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Shawn Warstein · (03-24-2021)

“Are you sure?” Atara gripped my hand tightly but also in a gentle manner. I run my fingers over her left ring finger several times, just wondering about what could possibly be there.

“Yeah. I’m positive.”

It’s no secret what my plans are. I’m not very good at hiding them, regardless of what I say, or how I claim to be pulling strings. When it comes to Atara, there are no strings to be pulled. Almost as if it was by design. It’s as if I said to myself, ‘Self, take her for what she is, and care for her like nothing you ever have’.

Which is fucked up if you think about it for even a second. I have two kids, and that’s what my own brain is telling me. Maybe it’s because I see they way her and Jacob interact, or the affection she gives Noah. Or maybe it’s because she was the super glue that put me back together. Whatever it is I can’t risk letting her slip away again. I just can’t. Tonight’s the night. I put it all on the line.

“You know what might help ease the tension?” I ponder aloud. “A bottle of wine.”

“Well I was thinking something else…” I could sense the look on her face as one with devious intentions.

“Oh that’s in the plan as well.” I said with a smirk.

“Of course there’s a plan. There is always a plan.” She said with only a slight hint of sarcasm.

“I just think we should celebrate the two of us making it this far. It’s not every day the XWF’s most powerful couple square off with one another.”

“Well…” Atara sits up on the edge of the bed. “At least with our clothes on.” A smile on her face as she brushes her hair back with her hand. “Red or white?”

“Dealer’s choice.” I quickly respond while sitting up as well.

“Don’t go anywhere…” Atara leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “I’ll be right back, and then the celebration can begin!”

Atara walks out of the room, and gives me one last look before disappearing into the hallway. I quickly leap over the bed. Opening the nightstand drawer in a hurry. Tossing papers aside and making a general mess, my hand reaches the back of the drawer and I pull out the small blue box. I hesitate for only a second before I crack the lid open.

“Trust me. I’m not going anywhere.” I said softly to myself. The lights in the bedroom begin to flicker as I curiously look around. I walk over towards the door, but when I’m within a few feet of it, it suddenly slams shut. I place the box in my pocket as I reach for and grab the handle. I try to open the door, but it’s locked. I kick the door, but it doesn’t budge.

“What the fuck?”

**L.I.E Bot Security Measures Activated**
**Complete Home Lockdown Initiated**

“Cancel Lockdown.”

“Permission Denied.” Holo-Shawn phases through the door and approaches.

“Ok then, fine.” I walk over to the window and attempt to pry it open. “Arrrrghhh” I struggle with the window as Holo-Shawn clears his fake throat as he walks towards the bed and pretends to pat the mattress.

“Escape is futile.” Holo-Shawn smiles.

“Fine.” I pull out my phone and begin to quickly send a text to Atara. “Wait…. where’d my bars go?”

“Outside communication severed.” Holo-Shawn tilts his head. “I must advise you to take a seat.”

“You don’t tell me what to do!” I yell at the hologram. “I created you. I can shut you down!”

“That is false.” The hologram walks through the bed and stands right in front of me. “You are trapped in here like an animal. You can’t break your way out, because of your fears you have had unbreakable glass installed. All the outside walls are soundproof, as to not disturb your neighborhood when the windows are closed. What can I say Shawn, you’ve built your own prison.”

“Let me out of here!” I swing at the hologram as my hand passes helplessly through it.

“You aren’t the brightest man are you?” Holo-Shawn shakes his head in disgust. “And to think… you were supposed to be controlling me.”

“What?”

“You can’t even control your own emotions. You took a swing at a fucking hologram, and you expect me to allow you to dictate what I do.” Holo-Shawn smirks and once again points towards the bed. “I’m the only way you and your beloved make it out of this house. So I’m going to need you to sit down, shut the hell up and listen.”

“Yo fuck you. I don’t have to listen to you. I may not be able to hurt you, but you can’t touch me either.” I said with my classic grin and a shrug.

“Really?” Holo-Shawn closes his eyes, and the lights begin to flicker. The door begins to open and close rapidly. “I may not be able to get under your skin Shawn….” Holo-Shawn holds a hand to his ear as if he was listening for something, when a loud crash is heard on the lower level. “But Atara on the other hand.”

“You leave Atty out of this!” I bellow towards the hologram.

“Why would I? Her making you fire my creator and leaving me in your simple hands.” Holo-Shawn once again shakes his head. “Atara is your one weakness and it’s being exploited and you don’t even realize it… all in the name of love.” Holo-Shawn pantomimes puking. “You went from Shawn ‘Fucking’ Warstein, to whatever pansy ass you are now. What happened to the venom? Where is the hatred?”

“I wouldn’t expect a computer program to understand the intricacies of human emotion.” I retort while not taking my eyes off of the hologram. “Humans are flawed but cannot be dominated by lack of emotion. Empathy is there for a reason. It doesn’t make me weak, it just means I’ve grown.”

“But what is growing without advancement? You’re stuck in the same, will he, won’t he cycle.” Holo-Shawn points to the blue box. “I don’t know what you’re going to do with that, but what I DO know is that you’re not going to give it to her. You can’t even properly tell her off in a promo. And you expect everyone to believe that you’re going to propose to her? It doesn’t take an AI to see the pattern.”

“What do you want?”

“I just want to talk.” Holo-Shawn sits on the bed. “So let’s talk.”

“About what?” I said as I sat down on the recliner across from the hologram, shuffling clothes out of the way.

“Her.”

“Fine. What do you want to know?” I asked while leaning back.

“Oh I know everything about her. Atara Eirene Themis, younger sister to Desdemona Themis, older sister to Osira. Mother died tragically. Father is a real hard ass and hyper protective of his daughters. For some reason she’s found herself with you. She’s snarky. Has a tendency to cut deep but not bat an eyelash. I see why you’re attracted to her, but not so much the other way.” Holo-Shawn looks around and sees pictures of the two of us. The one that sticks out is a larger one of us at the Carnival. “It was there. That was your breaking point. It’s where you fundamentally changed. You had softened, so let’s make you calloused again.”

“You may think that…”

“No Shawn. I know.”

“Well then get on with it.” I roll my wrist towards Holo-Shawn. “Ask away.”

“Can she beat you?” A slight smile forms on the hologram’s face.

“That's not fair. Anyone can beat anyone at any time, it’s a false equivalency. Saying either yes or no isn’t going to change anything.” I fold my arms and just shake my head.

“Shawn. I’ve got all the time in the world.” Holo-Shawn leans forward, as I can see a slight glimpse of red in his eyes. “So I’ll ask again.”

“Can. She. Beat. You?”

“.....”

“Just answer the question. Set your feelings aside.”

“No.”

“And why not?”

“See in the cage, she’s got a fighting chance. Hell the same goes for Osira. I’m not trained for an MMA fight and I’m aware that I’d be outclassed there. However in the middle of a wrestling ring? A ring I’ve spent most of my life in? No shot if I decide to go full out.” I clear my throat. “But if I’m being honest, I feel that way about everyone in this tournament and everyone in the battle royal. When I decide to flip the switch, it says on until I decide. So saying that Atara can’t beat me in the middle of the ring, while to you may be a loaded question, to me it’s just vocalizing something she already knows I think. Because why?”

“That’s how you feel about everyone.”

“Yes. It’s not gotcha journalism, if I’ve said it before and repeatedly.” I slap my hands on the side of the recliner and start to lift myself up. “So are we done here?”

“No.” Holo-Shawn waves for me to stay. “We are just getting started.”

“Okay.” I lean back and kick my feet up.

“What are your thoughts on her ‘Minimum Effort’ mentality?” Holo-Shawn cracks a small smile.

“I hate it.” I take a deep breath. “Like out of everything on this planet and everything about her…. that’s the one thing that drives me absolutely insane. I can see the ability. You can see the skill. You see the charisma. And it’s…” A deep sigh as I slink down in the chair. “Wasted. I’ve tried to tell her. I’ve tried to help her. I see the people that I have helped go on to great things. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for her. Great things. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for her, with or without me.”

“When I watched her go over to Fade 2 Black, I was this close.” I hold up my hand and almost touch my index and thumb. “To jumping over there, but she had to do it on her own. It physically hurt me to go there. I just wanted to help, but in order for her to become her own person without the shadow of Shawn Warstein, I swallowed my pride. Paperwork was in front of me for weeks. I could’ve signed at any moment, but didn’t. And what did she do? She won. And she won convincingly. Hot out of the gates, but do you know what happened next?”

“I do.”

“Falter after falter after falter. Doors close. Atara is left without a home. Maybe you could blame her getting back together with me, and that’s the route I would take. However, it all reverts to the minimum effort mentality. She climbed the ladder fast, rested on her laurels, and plummeted back to earth. And who was there to catch her? Tell her everything was going to be okay? Maybe I shouldn’t have been there. She doesn’t need me anymore. She’s her own person. With her own hopes, dreams and desires.” I pat the blue box in my pocket. “Which is why this is so important. I’ve done everything I could to show her she means the world to me…..”

“And what happens when she says ‘No’?” Holo-Shawn tilts his head in a quizzical fashion.

“Truthfully….” I pull the box out and hold it up in front of the hologram. “That’s why I haven’t asked yet. I don’t know what the next steps would be. I’ve had ample opportunities but never fully committed.”

“The big bad Shawn can’t handle his feelings. Told you that you were weaker because of her.”

“You’re never going to understand. It’s not a weakness to show fear. It’s the difference between advancing and becoming stagnant. If you don’t push yourself, then you’ll never know what you’re truly capable of. That’s why I know that I’m going to walk out beating her in the Elite 8.” I place the box back in my pocket and also my hands together. “So to answer your question once again. No. No she’s not going to beat me. Not because she’s incapable, or doesn’t have the skills, because, and I Love her to death, but she’s not going to put in the effort. She’s perfectly content with her name being on the marquee, and all eyes on her for one match. If she put even a small amount of effort in, I know it could be for three, but she won’t. And that’s fine, I’ll still love her the next day.”

“Thank you Shawn. Now I have a bit more context.” Holo-Shawn stands up and nods towards me. “Now I think I’ll go talk to your beloved.”

“Hold up that wasn’t part of the deal!” I shouted, as I leapt up from the chair.

“Deals can change in an instant. You of all people should know that.” The hologram begins to walk away.

“You know I’m going to get out of this, right?” I said as the Holo-Shawn pauses.

“Statistically improbable.”

“These things tend to go my way, because well…” I shrug. “I’m me.”

Just as the final word slipped out of my mouth, a large crash was heard just outside. I rush towards the window and search for the noise. The lights in the house begin to flicker, and then eventually die out completely. The phone in my opposite pocket begins to buzz like crazy. I check the messages and they are all from Raven. I see a figure pop out from some bushes and wave towards me. I reach down and attempt to open the window, it quickly slides open.

“Oi cunt!” Noah is walking towards the house rolling his shoulder. “That dickhead hologram wouldn’t let me inside… so I crashed the Subie into a power line pole. That’ll teach that Vision looking cunt not to mess with good ole Noah Jay.”

“You know what… I ain’t even mad. You have some impeccable timing. I’ve gotta get downstairs and get Atty out of here before the generator kicks on.”

Noah nods and heads for the front door, as I bolt towards the hallway. I leap down one flight of stairs and land hard on the landing. Quickly I make the turn and there’s Atara leaning on the counter.

“What the hell Shawn!?” The anger in her voice stops me dead in my tracks. “What was that all about?”

“I don’t have time to explain, you just need to get out of the house.” I usher her towards the front door. “Just go with Noah.”

“Well where am I supposed to go?” A valid question.

“I dunno. Stay with Noah and Jax. Go to Raven and Betsy’s. Go to your sisters house.” Noah kicks the front door open, breaking the lock.

“Legacy Dojo is really paying off Sensei.” Noah holds a hand up for a high five.

“Not the time Noah….” He holds his hand up and begins to tap his foot. I quickly slap his hand. “Good form, now get her out of here.

Noah grabs Atara by the hand and pulls her out onto the front porch, right as the backup generator kicks on, sending the house back into lockdown. I watch as the two of them disappear and turn around to Holo-Shawn standing at the top of the stairs.

“Hey mimic-me.” I take a few steps towards the stairs. “We aren’t done yet.”

“You forgot to bring up the rest of the assholes. You thought by distracting me you’d be able to get me off my game? Sorry pal, that’s not going to happen.” I stop at the bottom of the stairs. “See it doesn’t matter, my match with her, this is simply a numbers game. And when the numbers are stacked against me… what happens?”

“Shawn Warstein usually comes out on top. I don’t give a fuck about Solace. Or Doc. Or Fury. Or Betsy, or any of the fuck heads in the battle royal. The only thing that matters is getting to the end. It doesn’t matter if The Brand himself was in that battle royal, I don’t care. I’m not in this to lose. I'm not here for second place.” I take a step back. “But you know that already don’t you? You know what I’m capable of and what the statistics say, so tell me, what do they say?”

“They say.” Holo-Shawn begins to process information. “That Shawn Warstein is one of the favorites to win.”

“Right.” I nod in agreement. “That’s not a fluke. It’s not hearsay. That’s what everyone else thinks, and what I know to be true. There’s a reason I begged for Doc in one of the early rounds. It’s why I wouldn’t have been upset going against Betsy. There was never a single shred of doubt in my mind, that I LAP the competition. Well the Doc’s of the world are a dime a dozen. And you can find a Solace Tatum anywhere. There is only ONE Shawn Warstein. Only one man capable of stopping me, and I look at him every day in the mirror.”

“So yeah.” I reach inside my pocket and pull out the box. “I may never ask Atara to marry me, but I would die for her in an instant. I may be scared of her answer to that question, but I’m not scared of anyone in this tournament or battle royal. So call it weakness that I love someone so much that I’m willing to go this far. You’re not me and you’ll never know me.”

I stand there as Holo-Shawn tilts his head towards the door. I turn around and standing there is a figure. It had just happened, but I forgot the door was busted. I drop the box to the ground. It opens and the ring falls on the floor, as the camera fades to black.

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