[Christian Underwood]

Please post all roleplays here! Have fun and good luck!

[Dreamkiller]

Chapter 29:Smarter than you look

I hate this time of year.

I don’t think that is a secret. But everybody else –and I mean everybody – is trying to get me to enjoy it. To open up and smile and love the “magic” of this time of year and experience the joy of giving or whatever the fuck they want to try to make their lives a little less sad but more delusional. But the more they try the more I pull away. Both of my sisters have been at me over and over again to come over on Christmas Day, wanting some kind of guarantee that I’m going to be there.

I’m not sure they really want me there. Why would they? I don’t offer anything to the conversation. Everyone is there talking about their families and talking about their phones and what a great year it is and how much they all love each other. I have my career. I have my glory. I have my independence that I have only just won for the first time in my life. And that independence is a solitary existence. I still have them in my life, I still have people that I’m sure consider themselves to be my friends. But at the end of the day? I am alone and that’s how I want it.

But for whatever reason, they can’t just let it go. And that is something that has happened and been thrown in my face recently.

I came back after going down the road to grab some supplies. Walking into my apartment, I felt like I had been followed, like someone was watching me. But I tried to let that feeling go, to ignore it.

After all, who would be following me? However, as I stood in my kitchen and started putting away the various things that I bought, my doorbell went off. I raised an eyebrow, mainly, because if it was anyone I wanted to talk to, they would have the knowledge that I would require a text message or phone call at least an hour before they were going to come over.

Kayla’s rules and all that.

But, I moved over to the door, turning on the small system to look at the closed circuit camera that faced outward into the hallway. My heart dropped into my stomach, and I became more and more annoyed and agitated. It was Aiden. Aiden Reynolds. The slow, dimwitted, best friend of finn’s younger brother, and husband to the only dimwit that I actually had time for. Kallie. And here he was, standing outside my door, nervously twitching, back-and-forth, waiting for me to let him in.

I let out an audible grown, opening the deadbolt, and pulling the door toward me before looking out at a now very startled Australian. Aiden blinked a few times nervously, running a hand through his hair as I just stared at him. I was not going to give him the satisfaction of hearing my voice to question why he was here. Instead, I wanted him to sweat. Sweat on what he was about to say, and whatever stupid reason it was that he was going to give me. He cleared his throat and tilted his head, finally ready to speak, and much to my surprise, he was able to form words into sentences.

Small victories for the primate.

”Oi uh…hey Kayla, you got a minute?”

”For what?” I was clearly not in the mood for this, and I wanted him to know. My arms folded over my chest as I leaned against the door to keep it open. He nervously scratched the back of his neck and looked away. He wasn’t sure what he wanted or needed to say to me. Then, there was a small spark inside me..something very unexpected that I didn’t know I was going to feel. Sympathy. He was here for a reason. So maybe I should let him speak it.

I rolled my eyes and stepped to the side, letting him come in. “So, uh…look, how ya doin’? Ya feelin’ ok? Career goin’ well? Ya know, you and Finny Boy still killing it?” My nostrils flared, my eyes burned a hole straight through him. I really wasn’t in the mood for this, and he needed to know that. “Right so...uh Christmas is comin’ up…”

Oh god, I felt like I was going to throw up. I keep trying to forget that we are going into December. I keep trying to forget that now is the time for family gatherings. But here he is, bringing it up whilst staring at me like a puppy dog who has just run headfirst into a steel door. “Yes…I’m aware. And don’t care…but…out with it, Fido, you’re pissing me off…”

Aiden looked around, stuttering as he threw his hands in the air, trying to bring it all back together. “Look, Kallie is doing Christmas this year. She wants to plan it and she’s tryin’ to get it at Finn's…so, ya know…she wants you there…” I stayed silent, in fact, everything stayed the same. The same expression on my face, the same look of vitriol spewing from my eyes, burning a hole right through Aiden. The same arms folded over my chest. Everything was the same. His little announcement didn’t make me flinch in the slightest. “I know things have been…ya know…hard between you and Finn but Kallie would really appreciate it…”

I took a sharp breath in and shook my head before pushing it out and giving him my reply. It was not going to go well. ”No.”

\“No?”

I stepped forward and sighed with a small laugh trying to disarm myself. “I like Kallie…I do. But I don’t want to celebrate Christmas. It’s not my thing, Aiden…”

”Oi, come on. It’s a party with booze…that is totally your thing, and Kallie wants ya there and Tasmin will be there with ya niece and also…Dax seems to like ya so-”

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE SHUT UP!” Aiden stopped talking. But the damage had been done. I was now angry and frustrated. I tried to calm myself down through humor and through other means, but it didn’t work. He stared at me, and I could see in that moment, he wasn’t going to take a simple no for an answer, he needed something real. He needed the truth. “Last Christmas was the first time I…enjoyed it…”

”Eh?”

He was confused. Fuck, here we go. “Aiden, I have never had a Christmas I enjoyed. Ever. I always hated them for…various reasons. And last year, no matter how it ended up…was still one I cherish…” I closed my eyes and shook my head.
And I don’t want to destroy that memory or taint it…..so please just….just drop it ok?”

Aiden swallowed, he looked down and away. He turned and moved toward the door but stopped before turning back. “I might not know a lot about your life. But I do know about regret. I know about turning a blind eye to what you want and need. And it never works out well…just…remember that…” He moved out, closing the door behind him as I stood alone.

Like I wanted…..?


The lie of confidence


”Did anyone really think we were going to lose?”

Kayla chuckles, shaking her head as her arrogant nature shines through, her long black hair flowing freely down her shoulders and back framing her sharp features. Her full lips making her cheekbones and jaw pop even more.

“The way Finn and I operate, the precision, the professionalism. We are not the usual rabble that enters this company. You see it every single month. A flash in the pan will join, have some success, get a title or two, and then after losing will disappear forever. And sure, sometimes it is for a bit longer, but in the end it’s the same. Look at Amber Ryan, Mac Bane, and Ken Davison. These names came into the company and dominated for a time before walking off into the sunset. But Finn and myself? No, that’s not what we do.”

“Finn left but always wanted to come back. He fought to come back, and he fought for this company. He is a former World Champion, a former Roulette Champion, and now a Mixed Tag Team Champion. My title wins have been something of legend. So did anyone believe Miles Kasey and Alexandra Callaway had a damn chance?”

“I told everyone that Finn and I were going to win. Hell, my travel issues only served as a way for Miles and Alexandra to believe they could be relevant for another week.”

“But in the end, regardless of how the win happened, the win happened. Finn and I were always going to win that match. We were always going to hold those titles high again. See, we are winners, real winners. Not winners like Miles, who pop up with some pure luck only to fail at all significant events or winners like Alexandra who can earn her way to a shitty special school championship but will ultimately fail to win and keep it. No, Finn and I are champions. Born to be champions. Born to be professionals. No matter what you all believe about us.”

Kayla turns her nose up and lets out a small tut before shaking her hand dismissively, waving her hand to the side. She swallows hard and turns her attention back forward.

“You see, I just used a word that so many of you don’t even know the meaning of. Professional. Do you know what professionalism is? Because our opponents coming up at December 2 Dismember certainly don’t. Neither did the two that we just beat. You see, professionalism means that you can put your personal feelings aside and step into the ring and do what you need to do. Whether or not Finn and I have feelings –positive or negative towards each other– means nothing when that bell rings. It means nothing when we have to defend these championships. It means nothing when we win championships. Because it is called being a..…”

She paused, giving it a bit of emphasis, before leaning forward a bit and sneering into the camera.

“Professional.”

“You see, last time we faced Limitless. All I heard was the same song and dance. This narrative was pushed by these two young upstarts, that they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. The greatest team that we would ever see. They learned from the best. And myself and my partner were not going to be able to coexist, and we were broken. We were broken beyond repair. That’s the narrative that they decided to run with. A story that they decided to tell to each and every one of you. Now, I’m no expert, but it seems to me that their little story was a full-blown work of fiction. Something that should be put in the section dedicated to conspiracy theories, and lame stories made up by people who have nothing better to do with their lives because they aren’t smart enough to come up with anything worthwhile.”

“This is Limitless in a nutshell. Because we rose above all of that and showed them to be nothing but idiots who had no idea what they were talking about. And here is one of the problems that I have with most people in this company. They can’t admit when they were wrong. If I’m wrong about someone, if they beat me in the middle of that ring, then I will tell them to their face that I was wrong about them. I still won’t like them. I'll still call them a complete moron and tell them that I would love to kick their face in, but I am someone who will always tell the truth. Who will always admit if I was wrong.”

“It just doesn’t happen very often.”

Kayla can’t help but chuckle to herself before continuing.

”What was it that Eiley said? That we had no chance in hell of beating them? That they were the greatest tag team known to man? Because I could’ve sworn that’s what they said. And the problem with it isn’t that they said it, the problem is that they will never admit they were wrong. The problem is that they can’t look themselves in the mirror and be honest. Hell, after they tried to get one over on me verbally and I put them in their place on that cesspool of a social media platform that can’t make up its mind and is owned by a despot billionaire. All they did was talk about how they won the tag team of the year award. Calling it a consolation prize and acting as if that was the real championship.”

“You lost Eiley. And how someone handles a loss speaks volumes about them. Sometimes they go silent, and that silence can be deafening. Other times? They decide to run their mouths even louder, and when they fail their entire psychic brakes. That is what happened to Limitless. They ran their mouth. They disagreed with each other, and they fell down a hole that they have not been able to scrape out of. Six weeks and they have done nothing. Six weeks and they haven’t been able to win a match to earn themselves a championship shot. They were given time and time to figure it out, and yet, here we are. The only reason why they are getting the shot at us is because they were the champions and this company doesn’t have the balls to tell them to fuck off and earn it…”

There is a small whisper from off-camera, Kayla raises her eyebrow and leans in close.

”What?”

This time we hear it, the voice of Finn Whelan, clearly standing off-camera and whispering to Kayla.

”They won a match…”

”The Barnharts.”

”Who gives a shit…that doesn’t count..”

Finn lowers his voice again and Kayla groans and throws her head back in an overly dramatic way before taking a deep breath.

”FINE! Ok, so I have been informed that it isn’t all doom and gloom for you two. It seems that you were able to get a win over The Barnharts. Congratulations. After failing time and time again, someone in this company decided to take pity on you and feed you the most inept team that they could find. Apparently, the Warrens or Steeles were too busy. So now what? You guys need to get one win to get into the ring with us and it happened to be against that loser of a team? Do you think that you earned this? Do you think you deserve it? And I know, I know what you were thinking. Finn and I didn’t exactly earn our shot at you guys right?”

“Kind of. Hell, you two cried about that enough as we let up to the first match. And very correctly, we both pointed out that we were a team that was named back when these championships were going to come back. Finn took time off, and when he returned, we were ready to be a team. And he and I have actually had success in this company whereas you two fell into it and took these championships when no one else had been ready to be part of the division.”

“And the first team that had any type of clout or skill that came up to face you and you lost. You two want to be exactly like your mentors right? Oh, and by the way, I can hardly wait to hear about that story again. I can hardly wait for you to stand there and cut your promos, mentioning Kris Ryans and Mickah over and over like those names mean something in the year of our lord TwentyTwenty-fucking-three.”

She rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath.

”Oliver, as I’ve already established, I do nothing but tell the truth. Even though a lot of people don’t want to hear it. And sweetheart, the other one is dragging you down. You could have real success as a star here in this company. And sure, you aren’t really half the man that Finn is, but very few people are. You could still win the Internet Championship or the Roulette or even go after the World Championship while no one else is looking. But the deadweight is holding you down, the albatross around your neck is dragging you straight to hell. You need to cut off the anchor and you need to be able to fly like an eagle.”

“Instead of failing.”

“And Eiley? You rotten little arrogant bitch. You need to be put in your place. But permanently this time. Because Finn and I already did it once. And I thought maybe, just maybe you would realize it as you got in the ring after that, and time and time again, you failed. You two have become a laughingstock. You tried to live up to these lofty expectations that your mentors had for you, and all you’ve done is become a cruel caricature of them. You can’t even get to the point where you are going to repeat their mistakes, because you can’t even get to the level with those two. And I get it, we all live in people's shadows in this business. People who came up with people who we train with, people who we respect, people who taught us or family members.”

“But there comes a time when you need to move out of their shadows and be your own people. And that is something that I don’t think either of you can ever truly understand. Because you take away the gym that you train at, you take away the bond that you’ve apparently had with each other, and you take away the mentors that have been watching over your shoulder, and what are you left with? Two arrogant children who have now realized that the arrogance that they were given, and gifted is only going to get them so far and the talent and drive will have to take them the rest of the way. And unfortunately for both of you? You just don’t have that kind of talent.”

[finnwhelan]

PARADIGM SHIFT IX // GRANITE
NEVER MIND THE DEATH THREATS PARTING AT THE DOOR, WE’D RATHER BE SIX FEET UNDER THAN BE LONELY. IF YOU HAD A PROBLEM, THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME.
SLEEP TOKEN


••••••

Have you ever known desperation?

Dictionaries define it as a state of being desperate, so much so that you’re going to act rashly or extremely. But that doesn’t quite define it truly, does it? It doesn’t describe the panic that freezes your neurological system, it doesn’t even begin to compare how quickly your heart beats versus how your body rushes to move. It doesn’t at all explain how you can watch something happening in slow motion. And yet, a few words on a page are meant to describe this emotion, this state of complete and utter terror.

It happens in wrestling, when you see your opponent coming at you and you’re spent. Your body spikes in adrenaline, your heart pounds beneath your breast, and you launch yourself to dodge. If you’re ballsy enough, you launch yourself into them to surprise them. Your body reacts faster than your mind can, and you either find yourself making stupid decisions…or you somehow turn the tide in your own favor.

Regardless, when a person finds themselves in such a state, it can be alarming to the senses. The little hairs all over a person’s skin rise, they feel as if the world is crashing down on them, and perhaps…they choose to sell themselves to save someone else. They make the decision to do the exact thing they said they would never do just so the people they love never have to suffer like they did.

Despite what someone might claim…it’s hard to stay professional when you’re desperate.

••••••

FINN’S HOME FOR WAYWARD WRESTLERS
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
[•] OFF-CAMERA

When your entire family performs on wrestling platforms across the world, it’s hard to avoid watching it. You see snippets of other promotions, watch as the landscape changes. Sometimes, you see your previous coworkers thriving in other environments, and you cheer them on. Or wish they burned.

Either or.

For once in his otherwise eventful life, Finn found himself in the solitude that his apartment originally had been meant to have until he started inviting everyone in his life to be there. He couldn’t hear life from the other apartment on his floor that he owned and rented out, and that suited him just fine. He sat in the center of his leather sectional, feet propped up on his coffee table as he absentmindedly popped popcorn into his mouth.

Dickie, his little pain in the ass of a little brother, was wrestling in Cambodia for the Trials within The Triad promotion. He hadn’t been doing too well…except that he eliminated the man that took his precious Empire Championship…but since he’d gone dark after Thanksgiving, that may have changed. Finn assumed he was just putting his nose to the ground and getting work like a good wrestler.

So far, he was doing a good job. It was an elimination style match that made him cringe to watch.  He missed the original showing, but a DVR’d replay was just as good.

He glanced at his phone where a text message dinged from Kallie for the third time today. He’d not answered the first two, and now, she was getting more pushy about holding the Christmas party in his house again. Finn honestly wasn’t sure he wanted to have the chaos again, especially after the events of last year ruined his take on the holiday altogether. He still hadn’t gotten presents. He still hadn’t done anything remotely related to decorating. And he knew if he said yes, then she would be in here, terrorizing his entire household and forcing tinsel in places that just really didn’t belong.

“Not right now, Kal,” he muttered to himself as he shook his head and turned his attention back to the television.

And just in time.

“Mancini has been unmasked by…well, I guess you’d call him Dickie Watson’s new advisor…Kei Hideshima!”

Finn’s ears pricked up.

“Yes!” Marcus Welsh, the man had that drafted Dickie onto his team for this set of the Trials, appeared extremely excited, “Dickie Watson making moves to improve his position here in the Trials!”

Finn felt pressure rising in his chest as he saw the familiar face of his ex-mentor, the man who had so readily threatened his life and his friends just weeks ago, have the audacity to help Dickie succeed in his endeavors. The man had promised him such a long time ago to help a failing Callien O’Hanlon to rise to greatness, and Finn had done just that without the support of that Japanese fuck. And Dickie? Dickie wouldn’t be able to handle his bullshit. Dickie wouldn’t be able to do what Kei wanted from him. He wouldn’t fall in line, he wouldn’t succeed when the Yakuza came to take his head for the price of their services.

He swallowed. He set his popcorn down as calmly as he could, exhaling and ignoring the rest of the show. He would miss when his little brother would duck out of harm’s way, and pin both of the other people in his match for a smooth elimination and the win that he had been searching for. He would miss when his brother’s hand was raised by Kei, would miss when he looked surprised with himself, but determined to succeed.

“This can’t be happening…”

He waited a few moments, before he grit his teeth together and reached for his phone. Finn didn’t even notice his hands shaking as he thumbed through his phone, trying to find contacts, trying to keep himself together as he slowly breathed through his nose. His fingers hovered over the name for a moment before he exhaled through his nose.

He pressed the name hard enough that if the phone were not glass, it would have been shattered.

A few seconds seemed like prolonged moments as the ring tone echoed in his ears. He pressed his freehand to his forehead, closing his eyes as he set his head parallel with the floor. He heard the click of the phone being answered, and then he waited.

“Callien,” the smooth, deep voice of the Japanese man he so abhored right now cut through him.

“I told you to stay the fuck away from all of them. I told you–”

“Kutabare,” he swore, and then laughed lightly. “Yes, I heard you. And to be perfectly honest, I did stay away. I sat in my little office and I waited for the moment in which one of them would come to visit me. Imagine my surprise when it was not your tag team partner, but your little brother.”

“I don’t believe that for one fucking second!” He snarled, rising to his feet and looking out the window. “I know my family has dick-all for brains sometimes, but they’re not stupid enough to join forces with you, especially if they don’t understand any of the costs.”

“Would I lie to you, Callien?” Kei quipped back, sounding smug on the other end. Finn paused. It was the one thing that he could trust – Kei never lied. He withheld, he didn’t always elaborate, but he never lied. “I tell you, Dimitri walked into my office and he sold his soul like a sad little puppy dog because he knew that he needed something different. Now, I would hope you know that I would never treat him as if he were anything like you.”

Inwardly, Finn breathed a sigh of a relief, but that was before Kei said anything further.

“Because he is not like you. He is more desperate of a man. Always living under your shadow, always wanting to be more. His friends abandon him, you forsake him whenever you get the chance. You have been so focused only on your own emotions and feelings that you have not once asked for his thoughts. And when he gives them, you so readily ignore them. So no, Finnegan. He is not like you. He is not hesitant. He does not wait. He makes a decision and he goes with it.”

Finn grit his teeth. “That’s not–”

“Besides. You should be more focused on your own future, yes? December 2 Dismember, or whatever godforsakenly childish name created out of the nineties exists…” He cut off Finn snidely, and Finn could hear him lean back in his chair. “You have a Tag Team Match in which you defend your championships. Let me handle Dimitri. Or…if you change your mind…?” He questioned, implying that Finn absolutely had the choice to change to accepting his help again.

“No.” He snapped back, almost immediately.

“Very well. Then I think you and Kayla Richards will need to be prepared. You never know what it’s like when you have a team that is so desperate to steal the limelight again out from under the men and women who took it from them…they might come out with guns blazing, and if you’re focused on this…”

“I can handle myself professionally, Kei. But if I get one fucking word that you’ve done something with Dickie…”

“Focus on the children in front of you. They have been reared in this business as gods and goddesses, and treated with a kindness that they don’t deserve. This opportunity stands simply because they held the championships…and now you have an opportunity to obliterate their endeavors and destroy the little bit of psyche that they have. Stand strong. Stand with your partner. Or your championships will be at stake and what little you have proclaimed will be for naught.”

“Kei–”

“Sayonara!” Kei called into the phone, and then hung up without allowing the Irish-American wrestler to get in a word edge wise.

Finn swore in Gaelic, quite literally chucking his phone against the wall and shattering it into a million shards.

Just like his own psyche now.

••••••

We’re met with a blurry picture that slowly becomes more clear as the seconds pave on. As it does so, the surroundings become a bit more clear. The sounds of children – young children – can be heard as we see little ones running back and forth, coloring on pages in the background and nursery workers standing around, appearing haggard and run down.

Finn is seated with a tyke next to him, a book in his hands as he reads slowly to them. On the front cover of the book reads, The Things That Lou Couldn’t Do. The kiddo smiles as he reads, her fingers up happily against her mouth.

“This is new,” he continues from where he was reading. “Lou has never climbed a tree before. ‘It will be an adventure!’ says her friend. Lou loves adventures, but this adventure is UP. She likes her adventures to be down. She can’t climb the tree. Her friends say they’ll show her how, but she wishes her friends would just leave her alone. She’s fine down here.”

The kiddo sneezed all over her hands, but then grinned up at Finn. The Seattle Saint looked down at her, an attempt at a smile not so much overriding the sneer of disgust that rose up on his face.

He continued on.

“Lou’s friends continued on playing, and Lou thought about all the ways she could play with them. Maybe she could pole vault. Maybe she could jump on a trampoline! But no. Lou did not like any of these ideas, because climbing was scary. Until one of her friends yelled out that she needed a pirate captain for her ship! Lou knew that when she played a pirate captain with them, she had faced some pretty scary things. Sea monsters, hurricanes, and a super-bad brain freeze. And now, Captain Lou Skullbuckle was going to do the scariest thing of them all…she’s going to climb this tree!”

“Thab dunnit make sense,” the little girl replied, interrupting them. “She was scar-ed to climb dab tree. She prentented that she was a shib captain and now she not scared?”

“Yeah, I know. Sometimes,” he started, “people need to fake what they’re feeling so they’ll be brave enough to do what’s scary. Why don’t you go on and play?”

“Mmmmkaayyy…”

The kiddo bounced up and ran off, leaving Finn all on his lonesome. He tossed the book aside, leaning against the bookcase he sat against with a smirk on his face.

“You’ll have to forgive me. You caught me at the one time a month that I volunteer in this daycare so Kallie can get free days for Dax. Kinda helps in seeing the perspective that our opponents have too.” He inclined his head. “But while we’re here, let’s touch on that for a moment. The moral of the story is that when you believe that you can do something, you somehow gain the will to do things that are frightening. In this case, though, the little kid in the story legitimately has to pretend to be someone else entirely so that she can rise to the task of climbing a fucking tree–” he paused, looking up to see if they caught him swearing. “In essence, alone she couldn’t do it, but as someone else, she could.”

“In a way, you can say that Limitless has to do the same thing.”

He rose to his feet, stepping out of the room he was in and heading into the staff room, sitting down at the couch in the room and planting his feet firmly into the floor.

“When Kayla Richards and I took the Mixed Tag Team Titles from the poor children, we not only took their most coveted items like Bilbo fucking Baggins took the ring from Gollum, but we took from them their fucking selves. When we walked into High Stakes, you’ll remember that it was all posture, no humility, from the children as they paraded themselves into promotionals with flippant attitudes and zero discretion. I think you’ll remember, Eiley, stating that we didn’t really have a chance in beating you, and that you were pretty much unstoppable. And you decided at that time, little girl, that we weren’t important to know anything about.

And Oliver stated the two of you were leaps and bounds better than not only the Barnharts, but that you were going to get around to beating each and every team that has ever laid claim to your championships.”

Not only did you guys both reflect on who you’ve beaten, you sat there and you dismissed the two of us like we were nothing. The thing that killed you in the end, I think, because your pretty, perfect mentors should have told you that the people you face are not all indignant fucks like the Barnharts. Some of us are vultures and we’re simply waiting until you make a mistake to capitalize.

The amount that you glug-glug Jet City to me tells me that you’ve drank the Koolaid, and you’re stupid, vapid, disgusting little twats. But that’s what happens when you have Kris Ryans and Mikah as leaders, right? You become them. Put an Eiley promo next to a Mikah promo and tell me how are they different except for the person talking?

And true hubris, right, Oliver? How does it feel when you look at yourself in the mirror and hate yourself because your girlfriend can’t stand your fucking face because of your failures? It was you who took the pin, you who couldn’t figure out what the fuck you were doing during that match, and you who fell apart for the last six weeks. Well. Of course, until last week, when you remembered what it was like to have a dick and win against The Barnharts.

Let’s be honest, though.

Beating the Barnharts is like fucking the town whore before we all knew what sexually transmitted diseases were.

And I wouldn’t equate Kayla to the town whore, just in futurecasting. That’s just bad selling points – she’s more like Catherine of Aragon than Anne Boelyn. …assuming either you know who those people are.

At the end of the day, it was you two who stood on your misplaced laurels and thought you had this in the bag. But you don’t. You never did. Have you learned yet that you treat every match like it could be the last one you have? You come in and you come with fire. You don’t half ass and think that you have it just because you had it five times before. That is complacency. And that is the shit I abhor the most in wrestlers like you two.

Little Lou in that story pretended that she was something she wasn’t so she can do the thing that she was scared of. You can pretend all you want that you guys are the champions and that everyone in the company doesn’t matter, but there’s a third part of this equation. It’s the people that are the champions. The Wolves of Gheimhridh, whether you like it not, Limitless…hold onto those championships, and we will not be giving them up that easily. We will fight tooth and nail.

And we will make sure that you never come for them again.”

••••••

WOFLSLAIR TRAINING FACILITY
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
[•] OFF-CAMERA

It wasn’t often that Kayla visited Wolfslair. She was very open that she hated the place, but as of late, she’d been visiting more often. She and Finn would run programs with one another, continue to train as much as they could. No, they didn’t hang out outside of the facility, but it was clear that the two of them were more focused on the professional aspects of their teaming. Knowing how the other worked, what was easy enough. Some days, they trained with Aiden and Kallie, who most of the time no match for the duo, despite being married.  Aiden would submit quickly because he liked his limbs and they would spend fifteen minutes getting Kallie to feel better about herself when she lost.

But it was working.

Emily had either been fired or was beginning to not show up with Kayla was around, for which Finn was grateful. However, since his phone call with Kei, he had been absent-minded, and even he knew it. He sat at his desk, pouring over files for Limitless, transcripts of their promos, notes about their recent matches.

Kayla, who had finished a two-hour session with Finn that day, sat on his couch, her eyes glued to her phone and her leg draped over the arm. She narrowed her eyes, and glanced up at him.

He kept looking at his phone.

And so she decided to say it, to tread the water, to try and see what was going on. She didn’t like quiet Finn. She didn’t like Finn much lately, but a quiet Finn meant an unfocused Finn, and that couldn’t happen. Not right now. She looked out the window. “So,” she started, and he looked up at her. He clearly seemed to be questioning whether she was actually talking to him without work attached or if it was just going to be a conversation about plans again. “Looks like you’ve got another recruit in Old Lady Phoenix’ daughter here at Wolfslair…” she mentioned Bella Phoenix, who had just recently begun training. “Alicia is helping too.”

He nodded, but didn’t look up from his papers.

“I know we haven’t been…” she spread her fingers, waving them back and forth in front of her a bit as she struggled with what to say, “...communicative, or whatever. But I do see things, Finn.”

Finn raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, looking at her curiously.

“You’re touchier lately. I mean, it was just last week that you were kind of joking with me, but now you’ve been all…silent.” She tilted her head. “Is there something that’s going on?”

Finn slightly narrowed his eyes and then turned back to his paperwork. He was fine with the professionalism. He was fine with her being distant, fine with their relationship being nothing but work related. He didn’t even know why she was still here, except maybe to talk about their jobs. He waved his hand, brushing her off.

He should have known better.

Kayla rose to her feet, tossing her phone to the side, and slammed her hands down on the top of Finn’s desk. The Virulence looked up, trying to avoid staring down her very low cut, tight-fitting Trivium shirt, and was met with her hazel-green eyes. “Don’t brush me off, Finn. You’re really good at doing that, and for once, I…”

It was almost as if she lost her fight for a second, like she was beginning to feel something again. Finn felt that pressure set in his chest again, and he looked away, trying to be dismissive. At least this incensed her more.

“I would like to know if whatever the fuck brain cells are firing between the two ears that you have that you sometimes listen out of are going to cause us an issue.”

Finn’s nose flared. The more desperate part of him somewhere beneath the calm visage he masked his emotions with most of the time flared and wanted to tell her what was going on. That Dickie had been a stupid child just like their opponents were and enlisted the help of a man who could literally kill them all if he wanted. That he hadn’t been vigilant enough to stop it. That he had been so fucked up in his own head and his own things that he couldn’t help Dickie, that he couldn’t have been the one to help the man to succeed.

That he had fucked up everything with Kayla to the point that she didn’t want him anymore. Christmas was closing in, and the feeling of regret piled in with it too.

“You can rest assured that as your tag team partner, I will hold my end of the bargain and do everything possible. You know me in the ring, Kayla. You know what I can do, and will do. Whatever is going on with me is my business, and it’s not shared with co-workers.”

“But you’d share it with the stupid Fido-fuck right? He’s your coworker.” And while she was correct, she also missed a key concept. Aiden was his co-worker, but he was also a friend. Kayla had pulled that right when she moved out of his apartment in July.

“We aren’t friends, or did you forget?” Finn snarled. It would have been easy if Kayla had continued fighting with him. She didn’t. She pursed her lips and frowned, pushing back off the desk and reaching for her phone and bag, disappearing from the scene.

Finn put his head in his hands and swore again.

••••••

“But let’s talk about you. Let’s talk about the downfall and the meteoric rise of Oliver Zahn. I’m not going to go over the same points I’ve gone over, but I want it to be known from something you said last time we faced. That we didn’t dismiss you, and you were flattered that we paid attention. And you told me to take notes.

Guess what motherfucker, that’s what I’ve been doing since I’ve gotten here. Paying attention, making notes.

Amazing what it’s like when people do their jobs, right? It’s like people now don’t know what it is to research, to go over, they pour themselves over material. They do the pre-work so they don’t have to do the post-work.

When we faced off last time, you two were very certain that Kayla and I were so horribly paired that we weren’t going to be able to do our job effectively. You, particularly, ran your mouth about the summer, where you two won the championships, and ran through every team that you were given. Until, like Kayla said, you faced someone with clout and lost. You weren’t prepared. You weren’t ready for us. No amount of saving Eiley, no amount of backass bullshit was going to keep you winning.

The bullshit of bouncing onto Twitter-X and trying to start shit with Kayla, being a sniping little cuntrag because you thought you were so fucking witty? Yeah, how the fuck did that work out for you?

And don’t start with where Kayla and I stand on bending the rules to win. Kayla has always said everything to win. I never did. Yeah, we have a different mindset on that, but I think you’ll find that as adults in this world, even if you don’t agree fully, you can still work together to find a common cause.

Listening to you from the moment we took the Mixed Tag Team Championships from you, it’s been like listening to Eeyore. Woe is me, and I’m a victim. Not just from you, but from Eiley too. I have honestly never seen any more poor losers than I have in you, and I’ve been at this a while. Consolation prize crying about being voted the best tag team – the only mixed tag until Kayla and I came around, so yes. Despondent promos, not knowing how to be excited for your matches, the things you’re fucking paid for to do.

Crying about Carter being beneath you and losing to him.

Noting the snide jabs, but thinking you had a better chance to succeed against when it came to people you’ve beaten before…except Sam Marlowe and Ben Jordan defeated you and Eiley.

Missing on a show to help Eiley because the brats under your Cult City locked you in a fucking closet.

I did say that this was like a soap opera, and I’m not amused.

When it came to defeating the Barnharts, it was like you and Eiley opened up because all of a sudden, you were going to figure out how to work with one another. Sudden changes don’t happen overnight, right? You and Eiley were going to magically figure it out by the end of the cycle and you would face us again. But see, that’s the problem, and the thing you don’t understand.

Professionalism is key. I can dislike my partner. And I do. Kayla is not my favorite person in the world. I don’t like her cheating ways, I don’t like how she acts. But I understand her. I understand that she doesn’t become another person whether she loses, she wins, or she draws. She is unequivocally Kayla, and I know that when we take to the ring, she’s going to do her job to the best of her ability. I don’t worry about her liking me, or getting along with me, which seemed to be the hangup that you had over the last few weeks. Eiley must not trust me because I failed.

Fucking Eeyore.

You guys were friends before you were wrestlers, but I was a wrestler long before I met Kayla. I had more victories under my belt before I met Kayla. And you? You’ve had victories. You’re a good wrestler. I’ve said that before, and I’ll say it again. Until you don’t trust in yourself. And now? Now we’re supposed to believe that all is well and you’re getting along again and everything is going to be good?

Nah.

I’m not buying it.

But trust me, you don’t need me to buy it. No one in this company does, but go off kid. Tell us, beat your chest, and proclaim how fucking brilliant and undeniably talented you are because someone told you once that you were. Believe your Kool-Aid leaders words when they tell you that you’re the best thing since sliced bread and that we were just a fucking fluke.

Say everything that you want to. I know you guys are coming in guns blazing, eyes flaring, speech readied with as much vitriol as…well, as you’re allowed to. Kinda seem like you got a stick up your ass, but that’s neither here nor there.

We have the championships you failed to retain. And at December 2 Dismember? We’ll be keeping them in our grasp.

[Eiley]

OFF CAMERA
Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii
Date: December 5, 2023.
 

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

Mikah’s gym was filled with a lot of people to promote SCW’s December 2 Dismember Pay-Per-View that would be happening in a week and a half. Eiley and Oliver were supposed to be sitting behind a table to promote their match, talk with fans, and whatever else Mikah and Kris shot their way. There were also other booths similar to theirs that had to do with wrestling and SCW in general. Eiley was not too enthused about being close in proximity to Oliver but she didn’t have much of a choice as Mikah had threatened her to stay put or she’d be on Ridley duty. Eiley was still amazed at how Mikah let a two month old baby run their lives but it was at least mildly entertaining to watch both Mikah and Kris interact with the two month old. She also watched as Mikah and Kris’ older children ran around the gym as if it was second nature to them, which it was but Eiley always kept an annoyingly close eye on them ever since they locked Oliver in a storage closet on Climax Control.
 
However, she needed a break from everybody and from trying to act as if everything was okay between her and Oliver.  So she had gotten up about three minutes ago to take a breather from being just mere inches from him and had found herself in a hallway when Myles walks up to her and she gives him a skeptical look.

♦MYLES♦ “Eiwey, I need your help.”

She was always skeptical when it came to both of Mikah and Kris’ kids because they almost always outsmarted her and Oliver. And Myles was almost always the one to lure them to their trap because he was the youngest and knew how to use his charm. But she hesitates to say something as he looks at her with his big eyes and she falters a little bit, already knowing that she was going to give in. She looks into his eyes and sighs but makes a mental note to steer clear of the kids the best she could in the near future.

•EILEY• “What do you need help with, Myles?”

She always had the belief that she was not good with children and they kind of terrified her but for some reason, trying to tell Myles no was no easy feat. His eyes light up as he realizes that she’s about to help him with whatever he needed and he grabs her hand, pulling her in the direction of where he needed her.

♦MYLES♦ “It’s over here, my bouncy ball got stuck on a high shelf and I can’t get it down. I tried to climb it to get it but Mama caught me and made me get down but didn’t let me tell her what I needed up there.”

She wasn’t sure if it was normal for a four year old to talk as much and as well as he did but she was almost always impressed with how he talked and how well he talked at that. Eiley just nods her head, not thinking about the four year old’s logic in searching her out as her height was barely 5’6. But she could climb the shelving units and Myles wouldn’t get hurt, which would save a lot of drama in the long run. Myles leads her to a storage closet and he opens the door and the second she steps inside, he closes the door behind him just as Kris and Mikah step around a corner. Kris grins and high fives the four year old and Mikah gives the two of them a skeptical look.

;;MIKAH “What did you two do?”

Her eyes did not leave Kris even though the question was aimed at both of them. Kris just grins at her before shoving his hands in his pockets.

::KRIS “Going to make the two scaredy cats talk to one another, so we’re locking them in this closet. Myles already lured Oz in there looking for a missing, non-existent bouncy ball and we only needed Eiley in there, so we figured the same trick would work.”

MIkah gives her husband a look, not sure if she approved of his ways or the fact that he was including Myles in on his schemes now. She just shakes her head as she watches him lock the door from the outside, figuring that he flipped the door handles around so that it was able to be locked from the outside instead.

;;MIKAH “The two of you together is not a combination I think I like.”

Kris just gives her a smirk before they walk off to leave Eiley and Oz in the closet. Meanwhile, Eiley had yet to realize that she was locked in the closet as she was trying to determine if the bouncy ball was in there or not. She jumps a little bit when she realizes that Oliver is in the closet as well. She gives him a slightly confused look before she remembers it was Myles who lured her in the closet in the first place and then groans as she realizes that she’d been tricked. She tries to open the door but find that she can’t, as it’s locked and then glances at Oliver.

•EILEY• “Fucking kids.”

She glances at Oliver again before she moves to sit on the floor, figuring that there was no way that they were getting out of the closet until they were let out of the closet by somebody who had a key.

○OZ  “You’d think that we’d learn our lesson at some point….”

It didn’t sound like something he thought was possible. They both knew that the one time that they refused to play along would be the one time that there was actually something wrong. The two of them were destined to fall for the trick every time just to avoid the imagined backlash from Kris and Mikah.

○OZ  “I’m not going to complain about not being stuck out there at that table though, ya know?”

He had never really enjoyed being the center of attention, and being at these events always felt like having the spotlight shine on him all day. Being at the table felt like being under a microscope, and there were only so many ways he could skirt around people asking him if he thought that they were going to win back their Mixed Tag Team Championships at December 2 Dismember. At least in the closet they didn’t have to put on a smile and pretend everything was great between the two of them.

○OZ  “...I’ll hang out all day if it means I don’t have to take another picture with people that’ll be booing at their television when we come on it.”

Eiley just looks at him as she leans back against one of the shelving units in the closet. She wasn’t sure how she felt being locked in a closet but she was growing bored of putting on a fake act in front of people that neither one of them really cared about.

•EILEY• “Maybe they won’t be booing….maybe they’ll be cheering.”

The sentiment did not reach her eyes as she let her head rest back against one of the ledges of the shelving unit. She relaxes the best that she is able to in the closet. She wasn’t sure what they were going to talk about or if they even wanted to talk to one another. Things were still tense between them and they had yet to even agree on a topic.

•EILEY• “But I don’t care if they cheer or if they boo, it’s not going to matter. There’s always going to be some sort of stigma surrounding those who represent Jet City. We’re not the golden stars from the GO Gym, so there’s always going to be people dirtying our names.”

She glances at him before looking back up at the ceiling. Maybe it was a blessing that they didn’t have to be in front of the fans and were able to take a break, even if they were being forced to be around one another.

○OZ  “They’d cheer us if we were a little closer to home. It didn’t seem to matter what we did in San Diego. The people there were happy to blow the roof off the place cheering for us anyways, ya know? Every night won’t be like that though.”

San Diego felt so long ago for both of them that it didn’t really matter anymore. Dwelling on it certainly wouldn’t get them out of the closet any sooner, assuming that someone was out there listening to them to make sure they got back on the same page. Oz took a shot at appeasing whomever was forcing them to talk, speaking more than loud enough for someone in the hallway to hear him through the door.

○OZ  “Don’t know why they feel the need to do something like this though. It’s not like we’re not good or anything. We won. We beat The Barnharts. We have momentum. Problems solved.”

Everything that he was saying was technically true, but he wasn’t saying any of it like he believed it actually changed anything. She just gives him a look, raising her eyebrows at him. She was not sure that his sentiment would be shared with the person who was presumably listening outside of the door.

•EILEY• “It’s the Barnharts, though. It doesn’t take much talent to beat them.”

She didn’t really want to play devil’s advocate and she knew that both Kris and Mikah were smarter than that and would see through whatever facade that Oliver was trying to show. She’d even gone back and watched a few past Climax Controls and could see that their two mentors were smarter than most of their co-workers and their brains were always were three to five steps ahead of everybody else.

•EILEY• “Finn and Kayla are obviously not the Barnharts and clearly, we had an issue with beating them eight or so weeks ago. I can see where their concern is coming from.”

The game of playing fake nice was not something she was enjoying anymore and it was becoming a lot more taxing than she wanted it to be. They had been tiptoeing around one another for weeks and it was not getting them anywhere, so she didn’t figure that it would get them anywhere at the moment.

○OZ  “I can’t. I don’t see why they pretend to give so much of a shit. So we aren’t undefeated anymore, who cares? They are the only ones that ever were, and we aren’t them. Basically everyone in the division has made sure to tell us that at every opportunity. We fell a little short just like literally everyone else does from time to time.”

It wasn’t exactly easy for him to admit out loud, but if that is what they wanted to hear in order to unlock the door and let them out, he was willing to cut himself down a little.

○OZ  “It was my fault. And then I overreacted afterwards. I shouldn’t blame you for costing us the titles, or for my losing streak continuing a couple of weeks ago. You’re obviously perfect and I just need to make sure that I stay out of the way.”

She frowns a little at his words before she looks at him, the look still on her face. She processes what he told her her before looking back up at the ceiling for a moment.

•EILEY• “I don’t think anybody but us cares about our win-loss record, Oz.”

She wasn’t sure if that was true but she wanted to believe that it was. She wanted to believe that people didn’t care if they won or lost as much as the two of them did.

•EILEY• “And please, nobody thinks I’m perfect because I’m not perfect, I’m human, just like you are and just like everybody else. And losses happen, neither one of us is to blame for the loss we suffered to Finn and Kayla. It does not fall on just your shoulders, it falls on both of our shoulders. You are the only one that is blaming yourself for the loss. I have never once blamed you for anything.”

She looks over at him, this time not looking away from him like she was earlier. She didn’t feel the need to steer her gaze away this time.

○OZ  “Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there…”

The words are quiet, almost under his breath, and it cut all the way to the disconnection they had the last time the topic came up. She had walked out of the room when he finally came clean about what was bothering him, and shifted the focus back to herself. Instead of dealing with it, he had walked out and caught an earlier flight out of town. Neither of them seemed to have that option now though. Whatever came out of his mouth was going to have to sit with them in the room.

○OZ  “I get that you aren’t paying attention to the things people say about us, or the tweets that go out daily, but I am. I can’t help but to follow that shit. I spent so much time trying to be invisible, that I can’t help trying to figure out what everyone thinks about me now that I have to be in the spotlight. For so long I had myself convinced that I was invisible, so nothing mattered. That’s not the case anymore. We got people’s attention, and then they blamed me when we fell short. It wasn’t you. It was never you. But just because you aren’t the one saying it doesn’t make it not there.”

He slams his mouth closed and bites on his bottom lip in an attempt to cut himself off, but since he started unloading his frustrations, it felt worth it to just get it all out.

○OZ  “The things that I do right don’t matter, because all of our success is your success. You get the highest of the highs, and avoid all of the lows because everyone is kicking me whenever we are down. It’s been messing with my head for like two months now and all you ever do is shrug and pretend like it’s not a real problem.”

He shakes his head, and laughs out of frustration. It was bad enough that it felt like nobody else saw the response that he was seeing, but he couldn’t even get himself out of the trap no matter how hard he tried.

○OZ  “...so I went and got a match by myself to fix it, and the story was all about you all over again. We walked into a match with The Barnharts, but instead of the story being about how I made sure we picked up the win, the whole thing was about you pinning Bea. In everyone else’s eyes, we aren’t equals. I’m just along for the ride.”

Of course, he knew that all of those complaints were just symptoms of the real problem. Neither of them could control what the dirt sheet writers wrote. They couldn’t control what the fans debated about. They didn’t write the cards, and couldn’t censor their opponents. None of the problems that he listed were problems that Eiley could solve, but they had all led Oz to the same conclusion.

○OZ  “You’re too good to be wasting your time with me.”

She’s quiet for a moment, trying to process everything that Oliver had told her. She didn’t want to just brush it off but she didn’t know what to say or what to feel about it. She didn’t want to ignore it but if she didn’t, it would eat at her just the same and she had to compartmentalize it and had to ignore it.

•EILEY• “Because I can’t pay attention to the tweets or what other people are saying about us, Oz. If I do, it will be the entire situation with Dean again and I will spiral. I can’t let myself spiral because it won’t end up well.”

She didn’t know how to make him feel better or how to make him see the way that she looked at or the way she saw things. She chews softly on her bottom lip as she looks at him for a moment, trying to think of how she wanted to respond.

•EILEY• “I don’t want all the attention, Oliver! I never wanted that. Sure, I might act like I do but I don’t. When you presented the idea of us as a team, that’s what I wanted. Something that was supposed to be good and is good. I know it bothers you when I say that you shouldn’t give a fuck about what the others say but you should only be worrying about what I say. We are equals and fuck what everybody else says.”

She seems a little hesitant as she looks at him before getting up and straightening out the shorts she was wearing before walking over to him.

•EILEY• “I am not wasting my time with you, Olly. And I’m not too good.”

She tentatively reaches up and cups his face gently with her hand for a few seconds and then goes to pull her hand away, not sure if the touch would be welcomed.

○OZ  “That’s nice of you to say, but we both know it’s not true. It’s never been true. It’s always been this way, and even Jaycee knows it. You knew it back when we ran into each other at the beach and you still had a few real jobs. I don’t know why I thought anything could change.”

He looks down at her, but it isn’t her eyes that draw him in. Instead, a flicker off of one of the pins in her hair gets his attention, and he reaches out to pull it free before holding it up in between them.

○OZ  “Turns out we could have left the whole time.”

He turns away from her and goes to work on the lock. Within a few moments, there is a click from the other side, and he is able to push the handle down and open the door. He takes a look around the hallway, surprised that none of the responsible parties were lingering nearby to overhear their conversation.

○OZ  “They must have known that one of the two of us would have figured out how to get out eventually. Or they were willing to just let us die in there.”

He knew that if he gave her the opportunity to turn the conversation back to the two of them, it would likely result in an incredibly uncomfortable afternoon at the table trying to sell both Sin City and Mikah’s gym to newcomers. He turned back to her and she tried to say something, but he cut her off.

○OZ  “I’ll see you back out there…”

And without waiting for her response, he was through the door and headed back out onto the floor.

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

ON CAMERA
Location:Honolulu, Hawaii.
Date: December 9, 2023.
 

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

The scene cuts open to show Eiley sitting on a bench, looking at the ocean. She is wearing a simple white with gold stripes bikini with jean shorts over the bottoms and her blonde locks are down around her face, clearly damp from having beeni n the ocean and beads of water were dripping down her sun-kissed skin. She watches as the sun is in the beginning stages of setting and she glances at the camera, a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth.

“There is nothing prettier than the sunsets her in Hawaii.”

She motions discreetly for the cameraman to turn around to catch the beginning of the Hawaiian sunset. After watching it for a few seconds, it turns back around to look at Eiley.

“But the funny thing about that is that the sun is going to set on Finn Whelan and Kayla Richards’ Mixed Tag Team Championship reign. Hopefully sooner rather than later but I cannot predict the future.”

She glances at the ocean again, a slightly far-away look in her gold eyes.

“Because if I could have predicted the future back when Oz and I lost the championships to Finn and Kayla, I would have never believed the last several weeks if they had played out in my head the way that they happened. I would have never believed that mine and Oz’s paths would be so misaligned and there’d be such a feeling of disconnect there. I would have never guessed that we would have lost to Finn and Kayla, either because Oz and I were so confident going into that match because we had beaten everybody else that had stepped up to the plate and we had expected to do the same when we stepped into the ring against Finn ad Kayla.”

She pauses as she thinks about what she wanted to say next.

“But clearly, Oz and I lost the championships to Finn and Kayla and shit went downhill pretty quickly for the both of us. We had walked into that match on top of the World, believing that we were the best tag team that SCW had to offer but we were knocked off of the World and reminded that everybody can be beat, no matter how good they are separately or even together. Did that feel good? No, it absolutely did not feel good but it is something that I have come to accept because there’s nothing else that I can do about what happened at Violent Conduct because I do not own a time machine nor can I invent one. So the only thing that I can do is learn from what happened and try to be better in eight days time.”

She runs her fingers through her hair before leaning forward slightly, focusing her attention on the camera.

“But before I do a deep dive into what everybody can expect next Sunday or what I hope that they can expect, I’m going to clear one thing up. About Oz and myself.”

The look in her eyes turns more serious.

“It does not matter what you think about me or what you believe to be true about me or whether you all think that I’m the one in this team that is the one to watch. Or whatever it is that you are all saying about me because that shit does not matter. What matters is this: Oz is not replaceable, and he is not the weak link in this team. Him and I? We’re a fucking team and we’re better together than we are apart. I am not better than he is and he is not better than I am, we are a team and we are better together.”

She gives the camera a look, trying to put some emphasis on what she had said. She fully believed that her and Oliver were better together than apart and she did not believe in the comments that constantly plagued him.

“And now, back to the regularly scheduled program.”

She sits back against the bench, straightening herself up a little bit.

“There’s a lot that has happened since Violent Conduct and I’m going to be honest, Olly and I havevn’t been our usual selves. We have been struggling and anybody who has eyes that work can clearly see that. Loss after loss and argument after argument that all led to the feeling of defeat. We had been defeated and we couldn’t get our shit together to give a fuck about the matches we had been booked in and we could barely stand being in the same room as one another and it was looking as if doomsday was going to be here before we even made it to our rematch next Sunday.”

She shrugs her shoulders as she was being a lot more open and honest about the last few weeks.

“But things started to turn around last week and for the better. Olly and I beat the Barnharts and we’re going into December 2 Dismember with a win under our belts and we’re starting to feel more like a team again. It’s small, baby steps but it is better than being at each other’s throats and not able to get along. We needed something that was going to help us get back on the same page and a match against the Barnharts was clearly something that we needed. An easy win, something to unite us on something rather than something that makes us be at one another’s throats. Clearly the bosses know what they’re doing when they want to get a team back on track.”

She smirks a little bit as she starts to slowly gain her confidence back.

“I was wrong when it came to Finn and Kayla; they clearly had whatever it took to beat us back at Violent Conduct. I underestimated their ability to get things done in the ring. I figured they were like the other members of Wolfslair and Olly and I would be able to do the same to Finn and Kayla. I thought it would be just as simple as that, but I was wrong. But you know what I wasn’t wrong about?”

An arrogant look passes through her eyes as she looks at the camera, that smirk stretching across her face.

“I wasn’t wrong about Kayla Richards. She is the weakest link of their team.”

She raises an eyebrow at the camera.

“Oh, what? That’s not fair to call her the weak link when every-fucking-body has been calling Olly the weak link of Limitless? I’m just calling it like I see it and everybody else can fuck off for all I care. I’m done being nice because it hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I don’t care about what people say about me or claim that I’m the future star, I would not be here if it wasn’t for Olly and I can say that with full confidence. I wouldn’t want to be here without Olly as my partner. But let’s talk about what Kayla and Finn have done since they’ve become champions, shall we?”

She smirks again at the camera.

“Because you can bet that Kayla and Finn are going to talk about the troubles that Olly and I have had over the past few weeks. They’re going to believe that Olly and I have zero chance in beating them in eight days but what have they actually done as champions since they beat us for the belts?”

She raises her eyebrows at him.

“Other than defend them one time and retain them against two challengers who can’t really be considered to be challengers? Finn’s had a singles match and Kayla? What has she done? I’ll tell you what she’s done and that’s absolutely fucking nothing of any importance other than proving that without Finn, she wouldn’t be one half of the mixed tag team champions. She’d be in stupid matches against the likes of Bea Barnhart with dumb stipulations or something similar. She wouldn’t be in a high profile match like she is with Finn against Olly and I next Sunday. She’s interchangeable when it comes to her team with Finn. He could find another body to take her place and I am sure it would be the same as teaming with her because she doesn’t seem to carry her own weight. And I don’t care if I’m being petty, everybody else wants to make that comparison when it comes to Olly and I and I’m going to use it against them. She just wants a free ride to success and nothing more. She doesn’t want to put the actual work in to be a part of the mixed tag team champions; she just wants the fame and glory, nothing more, nothing less.”

She was probably wrong and she was definitely letting the bitter side of her show. She knew it probably wasn’t a good look for her, but at the same time, she didn’t fucking care. She was tired of listening to people complain about it or get under Oliver’s skin about it. She didn’t see it that way.

“It’s not fair of me to assume that Kayla is the weak link, just like it’s not fair of everybody else to assume that Olly is the weak link of Limitless. Because he is absolutely not the weak link and I’m sure that Kayla brings her own qualities to the team she and Finn have but what they are? I am not sure.”

She simply shrugs her shoulders at the camera.

“But what I do know is that when Olly and I are on the same side and on the same page, we can’t be beat and we are unstoppable as a team. Even if we do not win next Sunday, that’s not going to be the end of Limitless because there is not going to be a me in SCW without Olly and I hope he views it the same way. When we’re together and on the same page, we can’t be stronger. And you can bet next Sunday, we’re going to be the best that we’ve ever been and prove just why we deserve the Mixed Tag Team Championships once again.”

She stands up and adjusts her shorts.

“And there’s nothing anybody can do about that.”

She smirks as she starts to walk away and then glances over her shoulder at the camera.

“Because we’re Limitless.”

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

[Jet City]

==========================================================
>
===========================================================

Showcase
HAWAII  - Mikah’s Gym
4th DECEMBER 2023
OFF-Camera

Being locked in the closet wasn’t any more pleasant than being forced to sit at a table and flash all of the passersby a smile to promote the brand. Maybe he and Eiley weren’t meant to be a team, despite how things had started. They had a hell of a run through the summer, and maybe that was as good as it was ever going to get. It certainly felt that way, and beating The Barnharts hadn’t changed that; not really. It was a way for them to roll into December 2 Dismember with a little bit of momentum, but they had to bend the rules to get the job done against the worst team in the division. It wasn’t exactly the confidence boost that either of them needed. It hadn’t caused them to pull together. Being trapped in a closet together hadn’t even closed the gap between the two partners. The situation was starting to feel irreparable, but at least he had other options if this were actually the end of the road.

ROUX: So I caught you sneaking out of a closet for two earlier. I guess things are back to good for team Limitless, eh?

He caught the snide comments without registering where they were coming from. They were pointed enough to get him to break his stride and turn towards whomever hurled them his direction. At first he was confused, but after a moment he recognized the woman standing in front of him. She was the same girl that assaulted some overeager fan at the convention last week. He was supposed to look her up after the event, but never did. Honestly, he hadn’t really expected to ever run across her again, but here she was.

OZ: What?

It was the best that he could muster while he was trying to find a way that it made sense that she would be at both events even though they were thousands of miles apart.

ROUX: You and Eiley. Seemed like you guys took quite the break to slip away somewhere dark and quiet. People tried to tell me that it wasn’t like that between you two, but I always knew that it was.

He hated every word that came out of her mouth, and didn’t know how he would even start to explain to her how she couldn’t have been more wrong. His mouth opened and closed wordlessly a few times as he fought to find the right way to explain himself before realizing the simple answer: He didn’t have to explain himself to a stranger for any reason. It didn’t matter what this girl thought that she knew. It didn’t matter what the truth was. She wasn’t important, and he didn’t need to waste his time on this when there were actual problems that needed his attention.

OZ: You really don’t know what you’re talking about.

He had hoped that would have been sufficient to end the conversation, but the girl didn’t seem ready to let the subject go. He shouldn’t have been so naive either. On their first meeting she was bold enough to think that he would really consider replacing his lifelong friend with some random convention girl.

ROUX: Maybe not, but I know what I saw.

Since she wasn’t going to let it go, he couldn’t find any reason that he needed to be polite about it anymore. The things that she was digging into had nothing to do with a match, or being a fan of a show. She was poking at details about his life, and that was where he was allowed to draw the line.

OZ: You think it matters what you think you saw? Why are you even here? This is like twice in two weeks. You just walk up to me like we’re old friends and think you can give me shit? I don’t know you.

She didn’t even consider backing down, and instead bats her eyes at him a couple of times dramatically.

ROUX: Yeah, I really thought you were going to take me up on the offer to fix that last week.

He couldn’t fathom how she could wear such a wide smile on her face while he was obviously trying to tell her to fuck off.

OZ: You thought wrong then. You’re still wrong now.

Instead of taking his words at face value, she twisted them again, and posed a new question to him to prevent him from being able to walk away.

ROUX: So things aren’t good then?

Oz holds his arms out to his sides and shrugs with a heavy sigh. He didn’t have the energy to lie to her after the conversation that he and Eiley just had.

OZ: Things are…. what they are…

She brings a hand to her mouth to cover a laugh, but when she finally composes herself enough to talk, she can’t hide the fact that she got enjoyment out of the team possibly falling apart in front of her eyes.

ROUX: Oof! That sounds incredibly confident. If I were the champions I’d certainly be too shaky to lace up my boots.

He might not be in the most confident mental space, but he knew he was better than someone that showed up at events like these without a Sin City contract. No matter what she had to say, she was still closer to being a regular fan than she was to being his peer. Her opinion didn’t matter.

OZ: ....but you’re not them, are you? From what I can tell you’re still  just some kid looking to find a way in.

Maybe that would have been enough to deter any other random fan, but he should have known by now that there was nothing normal about this girl. She had embarrassed that poor man in Columbus without a second thought, and she took Oz’s snide comment in stride and fired off an ace that she had been hiding up her sleeve the whole time.

ROUX: Yeah well, we can’t all almost get someone killed to earn a contract.

He didn’t have a chance to respond, which was probably for the best. The moment that he took a step towards Roux in anger, his tag team partner finally caught up to him after he was able to walk away from their last conversation. However, she was less focused on Oz, and had her eyes locked on whomever it was that had his attention.

EILEY:Who’s your new friend?

Oz shoots an anxious glance first at Roux and then at Eiley, unsure how he wanted to handle the situation, but the moment of pause was all that Roux needed to throw another wrench in the works.

ROUX: Oh, he hasn’t told you? The plot thickens.

It didn’t feel like that to Oz though. He could stand here and wait for them to side with one another and team up on him, or he could give them a reason to fight amongst themselves while he slipped away. He chose to save himself, turning to Eiley with a smile.

OZ: If we don’t figure our shit out, she’s the one that’s offered to replace you.

An unreadable look passes through her eyes before she glances from the two of them.

EILEY: Oh.

Her face shows no other emotion other than the detached look from before. It wasn’t the enthusiastic show of support for there team that Oz was looking for in the moment, and because of that Roux was able to sneak in another little jab at the two of them before Oz could respond.

ROUX: Look at that! She doesn’t even care. You two really are just about to fall all the way apart, aren’t you?

Oz took a step to his left, separating the two of them, and making sure that if Roux was going to be taking any shots at someone, they were at him.

OZ: Nah, it’s not like that at all. That’s what people like you on the outside won’t ever understand. We might have problems with one another, and we might not see eye-to-eye all the time, but we’ve got too much history, ya know? We always end up back on the same team.

He looks Roux up and down before shaking his head at her.

OZ: It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you can do. You can’t even begin to measure up.

Despite the harshness of his words, they aren’t enough to wipe the smirk off of Roux’s face.

ROUX: Always so quick to stand up for her, or save her from falling on her face… but where is she at when you need her to do the same for you?

Eiley’s eyes flicker over to Oliver and then back to the woman as if she was having a hard time believing what she was hearing.

EILEY: Jealous much? Maybe you're trying to steal my partner because nobody can stand you. You seem like the type that’s hard to spend an extended amount of time around.

She then looks at Oz, a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

EILEY: I maybe haven't not stood up for him enough. There’s probably more that I could be doing to appease the trolls, but your opinion isn’t what matters to me. All that matters is that he knows I have his back. Everything else is just noise.

She just gives her a look before glancing over in the other direction for a moment.

ROUX: Or maybe you just don’t want to dirty your own hands. After all, you’re the one reaping all the rewards. Why bring yourself down to our level when everyone is so busy trying to put you on a pedestal?

She takes a look around the gym, and a particularly devilish thought comes to mind.

ROUX: This place is full of wrestling rings. I’d be happy to find out if you live up to the hype.

She just rolls her eyes at the woman before smirking at her.

EILEY: I wish I could but that sounds like a recipe for getting put in prison. I have been trained to be able to break people down inside of the ring. You’re just a fan with a grudge. The things I could do to you would be morbid and unfair. We’re talking serious jail time…

She just shrugs her shoulders.

EILEY:...and I just don’t think it’s worth going to prison for a scrub. Especially when you never stood a chance of stealing my partner to begin with. I don’t have anything to prove to you, but there’s really not anything for you to gain either. It’s best you just walk away while you can.

In response Roux steps up to Eiley, pushing Oz out of the way. The two women get face-to-face before Oz is able to recover his balance and separate the two of them with his arms.

OZ: There’s no reason to make a big scene so early in the day.

Eiley seems more than happy to just walk away from the potential fight, but Roux slaps at Oz’s hand and shoves him out of the way.

ROUX: That’s where you’re wrong. There’s never a bad time.

She takes a swing at Eiley, but the former mixed tag team champion ducks under it. Roux’s momentum carries her into one of the tables set up to push Sin City merchandise, and grabs the attention of everyone nearby when several items fall and smash on the ground. Roux takes another swing, but this time Eiley catches her arm out of the air, and quickly twists it before wrenching it behind Roux.

OZ: Stop! Both of you! This isn’t the place!

A crowd was already starting to form around the two though as Roux threw elbows into Eiley’s ribs in an attempt to free herself. Eiley responded by ratcheting up the intensity on Roux’s trapped arm, and threatening to dislocate her shoulder with the pressure. Oz scanned the faces in the crowd, but saw from the other side of the room that Kris and Mikah were making their way to the group from one side, while Court was walking up from the other. If he didn’t have some way to neutralize this situation before they realized who was ruining their event, they would certainly suffer for it in the coming week.

OZ: Eiley, let her go!

Only Roux doesn’t stop struggling. She sends another elbow to Eiley’s ribs which causes Eiley to grab a handful of her hair and move like she is going to slam her face into the table that formerly held the merch they were supposed to be plugging. Kris and Mikah were cutting their way through one side of the crowd while Court was just about through from the opposite side. There was no way that they were going to be able to talk their way out of this one.


==========================================================
>Proud

==========================================================

The next few moments had all been a bit of a blur. Oz was too focused on Kris and Mikah to see the flurry of moves between Eiley and Roux. Court was able to break up the fight, but event cameras started to pour in from the crowd, and camera phones started recording the action. Court and Roux stormed off leaving everyone without any of the answers that they were looking for, and when Kris finally got to Oz’s side, he shoved a microphone into his hand and pushed him towards the nearest ring. The unspoken message was simple. There was only one way that they could make use of the situation, and save the event at the same time. Oz slid into the ring while everyone was still chattering about the two women coming to blows, and did his best to put all of the attention on himself.

”Maybe that wasn’t the action that all of you were hoping to see, but when you corral a bunch of fighters in one space it’s bound to happen, ya know?”

The small spurts of laughter that cut through the chatter let him know that he had a chance of winning the crowd over.

”.,.and you never know, in this business you all may have just gotten a sneak peek at a match that we will be seeing down the road. The problem with that is, we aren’t here to talk about things that might possibly come to fruition in the future. No, we are here to tell you why the matches that are happening at December 2 Dismember are worth your time to check out! I mean it’s great that apparently just the presence of Eiley and I here at this event is enough to make a fan think that they have what it takes to step into the ring with us, but we already have our next set of opponents already lined up!”

Surprisingly, he actually draws several cheers out of the crowd as they move to surround the ring. Oz backs up to the center of the ring, and buys himself a little time by interacting with some of the more raucous fans near the apron.

”It sounds like more than a few of you have already been following along with Sin City, and that is going to make my job a whole lot easier. Coming up next weekend, Eiley and I, better known as Limitless, get to take on the very same people that managed to steal our Mixed Tag Team Championships back at High Stakes…”

Without even mentioning their names, the members of Wolfslair already draw boos from the Jet City friendly crowd.

”I know how you feel, and I honestly feel the same way. Losing the championships was bad enough. Losing them to people involved with Wolfslair was worse. It doesn’t matter how decorated Kayla Richards and Finn Whelan are as individuals. It shouldn’t have mattered. Eiley and I were talking into a Mixed Tag Team match as the undefeated champions. Not only that, Jet City has beaten, broken, and stomped on so many of the Wolflair people that nobody expected us to lose. We had all of the momentum on our side. History was on our side. We were confident.”

He drew more cheers from the crowd, but the smile fell off of his face, and he paused for just a moment in the center of the ring. With his head down, and all the enthusiasm drained from his voice, he shrugs.

”I’m willing to bet that Finn and Kayla are awfully proud of the way that things have shaken out since then….”

His tone deflates the crowd, but also let him know that he had them in the palm of his hand already.

”No, it’s okay. If I were them I would be celebrating too. They blindsided us and took our championships. They broke our confidence. They started the downward spiral that we couldn’t seem to break out of until last week on Climax Control. You people have seen it all happen right in front of your eyes over the last two months! I can’t deny the things we’ve all seen. I can’t honestly stand here and tell you that things between Eiley and I are going great. I can’t tell you that Limitless has never been better. I have sat and thought about how I was going to try and spin this in our favor for weeks, and I don’t have an answer. The Wolves beat us. They were better than us at High Stakes, and because of that we have ripped each other apart. You all saw me try and stop the skid by stepping into a match with Carter all on my own. Then you watched that blow up in my face just like everyone knew that it would. I thought that maybe if I was able to get myself back on track, Limitless could take a step back in the right direction. When that didn’t happen, I was almost convinced that our time in the spotlight might just be over.”

The concession drew boos from the crowd, causing Oz to hold out a hand to the crowd and ask for them to give him a moment to get to his point.

”... and I didn’t know how we would fix it. I could fathom what the answers were. However, when some fan just tried to step up and tear us apart, all of a sudden things naturally came back together. When given the opportunity to go our separate ways, Eiley and I took a step closer to one another. When the most obvious path was just to abandon one another, we instinctively chose to back one another up instead!”

The turn around brings the crowd back to life, and the gym shakes with all of the cheers that his words receive.

”...because that is what teams do. Maybe I lost sight of that a little bit. Maybe Finn and Kayla got into my head at High Stakes, because they were the very first ones to make me think of Limitless as two individuals. They forced me to think of Eiley and I as two separate competitors, instead of being two halves of one kickass, unstoppable team. I was tricked by the accolades. I was duped into listening to the noise about which one of us was carrying the other, because in reality there is no such thing. It doesn’t matter which one of us is picking up the pinfalls or submissions in the matches, as long as the team picks up a win at the end of the night. It doesn’t matter who is getting a Future Star award, when what is really important is that Limitless is the greatest team in the whole goddamn company!”

”Eiley and I joined forces because there is no doubt that we are better together than we have ever been apart. We are stronger as a team than we are as individuals. We make one another better, and that is the one thing that we have as an advantage over the current champions. I have said it before, and it is still true as ever, those two are not an actual team. They are two people that are each doing their own thing at a high level. They think that just because they were able to walk out of High Stakes as the champions that their glaring flaw is something to be proud of, but it’s not. It’s going to lead to their inevitable downfall.”

”It is really easy for the two of them to coexist while everything is running smoothly, but trust me, when the wheels fall off is when you find out who really has your back. Eiley and I could have given up. We could have thrown away our opportunity at a rematch. We could have struck out alone to take on the champions of different divisions. We could have come back to the Mixed Tag Team Division with new partners. We had all of the options available to us following what everyone thought was going to be a monumental implosion, but we are still fighting for one another, and we still plan on bringing the fight to the new so-called champions.”

”How are Kayla and Finn going to react when we put them in the very same position that Eiley and I have been in for the last six weeks? How are they going to pick up the pieces, when they are so goddamn proud of not even putting in the effort to speak to one another? How are they going to come back stronger, when they don’t have a strong bond to fall back on? What are they going to do when their individual talents aren’t enough to stack up against real teams? Eiley and I made the mistake of doing things their way and behaving like two individuals, and look where that got us. We got an express ticket all the way to the bottom of a division that we were responsible for building back up to what it is today. Our one saving grace was the fact that as the former champions, we did enough to guarantee us a return match against the two people that were most undeserving to take our place.”

He laughs, and points up at the promotional banner on the wall with the line-up for the Supercard on it. Both his and Eiley’s faces were juxtaposed with the champions.

”Fittingly, at December 2 Dismember, we are going to take these new Wolves apart, and there’s not a goddamn thing anyone can do to stop it from happening! We are Limitless, and that means that we’re better than all of you! ”

The crowd goes wild, and Oz drops the microphone in the center of the ring before climbing up on one of the corner turnbuckles and celebrating with the fans. He gets a thumbs up from Kris who is at the back of the crowd, and may have succeeded in saving the event. However, Eiley was nowhere to be seen, so he didn’t have time to celebrate the small victory.



==========================================================

===========================================================


Showcase
HAWAII  - Mikah’s Gym
4th DECEMBER 2023
OFF-Camera

Cutting his way through the crowd that he had created wasn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world. Following his fiery promo that had taken the focus off of Roux, Court and Eiley getting into it on the event floor, there were scores of people that had wanted to pat him on the back, or shake his hand and wish him luck on the match at the supercard. He had a feeling that Kris and Mikah may have won over a couple of new students through his efforts as well, but none of that was what was important. When he noticed that Eiley had disappeared, she became the only thing that was on his mind. He couldn’t let her leave the building, especially not this way. Their last couple of conversations hadn’t been the most productive, but he had realized in the ring that none of that was important.

She wasn’t out on the main floor, and Oz struck out searching through the locker rooms. He was about to give up, when he pushed through the back door of the gym and out to the parking area to find that she was sitting on one of the crates against the wall with all of her things collected next to her. She had the keys, and could have left him there, and yet she had stayed. Maybe there was still some hope left for Limitless.

OZ: I was pretty certain that you had bailed…

Eiley jumps a little bit at the noise from Oz’s talking and then she just shrugs her shoulders, a certain somewhat sad emotion in her eyes before she glances down at her things.

EILEY:I thought about it. Thought about getting on a plane to whatever city was going to be the  first flight off of this island.

She doesn’t have to look at him for him to know that she wasn’t making it up just from the tone of her voice. And she didn’t have to make it up, either because it was the truth.

OZ: I’m glad you didn’t.

He was still surprised to have found her, and paused, even though he hadn’t meant for that to be the end of his thought. It took a moment to shake the feeling off and remember how he had meant to finish the original thought.

OZ: It seemed like we were back on the same side for just a second there. I mean, not that I condone beating up fans to make that kind of thing happen. Almost felt like turning a corner before we almost ruined the whole event before it got started.

Given that she had still been considering running away afterwards, Oz had to consider that maybe she wasn’t looking at it the same way.

OZ: Unless that was just me….

Her eyes flicker up to his for a moment before she focuses on something in the distance in front of her.


EILEY:I wouldn’t call her much of a person, let alone a fan.

The words come out of her mouth as a mumble but she didn’t hesitate to say them.

EILEY:And are you really? Maybe it would be easier for you to let her be your partner and then you wouldn’t have to worry about what people say about you and me because there wouldn’t be any comments to be made.

It wasn’t exactly what she wanted to say but it just spilled out of her mouth.

OZ: I don’t care. I am good with whatever it is that we have. It doesn’t matter if it makes sense to anyone else. No matter what happens, even if it all falls apart, we would only be back to where we started when we were kids. We were still together; still a team. That’s what comes naturally for us.

He walks over to where she sits, and raises his arms slowly to make sure she isn’t going to snap and shove him away from her. When she doesn’t he wraps his arms around her shoulders.

OZ: This is where I want to be. Limitless is what I want to be doing. It doesn’t matter whether or not we win back the titles. Everything would be less fun without you to do it with.

She looks a little unsure if she believes him or not but after a moment or two, she relaxes into him just slightly.

EILEY:I…have never wanted anything other than that. I don’t care about the idiots we work with…just you.

Sometimes, it was hard for her to put her feelings into words but she was at least trying.

OZ: I’m glad…because I have bad news…

He laughs, and then pulls back from her slightly.

OZ: Kris and Mikah would totally kill us if we left after causing a big scene like that, so we definitely have to go back in…

He steps back, and offers her both of his hands to help pull her down off of the crates and to her feet. It looks like she isn’t going to take them at first, but eventually does and hops down in front of him with a slight frown on her face.

EILEY:Lame.

He shrugs, and then reaches for the door. After a silent moment of protest, she reenters the building with Oz stepping back through the door behind her. Neither were sure if they could get out of having to deal with their mentors’ wrath but it was worth a shot.

[Dreamkiller]

Chapter 30: The last spark of Christmas cheer

I remember the exact moment, my Christmas spirit died.

I was five years old. It was cold in my hometown of Norwich England. It had been raining, not a huge surprise, considering where we lived in the time of year. I remember waking up and being excited. You see, I had been to school that entire year. My first year as a real school student at a real school. my older sister, guiding me through the halls and showing me what it was like to be there. Interacting with the other children. And hearing about their lives.

It was the first time that I’d been told about the entire concept of Christmas. While I remembered the last few years, vaguely, it wasn’t something that I really cared about until I reached that age. Until I had the influence of all the other children telling me about it. I’ve kept it from my sister, a mistake that I would live to regret as it was a moment that would cause my downfall and break my little heart.

The other children would tell me about a lovely older man who would come into your home and leave your presents if you had been good. A man who would be jolly and laugh and be kind. A day that was filled with happiness and good food. Even if the rest of the year had been horrible, even if you lived in a family that was always down on their lock. Christmas day was a completely different time and The one day a year when the working-class families of the city where I grew up, were able to live a little and smile.

The school year ended, and I counted down the days on the little calendar that hung on the side of my family’s fridge. Each day, it would get closer and closer, and my little heart would race, faster and faster, excited to see what would come to me and what presents The old fat man named Santa would bring.

Then, December 25. The night before I could barely sleep.

Like most children around the world, I tried to stay up as long as I could in a vain attempt to see the elusive man in the big red and white suit. A man who would be carried to our home on a beautiful wooden sleigh driven by the mythical reindeer. Accompanied by jingling bells and a sing-song voice.

When we are children, we are all fucking stupid.

But I believed. I believed with all of my heart, and as the sun rose that morning, and I shifted in my bed to drop down onto the cold wooden floor. I had an excitement welling up in my heart and in my mind. This was it. The day when I could finally smile and be happy. Happiness is something that I’ve never felt before. At five years old, all I had known was a childhood full of disappointment. From my father, being an abusive, drunken piece of shit, to my mother, being spineless, to my brother, trying to stand up for all of us, and getting smacked down. To my sister, Amber constantly shoved me back in a room and told me not to raise my voice, so I wouldn’t get father, angry.

All year, every year, this is what happened. But this day was going to be different. The other children at school told me so.

I eagerly reached up and pulled the heavy door handle down and slid the door open, looking out through the small crack into the hallway. I tried to make his little noise as possible. Almost like a mouse, I crept down the hallway towards the large living room, where I had been told the tree would be with all the presents.

And then I heard it, a sound. A sound kind of like grunting. Was it going to be one of Santa‘s reindeer? Was it going to be Santa himself eating the cookies that one of my parents would have put out as a treat for him?

I was excited, my heart was beating so fast, and I can remember picturing all of the toys, I thought I could get. The food that I would be able to eat. And seeing my father, my mother, and my siblings, smiling. It is something that I wanted and something that I needed. But as I turned the corner, I realized it was all a lie.

There was no tree, there were no presents, there was just my father. Sitting in his chair with an army of crushed beer cans around him. The grunting was him snoring loudly in a drunken stoop. Today was going to be like any other day. He was going to wake up, find something wrong with the house, and start yelling and screaming. My mother would try and shield us from it and probably get a black guy for her insubordination. And I was going to spend the day huddling in my room, trying not to cry. Not because I didn’t want to, not because I thought it was a weakness, but because if he heard me, it would only make things worse for all of us.

And that is why the Christmas spirit is a fucking lie.

I snapped out of it, looking across the room at the large beautiful apartment that I now lived in. Christmas time was closer and now where I lived was still cold. Even colder than it was back home in Norwich at this time of year. The cold pouring rain had been replaced with beautiful white snow falling across the streets. I cracked a small smile and shook my head, still unsure of the decision that I was going to make. Was this really something that I could do? Try and start enjoying Christmas? After last year, I had hope. But that hope was quickly stolen away from me. My phone started to ring, and I tilted my head. Looking down at it, it was Kallie.

I let it ring out before picking it up putting it on speaker and listening to the voice message that she left. ”Hey Kaaaayllllla. Oh god, how annoying.”So, I know Aiden gave you a heads up on Christmas. I really hope you come and I would love for you to let me know. We are going to make sure a place is set for you….no matter what…anyway…toodles”

Her happiness was infectious. She was so excited and bouncy. This was a girl who loved life and did everything she could to make it better for everyone. Even though she had an upbringing, that wasn’t ideal or perfect. I took a deep breath and shook my head. Maybe I should go, maybe I should go and try everything I could to actually make this a good Christmas. To be happy and smile, and to enjoy myself just like everyone else. Maybe even see him again. Enjoy your night with him. Just like last year. Maybe he’d even give me a second chance?

I snapped out of it again, stupid girl I said in my head. That time was over. I had blown my chance and Finn had decided against even trying. I mean honestly? Who would? I wasn’t worth it, I wasn’t worthy of him, and I wasn’t worth being happy. It just was not my destination in life. My sisters had their children, my brother had his business, and I had? My career. My apartment. And that’s all I would ever need. And all I ever deserved.

Broken

”Chea[ tricks and excuses.

Kayla couldn’t help her chuckle. Her heavily tattooed arms folded over her chest and her hair remained down around her shoulders and back. Her lower body was covered in black jeans and black and white Converse shoes with a sleeveless shirt over the top bearing The logo of seminal 70s heavy metal icon's Saxon.

” As many of you have probably noticed a general theme running through anything that Finn and I have said over the last few weeks has all been about professionalism. You can make outlandish statements to be a general prick about everything but you can also be professional. I’m gonna be the first one to admit that both Finn and I can come off as a brace brush. probably myself more so than Finn. He is certainly more cerebral in the things that he says about our opponents and the entire mixed-tag team division at large. Whilst I am someone who will say some of the most horrible shit and get flack for it.”

“And rightly so, in some cases.”

“My liberal use of swearing is also a sticking point.”

“How can I be professional when I drop an S bomb, F-Bomb, or..GOD FORBID a C bomb”

“The truth is it’s just who I am. I stand up here, and I say horrible shit, and some of it true some of it false. Some of it is driven by emotion while some of it is driven by the need to make sure people know that they should be put in their place. That is what Finn and I both did to limitless. We put them both in their place. you see, the problem with the younger generation, and yes I am aware that that sounds very ironic, considering that I’m in my 20s. The problem with them is that they have no concept of losing. I don’t lose very often, but I still know how to do it. I still know how to cope with it. I still know how to move on and use that as fuel to become even better than I was before. The general problem with their generation and who they are is that they have never been prepared to lose.”

“Losing is not the be-all end, all of professional wrestling. Just because you go on a massive streak and you are hot right off the bat and you suddenly lose it doesn’t mean that you are nothing. It doesn’t mean that you can’t grow and become better than you were. In fact, losses can galvanize you, it can make you a better person. the times that I have lost, have I hidden from them? Go ahead, go back and watch every single promo I’ve ever cut and you go back and you watch the ones I did when I had lost to someone the week before. You go right ahead. And you tell me how I came off and what I said.”

she waits, tapping her foot in an almost comical attempt to make. It seems like she’s waiting for all of us to get caught up and go back and watch her promos. After a small moment of rhetorical time, she keeps going.

”Well? Do you all see it? There are two ways that you can go with the loss. You can accept it, you can congratulate people who are good enough to beat you, you can vow. It will never happen again, and come back stronger, or you can do a limit listed. you two had a chance to come out after losing to ask and prove to the world that that award that you got handed to you was more than just a stupid little trinket that they gave to you because nobody else was ready at the time. You all had a chance to prove that you were the best. By coming back, stronger and dismantling anyone, and I mean anyone who stood in your way. Whether that was in a singles match or a tag team match, it didn’t matter. It was all on you and it was on your shoulders and in the end what did we get?”

Shed pauses again and shakes her head, an arrogant, self-righteous, and oddly giddy smirk comes across her red-painted lips.

”Weakness. Total and us half weakness. We saw the greatest team in this company break down and lose. Time and time again. And not accepted. Until now. Now you two come back and face us and looks like you are finally ready to accept what happened, but in the end, it’s too late. You two should not even be in this match with us. You know who should be? Ben Jordan and Sammi Marlowe. Those two beat you and those who have a great track record as a team. So why aren’t they in this match against us? Why aren’t they? The ones who are getting a championship match while you both go back to the drawing board and try and get your aura back?”

“That is what should’ve happened. Because now you have done something horrible. You see, not only have you stopped a team more deserving of getting a shot against us, but you have also doomed yourselves. And what does that mean? Well children, here’s a lesson for free from us to you, that you’re not gonna be taught by your apparent mentors because they still haven’t learned this either. Sometimes? You are not ready.”

“And kids, you are both far from ready.”

“Your confidence is shattered. The entire chemistry that you once had as a team has gone. You did have that when you faced us the first time, but you had this arrogance about you where you didn’t even see us as a threat. In the end, that arrogance was your downfall, and now you have the opposite effect. Now your lack of confidence is going to be your downfall all because you can’t reconcile the fact that you lost to a better team and get these championships back you need to fully embrace it. but not embrace it in a way to lose confidence. Embrace it in a way to build yourself back up. But you skipped that step, you skipped that step with every match that you had, and every match that you lost, and now you are left with broken pieces of a pass that you can’t put back together and a future that will never match up in your eyes or your estimation.”

Kayla shakes her head again and moves over grabbing half of the tag titles and pulling it to her shoulder.

”Instead of focusing on yourselves, you decided to focus on what we were doing. Right, Eiley? instead of focusing on what you did wrong and what you could improve you shifted that spotlight onto us. Talked about how we only defended our championships once, and how Finn had a singles match and I did nothing. I did nothing because I didn’t have to do anything. Do you think that that’s going to help you? Do you think that’s going to somehow make it easy for you and your idiot partner to walk over us? We have more matches under our belt now. Admittedly, it is only one but we still do. We came into the match with you with one win under our belts and one match together. And we still beat you.”

“Your logic is that of a five-year-old with no social skills.”

“But that is only one side of the story. You’ve got her spouting off that stupid bullshit, and meanwhile, Ollie is over there talking about how it is so easy to win, and be smiling when things are going well and running smoothly. But he asked the question of what is it going to be like when he puts us in that position that we’ve put them in? Really? We have been in that position. Not to the point where we were losing matches, but to the point where Finn and I were barely looking at each other and didn’t want to team together. We didn’t want this. this was something we signed up for back when the championships were announced as coming back and since then, our personal relationship took ahead of writing into the fucking toilet.”

She throws her hands in the air holding the tag title in one hand and shrugging.

”Again instead of focusing on yourselves and repairing that rift you tried to switch the focus on us. Do you think that somehow and someway just saying that you are the greatest team in this company is going to make it come true without doing any of the work. It would’ve been a great idea for you to give up this championship match. Go back to the drawing board and try and get yourselves in better ring shape. Get your head right. But instead, you both have run headlong right into us when they're better challengers waiting in the wings. we want the best, we didn’t get the best in our first defense, and we didn’t even get the best when we won these championships. They are better teams out there than Oliver and Eiley.”


“And we hope to face them. That is something lost in this whole thing. We didn’t want to face Limitless, not because we were scared that we would lose the championships back to them. But because we wanted to face, the best and limitless is not the best. Limitless has lost time and time again, yet they have been given this rematch because they were the champions? they haven’t proven anything. They haven’t proven they belong in the ring with us, they haven’t proven that they are the champions or the challenges that they make themselves out to be. There are so many better teams in this company that could and should face us.”

“But what if we lose?”

“What if Limitless can take these championships back? Well, I’ll congratulate them for being able to do it. And then, we will come at them with everything we have. Will beat anyone that they put in front of us and come right back after limitless to take their heads. And show them how it’s done. But that would be counter-productive. You see, Finn and I have grand plans for these championships. We aren’t just two children who are running around with their heads, cut off, flopping their dicks out, and jerking off their mentors in public. We want to make sure these championships are a prize. We want to make sure that everyone in this company is gunning for them.”

“And we do that by ending the year as champions at December 2 dismember.”

[Jet City]

==========================================================
>
===========================================================

Something New
Long Beach, CALIFORNIA  - Jaycee’s House
11th DECEMBER 2023
OFF-Camera

Life for Jet City has been rough for the last couple of months. People really only started to notice after the big losses at High Stakes, but things were already on the verge of falling apart before then. Jaycee’s downward spiral started long before then. Court had been off-center since Ruby got fired and kicked out of all of the shows. Eiley and Oz skyrocketed to the top so fast that everyone knew the eventual crash was coming, and they were both too full of themselves to think it could actually happen. They stopped listening to their mentors, friends and finally each other. The entire house of cards came crashing down at High Stakes, and some predicted that it might mark the end of this new crop of Jet City standouts in Sin City.

Oz couldn’t help but feel like everyone had turned a corner since then though. Court got her wish, and Ruby was back. Not only that, but she was already well on her way to holding a Sin City championship again. He and Eiley had finally turned a corner. Mikah’s showcase had given them the opportunity to air out their grievances with one another, but also united them against an unlikely common enemy. Neither were exactly sure what they got caught up in between Roux and Courtney, but honestly it didn’t matter. In spite of all of the other options on the table, the two of them had chosen one another. It was a small, nearly insignificant, thing but things started to fall in place afterwards. The two of them were not only speaking to one another again, but falling back in sync with one another both inside and outside of the ring. For the first time since losing the Mixed Tag Team Championships, both Eiley and Oz felt like they had an actual chance of recapturing them, and the magic that they had over the summer.

As if the universe itself was trying to give them a sign that everything was going to be fine, the two of them got to make a west coast stop before December 2 Dismember for the best possible reason. Although it had taken a lot longer than any of the three of them thought that it would, Jaycee finally felt that he had made enough progress to leave the Shoreline Recovery Center after sixty-seven days of what was supposed to be a thirty day program.

OZ: You know, I am happy that he is finally feeling more like himself and all, but how did we get stuck helping him move? I feel like we could have hired people for this…

It may have been a little excessive to say that Jaycee was moving out on his own considering they were moving all of his things into a carriage house on the same property as Court and Ruby’s home. It was a step in the right direction for Jaycee without actually having to fully move out to a life totally on his own, and even though Court and Ruby provided him the space, they were nowhere to be seen on moving day.

EILEY:Because he’s our friend and hiring people would make it look like we don’t care about him and aren’t supportive of the next step. And we’re supportive of our people. And Jaycee is our people.

She gives him a small smile as she tries to make valid points about their reasoning in helping him. Jaycee comes out of the back of the moving truck, and tosses down a box to Eiley who immediately turns and passes it to Oz.

JAYCEE: Is he already complaining? We haven’t even gotten to the heavy stuff yet!

Jaycee tosses a second box down to Eiley before hopping out of the truck and scooping up the two that he had pushed all the way to the edge. The trio make their way up the short path to the front door with Oz still trying to offer alternative ideas.

OZ: I am just pointing out that we could all be sitting in lawn chairs, sipping cold fruity drinks, and watching professionals do all of this for us…

Eiley just gives Oz a look as she steps through the front door of the house. The three make their way through the hallway before putting all three boxes down in the main bedroom..

EILEY:While that sounds nice, it’s not going to happen because we don’t even know that many people that we could even ask. And if we hired a company, that would cost money. Money that we can save on something else since we’re perfectly capable of carrying boxes.

She gives Jaycee a smile before shaking her head, but his attention is still on Oz. He grabs him by the arm and squeezes it.

JAYCEE: These gym muscles must just be for show if you can’t move some boxes, ya know? Use them for some practical shit for once in your life. It’s good for you.

Oz pulls his arm free, and shakes his head adamantly.

OZ: Nah, it’s good for you! We show up to do all this free work, and you just get to make fun of me all day on top of it. I’m just not seeing an upside for me. At the very least, we could be having significantly more fun with our time.

They make it back out the front door, and start approaching the back of the truck. Oz goes to slide several more of the boxes to the edge, but Jaycee stops him and points at the couch before hopping back up into the truck.

JAYCEE: We’re going to want to move that first if you’re already bitching out…

Jaycee moves around to the other end of the couch, and Oz catches it when it gets to the edge. They work well enough as a team, and Jaycee is able to hop down out of the back of the truck without the two of them dropping the couch. Oz shrugs, clearly trying to indicate that it wasn’t the challenge that Jaycee made it out to be. In response, Jaycee looks at Eiley with a smile who gets his message instantly.

JAYCEE: Little help?

Eiley takes one running step off of the ramp leading up to the back of the truck, and jumps up before landing flat on the couch. She bounces, but manages to stop herself from spilling out onto the ground as Oz struggles for a moment to keep his grip. After a few awkward steps he gets straightened back out, even with the added weight.

OZ: You’re going to have to do better than that! I have caught her when people send her flying out of the ring to the outside floor. She’s not heavy enough to be a problem.

Eiley giggles a little bit as she purposely moves around on the couch to make it just a little bit harder to hold onto.

EILEY:It’s nice to know that you don’t think I’m fat or anything.

She turns over onto her back and kicks her legs up a bit, still moving enough to keep the couch moving as well.

EILEY:And maybe he needs to keep his muscles relaxed so he can use them on Sunday. Maybe that’s why he’s complaining.

Eiley moves a little bit, moving most of her body weight so that it is on Oz’s side instead of Jaycee’s. She gives Jaycee a grin before looking at Oz and winking a little bit.

JAYCEE: He should just put that match in the back of his head, because he still has too much time to overthink it. Take the day off, and just be here today.

They are both focused on Oz, but he is looking down trying to make sure that he doesn’t trip going backwards through the doorway. He looks back up, sees both sets of eyes focused on him, and shakes his head.

OZ: You should both know that I don’t like doing anything for free.

They move against the wall where both men slowly lower the couch to the floor. Once it is in place, Eiley pops up from it with enthusiasm while Oz stretches himself out and takes a breath before a relieved sigh slips from his mouth.

JAYCEE: See! You could use the work though! Breathing all heavy just moving a couch! You’re getting paid in real work experience today! Trust me, you’ll be begging to help me move all over again before the next big match!

Eiley chuckles a little bit, with her eyes on Oz. However, when he looks her way she shifts her gaze back to Jaycee and tries to wipe the smile off of her face. However, the moment that she feels him look away, her eyes are back on him which Jaycee picks up on immediately. She sees Jaycee catch her looking, and tries to make it seem innocuous, but he doesn’t buy it. She clears her throat and tries to keep the conversation moving.

EILEY:Going to move again in roughly eight weeks? It might keep him out of trouble.

She turns away from Oz in an attempt to keep her focus on Jaycee now that he was eyeing the two of them in a much more inquisitive way.

EILEY:And I think it’s okay that you make him work for free; he’s gotta learn to do things for the right reasons, instead of the financial gain.

She avoids Jaycee’s eyes, and swings her arms, clapping her hands together both in front of herself and then behind her back in an attempt to diffuse the nervous energy. Jaycee lets her off the hook though, and shifts the focus of the conversation back to Oz.

JAYCEE: He doesn’t listen to me. He’s always gotta learn the easiest lessons the hardest ways.

Oz rolls his eyes, and this time he is the one that leads the trio outside and back out to the truck, which may very well have been Jaycee’s plan all along. He appear to have motivated him to put in the effort, although he wasn’t take that lying down.

OZ: I am glad that you two have effortlessly fallen back into how you always talk about me like I am not here. It’s always been my favorite thing about these hangouts.

Jaycee laughs, enjoying having gotten under his skin so much that Oz had to voice his frustration.

EILEY:I’ve always talked about you whether you were around or not, nothing’s changed, Olly.

She scrunches her nose at him before glancing over at Jaycee, having been caught for a second time. She frowns just a little bit, and makes a mental note to be more careful with the passing glances.

JAYCEE: I am just glad the two of you solved whatever shit you had going on, because that was just about pitiful. I like this new thing you have going.

Oz and Eiley exchange the same look that they have given each other dozens of times before. This was a narrative that they had gotten used to shutting down, but they weren’t used to catching this kind of shit from Jaycee. He usually knew them well enough to steer clear of the subject.

EILEY:New thing? I am not sure it’s anything new…

Eiley and Oz both nod in agreement with one another, before turning back to Jaycee clearly on the same page about where they stood with one another. Jaycee had already had a similar conversation with Oz on the subject though, so he instead focuses in on Eiley.

JAYCEE: Where have you been the last month or so? Seeing the two of you in the same place at the same time is new enough!

Jaycee laughs again as the two avoid eye contact with one another. Even if they were still shy about it, Jaycee had gotten a kick out of the show that the two of them had put on since losing the Mixed Tag Team Championships. They had been a source of entertainment nearly the whole time that he was at Shoreline. Oz brushes it off as nothing though.

OZ: Yeah, well… we all three have a tendency to go through these little spats, ya know? We always figure shit out though. Always will.

Jaycee attempts to look innocent, and claps Oz on the shoulders as they reach the truck once more and start loading up more boxes to carry inside.

JAYCEE: I can’t just be happy for you two? Damn. I see how it is.

Eiley reaches out and Jaycee passes her a couple of boxes. She shoots a look over at Oz before starting to head back up towards the house.

EILEY:I don’t know…Olly might be allergic to happy.

She spins around, now walking backwards so that she can catch both of their reactions to her words. She was happy to see Oz take offense to them, while Jaycee seemed to agree with her. Even though she was teasing, as she was sure that Oz knew, she threw a little smirk his way with a wink. Before turning back around, he looks right at Jaycee, with what she thought was the perfect defense of their situationship.

EILEY:And we can’t be perfect all the time; that would be unfair to everybody else in the world.

Jaycee shrugged, and called back out to her while using her points to prove his own case.

JAYCEE: Well it’s both of those things that tells me it will work with you two. There’s the fact that neither of you two are comfortable having a real conversation, but you trust each other. Both of you get anxious about anything that makes you feel good, and push it away as hard as possible, but always run each other back down. It’s gonna be a rollercoaster, but it’ll be good for both of you.

He passes two more boxes off to Oz that were headed to the kitchen of the house, and handles a few more himself. Oz shakes his head quickly, and tries to shift the conversation off of himself and Eiley.

OZ: Feels like you picked up some shrink-speak in all of those group sessions.

Jaycee shrugs, refusing to allow his friend to change the topic on their way back up the sidewalk to the front door.

JAYCEE: More just learned to see things for what they are. I don’t know why it is a bad thing that you two finally figured out what all of us already knew.

Oz looks first to Jaycee, and then to Eiley when she reappears at the door in front of them. He quickly tries to avert his eyes before going back to Jaycee confident in his answer.

OZ: Yeah, it’s still not like that.

Eiley nods her head to agree with what Oz was saying even though deep down, she probably felt what Jaycee was saying. But they both were really good at denial and this conversation had become so practiced at this point that it was basically second nature for the teammates.

EILEY:People always think they know what we are and what’s best for us. They never just let us be.

She tried her best to believe in what she was saying as she gives Jaycee a look that he should probably just drop it.

EILEY:What we are is the next Mixed Tag Champions. Isn’t that enough?

She pats him on the shoulder and then moves between the other two on her way back down to the truck to figure out what else she should grab to bring inside. Oz and Jaycee split on the inside of the doorway, each taking boxes to different parts of the house, but when Oz tries to slip out the door, Jaycee again grabs him by the arm to stop him while Eiley was out of earshot.

JAYCEE: I need to know that you heard me back when we were talking at Shoreline. You two can keep playing this game if you really want, but we both know that eventually it will end with her getting tired of waiting for you to speak up. Things are finally back to good. It’s time to open your mouth, and if you don’t, you can’t be pissed at her down the road, ya know?

Oz doesn’t say anything, but Jaycee doesn’t let him go or break eye contact with him until after he nods in agreement. Eiley was already on her way back towards the house struggling with her arms full of several misshapen items, and causing Jaycee to run to her aid. Watching the two of them from the door, Oz lets a smile pass over his face for just a moment.

OZ: Yeah, I know…

He is careful not to get lost in that moment, and runs down to help the two. Jaycee was right, but he usually was. He and Eiley would have to have that conversation at some point, regardless of how much it terrified the both of them. Today wasn’t that day though. Today was supposed to be about welcoming their friend back to the real world. Oz was determined to not let it become about their relationship, or lack thereof.



==========================================================
>Rewrite

==========================================================

”Last week I said that our opponents were probably pretty proud of what they have done to Limitless. I said that they were likely proud of the setback that they dealt to Jet City after having to witness everyone in Wolfslair be our bitch for the better part of a few years.”

”I mean, for everything that they have done as a group, as a gym, and as several impressive teams, they always ran into a fucking wall when they came up against one or more of us in the ring. I can honestly say that I was starting to feel bad for them. If it wasn’t for people like Ariana making sure that she made the Go Gym look even worse by comparison Wolfslair might have fallen all the way off this year. Sure, they have lingered around the main events. Sure, they may have even gotten to book a couple of shows. What did any of them have to show for it before High Stakes though? Jet City walked in with all of the championships.”

”What is the old saying in this business? All it takes is being better than your opponent for three seconds to have a good night? Anyone can beat anyone if the stars align? Something, something this business is unpredictable…”

”I don’t care which cliche you want to use to describe the situation. They’re all fitting. The fact that Kayla and Finn were able to beat us at High Stakes is something that will be on my record for the remainder of my career. I can’t change it. The only match against them that I can do something about is the one coming up this weekend at December 2 Dismember, and rest assured that I am going to be making an impact.”

”See, I made the mistake of thinking that having the Mixed Tag Team Championships would bring Kayla and Finn together. I thought that it would inspire them to put their differences aside and actually work with one another. They used to be an item. They used to be inseparable. I figured that accomplishing a shared goal would be more than enough to get them to work through some issues and maybe become a real team. Clearly I was wrong. Clearly I expected too much of them. Instead, what I got was exactly what I feared when they won at High Stakes.”

”These two didn’t learn to be a team. They didn’t have to acknowledge the shortcomings that are well on their way to coming around to biting them in the ass. Finn wants to poke at me like I don’t trust my partner, but he turned around and compared his partner to one of the most famous whores in history in the same breath saying that he wouldn’t equate her to being the town bicycle. Then, in case we missed it, he went on to totally repeat himself to drive home the point. For a moment I thought that my feed skipped me back a few seconds, but it really was just the dude having a brain damage moment.”

”The two of them have bragged about having their sights elsewhere. They have both admitted that the Mixed Tag Team Championships are nice at all, but this division is beneath them. Finn is admittedly greedy, and still planning to add championships to the one already around his waist, but doesn’t realize that doing so plays directly into Limitless’ hands.You both said that Eiley and I were two rookies that weren’t going to realize all of our mistakes until after it was too late. Sure, you were right, and you took our titles. However, you have glorified your own mistakes like they won’t eventually cause your downfall. You both think that you’re untouchable based on what you have done as singles competitors, but neither of you really care about what you’re trying to accomplish down in the ring. For the two of you, this was something that you were thrown into, and you’re riding the wave while it is here. When you lose those titles it won’t leave a void in your life. There won’t be a pit in your stomach that won’t go away. You won’t lose sleep because you don’t have the Sin City Mixed Tag Team Championship next to you on your bedside table. You’ll move on. You’ll split back up. You’ll challenge for the championships that actually interest you, and you won’t give a single fuck about this division. Because of that, those Mixed Tag Championships are eventually going to become anchors around your waist, and I am just hoping that Limitless is the team standing across from you when you realize it’s too late to save yourselves.”

”You two both want to talk about us like the last couple of months have been some kind of fall from grace, but you couldn’t be more wrong. You can’t fall from grace if you never rose up from the bottom in the first place. I may have been a champion, but you people never gave me a chance to succeed. You never thought Eiley and I would qualify for the match crowning the new champions back at Summer XXXtreme. You never thought we could defend them at Violent Conduct. Nobody thought we would even make it all the way to High Stakes without a setback. We defied every expectation that everyone had for us, and when we lost it wasn’t some big upset; and it damn sure wasn’t some meteoric crash. It was two rookies that lost a match that everyone said they were going to lose, and for the first time the wisdom of the crowd seemed to win out.”

”...but I can admit that Finn and Kayla were right. They were absolutely on the money when it came to one thing. Eiley and I really did need to learn how to lose as a team. We needed to take that first body blow because it forced us to pick ourselves up, and dust ourselves off…”

”No… that’s not quite right is it?”

”That loss caused us to pick each other up, and dust one another off. Sure, we stumbled for a few weeks. We thought that we had something to prove to one another. Eiley came out to show me that she did have my back, and it blew up in our faces. I went out on my own to try and prove that I wasn’t the weak link, and failed spectacularly at every turn. The disorientation caused us to drop matches that we should have won. It allowed people to use our own tricks against us. We struggled, admittedly. At certain points in the last few weeks, it wasn’t guaranteed that we were even going to make it to the rematch at December 2 Dismember, and yet here we are. It may have taken some time, but we figured it out. We may have stumbled, but we were able to catch one another on the way down and rise up even stronger than we were before.”

”So I guess we should thank the new champions for teaching us a lesson that we definitely needed to learn. We aren’t Kris and Mikah. We are beatable. Every single night isn’t going to go our way no matter how flawless we try to be. We’re human, and we fuck up sometimes. But learning that lesson didn’t have the effect that Finn and Kayla wanted it to. It didn’t break us. It didn’t embarrass us. Instead, Eiley and I were forced to take a step back and figure out if this team was what we really wanted out of our careers. We had to determine if we really were the best partners for one another. We had to evaluate this rookie year, and see if we would have done anything different if we were given the chance to go back and relive it from the beginning of Blast from the Past. We both came up with the same answer.”

”We’re in it for life.”

”The Wolves of WhateverTheFuck may have taken our championships, but they can’t stifle our potential. They may have dealt us a serious setback, and made it feel like the sky itself was falling, but we’re still here. They may have dominated us like no other team that we have ever stepped into the ring with, but they didn’t scare us off. We are back, and in just a few short days they’re going to be giving us the best Christmas present that we’ll get all year.”

”Limitless will be taking back the Mixed Tag Team Championships.”

”...you’re both going to regret the lesson that you were so adamant about teaching us at High Stakes, because now we’re going to shine a spotlight on the cracks in your team. You should have put us down for good when you had the chance.”

”Last week I said you two were probably real proud of yourselves...”

”At December 2 Dismember we are going to rewrite that story, and we’re going to make you regret ever opening your fucking mouths!”

[Eiley]

OFF CAMERA
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Date: December 12, 2023.
 

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

Eiley sighs as she turns over onto her back after trying for what seemed like the billionth time in trying to go to sleep. She had been trying for hours to fall asleep but her mind just would not shut up about some of the things that Jaycee had said when she and Oliver were helping him with his new place. She had a notion to send him a text message and call him a jerk for putting the thought into her head. She wanted to get some sleep because they were going to have to get on an airplane in a matter of hours and she never slept well on airplanes. But it appeared that sleep was not going to come to her for a while and she knew it was because her brain would just not shut up and let her fall asleep. It kept moving in circles and going on and on about things that she didn’t know the answer to.

She wanted to lay there but at the same time, she knew that just laying there wasn’t going to bring sleep to her any time soon, so she growls a little bit before getting up and straightening out her shorts and cropped tank. She figured she could at least waste some time watching TV or sitting outside on their very small balcony to watch the ocean. She walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge, scanning the shelves’ contents before realizing neither one of them were exactly good at grocery shopping. So she grabs a bottle of water and then walks out into the living room and jumps a little when she sees Oliver sitting on the couch, aimlessly scrolling through something on his phone. She walks over to the door that leads out to their small balcony and pulls the door open so that they could hear the waves crashing against the shore. It was a soothing sound to her ears and she thoroughly enjoyed the sound.

•EILEY• “I didn’t realize you were awake.”

She gives him a small smile before sitting on the opposite end of the couch, moving her legs up underneath her as she looks out the window. She couldn’t see too much as it was pretty dark out and she hadn’t even realized what time it was as she hadn’t looked.

•EILEY• “I’m taking it that you couldn’t sleep either?”

She was guessing because she thought he had gone to bed as well and now, here he was. She opens her bottle of water and takes a small sip before setting the bottle down on the end table next to her. She watches as he nods his head, agreeing with what she had asked.

•EILEY• “Are we thinking about the same thing? About…what Jaycee said?”

She was a little hesitant to ask him but she couldn’t hold it back much longer and her brain wouldn’t leave her alone about it. She couldn’t talk to anybody but him about it because it involved him. She flutters her eyes over to look at him, chewing absent-mindedly on her bottom lip. He wordlessly turns off the screen of his phone and sets it aside, but doesn’t look over at her at all.

○OZ “You ever wonder why we are the only two that don’t see it?”

That was certainly one way to answer her question. He had skipped right over it and instead of deflecting, actually engaged with the topic. Most of the time when the subject came up, both of them acted the way they did with Jaycee, or blew off the subject all together. Engagement was a step forward at the very least..

○OZ “I mean people have a point. It’s not just that we’re a team. We live together. We travel together. We share an apartment, a car, and literally all of our bills come out of the same pile of cash. Neither of us ever hang out with anyone else. I mean, we aren’t doing anything to dispel the rumors….”

Eiley didn't say anything for a moment, thinking about what Oliver had said and was trying to process it the best that she could. She could understand and see where they were coming from when Oliver brought up all the points that he had. They did live together and pretty much share everything except maybe beds.

•EILEY• “I…just thought that…maybe the other people were just seeing what they wanted to see. But if Jaycee sees it…”

She couldn’t deny what Jaycee had seen or saw because he wasn’t a stranger or just some co-worker; he was one of them, a friend. But he was seeing them just as the others seemed to see it.

•EILEY• “I…don’t want to hang out with anybody else. I like hanging out with you.”

She said it softly and it was almost inaudible at that. She was a little hesitant to admit her feelings or that maybe she could see it too. It wasn’t too far of a reach when it came to them; they did spend a lot of time together.

○OZ “He’s been saying it for a while, like even before High Stakes. I went to go see him on my own, and he told me that I needed to ‘cut the shit and go get my girl’ or something to that effect.”

He chuckled at the thought like it was ridiculous, but Eiley caught the smile that it brought to his face out of the corner of her eye. Regardless of what he was saying about the idea, everything in his body language told her that he didn’t really think it was as crazy of an idea as they always pretended it was.

○OZ “I used to tell myself it was because you were too good for me, even before Sin City and the noise that came from the dirt sheets or social media. Then after all that started, I kind of always shut it down because it seemed like everyone would jump all over us if it ever happened. Felt like it would just end up being part of the show, and not anything more than that. Seemed cheap.”

He shrugs his shoulders, and tries to downplay how much it had been weighing on him in the last couple of months in particular. She’s quiet for a moment, thinking about what he had said and it made sense in her brain, everything he had said seemed logical.

•EILEY• “I’ve never been too good for you, Olly. Never, even when we weren’t getting along. Plus, if anybody is too good for anybody, it’s you being too good for me. After all, you’ve never killed a person.”

She was trying her best to lighten the mood, even though the subject was a little on the dark side. But there was something there, whether either of them wanted to admit it just yet.

•EILEY• “I think…you’re right. I wouldn’t want something to happen and only for SCW or the like to use it to their advantage. I think I’d want it just for us, nobody else. For a little while, maybe.”

The indecision and hesitation was still there but they were at least talking about it, which was a huge step in the right direction for the two of them.

•EILEY• “Do you think it means more coming from Jaycee? Compared to the others that say it?”

She turns her eyes over to him, looking at him.

○OZ “I think that he is one of the few people that we both kind of have to listen to. For as long as I can remember, you two have been the only two that I ever considered close enough to be real friends, and we all saw how that played out last year…”

She could see that even though he hadn’t been the one pulling the trigger, that the whole Kris and Jaycee situation still weighed on him exactly the way that Dean was still a weight around her neck. They have both been involved in situations that they wished ended differently, and yet they hadn’t abandoned each other after learning about them. They were still stuck together, and maybe they really were just pretending that it wasn’t more than it actually was.

○OZ “We all came from a place where everyone said we were nothing and never would be. I never saw either of you like that but it felt true enough for me. That’s why even back then I never really acted on anything. I figured I would eventually just be a funny memory for each of you, but look at how things ended up? We’re all still in the same place, and all still leaning on one another when we need support. I guess I am just tired of pretending that we don’t need each other.”

It was more of a statement about their entire group than just the two of them, which made the words easier to say. However, once they were out he raised his eyes from his lap, and actually met her gaze for the first time.

○OZ “...and trying to convince people that the two of us aren’t what we are. It’s silly, and completely obvious the more that I think about it. I can’t believe we have ignored it for as long as we actually have. I’m kinda just done with that game though, ya know? I’m done lying to myself about it too.”

A smile starts to spread across her face as she thinks about his words and what they meant for their future. Or what they could potentially mean when it comes to their future. She knew that there would be a lot of people judging them and comparing them to Mikah and Kris, which to be fair was a lot of pressure for either of them to live up to.

•EILEY• “That makes two of us.”

The words were simple and there didn’t need to be anything more said that wouldn’t seem repetitive or genuine. She moves just a little bit closer to him, a light pink color flushing her cheeks before she presses her lips against his cheek, kissing it softly.

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

ON CAMERA
Location:Tuscon, Arizona.
Date: December 15, 2023.
 

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

The scene opens up to what looks like a winter wonderland and Christmas has thrown up. There was fake snow everywhere and one long lane lined with red and white striped candy canes on both sides. There was a large Christmas tree at the end of the lane that was probably closer to 8 feet tall and was decorated pretty effectively and maybe a little over the top. There were presents under the tree and some Christmas music playing lightly in the background. Eiley steps out into view dressed in a red and white Santa themed costume that was pretty skimpy on all accounts. She wasn’t sure if she was fond of this idea but Mikah had told her that SCW loved the whole themed ideas, so she was going to roll with it, even if it was out of her repertoire..

“December to Dismember is in roughly two days, give or take a few hours depending on which timezone you are in and when you are watching this.”

She holds up two fingers and wiggles them a bit before placing her hands back down at her sides. She didn’t mind that the outfit was skimpy, but the fake white fur was a little bothersome. And by bothersome, she meant that it was itchy.

“And that’s two more days that …”

She frowns as she tries to remember the current champions’ team name. She knew that it was something related to Wolfslair but she couldn’t be fucked to remember the exact name.

“Whatever their team name is gets to hold the championships that do not belong to them.”

She kicks a snowball that was off to the side.

“And let’s not waste any time, because I don’t have time to waste. Let’s get right to it, and talk about what the boring and irrelevant one of the group had to say, shall we?”

She smirks a little bit, her arrogance showing through..

“The first thing that I’m going to say is that I am not sure what you are talking about when it comes to social media; I purposely do not talk about what I am doing in my professional life so that idiots like you can’t use it against me nor do I make many tweets about my personal life. I have not sent out any tweets regarding anything SCW related in months. Yet, you seem to claim otherwise…but I’ve combed through my tweets with a fine-toothed comb, and it’s come up empty. So, wherever you’re getting your information, isn’t very reliable or refutable for that matter. But that’s what one is supposed to expect when it comes to the likes of you. The type that has to even mention social media in their promos. I don’t give a flying fuck about what you tweeted or didn’t tweet a month ago, it’s irrelevant…kind of like you.”

She smirks a little to herself as she walks down the lane, letting her fingertips brush against the oversized candy canes. Her eyes watch as her fingertips touch the tops of the candy canes before she looks up at the camera.

“You are still a nobody and I am still not even sure I know who the hell you are or if I even care, other than the fact that you’re holding my championship. That’s really the only relevant thing about you and most definitely the only exciting thing about you. Otherwise, there’s nothing there. No emotion, just a monotonous voice that appears to be going through the motions.”

She glances to her left and the camera follows her gaze, and it captures what looks like elves just sitting in a circle, staring at one another with no emotion on their faces. She watches them for a moment or two as they still just sit there, not saying or doing anything.  Eiley just shrugs her shoulders as she continues to walk.

“Besides Olly and I, you and Finn have only had one other team to defend your championships against and we both agree that they’re not much competition and you were hand fed an easy win. And I can’t really blame the bosses for giving you the easy match, the easy win because they wanted to make sure that the championships stayed relevant, even though one half of the champions is anything but relevant.”

Another easy smirk appears on her face as she slows her walk down a little bit. She didn’t want to get to the end of the lane before she was done with her promo.

“But nonetheless, Miles and Alexandra never seem to go away and they do have grit, something that you wouldn’t even dream of giving them credit for. Because in your eyes, you’re the only ones that deserve those championships, but do you know what I see?”

Eiley’s golden eyes flicker to the camera, a slightly sinister look in them for a few seconds before she smirks.

“A team trying to push themselves as being something that they’re not. And I’m not going to say that Olly and I are invincible as a team, because clearly, we’re not. But before we faced you two? Even Miss Irrelevant has to admit that we had reason to believe that we were. We had dominated the entire division without any trouble because there was nobody that could hold a candle to our talent in the ring. Even if we struggled in singles matches here and there, as a team? We were pretty much unstoppable and that’s not something even the two of you can argue against, the history books can and will tell you that much. And you’re right, we underestimated you two as a team because we were expecting an easy win like we’d had multiple times before, but we can’t be blamed for that expectation, either. It is what we were used to but there is one beneficial thing that has come from losing to the likes of you…”

She flickers her eyes up to the camera once more and smirks. She couldn’t keep the arrogance from her eyes even if she had wanted to.

“We won’t ever underestimate another team ever again and we will do better to be prepared when stepping into the ring. We need to be better about giving the other team credit, even if they have yet to deserve it. And you’re right, we have been struggling as a team since we lost the championships but did you also notice how quickly we were able to turn it around? And yes, it was the Barnharts, anybody can beat them but it was a start and it was an easy way to get us back on track.”

She continues to walk along the lane and stops for a moment before she sees a snowman to her right. She smirks before kicking it over.

“But Miss Irrelevant and Finn should know all about not being on the same track as they were pretty open about their trainwreck of a partnership when Olly and I first faced them. They were both open about it and Olly and I should have known that it wasn’t going to matter because when it comes to the ring, most people can put their differences aside to achieve the success that they want. But we hadn’t learned that yet because up until the past six weeks, we had been on the same path. We knew how to work well in the ring and had not encountered any struggles that teams sometimes have when after a loss. Or among other things. But now, we have that under control.”

She continues to walk, pacing herself as she talks.

“Miss Irrelevant wants to claim that I am the one holding Olly back and that I’m the weak link in our team, which is funny because she is the weak link in her team and maybe that’s her projecting her own insecurities and self-doubts onto me and Olly’s team. She’s well aware that without Finn, she’d be back in matches against the likes of Bea Barnhart and Alexandra Callaway. While it is pertinent to mention that there’s several other people that do not believe her because of things that have been said and awards that have been won, Olly and I are a team. And without the other, there would be no success for either of us. But if we were to dive off into singles competition, there’s no doubt that the both of us would be dominating the division. But without one another, there is no strength in our team, which has also been proven over the past several weeks. When we’re not on the same page? We suffer in more ways than one but when we’re on the same page? Everything works out.”

She stops and looks to her left, seeing a group of kids lining up to see Santa and she just shakes her head before continuing to walk down the path.

“Miss Irrelevant also wants to fault me for being arrogant but yet, she’s also arrogant. But the way I see it, she’s reaching because she doesn’t have much else to say about me. But she wants to fault me for being arrogant because she doesn’t like that I can hold my own and it’s literally the only thing that she thought about calling me, other than a bitch. But as a woman, we all know that no woman cares about being called that anymore and rather takes it more as a compliment. There is nothing wrong with being confident in your ability and the most successful wrestlers in the ring are almost always arrogant because they believe in their own talent. And you’re damn fucking right I believe in my own talent in the ring because I shouldn’t have to rely on somebody else in-ring ability to bring out the best in me because you can guarantee that I’m going to be the best in that ring when it comes to the females in this match because it sure as hell won’t be Miss Irrelevant. She’s nothing flashy in the ring and while that is true, it’s also safe to admit that she’s at least consistent and can hang with the best of them….but has she? Has she ever stepped in the ring with the likes of Amber Ryan or Mikah or Roxi? Or even Crystal? Because if she hasn’t, she can’t be even one step remotely close to being the best. Or even being seen as being able to hang with the best. And granted, I haven’t stepped foot in a ring against any of them either but I have been trained by one of them…

A smirk crosses her face for a moment before she stops in the path to look to her right, seeing a gingerbread house set up.

“Which is another thing that seems to get under Miss Irrelevant’s skin. She hates it so much that I have been trained by Mikah and that I “emulate” her in the ring. But if I’m not mistaken, that is something that is bound to happen when one is trained by a person of Mikah’s caliber. And while some of her choices might not be ideal or her choices she’s made in the past of SCW, she is one of the best Bombshells that SCW has ever seen, if not the best of all time. And of course I’m going to want to be trained by the best because if she can even share an ounce of her talent with me, of course I’m going to soak it up and try to be like her in the ring but even better. I haven’t even been employed by SCW for a year yet and I still have time to work and grow my craft in the ring and that will come with time. But do you know what you can’t work on? A shitty fucking personality, which is what Miss Irrelevant has. And she wants to claim that her and Fin earned their shot at us at High Stakes when that’s not exactly true and then she wants to claim that Olly and I haven’t earned our shot…”

Eiley lets out a slightly bitter chuckle as she walks down the path a little more.

“I was under the impression that when a champion or champions lose their championships, they get a rematch. Granted, we didn’t ask for it to be right away. But nobody said that we had to ask for our rematch right away. And maybe it’s a good thing that we didn’t because we would have lost our rematch if we had pulled the trigger and demanded the rematch right away. Things weren’t good between us and the disconnect was obvious when we were together on screen or in the ring together, there was something missing and Limitless suffered as a team because of that missing component.”

She stops again to see a table set up with decorated Christmas cookies and she grabs one that was decorated to look like Santa Claus. She makes a face before tossing it aside and continuing on down the path.

“But that was then and we’ve already corrected several things that needed fixed. Things that neither Finn or Kayla will have to worry about on Sunday….speaking of Finn..”

A small smirk crosses her face once again.

“When did you become a fly on the wall when it comes to Olly? Because some of the things you said about him, are things that I know he has never said on camera. Things that you could only know if you’ve been stalking him or if you’ve placed a listening device in his bag. And I’m going to be specific here so you understand where I am coming from and what I’m talking about. Last week you were mocking Olly by saying that he believed that I didn’t like him because he failed. However, I’m not sure where you would have gotten that sentiment…”

She raises her eyebrows at the camera, an annoyed look in her eyes.

“Because I went back and watched all of Olly’s promos that he’s done since High Stakes. And those words never once came out of his mouth when he was on camera. So, where did you get that from? Because you can’t say that it was a genuine guess or a theme that you took from his promos, because it wasn’t there. He never explicitly said it on camera. But perhaps he has when he’s not been in front of the camera and something that he has said to a friend or in passing…”

Eiley raises an eyebrow at the thought, the look of annoyance on her face.

“I didn’t realize we were stooping to the level of stalking our opponents to find out what they do when they’re not in front of the camera. But clearly, Finn, that is something that you were doing or had somebody doing for you because you seemed as if you knew what you were talking about. But here’s the thing, Finny boy…”

Eiley smirks as she stops and glances around before focusing back on the camera.

“Stalking is a criminal act in all fifty states. And I’m not sure how Mark Ward or Christian Underwood would feel having a criminal as one half of their Mixed Tag Team Champions.”

She simply shrugs her shoulders again before continuing to walk in the direction of the Christmas tree.

“Another thing, the two of you both seem fixated on the fact that Kris Ryans and Mikah are mine and Olly’s mentors. Almost to the point where it’s coming off a little obsessive and weird that that is something that you’re fixating on. Kayla wanted to mention it in her promo last week and Finn, you did as well. It’s not a pretty look for either of you as champions and sounds like sour grapes, if you ask me.”

She makes a face before shaking her head as she gets to the Christmas tree and she stops to look at it, taking in the sight of it.

“What I don’t really understand is where I’ve been crying and whining about the loss at High Stakes. Like I said before, I make it a point to not talk about this stuff on Twitter or Social Media because I know it bothers morons like the two of you that I don’t. But I do it on purpose, just to see it eat at my opponents and so that they make shit up like the two of you have. And it’s rather comical to listen to the two of you bitch and whine about social media in a fucking promo. And that’s not exactly the point that I’m trying to make. You two are grasping at straws and reaching for something to say about Olly and I in a way to make what you say the truth. But the truth is in the evidence. Go to my Twitter page and you will not see much if any mention of SCW in the past two or more months. You will see pictures though because that’s all I really post about. It’s nothing SCW related and the captions on those pictures? They have NOTHING to do with SCW either. But I’m guessing you two stupid fucks think that it is. Maybe copy and paste those captions into google and see what comes up. You’ll be looking pretty fucking stupid…well, more than you already look that is.”

She raises her eyebrows before chuckling and shaking her head.

“I also find it ironic, Finn, that you want to base your tag team with Miss Irrelevant on professionalism and that you don’t have to like her or her actions in order to be successful…”

She rolls her eyes as she grabs one of the oversized candy canes from the ground.

“But I disagree. That can only get you so far before it will implode on you. Look at Olly and I these past few weeks. We clearly struggled as a team because we were not sure about where we stood but at the last Climax Control, we got our shit together and we’re back on track. And even in our disconnect, there was still a glimmer of hope for us. We never stopped liking one another, that was never the issue. But we did stop communicating as we both had different thoughts and ideas that we didn’t want to discuss yet.”

She twirls the candy cane around a few times as she stares up at the Christmas tree.

“Time is ticking away. December to Dismember is going to be here before we know it. Olly and I are back on track.”

Eiley takes the candy cane and swings it at the tree and effectively hits one of the glass ornaments and breaks it on impact.

“And just the way these ornaments shatter, Finn and Kayla’s dreams of being more than transitional champions are going to shatter too.”

Eiley swings the candy cane again and smashes another ornament.

“I’m not going to say that you two aren’t talented in the ring, because clearly you are as you beat us once before. But I am going to say that Olly and I are still better than you two and we’re going to prove it again on Sunday. We’re allowed to have a loss here and there but the point that needs to be made is that we always come back and we always come back stronger.”

She smirks before swinging against at another ornament, smashing it as well.

“Because we’re…”

She smirks before tossing the candy cane behind her.

“Limitless.”

---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---

[finnwhelan]

PARADIGM SHIFT X // WIN-WIN
YOU’RE GOING FOR BLOOD (THAT’S SO ADORABLE), YOU’RE CUTTING ME UP (YOU’RE SO HYSTERICAL). SO SAY WHAT YOU WANT (IT’S YOUR MEMORIAL). BE MAD, STAY MAD, WIN-WIN LIKE THAT
SET IT OFF W/ SCENE QUEEN


••••••

Yes, desperation was a thing that caused a man to go insane.

When all the chips were down, when you saw the ones you loved make a mockery of themselves on national television, when you saw everything falling apart, it was hard not to reach out and bring them back. Bring them back into the safety of your clutch, to take care of them when decisions made them fall by the wayside.

He didn’t do it when she walked away from him.

He should have, but he didn’t.

Like you could help me?

The words reverberated in his ears for days and days. Had he truly been so selfish to not see the struggle of his little brother, that he couldn’t see he needed help? Was he so caught in his own emotions, his own feelings? How could he not have seen it? The kid was in front of him every day, and now? Now he was gone.

And on top of all of that, he was teaming with the woman that internally, he loved, and he couldn’t say shit about it. He was constantly trying to tell himself that he didn’t care anymore, but that was a fucking lie and he was tired of the constant badgering in his head. Talk to her, get her to love him again, maybe try to be better than he was?

What the fuck was he supposed to do?

••••••

The room that is shown this time is not a preschool, or a daycare, of any kind. We’ve moved venues, and as the picture clears, we realize that it’s not blurry on purpose. No. It’s more…foggy, like perfumed smoke rising up along the sides of the room, and throughout it, red in its wake. Seated in the center, reclining in a wingbacked chair with a hand up along his chin, staring directly ahead almost uncomfortably is Finn Whelan. The cute, fatheringly mood from previously is erased. He sits in his signature black, his light blue eyes seemingly slicing through the viewer with pinpoint accuracy.

He looks down, and then chuckles, looking up through his lashes confidently once more.

“It’s funny what happens when people think they can control the narrative. Let’s talk about the same thing over and over again until people believe the lies that they tell themselves. The little train that could or whatever the fuck.”

He teeters his chair back, lifting the legs off the floor with his feet pressed into it.

“Push the narrative that you want. That’s what we’re all supposed to do, right? If we push, then others might believe it too. Listening to the two of you this week made me simultaneously vomit and push myself off a cliff. This whole charade of falling apart and then getting it together at the last second is pathetic, but if that’s the desire to make others believe…

I’m sorry, I still can’t from two people who are so emotionless and analytical. Even in your ‘pain’ you were stone faced and trite. Like you haven’t really learned how to emote and show us how it works. And you want to know why? I think that?

Before I get into the meat of your bullshit, I want to put out that it was the two of you that came out during my singles match in the midst of your inability to get along like you were all chummy fucks and then came out immediately afterwards and fucked up and played a role made me see you for what the fuck you really were.

Liars.

You can believe you're great and wonderful, but it’s a farce. A dream. A piece of false woven fairy tales that you both seem to think are the greatest contribution to the company.”

Finn teeters just a bit further back, a smirk rising up on his features.

“Since we so readily consult our imaginations and our dreams, I thought it would be best to sit down and look at some divination of my own. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, so I asked a professional. So welcome…welcome to Finn’s Dinvination Reading, where we find out if Limtless has a chance in hell of taking the Mixed Tag Team Championships back.”

Finn leans forward over the table, almost dropping the chair he was leaning back down into a stable position with a thud. He reaches forward and taps a card. It is an intricate card, a male figure holding a wand as a staff in an authoritarian position.

“The King of Wands was the first card drawn. A leader, overcoming challenges that face them. Now, divination in its best is not an exact science and it’s all about interpretation. Someone could sit there and say that overcoming challenges could be in Eiley and Ozzie’s little favor, but…I disagree. Because the energy set into the cosmos by this card signifies a person who is not only passionate, but confident and driven. All four of us in this match are hungry, and despite the fact that Eiley believes Kayla is a weak link, we are all passionate and driven. Maybe some more than others.  Equally determined, equally motivated. Yes, there’s an opportunity here for anyone of us to walk out with those belts.”

He pauses, and then taps the next card. Scales hung in the balance.

“This card is Justice. A card that speaks of fairness, of balance, and the need for integrity. Something very few of us in this grouping truly have. As much as we are passionate, some of us are less inclined to do the right thing. The appropriate thing. Kayla is incapable of this fairness, but so are Eiley and Oz, as they’ve decided to show the world time and time again. I know myself, however, and I know that my own actions will align to my principles. Do anything to win…within reason, right? You won’t see me cheating, but if I have the opportunity? Don’t think I would bash you in the fucking face over and over again just to make you bleed.

And truly, beyond that, let’s look one more time at the teams within this. Eiley wanted to bring up that they got an easy win in against The Barnharts to give themselves confidence. Basically admitting to the entire company that they needed less of a challenge. Hate to break it to all of you, but The Barnharts aren’t the Wolves of Gheimhridh. They’re nowhere near the level we are, and nowhere near where you need to be more solidified. I think Kayla and I have also proven that you don’t need to be solidified in arms in order to succeed. So this whole narrative about getting back on track and facing the big bad wolves who took your prized possessions from you, well…it’s trite and overused.

You can’t fist pump yourself to confidence. I hear the shake in your voices. I hear the uncertainty. The hesitation. You can’t repeat something over and  over and think you’re going to believe it. The only reason that you children believe that you’re deserving is because there was no one here to keep these championships from you. You’ve been deluded by people telling you you’re great, that you’re the next big thing, that you’re the best champions, but…you were the only champions for a few months.

Not really a field to extract anything from.”

He rubs his hand beneath his chin and then taps the final card of the three card spread.

“The Page of Pentacles. A potential for grown and learning. With a diligent attitude that’s focused on the prize ahead, a reward sits behind the bearer of the card. Throughout the preparation and dedication that we have, we’ve learned to not only face the challenge head-on, but to gain valuable insight.

Insight about you two. You can talk about how you needed that one match to make you feel better, but for multiple weeks, it was the two of you either fucking up together or fucking up alone. And you have the audacity to sit there and say we didn’t do shit? No. You’re right, we didn’t. We did nothing but defend the championship on Climax Control while the two of you didn’t defend except for at Pay Per Views and…what, one championship match on Climax Control in three months? That’s twelve shows that the two of you either were fighting singles matches or teaming barely. Nine of those shows mean you did nothing. That’s a percentage of seventy-five of the time you weren’t really doing shit either. But whose counting, except for the two of you trying to find bullshit to latch onto because neither of you are confident in shit.

You’re both easy to dissuade, to put down, to make feel like you’re worthless. Four of the last five shows that you both have showed out in order to try to drive this narrative of inability to work with one another, the narrative that you’ll drive yourself to do the best like two Karate Kids, is easy to see as a work. A bad caricature of Kayla and I’s victory against the two of you. If they could then we can do better!

See how easily you think like children?

Cry when you’re upset, act dejected when you aren’t pampered on the ass anymore. You have no drive, no energy, no desire to do anything for four weeks and then you’re finally handed an easy match that everyone can make the fuck fun of you for even thinking you’ve done anything. The previous weeks had you facing Ben Jordan and Sam Marlowe, people you’ve had a hard time facing, and you failed. Ollie couldn’t get Carter, who he thought he could put down easily. And that’s not an option, is it? Not anymore.

When Kayla and I stepped out, we had champions of the company against us. We defeated them. I put that fucking dumbshit upstart in his place.

I would have done more if I’d been given the key to do so. I.E. The bookers book me, but you know what, I don’t book myself. I’m not so vain to think that’s an option. I’m sure you’ve got ins with that what with Crack City being…you know, on such good terms with staff, but when you were given the opportunity, what the fuck did you do with it?

Squander it.

Destroy it.

Like children.

The only limits the Limitless has is on their ability to succeed when their chips are down.

Kayla and I? Our chips are down all the fucking time, and we figure out how to be professional and succeed in the end.

Sad, isn’t it Olly?”

He leans forward even further, narrowing his eyes.

“But not sad enough for me to feel any sympathy for you, you stupid fuck.”

••••••

SOMEWHERE 32,000 MILES ABOVE
[•] OFF-CAMERA

“This,” she murmured, pressing her fingers into the armrests of the first class chairs, crossing her legs and leaning her head back against the plush headrest, “is traveling first class.”

Finn Whelan looked up from his iPad, glancing over at Kayla, who sat next to him, her eyes closed and her lip ring glinting in the light. Not often did she travel economy, but she also didn’t particularly like to fly very often. Finn had foot the bill for a bit more cash to fly first class from New York City to Phoenix, and they would drive together to Tucson for the show.

“Fuck economy. Fuck economy forever.” She reiterated, stretching her legs out as much as she could.

“I’m glad you’re having the best time in the world,” he replied, looking back down at his iPad and scrolling through tapes again. Anything to give him a competitive edge over Oliver one more time. It was all a compilation of his last few matches, and then the dual success they had over the Barnharts. No, he wasn’t worried. It was just what he did.

“That show data?” Kayla asked him, pursing her lips slightly as she watched Limitless move fluidly like a unit. “Ugh. There are some days that I wish it wasn’t the rules that Sin City pushes. I’d like to see what that vapid little blonde would do facing you.”

“Probably punch me,” he concluded with a chuckle. “I would probably deserve it, to be honest. I haven’t been all that nice.”

“Please. Last promo was you being nice.” She pushed herself back, reaching for the pamphlet in front of her and scrolling through the food options for the flight. It was four hours across country, and they’d left at night. She forgot to eat. “They have no idea what it looks like when Finn Whelan is pissed.”

“On the contraire, I think they do–”

Kayla shook her head and snorted. “No. You’re been professional. Calm. A little verbose like you always are, but remember that one time where you fucking annihilated Alex? I don’t think he’s ever gotten over it. Maybe he shouldn’t have fuc–”

“Okay, no more.” Finn snorted and paused the film. “Look. It’s on the horizon, right? A few more days and we prove to these little shits that it wasn’t a fluke.”

“And pretty much everyone else as well, but you know.” She tilted her head and looked at one of the snack packs closer. “Why is it ten dollars for a box of five dollar snacks?”

The small talk bothered him, immensely. There was so much surrounding his head that the only thing that he could think of was his bullshit with Kei and Dickie, and there was only so much that he could take. Based on their last interaction, however, he was trying to not get up in arms about it. He didn’t need Kayla pissed off at him before their match for him being a douchecanoe for no reason. So he tried to stuff it down.

Again.

“You know, I can hear Fido smarting off about it too.”

Fido was Aiden. Finn knew this. He looked at her, and she glanced at him. “What?”

“I was waiting for you to make fun of him.”

“I don’t have enough of a lack of brain cells to make fun of him.”

“Touche.” Finn chuckled and looked back down at his iPad. It was at this moment an iMessage came through, blatant as day, as a banner at the top of his screen. A text from Kei. A devil face emoji. That was all. Nothing more. Nothing less.

He didn’t know what his body did, but the next thing he knew, he was rushing down the aisle of first class towards the bathroom and flinging himself inside the little unit that really didn’t have the audacity to be called a “bathroom”. His face appeared back at him in a mirror and he saw the worst that he could when it came to him. His face was clammy, pale, and sweat had appeared in what he assumed was two seconds or less. He felt the urge to vomit in his stomach, but he was able to quench it by looking down and closing his eyes.

Every reminder about Dickie and Kei’s alliance made his stomach heave. He hated it. Dickie had no fucking clue who Kei was, what he could do, how he could easily break the child into a million pieces. And knowing that he’d gone after him? That he’d chosen his method of suicide?

Finn should have done more. He should have marched right down to Kei, but he knew there would be nothing to do about it. Nothing to see. Nothing to hear. Nothing to surmise. Kei had Dickie by the shackles that he wanted Finn in, and if Finn was stupid enough, he’d find himself in those shackles too. He couldn’t help him. He couldn’t save him. He couldn’t do anything.

See, Finn was a protector. A man who protected everyone around him as fiercely as he could. Maybe it seemed controlling to some, maybe it was only hurtful to others. But to him? He would do everything to save the ones he loved. But he couldn’t become what Kei wanted again just to save his little brother. He couldn’t let anyone else come to know any of this, know any part of this.

He knew when he walked back to Kayla, she would ask him about it. He put his head against the mirror.

What would it hurt for her to know?

They were a team, right? She needed to know what was going on his head, try to help him assuage it, so that he could get his head on straight for their match against Limitless this coming Sunday. But he also could not get over the hump that she was no longer his friend, just somebody that he worked with closely now. Christmas had seen to that.

Fuck, Christmas. He hated it. He hated the time of year before last year, but it was bearable. It was manageable. He could deal with his family and his friends, and he could deal with the sounds of chaos in his household. And he could deal with the fact that Kayla…

…no, that was a wound still worth nursing.

He pulled back, turned on the water and splashed his face. It smelled of chemicals and treatment and he was glad he hadn’t decided to take a drink of water. Instead, he moved back down the aisle slowly after opening the door and letting the next person in. As he sat down, Kayla had her arms crossed and she was peering at him pensively.

“What,” he uttered – his mouth felt dry and his body felt like he’d run a marathon in just a few moments. It wasn’t a question.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Kayla asked him, just as he expected.

Finn dropped his head and ran his hands through his hair. He clenched at it for a second. For a moment, he could pretend, right? He could pretend that Kayla was his best friend again, he could pretend that neither of them had fucked up and they were as close as they once were. He inhaled slowly, lengthy, and exhaled through his nose.

“Callien,” she only ever called him by his real name if something was serious. He didn’t hate his name, he’d just gotten used to it being used by people close to him. He felt her hand at his back. Maybe she also was in the same boat as he was.

God, fighting with one another and your own emotions was hard…

“Look, there’s really no fucking point in not telling me anymore. I’m not blind, Callien. Please stop brushing me off.” She murmured quietly, and it was a voice he wasn’t used to anymore. She only used harsh tones, angry tones, or sarcastic tones anymore with him. Probably because it was easier.

“You remember the man who showed up at Thanksgiving with me?” He questioned, slowly, looking up at her.

“Nose-band?” She asked, and then nodded. “Yeah. Hideshima something.”

“Kei Hideshima,” Finn muttered, running his hand through his hair. “He…there’s a long history, Kayla. A long history. Maybe…maybe some time I can tell you but I…” He hesitated, and then looked at her fully. She had a worried expression. A genuine worried expression. “Look, it’s easy for me to deal with him. On my own. I’ve done it for nine of the last ten years. He’s a collector. A man who looks at people as acquisitions to help him succeed in his own agenda.”

She blew a raspberry. “What a fuck.”

He smiled a bit and then shook his head. “But he’s also extremely dangerous. He’s a shateigashira.”

Kayla frowned, but it took a while for the word to click. “Yakuza?” But that was the extent she knew.

He blinked and stared at her for a moment, somewhat confused. He swallowed again and nodded.

She hesitated, and then leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Why is Kei around again?”

Finn sighed and hung his head. “He wants to drop what he’s doing and make his own clan. His own family. He wants to take people he thinks he can manipulate and make them into his soldiers to do his bidding. He can collect people…things…in order to meet his ends. He was my mentor for the longest time, but I pulled myself away when it got too much. But now…”

“...he’s looking for people, right?” She concluded, looking at him and biting her lip. “He’s looking for people. Like you.”

“Like you,” he added, inclining his head. “Anyone that he thinks has power of some kind. But that’s not the worst part.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And that is…?”

Finn looked up at her, his blue eyes staring into her hazel-brown.

“Dickie’s involved in the mess now. He’s aligned with him and dropped off the grid."

••••••

“I think the thing that drives me nuts about you, Oliver, is that you decide to sit there and every fucking promo, tell everyone how bad Wolfslair is. Then you go after Kayla, acting like she’s ever been associated with the Training Facility. You don’t engage me. You don’t talk to me. You spend a lot of your promos when you’re facing specific people within this company about how shit an entire brand of wrestlers are because you don’t like their promo. Like you’re trying to get a rise from everyone behind the scenes. Oh no, the poor child said something about a training facility!

You’re not facing Wolfslair, you ignorant buffoon, and I hope the second time we beat you knocks some truth into your head. Like maybe not being an entire fucktwat to an entire group of people because you think they’re ignorant, trite people.

And before I continue on, Eiley – really, did you not learn your lesson the first time about discounting Kayla and I? The first time you did it was simply placing us as not a team. This time? Stating Kayla isn’t a decorated champion in this company and that she hasn’t done anything of worth?

You’re just a stupid as you look. Maybe the bleach really has burned your brain cells.”

Finn pushes himself up off the table and then walks around it, grabbing the final card off the table that laid upon the edge. He heads for the door, pushing it open and then out into the light. It forces him to wince for a moment, as the bustling sounds of the city of Phoenix, Arizona are heard. Smog fills the air, something that dissipates miles from the city center, but here, the casino is visible, the airport close by. It’s a lot of sound, noise, chaos.

It crescendos upwards, strings on a violin,  almost breaking through and damaging the ears drums of the viewers watching like an explosion in a movie.

Until it stops.

The high note peaks, and then utter silence.

Finn opens his eyes. It’s as if time stands still.

“Noise is simply placed because it’s easy to distract people who don’t have their whole mind, body and soul centered into their desires. The noise created these past few weeks broke you, Olly. You couldn’t get ahead, you couldn’t succeed, you couldn’t do well until, like both of you said, you got a team that is as beatable as dough needing to be thrown to make bread. The noise destroyed you, and now you’re searching for some kind of confidence that you place into the fan’s perception of Jet City.

Except I don’t see anyone talking about how great the group is except for…well. You.

Oz, you’ve been called the weak link, you’ve been treated like a second class citizen, and you’ve been pointed out to be the cog that turns Eiley’s wheel, but she doesn’t reciprocate for you. These are all things that aren’t just said, Oz, they’re visible in shows.  It’s all about what you put out there for the masses to see, and they’ve seen your downfall.

Kayla and I have weathered storms bigger than this and still come out on top. Divorces, chaos descending, people treating us like garbage, people watching from every side waiting for us to fail miserably like some idiots who left the stove on and die because of the gas leak. Don’t act like you know anything about us, because while you’re both trying to control this narrative that we’ll crash and burn, you don’t have the evidence to support this. There is no Kayla and I failing on camera, to even remotely work together for the greater, common good. While that’s spread out on the television screens week in and week out the past five shows, Kayla and I have not only been able to push ourselves to working with one another, we actually have been planning shit more and more often together because professionalism is key.

You haven’t been paying attention, and I know, it’s hard to hear that, Oz, but it’s the truth. You and Eiley? You don’t look past your own fallacies and inadequacies to look at the bigger picture. Just focus on the small detail that Kayla and I have an issue with one another personally, but we’re able to succeed just as well professionally. We’ve been saying this week in, week out, and it’s astonishing that you both aren’t able to capture that. “

Finn thumbs the card in his hand as he walks down the sidewalk of Phoenix’s inner city, before stopping, looking down at it, and then looking back up at the camera.

“This card arose as a simplistic question. I asked the cards who I am, symbolically. This card rose up in prominence, three out of four times.”

The image shown on the card is that of a tower, as Finn flips the tower card towards the screen.

“This is the Tower. Misery. Distress. Indigence. Adversity. Calamity. Disgrace. Deception and ruin. Destruction. All traits that this card carries. When it comes into the deck, it reveals to the reader that the person in question is symbolic of our own egos, and that change is not something we can escape. Where your path can be altered forever, and you have no choice in the matter.

But even in the midst of all this agony and chaos, the Tower represents a person who is full of energy, and unpredictable.  A rebel who marches to the tune of his own beat. That status quo ain’t for me, and that’s what Limitless has been. I’m brutally honest, and I am truthful to a fault. Not only this, I push for people to understand the worst parts of themselves and make them see who they are.”

He pauses.

“I asked them who Oliver Zahn was. Even after all of your attempts to get under my skin, after everything you try to believe in yourself. This, too, rose up, five times out of six.”

He flips the card then.

“The Tower, reversed. We are the same Oliver, but we are very different. You talk about change, but what are you changing? Nothing. You and Eiley are together as a team once again, as you have always been. You’re not challenging any status quo, you’re not a rebel, you just fall in line as soon as you easily can to what is comfortable.  The Tower, reversed, shows a person who is stubborn and fearful of change, who is critical. You’re not transparent, you’re self-contained, and you struggle with shame and anxiety. You’re excessively critical with yourself, which we all saw for weeks. You’re in your own fucking head, and you couldn’t pull yourself out of your own ass.

You’ve clung to this past where you and Eiley, together, are relevant. You ignore the present. Oh you can sit there and tell me time and time again that you’ve seen the world through a different light, but what happens when you see what I said and then go on a tangent about how we’re irrelevant? Like you have since day one? Kayla and I have every opportunity to grow into a stronger and stronger team, and Limitless has drawn themselves into the corner with the narrative that if they can’t make it out of this hole, then nothing else matters. What happens when the Wolves come for your throats?

What happens when you fall apart again?

You’re so lazily stitched together that it’ll be easy to unravel the strings. Meanwhile, Kayla and I continue to pull them tighter and tighter until you can’t figure out which threads to cut.

No, Oliver. Limitless won’t take the championships.

Limitless will cease to exist after December 2 Dismember. And believe me when I say that everyone will be more happy about it. No more listening to you and your soap opera drama, no more listening to anything but the sound of wrestlers fighting for the things they believe in rather than a paycheck provided because you mean something to someone who is no longer even relevant in this company.

Everyone’s time comes. And you thinking that you’re better than us? No.

The tables don’t turn so easily, kid.

Only when you’re not watching.

It’ll be a win-win.”

••••••

Callien,

I know you think I am the worst devil in the entire world.

I know you think that I am the worst leader for your brother.

But please know that I only do this all in kindness.

In reverence and respect for you and all you hold dear.

It does not end here.

Sooner or later, you – too – will come back to be my right hand.

I will devise a way, and you know I will.

Even if it has to be through her.

All the best.
恵