The Road Unseen and Ongoing Part I

Family

A Summary of Recent Events: After some time undercover as The Chameleon, Ned Kaye was revealed to be the man underneath the mask. Following a mental break that caused him to assume a false identity and perception of himself, Ned had disappeared, seemingly off the face of the Earth. The mysteries of what occurred in that time and where Ned is destined to go from here all still linger, but there is one certainty. The Notorious One has returned and he is the X-Treme Champion.

The wind swept through Ned's hair as he drove in his silver hatchback with the driver's side window rolled down, one hand on the steering wheel as he eyed the road ahead, filled with countryside that surrounded him. Only the thin concrete path beneath him cut the encompassing field of amber in half, barely a sight of civilization near him. It was odd seeing the world like this again for him. He spent months behind a small layer of carefully engineered fabric and the way color and tone were subtly warped behind it was a distinction his eyes had eventually grown accustomed to. But free from it? Each color was brighter, warmer in tone to his weary eyes. A glance toward the rearview mirror broke his train of thought, not because there was any vehicle or object worth noting behind the car, but rather that he hadn't really focused on his eyes in months. He didn't want to admit it, but in all of the simulations and disorienting testing, he had actually forgotten the color of his eyes. The light brown orbs on his face stared back in the fleeting second, but thankfully he had a passenger there to get his attention before he got distracted further.

"Uh, I know you wrestlers are all into that self-admiration sort of thing, but couldn't that wait for when we're not going 50?"

Darcy Ellis' slightly nasally voice chimed in from his side, interrupting Ned's moment of reflection and bringing his gaze back firmly towards the road. He rolled his eyes slightly, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate her dragging him back to reality. It was very easy to get wrapped up in his own thoughts, hell that was the root of everything that brought him here, but it was a little easier to focus around Darcy, probably because she treated him with the same wanton skepticism she treated everything. Certainly, it probably helped that they had spent most time prior to this with Ned behind a mask, so it wasn't like his identity was going to affect her opinion of him heavily. Not that she would necessarily give a damn about a pro wrestler, but it definitely alleviated the potential issue.

"I'm watching, I'm watching."

They hadn't said much on the road trip yet. The most common sound on the trip was the whir of the engine of their suitcases lightly tumbling against one another in the back of the car, rattling slightly every time they passed over a harsh bump. The sun shone through the open window with a welcome heat as the cold air of the AC propelled from the vents, though most of it was cast upon Ned, Darcy comfortable in the shade provided by the passenger's side. It was important for Kaye that she tag along, considering he essientially got her fired and jeopordized her ability to finicially support her ill sister. Family always compelled strong emotions out of Ned, which is likely why he avoided his when the "Nefarious" stuff started.

The "Nefarious" stuff... that was the genesis of all of these issues, although even that was born out of something deeper in Ned, though he avoided giving it much thought. He hadn't been in the best of places mentally for a long time, so added fuel to that fire was asking to be eaten up in the flames. He glanced towards Darcy staring down at her phone. She swiped over a few pictures of her and her sister, Clementine. There was a longing in her gaze. One for simpler times, where the world seemed to make more sense and there wasn't this constant struggle to achieve even the most minor sensations of peace. A desire to find home through the family she had. Perhaps it all just came back to family.

---

The Notorious Gym
Two Weeks Ago

"I cannot fucking believe you."

Nate's words echoed as he started to toss a few of his belongings into his truck. He avoided eye contact with Ned all the while. It had been a long time since Ned had spoken to him proper and this fact was not lost on his brother. There was a silent rage that could be seen on Nathan, each syllable of what did come out merely hints at the depth of his disappointment and anger. The gym ran fine enough without Ned, but The Chameleon stuff was the last straw for Nate.

"You were going to throw everything away just so you could run frome a little bit of guilt?"

"You know it's not like that-"

"Then what is it like?"

Nate's voice raised in a righteous anger as he trembled, taking the moment to look upon the face of his younger brother, still at odds with himself on what to say. Ned had no response. If he had a good answer to that question, he would have come back sooner. But that opportunity had sailed long past and sunk in uncharted waters. All Ned had now were apologies for a brother who couldn't stand to look at him.

"You know... I came back to this family because you convinced me Dad was worth it and that he would've wanted us to reconnect and be a family again. But you left on your own accord, Ned. If that's what he wanted, why did you leave?"

Again, no answer from Ned. Only a shameful stare towards his feet. It hurt Nate to treat him this way, but the betrayal and abandonment he felt about his kin leaving to become some drunken monster for months and disappear for a few more wasn't something Ned could self-pity himself into forgiveness.

"I need you to grow, Ned. For real this time. You can't be doing this shit forever. I just... I can't sit here and watch you kill yourself, even in slow motion."

He hopped into the truck with the last of his things from the gym, seeing it in its indefinitely closed state, the bright neon sign unlit. With a look towards his brother, he waved with a weak hand mustering only a few words before he started the truck and began driving off, leaving Ned Kaye in his rearview mirror.

"See you around."

---

"Ned, look out!"

Ned's concentration was ripped from the memory as his shot upward, seeing an oncoming car headed straight for them. He reacted quickly, swerving onto the shoulder briefly to get out of the way, halting the car for a brief respite as he reassessed his physical safety, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Unfortunately for his physical safety, he was sat aside an irate Darcy Ellis, who responded to his distracted moment of piloting the vehicle with multiple annoyed smacks to his arm. They didn't hurt by they were surprising as she used each one to emphasize each syllable of her angered yelling.

"PAY AT-TENT-ION!"

"I will! Stop hitting me!"

"I didn't tag along so you could get us both killed, you idiot!"

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Well, you're really about to know it now!"

She continued the smacking for a few more seconds before turning away with a huff, rolling her eyes in utter shock at the man she was sharing a vehicle with at the time. Ned did his best to explain following a deep sigh.

"I just have a lot on my mind and I was thinking about my brother while you were looking at photos of your sis."

His explanation did little to ease her immediate frustration as she sharply retorted, "How about next time instead of getting your head lost in the clouds after flying 100 miles through a windshield, you could be a normal person and just talk about it?"

"It's not that easy, Darce!"

"Why not?" She responded in a truly baffled tone.

"I don't know how, okay?! Is that the answer you want? It's hard for me to open up! It always has been! I don't just talk to people like that!" Ned shouted, shoving his head into his hands as he struggled to calm himself, taking deep breaths as Ellis scanned her eyes over him, feeling a little bad for giving him such a hard time the whole trip.

"There's no time like the present, Ned."

Ned inhaled slowly, staring off into space as he avoided eye contact with her. People's gazes weren't something Ned was fond of looking too much into these days. He could feel their judgement as if it was stabbing through his flesh and paying attention to it made each spike that much sharper on his skin. Collecting his thoughts, he forced out a few words.

"I let... I let a lot of people down, Darce.... and I can't just make that feeling go away. I think about it all the time. What my father would think. What Lily would think. I heard everyone in that stadium cheer me, but I didn't deserve it one bit. They should have rejected me. I haven't earned their respect again. I'm not sure if I even can..."

"How about you take it one step at a time and the rest will come, okay?" She said with a reassuring tone. As Ned looked out to make sure he could begin accelerating and getting back onto the road once more, Darcy eyed him, looking over his face. There was an indescribable expression on his face, a mixed pot of emotions that swirled and clashed with one another, but created someone infinitely fascinating, despite the appearance.

"Lily was the bride in that simulation, right?"

"Right." There was a strain to Ned's voice as he responded, clearly forcing out the one word.

"You really loved her, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

After the silence lingered for a little, Darcy decided it was best to change the subject, coughing a tad to preface her new statement.

"So, what exactly are we doing on this trip? I know it has to do with some contract stuff, but I didn't follow all of it, to be honest."

Ned cleared his throat, shaking away the melancholy the last line of discussion brought with it.

"My Chameleon contract, though it gave me anonymity, unfortunately signed me back up for some of the grunt work when it comes to extended XWF deals and all that. And unfortunately, that means doing some less than ideal stuff. That and I also want to get to the bottom of something."

"So, this is all a money thing? Why did you need me here?"

"I mean, you are practically my only real friend right now, Darce. Plus, I do owe you the money. You did help me get out of that Chameleon nonsense, so it's the least I can do for costing you your job in it."

"Well... I'm not complaining."

He nodded, pleased to have his suspicions confirmed by such a nonchalant response.

"What's this thing you need to look into, thought?"

Ned reached into the center console and pulled out a playing card. The back read XWF: The Debauchery and the front had a very sad looking sketch of Ned Kaye.


Darcy held back laughter as her face puffed up, snickering as she read the name of the card: "Ned Kaye, Gigantic Pussy."

Darcy could hold her laughter back no more and spent the next few minutes howling, on the verge of tears from the sight alone. Once she had calmed down, she handed the card back.

"Oh please tell me that's our first stop!"

"Unfortunately for you, no. That thing's made by some company called the Bastards of the Coast. Where we're going... well-"

---

Ned stood on a stage in the kind of attire reserved for TED talkers and daytime televangelists. His misery was visible from the front row to the nosebleeds, but he managed to cram it down as the introductory video rolled on the large monitor behind him.



"Hi! I'm-uh... Ned Kaye... and, boy, have I got a program for you!"

"Becoming Your Betterest Self!"

He nervously nodded as he outstretched his arms, seemingly aware of how odd he looked at the helm of one of these programs, but unfortunately forced to deal with the circumstances placed in front of him. With a sigh, he adjusted his approach to the best of his ability.

"I know that's a little bit redundant, but stay with me here! This advice could change your life! Don't touch that dial and resist the urge to assault your cameraman because this is some groundbreaking stuff here. What's the first step to becoming your better self? No, I'm not saying "betterest" again, that's not a damn word."

"Start by connecting with family! Now, who is family? Obviously, it doesn't have to be directly blood related, but if you're going to choose a fraternity, or Brotherhood if you will, it's worth following a few explicit rules on how to treat them. For example, let's say you're apart of a brotherhood and an impulse in you says to kick out everyone who had an issue with you using them as a way to put the spotlight directly on yourself. Don't follow that impulse! That won't lead to a tighter knit group, but rather the same dynamic, but now you're doing it to less people. It's also pretty bad form to whine about Chris Page doing the exact same thing you did with a different name."

"So, you've got your family near you, right? What now? Well, making sure that you treat them like equals is key to forming long lasting, healthy relationships. No one is going to give a damn about anything you say ever if you treat your closest friends like marks to profit off of. We form strong attachments with people that we share values with. If you have zero values outside of self-interest, you are destined to treat these people poorly and anyone within a thousand mile radius will see it coming. If your first come to Jesus moment just resulted in you deciding not to be a scumfuck because you thought you could weasel out of death, maybe your second should be not being a scumfuck because its the right thing to do. If questioning this is particularly difficult for you, it might be because you have zero empathy."

"Why would someone devalue those they've chosen to be around or take them for granted? Why would someone sign up to be apart of something just so they could put as little in while reaping as much as they possibly can out of it? Maybe it's because he's in the shadow of Bobby Bourbon and he doesn't want to admit that as much as he views their relationship as one of brotherhood, that for you its just a business partnership and when you're ready to cut the head off of that ally, you've saved a special blade for the occasion. But I think none of that will ever upset you as much as knowing that the man you couldn't even meet in the finals of March Madness for fell to me shortly after you did. I think that might be the one thing outside of a vocabulary you two actually have in common."

"I fell a long distance from where I was, but what brought me back from the brink was friendship. Drew went in there and pulled the real me out kicking and screaming. That could never exist for you because you don't really give a shit about BoB outside of a nice name that makes some cash on the side. The brand recognition is nice, certainly, but we all know you secretly resent that success because no matter how you try: you are not BoB. The brand is bigger than you and it always will be and that just eats your egotistical little self up. That's why you kicked Chris Page out of your little "family." You couldn't bear to be reminded that you ride success and the only kind you make is in a tag corner. You could never create BoB because creating isn't really your thing. Innovation is for the bold and the boldest thing you'll ever have is a fucking font choice."

"So, remember, if you can't find a family, at least turn to someone you love and tell them that. If you're incapable of doing this to anyone that isn't you, than the only thing you'll ever have is yourself with no shiny belt around your waist or friendly masked or unmasked man by your side. Becoming better isn't just a nice slogan, its work. And you can only work when your hateboner for Robert Main or Centurion is fully stiff. I look forward to kicking your limpdick all the way back into you because you've had it coming for a long fucking time. But unfortunately that's all the time we have for today!"

"On our next edition of Becoming Your-"

Ned sighs as a stagehand gestures towards him.

"-Betterest Self, we'll be discussing happiness! Something else you can't buy and wouldn't spend a dime on if you could! See you next time!"

"You can't run from yourself."