Make a wish.

[Sabin / Madjinn]

We are less than a week away from one of the grandest spectacles in all of professional wrestling: Survival of the Fittest. A match pitting challengers against champions– winners take all… A match that would have to have every champion trust in another to walk out with their coveted championships still intact, but the hungry challengers wanting nothing more than to take the titles for themselves. However, despite the war that would undoubtedly take place in Boston, Massachusetts, it was a time for celebration. A time for joy.

As the scenery opens up, we are met with a chorus overlapping one another as everybody in the room does their best to remain harmonious with one another.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!” All of them bellow out. Some are pitch perfect, while others struggle to maintain the harmony.

Sitting at the head of the table was none other than the IWF World Television Champion, and one-half of the IWF World Tag Team Champions, Sabin– he sits back from the table ever so slightly with his one-year-old daughter, Mikaela Jade, bouncing on his knee. Surrounding him was, of course, the family– Tara, Jennie holding Lilith, Allen, Dean, even his biological father, William, was there…all of the children, and of course…his stepfather…his partner…his challenger… Angel Blake.

Sabin’s eyes scour across everybody present for his birthday celebration whilst Tara inches her way with the cake in hand– at the sighting of the cake, Mikaela drools at the thought of having the cake all for herself but a steady hand from her father keeps her as still as he can. Throughout the duration of the song, Sabin could not help but take a few extra glances at his stepfather, Angel, and he could see the old wickedness that everybody recalls. The treachery. The villain. Ever the role that people wanted him to fill, and the role that Sabin has constantly taken upon himself since he stepped foot in the ring. A role that he was happy to fill. A role that Father had been happy to fill.

Who would take that role this Sunday? Who would be the villain?

A lingering presence haunts Sabin while he sits at the table, and the lights throughout the home flicker for what seems like the blink of an eye…but following that blink, all of time seems to stand still and Sabin can feel that blackened nail tapping against his shoulder, scraping his skin a little bit. He didn’t have to look to know who was there, but he couldn’t help but turn his head to get a visual of the monster that has his own gaze locked on the man that would take the title should the champions fail.

Wraith.

Wraith snorts out, slowly turning his gaze toward the champion with a smirk on his face, “I have been waiting– I have been WAITING for another shot at this day for so long! To stand across the ring from…” he gestures forward, “Father. The rehabilitated monster. And do you know why? It’s simple… Because I want to bring the monster back out of him! We have fought– we have fought for pride! We have fought for Heir to the Throne! And now– we fight for our title… But it’s so much more, isn’t it?”

Gritting his teeth, Wraith reaches his hand forward and taps his nails against the oak table. He sneers before continuing, “Over the course of this last year– we have been close, so very close to repossessing the world title only to have someone stop us! And it has made people– doubt… us. It has made people call us things such as…” He sucks in air through his teeth, hissing it back out disgustedly, “LACKEY! Second fiddle. Sidekick. Losing this title– could prove all of that to be true, and that is WHY we are NOT going to lose this title! Even if we have to carry this whole team on ourselves and destroy everybody single handedly, then that is EXACTLY what we are going to do! The two wars we waged with one another brought us closer, but we’ve become even closer as we reign as the WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! The greatest team to ever exist! The greatest team to grace these halls! We… know… each other…” Wraith clicks his tongue a couple of times.

“Father does not stand alone… Who stands with him?” Wraith questions.

“Nick Knight? Nick Knight and Father are two people that cannot stand each other! There’s no denying that the two of them have been able to coexist in the past, but it did not come easy, and it is not going to be easy for them to stand side-by-side at Survival of the Fittest. Then– let’s not forget that you made him tap out! You made him quit! You did what not even Father could do to him! YOU MADE HIM ADMIT THAT HE COULD NOT BEAT YOU! And the last time that we were in the ring with him… he did not win… HE DID NOT. It’s time that we set that record straight.” Wraith scoffs.

“And Virgina? Talk about someone who’s just a lot of hot air! She’s never been able to win the big one, and do you want to know something more? She’s never going to! As many times as she gets up, because she’s tough– oh, she’s tough, but she just… does not have what it takes. She talks a lot, and it always carries her to the big match, but it’s always during that big match that she does what she does best, and just CHOKES.” Wraith rolls his eyes following the statement.

“And then there’s Warren– standing beside us is our brother! But Warren! STANDS ACROSS FROM US! And we can say many, many, many things about Brother, but I’ve said before that if anyone is going to hurt him, it is going to be ME! No doubt–” chuckling under his breath, Wraith cocks his head to the side, “–Dean wants to make him suffer, but I think it’s only fair if we get into the ring with him just as well to hurt him a little more! Don’t you think that sounds fair? To remind Warren that he IS NOT a Blake! He IS NOT a Docherty! He IS NOT EVEN a SPENCER! He is a KANE. And KANE resonates with FAILURE. KANE means that he is always, ALWAYS going to be BENEATH US! And I think it’s time that we remind him… exactly… who he is… and what he is… and that’s dirt.”

Wraith takes a step away from the chair, pivoting on his heel while walking toward the door frame but stops there. He clicks his tongue a couple of times and scrunches his face a couple of times while now considering his own allies, “Yes. Yes. Yes, Dean is our partner… And Calaway, how could we forget her? She is something, isn’t she? But there is something missing in her– a fire– the fire seems to be fading for her, and I think it’s going to be in our best interest to reignite it! It’s going to be in our best interest to make sure that she comes with everything she has and sends Nick Knight leaving like our family has done to him every single time: empty. And then finally, there’s Brooklyn…” Wraith taps his finger against his chin.

“There’s not much that needs to be said about her besides the fact that one day– Tláa or Tláak’w are going to step back up to put our family back on top. Throughout the entire company! I trust her enough to know what’s at stake here, and I trust her not to make any mistakes that are going to be damning to us. But let it be known: we are going to be the ones inside of the ring and inflicting as much pain on everybody that is against us! NO ONE is going to talk about Dean– nor Brooklyn– nor Alexandra– the only thing people are going to remember is… WRAITH. And the only thing they are going to know is that this is about SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, and I am the APEX! The only thing those three will have to say to me when the match is done is: THANK YOU.” Wraith slaps his hand against the wall, and just like that, everything seems to return to normal.

The song continues as if nothing had happened, and the birthday cake is set in front of the now twenty-one-year old superstar. Mikaela is still wriggling in his lap to try to touch the cake, but only so long as to let Tara take her up into her own arms as Sabin leans forward.

Make a wish Sabin thinks to himself.

He blows out the candles, and the room goes dark. End.