The phone buzzed from atop the nightstand beside the bed. The alarm clock was beginning to get louder, and Sabin wearily opened his eyes, groaning while stretching his arm toward his phone to silence it before it woke up Ashley Miller who was still sound asleep…she had her head laid down across his chest, and an arm draped across his stomach. Sabin pulled the phone back to glance at the time: 6:15.

I guess I should get out of bed… Sabin thought to himself and let out another groan. He was not so lucky in leaving Ashley’s sleep undisturbed the second time around.

Sabin crept his way to the edge of the bed just as Ashley let out a moan, and blinked her eyes several times…she had a look of visible confusion as she sat up only ever so slightly, “What time is it?” she managed to get the words out.

“Six o’clock,” Sabin answered.

“Okay,” Ashley said and stretched herself upward and kissed Sabin fully before finally rolling over onto the bed to face the other direction. “I'll be down in a bit... I just want a few more minutes.” She said while pulling the covers over toward her and wrapped herself into a cocoon before drifting off to sleep.

Sabin finally got out of bed and tiptoed his way toward the closet where he grabbed his gym clothes and slung them over his shoulder while walking toward the door. He was checking all of his notifications while walking and could see that he had missed a couple from his mother, Tara, and with a few more taps was reading them.

> Are you up?
> Hitting the gym.
> Seems like you needed the sleep

.

Sabin nodded his head as if to acknowledge the statement from over an hour ago, as if to admit it to himself; he began tapping his own response back.

> Yeah, I’m on my way now.

He pressed the send button then walked into the bathroom. Upon entering the bathroom, he turned the faucet on and leaned against the counter while looking toward himself in the mirror. The glint in his eyes; the ferocity; he could not keep himself from sneering as if he were sitting backstage at an event to get himself into character, and mentally prepared for the combat that was in front of him.

People had already doubted me the first time we fought. They did not think that I belonged in the ring with him, despite the fact that he is my brother…stepbrother, really, but still my brother. Sabin thought to himself.

Why would they not? Afterall, he was the former two-time World Champion. He was the youngest inductee into the Hall of Fame. Any gambler would have picked him to be the winner, and they would have betted right. Sabin continued to be trapped within the confines of his mind, and gritted his teeth when he thought of the last encounter that he and Dean had with each other back in June at the Imperial Wrestling Federation event Bloody Assizes.

He cupped his hands together under the running water before splashing some of the water on his face. He lucked out that night, though, and the worst part about it: he will not admit it. He will not admit that the only reason he won was because the victory literally fell right into his arms. Sabin thought while gripping his hands onto the countertop. It took him several seconds to ease some of the pressure from the surface and calm himself back down; he took several deep breaths to regain his own composure. Anger is not going to win this for you… The past is not going to be erased. All you can do is move forward, and show him that you are everything that he is…but better. Sabin nodded.

Break him… The voice came to Sabin’s head just as the Green Goblin came Norman Osborn, and he sneered at the thought of it. While staring into the mirror the lights in the bathroom flickered, and Sabin looked up to see if his mind was playing tricks on him; he looked back toward the mirror and he did not seem to be looking at himself anymore. He was staring at the entity that took control whenever that bell rang; the entity that brought him the IWF Men’s World Championship, and the entity that brought him success during his first official year in the industry. Wraith.

The cold eyes from the figure stared directly into him, and Sabin sneered again; Wraith matched his sneer. He followed his every movement as if he were the mirror. Sabin turned his head to the side and could see the face paint that mimicked blood and war paint to instill fear into those that stood across from him. Sabin took another deep breath and closed his eyes…he knew that the entity was nothing without his own physical conditioning; the entity was nothing more than a mentality. A mindset. One that he would let loose every time he entered the ring. The spirit that would fight longer; strike faster; strike harder; strike first. No mercy; as if he had been trained by Kreese.

When he opened his eyes, he was staring back at himself. Sabin ran a hand across his face as if to look for any residue leftover from the face paint but it was clear. Sabin shook his head and then proceeded to finish getting ready.

Upon getting ready, he walked out from the bathroom door and couldn’t help but take a glance back down the hallway; there was no indication that Ashley had woken up just yet but it had only been a couple of minutes. Sabin casually went downstairs with more of a pep in his step. “Ma!” Sabin called out; the house was large enough and he knew he was far enough from his own bedroom to not disturb Ashley from her own slumber.

“I’m up!” Sabin called out again.

Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs and turned down the hallway, he heard a sudden noise… It sounded like something had just fallen off the top shelf. “Tláa?” Sabin called out reverting to the Tlingit language; the tone in his voice was riddled with concern as he seemed more alert. He got to the door leading to the home gym and opened it…he did not have to open the door all of the way to see his mother’s body lying on the ground in the fetal position. “Tláa!” Sabin now shouted out as he charged forward; he rolled her onto her back, “Tláa– tláa, please wake up!” he begged, but he was getting no response from her.

Every bit of knowledge that Sabin knew went out the window. He was stuck in a panic as he tried to shake his mother awake but still to no avail… Sabin raised her up slightly and cradled her. He seemed to regain some of his senses and dialed 9-1-1. “Hello? Hello?! Yes! I need an ambulance at–” Sabin was giving the address, and directions to the emergency dispatcher, but still did not relent in trying to wake her up himself. After hanging up, Sabin could not stop from succumbing back to thoughts of the worst.

The seconds felt like minutes; the minutes felt like hours… Sabin is cradling his mother in his arms while trying to bring her back to consciousness. Time seems to be standing still, and Sabin can only seem to mutter to himself to try to assure himself that everything is going to be okay; even trying to wake Tara, he wanted to assure her that she was going to be okay.

“It’s fine. It’s fine. They’re going to be here soon…you’re going to be fine…” Sabin said aloud

Just as he seemed to be regaining his own composure, Ashley emerged at the doorway with intent on joining them during their training. She could see the situation and rushed forward, “Oh, my God! What happened?!” asked loud almost uncontrollably; she had joined, even for the briefest of moments, the same panic that Sabin had been in.

“I– I don’t know. I just heard a crash, and when I came in, she was like this!” Sabin did his best to explain.

Ashley seemed unsure of how she should comfort Sabin, but her own expertise had kicked in, “Baby–” she said while reaching a hand to his shoulder, “Baby, we gotta lay her down, okay?” Sabin did as she instructed and lied his mother down, “And elevate her legs.” Sabin continued with the instructions while Ashley checked for herself to ensure that Tara was breathing. “Did you already call for help?”

Almost on cue, she could hear the sirens in the distance… “I’m going to let them in, okay? Everything is going to be okay.” Ashley was more reassuring to Sabin at this moment; he nodded his head in understanding while waiting for the emergency responders to come in.

---

AS YOUR ENEMY.

Sabin was born and raised in this business; he was a product of this business. His mother, his father, his stepfather; everybody that he knew and considered family had something to do with the business in some way. That was how Sabin had become gifted at being able to change on a whim; he was able to shift in and out of character, or in and out of the zone that would transfer him from human being to monster with something as simple as blinking his eyes.

The figure that stood in front of the camera was not the Sabin that people could befriend; the figure became the entity that took over like a possession from the moment the young man would step inside of the ring. Wraith. He wore the IWF Men’s World Championship around his waist. He snarled while standing absolutely still and cocked his head to the side; that snarl transitioned into the traditional Docherty smirk that mirrored his mother’s own smirk. You could shape him any way that you wanted to, he could become a bloodthirsty animal, but you could not take away that smirk.

“iLíl yoo yeedláñgiñ ýat guçajáañ.”

That was the phrase that first escaped the black lips of Wraith; these were the first words that he had said aloud on camera...at an event. IWF: Holiday Havoc, when he waged war with Dean Harper's father: Angel. Wraith's stepfather. He tilted his head the other way and then leaned in close before resuming his speech.

“You…cannot…kill me.” Wraith stated slowly yet boldly. “Oh, he tried! How he tried…” Wraith said with a chuckle under his breath, “The great Angel tried to break me; he disrupted my time in Heir to the Throne; he disrupted my match against Roberto Verona, against Abraxes, against Abraxes! All of the sake of trying to make me do what everybody else has respected him with: fear. He would try to humble me at Holiday Havoc. He would try to instill fear into me at Holiday Havoc. He brought war! He brought wrath! He brought destruction! He came for revenge! He came for revenge just like little Dean Harper had come for revenge after what I did to him…after I broke him, and made it clear that he should beg for forgiveness from Mother. When I made it clear that he should not step into my ring. When I made it clear that he should avoid me… Angel learned on that fateful night that if I start to come in his direction: he should run, and run fast. Angel is not a man that I fear. His son is not a man that I fear.” Wraith said.

He paused momentarily, but he could not seem to stand still; the blood in him was boiling…the adrenaline was ready to step into the ring and wage war with the person who had come after him for revenge and handed him his first loss. That loss was forever etched in his mind which caused him to sneer at the thought of it. He gritted his teeth together and scrunched his face up.

“History will tell you a few things… It will tell you that the older brother persevered over the younger one. It will tell you that Dean Harper had gained his revenge for when I, the younger brother, nearly broke his father’s neck in the center of that ring! On what could be said to be the biggest night of this young man’s career–” Wraith hesitated. He closed his eyes but they still twitched under his eyelids when he could hear the bloodthirsty audience wanting to watch Dean and Wraith tear each other apart during Bloody Assizes at IWF, but there was one particular person in the audience that stood out to him: Mother. When the mental image of his mother came to his mind, he gave a weak smile.

“The biggest night of this young man’s career against one of the most decorated stars in IWF history, who just so happened to be his stepbrother, and all of it…went up in smoke…” Wraith’s breathing became suddenly heavy, and he snarled again, “That loss gave him bragging rights! It gave Dean the impression that he is the superior brother because he was able to walk out with a win, and he was able to do it while Mother watched! But how did he win, huh? How did he acquire that victory?” Wraith asked the rhetorical question with his tongue almost lashing in accusation.

“The objective was simple: retrieve the bunny…” Wraith said, “Retrieve the bunny, and you will win! But how did you get that bunny, Dean? Did you climb the cage to acquire it? Did you pull it down? Did you retrieve the bunny? Huh?”

Wraith sniffled and shook his head. “It fell…in your lap…but I know that you are thinking that you somehow earned that victory because you are going to give us one of those clichés about how nothing else matters except for winning and losing! It does not matter how you received a victory, all that matters is that you got it! Right?” He asked with a chuckle before looking down toward the belt he was wearing. The belt that indicated he was the man to beat at IWF.

“There are people that argue that I did not deserve to battle Ulf for this championship because there were people out there that better deserved it… People that say that I could not stop Roberto Verona; people that say I could not stop Warren Kane; people that say that every person that I defeated up to the point of acquiring this championship were simply curtain jerkers and that they had no business being in the ring with someone like me. Someone that could break them. Someone that will break them. Some people say that you deserved to have the next shot at the belt against Ulf! And…I am not going to put words in your mouth, but I am pretty certain that you were sitting backstage when Ulf was laying out the challenge to everybody to come forth and fight him and you chose not to go out to accept his challenge because you knew something…” Wraith paused for a moment and licked his lips.

“You knew that you could not defeat him. You knew that when he took that championship in the first place, he had defeated you and Warren Kane, and you wanted no part of him…” Wraith sneered.

“You do not have to tell me whether I am right or wrong with my assumption, because I really do not care. The fact of the matter is that when the Norseman laid out his challenge: I answered, and I defeated him in a way that nobody, anywhere, has ever defeated him… Not in any of the places that he chose to make a name for himself…Project: Honor, Pro Wrestling Valor; I became the first man to force him to tap out! I became the first man to force him to admit that he could not defeat me! In five years, no man has made him tap out…except for me…” Wraith had a cocky yet confident smile across his face, and let that mental image linger; the mental image of him having Ulf Hednir trapped in the center of the ring and forcing him to tap out for the first time in his career.

“You have your own little…infatuation with Ulf, do you not? Your puppy? Is that not what you call him? But you, Dean– you have something in common with him, right? Or I suppose I should say…had…something in common with him. Ever since you debuted in this industry, there is something that you have never done. You have never tapped out.” Wraith said with a grin. He raised his hand to his chin and began rubbing it while considering that fact.

“Do you know what it is like to make someone tap out? Do you understand the power that you have over them in those fleeting seconds? Those seconds…” Wraith exhaled slowly with a grin on his face, as he just seemed to fantasize having someone locked in the hold. Especially his favored Gogoplata. He cracked his neck before resuming, “Those seconds last. Oh, how they fight! How they squirm! And their eyes! Let me tell you how exhilarating it is to watch hope deplete from their eyes…when they are reaching for the ropes; they are looking for some kind of salvation! I have seen it…in their eyes…the godless are praying to every deity that they can think of hoping for some sort of divine intervention just to save them, but I should tell you– I should tell you what Mother says…”

Wraith sniffled and smacked his lips together several times. He did hesitate in speaking, as if to ensure that he was going to say the words correctly; with a smirk on his face, he cocked his head momentarily as if a sort of normalcy from Sabin had taken back over…even tucking his thumbs behind the strap of the championship belt around his waist.

---

… Later in the morning …

Sabin and Ashley were both sitting in the waiting room for any news that they had on Tara; Sabin was hunched over with his face buried into his hands while Ashley was gently rubbing his back trying to keep him calm.

“What’s taking so long?” Sabin asked. He hit his hand against the armrest and got up to his feet before raising his arms and folding his hands over the top of his head; he had to get up. He couldn’t sit any longer.

Ashley bit down on her bottom lip as she seemed uncertain of what to say to keep him from losing it. It was understandable for what he was going through. She did eventually stand up and walk toward him, and with his back to her, she wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head onto his shoulder.

“They’re going to take care of her. Your mom is tough…do you really think this is going to be what takes her out?” Ashley asked. Sabin couldn’t muster any words in response. “She’ll be fine.” Ashley said and turned Sabin toward her and tilted his head to ensure that he would look into her eyes and see the sincerity in her words; she could see the tears he was still trying to hold back and just when it seemed like she had him under control…the doors burst open. She could feel him tense back up when he laid eyes on his stepbrother entering the room.

“Where is she?!” Dean asked. Sabin sneered at Dean as he was rushing over to the nurse’s station, “Where is Tara?!” Warren Kane followed in after; he gave a nod to Ashley and to Sabin; Ashley returned the greeting nod, but Sabin had his eyes locked on his stepbrother.

“Missus Docherty is awake, but the doctor would like to run some tests on her–” the nurse was explaining. The explanation did get Sabin to step forward, and Ashley did let him go as he listened with further intent.

“Let me see her!” Dean demanded.

“Sir, the doctor is not letting anyone in to see her at the moment. That means no one.” the nurse continued.

“Bullshit!” Sabin interjected, “That’s my mother, and I want to make sure she’s fine!”

“Sabin–” Warren said, but Sabin stepped forward.

“You have a lot of nerve!” Dean shouted, preventing the nurse from being able to answer. Sabin and Dean walked toward each other, each one snarling at the other, “You have no business keeping this from me! The moment that she was put in the fucking ambulance, you should have called me!” Dean said.

“This does not concern you!” Sabin said.

“She’s my mother, too!” Dean interjected.

“You had a funny way of showing that when you kept Edward away from her!” Sabin countered.

(( Section continued in Dean Harper’s promo. ))

---

We returned to the studio where Wraith had been broadcasting; he still stood in a powerful stance, a confident stance… The last time that he had been in the ring with his brother, it was a defeat, but Wraith...Sabin...stood as someone different this time around. He did not stand just as the rookie; he stood as the youngest IWF Men’s World Champion of all time. He stood as the champion.

“What Mother tells me: There is no shame in tapping out. You can choose to tap out, and come back to fight another day…or you can refuse to tap out and risk ending your career, or your life.” Sabin scoffed at the mere thought that people considered it; people considered putting their careers at risk all by refusing to tap out if they were locked into a submission.

“I want to see that look in your eyes, Dean. I want to see that last glint of hope leave your eyes when you realize that no matter how much you try to fight it, there is going to be no escape for you…and I know you have that willpower; that strength…” Wraith said while clenching a fist, “…to refuse to give up! You have put your career on the line time after time after time, and you know what? As Wraith: I hope that you do not tap out. I hope that you refuse. I hope that I have a chance to break you just so you know who is better.” Wraith scoffed again and just took a couple steps to his side before closing his eyes; he pressed them shut for a couple of seconds before re-opening them and his tone suddenly shifted, “As your brother…as Sabin…I want you to tap out. When I have a hold locked in on you, and you know…deep down, you know that you have nowhere to go! I want you to tap out. I want you to be able to come back and fight. I want to…give you…that mercy. That mercy of knowing that this is not the end for you, just one small misstep, and because it is something that you do not like to accept, I also would like for you to know…” He drew in a deep breath and feigned a smile.

“I would like you to know that it is okay! It is okay to tap out! Mistakes happen. It is okay to make a mistake, but you must learn from that mistake… And there are mistakes that happen that means it is too late for you; you cannot recover from it. You allowing me to lock in any of my submissions against you...that is going to be your mistake. But…” Wraith sniffled and still had that smirk on his face, “Brother...just tap out. If you do not wish to do it to save yourself, then please, for Mother! For Angel! Tap out. For Warren...tap out. For Edward...tap out. For Rowan; for whoever it is that you hold dear in your life! Tap out. Accept your defeat, and accept that there is no escape for you.” Wraith finished that statement with a light chuckle under his breath.

He licked his lips and snickered before continuing, “Tap out…” he said, and let out a heavy sigh, “Growing up, I always wished that I had an older brother. One that would look out for me. One that would teach me what he knew. One that I could squabble with and we could have had that sibling rivalry with! One that I could share the secrets that I could not tell neither Mother nor Father. One that I could look up to,” Wraith snickered again, “But I did not. I did not know of your existence until I was fifteen-years-old, and by that time, you were doing everything in your power to bury my mother! You were doing everything in your power to hurt her because your father wanted to take my baby brother away from her…and for what, Dean? For what? Huh?” He had his head cocked to the side and paused momentarily to give Dean and the audience time to consider why Dean did what he did.

“This is something that you continuously try to make an excuse for by saying that you only knew what your father told you, but you are responsible for every single one of your own actions that brought harm to her. That is something that you cannot ever erase! That time with Edward–” Wraith scrunched up his face and gestured around him as if to show the vast emptiness, “–it is never coming back! That was time robbed from us, but how do you atone for your mistake? You say that you did not know…like that is supposed to make everything so much better. Like that is supposed to correct every err of your ways! Mother is forgiving; I am not. She sees you as hers. I do not. What am I supposed to do, Dean? How am I supposed to treat you? Like my brother? We are not blood. She accepts you.” Wraith said and immediately ceased talking after that. His eye contact faltered from the camera and he began pacing back and forth; he reached a hand up to scratch the top of his head to indicate that he did not understand why or how Tara accepted Dean as her own.

“She accepts you.” Wraith repeated. He spoke lower this time making it difficult to hear; it was more as he was talking to himself.

“She…” his voice trailed off as he came to a dead stop. His hand was still at the top of his head while scratching and finally a chuckle did escape under his breath, “If that is what we are…”

Wraith turned back toward the camera and cocked his head to the side. That smirk returned to his face, the Docherty smirk, a question of whether Dean Harper could share that same smirk; if people saw Dean smirk, would they see Docherty? Or would they see Blake? It was the difference. It was what told Wraith, or Sabin, that they were different. Brothers, but not by blood.

“Brother. You have one victory over me, but at the Denzel Porter Invitational; I even the score, and more importantly: I do it…decisively…there is going to be no doubt in the minds of the people watching; there is going to be no doubt in your mind! There is going to be no argument in which you are going to say that I got lucky, or that it–” Wraith cupped his hands together, “–fell into my hands.” His eyes rolled upward to look toward the skies. The silence only lasts a couple of seconds, but he returns his gaze to the camera in front of him and maintains the smirk.

“No, Dean; it is going to end in the center of that ring… and it is going to end my way: you are going to tap out. You are going to admit to yourself; you are going to admit to the world; you are going to admit to Mother and Father that you…are not…on my level. See you at the invitational…bro.”

The scene fades.

---

Sabin had taken his swing at Dean; Ashley Miller had stood up to try to pull Sabin back and attempt to calm him down. However, the punch was caught by Seth Evans; an IWF executive, a fellow competitor trained by Tara Fenix, and a close family friend… Sabin had turned toward him and could see the sneer on his face that was uncharacteristic of him; he was angry that the two brothers, albeit not blood-related, but still brothers, were fighting within the confines of a hospital.

“Enough! This is a hospital for crying out loud!” Seth Evans sighed, “You are both high profile IWF employees. You will not get into a brawl in a hospital. Warren, take Dean for a walk. Sabin, a word.”

“But he--” Sabin tried to protest. Ashley had even given him a glare indicating that she was not thrilled with Sabin’s attack despite his argument that he was justified.

“I’ll talk to him in a minute. Come on.” Seth guided Sabin away, who was still glaring back toward Dean who just had that smirk across his face that made Sabin want to punch him even harder. Ashley followed in tow. Seth had Sabin by the arm and led him down the hallway, and flung him against the wall as if a parent were scorning their child for being guilty of something severe. “What’s the matter with you?” Seth asked.

Sabin glanced over at Ashley, and her own expression said it all; she was not going to protect him from the wrath of Seth Evans in this instance.

“Don’t look at her!” Seth said in a commanding tone; he reached his hand forward to shove Sabin’s shoulder causing him to also jerk his head upward and return his attention to him. “Look at me!” Seth commanded again, and now took a step closer. He tilted his head to the side, “Your mother collapsed, Sabin, and you're here picking a fight with Dean? In the hospital? And you did not think to call--”

“This did not--” Sabin tried to interject, but Seth did not give him much time to respond.

“Bullshit! That is his mother, too… You know that Dean cares about her. You know that this entire industry actually cares about her! I know what happened between you and Angel; I know what happened between you and Dean, but that is stuff that you just need to let go…” Seth said while holding a hand against his shoulder. “And you need to control your fucking temper.”

It was uncharacteristic for Seth to cuss, but that is when you knew how mad he was.

“Sabin… Seth is right.” Ashley began, and Seth took a step to the side hoping that the words from Ashley may bring serenity to Sabin. “You told me about some of the beef that you’ve had with Dean in the past, but you can’t really deny that he is your brother. This is not something that you can keep from him. And fighting?” Ashley had a baffled look on her face as she spread her arms out as if to indicate where they are, “Here? Come on! You’re better than that. Now’s not the time for any of this bullshit… Just make sure your mom is okay.”

There was a heated silence between the trio while both Seth Evans and Ashley Miller looked toward Sabin with a bit of remorse; there was still no news on how Tara was doing after she had been found...was she conscious? Was she going to be okay? These were just some of the questions that raced through Sabin’s mind while he was waiting, and during this moment of silence, a doctor had approached them and hesitated in speaking when he saw how intense the room had become.

“Sabin? Sabin Spencer?” the doctor asked.

Seth let Sabin’s shoulder go, and let him come off of the wall as he stepped forward to answer the doctor.

“Right here," he said as if he were in class and attendance were being called; he cleared his throat and then furthered with the question, "Is she okay?”

The doctor nodded, “Yes, your mother is going to be fine. She is conscious, but--”

“Can I see her?” Sabin interjected.

“But she has asked not to let anyone in to see her. We are going to keep her here to run some additional tests to ensure that there is no serious damage done to her. She did bump her head pretty good… I just...I think that you should go home and rest. We can give you a call when she is ready to go.” the doctor explained.

“I’ll be here,” Seth said before Sabin could answer. “I can keep an eye on her,” Seth said with a nod indicating the doctor was fine to be able to walk away, and he did. Seth turned his head back toward Sabin and returned his hand to his shoulder in a more comforting fashion this time around, “I think you should go home and get some rest. You look pretty awful, kid,” Seth said with a chuckle.

“Yeah… I mean, we are going to have the house to ourselves.” Ashley said with a sly smile, and the tone suggested that she had hoped that would calm Sabin back down.

“I’ve got this, Sabin. Go home.” Seth repeated.

Sabin let out a heavy sigh, and nodded his head. Ashley held her hand out toward him, and Sabin took it. “We’ll just take the other way around…” Ashley said as she indicated that she did not want to let Sabin and Dean get close enough to risk another brawl.