TWO CARTONS OF TERROR

We come back from commercial to see Angelica Brooks holding a microphone.

Angelica Brooks: Welcome back to ReVival 12. I’m joined by Tag Team Survivor finalist Fighting for Nora.

The camera pans to the tag team. Jonathan Rhine is smiling at Angelica while Paxton Ray is looking at his feet, a snarl on his face.

Jonathan Rhine: Hi Angelica. Thanks for taking the time.

Angelica Brooks: Same to you. Now, in a matter of minutes you’ll be in only your third match in PRIME, facing off against the Masters of the Multiverse…B Team. How important is this match to you?

Jonathan Rhine: Incredibly important. Despite making it all the way to the finals of Tag Team Survivor, we had only been in one match together before Great American Nightmare. And though we fought well, we lost. So we need to regain our focus so we can try and challenge for those belts again down the line. 

Angelica Brooks: Speaking of the titles, on our last show you and King Blueberry seemed to bury the hatchet after months of discord between you two. What led you to trying to mend those fences?

Jonathan Rhine: I spent a lot of time thinking about the match after we lost. And I was disappointed. And after a while I realized that I wasn’t upset that we lost the gold. I was upset because I was so angry at Jared and wanted to hurt him because of that. And that really made me pause.

They all pause, for a second, as an odd groaning noise comes from the ceiling. They all look up, then continue as the noise subsides.

Jonathan Rhine: What kind of person am I that I let a grudge with a friend blind me? That I actually want to hurt someone I once thought of as a brother? That’s not why I got into this business. It made me realize I had been doing a lot of things here for the wrong reasons. And so I’m trying to change that.

Angelica Brooks: That’s certainly admirable. But speaking of grudges, I wanted to deliver some information to you from Lindsay Troy. She wanted me to tell you that at ReVival 14, you’ll be getting your one-on-one match with Julian Bathory. 

When Angelica delivers this news, Jon closes his eyes and smiles.

Angelica Brooks: Viewers know that you have wanted a shot at Bathory for a while since he showed up at your Foundation Dinner as a guest speaker. And now you’ll finally get the chance. Your thoughts?

Jonathan Rhine: Well, I’m certainly thankful to Ms. Troy for granting me the opportunity. And I’m excited. I’ve loved working with Paxton as a tag team partner, but those of you who followed my career will know that I’m a pretty accomplished singles wrestler. And it’ll be nice to go back into that world, if only for one night. Julian Bathory has shown to the world what we all already knew. And when I step into the ring with him in two weeks, I’m going to show him what happens when you mess with Nora, when you mess with the Foundation, and when you mess with me.

Angelica Brooks: Finally, I want to ask you about something else that happened on the show, right after your reunion. 

Paxton shakes his head as Jonathan continues to smile.

Angelica Brooks: I’m talking, of course, about the egg and blueberry attack from Bobby Dean and Doozer, the eGG Bandits.

Paxton punches his hand. Jonathan chuckles.

Jonathan Rhine: Yeah, that was weird, wasn’t it?

Angelica Brooks: You don’t seem like it bothers you at all.

Jonathan Rhine: I mean, I’m not going to start wearing eggs out to dinner or anything. It took a while to clean, and it was annoying. But it didn’t ruin my day because I didn’t let it. The Bandits are nuisances. They like to cause chaos, and it’s just a bit of fun.

Paxton mutters, shaking his head again. Angelica notices and moves the microphone towards him. 

Angelica Brooks: Do you disagree, Paxton?

Paxton Ray: Yeah I disagree. Look, I ain’t a vet like Jon, so I dunno if this is just something that happens in this business or not.

Angelica Brooks/Jonathan Rhine: It does.

Paxton Ray: But where I come from, we don’t let our friends get punked. So yeah I’m mad, and I wanna get my hands on those jackoffs so I can show ‘em what happens when…

“JACKOFFS? That’s it, lower the boom Bobby!”

Suddenly the ceiling creaks again, and all three look up. Angelica and Jonathan are able to move quickly, but Paxton Ray is in a bad position and therefore can’t avoid it.

What can’t he avoid, you ask?

Eggs. More eggs. More and more eggs.

Yolk and shell rain down upon the Lafayette Bruiser as Jon and Angelica watch in horror. A few seconds and 48 eggs later, Paxton Ray looks down at his feet, then clenches his fists. Bobby Dean’s giggles ring out in the ceiling above.

Paxton Ray: I’ma kill these assholes.

He walks off, egg slime trailing behind him. Jonathan sighs, then looks at Angelica.

Jonathan Rhine: I’m going to go help him clean up. Talk to you later Angelica.

Brooks watches the team trudge off, then looks at the camera with a grimace disguised as a smile.

Angelica Brooks: All right, guys, back to you.