Minutes after a chaotic brawl involving Bliss Kingdom and the First Army, the rebellious faction went to their locker room and talked with their new ally.
Elleon: so all of you are Bliss Kingdom?
Everyone nodded and Finn spoke.
Finn: so you're him?
Elleon: actually, Elleon is my character; my real name is Ryan Ainsworth
Josh: we know
Alex: we just watched your debut earlier tonight
Travis: everyone knows who you are, man
Ryan: yeah, I'm really well known in the indies
Chase: and you're also the son of the well-renowned Ainsworth family
Ryan nodded.
Ryan: yup, I'm the Prince of the Ainsworths, my parents are the owners of Ainsworth's Deluxe Liquor and Anastasia Beverly Hills Makeup
Peyton: did you say, Anastasia Beverly Hills?
Ryan: yeah why?
Billie: it's our favorite brand of makeup!
Charlotte: mine too!
Bayley: same here!
Sasha: I always use them
Lexi: me too!
Alex: oh sorry, where are our manners? My name is Alex Auditore
Lexi: I'm Alexa Bliss, but everyone calls me Lexi and I'm the leader of Bliss Kingdom
Finn: I'm Finn and I'm one of the co-founders
Randy: I'm Randy Orton, the Viper and co-founder
Josh: the Fallen Warrior Josh Stevens and this is my girlfriend, Peyton
Peyton: hi! and this my bestie Billie and we are the...
Billie & Peyton: IIconics!
Chase: the Universal Champion and Beast slayer, Chase Destiny
Charlotte: I'm Charlotte, the Queen and fiancee to the Limit Breaker here
Seth: you can call me the Man, Seth Rollins
Becky: correction Seth, I'm the Man Becky Lynch
Bayley: I'm Bayley, everyone's favorite Hugger and girlfriend to my Finny
Sasha however was hiding her face as she was blushing of looking Ryan eye to eye.
Ryan: is she okay?
Bayley: oh Sasha is just a little shy that's all
Sasha: I'm not shy, Bay!
Bayley: then go introduce yourself to our new friend
Sasha removed her hands from her face and saw Ryan with a nice smile on his face.
Sasha: I'm Sasha Banks, the L-Legit Boss
Ryan: a pleasure to meet you Sasha; you're cute when you blush
He kissed her hand making Sasha's cheeks grow a darker shade of red.
Ryan: since all of you know of my family and my fame, but I want to share to you all that sometimes being rich has its consequences
The Kingdom looked at the Shadow Ninja with concern especially Sasha.
Sasha: how so?
Ryan: with a huge pile of money under me, I can get through anyone with no problem, but that's not how I am; I just want to live a normal life like everyone else
Sasha: and your past relationships?
Ryan: my exes only want to be with me just for my wealth
Billie: those girls don't have a heart
Peyton: they just want to get the things they can't afford to buy themselves
Ryan: exactly my point, but my life took a positive turn as I took interest in professional wrestling. I made a name for myself in the UK Indie scene before going to NJPW
Finn: and how did this Shadow Ninja persona came?
Ryan: I'm a huge fan of anime, especially Naruto; the coat I wore was the same worn by the character Pain
Alex: you like anime?
Ryan: yup
Alex: me too!
Ryan: oh, what's your favorite?
Alex: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sasha: I like anime too!
Ryan: oh, do you have a favorite one?
Sasha: Sailor Moon!
Bayley: here we go again
Sasha: shut up, Bay
The group shared a laugh as Boss n' Hug had a playful argument. Then they heard a knock on the door, Lexi opened it and it was Triple H.
Lexi: hey Hunter, what can we do for you?
Hunter: I heard what happened to Xander last week, it's sad to lose such a promising talent like him
Lexi: we know; oh, Xander wanted us to give this to you
The Goddess went to her bag and took out Xander's vacated Intercontinental Championship.
Lexi: he wanted us to give this to you
Hunter: well thank you for this; I'm gonna make an announcement on the status of the Intercontinental title right now in the ring
Lexi nodded and Triple H took his leave.
A few minutes later, Triple H was in the ring with the Intercontinental title over his shoulder.
Hunter: as all of you are aware, an accident caused a very young promising Superstar his career and his title and I'm talking about one of the top NXT Superstars, the Legendary Wrestler Xander Kross
Backstage, Bliss Kingdom had a look of sorrow in their eyes, but kept strong.
In the ring, Triple H continued speaking.
Hunter: Xander was an example of the WWE's future, when he and the entire Bliss Kingdom got rid of Baron Corbin.
The crowd cheered of that moment.
Hunter: however last week, during his match against Adam Cole, Xander suffered a career threatening neck injury that cause to put his career on halt and vacating his Intercontinental title. I'm out here to address the state of said title. I'm announcing a tournament after Battleground, and it will be a 16 man tournament!
The crowd cheered.
Hunter: and now the official tournament bracket:
(A/N: here are the participants for the bracket)
Alex Auditore vs. Jinder Mahal
Adam Cole vs. Zack Ryder
Seth Rollins vs. Lio Rush
Jordan Devlin vs. Elias
WALTER vs. Braun Strowman
Travis Sharp vs. Bobby Lashley
Roderick Strong vs. Mojo Rawley
Johnny Gargano vs. Baron Corbin
Hunter: all I have to say to those 16 men, good luck
The COO exited the ring as the show closed.
(Backstage)
Alex, Travis and Seth were pumped of their given opportunity.
Seth: time to bring that title back where it belongs
Alex: this is my first title opportunity
Travis: same here, bro
Seth: if it's down to the two of us, we're gonna have one hell of a match
The three guys group hugged. Then Finn realized something.
Finn: I almost forgot
Bayley: what's wrong, babe?
Finn: I have to call that NXT UK star to help us
Lexi: oh right, you go do that
Finn went outside and he grabbed his phone and called him.
???: hello?
Finn: hey mate
???: Finn, you need anything, man?
Finn: I'm calling on behalf of Bliss Kingdom, man; we want you to help us against the First Army
???: who's involved?
Finn: does the name Jordan Devlin sound familiar?
???: him, I beat his arse a lot; he's not a threat to me
Finn: how about Ringkampf? WALTER?
???: oh no, not him
Finn: so will you help us?
???: yeah, no problem; hell even my girlfriend wants to help too
Finn: she can help as well because who else is in the First Army?
???: who?
Finn: Rhea Ripley
???: for sure my girlfriend still holds a grudge on her
Finn: alright man
???: alright
Finn: welcome to Bliss Kingdom, mate
???: thanks Finn; we'll see you all next Monday
Finn: alright
The Demon King went back to the locker room.
Lexi: well what did he say?
Finn: he accepts our invitation and he's bringing his girlfriend along
Lexi: alright, two new members to our cause and when will we meet them?
Finn: next Monday
Josh: now the odds are even
They all nodded.
Then the Kingdom left the arena and went to the parking lot.
As the Kingdom separated to the respective couples, Sasha opened a conversation with Ryan.
Sasha: so Ryan, what made you come and help us?
Ryan: well when I watched you guys' war against Baron Corbin and the Wolf-Pack, it's like all of you were fighting for what's right
Sasha: we did and we accomplished our goal
Ryan: I respected and idolized Kurt Angle growing up
The two kept talking until they met with the rest of the group at the parking lot.
Finn: so Ryan, you need a ride?
Ryan: oh no thanks, I have car
Josh: what kind of car?
Ryan: well I bought this one from a gentleman a few weeks ago, it's a Lamborghini model called the Centenario
Hearing the Lamborghini model name made the Kingdom trigger a blurred memory.
Ryan: there it is!
The group saw the Centenario, but it wasn't any other Centenario, it was the same model that was owned by Xander; they were surprised.
Josh: ah Ryan, if I must ask, but who was that gentleman you bought this car from?
Ryan: oh, it was a Mr. Xander Kross
Hearing his name made everyone gasp.
Ryan: did I say something wrong?
Finn: oh no, it's just that we know Xander
Lexi: knew him very well
Ryan: you do?
Becky: he was our brother in Bliss Kingdom
Travis: he was very popular among the generation of fans
Chase: the reason why Corbin is not the GM anymore
Alex: like you Ryan, he is the son of a well-renowned family
Sasha: and, he was a very sweet guy
The Legit Boss started to tear up. Ryan notice this and he gave her a hug.
Ryan: come here, Sasha
He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back.
Ryan: it seems all of you had a bond with Xander
Peyton: we do
Ryan: may I ask, what happened to him?
Charlotte: well, he was in a match against the First Army's Adam Cole
Billie: then something terrible happened
Travis: after Adam executed the Panama Sunrise, Xander laid motionless
Ryan: oh my, is he okay?
Alex: he was okay, but the doctor told us that he can't wrestle anymore because he suffered a career ending neck injury
Ryan: like what happened to Edge?
Chase: yup
Travis: Xander had no choice but to retire from wrestling for good
Ryan: where is he now?
Becky: he's back home at Marseille, France
Ryan then saw tears falling from Sasha's eyes. He wiped them away.
Ryan: don't cry, Sasha
He then noticed the ring on her finger.
Ryan: is that a ring?
Sasha: yeah, Xander gave me this at the Raw after WrestleMania
Ryan: you two were engaged?
Sasha: no, it's a promise ring
Ryan: you two were together?
Sasha nodded.
Ryan: well, you don't have to forget about Xander since he made an impact to you guys' lives; just remember all the happy times you had with him
Sasha slowly smiled.
Alex: of course we won't forget Xander
Travis: the man is a strong soldier
Sasha thought to herself.
Sasha: that is so nice and sweet of Ryan saying that
The Kingdom couples got in their car and drove to the hotel.
(30 minutes later)
They all got out of their cars and went in the hotel.
Travis: Ryan, do you have a room?
Ryan: well not exactly, more like a penthouse
Girls: a penthouse?!
Ryan: the staff treats me like a VIP, but sometimes I want to stay in a normal hotel room
Alex: treated like royalty
Ryan: tell me about it, well good night
Finn: night Ryan
The Shadow Ninja nodded and left.
Sasha: Bay, is it okay if I can room with you and Finn for tonight?
Bayley: sure, Sash!
Finn: don't want you to be all lonely in your room
Sasha: thanks guys
The three left to their room. The rest of the group went up to their floor.
Alex: you need us, we'll-
Lexi: Alex babe, I want some more kisses from you!
The Goddess shouted which made everyone chuckle.
Alex: yeah real funny guys, good night!
The Pharaoh shut the door.
Becky: let's go make out Seth!
She pulled the Kingslayer by the hand and went to their room.
Seth: help me!
Travis: you're on your own, Seth
Charlotte: oh Chase, the Queen requests your lips all over me please
Chase: your wish is my command, my liege
The Queen and the Limit Breaker went to their room.
Peyton: Joshy, I may need your help on what clothes I should wear when my pregnancy progresses
Josh went wide eyed.
Josh: uh, let's go!
The two left leaving Travis and Billie to themselves.
Travis: shall we, Billie?
Billie: why of course, Travis
The two got settled into their room. They changed into their night clothes. Before Billie settled in the bed, Travis said something.
Travis: uh Billie?
Billie: yeah Trav?
Travis: uh, if it's okay with you; can we have another date tomorrow?
Billie blushed lightly.
Billie: I would love that, Trav; I really had fun on our first date
Travis: I'll take you out on a lunch date
Billie: okay!
Travis: good night
Billie: good night!
Travis went to lie down on the couch while he thought to himself.
Travis: tomorrow will be the day I confess my feelings to Billie
He then fall asleep. In the bedroom, Billie was still awake and blushing.
Billie: I hope Trav will confess to me tomorrow
She smiled and fell asleep.
(In Ryan's penthouse)
Ryan was already settled in bed and he looked up at the ceiling.
Ryan: Bliss Kingdom will need my help to repeal against the First Army, and I hope whoever Finn called will be a big help to us. As for Sasha, I really want to make her feel better; I just need to think about it.
The Shadow Ninja then fell asleep.