A New Path #2: Old Foes

[Smash INC]

Keaton Saint in
The New Path #2: Old Foes

Ideas

For Keaton Saint, being in Kentucky for another edition of Asylum allowed him a privilege of more respite than he was used to. Overdrive had almost been a rollercoaster compared to what Keaton was currently experiencing, the downtime was suiting him and his current needs as well. Reflection, learning and training were all beginning to become more prominent. With some time left before Asylum, Keaton had a chance to reflect on something with John Gainsborough, who had been in Kentucky for his own reasons. A coffee break was imminent as well as some ideas time.

"Here." Keaton handed a coffee to John as they both sat outside a coffee bar, taking in the scenery before getting back to more present issues.

"Tell me about Overdrive." John always had the capability to get straight to the point, this was no different.

"There's not much to tell, it's a closed chapter now."

"You really think so?"

"I'm starting to." Keaton took some time to answer and nodded his head as if agreeing with himself afterwards.

"So you're not just running away from Terry Marvin and the rest of them?"

"Wha--no!" Keaton shook his head almost violently. "I know why I left and it's not for running away, I can assure you of that one."

"Then tell me your reason."

"Honestly, part of me felt as if I was creating a void just by being on Overdrive." Keaton sighed. "Everyone in the sport knows me as the guy who has never changed his ideology, the guy who has always done it for the fans and given it his all in the ring."

"That's a funny way to say self-righteous prick." John mused.

"Probably because that's only true to what some of them think."

"I don't know if you remember this but..."

"Go on." Keaton took a sip of his coffee.

"Before you started wrestling, I said that your ego would take you down a dark path. I must've said something like the way you think would make--"

"--people hate me eventually." Keaton smiled. "I remember it almost as well as having it written down somewhere."

"Almost like you actually DO have it written somewhere." John cocked his head slightly as he looked outside, not at the scenery but as if he was focusing on another presence. This quickly disappeared as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm not telling."

"Fair enough, but what I was going to say was that I'm glad I ended up being wrong."

"You weren't completely off the mark though."

"How so?" John raised an eyebrow. "By your own admission you've not changed."

"Well, some people do hate me so you were right there." Keaton paused for a thought. "It's why I left Overdrive, it gives me the chance to take on a new path on Asylum but it leaves the position I had on Overdrive open for others."

"You weren't exactly dominating things." John stated.

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?"

"It's like I said, everyone knows me and recognises me as the good guy. It's not like I'm the only wrestler in the world who does this for the fans, Overdrive now has that spotlight open for someone who has the right to belong in it."

"That sounds rather farfetched."

"You want me to simplify it?" Keaton smiled.

"Can't hurt."

"Asylum is a new challenge for me as a wrestler, leaving Overdrive means someone more capable can be the guy I was on there and perhaps have more success as the one who stands against the worst of the sport."

"Why couldn't you say that in the first place?"

"You know me, I pad out conversations." Keaton exchanged a knowing nod, both him and John had a tendency to go down tangents.

"You have to get that checked."

"I will, anyhow I meant to ask your opinion on something."

"You didn't seem like you had any ideas on who did the deed on Overdrive."

"I don't." Keaton sighed and took a gulp of coffee.

"Which is why I asked you to tell me about Overdrive before you went off on a tangent about why you went to Asylum."

"I thought that's what you wanted to know."

"No, I thought you wanted me here because of the attack." John laughed. "Crossed wires."

"Not the first time."

"Go on with it then, what do you remember of it?"

"Well." Keaton began to take himself back to the moment on Overdrive. "I was a few minutes away from saying my goodbyes and then I got attacked from behind. Not much else I can say."

"I don't believe that for a second, you need to place yourself back in that moment."

"But what about the cameras backstage?" Keaton enquired.

"Whoever did it was smart enough to avoid the hotspots."

"You already sourced the camera feed?"

"Of course, you'd be surprised what a stern word with a blue-collar can do." John stated very flatly, which had the unusual effect of coming across as almost comedic.

"Knowing what you've done before, I don't think I can be surprised."

"Well just to confirm it for you, I checked what I could and nothing gives an indication of who could have done it." John paused and took a sip of his coffee. "This is why you need to get back to that moment and think about what happened."

"I really don't remember that much."

"Take a sip of that." John pointed to the coffee. "Close your eyes and picture the moment."

"Right then." Keaton did as instructed and began to picture the scene. "I'm a couple of minutes away from going to the ring."

"Tell me what route you're taking."

"Usual one, I spoke to a couple of stagehands earlier on." Keaton would dwell on his predictable tendencies later on, but now it was more important to consider what happened on Overdrive.

"Start to get closer to when you got attacked, now go to that moment." John paused. "What's the first thing that stands out for you?"

"It's somewhat enclosed, I can't see them as I told you."

"What else?"

"I couldn't see if coming." Keaton felt the need to reiterate this point, he really hadn't seen or expected the attack. It haunted him because of that fact, something he wasn't really letting on whilst he recalled the scene.

"They were fast?"

"Yeah, but what stands out is that I couldn't sense them."

"Explain." John stated.

"I couldn't hear any breathing, footsteps or anything." Keaton sighed. "When they hit me with that thing I was more shocked than anything else."

"Thing?"

"I'm not sure what it was."

"But it wasn't a fist or an elbow?" John appeared to be deep in thought as he considered this.

"Definitely not, I know what it's like to be hit by that."

"By almost the whole roster."

"Yeah."

"So you were attacked from behind, you can't identify them at all and you were hit by an object of some kind."

"Sounds right."

"It's a starting point. You need to keep going back to that point though to see how much you can remember."

"The timing of it though, it has to be an Asylum guy."

"You really think so?" John asked, doubting how true Keaton's statement could be.

"It makes the most sense to me, I riled some feathers just by jumping from one brand to the other."

"Keaton, just focus on what you can be sure of before you make any conclusions."

"I know, but this whole thing has me shook." Keaton shook his head. "Someone got the jump on me and they could do it again."

"You need to focus on what's coming up and what you can see."

"That's all well and good, but that doesn't answer what I wanted your opinion on."

"huh?"

"The Overdrive business is something I'm not going to answer until later on, but what I have here is current."

"What's all this about?"

"I wanted your opinion on this." Keaton opened a piece of paper and showed it to John.

"Let's have a read then." John began to scan the paper and his reaction told a story by itself. "This is quite serious."

"I know."

"It's not something I can answer."

==========

Old Foes, Second Chances

Slade Craven.

I came to Asylum for a variety of reasons, one of which was to take on new challenges. The irony of having my first singles match in Asylum against someone I competed with on Overdrive is not lost on me, but it's the match I have and the match I intend to succeed in. It may not be a strictly new challenge but it's a challenge that has depth nonetheless.

Slade Craven has been and remains to be a difficult opponent for me, not just because of his in-ring skills and abilities but because of the way our matches have always been. I felt we reached a point where nothing else could be shared in the ring and nothing more could be said in our matches, someone on Asylum sees this differently to me and so we're due to wrestle again. An old foe and another chance to prove myself in the ring.

But that is a reminder of why I came to Asylum in the first place. Overdrive tamed the part of me that used to grow exponentially. Asylum is the place where I can grow as a wrestler again, to improve myself beyond limits that I felt were insurmountable before. It's a interesting point that a possible starting point of all this would be against someone I've fought before. Not everything is new in wrestling. Wanting to be the best in the sport is as old as the sport itself.

Actually being one of the few who can achieve it is another point entirely.

There's a reason Slade Craven considers himself to be the 'Main Man' much in the same way I have the moniker of the Paragon. Neither of us are here to be considered anything other than the best at what we do in the ring, on a technical level and an emotional one. We're athletes but beyond that we create moments because pro wrestling is the only place I know where the true valiant spirits are given the spotlight, warriors and entertainers all. To reach the top of that path

I've faced Slade Craven before, as long as we're both on Asylum there's a good chance we'll face off again but it all comes down to what I believe separates us. Slade Craven wants to win, for him it begins and ends at that point because the victory would be enough for him. Success would give him a placement in the triple threat on the next Asylum and that would be his moment to shine.

For him, that would be it. For me it's not quite so simple.

I don't just want to win, Slade Craven is an old foe and I've had my victories in the past whether it was against him or someone else. I've won and I have also lost in the ring. I don't just want to win, coming to Asylum wasn't about defacing what I believe in just to have some extra chance at going further in the ring. Meltdown might be the developmental brand but you can see how they are tested every week, but Asylum is equal to Overdrive and to think any different is to ignore just how qualified the roster on asylum is.

I didn't come here because I expected or wanted to win more often. It's a new challenge for me even with old foes like Slade Craven because times have changed for the Patron Saint of Professional Wrestling. Overdrive provided me with more opportunities than I can count, time and time again I was placed in opposition to Terry Marvin with the chance to get a win over him. It never happened when it truly mattered and that damaged me more than anything else I've experienced in APW. Terry Marvin started off as a new challenge and then quickly transformed into an old foe on the same tier as Level One. Second chances abounded and I was left with the impression that I would always have a chance to defeat him.

When that ended, I began to realise just how much I had failed in my path to defeat some of the best in wrestling. As much as I claim to give my best every time in the ring there has to be a part of me that considers those second chances as some sort of option to not give it my all, because there would always be another day to fight. Asylum is a new challenge because it closes the door on that train of thought and turns it into something that will create a better and more efficient Keaton Saint.

Corner a wild animal and they will fight their way out of it, corner a Saint and tell him that there is no more chance after this and he WILL fight. Wrestling is an artform, but fighting in that ring like the end of the world is nigh makes a huge difference. I don't just want to win, I want to remove the safety net and put myself in a position where the absolute best of what I can do is shown to the world.

Slade Craven has been beaten by Keaton Saint before, Keaton Saint has forced himself into some sort of leniency before and yet when we meet on Asylum there will be no second chances. this title opportunity is just a framework to what is going to force us both to bring out the best in each other. I want you to corner me, I want you to expose my weaknesses and I want you to prove that you've learnt as much as I have during our previous matches. I want you to do all that so that I can break out of the corner like a feral beast and prove beyond a shadow of a bloody doubt that the Patron Saint of Wrestling is the only option to advance. I don't just want to win, I want to leave no doubt in the mind of anyone watching this match.

I want them to say that I was the only one, not just an opinion but a fact.

As far as tapping out is concerned, I don't know the meaning of the word. As far as this chapter is concerned, I will be the one to close it with my arm raised and with the final reminder that the Paragon stands above the Main Man, now and forever.

I know why I'm fighting, when the bell rings you will see that knowledge with your own eyes.

The Saint will march again.