Wolfslair Training Facility
Orlando, Florida
“LACHLAN O’CONNELL!”
The powerful feminine voice echoed through the Wolfslair facility, loud enough for every person currently in the area to stop dead in their tracks and turn to stare at the person whose name had just been yelled out. The person in question, better known in the wrestling world as Lachlan Kane, froze in place in the middle of the training ring. The small group of students he had been working with all stared at him wide-eyed, not a single one of them even daring to breathe. In front of him, his younger cousin Alfie (who had been helping him demonstrate the correct way to apply a rear-naked choke) let out a low whistle under his breath. “Ooooo, she busted out the government name. You’re in deep, cuz.”
Lach narrowed his eyes at the younger man, who simply put his hands up and walked off. Grabbing a towel from the ring ropes, he mopped the sweat from his forehead as he turned to see the imposing figure of Sierra Williams cutting a swath through the gym. Her green eyes were laser focused on him, and her strides were purposeful. He hopped out of the ring and down to the floor just as she reached him, and he could see the fury in her eyes as her nostrils flared. “Hello, my darling wife. What do you need me for?”
“Don’t get cute with me. What the hell are you trying to do?”
He blinked a couple times at her, tilting his head like a confused puppy. “I’m pretty sure I was in the middle of teaching a class. Unless I’m in some weird fever dream after knocking myself unconscious again…”
She whipped her phone out of her pocket and held it up to his face, the screen showing a tweet from SCW co-owner Christian Underwood welcoming Lachlan back to the company for the India tour. “This! Not to mention that rumour I heard about you, Aiden, Milo, and Kallie’s brother forming some kind of team and heading off to that Wrestleverse place! I thought you were only going back to PWE!”
Out of his peripheral vision, he could see almost everyone in the gym was trying (and failing) to look busy, and had the sneaking suspicion that they were all eavesdropping. So he put an arm around Sierra’s shoulders and gently started to lead her to the back offices. “Let’s take this conversation away from prying ears, shall we?”
She grumbled but allowed him to lead her towards the back of the building, but just before he stepped into the office behind Sierra, he turned to look at the group of students milling around the centre of the training ring. “OI! You lot! Let’s see some lock-up drills!”
The group immediately snapped to attention and paired off to work, while Lachlan entered the office and closed the door behind him. Sierra stood with her arms folded tightly across her chest, her expression no less pleased than it was a few moments ago. “Explain. Now.”
“Look, I know I said I was only really going to go back to PWE, but that was before you decided to go on this…impregnation vacation.” He resisted every urge to snicker, though he saw a slight twitch in Sierra’s lips before she resumed her frown. “I was chatting with Christian and Mark on the boat a few times, and they mentioned that they’d love to have me on the India tour, even if it was only for a few shows. And I admit, I got a little nostalgic talking with some old friends, and I thought that it would be a great way to put a little more money in the bank since you’re not wrestling right now.”
“I’m still here at Wolfslair as a trainer until I get a positive test, you know.”
“I do know that. But when that time comes and you can’t train anymore, I want to make sure that my family is well taken care of. If that means going all over the world and working as many shows as I can, then so be it.”
He could see her expression soften the slightest bit. He had never been quiet about the fact that he would do anything for his family, and she had told him that was one of the things she loved most about him. “But I just don’t want you to overwork yourself. What if you get hurt?”
He stepped closer to her and rested his hands on her shoulders gently. “Love, in our line of work you know that can happen at any given time. But I promise that I’ll do my best not to overload myself too much. The SCW thing is only the one show right now for the tour. Just something to shake off the ring rust until PWE comes back.”
“Well, what about this Wrestleverse thing? That came out of nowhere. And the whole team thing, what’s that about?”
“That one was actually not my idea.”
Sierra raised an eyebrow as she stared at him. “Why do I get the feeling this is a whole-ass story?”
Lachlan grinned sheepishly as he wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Well, it started when Aiden and I were shooting the shit in the Wolfslair group chat…”
“Por el amor de Dios…if it involves Aiden, I already know this is going to be a bad idea.[/color]”
—------
“Hello there.”
A very distinct, familiar Irish brogue opened up the scene, and it would be safe to say that if this scene took place inside of an SCW ring, the cheer rising from the crowd would most likely be deafening. However, the visual that followed the voice was that of a beautifully landscaped backyard in Orlando, complete with a pool. Sitting in a lounge chair beside the pool, sunglasses on his face and a broad smile on his lips was one of SCW’s most beloved competitors, the Irish Scrapper Lachlan Kane. He gave a little wave to the camera as it focused in on him.
“Been a little while, hasn’t it folks? Last time you all saw me around was during the Blast From The Past tournament, which as we all know didn’t quite work out in my favour.” He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Ah well, it’s a lesson learned I suppose. But don’t go crying for me, faithful fans. I haven’t been idle in my time away from SCW. I’ve been keeping myself busy with other ventures. But when I heard that SCW was doing a tour of India…well, I was certainly intrigued. It’s one of the few countries I haven’t had the opportunity to wrestle in, so when the offer from Christian and Mark came in to join them for a few shows I jumped at the chance.” He raised his sunglasses to the top of his head, showing off his blue eyes that were enhanced by the sparkling water next to him. “Now, I don’t want you all to get your hopes up about a full-time return for me, because I don’t want to let you all down. I’ve had my time in SCW, and I’m content with that.” A mischievous glint shone in his blue eyes, however, as a small smirk turned up the corner of his mouth. “But, you know the saying in this business…never say never.”
He gave a cheeky wink before schooling his expression back into his ‘battle face’, though a hint of a smile still played on his lips. “But I’m not here today to be a tease. I’m here to do that ol’ song and dance we do here in the world of professional wrestling, where we stand in front of a camera and talk about our upcoming match. Well, sit, in my case. And boy, do I have a doozy lined up for me in Mumbai. The one and only Hitamashii. A veteran of the now defunct SCU, a multiple-time champion, a genuine badass…until he moved up to the big leagues, it seems.” Lachlan gave a small shake of his head. “Now, I know you haven’t had the best go of it since you moved up to the main brand, and I feel for you. Trust me, I’ve been where you are now and it sucks. Feeling like there’s no point in going on, like everything you do in the ring isn’t worth a damn. But as someone who’s been there too, my advice is to just keep getting back up and facing your challenges head-on.”
The faint smile on his lips turned into a full-on smirk now. “Though I will say this to you, your challenge this week isn’t going to be some walk in the park. I’ve been out of the ring for a little bit now, and I’m looking to knock a little rust off. So believe me when I say I’m not coming to play with kid gloves on. I’m out to show that I’m still one of the toughest, most resilient, and most exciting stars this company has ever seen. Don’t worry man, I still think you’ll hit your stride soon enough and start racking up the wins in SCW. But it’s not gonna start this week, sorry to say. But maybe you can take some solace in the fact that you probably won’t have to face me again, since this is just a one-time thing.”
He rose up from the chair he had been sitting on and turned to go back into his house. But just before he did, he paused and gave a glance over his shoulder, a somewhat mischievous smirk gracing his lips. “Then again…the Uncrowned Prince of SCW would love to settle some old scores and claim some elusive gold.” He chuckled slightly. “Never say never…right?”
