"I am wolf.
Quietly I will endure.
Silently I will suffer.
Patiently I will wait.
For I am a warrior.
And I will survive."
~ In The Shadow of The Wolf
Did you know that once, only once before, was Sin City Wrestling in the town of Fort Defiance, Arizona? And when we say "town," perhaps we're being just a bit generous. Fort Defiance is more of a census-designated place than a town, located on the Defiance Plateau, just four miles north of Window Rock, Arizona. And if we're going to be perfectly honest here? It makes Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show look like a frikkin' Metropolis! The square mileage is literally just over six square miles, and a census taken in the year 2010 showed less than four thousand lived here and called the place home...
And yet Sin City Wrestling was going to host their "going home" edition of Climax Control here in the Bee Holdzil Fighting Scouts Events Center, a building that could ironically hold over six thousand screaming fans, literally two thousand more than the town itself does!
Figure THAT one out and then get back to me!
"You're joking." Aron Baltasarsson quipped from inside the famous "unnamed gym," where Gabriel and Odette Stevens had taken on the task of passing on their wealth of wrestling knowledge to the proverbial 'next generation' of Superstars. We say proverbial because, let's face it; neither Gabriel nor Odette were 'up there' in years, and they were not much older than many of the students under their charge. They simply retired for personal reasons such as family commitments plus to rest their banged up bodies and when it came right down to it; they didn't have to step inside of the ring any longer to make a living. They were very much financially secure and with new students applying to their training facility seemingly on a weekly basis, their financial security wasn't going to be ending any time soon.
Of course, with those family commitments spoke of earlier, they also had to rely on bringing their friends and former students from the wrestling community to lend the occasional hand and relieve them of some of the burden. And in this day's case, that may have been something of a gross error in judgement.
"Let's GO!" Kristjan Baltasarsson aka Fenris bellowed from the outside of one of two wrestling rings this facility housed, and the lone one with six sides. Yes indeed, somehow Gabriel had opted to take the day off and got it in his head to call the hot headed Icelandic star to lend a hand with the students, or at least, one of them that was proving something of a liability; both to himself and to those the Stevens had him in their rings with. Alexander Fetter fancied himself something of an MMA star himself, but he was nowhere near the level of Fenris nor even Jake Raab. Gabriel had privately confided in his wife as well as his star pupil that he doubted the kid ever stuck himself inside of a real and legit Mixed Martial Arts cage. He seemed more the MMA equivalent to backyard wrestling and it was frustrating Gabriel and had already caused two injuries to two of his students.
Which was the main reason why he called Fenris to come in for the day and hopefully straighten the kid out. Or pulverize some respect into him.
Either worked.
While they watched the proceedings inside of the ring, Gabriel turned to address both Aron as well as another past student to his gym, Daniel Morgan from London Underground. Daniel and his cohorts rarely attended training classes any longer, but knew they had the option of returning to these walls when they were in need of working out or an in-ring tune up. But today? Daniel knew Fenris was always here, and had a bit of news for the disgruntled Superstar and opted to stay and visit while watching the fun.
But in answer to what Aron stated earlier, Gabriel shook his head, "No, not joking. Last time SCW was there was back when Devona was still working the ring. She had driven straight past and through the town before she realized that was where she was supposed to be."
Daniel smiled and nodded, remembering the incident well and the embarrassed reaction from the young woman who admitted it and suffered some teasing from her peers as a result, including himself.
"Why would SCW book a show in a place like that?" Aron asked, but this time it was Daniel who answered with a casual shrug.
"Why not?" The leader to London Underground shrugged as he slipped his usual dress suit jacket off and casually draped it over the back of the nearest folding chair. "It isn't that far from Phoenix or even New Mexico. Mostly Navajo there and certain they need some entertaining..."
"Plus I think it was an accident the first time on Christian Underwood's part." Gabriel smiled. "Guy was looking into wrestling venues in the state of Arizona and saw this place could hold over six thousand, so he booked it. Only after did he and Mark realize they had just booked a show in the middle of nowhere."
"And this time?" Aron smiled as he casually turned his head to watch what was going on inside of the ring and winced at what he saw as Alexander had taken a tall kid, younger than he with a handsome face and strong body, down to the mat but in doing so, had lost his own footing and collapsed on top of him. The taller kid had grunted in pain, the wind having been knocked out of him.
Gabriel and Daniel saw the same, and Gabriel shook his head while Daniel's response was stoic at best. But Fenris?
"What the FUCK is wrong with you!?" He bellowed from ringside, his face flushed crimson and eyes ablaze. The one his words were directed at, Alexander Fetter, stood up slowly from the mat, not even offering the other student a helping hand, so caught up in his own world. Or rather, caught up in having his world bashed in.
"I was doing what you told me to!" Alexander responded with a touch of heat to his own voice.
"I told you to show me a full body lock!" Fenris said, leaning against the ring apron. "You'd know what the fuck that was if you really had anything to do with MMA! That..." He waved a hand toward the ring and what had just happened. "... was not it! Looked more like a play school suplex! And not even a half assed decent one!"
From the few feet away where they were watching, Aron turned his head and addressed Gabriel, "Is that why you called in K? Because he was pissy where this town was?"
"Comme ci, comme ça." Gabriel said, waving his hand idly. He cast a light wisp of a smile as he said, "He was fairly pissed when he found out the best chance he had of getting a vegetarian meal in that place was at a Golden Corral buffet, or Applebees if he wanted something toxic to drink so thought he could get this out of his system before he steps in the ring with Levitt on Sunday..."
"But...?" Daniel prodded with an inquiring eyebrow raised.
"But..." Gabriel's upper lip turned slightly up with a bit of a humorous sneer. "... This kid has been stuck in my craw for a couple weeks now."
Then you had to go and fucking fall on top of him....!" Fenris roared, drawing their attention back to the workout in progress. Fenris called out, "I thought you were some big, bad MMA mother fucker but I could have done better and I fight barefoot!"
"Well if you think you can do better then how about getting in here and show me!?" The student responded hotly, and almost as soon as he did, he blanched. Having realized what he just said and to who.
"Ooooo!" Another voice drew the attention of Gabriel, Aron and Daniel and they turned their heads to spot Gabriel's perpetual little helper in the gym, Despayre, perched on a folding chair with Angel in his lap and a bag of popcorn in his hands.
Gabriel looked at the two men he stood with and jetted a thumb at his little brother, saying, "What he said!"
But Fenris was not one to let a gauntlet be tossed down at his feet without picking it right back up and throwing it in the offender's face. He stared with cold, blue eyes into the ring and at the student. His eyes then shifted toward the taller kid and clucked his tongue and jerked his head, indicating for him to move. And he didn't have to ask him twice because the student moved out of dodge, holding his ribs from where Alexander had fallen on him, and he climbed out of the ring to wisely get distance between himself and whatever was about to occur. Fenris then kicked his usual footwear -- slip ons -- off and climbed into the ring...
"Gabriel...?" Despayre started to ask something and Gabriel held a hand up to temporarily forestall his pseudo little brother's query. Gabriel smiled, "Wait for it..."
SMACK!
THUD!
Alexander hit the mat hard, dazed and his eyes staring up at the light overhead while Fenris stepped over him to head for the ropes. While Aron rubbed his face and Daniel nodded in approval, only then did Gabriel turn to Despayre and ask, "What's up Despy?"
His feet kicked idly as Despayre replied, "I was just going to ask if I should ring the bell." Gabriel snorted back a laugh, and turned to watch as Fenris left the kid laying on the mat of the ring and casually approached the gathering as if it were just perfectly normal to lay someone out and leave them fending for themselves.
"You know he's probably going to quit after that?" Daniel mused, but Gabriel shook his head, "I think it'll be more of a glass of cold water thrown in his face to realize he's not all that like he believed."
Fenris arrived at their side and Gabriel asked, "Feeling better, are we?"
Fenris cast a casual look over his shoulder to see the tall kid back in the ring and helping Alexander to his feet, doing for him what Alexander had neglected. Fenris then looked back to Gabriel and nodded, pinching his thumb and forefinger together.
"Little bit." Gabriel nodded. "Ready for Levitt then."
"I have Levitt." Fenris answered, then said, "Still not thrilled with having to be stuck in that place. I mean, what's there to do for fun? Hanging out and listening to peoples' arteries harden?"
"Cut it out." Gabriel shot back. "It's a Navajo citizenry. And you should consider yourself lucky. Bloody good amount of wrestlers work in front of just hundreds every week. You always work in front of thousands."
"Be lucky if we even hit a hundred." Fenris grumbled as he watched the tall kid help Alexander limp his way toward the locker room for the male students, the cocky so-called MMA fighter holding his head where Fenris had thumped him a good one.
"Oh you'll hit more than that I'd wager." Daniel spoke up. "We've been selling tickets at the Casino. Dani showed she had a knack for that. We even have a bus ready to take a bunch of out-of-towners to this place for the show."
Fenris shrugged casually as Aron and Gabriel took the information in. Daniel then smiled and asked Fenris, "On a completely unrelated note, you know how to drive a bus, right?"
Fenris frowned at the question and Aron looked back and forth, between Daniel and his brother.
Aron said, "I think I'll just get a cab."
"You know, I have to admit that as a proud Norse man, I feel a little left out. In so many cultures, all across the world, there is the legend of the phoenix, or mythological figures or creatures that are relatively comparable to the phoenix. The mythological bird that is everywhere from movies to books originated in Greek and Roman tales. There's also the Egyptian Bennu, the Slavic Firebird, or maybe the Chinese Fenghuang. If you look hard, you can find stories on each of these creatures, not to mention a dozen more."
"Everywhere except for the tales of the Norse. I never really wondered why, until now when I found myself alone in the ring against a man who fancies himself something akin to a phoenix. Travis Levitt has been around SCW for a short time, and this will be the second time that he and I have faced each other. The first time was in a Fatal Fourway match at Blaze of Glory VII. This was back when I was still the World Heavyweight Champion mind you. And I don't need to tell you who won that match, but who is it that you think lost the fall, that allowed me to retain my championship?"
Fenris nodded.
"You guessed it. I laid Travis out clean, and so I guess this match would be seen as his chance to get some payback for leaving him down in the ring with one HELL of a headache coming on like a runaway freight train! And that's perfectly alright by me because I have the answer to why the Norse don't have tales of the phoenix in our lands, and why Travis has no chance to walk out of this place with his head or his arm held high and at my expense!"
Fenris leaned closer toward the camera.
"It's because we're Norse. We don't watch things burn. We burn them our damn selves! And this is one phoenix that is going to go down in flames and not find itself resurrected with another shot at redemption!"
He frowned, squinting his eyes.
"It is strange though, Travis, that you would select that mythological creature as your namesake. One day you may have to indulge us all and explain how you came to that choice. Is it because, much like when the phoenix perishes in flames and rises again from the ashes, you rise after each fall, ready to begin again and fight as a new man? I guess that would explain after your recent defeats, how you managed to defeat St. John Cross for the Roulette Championship, and no. I am not mocking that achievement. Any championship win like that just shows that you're a fighter and you fought harder that night than the man you beat for the title."
"What I will mock, just a little bit, is that once you lost the title to Griffin, you have yet to rise again. A rematch against Griffin. A loss to Ben Jordan. (By the way, lucky bastard! I've been wanting to face him for over a year!) Another loss to Alex Jones, another man I wouldn't mind facing. We have talked about it off and on, but now there's this."
Fenris motioned with his hand, back and forth between the camera and himself.
"Us, just you and me, Travis. And I ask again, when are you going to stop just laying there, buried beneath those ashes and do something! My guess is; not anytime soon. Because, let's face it. Only one man has beaten me in the entire time I've been competing as a professional wrestler, and that is Austin James Mercer. I know Austin, I've fought Austin many times. And Travis?"
He shook his head.
You are no Austin James Mercer. And it's sad to admit that outright because there was a time where I respected the hell out of you Travis! There was a time where I hungered for a one on one match against someone of your caliber, but here? Now? Not as much if I'm going to be honest. And whose fault is that?"
He shook his head with a hand on his chest.
"Sure as hell not with me, Travis. The fault lies entirely with..."
He twirls a forefinger and jams it toward the screen.
"...You! Ever since that title loss to Hawkins, it's like you just don't care any more. Like you lost all desire to rise again to keep fighting. Like you lost all hope toward life! Nobody has seen you since then, one would almost think you were throwing some sort of bitch fit over that title loss. Well let me tell you something, Levitt! You could sure as shit do a lot worse in who you dropped that championship to than Griffin! Hawkins is a top athlete, and a fighter in every sense of the word. Which is more than anyone can say about you, lately. Nobody has seen shit of you since the start of May! No promos or interviews here in SCW! No posts on social media to let the world know that you're still alive."
"Nothing! Well I say fine. Be that way. Go ahead and bury your head in the sand, or in your case, the ashes. Pretend that the last month and a half hasn't happened. Because after this weekend is done and over with, I'll be burying the rest of you with that head of yours! It'll be like you didn't even exist!"
Fenris turns and walks off camera, fading into the darkness.
