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32

Climax Control Archives / I couldn't think of a fucking title!

« on: February 01, 2019, 08:07:49 PM »

 <img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/Fenris17.jpg" height=518 width=292>January 13 -
Las Vegas, Nevada

Little has been seen of the now-Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Fenris, save for his recent appearance on Climax Control and his sporadic messages on social media. His most recent match had taken place here, at the third annual Inception Supercard; a full 21 days between matches which rubbed at the competitive Icelandic Superstar until he felt raw. Reasons, however, were bountiful. It was why we were to pay a visit to the past, if for only a brief moment. Fans had been curious. His peers and opponents even had expressed interest in the aftermath of the bloody and hellacious match he had endured against the man he had just forced to tap out mere moments ago, Jake Raab, in order to unify the SCW World Heavyweight Championship and the Honor World title, previously held by Raab.

No sooner did the curtains that separated the fabled "gorilla position" from the entrance stage get thrown open, than a bustle of frenzied activity get ignited, and small wonder why! Fenris, although victorious, had been beaten and battered physically, his face hidden behind a glistening mask of blood, and his shoulder length blonde hair soaked red, sticking to his sweaty, tanned flesh!

In one hand's grip, Fenris was barely holding onto the championship belt he had held since July of last year, and the new title he had just stripped from Jake Raab's possession. It was all he could do to maintain a slight grip on both belts, weighing over thirty-five, perhaps forty pounds combined. His free arm was wrapped around the shoulders of his younger brother Aron, who was working overtime in trying to maintain his brother's vertical base as they traveled backstage. So euphoric was Fenris at this most recent of victories, and so riveted to the point of the pain his body was enduring at the moment, that all past transgressions between them over the past two weeks had been practically forgotten. Fenris gripped at his brother's shoulders in not just support, but the familiar gesture of brotherhood the two had shared since childhood. The perspiration on his body, particularly his head and neck, was causing the blood on his face and hair to streak down and past his shoulders in small rivulets.

Aron did not care, as the welfare for his brother far exceeded any discretion towards the blood and sweat that was now staining his own garments. Nor did it keep him from ignoring the animosity previously exhibited by his older sibling toward him. And it apparently did not matter to others because as stated, almost immediately a number of concerned friends and acquaintances converged on the scene to lend a hand; first and foremost being Ty West, the man who had recently captured the affections of the seemingly perpetually angry Superstar, and he himself in return. Right behind him was Ty's Aunt Lora, a woman who had somehow found her way past Fenris's emotional wall without effort; Gabriel Stevens who had been also been successful previously in the evening after three plus years in retirement. Odette was present and concerned, but given Fenris's condition, she remained behind so as not to concern her and Gabriel's children. Despite her own upcoming championship encounter, Dani Weston stood transfixed in shock and a hint of fear, as she had never imagined anyone would have reduced her friend to this physical state. Even Fenris's former teammate, Evie Jordan and her husband Ben were front and center as Ty moved in to assist Aron with the burden.

Ty moved to take the championship belts from Fenris's grasp, but the rigid man was reluctant to let them go and clasped them tightly against his chest, despite himself.

"Don't be like that, K!" Ty reprimanded his lover, taking the belts from him if not a touch forcibly, and Fenris finally relinquished them. Ty passed them over to Gabriel for safe keeping as he then slipped Fenris's free arm now around his own shoulder. Aron was gifted with a slim, athletic body, yes, but Ty was bigger than both of them and he eased the load as he said, "We need to get you some help!"

Ben Jordan, Gabriel -- even Evie, offered a hand on the arm of the newly unified champion in silent congratulations, not wanting to detain him from receiving proper care from the backstage paramedics as he passed them by. Before he got too far, Fenris managed to dig his bare foot into the carpeted floor to bring them to a halt.

"Now what?" Aron chastised his brother, annoyance taking ground. Fenris turned his head to face, of all people, Dani. Fenris managed to smile through the crimson mask, casting a ghastly appearance and staining his own white teeth, as he said, "Kick. Some. Ass!"

It was as much as he could manage in the form of wishing Dani the best of luck in his current condition as he was led further down the hall toward the medic station. Gabriel gave Dani a look, seeing just how worried she was over 'her Fenris' and he clasped  a hand on her bare shoulder and said, "Go. If he has to go to the hospital after, we'll let you know after." Dani paused, as if in doubt, but Gabriel leaned in and smiled, "He'll be fine. Don't let this distract you."

Dani finally nodded and turned toward the gorilla position, ready for her own epic encounter, the Main Event, but her mind still wandering back towards her buddy Fenris, the man who she referred to as her own knight in shining armor.

Once steered into the room set aside for medical issues and treatment, the two paramedics available took charge as across the room, another was busying himself with Jake Raab himself. Aron and Ty led Fenris over to a bench and gently sat him down, when the two paramedics took him by the shoulders and started to ease him down into a position on his back, when Ty's Aunty Lora quickly intervened.

"What? No!" She said and she quickly stepped forward and kept them from laying him down on his back. She instead helped Fenris sit upright and propped his back up against the wall, turning to the nearest medic and she said, "He can't lay down yet. We don't even know if he has a concussion or how bad it might be!"

Ty took his aunt by the shoulder and got her to step back so the medics could begin their evaluation. One kneeled in front of Fenris and tried to get him to look into his eyes, as the woman medic took some clean swabs and started to wipe at the blood on his forehead, the source of the cut, when Lora scoffed audibly and again stepped in.

"Dear, like this!" And she used the swabs to dab, not wipe, at the blood to soak it up without risk of spreading it further across his head and face, and thus, into his eyes. It also prevented them from possibly pulling at the wound and thereby worsening it. And Lora did indeed know what she was doing, as she was currently studying to be a nurse and was very close to graduation and thus achieving her goal.

"He's going to need stitches." The young female paramedic observed, assisting Lora as the male medic finally got Fenris to lift his chin and shine a light into his eyes.

"Fenris?" The man said. "How do you feel?"

His answer came in the form of Fenris using his arm to swat the small light from the medic's hand, sending it scattering to the floor. "Get that fucking light out of my face!" He hissed in Icelandic. "How the fuck do you think I feel!? I feel like shit!"

The medic looked up toward Aron and Ty with a raised brow, "What did he say?"

Ty cleared his throat and answered a little timidly, "Probably best you don't know. Sorry." He added for his man's outburst.

Having retrieved the fallen light, the medic again brought it up to examine Fenris and as he brought his hand up a second time, an uncharacteristic tone from Lora, a warning, was said aloud as she shook a finger in his face and she said simply, "Don't!" And surprisingly, Fenris lowered his arm but his burning glare remained fixated on her.

The medic again asked, "How do you feel? Does your head hurt?"

"Answer him, K." Aron instructed when his brother hesitated, but Lora held a hand up as they waited, recognizing that Kristjan wasn't pausing out of stubbornness, but to focus. Not a good sign. Fenris then finally yielded with a nod.

The medic asked, "Any ringing in the ears?"

Again, Fenris nodded. To which the paramedic looked up to Ty and Aron and said, "Both are signs of possible concussions. He's going to need to go to the hospital for tests..."

No." Fenris shook his head, hating hospitals. He pressed his bloody palms on the bench to try and push himself up, "No hospitals..."

But Ty grabbed him by the shoulders and not-so-gently pushed him right back down into the seated position so he wouldn't cause himself further harm. Fenris looked up at him with surprise in his eyes, and Aron said, "No arguing. You need stitches and you have to get your head examined!"

A quick argument ensued between the brothers in their native tongue, and only Ty and now Gabriel who had arrived after seeing Dani off to her match against Alicia Lukas, could understand what was being said.

"Would you stop being so god damned stubborn!?" Gabriel inserted himself into the stand off. "You're hurt and you need to get your ass to the hospital!"

Fenris started to protest once again when Lora grabbed a thermometer from the tools of the paramedics and she held it up in Fenris's face, and she said simply, "You go or we take your temperature in a different way than what you're expecting."

Fenris's eyes stared briefly at the thermometer and then at her, narrowing slowly into angry slits as Gabriel looked to Aron and Ty with a smile on his face.

"I like her."

---

Tucson, Arizona -
Thursday

It was after six pm, and the sun had already begun its descent into the horizon, and the stars and moon were just beginning to peak out from the clear sky overhead.

The home was a typical fashion for what one might expect to see in the city of Tucson, affectionately known to its residents as "Old Pueblo." The house itself was an off-white, almost tan color with a deep brown, tiled roof crafted of slate. It was of an impressive size, with the garage at the forefront and behind it, a three sectional abode that Ty's mother Gina and her fiance, Cal, called home. There was little greenery, save for the meticulously trimmed bushes around the house itself, as surrounding the garage on both sides of the asphalt drive was stylish gravel in a colorful array of white, gray and indeed, pink hues.

And the inside of the home? It practically screamed late eighties; tasteful and with remembrance. The interior was an off-white, matching the outside of the home. The dining room table was glass, so no footsy during dessert people! The living room sofa has an 80's style skirt around the base, as did the table beside it with an oval glass top covering the surface. There were beige backgrounds  throughout the home, shot through with hints of teal and pink, and plants went from tabletop to hanging baskets descending from the ceiling, with ivy and vines spilling from the ceilings of kitchen, living room and every room between.

The home itself was bustling with activity, as it was the here and now where the special party was being held in Gina and Cal's honor to learn the gender of their baby due in May. Pink and blue streamers were stretched from every corner of the room. Helium balloons that read everything from "Girl or Boy" to "Buck or Doe" floated over the heads of the guests of this special occasion. There were no gifts, due to the requests of the parents as they did not yet know whether they were having a boy or a girl. That would be saved for the official baby shower.

And the food? Oh the dining room table that stretched from one end of the room to the other was absolutely covered in dishes, ranging in everything from vegetarian lasagne, deviled eggs dyed both blue and pink, spinach quiche, and so very much more. Much of the dishes were vegetarian by design. Why? Because this party was about just a little more than finding out the gender of Cal and Gina's baby. It was also about...

"Mom?" Ty called out as he opened the front door and set foot inside, flanked closely by his Aunty Lora and the man who Gina had practically insisted attend so that she could meet her son's special man, Kristjan Baltasarsson.

"Ty!" Gina cried out, always thrilled at laying eyes on her baby boy. "Baby boy" being a relative term (pun not intended) given Ty towered over her in height. She left the living room where she was conversing with a group of ladies, their bored husbands lurking in the background and chatting amongst themselves.

Gina wrapped her son in her arms and Ty's face was pure bliss as he enveloped his mom in his own, though his posture remained tense as if he were concerned about hurting the baby that she was carrying. Cal followed, his face one of pride in not just that he was going to be a father, but that he would also soon be a stepfather, if you would, to this young man before him. He shook Ty's hand as Gina exchanged pleasantries with her sister Lora, when her eyes roamed briefly before they found the one she had been most curious about and eager to meet.

Fenris remained fixed by the front door, hands tucked deeply into his pockets, a full five feet away from the small gathering as if he were ready to bolt at a moment's notice. And if truth be told, he probably was. Ty knew that Kristjan did not want to attend this party, but his mom specifically asked that he do so, so that she could meet her boy's special man. Ty finally convinced him to accept the invitation, promising to "reward" him later.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" Gina said, motioning toward him with her hand. Not comfortable around people in general, Kristjan slowly succumbed to the situation and shuffled his feet closer until he started, finding himself wrapped in Gina's arms for a brief, if awkward, embrace. Ty couldn't help but find some amusement in the discomfort Kristjan found himself in, knowing he was not much for hugs. hell, he wasn't much for physical contact at all that didn't involve .... Well, you know.

"Mom? Cal?" Ty introduced them. "This is Kristjan. Kristjan? My mom, Gina, and her fiance, Cal."

"Halló." Kristjan spoke by instinct in his native language, to which Gina and Ca; blinked and looked to Ty who chuckled.

"Sorry." Ty explained. "Kristjan is from Iceland. Icelandic is his native tongue, but he knows some English."

"Nice to meet you, Kristjan." Cal offered up his hand, and after a brief pause, Kristjan finally accepted it, giving Cal a nod. Kristjan's eyes then shot wide open as he suddenly found his face cupped by both of Gina's hands as she narrowed her eyes, closely scrutinizing him.

"Um, mom?" Ty started to say, but Gina just smiled and shook her head. "Well I can't deny it." She said. "My son and I both have the same taste in men. Very handsome." She turned to Ty and smiled. "I approve."

Kristjan then found her arm encircled inside of his own, and she started to escort him toward the living room filled with all the guests, saying, "Come. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to meeting you." And Kristjan turned at the waist, ready to make a break for it and would have were it not for Ty and Lora's hands on his back, urging him forward.

"Everyone," Gina called out, and slowly the carried over conversation subsided and all heads turned towards her, and thus toward Kristjan which only caused his discomfort level to increase tenfold, the color of his neck and above changing from a crisp, golden brown tan to a deep pink. Gina said aloud, "I want you all to meet Ty's friend, Kristjan..."

She looked to him and he blurted out, "Baltasarsson."

She turned around to her guests and smiled, "Kristjan Ba-Balt..." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not even going to try to pronounce that!" And she was met with gentle laughter from all as she just held a hand out toward her son's lover, "This is Ty's mancake."

"Mom!" Ty almost choked, as Kristjan's turned again to get the hell out of dodge but Gina's hand on his arm was secure and she reeled him back in. But before he could be further embarrassed, a voice spoke up from somewhere in the general vicinity.

"Holy...! Kristjan Baltasarsson!? ... Fenris??" Cal's own son, Carl stood up from the chair he was seated at, talking to some of the men, and his eyes were firmly planted on the aforementioned Kristjan. He immediately crossed the room and grasped Kristjan's hand, pumping it, but his eyes went straight to Ty.

"You weren't kidding!" Carl exclaimed. "You're really dating Fenris!?"

"Yeah!" Ty chuckled. "That's him."

"Man, I watched all your fights in Elite XL!" Carl gushed like a fanboy. "That last fight was a joke! I mean, and now wrestling! I don't usually watch but Ty got me started and you're my favorite..."

"Hey!" Ty frowned in good nature, but found himself laughing. "Cut it out before you bore Kristjan!"

His hand still in Carl's own, Kristjan turned back to Ty and said, "When Kristjan is bored, Kristjan will let you know." To which his statement was met with scattered laughter and Ty could only roll his eyes.

"Just what he needs." Ty pronounced. "Another reason to be cocky."

But by now, having an admirer, someone to help pump up his already inflated ego, helped to soothe some of Kristjan's jangled nerves, at least until...

"Oh Ty! Is this your friend?" An older woman had approached, a friend of Gina's. "Oh he's cute! But he needs to cut his hair. Someone might think you're gay, dear." She patted his cheek and walked off, leaving Kristjan with a perplexed expression, unsure if that was a joke or if the woman was serious. He turned back to Gina and shook his head, stating, "Fucking A! A man sleeps with other men and he has to be gay???"

"Oh!" Lora clapped a hand over her mouth, her cheeks emblazoned pink as Ty face palmed. But Gina took it all in stride as Carl took the initiative and led Kristjan further into the living room, where he was greeted by some of the admiring women and a few other men who were familiar with his past in Mixed Martial Arts. Kristjan cast an imploring look over his shoulder...

"Ty!"

"Paybacks a bitch, Kristjan!" Ty laughed before he put an arm around his mom's shoulder and the evening continued  on...

As Kristjan's discomfort level slowly subsided, his appetite increased and he had spent a good deal of time at the buffet table with a full plate in hand. Not full by his own hands, mind you. But it seemed that every time he had polished off a sample of one thing or another, one of the women present had managed to refill it for him. Most of the time it had been Gina herself. And Ty had forewarned his boyfriend that the women present had Italian blood in them so their cooking skills were a source of personal pride for one and all.

A familial competitive side, if you would.

"Having more veggie lasagne, hon?" One woman found herself at Kristjan's side as he served a slice for himself. Another woman found herself at his other side, both staring up at him as he said in his broken English, "Yes, I enjoy... very much."

"That one's mine." The first woman gleefully pointed out, her finger indicating the piece that Kristjan had just helped himself to. She cast a look around him to her 'companion' and in an icy tone, pointed at another dish. "That one's hers."

"Perhaps you'd like to try a piece of my veggie lasagne?" The second woman spoke up, her face and voice hopeful.

"He already has a piece, Julia."

"Perhaps he'd like to try something with a little more flavor, Marie?"

Kristjan watched as the two women exchanged their heated words between themselves while he served as a captive audience. The second woman then picked up a serving spatula and said crisply, "I know. We'll let him decide." That being said, she cut and scooped up an impressive serving of her own dish and placed it on Kristjan's already full plate, and on top of her 'friend's" serving.

"Now he can tell us which he prefers." She smiled at the other woman before they both looked up at him expectantly. He looked back and forth between them when he heard someone call his name.

"Kristjan?" Gina called from across the room. "I hope you don't mind. Lora told us all how much you enjoy eating."

And Kristjan's blazing eyes immediately sought out Ty's Aunt Lora who cleared her throat and attempted to covertly exit the room...!

And finally the grand finale of the evening was to come, the reason behind the celebration. Lora had brought the lovely cake in from the kitchen and set it in a place of honor at the center of the table. It was a large, two layer round cake with buttercream frosting and decorated with pink and blue roses and borders, and in yellow, the writing read "Boy or Girl?" Everyone gathered around the table, Ty standing right beside his mother and Cal, but Kristjan was several steps away, leaning against the door frame and not to be budged, arms crossed over his chest.

Gina took the cake spatula and cut into the bottom layer, then she shared a look with Cal before slowly pulling the cake slice out, and everyone gasped as inside, a soft, pink filling was revealed. Gina clasped a hand over her mouth, her eyes watering at the prospect of having a little girl. Everyone around them applauded and exchanged congratulations with the couple.

Ty cast a beaming smile over his shoulder toward his man.

And Kristjan winked at him in return.

---

"Christmas must have come either a little late or extremely early for me, but you know something? I'm not going to complain this time around because I finally got what I wanted!"

Fenris stalked the empty gym where he had made his foray into the world of professional wrestling, away from the six-sided ring and towards the far wall where it could be described best as a museum of sorts, with framed photographs and trophy cases lined up for students and visitors to catch a glimpse of the accomplishments of those who ran this training center, as well as those associated with it.

"Now I would be the first to admit that I am not known for my patience." He scoffed. "Nobody in their right mind would ever use the word 'patient' where I'm concerned, but I realized last week that the old saying is true; Good things come to those who wait. And yes, I did wait. I didn't like it, but I waited and finally! I am getting what I have wanted ever since it was announced last year that the champions of SCW and Honor would meet to unite their championships! I've got Austin James Mercer, just like I should have had two weeks ago!"

Fenris paused at a trophy case, where a framed color 8x10 portrait of Gabriel was on display on the top glass shelf, and nothing else adorned that level. However, on the shelves below the photograph was a collection of trophies and championship belts collected by the man responsible for his wrestling career. Amongst them was a copy of the World Heavyweight Championship belt, the very one that Fenris now held himself. Also there was the World Tag Team belts from not only SCW, but also the NeWA as well as the AWA, all pinnacle points in Gabriel's career, and the one framed picture in the center of the three belts was shared with the person Gabriel held all three championships with; his fellow Hall of Famer and 'little brother' Despayre.

"Don't get me wrong. I am not going to tell anyone out there that the match I had with Jake Raab at Inception was meaningless or easy! Fuck that! I may be a lot of things but I'm no god damned liar! Want proof?"

Fenris beckoned the camera to come closer, and as it did, he leaned over and parted his hair with his hands so that the camera could see the scar in his hairline that Jake Raab had opened up and cost him quite a bit of blood.

"Twelve stitches. An overnight stay in a hospital. Bruised ribs and a concussion. That's what Jake gave me as a late Christmas present. Oh, and this..."

He paused to motion towards one of the steel folding chairs set up in rows before the rings, where the Honor championship belt rested.

"It's mine now, but before that, it was Jake's. And that bastard fucking proved to anyone and everyone that he did not want to let it go! He fought to show everyone how bad he wanted to keep it, but the problem with that was, I fought just that much harder to take it away. And Jake did what nobody else had done up to that point. He made me BLEED! He made it so that I had to have help just getting backstage! Now I've been sent to a hospital in the past. Tommy Crimson once saw to that, but this was different. I was in a fight, and you know something?"

He smiled brightly.

"I loved every damn minute of it! Now that brings up us to Austin James Mercer, and what we have to ask ourselves in can we outdo what happened at Inception III? I sure as hell hope so, because if not, we have to ask ourselves 'what the hell is the point?' I think we can both agree on the fact that we both wanted this match between us from the very beginning, and the only reason we didn't get it when we should have was because Jake Raab was able to pin Casey Williams instead of you in that Triple Threat."

He nodded.

"Really, that's a pretty fucked up way to lose your championship, not even being beaten, but as I said on twitter, we have the chance now to right a wrong and have a match that I wanted, that you wanted..."

He made a arc motion with his arm, sweeping it across the screen.

"A match that everyone wanted to see! Hell! I told you before that I would be all too willing to face you, to put the championship on the line against you! But no. You wouldn't do it that easily. You wanted to face Raab first, and right a wrong. You wanted to meet the man face to face, one on one. Man to man! You wanted to prove to him who the rightful number one challenger was and earn your way into a match with the World Heavyweight Champion! Can't fault you for that!"

Fenris lightly shrugged his shoulders but nodded in acknowledging the accomplishment.

"I don't openly express admiration for too many people, because this sport seems to be filled with a bunch of fucked up idiots who think the world should be handed to them on a silver platter! Then whine and cry when they either find out they have to fight for what they want or go crying when they find themselves beaten! Some will find themselves in a title match and even if they did nothing to earn it or deserve it, they accept it as if it were their right! Not you though, Austin. You wouldn't even accept my offer of a championship match to right our own wrong between us, until you had first beaten the man that took your opportunity to make history away. And here you are! You did just what you set out to do, but that's where it all ends. The respect I have for you is because I know what you're capable of inside of the ring, and that is just going to make me fight all the harder to bring you down and beat you!"

Fenris shook his head and moved past the trophy case of Gabriel's and looked up at some of the photographs on the wall, many shared between Gabriel and his wife, and some of their key moments in the industry.

"I make no claims that it's going to be easy, because the simple fact is I don't want it to be. I mean, what the hell is the point in being a champion if you're going to run away from and avoid the challengers who will push you to your absolute limits? Why call yourself the best if you're not willing to prove it by stepping inside of the ring and fighting the best?"

Fenris held up his hand and counted off of his fingers...

"Ty West. Senor Vinnie. Casey Williams. And yes, Jake Raab. You and I may not believe the championship should have been in his possession, but it was and I won't deny the fact he kicked my ass before I was able to put him away! I can only hope that when he and I meet again, his shoulder and hand are completely healed so we can go even further than we did before! And now, there's you Austin. You beat Mickey Carroll for the Honor championship. Now I'll be the first to admit my own ignorance in the history of this sport. Up until I met Gabriel and London Underground, I never even watched a professional wrestling match in my life!"

He nodded.

"But I know Mickey Carroll. I watched his matches because of Gabriel. Ben Jordan told me plenty about the man and Mickey and I even spoke once or twice thanks to Ben. So the fact you could beat a man that caliber, just makes me all the more excited about defending my championship against you this Sunday. And I've heard the whispers..."

He grabbed a folding chair and turned it around so that he might straddle the seat while resting his forearms along the back of the chair. All the while, he shook his head with a cool look to his blue eyes.

"I've heard people think me at a disadvantage because we have a bit of a size difference between us. You have about five inches on me in height, close to sixty pounds in weight."

He shook his head and smirked.

"But you're not relying on that advantage, are you? You're not assuming that just because you're bigger or stronger, that it'll make what is going to happen this Sunday any easier. That's good, Austin. Smart. Smarter than the arm chair experts that think the big man always has the advantage because those same know it all ass holes apparently haven't been paying very close attention to anything that I've accomplished! Ty West! Senor Vinnie! And especially Casey Williams! They've all had a big advantage over me where size was concerned, and I proved to the doubters each and every time that this only made me fight harder. And yeah, they may have held the advantage during the match, but  the end! The outcome is what matters and sooner or later, I was able to overcome some pretty big obstacles to walk away with my championship. I mean, if I was able to suplex Casey Williams, a guy that's seven feet tall and almost four hundred pounds, that should tell everyone how bad I want to overcome whatever people throw my way so that I can win!"

"And after Casey and Vinnie, you are the most physically imposing man size-wise that I've been matched up against, and I am going to en joy every moment! Beat me down into the mat, Austin. I have no doubts that you can and will, but for as hard as you fight to keep me down, that's just as hard as I'll fight to get right back up.  Because there's no goddamn point in being able to dish it out if you're not also able to take it. I know how to chop down the biggest trees. I know how to bring a giant to the mat and knock his ass out, because I've done it before. Jack ain't got shit on me when it comes to the White Wolf chewing a big man up! I know how to get the biggest and baddest of men to cry uncle rather than face the possibility of a permanent injury. So I guess what I'm trying to say Austin is..."

He leaned heavily onto the back of the chair, smiling into the camera.

"Let's fuck some shit up!"

33

Climax Control Archives / Have yourself a very Fenris Christmas

« on: December 21, 2018, 11:56:32 PM »

 <img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/Fenris6.gif">Kristjan Baltasarsson could be seen as something of the confident sort, and why not? Ever since his debut in the world of professional wrestling in April of this year, he has not suffered a single loss. Thanks to the training of Gabriel and Odette Stevens, who had taken him under their wing to infuse his professional fighting career inside of the Mixed Martial Arts cage to the much more freestyle and complex style of professional wrestling, a hybrid had arisen that was far more wildly successful than perhaps the Stevens had even expected. Only three months after that debut, Fenris captured the World Heavyweight Championship, marking him as perhaps the fastest rising World Champion in the company's history, if not the fastest rising student of Gabriel and Odette's training camp, surpassing perhaps even the remarkable Evie Baang.

Fourteen victories and zero losses in eight months. And becoming the first wrestler ever to secure both the Rookie of the Year as well as the overall Wrestler of the Year awards, all in the same voting period.

The closest Fenris had come as of yet to suffering a loss was in a tag team match when he teamed with Kris Ryans and they had fought the pairing of Crimson and Ben Jordan to a no contest. But that was tag team competition. The closest he had come to suffering a loss in one on one encounter? it happened just last month at High Stakes VIII. Not against one of the many ring veterans SCW had on it's impressive roster, but a fellow rookie in his own right; Senor Vinnie. A man who had risen just as impressively in the ranks, securing his championship opportunity by winning a tournament against seven other individuals, rookies and veterans alike. Fenris retained, but it was not easy. By his own admission, Fenris won the hard fought match by the "skin of his teeth," marking Vinnie as his toughest opposition yet.

But when the chance came to defend a second time against such an individual came, Fenris wasted no time signing his name on the dotted line. Despite knowing his streak and world title reign would one day inevitably come to an end, Fenris thrived on competition. The harder his opponents fought to beat him, the harder he fought to keep from being beaten. And as trainers in his life like Gabriel and Maksym Petrov infused into his beliefs, "The better the challengers, the better the champion."

Tuesday

it was why Fenris found himself back at the origin of his wrestling career, the unnamed training academy that kick started his career. Confidant as he was prone to being, he was not one to allow himself to become lax in his training, preferring rather to keep both his wrestling as well as his MMA skills sharp. He knew well enough from their last encounter that Vinnie would come back stronger than before, having suffered that initial  setback. So, Fenris would have to do the same.

The only problem was, this training session had been something akin to a disaster from the very start. Gabriel had called on his pseudo 'little brother' Despayre to get into the ring with Fenris and spar with him while he and Fenris's MMA coach, Maksym watched from the outside. And despite his retirement from the sport, Despayre had used the quickness he was so well known for to thoroughly frustrate the Icelandic grappler. Fenris was an incredibly focused individual in the ring, it was a trait that had spelled out much of his success thus far. But this -- this was very unlike him.

Fenris did manage to send Despayre into a nearby corner and he came racing in after him, but the smaller man leapfrogged up and over him. Fenris stopped before he could collide with the corner turnbuckles and he turned around, only to watch with a perplexed stare as Despayre came toward him with a cartwheel into a handspring high cross body, knocking the reigning champion flat on his back. Maksym scoffed in a haughty sense of disgust and turned away as the session in the ring continued.

Fenris swung for a back kick toward his sparring partner, taking caution at Gabriel's warning not to hurt Despayre. But Despayre grabbed his bare foot in both hands and proceeded to sink his teeth into it, prompting a sharp howl of pain from Fenris and a raised brow from Maksym. Gabriel? He tried to hide a laugh escaping from his mouth but was unsuccessful for the most part. He was, however, growing as frustrated with his charge's lack of focus as he was concerned.

Fenris managed to roll through, causing the little pit bull's lockjaw to loosen so that he might escape. Fenris then was on his feet and lunged at him but Despayre scrambled on all fours through his legs, escaping his grip.

Gabriel had seen enough and called out, "Come ON Kristjan! What the hell are you doing in there!?"

Fenris turned around with a dark scowl on his face as he shouted back, "What the hell do you expect when I can't even get my goddamn hands on...!?" But whatever else he was about to say was cut off as Despayre hit him in the buttocks with a dropkick, knocking the man out through the ropes where he landed at the feet of his two trainers! Fenris begun to curse in his native tongue as he slowly pushed his way back to a standing position, and Gabriel knew the man's temper well enough to know when to end things before they got ugly.

As it looked like Fenris was about to climb back into the ring to continue, Despayre hopping in a comical boxing stance with his 'dukes' up, Gabriel placed a hand on Fenris's shoulder in a grip that was firm enough to stop him.

"Okay, Kristjan. Enough." But Kristjan wasn't listening, at least not at first, and he started to pull away and that was when Gabriel's grip grew tighter and his demeanor more serious where his students were concerned. ""I said, enough!"

Fenris came up short and turned around, his body glistening from the extreme workout the Stevens were known for putting their students through, all in the name of making a successful name for themselves. But he also saw frustration and disappointment in the man's cobalt-blue eyes, and sought the reason behind it. Gabriel then took a means to soothe troubled waters and he looked up into the ring, and he said, "And you..."

Despayre immediately stopped his boxing dance and his eyes grew wide. Gabriel continued, "Hitting people from behind isn't right, Despy. Why did you do that?"

Twiddling his fingers, Despayre smiled, "Honestly? it tickled me."

Gabriel  paused for a brief moment, staring at his little buddy before he slowly turned his head toward Maksym who looked even more perplexed and repeated, "it tickled him." Despayre bobbed his head in a happy nod and Gabriel motioned toward him, "Go get showered and cleaned up."

"Awww!" Despayre pouted as he dragged his feet toward the ropes to do as he was told, but Gabriel could not help but smile at his childlike antics. "Oh stop your fussing, Despy. Your Nan I on her way to pick you up and I don't want to send you to dinner with her smelling like that."

Despayre's head whipped around and he gave an audible guess of affronted, but Gabriel just gifted him with a smile and a wink, letting him know he was just teasing. As Despayre took his leave, Gabriel turned to Maksym and said, "Thanks for being here for this session. Same time tomorrow?" To which Maksym nodded. Gabriel then said, "Now I need to have a talk with this one." He said, jetting a thumb toward his protege.

Maksym gave him a nod, then turned to Fenris and said in his thick, Ukrainian accent, "Get your head out of your ass." before he too left. Gabriel then placed a hand on the small of Fenris's back as he sought to make a move for the locker room as well, halting him. Fenris gave him a curious stare and Gabriel shook his head, "Not yet." And he guided his student away from the workout facility and back towards the business office he shared with his wife.

Once inside, Gabriel closed the door behind him and Fenris watched as his trainer and yes, friend, walked around the desk and had a seat. Fenris raised a brow as he quipped, "Am I in trouble?"

"I just want to talk to you." Gabriel answered. "Sit down." His tone was calm and polite, but also stressed behind it that he would brook no argument. Once Fenris did as instructed, and Gabriel was satisfied, the teacher gazed upon his student and shook his head,. "What's going on with you?"

Fenris frowned and shook his head, but said nothing in answer. Gabriel said, "You know what I mean. usually you're a damn machine in that ring, whether it's a real match or training. it never matters with you. But that... out there..." He shook his head and engaged him in a frown. "What I was watching wasn't like you at all."

"Well can you blame me?" Fenris asked, his posture going rigid as he was unused to anyone questioning his performance. Gabriel was perhaps the only one who could and would get away with such.

"Hardly." Gabriel chuckled. "Used to piss off everyone the little guy was in the ring with. But I think you know what I'm talking about. Slick as Despy I, it's not like you to make so many errors." He shook his head. "Your mind isn't in this and I want to know why."

Fenris still remained silent, but Gabriel wasn't about to give up. He knew the young man well enough by now to know when he avoided someone's gaze, it meant something was troubling him. Even if he himself was unaware that he was doing it. Gabriel leaned forward on his desk and asked, "I it the match with Vinnie?" Fenris broke his stare at the wrestling awards on the wall of the office, the many shared and displayed by the Stevens household, and Gabriel pressed on, "Kristjan, if you weren't ready for another defense, why did you agree...?"

"it's not the defense!" Fenris answered a little more heatedly than he intended. "And I am ready!"

"I hope so." Said Gabriel. "Because I've no doubt Vinnie will come at you even harder than before to try and get that elusive win against you. So... what I it? I it that lawsuit?" Fenris frowned and Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Christ sakes, Kristjan! You do know that whole deal I a load of bullshit, right!? A plant cannot file a lawsuit against a human being! Hell! I seriously doubt a court would even hear a case like this between two people, given its based around a full contact sport! What you did to Vinnie was expected. Rough ... but expected."

Fenris stared at him, this time working overtime too avoid not looking into Gabriel's eyes as an equal, a measure of respect given to such a man. Gabriel said, "Vinnie I smarter than he lets on. He knows what you did to him and wants to throw you off your game. it's the only way he'd get any advantage over you in this rematch..."

Fenris shook his head, interrupting him, "it's not the fucking cactus."

"Good." Gabriel answered. "Because I arranged for that to be settled backstage in a wrestler's court." Fenris frowned, not understanding, and Gabriel explained, "it's just a way for wrestlers to settle issues backstage between themselves. Your fellow wrestlers act as jury."

Fenris rolled his eyes at this but Gabriel pressed on, "Is it your family visiting? I know your sisters coming was a surprise..."

"That's putting it mildly!"

Gabriel pressed on as though he had not spoken, "But they are family and it I Christmas."

"Hvað sem er." Fenris mumbled, then recalled that Gabriel was somewhat fluent in Icelandic, having taken his own lessons so that he might communicate with his pupil easier during their early days together. He looked to his trainer and said, "I'm not happy about Viktoria and Elin being here but I will live. I rented a place close by for my family to stay since I don't have room."

"Then what I it?" Gabriel asked. "You're going to have to help me out here Kristjan. I'm trying to understand so I can help you. This I a pretty damn big match you agreed to, to close out the year! it's not a good time for you to get distracted!"

Fenris narrowed his eyes and said, " I don't recall asking you or anyone else for help!"

Gabriel paused for a brief moment after that caustic remark, just long enough to give his perpetually angry and sarcastic student pause enough to contemplate whether he just said the wrong thing.

Gabriel stared cool as he said "Careful boy. You're this close to slipping into that 'bitch mode' that got you into so much trouble with us to start with."

Message received.

Fenris said nothing once again. his brow furrowed and his shoulders slumped, an admit ion from what Gabriel had learned over the past several months, was a sign of him shutting down. Something he did not want.

"Is it about Ty?" He asked, and that certainly got a reaction. Kristjan's head snapped up so quickly Gabriel wouldn't have been surprised had it popped right off of his shoulders. it was enough to tell him that he had just hit the proverbial nail on the head.

Fenris asked, "How did you know...?"

"Oh please!" Gabriel chuckled, taking on a smile reminiscent of the one that Fenris often wore, the one that had so many wanting to slap the shit out of him. Gabriel continued, "Wrestling I the biggest damn gossip factory! You can't get laid without everyone knowing!"

This caused Fenris's eyebrows to rise near to his hairline and Gabriel laughed despite himself. "So come on!" Gabriel said. "Fess up and tell me about the problems your mancake I giving you!" This, however, was taken the wrong way due to the lack of depth in Kristjan's English skills. He frowned and stood up, ready to leave when Gabriel leapt to his feet and reached out, grabbing him by the arm.

"Whoa! Hold up! Ain't you ever heard of busting someone's chops!?" Fenris stared blankly at him and Gabriel exhaled sharply, and shook his head. "I was just teasing, Kristjan. Now seriously... sit." Slowly, almost reluctantly, Kristjan did as he was instructed and only once he was settled, did Gabriel take a seat once again.

Gabriel said, "Look. it's pretty obvious that something I going on between you two. You've made that pretty damn obvious from Twitter alone." Kristjan turned his head aside but Gabriel went on, "Now I don't know what's going on. I told you when you had that affair with Ryans that your personal life was nobody's business, and I meant it. But something I obviously troubling you, and that concerns me. You can't fault me for that."

While he did not say anything in response, his posture somewhat relaxed and the perpetual frown of Fenris's slid into something more subdued.

"Are you having second thoughts about Ty?" Gabriel asked. "Maybe it's having your family meet your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Kristjan finally spoke up, turning his head to address Gabriel. "We're not dating. Not really."

"But you said you were having him stay with you for Christmas and having him meet your family." Gabriel smiled. it was the first sign of being human that Kristjan had really displayed since first coming to he and his wife in the early part of 2018. "That's a pretty big sign there." Gabriel waited, but nothing was forthcoming from Kristjan whom he knew was an insanely private person. After his 'coming out,' he had become even more so.

"I do not want to talk about this." Kristjan finally said, standing up and ready to leave with or without Gabriel's leave. Gabriel said, "Fine. I can't make you talk to me, but can I give you one last piece of advice?"

Kristjan paused, waiting, and Gabriel took that as an answer and he said, "if you like the guy, tell him. Trust me, you could do a lot worse than a man like Ty West." Gabriel shook his head. "But he's not going to wait round forever, and you can't go through life without taking risks."

"Someone died."

"What?" Gabriel frowned, caught off guard by this statement that came from out of nowhere.

"Someone died." Kristjan repeated. "I took a chance, and someone died. I lost them."

Now it was Gabriel who was rendered speechless, discovering perhaps a piece of the grand puzzle that told him why Kristjan had such a chip on his shoulders in all walks of life. if he lost someone he cared bout, he didn't seem the type to outwardly mourn. Kristjan was more like the type who would just bottle it up and allow it to eat him alive for the remainder of his years.

"Happy?" Fenris chided him. "I confided."

"I'm sorry." Gabriel finally said to him. "I am, Kristjan. I didn't mean to pry, I was just..."

"Concerned." Kristjan sighed. "Yes. Seems many are."

"I it really so hard to believe people care?" Gabriel asked.

After a brief moment's pause, Fenris finally yielded a nod and answered, "Yes. it I." Before he took his leave, pausing only long enough to say over his shoulder. "Will bring the family to dinner. Thank you for the invitation."

Gabriel simply nodded as his office door closed.

But Gabriel's words rang a certain truth behind them, much as Kristjan did not want to admit it. By nature he was simply a stubborn individual, a trait he had inherited from his father and paternal grandmother. Only he took it to the extreme. What Gabriel had told him was very reminiscent of what his own brother had said and stressed that there was nothing wrong with liking someone. Gabriel was more than a trainer in that regard; he was a friend although Kristjan found it difficult to acknowledge many as such. And Gabriel did perhaps what he set out to accomplish.

He made Kristjan think.

it was why that very night, Kristjan had invited Ty out for a few rounds at a local club near the Vegas Strip. Ty had a rough time of it lately, suffering the death of his birth father. They had shared an evening together, drinking to help drown out the pain of loss, but now Fenris had invited him out for a few more.

Just to see.

Wednesday

That was why we were now at the two story nightclub, the Chateau Nightclub and Rooftop, situated at the Paris Hotel. it was a trendy nightclub on both floors, filled with men and women who were drinking the night away and dancing to the DJ's pulsating rhythms not only on the dance floor, but wherever they might be standing.

But it was on the rooftop, where a roof garden had been pleasantly constructed, where we would find the men of the hour. Having taken the initiative to reserve a table between them overlooking the Strip, Fenris sat on one cushioned seat with a whiskey in his hand, while Ty sat opposite him with a beer in his own. The night sky was open above them, and strands of Christmas lights stretched out overhead to bath the patrons in whimsical fancy, while garland and poinsettias decorated the walls and banisters.

"So," Ty said to break the discomforting silence between them. "You never did say what the occasion was."

"Do I need a reason to want to hang out with you?" Fenris asked, taking a hard swallow off his honey infused whiskey and feeling the warmth of it burn it's way down his throat. The better to calm nerves and help warm himself up against the chill of a Las Vegas night in December.

Ty smiled, "No. it's always nice to be wanted." He cracked a grin at the warmth spread along the ears of the object of his affection. Kristjan wasn't the only one who could cause some charming responses. it just took a little more effort on Ty's part to get said reaction. He then said, "I was just surprised, I all. I thought you would be getting ready for your family's visit."

"I am ready." Fenris answered back. "Got a place for them to stay. Getting up early to pick them up from the airport..."

"They're not staying with you?" Ty shook his head.

"And sleep where?" Fenris smiled. "it's my parents and three sisters! You'll be staying in my room over Christmas. Dani has Aron's room and he sleeps on sofa."

"Right, right." Ty nodded, seeing the wisdom in the decision. Fenris then added, "I not hotel. I an apartment, furnished. Everybody I happy. Well..." Fenris looked up in contemplation. "Everybody but Erin. She's never happy about anything."

"You're really not making me feel very confidant when it comes to your sisters, you know that?" Ty shook his head.

"You'll be fine." Kristjan stressed. "Just do me a favor. Don't let on you speak Icelandic."

"What? Why?"

"Just a hunch." Kristjan answered with a wicked grin before he drained the last of his glass's contents. He then said, "Tickets even bought for them to go with us to Reno for the show."

"Really. Your family I going to go see you wrestle?" To which Kristjan nodded.

"They never saw me fight before, in person. MMA or wrestling. Since they arrive before the show, thought it made sense." Kristjan looked up to him with a sparkle in his eyes. "Mom I not too enthusiastic, though. Dad and Freyja are. Elin and Viktoria are probably hoping to see me get my ass kicked."

"I doubt it." Ty observed. "Not after the way you said they were watching your one title match with your family. Surprised even you."

Kristjan gave a curt nod to acknowledge this. it had indeed surprised him to learn his two older sisters had actually taken an interest in one of his championship fights, and even more so acted pleased and proud alike when he had again emerged victorious. Not to mention recoiled when he had taken some pretty bad bumps. He and his older sisters were not close, probably never would be. Still, it was something. He raised his glass and blinked, seemingly surprised to find that it was empty.

With a sigh of resignation, Kristjan stood up and reached for Ty's own bottle which he had drained only seconds before. As he went to get them a refill, Ty sat back in comfort and allow his mind to wander. Kristjan had been distant as was his nature, he supposed, but slowly, what Aron said had been accurate. Ty was managing to slowly get past the walls that the hostile and angry young man had erected around himself for self-protection. They had sex more times than Ty could remember. Hung out after shows and Kristjan and Aron had even insisted Ty spend Christmas with them rather than alone. Hell, Kristjan had even affectionately taken to Ty's own aunt, using his own nature to charm, and in many cases, embarrass, her.

As his mind wandered on the infinite possibilities that could come, he was not prepared for the familiar voice that said, "Hey, stranger!"

Ty started, and turned his head up to spot a smiling face looking down at him.

"Sebastian..."

Yes, Sebastian Phillips, who his closest friend, Effie Bingham, had set him up with on a blind date to either help him get over Kristjan, or to give the Icelandic man a kick in the right direction. Whichever worked first, according to Effie. He was handsome, very much so, and his body physically pleasing. He was a nice guy, and they had a fun time on their first and only date. the problem though, was that he wasn't Kristjan.

Ty had his heart set on Kristjan, and it wasn't easy to just cast feelings like that aside. Sebastian had attempted numerous times to call or text him for a second date, but Ty hadn't been responsive, holding out hope for something more meaningful with Kristjan. After awhile, the calls and texts slowly came to an end, and Ty figured Sebastian had given up. Now...

"I this what I have to do to corner you?" Sebastian smiled, taking the seat that Kristjan had just recently vacated. That act alone concerned Ty for how Kristjan might react when he returned.

"What are you doing here?" Ty finally asked after having found his voice.

"Just having a drink with a couple friends." Sebastian answered, settling in. "I saw you over here and thought I'd come over and see what you were up to here alone."

"I'm not --"

Sebastian continued, as if he had not spoken a word in protest that he was alone. "Thought maybe it'd be easier to see if you wanted to go out face to face than by sending a text. You stopped answering me."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. But..." Ty shook his head, not comfortable with the idea that he now had to 'shoot down' such a nice guy face to face. "I, I can't. Go out, I mean."

Sebastian frowned, "How come?"

Ty looked around, wondering where Kristjan might be, before he turned back to Sebastian and answered, "I'm... I'm with someone. Here, tonight." He shook his head. "I'm not alone."

"Oh!" Sebastian seemed needlessly surprised, that perhaps he felt Ty would have been waiting for him? That idea annoyed Ty more than he cared to admit. "Who?" He asked.

"Me."

Ty and Sebastian both turned their heads to the angry voice and found Kristjan standing there between them, holding fresh drinks in his hands. his eyes were burning hot, and that alone gave Ty pause in how the hell he was going to get Sebastian out of this without a fight breaking out. And if a fight broke out, Ty was pretty certain Sebastian would end up in a hospital, and Kristjan would end up in jail.

Ty cleared his throat, and spoke up, "Erm, Sebastian? This I Kristjan. The guy I told you about."

"Hey." Sebastian smiled, giving Kristjan a friendly wave as if he either didn't realize the spot he was now in, or didn't care. "You must be Ty's wrestling friend."

Kristjan's eyes flickered briefly toward Ty, but returned to Sebastian. And said nothing. Sebastian glanced at Ty with a smile and said in a joking manner, "Talkative sort, isn't he?"

He then returned his attention to Kristjan and said, "I won't take up your time. I had just come to say his to the man here and see if he wanted to go out..."

"No!" Kristjan barked, startling them both.

"No?" Sebastian repeated."No... what?"

"He does not!"

Sebastian exchanged a glance with Ty before he leaned forward in the chair that was Kristjan's and said, "Hey  man, listen. No offense but I think Ty can decide these things for himse-"

"He's MINE!" Kristjan all but yelled, then froze. his eyes were wide and his lightly tanned flesh paled, as if he had just realized what he had just said aloud. in front of everyone, and most of all, in front of Ty! Kristjan wouldn't so much as look around, to see if anyone was watching, but given his outburst and loud voice, he wouldn't be at all surprised were it so.

Oh, uh..." Sebastian seemed now at a loss for words, but realized that he had been backed into a very uncomfortable corner. He was a really nice guy, and did not want to cause any problems, so he opted for the best way out and slowly stood up, hands held up in a gesture of surrender.
"Okay. I'll ... I'll just go."

Bidding a goodbye (and good luck) to Ty, Sebastian got lost back into the crowd and to his friends, and Kristjan slowly sat down, his eyes staring at the two drinks in his hands.

"I one of those for me?" Ty asked, and Kristjan seemed almost surprised that he was still holding onto them. He wordlessly extended a hand out to Ty who took the bottle of beer from him, and they both sat back. Neither spoke, not at first. Not after what had just happened and what had been said. Kristjan seemed in shock that he had just claimed Ty for his own, and had done so openly and brazenly. inside, Ty felt an elation he had not thought possible. Talk about your Christmas surprises!

Kristjan, however, seemed lost at what he had just done. He remained silent as he lifted his glass to his lips and drank the contents in one long, slow pull, opening Ty's eyes wide. Did he regret what he had just declared? Was he more so embarrassed given his personal and private nature?

"Am I?" Ty asked, feeling the need to press the issue. He didn't want to make Kristjan any more discomforted than he already was, but realistically, Ty had every right to know where he stood. Kristjan slowly turned his head to Ty and raised his brow questioningly.

"What you said." Ty stressed. "Did you mean that?"

Kristjan seemed at a loss for words. his eyes stared vacantly at Ty, then cast aside, looking at nothing in particular. An uncomfortable silence passed between the two men, as Ty stared hard at his lover for the past several weeks, wanting an answer but the longer this silence permeated the distance between them, the more twisted a knot in the pit of his own stomach developed. Ty started to feel that Kristjan was indeed feeling regret, and cast his eyes downward, when he heard him say, "Já."

Ty looked up, his hand over his mouth as if he were trying hard to hide the smile on his face. He felt like a boy on Christmas morning who had just received the present that he wanted, and in this case, he just did. Kristjan nodded, his eyes shifted slightly toward Ty but the vexed nature remained on his face and in his posture. Slowly, he allowed himself to relax, or forced himself to, rather. He faced Ty and said simply, "Já. I Just, I just don't know how to..."

Ty said nothing else. He simply stood up and crossed around the table and squeezed himself into the small, cushioned seat beside Kristjan. Leaning back enough to drape his free arm around Kristjan's shoulder, Ty took a pull on his own beer and said simply, "We'll figure it out."

What followed was an evening of bliss for both men. A weight had seemingly been lifted off of the shoulders of Kristjan Baltasarsson despite the fact that he did not seem to know how to react to what he had said or done. For Ty, he had crossed a hurdle he wasn't certain he could, and now the possibilities were endless. He wanted to talk to Kristjan now about everything, but knew he had so much already on his mind, least of all a new relationship. And according to Aron, his first since the death of his beloved Jökull had his life tragically cut short. Kristjan also had a major title defense set up against Senor Vinnie, not to mention his family coming to the States, all the way from Iceland, to spend the holidays with him and Aron.

Ty could wait. They had all the time in the world.

Thursday

For now, Kristjan and Aron's home at Turnberry Towers was a bustle of activity. While his family was staying at a luxuriously furnished apartment at the Copper Creek suites, the majority of their time would be spent here. An evening dinner had been planned, a special one for his family's first full night in America; the first visit to the States by his parents and two older sisters. it was a spectacle, as Dani had transformed the condo into a Christmas wonderland, with a lot of help from Ty's doting aunt. A Christmas tree with mountains of gifts dominated the scene, but garland and Christmas lights were draped along every edge and over every surface.

Privately, Kristjan cringed at the thought of the cost of the electric bill once the holidays were over and done with.

Despite his protests, Eva, their mother, had went into overtime in the kitchen to prepare a feast for the evening. She had been shocked (horrified) to inspect his and Aron's kitchen to find virtually no groceries save for booze and snacks. When they explained that they just did takeout, she gave them 'that' stare mothers the world over had perfected and made them drive her to the nearest grocery to get everything she would need. Kristjan tried to protest toward his father but Benedikt shot him down fast and said to just let his mother do what came natural.

This was about more than just a nice evening meal with her family together for the first time in over a year. it also meant the family was going to get to meet  certain someone in Kristjan's life, and his aunt who their Aron had taken an affection towards.

Now the dining room table and kitchen counter surface had a spread about it that had everyone's senses reeling. Even Kristjan and Aron's older sisters could find nothing to complain about, as for every vegetarian option Eva had made for Kristjan with Freyja's aid, there were delicacies for their tastes as well.

"So when are we going to get to meet this special fellow of yours?" Benedikt asked as he emerged from the kitchen, a bottle of beer in his hand and Eva shot him a stare which he pointedly ignored.

"He and his aunt will be here soon." Kristjan answered, fidgeting uncomfortably at not knowing how this would all work out. "He wanted to get a couple bottles of wine for dinner."

"A couple?" Eva stood up. "Do you think we'll need that much?"

"One's for me." Kristjan sighed as he turned about, heading back into the front room where Freyja and Dani were chatting while they played with Kyssa while their older sisters gossiped without a care whether or not anyone was within ear shot.

"Can you imagine the kind of man Kristjan could end up with?" Elin joked, a nasty laugh behind the tone of her voice.

"I know." Viktoria answered. "You've seen those guys on TV with him. He's probably ugly. Hairy and fat too."

The two sisters cackled but Kristjan ignored them, knowing Ty was anything but the description that they had laid out between themselves. But timing was a perfect thing when there was a knock at the door, and Kristjan said aloud, "That must be Ty and Lora!"

"I'll get it!" Elin called out, giving Kristjan no leave to do so himself. As Viktoria followed her to the front door, they both had smirks on their faces for what they were about to get to experience at their brother's expense. Behind them, Aron came up beside his brother and gave him a jab in the arm, a smile on his face at how they were about to witness history at their 'bitchy' sisters expense.

As Elin grasped the door handle, she cast a look back at Viktoria who stood there with arms crossed and a nasty smile on her face, Elin said, "This I going to be good!" And she pulled the door open to see Ty standing there in a suit with his Aunt Lora at his side. Elin and Viktoria stared at the handsome visage and Elin sputtered, "Fuck mig!"

"Elin!!" Eva called out, aghast as Aron roared in laughter while Ty's eyes went wide. Kristjan bit his bottom lip to keep from smiling as he turned around, nodding in satisfaction at the egg on both his sisters' faces.

introductions had been made, and Eva stood front and center, staring hard at Ty as she scrutinized the man who had captured the attention of her boy. Something about Eva's stare reminded Ty of his own mother's strong disposition until she declared herself satisfied, and that Kristjan shared her taste in men. And if Kristjan thought his mom was doting on Ty, it said nothing on how his sisters did a sudden about face!

"He I so handsome!" Elin gushed, while Viktoria added, "You can tell he works out! His butt I about to bust right out of those pants!"

"Viktoria!" Eva chided, her eyes wide with shock.

"What!?" Viktoria laughed. "it's not like he can understand us!" To which Aron and Kristjan shared a knowing look but returned to the meal at hand. Kristjan had managed to snag the seat beside Ty's 'aunty,' just so that he could work his charms on her and amuse himself all at the same time. While Viktoria and Elin all but came to a struggle to get the free seat beside Ty, before Eva ended that debate quickly and took the seat for herself.

"Well. Stop. it!" Eva commanded her daughters, and it was a tone that Ty recognized would have been obeyed by anyone. Even Kristjan himself. Hell! Ty felt the desire to stop whatever it was he was doing!

"Did you see Kristjan's knees?" Elin spoke up in a hushed tone after some time had passed. This topic drew Kristjan's attention, and his parents looked up, Eva's brow narrowing but Elin reasoned to herself that the topic was about their brother, not Ty so it was fair game. "They were all skinned up?"

Viktoria smirked, brushing her hair behind her ear and smiled, "You know what that means?"

Ty picked up his glass of wine and responded -- in Icelandic, "That he has  a better social life than you do?"

Time came to a crashing halt! Every head of every one of Kristjan's family members turned to Ty. Elin and Viktoria's eyes grew wide as saucers and their faces turned deep red in a sudden realization. Kristjan leaned forward and smiled with much satisfaction as he said, "Did I forget to mention Ty speaks Icelandic?"

Viktoria quickly averted her gaze, while a thoroughly embarrassed Elin got up from her seat and left the table with Benedikt going after her, despite the fact she and her sister had done it to themselves.

"Kristjan..." Eva started to say but that was enough to open a floodgate as his head fell back and he started laughing uproariously! So much so that Eva could not find it within herself to further chide her son for having led to his sisters' humiliation in front of Ty and his aunt.

That would come later once their guests had left for the evening.

Once Benedikt had lured Elin back to the table, and Kristjan had calmed down, the evening progressed. Kristjan turned to Lora and leaned over, and said something to her in his native language, but in a husky voice, allowing his accent to truly shine through.

"Oh my!!" Lora blushed despite not understanding Icelandic. She simply knew that Kristjan was cheeky, and an insatiable flirt. Lora covered her lips as her cheeks turned a rosier shade than normal. Despite the smile on her face, Lora excused herself briefly from the table.

Ty watched her go, then turned and asked Kristjan, "What did you say?"

Smiling, Kristjan answered, "I asked her to pass the salt."

Friday

it was the dead of night, and Kristjan was unable to sleep. His family had returned to Copper Creek after a visit to Gabriel and Odette Stevens' home for an invited dinner on Gabriel's part. He and Odette had given his family a tour of their private zoo, amazing even the brash Viktoria and Elin at the animals that they had given homes to, and that was followed up with a visit to the training center where the family could see where Gabriel and Odette had transformed Kristjan from a disciplined MMA  fighter, to an unbeaten World Champion in the SCW Universe.

But now more was on Kristjan's mind, and he had insisted Aron take his room as he felt he would be unable to sleep anyway. Kristjan paced the living room, his eyes passing over the Christmas tree which was the sole holiday decor that remained illuminated.

"Vinnie, let's take a moment to reflect on why we're here again. Me? I think it would be fairly simple. in April, I set foot in the ring for the first time with Courtney Pierce  beside me in an event that, at the time, I really wanted nothing to do with. But still, Gabriel persisted and I can admit that I was wrong. Gabriel knew what was best to get my foot in the door, and that path to success started with a single win. Who would have thought when my team was announced, that two rookies... a Bombshell and Superstar who had never competed in a wrestling ring before, would beat fifteen other teams and walk away the winners of the sixth annual Blast From the Past memorial? I doubt anyone gave us much of a chance, let alone our competition, but look at who we faced -- and beat!"

"Quinton Cross and Otaki. Sam Marlowe and Caleb Storms. Equinox and Keira Fisher-Johnson. And last but not least, Shorty and our own Evie Baang. Each and every opponent someone to be celebrated -- well, except for Quinton Cross. He was a fucking poseur! But that was two rookies, two complete newcomers, who bested current and former champions to come out the winners and to see our futures assured. Championship opportunities guaranteed. History made. And after that, who crossed my path?"

"Ty West and Kyle Kavanaugh led up to my date with destiny. Funny how it led me to Ty, who now I a champion in his own right. The world title became mine on July 22, and it hasn't left my wait since!"

Fenris then raised a hand and counted off on his fingers.

"Since then? Ben Jordan and Crimson. The closest I came to a loss, to the point none of were able to win. Former champion Dmitri. SCW veteran Casey Williams. Kris Ryans, the man who I should have fought for the title in the first place!"

He brought up his other hand, continuing to count off, "Hall of Famer and Grand Slam Champion Kain! Joshua Acquin! My toughest match ever in Senor Vinnie, and yes, Jake Raab."

Kristjan grasped the handle of the patio door and slid it open, stepping outside into the night air well after two in the morning. The chill air had little effect on him with his bare chest and feet with pajama pants, given where his homeland was. He stepped close to the porch rail and looked out at the city lights in the distance.

"What about you, Vinnie. Have you any idea why you're here? Why you're really here? This I the third time that you and I have faced each other, and the second time where my championship will be on the line. A great chance for you to have the ultimate Christmas present for yourself. I imagine at this point,, you have to start questioning yourself, and wondering why this chance was given to you. Do you think you deserve it?"

Fenris shrugged.

"Why not? I do. Yes, I think you deserve this chance at the championship and ending my streak more than anyone else on the roster. Why?"

He turned to look into the camera.

"Because you took a fucking beating at High Stakes Viii and you gave me one in return! That I what I like! That I what I want! I was told years ago that if you want to prove yourself as a fighter, you not only have to be able to dish it out but you had sure as hell best be able to take it! You were able to on both points, and that I why you're here again! That I why you are still the number one challenger. You suffered only one defeat so far in your career, and just who was it that handed you that loss?"

Fenris tapped a finger to his sternum.

"I believe that honor was all mine! And since then? You haven't suffered a second loss against an otherwise imperfect record. And that I why I wanted to defend against you a second time!"

Fenris turned away from the camera to again look out at Las Vegas, the far off lights dancing in reflection on his own blue eyes. He nodded.

"Yeah, Vinnie. You're facing me again because I asked for it. When it came time to put the championship on the line at this Christmas show, you were the one I wanted to defend against -- again. You are the man I want to bring 2018 to a close against and make this the Year of the Wolf. But here's the thing..."

Fenris turned from the railing and walked the few short steps to come to the soft patio sofa that dominated the left wall. He had a seat and leaned forward, his elbows resting upon his knees with his fingers clasped together.

"I can't do that, without beating you a second time. Now normally I would be all in for the false bravado and feeding people bullshit, but the simple fact I that you came the closest to handing me a singles defeat, Ty West coming a close second. You, Vinnie. Much of what I see in myself, I can admit I see in you."

He cast a sidelong glance.

"Well, except for that whole cactus fetish. That I just fucking weird! No, you came in to SCW a virtual unknown in wrestling circles. While I had my own MMA past, nobody knew shit about you. And what did you do? You made them know! You made them open their eyes and see what was standing right in front of them. You won the Gold Rush tournament, beating guys like Joshua Acquin, Caleb Storms and yeah -- Ty West. The man everyone, myself included, had hand picked to win the whole tournament!"

Fenris nodded.

"Those names sound familiar, Vinnie? They should because all three were the exact same men that I had to go through to get to where I am today. And when you and I finally fought over the grand prize?"

Fenris shook his head and a low whistle escaped from his pursed lips.

"We fucking tore the house down! We OWNED that shit! But...!"

He held up a forefinger, then directed it back at himself.

"I won. Me. Now some critics said it wasn't much of a win, the same as when I won against Ty when he refused to submit and passed out in the Ride of the Valkyrie's instead. He made that choice rather than give me the satisfaction of forcing him to tap out. But you Vinnie?"

Fenris smiled.

"You couldn't tap out. That option had been taken away before I ever even slapped that hold on your ass! Because I kicked you in the head with Wolf's Bane and knocked your ass out!"

He sat back against the soft lining of the sofa and stretched his legs out, his eyes roaming everywhere. Taking in everything laid out before him.

"I think since then, when you woke up backstage, you knew what you had done to me. You know you had impressed not just me, not just the bosses, but everyone who watched that match. You also knew that you would have to be given a second chance at the championship. After all, if someone gives that kind of performance against the champion, what other choice do the higher ups have? They couldn't justify giving the title shot to anyone else, so it's all on you Vinnie. And that's also why you had to start playing your fucking mind games. I mean, really? A cactus filing a lawsuit for emotional distress?"

Fenris held his arms out and shook his head, looking amazed.

"Are you fucking kidding me!? That's the best that you can accomplish!? Even if Pedro were a person, and not a prick of a plant, it would go nowhere!! Wrestling, just like MMA or boxing, I a full contact sport. People hit each other. People hurt one another, and they get hurt. You think someone would be in the crowd, watching the fight of the century in the Octagon and think afterwards, 'Oh that one fighter went a little too far against that other fighter and hurt him! My emotional well being I damaged so I had better sue for distress!'"

Fenris rolled his eyes quite dramatically.

"The fucking moron would be laughed out of court, even if he could get some grease ball lawyer to take his case. And the same I going to go for you, or should I say, for Pedro. I don't know which insults me more, Vinnie. The fact that you actually thought it would work, or the credit you were giving my intelligence when you cooked up this harebrained scheme!"

"it's almost -- almost as bad, as you resorting to using Ty's aunt as a pawn."

Fenris nodded, sitting upright.

"Yeah, I think you are aware I'm onto you. Lora West I a treasure, and if you think I'm going to stand idly by and watch you hurt her, well you're wrong. I don't understand why Ty I just standing by and letting this happen. Seems you have him caught in the same web as you have Lora, but I can say without a shred of doubt that woman deserves much better than a freak like you with a cactus fetish! Lora could have the world at her fingertips, but that's not something you could ever hope to provide."

"This act of yours, I have to say Vinnie. it's getting tiresome. Although I can't help but admit the cactus I a refreshing touch, I still can't look at you without thinking that it's all been done before. The insane wrestler? Done. Now maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's not an act and you are as justifiably nuts as you put on. if not, well hats off to you! You have a whole world convinced that you're two tacos short of a combination plate. Mexican pun intended."

"But if you are, it's all the more reason for me to stop you where you stand. There are a lot of men out there that I respect, and yes, as a fighter you are one of them. But there are also a lot of men out there that I would fight all the harder to keep from losing my championship to, more so than others. You are also on that lit! I'll be damned if I let my streak end, or lose my championship, to some guy who tends to think he can play games with me in order to get the edge he so desperately needs! And yeah, Vinnie!"

Fenris nodded, his eyes gleaming under the Christmas lights adorning the roof of the patio.

"Make no mistake about it, you do need that edge against me!"

Fenris slowly pushed himself to his feet and stepped back up to the rail of the patio. He extended his arm straight out and swept it along in an arc, presenting the city as a whole.

"Look out there Vinnie, and tell me what you see. Not just the city, but the world! it's there before you, and the entirety I going to tune in to watch us do to each other what we do best! The world itself I at our fingertips, but only one of us will be able to reach out and take it by the balls and bring this year to a close with a win casting aside all doubt"

Fenris turned and looked at the camera.

"Despite all your hopes and dreams, and letters to Santa Clause telling him a win over me would make the perfect Yuletide present, it won't be you Vinnie."

Fenris then slid the patio door open again and set foot back inside of his home. He was greeted by his adoring Siberian husky, her tail wagging and a sloppy doggy grin on her face. He ran his hand along her back as he headed for the sofa where he had taken up  residence for the night's sleep. His canine companion trailing along behind him.

"You know why, don't you Vinnie? Because you're not the only one who has ways to instill inspiration in yourself."

He turned to look straight at the camera before he sat down.

"I know I'm good. I bear no false modesty when I say I'm the fucking best SCW has to offer right now! I am the World Champion, after all -- and undefeated! But it's like I said before, I'm no fool. I know it won't last forever, but it's not going to end now. And it's not going to end by your hands. I have more reasons than just retaining my world title to put you down. I want to do more than call an end to this business between us..."

Earlier in the week at the McCarran international Airport, Kristjan's jubilant mother ran into his arms at the baggage claim where they had agreed to meet, overjoyed at being reunited with her two sons for the Yule holiday, her family together for the first time in well over a year!

"There I nothing that you can threaten me with. Nothing that you can use against me."

Kristjan clasped his father's hand and shook, while Benedikt's free hand gently cusped the back of his neck and leaned in, his father's forehead brushing against his own in a familiar and affectionate display of love and pride.

"I have everything going for me, and you have everything working against you."

His baby sister practically jumped into Kristjan's arms. he wrapped his own tightly around her and swung her in a full circle, uncaring at any stares at this display of affection a big brother was afforded to such a darling little sister!

"I have the proven track record. I have the motivation, and inspiration."

Kristjan exchanged stiff and uncomfortable embraces with Viktoria and Elin, more so his mother's sake than any lingering affection that could truly exit between the three.

"This I the first time my family has ever deigned to see me fight in person. it never happened when I was fighting for EliteXL, and to date, had not happened in Sin City Wrestling simply because the opportunity had never presented itself. But guess what? They're here, now! My parents, my sisters! All watching, all wanting to see me do what I do best and that I put my boot up some damn fool's ass and walk away with my head held high! There I no greater inspiration to succeed than the will to do your family proud! Especially -- when your mom and dad are sitting right there in the front row, watching with pride in their eyes! A little sister with love in hers, and two older sisters who PROBABLY want to see me get my ass kicked, but..."

He shook his head with a sardonic smile.

"I can't let them have that satisfaction. But who knows?"

He jetted out a bottom lip and looked upward, as if in contemplation.

"They may want to see their little brother win, but they'd never admit it to anyone. And I won't let you have the satisfaction of a win at my expense either, Vinnie. Your journey ends here. Mine I only going to continue into the New Year, and inception iii. I have a date with destiny. I had hoped it would be Austin James Mercer that I would be facing in the SCW versus Honor Unification, but it would seem fate was not on Austin's side."

He shook his head.

"I admit disappointment, but the chance to face Jake Raab one on one?"

He then nodded with a satisfied smile,  soft and subdued.

"Now that I a consolation prize that I can get behind. And it I one that you will not deny me!"

Fenris held up his hand and counted off.

"Destiny. Family. Oo! I have it all Vinnie! if you weren't you, I'd almost feel bad for handing you your second straight loss."

He laid down on the sofa and covered up, while  Kyssa moved about in three circles before she too laid down at the side, at her master's feet.

"Merry Christmas Vinnie, and I mean that. I want you to have the safest and happiest of holiday seasons, because I am going to prove to you when I beat you for the second straight time, that not all holiday wishes come true, and all the letters in the world won't help good ol' Saint Nick pull the magic out of his bag to give you the World Heavyweight Championship! So take my advice. Drink some eggnog. Open some early presents. Pretend Pedro I an actual tree and decorate him while you're at it. This Sunday in Reno, there will be no peace on earth, nor good will towards men. I'm going to  prove to you that not all holiday wishes come true."

34

Climax Control Archives / Pained memories

« on: November 30, 2018, 05:20:39 PM »

 <img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/Fenris14.jpg" height=344 width=308>"Aron here. I know, every time you tune in you expect to see my brother, front and center. And you will, but something's been plaguing my mind. More than one thing, actually. And that is a question that has been the bane on many minds each and every time you think you did something that was for the best."

"Did I do the right thing?"

"Sounds simple, doesn't it? But the fact is, there's no harder question to have the right, definitive answer for. You think you did something for the benefit of someone you love, but in the back of the mind you're plagued by doubts. That's about where I am right now. You see, I like Ty, but I love my brother. I can see the emotional tug-of-war he has going inside of himself, even if Kristjan does try hiding it from anyone in case they get too close. He acts stubborn, refuses to admit any weakness, and because of that, sometimes he hurts people intentionally to keep them at arm's length. He's been doing that to Ty ever since the two met for drinks, and in doing so, it tells me that my brother really does like the guy. If he didn't, he wouldn't even bother. He'd just tell him to fuck off and be done with the whole sordid mess."

"It's why I confided in Ty about someone from my brother's past, a young boy named Jökull who was taken from This earth far ahead of his time. Someone who captured my brother's heart and soul, and broke both when we lost that sweet, sweet lad. To say Kristjan's heart was destroyed beyond repair would be a vast understatement. It remained that way for years, until he met  Ty. But Kristjan fell back into old habits and tried to hurt Ty in order to save him from himself. I thought Ty deserved better so I told him about Jökull."

"And ever since then, I'd been filled with doubt."

"Especially when right after Ty started tweeting about going out on dates with someone else. Made me wonder not only if my decision was one colossal blunder, or if Ty had a problem dealing with someone's emotional baggage. I can't say either way, but I know for certain that I'm going to have to make a decision in the very near future and I'm afraid it's going to cost me."

Years ago...

It was a memory that many of us could recall if we set our minds to years past, to a time when we spent several hours a day in the halls of school, earning our education. To many, school was a lark, fun and a time to spend around your friends, socializing while taking into account what would be required later in life in order to claw your way to the path of hopes and dreams. To others, it was a bore, a dark time in memory where you sat bored with an open text book, listening to the teachers going on about topics you could care less about. And yet still you listened.

Many felt of your peers were studious, feeling that the education was a testament to success in life, which was true. Others had a harder time living up to that and spent the better part of their time focusing on other endeavors at school, such as clubs or physical activities. Where some excelled in books and lessons, others did so in sports and extracurricular activities.

Two young boys stood at the far side of the Borgarholtsskóli school gymnasium where the typical gym classes that were the torment of many an educational mind took place. It was not the same in Iceland as many other countries in the world where gym was a required part of the educational system. Here, it was optional but also students were offered chances and opportunities to play sports as those same after school activities. Many kids who preferred to focus on their studies preferred to avoid these classes, as did those who had to admit that they were simply no good with playing basketball, tennis and the like. Others, however, who had those same physical limits, still enjoyed playing sports and relied on these gym classes as their only opportunities.

Jökull Kae would fit under the latter. He loved sports. He loved watching it on television, time permitted, and loved participating during class since his after school focus was always on his studies. Football, basketball, he tried his best in everything the gym class offered, but his efforts were not always appreciated by his teammates. Jökull stood beside another young boy of the same age, both in their uniform t shirt and shorts, staring ahead and waiting to be called to one of two teams. Remember those days where you stood and waited, watched as other students got called one by one and the numbers on the opposite side slowly dwindled, leaving you with a glaringly obvious feeling of not being wanted?

"We'll take Einar." The boy captaining the one volleyball team called.

Yes, that's how Jökull was feeling about now as he slowly walked to the other team and heard a handful of members grumble in disappointment. Jökull was still new in school, and his mixed heritage did nothing to integrate himself to the more unpleasant members of the student body, but still a teenage Kristjan Baltasarsson kept a close eye on him, curious.

The game progressed, and the winning point was at hand. The ball was served, and sailed right toward Jökull who readied to hit it, but his timing was off and strike was awkward at best. The ball sailed off course and struck the net, landing on the gymnasium floor and giving the win to the opposite team. There were murmurs of resentment as the whistle blew and the teacher called for the kids to head for the showers. One walked briskly past Jökull and out of the teacher's sight, landed a hard open handed slap to the back of the boy's head. Jökull winced and rubbed the tender spot with his hand, and his eyes caught Kristjan watching him as he himself exited the gymnasium.

That was the very same day we know where Kristjan later came to Jökull's defense against three of his tormenters, and a loving relationship had been formed from out of nowhere. This resulted in much more than just a bond from which both boys benefited greatly, but also Jökull's stance in school grew in the eyes of his peers thanks in part to his friendship with one of the top boys of their class.

During the lunch period, Jökull ate alone but that was okay. He was used to it. He had an open book in front of him at a far table pressed in the cafeteria's corner, munching on a cold lamb sandwich when a brown paper bag dropped in front of him. He started, then looked up in surprise as Kristjan pulled out a chair and sat across from him, going to work on his own meal. Despite their earlier introductions in the school hall, no words were exchanged at first. Kristjan ate like a horse and all his attention was on his food, and a wide eyed Jökull slowly went back to his own, his eyes finding their way back to the pages of his book.

"What are you reading?" Kristjan finally asked as he finished his second sandwich, and started digging around in his lunch sack for more.

And that was all it took for a too brief conversation to begin between the boys, talking about their classes and interests, before the lunch bell rang and they were forced to go their separate ways. The other kids in the cafeteria could not believe that one of the year's head boys, an outcast in his own way due to his aggressive nature and temper, but still popular in his own way, took such an interest in a displaced person such as Jökull.

The following Monday...

School was back in session, and another gym class. This time, Kristjan was one of the two boys chosen to captain a basketball game for his class. True, Kristjan was not the leader-type, but it was his turn and his gym teacher believed it would be good for him, and knew that competition for the team would be fierce. Kristjan excelled at sports with an aggressive personality and many a time, the team he was on was all but guaranteed victory.

"Yeah, so long as Jökull isn't on it!" Someone would chide.

Kristjan stood beside the other team's captain, a youth by the name of Guðmundur.

"Kristjan, you're first." The gym teacher announced. Kristjan turned to the sea of eyes staring back until he found the one he had been searching for and pointed.

"Jökull."

To say his classmates were surprised would be a vast understatement. Heads turned and whispers beneath their breath were heard as a beaming Jökull walked from out of the crowd of bodies and Kristjan held a hand up and the smiling boy slapped a hand into his own in a friendly high-five, joining him at his side. A place he would remain until his untimely demise little over a year later.

Each school day during lunch, they always sat together and talked about life, their families, hobbies, etc when eventually other kids who held Kristjan in high regard slowly made their ways to the same table. Kristjan had developed an interest in the boy, and slowly closed minds were opened and new friendships were forged for a young boy who only weeks ago had felt like a miserable outsider. But Kristjan was and always would be number one where he was concerned.

"Kristjan? Honey?" His mother Eva, dressed in a simple black dress and blouse, stood in the door frame of the bedroom he shared with his little brother Aron. Her eyes were misted over and filled with motherly concern as she watched her oldest boy, dressed in a dark suit, stare with blank eyes out the window from his bedside where he sat. From there she could see the dark circles under his eyes, and his handsome features sunken and sallow. Evidence enough that the nightmares continued, and his sleep had been hindered for days. He had isolated himself from everyone, even his beloved younger siblings Aron and Freyja, which compounded the worry his parents had for him. They could hear him from behind closed doors, his emotions getting the better of him since he received the phone call from Jökull's mother, although he would never admit it.

Kristjan was never one to admit weakness to anyone, even family. The shock at the news of his 'friend's' death was enough to send him overt the edge the once in front of his immediate family. That alone spoke volumes and frightened even his older sisters who he bore no good will towards, nor they to him. But in This instance, he did not have to tell anyone about his emotions. Eva could see the dried tear stains on her son's face, and even had she not, she knew what he was going through.

A mother knows.

Eva stepped a foot inside of the room, and the creak of the floorboard drew Kristjan's attention enough to cast a sidelong glance over his shoulder and towards her. "It's time to go." She said.

Kristjan turned his head away from her and she saw him chew at his bottom lip as he shook his head. he drew in a shaky breath and he said, "I'm not going."

"Not going?" She frowned as she walked the rest of the way to his bedside and sat down to his right. This was indeed most distressing, knowing that Kristjan wanted to go to Jökull's funeral services today. In fact, their entire family was going. Not just out of support for Kristjan, but to pay their respects to Jökull's mother. The simple truth was, Jökull had endeared himself to their entire household; even the antagonistic elder sisters, Elin and Viktoria, adored the young man and wondered aloud why someone like him hung out with their 'asshole' brother. They were all waiting downstairs as Eva placed a warm hand on Kristjan's broad shoulder with motherly care and concern, and asked, "Why don't you want to go?"

"Because if I go," He started to say, fighting to control himself since his mother was right there. "... it would mean that he's really gone."

Eva could practically feel her heart breaking for her son, as she placed both hands on his shoulders before extending her arms to wrap him in a motherly embrace. "Kristjan, Jökull is gone."

Kristjan bowed his head, his eyes clenched shut and he whispered hoarsely, "How can I face them?" By them, he obviously meant Jökull's mother and father. "T-this is all m-my fault!"

"Kristjan, no!" Eva tried to reassure him for what had to be the hundredth time. "Jökull's death was not your doing!"

"He never should have went out that night! He never should have ... I never should have called him to come over! I might as well have been that truck driver who hit them!"

"No... no!" Eva struggled for the right words, but what were the right words, and would her stubborn son even listen if she found them? "Sweety, Jökull's death was not your doing! It ... it could have happened to anyone. The only crime you're guilty of is wanting to spend the evening with a friend. And honey, that is no crime!"

Kristjan closed his eyes and shook his head, the tear escaping and trickling down his cheek before he could stop it or wipe it away with his arm. Eva closed her eyes as she placed her head on her son's shoulder and she said as gently as possible, "Nobody is going to make you go, honey. But if you don't say goodbye to Jökull and see him one more time... you will regret it."

Kristjan's eyes slowly opened, filled with wet emotion. He sniffed hard and turned to his mom and she leaned in to kiss his cheek, her open palm against the other;. As she drew back, she could see nothing short of agony in her son's eyes. But she put on a brave front, the hardest task for any mother when their child was hurting as bad as he was right now. She could no easier hide her wet eyes from him, than he was able his own. Eva cupped his face in her hands and simply smiled and nodded.

Chapel of Fossvogur...

It was a full house for the funeral of the young Jökull Kae, as every seat was filled by family and friends of the family with more arriving by the minute. Even teachers from Jökull's school as well as a growing number of the student population turned up, showing just how much changed since the young boy's first day amongst them. There were tears of regret by many students for their past mistreatment of the lad, and some grumbling by those closer to Jökull that these children should have expressed their guilt and endearment at a time when Jökull could have heard and appreciated all.

A long line had formed to wait their turn and express condolences to Jökull's mother Elisabet and his father, Han-Jae. The seat on Elisabet's immediate right was kept conspicuously vacant as she shook hands, embraced, and exchanged a word or two. And just in front of them, was a white coffin, the color a tradition in Iceland. The lid was open, and draped all over the coffin were lilacs.  Many passed before the coffin to look inside and give one final wish to Jökull, but one very important part of his life had yet to do so.

Kristjan stood at the end of the row, rigid in posture as people passed by him on both sides. His blue eyes were frozen on the coffin, and who he knew lie within.

"Son?" Kristjan's farther Benedikt, approached him from the right, his hands tucked in his sack pockets. He was never good dealing with personal difficulties, but as a father of five, he knew he had to see to his son's welfare. Kristjan kept his eyes on the coffin, but turned his head just enough to indicate that he had heard him. Benedikt asked, "Don't you want to say goodbye?"

He could only shake his head in the negative.

All Kristjan could do was stare, frozen at this final act that was expected. Oh he was certain that Jokull would bear him no grudge for not walking up to the coffin, but he also knew that if their roles were reversed, and if Kristjan were the one laying in that coffin, Jokull would not have hesitated. He would have been fearful perhaps, and in a terrible state emotionally as Kristjan himself was, but he would have done it.

The first step was the hardest, but his father was there for him as he slowly, painfully, walked up the aisle. He could feel the eyes of others on him, especially that of his family. The crowd parted, and Kristjan finally found himself at the side of the white coffin, and staring down at that sweet, cherubic face. For one brief and fleeting moment, Kristjan almost believed that his dear friend was only sleeping and would sit up at any given moment. But he knew better, and there was never more evidence to the contrary than this very moment.

Jökull was gone.

Kristjan slowly extended his arm out and his fingertips brushed against his friend's cheek, then moved toward his hair. It was as if Kristjan wanted to simply remember the trace and outline of this dear boy, just one more time. Those adorable bangs of silken black hair hung low and a strand had fallen over Jökull's left eye. Noticing this, Kristjan's finger brushed it back as he drew in a shaky breath.

That was when he heard his name called, "Kristjan?" And he turned around to find Jökull's parents watching him, their own eyes threatening to overrun with emotion. No parent should outlive their own children. Elisabet patted the vacant chair with her hand and it had dawned on Kristjan why it had remained vacant. It was because Jökull's parents wanted their son's dearest friend to sit by their side for the services.

He looked to his father, and received a nod and a grip on his upper arm in return. Benedikt went to rejoin his family in the chairs they had taken, as Kristjan slowly made his way over to Jökull's parents and sat in the offered chair. Elisabet reached over and took his hand and gave it a familiar squeeze as the priest walked out to begin the services and bid Jokull Kae a fond farewell...

Now...

Kristjan jolted awake, the memory of that pained day still fresh in his memories. He thought he had kept that day at bay for an eternity, but something had caused the memories to return with an all new familiarity, the pain just as intense now as it had been then. But what...

The body beside him moved beneath the covers, and Fenris turned and saw the sleeping form of Ty West to his right. How handsome the man looked, how a man his size could appear so innocent was beyond him comprehension. But the simple face was that when Ty showed up out of the blue, the two did things that proved Ty was not entirely as innocent as he was led to believe. That or he was simply an incredibly studious adept. And while he was gentle, he was also the kind of aggressive lover that could have you peeled off the ceiling, or put your head through the headboard.

And despite himself, Fenris enjoyed every moment of the two plus hours they had spent together before both passed out from exhaustion. And he felt guilty for that very thing. Slowly he removed Ty's arm from around his chest and sat up, sliding his legs over the side of the bed. His bare flesh warm and flushed against the cool bed sheets. He started to stand when a hand reached out and snatched his upper arm, startling him and pulling him back down. He turned his head to see Ty's eyes open whole his face was pressed against the thick but soft pillow.

"It won't work." Ty mumbled clearly, the after effects of their night together still affecting his body.

It took a moment for Fenris to understand what Ty had said, then he shook his head and asked, "What -- won't work?"

"We're at your place. Can't leave this time." There was a twinkle in Ty's eye as he smiled. "Why do you think I came here?"

"I know why you came here." Fenris offered Ty the cockiest of grins, but the smile slowly subsided and he found himself admitting, "I wasn't going to try and leave."

Ty propped himself up onto one elbow and ;looked up at the object of his affection. "Then why are you awake? Not to toot my own horn but you look exhausted."

Fenris scoffed, then shook his head and replied, "No reason. Just woke up."

Ty said nothing. He instead took hold of Fenris by the arm and pulled him back down onto the bed where he snuggled up against his back. Yes indeed, Ty West was a cuddler. Before they fell back asleep, Ty asked, "You okay?"

"Yes." Fenris lied.

That morning,
9:30 AM

After they each took a hot shower and got dressed, Ty walked alongside Fenris as they exited the bedroom and walked down the short hall to where it opened up into the main living area of the condo; a large front room and kitchen with a dining room and island counter. Seated at the counter were the other two residents of the condo, Fenris's brother Aron and their mutual house guest, Dani Weston.

"Morning." Ty greeted the pair warmly, but at the sound of his voice, both Aron and Dani turned to greet the two with a rousing chorus of whistles and applause.

"Bravo!"

"Encore! Encore!"

"Dani, no! That means they'd do it all over again!" Dani covered her mouth with wide eyes. Fenris stared hard at the two jokesters with a critical glare, but Ty's own reaction was more embarrassed, and quite charming. He timidly looked at the two and swallowed hard as a red flush crept its way up his neck and ears.

"You... heard?"

"Deaf people downtown heard." Aron replied nonchalantly as he took a drink from his glass of OJ. Dani looked at the younger of the brothers and joked, "I thought they were moving furniture at first!"

Aron laughed, and Ty's eyes closed and he held his face in one hand, but that was only exasperated by his partner Fenris who walked past him and into the kitchen, replying simply, "We were."

"I'm in hell." Ty groaned, but Dani hopped off the bar stool and smiled up at him, "Oh we're just teasing!"

"No we're not." Aron chided.

Dani ignored him and gave a whistle, and into the room padded the soft paws of Fenris's beloved pooch, Kyssa. Ty's eyes lit up with absolute delight, the first time he had laid eyes on the beautiful Siberian husky. "Well, hello!" He lowered himself down to one knee and ran his fingers through her snow white fur. "You are gorgeous!" He smiled and immediately Ty found out just how the dog earned her name as she gave him sloppy doggy kisses, resulting in the laughter of all around him.

Dani leaned in and attached a leash to Kyssa's collar, as Fenris said, "She does that to everyone who pays her compliments."

"Like father, like daughter." Aron smiled as he slid off his own bar stool, but his path was impeded by his own brother who leaned against the counter to stare into his eyes. "Kidding!" Aron chuckled, and he ducked under Fenris's arm to walk past Dani and open the front door.

Aron said, "We're going for a morning run, thought we'd take Kyssa with us. We'd invite you but thought you two might want time to bask in the after glow."

Taking the good natured ribbing all in good fun, Ty still head a growling noise and turned his head to discover it coming from Fenris who had ground his teeth together. Dani started toward the door, leading Kyssa long as she observed, "It probably wouldn't be good for Kristjan to walk that funny in public anyway..."

"Hlaupa, Kyssa! Hlaupa!" Fenris suddenly barked, and Kyssa took off like a shot though the open door, dragging a startled Dani off of her feet and right out the door! Fenris almost fell down against Ty laughing uproariously!

---

"Sinful Obsession... J2H and Giani Di Luca... Bosom Buddies... The Elders... Team BJ... London Underground... some of the best tag team competition that ever hit the SCW rings."

The images of each tag team mentioned was shown on a screen, one by one. The words spoken were in Icelandic with the added benefit of English subtitles for the viewer watching. And at the naming of the last team, the slide show was tuned off with the click of a switch and the lights turned back on. Fenris stared ahead from his perch on the ring apron, one of two in the training facilities ran by the Stevens's. In his hand, the remote for the projector, which he sat down on the edge of the apron.

He had obviously just completed an intense workout, as he was clad simply in a pair of red and gold trimmed spandex shorts and remained barefoot, the perspiration glistening on his lightly tanned body.

"And while it is true that tag team wrestling isn't what it once was in SCW, there are still times where it makes a return to entertain the people in the audience, or to settle a few scores. Sometimes, both. And I will also admit that while I enjoy watching tag team matches, I'm not the biggest fan in taking part in them. I see no benefit in standing out on the ring apron and watching while someone else does the fighting while I wait to be tagged in. But..."

He shrugged.

"To each their own. This won't be the first time I've been involved in a tag team, the first time being teamed with Courtney Pierce in the Blast From the Past, and what happened?"

He smiled that cocky smile he had perfected all too well while holding his arms out wide.

"2018 Champions! Which led, to this..."

He picked up the SCW World title belt from the bench and slung it over his shoulder.

"So yeah, there are benefits and perks in tag team matches, which makes you wonder what perks there will be on Sunday when I tea with Ty against a man I've already faced, and one that I have been wanting to get my hands on ever since he started running his mouth; Vinnie and Jake Raab!"

"Vinnie, I am not too proud to admit that our match at High Stakes VIII was fucking awesome! I thought for a moment that I would breeze right past you but damn did you make me work for it! That's what I want! That's what I like! I thought guys like Kris Ryans and Casey Williams gave me the toughest fights of my career..."

He shook his head.

"... but brother, I think that falls to you! My own partner for this match, Ty West, gave me two tough ass fights too, but you, Vinnie? You brought me closer to defeat than anyone has since I came here! Can't find fault at you wanting to take the world title away from me, but wanting to and being able to are two very different things! Now I admit I don't get why Ty wastes his time with you, a man who takes advice from a desert plant, but to each their own. I'm not going to let your friendship with my partner get in the way of fighting my way to yet another win. You gave me the fight of my life, but I still won!"

He nodded, eyes wide.

"Yeah, Senor, I won. You may not like how it happened, hell! You may even try to dispute it! But I knocked your ass out cold and the referee said you couldn't continue. While I prefer to win by pin fall or tap out, a win by knock out? Sometimes that serves an even better purpose as a warning to whoever wants to get into the ring against me. Then they'll see and know exactly what the hell I can do to anyone who steps inside of the ring with me."

He turned to another camera and pointed toward it.

"That would bring me to you then, Jake Raab, wouldn't it? You want me in the ring? Congratulations, you got me! Still, not quite what you were expecting because now you also have Ty West to contend with, and you have to share me with Vinnie. No doubt that I'll get to defend my title against Vinnie again and soon, whether before Inception III or after, it doesn't matter to me. I'll win, and keep on winning. But you, Jake, the man carrying on the Raab family name..."

Fenris shook his head and did a remarkable eye roll.

"I've yet to really see anything positive come from you, and if you are the next big thing in the Raab Dynasty, then surely Lord Raab must be shitting himself with disappointment! We traded a few insults, sure. Why not? Hell, I thought it was fucking cool that there was another MMA  fighter in SCW, a legit one this time other than myself, but then you had to go and open your mouth, didn't you? What was that shit you were talking about with EliteXL? Or my standing there? All  any of that did was prove your head was almost as far up your ass as my foot will be this Sunday! You want to question what I was then, and where I am now? You won't be so confident when I have you down on the mat and tied up tighter than the Gordian knot. I won't give you any choice but to tap out!"

Fenris shook his head, his soaked hair flinging about on his shoulders.

"It won't be a simple pinfall for you, Jake. I won't even aim to knock you out like I did your partner there. You ... I want to make cry uncle! And once you wipe those tears away, I am going to take myself straight to the back and tell them I want a match against you, alone! I called you out as you so aptly pointed out, and you answered. We both want it, so why should we wait?"

He paused at the door to the showers and dressing room.

"I don't care which of you I face one on one next. It's all about the now. The war is about to begin, and the Valkyries, the Choosers of the Slain, are already coveting you, ready to carry you off to Valhalla while Ty West and I celebrate."

"I hope you're watching, Austin James Mercer. because this could be you."

Fenris walked into the showers with a towel over his shoulder, and the scene closed out.

35

Climax Control Archives / A aftur til rætur mínar

« on: October 19, 2018, 11:02:54 PM »

 <img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/Fenris12.jpg" height=512 width=386>It was a rare thing for the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Fenris to not be at the training facility of Gabriel and Odette Stevens, working out and honing his craft. Did he have a life, outside of the sport of professional wrestling? Not to hear his brother, Aron, speak of it. If he wasn't competing inside of the ring, or on the road for the tours and promotional appearances that Sin City Wrestling scheduled for its stars, he was working out. And if he was not working out, then you would find him at his and Aron's home in Las Vegas, the two bedroom luxury condo that for the time being, they were sharing with their guest; the World Bombshell Champion Danielle Weston. Kristjan aka Fenris was, by his own admission, not the most sociable of sorts. When at home, he spent the majority of his time doing one of two things; doting on his beloved canine Kyssa, or sitting in front of the television, where he would waste away countless hours watching, of all things, Japanese anime which he had taken a liking to when introduced to the phenom thanks in part to Despayre.

He would also watch movies suggested to him by Gabriel and a handful of others, but it was sports that he spent the most time glued to when in front of the TV. It was only natural that he greatly favored watching full contact sports such as boxing or MMA, but he also had taken a liking to  football (not the Americanized version that the Philistines called 'soccer'). Ben Jordan and he had a very friendly rivalry between them when they watched football, winning and losing bets made at each others expense on a regular basis.

While Kyssa was happy, so long as her master was at home and she could curl up on the sofa with him as he watched -- whatever, and he stroked his fingers through her snow-white fur. Not so much the same could be said for Aron, who groused regularly at his brother's slovenly habits. No, not just because of the fact that he himself had to pick up after Fenris, who left beer bottles and snack papers everywhere. But because he showed genuine brotherly concern for Kristjan who seemed to go out of his way to avoid any sociable contact with, well, anyone. With Kris Ryans and Courtney Pierce now officially 'missing in action,' the only ones Fenris associated with were the ones that were involved not only in the Stevens gym, but who were behind his training and foray into this world of competition inside of the six-sided ring.

Competition that he took to and excelled at, we might stress for those watching. And it was thank in part to his obsessive habits where his training was concerned. Say what you might about his social life (or lack there of) or his anger issues that he had become famous for to some degree. But when all was said and done, Fenris was a beast when it came to his training. He had his routine, day in and day out, that he never strayed from. He could be hung over from a nightly binge. He could have gotten very little sleep due to staying up late, drinking or watching a movie. But he would always be up at the crack of dawn, and take Kyssa out while he ran to the nearest park. It was one habit that Aron always joined him in, as both brothers remained physically fit, just Aron had a more classic dancer/swimmer build while his brother was built to fight. Kristjan always ran between four to six miles each morning, and at night, he would simply return to the park but this time walk Kyssa for relaxation. The running in the morning was just to wake himself up, and prepare his heart for the workout that would come. Plus it helped with his endurance inside of the ring. Whether it be wrestling or MMA, all the training in the world could not save you if you could not go the full distance. And Kristjan? He worked out every day.

Every. Day.

Aron could count on one hand, the number of times his brother had missed a workout. Even if he couldn't get to a gym on the road, which was a rarity, he would make damn sure he got in a run, a workout in the hotel room -- something.

Charlie Frias Park - Las Vegas
6:47 am

This was the personal preference location for Kristjan's early morning runs and late evening walks with his girl. It was wide open space, thirty two acres to be exact, and was fairly private in these early hours. Few people were about, and even fewer who recognized him from his professions would bother him. At night, when there were more about? Not so much. Some fans who had snooped and figured out his routine would regularly top him to attempt to chat or ask for photo ops, but it was admittedly Kyssa who attracted the most attention. From both female as well as male fans. Somehow seeing anyone fawn over his girl kept Fenris from getting (too) irritated at his routine being interrupted.

"Does she do any tricks?" That was the usual question that was asked, and one that had worked Kristjan's nerves raw.

"No, of course she doesn't." He would usually answer.

"How come?"

"Because she's a dog!" He would often bark, pun not intended. "Not some fucking trained monkey at a god damn circus!" That was generally enough to end any questions, not to mention the air of civility.

The attention Kristjan got? That's another story. The two brothers would kick their mornings off in regular clothes for a run; t shirt and shorts, but once they started working up a sweat and the sun rose, the shirts would usually be shed off and their glistening bodies naturally drew the stares from anyone there. There were attempted flirtations, and a few even dared to approach them and try to get a little too close, but Fenris shut those attempts down both hard and fast (no puns, please!). It was not what he was there for.

Much to Aron's chagrin. His brother needed to relax more. His tension seemed to deflate after what happened with Kris Ryans, happened -- but then the god damned threat of a sex tape had ignited and his personal life exposed for the world to know and exploit. Now with so many trolls trying to invade his life, it was a wonder Kristjan had resumed his routines after that brief mental and health break down he had suffered several weeks ago. They still attracted attention from the wrong sorts, some fuckers even making assumptions about Aron (and his relationship with his brother) by proxy, but few, if any, dared to address this directly else they run the risk of Fenris's wrath.

For now, it was peaceful, and the sun was just beginning to crest the horizon. The park opened to the public at six sharp, and it was the how and why Kristjan had worked out the timing of his daily morning regime. This was the favored time of the year here in the states for both brothers, as it remained dark still, but much more pleasantly cool and not so warm. It was in the upper fifties, what many would think too cold for a run but for two men who called Iceland home? It was nothing. This was just a time for Kristjan to get his life back in order, and for Aron to help him. The two brothers ran around the dog park, keeping to the trails and taking caution to avoid any early morning walkers who were out and about. Both wore buds in their ears, their preferred music pumping from their Blue-Tooths, while their eyes remained straight ahead, with Kyssa running at their sides, her tail continuously wagging and tongue hanging out in a lop-sided doggy grin. She loved every moment of their mornings together as well.

One of these days, Fenris would manage to drag Dani out of her bed at this ungodly hour to take part as well.

It was as Kristjan had told reporters in the past; one has to go "full alpha" to go through the workout regime that he goes through every day. Perhaps that was why he did not take the time to have much more of a social life. He simply did not have the time, nor did he have the desire to risk anything coming between him and the ultimate success that he craved.

---

Las Vegas - current

It was why he was back at the grass roots of his wrestling career, where it all started. But this time things were slightly different as it was neither the Stevens, nor any of the others that had a hand in his wrestling training. Synn was not present, nor was his son Despayre who had been a regular thorn in Kristjan's side during his work outs. Gabriel was present however. He always insisted he be whenever someone was here at his and Odette's pride and joy so he could over look things should anything go awry. Not that anything ever did. He simply ran a tight ship and would not allow anyone, or anything, to cause a mischief.

There were rare exceptions to the rule, where perhaps Gabriel would not be there and someone else, like Synn who was a minority shareholder, would be the only one present, but for this? Gabriel simply had to be here. The two that were here were so combustible that there was simply no telling what would happen. Catalysts that could explode at any moment. Referring to, of course, Fenris who was currently being put through the proverbial ringer at the hands of a man he had a checkered past with, his former MMA coach, a legend in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, Maksym Petrov.

Gabriel had privately urged Kristjan to mend the bridges burned between the two men, although he had no idea what had caused the rift, and to date, Kristjan wasn't sharing. But Gabriel was  smart man, and he cared deeply for anyone who came through his and his wife's facility, effectively putting their livelihoods in the Stevens' hands. Gabriel had spent countless hours over the past few years inside of this facility, lending what knowledge and expertise he had learned through the near ten year career he had spent inside of the ring in both SCW, and its predecessor, the AWA. During that time, he had learned much and felt a private thrill when he was able to pass what he learned to new students out to learn and realize the same dreams that he himself had experienced. But there was also another plus side to this arrangement. Gabriel had seen Maksym when he was a fighter inside of the caged octagon, and knew the man had earned his Hall of Fame status tenfold during his MMA career. The term "legend" did not do this man justice, and when he became a coach and trainer, he did for a new generation of men and women in MMA what the Stevens did in professional wrestling.

And Gabriel was getting a first-hand look at a typical Maksym Petrov training session, and all he could do was feel sorry for the poor sod being put through it.

We're, of course, referring to Kristjan who was currently being put through a literal hell, in preparation for a first in SCW history. Kristjan -- Fenris, would be defending the World Heavyweight Championship, in of all things, a Lion's Den match under MMA rules. Gabriel privately contemplated what that might mean; if it would be fought in rounds and one had to win by knock out or submission? As a trainer, he would take no risks in his protege's championship and professional record, both of which were spotless.

As Gabriel had always had his students begin their daily training with a warm up to prepare their muscles for what was to come, he saw that Maksym was no different. Perhaps he demanded a little more, but the man was set in his ways and Gabriel shook his head as he kept a close eye on the proceedings, wondering if he would have to step in. Maksym had made Kristjan do five sets of push ups, with fifteen reps per set. Then he followed up with the same number of bench dips before the real work out would begin.

At present, Fenris was straddled across two chairs, his legs in a perfect split. Each leg was stretched out over the seat of one of the chairs, while his body hung over the floor of the gym. Fenris reached down in this prone position and wrapped his fingers around the handles of the fifty pound hand weights and lifted them up to chest-level before lowering them once again. To some, fifty pounds might not seem like much, even if there were two of the weights, but when you are neither standing or reclining, but instead balancing, such as Fenris was, it was a great deal more difficult than would be expected!

"Again!" Maksym barked in a hard command, and as he was taught from his younger days, Fenris did as he was told and continued this hard effort in repetitive sets until his MMA coach, or former (that is for Kristjan too decide and a different tale to be told).

***

Gabriel watched with a smile, taking a drink of water as Fenris was stationed in front of a hanging punching bag that was descended from the gym's ceiling. How many times over the past near-year had he watched Fenris assault this bag with some of the hardest punches and kicks he had ever witnessed? It was a damn wonder the lad had yet to break the damn thing, or cause it to rupture at the seams and spill the sand everywhere.

Then, as Maksym stood behind the bag and steadied it in his own two hands, Fenris lowered himself into a squat position, feet together as were his palms. Maksym then loudly shouted, "Now!" and immediately Fenris leapt up into the air, leaving his feet, and in a rapid flurry of movement, assaulted the bag with as many strikes as he could land with his fists before he fell to the floor and resumed the squatting position. Then, when Maksym commanded it next, Fenris jumped again, only this time to assault the bag with the kicks that had become his trademark and knocked out too many opponents inside of the ring! The third routine, saw Fenris leap and hit a combination of fists and kicks.

"When was the last time you had a proper MMA work out?" Maksym snarled from his position.

Fenris knew that tone and the taunting nature behind it. Deep down, he realized it was simply a tool of motivation for Maksym, but it always grated his nerves when he was spoken to like that, as if he were not trying hard enough in the eyes of this man.

"You have forgotten everything I had taught you, cocky boy!" Maksym shook his head. "You have gotten sloppy. Lazy!"

Fenris paused in his spot and his eyes practically rained fire in Maksym's direction, and all Gabriel could think was "If looks could kill...!" Gabriel remained where he was, waiting for the inevitable melt-down from Kristjan, but shockingly, it never came.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

***

Fenris then was led over to the pull up bar, but curiously, Maksym had pressed a tennis ball into each of his palms before he was ordered to begin. Kristjan then carefully reached up with both hands, and he carefully pressed the tennis balls between the pull up bar and his hands, before wrapping his fingers around in a tight grip to begin the pull ups. Maksym, noticing Gabriel's frown, walked over to the ring where the facility's proprietor sat and he rested back against the ring post, his eyes never leaving his MMA protege, while he answered the unasked question.

"The tennis balls force him to tighten his grip." Maksym explained. "And builds the muscles in his hands."

Gabriel nodded in understanding, and he said, "Which helps in his strikes and his grips when he wrestles some poor sod down into a submission hold."

Maksym nodded, not at all surprised that Gabriel was able to understand the process and reasoning behind it. For his younger years, Gabriel was incredibly adept at the human body, and what it took to both strengthen it as well as break it down. It's just a piece of the puzzle that made him such a successful trainer in his own chosen sport.

"And you would put him through this regularly?" Gabriel asked, finding this legend easy enough to talk to.

"Every day." Came the answer. "I thought for certain with his anger issues, it would push him away but I refused to hold back or change my regime for his sake alone. To my surprise..." He shrugged with a subdued smile. "... he focused and excelled."

Gabriel nodded, satisfied, before he found himself asking, "Did that end, though? Is this what caused you two to separate?"

Maksym didn't answer. Not at first and not for a few uncomfortable moments of tense silence. For a brief moment, Gabriel believed he had over stepped himself as far as his curiosity went. He had high hopes for Kristjan and felt more than a little protective of him, as he felt towards anyone who came through these doors. If he were to assist, he felt he needed facts.

Finally, with a soft sigh, Maksym simply answered, "That you would have to ask him."

---

The day had been long and grueling, satisfyingly so, because Fenris was not given any reprieve. Not from Maksym, and certainly not from Gabriel himself. Because once Maksym had called it a day in the rigorous MMA styled workout session with Kristjan, Gabriel immediately ordered a worn and sore Kristjan into the ring for his own training session. Kristjan shot him  look of utter disbelief and it was the closest he could recall to Kristjan groaning in dismay at anything, but it was the student's own ego and desire to succeed at any cost, that forced him through the ropes.

Plus, Kristjan suspected that as Maksym shared some of his training knowledge with Gabriel, that the former two-time World Champion wanted to return the favor and show he too was no slouch when it came to what he could put a student through. Once Aron had come to pick his brother up after the all-day sessions, Fenris had confided in him that he thought both men took some sort of sadistic pleasure at attempting to one up the other at his own expense.

Now the brothers had returned to their domicile at the Three Turnberry Place condos near the Vegas Strip= where they, and their houseguest Danielle Weston, were seated in the living room with a variety of Chinese takeout in the colorful cardboard boxes on every nearby nook and cranny, each within arms reach. Fenris was seated in his favorite chair, where none else dared to sit. (Just ask Dani!) Aron was seated on his bed aka the sofa that he had been sleeping on ever since he gave Dani the use of his bedroom for the duration of her stay. Dani herself sat with her legs curled up under her body on the other end of the sofa, while Kyssa was curled up on the cushions between the pair. The canine's blue eyes remained open as she patiently waited for the treats the three would inevitably share with her.

And plenty were coming from each as Dani and Aron ate heartily from a little bit of everything they had wanted; from orange chicken to Kobari beef and a number of tasty morsels in between. While Fenris had a time finding a Chinese place that catered to his vegetarian tastes, but this place outdid itself with scrumptious samplings of fried rice, Chow Mein and dishes with faux "meats," including spicy vegetarian "beef" and Luojiang fried bean duck.

"Hey!" Fenris called out in his native Icelandic, his brow deepened as Aron picked up a box Kristjan had ordered for himself, filled with fried pickled cabbage and bean sprouts. He watched as Aron used his chop sticks to serve himself then offered some over to Dani who smiled and gladly accepted this new taste treat. "Seriously!?"

"What's your problem now?" Aron asked, but this time in English for Dani's benefit. He set the box back down in front of his brother, to which Kristjan answered, "You have all those boxes filled with all the disgusting meat you can eat, and yet you still feel the need to take mine!?"

"I'm sorry." Aron quipped as he used the chopsticks to shovel a heaping mouthful between his lips. He smirked, "Want it back?"

Fenris sneered in disgust, turning his head away when there was the tell-tale sound of their doorbell being rung.

"You get it." Kristjan ordered his younger brother, to which Aron frowned and countered, "You get it!" And after a brief pause and stand off, their heads turned in unison and they said "You get it." to Dani.

The young woman rolled her eyes in good humor and set her filled plate down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. She stood up and made her way toward the door, while behind her, Aron muttered in Icelandic for his brother's private benefit, "You'd feel better if you just talked to him."

Fenris paused, his mouth open and ready to receive another helping when he slowly lowered his fork and stared hard at his brother. "Excuse me?"

"Don't pull that coy bullshit with me, big brother." Aron smiled, rather coyly himself. "I'm not blind. I was right there when you were checking him out."

And it took about two point five seconds for Kristjan's ears and neck to turn a charming shade of pink, but whether it was from embarrassment or anger, it was left unspoken as their exchange was interrupted by the timely arrival of Daniel Morgan and his ever-present bodyguard, Osbourne.

"Daniel!" Kristjan uttered in surprise, as this was the first time the former member of the Stevens Facility had ever set foot inside of his home in Las Vegas. Shit! He hadn't been entirely certain that Daniel even knew where he loved, although when he gave it some thought, he shouldn't have been entirely surprised.

"What brings you here?" Aron asked as Dani resumed her seat and picked up her plate before a sniffing Kyssa could have made off with any of its contents. "You hungry? K ordered plenty!" He offered, Kristjan noticing that Aron motioned more towards his own vegetarian dishes than anything else.

"No, thank you." Daniel held up a hand, politely declining. "Os and I can't stay, and we don't want to interrupt your meal any more than we already have. I just have a surprise for Kristjan here, and it couldn't wait."

"Surprise?" Kristjan frowned as he set his own plate on an end table beside his recliner and stood up as Daniel took the three steps to draw himself closer. It was then that they noticed Daniel had a small box in his hand, one he was holding out toward Fenris in offering. Kristjan asked, "What is it?"

"Well if you'd take it and open it, you might find out." Was Daniel's only answer. Kristjan then did just that, taking the box in hand and he casually flipped the lid open and peered inside. With his brow creasing, he reached in with his fingertips and removed a DVD-rom disc in a plastic case. His confusion was evident as he held it up for his brother to see, and he turned back to Daniel and shrugged.

"Am I supposed to know what this is?" He asked, and Daniel could not help but find himself smiling. Daniel answered, "If you'd take the time to think about it, you might. But I'll go ahead and put you out of your misery."

Daniel extended a hand and tapped the case with his forefinger, stating, "That son, is the only copy of that video footage of what went down in the elevator." Kristjan's eyes rose to Daniel who chuckled, "Pardon the phrasing."

"Wait..." Aron started to say, his meal all but forgotten for the time being. "The only copy? You mean you...?"

Daniel nodded, "Took some time, and a little digging around, but that's it. The lad who had stolen the footage with the intent to sell? He had one or two other copies but they were all destroyed before he could finalize a deal."

"H-how...?" Fenris struggled to find his words as the enormity of the given situation weighed down upon him. "... how can you be sure?"

"I'm sure." Daniel said without even the barest trace of doubt behind his words.

"Daniel, I..." Kristjan was at a complete loss for words, a remarkable thing in itself. His first instinct was the flat out embrace the man in his gratitude, but something about Daniel's demeanor since they had first met practically screamed "Not a hugger!" Instead, he relied on the true method of giving thanks, extending his hand and Daniel gladly accepted it in the form of a handshake as Kristjan said, "I don;t know what to say... thank you!"

"That's more than enough." Daniel reaffirmed. "Just sorry it took us as long as it did. Truth be told, I didn't think we'd have it this soon but something happened Saturday that pretty much kicked it up a notch."

Fenris turned and gave the camera a direct look before he turned to say something else to Daniel, when he spotted Kyssa having hopped off her seat on the couch and was lapping up the contents of her master's plate.

"Seriously!?" Kristjan moaned as Aron roared in laughter!

---

Fight Capital Gym

Las Vegas's first training gym for Mixed Martial Arts, and the current setting for where the reigning World Heavyweight Champion of Sin City Wrestling stood, clad in his street clothes with the gold and jewel encrusted championship belt slung comfortably over his shoulder. There was one ring inside of this training gym, and like what was expected on the professional MMA circuit, it was enclosed in an octagon style cage. This was not the norm, however, as the ring usually went without a caged enclosure, but there was an amateur MMA show to be held, and the cage was a mere formality.

As was the usual for his own comfort, Fenris spoke in his native tongue while subtitles scrolled horizontally t the bottom of the screen for the benefit of the SCW Universe.

"I have seen only one match that they call a Lion's Den match, and that was t the very same event where I won this..."

He patted the center plate of the world title belt with his hand.

"Summer XXXTreme VI, between Ben Jordan and then Roulette Champion, Jon Dough. Ben Jordan was the winner, and since then has been a proud and fighting champion. Something he and I have a great deal in common. But there is a small difference between that match, and the one I find myself in this weekend. And no, I am not referring it being for the world championship. I'm talking about it being competed under MMA rules. When I first heard about this plan of Christian Underwood;s at the expense of Joshua Acquin, I wasn't happy. I do not like being lowered to the role of attack dog for anyone, using me as a means to an end. A punishment for someone that pisses off someone else! But there was also something else about this that troubled me."

"Joshua Acquin is a man that has much hype behind him. A former two-time World Tag Team Champion, which has its merits. An impressive feat, to say the very least. But his last taste of championship success in the tag team ranks was back in May of 2015. Over three years ago! Since then, how close has he come to championship success, singles or tag team!? His only hope lately was with Jessie Salco as a tag team partner and we all saw what happened there. So my annoyance lies with this burning question..."

"What the fuck are you even doing in this match, Acquin!? I know this was not your doing, but Christian's. But what the hell man!? A world title match!? YOU!?!? I've never been much for non-title matches myself. Personally speaking, I always felt if a champion fights, then his or her championship should be up for grabs. But this..."

He walked slowly around the enclosed ring, the fingers of his free hand gliding across the steel bars while he shook his head in wonder.

"If anything could put that belief to the test, this joke of a match sure as shit would! But I imagine making it for the gold was just a way to sweeten the pot, to justify you being in a main event level match as opposed to the usual bathroom break matches you've found yourself in lately. Can't fault you for accepting though. I don't think I could ever find myself turning away from a chance at a world title, but hell. I don't need to!"

He briefly held the belt up from his shoulder with a wide grin.

"I already have it! And you, Joshua? The big challenge for you, one might think, is to find a way to take it from me. While the thought is laughable at best when under normal circumstances in a wrestling match, but that's not what this is, is it?"

He shook his head, his eyes glimmering with anticipation.

"The whole fun of this match won't be picking you apart in the wrestling ring like I've done with everyone else they put in front of me. Guys like Casey Williams, Kain and Dmitri? Now those were fighters that rose to the fucking challenge! Guys that could both give me a lot of punishment but take it as well. This time will be more fun though. Something unique. Christian knew what he was doing, putting us in a match where the advantage was all mine. He obviously wanted you punished. Hurt. Oh, I know. I know."

He held up a hand to forestall any "argument, nodding with eyes closed in a faux sympathetic manner.

"You had SO MUCH MMA exposure, Joshua, in this match you just happened to remember after the match was announced, and your lack of MMA experience mentioned. Funny how these revelations always seem to find themselves on social media, isn't it? It reminds me of when my signing was first announced, and Xander Bishop (the little bitch) wasn't able to handle someone else getting any publicity that didn't involve him, and he immediately declared that he had underground MMA experience as well! Never mind the fact that for as long as he had been around and been promoting himself, this little nugget of information wasn't even a blip on the radar until my history made SCW headlines!"

"And now here you are, Acquin, talking about how you have had some MMA exposure, in... what was it again?"

He frowned.

"Some fucked up match where the ring was surrounded by razor wire? Bitch, please! That's not MMA! That's not wrestling! It's just some fucked up bullshit that has NOTHING to do with any form of athletic prowess or competition in any way, shape or form! But this... where we're going to find ourselves this coming Sunday?"

He nodded and his lips spread in a smile that showed his pearly whites.

"This is where you get introduced to an all new world, Acquin. A world you'll be banished from just as easily as you enter. A world that will, like so many others, reject you and toss you out to the curb. This is MY world! The Lion's Den. MMA! And, most importantly, the World Heavyweight Championship! My title, and one that I can only imagine you have blissful dreams at stealing away from me."

He shook his head.

"It wouldn't happen in a wrestling ring, and it sure as shit won't happen here! Everything I know, everything I've been trained for since I was a teenager, all that will come back to haunt you, a fitting choice of words considering we are so close to Halloween, hm? Every punch, every kick, I'm going to take extra care to make sure you feel and remember so you don't ever make the mistake of believing you can hang with me inside of the octagon cage! Thinking you have what it takes to end my streak and walk away with my world title! The only fitting end to all of this, the most humbling of all, would be to make a man of your stature and reputation, cry uncle and give up. To tap out in front of so many and be forced to admit that you just weren't man enough to do the job...?"

He nodded, his expression now one more serious.

"That prospect I like. I won't have this taken from me before High Stakes VIII, or even then. I'm not ready. And yes, Joshua. I would be the first to admit that it's been a long time since I was in any form of MMA fight. Too long, really. Damn near a full year. But I do have those close to me, who were all too willing to help me remember the thrill of that life. The high of standing inside of the cage and having the door closed and locked behind you. Knowing the only thing standing between you and success, is some poor bastard across the ring from you. Just waiting to be beaten senseless. Maksym. Gabriel. They helped me. I remember."

"Good for me. Bad for you."

The lights in the gym dimmed.

36

Climax Control Archives / Support

« on: September 28, 2018, 11:16:03 PM »

 Have you read Dani Weston's Character Building RP entitled "Enough Is Enough" yet? If so, what goes on for much of what you are about to see will make much more sense. if you haven't, well shame on you! Go on, do it now. I'll wait. Trust me when I say you'll be thankful that you did. Fuck it. Here...

Enough Is Enough

All done? Good. if there is one thing I have never been accused of, it's being the patient sort. And now that we're finished getting you ready for what's to come, I can stop with this bullshit first person narrative.

<img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/Fenris11.png" height=440 width=460>Las Vegas -
09/13/2018

The day had pretty much been shot to hell, at least compared to what the initial plans had been. Fenris had somehow been coerced into accompanying his Stevens Gym teammate, the soon-to-be World Bombshell Champion Dani Weston, onto a shopping excursion to find new ring gear after he critiqued what she had already purchased for Violent Conduct V. Sometimes Fenris's impulsive nature really had a way of coming back and biting him on the ass. He would have backed out. He could have flat out refused to waste his time clothes shopping -- but he didn't. And why? Well if he was going to be perfectly honest, he didn't really know why he didn't. He just knew Dani had been going through some very rough emotional patches as of late with the ex boyfriend who wouldn't seemingly ever just Go. Away! He was one of the select few who did know her personal troubles,, but that was because he had practically dragged it out of his brother Aron.

And now?

All he could do was silently thank Balder that he had went along with it, otherwise... Well he didn't want to think about what might have happened to Dani once that mother fucker showed up and had he not been there to intervene. Even if he was standing there, in Dani's little run down apartment, with his wrists lashed behind his back and held in place with a set of handcuffs.

Wait, what? Fenris defended Dani, protected her from a physically abusive stalker and he's the one wearing handcuffs!? Well, you'd have to take it from the perspective of the Las Vegas police who only thirty minutes ago, had happened upon the scene thanks to a neighbor of Dani's calling in, reporting the sounds of crashing and screaming. They found one man out cold on the floor of the apartment, his nose shattered and bleeding profusely, and his otherwise handsome face swollen to the point he was barely recognizable. And Fenris standing there looking relatively none the worse for wear, save for a mark on his face where Eli had landed the first punch, and the bare knuckles on his right hand which were shredded from repeated strikes against Eli's face and body.

From a visual perspective, it was clear cut. Fenris objected verbally in his native Icelandic, but was wise enough to know that had he put up a physical struggle, he would have been even worse off than he was now. Eli had been secured onto a gurney and removed from the apartment, and Fenris watched with a grim sense of satisfaction. He could see the lights of the ambulance through the windows, reflecting off the exterior of the apartment building and despite the corner he was not backed into, all he could think was...

"Good. Fucker deserved it." And despite the troubles he was now facing, deep down Fenris knew that he would do it again without so much a moment's hesitation. Dani's perpetually happy nature grated his nerves raw, but he'd be god damned if he'd stand idly by and let some fucker terrorize her. Dani had been removed from the apartment to the outside hallway so that the police could speak with her privately. A neighbor here and there stuck their heads out from their doors to catch a glimpse of the happenings, and even pretended interest in her well being, but were quickly ushered back inside by the police so that they could speak with Ms. Weston one on one.

The detectives even tried questioning Fenris, but all he gave them was his name and told them to "Ask her." and by her, he of course meant Dani. From his perspective at the window, he watched as the ambulance pulled out of the parking lot, no doubt to take Eli to the closest hospital for medical treatment. He could feel the eyes of the two police officers staring down at him when the door to the apartment opened and inside stepped a third officer, and trailing behind him, was Dani, but she was not alone. As right behind her, walked Daniel Morgan and his perpetual bodyguard, Osbourne.

Daniel's attention went immediately to Fenris who turned his head aside, not wanting to recognize the heightened interest Daniel was seemingly watching him with. But it would not last as Daniel's eyes went back to watching over Dani protectively as the police were speaking in a hushed conference, until they broke away and approached Fenris.

"You're lucky." One officer said as he made a move to turn Fenris around so he had access to his hand cuffs. "You have influential friends."

As the cuffs were being unlocked from around his wrists, one of the other cops stated, "The young lady here vouched for you. That guy attacked you and you were acting in self defense."

"He wouldn't stop." Dani shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself and Daniel offered a comforting hand on her slim shoulder. "Eli just kept trying to fight him."

Once his wrists were released, Fenris massaged his sore wrists as a cop handed him his ID back, but did a double take as the name finally stood out.

"Kristjan -- Baltasarsson?" The cop frowned. "Wait, the MMA fighter?"

"Wrestler, now." Fenris carefully corrected him and the cop nodded in understanding.

The cop said, "I thought I recognized you..." He turned with a bewildered expression and shook his head as he addressed his two comrades, "That dumb son of a bitch tried to jump a trained MMA fighter and professional wrestler!"

One of the other cops shook his head, while the third simply pursed his lips and let loose a low, shrill whistle. The first then turned back to Fenris but also made it clear his words were for Danielle's benefit as well, "We're going to need the two of you to come to the station to make an official statement. Cover all bases. And in case you..." He then made his words for Dani alone, "Want to formally press charges further against Eli for violating his restraining order. Chances are when he gets out of the hospital, he'll be going straight to jail."

"And you better make sure your bases are covered." Another of the police spoke up and addressed Fenris, although his choice of words were strange and the Icelandic male was uncertain he understood their meaning. "Self defense or not, there's every chance that piece of work may attempt to sue."

Daniel turned his head to Fenris and whispered, "Don't worry about it." Whatever that meant, but Daniel's words were almost as cool as the expression on his face. The police then turned and started to file out of the apartment, one by one, with the expectation that Fenris and Dani would follow to the police station as requested. As the two made to do just that, Fenris found a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Daniel looking at him with a grim appreciation and he finally nodded and said two simple words, "Good job."

It wasn't often Daniel heaped praise on anyone, but this time it was well deserved.

---

Las Vegas -
September 17

The day after Violent Conduct V. Fenris had done as promised, and cemented his status atop the men's division with a decisive but hard fought victory over Kris Ryans, while Dani Weston had done the seemingly impossible, upsetting the three-time World Bombshell Champion Mikah to walk away with the gold. As the rental car drove down the road, Fenris behind the wheel with Aron at his right as always, it was the third party in the rear that was perhaps a bit of a surprise, as Fenris, over protective as always, insisted on driving Dani Weston from California back to Nevada.

Dani was still elated, and had yet to come down from the natural high of joining Fenris as a World Champion graduate of the Stevens Gym. She knew deep down Fenris was proud of her, but it was still a surprise he offered to drive her. And by offered, he meant he wasn't taking "no" for an answer.

"You know, you Guys didn't have to drive me home." Dani said for what had to be the hundredth time. "I could have gotten a cab."

Aron said, "And paid more for a cab than this rental costs."

"Say, why did you Guys do a rental anyway?" Dani asked, her curiosity peaked. "Kristjan has a car. Didn't he drive it to the show?"

"And put that much mileage on his baby? Perish the thought!" Aron answered so his brother could focus on the road. God knows he needed to! "We rented this for the trip. Besides, this gave us extra room for you know who." He jetted a thumb back over his shoulder, to the seat beside Dani that was occupied by Fenris's baby, his snow white Siberian Kyssa.

Dani nodded, still not understanding and unable to process the volatile Fenris going through this much effort for anyone, especially her. As she allowed her attention to waver toward her surroundings of the drive, She started to notice something off. They weren't anywhere near her neighborhood where her apartment was. They were actually close to the Strip...

"Um, Guys?" Dani spoke up. "I thought you were giving me a lift home? Why are we...?"

But Fenris held a hand up to silence her questions as they pulled into the underground parking garage of the Three Turnberry Place, the luxury condo estates that Fenris and Aron called home. Once the car was settled into a vacant space and turned off, the two brothers climbed out of the front,, and looked at Dani expectantly. Now she was really confused, as she did what she felt they wanted, and she unfastened her own seatbelt and climbed out as well.

Only then did the brothers walk around to the trunk and they proceeded to pull out their luggage, and then did the unexpected by pulling Dani's out as well and passed it to her.

"What...?" She shook her head. "Guys? What's going...?" But Fenris gave her such a cold stare that she practically "eeped" and clamped her lips shut, and she followed the siblings toward the elevator that would lead to...

The door to the condo that Fenris had purchased to be his and Aron's home away from Iceland opened and Fenris walked inside first, and he unfastened Kyssa's leash and she darted off in search of food and water, and perhaps a doggy nap to follow. Dani was the last to enter, and as Aron closed the door behind her, she could not help but be mesmerized by her surroundings. It was the first time she had set foot inside of their home. But once the initial surprise wore off, something else caught her eye on the far end of the front room;

Two boxes, filled with.... "My stuff!" Dani dropped her luggage and walked over, examining the two boxes that were filled with her few, meager possessions. She looked up to the brothers who had followed her in and she shook her head.

"Guys... w-what' going on? Why are my things here?"

Aron found his voice first to answer, tilting his head forward as he asked, "Dani, did you seriously think you could go back to that ...."

"Shit hole." Fenris finished for him, causing Dani's cheeks to blush at the description of her abode.

"It wasn't that bad." She quietly insisted, to which Fenris again repeated, "It was a shit hole."

Aron opened his eyes, after he had closed them at his brother's caustic choice of words. He then explained, "Dani, you need a new place. Especially after what happened. A place that the son of a bitch doesn't know about." He then added with a wink, "A world champion deserves better."

Her eyes fell to Fenris, her confusion still evident on her face, and he said simply, "You stay here, until you find a new place."

"Stay -- here?" Her eyed widened, her finger pointing down at the floor in front of her. "You mean -- HERE here?"

Fenris just nodded once, as if that were all the answer she needed. He bent down and picked up the two boxes and pushed them into her arms, almost causing her to stagger back multiple steps. He pointed down the hall that led away from the condo's main foyer. "First door on right is Aron's room. You're staying there."

"What!?" She looked pleadingly toward Aron and shook her head, "No, no. I can't take your..."

But she was met with one of the younger brother's bright smiles and he said, "Will you stop? Okay? Just stop. This was my idea. I mean, you staying here was K's, but you taking my room was mine. Besides..." He shrugged. "It's not forever. You'll have a new place in no time."

"But..." She swallowed, as her emotions were starting to catch up to her. Here the seemingly heartless Fenris had not only defended her against Eli several days ago, but now he was wanting to take her in to help keep her safe until she could get a new and more secure home to call her own. Her eyes misted over and she asked Aron, "Where will you sleep?"

"The sofa." he smiled simply. "I'm always falling asleep on it anyway."

"Go." Fenris pointed down the hall, his tone speaking volumes that he would brook no argument whether or not she stayed.

"Guys," She swallowed hard and tried unsuccessfully to use her full arms to wipe away a tear. "This is all very sweet but really..."

"I SAID GO!" Fenris bellowed and Dani immediately ran down the hall to the indicated room with her belongings! Fenris muttered, "Fuck!" Before he turned and found Aron staring at him with a raised brow.

Fenris shrugged, "What?"

"You really do have a heart." Aron smiled.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!" The bellow shook the walls!

---

The Stevens Gym -
Current

The gym that has now bred three Sin City World Champions was vacant, save for one. Fenris sat inside the center of the six-sided ring, one of three rings that were housed within these walls to train the future Superstars of tomorrow. He sat cross-legged, showing just a brief glimpse of his flexibility, and his forearms rested on his thighs. before him was the World Championship belt, stretched out before him. He was clad in very simple attire (a sleeveless white t,  matching shorts and his usual cap worn on his scalp with flip flop[s on his bare feet) following what had been another grueling workout to keep his skills sharp. Given whom he would be facing this coming weekend, he knew that he would need it.

His eyes were lost, vacant ahead of him, bit there were the faintest traces of a smile on his lips as he spoke in his native tongue with the benefit of subtitles along the bottom of the screen.

"I do not see myself like many other World Champions SCW has seen. I do not take advantage of my role to make unreasonable demands. When Courtney and I won the Blast From the Past, I bided my time until I was given my rightful shot at the World title, and even after I won the belt, I made few requests, save for the chance to meet certain men inside of the ring. Men who I knew could fight, men who could quite honestly, beat me down and test to see if I could pick myself back up again. I asked for Casey Williams, Got him. Beat him. I asked for Kris Ryans. Got him. Beat him. Only a name or two left, and perhaps one of the toughest I finally get to meet in the ring."

"Kain. The King of Kings."

"Why did Christian and Mark agree to book this match? Look at Kain's ring style, then look at mine, and you tell me why they would have booked this match. Kain's style is rugged, and has an MMA influence. The first man I have met so far in my wrestling career that can honestly say the same. Oh there was that nameless blunder on Twitter who came out all of a sudden after my signing to say he was an MMA  fighter too, but that was really just an attempt to take away some of my spotlight. But Kain?"

Fenris nodded.

"He is the real deal. Not just from an MMA fighting standpoint, but his fucking career in wrestling is unCANNY! The man has won every championship that he was offered -- every. Fucking. One! World Champion! Roulette Champion! Internet Champion! World Tag Team! And now, two-time World Mixed Tag Team! If the man wasn't already a champion at this point in time, I could only assume this would be for my championship because if anyone out there deserves it, it would be Kain! But just because he deserves it, doesn't mean he'd be able to make the most out of it and at my expense."

"Kain had his time at the top, and one day may rise up again. But this time, and against me?"

He shook his head.

"All respect due, no. Not now, and not against me. I wanted this match against you, Kain, because I know what kind of fighter you are. Trust me when I say I did not issue this challenge with ease of mind. I've watched your fights. Not your wrestling matches, but your FIGHTS. I know what you are capable of with submissions and strikes, but then again, I also know what I can do. And what I can do can be summed up in one simple word;"

"Win."

"I give credit to Gabriel and Odette Stevens for making me who and what I am as far as a professional wrestler goes. I credit many for my time in MMA, particularly Maksym Petrov, my coach. But take everything each had a hand in, and bring it all together...?"

He clasped his hands together, intertwining his fingers.

"And you have what you see before you now. The perfect hybrid of MMA and professional wrestling. You have the White Wolf. Unbeaten. Sin City Wrestling World Champion. And before me, I have one of the final two names I have begged to be put before me. Kain. Hall of Famer. Grand Slam Champion."

"King of Kings."

"Well your Highness, in only a few days time, the worst thing that can happen to any King will come to pass. Your throne, your kingdom, will be conquered by the White Wolf! And afterwards?"

Fenris nodded.

"Afterwards, I would gladly shake your hand."

37

Climax Control Archives / Two weeks of hell

« on: August 31, 2018, 08:42:20 PM »

 <img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/fenris10.jpg">Long Beach, California -
Walter Pyramid

It wouldn't be too much longer before the entirety of This college basketball gymnasium would be packed with well over four thousands fans, each and every one screaming and cheering, ready for an evening filled with wrestling excitement. That was what Sin City Wrestling brought each and every time when it came to town, and it took no time at all for the building to be sold out to standing room only capacity. Many would be turned away at the door when they arrived to attempt to purchase last minute tickets, only to discover the folly of procrastinating and take out their own mistakes on some poor ticket booth operator. But then again, thousands more would be tuning in via the miracle of the world wide web, watching Climax Control on their weekly streaming broadcast.

It was a unique feature amongst the wrestling world, for a wrestling promotion that has grown to cult status and known world-wide, to air it's weekly broadcast by  the Internet and special Supercards on iPPV rather than satellite or cable providers.

But that would be a matter of two days. For now, the interior of the Walter Pyramid was devoid of any activity. The SCW's traditional six-sided ring would be delivered first thing on Saturday morning and set up, ready for any last minute routine training, promotional shoots or the like. There was only one person inside of the 'Pyramid,' and it was not someone who would be working on the ring or sitting in the stands, enjoying the show come Sunday evening...

The sound of a door closing clashed in the empty void of the building, the spacious walls causing the sound to echo throughout, louder than it actually was.The acoustics of such a place would only lend itself well to the show on Sunday when bodies were being thrown about the ring, driven into the canvas and the shouts and cries of agony rang in the ears of all. The footsteps followed, their sound lighter in noise as up the steps from the backstage area and into the gymnasium itself emerged the reigning World Heavyweight Champion of Sin City Wrestling, "The White Wolf" aka Fenris.

In two days, he would be dressed for combat in his simple spandex shorts with little to emblazon them, his MMA style gloves and nothing else; not even ring boots as he preferred to step inside of the wrestling ring the exact same way he stepped into the MMA cages. But for now, he appeared quite casual as he stood there, gazing around the building and taking it all in. He wore his favorite Iceland national football team cap, the edges causing a curtain effect of his below-shoulder hair to shield his eyes. A loose and sleeveless T shirt, white in color, showing off his lightly tanned skin while his jeans were snug but comfortable, and bare feet slipped snugly in white flip flops. Sound silly? It's not like he cared.

It was rare for the Icelandic Superstar to really take in anything that others felt about him. He dressed how he preferred, in what made him comfortable. Not what some fashion gurus or overly priced magazines might dictate he should.

But it was the single bit of bling he indulged in, the prestigious gold belt that he had won that set him above the rest of the roster and allowed him to say, "Hey! I'm the best" that was what mattered. The SCW World Championship belt! Fenris was still living the dream, despite the way his arrogance might lead people to simple believe he assumed he always deserved the title. He rarely if ever let the title belt out of his sight. He kept it on the bed stand of whatever hotel he stayed at during his road trips for the SCW tours, and when at home, it had a place of honor in a glass display cabinet. But when in the public eye, he kept it around his waist. Not as a reminder or to rub it in the faces of his peers, but to remember a path he came when Gabriel and Odette Stevens took him on as a student, and honoring the time they spent so gruelly adapting his cage fighting techniques to the more adaptable pro wrestling style.

Fenris then walked over to the stands, and had a seat on one of the rows along the court. He quietly removed the belt from his waist and raped it across his lap before he spoke.

"I imagine Casey Williams feels that he might have me at a disadvantage. As far as size goes, there's no contest that he has it all over me. He's bigger and stronger than I am, but when has that sort of thing ever really mattered in This business, especially where Casey himself is concerned? How often has everyone watched him step into the ring with the odds overwhelmingly in his favor, only to see someone half his size put him down for the count?"

Fenris smiled as his thoughts drifted off in recollection.

"Earlier This week, Gabriel took what I saw as a bit of sadistic pleasure showing me a tape of a match that occurred between Casey and Despayre. DESPAYRE! A man almost two feet shorter than Casey himself, and damn near two hundred pounds lighter! And Despayre beat him --- each and every time!  

"You got me, Casey, and I can admit that. I made the mistake of getting within arm's reach of King Kong and you did something to me that nobody else has ever done before; you laid me out. You knocked me unconscious. And I hope that makes you feel good. I hope that brings to you a sense of euphoria, that you bring to OUR match so it can make you fight like you want it! You are my last step before I get to Kris Ryans at Violent Conduct V, and I want it to be a damn good one! I want it to be a fight that Kris can watch and enjoy, and know what to expect!"

"I was never choke slammed before. Now you're going to be the biggest man I've ever stepped in the ring with. Dmitri had that record, and look what happened when he tried to take what belongs to me..."

He pointed at the belt, and then himself.

"Still the champion. And I still will be after Sunday. That choke slam of yours?"

He scoffed.

"It hurt like hell and I had to be checked out after, but that won't carry you over to my title. It wasn't even the worst part of the last two weeks for me..."

---

Fresno, California -
Selland Arena

"... I'm just saying..." Aron tried to reason with an unreasonable older brother as they exited the building where Climax Control had just concluded. The arena was slowly filtering of fans and wrestlers alike, so the final clean up could begin and the ring be broken down and the whole process could begin anew the following week.

"I know what you're saying." Fenris spoke in their native tongue, as the brothers were known to do when it was just the two of them or when they spoke with family back home in Iceland. Conspicuous by his words was the simple fact that he had an ice pack firmly pressed against the back of his head with his free hand, the result, no doubt, to what had happened earlier in the evening at the hands of "the Freight Train of Pain." "And I already told you I'm not going to a fucking hospital."

Kristjan grabbed his luggage cart's handle and started pulling it after him and Aron shook his head and picked up his pace to catch up with and walk side by side with him.

"What is it with you and doctors?" Aron frowned. "You all but refused to get your knee checked out until Gabriel made you! And now...."

"I. Don't. Like. Doctors!" Kristjan/Fenris stressed through gritted teeth. "And I did not go because Gabriel 'made me!' I went to that god damn hospital because the two of you threatened to call Mom and tell her I was hurt!"

Aron shrugged. "It worked."

"It wasn't fighting fair!"

"So is that what I have to do This time to get your head examined?" Aron shrugged, his hands tucked into his jean pockets. "Threaten to tell Mom? or worse, Dad?"

"DON'T!" Kristjan bellowed as he turned around to face his brother. He then pointed past Aron and toward the building from which they had just left. "Their doctor checked me out and had my head examined and they found nothing!"

He turned and stormed off toward their rental car, and left Aron smiling brightly, showing those pearly whites. Kristjan came to a screeching halt and turned around and said simply, "Shut up!" And that was right about when a cheering horde of fans came from out of nowhere to accost the champion, begging for autographs and photo opportunities!

It was standard for fans to lie in wait where they knew the wrestlers could easily be seen or met with, at the rear of the building where the cars were. This case was no different as many fans were currently surrounding many of the Superstars and Bombshells who were battered and beaten, but never the less, most of the wrestlers wore smiles on their faces as they satisfied the young and old who supported them throughout their careers. It was almost as if the fans didn't care if their favorites were hurt of tired, or even hungry. Their only concern was with themselves and their own satisfaction.

And in the cases of those world renowned fans known as "ring rats," bringing satisfaction to their favorites! (wink, wink!)

Fenris was indeed besieged by his fair share of fans requests, and like his peers, whatever troubles plagued him, he tried to wipe the frown from his face and give the fans what they asked for. He wrapped his arm around one fan with a smile for a photo, scrawled his name on numerous 8x10s of himself -- even Aron was asked by a handful of fans since he was in the public eye as his brother's "valet" and was quite handsome in his own right.

Just ask Effie Bingham!

Fenris even got his own share of "offers" from the fans to have a few drinks after the show, and possibly join him in his hotel. Most of which came from female admirers. Apparently the revelation that he preferred men did not deter them. In fact, they seemed to take it as a challenge to their womanhood to prove that they knew better than he did in what he preferred. This just got Aron to smile at the awkwardness of the entire situation, each and every one, as whatever they whispered to his older sibling caused his ears to flush red but each had been turned down.

And a young man in his twenties with dark eyes and dark, curly hair? He seemed to make some progress with the White Wolf, much to the anger and frustration of the women who wanted the handsome Icelandic man for their own bed! Unfortunately, that was when some straggling hecklers started to call out some insensitive and derogatory slurs in Fenris's direction. The male admirer had just managed to press a slip of paper in Fenris's hand for whatever reasons (duh!) when the champion threw down his luggage and made a move for the hecklers, when Aron grabbed him by the arm and his male peers in the SCW roster intervened to keep him from doing anything that he might regret!

Ben Jordan was at the forefront, as was Daniel Morgan, hands on Fenris's upper body to keep him at bay while the hecklers used that as an opportunity to showcase their cowardice so long as he was being held back and they just called out more and even worse anti-gay sentiments! Osbourne, along with Mackenzie Page and Charlotte Elliot moved towards the small group to break it up, but they needn't bothered as the security for the arena had been alerted and they were already on the scene, doing their job and breaking things up!

Ben wanted to say something, anything, to the young champion but Fenris's mood had been completely destroyed by what was fast becoming a regularity and he brushed his and Daniel's hands off and moved for his car. Aron had to grab his luggage so he wouldn't leave it behind and hurried after him...

---

But of course, the experience against the gargantuan monster, Casey Williams, wasn't the worst thing to have happened to him. His issues following the show were far worse by Fenris's own account, and when he had finally broken down and called his family back in Iceland, neither his Mother or Father were satisfied by a simple call. They insisted on speaking to their boy over Facebook chat so they could look him right in the eyes.

It had been what the high and mighty World Champion had been dreading for weeks. Not because of him being reamed out by his parents. He was a grown man -- plus he was quite used to it given his stubborn mind set and temperamental issues. It was the look in their eyes, the light of disappointment as he had to sit at the table in his home in Las Vegas, and tell them everything, in his own words.

Explaining his preference for men was one thing, but god damn it, Aron! Out of fear for his beloved brother's health and well being, Aron had told his parents about the incident a few weeks ago where he had passed out on his own bathroom floor! He had attempted to drown away his sorrows, drinking himself stupid (again) and passing out. That would not have been so bad were he not locked in his bedroom at the time and thus, he had scared the fuck out of his brother, not to mention the Stevens family when they had been alerted by Aron for help!

It had been the lowest Kristjan had ever felt in his entire life, but that didn't even compare to how low he felt when his Mother, Eva, held up her hand, eyes closed.

"I'm not going to discuss this over a computer." She said before she opened her eyes and the misty glaze of restrained tears felt like a fist to the balls for a loving son. She continued, "I want to talk to you, face to face. So does your Father."

"You want to come to...?"

"No." She said with a tone that told him there would be no debate, no argument to the point. "Here. Reykjavik. We want you home for this. So you can explain to your family how this could happen."

Fenris closed his eyes and turned his head away, but his Mother's hard tone pulled him back to her, all but forcing him to face her directly even though they were over four thousand miles apart.

"Look. At. Me." She said with finality, so he did. He was a good son, or thought he was up until recently. "I want you to make me a promise."

What could he say? He simply nodded.

"One month." She said simply, holding up her slim forefinger. "Go one month without."

"Without ... what?" He asked, shaking his head with a frown. Not understanding.

"Without drinking anything stronger than Coca Cola." She answered, her face set firm in stone. "You drink too much, sweetheart. You always have. And I blame that vile stuff you put into your body for what's happened to you."

He shook his head and tried to explain, "Drinking did not make me want to..."

"One. Month." She repeated herself, and Kristjan looked up into her blue eyes. He saw the tear streak from the corner of his Mother's eye and down toward her chin. He nodded.

"One month."

---

"The problem with you Casey, is that you're stuck in a rut. As far as I can tell, the sport of wrestling has evolved over the years, where you have not. There were times when an opponent could be finished off with a slingshot suplex or the dreaded superkick, but now both moves are used so regularly that it almost seems laughable that anyone of any notoriety used them to put people away in the past. But now a days, the men and women in This business are simply made of tougher and better stuff than they ever have been before."

"But you? You're a giant, Casey, and as such you think you can get away with the tried and true method of all giants in This business. By using your strength and size to overwhelm the opposition, beating them down until there's little left over to pin. If I'm going to be perfectly blunt, I think people would hit themselves if they ever actually saw you apply an actual wrestling hold or some kind of maneuver that wasn't primarily power based. People look at you, and in your case they can judge a book by its cover because what they see is what they get."

"But me?"

He smirked and motioned towards himself with both hands.

"I had people look at me and think I'd be the typical cruiserweight in the business, who over and over puts his body on the line by diving out of the ring or jumping off the top rope onto an opponent while doing some shit baffling triple backwards somersault flips or whatever shit might make the eyes of the average watcher glaze over!"

He shook his head.

"No. I see no point in it. It's not me. Never has been, and never will be. When I was training with Gabriel and Odette, they both had asked me about using some moves like that, but it held no interest to me, and they understood that. I watched tapes of Despayre when he would do some move that would leave me fucking stumped, wondering not just how, but WHY!? Gabriel explained it just came natural to the kid, and while he did what was natural to him, he told me I had to do the same. And while I'm proud to bring the strong style, everything I learned through the years of Brazilian judo, submission, shoot fighting and the MMA style to my career, I'm quite proud that Gabriel and Odette helped me adapt the wrestling style that would help me get ahead. They are the ones who helped me realize I could not just get by with knee strikes and punches. I had to learn the nuances of the sport, suplexes and slams, and more often than not, Gabriel helped me transition those wrestling moves into the moves and holds I myself was comfortable with in my past."

"See, Casey? Adapt. Evolve. Something that I was able to do in a few months, but you have yet to be able to do after YEARS! And that..."

He wagged a finger toward the camera.

"That is what will cost you in the end. Because when you get stale, you get predictable. Gabriel had me in that classroom, watching match after match of yours, from everywhere from SCW to AWA, and it amazed me just how little you've changed."

He shook his head in mock wonder.

"Oh don't get me wrong! You've pick up your share of wins and I'll be damned if you haven't won your share of championships of your own! You're even a Hall of Famer if I'm not mistaken. But world titles? This right here?"

He picked up the belt briefly to show into the camera before lowering it again.

"There's a reason why it's never been yours. There's a reason why it won't even be yours after This weekend. Because you've allowed not just me, but everyone else out there, to know that there's nothing more to you than a few power moves and brawling. And hey...!!"

He held up his hands and shrugged with a smile.

"I made a career out of fighting in cages, so a fight with you isn't going to put me at any disadvantage! And that power of yours won't mean shit if I take your damn legs out from under you and hobble you! A guy your size? I was actually looking forward top This match, Casey, and I still am. You'll be a challenge, a damn hard hitting one! But in the end, a man your size is the same size as anyone else when he gets knocked on his ass! But better still, it was what happened on Sunday that made me realize just how vulnerable you really are."

He shook his head and made waving motion with his hand.

"No, not the part where I got laid out. Casey got the best of me there, can't deny that. That is where his strength is an advantage but I won't let it come to that point again. No, I'm talking about where I drew first blood. Where I punched him right in  his ugly faze and his lip exploded! Get what I'm saying, Casey? Huh?"

He nodded with a smile.

"If you can bleed, you can be hurt. And if you can be hurt, you can, and will, be beaten."

38

Climax Control Archives / Má ég koma aftur úr þessu?

« on: August 17, 2018, 08:57:15 PM »

 <img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/Fenris10.jpg" height=414 width=484>"It's Aron. I know I'm not the one you were expecting to see take the initial charge here, but please bear with me for a moment. I'm sure a lot of you have questions as to what has been going on since my brother was outed last Sunday against his will. In public, no less! I don't want to go back and bore everyone by telling you what had happened from the moment we left the arena. There would be little point, anyway. The simple fact was that nothing happened on our trip back to Las Vegas. Not much, anyway."

"Kristjan pulled over just as we left and practically threw me into the driver's seat and I drove us to the airport while he just stared at nothing through his passenger window. I tried to get him to talk to me, to tell me what had happened. More so, to explain why he never told me or the rest of the family that he preferred men. What a hell of a way for your family to find out! But he wouldn't talk. He just shut me out, put his music in his ears and pretended as if I wasn't there."

"I suppose it's selfish of me to be angry with him, despite what he's going through right now, but I can't help it! I've known him all these years. he's always been there for me. I've seen a side of him, the humane side, that most fans and his MMA and wrestling peers have never. To think he couldn't trust me, or any of his family, with this..."

---

Las Vegas

Colin Cowherd: ..." The controversy began not because Kristjan Baltarsson was outed by the news article and cover magazine, but because the nature surrounding the story. He and former world wrestling champion, Kristopher Ryans, were caught in an illicit affair inside of a public elevator, on camera. And now the rumor is that an unnamed party is making plans to release the video of what happened inside of the elevator. Many have come forward, mostly the peers of both men, in support of the revelation, while others have voiced the opinion that they deserve what they are currently going through for what they did. And as far as Kristjan, many of his peers and fans, and much of the gay community, have expressed outrage over his being outed as such against his will. And still, others in the LGBT community, Michael Steed and Peter Tatchell, have stated outright that as a public figure, it was Kristjan's responsibility that he should have come out sooner..."

Kristjan aka Fenris, was not even laying on the bed in his room at the condo he had bough many months ago to live in, alongside of his brother Aron. He looked an unkept mess, what with a rumpled shirt that had seen better days. His hair loose and uncombed, and bleary eyes due to the perpetual drink that had been at his hand ever since they returned to the city. He was sitting on the plush carpet, practically slumped at the side, leaning heavily against the edge of the bed, staring at the television screen as yet another news reporter thought it a top news story that a public sports figure be humiliated in front of the people who had for so long, supported him. He imagined that humiliation equaled ratings, and in the end, wasn't that all the networks really cared about? They had their news stories planned out weeks in advance. All they needed was for the right opportunity to come along and fill in the blanks.

It had been like this ever since Sunday, when the news first leaked. Then when the issue hit the stands, all hell broke loose. And it had been going non-stop ever since, throughout the week! Every newspaper, every sports center broadcast and magazine, wanted to cover the story, and many felt no qualms about invading his privacy to get the story firsthand. Some had discovered where he lived in Vegas and stalked the Turnberry Place, waiting for him to appear either coming or going. He started to feel like a prisoner in his own home, unable to venture out to join his brother in a meal or even go to Gabriel and Odette's gym for a workout without being followed and harassed. Some wanted an interview, others wanted to simply intrude on his private life, with personal questions asked and unsolicited photos being taken.

Sadly, he had also become a target of some hatred by the ignorant who thought what he had been revealed as had been a betrayal to his fandom, especially that on the professional MMA circuit. Aron tried to shield him from most of it, as did Christian and Mark, not to mention the Stevens. None of them had approved of what had been done to he and Kris, and more so, the lingering threat of a sex tape. In fact, they seemed almost more outraged than even he was! And in return, his shame and humiliation had caused him to shut everyone out. Both friends and family.

He would not even allow anyone close to him to talk him into going to the hospital to have his leg and knee checked out. In Sunday's tag team match, it had been worked over by Ben Jordan, but the punishment was magnified by the sadistic Crimson who slammed his leg into the steel ring post repeatedly. Deep down he knew he should have had it checked out for the sake of his own career, if not his family's emotional well being, but his pride wouldn't give Crimson the satisfaction. Aron was not happy about it, but he kept him plied with ice packs and aspirin, to help the swelling go down and to deal with the pain. If it did not heal by the time the show on Sunday rolled around, he knew he'd have little choice but to risk the press finding him at a hospital.

He owed family and friends that much at the very least.

All this, it was why Kristjan had not left the condo in days, and had ignored every attempt to contact him. Mark Ward had left repeated messages for him, inquiring to his well being. Odette Stevens had made every attempt to lure him over to her and Gabriel's home to work out, or share a meal and open up should he feel the desire. He answered to none of it. And what hurt the most, was the frantic facebook chats that his family in Iceland had attempted but he accepted none of them. Aron had been left holding the bag on that, assuring their beloved mother and father, not to mention Freyja, that he would be fine.

But would he? How could he face them, face anyone, ever again?

There was a knock on his bedroom door, drawing Kristjan from the waves of self pity that were threatening to pull him under and drown him. He lifted his eyes and he heard Aron's voice from the other side.

"Kristjan? Come on out. The food's here and you need to eat."

Kristjan shook his head, even though Aron had no way to see the physical gesture, and answered in a rough voice, "No." As was the norm, they spoke in their native tongue when it was just family. "I'm not hungry."

"Bullshit!" Aron's voice called from the other side. "You haven't eaten anything since yesterday! All you do is drink! You've probably drinking right now!"

Kristjan said nothing in return, given that his brother was absolutely right. He reached over to the small, bedside table and picked up the glass of Brennivín, Iceland's signature drink. Very hard to come by in the States, but here's the thing; in Vegas, anything is possible. Especially if you have men like Gabriel Stevens and Daniel Morgan watching your back. Bridges had been burned seemingly beyond repair by his own doing weeks ago, but adversity had started the mending of, and Daniel had shipped a case of the liquor to the condo; sort of a gesture of good will between the two. An olive branch so to speak.

Here's a little food for thought; in the famed City of Sin, there are liquor laws that are unique and not shared by the surrounding states. Big surprise, huh!? For instance, you can drink in public so long as the drink is not in a bottle, but an open cup. Also, you can pretty much buy alcohol from clubs, bars, and even grocery stores 24 hours a day. It had been the only time he had risked venturing from the condo, in the dead of night after Aron had went to bed, and journeyed by cab to the closest store to grab a bottle of whatever struck his fancy. It was these moments, sometimes as late as after three am, that he had started to get harassed by the paparazzi and public, hence why he had suddenly holed himself up and away from the public eye.

"You are, aren't you!?"

Kristjan took a healthy swallow of the bright green liquor and answered, "Just leave me alone, A."

"I will not leave you alone! I'm worried! Mom and dad are worried!..."

"I'm FINE!" Kristjan shouted back, and immediately regretted it as his drinking this week had left him with more than just a raw throat and husky accent. He also had a seemingly perpetual hangover happening. He rubbed at his temple with his free hand as Aron called back, "No, you're NOT fine! You can't just drink yourself to death, K! You need to come out and talk to me! You need to let mom and dad know you're okay!"

Kristjan set the glass, now drained and empty, back on the table and rested his head against his forearm. "Tell them..."

"No, if you want to tell them something, then you tell them!"

There was  scratching at the door, one that caused Kristjan to frown, but he understood when he heard the tell-tale whine that accompanied it. His brother's voice followed, "You see? You've even got Kyssa worried!"

He knew that was playing dirty, given how much Kristjan doted on his canine companion, but desperate times! Aron stood outside of his brother's bedroom door and waited, hoping for some sign of life when he heard the click of the interior lock and the door shifted open just enough that he might see Kristjan's face. He looked even worse than the last time he had laid eyes on him, which was almost two days prior. Kyssa took that as a sign, and she rose up and proceeded to squeeze through the opening and into her master's bedroom.

"Kristjan," Aron started to say. "I..." But the door closed in his face, shutting him out once again. He closed his eyes and exhaled. "Damn it." He half muttered and he turned and walked away, back into the main living room of the condo where the takeout had been set out, hopefully for both of them to enjoy. Aron sat down and stared at the food, his own appetite slowly subsiding from the concern that was steadily growing for his brother's mental well-being. He casually glanced at the open laptop on the coffee table, knowing he should get online and post another "Mission failed." message to the mutual friends and family he shared with his brother.

Inside of the dark bedroom, Kristjan crawled heavily onto his bed and laid back, his head resting against the thick, cool pillows. Kyssa accepted the unspoken invitation and she crawled up onto the bed with him, as was the habit she had taken on ever since she was a pup. She shifted carefully on all fours until she snuggled up at his side and laid her head down on his chest, causing him to reach up with his hand and scratch her in her favorite spot, behind the ear. With his other hand, he reached for the bottle of Brennivín...

---

Gabriel and Odette Stevens' home - The next day

It was just past the hour of eleven am at the Stevens household. Odette was seated in the kitchen, reading a book, while Lucas was "helping" his dad prepare lunch for the family when the phone on the kitchen counter started the go off with the signature laughter of the Minions from the despicable Me franchise. Gabriel cast Lucas a look of bemusement and he said, "Next time I get to pick the ring tone!"

"Mom picked that one." Lucas pointed out innocently, and Gabriel gave his wife a look but only saw the twinkle of her eyes from above the book she had in hand. Gabriel picked up the phone and answered...

"Hello?" Whatever was said immediately gave Gabriel cause to frown. Odette immediately picked up on this and she lowered her book as Gabriel asked, "No, slow down Aron! ... Wait, I'll be right there! ... No, I think I know someone who can help! Just wait!"

He turned off the phone with a click and looked to Odette who asked, "What is it?"

"Kristjan's dog woke Aron up. She's whining and barking from inside of Kristjan's bedroom but he won't answer and the door is locked!"

"Oh god..." Odette's eyes widened and her skin paled slightly at the thought running through both of their minds. Kristjan, their protege, had been on the brink of despair since Sunday. "You don't think..."

"I don't know." Gabriel grabbed his car keys and hurried towards the door as quickly as he could. "I'll call you! I have one stop to make...!"

---

Back at Turnberry Place, Aron was kneeling in front of Kristjan's bedroom door, trying to soothe the frantic dog on the other side.

"It's okay, girl!" Aron called as he heard her continue to whine and paw at the door. "It'll be just a little longer!" He continued to offer her platitude when there was a knock on the door and he closed his eyes in relief. "Thank god..." And he stood up and half ran to the door which he yanked open, and standing there was a concerned Gabriel and a smiling Despayre.

"Gabriel!" Aron was ready to hug the man in relief. "Thanks for... Despayre? Why...?"

"He's going to get Kristjan's door open." Gabriel stated matter-of-factly as Aron stepped aside to let them enter. Despayre looked at Aron, unaware of anything happening and he asked, "Which is his bedroom?"

"The door at the end of the hall..." Aron pointed, and as Despayre hurried off, Aron turned to Gabriel with a perplexed look.

Gabriel said, "Don't worry. Despy will have that door open in no time. He hasn't met a lock he couldn't pick. Even electronic ones."

"Are you sure?" Aron asked. "I've been working on it all morning and was about ready to bust down the..."

"It's ready!" Despayre happily skipped back into the front room, with Kyssa trailing after him. Aron blinked and looked to Gabriel who managed an "Told you." before the young Icelandic man took off for the bedroom. Despayre meant to follow but Gabriel held him in check by the arm and shook his head. He waited, a sense of worry in his mind.

"Kristjan... Kristjan!!" Came Aron's frantic call from the bedroom! Gabriel turned to a wide eyed and start;ed Despayre and ordered him, "Stay here!" and he turned and ran to see what the hell was going on!

Gabriel entered the bedroom, taking no notice of his surroundings save for the open door to the private bathroom and his heart fell into his stomach. A prime place for... No. No! He darted to the door frame and saw Aron on his knees, shaking Kristjan by the shoulders. Aron's face was contorted with fear and desperation, while Kristjan was just laying out cold on the floor.

"Move." Gabriel said and he had to force Aron aside as he dropped down beside him. "Move!" Gabriel quickly grabbed his wrist and checked, then pressed his index finger against the side of his neck, breathing a sign of relief. He looked at Aron and said, "He's okay."

Aron breathed a sigh of relief, but Gabriel looked down at the pathetic sight of a  man and added with an indignant shout, "Just so  pissed he passed out!" He stood up, fuming. that Kristjan had done this to himself! And for what!? Saying no other words, Gabriel reached for a cup on the bathroom sink and filled it with tap water, right before he threw it right down into Kristjan's face!

"FUCKING...!!!" Kristjan roared as he was startled awake, coughing and gasping in surprise! He struggled to sit upright, his head feeling as if a marching band was playing inside of it, off-key. He opened his eyes and Gabriel saw that they were blood shot, the result of what would appear to be a week-long booze binge!

"Gabriel...?" Kristjan started to speak but Gabriel cut him off, "I was angry before, but now? Look at you! Your brother thought you were dead! I thought you were dead! I have a pregnant wife at home who is worried that you're...!"

He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He knelt down and looked his pupil in the eye, but how much he could comprehend in his given condition was a hard pressed thought.

"Kristjan, I know what happened, and I am sorry." Gabriel said, soothing his anger into as calm a voice as he could muster. Fenris's actions towards Despayre weeks ago had angered many, but what he was doing to himself, and what could have been ... well, imagine the times when a parent is scared for their child's safety and felt the relief at their well being at the same time they wanted to strangle them for scaring them in the first place. That's how Gabriel felt, and how he was certain a great ,many people felt where Kristjan was concerned.

"It's fucked up." Gabriel added, and knew from the fact that Despy had not extended his hand for the swear jar was a testament to how seriously the little guy was taking this as well. Gabriel shook his head, "But this isn't the answer. You're not just hurting yourself. You're hurting the people around you who give a damn."

"I was not aware there were any." Came the reply, and Aron shot his brother a withering look that caused the more hot headed of the two to avert his gaze. Gabriel, however, nodded. "I'll pretend for now that I did not hear that." He answered back. "You didn't deserve to have this happen to him. Neither did Kris, but in a sense, you two did bring it on yourselves."

This brought a hard look from Kristjan and Gabriel held a hand up to stall any objections. He said, "What you two did in a public elevator, judging by the pictures in that magazine?" He shook his head. "Kristjan, what were you thinking!?"

And it was evidence enough that Kristjan said nothing in reply and simply looked down, that spoke the truth of Gabriel's words. Neither he nor Kris paid attention to their surroundings. They got lost in the moment and let it take them over, and now they were answering for it. Gabriel then said, "Mark and Christian are working on stopping that video release. So am I. We're doing everything we can, it's just ..." He frowned. "Be ready. Just in case."

Just in case ... they were unable and what happened between Kris and himself was made for public viewing.

Then he found Gabriel's hand on his arm and he looked up, and there was genuine concern and even affection in the man's demeanor.

"Nobody cares, Kristjan." He was assured. "Nobody that matters, anyway. Who you want in your bed is your business. To hell with everyone else!"

"It should have been my choice." Kristjan whispered, his throat raw. "My time..."

"You're right." Gabriel nodded. "It should  have been, and would have been were it not for some asshole out looking to make some news and a quick buck. Its a personal decision, and can be difficult. But you can't turn back time and change what happened." Gabriel shook his head. "All you can do is move on."

He slowly stood up and moved to leave, but paused and turned back to Kristjan and said, "For once, use that ego and stubborn nature to your advantage. Get past this. Move on." He then leaned over slightly for emphasis, forcing Kristjan to meet his eye as he added, "And don't ever scare us like this again!"

Gabriel then made to take his leave, saying to Despayre, "Come on Despy."

"But I wanna see if he has a breakdown."

Gabriel smirked, knowing Despy's innocent comment was not to be taken as it sounded. He placed a hand on the small of his back and escorted him from the room, with their voices trailing after them...

"Come on." Gabriel prodded.

"I had a breakdown once." Despayre said as their voices retreated further into the condo. "It might make a nice change of pace?"

Only after he heard the door of the condo shut behind them, did Aron turn to face and confront his brother. Now that he had nowhere to run. Aron exhaled, knowing how bad Kristjan was feeling right now, physically as well as emotional. He started to speak when Kristjan suddenly sat upright, holding up a hand to stop him. His eyes went wide and he spun around and lurched over the bathtub and became sick -- violently so! The end result of consuming so much alcohol on an empty stomach! Aron recoiled in disgust, as most would, but such was the love for his older brother that he still moved over to hold his long hair back and place a reassuring hand on his shoulder while he got it all out of his system.

It took forever, seemingly so, and finally Kristjan slowly turned around, his body glistening with perspiration, his shirt almost soaked through, and leaned back against the edge of the tub while Aron ran the water to wash it out. Aron passed a wet rag to Kristjan, along with a glass of water to wash the taste from his mouth. After dabbing at his flesh and spitting the water into the tub, did Aron sit on the edge beside him, forearms propped on his knees.

"Feeling better?" He asked, to which Kristjan could only nod slightly. "Can't say you didn't deserve that." After a moment, Kristjan looked up into the concerned blue eyes and he was asked, "Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone in the family? I'm your brother for gods sake!"

"Tell you what?" Kristjan sighed. "You saw the pictures. Did you want me to explain what we were doing? How after we were done there we went to Kris's hotel room and fucked each others' brains out until noon!?"

"One," Aron held up a hand, eyes closed. "TMI. And two, wow." He shook his head. "You know damn well what I mean, K. I'm your brother! You could have told me. You didn't have to keep this a secret!"

"Maybe I didn't think it was anyone's business."

"It's not anyone's business, K!" Aron replied hotly. "But having something like this bottled up, like you can't be yourself, it can only hurt you! Who the hell knows!? maybe it's why you're always so angry all the time!"

Kristjan openly scoffed at this. After a moment, Aron said, "Mom and dad are worried. You need to talk to them." Kristjan simply nodded, and Aron went on, "Freyja, everyone was worried."

Again, Kristjan scoffed, not taking into account their two other sisters whom they did not get along with. But Aron nodded, "Yeah, them too apparently. Viktoria got fired two days ago."

"Big surprise there."

"I'd say it was." Aron said. "Her coworker made a joke about what happened and she decked him!"

This bit of news drew Kristjan's attention and he looked at his brother as if he were trying to discern the fabrication, but he saw nothing. Aron shrugged, but mused with the barest trace of a smile. "Yeah. She actually defended you. Apparently it's one thing for her to treat you like filth, but god help anyone else who talks shit about her brother."

Kristjan turned back away with a contemplative expression on his tired face, not knowing what to make of that bit of news. If anything. He closed his eyes for but a moment when he heard the pad of soft paws on the wood-tile floors. He opened them and gave Kyssa a tired smile. She stepped into the bathroom and made to rest along side of him, while Aron stood up to leave and give her room.

"So," Aron finally spoke. "You and Kris? Does this mean you two are...?"

But Kristjan shook his head and answered, "He's married. Just had  a bit of fun. Just friends." He paused before adding, "Maybe with benefits."

"Yeah, TMI." Aron groaned, stating again. "Do you want to eat?" He asked, but knew the answer already before it was even uttered with a groan, "Fuck no!"

As Kyssa laid across Kristjan's lap, Aron stood at thee door and asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

Kristjan shrugged, and a barely audible, "I don't know." followed. It was a start. Better than a definitive no.

"Don't do this again, K." Aron shook his head. "Swear it."

Kristjan said nothing, but held up two fingers in a Scout salute. Satisfied, Aron quietly stepped out of the bathroom, relieved his brother was on a slow mend.

---

And only a day later, and the World Heavyweight Champion was back at work, attempting to force himself back into the mental state that had helped gain him championship gold at such an early stage of his pro wrestling career. Fenris had braved the public eye, maneuvering past the reporters and fans that awaited him in the parking garage of the Turnberry Towers and headed for the training facility of the Stevens. he had, of course, been followed, but the more aggressive people had been threatened with trespassing charges by Gabriel.

Burned bridges being mended.

The first thing Gabriel did was set Fenris on the treadmill to run, hopefully to sweat the lingering effects of all that booze from his charge's system. He knew the threat Dmitri was to any who set foot inside of the ring, and the fact that the world title would be up for grabs, then that threat was magnified tenfold.

He spoke, smoothly and freely, as the usual subtitles flowed across the bottom of the screen.

"What can I say? I've had a rough week, and just now am I starting to feel like my old self. The hell I went through isn't going to end any time soon, call it a hunch. But I don't want you thinking, Dmitri, that what happened to Kris and myself Sunday will give you any kind of advantage over me. What happened, was private. A personal violation between us."

Fenris cast a look into the camera.

"But that's just it, isn't it? It was personal, not professional. What is going to happen between you and me?" He motioned between the camera and himself with a forefinger. "That is professional."

He stepped off of the  treadmill finally, and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his head and neck. He placed it on his gym bag and moved over to a training bag that was hung from the ceiling. Taking a pair of MMA gloves from his gym bag, he slipped them on while continuing.

"And professional is where it will matter the most this Sunday when I head to California to put so much on the line, more than you have to offer up in return, Dmitri. I am putting my heart and soul on the line. I am putting my pride, my unbeaten streak on the line! I am putting the World Heavyweight Championship on. The. Line!"

He moved into  place in front of the bag and he started to throw hard jabs into the rough leather, sending it swaying heavily.

"I know what you can accomplish, Dmitri, when you set your mind to it. Anyone worth a shit in this business knows who the hell you are and what you can do. You are the man who took J2H to the brink of defeat multiple times, but you couldn't quite jump over the hurdle, could you? But the fact you gave him some of his toughest fights is why any fighter should look at you with awe and respect, or at the very least -- respect. You even managed to take the world title eventually, but that was almost a year ago. And now? Something about you has changed. What could that be?"

He paused to glance into the camera.

"A flaw, a vulnerability that may or may not have been there before, but one that opposition has started to exploit to some degree of success. You lost matches to some who you never should have lost to. Equinox, for example. I half expected you to pulverize that sorry little shit, but to watch him pin you?"

He frowned.

"Daaamn! Even I was disappointed! I wanted to see you beat him, and move up to where you should be! But guess what? Here you are!"

He swept his arms out with a sarcastic smile.

"You came close to winning the Ultimate X and get to face me at Summer XXXTreme VI, but here you are anyway! I guess after I beat Ty's ass into the ground, as the first runner up, the bosses thought you were the next step to take before I finally get Kris Ryans into the ring at Violent Conduct V! And hey, that's fine! Perfect, even! I don't mind using you as a stepping stone to get what I deserved since winning Blast From the Past! And no, I am not going to think you're an easy step to take. You are a fighter to the highest fucking order, and I fully expect you to beat me into the mat from the start of the match, right up until the finish when I wrap you up so tight you'll have nowhere to go and no other options but to tap!"

"I imagine I may have caught you unaware last time around, when we could have faced each other, didn't I? For so long, all you could do is focus on the way your opponents would over look you and what you are, and you could use that against them when they realized their grievous error."

He shook his head.

"But not me. I didn't give you the satisfaction then, and I'm not giving it to you now. Who am I to judge or say whether or not you walk the night as dhampir? An undead who feast and sustains himself on the life of others?"

He shrugged and again focused on the bag, throwing gloved fists at it.

"Such things have been rumored to exist for thousands of years, right up until this day. Scientists tell us since it can't be proven with science, it can't exist. You know what I say to that?"

He looked to the camera.

"If science can't prove it exists, then fuck off! Take a look at the world around us! It is filled with an air of mystery! Did you know, Dmitri, that there is a mountain range in the UK, known as Ben Macdui where there is a fabled specter that drives man mad with fear? Or a lake in Vancouver where a water beast has been rumored to exist for centuries! It is so believed in that the Canadian government declared it a protected endangered species! So I will not dispute you for who and what you are! I embrace it! I celebrate it! And that fact alone will be the reason that you will have no sway over me inside of that ring! You won;t intimidate a man that celebrates the Norse pantheon, and waits the return of Balder! You can't instill fear in a Norse man who walks alongside the Choosers of the Slain on the battlefields between men! The Valkyries give me strength over my rivals! My faith gives me all I need to fight and prevail!  I will not succumb to the grief I have experienced these past days! I won't allow it!"

"And in case you are wondering about my leg, and whether or not you can take advantage of what Crimson started to your own benefit...?"


Fenris turned to the bag and delivered a hard kick with the injured limb, sending it rocking! He then lowered his leg and stared straight at the camera.

"You'd be a god damn fool not to try it, but an even bigger one for thinking it might do you any good! So do whatever the hell you think you have to, because all it is going to accomplish is make me even more determined to walk away the winner! I said it before, I have this sick desire to see just what it takes to make an undead tap out, and who knows Dmitri?"

He gave the camera a smirk.

"This may just be the time! I was never much of an inquisitive soul, but this time I just might make an exception. So please, come at me. Fight me with the belief that your unholy life span and your size will give you every advantage over me. Let others fill your head with lies that what I went through both in and out of the ring will play the role in my defeat and your being crowned a two-time champion. I won't begrudge you those delusions of self grandeur. Hell! If I were you, I'd do the same! But I'm not. I am Fenris. I am the White Wolf. I am the SCW World Heavyweight Champion! This belt stays with me until I am ready to give it up! I am not about to allow you to take away my property, and deny me my right in proving to everyone that I am the one true World Champion when I get Kris Ryans inside of the ring!"

He pointed a finger at the camera.

"You, Dmitri, are just an obstacle in my path. Take this opportunity to remember the natural enemy of a vampire."

He smiled and nodded.

"That's right. The wolf!" He looked contemplative for a moment. "Well, werewolf to be more exact, but you get my meaning. And this Wolf here?"

He tapped a finger into his chest.

"It has had a very bad week! I've been attacked. Humiliated. But always I will fight back. So you'll forgive me for being distracted Dmitri, but this has been a fucking rough week! And I'm afraid that I'm going to have to vent my frustrations inside of the ring and take it out on you."

"You understand."

That being said, Fenris turned away from the camera and resumed his training session.

39

Climax Control Archives / The chains of Fenris unbound

« on: August 10, 2018, 10:14:07 PM »

 <img align=left src= "http://www.geocities.ws/scwmaterial/Pictures/Fenris9.jpg" height=431 width=547>"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."
King Henry IV - Shakespeare

The saying was known well enough, even by Kristjan Baltasarsson who never really considered himself to be the intellectual type. He will freely tell anyone that it was his brother Aron who was the collegiate type, not him. It was Aron who spoke three different languages fluently, including his own. Aron who was the only member of his family who attended college and aced some difficult science related classes that he tried to discuss with his older brother and left Fenris feeling as if he were still in grade school as a result. Yet still the famous Shakespearean quote rang true in the ears of the brand new World Heavyweight Champion, and none more so than in the immediate aftermath of his championship victory at Summer XXXTreme VI.

07/22/2018
The grand finale event of the Summer XXXTreme cruise had just reached its zenith, and the crowd was far too hyped up from the excitement that they had witnessed over the course of the last five plus hours. And the main event, the match to determine the brand new World Champion had just concluded. It had not lasted as long as many had envisioned when Ty West won the Ultimate X battle royal earlier in the night, but the match length did not deter from the level of excitement that either man contributed to the hard fought contest. If anything, the determination on the part of both men actually led to the match to be shorter than anticipated as neither man would last long as hard as they were handing it out to one another. It was just a matter of who wanted it more, and in the end, Fenris's determination not to be shown up on such a stage allowed him that final blow to lay Ty out and cover him for the inevitable count of three.

There would be no excuses this time. No denials over who was the better man. Ty had not passed out in a submission hold, nor was he rendered unable to continue such as what happened to Kyle Kavanagh several weeks ago. There was no disputing the victory. Fenris pinned Ty in the center of the ring to win the figurative crown, and walked away with his head held high. proud that he had accomplished what he had known he would from the moment he and Courtney Pierce had won the Blast From the Past.

So why the unease?

That was easy enough, as Aron had led him through the backstage curtains, his brother's arms and shoulder offering physical support. Ty West may have lost the match but in no way, shape or form did he leave any doubt that he put Fenris through a hard fight to earn that gold. Fenris had half expected to be met by the roster to offer him congratulations, or at the very least, the staff, but there was very little to be had. The bosses, both Mark Ward and Christian Underwood, were there as was to be expected, but he had heard from various sources that it was customary to congratulate a new champion for ascending. But for him? Nothing.

He didn't let it show on his face, the disappointment or confusion, but it was there. Perhaps the only person who could tell was Aron, whop had this annoying habit of being able to read him like an open book, even when he himself had closed the pages. All this reception, or lack thereof, did was bring Gabriel's words back to haunt him;

"Nobody likes you!"

Fenris could still hear the words ringing in his ears, heralded by Gabriel's distinct British accent. And all (or mostly) because he had yelled at little Despayre during that disastrous birthday party thrown in his honor. But, he had apologized for that, didn't he? Okay, so he did so mostly at the urging of Mikah, but he had the smallest sensation of regret at his actions that would have (probably) caused him to do so anyway. Especially when he realized the level of his actions, when he had angered not only Despayre's rather formidable father, but also the Stevens, resulting in his banishment from their training facility. But he had apologized for his actions, so everything would be kosher, right? He was Gabriel and Odette's newest star, another student of theirs that had risen quickly to claim world championship gold, so that was something for them to be proud of, right?

Not necessarily.

Fenris was prepared to bypass the cordoned off area for the wrestlers and head straight to his cabin to shower and change, but fate had intervened to a small degree, as the previously mentioned Despayre was sipping along the hallway with Synn bringing up the rear. As he did so, Despayre looked at the Baltasarsson brothers with a bright smile that seemed perpetual and saluted Fenris without so much as stopping and he continued on along his path. Synn, however, did not pause or even dignify their presence. Fenris watched them go and turn a corner on the ship's backstage area set aside for the occupation of SCW's roster and staff. Fenris then glanced at his brother who shared the same perplexed expression that he was certain he wore now. They shared a mutual shrug of not understanding before they went to continue their path, the younger brother following the elder as was expected, when they were called to a stop.

"Fenris!"

"Fenris, please! A moment!"

Fenris turned around, an annoyance just below the surface, always threatening to erupt, slowly surfacing. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, before he exhaled and turned around -- and was promptly blinded by a glaring flash from a camera.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, shielding his eyes briefly with his forearm before he slowly lowered it, squinting and blinking away those dancing lights that afflicted the eyes when a bright light had been shined in them. Aron laid a hand on his shoulder to calm and/or restrain him as he was suddenly besieged by a small number of reporters that had been on hand for this event, covering it for the various wrestling magazines and websites that fed the rabid wrestling community all of the info it desired. Fenris wanted to do nothing more than to kick the camera right out of that bastard's hands, but he felt like he was in enough trouble with his peers and bosses, and Aron was right there.

Besides, he knew from the moment he won the gold that the press would be a necessary evil, as it were. Plus, it was nice being given at least some attention.

"Sorry!" The offending reporter said as he lowered his camera. "I just wanted to capture that first moment with you as champion!"

"How does it feel?" Another reporter asked. "The newest to hold the SCW World title!"

This was all happening too quickly, that Fenris was having a time catching the words with his own limited English. Aron translated for him quickly and Fenris shifted the championship belt over his shoulder and looked at the row of men and women gazing upon his expectantly and shrugged.

"It was not Kris Ryans." He answered. "But it was an accomplishment."

"What does that mean?" Another asked. "Are you saying that because you were wrestling against Ty West instead of Kristopher Ryans, that the win meant less?"

Fenris frowned and said, "It did mean less, but not in way you think. Or try to imply. Ty West was not the champion. Kris Ryans was. I did not get to fight Kris like I was supposed to. Ty earned his spot and fought hard. He earned my respect -- FINALLY -- but I wanted Kris in the ring. Only proper way to win a championship is to beat a champion."

He shook his head.

"I did not do that. I am the champion, but I won't be happy until I have Kris in the ring. This..." He patted the golden central plate of the SCW title belt. "... will mean far more to me when that match finally happens."

Another reporter asked, "Do you have other aspirations besides facing Kris Ryans for the title to settle things between you? Any other men you'd like to have in the ring?"

This question gave Fenris pause, as deep down he respected the majority of the men's division in SCW. He just had a difficult time to express that in words. He thought for a moment and the first name that came to mind was brought about, "Ben Jordan."

"He's the brand new Roulette Champion!" A reporter pointed out, to which Fenris gave a curt nod.

"I am aware." Fenris stated. "Does not mean I can not or would not want to face him. I have wanted to ever since I came here. Ben Jordan was the first name on the list of men I wanted to fight. Titles or no."

"Any others?"

Fenris gave pause and then nodded, "Crimson." And this statement was met with startled glances as few competitors openly wanted to face the man known as Crimson inside of the ring willingly. Before any might ask as to how or why, Fenris removed all doubt and shook his head, "Champion is only as good as challengers. Crimson keeps winning, so shouldn't I wrestle him?"

He shook his head, his eyes roaming along the row of reporters as if silently daring them to contradict his answer to their own queries. When prodded for any more names, Fenris allowed himself to indulge them with names of Superstars he would like to face, whether it be for his gold or no. Names such as Dmitri and Casey Williams followed. Jon Dough and hell -- even another rematch against Ty West was not out of the question as far as the champion was concerned.

"Just put me against whoever." Fenris stated with supreme confidence. He was the champion now. He had that right to feel that way, after all. "I do not intend to lose my streak any time soon."

That being said, Fenris took it upon himself to end this impromptu post-victory press conference and walk away, leaving the questions still being called out by the reporters laying in his wake. After that, Fenris pretty much got what he had wanted; self imposed isolation. He had showered, taken some aspirin for the way his body had been beaten black and blue by Ty, and had prepared to just grab a bottle of whatever and drink himself stupid, had it not been for Aron's intervention. That was the duty of younger siblings, after all; to interfere with the elder's wishes in favor of their own. And what Aron wanted was for Fenris to come celebrate at the Riviera Bar, one of several aboard the cruise ship where fans and wrestlers alike would be celebrating not only a show well done by all, but the end of the annual cruise. Its 'climax,' if you would not mind the pun.

Fenris had finally relented, knowing full well Aron would not let up until he had. Threats didn't work with his brother, as he knew full well how empty they were. And locking him out of hi cabin was out of the question as Aron had the spare key just in case of emergency. So there he was, seated beside Aron on the patio deck bar with several fans eagerly seeking out wrestlers who they knew for certain were, by tradition, celebrating the show somewhere on the ship!

Although he wondered why he had bothered because as far as his peers were concerned, any handshakes or words of congratulations were as bare and void as they were backstage after his win. As a matter of fact, the only person who had given him even the remotest sense of good will was Ben Jordan himself, who had first offered him his congratulations, only to turn it around into some form of joke at his expense. The fans, however? They were another response altogether.

"Congratulations!"

"Can I get your picture? Please?"

"The White Wolf! Arooo!" Yes, one drunkard actually HOWLED at him and then laughed as if he really believed he had been the first. More requests came, and one fan even lifted her Summer XXXTreme VI shirt in full view of the entire bar to ask Fenris to "sign her tits." A request he turned down coldly and left her red faced and hurrying back to her friends in a walk of shame. It seemed unfair to him, that he fought hard to try and win the respect of his "brothers and sisters" in wrestling like he had in his MMA days, but he had been largely unsuccessful. He had walked into SCW with high praise from men such as Gabriel and Daniel Morgan, only to have that praise cut to that of disappointment and avoiding of him at all costs.

The fans, however? Well even Fenris was surprised to discover that even he had a fan base, mostly children, who flocked to him eagerly for a moment of his time. Kids were not present in the bar of course, but he still spent time exchanging words with some adult fans and indulging them with a picture or scrawling his name on an 8x10 glossy. One alcohol-imbued female fan had even cuddled up to him for a photo op and slid her hand down below his waist, seeking an answer as to whether he did in fact deserve that Mister Tight Buns award that Brittany Williams had bestowed upon him earlier in the week.

Needless to say, he was anxious to get off of this goddamn ship and return to Las Vegas where he could rest and recuperate where he wouldn't get groped  by some rabid fan. There were others he would rather have that luxury, but that was an entirely different story.

---

The entire time that Kristjan and Aron had been traveling along this (Fatal) Attractions tour, they had been doing so by train because Aron had always wanted to do so. Say what you will, but Fenris loved his family (or at least most of them) and felt a special connection toward his only brother in a family of sisters, and thus felt the desire to indulge him every now and then. So that was also how they were to return to Las Vegas, only this time they were doing so directly as it was such a short trip. Less than seven hours.

The Sun Princess had embarked at Los Angeles, the very same port it had set off from, and after many well wishes and farewells, Fenris had pried Aron away from everyone to hop in a cab and run to the Union Station for the ride home, anxious to simply get away. And that was where the brothers and Fenris's beloved Kyssa were currently, seated aboard Amtrak in a reserved passenger car for privacy. Aron's head rested against the window pane to his right, as he dozed away, not having slept comfortably the previous night. As Fenris idly scratched Kyssa behind the ears while her head rested on his lap, following Aron's example for a snooze, Fenris used his free hand to idly browse the Internet on his phone, looking for something, anything, to catch his interest in order to help pass the time. It was also when he was caught by surprise by the tell-tale ringing tone that heralded a video chat request.

By instinct alone his thumb moved toward the 'decline' button when he caught himself, citing the name of his own mother on the other end, Eva Baltasarsson. He had not seen her personally since she had been brought in as a surprise for both he and Aron by Gabriel for Mother's Day. Given his wretched nature, the smile that he felt crease his lips was a welcome change. One that seemingly only his mother and bay sister Freyja seemed to inspire in him.

He quickly hit the 'accept' button and quick as a wink, the chat window opened and his lovely mother's face filled the screen.

"Hi sweety!" She said in their shared native language as she spoke no English. A welcome change then for Kristjan so he wouldn't have to struggle through his own English and feel the part of the fool for doing so. She went on to ask, "Where are you?"

"On the train for Las Vegas." Kristjan answered softly so as not to startle Aron awake needlessly. No more so risking than he already had at his sibling's expense. He then shook his head and sighed, "I can not wait. It's been a very long week!"

"Oh, poor Kristjan." Eva made a pouty look of sympathy, one that had the desired effect by making her antagonistic oldest boy snort back a laugh. Somehow that was just an effect a mother had on her child. "Are you on a train again?" To this, Kristjan simply nodded. Eva then glanced about the screen as if she were looking for something by his person until she asked, "Where's your brother?"

Smiling, despite himself, Fenris turned the phone just enough so as Eva could see her baby boy -- and what Kristjan had done to amuse himself. Namely he had breathed heavily on a spoon he had "borrowed" from the dining car and stuck it on Aron's nose. He had then taken a photograph of it for "later," but it was enough to make their mother shake her head and cluck her tongue when he turned the phone back around.

"One of these days, Kristjan, he's going to get you for doing things like that."

Kristjan just shrugged, falling back to that cocky grin that drove those around him nuts. He said simply, "He can try." Fully aware that whatever Aron threw his way, he could beat tenfold. It was then that Eva looked at her son, I mean really looked at him, and her lovely, Icelandic features slid into one of concern and she asked, "What's the matter?"

Kristjan's eyes opened slightly wider in surprise. Not so at the question itself. That was a mother for you. But more so that even at a distance of well over four thousand miles, she could sense something was amiss. Still, his pride was there and he refused to give his mother any cause for alarm, stating with a shake of the head, "Nothing Mamma. I'm fine." He then tilted his head and gave her that knowing smile, adding, "I am a champion now, after all."

It was clear to him by the raised brow that Eva did not entirely believe him, but he also knew she wouldn't press. Every time his mom or dad tried to press him into sharing his emotions, it always ended up in the same result; he retreated further into himself. She was confident that with time, he'd open up. He always did.

"Your father and I are so proud of you." Eva smiled. "It hurt to see my boy fighting like that. But I was so thrilled when you won."

"You watched?" Fenris was openly skeptical, knowing full well how barbaric his mom felt about any form of contact sport. She never watched a single one of his MMA fights. She would be off in the house doing something else when he was fighting, but would never fail to inquire how he did the moment his match was over. He figured she'd keep that same routine when he ventured into professional wrestling. "You?"

Eva shrugged, but conceded to her son's doubt. She answered, "I wasn't exactly planning to. But your father and sisters were watching and I figured..."

Eva sighed, knowing full well the high level of animosity that existed between Kristjan and his older sisters, Elin and Vikoria. She said, "Yes. I think even your father and Freyja were surprised when they came in and sat down to watch."

"They probably were hoping to watch me lose." Kristjan mumbled, but Eva overheard and she mused, "Freyja said the exact same thing, but I don't know. I saw them both tense when you took those hard shots. Almost as much as your mother! Freyja almost hit the roof when you won." Fenris beamed at hearing the pride his baby sister took in his victory as Eva embellished, "She cheered louder than your father or me."

"And the other two?" Fenris probed, to which his mom answered, "They really didn't show much of a reaction." She admitted. "Probably because they both knew Freyja would tell you the first chance she got. But I did overhear Elin tell one of her friends on the phone about her brother who was now a world champion."

Kristjan turned his head, having caught sight of Aron slowly stirring from the corner of his eye. He said, "I think you're blowing smoke up my ass Mamma, but it's still a better reception than I've gotten so far."

To this statement, Eva frowned and Kristjan realized what he had said. He then smiled and said, "I think A is about to wake up, and better let Kyssa stretch her legs. Call you tomorrow?"

"You better." Eva warned. "Your father wants to see you too."

"Love you." Fenris stated without a trace of embarrassment at displaying affection towards his mother.  She kissed her fingers and bid him farewell with a wave and replied, "Love you too, sweety." And that  being said, the screen on his phone went dark, the call having ended. He leaned back in his seat and ran his fingers idly through Kyssa's soft, snow-white fur. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to follow his brother's example.

There were times when a mother's love could be the most effective mood control.

---

Las Vegas
Time continues to flow from where we sit as spectators, watching the comings and goings of those that put their bodies on the line, all in the name of entertainment. But even after he and Aron had returned to Las Vegas, Fenris came to the startling realization that being world champion for SCW meant that you were not afforded the same time off as others who worked under that banner. Not even two days after they hit Vegas, that Fenris found himself doing his first online podcast interview. Then the following day, he had to arrive early at the SCW studio bright and early for a photography session; just him and his newly won championship belt.

He used this schedule as an excuse as to why he had not reached out to Gabriel and Odette to hopefully smooth things over so he might return to their training facility. The simple fact was; he needed them. He needed what they offered their students, both in-training and graduates. He had no idea how he would manage to continue his training while avoiding Maksym without the Stevens. And now that he had the top championship, it was vital that he continue on and even improve upon his training.

So he opted to put his free-time to constructive use -- at least until he could find a way to further mend burned bridges. He had taken a liking to Japanese animation, or anime, and was seated back on the sofa in his and Aron's condo. A beer in one hand, his phone in the other, while his eyes watched the antics on the HDTV. Aron had taken one look at what Kristjan was doing and did an immediate about face and walked right back into his bedroom and shut the door behind him. Hey! Just because Kristjan didn't fully understand what was being said on the shows didn't mean they couldn't still be entertaining, right?

He has just about to put his phone away and reach for the remote when it started to vibrate, almost startling him to dropping it on Kyssa's backside. Who the hell would be calling him? Gabriel perhaps? Courtney...? He glanced at the screen and was startled to see that it was none other than Kris Ryans calling him. Did they exchange numbers after they had ... well, you know! And if they did ... why? Was it an invitation by one of them to possibly revisit their previous encounter? Maybe it meant nothing and they were both just too damn wasted to remember handing out numbers and why... Oh well! Only one way to find out...

He hit the receive button and spoke into it, "Halló?"

"It's about damn time!" The voice he knew full well belonged to none other than Kristopher Ryans came from the other end of the call, wherever he might be. "I was about to hang up."

"Damn." Fenris spoke with a faux tone of morose quality. "I would have thoroughly beaten myself for missing you."

"Tell me something I don't know." Kris stated without missing a beat, confident in himself as much as Fenris himself, only not quite as annoyingly brazen in being so. He then asked, "Saw your match of course. How does it feel to be walking around with my championship?"

"My championship." Fenris quickly corrected him. Adding with a smile, "Any time you want it, though, all you have to do is take it."

"Hm!" Kris scoffed. "Where did I hear you say that before?" Fenris frowned, and stared momentarily at the phone. A victim of Kris's sense of humor or caustic wit, or perhaps both? Kristjan was uncertain but he then spoke again and asked, "Did you want something?"

"You seen the next show yet?" Kris asked over the phone. "If not, you probably will want to."

With a free hand, Fenris reached over to grab Aron's tablet and turned it on. Scrolling through until he reached the SCW's official website, he clicked on the link for the next card's lineup. His eyes ran down the lineup with barely a care until he happened upon the next to last match, and his eyes widened with surprise, then narrowed into slits.

"What -- the fuck!?"

"Thanks." Kris replied with a mock coyness that you could practically see his smirk through the phone. "It'll be a real pleasure to team with you too."

"Tag team match?" Fenris replied, all but ignoring what Kris had stated. "I thought my next match would be a defense. Maybe against Ty or..."

"Me?" Kris answered for him, knowing that Fenris had not been pleased with the way he had won his championship. Kris went on, "I think this is just Mark and Christian's way of screwing with us. And with Ben and Crimson since those two have a boner to get in the ring. two big title matches, so make one huge ass tag team match to mess with them all!"

Fenris continued to stare at the match listing. Fenris and Kristopher Ryans versus Ben Jordan and Crimson. It was a dream match, to be certain. Fenris admitted into the phone for Kris's benefit, "Maybe won't be so bad. Not so much a shock as it will be to Ben and Crimson..." But whatever he was going to finish with was lost as kris started chuckling on his end.

"Really?" Kris laughed, spiking Kristjan's annoyance. "Are you being serious? What tag team experience do you have, big boy?"

Fenris frowned, glad that Kris could not see him as his face flushed three different shades of red at Ryans' taunting. Fenris answered, "I did win the Blast From Past tournament with Courtney..."

"Mixed tag teams, son." Kris stressed. "Mixed. World of difference between those and regular tag teams."

"Really." Kristjan said matter-of0factly. "And you know this how...?"

This time it was Kris's turn on his end to pull the phone aside and stare into it with disbelief. He then shook his own head and said with stressed tones, "Maybe because I was in a tag team before? Jet City? Held the championships almost four months..."

"Before my time." Fenris interrupted. "Don't see how much different this will be."

"Oh maybe because if Ben or Crimson get you down and are beating the shit out of you, you won't be allowed to leave the ring until you actually tag out?" Kris rolled his eyes, amazed at the ignorance the rookie was displaying on one of the most basic concepts in the sport. He then added, "You have a lot to learn, Krissy..."

"Kristjan!"

"Whatever." Kris smiled, pleased that as nice as he was trying to be, he still "had it" when it came to getting under someone's skin so easily. He then continued, "So if you'll pardon the phrase, you better start boning up. I don't want to lose my first match back, and I have a feeling you sure as hell don't want to lose your first match as the champion."

"I. Won't." Fenris stressed each word.

"Glad to hear it!" Kris replied. "Now all you have to do is prove it. I'll contact you with some details to get us ready." Kris then quickly ended the call, pleased that he had gotten in the last word with the hit headed Icelander. On his own end, Fenris stared hard at the phone until he finally threw it against the pillow that rested against the sofa's arm rest. The man was so fucking aggravating ... what in hell made him ever....? He frowned and stretched back against the sofa, his legs extended as far as was possible while he laid his head back, closing his eyes.

What the hell was he supposed to do now? A singles match he knew how to handle, but if a tag team match was as different and as difficult as Kris implied, he was going to need some help. Whether he liked it or not. He simply was not in the habit of asking for help, but now he found himself in unfamiliar territory and he did not like it one iota. Bringing his head up, he sighed in resignation, knowing damn well what he had to do. Reaching over, he picked his phone back up from where it had fallen and hit the speed dial.

He waited as it rung, and when it finally picked up...

"Hello?" It was the voice of Gabriel Stevens on the other end.

"Don't hang up!" Fenris barked out before he could stop himself. Knowing that it would be the most likely result once his trainer realized who was calling.

"What do you want?" Gabriel asked after an uncomfortable pause. Fenris paused, knowing what he nodded to do, and had to say. It was just such a difficult thing to request when you had as much pride as he did. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said three of the most difficult words he had ever uttered.

"I need help."

---

Fenris stood inside of the immediate hallway of the training facility that had gotten him ready for the sport of professional wrestling; where Gabriel and Odette Stevens, along with a small team of their closest friends and family in the business, helped a young and arrogant man merge his MMA shoot fighting style into one that was more appropriate for the wrestling ring. Kristjan was privately concerned that he would never see the inside again. He yet wondered if he would be allowed to move past this point itself, where he now sat in a chair and waited to be buzzed in or greeted. Across from him, seated at a desk was none other than the young man who had been a catalyst for his banishment.

Despayre.

No, he was not blaming Despayre. Kristjan admitted that he himself was at fault for taking his anger out on this young man who was beloved by so many. Not entirely right, but innocent. He did the impossible when he invoked in Kristjan an overwhe.ming sense of guilt at his own actions. And now? Despayre was seated behind the desk just outside of the main door to the facility, acting the part of greeter or secretary or...

Whatever he would have thought was washed away from the recesses of his mind as the door opened, and there stood the man most responsible for his new career; Gabriel. Gabriel eyes shifted from Despayre, and the sight of the young man with those weird glasses on and hands clasped calmly atop the desk, drew a twinkle of a smile in the mentor's eyes, not to mention lips. But that all vanished the moment he turned his gaze upon his (former?) student, and what light he had in his face became hardened. Fenris stood up and slowly walked over to greet him.

"I was not certain you would meet me." He said simply.

"That makes two of us." Gabriel answered. "I wasn't certain that I would want to." The two stared at one another, until Gabriel continued, "But you apologized to Despy. That was a start. Plus, you actually managed to swallow that over-inflated ego of yours and actually admit that you needed help."

"So..." Fenris tucked his hands into the pockets of his sweats and shrugged lightly. ".... Are we good?"

"No." Gabriel shook his head, wasting no time in answering. Fenris drew in a breath but Gabriel interrupted whatever he might say by saying, "But it's a start. As for your problem, I can't go to Anaheim to help you get ready. I won't leave my pregnant wife. But... I can try to arrange a private seminar on tag team wrestling. I understand that Kris is working on helping you get ready. This might help with the technical aspects."

Kristjan wasn't happy that Gabriel wouldn't be there, but he understood. He couldn't expect the man to put a student, one he wasn't particularly fond of at the moment, ahead of his wife. So whatever start that might mend the burned bridge? He was willing to accept. He nodded in acceptance, to which Gabriel accepted.

"Good, though I can't make any promises. This tag team expert might be unable or unwilling." He explained. "We'll see. But for now..." Gabriel held the door that opened into the training facility open. "Odette agreed you can use the gym for what you need to. This time."

Fenris nodded, and gave a half audible "Thanks." as he started to take that step inside, when he paused. His curiosity bid him to ask, with a finger pointed at Despayre.

"What is he...?"

"C'mon!" Gabriel frowned. "You can't expect Angel to work all day without a coffee break. Despy is filling in for him."

Fenris stared at Gabriel, then at Despayre, then back to Gabriel. He started to question this when Gabriel held up a hand to forestall him. "Don't... try to understand it. Despy is great as our administrative assistant. He really weeds out the riff raff."

And as if on cue, the telephone on the desk rings. Despayre blinked through those Coke-bottle magnifying lenses of his and picked up the stapler and was about to answer it, when Gabriel stopped him. Gabriel instead picked the phone up and handed it to him instead.

"Than you." Despayre smiled, then spoke into the phone. "Hello? ... Yes. ... No. ... What do you mean you're canceling your training session? You can't just cancel on Gabriel and Odette without at least a forty eight hour notice! ... Well WHEN did he die!?"

Gabriel snorted back a laugh, but grabbed the phone from Despayre's hand and gently set it back down, turning it off. He patted his little brother on the shoulder who resumed his look-out position while he led Fenris through the door, shutting it behind them.

---

Fenris sat on a single folding chair with a lightly padded seat, staring straight ahead at one of the three wrestling rings that were houses in the unnamed training facility run by the Stevens household. More specifically, his eyes were on the one six-sided ring that they used to help get their students and future SCW stars better prepared for the unique structure used by the SCW itself. He remained in his street clothes, as he had not yet been afforded again the luxury of the use of the facility itself or what lie within. Not yet, anyway. So here he sat, eyes burning on the ring. Arms rested on his thighs and hands clasped together.

Focused.

As was the norm, his words flowed freely in Icelandic with English subtitles. He shook his head, "I do not think I ask for much when it comes to this business. Unlike certain others who demand title opportunities at every interval, I earned the spot where I am with Courtney Pierce at my side. We won the Blast From the Past together to earn our spots. To earn what would be just chances that we would have to learn to take advantage of for ourselves. Her time will come, and I did as I expected. I may not have gotten to face Kris Ryans -- yet -- but I did get my opportunity at the world title, and not even four months on, I am the World Heavyweight Champion."

"'What's next for Fenris?' was the obvious question on peoples minds. Who would be his first challenger. Ty West? Dmitri? Casey Williams? Bring them on, I say. But first, and foremost, I want kris Ryans, the same man I should have fought at Summer XXXTreme VI! The same man, who for reasons unknown, I am fated to team with this very weekend. And as new as this situation places us in, the spot our opponents find themselves can only be more discomforting."

He smiled, leaning forward and rubbing a free hand along his jaw.

"When I found out that I was going to get to compete in the ring against Ben Jordan, I had thought that Christmas had come early this year. If there was ever a man I wanted to test myself against in the ring, it would be him. if there was a man that I would openly express admiration and respect for, it would be Ben Jordan. I made that perfectly clear that I fully supported him and his #BenDeservesBetter campaign. I wanted him in the ring before he had even officially resigned with SCW, but it was unfortunately not to be. Ben and Jon had other ideas, and apparently so did the bosses."

He nodded.

"That's fine. Good things come to those who wait, and I am patient."

He frowned then shook his head.

"Okay, even I did not buy that. My point is, while I would much prefer that our match together be in singles competition, I'll take what I can get for now. Our time one on one will come, but if we have to each have a partner in our corner, so be it. I've watched you Ben. watched everything I could find from your days in ACW, to that team of yours with Jamie Dean. Your time spent in the tag team division was sorely wasted, even if it was successful. I saw you in a Parking Lot Brawl with Eyesnsane. That win showed me you can take a beating and dish one out. It made me want to face you all the more! And everyone tells me that you are one of the most gifted technical wrestlers in the sport. That just means things between us will just keep getting better and better! Do we fight? Do we wrestle? Fuck, we could do both and I'd be happy!"

"You and me Ben. World Champion versus the Roulette Champion. The rookie against the veteran! And as much as I value what time we spent together hanging out, and as much respect as I hold for you in my heart and mind, I aim to prove that a wealth of experience does not always equal a guaranteed victory."

He turned his head to the right, facing a second camera.

"But you, Crimson. When I thought you should be one of my next opponents, I was bombarded by questions as to why I would want to face such a feared competitor. Why would I wish to take on a literal force of nature! And my answer to them would be, and will always be, why the fuck not? Look at me, Crimson."

He motioned a forefinger back and forth between the camera and himself.

"Am I truly supposed to be intimidated by a supposed monster whose first name is Tommy? Stick with just crimson and you might have better success at instilling fear in the opposition. Me, however?"

He shook his head.

"Don't get your hopes up. I've watched enough of you to know that you will sink to any low in order to walk away a winner. And for the most part, you've been successful as fuck! With the exception of a few -- repeated -- losses at the hands of my own tag team partner, Kris Ryans, who would seem to be your own personal Achilles heel. Try as you might, you just can't seem to get that all-too important win inside of the ring where he is concerned, can you? And against me?"

He tapped a forefinger to his chest and shook his head.

"You'll fare no better. Not because I am saying that I'm a better athlete than you are. I wouldn't say that so prematurely."

He smirked.

"I am, but I wouldn't say it. No, it's this miasma of fear that you seem to radiate around you, relying on that to intimidate your opponents and psyche them out before the match even begins. Then once the match does start, you simply pick them apart until there is not enough left over to make a decent lunch. Shit! You even bit off a chunk of my partner's ear, damn near killed him, and still it wasn't enough! That tells me right there that you rely too goddamned heavily on this dark reputation of yours. And when you end up staring down a man who will not yield eye contact? You choke!"

"You don't scare me, Crimson. Why would you? You're a fucking cliche that surrounds the wrestling world! You bite! You kick and punch! You grab weapons because that is all you fucking CAN do! But go against someone who knows what it is like to take a hit and hand one back in return? Face a man that can force you down onto the mat and tie you into a knot until you hear something break? Then where are you? The same place you will be this weekend; at my goddamned mercy! Which is a shame for you because..."

he shook his head.

"I have none. I have no patience for men like you. I built my reputation from a boy to the man I am today. I learned how to fight because I had no fucking choice! Your Devil has no sway over me or my heart! I am of Viking descent! I am a proud Norse warrior, flesh and blood! I( am guarded by the White Light of Balder. And your Devil?"

He scoffed.

"He runs from the Valkyries, the Choosers of the Slain, as they ride across the battlefield! He will offer you no succor. he will simply watch and wait, a powerless nothing, while the Valkyries scoop you up off the  battlefield, bloody and beaten, and throw you into the pits of Hel."

He slowly stood up.

"Then and only then, Tommy, will you start to understand just how powerless you really are."

Fenris then took his leave, ready for one of the most highly anticipated matches of his young career, and walked of-camera. Only then did the spotlight above the six-sided ring slowly wink out into nothingness, leaving the screen black.

40

Climax Control Archives / Something unexpected

« on: June 29, 2018, 09:23:51 PM »

 Disclaimer: I was given full permission to use (you'll see!)

---

Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Radisson Hotel

"Like it?" Aron asked as he stood in the center of the hotel room he was sharing alongside his brother Kristjan aka Fenris, pivoting in the one spot and making sure that his and Kristjan's baby sister Freyja got a good look at the surrounding area. The room was adorned in an old world feel, appropriate given it was in the heart and capital of Louisiana. The walls were a soft, off-white tile while the doors were framed in hard wood and the floor was tiled the same. The end table between the double beds, as well as the cabinet across from the beds and against the wall were also made of polished and smoothed over wood. It would seem the only modern fixture in the room was the large flat screen television in the center of the cabinet.

"I don't know. It's nice but a little more rustic than I was expecting you guys to be staying in." Freyja observed as her eyes took in everything she was being shown. Her light colored brow knitted itself into a mild frown, not one of anger or annoyance but more so of curiosity. "Why didn't Kristjan get you guys one of those higher end hotels?"

"Some of them didn't accept pets." Aron answered. "And you know how protective he is of Kyssa. Besides, I think this old world decor is what sold him on the place. He wanted the full experience of being in this state." Aron's face lit up. "Actually he really wanted to experience being here by staying on one of those plantation bed and breakfasts but the best ones were all reserved months in advance. I'm must trying to get him to experience a little bit while we're here and calm down. Get him out in the nature and fresh air. He's been bitching every since his next match was announced."

Freyja giggled, "He's been bitching ever since he popped out of mom, according to dad. What's the big deal about his match?"

"It's his last before he wrestles kris Ryans for the world title." Aron said. "He was expecting a bigger name to get ready. Have you seen the guy he's wrestling Sunday?"

"Yeah." Freyja gave Aron an impish, girly smile. "He's really cute!"

"Oh God!" Aron exclaimed and rolled his eyes and looked back protectively over his shoulder. "Don't let him hear you say that!"

"Don't let me here who say what?"

The aforementioned Kristjan walked into the hotel room, clad in a white, open sleeved shirt and matching shorts, his preferred bare feet sporting just a pair of simple, sand colored sandals. He was greeted by Aron with a half-hearted "Nothing." as he walked over to the bed his younger brother was seated on and had a seat  himself right beside him. The moment he did, Fenris's "baby girl" Kyssa got up from where she had been snoozing on the floor and walked over to the front of the bed, plopping her chin on her master's lap and looking up ay him with those bright blue, soulful eyes.

Fenris ran his fingers through her soft, white fur until he gave her the scratch behind the ears that she was obviously hinting for. He also leaned over at the waist just enough to see who Aron was speaking to on his phone via video chat and the face of his little sister made him smile in a way few thought possible, given his openly hostile personality.

"Sæti." Kristjan used the Icelandic term of endearment in regards to the cherubic faced young woman. Their joint conversation was in Icelandic of course, but the use of the Icelandic term was not lost on his sister as she smiled brightly. Fenris said, "I still wish you could have stayed with us for a while longer."

"I do too." She replied. "I loved that train!"

Aron shook his head, "Then why didn't you...?" He joking jetted a thumb in Kristjan's direction and added, "This one was actually 'nice' while you were here!" Fenris turned his head enough to cast Aron a withering glare, but one that was good natured enough that the younger brother did not feel the subconscious desire to fidget in discomfort. He knew Kristjan well enough to know he'd never do him harm.

"I wanted to." Freyja finally broke the mock tension, sighing with exasperation that was not perhaps entirely mock. "But I wasn't about to leave mom and dad alone with Viktoria and Elin. Nobody deserves that!"

"Proof positive that they don't have to be around in order to ruin someone's day." Aron quipped, to which Kristjan just pointed at him and nodded as if to silently proclaim 'What he said.'

"I'll be watching your match though." Freyja offered in a hopeful olive branch. "So will dad."

"Not mom?" Fenris frowned.

"No." Freyja shook her head. "You know how she is and how she feels about you in these type of combat sports. She worries about you getting hurt and losing your..." **air quotes** "... good looks." She giggled as Aron rolled his eyes quite impressively, teasing his brother despite himself. There was just something amusing about how much of a bad ass their older brother was, coupled by his boyish good looks. It seemed just wrong for one man to be coupled with both, and to top off that "gas on fire" personality?

Of course Kristjan had the inkling that his much loved mother did not watch his matches, but it still did nothing to alleviate the sting of disappointment any son might feel given the circumstances. She had refused outright to watch his matches on the MMA circuit as well, both during his amateur status as well as his professional run in EliteXL.

"She does come in after your fights to ask how you did though?" Freyja offered in what she hoped was a bit of reassurance, sensing the disappointment in him, even from near four thousand miles between them. She was about to say more when someone off-camera shouted from Freyja's end of the call, causing the young woman to huff and look heavenward before turning her head to shout back at whomever called to her.

"It's MY tablet and I'll talk to my brothers as long as I want to!!!"

"Viktoria?" Aron asked, to which Freyja turned back to them and sighed, "Viktoria."

"Tell her I asked doesn't she have an infection she should be clearing up?" Fenris said, causing a wicked smile from Aron to break out on his face and Freyja almost choked on her own laugh with wide eyes dancing with humor at their mutual sister's expense.

"She's been getting even nastier ever since she found out she can't go running to dad for every little thing any more." Freyja resigned herself. "But I better go before someone drops a house on her."

Aron winked, whereas Fenris touched the tips of his fingers to his lips and cast a wave toward her before the call was ended. Once Aron switched the phone off, he looked to Kristjan and said, "Come on and get ready."

"For...?"

"Kyssa needs some exercise." Aron answered, as if he knew well enough that the reference toward the Siberian Husky was all the reason needed. "And you need some fresh air. You're not staying cooped up in this hotel room like you have been everywhere else."

Kristjan finally relented, forcing himself to his feet and he stalked over to where Kyssa's leash was set aside, cursing beneath his breath. Aron blinked at his brother's choice of words and replied, "I'm telling mom."

---

Baton Rouge was the capital of Louisiana, and really -- what wasn't there to do for the average tourist when visiting the Bayou state? There was the Old Louisiana State capitol building, a castle-like former statehouse that now served as a museum. There was also the Baton Rouge Zoo which housed over eight hundred animals for one to walk through and enjoy. This was actually an intended destination for Fenris and his brother, but dogs were not welcome on this day so they had to pass on this one so as they would not have to leave Kyssa alone in their hotel room, or with a rare trusted acquaintance.

That left the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, a one hundred and three acre natural habitat housed in a building that was well over nine thousand square feet. And luckily enough, this was one of those rare days where ;pets were allowed in the facility, so Kyssa trotted right between the Baltasarsson brothers, her tongue hanging in a wet doggy grin and her tail swinging to and fro, quite happy and content to be out and about. So near the other animals although she was well behaved enough to not bark or make a beeline for said animals.

Kristjan and Aron, along with a scattered number of others, tourist and local alike, walked a gravel path that linked the various habitats of the animals, such as the cypress-tupelo swamp, beech-magnolia and hardwood forests. As they walked and their blue eyes (a family trait amongst the clan) roamed across everything offered before them, Aron could feel the tension drain away from Kristjan, although some yet remained. This particular outing doing what he had intended, just not as completely as he had hoped.

Finally he was unable to take it any longer and asked, "Alright, what's wrong?"

"Hm?" Kristjan mused, but kept his eyes ahead and not on his brother. He gnawed at his bottom lip and shook his head in answer.

"Don't give me that shit." Aron commented, drawing a look from Fenris. It was perhaps a very good thing that nobody around them that had joined them on this part of the tour spoke a word of Icelandic (or so Aron hoped -- Fenris couldn't have given a fuck).

Aron continued, "I know you better than anyone. I can tell something's wrong so what. Is. It?"

It was rare for Aron to take such a stand where Kristjan was concerned. As far as his temper and cocky attitude, he mostly just stood by and let it all slide off his back. Not that he didn't want to strangle some sense or humility into his brother every now and then, as others have observed in passing. But when he was legit concerned for Kristjan's welfare, he wouldn't stand by and let Fenris simply brush him and his concern off as if it meant nothing. Kristjan knew this, and you might never get him to openly admit this, but he also appreciated it.

Kyssa brought herself to a halt and her ears perked up, putting her at full attention as something off the trail, about twenty yards into the trees, captured her attention. A  small fox had risen from a bush, it's sleek head peeking out through the leaves and staring at her, having sensed the other animal and its curious nature had taken it over temporarily.

Of course, they had come across other animals at random intervals as they walked the paths throughout; amongst them rabbits and squirrels, raccoons and deer, and even a coyote. A snake had slithered its way up a tree near where Aron had passed, causing the younger brother to yelp in a startled cry and take a few hasty steps away. Snakes did not bother Fenris personally, but it did Aron who absolutely hated (feared) the creatures. His response was the cause of the one time Kyssa lost herself and barked, but Kristjan quickly got her under control and moved Aron forward and away from the reptile.

See, with family it was the little things.

"I'm fine." Fenris finally answered, even if it was not entirely truthful. "My mind is just wandering. Been thinking."

"About your match?"

"God no!" Fenris exclaimed, his face now marred by a frown. "Well, not entirely. The match doesn't concern me. Just annoyed as fuck they stuck me against a fucking CHILD in my last match before I get Ryans in the ring!"

"Then what is it?" Aron asked, knowing Kristjan wasn't as open about his thoughts as most others, but if it were family, he would open up eventually if you put just the right amount of pressure on him. Reluctantly.

Fenris said, "I'm thinking about after. About the match with Kris, and if I'm doing enough."

"What are you talking about, 'doing enough'?" Aron frowned as they came upon a small, stone bridge that had a running brook flowing beneath it. The two men came to a pause to take a break in their small nature hike, and Aron knew that running water had a soothing effect on Kristjan. Actually, his older brother had an extreme fondness for waterfalls in particular. He loved them, collected pictures of them and had even bough a rather impressive desktop one for their condo back in Las Vegas.

If he could just keep Kyssa from drinking out of it!

Still, the stream was calming, the sound of the running water flowing beneath them and across the rocks and bed reeds. Kyssa even hopped up on her hind legs with her front paws rested on the bridge's side so she could gaze out where the two brothers were looking.

Aron went on, "You train every damn day. Weights. Boxing. Wrestling. You never take a damn break, I'm surprised I was able to get you to take the time off to just come here! And in Vegas you're always at Gabriel and Odette's gym, working out and sparring in their ring. Not sure what else you could do."

Fenris turned his back to the sight of the stream flowing in their direction and rested back against the bridge, his backside seated on the edge. Kyssa hopped down and laid at his sandaled feet, while he folded his arms over his chest with the one hand retaining its grip on her leash.

He answered back, "Yeah but I've been focusing more and more on the wrestling aspect of things, and have barely touched what got me started." He turned his head to look at Aron and said, "I'm thinking about talking to Gabriel and getting in touch with Maksym."

"Well he was your trainer and coach before all this." Aron reasoned, seeing what his brother wanted and was thinking. "If you want to pick back up your MMA sessions while continuing to wrest;e, I'm sure he could help you out." Aron then joined him at his side and rested back against the wall of the bridge as well and looked up to him.

"Is it really necessary, though?" He asked. "Even Gabriel and that Daniel Morgan said you blended your MMA training with the wrestling training better than they expected. Why bring in your old MMA coach? You planning to go back to the MMA circuit?"

"No." Fenris frowned, but then got a thoughtful expression on his face. "Although I guess it wouldn't hurt for the option to be there. I still like to fight in the cage, and don't want that part of me to get rusty or forgotten. And I just think if I keep training in both MMA and wrestling, I'll be more ready for whatever comes my way."

Aron looked him over for what seemed an uncomfortable eternity until he finally asked, "This world title match against Kris really has you concerned, doesn't it?"

"If he wasn't good, then he wouldn't be the best, Aron." Fenris answered in a rare moment of humility. "I don't think concerned is the right word, either. I'm not afraid of Kris Ryans, but I can't say I don't look at the man and don't like what I see. The match with crimson, they totally fucked each others shit up and he still walked away."

"Minus a chunk of his ear." Aron mused.

Fenris continued, "So he can obviously take a beating and dish one out so I just want to double down and make damn sure I'm ready." He turned his head to Aron and smirked "that" smirk and added, "I wouldn't be the arrogant shit you know and love if I wasn't confident that I could be the best."

Aron laughed aloud and patted his brother on his bare and tanned shoulder, stating, "Not to worry asshole. You'll always be an arrogant shit to your family." Fenris snorted with an uncharacteristic smile and Aron said, "Come on. Got something else in mind for us to do, or for you to do, actually."

"Me?" Fenris asked. "This little nature walk wasn't enough??? And what about you?"

"I'm not the one with a match against the Disney Channel mascot on Sunday." Aron laughed. "And it would look pretty bad if you lost to that kid and go into the match with Kris with that spot on your record."

Fenris gave him a hard stare and shook his head, "Won't. Happen."

"Then shut up and follow me. I did a little touristy research before we left and found something you always wanted to try. Have some fun and get some exercise, too."

"You hired me a prostitute?"

"Tried, but she canceled after I sent her your picture."

Fenris reached over and playfully cuffed Aron upside of the head. Not enough to hurt his brother but enough to let him know that indeed he was there. The act only brought a smile to Aron's face as the older sibling said, "Actually, let's rain check on that for tomorrow. Its getting late and I thought maybe we could go for a drink."

"Ehhh!" Aron frowned, clearly not sold on the idea. "I really don't feel like drinking tonight." Kristjan just gave him a funny look and Aron laughed. "I know! That's sacrilege to you, but come on! It takes a little time for the liver to digest!"

"Psht!" Kristjan scoffed. "Amateur. Well then here..." He passed Kyssa's leash to Aron's hand. He said, "Take her back to the hotel and do whatever the hell it is that you do to pass time when nobody is around. Beat your meat for all I care."

"And what about you?" Aron shook his head at his brother's sarcastic wit.

"I told you..." He responded. "I feel like getting a drink or two ... mom."

The two then  pushed themselves up from their resting spot on the wall, and Kyssa stood up, sensing her own time of rest was over. They started to walk along the path again and Fenris said in passing, "You know, when I win the title, the first thing I'm going to do is send an autographed eight by ten of me with the belt to Viktoria and Elin."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure they'd just LOVE that!"

---

The day was indeed growing late, as the hour of eight p.m. had passed, and the sun had started its slow descent into the Baton Rouge horizon. Being the start of the weekend, Friday night, the city was starting to come alive. Its nightlife had been described by locals as mediocre at best, certainly not what its neighbor New Orleans was known for being. But in the city limits where the bars, clubs and lights were, things did indeed pick up enough to lure locals and tourists alike who were in the hunt for a fun time out in the city.

Having taken the time to ensure his brother had returned to the Radisson Hotel safely with Kyssa in tow, Fenris had caught a taxi to the downtown scene and gotten out and he had just started to wander rather aimlessly. He had no particular destination in mind, and knew that when he felt like he found the right place to stop in and have a few drinks, he'd know it.

He spotted a few people looking and pointing in his general direction, perhaps fans who recognized him as an SCW Superstar or from his EliteXL days on the MMA circuit. As they did not deign to approach him, he paid them no mind and tucked his hands deeply into his shorts pockets and went about in his search for some adult refreshments.

"Kyle Kavanagh. What the hell you must have done to piss off the wrong staff member to be put into this match is beyond me. You either worked Christian Underwood's nerves raw, or drew the short stick from Mark Ward. I mean, they had to have known how I would have felt being stuck in the opening match with the equivalent of wrestling's answer to Peter Pan. A boy who desperately needs to grow up, but obviously has little to no intention of ever doing so."

He held a hand up.

"Not that I care about being in the opening match. I'm not a whiny little bitch like SOME people when they are chosen to kick start the night's action. To me, the opening match is just as important, if not more so, than the main event. In the main event, you bring the show to a close and leave everyone sitting there, watching your every move, wanting more. In the opening match, you set the pace for the entire show, and challenge every single man and woman following you to match and beat the hype that you just instilled into the show. I've watched the opening matches in the shows since I signed on to Sin City Wrestling, and I've noticed the fans cheer the loudest for that first match, because they've waited long enough and the excitement level generated is set to blow the roof off of the whole damn place!"

Fenris paused at a cross walk and as the light changed to green, he crossed over to Citiplace Court, all the while continuing his focus on the unfortunate young man he was set to face at the Blue Bayou/Dixie Landin' stop in the Fatal Attractions tour.

"That's where you and I find ourselves, and I hate to admit that I can't see such a high level of excitement being generated by the crowd when that bell rings and you and I lock up. After all, the match will be over before anyone knows it, and not much can come from a match when you're going to get your skinny ass handed to you from start to finish."

A car wanted to make an early turn at the corner just as Fenris finished  crossing the street and the driver honked in his impatience. Fenris turned to the driver and simply flipped him off.

"Fuck you!" Screamed the driver, to which Fenris predictably called back, "No, fuck YOU!"

The car sped around the corner, peeling rubber and Fenris just shook his head and muttered, "Fucker." Before he continued his thought process.

"Now Kyle, I can't fault you for trying to make it look as if you really are as confident as you want everyone too think you are. But really..." He held his arms out in a gesture of self presentation. "I've had five matches so far in my career, six counting you. And so far? Undefeated. Can you say the same?"

He frowned and tapped a finger to his chin.

"No, you can't, can you? You've just had the one match, and you pretty much got shamed. Who was that you lost to?"

He snapped his fingers. "Oh that's right! You lost to the same guy that I beat! You got pinned by the same guy that I beat down so badly that his body literally gave out. That should speak volumes on what the Norns have in store for you in their predestined paintings. You, laying down on your back, and me standing over you. I mean, I can't fault you for trying to convince others that you stand a chance, but you can't fight fate, Kyle. You're going in the ring with the Number One challenger to your buddy kris Ryans. You're facing the next World Heavyweight Champion."

He smiled and cast the camera a coy wink.

"That's the key difference between us, Kyle. When I'm confident, it's a foregone conclusion. When you're confident, it's simple delusions of grandeur. You've done nothing of note except for embarrassing yourself against a B list actor who couldn't finish a match against me on his feet!  What do you really expect to happen, hm? Do you think that you will have any kind of edge for you just because kris Ryans is out there?"

he frowned and shook his head. "Kris is only there to get a close up view of you getting humbled, just like everyone else I've been in the ring against! He is going to watch and cringe when he sees you get your head kicked clear off your shoulders. He is going to feel nothing but remorse when I have you tied up in so many knots, you won't have enough sense to beg the referee to stop the match so you can ..." **air quotes** "... live to fight another day."

He scoffed and kept moving.

"It's all over for you Kyle, before it's even had a chance to begin. I guess that could be seen as merciful in your eyes. I just want to end this quickly because I have bigger, and sure as hell better things to deal with than fighting a prepubescent boy like yourself. The sad thing is...?"

He turned his head one last time to the camera.

"You just don't know it yet. Or maybe you do? Denial will cost you in the end."

That being said, Fenris ended the promo part of this appearance and glanced up to where he had arrived...

"Speaking of fate..."

As he found himself right outside of the Cove, a local bar that had been around since 2008. When perusing some ads in the hotel for bars and nightclubs, this one had admittedly stood out to both him and his brother for its extensive array of alcoholic beverages. It offered over a thousand whiskies, including five hundred scotches, six hundred different beers and fifty types of absinthe. Had he known this would be where he would have ended up, he would have been hard pressed not to contact Ben Jordan to join him. Such an offering would have surely attracted the Cockney King!

Setting foot inside, Fenris looked about at his surroundings and was pleased by the decor; it looked just like an old school pub back home, with wooden tables and matching chairs, none of that more modern marble shit that so many clubs seemed to go in for. This had a cozy feel to it, and many were already filling its seats, socializing or just looking to have a few to drown whatever sorrows plagued them at the time.

Damn, he wished he had made Aron come along! It would have been nice to have someone to share this with. He waded through the bodies standing around tables and found himself at the bar, where luckily there was a vacant seat. As he sat, the dutiful man behind the bar moved over to him and gave him a friendly smile.

"What'll it be?"

Fenris paused only briefly before he answered, "Aberlour. Tall."

The bartender nodded and moved to fill his order, taking no note of the accent. They got all kinds from every walk of life here at the Cove. He filled the glass with the sherry and oak toasted bourbon, with just a hint of vanilla.

"Seven." The man said, telling him his total, and Fenris tossed a ten to the counter and waved away any change as he picked up his glass and had that first of many sips...

Two hours later....

Fenris drained the last remnants of his fourth glass of Aberlour and held a hand up, signaling the bartender for a fifth. Once satisfied, Fenris picked up the glass, the effects of the previous drinks starting to course through his body with a sense of warmness and feeling rather well. He was about to taste the glasses contents when fate played a wild twist, and a familiar form caught his attention -- seated right beside him.

How the hell he did not notice him sitting beside him was beyond his scope of comprehension, unless he had just sat down to make himself comfortable -- but he seemed in even worse shape than Fenris himself was on the way to being. Kris Ryans!

Yes -- KRIS RYANS!

Fenris frowned, but then again, so did Kris as the reigning World Champion of SCW had noticed him as well! They turned their heads to stare hard at the other and both spoke up...

"What the fuck are you doing here!?"

""Hvað ertu að gera hérna!?"

Of course, if you understood Icelandic, you would know that they had asked the other the exact same question, in their own way! Fenris paused, realizing he had slipped back into his native tongue, and turned in his chair, his drink all but forgotten, "What... are you doing here?"

"I asked you first." Kris replied, his words slurred somewhat. His smile was evident, despite the fact that technically he had not done just that.

"You look like shit." Fenris took note of Kris's condition, his eyes were blurry and his breath wreaked of liquor, although at this point Fenris himself was not in much better shape.

"Right back atcha." Kris quipped, picking up Fenris's forgotten glass and draining it without so much as a protest from the White Wolf. His soon-to-be challenger stared at the champion, uncertain of what he was seeing and why he was having such an e=unexpected reaction to seeing the champion in such a condition. He wasn't just having a drink. He was getting himself drunk.

Big difference.

Fenris turned back away from the champion, leaving him to his own vices, as he sat there and contemplated whether or not he should call it a night and get back to Aron and Kyssa at their hotel. But still, something was nagging away at him, inside. He would never outright admit it, but when he looked at Kris Ryans, he was looking at a capable and talented wrestler. A man who's ability with the microphone was matched only by his talent for competing inside of the ring. And next to the great J2H, Kris was quite literally the best Sin City Wrestling had to offer!

And in just a few weeks, he would be meeting that very man in the ring to wrestle for the biggest prize.

That was the man he thought of when he thought of Kris Ryans, but was not the man he saw when he was looking at him now. The man he would be facing, he wanted to be clear minded and at his very best. It would prove nothing  to nobody if he were to defeat a man who was letting some unseen demons consume him internally. He sighed, resigned to knowing what he was about to do, but not quite willing to believe he was about to do it.

The bartender made a move to see if either man wanted anything further, but Fenris silently warned him off and he instead turned away from them to see if any of the other multitude of patrons were ready for anything more to wet their palettes.

Fenris stood up, grabbing is wallet and taking Kris by the upper arm. "Come on." He said calmly. "You've had enough."

"Wh-what the hell are y-you going on about...!?" Kris wrenched his arm free from Fenris's grasp and sat back down. But before he could try to signal for another drink, he found himself pulled much more forcibly from his chair.

"I said you had enough!" Fenris said harshly in his broken English, pulling Kris along with him and steering him towards the bar's entrance. Ordinarily Kris would have had little to no trouble at all pulling free, but he had much more to drink than Fenris and his response was affected thusly.

"Who the f-fuck do you think y-you are!!?" Kris confronted him as he tried struggling, planting his feet firmly in front of him but Fenris practically used his fighting skill to hook an arm around Kris's waist and drag him right out the front door, as many an eye turned in their direction wondering or enjoying the free entertainment.

Once out on the pavement and in the night air, Kris finally managed to get free of Fenris and he wrenched an arm back and threw a wild punch that would have done some serious damage, and given Fenris's own inebriation, he would most likely not have been able to block or counter! But as we stated before, Kris had been drinking much more and his own punch threw him off balance and he stumbled forward and only luck had Fenris able to catch him so he did not suffer a mischief on the pavement!

"Get OFF of me!" kris staggered back, shoving Fenris away! The two engaged in a tense stare down, both aware that the people around them on the outside of the Cove as well as surrounding businesses had caught sight of the spectacle and were freely watching. Kris paid it less heed than Fenris did as he practically swayed on his feet but he shook his head, "Think you'll get in a cheap shot before we fight for real? You need that, huh?"

His own troubles with the English language, and the fact Kris's words were not steady, had the White Wolf momentarily confused before he was able to put two and two together. Over the past several weeks, Kris's life had been made a complete wasteland, thanks much in part to Crimson, his then-challenger!And all in the name of getting his hands on the title belt that Kris sported with such pride. Crimson turned his life completely upside down and damn near killed him, or so it seemed, and all in the name of making his own mark in the world of professional wrestling!

And if one challenger was willing to go that far....

Fenris held his hands up and said as calmly as possible, which was a strain for him considering these assholes were moving in closer and bringing out their cameras, hoping to catch some action that could be made famous on youtube or Instagram.

Fenris said in broken English, "No. Just want to help."

"Help..." Kris repeated, nodding his head but his distrustful eyes never once leaving Fenris. Clearly not believing him.

"You're drunk..." Fenris offered, but kris held his arms out and said aloud, "No shit, Sherlock! So are you!"

Fenris drew in a deep breath, trying to reign in that (in)famous temper before he really exploded and got him or Kris, or both, arrested for being more of a public spectacle than they already were! Once calmed, or relatively close, Fenris said, "Not as bad. Come. Just call it a night before we both get in trouble."

And for the first time, Kris glanced up and saw the number of people watching him and felt something stir deep inside of him. His face flushed from more than just the effects of the alcohol coursing through his body, and he did not move to protest as Fenris started hailing for a cab. It was  a busy weekend, so the taxi drivers were out in full force, ready to make a buck. Kris kept his head down and rubbed a hand along his forehead, not wanting to look at anyone as one cab pulled up to the curb.

Perhaps surprisingly so, Kris did not put up a struggle as Fenris laid a hand on the small of his back to help him into the cab, and more surprisingly, climbed in after him, all the better to ensure he got back to his hotel room safely.

"Where you headed?" The cab driver asked in a thick, Creole accent. Fenris could not make out what he said, but Kris could and he answered simply, "Renaissance." The name of his hotel. As the cab pulled away from the curb and headed for the intended destination, for some strange reason, Kris was feeling the smallest sense of trust for the man who was seated beside him, even if he would be meeting him in the ring in just over three weeks.

Small being the key word. He had still been burned badly by his horrid experiences with Crimson, and he had yet to see any evidence that this temperamental Icelandic fighter wouldn't stoop to the same depths to take advantage of him just to steal his cherished championship away.

Neither man said a word during the ride. Fenris sat there silently brooding, wondering what the hell he was thinking getting involved in someone's life to help like this. And Kris continued to wonder why Fenris would be doing this when  he showed nobody any inkling of concern, unless of course he had ulterior motives. It didn't take long, fifteen minutes, maybe less. That was when the cab pulled up to the front court of the Renaissance hotel. The can driver made the move to step outside in order to lend the men a hand, as he had been able to tell both had quite a bit to drink.

Fenris, however, held up a hand to stall the driver, preferring to handle it himself. He stepped out first, then lent a hand to an unwilling Kris to exit the cab, but Fenris was not about to take no for an answer now. As kris staggered towards the door of the hotel, Fenris paused long enough to realize he best follow this through. He passed the driver some cash and quickly moved to follow Kris into the hotel, when he paused, realizing he had forgotten to get change back from the driver.

"FUCK!!"

Inside of the hotel, Kris had made his way towards the elevator, trying his damndest to ignore the looks that he was being given. Not that it was of any real importance. It wouldn't have been the first time he returned to the hotels he stayed at during his tour, inebriated, but he had admittedly overdid it tonight. He felt it, he knew it. He just would not admit it. And his new found purpose to Sin City Wrestling as its champion, he didn't like the image that he was currently giving off to the casual observer. And he did not like the possibility that word might get back to Mark or Christian, or result in some damaging publicity.

He stopped at the elevator, his room being on the top floor, and leaned over, resting a hand against the wall as he pressed the call button. He wouldn't admit this either, but Fenris did him a favor, getting him out of that bar before he did himself any further damage, and despite his initial misgivings against his number one challenger, it would seem that he did so without any motives.

Which was why Kris reacted the way he did once the elevator doors opened, and Fenris followed him inside! Kris had not even realized until he turned around from pressing the button for the top floor and saw him standing there!

"Fuck...!" Kris fell back against the wall of the elevator, staring in shock. But by now his blood was BOILING! Here he thought that the man had done something simply because it was the right thing to do, to help another, and now he just felt damn foolish for trusting another challenger...! "What the hell...!? Now you're following me!?"

Fenris looked surprised at this outburst, looking from left to right at nothing in particular, but Kris was not to be deterred! Fenris just shrugged almost helplessly and tried to defend himself, "No...? I was just..."

"Bullshit!" Kris barked. "I've been around long enough to know people don't just do things like this out of the kindness of their hearts! They always want something and I am SICK. OF. IT!" And he walked right up to Fenris, planted both hands on his chest and SHOVED him! Fenris fell back hard against the closed elevator doors, but quickly righted himself. He knew that Kris was drunk, and thanks to Crimson, had many reasons to be suspicious of, well -- anyone! But still, he wasn't about to just stand there and allow himself to be physically assaulted, especially when he did nothing wrong in the first place!

"Don't touch me..." He started to say, taking a firm stance with his face starting to go hard in expression, but Kris stepped right up and shoved him again!

"Don't...?" Kris raised his eyebrows, his expression turning quite ugly thanks in part to his level of intoxication. "You go and want to start some shit here, now? And you tell ME not to touch YOU...!?" And he moved to shove Fenris again, but this time he found him arm caught and Fenris used his self defense training to whip kris around and slam him back against the elevator wall, his forearm pressed hard just below the throat! Hard enough to hold Kris steady but not enough to prevent his breathing!

The two men's stares burned hard into one another's eyes, their breathing hard and skin flushed -- WHEN FENRIS SUDDENLY GRABBED KRIS BY THE HAIR AND KISSED HIM FULL ON THE MOUTH!!! It seemed like an eternity as their mouths pressed hard against each other until Kris broke it up, shoving Fenris away from him! At that moment, Kristjan felt as if he were about to die from embarrassment, when Kris turned his head to the elevator buttons and slammed a closed fist against the 'stop' button.

Fenris blinked in slight confusion, at least until Kris took that step forward and this time HE grabbed HIM by the head and returned the kiss from earlier! Only harder and far more intense! Intense enough that they fell back against the wall of the elevator, grabbing at one another's shirts and pulling....

As the scene shifted up just enough to catch sight of the security camera in the upper corner of the elevator....

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