Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2013 20:47:30 GMT -6
Arrogance. It always bites you in the ass. In this case, a team of individuals with massive egos was beaten by their own arrogance. Kronin heard the crash, he watched Valora and Johnny Stylez conveniently remove themselves from the match. He knew Hunter Valentyne was behind him, mostly because he could hear the man’s impatience. Judas was still down. Kronin had one move. Trust his tag team partner and take one for the team.
Sure enough, Kronin got up and was immediately hit by the Valentyme. But, Kronin couldn’t help but smirk a bit because standing behind Hunter was... Matt Slater. Kronin hit the mat and groaned in pain... but a few seconds later Hunter slammed into the mat too and Kronin watched Slater pick up the win for their team.
Just like that, United had the Tag Team championships and a team no one gave a chance to do anything beat the ‘Legendary’ tag team Domestik Disturbance.
Boom. Kronin was now one half of the tag team champions. The man who had gone almost a year with no titles had now won two titles in the span of a month. Things were looking up...
That was until Lilly came in through the door, her face a pale white. “Umm babe..we have a problem...” Kronin raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t often that Lilly sounded the alarm and thus, Kronin stopped his training and turned to face her. He knew, of course, that she had spoken to Dixie about things so naturally, that was the first thing that came to his mind. “What? Is something up with Dixie?” Lilly didn’t say a word just handed the smartphone to Kronin. A news report, in German, was on the page, detailing an explosion in Germany... a residential house demolished. The neighborhood was all too familiar as it was, in fact, the same neighborhood Kronin had grown up in. Kronin immediately brought up the number of his sister, Kara, and dialed...
Kara. The same sister that had been raped and beaten half to death by Soviet soldiers. The same sister Kronin returned home to find lying on the cold, icy ground in a pool of her own blood. His twin sister. He had chosen to go into the military, she had chosen law enforcement. After a few rings, Kronin heard Kara’s voice. “Kronin! You need to come home now!”
Kronin closed his eyes. “I can’t. I’m booked in a tag team match. Plus, if I no-show, Jesse’s liable to fire me. What happened?!”
“Our house is gone. Some people came in through the back.. they used flashbangs. I got to my gun and caught a beanbag round in the gut. We woke up outside.. the house had been blown up, mom’s gone and dad’s in the hospital, whoever dragged him out didn’t him quite as far. Kronin... we don’t know where Anabelle is. She might have been in the house...”
Wilhelm Reinhardt. Kronin’s father. Husband to Janice Reinhardt, Kronin’s mother. Wilhelm was the son of Walter Reinhardt, a World War II vet. The fact that he might be injured had Kronin irritated. His mother missing? Even more so, but it was that last part. The fact that one of his nieces, Annabelle, who was about 5 years old, might be dead? THAT caused Kronin to clench his fist and jaw as he listened. “Find Annabelle. Then get to my house. You have access to my bank account, use it to help get by until we can find a new place. Yeah. I’ll try to take care of mom. I’ll call back later. I have to make some other preparations...”
Kronin said his goodbyes and hung up the phone. “KOP and Jesse think they know bad, huh? They’re fuckin’ choir boys compared to me, CHOIR BOYS!” Lilly walked up and put a hand on Kronin’s shoulder but he glanced at her. “No. They attacked my family. They may have killed my niece... 5 YEARS OLD! They want a war... I’ll give them a damn war...” Kronin said before taking a couple of long deep breaths. “Sorry Lil... looks like the house I promised for when we got married is going to be occupied by my family...”
Lilly smiles. “It’s okay, babe. My people usually don’t stay in one place very long, anyways. Will your family be alright there?” Kronin nodded. “The place is off the grid. Thanks to a few tricks I learned and the secrecy with which the German government protects the KSK... Jesse and KOP won’t find it.” Lilly nods and bites her lip as she thinks and finally sighs. “Babe... that bank account. That’s your savings. You open that and you’ll-”
Kronin cuts her off by raising a finger. “I’m going to help my family, Lil. I know, this pretty much will leave me broke but... We’ll figure something out. I’m going to put an end to this all soon and when I do... Well... I can rebuild it. Get ready to tighten our belts, Lil...”
Lilly smiled and thought for a moment. “By the way... umm.. Dixie is here. I think she wants to talk to you about any trust issues there might be... be nice, alright? She’ll come off as pissed, but I think this thing with Envy and all has really hurt her...”
Kronin was silent a moment. He had a lot on his mind. His family had been attacked, he had a match with the people responsible, people who may or may not have his mother as a de facto hostage. To say he didn’t have time for this was an understatement. Still, he nodded and, as Dixie, entered, the young Texan saw Kronin pacing back and forth. “Forgive me if I’m on edge, Dixie.. but KOP and Jesse may have just killed my 5 year old niece. If they have... I will kill every member of the Mafia. You have to decide where you stand.”
“I.. wait what? What happened?” Dixie said as Kronin sighed. “I have a lot of enemies. But only Jesse and KOP are cowardly enough to attack my family. They blew up my family’s house in Berlin. Dixie.. you’re right. Jesse likely barely knows you exist. But the Mafia will gladly take you on as a groupie if you wanna be Al’s girl.” Kronin walks up to Dixie and stares the Texan down. “Choice. Be a groupie with the Mafia or you can be a part of something special here with United. You got the talent. I think you’re starting to put things together. Now Al’s pissed this week. Soon, he’s gonna realize the chance he has to cause mayhem with you. You want trust? Take some time. Deal with what you’re feeling and come and tell me where you’re at. If you can say you’re with us, I’ll trust you and go to bat for you. Oh... one more thing... your grandfather was a Marine, right?”
Dixie nods. “Ummm... yeah. Why? An’ you dun get to go bossin’ me around, Kronin! Maybe I ain’t the only one what needs to get mah head straight. If I was a traitor, why ain’t I with Al now?”
Kronin thought about that. Dixie had a point. The Styles Mafia didn’t NEED to cause what internal strife there may or may not be in United. Kronin sighed. “I’m sorry... bad day. Did you have any idea of what was coming? As for your Grandfather...I have a Marine I need to throw a beating to. Might help to talk to one.”
Dixie frowned. “I doubt he’ll help. Marines police their own. Even if you prove KOP is guilty of dishonorable conduct, he’ll insist the Marines handle it. I can bring ya out to the ranch.. jus’ warnin’ ya.. As for Al... he warned me about letting the fans run mah life and put stress an’ shit on me... Basically, some of the same shit he ranted about in his ‘Why I did it’ explanation.”
Kronin thought and nodded. “Alright. Well... how do ya feel about him?” Dixie sighed. “Dun really matter, now does it? Looks like he made a choice... “ Kronin put his arm on Dixie’s shoulder and nodded. “Let’s go. Scarlet asked me to be at the opening of some new project she has going on. On the way, I need to figure out how the hell I’m gonna fire back at Jesse and KOP...”
Dixie, Lilly, and Kronin left, heading out to meet up with Scarlet and the other members of United...
Sure enough, Kronin got up and was immediately hit by the Valentyme. But, Kronin couldn’t help but smirk a bit because standing behind Hunter was... Matt Slater. Kronin hit the mat and groaned in pain... but a few seconds later Hunter slammed into the mat too and Kronin watched Slater pick up the win for their team.
Just like that, United had the Tag Team championships and a team no one gave a chance to do anything beat the ‘Legendary’ tag team Domestik Disturbance.
Boom. Kronin was now one half of the tag team champions. The man who had gone almost a year with no titles had now won two titles in the span of a month. Things were looking up...
That was until Lilly came in through the door, her face a pale white. “Umm babe..we have a problem...” Kronin raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t often that Lilly sounded the alarm and thus, Kronin stopped his training and turned to face her. He knew, of course, that she had spoken to Dixie about things so naturally, that was the first thing that came to his mind. “What? Is something up with Dixie?” Lilly didn’t say a word just handed the smartphone to Kronin. A news report, in German, was on the page, detailing an explosion in Germany... a residential house demolished. The neighborhood was all too familiar as it was, in fact, the same neighborhood Kronin had grown up in. Kronin immediately brought up the number of his sister, Kara, and dialed...
Kara. The same sister that had been raped and beaten half to death by Soviet soldiers. The same sister Kronin returned home to find lying on the cold, icy ground in a pool of her own blood. His twin sister. He had chosen to go into the military, she had chosen law enforcement. After a few rings, Kronin heard Kara’s voice. “Kronin! You need to come home now!”
Kronin closed his eyes. “I can’t. I’m booked in a tag team match. Plus, if I no-show, Jesse’s liable to fire me. What happened?!”
“Our house is gone. Some people came in through the back.. they used flashbangs. I got to my gun and caught a beanbag round in the gut. We woke up outside.. the house had been blown up, mom’s gone and dad’s in the hospital, whoever dragged him out didn’t him quite as far. Kronin... we don’t know where Anabelle is. She might have been in the house...”
Wilhelm Reinhardt. Kronin’s father. Husband to Janice Reinhardt, Kronin’s mother. Wilhelm was the son of Walter Reinhardt, a World War II vet. The fact that he might be injured had Kronin irritated. His mother missing? Even more so, but it was that last part. The fact that one of his nieces, Annabelle, who was about 5 years old, might be dead? THAT caused Kronin to clench his fist and jaw as he listened. “Find Annabelle. Then get to my house. You have access to my bank account, use it to help get by until we can find a new place. Yeah. I’ll try to take care of mom. I’ll call back later. I have to make some other preparations...”
Kronin said his goodbyes and hung up the phone. “KOP and Jesse think they know bad, huh? They’re fuckin’ choir boys compared to me, CHOIR BOYS!” Lilly walked up and put a hand on Kronin’s shoulder but he glanced at her. “No. They attacked my family. They may have killed my niece... 5 YEARS OLD! They want a war... I’ll give them a damn war...” Kronin said before taking a couple of long deep breaths. “Sorry Lil... looks like the house I promised for when we got married is going to be occupied by my family...”
Lilly smiles. “It’s okay, babe. My people usually don’t stay in one place very long, anyways. Will your family be alright there?” Kronin nodded. “The place is off the grid. Thanks to a few tricks I learned and the secrecy with which the German government protects the KSK... Jesse and KOP won’t find it.” Lilly nods and bites her lip as she thinks and finally sighs. “Babe... that bank account. That’s your savings. You open that and you’ll-”
Kronin cuts her off by raising a finger. “I’m going to help my family, Lil. I know, this pretty much will leave me broke but... We’ll figure something out. I’m going to put an end to this all soon and when I do... Well... I can rebuild it. Get ready to tighten our belts, Lil...”
Lilly smiled and thought for a moment. “By the way... umm.. Dixie is here. I think she wants to talk to you about any trust issues there might be... be nice, alright? She’ll come off as pissed, but I think this thing with Envy and all has really hurt her...”
Kronin was silent a moment. He had a lot on his mind. His family had been attacked, he had a match with the people responsible, people who may or may not have his mother as a de facto hostage. To say he didn’t have time for this was an understatement. Still, he nodded and, as Dixie, entered, the young Texan saw Kronin pacing back and forth. “Forgive me if I’m on edge, Dixie.. but KOP and Jesse may have just killed my 5 year old niece. If they have... I will kill every member of the Mafia. You have to decide where you stand.”
“I.. wait what? What happened?” Dixie said as Kronin sighed. “I have a lot of enemies. But only Jesse and KOP are cowardly enough to attack my family. They blew up my family’s house in Berlin. Dixie.. you’re right. Jesse likely barely knows you exist. But the Mafia will gladly take you on as a groupie if you wanna be Al’s girl.” Kronin walks up to Dixie and stares the Texan down. “Choice. Be a groupie with the Mafia or you can be a part of something special here with United. You got the talent. I think you’re starting to put things together. Now Al’s pissed this week. Soon, he’s gonna realize the chance he has to cause mayhem with you. You want trust? Take some time. Deal with what you’re feeling and come and tell me where you’re at. If you can say you’re with us, I’ll trust you and go to bat for you. Oh... one more thing... your grandfather was a Marine, right?”
Dixie nods. “Ummm... yeah. Why? An’ you dun get to go bossin’ me around, Kronin! Maybe I ain’t the only one what needs to get mah head straight. If I was a traitor, why ain’t I with Al now?”
Kronin thought about that. Dixie had a point. The Styles Mafia didn’t NEED to cause what internal strife there may or may not be in United. Kronin sighed. “I’m sorry... bad day. Did you have any idea of what was coming? As for your Grandfather...I have a Marine I need to throw a beating to. Might help to talk to one.”
Dixie frowned. “I doubt he’ll help. Marines police their own. Even if you prove KOP is guilty of dishonorable conduct, he’ll insist the Marines handle it. I can bring ya out to the ranch.. jus’ warnin’ ya.. As for Al... he warned me about letting the fans run mah life and put stress an’ shit on me... Basically, some of the same shit he ranted about in his ‘Why I did it’ explanation.”
Kronin thought and nodded. “Alright. Well... how do ya feel about him?” Dixie sighed. “Dun really matter, now does it? Looks like he made a choice... “ Kronin put his arm on Dixie’s shoulder and nodded. “Let’s go. Scarlet asked me to be at the opening of some new project she has going on. On the way, I need to figure out how the hell I’m gonna fire back at Jesse and KOP...”
Dixie, Lilly, and Kronin left, heading out to meet up with Scarlet and the other members of United...