11-02-2018, 02:49 AM
11-06-2018, 09:25 AM
OOC: So... I might have gone a bit overboard with this one, but once I got into writing it I just couldn't stop. It feels so good being able to write like this again to be honest. Even though, like my match last week, Scarlet Grey does appear in a 'dream/imagination spot' I still double checked with her handler on a few things to both have a more accurate portrayal of her in that state this time around as well as to make sure something I wanted to do outside of that didn't conflict with whatever they were planning on doing for their match on next week's Breakdown. Best of luck!
-----------------------------------
If there was ever a time for Aaron to feel like he might be getting some semblance of control over himself again, he was very grateful that now was that time.
Before he and Liane had made their way to Oklahoma City for the previous Breakdown, they’d taken a detour out to California to enjoy a Halloween party hosted by Kelcey Wallace, and while the two of them certainly had a great time and the creative soul could feel himself finding peace among the spirit of his favorite holiday of the year, the night hadn’t been as smooth as they’d hoped. Both before and after the party, the effects of the ongoing issues with Scarlet Grey finally bubbled to the surface as Liane had a small breakdown driven by the taunting of her more wicked self inside her head that made them a little late in order to avoid being billed for damages by the hotel they were staying at. For a while, the events of the party itself even became a blur as Aaron ended up having a nightmare once they’d come back that left his face so drained of color you’d swear somebody drawn on it with chalk. Thankfully, the couple managed to work through it all to recompose themselves, and while they did so they also remembered exactly why the party seemed like a big blank spot in both their memories.
For as much as they enjoyed getting to dance together and chat with other wrestlers that would normally prefer to verbally run someone like Aaron down or immediately try to grind him into dust, their worst fears came true when Scarlet sauntered in, dressed in the most revealing succubus costume you’ve ever seen, and attempted to forcibly cut in for a dance with Aaron. Thankfully, no major incidents came out of this one as Kelcey’s husband, Chris Cannon, immediately broke things up and escorted Scarlet off the premises, but the night still felt tainted by the whole ordeal as Aaron was rattled from the fact that Scarlet tried to drag him into the kind of ‘dance’ you normally only see in strip clubs and Liane had to be restrained by Owen and his girlfriend Jaina only to avoid giving the crimson-haired temptress any further ammo to try and tilt the scales of SCW’s handling of these problems in her favor.
Thankfully, Aaron made the most out of the opening he had to try and turn things around while daylight presented itself to him in escaping this seemingly never-ending cave of nightmares. When Breakdown came around, Aaron had pulled off the biggest win of his career thus far when he overcame the technical proficiency of Alistaire Allocco and not only got some momentum on his side again, but also walked away finally being able to say he defeated a former World Champion which was a huge feather in his proverbial cap in and of itself. Granted, the victory felt a tiny bit tainted as despite wrestling like he was on his A-game, Alistaire took advantage of some of the holds he had applied to try and preach about why Aaron should consider giving Scarlet a chance, something he found out had been a request from the witch herself in the most ‘innocent’ way she could manage earlier in the night.
While the very idea of Scarlet still trying to get involved in his affairs made his blood boil, he had things moving in the right direction again. For the next two weeks the SCW roster was divided for a double world tour with half touring through Europe while the other half got to entertain in Australia before wrapping up in South Africa, and to Aaron’s relief SCW officials had made the wise decision to put Scarlet on a different tour than him. There was still the matter of her partner Ruby Amarant being on the same tour as him, but considering she didn’t play things the same way Scarlet did and would have her own hands full from a very likely ticked off Allocco, this felt like a two week vacation where Aaron could simply relax and focus on wrestling and living life his way again. That even extended to the idea of lending Owen a helping hand as he stepped up to try and curb his friend’s ‘Wonderland problem’ by tackling Giovanni Aries while he wasn’t able to bother the poor kid.
“Aussie now why people make such a big deal out of traveling the world. I don’t think I could’ve asked for better koalaty time with you Aaron.”
“Heh… not gonna lie, it feels really good getting to explore beyond the States again hon.”
Of course, before the tour officially started with the impending Breakdown, there was a different kind of wonderland that Aaron wanted to explore, and despite the fact she was still banned from backstage access at SCW events Liane wasn’t going to miss the chance to join him and travel abroad for the first time in her life. Knowing that Scarlet was on an entirely different continent whether she liked it or not made being able to enjoy this all the easier, as he hadn’t been beyond the borders of North America since the night he’d gone to England and wrestled the match with Owen that ultimately led to them forming a friendship with one another. While he’d be lying if he said he didn’t wish he could’ve been the one in Europe and Scarlet on the Australian tour, ultimately he felt like he preferred this because Australia was new territory for him to explore, which in addition to getting to be just as awestruck as Liane was about all the things he’d never otherwise see also meant a new source of inspiration for him to be able to put to use. After all, some new pieces he could sell that he knew people who very much wanted to visit Australia but may never get the chance to would be interested in having kept him going on the creativity and design front while also making sure he still had a stable source of income… after all, with how increasing unpredictable the Scarlet situation was becoming, any backup plans in the event he felt he needed to consider a course of action he really didn’t want to go through with just to be rid of her would be welcome.
The couple had already made the most of the time they had in Sydney before Aaron would have to shift gears for Breakdown. From getting to see the famous Sydney Opera House (one of the places Liane hoped to be able to perform comedy at one day as a sign that she’d really made it) to exploring some of the various local zoos and aquariums and all the animals they would rarely find back home in a truly natural habitat, getting to just relax and take in some of the parks both of the amusement and normal variety and even stopping at the Pylon Lookout for a panoramic view of the city, everything just felt like the issues that had plagued them both back home and during SCW’s travels were melting away as their bond only strengthened. With Liane also getting the chance to come up with some new (but non-offensive) jokes and puns revolving around Australia while Aaron dusted off his old sketchbook and made the most of some of the opportunities he had to sketch out ideas he planned on making better use of once the tour was done and this thing was loaded with concepts, this truly felt like the perfect vacation they both needed far more than they ever realized.
Aaron wished this moment could just last forever, but only in his impressive imagination could that ever hope to come true.
The two of them had returned to their hotel and decided to grab some lunch at the restaurant within after touring around a bit more for the morning, looking to try a bit more of the local cuisine while figuring out their plans for the afternoon. While there were still plenty of other cities in Australia and beyond they’d get to explore as this tour continued for the next week, they both knew they wouldn’t have as much time to enjoy it with Aaron having house show duties to attend to on all of those days, and with Breakdown being tomorrow this felt like their last chance to really make the most of this break they’d found themselves getting. They’d already settled on visiting a few of the art museums for Aaron to take in as well as a chance to explore Kings Cross, which Liane sounded interested in as it sounded like an area built just for her to some degree, but it still felt like there was something more they could do that they’d likely never get the chance to try again, and that’s what they were trying to figure out.
“I don’t know Liane… as creative as my mind can be, I feel like I’d prefer more simple things to indulge in while I’m out and about, even if we’re on an entirely new continent.”
“I get it, and maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve never been abroad before while you’ve spent time in Japan and gotten to visit England and stuff, but I just feel like we can do one thing that would be super exciting and unforgettable. I just… can’t think of what that thing could be.”
“As long as you’re happy, then as far as I’m concerned this is the best trip I’ve ever taken. It’s not often I truly get to enjoy exploring a new place with someone else. I mean… I had Pete with me in Japan where we first met, but I don’t really count that since by the time we crossed paths a lot of Japan felt more like home than one big sight to see.”
“I’m just glad we’ve got this chance to spend so much time together. I know we try to do that a lot anyways, but it’s… I don’t know… felt a bit more awkward lately.”
Aaron nodded as they both knew the reason why, but they were trying their hardest not to talk about it. Still, as Aaron tried to take a moment to focus on making more progress with the consumption of his lunch, his mind suddenly felt the urge to latch onto everything he’d been trying so hard to ignore. Was he really safe here in Sydney with Scarlet forced to tour with the other half of the roster to be as far away from him as possible? Attempting to brace himself for whatever she hoped to try next to ‘win his affections’ was proving to be a challenge for even his endless array of overly creative scenarios, especially when he constantly had to guess whether or not she’d try something very direct or pull a similar stunt to last week by using her ‘charms’ to con someone else into doing the dirty work for her. He wouldn’t put it past Ruby to have some kind of plan to ensure that even with the main issue miles and miles away, he wasn’t going to be as scot free as he’d hoped.
One look at his face and Liane knew her boyfriend was heavily distracted now, and she had a bad feeling she knew why. Still, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to try and lighten the mood a bit for his benefit. With him being so distracted by the thoughts swimming in his head like the fish they’d seen in the aquariums earlier, she reached into the pocket of her jacket and grabbed a small pack of vegemite she’d bought without Aaron noticing. With the blank stare that proved he was far from paying attention to reality right now, she quickly and quietly replaced the dipping sauce he’d gotten for his shrimp with the stuff. He was none the wiser though, his mind too preoccupied now with the fact that outside of whatever Ruby might attempt, he still had ‘crazy’ on his menu in the form of Giovanni, a man Aaron might’ve enjoyed facing more if he hadn’t decided to try and assault Owen over his ‘loyalties’ for god knows what reason. It also didn’t put him at ease when he realized that Owen and Cannon were both teaming up on next week’s Breakdown in London, and while Scarlet had her own match to worry about he wouldn’t put it past her to attack them all because of what happened at the party just to try and send some sort of message to him.
His head was starting to hurt from the stress of overthinking this mess just because it looked like he was in the clear, and he needed something to snap him out of it and fast. Thankfully, he got it the moment his shrimp hit his tongue and he realized he was not tasting the sauce he ordered, which got him to spit the shrimp out and start chugging the pop he’d ordered as though his mouth were on fire. Liane couldn’t help but laugh as Aaron took some deep breaths to regain his senses, glancing over and realizing exactly what had happened before shooting a not-very-harsh glare in his girlfriend’s direction.
“Sorry Aaron, I couldn’t help it! The guy who sold these vegemite packets to me said they were best used as a spread and nothing else, and you looked like you were thinking too much again.”
“Fair point Liane. I guess now you’ve got a new prank to try on people when we head back home, and I needed that more than you might think.”
“Still thinking about that red-haired rat even though there’s several countries standing between us now?”
“It’s hard not to… I know we feel like we’re in paradise right now, but I doubt she’s just going to let this Breakdown pass without trying something. Even if she’s not here, Ruby is. All I can do is hope that after last week, Alistaire doesn’t mind trying to contort her into a pretzel or something because I’m going to have enough to worry about trying to show Gio why he needs to back off from my friend.”
Liane’s lips briefly curled into a frown. Even though she was still barred from being backstage with him, which frustrated her greatly, she wasn’t too big of a fan of the kind of stress being in the wrestling business could bring to Aaron at times, especially when he’d admitted to her several times over by now that he and stress mixed about as well as oil and water. Her eyes drifted over and caught something that seemed to bring her smile back as she slowly stood up to ensure she had her love’s undivided attention.
“Well then, if you’re willing to play ‘Alice’ and allow me to be the ‘Mad Hatter’ then I think I’ve got a ‘Wonderland’ we can explore while we still have time. The best part would be that it would take us along the ocean floor, a ‘Wonderland’ we’d never get to explore otherwise!”
Aaron raised an eyebrow until she pointed his attention toward what she’d seen: a bulletin board near the entrance to the restaurant, specifically a big flier advertising a group scuba diving session regardless of whether you were a first-timer or had been exploring the deep for years. It was set up for that afternoon at Shelly Beach, and considering Kings Cross sounded better to explore at night and they had plenty of time tomorrow morning to visit the museums before Aaron had to head over to the Acer Arena, it sounded like the perfect thing to both keep their minds off the issues at hand just a little longer and fulfill that missing piece of doing something they’d never normally get to do. Not to mention, despite the beaches being a big attraction while in Australia they were both still hesitant on taking that next step of being in one another’s presence in anything less than what they were wearing now, but wetsuits and scuba gear would help to bypass that while still allowing them a bit of beach fun.
“You know, I think that actually sounds like the perfect thing to indulge in that we could both enjoy and really use right now! I should probably go drop my sketchbook back in our room though.”
“Tell you what: you can go back and relax for a tiny bit if you want. I’ll call and see if we can get some spots for this thing before I go do a little bit of shopping. I… kind of promised some of my siblings I’m still on good terms with that I’d get some things for them whenever I’m able to see them again.”
Aaron agreed with this, also opting not to press the subject when Liane brought up her family. He knew she still had some siblings she talked with and still cared for, but both of them knew their respective families were a bit of a sore subject for the time being. The two of them embraced and exchanged a quick kiss before paying for lunch and parting ways, Aaron heading up to their room while Liane headed out into the city with her phone pressed to her ear in regards to their newfound afternoon plans. As Aaron entered the room he couldn’t help but flop down onto the bed and pull his sketchbook from the backpack he’d been hauling around with him, taking some time to really soak in the drawings he’d made knowing he was going to have a field day with these when he got a chance to return home. His imagination had already kicked into overdrive on how to best enhance these to both fit his unique perspective and highlight the natural beauty of Australia’s most populous city. He even let his imagination start painting some of those ideas in the background of his mind when he decided to shift gears and check through his phone, wanting to keep tabs on some of the commission work he still needed to go when he got back as well as remind himself of what awaited him as he shook his head over Gio’s tweets towards Owen while making no acknowledgment of the test that would be awaiting him tomorrow.
Nothing was going to ruin this tour for Aaron, no matter what it took. Not the lingering Scarlet issue, not anything waiting for him back home, and certainly not a man obsessed with what he saw in his own head that Aaron could easily put a more creative spin on is he desired to do so.
I know this is going to sound a bit odd, but for the first time in months… I feel at ease.
I can very easily point to any number of reasons as to why, from the fact that outside the ring I’m lending a hand on a very big project I’m hoping you guys will all come to love somewhere down the line but can’t reveal any details about just yet, to inside the ring where I can finally, at long last, say that I’ve managed to defeat a former World Champion… even if I wish it were kind of under better circumstances. I know, most people will call a win a win and tell me to just take the momentum and run with it, and believe me I don’t plan on taking my foot off the gas pedal now, but I still can’t help but feel as though part of my win was tainted last week. All that said, however, I think there’s a very big reason many will unanimously agree is the most likely cause for this peace I seem to find myself in all of a sudden.
I’m getting the chance to explore and compete in Australia for the very first time, and a certain red-headed stalker that doesn’t understand ‘no’ truly does mean ‘no’ is in an entirely different continent for the next two weeks.
I’m not going to lie… you have no idea how liberating it feels to be able to walk through the locker room and prepare for a match without worrying if I’m going to run into a woman I just don’t want to see no matter what she is, or often isn’t, wearing, or having to be distracted by the idea that she’s going to find some way to tamper with me simply trying to compete and earn my place around here like everybody else. Last week I made it clear all I truly wanted was a chance, and thankfully SCW listened to me and here I am, competing for the second week in a row and not having to put up with a game I never asked to be a part of in the first place.
Speaking of said game… Alistaire Allocco, if you’re listening to this at all, I sincerely apologize about last week. I know you wanted nothing more than to compete against me and I was more than happy to return the favor, but you ended up becoming another pawn in this game Scarlet doesn’t realize I’m not interested in playing with her. Between getting my girlfriend, who joins me backstage as a means of support because that’s how much she cares for me, banned from that right and trying to use what makes you a good man against you just to get to me, I’m becoming more and more disgusted by the depths she’s willing to sink to all because for one reason or another, she simply can’t take a hint. I’m sorry I had to be the reality check you needed to snap out of her spell, and I truly pray that our paths cross again someday where we can compete without having to worry about any B.S. like that to find out who truly is the better man between us when we’re both a hundred percent focused. In the meantime… please give her friend Ruby more than enough to keep her occupied so I can keep my focus right where it needs to be to kick off this tour:
Delivering another much needed reality check to a man that can no longer find his way out of the Tulgey Wood.
It’s sad in a way… there was a point once upon a time when I felt like I could look forward to this match. A man whose entire being is driven by the essence of creativity and imagination doing battle with a man that preaches the glory of Wonderland and his duty as its protector against the tyranny of the so-called Lizard King? That sounds like the plot to a story I’d love to write someday if I ever heard one, and regardless of what kind of show it took place on I’d have even been more than happy to dive deep into my endless creative well to give this determined soldier an opponent truly fitting of the picture that plays out within his own mind.
Unfortunately, that all had to change when he decided to attack someone I call a friend.
I highly doubt Giovanni Aries is fully aware of this fact, or would even care if he did know, but I know that forgotten in the shuffle of the mess I’ve been trying to escape from as of late is that Owen Cruze is a good friend of mine and we promised one another that in a landscape dominated by people more than willing to slit the throats of the new guys if it meant bettering their own standing around here, we would have each other’s backs. I may have been tied up being with my own lunatic for far longer than I ever would’ve liked, but I don’t have a problem using my break from that madness to keep my promise even if it means having to pacify a madman of a different variety.
After all, that’s the very concept of loyalty in a nutshell.
This is where our problem begins Gio, because your loyalty towards the Wonderland you constantly preach to the masses of SCW is about to collide with the loyalty I have to someone who deserves better than having to contend week in and week out with someone who, surprisingly unlike the artist with the never-ending imagination in this story, has long since lost touch with reality. Hell, even as I say this to you, I doubt any of it is getting through to you. After all, if I’m willing to fight by Owen’s side and he stands against you, then I’m sure you’ve long since painted me as just another soldier of the Lizard King blindly fighting a war that threatens to destroy everything you’ve vowed to defend.
Here’s a newsflash for you dude: just like there are many different sequels and adaptations of the famous work that you owe your entire line of thinking to, there are an infinite amount of Wonderlands. As far as I’m concerned, my Wonderland is built on the ideas of creative freedom and the determination to fight to spread that message beyond its borders. In that respect, I’m the hero fighting against the anarchist looking to burn everything to the ground all because he sees my idea as false in favor of his own and only sees his hated enemy surrounding him at every turn, not realizing that the longer he fights this war the more he’s destroying everything he wants to hold dear. Even if we take the shiny prizes that are SCW’s various championships out of the equation, what happens if you defeat Mr. D the ‘Lizard King’ Gio?
Do you think people will just accept your message that easily?
And if not, what will you do without the platform that gave you the chance to spread that message in the first place?
I consider myself lucky Gio… the war I fight for my own Wonderland can continue on outside of SCW’s borders, though I cannot argue that the company both satisfies my childhood dreams and gives me a valuable vehicle to try and make my case better than anywhere else could. But you? As much as you want to see it as the vile kingdom that needs to fall, SCW is a ‘necessary evil’ that, once eliminated, also destroys everything you’ve built your entire concept of Wonderland on. Just like with the real world around us, the more you remain stuck in your ways feeling that no other solution will possibly give you the desired outcome, the more you watch as everything begins to crumble around you until it’s too late to save any of it. Considering the kind of person I wanted to see you as Gio, it truly saddens me to know that at the end of the day, you are no different than the rest of the people I struggle against every waking moment of my life just so my voice can be heard, no matter how much you want to dress yourself up to be everything I would hope to find in a dream opponent.
The only person who truly needs to wake up before it’s too late in this story is you Gio… and just like Alice’s constant growing and shrinking in all the old tales were a metaphor for growing up, my fight against you on Breakdown will symbolize far more than just how dedicated I am to helping a friend in need…
It’s going to be the looking glass you need to be broken in order to understand that without opening your mind and accepting ideas other than what only you believe in, your Wonderland will never be able to survive no matter how hard you try to fight.
Aaron didn’t know why, but he suddenly found himself in what looked like one of those giant hedge mazes, and these particular hedges all had beautiful red roses sprouting from them. As he quietly wandered along through the maze, he tried to ponder how on earth he’d gotten here. As far as he was aware he was certainly in his imagination, both because he didn’t recall seeing anything about giant rose-covered hedge mazes in Sydney and because he was all alone, and the only time he wanted that to happen while on this tour was when he had to attend to Breakdown, as much as he wish that didn’t have to be the case. He didn’t recall falling asleep either… then again, that was the case with the nightmare he’d had following the Halloween party as well, so for all he knew he’d either taken a nap while Liane was doing her shopping or simply zoned out to try and relax within the confines of his mind.
He just wish he knew more than that, as once again his mind was drawing blanks on details immediately prior to this.
This certainly seemed like a better use of his imagination though than some twisted nightmare about an indie horror game. Roses that smelled divine, clear blue skies lit up by a radiant sun… Aaron felt relaxed as he plucked one of the roses and took a sniff. He almost couldn’t help but chuckle when he realized that ‘divine smell’ these roses were giving off almost reminded him of some kind of cherry-flavored treat, confirming he was somewhere in the vast world of his own mental design.
“Almost makes me wish I could bring Liane here… this place truly seems like a peaceful dream.”
As Aaron pondered this thought while twirling the rose between his fingers, he rounded the first corner he came to and took a few more steps before stopping dead in his tracks. While nothing seemed out of the ordinary, at least as far as this was concerned, he could swear his ears picked up the sound of a horn from somewhere in the distance. As he started walking away, he tried to concentrate on listening carefully, and sure enough his ears began to pick up even more sounds. Shouting, the shuffling of cards, something banging against something else… something about these seemed familiar, but still off at the same time. With curiosity getting the better of him, he was at least thankful that as his pace quickened it seemed like whatever math within this maze he was on was fairly straightforward as every twist and turn seemed to be leading him towards the commotion with no forks to throw him off or slow him down. One more corner turned, and he found himself almost running right into a door, which seemed horribly misplaced as it appeared to be designed for an interior and not this outside area. If he had the ability to climb the rose hedges to try and see beyond without opening it he would have, but it became very clear fairly quickly they were not designed for climbing. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, he gently cracked open the door and was surprised when it swang out of his grasp and opened violently, blinding him as it seemed like nothing but a bright light was on the other side.
“I don’t understand why I’m even standing trial in the first place! If you ask me, this all seems like one big farce.”
“That explains why you’re even bothering to argue a case when you clearly don’t have one.”
Aaron recognized those voices, for better or worse, and he could already feel a knot forming in his stomach that wasn’t sitting well with him. As soon as his vision returned to him, the picture was very clear: he found himself standing atop what looked like one of the rose hedges from the maze, except this one for whatever unexplainable reason seemed sturdy enough to hold his weight. He was also a fair ways up, as if the hedge had grown to roughly fifty feet tall or so. Even still, he could clearly see and hear everything happening down below as the hedges encircled a small grassy clearing that was elaborately decorated like an outdoor courtroom. The sound of cards shuffling was clearly the living playing cards that were likely moving into place, though Aaron oddly noticed that only cards from the suit of hearts was present. Seated at the judge’s stand, gavel banging against it was a sight that almost made Aaron want to rip his stomach out to keep from vomiting up his lunch: of course, it had to be Scarlet, and what didn’t help was the fact that she was dressed in very skimpy lingerie that really only consisted of black strings tying together small red hearts that ensured nothing was exposed. Then, standing across from her at a slightly elevated stand and wearing a yellow version of a very familiar dress was…
“Liane!”
This made Aaron feel uneasy as everything fell into place… of course, having to contend with Giovanni Aries was going to lead his mind into the territory of the infamous tale of Alice in Wonderland, though for the time being what he was seeing appeared to line up mostly with the Disney version as opposed to the original tale. He didn’t like where this was going though, as even if this went the Disney route with Liane in the Alice role and Scarlet as the Queen of Hearts meaning Liane would get away unscathed, something felt very off about all of this and he wanted to take the risk out of this nonsense immediately. He called out Liane’s name once or twice more, but no one seemed to hear him. Figuring it was because he was so ridiculously high up even if he could see and hear everything down below as though it were right in front of his face, he made the attempt to leap… only to find himself rebounding off an invisible wall that kept him confined to this area.
“Ow! What the hell!?”
“Sorry, we can’t have you barging into the middle of this trial. If you think you know the Wonderland well enough, then maybe you already know how this’ll end.”
Aaron raised a confused eyebrow as he turned his head and found a small white rabbit addressing him, apparently trapped up here with him. Even if he could draw an obvious parallel to this bunny being a stand in for the Wonderland-obsessed maniac he’d be sharing the ring with soon enough, it was still an off-putting sight to see this rabbit wearing a fur coat that looked like it was made from one of its own kind, sitting and smoking from a hookah as though it were the caterpillar from the story instead. The rabbit took a deep drag before blowing some of the smoke into the air, forming an arrow that directed the creative soul’s gaze back down to the ‘trial’ happening below, where he watched ‘Queen’ Scarlet stand up and start running her hands along her scantily-clad body.
“You honestly think you deserve the love of a man far too good for you when you can’t even get past your own modesty? Even if you had the goods to backup your feelings, you still don’t measure up to someone more worthy of the king’s affection.”
“He isn’t your king, and love isn’t about sex appeal or whatever you think you can do in the bedroom. I love him with all my heart because-”
“Silence!” Scarlet grabbed her gavel and slammed it down again. “No one has more heart than the Queen of Hearts, and you have no right to tell ME what I cannot have! That’s why I declare you guilty!”
Before Liane could even protest of any infamous declaration of ‘off with her head’ could be made, the card soldiers almost immediately surrounded Liane’s stand. Aaron attempted to move in again, but found the invisible wall still present as he pounded against it, shooting the white rabbit a glare as he shook his head with wispy trails of smoke following every motion, trying to tell him there was nothing he could do. Before his heart sank in acceptance that all hope was lost, he noticed Liane reaching into the front pocket of her dress and producing what looked like a chunk of mushroom, and a smile graced his lips as he remembered one of the bizarre universal plot points that rang true in virtually every incarnation of the old story. Even if it didn’t have the same symbolism here, he was willing to forgive it this time as he watched Liane pop it into her mouth and swallow, and sure enough she began to swell in size. Bigger and bigger she grew as the card soldiers began to clamor and flee around her feet, afraid of being stepped on. It came to an end when the top of Liane’s head was parallel to the ‘ground’ where Aaron stood, and while his cheering went unheard it seemed clear that this… whatever it truly was, would have a happy ending.
“Is that it? I’m afraid the whole ‘bigger is better’ argument doesn’t work as far as I’m concerned unless you’ve got something to flaunt along with it. But if that’s the game you want to play, allow me to show you your real sentence.”
Whatever confident grin the giant Liane had on her face vanished as the sky suddenly began to turn a very angry red, and Aaron could almost feel like the mere presence of this evil sky was making his flesh boil for some reason. His body sank to its knees on its own, a foreign pain beginning to consume him as his vision began to grow blurry. Part of him hoped that was a sign that he was snapping out of this while things were still in a somewhat positive position, but as his vision slowly began to return, he saw a sight that might as well have made his heart stop. While the Liane of this dream/imaginary picture being about fifty feet tall now was certainly worth feeling relief, the sight of ‘Queen’ Scarlet being roughly five times that size by the look of things and still growing filled him with every sense of dread imaginable, even ones he was certain didn’t exist. Before he could attempt anything, regardless of whether or not it was in vain, he heard the voice of the rabbit again right in his ear, smoke billowing from its mouth and almost burning through the side of his face.
“Do you really think anything you do will help her? You brought her into this mess in the first place, and now Scarlet’s going to destroy her and have her way with you whether you like it or not. How does it feel, being the monster that ruined such an innocent girl’s life because the wrestling business isn’t the stress safe haven you thought it would be.”
That voice… Aaron knew that voice. What started off as something all its own had slowly shifted into the familiar twisted tone of his own voice that belonged to only one entity… Nemesis. He thought he picked up traces of it from before but it didn’t truly fit, but this time there was no mistaken the sound of the entity embodying all of his stress and negative emotions. He whipped his head in that direction, but all he saw was a rabbit-shaped puff of smoke that was drifting away into obscurity. Almost with a renewed fire in his heart he slammed a fist against the invisible wall… and gasped as he saw that his hand truly looked like it had started melting. As if wanting to become the proverbial looking glass, the wall suddenly became visible with enough of a reflection for Aron to take a good look at himself… though all he could see was an abomination that looked like something straight out of a David Cronenberg movie, almost like a human being had its flesh melted before being fused with a slug and heaven knows what else. Even as he screamed at this revelation, it almost sounded like an inhuman roar from some creature that just should not be.
Trying to slam all of his thoughts about whatever the hell was going on back on track, he decided to deal with whatever happened to him later as he tried to return his attention to what was going on beyond the grotesque reflection he was being presented of himself, though the site that met his eyes didn’t make him feel any better. The giant Liane was looking up in pure horror as the utterly colossal ‘Queen’ Scarlet Grey apparently decided to end this in a fashion that truly suited her perverted nature. It was impossible to tell how big she’d grown, but it was big enough that her chest, already overly bloated at a normal size, was slowly descending like a pair of meteors that would wipe out everything beneath them. Liane could only tremble as she stood frozen in fear, and there was nothing Aaron could do but watch in horror as everything that felt like his whole world was wiped out in a fashion he wished he’d never come to know.
In that moment, it felt like his whole world literally shattered around him, and although he couldn’t make out exactly what had happened, he did recall two eerily familiar voices calling out through the carnage:
“Don’t give in to these games yet!”
“Yeah! Giving up isn’t like you, and it’s sure as hell no fun for us!”
“Hopefully someday I’ll be able to get gifts for everyone again…”
Liane couldn’t help but sigh to herself, wishing things with her family were better. There was a point in time when they were all happy and united, and she still had no answers as to why things had turned so sour for her with them. Even before the April Fools pranking, she could accept being seen as just ‘annoying’ for practicing her comedy with them as her audience, but they never even bothered to ask her to tone it down if that truly was the case. Besides, all siblings could be annoying to one another. It was almost like an unwritten sibling rule. At least she’d found someone who understood what she was going through, even if she didn’t like thinking about Aaron’s own family situation.
“Aaron, I’m back! And I’ve got some-”
As Liane entered into their room, she cut herself off with a small scream and immediately dropped everything, making a mental note to clean that up later. Right now there was a far more urgent issue at hand: kneeling on the floor with broken glass laying around him was her boyfriend, and while she could thank every deity above that it didn’t look like he was hurt in any fashion, it was still a horrifying sight to come back to. As she got closer, trying her best not to step on any of the shards scattered all about, she noticed that it looked like his phone had been thrown through the large mirror that came with the place, though surprisingly the phone itself still looked intact. As Aaron would say in any other scenario: thank god for 3D printed plastic that felt truly bulletproof. The man in question slowly turned his head towards his terrified girlfriend, eyes seemingly drifting between his zoned out state and a focused expression, before he finally lunged towards her feebly and she held him tight in a hug, using all of her surprising amount of strength that came from years of hauling her own props around and dealing with ten siblings to keep him upright.
“You’re alright! Oh God, you’re alright!”
“Aaron… what happened?”
“I… I think I zoned out, trying to retreat to my little sanctuary in my imagination. But all I saw was things like that nightmare… it was Alice in Wonderland themed and there was a colossal skimpy attired Scarlet and…”
Aaron became nearly incomprehensible after that, not necessarily blubbering like a baby as he wasn’t crying at all but it definitely seemed like even he was at a loss for whatever he’d just seen, real or not. Judging by the confusion in which he regarded the mess around him that, unlike last time, was definitely going to need to be paid for, it seemed like whatever he’d done took place while he was more focused on the inner workings of his mind, and seeing what had happened as the world around him never stopped even if he wasn’t paying attention to it rattled him even more. Still, Liane held him tight, and for good measure she even pulled him into arguably the deepest kiss the two had ever shared, all for the purpose of restoring him back to a mostly calm frame of mind. Thankfully, it worked when she felt him returning the kiss as a thank you for being there with him, and she carefully guided the two of them through the proverbial minefield so she could sit him down on the bed before they separated so she could start trying to clean up the mess.
“OK… what’s the last thing you do remember before whatever happened inside your imagination?”
“I remember… I started looking through my phone to catch up on some texts and emails. I think something caught my eye that must’ve caught my eye that had me trying to retreat into my own head.”
Liane was already retrieving Aaron’s phone as he mentioned that, and as she flipped it over to find the screen thankfully still intact, she also saw what she figured likely triggered his desire to want to escape from reality. From an unrecognizable number, he’d received a text that turned out to be Scarlet sending him a picture of herself in the smallest and most revealing UK flag bikini she could find, a nod to the fact that the Breakdown she’d be on next week would emanate from London. A familiar anger surged through her senses, but she tried to keep the symptoms of her darker thoughts from emerging by simply deleting the text before tossing her boyfriend his phone back.
“No wonder you wanted to hide in your imagination… that bitch decided to try and send you pics of herself to make up for not being here to bug us in person! The wonderland stuff is obviously because of who you’re facing, but you’ll probably need to get your number changed somehow when we get back home since she knows it now from hijacking that thing.”
“Of course she’s the catalyst… but I think there’s a little more to it than that.”
Liane raised an eyebrow as Aaron let out a sigh, trying to piece together whatever was going on inside his head. Obviously all of these horrific sequences were themed around the problems Scarlet was causing for him and even incorporating some of her antics into the equation as well, and hints towards Giovanni’s obsession no doubt alluded to whatever that madman sought to inflict upon him tomorrow night, but there was still more lying beneath the surface, and he was starting to figure it out. After all… who would benefit the most from him being in a constant state of stress and mental instability? And why was another set of entities virtually forgotten about until seemingly just now?
“The last time my thoughts were in this much disarray was back during the height of being caught in the middle of my problems with my family. Nemesis, as the embodiment I created for all of it, is getting stronger and trying to overwhelm me again, and he’s using the mess Scarlet’s trying to make out of our relationship for her own selfish desires as his fuel. But… I swear I heard Dreambender and Gleeful actually encouraging me somewhere in there too…”
If Aaron had never painted the picture of some of the inner workings of his imagination to her, Liane would’ve easily assumed he was crazy. While part of her mind still wanted to lean in that direction, she still had a rare feeling of understanding for whatever was happening and was going to support her love through it no matter what. She abandoned the cleanup efforts for the time being to carefully sit by his side on the bed, the two leaning against one another for support as she carefully took his hand in hers.
“What do you think it means?”
“For the first time in regards to my own creativity… I’m not exactly sure. If I had to hazard a guess though… I think Nemesis is waging a war with the Twin Stars for control of my imagination, and unfortunately I’m caught in the middle of it all.”
-----------------------------------
If there was ever a time for Aaron to feel like he might be getting some semblance of control over himself again, he was very grateful that now was that time.
Before he and Liane had made their way to Oklahoma City for the previous Breakdown, they’d taken a detour out to California to enjoy a Halloween party hosted by Kelcey Wallace, and while the two of them certainly had a great time and the creative soul could feel himself finding peace among the spirit of his favorite holiday of the year, the night hadn’t been as smooth as they’d hoped. Both before and after the party, the effects of the ongoing issues with Scarlet Grey finally bubbled to the surface as Liane had a small breakdown driven by the taunting of her more wicked self inside her head that made them a little late in order to avoid being billed for damages by the hotel they were staying at. For a while, the events of the party itself even became a blur as Aaron ended up having a nightmare once they’d come back that left his face so drained of color you’d swear somebody drawn on it with chalk. Thankfully, the couple managed to work through it all to recompose themselves, and while they did so they also remembered exactly why the party seemed like a big blank spot in both their memories.
For as much as they enjoyed getting to dance together and chat with other wrestlers that would normally prefer to verbally run someone like Aaron down or immediately try to grind him into dust, their worst fears came true when Scarlet sauntered in, dressed in the most revealing succubus costume you’ve ever seen, and attempted to forcibly cut in for a dance with Aaron. Thankfully, no major incidents came out of this one as Kelcey’s husband, Chris Cannon, immediately broke things up and escorted Scarlet off the premises, but the night still felt tainted by the whole ordeal as Aaron was rattled from the fact that Scarlet tried to drag him into the kind of ‘dance’ you normally only see in strip clubs and Liane had to be restrained by Owen and his girlfriend Jaina only to avoid giving the crimson-haired temptress any further ammo to try and tilt the scales of SCW’s handling of these problems in her favor.
Thankfully, Aaron made the most out of the opening he had to try and turn things around while daylight presented itself to him in escaping this seemingly never-ending cave of nightmares. When Breakdown came around, Aaron had pulled off the biggest win of his career thus far when he overcame the technical proficiency of Alistaire Allocco and not only got some momentum on his side again, but also walked away finally being able to say he defeated a former World Champion which was a huge feather in his proverbial cap in and of itself. Granted, the victory felt a tiny bit tainted as despite wrestling like he was on his A-game, Alistaire took advantage of some of the holds he had applied to try and preach about why Aaron should consider giving Scarlet a chance, something he found out had been a request from the witch herself in the most ‘innocent’ way she could manage earlier in the night.
While the very idea of Scarlet still trying to get involved in his affairs made his blood boil, he had things moving in the right direction again. For the next two weeks the SCW roster was divided for a double world tour with half touring through Europe while the other half got to entertain in Australia before wrapping up in South Africa, and to Aaron’s relief SCW officials had made the wise decision to put Scarlet on a different tour than him. There was still the matter of her partner Ruby Amarant being on the same tour as him, but considering she didn’t play things the same way Scarlet did and would have her own hands full from a very likely ticked off Allocco, this felt like a two week vacation where Aaron could simply relax and focus on wrestling and living life his way again. That even extended to the idea of lending Owen a helping hand as he stepped up to try and curb his friend’s ‘Wonderland problem’ by tackling Giovanni Aries while he wasn’t able to bother the poor kid.
“Aussie now why people make such a big deal out of traveling the world. I don’t think I could’ve asked for better koalaty time with you Aaron.”
“Heh… not gonna lie, it feels really good getting to explore beyond the States again hon.”
Of course, before the tour officially started with the impending Breakdown, there was a different kind of wonderland that Aaron wanted to explore, and despite the fact she was still banned from backstage access at SCW events Liane wasn’t going to miss the chance to join him and travel abroad for the first time in her life. Knowing that Scarlet was on an entirely different continent whether she liked it or not made being able to enjoy this all the easier, as he hadn’t been beyond the borders of North America since the night he’d gone to England and wrestled the match with Owen that ultimately led to them forming a friendship with one another. While he’d be lying if he said he didn’t wish he could’ve been the one in Europe and Scarlet on the Australian tour, ultimately he felt like he preferred this because Australia was new territory for him to explore, which in addition to getting to be just as awestruck as Liane was about all the things he’d never otherwise see also meant a new source of inspiration for him to be able to put to use. After all, some new pieces he could sell that he knew people who very much wanted to visit Australia but may never get the chance to would be interested in having kept him going on the creativity and design front while also making sure he still had a stable source of income… after all, with how increasing unpredictable the Scarlet situation was becoming, any backup plans in the event he felt he needed to consider a course of action he really didn’t want to go through with just to be rid of her would be welcome.
The couple had already made the most of the time they had in Sydney before Aaron would have to shift gears for Breakdown. From getting to see the famous Sydney Opera House (one of the places Liane hoped to be able to perform comedy at one day as a sign that she’d really made it) to exploring some of the various local zoos and aquariums and all the animals they would rarely find back home in a truly natural habitat, getting to just relax and take in some of the parks both of the amusement and normal variety and even stopping at the Pylon Lookout for a panoramic view of the city, everything just felt like the issues that had plagued them both back home and during SCW’s travels were melting away as their bond only strengthened. With Liane also getting the chance to come up with some new (but non-offensive) jokes and puns revolving around Australia while Aaron dusted off his old sketchbook and made the most of some of the opportunities he had to sketch out ideas he planned on making better use of once the tour was done and this thing was loaded with concepts, this truly felt like the perfect vacation they both needed far more than they ever realized.
Aaron wished this moment could just last forever, but only in his impressive imagination could that ever hope to come true.
The two of them had returned to their hotel and decided to grab some lunch at the restaurant within after touring around a bit more for the morning, looking to try a bit more of the local cuisine while figuring out their plans for the afternoon. While there were still plenty of other cities in Australia and beyond they’d get to explore as this tour continued for the next week, they both knew they wouldn’t have as much time to enjoy it with Aaron having house show duties to attend to on all of those days, and with Breakdown being tomorrow this felt like their last chance to really make the most of this break they’d found themselves getting. They’d already settled on visiting a few of the art museums for Aaron to take in as well as a chance to explore Kings Cross, which Liane sounded interested in as it sounded like an area built just for her to some degree, but it still felt like there was something more they could do that they’d likely never get the chance to try again, and that’s what they were trying to figure out.
“I don’t know Liane… as creative as my mind can be, I feel like I’d prefer more simple things to indulge in while I’m out and about, even if we’re on an entirely new continent.”
“I get it, and maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve never been abroad before while you’ve spent time in Japan and gotten to visit England and stuff, but I just feel like we can do one thing that would be super exciting and unforgettable. I just… can’t think of what that thing could be.”
“As long as you’re happy, then as far as I’m concerned this is the best trip I’ve ever taken. It’s not often I truly get to enjoy exploring a new place with someone else. I mean… I had Pete with me in Japan where we first met, but I don’t really count that since by the time we crossed paths a lot of Japan felt more like home than one big sight to see.”
“I’m just glad we’ve got this chance to spend so much time together. I know we try to do that a lot anyways, but it’s… I don’t know… felt a bit more awkward lately.”
Aaron nodded as they both knew the reason why, but they were trying their hardest not to talk about it. Still, as Aaron tried to take a moment to focus on making more progress with the consumption of his lunch, his mind suddenly felt the urge to latch onto everything he’d been trying so hard to ignore. Was he really safe here in Sydney with Scarlet forced to tour with the other half of the roster to be as far away from him as possible? Attempting to brace himself for whatever she hoped to try next to ‘win his affections’ was proving to be a challenge for even his endless array of overly creative scenarios, especially when he constantly had to guess whether or not she’d try something very direct or pull a similar stunt to last week by using her ‘charms’ to con someone else into doing the dirty work for her. He wouldn’t put it past Ruby to have some kind of plan to ensure that even with the main issue miles and miles away, he wasn’t going to be as scot free as he’d hoped.
One look at his face and Liane knew her boyfriend was heavily distracted now, and she had a bad feeling she knew why. Still, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to try and lighten the mood a bit for his benefit. With him being so distracted by the thoughts swimming in his head like the fish they’d seen in the aquariums earlier, she reached into the pocket of her jacket and grabbed a small pack of vegemite she’d bought without Aaron noticing. With the blank stare that proved he was far from paying attention to reality right now, she quickly and quietly replaced the dipping sauce he’d gotten for his shrimp with the stuff. He was none the wiser though, his mind too preoccupied now with the fact that outside of whatever Ruby might attempt, he still had ‘crazy’ on his menu in the form of Giovanni, a man Aaron might’ve enjoyed facing more if he hadn’t decided to try and assault Owen over his ‘loyalties’ for god knows what reason. It also didn’t put him at ease when he realized that Owen and Cannon were both teaming up on next week’s Breakdown in London, and while Scarlet had her own match to worry about he wouldn’t put it past her to attack them all because of what happened at the party just to try and send some sort of message to him.
His head was starting to hurt from the stress of overthinking this mess just because it looked like he was in the clear, and he needed something to snap him out of it and fast. Thankfully, he got it the moment his shrimp hit his tongue and he realized he was not tasting the sauce he ordered, which got him to spit the shrimp out and start chugging the pop he’d ordered as though his mouth were on fire. Liane couldn’t help but laugh as Aaron took some deep breaths to regain his senses, glancing over and realizing exactly what had happened before shooting a not-very-harsh glare in his girlfriend’s direction.
“Sorry Aaron, I couldn’t help it! The guy who sold these vegemite packets to me said they were best used as a spread and nothing else, and you looked like you were thinking too much again.”
“Fair point Liane. I guess now you’ve got a new prank to try on people when we head back home, and I needed that more than you might think.”
“Still thinking about that red-haired rat even though there’s several countries standing between us now?”
“It’s hard not to… I know we feel like we’re in paradise right now, but I doubt she’s just going to let this Breakdown pass without trying something. Even if she’s not here, Ruby is. All I can do is hope that after last week, Alistaire doesn’t mind trying to contort her into a pretzel or something because I’m going to have enough to worry about trying to show Gio why he needs to back off from my friend.”
Liane’s lips briefly curled into a frown. Even though she was still barred from being backstage with him, which frustrated her greatly, she wasn’t too big of a fan of the kind of stress being in the wrestling business could bring to Aaron at times, especially when he’d admitted to her several times over by now that he and stress mixed about as well as oil and water. Her eyes drifted over and caught something that seemed to bring her smile back as she slowly stood up to ensure she had her love’s undivided attention.
“Well then, if you’re willing to play ‘Alice’ and allow me to be the ‘Mad Hatter’ then I think I’ve got a ‘Wonderland’ we can explore while we still have time. The best part would be that it would take us along the ocean floor, a ‘Wonderland’ we’d never get to explore otherwise!”
Aaron raised an eyebrow until she pointed his attention toward what she’d seen: a bulletin board near the entrance to the restaurant, specifically a big flier advertising a group scuba diving session regardless of whether you were a first-timer or had been exploring the deep for years. It was set up for that afternoon at Shelly Beach, and considering Kings Cross sounded better to explore at night and they had plenty of time tomorrow morning to visit the museums before Aaron had to head over to the Acer Arena, it sounded like the perfect thing to both keep their minds off the issues at hand just a little longer and fulfill that missing piece of doing something they’d never normally get to do. Not to mention, despite the beaches being a big attraction while in Australia they were both still hesitant on taking that next step of being in one another’s presence in anything less than what they were wearing now, but wetsuits and scuba gear would help to bypass that while still allowing them a bit of beach fun.
“You know, I think that actually sounds like the perfect thing to indulge in that we could both enjoy and really use right now! I should probably go drop my sketchbook back in our room though.”
“Tell you what: you can go back and relax for a tiny bit if you want. I’ll call and see if we can get some spots for this thing before I go do a little bit of shopping. I… kind of promised some of my siblings I’m still on good terms with that I’d get some things for them whenever I’m able to see them again.”
Aaron agreed with this, also opting not to press the subject when Liane brought up her family. He knew she still had some siblings she talked with and still cared for, but both of them knew their respective families were a bit of a sore subject for the time being. The two of them embraced and exchanged a quick kiss before paying for lunch and parting ways, Aaron heading up to their room while Liane headed out into the city with her phone pressed to her ear in regards to their newfound afternoon plans. As Aaron entered the room he couldn’t help but flop down onto the bed and pull his sketchbook from the backpack he’d been hauling around with him, taking some time to really soak in the drawings he’d made knowing he was going to have a field day with these when he got a chance to return home. His imagination had already kicked into overdrive on how to best enhance these to both fit his unique perspective and highlight the natural beauty of Australia’s most populous city. He even let his imagination start painting some of those ideas in the background of his mind when he decided to shift gears and check through his phone, wanting to keep tabs on some of the commission work he still needed to go when he got back as well as remind himself of what awaited him as he shook his head over Gio’s tweets towards Owen while making no acknowledgment of the test that would be awaiting him tomorrow.
Nothing was going to ruin this tour for Aaron, no matter what it took. Not the lingering Scarlet issue, not anything waiting for him back home, and certainly not a man obsessed with what he saw in his own head that Aaron could easily put a more creative spin on is he desired to do so.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a weird feeling for me guys…I know this is going to sound a bit odd, but for the first time in months… I feel at ease.
I can very easily point to any number of reasons as to why, from the fact that outside the ring I’m lending a hand on a very big project I’m hoping you guys will all come to love somewhere down the line but can’t reveal any details about just yet, to inside the ring where I can finally, at long last, say that I’ve managed to defeat a former World Champion… even if I wish it were kind of under better circumstances. I know, most people will call a win a win and tell me to just take the momentum and run with it, and believe me I don’t plan on taking my foot off the gas pedal now, but I still can’t help but feel as though part of my win was tainted last week. All that said, however, I think there’s a very big reason many will unanimously agree is the most likely cause for this peace I seem to find myself in all of a sudden.
I’m getting the chance to explore and compete in Australia for the very first time, and a certain red-headed stalker that doesn’t understand ‘no’ truly does mean ‘no’ is in an entirely different continent for the next two weeks.
I’m not going to lie… you have no idea how liberating it feels to be able to walk through the locker room and prepare for a match without worrying if I’m going to run into a woman I just don’t want to see no matter what she is, or often isn’t, wearing, or having to be distracted by the idea that she’s going to find some way to tamper with me simply trying to compete and earn my place around here like everybody else. Last week I made it clear all I truly wanted was a chance, and thankfully SCW listened to me and here I am, competing for the second week in a row and not having to put up with a game I never asked to be a part of in the first place.
Speaking of said game… Alistaire Allocco, if you’re listening to this at all, I sincerely apologize about last week. I know you wanted nothing more than to compete against me and I was more than happy to return the favor, but you ended up becoming another pawn in this game Scarlet doesn’t realize I’m not interested in playing with her. Between getting my girlfriend, who joins me backstage as a means of support because that’s how much she cares for me, banned from that right and trying to use what makes you a good man against you just to get to me, I’m becoming more and more disgusted by the depths she’s willing to sink to all because for one reason or another, she simply can’t take a hint. I’m sorry I had to be the reality check you needed to snap out of her spell, and I truly pray that our paths cross again someday where we can compete without having to worry about any B.S. like that to find out who truly is the better man between us when we’re both a hundred percent focused. In the meantime… please give her friend Ruby more than enough to keep her occupied so I can keep my focus right where it needs to be to kick off this tour:
Delivering another much needed reality check to a man that can no longer find his way out of the Tulgey Wood.
It’s sad in a way… there was a point once upon a time when I felt like I could look forward to this match. A man whose entire being is driven by the essence of creativity and imagination doing battle with a man that preaches the glory of Wonderland and his duty as its protector against the tyranny of the so-called Lizard King? That sounds like the plot to a story I’d love to write someday if I ever heard one, and regardless of what kind of show it took place on I’d have even been more than happy to dive deep into my endless creative well to give this determined soldier an opponent truly fitting of the picture that plays out within his own mind.
Unfortunately, that all had to change when he decided to attack someone I call a friend.
I highly doubt Giovanni Aries is fully aware of this fact, or would even care if he did know, but I know that forgotten in the shuffle of the mess I’ve been trying to escape from as of late is that Owen Cruze is a good friend of mine and we promised one another that in a landscape dominated by people more than willing to slit the throats of the new guys if it meant bettering their own standing around here, we would have each other’s backs. I may have been tied up being with my own lunatic for far longer than I ever would’ve liked, but I don’t have a problem using my break from that madness to keep my promise even if it means having to pacify a madman of a different variety.
After all, that’s the very concept of loyalty in a nutshell.
This is where our problem begins Gio, because your loyalty towards the Wonderland you constantly preach to the masses of SCW is about to collide with the loyalty I have to someone who deserves better than having to contend week in and week out with someone who, surprisingly unlike the artist with the never-ending imagination in this story, has long since lost touch with reality. Hell, even as I say this to you, I doubt any of it is getting through to you. After all, if I’m willing to fight by Owen’s side and he stands against you, then I’m sure you’ve long since painted me as just another soldier of the Lizard King blindly fighting a war that threatens to destroy everything you’ve vowed to defend.
Here’s a newsflash for you dude: just like there are many different sequels and adaptations of the famous work that you owe your entire line of thinking to, there are an infinite amount of Wonderlands. As far as I’m concerned, my Wonderland is built on the ideas of creative freedom and the determination to fight to spread that message beyond its borders. In that respect, I’m the hero fighting against the anarchist looking to burn everything to the ground all because he sees my idea as false in favor of his own and only sees his hated enemy surrounding him at every turn, not realizing that the longer he fights this war the more he’s destroying everything he wants to hold dear. Even if we take the shiny prizes that are SCW’s various championships out of the equation, what happens if you defeat Mr. D the ‘Lizard King’ Gio?
Do you think people will just accept your message that easily?
And if not, what will you do without the platform that gave you the chance to spread that message in the first place?
I consider myself lucky Gio… the war I fight for my own Wonderland can continue on outside of SCW’s borders, though I cannot argue that the company both satisfies my childhood dreams and gives me a valuable vehicle to try and make my case better than anywhere else could. But you? As much as you want to see it as the vile kingdom that needs to fall, SCW is a ‘necessary evil’ that, once eliminated, also destroys everything you’ve built your entire concept of Wonderland on. Just like with the real world around us, the more you remain stuck in your ways feeling that no other solution will possibly give you the desired outcome, the more you watch as everything begins to crumble around you until it’s too late to save any of it. Considering the kind of person I wanted to see you as Gio, it truly saddens me to know that at the end of the day, you are no different than the rest of the people I struggle against every waking moment of my life just so my voice can be heard, no matter how much you want to dress yourself up to be everything I would hope to find in a dream opponent.
The only person who truly needs to wake up before it’s too late in this story is you Gio… and just like Alice’s constant growing and shrinking in all the old tales were a metaphor for growing up, my fight against you on Breakdown will symbolize far more than just how dedicated I am to helping a friend in need…
It’s going to be the looking glass you need to be broken in order to understand that without opening your mind and accepting ideas other than what only you believe in, your Wonderland will never be able to survive no matter how hard you try to fight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It might not have been his true calming space within his imagination, but it seemed close enough.Aaron didn’t know why, but he suddenly found himself in what looked like one of those giant hedge mazes, and these particular hedges all had beautiful red roses sprouting from them. As he quietly wandered along through the maze, he tried to ponder how on earth he’d gotten here. As far as he was aware he was certainly in his imagination, both because he didn’t recall seeing anything about giant rose-covered hedge mazes in Sydney and because he was all alone, and the only time he wanted that to happen while on this tour was when he had to attend to Breakdown, as much as he wish that didn’t have to be the case. He didn’t recall falling asleep either… then again, that was the case with the nightmare he’d had following the Halloween party as well, so for all he knew he’d either taken a nap while Liane was doing her shopping or simply zoned out to try and relax within the confines of his mind.
He just wish he knew more than that, as once again his mind was drawing blanks on details immediately prior to this.
This certainly seemed like a better use of his imagination though than some twisted nightmare about an indie horror game. Roses that smelled divine, clear blue skies lit up by a radiant sun… Aaron felt relaxed as he plucked one of the roses and took a sniff. He almost couldn’t help but chuckle when he realized that ‘divine smell’ these roses were giving off almost reminded him of some kind of cherry-flavored treat, confirming he was somewhere in the vast world of his own mental design.
“Almost makes me wish I could bring Liane here… this place truly seems like a peaceful dream.”
As Aaron pondered this thought while twirling the rose between his fingers, he rounded the first corner he came to and took a few more steps before stopping dead in his tracks. While nothing seemed out of the ordinary, at least as far as this was concerned, he could swear his ears picked up the sound of a horn from somewhere in the distance. As he started walking away, he tried to concentrate on listening carefully, and sure enough his ears began to pick up even more sounds. Shouting, the shuffling of cards, something banging against something else… something about these seemed familiar, but still off at the same time. With curiosity getting the better of him, he was at least thankful that as his pace quickened it seemed like whatever math within this maze he was on was fairly straightforward as every twist and turn seemed to be leading him towards the commotion with no forks to throw him off or slow him down. One more corner turned, and he found himself almost running right into a door, which seemed horribly misplaced as it appeared to be designed for an interior and not this outside area. If he had the ability to climb the rose hedges to try and see beyond without opening it he would have, but it became very clear fairly quickly they were not designed for climbing. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself, he gently cracked open the door and was surprised when it swang out of his grasp and opened violently, blinding him as it seemed like nothing but a bright light was on the other side.
“I don’t understand why I’m even standing trial in the first place! If you ask me, this all seems like one big farce.”
“That explains why you’re even bothering to argue a case when you clearly don’t have one.”
Aaron recognized those voices, for better or worse, and he could already feel a knot forming in his stomach that wasn’t sitting well with him. As soon as his vision returned to him, the picture was very clear: he found himself standing atop what looked like one of the rose hedges from the maze, except this one for whatever unexplainable reason seemed sturdy enough to hold his weight. He was also a fair ways up, as if the hedge had grown to roughly fifty feet tall or so. Even still, he could clearly see and hear everything happening down below as the hedges encircled a small grassy clearing that was elaborately decorated like an outdoor courtroom. The sound of cards shuffling was clearly the living playing cards that were likely moving into place, though Aaron oddly noticed that only cards from the suit of hearts was present. Seated at the judge’s stand, gavel banging against it was a sight that almost made Aaron want to rip his stomach out to keep from vomiting up his lunch: of course, it had to be Scarlet, and what didn’t help was the fact that she was dressed in very skimpy lingerie that really only consisted of black strings tying together small red hearts that ensured nothing was exposed. Then, standing across from her at a slightly elevated stand and wearing a yellow version of a very familiar dress was…
“Liane!”
This made Aaron feel uneasy as everything fell into place… of course, having to contend with Giovanni Aries was going to lead his mind into the territory of the infamous tale of Alice in Wonderland, though for the time being what he was seeing appeared to line up mostly with the Disney version as opposed to the original tale. He didn’t like where this was going though, as even if this went the Disney route with Liane in the Alice role and Scarlet as the Queen of Hearts meaning Liane would get away unscathed, something felt very off about all of this and he wanted to take the risk out of this nonsense immediately. He called out Liane’s name once or twice more, but no one seemed to hear him. Figuring it was because he was so ridiculously high up even if he could see and hear everything down below as though it were right in front of his face, he made the attempt to leap… only to find himself rebounding off an invisible wall that kept him confined to this area.
“Ow! What the hell!?”
“Sorry, we can’t have you barging into the middle of this trial. If you think you know the Wonderland well enough, then maybe you already know how this’ll end.”
Aaron raised a confused eyebrow as he turned his head and found a small white rabbit addressing him, apparently trapped up here with him. Even if he could draw an obvious parallel to this bunny being a stand in for the Wonderland-obsessed maniac he’d be sharing the ring with soon enough, it was still an off-putting sight to see this rabbit wearing a fur coat that looked like it was made from one of its own kind, sitting and smoking from a hookah as though it were the caterpillar from the story instead. The rabbit took a deep drag before blowing some of the smoke into the air, forming an arrow that directed the creative soul’s gaze back down to the ‘trial’ happening below, where he watched ‘Queen’ Scarlet stand up and start running her hands along her scantily-clad body.
“You honestly think you deserve the love of a man far too good for you when you can’t even get past your own modesty? Even if you had the goods to backup your feelings, you still don’t measure up to someone more worthy of the king’s affection.”
“He isn’t your king, and love isn’t about sex appeal or whatever you think you can do in the bedroom. I love him with all my heart because-”
“Silence!” Scarlet grabbed her gavel and slammed it down again. “No one has more heart than the Queen of Hearts, and you have no right to tell ME what I cannot have! That’s why I declare you guilty!”
Before Liane could even protest of any infamous declaration of ‘off with her head’ could be made, the card soldiers almost immediately surrounded Liane’s stand. Aaron attempted to move in again, but found the invisible wall still present as he pounded against it, shooting the white rabbit a glare as he shook his head with wispy trails of smoke following every motion, trying to tell him there was nothing he could do. Before his heart sank in acceptance that all hope was lost, he noticed Liane reaching into the front pocket of her dress and producing what looked like a chunk of mushroom, and a smile graced his lips as he remembered one of the bizarre universal plot points that rang true in virtually every incarnation of the old story. Even if it didn’t have the same symbolism here, he was willing to forgive it this time as he watched Liane pop it into her mouth and swallow, and sure enough she began to swell in size. Bigger and bigger she grew as the card soldiers began to clamor and flee around her feet, afraid of being stepped on. It came to an end when the top of Liane’s head was parallel to the ‘ground’ where Aaron stood, and while his cheering went unheard it seemed clear that this… whatever it truly was, would have a happy ending.
“Is that it? I’m afraid the whole ‘bigger is better’ argument doesn’t work as far as I’m concerned unless you’ve got something to flaunt along with it. But if that’s the game you want to play, allow me to show you your real sentence.”
Whatever confident grin the giant Liane had on her face vanished as the sky suddenly began to turn a very angry red, and Aaron could almost feel like the mere presence of this evil sky was making his flesh boil for some reason. His body sank to its knees on its own, a foreign pain beginning to consume him as his vision began to grow blurry. Part of him hoped that was a sign that he was snapping out of this while things were still in a somewhat positive position, but as his vision slowly began to return, he saw a sight that might as well have made his heart stop. While the Liane of this dream/imaginary picture being about fifty feet tall now was certainly worth feeling relief, the sight of ‘Queen’ Scarlet being roughly five times that size by the look of things and still growing filled him with every sense of dread imaginable, even ones he was certain didn’t exist. Before he could attempt anything, regardless of whether or not it was in vain, he heard the voice of the rabbit again right in his ear, smoke billowing from its mouth and almost burning through the side of his face.
“Do you really think anything you do will help her? You brought her into this mess in the first place, and now Scarlet’s going to destroy her and have her way with you whether you like it or not. How does it feel, being the monster that ruined such an innocent girl’s life because the wrestling business isn’t the stress safe haven you thought it would be.”
That voice… Aaron knew that voice. What started off as something all its own had slowly shifted into the familiar twisted tone of his own voice that belonged to only one entity… Nemesis. He thought he picked up traces of it from before but it didn’t truly fit, but this time there was no mistaken the sound of the entity embodying all of his stress and negative emotions. He whipped his head in that direction, but all he saw was a rabbit-shaped puff of smoke that was drifting away into obscurity. Almost with a renewed fire in his heart he slammed a fist against the invisible wall… and gasped as he saw that his hand truly looked like it had started melting. As if wanting to become the proverbial looking glass, the wall suddenly became visible with enough of a reflection for Aron to take a good look at himself… though all he could see was an abomination that looked like something straight out of a David Cronenberg movie, almost like a human being had its flesh melted before being fused with a slug and heaven knows what else. Even as he screamed at this revelation, it almost sounded like an inhuman roar from some creature that just should not be.
Trying to slam all of his thoughts about whatever the hell was going on back on track, he decided to deal with whatever happened to him later as he tried to return his attention to what was going on beyond the grotesque reflection he was being presented of himself, though the site that met his eyes didn’t make him feel any better. The giant Liane was looking up in pure horror as the utterly colossal ‘Queen’ Scarlet Grey apparently decided to end this in a fashion that truly suited her perverted nature. It was impossible to tell how big she’d grown, but it was big enough that her chest, already overly bloated at a normal size, was slowly descending like a pair of meteors that would wipe out everything beneath them. Liane could only tremble as she stood frozen in fear, and there was nothing Aaron could do but watch in horror as everything that felt like his whole world was wiped out in a fashion he wished he’d never come to know.
In that moment, it felt like his whole world literally shattered around him, and although he couldn’t make out exactly what had happened, he did recall two eerily familiar voices calling out through the carnage:
“Don’t give in to these games yet!”
“Yeah! Giving up isn’t like you, and it’s sure as hell no fun for us!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had taken a little longer than she’d thought, but Liane was happily heading up to her and Aaron’s hotel room with bags in her arms, confident her little shopping spree had covered all the siblings she wanted to get gifts for, as well as the confirmation that she and Aaron would be enjoying a rare scuba experience in just a little while.“Hopefully someday I’ll be able to get gifts for everyone again…”
Liane couldn’t help but sigh to herself, wishing things with her family were better. There was a point in time when they were all happy and united, and she still had no answers as to why things had turned so sour for her with them. Even before the April Fools pranking, she could accept being seen as just ‘annoying’ for practicing her comedy with them as her audience, but they never even bothered to ask her to tone it down if that truly was the case. Besides, all siblings could be annoying to one another. It was almost like an unwritten sibling rule. At least she’d found someone who understood what she was going through, even if she didn’t like thinking about Aaron’s own family situation.
“Aaron, I’m back! And I’ve got some-”
As Liane entered into their room, she cut herself off with a small scream and immediately dropped everything, making a mental note to clean that up later. Right now there was a far more urgent issue at hand: kneeling on the floor with broken glass laying around him was her boyfriend, and while she could thank every deity above that it didn’t look like he was hurt in any fashion, it was still a horrifying sight to come back to. As she got closer, trying her best not to step on any of the shards scattered all about, she noticed that it looked like his phone had been thrown through the large mirror that came with the place, though surprisingly the phone itself still looked intact. As Aaron would say in any other scenario: thank god for 3D printed plastic that felt truly bulletproof. The man in question slowly turned his head towards his terrified girlfriend, eyes seemingly drifting between his zoned out state and a focused expression, before he finally lunged towards her feebly and she held him tight in a hug, using all of her surprising amount of strength that came from years of hauling her own props around and dealing with ten siblings to keep him upright.
“You’re alright! Oh God, you’re alright!”
“Aaron… what happened?”
“I… I think I zoned out, trying to retreat to my little sanctuary in my imagination. But all I saw was things like that nightmare… it was Alice in Wonderland themed and there was a colossal skimpy attired Scarlet and…”
Aaron became nearly incomprehensible after that, not necessarily blubbering like a baby as he wasn’t crying at all but it definitely seemed like even he was at a loss for whatever he’d just seen, real or not. Judging by the confusion in which he regarded the mess around him that, unlike last time, was definitely going to need to be paid for, it seemed like whatever he’d done took place while he was more focused on the inner workings of his mind, and seeing what had happened as the world around him never stopped even if he wasn’t paying attention to it rattled him even more. Still, Liane held him tight, and for good measure she even pulled him into arguably the deepest kiss the two had ever shared, all for the purpose of restoring him back to a mostly calm frame of mind. Thankfully, it worked when she felt him returning the kiss as a thank you for being there with him, and she carefully guided the two of them through the proverbial minefield so she could sit him down on the bed before they separated so she could start trying to clean up the mess.
“OK… what’s the last thing you do remember before whatever happened inside your imagination?”
“I remember… I started looking through my phone to catch up on some texts and emails. I think something caught my eye that must’ve caught my eye that had me trying to retreat into my own head.”
Liane was already retrieving Aaron’s phone as he mentioned that, and as she flipped it over to find the screen thankfully still intact, she also saw what she figured likely triggered his desire to want to escape from reality. From an unrecognizable number, he’d received a text that turned out to be Scarlet sending him a picture of herself in the smallest and most revealing UK flag bikini she could find, a nod to the fact that the Breakdown she’d be on next week would emanate from London. A familiar anger surged through her senses, but she tried to keep the symptoms of her darker thoughts from emerging by simply deleting the text before tossing her boyfriend his phone back.
“No wonder you wanted to hide in your imagination… that bitch decided to try and send you pics of herself to make up for not being here to bug us in person! The wonderland stuff is obviously because of who you’re facing, but you’ll probably need to get your number changed somehow when we get back home since she knows it now from hijacking that thing.”
“Of course she’s the catalyst… but I think there’s a little more to it than that.”
Liane raised an eyebrow as Aaron let out a sigh, trying to piece together whatever was going on inside his head. Obviously all of these horrific sequences were themed around the problems Scarlet was causing for him and even incorporating some of her antics into the equation as well, and hints towards Giovanni’s obsession no doubt alluded to whatever that madman sought to inflict upon him tomorrow night, but there was still more lying beneath the surface, and he was starting to figure it out. After all… who would benefit the most from him being in a constant state of stress and mental instability? And why was another set of entities virtually forgotten about until seemingly just now?
“The last time my thoughts were in this much disarray was back during the height of being caught in the middle of my problems with my family. Nemesis, as the embodiment I created for all of it, is getting stronger and trying to overwhelm me again, and he’s using the mess Scarlet’s trying to make out of our relationship for her own selfish desires as his fuel. But… I swear I heard Dreambender and Gleeful actually encouraging me somewhere in there too…”
If Aaron had never painted the picture of some of the inner workings of his imagination to her, Liane would’ve easily assumed he was crazy. While part of her mind still wanted to lean in that direction, she still had a rare feeling of understanding for whatever was happening and was going to support her love through it no matter what. She abandoned the cleanup efforts for the time being to carefully sit by his side on the bed, the two leaning against one another for support as she carefully took his hand in hers.
“What do you think it means?”
“For the first time in regards to my own creativity… I’m not exactly sure. If I had to hazard a guess though… I think Nemesis is waging a war with the Twin Stars for control of my imagination, and unfortunately I’m caught in the middle of it all.”