Road to Ruin [AEW Oneshots]

cause and effect

Escalera de la muerte.

The ladder of death.

A match in which Death Triangle would compete against The Elite to see who the rightful AEW World Trios Champions were. The seventh and final encounter in their best of seven series that had been in progress since Full Gear in November.

Pac was ready for it all to be over. To finally remove the thorns from his side known as Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson. To show the world once and for all that Death Triangle were the true and legitimate champions and that The Elite were nothing more than frauds.

As much as Pac hated to give his opponents any praise, he had to give credit where credit was due. After all, The Elite had managed to sneak a total of three victories over Death Triangle – that was how they had reached the ladder match. All three men were damn good at what they did, there was no denying that, and they had certainly given Pac and his boys a challenge.

The truth of the matter, though, was that the series should have ended in the fifth match when Pac made Matt submit to his Brutalizer. Instead of that win going to Death Triangle as it should have, unfortunately, it had gone to The Elite just because a referee noticed that Kenny had pinned Rey... even though it had happened after Matt had tapped out.

It was all so fucking stupid.

"Hey, don't sweat it too much guys, alright? You're going to kill it. These titles are yours and they're not going anywhere," Alex had one hand on Penta's shoulder and the other on Rey's, but his gaze was flickering between all three members of Death Triangle. "They can try their damnedest, and they have, but you're better than them."

"We are. They're fucking jokes in comparison," Pac agreed. For as talented as The Elite were, Death Triangle was just overall the better team; he believed that wholeheartedly. "They were lucky to make it this far. It's about time we fucking squash them like the little bugs they are beneath our boots."

The group stood off to themselves, freshly dressed in their gear as the first hour of Dynamite droned on. They wouldn't be needed for almost another hour, but Pac and his group were restless.

"They'll have to take these titles from our cold, dead hands," Rey had a fierce tenacity in his gaze that Pac wasn't sure he had ever seen before. Not to such an extent, anyway; Rey was always passionate, but it seemed as though he had found a new resolve tonight. Good.

Pac just needed to make sure that they were all on the same page.

"We will win by any means necessary," Pac's eyes were locked with Rey's as he spoke. "There's not any room for error tonight. I trust that you'll make the right decision if it comes down to it."

For a moment, the two silently stared at one another. In Rey's passionate gaze, Pac swore he could detect a hint of hesitation behind his resolve. When it came down to it, Rey just wasn't fond of using the same sort of tactics that Pac and Penta were; the kind that could seriously injure a person. Rey was strong and impressive, but his kind heart clouded his judgment.

"You will, won't you?" Penta chimed in, thumping his younger brother's chest with his fist.

"... I won't let either of you down. I promise that, if nothing else," Rey's conviction was apparent in his voice. Even if he hesitated to take that extra, more violent step to ensure their victory, Pac didn't doubt that Rey would still lay his heart out in the ring tonight.

Besides, it wasn't just the three of them that would be out there. There would be Alex, too, and...

"No one's going to be let down because these titles are staying with you fuckers if it's the last thing any of us do," Elizabeth's sweet voice was a pleasant change from those of Pac's closest friends. Turning his head just slightly, Pac watched as his girlfriend approached with a hardened expression on her gorgeous face. She was dressed similarly to Alex, in a white pantsuit that Pac knew he would enjoy taking off of her later. The low-cut black shirt that she wore was very pleasant on the eyes. "This shit is finally going to end."