The zen garden was as peaceful as it was beautiful, perfectly raked sand in flowing patterns, bamboo moving gently with the wind, rose petals gently floating in the wind where Victoria Lyons sat at peace in the middle of it all.
She needed this, she needed to keep her energy calm because once that bell rang at Into The Void, she was going to unleash the fury of the Mad Queen on Mercedes Vargas.
Crystal's retirement concerned her none, element to her was one less person in her way her only concern was capturing the Bombshell World Championship. If anything Crystal probably made the right decision to retire on her own accord and saved herself some embarrassment. Mercedes wouldn't be so lucky, she would join Crystal eventually, the difference was Mercedes wouldn't get to choose when.
The blatant disrespect from Mercedes was getting old. Mercedes could talk all day about how Victoria didn't deserve this opportunity but she knew she deserved it. Truthfully everyone knew she deserved it, her friends, her rivals, her mentors. It really did seem like Mercedes Vargas was the last one who didn't have a clue, or maybe she was just too stubborn, or stupid to admit it. Some people just had a hard time accepting that the world had moved past them.
Which made Mercedes the perfect opponent for Victoria to hit her grand slam.
She sat there alone, eyes closed, feeling of peace washing over her as the wind softly blew past.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The quiet calm nature of the garden made it easier to separate things, the noise of the competition. The constant pressure that came with chasing something as important as a world championship, it could all cloud a person's mind if they let it. But here in the stillness of the garden everything settled.
The weight of the moment had no longer pressed on her shoulders, it was simply there waiting for her to capture it. This was her Mushin or No Mind, a calm state that great warriors would seek before a great battle. A mind that wasn't empty but free from distraction and anger. A mind clear enough to act when the moment demanded it.
Mercedes Vargas wasn't unstoppable, she was just the opponent standing between Victoria and the next step of her legacy.
She remained still as another soft breeze moved through the bamboo, keeping her centered.
The Mad Queen would come later. When the bell rang and the fight began, her fury would rise naturally. But there was no need to summon it now, right now she needed patience.
Patience was something she had learned about the hard way. She had learned that not every fight was won by charging forward into the chaos full speed. Sometimes the most dangerous thing a warrior could possess was composure.
Mercedes had made her stance clear over the leading weeks, with her doubts and her disrespect. Every word thrown as if they were supposed to chip away at Victoria's confidence.
Words didn't change the work she had already put in, or the battles she had fought to get here. Words didn't step into the ring when the bell rang but the Mad Queen would and Mercedes Vargas would. When that moment came, there would be no garden with a quiet wind and drifting petals, only the quiet sound of reality hitting Mercedes Vargas like a wrecking ball.
She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze drifting across the beauty of the garden. Mercedes seem to have some belief that Victoria had stumbled into this moment, that she had somehow found herself in a championship match that she didn't belong in. That belief would be her first mistake because nothing about her journey to get here had been accidental.
She had her own blood sweat and tears that had helped carve her path here. She was moments away from not only a world championship but a grand slam, and the one final obstacle standing in the way was Mercedes Vargas.
She watched as another Breeze rolled through carrying a handful of petals before they fell softly into the sand, she watched them before slowly rising to her feet. The calm remaining with her. Moment was in about anger.
Anger made people Reckless but waited for Mercedes Vargas wasn't recklessness it was inevitability. She brushed away a stray pedal from her shoulder before taking a few steps along the stone path that wound throughout the garden. The time for reflection had come to an end.
Soon all the noise would return, and when it did the calm warrior who found her place in his garden would step aside, so the Mad Queen could rise in all her full glory and she could hit her grand slam, and leave Japan as the new Bombshell World Champion.
__________
The late afternoon sun hung over the streets of Osaka where Victoria found herself walking with Darian beside her, immediately feeling the contrast from the garden.
The garden had been quiet and still and the streets were alive with energy, but she didn't let that disturb her peace, this was all part of the preparation. She was keeping her mind free, enjoying the moment with her fiance because when Into The Void came in that bell ring she was going to become a completely different person and she had to save all her energy for the Mad Queen to unleash on Mercedes Vargas.
Neon lights flickered above, casting in the streets in a bright blend of electric colors, the smell of food from various street vendors drifted through the air, she moved through it all without rushing.
She was just letting things come to her, letting the city move around her and Darian. Her sweet Dare Bear had been by her side since the day they met, They were to get married next month. She vowed to walk down the aisle as the champion he deserved to marry.
Darian slowed down a street vendor tucked into the corner of a sidewalk, the smell of the sizzling takoyaki catching his attention.
“Hold on babe.” he said, stepping toward it. "This smells too good, we've got to try this.”
“You say that about everything we pass.” she said.
“And I mean it every time.” he grinned, pulling out his wallet.
She laughed. That's something she loved about Darian, sure he was a little doofy, but it was a cute kind of doofy. After he ordered Victoria watched the vendor work the batter sizzling in the pan quickly shaping into a perfect little spheres.
“You're going to try one.” Darian said, glancing back at her. “I promise you'll like it.”
She had to admit the intoxicating smell was very inviting.
“Fine, one.” she said.
A few moments later he held one out to her
“Careful it's hot..” he said popping it into her mouth.
She chewed carefully, they hate it first followed immediately by the intense flavor she paused for a moment then looked up at Darian.
“Okay that was delicious.” she said.
“Told you.” Darian grinned, popping one into his own mouth.
She just smiled as the two stepped away from the vendor and back into the flow of the street, the brief stop reminding her that not everything had to be about the match or proving something. Sometimes the small simple moments were just as important.
The two continued their stroll, letting the noise of Osaka carry on around them as the sun dipped lower in the city and settled into its usual evening routine. The two of them remained moving in sync without even thinking about it.
It was all part of it. It wasn't just the fight or the championship, it was everything. The new life she was building, the future waiting for her. So much time had been spent on her chasing things, trying to force outcomes and pushing through to get closer to where she wanted to be. Now it seemed like everything was finally coming together.
They passed by a few smaller shops, all the window displays lit in arranged with care. She let her gaze drift from one to the next until she saw it, and her heart almost stopped.
She stood in front of a boutique window, Darian took one more step before catching himself and looked back where she was locked in on what she saw on the display.
The shiromuku rested perfectly on the mannequin. A white silk with red accents basking in the soft light. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and beside it rested the Tsunokakushi, completing the look of pure elegance.
“This is it..” she said “All that time searching back home and I find it here? Who would have imagined?”
She looked over at Darian.
“You see it right?” she said.
“The dress?” he said “Yeah I see it…”
“That's the one..” she said “For the wedding.”
Darian's eyes widened and he covered his face.
“Whoa!” he said “I'm like, not supposed to see that or something right?”
“Relax.” she said “That's just a superstition, besides who said we were being traditional anyway?”
“Okay…” said Darian, removing his hands from his face. “You really like this one though?”
“It's the one.” she repeated.
She looked at the dress some more letting something deeper settle in. She hadn't been searching for it, but she had been present and it appeared, as if it was searching for her.
It wasn't even just about how it looked, it was about what it meant. For months, it felt like a struggle. All the fittings, every attendant that had referred to her as a bridezilla under their breath like she didn't hear them.
She had been forcing things, trying to make something feel perfect and nothing ever did but this without any effort just was. There was no effort or second-guessing.
“Funny how that works…” she said.
“How what works?" asked Darian
“Just everything..” she said “I spent all that time back home searching, and found nothing. But I stop and just kind of…. live, for a second and everything starts lining up.”
She felt a sense of clarity settle within her, she had her dress, and the life she wanted waiting for her. Everything that felt so out of reach at one point in time was suddenly right in front of her.
“Come on, let's go inside.” she said, almost dragging Darian with her.
She had one less concern on her mind now, now all her focus could truly be on Mercedes. She could just feel it in the air everything seemed to be coming up in her favor and the dress felt like a sign. Soon everything would be perfect in her little world. All she needed now was the Bombshell World Championship
__________
The cameras open on a sky shot of a baseball diamond as an instrumental of Take Me Out to the Ballgame begins to play and we cut to his shot of Darian Price sitting in the broadcast booth wearing a headset.
“Hello sports fans.” he began “And welcome we have a treat for you today the Queen Victoria Lyons prepares to hit herself a grand slam. She's done everything possible in Sin City wrestling, And now she's coming for the biggest prize of all. That can only mean one thing for her opponent Mercedes Vargas and that's…. there's danger here Sherie.”
His eyes shift slightly downward.
“It looks like our Queen is approaching the plate now.” he said, "Let's go down there and get closer to the action.”
The camera cuts down to where Victoria Lyons stands dressed in a very League of Their Own style baseball uniform. She mugs the camera for a moment and even blows a bubble with the bubble gum she's chewing.
“See at the look of confidence in her?” Darian said “I haven't seen that level of confidence since… well I don't know that I ever have!”
Victoria takes the batter's position taking a few practice swings, with a slow exhale.
Mushin.
No wasted thought. No wasted motion.
The machine launches the ball and…
CRACK.
The sound echoes throughout the stadium, she doesn't watch it, she just starts her walk towards first base.
“HOLY COW!!!” Darian’s voice came over the loudspeaker, “Did you see that? That ball might be halfway to the parking lot by now!”
The camera stays with her as she walks forward, finally beginning to speak as she looks into the camera.
“It all started with one of the fastest rises in Sin City Wrestling history.” she said “I came into this company and I immediately made an impact. From day one everybody knew I was a future world champion, but we all have to take a journey to get there don't we Mercedes?”
She keeps a steady pace moving in rhythm with the camera.
“Within mere weeks of my arrival in this company..” she continued “I accomplished two milestones.”
The camera cuts to a shot of her foot stepping on first base.
“I became the Bombshell Roulette Champion And I won Queen for a day.” she said “That's when heads really started to turn didn't they? I mean I caused quite a stir with my show didn't I? Putting lovers against each other, forcing Harper Mason into a handicap match. I could have used my power to grant myself a championship opportunity but I chose to be graceful and didn't.”
She shrugs casually as she continues on walking to second base.
“But my good deed paid off.” she said “Because I earned my right to face Alexandra Calaway and I became the Bombshell Roulette champion, starting what is now the greatest reign of the modern SCW era, if not of all time. I put down everybody in my path that thought they could stop me. Proven names and former champions like Alexandra Calaway, Bella Madison, Luna Pasilno, and.....Mercedes Vargas.”
She grins.
“Winning that championship proved that I have what it takes to hold a championship in this company and holding it as long as I did proves I have what it takes to stay a champion.” she said, “Some nights I turned more heads than the world champion herself. But that's not all I did during that run is it? “Something else happened..”
The cameras cut to a shot of her foot stepping onto second base.
“The seemingly unstoppable mixed tag team champions were dethroned.” she said "My cousin Eddie and myself were able to take those belts from Finn and Kayla. It may have been short-lived, but we were the ones who were able to do it. I guess that's just another reason that I haven't earned this opportunity right Mercedes?”
She smirks at the camera as she continues on when suddenly right in the middle of second and third a pop-up of her brother Vincent Lyons Jr appears in her path.
“Looks like we have a shortstop trying to interfere..” Darian's voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Vincent…” she said stopping in her path for a moment. “His arrival was unexpected, but he seemed like he needed help and as his sister I tried to do what I could and it slowed my own career down. That made something like an excuse to some of you, but it's the truth he had my attention divided and it eventually cost me my Roulette Championship to Harper Mason.”
A grin appears on her face and she laughs slightly as she says Harper's name.
“Harper Mason...” she said “Another one I was foolish enough to think I could help. But she refused to listen to me. I was the only one trying to tell her that Cassie Wolfe was a snake. I saw it long ago and now look what happened, as usual I was right. Had Harper Mason listened, she might still be a champion.”
Victoria shakes her head in disappointment, then looks back up at the pop out of her brother.
“They handed one to him, Mercedes.” she said “They handed my brother a championship. I rebuilt him back into something, he reaps the rewards, and what do I get? Nothing. Oh right. It's because I hadn't earned it, right Mercedes?
She scoffs and kicks the pop up of her brother over watching it fall face first into the ground, before she continues walking.
“Them handing him that Championship changed him.” she said “But I had other concerns now. If he wanted to do his own thing I had to let him. I moved my focus back to me and I found my way into your precious little championship match.”
She shrugs.
“Some say I took a back door into your match. Maybe you want to call it a shortcut.” she said “I prefer to say I changed the variable, and neither you nor Harper were able to adjust and prepare like a proper champion should, and that's why I walked out with the Bombshell Internet Championship."
The camera cuts to her foot stepping on third base.
“Of course that championship was always meant as a detour.” she said “I just needed the right warrior to come along and take it, so I could get back on the main road and head towards a grand slam. That warrior came in the form of my old rival Alexandra Calaway.”
She gives a casual nod of respect.
“You really think I don't deserve to be here Mercedes?” she said “You really think I haven't earned an opportunity? All the people that this company has given championships too or those who were simply awarded opportunities, why not me? What makes me, someone on the verge of a grand slam and a triple crown not deserving of the opportunity to complete it?”
She gives an inquisitive look to the camera as if expecting an answer.
“She's making her way toward home folks! The bases are loaded with her accomplishments. Will she make it all the way?” came Darian over the sound system once again.
“The truth is I do deserve it.” she said “And nobody can deny that. So you can keep making yourself look like a fool and denying me all you want, but you're going to be the one that looks like a fool when I beat you once again and this time for the World Bombshell Championship.”
She keeps walking, heading to home plate.
“All you do is deny, deny, deny." she said “You deny my right to be here based on whatever reason your brain cooked up. Maybe I questioned why you should be here because of the fact you've never beaten me, Because you've had opportunities before, many of them. All I asked for was one.”
She sighs.
“All I demanded was one opportunity.” she said “And they gave it to Crystal? The one who walked away? I mean, originally Kayla Richards should have been standing as champion, waiting for one of us to challenge her, but this whole Bombshell World Championship picture has been thrown into a blender and this is where we've landed. We landed on me versus you.”
She shrugs casually.
“Look I get it.” she said “You've got a laundry list of accomplishments over your career, long enough to fill an entire receipt at CVS. That's great nobody can take that from you, I refuse to let you stand in my way of continuing my legacy.”
She exhales softly.
“So go ahead.” she said “Keep denying me perra, because I will be absolutely undeniable when I win the Bombshell World Championship, and complete my grand slam.”
The camera cuts to a shot of her foot stepping down on home plate.
“SHE DID IT!! SHE DID IT!!!"Darian exclaimed loudly over the sound system
Victoria takes a seat cross-legged on home plate, the camera resting in front of her.
“There's a vacancy that needs to be filled.” she said “What the company needs is something new. A fresh world champion, someone experiencing life at the top for the first time. I am the Bombshell World Champion that Sin City Wrestling needs right now. This is about moving to the future, not celebrating the past.”
She sits there for another moment, eyes fixated on the camera.
“I am this company's future.” said Victoria “I am the one that carries it into the next era. You had your time and now I'm coming to claim mine. I'm sure you're really upset about Crystal not being in this match, because now you can't hope to beat her again. You have to beat me, and that's something you've never done.”
She rises to her feet.
“Bottom line..” she said “Don't you ever question what I do or don't deserve again. I know what I deserve and what I deserve is to be the Bombshell World Champion and that's exactly what I'm going to become at Into The Void. Mercedes Vargas, you have been warned and all you can do now is be prepared.”
With a confident smirk she winks at the camera and blows one more bubble with her bubble gum before walking back toward the dugout, with everything fading to black.
The hotel room was dimly lit by the soft glow of the city filtering through the curtains. Darian lay sound asleep next to her as Victoria sat rested against the headboard, phone in hand, her face illuminated by the screen.
The notifications played for about half a second before she tapped the phone and the call connected.
Eddie Lyons appeared on screen sunlight behind him from a window, somewhere back in Vegas.
“Hey.” he said
“Hey yourself.” she replied.
“It must be getting late over there..” he said “What is it? About midnight?”
“There about.” she replied.
“So how's the tour?” he said “Are you ready for your big match?”
“The tour has thrown a lot of twists and turns my way.” she said “But yeah, I'm ready and focused on becoming the Bombshell World Champion.”
“Yeah, you look it.” Eddie replied
“I am.” she reaffirmed.
“Good." he said “I'd be worried if you weren't.”
“You know that's not me.” she said.
“I know..” he said “And you don't need me to hype you up. You already did everything you needed to get there, but I'll tell you this. Don't go out there trying to prove Mercedes wrong.”
Victoria tilted her head.
“Go out there being you.” he said “Same thing you've been doing this whole time. You change that now, that's when things go sideways.”
Victoria leaned back slightly against the headboard.
“I'm not changing..” she said.
“Of course not.” Eddie replied “Just making sure you hear it out loud. You've always had this way of doing things your way and not anybody else's.”
“That's what seems to bother her the most.” she said.
“People don't like what they can't control.” Eddie shrugged.
“I've heard everything she's had to say.” Victoria continued “Every excuse or reason why I supposedly don't deserve this. But it doesn't matter, she can say whatever she wants. At the end of the day she's still the one that's got to stand across from me.”
“Exactly.” said Eddie. “When that bell rings all talking is out the window, from both of you.”
“Don't worry.” she said “When that bell rings, I'll be done talking.”
“I figured that too.” Eddie said.
She watched his gaze shift slightly off camera before looking back.
“One moment..” he said.
Eddie turned the phone slightly, adjusting it until baby Jordan came into view sitting in the middle of the floor, Victoria's expression softened almost immediately.
“Omigosh.” she said “She's getting so big.”
“Too big.” said Eddie has he sat on the bed and propped the phone up.
“Hi sweetheart.” Victoria said with a smile.
Jordan blinked twice at the screen and then reached forward with a smile.
“...Vivi” babbled Jordan reaching toward the screen.
“She thinks she can grab you through the screen.” Eddie chuckled “She's been grabbing everything lately. She's been trying to form words too. I'm Dada and Sabrina is Ma’.”
“Vivi..” Jordan repeated reaching for the screen again.
“I think she's trying to say Vicky..” Eddie noted “She always says that when we watch the show, and you come on screen.”
“Vivi..” Victoria with a genuine warm smile.
Jordan giggled.
“You've been watching me sweetheart?” Victoria said.
Jordan responded with a string of nonsense syllables, bouncing where she sat on the bed. Victoria just watched for a moment taking it all in. The way Jordan reached forward at the screen like she could reach her, the way her tiny little face lit up over something so simple it made her feel grounded. It was the kind of grounded that centered her, and reminded her what mattered.
She didn't even realize she was smiling until her cheeks started to ache. It wasn't the kind of smile she put on for the cameras or even for Darian when he said something ridiculous. This one was unguarded, the kind that slipped out when something reached past all of her armor without her even noticing it.
Jordan continued bouncing slightly where she sat. Eddie watched her carefully to make sure she didn't topple over but didn't interrupt the moment.
“I miss you sweetheart.” said Victoria, "Are you minding your mom and dad?”
“Dada!” Jordan replied looking up at Eddie.
“She's smart.” Victoria noted.
“Yeah she suddenly started to pick up on faces real quick.” Eddie said.
Jordan reached forward again wobbling slightly before Eddie grabbed hold of her.
“Careful.” he said.
“She's fearless.” Victoria said "It runs in the family.”
“You can say that again.” Eddie agreed.
Jordan suddenly plopped onto her side but immediately rolled back up, almost as if she was training for something. Eddie reached and steadied her with one hand.
Victoria just watched it all unfold. There was something that centered her about it in a different way than the garden. The garden was stillness and peace. This was chaos, but it was the type of chaos that felt inviting.
“Wait till she starts walking.” Victoria said
“Don't remind me.” Eddie said.
"I'm glad to see you're doing well too." Victoria said "How's the leg?"
“Rehabs going well.” Eddie said “I'm working hard to get back into that ring as soon as possible, but don't worry about me you focus on home that world championship.”
“I will.” Victoria said.
“I know you will.” said Eddie.
“Vivi!” Jordan babbled.
“I think Jordan agrees too.” said Eddie.
“Vivi.Vivi.Vivi.” Jordan continued to repeat the word.
"Looks like I have a new nickname." Victoria said.
“Hey, it's better than some of the nicknames I've heard them call you in the back.” Eddie grinned
Victoria laughed.
“Yeah yeah..” she said “I'm sure I've heard them all too, but after Into The Void they will all be forced to call me one thing.”
“World Champion?” replied Eddie.
“World champion.” Victoria reaffirmed with a nod.
“VIVI.VIVI.VIVI.VIVI.” Jordan started fussing and getting a little louder.
“Okay.. I think someone needs a nap.” Eddie said, lifting Jordan up into his arms.
Jordan immediately protested when she was lifted, kicking her legs like she was being robbed.
“VIVI.VIVI.VIVI.VIVI.VIVI.” she continued fussing and twisting in Eddie's arms, trying to reach out to the phone.
“It's okay baby..” Victoria said “You need your rest. I'll see you soon sweetheart.”
“VIIIIIVIIII.” The fussing started to get worse.
“I'll see you soon Vicks.” said Eddie good luck in your match.
“Take care Eddie.” she said.
After a moment the call ended and she sat there in the quiet contemplating to herself. The phone rested loosely in her hand and everything inside the room felt a little different.
Beside her Darian shifted slightly in his sleep completely unaware of the world around him.
“World Champion.” Eddie's voice echoed in her memory.
And then another voice
“Vivi.”
She I thought her mouth tighten a little and set the phone down on the nightstand For leaning back against the headboard once again looking up at the ceiling as she let her mind drift.
“World champion…” she murmured under her breath to herself.
It felt like it was something waiting for her. All she had to do was claim it. The Mad Queen no longer felt like someone she had to summon. She felt like someone that was waiting patiently for her return. She wasn't going to become someone new at Into the Void, she was going to stop holding back who had been there the entire time.
_________
She couldn't sleep. There was just too much on her mind. She had managed a few hours since the phone call but now found herself wandering the quiet hallway outside the hotel room.
It wasn't silent, hotels never really were. But in this moment it was as silent as a place like this could get. Back in her hotel room Darian slept on steady and unaware.
Out here everything felt different, she moved slowly down the quarter letting her thoughts drift without trying to control them. The call still lingered within her, Eddie's voice, Jordan's laughter. That tiny voice repeating Vivi like it was one of the most important words in the world to her.
For a moment, she let herself stay there in that feeling just and grounded.
Her steps slowed as she passed a mirror hanging on the wall, she caught her reflection out the corner of her eye, not stopping at first but then something made her turn back.
She stepped in front of it, a soft light from above falling across her face showing her exactly as she was in the moment.
Tired but focused.
Her eyes traced her own reflection like she was seeing herself from the outside for the first time. Not the version people talked about, and not the version Mercedes built in her head, just her. She tilted her head slightly as if she were waiting for some doubt to take shape, it didn't. instead a calmness settled in the kind that didn't need to prove anything.
“You've done everything you need to do.” she said.
That was the truth of it all, she didn't have to prove to anybody else that she had earned her spot here.
“Mercedes will deal with the part of me she keeps pretending doesn't exist.” she murmured.
Jordan's voice flickered through her mind again.
“Vivi…”
A thick smile grew on her lips, a genuine that didn't break, but reinforced her focus.
“That's why I win.” she said quietly.
She let the words settle, hanging in the quiet between her and the reflection. Not searching, just confirming what was already there.
“World champion.” she said to herself
It didn't feel like she was saying it to convince herself. It felt like she was acknowledging something. Something in her. Not angry, but sharpened. Something more defined and dangerous.
She stayed there studying the woman staring back at her, not for flaws, but for alignment. It was all there, the calm, the edge and the certainty none of them were fighting each other anymore.
“I'm not chasing it anymore..” she murmured “I'm walking into it.”
The past two years had been her climb. She had won championships of her own, had wars of her own and now standing here, the final piece of the puzzle didn't feel far away at all, it felt inevitable.
She gave her reflection one last look letting it linger for a moment.
“I'll see you out there.” she said softly.
She wasn't talking to herself, she was talking to the moment that waited ahead of her. She turned back down the hallway toward her hotel room. When she pushed open the door, the room welcomed her back that same way she left it. Dimly lit with Darian still sound asleep, untouched by everything that had shifted inside of her.
She stepped inside and let the door gently click shut behind her.
She stood there and let her eyes settle on Darian for a moment. The calm rise and fall of his breathing, taking in the normalcy of it all.
Stepped over to the bed there was no urgency just intention she sat down and laid in the bed gently careful not to wake Darian. The mattress dipped slightly under her weight, Darian barely stirred.
“You can sleep through anything, Dare Bear.” she said with a soft smile.
She kissed him softly on the forehead, he still didn't wake.
She sat there in the quiet for a moment, her eyes drifting to the nightstand where her phone still sat, now dark and silent. No Eddie, no Jordan, no Vivi, and yet at the same time all of it was still there.
She really did have everything she needed. All that was left was to go out there and get it.
“You don't have to believe in me.” she said like Mercedes could hear her, “Because I do.”
With one final relaxed sigh, she rests her head into her pillow, closes their eyes and is finally able to drift away into a calm complete sleep.
_________
A throne sits amid the darkness as the cameras come to life, it's not a glamorous throne. It's completely burned and most of it has been turned to ash. Just enough left for Victoria Lyons to be seated, with Darian standing right beside her.
She laughs, it goes throughout the shadows wickedly.
“Is this who you want Mercedes?” she said “You want to invoke the ire of the Mad Queen? You want to continue to act like I've done nothing to earn this?”
“Just a few wins and a draw?” said Darian.
“Is that what you call it?” said Victoria “You think I can't carry the weight of what I'm asking for? Did you forget that I carried an entire division on my back for a year? A division that's now falling into shambles without me?”
Her wicked laugh echoes throughout the shadows again.
“You want to talk facts Mercedes?” she continued “The fact that you never beat me hangs heavy over your head. I didn't draw in that number one contender's match with you. You drew in that number one contender's match with me, because whenever a championship has been on the line, when everything has really been on the line, I've always had your number.”
“That's just the truth and we're not going to pretend otherwise.” Darian grinned.
“The smartest you said was I'm a woman you need to solve.“ said Victoria “Because you even with all your accolades haven't been able to solve me yet. I'm not going to act like I haven't tasted defeat before, but it hasn't come at the hands of you. You talk like you don't rest on your own legacy but the truth is you do.”
The laughter echoes again.
“You bring up your 15-year career about as much as I bring up my record-breaking Roulette Championship reign.” [/color]she said “It's okay, you're supposed to be proud of your accomplishments and you have many of them. But I'm not going to allow you to act like my accomplishments don't mean anything. I'm just collecting moments, is that what you call it? Well then I'm coming to collect another moment and it's the one that's going to put me on the very top.”
A knowing grin creeps across her face.
“But it's not just a moment.” she continued “It's a shift.”
The ash beneath the throne stirred around her feet almost as if responding to her.
“You're looking at this match as if it's just another chapter in your story.” she said “Just another name to add to your legacy, another championship to add to your scroll of accomplishments.”
“That's your mistake.” Darian said
“I'm not next in line.” she said “I'm the end of the line. You've spent fifteen years carving your name into this business and you should be proud of that. But it's time for something new and I'm not going to knock on the door, I'm kicking it open. “
The laughter echoes through the shadows again.
“I don't need you to validate me Mercedes.” she said “The people that matter know that I'm ready. The people that matter know. You said it yourself, history is not the same thing as destiny. Your past accomplishments don't make you the Bombshell World Champion anymore than mine do me.”
She exhales heavily, the laughter echoes hauntingly again.
“Maybe you're right.” she said “Maybe I do talk a big game but I refuse to let anybody act like I haven't earned my right to. I am one of the fastest rising stars this company has ever seen and this victory will get me so much more than just a world championship. It will etch me in history as one of the few to reach the Grand Slam and the Triple Crown. Not to mention one of the fastest in history to do so. Is that not enough for you Mercedes? Is that not enough for you to understand that I do stand where I belong, and that that championship does belong around my waist?”
“It's your record she's taking too.” noted Darian.
“The fastest to the grand slam.” she said “I guess that I'll be taking that from you as well. Into The Void will be a night where Victoria Lyons once again etches her name into Sin City wrestling history. I've already set records in this company. Imagine what I'll be able to say when I look back on my 15-year career.”
“More than Mercedes.” Darian taunted
“Call it what you want.” she said “But I don't think you're the Mercedes you once were. You spend most of the summer playing ping pong with Bella Madison and the Internet championship until I came along and took it. You want to talk about me not being the Victoria of 2024, I don't think you're the Mercedes that had already reached her peak long before I even walked in the door.”
The laughter echoes again.
“You need to beat me Mercedes.” she said “You need to beat me so you can continue to convince yourself that you're not in the twilight of your career. You need to be able to convince yourself that Mercedes Vargas is still the woman that she once was.”
“Is she?” Darian piqued.
“I guess that remains to be seen.” said Victoria “But that's for her to prove. What matters is I know exactly who I am. I am Victoria Lyons. I am next in line to be the Bombshell World Champion and I am the one that's going to carry the void left behind by Kayla Richards. You think I can't handle the pressure? I am the pressure. You can say whatever you want but you've never been able to prove that you can and that's the cold hard truth of it all. When it comes to the two of us the odds have always ever been in my favor.”
As she grins and rises from the throne, the laughter continues to echo through the shadows.
“That's the part you keep missing Mercedes.” she said taking a slow step to the camera “You think this is about pressure and whether I can handle what comes with being the Bombshell World Champion. But I've been carrying pressure since the moment I walked into this company, every time someone looked at me and decided I wasn't ready yet. I answered every single one of those doubters the same way.
“She won.” said Darian
“I won.” she reaffirmed “So I ask Mercedes, are you ready to face my hell once again this time with a vacant World Championship on the line? You don't think that I'm going to come stronger and better than before when an even bigger opportunity sits right before me? ”
The laughter echoes again lingering longer this time.
“Remember I'm the problem you need to solve.” she said “I don't need to figure out how to solve you, because I've solved you before and I'll solve you once again at Into The Void. You'll be left wondering what went wrong, while I'll be crowned the new Bombshell World Champion. At this moment it's only a matter of time.”
“Tick. tick. tick.” said Darian “That's the sound of a new era approaching.”
“My era.” Victoria said confidently.
The laughter echoes throughout the shadows surrounding her one final time as she keeps her eyes locked into the camera, full of confidence before everything fades out to black.