CHOKE ARTIST
May 23, 2021 - Into the Void X“Brother” David Shepherd had just made his way into the backstage area for the confrontation with his father that the entirety of the SCW Universe bore witness to, but as was tradition, Fenris had not followed right after. Being the victor in their highly anticipated grudge match, Fenris remained at ringside for the post-match celebration, alongside his brother Aron, although if truth be told - “the White Wolf” was not entirely feeling it. It wasn’t because of his performance inside of the ring; that was just ridiculous to even imagine the overly confident and some say arrogant former Champion would question himself and his skills inside of the six-sided ring.
It was what had happened after the match that had caught him unaware and gave him pause. A moment to question … what the fuck just happened?
Finally - the curtains of the ‘gorilla position’ opened and Aron escorted his brother through, and Fenris was greeted promptly by a number of staff and his wrestling peers, congratulating him on the win against a very formidable David Shepherd. O’Malley. Daniel Morgan and London Underground - although Mackenzie was giving him an obvious, shit eating smirk. There was also Caleb Storms and “Hot Stuff” Mark Ward. They among others were there, shaking a hand, patting him on the back, offering words of both encouragement and congratulations, but he barely heard a word of it. His face was blank, which startled and concerned a handful of those that were closest to him, or at least knew him well enough. Under most circumstances, after a win, Fenris was the proverbial cock of the walk, practically strutting backstage and soaking up any attention directed his way. Just … not this time. What transpired between David and himself following said victory had completely wiped the victory from his mind. When the bell continued to ring, as did the fight between the two combatants. Both men had lost themselves in the post-match eruption between them. David had not responded well to the loss against his rival, and Fenris was never the type to back down from a gauntlet being thrown at his feet. The fight had spilled to the outside of the ring as the officials of SCW were unable to contain it or separate them, when David moved in for what Fenris had assumed would be another attack, when it happened;
What had come to be known as “The kiss”.
Have you ever experienced a moment in time when you experienced utter shock, so much to the point that you simply reacted by basic animal instinct? And had you not, you would have been unable to react - at all? That was how Fenris was reacting - or not- right now. He had always considered himself to be a master of his own fate, confident enough in himself that he could handle anything thrown his way. Except - that. It came from out of nowhere, and had been totally and completely unexpected. After the way he and David had been at each other's throats for nearly two months, he simply never saw it coming.
With Aron trailing dutifully behind him, Fenris shoved the locker room door open with a loud clatter, giving some of the male stars of SCW that were inside a start. He walked across the floor to his assigned cubicle, but he could feel their collective stares of curiosity hot on his person. There was a large screen monitor on the wall where they could watch the happenings of the show while they prepared for their own in-ring encounters should they not want to hit the rec area in order to do the same. They would have seen the match itself, and what had happened afterward. The truly remarkable thing was that nobody cared. It was 2021 after all, not 1921. When he had been forcibly ejected from the proverbial closet, not one single Superstar spoke ill of him or his lifestyle, nor did they shy away from sharing a locker room with him. It was a simple fact that gays in the sport of professional wrestling were fast becoming a norm of the business, but that wasn’t it. His peers simply did not care. The truth was, men such as Ben Jordan, Alex Jones and even Austin James Mercer were the sort who would be more likely to wipe the floor with anybody who would have said something derogatory.
Fenris quickly started to dig through his gym bag to retrieve his shower needs, when he felt a particular set of eyes on him that were not going away. He glanced up and back, to see Aron leaning against the side of the lockers to his immediate right. His brother had his arms folded over his slim but muscled chest, and had ‘that’ look on his face. The one that told the elder of the two siblings that something was on his mind; something that he was not going to let go of until it had been addressed.
The stare between the two remained and was intense enough that some of the other remaining Superstars that had noticed quickly found something else to occupy their attention. Fenris finally rolled his eyes and exclaimed, “What!?”
“Do you want to talk about what just happened out there?” Was all that Aron asked, and he simply followed up by standing there and waiting. Those closest to the brothers, not just friends but family as well, freely admitted that Aron was the angel between the two. Hell! Even Fenris himself would be a fool to try and deny it! But he was also alarmingly direct when it came to his relations, and personally speaking? That really had a way of galling Fenris.
“What’s to talk about?” Fenris deflected the question as he was known to do when a subject was touchy, and this moment definitely fit the bill. “I won.” Stating that, he pulled out from his bag what he had been searching for; a towel, specialized shampoo and body wash. He went to zip the gym bag back up, when he found Aron’s hand on his arm.
“K, that’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” Aron spoke in as hushed a voice as he could, but it was obvious that in such close quarters as this room, the walls might have ears. So, he did the only thing he could think of in order to maintain the privacy between them; he switched from English to their native Icelandic tongue.
”He kissed you, K.””Yeah, that did occur to me, Aron!” Fenris replied with more than just a hint of sarcasm in his tone of voice. He gave his brother a sidelong gaze that was one step away from screaming “Duh!” in his face.
”I was there, remember?”Fenris pulled his arm free, shrugging Aron’s comforting gesture aside even though it was a discomfort in doing so. Sometimes just having the familiar touch if a loved one, especially a sibling, could be of a great comfort when you were in the head space that Kristjan Baltasarsson was currently experiencing. But despite the longing, despite the need to have someone be there for him, a small part of Fenris felt it was a weakness. That small part won out -- this time. Fenris grabbed his things and walked around Aron and toward the showers behind the wall when his brother stated what had
really been going through his mind.
“Yes, and you kissed him back.” And that statement of fact brought Fenris to a halt and he turned his head and gave Aron such a look that had it been anyone else but his brother, it would have forced them to retreat back a number of steps to avoid the flesh being scorched from their bones. Fenris possessed stunningly beautiful ice blue eyes, but this was proof enough that ice could burn as soon as chill. Only - this stare just bounced right off of Aron as he just stood there, watching and waiting. That was a trait about his little brother that both endeared and infuriated Fenris.
”A…” Fenris started to speak in as calm a voice as he could muster given the circumstance.
”Can we not do this right now? I’m tired. I’m bleeding. I just want to shower, finish this show and go out and go get drunk! We can talk about it later!””Yes but we won’t talk about it later.” Aron countered.
”We never do when something is bothering you. Which really isn’t fair because when something is bothering me, you always want me to confide in you.””Well, yeah! That is the prerogative of a big brother!” Fenris said as if Aron had just said the dumbest thing imaginable.
Aron asked,
”Then why do you make me go through this same, tired old routine? Every. Time? You insist on being there for me whenever I need help, but you won’t do me the same courtesy and let me be there for you when you need someone to talk to?””Because I don’t NEED to talk to ANYBODY about ANYTHING!” Fenris finally snapped, raising his voice so that despite the language barriers separating them, the other men sharing this locker room knew well enough that something was amiss. Heads turned as did eyes. The situation wasn’t their business, but when in such close proximity and when you were as loud as “the White Wolf” tended to be, you had a habit of something becoming your business whether intended or not.
Fenris noticed the quick glances, and felt his skin flush even more so than David had caused it to become mere minutes ago. He shifted his gaze to Aron who didn’t seem to be reacting at all toward the attention their discussion was attracting. He managed to force himself to be quiet enough that whatever attention they warranted slowly dissipated. He said,
”Later, Aron, okay?” He spat through clenched teeth.
”I can’t… I do NOT want to talk about this right now, okay!? I can’t even form a thought in my own fucking head right now so please! DON’T push me!”And to his credit, Aron knew when something was best left alone. When his brother needed time to think and to heal, mentally, emotionally, and after what David had just put him through in their match and fight afterwards - physically.
Aron held both hands up in faux surrender, earning an affirmative nod in return. Aron watched as Fenris started to head for the shower when he turned and quickly retrieved, of all things from his bag, his cell.
“You can’t take your phone into the shower!” Aron protested, earning Fenris to bark right back at him, “I can do whatever the fuck I want!” as he vanished around the corner and into the showers. Aron rolled his eyes and turned around, finding bemused smiles from their peers nearby. Aron just shook his head as he walked out and walked toward the locker room door to find something to better occupy his time while Fenris showered, most likely seeing how busy the medics were in case his brother needed treatment.
All the while, in the showers, Fenris was on his phone, not to play music as Aron had assumed, but to send a text...
The GO Gym was blanketed in darkness. At the forefront, center in the camera shot, was the shadowed outline of their six-sided training ring. One single light then was cast, the spotlight above the ring itself, and it showed that the Gym was not entirely vacant, as standing there was none other than “the White Wolf” aka Fenris himself.
“Lincoln Daniels. That is what it has come down to for me and wherever I stand in the eyes of SCW? Not a rematch against Mercer or David Shepherd. Not another match against Caleb Storms or testing myself against Agostino Romano, a former two-time Internet Champion. Not even the former World Champion, Jack Washington.
Lincoln. Daniels[/i]!”
Fenris scoffed in derision, shaking his head. Hands on his hips, he began to pace back and forth in front of the ring. He paused, raising one hand for emphasis as he frowned.
“Not that I have anything directly against the man. I mean, how could I? I wasn't even entirely certain that he even still worked here. When was the last time he even competed? April, was it? Against, believe it or not, the World Champion at the time. Before that, a couple of matches in March, maybe one or two in February.. But really. Nothing of note and no real reason for me to look forward to this match or to be excited against. Because looking back, how the hell many of those sporadic, random matches did Lincoln even walk away from as the winner? One? Maybe two if we’re going to be stretching things out of generosity. Simply put, the man has the most inconsistent in-ring work schedule since that warlock we had running around here, making Ben Jordan's life hell. Almost as inconsistent as his actual in-ring work itself!”
“Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. Maybe I do have one particular issue where you’re concerned. But it has more to do with the higher ups than it has to do with you in particular; and that’s the simple fact that you have been reduced in the eyes of many to being little more than a glorified jobber! Now I can’t speak for any of the other men in SCW, but when I step into the ring? I may
know that I am going to win, but I do NOT want a guaranteed win! I want to be put into the ring with a man that is going to make me fight to get my arm raised! I want to be inside of the ring against a man that is going to bring me to the brink of defeat because trust me; the elation of turning that around and claiming victory for myself instead?”
He closed his eyes and slowly savored that sensation.
“There is absolutely nothing like it. The adrenaline rush. The sense of accomplishment at having beaten a man that you look on as your peer? But you, Lincoln?”
He shook his head.
“That is not you. Not from what I have seen, and trust me when I say I have seen it all where you’re concerned. Do you think I would have gotten where I am today if I did not pay attention to the men that I am put in the ring against? If I were not forced to study every single aspect of your career that you have ‘graced’ us with? Your strengths, your weaknesses. Even if I were of a mind to gloss you over, I have a brother who is also my manager and trainers who would not allow it. They are just as much behind my mindset and my successes, and I am sorry Lincoln. I have been told I am honest to the point of being cruel but until you prove otherwise, I see absolutely nothing of note about you that makes you stand out above anyone else.”
“Yet time after time, this man is handed big time matches against big time opponents; Washington. Mercer. And now? Me. And if I’m going to be honest, I don’t get it. I am not certain whether I should be flattered that they look to me to test this one’s mettle and see if I can push him to improve, or insulted that Lincoln is the best that they can come up with to face me in that ring! When you are a former World Champion, when you are used to the best, it is a bit of a slap in the face when you find yourself at mid-card level against a midcard athlete at BEST. I do not mind telling anyone watching right now that I don’t get why I am here, right now. Am I meant to be testing him rather than the other way around? Are we meant to be pushing him to his limits in some effort to test the man and force him to better himself until some day, some very far away day, he might actually surprise someone and walk away the winner?? Well if and when that day happens, I will be the first to admit being wrong and I will walk right up and shake the man’s hand! But unfortunately for Lincoln…”
Fenris looked into the camera and shook his head, snorting back a suppressed chuckle of derision.
“This match will not be THAT match. But it’s alright. I get it. I don’t mind pushing someone to be better than what they believe themselves to be. Look at Caleb Storms. Every time I looked that kid in the eyes, he practically pissed himself! And we faced each other - twice! One time was even in the Lion’s Den, and did he turn tail and run either time? He. Did. Not! The guy actually showed he had balls THIS big…!”
He held his hands out, mimicking the shape and size of perhaps a basketball.
“...And he brought the fight to me! He may not have won, but I pushed him, and he pushed himself! And now he even wants a THIRD match! His idea, not mine! And who knows, maybe the third time will be the charm and he will finally pick up the win against me.”
Fenris smiled, closed his eyes and shook his head.
“I sure as hell don’t mind taking someone to the brink of ruin, if it gets me further in my career and (maybe) benefits my opponent in some way, but that’s not you, is it Lincoln? Lincoln Daniels is not a man that thinks he has any room for improvement, is he? How was it that you once described yourself? ‘A very talented man with unlimited potential.’ And in a sense, you are right. Now I above all others can appreciate a man that is sure of himself and his talents, but only if that man has proven his worth and can back it up! I haven’t seen that justification where you are concerned, Lincoln. You have all the goddamned tools it takes to go straight to the top of this business, but every time -
every single time - you set foot inside of that ring, you fuck things up for yourself! You get too far ahead of yourself. You don’t think things clearly. You underestimate the man that you’re inside of the ring with. You don’t think far enough ahead or do not walk into the ring with a sound strategy against your opposition. I DON’T KNOW! The point is, it is always
something with you!”
“Now why is that I wonder? You have been reduced to little more than being a glorified jobber in the eyes of everyone out there, and THAT pisses me off to no end! Because if you’re that low on the totem and I’m booked against you, what the hell does that say about me in return, and where I stand in the hierarchy? Austin James Mercer! David Shepherd! Ben Jordan! Those men did what I wanted, each and every one of them. They put me through a living hell in that ring, and I loved every fucking moment of it! I may not have won every encounter I had, but the effort they put in and the way that they pushed me to my known limits and well past was everything that I asked for. And you, Lincoln? I don’t know. Maybe this one's on me. Maybe I got put into this ring because, unlike so many of the other men, I don’t go out and push for championship opportunities at every given moment. Every time Mark Ward and Christian Underwood are turning around, I am not in their faces, demanding championship matches like everyone else around here. And why is that?”
“Because I don’t need to. Would I like to win the World title again someday?”
He looks off-hand and shrugs his shoulders.
“Sure. But I don’t
need that justification! Because I have already held that championship. Because I had that title for eight months, defending it against the world! I brought that championship back up to where it was supposed to be and men like Mercer and Ben kept it there! Jack Washington surprised a shit ton of people by being as successful a champion as he was. And now there’s Mark Cross. How do I feel about him as champion?”
He looked upward as if in thought, eyes narrowed.
“The man earned it. He jumped through the same Blast From the Past hoops that I did, and like me, he lived up to his ambition, and the belief that others had in him. And now? Issuing an open challenge as the champion against all comers. So why don’t I answer this challenge? What would a match be like between Cross and myself? We’ve faced each other before once or twice before, but with a world title on the line?”
Fenris closed his eyes and puckered his lips, shaking his head.
“Now THAT would be a sight to see! Maybe … one day… but obviously not today. Cross has a long way to go before he has a shot at surpassing J2H and his record setting reign. And despite what some think, I follow J2H when it comes to the upper echelon. Second only to J2H, I was the most dominant World Champion in terms of reign length. And if I had my way, I would be the one facing him at High Stakes in 2021!”
“So I have to wonder really why I was put into this match against you Lincoln. Did I do something to piss off someone in power, or do they see a match against you as something of a reward for one of us? For you, it’s facing one of the best. For me, well maybe they think I deserved an easier go of it before they moved me to something - someone - higher on the ladder. Right now, it’s just speculating, and speculation is pointless when there’s work to be done.”
“You need to face reality, Lincoln. Every single aspect of your arsenal that you are so proud of? Every single thing that you think gives you an edge against the men you’re in there against?”
He poked a forefinger into his own chest.
“I have you beaten! Strength! Skill! Technical expertise! Submission wrestling! Bitch, there isn’t a thing you have done or can do in any of those techniques that I have not done and done better! You’re looking at the man that threw Casey ‘Fucking’ Williams over in a German suplex, and NOBODY was expecting that! Least of all, Casey himself! Now I won’t go around and say that I’m physically stronger than you, but all the muscle in the world isn’t going to help you if your limbs and joints don’t work to support it. And you have never found yourself against anyone like me, who can simply pick a man apart piece by piece until there is literally nothing left to play with!”
“And if you think for one goddamned second that you can actually outfight me? Then you need to actually do your research and look back to when I was in MMA, and even some of my fights here. If established men like Mercer and Jake Raab (another class MMA fighter) couldn’t take me in a straight up fight, then what the hell makes you think you have a chance? Therein lies the issue between us, Lincoln. You demand respect. I say you have to earn it. So DO it! Fight me! Take me to my limits! DO what I want, what I demand! Take me to my limits! Push me! Frustrate me! Piss me off!”
He puts his face right into the camera, his flesh flushed red and his face contorted.
“SHOW ME YOU CAN FUCKING GO!!!”
He then leaned back away from the camera, an almost too-eerie calm having suddenly crossed his handsome face.
“Otherwise, if you can’t? You have to start asking yourself; what is the point?”
That being said, Fenris leaned back away from the camera and the lights softened until they slowly were extinguished completely.
