A new chapter that you don't have to wait half a year for, extraordinary! Thank you to the new fav, follow and reviews I got. You guys are awesome. Let's begin...

I do not own Skullgirls. All rights go to the amazing team of Hidden Variable, The Composers and Cast: Alex Ahad, Michiru Yamane, Vincent Diamante, Cristina Vee, Kaiji Tang, Sarah Williams, Rich Brown, Laura Post, Kai Kennedy and all the other amazing people who make this game awesome! (I could say the other names but that would take too long)

Enjoy Chapter Five Thoughts and Reality...

Setting the Stage Chapter Five

New Meridian, NMO Arena, Autumn 2/9/2008

The silence between the two was uncanny to say the least. Beowulf still had that unique pose going on, coupled with his wide, stupid grin. Meanwhile, Annie had her arms folded with a disappointed look on her face.

"Look Beowulf." She began. "You're messing with things you don't understand. This isn't a show. It isn't a wrestling match. It's real and you'll die. Stay away from The Skullgirl. (Sorry to say it Beowulf but it's for your own good.)" Annie thought. There was no way he could defeat the newest Skullgirl. Even with all his stupid confidence and unique offence, he'd only be throwing his life away. .

Beowulf's mind just went blank after. "It isn't a wrestling match it's real…"

"(Did she just call wrestling fake?!) Hey! Wrestling is real! Well, some of it anyway." Beowulf countered. The Girl of the Stars just ignored his outburst and began to think about who could be using him.

"(From all the Intel I've gathered so far, I can guess it's something to do with that manager of his… That ASG unit and Cartes girl have disappeared too. That guy knows more than he lets on…) If my hunch is right, whoever's behind your latest stunt is way worse than a crooked agent. You were already set up once. Don't be fooled again. (If he knows what I'm talking about.)"

Beowulf didn't know what she was talking about. "What are you talking about?"

Annie sarcastically smiled. "The Gigan? You're telling me you didn't notice?"

Beowulf thought for a moment and began to remember his fight with Grendel.

New Meridian, NMO Arena, Spring 5/5/1995

"Urrgghhh Can't... Stop... Damn... it..."

"You ok up there? Thought this was supposed to be a fight! (Must be just faking to get my guard down)."

"Don't… le…"

"Huh...?"

NMO Arena, Autumn 2/9/2008

"(…Nahh It was fair!) Oh, no, not you too! Kids these days! Mannn, should be playing with a toy truck or something." Beowulf began to rub his head, trying to get rid of a little headache he had just got from trying to remember so far back.

Annie in response, folded her arms in annoyance. "(Didn't want to have to go all in but oh, well, needs must) Beowulf, it's time to grow up. Open your eyes! Stop fooling yourself and stop fighting for someone you can't trust. (Leave this to me and the people who know what they're doing) You're not a hero anymore." She quickly took a glance at his whole physique. He didn't look the same as he used to... his receding hairline, his washed up face, even his slightly crooked posture...

"(Alright I'm sick of listening to this) Yeah ha. And I can trust you? See you later "Annie" if that's even your name." Saying that, Beowulf got out of the ring and made his way to the back exit, all the while, giving her a sarcastic wave. "(I wanted to be alone and I'm getting put down again. I can't get any peace)" He silently sighed opening the door. "Guess I set that one up." He muttered while closing the door.

Annie meanwhile just gave a look of, "Why did I even bother?" "(He's going to get himself killed… Maybe he'll see through the ruse but I doubt it... Now… Need to get back to…) Dam-Dang it Beowulf…" The turquoise haired girl sighed. "Alright, I'll keep an eye on him…" She mumbled to herself.

However, as Annie thought about their little reunion, her expression turned to one of genuine sadness as she now stood, alone in the ring by herself.

What had happened to her friend?

When Beowulf opened the door to his flat, one thought was on his mind. "Bed" He only had four hours to get some sleep, so this was the best time. Even if The Skullgirl tried a sneak attack, he'd sleep with Grendel and Hurting right next to him. So much had happened, he just wanted to get a break.

"(Zane really wasn't kidding about the weirdos… Everyone has this weird bad look in their eyes) I… I don't know. Guys what do you think?" He looked at both his partners as he set them down next to his bed.

"Uh huh...

Yeah?

Ha!

I know!

Thanks. You guys always know what's best..."

Getting comfortable and putting his hands behind his head, Beowulf began to drift away. "I can... beat... The Skullgirl. I'm not in over my head… Well I better. Zzzzzzzzz..." And the Wulf snored soundly throughout the short night.

Grand Cathedral of the Divine Trinity

In the Trinity's Grand Cathedral, all was silent. The planning was done, they were going to put it all into action in a couple of hours, the time for talking was over. Now? Valentine was sitting on the steps leading up to the altar head down, asleep. Marie was down in the Catacombs eyes closed but not asleep just in limbo and Double meanwhile, was just in her chamber, watching late night TV.

"And welcome back to tonight's show of Sticky Money! In this we cover glue our contestants and see if any of the notes will stick to them. Powered by a fan, that will make the money float around! The more stickier, the more notes, the more money! So, let's get sticky!" The crowd went in unison with the announcer at the last part.

Double watched as the money went floating around in what appeared to be an oval shaped dome, about eight meters in height and the person jumping around to catch it and trying to get it stuck to her body. At one point she even fell over. "(What a foolish activity. Man, will try anything to get more of their respective currency. No matter what the sacrifice. To be humiliated in front of all those people as well) Trivial. (Reminds me of how Beowulf fights in that ring of his)" Technically it was her ring but she didn't care.

Getting bored of the Game Show she changed the channel. She knew how to use the remote after a bit of difficulty. Now you may be asking yourself: Why in the world would Double watch TV if she had already got a firm grasp on her "Imitation Skills". Well, the nun was really curious about human television and even though she had been in Canopy for a long time, she had never really watched more than three channels. Hey, if it helped her one up her enemies, why not?

After flicking through the many channels, she landed on a documentary. "Hm. This could be interesting." What she saw was a cameraman filming what appeared to be a bear and a tiger together. They appeared to be... enjoying each others company?! "What in the name of Aeon is this..."

"(Language.)"

"(Apologies.) What is this? A bear and a tiger friends? I thought predators hated other predators. They can't be friends?" After watching for about thirty minutes, Double was left dumbfounded.

"(And I always thought that animals were smarter than humans due to how they stick with their instincts. However, I see they have also adopted the unnecessary trait known as: Companionship. Things just keep getting increasingly unusual as I gain more and more information...) Hm... I think it may be best to stop watching for now." Saying that, she turned off the television as it went to commercials and sat on the dusty nursing bed.

Again, she was the caretaker of the place, so she practically owned everything, well technically Marie did but Double would let the girl believe that for now.

Speaking of the new host. The nun was concerned Marie would not hold up her end of the bargain. Due to her stubborn will, The SkullHeart could not gain a strong grip over the girl's body and soul and thus, Double was forced to negotiate with The Skullgirl. Simple really: Give her the Medicis, she would do their bidding. However, Double suspected that would not be the case after she had achieved their goals.

It was amazing, how a young girl could overcome the strong influence of The SkullHeart and actually use its power to certify her own ends. Selene and Nancy were much older and they offered no resistance at all, causing so much destruction and chaos. Yet, one tiny insignificant 13-year-old girl could block it's influence out, all because of revenge for another. The nun just couldn't understand mortals at all and she suspected she never would.

However... Then there was Beowulf… A fool yes but an effective fool at that. His brash, outgoing, larger than life personality, his amazing stamina and strength proved very useful for their plans. It's just… Something felt strange about him. Through thick and thin, he just seemed to never get in a depressed state, whenever she saw him anyway. His constant happy nature and his slightly perturbing grins were enough to slightly grate her and yet… the more she replayed it in her head... She couldn't help but strangely... "No... not this time" Double muttered to herself almost angrily. "This time...in just a few short hours." Double reassured herself.

Everything was proceeding according to plan. "(Now. I think it's time I returned to the arena...) I can only wonder how long he will take." The nun mused and walked out of her private chambers.

She regarded Valentine for a second on her way out, seeing the nurse sitting, asleep on the stairs, then transformed and walked out into the night.

NMO Arena, Summer 4/8/1996

Beowulf got slammed to the mat with a "Cross Legged Fisherman Brainbuster, Mr. Omegas finisher Aoi Shoudou!"

"I can see that Mike and Omega is going for the cover… Wait! He's picking the Wulf back up again!"

"He's going for it a second time!"

"No… No… This is too much!" Beowulf was then slammed for a second time by Mr. Omega and by the same move. However, Omega was too exhausted to even go for the cover.

"Omega's down as well. Can he capitalise?!"

"Could we see the streak end here?! His first win against the Gigan Grendel, now turned partner. Could all come tumbling down, if The Wulf gets pinned here tonight!"

"Wait Omega's stirring… He's crawling! He's crawling towards Beowulf! He's covering him! Count It Ref! Count it!"

"Is the streak over?! Here we go!"

"1… 2…. With a surge of energy Beowulf pushed Omega off him.

"HE KICKED OUT! HE KICKED OUT OF TWO AOI SHOUDOUS! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

"AND NEITHER CAN OMEGA!" Omega looked at Beowulf, shocked that he kicked out of his deadly finisher delivered twice.

Beowulf began to stumble to his feet and at last stood up on both, all the while smiling slyly. Ready for anything, even though he seemed a bit out of it. Omega seeing his chance ran and went for another move but before Omega could grab him, Beowulf countered with "Wulf Cutter outta NOWHERE! (Forward standing Cutter) He was playin' possum! The head was delivered to the ground with force! Package received!"

"And now he's covering Omega!"

"1… 2… 3…!"

"Here's your Winner annnnnnd stilllllllll undefeated Wulfamania Champion! Beoooooowullllfffff!" The crowd erupted in a cheer, after the incredible high stakes ending, all hearts pumping.

"Simply amazing! Beowulf has done it again! Another victory to add to his Streak Josh!"

"I thought for sure that Omega had him but never underestimate a Wulf when you corner him!"

"The champion is celebrating with his Wulfpack of fans! Well deserved!"

"Indeed Mike. Thank you for watching Canopy World Wrestling and we'll see you Monday! Good night folks!" The commentators: Mike and Josh stopped talking and let the rest be history.

Beowulf did his signature pose with Grendel and then slowly made his way out of the ring and up the ramp. While Omega had an outburst of rage in the ring. So, close to beating the unbeatable Beowulf and he lost! Omega then followed Beowulf up the ramp, after a few minutes of him raging. The crowd booing him all the way. He just gave them the middle finger, which caused a gasp from parts of the audience and he walked behind the curtain.

Beowulf unfolded hurting and sat on it, simply exhausted. "(A 25-minute match with fast paced action? Man, it's good but it takes a lot out of ya) Urghh." Beowulf felt his stomach. A few cracked ribs he guessed. He'd go see the doc in a bit. Amazingly, he was one of the few that didn't get too many injuries, which was good, since he was the poster boy. "I'm looking forward to when I can take a break from being at the top." The Wulf muttered. Remembering his conversation with Zane a few months back.

He was soon joined by his opponent, who looked to be searching for him. When he saw Beowulf, Mr Omega walked up to him and simply stood there, with a stern look never leaving his face. It's like he was constantly ticked off.

Mr. Omega just kept staring at Beowulf. The look still plastered on his face and Beowulf looked right back. Ever so slowly however, Beowulf began to snicker and the curves of Omega's mouth began to turn up. Then he smiled and Beowulf smiled and then… They both laughed.

Embracing one another and still laughing. "The amount of Kayfabe (Without breaking character) you keep up bro. Nothing but respect for you."

Omega rubbed the back of his head. "Well you know. Someone's got to show everyone how to play their roles right. Hell, even you. The legendary Beowulf."

Beowulf put his hands up in defeat. "I'm not gonna argue with that." He chuckled and Omega joined in.

Omega was only 23 years old. His experience in the ring however, spoke for itself. His in-ring work and mic skills matched his mature stature and modest humorous personality. His character was the complete opposite, except for one thing. Being cocky, arrogant disrespectful and brash. The only similarities were that they had a sense of humour. Still, despite being new, he had all the qualities and attributes of being a veteran already. One of the reasons Beowulf liked the kid so much. Himself being only older by a couple years.

"By the way, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to face you. Out of all the new guys, you choose me and that really means a lot."

"Hey, it's no problem the others are amazing as well but thanks for the compliment. I'm sure, after our match, Zane will give you a really big push. So don't think of you being added to the streak that it's buried you in some way, cause it hasn't. Personally, I'd have you beat the streak and you could show everyone what you're made of." Beowulf gave the kid a slap on the back.

"Wow… Thank you…" Omega was speechless.

"Eh but it ain't up to me in the end. Zane will do you good though. Trust me. I'll even put a good word in for you."

"Thanks… but I want to be able to show him myself."

Beowulf grinned at him. "That's what I wanted to hear."

"Ken, you're needed in the backstage interview." The Stage Manager called the young talent.

Omega nodded to Beowulf, who returned the gesture. Both not needing to say anything to one another now, as he walked away. The Wulf stood and pondered for a moment, before turning and walking in the other direction.

About to walk past Zane's office which hardly no one passed by weirdly, he saw Lacie coming out of the room and judging by it, she looked a bit depressed. That or she was acting. The Wulf would have liked the latter but the former was probably right. As she put her back against the wall, next to the door she just closed he approached her.

"Hey, there Mrs. MacDougal. Err… You doing cool?" He stuttered.

She looked at him with a reassuring smile. "Yes, everything's fine. I just had a bit of an argument with my husband. He can be so focused on "running the business" as you call it, that sometimes I think he doesn't care for me."

Beowulf didn't know what to say. "I… I'm sure he has a good reason Mrs. I mean… Paying attention to both must be hard on him… (Really hope that worked)" He crossed his fingers in his head.

She gave him a doubtful look. "I know that but… listen, would you mind taking me back to that restaurant we went to a few months back? I just need to clear my head over a tea or something." She asked.

Beowulf tried to speak but no words came out. "(Me?!) Sure… I'm done for today. Anything to help… Heh."

Lacie smiled. "Thanks. I greatly appreciate it."

Both turned to walk away and as they did, Beowulf could not stop thinking of ways of how he would humiliate himself. "(What if I say the wrong thing…? What If my main falls off…? My chair hits her in the head…? Or)-" Meanwhile, since the champ was looking forward and lost in his own mind, Lacie looked back to see Zane leaning against the wall, arms crossed, giving off an amused look.

He gave her a nod, as if he was telepathically giving orders, she only looked down in the floor in shame and then turned around to find Beowulf staring ahead with a stare so bad, he'd win in a contest. The dirty blonde continued to follow their movements, until they were just out of sight. After, he walked back into his office, closing the door behind him.

Sitting down on his chair, he picked up where he left off: Writing. It was a good thing she had switched around the phone and office tray. It made everything a bit easier. After all, it was a bit of a pain to have to get up slightly and reach for it. Perhaps she was getting lazy...

There was hardly any sound in the small room, apart from the small sounds the pen made when it connected with the white paper and the roaring of the crowd when something eye popping happened in ring. However, the shapeshifter enjoyed the quiet of her office, it was like a mini sanctuary for her. No people, no annoyances, no Beowulf...

This small winded peace ended sadly, when Zane heard a knock on the door. Right before he could answer however, the room suddenly got dark. Like a shadow had manifested and was turning everything it looked at into blackness. The shades wearing man hesitantly turned to look at the source. In a corner to his right, something had formed next to the radio.

Hearing the knock again, the man turned his attention to the door and shouted "Hold on for a couple minutes please! I'm on the phone!" Turning back however, Zane almost froze when he saw a hand gently clutching said phone.

"Who says you're not?" A sort of distorted, sultry voice quipped, as the darkened black hand released it's grip and began to tap the phone lightly.

Zane's shades flashed. "This is an unexpected pleasure..."

"I concur... Now..."

Meanwhile, on the outside of the office, Jake Rollins was getting really impatient. This was it. This was the last straw. He was absolutely sick of Beowulf getting pushed every God damn week. It was wrong and it was a spit in the face to him and the rest of the talent. He was going to stand up for himself and the rest of the locker room. Some of the other guys didn't really have the courage and he understood that, so this was his way of speaking up for them.

"(That's a damn long phone call...) Actually..." Getting an idea, he blocked out the other noises around him and pressed his ear to the wooden door. Muffled voices could be heard on the other side. Concentrating more and...

"...Understand?"

"Yes... it will continue to spread..."

"Good. I'll get in touch later, when- hold on..."

"What is it? Ah... Î̶̪ s̵͙̊è̶̦é̷̤.̶"

"Heh-heh... We have... an interloper..."

"Shit!" Jake was gobsmacked at what he heard but more importantly he needed to tell the others quickly.

Unfortunately, by the time he'd turned around to run, the door had swung open and something fleshy had grabbed hold of his leg. Try as he might, he couldn't break free of its grip and the door quickly slammed shut, ironically by him, since he held on to it before being pulled in.

If you listened closely, you would have heard the man shouting and screaming for help but to no avail, as there were no passerby's anywhere near and the mans cries died with him.

Little Innsmouth, Dak'kull Dubu

Sitting down, Beowulf sat across from Lacie, in the wooden restaurant, again, no idea what to do or say. He had not seen her very much over their first encounter or gotten to know her that well. The only times he did, was when she'd be backstage with Zane or in the crowd, again with Zane and whenever he said "Hi" She'd always have a sad look, that and she was spacing out slightly before they got into the restaurant. Well he guessed he could ask her now.

"So…" Beowulf began to start off the conversation, Lacie soon looked up at him.

"Yes? Oh and my apologies if I was acting weird a few seconds ago. I have a recurring headache at the moment." She replied sheepishly.

"Nah... it's cool. You eh... tried aspirin?" Beowulf replied hesitantly cracking a joke that he hoped would have some effect.

To his surprise and relief, Lacie chuckled. "I would have but I haven't had time due to being busy. You know being married to Zane and all."

"Ha, yeah, right..." The Champ joined in with an awkward chuckle and then the table was silent for a few seconds once more, before he spoke up again.

"Sorry… It's just the times I've seen you, you've always looked so sad. Why's that?" Lacie gave him a very conflicted look, while she adjusted her chair.

"To start off: He's not ignoring me at all… It's just…" She began, "It's just Zane seems too busy worrying about the state of the industry… It's eating him up. Now, I know he loves it but I can see that trying to balance both like you said... that's... that's very hard. Even for him and you seem to be getting tired of winning all the time. I just don't want you both to get depressed and do something stupid…"

Beowulf gave an apathetic chuckle in response. "Lady, if you could only know how much I want to drop my belt to someone else. Man… It's hard but I do know that if I do drop it, the fans will stop watching and I don't want them to lose that happiness every time they see me wrestling, cutting a promo, hell, or even just being there. Has Zane told you bout that idea we had?"

Lacie tried to process what he said. "(The weight of the company on his shoulders and not thinking of anything but the fans... He's doing it all for them, while also trying at least to be positive... Zane…) Yeah, he did. I'm not sure enough time will be made for it to happen though…" Her expression saddened, as their drinks were brought to them.

Saying "Thanks." And taking a sip of his foamed beer, Beowulf asked "How come?"

Lacie poured her milk into the cup and took a sigh. "It's because of the changes Zane made to the Industry. You should know, you were there."

Beowulf put his finger to his chin. "Hmmmm... Oh! Yeah... The changes! I remember after the fight with Grendy, he spoke to me about it. What kind of-"

"Did you say Grendy?" Lacie interrupted.

"Uh yeah? Something wrong with that?" Beowulf raised an eyebrow.

"Well… He was a Gigan… It's almost like you're talking about him like he's your friend."

"But he was, is."

Lacie blinked. "(Okay… Wasn't expecting that…) Uh, alright… Where were we?"

Beowulf waved it off as he took another sip. "No worries and err… The changes?"

"Right, right. Now because of the new rules he's set in place, Zane has backed himself into a corner. True it's helped wrestling become a lot safer and helped the new stars, to an extent but there's just one problem: The hardcore fans and some of the wrestlers miss all the blood, swearing and heavy hitting violence. In my opinion, I'm glad it's gone but I'm just one voice and if Zane won't stop changing the product and pushing you to the moon and beyond? Then… The product will collapse." Lacie ended by taking a sip of her tea.

Beowulf rubbed his chin. "Well ain't that a fucking pickle." He chuckled as he looked at Lacie. Seeing she was not laughing, the Wulf's smile dropped. "Sorry, sorry... I'm with you on the good language part as well. I'm happy we went safer, less risk but still more action! So, we can agree on that one."

"Indeed." Lacie's stern look changed to one of amusement and chuckled at the man's weird quirks.

Silence filled the room for a couple seconds before the Wulf spoke up again. "You sure it's that bad?"

"Yes. I looked at the ratings and it's dropped by oooh... a couple thousand since January?"

"Oh, you mean because of the-"

"Yes, that stupid love story. What was he thinking! And those feuds that make no damn sense too!"

"Yeah… I kinda doubted that too. It wasn't Johnny's fault either... Oh yeah... That's another thing worrying me. The boyz in the Lockeroom are getting more and more restless about what Zane's doing with me in feuds. Not all of em mind you, some of them get it's hard for me too but it is sad that I can't really do anything about the rest."

"(Surprised he's realized that). It's not your fault, you're just doing what Zane tells you and I'm sure he means well but you've got to convince him. Otherwise, well you already know."

Beowulf finished his beer and gave a burp. "Pardon sorry. Yeah I get what you're saying Mrs. MacDougal"

The woman laughed off the pleasantry with a wave "Please, call me Lacie Beowulf. Just because I'm your best friends husband, doesn't mean we can't be friendly." She smiled sweetly at him.

The nice gesture was interrupted when Beowulf burped again "Sorry."

"It's fine but all things considered, you are a good guy Beowulf." She gave him a sincere expression and then looked at her watch, before Beowulf could give a reply. "Sorry about this but I need to go now. If you ever want to talk, just ask and we can meet here. I'm counting on you to change his mind as well. See you soon. Later." She waved and left.

"S-Sure." Beowulf stuttered, as he watched her leave, giving a sigh once she was out the door. "(I just... I don't know what to do… Go along with Zane's idea or ask him to stop putting me above everyone else but then, the idea he has is so perfect… I don't know…) Urgh, (I'll just think about it later. I'm tired)" Thinking that, Beowulf got up and took his beer and Lacie's half-finished tea to the bar table.

The young Dagonian gave him a thanks and Beowulf walked out the restaurant, into the warm Summer night. "Man. It's hot, need to take off my main. (Well at least I got to know her a little better... And I keep saying I'm not good with women Ha! Heh... I'd like to talk to her again though... She seems like someone who I can just be completely open and casual with. She was totally cool too... I don't get to hang with guys like that often...)"

And Beowulf wouldn't dare admit this himself. He wanted to talk to her since… it would help with his confidence going out into the arena.

As he walked off, a lone figure watched him leave from an above balcony. Concealed by the darkness, it calmly put both hands on the wooden rail and a sinister smirk crept over the person's face.

NMO Arena (Zane's Office)

"I trust everything went well?" Zane asked, sitting at his desk. His emotionless face giving off a silent eeriness.

Lacie was almost sweating. "Yes."

"You are dismissed."

"You're going to do something horrible to him, aren't you?"

No Reply.

"...Please don't... He's a good man! Why can't you-"

"That's quite enough." The manager raised his hand silencing the outburst. "Thank you and leave…" He softly commanded.

And Lacie did just that and closed the door behind her but not before uttering. "We'll see who's on-top soon bitch..."

He paid no mind to the silent insult and after, the dirty blonde turned around his chair to look at the lovely wall behind her, "She's quite a loyal one." he mused.

"(Indeed, she is...)"

She suddenly felt someone enter her thoughts. "Ah... Oh… My apologies. Yes... Yes...Very well…"

"(Good... Now hear it is...)"

"Understood." He said after about a minute. Zane then got out a pen and paper. On it, he wrote "Randy vs Mr. Omega."

Beowulf's Apartment, Autumn 2/9/2008

"CRASH!"

Beowulf woke up with a jolt, well, more accurately a crash. He had fallen out of bed… again.

"Ow... Urgh. Need to start getting used to that." He rubbed his head in annoyance while shaking his head and getting up.

Afterwards, he made his way to the bathroom. After having a shower and brushing his teeth, he sat on the sofa, while drinking his freshly made Chamomile tea that he prepared before.

"Ah... Nothing like some good ol' healthy tea to get the body settled. Right Hurting? I know! Ha-ha!" After a couple seconds, the black haired man looked at his half-broken clock and almost spat out his tea. "Ah, crap. Gonna be late! Alright guys let's go to work!" Grabbing Hurting and Grendel, Beowulf drank what he could, left the cup on the table, dashed out the front door and into the almost empty streets.

Meanwhile, above, a one-eyed person, eyed Beowulf from the rooftops and sighed. "He's not listened to a word I said. What a surprise. Please don't do anything too stupid Beowulf." Annie pleaded. While flying off into the early morning night, to follow the Wulf. She wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him too much due to the other happenings going on in the city but she did have her backup.

However, it seemed Annie wasn't the only one interloping...

As Beowulf jogged along the alleyways and taking his shortcut like always, he came across what appeared to be an unconscious young girl laying on the ground.

Concerned, he tried to shake the girl awake but he wasn't expecting a reaction like this. "Hands off perv!" The girl's hair suddenly slapped his hands away. The Wulf just stared in shock as the hair formed into what appeared to be a face. "What's the big idea!?" The hair growled.

"What the hell?!" Beowulf shouted in surprise.

The yellow eye raised an eyebrow. "Ain't got all day chum!"

Beowulf did have a thought of what he was looking at. He had to be sure though. "Nothing… I was just checking to see if she's okay. Are you a parasite of some kind bud?"

"Ain't you the smartass? Yeah, I'm a parasite. She's my host and she's exhausted. So, if you wouldn't mind just BUGGERING OFF! That be really appreciated." Samson sneered.

Beowulf clenched his fists together in response, trying to keep himself from getting pissed. He'd already gotten enough of this the other night "Alright, fine. Your call bro. (I just wanted to help…)" He muttered.

The Wulf caught wind of the girl asking about him but the parasite just told her it was "Some nut job creep. Get some rest. Babe."

"(Calls her babe...) Tch. (He sounds more like a creep to me…)" Beowulf thought angrily, as he walked away. He wanted to do something but then he didn't want to fight without a good enough reason. Hey, he may be wrestler but he wasn't a war monger.

Now walking, Beowulf began to think why everyone was acting strange. "(Seriously, why does everyone I come across try to either: Fight me, make fun of me or tell me to get lost? I don't get it…) I just want to help people… He sighed. "(Don't feel negative about it man. Just go see Zane and everything will be alright from there) Yeah it'll be fine." Beowulf grinned happily to himself and continued on...

NMO Arena (Zane's Office)

A certain dirty blonde drummed his fingers on the desk... very annoyed. "And I was right... (How hard is it to walk from his house to here without bumping into things!) Blundering fool. (If he doesn't show up in a couple minutes, the timing will be off...)" Just then the phone rang.

Picking it up Zane knew who it was immediately. "Yes?"

"We're in position. Is he there yet?"

"No unfortunately."

"Well you better get a close on his current whereabouts before Marie decides to just attack the Lab outright."

"She can't keep her rage quiet for a few pitiful hours let alone seconds. I'm requesting a few more minutes. Let her know now..." The nun spoke with a commanding tone.

Valentine noticed the sudden change but ignored it for the time being. "Hold on.. ...Yeah… Understood… Alright, she says you've got three." Just then, the door knocked.

"No need. He's here. Send the fake Theonite readings to the Casino, Bridge and Rooftops... now."

"Got it. See you in a bit."

"Farewell for now."

Connection dropped and Zane quickly put down the phone and said. "Come in." In walked Beowulf with a bewildered expression.

"Hey bud! Why the confused and angry look?" Zane asked curiously.

The big man took a seat and rubbed his head. "Seriously, you aren't kidding about the weirdos, Zane. Wish I could wrestle some of the guys from back in the day. (And also hang out with em)"

The manager merely sat back and silently smiled in his chair. "(He's doubting himself. This is much further development than last time. However, we need him positive for now so-) It's The Skullgirl's influence, it brings them out." He smiled reassuringly and sat forward.

Beowulf scratched his chin to think over it. (That would explain a lot) Yeah. Out of the woodwork, right. You said that. (Is it The Skullgirl though?") He pondered.

Seeing his student deep in thought made Zane a tiny bit annoyed. He needed to quell the brainstorm of "intelligent" ideas that were forming. "I thought you wanted to be New Meridian's number one!" The enthusiastic sleek man got up from his chair and put his hand into a fist. "Times change, my friend. You've got to keep up. Forget the old days, you're complaining to me while your fans are howling for the Wulf!" The dirty blonde flashed a toothy smile at his student.

"(...Maybe I should tell him about what happened) But the stuff I've been hearing-"

Zane eye twitched but he still managed to muster a shaky smile which got Beowulf stop what he was saying and made him wonder if his bud was doing alright "(Must have had a bad night…)"

The dirty blonde's expression and posture then quickly changed to one of enthusiasm with a slight vexed tone. "... Nonsense, forget it! You know how people get they just want to tear you down. They know you're onto something." In response however, the Wulf still looked hesitant.

Zane paused for a moment before continuing. "... Think about your career. Your Wulfpack is back. Who cares about the rest!" Satisfied, the manager watched Beowulf's body language carefully.

The Black haired Wulf stood up and thought about what had just been said, stunned. After a few seconds, he then shook his head in shame. "...Yeah... YEAH! (What am I doin'? I've got everything back again! Why should I care about what some stupid nurse and girl say?!) You know, you're right. The Wulf is back!" Beowulf put his fists into a confident hand gesture.

The dirty blonde grinned right back, glad that he had convinced him. Inside however... "(These... distractions got in the way and he... encouraged them... ...nevermind...) Which is good because I have another little problem...eh...ah... I mean another opportunity lined up... (How did I...)." Zane gave a hesitant laugh.

Luckily it seemed Beowulf hadn't caught on but he was thinking something. "(Is he doing cool? He's been a bit off since we first met back up. Is it… Lacie…?)"

Zane meanwhile, continued on. "I need you at the River King Casino, PDQ. I set up another match with a freak called "Big Band." You can't miss him, big as a house, with a trench coat draped over the mess. You'd better be quick too. He's an impatient guy as well."

Beowulf nodded. "Cool bro. Hope he's a lot friendlier than the last one. One thing though."

"Yeah?" Zane replied while taking a seat.

"You seem a bit off… I was thinking it was something to do with Lacie…? She OK? Haven't seen her in ages?"

"(Of all the times...) Ha-ha! I'm surprised you didn't mention her when we first met back up my man!"

"I felt it wasn't cool asking about her you know… Since you're private about that stuff… Just want to know if you're both doin' good..."

The "Mentor" was caught off guard by the nice attitude and the unexpected question. "Er… (Again...?) Thanks babe. Well… You see… she's moved to Chess… to explore… other opportunities, just like what you're doing here now heh. I've been meaning to get back in contact with her. If I do, I'll let you know you asked about her." He gave a thumbs up casually.

"Thanks man. Anything else is wrong, just tell me. Always here for ya bro." Beowulf flashed another sweet smile, that made his manger eyes twitch again.

Zane could feel her face warming up a tiny bit but she quickly regained his composure and gave off an uncharacteristically loud...

"HA! Yeah. Right. Right… Look you better be going. Don't want to keep the fans waiting!"

"Oh, shoot. Yeah! See you later bro. Enjoy the match! I'll give 150%!" Beowulf shouted and gave a thumbs up as he left.

"Please do and I will!" Zane shouted back after him. The room then fell silent.

Picking up the phone and typing in a secret code, she got in contact with her associate's communicator. Muffled radio static could be heard before someone abruptly answered "Valentine."

"He... he just left…"

"What a coincidence. The Big Guy, along with the others, have just went on their respective wild goose chase. Care to join in on the dancing...? ...You alri-"

"I'll be along shortly... have... fun..."

"We will." The communicator shut off and Zane slowly put the phone down.

However, the dirty blonde didn't get up, she stayed seated in fact and turned around in her chair. Looking at her hands and taking off her shades, she took a long pause. The Shapeshifter could feel she was breathing heavily and she had not felt that sensation ever "What was that…? What just happened...? The smile… I thought this time... it would be... He's... stronger than I previously believed… I couldn't think… My face got warmer… I… don't...

What. Is. This…"

I'll see you good people in the next one. Review at your leisure and have a good one!