01-28-2021, 09:31 PM
02-03-2021, 11:56 PM
OOC: I hate this RP and I'm sorry. For the record, I love the story it's starting. I hate that I couldn't do everything I wanted to do for it. Getting old sucks, sleep is important.
Anyway, good luck, old friend. Maybe soon we'll have a match where we can both put in better effort.
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Breakdown 2-4-21
Anyway, good luck, old friend. Maybe soon we'll have a match where we can both put in better effort.
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Breakdown 2-4-21
02-04-2021, 12:41 AM
OOC: I'll be honest: if it wasn't for having a fair amount of dead time at work tonight, I probably would not have been able to get this done. In retrospect, there's so much more I probably could have done with this, but I think it works well enough to server the purpose I need it to, especially since the call that happens in this CD is one I meant to do like two showings ago and found myself under too much of a time crunch to justify adding it. For the record, the "messed up" text you'll find within is that way on purpose. Consider it something I wanted to try to help add a little more of a visual to where Aaron's head is at or heading right now. Most of these are still readable, though the last of these is the way it is on purpose because there is a method to all of this madness. Consider it a little puzzle to solve if any of you want to try and dig a little further, should you choose.
Best of luck J, and don't worry. Regardless of the outcome of this match, I have a feeling we still have plenty more chances to battle each other again ahead of us.
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Looking back on his life, Aaron honestly can’t recall if he’s ever felt as stressed and lost as he does right now.
Looking back on the past few weeks, it’s become a challenge to find any point where the creative soul has actually felt like he’s had even the bare minimum of control over his life, and how restricted he’s felt because of it all has been nothing less than suffocating. He’s at least gotten some good news in the form of Alec and Liza both having fully recovered from their drug divebombings and they’re working on making sure they never relapse to the mysterious super hallucinogen that has inexplicably become a central item in the lives of the soon-to-be-one Blackbourne/Forte families.
That’s roughly about where the good news train comes to a stop, though.
Ever since 2021 has started, Aaron has been unable to get a hold of his therapist when he’s started feeling like he could really use him to help sort through a lot of the chaos he knows is brewing within his own head right now, and it’s been frustrating, to say the least. He doesn’t want to believe he’s simply been abandoned because James has never given any indication that he’s the kind of doctor that would actually do that, which itself was the entire reason he was the first one he’d ever felt comfortable talking with about what really goes on inside his head. He had to hope that James was simply tied up with something else that was extremely important, though an entire month of radio silence from the former SCW star made it harder and harder to keep that faith.
It also wasn’t helping that whoever was behind this drug, regardless of whether it was called Exestrel or Chimera or whatever, seemed to be hellbent on trying to get him hooked on it. The original bottle that was delivered to his apartment was locked away for the sole purpose of turning it over to James if necessary in case it held some clues as to how to unravel the mysteries behind it, but it wasn’t the only one he’d encountered. He’d had similar packages containing the pills delivered to him during hotel stays, he’s noticed obviously shady individuals eyeing him whenever he’s been out and about that seemed like they were waiting for an opening he wasn’t about to give them, and he’d even heard some of these figures were arrested trying to sell the stuff literally right outside Pepsi Center during the pay-per-view.
It was getting harder and harder to claim that he was just being paranoid about whoever was behind this drug issue being focused on him specifically, though considering authorities across the country were starting to become aware of the drug as its popularity spread, it was also becoming just as difficult to believe Aaron was right to try and draw some connections that no one else was seeing.
Things in SCW were also falling apart now, in a way that Aaron could have never foreseen. The parking lot incident from the last Breakdown had certainly rattled everyone, but the artist had clung to the belief that the Perfect Pack would survive and emerge from the flames stronger than ever, just as they always had. But after Owen’s blow-up on Blake after the veteran had tried to insist ‘on Kelcey’s behalf’ that their group was done, the subtle tension after he and Aaron had finished off the last of their Tag League matches that only they could pick up on, and Blake’s desperate attempt to end this ‘his way’ blowing up in his face, everyone was beginning to believe that the Perfect Pack was dead and Gio had ultimately succeeded.
Aaron refused to believe that, but the fact that Owen had not been answering his calls either once the show was in the books was also not helping his case.
He knew Owen would also be in action on the next Breakdown, and while he was confident that this whole issue would never break the friendship they’d forged from watching each other’s backs since virtually the very beginning, he wanted to make the effort to try and talk Owen out of anything that cemented Gio’s ‘victory’ after how hard they’ve fought to not let that deranged lunatic claim any sort of superiority over them with his antics.
Maybe it was the desperate wish of a desperate man who felt like he was barely clinging to the things he knew for sure he still had in his life, but there was only one path Aaron knew he could take if he wanted to attempt to put all the pieces back together.
It was for this reason that Aaron had opted to take the long road trip down to Kansas City as opposed to flying like he normally might in an effort to save time. He wasn’t concerned about having downtime to tour the city because he already knew it wasn’t going to help sort this mess out, so using the drive to try and clear his mind felt like the best alternative. Not having Liane by his side or Owen in the passenger seat to make idle conversation with definitely made it easy to feel how long the drive was taking, but it opened the door for him to seriously think through this proverbial firestorm he needed to start putting out sooner rather than later.
With all the different pieces in play, it almost felt like he was trying to assemble three different puzzles that somehow combined into one bigger picture, even if they barely seemed to have anything to do with one another. And yet, it almost felt like there was some sort of invisible thread that only he could see, leading him to the conclusion that there was a connection between them all, no matter how impossible that seemed. Maybe he was finally losing his mind after all these years. Maybe he’s been crazy this whole time and was simply in denial about it, trying to pass it off as a vast imagination that seemed to have no end in sight. Maybe he actually was on to something and the closer he got to the truth, the more he was going to have to sacrifice to-
Aaron's phone suddenly began to ring, cutting off any further thinking about the issues at hand.
His gaze moved to the cradle where his phone sat on the dashboard, the ringtone echoing throughout the car due to the bluetooth syncing up so he could keep his hands where they should be. He found himself letting it ring, unable to see who it actually was but finding it difficult to bring himself to want to talk to anybody. Of course, if it was one of the two men he'd been trying to get a hold of for some time now, then it sure as hell wouldn't be fair or polite to return the favor if their silent treatment was far from intentional.
Shaking off the dark thoughts trying to cloud his mind now, he answered at the last possible ring, feeling grateful that he could keep his full focus on the road.
"Hello?"
"Aaron? How've you been?"
He exhaled a sigh of relief without even realizing he'd done it at the familiar voice of the therapist, putting him a little more at ease. Of course, there were still a lot of questions he was going to need answered, but at least he was finally hearing back from arguably his best option for figuring any of it out.
"I've been... better, if you want me to be honest James. It's actually a relief to finally hear from you."
"Yeah, I am so sorry about the past month or so. I promise you I wasn't intentionally blowing you off or anything; I would never ignore a patient unless I absolutely could not speak to them, for some reason."
Aaron found his lips curving into a frown, taking solace in the fact that he was at least right about James being too tied up with something to be able to get in touch with him for as long as he had. He could feel a section of his mind burning with anger over this and wanting answers, but he grit his teeth and shook off the attempted hostile takeover of his mind. He resolved that whatever had happened was the doctor's business and he had no right to pry, no matter how badly part of him wanted to know exactly what had happened.
The fact that part of his mind was far too upset about the lack of contact until now certainly sent a shock through his system, though. He very rarely got angry over something like this, at least not unless he found out for certain that the reasoning of the other side was far from a justified excuse for their actions. He hadn't even felt this way towards Blake after the meeting at the church that was supposed to signal the 'end' of the Perfect Pack, even if he disagreed with the force that was fueling him.
"I know you've been needing to talk with me after hearing all of your messages, plus the ones I got from Liane as well. I might be able to cut straight to the point with one question: are you familiar at all with this new Chimera drug that's become an issue lately?"
"Unfortunately," was Aaron's reply, a little stunned that James already seemed to know. He tried to remind himself that it probably had to do with the fact that the drug was seemingly everywhere in the U.S. now, but he was clinging to the belief that James had a specific reason for bringing it up.
"I feared as much. Part of the reason I've had a hell of a time trying to get back to you is because whoever's trying to push this stuff decided that right in front of the orphanage my sister and I took over in our old hometown was prime real estate, including a lack of regard for if they got any of our kids hooked on that junk. The authorities and our staff have had a hell of a time trying to clear them out, let alone deal with the problem altogether."
"Really!? Trying to push this Godforsaken drug onto kids?”
“Sadly, I can vouch for how far some of these scumbags will go when they get desperate to push product. Between that, being part of the team researching this stuff in-depth to try and figure out exactly what we’re dealing with and how to tackle that issue, and some more attempted legal handcuffing from our old ‘friend’ Miss Black, I don’t think I’ve had a moment to so much as think in the last month.”
Aaron could only apologize, even if none of this was exactly his fault because he still felt bad for trying to pile onto James’s workload. As he said as much, a sudden thought rocked his brain, suggesting that James was somehow intentionally avoiding him, but he managed to shake it off.
Where the hell are these thoughts and emotions even coming from?
“You have no reason to apologize Aaron. You’re my patient, and not being there for you in some form when you need me is entirely my fault. But, I’ve got some time at last if you’re open for a phone session.”
“Considering I’m on the road heading to Kansas City for the next Breakdown, I won’t lie... I could use someone to vent to so I don’t get too deep into my own head.”
“Traveling solo? And I hope you aren’t actually-”
“No, I’m not, thanks to the wonders of bluetooth,” he said with a chuckle, though even over the phone he knew James would pick up right away on how forced it sounded. “But Liane’s been with her family longer than we planned because of something that happened, and Owen’s... kind of been hard to get a hold of after the last show.”
“I understand. I managed to catch a replay so I’m up to date on the mess in SCW... though I might have to see if I can find some time to try and talk some sense into my ‘old acquaintance’ Blake after all of that.”
There was a bitter tone in James’s voice as it carried over the call and throughout the car, and it was enough to send a chill down Aaron’s spine briefly. He knew enough about SCW’s history before signing to be aware of the one-time alliance between Thirteen and Blake and how it had dissolved and left only scars behind. It may have had nothing to do with him, but his head was clearly trying to interpret things bizarrely today and he was left trying to keep himself together long enough to finish both this call and this trip.
“So, SCW aside, what’s been going on?”
Aaron spent the next few minutes of his drive giving a more thorough explanation of the past month and a half of events than what he’d left in his messages, knowing the kinds of things he needed to say were better elaborated on in conversation so his therapist had the chance to probe and better understand exactly what was at hand. He told him about what had happened with Alec and Liza (T̷H̷E̴Y̷ ̴H̶A̴D̸ ̴O̴N̴L̶Y̷ ̸W̸A̴N̴T̶E̴D̵ ̸T̵O̸ ̷S̴E̸E̷ ̶W̴H̴A̵T̶ ̵Y̶O̴U̶ ̸S̵E̶E̷), his last confrontation with Nemesis inside his head (T̶R̶U̴S̴T̸ ̷O̴R̶ ̶N̷O̶ ̴T̸R̴U̷S̵T̴ ̴M̸A̶K̵E̷S̸ ̵N̶O̵ ̴D̵I̶F̴F̴E̷R̴E̶N̷C̸E̴), the meeting with Blake after what had happened in the parking lot the previous Breakdown and the packages he’d been receiving and people he swore were carefully watching him everywhere he went, the common denominator in almost all of these and the mess they’ve made of his head being the drug James has been trying to do his part in putting an end to.
(Y̴O̵U̸ ̵K̸N̶O̸W̷ ̶Y̶O̵U̴ ̵W̴A̵N̶T̸ ̷T̵O̴ ̴G̴O̵ ̸B̵E̶Y̵O̸N̷D̶-̵)
Aaron couldn’t help but let out a sharp gasp at the harsh thoughts that struck him like bolts of lightning as he filled James in, almost like some part of him was trying to create a sense of justification that didn’t deserve to exist. But no such part of him existed... at least, not that he was aware of...
“You alright, Aaron?”
“Yeah, I think... something about getting you up to speed just had some nasty thoughts making themselves known, for some reason... it’s been getting a little more frequent the more these guys have been trying to get me to actually try this shit.”
“Temptation is a hell of a monster, for sure. But you’ve done a great job of resisting and you’ve got me in your corner if you need someone to talk to when you feel like your grasp on that is slipping. Now that the legal nonsense from our fugitive con artist is off my table, outside of meetings over this Chimera junk and what it’s doing I should be a lot more available.”
“That’s a relief, because... well...”
Aaron found himself stopping, knowing full well what words he wanted to say next but finding himself uncertain as to whether or not he should put a voice to them. His thoughts briefly traveled back to when he’d considered the same thing when he was last with Liane and how easily the idea seemed to be brushed off, and there was clear anxiety over whether or not he’d be betrayed by this man who was supposed to be helping him on that same front. Thankfully, James said nothing from the other end of the phone, letting Aaron take a few deep breaths to collect himself and double-check to make sure he was still on the right track as far as his drive to Kansas City was concerned before he proceeded.
“I don’t know if this is going to sound crazy to you or not, but... it almost feels to me like this is somehow revolving around me. This drug starts showing up out of the blue as this medication that was supposedly prescribed to my youngest brother, then a few weeks later it surfaces from someone giving it to one of my fiance’s sisters, and then how often it seems like it’s trying to be pushed onto me. It feels like whoever is orchestrating this drug ring-”
“Is specifically trying to send a message to you? Because, honestly, if it wasn’t for everything you’ve told me, I would probably be having a discussion with you about the potential for paranoia and something else that might be lingering beneath that surface. But there’s a lot of pieces of your story that are way too convenient to actually rule that possibility out.”
Aaron can feel himself almost melt into the driver’s seat as he relaxes a bit for the first time in weeks, relieved at knowing for sure that at least one person seems to be on his side through this living nightmare.
“You have any idea who it might be?”
“If I can be honest? The only name that’s had any sort of serious issue with me as of late, not counting SCW, is Nancy Black. You said she’s been busy trying to screw with you, though, so I don’t know if she’s got anything to do with this. Our mystery doctor who got this junk into Alec’s system went by a different name and apparently looked nothing like her.”
“Here’s the thing... while she’s been trying to concoct new messes to try and strip me of everything I have, she’s never actually been present for any of it since she’s still kind of wanted around here for the last stunt she tried to pull like that. It’s been all anonymous tips, but she’s the only person who would even have any idea about the accusations she’s made and actually feel it’s enough to start something hoping to ruin my life and career. And considering everything she’s tried up to this point, I sure as hell wouldn’t put it past her to be behind any of this. I don’t know what sort of endgame she’s even after though because if this is all to try and create some new way to expose you so she has a stepping stone to fame and fortune, she’s causing a ton of innocent people to get hurt in the process which-”
Aaron found himself losing track of what Dr. Marsh-Asher was saying, though it certainly wasn’t because he was intentionally tuning him out. If anything, he was trying to tune himself back into what he had to say, but he couldn’t seem to focus his brain on the therapist’s voice. All his ears could pick up was static… static and a low growl that almost seemed to be intensifying in volume, even though he couldn’t possibly perceive where it was coming from. As it grew in intensity, Aaron’s head started pounding, as though someone was taking a sledgehammer to his skull. The growling started becoming more coherent, still increasing in volume and mingling with the static as Aaron had to squeeze his eyes shut, tears slowly beginning to roll down his cheeks as he started to open his mouth as though to beg for the horrible sound and headache to stop, but he couldn’t find his voice. He could only sit there, spiraling with no idea as to why, seeing horrible visions in his head that almost seemed like some sort of horrifying future awaited him, if this was a vision of the future, all the while the awful growl had turned into a deafening scream of anger that made no sense to him at all.
(P̵͎̃T̶̰̓H̷̜́N̸͚͑P̶̠͋Ù̵͉H̸̖̔À̸̪P̸̛͔V̷̦̊U̷̹͝ ̵̪̆P̵̜̑Z̷̼̍ ̸̞̄K̷̥̿L̴̢̍Ḫ̴̈́K̶̯͐ ̷̖̀S̶̗͑Ẃ̴͓K̴̜͂Q̶͈̕S̵͇͐X̸̧̄K̸̬͗D̶̮̿S̸̑ͅY̴̖̚X̵͎͐ ̸̲̊Ṣ̸̔Ć̵͕ ̷͆ͅN̸̞̈́O̶̧͊K̴͕͂N̶̪͘ ̵͉́R̴̽ͅV̸̨̌J̴̳͌P̴̠̓R̴̭͆W̷̭͝J̸̠̇C̷͇͛R̵͖̂X̸̝͗W̴̼̋ ̴̡̓R̸̮̆B̴̬̕ ̴̗̑Ḿ̷̨N̶͚̆J̵̳̒M̵̈͜ ̶̰̅Ẁ̴̻A̸͔͊Ọ̶̓U̶̧̐W̷̱̚B̷̤̈́O̶̳̎H̵̝̊W̶̱̐C̴̾ͅB̴͇̈́ ̵̦͊W̷̹͐G̷̣̾ ̷̖̀R̸̢͌S̸̘̎O̸̳͝R̴̲̽ ̸̰̌C̵͖̓G̵̢̚U̴̮͛Ą̶̉C̸̲̐H̴̯̋U̷͌͜N̵̰̓C̸͍̀I̴̧̐H̵̡͝ ̸̧͑C̶̘̏M̸̦̓ ̷̱͑X̸͖̀Y̸̖̅Ụ̵̓X̷̚ͅ ̴̘͑P̴̮͠Ṫ̷̢H̸̹̓N̷̝̾P̵̨̀Ư̷͔H̸͎͊Ȧ̵̦P̷̥͝V̶̜̈U̶̻̚ ̴̙̈́P̷͎͠Z̴͚͛ ̷̙̐K̶̳̓L̶̹͌H̷̨̎K̵̹̔ ̸̼͛S̴̙̑W̵̨̓K̸̞̇Q̴͙̽S̴̘̈́X̴̙͛Ḱ̵̯D̴̙̚S̴̩͋Y̵̩̊X̵̗̐ ̸̟̈Ș̶͌C̴̞͋ ̸͕́Ń̸̨Ő̸̮K̵͎̕N̸̺̓ ̵͕̐Ȓ̸̙V̸͖̀J̷̙͝P̸̢͆R̸̪͛W̶̳͝J̷̜͆C̴̝̈R̷̼͝X̷̘̄W̷͓̕ ̷̨͊R̷͍̾B̸̫́ ̷̟͠M̷̠͒N̸̻͝J̴̠́M̶͕̌ ̷̜̂W̸͉͒A̸͙͂Ỏ̴̭Ů̸̪W̵̩̃B̶͇͛O̸̡͌H̶̘̾W̷̠͐C̷̮̀B̵̫͂ ̶̹̕W̸̯͂G̴͙͊ ̴̫͗R̸̗͒S̸̝̽O̷̫̽R̶̯̋ ̵̡͝C̴͈͊G̸͈̾U̸͉͝À̸̟C̷̝͝H̷͖̐U̶̠̽N̵͓̈C̵̥̾I̴̗͐H̶̟̾ ̶̝̕C̵͈̈́M̴̛̞ ̷͙͠Ẍ̶̟́Y̸̦͌Ū̸̗X̶̝̍)
“Aaron!?”
Aaron’s eyes shot open as he heard James’s voice somehow pierce the God awful storm that had ripped through his mind, right at the same time his ears finally picked up on the distinct sound of a semi-truck honking its horn. For a moment, the creative soul swore his life flashed before his eyes before his body seemed to break free of his mental paralysis and assume survival instincts. His hands quickly twisted the steering wheel, jerking his car out of the wrong lane he had ended up in and just barely missing being flattened by the eighteen-wheeler his rental would’ve stood no chance against. Because of the sudden action and not being one hundred percent there mentally, he ended up taking the car beyond the marker, and when instinct kicked in again as he slammed his foot on the brakes, he at least managed to take enough speed out of the car that when it slammed against the guardrail, the car only sustained a few scrapes and a destroyed passenger-side rearview mirror. This was the point where he seemed to finally snap out of whatever haze he’d fallen into, and once he got his bearings of exactly what had happened, he could only fight to keep from hyperventilating as he tried to get himself back in order, a cold sweat covering his entire body and a feeling of dread solidifying itself in his chest and gut.
“Aaron? Aaron! Are you alright? What happened!?”
Aaron’s eyes slowly drifted down to where his phone was cradled, realizing that everything was at least mostly intact, though James was certainly going to need to hear about this. He was definitely going to be handed his ass for the damage to the car once he turned it in, but at least he was alive. Though, he kind of didn’t fully feel like it at that moment, not when even his imagination seemed to have no explanation as to what the hell had just happened. Ultimately, there was only one way he could even fathom to at least let James have any sort of idea as to the events that just unfolded.
“I’m fine… I’m alive… but I think… I think… I just had another episode, like the one I told you I had in my apartment. This one was much, much worse though… and happened at the worst possible time…”
The Perfect Pack is dead…
Giovanni Aries has won…
We failed, and that’s the end of everything for us…
You want me to be honest? I think anyone who believes any of those statements is simply trying to paint whatever picture makes them feel better, because the truth is either far beyond their desire to comprehend it, or they simply can’t be bothered to give a damn about the minuscule amount of effort it takes to actually look beyond the walls of their own little worlds for a change.
Let’s talk about Last Grasp of Reality for a second. Could the night have gone better, in retrospect? Absolutely, I’m not even going to argue that point. Facts are facts: Blake tried to seek vengeance his way, and I didn’t talk him out of it only because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to change his mind, and he ended up paying the price, unfortunately. Owen and I ended up at least closing out the Tag League on a high note, but Owen has made it clear our run as a team is not continuing for the time being. Peyton felt that her place right now is by Kelcey’s side instead of in the ring, and given she was closer to Kelcey than either Owen or I might ever be, I can’t blame her for having the guts to put family and personal matters before her career.
But to anyone out there who thinks that’s all there is to the story, then let me make a few things clear. First off, despite whatever anyone else says, the Perfect Pack is FAR from dead. Sorry Blake, but that decision does not belong to you, nor does it belong to Gio or Bree or Sienna or anyone else that has some sort of problem with us. Only Owen, Peyton, Alistaire, Kelcey, and myself can make that decision. Yeah, maybe Peyton’s understandably taking some time off, and, yeah, maybe Owen feels he’s turned his back on the Pack because of everything that’s happened, but as far as I’m concerned? This isn’t the end… it’s going to take a lot more than that to truly call this the end of us. Maybe it’d be better to consider this a break because Owen wants to focus on getting himself sorted out and I don’t blame him or Peyton. But he and I are still able to compete at nothing less than our absolute best, I can promise you Peyton will be back before you know it and even Alistaire too in time. Kelcey can still talk and move and even if she doesn’t return, that doesn’t mean she won’t still have the rest of her life ahead of her and she’ll still be there to talk to if we need it.
And Owen, I want you to listen carefully to me bud: I know exactly where you are right now. During the whole mess I went through with Shilo, I was right there myself. Don’t beat yourself up over Shilo’s nonsense because I’m the one who never asked for help, thinking I could handle it on my own, especially since that clown knows deep down and is just afraid to admit that he’d rather take a tied series with me because he can’t best me one more time to have the big ending he would rather have. Everything that Gio pulled… it’s not because of you, it’s because that man is so far gone he’s trying to make connections that only make sense to him in a desperate bid to kill what he truly can’t destroy, no matter how hard he tries. You being upset because you feel powerless to help the people you love as they’re hurt… I’ve been there, I’m still there right now, and I could never blame you for simply doing your best to be my friend and look out for me as I’ve tried to do for you. I’m not going to forgive you… because there’s nothing for me to forgive. You know I understand you Owen… that’s why we’ve always had each other’s backs and it wasn’t until the Tag League happened where we attempted to tag together frequently and see where it might lead.
For what it’s worth? I think we made a damn fine tag team, all things considered, and you know if you need an ally for any reason, I won’t be too far away.
With that said, I’m sure Kandis is probably about ready to throw up after hearing all of that, which wouldn’t surprise me with how ‘allergic’ she seems to anything that even resembles a shred of decency when it comes to human beings.
I’m not blind though… I know exactly why this match is taking place Kandis, even though I’m sure you’ll no doubt try to shove it down my throat a few hundred times to try and get your point across. Because Peyton chose to stay by Kelcey’s side, you didn’t get your match with her at the pay-per-view, and you’ve been throwing a fit about it ever since. You made it clear on Twitter that you see this match as your chance to ‘finish the job of ending the Perfect Pack.’ Except… that would imply you’re choosing to ignore everything I said and the fact that I’m not its only member that’s still choosing to stand here and fight. It’s just easier for you to say that once you beat me, that’s all she wrote and you’re the one who gets all the credit for doing that deed.
Not going to lie Kandis… for as much as you want to argue otherwise, it’s your own fault when you constantly prove to everyone that finding the easiest way to try and pull yourself out of the hole you and Tommy both dug for yourselves is the way you want to do things.
I’m not going to sit here and say you don’t work for what you want, because if that were the case, you wouldn’t even be in this business, to begin with. The real problem is that instead of pushing yourself harder to make up for lost ground when things aren’t going your way for a change, you decide to instead either complain about how everyone isn’t just bowing down and kissing your oversized ass because you’ve done more than enough ‘work’ to be given a new opportunity or you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong because someone, and maybe it’s not entirely Sasha calling those shots, feels that some people are more deserving than you right now.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that sends you off on an angry tirade because I couldn’t possibly understand, but I understand a lot better than you think I do Kandis. After all, when you and Tommy decided to crash the battle royal back at Last Laugh, I was one of the wrestlers you went after, and I know why. Naturally, like so many others who opened their mouths to talk before that match, you feel I didn’t earn that opportunity… never mind the fact that between the Chamber where you did manage to outlast me and that show, I more than proved myself competing alongside Owen for the Tag League while you and Tommy found out that maybe your days of tag team dominance are behind you now. Did you think the Tag League just existed in its own confined little bubble, separate from the rest of SCW’s affairs?
I can only imagine you probably believe that with that tournament starting to come to a close, it’s only a matter of time before you and Tommy can just waltz back into title contention… never mind the new teams that have come on board after that ball got rolling or the teams that are actually sticking together that had better runs than you two did.
Sometimes, foresight can be just as much of a bitch as hindsight.
By the way, I heard how much you wanted to grill Peyton about her questioning you and Tommy wanting to simply abandon your last Tag League match because it ‘meant nothing’ and because Tommy was hurting… I find that last one interesting especially considering I’ve seen enough of Tommy’s career to know he’s survived far worse and kept fighting on. But yeah, maybe that match meant nothing as far as the tournament was concerned, just like Owen and I were in that exact same scenario with our match at Last Grasp of Reality. We went out there and competed regardless, not because of some sense of morals, but because of what it could possibly mean for the future. Had things turned out any different, I would honestly say that our efforts during our run would easily make him and me more worthy of a Tag Title shot down the line compared to you and Tommy. Considering you guys have the loss from them now, do you think management is going to think you two are better suited to jump into contendership over the likes of Konrad and Dylan, the team that did win that match?
Yeah, Tommy got attacked before the match, and yeah, that’s not fair. But there’s this funny little thing called a double-standard you’re conveniently ignoring, because I know damn well if you attacked someone beforehand then you’d still demand they face you as scheduled because it means a free win for you, yet when you’re on the receiving end of it, all of a sudden its bullshit and everyone else is in the wrong. You know, I could have easily just decided that I wasn’t going to finish the battle royal after you and Tommy attacked me mid-match, but I did anyway. I could have stayed at home and missed Rise to Greatness two years ago when someone tried to kill me just days before the show, but I marched down to that ring, ribs taped up, and still gave beyond a hundred percent that night. I could have even taken time off after that show to heal, but I kept fighting on and I have the win over Syren on pay-per-view to prove that I didn’t just throw in the towel because I was hurting.
I would have thought that somewhere in your MMA training you’d have learned the concept of missing every single shot you don’t take, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it.
Let me make a suggestion to you Kandis: don’t treat this match as a way to send a message to Peyton, because even if that might be the idea management had for booking us together, I have every reason all my own to make sure MY knee is the one meeting YOUR skull come Breakdown. I haven’t forgotten everything you said to me leading into Trios time last year when I thought my biggest concern would be trying to earn a place in that tournament. I haven’t forgotten that you’re the one who eliminated me from the Chamber, and I don’t think I need to go into detail about your little stunt with the battle royal again. Consider this my one and only warning: you come into this match thinking I’m going to be more concerned about anything else other than giving you the reality check you’re long overdue for?
I promise that by the time that bell rings, your bitching and moaning about Peyton and every problem you have with her will be nothing but a forgotten memory, and once again, you’ll only have yourself to blame for failing to get the job done.
Best of luck J, and don't worry. Regardless of the outcome of this match, I have a feeling we still have plenty more chances to battle each other again ahead of us.
----------------------------------
Looking back on his life, Aaron honestly can’t recall if he’s ever felt as stressed and lost as he does right now.
Looking back on the past few weeks, it’s become a challenge to find any point where the creative soul has actually felt like he’s had even the bare minimum of control over his life, and how restricted he’s felt because of it all has been nothing less than suffocating. He’s at least gotten some good news in the form of Alec and Liza both having fully recovered from their drug divebombings and they’re working on making sure they never relapse to the mysterious super hallucinogen that has inexplicably become a central item in the lives of the soon-to-be-one Blackbourne/Forte families.
That’s roughly about where the good news train comes to a stop, though.
Ever since 2021 has started, Aaron has been unable to get a hold of his therapist when he’s started feeling like he could really use him to help sort through a lot of the chaos he knows is brewing within his own head right now, and it’s been frustrating, to say the least. He doesn’t want to believe he’s simply been abandoned because James has never given any indication that he’s the kind of doctor that would actually do that, which itself was the entire reason he was the first one he’d ever felt comfortable talking with about what really goes on inside his head. He had to hope that James was simply tied up with something else that was extremely important, though an entire month of radio silence from the former SCW star made it harder and harder to keep that faith.
It also wasn’t helping that whoever was behind this drug, regardless of whether it was called Exestrel or Chimera or whatever, seemed to be hellbent on trying to get him hooked on it. The original bottle that was delivered to his apartment was locked away for the sole purpose of turning it over to James if necessary in case it held some clues as to how to unravel the mysteries behind it, but it wasn’t the only one he’d encountered. He’d had similar packages containing the pills delivered to him during hotel stays, he’s noticed obviously shady individuals eyeing him whenever he’s been out and about that seemed like they were waiting for an opening he wasn’t about to give them, and he’d even heard some of these figures were arrested trying to sell the stuff literally right outside Pepsi Center during the pay-per-view.
It was getting harder and harder to claim that he was just being paranoid about whoever was behind this drug issue being focused on him specifically, though considering authorities across the country were starting to become aware of the drug as its popularity spread, it was also becoming just as difficult to believe Aaron was right to try and draw some connections that no one else was seeing.
Things in SCW were also falling apart now, in a way that Aaron could have never foreseen. The parking lot incident from the last Breakdown had certainly rattled everyone, but the artist had clung to the belief that the Perfect Pack would survive and emerge from the flames stronger than ever, just as they always had. But after Owen’s blow-up on Blake after the veteran had tried to insist ‘on Kelcey’s behalf’ that their group was done, the subtle tension after he and Aaron had finished off the last of their Tag League matches that only they could pick up on, and Blake’s desperate attempt to end this ‘his way’ blowing up in his face, everyone was beginning to believe that the Perfect Pack was dead and Gio had ultimately succeeded.
Aaron refused to believe that, but the fact that Owen had not been answering his calls either once the show was in the books was also not helping his case.
He knew Owen would also be in action on the next Breakdown, and while he was confident that this whole issue would never break the friendship they’d forged from watching each other’s backs since virtually the very beginning, he wanted to make the effort to try and talk Owen out of anything that cemented Gio’s ‘victory’ after how hard they’ve fought to not let that deranged lunatic claim any sort of superiority over them with his antics.
Maybe it was the desperate wish of a desperate man who felt like he was barely clinging to the things he knew for sure he still had in his life, but there was only one path Aaron knew he could take if he wanted to attempt to put all the pieces back together.
It was for this reason that Aaron had opted to take the long road trip down to Kansas City as opposed to flying like he normally might in an effort to save time. He wasn’t concerned about having downtime to tour the city because he already knew it wasn’t going to help sort this mess out, so using the drive to try and clear his mind felt like the best alternative. Not having Liane by his side or Owen in the passenger seat to make idle conversation with definitely made it easy to feel how long the drive was taking, but it opened the door for him to seriously think through this proverbial firestorm he needed to start putting out sooner rather than later.
With all the different pieces in play, it almost felt like he was trying to assemble three different puzzles that somehow combined into one bigger picture, even if they barely seemed to have anything to do with one another. And yet, it almost felt like there was some sort of invisible thread that only he could see, leading him to the conclusion that there was a connection between them all, no matter how impossible that seemed. Maybe he was finally losing his mind after all these years. Maybe he’s been crazy this whole time and was simply in denial about it, trying to pass it off as a vast imagination that seemed to have no end in sight. Maybe he actually was on to something and the closer he got to the truth, the more he was going to have to sacrifice to-
Aaron's phone suddenly began to ring, cutting off any further thinking about the issues at hand.
His gaze moved to the cradle where his phone sat on the dashboard, the ringtone echoing throughout the car due to the bluetooth syncing up so he could keep his hands where they should be. He found himself letting it ring, unable to see who it actually was but finding it difficult to bring himself to want to talk to anybody. Of course, if it was one of the two men he'd been trying to get a hold of for some time now, then it sure as hell wouldn't be fair or polite to return the favor if their silent treatment was far from intentional.
Shaking off the dark thoughts trying to cloud his mind now, he answered at the last possible ring, feeling grateful that he could keep his full focus on the road.
"Hello?"
"Aaron? How've you been?"
He exhaled a sigh of relief without even realizing he'd done it at the familiar voice of the therapist, putting him a little more at ease. Of course, there were still a lot of questions he was going to need answered, but at least he was finally hearing back from arguably his best option for figuring any of it out.
"I've been... better, if you want me to be honest James. It's actually a relief to finally hear from you."
"Yeah, I am so sorry about the past month or so. I promise you I wasn't intentionally blowing you off or anything; I would never ignore a patient unless I absolutely could not speak to them, for some reason."
Aaron found his lips curving into a frown, taking solace in the fact that he was at least right about James being too tied up with something to be able to get in touch with him for as long as he had. He could feel a section of his mind burning with anger over this and wanting answers, but he grit his teeth and shook off the attempted hostile takeover of his mind. He resolved that whatever had happened was the doctor's business and he had no right to pry, no matter how badly part of him wanted to know exactly what had happened.
The fact that part of his mind was far too upset about the lack of contact until now certainly sent a shock through his system, though. He very rarely got angry over something like this, at least not unless he found out for certain that the reasoning of the other side was far from a justified excuse for their actions. He hadn't even felt this way towards Blake after the meeting at the church that was supposed to signal the 'end' of the Perfect Pack, even if he disagreed with the force that was fueling him.
"I know you've been needing to talk with me after hearing all of your messages, plus the ones I got from Liane as well. I might be able to cut straight to the point with one question: are you familiar at all with this new Chimera drug that's become an issue lately?"
"Unfortunately," was Aaron's reply, a little stunned that James already seemed to know. He tried to remind himself that it probably had to do with the fact that the drug was seemingly everywhere in the U.S. now, but he was clinging to the belief that James had a specific reason for bringing it up.
"I feared as much. Part of the reason I've had a hell of a time trying to get back to you is because whoever's trying to push this stuff decided that right in front of the orphanage my sister and I took over in our old hometown was prime real estate, including a lack of regard for if they got any of our kids hooked on that junk. The authorities and our staff have had a hell of a time trying to clear them out, let alone deal with the problem altogether."
"Really!? Trying to push this Godforsaken drug onto kids?”
“Sadly, I can vouch for how far some of these scumbags will go when they get desperate to push product. Between that, being part of the team researching this stuff in-depth to try and figure out exactly what we’re dealing with and how to tackle that issue, and some more attempted legal handcuffing from our old ‘friend’ Miss Black, I don’t think I’ve had a moment to so much as think in the last month.”
Aaron could only apologize, even if none of this was exactly his fault because he still felt bad for trying to pile onto James’s workload. As he said as much, a sudden thought rocked his brain, suggesting that James was somehow intentionally avoiding him, but he managed to shake it off.
Where the hell are these thoughts and emotions even coming from?
“You have no reason to apologize Aaron. You’re my patient, and not being there for you in some form when you need me is entirely my fault. But, I’ve got some time at last if you’re open for a phone session.”
“Considering I’m on the road heading to Kansas City for the next Breakdown, I won’t lie... I could use someone to vent to so I don’t get too deep into my own head.”
“Traveling solo? And I hope you aren’t actually-”
“No, I’m not, thanks to the wonders of bluetooth,” he said with a chuckle, though even over the phone he knew James would pick up right away on how forced it sounded. “But Liane’s been with her family longer than we planned because of something that happened, and Owen’s... kind of been hard to get a hold of after the last show.”
“I understand. I managed to catch a replay so I’m up to date on the mess in SCW... though I might have to see if I can find some time to try and talk some sense into my ‘old acquaintance’ Blake after all of that.”
There was a bitter tone in James’s voice as it carried over the call and throughout the car, and it was enough to send a chill down Aaron’s spine briefly. He knew enough about SCW’s history before signing to be aware of the one-time alliance between Thirteen and Blake and how it had dissolved and left only scars behind. It may have had nothing to do with him, but his head was clearly trying to interpret things bizarrely today and he was left trying to keep himself together long enough to finish both this call and this trip.
“So, SCW aside, what’s been going on?”
Aaron spent the next few minutes of his drive giving a more thorough explanation of the past month and a half of events than what he’d left in his messages, knowing the kinds of things he needed to say were better elaborated on in conversation so his therapist had the chance to probe and better understand exactly what was at hand. He told him about what had happened with Alec and Liza (T̷H̷E̴Y̷ ̴H̶A̴D̸ ̴O̴N̴L̶Y̷ ̸W̸A̴N̴T̶E̴D̵ ̸T̵O̸ ̷S̴E̸E̷ ̶W̴H̴A̵T̶ ̵Y̶O̴U̶ ̸S̵E̶E̷), his last confrontation with Nemesis inside his head (T̶R̶U̴S̴T̸ ̷O̴R̶ ̶N̷O̶ ̴T̸R̴U̷S̵T̴ ̴M̸A̶K̵E̷S̸ ̵N̶O̵ ̴D̵I̶F̴F̴E̷R̴E̶N̷C̸E̴), the meeting with Blake after what had happened in the parking lot the previous Breakdown and the packages he’d been receiving and people he swore were carefully watching him everywhere he went, the common denominator in almost all of these and the mess they’ve made of his head being the drug James has been trying to do his part in putting an end to.
(Y̴O̵U̸ ̵K̸N̶O̸W̷ ̶Y̶O̵U̴ ̵W̴A̵N̶T̸ ̷T̵O̴ ̴G̴O̵ ̸B̵E̶Y̵O̸N̷D̶-̵)
Aaron couldn’t help but let out a sharp gasp at the harsh thoughts that struck him like bolts of lightning as he filled James in, almost like some part of him was trying to create a sense of justification that didn’t deserve to exist. But no such part of him existed... at least, not that he was aware of...
“You alright, Aaron?”
“Yeah, I think... something about getting you up to speed just had some nasty thoughts making themselves known, for some reason... it’s been getting a little more frequent the more these guys have been trying to get me to actually try this shit.”
“Temptation is a hell of a monster, for sure. But you’ve done a great job of resisting and you’ve got me in your corner if you need someone to talk to when you feel like your grasp on that is slipping. Now that the legal nonsense from our fugitive con artist is off my table, outside of meetings over this Chimera junk and what it’s doing I should be a lot more available.”
“That’s a relief, because... well...”
Aaron found himself stopping, knowing full well what words he wanted to say next but finding himself uncertain as to whether or not he should put a voice to them. His thoughts briefly traveled back to when he’d considered the same thing when he was last with Liane and how easily the idea seemed to be brushed off, and there was clear anxiety over whether or not he’d be betrayed by this man who was supposed to be helping him on that same front. Thankfully, James said nothing from the other end of the phone, letting Aaron take a few deep breaths to collect himself and double-check to make sure he was still on the right track as far as his drive to Kansas City was concerned before he proceeded.
“I don’t know if this is going to sound crazy to you or not, but... it almost feels to me like this is somehow revolving around me. This drug starts showing up out of the blue as this medication that was supposedly prescribed to my youngest brother, then a few weeks later it surfaces from someone giving it to one of my fiance’s sisters, and then how often it seems like it’s trying to be pushed onto me. It feels like whoever is orchestrating this drug ring-”
“Is specifically trying to send a message to you? Because, honestly, if it wasn’t for everything you’ve told me, I would probably be having a discussion with you about the potential for paranoia and something else that might be lingering beneath that surface. But there’s a lot of pieces of your story that are way too convenient to actually rule that possibility out.”
Aaron can feel himself almost melt into the driver’s seat as he relaxes a bit for the first time in weeks, relieved at knowing for sure that at least one person seems to be on his side through this living nightmare.
“You have any idea who it might be?”
“If I can be honest? The only name that’s had any sort of serious issue with me as of late, not counting SCW, is Nancy Black. You said she’s been busy trying to screw with you, though, so I don’t know if she’s got anything to do with this. Our mystery doctor who got this junk into Alec’s system went by a different name and apparently looked nothing like her.”
“Here’s the thing... while she’s been trying to concoct new messes to try and strip me of everything I have, she’s never actually been present for any of it since she’s still kind of wanted around here for the last stunt she tried to pull like that. It’s been all anonymous tips, but she’s the only person who would even have any idea about the accusations she’s made and actually feel it’s enough to start something hoping to ruin my life and career. And considering everything she’s tried up to this point, I sure as hell wouldn’t put it past her to be behind any of this. I don’t know what sort of endgame she’s even after though because if this is all to try and create some new way to expose you so she has a stepping stone to fame and fortune, she’s causing a ton of innocent people to get hurt in the process which-”
Aaron found himself losing track of what Dr. Marsh-Asher was saying, though it certainly wasn’t because he was intentionally tuning him out. If anything, he was trying to tune himself back into what he had to say, but he couldn’t seem to focus his brain on the therapist’s voice. All his ears could pick up was static… static and a low growl that almost seemed to be intensifying in volume, even though he couldn’t possibly perceive where it was coming from. As it grew in intensity, Aaron’s head started pounding, as though someone was taking a sledgehammer to his skull. The growling started becoming more coherent, still increasing in volume and mingling with the static as Aaron had to squeeze his eyes shut, tears slowly beginning to roll down his cheeks as he started to open his mouth as though to beg for the horrible sound and headache to stop, but he couldn’t find his voice. He could only sit there, spiraling with no idea as to why, seeing horrible visions in his head that almost seemed like some sort of horrifying future awaited him, if this was a vision of the future, all the while the awful growl had turned into a deafening scream of anger that made no sense to him at all.
(P̵͎̃T̶̰̓H̷̜́N̸͚͑P̶̠͋Ù̵͉H̸̖̔À̸̪P̸̛͔V̷̦̊U̷̹͝ ̵̪̆P̵̜̑Z̷̼̍ ̸̞̄K̷̥̿L̴̢̍Ḫ̴̈́K̶̯͐ ̷̖̀S̶̗͑Ẃ̴͓K̴̜͂Q̶͈̕S̵͇͐X̸̧̄K̸̬͗D̶̮̿S̸̑ͅY̴̖̚X̵͎͐ ̸̲̊Ṣ̸̔Ć̵͕ ̷͆ͅN̸̞̈́O̶̧͊K̴͕͂N̶̪͘ ̵͉́R̴̽ͅV̸̨̌J̴̳͌P̴̠̓R̴̭͆W̷̭͝J̸̠̇C̷͇͛R̵͖̂X̸̝͗W̴̼̋ ̴̡̓R̸̮̆B̴̬̕ ̴̗̑Ḿ̷̨N̶͚̆J̵̳̒M̵̈͜ ̶̰̅Ẁ̴̻A̸͔͊Ọ̶̓U̶̧̐W̷̱̚B̷̤̈́O̶̳̎H̵̝̊W̶̱̐C̴̾ͅB̴͇̈́ ̵̦͊W̷̹͐G̷̣̾ ̷̖̀R̸̢͌S̸̘̎O̸̳͝R̴̲̽ ̸̰̌C̵͖̓G̵̢̚U̴̮͛Ą̶̉C̸̲̐H̴̯̋U̷͌͜N̵̰̓C̸͍̀I̴̧̐H̵̡͝ ̸̧͑C̶̘̏M̸̦̓ ̷̱͑X̸͖̀Y̸̖̅Ụ̵̓X̷̚ͅ ̴̘͑P̴̮͠Ṫ̷̢H̸̹̓N̷̝̾P̵̨̀Ư̷͔H̸͎͊Ȧ̵̦P̷̥͝V̶̜̈U̶̻̚ ̴̙̈́P̷͎͠Z̴͚͛ ̷̙̐K̶̳̓L̶̹͌H̷̨̎K̵̹̔ ̸̼͛S̴̙̑W̵̨̓K̸̞̇Q̴͙̽S̴̘̈́X̴̙͛Ḱ̵̯D̴̙̚S̴̩͋Y̵̩̊X̵̗̐ ̸̟̈Ș̶͌C̴̞͋ ̸͕́Ń̸̨Ő̸̮K̵͎̕N̸̺̓ ̵͕̐Ȓ̸̙V̸͖̀J̷̙͝P̸̢͆R̸̪͛W̶̳͝J̷̜͆C̴̝̈R̷̼͝X̷̘̄W̷͓̕ ̷̨͊R̷͍̾B̸̫́ ̷̟͠M̷̠͒N̸̻͝J̴̠́M̶͕̌ ̷̜̂W̸͉͒A̸͙͂Ỏ̴̭Ů̸̪W̵̩̃B̶͇͛O̸̡͌H̶̘̾W̷̠͐C̷̮̀B̵̫͂ ̶̹̕W̸̯͂G̴͙͊ ̴̫͗R̸̗͒S̸̝̽O̷̫̽R̶̯̋ ̵̡͝C̴͈͊G̸͈̾U̸͉͝À̸̟C̷̝͝H̷͖̐U̶̠̽N̵͓̈C̵̥̾I̴̗͐H̶̟̾ ̶̝̕C̵͈̈́M̴̛̞ ̷͙͠Ẍ̶̟́Y̸̦͌Ū̸̗X̶̝̍)
“Aaron!?”
Aaron’s eyes shot open as he heard James’s voice somehow pierce the God awful storm that had ripped through his mind, right at the same time his ears finally picked up on the distinct sound of a semi-truck honking its horn. For a moment, the creative soul swore his life flashed before his eyes before his body seemed to break free of his mental paralysis and assume survival instincts. His hands quickly twisted the steering wheel, jerking his car out of the wrong lane he had ended up in and just barely missing being flattened by the eighteen-wheeler his rental would’ve stood no chance against. Because of the sudden action and not being one hundred percent there mentally, he ended up taking the car beyond the marker, and when instinct kicked in again as he slammed his foot on the brakes, he at least managed to take enough speed out of the car that when it slammed against the guardrail, the car only sustained a few scrapes and a destroyed passenger-side rearview mirror. This was the point where he seemed to finally snap out of whatever haze he’d fallen into, and once he got his bearings of exactly what had happened, he could only fight to keep from hyperventilating as he tried to get himself back in order, a cold sweat covering his entire body and a feeling of dread solidifying itself in his chest and gut.
“Aaron? Aaron! Are you alright? What happened!?”
Aaron’s eyes slowly drifted down to where his phone was cradled, realizing that everything was at least mostly intact, though James was certainly going to need to hear about this. He was definitely going to be handed his ass for the damage to the car once he turned it in, but at least he was alive. Though, he kind of didn’t fully feel like it at that moment, not when even his imagination seemed to have no explanation as to what the hell had just happened. Ultimately, there was only one way he could even fathom to at least let James have any sort of idea as to the events that just unfolded.
“I’m fine… I’m alive… but I think… I think… I just had another episode, like the one I told you I had in my apartment. This one was much, much worse though… and happened at the worst possible time…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A lot of people came out of Last Grasp of Reality believing many different things…The Perfect Pack is dead…
Giovanni Aries has won…
We failed, and that’s the end of everything for us…
You want me to be honest? I think anyone who believes any of those statements is simply trying to paint whatever picture makes them feel better, because the truth is either far beyond their desire to comprehend it, or they simply can’t be bothered to give a damn about the minuscule amount of effort it takes to actually look beyond the walls of their own little worlds for a change.
Let’s talk about Last Grasp of Reality for a second. Could the night have gone better, in retrospect? Absolutely, I’m not even going to argue that point. Facts are facts: Blake tried to seek vengeance his way, and I didn’t talk him out of it only because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to change his mind, and he ended up paying the price, unfortunately. Owen and I ended up at least closing out the Tag League on a high note, but Owen has made it clear our run as a team is not continuing for the time being. Peyton felt that her place right now is by Kelcey’s side instead of in the ring, and given she was closer to Kelcey than either Owen or I might ever be, I can’t blame her for having the guts to put family and personal matters before her career.
But to anyone out there who thinks that’s all there is to the story, then let me make a few things clear. First off, despite whatever anyone else says, the Perfect Pack is FAR from dead. Sorry Blake, but that decision does not belong to you, nor does it belong to Gio or Bree or Sienna or anyone else that has some sort of problem with us. Only Owen, Peyton, Alistaire, Kelcey, and myself can make that decision. Yeah, maybe Peyton’s understandably taking some time off, and, yeah, maybe Owen feels he’s turned his back on the Pack because of everything that’s happened, but as far as I’m concerned? This isn’t the end… it’s going to take a lot more than that to truly call this the end of us. Maybe it’d be better to consider this a break because Owen wants to focus on getting himself sorted out and I don’t blame him or Peyton. But he and I are still able to compete at nothing less than our absolute best, I can promise you Peyton will be back before you know it and even Alistaire too in time. Kelcey can still talk and move and even if she doesn’t return, that doesn’t mean she won’t still have the rest of her life ahead of her and she’ll still be there to talk to if we need it.
And Owen, I want you to listen carefully to me bud: I know exactly where you are right now. During the whole mess I went through with Shilo, I was right there myself. Don’t beat yourself up over Shilo’s nonsense because I’m the one who never asked for help, thinking I could handle it on my own, especially since that clown knows deep down and is just afraid to admit that he’d rather take a tied series with me because he can’t best me one more time to have the big ending he would rather have. Everything that Gio pulled… it’s not because of you, it’s because that man is so far gone he’s trying to make connections that only make sense to him in a desperate bid to kill what he truly can’t destroy, no matter how hard he tries. You being upset because you feel powerless to help the people you love as they’re hurt… I’ve been there, I’m still there right now, and I could never blame you for simply doing your best to be my friend and look out for me as I’ve tried to do for you. I’m not going to forgive you… because there’s nothing for me to forgive. You know I understand you Owen… that’s why we’ve always had each other’s backs and it wasn’t until the Tag League happened where we attempted to tag together frequently and see where it might lead.
For what it’s worth? I think we made a damn fine tag team, all things considered, and you know if you need an ally for any reason, I won’t be too far away.
With that said, I’m sure Kandis is probably about ready to throw up after hearing all of that, which wouldn’t surprise me with how ‘allergic’ she seems to anything that even resembles a shred of decency when it comes to human beings.
I’m not blind though… I know exactly why this match is taking place Kandis, even though I’m sure you’ll no doubt try to shove it down my throat a few hundred times to try and get your point across. Because Peyton chose to stay by Kelcey’s side, you didn’t get your match with her at the pay-per-view, and you’ve been throwing a fit about it ever since. You made it clear on Twitter that you see this match as your chance to ‘finish the job of ending the Perfect Pack.’ Except… that would imply you’re choosing to ignore everything I said and the fact that I’m not its only member that’s still choosing to stand here and fight. It’s just easier for you to say that once you beat me, that’s all she wrote and you’re the one who gets all the credit for doing that deed.
Not going to lie Kandis… for as much as you want to argue otherwise, it’s your own fault when you constantly prove to everyone that finding the easiest way to try and pull yourself out of the hole you and Tommy both dug for yourselves is the way you want to do things.
I’m not going to sit here and say you don’t work for what you want, because if that were the case, you wouldn’t even be in this business, to begin with. The real problem is that instead of pushing yourself harder to make up for lost ground when things aren’t going your way for a change, you decide to instead either complain about how everyone isn’t just bowing down and kissing your oversized ass because you’ve done more than enough ‘work’ to be given a new opportunity or you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong because someone, and maybe it’s not entirely Sasha calling those shots, feels that some people are more deserving than you right now.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that sends you off on an angry tirade because I couldn’t possibly understand, but I understand a lot better than you think I do Kandis. After all, when you and Tommy decided to crash the battle royal back at Last Laugh, I was one of the wrestlers you went after, and I know why. Naturally, like so many others who opened their mouths to talk before that match, you feel I didn’t earn that opportunity… never mind the fact that between the Chamber where you did manage to outlast me and that show, I more than proved myself competing alongside Owen for the Tag League while you and Tommy found out that maybe your days of tag team dominance are behind you now. Did you think the Tag League just existed in its own confined little bubble, separate from the rest of SCW’s affairs?
I can only imagine you probably believe that with that tournament starting to come to a close, it’s only a matter of time before you and Tommy can just waltz back into title contention… never mind the new teams that have come on board after that ball got rolling or the teams that are actually sticking together that had better runs than you two did.
Sometimes, foresight can be just as much of a bitch as hindsight.
By the way, I heard how much you wanted to grill Peyton about her questioning you and Tommy wanting to simply abandon your last Tag League match because it ‘meant nothing’ and because Tommy was hurting… I find that last one interesting especially considering I’ve seen enough of Tommy’s career to know he’s survived far worse and kept fighting on. But yeah, maybe that match meant nothing as far as the tournament was concerned, just like Owen and I were in that exact same scenario with our match at Last Grasp of Reality. We went out there and competed regardless, not because of some sense of morals, but because of what it could possibly mean for the future. Had things turned out any different, I would honestly say that our efforts during our run would easily make him and me more worthy of a Tag Title shot down the line compared to you and Tommy. Considering you guys have the loss from them now, do you think management is going to think you two are better suited to jump into contendership over the likes of Konrad and Dylan, the team that did win that match?
Yeah, Tommy got attacked before the match, and yeah, that’s not fair. But there’s this funny little thing called a double-standard you’re conveniently ignoring, because I know damn well if you attacked someone beforehand then you’d still demand they face you as scheduled because it means a free win for you, yet when you’re on the receiving end of it, all of a sudden its bullshit and everyone else is in the wrong. You know, I could have easily just decided that I wasn’t going to finish the battle royal after you and Tommy attacked me mid-match, but I did anyway. I could have stayed at home and missed Rise to Greatness two years ago when someone tried to kill me just days before the show, but I marched down to that ring, ribs taped up, and still gave beyond a hundred percent that night. I could have even taken time off after that show to heal, but I kept fighting on and I have the win over Syren on pay-per-view to prove that I didn’t just throw in the towel because I was hurting.
I would have thought that somewhere in your MMA training you’d have learned the concept of missing every single shot you don’t take, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it.
Let me make a suggestion to you Kandis: don’t treat this match as a way to send a message to Peyton, because even if that might be the idea management had for booking us together, I have every reason all my own to make sure MY knee is the one meeting YOUR skull come Breakdown. I haven’t forgotten everything you said to me leading into Trios time last year when I thought my biggest concern would be trying to earn a place in that tournament. I haven’t forgotten that you’re the one who eliminated me from the Chamber, and I don’t think I need to go into detail about your little stunt with the battle royal again. Consider this my one and only warning: you come into this match thinking I’m going to be more concerned about anything else other than giving you the reality check you’re long overdue for?
I promise that by the time that bell rings, your bitching and moaning about Peyton and every problem you have with her will be nothing but a forgotten memory, and once again, you’ll only have yourself to blame for failing to get the job done.