Chapter 1

As the morning sun arose and began to shine over TL headquarters, TL staff members were waking up and preparing for the new day. Over in his office, TL admin Plexa was making his final run through regarding everything he had to do for that day. Strewn across his desk were all kinds of files that held plans for TL's future projects, as well as a list of contacts that needed to be sorted out by the end of that week. After shuffling through a huge stack of papers on top of hid dresser, Plexa found the tablet he was looking for. As he grabbed his bag and headed for the door, his computer suddenly lit up.


PLEXA: Hey.
NAGUL: Hey. Listen, I know this is sudden, but I need you to call every SC2 writer and tell them we're going to have a meeting in conference room TLO in an hour.
PLEXA: Conference room TLO? We only hold meetings in there if it's an emergency. What's going on?
NAZGUL: I just got a call from Wax. He told me he's stepping down as head of SC2 and he asked me to find someone to replace him.
PLEXA: What? Stepping down? Why would he do that?
NAZGUL: He wouldn't say. He hung up before I could get any details. But the resignation paper he faxed over afterwards was legit. I had R1CH do a full analysis and his signature was confirmed.
PLEXA: Are you sure? Why would he resign all of a sudden?
NAZGUL: Your guess is as good as mine. But we don't have any time to waste. Quickly gather all the writers. We need to assess the situation and figure out what we're going to do.
PLEXA: Alright. I'll get right on it. But I was supposed to meet with the Pony Tales crew soon though.
NAZGUL: Push it back. This is more important right now.
PLEXA: Okay. See you in an hour.
NAZGUL: Actually, come see me first. There's something I want to discuss with you.
PLEXA: Alright. I'll head over as soon as I'm done calling all the writers.


Plexa sat down at his desk as he pondered what he had just heard. "Wax stepping down as head of SC2? Why would he do that all of a sudden?" Confused as he was, Plexa immediately began to contact every SC2 writer on TL staff. As he waited for the other party to pick up on the other line, Plexa could not shake the feeling that something did not feel right. He stared down at his stack of files on his desk and looked at one in particular; the 2014 BlizzCon file Wax handed to him the other day. "If Wax was planning to resign, why would he ask me to work on the BlizzCon file with him?"


LICHTER: Hello?
PLEXA: Hey, it's me. I just got a call from Naz. All SC2 writers need to report to conference room TLO for an emergency meeting.
LICHTER: What? Right now?
PLEXA: In an hour. Help me contact the others. They need to know as soon as possible.
LICHTER: What's this about?
PLEXA: I can't go into details right now. You'll be briefed on everything when you get there.
LICHTER: Got it. I'll call DLO and Zeal.
PLEXA: Thanks. See you soon.


After he finished contacting all the writers, Plexa got up from his desk and headed over to Nazgul's office. As he walked down the hallway he was ever so familiar with, the sinking feeling in his stomach did not go away. He knew something was wrong, he just wasn't sure what it was. As he began to climb the staircase to Nazgul's office, Plexa heard some faint voices coming through the door. He could tell that there was some kind of heated argument going on the closer he got to the top. When he got to the top, he proceeded over to the door and knocked.

NAZGUL: Come in.
PLEXA: Hey, I'm here. What's going on- Heyoka? What are you doing here?
NAZGUL: Don't worry about it. Come in and take a seat.

As Plexa headed over to take a seat, Nazgul turned around and addressed Heyoka.

HEYOKA: I don't understand why you're being so irrational about all of this. I've stated all my points and it's clear to me that this is the best move.
NAZGUL: I've heard what you've had to say. I do think it's a good idea. Just give me some time to think about it first though.
HEYOKA: You're wasting time. The longer you think about this, the riskier it's going to get for us in the future.
NAZGUL: I understand that. Just be patient. I promise I'll get an answer to you by the end of this week.
HEYOKA: That's too long! You are jeopardizing Team Liquid by not acting on this now. We're running out of time as it is, I need an answer.
NAZGUL: You'll get one. Just not now. I'm going to carefully consider everything you've told me. But I'm not going to give a decision today.
HEYOKA: You're making a big mistake.
NAZGUL: Duly noted. But I'm not changing my mind.
HEYOKA: Fine.

Heyoka angrily turned around and stormed out of Nazgul's office. As the door slammed behind him, Plexa turned to face Nazgul with a worried look on his face.

PLEXA: What the hell was all that about?
NAZGUL: Don't worry about it. I'm handling it. Anyways, we've got more important things to discuss.
PLEXA: (shaking his head) Right. So Wax wants to step down as head of SC2 and now we have to replace him. What are we going to do?
NAZGUL: I haven't had a lot of time to think but I think I may have come up with a solution. I wanted to run it by you first.
PLEXA: Okay. What's on your mind?
NAZGUL: It's going to be really difficult to replace Wax. He was a strong member of our team and had many unparalleled strengths. To be honest, I don't think it's even possible to replace Wax.
PLEXA: I agree. So then what should we do?
NAZGUL: I think it may be best if we try a different method rather than just try to replace Wax and run the SC2 team like normal. We have a lot of writers at our hand, and I think it's time we take full advantage of that.
PLEXA: Interesting idea. I'm listening... Err... Are you sure everything's okay with you and Heyoka?
NAZGUL: You don't have to concern yourself with that. Trust me, it's not a big deal.
PLEXA: But from where I was sitting, it sure seemed like a big deal. I've never seen Heyoka get that angry before.
NAZGUL: Neither have I. But I'm sure everything will be fine. Like I said, I'm handling it.
PLEXA: ... Okay... I'll drop it for now. What's your idea?







In a building on the opposite side of TL headquarters, there lay a dark room lit faintly by candlelight. In a giant armchair, sat S, who was observing his monitors as he carefully sipped his wine. As he drummed his fingers on the edge of his arm rest, a small malicious smile spread across his face at the sight of what was happening on one of his monitors. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door.

S: A1, is that you?
A1: Yes, sir. May I come in?
S: Enter. What is it?
A1: General S, as you requested sir, I am here with a status update on phase one.
S: Good, good. How is everything?
A1: Going exactly as you said it would sir. I've just received word that Nazgul issued an emergency SC2 meeting for the writers.
S: Excellent. And A2 will be present during this meeting?
A1: Yes, sir. A2 is already heading over to the meeting as we speak. He will give us a call as soon as the meeting is over to let us know if everything went according to plan.
S: (evil chuckle) Then I officially declare phase one as complete. I think it's time to go give our guest a little visit.

S got up from his chair and began to walk across the room and out into the hallway. With A1 at his side, the two headed down several paths and eventually came to a room at the far right end corner of the building. A1 opened the door for S and they both walked in to a eerie and fowl smelling room. At the ends of the walls hung a chained up and bloodied Waxangel. As S approached Wax, Wax brought his head up and stared into S's eyes with absolute hatred.

WAX: Damn you, you son of a bitch. (spitting on blood on the ground) I did what you wanted. I called Nazgul and told him I was stepping down as head of SC2 and asked him to replace me. Now you hold up your end of the bargain. You promised me you would destroy it. YOU PROMISED!
S: (chuckles) You stepping down as head of SC2 was only one small part of my plan. I'll do what I promised and destroy it but not until I'm done.
WAX: That's not what you said. You said you'd let me go if I called Nazgul. You lied to me!
S: If you recall, I said I would release you once I was done with you. But I'm afraid dear Wax... (smiles) I'm not done with you yet.
WAX: You bastard. You're not going to get away with this. I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!

S picked up a nearby bat and violently swung it over Wax's head. Upon impact, Wax's head dropped down and his body became limp as he fainted. S threw the bat to the side, wiped the blood away from his arms and proceeded out the doorway. A1 closed the door behind S and followed him back to the main room. Once inside, S walked over to his chair again and comfortably sat down with the wine cup in his hand again.

A1: What would you like me to do next sir?
S: Get ready to initiate phase two. And keep a close eye on the prisoner. Remember, I need him to stay alive.
A1: As you wish. (bows and leaves)

S took a deep breath and stared at the wall as A1 left the room. On the wall, facing S was a giant portrait of S and Nazgul standing side by side with their arms around each other. Nazgul's side of the portrait however, had been violently slashed multiple times with a knife. As he swiveled his wine in his right hand, S's smile went away and his face turned cold as he continued to stare at the portrait.

S: Don't hate me too much Nazgul. You had this coming. You're going to pay for what you did to me...

End of Chapter

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