[Christian Underwood]

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

[Victoria Lyons]

These talent meetings were something of an annoyance to Victoria. She found them unnecessary and she didn’t like hearing Coach Kaiser praise Cleo as the leader.  Cleo Phillips may have had her World Championship, but had she ever held two championships at once? No. She had not. Only Victoria had done that, but somehow Coach Kaiser and just about everyone else around the school saw Cleo as the top leader.  At least Alexander wasn’t having it either.

“Victoria…our dual champion.” she heard Coach Kaiser approach her, “I have to say, you have exceeded my expectations.”

“Well, of course I did.” said Victoria, “Perhaps you should know your students better. You held off giving me a contract for far too long after HWL closed. Now you see that I was one of your best all along.”

“All I wanted was to give others a chance.” he said, “Now we have four talents across two companies and each of them, this includes you by the way are seen as some of the biggest threats in their respective companies.”

‘Yet only one has two championships.” said Victoria arrogantly

“And I’m proud of you for it.” said Kaiser, “But let’s not forget you already lost to Luna once, if you’re not careful you will find yourself with one once again. I know you can do it, but you need to do what you do better than anyone."

Victoria raised an eyebrow curiously, what was this now?

“Oh and what might that be?” she asked.

“Get mean.” Coach Kaiser told her, “Nobody is willing to get as mean as you are, and to beat someone like Luna Pasilno you are going to have to get absolutely callous. Luna isn’t going to play nice, and I know you’re not either. So show her who the mad queen of SCW is and take her fucking head off.”

Get mean? Callous? Yeah she could get with that. The Mad Queen could certainly make her presence known, and show Luna just what happens when someone tries to take her precious Rue away from her.

“You want me to be mean?” she grinned, “I can do that, I can definitely do that.”

“Good” Coach nodded at her, “Because as much as many don’t like it, you’re callousness is your biggest strength. You had Bella Madison so angry, it messed with her focus. That’s what you do best, get in their heads.”

“Well, Luna is a bit to smart for all that.” said Victoria

“Which is why you need to be extra callous. Because you know Luna will.” said Coach, “She’s not going to care what she does to you, so there is no reason for you to play nice here. Remember you are the Yin, the darkness of your team. Show Luna why your darkness shrouds all, and show her no mercy.”

She looked into Coach's eyes, motivated. All he wanted her to do was be mean, be vicious. Show Luna who the real apex predator is around SCW and tear her limb from limb.”

“Deal.” she grinned.

“Alright, you’re all dismissed.” said Coach, “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

With that everyone went back to their business. Alexander sauntered off to god knows where, and Cleo went off about her business, none of which concerned Victoria. But Eddie was her tag team partner, so he was at least somewhat her concern.

“So, that get you more motivated for your match?” she asked Eddie as she approached him, “Seems like Coach has his doubts.”

“He can have them.” shrugged Eddie, “I believe in myself, and I know he’s only trying to motivate me further.  Pretty soon, you’ll be teaming with the world heavyweight champion, and we’ll be the best team in the company.”

“We already are Eddie.” said Victoria, “We’re the mixed tag team champions remember?”

“But we’ve only just won them.” said Eddie, “We have yet to defend them, and while we both may be focused on High Stakes right now, we have to keep our tag titles in mind as well. Finn and Kayla will likely come for a rematch, and you know The Conspiracy is licking their lips to get a chance. We have Miles and Calaway in the wings as well. If we are the best team, we’re going to have to beat all of them and prove it.”

“Well, once I’m done with Luna, she won’t dare try come after another of my championships again.” Victoria smirked.

“Fair enough.” said Eddie, “But you know I’m right. We can’t call ourselves the best team until we get some more wins under our belts as a team. We shocked the world when we won them, but we still have to prove we can be champions. You should understand that, with Rue and all.”

“You’re not wrong.” said Victoria, “But we’re not defending the mixed tag titles at High Stakes. So right now, it’s best we focus on what we have ahead of us right now. You have a rumble to win and I have a championship to defend.”

“Fair enough.” said Eddie, “But it’s something to keep in mind. Still you are right, we should focus on our Mind Games matches for now, so you make sure Luna is taken care of and I’ll do my part and win my rumble so I can face the World Heavyweight champion.”

“I like that idea.” said Victoria.

The both nodded at one another in respect, and headed off to do whatever it is they needed to do to prepare for their respective matches on their way to becoming the best team in Sin City Wrestling.

__________

With both championships hanging on either side of her, just on the headrest of her throne she sits on, we open on Victoria shaking her head as if disappointed.

“I was hoping for more from you since you won this opportunity.” said Victoria, “But what have you really done since? A loss to the rookie Cassie Wolfe? Seriously? Maybe you aren’t as ready as I thought you were. I mean look at me, since Violent Conduct, I’ve added another championship to my resume, and even defended Rue once.”

She pauses for a moment with a sly smirk

“And no.” she said, “You had nothing to do with that. I would have beaten Mercedes Vargas no matter who the referee was. So don’t get cute and try to take credit for my hard earned victory because it had nothing to do with you.”

She smirks again at the cameras.

“I was hoping you’d emerge as more than just Alexander Raven’s partner, but here we are.” she said with a shrug, “And that’s all you still seem to be. You aren’t ready to be a champion at this point, maybe Raven and the boys are, but not you. You add nothing to The Conspiracy. I may have lost to Kayla Richards, but at least I lost to a champion, not a loser like Cassie Wolfe.  I was really hoping to see you truly rise as the leader I know you can be, but I guess you’re content to play second fiddle to Kevin Carter.”
 
She laughs to herself, amused.

“I told you. I wanted to see you as the one directing traffic.” she said, “You should be the one giving orders to those boys. But you’re not are you? You’re just the useless chick. I really really hoped for more from you, since you have the honor of being the first to defeat me. But you have failed to keep any sort of momentum going for yourself. Shame really. I did consider you to be among the top three Bombshells in the company alongside Kayla and myself, but perhaps I should consider Alexandra Calaway or Bella Madison., because your inconsistency makes you unfit to be a champion.”

She smiles as she looks proudly at her two championships hanging behind her on the throne.

“All you have is your one victory.” said Victoria, “And yeah you get to talk all day about being the first one to beat me, but understand that’s all your ever going to get. You won’t be taking my Rue from me, because deep down you know. You know you never really beat me that night. I let Bella Madison get in my head and distract me. I beat myself that night, and that’s on me. It won’t happen again.”

She looks back and pulls down the Roulette Championship, resting it on her shoulder.

“So if you think just because you beat me once means you’re going to walk in and take this from me.” Victoria continued, “Then that will be your ultimate mistake. Because my mind is clear now. I have only seen more success since our last encounter, and you as they say in the NFL, dropped the ball, and now I’m going to collect the fumble and take it all the way to the endzone and walk out of High Stakes, still Bombshell Roulette Champion and STILL the only dual champion in this company.”

She gives a confident and intent stare into the camera, one we’ve seen from her before when she’s feeling particularly motivated, a look that must run in the family because we’ve seen it from Eddie Lyons as well.

“I’m still the queen of SCW” she continued, “Nothing has changed, other than adding another championship to my collection. So, Luna do you really think you can do it? Do you think you can be the one to dethrone the queen? Because I’m not the same Victoria you faced last time. When it comes to Rue, and when it comes to Tegan,it awakens something more in me. A motherly instinct perhaps to protect what’s hers? Like a lioness protecting her cubs? Whatever it is, you’re going to find out how vicious I really become when one of my girls are on the line.”

She pauses for a moment, posturing around in her throne.

“I’m just saying Luna, resting on your laurels would be your biggest mistake.” she continued, “I’ve very clearly moved on from my first loss, but I wonder if you’ve moved on from being the one to hand me it. Because it’s really all you got. You need that win over me to make yourself feel relevant. You need ME to feel truly relevant. Had you not gotten the victory over me that night, you probably wouldn’t even be here. But you know who would still be? ME. Because I am the SCW Bombshell Roulette Champion and nobody is taking that away from me. Not you, not Bella, not Calaway, Song or anyone else who thinks they have a chance.”
 
She takes another short pause, gazing proudly at Rue on her shoulder.

“So tell me Luna.” Victoria said, “What, other than one fluke victory over me makes you think you can stop me when Rue is on the line? What’s your excuse for losing to a no talent hack like Cassie Wolfe? I can tell you why I lost to Kayla. I lost to Kayla because I fought TOO hard. So hard that my own body took over and forced me to stop. Perhaps that speaks to Kayla’s skill, but again she’s a champion. Cassie is a useless nobody. At least I lost to someone with an actual winning record. Now it’s time to expose you as a fluke and sent you back to the land of irrelevance."

She laughs to herself again.

“The Luna Pasilno experiment  is over.” said Victoria, “It will be deemed a failure and you can go back to simply wishing you were as good as your betters. It really is a shame, because I really did think better of you. But I suppose some can’t handle the success when it comes to them, and others?”

She looks at the Roulette championship on her shoulder, before taking down the mixed tag championship as well and resting it on her other shoulder.

“Other thrive.” said Victoria, “So which are you truly? Can you thrive Luna? Or will you fizzle out and continue to be a background player in the career of Alexander Raven? It’s up to you, because THIS Luna, THIS is the ultimate test for you. Forget your previous victory over me, this will be the match that matters between you and I. It will either prove everything I’ve said right, that your win was a fluke and it was only due to the Bella Madison distraction that you even defeated me, or it will prove me wrong and perhaps you do belong among the elite of this company as I originally thought after all. Still doesn’t change the loss to Cassie Wolfe though.”

She laughs again, she seems to really like hammering that point home.

“Sorry, it’s still just so unbelievable because I honestly know you’re better than that.” said Victoria, “I mean you must be so embarrassed. You’re supposed to be in contention for a championship, and you let a waste of roster space beat you. I can assure you I would have made an example of Cassie and make her scream in pain.”

She shrugs.

“That’s just me though.” she continued, “Now, it’s my turn to embarrass you. It’s time to show you what happens when the queen has a clear head and has no distractions. I’m sure you like the sound of that too. Because it means no excuses if you beat me right? Is that gonna be your clapback to all this? Maybe, but you won’t beat me. Not this time, this time it’s my turn and I’m going to embarrass you even worse than you have been embarrassing yourself these past few weeks and you will be forced to admit that I am in fact, better than you. You don’t like it? Then do something about it. But you won’t because deep down you know you can’t. I am walking into, and out of High Stakes as the SCW Bombshell Roulette champion, and you Luna Pasilno will be left broken in my wake.”

She straightens up her posture, looking proud making sure both championships can be seen clearly on each shoulder, as she wears her smile of confidence while the scene fades to black.

__________

She hadn’t been home in sometime, but somehow the time felt right. It was just her mother here now since her fathers passing eight years ago now. She stood in hallway, looking at a picture of her mother and father both holding world championships. They were so young and youthful.

“He’d be proud of you, you know.” she heard her mother’s voice approach her.

“I wish he was still here.” Victoria said

“Me too.” her mother said, as she felt her hand touch her shoulder.

“And we don’t even know if Vincent is okay.” said Victoria.

“I worry about your brother every day.” her mom told her, “But he’s as tough as they come, wherever he is I’m sure he’s going to be alright.”

“I hope so.” said Victoria, “I know he’d be proud of what I’ve done in SCW as well.”

“He would.” her mother said, “And I am too. But we can’t sulk over the boys forever. Vincent made his decision to go sailing around the world, and I miss your father every day but he’s gone. Both of them would want you to keep doing what you’re going and make the family proud.”

There was a moment of silence, Victoria truly did miss her father and brother. Perhaps thats why she acted like she did sometimes. She couldn’t be this open with anyone else other than her mother Kristen Lyons.

“That’s all I really want, is to do the family proud.” said Victoria. “Am I really doing a good job?”

“Well I’m proud of you, and I know your Aunt Cadney and Victoria are as well. You’ve truly got a little bit of all of us in you.” said her mom

Cadney Nyushiin and Victoria Hamilton were not  blood related to Victoria, but rather two of her mothers best friends who she had formed a sort of Charlies Angels girls group with at one point in her career. Victoria had been named after both of them, her full name being Victoria Cadney Lyons.

“We ran into Aunt Victoria back in HWL…I remember that.” said Victoria

“She was always a fighter through and through.” her mom continued, “You have her fighting spirit, and just as tough as she was too. She was never the biggest in the fight, but she always had that firecracker energy.”

“I never really got to know Aunt Cadney well.” said Victoria, “What was she like?”

“She was a leader, through and through.” her mom replied, “Became commissioner after she retired. She did well keeping your Aunt Victoria and myself in line. Unfortunately I haven’t heard from her in years, last I knew she lived somewhere in Canada, then we sort of drifted apart and lost contact. But you get your desire and ability to lead from her.”

“What about you?” asked Victoria

“Me?” her mom grinned “Oh I was the wild child, they never really knew what to expect and I usually got us into trouble. Try as they might, Hells Angel could not be contained. You get your unpredictability from me, and most everything else…you get from your father.”

Victoria just listened as her mother talked abut the old days for a while. In a way she sounded lonely. She was a widow now, and she had the house to herself since Vincent was gone and Victoria was bus with SCW most of the time. The family dog Bosco could provide only so much company.

She had to visit more. She was all her mom really had left at the moment. She couldn’t let her down either, she had to beat Luna and she had to continue to make sure that The Lyons name is known as one of the best in the industry, and at the top of the pride is it’s head lioness, the new matriarch of the family would be Victoria Cadney Lyons.

__________

An closeup of a promotional poster of Luna Pasilno with the word FAILURE written across it in large red lettering opens the scene, it soon gives way to flame as it burns away to reveal the smirking face of Victoria Lyons.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this Luna?” Victoria asked, “Are you ready for the full power of the queen? The answer, wether you like or not is no. See you hold onto your victory over me because it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened in your career, it makes you feel important. Makes you feel relevant, as if you actually matter. But the truth is, despite my previous beliefs is that you are not.”

She hangs her head, shaking it in disappointment.

“I won’t take your victory over me away, nor will I deny you did earn this opportunity so you’re not as awful as someone like Mercedes Vargas.” Victoria continued, “But you’re just not who I thought you were. Kayla Richards is, but not you. You have been nothing but a disappointment who failed to capitalize on anything. I suppose you think become Roulette Champion will be how you capitalize, but even if you did manage to somehow beat me twice. If you somehow beat me when there is no Bella to distract me, you would be a weak champion, and an embarrassment to the championship. This company needs a strong consistent champion like myself, someone who always comes to fight and doesn’t embarrass themselves with losses to the likes of Cassie Wolfe. I doubt you’d even get past one defense.”

She pauses, as if remembering something.

“Which reminds me, you bitches in the Bombshell rumble.” she continues, “Whichever one of you wins, be careful what your decision is because if you pick me, and decide it’s Rue you wanna go after in December? Just know that I will ruin you and I will ruin your Christmas. You do NOT want to get into it with me, so whomever does win that match should think twice about their decision so they don’t end up making the wrong one. Yes ladies, that is a warning and a threat. You’d all be advised to listen, or else pay attention to what happens to Luna and see for yourself what you could be getting into if you make the wrong choice.”

She glares into the camera with an intimidating gaze for a moment.

“So Luna, which version of you am I going to get?” she asked, “The killer I once saw that managed to end my undefeated streak? Or am I getting the one that lost to Cassie Wolfe? I know I’m bringing the viciousness and I’m bringing the violence. If you bring anything less than a hundred and one percent, you will fail. You will be forced to admit you are nothing more than Alexander Ravens partner, and not a true contender in the Bombshell division. Flashes of greatness don’t make a champion. You need consistency, you need to remain great. Look at what Kayla’s done, what I’ve done. Look at the war we had. That is why Kayla Richards and myself sit as the best in this company, nobody can touch either of us. My reign is far from over Luna, and I won’t be taken down by the likes of you once again. Fool me once right?”

She keeps her signature smirk imprinted on her face.

“I just wish you hadn’t turned out so disappointing Luna.” she said with a feigned sadness, “I really did expect better from you. But the past few weeks have proven that you just aren’t as ready as I thought you were. But that’s okay, I’ll just dispose of you like the rest of the trash and continue toward my destiny of becoming the greatest Bombshell Roulette Champion of all time. I had all the faith in the world in you Luna, but you failed to deliver and you have nobody to blame for that but yourself. Now it’s time for this charade of yours to come to an end, and it will be at the hands of a queen. The hands of Queen Victoria Lyons, The Mad Queen. Long may she reign.”

She adjusts the crown on her head, and winks at the camera with the smirk still on her face, as the scene fades out to black.

_____

[Luna Pasilno]

Coffee and Cigarettes
Scene One | Off-Camera

She was losing him. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she was losing him. Ever since he had finally managed to get rid of Vita Mors, he had been growing progressively distant. She could see the cracks beginning to show. She could see the collapse of his mind. The more she reached out, the less she seemed to be able to reach him. He was even more gone than he had been when he had a little space demon possessing his mind. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to deal with it all.

Her brother was gone. Her husband was collapsing inside his own mind, and for whatever reason, there seemed to be this almost cult-like obsession from people who they hadn’t really heard from in a long time. Talking with Harrison she’d learnt that people who had reconnected with Alex over the last year, people who had been at the funeral, or simply been following his career. People who had once obsessed with them all. Fanatics, that was one way to refer to them. Disciples were more accurate to what they had once been. Former members of The Conspiracy. Of the Kingdom of the Broken.

Part of her missed the idolisation that had once existed there. Missed the fanaticism. But only a small part. She didn’t miss it enough to be losing everything that she had been scrounging for. To lose the only thing that she truly had left of her life. Of her own life. Of being grounded. She didn’t want to lose him if it meant being obsessed over by people who were simply sycophants. She didn’t want to lose him if it meant losing everything they had worked for. To see him collapsing into his own mind. To see him collapsing and not be able to do anything about it.

Luna wasn’t sure if she could do this. She’d made the calls. Made the connection, but knowing the face she was about to see. Knowing who was going to be sitting across from her. It didn’t matter knowing that it wasn’t him in there anymore. It didn’t matter that Sullivan Pleasant was being punished in the most eternal of senses for his actions. It didn’t matter if she was truly going to be talking to Vita Mors. He was going to be wearing his face, and she didn’t know if she could deal with that. Deal with staring into the eyes of the man who had killed her brother. Look into the eyes of the person she would never forgive. Even if it was a mask.

Sitting in this little cafe, her stomach was turning in knots. Sitting in this little cafe she was dreading knowing that he was going to be there. Knowing that she had to just pretend like every fibre in her being wasn’t resenting being here. Resenting that she was making a deal with the devil in order to try and find some semblance of sanity in her life. To find some connection to the world that would protect everything she’d worked towards. She felt sick. The smell of coffee wafted up into her nose, but it wasn’t reassuring in the slightest. It did nothing to soothe her mind, nothing to soothe her body. Nothing to keep her calm. Once, Alex said the most reassuring smell in the world was that of coffee and cigarettes.

It was reassuring because it reminded him of her. She’d been sort of offended at the time. Offended that he associated her with vices and addictions. Associated her with the scent of stale cigarettes and coffee. She’d put on so much perfume, wash her hair more than she really should have. He always told her she smelt nice, but. He missed the comfort in knowing her with her guard down. Missed the comfort in knowing he could be anywhere in the world, with a cup of coffee and a cigarette and be reminded. Be reminded of the woman he loved. Be reminded of what he was doing all of this for.

Whenever she smelt coffee, part of her mind was soothed. Soothed to know that it made her think of him. Now she wasn’t sure what he was thinking at all. He was barely home. He barely called, and when he did, he seemed so distant. She’d been granted a bit of time away, and that meant she’d had so much time alone. So much time to herself. So much time to think and overthink and tie herself up in knots. To even consider making this meeting. To even consider jumping back in bed with the devil after they had worked so hard to be free of the creature. To be free of the dangers. To be free.

Today she wasn’t soothed by it. She wasn’t soothed by the smell of coffee. She barely noticed the cigarette hanging from her lips. She barely noticed the world. She just looked at the empty across from and wondered if Mors had simply decided she wasn’t worth the time. That they had nothing more to give him now that they had secured him a ‘vessel’. Yet the approaching footsteps told her differently. It wasn’t however, the grinning face of the man she once knew as Sullivan Pleasant sitting across from her. No, it was someone she only very vaguely remembered Alex talking about. Ashton Mire, Head of Relations.

“Excuse my tardiness, I haven’t been entirely cognizant of time lately. I feel almost like I have only just woken up again. It is a strange feeling. Mr Vita Mors sends his apologies, but he is currently tied up in other business.” Mire said as he placed himself into a seat opposite her. He looked awful. His skin was pasty, there were evident black veins crawling up the side of his neck. If not for their pulsing they could probably pass for bad tattoos. He looked like he was ready to collapse at any moment. She was kind of upset by it.

“Maybe this was a bad call. Maybe I’m just wasting my time. I need Mors to fix whatever the fuck he did to Alex, and instead he sends you. He sends a middle man. He sends a fucking lackey.” Luna’s mild irritation quickly turned to a roaring tempest. It didn’t take much for her to flip that switch these days. Maybe the loss of the peace keeping dreams were taking their effect on her too. She wasn’t entirely sure. Ashton tried his best to smile, but it was hardly reassuring. He looked pained.

“Please, do not take my presence as a slight. I have the ability to make decisions on behalf of Mr Vita Mors, and offer all we can. Unfortunately, what you seek may not have the outcome you wish. Truly, the time they spent together would have been… corrupting. There is nothing to fix, even if it seems such a difference has occurred. When the one became two again, barriers and insight into existence were broken down. What is happening could be seen as… the reassembling of his mind.” Mire continued on, smiling as a coffee was placed down in front of him. The server looked as concerned about his outwardly ill appearance as Luna.

Luna’s concern however did not extend beyond her furor. Beyond the red she was seeing. They had ruined his life. They had ruined her fucking life. They had manipulated and controlled Sean, they had manipulated and controlled Alex. If what they had been told was true, they even tried to manipulate and control her brother. They were walking on spikes, and she had little care if they slipped and impaled themselves upon them.

“So you’re telling me, you can’t do anything. You ruin our lives, and you simply wipe your hands of it. Mors cares so little for the bullshit he pulled, that he can’t even bother to come and tell me himself. Sorry if I don’t quite believe this shit. You’re going to help fix him. You’re going to fucking fix all of this.” Luna said, her words laced with venom and vitriol. She was seething, the red creeping in on the edge of her vision. She wanted to reach across the table and throttle him. She wanted to knock the smile that seemed to never leave his face. Why the hell was he smiling?

“I suppose, there are a few things we could do. A form of ‘therapy’, if you will. Rebuild the mind, purge the memories of what was, is, would be and would never. Give you back the man you think you love, in place of the man you should love. The uninhibited and open, for the protected and sheltered. We could… organise this, if that is truly what you want.” Mire said, his voice betrayed the arrogance of the words. He was pained, there was a slight wheezing when he spoke, and he was struggling. She could see it, she just really didn’t care.

“Fix your fuck ups. Don’t you dare try and tell me about who I know, and who I love. Just fix the pain and ruin you and the weird masked freak have caused. Fix it, and then never, ever step back into our lives again. That’s the least you could do.” Luna said, throwing her own cup of coffee at him across the table. Splashing in his face, and on his chest. It would have been more impactful if it hadn’t gone cold twenty minutes earlier. Ashton’s smile faltered for a moment, simply sighing and shaking his head.

“We’ll send some people to rectify these issues. It’s been a lovely experience, Mrs Pasilno. I look forward to never seeing you again.” Mire said, dabbing his face with a handkerchief he pulled from his suit jacket. He stood slowly, leaving the coffee he’d ordered completely untouched. Money for it, plus tip, left on the table. She nodded his head to her a little, and turned away. Walking off and leaving her alone again. Leaving her to her thoughts.

She really hoped she hadn’t signed a death warrant. She pulled her phone out and looked down at it. Stared at the picture of her, Alex and James, from their wedding day. Jimmy looked so frail in it, but it was the last happy memory she’d ever have of him. She never wanted to forget the last moments she had with the two loves of her life. Her husband, and her brother. She never wanted to lose that. She unlocked it, opened her contacts and pressed a name.

“Hey, you okay? Something in my belly made me worried. Sorry, I know it’s silly, but… we miss you Lexi. I can’t wait to see you when you get home.” Luna said, some part of the brain tingling. She had a sickening sense of deja vu. Has she had this same call before?

“I want to come home.”

Pixie Delusions
Scene Two | On-Camera

“At the start of this year, I said it was going to be my year. That this was going to be different. That people weren’t going to get to laugh at me anymore. There’s been a few stumbles since then. I failed to win the Bombshell Internet Championship. We failed to win the Mixed Tag Team titles, but. There were moments of hope. Moments of chance. I won the Blast from the Past tournament. My first time in it, and I went all the way. Not only did I go all the way, I beat the perpetual thorn in my side Alexandra Calaway, and my own husband. I beat my own fucking husband for the chance to become the Bombshell World Champion.”

“And I lost. I had all my hopes riding on that. I had all my desires, all my wants. I had it all riding on that, and I lost. I just wasn’t good enough, I just wasn’t ready enough. I was the one who let us down. I failed to win the Bombshell World Championship. I was the one who cost us the Mixed Tag Team titles. For it being my year, I sure have had a rough time of it. For it to be my year, I sure have made a fucking joke of it.”

“Since I became the number one contender, I’ve had one match. I lost that match. Lost to Cassie fucking Wolfe of all people. I can’t be mad, not really. I can be upset, I can be discouraged, I can be frustrated. But truly mad? No, I don’t think so. See accountability is taking acknowledgement of why and not using it to excuse my failure. No, see, a weaker woman. A woman weak of mind would blame the loss on the fact that life outside this ring has not been copacetic. A woman weak of mind would blame it on relationship problems. A woman weak of mind would blame it on being bored, having lost confidence. That no matter how much I talk about punching in these cunty bitches faces, I’m still overlooked.”

“Most of the time, when people win these number one contender matches, it's a throwaway on the come home Climax Control. A quick cash grab, designed to see if things can be mixed up for the next few months. To see if new or defending champions can keep it up for another few weeks at least. Not this time though. No, for better or worse, even with the stumbling. Even with the loss of confidence, even with the failures. Luna Pasilno is still the main event bitch around here. I’m still the motherfucking money draw. I’m still the one that people want to see at High Stakes.”

“So I got a long break, following a previously long break. Focus taken off me, and put on Alex. Focus taken off me, and put on people like Cassie Wolfe and fucking Alexandra Calaway. Taken away from those who actually fucking matter. Bella couldn’t beat Victoria, but now she’s the pick against Juliana. The insipid unearned nepotism of this company that we have spent all year talking about on full fucking display. Fear of losing their cash cows, but not enough to actively make the changes they need to ensure said cash cows really do want to stick around. Andrea Hernandez comes in thinking anyone actually fucking cares, behaves exactly like she had in the past, and somehow thinks people are actually going to be on her side now. The faux positivity pretending she has changed.”

“Bobbie Dahl and Harper Mason have become such fucking jokes that their stipulation literally involves them being made to be paraded around as a big baby next time their on the show. We’re living in a literal nightmare and nobody is even pretending to hide it anymore. These open rumbles? A fucking joke based on an inability to actually make an effective path to a championship match. Our biggest show of the year, and its not even being headlined by the World Championship match, because Miles Kasey is about as likely to win the World Championship, as it is for Juliana DiMaria to not go on a virtue signalling, fifteen post long Twitter rant, where she’s just ‘got to have a say’. I’m sure she’ll be upset that she's second, relegating the championship she is ‘building up to greatness’ to being nothing but a cool-off after the show opener.”

“We are fucking surrounded by these egregious abuses of the system, and Victoria Lyons is so fucking self-absorbed that she’ll find some way to make this all about her. She’ll find a way to try and convince everyone that me losing to Cassie Wolfe means fucking anything. She’ll find a way to try and convince herself that she’s got something over me, because at least she didn’t lose to Cassie Wolfe. So let us fucking talk about the manic little bitch that is Victoria Lyons.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet sweetheart. Truly, I am. I’m sorry that I’ve been quietly toiling away, and I truly am sorry that you seem to have had your confidence rattled so heavily by a loss to Kayla Richards. Maybe it wasn’t so much the loss that hurt you though, huh? Maybe it’s a culmination of reality that doesn’t quite sit in with your delusions. See I want to put something before you. Put something in front of you to think over, and see how it goes. Now, you lost to me. You make an excuse about Bella being the reason, but the truth? You let your mind slip, and in turn, I took advantage. I did what I said I would, punched your pixie little fucking nose in, and put you down.”

“But you bounced back. You beat Bella Madison, and hell. You even became the Mixed Tag Team champion. You did something I couldn’t do. But this is where my wonders take me. You didn’t win the championships, did you? No, in fact. You had nothing to do with it. Eddie beat Finn. Eddie won the belts, and then when it came to proving that you weren’t the lesser in the equation? You lost to Kayla. Now, I know how that feels. I lost to Kayla, and I failed to take those Mixed Team championships at my own shortcomings. I know exactly how that feels.”

“But, here’s a little bit of a stickler. Eddie can’t beat Alex. Aiden can’t beat Alex. LJ couldn’t beat any of them. Now, history says, you couldn’t beat me either. So, my question is this, Victoria. When Alex retains against Aiden Reynolds, and when I take the Bombshell Roulette Championship away from you, what is to stop us taking those brand new pretty belts too? What is to stop The Conspiracy from living the exact fucking dream you want. To be dual Roulette Champions as well as Mixed Tag Team Champions? What is to stop that from being the outcome? What is to stop us from taking everything from you?”

“Nothing.”

“See, the thing is. I know you Victoria. I know the kind of person you are. I know the world you wrap yourself up in, because I was that girl once. Wrapped up in illusions and deceit. Tricking my mind into thinking I was something else. Surrounding myself with juvenile regression in order to seem like I was unhinged. Detached. Crazy. Obsessive and manic. I know you, because I was you. But there’s a difference between you and I, angel. There is a big difference between us. See when I needed to finally grow up, to finally stop pretending to be something special. To stop pretending like the way I am, made me endeared to literally anyone. That’s when the world truly opened up to me. That’s when I found my way home.”

“So now? Now I take it in stride. I remember the ribs and the jokes. I remember the people who would call me a whore growing up. I remember the people who would insult my family, because my brother happened to just be a little bit different. I remember that pain, and I don’t hide from it. I don’t let my mind corrupt and twist and change so as to suppress it. I relish it. I embrace it. I hold every insult and keep it in my heart. I keep it in there, so when I get an opportunity like this? I don’t fail anymore. I don’t want to fail again.”

“I’m not going to fail again, Victoria. I’m going to punch your fucking nose in, and then rub the blood all over me. I’m going to take your leg and slice into that calf until you’re screaming for release because you can feel every tendon and ligament tearing. Knowing that if you ever get to walk again, it will be a fucking miracle. You want to see fucking psycho, Victoria? I’ll give you, psycho. I’ll give you fucking crazy. I’ll give you exactly what you need, exactly what you want. I’ll show you what it truly means to be crazy. I’ll show you the difference between you and I. I’ll show you where you need to be, and where you’ll never come close to.”

“I don’t simply make promises, for the sake of making them. I make them, because I’m tired of not feeling alive. I’m tired of pretending things can be different. That I can be different. That I can be wrapped up in a fantasy world, like you. This was going to be my year, and for better or worse? I’m still the fucking top bitch of Sin City Wrestling. The uncrowned Queen of Sin City Wrestling. The walking fucking God of this company. I am the Idol of this place. The money draw, the workhorse. The one that everyone wants to see, and part of  the main event making team that is The Conspiracy. Everything we have touched has turned to gold. Everything we do gets the world involved. You are nothing, you will be nothing. You are a gnat in my path, and like all the bugs that piss me off? I’m going to crush you under my boot.”

“See I need you to remember something, Victoria. I’m not just athletic, and I’m not just agile. I’m a fucking brawler. I grew up fighting, I grew up bleeding. I grew up punching and kicking, and breaking fucking faces. If I need to kick your head in, I’ll do it. If I need to snap your arms and legs, I will do it. If I need to hurt you so badly that you cannot step back into this ring, then so fucking be it. I’m going to punch and punch and punch until you cannot breathe, and then I’ll keep going. Violence begets violence and I am violent fucking bitch. This? This is my playground, and you’re simply the bush pervert who is about to get some vigilante justice doled out.”

“I’m coming for you, Victoria. Don’t let my last match trick you into thinking I’m not going to take it to you. Don’t let your own delusions convince you that you are above me. Don’t get thinking that the outcome is going to be any different. I’m going to take your championship, I’m going to break your fucking face whilst I do it, and when you run home crying. Crying about how the mean Luna Pasilno beat your fucking ass, just know. I’m coming for those Mixed Tag Team championships too, and history tells us. The Lyons Den has fucking nothing on The Conspiracy.”

“You want the best, Victoria? I’m going to give you the best. You want violence? I’ll give you violence. You want fucking crazy? Bitch, I’m going to give you fucking crazy. I’m tired of being just the good hand. I’m tired of you yapping little cunts thinking you can waffle and walk. To talk and talk and pretend like it means anything. I’ll start with you, and then I’ll take the heads of every single other one of them. Juliana, Andrea, Bella, Cassie, Harper. I’ll take their fucking heads, and leave you all in the pile that makes up the throne. The Idol’s Throne. I want you to hurt me, so I can feel alive, and know. Know that every drop of blood, every torn muscle and broken bone. All it does is fuel me.”

“I’m going to relish this, and for once. You’ll even know what it is like to be adored by the world around you. ‘Cause if I’ve come to realise anything? It doesn’t matter how hopeful I am, it doesn’t matter how nice. It doesn’t matter what I do. You could kill a baby, and they’d still fucking hate me for simply telling them how it is. You’re not ready for what I’m bringing bitch. Don’t you dare fucking disappoint me again. There is a god, and she is me.”

“The Conspiracy is here.”

[Victoria Lyons]

In her short time in Sin City Wrestling Victoria Lyons had become one of the most successful and controversial Bombshells on the entire roster. Quickly Rising through the ranks to become not only the Bombshell Roulette Champion but now a Mixed Tag Team champion as well.

Her skill could not be denied. She had proven herself at this point and if anybody thought otherwise, they were either just jealous or mad about her actions or decisions she has made in the past. Arrogant as she may be some may argue that she has every right to be considering her success.

Now she finds herself with a chance at redemption a chance to best a woman who bested her and ended her undefeated streak in Luna Pasilno. This time for the Bombshell Roulette Championship for her sweet precious Rue.

This time would be different.[/i]

_________

"I'm just saying you didn't have to be so disrespectful to them”. said Eddie “I know they're my opponents but I still would like for us to come from a place of respect.”

“And that Edward is why you need me.” said Victoria, “You're just too nice about it sometimes you need to let them know how you really feel and if you can't do it I'll do it for you. I'm not afraid to tell them why they're fucking losers from the past who don't deserve shit right now.”

“But we can be more professional about it.” said Eddie.

“Or we cannot give a damn what anyone else thinks and go out there and make sure The Lyons Den is the most dominant force in the entire company.” Victoria retorted. “That's your problem Eddie you're way too passive sometimes.”

“And you're way too overconfident.” said Eddie, "Look you're good Victoria you became the Bombshell Roulette Champion  and you earned all your success in SCW. But you can't get overconfident remember Luna has already beaten you once there's no reason that she can't do it again.”

“ Bella Madison…” Victoria started

“...Bella nothing.” interrupted Eddie, “Luna beat you plain and simple.  If you get too overconfident about it and try to shift blame on anything else you're going to lose your championship you're going to lose Rue.”

“I can beat Luna. I know I can“ said Victoria

"I know you can too just don't get too ahead of yourself about it said.” Eddie, “Don't make excuses for what happened in the past just focus on what's ahead and keeping that Championship as part of the The Lyons Den because if we are going to both be double champions I can't have you losing your championship before I win my world championship.”

“Well now who's being overconfident?” Victoria said with a grin, “You haven't even won your Superstar Rumble let alone the World Championship.”

“You know you do bring up a good point.” said Eddie, “Maybe I have been a bit overconfident and I'll get myself in check before my match but right now this is about you keeping the Roulette Championship.“

“I'll be keeping my Championship don't you worry about that Luna is not going to be ready for me this time.” said Victoria “She'll let her victory over me cloud her judgment and misguide her into thinking she's just going to walk in and beat me again and that's where I strike and and any delusions she may have of actually beating me for the championship.”

“Fair enough.” said Eddie, “But you know what don't tell me tell her cause she sure had a lot to say about you.”

"Well than let's get it done. Let’s send a message to our friend Luna and maybe remind The Conspiracy who the hell we are in the process.” said Victoria

“Sounds good to me Vicks.” said Eddie.

“Please don't call me that.” Victoria huffed.

__________

The cameras open on a well-lit room as Eddie Lyons walks in wearing a white shirt and jeans and he looks to the camera.

“Many times we get so consumed by the darkness.”  [/color]said Eddie, "That we forget what power the light brings. You see Luna you have been too consumed by the darkness and my cousin? She was along the same route but since we've been tagging together and I've put some light into her life she's become stronger and she's become better and she will beat you at High Stakes because the Lyons Den has what The Conspiracy doesn't. Balance."

Eddie took a moment to pause.

“See light and dark often seen as opposing forces.“ said Eddie “Can work together and that's where they find balance and that's where they become strongest. One does not exist without the other, light and dark need each other for survival, they need to work together but the conspiracy perhaps you too have fallen too far into the darkness.”

Suddenly the lights go out and that's when Victoria Lyons with both her championships and crown on her head emerges from the shadows, an angry look on her face as she walks up and speaks directly to the camera.

“First of all Luna you can save me the sob story.” said Victoria with a scowl on her face, “I don't need to listen to how you failed to live up to your potential and how you're bitter about opportunities going to Alexandra Calaway or Cassie Wolfe or anyone else for that matter. Perhaps you're just bitter because I achieved more than you in my short time in this company than you have this  entire year. Now you want to take my Roulette Championship so you can feel better about yourself? No not going to happen sweetheart because I'm not the same woman you faced a few weeks ago.”

She smiles arrogantly into the camera.

“You know I wanted this to be my year too Luna.” said Eddie, “And I had my ups and downs.  I won and lost the Roulette Championship, I didn't win the Blast from the Past tournament mostly due to my partner not pulling her weight but I don't let it get to me I just push forward and try again.”

“And you know I'll admit I leaned on your loss to Cassie too much.” said Victoria “But you know damn well you would have done the same to me.  You showed as much when you tried to rub the lost to Kayla in my face. How would you have reacted if it was Cassie that beat me instead? You would have never let me hear the end of it. You would have laughed in my face for losing to such an unworthy talent like Cassie Wolfe. So why can't I give you the same treatment sweetheart?”

She smiles and a little giggle exits her lips.

“You will experience more disappointment Luna.” said Victoria, “And at the end of the day all your complaining about mistreatment or management putting their attention on other talents won't matter because it will be proven that you are no Idol when you fall to your queen and I walk out still the Bombshell Roulette Champion.”

She makes sure to hold the roulette Championship out at the camera so Luna can get a good look at it.

“You will not be taking this from me." said Victoria, “And you won't be taking the tag titles from us either so you can get that little thought out of your brain princess.”

“Now that I can agree with.” said Eddie “See you sat there and you made the claim that because I'm the one that technically got the pin and won the match that I'm responsible for taking the tag titles to our team. But I say that she works just as hard in that ring as I do and I understand that this is a team effort there is no I in team. We worked together to bring these home like it or not she is just as much a winner as I am. Maybe if you and Alexander Raven understood what actual teamwork is you might actually be the mixed tag team champions.”

“You see what we have and you don't is balance.” said Victoria “That's what's changed with me since my loss to you. I have found balance I have accepted some light into my life just as Eddie has accepted some darkness into his and with that we create balance and that makes us stronger than any team in this company. That's why WE were able to defeat Finn AND Kayla as a TEAM.

Victoria and how do you share a fist bump together to show that somehow some way they are unified as a team.

"See my cousin isn't here to speak for me. He's here to show his support and back me up “ said Victoria “Just like I did for him.  I didn't need to speak for him but I showed him 9my support as his teammate that's what a true team does.”

“Not to mention you brought my name into this.” said Eddie, “This could have been just about you and Victoria but you had to bring up me and the mixed tag titles to stake your claim that you're coming for us,  so just know that if you and Raven want to come at us well we ain't hard to find.”

“So what happens if everything you said doesn't come true Luna?” Victoria asked, "What if Aiden does beat Raven and I retain my championship against you. Will you still consider yourself good enough to face us for the Mixed Tag Team Championships? Eddie's in line to be the next World Champion you sure you're up for that sweetheart? Because from where I stand you're just setting yourself up for further disappointment.”

Victoria takes a moment to pause has she mugs at the camera.

“You won't be beating us for the Mixed Tag Team Championships.” said Victoria, “You won't even be taking my Bombshell Roulette Championship from me. So let your delusion from your one victory Cloud your judgment and think that you're going to get another, cause it ain't going to happen. All you're going to have to live on is your one victory over me. You get the honor of being the first person to beat me and that's it you will not get the honor of taking a championship from me.”

She keeps her haunting evil glare on the camera as she continues on.

“Oh sweet Luna it's been fun.” Said Victoria, “But it has to come to an end sometime and this is the end for you my dear. This is when you realize that all your failures were just meant to be because at the end of the day you can really get it done. At the end of the day Luna you're always going to be a failure and never live up to the potential you think you have.”

Victoria steps closer to the camera, her smirk fading into a cold, unflinching stare. Her voice cutting through the tension like a sharp knife.

“See as much as you may think this is my reality check.” Victoria said, “It's not it's yours. You'll come to realize that you're bitterness,  your self-pity, none of that will save you. This isn't some sort of fairytale where you get to have darkness that makes you stronger. This is where you'll find that the addition of light will burn away your darkness and expose you for who you really are. A failure who just can't get the job done. You'll walk into High Stakes with something to prove no doubt, and you'll come hard no doubt. But at the end of the day you'll realize that you are in fact not on my level.”

With a sharp motion, she turns away, her crown gleaming under the dim lights. The camera studies has it watches her Retreat into the darkness her laughter still echoing throughout the air the sound of a clock chicken is heard as if counting down to the inevitable.

“Best of luck to you Luna.” said Eddie with a shrug as the scene finally faded out completely.

__________

It was almost sunset by the time Victoria reached the cemetery. Long shadows were cast along the rows of gravestones. She parked her car just outside the gate.. The air was crisp and the scent of  fallen leaves lingered in the air as she walked along the gravel path with her boots crunching along the gravel beneath her.

It has been a long time since she had been here. A year or more at least. But she still knew the way, she still knew how to get to the familiar headstone that she was looking for when she found it she looked at the inscription.

VINCENT LYONS SR.
1976-2017
Beloved by his family, friends and fans.

Her visit with her mom had made her think. Was she really being herself out there or was she putting on a show for everyone else?

Brushing away some leaves that gathered at the base of the stone and ran her fingers over the engraving truly missing who she considered to be the most important person in her life. Her father.

“Hey Dad.” she said, her voice shaking “It's been awhile. I'm sorry I've just been busy you know, wrestling, life in general, just how it goes sometimes I know  sounds like I'm making excuses and you probably call me out on it if you were here and you know what you'd probably be right.”

As she rested on her knees she looked at the headstone and memories flooded back to her of watching her father wrestle in packed  arenas. The roar of the crowd as he raised his arm in victory. don't get married because it. He was a larger than life, a true hero in her eyes and he always encouraged her and her twin brother Vincent to follow their dreams.

“Lately I've been different.” She admitted, “Her voice just about a whisper, “I've been mean, I've been angry. Done and said some truly awful things.”

She paused catching her shaky breath as she clenched her fist. She usually was in this open with anybody about her in her feelings not even Eddie.

“It's not like I really want to be this way Dad.” She said, “I don't want to hurt people because I can. I don't want to be someone who just says vile things every time she opens her mouth, but I have to. Because  I feel like it's the only way to survive. That this business doesn't leave room for people who play nice. You always taught us that wrestling was not about winning but showing who you really are. Lately I wonder what if who I really am isn't someone you'd be proud of?”

She sighed heavily, some of the words getting caught in her throat as she spoke.

“I look at somebody like your nephew. I look at Eddie and he's always been such a nice guy and he's doing quite well for himself so maybe there is room for the nice people.” she said with a shrug.

“I tell myself that I'm doing this to make you proud,” she said, “To carry on the Lyons name in a way that matters. But sometimes I wonder am I just chasing shadows? Am I just a girl with a big mouth and some hidden insecurities?”

She shook her head. No.  That wasn't true, she was a dual champion and she had earned her damn right to call herself that and her father he would be damn proud of her. She reached out and rested a hand on the headstone.

“The thing is that I have to do this I have to hurt people and I have to be this way because the world doesn't hand out respect you have to take it and that's another lesson you taught me.” She said, “And if that means becoming the woman people fear, the woman people hate, then so be it I'm doing this for our family and that is all that matters.”

“I wish I could say I was sorry for  the things that I've done but I'm not." She said, “And I'm not going to be sorry for anything I do in the future either. I am the way I am for survival and for legacy and because it's the only way I know how to keep your name alive.”

She stood up with a smile brushing some dirt off of her knees, a new found confidence flowing through her.

“I'm going to keep fighting dad.” Victoria said “For our family name, for you, for Mom, for Vincent and for every other person that carries the name Lyons  I'm going to do my part to show that the Lyon's name isn't just alive, it's untouchable and I'm going to do it my way.”

With one last look at the grave and a smile she turned and walked away heading back to her car. She knew her father would be proud of her and he wouldn't want her to be something she felt uncomfortable being. At the end of the day he would want her to be herself. So if she had to be mean to get ahead then she was going to be mean, she was going to be nasty. She was going to be The Mad Queen.

_________

The cameras open in an empty theater, the rows of seats line the room the room the air heavy with aged dust.  The stage itself is illuminated by a single spotlight illuminating Victoria Lyons, her crown glinting on her head with both championships draped over her shoulders.

"You know Luna, there's one thing about you that's as consistent as your big bad bitch act." she said. "It's  your ability to talk and complain for hours and not say anything really worth remembering. But I wanted to take some time to talk to you one on one without Eddie's influence."

She casually adjusts the Roulette Championship on her shoulder.

“See when we last faced off.” Victoria continued, “You caught me in a rare moment of weakness or perhaps a moment where I underestimated you. But you did it you got the win you beat me. Yet that's where your fantasy starts to crumble.”

She cackles on the stage like a witch and it echoes throughout the theater which is now becoming clear is probably why she chose this setting.

“You let one win convince you that you're owed something more.” she said, "You convinced yourself it means you deserve the Roulette Championship but it's not yours it's mine and at high stakes you will learn exactly why.”

She keeps her arrogant smirk steady on the camera.

“You are so proud of yourself for winning the Blast from the Past tournament weren't you?” said Victoria with a grin, “And you sure were convinced that I did not win the Mixed Tag Team Championships because Eddie was the one that got the pinfall. So by your own logic you didn't win anything because Sean Parker won that match for you otherwise you might be the Bombshell Roulette Champion right now.”

She laughs again seemingly enjoying the sound of hearing it echo through the theater.

“I really don't care about your sob stories Luna.” Victoria said, “Listening to you drone on and on about how Alexandra Calaway or Bella Madison or Cassie Wolfe or anyone else got more attention than you did. That's where we differ. I don't wait for the opportunity to be handed to me. I take it and I make it mine. That's why I'm here before you as the Mad Queen of SCW, and a dual champion.”

She pauses again looking proudly down at both her championships and draw attention to them.

“You consider yourself an idol, but what are you an idol of Luna?”, Victoria asked “Excuses? Failure? Bitterness? You spend so long playing the victim that you don't realize how pathetic you sound. You can say whatever you want about me but I know who I am. I'm the queen of this company and you're just somebody out there still trying to get the part.”

She laughs again listening as it echoes throughout the theater.

“The truth is I've embraced who I need to be to survive in this business.” Victoria continued,  “I may be mean, heartless, cruel even. But the truth is I have to be, because if I'm not someone else will be. I have to be willing to do whatever it takes to be on top otherwise I don't deserve to be here. But you wallow in your self pity so much that you forgotten how to fight for anything.”

She shakes her head showing her disappointment, or perhaps just taunting Luna.

“You've been living in a delusional fantasy Luna where you think you're one win against you makes you my equal.” said Victoria, “But when I leave High Stakes with my Championship still in my hands, you'll have no choice but to face the cold hard truth that you are just not good enough.”

Her laughter echoes throughout the theater once more.

“At High Stakes you will become nothing more than a footnote in the story of my championship reign.” said Victoria. “You'll be forced to go back to your excuses and your self pity. When once again you just could not get the job done, you will be forced to admit that perhaps you just are not as good as you believe yourself to be. Reality can be a cruel bitch Luna.”

She takes another moment to pause.

“You spend so much time complaining about being overlooked in the world not bending to your will.” said Victoria “At one point I probably would have sympathized with you I would have understood but now I've learned something in my time at the top. You can't sit and wait for the world to give you what. You want you have to go out and take it. There are no handouts.”

She scowls and eyebrow and a scowl grows on her face.

“At High Stakes it ends for you.” Victoria declares,  “Your story, all your delusions all your dreams. It all comes to an end and when it does you'll need to blame yourself and the weakness that's been holding you back this entire year. This is going to be your reality check, and the reality is Luna Pasilno you were never meant to be on my level.”

She holds out the Roulette Championship in front of her.

“You see this.” she said, “You're never going to take this from me. You're never going to know what it feels like to have this. You will be forever chasing dreams that you'll never be able to achieve.“

Her laugh echoes throughout the theater one last time.

“Oh Luna you thought you had it all figured out.” she said “But after high stakes you'll just be back to your excuses you're complaining about how nothing ever goes your precious little way so sad. Maybe you can go be the Internet Champions problem after this because you certainly couldn't handle Kayla, and you're not going to be able to handle me. You and Raven damn sure can't handle Eddie and me together. At the end of the day I'm just better than you Luna and everybody knows it and at high stakes it will become known to all who the real Bombshell Roulette Champion is.”

She stands proudly with her championships on each shoulder smirking into the camera as the scene Fades out slowly to black.

[Luna Pasilno]

One Last Night
Scene One | Off-Camera

“I think this is the end for me, Lu.” Alex’s voice was soft, sitting there on the edge of the bed.

It was the first time they’d been together in the same place for a while. Their schedules hadn’t really matched up for weeks, and for better or worse. She was going to take the moment to just be there. What she saw, however, scared her. She knew he’d been slowing down for a while. She knew that his body had been slowly falling apart for a while. But now that it seemed like his mind was going too?

Luna wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing up against his back. Sitting up on her knees, she placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head. He placed a hand on one of her forearms, and leaned back into her. He was warm in her arms, but she could feel the weakness in his shoulders. He’d been suffering from a headache for the most of the day, so they hadn’t really done much. She wasn’t upset at it though.

“You’ve needed a break for a while. Maybe you’ll finally get it. I hope we do. Both of us.” Luna spoke softly, tightening her grip on his shoulders. He nodded a little, then sat up a bit straighter. His shoulders were tense, but the concern part was his breathing. She could hear the shakiness. He hid it well for the most part, but in moments like these. Moments when it was just them, alone, in the quiet. He couldn’t hide it from her.

“High Stakes. That’s the end of it. Win or lose. Doesn’t matter. I’m done. I don’t want this anymore.” Alex said softly, slowly moving her arms away from his neck. Standing up slowly. Standing and stretching his arms out. He’d shaved his head again recently. Shorter than normal. It was the first time she’d really seen the scars on his skull.

She’d always known they were there. He’d taken his lumps early in his career. Lauren had convinced him to give it up all those years ago, when he was lying in hospital with swelling on the brain. The simple truth of it was that he was never going to have a super long career. He’d taken too much damage too early. But seeing the scars, they made that more real for her. It also made her wonder how much of his mental collapse was lingering effects from the attacks to the head.

The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. The more she was aware that James’ collapse wasn’t simply an unfortunate fate. It was a reality of what happens to those who push themselves too far. It was something that was possibly in line for her own husband. It was something she needed to be entirely aware of. That trauma like that? It would be enough to ruin everything.

And then she watched as his knees gave out, and he fell. Watched as he collapsed to the floor clutching at his head. Digging his fingers into his skull. Luna felt like she was watching it all in slow motion. Then she realised the world around her was slipping away. Disappearing. She remembered she’d seen this before. She remembered…

She woke up.
Sitting bolt upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat, she placed a hand to her chest. Breathing heavily, as she scanned the room. She knew she’d seen that before. A memory of an event that didn’t exist. A memory of an event that she’d only been shown in a dream. An event that…

“I heard you weren’t entirely happy with the way I conducted business. I must apologise, that was… unbecoming of me. I’m still unfortunately fully adapting to being… human? To being, different, I suppose.” Mors voice came through, although, it wasn’t truly his own voice. It was that of Sullivan Pleasant. She should have been more concerned about this person suddenly appearing in her bedroom, in the middle of the night. If there hadn’t been so many strange goings-ons these last couple years, it probably would’ve resulted in her screaming.

“Your head of relations is a fucking cunt.” Luna said sharply, pulling her blanket around her, sitting up a little straighter in bed. The spot where Alex had been, empty. She never heard him get up. She never felt him leave. Had he ever really been there? She was certain of it.

“Mr Mire has been under a lot of stress. Please forgive him. It proved difficult to get the charges against this shell to… disappear. Nevertheless, I’m here to make the deal. The deal with the devil you were so concerned about. I like you, Mrs Pasilno. I truly do. As such, consider this pro bono. Mr Rabenschwarz has simply stepped out for a cigarette. Alas, I cannot fix the issue here tonight.” Mors said, sitting in the armchair in the corner of their bedroom. His face was obscured by shadows. She was thankful for that, really.

“Why are you here then? To piss me off? To give me nightmares?” Luna snapped at him, staring daggers at where his eyes would be, masked in the darkness. She could hear him laugh a little, and he sat forward just slightly. Not enough to show his face, but enough to show some level of disdain. He was far less… threatening in this way though. No longer an obnoxiously large creature.

“As a warning. What you saw? That’s not a possibility. That’s inevitable. You are both headed down a dark path, and I need you to understand. When we seal that part of his mind, you may lose him forever. Is that really worth the risk? I wonder. Do you adore him as he is, or do you adore him for what you wish he was? The walls were broken, but I did not cause anything to happen that wasn’t always going to.” Mors said, yet there was no threat in his voice. He just seemed truthful. Like this was… honesty.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“This loss? That’s all Mr Rabenschwarz. Something he tucked away, sure. But not something I made. You risk losing him, if you want it fixed. You risk the inevitable that I have shown you. That’s all. I thought you should know. Unfortunately, plans are in place. It’s too late now. I hope you tell him how much you care.” Mors said, standing slowly. Finally his face hit the moonlight coming through the window.

His features are obscured by the mask. The mask she knew belonged to Mors. The mask she knew covered the face of her brother’s killer. The mask she knew ruined everything. She was not thankful for it. She hated that she was trapped in life like this.

And then with a blink, he was gone. There was nothing to even suggest he had been there. She heard the balcony door sliding. She heard it close and Alex’s bare feet thudding on the floor back to the room. He looked drained, but he still managed to smile at her.

“What are you doing up? Bad dream?” Alex asked, and Luna did her best to try and smile. But she couldn’t. Not today. Not tonight.

So she cried.

Disappointment
Scene Two | On-Camera

“Disappointment. I was a disappointment to our illustrious queen. I was a disappointment to the woman who spends more time talking about how lacking others are, rather than focusing inward. Rather than focusing on what she has to offer. Rather than focusing on what she could be doing to make herself anything other than the rampant joke and the detestable filth that wallows at the bottom of people’s boots. Victoria Lyons wants to talk to me about being a disappointment? Oh, honey. We’re going to see what a fucking disappointment looks like.”

“The woman who has done nothing, was expecting better from me. How sweet. She had such high hopes for me, and because I didn’t live up to her fantasy, thus disappointment. Disappointment because she’s already been shown what happens when she steps in the ring with me. Disappointment because I didn’t simply give into her tiny little warped view of the world. Disappointment because, forbid it, I didn’t do exactly what she wanted. Oh sweet, sweet angel. Let me fucking tell you what a disappointment is. Let me make it real fucking clear for you.”

“Disappointment is the woman has done everything she actively could to upset people, but being less than a fucking afterthought at the best of times. The woman who thinks so lowly of her own tag partner, that she constantly belittles him by comparing him to my own husband. The woman who thinks so poorly of those she surrounds herself with, that she has to envision herself in positions that belong to others. Belongs to others because at the end of the day, the delusional queen is nothing more than that. Delusional. Unable to step to the plate. Unable to actively do anything she claims. A woman who has been protected by dwindling at the bottom of the card. That’s the truth of it.”

“Whilst Victoria Lyons has been opening shows, I’ve been closing them. Whilst Victoria Lyons has been fucking begging for attention, I have been showstopping. I have been career ending. I have been breaking, and hurting and bleeding every single woman who dares even look at me wrong. Whilst I’ve been doing things to ensure that nobody could forget me, you’ve been desperately doing everything so that people will just see you. Open their eyes to Victoria Lyons and try to see her beyond anything else than a desperate little girl, who is wallowing in her own pitiable self-image.”

“Disappointment. That’s what you fucking called me. You have the audacity to call me a fucking disappointment, when you’ve done nothing to show that any of the faith placed in you is worth a damn. Distracted by Bella Madison, because you underestimated me. Losing to Kayla Richards, because you just aren’t quite good enough. Soon to be a former Bombshell Roulette Champion, because girl, you aren’t fucking holding onto that belt when I’ve got my sights on it. You’re not going to get out of that ring with the championship, because  I fucking deem it. I will not let you simply overlook this.”

“You want to talk about disappointment? Disappointment is the girl I thought had fucking moxie, turning out to be nothing but another catty, mouthy little cunt. A fluke victory? You want to talk a fucking fluke? You want to talk about tests? Who the fuck have you tested yourself against? You’ve beaten a cavalcade of nobodies and never-wills. You’ve been scraping by on nothing but pure delusion, and now. Now you actually have to step up. Now you actually have to prove yourself. Now you actually have to step to the plate, and the pressure? The pressure isn’t on me. Like you said. I lost to Cassie Wolfe, so I am the disappointment.”

“So what is the excuse going to be when you’re gasping for breath, because you can’t breathe through your nose anymore? What is the excuse going to be when you’re tapping out because you can’t take the pain anymore? What is the excuse going to be when you’re down and out for a ten count? It doesn’t matter the stipulation, it doesn’t matter where fate takes us. The end will always be the same when it comes down to you and me, Victoria. You’re going to lose, and I’m going to relish in the tears. I’m going to relish in knowing you’ll be wallowing in your own self-pity. Your own self-doubt. Your own self-hatred. I’m going to drink in the tears and pain, and know.”

“I’m going to know that every bitchy little word out of you. Every nasty action and behaviour. Every choice you’ve ever made to be in my fucking orbit is going to crush you. See that’s the part that gets me, Victoria. Since day dot, you’ve made it your mission to be fucking involved in my life. Involved in the life of those I love. The more and more I look at it, the more I see. You fantasise about being attached to a group like that of which my husband was part of. You tried to punish Aiden Reynolds by throwing him at Alex after he embarrassed your cousin. Except that one day of power just did not get you the outcomes you needed. You wanted to cosy up to me, paint me up with nice words and love, in hopes that we could be what? Fucking friends?”

“You’re never going to have any fucking friends.”

“You’re an insipid slithering little cow of a pixie bitch. Let me say that again for you. A fucking insipid slithering little cow of a fucking pixie bitch. You’re going to get your face smashed in. Your nose busted, and your pretty little face left a bloodied fucking mess. You’re going to lose everything in the blink of an eye, and then. Then you’ll remember why it happened. Why you can’t breathe, and why you can no longer see straight. You’re going to ask for help to wobble your way backstage, and then you’ll twist and twist the outcome in your mind. To justify it. To claim you lit a fire under me. To try and turn what is a losing situation for you, into something positive.”

“But it’s not true, Victoria. It’ll never be fucking true.”

“You did say something that really gets under my skin. Something that seems to be the same horseshit that gets thrown at both Alex and I. This idea that each of us are lesser than the other. The idea that each of us is the hanger-on to the other. Despite us being two of the most active people in this place all year. Despite us being two of the most fucking successful people in this company, all fucking year. Diminishing is all people fucking have. Diminishing and continuing to tear it all down. You wanted me to emerge? I don’t think so.”

“I think you’re jealous of everything I have, Victoria. I think, as much as you want to focus on the few things you have, you’re jealous of what others have that you don’t. Someone who loves me for who I am. People who respect me. I’m sure it boils your fucking blood that Kayla Richards respects me, and detests you. I’m almost certain it boils your fucking blood that your cousin is a perpetual failure, and my husband is the constant focal point. The true workhorse of Sin City. You can’t trust in your own family to do what you need them to do, and it upsets you to no end. It upsets you to no end that you are the disappointment that you see in everyone else. The disappointment that you want me to be. Projection is an ugly, ugly fucking thing, sweet angel. Yet projection is all I see from you.”

“Ultimate test, that’s what you’re calling this right? You’re calling this the ultimate test, because in your mind the only thing that could truly matter is if I have my eyes set on you. No, the ultimate test for me was picking myself up after the loss of my brother. The ultimate test for me was taking all the upset, rage and hatred. Taking it all the way with me, and proving that I am one of the best here. Samantha Marlowe, Kim Pain, Kat Jones, Eiley. Ask any fucking one of them, and you’ll know. You aren’t fucking ready for what I am going to bring. You aren’t fucking ready for what is in store for you. These aren’t idle threats, these are fucking promises from The Idol.”

“You’re no fucking queen, Victoria. You weren’t chosen by the grace of god, or given the right by anything other than dumb fucking luck. You want to talk about holding onto something? You’ve spent your whole time here holding onto that one success. Holding onto the idea that you did anything of note, because you happened to slap a match together that got a few people riled up. You’re a walking fucking hypocrite, Victoria. The worst part of it? You can’t see the truth of what is right before you. People wanted to compare us at one point. Compare your delusional fucking ass to my ‘crazy’ one. But I’m not crazy, and I’m sure as hell not fucking delusional.”

“I’m just angry. I’m tired, and I’m upset. I’m full of this unending anger for you, for this place, for the fickle fucking fans and for everything that is trying to tear me down every single day. I’m tired of it all, and I only have you to focus that on. I only have you to blame for it all. I only have you to destroy. So I’m going to do that, Victoria. No amount of being ‘disappointed’ is going to change that. No amount of poking and prodding is going to change that. You want me focused, Victoria? You’ve got me fucking focused. You’ve got me locked in. You’ve got me angry and prepared for what is to come.”

“I’m going to hurt you, and I’m going to be fucking happy about it. I’m going to stand over your limp body and hold the championship high. I’m going to place my foot on your chest and hold up the championship you hold so dearly. In such high regard and esteem. I’m going to look down and smile. Smile at the damage I’ve done, knowing that not only are you going to be broken physically. Your mind will be shattering at the mere image of it. That looking up and knowing you weren’t good enough. That the woman who lost to Cassie Wolfe, beat your fucking ass from pillar to post. I’m looking forward to your mind falling the fuck apart.”

“A Queen, that’s what you want to be. I can understand that. So let me let you down gently. For the Mad Queen? There is no happy ending. For the craziest will always be usurped, and if holy retribution is fucking needed than so be it. For there is a God, and she is me. I am the Idol, and the Masochist. If you’re the Mad Queen? I’m the one true fucking Queen. The Queen of the Conspiracy, and the Queen of Sin City. I am your motherfucking god. Don’t you forget it, bitch.”

“The Conspiracy is here. And we’re coming for your fucking head.”