Author Topic: Round One: Fight.  (Read 512 times)

Offline Jet City

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Round One: Fight.
« on: February 19, 2021, 11:59:42 PM »
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Jet City South - San Diego
19 FEBRUARY 2021
OFF-Camera




Coby had been trying to give his friend some space. The last few weeks had been a wild ride for everyone at Jet City South. Kris had come back from Seattle determined to beat it into everyone’s head that they were all part of the same team. For the students, that meant the ones that couldn’t get along, or avoided each other, got paired together and teamed against Coby and Mikah. It was bad enough having to face off with the Mixed Tag Team Champions. It was another to do it with someone that you couldn’t work with. The idea that Kris had was that either the students were going to break each other, and the weak would weed themselves out, or learn to rise above themselves. Either way it was going to be a win for the gym. Coby thought it was a little harsh, but got outvoted. Unfortunately for people like Ruby and Court, it meant that they were paired together. On top of that, Kate decided to force the two of them to live under the same roof. By comparison, maybe Coby had it easy. That was why, despite his nagging questions for her, he had mostly left her alone. They saw each other during Jet City South day-to-day operations, but that was it. He hadn’t wanted to pry, and thought that maybe she would approach him with her side of things when she was ready. However, the more days passed, the more he felt like she was never going to be the one that took the first step. If he wanted to know if she was involved in the Cyan attack, he was going to have to be the one to bring up the subject. Not that he could do so in front of everyone else without alienating her. His only option was to try and catch her on the way out of Jet City...

Court: So you’re finally making your big move, eh?

Coby had been facing the opposite direction when she slipped into the hallway behind him. He would have literally jumped out of his shoes if they hadn’t been tied, and turns to face her. At least she was smiling. That was already a better sign than he had gotten from their first couple of conversations after she returned.

Coby: I don’t know what you’re talking about...

He tried to look innocent, but knew that there was no way that she was going to buy it, and she didn’t. She poked him in the end of the nose with her index finger and shook her head at him.

Court: Don’t lie. I saw you practicing this.

Coby’s mouth falls open and he desperately reaches for a way to explain himself, but there was absolutely no way she was going to believe anything but the truth. It was the downside of not being someone like Kris. People saw right through him.

Coby: I may have had a couple of questions…. But… I… I realize things kind of suck for you right now so I didn’t want to like… pile on…. yeah.

The delivery wasn’t the best, but he felt as if it landed well. He didn’t want to seem like he was trying to interrogate her, especially given that her life had become about as high stress as possible. At the same time, he needed to make sure that he wasn’t going to get beaten down again. He had a feeling about what Court was going to say, but he couldn’t trust a feeling. He needed to hear the words for himself.

Court: You mean all this shit with Ruby? It’s okay. She can be annoying…. Okay like really really fucking nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying, but I think she means well…

She shrugs. It didn’t feel like she knew if she even meant what she was saying, or just lying to herself. Either way she was going to keep repeating it until it sounded more convincing. The alternative would most likely just lead to worse consequences. That wasn’t something that Court was willing to sign up for. At least not yet.

Court: Fuck… I mean I hope she means well. I was pissed after last week and the whole messing up my match thing, but I don’t think it was intentional...

Coby could see the thoughts running through her mind about a thousand miles per hour. By comparison, his problems were minimal. He was a champion in a company that he was just one match into a contract with. He was a mainstay on Underground. Two other companies had been competing to get him to show up. Things were going well, and Cyan was just a small part of Coby’s current plate. Court was knee deep in problems that there was zero escape from. They literally followed her to work, and then all the way back home.

Coby: Ruby might be a lot to handle, but I don’t think she’s malicious. I don’t think she hates everyone else. I think it’s more that she just loves herself all that much more and sees people as obstacles to get around. You know… not unlike this other Jet City rookie that won Blast from the Past a couple years back...

Coby gives her a pat on the shoulder with a smile. Court wasn’t taking it as a compliment though.

Court: Well hopefully she amounts to more than I have if she goes on to win the damn thing. Two years later and I am losing all my matches. Fuck, Jessie Salco is celebrating her win like she had anything to do with it. I really felt like I was going to turn things around this time.

Coby hadn’t had the cleanest record since returning either. Before joining SCU he could count his career losses on one hand. Since then things had balanced out a little more. He would probably be feeling a lot more like her if not for the Mixed Tag Team Championship that Kris had basically gifted to him. He was still earning the right to carry it around, but at the very least it had boosted his confidence. Maybe that was all that Court needed to pull her out of her rut as well.

Coby: The cool thing about this business is that you’ll have unlimited chances to go out there and get it right. You’re talented. You’ve proven that. It’s been a long time since you had actually been in the ring, and you were really just starting out back then. You were still learning. Now you are a lot sharper mentally, but you in-ring game hasn’t quite caught back up yet. I thought you had Jessie beat. In another timeline, that match went the other way. It tells me that you still have that talent though. It just takes a minute to get back into a rhythm. You’ll get it.

At the very least, he was hoping that it bought him enough good will for Court to refrain from biting his head off in a few minutes.

Court: Let’s hope I don’t run out of chances in Sin City before that happens. I really don’t want to have to find a new place to work.

Coby shakes his head confidently.

Coby: Nah, Kris would campaign for you to stay no matter what, and they love him for some reason. I think you’ll have plenty of time to right the ship. Plus, you’re the only one in The Black Sheep without a championship. We have to get you winning so that you can turn that around.

Knowing that Coby was just buying time in order to work up the courage to get to the point, Court cuts through the pleasantries.

Court: Technically all of the former Jet City students that are wrestling have one championship or another. I’m the only exception… Although, Cyan seems to have misplaced his lately...

Her tone changed as she mentioned Kyle’s masked persona. Coby could tell that there weren’t many friendly feelings between the two of them. They had been in the same class at Jet City, but Court was a lot closer to the rest of the class. Kyle had always been more of a solo act.

Coby: On one hand I feel like I should just tell everyone who he is and take away that stupid mask of his. On the other, Gold is kind of making him look like an idiot anyways, so maybe keeping my mouth shut will keep me off his radar for now.

Court lets out a heavy sigh. She didn’t think that was going to be the case at all.

Court: He’s an idiot with a grudge. They usually have a hard time letting those go.

That was why Kyle had always been on his own. Even inside the gym he rarely had people that would step up and defend him. He would rather get things done himself than rely on others. It was the thing that had impressed Kris enough to let him train in Jet City. Coby had never agreed. He thought it made Kyle dangerous. Maybe they were both right.

Coby: I think I already know but...

She cuts him off. She wasn’t even going to let him finish the question, suddenly feeling bad for avoiding him for the last couple of weeks.

Court: I didn’t have anything to do with that. I don’t know how they got in. He wouldn’t tell me. He just wanted to make it look like I was helping him so that maybe you guys would kick me out...

Coby carries that train of thought just one step further.

Coby: ...and then you would be in a desperate enough position to maybe consider helping him… Recruitment through a frame job. That’s ballsy even for Kyle.

It scared Coby just how alike Kyle and Kris were at their most devious. He was thankful that Kris was actually starting to see the error of those ways. From the sound of it, maybe Court was too. Coby was willing to take that as a personal win.

Court: Well it didn’t work. I moved in with the Gems. I’m keeping myself in line. I’m focused on fixing my own shit. I don’t have any interest in helping him with his. Especially not if it comes at your expense. You’ve never been anything short of nice to me. You’re the reason that everyone keeps showing up here.

It was the nicest thing that any of the students had ever said to him. Coby tried as hard as he could to not let it look like it meant as much to him as it did. It almost made him feel guilty for having suspected her in the first place.

Coby: I’m sorry that I even had to ask...

Court shakes her head.

Court: ...but you didn’t have to ask. I’m sorry I waited so long to say something. I just wanted to give you time to heal up and cool off about the whole thing. I didn’t want to get defensive and say something I would regret if you were still angry about the whole thing.

And Coby thought that he had been alone in giving his friend some space to deal with bigger issues. Maybe he hadn’t been giving Court enough credit all these years.

Coby: It is what it is. I try not to let it get to me. Being angry just takes me down to his level. If I’m going to beat him when it comes down to it, I’m going to do it my way, not his. I’m just happy that you’re not lowering yourself down to his level.

Court opens her mouth to say something, but the theme song to the movie Psycho starts playing loudly from her back pocket, cutting her off. Her eyes widen and the cheeriness fades off of her face. She had only been separated from the group for a few minutes, and already they were trying to drag her back in.

Court: I am being summoned...

Coby shakes his head.

Coby: That’s pretty harsh though. You should change that….

As she pulls the phone from her pocket she mouths the words “not a chance” before spinning around away from him and answering the call. He doesn’t even attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation. He already had to spend too much time with the both of them to listen to them voluntarily. At least while working as a trainer he was getting paid. He made his way out of the gym, feeling a little better than he had in a couple weeks. Court had lifted a weight off of his shoulders. Now he could focus on Blast from the Past.


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>I can’t believe that so many people complain about this tournament on a yearly basis….

I mean, what is there to be disappointed about? Excitement is in the air! Can you feel it? Everything about this tournament screams Sin City. Nobody knows who is going to sign up. There are so many surprises every single year. The teams are random. The match-ups are randomized each and every round. Sometimes teams even break up and form new teams as the tournament goes on. Literally anything can happen in this tournament, and the prize at the end of it is the only things that every single person in this company wants. The ladies get a shot at the Bombshell Championship. The guy that wins challenges the World Heavyweight Championship. This is the type of opportunity that rarely gets offered to rookies, or newcomers in other companies. Yet, SCW pulls it off once a year. It’s amazing.

...but I get it. Some people are just determined to be angry all the time. People like the way that outrage makes them feel. They want to ride that adrenaline rush that being angry gives them. So whether they blame the tournament itself, or past partners, they just sit around hostile and snarky from the sidelines. I feel bad for those people. That is no way to go through life. That is no way to look at the opportunity laying itself out in front of all of the teams that were brave enough to sign up. Like I said, this is everything that all of us want. Who cares if we have to jump through a series of random hoops in order to get there? Look at it like this: Who was Fenris before he signed up for this tournament a couple of years ago?

Who is he now?

That’s the story that people should be focusing on. This tournament has the ability to launch you up to the main event. There are legends of this company competing against each other in every round, and rookies can toss their name in just as easily. A few wins later, that rookie could be main eventing the biggest shows this company puts together. A few months after that they could be known as one of the best champions that Sin City has ever seen. It happens so fast it feels like the snap of a finger. Some of us have been competing in this business for years, some even decades, and never made it to the top. Yet, SCW offers a short track to greatness for anyone that rolls the dice and wants to make it happen. Somebody is going to win it, and the playing field couldn’t be more level.

Look at the match-up that I drew for the first round. Things couldn’t be more even. Candy and Agostino have experience being randomly paired with someone for tag matches. They ended up challenging for the Mixed Tag Team Championships against The Black Sheep as a Lethal Lottery team not that long ago. Mercedes and Kain did big things as a team randomly put together as well. Everyone knows that I have only had one match in this company so far, and it was to take over as champion of the Mixed Tag Division, which I never expected to happen. Mikah and I made it work as a team that came together so quickly. I have proven that I have what it takes to compete at a championship level and I’m only one match in.

What I’m saying is that all four of us knew what we were getting into in this tournament, and we all have at least a little bit of experience on our side. There isn’t much for any of us to be complaining about like a lot of the others either. I mean, I couldn’t think of someone better to be around than Candy. So many people around here take themselves too seriously, or are horrible people just for the sake of being horrible. Some are demanding and demeaning all at the same time. I could have gotten paired with any number of people that would have had me off balance for as long as we remained in the tournament. Instead I got paired with someone with a similar outlook to the one that I have. I know that no matter what, Candy is going out there to bust ass and put on a show. I know she’s not going to show up biting people’s heads off backstage. I know that she’s not going to let me down before the match even gets underway. There is a kind of peace that comes with that type of partner. All we have to worry about is what happens inside that ring and between the start and end bells. There isn’t any distraction. There isn’t any undue anger. We are going to show up to win, and have a blast doing that. Isn’t that what this thing is all about?

On the other side of the ring, Mercedes and Agostino have to like what they are seeing in each other. Mercedes is a Grand Slam Champion, as everyone knows. She likes to remind us about it just as often as our World Heavyweight Champion likes to point it out about himself. She’s much more than that though. She is like the second longest lasting Bombshell on this roster, and she has stepped inside the ring with every single name-droppable female that has ever walked down to the six-sided ring. Everyone accepts that Mercedes knows more about this company and the people in it than anyone else that has ever been under contract here. She is the perfect partner for this tournament. Agostino has to know that. On the other hand, Mercedes has to see how Agostino has really stepped up and made a name for himself in his short time here. The guy worked his way up into the World Heavyweight Championship conversation after a couple of big wins. He was given a shot at the championship that I now hold a couple months into joining the company. Other than Jack Washington, Agostino really was the only newcomer to break out last year, and now he is carrying the Internet Championship.

I know that a lot of people are talking about Vinnie and Alicia, or Despayre and Amber Ryan, but people have been overlooking and underestimating Mercedes and Agostino since the day of the drawing. Imma do my best to make sure that nobody has to pay for that error, and thank my lucky stars that I wasn’t one of the ones that wrote these two off from the jump. Luckily, I saw them as an underdog team with some real potential if they can figure out how to work together. I planned for possibly seeing them in a later round if Candy and I were successful in the first couple. Then we got paired up in the first round.

...and I can’t sit here and say that Candy and I are definitely going to get past these two. I’d like to believe that. I’d like to be able to say that to all of you confidently. I think that I proved a lot when I got the win for the Black Sheep at Inception and helped our team retain the Mixed Tag Team Championships, but I also know that one match doesn’t buy you much when you’re a newcomer. Mercedes and Agostino are going to be a tough challenge as individuals, and even more so if they can figure out how to gel as a team. That’s the question mark though.

How will they work as a team? Mercedes isn’t the easiest to get along with, even if there is something that she really wants on the line. She has always been a mean girl at heart, and Agostino isn’t exactly the type of person that she would be pleasant to under any other circumstance.

...but Candy and I don’t have to ask those kinds of questions. What you see is what you get with the two of us. We both want to go out and entertain. We both want to prove all of the doubters wrong. We are both much better than anyone in this company is going to give us credit for. I think that the two of us can do big things in this tournament, and there is no doubt we are going to be on the same page as partners. We can’t do this without one another, and that’s fine with me. I’d rather team with someone that I know isn’t going to put a knife in my back instead of someone with a long list of past accomplishments.

#ThatsWhatsUp



 




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