Aaron Blackbourne vs. Abigail Lindsay

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit for singles

Deadline: 5 pm ET Saturday, October 26, 2019

[Ruppy]

OOC: I know it may not seem like there's much to this one, but I'm really happy with how it turned out considering the role it's going to play in Aaron's story going forward as I start to plan for the endgame to this "Imagination War" arc I've been kind of running with in the background for roughly a year now, not to mention the fun I'm going to have with the ideas this will line up with for Under Attack. Best of luck Randy... it's been way too long I feel since we last properly faced off. lol
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Sometimes, in order to test your opposition, you need to be willing to play their games.

To most people, such an idea would seem dangerous, and understandably so. Being willing to play along when your opponent was an incredibly dangerous or unstable human being was normally the last thing you wanted to do as you’d be playing right into their hands. If that wasn’t the reason, then most would be hesitant to entertain the idea purely because they knew they risked making decisions that would conflict with every last trace of morality they strived to live their lives by, and depending on how things played out it became very easy to obtain victory at the cost of destroying your life and allowing no one the ability to look at you in the same light ever again.

Aaron Blackbourne, however, wasn’t most people.

If looking back on his ordeal with Dylan up to and including the murder attempt during Rise to Greatness weekend along with how things had gone in SCW for the better part of the year taught him anything, it’s that he truly needed to be willing to find his voice and take risks if he was truly going to be able to survive. Thus far he’d seemed fairly passive in the way he went about things, fighting back against those who targeted him or criticized who he was solely for their own benefit only when it became obvious he was in their crosshairs and a reaction was necessary. Hell, he’d go so far as to believe that if he hadn’t walked on eggshells around this time last year and was a little more forceful when it became clear Scarlet Grey wasn’t going to simply take ‘no’ for an answer no matter how many facts he could rattle off on why she should’ve just left him alone, then he could’ve had that whole situation resolved once and for all far sooner and wouldn’t have felt like the second half of the year was wasted. In recent months though, after some initial encouragement from Owen to start stepping up and taking some shots for himself against those who have become consumed by the status they feel defines them and should be shoved down everyone else’s throats every second they get, he’d started to become more confident in calling them out on their bullshit and being willing to stand against them while still earning his place solely on what he accomplished in the ring.

What separated Aaron from those afraid to tread that line for fear of their morality being questioned was his imagination.

There was no denying, especially in recent months, that Aaron had a unique way of going about his business that had those who thought they were ‘invincible’ against the perceived heroes of SCW because they would never abandon their morality to attack their character scrambling for responses while still staying true to the kind, upstanding man that he truly was and always would be. Syren was a truly noteworthy example, as he had no hesitations about using his artistic skills to expose how much of a broken record she was and left her baffled as to how to actually deal with him, which ultimately became her downfall when her usual arrogance blew up in her face. Even now, as Abigail Lindsay sought to ‘have some fun’ with the creative soul, it seemed like any mental advantage she felt she had after attacking him was upended on the previous Breakdown because Aaron had actually taken her up on her mocking offer to ‘paint a pretty picture for her.’

Whether Abi was doing this because she truly wanted to try her hand against him of her own accord or if she was simply doing the bidding of Infamous in retaliation for Syren’s defeat, Aaron would be prepared to turn back the challenge when Under Attack rolled around in his own unique fashion.

The more he thought about how he was dealing with his SCW affairs, the more he started to ponder how he could use that to resolve the quieter issue he was battling. While SCW believed the worst of what was on his plate right now was Abigail coming after him and maybe the occasional barbs from the likes of Infamous and the Beauty Factory about favoritism from being one of ‘Sasha’s chosen heroes,’ that paled in comparison from the way in his own head that needed to come to an end. It was clear, now more than ever, that Nemesis was desperately clinging to what little power he had left to try and keep Aaron in a state of stress and emotional self-destruction. The matter with Dylan and everything he’d done was over, he was starting to really get on a roll in SCW now, things with Liane couldn’t be any better as both their love for one another and Liane’s own comedy career were reaching new heights that somehow kept topping themselves… even the moments where he’d been losing control of his greatest asset had become mostly nonexistent with the Twin Stars having been willing to make peace and rebuild the bridge that had long been burned between them and their creator for the sake of being done with the negative nightmare once and for all.

All the abomination had left to weaponize was the lingering guilt over Dylan’s death and whether or not Aaron should consider himself a murderer, despite all evidence to the contrary.

It was truly a new low for the entity, trying to use the lingering sentiments of Dylan and his toxic influence to mentally break him down to a point where he could regain his footing in trying to consume Aaron, but the artist knew that as long as he had the slightest hint of negative feelings to latch onto, he would never truly be rid of him, and a life without some sort of negative feeling was an impossible feat for any human being to achieve permanently. Aaron could understand and cope with that… his real challenge was finding a way to detach his imagination from the sentiment so that it would stop being a voice in his head threatening to upend his entire life at a moment’s notice. Working to build an army out of his mental menagerie was one thing, considering he knew full well that if he struck at the right time Nemesis would be overwhelmed, but he truly needed something impressive if he was going to permanently sever the bonds that kept the creature going in the first place.

Thinking back to how things played out around this time last year and seeking to work the same confidence he was displaying against the likes of Syren and company in SCW into his imaginary war, he came up with an idea that was quite risky, but if pulled off could shift the tide of this struggle once and for all.

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It felt weird being here of his own volition, but he was at least glad to have some control this time around.

The last time Aaron had found himself wandering through the sepia-toned remnants of an old animation studio straight out of a certain indie survival horror game, it had been the product of a nightmare he’d had that seemed designed to imply he wasn’t as faithful to his relationship with Liane as he claimed to be, playing on the costume he’d adorned for Halloween the previous year and playing off an incident that had happened during Kelcey Wallace’s annual Halloween party. Even though it was never explicitly clear back then, he knew now in hindsight that it had been Nemesis’ doing to try and keep him in the dark abyss where he held all the cards.

What really intrigued the creative soul, however, was that he knew that nightmare place and it’s primary denizen still had to exist somewhere deep in the recesses of his imagination. There was far too much to that scene to be nothing more than a ‘simple nightmare’ and he had no reason to believe it was beyond his reach unless Nemesis required it.

It had taken quite a bit of time diving deep into his mental world, but he’d managed to finally locate the twisted old-timey studio and wasted no time in making his way through its empty halls. His journey had seen him even trek through the room he recalled from the nightmare, the floor still stained with the ink puddle he remembered being dragged into against his will, but he was determined to put that memory out of his head and continued on in search of the creature he’d come to have a little chat with. Thankfully, the pipes flowing with the wretched substance acted as an unintentional guide through the labyrinth until he found himself stopping at the edge of what looked like a literal river of ink, serving as the dumping ground where all the pipes emptied out from. On the other side, situated against a wall that looked like an absolute dead end to this entire area, was a small little castle-like structure that seemed to have been built out of the inky pipes themselves, the sticky liquid even leaking out from the walls in various places.

“I know I’d be better off just turning back, but if this thing exists in my imagination then there’s a chance I might be able to reason with it.”

With that, Aaron conjured up a small little hovercraft to glide over the river of ink, wanting to avoid the risk of the substance being able to trap and consume him upon contact as a means of keeping intruders at bay, especially after his last encounter with it hadn’t left him with a good impression. Thankfully, he was able to make it across safely without issue, though as he made his way through the suspiciously open door he had to turn back once he’d heard a sound, his eyes widening in horror as a colossal hand made of ink emerged from the river and slammed itself down onto his vehicle, annihilating it in an instant before dragging the remains back into the inky depths with it.

“Guess there’s no turning back now…”

With a sigh, the creative soul steeled himself for whatever awaited him as he forged ahead, the opening into the structure leading into a narrow and dimly lit hallway that only led to a single metal door, the sound of ink flowing through the pipes this ‘castle’ was made out of adding a sense of unease as Aaron knew full well he shouldn’t truly be alone here, and if what he recalled about who should reside here was correct, then he was very much a sitting duck right now should anything happen out of the blue. It didn’t stop him from advancing forward, determined to accomplish what he came here to do, even when he was face to face with the door that blocked his path. There was no visible sign of any way to open it, but that wasn’t going to stop him. He slowly lowered his body into a stance that indicated a strike was about to be launched, augmented by his imagination to make an entrance into whatever lay beyond if he couldn’t simply find one, but that was when the door slowly opened of its own accord…

And Aaron found himself tied up in inky black tendrils.

Before he fully had a chance to process the fact that he was now bound, his body was jerked through the opening before being slammed against the wall, the ink making sure he was bound ad unable to slip free. He grunted and winced in pain, the impact not doing any favors for his still somewhat tender ribs, before he found himself locking eyes with the very reason he came all the way out here, to begin with. In the center of this room, seated on a makeshift throne of bones and ink pipes weaved together in the kind of fashion that would give even the most ardent fan of disturbing horror movie visuals nightmares, sat a hulking abomination made entirely of ink, save for a few areas where it looked like wires and pipes intertwined with bones. The only feature to be found on this beast was its gaping maw, lined with razor-sharp teeth, but after a moment its face seemed to gain more form through the ink to resemble the last thing Aaron recalled when face-to-face with this monster: a monochrome version of his own face bearing that carnivorous nightmare of a smile.

“Well, well, well… what brings you to my little home in the dark depths of your depraved little mind?”

Aaron went to respond but found his voice disappear as the tendrils tightened around his midsection, stripping him of his breath and causing more pain to shoot through the wounds he knew were still lingering there.

“Actually, there’s no need to answer that. I have a pretty good idea of why you would go through so much trouble to track down a creature you’ve only ever met in your darkest nightmares. You’re hoping to have a little chat with me about master Nemesis, aren’t you?”

Aaron grit his teeth as he tried to think of a way to free himself, but it seemed like as long as he was tied up by the ink this demon commanded, his power within his own imagination was rendered useless. The creature tilted its head as it continued to lock eyes with the creative soul.

“He… he told you… I might be coming… didn’t he?”

“Nah, I just had a good hunch you might try it. After all, you’ve been taking an awful lot of risks lately, haven’t you?”

The monster motioned to something above its throne, and the next thing Aaron knew, several projector screens suddenly came to life. They may have shared the same sepia-toned theme of this entire area around him, but the detail was very clear in the replays of recent events in his life and career. The bold move of getting face-to-face with Syren with his painted to resemble cracks, the time-lapse of his caricature drawing as a warning to Syren about her future, Abigail’s response to the painting he made for her at her own request just days ago… even some non-SCW affairs like the confrontation with Dylan that fateful night or his recent ‘private fun’ with Liane after so long.

“Do you know what all of these clips have in common Aaron? They all show a bold side of you, willing to walk the line between the kind of ‘upstanding’ person you like to present yourself as, and the confident kind of asshole you condemn others for being. Funny to think that you believe you’re above any of that all because you make a few gutsy decisions, or call people out when they deserve it or even indulge in hedonistic desires when no other distraction from your problems will work.”

With a nod, the ink keeping Aaron bound suddenly fades away into nothingness, causing him to fall to the floor in a heap. He sits against the wall, catching his breath as the Ink Demon looks on in amusement.

“You made quite the risk thinking you could come here expecting to simply converse with me, but you are a fool if you believe you have anything to actually discuss with me.”

“Really? Then why don’t we forget about Nemesis and discuss you instead.”

The twisted reflection of Aaron’s own visage looked confused and intrigued by those words, though it was hard to tell when it had no eyebrows and its eyes looked like they were starting to be drowned out by the ink that gave it form.

“Why do you think you exist in my head?”

“Simple… I was an idea that formed when you were brainstorming ideas for your precious little Halloween fun last year, and Nemesis gave me a life beyond simply being a direct ripoff of that horror game creature you settled on. I wouldn’t get your hopes up on convincing me that because I’m still ‘your idea’ that I should hear you out.”

“I won’t argue with you there… you were an idea inspired by an existing source and Nemesis molded you into what you are today. Still, you continue to exist within my head when, normally, ideas that are either based off such sources or not entirely my doing cease to exist not long after they’ve served their purpose. The whole reason you were even picked to help him was that you had a perfectly convenient theme at the time to provide him the fear and self-doubt he was after from me. After that nightmare, I never saw you again, and yet you’re still here. What does that tell you?”

“That I still have a purpose to him.”

“If that were true, he’d have called on you to help him in either tormenting me more beyond that night or to fight in his little army against Dreambender and Gleeful to tear my imagination asunder. Instead, you’ve remained confined here… maybe that’s my doing so you had a place to reside just like all my creations, but surely you wouldn’t still be here if he truly needed you?”

The Ink Demon looked unamused at this claim, but it was at a loss for any meaningful response to those words. There was some truth to it… he had a home just like any of Aaron’s other demons did, and outside of that one nightmare he’d acted in almost one year ago to the date he’d seemingly been left to rot until now. With Aaron, it was understandable why it’d be in that scenario in the first place with everything that’s happened since then and him believing it was nothing more than a bad dream until this endeavor to track it down, but surely he still had some use to Nemesis… right?

“You were nothing more than a tool to him, Ink Demon. You were created for one single purpose and then discarded as he focused on other ways to try and destroy my mental and emotional stability.”

The inky black monster suddenly leaped from its throne, moving at a blinding speed to try and sink its teeth into Aaron, but to its surprise, it caught nothing in its maw. It turned to find its prey had managed to see the move coming and slid underneath it while it was still airborne, the creative soul now standing with one foot on the ink-stained seat it once occupied.

“And what about you? Are the other demons not tools for your own use as well and nothing more? Existing only as works of art or ideas for you to flaunt how creative you are to the wrestling world, generating a profit that only you can enjoy?”

The projector screens suddenly flickered before changing the images they presented, showing previous instances of Aaron’s demons coming into battle with him at various SCW pay-per-views in the past. Aaron glanced up at these before turning back to the malevolent reflection before him.

“If anything residing here in my imagination was just a tool for me to use and abuse, why would I have even gone through all this trouble? Every one of them has a defined form, both in physical and personality attributes. They all have a place to call home, a life designed for them to live, a purpose to keep them going. You are no different… you wouldn’t still exist if I was lying to you. The same goes for Nemesis, who has gone beyond being an idea and seeks to abuse what he was given in a bid to become something greater. He would’ve never taken you with him should he achieve that, but I know there’s still a purpose for you, and the world deserves a chance to see it for their own eyes.”

The Ink Demon lets out a low growl as it slowly begins to crawl towards Aaron, who braces himself in the event things are about to get physical again. The artist is silently thankful that it doesn’t end up coming to that, as the creature stops once they’re face-to-face.

“What is it that you want, exactly?”

“I want you to side with me… Nemesis has abandoned you, and I’m offering you a chance to make him pay for it. Show him what he lost by deciding he didn’t need you anymore to try and destroy me. That’s all I ask… in return, you can consider yourself free. You can be your own entity, free of the shackles of doing his bidding and deciding your own fate here inside my head. I’m even open to giving you the perfect platform to not only make your intentions clear, but also show the world exactly what you’re capable of.”

Aaron motions his head towards what the projectors are playing above, and the ink monster looks back up at them again in understanding of what’s been offered to him. He silently mulls this over for a moment, being watched carefully by the man who’s essentially promised him a purpose, something he hasn’t had in almost a year. Finally, the twisted grin returns to the demon’s face as it extends one of its claws to him.

“You took a risk in trying this Aaron, but you can consider my services yours. Don’t get used to this though… that luck will run out if you keep daring to tempt fate.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m lucky… just creative enough to know how to pull off whatever crazy act I feel needs to be taken when push comes to shove.”

“Still, try not to make a habit of it. I promise it will bite you in the ass if you’re not careful.”

Aaron nods, at least taking solace in the fact that this warning was more genuine than anything else he’d heard along the same lines from the creature up to this point. As he put hand to claw to finalize this deal, he could feel the Ink Demon melting away back into the substance that gave it life and form, the ink beginning to consume him as it did once before. Unlike that fateful moment one year ago, though, there was no sense of fear or dread suffocating him, no need to panic… this was a moment of understanding between the two as their bond was officially formed, not only giving Aaron a weapon that he knew would make a serious impact against Nemesis but also one that was going to really throw Abigail for a loop.

After all, she’d failed to heed his painted warning about how the path she was on was slowly going to lead to her undoing, so now it only seemed fitting if he gave a creature only seen as a tool by its original master a greater purpose to show her why her own use as Infamous’ tool wasn’t going to get her what she desired.

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Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.

Especially when you don’t know exactly what it is you’re getting.

When it comes to SCW, you’ll find people making demands all the time. Whether it’s title opportunities, a match with a specific opponent, a preferred stipulation or maybe even some way to bend the rules in their favor in hopes of making the night’s work easier for them, you won’t have to go far to hear somebody making a wish even if they know it won’t be granted. The reality is that you simply don’t always get what you want, especially when what you’re after is something you truly don’t deserve. Many like myself simply want to compete and prove ourselves in the ring week after week against the very best and let our actions and talents do all the talking for us, but since we know full well we aren’t likely to always get that with so many around here simply demanding to be handed the world on a silver platter, we’re willing to take matters into our own hands to get those opportunities to prove ourselves and advance from there to greater opportunities earned through our hard work.

Sometimes, though, you may actually get what you wish for. When that happens… are you truly ready for what you’ve gotten yourself into?

It’s no secret that over the course of this year, I have been busting my ass every chance I’ve gotten to work my way up the ranks and prove I belong here. I’ve been bold enough to take my shots against certain individuals who’ve started letting their perception be clouded by their overinflated sense of self-worth to this company, and in response they’ve taken to this media spin that I’m only where I am right now because I’ve simply being handed everything while they are the ones struggling to get what they deserve. I don’t recall asking for a whole lot since I’ve come here… at most, maybe the opportunity to open my mind at times to share with all of you what lies within so you, too, can embrace the creativity we all possess because it’s never something to be afraid of. I’ve earned title opportunities and challenged some of the very best SCW has to offer and win or lose I’ve always come away from the experience with something that will allow me to improve upon what I have to offer the next time around. If anything, I’d say I know myself and what I can and can’t do better than anybody else, so if I go on record saying that I’m not ready for something, I’m making an honest statement at that point in time. Doesn’t mean it won’t change in the future, but I simply need to keep at it if I want to get to where I wish I was.

I know, to a certain someone that might not sound very creative, but if her reaction to something from this past Breakdown was any indication I’d say she wasn’t expecting me to actually take her words to heart.

Abigail Lindsay is a woman who seems like she wants to be the kind of person who causes chaos purely for the sake of watching it unfold before her very eyes, knowing she was the catalyst. And yet, I’ve seen moments where it seems like chaos isn’t exactly the game she wants to play when things suddenly aren’t going her way. She spent months trying to play a proverbial game of chess with Ravyn Taylor, and then out of the blue she suddenly happens to be standing by her side as though she were a part of Infamous, conveniently going after anybody who has a problem with the group in some capacity or those who may have ‘done them wrong’ by their definition of the term. When things fell apart for whatever plan she and Ravyn seemed to have at Rise to Greatness, they took it upon themselves to put the offending party on the shelf in retaliation. When Syren was losing the World Title in the night’s main event, she happened to get involved to take one of the participants out of the equation in hopes of bettering the former champion’s odds.

And of course, right after I beat Syren clean in the middle of that ring and make a major statement on my climb to the top, I’m suddenly attacked by her and Syren and Ravyn find themselves breathing a sigh of relief that I may be too tied up to do anything about foiling whatever plans they have for the Chamber Match.

Maybe the claims you’ve made to me hold some weight after all Abi. For all I know, maybe I have been on your radar and you struck when you felt you had your best chance to get my attention. Maybe the timing is simply too convenient even if your track record on that front would suggest otherwise. It doesn’t matter… you got my attention. You struck when I least expected it and got yourself some time to gloat about the statement you made. You got to make the claim that instead of simply looking me in the eyes and saying you wanted a shot at me, just as I did to Syren leading into Apocalypse, you took a cheap shot because you wanted to play a game with me for Under Attack. You even asked me to ‘paint a pretty picture’ for you.

You didn’t think I was actually going to give you what you asked for, did you?

Your response to my little gift on Breakdown was all I needed to know that I might’ve shaken up whatever advantage you thought you had going into our match on Sunday. Sure, you can try to save face by claiming you made your own statement by destroying the work I did, but the way you dragged that knife through the painted canvas spoke volumes about how much my ‘pretty picture’ rattled you. To be fair, I was simply giving you what you asked for… you never specified exactly WHAT you wanted me to paint, and clearly what I offered wasn’t what you had in mind, assuming you actually had anything in mind when you threw that little request out there so casually. The best-laid plans of a woman seeking chaos and throwing herself behind the ideals of a faction just because her ‘intellectual equal’ happens to be a part of it falling apart in the face of someone showing exactly what’s going to happen if you stick with this…

That is your curse to bear Abi, and you have no one but yourself to blame for believing this was the right path for you all along.

Surely someone of your self-perceived intelligence can see the writing on the wall. You’re being used Abi, and even if you know it and fully admit to it that doesn’t mean you’ve got any sort of edge on being able to do anything about it when you’ve outlived your usefulness. How many alliances have Syren and Ravyn outlived when it stopped being beneficial to them? I know you’ve witnessed what happened when Marie Jones threw her support in with them as Katya tried to run the show, all in the name of finally getting the recognition she thought she deserved. In the end, she realized she was nothing more than a pawn to them from the very beginning, her World Title opportunities being a means of making sure she stuck to the plan like a carrot being dangled in front of her face to obscure her focus from what was going on around her. She’s managed to recover though… I’m not so sure you actually want to.

Of course, I could be reading too much into things. Maybe you really do think this was the best way to get my attention, challenging my creativity despite resorting to the same tired antics that have defined your newfound friends for years and didn’t help Syren when it came time to put up or shut up against me. I’d have thought that maybe you learned something from that if you were going to fire the first shot, maybe even meet me on my battlefield of choice with everything you said on Twitter. And yet, up to this point, you’ve yet to prove that this is anything beyond simply being exactly what I said you were from the beginning of this: Infamous’ attack dog making sure I ‘know my place’ for daring to challenge Syren and expose her decaying facade in front of the entire world, and on my terms no less.

Personally, I think you’re better than all of that Abi.

Regardless of the reason, the fact of the matter is you dove into the abyss thinking you knew what to expect from me, and you’re about to find out firsthand the same thing so many others have when meeting me in that ring: there is no way to be completely prepared for what I’ll bring to this dance. You don’t know what’s waiting for you when you reach the bottom of this deep end, all you know is that I will weaponize my creativity and that’s about the extent of it. What I decide to bust out in order to keep you at bay is only rivaled by the question of what it’ll actually take for you to try and keep down a man who fought through the excruciating aftermath of a near-death experience and survived everything thrown at him by someone who, I will not deny, is one of the best to ever set foot in a wrestling ring based on accomplishments alone. No amount of cheap shots or verbal barbs will help you once that bell rings, so let me ask you, honestly…

Was all of this worth it?

Is this really what you wanted?

Or are you starting to regret making the first move in our game now that you’ve had a glimpse of the future I’ve painted for you?

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words Abi, and if you thought my painting on Breakdown spoke volumes? Then you haven’t seen anything yet.