Arcadia Underground #3 - The Fine Print
Arcadia Underground
The Ninth Circle
Note: Deadline is May 21, 10 am GMT
Word Count: 250
Main Event
Undercard
There was a glow in the Red Light District.
Not warmth. Not hope. Just neon bleeding into darkness, flickering like a dying star.
And there you stand, Vinny Hargraves Jr.—gilded in vice, crowned in excess.
You call yourself the New King of Sin, but there is no kingdom, only a graveyard of broken oaths and forgotten names. You build your empire from ash and call it progress. You wrap your web in velvet and perfume, but it’s still a snare.
You want the gods to fall. You want all of Arcadia on its knees. Not in reverence—but in surrender.
But I do not kneel.
Because I remember a time when light was not just something bought by the hour. When beauty was not seduction, but salvation.
You believe temptation is power. That if you pull enough strings, everyone will dance.
But the Heartstone does not sway. It does not bend.
It burns. And I carry its fire.
So when we meet, your charm will not disarm me. Your grin will not delay me. And your crown will melt like wax beneath the sun.
I do not fight to condemn you, Vinny. I fight to free the ones you’ve trapped. The ones caught in your illusion, mistaking lust for love, chaos for choice, rot for riches.
I will not let Arcadia drown in your indulgence.
Because there is one truth even you cannot seduce:
Flame does not submit. Flame consumes.
I am Kai Lyr.
And my flame still burns…
"What’s up, buttercups?"
"You ever smell something sweet and know it’s already rotting? That’s Dirty Herb. Hands that still smell of thyme, voice low like a prayer, but everything he touches has been dead a long time."
"He once kept a whole level blooming - The Spires, remember? Medicines growing from the soil, bees in the air, green in every crack. But now? He’s in the Ninth Circle slinging wilted wonders like they still mean something."
"And he tells himself he’s doing good. He’s looking for a root, some miracle thing that’ll turn it all around. But let’s be real..."
"You’re not a gardener anymore, Herb."
"You’re a gravedigger with a watering can. Digging up memories and calling it rebirth. Whispering to the past like it might grow legs and follow you back home."
"You deal in nostalgia. But nostalgia doesn’t nourish. You bottle the ache and sell it as hope, but it's still just ache."
"You’re not healing anything. You’re embalming what’s already gone."
"And the worst part? You know that."
"You’re not a villain. You’re just a man who couldn’t bear to watch the world move on without him. You keep trading in petals and pollen because it’s all you’ve got left of who you used to be."
"But I see through it, Herb."
"You’re not here to save a garden."
"You’re just trying not to be the last thing that dies in it."
"I’ve been lux. Lights out."
You ever admire something just because it's pretty?
There was a flower in the Spires a bit like that.
A strange, unique lookin’ thing that I'd never seen before. I don't rightfully know how it came to grow in me dang garden, because I sure as shit didn't plant the thing, but I let it grow. Each time I came to gather herbs, I'd admire that little flower.
But that's just the problem with it.
That's all it was good for, taking up space and looking good. It served no other purpose.
Left to grow undisturbed, it started to influence the rest of me garden. It choked the life out of those hard working plants that actually mattered, so in the end… the damned thing had to go.
Only when I touched it to pull it out and it made me sick did I realize what it was I was growing.
Deadly fucking nightshade… I was growing fucking poison right among me herbs.
Yer just like that plant, little flower. Intriguing to look at, and a fun breath of fresh air in this hellhole. But ultimately, that's all ye are.
Yer not someone I can use to cut a deal, or have watching me back. Yer a Zeus-darned influencer … poison in my garden.
Poisoning Arcadia with yer filth you call content.
But don't you worry, lux, I'm not gonna let you grow rampant like the last bit of deadly nightshade I found in my garden.
I'm ripping you the fuck out before you can poison anything.
Novacaine stands under a flickering light, a cigarette tucked behind his ear, voice low and lazy with that Texas drawl.
You ever watch a cigarette burn, Calderón?
At the start, it's magic. That first drag? Whew, it's strong. Hits the lungs like a freight train. The nicotine kicks in, and for a moment—it’s heaven. You feel invincible. Sharp. In control.
That's how you started, right?
Big man. Big empire. Big fear. You lit up fast, burned bright. Traffickin’ in blood, sin, and whatever bought power in Arcadia.
But here’s the thing about cigarettes…
They don’t last.
They start strong, but before long, the high fades. The smoke gets bitter. The paper starts to curl. And all that power?
It’s just ash waitin’ to fall.
Now look at you— Still tryin’ to burn like it’s the first drag. Still puffin’ like there’s life left.
But you ain’t a flame anymore, Javier.
You’re an ember. Just a sad, little spark on the edge of a cigarette that’s been smoked down to the filter.
And me?
I’m the painkiller.
I don’t put out fires. I put out what’s left.
At Underground, I ain't bringin’ mercy. I ain’t bringin’ hope.
I’m bringin’ the thumb— to grind you down, twist you out, and leave what’s left of you cold in the dirt.
Nicotine's done with you, Calderón.
Time to flick the ash.
“Back when I was running with gangs we would have celebrations all the time, admittedly it was one of the few positives of the old path. Being able to share in camaraderie.”
“I cannot say that I get that feeling when I see you celebrate. All I see are vulgar displays of hedonism. Dancing with no one but yourself. Is that what has become of these celebrations, then I can’t say I’ve been missing much.”
“I enjoyed them, don't get me wrong, but what I couldn’t stand was the hangovers. The reminders of mistakes made in a drunken haze. The ever commanding sensitivity that culminates in a headache that would drive a stoic mad.”
“Have you ever broken from your stupor long enough to contemplate your mistakes? To have everything come rushing back to you all at once? Perhaps it would do you some good if you sat down and thought about things instead of picking up another shot.”
“So Chet, consider me your hangover. A headache that’s been long coming and will knock you on your ass. That being said… it will give you time to think. Use it wisely and you will become a better man than you were before.”
“If you opt to go to your worse ways? Well then I will have no issue showing what a real bar brawl can be like”
“They call you Novacaine.
Not because you’re strong—because you’re scared, hermano. Scared to feel, scared to bleed, scared to face a world that hits back. So you go numb. You call it control. I call it cowardice.
See, I’ve lived with pain. I’ve bathed in it. I’ve built empires with blood on my hands and broken teeth in my mouth. You? You’re stitched together with lies and hope someone believes the myth before it falls apart.
Last week, I cracked that myth open. Bottles, chairs—whatever I could get my hands on. You bled. You flinched. You felt it.
That’s all I needed.
You walk into the main event thinking you’re untouchable?
Nah, chico. You’re just next.
You’re the drug.
I’m the overdose.
I’m not comin’ out wild—I’m comin’ in measured. Calm. Focused. I’m gonna dissect the monster, piece by piece, until there’s nothing left but silence and stitches.
No theatrics. No mask. Just your body lying there, still pretending it doesn’t hurt.
And me?
I won’t gloat. I won’t raise my hands.
I’ll just light a cigar, hermano… and walk off while they clean up what’s left of you.
Because this?
This ain’t personal.
It’s business.”
It's ya boy, Chet Roderick, back in the club to get this party started right!
You know, I've been doing some self reflecting this past week. People were telling me that I'm a douchebag and I needed lessons in kindness or whatever other shit like that.
During these meditation sessions, I've come to accept that I might not be the nicest guy in Arcadia. However, I throw these parties and invite everyone to them out of the sake of giving people something to look forward to during these dark times.
I'm not hosting these events because some random asshole years ago saved my life or bullshit like that. I do what I do because it makes me feel good.
But that Itou guy? He doesn't do good things to feel warm and fuzzy inside. He treats kind deeds like favors he has to repay.
That's why you're here, aren't ya, bitch tits? It's not because you had a spontaneous change of heart; it's more like you feel obligated to do so after your master saved your sorry ass.
If you actually wanted to change your criminal ways and become a goody two shoes, you'd simply do it because it felt right. Instead, you're doing it since you feel as if you owe him one.
Well, mister nice guy, I'm going to kick your ass. Not because I owe it to everyone in this Underground party, but simply because I'm that nice a guy.
Ain't no party like a Roderick party!
A preacher walks into a bar and begins talking to a lady of the night. He’s trying to get her to see the light, to give up her sinful ways and repent. Finally she looks him up and down, smirks and tells him.
‘You wanna know the difference between you and me father? You spend your whole life on your knees praying for a sign of god. All I need is twenty minutes on mine to make you see him’
A whole existence of trying to peddle a fantasy of this man in the clouds but still there is no shred of existence he exists.
No miracles, no sightings, not even a whisper because your God doesn’t exist.
But the Devil does.
He tongues sweet nothings in the ears of those who could be great, seducing the innocent and pure into the gravest of sins.
He showcases dark and depraved things that haunt mens dreams and nightmares. And he loves breaking little man children bolstered by a fantasy that will never come true.
You want to burn the Devil boy? Come at me, but know I was born in the flames and you’re only stepping inside my web to do so.
Because your God doesn’t exist.
But the Devil does and soon sweet Kai, you will only believe in me.
ARCADIA UNDERGROUND
Show Open:
Mr. Ash looks out of his window down at the Underground ring, the cloaked figure standing behind him. He tells the figure that all he needs now is discourse, destruction. The signers need to be reminded that only one of them can get their wish. No trust, no comradery, no allies. Humans come together by their nature, but now they must be peeled apart.
Backstage:
Before the show.
Kai Lyr storms through the backstage, calling out for Novacaine. The Painkiller makes himself known as Lyr asks just what the Devil could have to collect from him. Nova simply tells him the sins of the few can damn the many. Kai wants to wring out more information, only for the Cloaked Figure to blindside both men! He drops Lyr with a headbutt before nailing Novacaine with a Death Valley Driver, disappearing just as quickly as he arrived.
Herb Dirt vs lux
- lux starts off the match with intensity, laying into Herb with a flurry of punches and a massive uppercut that rocks him!
- Herb ducks a buzzsaw kick and fires back with Shear Luck, a scissor armbar! lux struggles to escape as they reach for the ropes.
- lux drags themselves under the bottom rope out of the hold, getting to the apron and springboarding with a flying forearm!
- Herb gets rocked, lux pulling him into the Viral Smash DDT only to slip behind for the Photoslamthesis Inverted DDT, covering for the win.
Winner: Herb Dirt
Backstage:
Kai Lyr heads to his match, still dazed from the earlier attack when Akimitsu stops him, thanking him for helping him last week. Kai, however, tells Akimitsu to forget about it. He tells him that he was attacked by someone before the show and Akimitsu is at the top of his list. His anger at Novacaine stopped Kai from getting valuable information. Akimitsu tries to defend himself but Kai pushes past towards the ring nonetheless.
Vinny Hargraves Jr vs Kai Lyr
- Hargraves dominates the early match against the dazed Lyr with powerful slams. He nails a Fear and Delight triple jump elbow drop only to score a two count.
- Lyr is dragged to his feet, a massive haymaker sending him to the ropes but Kai comes back with a Rise V-Trigger that drops Vinny!
- Vinny tries to fight back from Kai's assault, blocking a haymaker but catching a headbutt for his troubles. He fires back a headbutt of his own that bloodies Kai's nose.
- The Sentinel gets gorilla pressed for teh Fall and Pray but slips behind, nailing Vinny with Veil's Vengeance, a Stone Cold Stunner that downs him for the three count!
Winner: Kai Lyr
Backstage:
Chet speaks with lux at the door, both signers nodding in agreement. Chet says he'll meet lux and Herb after the match, handing over a roll of credits. lux tells Chet that they'll film everything, a video like this would go absolutely viral. The two share a laugh before Chet heads down to the ring.
Akimitsu Itou vs Chet Roderick
- Itou starts off strong, overpowering Roderick before nailing him with a powerbomb in center ring!
- Chet stumbles to his feet, a flurry of fists knocking him about before he ducks a kick and nails a Ice Breaker Pele kick to Itou's dome!
- Roderick bulldogs Akimitsu, pushing his offense with a collective of moves before getting caught with a massive clothesline!
- Itou tries to power Roderick up for the Death Valley Driver but Chet wiggles out onto the turnbuckle, ending the party with a Shooting Star DDT for the three count.
Winner: Chet Roderick
Backstage:
The camera follows Vinny Hargraves and Javier Calderón towards their supposed meeting spot. The door opens to reveal the Cloaked Figure standing over the unconscious bodies of Herb and lux, baseball bat in hand. Javier pushes Vinny inside, saving his skin by sacrificing his wouldbe partner. The baseball collides with Vinny's chest and he too hits the ground.
Chet, meanwhile, watches the commotion go down from down the hall, leaving lux to fend for themselves as he too flees the scene.
Novacaine vs Javier Calderón
- Javier starts the match with the springboard Cartel Cutter that takes the Painkiller by surprise! As quick as Nova gets up he's knocked down by an onslaught of offense.
- Nova finally catches a fist, Knock Knocking with two brutal headbutts that stagger the Kingpin. A huge haymaker corners Calderón for a barrage of blows.
- Javier fights his way out, both men teeing off on one another in a massive brawl throughout the ring, blood dripping from busted lips.
- Novacaine slips out of the Narco Neck Breaker, hitting a brutal Nighty Night knee to the jaw, Calderón bouncing off the ropes into a second that knocks him out cold as Nova covers for the three count!
Winner: Novacaine
Ringside:
As the match comes to an end Mr. Ash finally graces the entrance ramp with his presence. He tells the audience that the tournament is upon them, but it is not a normal tournament. The signers will be released throughout the Ninth Circle to fight amongst themselves until only one stands tall and claims their prize. Anything goes, everything is fair game. Only loss of consciousness and death will eliminate you, as per the fine print.
He lights a cigarette, reminding the signers to be careful what they wish for, and even more careful who you trust.
Novacaine asks Mr. Ash what he means only for the Cloaked Figure to appear again, cracking a steel chair over Novacaine's head! We're left to look on at the mysterious figure standing tall while Mr. Ash simply smiles.
Cut.