"keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer."

This was their life now. With all the work to protect EXODUS and the attempts to keep their relationship in good shape to help the trust factor, Jonathan and Fiona Collins often found themselves spending late nights in his office and the Dojo, watching as Jonathan made decisions that often shifted the scales in directions no one knew about. Tonight, a decision was to be made that was life altering, and he knew how important it was to get this one across to Fiona. Sitting in his office with her and Madison, all of them eating Chinese food, he glanced over at her as he undid his tie and placed it carefully on the desk.

"You see the signs, right? Chris is heading in the exact same direction," he told her. "I don't want to sell him out like this, he doesn't deserve it, but I don't know if I have a choice anymore," he confessed. "I have a handful of cards left to play, and that's why we're here tonight."

"I don't like the direction that Chris has suddenly decided to take, Fiona replied around a mouth of food, shaking her head as she swallowed. "I don't know if it's Reika's doing or what but, this isn't Chris. At least the Chris I knew...." She lifted her eyes to stare at her husband from across his desk, a somber tone taking over her usually warm and happy features. It was another late night for the Collins clan but it was a time that was needed and with the three of them together, it wasn't as hard as it might have been otherwise.

".....do whatever you need to do then, Jon. What do you have up your sleeve because I don't want to see EXODUS over-run by yet another group of people who they can just get together to try and take down the company. It's getting old really fast," she stated, shoving her chopsticks down into her carton of lo-mein.

Jonathan, without hesitation, reached into his desk drawer and pulled out an unmarked manila envelope that he tossed at Fiona.

"You're not gonna like what's in there, you know. I'd love to tell you it's the perfect answer, but it's not. And I had to do a ton of looking to find this guy. I had to call in favors and I even had to see what Chely could dig up to find it. You think what she did recently with Mr. Matthews was interesting, just wait," he said as he glanced at her and sighed. "Listen to me, okay? You don't need to be worrying too much about this end of the heavy work. That's why I'm here. Just...focus on other things. I know that you have been trying to stretch yourself out too thin and everything with my sister, Sally, and even Chuck Matthews and Lifer has you a little edgy. Are you sure you want to take this one on yourself?" he asked her.

"I'm sure I want to take this. I have to take it, Jon. You know that," she told him firmly, her eyes darkening. "That's not my friend, one of my best friends even, in there. That is someone else - someone cold and ruthless and eaten away at with greed. I'm going to stop it from changing him completely so that I can get my friend back to the way he's supposed to be. No matter what."

"It'll be okay, Mom. You can do anything!" Madison, not wanting her parents to forget she was there in the room too, piped up to add her own two cents into the equation and offer support for one of her favorite people in the world. Fiona smiled over at the young girl, brushing her daughter's hair behind her ear as the folder landed in front of her. She turned back to open it slowly, her eyes scanning until a name popped off the page that made her eyes widen and look up at Jon slowly.

"Are you kidding me right now? You want this guy?"

"You name one person better right now and I'll change my mind. What we've got here is a solution, and I'm not taking any chances. I said to you and everyone else I would protect EXODUS at all costs, and this happens to be one of those costs," he told her, his eyes firm. Shaking his head while he thought about what he was telling her.

"There's marks out there. Strike's been interested in them since he got one from Hal Snyder around the Autumn Effect. Zinkus has been doing work for me on figuring out what they are, why Strike is even remotely interested in them, and how I can beat him to the punch to protect those people who have them. I've only identified two of them: Taurus and Aries. Taurus, for better or for worse, is Carey Caldwell down in our developmental system. Aries? Well," he started with a laugh as he looked over at her.

"Aries is a trip and a half."

"But, do you realize what you'd be bringing back into this place? The guy tried to kill you and you already know how I feel about him. How can you be so sure that by doing this, it's going to make things better or fix them in the first place? If anything, this would make things worse," she told him, staring right back and not breaking down from the intensity of his stare. To Fiona, this was easily the worst plan that could be put into action but she also knew that she trusted her husband with all her heart.

If he said this was a solution then Fiona knew it was.

With a heavy sigh, the young brunette raked her fingers through her hair before breaking his gaze. "Alright, alright. If this is what you think is the best course of action we need to take? Then I'm in and will do whatever I need to do. That doesn't mean I necessarily like it though....at all," she grumbled.

"I didn't ask you to like it. And quite frankly, I don't expect anyone to agree with my decisions. Freedom isn't free," he told her, looking at her as he leaned back and folded his hands together. "That isn't to say I don't care about your opinion. It's to say that there are times I have to make decisions that not everyone is going to be happy with. I just get to make them on a higher level than when I was Director," he told her as his brow furrowed while he looked at her.

"Mara was right though...when you have the crown, people hate you to the point of wanting to rip it off your head. Then they want to revere you when you leave the throne and wish for you back," he lamented.

Fiona gave her husband a long look, instantly regretting how she had spoken about the plan that he seemed to be completely behind. It was a hard call, to be the one man making decisions - hard or not - for an entire company of people; many of which would never even appreciate all that it was he did for them and for the company he loved.

Sitting forward in her chair, Fiona reached across his desk and slid her hand into his larger one and laced their fingers together. "You need to do what is right for this company. It doesn't matter what anyone else says or thinks, including me. You know what's best and if that's what this is? Then that's what is going to be done." She smiled at him softly, stroking his knuckles with her thumb. "I don't have to like it but I can agree to it and go along with it because it's what you said needs to be done. And I trust you more than anyone else in this world, you know that."

"The fact is, the signs are there. I'm sure you see it too," he told her. "I'd like to say that we're not about to go into a repetitive cycle, but this is EXODUS. Expecting half of the roster to learn something is like asking Dr. Kuller not to give someone robot limbs," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The truth is, this roster is fractured. There's no catalyst for us to just unite under the banner of the company. In fact, I think there's more forces at play for complete control. If a Furor can do it, why not a few like minded individuals?" he said. "We're not dealing with external threats anymore, everything is coming from within. We're eating ourselves from the inside out."

"It's like every few months, they decide to come out of the woodwork and band together to uprise and take over the company because of how it's being run or some other stupid excuse. Then it's quiet and then it's right back to point A. I'm honestly getting sick of it," Fiona sighed, knowing her husband was more than sick of it himself. Madison ate her chinese food silently, knowing that this talk was of importance and knew better than to interrupt but she could sense when something was troubling him. Standing up, Fiona walked around his desk and sat on top of it, her body facing his. "We'll get through this though. Just like we have every other group that tries to take control or worse. We're a team." She ran her fingers over his shoulders, massaging them before she tilted his head back and brushed her lips over his forehead.

"We got this, Captain."

"Because they think that this is easy, Fiona. Nobody wants to admit it, but there's an art to what I and everyone else does. You don't get declared smart in this business by simply declaring it," he told her as he looked up at her.

"But I need to know your heart is still in this. We've been talking about having a kid for a year. Not just Madison, but one of our own. You've lost the fire, Fi. You want that belt, but you're content to let yourself wait for that shot. You can't just wait for Chely to call your number, you've seen what that will do," he told her as he stood up and placed a hand on her knee. "This company is evolving, for better or for worse. It's up to you to not be the last remnant of the days when we were still on local access."

His words made her sink inside as she knew that he was right. They had been wanting to grow their family more now that they were married and she wanted to be World Champion again but part of her, a deep part of her, wasn't sure what she really wanted more. Nodding, she laid her hand on top of his before tilting her head to look up at him. "I know and you're absolutely right. I have lately and I just.....I need to find that spark again. My heart is still in this though, it always has been and it always will be. I can promise you that."

"You want that spark?" he said, looking over at her as he shook his head.

"Just remember the first championship nameplate still carries your maiden name," he told her, eyebrow raised. "You've had one title in EXODUS that's ever beared your married name, and you held it for a handful of days, just to get into the Cibernetico. They're going to remind you your best days were as Fiona Rourke. Is that how you want history to remember you?"

Her jaw tightened at that, hands clenching into fists. She stared up at him through anger darkened eyes before she shook her head. "No. No, I don't want them to remember me that way. I want them to remember me now, the way I am now and with the name that I carry now. I want them to remember me as the Seraph." She stood up and looked up at him, her face inches from his own.

"They're not going to take that away from me. Not anymore and not ever again."

"That's the thing I've tried to teach you," he told her with a small shake of his head. "It's the thing Chris doesn't quite understand. There are certain things in this world people can't take from you, because you don't own them. People can give you anything in the world, but that doesn't mean they're yours to give out or to control. Right now, your destiny is not in your hands...are you willing to accept that?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Or are you going to manifest?"

It was time to let destiny take the reins.



I didn't ask for it, but it was given to me.

I don't know when it happened, but I earned it.

The fact is, I didn't wake up one day and declare myself the Ace of EXODUS. I didn't just decide to put it on a t-shirt because it was going to make my family and I a lot of money. I didn't force the company to put it on promotional material and on the website. The truth is that being given that honor just happened. It was the end result of working hard and being dedicated to EXODUS. Not leaving to go work somewhere on a Sunday and being back here on Monday. Everywhere I go, I don't pick up the flag and go into battle for another company. When I show up, I'm wearing the EXODUS colors and I'm fighting harder than I did the last time I was in the ring.

But listen, I'm going to be the first to tell you that being dubbed "The Ace of EXODUS" hasn't exactly been a blessing for me lately. I'm not headlining every show. I'm not getting shots at titles, I'm occupied with finishing my business. So if you're coming into this fight looking to take the title of Ace? By all means, it's yours. Take it. Take the title and bless yourself for it.

But really, at the end of the day, have you earned it?

See, you can say beating me will earn you it. You can talk about how much that you're entitled to being the Ace because of what you do in that ring. The fact is, you're one of the best in the world. Whether your head is shoved up your ass, up Reika's ass, up someone else's ass, or it's somewhere else, there is undeniable proof that you're one of the best. The fact that you are one of two people that can lay claim to holding that title twice says a lot about how good you are, Strike. I've seen it as your friend, I've seen it as your tag team partner. There are few that rival you in that ring.

And whether you want to admit it or not, you're about to face one of those chosen few.

Now I don't exactly know what crawled up your ass and died, Chris, but this new you isn't exactly what's setting this company on fire. See, you can be upset all you want about your perceived lack of respect and support from the EXODUS fans, but the truth is that it's what you make of it. Last summer, nothing hurt more than the boos of the crowd supporting Gods & Monsters in my matches against them. Instead of taking those boos however and letting them fester until I became an angry woman, I let them drive me and motivate me. I became stronger. I became more determined to succeed and prove every hater out there that they were wrong. But you? OH HEY, THEY'RE CHEERING ABBY PARK, THEY MUST NOT WANT TO SEE ME DO WELL! Chris, give me a break. That's a Zack Lifer-level tantrum and you know it.

You're not a victim of a fickle crowd and their desire to cheer for the redemption of people like Abby Park and Christian Kane, you're the victim of self-inflicted doubt and a little bit of hubris. The fact that you can't own up to it is killing me inside. I don't like seeing my friend like this, but the truth is that the Strike I see isn't the Strike I call my friend. The one I call Padfoot.

So go ahead, Chris. Let's have this match. You might just beat me, and that's okay. If you win, I'm sure you're going to call yourself the Ace of EXODUS and you're going to declare it on Twitter and in the RIMAC in grand fashion, but you know something?

It won't work.

The fact is, just calling yourself something doesn't make it the truth. Furor beat me, and he wasn't the Ace of EXODUS. Andreas Lasiewicz beat me and he wasn't the Ace of EXODUS either. Kira T. Zeppeli beat me and nobody went and anointed him ace of the company. You have a compelling argument, but the reality is you can't take something from me that isn't mine to give out. You can't take something if the other party holding it isn't willing to give it.

You probably should take that advice to heart lately, I hear you've been having that issue.

This attitude of yours is going to intimidate a lot of people. EXODUS fans haven't seen this side of you, but look at me. Look me in the eyes on Memorial Day and ask yourself if you think I'm intimidated. The truth is that there isn't a thing you can do that's going to rattle my cage as far as my confidence goes into this match. It's just another match to me, even if it means the world to you. No matter what happens, you can't take what I've achieved from me. You can try, but in a place where real recognizes real, they're starting to see just how fake you are.

Maybe I'll put it into another story you can understand, Chris. You and I know this one.

There was a SOLDIER once. He was the greatest of them all, but one day he lost his way. The greatest SOLDIER one day became the One Winged Angel.

And if this story is heading in that direction, I think we both know how this ends.

I'm not coming to save you, Chris. I'm not even coming to the RIMAC on Memorial Day to help you. What I'm coming to do is remind you something that you've forgotten in all this, and that's the small fact that I am Fiona Collins AND I AM THE GODDAMN BADDEST BITCH IN EXODUS PRO! In a land where every girl wants to be a Mistress or a Queen or a Goddess, the fact is that I made it to the top of the pile by being the best it is at what I do when I step between those ropes! I don't need to proclaim myself anything because the fans will do it for me. If I win, they knew it! If I lose, I'll still be everything they called me because I brought the fight and they respect that. Real recognizes real, and nobody recognizes who you are anymore, Chris Strike.

But they'll see you for who you are now when I tear the veil away.

This isn't going to be some walk in the park for you, Chris. And this isn't going to be some match where I'm going to have the hesitation to fight you because I'm feeling sentimental. I've been saying for months now that I need to get in that ring and prove I still belong in the World Title hunt. And the fact that I'm stepping into that ring with you in a non-title bout means that I've got more of a statement to make. At some point in time, all those words become posturing if they don't turn into action...so I'm going to get proactive in a few short days and get myself back in the hunt against you and prove to the world that I deserve a shot at the World Title.

So I guess we're both in this to get something, Chris. The only difference between what I'm chasing and what you're chasing is the fact that I can only get what I want if I win. You can win and still not be the ace, because those fans will recognize I came into this match bringing the thunder and lightning that only I bring.

If I lose? Well, I suppose that means that I've got no right to that title. If I lose that match, it's going to be really hard to step up to my sister in law and ask her to give me a World Title match against you. What I need to do is prove to everyone that I deserve to stay in the championship conversation. It may not be at the iPPV against you, but a win makes people take notice. To be an ace, it's about two things: the respect you've earned and the performances you have. You've had some great performances, but you haven't earned their respect.

Trust me, I know what it's like to feel disrespected as the World Champion. There was a gigantic debate about it. And even if I didn't have it then, I still earned it. I set the standard for that belt that nobody's matched yet, Chris. So if you want to be the Ace, you're going to have to change up the formula, because right now? I'm still holding all the cards.

I like you, Chris. You know my family, you and I have been friends from the moment you stepped into this company...but the truth is that who you've become as of late is not the person I knew. I'm looking at a stranger across that ring on Memorial Day, and even if I'm not here wagging a finger and condemning your actions, I'm not going to support it. See, the truth is that EXODUS is in a place where we don't need the Ultima WEAPON. EXODUS needs a champion, and that person isn't you. More and more, these people are showing they're sick of war. They don't want Ragnarok, they want wrestling. So you and this Pantheon you're building isn't going to inspire people to cheer for you or idolize you. Hell, given who you're inviting to your little tea party, I'm not even sure if I want to tolerate you.

You wanna talk about sins, Chris? Let’s talk about sins.

The truth is, you can do your best to expose me, but I've been laid out for the world to see from day one. My crime is marrying someone I love.. My crime is carrying the last name I share with my husband and my step-daughter, and I'll allow myself to be strung up for that sin any day of the week. But let he without sin cast the first stone, right? Perhaps you've got a few sins you need airing out at the pulpit of the public eye.

Like your pride. How your wounded pride has caused you to turn your back on the fans because you didn't like the fact they dare cheer someone not named Chris Strike! For all he's done, how dare they have choice! NO, THEY CAN'T BE ALLOWED OPTIONS!

Or maybe it's your greed. Your greed over the belt and how the spotlight should be yours. All yours, right? We were the supporting players for your deathblow on the gods and monsters that tried to bury us all.

How about gluttony, Chris? Your need to have it all. Your need to let your unchecked avarice flow as you're the only one who can consume the all seeing eye of the EXODUS public. How dare they welcome back someone genuinely trying to change? How dare they don't feed you all you ask for! Am I getting closer to your sins yet? I’ll keep going.

I'd talk about lust, but...well, we all know where that leads with you. The track record speaks for itself.

Sloth. I doubt anyone could accuse you of this, but to attack me for the first days of EXODUS? You're getting closer. It's a lazy move. To find some flaw in who I am is a sign of laziness and you, of all people, should know better than that.

Wrath? Well, maybe we're getting warmer. Everyone's your target now that we're not kissing your ass and singing your praises. The reality is that we don't need to put you over as the World Champion, that track record speaks for itself too. The proof is in the pudding, or whatever phrase you want to turn. However, your ire is on anyone who dares to call you out for being a shithead and it's never been clearer the way you've come at me lately.

I know. I found the true sin you’re guilty of. It's envy, Chris. The great sin I ask you to throw upon the mercy of your jury is envy. Envious of my status as Ace. Envious of the love that this crowd radiates for myself, Abby Park, or Christian Kane. Envious of what they get that they won't give you. Envious that everything you're looking for are things you can't just take like the conquistadors of old. You're envious that deep down inside, you still can't take my shine. Punch me. Take me down. Try to scream to the heavens that you can steal something from me like you're the Highlander with the Quickening. The truth is? There are intangibles in this world you can't rob from people. It's the je ne sais pas that it seems like you question if you have. You want to take it from me. From Christian Kane. From anyone who can captivate the world more than you. It's been the story of you from day one, and I've been silent about it because we were friends. You went after Zero McHannon because he had Heather and you didn't. You chase down Kane because he can take the crowd's love quicker than you can. Chris, bub, green's starting to look ugly on you because you're as rotten as the fruit on the vine of Hal Snyder's gardens.

At the end of this though, history is going to be written not by either of us but by the fans of EXODUS. They're either going to see this as the night you completely lost the plot or the night that I reemerge as a contender. And even if the fans may be split 50/50 if it comes down to Christian Kane and myself for that title, I won't lose my mind because of choices the fans make. Come Memorial Day, you're going to learn that some things were never meant to be given to you.

Some things can't just be taken because you want them.

And some things are never meant to be. You can sit upon the throne of EXODUS as King Strike...

...but now and forever, I'll still be the Ace.

Deuces.