All the Incentive in the World

[Mr. T]

These are important times in the career of Danny Tenfold. Now more than ever he must do all he can to make sure Mark Rivera - a man far from his biggest fan - has reason to keep him around. Danny's best chance to do this lies in his quest to capture the EUW Lionheart Championship; however, when the man currently holding that title happens to be Brett Cross, that is a task easier said than done. At the moment it seems that despite not being in bad form, Danny just can't see to get it just right, as demonstrated in his recent loss to Immanuel Taylor. Now Danny's time to build the momentum he needs is running out, which means every single match is vital. His next match?

Warrior and Roy Viper vs. Jace Ambrose and Danny Tenfold

Needless to say Danny requires no further incentive, but if anything would provide it, it would be his opponents this week. Both men who helped Mark Rivera wrestle the EUW from Kirk Kennedy's control, our young hero has been looking forward to beating them down for quite some time now. Finally that opportunity presents itself... it would be a shame to waste it.

~XXXXXXXXXX~

Our scene begins in a New York gym. There we find Danny, along with his tag team partner for the week Jack Ambrose. The duo are working hard to get in top physical shape for the contest, as we find Danny practially sprinting on a treadmill while Jace sits curling two hefty looking dumb bells. As Jace does so, a rather attractive young blonde walks by.

Jace: Nine-hundred and ninety-nine... ONE THOUSAND!

Jace places the dumb bells as he looks at the girl with a cheeky grin. Sadly for the would-be Casanova, his plan doesn't quite work out, with the girl continuing on her way without batting an eyelid. Danny did notice the performance though, and chuckles as he walks away from the treadmill and towards Jace.

Danny: Wow, bro... fail.

Jace: Shut up,

Jace retorts, doing his best to glare rather than join in with Danny's humour.

Danny: You can't be that cut up about May then... or was that just instinct?

Jace shrugs.

Jace: Just a habit I have... but May isn't coming back so what would it matter anyway?

Sighing, Danny takes a seat next to Jace. The two may be tag teaming for the first time this Sunday, but they've also grown to be quite close friends backstage in the last couple of months, so Danny doesn't enjoy seeing Jace hurting so obviously.

Danny: She will be back, dude. That's how true love works.

Jace: You cheesy douche,

Jace replies with a grin.

Jace: But maybe you're right... at least I hope you are. Either way, let's just not talk about it, okay? Neither of us can afford to be distracted right now.

Danny frowns.

Danny: Why would I be distracted?

Jace: Well y'know... the small matter of Brett Cross?

Danny: Ooohhh...

Both men laugh for a moment - it's not like the Lionheart Champion is forgetful.

Danny: I'd be lying if I said he wasn't on my mind at all, but distracted? No way. Brett is a good way in the future yet. The present is what matters, and the present is picking up a much needed win on Sunday. Besides, I won't be taking my eye off the ball this week. I've been looking forward to getting my hands on Roy since "Back 2 Roots" - he's well overdue my foot up his ass. As for Warrior? I may not hate him as much as you do-

Jace: You can say that again,

Jace interjects with a look of anger.

Danny: But I still dislike the guy. As far as I'm concerned anyone who assisted Rivera doesn't deserve a spot in EUW. Warrior and his whole band of assholes are bad news, I can't imagine many things more enjoyable than humbling and deflating their egos.

Jace: Let's go one better: complete humiliation.

Danny: I always suspected you were into that sort of stuff,

Danny jokes, but his smile soon fades when he turns to Jace. The expression on his face - some sort of mixture of determination and hatred - tells Danny this is no time for joking. He stands before laying one hand on Jace's right shoulder.

Danny: Okay, man. Let's get back to it. This Sunday, Viper and Warrior won't know what's hit them.

Jace also stands, and nods.

Jace: That's the plan.

With that said, both men head to their next chosen equipment as the scene briefly fades to black.

*****************************************************

We rejoin Danny hours before Sunday Night Vengeance goes live on the air. He is not yet in his ring gear, instead he stands by Sarah Thompson in a "Scars and Stripes" tee-shirt. We are just in time as Sarah addresses the camera with a smile.

Sarah: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this EUW.COM EXCLUSIVE pre-show interview. We are hours away from what should be a huge edition of Sunday Night Vengeance, and with me is a man in a huge match: Danny Tenfold. Tonight he will join forces with Jace Ambrose to take on the team of Roy Viper and Warrior.

She turns to Danny.

Sarah: Thanks for joining me, Danny. How are you feeling ahead of this contest?

Danny smiles.

Danny: Great - I honestly don't think I could have prepared better. Both Jace and I have been working our asses off to make sure we're in perfect condition, and I believe with that being the case there is nothing Viper and Warrior can do to defeat us.

Sarah: But do you not believe you're at a disadvantage at all, having never tagged up with Jace before tonight?

After thinking about this for a moment, Danny shrugs.

Danny: I don't see why, because I don't recall Warrior and Roy ever teaming either. And while it is true Jace and I have no previous experience teaming together, we're tight. We get along well, and we've had enough experience facing each other to know our styles. I think we'll make a great team. Who knows, if things go well maybe this won't be such a rare thing in the future.

Sarah smiles.

Sarah: I'm sure the tag division will be keeping an eye on that. But right now your focus is still singles gold, so how important is it that you get the win tonight?

Danny: It's vital, because if I can't beat Warrior and Viper with Jace by my side, then how do I stand a chance of overcoming Brett Cross? But this match isn't really about that. This match is for Kirk Kennedy. He brought me here, showed endless amounts of faith in me, and now he's gone...

Sighing, Danny looks down at the floor for a moment and shakes his head. When he looks back up at Sarah, his expression shows both hurt and his determination to overcome it.

Danny: And the two men I face tonight are big parts of why he is gone. Roy Viper sold his soul to the devil, and for what? A shot at the World Championship? Had he had any intelligence at all, he'd know the only reason Kirk hadn't done the same was because he wasn't ready - as we all saw two weeks ago... And Warrior? Well, bsides the fact he's always been messed up in the head, he saw a new generation threatening his status here and did what he saw fit to prevent it. And the result of their actions along with Mark Rivera and a few others saw this company taken away from a man who loved it; a man who built one of EUW's most successful periods; a man who deserved better...

The passion Danny speaks with shows the vast respect he has for the man who hired him, and the look in his eyes displays the fiery desire he has to avenge Kirk.

Danny: So as much as I need this win and the momentum it would give me, I have so much more incentive to defeat Warrior and Roy Viper - as does Jace. We may both have other stuff going on, but I can assure you our top pritority is defeating the two pieces of trash we face tonight.

Showing a certain degree of admiration, Sarah smiles and nods.

Sarah: Good luck, Danny.

Danny: Thanks. Hopefully we won't need it.

Danny replies, before walking out of shot, presumably off to do some last minute preparation. With her guest gone, Sarah turns back to the camera.

Sarah: There you have it, folks. Do not miss Sunday Night Vengeance, LIVE TONIGHT!

Sarah continues to smile as the scene slowly fades to black, bringing the promo to a close.

~XXXXXXXXXX~

Finally, after an inconsistent month or so, Danny Tenfold believes he has put it all together ahead of this match. He has all the incentive in the world, and the preparation has been executed to perfection. What else does he and his tag partner need? Now all that remains is for Danny and Jace to put all of that into action and take care of business.