Judgement
Have you ever been waiting for an answer to a question and it felt like your heart was going to explode?. Have you ever been terrified of a decision that ultimately was out of your hands? Have you ever known your life was about to change completely in the space of 10 minutes or less? That’s what Alicia Lukas was being faced with. But it wasn’t really Alicia a Lukas was it?. Alicia was her stage name and a persona that she showed the world. Alicia was confident, arrogant and could be brutal. This was Violet Maxwell. And she was completely different. Here, sitting in this courtroom, waiting for a judge to either give or take her children, Violet was close to tears.
Alicia wouldn’t feel this way.
That is all the brain through her mind. Like some kind of mantra. Alicia would not be this upset, she would not be sitting here with her arms in her lap holding herself like a scared child. Alicia would not have let her ex fiancé sit there and blatantly lie about her. She would not have broken down into tears as she detailed the abuse she went through for years all the while wondering if the judge was actually believing her or thinking that she was some kind of opportunistic liar. Alicia and Violet were two very different people. And she knew it. She hated it. It made Alicia feel sick. In Japan she discovered her voice, she worked hard and became a star. She walked out in front of thousands of people and earned respect. Respect of her trainers, other wrestlers and fans.
But here, back in the United States, back in her home state and country where very few people knew who she was or cared, she felt like a nobody. And there were eyes on her. Her own attorney. Her mother, Ronnie, Ronnie’s attorney. They all stared at her and she could feel it in the pit of her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up. She felt her stomach even her body changed. It seemed to built-up fever pitch when she heard it, the click of the lock on the door behind the front of the court room.
Everyone stood up as the judge turned around the corner. He took his seat and sat down and everyone else did the same. Alicia was breathing in and out fast, the hands of clammy, she felt uncomfortable in her dress. Uncomfortable where she was sitting. Uncomfortable that everyone’s eyes were on her. She could barely make out what the judge was saying, she was shaking so hard I’m so nervous and filled with anxiety. ”The last few days we have heard a list of disturbing things from both sides.” Violet swallowed hard keeping down her breakfast.
Bacon, eggs and sausage was a bad decision.
She closed her eyes tight and focused on her breathing. Her head throbbing and aching. ”And while I cannot verify or find proof for or against the claims made by either party, I can look at the actions and passionate pleas” She could feel her heart racing, hear the beating in her own ears. Her chest erupted, her body tensed up in ways she could never imagine. Her mother reached over grabbing and squeezing her hand. It helped. ”While the children have been cared for by their father, the evidence that he had knowingly and systematically attempted to erase their mother from their lives is unacceptable. So it is of the opinion of this court that Rory and Ryan Maxwell must be returned to their mother Violet Maxwell for full custodial rights..”
She burst into tears. A weight was lifted. Her mother reached over pulling Violet into a hug. Barbara started crying, the first time she had ever seen her mother cry. There was a bang of the gavel, Violet looked up at her lawyer with a tearful smile. Mr Barnett smiled back. ”Thank you.” He gave a nod and picked up his briefcase. Violet took a long deep breath, she looked over at Rinnie. She couldn’t help but smile as he tore shreds off his legal team. His arms flailed, his voice cracked. Violet sat back and looked over at her mother. ”We won….they’re coming home momma.”
They got to their feet. Barbara hold her daughter‘s hand and led her from the court room. They made their way around and outside. As they started to walk down the steps Violet stepped and looked up at the building that she had grown to hate. But now, it was a sign of hope. Violet took a long deep breath, but as sge exhaled the confidence and power returned. Now she felt like Alicia fucking Lukas. And nothing was going to stop her…
Can’t chose your tag partners
”This is so exhausting. Being me.”
Alicia slowly looked up with an exasperated sigh.
”Can I ask a question? Where are my challengers at? Hm?. My defence against Keira was announced with the caveat that I may not be champion by High Stakes. So I said, anyone who wants a shit, just come at me. And then? Silence. When Evie was champion she was calling bombshells out and had bombshells all over her, I became the champion, for the third time, and all of y’all lose your voices. You become silent. A silent majority. Where’s Andrea?. Where’s Roxi?. Where’s Amber? Shit, at this point I’d take Violet Amelia Holt or Bea Barnhart. But nothing, not even Jessie Salco! So now, I’m going into the match with Keira basically cold. Cause I haven’t been booked in anything. Right up to this week. But, before I get into this weeks match and how much of a joke it is, I just want to remind every single one of you bombshells out there that you have had a month to challenge me, and you haven’t, so none of you can whine about my title rain since none of you have the fucking balls to do anything about it.”
Alicia shakes her head and pulls the SCW bombshells championship title up and over the shoulder holding it tight to the chest. The long blonde hair swept over one side of her face has it dangles down just like many of the promotional pictures.
”I’m sure some people must think I’m ecstatic at this match. Because I’ll be teaming up with my fellow well champion. So the whole if I hold up my end of the bargain so will my partner thing should come into play right? The only problem is that doesn’t happen with Jack Washington. Before his match with Alex when he became the world champion, Jack left his partners high and dry because he didn’t feel like teaming. And, that really is a problem because what we have here is a fundamental difference in psychology and understanding when it comes to this business and what it’s about. I’m in professional wrestling not just for money or accolades, I don’t just want to be famous, I want to be the best. I want to finish my career with the highest amount of wins that I can possibly get as opposed to losses. And unfortunately in matters like this that means I actually have to care what my partner does and doesn’t do. And since he doesn’t like teaming with people, and since he prefers personal glory over actually winning improving himself to be a champion, I’m up shit creek without a goddamn paddle or a fucking canoe”
“And I get it, we have this whole champions versus challenges mindset. That’s great that’s just fucking peachy. What would it have killed Mark and Christian instead of doing this knowing that it was going to screw me over, to just team me with Austin?. Instead of teaming with someone who I know, I respect, and I know will actually turn up and do his job. I have to team with an arrogant self-righteous man child who has no idea what it is to actually be professional or champion. Thank you Mark thank you Christian it’s so nice of you when you deliver these things to me. And before anyone gets any bright ideas about me complaining about this match, I’m not complaining about the match I’m complaining about my partner.”
“Because I don’t trust him not to just leave me hanging.”
“The one saving grace about this match is the fact that it’s mixed tag. So if Jack does decide to tuck his tiny little balls back up into his stomach so they become ovaries and leave it’ll still be one on one because then it’ll be me and Keira. But this is supposed to be a tagteam match. I’m supposed to be going into this match knowing that my partner is going to be there ready to take on my opponents partner. I’m supposed to be going into this match knowing that we are going to be tagging in an out in some kind of conducive work. But I don’t know that. I don’t trust him. And I really should be able to, I should respect my partner. After all this is a guy who is the current world champion. He or someone who beat my mental and my friend and the leader of our stable. I should be able to stand here in front of all of you and say I respect Jack Washington.”
“But I can’t, and I don’t. See when he was going against Alex he decided to bring me into it, he brought Austin into it and while Austin will still sit there and show him respect because that’s what Austin does I want. I have worked years to be where I am and even in just this company I have become a star and I am a sure fire Hall of Famer. And when I’m teaming with someone who not only doesn’t respect that but downright pisses on it? You can assume that I’m going to be a very very bad mood.”
Her eyes narrow, she shakes her head and sighs heavily trying to calm herself down.
”now where does that leave Austin? I put in this very strange position where I’m gonna be on the other side of this team but I kind of want to watch Austin beat the crap out of my tag team partner. But if you take my dislike for Jack out of this then we are still left with the fact that Austin is one of my friends. I want him to succeed but that means me succeeding and winning this match affects him. I have to beat someone that I actually care about. It would be the same with Alex was that would be the same if Johanna was on another team or my opponent. And Austin spoke about it last week, momentum. This is the first chance I’ve had to actually be in the ring for a long time. I don’t know why I haven’t been booked, I don’t know why I haven’t had any matches but it just happened that way. So I need momentum going into this match. But sodas Austin. He needs momentum going into a match with Jack for the world championship. He has a chance to become a two time champion.”
“And me winning this tag match could disrupt that. He could get in his head and play with his preparation. And I don’t like that feeling. But the competitor in me won’t allow it to happen. I can’t sit here and not give my all and Austin knows that, just like I know he’s going to get in the ring into everything he possibly can to beat Jack Washington down and win the match for his team. That is what you have when you team with someone from Wolfslair. You get someone who will put personal issues aside and just try and win the match. We can dislike our partners, even hate them, but we will put that aside to do the right thing. And that’s even more true for someone like Austin. In a world where certain people keep saying that we all sound alike? Austin is someone who is different. Alex will win at all costs, Johanna is an angry and dangerous bitch…”
“And me?. Well everyone knows the kind of person I am.”
“But Austin is, well he’s all about honor. He’s all about respect. When Austin gets beaten he doesn’t get mad, hell Kedron cheated to be him, and Austin didn’t get mad. He just kind of shrugged it off and said that next time he would watch a lot more closely and wouldn’t fall into the same trap. When I lost the bombshells championship the first time, when Crystal whacked me over the head and Seleana pinned me, it was Austin who pulled me aside, sat me down and told me that there was no point in getting angry about things that I could not control. We then went and trained and talk some more and by the end of it he had me so confident insuring my abilities that I knew I was not going to make the same mistake twice and that if Crystal came anywhere near the ring while I was having a match I would knock her three ways from Sunday and still be her wife. That is the mentality we have, that is the family that we have. And Austin is a part of that family, he is the heart of the family. And it makes me feel horrible that when I get in the ring this week...I have to break that heart…”
She shrugs but you can see the sadness in her eyes. She clutches the bombshells championship closer to her chest as she stares ahead. Alicia very slowly snaps out of it and looks back up with the camera, she’s a consciously moves the strap of the title belt out of the way so everyone can see that she’s wearing black and red Wolfslair shirt
”You get to benefit from this don’t you Keira?. Think about it, I’m stuck with the selfish world champion he doesn’t like being in tag matches, he will walk out on his partners when he feels like it, and you get the guy who is so honorable that he would never do such a thing and will watch your back despite not really liking you. Now, I’m not gonna comment on our match that should be happening at High Stakes, that’s what is going to happen when we get to that. I’m not even gonna comment about the whole seven deadly sins bullshit that’s floating around everywhere. Again that’s something that I’m gonna drag out under the bus when we are not facing each other. No, instead I’d like to talk about the fact you have this big match coming up and you seem to be more preoccupied with something stuck in your brain and your own wife and Candy than the title match coming up.”
“It takes one look on social media or on the actual shows to see where your mind is at. And this whole thing with your wife and Sin and Candy it’s maddening to me Keira. For so long you’ve wanted a title shot. Not just for any title you want of the title shot against the top title. You kept trying the entire time I was champion last time, and you repeatedly failed, this time though you get your title shot and instead of focusing on that and preparing for that, there’s all of this distraction. All of this inconsequential, bullshit. If you face me and any type of match, whether it be this tag team match or a one on one match you need to have a clear head and a complete understanding of what you’re going to be putting up with when you get in the ring with me. And the Fact you decided to go out there on Twitter and say that you were going to make sure I stay champion, like I need your help, shows that there is a fatal misunderstanding here of this dynamic. So let me explain it to you nice and slow so that even someone like you can understand.”
“You are the challenger. The challengers job is to challenge with the title. It doesn’t matter who the champion is, they just have to turn up and do their best when it comes to winning a championship from the champion, which would be me. My job as the champion is to make sure I stay the champion for as long as I possibly can and to make the championship mean something. I do that by cutting promos on TV shows, by mentioning my title and getting people to tune in on social media and by winning matches. That’s my job. But to do my job I need you to do your job, and what is your job?”
“Is it to constantly talk about this Sin character? Is it to laugh while your bean head wife cucks you on Twitter every Wednesday?. I’m not sure you even know how to be a proper challenger because you’ve never had to do it. But now you do. And as we go into this tag match, you’re going to have moments where you can get information about me. Where you can learn how I act in the ring, you are going to be able to have experience against me and information. And if you’re actually focused you might learn something. Focus on me, don’t focus on the bullshit around you, focus on me, the champion. Because I don’t want a weak challenger, how am I supposed to make this championship mean something again when I don’t have a challenger who actually knows what they’re doing?.”
“So get prepared sweetheart, go talk strategy with Austin, meet myself and Jack in the ring. And let’s see if you actually learn anything or if you’re too blinded by the stupidity in front of you.”
