Progression. // Chapter VI

“Holy Hell, Issak. You really didn’t do this place justice when you told me about it.”

Otto shrugged as he followed Carson through the doorway of the Scottish castle. Issak was helping to carry Caron’s bags, since he’d still be on crutches another week or so. In the time they’d known each other, Carson had never made it up to Scotland to visit Issak’s homestead. They spent a lot of time together on the road of course, but this was his first time here. Carson looked around, wide-eyed. It forced Issak to really look around at the walls he was so used to seeing, remembering what it was like when he and Kaia had first laid eyes on it. It had come quite a long way.

“I know it seems extravagant, but when we bought it, it was up for real cheap. It needed some inner work, and we’re West of Stonehaven which is only useful if you’re a fisherman for the most part. Kaia always wanted a castle, and Scotland was perfect for Evolution. Made her feel like a princess. Out here with nobody else, it was our own little fairytale.”

Carson took the one bag he was carrying and shoved it into Issak’s chest.

“Well damn, don’t get all sentimental on me, or you’ll never sell this place. You can probably get a like a cool mil easy for it, at least.”

Right after Kaia left, he thought of selling it but everything was so fresh, he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Instead, he resigned to living in the rooms alone and going out to the fishermans town every so often. That is, until his wrestling career came calling again. His dreams were re-started, and the castle became something nice he could always come back to. Besides, it was in Scotland, the same country as Evolution. Selling it didn’t make sense then.

But now, things are different. The world knows by this time that Evolution is no more, and it seems to be for the better. For the first time, Issak was having to take a long look at where he wanted his life to go. Now he’d lost his reasons altogether for keeping this place, and he was slowly starting to realize that it was possibly the last piece he had of his old life. Every time he came back here, he was reminded of her and the dreams they held together. Even while he’s so close to realizing new dreams, it’s the past that still keeps him anchored here.

“You think you can help me put it on the market and everything? I don’t know anything about realty.”

Issak became sheepish as he shifted Carson’s second bag to his other arm. He barely knew anything about buying this place, that had a lot to do with Kaia. He wouldn’t even know where to start. All he knew was that maybe it was time to start thinking in that direction. Maybe it was time to start looking for some other options.

“Yeah I know a guy. I can’t help you get it market READY…”

He pointed down to his foot that was still currently in a cast.

“But I can definitely help you put this up for sale, big guy. It’s time for you to move on with your life. Where you think you’ll end up?”

There had been several ideas running through Issak’s mind, as he had toyed with this idea multiple times over the last couple years. Most of the places were really just places he wanted to visit and possibly guest match in again, such as Japan or Mexico, but neither was that great of a choice for his living situation. Not to mention, the companies he did still work for were located nowhere near either of those countries. No, he knew he’d have to be smart about this, and make the choice best for his career. That’s what it all had to be about from this point on.

“Well, I’ve just signed with another American company, and with PWE in Florida, it seems only natural to start looking in the US. It’ll cut down on travel time.”

Issak nudged Carson and laughed, and in turn Carson did the same. It had been a long time since he was just able to have a good laugh with his best mate. It had been even longer since he was able to spend time with Carson, without it involving a match they had. This was nice, and he was forever grateful that Carson had remained his friend all these years.

Just then, there was a crazy noise that came echoing through the hallway. It was sharp, yet deep, and neither seemed to know where it was coming from. In fact, it surprised the hell out of both men, causing them to jump. The noise itself sounded almost electronic, like Issak’s house had come alive, heard he was talking of selling it and had now come alive to murder anyone who thought they could sell it. At first, the two looked like they were about to hightail out of there. A moment later, the pair were listening intently to the strange, unknown sound.

“What the hell is that?”

Carson’s eyes grew even wider as the words escaped his lips. The duo inched to the corner of the hallway, and slowly peered around the corner to see if there was any sort of killer robot coming down the hallway. There was not. Actually, there was nothing in the hallway. The two of them probably looked like a comedy duo being set up. Issak himself slowly began to walk down the hallway, unsure of what he would encounter. Carson, although still on crutches, also began hobbling down the hall, looking to back up his friend against said Killer Robot. As they got closer and closer to the sound, the pair knew that as soon as they turned the next corner, the Killer Robot would be there. Only when they did, it was nothing but a side table with a small grey machine. Issak chuckled.

“Oh, it’s my voicemail recorder.”

Indeed, the same recorder Issak had used for years now to record his voicemails from callers, was making some sort of awful noise. Again, unless you lived through the 90’s, then you probably have no idea what the hell I’m talking about what voicemails used to be actual machines that you had to connect to your house phone. Issak does this due to the terrible service he gets when using his phone out here in the countryside at his house. We know this. However, Carson is astonished. He hobbles the rest of the way down the hallway, coming right up to the side table and face-to-face with the machine. Now he looks almost insulted as he gazes upon it.

“Ah man, you can definitely get rid of this thing when you get out of here. I forget you’ve been living in the stone age with close to no reception.”

In the years that Issak had owned this, this was the first time it had exhibited any issues. There is always usual wear and tear, but the thought of tossing the small machine away saddened him. After all, he had become accustomed to the echoing BEEP when he had a voicemail, as well as the electronic voice that always told him when the caller had left the message. Otto reached down with an open hand, smacking the machine a few times until it quit making the demonic noise. It flickers back to life, and so Issak pushes the play button on it.

“You have no new messages.”

A small grows on his face, as if he’s just spent hours troubleshooting the issue and now he’s the most accomplished technician in the land.

“There we go, good as new!”

“Forget the voicemail, Issak, you’re movin’ out and movin’ up! That’s progress, baby!”

Carson tapped him on the shoulder again, before bringing him close. Campbell leaned on Issak for support as the pair made their way back towards the front of the house. Issak would need to give him a short tour before showing Carson to the guest room he’d made up for him. Issak was left feeling as unsure as ever.

“Walking out of Rebirth with my hand raised was easily the best moment I’ve had since coming back to the wrestling ring.

I came back with one thing on my mind, to prove that I not only still have what it takes, but that I can go further than I ever had before. Since coming to PWE, everything I’ve done has been about trying to make that dream a reality. I may have lost the first match against Allen, but the fact that it was myself against Chaney for the final round is proof enough that I have what it takes. Getting back there has been a journey, I can tell you that much. Michelle Riggs, Kanna Verger, Jason Long, Paul Mountori, each one placed in front of me was another step in the ring direction. Another step towards seeing my name as the Excellence Championship number one contender.

Rebirth solidified that I am the guy I said I am. I deserve the shot I’ve won, and when I finally get it, I’m going to make sure I don’t waste it. With the way that Rebirth ended, looks like Allen and I may get our rematch after all, though I do understand the implications for you, Damian. However, this goes out to both of you. I don’t care which one of you I have to face, or even if it ends up being both of you, I plan on taking that Excellence Championship home with me the next time I have an opportunity. I won’t let it slip through my grasp again. I am determined to see it through.

The more times I appear on Victory, the more I feel ready to take on the world. Every time I get inside a PWE ring, the caliber of opponent only increases. That is the best possible scenario for me, because I get to test my might against the best that PWE has to offer. I get to hone in on my skills, and make sure, without a doubt, that the Excellence Championship will be mine the next time I get my shot. I plan on taking as much experience from this as possible and applying it to get me the rest of the way to the top. It's like I’ve been climbing a giant mountain, little by little getting closer to the top. Now I’m at the top, and I just need a small push in order to lift me up onto the ledge. I look forward to every match here, because I know that each time it’ll be my best match in PWE.

I also find myself excited about my next Victory match because of the similarities we possess.

Lachlan and I find ourselves to be two sides of the same coin. While he may have been Victory Champion once upon a time, he lost it before this season ever began, which has resided him to strife. He strives each show to prove that he deserves a shot at the Victory Championship. His line of vision is simple, there is one road back to the title that he wants to take. I had to admire that about him. He knew what he wanted coming into this season and he stuck to his guns, the same way I have. Plus, it’s gold that we both want, you can’t get more similar than two blokes powering their way to a contendership for the belt they desire.

Unfortunately, that’s sort of where our similarities end, don’t they, Lachlan? While I admire your determination, we've had different levels of success. That’s not very humble of me, I realize that. But if I'm comparing the roads we've taken, then this is included in that. While my caliber of opponent continues to grow, and I continue to show PWE why I am the number one contender, you’ve been just a bit stagnant.

You started the season by almost getting the win in that over-the-top battle royal but you couldn’t pull it off in the end. A bit of a set-back in the scheme of things but you bounced right back with a triple threat win. Then, between now and then you’ve missed a show and had two matches with Victoria Lyons. I completely understand the idea of giving someone a second chance, or even proving to yourself that you didn’t get a fluke win the first time. After all, I went through that with Kanna. But if you continue facing he same people, how can you know if you’re getting better?

Furthermore, Lach, I think you’re limiting yourself with the Victory Championship. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a strong title and it’ll always be the workhorse championship. You made that title what it is today, Kane, but you’ve already held it. You’ve already proven you can get to the top of the Victory division, one loss with the belt on the line doesn’t negate that. You’ll always be in the record books, and the only person you’re proving something to by doing it again, is yourself. Personally, I think you’re fearful. I think you know you have the skill to make it in the Impulse division but you’re afraid to pull the trigger. My advice to you is to go for the highest mountain you can, put yourself to the limit. Until you can do that, you’re not going to know where your skill starts and ends. To me, that means you’re walking into this match blind, because you WILL be going to your limits if you have any hope of beating me.

Are you truly progressing if you work so hard just to get back to where you already were? I dare you to go where you haven’t gone before, Lachlan. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m dreaming big, the Excellence Championship, and so far I’ve passed every test. I know some people are looking at our match at Victory XV on October 17th and they’re thinking it’s going to be a straightforward exhibition match, and that what we do there doesn’t hold any weight on our goals. If you’re one of those people, think again. We may not lose our contenderships moving forward, but we would damn sure lose momentum, and I’m going against the Excellence Champion with EVERYTHING I have.

That includes a win over you, Lachlan. I maintain, just as I always have, that any PWE match I’m in is my best match to date. I KNOW this is going to be a match that is amongst the topped ranked. Especially when you look at the two of us in the Top after each show. You've been with PWE since the beginning, Lach. You deserve the respect you're given, but it doesn't change the outcome of our match to come. I know you, and I know your style. You hit hard, and rely on speed, but what happens when I catch you? I'm a mat technician, and once I get ahold of you it's going to be difficult to break free.

We’re destined to bring Orlando down in a blaze of wrestling glory, but at the end of it all, I still plan on doing everything I can to outwrestle you! I've progressed this far, and I refuse to stop here in my tracks!"