SIXTEEN

Three weeks later, Abigail and I found a new place to live. Neither of us liked living in our house without Emily, so we moved into a new one to make new memories. Right after this, TNA resumed filming. It was the first taping since Emily had died. As hard as it was, life was moving on, and we had to let it.

Nelson and Brandon had both run for their lives. That's what happens when you betray Team Baddie. Nelson, however, made it quite clear that while MVP had indeed come back stronger, so had he, and he wasn't about to let MVP hurt anyone. He was available if we needed him.

With Low-Ki and Homicide no longer on the TNA roster, the BDC was as good as over. What killed it was not the battle between good and evil, but a contract breech that involved a lot of lying and some bad decisions. All of the footage featuring Hernandez had to be cut, and that pissed MVP off more than anything else ever had. He quit right after it was announced that this had happened, tweeting "The BDC is dead."

Right after that, Kenny King quit, too. He cited the end of the BDC as his reason, but I suspected he was running as far from Team Baddie as he could get. He hadn't officially quit their team, but this was his way of passively doing just that.

When I saw Storm, he nodded at me subtly in acknowledgement. He'd also announced he was leaving TNA soon, but not because he was running. Chaos simply wanted to move him somewhere else to fight the battle. Storm was his top man. He needed him now more than ever.

At the same time, Jeff Jarrett was back and bringing Global Force Wrestling to TNA. Jarrett had joined up with Team Baddie and I knew we'd be facing another huge battle soon, but that is a whole other story. My main concern was rescuing Carlos before he ended up stuck in the middle of that mess.

After the first night of tapings concluded, I decided it was time for the rescue mission. Jeff had taken Abigail for the night because he was teaching her how to paint like him. I knew she was safe. I was ready to go after Carlos. I nearly made it to my car before James came jogging after me and sternly told me, "Not alone."

"Did you just read my mind?" I asked.

"You're thinking too loud." He smirked at me.

"Wow. So that's how that feels."

"Seriously, though, MichaeL, I know you. We're back in Florida, at the Impact Zone, our home. This is where we're strongest, and since Carlos lives here, he's stronger here as well. If we have any chance of saving him, it's here. And you are not doing it alone."

"James, it's too dangerous. I can't risk them hurting you again."

He looked at me seriously. "Michael, it's been long enough. I've stayed as far from danger as I could, with the exception of the day we rescued you and Abigail. I go home every night and do you know what I do? I read, I watch television, I sit on bloody YouTube watching videos of people's cats doing tricks, but do you know what I don't do? I don't sleep. At all. I'm so bloody terrified all the time, I can't do it. Every time I sleep, I see them. I see what they did to me... I keep replaying it, all of it, and it won't bloody stop. I see Emily, and what happened to her... I see you, so broken I was afraid we'd never get you back... I see every bloody horrible second of it, over and over and over again. I'm stuck there, Michael."

"It's called PTSD, James. It's normal. It sucks, but we can help you-"

"Talking won't help. I don't have the words. I feel like I am what they insisted I was, just a pathetic joke who needs to be rescued and isn't worth a bloody thing. Do you want to know what will help me? Proving them wrong. I need to help, Michael. I need to fight. I need to know that I can contribute something good. Stop protecting me and let me fight."

I looked at him, so strong even if he didn't realize it, and I couldn't deny him this. "Okay," I said simply.

"Okay?" He repeated.

"Okay, let's go kick some ass. Together."

"Well, Amen to that!" Dixie said from behind us.

I turned to face her. "How long were you there?" I asked.

"Long enough."

"How did I not realize that? I'm slipping."

"Matt and Jeff have been giving me lessons on blocks."

"Jerks." I said.

"Can you teach me?" James asked at the same time.

She laughed. "So when do we leave?"

"We? Uh-uh, no way, D!" I protested.

"Darlin', I know you mean well, but you are not doing this without me. Carlos is one of my people. I couldn't help Frankie, but I'll be damned if I'm leaving his cousin in danger."

"Dixie, this is too dangerous. You could get killed."

"So could you, Michael, and I'm sick and tired of you acting like it's okay for you to risk your life but not for anyone else. We're Team Good, right? We fight to protect the innocent. I'm not just some damsel in distress, and I'm sick of y'all treating me like I can't help. They have taken too dang much from us. This is war. I am Dixie Carter! I never back down, and I am done sitting on the sidelines!"

"You did say together, Michael... And the three of us are a team," James said.

He was right, and Dixie's speech was possibly the most epic promo I'd ever heard in my life. "Fine. But stay close to me," I said.

They exchanged glances like excited children who'd finally been invited to play with the grown-ups. Even if they were two of the greenest psychics on Team Good, I knew if they had my back, we would not fail. We set out to locate Carlos. I opened a portal to get us closer to him and hoped this wouldn't end with any more tragedies.

It certainly didn't start with a tragedy. Instead, upon locating his energy, we found three members of Team Baddie sitting in a room together drunk off their asses. I've got to say, what we witnessed was a mix between a comedy and a horror movie.

MVP was sitting with Aries and Khoya. I couldn't see Carlos, but I sensed him. As Aries tossed back another shot, the most unexpected music came on. What was even more unexpected was the fact that Khoya and Aries immediately began singing and got up to dance. (If you can call it that. Khoya had rhythm, but Aries was so drunk he was stumbling around like a complete and total spaz.)

"Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want," Aries began.

"So tell me what you want, what you really, really want..." Khoya answered.

Holy. Shit, was all I could think as Dixie covered her mouth with both hands to keep from laughing. Sure enough, it continued.

"If you want my future, forget my past," Aries sang.

"If you wanna get with me, better make it fast," Khoya continued.

MVP stared at them. "You do know I can never un-see this, right?" He asked them. I couldn't help but mentally second that sentiment.

"If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends," they sang in unison. "Make it last forever, friendship never ends. If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give. Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is."

"My eyes and ears are burning," I whispered as I continued watching. It was like a bad car accident. It horrified me, but I couldn't look away.

"Actually, Khoya's Scary Spice impression is spot-on, but Aries can't hold a candle to Sporty," James said. I stared at him. "What? I'm British, Mate. We love those girls."

I could see Dixie struggling harder not to laugh. She looked at me and whispered, "Remind me why we're supposed to be afraid of them again?"

They continued to sing and dance, oblivious to our presence. MVP groaned, "I'm surrounded by idiots." He downed a beer and chased it with another. I couldn't blame him.

As the song came to a close, I spotted Carlos. More accurately, he spotted me.

"We have company," he said in a cold, harsh voice that barely sounded like his. He was practically hissing. My heart sank. They'd done a real number on the kid.

"Don't stop on our account," Dixie said, taking the opportunity for sarcasm and running with it like a pro. I was so proud. "Y'all are fantastic. It's like American Idol up in here... The part where they reject people, anyway."

Aries looked angry, MVP looked mildly amused, and Khoya had the grace to look embarassed. It was Carlos, however, who approached us. He flung a ball of fire at Dixie that I was barely able to pull her out of the way of in time. She let out a quick gasp, but regained her composure almost immediately.

"Don't mock them," Carlos said coldly.

"Eliminate them," MVP said.

Carlos looked at me and tried to fling another fireball. Dixie shouted my name as I dove to avoid getting hit.

"Don't do this, Carlos!" I pled with him. I searched his eyes for any sign of the boy we'd known. He stared back at me, his eyes cold and nearly dead, but I could feel the desperation behind his gaze. Carlos was lost, but he could still be saved. "I know this isn't you."

"Ah, but it is," a female voice said. I turned to see Stephanie standing behind me. "Hello, Everyone. So lovely to see you all again."

Dixie stiffened beside me. Her hatred radiated off of her. I was pretty sure she wanted to rip Stephanie's head off herself. She took a breath before saying, "Oh, Darlin', aren't you a little old to work so hard at rebelling against your daddy?"

Stephanie didn't deny that this was exactly what she was doing. Vince McMahon was in no way, shape, or form one of the good guys, but he knew how to pick sides in a fight. Ever since Chaos had taken over, Vince had taken his guys and called a truce with Team Good. He was well aware that following Chaos would only get everyone killed, and I'm fairly certain that old son of a bitch never plans on dying. He might publicly age and perhaps even "die" one day, but Vince McMahon is immortal. Evil like that never dies; it simply takes on a new form. No one can live a high profile life in the public eye forever without becoming a lab rat, so immortals who are smart will age themselves in public using a glamour. The Undertaker is another example. Billy Gunn is a bad example, because he's immortal, too, but he doesn't let himself age. Triple H has yelled at him more than once for that.

Anyway, my point is, Dixie was right. Stephanie was a thirty-something-year-old woman whose life revolved around fighting back against her evil father and trying to provoke him and prove she was in charge now. Don't get me wrong. I'm told there was a time when Stephanie was a good person with an exceptionally pure heart, but years of abuse at the hands of Vince had destroyed that in her. She'd rotted from the inside out and now all that remained was a bitter bitch bent on revenge. I can't entirely blame her, but I can't defend the things she's done, either.

"Finish this, Carlos. Show them what you really are," Stephanie said.

Carlos lunged at me. Dixie reacted, throwing up her arms. As I've said before, Dixie's abilities were still new. I knew it wasn't intentional, but Dixie had shot to kill. I tried to stop it, but I couldn't get between her and Carlos. James, however, could.

He must have felt the danger because James dove in front of the lethal jolt of energy. It hit him hard and he crumpled to the floor.

"James!" I screamed. I cannot even begin to describe what I felt in that moment. I was fairly positive I'd just watched my best friend die before my eyes. I was shaking as I raced toward him. Dixie was crying.

"I... I didn't know!" She told me. "I didn't know what I was doing until it was done... Oh God... Is he alright?"

Aries, Khoya, and MVP were laughing. Stephanie smiled smugly. "That's what happens when you bring along the mascot," she said. "They get killed."

I knelt beside James. Bloody hell, he thought. That really bleedin' hurt!

I almost cried with relief. Instead, I used the situation to our advantage. I hoped Dixie would forgive me, but this had to be convincing.

"No... James, not you!" I shouted. I finally let my tears of relief fall under the cover of grief.

Dixie fell to her knees. "What have I done?" She cried. "Oh God..."

I debated telling her. It broke my heart seeing her fall apart like that, and I could slip the thought into her mind. The problem was, they were paying close attention, and they'd know as soon as I did it that James was alive because Dixie's blocks had shot up. It would take a noticeable effort to get through to her.

Michael, I know you're listening, and I know you're lying through your teeth, James thought. Keep it up. I have a plan.

Wanna clue me in, James? I asked.

It's better if you don't know. Trust me, Michael.

With every ounce of my soul, Buddy.

And so, Dixie genuinely grieved, I pretended to do the same by focusing on how close I'd just come to losing James forever, and James played possum.

"Enough," Stephanie said. "Gentlemen, focus on that pathetic excuse for a man." She motioned toward me and I debated if I should bother being offended by that. "I'm going to show Dixie Carter what happens when you cross a McMahon!"

I was about to jump in to protect Dixie when James thought, I've got this. Distract the others. Get to Carlos.

Aye-aye, Captain, I thought in response. Somehow, James had taken control of this rescue mission. Everything now depended on Rockstar Spud, and I was completely okay with that. This was his moment, and he needed to have it as much as we needed him to.

The goons came at me. Aries tripped and fell over. I couldn't keep from laughing at that.

"Is that idiot drunk?" Stephanie demanded. "I swear to God, do I have to do everything?"

"They're all drunk," Carlos informed her.

"But not you?"

"Straightedge," he reminded her. Even evil, the kid had a code.

Stephanie rolled her eyes, probably feeling twitchy as images of CM Punk flashed through her mind. She recovered quickly and pulled out a ritual blade. Aries was still on the floor. Khoya and MVP were trying to help him stand back up.

Now, James! I thought.

As Stephanie raised the blade over her head and brought it down toward Dixie, James jumped up and in a ninja-quick moment, he knocked Stephanie to the ground with a Goddamned hurricanrana and followed it up by immediately poking a pressure point and making her pass out. This wasn't a wrestling match, it was real life, and he literally leapt off the ground and got enough height to pull that off.

I stared at James in utter shock. "Seriously?" I asked him.

"Well it worked, didn't it?" James asked me. "I've had a lot more training in the ring than with psychic stuff, Michael. I figured there was a better chance of this working than some unpracticed psychic parlor trick."

Dixie was staring at him in confusion. "James?" She asked as more tears fell down her cheeks. "You're alive?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, but we couldn't let on."

She flung her arms around him. "I thought I'd killed you!"

"I'm tougher than I look." He embraced her. "I'm all right, Dixie. Really."

I looked at the drunk idiots and shrugged before opening a portal and kicking them through it. Then I looked at Carlos, the only one still standing. "Can we talk?" I asked him.

"James..." Carlos whispered. "You could have died. For me. Why? Why would you do that?"

"Because you're my friend, Mate, and I care about you," James said.

"You shouldn't," Carlos said. He sounded confused and broken, but no longer evil. He was lost, but he desperately wanted to be rescued. "I'm evil, James. I'm worthless. This is the only thing I have to offer."

"No, Mate. You're wrong."

"Don't you get it? I should have died, not Frankie. But I'm still here, dead inside, rotting away... There's nothing left."

"Carlos, your heart is still strong. You're still in there."

"No I'm not. The Carlos you knew is dead."

"I don't believe that."

"Why not? Even Emily does, or she'd be here. They told me she turned her back on me and let me get captured."

I was stunned. "Carlos..." I said. "Emily didn't turn on you."

"Then where is she? Her absence is proof enough."

"She's... She's dead, Carlos. They killed her, just like they killed Frankie."

He stared at me. "No," he said. "They told me she wasn't hurt... She's fine. She has to be..."

I had tears in my eyes. "She's gone, man. It happened the same day we almost saved you."

"I... No. No, she can't be..." He was shaking.

James reached toward Carlos and touched his arm. "She believed in you, Mate. We all do. Let us help you," he said.

Carlos had tears in his eyes. "How can anyone ever forgive me?"

"We already have, Mate. We know it wasn't your fault. Now you've got to forgive yourself."

"I'm dark. I'm empty inside, tainted..."

"No. You're Carlos, and you're going to come back to us." James looked deeply into his eyes and touched his hand to his chest. "Remember your light. Remember Frankie, and Emily. Think of Abigail. Think of all of us. This doesn't have to end here, Carlos. Choose us. Choose your family. We love you. We're here for you, and we're ready to stand with you and fight." He paused. "Come home, Mate."

I saw the change in Carlos. Slowly, his energy seemed to lighten, until he was himself again. I was amazed. With a single pep talk, James had somehow healed the darkness in his heart.

None of us had noticed, but Stephanie was back up. She lunged at Dixie, who shot an energy ball at her. Stephanie dodged it. She reached Dixie. I was ready to jump in and save her when Carlos got involved. I was mildly worried he'd attack Dixie, but instead, he shot a fire ball at Stephanie. She collapsed. I could smell her flesh burning as she screamed. She was alive, but she would be down for a while and would need a healer.

"Dixie," Carlos said, "I wanna go home now."

She pulled him into a hug. "Welcome back, Darlin'," she said. She turned to me and asked, "Ready?"

"So ready," I said as I opened a portal. "Come on, guys. Let's go home."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Only one chapter left!