This tour was starting to wear a little thin on J2H and it wasn't going to get any better. The SCW crew was told to show up in Romania at least four days before the show to get set up for their haunted forest experience, forced to stay in the haunted forest itself as a camping experience. The bosses of SCW always did love to flip a big surprise but this was one of their worst though the eyes of J2H. He was used to luxury and the life he was brought up in to the point he had never been camping in his life. He didn't know what to expect but this was far beyond his worst nightmares as he looked around the area that SCW had set up for him.
J2H: What the hell is this shit?
He looked around as he stood on the campground that SCW had provided, many small tents had been placed around the same area, keeping the SCW crew in the same place. Most of these tents looked like they had seen much better days, faded cloth covering most of them. He watched as SCW wrestlers and crews were seen being directed to their sleeping spaces for the next few days.
J2H: We're wrestlers for fucks sake. We rely on our bodies to entertain people, so what drunken genius thought he'd cripple half the roster by making us sleep on the ground for days? What drunken genius decided to take away the luxury shit that helps us relax and stick us out here to get eaten by a Wendigo or something?
A nudge to his ribs caught his attention as he looked down to his left to see Devona standing next to him, looking up at her slightly taller partner with a raised eyebrow. His first thought was to wonder how her smaller frame could hold up the huge bag on her back, covering most of her body, but his thought quickly snapped back to the seconds earlier of having his attention taken away from him.
J2H: What are you doing?
Devona flashed J2H her wide smile as she looked at him, her eyes full of life and excitement at the thought of this camping experience, the chalk to J2H's cheese when it came to opinions on the whole situation.
Devona: Well first off, do you know that talking to yourself is most likely going to get you locked up in a little padded room where they shoot you full of happy drugs?
He looked around the place he was standing in and back at Devona.
J2H: Not seeing the problem with that at this moment in time considering where we are right now. I will happily take the warm padded cell with extra clothing options over this horrible place. Why SCW would book a tour to these nowhere little places is beyond me. The only reason we're selling these places out is because of me.
Devona had got used to his rants and just responded with a raised eyebrow towards J2H, mostly ignoring what he was saying.
Devona: Uh uh. Secondly, what is a Wendigo?
J2H: Monster that takes people who are camping, feeds off them for a long time.
His answer seemed to take Devona back, catching her slightly off guard with what he said.
Devona: Right, and you know about these things?
There was an air of arrogance as J2H looked towards Devona with a half smile.
J2H: Lady, you don't know half the shit I've seen in my life. Remember I was haunted by a pale face motherfucker some time ago, it wasn't fun and it certainly wasn't pretty.
Devona looked at J2H like he was absolutely crazy, his haunting by the man known as Brother Grimm came a long time before Devona had even considered being a wrestler.
Devona: I don't know how to really respond to that at all.
J2H looked at Devona with narrowed eyes, his mind trying not to think back to the days of being haunted by Brother Grimm, being protected by Baba Yaga, but his train of thought was quickly snapped away from him by an SCW staff member.
Staff: Devona and J2H, hi guys.
Her bubbly personality instantly annoyed J2H, he was never one for people with the carefree personalities, other then his wife, hence his rocky relationship with Despayre.
J2H: What the fuck do you want?
His words had taken the wind out of her sails as she looked deflated.
Devona: Don't mind him, he's a little cranky, he hasn't had his nap yet. He gets so snappy when that happens.
J2H looked at Devona with an evil, angry look on his face.
J2H: Shut up!
Devona looked at the staff member, and smiled at her, seemingly putting her at ease.
Devona: See what I mean? So cranky.
J2H growled under his breath and looked at the staff member, instantly making her uncomfortable once again.
J2H: You didn't answer my question. What the fuck do you want?
Staff: I erm, I wanted to show you guys to your tents. I'm the camp coordinator, I'm showing everyone to their tents and giving them camp rules.
J2H: Lady, we're in a haunted fucking forest, I don't think any rules apply here at all.
Once again, the staff member looked uncomfortable. Every word that came out of J2H's mouth seemed to put her on edge and make her feel awkward towards him, but Devona made her feel at ease again with her southern accent.
Devona: Lead the way!
Her excited tone put a smile on the young woman's face as she pointed to a pair of tents and walked towards them. Devona fired J2H a look and nodded her head, towards them, much to the displeasure of her tag team partner. Devona moved effortlessly behind the young woman, as if she was feeling no weight at all from the heavy bag on her back and J2H followed with a sigh. The young staff member stopped in front of two tents, spaced a fair distance apart and pointed to them.
Staff: Devona, you're on the left, J2H, you're on the right.
J2H looked at the tent, tiny, ragged, barely being held up by the poles dug in to the ground.
Devona: We're gonna be neighbours!
J2H: I am not staying in this shit hole, not a chance.
Anger had filled his eyes as he looked at it from the outside, but moved his head towards the opening, looking inside before pulling his head out and shaking it rapidly at Devona.
Devona: Did they forget your favourite teddy bear or something.
J2H waved a finger at Devona, not saying a word at her grinning face before turning away from her and reaching in to his pocket and pulling out his phone.
J2H: Fucking hell, barely any reception!
He walked away from the group, tapping away on his phone and hoping as he sent through what seemed like a long winded message to someone. He waited patiently for a few seconds and a reply quickly bounced back to him. A feeling of relief rushed through him as he turned back to Devona and smiled.
Devona: I don't like the look on your face.
J2H: In an hour or so, you're gonna see why I'm smiling.
He was right, cause an hour or so later, no longer was the broken down old tent there, but a white luxurious tent was seen in it's place. Devona and J2H stood outside looking up at it, a proud grin on J2H's face.
Devona: How did you manage to do all that in a short amount of time?
Her question was one most people on the campsite would have wondered as they walked past.
J2H: I'm J2H, I can do anything I want, when I want, I'm fucking good that way.
Devona: I guess money can get you everything you want.
He looked at Devona, the two coming from very different backgrounds, but he didn't care and took the comment at face value.
J2H: And so much more.
J2H wandered inside and Devona instinctively followed him. Her eyes widened as she looked around.
Devona: Ok, I need a snap of this for Twitter.
Before J2H could protest, her phone was out and a picture was being snapped and posted on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/DevonaScw/status/1648001301115187207
J2H: I didn't say you could do that!
His bark didn't phase Devona in the slightest as she bit her lip.
Devona: Funny, I don't remember needing your permission.
His patience with Devona had run out as he ushered her to the door of the tent.
J2H: I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I don't want you bugging me, so I'm gonna go find something to do, so go, wander away, go get lost in the forest or something.
He didn't wait for a response as he walked in to the tent and instantly moved towards the bed, not knowing that outside Devona was already planning to help him with his hunger. His body hit the bed and his eyes closed, hoping for some peaceful sleep but that wasn't the case.
His night and Devona's night was about to take unexpected turns. For him, it wasn't going to be very pleasant....
*****
He shut his eyes for a few seconds but a strange feeling of movement without movement rushed over him. He quickly fired open his eyes, but he was no longer in the tent he was calling home for a few days. His eyes looked around the unfamiliar surroundings, darting from one side to the next. Confusion flooded his body and senses as the tent walls were replaced with old wooden logs, forming a cabin around him. He looked up at where he was, his bed replaced with an old dust covered chair. Looking around the room, he saw old trinkets, scratched silver cups that had seen hundreds of years, odd shaped symbols made of wood adorned the walls, the floor was nothing but old wooden planks.
Voice: About time you showed up.
The voice alone forced him to turn his head towards an old rocking chair and an old lady sitting in it, slowly rocking back and forth.
J2H: So it was you in Scotland...
The old woman lifts her head to reveal herself as Baba Yaga, the woman who has protected J2H for many years from Brother Grimm, a man who sort after the former prince brat for reasons of his ancestors.
Baba Yaga: Of course James, I'm always watching over you, even when you don't see me, I am there.
He looked towards the old woman rocking in her chair and takes a step towards her, the old wooden floorboards creaking under his feet.
J2H: This is a fucked up dream, right? It's because I fell asleep in a haunted forest and now it's all messing with me, right?
The old lady glanced at him, a half a smile on her face as she side eyed him.
Baba Yaga: A dream? Far from it James. I heard you say that you were hungry but something tells me you'd politely refuse my offer of refreshments.
She looked towards a cauldron bubbling on a lit fireplace, smoke rising from the old back steel bowl.
J2H: I'm going to pass on that.
He looked back towards the old woman just rocking in her chair.
J2H: What are you.. am I doing here?
Baba Yaga: You do realise where you are, correct? You're in Romania James, where a certain person was hunted. The haunted forest is my backyard, I planted a lot of what you see hundreds of years before you were ever born.
An uneasy feeling runs through the body of J2H as he looks around the cabin.
J2H: You never answered my question, what the fuck am I doing here? You can't just go around kidnapping people because they're in your backyard!
He could feel the anger in him rising as he searched for answers from Baba Yaga, but the old woman wasn't phased by the feeling of aggression in the air.
Baba Yaga: I wanted to warn you about something James. You see you've changed a lot over the years, you're putting your guard down a lot, and when you leave yourself open like that, you do not know what evil lurks in the shadows.
J2H: And by evil, you mean a certain Brother Grimm?
Baba Yaga: It would be foolish to think he was the only one hunting your bloodline back in the good old days, but you're here at the epicentre of all evil. This is the very forest that Grimm was hunted in. He is close by James, so you can not drop your guard. You need to go back to the you who built this legacy. You have become soft.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing from Baba Yaga. He never saw himself as going soft.
J2H: Bullshit!
Baba Yaga: It isn't. Look at you, you had doubted yourself since you lost one match against a former world champion, you have not been shy in making people aware that you wasn't happy. It's become a sign of weakness for you and it needs to change, it needs to stop.
He took a deep breath as he couldn't stop his mind from thinking about the words he heard.
J2H: And how do I stop such a thing?
His words were thick with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes away from the old woman.
Baba Yaga: Be who you're meant to be. Be the man who once was a champion, be the man who the world knows. You are that champion James, prove it on Sunday against someone who believes he is God. Show the world who you truly are. Show the world that you're still that guy. Harden your heart and prove to them who you are.
J2H: And this will keep that pale faced dick away from me while I'm in this country?
Baba Yaga: It should. Remember, you're in his play pen right now.
J2H: Go back to the old me. Be ruthless, be aggressive, and just kick the living shit out of everyone in my way?
She nodded her head towards him.
Baba Yaga: It will make you so much stronger then who you have become. Be the old you once more and no one will stand a chance against you.
J2H: Lady, I've never changed when it comes to being in that ring. I go there, I prove I'm better then everyone on the roster and I go home. That has not changed. You want proof of that, feel free to get on your broomstick and have a ring side seat because this J2H is gonna do what I always do and just go out there and win. You don't need to worry about me when it comes to handling business because I always handle it my way.
Baba Yaga: Now that is the spark I wanted to see. Now rest well James.
His eyes fired open and he looked around the room, realising that he was back under canvas in his own luxury tent.
J2H: What the fuck was that? Was that even real?
J2H looked to his left to see a single bowl of stew, left by his bedside. Unbeknownst to him, left by Devona.
J2H: This place is just too fucking weird.
With a huff, J2H spins over, burying his head in the pillow as the scene fades to black.
*****
The camp fire was winding down as J2H sat opposite it, the thoughts of earlier, wondering if it was a dream or reality was thick in his mind, but he knew he had a job to do, someone to talk about, a match to sell to use an inside term. He looked up at the camera as the fires of the campsite crackled around him, still enough to light up the dark night.
J2H: I guess you could say so far in this tournament, I've done ok.
He knew he was being modest, the smile on his face couldn't hide the arrogance he felt.
J2H: Fuck that, I have made this fucking tournament worth watching and we all know that shit is true and now we move on. I don't give a shit what woman is on the opposite side of the ring, I really don't care at all.
He shrugged his shoulders as his face turned to a blank look.
J2H: I only give a shit about the man who gets to look this greatness right here in the eye and tries to come up with a way to solve a problem here that no one else can, and that would be you Godly Ken Davison. Man, people think I got an ego but you actually think you're the lord and creator of everything that we deem as life. You feel that you, one bald headed old coot believes that you can give life and snap it away, just like that, you... seriously Ken, you?
He shook his head in disbelief.
J2H: You believe that life happens because of you? Are you fucking sure on that? You can't even keep that little shitty stable of yours together let alone create mankind, let alone give us all a destiny that we must reach, give us all an end game that we must get to. You can't keep your own little house in order but you claim to be not a God, but THE God? Man, you're a fucking joke with a worn out gimmick and a tired old wrestling life.
He shook his head.
J2H: I mean ok, you won the world championship here, held it for a whole ten minutes and it was gone again, and this is your way, God's way of redemption to get back to the top of that mountain and look down upon people once more. This tournament is your way of forcing yourself through and once again looking down on what you apparently created, but I bet even you in your infinite wisdom had no fucking idea that you'd have to go against a man like me, a man you supposedly created. Not even you could expect to go against a superpower that you just can't figure out because that man is me and this is where your rise to the top of the mountain stops. This is where the ascension for you stops because I didn't need to be the man like you just sitting there telling people that you are God, I became a God myself by doing shit people thought was impossible. I dragged my ass out of garbage cans and little shitty comedy spots on shows to show people who I am. I might have started in the game as a boy, but I became a man, a myth, a legend and a God, I did that without some bullshit moniker or telling people I was that, I proved I was that. You woke up one day and said that's it, that's the hook, I'm just gonna call myself God now... One of us went out and did the hard work and proved they were better then humanity, one of us went out and showed that they were a cut above the mere mortal, and that one of us was me Ken, not you, but me!
He took a deep breath as he watched the fires in front of him crackle away before continuing.
J2H: I didn't stand before people and tell them who I was, I stood before people and showed them who I was, I worked on who I was, I became a cut above humanity, I didn't sit there and say who I was and expected them to believe me, I showed them who I was until they couldn't stop watching, till they took notice. That makes me so much better then you Ken, oh so much better then you.
He was never short of confidence and he wasn't at this moment in time.
J2H: You're a man Ken and any man can be beaten... Well, most men at least, I'm the exception to that rule because you know, I'm better then you all. You know what that means creator of all? It means that I am going to beat you if more ways then you could ever come up with, and you came up with everything, right?
His sarcastic tone filled the night air.
J2H: If that is truly the case Ken, you already know how this all ends, you already know that I am going to beat you within an inch of your existence. You already know I'm gonna absolutely destroy you and make you my bitch. You heard right, I'm gonna make God my bitch, it's that fucking simple. Yeah, you've done well to get as far as you have but I'm still gonna go further, I'm still gonna push my limits past anything that you can ever get up to. My limits on what I can do in the ring are far beyond yours Ken, far beyond any level you think you can reach because honestly, you can't beat me, you'll never be able to beat me, I'm that much better then you, I can beat you without even blinking. I am seriously your creation that you needed to lock in purgatory for all eternity, because I am more powerful then the man who calls himself God.
He smiled as his eyes looked at the burning embers of the campfire in front of him.
J2H: There's no act of God that can stop me from going on and winning Blast From The Past, there's no act of God that's gonna stop me from behind World Champion again, there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it Ken. I'm going to win Blast From The Past, I've taken out a Hall of Famer, a rookie and now I'm gonna strike God down with all the might in the world. I'm going to do that and I don't even give a shit who is waiting for me in the final, because they're just a little bump in the road too. I'm going for that championship Ken, and I will strike you down to get to it.
He had never been in the same ring with Godly Ken Davison in his life but he felt the confidence flow through him.
J2H: If you gave us all our own destiny, our own ending to our story, you know how this match is gonna end, you know that it's gonna be me walking out of that ring with that winning feeling and you looking at a disappointment you created. You've never seen someone just like me before Ken because anything you expect from me, I'm gonna be one step ahead. Everything you think you have figured out about me, trust me, you haven't because you're not stepping up to just anyone, you're stepping up to me and like everyone else who has ever stepped up to me, you're gonna see that I am not you're average opponent, I'm far better then your average opponent. I'm like something even the creator has never seen before because I don't show up and talk shit with nothing to back it up, I show up and talk shit and can back it up far more then your average man. I'm better then them all and you're about to see that close up, you're about to see just how great a man could be because I don't care who you are, you will not stop me from reaching the place I wanna be, you will not stop me because I am destined to become SCW World Heavyweight champion again and I'm doing it the right way. I didn't come in here and demand shots even though I could have, I came here to win this tournament and come hell or high water, that's exactly what I'm gonna do. You're just in the way right now and I'm gonna brush you aside with so much fucking ease, you're gonna start wondering what the fuck you did to deserve it.
He nodded his head confidently as he continued to talk.
J2H: There's nothing you can do about this one Ken, it is what it is and what it is, is another win for me, another step forward for me. On the bright side for you, you might now be able to focus on that shit show you call The Saviors because they need fucking saving, they're a mess, focus on them because I will lift the extra burden of you being in this tournament.
J2H smirks down the camera.
J2H: That's all there is to it Ken, we know how this story goes, we know how this is written, we know the ending. We know that come Sunday night, I'll be the one getting ready for the Blast From The Past final and you will be back preaching the words of how to bounce back from this whole thing. On Sunday, I'm gonna prove that you're nothing more then a man with a complex, that's it, nothing more, nothing less, just a man with a complex.
He stands up and the camera follows his face.
J2H: That is the word of J2H, that's real talk bitch!
And with that, J2H turns away and walks off camera as the scene fades.
