It’s been about five months since anyone in SCW has seen or heard anything from former World Heavyweight Champion, Jake Sullivan- formerly known as Rage. Following his victory over Calvin Harris, the man who would win the World Heavyweight Championship just a couple of months later, Jake, Kittie and his daughter Ember returned home to Las Vegas. And while Jake had fully intended to continue his wrestling career with SCW for as long as he could, life had other plans in the weeks following Summer XXXTreme V.
After returning home, Ember had her very first meltdown. It was to be expected, given the drastic changes to her life in such a short amount of time. She had lost her uncle, the man whom she thought was her biological father. And her mother, whom she thought was her aunt. And following all of that, her real biological father, Jake, had come to Michigan to take custody of her, taking her from the only home she’d ever known to go live in Las Vegas. To say the poor girl was a bit traumatized was perhaps an understatement.
It was that, along with what happened in the weeks that followed Summer XXXTreme V, that Jake ultimately made the decision to quietly disappear from SCW and try to lead as normal a life as possible with Kittie and Ember. What happened, you ask? Let’s rewind time a little bit, and you can find out for yourself.
August 2017
Las Vegas, Nevada
It’s the middle of the night in the Sullivan home, and everyone is fast asleep. At least they should be at this hour. Kittie is cuddled up in Jake’s arms and he snores away loudly as they sleep in their bed. And just down the hall, Ember is tucked into her bed. This has been the norm for the past few weeks, and Jake couldn’t be happier with life, for the first time in, well...ever.
As Jake continues to snore, sucking in a deep breath and letting out an even louder snore, Kittie rolls over and away from him, though she somehow remains fast asleep. A few moments later, their bedroom door slowly squeaks open and Ember shuffles her way into the room, heading over to Jake’s side of the bed. She doesn’t look very well as she puts her hand on her father’s chest and shakes him, trying to wake him up.
Ember: Daddy...Daddy…
She shakes him again, and while Jake would have sprung out of bed in the past, having been startled awake, his eyes slowly flutter open as he looks up at Ember.
Jake: Em, what’s wrong, kid?
Ember: Daddy...I don’t...feel so...good…
Kittie has woken up by this time, and she has turned on the light next to the bed. Jake springs up as he takes one look at his daughter and the expression on his face falls.
Kittie: What’s wrong??
Jake puts his hand on Ember’s forehead, and that’s when he realizes just how sick she may be.
Jake: Shit. She’s burning up, Kittie.
And before he knows it, Ember backs up just a little bit, and the poor girl gets sick all over the floor, just barely missing his bare feet.
Kittie: We have to get her to the hospital.
Jake: Alright. Let’s go. Kittie, grab one of my shirts out of the closet for me. Come on Ember, let’s go.
Jake scoops Ember up into his arms, and moments later the three of them are rushing out the door. Jake puts Ember into the backseat with Kittie and he hops behind the wheel and he speeds off away from the house and towards the hospital. Within minutes he was pulling up to the emergency room, taking Ember in his arms again. Kittie took the task of parking the car as Jake rushed Ember inside.
Thankfully, the emergency room wasn’t very busy tonight, which meant their wait time was much much shorter. Within just a short while, Ember had already been triaged and brought into an exam room. Her vitals had been checked and she was already being given fluids through an IV. But as he watched her laying on the gurney, in so much discomfort, an unfamiliar feeling hit Jake.
Worry. Concern. Downright terror that something serious was wrong with his daughter. And Kittie was doing everything she could to comfort him and reassure him that everything would be alright.
Kittie: She’s going to be fine, Jake. We got her here quickly.
Jake: Maybe we should have brought her in earlier? I mean, she was complaining her stomach was bothering her when she went to bed. What if--
Kittie: Relax, alright. Worrying like this isn’t going to help her, or you.
Jake takes in a deep breath as he looks back to Ember. A few moments later, the ER doctor walks into the room, heading right over to Ember’s bedside.
Doctor: Hello Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. Ember. I’m Dr. Clayburn. I’m the doctor on staff tonight. Ember, I’d like to examine your belly a bit. Is that ok?
Jake looks at Kittie, confused. She shrugs her shoulders, but they look at Ember and Dr. Clayburn. Ember slowly nods her head.
Ember: It...hurts.
Dr. Clayburn: I know, sweetheart. You let me know right away if anything I do makes it hurt worse, okay?
Ember again nods, and Dr. Clayburn starts to examine Ember’s abdomen. At one point, he barely touches her belly and she lets out a winced pain, and that puts an end to his examination immediately.
Dr. Clayburn: Alright, Ember, I’m done for now. Give me just a second so I can talk to your parents.
Ember nods and she closes her eyes, trying to get some rest. Dr. Clayburn turns to Jake and Kittie, taking in a deep breath.
Jake: What is it? What’s wrong with my daughter?
Dr. Clayburn: It appears that Ember has appendicitis. Her appendix hasn’t burst yet, but if we don’t do surgery soon, it could and it could cause things to get much worse.
Jake: Surgery?! You can’t just give her some medicine or something?
Kittie: Babe, appendicitis doesn’t work like that.
Dr. Clayburn: Your wife is right. Especially in your daughter’s case. Her appendix is very inflamed, and that is what caused her to get sick earlier. She needs emergency surgery before things get worse for her. We see these all the time. Surgery can be a scary thing, but we have some of the finest surgeons in the country so trust me when I say that Ember will be taken well care of.
Jake looks back to Kittie, and the terror written all over his face is perhaps worse than it was before. The thought of his daughter on an operating table wasn’t something he thought he’d ever have to think about, but leave it to now to test his strength as a father.
Jake: Just...do what you have to do.
Dr. Clayburn: Alright. I’ll start getting things prepped and a surgical team will be here shortly. Everything will be fine.
Dr. Clayburn turns to Ember.
Dr. Clayburn: Don’t worry, Ember. We’re going to get you feeling better real soon.
A few moments later he walks out the door, and Jake and Kittie walk back up to Ember’s bedside. Ember opens her eyes and looks up sadly at her father, and Kittie.
Ember: I have to...have an operation?
Jake: Yeah. Yeah, you do, kiddo. But it’s going to make you feel better, so we have to let the doctors do their job.
Kittie: Don’t worry, Em. We’ll be right here the whole time, okay?
Ember closes her eyes and slowly nods her head as Jake just squeezes her hand lightly. A few minutes later, a few nurses appear in the room to transport her up to the surgical floor. Jake and Kittie follow behind the entire time, and even despite what the doctor said, Jake’s stomach is filled with pure dread.
Just a few months ago, he was adamant on not being a part of Ember’s life, thinking she was better off without him as a father. But now? Now she’s been brought into his life under horrible circumstances, but it’s proven to be one of the best things to have ever happened to him. And he couldn’t imagine anything worse happening to his little girl…
PRESENT DAY
*DING DONG!*
No, that is not someone calling someone else a ding dong. That, actually, is supposed to be the sound of the doorbell to Jake and Kittie’s home. Their surprise visitor waits outside for someone to open the door for them, and that person just happens to be now eleven year old Ember. She opens the door and looks outside, a big smile appearing on her face.
Ember: Uncle Gabriel!
Gabriel doesn’t even have to be invited in and Ember offers him a quick hug, which he accepts.
Ember: Where’s Aunt Odette and Lucas?
Gabriel: Good to see ya, Em. And they’re back at home. I need to talk to your dad real quick, but we’ll try and set something up soon so you can visit with Odette and Lucas.
Ember: Alright, cool!
Ember turns around a moment later, heading towards the stairs leading down to the basement.
Ember: Daddy! Uncle Gabriel is here to see you!
She shouts as loud as she can and Gabriel just chuckles.
Gabriel: A little louder next time…
Ember: I might have to if he has his earphones in.
Luckily for everyone in the house, she doesn’t need to. The sound of a door closing downstairs is heard before Jake bounds up the stairs a few moments later. And just as Ember starts running up the stairs to her room, Kittie starts walking down. Jake has a small towel wrapped around his neck, tell tale signs of his daily workout.
Jake: Hey Gabriel. What are you doing here?
Kittie: Hey Gabriel.
Gabriel: Peanut head. Kittie. Good to see the two of ya.
Jake rolls his eyes.
Jake: You just can’t call me by Jake, can you?
Gabriel shakes his head.
Gabriel: Nope. It just sounds...weird.
Jake shakes his head as he walks over to the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of water. He pulls a bottle of beer out, offering it to Gabriel.
Gabriel: No thanks. I’m gonna pass on that for right now.
Jake shrugs and returns the bottle of beer to the fridge. He twists the cap off of his water and takes a huge gulp before he turns to look at Gabriel, still curious.
Jake: So what’s up? You don’t always drop by for visits. Everything okay?
Gabriel nods.
Gabriel: Oh, everything’s good. No need to worry there. I just have a favor to ask of you.
Jake looks at Kittie curiously. She shrugs, just as lost as he is.
Jake: You? Asking me a favor? This ought to be good.
Gabriel: Oh I think it could be. Look, you know that SCW is closing up in a few weeks, right?
Jake nods.
Jake: Who doesn’t? But what does that have to do with anything?
Gabriel: Well, you see, Despy has been bugging me to team up with him one last time at Full Circle. He wants to have that one last match, but he doesn’t want it to be a singles match, so of course he’s begging me to come back for one last match.
Jake: Ok…
Gabriel grins and takes in a deep breath.
Gabriel: You know I don’t like turning him down on anything, but that last injury I had is still bugging me a bit so I don’t think I should risk getting in the ring again. So that is where you come in…
Jake nearly chokes on his water and he starts shaking his head.
Jake: You’re joking right?
Gabriel shakes his head.
Gabriel: ‘fraid not.
Kittie: You’re not honestly thinking of saying no, are you?
Jake sets his bottle of water down on the counter and looks back to Kittie, shaking his head.
Jake: No, I’m not. But come on. Despy wants to team with Gabriel. He’s not going to agree to teaming with me when he’d rather have his *air quotes* big brother teaming with him. He won’t do it.
Gabriel: Sure he will. You’ve teamed with him before. You two even won the tag team titles. He might not like it at first, but in the end, all he wants is one last tag team match in SCW so he’ll agree to it.
Jake: I don’t know. I was planning on being at the show and all, but I don’t really want to get into the ring again. I’ve got Ember to think about right now, and…
Gabriel laughs and shakes his head.
Gabriel: I get why you’re hesitant, peanut head. Trust me, I know how much being a father changes us. But this is just one match. You don’t need to worry about Ember. Once this match is over with, you’ll be back at home for good, because SCW won’t even be up and running for you to get that itch again.
Kittie: He’s right. Besides, you know that Ember felt guilty before when you told her you were done wrestling for good.
Jake: She had to have surgery, Kittie. She had nothing to feel guilty about, but like hell I was going to continue wrestling after that.
Gabriel: She’s a tough kid.
Jake laughs.
Jake: Yeah, no kidding. She was practically bouncing around again a couple of days after surgery. But, shit, that was terrifying.
Gabriel: I can’t even imagine watching Lucas go through something like that. But that was five months ago. She’s all healed up. And you have the chance to help SCW go out with a bang like it should. Ember can hang out with all of us backstage during your match and after the show, it’s living the carefree life, free of wrestling.
Gabriel and Kittie stare at Jake, waiting for him to answer. He finishes off his bottle of water and carefully thinks over in his mind what he wants to do. After a few moments, he takes in a deep breath and looks back to Gabriel.
Jake: Alright, fine. I’ll do it.
Gabriel: Great! Thanks, bud. Let’s go.
Jake raises an eyebrow and stares at Gabriel, confused.
Jake: Go? Go where? The show isn’t for a few weeks, Gabriel.
Gabriel: Oh I know that. But someone’s gotta tell Despy the good news, and I told him I was coming over today, so…
Jake starts shaking his head again.
Jake: Uh huh! No! You tell him, then! This was your idea, so you should tell him.
Kittie: Just do it, Jake. I don’t know what you’re so afraid of.
Jake: You’re joking, right?! This is Despy we’re talking about…
Gabriel: You don’t give the little guy enough credit. Just go upstairs, put on a clean shirt and meet me at Synn’s in a little bit.
Jake lowers his head and shakes it, knowing he can’t talk his way out of this.
Jake: Alright, fine. You head on over and I’ll be there in a little bit.
Gabriel: Alright, bud.
Gabriel then turns and leaves, as Jake starts grumbling under his breath and heads upstairs to get a clean shirt. Kittie just laughs as she disappears upstairs behind Jake.
A little while later, Jake finds himself sitting in the spacious front living room of Synn’s home. Gabriel and Synn are with him and their waiting for Despayre to come downstairs and join them.
Synn: Joshua!
“COMING!â€
Gabriel and Jake share a laugh and a few moments later, Despayre can be heard running out of his room and then downstairs, clutching Angel in his grasp, of course. He rushes over to the sofas, excited to see Gabriel, but when he sees, Jake, his excitement turns to confusion.
Despayre: What’s Uncle Rage doing here?
Jake: Despy, how many times do I have to tell you that I’m Jake now. Not Rage.
Despayre: I don’t know. How many?
Gabriel laughs and Jake just sighs and shakes his head.
Jake: Every time, apparently.
Despayre: Well, you still LOOK like Rage to me. You don’t look like someone else.
Synn: Alright. Let’s not get into this discussion again.
Gabriel: I know, Despy. It’s confusing and even a little weird to me, too.
Despayre: See! He gets it!
Jake grumbles again, just a hint of his former Rage-self shining through, but he shrugs it off and sits back on the sofa.
Synn: Joshua, Jake is here because he and Gabriel have something they want to tell you.
Despayre: Oh. Ok!
Gabriel turns and looks to Jake, expecting him to be the first to say something. Jake just laughs and shakes his head.
Jake: Uh huh. You tell him. It was your idea!
Gabriel: You’re such a wimp, ya know that?!
Despayre: Why are you guys acting so weird?
Jake: Well, because I don’t think you’re going to take be too excited about what Gabriel is about to tell you.
Gabriel rolls his eyes and turns to look back to Despayre.
Gabriel: Alright, Despy. Here’s the deal. I told Ra...Erm, Jake, that you wanted to wrestle one last tag team match at Full Circle to help send off SCW in a big way. Now, I know you were hoping to team with me.
Jake: But he won’t be able to do it, Despy. His injury is still nagging him a bit, so…
Despayre: What? No! I want to team with Gabriel!
Gabriel: I know you do, Despy. I wish I could do it, but Jake here agreed to take my place. He’s going to team with you at Full Circle.
Despayre’s jaw drops and he looks back and forth from Gabriel to Jake. He then turns and looks at Synn, who nods slowly. He walks up, standing in front of Jake, remaining eerily calm for a few seconds before he rears his foot back and swings it forward, kicking Jake in the shin! Any other time, Jake would have spring to his feet, howling in pain, but this time he cracks a smile and starts laughing, as Despayre stands there, confused.
Despayre: Huh?
Jake leans forward and pulls up his pant leg to reveal a shin guard protecting his leg. Gabriel and Synn are sharing a chuckle and as Jake tries to put his pant leg back down, Despayre takes him off guard by headbutting him instead! The move doesn’t even phase Despayre, but Jake is left seeing stars.
Despayre: I won’t do it!
Jake: OW! SON OF A...YOU HAVE A HARD HEAD!!
Despayre then runs off, storming back upstairs as Jake leans back, holding his head. Gabriel doesn’t even bother holding back his laughter. Jake growls and elbows Gabriel in the arm as Gabriel continues laughing.
Jake: I told you he wasn’t going to like it.
Gabriel: Oh, I know. But I missed watching him get the better of ya, so I made ya do it anyway.
As Gabriel continues laughing, and Synn just shakes his head at the display, Theresa walks out of the kitchen with a bag of ice. She walks up to Jake, handing it to him, which only elicits more laughter from Gabriel, before she turns and heads back into the kitchen. Jake mumbles under his breath as he holds the bag of ice up to his head. Whether or not Despayre will agree to teaming with him...well, that remains to be seen…
This is it. It all comes down to this, doesn’t it? One night. One match. One last time. The end of Sin City Wrestling. The end...of an era.
I never thought I’d see the day, and if I’m honest, I never thought I’d even be a part of the final show for SCW at all. I thought Mark and Christian would keep this place going for years until I was at the point where my body wouldn’t even be able to handle going into one last match, but I guess things don’t always happen the way we think they will, do they?
My time in SCW was, to be honest, like a roller coaster ride. I had my highs, winning the World Heavyweight Championship a total of three times. I was a two-time tag team champion and a two-time Internet Champion. Some would say that those accomplishments speak for themselves, but I’m going to be honest with you people here. Even despite all of that...even though I was a multi-time champion, I never felt like I accomplished everything I ever really set out to be.
And now...I’ll never get that chance.
Don’t get me wrong, last summer I made the choice to give it all up. I chose to focus on my family...on my daughter who needed me more, instead of climbing the ladder again and going for one last run. One final GREAT run. It was a sacrifice that didn’t come easy, but I guess deep down a part of me thought that maybe I’d still have that chance to come back in a few years once Ember was older.
Again, I was wrong.
I don’t regret any of it and I never will. I’ll just regret it if I let SCW go out under circumstances less than it truly deserves.
This tag team match with Despayre might not be considered match of the night, but that doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is walking out to that six-sided ring one final time and putting on a great match. Not only for SCW and the fans, but for myself. And for Despayre.
Terry Coleman and Bradley King...better known as High Velocity. I gotta be honest here. I don’t know who either of these guys are, or how long they’ve been in SCW. But, to be even more honest, I don’t even care. I couldn’t care less if Despy and I were going out to face the Tag Team Champions. It doesn’t erase the fact that this match...this is it. This is the very last time that I will ever wrestling in the six-sided ring...in any ring, for that matter. And I’m going to give it my all no matter what.
And I expect the same from you two, Terry and Bradley. I know you’re wanting to go out there and go out with a win, but I hate to break it to ya, I can’t allow that to happen. And neither will Despayre. You see, between the two of us, we’ve done more for SCW than the two of you have, and a loss for the pair of us? Just ain’t happening.
I’m not the same guy I was a year ago, boys. I could sit here and try and sling out any insult at ya that I could think of, making shit up as I go along simply because that’s just what I did. But I won’t do that. I can’t do that. But I can’t talk highly of ya either, because I know nothing about you. It’s why I’m not going to sit here, wasting my breath or my time droning on and on, because I’m going to go back to my gym and start preparing for this match. I’m going to focus on doing what needs to be done to make sure that Despayre and I get one last win in SCW.
I know you boys won’t like it, but it’s just the way it is. Maybe if you two had gone up against The Surf Boys you would have lucked out and gotten a win, but it just didn’t work out that way.
Full Circle is just one week away. SCW’s time is coming to an end, and the Sins are going to make sure it goes out with a bang.
See you next week, boys!
