Lohan, Raine & Blackbourne VS Raab, Goddard & Marie Jones

[Konrad Raab]

2 RP Limit PER character; 6 PER Team

Deadline: 11:59 PM ET Friday, February 15, 2019

[The Matt]

https://redemptionjones.blogspot.com/201...lizer.html

[Konrad Raab]

Spending quality time with Sebastian a day earlier than expected. Cologne, Germany. Wednesday 13th February. (Off Camera)

It was very unusual for Konrad to come down to see Sebastian a day earlier than usual, but it's because he had a title match in England before taking a trip straight back to America for the Trios Tournament as he always wants to be extra prepared for both matches coming up. He wants to visit Sebastian every week to get the agency especially to know how dedicated Konrad is on wanting Sebastian in his hands.

He does what he usually does when he arrives at the orphanage, ringing the doorbell, waiting to be let in by Friedrich who says this.

Friedrich: “You realise it's Wednesday today and not Thursday?”

Konrad Raab: “Yes, but I got a ton of stuff going on tomorrow, regarding interviews and preparing for two of the biggest matches of my wrestling career Friday and Saturday. That's why I had to see Sebastian today.”

Friedrich: “I completely understand. I let Sebastian know as he said he wants to play football again with you.”

Konrad Raab: “Always good to relax to play football with Sebastian as I enjoyed it last time with him.”

Friedrich: “I get Sebastian down and get him to play football with you. Wait in the garden for him.”

Konrad nods as he goes straight outside to the garden where the sun is shining brightly above the grass with some playground equipment for the younger children they had at the orphanage and basketball hoops and football goals for the older kids on top of them doing gardening from time to time. It's a big field as he sees Sebastian running out and hugs Konrad right away and he says this.

Sebastian: “What are you doing here?”

Konrad Raab: “Come to see you, silly.”

Sebastian: “But it's Wednesday today, not Thursday.”

Konrad Raab: “I got two important matches these next few days, so I thought to come by today and see you. So, you want to play football again?”

Sebastian: “Of course.”

It's one of those times where Konrad always enjoys himself when he plays with his kids, mostly when they play hockey in the garden in California. They walk to the football field, and Sebastian places the ball down, and he kicks it towards Konrad, showing off his skills to Sebastian and he says this.

Sebastian: “Wow, that's awesome. How do you manage to do that many kick ups without dropping the ball?”

Konrad Raab: “It takes practice. That's not the highest I've done. Fifty is the most I've done during training.”

Sebastian: “I see what you mean about being a footballer, by the way, I've seen football magazine articles of you talking about football and even wrestling, how the sport helps you with being a faster wrestler.”

Konrad Raab: “That and helps me not get myself tired too much which is more important for me to improve on. Now I don't have that problem so much because I got used to it and that I'm in shape for wrestling now. Back in the days, I was very overweight because I had no skills or experience in the ring.”

Sebastian: “I read about your behaviour was disgusting during your early days of wrestling.”

Konrad Raab: “I talk more on that later, let's enjoy football for now.”

It was clear that he had to tell Sebastian about his past wrestling history as a way of getting to know him not just as a person, but as a wrestler as well. They played throughout the entire time Konrad was with him. It was three hours they started playing football with Sebastian having a big smile on his face, knowing he's having a lot of fun with Konrad, even getting the quality time with him on his own.

Sebastian did score a lot more goals than the last visit and Konrad applauds him, seeing a remarked improvement on his game of football. He always dreamt of playing ball with his children and only now, he gets that chance with Sebastian who wanted to follow his dad's footsteps, although he doesn't consider Sebastian being a footballer at any point.

Each time Sebastian scores a goal, he celebrates with Konrad as Konrad lifts Sebastian in the air and then gives him a big hug and rubs his hand on Sebastian's hair before they go inside as Sebastian tells Konrad to wipe his feet when he got in the house. Once they got in, they went upstairs to Sebastian's bedroom with the other boys that were in there but left once they saw Konrad to have time alone together.

Although there was at times of Friedrich taking pictures of Konrad being with Sebastian while playing football for evidence to show to the court about Konrad's commitment of having Sebastian as his son. They sit on the bed, and Konrad remembered Sebastian mentioning Konrad's behaviour in wrestling when he started in the business as he goes into detail.

Konrad Raab: “The article wasn't wrong, I was a badly behaved wrestler when I started wrestling in two thousand and twelve. I was a very disrespectful prick to put it into words. I was starting fights against literally the entire roster. I didn't know what I was doing in wrestling because I had no training.”

Sebastian: “Why did you wrestle a match without training?”

Konrad Raab: “I barely had any time to. I was busy promoting and trash talking a guy known as Vantage who ended up mentoring me after that. We disliked each other, we got each other pissed off, and he was the one who helped me behave after my second match. The second match was against Angelica Monroe.”

Sebastian: “Was that when you started talking about being an alcoholic?”

Konrad Raab: “Yes. I used alcohol to be an even bigger prick. Some said I should have never been a wrestler because of how bad I was. Angelica Monroe wanted to shut me up, and we were brutal and nasty to each other. Little did I know I had to earn my way to go to a wrestling school and I had to win the match, regardless. I did inside of a steel cage with a bit more training and especially more knowledge about the business.”

It was fascinating for Sebastian to hear that Konrad wasn't a hero at the beginning of his career. Sebastian sees it tore Konrad down, even a tear running down his cheek because it nearly destroyed his wrestling career. Sebastian says this.

Sebastian: “You alright?”

Konrad Raab: “Yes. It's just I don't ever want to be that guy again because I nearly got banned from ever being a wrestler in the business. I had to go to rehab for my alcohol addiction before I even lost Fizz and Mattheus. I went back to the wrestling school after that, and each time I was disrespectful to anyone, I got myself embarrassed in front of students of me beaten so badly.”

Sebastian: “I know you won't be that guy again. I know that moment helps you remember not to be the horrible man ever again. Alcohol does that to anyone. I'm so glad you were able to tell me about your early days of wrestling as hard as it was for you to do that.”

Konrad Raab: “I had to get you to know so you won't have to ask me when you wrestle and hear rumours about me being a disrespectful prick that it's not just people talking about it, it's the truth. I had to change my attitude and my overall look for the sport. I've had to earn everything to get where I am. Nothing has ever been handed to me.”

Sebastian sees a whole new look on wrestling even; it didn't seem like it was easy to get Konrad to change the person he is in the ring now, even with more experience seven and a half years later. Sebastian sees it mentally broke Konrad to force himself to tell Sebastian his past and understands why he's so strict about Sebastian with drugs.

Sebastian: “I promise, I won't be an alcoholic wrestler. I want to do what's best for me, and I want to be an SCW champion.”

Sebastian gives Konrad a hug as Konrad listened to Sebastian what he said and he smiled, knowing he was smart enough to understand the hell Konrad went through to be a professional wrestler which was never comfortable as Sebastian says this.

Sebastian: “I know about the Dragonweight title match, you've spoken to me about it before, but what's this Trios Tournament I read in a wrestling magazine?”

Konrad Raab: “It's my favourite wrestling event every year. You randomly team up with two other people which I assume you know who my partners are.”

Sebastian: “Yeah, that big scary dude and that spoilt brat.”

Konrad Raab: “I wouldn't call Marie Jones a spoilt brat, more misunderstood, then again, I'm a little nice, considering what's gone on with her life I won't discuss as you're too young to understand. At the moment, she's one of the main forces of Kayta team I told you about.”

Sebastian: “What about that scary dude, is he apart of Kayta's team?”

Konrad Raab: “No, John Goddard is still new to SCW. He's not apart of any team at the moment, but don't overlook him; he's won two matches since he started in the company.”

Sebastian: “Yes, he seemed new as I don't recognise the name before, until now with the results and named as your partner. What's so good about this tournament you love so much?”

At that point, Friedrich came in with cups of water as they place them on Sebastian's side table as Friedrich took pictures of Konrad and Sebastian together before he went away as Konrad turns to Sebastian who asked him a question as Konrad smiles at Sebastian who gladly answers it.

Konrad Raab: “What I love is the whole idea of being randomly paired up with two other wrestlers, and you go through different rounds to beat other teams of wrestlers. The winners for the tournament end up having contracts wrestlers can cash in to use for an entire year.”

Sebastian: “What do you use the contract for?”

Konrad Raab: “Cashing in to make any match you want. That's why Trios Tournament is my favourite tournament in the wrestling business. Plus, SCW is the only one that has this sort of tournament in place.”

Sebastian: “It states you're against Dawn Lohan, Sam Raine and Aaron Blackbourne. I got to be honest Konrad; I like Aaron. He's so creative and cool with his mask, and I think he loves to draw pictures.”

Konrad Raab: “I do as well, he's someone I highly respect in SCW apart from Owen Cruze, another hero of wrestling I forgot to mention. He's had some woman trouble lately but has found his form again. I'm looking forward to facing him again myself; I admit that.”

It occurred to Konrad that Sebastian did have another favourite wrestler in SCW on Aaron Blackbourne as he was a little uncomfortable to say it to his dad who works in the same company. He reassured him it's a wrestler Konrad respects and gets along with and Sebastian says this after taking a sip of his water as so does Konrad at this point, although large sips for him.

Sebastian: “I thought you were going to get mad when I stated that he's my other favourite wrestler?”

Konrad Raab: “Of course not. You can like anyone you like in wrestling. Sam Raine is another one I respect, even if I fought her tag partner lately and I've never encountered Dawn, but she always had some grudge about me for some reason.”

Sebastian: “Like you always say, you don't care about the past and only care what happens in the ring.”

Konrad Raab: “That's right like I care so much about having you as my son.”

Sebastian goes back to what happened last week as he sighs on the response he gave to the court judge when Sebastian was asked what he wanted to be when Sebastian grows up and the judge being so against Sebastian dreams of being a wrestler, something that Konrad inspired him to do and he says this.

Sebastian: “Sorry I mentioned about wanting to be a wrestler. I didn't know the judge was going to take it badly against your claims of being my dad.”

Konrad Raab: “Don't be, it's not your fault when you speak to the court on your hopes and dreams of the future. I knew you wanted to be a wrestler before you met me. We need to come up and state that I came to see you and you requested for me to help you be a professional wrestler. You will be one; nobody is going to get in the way of your dreams.”

Sebastian: “Even Friedrich knew about it as well as I asked him if I could train to be a wrestler and he said no. I understand why he said that because of the other kids being inspired to do it. I don't want to do anything else, but be a wrestler and being under the Raab name cos you are my real hero and Aaron is someone who I like, being my second favourite.”

Konrad Raab: “Me and Fizz will do anything possible to accomplish your dream. We will get you there, but for now, you got to stay here and be a good lad like you've been and keep studying hard with English and sports activities. However, I do want to talk to Friedrich if you can go down to the gym to workout.”

It would be the only thing they could agree on with Sebastian going to the gym as at that point, Friedrich comes in, and he heard what Konrad said, and he says this.

Friedrich: “That's something we can agree. I know how desperate Sebastian is to be a wrestler. We'll fight against that together because all these figures he's got, he had way before you came around and the pictures of you on the wall too. We need to give that as evidence to the agency about it and the court too.”

Konrad Raab: “Thank you, that's all I want to ask. Sebastian thought it was his fault about telling the judge on wanting to be a wrestler. I said no, it's not at all.”

Friedrich: “No, of course, it's not. We want all orphanage kids to succeed and chase their dreams. If you want to be a wrestler, that's great, but I can't let you do training for it.”

Sebastian: “I understand. I wait until I move with Konrad to do wrestling. It's all I want to do in my life. I'd be unhappy again if I had to chase a goal I'd not enjoy.”

Friedrich: “Anyway, it's dinner time now, and it's nice for you to pop by today, think we got some pictures here to give to the judge and the agency for evidence of you being so committed to taking Sebastian as your son.”

Konrad nodded as everyone went downstairs as when they get down there, Sebastian says this to Konrad while hugging him with Konrad placing his arms around Sebastian's back.

Sebastian: “I hope you'll become the Dragonweight champion and win the Trios tournament with a partner you don't get along with.”

Konrad Raab: “Thank you and good luck with your English exam and go to the gym every week, to begin with to work on your muscles and stamina stuff.”

Sebastian nodded as he says goodbye to Konrad and he goes towards the table to eat his dinner, while Konrad was lead out of the door by Friedrich and he leaves the Orphanage. When Konrad leaves the orphanage, he goes straight to the gym and workout for plenty of hours before it was nine at night to head home and rest to go straight to sleep. He goes on youtube, located in Cologne, Germany.

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My favourite wrestling tournament of the year finally arrives youtube.com shoot. (On camera)

“First thing I'm going to say before speaking about the trios, my partners and my opponents. If Autumn Valentine wants a rematch against me, of course, I accept. I want to prove to you once again my win against you wasn't you having an off day as Ryan claimed you have. Bring it to me. I've covered everything I've said about Casterillo, and I hope to god I will face him in this tournament, or he'll experience a side I've not used since my match against Damien Angel a year ago.

That's it for all I want to talk about for now as I'll cover it when I fight either one of them next as my main focus is on the Trios tournament, my favourite tournament in the wrestling business. Why? Because of the contracts, each winner will get to arrange matches they want against other opponents or even make matches as well, and I got an idea in hand what I want to do with it already, but that's to be discussed another time.

Because I'm teamed with John Goddard, who's got a ton of wrestling experience. John's also on a winning streak right now, much like myself right now, even if Casterillo wins don't count to me as I've not put my fist in his face. He's on a roll, and I'm glad to have him as apart of this team, and he'll be a champion sooner than later if he keeps this momentum up, being known to SCW audience and wrestlers in the back quickly, hence why John deserves my respect cos he works hard.

Something Marie Jones refuses to be patient with, but I decided to leave my thoughts behind for this, considering we should be acting like adults. However, she has proven worthy in SCW, even if she's struggling right now, she's hungry for the SCW title, like me having the hunger for any title opportunity right now. She has a family legacy to live up to, and I respect the Jones family for having such a strong work ethic.

Well, same is said about my opponents. Dawn may have had a bit of a grudge against me last time and admittedly, I deserved it for how pathetic I was, but now I'm a changed man. As Sam and Aaron know, I've got a much stronger mindset for this business, and that old Konrad who puts himself down is dead. Without that change, I wouldn't have been an SCW TV champion. I hope you view me as an opponent in the Trios better than you did back in two thousand and seven.

I heard what you said about me in the battle royal Aaron, and I respect the comments you made towards me because I feel the same way, how I respect you as a wrestler and how you even compare us to being almost alike with creativity. You will go far, and it's a shame people like Scarlet tried everything to hold you back. I hope you'll capture another SCW one day because I know you deserve a shot of the Adrenaline and the US title.

Sam Raine fought with all of her heart against Regan Street and almost won titles on a few occasions, but what she has to work on is being consistent. It's one of those things where I believe Regan is right, you need to be committed to working a lot harder, and we want you to perform like you did against Regan and I'm sure Marie Jones wants to see that Sam back and I know I do too.

You will see my hard work every time I step in the wrestling ring because I believe in hard work. I'm fully committed to saying that me, Marie and John will go and advance through the tournament to face other teams like Casterillo's team, especially I want to face or even Kandis for siding with Autumn and Ryan, helping them out lately.  I fancy myself to face Regan Street again because she's one of the top wrestlers in this business I've wrestled and always made me a better wrestler.

The point is I know I'm ready to bust my ass on the line to do anything possible to win this match and this tournament to receive a contract to make any match I want because it means the world to me. This tournament as I said is my favourite one in the wrestling business because it stands out to be completely different from the rest. Two days in Miami, Florida, prepare to be Iceinated by John, Marie and The Iceman himself as we'll pin every single team for the three count in the middle of the ring, having our hands raised and given contracts to make matches we want for a whole year.”

[Ruppy]

OOC: I don't know what's been getting in the way every now and then so far this year, but I'm glad this wasn't one of those times. Maybe I need to re-adapt to my somewhat shifting work schedule again. Regardless, the two CDs contained herein are basically reworkings of what I started doing for Blackbourne's last match before things got out of my hands and I had to unfortunately no-show that match, allowing me to at least use both Valentine's Day being yesterday as well as the result of that match to help push things a little more towards what I wanted to accomplish, both big steps forward in Aaron's love life while trying to find some light in the darkness of the last few CD efforts and getting him to somewhere in his imagination journey he's been desperately trying to go for a long time that's very significant. Best of luck both to everyone in this match, as well as the entire tourney field! Trios time, bay bay!
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If there was one thing you could always expect from Aaron Blackbourne, it was the ability to allow his creations to take the reins in order to mask any signs that his mind and body may be in two entirely different locations.

When fans look back at Making Things Right, one thing they may bring up is the performance Blackbourne turned in for the battle royal where victory earned him the status of number one contender to the Adrenaline Title, a championship he had only to date challenged for as a formality of the modified Open Invitational where he first debuted in SCW a little over a full calendar year ago now. If something was weighing heavily on his mind, it was impossible to tell as Zeitgeist gave a small taste of why he was a force to be reckoned with in guiding Aaron to being the last man standing in the ring, even with the unwanted interference of Andrew Raynes and a steel chair on top of the nine other bodies he needed to get through. It wasn’t the first time the young man’s creativity has been the perfect sword to not only fend off whatever was tormenting his thoughts but also anyone who was trying to put him down in the ring, and it was just one of the reasons why so many saw a bright future ahead for him in the business.

Make no mistake about it though… Aaron’s thoughts were like a hurricane at this point and trying to figure out where to start was becoming a problem in and of itself, especially when he didn’t have one of his creations to fall back on in the ring.

Before he’d confined himself to his locker room for his transformation to begin on the day of the show, Aaron had finished coordinating with Austin in regards to what was left to cover for Andrew’s funeral expenses and digitally sent the money on its way, knowing it was at least a start in a process he was dreading purely because the atmosphere when he would eventually have to head back to Lowell was an enigma all its own. Despite Austin’s assurance when they last talked, there was no guarantee things would stay this stable for long between the family, and the last thing the creative soul wanted was to return for the funeral and immediately be consumed not with the necessary grief to get out of his system in mourning, but with some sort of blame for having a part to play in this when he’d tried, willingly or not at times, just as hard as everyone else to cut the cord that ultimately led his now lost brother to this point. He was still in the dark about an exact date still, but that was an answer he’d go hunting for soon enough.

Further compounding this was the fact that he knew the machinations of those warring within his head against both each other and, to some degree, him as well were playing on these fears to keep him in a constant state of conflict and despair. He, unfortunately, couldn’t fault them for taking advantage of a perfect storm though… the ramifications of Andrew’s passing had virtually brought Nemesis back from the brink of defeat and given him a renewed fire to fuel his intentions of keeping Aaron in this state of mind so that he could ultimately consume everything that was him, and Dreambender and Gleeful had the perfect bargaining chip to get what they wanted at long last in exchange for no longer torturing him, unaware that their efforts were only making their enemy stronger in the process.

Gleeful never was great at long-term planning, and Dreambender can’t ever get that far with his as long as she’s on his case.

Quiet musings like this were his way of trying to continue to piece together a game plan even in the face of every extra challenge life dared to throw at him in order to keep this proverbial chess game going for as long as possible. As much as it might be easier to simply not pay the matter any mind, it wasn’t as easy to do when he didn’t have his own personal ‘clown princess’ to be the best distraction he could ever ask for. He and Liane had parted ways near the end of the short break after the pay-per-view, with the wrestler beginning the dreaded Breakdown tour under Katya’s tyrannical rule while Liane actually stuck around in California after managing to land a few gigs with big implications for her future in the business. She hadn’t wanted to let him be alone knowing full well the mess he was struggling against right now, but she’d relented when he refused to let her sabotage her life’s dream just for him when he knew she would never let him do that for her, not to mention he had a feeling Katya was bound to ban her from the building just to spite him anyway.

It hadn’t been easy going back to doing things over the phone or video chats temporarily, and Aaron wouldn’t lie if he said he wished he had Liane physically by his side after the previous Breakdown had seen him be defeated – despite just barely not taking the direct fall – after having just overcome all of the same individuals at the pay-per-view to earn the opportunity he had now, but the one thing it did allow him was the chance to set the stage for something he’d been planning for quite some time. Trying to focus on the planning had been rough considering the factors plaguing him, and the recent loss wasn’t helping matters especially when it seemed to make the mess in his mind even worse, but he was determined to see this through to the end so that when Liane rejoined him in Florida before the night of the Trios Tournament, he could make it the greatest night of her life… for the time being at least, if all went as planned.

Anything to not only show how much he truly loved this woman, but to also try and slam his thoughts back on track so he wouldn’t let his team down when he knew just how little chance everyone was giving them in the grand scheme of the tournament’s pairings.

Everything at least seemed to fall into place well enough once Aaron had gotten to Miami and put the plans into motion. While it wasn’t like him to splurge when he had spare funds lying around, he was willing to take a bit of a gamble on doing that this one time in an effort to regain some of his lost happiness to combat the despair that threatened to devour him on a seemingly frequent basis ever since he received the tragic news. All it would take is one step in the right direction and every domino that fell afterward would ultimately create the kind of chain reaction that would bring all of his most pleasant thoughts into reality and be forever rid of the darkness that tried to linger overhead.

Never let it be said that this man couldn’t be poetic when he wanted to be.

When Liane arrived at the hotel following the text she’d received from her boyfriend, in addition to a second key to the room he was staying in and had booked for them both she’d also been given directions from the front desk worker to “put on her best dress and make her way to one of the meeting rooms.” To say that she was intrigued was quite an understatement even if she had a feeling she knew who was behind it, but trying to figure out exactly what her boyfriend had up his sleeve began to take priority over the exhausting cross-country flight when she found a rose laying on the bed after getting into the room, along with a note politely asking her to bring it for their date.

“I don’t know what Aaron’s planning, but hopefully it’s something positive if he’s gone through this much trouble already.”

Even as Liane made this note to herself while quickly changing into a beautiful yellow dress she saved for formal occasions and making sure her hair was tied up in the neatest bun she could manage on such short notice, she couldn’t help but fear a little bit as she gently grabbed the rose and made her way to the meeting room written on the note she’d gotten from the front desk. It had been a little while since they’d been able to meet up, and despite Aaron’s insistence she had no problem with putting her comedy dreams on hold while he was clearly not in the most stable state of mind, but he refused to let her sabotage herself like that after how long she’d been supporting him in both his wrestling and artistic endeavors.

Even she wasn’t fully prepared for the sight that greeted her eyes when she opened the doors though.

The only occupant in the room was Aaron himself, wearing a tuxedo he must have rented even though he certainly had no reason to go this far even for a simple date. Only one table sat right in the middle of the candlelit room, though she did take notice of a small stage that had been set up close to it that she could hazard a guess as to its intended use. He seemed to be preoccupied with drawing something on his tablet, but he quickly stashed it away when he noticed her approaching, quickly moving to do the gentlemanly thing of pulling her chair out for her before resuming his seat while she placed the rose into a waiting vase in the center of the table.

“I hope your flight wasn’t too rough on you Liane.”

“Eh, I’ve had worse. It would give me an excuse to go through all the typical airline jokes most comedians have beaten like a dead horse at this point, but… you didn’t have to go to this much trouble, Aaron. Is everything-”

Before Liane could finish asking the question he knew was coming, Aaron held up his hand to stop her. After a moment of silence, he carefully lowered his hand to a small tray that served as the only other object present on their table this evening, causing his beloved to raise an eyebrow. It was when he finally started talking that she began to understand exactly what was going through his head, and why he believed this was very necessary even if it was fairly elaborate.

“It is now that you’re here Liane. I know, you think we made a mistake parting ways for a bit, but it’s not fair at all if you have to put your dreams on hold just to be concerned over me. It’s been a little over a year now since we first met… just about a year when we first decided that we should give being in this relationship with each other a try… this isn’t just because today happens to be Valentine’s Day either. In all the time we’ve been together, I’ve come to truly appreciate everything you bring to my world Liane, and I want to be able to keep moving forward to the very end. Even if we’re apart with you being the incredible comedian I know you are and me doing my best both in the ring and with some kind of artistic tool sitting in front of me and an endless world inside my mind to bring to life with it, I want to know, with no shred of doubt to be found, that the light you provide to chase away the darkness that haunts me as you continue to inspire me with each passing day.”

Liane was becoming quite entranced by the speech he was giving, especially when she knew he meant every single word of it, but she was a bit baffled when he suddenly stopped. She saw him motioning to the lid of the tray, almost as if he was saying he had no more words but something else to put the exclamation point on all of this. As she carefully lifted the lid, what she found underneath almost made her feel like she’d suddenly died and gone to Heaven.

A slice of strawberry cake topped with delicately designed vanilla icing sat on the underlying plate, and standing atop the frosting was a little 3D printed figuring that bore a striking resemblance to the tuxedo-clad man that sat across from her. The real kicker, however, was what the little figure was holding out to her… to call it a custom engagement ring would honestly be an insult to the depths of creativity and design talent this man possessed. The center jewel looked an awful lot like a diamond smiley face, the motif that could be associated with her the easiest. The rest of the ring was a brilliant rose gold color that presented a series of custom spiraling designs that she knew were his hand-drawn trademark brought to life in an entirely new form. It was truly one of a kind, and it was hers… if she answered the question that followed as Aaron suddenly stood up and went to go stand on the small stage before dropping to one knee and motioning to his ring bearing mini-me.

“Liane Forte… amidst the chaos in my life with my brother’s passing, I want you and you alone to be the saving grace that keeps me afloat through both good times and bad, the smile that will always inspire me to push myself farther than ever before just as I hope to be the same for you. Will you… will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Liane looked awestruck as her gaze shifted from the ring over to where her boyfriend stood, but the more she thought about it the more she realized he truly needed this, and not as a major milestone in his life to counteract the tragedy of losing a very immediate family member out of the blue the way he did. After being his biggest source of strength for the longest time even during the rockiest of times, even she couldn’t deny how badly she needed this man in her life for all eternity. He was just as inspiring to her and did everything he could to add an extra sense of imagination and wonder to each and every day… his way of combating the darkness that plagued her just as laughter and smiles were her remedies for his ailment. At that moment, it truly dawned on her, perhaps more than ever before, how much they needed each other… a conclusion Aaron himself had come to sometime in the aftermath of his recent defeat that only added to his resolve to make this a night neither of them would ever forget. She slowly took the ring from the little figure and went to join Aaron on the stage, allowing him to place the ring on her finger as the “I do” left her lips before they ended up attached to his own for a few moments.

“You always know how to put your own little creative spin on everything, don’t you Aaron? Almost kind of makes me want to have our wedding tomorrow just to see what you’ve got cooked up for that. How can I possibly compete with all this?”

“Well… while they’re still making our Vaneltine’s/engagement dinner, maybe you could treat me to some of your newest material? I could always use some more cheering up to take my mind off things and help put out a few mental fires in my imagination as well.”

Liane was more than happy to oblige her now honest-to-God soon-to-be husband, and as he took great delight in the act she’d been presenting to audiences of larger scales throughout California for the past few weeks all just for him and him alone tonight before they had a peaceful dinner date to cap off the evening while catching up, he knew he’d made the right call in how he’d spent some of the extra money he still had lying around.

Sometimes the price of happiness was worth a little bit more, and Aaron would spare no expense to spend the rest of his life with Liane… especially if it finally put the nail in the coffin of every single problem that lingered in their minds once and for all.

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He felt like he’d traveled this same path a thousand times, but it wasn’t until fairly recently that it had become a road he’d struggled to take.

At one point in time, it had been a path truly worth taking even when he didn’t have a reason to. Arguably considered the most innocent part of his imagination as the cobblestone path was flanked by some of the more pure creations that had sprung to life in moments of pure zen for the sake of capitalizing on the calm and never really without a reason, the whole idea was to help build on that sought after state of serenity so that when he reached his final destination he could truly embrace what it offered to him. As of late, however, that had been far from the case as it almost resembled a dark, bleak, barren wasteland devoid of any life or even the smallest shred of hope, everything that had once been here retreating into safer sections of his thoughts as the senseless war continued to rage on.

Aaron couldn’t fault them for trying to spread the carnage this far out, even when they really had no reason to do so. Even if they were now in constant conflict the one thing that both Nemesis and the Twin Stars could somehow agree upon is that Aaron needed to be kept away from what lay at the very end of this road at all costs, and anything that just added to the despair that seemed to poison him with each passing day would make the endeavor that much more worthless. So far it had seemed to work once they’d managed to find a way to lock him out of a direct arrival to his end goal and had stopped trying to redirect him to somewhere else entirely when it became too much of a strain on power best utilized for the battle at hand, but he had to wonder how much any of them factored in the newfound determination he’d obtained following his visit with Zeitgeist shortly before the last pay-per-view.

For that matter… were they even aware he HAD met with one of his oldest creations?

He wanted to assume so considering they would have to notice the time master taking center stage at Making Things Right and helping him to put aside everything that had been mentally weighing him down just long enough to secure the Adrenaline Title shot, but it didn’t seem for the moment that Dreambender and Gleeful were putting his denial of what they wanted over trying to take down Nemesis, and the latter would certainly care less as long as he was ultimately struggling to overcome what made the negative entity stronger. As Aaron closed in on the point where he knew this was going to start becoming a real challenge, he was hard-pressed to tell if it was simply how determined he was to finally reach the end after so long this time or if resources had simply been diverted in the ever-escalating conflict, but he certainly wasn’t feeling as plagued by doubt and self-loathing as he had in the past when he’d tried to make this trip.

That all changed once he found himself at the gate.

One thing that hadn’t existed here before was a massive gate that looked like it was made out of a sturdy black stone material of some kind, with a thick layer of suffocating fog surrounding it to help try to drain his willpower to a point where he wouldn’t even bother trying to find a way past it. Previous efforts had seen him try to utilize his imagination to break past the imposing structure that seemed to stretch on for as far as the eye could see, mostly because by the time he’d gotten this far he’d felt so drained he couldn’t put forth a decent enough effort, but that wasn’t going to be the case this time. Not even the fog seemed to faze him this time around, which is why he had no trouble suddenly willing a dynamite-strapped sledgehammer into existence, knowing he could easily design it to look like it wouldn’t get the job done until the following explosive slam proved otherwise. He hoisted it up and took one good swing, ready to tear this thing down once and for all…

Only for the hammer to seemingly faze straight through it.

The true master of this mindscape raised an eyebrow before taking another swing, only to get the same result. Curious, he slowly reached forward and, sure enough, could feel the stone texture as though it were actually there. It didn’t take long to piece it all together as he let his weapon of destruction fade back out of existence.

“Why am I not surprised? This thing is specifically designed to keep me out and that’s all. Unfortunately for them, every door has to have some way to open it.”

“Not every door can be opened though.”

“And some are better off staying closed.”

Aaron’s head slowly looked upward at the two new voices, distorted but still familiar-sounding all the same. Standing atop the gate and looking down at him were two figures, both female in form despite looking like they came straight out of the cesspool where nightmares are born. Their demonic appearance barely fazed the man who was used to how his own mind worked by now though, but he slowly picked up on the attire they wore and the tone of their voices, everything slowly beginning to click… which only seemed to annoy him more than anything else.

“If they can’t get what they want, they’re hoping to sabotage me instead by turning me against my Trios partners…”

“You really don’t want to go beyond this gate, Aaron. You have no reason to access what’s on the other side.”

“The whole point of Trios is for us to be a TEAM. How can we be a team if you’re going to lock yourself inside your own head and sit in solitude?”

“You know, maybe you two would have a more convincing argument if I didn’t see straight through this predictable charade. Let me guess: you both are the Twin Stars’ doing?”

“Why are you worrying about them? They only exist in your head, along with everything else here. We’re real, and we’re really not interested in having to carry you if need be on Saturday.”

Aaron sighed as they continued to look down at him, their gazes clearly showing a determination that matched his own. That petty level of back-and-forth only confirmed his suspicions, and while it raised the question of where Nemesis played into this now, the artist would deal with that whenever it surfaced. For now, he knew he needed to force his way past the obstacle at hand by any means necessary, and knowing the purpose of the gate began to give him the impression that if he and he alone couldn’t simply go right through it and these two were also treating it as a solid object, then they had to be the gatekeepers he needed to outwit somehow.

“Alright you two, let’s cut to the chase. You aren’t going to get me to simply turn away, not this time, and if you’re hoping to put me in a mood where I’m not going to cooperate with the real Dawn and Sam come tournament time then you might as well drop the act now. I know you two are my key to moving forward, so what’s your game?”

“Why does there have to be a game, Aaron? Why can’t you just accept that what you’re after is only going to hurt our chances more than help them? We’re already in a bad enough spot being considered the worst team on paper compared to everyone else, so we need all the help we can get.”

“OK… answer me this: when does Sam ever accept defeat that easily? Or Dawn talk about having to carry anyone? I hate to say it, but you two aren’t even doing a very good job of what I assume you were created for.”

The two demons looked at one another for a moment, putting on their best poker faces to avoid giving Aaron any sign he was getting to them. With a subtle nod to each other, they both raised their arms to the sky, and almost on command the creative soul found himself a victim of a downpour. If it was just a simple rain shower, then maybe he wouldn’t feel a little put off by whatever they were hoping to do, but closer examination revealed the liquid dripping onto his body more closely resembled blood. The rain certainly fit with Sam’s last name and some of her moves, but it took a bit of thought before he remembered his SCW history and Dawn’s past affiliation with a group known as the Blood Grove, where things like this were the norm practically. He mentally shook this off and continued to stand stone-faced.

“Face the facts Aaron: the three of us don’t stand a chance of winning this thing. Even if I return to what I used to be and she stops playing nice and reveals her darker edge, we still have to carry you against teams that have bloodthirsty lunatics or very savvy champions who will do whatever it takes to win, no matter what.”

“Maybe if we were talking about one of your more dangerous demons taking the reins we wouldn’t have anything to worry about. But no… we’re getting knocked out in the very first round by a bloody butcher from the South, a woman who’s already proven she will stab family in the back if need be for a shot at the top and a guy who can barely keep himself together half the time all because instead of that, we have to put up with the man who can’t even win a match he should have dominated all because he’s distracted by his dead brother!”

THAT was a low blow, and Aaron knew it. No rational person could ever hear something like that and not be filled with the sudden urge to put the offender six feet deep, and as he glared up at the grinning distortions of who he knew would be standing by his side in a few nights’ time, even the blood raining down onto his face almost seemed to be urging him to try scaling the wall just to ring their necks. He certainly looked like that would be his plan of action, and they were almost begging for him to take the plunge knowing that even with some time between now and the first round match there would be little chance he could effectively cooperate with two women he really knew better than to doubt. After all, out of all the random teams cobbled together, they certainly were the one that had absolutely no problems whatsoever between them.

That’s what the light bulb went off in Aaron’s subconscious, and slowly but surely he could feel the sudden surge of hatred ebbing away, and with it the storm cloud trying to bathe him in blood. It finally became clear where the other half of the warring factions played into this equation because while these two were clearly products of the Twin Stars meant to get under his skin and eventually open him up to the ‘realization’ that he needed the two of them to succeed, Nemesis had made enough tweaks to the atmosphere as a whole in this area to ensure that even if he somehow found a way through to what lay beyond, he wouldn’t be in a state of mind to enter it, and that discord would carry over to affecting his life and performance in the ring, further providing all the misery the monstrosity would need to remain strong and continue to torment him. With all the cards laid out on the table, he knew now what he needed to do, and as he looked back up at the twisted reflections of his soon-to-be-partners, he answered their confused looks with a calm smile.

“That’s low, you know… stooping down to the level of using my brother’s death like that. But you’re right, I haven’t really gotten a proper chance to sit down and reflect on it all to come to terms with it. There’s the funeral, but with no date set in stone yet still I can’t simply suffer in silence and risk losing out on not only Trios but maybe even the Adrenaline Title and so much more as well. This is why I truly need to get through this gate… the place beyond will allow me the peace of mind to do just that, and when the real Dawn and Sam meet me for battle on Saturday night… they won’t need a demon standing by their side, just a man who’s already proven before he’s just as capable of succeeding on his own. I know you won’t believe me, but what have you got to lose? I know I’d prefer partners I know I can trust as opposed to at least one person whose head I’d rather take off… that perfectly defines why it doesn’t matter how much we’re considered the underdogs… we have everything we need to walk out of Trios with everything we could ever ask for.”

The two went to respond to that, but whatever vicious tirade was supposed to leave their mouths never came. In the blink of an eye, they were both surrounded by a golden light, screaming and howling as though they’d been stabbed in the heart, and in their struggle to try and comprehend what had just been thrown at them they both took one step too far and fell behind the gate, where what sounded like an audible explosion followed by a blinding burst of light erupted from beyond. Aaron could only blink in silence, a hand slowly moving to wipe some of the droplets of blood still rolling down his face, and it wasn’t long before the gate suddenly began to open, spewing the blackest smog imaginable into his face in the process. He simply closed his eyes and held his breath as he stepped through, only ceasing this practice when even he could tell he was in the presence of a warm glow. Slowly adjusting his eyes, they found exactly what he was hoping to see still standing beyond the gate… the majestic exterior of a cathedral that would always radiate a calming light even from amidst the deepest darkness… a place where only one word was fitting to call out…

“Sanctuary…”

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It should come as no surprise by now that life just loves to throw all sorts of unexpected challenges and tests our way to see just how ready we are at a moment’s notice.

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t done the greatest job of that lately, but to tell you all why would be giving ammunition to the enemy, especially one in particular who has no business trying to stick their nose where it doesn’t belong.

Let’s get everyone up to speed, shall we? Thus far in the year 2019, I’ve managed to survive a battle royal at Making Things Right – a name that really doesn’t sound that fitting in hindsight if I can be honest – that secured me a shot at the Adrenaline Title at some point in the future, a title I’ve technically only challenged for once courtesy of a certain Trios contract that modified the Open Invitational where I made my SCW debut over one full year ago now. To balance that out, I’ve fallen short in what was then a non-title match against a woman I know I will cross paths again no matter how much she will likely think to the contrary as well as a four-way against three individuals whom I happened to overcome in that aforementioned battle royal. True, I didn’t ultimately take the direct fall, but I still didn’t win and that’s the part everyone will no doubt focus on.

It may not sound like that much fun, but every rollercoaster through life will eventually reach the top of the hill once again, and I’m staring down the perfect opportunity for just that as we speak.

I mentioned the Trios contract briefly a moment ago, and one needs only to look back on the many different ways one of those things can be used to guess why my name being drawn for this year’s tournament would have me salivating. I already brought up how Ace Marshall used his to alter the traditional Open Invitational match at the End of the Year Special every year to not only put the Adrenaline Title on the line but also try to force everyone to wear ‘sexy attire’ as well for his and Cassidy's amusement. We saw Selena Frost use hers recently for a roofed steel cage to take the U.S. Title away from Bree, there’s the obvious leap of using it for a guaranteed World Title opportunity you may or may not ever receive otherwise… we’ve even had instances from what I can see of those using it to effectively take over the company for themselves or even on matches where they aren’t involved just to spite a few people on their way out the door. The basic terms simply state you can use it for virtually anything, as long as the Board of Directors agrees to it and it can realistically be done.

Now imagine putting that kind of power into the hands of someone who’s made it his personal mission to share with the world why the concept of creativity itself is not something to be shunned and locked down but embraced and harnessed to guide us into a truly prosperous future.

Even under those restrictions, the sky is the limit for someone like me with a Trios contract in my hands. I don’t necessarily have to bring a title into the equation either… I could simply introduce SCW to an outstanding new match concept that might become a staple of the company for years to come. I could try and see how certain people might fare under unusual circumstances to see if they’re able to adapt beyond their tried and true methods or if their egos are simply keeping them from going any farther with their careers. It cannot be denied that whatever I would ultimately use it on would have to be something that truly represents everything that I stand for, which if you ask me is the best way to use something like this as opposed to the stereotypical idea of using it to get that World Title shot you think you’ve long since deserved.

Even in the present maze of thorns consuming SCW, there will always be some things even those like Katya cannot fully get rid of as long as you know what you’re looking for.

Let’s be honest for a moment… I have a pretty good idea of how a lot of you want to look at me, chomping at the bit to mention my success-to-failure ratio so far this year after Sasha told me to make this my year, never mind the fact that I’m sitting on one guaranteed title opportunity already and there’s still plenty of 2019 left to make up for any lost ground. But if we’re going to talk about Trios specifically, I’m not blind to the fact that many of you, on paper, believe my team is an easy first round elimination and arguably the lowest seed if our teams even were to be seeded in any fashion for this thing. You’ll point out my inconsistencies and question if I’m going to unleash a demon in exchange for being able to effectively be part of a cohesive unit, you’ll shove past failures in our faces and question why we aren’t this or that when it worked so well compared to who we are going into Saturday night… you’ll find every little thing imaginable to try and compensate for the fact that to many of you, your egos will never admit that you’re scared of us.

I know, that sounds like a pretty wild claim, but take a good look at the field for a moment. Just about every team in this thing has that one wild card as a side effect of this civil war raging on within SCW right now. You have plenty of teams where someone who’s made it clear they support Katya is outnumbered two-to-one by partners vehemently against her tyranny, teams where you’re fairly hard-pressed to know if that one loose cannon element can be trusted as opposed to trying to forcibly take the reins of leadership in a desperate bid to go all the way by any means necessary, even teams where someone who isn’t exactly pro-Sasha or pro-Mr. D still feels like Katya’s jerked them around too much and they’ll happily sabotage the efforts of someone on their team in her favor as a means of feeling better.

Dawn, Sam and I have no such issues, and that makes us the anomaly to keep an eye on if you feel like gambling.

You might think, at the very least, I might hold some kind of grudge against Sam just because her tag partner managed to win the last match I took part in, when she simply took advantage of the rules of the match and Katie’s focus on trying to pin me to secure the win which I can’t fault her for. Or maybe you might think we should be at each other’s throats because we were all part of that battle royal for the Adrenaline Title shot, but I think anyone who’s been in this business long enough knows by now how unpredictable those kinds of matches can be. Face it guys: Dawn, Sam and I have no real issues with one another and we’ve all made it clear we respect what each of us brings to the table, so while many of you have to wonder how on earth you’re going to be able to get along with at least one person you’re partnered with, the three of us will simply be working together and doing what we can to try and be the proverbial Cinderella story on everyone’s brackets this year.

Need I remind you that lost in the shuffle of how most of you, especially those in Katya’s favor, look at this thing, Sam Raine has a lot more experience that many on this roster and knows her time in SCW might be coming sooner than you think?

Or perhaps you need to be reminded that in addition to her reigns as a Tag Champion that Dawn Lohan is also a former World Champion in her own right?

And don’t even get me started on the fact that the sky is still the limit as far as I’m concerned in this company.

The three of us would all love to be able to have one of those contracts for our own reasons, and what we could do with them is only part of the fun. But first thing’s first: we need to band together to show everyone just why jumping to conclusions and basing your brackets on nothing but assumptions favoring the ‘most talented’ is the biggest reason why your aspirations tend to fall apart. So go ahead and be my guest… shout at the top of your lungs that you have no faith that we can advance any farther than the first round, because not only will we give Konrad Raab and Goddard the incredible match we all know they both deserve while showing Marie that she’s more than capable of amazing things without having to rely on Katya to simply hand her a top spot in the company, but what’s stopping us from fighting our asses off to go all the way to the very end when no one thinks we can do it?

Sometimes… all you need is a little bit of determination, and that’s the one thing aside from a well-oiled machine we can promise you all the three of us have in spades.