SCW Adrenaline Championship Contendership Battle Royal

[Ruppy]

If there’s any significant flaw to be found in the character of Aaron Blackbourne, many who knew him would argue that it would be his tendency to put everyone else before himself.

Inherently, that wasn’t a bad thing, because it was proof that he would have your back and fight either for you or by your side against whatever the threat may be. It made sense, considering Aaron was about as selfless as a human being could possibly get and he deeply valued the people he did have in his life, from his closest friends and loved ones to those who were simply willing to earn his respect and show it back to him in kind. He was a humble man, though perhaps too humble and selfless for his own good at times.

While it could be understood that maybe he didn’t want to come off as selfish like so many others who easily fell prey to the greed and egotism that had a habit of running unchecked in the world these days, whether it be inside the wrestling ring or out, there was a fine line between being selfish and sacrificing to the point of being detrimental to himself, and Aaron had a tendency to fall into the latter category too much for his own good. The vast majority of the issues he was willing to take on just so others didn’t have to was just asking for his mental state to deteriorate to a point where it no longer existed, especially if it essentially became an escape for his own problems he knew he would have to contend with eventually.

That especially was true of any issues he never truly resolved, only buried within his subconscious.

For as mentally strong as Aaron was, he was far from invincible, and it’s a matter of when, not if, the cracks finally begin to take their toll on the gate he’s attempted to build without fully realizing it himself, considering it’s become second nature to him by now. In this particular case, all it took was the incident prior to the Breakdown on the South African leg of the divided foreign tour to pull the trigger on something Aaron had long since convinced himself he had overcome.

But, in all honesty, how does one just forget and move on from a near-death experience from two years prior with barely any scars that risk being reopened?

Even if he wasn’t actually at the booth when it happened, just hearing about the crazed fan that attempted to stab Owen once he’d returned was enough to awaken a long-forgotten static that permeated through every thought that ran through his mind at that moment. Against every rational thought to say something or step away himself when Owen understandably needed a break, he simply tried to tune it out and kept going, allowing his friend to clear his head while he forged on with greeting fans and signing autographs. The static persisted even into the show that night, and again he’d tried to push it out of his mind in favor of working with Kim on their admittedly crazy plan to figure out what Gio’s game was and storming the ring when all hell broke loose at the end of the show.

The creative soul had decided the following day to simply do what he does best and lose himself in his creativity as a means to shut out what he didn’t want to deal with, having spent the entire trip back to the States putting pen to notebook as a story began to form from the ink beneath his fingers. Between that and regaining Liane’s company once he returned home, it was easy to say he’d fought off the feeling and could just move on, not wanting to get hung up on a ghost from the past when there were just as many assailants trying to stop him on the road ahead. Liane was at least returning more and more to her old self between Aaron’s efforts on top of spending time around Dr. Marsh-Asher while her fiancé was out of the country, and that made resuming the concept of her traveling alongside him while SCW toured around significantly easier, with the hope that she could return to her comedy touring at the start of the new year at least if things continued to go well.

Some monsters just don’t rest that easily, though… Aaron knew this full well, and yet he was choosing to be oblivious to the very idea that something had reawakened that was never properly put to rest.

It was easy to ignore the static and try to brute force his way to a sense of clarity when it came to his thoughts, but there was more to the issue at hand that was just waiting to breach the floodgates, and it became so easy to strike when he least expected it when he continued ignoring the warning signs and focusing on problems that were not necessarily his, no matter how much he did have his part to play in them. The next Breakdown was one thing, considering what he ended up learning and then having all the motivation in the world to stand beside the rest of the Perfect Pack and make a huge statement against the Wonderland, but once that surge of adrenaline had worn off, his thoughts became vulnerable.

Before he knew it, he was feeling a sense of deja vu as he found himself standing next to Owen at a booth for fan activities prior to showtime, taking a selfie with a fan as Owen was adding his signature to someone’s program. Now, anyone who remembered how things had actually gone down might remember that Aaron had taken a small break at this point to hunt for snacks and drinks since this routine had been going on for a while now, leaving the events that would unfold to be discovered upon his return. Instead, he found himself staying put as a few more autographs were done, and he was midway through standing up again to join another group of fans for a selfie when it happened.

With no words spoken and not a single warning sign at all, a fan was leaning over the table with their arm outstretched, the knife clear as day as it pierced through the heart of his best friend, a waterfall of blood flowing down his midsection and onto the table beneath them.

He could feel his eyes go wide and his heart stop at that moment, but all of his other senses virtually went numb. Try as he might, his body would not make any effort to move even a tiny bit in response to the scene playing out before his eyes. It was almost as if time itself had frozen… nobody made a sound or sought security or an EMT or anybody, Owen was still as a statue as the dark red substance continued to leave his body, the assailant made no move to extract his weapon of choice or even attempt a getaway. Aaron could almost feel like he’d been painted into a portrait of agony where some of the darkest fears he would never admit he still held were put on full display to the waiting public.

If this was a nightmare, he could only hope that the shock of this sight would have him jolting upright any moment now, but the ghosts of his past weren’t so keen on letting him get off that easily after trying to ignore them for so long.

Slowly but surely, the fan started turning their head to look at the creative soul, and the more of their face he saw, the more he knew his own was losing every last trace of color it may have held before. The sight of features recognizable no matter how deep he tried to bury the mental images caused his blood to run cold, and he could swear he heard himself muttering the word ‘no’ under his breath in some vain attempt to alter what he was seeing, though with his body virtually paralyzed he couldn’t tell for sure. Once the two had locked eyes and the fan decided to speak, there was nothing left that allowed him to deny that the figure was exactly who he wished it wasn’t.

“What’s wrong Aaron? I thought you were so good at protecting your friends, just like you did such a good job protecting your brother.”

Aaron wanted to close his eyes… he wanted to squeeze them shut as tightly as possible and hope that when he opened them again that all of this would be gone, or he’d be awake, or anything. His body, however, simply refused to cooperate no matter how much strength he used to try and force his eyelids to so much as twitch. He would give anything to no longer have to look into the face of Dylan Jackson, the man who had taken his brother’s life and almost claimed his as well. He would sell his soul to be able to block out the demented laughter that rang out from his lips over what he had just done, tearing into his very core and making sure he could never forget about the horrific act that he had just born witness to upon one of the people he had become close to in his life.

“Alright, I think this has gone a little too far.”

The next thing Aaron knew, the sound of fingers snapping was echoing all around him, and in finally being able to blink, he found the entire scene seemingly wiped from existence. No more Dylan, no more Owen bleeding out, just an empty void. The only thing that seemed to remain from what had just happened was the table, now completely bare and with a chair on the opposite side now. Aaron’s body had resumed sitting, and joining him was a familiar figure he hadn’t spoken to in quite some time that looked beyond concerned, to the point that it was even affecting his spectral form.

“Dreambender…”

To say that he was expecting to see one half of the Twin Stars was an understatement, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. When he’d created them, he gave Dreambender the powers of his namesake after all, and the young cosmic entity’s intervention made it crystal clear that he had fallen into nightmare territory, though that didn’t help take away how real it all felt. He swore he could feel himself in a cold sweat even now, and he couldn’t ignore how much he noticed his hands trembling as he tried to rest them against the table.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t surface sooner. I felt something off, but it wasn’t until I picked up on your mind crying out for someone to help that I realized how severe it was.”

“So… that was all just a nightmare?”

“Technically, yes… though it goes so much deeper than that, and I think you know it.”

A shaky sigh escaped his lips at hearing this. Truth be told, he had a feeling he knew exactly what this was the whole time, but his mind felt it easier to simply try to deny it and hope it went away. Any time it had surfaced in the past, keeping himself occupied in some fashion tended to help, and that was also a significant factor in why he was always so eager to throw himself into the fray to help someone else even if it wasn’t entirely his fight. Admitting to it, however, was a struggle he always hated.

“You’re right… I had a feeling I was starting to spiral when I heard about what happened to Owen while I was away from our table in Johannesburg, but I couldn’t keep from latching on to the thought that I needed to stand strong for both him and the people that had to witness what happened.”

“I’m not denying that it was noble of you to do that Aaron, but you and I both know that sometimes the noblest of intentions is also the most damaging to yourself.”

Aaron could only nod, and even that was just barely accomplished after what he’d just witnessed. Nightmare or not, he knew that whatever wall he’d built up to try and keep his thoughts clear of the incident from last year where he almost didn’t even make it to Rise to Greatness with his life intact had finally collapsed and he couldn’t simply hide from it anymore. While it might be an entirely different context because of it, he was going to have to endure a conversation he knows he’s had several times already with many different faces both real and imaginary.

“Where’s Gleeful?”

“Last I checked, she was deep into hunting for stardust to try and weave into a holiday sweater she wanted to make. I’ll admit that maybe she’d be better equipped for this than I am, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re stalling and we both know it.”

Aaron opened his mouth to respond, but he knows that nothing he says can truly deny that, so he just rests his head in his hands instead.

“Look, Aaron, I know that some of the things that have happened in your life have been pretty brutal. You want to be able to keep everyone close to you safe, but you know you can’t do that because every person has their own life and their own problems, no matter how much those do or don’t intertwine with your own. But you don’t always have to try and stand strong for others. You’re human, just like them, so they’ll understand if you need to take some time to yourself and get your own head straightened out.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“I wish it was always as easy as snapping your fingers and everything magically goes away. I have that power here because of you, and I couldn’t stand seeing you spiral like that anymore. That doesn’t make me a strong being for stepping in, just as it doesn’t make you weak to admit that you could use the chance to rely on others the way you want them to rely on you when they need it.”

Aaron wants to agree with that, knowing that everyone around him would be more than happy to drop what they’re doing if need be in order to stand by his side if he needs it, just as he’s always willing to do for them. But he can’t bring himself to say those words or even so much as give them much thought within his own mind. He wants to see his friends and loved ones live their lives and succeed, he wants to support them all the way, but the moment he even begins to think that he deserves to do the same is the moment his train of thought changes tracks because no matter how many times they tell him he deserves it, he can’t bring himself to agree without sounding even the tiniest bit selfish. Always supporting others but suffering in silence, that seems to be the easiest path he finds himself sticking to time and time again.

Dreambender can see this, however, and while he may not be his sister, he still has no intention of letting Aaron leave his grasp on this night without reaching a point where he no longer has to have this argument with himself anymore. He stands up and reaches out, gently taking Aaron’s hand in his own, and the comforting warmth that radiates from the astral form of the creation before him almost feels like he’s finally come face-to-face with a light in the darkness he’s been trying to find and yet actively avoided as soon as he’s actually caught a glimpse of it.

“Tell me Aaron: all those people you always go out of your way to try and support… people like Liane and Owen and Peyton and Kelcey and your family, do you think they feel selfish focusing on the problems they have to face while you’re sacrificing to help them however you can?”

“N-no… it’s their fight, their chance to achieve something-”

“Exactly. So why does it have to be any different if the roles are reversed?”

Again, Aaron can’t bring himself to respond, but the look in his eyes is enough to make Dreambender know that he’s getting through to his creator at last.

“You have one heck of a support system Aaron, better than most others in your position might have. You never took the time to fully deal with what happened in that incident, but that doesn’t mean you have to live your whole life fighting it. Whether it’s Liane or that therapist or someone in your family… if you just say something, they’ll listen, and they’ll never judge you. This isn’t you showing weakness Aaron… it’s being strong enough to admit that you could use some help to overcome a problem that, honestly, would be more concerning if you didn’t come away with any at all on that night.”

“…I think I’ll try to remember that from now on.”

“I know you will.”

The confident smile from Dreambender is not only a sign that he believes in his creator to stick to his word this time but a reminder that Aaron also has the family of imaginary creations residing within his mind to turn to if need be as well, a secondary support system that he and he alone has going for him if that feels more comfortable to him. They can be the medium through which he finally has hard conversations with himself about what he needs to do to truly move forward. Aaron’s eyes are shining with a mixture of relief and confidence that he can finally stop convincing himself that ignoring his past issues is easier than seeking long-overdue closure for them, and it is that thought that has him slowly leaving behind the nightmare that he’s been saved from as the dream demon gives him a second chance to try and properly clear his head on this night.

It’s at this point that Aaron finds his eyes slowly fluttering open, a yawn escaping his lips as he takes a moment to get his bearings. The decently hot weather for this time of the year brings everything to the forefront of his mind: the most recent Breakdown where he learned that instead of helping to finish things with The Wonderland and Sienna and everything associated with that fight, he would instead be fighting to earn an opportunity at the Adrenaline Championship, and with that came the reminder from both Peyton and Kelcey that seemed to click with the dream conversation he’d just had.

After everything he’d pushed aside to help them contend with the demons knocking at their doors, they wanted him to seize this opportunity to prove at long last that his time had finally arrived.

A slight shift beside him and the feeling of skin-on-skin contact fills in the rest of the blanks as he lets his eyes adjust to everything around him at this very moment. The Last Laugh pay-per-view is on the immediate horizon, and he’s not in Glendale alone. He knows that come Sunday night he’ll have Peyton rooting for him even as she puts her undivided attention on toppling a monster to claim championship gold for herself one again, he’ll have Owen and Kelcey supporting him even as they go to war with two individuals who have become so lost in their own insanity that they seek to destroy something that doesn’t even exist just to validate their conspiracies.

And when the sun finally rises in a few hours, he’ll be able to open up to the woman lying next to him that has vowed to be by his side until the very end no matter what, despite everything that has tried to separate them or erode their respective mental states in hopes of ruining their lives and the happiness they seek.

With that, he can’t help but lean over and gently kiss Liane’s soft lips before pulling her body close, enjoying the added warmth of her flesh against his to remind him as he allows sleep to claim him once more that there is no shame in having a support system to help you face the scars you’re afraid to acknowledge on your own because admitting to those around you that you need a shoulder to lean on will always be the better option than seeking self-destruction because you always wish to be strong for them.

Maybe, just maybe, the creative soul finally understands that message at long last and can allow himself to seek the mental and emotional healing he’s been subconsciously denying himself for far too long.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let’s weave a hypothetical web for a moment. Imagine that you’re in a position where no matter how hard you work or the obstacles you manage to overcome, even when no one believed you could do it, you can’t seem to grab hold of that proverbial brass ring that everyone around you seems to care about. You tried countless times, and in every single attempt, you’ve found yourself grasping at nothing but air and falling all the way back to the bottom to start again. It’s gotten to the point where whenever you fight your way to another opportunity to take that leap of faith, those who are fighting for that exact same thing gleefully bring up your past mistakes because they’re fixated on that being the only thing that defines you, regardless of whether or not you’ve beaten them or names that are beyond what they have proven capable of overcoming in the past.

Do you listen to their constant chatter that it’s a sign you’re just not good enough and walk away?

I call this a hypothetical scenario only because I already know how many of you would answer. Assuming you aren’t scoffing because the mere idea that you are, in fact, capable of failing like every other human being on the planet is laughable to you, you would answer with a resounding ‘NO’ because you either have the determination to keep pushing forward until you’ve finally found that success everyone keeps saying you’ll never get or, just as likely given some of the people I’m addressing, your pride will never allow you to admit that you actually fell short and have to fight your way back into the picture all over again.

It’s that latter class in particular that will always be the first to jump all over the idea that you can’t cut it because of every time you’ve failed before, and yet when you rightfully turn it back on them they can’t process it and will resort to any workaround they can think of on the fly in a desperate attempt to save face.

Welcome to the merry-go-round that I’ve been riding for far too long now.

Whenever my name comes up these days, it seems impossible to steer the conversation in any direction other than questioning either why I’m still here or how my name is on a list of people fighting for an opportunity regardless of how many oppose me or what it is we’re fighting for. Unsurprisingly, The Last Laugh is no exception, as I’ve heard a lot of chatter wondering what I did to have my name among the ten souls competing in a battle royal to decide who will try to end 2020 as Adrenaline Champion. Perhaps even less shocking is this belief being thrown around that the only reason I’m here is because Sasha is rewarding me for trying to do detective work because of a lunatic who is so far gone that I wouldn’t put it past him to crash this match and try to screw us all over just because it’s a point for him in his ‘neverending battle to rid the world of SCW.’

Did you ever consider that, just as Owen had an opportunity to potentially challenge for the interim World Title on this very same show, it might have something to do with the efforts he and I have shown over the course of the Tag League?

Of course not, because I’m sure many of you out there could care less about that whole thing because it’s a waste of your precious time compared to what you could be doing all on your own.

This is the hypocritical stigma that many seek to bind to my name because it makes them feel better about themselves. After all, it’s always easier to find something else to distract you as opposed to facing your own problems and shortcomings head-on. The more you can hide away in your castles of glass where only your own voice matters and you’re free to judge others while avoiding that same fate, the better the chances of you believing that you’ve already won this battle royal because of this reason or that excuse or whatever helps you sleep at night. And sadly, not even some competitors out there I respect have proven capable of ignoring the desire to question me on whether or not I actually belong here and if I’ll ever find the success they either desire and/or already possess.

Let’s go ahead and clear the air right now: aside from the TV Title reigns to my name, I have failed in every single championship opportunity I have scratched and clawed my way into. I have almost every single member of the SCW roster making it their favorite pastime of questioning my drive and whether or not I even have what it takes to keep going here. I’ve lost matches that I probably should have won, and I’ve been more than willing to set my own ambitions on the backburner for the sake of the people that mean something to me, both because it’s been the right thing to do in my own opinion and because what kind of friend would abandon someone whose back he promised to watch just because someone decided to dangle a carrot in front of them that seemed too tempting to resist?

I can stand here and say those things because unlike a lot of you, I’m strong enough to admit to my own shortcomings and failures.

And I’ve grown so damn tired of that being the default target all of you have to rely on because you can’t be more creative to actually give a damn about a foregone conclusion that’s anything but.

The sad truth of the matter is that many of you either don’t understand or are simply choosing not to. Do you think I’m fine with the facts that I’ve laid bare before you all? Do you think it’s easy for me to accept that for as much as I’ve put myself through hell and back each and every day all for the sake of trying to establish myself that I still have barely anything to show for it almost four full years after I first set foot in an SCW ring? And yet, here I am, still making that climb match by match no matter how many times I’m told it’d be easier to just give up. Yeah, maybe there’s some truth to that, just accept all my failures and walk away.

If Asher Hayes had walked away for that very same reason, would he be where he is today? Would Blake Mason have just quit when things got too tough because everyone always assumes they know exactly who he is because they say so and that’s it?

Go ahead, play to the cliche of calling me out for what I’ve already admitted to. For that matter, maybe some of you will actually grow a set and follow in my footsteps of admitting to your own failures for a change to try and prove a point of your own. I’m done just believing that my time is coming sooner or later… I’ve worked too damn hard to get this far, despite every sacrifice I’ve had to make along the way, to come up empty-handed once again. I don’t care who you are, I don’t care how highly you think of yourself, and I’m done caring about whatever hell I need to subject myself to in order to finally rip that brass ring from the string that’s been taunting me for far too long.

I’m walking into the final Breakdown of 2020 ready to not only fight, but defeat Glory Braddock to end this year as SCW Adrenaline Champion.

And I dare any of the nine of you standing against me, regardless of your standing with me, to try and keep me from making that happen.