“Are you serious?” Eddie said, giving Coach Kaiser an annoyed look, “You’re bringing HER to SCW? Couldn’t you have brought Cleo instead?”
“Cleo will be returning to a rebranded PWS, with Jazz.” Coach Kaiser explained, “Look, you don’t need to worry about Victoria. She’s coming to SCW because I wanted her too, and I felt it’s time for The Lyons Den to push some more talent into the world. You’ve held it down for almost a year on your own, but you know that I want to give all my students a chance.”
“What about Vincent and Alex?” Eddie questioned.
“I know, I know. I’m hoping for them to be a tag team somewhere. But I needed to pull Victoria away from them. It’s time she tried doing this on her own.” Coach Kaiser explained.
Eddie sighed, he knew Coach Kaiser was just doing his job, he shouldn’t be so selfish. Victoria was annoying but as long as she stayed in her lane and out of Eddies, she shouldn’t be too much of a problem. He took a drink of his water bottle, before sitting on a nearby bench, Coach Kaiser took a seat beside him, as a few passersby continued along the trail.
Eddie knew the real threat that was ahead of him, and it wasn’t his crazy cousin. It was the man who had been injecting fear into the hearts of many SCW fans, and superstars alike. The one only known as The Entity.
“Do you really think I can beat him?” asked Eddie, “The Entity? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous.”
Coach Kaiser furrowed his brow and looked Eddie in the eyes.
“Of course you can.” he said with a nod, “It’s okay to be nervous, but never doubt yourself. All you need to remember, is The Entity is simply a man. He can talk in all the riddles he wants. He can put on his spooky overgrown emo kid act all he wants. But he’s still nothing more than a man, like you and me. HBC already proved he can be beaten, and remind me again who made HBC tap out a few months ago?”
“I did, but…HBC wasn't...or rather he didn't...” Eddie started, but his Coach went on, interrupting him
“..And since then you’ve only gotten better AND became a champion.” Coach Kaiser continued, “That happened because you fought hard and earned it. You earned the respect of Peter Vaughn because you fought hard and you earned it. The Entity just has his mind games, he wants you to be afraid. You’re not afraid are you?”
“Of course not.” Eddie said, almost as if he felt insulted at the suggestion.
“Good.” Coach Kaiser nodded, “Because you shouldn’t be. You need to give him a reason to fear YOU.”
Eddie nodded, Coach Kaiser was right. The Entity liked to come across scary and intimidating. But beneath all that he was nothing more than a man. A dangerous man who was prone to violence, but a man none then less.
“He will.” Eddie nodded, “I will expose him when I become the first man to beat him.”
“HBC did that already…” said Coach Kaiser confused
“I mean without tricks.” Eddie smiled, “HBC did defeat him, but with all due respect it was really do to some quick, albeit clever thinking on Carters part. I intend to just flat out beat The Entity, and prove to everyone he really isn’t all that scary.”
“Thats the spirit.” Kaiser said with a smile patting his student on the back. “Don’t forget, we got Aiden Reynolds at Into The Void. He’s the real deal, so we have to be ready for him as well. I know he and Dickie had to deal with Alex and his goon friends back in PWS. I know Alex takes credit for ridding PWS of The Commonwealth, but this isn’t PWS and you aren’t Alex. we can focus on Aiden more later, but you need to keep him in the back of your mind."
“I know, and I have a ton of respect for Aiden, he’s a good dude just trying to do the best he can out there, and be the best he can be. Sort of like myself. We both just want to be the best and I can respect that. But if I focus too much on Aiden now, I’ll lose sight of The Entity." said Eddie
Coach Kaiser smiled, “You’re learning more every day.” he said proudly.
“Thanks Coach.” Eddie replied in kind.
“C’mon let’s find our way off this trail, and find a place to eat, then we can find a gym or something.” said Coach Kaiser
Eddie nodded in agreement, and the two continued their walk down the nature trail. Eddie knew where his path was taking him over the next few weeks, and he knew what threats lay ahead. Aiden was going to fight as hard as he could to make his own name. Eddie however had a his own name to make,and that meant continuing on as Roulette Champion for as long as possible. As for The Entity, he could try all the riddles and spooky imagery he wanted. It wasn’t going to break Eddie, no rather The Entity would discover one that could not be broken. He would discover why Eddie Lyons is UNBREAKABLE.
__________
Darkness. That’s all the SCW cameras are able to pickup as they open on the scene A hooded figure emerges from the darkness holding a torch and wearing a druid robe, as they draw closer we can see the face of Eddie Lyons underneath the hood, illuminated by the flames.
“Is this how it’s done?” Eddie said through the confident smirk on his face, “Come out through the shadows, all spooky and say a bunch of spooky jargon about bringing chaos and destruction, and go into a bunch of riddles about your opponent?”
Eddie laughs to himself, staying illuminated by the flame.
“I can almost hear it now..” Eddie continued, “Eddie Lyons is a flash in the pan. You’ll break the man who claims to be unbreakable. Some crap about my last name relating to the apex predator I share it with. Maybe you’ll even compare me to Icarus or something because of my quick rise. I’m sure whatever you have to say will be full of all of it. You want revenge for whatever wrongs you feel have befallen you from this company, so now you want to shroud all of us in the darkness with you”
Eddie extinguishes the flame,putting the entire scene in darkness, to where only his voice is heard.
“But the darkness, it’s not so scary.” Eddie said, “You know I consider myself an honorable guy. I do my best to make the right choices, do the right things. Follow a good path, because if there’s one thing that can expel darkness……it’s light.”
Suddenly, the room lights up. Eddie stands, now in jeans and a white t-shirt. The room is well light, with clean white walls lining it, the Roulette Championship rests on his shoulder.
“When I won this, I promised to be a champion of the people.” Eddie said, “And that’s just what I intend to be. That means I need to stand up for SCW against this pestilence that seeks to destroy it. This is the first company to give me a real chance, and I owe it to Mark and Christian to do my part in making sure the likes of you don’t destroy it. I don’t know what they did to upset you so much, but to me you sound like nothing more than a crybaby who didn’t get what they wanted.”
Eddie grins, allowing and wanting his words to sink in.
“Yeah a crybaby. That’s exactly what you are. Don’t like hearing it, too bad.” Eddie said sternly, keeping a fearless look on his face, “Didn’t renew my contract, replaced me with Goth. Get over it. Move on. Simply put, GET THE FUCK OVER IT.”
Eddie’s eyebrows furrow, and his expression grows into a more serious, somewhat angry looking tone.
“This is the guy I’m supposed to fear?” Eddie continued, “Because all I hear from him is a whole lot of bitching and complaining over and over. All I see is a man who attacked one of the owners of this company. All I see is a man who HBC made a fool of. So you’ve won a few matches along the way. Guess what, so have I, and I have something you don’t. A championship.”
Eddie motions to and glances down at the Roulette Championship on his shoulder.
“I fought like hell to earn this.” he continued, "When Peter Vaughn beat me down time after time, did I get angry and blame Rodrigo Afonso because he won the briefcase? No, I pulled myself up and kept fighting. Now I stand before you a champion, and if you think for a second I’m going to be some sort of pushover, then you better rethink your strategy. Because one thing is for certain, and that’s underneath the mask and all the spooky riddles you are still just a man. You bleed as red as I do, and I imagine both of us will once this is all over. Point is, you may be a crazy man, even a violent man, but you’re still a man and men can be defeated.”
Eddie pauses for a moment, keeping an aura of confidence and not showing any fear of Entity.
“I don’t speak in riddles either.” Eddie continued on, “I will be straightforward and tell you that I think deep down, you are just a coward who needs this dark image to make himself feel tough. I will be straight forward when I tell you that a fight is coming your way that you’re going to need more than clever wordplay to defeat. I will be straightforward and tell you that I am going to fucking kick your ass, because you deserve it.”
From the look in his eyes, Eddie is at the very least speaking his own truth. He clearly has a disdain for Entity and his actions and is coming to teach him a lesson. Wether it goes well for him or now remains to be seen, but Eddie is definitely fired up and ready.
“Sunday will be the day of your downfall.” Eddie continued, “When I show the world that you are nothing more than some failed high school drama act. Peel away the spooky persona and you’re no different than myself, J2H, Miles Kasey or anyone else you’ve encountered in your time here. You need people to fear you to thrive. When someone doesn’t fear you, that’s when the cracks form and that’s when you will break. Because try as you might, you will not break me. I will always come back, always keep fighting because I am Eddie Lyons. I am the SCW Roulette champion and I am UNBREAKABLE.”
Eddie raises his championship in the air. The camera focus on Eddie and his ready and focused aura, as the scene slowly fades out.
__________
He knew their paths would cross sooner or later, Eddie was just hoping for the latter. All he wanted was to get a workout in before his match with the Entity on Climax Control. Now his cousin Victoria had signed her own contract, and no here she was ready to pester Eddie.
“Did you follow me here Victoria?” asked Eddie annoyed as he put down his weights to look his cousin in her eyes.
“It’s a gym Eddie.” replied Victoria with a flair of arrogance, “It’s where you always are. You’re very predictable cousin.”
“If you’re just here to mock me, get it over with.” said Eddie annoyed, “Just know that I don’t really care what you have to say.”
“Dear cousin!” Victoria said with feigned surprise, “How could you accuse me of such things? I’m here because I think I can help you.”
“And why would you help me?” Eddie replied nonchalantly.
“Because we’re family of course.” smiled Victoria.
“Yeah, you’re not going to play those tricks on me like you did Alex and Vincent.” said Eddie, “My advice to you is to worry about your own career. SCW’s women's division is one of the toughest around. If you;re going to succeed in it you should stop worrying about what I’M doing.”
Victoria frowned, she wasn’t the type who liked being told no.
“You can’t beat the Entity without my help.” she growled, “You need me to help you reach that dark place.”
“No. I don’t.” said Eddie, “I won the Roulette Championship on my own, and I did it my way. I can beat the Entity, and I can do it MY WAY.”
Victoria laughed.
“You don’t know what revenge does to a person do you?” she said, “You haven’t hated someone so much it fuels your every desire. Every waking moment you just want to deliver justice to that person.”
“No, because I don’t hate anyone, and I handle my business more professionally.” Eddie replied.
“You’ll understand some day.” Victoria replied, “You’re still the little lion cub of this family. You dont know the hatred Vincent and I have for Eden and HWL,. The hatred we have for Renee Jonae. Names that may not mean anything to you or anyone else, but to me and Vincent they are the ones who did us wrong and we still owe them a receipt.”
“Your contracts ended in HWL over five years ago.” Eddie replied, “Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”
“Like I said, you just don’t get it.” she said, “What about Alex? How do you think he feels? He was abandoned by those who called him family in PWS. First it was Tyson Sykes, but he was dealt with. The real blow came when the company closed and he was left to rot by Jonathan Sanders and Dionysus. The vengeance he has for those two has only fueled his rage further. He still seems to have some loyalties to Alexandra Calaway so I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt, but I got my eyes on her too.”
“Sounds like a whole lot of not my business.” said Eddie. “Why don’t you think about why you’re really here?”
Victoria raised an eyebrow intrigued
“And tell me dear cousin, why am I here?” she asked.
“Think about it, why just you?” Eddie said, “No Vincent, no Alex. Coach Kaiser only chose you to be here. It’s because he wants to to move on from your past. Everywhere you’ve gone, be it PWE, HWL or Wrestling Coalition, Vincent has been with you, or you with him. In OCW you had Alex with you as well. Now it’s just you. Coach Kaiser wants you to create your own path without your “boys”.
“Then he will get what he wants.” she smirked “Unlike you, I’ll be willing to go to dark places to reach my goals. My message will be spread to the masses. You’ll come to understand soon enough. That we are stronger together. Good luck against the Entity. If you ever need advice getting to that dark place, just remember your family is here for you.”
She smirked and gave Eddie a boop on the nose before leaving him to his business, and going about her own. Eddie shook his head and rolled his eyes as she walked away before going back to his workout.
__________
Eddie sat in the back corner of a locker room, towel around his neck looking as if he just finished a workout, the cameras rest on him for a moment before catching his gaze as he begins to speak.
“You know, there are things I appreciate about you Entity.” Eddie began, “Because underneath all the whining, there is a talented athlete. One that forces me to try and be a little bit better than I usually am. The same way Peter Vaughn came at me, and the same I’m expecting from Aiden Reynolds in a few weeks.”
Eddie takes in a breath and uses the towel to wipe his forehead.
“But unlike Peter and Aiden, both of whom I respect. I have no respect for you.” said Eddie, “No riddles about it, you are nothing more than an evil bastard with no conscience. I for one have already grown tired of hearing you complain about HIM, or I guess I should say Goth. Tired of hearing about whatever happened 10 years ago with SCW. Maybe you were wronged, I don’t know because ten years ago I was twelve. But it’s time to move on, seriously. Grudges are for the weak. You’re not weak are you Entity?”
Eddie smirks confidently at the camera, trying to to play mind games of his own.
“Of course not.” Eddie continued, “I’m not so foolish as to underestimate you in anyway. But something tells me you’re the type to underestimate me. You’re going to find out the hard way that thinking that way is a mistake. I’m like your boss getting upset because you asked him for less on your paycheck. Unbelievable. Peter Vaughn discovered that, when I kept coming back each and every time I got beat down. So you really should listen to me when I tell you that riddles and mind games won’t be enough. I am going to be your biggest challenge to date, and I’m going to change your entire perspective because I am going to make you realize how not scary you really are. You’re going to have to figure out how to defeat someone who is not afraid of the dark, because he is a warrior of light and as we all know light will always expel darkness.”
Eddie takes in another breath as he continues on.
“Everything about you is built on getting your opponent to fear you, and as someone who grew up in this business, there’s always someone like you.” Eddie continued, “Someone who likes to be all spooky and mysterious. In the old days they would call themselves Justin Sane. My Coach once feuded with one calling himself X Dragon, then were was The Ravaged. They all come in being spooky, mysterious and violent. It’s nothing new to me, so why would I fear it?”
Eddie shrugs.
“I asked for better competition, and it’s being given to me.” Eddie continued, “So now I need to respond in kind by upping my game and proving I deserve higher competition. If I can take you down before you can spread your pestilence through the locker room, it’ll be a good start. Once I prove how fallible you are, others will step up and realize they can do it too. Then little by little, nobody fears you anymore and you lose, well everything that makes you…you.”
Eddie smirks confidently again.
“HBC got the ball rolling when he made you look like a fool.” said Eddie, “And I will keep it going when I beat you, with no excuses or cute tricks. No disrespect to HBC of course. I just want to do my part and put a stop to Entity before things really get out of control, and mark my words if we let him, they will. But it’s okay because I’m not going to let him. If I have to start to lead a charge, I will. But first I need to beat Entity in front of the world, and with honor before glory I will.”
Eddie rubs his palms together, as he takes in one last breath.
“I like to consider myself something of a wild card.” Eddie said, “You never know what to expect from me, or what I might throw your way. But you know I’m capable of damn near anything. I’m certainly capable of beating you Entity, which you will find out come Climax Control. Your attempt at a reign of terror is going to come to an end before it can even really start, because whatever happens in our match, I will never stop until you are finished once and for all.”
Eddie gives his usual confident gaze at the camera as it fades out to black.
_________
Eddie stared daggers across the table at his older cousin. This time Coach Kaiser, who had called this summit in the first place sat between them.
“Okay.” said Coach Kaiser, “So I know the two of you don’t get along…”
“I’m not teaming with her.” Eddie jumped in.
“I know..please, let me finish.” said Coach Kaiser
“Yeah, don’t be rude” Victoria said, smirk on her face.
“Victoria stop.” Coach Kaiser continued, “This is what I mean. I want success for the both of you. I don’t want either of you being an obstacle in the others career. I won’t force you to team together so don’t worry about that. You can come to that decision on your on, if you so desire later on.”
“We won’t.” said Eddie.
“I’ll agree to that.” said Victoria.
“Good, because I need YOU to focus on Entity.” Coach Kaiser said darting his eyes at Eddie
“And I need YOU..” he said darting his eyes at Victoria, “To worry about your debut. You’re most likely going to be booked on the next Climax Control so maybe think about getting ready for that.”
Both students glared at one another but said nothing.
“As your Coach, I’m giving you the freedom to act as you please, because I want you to be yourselves out there.” Coach Kaiser continued, “I want success for both of you, because I want success for The Lyons Den. So I don’t want either of you trying to put obstacles in each others way.”
“You don’t need to worry about me Coach.” said Eddie, “I’m not worried about her. I’m focused on being Roulette Champion. She can do as she pleases, just keep me out of it.”
“Oh I will do as I please.” Victoria smirked, "I am putting the entire women's division on notice. A lioness is on the prowl now and none of them are safe, not their champions not anyone.”
“Great!” exclaimed Eddie, “Go do that, go punch Kallie Reznik in the face, go attack Kayla Richards to send a message, go after Alexandra Calaway over some bullshit about Alex. Just leave me out of it.”
“And you don’t come complaining to me when my career outshines yours, and the only Lyons these fans care about is it’s head lioness.” Victoria replied arrogantly.
“Well, maybe win a championship first.” Eddie replied, “Then we can talk about which of us is better.”
“See, that’s what I mean.” said Coach Kaiser shaking his head, “You two shouldn’t worry about outshining each other. You should focus on being the best you can be for The Lyons Den, for our school. You should want success for each other, because that helps all of us, it helps Cleo, it helps Jazz and it helps Vincent and Alex.”
“Vincent and Alex, who you left behind.” says Victoria giving Coach Kaiser an accusing gaze.
“Yeah, I chose not to get them contracts.” said Coach Kaiser, “One I need to balance myself. I can’t coach all of you at once, and I’m pushing myself with four of my talents out there now, thankfully Cleo will help out some with Jazz, but I got a full plate. I chose you because, I do agree with some of your complaints.”
Both of the Lyons looked at their coach curiously
“You haven’t been given a real chance, ever.” Coach Kaiser said, “Vincent had his time in WWH, but it closed before you got a chance to get your momentum going. You got some momentum in PWE, but they closed just as you became Victory Champion, and Wrestling Coalition? Well that sort of ended before it even started. SCW is different though Victoria. This is where you will be tested for real, and you’re going to do it on your own. You wanted a chance, well this is it.”
No arguments from either student on that one.
“Are we done here?” asked Eddie, “Because I do have a tough opponent to prepare for, and would like to get back to that.”
“I have my own business to deal with as well. Scouting this new division, see which prey looks the tastiest.” smirked Victoria.
“Can we shake hands at least?” asked Coach Kaiser
The two cousins just glared at one another.
“Yeah..didn’t think so.” Coach Kaiser shrugged, “Go on. Do what ever you need to.”
Eddie and Victoria both made their leave, in separate directions. Leaving Coach Kaiser by himself to sigh heavily.
“What am I going to do about those two…” he muttered.
_________
