OOC: I struggled a bit with this one, partly because of the mystery opponent aspect and partly because work kind of screwed me over a bit time-wise today because we got hit with a nasty snowstorm overnight, and between the near-death trip that was my drive into work and having to stay longer than planned because the second shift person couldn't make it in on time and I had to cover until they were able to unbury their car and make the same dangerous excursion I did, I had to call an audible from my original CD plan. That said, I do feel this is a nice bridge between what I did for the last match and what I plan on doing for my next match, so I don't feel I really lost out too badly on that front at least thankfully.
---------------------------------
History always had to come at the expense of someone else…
This was one of those moments where Aaron truly wished that didn’t have to be the case.
The first Breakdown after Under Attack was engulfed in chaos, from how the show started to watching what happened after the pay-per-view went off the air to close the night out. Many fights broke out throughout the night as tensions seemed to run higher than ever before with everyone jockeying for positions that seemed to be opening up in title pictures all throughout the company. The landscape was certainly shifting, and not exactly in a good way.
Buried within the carnage, however, was an incredible wrestling contest between two determined individuals both fighting to have a piece of history to their names, and two friends who had to give it their all no matter how much they hated the thought of denying the other. When the dust settled, Aaron Blackbourne had brought an end to the record-threatening 149 day TV Title reign of Peyton Rice, and in the process finally broken the seemingly growing deadlock to stand above the pack as a 3-time champion, the most reigns in the belt’s entire history. It was a bittersweet moment to the creative soul, however, knowing how badly she wanted that record she was chasing but knowing he would be disrespecting her and the run she had if he gave her anything less than his best. Knowing that she was still a bit shaken up after whatever happened to Damian Angel in their match at Under Attack made him feel even worse, but he would gladly support her and knew it wouldn’t be long before she found herself holding championship gold once again.
He’d said it himself: he truly believed Peyton was more worthy of World Title consideration than he was at this moment in time, and if others disagreed then maybe Bree could finally be silenced about having a challenger to the U.S. Title that truly earned it. The possibilities were endless for Peyton now to build from her reign and continue to reach the same heights that Owen and Alistaire were.
While he was all too familiar with the grueling challenge that now weighed heavy on his shoulders so long as he carried that belt, Aaron couldn’t help but concern himself with the issues those two names were contending with. While he would certainly argue Owen should have another crack at trying to get the World Title back, the constant attacks from these mysterious masked men aimed mostly at James Evans created far too many problems for anyone’s liking. It gave Sienna more reasons to complain, and it hurt Owen’s chances of being able to focus on getting back to the top so long as James was involved in the equation. The man deserved it, don’t get him wrong, but it was hard to truly accept it as the two sides kept trying to beat the ever-living hell out of one another virtually every show. As for Alistaire, being attacked by Clyde Sutter for no rhyme or reason than seemingly trying to keep things between him and Glory Braddock on bad terms disgusted him, and he made it clear over Twitter he wasn’t going to simply let such actions go unpunished. If he needed to defend the belt against Clyde or pull double duty to make it happen, he was fine with that so long as the message was clear: if you have a problem with his friends, you have a problem with Aaron too.
That statement resonated as much in the real world as it did inside his head.
One thing that really stuck with him when SCW made the trip to London for the next Breakdown what the conversation he’d had with Liane before business picked up again. He was truly determined to make the most of this challenge now that he was TV Champion again, willing to stand his ground and prove that he could keep it together on his own as the final warning that the war within his imagination was slowly coming to an end, and the idea of Liane putting everything she’d worked so hard to accomplish in her own endeavors on hold just for him made him cringe. She deserved to be able to live her dream as much as he did, and only a phone call separated them if things really got too bad for him to handle. Louise had made a valid point about needing a proper break, and he would certainly take that under advisement when the year came to an end and such an opportunity potentially presented itself.
For now, though… he forged ahead, no matter what stood in his way.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the moment, the claim of ‘so far, so good’ held some valid weight to it in terms of the first few days of his new reign.
Aside from a brief nightmare about the injury Alistaire sustained and a bit of trouble sleeping at first over some lingering guilt of having to be the one to bring Peyton’s reign to an end, the closer he got to the first defense of his third reign the more comfortable he seemed to be catching up on lost sleep and dreaming peacefully. It was hard to tell if Nemesis was simply biding his time or realizing the hot streak his host was on despite everything he tried to hinder him with was the beginning of the end, but peace was worth taking no matter how short it may seem. Even if he could use the attempts to break him from within as fuel for the fire, sooner or later he knew his body would surrender if he wasn’t able to truly get some proper rest, and in that scenario losing the TV Title became the least of his worries compared to anything else that could happen while he was in such a worn-down state.
That was why a hard workout to help make sure he was still on top of his game as well as adjusting to the time zone difference from being in the UK was being immediately followed by a return to his hotel room to rest for the evening. He was already tasked with the challenge of having to face the unknown right out of the gate as he’d not been given a name for Wednesday night’s show, but he didn’t give Peyton everything he had just to let go of the belt in his very first defense no matter who he found himself staring down.
“Whatever SCW’s got planned for me, I plan to be ready for it. Not the first time I’ve defended this title blind, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
He smiled to himself as a sign of his building confidence, remembering his last reign with the title and how it started with only the knowledge he was making his first defense and nothing else. He certainly wasn’t expecting MONGO to be put in front of him, nor was he expecting to find himself being watched by a certain red-headed harlot that would kickstart months of frustration and stalled attempts to get to where he wanted to be. If anything, he was hoping that the latter of those two wouldn’t repeat itself this time around and he could concern himself solely with whatever challenge awaited him and every subsequent challenge in the weeks that followed.
“Hey honey!”
Aaron’s smile was replaced with a look of confusion when he opened the door to his hotel room. Seated on the edge of the bed with a smile and looking eager for him to return was Liane… which couldn’t be possible. After all, she was supposed to be in Pittsburgh right now preparing for a comedy performance later that night as part of her tour, not waiting for him here across the ocean. He carefully set his bag down and closed the door before looking at her, taking in every feature because he knew something had to be up. She returned his confused look in response to this.
“Is everything alright?”
“I want to say yes, but… you’re here… you can’t be here, you’re on your tour…”
“Oh, that… when I saw you won the TV Title again, I had to stop out here quick and congratulate you before your first defense.”
Aaron sighed and shook his head, knowing full well what dates and times Liane’s performances were scheduled for. The one thing they’d agreed upon before parting ways was trading schedules to know when they wouldn’t accidentally be trying to call one another if need be when the other couldn’t answer, and there was no way she would be able to be here right now without missing the show he knew she had tonight because she’d still be on a plane back by the time it would start when you factored in the time zone difference. Everything regarding Liane seemed to check out, though, so he turned his attention to scanning the hotel room, trying to find anything that looked even remotely out of place.
“Something’s not right here… I know this can’t be real, not after the discussion we had before leaving Seattle last week. I know you’re playing tricks on me again Nemesis, so just give it up alre-”
Aaron didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before he heard what sounded like a gunshot, and the next thing he knew he had a hand to his mouth, pain radiating from his lower lip as he felt the familiar substance that coursed through his veins slowly trailing down his chin. He barely had time to react and didn’t even know how he’d managed to get away with just a lip wound, but the pain he felt was very real… too real for him to easily assume this was just another hallucination of some kind.
“I’m sorry Aaron… something really isn’t right here…”
At the sound of Liane’s broken voice, Aaron turned back to her, and the first thing that jumped out at him was the fact that they were no longer alone here. Standing right behind Liane was a man he didn’t recognize, but his size and expression made it clear he meant business. Even worse, he could see the smoke emanating from the barrel where the shot that grazed him had been fired, and his eyes widened when he saw it move to just behind Liane’s head. The fear in her eyes shook him to his very core, as it looked far too real to him. He went to move in, but his body stopped when he heard the click that warned him of another shot being ready to fire at the pull of the trigger.
“I’d stay right where you are if you’re smart.”
“Who the hell are you? How’d you even get in here!?”
“None of your damn business. Though, if you want something to tide you over for your first question, consider me an old acquaintance of the man you killed a few months back.”
Aaron let a low growl escape his throat at the sound of that, though he cringed when the stinging pain from his lip reminded him of the fire he was playing with right now. He wanted to say this was a nightmare, or something set up by Nemesis to screw with him again because so many pieces didn’t line up. But if this guy truly was a friend of Dylan’s, then the possibility of him kidnapping Liane and bringing her here just for this moment wasn’t out of the question. He knew Dylan had a habit of being frustratingly crafty unless backed into a corner, but he had little knowledge of the kind of people he hung out with to know if the same applied to anyone who might now bear a grudge just because he was gone now.
“I didn’t kill-”
“You didn’t kill him, I know the song and dance by now. Police let you off the hook on the excuse of self-defense because they couldn’t get a dead man’s side of the story and could only hear you out as well as a few assholes that were probably wasted and just hearing things from nearby rooms.”
The artist rolled his eyes at this, knowing there was little chance he was probably going to reason with this guy. If he was loyal to Dylan than he wasn’t budging on his opinion on that matter no matter what truth could be presented to him. Eyes slowly moving down from the cold, ruthless gaze of his assailant to the absolute fear his fiancée was showing, he decided to try a different approach.
“Alright, I get it, you’ve got a problem with me because Dylan’s dead. That means I’m the one you want, and you’ve already proven you have no problem firing that thing at me. Leave her out of this, she’s had no part to play in what happened between him and my family.”
The man simply laughed in response to this. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him from the stress of this situation, but he could swear the man’s extremely deep voice slowly rose a few octaves to more resemble the laugh of the dead man that apparently sparked this confrontation, but he tried to force it out of his mind. Real or not, he knew this was a delicate scenario and he couldn’t afford to lose his sanity now.
“Really? You think I’m just going to let her go all because you asked me to? How do you think I felt when I got the news that he was pushing up daisies? I lost a friend, and I know you’d love to try and tell me he had it coming when your stupid brother took his own damn life and Dylan had to spend months putting up with the consequences of people believing he had anything to do with it! But I guess there’s two sides to every story when you ruin lives, huh? Like that chick whose dreams were shattered because of you at your little wrestling thing last weekend.”
“Do you honestly think I felt happy about that win? I know what that belt meant to Peyton-”
“And you took it from her anyway, like you took Dylan from me, or took this girl away from the life she wanted to live.”
Aaron wasn’t playing this game… it was enough of a headache dealing with Dylan over it, and he’d gotten particularly sick of Nemesis falling back on it at this point. It was overkill, and he was done letting this proverbial dead horse tactic be beaten right over top of him. He slowly began scanning the room, trying to find any way that he could create some kind of diversion that would allow Liane to escape or disarm the man or something. He even tried imagining a way to subdue the man, just in case this wasn’t real… and what he got in return was suddenly feeling his body being bound. A quick glance downward found jumper cables tied around his arms and legs like rope, preventing him from moving or trying anything. He knew, then and there, that this had to be-
“Maybe you need a reminder of what it means to actually lose something important to you, you selfish son-of-a-bitch.”
The next few moments were a blur, as his realizations were thrown way off track with Liane screaming his name followed by the sickening sound of the gun going off one more time, blood spattering his body that didn’t belong to him, and the horrifying feeling of… of…
“LIANE!”
Aaron shot up like a rocket, his breathing heavy and irregular as his wide eyes tried to piece together anything that would give him a clue as to what was going on. That was a painful endeavor to say the least, considering the light pouring into the room that felt like his retinas were burning trying to adjust to it. It took a few minutes that felt like an eternity, but he finally started to get his bearings, realizing that he was, in fact, in his hotel room in London for the upcoming Breakdown. He was lying in bed wearing nothing but a pair of pajama pants, which wasn’t out of the ordinary with him when it came to bedtime. His finger moved to his bottom lip, and he recoiled slightly when he felt the liquid and realized he was bleeding, though the pain wasn’t as bad as what he swore he felt just moments ago.
He nearly jumped when he heard his phone go off with a notification, and quickly retrieved it. Upon doing so, a few more blanks were filled in: the reason for the light outside was because it was currently mid-afternoon in London on the day of the show, and the notification was a text message from Liane to say good morning (considering it was still that time where she was right now), wishing him luck for his first defense and asking him to call her after his match if she wasn’t on stage yet. Coupled with the fact that his lip was bleeding, he realized the pain he felt was likely just a moment where he accidentally bit into it too hard, something he knew he had a bad habit of doing subconsciously if he was having a particularly bad dream. Everything lined up too well for Nemesis to probably believe he could claim victory this time, and Aaron groaned and threw himself back against his pillow because of it.
“He played that too well… and I think he’s got something he can latch onto now…”
He hated voicing that thought, but the very idea of anything happening to Liane that he couldn’t stop was a very real fear that rattled him greatly. He knew she could take care of herself, and she could probably get help from her various siblings somehow if she really needed it while he was apart from her, but Nemesis knew where he drew his strength from and how he managed to keep himself going through every obstacle he’s had to endure thus far both in SCW and mentally. Without control, though, he had no way of actually being a threat to anyone but the person who’s mind he inhabited, and it was going to stay that way.
Knowing he needed to get ready because he’d be due at the arena fairly soon, he knew what he had to do once Breakdown was in the books and he had his first defense of this title reign under his belt. He needed someone to talk to, someone he knew would be able to help put Dylan’s haunting of his conscience to rest once and for all and deprive the monster of the only real weapon he still thought he had to incite these fears and illusions, and he knew just the person that would be able to help.
He just hoped that after he was done dealing with the unknown in the ring that he could handle the unknown of what might happen if he opened his mind to someone he could trust, but may still not fully understand what they were getting into.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No matter how far you travel or what you have to endure, the road never gets any easier…
Say what you will about the words that are about to leave my mouth, but those who know what kind of person I am will know I mean every last one of them. I know I told Peyton going into last Friday that I was going to give her my all, and it would’ve been an insult to our friendship and the title on the line if I didn’t do just that. I know I wanted to win just as much as she did, and we were both fully aware of the history on the line no matter who walked away with their arm raised in victory. At the end of the day, though… I really didn’t want to be the one that stopped her when she was so close to breaking that record, and there’s a part of me that wishes SCW would’ve held off just another week or two from giving me that opportunity if they felt I’d earned it so we could both have what we wanted. But… that’s just not the way things are meant to work in life, is it?
I know you’ve told me it’s alright Peyton, but I still feel bad that I had to be the one to stop you short, and especially now that I feel like I took advantage of your head not fully being in the game after your match with Damian at Under Attack. I don’t know what on earth happened to him or where he is now, but I do know this: I wasn’t joking or simply trying to cushion this blow when I told you going in that I truly believe you’re more worthy of a World Title opportunity than I am at this exact moment in time. What you’ve done with this title I now hold is more of a statement than I truly believe I’ve made just from the performances I’ve put in and the wins I’ve managed to earn against some of the best SCW has to offer. You, too, have overcome former World Champions and defended this belt for so long even when we all knew you had what happened to Ricky and all these games the Beauty Factory’s been playing regarding Kelcey hanging over your head. You made more of a statement in the five months you sat upon this throne turning away all challengers than I have with a few particular matches. I know you’ll be a champion again much sooner than you may think… and I know the next time our paths cross in this ring we’ll find some way to top the show we gave those fans who deserved every last second of what we had to offer to them for their price of admission.
I just wish our match wasn’t the only bright spot in the darkness that threatened to engulf that night in Omaha.
Make no mistake about it, everyone… a lot of the other things that happened last week are an unfortunate indication of the problems we have to deal with. More attacks from masked men for reasons that only make sense to them, a certain ‘assassin’ taking a cheap shot to take out another friend of mine in Alistaire… believe me when I say that this is going to get worse before it gets better if things stay the course. This is not the SCW you all deserve, and you shouldn’t have to have your voices silenced just because some people are either trying to force their problems down your throats every single week or want to find ways to tell you that you have no right to disrespect them when they are in desperate need of a reality check. That’s your right as fans, just as it’s my right as a wrestler to have a say in how business should be conducted around here.
That ring is the canvas upon which my wrestling artistry is born. I’ve never shied away from that, and I’ve never claimed anything else. You want to take up your issues with me? That’s where it should be settled.
I know that probably sounds odd to a lot of you. Where’s the creativity in simply squaring off in the ring and proving who’s the better competitor? If you have to ask that question, then you’re clearly missing the bigger picture. There are simply some laws of the world that will never change, and in the world of wrestling, the biggest one of them all is that if you prove yourself in the ring, you’ll be rewarded. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, and if you aren’t willing to endure the struggle and want to find a shortcut, then maybe this isn’t for you. But once that bell rings, we’re free to do whatever we see fit in order to make that statement, and even within the rules I know some people love to break, I can find ways to do things no one has ever seen before and keep people on their toes no matter how confident they think they are going in. That is the reason why I’ve earned the title opportunities I’ve gotten this year, why I am in my record-setting third run as TV Champion, and why so many people are talking about where they feel I should belong in the pecking order.
And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m not going to let that change when Breakdown hits London.
I’m aware that I’m going in blind on Wednesday, as my opponent has not been revealed, but that’s not something that bothers me. To be TV Champion means you have to get used to facing the unknown on a weekly basis, as you never know who will be waiting for you next until that upcoming card is advertised. You could find yourself staring down some new blood, or a bitter rival, or even a close friend as Peyton and I both did last week. I’ve been in this position before, and I know full well how difficult this challenge is. And yet, I welcome it with open arms, because whoever faces me in London will know full well that this creative soul is not going down without a fight, no matter what kind of pedigree they bring to the ring with them.
I made a promise to Peyton that I would hold this title and defend it with the same pride and respect that she did for so long, and I made a promise to myself that I would use this gauntlet I must now endure to solidify my right to take that next step up, having proven I could handle any challenge and not just the ones looking to tear me down or try in vain to convince me that I don’t belong. This belt has a history of proving just how ready someone truly is for what awaits them when their reign finally comes to an end… I’ve been here twice before, I’ve overcome stiff competition to get to the top of this mountain every single time and I swear to anyone gunning for me that I don’t plan on stepping down anytime soon, not unless you’re ready to prove you want this more than I do. While I can’t speak on whoever waits in the wings for this upcoming Breakdown, I do want to give you fair warning…
If you think you know how badly I want to walk out of the UK the same way I walked in, then you’re severely underestimating exactly what this title truly represents to me.