I've been DYING to write this fight for ages now. This one took me so long because I wanted to try and make the fight as heart wrenching as I could with my lame abilities to write a fight scene. I did my best and I hope it was worth it. I try and make each chapter as exciting as the last and this one I hoped was as good as the previous ones. With that said...
Enjoy :D
Reclaiming Tomorrow
When I saw the look on Aries' face bewildered me. Did he not know of Seth's previous profession? Or was it something else. We were talking about the man who taught Seth his arts, the man who knew his secrets and his blade...and now he was one of the most powerful men in Wyndmere. Perhaps Aries was surprised that someone would even plot against his father. From what it sounded like, no one dare opposed him right now. It was terrifying just thinking about similar the Alliance and Wyndmere really were. No one dared oppose to those who lead them.
Seth got up first moving the strands of hair from his eyes. Now that his dark curtain was gone he looked all the same again. Large brown eyes that'd put a baby deer to shame, and near innocent look that you'd never think was a born killer. He truly was fascinating and it made me want to know more about him. That's why Dean and I were following the path he walked so long ago, and that why we were still here despite knowing what it was he came here to do. We could only stand by as we explored the unknown.
Just as Dean and I got up, Aries once more spoke. "Just hold on a minute there Tyler. You know the deal. I gave you information now you have to offer the coin, or something else equal in value." So my hunch was correct. This Aries was more or less an information broker. He gave you information, and in return you'd give him the same or money. Knowing what's going around is probably more valuable than any kind of money. Yet something else that was the same between Wyndmere and the Alliance. The people believed our worlds vastly to be different, and here we were being proved wrong.
Seth sighed, knowing that he had been caught off guard. The youngest placed a hand on his chin thinking about what to say. Shrugging he turned to face Aries, "You win Austin." He pulled out a picture from under his cloak, more than likely from one of the many pockets on his harness. The picture contained what looked to be the Eye of Taladen before it was stolen from it pedestal from the museum. "The Eye of Taladen is very much real, and so are the rumors. The Alliance I think plans to use it's power to bolster its army."
Aries took the picture off the counter and slid it under the bar, shaking his head. He wasn't sure if what he was given was useful or not. "What you want me to send thieves after it? Mereians are good but I don't think-"
"No, I want you to get the word going around. Lest we can do is get the people of the Radiance Providence under the protection of the Alliance. Once they find out that that the Falishian Alliance is using one of relics of the Holy Mother they'll either revolt or move to want to be under her protection. With enough buzz flying through the Radiance Providence the Grand Bishop will have no choice but to respond." Not only did Aries give Seth a blank look, but the same went for Dean and I. Here I thought he was just planning an assassination but the youngest of the Shield was definitely a lot more brilliant than I had originally gave him credit for. Seth had put a lot of thought into this, and the defense of his home was something that weighed heavy on his mind.
Seth wanted to defend the people of the Radiance Providence, and was doing it in the only way he knew how. By streaming forth information to be pass through out the underground of his nation, but he was doing it in a way so that the people would understand. The people of the this providence wanted protection under the guidance of the Holy Mother, when reality he was hoping to move them under the Alliance's technology.
With not much else to say Seth turned and finally headed for the entrance of the inn. He was exiting the same way he came in with all eyes glued to him. But this time instead of trying to hide his face he once more had his head held high. That visage of mystery showing itself once more and Seth wearing it proudly. A proud man who was proud of his art.
Once we were out of the inn and back onto the cobblestone streets I finally spoke up. "I'm impressed Seth, when you said you had been thinking about this for a while, I didn't realize how deep you had gone. You're going to a lot of lengths to make sure the people are protected."
The youngest gave a slight chuckle, "I may be an assassin...but even we have codes of honor to follow. We delve into the underground picking up whatever armaments we can get our hands on. The blood that stains our hands couldn't be ever truer, but there is one rule we all must follow: Execute only the guilty, so that the innocent may prosper."
"I see, so that's what assassins believe to separate them from cold blooded murderers," quipped Dean piecing together all what Seth had to say. The Atlean had been uncharastically quiet thus far since we got to Cygnus, however it seemed to slowly becoming the norm when he was absorbing information. His silence spoke even louder than when he was lecturing us on whatever subject happened to be on his mind, it was often forgotten that he too was a victim in all of this mess. Much like Seth he wasn't letting it weigh him down. He knew the sun was still going to rise tomorrow, so for him this trip was nothing more than a science expedition. He came here with an open mind to understand Seth more, and I could see it was enlightening. He didn't interrupt and only spoke when questions arose. His mentor would be proud of the scientist that Dean had become. He was now leaps and bounds away from his past as Jon Moxley.
"It's just like living life in Atlas. People are suffering and those who can do something turn a blind eye...but not you Seth Rollins. If there's anyone who can save this miserable town it ought to be you. This is your legacy, see it through little brother." Dean grinned giving Seth a thumbs up. It was like he was giving our little brother his blessings. The Atlean too was someone who fought for the people. It was his job to save lives, and if turning the other cheek to an assassination meant lives to be saved. He'd do just that. Dean knew probably most than anyone, sometimes the even the dirtiest of deeds needed to be done to achieve your goal.
I looked back at Seth to see if there was that confliction in his eyes. For once I saw none. No hesitation, not even a hint of regret. If he was going to do this it was now or never. It was another mission that needed to be seen to it's finish. Sighing, I walked over and placed my hands on Seth's shoulders rubbing in circles. He was tense, probably even a little nervous I needed to do my part to help him in his endeavor. He closed his eyes taking deep breaths just taking in the comfort.
Seth looked up from the ground after I was done to look around slowly. He pointed to the at a hill with a rather large mansion on top. "There," he started. "That was the king's mansion, the location of my first assassination. After I had killed him the streets were rioting, and everyone had grown scared with the lack of leadership. I left because I couldn't bear the burden of guilt knowing that I was the one who had caused Wyndmere had fallen apart. It's almost sickening that I wasn't wrong. I thought of myself as her savior, there's still a chance I could be."
The youngest sighed heavily, as he replaced the hood of his cloak back on his head. He turned his back to the hill with the empty mansion on top and walked in the opposite direction. As we walked down the empty road the clouds began to clear revealing a full moon casting a brilliant shine upon the city, and a full blanket of stars to accompany it's ravishing beauty. I looked up in awe, the night sky looked the same as the night I had caught up with Daniel. Things were becoming a lot of clear as well it served as another reminder of who I was, and where I came from, as well as the values I was raised on. I looked over to see Dean taking in the night sky as well. I could imagine having never seen anything like it before, having lived in the city all his life.
I couldn't quite put my mind on it, but there was a charm about a possible quieter life. Ever since the project I had been left to question everything, but then I looked at my brothers...they always seemed to know what it was they wanted. It made me think about what it was I wanted. I quietly groaned to myself, as I continued to follow.
It was further into the night as we continued to follow Seth. I had a strong feeling as to where he was leading us. As my mind wandered we soon came to a large crimson colored mansion. It was isolated with almost no building near by. The front had a well kept lawn with several small trees with ebony colored wood to line against a tall metal fence with black spades at the top. There was a long brick path in between the two patches of grass, and at the end was a extravagant decorated arch carved out of marble. Just past the arch was a dark oak wood door with a large brass knocker.
Looking up I spotted several windows making each story of the mansion. At the top was a larger triangular shaped window with a dark thatched roof hanging over. The design of the whole building was breathtaking, never had I seen something so elegant. It matched Seth in a way. On the surface it was elegant and graceful, but it's dark colors told a much different story.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Seth took a step forward. "This is where I grew up," he said quietly. He took a deep breath as he reached down into that pocket I spotted with the knife in it. "I'm going to burn it down." I watched as from under his cloak the holster with his guns and batons dropped to the ground. This was it, it seemed almost surreal that we were going to see the final thread of Seth's former life loosen. He was going to see freedom from his deeds and Wyndmere.
Seth released the knife from it's confines. It was finally polished and shined just like the silver moon that hung above. Walking down the path, his footsteps were slow and keen not a single step was heard. reaching the marble arch, placing the knife between his teeth. I could only watch as our little brother climbed the arch reaching the top of it. Once a the top Seth found his balance and reached up to one of the windows with a small balcony where he could find some footing on. The youngest took the knife from his mouth and elbowed the window shattering it and lept inside.
I swallowed the lump in my throat realizing that this was going to be Seth's coming of age. He was going to show his father how much he had grown as both a master assassin and as a man. Despite how quiet he had started, the youngest wanted to make his presence known. I could feel myself practically holding my breath anticipating what was to come, there wasn't another sound heard since he had entered. I began to worry a little. Had he been killed? Was the deed already done? I needed to know what was going on.
I felt Dean nudge me with his shoulder eyeing the larger window that hung above. Without saying anything he was telling me to pay attention to what hung above us. I hadn't even thought about asking him if he had heard anything I was more focused on Seth's actions. Still remaining silent the Atlean grabbed a hold of the back of my cloak and gently began to tug trying to drag me away a short distance from the front. We both continued to stare up at the triangular window hearing faint sounds of shouting.
"Seth's hesitating," said Dean coldly. I looked down to see that his hand was balled up into a fist. The Atlean felt useless, he wanted to go up and help but Seth had asked us not to step in. I felt Dean tug at me again, trying to drag me in yet another direction. "They're headed for the courtyard," he said giving my cloak one last tug before disappearing around to the other side of the mansion. Before following I reached down and picked up the hollister Seth left behind.
I looked back up at the window one last time before following Dean. Gale's words still rung in my head: "When all is said and done, make sure Seth destroys that red journal!"
Quickly following Dean we made it around the building to another fenced off area. To my surprise the mansion was a lot bigger than I had given it credit for. The building wrapped around in a massive square around a garden with a marble statue of a woman in a toga in the middle, my guess it was probably the Holy Mother. The mansion was in two parts and connecting them was the black fence that matched the same as the outside.
The garden was organized and eloquent, with patches of flowers of varying dark colors lined up around the courtyard by color from lightest to darkest. Towards the southside was a large circular dirt mound in which Seth and another figure seemed to have carried their fight to.
It felt like a blink of an eye but both were gone. Both were masters of stealth, shadows of men hidden in complete darkness. Opportunistic killers who only needed a second to make the next step. I saw a flash of Seth's cloak followed by the shine of a throwing knife pinning it to the wall. Lastly, I saw the shape of what I could only make out to be our younger brother running off in another direction leaving the cloak behind, with his footsteps still unheard. I was baffled for a moment, before realizing that he was going to beat his old master on his own merit. He wasn't going to use the project. It made me think for a moment, was he capable of doing so.
I hitched my breath seeing two more glimmering knives thrown in our direction sticking into the wall. Quickly, did I see a black shadow move to take one of the knives and throw it back in the same direction. It was probably Seth once more launching his counter attack and dashing off into the darkness. The way they fought and moved amazed me. They moved with the shadows ever shifting around them, leaving me completely baffled. I looked over at Dean who looked impassive at the scene before him. There was no doubt he could see everything that was happening. Yet he made no sound and not even a flinch. Was it confidence he had in Seth? Or was he trying not to distract our younger brother and kept his concerns deep down?
My attentions were returned to the courtyard when I heard the sound of metal clashing. All I could make out was two small glimmers under the moonlit sky. Their knives were unsheathed signaling they were both ready to draw blood. One last chilling breeze flew over head moving the last puffy cloud blocking the moon's full shimmer. It's glow was a spotlight for them, showing the rest of Paragon that there was a fateful encounter happening in that moment in time. It set the stage for what would probably be the greatest assassination in all of Wyndmere.
Thanks to the moon's light, I was able to see everything that was happening. The man Seth was fighting was almost a mirror image. His face had a few more wrinkles to display his age, and his well pressed clothes and even polished dress shoes went to show just how much he held himself in high prestige. But the snarl he wore said that he was going to enjoy killing his own son. His own flesh and blood. I gritted my teeth, feeling like I needed tok step in and protect my little brother. I felt Dean's hand reach over and squeeze my forearm with his robotic arm. He was reassuring me as well as showing me to not be afraid. I'd only be stressing myself further trying to understand something I could never dream of.
Their blades clashed again above their heads this time. Seth aimed his leg to try and get a good thrusting kick to his father's gut, but it was quickly blocked by his enemy's shin. Both men stood there for a solid few seconds before beginning to lose their balance on their one legs planted on the ground. They had jumped back before running at one another again with their knives making contact in front of both their chests.
"Seth is gonna lose if he keeps this up," quipped Dean. On queue Seth's father managed to gain the upper hand and swung his knife upwards cutting him clean across the cheek. Blood slowly began to drip down our younger brother's face. "Seth's knee strikes are far quicker and more precise. That kick seemed way too uncoordinated. It was still fast, but it was like...he hadn't used such a strike in a while. Something is wrong Ro…" I watched again as the two came at one another this time his father gaining the upper hand. It was like he had read Seth's movements perfectly and saw his kick to the side coming. He gracefully dodged with with very little effort and began to bring his blade down on the younger assassin's shoulder. With little time to react, the knife ended up grazing Seth's shoulder beginning to stain his shirt a crimson color.
Dean was right, why was Seth fighting so sloppily? His life was on the line! Our younger brother whipped around quickly to dodge an axe kick, and flicked his blade with the intent of getting his father in the throat. The older assassin lifted his arm to let his bicep get cut instead and countered with a kick to Seth's shin. Seth was brought down to one knee and could only raise his weapon to block the next attack aimed for his head. With his shoulder wounded, Seth struggled to fight back against his father's blade. I stepped forward fearing for our younger brother's life. Once more I felt Dean's cold steel pull me back.
"If he dies here, it's because he's being an idiot." said Dean coldly. "That's not our little brother. That's a coward who's fighting right there. Perhaps he deserves to die." Was Dean serious right now? Did he truly think that? But there was some truth to what he was saying. It wasn't like Seth to fight so conservatively. Normally he had a very explosive offense with, raw emotions fueling his every movement. He needed to start channeling all that pent up anxiety. I felt my body move on its own, but I felt like Seth needed to be reminded of who he was. I gripped his holster clutched in my left hand, and hurled it over the fence towards the statue in the middle.
The momentary distraction caused Seth to catch an elbow to the jaw and nearly getting stabbed in the chest. On one hand Seth spring backwards creating distance between him and his opponent to catch his breath. The Count of Wyndmere brought his own knife up to his lips licking the blood off the side. He was mocking Seth...he knew that there was no way our little brother could defeat him with the way he was fighting. The man removed his black vest and unbuttoned the top of his dress shirt and and cuffs. Seth needed to change strategies if he were to win.
"Tyler. My dearest son. I molded you to be greatest assassin in all of Wyndmere-" started The Count before quickly being cut off by his son, whom also removed his shirt. Seeing the crimson liquid drip down was something else entirely. It was the first sign of just how vulnerable our younger brother truly was. Seeing his torso in full display I saw the many other scars that littered his body. I was sure each one told a story, and many about the man he was locked in combat with.
"You had me kill the king for your own pursuit of power! Everything you taught me, everything you set me to do...it was all in the journal. You just let history repeat itself and tried to set me down that same path. You had me really believing…" Seth hesitated to pick up his knife once more. "You really made me believe that our family was meant to make a difference…" the younger assassin raised his arm and pointed at Dean and I still on the other side of the fence. "But I realized, I never really had a family until I met them."
Tired of Seth's speech his father made his assault once more. Our younger brother raised his knife letting the two blades slide across one another. Finally launching some offense of his own, Seth dug his heel into the ground lifting his leg high above his head to finally land a blow on his father clean in the jaw. Although it was a lot more precise than his last attacks, it still wasn't backed by that fury I've come to known Seth for having. Although he was stunned, without a proper follow up the Count of Wyndmere was able to spin even quicker around to give Seth a very deadly cut down his face.
Dean and I flinched as our brother howled in pain holding his eye with his free hand. Not wanting to finish it so soon his father kicked his wrist sending Seth's blade a few feet away from him. The older man sneered and his face began to twist to that same killer look that we knew before. I swallowed the lump in my throat feeling that this was it. I felt like I needed to step in, but Seth would never forgive me if I did. If I saved Seth now, he'd forever carry the burden that he was never able to defeat his master, and for that I stayed planted.
We watched as Seth tried to make a desperation dive for his knife and ended up catching swift kick to the gut. The Count the grabbed him by the throat and threw him against the statue leaving our little brother rattled. "My dear Tyler...I taught you everything you know. I give you credit, you were able to catch me by surprised, I didn't even have a poisoned blade at the ready. But I see you've learned nothing in your time away, and since you know too much already...I'll end you." The Count reeled his blade back to deliver the finishing blow.
Seth braced himself for whatever was coming until his foot nudged something on the ground. He looked down to see his holster that I had tossed before. Swiftly, but barely did he manage to dodge the incoming blade as it caught his collar creating a deep wound. The younger Mereian cried out in pain again but didn't let it falter him. He instead grew that cocky grin that was normally signature to Dean's infectious attitude. I looked over to see now that our middle brother had same smirk planted on his face. Did something finally click into Seth?
The young assassin read the next attack coming and shifted his entire body for the next attack. With a loud cry he reeled his hand back and thrust his palm as hard as he could into his attacker's shoulder stunning him backwards. It was very rare that Seth relied on his arm strength for strikes as his legs were much stronger, but he knew them nonetheless as well as striking him with a technique he learned from the military. "You're right! You did teach everything about Tyler Black and his techniques!" Seth lifted one of his powerful legs to try and get a knee strike but it was quickly dodged, and ended up catching another kick into his back sending him back into the statue.
He stared at the statue as if he was looking for a blessing, and with the way his face twisted into a sneer he must have gotten it. "But you didn't teach Seth Rollins anything!" The Count of Wyndmere poised another strike when he was suddenly shocked that Seth had disappeared. He was going to use the project to his advantage finally. Seth suddenly reappeared for a second to watch him swing one of his batons into his father's jaw and disappearing in an instant. The next strike was in the same fashion with Seth reappearing for a split second to strike him in the gut with a knee.
Suddenly The Count was brought down with what I assumed was a low kick to his shins, as he did to Seth earlier. Just like our younger brother he raised his blade to block the next strike but not being able to see where his son was there's was no way he could predict where Seth's strike was going to come from. The blade was knocked from his hand and slid away landing right next to the younger assassin's knife. Slowly the older man raised his arm as his chin was being forcefully lifted. The next moment when Seth reappeared he stood there with that killer look with one baton at his side and the other right under the chin of his master. "I am no longer your puppet, we are nobody's puppets…" Seth stepped in twisting his body and raising his other baton, "Especially not Paul Heyman's!" he flicked his wrist and skillfully spun the baton to give one last final blow to The Count's temple.
It was over...the older assassin's body fell to the ground unconscious.
Dean looked at me using his head to point to the fence in front of us. I took a grip of the black fence's bars bending them enough to create a hole for Dean and I to fit through. We approached our younger brother slowly who was holding his shoulder, catching his breath, using the statue as something to lean on. It was amazing seeing his battle wounds in full display. He was in pain, but he was smiling. We looked up to see the start of the soft hues from the rising sun.
"If you don't get cleaned up soon, you'll pass out from blood loss." called a voice from the other side of the courtyard. On instinct Dean and I stood in front of our brother rifle and staff at the ready. The man stepped out of the shadows and my heart had skipped a beat for a moment. He looked similar to Desmond but his accent was too thick to be anything related to the Alliance. He too was bald and had a neat trimmed beard from his ears down to his jaw. He wore a gray dress shirt and a black vest that seemed to cling to him showing off some of the muscles he had underneath. This man was no ordinary butler, and was probably another assassin.
"Claudio...how long have you been there?" asked Seth, but before his line of questions could continue on queue our younger had begun to sway and he collapsed being quickly caught by Dean.
Claudio, I think Seth called him, signaled for us to follow him inside the house. I whipped around to also pick up The Count's unconscious corpse and haul it over my shoulder. "Who are you?" asked Dean as we walked through some dark wood doors and began to follow him through a series of hallways. The interior matched it's dark colored exterior. The floors were made of the same dark wood like the doors, with the walls decorated with a crimson colored wallpaper with black roses. Every corner we turned was also decorated with ebony colored wooden pillars holding the structure. Each pillar seemed to look chipped away or scratched at, like there was a struggle. Was it training or attackers?
The bald butler finally lead us up a flight of stairs and into the closest bedroom where Dean laid Seth. He quickly removed his cloak and pulled his backpack getting to work on getting Seth's wounds closed. I too lied The Count's body in the corner. "I am Claudio Castagnoli, I've served this house since I was a child. Your friend and I-"
"Brother." interrupted Dean briefly stopping to correct the butler.
"Your brother and I were practically raised together. I am an assassin as well, however only in the defense of this house." At least it was nice to know that my hunch was correct. However that left a lot of unexplained questions, if he was an assassin in defense of the house why didn't he stop Seth? "Interesting that Tyler-"
"Seth," Dean interrupted again. I finally walked over to slap the Atlean on the back of his head. I got an eye roll in return.
Claudio only chucked at our antics and continued, "Seth didn't aim for a killing blow, and yet...his strikes and movement were more precise than ever. He's grown quite a lot in the years he's been gone. He left Wyndmere a boy, and certainly came back a man. Now all there's left is to bring this man," he stopped to point at The Count of Wyndmere. "To justice."
Justice was our calling, but I feel like there had to be more. "Seth always believed himself to be the savior that Wyndmere needed, he'll be happy to know he succeeded. But you must leave here quickly, there's no doubt that Austin Aries' information has begun to spread like a wildfire. There's probably no doubt that both the Alliance and Leviathan are looking to make their moves on the Radiance Providence now that the people here know that the Eye of Taladen is out in the open." The butler sighed wiping the sweat collecting on his brow.
When all is said and done, make sure Seth destroys that red journal
There was Gale's words again ringing in my head, but it did bring curiosity. I felt that this might be the only time to ask. "Did The Count ever have dealings with a man named Gale Teegan?"
Claudio didn't seem to hesitate to answer. It was scary to hear that he was almost expecting these kinds of questions. The Count may had the jump on him, but this butler was much different. Just talking to the man made me fear him. He was way too well informed, to be an ordinary Merian."As Seth and I grew up, we'd used to be spy on his father's secret meeting with investors and other clients. He did meet with a Gale Teegan a lot, and a Kelic Ambrose. All three always seemed to be interested in the Eye of Taladen. He'd even show them the journal and try and shed light on any information he could give them. One of the meetings I spied on without Seth, Kelic spoke a lot about another man whom he claimed might have had a full exposure to the Eye itself…"
The butler hesitated, but only because he was trying to remember. I felt like I knew what he was going to say, I braced myself. Never in my life did I want to be wrong, but I knew that wasn't going to be the case. Everything was coming together and now suddenly, Seth had a place in this madness. Why the assassin from Wyndmere was lead to The Alliance. His father practically shoved him there as an offering to find the Eye of Taladen. Although, The Count only wanted power and control of the Radiance Providence...it was still a trap nonetheless set up by The Alliance. If the timelines lined up, Paul Heymen's term as Prime Minister would have been up by the time this had begun.
Claudio tapped his chin trying to recall the events from what seemed like so long ago now. "I always thought the stories of The Eye of Taladen were just stories for children, but as the world changes I feel like they maybe all truth. The way that scientist spoke he was both fascinated and baffled, I thought The Alliance scientists were supposed to know everything. Anyway, the subject this Ambrose spoke up was named AJ Styles."
Dean suddenly stopped everything he was doing, although Seth's wounds looked to be completely wrapped up. "Roman...this was the missing piece. Heyman let us live because he needed us to find the Eye of Taladen. He's not gonna finish the project, he's gonna get his muscle head a full exposure to the eye."
"It's Paragon's history…" said a faint voice from the bed. Seth had begun to stir but every wrong movement caused him to hiss in pain. He went back to holding his shoulder only to have his hand slapped away by Dean. "Every war begins with the Eye...and ends with the Eye. The seven provinces will continue to fight as long as the Eye exists."
We all sat there in silence absorbing what we had just learned. Mine, Seth's, and Dean's destinies seemed to have been intertwined at the get go. It made me think, just what was our purpose for being brought together like this?
I was quickly distracted by a buzzing from my phone before my thoughts could continue. I opened it up to see a message from an unknown number. I unlocked it to only see a picture. My eyes lit up seeing what lied before me and shifted quickly between Seth and Dean to show them both the picture. It was the end of a sniper rifle over a red cliff face that were normally outside the Northwest city of Orion. In the gorge between the two cliffs looked to be a small encampment occupied by Levithan soldiers, and more specifically there was the Prime Minister's limousine.
"What is it?" asked Seth.
"The viper is coiled." I simply responded. "Orton is alive...and more importantly he's found the Prime Minister."
And that concludes Operation: Cerberus. From even before Project: Taladen their destinies had always seemed to cross paths, and now their bond is stronger than ever. What did you guys think of this episode? Thanks for all your continued support as we head into the next episode. You're all wonderful people and I love you all! 3
Next episode, Operation: Phoenix
They needed to rise above the rest and show Leviathan, The Alliance, and especially Paul Heyman they were ready for what ever Elysium wanted to throw at them. Standing more united than ever, The Shield is ready to take the fight to their enemies. No more hesitation, and no more holding back. However that only inspired more to rise up against all odds just like them for better and for worse.
"They tried to turn us to ash, but like the Phoenix...it only made us stronger."
