Taking Hold of the Flame Battle Royal

[Syren]

Sometimes when you have an idea in your head and it goes horribly wrong on the show it sucks. Other times it ends up in an RP that actually explains why it went wrong and somehow makes it better than it originally was. So... yay?

Hopefully the first of two for Syren, depending on how much work kicks my ass tomorrow.

Enjoy.



The Syren Song: Verse 331
"I’m seriously starting to think you’re recruiting me for a cult"

[The Man Who Laughs]

Send in the Clown
 
 
Chapter 7: Fears Realized
 
 
Quite the month or so, wouldn’t you say?
 
Yes, I know, you have a shit ton of stories and such to go through – the number of participants for the match I am to be involved with is quite massive. You’ll probably have to spend a week or two just to get through it all, and all before tuning in to watch the damn event.
 
I don’t have to worry about that, you see. Because, mostly, I don’t give a shit about the others. All thirty-nine of them. Stories of drug-problems, stories of relationship problems, people joining cults, people crying for the past or lost ones, people even dying… they don’t really matter to me. And while I would normally, at least, consider the promos in terms of strategy, let’s face it, there’s only one or two people that need to worry about EVERY SINGLE entrant in this match – but I’ll get to that, you’ll see…
 
The point is that there is only one story that I am concerned with you hearing and understanding in all of this annual clusterfuckity madness and that is my own. My story, starring me and my family: My Marina and my son, Memphis.
 
With that in mind, you can imagine that I was still feeling rather at odds with my partner/soulmate/lover/wife -  so many things to call her – after the events of two and a half weeks ago. Did I feel bad about lying to her? About leaving her in the house thinking she was wrong and had done wrong in kicking me to the ground – literally…
 
Truthfully? Of course I did. I still do feel bad about it.
 
I hated lying to her, even if that lie was a lie of omission. Cause that’s what I was doing – lying by omission. She had been right. Of course there was something wrong with my knee. Of course it was a giant bullseye to anyone that found out about it – hell, when I had fought Glory Braddock last, when I was defending the Adrenaline title, she had all but figured it out…
 
Let me distract for a moment to tell you about that moment…
 
There we were, in the ring – and I’ll give Glory Braddock all the credit in the world – unlike another certain blonde who’s spend more time whining, crying, and getting in cheap shots because she’s bitter that she couldn’t beat me and take the Adrenaline title from me, this blonde was actually a competent wrestler. And, if I am honest, I realized really quick that she was better than me. Maybe not me in my heyday, when I was untouchable against the likes of Christy Matthews, Jason Zero, Adam Allocco, David Helms and so on, but now? As I was? Yeah, definitely…
 
To be frank, if anyone is going to win this upcoming battle royale, other than me, it would be her…
 
But I refuse to have another distract to take away from the distract of the previous line of thought. With a map like that, this train of thought would be in the middle of nowhere and what the hell kind of narrative would that be? So, back to the first distract – fighting Glory. That was a moment I’ll never forget:
 
Glory had tripped me up, whipped me around – there I was on the mat, looking up at the lights for a moment and my knee, even with the brace on and working as intended, was screaming in pain. I remember moving my head to regard my opponent who, strange enough, had not pressed her current attack on me. It wasn’t until I saw her that I realized why. Her eyes were fixated on my knee… and I could see the gears working in that experienced brain of hers, putting it together and reaching a conclusion I have tried to hide from everyone from the moment I was aware of it.
 
Now, I don’t know what the record is for ‘number of mental curses in a span of four seconds’, but I truly think I destroyed it in those moments. In that moment, guys, whether you want to believe me or not, I was terrified. How terrified, you may ask? I’ll put it this way: the last time I was this scared, this morbidly frightened, was when my face was on fucking fire!
 
Immediately, as Glory, like a veteran and skilled-wrestler ought to do, attacked my knee like a shark who had just smelled blood in the water, all I could think about was the world knowing. The world finding out. And people using it…
 
Because what sounds better for an accolade, people?
 
“I beat Shilo Valiant and took the Adrenaline title from him”?
Or…
“I retired Shilo Valiant and took him out of SCW for good!”?
 
What? You think I’m overreacting? Well, let’s take the likes of Syren. You think simply ‘beating me’ would appease her? You think she’d stroll out of bed, get on her blog, and go “I just wanna beat Shilo… Be Totally Jealous!” after everything we’ve been through? Do you think Holly Adams would do that? After taking credit for people she ‘took out of SCW’?
 
If that were the case, why the FUCK would I have been put through a table last week on Breakdown AFTER the fucking match was over?!
 
It’s amazing how the SCW Universe, fan and roster member alike, can think. So many of you think that there’s a line you don’t cross or shouldn’t cross. That there’s ‘a way’ to do things.
 
What a joke!
 
If that was the way, I would not have scars lining my face. I wouldn’t HAVE these knee problems in the first place and I wouldn’t have to be worried about my career ending every time I entered a ring.
 
The reason my fears exist is the same reason my scars exist and the same reason my injuries exist. It’s because so many people in SCW aren’t the ‘good people’ you think they are. So many people are far worse than the ‘bad people’ you think they are. When push comes to shove, they will turn on one another and destroy each other to get ahead. It’s why I laugh at the ‘camaraderie’ of such people like Minerva, Konrad and Kandis or the ABC Club – that’s Asher, Holly and Cid, by the way - or the ‘new direction’ of the supposed ‘noble’ Bree Lancaster.
 
I laugh because while so many of them make these dated jokes about me and my masks – or makeup if you’re as behind the times as Holly is – they are the ones wearing the masks around here, and when push comes to shove, they will tear and rip each other apart the second they get the chance.
 
I mean, if you don’t believe me, just wait till this Sunday. Watch how alliances will start in the beginning, but as it whittles down to the final few? Watch them all is just fall away and they turn on each other without a second thought, stabbing each other in the back with a smile on their faces – smiles far more grotesque than mine.
 
Because that’s what Taking Hold of the Flame represents: there being only one: One winner. One new number one contender. One person to go to the show of shows. And, unless you’re a Disney Princess – and hey! We’ve got one! (See?! I can make that joke too! Overused as it is!) - every person in this business, when pushed far enough, will destroy everyone else to get what they want.
 
Why am I mentioning this now? Honestly? Mostly because it fits to my story, but also because… truthfully? You will find very little of these elements regarding the majority of those ‘animals’ here. In fact, next to nothing at all. True, I may make a reference to a few of them, but you won’t find me making grand lists, isolating every threat or even something as generic as ‘glossing over every single competitor to avoid sounding boring’.
 
For some of you that like that, this is your chance to scroll down and see the next person’s ‘efforts’. Trust me, I won’t be offended. Like I said, I don’t care how many people go through this story of mine. This is my story and it’s for my entertainment that I tell it.
 
But back to the animals and their actions:
 
Going through that table at Breakdown had also been rough, I won’t lie. I’d like to see someone, other than a whacked out guy like Dillusion or Giovanni actually LIKE going through a table. Even Rachel Foxx was smart enough to go “damn! That hurt!” when it did. As I landed, and just before the pain hit me, I found myself grateful that Marina actually didn’t watch me wrestle anymore….
 
I always think of Marina.
 
Ten years we’ve been married. I’ve known her for, at least, twenty years. When I came into SCW, she just came along with me, staying with me through so much of it – every part of it actually – she even was the one that inducted me into the Hall of Fame. She’s been such a part of my life that I couldn’t imagine life without her, though I have had to suffer through that on a few times – please do not ask me to go back to the whole ‘Brother Grimm’, ‘Near and Seek Detectives’ story-telling style… There was a reason I ‘retired’ when I did and that’s a particular story I don’t wish to revisit here any time soon.
 
But you can understand why my last thoughts would be on Marina as I crashed through that table.
 
My first thoughts after that, of course, were more mental cursing at the aches and pain that fall brought on. Driving back home was made worse because of the bumpy roads, each jolt and jerk, even on the, supposedly ‘smooth’ highway agitated the bruises in my spine.
 
But I hadn’t been home since Marina and my confrontation a week prior. I wanted to go back sooner but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the right words.
 
I know – me, the jester, the Man Who Laughs, the storyteller, the World’s Greatest Showman! PT Barnum Reincarnated! At a loss for words…
 
It was because I was debating telling her the truth.
 
Now, if you missed my last chapter in this story, then that won’t mean much to you… or if you’re someone that goes through other people’s stories and promos every week like fanfiction-sluts needing your fix then you might not recall such particular details either. Not going to judge, just saying for those of you that don’t know or recall, I’ll enlighten you.
 
I had done all I can to hide my injury from my soulmate. The knee, the brace, how the injury was affecting me – every aspect of it. I couldn’t let her know. I didn’t want to let her know. Because if I did, I knew – I just knew – that the first thing she would do is run to Mr. D., call him up and tell him about it and OH! Have I got some things to say to that old man – but I knew that if he had any reason to get rid of me cleanly, without me being able to fight him on it, he would take it.
 
Marina would have given him that opportunity, even if she didn’t mean to, if she told him. And then I’d be out of SCW once more, back to rotting away on the couch while I waited for death to consume me in a boring, pfft of an ending.

That’s why I hid my injury from her and why everything fell apart in the last chapter. I didn’t want it to. I wanted her to know and be on my side. I wanted her to understand that, yes, I was injured, but I needed to keep going. I needed to keep pushing things forward.
 
In other words: The Show Must Go On…
 
That. Right there. If you asked me what phrase or logic guides my hand, that would be my answer. “The Show Must Go On”. And I needed my show to go on. I needed it to keep going to give me an ending that I could settle with. I needed some ending that was on my terms. My decision, not something that was thrown together and than left behind by some broken down, obnoxious family that lost sight of what SCW is years ago!
 
But, lying among the pieces of lumber, looking up at the ceiling again, my brain still not registering the pain – maybe I was semi-unconscious or something or perhaps my nerves had been temporarily suspended from their functions, who could say? But there… I found myself just missing how Marina would be there with me in such moments, checking on me. Or how she’d know how I was feeling cause she watched my matches from home and then would help me recover.
 
Did you know that I had to recover from my Under the Big Top match with Aaron Blackbourne by myself? Not because Marina was heartless, but because, for the reasons I told you, I couldn’t tell her how much I was hurting. I couldn’t tell her how much pain I was in or how much I needed help. Again, she would have just called the D. family and Sasha, maybe after a talk with ‘daddy-dearest’, would deal me out… they almost had…
 
But I found myself, perhaps for the first time in all of this, wanting to tell Marina the truth AND planning to do so. Wanting to tell her that I was hurt and that I was scared. Not just wanting to tell her, but making the conscious decision “I am going to tell her”.
 
Yes, I’m not bullshitting you guys here. I debated it since the fight she and I had, but after Breakdown, I just… I remember distinctly deciding that I was going to tell her. Was I pissed that I had to be put through a fucking table to reach this point? Oh very much so. Was I pissed that I seemed to be headed to ANOTHER round with Holly Adams if I failed to win the battle royale at Taking Hold of the Flame? You bet!
 
But in the days that followed, as I recovered in Raleigh in a quiet house using AirBnB, I became more and more sure that I could tell her the truth AND convince her not to rat me out to SCW corporate. I knew there had to be a way. The right choice of words, the perfect explanation. Something that would make Marina understand why I needed her, yes, but also how I needed to keep wrestling, at least for a little while longer (we’d reached my one year mark a little ways ago. Thanks for the well-wishes, guys! -_- )
 
And what was incredible about that – what felt so amazing – was that after I had made my decision… that I was going to tell Marina everything… I felt happy. Maybe a little giddy. Was I worried about her getting angry at me for lying? Sure. Was I worried about her refusing to listen and running to SCW management? Yeah, a little…
 
But as I told you earlier, I hated this fascade that I had to keep putting on with my soulmate.
 
I mean, what has been so refreshing for me here in my return to SCW has been the fact that I could do whatever the hell I wanted and just call it as I see it. If I wanted to ‘pretend to be hunted by a masked degenerate’, I could do that! If I wanted to act like a scaredy-cat to point out the glaring problems in how the D. family treat certain talent and conduct business, I could do that! I didn’t have to put on airs or worry about my ‘language’ as a good guy and I didn’t have to be ‘OH SO EVIL!’ as a bad guy for the entertainment.
 
I was the entertainment, more so than ever before, and I was having more fun than I had in my last years in SCW – part of the reason why I didn’t want it to end. And it was all because I could be honest. I didn’t need to go such extremes as dealing with killers or convicts or whatever the Kings of Shadows created. I didn’t have to live two lives.
 
I could just… be me. That make sense?
 
Except… it was almost like everything had gone in reverse. Where I was always me at home in the Kings of Shadows while sometimes ‘playing a part’ for the sake of SCW, now I was being myself (and whatever I wanted to be, whatever entertained me) in SCW and ‘playing a part’ at home.
 
I wanted to stop all that. I wanted things to be as open and free at home as they had been before and how things were, presently, in SCW. And to do that, I needed to be transparent with Marina.
 
So, yes, while the ride home was bumpy and uncomfortable on my sore back, there was almost a healthy nervousness in me as I drew closer and closer to my destination – home in Guelph.
 
Pulling into the driveway, I had to wait inside my car for what felt like an hour, trying to calm my nerves. The clock said it was just becoming evening now, and the sun getting closer to hiding behind the horizon was also an indication of that. The lights were on in the family room, I could see that even through the thin, white blinds that were pulled.
 
I felt my hands grip and tighten around the steering wheel, the car already having been turned off. The leather caught my skin a little and felt rather nice, so I did again. Fuck, was I nervous. If I could describe the feelings, it felt like I was trying to ask Marina out on a date for the first time, only that time hadn’t been nervous at all…
 
Okay, let me tell this story! So about three years before I joined SCW (that would be 2006, people), Marina and I were out celebrating my twentieth birthday. Yeah, “The Necro-Merchant’s 20th Birthday Party”, sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Well, the truth is, it was okay. There was a good little party with my friends like Muskrat, Nomas, Femora, and Spider as well as my other friends like…like…
 
Wow…I don’t remember all of their names… is that what I’ve come to? It’s been so many years since I’ve seen so many of them. Some of them are even dead as far as I know, I know who a few of them are/were… but I can’t recall their names…. I don’t know why that bothers me right now… And yet, much like this upcoming royale, who remembers the ‘supporting players’ years later? Who remembers the guy I eliminated when I won the royale or the top four before that? Who was the iron-person of that year? That’s life – they say ‘don’t forget about the little people who got you where you are’, but it’s so easy to do that! It’s exactly what happens. You get forgotten, lost to the numbers, all your efforts dismissed to time….
 
But before I get too depressing with that train of thought, back to my party. We had celebrated nicely and everyone had long since gone back to their homes within the Kings of Shadows, except for Marina and I. We were just walking through one of the many tunnels – the safe ones that didn’t lead to the Garden or the Children of Eden. Those were forbidden for the safety of those in the KOS and the Underground.
 
Actually, hold on…let me change something here so you guys can see this is as a flashback…
 
There we go! Little indication to make things clear – can’t say I’m not a good storyteller!
 
“Did you get everything you wanted?” Marina asked me, looking up at me with those soft, brown eyes.
“Mostly.” I replied, trying not to sound as cliché as can be and failing miserably. “I’m not really a materialistic kind of guy.”
 
Keep in mind, ladies and gentlemen, Marina and I knew the other liked the other. Hell, I found out by stealing one of my favourite scenes from “A Walk to Remember” – no seriously! She was on stage, singing “Only Hope” like Mandy Moore, I was on stage with her, performing for the KOS talent show play, and right at the end, like Shane West (who, I’ve been told I look like – can’t say I see it these days), I swooped in and kissed her.
 
Now, we hadn’t talked about it for some time, and I can’t believe I was such a dork back then, but she hadn’t pushed me back or screamed in my face or slapped me or anything like that. But, we hadn’t really talked about it since it happened. We had just… I don’t know… went on as if things were normal.
 
Which was really grating on my nerves. I mean, I made the leap, didn’t I? I kissed her. Wasn’t it partly her responsibility to respond to that, either good or bad?
 
Or maybe that was my job since I made the first move?
 
Regardless, at that point in time, walking the tunnels of the Kings of Shadows, I had reached a point in all of this where I had no anxiety in asking her. I, honestly, just wanted to know.
 
“Man… Two-Zero…” Marina smiled at me. “I can’t wait till I reach that age.”
“Two more years.” I told her. “You won’t even notice it.”
“You say that, but it took forever for me to reach eighteen.”
“Yeah, that’s eighteen years. Twenty is just two now.” I countered, which she replied with a roll of her eyes.
 
“Got any plans?” she asked suddenly as we turned a corner in our walk, passing the ‘water-basin’ that helped run under Toronto into the streams and rivers (far from the subway stations).
 
“Plans?” I asked. “Uh…try to take over the world?”
“No, Pinky.” Again, that cute little eye-roll. “I mean, you gotta have plans! A career? Travel?”
 
At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought. I was already being trained as Spider’s successor as the Necro-Merchant, the old man showing me how to make Necro and how best to distribute it, what sections of Toronto to avoid and how to evade cops and gangs and whatever… it seemed clear to me that little was going to change for me, regardless which decade my life entered.
 
So, I simply shrugged. “No plans.” I answered.
“You can’t be serious.”
 
“Marina.” I shook my head. “We’re outcasts. We’re people that the upper world shunned and threw down here to be forgotten. I don’t have a true education and no one really wants to hire a street-rat. I’ve lived here and I’m pretty sure I’ll die here like several others will, and I’m cool with that.”
 
“I…” she stopped for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. To clarify, I hadn’t meant to sound pessimistic or discouraging to her when I had said that. I didn’t see anything wrong with living and dying in the Kings of Shadow. We were a community onto ourselves, in my opinion, much better than the world up there.
 
Up there, people killed one another for the slightest bit of success. They took from others whatever they wanted, regardless of what it cost the other person. Murder, rape, destruction – there was no place for it in the K.O.S (I thought at the time) – only existing in the realm of the Garden with Ian Ryper, the Death Merchant. Was it so bad if I stayed in this world and became a leader of it like Spider did? I didn’t see it that way. To me, it was something to be proud of. Helping others find a home when the world had abandoned them? Saving people that needed sanctuary…
 
“I don’t believe that.” Marina had finally chosen her words. “I think there’s more out there for me… for you too.”
 
She looked at me then, I’ll never forget. There was such conviction in her eyes, an earnestness that I simply could not ignore. It was captivating. And whether I believed her or not, I still moved in, my lips finding hers again. Not exactly smooth but I never said I was Casanova, did I?
 
This time around, she seemed far more ready, her arms wrapping around my neck to hold me firm to her (even though I was the stronger of us). We stood there, just outside of the basin area – I won’t go into the details of the kiss, I am not Chad Evans or Ace Marshall bragging about such intimate moments, so…
 
Marina was the first one to break the kiss, which seemed fair, pulling back a little to slowly smile at me. “What the hell took you so long to kiss me again?”
“Me?!” I asked with a laugh.
“Yeah!” she countered. “You kissed me first.”
“So? That mean I have to do it again? By logic’s standard, it would have been your turn.”
“Fine.” She shrugged before puling me back in for another kiss, this one shorter than the last but no less sweet.
“We good?” she asked.
“Yeah, except I want to ask you on a date.” I replied.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I raised an eyebrow. “As in you’ll date me?”
“Okay as in ‘ask me on a date’.”

I remember laughing at that and even pushing her away a bit so I could pretend to be annoyed. “You’re just literally trying to drag this out.”
 
“No, it’s just that I have plans too!” she countered. “And if I’m going to have a boyfriend, I want to be asked properly.”
“Fine.” I huffed, turning my head to look at her. “Will you go on a date with me?”
 
She appeared to give it some thought but… long story short? She said ‘yes’.
 
And welcome back to present-time-storytelling-kinda. I had to smile at that memory as I’ve described it to you. And for those of you keeping up with me, you know that the rest was history. Still, it was good to have this memory in my mind, giving me the confidence and positive emotion to get out of the car, close the door behind me and enter the house.
 
To my surprise however, when I called out for Marina, she did not respond. I did hear movements approaching me, but it belonged to Becky, Memphis’ babysitter.
 
“Hello, Mr. Valiant.” The short, spiky blonde hair girl offered with a smile. “Back from work?”
“Hi Becky.” I answered, before quickly adding. “Yeah… long drive. Marina isn’t home?”
“Nope. She said she had a meeting with one of her clients.”
 
I could only nod at that, excusing Becky and sending her home now that I was here to look after Memphis, who was eating his spaghetti-os at the kitchen table. Seeing me, he gave a wave hello and a ‘Hi, dad!’.
 
“Hey, kiddo.” I smiled. “Your mom still at work?”
He gave a nod. “Becky let me play video games after my homework. I got to level four on Super Mario 3D world!”
 
“Good for you…” I smiled, though I wasn’t sure why I was saying that. Still, as the only parent in the house, I stayed with him as he finished his dinner, played his games for another hour or so, before heading to bed.
 
Marina still hadn’t come home.
 
Now, before you go off on your theories because I know ONE of you is gonna go “seriously?! Adultery? That’s where he’s going with this story to make it interesting? The old ‘wife is cheating on me’ angle? How cliché!” relax. I’m not going to be so cliché. Marina wasn’t out somewhere cheating on me, I was confident in that.
 
That woman had the chance to cheat on me more times than I can remember, and had some damn good reasons to do so, especially lately. But in about fifteen or so years, she never strayed from me or I from her. Just how it was. I’d say it was love but you wouldn’t believe me, but, hey, fuck you – it was love.
 
Still, I didn’t want to go to bed and sleep, despite being tired, until I had spoken to her about my injury -confessed about my mistakes, if you will. Mostly because, if I didn’t right then and there, I might wake up the next morning and change my mind…
 
So, I poured myself some black tea that I got from the cupboard, but as I reached up for the cup, my back – still feeling the effects of that table crash landing, decided to make its presence known, complaining about the long ride home being crammed in that small, blue 2010 Ford Fiesta.
 
My tea temporality forgotten, I looked into the cupboards where we usually kept the ‘safe’ medication, looking for some aspirin or advil to help take the edge off. Sadly, none could be found – which I assumed was my fault because I was the one using them for my knee like they were candy. Yeah, that’s right, I’m admitting that I fucked up and should have gotten more from Shopper’s before I came home, okay?
 
But! There was hope that came to me in a flash of memory! Because I remembered that Marina kept a bottle of advil in our ‘office room’, the room she and I had committed specifically to an office space, mostly for her because… well… what was I going to use one for? Can’t really wrestle over a large desk…
 
I mean you can… but not for SCW… and not in public.
 
Anyway, I had seen Marina get a bottle of advil from her drawer in the study before. It would have to do for this case and I could buy some more for her and the cupboard next time I went out.
 
My mind made up, I walked the few steps needed to reach that side of the house and enter the room, turning on the appropriate lights as I passed. Immediately, I spotted the folders on top of the table, the potted plant in the corner, and the faint lights from her computer, still on.
 
Her drawer was easy to find. It just needed me to go around the desk to where she sat. Helping myself to a seat, if only to support my back for a moment, I pulled open the drawer, my eyes immediately setting on the bottle that rolled to the end thanks to the momentum of my pulling it open. My eyes quickly spied the ‘advil’ label on the bottle and, just as quickly, I popped out two tablets and swallowed them roughly, not caring over the fact that I didn’t have water to help me (Yeah… don’t say I’m not tough. More impressive than running the royale from straight to finish, Shilo Valiant can swallow his pills WITHOUT needing a drink to do it! THAT deserves to be under my name on the Hall of Fame page!).
 
As my body settled and I waited for the medication to kick in, I stayed in the chair, hearing the ticking of the clock in the room. After about fifteen or so minutes, I contemplated testing my back to see if the advil was working, as well as moving to the family room to watch some Netflix like ‘Lucifer’’s latest season. As I was about to move out of the chair, though, my eyes spotted a folder in the pile on Marina’s desk (three were the usual off-brown/orange colors, but the one that caught my eyes was different). It was pitch-black with a red string tying it shut.
 
Immediately, my mind starting racing with fun ideas of what was in the envelope. Were the CRA trying new methods to encourage people to pay their bills? Instead of ‘final notices’, we go with ‘black envelopes’. That sounded so much more effective and creative to me. Or! Or! Maybe it was a doctor! Pirates use to give ‘the black spot’ to other pirates and sailors to warn them their death was coming. A doctor could do that! Oh, but then Marina or me would have death nearby and that wasn’t fun to think about.
 
Maybe! Maybe! Maybe this was one of her clients inviting her to a black-tie affair and the black envelope matched the choice of attire they wanted.
 
Around the eighth or ninth guess, which involved a black trampoline birthday party invite or a Tim Burton Movie Marathon from one of Memphis’ friends, I decided to just fuck it and check anyway. Reaching out to take it with my hand, I carefully removed it from the pile and untied the red string that kept it sealed. With a swift hand, I pulled out the papers to read the page…
 
And nearly dropped the papers and envelope when I saw the bold heading at the top of the page.
 
Divorce Agreement
 
With my name scribbled there… next to Marina’s….
 
Yeah… remember when I said this thing wasn’t going to get a little cliché? I lied. Cliffhanger….
 
 
************************************************


The camera opens to darkness for a few seconds before a spotlight suddenly shines, illuminating a single spot, where a rather simple chair is placed. The sound of steps are heard as Shilo Valiant walks into the spotlight and takes a seat on the chair. He wears black pants, a brown shirt, and no mask. Rather, there is nothing of Shilo’s appearance that would even remotely suggest ‘The Man Who Laughs’. If anything… it appears to simply be Shilo Valiant.
 
He tilts his head to the left, and then to the right, his eyes locked on the audience he wishes to address, before he smiles and finally speaks…
 
I have a message for someone…
 
Yes. That’s right. You won’t be seeing merry-go-rounds or masks right now. You won’t hear dark noises like children laughing or glass breaking. That’s not for today.
 
Today… no effects. No magic. Put simply, this is a heart to heart that I must have with a particular blonde woman in SCW… and no, it certainly is not that Twitter-troll, Holly Adams. Much as she has no true respect for me and all I’ve done for her, I will not waste any more time speaking of her here.
 
No… Taking Hold of the Flame – the road to Rise to Greatness – deserves my attention far more. It deserves far better than that. And no one in all of SCW, past or present or future, understand and appreciate that more than me. Which is why I need to have this heart to heart with that special someone…
 
…
 
…
 
…
 
Hello, Zoe…
 
I know, you would probably rather I call you ‘Syren’ when talking about work, right? But come on, Zoe… you and me? The history we’ve had? The history we’ve made together? I’m sure we’re beyond the point of such things. After all, you are more than allowed to call me ‘Shilo’, are you not?
 
It is good to be talking to you, Zoe. It really is. I mean, you’re one of the few people in my career that’s is still here. Aside from the ‘in and out’ oldies like Josh Hudson and David Helms, you’re one of the few that’s remained…
 
And given the things that have occurred recently on my show – given how the game has been set here for the entertainment, I felt that I needed to break that silence between you and I. And put quite simply, Zoe, I did so because I had to. I just… couldn’t ignore you anymore like I have since I came back over a year ago.
 
Yes, that’s how I’ve lasted longer than David Helms, you see. Where he was dumb enough to try and change you, appeal to you, and even try to knock some sense into you, I haven’t wasted my time or energy on such a fruitless endeavours. I’m not like those people, Zoe. I know you. You’ve always been a selfish bitch, in it only for yourself. Not caring about how you did it, as long as you got what you wanted. Honestly, I don’t know why so many people are so mad at you for the things you’ve done.
 
Cause what did they fucking expect?!
 
How many years as it been the same schtick with you? You form a group, you have them solve your problems, you stand on the mountain as World Champion for awhile – “BLAH BLAH, BE JEALOUS, BLAH BLAH!” - until someone comes along and knocks you off the mountain. It was boring back then when it was Infamous and it’s boring as hell now when it’s, again, Infamous… so I don’t get why people are so mad that you’ve not changed. Leopards can’t change their spots. Zebras can’t change their stripes. You’re a boring parasite and I’m the greatest showman in all of SCW. That’s who we are.
 
And since I am such an entertainer and with our history… I felt compelled to finally speak to you, Zoe, because… after the last few months of having to endure your whining, I felt like someone needed to be your ‘voice of reason’. The ‘reality check’ that CHBK can’t seem to be for you these days.
 
See, Zoe, I don’t think you understand the position you are in with this royale. Oh, I’m well aware that you are the number one entrant into the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royale – and I also get how you would find that ‘unfair’ or ‘unreasonable’ being so picked. I heard you screaming about it when Old Man Captain D announced it…
 
Thing is, Zoe… dear Zoe… was that as I was watching that particular moment on Breakdown a few weeks ago… I found myself wanting to just shake you, yell at you, and then hit you in the head with something.
 
Because how fucking stupid can you be?
 
Do you not understand how lucky you are, Zoe? How fortunate you are? Think about it! Before he went to Gavin Taylor to make him number two, before he signed off on giving Katie Steward a goddamn segment based on a workout for this royale main event – who the fuck put that idea into his head?! – Drachey-boy pointed you out first. Prominently! He made the first THOTF announcement all about you! He made the royale all about you!
 
Oh come on! We’re all showmen in our own right here. And from one such showman, easily the greatest showman, I can tell you it couldn’t be more obvious! Because I didn’t get a segment. I didn’t even get the chance to MENTION anything about entering the royale! But the BOSS OF SCW goes out of his way to point you out.
 
Heh…
 
He’s made this whole road to RTG about you, Zoe! You’re the selling point! You’re the draw! Like a big name on the marquee to sell tickets to a movie, D. wanted you as the focus for this year’s forty-person royale.
 
And who can blame him? From the beginning, it’s been the same plan for you, hasn’t? Get that eighth world title win! Beat Jason Zero’s record! Make more history! Be untouchable! That’s what you’ve wanted, right?
 
And while you think our captain is trying to stop you, you fail to see how he is setting you up to succeed.
 
What a story! How ‘entertaining’! I can see it now!
 
Syren fights through thirty-nine other people to become the 2021 Taking Hold of the Flame battle royale! She claws her way through the majority of the SCW roster! No one can stop her! And then… on the grandest stage of them all! On the grandest stage SCW possesses, on the most special of nights… Rise to Greatness, Syren achieves the impossible, either beating the unbeatable Cid Turner or ‘setting things right’ against the woman that sole the contendership from her in the first place, Selena Frost! Either way, Syren stands tall! Syren breaks the record that has stood for well over a decade! What a story!
 
And yet…
 
The crowd boos…
The crowd hates…
The fans jeer…
They call bullshit…
They are not entertained…
 
Do you know why that is, Zoe? Do you know why no one – no one fan – has gotten behind this story that’s been crammed down our necks from the beginning? No, it’s not because we’re all jealous. It’s  because of something you and the grand Mr. D. – in his little ‘vacay’ from SCW - fail to grasp.
 
The one thing the audience hates more than anything is being told what to do. What to watch. Who to get behind.
 
And every season, the D. family try it, especially with the old man’s fondness for nostalgia! Oh come on, Zoe! You know it as well as I do. Every time a ‘legend’ crawls out from whatever hole they came from, there’s the D. family, no doubt prompted by the matriarch getting a jolly for ‘the good ol’ days’, to hand them everything!
 
James Evans
Ace Marshall
Kelcey Wallace
David Helms
Ravyn Taylor
And of course you…
 
That’s me going back almost six years, Zoe. You want to know how many main-events at RTG were involved such names? Such nostalgic reminders of the early 2000s and 2010s? Five out of six! Five out of six of some icon or legend or nostalgic act that – ‘somehow’ – managed to be in the right place and right time… And if things go the way they seem to, it’ll be six out of seven… either you or Cid will make it so…
 
Do you understand now, Zoe? It’s as plain as the blonde in your hair! Mr. D. has made you the focus of THOTF with his choices – even giving you a free pass by making Gavin Taylor your first opponent – talk about an easy moment to look tough, right?
 
That’s what Mr. Dracheywch wants. That’s what you want. You with another World title reign and him another RTG main event one of his ‘legends of old’. More the same…
 
And neither of you deserve it.
 
You don’t, Zoe. You believe you are overdo for your plan? Overdo for another ‘moment of proving you’re the best in the world’? What is this? The ninth or tenth time you’ve been given that chance by the D. family? More than any other wrestler in SCW today! Katya, Sasha, O.? They’ve all handed you everything time and time again to the point where they are ready to bury the entire roster just for you. O. buried Bree for your ‘justice’, Katya buried all SCW for you, and Sasha buried Sienna just to give you ‘time off’ to hide from an injury!
 
Just so Syren can be world champion again and again and they can get the buy-out rate they THINK they will get at RTG.
 
Another Rise to Greatness with Syren there, didn’t we have that two years ago?
Another World title reign for Syren… didn’t you have two of them like a year or two ago?
 
My point is, Zoe, is that, while you may be getting set up for a great comeback – a great payoff to your grand ‘destiny’/’plan’, paid for my the D. family, it is all for naught.
 
Because I am here in this royale.
 
Now, that might not mean much to you at this moment, but let me tell you why this is an issue this time around. This time around, I am not just interested in winning the royale. I am not just interested in entertaining myself.
 
I am interested in ensuring you – you specifically – do NOT win this royale. Now, while I could give you the details about that here and now… I still have a second promo planned, so I’ll hold off a little on that…
 
But failure is in your future, Zoe. Not just failure because of me, but failure because you can’t succeed here. Quite simply, it’s because you’re not me.
 
See, I know your ego will make you try and make it all about you, just like O. has done so, and I know your ego will try and defy what I am saying. I know your ego will make you more dangerous than any other wrestler that enters the ring, proclaiming ‘destiny’ and ‘fate’ or whatever reason they have for being in the royale. But, even so, when it comes to me… let’s face it, you’re still haunted by that one night, aren’t you? The night that established me as the true ruler of Rise to Greatness and established my place haunting your mind every moment we reach this time of year.
 
Rise to Greatness X.
 
You, the greatest of all time, taken down by me. Denied the Rise to Greatness moment that you never had and haven’t had since. But that’s how it’s always been with us, hasn’t it, Zoe? I mean, you’ve been following my steps your entire career, haven’t you? I was the World tag-team champion, you followed me through that. I was the World Champion before you and because of me, you became world champion, and now? I ran through the entire royale from start to finish so you just have to, don’t you?
 
Don’t worry, Zoe, I’m not taking this personally where you are concerned. You’re merely a pawn in a more powerful person’s game. You’re just the key piece that’s being used to try and erase me from SCW history and keep me from my rightful place. Try and erase the entertainment because they can’t control it or me. You’re just the ‘nostalgic flavour of the year’ because anyone is better than Shilo Valiant, right?
 
But, like I said, the reason why this whole plan will fail is because you are you… and not me.
 
You do not possess the same passion and drive I do, Zoe. You don’t possess the anger, the frustration, and the bitterness of many years of watching your legacy get swept under the rug. You don’t possess the stamina to defy such odds because you’ve never had to.
 
Not once in your entire career have you had to overcome odds deemed ‘impossible’. You’ve always had someone there, holding your hand and saving your ass. Me? Besides the royale? Well, look at my face.
 
Make no mistake about it, Zoe, with your skills and your friends, your plan – and the plan of O. – you will get you far. Very well. You may very well be the iron woman of the royale, Zoe, but what will that mean in five years? In ten years? What will that mean when the RTG spotlight passes you by for a more deserving and entertaining person… because the only person that matters in this royale war, Zoe… is the winner!
 
And as soon as my music hits, as soon as I come down to the ring, all those dreams and plans of yours…gone. It will be the beginning of the end for you, Zoe. Because I will be the one person you can’t overcome. The one person you and your friends can’t figure out. Because, when push comes to shove, Zoe, just like under the spotlight of RTG X, I will overcome you.
 
And like I said, it’s not a personal thing for me where you are concerned, Zoe. It’s not. You’re just in the way of what I want – what’s owed to me. Because I’ve read the ‘script’ Mr, D. is trying to shove down people’s throats – lawyers aren’t exactly subtle, you know. I’ve seen spoilers of what he wants for RTG… and I don’t like it. I don’t like my place in his ‘plan’.
 
I’m not interested in season 9 of ‘Syren is the world champion’. That show’s been going downhill since 2016. I’d much rather see ‘Shilo Valiant regains his spot in the Rise to Greatness main event after eight long years’. I’d rather see ‘Shilo Valiant makes history as the first person to win the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royale twice!”. Doesn’t that sound like a much more entertaining comeback story to tell? And who knows better than me about entertaining comeback stories?
 
So, Zoe, I just wanted to give you a heads up about this. At Taking Hold of the Flame, I am going to burn your ‘plan’ and the boss’ ‘script’. Just gonna chuck it into a burning trash can. I’m going to assume the role of director and we are going to tell MY story… MY way.
 
And where you were destined to be the ‘leading lady’ in all of this, Zoe? You will be recast to a more suitable role. Not as the lead. Not as the winner. Not as the number-one contender… but quite simply…
 
You will be the woman… that makes me laugh…
 
The camera slowly fades on the grinning Shilo before fading entirely to black…

[Ace]

------------>85<---------------

It's been fun.

[Huddie]

Confession

[Huddie]

Beard: "Yo, everyone thanks winning the Flame is vital,
to ensure they can win the title,
but all this shit is whack,
winning the Flame will give me my life back,
so never fear,
Beard be here..."

[Cid]

VIHAAN: The Lost Chapters   

[Jsquared]

Taking Hold of the Flame Part 2: Clear Headed

[The Man Who Laughs]

Send in the Clown


Chapter 8: Assuming Responsibility…


I didn’t end up moving from the chair for another hour… and then another hour after that. Even as my joints got stiff and my back started to ache again. I just downed another pair of advil tablets. Aside from that, my eyes just kept looking at the form in front of me. Sometimes, I was able to read it and comprehend what it was saying – what it was indicating with its written words. Other times, I couldn’t.

And while I wasn’t smelling toast or anything, it still seemed inconceivable to me.

Had I really fucked things up that badly? I mean, this was a rough patch Marina and I were dealing, but compared to her getting kidnapped and tortured, me being hunted by… three…four… no, it was five – Five murderers over the span of six years, not to mention that “we don’t talk about it” era of her being the empress and all that… this was nothing compared to those!

Yet, she… this form with her name… and my name…

I looked it over again. Was this simply the straw that broke the camel’s back? After being by my side through everything else, was she just tired of me hiding things from her? Of rushing into problems and danger? Sick of seeing me ‘test my luck’ against people that were just stronger or faster or smarter than me?

And what about Memphis? What would this mean? She was, by far, a better parent than I was, and, of course, I wouldn’t deny them financial support, but if he stayed with her, would Marina let me visit him-

This was my line of thinking as time ticked by, and I’m not ashamed to tell you that I cried a few times in those hours, holding my head against the cool wood and leather on the desk, letting my tears leave little puddles on the surfaces.

I’m not going to apologize for this sounding like other stories you may have heard at this point. Truth is, I didn’t care at that moment, just as I don’t care now. I didn’t care that other people I knew in my life, in the neighbourhood and at work had come out of divorces, maybe a little worse for the wear, but had recovered and gone back to happy lives. I didn’t care that I could be seen as a little overdramatic in feeling this way. I didn’t care about anything.

Except Marina and how this was happening to me…

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flicked inside my head, I cursed my miserable choices. I cursed myself for lying to her. I cursed myself for being so obsessed with getting back to SCW to the point where I had barely spoken to her about it. I cursed myself for letting things spiral so far out of control because I was too much of a fucking coward – too scared to lose SCW, to lose what little semblance I had the old days when I was ‘The Necro-Merchant’ or ‘The Blood-Stained Joker’. Too scared to admit that so much of this was just me chasing a ghost. A ghost that stopped existing in SCW long before he had actually retired…

I heard the door unlocking and I felt my heart skip a beat. I didn’t know whether to get up or stay put. To lift my head and call out to her or just wait for her to find me.

I didn’t move. Not even as I heard her footsteps drawing closer to the study door. Not even when I saw her shadow stretch across the floor as she stood in the doorway.

“Hey…” I heard her voice. It sounded shaky, unsure. 

At this point, I knew I had to move. I had to get this over with. Lifting my head, I saw her standing there, still in her black pant suit. Her hair had, seemingly, been ripped out of its ponytail because she was just running her hand through it, scratching her scalp as she stood there.

“Hey…” was all I could say. 

“I’m…” she started but stopped, probably feeling as fucked up as I was feeling. “I’ve been trying to text you.”

“I…” oh I definitely knew. In the beginning, when I first left, I was too angry at myself (and a little at her) to respond rationally… I mean, you saw what I almost did to Ace Marshall for fun right? Picking up and putting him through a table? That would have been a great stress relief. Rather than squeeze the ball, put the sexual-deviant through a table. Same thing, right? No? What if I squeeze his neck WHILE I was putting him through the table? That be closer?

Anyway, for the rest of the week plus, I didn’t answer Marina’s text simply because, as I said in previous chapter, I didn’t have the words. Just like I didn’t have the words now.

“I’m sorry.” I said, my eyes still on the paper in my hand. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Do you…” her voice was a bit more shaky, and I could see her casting her eyes down, looking at her hands in front of her and her feet below her. “Did you read the messages as least?”

I felt my throat lodge, getting stuck and preventing me from saying words. Of course I read her messages! Messages screaming apologies in CAPS, attempted explanation of why she kicked me, explanations of how she scared she had been week after week. Scared because she loved me more than anything. After the first seven or so days, they had just stopped altogether… and now I knew why…

To answer her, I gave a nod of my head.  We stood that way for several minutes, my eyes darting between her and the paper in my hand that was just out of her sight, the bold words on the page still easy for me to see.

“Shilo, I’m sorry!” I heard her blurt out, regaining my attention. Her expression was beyond stress, her eyes were moist, leaving me more confused than anything else. 

“Why are you sorry?” I asked. “I was the one who lied.”

I laughed at myself when I said that, ignoring the look of confusion on my soulmate’s face.

“You lied.” She said, but I didn’t hear her.

“I was such an idiot.” I continued, looking up at the ceiling, then back at her. “I lied to you, Marina. No! No!” I quickly stopped myself. “Let me start instead by saying that a few days ago, last Breakdown, I got put through a table!”

“What?!” she almost yelled that, her alarm clear and her anxiety spiking. “Why didn’t you- Are you alright?!” She was rushing over around to my side but stopped suddenly when her eyes caught sight of the paper in my hand. Following her gaze, I could see that the bold-printed title of the document was visible to both of us now.

I kept my eyes on her, watching her face change to confusion, then alarm, then something that may have been fear or guilt, I wasn’t sure, her body stiffening straightening as she turned her head towards me.

“Why…why do you have that?” she asked.
“I was looking for advil.” I answered.
“I don’t understand, Shilo…” Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears.
“I don’t either, Marina.” I shook my head…

Thirty-four years old and I can’t recall a time where I felt my heart breaking. Not once. Leaving my father, Spider, for a time in the Kings of Shadow? Nope. Losing my family? Nope. Everything had a reason, a purpose, or maybe I’m just broken or something.

But when you’ve only had one love in all your life and you manage to hold onto it for as long as I have, heartbreak can be something you might be able to avoid. Or at least hold it off for fifteen or so years.

So I don’t know if that was what I was suffering as I stood there, feeling may Solgemia crumbling before my eyes, but if it wasn’t my heart breaking then I had no idea what this was. Still, we just stood there, now with both of our eyes changing from looking at one another to the document in my hand.

“Shilo…” Marina tried, the sound of her taking a few deep breaths filled my ears. Slowly, as if she was afraid she was spook me if I moved too fast – like I was a deer or a squirrel or something – she lowered herself to a kneeling position just in front of me, her hand reaching out to rest on mine (the one on the desk that wasn’t holding the paper). “We can talk about this…” she tried.

“I don’t want to.” I answered, shaking my head. “You’ll get everything you want and need, Marina.” I simply said. “All the support for you and Memphis. I won’t fight you-“

Her mouth hung open in shock and her jaw quivered a little, as if unable to find the words. I expected a smile. Wouldn’t she be happy with that? That I was giving her everything without a fight? Did she want a fight? Did she want to leave things on her terms like I was trying to do in SCW? Or was she simply sad that things had turned out this way?

“Shilo…” the sound that came from a mouth, if I could describe it, was a mix between a cry and plea.

And for some reason my mind flooded back – back to something I hadn’t really thought of in a number of years. 

That same expression… I remembered it from when I first opened my eyes in the hospital after the pyro incident. It had taken a few days for the doctors to be confident enough that my eyes were recovering from the flash blindness and burns to be able to see properly. So, when they finally removed that part of the bandages for me to see, Marina’s face – with that same expression – had been the first thing I saw.

Seeing that look again, I felt a few more tears leave my eyes, forcing me to look away, yet remain rooted to the chair.

Everything that had been filling my head for months: my plans for SCW, the capturing of the Adrenaline title, waiting patiently for this month – this pay-per-view, drawing closer and closer to everything I had worked for for almost a year…

Suddenly, it didn’t matter – no, that’s wrong. It mattered, but it mattered so much less compared to Marina being in my life, being with me…

“Can we please…please…” she tried, lifting her head up to look at me, her eyes pleading with mine. “Can we please talk about this. This can’t be how it ends.”

“That…” I was confused by that, but my emotions were easily winning out in this conversation. “That isn’t my decision.” I replied. “I just want you to be happy…”

“Why would you think a divorce would make me happy?” her cry filled my ears.

…

Time out.

“I’m sorry I hit you, Shilo.” Her please continued, quiet whispers that filled the room. “I swear to God that I wish I could undo it! I swear on everything I will never hit you again. But please don’t give up on us- our family-“

“Wha-“ I tried to stammer out a word but I was too confused, my earlier feelings of heartbreak and loss making way to emotions of shock, disbelief and ‘what the fuck – was this all in my head?!’

“I can’t… I don’t want my thoughts on you wrestling be what destroys-“

My hand dropped the paper, flying out to cover her mouth as the document flutter-fell to the floor.

“Alright.” I stated sharply. “Time! Time out! Time right the hell out!” 

Her eyes were wide and I could see the fear and confusion in them. Not fear that I would hurt her or anything like that, but fear that – 

It was the same fear as mine. Don’t ask me how I knew that. I just did. She genuinely thought she was losing me, as I had thought I was losing her for the last few hours!

“Sorry.” I stated. “Answer me this one question and then you can talk all you want, say all you want to me, okay?”

Slowly, she nodded her head, allowing me to take a deep breath, release my hand from her mouth and then reach down to hold up the dreaded document in front of her.

“Is this yours?” I asked simply.

“Wha- NO!” she declared, a look of disgust on her face. “Why the hell would it be mine?”
“Because I found it in one of your folders from work. And it had our names on it.” I explained.

Before me, I saw Marina process the information, the gears of her mind working like a clock behind her eyes, until refocusing back onto me. “You found that here?”

“Yes.” I explained, reaching over to pull out the black envelope. “I was curious about this black envelope and I opened it and found the document.”

“So…” she hesitated, almost afraid to hope. “You don’t want to divorce me?”
“Divorce you?!” I asked. “I’ve been bawling my eyes out the last two and a half hours because I thought you wanted to divorce me!”

“Why would I want to divorce you?!” she asked. 
“Why the hell would I want to divorce you?!” I countered.

Neither of us answered the other – I think because of the overall shock from hearing the other speak the exact opposite of what the other thought.

“I…” Marina was quicker than me – shocker, there – speaking slowly. “Because I hit you…”
“I deserved it.” I countered. “I’m the one that’s fought you and ignored you over SCW.”
“Because I kept pushing you anywhere and focusing on something that wasn’t even there…”

I was about to speak, but hearing that last statement from her caused my jaw to suddenly clench, effectively silencing me for a moment. I fought it – I needed to. 

You have to understand guys – you ever have a brush with death? You cross a street too early and a car rushing past just misses you? Or you’re in the car and you swerve out of the way or slam the brakes, thus avoiding a vehicular crash? If you live your life in ANY way like an SCW superstar, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. There isn’t a wrestler in our business that hasn’t had some character-developing drama that involves near death experiences or worse. Hell, look at me! 

Changes your perspectives, right? Makes you re-evaluate everything as your life flashes before your eyes or time slows down, right? You contemplate what was ever important to you and what wasn’t? What you wasted your time and life on, etc…

Don’t worry, I didn’t have some kind of epiphany that changed much. You won’t see me in my next promo shouting “WRESTLING ISN’T IMPORTANT TO ME! I DON’T CARE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO ME IN SCW! I’M QUITTING TO FOCUS ON MY STUDIES!”. I’m not a fanfiction writer, guys, come on. 

Truth is, even as I was sitting there, Marina standing before me, I found myself still wanting to wrestle – there was something I still needed to do… I still needed to see my plan through to the end…

But I had changed a little. No… I had changed initially when I had gone through that table. Seeing that divorce contract, fearing its implications with mine and Marina’s name there… 

Because I hadn’t felt angry at Marina for seeing that paper. I mean, how could I? The idea that she would leave me because of my lies and not wanting to see me get hurt or in a wheelchair because of my own stupidity? It was far more of a credible thought than believing that I wanted to divorce her simply because she was nagging me. 

I had been ashamed of myself – as I mentioned to you earlier – I recalled the hours I had just spent mentally cursing myself and every stupid choice I had made. 

It wasn’t worth it. I wanted it. I wanted to see it through. But hiding things from Marina? Lying to her? It wasn’t worth it…

Lifting my head to speak, I was surprised to see my soulmate looking at the damned document carefully, scanning it for some reason. 

“I recognize this handwriting.” She finally remarked before, she turned to gaze at me. “You need this?” she asked, only a slight shake in her voice, afraid I would say ‘yes’.

“I’ve cried over that for over two hours, Marina.” I replied, hating the document almost as much as a certain elderly fellow. “If I never see it again-“

Her fingers moved before I could finish, crumpling up the accursed document into a small wad of paper before tossing it into the trash and out of sight. That accomplished, much to me relief, she shuffled closer to me. “Scuse…” she whispered, choosing to sit on my lap in the chair, my arms automatically reaching out to wrap around her waist to hold her in place. 

I can’t really convey how calming such a simple position, holding her against me, was. I could literally feel my heartbeat start to slow, everything still a little – the adrenaline from terror giving out to be replaced to normalcy. Marina, meanwhile, had reached over to a drawer at her desk (a different one from the one I used to retrieve the advil) and pulled out a black, plastic rolodex.

I didn’t say anything to her – she was sitting in my lap, guys. I talk, she might have moved off me. After what I had been through? No way was I letting that happen. 

Her nimble fingers flipped through the small flaps of paper – I could just barely see the different letters she breezed by in her search. Finally, she stopped at the ‘J’ and pulled out one of the papers there.

“Jennings…” she whispered, eyeing the paper before quickly shifting off me.
“Hey!” I managed to squeak out – though, even now, I can’t be certain if she heard me.

She was on the other side of the room, small as it was, digging through her purse, which was on the counter against the wall, to pull out her cellphone. Her head tilted left to right as she, I assume, punched in the phone number that was on the card. 

Me? All I could do was watch. Watch and miss her sitting in my lap. To my delight, however, once she was finished typing in the phone number, she was walking back over to me, pressing the phone to her ear and gently sitting herself back on my lap, her free hand caressing my cheek.

Again, as before, I said nothing, merely returning my arms to where they should be around her waist.

After another few seconds, I felt her frame stiffen a little, which indicated to me that someone had picked up the phone on the other end.

“Yes, can I speak to Trish, please.”

There was a pause, again, I assume because of the phone being handed off. The momentary silence lasted only a few minutes…

And then Marina took off.

“Trish, it’s Marina Valiant.”

Wait… she took my last name at work?! How long has that been going on?!

All my life, guys, Marina had always been ‘Marina Trent’ to me. Through Solgemia, through SCW, I can’t really remember any time I heard her use my last name. And truthfully, guys, it never really bothered me. I know some people get hung up on that, but seriously, why would I? It’s not a Jekyll and Hyde complex like James Evans or, god forbid, Jason Zero with seven of them. 

Marina was just Marina to me. Regardless of last name.

Now, THAT said… there was something both weird and exhilarating in hearing her use my name like that. Weird because I never heard it before and it sounded strange and exhilarating because… well, holy shit, she’s using my name.

Well, time back in.

“Trish, it’s Marina Valiant.” The brown-haired soulmate of mine stated curtly. “Would you mind telling me why there was a black envelope in my work folders?”

I obviously couldn’t hear what ‘Trish’ was saying, but I could tell Marina was less than thrilled about the situation, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the phone and the armrest on the chair we both sat in.

“I know it was you! I recognize your writing!” she stated, followed by. “You want me to have Remi check the cameras at work? I’ll bet I can find you putting that envelope in my bag earlier this week!”

Now, to avoid you guys having to deal with breaks in the story-telling in this one-sided conversation every time there’s a pause, I’ll just shut up and let Marina do her thing (this all her talking by the way!):

“So exactly why did you feel it necessary to stick your nose in MY private life?”
“The problem is that my HUSBAND found the envelope and assumed the worst!”
“OF COURSE IT’S THE WORST! Do you have any idea the panic you put him through?!”
“I don’t care what your intentions were! You have no right to assume such things or interfere in my private life, do you understand?!”
“No, I am not going to chalk this up to ‘a simple misunderstanding’. I am reporting this to management.”
“Invasion of privacy? Unprofessional conduct? Borderline harassment! Need I go on?!”
“Good idea. Because if ANYTHING like this happens again-“
“No, I’m not threatening you. I’m promising you. If you try anything like this again, I am going to Remi AND I’ll go to Paul. Get it?”
“Hold on a second- there’s someone else you better damn apologize to.”

Okay, back to me, because at that moment, she held the phone to my ear, surprising the hell out of me.

“Uh… hello?” I tried.
“Yes, this is Trish.”
“Yeah, so I gathered. Marina’s been yelling your name.”
“I…” she sounded like she didn’t want to talk to me – big surprise there, I know. “I made a mistake and I am sorry.”
“I mean… you almost gave me a heart attack over it, but-“
“I just heard her upset at work, complaining to Wendy-“
“And you assumed that instantly meant her best option was a divorce?” I asked, somewhat in disbelief. “Are you semi-retarded or something?”

“Excuse me?!”
“No, seriously.” I asked. “I mean mountains out of molehills is one thing, but when the wind hits you, do you assume a tornado is coming? How do you even go to work when it’s raining outside, wouldn’t you want to be in a shelter, preparing for the tsunami?”

In front of me, I could see Marina’s reactions. First, shock/surprise that I had called a co-worker semi-retarded, then covering her mouth with her hand to quiet her giggles of amusement. Was I going a bit far in my assessment of this ‘Trish’ girl? Oh, sure! Absolutely! But I wanted my two and a half hours back! That was time I could have been watching those Lucifer episodes that I spent crying like a baby in the study!

“I…” I heard her stammer.
“Look.” I pressed. “Apology accepted, ‘Trish’. Just do me a favor, okay? On top of staying out of Marina’s and my marriage – cause I am pretty sure you played in part in it – make sure a ) you wear your helmet before you leave the house and b ) don’t operate any heavy machinery or vehicles, okay? We’ve got to think of others, don’t we?”

I didn’t wait for her to reply. I simply hung up on her, terminating the call and toss the cellphone onto the desk. My eyes lingered on it for a few seconds before turning my gaze up to my soulmate, the ‘suited’ Marina cradled in my lap and looking at me.

“That was the most terrifying moment of my life.” I stated.
“Talking to Trish?” she asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Thinking you wanted a divorce.”
“Wait…” she looked at me in disbelief, like I had said something impossible. “What about when you were in the Tenebrae?”

“Worse.” I shook my head. “Back then. I knew that Spider would find me and that I’d be alright. So the hope was still there. When I saw that paper and our names on it…” I couldn’t finish my statement, so I just simply shook my head.

“Why didn’t you call me?” she asked.

I remember my eyes going wide at that. Not because it was a stupid question, but because the person being asked was stupid.

“I…I honestly didn’t even think about that…”

That’s right, guys! I’m a fucking idiot! Why didn’t I call her? Seriously, how did I miss that?! Was I just in such emotional turmoil that my brain left for a vacation without so much as a “howdy do”? And she hadn’t asked me in a condescending manner, either. She genuinely wanted to know why I hadn’t thought to call her. And I really have no idea why I didn’t. Even now, I have no clue why I didn’t just call her!

“I’m sorry I even looked.” I answered. “You probably would have seen it and-“
“Assumed it was yours and asked you about it.” Marina finished my sentence, surprising me.
“Really?” I asked. “Even if it’s in your pile of work folders?”
“Of course – I was scared too, you know.”

Looking up at her, I slowly pushed her off me to stand up to my full height. “But you did nothing wrong.” I stated. “Everything you’ve done has been… because you love me and Memphis.”

Marina shook her head. “I went too far just to try and prove myself right.”
“Because I was too stupid to say you were!”

The phrase came out of my mouth before I could think it, but Marina caught it, her eyes widening in surprise. For me, it was a relief – compared to the hell I went through.

“You were right.” I sighed. “You were always right. About me… about SCW. About everything…”

My eyes flew in their gaze throughout the room, knowing Marina’s were still on mine.

“Your…” I heard her stammer. “Your knee?”

Slowly, taking a deep breath first to steel my nerves, I bent down to tug at my pant leg, the material moving up easy, with a few adjusting pulls, it was up past my knee. Quickly, mostly through muscle memory, I unlatched the brace before returning to my full height, holding out the support structure to Marina. “I was wearing this when you kicked me.” I confessed.

With slow steps, Marina came around the desk, reaching out to take the metal contraption into her hands. She seemed to study it, pulling on it to test its give or durability or whatever, before looking up at me. “This look bad…”

“It is.” I admitted. “I didn’t ‘trip’ at the restaurant. My knee locks without that brace if I move wrong. It becomes so stiff that I can’t move it for periods of time.”

She remained silent, still holding the brace, as I continued – I won’t hesitate to tell you that the confession poured out of me.

“I wanted to tell you for so long… but I was so scared that you would tell O. and then he’d refuse to let me wrestle.”
“No, he-“
“Marina, he would.” I sighed. “I’m not Kelcey Wallace or Selena Frost or even the people he ‘pretends’ to hate like Syren. Soon as I am gone, he has no use for me. Where was he when I got my face burned? No where! He stripped me of the title the very next week! He pushed Syren to the top and made SCW all about her! Where was he when-“

Sorry guys… I won’t tell you all I said… I still have a promo to film, you know…

Still, I can tell you that, after my tirade, after laying bare every aspect of the plan that had consumed so much of my thoughts ‘SCW-wise’, Marina gave no immediate reply. She merely gazed at the brace, then at me, before gently placing the brace back into my hands.

“I won’t tell anyone.” She stated.

It took a couple ticks of the clock for me to realize what she was truly saying to me – even though she had spoken in clear English.

“Are…really?” I asked.

She nodded, turning to exit the room, making a sharp left to enter our bedroom. Cautiously, I followed her (tell me you wouldn’t be cautious in such a scenario), entering in time to see her changing into her sleep wear, which was now laid out on the bed.

“I don’t like that you lied to me.” She admitted. “But I’ve made mistakes too.”
“You?!” I asked in surprise before the defence mechanism that was my humor kicked in as I held the brace out. “You’re hiding one of these?”

At that point, she was in her underwear and rather than simply say ‘no’, folks, she turned to me, gave a little spin on the spot. “Care to search?”

I should have said ‘yes’. I realize this, but at the time, I was still coming off the emotional roller coaster that was my real-unreal-divorce! Yeah, I got divorced and remarried in the span of 3 hours. Work that into a warped story, Ace Marshall!!!

Marina, meanwhile, had changed out of her underwear and into her long nightgown, which almost covered her feet, before turning to look at me.

“I didn’t want to know what was going on in SCW.” She explained, taking the brace gently from my hands to regard it. “I didn’t want to know. So I shut it out. I didn’t care about why you were doing it, just that I didn’t want you to do it. You were right about that. And that… that was selfish of me.”

“But you did it-“
“My intentions were loving, fine.” Marina interjected, moving to place the brace on the nearby night stand on my side of the bed. “But I didn’t even try to hear you out. To understand why you needed to do all of this… and… while I still don’t agree with you on certain aspects… I know you can’t stop until you see this through.”

“So…” I asked, unsure. “Where does that leave us?”

“We’re married, Shilo.” Marina answered with a shrug. “More than that – at least to me – we’re united in Solgemia.”
“I so much prefer to think of us as that.”
“Either way, it means we talk and we find a… a compromise.”
“Do I… do I have to quit SCW?”

I was on pins and needles at this point. You don’t get it, guys. After the night I had just had, if Marina had asked me right then and there to quit SCW and leave my vendetta behind? I would have. Begrudgingly, of course, but I would have.

“No…” she answered, earning a sigh of relief from me. “But I would like for you to see another doctor about your knee.”

“I…” I didn’t want to tell her that I didn’t believe a doctor would help. The last one had done shit other than get me the brace. “Can you help me find a good one?”
“Yes! Of course!” she replied. “And I…” she took a deep breath. “I will start watching you wrestle again.”

“You…” I was floored by that. I had not expected that to be the quid pro quo she was offering. “You don’t have to do that-“

“Shilo…” Marina stopped me as she drew close, her hands pressed against my chest. “If there’s one thing tonight has taught me is that assuming the worst is far worse than seeing what troubles you.”

I had to think about that, mostly because of the use of worse/worst twice – it just sounded weird. But she was right. Assuming that Marina wanted to divorce me – well, you’ve heard this story, you know what it did to me! Compared to that, telling her about my knee had been easy! In Marina’s case, seeing me wrestle was better than imagining me wrestle and imagining me being hurt.

“Alright.” I nodded. “I’ll call you more often too – to talk about it.”

The former Black Swan gave me a short nod before reaching up to kiss me – and I felt some tears fall from her eyes, though I think they were tears of relief – I was out of tears to cry because they were currently still soaking into the wood of the desk back in the study, possibly attracting the local indoor fly life looking for sustenance.

“I’m so relieved…” I heard her whisper. “Compared to…that.”
“Sort of makes everything we were arguing about seem rather small and mundane in comparison?”

She didn’t answer immediately, simply lifting her head. “Have we become too civilized?” she asked.
“Maybe… but with you it works – I mean you carry it well. I don’t think there’s any hope for me.”
“I don’t believe that.” She smiled. “I believe there’s more out there for you.”

I chuckled at that.

“What?”
“You said the same thing to me years ago. Remember when I first asked you out on a date by the basin underground?”

She regarded me for a moment. “Shilo…” she replied. “You asked me out the day after you kissed me on stage – when we were climbing the ‘metal tree’ just beyond it. You snuck a second kiss and asked me.”

“I…I did?” I asked. “Huh…guess I- no no!” I laughed. “Of course! The metal tree, climbing. You being playful. Sorry! I don’t know why I was thinking it happened by the basin on my 20th birthday.”

“Oh…that was an important day too.” She smiled at me, a knowing smile… a smoldering smile. “Want me to help remember?”

And that’s where I shall leave you, good audience. For more NSFW stuff, Ace Marshall’s got stories somewhere here that I am sure will delight you! As for me… well… I did say I had a second promo to do… 

************************************************

The camera opens up to reveal a single spotlight shining over a man dressed in a dark red, double breasted coat. There is a sound of cheers for a moment that come and go, as if an audience in participation is near. As the illuminated gentleman raises his hand and snaps his fingers, however, all goes silent.

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for…

With another snap, the crowd sounds become a roar of an audience… that isn’t there. The lights all turn on to reveal an empty circus tent interior! From above and all around are skeletons, some dressed in baggy clown costumes complete with fake noses and wigs, while others are in tights, hanging from wires like trapeze artists. Others still on boards with others are posed ready to ‘throw knives’ at them. 

And standing in the middle, still in place, is the World’s Greatest Showman, The Man Who Laughs, Shilo Valiant!

Welcome to my greatest show! he declares, his arms raised.

Oh yes! See, my budget didn’t cover TWO promos of this calibre and, while I ‘respect’ the hell out of Zoe and her ‘fairytale story’ she’s trying to cram down our throats, I’m afraid I had to save my budget for the true guest of honor! The man to whom, none of this would be possible. Oh it’s true, you see! Without this man, I would not be the smiling Man Who Laughs I am today!

So, to our guest of honor, I bid you a special welcome… he gives a flourish of a bow before slowly lifting his head, eyes locked on the camera. O. D.

Returning to his full height, a slow chuckle escapes Shilo. My Liege… My Captain… My ‘Fearless Leader’… I don’t want you to feel shy or guilty towards this. It DID cost me a pretty penny to put all of this on for you – but what is a few dollars between ‘friends’, yes? 

Certainly not too much, considering how you fined me not too long ago for the little fun and show I did to spice up the Adrenaline division. Tell me, dear boss of mine, when Sienna and Kelcey went joy-riding in a limo and crashed into a bus… did you fine them? When Giovanni Aries attacked the Board of Directors some time ago, did you fine him? When your titles were torn to pieces, your property destroyed and you, yourself, put through a glass window… did you fine those people responsible?

Ah… Shilo gives a shrug, dusting his hands. No matter! As I said, what is a few dollars between friends? And besides, we have so much more important things to discuss, don’t we?

Grandly, he gestures to the display within the tent. I hope you like what you see, O.. The show that I am about to put on unlike any other! Twisted moreso than a Josh Hudson ‘I’m half evil’ story. More humorous than an Ace Marshall ‘18+ drunken flick’ and far more entertaining than Syren’s sob story as she tries, for the umpteenth time, to change morals just for ‘flavor sake’. 

Does SCW not deserve more than just ‘the same’? Does not ‘the road to Rise to Greatness’ deserve more? he shrugs before contemplating his next words.

You know, I have been waiting for this moment – this beautiful moment for some time, O.. The moment where, here in the royale, I take the main event of Rise to Greatness from you. the jester suddenly feigns ignorance.

Oh! Is that not part of the plan, O.? Are you already signing the papers and sending the schedule sheets to the board of directors? Are you already promoting the RTG card to radio stations and TV companies across the world? Have you already decided ‘my place’ in all of this? Where you force me once again to defend the Adrenaline title in a lousy ‘repeat performance’ against Holly Adams? All so your ‘chosen few’ can shine while I am stuck in syndication, it seems? 

A smile breaks across Shilo’s features as he slowly shakes his head. Oh no, O.. I’m afraid tonight will not go so according to plan. You have some things to atone for.

Because, I promise, there will be a stream of chaos and problems. The ulcers in your stomach will grow in size as you watch your best laid plans go to waste. And you will have a near heart attack when you see me become the royale winner and the number one contender to the World title.

Why? Shilo’s expression suddenly grows serious, all trace of humor in his face gone. Because you owe me that much.

Let me take you back, D.. Back to three years ago. There I stood, on the stage of the SCW Hall of Fame. Being awarded my status as an icon and legend within SCW – the man that defined entertainment. The crowd roared, they cheered, they thanked me for the years I sacrificed for SCW – for you – and for their entertainment.

That… O.… was meant to be the end of Shilo Valiant. The high note to walk out on. The ending that the most entertaining superstar in SCW history deserved… Valiant’s jaw clenches as he slowly takes a deep breath.

But one day… I received a call from your family…

A phone call begging me, pleading me to come back.

“We’ve got someone we want to push!” I’ll never forget those words. “He could be the next World Champion! He’s the television champion right now! Please, Shilo… come back and help run a program with him! Help push him to that level! Make him entertaining!”

Shilo chuckles bitterly at that. I was skeptical at the time, but then I saw this boy – this Aaron Blackbourne – I thought… he has something. He has something special. He could be ‘the next Shilo Valiant’, which SCW could always benefit from. And despite the nagging voice in my head, I returned to SCW for you – at the request of your family…

And I made Aaron Blackbourne look damn good, didn’t I, O.? I gave him the spotlight of Rise to Greatness that only I could provide. I gave him the fame of fighting ‘the icon and legend Shilo Valiant’. I gave him the tools he needed to defeat the world champion…

And how did you thank me?

All around the walls of the tent, the colors shift and change as a video is splayed across the fabrics. Shilo Valiant is seen on the mat, beaten, at Rise to Greatness 2020 as Aaron Blackbourne turns around and glances at him before turning and walking over to the corner. Aaron steps up and celebrates a bit more. He looks around as the crowd cheers him. He continues to celebrate. The cameras, after several moments, cut away, Blackbourne dropping out of the ring as Shilo remains in the ring as “Hall of Fame” by The Script, featuring will.i.am, then plays.

Ladies and gentlemen, last night, we celebrated the induction of the Class of 2020 of the SCW Hall of Fame. Please, at this moment, join me in celebrating their efforts one more time! the voice of SCW announcer Jason Phillips is heard echoing through the tent. The video flashes to all the entrants of the 2020 Hall of Fame, such as Lucas Knight, Lenne Perez, and Amy Chastaine…
 
Your SCW Hall of Fame, Class of 2020! Phillips voice is heard once more but the shot is not of the inductees, but of Shilo Valiant looking at them, while leaning on the ropes, mere moments from the gruelling match he just had. The showman slowly just looks down before the footage fades, returning back to the colors of the tent.

Before the camera, Shilo Valiant turns his head, his expression not of amusement or entertainment, but of pure hatred.

So… that was my grand reward for helping you, D.? That was your ‘thanks’ for tainting what was otherwise the perfect end to my career? You may claim it was ‘a technical error’ or it was ‘Sasha’s doing’, but let’s not fool ourselves, O.. There’s only one man with that kind of power – and that man is certainly petty enough to call his obedient daughter and tell her ‘after the match, cut to the Hall of Famers. Don’t give Shilo his moment!’.

Shilo’s hands tighten into fists.

It was quite the joke, O.. You got me to do everything for you. You got me to push the little Aaron Blackbourne to new heights! And, like so many others before me, once I had done what you asked, you cast me aside, didn’t you? 

You denied me the Rise to Greatness moment – MY SHOW – that I had earned! The applause from the fans! The cheering of such an amazing match! Such a show-stealing performance! You DENIED me that applause, you son of a bitch! He points a vicious pair of fingers at the camera at that declaration, lowering his hand after a moment.

I could not let that slide. I couldn’t let you or your family have the last laugh on me – on MY career – like that! So… I destroyed your ‘chosen one’…

The camera changes shot to a discarded skeleton in the audience. He has a broken jaw bone and his attire is achingly similar to that of Aaron Blackbourne. I destroyed your ‘star’ inside my own creation. Under the Big Top!

Oh, how that made me smile, O.. Shilo grins. How I savoured that moment, knowing that I had made your star and I had, just as easily, destroyed him. Because where is he? Where is, O.. Not one year removed from me doing your favour and is Aaron your ‘star’ now? Is he your ‘world champion’? Is he even here?

No…

He was never the same after I BROKE him. I showed him and you what I am truly capable of after that Rise to Greatness. I showed you what happens when you take from me… I take from you.

But did your family learn its lesson, O.? Did they learn not to deny me what I am owed?

Shilo shakes his head. Of course they didn’t. When have you EVER learned a lesson in the last near twenty years here in SCW? You, the proverbial God who can’t even control his kids, looking down on all of us ants – there to command as you see fit… there to take from us as you see fit…

Shilo snaps his fingers and a graphic changes across the tent to the graphic of “SCW Presents: Last Laugh”. He says nothing right away.

It was hard for me not take THAT personally, O.. After all, it was only the name of the move I used the last time I had a Rise to Greatness moment – the move I used to defeat Syren at RTG X to become World Champion…

The footage of that night is shown on the tent walls – the masked Shilo Valiant planting Syren with The Last Laugh before standing proudly with Marina Trent by his side, the Necro-Merchant holding the SCW World title.

You couldn’t let me die, could you, O.? You had to get the last laugh on me – remind me how you played me and took from me. Was your family’s pride THAT badly hurt, even though it was justifiable? You had to take one of the greatest memories of my career – of my LIFE – and remind me of how you robbed me of it for the sake of a rookie?!

Shilo’s jaw clenches as he grips his gloved hands. So, once more… you forced my hand…

The tent seems to shift again as Shilo Valiant is seen, choking the life out of Glory Braddock at Last Laugh!

My God! Shilo Valiant! Shilo Valiant s trying to choke out the Adrenaline Champion, Glory Braddock! Adam Sharper’s voice is heard throughout the tent…

I took what I wanted… and one more thing you could not deny me… 

The footage changes to Shilo Valiant holding up the Adrenaline title at Retribution at the beginning of the year. The footage fades, leaving the camera back on Shilo as he stands in the middle of the tent.

And I have run roughshod over this entire federation while you – the best you could do -was ‘forget to mention my Supreme Champion status’ and slap fines on me. He grins wickedly. The best you could do…

The Man Who Laughs smiles before shaking his head. You only have yourself to blame for this, O.. You should have just let Shilo Valiant die. First, at the Hall of Fame, or when I had destroyed your precious ‘prodigy’ for my own amusement.

But you couldn’t. You couldn’t let me have the last laugh…and now it’s too late.

But that is precisely what I shall have! The smile becomes a full-blown, sinister grin.

Because, as I told Zoe, captain, I know full well WHY you wasted your time focusing on her, Gavin Taylor, and even giving a workout segment to Katie Steward and yet entirely ignored me. I know why I was not approached to speak of the battle royale or the reward awaiting its winner…

Because you know, as well as I do, who truly deserves it. Who truly deserves that RTG main-event moment… Valiant lifts a hand, holding up to his face in a self-gesture.

And it infuriates you, doesn’t it, O.? It’s the only thing you have over me. The one thing I have yet to truly ‘pay you back for’ – the RTG moment that I am owed! The one you STOLE from me over and over again! lowering his arm, Shilo glares at the camera – at his boss.

So tonight, whether I am fighting 37 people (since 1 and 2 are already ‘picked’) or I am the last one to enter… each person that I throw over the ropes… they will be you.

You will be Katie Steward’s arrogant fail.
You will be Josh Hudson’s nostalgic fail.
You will be the favourite Zoe Sperling as I toss her out of the ring and watch her fail.

Shilo gestures throwing each person mentioned out of the ring – each chosen, brought back, or ‘gifted’ by the boss of SCW.

And finally… when it’s done – and I look around at a ring as ‘empty’ as this tent? The road to Rise to Greatness will truly begin…

MY Rise to Greatness…
MY return to its main-event…
MY return to being the World Champion…
MY Rise to Greatness moment forever returned to me…

Shilo’s grin widens. And you, O.… you will do the best that you can to stop me – just like your puppets and favourites will… but like all of this past year… I will outplay, outsmart and out entertain every one of them… until I have what YOU stole from me… the graphic of “SCW Presents: Rise to Greatness” appears across the tent walls.

And you will look into the eyes of all 39 other people – the eyes of Zoe, your secret favourite – and you will know the greatest joke of all…

That you, the great O. D., are to blame for it all.

The showman shrugs his shoulders, almost sadly.

You should have let me die, D..
Instead, you will make me, just as you did almost a year ago…

You will make me the royale winner…
Make me the number one contender…
Make me the main event at Rise to Greatness…
And, trust me, O. D.… you will… make me laugh… 

You OWE me that much!

With a snap of his fingers, Shilo sends the entirety of the tent into complete darkness.

[Foreverzerov1]

Cornelius Locke issac Thomas debut rp

Ooc first rp in years miss you guys only did a shoot good luck all especially those who put in much more effort then I

[James Evans]

Trinity's Scars, V