91
Supercard Roleplays / CANDY v AMELIA REYNOLDS
« Last post by SCW Staff on October 27, 2025, 07:25:21 AM »Please post all roleplays here! Have fun and good luck!
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92
Supercard Roleplays / VINCENT LYONS (c) v BRANDON HENDRIX - ROULETTE TITLE
« Last post by SCW Staff on October 27, 2025, 07:25:00 AM »Please post all roleplays here! Have fun and good luck!
93
Climax Control Archives / No time to waste
« Last post by RyanKeys on October 25, 2025, 12:39:03 AM »[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
It’s funny, isn’t it? One week you’re being tested, the next you’re the test.
Logan Hunter’s been making waves lately — talking about chasing the Internet Championship, saying he’s ready to be the next big thing. That’s cool, I respect the hustle. But tonight, he’s not chasing a title. He’s chasing me.
And I don’t make that easy for anyone.
See, Logan’s got that fire, that chip on his shoulder. I had that too when I started clawing my way up. But here’s the thing: every time I step in that ring, I remind everyone that I’m not just another name in the bracket. I’m the guy who takes momentum and turns it into a statement.
You wanna prove yourself, Logan? You picked the right guy. But you picked the wrong night.
Because I’m done playing catch-up. I’ve been patient, I’ve put in the work, and now I’m lining my path straight toward the Roulette Championship. That’s my focus. That’s my future. So if Logan wants to use me as a stepping stone, he better be ready for the fact that stones don’t move — they hit back.
When that bell rings, it’s not about titles, it’s not about who’s trending, it’s about grit. About who can take a hit, get back up, and smile while doing it. And that’s me, every damn time.
So, Logan… you bring your ambition, I’ll bring my resolve.
Let’s see whose fire burns brighter when the lights hit.
Ryan smirks, tapping his wrist like a clock.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Time’s up, Hunter.
---
The locker room hums in the background — pipes rattling, faint music echoing through the halls. Ryan sits on a bench, wrist tape hanging loose around his fingers. His eyes are calm, but focused.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
You know, people like to think I’m the “fun guy.” The one who shows up with a smile, cracks a few jokes, gets the crowd on their feet. They see the energy, but not the hours. They don’t see the bruises under the wraps or the nights I leave this arena still feeling like I didn’t do enough.
That’s fine. I don’t need them to.
Because this — all of this — is more than just another night for me. It’s a test of how far I’ve come since my return. It’s proof that I don’t crumble under pressure — I thrive in it.
He starts wrapping his wrists tighter, each pull more deliberate.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Logan Hunter’s got all the tools to be something big one day. The confidence, the talk, the drive. But tonight, I’m not his obstacle. I’m his reality check.
Every guy with a dream comes through that curtain thinking tonight’s the night they make their name. I remember being that guy. But I also remember the moment I learned that words don’t mean a damn thing until your body can back them up.
I’ve taken losses. I’ve taken hits that should’ve ended me. But I learned from them. I adapted. That’s why I’m still standing here while so many others burn out before they even start.
Ryan stands, tugging on his jacket. His reflection catches in a cracked mirror — sweat, focus, a hint of a grin.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
I’m not chasing the Internet Title, but I am chasing something bigger — consistency. Momentum. Respect. Every time I step in that ring, I want the people watching to remember that Ryan Keys doesn’t half-step. He commits.
And tonight, Logan Hunter’s gonna feel what that means firsthand.
Because when you’re across the ring from me, you’re not facing the “Life of the Party.” You’re facing the guy who knows how to turn pain into rhythm. You’re facing the guy who gets back up when most would stay down.
Ryan slings his duffel bag over his shoulder, heading for the door. The sound of his boots echoes down the hallway.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Logan… I hope you’re ready to fight like your dream depends on it. Because for me — it always does.
He stops at the exit, glancing back over his shoulder with that confident half-smile.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
The clock’s ticking.
And I never waste a second.
---
Scene cuts.
Ryan’s in the empty arena now — ring lights on, seats empty. He leans against the ropes, head bowed for a second before looking up toward the camera. The expression on his face isn’t smug anymore — it’s determined, almost meditative.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
You ever stand in this ring when no one’s around? No cheers, no lights, no adrenaline? Just silence. You start hearing things — the echo of your own doubts, the little voice that asks, is it worth it?
For me, the answer’s always yes. Every scar, every setback — it’s worth it. Because when the noise fades, what’s left is your name and what you did with it.
Logan wants to be remembered. I can see that hunger in him. But I’ve been there long enough to know — hunger doesn’t win you matches. Discipline does.
Ryan takes a slow breath, pacing around the ring. His tone sharpens, but never raises.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
See, this business isn’t about who wants it the most. It’s about who keeps fighting when they don’t get it. Who keeps showing up even when no one’s watching.
You want to chase gold, Logan? Go ahead. But before you hold any title, you’ve got to learn what it feels like to earn it. You have to stand in front of someone like me — someone who’s seen the highs, the lows, the blood, the heartbreak — and prove that you can survive it.
You don’t get the Internet Championship by skipping the grind. You get it by beating guys like me.
And that’s where your story ends tonight.
Ryan pauses, leaning over the ropes now, his voice quieter but heavier.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
I’ve said it before — I’m not here to steal the spotlight. I’m here to build something lasting. The Roulette Division, the fans, the roster — they’ll remember my name because I don’t disappear when it gets hard. I show up.
I don’t need the biggest entrance or the loudest crowd reaction to validate me. I just need that bell to ring. Because when it does, everything slows down — and all that matters is who’s still standing when it’s over.
He pushes off the ropes, standing tall in the center of the ring. The camera focuses on him, the glow of the overhead lights catching the sweat across his jawline.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Logan Hunter, tonight you’re stepping into a storm. You’ll feel the energy, the impact, the weight of every choice you’ve made up to this point. I hope you’re ready for it — because I’ve been ready since the second I laced my boots.
And when it’s done — when the dust settles — you’ll remember my name.
Not because I shouted it.
But because you’ll feel it every time you hit the mat.
Ryan steps forward, jaw tight, that same confident smirk flickering back to life.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
You want to rise? You’re gonna have to climb over me first.
And trust me, that climb…
It’s a long way up.
Ryan drops the mic onto the canvas — the thud echoing through the empty arena. The lights fade to black, leaving only the faint sound of the ticking clock that’s been in the background all along.
It’s funny, isn’t it? One week you’re being tested, the next you’re the test.
Logan Hunter’s been making waves lately — talking about chasing the Internet Championship, saying he’s ready to be the next big thing. That’s cool, I respect the hustle. But tonight, he’s not chasing a title. He’s chasing me.
And I don’t make that easy for anyone.
See, Logan’s got that fire, that chip on his shoulder. I had that too when I started clawing my way up. But here’s the thing: every time I step in that ring, I remind everyone that I’m not just another name in the bracket. I’m the guy who takes momentum and turns it into a statement.
You wanna prove yourself, Logan? You picked the right guy. But you picked the wrong night.
Because I’m done playing catch-up. I’ve been patient, I’ve put in the work, and now I’m lining my path straight toward the Roulette Championship. That’s my focus. That’s my future. So if Logan wants to use me as a stepping stone, he better be ready for the fact that stones don’t move — they hit back.
When that bell rings, it’s not about titles, it’s not about who’s trending, it’s about grit. About who can take a hit, get back up, and smile while doing it. And that’s me, every damn time.
So, Logan… you bring your ambition, I’ll bring my resolve.
Let’s see whose fire burns brighter when the lights hit.
Ryan smirks, tapping his wrist like a clock.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Time’s up, Hunter.
---
The locker room hums in the background — pipes rattling, faint music echoing through the halls. Ryan sits on a bench, wrist tape hanging loose around his fingers. His eyes are calm, but focused.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
You know, people like to think I’m the “fun guy.” The one who shows up with a smile, cracks a few jokes, gets the crowd on their feet. They see the energy, but not the hours. They don’t see the bruises under the wraps or the nights I leave this arena still feeling like I didn’t do enough.
That’s fine. I don’t need them to.
Because this — all of this — is more than just another night for me. It’s a test of how far I’ve come since my return. It’s proof that I don’t crumble under pressure — I thrive in it.
He starts wrapping his wrists tighter, each pull more deliberate.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Logan Hunter’s got all the tools to be something big one day. The confidence, the talk, the drive. But tonight, I’m not his obstacle. I’m his reality check.
Every guy with a dream comes through that curtain thinking tonight’s the night they make their name. I remember being that guy. But I also remember the moment I learned that words don’t mean a damn thing until your body can back them up.
I’ve taken losses. I’ve taken hits that should’ve ended me. But I learned from them. I adapted. That’s why I’m still standing here while so many others burn out before they even start.
Ryan stands, tugging on his jacket. His reflection catches in a cracked mirror — sweat, focus, a hint of a grin.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
I’m not chasing the Internet Title, but I am chasing something bigger — consistency. Momentum. Respect. Every time I step in that ring, I want the people watching to remember that Ryan Keys doesn’t half-step. He commits.
And tonight, Logan Hunter’s gonna feel what that means firsthand.
Because when you’re across the ring from me, you’re not facing the “Life of the Party.” You’re facing the guy who knows how to turn pain into rhythm. You’re facing the guy who gets back up when most would stay down.
Ryan slings his duffel bag over his shoulder, heading for the door. The sound of his boots echoes down the hallway.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Logan… I hope you’re ready to fight like your dream depends on it. Because for me — it always does.
He stops at the exit, glancing back over his shoulder with that confident half-smile.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
The clock’s ticking.
And I never waste a second.
---
Scene cuts.
Ryan’s in the empty arena now — ring lights on, seats empty. He leans against the ropes, head bowed for a second before looking up toward the camera. The expression on his face isn’t smug anymore — it’s determined, almost meditative.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
You ever stand in this ring when no one’s around? No cheers, no lights, no adrenaline? Just silence. You start hearing things — the echo of your own doubts, the little voice that asks, is it worth it?
For me, the answer’s always yes. Every scar, every setback — it’s worth it. Because when the noise fades, what’s left is your name and what you did with it.
Logan wants to be remembered. I can see that hunger in him. But I’ve been there long enough to know — hunger doesn’t win you matches. Discipline does.
Ryan takes a slow breath, pacing around the ring. His tone sharpens, but never raises.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
See, this business isn’t about who wants it the most. It’s about who keeps fighting when they don’t get it. Who keeps showing up even when no one’s watching.
You want to chase gold, Logan? Go ahead. But before you hold any title, you’ve got to learn what it feels like to earn it. You have to stand in front of someone like me — someone who’s seen the highs, the lows, the blood, the heartbreak — and prove that you can survive it.
You don’t get the Internet Championship by skipping the grind. You get it by beating guys like me.
And that’s where your story ends tonight.
Ryan pauses, leaning over the ropes now, his voice quieter but heavier.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
I’ve said it before — I’m not here to steal the spotlight. I’m here to build something lasting. The Roulette Division, the fans, the roster — they’ll remember my name because I don’t disappear when it gets hard. I show up.
I don’t need the biggest entrance or the loudest crowd reaction to validate me. I just need that bell to ring. Because when it does, everything slows down — and all that matters is who’s still standing when it’s over.
He pushes off the ropes, standing tall in the center of the ring. The camera focuses on him, the glow of the overhead lights catching the sweat across his jawline.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
Logan Hunter, tonight you’re stepping into a storm. You’ll feel the energy, the impact, the weight of every choice you’ve made up to this point. I hope you’re ready for it — because I’ve been ready since the second I laced my boots.
And when it’s done — when the dust settles — you’ll remember my name.
Not because I shouted it.
But because you’ll feel it every time you hit the mat.
Ryan steps forward, jaw tight, that same confident smirk flickering back to life.
[cyan]Ryan Keys:[/cyan]
You want to rise? You’re gonna have to climb over me first.
And trust me, that climb…
It’s a long way up.
Ryan drops the mic onto the canvas — the thud echoing through the empty arena. The lights fade to black, leaving only the faint sound of the ticking clock that’s been in the background all along.
94
Climax Control Archives / Family Day
« Last post by Crystal Zdunich on October 24, 2025, 11:56:59 PM »Knotts Berry farm
Buena Park, California
Finally after months of being separated from her wife and not in communication with her Crystal through the help of her kids Brayden and Brittany was able to send a message to Seleana and now she was allowed to see her fourteen year old Aurora, and her younger son Elijah Zdunich. Climax Control would be upon them for a very special Halloween edition at this very park but today Crystal was able to make a family day out of her free time. The three of them had already spent the day riding on various roller coasters and other rides but now it was lunch time and they found themselves in the concessions area where they were all enjoying some snacks. Elijah had an ice cream cone in his hands whereas Aurora was eating chicken tenders and french fries. Crystal just sat there taking a sip of a frozen lemonade as her daughter smiled at her.
Aurora: This is so awesome. I am so happy that we can finally spend time with one another. It feels like it has been forever.
Elijah: I miss you mom! I want to see you everyday. It’s not the same when you aren’t there.
Crystal just sighs in return as she keeps her eyes locked on her two youngest. Even though she and Seleana had their share of problems, all of this just felt right to her. She had missed her children and to just have a day with them meant the entire world to her. A few tears fell from her eyes as she looked back at the two.
Crystal: I know, it really has been a while hasn’t it. I think I missed you both even more. You don’t have any idea at how much both of you mean to me. You both along with Brittany and Brayden are the most important people in my life. Without you my entire world would fall apart. I am so sorry that things aren’t good right now but I promise that I am going to do everything in my power to make it better especially when it comes to you Aurora. Next month you are turning 15 and I am going to make sure you have the biggest quinceanera that a girl could ever have. It’s going to be your personal dream come true.
Crystal lets more tears fall from out of her eyes as she keeps looking at the teenage girl.
Crystal: I remember when your mother was on her death bed suffering from cancer. I made a promise that I would take care of you. I would be there for you and I would always protect you. As a little girl of Mexican descent there’s things I want you to have that I didn’t have growing up. I just want the best for you.
Aurora just keeps her eyes locked on her mother as Elijah seems too busy taking licks of his ice cream cone. She leans over and rests her head against Crystal.
Aurora: You don’t have to say anything else. I love you, even before you decided to adopt me you were my hero when I was watching you as an amazing wrestler. What was really special was when you were working for the Golden Ring Casino as the coordinator and you went out of your way to help my mother and I. I will never forget that and I am proud to have you in my life as my mother. I know that Elijah feels the same exact way, isn’t that right Elijah.
Elijah: Yes! You are the best mom, and this ice cream tastes so good!
The little boy is all smiles as he happily eats away at his cone but Aurora looks over at her mother who just seems to be uneasy about everything. Crystal can’t even look back at her daughter but the fourteen year old just reaches into a back pack and pulls out an i-pad and gives it to her little brother along with a pair of headphones.
Aurora: If you don’t mind Elijah why don’t you watch one of your favorite shows.
The little boy nods his head as his mind is more so on his i-pad and with the headphones over her ears he is tuned out from the rest of the world. Meanwhile Aurora looks over at her mother as she sighs back in return.
Aurora: Mom can I ask you a few questions and I want you to be completely honest with me. Please don’t lie.
Crystal: Aurora, I wouldn’t dare to lie to you. I know I have made so many mistakes but I don’t want to ever feel like I can’t be honest to you.
Aurora: I know you love your wrestling career so much. I know you are very passionate about everything that you do. I just want to know if your wrestling career and winning a World Championship means more to you than Elijah, mama Sel, and I.
Crystal’s eyes opened wide up as she couldn’t believe that her daughter had asked that.
Crystal: Of course not, what would even make you say something like that?! Did Seleana say something about me since the two of us haven’t really been seeing one another lately?!
Aurora quickly shakes her head as she looks back at Crystal.
Aurora: She didn’t say anything but I just thought of it all because you hadn’t been home. To be honest I am not that stupid mom. I know when something is going on. I know I may only be fourteen and am turning fifteen but I know a lot. To be honest the only thing that momma Sel has been saying is that she hopes that you would one day come back home and that she misses you so much.
Crystal: So she didn’t say anything bad about me at all?!
Aurora: No. She is holding onto the hope that you two would come back to one another. She thought about hiding all of the things that you bought her as a way to try to show that she doesn’t care but deep down she is hurting. I knew something was up when she tried to stop us from watching your match with one another at the last super card. I had to see what you were doing because I hadn’t seen you in months, and I saw that you and Mercedes were beating down Seleana. I don’t understand how you could do such a thing.
Crystal feels very dejected as she just sighs in disbelief. The little girl just shakes her head as she watches Crystal try to speak.
Crystal: Pumpkin, I can explain myself, I…
Aurora: You don’t have to say anything. Like I said I am not really as naive as you both think I am. I know when something is wrong. If I can be honest I feel like everything was starting to get messed up when you tried to bring Diamond Caldwell into your marriage. Mama Diamond is good but I don’t know why you could bring yourself to break Seleana’s heart a second time…
Crystal: I am not breaking her heart! You want me to be honest with you Aurora. I love Seleana. I have ALWAYS loved her. I am afraid that we actually have a great thing going and I don’t know how to react to it. My entire life has been filled with broken marriages, and I have always been in a place where I was nothing more than a prized possession or a trophy to somebody else. It happened with T-Will, it happened with Jonathan Millar, it happened with Steve Awesome, and so many more. I look at Seleana and I can’t believe that we have been married for seven years.
Crystal let’s more tears flow from her cheeks as she continues to share more of her heart.
Crystal: Seven years of just being there for me. Seven years of letting me live out my dream and not once has she ever done anything to try to break my heart but on the other side of the coin I feel like I have been doing the opposite. I brought somebody else into our marriage. I made so many mistakes… The truth is I don’t deserve her and I never did. She is the biggest blessing that I could have ever received. One that’s way too good for me. All I do is take, take, take, but she just smiles.
More tears leave her eyes.
Crystal: I love that woman, and you want me to be truthful Aurora?! I didn’t even forget our anniversary. I woke up that day and was shocked that we were married for seven years. I have never been attached to someone for that long in a marriage, and I have never had anybody that was really that much into me in the same way but she is. I don’t do emotions and feelings well, and the thought of actually waking up and feeling that I found my soulmate scares me to no end. Instead of dealing with those emotions I would rather run… I don’t want people making assumptions that I love Mercedes, or that I am doing drugs, or even picking up on alcohol again. The truth is I am just scared and I really want to be able to love Seleana in the same way that she loves me…
Aurora smiles as she nods at her mother.
Aurora: Thank you, doesn’t it feel good to actually admit the truth?! That’s all Seleana could ever ask from you. That’s all me and Elijah need. They just want you to be truthful. It’s okay to be afraid and have emotions. That’s what makes us humans, and that’s what made me look up to you in the first place. When I was choosing my favorite wrestler it had nothing to do with you being an actress or having a bad attitude. It’s the fact that when you really put your mind to something you put all of your emotions into using your heart to achieve what you wanted. That’s all we could ever ask from you. Focus on your heart, and let that be your guide to get you where it needs to get you.
Aurora smirks as she watches her mother cry but she continues to speak her heart.
Aurora: Don’t try to force something you aren’t. Also not everybody is out to be jealous of you mom. There are people that want to see you succeed and they want to celebrate WITH you not stand there and be against you. I am going to be honest. I don’t trust Mercedes for a second. I know she’s a great wrestler but you two have never gotten along. It’s easy for her to be on your side for now but if for some reason you do get back to the place of being on top like you were all of those years ago. Will she still be happy being next to you knowing she is now a step behind because you are the best again.
Crystal: I never really looked at things like that before.
Aurora: It’s just something to think about. On top of that I was scared of things as well. There was a part of me that thought I may never see Juliet again. She’s my best friend but Kate Steele seems to be your friend, and if you and Seleana aren’t together what are the chances that I could end up seeing Kate’s daughter and hanging out?!
Crystal: I would never let that happen. Even if Seleana and I weren’t together I would never let that have an impact on you the children. I love you too much for that to happen. Which is why I want you to have that big 15th Birthday and I want all of your friends to be there.
Aurora keeps her eyes locked on Crystal as she nods.
Aurora: I want it too but on one condition. You need to plan it with mama Seleana. If you and her can’t work together on it, then you can forget me even having a party.
Crystal thinks about it. It had been ages since she really spoke to Seleana. She just sighs as she nods her head in agreement.
Crystal: Fine… But I don’t even know if she will want to work on this together… Let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s just focus on having this family day together. It’s been a while since i bonded with you both.
Aurora nods as she continues to eat her lunch. She takes Elijah’s headphones off, and the three of them just enjoy their fun day together as we leave on this image.
You ever feel like you are doing exactly everything you could have ever imagined but you still know that there’s one thing left to do?! If I can be honest I feel like I have so much relief knowing that I was able to get past Alexandra last week. When I first came back to SCW a few months ago there was two women who I had major issues with one of them was Alexandra and the other one was Bella Madison. As of last week I took care of one but now the woman who scares me the most out of everybody in SCW is going to be standing across from me inside of the ring.
Bella Madison and I are going to be in the ring with one another and the winner will receive the ultimate prize. They will earn a one way trip to competing at the biggest show of the year and will be wrestling for the very chance to be the World Bombshell Championship in a main event level of a match.
I feel like I have been through so much in SCW. It’s been five years since I have been relevant. Five years since I was in a position where I could honestly say that I was in a place where I could rule over the company as the best of the best. Now I can see my future as clear as day and it’s hanging right in front of me. the only thing that I need to do is get past Bella Madison and everything I could have ever wanted and hope for could be mine.
This journey to get to where I am has been a somewhat hard journey. Getting through Harper may have been an easy step if I can be honest but to see her refereeing my last match had caused me to be concerned. Although I never thought she would call my match down the middle after threatening to screw me out of a championship match but after seeing that she would be next in line for my friend’s Internet Championship I realized that it was never about me but it was about getting something she wanted.
Whatever the case I was able to get past Alexandra and with one of my biggest rivals behind me now I will have to deal with the woman who has been my biggest threat to my career within the last five years. I know some might be confused as to why I feel Bella might be a threat but this seems like the perfect time to take a stroll down memory back.
It was on November 20th 2022 in Anaheim California. On that night Bella Madison and I were scheduled for a no disqualification match with one another on Climax Control. I will openly admit and state that I really wasn’t the nicest person at the time. I got on everybody’s nerves. I pissed everybody off. I paraded around dressed up under a mask as La Rosa Ardiente…
It’s was definitely something that annoyed people and they just wanted me to stay away. When it came time for me to take on Bella Madison something snapped within her. She became super aggressive. She got super pissed off and she beat the unholy hell out of me. She hit me with not one, not two, but eleven of her Ashes to Ashes DDT on a chair. It was clear that I couldn’t even defend myself from how badly that Bella beat me up but it’s not like she cared.
She went out of her way just to break me and she used me to try to send a message to Kayla Richards who was the Internet Champion at the time. I felt embarrassed that things had gotten that rough for me. I suffered a concussion on that night, and to add even more insult to injury. Bella was the one driving my ambulance to the hospital.
I know that I probably deserved everything that came in my direction. It’s what I got for always doing the bare minimum, for not taking my job as an SCW bombshell seriously and for wasting people’s time. Maybe that was the only way that things should have ended but that wasn’t the worst of the situation.
What made everything worse was the fact that my daughter Aurora had to see me like that. I didn’t appreciate being forced to be in a hospital on my birthday and of course during Thanksgiving. On top of that I didn’t like that SCW had decided to fire me and I was left without a job.
Over the Christmas break I plotted how I would find a way to get back at Bella Madison and how I would get my job back in SCW. I didn’t have a contract and that’s when there was an open invitational match for the Roulette match. I made my decision that I would take part in that match and especially since Bella was originally supposed to be in that match.
However as the match drew nearer I noticed that she wasn’t going to be in that match and that’s when we found out that she was pregnant. Of course I won that match and took home the Roulette Championship getting my job back but I just didn’t get my hands on Bella.
Bella taking me out and putting me on the shelf was nearly three years ago and I still haven’t moved on beyond that incident. Bella has gotten the better of me. Whenever the two of us are in the ring with one another she always seems to have my number.
I look at Bella and I have come to the realization that the two of us are women who are cut from the same coin. We both are second generation wrestlers who were born and prepared for this moment. The differences being that I didn’t give a damn on what I had to do to get to where I am. I often would be cutthroat to friends and be somebody who used people which included her own wife to get to where she wanted to be. Bella on the other hand is an individual that people have always respected. She is a woman who is adored by all and has done things in the right way.
As much as I despise this woman and what she stands for, I honestly can’t help but say that I actually admire her and am envious of the woman that she is. I wish I could be the caring and compassionate mother that she is. I wish I could be less self-centered and more focused on just being a better human being. This is where we are different.
Also when it comes to Bella she is a woman who has been consistent as much as I have been inconsistent for the past few years. She has been part of the new breed of SCW talent that has been holding down the Bombshell division. She has made it this far and I would say getting past a red hot Victoria Lyons makes her one of the biggest threats in all of this company. I know she wants this World title match and she feels like I am the last hurdle to get there.
That it where we differ though, she may want the moment but damn it I NEED the moment. This is what I live for and this is the very thing that has made me come back to SCW. You may have wiped the floor with me three years ago. You forced me to take that ride in the ambulance and you put me on the shelf but the very thing you have been wanting since I first met you is the very exact thing that you are going to get, and I doubt you will be able to handle it.
You are going to get a very active Crystal Hilton. The Crystal who you complained didn’t give a shit, and was just here to take up a roster space. Guess what Bella?!
After working hard in these last two matches I am finally in a place where I can say that she is officially back. You won't be in the ring with the Crystal that has been wrestling without a purpose for the last five years but you will be in the ring with the woman who lived on being the single female focal point of this company.
With every passing match I feel like I am getting closer and closer to who I used to be. I feel like that I am back to top form and I just need to work out a few more kinks and I will be exactly where I need to be. I know it might be hard to fully invest that I am exactly who I say I am but I think a great way to show that I am back is by walking into that very ring and doing the one thing that I haven’t really been able to do in the past few years.
That one thing being to simply BEAT you!
On any given night I know you can pour your heart out and be the little engine that you could. You build yourself up and you get to be in a good place but on the days where I actually show up, and actually showcase that I give a damn I know I am always going to be the best woman in the ring. I can’t be touched and I know you don’t have a chance at hell in beating me.
You wanted me at my best?! You want me not to waste a roster spot or to pour my heart into everything?!
Be careful what you truly ask for because when you get it you are getting more than you bargained for. There is so much that I have lost in this past year. I don’t have the wife. I don’t even have that much visiting times in seeing my children. I am a woman who has lost just about everything but it’s time to hold onto the one thing that I know I don’t fail at and that one thing is professional wrestling.
What is professional wrestling?! Honestly I can answer that question in so many ways but in a nut shell it’s where I end up finding my true identity. It’s the place where I can find the best version of myself. It’s a place I know that I can succeed when focused.
You can be the better mother…
You can be the better spouse…
You can have the better personal life…
But the one thing and the one area where I refuse to let you showcase that you are better than me is in the ring. I have been doing this since I was seventeen years old wrestling in my father’s gym in Mexico. That was nearly twenty years ago and here I am twenty years and still trying the chase the dream of being the best of the best.
I made mistakes. I had children as a young teenager. My life has been really fucked up but wrestling is the place where I can leave the harsh realities of the world behind me and I can freely soar and spread my wings to be better than what I am. It’s funny to admit that considering I thought it being an actress and being in different movies. It’s easy to wear make-up, portray different roles, and wear different costumes.
But unlike Hollywood I don’t have to change face all the time just to succeed, I can showcase the real Crystal Hilton. Sometimes it’s ugly, sometimes it’s the emotional wreck of a woman with a thousand different names and the unstable woman who can’t stick to a story.
But the stability is in that ring, it’s how I move in the ring, and it’s what I pour into being the best of the best.
You have had a great year Bella. Going back to last November all the way to now you can say you have been a two time Internet Champion and that’s awesome. You still have more growing to do and I know you will eventually get what you are looking for, but sadly it won’t come at my expense. I just want this more and the only way people will ever take this second, or third, hell I lost count…
But the ONLY way people will take this Crystal reunion tour serious is if I make it to the finals and I am in the main event of High Stakes fighting Frankie for the World Championship. Nobody would have ever expected to see me headlining the flag ship Super Card but it’s time to turn non-believers into believers and it’s time to force people to put some respect on my name.
How many times have you been at this where you have failed to win the big one?!
How many times have you felt it wasn’t good enough?!
I know it’s been quite a few but I haven’t had my chance yet. This Sunday everything gets put into perspective and I get exactly what I want. This is my division and I will be the spotlight whether you like it or not. So back up and just fall in line.
Sunday I finally roll the credits on Bella Madison once and for all. I put the nightmare of November 20th 2022 in my rearview and I focus on what’s in front of me, and that’s becoming a six time World Bombshell Champion.
It will happen…
Lights
Camera
Action
See you soon, and throughout everything nothing will ever stop from blossoming…
Buena Park, California
Finally after months of being separated from her wife and not in communication with her Crystal through the help of her kids Brayden and Brittany was able to send a message to Seleana and now she was allowed to see her fourteen year old Aurora, and her younger son Elijah Zdunich. Climax Control would be upon them for a very special Halloween edition at this very park but today Crystal was able to make a family day out of her free time. The three of them had already spent the day riding on various roller coasters and other rides but now it was lunch time and they found themselves in the concessions area where they were all enjoying some snacks. Elijah had an ice cream cone in his hands whereas Aurora was eating chicken tenders and french fries. Crystal just sat there taking a sip of a frozen lemonade as her daughter smiled at her.
Aurora: This is so awesome. I am so happy that we can finally spend time with one another. It feels like it has been forever.
Elijah: I miss you mom! I want to see you everyday. It’s not the same when you aren’t there.
Crystal just sighs in return as she keeps her eyes locked on her two youngest. Even though she and Seleana had their share of problems, all of this just felt right to her. She had missed her children and to just have a day with them meant the entire world to her. A few tears fell from her eyes as she looked back at the two.
Crystal: I know, it really has been a while hasn’t it. I think I missed you both even more. You don’t have any idea at how much both of you mean to me. You both along with Brittany and Brayden are the most important people in my life. Without you my entire world would fall apart. I am so sorry that things aren’t good right now but I promise that I am going to do everything in my power to make it better especially when it comes to you Aurora. Next month you are turning 15 and I am going to make sure you have the biggest quinceanera that a girl could ever have. It’s going to be your personal dream come true.
Crystal lets more tears fall from out of her eyes as she keeps looking at the teenage girl.
Crystal: I remember when your mother was on her death bed suffering from cancer. I made a promise that I would take care of you. I would be there for you and I would always protect you. As a little girl of Mexican descent there’s things I want you to have that I didn’t have growing up. I just want the best for you.
Aurora just keeps her eyes locked on her mother as Elijah seems too busy taking licks of his ice cream cone. She leans over and rests her head against Crystal.
Aurora: You don’t have to say anything else. I love you, even before you decided to adopt me you were my hero when I was watching you as an amazing wrestler. What was really special was when you were working for the Golden Ring Casino as the coordinator and you went out of your way to help my mother and I. I will never forget that and I am proud to have you in my life as my mother. I know that Elijah feels the same exact way, isn’t that right Elijah.
Elijah: Yes! You are the best mom, and this ice cream tastes so good!
The little boy is all smiles as he happily eats away at his cone but Aurora looks over at her mother who just seems to be uneasy about everything. Crystal can’t even look back at her daughter but the fourteen year old just reaches into a back pack and pulls out an i-pad and gives it to her little brother along with a pair of headphones.
Aurora: If you don’t mind Elijah why don’t you watch one of your favorite shows.
The little boy nods his head as his mind is more so on his i-pad and with the headphones over her ears he is tuned out from the rest of the world. Meanwhile Aurora looks over at her mother as she sighs back in return.
Aurora: Mom can I ask you a few questions and I want you to be completely honest with me. Please don’t lie.
Crystal: Aurora, I wouldn’t dare to lie to you. I know I have made so many mistakes but I don’t want to ever feel like I can’t be honest to you.
Aurora: I know you love your wrestling career so much. I know you are very passionate about everything that you do. I just want to know if your wrestling career and winning a World Championship means more to you than Elijah, mama Sel, and I.
Crystal’s eyes opened wide up as she couldn’t believe that her daughter had asked that.
Crystal: Of course not, what would even make you say something like that?! Did Seleana say something about me since the two of us haven’t really been seeing one another lately?!
Aurora quickly shakes her head as she looks back at Crystal.
Aurora: She didn’t say anything but I just thought of it all because you hadn’t been home. To be honest I am not that stupid mom. I know when something is going on. I know I may only be fourteen and am turning fifteen but I know a lot. To be honest the only thing that momma Sel has been saying is that she hopes that you would one day come back home and that she misses you so much.
Crystal: So she didn’t say anything bad about me at all?!
Aurora: No. She is holding onto the hope that you two would come back to one another. She thought about hiding all of the things that you bought her as a way to try to show that she doesn’t care but deep down she is hurting. I knew something was up when she tried to stop us from watching your match with one another at the last super card. I had to see what you were doing because I hadn’t seen you in months, and I saw that you and Mercedes were beating down Seleana. I don’t understand how you could do such a thing.
Crystal feels very dejected as she just sighs in disbelief. The little girl just shakes her head as she watches Crystal try to speak.
Crystal: Pumpkin, I can explain myself, I…
Aurora: You don’t have to say anything. Like I said I am not really as naive as you both think I am. I know when something is wrong. If I can be honest I feel like everything was starting to get messed up when you tried to bring Diamond Caldwell into your marriage. Mama Diamond is good but I don’t know why you could bring yourself to break Seleana’s heart a second time…
Crystal: I am not breaking her heart! You want me to be honest with you Aurora. I love Seleana. I have ALWAYS loved her. I am afraid that we actually have a great thing going and I don’t know how to react to it. My entire life has been filled with broken marriages, and I have always been in a place where I was nothing more than a prized possession or a trophy to somebody else. It happened with T-Will, it happened with Jonathan Millar, it happened with Steve Awesome, and so many more. I look at Seleana and I can’t believe that we have been married for seven years.
Crystal let’s more tears flow from her cheeks as she continues to share more of her heart.
Crystal: Seven years of just being there for me. Seven years of letting me live out my dream and not once has she ever done anything to try to break my heart but on the other side of the coin I feel like I have been doing the opposite. I brought somebody else into our marriage. I made so many mistakes… The truth is I don’t deserve her and I never did. She is the biggest blessing that I could have ever received. One that’s way too good for me. All I do is take, take, take, but she just smiles.
More tears leave her eyes.
Crystal: I love that woman, and you want me to be truthful Aurora?! I didn’t even forget our anniversary. I woke up that day and was shocked that we were married for seven years. I have never been attached to someone for that long in a marriage, and I have never had anybody that was really that much into me in the same way but she is. I don’t do emotions and feelings well, and the thought of actually waking up and feeling that I found my soulmate scares me to no end. Instead of dealing with those emotions I would rather run… I don’t want people making assumptions that I love Mercedes, or that I am doing drugs, or even picking up on alcohol again. The truth is I am just scared and I really want to be able to love Seleana in the same way that she loves me…
Aurora smiles as she nods at her mother.
Aurora: Thank you, doesn’t it feel good to actually admit the truth?! That’s all Seleana could ever ask from you. That’s all me and Elijah need. They just want you to be truthful. It’s okay to be afraid and have emotions. That’s what makes us humans, and that’s what made me look up to you in the first place. When I was choosing my favorite wrestler it had nothing to do with you being an actress or having a bad attitude. It’s the fact that when you really put your mind to something you put all of your emotions into using your heart to achieve what you wanted. That’s all we could ever ask from you. Focus on your heart, and let that be your guide to get you where it needs to get you.
Aurora smirks as she watches her mother cry but she continues to speak her heart.
Aurora: Don’t try to force something you aren’t. Also not everybody is out to be jealous of you mom. There are people that want to see you succeed and they want to celebrate WITH you not stand there and be against you. I am going to be honest. I don’t trust Mercedes for a second. I know she’s a great wrestler but you two have never gotten along. It’s easy for her to be on your side for now but if for some reason you do get back to the place of being on top like you were all of those years ago. Will she still be happy being next to you knowing she is now a step behind because you are the best again.
Crystal: I never really looked at things like that before.
Aurora: It’s just something to think about. On top of that I was scared of things as well. There was a part of me that thought I may never see Juliet again. She’s my best friend but Kate Steele seems to be your friend, and if you and Seleana aren’t together what are the chances that I could end up seeing Kate’s daughter and hanging out?!
Crystal: I would never let that happen. Even if Seleana and I weren’t together I would never let that have an impact on you the children. I love you too much for that to happen. Which is why I want you to have that big 15th Birthday and I want all of your friends to be there.
Aurora keeps her eyes locked on Crystal as she nods.
Aurora: I want it too but on one condition. You need to plan it with mama Seleana. If you and her can’t work together on it, then you can forget me even having a party.
Crystal thinks about it. It had been ages since she really spoke to Seleana. She just sighs as she nods her head in agreement.
Crystal: Fine… But I don’t even know if she will want to work on this together… Let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s just focus on having this family day together. It’s been a while since i bonded with you both.
Aurora nods as she continues to eat her lunch. She takes Elijah’s headphones off, and the three of them just enjoy their fun day together as we leave on this image.
You ever feel like you are doing exactly everything you could have ever imagined but you still know that there’s one thing left to do?! If I can be honest I feel like I have so much relief knowing that I was able to get past Alexandra last week. When I first came back to SCW a few months ago there was two women who I had major issues with one of them was Alexandra and the other one was Bella Madison. As of last week I took care of one but now the woman who scares me the most out of everybody in SCW is going to be standing across from me inside of the ring.
Bella Madison and I are going to be in the ring with one another and the winner will receive the ultimate prize. They will earn a one way trip to competing at the biggest show of the year and will be wrestling for the very chance to be the World Bombshell Championship in a main event level of a match.
I feel like I have been through so much in SCW. It’s been five years since I have been relevant. Five years since I was in a position where I could honestly say that I was in a place where I could rule over the company as the best of the best. Now I can see my future as clear as day and it’s hanging right in front of me. the only thing that I need to do is get past Bella Madison and everything I could have ever wanted and hope for could be mine.
This journey to get to where I am has been a somewhat hard journey. Getting through Harper may have been an easy step if I can be honest but to see her refereeing my last match had caused me to be concerned. Although I never thought she would call my match down the middle after threatening to screw me out of a championship match but after seeing that she would be next in line for my friend’s Internet Championship I realized that it was never about me but it was about getting something she wanted.
Whatever the case I was able to get past Alexandra and with one of my biggest rivals behind me now I will have to deal with the woman who has been my biggest threat to my career within the last five years. I know some might be confused as to why I feel Bella might be a threat but this seems like the perfect time to take a stroll down memory back.
It was on November 20th 2022 in Anaheim California. On that night Bella Madison and I were scheduled for a no disqualification match with one another on Climax Control. I will openly admit and state that I really wasn’t the nicest person at the time. I got on everybody’s nerves. I pissed everybody off. I paraded around dressed up under a mask as La Rosa Ardiente…
It’s was definitely something that annoyed people and they just wanted me to stay away. When it came time for me to take on Bella Madison something snapped within her. She became super aggressive. She got super pissed off and she beat the unholy hell out of me. She hit me with not one, not two, but eleven of her Ashes to Ashes DDT on a chair. It was clear that I couldn’t even defend myself from how badly that Bella beat me up but it’s not like she cared.
She went out of her way just to break me and she used me to try to send a message to Kayla Richards who was the Internet Champion at the time. I felt embarrassed that things had gotten that rough for me. I suffered a concussion on that night, and to add even more insult to injury. Bella was the one driving my ambulance to the hospital.
I know that I probably deserved everything that came in my direction. It’s what I got for always doing the bare minimum, for not taking my job as an SCW bombshell seriously and for wasting people’s time. Maybe that was the only way that things should have ended but that wasn’t the worst of the situation.
What made everything worse was the fact that my daughter Aurora had to see me like that. I didn’t appreciate being forced to be in a hospital on my birthday and of course during Thanksgiving. On top of that I didn’t like that SCW had decided to fire me and I was left without a job.
Over the Christmas break I plotted how I would find a way to get back at Bella Madison and how I would get my job back in SCW. I didn’t have a contract and that’s when there was an open invitational match for the Roulette match. I made my decision that I would take part in that match and especially since Bella was originally supposed to be in that match.
However as the match drew nearer I noticed that she wasn’t going to be in that match and that’s when we found out that she was pregnant. Of course I won that match and took home the Roulette Championship getting my job back but I just didn’t get my hands on Bella.
Bella taking me out and putting me on the shelf was nearly three years ago and I still haven’t moved on beyond that incident. Bella has gotten the better of me. Whenever the two of us are in the ring with one another she always seems to have my number.
I look at Bella and I have come to the realization that the two of us are women who are cut from the same coin. We both are second generation wrestlers who were born and prepared for this moment. The differences being that I didn’t give a damn on what I had to do to get to where I am. I often would be cutthroat to friends and be somebody who used people which included her own wife to get to where she wanted to be. Bella on the other hand is an individual that people have always respected. She is a woman who is adored by all and has done things in the right way.
As much as I despise this woman and what she stands for, I honestly can’t help but say that I actually admire her and am envious of the woman that she is. I wish I could be the caring and compassionate mother that she is. I wish I could be less self-centered and more focused on just being a better human being. This is where we are different.
Also when it comes to Bella she is a woman who has been consistent as much as I have been inconsistent for the past few years. She has been part of the new breed of SCW talent that has been holding down the Bombshell division. She has made it this far and I would say getting past a red hot Victoria Lyons makes her one of the biggest threats in all of this company. I know she wants this World title match and she feels like I am the last hurdle to get there.
That it where we differ though, she may want the moment but damn it I NEED the moment. This is what I live for and this is the very thing that has made me come back to SCW. You may have wiped the floor with me three years ago. You forced me to take that ride in the ambulance and you put me on the shelf but the very thing you have been wanting since I first met you is the very exact thing that you are going to get, and I doubt you will be able to handle it.
You are going to get a very active Crystal Hilton. The Crystal who you complained didn’t give a shit, and was just here to take up a roster space. Guess what Bella?!
After working hard in these last two matches I am finally in a place where I can say that she is officially back. You won't be in the ring with the Crystal that has been wrestling without a purpose for the last five years but you will be in the ring with the woman who lived on being the single female focal point of this company.
With every passing match I feel like I am getting closer and closer to who I used to be. I feel like that I am back to top form and I just need to work out a few more kinks and I will be exactly where I need to be. I know it might be hard to fully invest that I am exactly who I say I am but I think a great way to show that I am back is by walking into that very ring and doing the one thing that I haven’t really been able to do in the past few years.
That one thing being to simply BEAT you!
On any given night I know you can pour your heart out and be the little engine that you could. You build yourself up and you get to be in a good place but on the days where I actually show up, and actually showcase that I give a damn I know I am always going to be the best woman in the ring. I can’t be touched and I know you don’t have a chance at hell in beating me.
You wanted me at my best?! You want me not to waste a roster spot or to pour my heart into everything?!
Be careful what you truly ask for because when you get it you are getting more than you bargained for. There is so much that I have lost in this past year. I don’t have the wife. I don’t even have that much visiting times in seeing my children. I am a woman who has lost just about everything but it’s time to hold onto the one thing that I know I don’t fail at and that one thing is professional wrestling.
What is professional wrestling?! Honestly I can answer that question in so many ways but in a nut shell it’s where I end up finding my true identity. It’s the place where I can find the best version of myself. It’s a place I know that I can succeed when focused.
You can be the better mother…
You can be the better spouse…
You can have the better personal life…
But the one thing and the one area where I refuse to let you showcase that you are better than me is in the ring. I have been doing this since I was seventeen years old wrestling in my father’s gym in Mexico. That was nearly twenty years ago and here I am twenty years and still trying the chase the dream of being the best of the best.
I made mistakes. I had children as a young teenager. My life has been really fucked up but wrestling is the place where I can leave the harsh realities of the world behind me and I can freely soar and spread my wings to be better than what I am. It’s funny to admit that considering I thought it being an actress and being in different movies. It’s easy to wear make-up, portray different roles, and wear different costumes.
But unlike Hollywood I don’t have to change face all the time just to succeed, I can showcase the real Crystal Hilton. Sometimes it’s ugly, sometimes it’s the emotional wreck of a woman with a thousand different names and the unstable woman who can’t stick to a story.
But the stability is in that ring, it’s how I move in the ring, and it’s what I pour into being the best of the best.
You have had a great year Bella. Going back to last November all the way to now you can say you have been a two time Internet Champion and that’s awesome. You still have more growing to do and I know you will eventually get what you are looking for, but sadly it won’t come at my expense. I just want this more and the only way people will ever take this second, or third, hell I lost count…
But the ONLY way people will take this Crystal reunion tour serious is if I make it to the finals and I am in the main event of High Stakes fighting Frankie for the World Championship. Nobody would have ever expected to see me headlining the flag ship Super Card but it’s time to turn non-believers into believers and it’s time to force people to put some respect on my name.
How many times have you been at this where you have failed to win the big one?!
How many times have you felt it wasn’t good enough?!
I know it’s been quite a few but I haven’t had my chance yet. This Sunday everything gets put into perspective and I get exactly what I want. This is my division and I will be the spotlight whether you like it or not. So back up and just fall in line.
Sunday I finally roll the credits on Bella Madison once and for all. I put the nightmare of November 20th 2022 in my rearview and I focus on what’s in front of me, and that’s becoming a six time World Bombshell Champion.
It will happen…
Lights
Camera
Action
See you soon, and throughout everything nothing will ever stop from blossoming…
95
Climax Control Archives / "Ah Shit, Here We Go Again"
« Last post by brandonhendrix on October 24, 2025, 11:30:10 PM »[Off Camera]
(From The Past)
{Brandon went from having the world in his hands… to watching his world shatter right before him. It was at OWA's Game Over pay-per-view event where he did his last match, and it was one of the worst nights of his life. Brandon was moments away from winning what could of been a career changing Championship win, but then… his greatest fear came to life. He saw his little girl being threatened by a grown man, his hand wrapped around her neck. Feeling hopeless, losing the match wasn't even the worst part of the match. It was the fact that Brandon couldn't protect his daughter from danger. The one thing in Brandon's life that he swore to protect and he couldn't. Now, he's sent her to his aunts…. And that has killed him on the inside to send his number one pride and joy away.
(From Today)
A year after that day, and sometimes it keeps Brandon awake still. He stares up at the ceiling, wondering if one day, it'll happen again. Brandon gets a alert on his phone
[On Camera]
(Brandon Hendrix is way over his head on this. Maybe he doesn't deserve his name next to his friends… or "friends" as he says. A man wants the world, always willing to do whatever it takes to take that world. But what if the world doesn't want him? What if that world wants him gone, too? What if the world wants him to crumble beneath it's weight because he wants to reach for the stars? Brandon wanted the best for himself for a first, and he feels like he's been belittled for wanting to. SCW YouTube Channel transitions over to a room filled with the darkness of the night, only for a small light to shine down at the floor below, and in that singular light is Brandon sitting on the floor, his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped about his legs, and his head resting on his knees.)
".... what's there to even say anymore? It's becoming a cliche at this point now. I go somewhere, talk stupid shit about how I'm going to be the man of the place, and disappoint early on. I.. I'm so sick and fucking tired of it dawg."
(Brandon chuckles as he rubs his eyes with his right hand before letting out a defeated sigh.)
"Why continue to hype myself up only to be a loser? Why hype myself to the point I'm sending myself bat shit fucking crazy that people are saying that I should lose my daughter before anything happens to her? Fucking hell am I that crazy to you all? Huh? I'm I'm THAT FUCKING INSANE TO ALL OF YOU HUH?!? And to top it off…. It's the people I trust the most saying this. Let me tell you guys a story. And trigger warning, it's not for the faint of heart. It was um.. not too long ago that I was told that my… My mother passed away. She was my number one fan in the entire world, especially when nobody knew who I was. She was my motivation to stick to wrestling and do my best to become the best damn professional wrestler in the world. She almost got into a fight during a show IN JAPAN might I add. She flew to Japan to watch me wrestle. Anyway she almost got into a fight with someone in the crowd because they said I sucked…"
(Brandon chuckles a bit before wiping his face of the tears that start falling down his cheek.)
"And when I got the phone call from my father that she died… a part of me died too. That sent… my head into another universe. I have nightmares of that phone call to this day… the sound of his voice haunts me.. and I pictured in my head that… I had people around me for that shoulder to cry on… when in reality… I was all alone…..
Time started to move on, and I was slowly recovering mentally from her passing. So I was at a hotel after a show I was on, and I get a knock on my door. Of course, I open the door and there are two cops there, with looks of sorrow on their faces. That's when I find out that my da…"
(Brandon can't help himself. He puts his head down on his knees, and you can hear the muffled sounds of his cries. He cries into his knees for what feels like a century before lifting his head up, his eyes splashed with red and his cheeks stained from the years he shed.)
"I found out my dad killed himself… and there I was.. a twenty four year old orphan pretty much. That's… that's when I became.. crazy. I can still feel… the metal from the blade running across my wrists… as I sat there, wanting it to be my end… only to become the biggest coward in the world. When I couldn't make one fucking slice…. I went for my nine, and I put the barrel to my head. The echoes of me pulling the hammer of the gun runs through my head on a constant and it scares me sometimes. The sound it made puts fear in my heart. I wanted to pull that trigger… I wanted to END IT ALL!!
….. but I couldn't. I dropped that gun and cried. I went to the morgue he was brought to, and I felt… anger. I wanted everyone else to suffer like I did…. I still do. I mean… this is bullshit man. My friends get to have happier lives. Married, happy families…. Like any of the care that I have nothing….
Or I thought I didn't. Soon later, I get a call from an ex of mine, saying meet at a Cafe. So I did, but she did not show. Suddenly, this small child walks up to me with a note. The bitch couldn't even tell me that I was a dad to this amazing little girl."
(Brandon reaches up to his shirt and lifts up his necklace. It's one of those ones that have a picture on it and it's a picture of his daughter, Raelynn. He looks down at the picture, and for the first time, a slight smile appears on his face.)
"This….. is my motivation. But there's comes a point when everything becomes too much. I loved these fans. I fought through injuries for them. I did everything in that ring for them. But to chant "DIE Brandon DIE", "Go Away"... to verbally attack me in public when I have my daughter with me… to tell a five year old that her dad is a fucking loser… that's when you all turned me to the man I am today. I had to change from that kid to The Don. Now, I've become one of the most respected wrestlers in the world today. Like I said… I'm going to die sooner than anyone else here will. My heart…. Is not okay. Given a maximum of… hell a year at point…. I've made it my vow in this ring to kill each and every single person that gets put in front of me. You want to stand in my way, you have to pay the price of the judge, pray to the jury, and fear the executioner.
Bill, the second time we go one on one, and the second time I will beat you. I know what you can bring in a regular match, but now with us not knowing what the stipulation is, many people told me that you are a different animal in that environment. I plead for that beast, because you don't know the monster inside of me. I gave myself the belief that soon I would be in the main event and I would win the World Championship because it's what I was born to do. I never doubted that I have the abilities to be the guy I talked about being for three years. I have the IT Factor that a professional wrestler needs to make it in this business. Need someone to make you love them, hate them, make you smile, make.you cry- I can do that. You need someone to do something last minute to save our shows- I'm the guy people have deepened on. You need me to go to a bracket tournament to defend OWAs Honor- I'm in. You need a great match to put someone over- I'm the guy who can. Need someone to strike up a conversation with anyone, do media, step out his comfort zone, do all this on no sleep and know that I'll still step into the ring and give you the career making performance every night and I know I say that a lot but it's the truth! I do it every single night….
EVERY NIGHT!
EVERY FUCKING NIGHT!
I have delivered!!!! And what do I get? I get pulled to the side, told "Hey keep your chin up? I think one day you'll be the best. You're not doing this right, you have to do this." People want me to play a carbon copy of others to succeed. Speak mythical like most, want blood like a demon, be the hero like warrior, be the underdog like others, be the battling badass like fighter, be the workhorse like a rookie, be the OG like a veteran, be the Villain like the rest. Everyone trying to tell me that I'm doing it wrong means I'm doing it absolutely RIGHT! Everything I've done is to be better!
EVERY NIGHT I DO IT TO BE BETTER THAN EVERYONE! A BUSINESS ABOUT THE TEAM MAKING THE COMPANY BETTER WITH SELFISH NEEDS! YEAH I'M THE MOST SELFISH OF THEM ALL BECAUSE I NEED THIS! I FUCKING NEED IT!!!
Bill, the first time we faced off, you stood there and criticized me for never achieving anything in SCW, and yeah, you're right I have and I know that I have a lot to prove, not only to the fans of SCW and other wrestlers, but myself. And I'm tired of you OGs thinking that because I have not achieved anything here, means I am not a threat to the big dogs in the yard. The dogs roam the yard, but the owner of the yard just came back and is better than ever. And Billy Boy, the second time we cross in that ring, I'm taking you, the oldest dog of the batch, and I'm taking you behind the woodshed, and I'm putting you down, Ol Yeller.”
[Off Camera]
May 2021
(Brandon had just tackled Addy that sent both men off Camera. Addy gets up, but Brandon doesn't. He's clutching his chest, groaning in pain. Medics rush in to aid Brandon as producers and staff watch on. Next thing Brandon remembers was waking up at the hospital, tubes down his throat, hooked up to monitors that are checking his heart rate. Brandon looks around in a panic when the nearby nurse eases him.)
"It's okay. Go back to sleep."
(Brandon stops his panic and ends up falling back to sleep. The next morning comes and Brandon's mother is standing by his hospital bed as the doctor comes in.)
"What's wrong with my son?"
"Ms. Roberts. It appears your son has a heart defect. His heart will have irregular quickness in beats per minute, decrease in beats per minute…. and a possibility that he can suffer a heart attack. I'm sorry. I'll leave you two."
(The doctor leaves the room, leaving Brandon's mother to stand there in shock. She turns to Hendrix, who's laying asleep as tears fall from her to his hospital gown.)
[On Camera]
"Lord, allow me to rise from the shadows. Allow me to cast from them, not be confined to them. Ahem."
"You can cast them or live confined within them"
You know, Bill. I’ve prayed for you, but more so for me. I pray that your family is taken care of. I prayed that my daughter is well taken care of. And I pray that God still lets me into Heaven after what I'm about to do to you. Ah Shit, Here We Go Again, another Brandon Hendrix beats Bill Barnhart for the second time in three shows. And while it's going to be a Heavyweight War, it'll be your last Heavyweight fight. Because either I'm going to retire you old man, or maybe your last breath takes place in this ring. The Don promises you either or. Take your pick.
Bill, I'm crazy, and crazy kills.”
(From The Past)
{Brandon went from having the world in his hands… to watching his world shatter right before him. It was at OWA's Game Over pay-per-view event where he did his last match, and it was one of the worst nights of his life. Brandon was moments away from winning what could of been a career changing Championship win, but then… his greatest fear came to life. He saw his little girl being threatened by a grown man, his hand wrapped around her neck. Feeling hopeless, losing the match wasn't even the worst part of the match. It was the fact that Brandon couldn't protect his daughter from danger. The one thing in Brandon's life that he swore to protect and he couldn't. Now, he's sent her to his aunts…. And that has killed him on the inside to send his number one pride and joy away.
(From Today)
A year after that day, and sometimes it keeps Brandon awake still. He stares up at the ceiling, wondering if one day, it'll happen again. Brandon gets a alert on his phone
[On Camera]
(Brandon Hendrix is way over his head on this. Maybe he doesn't deserve his name next to his friends… or "friends" as he says. A man wants the world, always willing to do whatever it takes to take that world. But what if the world doesn't want him? What if that world wants him gone, too? What if the world wants him to crumble beneath it's weight because he wants to reach for the stars? Brandon wanted the best for himself for a first, and he feels like he's been belittled for wanting to. SCW YouTube Channel transitions over to a room filled with the darkness of the night, only for a small light to shine down at the floor below, and in that singular light is Brandon sitting on the floor, his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped about his legs, and his head resting on his knees.)
".... what's there to even say anymore? It's becoming a cliche at this point now. I go somewhere, talk stupid shit about how I'm going to be the man of the place, and disappoint early on. I.. I'm so sick and fucking tired of it dawg."
(Brandon chuckles as he rubs his eyes with his right hand before letting out a defeated sigh.)
"Why continue to hype myself up only to be a loser? Why hype myself to the point I'm sending myself bat shit fucking crazy that people are saying that I should lose my daughter before anything happens to her? Fucking hell am I that crazy to you all? Huh? I'm I'm THAT FUCKING INSANE TO ALL OF YOU HUH?!? And to top it off…. It's the people I trust the most saying this. Let me tell you guys a story. And trigger warning, it's not for the faint of heart. It was um.. not too long ago that I was told that my… My mother passed away. She was my number one fan in the entire world, especially when nobody knew who I was. She was my motivation to stick to wrestling and do my best to become the best damn professional wrestler in the world. She almost got into a fight during a show IN JAPAN might I add. She flew to Japan to watch me wrestle. Anyway she almost got into a fight with someone in the crowd because they said I sucked…"
(Brandon chuckles a bit before wiping his face of the tears that start falling down his cheek.)
"And when I got the phone call from my father that she died… a part of me died too. That sent… my head into another universe. I have nightmares of that phone call to this day… the sound of his voice haunts me.. and I pictured in my head that… I had people around me for that shoulder to cry on… when in reality… I was all alone…..
Time started to move on, and I was slowly recovering mentally from her passing. So I was at a hotel after a show I was on, and I get a knock on my door. Of course, I open the door and there are two cops there, with looks of sorrow on their faces. That's when I find out that my da…"
(Brandon can't help himself. He puts his head down on his knees, and you can hear the muffled sounds of his cries. He cries into his knees for what feels like a century before lifting his head up, his eyes splashed with red and his cheeks stained from the years he shed.)
"I found out my dad killed himself… and there I was.. a twenty four year old orphan pretty much. That's… that's when I became.. crazy. I can still feel… the metal from the blade running across my wrists… as I sat there, wanting it to be my end… only to become the biggest coward in the world. When I couldn't make one fucking slice…. I went for my nine, and I put the barrel to my head. The echoes of me pulling the hammer of the gun runs through my head on a constant and it scares me sometimes. The sound it made puts fear in my heart. I wanted to pull that trigger… I wanted to END IT ALL!!
….. but I couldn't. I dropped that gun and cried. I went to the morgue he was brought to, and I felt… anger. I wanted everyone else to suffer like I did…. I still do. I mean… this is bullshit man. My friends get to have happier lives. Married, happy families…. Like any of the care that I have nothing….
Or I thought I didn't. Soon later, I get a call from an ex of mine, saying meet at a Cafe. So I did, but she did not show. Suddenly, this small child walks up to me with a note. The bitch couldn't even tell me that I was a dad to this amazing little girl."
(Brandon reaches up to his shirt and lifts up his necklace. It's one of those ones that have a picture on it and it's a picture of his daughter, Raelynn. He looks down at the picture, and for the first time, a slight smile appears on his face.)
"This….. is my motivation. But there's comes a point when everything becomes too much. I loved these fans. I fought through injuries for them. I did everything in that ring for them. But to chant "DIE Brandon DIE", "Go Away"... to verbally attack me in public when I have my daughter with me… to tell a five year old that her dad is a fucking loser… that's when you all turned me to the man I am today. I had to change from that kid to The Don. Now, I've become one of the most respected wrestlers in the world today. Like I said… I'm going to die sooner than anyone else here will. My heart…. Is not okay. Given a maximum of… hell a year at point…. I've made it my vow in this ring to kill each and every single person that gets put in front of me. You want to stand in my way, you have to pay the price of the judge, pray to the jury, and fear the executioner.
Bill, the second time we go one on one, and the second time I will beat you. I know what you can bring in a regular match, but now with us not knowing what the stipulation is, many people told me that you are a different animal in that environment. I plead for that beast, because you don't know the monster inside of me. I gave myself the belief that soon I would be in the main event and I would win the World Championship because it's what I was born to do. I never doubted that I have the abilities to be the guy I talked about being for three years. I have the IT Factor that a professional wrestler needs to make it in this business. Need someone to make you love them, hate them, make you smile, make.you cry- I can do that. You need someone to do something last minute to save our shows- I'm the guy people have deepened on. You need me to go to a bracket tournament to defend OWAs Honor- I'm in. You need a great match to put someone over- I'm the guy who can. Need someone to strike up a conversation with anyone, do media, step out his comfort zone, do all this on no sleep and know that I'll still step into the ring and give you the career making performance every night and I know I say that a lot but it's the truth! I do it every single night….
EVERY NIGHT!
EVERY FUCKING NIGHT!
I have delivered!!!! And what do I get? I get pulled to the side, told "Hey keep your chin up? I think one day you'll be the best. You're not doing this right, you have to do this." People want me to play a carbon copy of others to succeed. Speak mythical like most, want blood like a demon, be the hero like warrior, be the underdog like others, be the battling badass like fighter, be the workhorse like a rookie, be the OG like a veteran, be the Villain like the rest. Everyone trying to tell me that I'm doing it wrong means I'm doing it absolutely RIGHT! Everything I've done is to be better!
EVERY NIGHT I DO IT TO BE BETTER THAN EVERYONE! A BUSINESS ABOUT THE TEAM MAKING THE COMPANY BETTER WITH SELFISH NEEDS! YEAH I'M THE MOST SELFISH OF THEM ALL BECAUSE I NEED THIS! I FUCKING NEED IT!!!
Bill, the first time we faced off, you stood there and criticized me for never achieving anything in SCW, and yeah, you're right I have and I know that I have a lot to prove, not only to the fans of SCW and other wrestlers, but myself. And I'm tired of you OGs thinking that because I have not achieved anything here, means I am not a threat to the big dogs in the yard. The dogs roam the yard, but the owner of the yard just came back and is better than ever. And Billy Boy, the second time we cross in that ring, I'm taking you, the oldest dog of the batch, and I'm taking you behind the woodshed, and I'm putting you down, Ol Yeller.”
[Off Camera]
May 2021
(Brandon had just tackled Addy that sent both men off Camera. Addy gets up, but Brandon doesn't. He's clutching his chest, groaning in pain. Medics rush in to aid Brandon as producers and staff watch on. Next thing Brandon remembers was waking up at the hospital, tubes down his throat, hooked up to monitors that are checking his heart rate. Brandon looks around in a panic when the nearby nurse eases him.)
"It's okay. Go back to sleep."
(Brandon stops his panic and ends up falling back to sleep. The next morning comes and Brandon's mother is standing by his hospital bed as the doctor comes in.)
"What's wrong with my son?"
"Ms. Roberts. It appears your son has a heart defect. His heart will have irregular quickness in beats per minute, decrease in beats per minute…. and a possibility that he can suffer a heart attack. I'm sorry. I'll leave you two."
(The doctor leaves the room, leaving Brandon's mother to stand there in shock. She turns to Hendrix, who's laying asleep as tears fall from her to his hospital gown.)
[On Camera]
"Lord, allow me to rise from the shadows. Allow me to cast from them, not be confined to them. Ahem."
"You can cast them or live confined within them"
You know, Bill. I’ve prayed for you, but more so for me. I pray that your family is taken care of. I prayed that my daughter is well taken care of. And I pray that God still lets me into Heaven after what I'm about to do to you. Ah Shit, Here We Go Again, another Brandon Hendrix beats Bill Barnhart for the second time in three shows. And while it's going to be a Heavyweight War, it'll be your last Heavyweight fight. Because either I'm going to retire you old man, or maybe your last breath takes place in this ring. The Don promises you either or. Take your pick.
Bill, I'm crazy, and crazy kills.”
96
Climax Control Archives / ~*~Bluey Days & High Stakes Nights~*~
« Last post by BellaMadison on October 24, 2025, 11:26:40 PM »~*~Bluey Days & High Stakes Nights~*~
O’Connell Home
It was the kind of autumn afternoon that could make anyone forget the world outside. The sun hung low and golden over their backyard of their home, casting a warm glow through the kitchen windows of the O’Connell home. Bella leaned against the counter, half a cup of cold coffee forgotten beside her as she scrolled through her phone, highlights of her match from the night before still buzzing through her feed.
She’d done it.
She’d beaten Victoria Lyons.
No shortcuts, no interference, just grit, instinct, and a will that refused to die. The bruises along her ribs still ached when she breathed too deep, and the burn in her shoulders reminded her of every second she spent in that ring. But it was the kind of pain she didn’t mind. It meant she’d earned it. It meant she was one step away from a chance at the SCW Bombshell World Championship.
And that step? The finals of the High Stakes Tournament.
She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of tiny feet thudding down the hallway, followed by an all-too-familiar bark.
“Mommy! Mommy, look!”
Bella turned just in time to see Máire barreling into the kitchen, her little arms spread wide and her face lit with pure joy. She was dressed in her Halloween costume, a full Bluey outfit, floppy blue ears and all, the fabric already faintly smudged with dog fur and something that suspiciously looked like peanut butter and dirt. Luka, the husky, bounded in behind her, tail wagging like a metronome of chaos.
“Oh my god, baby...” Bella couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out. “You’re Bluey again?”
“I Bluey!” Máire declared proudly, spinning in a little circle until she nearly toppled over.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Bella chuckled, setting her phone down and kneeling to fix one of the ears on the hood. “Didn’t we agree Bluey stays clean until trick-or-treating?”
Máire pouted, shaking her head with firm toddler conviction. “Bluey go everywhere.”
“Of course she does,” Bella muttered, smirking as she brushed off a bit of dust from the costume. “Bluey’s gonna need a bath before Halloween even gets here.”
Malachi appeared in the doorway then, one eyebrow raised, a coffee mug in hand and a tired grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Bluey’s been helping Luka dig holes in the backyard, just so you know.”
Bella gave him a look. “Seriously?”
Mal just shrugged, unbothered. “They were supervising each other.”
“Unbelievable,” she said, running a hand through her hair before standing up. “You know this means I’m gonna have to wash that costume again before Halloween, right?”
“Or,” Mal countered, sipping his coffee, “We can just tell people it’s authentic Bluey. You know...been on adventures.”
Máire, clearly pleased with this version of events, clapped her hands and yelled, “’Venture!”
Bella couldn’t help it, she laughed. That deep, uncontrollable kind of laugh that came from joy more than humor. Luka barked once, tail thumping against the cabinets as if in agreement.
“Fine,” Bella relented, ruffling Máire’s curls. “But if I find dirt in your bed again, you’re both sleeping outside.”
Mal raised an eyebrow. “You mean me and the dog, or the dog and the toddler?”
“Yes,” Bella deadpanned.
He chuckled, crossing the room to kiss her temple. “Still riding high from the win?”
Bella sighed, her smile softening but her eyes flicking briefly toward the living room where her gear bag sat half-open. “Yeah. I mean... I beat Victoria Lyons. You don’t just do that. She’s been the standard for the division for so long, and I...” she trailed off, shaking her head a little. “It still doesn’t feel real.”
Mal set his cup down and leaned against the counter beside her. “It’s real. You earned it. Every bit of it.”
Bella glanced at him, her mouth twitching with a small, proud smile. “Finals of the High Stakes Tournament. One step away from the World Title shot.”
“And after that?” he asked, voice soft, testing.
Bella tilted her head, watching Máire run through the living room with Luka chasing at her heels. “After that... we’ll see. Right now, I’ve got a mountain to climb.”
Mal nodded, his gaze following hers. “Just promise me you’ll come home in one piece. You’ve already proven enough to everyone. You don’t have to keep breaking yourself to do it.”
Bella’s expression shifted, that mixture of stubborn pride and quiet tenderness that only he could draw out of her.
“I’m not doing it to prove something to them anymore,” she said finally. “This time, it’s for me. For her.” She gestured toward their daughter, who was now standing on the couch trying to make Luka “sit” by offering invisible treats. “I want her to know her mom never quit.”
Mal’s reply was wordless, just a nod, and then a hand finding hers, fingers lacing together as the sounds of laughter filled the house.
Máire squealed as Luka finally sat, tail wagging like mad, and threw her arms up in triumph. “Bluey win!”
Bella smiled at that. “Guess winning runs in the family.”
Mal smirked. “You’re not wrong.”
For a long, perfect moment, everything felt still, the kind of quiet that came before the next storm, but for once, Bella didn’t mind it. She knew what was coming. The finals would be brutal. The climb would be steep. But here, in her kitchen, with her little Bluey running wild and her husband at her side, she felt grounded. Ready.
Because no matter what happened next, she’d already won in the ways that mattered most.
~~The Weight of Fire~~
O’Connell Home – Late Night
The house was quiet. That rare, bone-deep stillness that only comes after a long day, Luka’s soft huffs from the hallway, Máire’s gentle breathing through the baby monitor, the hum of the fridge filling the spaces between.
Bella sat at the kitchen table, still in her workout clothes, a sheen of sweat clinging to her shoulders. Her knuckles were taped, bruised from another round in the barn. The glow from her laptop painted the tired lines under her eyes in pale blue.
On the screen, the SCW replay looped: her victory over Victoria Lyons, that one moment where her hand was raised, the referee holding her up as if she might collapse otherwise.
She should’ve felt elated. Relieved. Victorious.
Instead, all she felt was the pressure building again, the next step looming larger than the last.
Crystal Caldwell.
A name that carried weight. A woman who’d been at the top, reinvented herself more times than anyone could count, and always seemed to come back sharper, louder, harder to ignore.
Bella hit pause. The sound cut off with a click that echoed in the kitchen. She sat back, rubbing at her temples. Her heartbeat felt like it was thrumming in her ears, too fast, too loud, too much.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and before she could stop herself, her chin dipped forward against her arm.
The line between exhaustion and sleep blurred.
Then---
A chair scraped against the tile.
Bella’s eyes snapped open.
Nick Madison sat across from her, elbows on the table, holding a steaming mug of coffee like it belonged there. Jeans, an old Springsteen tee, that familiar mix of warmth and mischief in his expression.
For a second, she forgot to breathe. “...Dad?”
Nick’s grin tilted. “You sound surprised.”
“I—yeah, kinda,” she muttered, blinking hard. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Guess someone forgot to tell me that.” He took a sip of his coffee, eyes flicking toward her laptop. “So. That’s the big one, huh? The match that’s got you running yourself into the ground again?”
Bella followed his gaze. “Crystal Caldwell. Yeah. She’s... she’s different.”
Nick raised a brow. “Different how?”
“She’s not like Victoria,” Bella said quietly. “Victoria’s a brawler. You know what you’re getting with her. Crystal, she’s a show. She attempts to get into your head before she even throws a punch. I’ve seen her tear people down just by smiling, especially now that she’s riding the coattails of that bitch, Mercedes. She knows every trick, every camera angle, every word that’ll make you second-guess yourself.”
Nick nodded slowly. “Sounds like you respect her.”
“I did....” Bella sighed. “And the unreal thing is I wanna again. She’s a fuckin’ hall of famer and yet, she’s a leech on Vargas’ ass.”
Nick leaned back, his chair creaking. “You ever think maybe that’s why you can beat her?”
Bella blinked. “What?”
“Oh come on Bells, you don’t go in pretending you’ve got it all figured out,” he said simply. “You go in with your eyes open. You see her for what she is, a once upon a time, damn good wrestler. But that doesn’t make her untouchable.”
Bella looked down at her hands, flexing her taped fingers. “It’s not just that, Dad. I keep thinking about the finals. The world title shot. Everything that comes after this. It’s like I can’t breathe unless I’m winning, unless I’m chasing something.”
Nick smiled softly. “That’s the fire talking.”
“Yeah, well, it’s burning me alive.”
He chuckled. “You get that from me. Your mom burns steady, you burn bright.” He leaned forward, voice gentler now. “You ever stop to think maybe, and just hear me out, it’s okay to enjoy where you’re at? You just beat Victoria freaking Lyons, kid. You’re two matches away from the top of the mountain. Take a second to feel that.”
Bella shook her head. “If I stop moving, I’ll lose it.”
“Lose what?”
“The edge.”
Nick tilted his head. “Or maybe you’ll find balance.”
She scoffed lightly. “You and your balance.”
He smiled. “Hey, you’ve got Mal. You’ve got that little girl upstairs who thinks you hang the moon. That’s not a distraction, Bella. That’s your anchor. You walk into that ring carrying them, not the weight of what might go wrong.”
Bella’s eyes softened, her throat tightening. “You’d like her, you know. Máire. She’s fearless. Doesn’t even cry when she falls.”
Nick’s grin turned wistful. “Wonder where she gets that from.”
Bella laughed quietly, blinking back tears. “I wish you could see her more. I get that you are busy but sometimes it feels like I never get to see you anymore, or talk to you.”
Nick’s voice dropped low, steady. “Same, kid. But every time she laughs, every time Luka starts barking at nothing and you swear she’s losing it, that’s a little of me saying I’m still here.”
Bella smiled, tears spilling down her cheeks. “You’re not real.”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
She wiped her face, letting out a shaky laugh. “So what, you came back to give me another pep talk?”
“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe you just needed to remember that no matter who’s standing across from you, Victoria, Crystal, whoever’s next, you’ve already walked through worse. You just don’t quit.”
Her eyes met his. “You really think I can beat her?”
Nick leaned back, the edges of his figure softening in the dim light. “I don’t think it, kid. I know it. You’re my daughter, maybe not by blood but I will be damned if I didn’t agree to give you my last name if I don’t see a little of me in you. You don’t back down from anyone who thinks they’re above you and if you don’t light a little fire in the process....”
The hum of the fridge grew louder.
Nick’s voice faded like the tail end of a song. “Now go get some sleep, Bells. You’ve got a storm to bring.”
Bella’s eyes fluttered open.
The kitchen was empty again. Luka was snoring softly from the hallway. The laptop was still paused on Victoria’s match, the coffee beside her stone cold.
Her phone buzzed.
Dad: You’ve got this, Bells. Don’t overthink it.
Her chest tightened, then loosened all at once.
Bella smiled faintly, whispering to the empty room, “Yeah. I do.”
She closed the laptop, rose from the table, and headed toward the stairs, ready to face whatever storm waited next.
~*~“No More Crowns”~*~
Training Facility
Late Night
The lights above the ring hummed softly, a pale halo over the worn canvas. The rest of the gym was dark, save for one camera light blinking red in the corner.
Bella Madison stood in the center of the ring, black hoodie unzipped, tape still wrapped around her fists from earlier training. Her knuckles were pink, the faint shimmer of sweat glinting under the lights.
No theatrics. She didn’t need them.
No makeup. She probably should have at least a tad but fuck it, let them see the bags under her eyes.
No music. No distractions.
Just her.
She stared into the lens for a long, deliberate moment before she spoke.
“You know... I’ve had a lot of time to think since the High Stakes tournament started. About what drives me. About what breaks me and about who the hell I really am in all this.”
Her voice was low, measured, but under it, there was the thrum of something feral.
“Because every round, every fight, it’s been the same damn story, hasn’t it? People are looking at me like I’m the underdog, the one who fights hard but never quite gets there. The one who bleeds for this company, but always falls just shy of the mountaintop.”
She smirked faintly, shaking her head.
“And yet, here I am, still standing. Still swinging. Still proving that I belong here.”
She paced slowly, every step echoing against the empty walls.
“Victoria Lyons was supposed to stop me. She was supposed to remind everyone that Bella Madison was just a flash of violence, a punch-drunk fighter who didn’t know when to stay down. But she didn’t. I beat the woman who dominated a single division for a year. The same woman who told me I didn’t have the guts to stand where she stood and I did exactly that. And by the by, Victoria, I am so excited for you and what comes next. You have my respect and I want to see you mop the fucking floor with Mercy and that weave in her head.”
She stopped mid-ring, lifting her chin toward the camera.
“Now I’m staring down Crystal Caldwell.”
A bitter laugh escaped her throat.
“Crystal... God, where do I even start with you? Better yet, where the hell do I even fucking finish with you? You’ve been in this game long enough to rewrite your story ten times over, but lately, it feels like you’ve run out of pages. You call yourself a legend, and you are. You’ve earned that, I guess. But somewhere between the spotlight and the self-worship, you forgot that legends bleed too.”
Her voice sharpened.
“You walk out there with your glitter and your cameras and you on Mercedes Vargas’ coattails, acting like you’re untouchable. Like your name alone keeps you safe from reality. But here’s the truth, sweetheart, the lights don’t hide the cracks. They just make ‘em shine brighter. And I really should have beat the shit out of you the last time we came face to face to make you second guess even coming back to the ring.”
She stepped closer, voice dropping to a dangerous hush.
“You used to fight for something, Crystal. I watched you claw your way to the top. I respected you. Hell, I even looked up to you once...even when I was kicking your ass before you went into hiding over and over and over again. But now? Now you’re just noise. Empty noise wrapped in sequins and ego, pretending it’s still music.”
“You’ve had a hell of a run, haven’t you? Decades of reinvention, ten thousand wardrobe changes, a thousand catchphrases, a trillion and ONE name changes and somehow, you still can’t decide who the hell you really are.”
She tilted her head, eyes cold.
“You’ve been a hero, a villain, a victim, a goddess, a ghost. You’ve been the tragedy, the comeback, and the pity party all rolled into one glitter-soaked package. You’ve sold the illusion better than anyone, I’ll give you that. But here’s the problem, Crystal, illusions don’t fight back.”
“And me? I’m not an illusion. I’m the woman that rips through your fairy tale and drags you into the dirt.”
Her fist tightened around the middle rope.
“You look at me and see the brawler. The woman who gets blood on her hands and calls it art. The one who doesn’t play politics or kiss asses to stay relevant. And you think that makes you better than me?”
Her smirk turned into something sharp, dangerous.
“No, what it makes me...it makes me real. You used to be dangerous, Crystal. Now? You’re a mascot. A relic with a spray tan and a ring light.”
Her tone sharpened, venom curling under her tongue.
“You call yourself the standard...bitch, you’re the REASON why warning labels are put on shampoo. You’re what happens when ego replaces effort, when spotlight becomes a waste of oxygen. You’ve been sucking the air out of this division for years, and nobody’s had the guts to tell you that the world’s moved the hell on.”
“But I’m not ‘nobody,’ am I? I’m the one standing between you and another shot at pretending you matter.”
She pulled herself up onto the second rope, leaning into the camera.
“I’m not here to pretend. I’m not here to post selfies and quote championship reigns like a highlight reel that never ends. I’m here to fight. Because when that bell rings, all that glitter? All that fame? It won’t save you.”
“You’re stepping into the ring with the Hardcore Queen of SCW. The woman who’s been beaten, bloodied, and broken, and still kept coming. I’ve had chairs shattered across my back, glass in my skin, and people tell me to walk away more times than I can count.”
Her eyes flickered with quiet fury.
“And I never fucking did.”
She took a deep breath, centering herself, voice lowering again, not calm, but controlled.
“If you think you’re walking into this match against some starry-eyed rookie, you are going to find yourself in a world of hurt. I’m not that same fucking bitch you faced when your last name started with a Z and everyone already knew what was going to happen before the bell even rang to start the match. You’re stepping in with the Hardcore Queen of SCW. The woman who fought Victoria Lyons until neither of us could stand. The one who crawled through glass, steel, and blood just to get another shot at the mountain you’ve been coasting around for years.”
She stepped closer, leaning on the ropes, her tone turning mocking, deadly sweet.
“But by all means, Crystal, keep pretending you’re the main character. Keep posing. Keep kissing Mercy’s ass to try and stay remotely relevant. Keep talking about how you’re the past, the present, the future, and the goddamn galaxy while you’re at it. Because while you’re busy reapplying your lip gloss and quoting your Wikipedia page, I’ll be tightening the tape on my wrists and plotting every second of your downfall.”
“You think you can outlast me? You think you can outshine me? Maybe once but not now. Not here. Not in this tournament. Because while you’ve been busy polishing your crown, I’ve been sharpening my edge.”
Her tone softened, but only slightly.
“This isn’t about legacy anymore, Crystal. This is about hunger. And mine? It’s bigger than your ego, your fame, or that ridiculous throne you think you still sit on. I’m not walking into Climax Control to survive you. I’m walking in to bury the illusion that Crystal Caldwell still runs this place.”
“You don’t scare me. You piss me off. You’re everything that’s wrong with this business, fake, hollow, desperate for that attention and applause that stopped meaning anything years ago. You’ve made a career out of convincing people you’re still relevant, but when I’m done with you, Crystal, there won’t be enough smoke or mirrors in the world to hide the truth.”
She stepped down from the ropes, the camera following her every move.
“When that bell rings, I’m not just fighting for myself. I’m fighting for every woman who’s ever been told she’s too raw, too emotional, too violent, too much. I’m fighting for the fire that still burns in me, and the family that keeps it alive. So you better bring every trick, every cheap shot, every performance you’ve got left. Because when it’s over, there’s not gonna be a camera angle pretty enough to hide what I’m gonna do to you.”
She leaned in close, voice barely above a whisper.
“This isn’t the comeback tour you wanted. It’s the cautionary tale you earned. When that bell rings, you’re not facing the rookie you can manipulate, or the veteran you can charm into submission—you’re facing the woman who’s gonna tear the crown off your head and shove it down your throat.”
“You call yourself a diamond, Crystal? Cute. Let’s see how you shine when I grind you into dust.”
“No crowns. No cameras. No Mercy, especially if she knows what’s fucking good for her..”
Bella straightened, pulling down her hood, sweat-damp hair clinging to her jawline.
“You’re looking at the future SCW Bombshells World Champion, and the last person you’ll ever underestimate.”
The screen flickered, her gaze unblinking.
“Welcome to your reckoning. Courtesy of the Hardcore Queen of SCW, Bella Madison. See you in the ring, Caldwell.”
The camera clicked off.
The gym fell silent again, save for Bella’s slow, steady breathing, the sound of someone who knew what it meant to bleed for what she wanted.
O’Connell Home
It was the kind of autumn afternoon that could make anyone forget the world outside. The sun hung low and golden over their backyard of their home, casting a warm glow through the kitchen windows of the O’Connell home. Bella leaned against the counter, half a cup of cold coffee forgotten beside her as she scrolled through her phone, highlights of her match from the night before still buzzing through her feed.
She’d done it.
She’d beaten Victoria Lyons.
No shortcuts, no interference, just grit, instinct, and a will that refused to die. The bruises along her ribs still ached when she breathed too deep, and the burn in her shoulders reminded her of every second she spent in that ring. But it was the kind of pain she didn’t mind. It meant she’d earned it. It meant she was one step away from a chance at the SCW Bombshell World Championship.
And that step? The finals of the High Stakes Tournament.
She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of tiny feet thudding down the hallway, followed by an all-too-familiar bark.
“Mommy! Mommy, look!”
Bella turned just in time to see Máire barreling into the kitchen, her little arms spread wide and her face lit with pure joy. She was dressed in her Halloween costume, a full Bluey outfit, floppy blue ears and all, the fabric already faintly smudged with dog fur and something that suspiciously looked like peanut butter and dirt. Luka, the husky, bounded in behind her, tail wagging like a metronome of chaos.
“Oh my god, baby...” Bella couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out. “You’re Bluey again?”
“I Bluey!” Máire declared proudly, spinning in a little circle until she nearly toppled over.
“Yeah, I can see that,” Bella chuckled, setting her phone down and kneeling to fix one of the ears on the hood. “Didn’t we agree Bluey stays clean until trick-or-treating?”
Máire pouted, shaking her head with firm toddler conviction. “Bluey go everywhere.”
“Of course she does,” Bella muttered, smirking as she brushed off a bit of dust from the costume. “Bluey’s gonna need a bath before Halloween even gets here.”
Malachi appeared in the doorway then, one eyebrow raised, a coffee mug in hand and a tired grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Bluey’s been helping Luka dig holes in the backyard, just so you know.”
Bella gave him a look. “Seriously?”
Mal just shrugged, unbothered. “They were supervising each other.”
“Unbelievable,” she said, running a hand through her hair before standing up. “You know this means I’m gonna have to wash that costume again before Halloween, right?”
“Or,” Mal countered, sipping his coffee, “We can just tell people it’s authentic Bluey. You know...been on adventures.”
Máire, clearly pleased with this version of events, clapped her hands and yelled, “’Venture!”
Bella couldn’t help it, she laughed. That deep, uncontrollable kind of laugh that came from joy more than humor. Luka barked once, tail thumping against the cabinets as if in agreement.
“Fine,” Bella relented, ruffling Máire’s curls. “But if I find dirt in your bed again, you’re both sleeping outside.”
Mal raised an eyebrow. “You mean me and the dog, or the dog and the toddler?”
“Yes,” Bella deadpanned.
He chuckled, crossing the room to kiss her temple. “Still riding high from the win?”
Bella sighed, her smile softening but her eyes flicking briefly toward the living room where her gear bag sat half-open. “Yeah. I mean... I beat Victoria Lyons. You don’t just do that. She’s been the standard for the division for so long, and I...” she trailed off, shaking her head a little. “It still doesn’t feel real.”
Mal set his cup down and leaned against the counter beside her. “It’s real. You earned it. Every bit of it.”
Bella glanced at him, her mouth twitching with a small, proud smile. “Finals of the High Stakes Tournament. One step away from the World Title shot.”
“And after that?” he asked, voice soft, testing.
Bella tilted her head, watching Máire run through the living room with Luka chasing at her heels. “After that... we’ll see. Right now, I’ve got a mountain to climb.”
Mal nodded, his gaze following hers. “Just promise me you’ll come home in one piece. You’ve already proven enough to everyone. You don’t have to keep breaking yourself to do it.”
Bella’s expression shifted, that mixture of stubborn pride and quiet tenderness that only he could draw out of her.
“I’m not doing it to prove something to them anymore,” she said finally. “This time, it’s for me. For her.” She gestured toward their daughter, who was now standing on the couch trying to make Luka “sit” by offering invisible treats. “I want her to know her mom never quit.”
Mal’s reply was wordless, just a nod, and then a hand finding hers, fingers lacing together as the sounds of laughter filled the house.
Máire squealed as Luka finally sat, tail wagging like mad, and threw her arms up in triumph. “Bluey win!”
Bella smiled at that. “Guess winning runs in the family.”
Mal smirked. “You’re not wrong.”
For a long, perfect moment, everything felt still, the kind of quiet that came before the next storm, but for once, Bella didn’t mind it. She knew what was coming. The finals would be brutal. The climb would be steep. But here, in her kitchen, with her little Bluey running wild and her husband at her side, she felt grounded. Ready.
Because no matter what happened next, she’d already won in the ways that mattered most.
~~The Weight of Fire~~
O’Connell Home – Late Night
The house was quiet. That rare, bone-deep stillness that only comes after a long day, Luka’s soft huffs from the hallway, Máire’s gentle breathing through the baby monitor, the hum of the fridge filling the spaces between.
Bella sat at the kitchen table, still in her workout clothes, a sheen of sweat clinging to her shoulders. Her knuckles were taped, bruised from another round in the barn. The glow from her laptop painted the tired lines under her eyes in pale blue.
On the screen, the SCW replay looped: her victory over Victoria Lyons, that one moment where her hand was raised, the referee holding her up as if she might collapse otherwise.
She should’ve felt elated. Relieved. Victorious.
Instead, all she felt was the pressure building again, the next step looming larger than the last.
Crystal Caldwell.
A name that carried weight. A woman who’d been at the top, reinvented herself more times than anyone could count, and always seemed to come back sharper, louder, harder to ignore.
Bella hit pause. The sound cut off with a click that echoed in the kitchen. She sat back, rubbing at her temples. Her heartbeat felt like it was thrumming in her ears, too fast, too loud, too much.
Her eyelids grew heavy, and before she could stop herself, her chin dipped forward against her arm.
The line between exhaustion and sleep blurred.
Then---
A chair scraped against the tile.
Bella’s eyes snapped open.
Nick Madison sat across from her, elbows on the table, holding a steaming mug of coffee like it belonged there. Jeans, an old Springsteen tee, that familiar mix of warmth and mischief in his expression.
For a second, she forgot to breathe. “...Dad?”
Nick’s grin tilted. “You sound surprised.”
“I—yeah, kinda,” she muttered, blinking hard. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Guess someone forgot to tell me that.” He took a sip of his coffee, eyes flicking toward her laptop. “So. That’s the big one, huh? The match that’s got you running yourself into the ground again?”
Bella followed his gaze. “Crystal Caldwell. Yeah. She’s... she’s different.”
Nick raised a brow. “Different how?”
“She’s not like Victoria,” Bella said quietly. “Victoria’s a brawler. You know what you’re getting with her. Crystal, she’s a show. She attempts to get into your head before she even throws a punch. I’ve seen her tear people down just by smiling, especially now that she’s riding the coattails of that bitch, Mercedes. She knows every trick, every camera angle, every word that’ll make you second-guess yourself.”
Nick nodded slowly. “Sounds like you respect her.”
“I did....” Bella sighed. “And the unreal thing is I wanna again. She’s a fuckin’ hall of famer and yet, she’s a leech on Vargas’ ass.”
Nick leaned back, his chair creaking. “You ever think maybe that’s why you can beat her?”
Bella blinked. “What?”
“Oh come on Bells, you don’t go in pretending you’ve got it all figured out,” he said simply. “You go in with your eyes open. You see her for what she is, a once upon a time, damn good wrestler. But that doesn’t make her untouchable.”
Bella looked down at her hands, flexing her taped fingers. “It’s not just that, Dad. I keep thinking about the finals. The world title shot. Everything that comes after this. It’s like I can’t breathe unless I’m winning, unless I’m chasing something.”
Nick smiled softly. “That’s the fire talking.”
“Yeah, well, it’s burning me alive.”
He chuckled. “You get that from me. Your mom burns steady, you burn bright.” He leaned forward, voice gentler now. “You ever stop to think maybe, and just hear me out, it’s okay to enjoy where you’re at? You just beat Victoria freaking Lyons, kid. You’re two matches away from the top of the mountain. Take a second to feel that.”
Bella shook her head. “If I stop moving, I’ll lose it.”
“Lose what?”
“The edge.”
Nick tilted his head. “Or maybe you’ll find balance.”
She scoffed lightly. “You and your balance.”
He smiled. “Hey, you’ve got Mal. You’ve got that little girl upstairs who thinks you hang the moon. That’s not a distraction, Bella. That’s your anchor. You walk into that ring carrying them, not the weight of what might go wrong.”
Bella’s eyes softened, her throat tightening. “You’d like her, you know. Máire. She’s fearless. Doesn’t even cry when she falls.”
Nick’s grin turned wistful. “Wonder where she gets that from.”
Bella laughed quietly, blinking back tears. “I wish you could see her more. I get that you are busy but sometimes it feels like I never get to see you anymore, or talk to you.”
Nick’s voice dropped low, steady. “Same, kid. But every time she laughs, every time Luka starts barking at nothing and you swear she’s losing it, that’s a little of me saying I’m still here.”
Bella smiled, tears spilling down her cheeks. “You’re not real.”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
She wiped her face, letting out a shaky laugh. “So what, you came back to give me another pep talk?”
“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe you just needed to remember that no matter who’s standing across from you, Victoria, Crystal, whoever’s next, you’ve already walked through worse. You just don’t quit.”
Her eyes met his. “You really think I can beat her?”
Nick leaned back, the edges of his figure softening in the dim light. “I don’t think it, kid. I know it. You’re my daughter, maybe not by blood but I will be damned if I didn’t agree to give you my last name if I don’t see a little of me in you. You don’t back down from anyone who thinks they’re above you and if you don’t light a little fire in the process....”
The hum of the fridge grew louder.
Nick’s voice faded like the tail end of a song. “Now go get some sleep, Bells. You’ve got a storm to bring.”
Bella’s eyes fluttered open.
The kitchen was empty again. Luka was snoring softly from the hallway. The laptop was still paused on Victoria’s match, the coffee beside her stone cold.
Her phone buzzed.
Dad: You’ve got this, Bells. Don’t overthink it.
Her chest tightened, then loosened all at once.
Bella smiled faintly, whispering to the empty room, “Yeah. I do.”
She closed the laptop, rose from the table, and headed toward the stairs, ready to face whatever storm waited next.
~*~“No More Crowns”~*~
Training Facility
Late Night
The lights above the ring hummed softly, a pale halo over the worn canvas. The rest of the gym was dark, save for one camera light blinking red in the corner.
Bella Madison stood in the center of the ring, black hoodie unzipped, tape still wrapped around her fists from earlier training. Her knuckles were pink, the faint shimmer of sweat glinting under the lights.
No theatrics. She didn’t need them.
No makeup. She probably should have at least a tad but fuck it, let them see the bags under her eyes.
No music. No distractions.
Just her.
She stared into the lens for a long, deliberate moment before she spoke.
“You know... I’ve had a lot of time to think since the High Stakes tournament started. About what drives me. About what breaks me and about who the hell I really am in all this.”
Her voice was low, measured, but under it, there was the thrum of something feral.
“Because every round, every fight, it’s been the same damn story, hasn’t it? People are looking at me like I’m the underdog, the one who fights hard but never quite gets there. The one who bleeds for this company, but always falls just shy of the mountaintop.”
She smirked faintly, shaking her head.
“And yet, here I am, still standing. Still swinging. Still proving that I belong here.”
She paced slowly, every step echoing against the empty walls.
“Victoria Lyons was supposed to stop me. She was supposed to remind everyone that Bella Madison was just a flash of violence, a punch-drunk fighter who didn’t know when to stay down. But she didn’t. I beat the woman who dominated a single division for a year. The same woman who told me I didn’t have the guts to stand where she stood and I did exactly that. And by the by, Victoria, I am so excited for you and what comes next. You have my respect and I want to see you mop the fucking floor with Mercy and that weave in her head.”
She stopped mid-ring, lifting her chin toward the camera.
“Now I’m staring down Crystal Caldwell.”
A bitter laugh escaped her throat.
“Crystal... God, where do I even start with you? Better yet, where the hell do I even fucking finish with you? You’ve been in this game long enough to rewrite your story ten times over, but lately, it feels like you’ve run out of pages. You call yourself a legend, and you are. You’ve earned that, I guess. But somewhere between the spotlight and the self-worship, you forgot that legends bleed too.”
Her voice sharpened.
“You walk out there with your glitter and your cameras and you on Mercedes Vargas’ coattails, acting like you’re untouchable. Like your name alone keeps you safe from reality. But here’s the truth, sweetheart, the lights don’t hide the cracks. They just make ‘em shine brighter. And I really should have beat the shit out of you the last time we came face to face to make you second guess even coming back to the ring.”
She stepped closer, voice dropping to a dangerous hush.
“You used to fight for something, Crystal. I watched you claw your way to the top. I respected you. Hell, I even looked up to you once...even when I was kicking your ass before you went into hiding over and over and over again. But now? Now you’re just noise. Empty noise wrapped in sequins and ego, pretending it’s still music.”
“You’ve had a hell of a run, haven’t you? Decades of reinvention, ten thousand wardrobe changes, a thousand catchphrases, a trillion and ONE name changes and somehow, you still can’t decide who the hell you really are.”
She tilted her head, eyes cold.
“You’ve been a hero, a villain, a victim, a goddess, a ghost. You’ve been the tragedy, the comeback, and the pity party all rolled into one glitter-soaked package. You’ve sold the illusion better than anyone, I’ll give you that. But here’s the problem, Crystal, illusions don’t fight back.”
“And me? I’m not an illusion. I’m the woman that rips through your fairy tale and drags you into the dirt.”
Her fist tightened around the middle rope.
“You look at me and see the brawler. The woman who gets blood on her hands and calls it art. The one who doesn’t play politics or kiss asses to stay relevant. And you think that makes you better than me?”
Her smirk turned into something sharp, dangerous.
“No, what it makes me...it makes me real. You used to be dangerous, Crystal. Now? You’re a mascot. A relic with a spray tan and a ring light.”
Her tone sharpened, venom curling under her tongue.
“You call yourself the standard...bitch, you’re the REASON why warning labels are put on shampoo. You’re what happens when ego replaces effort, when spotlight becomes a waste of oxygen. You’ve been sucking the air out of this division for years, and nobody’s had the guts to tell you that the world’s moved the hell on.”
“But I’m not ‘nobody,’ am I? I’m the one standing between you and another shot at pretending you matter.”
She pulled herself up onto the second rope, leaning into the camera.
“I’m not here to pretend. I’m not here to post selfies and quote championship reigns like a highlight reel that never ends. I’m here to fight. Because when that bell rings, all that glitter? All that fame? It won’t save you.”
“You’re stepping into the ring with the Hardcore Queen of SCW. The woman who’s been beaten, bloodied, and broken, and still kept coming. I’ve had chairs shattered across my back, glass in my skin, and people tell me to walk away more times than I can count.”
Her eyes flickered with quiet fury.
“And I never fucking did.”
She took a deep breath, centering herself, voice lowering again, not calm, but controlled.
“If you think you’re walking into this match against some starry-eyed rookie, you are going to find yourself in a world of hurt. I’m not that same fucking bitch you faced when your last name started with a Z and everyone already knew what was going to happen before the bell even rang to start the match. You’re stepping in with the Hardcore Queen of SCW. The woman who fought Victoria Lyons until neither of us could stand. The one who crawled through glass, steel, and blood just to get another shot at the mountain you’ve been coasting around for years.”
She stepped closer, leaning on the ropes, her tone turning mocking, deadly sweet.
“But by all means, Crystal, keep pretending you’re the main character. Keep posing. Keep kissing Mercy’s ass to try and stay remotely relevant. Keep talking about how you’re the past, the present, the future, and the goddamn galaxy while you’re at it. Because while you’re busy reapplying your lip gloss and quoting your Wikipedia page, I’ll be tightening the tape on my wrists and plotting every second of your downfall.”
“You think you can outlast me? You think you can outshine me? Maybe once but not now. Not here. Not in this tournament. Because while you’ve been busy polishing your crown, I’ve been sharpening my edge.”
Her tone softened, but only slightly.
“This isn’t about legacy anymore, Crystal. This is about hunger. And mine? It’s bigger than your ego, your fame, or that ridiculous throne you think you still sit on. I’m not walking into Climax Control to survive you. I’m walking in to bury the illusion that Crystal Caldwell still runs this place.”
“You don’t scare me. You piss me off. You’re everything that’s wrong with this business, fake, hollow, desperate for that attention and applause that stopped meaning anything years ago. You’ve made a career out of convincing people you’re still relevant, but when I’m done with you, Crystal, there won’t be enough smoke or mirrors in the world to hide the truth.”
She stepped down from the ropes, the camera following her every move.
“When that bell rings, I’m not just fighting for myself. I’m fighting for every woman who’s ever been told she’s too raw, too emotional, too violent, too much. I’m fighting for the fire that still burns in me, and the family that keeps it alive. So you better bring every trick, every cheap shot, every performance you’ve got left. Because when it’s over, there’s not gonna be a camera angle pretty enough to hide what I’m gonna do to you.”
She leaned in close, voice barely above a whisper.
“This isn’t the comeback tour you wanted. It’s the cautionary tale you earned. When that bell rings, you’re not facing the rookie you can manipulate, or the veteran you can charm into submission—you’re facing the woman who’s gonna tear the crown off your head and shove it down your throat.”
“You call yourself a diamond, Crystal? Cute. Let’s see how you shine when I grind you into dust.”
“No crowns. No cameras. No Mercy, especially if she knows what’s fucking good for her..”
Bella straightened, pulling down her hood, sweat-damp hair clinging to her jawline.
“You’re looking at the future SCW Bombshells World Champion, and the last person you’ll ever underestimate.”
The screen flickered, her gaze unblinking.
“Welcome to your reckoning. Courtesy of the Hardcore Queen of SCW, Bella Madison. See you in the ring, Caldwell.”
The camera clicked off.
The gym fell silent again, save for Bella’s slow, steady breathing, the sound of someone who knew what it meant to bleed for what she wanted.
97
Climax Control Archives / Slipping of the Mask
« Last post by Alexander Raven on October 24, 2025, 11:03:31 PM »Today wasn’t one of the good days. Today was a prison. A prison of familiarity, but a prison, nonetheless. Today was the endless beach, the cascading taste of sound echoing through his fingertips. The impossibility of sensation a constant reminder of the inadequacy of the world. The room was still the worst of the days. The endless room, now with its empty hole in the roof that leads to the memory of the creation of it all. The schism.
The bar on the night that everything changed.
No, today was a beach, a beautiful beach. A home that lacked warmth, unless they were wrapped up in front of the flames. Wrapped up in the false sensation of comfort. The woman who wore Luna’s face but was not her. The woman who had her touch, but not her sensation. The woman who claimed to be Luna, to entice him to stay subdued in this place his mind constructed for him.
In the world of The Lost.
Hand in hand they walked down the length of the beach. The silk soft white sand like static beneath his bare feet. The absence of life, the colour of existence was as drab as the world he was trapped in. A hellscape of never-ending white sand and the dull blue of the false ocean. The complete lack of temperature was chilling. It was space inside space, and if he ever thought it was anything other than, he’d never escape. A heaven created by his mind to free him from the purgatory of the room. A world in which only they existed, and if only he’d accept…
He'd never accept.
There was never going to be life for him on this beach. There was never going to be peace. There was just a constant lack of everything. The taste of sounds. The sensation of colour. The exploding stars that exist only behind his eyes. His mind screaming at him that this was oh so very wrong. He knew that already; he didn’t need his head trying to pour out of his orifices and ducts to tell him that.
“You’re also so distant these days. Where’d you go, Alex? Come back to me.” Luna’s impersonator said softly, his head turning slowly toward her. Every action was such an effort here. It was like moving underwater. Everything took so long. Everything was always so slow. So painful. No, not painful. Painful meant he could feel something. Other than his mind collapsing in on itself. Maybe this was worse than the room.
“You’re not real. None of this is real. None of it means anything. None of it is life.” Alex said softly, his words felt heavy on his tongue. Sluggish, heavy. The worst part of it all, was that he didn’t even feel like it was that far off the mark for his day to day. He always felt heavy, sluggish. The body ached, his bones groaned. He’d been distant for a while, that was true. Even if she wasn’t, her words were the truth.
Everything hurt, his body, his mind, his heart. Constantly attempting to fill a void but never truly finding the ground to do so. He was going to kill himself doing all that he did, he knew that. His body would give up long before his life was meant to, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He’d watched James die for the very same things, and James had known better than to continue to torture himself. Luna was going to watch another man die. Three men she’d loved, her brother, her husband, and Leon. Regardless of how he felt about her.
She’d watch them all day, and she’d be left alone. That killed more than anything else in this world. That ruined him on a level beyond any other. The fear of leaving her beyond was almost enough to stop him. To make him become better. But it wasn’t enough. His ego wouldn’t allow it. His need to be seen, to be known. To leave a legacy, a mark. It was something. He couldn’t have kids, that was truth of it. The vasectomy was an easy cover-up, but the truth had been there for a long time. He’d never have kids, so the only legacy he had. Was the one he made himself.
“I’m tired of walking. I want to go home.” Luna’s impersonator said, tugging at his hand. Alex frowned a little, closing his eyes for a moment. He rubbed his eyes through his eyelids; the wash of tiredness was almost nauseating. He felt the world spinning around him. Felt the world falling out from under his feet. Everything tilting, everything collapsing. Falling into an endless abyss.
Then suddenly he was flat.
The world stopped. For a moment, he was alive.
Laying in the bed with his wife, the stolen championship belt wrapped around her body. Her sensitive features covered by the material. The benefits of being a smaller body. He groaned a little as he sat up, the hangover rushing to his eyes. His body groaned with the ache of being awake. He rolled over and turned away from her. He wasn’t sure if he was actually out yet. His mind was a powerful thing. It often tried to trick him into blurring the lines between reality and his mental world.
He sat up slowly, squeezing the bridge of his nose, blinking his eyes rapidly. The world tilted again, a good sign that he was actually just hungover. He groaned as he slowly stood up, staggering with the pain in his mind. Staggering with the pain in his body. Self-destruction took many forms. Self-destruction was a surefire way to ensure that this would be the end of it all. Self-destruction was in of itself, the only thing that really mattered in moments like these. When he was so sore, so broken. So defeated.
The brave face he put on for the world was just that. A brave face. A mask that was always ready to fall away. One strong hit away from being the scared boy that he really was. Afraid of losing Luna, afraid of losing himself. Afraid of not being good enough. He screamed for someone to take his head for months, but the truth of it all. He just wanted to be stopped. Stopped from doing this, stopped from self-destructing. To be able to run away, to fade away. To settle into a world that existed beyond all this pain and suffering.
He slowly staggered his hungover ass through the bedroom and out into the lounge area. Moving to the fridge, taking a bottle of water from it. He gulped it down, fumbling through one of the cabinets near the fridge. Taking some paracetamol packet out and popping two in his mouth. Once upon a time he would’ve taken something heavier. Something stronger. He was down to just the over-the-counter stuff these days. They didn’t do much for the agony he lived in, but they at least dulled the head pain from a night of poor decisions.
The flash of a flame, the first rough inhale of a freshly lit cigarette. The burn in his lungs. He stood there, and looked around. The world that he should be living in. The world he was forsaking my allowing his mind to corrupt him. The world that he wished was his prison. He breathed deeply, and sighed, leaning on the counter. He shook his head and just stared at the wall. Letting the water and painkillers to work their magic. The waft of cigarette smoke filling the air. He felt sorry for whoever would one day have to tear the walls down to rebuild it from all the damage they were doing to it.
Oh well, wasn’t his problem. His problem was staying focused. Just a little longer.
He just needed to stay focused for a little bit more.
And then…
Nothing would be everything for him.
“Another week, another win. Some may say it was a victory mired in controversy. I’m not so easily swayed by the actions of others. Despite the fact that they clearly wanted to keep me down and keep me out. My choices, my actions. Inevitable outcomes. I hurt Alex Jones twice. Insulted him, bruised his ego. Made me him feel lesser than. In being lesser than a man he detests, he couldn’t see beyond the veil of the red haze. The anger that bubbles within him. He couldn’t just let himself go. He had to get some semblance of comeuppance, and it came at the cost of poor little Eddie Lyons.”
“Now despite what he’ll scream from the rooftops. Despite what he’ll tell you was meant to be his moment. His chance to take the championship belt back, and hand it to Carter on a simpering little silver platter. Eddie was never going to win. No, the truth of it was Eddie never stood a chance. Just like I told him. You see, Eddie lacks the killer instinct. We’ve done everything we can to show him what he needs to do to take it the next level, and yet.”
“He still fails to understand.”
“Maybe now you’ll have just enough of that killer bite, that drive to take him a little further. In handing him Alex Jones on my own silver platter, maybe, just maybe. He’ll finally see the light. See, two birds, one stone. I dealt with Eddie; I’ve given Alex Jones a new distraction of a chew toy to keep him busy for just a little bit longer. Long enough for me to do what I need to do. Which before I get into the meat and bones of this all. I must talk to a special someone.”
“Hello, Carter.”
“So close, yet so far, right? The vapid cunt Evelyn Hall playing the placating steadfast stalwart of bureaucratic bullshit. Daily fines? Oh, Evelyn. I’ve made a career here paying paltry little sums of money for my actions. You think that’s going to make me give back your little treasure? I’ve done this shit for nearly two decades at this point. You think dipping into my pocket is going to make me back down? Not a chance.”
“And then you Carter, you scared little bitch. Standing behind everything, letting the world run you by. But hey, I’ve got a little offer for you. I see how much this championship means to you. I see how much it matters. So, I’ll give you a chance to get it back. I’ll give you a chance to get back your precious little trinket. Your prop of grandiosity. I’ll give you a chance to hold it one more time. Smell the waft of the cigarettes that have been dropped all over it. The smell of sex and sweat that has seeped into the leather while it has been in my possession. If you try really hard you could probably scrub out the staining and discolouration from the spilt beer and bourbon.”
“Keep an ear to the ground, Carter. I’ll have plenty to say to you come Climax Control.”
“Which leaves me with the final person in the trinity of my past. Aiden Reynolds. A man who has adopted just a slightly more serious sneer. A narrowed brow and just a slight bit more confidence. The jokes and the faffing about left for a previous day and now. Now Aiden is a force to be reckoned with. Not a middling nobody in the nothingness of the Roulette Division. Not a face on the outskirts maybe considered to be a stat buffer for the dwindling Internet Championship division. No, Mr Reynolds is now a World Champion contender. A man who believes in himself.”
“A man I do not care for. A man I have never truly cared for. See, once upon a time, I put Mr Reynolds in his place. I took the Roulette Championship from that man, I took the one thing he had going for him, and I didn’t even want it. Put there to punish him by the actions of a vindictive little vixen, Victoria Lyons. I liked her, for better or worse. I did like her. Then she decided to get mouthy to the wrong person. See, I can respect a person who does the right thing. The moment however they choose to get personal with me or my loved ones? Well.”
“I digress, however. No, this is all about you and me, Aiden. Not Carter, not Eddie. Not Alex or Finn, or any of the other flunkies you’ve somehow managed to keep in your orbit. When you look across the field of this tournament I have to say. This ending? It was inevitable. Liam Davis, LJ Casey? Bill Barnhart? No, none of them were ever going to be the one standing in our spots. This was always going to come down to you and me, Aiden. Some may question the validity of that statement. I mean, Alexander Raven is the loser, right? The one cursed to constant mediocrity. That is what they all say about me. That is what they’ve always said about me. The one who fails to live up to the expectations set. The expectations set by fucking who, Aiden? Set by you? By Mark or Christian? By vapid cunts like Evelyn Hall? The middling nobodies that I have beaten time and time again, and yet they pretend that it was nothing more than a good day on the ninth hole?”
“No, Aiden. Expectations are set by the world to ensure that we are forever made to feel inadequate. Inadequate because they want us to feel that way. This isn’t some grand conspiracy, not a greater and unknowing ‘them’. No the them in this case, are tangible. Understandable. In plain sight. You are the one setting an expectation, just in the same way I set them on you. I set them for Eddie. The world sees us and expects things to go a certain way. I haven’t failed to live up to expectations, no, I’ve simply failed to live up to their view on them. But every time I get close, they like to change the rhetoric. You changed; you’ve changed our own oration. You’ve changed the jargon the way you talk. You became serious because you understood that by shifting yourself you skew them all. You make yourself unreadable.”
“Unreadable except to chaos itself. That’s what they call me. Chaos, a blithering idiot. A man who hides behind language and words that they cannot comprehend. Except for when it is convenient. Except for when it matters for them to know. Except for when they need to understand. For only then, does it matter to them. By then its too late. The truth I speak comes to pass, and they scream that it was unfair. Unfair that the loser could beat them. Unfair that the man who cannot live to their expectations has exceeded them. I’m the failure that they are terrified gets a chance to shatter their unorthodox and unequivocal expectations. The philistines just don’t let up, and yet. Here we are performing for them in the expected outcome.”
“Don’t you see a beauty in that, Aiden? The Ring General you were once so afraid of, now lessened to the bumbling idiot that they all try to convince you I am? Except, reality is. I’m built for these situations. I should have won the Blast from the Past, two years in a row. I’m going to win this tournament. Because the only thing stopping me now, is you, Aiden.”
“The man who I took the Roulette Championship from. The man that I gifted it back to. Gave you the world that you needed to feel relevant again. Not because I, did it out of the goodness of my heart though. No, I did it because I was tired. I was exhausted. I wanted out. I wanted to be free of this. Just for a little while. To let my bones rest, to let my mind clear. Then I went elsewhere, I became a World Champion. In a world of Matt Knox and Amber Ryan, I stood at the top of the pile. The final true champion of Valor. For I am Valor, that is undeniable. I’ve beaten half the world champions we’ve ever had here. I’ve made every championship I’ve held here worth more than usual prop I’ve taken. Don’t worry Aiden.”
“I’ll make sure you understand just how far you still need to go to be on my level.”
“When it all comes to an end, there will be no applause. There will be no cheers. There will just be that pregnant silence. That silence that the inevitable is coming. That Alexander Raven will be challenging Carter for the World Championship. That no level of expectation, no level of disregard or hatred. No level of ignorance of unabashed shamelessness will stop it this time. That no matter what they say, no matter how much they try and stand against it. Alexander Raven has become the inevitable future.”
“And when I’m champion, Aiden. There will be no props. There will be no false images of grandiosity. When I beat you, I will go on to face Carter. When I beat Carter, I’m going to drop that championship belt in a barrel and set the fucker on fire. I will be World Champion, and the world will know it through all of your words. You will have to acknowledge. Carter will have to acknowledge it. Evelyn Hall, Christian Underwood. Every single person will have to say the words.”
“Damn, he finally did it. Alexander Raven is the world champion, that son of a bitch.”
“I’ll see you soon Aiden. To put you down, one more time. To remind you, just how far above you I am.”
The bar on the night that everything changed.
No, today was a beach, a beautiful beach. A home that lacked warmth, unless they were wrapped up in front of the flames. Wrapped up in the false sensation of comfort. The woman who wore Luna’s face but was not her. The woman who had her touch, but not her sensation. The woman who claimed to be Luna, to entice him to stay subdued in this place his mind constructed for him.
In the world of The Lost.
Hand in hand they walked down the length of the beach. The silk soft white sand like static beneath his bare feet. The absence of life, the colour of existence was as drab as the world he was trapped in. A hellscape of never-ending white sand and the dull blue of the false ocean. The complete lack of temperature was chilling. It was space inside space, and if he ever thought it was anything other than, he’d never escape. A heaven created by his mind to free him from the purgatory of the room. A world in which only they existed, and if only he’d accept…
He'd never accept.
There was never going to be life for him on this beach. There was never going to be peace. There was just a constant lack of everything. The taste of sounds. The sensation of colour. The exploding stars that exist only behind his eyes. His mind screaming at him that this was oh so very wrong. He knew that already; he didn’t need his head trying to pour out of his orifices and ducts to tell him that.
“You’re also so distant these days. Where’d you go, Alex? Come back to me.” Luna’s impersonator said softly, his head turning slowly toward her. Every action was such an effort here. It was like moving underwater. Everything took so long. Everything was always so slow. So painful. No, not painful. Painful meant he could feel something. Other than his mind collapsing in on itself. Maybe this was worse than the room.
“You’re not real. None of this is real. None of it means anything. None of it is life.” Alex said softly, his words felt heavy on his tongue. Sluggish, heavy. The worst part of it all, was that he didn’t even feel like it was that far off the mark for his day to day. He always felt heavy, sluggish. The body ached, his bones groaned. He’d been distant for a while, that was true. Even if she wasn’t, her words were the truth.
Everything hurt, his body, his mind, his heart. Constantly attempting to fill a void but never truly finding the ground to do so. He was going to kill himself doing all that he did, he knew that. His body would give up long before his life was meant to, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He’d watched James die for the very same things, and James had known better than to continue to torture himself. Luna was going to watch another man die. Three men she’d loved, her brother, her husband, and Leon. Regardless of how he felt about her.
She’d watch them all day, and she’d be left alone. That killed more than anything else in this world. That ruined him on a level beyond any other. The fear of leaving her beyond was almost enough to stop him. To make him become better. But it wasn’t enough. His ego wouldn’t allow it. His need to be seen, to be known. To leave a legacy, a mark. It was something. He couldn’t have kids, that was truth of it. The vasectomy was an easy cover-up, but the truth had been there for a long time. He’d never have kids, so the only legacy he had. Was the one he made himself.
“I’m tired of walking. I want to go home.” Luna’s impersonator said, tugging at his hand. Alex frowned a little, closing his eyes for a moment. He rubbed his eyes through his eyelids; the wash of tiredness was almost nauseating. He felt the world spinning around him. Felt the world falling out from under his feet. Everything tilting, everything collapsing. Falling into an endless abyss.
Then suddenly he was flat.
The world stopped. For a moment, he was alive.
Laying in the bed with his wife, the stolen championship belt wrapped around her body. Her sensitive features covered by the material. The benefits of being a smaller body. He groaned a little as he sat up, the hangover rushing to his eyes. His body groaned with the ache of being awake. He rolled over and turned away from her. He wasn’t sure if he was actually out yet. His mind was a powerful thing. It often tried to trick him into blurring the lines between reality and his mental world.
He sat up slowly, squeezing the bridge of his nose, blinking his eyes rapidly. The world tilted again, a good sign that he was actually just hungover. He groaned as he slowly stood up, staggering with the pain in his mind. Staggering with the pain in his body. Self-destruction took many forms. Self-destruction was a surefire way to ensure that this would be the end of it all. Self-destruction was in of itself, the only thing that really mattered in moments like these. When he was so sore, so broken. So defeated.
The brave face he put on for the world was just that. A brave face. A mask that was always ready to fall away. One strong hit away from being the scared boy that he really was. Afraid of losing Luna, afraid of losing himself. Afraid of not being good enough. He screamed for someone to take his head for months, but the truth of it all. He just wanted to be stopped. Stopped from doing this, stopped from self-destructing. To be able to run away, to fade away. To settle into a world that existed beyond all this pain and suffering.
He slowly staggered his hungover ass through the bedroom and out into the lounge area. Moving to the fridge, taking a bottle of water from it. He gulped it down, fumbling through one of the cabinets near the fridge. Taking some paracetamol packet out and popping two in his mouth. Once upon a time he would’ve taken something heavier. Something stronger. He was down to just the over-the-counter stuff these days. They didn’t do much for the agony he lived in, but they at least dulled the head pain from a night of poor decisions.
The flash of a flame, the first rough inhale of a freshly lit cigarette. The burn in his lungs. He stood there, and looked around. The world that he should be living in. The world he was forsaking my allowing his mind to corrupt him. The world that he wished was his prison. He breathed deeply, and sighed, leaning on the counter. He shook his head and just stared at the wall. Letting the water and painkillers to work their magic. The waft of cigarette smoke filling the air. He felt sorry for whoever would one day have to tear the walls down to rebuild it from all the damage they were doing to it.
Oh well, wasn’t his problem. His problem was staying focused. Just a little longer.
He just needed to stay focused for a little bit more.
And then…
Nothing would be everything for him.
“Another week, another win. Some may say it was a victory mired in controversy. I’m not so easily swayed by the actions of others. Despite the fact that they clearly wanted to keep me down and keep me out. My choices, my actions. Inevitable outcomes. I hurt Alex Jones twice. Insulted him, bruised his ego. Made me him feel lesser than. In being lesser than a man he detests, he couldn’t see beyond the veil of the red haze. The anger that bubbles within him. He couldn’t just let himself go. He had to get some semblance of comeuppance, and it came at the cost of poor little Eddie Lyons.”
“Now despite what he’ll scream from the rooftops. Despite what he’ll tell you was meant to be his moment. His chance to take the championship belt back, and hand it to Carter on a simpering little silver platter. Eddie was never going to win. No, the truth of it was Eddie never stood a chance. Just like I told him. You see, Eddie lacks the killer instinct. We’ve done everything we can to show him what he needs to do to take it the next level, and yet.”
“He still fails to understand.”
“Maybe now you’ll have just enough of that killer bite, that drive to take him a little further. In handing him Alex Jones on my own silver platter, maybe, just maybe. He’ll finally see the light. See, two birds, one stone. I dealt with Eddie; I’ve given Alex Jones a new distraction of a chew toy to keep him busy for just a little bit longer. Long enough for me to do what I need to do. Which before I get into the meat and bones of this all. I must talk to a special someone.”
“Hello, Carter.”
“So close, yet so far, right? The vapid cunt Evelyn Hall playing the placating steadfast stalwart of bureaucratic bullshit. Daily fines? Oh, Evelyn. I’ve made a career here paying paltry little sums of money for my actions. You think that’s going to make me give back your little treasure? I’ve done this shit for nearly two decades at this point. You think dipping into my pocket is going to make me back down? Not a chance.”
“And then you Carter, you scared little bitch. Standing behind everything, letting the world run you by. But hey, I’ve got a little offer for you. I see how much this championship means to you. I see how much it matters. So, I’ll give you a chance to get it back. I’ll give you a chance to get back your precious little trinket. Your prop of grandiosity. I’ll give you a chance to hold it one more time. Smell the waft of the cigarettes that have been dropped all over it. The smell of sex and sweat that has seeped into the leather while it has been in my possession. If you try really hard you could probably scrub out the staining and discolouration from the spilt beer and bourbon.”
“Keep an ear to the ground, Carter. I’ll have plenty to say to you come Climax Control.”
“Which leaves me with the final person in the trinity of my past. Aiden Reynolds. A man who has adopted just a slightly more serious sneer. A narrowed brow and just a slight bit more confidence. The jokes and the faffing about left for a previous day and now. Now Aiden is a force to be reckoned with. Not a middling nobody in the nothingness of the Roulette Division. Not a face on the outskirts maybe considered to be a stat buffer for the dwindling Internet Championship division. No, Mr Reynolds is now a World Champion contender. A man who believes in himself.”
“A man I do not care for. A man I have never truly cared for. See, once upon a time, I put Mr Reynolds in his place. I took the Roulette Championship from that man, I took the one thing he had going for him, and I didn’t even want it. Put there to punish him by the actions of a vindictive little vixen, Victoria Lyons. I liked her, for better or worse. I did like her. Then she decided to get mouthy to the wrong person. See, I can respect a person who does the right thing. The moment however they choose to get personal with me or my loved ones? Well.”
“I digress, however. No, this is all about you and me, Aiden. Not Carter, not Eddie. Not Alex or Finn, or any of the other flunkies you’ve somehow managed to keep in your orbit. When you look across the field of this tournament I have to say. This ending? It was inevitable. Liam Davis, LJ Casey? Bill Barnhart? No, none of them were ever going to be the one standing in our spots. This was always going to come down to you and me, Aiden. Some may question the validity of that statement. I mean, Alexander Raven is the loser, right? The one cursed to constant mediocrity. That is what they all say about me. That is what they’ve always said about me. The one who fails to live up to the expectations set. The expectations set by fucking who, Aiden? Set by you? By Mark or Christian? By vapid cunts like Evelyn Hall? The middling nobodies that I have beaten time and time again, and yet they pretend that it was nothing more than a good day on the ninth hole?”
“No, Aiden. Expectations are set by the world to ensure that we are forever made to feel inadequate. Inadequate because they want us to feel that way. This isn’t some grand conspiracy, not a greater and unknowing ‘them’. No the them in this case, are tangible. Understandable. In plain sight. You are the one setting an expectation, just in the same way I set them on you. I set them for Eddie. The world sees us and expects things to go a certain way. I haven’t failed to live up to expectations, no, I’ve simply failed to live up to their view on them. But every time I get close, they like to change the rhetoric. You changed; you’ve changed our own oration. You’ve changed the jargon the way you talk. You became serious because you understood that by shifting yourself you skew them all. You make yourself unreadable.”
“Unreadable except to chaos itself. That’s what they call me. Chaos, a blithering idiot. A man who hides behind language and words that they cannot comprehend. Except for when it is convenient. Except for when it matters for them to know. Except for when they need to understand. For only then, does it matter to them. By then its too late. The truth I speak comes to pass, and they scream that it was unfair. Unfair that the loser could beat them. Unfair that the man who cannot live to their expectations has exceeded them. I’m the failure that they are terrified gets a chance to shatter their unorthodox and unequivocal expectations. The philistines just don’t let up, and yet. Here we are performing for them in the expected outcome.”
“Don’t you see a beauty in that, Aiden? The Ring General you were once so afraid of, now lessened to the bumbling idiot that they all try to convince you I am? Except, reality is. I’m built for these situations. I should have won the Blast from the Past, two years in a row. I’m going to win this tournament. Because the only thing stopping me now, is you, Aiden.”
“The man who I took the Roulette Championship from. The man that I gifted it back to. Gave you the world that you needed to feel relevant again. Not because I, did it out of the goodness of my heart though. No, I did it because I was tired. I was exhausted. I wanted out. I wanted to be free of this. Just for a little while. To let my bones rest, to let my mind clear. Then I went elsewhere, I became a World Champion. In a world of Matt Knox and Amber Ryan, I stood at the top of the pile. The final true champion of Valor. For I am Valor, that is undeniable. I’ve beaten half the world champions we’ve ever had here. I’ve made every championship I’ve held here worth more than usual prop I’ve taken. Don’t worry Aiden.”
“I’ll make sure you understand just how far you still need to go to be on my level.”
“When it all comes to an end, there will be no applause. There will be no cheers. There will just be that pregnant silence. That silence that the inevitable is coming. That Alexander Raven will be challenging Carter for the World Championship. That no level of expectation, no level of disregard or hatred. No level of ignorance of unabashed shamelessness will stop it this time. That no matter what they say, no matter how much they try and stand against it. Alexander Raven has become the inevitable future.”
“And when I’m champion, Aiden. There will be no props. There will be no false images of grandiosity. When I beat you, I will go on to face Carter. When I beat Carter, I’m going to drop that championship belt in a barrel and set the fucker on fire. I will be World Champion, and the world will know it through all of your words. You will have to acknowledge. Carter will have to acknowledge it. Evelyn Hall, Christian Underwood. Every single person will have to say the words.”
“Damn, he finally did it. Alexander Raven is the world champion, that son of a bitch.”
“I’ll see you soon Aiden. To put you down, one more time. To remind you, just how far above you I am.”
98
Climax Control Archives / “One Last Step.”
« Last post by Logan Hunter on October 24, 2025, 10:07:36 PM »Logan was out of the High Stakes Tournament and he had one man to blame: Justin Smith, whom he had berated the week before his match against LJ Kasey, interfered in the match, a trend that was becoming common place in the High Stakes Tournament! As a result? Logan had been granted the power to name any stipulation he wanted and he had gone with a No DQ, Falls Count Anywhere Match.
But first? He had to take on the recently returned Ryan Keys in singles action at the Halloween Special! Ryan had returned at Violent Conduct and has since been undefeated, picking up wins over Anthrax and Brandon Hendrix in his first two matches and having answered Miles Kasey’s open challenge earlier in the evening, was set to challenge for the Internet Championship at High Stakes, only problem? Logan had the same idea and was shut down by the GM Evelynn Hall who flatly told Logan that he couldn’t have it both ways before Logan announced his idea for the Justin match, can Logan get the win?
Backstage at Climax Control 439, Santa Clara, California
Sunday the 19th of October 2025, 21:00pm
This is a joke!
I have been denied my throne for too long and now that a defending champion has issued an open challenge ahead of a PPV for the second PPV in a row I am being denied because I already have a match lined up for High Stakes against Justin Smith?!
What happened to the concept of a challenge being open?! Honestly?! And now that joke Ryan Keys has stepped in?! This must be rectified.
As soon as I am let free by the Shields Sisters.
”LET ME FREE BROOKE!” I hollered from within the janitor’s closet where the Shields had shoved me in and propped a chair against the door. ”WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS?!”
”The last time things didn’t go your way in SCW you punched so many holes in the walls of our hotel room the guests in the next room over thought there was a domestic violence incident going on!” Brooke called back as the beautiful redhead rolled her eyes. ”Too say nothing of the fact that I had to pay the hotel for damages because Evelynn told us, and I quote: “SCW doesn’t cover tantrum expenses”.”
”So Brooke.” Brooke’s twin sister and the “moral centre of the group” as she insisted on being called Marissa stated as she walked up carrying two coke cans. ”Has he figured out the trick to opening the door yet?”
”If he had? He’d be out of the closet by now.” Brooke joked before Marissa tossed her a can and she grabbed it. ”By the way, did you take his phone from him?”
”I thought you did?” Marissa asked before my phone went off and I checked it. ”Wanna bet that’s the new card text for the Halloween show?”
”What’s the point in betting? We both have our trust funds.” Brooke shrugged before I started pounding on the door again. ”Pound the wood all you want, you’re not coming out until you calm down Logan!”
”WE MUST LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!” I yelled out from inside the closet and Brooke shook her head. ”I HAVE BEEN COOKED AGAINST RYAN KEYS FOR THE HALLOWEEN SHOW!”
”……….wait, seriously?” Brooke asked with a surprised look on her face. ”I guess Evelynn’s picked up on Christian’s sense of humour.”
”Based on our first meeting? I would’ve thought it would take longer.” Marissa shrugged before turning towards the closet as the (natural) brunette woman smirked. ”Gee, it sure was convenient that we found the only janitor’s closet in the world that opens from the inside, right Brooke?”
”I know, right?! Who designs confined spaces like that?!” Brooke asked and seconds later I opened the door. ”See, was that so hard Logan?”
”You are lucky that I’m in a good mood! Finish your dinks quickly so we can leave.” I instructed the two twenty year olds before storming off.
”When is he ever in a good mood?” Brooke scoffed as she finished her drink in one gulp. ”Any idea what your costume will be Mari?”
”I’ll think of something over the week, just as long as it’s not one of those “sexy” costumes that’ll have me freezing my ass off.” Marissa responded as she shook her head. ”You?”
”Haven’t decided and before you suggest it? Me and Logan went as Joker and Harley Quinn last year.” Brooke responded as Marissa finished her drink. ”And no, he wasn’t dressed as Harley!”
”That’s a mental image I didn’t need.” Marissa shuddered before the twins walked off.
Local Costume Shop, Buena Park, California
Wednesday the 22nd of October 2025, 15:00pm
This is foolishness.
We are set to compete at the Halloween show but for me? This is just another match for me, the fact that it is Halloween themed in inconsequential.
Yet the girls insist on taking me costume shopping, this is infuriating.
”Must you insist on this?” I asked Brooke as we waited for Marissa to put on her costume while trying it on, I had kept mine simple, the girls? Less so. ”This is the third costume she’s tried on!”
”Logan, I grew up with her, this is nothing.” Brooke responded as she shook her head. ”Back when Marissa was fifteen she asked a cute guy out on a date, took her five hours to pick an outfit.”
”Would’ve taken six if it didn’t mean being late for that date.” Marissa called out and Brooke shook her head. ”And half my outfits got rejected by grandma for showing too much skin! Anyway, Brooke?”
”No, I don’t have any dating horror stories because you were the sister who got all the attention from the guys!” Brooke responded as she rolled her eyes and I just shook my head. ”Ironic considering I’m the one who does porn on OnlyFans but still!”
”Actually I wanted your opinion, this witch’s outfit is shoulder less.” Marissa called back and I started to wonder around. ”Should I wear it with a bra or without?”
”Depends, how much do you want to risk an accidental nip slip on Climax Control?” Brooke called back and Marissa shook her head.
”Neckline’s not that deep, it stops just over my collarbone with holes where my shoulders should be.” Marissa called back and Brooke nodded. ”Basically like a sleeveless top except not.”
”Go with the bra then, we need to head back anyway.” Brooke called back before turning to me. ”Just need to pay and we’re good to go!”
”Good!” I called back before making my way to the counter.
Logan and Brooke’s Hotel Room, Buena Park, California
Wednesday the 22nd of October 2025, 21:00pm
*promo time*
As I got ready to cut my promo against Ryan with Brooke I had some things on my mind.
”The sky turns crimson as I invoke my dark lord to unleash horrors unimagined open thee Ryan Keys! You think you know fear? You think this is another match for your party boy lifestyle?” I scoffed as I shook my head. ”You are but a guest in my world Keys, a foolish pawn who thinks himself worthy of an Internet Title Shot just because he answered the challenge!
Believe me Ryan, it won’t matter what we get from the Halloween themed Roulette Wheel because when I am done with you? You will have forgotten how to scream, for I have taken that privilege from you!” I stated as I made a fist. ”Just as you have taken away my right to answer Miles’s open challenge! Every step you take, every bone I break every breath you draw? It belongs to me on Sunday!”
Brooke steps forward with her arms crossed.
”Were people really that excited for your return Ryan? When you last wrestled for SCW me and my sister Marissa were eleven years old and no, I don’t give a fuck if I just made anyone feel ancient.” Brooke stated as she looked dead in the camera lens. ”But of course, some nobody from the past returning has to be treated like a big deal! I mean, who have you beaten since returning? Bill Barnhart? Brandon Hendrix? Don’t make me laugh!”
I stepped forward again.
”This Sunday Ryan you will not face a man, I am the shadow that talks its pray, the figure behind the mask, the whisper in the darkness, the lord of all that is golden, the part of your very being that you are afraid to confront!” I added as I cracked my neck from side to side. ”And when the lights go out, when the blood settles, it’ll be I who will be left standing!
For you see Ryan, I do not just win hardcore matches! I leave broken bodies in my wake, I haunt my victims, I devour any self-worth they have and I am the fear that you have yet to respect!” I added as I leaned against the wall. ”But fret not my friend, for this Sunday, the last Sunday before Halloween, there will be reason to fear! Fear for your soul, fear for Justin’s safety at High Stakes, fear will take hold!”
Brooke stepped forward again.
”Thy say money can’t buy your happiness, yet I, the rich spoiled brat of SCW gets to watch her man dominate a party boy, tell me, is that not happiness? You really thought you could walk into Logan’s kingdom? Darling? PUH-LEASE! This isn’t a match, not as you know it, it’s a massacre.” Brooke stated as she looked at her nails. ”You see Ryan, I may have signed my SCW contract when I was nineteen but I knew what I wanted, I call myself the chaos slut on twitter because that is exactly who I am, I lust for chaos, Logan provides it and this Sunday? You’ll realize that I’m more than just a pretty face too late!”
It's that simple.
”All Hallows Eve, a date rooted in ancient pagan traditions usurped by corporate entities for a quick buck, if this is to be our battleground then so be it Ryan but the party will soon be over for you.” I stated as I made a fist. ”One last step, for both of us before High Stakes, yet I will coime out on top!”
And with that I decided to wrap things up.
”Will there be enough of you left to challenge Miles? I don’t care, all I care about is winning and reclaiming my stolen throne!” I added as I glared at the camera. ”I COMMAND THEE KNEEL RYAN KEYS! YOU WILL NOT DEBY ME MY THONE! I AM THE LORD OF ALL THAT GOLDEN! AND AS YOU EMBRACE OBVLIVIION KEYS? I will move one step close to my ultimate goal!”
I turned off the camera as the scene fades.
But first? He had to take on the recently returned Ryan Keys in singles action at the Halloween Special! Ryan had returned at Violent Conduct and has since been undefeated, picking up wins over Anthrax and Brandon Hendrix in his first two matches and having answered Miles Kasey’s open challenge earlier in the evening, was set to challenge for the Internet Championship at High Stakes, only problem? Logan had the same idea and was shut down by the GM Evelynn Hall who flatly told Logan that he couldn’t have it both ways before Logan announced his idea for the Justin match, can Logan get the win?
Backstage at Climax Control 439, Santa Clara, California
Sunday the 19th of October 2025, 21:00pm
This is a joke!
I have been denied my throne for too long and now that a defending champion has issued an open challenge ahead of a PPV for the second PPV in a row I am being denied because I already have a match lined up for High Stakes against Justin Smith?!
What happened to the concept of a challenge being open?! Honestly?! And now that joke Ryan Keys has stepped in?! This must be rectified.
As soon as I am let free by the Shields Sisters.
”LET ME FREE BROOKE!” I hollered from within the janitor’s closet where the Shields had shoved me in and propped a chair against the door. ”WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS?!”
”The last time things didn’t go your way in SCW you punched so many holes in the walls of our hotel room the guests in the next room over thought there was a domestic violence incident going on!” Brooke called back as the beautiful redhead rolled her eyes. ”Too say nothing of the fact that I had to pay the hotel for damages because Evelynn told us, and I quote: “SCW doesn’t cover tantrum expenses”.”
”So Brooke.” Brooke’s twin sister and the “moral centre of the group” as she insisted on being called Marissa stated as she walked up carrying two coke cans. ”Has he figured out the trick to opening the door yet?”
”If he had? He’d be out of the closet by now.” Brooke joked before Marissa tossed her a can and she grabbed it. ”By the way, did you take his phone from him?”
”I thought you did?” Marissa asked before my phone went off and I checked it. ”Wanna bet that’s the new card text for the Halloween show?”
”What’s the point in betting? We both have our trust funds.” Brooke shrugged before I started pounding on the door again. ”Pound the wood all you want, you’re not coming out until you calm down Logan!”
”WE MUST LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!” I yelled out from inside the closet and Brooke shook her head. ”I HAVE BEEN COOKED AGAINST RYAN KEYS FOR THE HALLOWEEN SHOW!”
”……….wait, seriously?” Brooke asked with a surprised look on her face. ”I guess Evelynn’s picked up on Christian’s sense of humour.”
”Based on our first meeting? I would’ve thought it would take longer.” Marissa shrugged before turning towards the closet as the (natural) brunette woman smirked. ”Gee, it sure was convenient that we found the only janitor’s closet in the world that opens from the inside, right Brooke?”
”I know, right?! Who designs confined spaces like that?!” Brooke asked and seconds later I opened the door. ”See, was that so hard Logan?”
”You are lucky that I’m in a good mood! Finish your dinks quickly so we can leave.” I instructed the two twenty year olds before storming off.
”When is he ever in a good mood?” Brooke scoffed as she finished her drink in one gulp. ”Any idea what your costume will be Mari?”
”I’ll think of something over the week, just as long as it’s not one of those “sexy” costumes that’ll have me freezing my ass off.” Marissa responded as she shook her head. ”You?”
”Haven’t decided and before you suggest it? Me and Logan went as Joker and Harley Quinn last year.” Brooke responded as Marissa finished her drink. ”And no, he wasn’t dressed as Harley!”
”That’s a mental image I didn’t need.” Marissa shuddered before the twins walked off.
Local Costume Shop, Buena Park, California
Wednesday the 22nd of October 2025, 15:00pm
This is foolishness.
We are set to compete at the Halloween show but for me? This is just another match for me, the fact that it is Halloween themed in inconsequential.
Yet the girls insist on taking me costume shopping, this is infuriating.
”Must you insist on this?” I asked Brooke as we waited for Marissa to put on her costume while trying it on, I had kept mine simple, the girls? Less so. ”This is the third costume she’s tried on!”
”Logan, I grew up with her, this is nothing.” Brooke responded as she shook her head. ”Back when Marissa was fifteen she asked a cute guy out on a date, took her five hours to pick an outfit.”
”Would’ve taken six if it didn’t mean being late for that date.” Marissa called out and Brooke shook her head. ”And half my outfits got rejected by grandma for showing too much skin! Anyway, Brooke?”
”No, I don’t have any dating horror stories because you were the sister who got all the attention from the guys!” Brooke responded as she rolled her eyes and I just shook my head. ”Ironic considering I’m the one who does porn on OnlyFans but still!”
”Actually I wanted your opinion, this witch’s outfit is shoulder less.” Marissa called back and I started to wonder around. ”Should I wear it with a bra or without?”
”Depends, how much do you want to risk an accidental nip slip on Climax Control?” Brooke called back and Marissa shook her head.
”Neckline’s not that deep, it stops just over my collarbone with holes where my shoulders should be.” Marissa called back and Brooke nodded. ”Basically like a sleeveless top except not.”
”Go with the bra then, we need to head back anyway.” Brooke called back before turning to me. ”Just need to pay and we’re good to go!”
”Good!” I called back before making my way to the counter.
Logan and Brooke’s Hotel Room, Buena Park, California
Wednesday the 22nd of October 2025, 21:00pm
*promo time*
As I got ready to cut my promo against Ryan with Brooke I had some things on my mind.
”The sky turns crimson as I invoke my dark lord to unleash horrors unimagined open thee Ryan Keys! You think you know fear? You think this is another match for your party boy lifestyle?” I scoffed as I shook my head. ”You are but a guest in my world Keys, a foolish pawn who thinks himself worthy of an Internet Title Shot just because he answered the challenge!
Believe me Ryan, it won’t matter what we get from the Halloween themed Roulette Wheel because when I am done with you? You will have forgotten how to scream, for I have taken that privilege from you!” I stated as I made a fist. ”Just as you have taken away my right to answer Miles’s open challenge! Every step you take, every bone I break every breath you draw? It belongs to me on Sunday!”
Brooke steps forward with her arms crossed.
”Were people really that excited for your return Ryan? When you last wrestled for SCW me and my sister Marissa were eleven years old and no, I don’t give a fuck if I just made anyone feel ancient.” Brooke stated as she looked dead in the camera lens. ”But of course, some nobody from the past returning has to be treated like a big deal! I mean, who have you beaten since returning? Bill Barnhart? Brandon Hendrix? Don’t make me laugh!”
I stepped forward again.
”This Sunday Ryan you will not face a man, I am the shadow that talks its pray, the figure behind the mask, the whisper in the darkness, the lord of all that is golden, the part of your very being that you are afraid to confront!” I added as I cracked my neck from side to side. ”And when the lights go out, when the blood settles, it’ll be I who will be left standing!
For you see Ryan, I do not just win hardcore matches! I leave broken bodies in my wake, I haunt my victims, I devour any self-worth they have and I am the fear that you have yet to respect!” I added as I leaned against the wall. ”But fret not my friend, for this Sunday, the last Sunday before Halloween, there will be reason to fear! Fear for your soul, fear for Justin’s safety at High Stakes, fear will take hold!”
Brooke stepped forward again.
”Thy say money can’t buy your happiness, yet I, the rich spoiled brat of SCW gets to watch her man dominate a party boy, tell me, is that not happiness? You really thought you could walk into Logan’s kingdom? Darling? PUH-LEASE! This isn’t a match, not as you know it, it’s a massacre.” Brooke stated as she looked at her nails. ”You see Ryan, I may have signed my SCW contract when I was nineteen but I knew what I wanted, I call myself the chaos slut on twitter because that is exactly who I am, I lust for chaos, Logan provides it and this Sunday? You’ll realize that I’m more than just a pretty face too late!”
It's that simple.
”All Hallows Eve, a date rooted in ancient pagan traditions usurped by corporate entities for a quick buck, if this is to be our battleground then so be it Ryan but the party will soon be over for you.” I stated as I made a fist. ”One last step, for both of us before High Stakes, yet I will coime out on top!”
And with that I decided to wrap things up.
”Will there be enough of you left to challenge Miles? I don’t care, all I care about is winning and reclaiming my stolen throne!” I added as I glared at the camera. ”I COMMAND THEE KNEEL RYAN KEYS! YOU WILL NOT DEBY ME MY THONE! I AM THE LORD OF ALL THAT GOLDEN! AND AS YOU EMBRACE OBVLIVIION KEYS? I will move one step close to my ultimate goal!”
I turned off the camera as the scene fades.
99
Climax Control Archives / Lyons Tamer 2.0
« Last post by HBCarter on October 24, 2025, 08:59:27 PM »Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas High
Las Vegas High
The weather over Las Vegas had been picture-perfect with clear blue skies stretching across the skyline of the famed “City of Sin” without a cloud in sight. The sun was shining warm but gentle enough as temperatures settled comfortably in the mid-70s since early this morning and did not raise a single degree above 80. It had been the kind of day that felt bright and open as autumn slowly settled in.
Carter pulled the lime green Volkswagen Beetle into the long line of vehicles outside Las Vegas High just as the dismissal bell rang through the campus. To say his car stood out among the literal menagerie of newer and more colorful vehicles driven by the other parents, grandparents, and guardians, all who were waiting (in)patiently for their high schoolers would be a gross understatement. All the better for Kevin to spot Carter's ‘little bug’ from a mile away.
Carter drummed his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, sunglasses on, elbow casually hooked out the open driver-side window like he was posing for an autumn holiday ad campaign. In fact, he caught a prototypical soccer mom staring at him from the relative anonymity of her SUV. You know the type. Bleached blonde hair with that ‘duck tail’ style over her eyes. Too much spray tan and sunglasses two sizes too big.
When he caught her looking, she actually had the audacity to sneer at him. As if to say ‘ How dare you look at me when I'm looking at you ‘. So Carter, being the kind and mature individual that he is, responded in kind. By puckering his lips and blowing her a kiss, resulting in her hurriedly averting her gaze.
Mission accomplished.
Carter then turned back to watch as kids spilled out of the front entrance, the chatter of weekend plans and bemoaning homework assignments bouncing between them. The yellow school buses idled further down, waiting for their charges. Carter idly remembered what it felt like riding those buses, especially when going home. It felt like such a sense of freedom. Carter spotted Kevin quickly enough, but what drew Carter’s eye was the kid walking beside him. A relatively big kid for his age. Husky, easily six feet tall with strawberry blonde hair, stood out without even trying. The two boys were talking quietly, their heads slightly leaned toward one another in a way that communicated familiarity. Not awkward. Not forced. Actually comfortable. Interesting. Carter could not help but smile, knowing that Kevin was well on his way to making friends at his new school, despite any worries toward the contrary.
Kevin looked up, laughing about something the boy had said to him, and the flash of lime green gave Carter away instantly. His expression flickered. Not displeased but certainly not the way it lit up for Miles, either. If he noticed, Carter buried the reaction down deep.
The boys exchanged a quick goodbye before Kevin cut away from him and started toward the car while the ‘mystery boy’ headed for one of the buses, ready to deliver him home. Carter watched him until the passenger seat opened and Kevin climbed in, slinging his backpack into the back seat.
“Hey.” Kevin greeted, always polite, but quiet enough as if he was a child who just got caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
Carter nodded toward the direction the big kid had walked. “Who’s that?” He asked.
Kevin’s hand stalled halfway through attempting to buckle his seatbelt. “Just a friend.”
It was a shy answer. One of deflection that every teenager crafted to perfection (or at least thought they did) to ward off interfering (nosey) adults. Carter caught it, but despite his genuine curiosity and a mad desire to tease, he did absolutely nothing to draw more information from out of the teen beside him than he was ready to give.
Kevin settled into the passenger seat, asking the obvious, “Miles didn’t come?”
“Nope.” Carter carefully pulled the Beetle out of the pick up line and merging into traffic without hesitation. “Sorry but you’re stuck with me.”
Kevin sank back into the seat, not irritated, just unsure of himself and his present situation. He glanced briefly at the dashboard, the familiar sight of the Stitch bobbing on his weighted mount. “Oh. Okay.”
Carter tried not to let Kevin’s reaction get to him, but truth be told it did bother him. Miles had bonded with Kevin over the months when he was rescued and recuperating in the hospital. And as much as Carter tried to be there for him, it seemed like the teenager kept him somewhat at arms length.
“Well,” Carter spoke as the Beetle wove about its way into traffic, paying careful heed now that he had a special passenger. A promise he made to Miles. “I hope you’re not in any kind of hurry to get home because I have to hit the Mall real quick. Miles is meeting us there for dinner.”
Kevin turned to him. “You didn’t tell me we were going out…”
“I know, sorry about that but…” Carter said easily. “Surprise?”
Kevin sank further into his seat, if that were at all possible. Carter then added, “Figured this gives us some time to talk.”
Kevin paused before asking “About what?”
“Let’s get there first.” Was all Carter said for the time being…
Fashion Show Mall
Twenty minutes later, the duo of Carter and Kevin were stepping inside Fashion Show Mall, an air-conditioned chill sweeping across everyone who passed inside from the streets of Vegas to the vast interior. The Friday crowd was already heavy, even in the early afternoon, with shopping bags, screaming children and teenagers roaming in clustered packs. Carter walked naturally, hands in pockets, comfortable navigating anywhere.
Kevin kept pace beside him, not quite shoulder to shoulder. Not as comfortable.
They passed a Coca-Cola branded kiosk, Carter paused long enough to buy a cold bottled Dr. Pepper and handed it directly to Kevin without even asking. An act that months ago would have been unheard of. Carter tried to eat well, he had his cheats and failures, but he had maintained the belief that soda was nothing more than liquid candy that rotted teeth. Then along came Kevin and his stance softened with the heart of a teenager who had gone without the simple things too often.
Kevin blinked at it before he unscrewed the cap and took a deep and appreciative drink. “Thanks.”
“Sit with me a sec,” Carter said, leading him toward a long bench near a palm installation. They sat together but Carter didn’t talk right away. Instead, Carter breathed slowly and quietly, people watching briefly rather than keep an eye on the teenager beside him.
Finally Carter spoke out of the blue, “Did I ever do something to make you uncomfortable?”
Kevin froze mid-sip.
He visibly collected himself before answering. “No. Why?”
“The little things,” Carter answered, lifting a hand, gesturing vaguely. “When Miles isn’t home, you usually go down to Missus Thompson’s. Or your room. You don’t hang out with me in the living room. You don’t ever say no, you’re not rude, but you… I guess evaporate is the word I’m looking for.”
Kevin said nothing and Carter continued. “When I pulled up just now.” Carter added lightly, “You kinda looked disappointed it wasn’t Miles.”
Kevin exhaled weakly through his nose. “That’s not…”
But Carter interrupted, being Carter. “And I really hope Miles hasn’t been poisoning my reputation by slandering my driving again.”
That resulted in a tiny laugh out of Kevin. “He said you flirt your way out of tickets.”
“Oh, that hypocrite!” Carter said instantly, with obvious theatrical disdain. “He wears gray sweatpants or those special shorts to get me to agree to whatever he wants. The man has no room to talk!”
Kevin almost choked on the Dr. Pepper.
Carter glanced at him, finally looking directly at him. “Did I do something to upset you? You can tell me. I promise I won't get upset.”
Kevin’s fingers tightened around the cold plastic bottle. His eyes stayed on the floor tiles but he didn’t answer. Not at first. In fact, Carter was fairly certain he wasn’t going to until he heard the hushed whisper, I don’t know how to act around you. After what my mom did.”
Carter went still. He stared ahead for a moment then lowered his head slightly. “Do you blame me?” He asked carefully. “For what happened to your family?”
Kevin’s heartbeat jumped but he answered fast. “No.” He paused, waited a brief time again before he continued, “I blame her. But the fact she tried to have you seriously hurt or…”
“Kevin.” Carter cut in immediately. “That was not you. That was your mom. You are not your mom.”
Kevin’s voice cracked, silently, but he didn’t look up.
“Hey.” Carter leaned in, gentler, locking eye contact this time because he needed it received. “You don’t ever have to worry about how I feel. Ever.”
Silence. Kevin’s grip had gone white-knuckled on the bottle. Kevin’s voice was barely audible as he whispered, “I thought maybe you hated me for it.”
“If I hated you…” Carter said simply. “You would not be living in our house. And I sure as hell wouldn’t have gone out of my way to spoil you rotten every five minutes. Which I take great pride in, thank you.”
That finally drew a genuine smile from the teenager.
Carter spoke, “Hey. Look at me a sec?”
Kevin did, hesitantly.
“I wanted to ask you something. And I wanted you to be one hundred percent honest with me. You wouldn’t get in trouble, and I wouldn’t get butt hurt.”
Kevin tensed, bracing.
Carter finally asked. “Did it upset you, or make you uncomfortable, when I called my mom ‘grandma’? Or when I told Bella and Malachi you were our son?”
Kevin instantly flinched. He stared at the fountain, then at some passing kids — anywhere but at Carter. His hands twisted and twisted in his sleeves. There was a long, silent beat heavy enough to feel in the chest. Kevin swallowed before he answered.
“It doesn’t upset me,” he finally whispered. “Not really. It just... I guess feels a little weird. That’s all. I’m not mad. It’s just still new.”
Carter exhaled, gently nodding. “That’s fair.” He said. “And I’m sorry. With Malachi it genuinely was just to bust his chops for being a little bitch. Then it just ... I guess it just got away from me. Because Miles and I did see you as family. That wasn’t a joke.”
Kevin’s eyes were low. But he nodded. Accepting but not yet knowing what to do with it. Carter went on, “You’ve just been through so much. I wanted you to have a family again. A real one. Not a temporary one. Not one waiting to see if you screw up. A permanent one.”
Kevin nodded again but this time with a barely audible sound. "I know." He said quietly. “I appreciate it.”
Carter looked away and let the quiet time pass between them. And then, “You know, you and I have a lot in common. Especially when it comes to family.”
That made Kevin look up at him.
Carter told his tale, “I had a pretty happy childhood. My parents were great. At least until I was about your age.”
Kevin blinked. “That’s like me?”
“I'm getting there,” Carter said gently. “It fell apart when my dad caught me making out with my best friend Randy Coppler in my bedroom.”
Kevin flinched with immediate understanding. He asked, “What happened?”
“Everything you’d expect.” Carter answered as the painful memories came flooding back. “Mom accepted me instantly. Dad very much didn’t. He tried to get me sent to conversion therapy and Mom forbid it. Their marriage didn't last much longer. They divorced. Dad vanished.”
Kevin asked, “Did you ever see him again?”
“Not for ten years.” Carter answered. “Not until it was too late.”
Kevin didn’t look away and Carter continued. “He came back. And I treated him like absolute garbage. And I thought I was right. Turns out it was his own family behind everything. Money. Threats. Pressure. They were going to cut him off. He needed that money to feed his wife and kid. So he failed me to save us.”
Kevin’s face wrenched, recognizing the parallels between them.
“I hated him.” Carter said quietly. “Then I found out he was dying. Kidney failure. And all I could think about was how I was going to lose my dad.”
The bright mall felt almost abandoned around them.
“We did reconnect. And I was going to donate a kidney, even though he refused to ask. But he died before I could.”
Carter let out a deep breath before turning to face Kevin directly, head on. “You have a family now with Miles and with me. No expiration date. You don’t ever have to worry about what happens if you mess up.”
Kevin wasn’t crying but his throat did constrict as if fighting to control himself. He whispered, “I don’t know how to believe that, but I want to.”
Carter nodded. “That’s enough." He said. Wanting to is enough. We’d handle the rest. Holidays might be awkward, though.”
Kevin blinked, “Why?”
“Because my Mom and Grams are absolutely going to want to spoil you rotten.” Carter leaned in and added, “And so will Miles’s Mom.”
Kevin just smiled.
Carter’s tone shifted again. “Listen. If I ever do anything I do makes you uncomfortable? You have to tell me. So I can fix it.”
Kevin started to say, “It’s just… you keep buying me all this stuff…”
“Except that.” Carter smiled. “I spoil. It’s what I do. And besides…” Carter finally stood up from the bench. “That’s actually why we’re here.”
“What?”
“Me and Miles think it’s time we got you a phone. And your own laptop.”
Kevin sucked in a quiet breath. “You don’t have to…” He started to protest.
“I know I don’t have to.” Carter said. “I want to. There’s a difference.”
Carter beckoned him with a wave. “Let’s move.”
Slowly, Kevin nodded and pushed himself back to his feet. He looked Carter in the eyes and his guardian asked, “Are we good?”
“We’re good.”
“Alright then.” Carter turned toward the inner corridor flow of shoppers. “Let’s go do some damage before Miles puts a stop to it!”
Kevin stayed beside him as they stepped forward together, vanishing into the masses of Mall shoppers.
THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS PAID FOR BY THE “JUSTICE FOR MILES AND LJ KASEY AND VICTORIA AND EDDIE LYONS” FOUNDATION. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
“So! Vincent … Vinnie! Can I call you Vinnie? Let’s get something straight before your paranoid delusions try to rewrite reality again. This match, this Clash of the Champions? It wasn’t meant to be. It wasn’t booked. It wasn’t even necessary. You weren’t supposed to be standing across from me this weekend, but you just couldn’t help yourself, could you? You just had to shove your nose where it didn’t belong, sniffing around like a stray bitch desperate for attention! You stuck your nose into something between Alexander Raven and me, and now you’re running yourself into the ground, trying to justify yourself.”
“See, you could’ve stayed quiet. You could’ve stayed in your lane, polishing that Roulette Championship like it’s the only thing giving your life meaning. Because let’s be real, it probably is. But no. You had to make it about you. And the second you used that as a cue to open your mouth and start flapping your big mouth about my husband and my brother-in-law? That’s where the line got crossed, Vinnie. That’s the moment your little interference turned into an invitation for me to start taking things personally.”
“You didn’t just step into my story, you became the punchline. Because right there, when you started talking about my family, you didn’t step back. You didn’t think to yourself that maybe that’s crossing a line that ought not be crossed. You grinned. You became what the internet calls a ‘pick me girl.”=’ You know the type: Always desperate to prove they’re one of the ‘cool kids,’ always nodding along with the loudest jerk in the room hoping someone, literally anyone, will finally notice them!”
“So congratulations, Vinnie. You officially made the jump from ‘ credible champion’ to ‘high school cheerleader.’ And not even a good one. You’re like the knockoff-brand version, offering discount drama and zero self-awareness.”
“You’ve been walking around, running your mouth and acting like you’re the second coming of wrestling royalty! But all I see is a man who’s so far up his own ass he could probably see daylight out his throat! You want to talk about wins and losses? You want to talk about how you beat LJ? Cute. Real cute. You love to brag about that, huh? You talk about that match like it’s your magnum opus. Like you climbed a mountain. Like you slayed a dragon. But here’s what you’re conveniently forgetting, sugar! August 24th in Cypress. The night when LJ pinned your ass! One, two, three! And if that match had been for your precious little Roulette Championship? You wouldn’t be walking into this weekend with that belt around your waist. You’d be walking in with your tail between your legs and your ego deflated like a cheap dollar store balloon! Probably hanging out in catering and wondering what might have been! But you don’t mention that part, do you? No, you just cherry-pick your wins and bury your losses under selective memory and mental impaired delusion.”
“And this match between us? This isn’t new ground. This is the second time we’ve done this dance. You remember the first, don’t you? Well even if you don’t, you should. Because it wasn’t your arm that got raised at the end. You didn’t walk out a winner. You crawled out a very lucky man… Well, man baby. You only got out of that match with any semblance of dignity because you took the coward’s way out! You grabbed a chair and swung it like your life depended on it, because deep down, you knew it did! Right into my head, sending me to the hospital with a concussion!”
“And don’t think I forgot about that because bitch, trust me when I say I still owe you big for that one!”
“You didn’t take me down. You didn’t pin me. You didn’t beat me. You escaped me. You took the easy way out because the hard way was about to end with you flat on your back, staring up at the lights, wondering where it all went wrong! You didn’t fight me, you survived me!”
“And ever since then, you’ve been clinging to whatever scraps of dignity you could find. You talk a big game, Vinnie, but every time you open your mouth, all I hear is the sound of insecurity echoing off hollow ambition. You don’t believe what you say. You’re just hoping if you repeat it enough, someone else will.”
“And then you had the nerve to go full high school mean girl on me. You couldn’t handle the heat, so you tried to take a cheap shot at my personal life. You called my marriage to Miles … I believe the word you used to describe us was cringe? Really? That’s the best you’ve got? We’re not in the locker room. We’re not in high school. You don’t get points for bitchiness.”
“But since you brought it up, let’s talk about relationships, shall we? See, I’ve got one. A real one. A husband who stands by me, loves me, and doesn’t just tolerate me because of what I can do for him in the bedroom although I certainly do a lot! Meanwhile, you couldn’t get a date in a women’s prison with a fistful of conjugal visit coupons and a bottle of champagne! You want to throw shade about cringe? Your love life is a ghost town! Your own hand falls asleep every time you go for a good wank! The only thing that’s ever committed to you is your reflection and even that’s close to filing a restraining order!”
“I mean … even your own family doesn’t want anything to do with you! Doesn’t that tell you anything? They see the way you isolate yourself. The way you push people away. You talk about legacy like it’s a family heirloom, but the only thing you’ve inherited from the Lyons dynasty is loneliness and denial! You’re the black sheep who thinks he’s a lion. The outcast pretending he was exiled when he was really just cast away.”
“You strut around the backstage and locker rooms like you’re the future of SCW but the sad fact is that the only thing you’re building is a reputation for running your mouth and ducking responsibility. You’re not the future Vinnie. You're the cautionary tale they’ll tell at wrestling training camps when they warn students not to believe their own hype.”
“So before we go any further, let’s get one thing clear. I’m not stepping into that ring to play nice. This isn’t some handshake-and-hug exhibition. This is a reckoning. You stuck your nose in my business, you disrespected my family, you put me in the hospital and now I’m coming to collect interest! And I don’t care if Alexander Raven decides to lurk around ringside trying to be relevant again. He can take a cheap shot if he wants to, but let’s be real. He won’t. Because Raven’s an even bigger candy-ass than you are!”
“The man struts around like he’s mystery incarnate, but I’ve seen scarier things on a Pride parade float. He’s all eyeliner and ego, and you’re on the fast track to becoming his backup dancer! The two of you together? You’re like a Hot Topic clearance rack come to life. So if he wants to insert himself again, he can try. He can take his swing. But I promise you, the second he does, I’ll snap his wings and send him flying right back into irrelevance!”
“So here’s the reality check you’ve been avoiding. I’m not the guy you get over on. I’m not the stepping stone. I’m the wall you crash into when your mouth finally outweighs your talent! See, you can wrap it up however you want. You can call it destiny, you can call it pride, you can call it whatever buzzword you need to feel important, but the truth is simple. You’re not walking into that ring as my equal. You’re walking into that ring as your own karma.”
“And don’t get it twisted because this isn’t about titles. This isn’t about the World Heavyweight Championship. This isn’t about the Roulette belt around your waist. This is about you learning the hard way what happens when you mistake tolerance for weakness. I’ve been patient. I’ve been measured. But patience runs out, and you, Vinnie? You've been cashing checks your body can’t afford to cover because your talent bank account has insufficient funds!”
“You think you’re going to walk into our Main Event match weekend and make a statement? You think this is your moment to shine? Let me tell you something. I am the statement. I’m the headline. You’re just the side quest that wastes the main character’s time! You are just the pre-show attraction pretending that it’s the main event! You can walk down that ramp with all the swagger in the world, wearing that Roulette title like it’s a badge of honor, but deep down, you know it’s just armor. You cling to that belt because it’s the only thing shielding you from the truth! That without it, you’re forgettable. Without it, you’re just another guy with family issues and delusions of grandeur!”
“Do you want to know what makes us different? Unlike you, I don’t need anyone to validate me. I don’t need to beg for attention. I don’t need to be ‘picked.’ I’m the World Heavyweight Champion not because of luck, not because of politics, but because every single time someone’s tried to knock me off this throne, I’ve reminded them that charisma, skill, and authenticity don’t come from pretending! They come from being! And what I am is everything you wish you could be! Confident. Respected. Loved. Admired. You’ve spent your whole career trying to convince people you’re the future, while I’ve been out here proving I’m the now!”
“So when that bell rings, and you’re standing across from me, remember this! Every insult, every little jab, every attempt to tear me down? It all comes due at that moment. Because you’re not fighting the glitz or the glam. You’re not fighting the persona or pride rainbows. You’re fighting the man. The champion. The husband. The brother-in-law. The fighter who’s done playing nice!”
“And I don’t care what Halloween stipulation this ends up as! Casket Match, Trick or Street Fight, Monster’s Ball… Hell! It doesn’t matter if it’s barbed wire and pumpkin pies, because the endgame stays the same! You’re going to walk in cocky and walk out corrected! You’re going to walk in thinking you’re the hero and crawl out realizing you’re just another victim of your own borderline personality disorder!”
“You’ve been running your mouth about how you’re ready for anything, but you’ve never been ready for me. You’ve never faced someone who can dissect you emotionally and physically at the same time! I’m not just going to beat you, Vinnie. I’m going to break you. Mentally as well as physically. I’m going to strip away that false bravado until there’s nothing left but the truth staring back at you! And that truth is that no matter how loud you shout, how hard you hit, how desperately you claw for relevance, you will never … ever … be me!”
“When the dust settles, and the lights dim, and the crowd stops chanting your name out of pity, you’ll finally understand the one universal law of creation! That the world has never known a bigger bitch than a pissed-off gay man!”
100
Climax Control Archives / Complete The Trinity
« Last post by Vincent Lyons Jr on October 24, 2025, 06:28:39 PM »The home of Vincent Lyons Jr is impeccably neat, almost sterile. If one didn't know better it would appear that nobody lived here at all. Vincent sits on a lounge chair staring at the roulette championship on the table in front of him.
“They're about to realize who the true dominant champion in SCW is.” Vincent said to nobody. “I already dropped Miles Kasey on his fat head, now I'll get to take his better half out as well. The so-called world champion who doesn't even have his championship.”
Vincent smirks and laughs to himself.
“They've labeled me as unstable.” he continued speaking to himself “But that's a fairy tale they created. I'm the only one who tells the truth. Now the Kasey Brothers get the sympathy, and Alexandra Calaway gets to be seen as a heroine and everyone cheers them for it.”
He scoffs and shakes his head, disgusted.
“Now they're putting me against HB Carter.” said Vincent “I should have seen this coming, that family is desperate to get one over on me But they don't realize they've made their biggest mistake because now I'm going to take out Carter and show that whole damn family that none of them are on the level of The Chosen.”
He runs his fingers along the gold plate of his championship.
“This is where you send your biggest message of all Vincent.” he continued speaking. “You take out Carter and you can shut that whole family up for good, and leave the scraps for the raven to feast on."
He chuckles to himself, finding his own analogy amusing.
“They really have no idea what they've done.” said Vincent. “They've given me the perfect stage.”
Then he heard the voice, and rolled his eyes.
“Hello father.” Vincent grumbled. “So what is it this time?”
“You tell me.” his father replied from his perch on the couch “You're the one who calls me when you walk too close to the edge.”
“I'm not close to any edge.” Vincent said “I'm right where I belong.”
“Confusing vengeance with purpose?” his father said with an eyebrow raised “Because you have a match with the world champion and you should look at that as a privilege, not an excuse to settle your personal scores.”
“I don't give a damn about privilege.” said Vincent “This is about finishing what I started and putting down the last of the Kasey's.”
“You're letting your obsession cloud your mind, son." his father said. “It's not healthy.”
Vincent stands slowly looking at the vision of his father on the couch with calm eyes.
“What do you care anyway?” he said “Victoria was always your favorite. What would you understand about what I'm going through?”
He folded his arms and shifted his gaze away from the couch.
“I told you before.” his father said, “That's not true.”
“Is it not?” Vincent snapped back “If Victoria stumbled, you were there to lift her up. If I stumbled you told me I had to stand up on my own!”
“That's because you never needed me the way she did.” his father said “Your sister has always been headstrong and reckless. So maybe I did give Victoria a bit more of my attention than I should have but don't act like your mother didn't balance it out with her baby boy.”
“Mother has nothing to do with this.” said Vincent.
“She loves you.” his father said “Maybe she was too easy and I was too hard on you, and we created something unbalanced with you and your sister, but none of it was meant to break either of you.”
Vincent scoffs.
“Whatever.” Vincent said “All I know is right now, my goal is to take out HB Carter for good.”
“Vengeance isn't the way son.“ his father said
"Oh you're one to talk." said Vincent "Don't act like you didn't build your reputation on fear. You left people broken and humiliated. You know exactly where my violent streak comes from. Don't sit there on my sofa pretending you're some saint.”
“You're not wrong, I did terrible things." his father said. "I had a darkness that consumed almost everything I built, but I pushed past and learned from it. I want the same for you. You asked me earlier, what do I know about what you're going through? Well it sounds like you've answered your own question. It's because that used to be me.”
“So what? You want me to be tame and polite?” Vincent said in a mocking tone
“I want you to be better.” his father said. “Nobody said you had to be polite, look at your sister she's far from polite but she's not out there holding on to any vengeance or old grudges.”
“There you go putting her over me again.” Vincent said
“I just don't want you to repeat my mistakes.” his father said “You should fight for respect, not fear. You have the chance to build something stronger and something better than I did.”
“You asked me to be better.” Vincent said in a low voice “But you were never better, you just learned to hide it better. Maybe I like it, maybe I like the chaos.”
“That's what I'm afraid of..” his father said.
“Well I'm not afraid.” said Vincent “Embracing the chaos inside me has helped me grow. I am better because of it.”
“Is that what you truly believe?” his father asked.
“It's what I know..” said Vincent “And I don't need to hear any more from you. The chaos will guide me and you are nothing but a figment of my own imagination.”
Vincent closed his eyes and when he opened them moments later his father was gone, this was the silence preferred, letting the chaos in his mind speak the loudest and it had one face on its mind.
Helluva Bottom Carter.
__________
Vincent sat in his favorite little corner of the Lyons Den wrapping his wrists, preparing for a training session, his gears thrown about on the floor half spelled out of the gear bag next to him.
The sound of a door opening behind him caught his attention but he didn't turn to face the person.
“So this is where you're hiding.” the voice of Cleo Phillips entered his ears.
He laughed to himself.
“I'm not hiding, I'm training,” he said, still not looking in her direction. “And I prefer to do it alone. Got a problem with that?”
“Nope.” said Cleo “But I do gotta problem with you.”
That caught his attention and he turned to face her, standing to meet her gaze.
“Oh don't step to me little lion boy.” she said “You know I ain't the one, you going to sit down and listen.”
“I'll stand thank you.” Vincent said not backing down
Cleo smirked at him.
“You're lucky I'm trying to control my temper.” she said “Cause there was a time you'd get your jaw cracked for stepping up like that.”
“So what exactly is the problem?” Vincent said.
“You are the problem.” Cleo said “You got people walking on eggshells when you're around. Your hostel nature is leaking into this school and it needs to stop. I'm the one that had to calm Alexander down after your fight last week. You're supposed to be the heir to this place, you need to start acting like it.”
“What's it to you?” Vincent said crossing his arms
“What's it to me?” Cleo replied firmly. “This place is the reason I ain't sitting in a jail cell right now. The Lyons Den is what helped pull me out of the mud, and the way you're acting you're dragging that very name right through it.”
“Don't preach to me like you know anything about the Lyons name.” Vincent replied.
“Yeah well maybe it means something more to those of us here who don't carry the name.” she said. “You, Victoria hell, even Eddie can walk around like it's just another gym. But for people like myself this is a place that saved us. So I take it a little personally when you walk around poisoning the air with your vengeance. You're not going to make the den your little war zone every time you feel someone disrespects you.”
“So what you're supposed to be some moral compass around here now?” said Vincent with a laugh. “That's rich.”
“I ain't trying to be nothing.” Cleo said “I just know what it's like to lose yourself to anger. You think I don't understand what you're doing? I might understand it more than anybody else around here. You think vengeance gives you control, but you can trust me that it don't. It's going to eat at you piece by piece until there's nothing left.”
“Look I don't need life lessons from a convicted felon.” Vincent said with a sneer.
“Yeah?” said Cleo with her own sneer “Well, this convicted felon is trying to help you not become one. You know I got a year for an assault charge, broke a girl's leg because she had been running her mouth about me. So I hunted her down and took care of business.”
“Well that's your story.” he said Vincent “I'm not a reckless thug looking for revenge I know exactly what I'm doing.”
“That's what they all say before they lose control.” Cleo said.
‘The difference is..” Vincent grinned “I am control. You let your own rage control you. I harness mine, that's what makes us different.”
“You can tell yourself that.” Cleo said “But you sound like me ten years ago. When all I really cared about was making sure nobody made a fool out of me.”
“You think your little redemption arc makes you wise?” Vincent said “To me you're nothing but a thug with a lucky second chance.”
“So it's really like that…” Cleo said nodding her head “You know what good luck to you. It's a dangerous road ahead of you, if you continue doing what you're doing. All I can really say is don't say I didn't try to warn you.”
“Are you done preaching?” Vincent said arms still folded, raising an eyebrow "Because I'm done listening.”
“See that's the problem with you.” Cleo said, shaking her head “You think every piece of advice is someone trying to keep you down.”
“Maybe because every time someone gives me advice…..” said Vincent “They try to tell me to be more like Eddie or Victoria, or even Alexander these days. I'm tired of people telling me who I should be. Now I answer to myself.”
“I don't give a damn about none of your family drama bullshit.” said Cleo “What I care about is this place. I care about The Den and I care that you're running people off with your outbursts.”
“If they leave, they weren't good enough to train here in the first place.” Vincent said.
“Naw.” said Cleo “You ain't taking this place down with you, not on my watch.”
“Whatever.” muttered Vincent.
“Yeah whatever…” Cleo said, rolling her eyes and turning to the door.
“You walk away and you prove me right.” Vincent said
“No.” said Cleo “It proves that I still got control. Walking away ain't weakness. It's one of the strongest things I've ever learned how to do. Sometimes you need to just let things go.”
“What you think you're better than me or something?” Vincent snapped
“I'm just done being my own worst enemy.” Cleo said, stopping at the doorway looking back at him. “One day all your chaos and control is going to burn out and you're going to be left with nothing.”
With that she left through the door and it shut behind her.
“I'm not going to burn out…” he muttered to himself “I'm just getting started.”
With a frustrated exhale, he grabbed his gloves from his bag and began angrily wailing on a nearby punching bag.
__________
The cameras come to life at dusk in a forgotten churchyard, slowly following the cracked path to an old altar where three candles rest. Two sit extinguished, their wax still dripping down their sides, the last one still burning bright. Sitting right in front of the candle is the SCW roulette championship in full display.
Behind the altar stands Vincent Lyons Jr, keeping his head bowed, letting the silence linger just long enough to become uncomfortable when he finally speaks, it comes in a low unsettling tone.
“The funny thing about faith is…” he begins “People only cling to it when they're scared. When things start falling apart that's when they begin to pray.”
He lifts his gaze to the camera, an unsettling look of confidence rests in them.
“So what happens when there's no one left to pray to?” he says “When your idols crumble and your saviors run, then you're left with men like me. Ones who don't beg for mercy, but ones who take it.”
He walks around the stone altar, running his fingers across it circling it like a predator.
“I've been watching things real closely.” he said “Watching my family continue to claw for scraps, I've been watching cowards play hero and I finally see it for what it really is. Greed.”
He stops behind the altar once more, a faint smirk on his face.
“HB Carter's the latest to wear the mask.” Vincent said “The big hearted world champion who wants to stand tall and defend his family's honor.”
He shakes his head with a soft arrogant chuckle.
“I probably should have seen this coming.” he said “That's how it is with the family like the Kasey's. There's always someone trying to step up and be the hero. L.J. Kasey tried to make his statement and I silenced him. Miles tried to step up and I ended him. Now here comes Carter puffing his chest with something to prove not realizing he's just another lamb walking straight into the slaughter.”
He shifts his gaze slightly to the single lit candle.
“Have you already forgotten Carter?” Vincent said “Have you already forgotten what happened the last time? When I cracked your skull and quite possibly gave you a concussion? I'd let you off easy that night. This time I won't be so forgiving.”
He smirks.
“But you haven't forgotten have you?” he said “You remember exactly how it felt. You remember exactly how loud that crack was when that chair connected with your skull, and deep down it scares you, because you know part two is coming.”
That smirk on his face grows to grinch like proportions.
“You probably think this match is going to be some sort of redemption for you.” Vincent said “You're coming to stand up for your family, it's a real cute story but to me it's more than a story, it's just worked unfinished.”
He pauses shortly.
“I already broke one half of your little happy home.” he said “Now I'm coming to finish the other. They say things come in threes, so I guess this is where I complete my trinity. L.J., Miles, and now you. I will expose you as the holy family of failure.”
He laughs slightly to himself, somewhere in the distance a crow caws.
“Raven…” he said “Now there is a man who gets it. See, Alexander Raven didn't ask for help, or beg for anybody's approval. He just took what he wanted without remorse and that's something I can respect.”
He laughs again.
“And you just let him, didn't you?” Vincent said “You let him take your championship and expose you as the little punk bitch you are. If someone dared to try and steal my championship, they wouldn't be walking anymore.”
He exhales heavily.
“When Raven took that championship I laughed.” he continued “Because it reminded me what it looks like when someone refuses to bow. It reminded me what separates men like us from the men like the rest of you, we don't fight for acceptance, we fight because we we know destruction is the only honest thing left in this industry.”
He looks to the candle on the altar for a moment.
“Raven punked you, plain and simple.” Vincent said “And I'm not about to let you get any redemption against me. When I crack your skull open for the second time, you'll finally understand, all the applause and adulation you fight for are worth nothing.”
He continues looking to the candle as he speaks.
“I am more than just your challenger Carter.” Vincent continued “I am the standard, this company chose me to be one of its champions. I beat LJ, and then I beat Miles, and now when I beat you, I'll be the man who beat the entire Kasey family in a matter of weeks. Who else can really say that?”
He smirks again, keeping a gaze on the single lit candle.
“You're all that's left, Carter.” Vincent said “The last ember, you've got heart sure, but heart won't be enough when the air runs out. That's what I am Carter, the wind that will take your fire away.”
With those words he blows out the candle.
“I will complete the trinity.” he said “I will extinguish the final flame of the Kasey family that's plaguing this company. I have to wonder how long it will take Alexandra Calaway to come protect you as well.”
He pauses for a beat watching the smoke of the candle dissipate into the air.
“You hear that?” he said “The silence. That's what it will sound like when the Kasey's are finally gone and the noise fades. Until all that's left is me. Then everyone will realize that Vincent Lyons Jr didn't just win. They will realize that…”
His voice drops to a more unsettling tone.
“He erased a bloodline.” he grins.
He lifts his championship off the Altar and rests it on his shoulder before looking at the camera one last time.
“HB Carter…this is your final warning.” he says in a low, almost whisper
With that he walks away from the altar down the stone path into the darkness, the camera zooms to focus on the single extinguished candle, sending its final wisps of smoke into the atmosphere.
“They're about to realize who the true dominant champion in SCW is.” Vincent said to nobody. “I already dropped Miles Kasey on his fat head, now I'll get to take his better half out as well. The so-called world champion who doesn't even have his championship.”
Vincent smirks and laughs to himself.
“They've labeled me as unstable.” he continued speaking to himself “But that's a fairy tale they created. I'm the only one who tells the truth. Now the Kasey Brothers get the sympathy, and Alexandra Calaway gets to be seen as a heroine and everyone cheers them for it.”
He scoffs and shakes his head, disgusted.
“Now they're putting me against HB Carter.” said Vincent “I should have seen this coming, that family is desperate to get one over on me But they don't realize they've made their biggest mistake because now I'm going to take out Carter and show that whole damn family that none of them are on the level of The Chosen.”
He runs his fingers along the gold plate of his championship.
“This is where you send your biggest message of all Vincent.” he continued speaking. “You take out Carter and you can shut that whole family up for good, and leave the scraps for the raven to feast on."
He chuckles to himself, finding his own analogy amusing.
“They really have no idea what they've done.” said Vincent. “They've given me the perfect stage.”
Then he heard the voice, and rolled his eyes.
“Hello father.” Vincent grumbled. “So what is it this time?”
“You tell me.” his father replied from his perch on the couch “You're the one who calls me when you walk too close to the edge.”
“I'm not close to any edge.” Vincent said “I'm right where I belong.”
“Confusing vengeance with purpose?” his father said with an eyebrow raised “Because you have a match with the world champion and you should look at that as a privilege, not an excuse to settle your personal scores.”
“I don't give a damn about privilege.” said Vincent “This is about finishing what I started and putting down the last of the Kasey's.”
“You're letting your obsession cloud your mind, son." his father said. “It's not healthy.”
Vincent stands slowly looking at the vision of his father on the couch with calm eyes.
“What do you care anyway?” he said “Victoria was always your favorite. What would you understand about what I'm going through?”
He folded his arms and shifted his gaze away from the couch.
“I told you before.” his father said, “That's not true.”
“Is it not?” Vincent snapped back “If Victoria stumbled, you were there to lift her up. If I stumbled you told me I had to stand up on my own!”
“That's because you never needed me the way she did.” his father said “Your sister has always been headstrong and reckless. So maybe I did give Victoria a bit more of my attention than I should have but don't act like your mother didn't balance it out with her baby boy.”
“Mother has nothing to do with this.” said Vincent.
“She loves you.” his father said “Maybe she was too easy and I was too hard on you, and we created something unbalanced with you and your sister, but none of it was meant to break either of you.”
Vincent scoffs.
“Whatever.” Vincent said “All I know is right now, my goal is to take out HB Carter for good.”
“Vengeance isn't the way son.“ his father said
"Oh you're one to talk." said Vincent "Don't act like you didn't build your reputation on fear. You left people broken and humiliated. You know exactly where my violent streak comes from. Don't sit there on my sofa pretending you're some saint.”
“You're not wrong, I did terrible things." his father said. "I had a darkness that consumed almost everything I built, but I pushed past and learned from it. I want the same for you. You asked me earlier, what do I know about what you're going through? Well it sounds like you've answered your own question. It's because that used to be me.”
“So what? You want me to be tame and polite?” Vincent said in a mocking tone
“I want you to be better.” his father said. “Nobody said you had to be polite, look at your sister she's far from polite but she's not out there holding on to any vengeance or old grudges.”
“There you go putting her over me again.” Vincent said
“I just don't want you to repeat my mistakes.” his father said “You should fight for respect, not fear. You have the chance to build something stronger and something better than I did.”
“You asked me to be better.” Vincent said in a low voice “But you were never better, you just learned to hide it better. Maybe I like it, maybe I like the chaos.”
“That's what I'm afraid of..” his father said.
“Well I'm not afraid.” said Vincent “Embracing the chaos inside me has helped me grow. I am better because of it.”
“Is that what you truly believe?” his father asked.
“It's what I know..” said Vincent “And I don't need to hear any more from you. The chaos will guide me and you are nothing but a figment of my own imagination.”
Vincent closed his eyes and when he opened them moments later his father was gone, this was the silence preferred, letting the chaos in his mind speak the loudest and it had one face on its mind.
Helluva Bottom Carter.
__________
Vincent sat in his favorite little corner of the Lyons Den wrapping his wrists, preparing for a training session, his gears thrown about on the floor half spelled out of the gear bag next to him.
The sound of a door opening behind him caught his attention but he didn't turn to face the person.
“So this is where you're hiding.” the voice of Cleo Phillips entered his ears.
He laughed to himself.
“I'm not hiding, I'm training,” he said, still not looking in her direction. “And I prefer to do it alone. Got a problem with that?”
“Nope.” said Cleo “But I do gotta problem with you.”
That caught his attention and he turned to face her, standing to meet her gaze.
“Oh don't step to me little lion boy.” she said “You know I ain't the one, you going to sit down and listen.”
“I'll stand thank you.” Vincent said not backing down
Cleo smirked at him.
“You're lucky I'm trying to control my temper.” she said “Cause there was a time you'd get your jaw cracked for stepping up like that.”
“So what exactly is the problem?” Vincent said.
“You are the problem.” Cleo said “You got people walking on eggshells when you're around. Your hostel nature is leaking into this school and it needs to stop. I'm the one that had to calm Alexander down after your fight last week. You're supposed to be the heir to this place, you need to start acting like it.”
“What's it to you?” Vincent said crossing his arms
“What's it to me?” Cleo replied firmly. “This place is the reason I ain't sitting in a jail cell right now. The Lyons Den is what helped pull me out of the mud, and the way you're acting you're dragging that very name right through it.”
“Don't preach to me like you know anything about the Lyons name.” Vincent replied.
“Yeah well maybe it means something more to those of us here who don't carry the name.” she said. “You, Victoria hell, even Eddie can walk around like it's just another gym. But for people like myself this is a place that saved us. So I take it a little personally when you walk around poisoning the air with your vengeance. You're not going to make the den your little war zone every time you feel someone disrespects you.”
“So what you're supposed to be some moral compass around here now?” said Vincent with a laugh. “That's rich.”
“I ain't trying to be nothing.” Cleo said “I just know what it's like to lose yourself to anger. You think I don't understand what you're doing? I might understand it more than anybody else around here. You think vengeance gives you control, but you can trust me that it don't. It's going to eat at you piece by piece until there's nothing left.”
“Look I don't need life lessons from a convicted felon.” Vincent said with a sneer.
“Yeah?” said Cleo with her own sneer “Well, this convicted felon is trying to help you not become one. You know I got a year for an assault charge, broke a girl's leg because she had been running her mouth about me. So I hunted her down and took care of business.”
“Well that's your story.” he said Vincent “I'm not a reckless thug looking for revenge I know exactly what I'm doing.”
“That's what they all say before they lose control.” Cleo said.
‘The difference is..” Vincent grinned “I am control. You let your own rage control you. I harness mine, that's what makes us different.”
“You can tell yourself that.” Cleo said “But you sound like me ten years ago. When all I really cared about was making sure nobody made a fool out of me.”
“You think your little redemption arc makes you wise?” Vincent said “To me you're nothing but a thug with a lucky second chance.”
“So it's really like that…” Cleo said nodding her head “You know what good luck to you. It's a dangerous road ahead of you, if you continue doing what you're doing. All I can really say is don't say I didn't try to warn you.”
“Are you done preaching?” Vincent said arms still folded, raising an eyebrow "Because I'm done listening.”
“See that's the problem with you.” Cleo said, shaking her head “You think every piece of advice is someone trying to keep you down.”
“Maybe because every time someone gives me advice…..” said Vincent “They try to tell me to be more like Eddie or Victoria, or even Alexander these days. I'm tired of people telling me who I should be. Now I answer to myself.”
“I don't give a damn about none of your family drama bullshit.” said Cleo “What I care about is this place. I care about The Den and I care that you're running people off with your outbursts.”
“If they leave, they weren't good enough to train here in the first place.” Vincent said.
“Naw.” said Cleo “You ain't taking this place down with you, not on my watch.”
“Whatever.” muttered Vincent.
“Yeah whatever…” Cleo said, rolling her eyes and turning to the door.
“You walk away and you prove me right.” Vincent said
“No.” said Cleo “It proves that I still got control. Walking away ain't weakness. It's one of the strongest things I've ever learned how to do. Sometimes you need to just let things go.”
“What you think you're better than me or something?” Vincent snapped
“I'm just done being my own worst enemy.” Cleo said, stopping at the doorway looking back at him. “One day all your chaos and control is going to burn out and you're going to be left with nothing.”
With that she left through the door and it shut behind her.
“I'm not going to burn out…” he muttered to himself “I'm just getting started.”
With a frustrated exhale, he grabbed his gloves from his bag and began angrily wailing on a nearby punching bag.
__________
The cameras come to life at dusk in a forgotten churchyard, slowly following the cracked path to an old altar where three candles rest. Two sit extinguished, their wax still dripping down their sides, the last one still burning bright. Sitting right in front of the candle is the SCW roulette championship in full display.
Behind the altar stands Vincent Lyons Jr, keeping his head bowed, letting the silence linger just long enough to become uncomfortable when he finally speaks, it comes in a low unsettling tone.
“The funny thing about faith is…” he begins “People only cling to it when they're scared. When things start falling apart that's when they begin to pray.”
He lifts his gaze to the camera, an unsettling look of confidence rests in them.
“So what happens when there's no one left to pray to?” he says “When your idols crumble and your saviors run, then you're left with men like me. Ones who don't beg for mercy, but ones who take it.”
He walks around the stone altar, running his fingers across it circling it like a predator.
“I've been watching things real closely.” he said “Watching my family continue to claw for scraps, I've been watching cowards play hero and I finally see it for what it really is. Greed.”
He stops behind the altar once more, a faint smirk on his face.
“HB Carter's the latest to wear the mask.” Vincent said “The big hearted world champion who wants to stand tall and defend his family's honor.”
He shakes his head with a soft arrogant chuckle.
“I probably should have seen this coming.” he said “That's how it is with the family like the Kasey's. There's always someone trying to step up and be the hero. L.J. Kasey tried to make his statement and I silenced him. Miles tried to step up and I ended him. Now here comes Carter puffing his chest with something to prove not realizing he's just another lamb walking straight into the slaughter.”
He shifts his gaze slightly to the single lit candle.
“Have you already forgotten Carter?” Vincent said “Have you already forgotten what happened the last time? When I cracked your skull and quite possibly gave you a concussion? I'd let you off easy that night. This time I won't be so forgiving.”
He smirks.
“But you haven't forgotten have you?” he said “You remember exactly how it felt. You remember exactly how loud that crack was when that chair connected with your skull, and deep down it scares you, because you know part two is coming.”
That smirk on his face grows to grinch like proportions.
“You probably think this match is going to be some sort of redemption for you.” Vincent said “You're coming to stand up for your family, it's a real cute story but to me it's more than a story, it's just worked unfinished.”
He pauses shortly.
“I already broke one half of your little happy home.” he said “Now I'm coming to finish the other. They say things come in threes, so I guess this is where I complete my trinity. L.J., Miles, and now you. I will expose you as the holy family of failure.”
He laughs slightly to himself, somewhere in the distance a crow caws.
“Raven…” he said “Now there is a man who gets it. See, Alexander Raven didn't ask for help, or beg for anybody's approval. He just took what he wanted without remorse and that's something I can respect.”
He laughs again.
“And you just let him, didn't you?” Vincent said “You let him take your championship and expose you as the little punk bitch you are. If someone dared to try and steal my championship, they wouldn't be walking anymore.”
He exhales heavily.
“When Raven took that championship I laughed.” he continued “Because it reminded me what it looks like when someone refuses to bow. It reminded me what separates men like us from the men like the rest of you, we don't fight for acceptance, we fight because we we know destruction is the only honest thing left in this industry.”
He looks to the candle on the altar for a moment.
“Raven punked you, plain and simple.” Vincent said “And I'm not about to let you get any redemption against me. When I crack your skull open for the second time, you'll finally understand, all the applause and adulation you fight for are worth nothing.”
He continues looking to the candle as he speaks.
“I am more than just your challenger Carter.” Vincent continued “I am the standard, this company chose me to be one of its champions. I beat LJ, and then I beat Miles, and now when I beat you, I'll be the man who beat the entire Kasey family in a matter of weeks. Who else can really say that?”
He smirks again, keeping a gaze on the single lit candle.
“You're all that's left, Carter.” Vincent said “The last ember, you've got heart sure, but heart won't be enough when the air runs out. That's what I am Carter, the wind that will take your fire away.”
With those words he blows out the candle.
“I will complete the trinity.” he said “I will extinguish the final flame of the Kasey family that's plaguing this company. I have to wonder how long it will take Alexandra Calaway to come protect you as well.”
He pauses for a beat watching the smoke of the candle dissipate into the air.
“You hear that?” he said “The silence. That's what it will sound like when the Kasey's are finally gone and the noise fades. Until all that's left is me. Then everyone will realize that Vincent Lyons Jr didn't just win. They will realize that…”
His voice drops to a more unsettling tone.
“He erased a bloodline.” he grins.
He lifts his championship off the Altar and rests it on his shoulder before looking at the camera one last time.
“HB Carter…this is your final warning.” he says in a low, almost whisper
With that he walks away from the altar down the stone path into the darkness, the camera zooms to focus on the single extinguished candle, sending its final wisps of smoke into the atmosphere.