"DeSean, can we get an interview?"

"Shut up," he said, brushing off the small crew that followed him as he walked towards the exit of the TCW Arena, bag slung over his shoulder.

"DeSean, we just want to hear your thoughts on what happened after your match. How are you going to respond?"

DeSean stopped before the door. He turned around slowly, before pointing to a set of stitches on his head.

"Well, you tell me how you'd feel if someone did this to you? How would you respond?"

...

"Well? I honestly want an answer. You don't look completely dumb."

The interviewer sighed. "I'd probably be very angry?" she said. "I'm asking you-"

"That's an understatement," DeSean said. "What Izumi did to me tonight was an insult to me, an insult to TCW, and an insult to the fans. Me and Izumi never got along, but I never thought she'd dare pull such an outright disgusting act. She's a hypocrite, and my plan is to pay her back in spades. I already know we have a one on one at Havoc, and only one of us is walking out. That's me. She'll be the bloody mess. I don't care if she's a woman, I'll kill her in the middle of the ring if I have to in order to prove my point: Nobody fucks with DeSean Blackwell and gets away with it."

"And what about the crowning of a new TCW Heavyweight Champion?"

"I honestly have mixed feelings on this. TCW loses no matter what, but I'll take the lesser of the evils. Daniels winning would have been the final nail in the coffin for tihs company. As it stands, Darkness is again the champ. I make it no secret what my opinion of him is. After I beat Izumi I'm going to win the Majestic Cup. If he's in it, great, I can win the title right away. If not, I can pick my spot and wait for the right moment to use my free match of my choosing. Izumi was right about one thing: Darkness isn't the savior of TCW. I am. Now is the time for me to take my place on top. There's your interview, now fuck off."

"Wait, DeSean-"

He pushed the door open and let it shut on them, hoping they'd take the hint.

"Goddamn interview people. They really think I'm in the mood for questions."

"I'd say they're just doing their job, but yeah, they can be like that..."

DeSean turned to the side, seeing a young, pale man in a hooded sweatshirt.

"And who the hell are you?"

"Just call me Adam."

"You better not be one of those creepy people Darkness hangs out. Wow, you look pale as fuck," he said.

"Well, you can rest assured I certainly don't hang out with Darkness," Adam said. "I know all about Izumi, however."

"What are you, president of her fan clun or something? I'm not making any deals or alliances with strange men I don't know. I'm no idiot."

"I know you don't trust me..." Adam said, flipping back his hood as he started to walk towards DeSean. He looked up towards the mood briefly before his cold eyes locked on Adam. "This isn't me trying to tell you what to do or to forge an alliance with me. It's just information."

"Okay, shoot."

"You know that match you have with Izumi? I want her to lose, too."

"Oh now?" DeSean smirked. "You're speaking my language at least. Why?"

"Because she's getting a big head. It's dangerous for her and the people around her. You know all that weird shit that happens backstage? She's involved in it too. I could take the time to explain it but you wouldn't believe me or give a damn anyway, so I'll just cut to the chase. I want Izumi to lose, and I'm going to tell you how to beat her."

"You better be right whatever it is," DeSean said, the threat obvious in his tone.

"She hates it when you treat her like a child," Adam says. "Problem is, though she's grown a lot lately, she's still young. I have no doubts as to her intelligence but her maturity? Well...Basically what you need to do is no-sell her. Brush her off. Be as condescending as possible. It fucks with her self esteem like nothing else. Don't let her get to you for one second. If you start cutting angry promos on her and treating her like she's at your level, she's going to feed off of it. Go all out. Play mind games with her. Hurt her if you must."

"And that's all it takes? Just treat her like a kid and she'll throw a tantrum? Maybe she is just a kid." DeSean said. It sounded simple. What was the catch?

"It honestly pains me to do this to her. But she needs to be taken down a peg, and soon."

"I don't care either way. Whatever gets me the W I'm happy."

"And don't worry, I expect nothing in return out of you except her losing this match." Adam nodded, and started to walk away...

---------

"Oh, that felt amazing..."

Izumi laid over her bed, holding the Aftershock belt over herself, staring at it with the biggest grin on her face. The way she was looking at it was almost as if she'd won the lottery.

The decision to go 'heel' in front of the crowd wasn't easily made, but she ultimately decided it was for the greater good. Her interests and the interests of the audience were quite opposite, unfortunately.

And she wasn't going to take any shit. DeSean had this coming for a long time, she felt.

But there was something of a rush that she hadn't expected...for just a few, brief minutes, she had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand. They were reacting to her more than they ever had when she had been nice, when she had been that plucky young underdog.

She felt she'd grown out of that stage a long time ago.

This was the first step she felt she needed to take.

Mr. Cain's death had changed things more than she imagined...