[center][h1][color=darkred]SILAS ARTORIA[/color][/h1][/center]
[center][b]- During the Sin City Showdown Go-Home Show -[/b][/center]
[center][b]- With [@Universorum] -[/b][/center]

His stay at Wyoming was short, but it was enough time to catch up before he started taking the most direct route towards Denver. Weather wasn’t the most pleasant, and almost opted to take a train to his destination, but it would ruin the effect that Michael and the AWE had desired for his debut. He envisioned a true surprise, and thus opted to stay in Buffalo with his parents for a few days to throw off the scent. It had been about two months since he left Japan, his non-compete clause had expired, and he got the call from the guys on the road to be at the Pepsi Centre.

He arrived a few minutes after the show had started as planned and had parked his hired car within the maze of production vehicles that littered the parking lot. There were people waiting at the gates, but the tinted windows would stop any cameras from seeing inside. He got out, grabbed the case containing his gear, and entered the Pepsi Centre as the faint sound of Roddy Quinn buzzed through the foundations.

With the show yet to start for a while, Wade Palmer was there to receive him. Another one of Wade’s ‘pet projects’ as Roddy liked to call them, or his ‘tests’ as Heath called them, Silas was mostly Wade’s responsibility. Which meant he had to meet him at the door, and show him around, and introduce him to everyone and just generally be the guy for the first couple of shows.

Which, to Wade, wasn’t really a big deal. He’d done it before for a few different wrestlers here at AWE, and he’d likely do it to many more as time went on. So, this was easy. Almost immediately after Michael stepped into the building, the unmistakable voice of the AWE filled the air to address him: [color=1f71dd][b]“Hey, Silas. Welcome to the party, pal. I’m Wade, and I’ll be your guest until showtime, but I’ll hand you over to Kevin or something before that happens.”[/b][/color]

Michael met the hand with his own. [color=darkred][b]“Wade? We spoke over the phone, great we finally met,”[/b][/color] It was nice to hear the voice that negotiated him to come back to the States for sometime, and to meet them face to face. [color=darkred][b]“And, feel free to call me Michael,”[/b][/color] he continued, gripping his case in his left hand.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Yeah, I’m just not gonna do that. I never call people by anything but their ring name — it breaks kayfabe, dude.”[/b][/color] Wade explained, dropping the newcomer’s hand and nodding, [color=1f71dd][b]“it’s good to meet you too. If you look around you’ll see the usual suspects, and catering. We have like tons of food. As it turns out, a bunch of muscle heads eat a load of food. Who knew?”[/b][/color] Wade explained as he led Silas through the halls of the arena, gesturing at catering as they passed by it.

Michael couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. He had maintained kayfabe during his time in public - it was why he decided to travel in secret - but having internal staff maintaining it to each other was fairly fascinating. Guess it was something to keep in mind. Outside he was Michael, inside he was Silas in name. [color=darkred][b]“Can speak from experience,”[/b][/color] replied Silas, referring to the time when he arrived at Japan looking like a literal circle. Wasn’t the best of shapes, though he couldn’t help but eat plenty when asked to wait to be called to the gorilla position.

[color=1f71dd][b]“Anyway, I’d introduce you to Roddy, but he’s kinda busy right now. He always is during shows, so your best bet to find him would be during travel time or at least after the show starts. He tends to calm down, especially when he’s been involved… which he has been lately. I dunno what they’re planning really — I never read the segment list, I like to keep it spoiler free so I react as naturally as possible on commentary. Best way to do things, I think.”[/b][/color] Wade explained as they walked through the building together, before he added, [color=1f71dd][b]“[i]however[/i], somewhere around here is Kevin, Kevin Harrison. He’s the lead in creative here, so if you have any questions about your direction, that’s who you would hit up. He’s a lot easier to find, usually…”[/b][/color] Looking around, Wade grinned as he saw someone up ahead slip out of a small room in the building, slightly adjusting his collar. [color=1f71dd][b]“There’s the man of the hour, actually. Hey, Kev!”[/b][/color]
  
Man, Kevin hated being jumped as soon as he made an appearance, but hey. Whatever, man. Wade was cool, so he spun on his heel and waved to Wade and the new guy… Silas? Michael? Warren? Kevin couldn’t remember. He had a lot going on up in his head, with all the work it took to get everyone booked and relevant. [color=408c0b][b]“Hey, Wade. Sup? Who’s your friend?”[/b][/color]

Silas smiled and held out his hand. [color=darkred][b]“Silas, pleasure to meet you.”[/b][/color] He wanted to make a good impression; this was the guy who would present the tools and the better he presented himself, the better the bullet points he’d get.

Kevin accepted the handshake after walking close enough to and nodded. [color=408c0b][b]“Hey. You’re the new guy, yeah? Let me tell you how we do things around here: what I say goes. I’m the boss. You’re all pawns. Or… something like that? Just kidding, man. We’re all pretty chill around here, just don’t be an asshole and we won’t depush you for the most part. Basically, do what you want. We’re pretty relaxed as far as limiting talent goes. There are a few things that are outlawed, but you can talk to a road agent about those. Biggest thing I can think of is chair-shots straight to the dome. That’s a big nono. We basically tell you what we want you to do, if we want you to work heel or face, then you work it out with your opponent down to the letter. Sometimes we want specific finishes, sometimes we don’t. We’re a huge, multi-national company, and we’re ran by me and two other dudes who are equally jackass-y. So, get used to it. Roddy’s approachable if you ever wanna beg for special treatment.”[/b][/color]

Silas smiled at Kevin, and replied, [color=darkred][b]“Noted, was never a chairshot guy anyway, so you don’t have to worry about that.”[/b][/color] He knew well what those shots felt like. Took one and his head span for a good week. Plus it hurt like the fires of hell. [color=darkred][b]“Thanks for the heads up!”[/b][/color]

[color=408c0b][b]“Right on, brother, right on. Anyway, we took the notes we have on your character and you’re getting a pretty standard debut match this week. From there, everyone is sorta in limbo until after the PPV… It kinda sucks, but it is what it is. Can’t account for injuries or human error, really.”[/b][/color] Kevin shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t his fault that Drayden had been working hurt for so long — that was all Roddy. Roddy was too reliant on Drayden, so reliant that he didn’t stop to see the future. With him being out for now, it was time to enjoy being in charge without the old man shutting everything down to focus on the old guard. It would be a fun few months.

[color=darkred][b]“Shame, really enjoyed his work,”[/b][/color] Silas said back. He was out of the country for most of Drayden’s run, but it was difficult to escape from that name, one of the biggest names in the medium. [color=darkred][b]“Show must go on though...don’t suppose I can take a look at tonight’s line-up?”[/b][/color] He wanted to prepare, the outfit took some time to put on, and there was no way in hell he would wear it in public outings outside of booked appearances.

[color=408c0b][b]“Yeah, it’s over there,”[/b][/color] Kevin pointed off into the distance toward a place where a crowd of wrestlers were gathered, [color=408c0b][b]“we always just hang it over there. There are copies if you really want one. Need anything else right now?”[/b][/color]

Silas wondered to himself for a brief moment, but said, [color=darkred][b]“Not that I can think of outside of a general induction.”[/b][/color] He held his hand out again. [color=darkred][b]“Nice to meet you again.”[/b][/color]

He got the sheet, simple but to the point. The match between Sexton and Sparks was well underway, and he could see from the highlighted points that we wasn’t due on stage for some time. Four blocks later to be exact.

When he saw his name and the booking plan, the new guy stopped without warning in bemusement. On one hand, he was elated to see that he was going up against Thunderbird, a lovable character who the fans would be behind, perfect to establish Silas as a villain. On the other hand, Michael watched the recent shows to get him up to speed with what is going on. It was clear that from space that Sexton and Thunderbird were going to collide in one form or another at the PPV, but was confused as to why Silas was to win clean at the go-home show, especially since Thunderbird could look potentially weak ahead of his scheduled rematch.

It needed to be adjusted, not for Silas, but for both Thunderbird and Sexton. Turning around, he marched to find either one of them.