<center>David Hardy vs Drako</center>

The warning was sent, Drako's mission was done. At least, part one.

"Don't get too comfy: YOU'RE NEXT!" He thought as he walked down the street without much care in the world. He did his usual entrance into one of the hotels: Kicking the door down and walking in without too much care. Hotel security tried to stop him but they didn't succeed as Drako floored them with the lead pipe. He then entered David Hardy's room, and found that he was waking upon Drako's entrance.

"With you, it'll be far more then just a warning." Drako's words alarmed a half-asleep David Hardy. Out of instinct, he grabbed a steel folding chair. David Hardy ran at Drako attempting to attack Drako with the chair, but it backfires as Drako drops down and sweeps David Hardy with the lead pipe, spinning him onto and through a nearby table.

"I'll do that and WORSE if you try the stunt you pulled at the Majestic Cup!"

David Hardy rose quickly, and finally began to realize who his attacker was.

"Who is it again?" David Hardy said.

Drako: "Drako. My warning still stands."

David Hardy blew it off as a bluff.

Drako: "Well since you're so eager!"

David Hardy rushed Drako with the chair, this time actually hitting him, bringing him down to one knee. David Hardy smirked, but Drako smashed the lead pipe into David Hardys gut, knocking him out of air. Drako then attempted to finish the job but missed and was brought down with a chair shot to the waist, making the monster double over. David Hardy brought Drako up, but when going for a chair shot, Drako gripped his throat, and chokeslammed him onto a monitor. Drako left saying:

"I'll do that...

AND MORE!!!"

Drako left, slamming the door on his way out. David Hardy quickly got up, but Drako had already left.

David Hardy: "Something has got to be done about him."

David Hardy swept the last remaining pieces of junk into the pile in the corner. A trashed hotel room was something he was used to by now, but at least he had the decency to contain the mess. His right hand pressed a phone to his ear while his left hand grabbed a nearby pillow. He placed it on the pile of destroyed hotel furniture and sat down on it with a sigh.

"So there you have it," Hardy said, "apparently a near carbon copy of what he did to your room a few weeks ago."

Valerie Stern was on the opposite end of the line, only a matter of feet away in the next hotel suite. It would have been just as easy to speak face to face, though they agreed it would be best not to be seen together unless it was at the arena in a meeting. Rumors of their mysterious partnership had been running rampant online and they didn't need to intensify them.

"What makes me wonder is how he knew what room you were in," she replied, "that's information that only I and the head agents in TCW have. I can't help but wonder if one of my team is giving away privileged information."

Hardy responded, "I'm not entirely surprised. I've learned in my years with the company that if an opponent wants to hurt you bad enough, he'll track you down somehow. What worries me is that although he might not have known it, he was very close to you again. I don't want to seem him assault you again."

"That's not something for you to worry about," she said matter-of-factly, "I have plenty of security to watch over me if need be."

Hardy scoffed, "Yeah, and they showed how useful they are when Drako assaulted you the first time, then busted in again. I think... maybe you should relocate and not let anybody know about it. That way nobody will know or be able to tell that assclown where you are."

Stern seemed mildly concerned, "You really think it's that big a deal?"

Hardy let out a long breath, "Look, we've only been... colleagues... for a short time, but you know that I usually don't worry about things so much. But I'm damn worried about what that guy can do to you. He obviously has no regard for anything and doesn't look like he'll stop smashing through any door in sight anytime soon."

"I guess you're right," she sighed, "I'll look into it, but anyone will be able to trace the company card I charge the room to and-"

"Look under your door..." Hardy said, cutting her off.

Stern looked towards her doorway to see an envelope slide under it.

"That should be enough to get you something decent," he said.

Stern stared at the envelope for a few moments before crossing her arms.

"You seem to forget who I am, Hardy," she said as if her armor was suddenly back on, "I can handle myself just fine and frankly I don't care for this damsel in distress label you've apparently given me."

Hardy walked back to his own hotel room, a bit surprised by the sudden mood change by Stern. He struggled for words for a few moments as he stepped out onto his hotel suite balcony. He thought about how strange it was for there to be so many close encounters in a city so large, and how a big oaf like Drako could track him down.

"Look, I'm sorry," Hardy sighed, "I just don't want to chance anything bad to happen to you. I've seen too many terrible things happen to people I... work with... I mean, for... and I just don't want to see it again."

Stern responded emotionlessly, "Well, what happens to me is none of your business. Is there anything else you need to say?"

Hardy winced slightly as he examined his surroundings. It was about that time he noticed Stern out on her own balcony, though looking in the opposite direction. A cross look grew on Hardy's face as he stared toward her.

"Yeah..." Hardy said with a suddenly sinister, confident voice, "I'm going to take care of this..."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" she asked.

Hardy leaned over the ledge of his balcony towards her, "The only way I know how... don't expect to hear from Drako for a while..."

Stern raised an eyebrow, "You better not be planning on doing any-"

"Take care, I'll talk to you soon," he said suddenly hanging up.

Stern suddenly turned around just in time to see Hardy step off of his balcony. She tried to call him back but got no response. A moment later he could hear his front door, or what's left of it, slam shut. She suddenly hurried towards the door, trying to catch him. She didn't want Hardy to go after Drako, though for what reason was a mystery. Hardy stepped into the door and put his phone to his face again.

"Yeah, S-Mart HQ?" he asked, "Yeah, that's right, it's Dave. Look I need you to track somebody down for me..."

Stern stepped out into the hallway and stomped towards Hardy. He gave her a slight wave as the elevator door shut and began going down the floors. Stern clenched her fist and smacked the wall. She stood in the hallway, completely lost in her thoughts for over a minute.

"God dammit..." she muttered as she turned and sauntered back to her suite.


*****************


Later that evening


Drako opened his hotel room door and let out a long breath. He had just spent the last several hours at a nearby gym pumping iron and destroying several punching bags. It wasn't so much a training session to keep in shape, but to let off some pent up aggression from earlier that day and last night. He had been going so hard that he didn't even noticed he had been at the gym for a good four hours. Now he was exhausted and needed some rest. Though little did he know that he wasn't going to get it. He yawned slightly as he headed towards the bathroom in the dark room.

"Hey buddy!"

Drako shook suddenly, surprised by the noise. He turned towards it but saw nothing. The voice sounded almost like David Hardy, though higher pitched and a bit goofier. He took a few steps forward and looked towards the table against the wall. The light from the moon shone slightly into the room, revealing something small sitting on the table. As he took a few more steps towards it, the thing spoke again.

"You wanna go?"

Drako growled and snatched it off the table. It was soft and fuzzy, like a stuffed toy. He held it up to the window and examined it in the moonlight. It looked like a banana with a face on it, with arms and legs.

"What the fuck..." he snarled to himself.

He stared at the toy, wondering where it came from and why it was here. He squeezed it again before tossing it towards the kitchen. He turned around and gasped as he was now face to face with a person in his room. He couldn't see who it was; he only saw a featureless white mask.

"You picked the wrong people to fuck with..."

Drako knew that voice, it was Hardy! He yelled and stepped forward but he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck. Drako was instantly stunned but stepped forward. Hardy let out a soft laugh before stepping backwards into the darkness. Drako then dropped to one knee and his vision got fuzzy.

"See you when you wake up, bitch..." Hardy said with attitude in his voice, "actually... no... I won't."

Drako winced, "You little piece of..."

His body slowly tipped forward onto the ground with a loud thud. Drako couldn't even finish his last word as he slipped behind the wall of sleep.


*************

Drako heard the sound of crashing waves as he slowly regained consciousness. His body felt cold, wet and sore as hell as he opened his eyes. He could see the moon and stars up above. He groaned at his killer headache and lifted an arm to his head. It took a few moments for the pain to register, but the sudden throbbing in his arm got his attention in a big way. He squirmed and then his whole body seemed to rock back and forth and some water splashed on him. He quickly sat up and another surge of pain jolted through his body. He looked around himself to see nothing but water in all directions.

He was stranded on a tiny boat out in the Caribbean Sea.

"Fucking hell..." Drako muttered to himself.

He was about to slam his fist into an open palm when he realized something: he was bleeding. Not just in one place, but all over his body he was covered in small, but deep cuts. They were hardly threatening cuts, but conveniently placed over frequently used muscles. Each time he moved his arms, a little squirt of blood seemed to leak out of each one. He didn't really get why this was done to him but he felt it every time he moved.

"I'm going to kill that little shit..." he growled to himself.

He did a 360 rotation of his surroundings, seeing not much more than the shark infested Caribbean waters north of Venezuela. In the distance, though, he saw the sky was a bit brighter than the rest. That must be the mainland, he thought to himself. With another wince, he felt around the single person boat that he almost outsized. It was completely empty other than his large frame; trapped without a paddle. He cursed to himself as he stuck his hand into the water and pushed through the water rotating the boat until it was facing the bright spot in the distance.

He suddenly screamed, "YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!!!"

He let out another painful yell as he repositioned his body into a more comfortable and stable position. His whole body throbbed with pain. He was seemingly learning the hard way just how crazy Hardy could get when he's out to get someone. Drako, though, wasn't going to let Hardy get away with it. If and when he got back to the mainland, he wasn't going to stop until Hardy felt this pain. With another groan, he stuck both of his hands into the cold water and pushed through it, moving the boat forward ever so slightly. Each movement was more painful than the last, and with the pain grew Drako's rage. He continued to push forward, not noticing how much blood he was leaking into the water around him...

The next day...

Poliedro de Caracas

Drako lurched his way through the bowels of the arena where Friction had been held just days earlier. He had received a message earlier that day that he was to attend a meeting in the arena in Valerie Stern's office. He was weary about going to see her after the incidents of the previous day. He wasn't concerned with what she had to say to him, but moreso the fact that this all smelled like a set up conjured by David Hardy. Every few steps he took his eyes scanned the area, expecting Hardy to attack him, but nothing happened.

He smirked. Perhaps Hardy learned his lesson.

Deep down inside, though, he wanted the little punk to pull some shit again. It would give Drako the opportunity to, once and for all, put the little bastard down for good. He could still feel the pain from the cuts Hardy may or may not have given him, but they were starting to heal over. They were not going to stop him now.

Finally, he turned the corner and could see Stern's office/skybox down the hall. As he approached, though, he could see two men leave the office and start heading towards him. Drako stopped for a moment and scanned the immediate area. Much to his disappointment, there were no increasingly convenient lead pipes in the vicinity. No matter, he though, he could handle this with his bare hands. He began stomping towards them without a second thought until he could make out who it was.

It was road agent Adam Wilson. He stood, waiting for Drako with a piece of paper in his hand, with his other arm tied up in a sling. Wilson had an upset look on his face, far from the norm for the usually cool-headed man. He stepped towards Drako.

"How are you feeling, old man?" Drako laughed, "you want more of the same, I presume?"

"Cut the crap, Drako," Wilson said, impatiently, "if you knew what good for you, you'd shut up and hear what I have to tell you."

Drako scowled at Wilson and stepped towards him, "And are you going to shut me up?"

"No," Wilson said, shaking his head, "but if we have to, Midnight here would be more than willing to..."

Drako looked to Wilson's left to see a large black man staring at him. Drako stepped to the man, Russell Simmons, head of security, and glared into his eyes. Simmons, though, held his ground, not intimidated in the slighted by the large superstar. Drako didn't notice the high powered taser attached to Simmons belt if things got too out of hand.

"I suggest you listen to Mr. Wilson," Simmons said.

"Drako, you're in a world of shit right now," Wilson said, "I suggest we go into that room and talk things over."

Drako smirked madly. He wasn't afraid of either man or what they had to say, but he decided to humor them anyway.

"You're the boss... ‘s bitch," Drako laughed, "so do what you gotta do..."

Wilson nodded and headed towards a room a few doors down from Stern's office. Simmons nodded to Drako, goading him to follow the agent. Drako shrugged and followed Wilson into the room, with Simmons shortly behind. In the room were simply a table and a few chairs. Drako invited himself to sit down and did just so, with Wilson sitting across from him. Simmons preferred to stand. Wilson unfolded the piece of paper and began reading it.

"I got this from Miss Stern, and needless to say she's not too pleased with your actions," Wilson said.

"Oh no, say it ain't so..." Drako said sarcastically.

"Drop the sarcasm shit, Drako," Wilson said, raising his voice, "you're damn lucky that neither Miss Stern nor David Hardy are pressing charges on you for what you did..."

Drako smirked and looked to the ceiling innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit, Drako," Wilson shot at him, "we've got at least a dozen witnesses and camera footage showing you attacking them and tossing them out a window. You should be in jail right now at the very least..."

Drako rolled his eyes, "no, not jail... So what's stopping you from sending me to the slammer?"

Wilson glared at him, "Miss Stern doesn't do things like that. She has other plans for you, though my opinions may differ."

"Whatever," Drako sighed, "what does she want?"

"First of all, you're being fined $100,000 dollars for breaking company conduct policy on multiple times," Wilson stated.

Drako quickly sat up straight, an enraged look coming over his face, "that's bullshit! What conduct policy!?"

"For one, you attacked the federation commissioner on multiple occasions!" Wilson shouted, "You're lucky you haven't been fined, fired and jailed altogether for those stunts!"

"Well, you and I both know that the bitch deserves anything that happens to her," Drako shot back at him, "and she tends to bring this shit on herself."

"Don't push it..." Simmons said.

"Whatever..." Drako growled, "Don't you think 100 grand is a bit much?"

"My opinion doesn't matter," Wilson said, "If you have issues with it, take it up with Miss Stern, if security allows you to get that close."

"Believe me, I will," Drako said, shaking his head, "Are we finished yet?"

"If you so much as touch Miss Stern again, you will be fined again and suspended indefinitely." Wilson leaned in, "And if it does happen again, expect some retribution in the most physically painful way possible, so don't push it."

Drako glared back at him, "your threats don't scare me, old man. I do what I want, when I want..."

Wilson nodded, "very well, but don't say you haven't been warned..."

"Well lucky for you, my problem at the moment isn't entirely with her at the moment," Drako snarled, "I've got a little wannabe champion punk to take care of."

Wilson shook his head, "If you're referring to David Hardy, you can forget about it. Miss Stern has made it so that the same rules apply to him that do to her. They're both off limits..."

Drako scoffed and sat back, crossing his arms, "Big surprise... what the hell is the deal with those two anyway?"

Wilson raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Drako scowled, "It seems anytime you find one of them, the other is nearby. They seem to have each other's back. It's obvious that something is going on."

Wilson looked over to Simmons, who shrugged at him. Neither of them had noticed, nor heard anything about the commissioner and aftershock champion being together anytime other than usual backstage meetings around showtime. It didn't seem to make much sense either, as Stern usually wants nothing to do with the wrestlers personally. Wilson couldn't help but wonder if Drako was making it up, though the big man seemed much too slow to think of something like that, or if there was some truth to it and there was something going on behind the scenes. Wilson looked back at Drako.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but that's pretty much all I have to say to you for now..." Wilson said as he stood up.

Wilson walked towards the door and nodded to Simmons before turning back to Drako.

"You have a week to pay your fine," Wilson said, "I wouldn't screw up again if I were you... Let's go."

Wilson and Simmons both turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. Drako sat silently with his thoughts for a few moments before quickly grabbing onto the table. With a sudden jolt of strength and a yell, he lifted up the table and threw it at the wall, shattering it into pieces. He then stood up and grabbed his chair, smashing it into another chair repeatedly until they were both scrap wood and metal. He then grabbed the last chair and tossed it at the door with extreme force, denting the door and shattering the chair.

With another angry yell he stopped towards the door and yanked it open, pulling it off one of its hinges. He stopped out into the hallway and towards Stern's office when someone caught his eye.

It was him again. That little bitch...

"Hey Wank-o..." said David Hardy, a huge smirk plastered on his face.

Drako stopped in his tracks and glared at Hardy, who was leaning against the wall just outside of Stern's office. His hands were bandaged behind his crossed arms, but his smugness was unharmed.

"I just heard from Val what Adam told you," Hardy laughed softly, "looks like you've got yourself into quite the predicament..."

"Don't think I won't kill you where you stand..." Drako growled.

"I KNOW you won't, my Godzillian friend," Hardy chuckled, "because I have immunity and you can't hurt me..."

"Don't be so sure of that..." Drako said.

Hardy flashed a punch-worthy smile as he pushed himself off the wall and strutted towards Drako.

Hardy spoke in a playful voice, "you can make all the threats you want, but the bottom line is: you can't touch me." Hardy began to walk around his large nemesis "You can't touch me... you can't touch me... I know you wanna, but you can't touch me..."

Hardy stopped in front of him and grinned.

"Don't push me, kid..." Drako raised his voice.

"Or what? Or what!?" Hardy laughed, "Are you gonna hit me? Because I'm sure the woman in that office behind me would love you do a thing like that. And I bet you would love to suffer the consequences, wouldn't you? Isn't that right, Baby Huey?"

Hardy raised his hand and pressed it against Drako's chest. With a soft laugh, he pushed Drako back a foot or two. He then held his hands open at his sides, almost beckoning the larger man.

"So what are you gonna do, bitch?"

He didn't respond just yet, simply thinking:

"Hmm... Why? Why would Stern want to protect him?"

David Hardy: "Come on!" He said with the most arrogant face Drako had seen in a long time, perhaps ever.

"Hmm... Oh, decisions, decisions." Drako said, almost shocking Hardy.

"You think that's gonna get you anywhere?" Hardy said.

"Hmph. So you wanna push it? Fine. I'll see you soon. VERY... Soon." Drako said. He then walked toward Stern's office, but security stopped him.

"You are not allowed to visit Stern at this time." Security said.

"Hmm... Did he say anything about touching you clowns?... NO!"

With that, he punched them against the wall and chokeslammed them and entered the room.

Stern: "Leave now."

Drako: "Just one question..."

Stern: "Just leave."

David Hardy comes in, hoping to see a brawl.

Drako: "WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING..."

He points to Hardy then says:

"HIM?!?!?"

Simmons comes in and removes him from the area.

"Don't push it." Simmons said.

"Fine. Right now I have something to attend to." Drako said, but Adam Wilson comes and says:

"You do know that you're not laying a hand on them, correct?"

"It's always about me. Me me ME." Drako said, with a confused look coming from the two security personnel. They think Drako might have something planned, so they notify Stern.

"Will anybody do anything for him?" Stern said.

Adam Wilson: "I dunno."

Stern starts looking for a stablemate or a friend of Drako when both pop up.

Meanwhile...

***

Drako's direct line cell phone allows him to contact Ivan without failure, and no one knows it's how they contact one another.

"Hello Ivan."

Ivan: "Hello, Drako."

Drako: "Listen, I've got a bit of a problem here."

Ivan: "A man of your ability and size should easily be able to deal with it yourself."

Drako: "Well, the stupid fools fined me and threatened indefinite suspension if I do deal with it myself."

Ivan: "Who are the targets?"

Drako: "David Hardy and Commissioner Stern."

Ivan: "What makes you think they'll let me lay a hand on them once they find out that we're stablemates and partners?"

Drako: "Because you can avoid it."

With that, Drako hung up.

Meanwhile...

***

Stern: "His only known partner, friend or stablemate. Ivan."

Almost as if on cue, Ivan appears out of nowhere.

Stern: "Ivan, your--"

Ivan blasted the two security personnel with lightning bolts.

Stern: "--alliance with Drako will be harmful to your career and resume."

Ivan: "I care... Almost as much as he does."

With that, Ivan bent and twisted Sterns sense of reality with his demonic capabilitys, while David Hardy, attempting to come to the rescue, ran into an incorporeal Ivan...

Adam Wilson growled in frustration as the commissioner remained unable to be found.

"I have a big feeling Drako had something to do with this." Adam Wilson said to some other TCW employees.

All of a sudden, they heard maniacal laughter coming from someone inside the room, yet the voice was unlike anyone's currently in the room. The mysterious person then said:

"I have a feeling you're right."

His laughter continued, and Adam Wilson yelled:

"Where are you?! What do you know about the partnership between Ivan and Drako?!"

The mysterious figure then said:

"Ah, you mean me and Drako."

And his laughter continued, and raised in volume. Adam Wilson shouted:

"Ivan! REVEAL YOURSELF!"

Ivan: "Why?"

His laughter continued to raise in volume.

Ivan: "So I noticed you're looking for the commissioner."

Adam Wilson: "Yes, we are. What do you know about it?!"

Ivan: "I can assure you, you will NOT be seeing her for a while."

Adam Wilson: "Why is that? And how do you intend to keep her hidden?!"

Ivan: "You won't know that until it I need you to."

Adam Wilson: "Why you little--"

Ivan cut him off, saying:

"And I can also assure you that arguing will shorten your precious commissioner's chance of survival."

Adam Wilson: "Don't expect to get away with this!"

Ivan: "Ah... The ultimate response from someone in high places when they are utterly smashed. This is going perfect. I'll also be taking David Hardy with me."

Adam Wilson: "Uh, NO, you will not."

Drako comes out of nowhere and brings down everybody but Adam Wilson, who he fights with.

Drako: "Go! Now!"

Ivan: "Way ahead of you."

Ivan snatches David Hardy, and as Adam Wilson attempts to rescue the practically helpless Hardy, Drako begins choking Adam Wilson. Ivan jumps out the window as he puts a portal to his castle up, warping both Hardy and Ivan to the castle. While that occurs Adam Wilson fights his way free from Drako's grip. However, as he looks around, he gets tossed out the window by Drako, knocking him utterly unconcious. He dials the direct line cell-phone and says:

"A little help?"

On the other end...

***

"Oh, right."

Ivan hangs up and warps Drako to the castle.

Stern: "Where are we?!"

Ivan: "You see those holes and such all around the room?"

Stern looks around and notices the said anomolys in the room.

Ivan: "You are conveniently located in my torture chamber. From this control console I, and in this case, Drako, can do pretty much whatever we want and you can't prove it or do a thing about it."

Stern: "You won't get away with this!!"

Ivan: "So predictable. This is working so well." He glances at Drako, then says: "Well...", he then claps his hands and rubs them together, then says: "...Shall we get the started?"

Drako: "Yes..."

Ivan: "Well, pick which torture you want to explore first."

Drako: "Starvation."

Ivan: "Well, let's rub it in their face, shall we partner?"

Ivan tosses him a sandwich and begins eating one himself.

Ivan: "How do you like them apples?"

Ivan releases plastic apples from the ceiling. Stern looks at them, hope-filled, but becomes angered with Ivan even further upon realizing that the apple is fake.

Stern: "That your idea of a joke?!"

Ivan: "No, this is." He takes a large bite from his sandwich in an insulting manner.

Stern: "Grrrrr..."

Hardy: "Whhhsat?"

Stern: "We're being starved."

Hardy: "Whaa? Byy whooooom?"

Stern: "THEM!" Stern points to Drako and Ivan.