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Finn Kühn · (04-15-2023)

13 April 2023
Riegelmann Boardwalk
New York City

"This was a mistake..." I muttered under my breath, shielding my eyes from the bright and beaming sun shining down overhead onto us as we walked along the increasingly-crowded boardwalk.

"C'moooooon! Stop being so mopey!" The chipper voice of Christine almost shouted right into my ears in an attempt to make itself known among all the crowded noise happening around us. Tapping me on the arm for good measure, I gave a deadpanned look over to her as she continued. "You said you wanted to try and have some fun for once, riiiiight? Well, here's where we can start! Who doesn't love Coney Island, am I right, or am I right?"

I gave a half-hearted mumble in response, swerving in and out of the large swathes of people. I did have to admit, this wasn't something Christine had to do for me. I had talked to her about looking to have 'fun' for once - it almost seemed like an alien concept to me with how things have gone these past... I wasn't even sure how long it really had been since the last time I had felt something like that. As overly dramatic as it was, the episode with Jacki O'Lantern had shown me that perhaps I needed to try and freshen my life up in a lot of different ways.

So led to this adventure Christine had roped me into coming along with. Her voice reached out to me once more, asking, "So, have you been to Coney Island before?"

"Never had the money for a trip like this when I was younger," I shrugged. "Then, when I was older and richer, I usually just had my sights set on other things instead of stuff like this."

"Y'know, the more I learn about your childhood, the more super depressing it sounds, not gonna lie..." Christine said with a small slinking of her shoulders as we walked along. "But, whatever! That's fine. It's never too late for your first time out to somewhere like this!"

Christine took the lead, motioning with her neck over towards one of the many food booths lining the packed boardwalk. Sure enough, it was an ice cream stand. Considering her stature, something like ice cream was the last thing she'd be needing, but I did well not to exactly vocalize those thoughts...

Following along, Christine wasted no time picking out a classic chocolate cone. I took a minute to look over the options, before asking for a mint chocolate chip cone. At the same time as the sugary sweets were being dished out, Christine and I lunged for our wallets at the same time.

Realizing that I was more than fine with paying, Christine didn't raise much of a fight as I took out cash to pay for it. I breathed a sigh of relief as that happened - after being roped out here to begin with, I wasn't looking for an argument on who pays for what.

I slowly closed my eyes as Christine grabbed the cones, the environment washing over me as I did so in that moment.

With every breath I took, it felt like a small joint in my neck tensed. Like a hidden itch that refused to go away, it stabbed into my body. The wood that rocked beneath my steps. The nonstop chatter and bustle of everyone around me. The hot air that made me practically start choking on my own sweat.

The more I let myself fade out, the more I slipped into elsewhere.

Quote:HEADBUTT!

HEADBUTT!

HEADBUTT!

HEADBUUUUUUUUUUUUTT!

The two sides stagger back from each other, blood trickling down both of their faces into an eerie crimson mask. The crowd comes alive once again, this time chanting 'C-T-E! C-T-E!' Finn is the first to step in, circling around slowly as he revs up for a SWAN SONG DISCUS ELBOW-

BUT CASHE DUCKS! FINN COLLAPSES ONTO ALL FOURS WITH HOW DIZZY HE IS, HAVING USED ALL HIS REMAINING ENERGY IN THAT SHOT! CASHE SWOOPS IN, TAKING FINN'S ARMS AND HOOKING THEM -

SADRIVER!

CASHE HOOKS THE LEG!

OOOOOOOONE!

TWOOOOOOOO!

THREEEEEEEE!

"-ey, Finn!"

The intruding voice brought me out of my thoughts with a jolt, and I opened my eyes to adjust to the beaming sunlight again. Christine was looking at me with a mix of enjoyment and concern alike, holding out my ice cream for me to grab.

"You alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Just a lot of people here is all," I nodded, giving Christine a half-truth and grabbing my cone.

Another match I should have won, but I ended up falling short at the last minute. Hiding my frown with a poker face, I knew with the challenge I had before me, something had to change. Would injecting joy into my life for once be the difference maker? I didn't know, but I was also beginning to run out of options.

...I had to admit, while I wasn't as big a fan of the atmosphere around here, the food was certainly making it worth it, at least.

Sensing my unease, Christine didn't seem fazed by it in the slightest as she proceeded to flash me a smile. "Don't worry. We'll settle into things just fine! Now, you can't come to Coney Island and not hop on one of the rides here!"

Something tells me I may not be liking how exactly this is going to go...

"Mark Flynn. The once borderline-untouchable champion who had managed to strike fear into the hearts of anyone facing him on any given week. The man who knew what he wanted, and stopped at nothing to take it. The man who then went on to become a phony brand. The man who went on to try and get a cult engaged around him."

"The man who proceeded to lose it all within the blink of an eye."

"You've seen brighter days, haven't you, Mark? I know exactly how crazed you can get when your back is against the wall. The truth of how this is going to be is evident - you're desperate to get your title back like nothing else. You're going to be like a caged animal out there."

"I'm hoping you bring every ounce of that and then some. See, I've said it elsewhere, but I'll say it here as well. Mark Flynn was one of the people I was hoping to face above all else here within the XWF. Wanting to prove myself against him. In a twisted way, with his Optimal Path, Mark Flynn did what I'm trying to do. Overcoming years of hardship, besting anyone in his way, and winning the top gold within the entire wrestling industry."

"One could say that Mark Flynn is the twisted ideal of what I could potentially become, in fact."

"But I laugh at that."

"Mark Flynn became a parody of a champion, and is now becoming a parody of a human being. He's lost. He's like a headless chicken. Instead of trying to push himself right back to the front of the line against someone literally gift-wrapped a title shot in Sidney Grey, Mark Flynn is trying to take his woes to court. Instead of trying to cement his prowess and take back what's supposedly his by force, Mark Flynn looks more like a Looney Tunes villain by the day with the type of inane nonsense he's pulling off out there. He couldn't even make Thunder Knuckles properly tap last Warfare!"

"I fight to try and prove myself to be the best every single time I go out there, not having to worry about unnecessary shortcuts. Anyone can go out there and use a low blow to steal a win. Anyone can go out there and use underhanded means to secure a cheap advantage. But when you use those like a crutch, and you run into someone who's ready to handle those crutches..."

"That's when those plans fall apart."

"If there's any time Mark Flynn is going to fall, it's here. Knowing him, he'll take perverse pride in trying to bring up my repeated failures and say how he only needed one try to win that Universal title. But all of the mentions of past records isn't going to mean a thing once we step into that squared circle."

"It's just going to be him and I, and the sound of one of our arms threatening to break as we eventually tap out. And if Mark Flynn decides he's going to continue on his Saturday morning cartoon villain arc and spout more nonsense..."

"Then I can tell you, it won't be me on the receiving end of that."

I didn't even realize I had been properly smiling after how the day had gone by, with everything that was happening, all the rides and food thrown at me, until Christine had spoken up.

"You know, Finn, if I didn't know any better, I'd almost say this was a date."

"What?" I asked, almost flabbergasted. "What the Hell do you mean by that?"

"W-Well, I mean... y'know..." Christine attempted to speak up, fighting past the blush that was growing on her face, but it was proving fruitless against me. My brows were furrowed in confusion, genuinely lost.

A date.

Yeah, right.

"N-Never mind!" Christine shook her head, deciding to dismiss that thought for now. The sun was beginning to set, and we'd probably only have so much time left to spend in the day. Christine saw a building catch her eye, though, and directed me over towards it.

"Well, we've gone on some fun rides, and we've had some good food to enjoy. How about some games?"

Sure enough, it was an arcade. With flashing lights and people running in and out with hard-earned prizes, it seemed like a fun enough way to finish the day.

"Sure," I said, almost surprised with myself as to how easily it all came out. "Let's do it."

"Great!" With that, we headed off to a multicolored wonderland - but I was soon to find out just how quickly things could turn upside down...

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