A defeated Shane McMahon left the laboratory in the basement of the Safe Haven mansion the revelation of his actions fell upon Stephanie McMahon and the others in the room. Only Daniel Bryan and Xavier Woods remained, the two men were still shocked by what they saw and heard mere moments ago concerning the still unconscious Cesaro laying on the medical table. Xavier looked at Cesaro with pity.

"Poor guy." He said, not knowing what else to say. All Daniel could do was shake his head as he thought about Shane. He looked at Cesaro and it seemed he was torn away from everything going on around him as he rested in peace. Daniel and Xavier then heard an audible beep. They looked to find it had come from the equipment monitoring Cesaro's energy signal. Daniel quickly made his way to the machine and saw that it indeed showed a reading. Daniel furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Is it showing a reading?" Xavier asked as he made his way over to the machine to see for himself.

"It is." Daniel answered simply. "A steady one at that." Xavier looked at Cesaro with concern.

"What if what Stephanie said was right, Brian?" He asked. "What if Shane really did mess something up in Claudio's head and that's what's causing this stuff with his energy level?" Daniel hesitated before answering.

"I don't know." He said. "I don't think there's anything we can do on our end to help him if that's the case. They're the only ones who can tap into his head." He then looked over at Cesaro. "Honestly, though. I don't think that is going to help either." Suddenly, the pair saw Cesaro's eyes snap open, causing both of them to jump slightly. Cesaro looked around the room without moving until his eyes met with Daniel and Xavier's. He gave them a soft smile.

"Hey Brian." He said in a tired voice. "Hey Austin. Good to see you two." Daniel quickly smiled at the man.

"Good to see you awake, Claudio." He said. Cesaro took one more glance at his surroundings before slowly sitting up.

"What am I doing in the lab?" He asked.

"We just needed to check on you again and make sure things are okay." Xavier answered. Cesaro raised his eyebrows.

"Am I good?" He innocently asked. "I feel okay." Daniel nodded.

"Everything looks good to us. Not a hair outta place." Cesaro chuckled lightly.

"I don't have any hair." He said. "Not on my head, at least." He then sat up, grabbed his shirt, slipped it on and began speaking again. "I wonder how the ceremony thing went. Shame I didn't get to go." Daniel and Xavier looked at each other with confusion as Cesaro waved at them and made his way out of the room and up the stairs.

"What just happened?" Xavier asked Daniel. "Does he… not remember going to the ceremony?" Daniel did not answer. He simply eyed where Cesaro stood before leaving the laboratory.

On his way up the stairs, Cesaro began to hear commotion coming from what sounded like the lobby. The noises sounded much closer, however, when Cesaro closed his eyes. They sounded like voices. In fact, he could see where the voices came from and who they belonged to. It was his friends shouting in the lobby with what appeared to be military officials. He then focused on where the officials stood and saw that it was not just the ones standing in the doorway of the lobby, but also several more outside with two armored vehicles and a helicopter. He focused on the voices and listened.

"The President sent them for Claudio!" He heard Noam say to Stephanie whom was running urgently down the stairway of the lobby. "They're trying to take him away!" Cesaro furrowed his brow in confusion as he continued to listen.

"What?" He heard Stephanie shout.

"Misses McMahon." Cesaro heard one of the officials say. "We are here by order of the President to retrieve Claudio Castagnoli for questioning and trial effective immediately." Cesaro snapped his eyes open. His tried to think of why the President sent for him and wished to question him. He could think of nothing.

In the lobby, Stephanie shook her head at the official's information and turned her attention to Shane.

"Shane!" She shouted. "Why are they here now? Say something! Shane? Shane!"

Shane could hear nothing Stephanie or anyone had said from that point. He knew that everything going on was his fault and the weight of it all rendered him motionless. He knew not how to fix any of the mess he had made nor did he understand the magnitude of what he had done. All he thought about was Cesaro. Cesaro was the only one who occupied Shane's mind and it frightened him as it made him think of what might become of him and just how little he would be able to help… if Cesaro even wanted his help after what Shane had done to him. The pain of the guilt tore into his chest and ate at his lungs like debilitating cancer. Shane was torn from his trance by reality.

"I don't know why they're here." He responded before looking back to the men in front of him. "We need more time. Please. You have our word, we will send him to the President as soon as we-"

"Sir!" The official shouted. "If you do not step away then we will-"

"You'll what?" They then were all shaken from that moment by Cesaro's voice. Everyone looked to the stairway to see him standing at the top with a confused look on his face. Shane swallowed a lump. "What's the meaning of this? Why are you all here bothering my friends?" One of the officials pushed past Mojo.

"Watch it, Dude!" Mojo protested. The official looked up to Cesaro.

"Claudio Castagnoli." He began. "You are wanted by the President of the United States for questioning due to potential acts of terrorism on your behalf. We demand you come with us now." Cesaro blinked and then (much to everyone's surprise) laughed at the accusation.

"You've got to be joking!" He said. "Me? Terrorism?" The official quickly grew irritated with Cesaro's attitude.

"This is not a joking matter, Mister Castagnoli!" He shouted. "You will be coming with us with or without your cooperation." The other officials aimed their guns at Cesaro, making his friends grow tense. John Cena instinctively reached out to the closest man with a weapon.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Don't point that shit at him! He didn't do anything wrong!" Cesaro, in that moment, realized that the men in uniform did not jest. He assumed they spoke of the ceremony that had been held earlier that day, but had no memory of ever attending, much less committing such a heinous act. It confused him endlessly, but he also knew that the men would not stand down unless he accompanied them and he did not want any of his friends harmed because of his resistance. He immediately decided he would join the officials and cooperate with them. Cesaro went to tell the men he would follow along, however, he felt his psyche shift from compliance to defiance.

"No." He said, his facial features hardened as his tone. "I won't… be going anywhere." Triple H eyed Cesaro and noticed the orange flicker in his eyes that left as quickly as it came. The lead official was taken aback by the complete shift in tone and the disobedience shown by their target.

"Excuse me?" He said. He then felt a feeling in his head that felt like a heavy helmet had been forcefully staged on his crown. The other men in the room began to feel the same sensation and froze in place. Shane and Stephanie saw Cesaro furrow his brow and knew that he was using his power to not only enter the minds of the officials but control their thoughts, something he knew never to do without consent.

"I said…" Cesaro said sternly. "I won't be going anywhere." Cesaro then tilted his head to one side and the men dropped their weapons to the ground, the sounds of the guns hitting the floor ringing through the lobby. His friends then saw a faint and transparent aura begin to form around him as he continued to use his powers to control the men. "Now, you are all… going to take your vehicles… and leave. Go back to where you all came from and don't come back." Cesaro had spoken and the men all turned around, left the lobby, and entered their vehicles, leaving the mansion behind like soldiers heeding the command of a general. Becky looked outside to see the convoys leaving and then looked back.

"They're gone." She said. "They left." They all then looked at Cesaro who still stood at the top of the stairway.

"Claudio." John called out to him. They all then saw Cesaro make his way down the stairs without saying a word. His face had filled with confusion.

"What were they talking about?" Cesaro asked. "Why is the President of the United States after me?" Becky blinked as she could not believe Cesaro had no recollection of the events that transpired mere hours ago.

"You big dope!" She said. "You lost your head and blew up the stage! You don't remember any of that?"

"Rebecca." Shane said as he looked to Becky. Cesaro blinked at her.

"I did what?" He asked, genuinely confused by Becky's words. "How? I didn't even go to the ceremony. The President's confused. He's got the wrong person… Right?" It was then that Becky realized that Cesaro truly had no memory of what happened. Feeling guilty, she reached out to Cesaro.

"Claudio." She said in a consoling tone. "I'm sorry I said that." Cesaro shook his head again.

"If I didn't go…" He said. "Then why are they after me?" John stepped to his side and gently grabbed his arm.

"Claudio." He said to him. "Don't worry. We'll get to the bottom of this." That moment, the group heard Daniel Bryan and Xavier Woods make their way to the lobby; the two men were halted by the atmosphere of the room as they approached.

"What happened up here?" Xavier asked.

"The President sent for Claudio." Brie answered. "He sent men here to arrest him." Daniel looked shocked.

"What?" He said. "Why?" Everyone then saw Cesaro run out of the lobby and out of the mansion.

"Claudio!" John shouted as he ran after him.

"John, wait!" Nikki said, running after John. Simon looked over to Shane with slight anger.

"This is your fault." He said to Shane before leaving to join John and Nikki.


In a local hospital, Macey Estrella was being seen by one of the nurses after she and many others were involved in the incident at the ceremony. The man had been asking her questions per his protocol. However, Macey had become annoyed as the man seemed to be asking the same questions of her several times over.

"Look." Macey said. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I told you I'm fine. You saw the x-rays. I don't have any cuts, bruises, or broken bones. I can move just fine. I just want to check on my friends and help make sure other people get some help." The nurse nodded.

"Ma'am." He said as he continued writing. "I understand and I personally thank you. We have everything under control here. We have emergency staff on call for situations like this." The nurse stopped writing on his clipboard and shook his head. "Shame about what happened, really. Alright, Miss Estrella. I think we have everything we need. Thank you for being so patient. You're free to go." Macey stood up out of her chair.

"Thank you, Sir." She said respectfully. "Take care of yourself." She then made her way out of the room and almost immediately ran into Travis whom had been headed down the hallway.

"Macey." He said. "You're alright. You heal quick."

"I've been through worse." Macey said to him before eying the bandage on his head. "I see they redid those head wraps."

"Yeah. When we first came in, they just gave me some temporary bandages. These are sturdier. I'm just lucky we got seen again so quickly. Rex is worse off. He has some hairline fractures in his right leg." Macey gasped.

"Oh no!" She said. "Can I see him?" Travis shook his head.

"They just told me they're gonna prep him for surgery." He said. "They aren't allowing anyone else to see him."

"Darn. Well, have you been to check on Sarah, Maki, or Eckers? What about Franklin?"

"Rex was the first one of us I saw. I was on my way find everyone else." Macey nodded and clasped her hands together.

"Let's check on them together." She suggested.

"Yeah." Travis agreed before pulling out his phone. "I'm gonna try and call Ronda."


General Zodrick and Ronda Rousey rode in their military convoy along with three other convoys headed towards the mansion to assist in apprehending Cesaro. Zodrick heard Ronda's phone begin to ring and saw her pull it out of her pocket. She looked at the phone and saw that it was Travis calling her. Ronda knew what he wanted to talk about but decided to ignore the call and put the phone back in her pocket. Zodrick shook his head.

"You know." He said to her. "It's truly none of my business how you deal with your personal issues, but I can say that you're gonna have to answer him eventually. He's called four times in the last three minutes." Ronda shook her head.

"I already know what he wants, Sir." She told him. "I told him already that I'd talk to him when I got home." Zodrick nodded.

"Well then, Rousey. I guess we'd better discuss it then. Are you going to keep your head leveled when we get to the mansion? We're the ones in charge and we have to be ready to make peace no matter how much we disagree with it."

Ronda took a deep breath. While she knew that taking Zodrick up on his offer meant that she would have to work against herself for the greater mission even more often than she did when she was a lower rank, Ronda did not realize just how difficult the task would be.

"Sir." She said. "I just want to bring Claudio to justice for hurting all those people and this country. Whatever that takes, I'll do." The two then heard the driver of the convoy call out to Zodrick.

"General Zodrick." The man said. "Team Bravo is headed away from the destination, Sir." Zodrick blinked.

"How do you know this?" He asked.

"They're headed down the road now, Sir. They're in eyesight."

"Well, Radio in and find out if they have Claudio!"

"Yes sir!" The man immediately pressed and held a button on the dashboard. "Bravo team. This is Alpha. What is your status?" The man did not hear a response. After waiting a moment, he repeated his request. "Bravo! This is Alpha. We need your status immediately." Again, he received no response and he began to worry. "Alpha! Come in! Alpha!" The driver saw the convoys pass him and the others.

"Something doesn't seem right." Ronda said. "I thought all the teams had orders to inform each other if they take Claudio in." Zodrick huffed and eyed the woman.

"Ready yourself, Rousey." He said to her. "We may have to get our hands dirty."


Outside the mansion, Cesaro had run to the edge of the front garden and had fallen to his knees, the confusion of what happened and why he could not remember it weighing him down physically and emotionally. He felt like he wanted to scream as he felt his powers rise uncontrollably from within him. Cesaro shut his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm himself and his powers down, becoming so enthralled that he had not heard Stephanie call out to him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Stephanie, John, Nikki, and Simon standing a ways away from him. Cesaro looked at them with pleading eyes.

"Tell me." He pleaded to them. "Please tell me I didn't do that." John looked Cesaro in his eyes and Stephanie gave him a warm smile. Nikki, however, looked away as she was unable to see Cesaro in such a crumbled state.

"They're gonna come back." She said. "They'll be tougher than they were this time, too."

"We can handle them, Nikki." John responded. "Claudio comes first." Simon huffed mentally as he remembered what saw in the laboratory and almost went to speak on it. He held his tongue, however, instead choosing make his way over to Cesaro and help him to his feet.

"That's right." He said. "We're all gonna make sure you get better." The man grabbed Cesaro's arm to help him up. The moment Cesaro felt Simon's touch, his mind was then flooded with the other man's thoughts. One train of thought in particular stuck out to him. It felt angry and sympathetic.

"Can we help him?" Simon's thought said in Cesaro's mind. "I mean, Mister and Misses Levesque, maybe, and maybe the rest of us but not Shane. No. Shane's done enough! More than enough, that bastard! None at all!" Cesaro stopped in place as Simon walked with him towards the mansion. Feeling his movement halted, Simon looked over to Cesaro whom was staring off at the ground.

"Claudio?" Simon called out. "You alright, Man?" Stephanie, John, and Nikki looked back at the two men after Simon spoke.

"What's wrong?" John asked him. Cesaro did not respond for a moment, making everyone worry until he finally spoke.

"What do you mean, Simon?" He asked without moving. Simon furrowed his brow, unaware that the man had involuntarily read his thoughts. John and Nikki looked at Cesaro with confusion.

"What?" Simon said. Cesaro then stepped away from Simon.

"Why would you think that about Shane? You don't know him to think those things." It was then that Stephanie realized that Cesaro read Simon's mind. Simon, however, had not caught on.

"Claudio, what are you talking about?" He asked Cesaro, not knowing that the ill words in his head had been heard by the other man.

Inside the mansion, Shane and Triple H had closed themselves off in the main office on the second floor. Shane quickly pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Triple H asked.

"I need to speak with the President." Shane said frantically. "I need to know why he went back on his word." The phone rang once before the President answered the phone in a rather irritated tone, and Shane put the man on speaker so that Triple H could hear the conversation.

"Shane." He said. "Is something the matter?"

"Why did you send soldiers after Claudio?" Shane asked. "I thought you have given us time to get his mind together." The two men could hear the President sigh.

"I did say that and I truly am sorry for not honoring my word. However, this situation reaches far beyond our bond, Shane. Understand that my obligation lies to this country and I will do whatever it takes to ensure my country's safety, even if it means severing crucial ties and connections as I am doing with our connection today. I assume by your call that my men have already retrieved Claudio. Once this conversation ends, Shane, this line will be disconnected. I bid you farewell and wish all of you the best in your fight for peace." Before Shane could tell him that his soldiers in fact did not take Cesaro in, the call ended. All Shane could do was shut his eyes. Triple H was in shock as he eyed the phone.

"Did the President just cut us off?" He asked. "After everything we did for him, after putting our lives on the line to save his people and his image, he cuts us off?" Shane hung his head.

"Paul." He said. "This is my fault." Triple H eyed Shane skeptically.

"Care to explain, Shane?" He asked. Shane took a deep breath before explaining.

"It's my fault Claudio lost it at the ceremony. I tried to block Claudio's powers to give him more time to learn how to control them and I ended up doing more harm than good." Triple H shook his head.

"What do you mean you tried to block his powers?" Triple H asked angrily. "Are you telling me you went and dug in his head, Shane? I don't know shit about you telepaths, but I'm almost certain that's the only way you could have blocked his powers." Shane simply nodded, making Triple H let out an airy laugh and stroke his beard as he processed what Shane confessed.

"Paul, I know it's awful and I'm taking full responsibility for it."

"Good, because if anybody's gonna take the fall for this, it's you, Shane. Claudio did nothing wrong!"

"I know, okay!?" Shane bit his lip. "I know he did nothing wrong. I know it's my fault. I know all that. I just… I didn't know what else to do, Paul. He was getting stronger. Every time Claudio used his powers, I could feel him getting stronger. I wanted to keep us safe. I wanted him to control himself." Triple H balled up his mouth and nodded.

"Well..." He said to Shane. "You could have easily just kept him out of all those missions you sent him on, Shane." He then blinked at the man. "But you didn't. Not once did you think about maybe letting him rest or take a break or even take better precautions with him. Being honest, I don't think you dug in his head so you could help him control himself, Shane. I think you dug into his head so you could control him." Triple H paused for a moment before looking back to Shane. "He doesn't even know about what you did… does he?" All Shane could do was hang his head in shame, and that gesture gave Triple H his answer. "I think he should know." With that, Triple H headed to the door to leave.

"Paul, wait!" Shane pleaded as he quickly tried to make his way to Triple H to keep him from leaving only to be pushed aside.

Cesaro, Stephanie, John, Nikki, and Simon stood outside the mansion. Stephanie reached out to him to try and calm him.

"We will work all of this out, Claudio." She pleaded. Cesaro shook his head.

"We all wanna know what's going on, Claudio." Nikki said to him. "Let's figure it out together, okay? Just come inside with us." Cesaro continued to resist their efforts to soothe his mind. In a last resort mindset, John grabbed Cesaro by the shoulders and looked him in his sienna-colored eyes.

"Claudio." John said softly. "… Please. Let us help. Okay?" Cesaro felt John's sincerity and concern slowly calm his nerves and fill him with a warm comfort that only John managed to fill him with. Cesaro nodded.

"Okay." He said to John, making the man smile.

"We'll sit down and talk." John told Cesaro before stepping aside and leading him back to the mansion, everyone else following behind them. Before they could make it back inside, however, they all saw Triple H and Shane making their way outside and stopping short of the doorway with the other Superstars behind them. Stephanie eyed the two men in front closely.

"Stephanie." Triple H called out. Stephanie heard the angered tone and immediately realized that Shane told him (and possibly everyone else) about his actions against Cesaro. She raised her hand to him as signal to silence.

"We'll talk about it inside." She said to her husband. That moment, Cesaro what sounded to him like heavy wheels driving down a paved road. He closed his eyes and followed the sound and it led him to the road right outside the mansion.

"Someone's coming." They all heard him say. John looked at him.

"What?" He said. Cesaro then turned around to see more military convoys making their way up the road. The convoys stopped a distance away from the front of the mansion and everyone saw Zodrick and Ronda exit the leading vehicle followed by several soldiers who came from the vehicles in the rear.

"Oh no." Shane said silently. "Not now." Bayley eyed the military officials with confusion.

"What are they doing here?" She asked. "Don't tell me they're here for him, too." Zodrick spoke quietly to Ronda under his breath.

"Stay armed." He said to her. "Be prepared to fire on command." Ronda nodded without changing her facial expression and Zodrick proceeded to approach the group of Superstars.

"Claudio." He called out to Cesaro before reaching his left hand out to the man. "We're not here to harm anyone, okay? We just want you to come with us so we can talk to you." John then felt his grip on Cesaro involuntarily loosen and Cesaro approached the General. Instead of shaking the man's hand, however, he stared him in the eyes. John noticed Cesaro's body language and went to try and talk to him, but was immediately stopped in his tracks as he felt a force push on his chest.

"If you're not here to harm anyone..." Cesaro said in a skeptical, slightly condescending tone. "…Then why did you come so heavily guarded?" Cesaro then gave the General a mischievous smirk. "Are you afraid of something, General?" Zodrick withdrew his hand.

"This is just a necessary precaution, Claudio." Zodrick told Cesaro, biting his tongue and maintaining his stature while the man's words cut into him like a serrated knife. Cesaro's smirk faded.

"A precaution."

"Yes, Claudio. The President felt that after what happened, we required the additional protection. Trust me, Claudio. They are only here because they were instructed to be. We mean you no harm at all." Zodrick once again reached his hand out to Cesaro. "You have my word." Cesaro looked at the man's hand and then looked him back in his eyes as if he were studying them. Cesaro then grabbed Zodrick's hand and stared at him.

"Thank fucking god!" Cesaro heard Zodrick think. "I can get the hell out of here, take this crazy bastard in and make him pay what the fuck he owes! Dammit. Why is he looking at me like that?" Cesaro's eyes slowly faded from their gentle color sienna to the blazing orange tint from before and lines of fiery golden veins began to appear on his face and arms. His mind shifted from confusion to anger and he began to squeeze Zodrick's hand.

"Your word…" Cesaro said to him. "… is a lie."

"Claudio!" Shane called out. "Let him go!" His cries fell upon deaf ears, however, as Cesaro squeezed Zodrick's hand tighter. The pain in his hand from Cesaro's hold shot up his arm and caused him to cry out.

"Fire!" Zodrick shouted.

"Zodrick, no!" Shane shouted as Ronda and the soldiers fired their weapons. Their bullets hit neither Cesaro nor anyone else, however. The bullets hit a massive wall of ice and crystal that had been thrown up by Charlotte and Brie Bella to stop them. Cesaro did not flinch, his grip on Zodrick still as tight as before. Everyone behind him witnessed the jacket he wore begin to move as if gravity had no effect on it. Then, the wall of crystal and ice shattered in front of him, though Charlotte and Brie were thrown down to the ground as if it was not their own doing. Ronda and the solders on the other side of the wall covered their faces as the shards of crystal and ice fell through and disintegrated. They all witnessed Cesaro effortlessly lift Zodrick off the ground and look him in his eyes with searing, uncharacteristic disdain. Before he could act any further, Cesaro felt his mind shift from anger to confusion. Zodrick witnessed his facial features slowly change and felt the grip on his hand loosen, wincing as the pain ran through his hand after the pressure was relieved.

"Zodrick." Cesaro called out with a softened voice. He let the man go once he realized that he was holding onto his hand and Zodrick immediately ran back to his convoy holding his injured hand.

"Retreat!" He shouted to Ronda and his men. "Now!" The soldiers withdrew their weapons, entered their vehicles, and left the mansion with a cloud of dust behind them. All of the Superstars had their eyes fixed on Cesaro who stood petrified as he looked on trying to figure out what had happened. Cesaro began to feel a tingling sensation coursing through his body. He looked down at his hands to see the flaming gold veins pulsing all over his skin and a flowing aura surrounding his arms.

"Claudio?" John Cena called out to Cesaro as he attempted to approach him while the others looked on. "It's gonna be alright, okay? We're all gonna help you." Cesaro then turned around to face John and the others, but backed away as he felt his energy begin to swell once again.

"No." He said, causing John to abruptly stop his approach. "Don't come any closer to me." Everyone looked on as the aura surrounding Cesaro became visible for a brief moment, flashing as if it were flame engulfing his body.

"Claudio." John said as he continued to approach his distraught friend until he was close enough to feel the heat of Cesaro's aura. "Remember what I told you back then. I told you I'd be here when you need me. I'm not going back on my word. I'm gonna help you, no matter what I have to do." Cesaro looked over at all of his friends and then to John.

"I… I'm afraid, John." He told him. "I don't know what's happening to me."

"Don't worry." John said. "We'll figure it out together." Cesaro's features returned to normal as he felt his energy slowly calm. The aura that once surrounded his body faded away and his eyes began to flutter slightly. "Are you okay?"

"I feel tired." Cesaro responded. John then slid himself under the man's arm to aid him in making his way into the mansion. Cesaro became fearful that he would end up forcing himself into John's mind upon touching him and tensed up immediately, but he felt no different and could hear no voices.

"Come on." John said as he helped Cesaro walk. "We're gonna get you to bed." Triple H and Simon met the two halfway and both of them helped Cesaro and John make their way inside, everyone else moving aside so they could go in.

"What the hell…" Seth said before following them in. Everyone made their way in until it was only Shane and Stephanie standing outside, both of their gazes fixed on where everything happened. The earth that had been kicked by all of the commotion, the tire marks still left behind on the road leading off the compound… all of it remained fresh in their heads and what to make of it was just as far from their reach as ever. It was Stephanie who broke the moment of silence between them.

"Shane." She said to her brother. "Somehow… Some way... We're going to have to fix this." Stephanie then turned around and made her way inside, leaving Shane by his lonesome. The man eyed a spot in the grass where Cesaro stood; it had been flattened and was slightly charred from the energy he emitted. The feeling of guilt that had not left him since he revealed his actions grew ever the heavier as he visualized Cesaro standing there. He could still see the feeling of fear and borderline helplessness in his face as John pleaded with him. Shane tried to shake the image out of his head.

"How?"


The military convoy carrying General Zodrick and Ronda sped down the road on the way to the nearest medical facility so that Zodrick's wounded hand could be properly addressed. The man held his hand as it continued to painfully throb.

"It's gonna be alright, Sir." Ronda said, doing her best to console her leader. She quickly turned her attention to the driver. "Hurry up! How much longer?"

"I'm going as fast as the convoy will go, Major General!" The driver responded over the roaring of the wheels on the asphalt. "The hospital's another ten miles away!" Zodrick groaned in pain as the convoy went over a pothole that caused the cabin to bounce. He then pulled out his phone with his functioning right hand and began to call the President. Ronda then instinctively reached for the phone, fearing Zodrick may inadvertently do more damage to his left hand.

"Sir!" She said to him. "Let me do it for you."

"I'll be fine, Rousey." Zodrick hissed at her as he dialed. The leader of the country picked up the phone and immediately noticed the noise of the road roaring through the cabin.

"General?" The President over the phone. "What is all that commotion?"

"Sir!" Zodrick said. "We were attacked by Castagnoli! I was wounded while trying to apprehend him!"

"What!? Zodrick, are you alright?"

"I believe my left hand is broken, but no one else was harmed! I'm having our convoy medivac me to the nearest hospital as we speak!"

"Keep me informed of your status! Tell all other convoys to return immediately along with Major General Rousey!"

"Yes sir!" The call ended and Zodrick threw the phone on the seat next to him before turning to Ronda. "Rousey! You're going back with the rest of the group after you take me to the hospital!"

"But Sir!" She said in slight protest. "What about you?"

"I'm a grown man, Rousey! I'll be fine! The President asked specifically for you to return, so you're going!" Ronda balled up her mouth and nodded.

"Yes sir!" she said. Ronda had been so involved in looking after Zodrick that she neglected to notice her phone had been going off after receiving several messages and calls from her husband.


Travis sat in his hotel room alone, his mind worn out from worrying about his wife after calling and messaging her with no response. He had called her once more to only receive the same result – being sent to her voicemail. Travis sighed as he listened to the voicemail greeting once more.

"This is Ronda." He heard the voice recording say. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the phone right now. Leave a message and I'll get back to you." Once Travis heard the beep, he began speaking in a tired voice.

"Ronda." He said. "I don't know what's going on with you or anything you're involved in right now, but please just… call me and let me know you're alright. Please." He hung up the phone and threw it on the bed next to him before running his hands over his head, being careful as to not disturb the medical dressing around his wound.

"Where the fuck are you!?"