SCW Boards
Roleplay Boards => Archived Roleplays => Climax Control Archives => Topic started by: Kristopher Ryans on April 27, 2018, 10:18:11 PM
-
Monday
4.23.18
Jet City, Washington
7:12am
“Madness”
OFF-Camera
The trip home had been less than enjoyable. Staff at Climax Control had not wanted to let Kris leave until the morning after the show. As a result of his fall, nothing was broken, but they called an ambulance anyways. That was when the champion had taken his leave. He called his own ride, and by the time anyone was looking for him in Primm, he was back in his hotel room. After getting checked out before the sun was even up, he was packed and boarding Jet City Airways before anyone was even looking for him.
The flight had sucked, the constantly jostling around caused the bruise running nearly the length of his back to scream at him. He had driven himself back from the airport, and found himself glad that he traveled so light. Upon getting home, he grabbed the gym bag holding the SCW Heavyweight Championship, but did not dare throw it over his shoulder.
He had a 50/50 guess at what was going to happen once he stepped in the door. The sun had barely started to come up as he pulled into the driveway. Either they were all going to be asleep, having missed the tail end of the show, or he was going to have to answer a lot of questions about how he was feeling. Neither of the options were entirely favorable. He moved up the path leading to the front door and found it unlocked. He quietly opened the door and placed his bag down next to it. Closing the door as quietly as he could, he spins the lock into place and makes his way to the stairs leading up to the rooms of the house.
A light clicks on in the living room, automatically making Kris feel like a teenager getting caught sneaking in late, or in this case incredibly early. Kali was sitting on the couch, wearing flannel boxer shorts and a thin cotton tank top. Curled up, with her head on Kali’s lap was Heather. She was snoring lightly with her mouth slightly open. Kali shoots a look at Kris.
Kali: “She was up early yesterday with the kids. Neither of them sleep well when you’re away.”
Kali brushes some light brown hair away from Heather’s face. She still hadn't decided if she liked the new colour or not.
Kali: “When you didn't answer my calls or texts, Mikah was kind enough to tell me the doctors had cleared you and you were on your way back home.”
He nods a little and turns from the stairs to cross the room back towards her.
Kris: “Phone did not survive the fall…”
He reaches into the back pocket of his pants and pulls the mangled remains of the phone free. He holds it up so she can see it and then flips it into and empty chair next to the couch.
Kris: “They wanted me to go to a hospital, so I left. No broken bones. I have to check in Friday to be cleared for Sunday. Sounds like a Future Kris problem.”
He walks around the circular table sitting in front of the couch and then carefully sits down on it in front of her.
Kris: “Not something I saw coming…”
There was some clear defeat in his voice. He sighs and raises his left hand up to run his fingers through his hair.
Kris: “At least it was me instead of either of you.”
This doesn’t sit well with Kali though.
Kali: “If I had been there maybe it wouldn't have happened at all. I could have seen him before you. You don't seem to understand that I have been waiting for a chance to get even with that psychopathic douchebag since last year.”
There is anger in her voice, but it is not directed at Kris but towards the man that had kidnapped and tied her up. It had taken months for her to stop having nightmares over the ordeal.
Kali: “Just one stiff kick to his balls...”
He shakes his head. This was not the first time that the conversation had come up since he had made the decision to go back. The flat tone of his voice shows just how many times he has had to recycle the same response to her.
Kris: “It would make you feel better, but then things would just escalate.”
He raises his eyes up to her and gives a light shrug of his shoulders.
Kris: “We talked about that last week. Just listen to the guy. He wants to cut out everything that separates me from him. Without you there, he has to come after the way I interact with fans, with people on the roster, and just in general. He has to come after me to do what he wants. If you're there… he's not coming after me.”
He had stopped short of going further than that on every other occasion. Maybe it was the frustration of being laid out at the end of the night, or the injury itself practically eliminating all of his patience, but he did not stop this time. The words were not in a raised tone, or even mean by themselves, but they were blunt.
Kris: “I don't want you there with me for this. Not until it is over. That's not going to change.”
She reaches forward to put a hand on his knee.
Kali: “You really think he would go far enough to hurt me like that? To risk going to prison... over a wrestling match? You know how ridiculous that is right?”
She sighs.
Kali: “I love you Kris. I love both of you more than I can even describe. As much as I hate having to be benched, I don't want your attention to be divided and you having to make a choice between us and your title. I know how much it means to you.”
He shoots a look over to the gym bag with the championship sitting in it. He had not even taken it out of the bag unless a camera was rolling on him.
Kris: “It's not about that. If I lose it, I would still be there. It is the place. That's why it didn't work out in Liberty.”
He looks back to her, but no longer seems broken by the fact that he needed to be a part of Sin City.
Kris: “It's why I can't get it out of my head. When people started telling me that it was basically mine, I felt like it was my job to make sure the right things happen.”
He chuckles a little lightly, trying to separate himself from how much he cared by making it a joke instead.
Kris: “I mean, without me we get someone like Calvin Harris tearing it all down, someone like Crimson burning it to the ground, or people closing the doors.”
Kali nods.
Kali: “You know, I was originally going to be a doctor like my mother. I thought it would be my calling. Like continuing the legacy but after one semester of pre-med I knew I couldn't do it. My mind constantly went back to the law texts I had poured over as a child. The hours I would spend sitting in my Father’s office. It just always clicked. And then, when I came to do that contract for Jet City, to basically be your babysitter... afterwards, the idea of it being over and potentially never seeing you or Heather again put me in a panic. We all have a calling, Kris. Even if it is not what everyone else wants you to do.”
She looks down at Heather.
Kali: “Just like Heather was meant to sing. Nothing else ever worked out for her. The universe sometimes has funny ideas how to get us to the places we need to be.”
He looks down from and and to Heather, still sleeping in her lap.
Kris: “She just needed to believe she could do something… anything. She was always going to succeed in whatever it was once she realized she was actually worth something.”
A smile crosses his face thinking about how far they had come since first meeting. He was overjoyed to not ever have to return to those times.
Kris: “It's weird being out there by myself…”
He takes a deep breath, possibly just coming to the realization for the first time. His words sound more like thinking out loud than anything.
Kris: “Like all of us started out separately, and all came together to be really close. The three of us, Jet City, Coby and Chelsea, Parker, everyone. Sin City shut down, and it seemed like everything fell apart. Everyone is kind of off doing their own thing. I'm still out there though.”
He did not appear upset by it, and the smile on his face actually widens a little.
Kris: “Jason only got into wrestling because of me. Then he recruited Parker. Then Coby went to Parker. People just kept stacking on because he was carrying my dream for me. Being the last one standing feels like they all finally gave it back to me. I might be by myself out there, but it doesn't feel like it. I have all these people that have added onto the thing that I wanted, and helped me make it better.”
Kali: “Well if you are lonely, you could always take Vi...”
Kali chuckles at the idea. The panic of just thinking about it flashes in his eyes and he shakes the thought away.
Kris: “Adding another crazy person to an already insane situation would not go well for me.”
Kali offers a shrug.
Kali: “I dunno, might even out the score.”
She is full out laughing now, but it fades off as she makes her next point.
Kali: “I just want you to be more careful. Next time, you might not be lucky enough to walk away.”
He does not even have to put a second of thought into his response for the the answer comes tumbling from his mouth.
Kris: “Next time I'm kicking his face off…”
He raises a hand up in front of his face.
Kris: “Just gone. The whole thing.”
Kali gets a scary determined look on her face.
Kali: “Good. After the things he said to me...”
She stops. She had refused to tell him what Crimson had said to her when he had captured her.
Kris: “He's not going to be a problem for much longer. When I beat him this time he goes to the back of the line. He's not a problem anymore.”
She shakes her head.
Kali: “Men like that never cease to be a problem.”
He nods in agreement, but only in part.
Kris: “Well he can go be someone else's problem. Injuries suck worse than they used to when pain was optional. I'm not trying to pile them up.”
He tries to stretch out his shoulder, but barely starts to bring it up to his chest before the soreness of it makes him think twice. He brings a hand around to his lower back and arches back, popping it to relieve some of the tension, but not without a grimace.
Kris: “I'm not doing this every week.”
She gently slides Heather's head from her lap as she rises. She comes up to his side.
Kali: “Let me see how bad it is.”
He pulls the zipper down on his hoodie and lifts his hand up to her. She pulls the cuff of it over his hand so he can pull his arm out. He quickly discards it to the chair with the broken remains of his phone and looks back to her.
Kris: “This part I can't do…”
He leans forward and her fingers slip into the back of his collar. He extends his arms forward and she pulls the shirt over his head. She tosses the shirt to the pile as he repositions so she can see the damage up his side in the light. The bruise starts just below his shoulder and travels down the left side all the way to his lower back. It is already starting to turn purple, which appears to be the worst of it. Tiny scratches from the broken windshield accompany half the length of the bruise, but none of them looked bad enough to worry about.
Kris: “It probably looks exactly as bad as it feels…”
She grimaces and runs her hand lightly down his side, almost as though she didn't trust the doctor's assessment of his injuries.
Kali: “At least nothing is broken. These little cuts will sting in the shower until they scab over. It really looked a lot worse on TV.”
He does not even try and argue the point.
Kris: “It was. Knocked the air out of me pretty bad. Took me a little bit to be breathing like there wasn't a fat guy sitting on me.”
Her eyebrow half raises at the mention, and he waves it off.
Kris: “Oh like you're really even surprised that I would know what that's like…”
She sits beside him.
Kali: “I am learning to not be surprised at most things you may or may not have experience with.”
He rests a hand on her thigh, but then taps it twice as an idea strikes him.
Kris: “While you're learning new things… that car window… first time I've gone through one of those.”
He nudges her with a genuine smile on his face.
Kris: “There's still some firsts for you to be around for.”
She laughs.
Kali: “Not a first I would have wanted for you. I am relieved you are okay though.”
She nods toward Heather.
Kali: “Once she heard that you were good enough to get on a plane it was like one second she was talking and the next she was out. But me? I couldn't think of sleeping until I saw you myself.”
It did not seem strange at all that they would have different reactions. He even had some idea why. He looked down at his wife, and brushes away stray strands of hair from her face.
Kris: “She has seen a lot more of it. The night I got jumped at her birthday party was probably the worst I have ever been beat up. I still got on a plane and competed in Japan.”
Thinking back to it, it was pretty amazing that he had even talked her into letting him go.
Kris: “I always come back. She knows that. If I am capable of being on a plane then it can't be worse than when I left to Japan, and that was pretty bad. The only time she would panic is if I couldn't leave. Like when I broke my arm.”
Kali: “We were both panicking at that. I guess it is just in my nature to worry. I still worry about my brother whenever he gets deployed even though he has done it at least a dozen times by now. Maybe it's a good thing I chose not to have kids.”
He shrugs.
Kris: “Maybe not birth any, but you definitely have two. I have seen it.”
She smiles.
Kali: “It's not the same though. But I do worry about them too. I am more like an aunt then their mom.”
He shakes his head. He had seen her interact with both of the kids dozens of times. He even felt a sense of calm when he was away, knowing that she was here with them and Heather.
Kris: “You can tell that to yourself if you want but I'm not buying it.”
She immediately changes the subject.
Kali: “Should wake Heather up and get her upstairs. Do you think you can sleep in bed?”
He nods slowly.
Kris: “Yes, but I smell like Primm and a jet that I would personally be afraid to blacklight.”
He looks back over towards the stairs, and then back to Heather. A smile crosses his face and he leans forward on the table. He works an arm under hers and around to her back. Once he has her, he uses his left to hook under her knees and in one motion lifts her up from the couch in his arms. Her eyes come open as soon as he is standing, and he smiles down at her.
Kris: “Always sleeping on the couch when there is a perfectly good bed upstairs. What am I going to do with you?”
His voice was playful, mostly just to reassure her that he was okay despite what she may have feared. She yawns.
Heather: “Whatever you want.”
She smirks a sleepy grin at him before her eyes close again. Kali is surprised.
Kali: “Are you sure you should do that?”
He turns from the couch and starts towards the stairs, not hesitating at all.
Kris: “If I slip, fall, and nearly kill us it will be something we laugh about in a few years.”
He turns back towards Kali with a smile on his face, and looks down at Heather.
Kris: “Look how peacefully sleepy and gorgeous she is though. We can't expect her to wake up and walk stairs! That's madness.”
Kali leans in to kiss his cheek.
Kali: “You are the only one going mad around here.”
She laughs and then walks toward the stairs.
Kali: “Are you going to need help getting in the shower?”
Kris: “Getting in? Nah. While in? Always.”
She starts up the stairs first, but he follows quickly behind her, putting Heather just a few steps behind Kali's rear. He leans down, talking more softly, but loud enough for Kali to hear.
Kris: “You're missing a wonderful view by sleeping…”
Kali shakes her head, but she is grinning. All her worry had been easily washed away with Kris’ reassurance. She trusted him. She knew that even with his unpredictable nature, he would always look out for his own survival.
================================
================================
ON-Camera
“Let's Go!”
“If you can't go through a car window and then compete the next week, what CAN you do? I guess I should thank everyone for the positive response. I should be touched that people are worried. To be honest though, it just seems like a waste. Don't let some douche distract all of you by pushing me. If it were that easy to get rid of me, he would have a long time ago. I have been through three matches that haven't deterred me. I have lost titles. I have won titles. I have been beaten badly, threatened with a knife, and insulted relentlessly. Yet, I am here. Yet, I am still the SCW Heavyweight Champion.”
“That's the thing. Everyone in this company will tell you that being here is really the only thing that I want. If you look at my life, being here is the only thing that has ever worked. When I came back at Full Circle, all I wanted was a chance to make something happened. All I needed was for management to have a little bit of faith in me. I knew that I was going to be doing it by myself. I knew that it wasn't going to be easy, especially coming back from injury. I still did it. I still walked out of Full Circle with the Roulette and Heavyweight championships.”
“If a broken arm didn't stop me then, how is getting pushed off a ledge going to stop me now? Maybe if I was wrestling someone like Ben Jordan, I would be concerned. That guy knows how to win, and has been around long enough to exploit me not being 100%. Let me make something clear though, O’Malley is no Ben Jordan. Nobody is. That is why that guy deserves better.”
“O’Malley is a guy that I'm gonna guess was hoping to fly under the radar. I understand the allure of coming out to the ring and making a statement, but none of that sat right with me. You have this guy that came in with a name-droppy trainer, and a bunch of hype. I even bought into it. He was partnered with a legend in Blast From The Past, but could not make it out of the first round. How do you come back from that? Well, apparently you call out the champ.”
“O’Malley undoubtedly saw the opening to the show. He heard the promise that got made to me. He noticed that maybe my focus was elsewhere, and took his shot. Maybe he thought I wouldn't see it. Maybe he could save some face, generate some hype for himself, and it would slip right by my unnoticed.”
“Wrong. Lesson one, O’Malley: Kris is SCW. SCW is Kris.”
“There is nothing happening in this company that I don't pay attention to. There aren't promos I don't watch. There aren't segments that I ignore. I check out the matches to scout each and every one of you, and I get to know you so that when things like this happen, I can tailor an appropriate response.”
“What does that mean for O’Malley? Means I'm going to have to bring back a phrase I haven't gotten to say in a while. Last year, back when I restored the Roulette Championship to glory, you're welcome, I came up with a phrase for people that called me out. There were a lot of them, and it took me more than 100 Days to whack all the moles that popped up out of nowhere. Slowly but surely though, all of them had to face the same fate. You made their mistake, so you're next to meet the same consequence.”
“Get ready for Climax Control. It's your turn to just #JustTakeTheL.”