[Kristopher Ryans]

 
”Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”

Kris is sitting against the brick wall in the lounge of the Jet City Sports Lab. The hardwood floors under him cannot be comfortable to sit on, and the rigid bricks had to be painful against his back, but the smile on his face shows that neither are bothering him. He flips the pages of Henry V, skimming through Act Three before closing the book and holding it up.

”If you ask a college educated person to talk to you about war, that is normally a quote that they throw on you pretty earlier in the conversation. I had the distinct lack of pleasure of having to read this play in high school. I had pretty much forgotten about it until this week. I was reading the little promotional blurbs that the interns write about each of the cards that Sin City releases, and something about my match struck me.”

He drops the book to his lap, and reaches down to the floor on the opposite side of him than the camera. He lifts a piece of paper from the wood floor, and reads just one line from it.

”Kris will have his hands full, being his first real foray into the Roulette Division.”

He sighs heavily, and then drops the paper to the floor where it originated. The former Internet Champion shakes his head before turning his attention back to the camera.

”Someone needs to hire better writers for the SCW website. Anyone that has paid a little bit of attention to me in the last few weeks knows that this is far from my first chance in the Roulette Division. I have challenged two different Roulette Champions for the title, and got my ass handed to me both times. Equinox even had the distinct pleasure of kicking my ass twice for the same title. I am sure that Alex Kaelin would have done the same thing if he would have stuck around for longer than thirty seconds.”

He seems disappointed in his history with the Roulette Division, and he rolls the paperback book in his hands, smacking it against his palm.

”That is why the quote came to mind. This isn’t me throwing my career, body, and reputation on the line for the first time. I have tried before, and I have failed before. I cannot even say that the third time will be the charm, because this will be the fourth. The most violent matches that I have been a part of have come after spinning the Roulette Wheel, and I have competed outside of this company several times. There is nothing more brutal, or more unpredictable than going after the Roulette Championship. Even worse, the nightmare does not end once you win it either. Every minute you spend in pursuit of, or laying claim to this championship is a minute you lose off of your career. Why do you think that it keeps switching hands so quickly? Holding this title is physically and mentally damaging.”

He unrolls the book, and just stares at the cover while he talks.

”All week-long people have been asking me if I am sure this is what I want. Christian double checked with me, and seemed surprised that I was not going to be going back into the tag division. Mark double checked with me after I made my intentions clear. Friends, family, and people I don’t even know have asked me if this is the best move for my career. To be honest, it probably isn’t. Chasing this title is going to hurt. Winning it is going to be difficult. Keeping it for any period of time has recently proven to be impossible. However, I didn’t come back to play it safe and do what was right for my career. I came back to mend bridges that I had burned, and to succeed where I have previously failed. Part of that failure involved the Roulette Championship. There’s only one thing that I can do to undo that failure.”

He turns the book to the camera.

”Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.”

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Jet City Sports Lab
28 April 2017
6:34 PM PDT

The gym is packed. From the moment that Coby had given it a free plug through weeks of promos, dozens of people had poured in trying to find someone to train them, or somewhere to work out that wasn’t some depressing gym chain full of half-functional equipment and fatties that were only kidding themselves. One of those people had been Abby Watkins. Kris was surprised to see her, only because she wasn’t some rookie trying to break into the business. She was a former tag team champion in her own right. To put it in the most insulting way possible, she did not need Jet City. However, she was family, so when she asked, he couldn’t say no. Today the two stand in the middle of one of the two rings inside the facility, Kris having protective pads on each hand for Abby to hit. The two of them are drenched from head to toe in sweat, a clear indicator that they had been at it a while.

”Your brother might actually die if he saw how bad you were sucking right now...”

It was the kind of comment that he knew would irritate her. Parker Wayde had always been part of her life, but until October, he did not even know she existed. She wanted to make it on her own before she tried to be a part of his life. His opinion of her was attached to her self-worth, which was something that Kris understood all too well being a younger sibling himself.

”Why are you always such a dick?”

Before Kris can respond to her, she fires off a combination of two left jabs, followed by a right, and then a high kick that Kris must shift on his feet to be able to catch with the pad. She was every bit as fast as he was, and seventy pounds lighter on her feet.

”My parents were really mean to me.”

Breathing heavily, she takes a step back and waves him off. Kris tries to mask the relief that washed over his face by using one of the pads to wipe sweat from his forehead.

”Let’s not go there.”

Kris smiles, knowing full well how to make anyone uncomfortable in any situation. She drops to the mat and rolls out of the ring before starting to unwrap her hands. Kris traps the glove under his arm, against his ribs, and pulls his hand free before pulling off the other and tossing both out of the ring in her direction.

”All this training and you don’t even know where you’re going to sign yet...”

She turns back towards him after throwing the wrapping from her left hand in a garbage can.

”At least I am doing some real training in a ring. What’s your excuse?”

He looks almost offended, stepping to the ropes closest to her and leaning forward on them.

”Training in the ring would be a waste of time. I can’t get locked into any one game plan. It is Roulette Rules.”

Abby starts unwrapping her other hand, a look of confusion washing over her face.

”What does that even mean?”

This draws a laugh from him. He had made the point on a few occasions that SCW always seemed to be off the beaten path. It should not have surprised him that she was not familiar with the concept.

”They spin a wheel. It gives the match a stipulation. That’s what we go out there and do. No way to plan, because you never know what the wheel is going to do. In my experience, that fucking thing hates me. I know what Steve can do in the ring. I know what traps to stay out of. As far as the actual match though, I won’t even know what I’m walking into until I am in the ring.”

Abby nods, the concept seeming unique to her.

”What kind of stipulations are you talking?”

This gets a much more enthusiastic laugh from Kris.

”The works. It could be anything from a Triple Cage to a Water Balloon War. You never know what you’re going to get. I can’t prepare for some kind of Barbed Wire Massacre when the reality of it is, I could end up in a tuxedo match. It is all up to chance.”

She nods.

”I get it now.”

Now it is Kris’ turn to look confused.

”I would hope so. It is not hard to grasp.”

She shakes her head.

”No, not that. The quote. You keep saying it lately.”

He smiles widely, because she was the first person to make the connection.

”Before our innocence was lost, you were always one of those blessed with lucky sevens.”

Abby nods, tossing the wrapping from her right hand into the garbage.

”You cleaned up, so you’re banking on those lucky sevens to come back your way.”

He shrugs.

”I’m not sure you can un-lose innocence, but it is worth a shot, right?”

It takes her a second, not wanting to give any kind of free reassurance to someone that goaded her into breaking her hand just over a year ago. He was different now though. Better yet, he was basically family now.

”It’s worth a lot more than that, but you already know that. If you didn’t, this whole ‘Pure’ thing would never have happened.”

It takes a few seconds, but Kris nods in agreement with her. Abby scoops a towel off a nearby table, and wipes her face with it before pointing to the back. He does not respond verbally, instead nodding a second time. She heads off towards the showers to get cleaned up. He watches her go, and then looks out at all the people enjoying this place that he and Coby had basically built on their own. He might not be able to get any innocence back, but if business was any indication, those lucky sevens had already come back to him.


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”It is strange to have back-to-back matches where you refer back to the same point in history.”

There is nothing particularly impressive about the former SCW Tag Team Champion’s surroundings. The kitchen of his home is much less exciting than the rock wall we caught him scaling last time. The camera is set up on an island-style counter in the center of the room, and Kris is leaning against the counter in front of it, peeling an orange.

”But first, I apologize for not being able to greet you from a more entertaining place. I can’t always be in the most creative of venues. I have responsibilities these days. Not just to you people, or to the Jet City Sports Lab, but here at home. I can’t exactly expect my wife to take care of an infant, a toddler, two dogs, and a teacup pig all on her own. I already get to unfairly jet off for the weekends. During the week, it is hard to get away.”

He is still way too small to be seen in full view of the camera, but as Kris is talking, KJ's tuft of blonde hair raises off his head just high enough so that he can be seen moving in between the counters where Kris is standing. The younger half of Jet City looks down and smiles, breaking off a piece of the orange. The viewers see a tiny hand reaching up, opening and closing a few times to show that the toddler wanted what his father had. Without hesitation, he hands KJ the piece of the orange, and the tuft of hair wanders away from the camera.

”Anyways, referring to the same point in history. Last week I had to remind Joshua Acquin that I had already been in a match with him once before. That match ended with him tapping out like a bitch not once, but twice. See, the first time, the referee was not paying attention. Josh thought he had escaped. Moments later he was screaming like a little girl again, and the match was over. Some of you might be asking why I would need to bring that up again this week. The answer to that is simple. The whole reason that Josh was tapping out like a bitch was because his tag team partner was incompetent and couldn’t make the save. Who was that tag team partner? None other than the man with only half a dick left, Steve Ramone.”

Kris breaks off another piece of the orange and pops it into his mouth. He looks away from the camera for just a second, most likely keeping track of what his son was up to, before turning his attention back to the viewers.

”That’s right! Good ol’ four inch… er… I guess two inch is more appropriate given recent developments… has already been in a match with me before. The same match that Acquin was in. Meaning the only time sorry ass Steve has been in the ring with me ended in an emphatic loss for him. In case you missed it when I said it last week, that match happened when my partner and I couldn’t stand the sight of one another, and Steve’s team was coming off a tag team title run. He was at a high point, and I was at a low point, yet my hand was the one raised when it was said and done. Now, I am a little more seasoned, a whole lot more sober, and riding a pretty nice wave of momentum right now. I have pulled a 180 since our last match. On the other hand, Steve has botched most of his opportunity. The guy lost his title to Ryan Keys and half of his dick to a veteran porn star that forgot there's no place for teeth in a blowjob. History shows that he couldn’t manage to beat me while I was down, why does he even expect to have a chance now?”

The blonde tuft of hair makes another appearance as KJ walks back to his father, reaching up and demanding another piece of the orange. Kris looks down, shaking his head.

”This was supposed to be for me, you know?”

KJ says something that the camera does not quite pick up, and Kris smiles, handing him another piece of the fruit. Like the first time, KJ disappears afterwards, going back to whatever he was doing on the opposite end of the room. Kris returns his focus to the camera.

”I get it though. The dude must a little pissed off. As a former champion, he should have gotten his shot at Keys before anyone like James Tuscini or myself got involved in the mix. I mean that is what rematch clauses are for, right? Here is the problem with that: nobody is interested in seeing “Captain Half-Cocked” take on the “Human Sex Toy” Roulette Champion for the thirtieth time. What do either of them even have to offer? Steve only ever talks about banging sluts that have no standards. Ryan spends most of his time on camera debating on what degrading thing he is going to wear. It’s fucking boring. Best case scenario? Keys retains over someone we have seen him beat before. Worst case? More Roulette Hot Potato. It is a lose-lose situation. Throwing in James Tuscini doesn’t add any appeal, because Xander Bishop made that dude his bitch. Given the options, doesn't it make sense for Mark Ward to add me to the title picture?"

Kris turns to his left, tossing the peel off of the orange into a trashcan off screen.

"Some people saw it as a shock. Christian expected Jet City to make another go of it. Jason's on a worldwide vacation, and not speaking to me, so that's a no go. Others expected me to set my sights a little higher than the third-tier gimmick belt, but no way I’m entering the clusterfuck main event picture where four people have legitimate claims to the same title. I guess there is the Internet, but I have been there and done that. Hopefully all of you are starting to see where this path leads. The Roulette makes more sense for me right now than anything else that SCW has to offer, but that is still a couple weeks away. My point is, my addition to that match at Into The Void directly led to this match at Climax Control. This week, Boston gets a sneak preview of what is going to happen at the supercard.”

He pauses just long enough to shoot a glance back over at his son before continuing.

”That makes this match about momentum, not that I really need any more of it. My first match back in SCW I beat Ryan Keys. More than a year of ring rust didn’t stop me from winning that match. Since then, I haven’t been pinned, and I haven’t tapped out. That was November of last year. What has Steve done in that time other than drop the Roulette Championship twice, and be a constant embarrassment to this company? The fact is, if you add both of his reigns together, it doesn’t come close to how long I held the tag team belts.”

He holds his hand up to the camera before viewers can raise any disagreement with him through their screens.

”Yeah. Okay. Fine. Tag team wrestling is a different beast. Let me give a better example. If you add those two reigns of his together, it doesn’t come close to the reign that a distracted junkie that was sloppy in the ring had with the Internet Championship two years ago. Who was that person? Me, and I beat him while strung out and not giving a shit. If he can’t even stack up against that person, what chance does he have against me now?”

He tosses another slice of the orange in his mouth, shaking his head and enjoying a light laugh while he chews it.

”Do yourself a favor Steve and have your girl chomp down on the half a dick you have left, because not being medically cleared to compete is the only way that you don’t end up losing this match. If you choose to show up, and you are in the ring when the bell rings, I can’t guarantee that you even make it to Into The Void. Is that what you want? Yet another missed opportunity?”

Kris pauses to let the the question settle in, and the blonde tuft of hair makes yet another return to the frame. This time Kris does not even wait for him ask before extending the last piece of the orange out to him. Once the child takes it, Kris holds up his empty hands to him.

"No more."

The little one takes off, leaving his father standing in the frame alone again. He looks back at the camera.

"That goes for all of you too."

He smirks, winking at the camera at the same time that he makes a clicking sound with his cheek. With that, the video cuts off.