It is morning in Anaheim, California.    Inside the Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, Matt Hardy, still recovering from injuries sustained from the beating he took at the hands of the Nasty Boys a couple weeks ago, was sleeping soundly in his room.   Down the hall, near the nurses’ station, Taylor Wilde is pouring herself a cup of coffee.   She’s concerned.   The doctors kept telling her that he was fine, that he was out of any real danger, and it was only a matter of time before Matt would be well enough to leave, but nothing they could say to her could calm her fears.  

Taylor had skipped the TV Tapings.   She knew that it would likely get her even more heat from the office, but, from what Sarita told her, they weren’t even booked, so it’s just as likely Bischoff and Hogan didn’t even notice.   Taylor just couldn’t imagine leaving Matt alone at a time like this.   At the same time, she had kept wondering, though it all, where the hell Jeff was.   It’s been weeks since the attack, and there was not so much as a text from Jeff asking about Matt’s condition.   Yeah, he was being courted by the Hogan Regime, but this was Jeff’s brother, a guy who had nothing to do with TNA.   Why the hell wouldn’t Jeff be on the first plane here to see Matt?   Was this Hogan’s doing?   Or had Jeff fallen so in line with the Regime that he simply did not care whether his brother lived or died?

Taylor sipped her coffee, making her way back down the hall towards Matt’s room.   As she got closer, she heard a familiar voice coming out of the room…

“Hey Matt,” the voice said.   “I don’t even know where to begin, really…”

Taylor walked up to the room and looked inside.   There, she saw Jeff Hardy, sitting by Matt’s bedside, holding a large envelope in his hand.   Taylor moved off to the side of the door, with her back to the wall.   Jeff Hardy had always been a friend, but now, with his role in the Hogan Regime, Taylor was not sure whether to regard Jeff as friend or foe.   So, she decided to play it safe, for the moment, as she continued to listen to Jeff talk.

“I know I should have been here sooner.   I don’t even know if you can even hear me right now, Matt,” Jeff began.   “I just want you to know, man, it wasn’t supposed to go down like this, you know?   I know you and Taylor are tight.   And I know she’s friends with, like, everybody in TNA.   I just don’t understand why you had to get involved, man.   Hogan… Hogan’s just trying to make things better, you know?   Better for all of us.   Not just TNA, WWE too.   You remember, back in the 90’s, when there was WCW and the WWF on Monday nights.   Everybody was talking about wrestling.   Everybody.   It was Must See TV.   And guys who never had a chance to shine before, guys like us, Matt, we became stars.   Mega Stars, even.   That’s what all of this is about, Matt.   At least… that’s what I thought this was about.   Bischoff came to me a few months ago, just after TNA announced Hogan had signed with TNA.   Said that I had a bright future in TNA.   That we should talk about me going down there.   I told him I didn’t know if now was a good time for me to be thinking about getting back into wrestling, with me being on trial and all, and Bischoff… he just said, ‘don’t worry about that.   I’ve got a great team of lawyers.   They’ll take care of it.   You just come down to Orlando on January 4^th, talk to Hogan, and we’ll see if we can work out a deal.’   So I went.   I mean, wouldn’t you?   And I talk to Hogan.   We crunch some numbers, and they make me an offer.   A really good one, too.   In fact, I have it, right here in my hand, Matt.   But right now, looking at this, and seeing what the Nasty Boys did to you, all because you wanted to protect your friends…”

Jeff held up the envelope in his hand and looked at it, pausing for a moment to think about what he was about to do next.

“There’s no way I can be a part of this.   Not anymore.”

Jeff then takes the envelope and tears it in half before tossing it to the floor.

“I’m really sorry, Matt.   I need you to know that,” Jeff said, briefly coming to tears.

Outside, Taylor, too, is in tears, smiling.   It had been the first piece of good news she had seen in weeks.   Maybe, just maybe, there was hope.   She looked in for a moment, watching as Jeff tried to compose himself, watching his brother sleep.   Just then, her cell phone began to vibrate.   She looked at her caller ID and saw that the call was from Christopher Daniels.  

She walked away from Matt’s room, answering, “Chris, what’s up?”

“How’s Matt?” Chris asked her.

“He’s stable.   Doctors say he’s getting better, but I don’t know.   Jeff’s here,” Taylor said.

“Jeff Hardy?   What’s he doing?” Chris asked.

“He just tore up his contract with Hogan,” Taylor answered.

“Really?” Chris said.  

“Yeah, I know,” Taylor said.   “I’m as surprised as you are.   I figured Jeff was in lockstep with the rest of Hogan’s goons.”

“Looks like we were wrong,” Daniels said.

“I sure hope so,” Taylor said.   “After everything that’s happened, I’m still not sure whether to trust him or not.”

“Jeff Hardy may be a lot of things,” Daniels said, “but he’s not the type to turn his back on family.”

“I hope you’re right, Chris,” Taylor replied.   “So, what’s new on your front?”

“I’m in Las Vegas now.   I heard AJ’s staying at the Bellagio.   Ric Flair’s there with him,” Daniels answered.   “Maybe… Maybe I can talk to him, find out what the hell is going on here.”

“You really think AJ’s going to talk?” Taylor asked.   “I mean, if he’s part of Hogan’s regime, you can’t seriously expect AJ to tell you what Hogan’s up to.”

“I have to try,” Daniels said.   “Something’s going down in TNA.   Something bad.  If I can’t get to the bottom of this, and soon, there might not be a TNA for too much longer.”

“You really think it’s that bad?” Taylor asked.  

“You remember WCW?” Daniels said.

“Of course,” Taylor replied.

“Okay, well, all the major players are now in TNA.   Hogan, Bischoff, Flair, Nash, Russo, Sting…”

“You think Sting’s part of this, too?” Taylor asked.

“At this rate, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit,” Daniels continued.   “The point is, everyone who had a part in sinking WCW is now in TNA, each in a position of major power.   And ever since Hogan showed up, more and more of what made TNA unique and interesting has been laid to waste, replaced with has-beens and charlatans!   You know it.   I know it.   Everyone knows it, but no one is brave enough to stand up and do something about it!   Well, you know what?   I’m sick of it, and I know you are, too!   So I’m going to talk to AJ.   I’m going to try and make some sense of all of this, and I swear to God, I don’t care how many people he and Andre drew to the Pontiac Sliverdome in 1987, I’m not just going to sit back and let Hulk Hogan destroy a company I helped to build!”

“So,” Taylor began, “say you’re right.   This is a huge conspiracy to destroy TNA.   How do you propose we stop it?”

“I don’t know,” Daniels conceded.   “All I know is, if we’re being phased out for WCW Version 2.0, we shouldn’t just let it go without a fight.   Which brings me to the reason why I called you.   Taylor, I need you to do me a favor.   I need you to go find Samoa Joe.”

“Wait… Joe’s missing, now?” Taylor asked.   “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know,” Daniels said to her.   “His wife texted me, and told me Joe never came home after the TV tapings.   He texted her, said he needed to be alone, to think.”

“Think about what?” Taylor said.

“I don’t know.   His wife never said.   All I know is, we need to find Joe,” Daniels said.   “Something’s going down in TNA, and if we are going to have any hope in stopping it, we’re going to need every man we can get.”

 “Well, if he’s not home, where is he?” Taylor asked.

“Death Valley,” Chris answered.   “His wife said that Joe is somewhere in Death Valley.   Cops have a search part out looking for him, but even they said it could be days before they find him.   If they find him.”

“If the cops aren’t sure they can find him, what makes you think I will?” Taylor asked.

“Damn it, Taylor!” Daniels yelled.   “Everything we know, everything we’ve worked for in TNA is at stake here!   If we don’t find Samoa Joe, and soon, God knows what will happen to us!”

“All right,” Taylor sighed.   “I’ll do it.   But I can’t promise you anything.”

“I know, Taylor,” Daniels said.   “Thank you.”

Meanwhile, back in Orlando, Dr. Stevie’s alarm clock has just gone off for the second time.   As the chorus of Hall and Oates’ “Private Eyes” plays, Stevie groggily reached towards the snooze bar, looking for 9 more minutes of sleep.   Just as he is about to hit the snooze, and silence Daryl Hall’s melodic voice once and for all, someone grabs Stevie’s hand.   Stevie looks up at the shadowy figure standing above his bed, shocked and bewildered.   As the man above him pressed the snooze bar, silence filled the room.   A silence that was soon broken with the words…

“What the hell is with you and schlocky elevator music, Stevie?   You’d think, after all these years, I’d have you listening to something decent, by now!”

The man above him then released Stevie’s hand and turned on the lamp by Stevie’s bed, revealing that he was, in fact, Stevie’s best friend, Raven.

“You break into my apartment, stand over me while I’m asleep, then scare me half to death,” Stevie began, “just to insult my taste in music?   Real mature there, Raven.”

As Stevie pulled off the covers and sat up in his bed, Raven said, “You would think it’d be that simple, but, sadly, that’s not why I’m here.”   Raven then pulls a picture frame off of Stevie’s dresser and tosses it to Stevie.   “This is.”

Stevie looks down at the frame, and sees a picture of him, Raven, Blue Meanie, and Daffney, taken at Stevie’s birthday party back in October.   In this picture, Daffney and Stevie are hugging, as Meanie gives Stevie bunny ears, and Raven is looking… well, like Raven.

“She was practically in love with you, Stevie,” Raven said to his long-time friend.   “Maybe everyone else in the world is blind to it, but I could see it.   The way she’d talk about you all the time, the way she always made a point to be close to you every time you two were anywhere near each other.   She was practically throwing herself at you, and yet, you were either too stupid or too scared to do anything about it!”

“Raven, you don’t understand,” Stevie began.

“What’s to understand?” Raven shouted.   “The girl’s in love with you, and, from all the pictures of her you seem to have around here, it’s pretty obvious you have a thing for her, too!   But, instead of being a man for five seconds and just telling Daffney how you feel, you come up with some medical excuse to repress the damn thing.   Then, the moment Eric Bischoff tells you to jump through a hoop, or else you’ll lose your job, you dump the only girl in years to even give you a second thought, a girl you’re obviously crazy about, just so you can wear a nice business suit every day and take meetings with whatever friend of Hogan’s TNA wants you to hire next!”

“So you’re here to lecture me?” Stevie said, standing up from his bed.   “Tell me how stupid I am because I actually try to be a responsible human being?   That, maybe, I actually LIKE the idea of, I don’t know, not having to worry where my next meal is coming from, because I actually have a job and can afford it?!”

“No, Stevie,” Raven said.   “you’re not stupid.   You’re just scared.   Scared of what may happen if you actually admit to yourself that you might be in love.  Scared that, for once in your pathetic little life, someone might actually love you back.  Scared that you might get fired by a boss who couldn’t care less about you, from a job you absolutely HATE.   Scared that maybe, someday soon, you might actually have to stand up on your own two feet, make a decision, and live with the consequences.   You’re always telling me that I have it so easy because I don’t bother with the consequences.   Well, what the hell do you think you’re doing, moving day thought day, living the corporate lie?   Head of Talent Relations?   Please!   They might as well call you Pinocchio, on the end of Bischoff’s strings!   And you want to know why, Stevie?”

“Go ahead, Raven,” Stevie said.   “Tell me how I’m running away from responsibility by living up to the expectations of my job, since you see to know so much about responsibility, now!”

“Because, Stevie, you’re not even the one behind the wheel of your own life, anymore!” Raven continued.   “You’re not making decisions based on rational thought or responsibility.   You’re making your decisions based on fear.   And yeah, maybe I haven’t been the most responsible person in the world all my life, but I do know a thing or two about consequences.   Robert Kennedy once said, ‘only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.’   And maybe I’m not the man I should be, but I’ve only become the man I am today because I wasn’t afraid to take chances.   I wasn’t afraid to fail!   You… You can’t even get out of the gate, because you’re so afraid of losing everything you have, that you won’t even try to reach for anything better.   That’s why Bischoff chose you to be Head of Talent Relations.   Not because of your medical degree, or the respect most people in the business have for you, but because he’s got you so scared of losing everything that you’ll give up the things in life you want the most just to make him happy!   You really think Hogan and Bischoff are scared of Daffney?   No, Stevie.   It was just a test, to see just how much control they have over you!”

“So what do you want me to do, Raven?   Quit?” Stevie asked.

“Do whatever the hell you want, Stevie!” Raven replied.   “It’s your life.   If you want to spend the rest of your life being miserable and alone, working in TNA as Bischoff’s puppet, go ahead.   Nobody’s going to stop you!   But let me tell you something, Stevie.   I’ve been miserable.   I’ve been alone.   And let me tell you, it’s not as fun as it looks from the outside.   Sometimes, I’d kill to have what Tommy Dreamer has with Beulah, what Sandman had once with his ex-wife, but I made a choice.   I made a choice to push people away, and for a long time, I was alone.   I was miserable.   You’re my friend, Stevie.   Whether or not you want to believe that now, I am.   Always will be.   And I’ll be damned if I’m just going to sit back and watch you make the same mistakes I did!”

“The only mistake I made,” Stevie sighed, “was sticking my neck out for you in the first place, Raven.   You want to keep lecturing me, talking about how I’m letting Bischoff and Hogan control me?   Well, if Hogan and Bischoff have so much control over me, how come you still have a job?”

Raven, for once, did not have a comeback.

“Remember how you walked out of WCW in 1999, ran back to ECW for a year before signing with Vince?”   Stevie continued.   “Bischoff still hates you for that!   In fact, just about every time he talks to me, he brings up something about you being a good for nothing, lazy bum who never drew a dime for him in WCW!   So, let me ask you again.   If I’m such a puppet of Bischoff’s, and he clearly hates your guts, why do you still have a job in TNA?”

“You’re right, Stevie,” Raven said, sarcastically.   “It’s obvious that, because Bischoff hasn’t had you fire me yet over something that happened ten years ago in a company that no longer exists, that you’re right.   You’re not a puppet.   Never mind the fact that he’s already had you sacrifice just about everything ELSE you care about just to keep your job!   You’re absolutely right, Stevie!”

“Raven, I’m tired of this,” Stevie sighed.   “All of this.   Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for work, now.”

“Fine,” Raven sighed.   “You know, Stevie…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Raven,” Stevie said, putting his foot down.   “Get out.”

As Stevie began getting ready for work, Raven slowly made his way out of Stevie’s apartment, disappointed that he was unable to reach his friend.   Making his way out of Stevie’s building, Raven thought to himself that there was only one other option.   If he was unable to appeal to his friend to end this nonsense, Raven would have to take matters in his own hands.   As Raven steps outside the door of the apartment complex, he sees the Amazing Red, standing just outside.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Raven asks Red.

“I’m going with you,” Red replied.

“What are you talking about?   You don’t even know where I’m going!” Raven said to the young X-Division star.

“You’re going to Belleview, right?   You’re gonna bust out Daffney!” Red responded.

“And you want to go with me?” Raven asked.

“You can’t do it by yourself,” Red replied.  

Raven sighed.   He knew there was no way he was going to talk Red out of this.

“You ever break into a high-security mental hospital before?” Raven asked Red.

“Not exactly,” Red answered.   “But I know people who can help.”