another, “Do you think he has a disadvantage, though, in that you have been training over that time?”
“I’m sorry; did you just accuse David Shand of having a disadvantage in anything? I mean, are we talking about the same Shand here?”
“I was asking for your opinion on the matter, Chio...”
“Yeah yeah yeah, of course you were,” Chio interrupts, “Not trying to force any words into my mouth at all, right? Listen, I know what you’re trying to say, but when it comes to David, he always strives to be the best at every single venture he enters into. Just because he’s been retired, it doesn’t mean he’s lost a single step. The business is ingrained in that man’s mind, I know it. Why do you even think he’s come out of retirement at all? There’s no shaking it, just like with me. When he steps into that ring, it’ll be as though he never left it. Trust me on that.”
“To be fair, Chio,” the same one adds, “Shand did note that you asked for this match, and thus asked him to come out of retirement...”
“True, but he agreed to it, didn’t he? He obviously misses it; otherwise he’d have turned me down. But I can tell that David is still all about professional wrestling. I wouldn’t have it any other way, because I need him to be the David Shand that dominated this sport if I’m going to prove myself.”
“There have been plenty of rumours about your personal life right now Chio,” a long-skirted, middle aged female reporter brings up, “Will this or anything else affect your performance and mindset going into this match?”
“Yeah, rumours sure do spread like wildfire, especially when it comes to the private goings-on of people in the public eye,” he says with a light chuckle, “I’ll admit it; I’ve got issues that need taking care of. But I’ll deal with them, one way or another, before the show. It’s a top priority - up there with keeping my body in shape - in fact I’ll be treating it like training. I’ll have it out of the way in time, I guarantee you.”
“But should you have really asked for a match of this calibre with said issues in tow?”
“Why not? I may be a dude, but I can multitask. Now is the only time this can happen – this CXA show is a one-time gig – so I’ve got to take it, regardless of what’s going on with me. Just look at David – he’s still going into this despite the well-documented problem with his brother Matthew. Do you think that’ll get in the way of his readiness? Somehow, I doubt that. When we’re in that ring, our focus will be on the match itself.”
“Do you really feel that way?” a small, podgy reporter asks, “The last press conference ended with a heated face-off between Shand and Novaar regarding the issue of Matthew.”
“Again, you people underestimate Shand,” Chio insists, starting to become visibly annoyed, “It won’t be a problem when the show takes place.”
“Hey Chris, I hate to butt in,” Rob leans into his microphone to interject, “But you’re being awfully complimentary of a fellow who trashed you at his conference. Seriously, are you his PR man now or something?”
That evokes a laugh from the audience again, and even Chio can’t help but smile.
“You’re right, I have been quite quick to sing the praises of the Soul Reaper,” Chio replies, “But isn’t that the smart thing to do? I mean, the whole purpose of this match, as I’ve beaten to the ground at this point, is for me to prove myself. To the people in the audience, and to me. If I come out here and accuse David Shand of being a bag of shit, how would that make me look when I beat him?”
This garners a loud murmuring from the reporters, and a wide-eyed look from Rob.
“Chio, for somebody who’s been vocally unsure as to how they’ll perform in the match,” a reporter leaps to the mic to state, “It certainly is bold to say you’re going to beat David Shand all of a sudden.”
Chio looks lost for a moment, surprised he even said so himself. He seems to be reassuring himself under his breath however.
“You know what, let’s go ahead and put that on record, shall we? ‘Chio Reto says that he will beat David Shand’,” he declares after a few moments of pondering, “I’ll be ready on the night, just like David, but I will win. And why...?”
He leans into the mic and an all-too-familiar grin slithers onto his face.
“Because I can.”
This causes a remarkable amount of commotion, and Chio simply sits back to take it all in. Rob is shaking his head in amusement.
“What happens to Chio after Reunion?” Another reporter asks when the commotion dies down, “Will it be another age before we see him again or is this the rebirth of something?”
“That remains to be seen,” Chio leans forward to reply, “Right now, I’m treating this match as my last hurrah, but who knows? This might light a fire in me, you know?”
“Chio, looking across the table,” A new reporter begins, “How do you think Rob Arnold, your friend, will fare against My-Ron Novarr at Reunion?”
“Oh, Rob’s going to come out on top,” Chio replies with no hesitation, “Rob is just that good. Now My-Ron is an excellent performer, absolutely, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen him anywhere near a ring. And unlike David, or even my buddy Rob here, I don’t believe the business flows through his veins. Now maybe some ancient merman blood and herbs flow through them, but pro wrestling? Not really.”
Rob can be seen nodding in approval, and claps his hands with a chuckle.
“It’s like, I look at My-Ron and I don’t see a man who wants to go out there and be the best, but a man who’s more interested in tarting himself up in a fancy costume and showing off to the world. I don’t care how many epithets he gives himself, he can’t measure up to Rob Arnold as a wrestler. So My-Ron can make claims to being the descendant of a lost race and just generally baffle us all with gobbledygook, but it won’t help him when this man,” he motions to Rob, “This professional wrestler... dominates him at the show. That’s just how I see it.”
“And Rob? How do you feel Chio will do against David Shand?”
Rob leans back in his seat, expecting this question to come after listening to Chio’s answer. He smiles brightly and shrugs.
“I have every belief that he’ll win, and why wouldn’t I? I’ve known this man for close to ten years now, and he has every single attribute required to beat Shand. Sure, people will label him the underdog for this fight, but I don’t think he is in the slightest. What Shand has in power, Chio has in speed. After that, I don’t believe you can separate each man. Like me he will have distractions, and we have agreed we’ll be helping each other in staying focused for our matches, as we are a team, and that’s what teams do in times like these. I slightly digress however; the point is that should he keep his head level, he will more than challenge David Shand.”
Rob looks over at Chio and both give an approving nod to each other.
“Right folks,” Chio begins, “That’s all we have time for I’m afrai...”
Chio does not get the opportunity to even finish that word. All of the lights in the ballroom go out at once, bathing it and the people inside in utter darkness. Panic spreads throughout quickly; gasps and screams of concern billowing around like smoke in the black abyss that surrounds everyone.
It’s not just the fact that it’s suddenly dark for no explained reason – it’s the complete absence of any light. On top of that, a feeling. A powerful, otherworldly feeling of terror that envelops each and every individual in the room.
And that includes the men on the stage, Rob Arnold and Chio Reto.
After less than a minute, though it felt much longer to those who experienced it, the darkness gives way to the returning light.
“My... my apologies, mon amies,” Robinson Renard announces over his microphone, having returned to the room in an attempt to settle the unease, “There was a brief power outage. We’re looking into the cause right now...”
As he rambles on in his worry-stricken voice, Rob and Chio don’t hear a word. They’re staring at one another, concern written into their visages.
“What was that?” Rob asked.
“I think you know exactly what it was,” Chio replies with a grimace.
“You’re right,” Rob admits, sitting back, “I was just hoping it was my imagination.”
Chio shakes his head, “No way. I could feel it. I could hear it.”
“I wonder what it means...” Rob ponders aloud, looking out over the reporters, all of them still overcome with horror and not even understanding why.
“I think I know,” Chio announces while rising to his feet in sudden realisation, “And I should have seen this coming.”
Rob turns to him in confusion, as Chio takes a deep breath.
“He was calling me,” Chio gravely states, “And I’ve no choice but to answer him.”
Subject: Responding in Kind 
Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:04 pm
