12-16-2020, 01:35 AM
12-20-2020, 12:30 AM
Sometimes, to figure out where things go next, you have to return to the beginning.
That was the logic Aaron was willing to operate under in the wake of the Last Laugh pay-per-view because getting frustrated over where he stood now certainly wasn’t going to do him any favors.
To say that the show hadn’t been a great night for the Perfect Pack as a whole would’ve been an understatement. Despite their best efforts, Peyton had come up short in her U.S. Title bid and Aaron had found himself once again coming close to a title opportunity only to fall short because of a momentary slip in focus. That, of course, was saying nothing of the disaster that was the main event, with Sienna virtually getting the show’s namesake despite Kelcey’s phenomenal return and Owen managing to take out Giovanni. Aaron had even thrown himself into the fray to protect Mr. D and Karina from Cain without hesitation, something he’d never regret no matter how some people might want to spin that picture in their favor.
With two Breakdowns left until the year came to a close, there was a lot to think about as it felt like yet another year had gone by with nothing to really show for it but maybe a few new scars.
With SCW returning to the eastern part of the country to close out the year, it was just as much of an excuse as any to the creative soul to return to his childhood home in Lowell. Even if he wasn’t using the rationale that it just felt right to check in on his family with the holidays on the horizon, something in the back of his mind almost felt like it was drawing him to the place where he spent most of his life. Maybe it was some sense of lingering fear that wanted absolute certainty that his family was alright considering it had been quite some time since ‘Doctor’ Nancy Black had done anything, which was a valid concern since someone as desperate as her to throw herself into the limelight, no matter how undeserved it may be, wouldn’t be this quiet for this long without reason. Maybe it was Andrew’s spirit that was simply calling him home for some reason.
Whatever it may be, Aaron was somewhat grateful for the break, because he was starting to get sick of 2020 and how unproductive it had felt.
As he drove through the familiar streets of his birthplace, he reflected back on everything that had brought him to where he is now. He’d picked up a few big wins here and there, but they felt few and far between and whatever momentum he’d gained from them seemed to be ripped away just as quickly. Two opportunities to become World Champion had both ended in failure despite putting forth the best effort he’s ever exerted, a victory over a Hall of Famer that had been trying to haunt him for virtually the entire year that was not as memorable as it should have been when said Hall of Famer took their rematch and seems to show no interest in proving he’d be the one to prevail in a long-overdue tiebreaker…
Those were just the very few things that actually stood out in an otherwise forgettable year for the artist.
If there was any true bright spot he could find to his SCW career this year, it was the fact that he and Owen had done exceedingly well in the Tag League, including the fact that they had yet to actually be beaten yet as a team by anything other than a disqualification. Even then, it was hard to find a reason to smile about the run considering that the initial DQ loss to Bree and Sienna effectively meant they needed those two to lose at least once if they wanted to take control of their own destinies, not to mention the sheer number of people who decided the entire idea of the Tag League was the perfect excuse to try and further bury Aaron within a landfill of doubt as to whether or not he could truly make it here like so many had claimed.
Needless to say, he was getting sick of it and this brief break before SCW wrapped up the year was a godsend to keep him from drowning in his own insecurities.
As he pulled into the driveway of the house he had, understandably, left behind so many years ago now, he hesitated for a moment on getting out as he glanced over at the empty passenger seat next to him. He couldn’t help but miss having Liane by his side, even though he knew her decision to spend the holidays with her family helping to repair their own broken bridges was necessary. It was hard to imagine that almost three full years ago now he’d proposed to the comedian, knowing without a doubt that he could not keep living his life without her in it. Ever since then, the couple had come up against so many difficult challenges that have tested their relationship and their respective mental states far more than most should ever have to endure and somehow managed to fight their way through it all together.
Aaron owed Liane far more than he thought even he could ever figure out how to put into words, and the day where they would truly be bonded together forever had been pushed back for long enough. Even if things didn’t get better for him in 2021 as far as SCW was concerned, he was hellbent on having at least one good thing to his name before it was up.
That was a puzzle to put together after this year was in the books, though, but it was certainly moving to the top of his to-do list at long last.
That mere thought alone at least brought a smile to his face as he exited the car and made his way to the front door, and he was grateful that he at least seemed like he was in a good mood when his mom answered.
“Aaron? What brings you back home?”
“SCW’s kind of heading eastward to close out the year, and while I’ll still need to drive out to New York for the next show, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to stop by and see how you guys were doing going into the holidays.”
His mom certainly couldn’t argue with that, even if he was doing a good job of hiding whatever feeling it was that also convinced him to make this side trip. He certainly felt more relaxed once he was inside and taking in the sight of familiar territory he hadn’t visited in a little while, especially not during the Christmas season. There wasn’t a whole lot of decoration around, but he felt his heart warm at the nostalgia of the large tree decorated from head to toe in blinking lights tucked away into the corner, branches adorned with several ornaments that the Blackbourne siblings had all put together in one form or another over the years.
His mind briefly flickered to the question of whether or not any of his ever surfaced on the tree back when this bridge was in shambles not that long ago, but he dared not voice it. Subconsciously, he knew that doing so risked inviting disaster, and he had a feeling he knew which creature lurking in his thoughts was willing to bring it up in hopes of inviting that spark.
Shaking the brief round of negative thinking out of his head, he and his mom proceeded to catch each other up on where things were since they’d last seen each other, from Aaron being more open than he’d been in the past about his frustrations over the speed bumps in his SCW career and his concerns over how quiet things had kind of become with the problem he knew still lurked in the shadows out there somewhere to learning about what had been going on while he was touring the world and leaving his blood, sweat, and tears in the ring week after week. His dad still hung around the house every now and then despite his parents’ divorce years ago due to their financial deadlock over paying off the house, but more and more often these days he was out spending time with his new girlfriend, which kind of surprised him with how calmly and casually his mom even spoke about the topic.
Guess she truly has moved on outside of this place still handcuffing them together on payments.
To her credit, the woman was currently working three different jobs all under the umbrella of the same company, and the hours and pay had more than made up for the hole he had once left behind when he couldn’t take being that lone real financial pillar any more. Now that former sore topic was a bit of a joke the two of them could laugh about considering how much they’d both moved on since those days. There was really nothing new to report in regards to Austin, and Aaron had seen that firsthand when he found his younger brother lying on the couch in the living room watching something on his laptop, though he did offer a wave and a promise to chat later once he was done with whatever was left of the anime episode he’d been enjoying.
“What about Alec? Where’s he at?”
The moment Aaron saw his mom start biting her bottom lip in response to that question, he could already feel something amiss. He recalled how his youngest brother had taken Andrew’s death the hardest and things had been made worse by the catfishing stunt Dylan had pulled on him in his efforts to try and see how much of the Blackbourne family he could get away with destroying before that fateful night last year that still haunted him to some degree. Even just thinking back on that had bad memories flickering in his mind, but he was quick to shut them out, using conversations he’d had since his last episode with both Liane as well as Dr. Marsh-Asher overwrite them and remind him of exactly what his own mental menagerie was determined to make sure he remembered about not having to ever fight his own battles alone. Still, a knot of uneasiness was beginning to form in his gut the longer it took for his question to be answered.
“To be honest? He’s doing… better than he has been.”
“That doesn’t sound too encouraging…”
“It’s just that… you know how hard he took that whole mess last year, and even hearing that Dylan tried to take your life had him spiraling for a while. He managed to get past it with help from some new friends he made and a newfound passion for music he’s really been working on.”
“Music, huh? I don’t know if he’s interested or not, but one of Liane’s older sisters tours around with her band these days. Maybe I could ask next chance I get if she’d be willing to lend him a hand with whatever he’s trying to work on.”
The suggestion certainly seemed to bring a smile to the woman’s face, but after a nod of recognition, she regressed back to her previous mask of nervous concern.
“I’m sure he’d like that, though you might want to make her aware that he’s been using music as an outlet to vent about that whole situation, just in case. It hasn’t always worked though, and he ended up kind of following in some of Andrew’s footsteps during that dark time. Not the relationship stuff, thankfully! But… he’s started drinking and smoking weed and even attempted to dabble in some heavier stuff-”
“Where is he?”
Aaron had heard enough and the force behind the question that just left his lips made it clear he was about ready to start turning the house upside-down to track down Alec so he could have a brother-to-brother chat with him about willingly indulging in the same self-destructive behavior that had been forced upon the very person he seemed to be trying to imitate for all the wrong reasons. He didn’t get very far before his mom grabbed onto his forearm for dear life in a desperate attempt to get him to hear her out on everything before he flew off the handle acting on big brother instinct alone.
After taking a moment to refocus himself, she started from the point she’d been cut off at about the behaviors Alec was taking up, despite being underaged to even be partaking in any of them. Understandably, she had tried to keep everyone quiet about it so no one got in trouble with the law while she and Austin did their best to steer him back in the right direction, but if there’s any one thing the kid had truly adopted from his deceased brother it was his stubbornness on acting in any manner aside from what he and he alone thought was best. Some of the heavier drugs he’d taken part in were from peer pressure from his so-called new friends, most of whom had thankfully seen those ties severed before the family truly had a repeat performance nobody actually wanted, but the weed and booze was all his choice, as well as the decision that he could just adopt a career in music through the power of the internet like so many others had through sheer luck. The last of those poor decisions ultimately led to him staying up all night and sleeping through the day, purposely missing school and racking up a near guarantee at this point that, barring the greatest academic hail mary of all time, he was likely getting held back a year, assuming he didn’t somehow find a way around Tracy to simply drop out of high school altogether.
“As much as he’s tried to fight us on it, he can’t keep fighting against me, the school, and the police that keep getting sent over to keep tabs on him and expect to just get his way. We finally managed to get most of it straightened out after having him talk to a therapist-”
Aaron quickly held up a hand to cut off where his mom had been going with the backlog of events surrounding one of his only two remaining younger kin. The mere mention of that word had turned the knot forming into his stomach into a full-on block of ice now, and he could swear he was breaking out in a cold sweat. True, his stance on therapists had changed somewhat since he’d adopted a former SCW World Champion as his and been shown a whole different approach to the profession that he wished was more prevalent these days, but the word also reminded him that there was someone out there somewhere trying to use that same profession in the loosest way possible all as a means of trying to destroy his life and future in exchange for what would likely amount to a literal fifteen minutes of fame. His mom seemed to grasp the message and was quick to address it.
“Please don’t worry Aaron, it’s not that one you warned us about. We haven’t seen her since she tried to not so subtly probe your father and me for sensitive information about you while we were out and about doing our usual errands, and even then she got nothing out of it other than a warning to stay away from our family. The woman who’s helping Alec doesn’t even look anything like her.”
Aaron released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, but his nerves still felt like they were wound up tighter than a spring that was desperately begging to be uncoiled.
“That’s good to hear, though I can’t help but still be nervous. I know I’ve grown to trust my own therapist in recent months, but I guess the idea that not all of them are more like him still bothers me. Please tell me she didn’t just hear the bare minimum of what’s going on with Al and move straight to trying to shove a bunch of pills down his throat.”
“Of course not. She worked with us for a few sessions to get the greater scope of what she was working with, and while she did prescribe him some medication, she only did so as a means of trying to help get a lot of his non-substance habits under control. On the plus side, what she gave him has helped keep him far more focused than he’s been in a long time, and on top of actually getting proper sleep, he’s been in a much better mood and had no need to fall back on those things he doesn’t even need to be doing in the first place.”
“What did she give him?”
“It’s some new medication called Exestrel. Apparently, it just got approved for use, and while I was skeptical myself I can’t argue with the good it’s done for him.”
Aaron couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at this. The medical field certainly wasn’t where his interests lie in any capacity so he wasn’t going to be the guy who could rattle off the various complicated names of pills and what they could do off the top of his head, but he can’t shake the feeling that something is completely off about this whole situation. He wants to put a voice to these thoughts, but he finds himself getting cut off by a notification on his phone that immediately attracts his attention. Upon seeing what it is, his eyes widen and he can’t help but excuse himself from the conversation to step out onto the porch, almost as if the cold December air will remind him that all of his senses are working properly and what he’s seeing isn’t some figment of his imagination.
He’d received an e-mail from none other than CHBK, and while he knew the legend no doubt still had some pull to be able to obtain the creative soul’s contact info, he was more surprised at its contents.
There, in black and white before his very eyes on the screen, was a copy of one of Syren’s contracts for her self-imposed challenge to prove she was the ‘best in the world’ as she constantly claimed, naming him as her opponent for the special Sunday Breakdown in Hamilton. It even included the caveat that it would be purely one-on-one, with no member of Infamous at ringside.
This seemed to open a whole new floodgate he hadn’t even realized was waiting there for something to trigger it. While he knew he wouldn’t be in action for the Madison Square Garden show, his status for the final Breakdown of the year had been up in the air and left him wondering if he even wanted to be booked, struggling between just calling an end to 2020 now and trying to refocus on how he could make the next year one where he finally forced his way through the proverbial glass ceiling once and for all or hoping he could have one last opportunity to at least end this year on a high note to better his odds at making 2021 everything he wanted it to be. This, however, almost seemed poetic in an odd sense to him, especially considering he’d felt like returning to Lowell was symbolic in and of itself in a sense.
The high hopes many, including himself, had for him going into this year had all started when he’d managed to silence Syren at last year’s Apocalypse and make a statement that sent shockwaves through the main event scene at the time. And now, in a desperate bid to make up for her most recent stumbling block and the distraction of the man who had made it his mission to get his hands on her one more time, she was aiming to prove she was still everything she claimed at the expense of a man who knew this game all too well at this point.
As tempted as he wanted to turn the contract down because he didn’t want to give Syren the satisfaction of being handed exactly what she was asking for, he knew this was the perfect opportunity for him to go back to where it all began when it came to the opportunities he’d earned in the wake of their last encounter. Considering Jordan Majors had managed to prevail over Syren at Last Laugh and no doubt given her stock a significant boost when it came to the vote for the end of the year World Title shot, he was hard-pressed to really ignore what was sitting right in front of him and everything it meant for where he wanted to be in the long run.
His mind was made up, and he quickly responded to the e-mail saying he accepted the challenge, keeping his wording as professional as possible even though he had a feeling Syren would be far less with him when this topic ultimately came up publicly within the coming days.
Feeling a sense of determination that he’d been lacking since his failure at Last Laugh, Aaron took a deep breath of the chilly winter air to maintain his clarity as he pocketed his phone and headed back inside, feeling like he could let whatever was going on with Alec slide now despite some lingering questions he wanted answers to, because as long as he was getting help and this mysterious new medication was actually working, what right did he have to really argue against it? Just having a look of renewed confidence when he returned to the living room seemed to be all the sign he needed to show to make both his mom and Austin, who seemed to be having a conversation of their own out of concern for his initial reaction to everything, seemingly relax a bit.
“Aaron, I’m sorry for-”
“It’s alright mom, you’ve got nothing to apologize over. I just… still have a few things I’m trying to work through myself, and I haven’t exactly gained any faith in therapists beyond the one who’s already proven willing to go above and beyond to help Liane and me. As long as everything’s going well for Alec though, then who am I to complain about the process of getting him back in order?”
“It sounds like whatever message you got on your phone helped you figure something out. Good news, I hope?”
Aaron couldn’t resist the grin that broke out on his face at Austin’s question.
“It’s funny… I felt like I needed to come back here to clear my head a bit, as kind of a ‘go back to start’ kind of thing I guess. And now I’ve got one last match before this year’s over against the same person who-”
“Aaron! I’m so glad to see you because I finally get it now!”
Aaron suppresses his annoyance at being cut off as he starts to turn around, but he doesn’t go very far with the motion before he’s almost knocked over by the high schooler he’s been worrying about practically barreling into him. While Alec’s certainly still much smaller than him and likely destined to end up being the shortest of the Blackbourne siblings even if Andrew was taken into account, he certainly knows how to catch people off guard when they least expect it. Still, the arms of the eldest sibling wrap around him out of reflex as the two embrace for the first time in God knows how long.
“Hey Alec, long time no see! But, um… what is it you finally get, and did it require trying to bowl me over the moment you realized I was stopping back here?”
Alec makes a poor attempt to suppress his giggling as he looks up into Aaron’s eyes, giving him probably the dopiest smile he can recall ever seeing on his youngest brother, at least since he was a baby where that kind of look was the norm for him.
“I think I finally get how you do all this creative thinking and stuff. My eyes are more open than they’ve ever been, and I feel like I can see everything that you always say you can. I didn’t know this was how you did it!”
He giggles again, and Aaron almost immediately feels the familiar weight in his stomach that something is very wrong here. He glances over to the other two occupants in the room, but they look just as confused and worried as he does.
“Al… you’re not high, are you? You were doing so good with just the meds-”
“Nope, I just took my afternoon dose of Exestrel and I’m feeling beyond great! I should’ve known this is how Aaron is always able to reach that ‘other’ state of mind he loves falling into.”
Aaron slowly manages to work his way out of Alec’s hug, his throat having gone dry at the sudden implication that pills of all things were how he was able to achieve the connection he had with his vast imagination. Alec knew better… everyone, at least within his family for sure, knew full well that it was simply a gift he happened to be born with and embraced to the fullest extent he was allowed to. This claim that he was suddenly on that same level because he’d taken his new medication was not pointing to anything good, and the extra fidgeting the kid was displaying under the gaze of the creative soul was only serving to scorch every last one of his nerves for reasons that he could almost swear were giving certain demons in his head an open invitation to send him spiraling into an anxiety attack.
“Alec, what do you-”
The question he knew needed to be asked died in his throat as Alec’s eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he fell forward, the only thing keeping him from faceplanting into the floor being Aaron’s quick reaction time. Even as he looked like he was out cold in his oldest brother’s arms, that huge grin remained plastered to Alec’s face, almost like he’d fallen into the best dream of all time. Austin and Tracy immediately flanked the two of them, Aaron joining them in trying to wake Alec back up only to get no response. Thankfully, his breathing seemed steady enough, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d just inexplicably passed out right in front of everybody. Austin was already calling 911 while Aaron handed the kid off to their mom while he went to go keep watch for the ambulance that would shortly be in its way.
His body stopped cold in the kitchen, though, and he couldn’t will it to continue back towards the front door. A thought was nagging at him with enough internal volume that it was virtually impossible for him to ignore. He was at least thankful that it didn’t sound like the torturous prodding of a certain someone, but he wasn’t about to let that opening become available. Aaron found his gaze roaming to Alec’s bedroom door, and before he even realized it his body had gone on autopilot and made its way beyond the threshold. A quick scan of the messy room, one that almost reminded himself of the kind of artistic chaos he was prone to making when he was younger and still figuring out how to best embrace his creativity, and his eyes found exactly what he was looking for.
Claimed from the top of the dresser was a bottle of pills, labeled as Exestrel and having been prescribed by a Dr. Evergreen. Contained within were several capsules that were half-white and half-clear, the latter exposing what looked like some kind of white powder mix. Aaron quickly withdrew his phone and snapped a few pictures before setting it back, one thought standing out in his mind along with the immense concern he held for his brother as the EMTs arrived and started to bring Alec out to the ambulance.
I don’t know what the hell this medication is, but I don’t trust it after that display. If Dr. Marsh-Asher doesn’t know anything about it, then maybe we need to have a word with this ‘Dr. Evergreen’ about what the hell she’s trying to pull here.
2020 is starting to come to a close, and this has been a rough year for many of us for various reasons, to the degree that I’m sure almost all of us will be grateful when the clock strikes midnight on December 31. From a professional standpoint, 2020 certainly feels like I let not only all of you down, but myself as well. Two opportunities to become World Champion, several other opportunities that have come and gone, a few big wins that feel like they’ve been nullified not too long afterward for one reason or another… I started this year off feeling like there was so much promise and potential to be had, and now that we’re almost at the end I’m left with the bitter taste in my mouth of how much everything feels like it went to waste.
Don’t get me wrong, the kinds of performances I’ve put forth this year have arguably been some of my absolute best moments in the ring, and I’ve given many a fight far greater than they expected out of me even if they had planned for my A-game. At some point though, it all has to yield something and the fact that I feel like I’m going into 2021 empty-handed just leaves me frustrated that no matter how hard I bust my ass, no matter what I try, something is still missing.
It’s a sad fact that all anybody cares about these days are the accolades to your name and not what you’re capable of beyond that, the signs that might foretell success just on the horizon if you keep pushing yourself further and further with every match you compete in. Regardless of whether or not I’ve prevailed over someone in the past, it doesn’t stop them from focusing all their attention on how I barely have anything that qualifies me as ‘the future of SCW,’ regardless of the fact that I know many of them are afraid to cross paths with me again in the ring because the mere idea of losing once again to such an ‘underachiever’ threatens their fragile little egos and drives them to take potshots from afar behind the cover of having their focus supposedly being somewhere else entirely.
Not that the idea’s ever stopped a single one of them from trying to insert themselves into my business at will.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: yes, I’m not walking into Hamilton prepared to challenge for the Adrenaline Title because I found myself eliminated near the end of that battle royal at Last Laugh. Yes, I’m not exactly in the best of moods about this latest addition to my ‘running list of failures’ everyone is so keen to reference because it’s the only straw they seem able to grasp when it comes to addressing me these days. By all means, keep bringing it up if it makes you feel better.
That said, I really hope all of you aren’t of the mindset that if you keep subjecting me to the same tired spiel that it’s going to cause me to abandon all hope and throw in the towel. I’ve proven time and time again that I’m not one to give up so easily, and every problem has a solution. I don’t care how long it takes or how much harder I have to keep pushing the limits of what I’m capable of, both physically and mentally, because I WILL earn championship gold and silence everyone who wants to fancy themselves a critic of mine, no matter what it takes.
Maybe the answer lies in taking a step backward and reevaluating my approach.
It feels kind of ironic that the idea of self-reflection might hold the key to reforging the path I need to walk to prove myself, but I’m not exactly the one who decided that the answer to all my problems was trying to conquer a demon from my past. That honor actually goes to someone who, no doubt, will ignore everything I just said and proceed to try and run me into the ground purely based on everything she’s accomplish compared to where I currently stand, completely ignorant of the fact that she’s licking her wounds after Last Laugh didn’t go her way, which makes her no different from me.
I do find it kind of odd though that after spending so much of this year being questioned about whether or not my focus is exactly where it needs to be because my career was being haunted by someone trying to make themselves out into a vengeful spirit, I now find myself in the position to be asking this same question to Syren.
I get it Syren, I really do… you’re being criticized for focusing on the return of James Evans and not exactly what’s in front of you, Last Laugh saw you fall to the woman who’s now ending the year with a World Title shot, and the only thing running through your mind is how familiar this all feels and how much you don’t like it. After all, regardless of how this year’s gone for me, no one has forgotten that at Apocalypse last year, despite all your confidence in the belief that I had no hope of hell in beating you, my arm was the one raised in victory at the end. Just like with the position Jordon finds herself in now, that win over you was ultimately the catalyst to my World Title match with James Evans earlier this year, and it’s of no surprise to me that you’re so fed up with how much that thought is eating you alive that you’re desperately trying to exercise that specter lingering over your head as though it’s going to solve all your problems and guarantee that in the new year, Syren will return to her rightful place at the top of the mountain and everyone will just have to be jealous of what you’ve proven.
I’m starting to question the blind faith you’re putting in a man that, while having been around for a long time to earn his legendary status, hasn’t proven able to really keep up with the shifting sands of time that make up the ever-changing landscape of SCW as it is today.
I will say this Syren: despite your attitude, I’ve always respected what you’re capable of in the ring, and that hasn’t changed from the last time we did battle. I admire the fact that you’re so willing to do this ‘my way’ and leave Infamous as a whole in the back. You’ve made it clear that you’ve been dying to meet me in the ring once again and I’m only happy to oblige. But I would hope you also understand that I see straight through the front you’re trying to put up. Even ignoring the fact that I’m taking your promise of a ‘fair fight’ with a grain of salt as your exact words were ‘no Infamous at ringside’ and I’m not one to ignore your desire to abuse loopholes as need be to get ahead, I can see just how desperate you are to prove to everyone that they need to change the way they’re thinking about you because it’s not making you happy to hear everyone questioning you about whether or not you still are everything you claim to be.
Welcome to the rollercoaster I’ve been on for a while now. Fasten your seatbelt, because it’s only going to get bumpier from here.
You made no secret of how confident you are that this time it will be you walking away triumphantly, trying to take delight in the belief that you can win this fight fair and square. Let’s look back at our match from a little over a year ago for a moment, shall we? On that night, you had both CHBK and Crowe in your corner and at least the former wasn’t shy about getting involved when the opportunity presented itself, my ribs were still healing from the incident prior to Rise to Greatness, and you spent a good portion of that match targeting my leg with the clear intent of taking away my most dangerous weapon. And yet, despite all of that, I still caught you with one Unchained Creativity and that was all she wrote.
Reflecting on every advantage you had back then compared to this Sunday when you’re aiming to close out the year against a creative soul at one hundred percent all by yourself… maybe if you’d been less reliant on Infamous to keep you in the fight throughout this year, there’d be more weight behind your intent, but as it stands now you’re trying to right what you feel is a wrong against someone who is even hungrier and more determined to make a statement now than I was one year ago.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, they say.
I know that desperate people do desperate things, and this match is the epitome of how desperate Syren is to make a fact out of every single claim she wants to make about who she is and what this win will do for her. But that’s only half the picture… I’m desperate too, desperate to end this year with some sort of positive momentum because I’m sick and tired of not being able to succeed when it truly counts. Sunday night on this special Breakdown, I’m returning to the very match that made people sit up and start talking about how this would be my year, and I’m hellbent on making sure that they’ll be saying the exact same thing about next year, the year where I will finally grab that proverbial brass ring if it’s the last thing I do because I’ve worked too hard for too long to just accept that this isn’t meant to be.
As far as Syren is concerned, so long as she and CHBK keep flaunting these contracts, she has complete control over her future, regardless of whether or not the man she truly wants to avoid at all costs is waiting on the horizon for her.
Outside of what remains regarding the Tag League, my future isn’t as certain right now.
Sunday night in Hamilton, I’m going to get a little more clarity on that matter, no matter what Syren and her endless desire to be another voice in the crowd yelling at the top of their lungs that they’re the ‘best in the world’ tries to do about it.
That was the logic Aaron was willing to operate under in the wake of the Last Laugh pay-per-view because getting frustrated over where he stood now certainly wasn’t going to do him any favors.
To say that the show hadn’t been a great night for the Perfect Pack as a whole would’ve been an understatement. Despite their best efforts, Peyton had come up short in her U.S. Title bid and Aaron had found himself once again coming close to a title opportunity only to fall short because of a momentary slip in focus. That, of course, was saying nothing of the disaster that was the main event, with Sienna virtually getting the show’s namesake despite Kelcey’s phenomenal return and Owen managing to take out Giovanni. Aaron had even thrown himself into the fray to protect Mr. D and Karina from Cain without hesitation, something he’d never regret no matter how some people might want to spin that picture in their favor.
With two Breakdowns left until the year came to a close, there was a lot to think about as it felt like yet another year had gone by with nothing to really show for it but maybe a few new scars.
With SCW returning to the eastern part of the country to close out the year, it was just as much of an excuse as any to the creative soul to return to his childhood home in Lowell. Even if he wasn’t using the rationale that it just felt right to check in on his family with the holidays on the horizon, something in the back of his mind almost felt like it was drawing him to the place where he spent most of his life. Maybe it was some sense of lingering fear that wanted absolute certainty that his family was alright considering it had been quite some time since ‘Doctor’ Nancy Black had done anything, which was a valid concern since someone as desperate as her to throw herself into the limelight, no matter how undeserved it may be, wouldn’t be this quiet for this long without reason. Maybe it was Andrew’s spirit that was simply calling him home for some reason.
Whatever it may be, Aaron was somewhat grateful for the break, because he was starting to get sick of 2020 and how unproductive it had felt.
As he drove through the familiar streets of his birthplace, he reflected back on everything that had brought him to where he is now. He’d picked up a few big wins here and there, but they felt few and far between and whatever momentum he’d gained from them seemed to be ripped away just as quickly. Two opportunities to become World Champion had both ended in failure despite putting forth the best effort he’s ever exerted, a victory over a Hall of Famer that had been trying to haunt him for virtually the entire year that was not as memorable as it should have been when said Hall of Famer took their rematch and seems to show no interest in proving he’d be the one to prevail in a long-overdue tiebreaker…
Those were just the very few things that actually stood out in an otherwise forgettable year for the artist.
If there was any true bright spot he could find to his SCW career this year, it was the fact that he and Owen had done exceedingly well in the Tag League, including the fact that they had yet to actually be beaten yet as a team by anything other than a disqualification. Even then, it was hard to find a reason to smile about the run considering that the initial DQ loss to Bree and Sienna effectively meant they needed those two to lose at least once if they wanted to take control of their own destinies, not to mention the sheer number of people who decided the entire idea of the Tag League was the perfect excuse to try and further bury Aaron within a landfill of doubt as to whether or not he could truly make it here like so many had claimed.
Needless to say, he was getting sick of it and this brief break before SCW wrapped up the year was a godsend to keep him from drowning in his own insecurities.
As he pulled into the driveway of the house he had, understandably, left behind so many years ago now, he hesitated for a moment on getting out as he glanced over at the empty passenger seat next to him. He couldn’t help but miss having Liane by his side, even though he knew her decision to spend the holidays with her family helping to repair their own broken bridges was necessary. It was hard to imagine that almost three full years ago now he’d proposed to the comedian, knowing without a doubt that he could not keep living his life without her in it. Ever since then, the couple had come up against so many difficult challenges that have tested their relationship and their respective mental states far more than most should ever have to endure and somehow managed to fight their way through it all together.
Aaron owed Liane far more than he thought even he could ever figure out how to put into words, and the day where they would truly be bonded together forever had been pushed back for long enough. Even if things didn’t get better for him in 2021 as far as SCW was concerned, he was hellbent on having at least one good thing to his name before it was up.
That was a puzzle to put together after this year was in the books, though, but it was certainly moving to the top of his to-do list at long last.
That mere thought alone at least brought a smile to his face as he exited the car and made his way to the front door, and he was grateful that he at least seemed like he was in a good mood when his mom answered.
“Aaron? What brings you back home?”
“SCW’s kind of heading eastward to close out the year, and while I’ll still need to drive out to New York for the next show, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to stop by and see how you guys were doing going into the holidays.”
His mom certainly couldn’t argue with that, even if he was doing a good job of hiding whatever feeling it was that also convinced him to make this side trip. He certainly felt more relaxed once he was inside and taking in the sight of familiar territory he hadn’t visited in a little while, especially not during the Christmas season. There wasn’t a whole lot of decoration around, but he felt his heart warm at the nostalgia of the large tree decorated from head to toe in blinking lights tucked away into the corner, branches adorned with several ornaments that the Blackbourne siblings had all put together in one form or another over the years.
His mind briefly flickered to the question of whether or not any of his ever surfaced on the tree back when this bridge was in shambles not that long ago, but he dared not voice it. Subconsciously, he knew that doing so risked inviting disaster, and he had a feeling he knew which creature lurking in his thoughts was willing to bring it up in hopes of inviting that spark.
Shaking the brief round of negative thinking out of his head, he and his mom proceeded to catch each other up on where things were since they’d last seen each other, from Aaron being more open than he’d been in the past about his frustrations over the speed bumps in his SCW career and his concerns over how quiet things had kind of become with the problem he knew still lurked in the shadows out there somewhere to learning about what had been going on while he was touring the world and leaving his blood, sweat, and tears in the ring week after week. His dad still hung around the house every now and then despite his parents’ divorce years ago due to their financial deadlock over paying off the house, but more and more often these days he was out spending time with his new girlfriend, which kind of surprised him with how calmly and casually his mom even spoke about the topic.
Guess she truly has moved on outside of this place still handcuffing them together on payments.
To her credit, the woman was currently working three different jobs all under the umbrella of the same company, and the hours and pay had more than made up for the hole he had once left behind when he couldn’t take being that lone real financial pillar any more. Now that former sore topic was a bit of a joke the two of them could laugh about considering how much they’d both moved on since those days. There was really nothing new to report in regards to Austin, and Aaron had seen that firsthand when he found his younger brother lying on the couch in the living room watching something on his laptop, though he did offer a wave and a promise to chat later once he was done with whatever was left of the anime episode he’d been enjoying.
“What about Alec? Where’s he at?”
The moment Aaron saw his mom start biting her bottom lip in response to that question, he could already feel something amiss. He recalled how his youngest brother had taken Andrew’s death the hardest and things had been made worse by the catfishing stunt Dylan had pulled on him in his efforts to try and see how much of the Blackbourne family he could get away with destroying before that fateful night last year that still haunted him to some degree. Even just thinking back on that had bad memories flickering in his mind, but he was quick to shut them out, using conversations he’d had since his last episode with both Liane as well as Dr. Marsh-Asher overwrite them and remind him of exactly what his own mental menagerie was determined to make sure he remembered about not having to ever fight his own battles alone. Still, a knot of uneasiness was beginning to form in his gut the longer it took for his question to be answered.
“To be honest? He’s doing… better than he has been.”
“That doesn’t sound too encouraging…”
“It’s just that… you know how hard he took that whole mess last year, and even hearing that Dylan tried to take your life had him spiraling for a while. He managed to get past it with help from some new friends he made and a newfound passion for music he’s really been working on.”
“Music, huh? I don’t know if he’s interested or not, but one of Liane’s older sisters tours around with her band these days. Maybe I could ask next chance I get if she’d be willing to lend him a hand with whatever he’s trying to work on.”
The suggestion certainly seemed to bring a smile to the woman’s face, but after a nod of recognition, she regressed back to her previous mask of nervous concern.
“I’m sure he’d like that, though you might want to make her aware that he’s been using music as an outlet to vent about that whole situation, just in case. It hasn’t always worked though, and he ended up kind of following in some of Andrew’s footsteps during that dark time. Not the relationship stuff, thankfully! But… he’s started drinking and smoking weed and even attempted to dabble in some heavier stuff-”
“Where is he?”
Aaron had heard enough and the force behind the question that just left his lips made it clear he was about ready to start turning the house upside-down to track down Alec so he could have a brother-to-brother chat with him about willingly indulging in the same self-destructive behavior that had been forced upon the very person he seemed to be trying to imitate for all the wrong reasons. He didn’t get very far before his mom grabbed onto his forearm for dear life in a desperate attempt to get him to hear her out on everything before he flew off the handle acting on big brother instinct alone.
After taking a moment to refocus himself, she started from the point she’d been cut off at about the behaviors Alec was taking up, despite being underaged to even be partaking in any of them. Understandably, she had tried to keep everyone quiet about it so no one got in trouble with the law while she and Austin did their best to steer him back in the right direction, but if there’s any one thing the kid had truly adopted from his deceased brother it was his stubbornness on acting in any manner aside from what he and he alone thought was best. Some of the heavier drugs he’d taken part in were from peer pressure from his so-called new friends, most of whom had thankfully seen those ties severed before the family truly had a repeat performance nobody actually wanted, but the weed and booze was all his choice, as well as the decision that he could just adopt a career in music through the power of the internet like so many others had through sheer luck. The last of those poor decisions ultimately led to him staying up all night and sleeping through the day, purposely missing school and racking up a near guarantee at this point that, barring the greatest academic hail mary of all time, he was likely getting held back a year, assuming he didn’t somehow find a way around Tracy to simply drop out of high school altogether.
“As much as he’s tried to fight us on it, he can’t keep fighting against me, the school, and the police that keep getting sent over to keep tabs on him and expect to just get his way. We finally managed to get most of it straightened out after having him talk to a therapist-”
Aaron quickly held up a hand to cut off where his mom had been going with the backlog of events surrounding one of his only two remaining younger kin. The mere mention of that word had turned the knot forming into his stomach into a full-on block of ice now, and he could swear he was breaking out in a cold sweat. True, his stance on therapists had changed somewhat since he’d adopted a former SCW World Champion as his and been shown a whole different approach to the profession that he wished was more prevalent these days, but the word also reminded him that there was someone out there somewhere trying to use that same profession in the loosest way possible all as a means of trying to destroy his life and future in exchange for what would likely amount to a literal fifteen minutes of fame. His mom seemed to grasp the message and was quick to address it.
“Please don’t worry Aaron, it’s not that one you warned us about. We haven’t seen her since she tried to not so subtly probe your father and me for sensitive information about you while we were out and about doing our usual errands, and even then she got nothing out of it other than a warning to stay away from our family. The woman who’s helping Alec doesn’t even look anything like her.”
Aaron released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, but his nerves still felt like they were wound up tighter than a spring that was desperately begging to be uncoiled.
“That’s good to hear, though I can’t help but still be nervous. I know I’ve grown to trust my own therapist in recent months, but I guess the idea that not all of them are more like him still bothers me. Please tell me she didn’t just hear the bare minimum of what’s going on with Al and move straight to trying to shove a bunch of pills down his throat.”
“Of course not. She worked with us for a few sessions to get the greater scope of what she was working with, and while she did prescribe him some medication, she only did so as a means of trying to help get a lot of his non-substance habits under control. On the plus side, what she gave him has helped keep him far more focused than he’s been in a long time, and on top of actually getting proper sleep, he’s been in a much better mood and had no need to fall back on those things he doesn’t even need to be doing in the first place.”
“What did she give him?”
“It’s some new medication called Exestrel. Apparently, it just got approved for use, and while I was skeptical myself I can’t argue with the good it’s done for him.”
Aaron couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at this. The medical field certainly wasn’t where his interests lie in any capacity so he wasn’t going to be the guy who could rattle off the various complicated names of pills and what they could do off the top of his head, but he can’t shake the feeling that something is completely off about this whole situation. He wants to put a voice to these thoughts, but he finds himself getting cut off by a notification on his phone that immediately attracts his attention. Upon seeing what it is, his eyes widen and he can’t help but excuse himself from the conversation to step out onto the porch, almost as if the cold December air will remind him that all of his senses are working properly and what he’s seeing isn’t some figment of his imagination.
He’d received an e-mail from none other than CHBK, and while he knew the legend no doubt still had some pull to be able to obtain the creative soul’s contact info, he was more surprised at its contents.
There, in black and white before his very eyes on the screen, was a copy of one of Syren’s contracts for her self-imposed challenge to prove she was the ‘best in the world’ as she constantly claimed, naming him as her opponent for the special Sunday Breakdown in Hamilton. It even included the caveat that it would be purely one-on-one, with no member of Infamous at ringside.
This seemed to open a whole new floodgate he hadn’t even realized was waiting there for something to trigger it. While he knew he wouldn’t be in action for the Madison Square Garden show, his status for the final Breakdown of the year had been up in the air and left him wondering if he even wanted to be booked, struggling between just calling an end to 2020 now and trying to refocus on how he could make the next year one where he finally forced his way through the proverbial glass ceiling once and for all or hoping he could have one last opportunity to at least end this year on a high note to better his odds at making 2021 everything he wanted it to be. This, however, almost seemed poetic in an odd sense to him, especially considering he’d felt like returning to Lowell was symbolic in and of itself in a sense.
The high hopes many, including himself, had for him going into this year had all started when he’d managed to silence Syren at last year’s Apocalypse and make a statement that sent shockwaves through the main event scene at the time. And now, in a desperate bid to make up for her most recent stumbling block and the distraction of the man who had made it his mission to get his hands on her one more time, she was aiming to prove she was still everything she claimed at the expense of a man who knew this game all too well at this point.
As tempted as he wanted to turn the contract down because he didn’t want to give Syren the satisfaction of being handed exactly what she was asking for, he knew this was the perfect opportunity for him to go back to where it all began when it came to the opportunities he’d earned in the wake of their last encounter. Considering Jordan Majors had managed to prevail over Syren at Last Laugh and no doubt given her stock a significant boost when it came to the vote for the end of the year World Title shot, he was hard-pressed to really ignore what was sitting right in front of him and everything it meant for where he wanted to be in the long run.
His mind was made up, and he quickly responded to the e-mail saying he accepted the challenge, keeping his wording as professional as possible even though he had a feeling Syren would be far less with him when this topic ultimately came up publicly within the coming days.
Feeling a sense of determination that he’d been lacking since his failure at Last Laugh, Aaron took a deep breath of the chilly winter air to maintain his clarity as he pocketed his phone and headed back inside, feeling like he could let whatever was going on with Alec slide now despite some lingering questions he wanted answers to, because as long as he was getting help and this mysterious new medication was actually working, what right did he have to really argue against it? Just having a look of renewed confidence when he returned to the living room seemed to be all the sign he needed to show to make both his mom and Austin, who seemed to be having a conversation of their own out of concern for his initial reaction to everything, seemingly relax a bit.
“Aaron, I’m sorry for-”
“It’s alright mom, you’ve got nothing to apologize over. I just… still have a few things I’m trying to work through myself, and I haven’t exactly gained any faith in therapists beyond the one who’s already proven willing to go above and beyond to help Liane and me. As long as everything’s going well for Alec though, then who am I to complain about the process of getting him back in order?”
“It sounds like whatever message you got on your phone helped you figure something out. Good news, I hope?”
Aaron couldn’t resist the grin that broke out on his face at Austin’s question.
“It’s funny… I felt like I needed to come back here to clear my head a bit, as kind of a ‘go back to start’ kind of thing I guess. And now I’ve got one last match before this year’s over against the same person who-”
“Aaron! I’m so glad to see you because I finally get it now!”
Aaron suppresses his annoyance at being cut off as he starts to turn around, but he doesn’t go very far with the motion before he’s almost knocked over by the high schooler he’s been worrying about practically barreling into him. While Alec’s certainly still much smaller than him and likely destined to end up being the shortest of the Blackbourne siblings even if Andrew was taken into account, he certainly knows how to catch people off guard when they least expect it. Still, the arms of the eldest sibling wrap around him out of reflex as the two embrace for the first time in God knows how long.
“Hey Alec, long time no see! But, um… what is it you finally get, and did it require trying to bowl me over the moment you realized I was stopping back here?”
Alec makes a poor attempt to suppress his giggling as he looks up into Aaron’s eyes, giving him probably the dopiest smile he can recall ever seeing on his youngest brother, at least since he was a baby where that kind of look was the norm for him.
“I think I finally get how you do all this creative thinking and stuff. My eyes are more open than they’ve ever been, and I feel like I can see everything that you always say you can. I didn’t know this was how you did it!”
He giggles again, and Aaron almost immediately feels the familiar weight in his stomach that something is very wrong here. He glances over to the other two occupants in the room, but they look just as confused and worried as he does.
“Al… you’re not high, are you? You were doing so good with just the meds-”
“Nope, I just took my afternoon dose of Exestrel and I’m feeling beyond great! I should’ve known this is how Aaron is always able to reach that ‘other’ state of mind he loves falling into.”
Aaron slowly manages to work his way out of Alec’s hug, his throat having gone dry at the sudden implication that pills of all things were how he was able to achieve the connection he had with his vast imagination. Alec knew better… everyone, at least within his family for sure, knew full well that it was simply a gift he happened to be born with and embraced to the fullest extent he was allowed to. This claim that he was suddenly on that same level because he’d taken his new medication was not pointing to anything good, and the extra fidgeting the kid was displaying under the gaze of the creative soul was only serving to scorch every last one of his nerves for reasons that he could almost swear were giving certain demons in his head an open invitation to send him spiraling into an anxiety attack.
“Alec, what do you-”
The question he knew needed to be asked died in his throat as Alec’s eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he fell forward, the only thing keeping him from faceplanting into the floor being Aaron’s quick reaction time. Even as he looked like he was out cold in his oldest brother’s arms, that huge grin remained plastered to Alec’s face, almost like he’d fallen into the best dream of all time. Austin and Tracy immediately flanked the two of them, Aaron joining them in trying to wake Alec back up only to get no response. Thankfully, his breathing seemed steady enough, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d just inexplicably passed out right in front of everybody. Austin was already calling 911 while Aaron handed the kid off to their mom while he went to go keep watch for the ambulance that would shortly be in its way.
His body stopped cold in the kitchen, though, and he couldn’t will it to continue back towards the front door. A thought was nagging at him with enough internal volume that it was virtually impossible for him to ignore. He was at least thankful that it didn’t sound like the torturous prodding of a certain someone, but he wasn’t about to let that opening become available. Aaron found his gaze roaming to Alec’s bedroom door, and before he even realized it his body had gone on autopilot and made its way beyond the threshold. A quick scan of the messy room, one that almost reminded himself of the kind of artistic chaos he was prone to making when he was younger and still figuring out how to best embrace his creativity, and his eyes found exactly what he was looking for.
Claimed from the top of the dresser was a bottle of pills, labeled as Exestrel and having been prescribed by a Dr. Evergreen. Contained within were several capsules that were half-white and half-clear, the latter exposing what looked like some kind of white powder mix. Aaron quickly withdrew his phone and snapped a few pictures before setting it back, one thought standing out in his mind along with the immense concern he held for his brother as the EMTs arrived and started to bring Alec out to the ambulance.
I don’t know what the hell this medication is, but I don’t trust it after that display. If Dr. Marsh-Asher doesn’t know anything about it, then maybe we need to have a word with this ‘Dr. Evergreen’ about what the hell she’s trying to pull here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There’s a feeling of deja vu in the air, and I’ll be honest for a moment… I’m not quite a fan of that.2020 is starting to come to a close, and this has been a rough year for many of us for various reasons, to the degree that I’m sure almost all of us will be grateful when the clock strikes midnight on December 31. From a professional standpoint, 2020 certainly feels like I let not only all of you down, but myself as well. Two opportunities to become World Champion, several other opportunities that have come and gone, a few big wins that feel like they’ve been nullified not too long afterward for one reason or another… I started this year off feeling like there was so much promise and potential to be had, and now that we’re almost at the end I’m left with the bitter taste in my mouth of how much everything feels like it went to waste.
Don’t get me wrong, the kinds of performances I’ve put forth this year have arguably been some of my absolute best moments in the ring, and I’ve given many a fight far greater than they expected out of me even if they had planned for my A-game. At some point though, it all has to yield something and the fact that I feel like I’m going into 2021 empty-handed just leaves me frustrated that no matter how hard I bust my ass, no matter what I try, something is still missing.
It’s a sad fact that all anybody cares about these days are the accolades to your name and not what you’re capable of beyond that, the signs that might foretell success just on the horizon if you keep pushing yourself further and further with every match you compete in. Regardless of whether or not I’ve prevailed over someone in the past, it doesn’t stop them from focusing all their attention on how I barely have anything that qualifies me as ‘the future of SCW,’ regardless of the fact that I know many of them are afraid to cross paths with me again in the ring because the mere idea of losing once again to such an ‘underachiever’ threatens their fragile little egos and drives them to take potshots from afar behind the cover of having their focus supposedly being somewhere else entirely.
Not that the idea’s ever stopped a single one of them from trying to insert themselves into my business at will.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: yes, I’m not walking into Hamilton prepared to challenge for the Adrenaline Title because I found myself eliminated near the end of that battle royal at Last Laugh. Yes, I’m not exactly in the best of moods about this latest addition to my ‘running list of failures’ everyone is so keen to reference because it’s the only straw they seem able to grasp when it comes to addressing me these days. By all means, keep bringing it up if it makes you feel better.
That said, I really hope all of you aren’t of the mindset that if you keep subjecting me to the same tired spiel that it’s going to cause me to abandon all hope and throw in the towel. I’ve proven time and time again that I’m not one to give up so easily, and every problem has a solution. I don’t care how long it takes or how much harder I have to keep pushing the limits of what I’m capable of, both physically and mentally, because I WILL earn championship gold and silence everyone who wants to fancy themselves a critic of mine, no matter what it takes.
Maybe the answer lies in taking a step backward and reevaluating my approach.
It feels kind of ironic that the idea of self-reflection might hold the key to reforging the path I need to walk to prove myself, but I’m not exactly the one who decided that the answer to all my problems was trying to conquer a demon from my past. That honor actually goes to someone who, no doubt, will ignore everything I just said and proceed to try and run me into the ground purely based on everything she’s accomplish compared to where I currently stand, completely ignorant of the fact that she’s licking her wounds after Last Laugh didn’t go her way, which makes her no different from me.
I do find it kind of odd though that after spending so much of this year being questioned about whether or not my focus is exactly where it needs to be because my career was being haunted by someone trying to make themselves out into a vengeful spirit, I now find myself in the position to be asking this same question to Syren.
I get it Syren, I really do… you’re being criticized for focusing on the return of James Evans and not exactly what’s in front of you, Last Laugh saw you fall to the woman who’s now ending the year with a World Title shot, and the only thing running through your mind is how familiar this all feels and how much you don’t like it. After all, regardless of how this year’s gone for me, no one has forgotten that at Apocalypse last year, despite all your confidence in the belief that I had no hope of hell in beating you, my arm was the one raised in victory at the end. Just like with the position Jordon finds herself in now, that win over you was ultimately the catalyst to my World Title match with James Evans earlier this year, and it’s of no surprise to me that you’re so fed up with how much that thought is eating you alive that you’re desperately trying to exercise that specter lingering over your head as though it’s going to solve all your problems and guarantee that in the new year, Syren will return to her rightful place at the top of the mountain and everyone will just have to be jealous of what you’ve proven.
I’m starting to question the blind faith you’re putting in a man that, while having been around for a long time to earn his legendary status, hasn’t proven able to really keep up with the shifting sands of time that make up the ever-changing landscape of SCW as it is today.
I will say this Syren: despite your attitude, I’ve always respected what you’re capable of in the ring, and that hasn’t changed from the last time we did battle. I admire the fact that you’re so willing to do this ‘my way’ and leave Infamous as a whole in the back. You’ve made it clear that you’ve been dying to meet me in the ring once again and I’m only happy to oblige. But I would hope you also understand that I see straight through the front you’re trying to put up. Even ignoring the fact that I’m taking your promise of a ‘fair fight’ with a grain of salt as your exact words were ‘no Infamous at ringside’ and I’m not one to ignore your desire to abuse loopholes as need be to get ahead, I can see just how desperate you are to prove to everyone that they need to change the way they’re thinking about you because it’s not making you happy to hear everyone questioning you about whether or not you still are everything you claim to be.
Welcome to the rollercoaster I’ve been on for a while now. Fasten your seatbelt, because it’s only going to get bumpier from here.
You made no secret of how confident you are that this time it will be you walking away triumphantly, trying to take delight in the belief that you can win this fight fair and square. Let’s look back at our match from a little over a year ago for a moment, shall we? On that night, you had both CHBK and Crowe in your corner and at least the former wasn’t shy about getting involved when the opportunity presented itself, my ribs were still healing from the incident prior to Rise to Greatness, and you spent a good portion of that match targeting my leg with the clear intent of taking away my most dangerous weapon. And yet, despite all of that, I still caught you with one Unchained Creativity and that was all she wrote.
Reflecting on every advantage you had back then compared to this Sunday when you’re aiming to close out the year against a creative soul at one hundred percent all by yourself… maybe if you’d been less reliant on Infamous to keep you in the fight throughout this year, there’d be more weight behind your intent, but as it stands now you’re trying to right what you feel is a wrong against someone who is even hungrier and more determined to make a statement now than I was one year ago.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, they say.
I know that desperate people do desperate things, and this match is the epitome of how desperate Syren is to make a fact out of every single claim she wants to make about who she is and what this win will do for her. But that’s only half the picture… I’m desperate too, desperate to end this year with some sort of positive momentum because I’m sick and tired of not being able to succeed when it truly counts. Sunday night on this special Breakdown, I’m returning to the very match that made people sit up and start talking about how this would be my year, and I’m hellbent on making sure that they’ll be saying the exact same thing about next year, the year where I will finally grab that proverbial brass ring if it’s the last thing I do because I’ve worked too hard for too long to just accept that this isn’t meant to be.
As far as Syren is concerned, so long as she and CHBK keep flaunting these contracts, she has complete control over her future, regardless of whether or not the man she truly wants to avoid at all costs is waiting on the horizon for her.
Outside of what remains regarding the Tag League, my future isn’t as certain right now.
Sunday night in Hamilton, I’m going to get a little more clarity on that matter, no matter what Syren and her endless desire to be another voice in the crowd yelling at the top of their lungs that they’re the ‘best in the world’ tries to do about it.
12-20-2020, 12:54 AM
I did consider reusing my tag match RP for this match given the short space of time I had to write and the needy 4 month old puppy I have to care for, but I'm now super glad that I didn't. I really enjoyed this RP.
Enjoy.
![[Image: DoNotAdjust.gif]](http://www.sototallyawesome.com/DoNotAdjust.gif)
The Syren Song: Verse 325
"Sure, ok. I’m the only one who’s worried then"
Enjoy.
The Syren Song: Verse 325
"Sure, ok. I’m the only one who’s worried then"