Earlier in the week
The McCarran International Airport was it's usual bustle of frenzied activity, even at this early hour of just past 7am. Early for what might have been many of the nation's airports, but the McCarran was an international destination for tourists traveling the world over. If Las Vegas was their chosen destination, or simply a stop over, it was a lure for hundreds of thousands every year. And the arrivals were not the only ones feeling the effects of the early morning hour, but some of those who stood at the baggage claims, and case such as this, in the lobby outside of Immigration and Customs.
A small gathering of the public were in this room, some seated and other restless ones, or those who did not arrive in time to grab a vacant seat, remained standing. Three figures were quite familiar to the eye, that being SCW Superstars, Kristjan Baltasarsson and his significant other, Ty West. And accompanying them was Kristjan's constant and closest companion, his younger brother Aron. This was not counting the fourth member of their party, the white Siberian husky that Kristjan doted on so, his beloved Kyssa.
Care to guess which one not only had the only chair among the group, but also the most sour expression on his face?
"Where the fuck are they?" Kristjan growled in his native tongue, understood only by Aron and Ty, as they watched the office door open and someone else other than their expected guests emerge. He went on, "Their flight landed twenty minutes ago!"
"Hm, someone's grouchy." Aron observed in a joking tone, one which flew right over Kristjan's head.
"I'm tired A!" Kristjan said, to which Aron responded, "You're usually up earlier than this for your morning run. Nobody told you to stay up late, drinking."
"Or that much." Ty quietly observed. He was used to his boyfriends habitual love of all things alcohol, but it didn't mean he particularly liked it.
"You're supposed to be on my side." Kristjan stated with absolute belief, prompting Ty to just smile and turn his head aside to do a bit of 'people watching' whilst they waited. Kristjan watched after him for a brief moment before he shook his head and mumbled, "You'll never see me naked again."
Feeling ganged up on (picked on), Kristjan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest in a classic sulk, prompting both Ty as well as Aron to enjoy a chuckle at his expense.
"We're just teasing you big baby!" Aron chided his brother.
Kristjan said, relaxing his pose, "Considering who we're here for, you two could cut me a little slack! I'm surprised I didn't drink more."
"Oh it isn't going to be as bad as you think." Ty said, causing both Baltasarsson brother's to exchange an incredulous glance. Aron turned to the man who was practically a brother in law to him and said, "Easy for you to say. Our sisters adore you."
Ty got a bit of a smug grin in his kisser before he nudged Kristjan's shoulder with his hip and quipped, "Must run in the family."
Aron swallowed hard, then curled his fingers of one hand against his lips and mumbled, "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little."
Ty just took the comment in good humor, knowing that Aron was only teasing. After all, Ty knew if anyone could lay claim to some responsibility in bringing Kristjan and himself together it was Aron. Ty then asked, "So did either of you find out why your sisters were coming with your dad?"
"No idea." Aron shook his head. "It was just dad coming for a visit at first, then out of nowhere, he tells us Elin and Viktoria were tagging along."
"He probably got a good rate for them on a broom somewhere." Kristjan said. "Just like them to mooch a trip off of our dad." But before he was able to continue with his tirade against his sisters and their seemingly endless sense of entitlement, the office door opened once again, but this time the familiar figures of Kristjan and Aron's father, Benedikt, and sisters, Viktoria and Elin, emerge from inside, prompting a "About fucking time!" to escape from between Kristjan's lips before he could stop himself, or think to speak the exclamation in English since his family (with the exception of Aron and Freyja) only spoke Icelandic.
But they were far enough away that they did not hear him, or chose to act like they did not as Kristjan rose from his chair, and immediately Kyssa stood up from her haunches, following her master's example, and the three four moved to greet the arriving family. And if that didn't catch the brothers off guard just a little, their sisters' mutual appearance did. Under most circumstances, through all the years they shared as siblings, both Viktoria and Elin were always made up to seemingly perfection; makeup, hair styles and their choices in clothes were second to none, even Kristjan was hard pressed to deny.
But both sisters looked a little worse for wear, their expressions tired and somber as opposed to their usual confidence and haughty. Plus their clothes were more relaxed and casual as opposed to designer tops and jeans or slacks that they favored when going somewhere, hoping to draw attention their way. Neither Aron nor Kristjan could deny the simple fact their sisters were beautiful; the problem was that they both knew it. But none of that confidence was on display, and they could only assume that it was because of the travel resulting in jet lag. A flight from Reykjavík to Las Vegas was over 6500 miles, and Benedikt had mentioned beforehand the flight was twelve hours. Tat and the time difference...
"What the fuck did you do to your hair? Kristjan caught himself asking aloud to Elin, whose usual straight, bright blonde locks were now curly and streaked with gold.
"Jan!" Ty started to exclaim but Elin frowned and replied testily, "Fine, thanks. And you?"
"I gave her a perm before we left Reykjavík." Viktoria immediately jumped to her sister's defense, as was her habit, but this time without the evident hostility behind her words that they had grown accustomed to. "A perm?" Kristjan responded, then turned to Elin and raised his brows. "You mean it's going to stay like that?"
"K!" "Jan!" Both Aron and Ty exclaimed in a vain effort to subdue any cross words between the siblings before any further toxic words could be exchanged, but too little. Too late as Elin huffed and said, "I was just trying to get it to match that carpet you have on your legs but can't get my hair long enough!" This dig caused Kristjan to frown but before any more words could be uttered between the pair, Aron brushed in between his two arguing siblings and embraced his father with welcoming arms.
"How was the flight?" Aron asked, as they separated and Ty took on the initiative to step up and offer his hand to the father of the man he loved, a gesture that was readily accepted as Benedikt answered, "Long. Had a three hour stop over in Seattle, but other than that?" He nodded, indicating that the flight had been uneventful.
Ty went to offer a handshake to the sisters but true to form, both of them brushed past his extended hand and hugged Ty instead, neither none too eager to let go of the handsome man. But the biggest surprise happened when Viktoria actually greeted her brothers with a hug, catching both Kristjan and Aron by surprise when they hadn't even expected a handshake! Kristjan looked over her shoulder and toward his dad for an explanation but none was forthcoming.
"Turbulence?" Kristjan asked, knowing that this sort of thong disturbed Elin greatly, causing panic episodes. He was none too thrilled with having a jet rocking violently six plus miles in the air himself, but not the degree to his sister.
"None, thankfully. Elin responded as the group started to move out of the lobby and they proceeded to head through the massive infrastructure of the international airport and toward the luggage claim to retrieve their bags. Ty had the foresight to grab a luggage cart, because if Kristjan and Aron knew their sisters, there would be a shit ton of it! Elin eyed Kristjan, seemingly caught off guard by his asking, seemingly out of concern. All the while, Kristjan and Aron could not help but notice that Elin had done the vast majority of the talking so far for the sisters, whereas "motor mouth Viktoria" had barely spoken a word.
Almost as curious as the fact Kyssa kept staring up toward Viktoria while they climbed aboard the airport tram that took them from where they had arrived and to the part of the McCarran where they could grab their bags and be heading home. Under most circumstances, Kyssa had sensed Kristjan's hostility toward his older sisters and adopted it as her own, but now the friendly pooch seemingly was showing concern; at least toward the eldest of the family siblings. Kristjan even could have sworn he heard a faint whine emanate from his baby girl in Viktoria's direction.
They then allowed the tram to take them on their course, and a piece of their childhood would allow them to enjoy the ride. It was almost like a miniature roller coaster around and through the exterior of the airport, until they slowed to a crawl and then a complete stop. As the doors slid open and the gathering stood up to exit, Kyssa instinctively moved closer to Viktoria, sticking by her side, drawing stares from the family. Viktoria especially seemed caught off guard by her behavior as they continued to walk. Even though they had been there in Las Vegas once before, just this past Christmas, all the lights and attractions of this airport still drew the eyes of not just the sisters, but the patriarch as well as they looked up and about.
"Are we staying at the same place as before?" Viktoria finally broke her endless silence as they descended an escalator to where the baggage claim was.
"No." This time it was Aron who answered. "You're staying at our place.
"Really?" Benedikt asked in confirmation, his brow knitting as they stood alongside other passengers of their flight, looking for their luggage as it maneuvered around on the carousel. "Do you have the room?"
Kristjan frowned as his sisters reached for their luggage and simply because, he, Aron and Ty grabbed for them first to lend an assist. He answered, "We've had a guest or two before. You two..." He nodded toward Elin and Viktoria. "... can share Aron's bed. Dad can have mine or we can share and A cam have the sofa."
"Will you be alright by that?" Benedikt asked his youngest boy, and Aron smiled and responded with, "I'll be fine. I stayed on the sofa for a few months while Dani lived with us. This won't be any different."
"Besides..." Kristjan spoke up as they hefted the last of the family's luggage off of the carousel and set it on the rack. "...if it gets too crowded, Ty said I could crash with him over night."
"I just have to make sure." Benedikt stated as they started to head out and toward the parking garage. "Plans changed a bit. We may be staying a little longer than expected."
"Oh?" Aron said. "What's the occasion?"
Benedikt cast a quick glance toward his daughters and away again, but Kristjan, Aron as well as Ty each caught the silent exchange but said nothing. Benedikt answered, "I thought we might stay and go to this next show of yours. See you in person for once. Other than that, does a father need a reason to want to spend extra time with his sons?"
Aron smiled, and Kristjan threw up his hands in mock surrender. Yet they weren't fooled. he had said a father and his sons, but said nothing about sisters and their brothers.
Kristjan finally offered, "Show is in Phoenix, we'll head there this weekend. But we can do the stuff you wanted to do last time you were here and didn't have time. Few things on the Strip..."
"That Mob Museum?" Elin asked, perplexing her brothers that their sister would be interested in a museum dedicated to Las Vegas's history with organized crime. But they nodded and Kristjan continued, "Just have one more training session scheduled at Gabriel and Odette's gym. Maksym is in town to help me since this isn't a normal wrestling match. More MMA based so I want to be ready."
"You want to (air quotes) 'be ready' for something you've been training for, for years?" Elin mused in mocking disbelief. "I thought you were an expert at MMA? You should have stuck with wrestling. It looks easy."
"You think so?" Kristjan challenged as they arrived at the mini van Ty had borrowed from his aunt Lora for just this occasion. Elin nodded, confident in her opinions and Kristjan just smiled.
He said, "Then you won't mind joining us at the gym." Both sisters stared at him and he smiled and said, "What? I know you two go running every morning like we do..." He motioned with a hand between Aron, Ty and himself. "Aron works out at the gym while I train al the time. No reason why you can't back up your big mouth while Maksym is helping me."
Kristjan tossed in the last piece of luggage, satisfied with the corner that Elin had boxed herself into. All Kristjan would have to do is get the okay from the Stevens. And once he told them about his sister's dismissive opinion on their chosen sport, he was fairly certain that they would have little to no objections to showing her (and Viktoria) that wrestling was anything but easy. Ty opened the passenger door and before Viktoria could climb inside, she was startled again by Kyssa who nuzzled her leg and then lapped at the back of her hand with her tongue. Kristjan was just about floored why his pet's behavior and even more so when she closed her eyes, enjoying a brief scratch behind the ears, courtesy of Viktoria before she climbed inside.
"Oh Kyssa...!" Elin gushed, wrapping her arms around the dog's neck in an embrace, believing that if she was being affectionate to Viktoria, then surely... Elin then went for a kiss on her nose when...
"CHOO!" Kyssa sneezed right in Elin's face, pursed lips and all. Elin squealed in surprise and disgust, jumping to her feet and wiping desperately at her face while Kyssa looked up at her in total innocence.
"She did that on purpose!" Elin cried as she hurriedly climbed into the mini van, causing their father to roll his eyes and climb in after, exclaiming, "Don't be ridiculous! How could she?"
And Ty, from out of the corner of his eye, caught Kristjan giving his girl a treat from out of the vision of his family....
Kristjan Baltasarsson, now going to by his in-ring moniker the White Wolf AKA Fenris, was standing in near total darkness at an undisclosed location. The only clue to his whereabouts was a simple punching bag hanging from the ceiling, some free weights that could be seen in the distance, and a six-sided ring, enclosed in the confines of a steel cage. It was quite obvious that this gym was not that of Gabriel or Odette Stevens, as it was quite smaller and dingier in atmosphere. Kristjan stood with his back turned toward the camera, bare chested and dressed in a simple pair of loose white shorts with his traditional matching mixed martial arts gloves on his hands has they rested on his hips.
He spoke in Icelandic with subtitles appearing at the bottom of the screen. His words voiced for the viewer, but we all knew were intended for one soul alone.
“You know, after a while, and after facing an opponent more than once, sometimes you wonder if you're going to find anything new to say or whether or not your words will just start sounding like everything else that everyone in this business tends to say. After all, how many different ways is there to tell a prospective opponent that you are going to basically kick their ass? You can talk about it great many things on the side, but when it comes down to it, the message is simple; you want to win. You are going to win. And you're going to do whatever it takes, to cause however much pain to your opponent, in order for your goals to succeed.”
“Now that does not mean that you're going to go out there with the intention of deliberately injuring an opponent. By Balder's Grace! Even I'm not that sadistic to want to deliberately injure someone when I'm in the rain with them, I don't care whether it's in the Caged octagon of mixed martial arts or the wrestling ring in my new chosen profession!”
He paused briefly before he shrugged his shoulders.
“Okay, so there was that one time in my last professional fight on the EliteXL roster, but that fucker deserved it for talking shit about my mother! But before then and ever since afterwards, I have not tried deliberately to injure anyone! After all, the men who get into the ring with me are only out to accomplish the same goals as I am; to win, and in many cases, support their families. I may not have a family to support, with the exception of a fur baby and the fact I like to buy gifts for certain family members, I still like to win. No, I tell a bit of a lie. I fucking LOVE to win! I fight hard, and I do whatever it takes, but I've been trained by the best to do just that but still not cause any kind of permanent injuries.”
“So here is hoping that this offers just a little bit of comfort towards my opponent, Caleb Storms. Not too much, mind you, because I still have every intention using the past several months worth of antagonism to kick his ass into the next century and make that boy tap! And the ironic thing about this entire situation between us is that he has absolutely nobody else other than himself to blame for the corner he's boxed himself into! The multiple corners!”
“First there was that tweet that started this whole mess between us, where that little shit practically celebrated with God that I have lost my championship to Austin James Mercer! A championship that I busted my ass to win and raise it back to some sort of respectable elevation! An elevation that Austin has carried on with success and pride! And who knows? One of these days I may just finally accept that one-on-one rematch that I'm owed and get my Championship back for the second time. Some say it's preordained, but fate is what we make of it. And right now, my fate has Caleb standing right before me. And this isn't the first time that we met in the ring. There was that non-title match that we had in February, the match I imagine that caused him great stress and that bit of great relief when he thought he wouldn't have to face me for the championship in the near future after I had lost to Austin! And of course there was our fatal 4-way match where Austin and Ty West rounded out the equation. Caleb wasn't too thrilled about that situation either, but both of those previous encounters pale in comparison to what he has found himself in this time!”
“Seriously!? A Lion's Den match!? Don't worry, I don't think for one minute that Caleb would seriously want to place himself directly in harm's way in a match like this against a man like myself who thrives in such an environment. I imagine it was just one more way for a certain sociopathic boss to get his rocks off at someone else's expense. But the match was made, the contract was signed, and here we are!”
Fenris then casually turned his head to the side just enough for a hint of his facial features to be seen by the camera, partially cloaked in shadow due to the single overhead light. His brow was, as usual, knitted in a frown that seemingly only left his handsome face on a rare occasion.
“In answer to your question, Caleb, from earlier in the week? Yes. I would much prefer going into a match like this with an opponent that at least has some semblance of an idea at what he's going on about. Where is the thrill in competition in a match where you are actually not facing any competition? You gave me that fight in our previous two encounters, even if I don't understand what is going on in your mind, putting your body on the line by performing such dangerous aerial maneuvers. But no, you went and actually sought assistance in the realm of mixed martial arts. The problem is, you are going about it in a bit of a mixed direction.”
“And no, I am not insulting the capabilities of neither Amy Santino or Casey Williams. Both are incredible athletes inside of the ring. I don't know who the fuck that other guy Casey has helping you is, but my point is that at least you're trying. I can respect that. But it's like I said; you're going about it the wrong way. Because as formidable as taekwondo or Brazilian jiu-jitsu is, there is a world of difference between mixed martial arts and a martial arts training. A mixed martial arts fight is nothing like a sparring match while training in a self-defense situation. Mixed martial arts is a competitive sport that has martial arts and submission wrestling as vital pieces to the puzzle.”
“You can train all you like Caleb, in whatever martial arts disciplines takes your fancy, but until you step inside of that octagon, until you experience fighting inside of that cage, you cannot lay claim to having experienced legitimate mixed martial arts! And the simple fact is, two weeks is not going to make a damn bit of difference and what is going to happen inside of that Lion's Den once that cage door is closed and locked! 2 weeks, two months, or even two years! I have been training like this since I was a teenager! I have been competing in mixed martial arts since my late teens has an amateur and four years as a professional as an adult! And despite what some may think, despite what you may believe, I never gave up on that training! While I may be a professional wrestler here and now? I have never given up on my mixed martial arts training or background. I still train regularly with Maksym Petrov, my MMA coach, when I am not in Gabriel and Odette's gym, keeping my wrestling skills sharp and at their very best.”
He then turned around, facing the camera head on.
“That is what you are up against, Caleb. That is the type of training and dedication you are going to have to overcome if you have any hope of beating me in my own backyard! And little tip? You don't have a chance. Bit by bit, body part by body part, I am going to break you down. I am going to tie you up in a knot and you are going to experience such excruciating pain that you are going to have no other choice but to tap out! And after that?”
He leaned in and winked at the camera.
“I believe I promised to take you out and get shit faced. These issues between us have going on long enough. At Into the Void VIII, I'm bringing this story to a close.”
