Post by CYPHER on Aug 17, 2022 7:41:19 GMT -5
August, 2022
Truth or Consequences
CYPH3R’s world shook like a snowglobe in the hands of an over-excited child. His vision was blurry, and his head weighed a tonne. Five German suplexes right on his noggin followed by several title shots throughout the match had left him feeling groggy as all hell, the elation of retaining his title somewhat dulled by the haze he found himself in.
Dot had to help him backstage. He’d barely managed to walk down the ramp with his title held high after the titanic battle with CJ. Now he was leaning on her as they walked in tandem through the hallway leading to the locker room.
He wobbled and nearly fell, legs turning to jelly. Dot, as she had always done, kept him from falling.
“Cmon, jus’ a little further.”
He straightened his back and looked into her eyes. He’d always loved those blue eyes, even when they were shooting daggers at him.
“We’re we goin…”
“Somewhere for ya ta’ lay down.”
“I dun wana…”
“I think ya need to, silly.”
Dot guided him through the door and into the locker room, sitting him down on a bench.
“Let me get ya some pillows.”
She turned to seek the cushion in question, but as she did so, she felt a hand on hers. She turned to see Cy looking at her longingly.
“Can you be my pillow?”
The question brought a smile to her lips. She liked this goofy, geeky side of Cy that she didn’t always get to see.
“Yer really cute when yer out of it, ya know that?”
CYPH3R tugged on her hand impatiently.
“Cmon…”
After grabbing a sponge submerged in hot water she submitted to his request and, with some jiggling and adjustment, managed to slide underneath him so she was sitting along the bench, her back up against the wall. Cy laid his head on her chest and she slowly rubbed a sponge over his forehead. The battered champion winced as the soft surface slid over the bruises and cuts inflicted on him during the chaotic title defence. Soon though, he felt his eyelids begin to droop. Taking one last look at Dot, he closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the evening's proceedings wash off of him as he did so.
/~/
Thunder. Rain. An empty grave.
Wait, hadn’t he been here before?
Yes, but now it was different.
CYPH3R stood at the same gravesite where he’d cut his promo on CJ before their clash at the PPV, that being the grave of CJ’s son Hunter. While that was part of getting into his opponent’s head, the real significance came not from that grave, but the one next to it.
The empty one which represented the disappearance of his sister.
But now it wasn’t empty.
Around the grave were a group of men in overalls, each armed with a shovel. They were shovelling dirt into the hole, all with blank expressions on their faces.
He tried to call out to them, to demand that they stop, but they paid him no mind. He even reached out to try and grab one of them, but to his shock his hand went straight through.
“Tyler, it’s over.”
Cy whirled around to see a girl, about his age but a little bit younger, staring at him. Brown hair, left loose to flow down. Blue eyes, just like Dot’s piercing through his defenses. She wore a white tank top and blue jeans, black sunglasses resting on her head.
“You won.”
“Who…
“You know who I am.”
He froze.
“...Anna?”
She nodded.
“Also known as the bitch that’s supposed to be in that grave.”
It was Anna, but she had grown up. At a guess he would say she was roughly the age she would have been if she was still alive now. Chills rose up his arms as they embraced…maybe for the last time.
“You’ve grown.”
“Did you think I would stay that age forever?”
“No but…”
“Did you want me to?”
“All the memories I have of us were when you were young, so I guess you’ve always been that age to me.”
“How do I look, then?”
Smiling cheekily, Anna did a little twirl.
“Like I’d have to keep the douchebags at high school from trying to get in your pants.”
“Tyler!”
Anna playfully punched him in the arm. Cy chuckled for a moment, then the reality of the situation dawned on him.
“This isn’t real…”
“No duh.”
“Well that sucks, I thought maybe-“
“That’s the problem. You keep wanting to imagine me back to life.”
The words hit him.
Hard.
This wasn’t how he envisioned his meeting with his grown up sister to go…in his mind it was always him apologising, them hugging it out, promising to never let go of one another.
Just like the lie Entity had sold him.
“Whatever. Why even come and talk to me then, what do you even want?!”
His cheeks were red now, pain swelling within him.
Anna stepped forward and slowly reached up with her hand. It found his red cheek, her petite fingers rubbing it softly.
“I want you to let go. Of me. Of the image you have of me in your head. Instead of wishing and wondering if or when I’ll come back you have to realise that I’m dead and buried.”
The cruel irony of her words was not lost on him.
“But you’re not.”
“Not in your mind, which is why Entity was able to exploit you.”
“How would you know about Entity?”
“Please, who do you think runs the company?”
He recoiled from her in a moment of sheer panic.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!”
“Kidding, kidding. Oh my god, you should see your face right now.”
Cy shot her a look of utter contempt. She shrugged, seeming to avoid his gaze.
“What, it’s some kind of weird fan theory.”
For the first time in what felt like months, he genuinely laughed. It felt good, better than he expected.
After everything he’d been through, it was nice to laugh at something. Anything.
“That’s so fucking stupid.”
“Are you saying I couldn’t do it?”
“Yes, I straight up am saying that.”
Anna chuckled and rolled her eyes. For a moment they fell silent, the only sound coming from the workers still shoveling dirt into the grave. It was now almost full.
“So what happens now?”
“I go back to being dead and you go back to being champion.”
“That’s a bit morbid.”
“You have a life, you get to live it.”
“But you don’t, because of me.”
“You have to let that go, you keep believing that and it will just continue to be a weakness for people like CJ to exploit.”
“Don’t worry, I’m good at trapping you away in a part of my brain and trying to not think of you every day.”
“That won’t solve anything, it’s like trying not to think of a pink elephant. The more you try not to think about it, the more you think about it.”
There was a tinge of desperation and exasperation in Cy’s voice as he spoke.
“So what do I do then?”
“You forgive yourself for everything. That’s step one, you can’t move forward if you keep dwelling on the past.”
“But I-
“Not buts. I don’t care if you think you killed me, in reality your actions were just a part of what happened - not the whole story.”
“…”
“Then you have to remind yourself that the beautiful thing about life, is that it ends. That’s what makes it valuable, and precious. So you need to keep living yours. Take risks, Tyler. Win that world championship I know you want so much. Go win the Margarita Mix with Sahara. But most of all?”
Anna leaned in close to whisper in his ear.
“Tell Dot you love her.”
Without warning Anna leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He reached out to grab her hand but her physical form was already disappearing into the air.
“NO!”
But it was too late. Her body faded away into the wind like an illusion, the last thing he saw before she ceased to exist completely was her hand waving goodbye.
/~/
The world faded back into view, slowly but surely, and with it so did Dot’s face.
“Yer finally awake.”
“...How long was I out?”
“A while, don’t worry though, I took care of ya.”
His heartbeat quickened, the words of his long-lost sister still echoing in his mind.
Just tell her, you idiot!
“Hey uh…”
“Yeah?”
“I think I l-
He choked on his own words. He wanted them to come out but they wouldn’t, they were still somewhere inside him, buried under a wave of anxiety.
“I’m really hungry.”
Pussy.
Dot blinked.
“Uh…cool, let's eat then.”
Truth or Consequences
CYPH3R’s world shook like a snowglobe in the hands of an over-excited child. His vision was blurry, and his head weighed a tonne. Five German suplexes right on his noggin followed by several title shots throughout the match had left him feeling groggy as all hell, the elation of retaining his title somewhat dulled by the haze he found himself in.
Dot had to help him backstage. He’d barely managed to walk down the ramp with his title held high after the titanic battle with CJ. Now he was leaning on her as they walked in tandem through the hallway leading to the locker room.
He wobbled and nearly fell, legs turning to jelly. Dot, as she had always done, kept him from falling.
“Cmon, jus’ a little further.”
He straightened his back and looked into her eyes. He’d always loved those blue eyes, even when they were shooting daggers at him.
“We’re we goin…”
“Somewhere for ya ta’ lay down.”
“I dun wana…”
“I think ya need to, silly.”
Dot guided him through the door and into the locker room, sitting him down on a bench.
“Let me get ya some pillows.”
She turned to seek the cushion in question, but as she did so, she felt a hand on hers. She turned to see Cy looking at her longingly.
“Can you be my pillow?”
The question brought a smile to her lips. She liked this goofy, geeky side of Cy that she didn’t always get to see.
“Yer really cute when yer out of it, ya know that?”
CYPH3R tugged on her hand impatiently.
“Cmon…”
After grabbing a sponge submerged in hot water she submitted to his request and, with some jiggling and adjustment, managed to slide underneath him so she was sitting along the bench, her back up against the wall. Cy laid his head on her chest and she slowly rubbed a sponge over his forehead. The battered champion winced as the soft surface slid over the bruises and cuts inflicted on him during the chaotic title defence. Soon though, he felt his eyelids begin to droop. Taking one last look at Dot, he closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the evening's proceedings wash off of him as he did so.
/~/
Thunder. Rain. An empty grave.
Wait, hadn’t he been here before?
Yes, but now it was different.
CYPH3R stood at the same gravesite where he’d cut his promo on CJ before their clash at the PPV, that being the grave of CJ’s son Hunter. While that was part of getting into his opponent’s head, the real significance came not from that grave, but the one next to it.
The empty one which represented the disappearance of his sister.
But now it wasn’t empty.
Around the grave were a group of men in overalls, each armed with a shovel. They were shovelling dirt into the hole, all with blank expressions on their faces.
He tried to call out to them, to demand that they stop, but they paid him no mind. He even reached out to try and grab one of them, but to his shock his hand went straight through.
“Tyler, it’s over.”
Cy whirled around to see a girl, about his age but a little bit younger, staring at him. Brown hair, left loose to flow down. Blue eyes, just like Dot’s piercing through his defenses. She wore a white tank top and blue jeans, black sunglasses resting on her head.
“You won.”
“Who…
“You know who I am.”
He froze.
“...Anna?”
She nodded.
“Also known as the bitch that’s supposed to be in that grave.”
It was Anna, but she had grown up. At a guess he would say she was roughly the age she would have been if she was still alive now. Chills rose up his arms as they embraced…maybe for the last time.
“You’ve grown.”
“Did you think I would stay that age forever?”
“No but…”
“Did you want me to?”
“All the memories I have of us were when you were young, so I guess you’ve always been that age to me.”
“How do I look, then?”
Smiling cheekily, Anna did a little twirl.
“Like I’d have to keep the douchebags at high school from trying to get in your pants.”
“Tyler!”
Anna playfully punched him in the arm. Cy chuckled for a moment, then the reality of the situation dawned on him.
“This isn’t real…”
“No duh.”
“Well that sucks, I thought maybe-“
“That’s the problem. You keep wanting to imagine me back to life.”
The words hit him.
Hard.
This wasn’t how he envisioned his meeting with his grown up sister to go…in his mind it was always him apologising, them hugging it out, promising to never let go of one another.
Just like the lie Entity had sold him.
“Whatever. Why even come and talk to me then, what do you even want?!”
His cheeks were red now, pain swelling within him.
Anna stepped forward and slowly reached up with her hand. It found his red cheek, her petite fingers rubbing it softly.
“I want you to let go. Of me. Of the image you have of me in your head. Instead of wishing and wondering if or when I’ll come back you have to realise that I’m dead and buried.”
The cruel irony of her words was not lost on him.
“But you’re not.”
“Not in your mind, which is why Entity was able to exploit you.”
“How would you know about Entity?”
“Please, who do you think runs the company?”
He recoiled from her in a moment of sheer panic.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!”
“Kidding, kidding. Oh my god, you should see your face right now.”
Cy shot her a look of utter contempt. She shrugged, seeming to avoid his gaze.
“What, it’s some kind of weird fan theory.”
For the first time in what felt like months, he genuinely laughed. It felt good, better than he expected.
After everything he’d been through, it was nice to laugh at something. Anything.
“That’s so fucking stupid.”
“Are you saying I couldn’t do it?”
“Yes, I straight up am saying that.”
Anna chuckled and rolled her eyes. For a moment they fell silent, the only sound coming from the workers still shoveling dirt into the grave. It was now almost full.
“So what happens now?”
“I go back to being dead and you go back to being champion.”
“That’s a bit morbid.”
“You have a life, you get to live it.”
“But you don’t, because of me.”
“You have to let that go, you keep believing that and it will just continue to be a weakness for people like CJ to exploit.”
“Don’t worry, I’m good at trapping you away in a part of my brain and trying to not think of you every day.”
“That won’t solve anything, it’s like trying not to think of a pink elephant. The more you try not to think about it, the more you think about it.”
There was a tinge of desperation and exasperation in Cy’s voice as he spoke.
“So what do I do then?”
“You forgive yourself for everything. That’s step one, you can’t move forward if you keep dwelling on the past.”
“But I-
“Not buts. I don’t care if you think you killed me, in reality your actions were just a part of what happened - not the whole story.”
“…”
“Then you have to remind yourself that the beautiful thing about life, is that it ends. That’s what makes it valuable, and precious. So you need to keep living yours. Take risks, Tyler. Win that world championship I know you want so much. Go win the Margarita Mix with Sahara. But most of all?”
Anna leaned in close to whisper in his ear.
“Tell Dot you love her.”
Without warning Anna leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He reached out to grab her hand but her physical form was already disappearing into the air.
“NO!”
But it was too late. Her body faded away into the wind like an illusion, the last thing he saw before she ceased to exist completely was her hand waving goodbye.
/~/
The world faded back into view, slowly but surely, and with it so did Dot’s face.
“Yer finally awake.”
“...How long was I out?”
“A while, don’t worry though, I took care of ya.”
His heartbeat quickened, the words of his long-lost sister still echoing in his mind.
Just tell her, you idiot!
“Hey uh…”
“Yeah?”
“I think I l-
He choked on his own words. He wanted them to come out but they wouldn’t, they were still somewhere inside him, buried under a wave of anxiety.
“I’m really hungry.”
Pussy.
Dot blinked.
“Uh…cool, let's eat then.”