Earlier This Week
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Feels good to be home, Lachlan Kane thought as he pulled up to the house he now shared with his fiancee. In the car beside him, Sierra Williams smiled as she saw her two girls in the front window of the house, playing with their grandparents. When Jade and Olivia noticed the car pulling into the driveway, they immediately rushed to press their little faces to the window, laughing happily as they watched Lachlan and Sierra gather their bags from the trunk of the car and head inside. Once they stepped through the door, both of them were immediately attacked by two rambunctious little bundles of energy, Lachlan by Jade and Sierra by Olivia.
“Lachy! Lachy!” Jade said happily as she reached her arms up to him, demanding to be picked up. “I missed you!”
Lachlan laughed and scooped the five-year old into his arms, pressing kisses all over her face as she giggled. “No Lachy, your beard tickles!” she squealed.
“I missed ya too, a stóirín,” he said, using the Irish nickname that he had given her and she had grown to love. “It got a little lonely on the road without you and Livvy around.” He reached down into his bag and pulled out a stuffed unicorn, handing it to Jade. “But I saw this guy in a store, and he wanted me to take him home ‘cause he knew there was a funny little girl just waiting to be his best friend.”
Jade giggled again as she hugged the stuffed animal tightly with one arm, and wrapped the other around Lachlan’s neck in a hug. “Thank you Lachy! I love him!”
“I knew you would,” he said, kissing the top of her head as the four of them made their way into the living room where Sierra’s parents were waiting.
“Another stuffed animal?” Sierra’s mother Penelope exclaimed. “You’re spoiling these girls rotten, Lachlan.”
He gave her a little sheepish grin as he kissed her on the cheek. “What can I say? I’m a giver.”
She was about to retort, when a timer sounded from the kitchen. “Well, at least you and Sierra are just in time for dinner.” She got up from her chair to head into the kitchen to get the meal ready.
“Hey, how about you girls go with your poppa to get ready for dinner,” Lachlan said to Jade.
She pouted a bit as he set her down on the floor. “No, I wanna get ready with you.”
“I’ll be there in a minute, I promise,” Lachlan said, holding out his pinky finger to her. She immediately brightened as she wrapped her tiny pinky around his and they shook, before she scampered off with Olivia and her grandfather to the dining room. Lachlan watched them go with a smile, when a set of arms wrapping around his waist drew his attention. Sierra looked up at him with a smile, resting her head on his chest.
“Good to be home,” she said.
He smiled back at her, wrapping his arms around her. “Good to be home,” he echoed.
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A few hours later
No matter how hard he pushed himself, Lachlan couldn’t chase the thoughts out of his mind. After the girls had gone to bed, he decided to head to the nearby gym and get a workout in, if only to try and quiet his mind. Ever since Mark and Christian had announced that he was going to be a part of these qualifying matches to determine who would be a part of the next Supercard to face the champion, his anxiety had flared up in a big way. All his past failures had been pushed to the forefront of his mind for the past two weeks, and nothing he did seemed to shake them. Even being home with his girls hadn’t done much to stem the tide, and that worried him. Normally, when he spent time with Jade, Olivia and Sierra, everything else seemed to fade away. But not this time.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Sierra’s voice broke through the myriad of thoughts swirling in his head, and he turned to see her leaning against the wall, arms folded across her chest with a small smile on her face. He smiled back at her and took a few more swings at the punching bag he had been working over for the past half-hour. “Thought Canada got rid of pennies,” he grunted between punches.
“Good point. Besides, the way you look, I’d probably need about five bucks,” she joked. “I haven’t seen you this intense in a long time.”
He let loose with a flurry of strikes, ending with a solid punch straight to the middle of the bag that sent it swinging on its chain. “Yeah, well...I’ve got a huge opportunity in front of me this Sunday.”
The smile fell from Sierra’s face, replaced with a slightly concerned look. “Alright Lachy, talk to me. I know how you get in these situations. Is everything OK?”
He let out a long breath, starting to unwrap the tape from his hands as he walked over to the bench along the wall and sat down. Sierra followed along, sitting beside him and putting an arm around his shoulders. “To be honest, Si...no.” He balled up the used tape and tossed it towards the trash can in the corner, bouncing it off the edge as it went in. “Ever since Mark and Christian announced this whole qualifying match thing two weeks ago, my head’s been in a right state. All I can think of is how many times I’ve had opportunities like this in SCW, and how I’ve pissed them all away each and every time. I’m becoming my own worst enemy, and I hate it.”
Sierra reached out and took his hand in hers, running her thumb across his knuckles soothingly. “Lachy, listen to me. You may have had some setbacks, sure, but everyone goes through that. The important thing to remember is that you’ve never given up. No matter how many times you’ve been knocked down, you always get back up and face the next challenge in your way. This time will be no different.” She smirked a little. “Well, it will be, because you’re gonna go kick Alex Jones’ ass on Sunday and claim your spot in that title match at the next supercard. And then, you’re gonna kick everyone else’s ass and finally prove to everyone, especially yourself, that you’re not a failure.”
Lachlan was quiet for a moment, just staring down at his and Sierra’s hand laced together. He looked up at her, and she had such a look of pure determination on her face that he couldn’t help but feel his spirits lift. He smiled at her, leaning over to give her a soft, sweet kiss.
“What would I do without you?” he said when they parted, their foreheads resting together.
She smirked at him. “You’ll never find out.” She wiggled her left hand at him, her engagement ring shining in the light.
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Present Day
Toronto, Ontario
The city of Toronto was a winter wonderland. An early snowfall had coated the Six with a good layer of the fluffy white stuff, putting most everyone into a festive mood as the city began rolling out its holiday welcome mat.
But one person in the city was most definitely not feeling the holiday spirit. Sitting in a darkened alleyway on top of a discarded shipping crate, Lachlan Kane had his hands clasped together between his knees as he stared down at the ground. A moment of quiet passed, the noises from the street being muffled by the snow, before he cleared his throat and began to speak.
“I know what everyone’s thinking,” he started, his voice low and somewhat gravelly. “‘How in the hell does Lachlan Kane deserve a shot at the World title? He’s had countless opportunities, and every time he’s managed to fuck it all up for himself. What makes him so special that he’s even in the running?’”
He laughed bitterly. “I know, that’s the big story with me, isn’t it? Ever since I lost the mixed tag titles with Sierra, I’ve been nothing but a failure. I’ve had so many opportunities handed to me, it seems...and I’ve done nothing but squander them. Just when it seems like I get on a good roll, it crashes and burns.” He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. “And I have no one to blame but myself. Every time I get these big opportunities, I get too caught up in my own head. Every time I slip further down that ladder, the voice in my head gets a little bit louder. Telling me that I’m useless. That I’m nothing without Sierra. That I don’t belong…”
He shot up off the crate with a sudden burst of speed, letting out a vicious snarl as he kicked at a glass bottle, sending it flying down the alleyway where it shattered against a brick wall. He paced back and forth for a few moments, trying to get his temper under control. “Well, that shit ends today. Rather, it ends on Sunday. I’m done throwing myself a pity party. I’m through letting all these shit-talkers get inside my head and make me feel anything less than the god-damn badass that I am. I’m walking into Climax Control, I’m beating the ever-loving hell out of Alex Jones, and I am taking my rightful place in that match at December 2 Dismember.”
He finally turned to look at the camera, his bright blue eyes flashing with intensity and his mouth curling up into a smirk. “And this will be my biggest challenge yet, won’t it? Alex Jones is no stranger to the SCW faithful. He’s been one of the top names in this company pretty much since he set foot in here. Don’t get me wrong, he deserves all the accolades. The man backs up every word he says. He doesn’t cower from any challenge set in front of him. I suppose that’s something we have in common. Sure, he may have a better win-loss record, but like I said before, come Sunday I’m stepping up and I’m proving that I’m the next face of this company. I’m gonna prove it to all the doubters, all the naysayers, and every motherfucker who wants to talk about me like I’m some damn charity case that Mark and Christian took pity on.”
He reached behind his head to flip up the black hood of his coat, slightly shrouding his face in darkness until only his mouth and the bottom of his jaw could be seen. “See, I think my problem was I lost my edge. When I came to the US, I figured a change could do me good. I went from being one of the most ruthless gaijin that Japan had ever seen into the smiling, loveable little yes-man when I arrived in the States. I thought that playing to the crowd was the way to go. Sure, I picked up some success here and there, and I’m proud of my accomplishments. Especially being the lBut then, I hit that glass ceiling. And no matter what I did, I could never break through. At least, not with the attitude I used to have. I realized that if I was going to get anywhere, I was going to have to take my fist and shatter that glass ceiling. And that’s just what I plan on doing on Sunday. Not to mention shattering Alex Jones’ fucking jaw in the process.” The devious smirk returned to his face, reminiscent of a dangerous predator about to devour its unfortunate prey. “It’s time that I reminded myself - and introduce you all - to who I truly am. I’m the one that’s beating Alex Jones on Sunday. I’m the one that’s walking into December 2 Dismember. And I’m the one that will be walking out of it as the new SCW World Champion. This is the biggest shot I’ve ever gotten in the company...and you better believe that I’m more than ready to pull the trigger.”
Raising a hand towards the camera, with his index finger and thumb making a gun shape pointed straight down the lens, he mimicked pulling a trigger before turning on his booted heel and sauntering out of the scene, before it faded out to black.
