My own hell


Seth sits alone in a black chair, surrounded by the darkness that is Philadelphia Crematorium Inc.  He was sent here to carry out the last wish of his dead mother, and it was here where her ashes were kept.  Due to the laws in place, once Rebecca had passed her ashes had to be kept by the Crematorium until a family member came to pick them up, and since Omega was the last one in her family he was automatically the only one who could pick up the ashes.  It was a very somber day, and one that Seth had feared since he had learned of his mother's fate.

The formerly cold winter days of Philadelphia were replaced by the 80 degree summer weather of the city.  But compared to the summers that Omega had to put up with and Tennessee and Florida, this 80 degrees was a blessing in disguise.  As he sat in silence, the only thing that could be heard was the constant ticking of a big wooden clock that sat out in the lobby of the Crematorium.  Services weren't scheduled for the rest of the day, which left Seth alone with nothing but time inside the old historical building.  Suddenly, his silence focus was broken by the sound of the door opening and a short, stubby, middle aged man stepping out.

Cremator: Are you Mr. Corleone?

Omega stood up and nodded looking at the significantly shorter gentleman in front of him.

Cremator: The name is Meredith, Nick Meredith.  I was the one who handled your mother's cremation.  I have been expecting you for a while now, please come on back.

The two walked through the door into the service room where an urn sat.  This urn was the last remains of Rebecca Corleone, the once Puerto Rican beauty queen.  Just thinking about her being in a can was enough to make Seth's stomach turn flips.  It had been some odd number of years since she had passed, but knowing how it happened was enough to turn Omega's emotions upside down, especially with it happening at such a pivotal time in his career.  Alas, a promise was a promise...and a man was only as good as his promise.

Nick: I knew your mother well, she was such a beautiful lady...it was such a shame what happened to her at the end.

Omega: She did what she could with what little she had, it's too bad she got dealt a shitty hand.

Nick: Indeed...God works in mysterious ways.

Seth shot over a glance at the short, stubby man.  Almost instantly he looked at the ground, wanting not to poke a very angry bear.  Omega picked up the urn, and looked down at it somberly.  The pain he felt was almost surreal, and it had finally peaked through and replaced the numbness that he normally felt.  The sooner this was over, the better it was for him...he couldn't afford to be off his game anymore.  Feeling the emotion in the room, Mr. Meredith stepped forward and patted Seth on the shoulder.

Nick: May the Lord be your Shepard Seth...may he guide you thro-

At that moment Omega spun around and picked the short man up by his throat, as he pushed him up against the wall and shot a cold stare into his eyes.  Nick kicked his stubby legs as fast as he could, still not touching the ground in doing so.

Nick: WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

Omega: Fuck your God, and fuck what he's done to me.

As Seth released his grip, the cremator fell in a heap to the floor.  Slowly, Omega headed for the door and put his hands on it, but before he could push it open he heard Nick mutter one last sentence.

Nick: May God help you find peace and may God protect you in your fight.

Seth smirked slightly shaking his head.

Omega: God ain't got a dog in this fight Meredith, and there's nobody who can protect me but myself.

With that Seth disappears out the door leaving the cremator still laying on the floor.

Ω

Somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, a couple of days later.

The sound of running water fills the air as birds chip overhead.  A small overcast makes for a darkened sky as the sound of twigs crunching beneath Omega's feet can be heard in the distance.  Suddenly a machete cuts through some tall grass and out comes Seth, wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt.  Even with the overcast the sight of sweat can be seen from a mile away, it had to be at least 85 degrees in the summer heat.  As Omega keeps walking the brush begins to get thicker and thicker, going deep into the woods to where most people wouldn't go, most people would fear it but not him.  Fear was an emotion that didn't apply to him, as he had felt almost superhuman lately.  Things had began to change, his visions were becoming blurred and the line between reality and fiction had began to blur.

Part of him felt this wasn't really real anymore.  Everything around him was just numbness.  Nothing really truly made sense, and if did it didn't make much sense.  Was everything exactly as it seemed?  Or was everything an illusion crafted by his mind?  Either way, Seth continued on making sure to carry out his final promise to his mother.  It was the last thing he had to do before he stepped into the ring with his destiny, Eric Scorpio.  Nothing else mattered at this point, nor did he care past Scorpio.  He was so willing to fight for Pyromania before cYnical went behind his back and added Eric to the team, now he was debating if he even cared enough to show up to Altered Reality 6.

It wasn't suppose to be this way, he was suppose to be going into the Deathcube with a firm clutch on the title.  Something Omega had tasted and was oh so close to having, but managed to come up oh so short in the long run.  Since then everything seemed to spiral out of control...almost as if he had lost his edge that made him so deadly to begin with.  Had he lost the mad dog mentality where he would destroy anything in his way?  To the untrained eye it may have seemed as such...to Seth he wasn't sure of anything anymore, but he wanted to take that next step and take what was rightfully his.  At this point he didn't care which title he took, but either the International Heavyweight Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship would be his by the end of the year, that much he could swear.

Seth stopped in his footsteps as he stood upon a giant jaded rock.  He looked down and saw the pristine  crystal clear water below him, water so clear you could see the catfish swimming down at the bottom.  This was where she wanted to be, a place so pure it could do nothing but wash away the sins of a life past.  Some people called this place God's place, but Omega didn't believe so because it wasn't tarnished and destroyed like the rest of the places this “God” had seen.  It was time to let go of his last regret, time to wash away everything he had feared, it wasn't someone or something he feared...it was being alone in the world that he feared.  Even though Seth had spent years away from his mother, his hopes had always been there that she was watching over him somehow, someway.  There was the hope that someone still had his back, especially in a world that had not had his back at all.

Omega pulled an urn out of his backpack, one of the few things he had brought with him on this journey.  The urn that would put an end to all this pain, or so he had hoped.  Now he wanted to feel numbness, that was the way he would beat Eric Scorpio.  To defeat the man that is hallowed one must become hallowed himself, ripped apart from all emotions, torn from the rhine that was his soul.  If he did that then he would once again become the unstoppable man he once was, and he could destroy everyone...or anything in his path.

Seth unscrewed the lid to the urn, and tilted it at a 45 degree angle so the current could slowly take the ashes down over the waterfall.  Maybe from there the ashes would grow into something bigger, maybe they would provide nutrients for some plants to grow, or maybe they would just sink to the bottom and Rebecca would finally be at rest.  That much he didn't know, and at this point he didn't care anymore.  Finally as all the ashes had been poured from the stainless steel urn he screwed the lid back on and stuck in back into his backpack.  From there he pulled out a little ziploc bag and a mason jar before sitting down on the jagged edge of the rock.

Omega unscrewed the lid to his mason jar and took a drink of the clear liquid that was inside.  One could only assume that he was drinking Tennessee White Whiskey, something that was common in these mountains.  It was also something that was extremely potent and could fuel cars, but it helped in making him numb again and that was all he really cared about at this point.  He took a couple more sips before pulling a joint out of his sandwich bag.  Seth lit the tip and inhaled deeply as he just took in the sights and sounds of the mountains.  For once, he was feeling peaceful...his mind finally at rest from all the racing it had been doing previously.  This was one of the few times he could afford being at peace, for after this he was walking into a war zone.  Only one man was going to survive...the other might damn near be dead, but that was the price both of these men were willing to pay for vengeance.

Seth's eyes began to turn bloodshot as he looked up at the sky.  He took another drag off his joint and started talking out loud, to someone who wasn't there.

Omega: I can see why you'd want to be out here...it's truly more beautiful than where we came from huh momma?

Silence filled the air, with exception of the creek splashing against the rocks.

Omega: Good answer...I guess there really is nothing else to say at this moment is there?  You got your peaceful ending, and now you can finally rest in peace.

Suddenly a familiar voice comes from behind Seth, one that was rather unexpected.

?: Why do you talk to her if you know she cannot answer?

Omega: Why do you ask questions you already know the answer too Andrew?

Out of the darkness of the woods steps the man they call Drew Michaels, dressed in very casual attire even though it didn't match the expression on his face.

Drew: This is how you prepare for the biggest match of your career?  I know you miss your mother, but you have got more pressing issues on your plate at the moment.

Omega: I'm still trying to figure out how you found me in the middle of nowhere.

Drew: Let me just say my “Seth's about to do something stupid” sense was tingling.

Omega: I have no clue what you're talking about old friend.

Drew: Really?  So you know nothing about a cremator that was assaulted in Philadelphia a couple days ago?

Omega: I figured that would have stayed on the downlow...

Drew: Do not worry, names weren't mentioned...that's besides the point.  I want answer from you Seth, and I want them right now.

Omega: What in the world could the almighty Drew Michaels want to know?  You already know most of the stuff you need too, so why this unexpected visit?

Drew: Obviously there is something very different about you lately...your rage...your anger...your lack of control.  That's not you.

Omega: Are you kidding me right now?  I've always been an angry man, taking out my aggressions on my opponents.  You of all people should know that considering you were face to face with me in the ring Drew.

Drew: You have always had control over your emotions too, you have never been the type to lose that control over your anger until now.  And anybody who knows you can see it, especially someone who knows you so well.

Omega: Things change... people change...sometimes things change so people can get the edge, other times they change so they don't lose their edge.  Figuring out the balance isn't my job, my job is just to go and attack whenever I see the chance.

Drew: Right, and I guess that would include going out to the ring with a concussion and wrestling as good if not better than you normally do?  You have done some pretty remarkable things in a short time, but I have to admit that wrestling that good with a concussion might be the most amazing thing you have done.  That drive, that hunger, that aggression...that is something that you have not had in a long time and now suddenly it is back.  Things like that just do not disappear and come back without a good reason.

Omega: Maybe the reason is, I'm fueled by the aggression to kill Scorpio for the forty hells he has put me through time and time again.  Maybe I want to end him for trying to destroy me shortly before my title match while he sent Morpheus away for weeks at a time, then added Rabbi at the last minute.  Maybe I want to taste his blood because of the dirty handed tactics he used to destroy what was suppose to be the greatest moment of my career.  Did you ever think about that?
Drew stands in silence.

Omega: Did you ever think that maybe I wanted my last hoorah before I rode off into the sunset?  A career that has been filled with broken bones and broken tables, it just would have been nice if for once I got admired as being “the guy” and not “that crazy sonovabitch”.  It would have been nice to get my moment in the sun after spending years below the surface, it was my time to break that glass ceiling and Eric took that from me.  And it broke me to the point of not caring about what the fuck happens next.  This is the end of Eric Scorpio and Seth Omega, one of us will be walking out of that ring alive and the other will wish he was dead.  There is no other alternative, I won't let there be any other alternative.

Drew: You would be willing to throw away a shot at Altered Reality just for a brief chance at revenge?  That is borderline insanity...you know damn well Altered Reality is the biggest show of the year, having you around for it would do nothing but good things for your career.

Seth stands up off the rock and tosses what little bit was left on his joint into the creek before walking up and looking Drew directly in the eyes.

Omega: For revenge, I would do anything...this is personal, fuck Altered Reality, fuck Pyromania, fuck Insanity, this is just Scorpio and Omega now.  Hell, I don't even think there is a need for a referee anymore...we both know it's going to get ugly, it's done nothing but gotten uglier since the match was announced.  Now it's time to dance with the devil, and I promise you it'll be well worth the watch.

Seth starts to walk away before Drew says something that stops him dead in his tracks.

Drew: I think you should get that concussion checked out Seth, I do not think you are thinking straight at all right now.  As a family member, I am asking you not to go in that ring without getting checked out.  You can not afford being hit directly in the skull when you're concussed, it could send you into a full blown coma.  At least think about it...

Omega: As much as I would love to take your advice, I have a meeting to go too.

Drew: With who?

Omega: That's for me to know, and for you to sit here and ponder.

With that Seth walks away leaving Drew standing in the woods on the side of a mountain.

Ω

Eric...can you hear me?

I wanted to tell you something, something you probably wanted to hear for a long time now.  You were right, I had gotten soft.  I had not been going as hard as I possibly can in the ring, and for that I took a string of losses.  But now, it's different Eric...this isn't just a wrestling match, this is about much much more.  This is revenge, this is agony, this is the months of pain and torture that you put me through.  This is retribution for all of our history...and no, I'm not just talking about LPW history.  This has been brewing for a while, I've waited and waited and waited for you to come out of your shadows to step up to me, and I commend you for finally doing such.  Now you must pay for what you have done to me.
How do you make a hallowed man bleed?  Is it even possible?  I intend to find out Eric...I intend to make you stain the canvas with your plasma.  I intend to make you feel things you have never felt before.  If you thought your match vs Ash was bad, if you thought he took you to your absolute limit, then you haven't seen anything yet.  Three years Eric...three long god damn years...you never thought I'd climb up to your level, you never thought I'd rip and tear at you from the bottom rungs, and you damn sure wanted to make sure I never made it bigger than you.  Face it...you always thought I was going to fail, and when I didn't you had to do your damnest to make sure that I did.

But now it's different...now there are no more emotions...there are no more feelings, there is nothing but hatred, pure loathing if you will.  Now you have to prove yourself to me, prove to me you're not the old man I see you as, prove to me that you're willing to match my intensity pound of pound.  Prove that to me and you just might win.  Maybe that's enough for you, but for me tonight isn't about winning...tonight is just a night to punish you.  Tonight is a chance to show the world what is about to be unleashed on all of LPW.  Tonight I make my bid and put the International Heavyweight Champion on notice.  It's time Eric...don't keep me waiting.

Even if the hallowed man never sleeps...he still has a NIGHTMARE.