One last dance, bit of a cliche to be honest, but one more dance with me and Winter Elemental. Stupid bloody name anyway, but the old cliche is there and yeah, one more dance on the grandest stage of them all, not a little trip to a Climax Control or an underground show, main card, Blaze of Glory VII, not Kenz in the apron, no little strange Pokemon weirdo on the apron for her, just one on one, and someone gets to tap tap tap and that someone ain't me. This has been a pain in the arse for weeks, thorn in the side, having to deal with that little turd but after Sunday, that all gonna be in the rear view mirror and I'll be focusing on other little things, things that might not have been announced yet.
Yeah, so anyway, brief history on all this bollocks, she broke my car, I tried to break her face, she whacked me with a stick and expected me not to get pissy at her, I wanted to break her face, instead, I end up teaming with her to beat Apple and Amy, who wanted to break each others faces, then I teamed with Kenz to face her and her little weird friend, and it as a hole shit storm with kendo sticks, they've clearly got a hardon for those things. I didn't break her face but she did knock her the fuck out like a little bitch, something that's gonna repeat itself in the very near future before I make her do an impression of her partner and make her tap.
Let's go back to Wednesday and Underground 15... Don't worry, there won't be no Amy Santino style splicing of the match here, go watch the show on demand.
An oddly hard fought victory was in the books - oddly because for two people more skin and bone than muscle, The Kawaii Dragon's had put up more than a tough fight. The Kendo stick swinging loons had more than left their mark.
"Fucks sake." Mackenzie growls as she looks at welts on her arms from earlier attacks. "Those two fucking loons have left their mark."
The two women of London Underground sat in the dressing room of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Both on the dressing room bench and dressed after their match. Mackenzie looks at her arm, exposed by just wearing a strappy, sleeveless white shirt, watching the welt ever so slightly turn an angrier shade of purple by the second. Charlotte stands, taking her leather jacket from a nearby peg and sliding her arm through one side.
"Could be worse." Charlotte says with a slight smile towards her friend. "Could have had that right down the middle of ya nut, that wouldn't have looked pretty."
Charlotte finishes putting her jacket on, and straighten it's up from the front. She glances upwards in a nearby mirror, smoothing down the side of her hair and turning around to look at Mackenzie, who carefully pulls the sleeve of her suede jacket over her arm, covering the wound up.
"Put something like that on my face and I'll be shoving that fucking stick somewhere where it's gonna take a few skilled surgeons a few hours to remove it." Mackenzie says through gritted teeth.
Charlotte can't help but smile at her hot headed friend, she's dealt with her for years and understands how her mind works.
"Bright side..." Charlotte says as she watches Mackenzie get to her feet. "We're not too far from home so you can whack an ice pack on that and have an early one, and by that knowing you, that'll be somewhere between three and four in the morning."
Mackenzie reaches to her side, picking up a bag and Charlotte moves over to do the same.
"Trust me, someone needs a damn strong drink at this time." Mackenzie says with a firm nod. "Tall strong drink."
The two move towards the dressing room door, Charlotte reaching it first and pushing down the handle before swinging the door open. She walks out with Mackenzie behind her and in to the hallway. SCU General Manager Tad Ezra stands before the duo.
"Good show ladies." Tad comments as he looks at the two SCW stars. "Did you get checked out by Dr. Staggs?"
"They didn't hit us that hard." Charlotte says with a sarcastic tone.
"Don't need a doctor Tid." Mackenzie adds.
"It's Tad." he corrects them.
"Tid, Tad, Todd, don't matter much." Mackenzie says with a half smile. "Like she said, they didn't hit us that hard, don't need to see a doctor for a bruise or two, I've been hit by drunks harder, so we're good and going to get absolutely fucking plastered at this point."
Tad looks at Mackenzie confused by the terminology used. He quickly turns his head towards Charlotte, in hope for an explanation.
"She means she's gonna go get very drunk and probably wake up at a bus stop or park bench or something along those lines." Charlotte explains to him.
"Right, right..." He replies slowly. "Well thank you for being around SCU over the past few weeks, if you ever feel the urge to test yourself against any more SCU wrestlers, I'm only a phone call away."
"No need to thank us." Mackenzie says, in a sweet mocking tone. "After all, you paid us to be here, doesn't matter if I'm smacking an SCW star in the chops or showing an SCU star they can't hang in SCW, all the same to me when you're giving us beer tokens."
"She means money." Charlotte quickly says before the confused look can return to Tad's face.
"Later Todd." Mackenzie says with a smile before walking away.
Charlotte nods towards Tad and quickly catches up with Mackenzie, stepping next to the little firecracker of the London Underground group.
"Tid? Todd?" Charlotte questions with a slight laugh.
"What?" Mackenzie says innocently. "It's not like he can fire us, we're only on loan down here which has now expired and we can go back to beating up people in a six sided ring again."
The two walk on down the hallway, in their minds, moving towards the parking garage but are quickly stopped by SCU backstage reporter, Marissa Henry.
"Ladies, think I might take up a little bit of your time?" She asks politely.
Mackenzie sighs, not impressed at being stopped again.
"Fucking hell." She mutters. "Might get the fuck out of here sometime before next Christmas. Thank God there's no last orders in a place like Vegas."
"I guess so." Charlotte says with a shrug, sensing her partners urge to get out of the building and in to a bar, pub, tavern, or even church should they have any spare win about.
"This is your last match you was contracted to wrestle for Sin City Underground." She states as she looks between the two. "Is their chance you may find yourself in a SCU ring again at any point in the future?"
Mackenzie looks at the interviewer, her eyes narrowed and focused.
"There's always gonna be people to beat up here." Mackenzie says softly. "And if they can afford to bring us in recently, I'm pretty sure they have the cash to do so in the future if they need us to smack a couple of their people around the head, or teach them the SCW way if they have the bollocks like Winter did to step up on to a real show. A lot of these people here just sit here and hope they get the call for a Supercard rather than step up and actually do some work with SCW to make sure they get that spot, but if they're considering doing it, and SCU need someone to come down here and show them what life is like in the big leagues, as long as SCU has the readies to pay me, I might be interested."
Mackenzie lifts her rubbing her thumb across her two fingers, indicating readies to mean money.
"I see." Marissa says, not one hundred percent sure if she does see. "Charlotte, you've worked more in SCU lately, what's the big difference between SCW and SCU?"
"SCW requires more work." Charlotte replies. "SCU is real simple, you show up for work, you might speak a little, do your job and go home. SCW is promote, promote, promote. SCW is a tougher place to stand out but when you do, you're golden. Both places are different, I mean come on, can you really see a boxing match happening in SCW? SCU offers something different. SCW is wrestling straight up, SCU is a kick the shit out of each other style. Fans can like both."
"Have you enjoyed your time here?" Marissa asks.
"It's been alright." Mackenzie says plainly with a quick shrug of her shoulders.
"Can't complain." Charlotte quickly adds. "We're undefeated here so that's a plus."
"Can we go now?" Mackenzie asks "I'm dryer than Gandhi's flip flop here."
"Just one more question." Marissa says with a hopeful tone. "Blast From The Past VII starts right after Blaze of Glory VII, yet you two have been strangely quiet. Everyone has been calling for you Mackenzie to get a Bombshell championship shot ever since you beat Mikah, but you said you wanted to earn it more."
"And avoid the bullshit drama that came with Mikah." Mackenzie quickly says jumping in.
"Right, but this is a chance for you both to earn it." Marissa responds. "Is there a chance you both may be interested in joining?"
Charlotte and Mackenzie look at each other, both with plain looks on their faces before they look back at the reporter eagerly awaiting their answer.
"Haven't thought about it." Charlotte says in a calm tone. "So dunno."
"But there's a chance?" Marissa quickly asks as she move her head in closer, waiting for an answer. "The fans would like to know."
"Like she said, haven't thought about it." Mackenzie comments. "But you gotta ask yourself, why the fuck would we wanna get involved in the game of everybody hates Crystal? We enter, one of us win, we get to either get to go against a friend in Dani, a nutcase in the form of Alicia, or get involved with two people who should be on the Jeremy Kyle show."
"That's a show in England, where the toothless add nothing to society go on to sort out their shit in public." Charlotte explains. "Think Jerry Springer without the chair throwing."
"No one wants to get involved in that shit." Mackenzie says. "Too much poxy hassle. Now can we go? Gandhi's flip flop ain't getting much wetter."
Mackenzie walks away from Marissa and Charlotte smiles at her before catching up with her tag team partner.
Forty five minutes later.
A short car journey was all that was needed to find themselves strolling in to the Golden Ring Casino, and towards the sports bar - E14 - inside. The bar was closing for the night after the live broadcast of Sin City Underground, Episode 15, with just cleaners making their way in to the main bar area. Just one man sits at the bar, with one member of staff behind it, the patrons now vacated and in to the Casino, or to one of the many other spaces the Casino has to offer. Charlotte and Mackenzie walk in to the bar to see Daniel sitting at the bar, looking in to a glass of whiskey.
"Very good job tonight." He says without turning his head towards the women.
"Hate it when he does that." Mackenzie growls. "It's like he's got eyes in the back of his head."
A smile grows over Daniel's face as he turns his head to look at the two, picking up his glass of whiskey and holding it under his nose.
"Glad to see you made it out in one piece." He says as he raises the glass towards them.
"Never in doubt." Charlotte responds as she watches Mackenzie talk to the woman behind the bar, clearly ordering drinks. "Not overly banged up either so can't say it's been a bad one at all. Now to focus on Blaze of Glory VII."
"Well you two have done bloody well in SCU over the past cycle." Daniel says before taking a sip of the whiskey. "So much so, you two get a nice little reward."
Mackenzie returns with the drinks and hands one to Charlotte and looks at Daniel.
"You're gonna send Nick back to London and make him the executive bog cleaner in all your businesses?" Mackenzie says with a hopeful look.
"I heard that!" Nick George's voice can be heard saying off camera somewhere. "But I do like the term executive..."
Charlotte and Mackenzie look off camera, presumably where Nick is located and turn back to Daniel.
"You two get the weekend off." Daniel says. "No work for either of you, go out and drink yourself stupid, get in to punch ups, piss off on holiday for all I care."
Charlotte and Mackenzie look at each other and take a sip of their drinks before turning back to look at their boss.
"The whole weekend off?" Charlotte questions.
"Take Friday till Monday, have a long weekend off." Daniel tells them. "Not a lot going on around here anyway, so knock yourselves out."
"I ain't complaining." Mackenzie says as she raises her glass. "Weekend off it is..."
Sunday afternoon.
Bloody hell, sometimes days off can be so slow. Kenz loves a day off, but me, I get bored way too quickly, I get bored of sitting on me arse doing nothing. I ain't exactly overloaded with hobbies, so this weekend off was a blessing and a curse. Sure, the body healed up alright from getting whacked around by dumb and dumber, but my mind was in a bit of a state, my muscles had the urge to do something. At this point, I was fucking stir crazy and what do I usually go when I'm a little stir crazy? I go to the gym. It's Gabriel and Odette's gym, it's Sunday, it's quiet.... Well, so I thought.
Quickly tapping in the pin code to enter Gabriel and Odette's gym, a code only given out to their trusted graduates, not the newbies in training, Charlotte quickly opens the door to the gym, walking in with Mackenzie behind her.
"He gives us a weekend off and you say let's go to the gym?" Mackenzie says with a slightly unhappy tone. "He don't give us weekends off that often, we could have gone to Hawaii, or flown home, or sat around and do nothing."
Charlotte stops as she looks at Mackenzie.
"You didn't have to come." Charlotte tells her. "Coulda done whatever you wanted but I was bored shitless sitting around, needed to do something, need to be sharp for that submissions match at Blaze of Glory VII and this should do the trick. Be nice and quiet here today anyway."
Charlotte closes the heavy security door behind her and the two walk past the main desk, no one behind it as expected and push the door open. Mackenzie looks towards Charlotte.
"Quiet, huh?" She sees with a tilted head.
Charlotte looks around the gym, surprised by the sight before her. The usual quiet Sunday had very much been replaced with the hustle and bustle of a new class. The two cast their eyes towards the six sided ring set up in the gym to see Gabriel standing in front of five students. They turn their heads to the second ring to see a young man in the ring, Lucas Stevens, son of Gabriel and Odette, while Odette watches her son, run around the ring, her latest addition to the family, Hazel, in her arms. Odette turns her head to see Charlotte and Mackenzie, giving them a warm nod, never surprised by seeing her past students returning and jolts her head for them to join her. The women of London Underground take the hint and move towards her, stopping outside the ring and looking at her.
"What happened to the quiet Sundays around here?" Mackenzie enquires.
"New bunch of students." Odette explains. "They thought they were starting training tomorrow..."
"But Gabriel gave them an early morning call like you did with us to instantly put them on their toes." Charlotte says, finishing Odette's sentence.
"Pretty much." Odette says with her thick Australian accent. "Wanted to show them that this isn't gonna be an easy thing."
"Auntie Kenzzzzzzzzzzzzzz" Lucas can be heard saying as he gets through the bottom and middle ropes and on to the apron before jumping off towards Mackenzie.
Lucas lands on Mackenzie midair and wraps his arms around her neck, clinging on as Mackenzie holds her arms out wide, not catching the boy, looking more than a little uncomfortable as Charlotte and Odette smile at Mackenzie's awkward attempt at a hug around him.
"Pretty sure he does that cause she is not a kid person." Odette whispers to Charlotte.
"Auntie Charrrrrrrrrrrrrrley!" Lucas yells out as he drops to the floor.
He runs towards Charlotte who picks the young boy up and hugs him, much more comfortable around children than Mackenzie is, or is ever likely to be. Charlotte gives him a squeeze before standing him on the apron.
"Practicing all your moves?" Charlotte asks him.
"I'm waiting for my opponent, but he's being late again." He tells Charlotte.
"Opponent?" Mackenzie asks Odette.
Odette just nods her head towards someone, and the two turn around to see none other than SCW World champion Fenris and his brother Aron walking towards them, Fenris in his wrestling gear.
"Kristjan showed up earlier and Lucas challenged him because he likes belt." Odette says with a laugh. "I don't think he knows how to say no to a challenge."
Fenris steps closer, looking at the three women. He looks closer at Charlotte.
"You, dark haired girl." He says through his Icelandic accent addressing Charlotte.
"You know my name you hippy wannabe." Charlotte fires back. "What do ya want?"
Fenris smiles at Charlotte, partly happy to have someone to fire back at him at times, rather than fearful of his reputation.
"You have a submissions match coming up and I have forgotten more submission moves than you will ever know." He says in a cocky tone. "How about I teach you some?"
"Oi!" Charlotte says with a wave of her finger. "This is my promo, I ain't putting you over in it, putting me over, use ya own promo to make yourself look good, cause I ain't doing it for ya."
Charlotte winks towards Fenris who just turns his head and looks straight down the camera.
"Forth wall, meet sledgehammer." He says with a thumbs up.
"Ladies." Odette says. "I have something to show you, finally clear out all the junk in that room over there and turned it in to something else that helps us train people better. Come with me."
Odette points in the direction of the room and takes a few steps towards it to lead the way, but she stops in front of Aron and points to Fenris.
"Make sure he does hurt my boy, or he won't make it to Blaze of Glory, and neither will you, understand, Aron?" Odette says seriously with fire in her eyes.
Aron swallows hard as he looks at Odette.
"Yes ma'am." His response comes through a shaky voice and Odette pats him on the shoulder.
"Good boy." She says with a sweet, yet dangerous looking smile.
The colour drains from Aron's face as Odette leads them towards the ring where Gabriel is talking to his new students.
"The fact is, this is gonna be hard work." He tells his students. "And if you think you can't handle it, then don't waste my time. Head on back to where you came from, these two ladies will tell you that this is not a picnic."
Gabriel points to Charlotte and Mackenzie walking past the ring.
"Any advice for my new class?" Gabriel asks the two former champions.
"Yeah." Mackenzie says as she stops to eyeball each student. "Don't fuck up."
Mackenzie continues to walk to catch up with Odette and Charlotte, leaving the students to look surprised as they continue to walk towards the room.
"Profound advice." Charlotte says with a smile on her face.
"Well someone's gotta tell them." Mackenzie says with a slight shrug of her shoulders.
The trio, foursome if you count baby Hazel asleep on her mother shoulder, reach the mystery room and Odette reaches down and pushes open the door and walks in, proudly smiling as she looks around.
"Gabriel and I wanted to add a little pressure to them, or tweak their promo work." Odette explains. "As you know, speaking in front of a crowd in the ring is one thing, but when you get cameras shoved in your face, it's a whole different thing."
The women look around the room, showing green screens on three walls, as well as three cameras pointed in different directions and a computer set up with sound board and microphone. Large speakers sit high above the green screens.
"With that laptop, we can project anything on to the green screens and record." Odette continues to explain. "A live crowd with noises, a backstage area, hell, a beach in the middle of nowhere and record. The room is sound proof so can make the crowd loud. Can make the crowd cheer, boo, chant, anything we want from the computer on cue. Sounds recorded from live SCW crowds, even the more vicious crowds from the world tour four years ago. We're doing the best to recreate the environment for SCW stars who may wanna practice and future SCW stars. You don't become the best trainers in the world without pushing limits."
"This is incredible." Charlotte admits "Never seen anything like it before in my life"
A proud smile crosses Odette face as she looks around the room.
"Took a lot of time, money and effort." She tells them. "We've had some great students, all but one gone on to win championships in SCW, which is a shark tank, but we can't just sit there and think we've cracked it so keep going on like that. Gotta keep pushing it more and get the next lot ready for their shot at the big time, and it's our job to get them as fine tuned as possible."
Odette walks over to the computer table and sits down and waves her free hand at Charlotte to come close. Charlotte walks towards her and Odette hands her a cordless mini microphone to put on her clothes.
"Might as well test this out for us." Odette says. "Put the microphone on your shirt, the sound will be off overall, but that microphone will pick up what you say, the cameras will record you, cut your promo against Winter and we'll edit it a little later to send in. We'll stick the British flag behind you on the green screen. You'll be able to see it on the screen on the wall above the main camera."
Charlotte looks apprehensive as she is put on the spot, but shrugs her shoulder and secures the mini mic to the front of her top and moves in front of the camera. She looks at Odette and Odette gives her the thumbs up and Charlotte looks down the camera.
"Finally, this can all end." Charlotte says with a touch of relief in her voice. "This whole load of bollocks can end and I can stop using these knuckles to bruise the same face over and over again. It's not that I'm bored of it, but these knuckles are not a one face kinda thing, they like hitting more than one and lately, they've just been draw to Winter Elemental's face like a magnet to metal."
Charlotte looks down at her balled up right fist.
"This fist here has been in an intimate relationship with Winter's boat for a long long time, it's met that face over and over again, but I think it's at the point of wanting to see other people." Charlotte says as she looks up. "But like all good things, the way things should end, it gets one more go around. I bet you're regretting breaking my car now, aren't ya?"
Charlotte cracks her knuckles.
"You had to do it, didn't ya?" Charlotte says firmly. "First the threat at kicking my arse, which you have failed to do every time we've met. Then you using my car as a weapon, trust me, The New Foundation might be the next ones to get their heads kicked in because they, like you and your little chimp had their role in it too, but you're the gobby one, and the easiest way to send a message to all involved is to hit the gobby one hard and I've done that every single time we've met and it will continue at Blaze of Glory VII. You must be sitting there wondering how the hell to beat me, because you've been proper rubbish in your attempts so far, but I'll help you out there, I'll clear it up for you, you can't beat me and that's plain and simple, as plain as the nose on your face Winter, you just can't beat me so why bother trying?"
She puts her palms out flat, as if to say with her hands "why."
"Seriously." Charlotte starts "You get it all build up in your head and you sit there thinking you can do this, you can make me tap out but you can't. I mean you got to team with me, and had an up close look at me and you shoulda seen there, that you got no way of breaking down that wall, you have no way of getting over it, or around it. You've seen up close with me as a partner, you've seen up close with me beating the snot out of ya, you should have had it drilled in to your head now that there is now winning formula when it comes to facing me, none at all. The best scientific minds in the world couldn't help you figure out how to get through me, and the best medical minds in the world won't be able to put you back together again, because there's just too many ways I can hurt you, too many ways I can make you tap out, too many ways I can put you on the shelf for months to come."
Charlotte rubs her hands together.
"And I ain't gonna lie to you princess, I'm looking forward it." She continues with a smile. "Every single time I think about how I can hurt you, what joints I can pop out of place with a swift move or two, this big smile hits my face and I just can't seem to shift it. It's like every muscle I have is grinning with me, like every muscle in me is relishing the fact that on Sunday night, they all get to play a part in hurting you, in making you scream like a baby. They're ready to rip you to bits mate and mentally, I just can't wait. I'm like a kid at Christmas because I know just what I'm gonna get, I know what I've been good for all year, because I get to send you back to SCU not as a hero, but as a failure, a waste of their time and mine. I get to show them all that Winter Elemental is all mouth and no action. All fur coat and no knickers and what that means is absolutely bugger all substance, zero class and basically there for the beating."
A smile crosses over Charlotte's face.
"History will repeat Winter, the history that every time we meet, you end up on the losing side." Charlotte says with a firm point. "The only good memory you'll ever have when it comes to mixing it up with me, is the fact that you won a match with me in the ring. Shame it wasn't against me, eh? I won't break that tradition cause come Sunday, at Blaze of Glory VII you'll be losing once more.... Tap, tap, tap bitch."
Charlotte smirks as she looks towards Odette.
"How was that?" Charlotte asks.
"That ladies and gentlemen, is how you do it." Gabriel's voice can be heard saying from the other side of the room.
Charlotte turns to see Gabriel and his new students watching from the other corner of the room, the group silently moving in the to the room, unbeknownst to Charlotte in her intense speaking mood. She gives them a slight nod.
"Time to hit the bag." She says to no one in particular.
The camera fades out.
