I thought that things were gonna progressively get easier. I guess not. All of that rage, all of that hate that I used to be, that I used to embrace and feel. I tried so desperately to get rid of. I don't want it. I'm afraid of what'll happen if I let it out again. But I've got to control it. I've got to focus it, and let it out, one last time. I can almost taste it. Nextasy is so close. Twenty-four more hours and I can let all of this go. But he wont. Regardless who wins, he wont ever let it be over. He's too bitter. And if I win, he'll be all the more fired up. But I cant think about that. All I need to do is concentrate on the objective...a shot at the GNL Million Dollar Championship! 

*Markus was still sort of reeling after the attack perpetrated by Iron Man. He had crossed the line this time, savagely attacking Markus in the middle of his promo. Markus shouldn't have been so foolish to put something of the sort past Iron Man though. It was Friday night though, and he knew that the following day would give him an opportunity to exact revenge, and though he had mentioned it before, Markus was fueled by this all the more now. Not only was the sting of the chair shot still well-felt, but now he had more issues. Iron Man had seemingly come to a 'mutual respect' with Lost Soul, one of the perennial big men of the GNL, past and present, as well as one of the most massive sized men in the GNL. Markus knew he too had his own backup, as Billy James was no pushover, but the X-factor in all of this was Manta, and her involvement, if any in the match. You see, though Iron Man had made the challenge of a Hell In A Cell, it was still a Ladder match for now, at least. Markus knew this, and know that if it were a Ladder match, interference was more than possible, but likely. And just as he knew this, he knew that it was going to take a lot more than a ladder to silence his opponent. But he waited, waited for Dragon to pass judgment. Until then, Markus would keep his mouth shut about the topic, and let destiny play out the way it was meant to.

Markus walked down the catacomb-like hallway in the small promotional studio in New York City, where some of the closed set promos take place. He walked through a door into the lobby of the main offices, and stopped to greet the secretary. One of the new technicians had caught a glimpse of Markus out of the corner of his eye and leapt at the chance to meet him. Markus was taken back a step or two as the overzealous character jumped out in front of him, and extended his quivering hand anxiously. Markus sort of chuckled and shook the man's hand and took a moment to speak to the man, whom obviously was a big fan.*

Hey there, how's it going?

Oh man! I can't believe I'm meeting you, Markus Katastrophik...right before me!!!

Yep. That's me. A fan I take it?

Well I work here too, but I've admired your talents for quite some time now. You see, I came from southern California too, and I was there for your very first match in the WCWA, when you teamed with Dave James to take on Priest and Raptor. That was incredible!

*Markus smiled and nodded his head* You were there? Wow. Not too many people remember that far back. That had to be, something like eleven, twelve years by now. But that's awesome. That was a big night for me. And you were there to see it. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and are still a big fan. It's not often I get to meet people who watched me back in the old days, before any of the big name promotions started scouting me, before any of this REAL federation action, when it was just all about fun and games. 

Well you were amazing, and I'm honored to have met you!

Hey, the pleasure is all mine. Thanks for following me! It's really exciting to me, to meet some of my fans, especially someone like yourself, whose followed me throughout the career.

You went to Villa Park High School in Orange, didn't you?

*Markus scratched the back of his head and chuckled* As a matter of fact, I did. Did you?

Yeah, graduated class of '94!

Wow, I graduated '95. Well, here, want an autograph or anything? I've got to go and shoot a promo before heading back to the hotel and sleep for tomorrow night, you gonna be there?

Oh no, I don't need an autograph... just meeting you has been a dream for me. And I don't think I'll have the money to go, though I wish I could.

Oh? Well here, how's about this. What's your name?

Joe, Joe Hesketh.

Well Joe, I'll call the promoters just as soon as I get this taken care of, and I'll make sure that you get your ticket, and I'll get you a few spares while I'm at it. Bring your friends, bring your family if you have one.

Uh-uh- THANKS Markus! Thanks a lot! 

*Chuckle* Hey, it's the least I can do. It's really no problem what so ever. *Markus shakes the man's hand again and pats him on the shoulder.* Well I've gotta go and take care of this now. So I'll look forward to seeing you in the front row tomorrow night, ok?

YOU BET!

*Markus walked back towards the front desk and signed in before walking down the hall into one of the dark rooms. He had thought all night of exactly what it was he would say in regards to the comments made by Iron Man, but struggled to find the right thing to respond with. Somehow, he knew though, that he had to say something that would stick, or else he'd go in without the right mindset. And he was somewhat perplexed by what Iron Man had said at his trip to the arena a night earlier. So much he had to say, but would he be able to let it all out? And if he did, would he be able to keep control. All of this and more wore greatly on Markus as he closed the door behind him, walking over and taking a steel folding chair and sitting in it backwards. Markus placed his forearms overtop of each other, resting on the back of the chair, before laying his chin down on the top arm. He looked forward blankly, as the camera began to roll. The cameraman tried getting Markus' attention to give him the signal that the feed was rolling, but was unable to initially catch Markus' eye. It took a minute or more of video silence for Markus to finally snap out of the zone he was in, and notice the little red record light flashing on the camera. Markus looked around the room before focusing forward, straight into the camera, and speaking candidly.*

Hey Nathan, how do ya feel, less than twenty-four hours from ground zero? I know you must be working out, training. You always were one to OVER train. But I don't exactly fault you for that. It's not always a bad thing to train, even when you don't need to train anymore. But I hope you're healthy, I hope you're at one-hundred percent. I want you no less then that at Nextasy. 

You flatter me though. Talking about how I'm right, and all of this energy and emotion you're putting into little old me *grins*. You see, I know that this isn't just 'any other match', but I don't look at it like a turning point in my career. I look at you as I do with any other opponent, an obstacle between me and glory. And I'll treat you just the same as any of the other obstacles you've seen me face. You'll move out of the way, or I'll move you! Either way, you wont take me from my destiny, a destiny that will see me at the top of the GNL. But I have to admire your determination, your tenacity, your spunk. You've certainly been busy, haven't you? That was a really cute thing you did, attacking me. But you don't change, do you Nate? Even in the SwF, no matter how badly you hurt somebody, no matter how much you tried, you just COULDN'T GET THE JOB DONE, could you? I'll show you how to handle undesirable challenges at Nextasy.

You see, I didn't say all of those things before to make some cute catch phrases. I said them, because I live by them, and I will live up to them all the same! If I were saying the things I did, to just get a rise out of the fans, or to talk madness, I would've said 'if revenge is a dish best served cold... better pack your parka bitch!' But in fact, I was much more stern about it. Because indeed, the punishment for treason will be handed out at Nextasy, but whom the gavel falls upon will be left up to the hand of destiny. 

*The adrenaline combined with the all ready warm atmosphere made it all the less tolerable, and Markus removed the leather jacket he had on to reveal one of the brand new Markus Katastrophik '[Figure: 08]' t-shirts. He stood up and tossed the chair aside, settling for the crouching position instead, finding it much more appealing than bow-legged on a steel chair. Markus looked back up at the camera, and finished his speech on an all too serious note.*

Nathan, one thing we both agree on though. The ring will be painted in crimson. Because I wont let you leave that ring, win or lose, until you BLEED! We've had quite the storied past, one which has seen both of us on both sides of the fence, but this time, I'm putting your ass THROUGH the fence! You can run, for now... you can hide, until tomorrow... but what in God's name are you going to do when you realize that you can run no more, when there's no place left to hide? What are you going to do when you're staring right down the barrel of a gun called defeat, and you're left blown away? Think about that... and until Nextasy...

...Sweet Dreams!

*Markus stands, grabs the jacket laying beside him and walks towards the door, throwing it open, and slamming it shut behind him as the camera feed ends.*