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**Sebastian Everett-Bryce** · (07-02-2022)

“Hello? Can you hear me?” Said Seb.

“I can hear you.” Replied Sloane. “Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you, but I can’t see you.” Said Seb.

“Can’t we do this without cameras?” Asked a familiar British voice. “I haven’t brushed my hair.”

“We always have the camera on. That’s the rule, Oliver.” Said Sloane as she flicked on her own camera.

“I’m not sure I want to know that about my sister.” Came another voice.

“Beckett!!!” Said Sloane, her brow furrowed. “That’s not… I just mean that when you accepted the invite you all agreed that you’d be on camera.

“Right. Okay. Fine. Fine!” Exclaimed the British voice, before turning it on to reveal Oliver Johnson, the absolute worst bed head imaginable and a jaw that clearly hadn't been shaved in some days. The Podcaster-cum-former-Seb Empire employee looked a touch worse for wear.

“On second thoughts, Oliver, I’m happy to make an exception for you.” Seb said. Oliver smiled for a moment and then.

“Hey! Rude!” Said Oliver, before leaving his camera on out of pure spite.

“Gramps, you’re on mute.” Said Seb as his grandfather was chuckling away to himself. He continued to talk away.

“It’s okay, I’ll unmute him.” Said Sloane.

“Thanks S…” Seb began.

“... And I said, ‘No wonder my fingernails are so dirty!’” Bastian said, before falling into fits of laughter.

“Oh… No… Gramps, you were on mute so we didn’t hear your story…” Sloane started.

“Sloane…” Said Seb knowingly. “Just… Leave it… Leave it, leave it, leave it…”

“Oh I think… someone… Oh I think… has… someone… Oh I think… an echo…someone has an echo… has an echo… has an echo…” Said Sloane, pulling a face and trying really hard not to get put off by the sound of her own voice.

“Sorry, I told Lauren to go into the other room but she won’t.” Said Thad, shaking his head, whilst sitting on his couch. In the background, Lauren can be seen sitting at a table, her phone in her hand.

“I don’t know why we can’t just be on the same thing.” Said Lauren, looking grumpy. “You have a whole couch!”

She lifted her phone to show Thad sat, looking up at a wide screen TV with all of their images on.

“Oh my god it’s so big!” Said Sloane.

“I know.” Said Thad with a smirk.

“I mean the TV!!!” Sloane quickly qualified. “I wouldn’t know… I mean… I… ”

Seb merely stared at the screen, before letting out a long, calming sigh.

“Anyway…” Said Sloane, looking for a change of subject. “Lauren, if you want to join Thad I’m sure it would…”

“Shhh, shhh, shhhhhhh.” Said Thad, shaking his head in a way that he clearly hoped was covert.

“I can literally see you shaking your head on the screen!” Said Lauren.

“Guys…” Said Seb.

“If I let her on this couch, you’re going to see things some of you might not want to see.” Said Thad.

“Like what?” Asked Sloane, before her eyes went wide.” I mean… Right…”

Thad smirked.

“I have seen some things in my time, young man, and I can assure you the canoodlings of the virile is not something I’m afraid of!” Said Bastian.

“Seriously… Guys…” Said Seb.

“I mean, it’s no different to what you’d see on the hub, right?” Said Kit.

“KIT!” Said Sloane.

“Oh come on, Sloane, you can’t believe your brother hasn’t watched porn - he has a girlfriend doesn’t he?” Said Thad.

“Oh my god, Thaddy!” Said Sloane.

“I’d quite like to get st…” Said Seb.

“What are you complaining about? I have to watch entire Twitter conversations where multiple people talk about…” Kit began.

“We can stop that right there.” Said Sloane. “I don’t want any mentions of any of that.”

“Even from me?” Asked Thad, pouting.

“Oh… Well… I suppose you’re…” Sloane began, before blushing and clearing her throat.

“Yes. This is so much better than learning I know about PornHub.” Said Kit with a disgusted look on his face.

“Besides, it’s nothing like PornHub.” Said Lauren, with a smirk upon her face. “Not even sure they’d show our videos in good conscience.”

“Wait… Really?” Said Sloane.

“Okay, can we just…” Said Seb.

“Really…” Said Thad, with a wink.

“I mean, I don’t know you guys so it’s a bit weird, but I wouldn’t mind…” Said Oliver.

“Oliver!!!” Said Sloane.

“Oh come on, Sloane, you were one of the ones I thought might be keen.” Said Thad.

“I mean… I’m curious…” Said Sloane, before catching herself. “But that’s private!”

“I’m just trying to…” Said Seb

“Doesn’t have to be…” Said Thad.

“What he said…” Said Lauren.

“Oh my…” Said Sloane. And she opened her mouth to speak again, but when she did, no words came out. In fact, the entire chat was silent. Everyone’s eyes fell on Seb, who was the only one who wasn’t muted.

He was, however, staring.

“Sorry I’m late, brother, hope I didn’t miss anything?” Said the voice of Chris Page.

“Almost, Chris, but you’re right on time.” Seb said.

“Great idea to keep Thad and Lauren separate, they sat next to each other on a couch at the Rabbit and we’ve had to have it reupholstered.” Said Chris with a chuckle.

Thad winked. Sloane blushed. Seb disconnected from the meeting.

“Alright… Let’s try this again, shall we?” Said Seb. The audience was the same before, however following a strongly worded email, and an awful lot of sulking, everyone had agreed to be on their best behaviour. “Okay, you can speak when it’s appropriate.”

“How do we know when it’s appropriate?” Asked Sloane.

“Seriously?” Seb said.

“What?! It’s a valid question!” Sloane protested.

“When I ask a question, people are allowed to answer. When we’re discussing the tournament, then we can all join in. I just don’t want this to devolve into… Thaddeus, where is Lauren?”

From the bottom of Thad’s screen, Lauren’s head slowly comes into view.

“What the actual fu…!?” Seb began.

“Oh lighten up, Seb, it was just a joke!” Said Thad. “I tried to get Sloane over here to do it, but she said she was on her best behaviour.”

“Thank you Sloane.” Said Seb.

“She’s coming over later though…” Said Lauren with a smile.

“Alright, that’s IT!” Said Seb, before he disconnected the call for a second time.

“Wow. We didn’t even plan that last line.” Said Thad. “Good job, babydoll.”

Lauren beamed.

“... Think you may have just gotten me in trouble though.” Said Sloane, chuckling nervously.

“It’s fine, you can just come and stay here.” Said Thad. “There’s plenty of room in our bed.”

“Ew.” Said Kit. “Seriously. Stop.”

“Think we can get one more in before he finally tries to kill us all?” Asked Oliver.

“Oh I’m sure we can tempt him back, one way or another.” Said Bastian with a devious chuckle.

The remaining attendees break out into a gaggle of laughter.

The third attempt had gone much like the first two, this time, with Kit reading out a recent online publication that had caused his sister much distress. The only reason that this isn’t being recreated for your entertainment is that, quite frankly, the language used by one Sloane Taylor was not for the consumption of delicate ears. That, moreso than the FanFiction, would have caused irreparable damage to her bright, bright career.

“Don’t come anywhere near me for the foreseeable future, Beckett, or I swear I will KILL you.” Sloane said, before disconnecting with a flourish.

“Well… That was awkward.” Said Seb. They sat in silence for a few moments, before, one by one, they all signed off for the third and potentially final time.

Thankfully, after a solid hour of bargaining and an apology from Kit in the form of a promise that he would buy Sloane one Starbucks Pink Drink a week for the rest of the year, Seb was finally able to get the entire gang back together.

“Alright, ground rules. First and foremost, no reading poorly written stalker fiction. Secondly, if we could keep the banter light and to the point rather than veering off into random directions. I’d like to actually get to the end of this meeting sometime before the Cannabis Cup begins..” Said Seb.

“Yes sir.” Said Lauren. Seb’s eyes opened wide and he puffed out his cheeks.

“Not sure how I feel about that…” Said Seb, his face falling into quite an uncomfortable look.

“You’d get used to it.” Said Thad, Lauren smirked.

“Anyway - this is the first official meeting of the Sebastian Everett-Bryce Subcommittee for Exploring Cannabis Cup Strategy.” Said Seb with a nod.

“Did you do that on purpose?” Asked Chris Page.

“Do what?” Asked Seb, trying his hardest to look innocent. He barely managed to pass as confused.

“S.E.B.S.E.C.CS.” Said Thad slowly. “Seb Sex…”

“Oh my god, Sebastian! Is that what you were giggling about this morning when you were writing out the name of the group?!” Sloane asked.

“Ha.” Said Thad.

“I like it.” Said Lauren.

“Bravo, my boy.” Said Bastian.

“I mean it works, brother.” Said Page.

“Thank you.” Seb said, before pulling tongues at Sloane, before realising that he actually was just pulling tongues at everyone. But she got the message.

“Now, I’d just like to take a moment to do a roll call.” Said Seb. “Oliver Johnson - your job was to trail Social Media and find out everything you can about my first round opponent for the Cannabis Cup - how did it go?”

“Well, I had a look at her Twitter feed if that’s what you mean?” Said Oliver.

“Yes, Oliver, that’s what I mean.” Said Seb. “What did you find?”

“Nothing.” Said Oliver. “Like… At all. It’s as if she doesn’t even know she’s in the tournament.”

“Seriously?” Said Seb, a disappointed look upon her face. “Nothing at all.”

“Nope. Even when she was announced as part of the tournament… Nothing. Since the day one it’s like it’s been the last thing on her mind. Don’t get me wrong, I know she has a lot on her plate with a number of promotions, but I was surprised to see absolutely zero recognition of the tournament at all.” Said Oliver.

“Well that’s just maddeningly unhelpful.” Said Seb rolling his eyes. He turned his gaze towards Sloane’s younger brother, Kit. “Alright - so she’s been focusing on the tournament in promos - what’s she been saying there?”

“Well…” Said Kit shuffling uncomfortably.

“Well what?” Asked Seb, his face settling in for more bad news. “Well… What… Kit?”

“Well… You know she’s been really focused on trying to win the Bombshell Internet Championship in Sin City… There’s been all that distraction over Masque and Amber. She just lost her Ultimate Conquest Championship in Southern Rebellion… So she was obviously focusing on that… Oh, and she’s in New Frontier too - did you know that?” Kit said with an air of success with a nod.

“Okay, and what else did you find out?” Asked Seb.

“Well… I mean… That’s… That’s all.” Said Kit.

“Kit! You were my sure thing! My wrestling geek who knows everything about everything!” Said Seb.

“I’m sorry! Things have changed a little - I have a girlfriend now, I can’t spend all my time watching the several thousand wrestling companies that exist.” Said Kit.

“No, but you could have at least watched the matches that I asked you to watch.” Said Seb shaking his head. “I knew I should have asked Kat.”

“Ohhh you should have asked Kat!” Said Sloane, before furrowing her brow. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because I have to give her a wet willy on Monday, and it would send mixed signals.” Said Seb.

“A wet WHAT?!” Asked Sloane.

“You know the thing where your lick your finger and stick it in someones…” Seb began. Lauren let out a burst of laughter. “EAR LAUREN!”

“Sloane, if you’d like to give me a wet willy, I’m fine with that.” Said Thad.

“I don’t think that would be very… Oh… OH! THADDY!” Said Sloane. Bastian and Kit both opened their eyes wide. Seb held up a hand as if to highlight that he didn’t want to get side tracked again.

“Okay, Sloane, go.” Said Seb.

“You want me to leave?!” Sloane said.

“No! Your report!” Said Seb.

“Oh… Well… She has really pretty hair. AND I beat her a couple of years ago.” Sloane said with a little nod. Seb took a deep, calming breath.

“Lauren?” Seb asked.

“I don’t even know who we’re talking about, honestly.” Lauren said quietly.

“You know, I could just call Cypher and get him to…” Thad began.

“No.” Said Sloane and Seb together.

“Still a little touchy… Got it.” Said Thad, before turning to Lauren and pulling an “awkward” face.

“Gramps?” Said Seb.

“Is there even any point?” Asked Bastian without a hint of irony. Seb leans forward and begins to smash his head against the keyboard of his laptop leaving a trail of letters.

‘Hujyjhnmkbj hukyjh uny jhnuy’

“Oof…” Said Sloane.

“If I could interject…” Said Page.

“YES! Of course! THANK YOU Chris.” Said Seb, pulling a face at the rest of the attendees.

“I appreciate this little group you’ve pulled together to try and learn a little more about your opponent, but it doesn’t really matter what any of us think about Ms. Caldwell-Zdunich. It doesn’t matter if she’s mentioned the tournament - save for a few retweets, you’ve not mentioned it either until right now.” Said Page sagely. “No-one wants to listen to you regurgitate facts about your opponent - that’s what everyone else will do. You’re better than that, Seb - you’re better than her. That’s why I’m stood in your corner and not hers. So maybe, take a second, and focus on what you want to say and say it brother - that’s all you need to do to rock her world.”

Seb’s mouth open and closes slowly.

“I mean… What he said.” Said Thad with a smirk.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, my boy.” Said Bastian.

“Yeah, that’s… That’s probably what I would have liked to hear you say.” Said Kit.

“What’s going on again?” Asked Lauren.

“I guess that’s it, baby…” Said Sloane with a smile. “It’s not about us or what we know or don’t know. It’s about you… You and Crystal. No-one elses opinion matters.”

“Right…” Said Seb. “Well… Alright. Thanks, Chris.”

“Anytime brother - I’ve got some things to do so I’m going to drop out.” Said Page.

“Yeah, I’ve been looking at Sloane for a long, long time and now Lauren’s going to get the benefit.” Said Thad.

“What benef… Oh!” Said Sloane, before turning a shade of crimson.

“Yeah of course.” Said Seb, thoughtfully. “Thank you all for joining - I call to an end the…”

There were a number of beeps as one by one everyone drops out of the call save for Sloane.

“... First meeting of… You know what, I give up.” Said Seb, shaking his head.

“What? I think it went great.” Said Sloane with a beaming smile.

“It went about as well as I expected it to, love.” Said Seb with a chuckle, before they both logged off the call

It’s interesting how paths often entwine. And yet, two people could have been in the same places at the same time and never so much as exchanged there merest word - it’s also true to say that even when those paths cross, the road ahead and the road once trodden is unknown to those who we meet on our way. You and I have crossed such paths before, without barely a raised eye. Not knowing what came before, not knowing what came after.

As if it never even happened.

When I learned that my first round opponent was you, Crystal, I’ll concede that I was not just a little… Disappointed. As I’ve made perfectly clear these past week, I tend not to do things the easy way, and given what I know about you this very much felt like an easy path. Notice taken at the moments our paths cross. Small details pass by unseen when two ships pass in the night.

Blink and you’d miss it.

You see, the two of us debuted in UGWC on the same night, Crystal. Me, a fresh-faced new comer to the American shores and you a seasoned veteran determined to represent Sin City Wrestling both participating in, ironically, a tournament. The Wrestlestock Open. Our fates were similar, yet not identical. I progressed to the Semi-Finals before falling to the one and only Sloane Taylor, whilst you were defeated in round one by Alan Wallace.

A storied name all of his own.

But whilst I went on to win Championships galore, you petered away to a disappointing nothingness. Your initial stay lasting just three months, before you shuffled away back to your comfort zone. You returned the following year, before being humiliated by the woman who defeated me at Wrestlestock and once again you just… Fizzled out. So, you can understand my disappointment when faced with the prospect of facing someone who barely kept her head above water in a promotion in which I thrived.

It felt very much like a gimme.

But I know Chris Page better than that - if one of his clients are to win this tournament, they’re not getting an easy draw. And so, I decided to look back across your journey. I decided I wanted to know about the Crystal outside of my home - the real you. The determined you. The comfortable you. Because that’s who you are, right? Comfortable in the surroundings that you know best.

SCW. NFW. SRW.

All three are promotions of note, in fact SCW is filled with names I have grown to respect. Matthew Knox. Mac Bane. Kat Jones. And upon that roster, filled with talent unmatched, I saw your name and had to wonder how it was even possible that you’d managed to keep your head above water. And yet, here you are - writing lists and checking names off one by one. It was a surprise, I’ll admit - a shock to the system, an unrivalled and yet unyielding sense of excitement.

Perhaps I’ll have to earn my place in the next round after all.

And so I watched, Crystal - I watched you lose in New Frontier Wrestling. I watched you lose in Southern Rebellion Wrestling. I watched you lose in Sin City Wrestling. What? You expect me to laugh at you? Poke fun at your losses - hardly. As someone who’s forgotten more about this business than either of us will ever know once said, it’s not about how you fall down, it’s about how you get up. I didn’t care about the results - I cared about watching you fight. I didn’t care that you couldn’t win.

I cared that you didn’t quit.

Because that told me something about you - the fact that you lost because your body failed before your spirit gives me hope that I won’t look back on our match as a disappointment. It gives me hope that the Crystal that shows up at the Cannabis Cup will be the eighteen time World Champion. The four time Hall of Famer. The SCW legend and the woman who was considered to be an actual threat to Masque whilst she continued to pour ice water through the veins of everyone else around her.

Not the flake that I know from UGWC.

Lazy. Tired. Dull. Disengaged. Disinterested. Uninspired. Spineless. That’s the Crystal I remember - the one who whined and complained about how unfair it was that she was getting humiliated everytime she stepped into the ring. The one who couldn’t believe that she was failing so spectacularly whilst simultaneously offering nothing of value or benefit. You showed up for a paycheck, Crystal. Then you complained when that paycheck came with a reality check on the side.

One that said that you’re not good enough.

You came to our house in an attempt to represent yours. You embarrassed yourself and you embarrassed your home. And you did so by showing not one ounce of the fight I watched from you these past weeks. You came back to try and prove something to everyone that laughed in your face the first time around and you upped and left again. Twice you tried. Twice you failed, not because your not good enough, but because you just didn’t care.

That kind of attitude will get you hurt come the 22nd of July.

I’m not usually one that goes out of their way to humiliate an opponent. I’m pretty fair-minded and honestly, I want the best possible version of you that you can give. But if you bring that sloppy, weak-minded cry-baby bitch that I remember to the Cannabis Cup, then you’re as good as giving me a bye to the Sweet Sixteen. But trust me, as easy as it will be for me, it won’t be that easy for you.

I’m not letting you off with a pat on the back and a warning.

So come prepped, Crystal - don’t let me down. Because if you give me less than your all, I’ll send you back to SCW with a story about how UGWC humiliated you all over again. I don’t care what you’ve won. I don’t care what you think you can do. All I care about is that you get in that ring and we put on a fucking show. I care that we get in that ring and we kill it. I care that we walk out of that ring with everyone else on that card wondering how they’re going to follow us. You better not let me down, Crystal.

Or you won’t walk out at all.

So do whatever you need to do to get yourself ready for this match. Study up, watch videos, make a voodoo doll of me, take this recording and play it on repeat so it gets you nice and worked up and desperate for a fight. One thing I wouldn’t do though? Is put me on your little check list - because Crystal… My name isn’t one you’ll ever check off.

The best you can hope for is that people remember that you didn’t quite.

Just like against Vebbins.

Just like against Steele and Davis.

Just like against Masque.

At least you’ll be able to say that you touched greatness. That you were there when the Empire rose.

That you lost to Sebastian Everett-Bryce.

You’re welcome.

Seb stood on the small balcony of the Chicago apartment that he shared with Sloane and looked out into the night. Time was running out for this place where almost all of their memories began. Chicago. Where they’d met almost three years earlier, in the Wrestlestock Festival grounds. The weekend they’d debuted alongside Seb’s Cannabis Cup opponent.

It was a sad thought that they’d be leaving this city.

But they’d have reason to come back.

Sloane’s family for one. His family now, he supposed.

Seb let himself chuckle for just a moment, before he felt arms slip around his waist.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Sloane asked.

“Not tried yet.” Said Seb lifting his arm as she slipped behind him and they looked out at the night.

“What’s on your mind Mr. Everett-Bryce?” Sloane asked.

“That we have our entire future ahead of us.” Said Seb with a half smile. “And an Empire to build.”

And Sloane leaned into him, with a small sigh, as they stood together to watch the sun rise.

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode S.E.B.S.E.C.C.S - Cannabis Cup RP #1
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