So this is kinda the bookend for the Shattered Universe. Captain and I were talking about how we didn't have a good ending place there. So we may add to the universe in the future. Anything is possible. But this is so it's not just hanging.
Thanks Captain for proofing.
Disclaimer: I don't own the WWE characters.
Golgotha: the hill near Jerusalem, via Latin and Greek, from Aramaic gulgulta, literally "(place of the) skull"
i.e. the place where Jesus Christ was crucified
This was Golgotha. Here and now, this was the place of the condemned, the place of the Skull. Holding out his arms, waiting for a hit that would never come.
"Brother? My brothers stood for something. You... I don't know you - well, I knew a guy who looked a lot like you. He was a liar, a cheater. A kind of guy who stabs his brothers in the back. In fact, that guy took a chair just like this one, and he stabbed it right through my back and right through my heart."
He was sick of it. And it was everywhere.
Every ounce of his being was saturated with it. When his thoughts drifted, that's what they found. When his mind went off into dreams, it was their focus. When his heart beat, it carried the weight of it.
Guilt. Regret. Iniquity.
It made the world so heavy.
He just wanted it to be eradicated.
Once and for all.
He beat Triple H. He became the Kingslayer. He won back his soul.
But there was one thing he needed in order to feel… in order to find his old self. The self that wasn't guilty of betraying his brothers. The self that wasn't plagued by self-doubts and a troll.
He needed forgiveness from Dean Ambrose.
Roman Reigns had long forgiven and accepted him, but Dean held fast to the wrongs in his life. It's one of the reasons why the man was so hard to befriend initially.
He tried.
He tried.
He tried.
He apologized with actions. He came to Ambrose's aid at Survivor Series when he and Roman fought for Ambrose against all self-preservation.
He apologized with words. Dean thought with his heart, so he appealed to his heart.
Practically begged.
Whatever was left of his pride and dignity was forgotten.
"That was over three years ago, and you know what? I'm sorry. Alright? I never said that before, so I'll say it again: I'm sorry. Do you think I forgot about it? I live with that every single day of my life. I remember..."
But now on Golgotha, he stood pouring out his own heart and soul for no noticable results.
When they were a team, Seth had a tactic of healing residual angst between members. They were physical dudes. If someone did something to hurt another, they should let it out. Pain for pain.
This was Golgotha; he had never been surer in his life. He turned around raising his arms into a T. "Hit me. If that's what's going to make you feel better, then HIT ME!"
A beat passed with no such action taking place. He knew Dean wanted to do it. "HIT ME DAMNIT."
Across the back. Metal chair and malice. Detoxification.
It never came. Ambrose was laughing at him.
Was this the sign he needed? Was it time to finally and fully decathect himself from Dean (and by extension, Roman) in order to prevent himself further disappointment?
Seth would be the first to admit that he did terrible things in his past. He would be a fool to try to deny it.
But that was the point. That was the point.
He was through trying to deny everything.
He spent a whole two-some years denying the boldface truth. Trying to pretend he was righteous. That his actions were justified because he had a group of morally dubious people who supported his actions. That he didn't hate who he saw when he looked into the mirror, a man who betrayed his own brothers in order to finance his own future with a precarious arrangement. An arrangement that would not withhold such strain because it lacked a strong foundation, a cornerstone. An agreement held together by empty promises and...glue.
But as everyone knows, glue isn't intended to be a cure-all. No, with age and stress, the substance will begin to crack and crumble until it erodes away. If nothing else, Seth now knows that promises must be built upon substances stronger than glue.
To build a strong foundation, you needed materials that couldn't be destroyed. You needed trust, respect, love.
Maybe after you destroy one foundation, you never get to build another.
He believed that completely.
Until a month later.
A day that saw them battle with fists and frustration. Beating the frustration and the hurt out of them.
Until it happened.
They were fighting together against the Bar. They were fighting alongside each other. Not one another.
Now, the world didn't feel too heavy. Together, they held it aloft.
There they were in the center of the ring. Their fists touching. They were whole once again.
"You know," Dean muttered as they walked to the back. "You can just talk to me next time."
Seth frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Your whole anxiety thing…" Dean paused. "If you think something's weighing on you too much...That's what Rome and I are for. We're here to support each other. You know, carry the burden together and all that."
"...You mean that?" Seth's voice got caught in his throat.
Dean looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course, man. If you have some weight on your shoulders, we'll help you out. That's what family is for… You don't get left behind or forgotten."