[Christian Underwood]

Please post all roleplays here! Have fun and good luck!

[Harper Mason]

Harpin’ On With Harper, Harper’s Hotel Room, Paris, France
Monday the 12th of May 2025, 11:00am

*on camera, start vlog, promo part one*

The time had finally come, Into the Void and for Harper? The Fatal Four Way Roulette Rules Match for the Bombshell Roulette Championship against the champion Victoria Lyons and her fellow challengers Song and Lillith Locke, however following the events of last night’s Climax Control? Harper had a lot on her mind.

And that was evident as the twenty year old opened her first Vlog live from her hotel room in Paris, France.

”I was expecting to say a lot of things heading into the Queen’s Gambit Match at Into The Void against Victoria, Song and Lillith, trust me, when this match was announced a couple of weeks ago? I wanted to come prepared.” Harper states as she runs a hand though her dirty blonde hair. ”You want to know what I didn’t expect to say? Victoria cost me the tag match against Lillith and Song by getting pinned by Lillith and now? All the momentum is in her court.

And yet, that’s exactly what happened at last night’s Climax Control, I guess on one hand I didn’t take the pin myself but that leaves a lot of questions heading into Victoria’s defence at Into the Void: did she deliberately throw the match while planning to blame the Amsterdam Air for her loss? And no, I’m not kidding, that’s legitimately the reason Victoria gave for losing the tag match!” Harper stated as she shook her head in disbelief. ”I’ve only been wrestling for two years, yet that is still one of the craziest excuses I’ve heard for a loss! Hell I haven’t heard an excuse that baffling since the last time Bea Barnhart opened her mouth!”

Harper quickly shook her head.

”Comparing the longest reigning Roulette Champion to a woman who literally only has a job because her husband’s a respected veteran? Yep, that’s another thing I didn’t expect to be saying!” Harper lets out an exasperated sigh as before she continues. ”But on a serious note? That does raise the question, will Victoria’s reign as queen be the only thing of hers to end at Into the Void? There will be a new Queen for a Day crowned, that much is obvious! Unlike last year’s King she’s not defending her crown in the Queen for a Day Ladder Match.

No, what I am talking about is, of course, her Roulette Title reign! Victoria’s reign didn’t start at lasty year’s Into the Void, she, alongside me, competed in that year’s Queen for a Day Match and you get no prizes for guessing who won, but considering Guy’s King for a Day Episode directly led to the start of Victoria’s reign?”  Harper asked as she leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. ”It may as well have!”

Harper sighs as she rests her hands about her head.

”And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the other challengers in this match, Song and Lillith are obviously riding on a high after they took the win last night but since she got the pin? That goes double for Lillith.” Harper added as she let out a deep breath. ”Song’s dangerous enough as it is but Lillith? Much like Victoria was at last year’s Into the Void she’s coming into this match unpinned, I’d say undefeated but she lost her Blast from the Past Match so yeah, that doesn’t count.

My goal is still the same as ever, I want to win the Bombshell Roulette Championship before I turn twenty one in September, for those keeping track? That gives me four and months and four days” Harper held up four of her fingers to drive the point home. ”And I knew achieving that goal wasn’t going to be easy, but throw in all the factors that I’ve mentioned up to this point? And that hill I’ve got to climb might end up being Mt. Everest!”

*end vlog*

Walking through the streets of Paris, France
Monday the 12th of May 2025, 12:30pn

About an hour and a half removed from her fist vlog for the match between Harper, Victoria, Song and Lillith we see Harper walking through the streets of Paris alongside Joshua Acquin, her manager and her mentor for well over a year by this point.

”Man, Paris is so pretty.” Harper commented to Josh as she looked around the city with her arms crossed. ”Kinda had to believe this place was picked as the finale of the Viking Era Tour because it was the home to one of the bloodiest sieges of the Viking Era.”

“Each city has it’s own history Harper, and Paris is no different.” Josh responded with a nod as they looked around the city. “Still, we have two weeks here, anything you want to do before we head back to the states? I know that’s two weeks away but it’s good to plan ahead.”

”Even before I graduated from Hero Academy I’ve always had something of a sweet tooth.” Harper commented with a shrug as she turned to Josh. ”Guess I’m still a kid at heart but I know France is known for its cuisine and all that, to say the least.”

“Well, you’re in the right city, there’s plenty of patisseries here in Paris.” Joshua responded with a nod and Harper grinned broadly as she put her hands in her pockets. “You can even film your second vlog from one such place.”

”If they let me but I imagine they get a lot of traffic from influencers and stuff like that.” Harper responded as she glanced around. ”Which one’s closest? My feet are killing me.”

“Hold on, I’ll check.” Josh responded before checking his phone and Harper leaned against a wall, trying to take the weight of her feet. “There’s Pierre Herme, has multiple locations around the city but the closest one isn’t that far from here.”

”Sounds perfect to me!” Harper responded before she continued walking after her manager. ”What’s your take on what happened last night in Amsterdam?”

“The Tag Match?” Josh asked and Harper nodded in response. “It sounds like Victoria’s going into damage control mode based on what I read on her Twitter feed, it’s not the first time she’s lost as the Bombshell Roulette Champ in a non-title match but considering Lilith is one of your other opponents? She likely feels her reign is in the most danger it’s been in since it started last year.”

”Yeah, I honestly thought Luna was going to end it at High Stakes last year but we both know what happened there.” Harper nodded in response as she brushed some hair over her shoulder. ”But that’s not even half of it, since it’s a Fatal Four Way she doesn’t need to be pinned to lose the title, it’s just a matter of who gets pinned and by who.”

“That’s the danger of defending a title in a Fatal Four Way Match, throw in the Roulette Stipulation? There’s no telling what can happen until the wheel is spun.” Joshua nodded in agreement as they neared the patisserie. “And by then? It’s too late to plan.”

”Just gotta adapt and hope for the best.” Harper nodded in agreement before stretching a bit. ”I’ll worry about the match a bit later, I see the place right ahead.”

“Good eye, let’s go.” Joshua nodded in agreement before they want inside the shop.

Harpin’ On With Harper, Pierre Herme, Paris, France
Monday the 12th of May 2025, 14:00pm

*on camera, start vlog, promo part two*

Harper has just enjoyed some sweet tweets at one of Paris’s many patisseries and has decided to take the time to film her second vlog for the Queens Gambit Match in two weeks’ time.

”I may be a wrestler and before that, a high school wrestling standout and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do but I’ve always had a bit of a sweet tooth, which is why I’m here for my second vlog.” Josh panned the camera around the shot to show what Harper is talking about before focussing on Harper again. ”What can I say? Walking around Paris drives up the appetite!

But do you want to know the one thing that would be sweeter than all the sweet treats here in Paris? Winning the Bombshell Roulette Title of course.” Harper stated before taking a sip from her drink. ”And as I said in the first vlog? This won’t be easy! Victoria’s had that title in a iron grip for just under a year and challenging her on her own is tough enough, trust me, I’ve been there! I was Victoria’s first challenger in singles action and her first challenger on Climax Control after she retained the title in the Ultimate X Over The Pool Match at Summer XXXTreme! But throw in Song and Lillith?”

Harper shakes her head.

”And it only gets that much more competitive! Lillith, alongside the fact that she’s one of a few bombshells who can say that she has pinned Victoria, is looking to do two things: win her first title in SCW and bounce back from losing out on the Blast from the Past Tournament! Song, coincidentally, made her return to SCW last year and in that time we’ve fought once, in that Fatal Four Way #1 Contenders Match for the World Bombshell Title, she’s a martial artist like me and I know she’s going to be a tough fight no matter what the wheel lands on.” Harper added as she brushed some hair over her shoulder. ”Then there’s me, the rookie who was seemingly handpicked by Victoria to be her next challenger.

That is until Christian announced that Victoria’s next defence was going to be a Fatal Four Way Match against me, Lillith and Song of course.” Harper added as she leaned forward on the desk. ”Am I nervous heading into this match? absolutely, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t give it my all! Besides, there’s certain things that I haven’t really forgiven Victoria for since she arrived in SCW!”

Here we go.

”Let’s start with one that resulted from her winning last year’s Queen for a Day Match, because she didn’t like the fact that I pay tribute to my trainers at the end of my promos I got booked in a handicap match against Juliana DiMaria and Alexandra Callaway, if you need to be told who those women are? What rock have you been living under?” Harper asked sarcastically as her frown deepened. ”And that’s before we get into everything that happened in the lead up to Into the Void!

Trying to turn me against my mentor Josh? Manipulating events so that I accidentally hit Cassie with a chair and left her open to the Lyons Roar? Yeah Victoria? If you thought I held a grudge before all that? That was nothing!” Harper stated as she glared at the camera. ”You may not have won the Bombshell Roulette Title at last year’s Into the Void but it was the King and Queen for a Day Matches that essentially set the wheels in motion and started you on your current path! Well Victoria? I’m about to make things come full circle!”

Harper added as she flipped some hair over her shoulder.

”This whole saga started one year ago when we were in a Multi-Woman match at Into the Void, now, one year later? It’s going to end the same way at the same event.” Harper added as she brushed some hair over her shoulder. ”My only regret is that I can’t end your reign exactly one year after it started, sadly we’re two months out from that being a possibility and if I have my way? Victoria’s reign won’t survive Into The Void.

Song and Lillith are tough cookies, I’m not denying that and I know they’ll both bring one hell of a fight so that they can walk out with Victoria’s title! But the beef between me and Victoria goes beyond titles, it’s personal and that’s what’s motivating me in this match.” Harper added before she went to stand up. ”Now, if you excuse me? I see another sweet treat that’s calling my name and I’m not saying no to that, see you at part three!”

*end vlog*

Paris Seine River Cruise, Paris, France
Tuesday the 13th of May 2025, 14:00pm

It was the day after Harper’s trip through Paris on foot we see her and Josh taking a very different tour of Paris as they enjoy a boat cruise.

”This is definitely more like it.” Harper said as she stretched her arms and looked around at the sites from the river cruise. ”Walking around Paris was cool and all but even for an athlete like me it got to much at times, this river cruise is just perfect!”

“Had a feeling you’d like this.” Josh nodded in agreement as Harper took a few pictures of the sites on her phone, including a couple of selfies. “And a good way to take your mind off the Bombshell Roulette Title Match.”

”No way Josh, as cool as this is?” Harper asked rhetorically as she turned her attention back to Josh while shaking her head. ”It’ll take more than a river cruise to take my mind off the match, especially with as much history as I have with Victoria.”

“True enough but it’s still a good way to relax.” Josh admitted with a nod as he took in the sites for himself. ”We still have plenty of stuff to get through during our time here in Paris, restaurants, historical sites, you name it.”

”I know one thing for certain, if I was doing this trip alone I’d probably be checking TripAdvisor every other minute looking for things to do.” Harper admitted as she leaned back in her chair. ”Though from what Jessie told me? That took up most of her time whenever SCW did an international tour like this.”

“As someone who wrestled for SCW for many years? Can confirm.” Josh chuckled in response to Harper’s comment and Harper grinned. “Hopefully I can get Cassie out of her rut so she can enjoy herself too.”

”Yeah, I hear that, before Climax Control I wanted to punch her for those comments she made towards Seleana but her regret was all over Cassie’s face.” Harper responded with a frown and a nod. ”And I want her to do well in the Queen for a Day Match but she’s facing stiff competition.”

“She’ll be fine, you both will.” Josh assured Harper and she grinned in response. “But for now? At least try to enjoy yourself.”

”Hear, hear.” Harper responded before she resumed taking in the sites on the river cruise.

Harpin’ One With Harper, Seine River Cruise, Paris, France
Tuesday the 13th of May 2025, 15:30pm

*on camera, start vlog, promo part three*

As Harper got ready for her final week one vlog we see the twenty year old still on the river cruise ready to film and cut her promo.

”Quite the view isn’t it? Not me, the city.” Harper asked as Josh panned around the city. ”Yet in two weeks’ time at Into the Void? It has the potential to become a battleground for me, Lillith Locke, Song and the Bombshell Roulette Champion Victoria Lyons! You would think that Victoria was the one who was entering the match with the momentum on her side, not only is she the Bombshell Roulette Champion but she is the longest reigning champ and only two months short of a full year as champ.

That is until Lilith Locke shocked the world at the last Climax Control by scoring a pin on her in the tag match that also featured me and Song and now? It’s anyone’s game.” Harper stated as she brushed some hair over her shoulder. ”And as I said before? Victoria doesn’t even need to be pinned or submitted to lose the title, and that’s even if the Roulette Wheel lands on a stip that allows for pinfalls or submissions!”

Harper added as she leaned back a bit.

”But believe me, I fully intend to leave Paris as the new Bombshell Roulette Champion, Victoria is going to be my main target for the stuff I brought up in the second vlog but that doesn’t mean I’m discounting Song and Lillith either!” Harper added as she stretched her arms a bit. ”Song’s a former tag team champion after her first singles title reign, Lillith is an extremely impressive newcomer who is entering this match as the only unpinned wrestler in this match.

I’d  say she was undefeated but if that was still true? She’d still be in Blast from the Past.” Harper stated as she grinned at the camera. ”Sorry Lillith, did I strike a nerve? Good, that means you won’t enter this match with a clear head on your shoulders, and Song? Everything about you says this might be your last hurrah, when the match was announced Master Lilly outright said that your contract is expiring, so if you do win the title, what’s next? And Victoria? Say goodbye to your reign as queen and your title reign!”

It's that simple.

”You guys familiar with the trope Bookends? It basically means that a story ends in a similar scene to how it began, and if you ask me? Into the Void is a perfect place for me to bookend Victoria’s reign.” Harper stated as she flipped some hair over her shoulder. ”Her road to the title started at last year’s Into the Void and now? Ithat same event will end the reign!”

And with that Harper decided to wrap things up.

”Song, Lilith? As my fellow challengers in this match I wish you guys luck because I’m not making it easy for any of my opponents, but Victoria?” Harper quickly shakes her head. ”You can sweet talk and gaslight me all you want, this won’t stop me from achieving my goal of being the youngest ever Bombshell Roulette Champ and I won’t wish you any luck, frankly? You don’t need it, you’ve already got the momentum from your title reign on your side! But come Into the Void? The Queen’s Reign will end and the era of the “Slaytanic Avenger” Harper Mason as Bombshell Roulette Champ will begin because the world needs a new hero and champion and you’re looking at her! See you ladies at Into the Void!”

Harper turned off the camera as the scene fades.

[Victoria Lyons]

A fine cold rain streaked across the window has the city outside buzzed with the low muted energy but inside the hotel room there was a tension that could be cut with a knife.

Victoria paced, slow but with fury. Her bare feet soundless on the carpet, the Bombshell Roulette Championship laid across the bed just behind her.

Vincent stood at his favorite perch near the window watching. His silence wasn’t it new he rarely interrupted her storms, and the night after Climax Control was no different.[/i]

“It's something about this city….” said Victoria “The air is foul and damp I ccould feel it in my lungs the moment we landed. But they didn't want to hear anything about me feeling unwell, and now Lilith Locke pins me in some throwaway tag match and suddenly everybody's whispering that I’m slipping.”

She turned sharply toward Vincent.

“I'm not slipping Vincent.. I was ill..” she said “The Amsterdam air didn't agree with me, and Harper? Harper was too busy playing rebel child to follow simple instructions and let me lead her.”

Vincent said nothing but there was a slight twitch in his lip. He could hear her but his mind was focused on his own problems in particular The Execution of Jayden Harris…

“She's supposed to listen Harper Mason….” Victoria said “I gave her an opportunity I offered her elevation but she has this streak in her a defiant and ungrateful one maybe this Queens Gambit will teach her some manners. Sometimes tough love is the only kind that gets through.”

She turned away from Vincent as she drifted toward the dresser and looked at her reflection. Her eyes looked different they were sharper, perhaps hungrier, but not weak. Never weak.

She grabbed the Roulette Championship. Her “Sweet Rue” that had been with her for so long and cradled it like a wounded creature, or newborn baby.

“I legitimized this championship.” she said “I bled for it. Built my entire reign as queen around it. Now Christian Underwood pulls the rug from under me. Tricks me into defending MY championship in a fatal four-way. That smug little snake with his spreadsheets and coffee breath.”

She paused her eyes resting on her own reflection.

“He thinks I don't see the pattern. He thinks I don't see the coup that he's trying to create.” She said “They're trying to depose me Vincent, piece by piece. First Alexandra Calaway steals my throne and burns It to the ground, and now she gets paraded into the Queen for a Day match she can have the opportunity to take my crown as well? I swear if she wins….”

She turned away from her reflection and sat down on the corner of the bed setting the belt down next to her as she dug her nails into her palm with a restrained rage.

“And then there's the others…” she said “Crystal and Selena in the same ring that's not competition that's a duet. Cassie Wolfe once again taking opportunities that should go to Harper Mason. Then we got a couple of tryhards in Juliana Dimaria and Kat Jones. the whole lineup is a damn charity buffet and none deserve to wear the crown.”

She paused a soft exhale leaving her lips.

“They want me to crack. I can feel it.” she said “They want the queen to fall apart on camera so they can sweep up the pieces and turn me into a plot device for someone else's story.”

You picked up her championship again and move back to look at her reflection now with a smile and fire in her eyes.

“But there will be no fall.” she said “There will be a transformation they have no idea who they're dealing with. Let them crown their new queen. I'll be sure to be the first in line at her coronation. Let Harper try to take my championship. I'll show her what defiance earns. Let Lilith Locke continue to think her methods of madness are superior to mine, and let Song make her attempt to make herself relevant one last time.”

She turned and looked at Vincent again.

“They think I'm coming undone Vincent.” she said ”That all of this, the throne, the title, the new queen, that it's making me crack. But they can think whatever they want. I will remind them why my crown should never be touched. Why I should have been the final Queen for a Day winner last year. They should have retired the whole concept after I won it.  I feel we may be heading to war Vincent and it may be just us."

Finally Vincent spoke.

“Stronger together.” he said with a nod.

“Yes.” she said with a smile that matched his “Stronger together. Which reminds me, the mixed tag titles have been vacated, and I don't know what their plans are for those at this moment but it's something for us to keep our eyes on."

“They want war? Then war it shall be.” said Vincent.

Both of the twins had their own problems to deal with at Into The Void.  Vincent was looking to go further with his execution of Jayden Harris, while Victoria had not only  her “coup” to worry about, but a deposition as well, and a new Queen she would be ready to set her eyes on.

But there would be no deposition.

There would be no peaceful transfer of power.

She was in control.

_________

A fog rolls through a shadowed alley in Amsterdam the cobblestone underfoot still wet from the recent rain. An old street lamp casts its shadows, as a figure approaches cutting through the fog. It's Victoria Lyons.

She wears her Bombshell Roulette Championship proudly over her shoulder with sharp eyes, she's dressed in a long black coat as she stares directly into the camera poised but with a hint of madness hidden beneath her eyes.

“You want to put things into perspective Harper?" said Victoria “You want to analyze who gains the most from our tag match? That's the story you chose to tell, because you still don't understand that wrestling is more than just a series of numbers, vlogs and clever soundbites as you talk like you've already arrived.”

She shakes her head slightly.

“The problem is you haven't arrived Harper.” Victoria said “You were invited into the presence of royalty to be given a chance to arrive, and what do you do with that honor? You spit on it. You question it, and you doubt it. As if your rookie insight somehow carries any weight against my reality. Your little "what if I bailed on Victoria..” fantasy revealed just how unprepared you truly are to stand in front of the storm that's coming for you in Paris.”

She slowly walks forward through the fogged alley.

“Our match was no failure. It was a test.” she said “And I may have taken the pinfall which is only because the Amsterdam air did not agree with me and I was under the weather, but you Harper failed something more important than the actual pinfall".

Her voice starts to slip into a darker colder tone.

“You failed me.” she said “You were there to learn, to listen, and instead you defied you made that little Vlog of yours and made me sound like a joke like I was throwing names in a hat just improvising."

She scoffs with disgust.

“Let me make one thing perfectly clear Harper.” she said “Nothing I do with improvised. I chose Song and Lilith for a reason. I wanted to see how they’d react. I wanted to see if you'd hold position under pressure. All my decisions are made with the precision of a chessmaster but instead of standing by me and learning what was unfolding around you, you spend your time fantasizing about bailing out and riding solo.”

She smirks into her camera and her eyes glistened.

“That's why it's time for tough love.” she grinned “At Into The Void, we are not partners and you will not be protected. You will be staring across the ring with a different VIctoria Lyons. You'll be standing across from your reckoning, so before the final piece in the Queen's Gambit is played..”

She pauses for a moment.

“Let me give you one final piece of advice.” she continued “Don't ever assume that I'm not ten steps ahead of every little plan you think you're clever enough to plot. There's a reason I've held this roulette championship for over 300 days. Nobody can outplay the queen."

She exhales heavily.

“Now let's talk about you Song.” she continued.” You're supposed to be some methodical presence among the chaos, calculated and efficient. A “By the book warrior” so to speak.

She scoffs and shakes her head.

“You talk like you are above Lillith, and above the games.” said Victoria “But let's be real, you didn't win that match, she did. You just tolerated her long enough to let her carry the weight. Your hesitation to shake her hand after she pinned me told me everything. You didn't mind it, you didn't need the spotlight because the victory itself was enough. But I know what it is that really eats at you.”

She leans into the camera.

“You know I've already beaten you this year.” she grinned “You know the moment the bell rings what’s coming for you. You may have a shot at my title, but it's because I gave that to you. You know deep down the end of the day I will be the one standing over you, Lilith and Harper."

She straightens up her posture keeping her eyes on the camera.

“But I do ask you this Song. Does Master Lilly see you as a champion or ad revenue?” said Victoria “Because he said it himself, he wants to bring the eyes from china. Clicks, streams, and commercials. He sees your value with a number stamped on it and wants SCW to make sure they wring every single cent out of you before your contract is up. You're nothing more than a final investment."

She pauses for a longer time to let the words linger.

“While Harper is flailing around for her identity and Lilith is carving her own from the shadows.” said Victoria “You're just passing through. Another product on the shelf being positioned for one last sale before you write off into the sunset.”

She shakes her head.

“So for you Song, when that bell rings in Paris.” Victoria continued “You're going to remember what it's like to be beaten by somebody who's not here to be sold. You're going to be beaten by someone that's here to be feared, and when you're gone and forgotten chasing whatever glory your handler carves out for you next, I'll still be here with this championship in my hands.”

She holds the championship out to the camera before placing it back on her shoulder with a heavy breath.

“Oh but we do have one more don't we…" said Victoria “Lilith Locke. My wildcard. A woman who speaks in riddles wrapped with razors.”

Her own twisted smile forms on her face.

“You talk poetry like blood soaked metaphors will shield you from the truth.” said Victoria “You want everyone to think you're chaos incarnate, and that you're suffering gives you depth. But you're not chaos Lilith you're just noise. beautiful noise I'll give you that, but noise all the same just static dressed up as scripture.”

She repostures herself and lifts her chin slightly in a regal fashion.

“This felt like a summoning for you?” Victoria continued “Sweetheart no one summoned you. “You were begging the void to notice you, but that silence you wallowed in for weeks? That was your own irrelevance.”

She leans in closer to the camera smiling.

“You talk about your altars of regret and making reality flinch.” said Victoria “But reality doesn't flinch, it watches and waits. Then when it's ready it crushes you under its heel."

She straightens her posture keeping her ever confident gaze on the camera.

“You don't need fire, blood, and cryptic verses to make the world kneel.” said Victoria “I look them in the eye and they bow. If you want to unmake me then you better pray the darkness you worship hears you, before I bury you in it.”

She takes another deliberate lingering pause.

“Three names…. three styles… three offerings…” said Victoria “Song with her honor, Harper with her hunger, and Lilith with her darkness. You all come with your scars and stories and sharpened teeth and think it makes you dangerous, but it just makes all of you predictable.”

That confident grin appears on her face again.

“I'm here to prove that no matter how many of you scream, scratch, or sacrifice.” she said “There's only still one name that will echo even when the crown is gone.”

She pauses and turns walking back into the shadows as we hear her voice with one final whisper, before everything fades to black.

“Victoria.”

__________

Victoria stood in the midday sun on the edge of an overlook looking at a shimmering lake down below, arms rested on the stone railing between her and the view. She remained quiet for a moment, dark sunglasses rested on her eyes.

Vincent sat nearby on the stone railing itself, expressionless his thoughts focused on his own war with Jayden Harris.

“This whole thing is rigged…” she muttered. “I had chosen Harper Mason for the Queen's Gambit, and I entertained the idea of Song and Lilith Locke as possibilities, not certainties. I got played."

Vincent's eyes shifted even though his mind was elsewhere he was still aware of his sister's plight.

“You're not wrong sis.” he said “It's a setup they're trying to tear you down.”

“They let me set the stage and then pull the rug from under me..” she said “Now I'm in a fatal four way with three different problems all at once.”

“Still nothing you can't handle at the end of the day.” Vincent noted.

“Harper, sweet Harper.” she said “She was my golden girl, my real choice, the one I thought I could mold. Sharp, young, and good under pressure. But she's defiant and she questions everything. She acts like she's above the foundation I'm offering her, and I feel she may be turning into a problem at this point."

“Some people are just beyond helping.” said Vincent.

“And Song wants one last go at it before her contract ends.” said Victoria “There's nothing noble in that. She's just throwing a final hail mary trying to cling to whatever relevance she had left. She’s nothing more now than a headline from a bygone era."

“You beat her once.” Vincent reminded her “You'll do it again.”

“Lilith Locke is the true question mark.” Victoria admitted “I called her my wild card for a reason I included her to shake things up, to keep everyone guessing. But I wonder if I've dipped too deep into the well. Not because I think she's better than me, because she's not. But she's chaotic, the kind of wild card will flip the board just to see what happens next.”

“Just remember she's not the only one who thrives amid chaos.” said Vincent.

There was a long pause between them before Victoria spoke again.

“I'm not paranoid.” she said.

“Didn't think you were” said Vincent “You're just being perceptive, they've never understood you and they've never understood us. They call me your lap dog because I support you like it's some crime to be a supportive brother. They don't realize that we molded from the same DNA, two bodies from the same cell. A bond they can never understand.”

“Jayden Harris?” said Victoria.

“Jayden Harris is my problem.” said Vincent “He'll be handled and it will be on my terms.”

“They think this queen's gambit is going to break me.” said Victoria “But they forget who laid the board in the first place.”

“Then you need to remind them.” said Vincent

“Oh I'm going to remind every single one of them.” said Victoria with narrowed eyes.

The twins stood there for a while just overlooking the lake both focused on their own futures, and still keeping the bond that made them The Lyons Twins.

__________

The cameras open on a crackling fire resting inside a steel shallow basin in the center of the frame. The location remote, the flames illuminate her face

Victoria Lyons.

She wears black from head to toe in a long leather coat, dark sunglasses, and sleek black gloves. Her tight fitting trousers tucked into her heeled boots that tap the stone underneath her feet.

“Three names. Three delusions. Three drops of the queens personal poison into my own glass.” said Victoria.

She produces a slip of paper folded in half and she unfolds it the name in bold letters is revealed.

Harper Mason.

“Harper..” she says with a hiss “You were the one I chose when the queen's gambit began, because I saw something in you. Something raw, something real. I saw it since day one when I won this crown and put you in that handicap match. But you refuse to see it in yourself. I thought I could shape you mold you and bring you into my legacy..”

She crunches the paper softly.

“But now all I see is arrogance.” she said “Defiance for the sake of defiance. You think your rebellious nature makes you dangerous, without realizing I'm the one that's trying to bring out the real danger that you refuse to let loose.”

She reaches out holding the paper over the fire.

“You think this could be your moment?” she said “That you'll step in the ring and topple the queen you could have served beside? All you do is spit on the once in a lifetime offer that's being presented to you.”

Callously she drops the paper into the fire and watches has the flames consume it.

“My faith in you was misplaced, perhaps…” she said “Perhaps my wild card was the better choice all along.”

She produces another paper with the next name on it.

Lilith Locke.

“I'll admit it Lilith.” Victoria said “You are chaos incarnate. You move without rhyme, logic or fear and that should terrify me.”

She pauses, a sinister smirk of her own creeping across her face.

“But you have chaos without direction.” said Victoria “That is why you'll collapse. You'll swing your fist at everything without stopping to ask if the building you’re tearing down is also the one keeping you up.”

She reaches out holding the name over the flame.

“I chose you as my wild card in the Queen's Gambit." said Victoria “Hoping you would bring destruction to the others, but the truth is all I see is you destroying yourself.”

Without hesitation she drops the name into the fire.

“And then there's our other friend.” she said.

Another paper appears in her hand with the final name.

Song.

“You really feel like the one that doesn't belong here.” said Victoria “Unlike Harper and Lilith you want this to be one final run at glory. At least Harper and Lilith are looking to create their legacies.  You're still clinging to your own washed up one and you hope somehow winning this match or somehow make you relevant once again.”

She holds the name out over the flames.

“But your time is done.” she said “And your flame is fading. You won't ride into the sunset on top with all the glory and honor. You'll fade out with a fizzle and a whimper.”

With one final release she dropped the last name into the fire and looks into the camera with dead eyes.

“It's time to show you what danger really looks like.” she grinned “Danger is not Harper Mason with a fistful of youth, ignorance and empty rebellion. Danger is not Song clawing at the last threads of a fading legacy, and danger is not Lilith Locke dancing on the edge of a cliff she doesn't even know she built.”

Her words cut sharp and direct.

“Danger is me.” said Victoria “Because I have everything to lose, and I'm not going to let it be taken from me lightly. If somehow the conspiracy against me is completed,  then that becomes even worse for the rest of you because a queen with nothing left to lose doesn't sit in mourning. She rises in wrath. She becomes the fire and she becomes the end. You all fantasize about me losing everything at Into The Void, but you're not ready for what happens if I do.”

The fires illuminate her face as she raises up the Bombshell Roulette Championship like a relic.

“So come for me. Take your shot try to tear down everything I've built.” she said “But just know that SCW isn't ready for a queen who has lost everything. For if I fall something darker will rise from what remains.”

That she turns and walks away from the fire her voice echoing through one last time.

“But I won't lose and I won't be deposed.”

“You have two options.”

“Kneel or burn.”

The fire continues to crackle as the scene fades to black.