“Karina…”
The voice calls for Karina from somewhere beyond the trashed out room where Karina stands. Whoever belongs to that voice is beyond those walls but so is fire, the immense heat is obvious and blisters the weak walls. Karina looks around with wild eyes. She touches the wall and jumps back in pain. She turns around looking around the room that is filled with old clothes, broken pots and a dirty mattress. She runs to door on the other side and kicks it open.
“Karina….”
She runs down a hallway. Flames reach out from doorframes, licking the ceiling above her until she reaches a room that appears to be engulfed in flames. The walls flow with fire. In the center Aleksei is tied to a chair. Someone has worked him over. His face is bloodied and broken. His left leg hangs in a way that is natural and his coat is on fire. He calls out weakly for her.
“Karina…”
Karina blinks. The flames are gone and so are the slums that contained those flames. It is replaced with the Las Vegas sun. Karina is sitting at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris resort. A young man with a beard and a NYC baseball hat on is trying to get her attention. She looks at the crowd of people passing by as if they are not really there.
“Karina, are you even here? I asked what happened to your brother?” the man ask.
“He survived.” Karina says with a shrug, “I agreed to meet with you because of that movie you are working on. Don’t annoy me with all sorts of questions ok movie man?”
The man laughs uneasily and pokes at some of his food. “I am a documentary film maker Ms Koji, its kind of what I do. I mean for months I didn’t even know if you exist and now I am here with you….and its going to be hard not to ask questions.”
She nods and takes a bite out of a piece of bread. “It is like I am your big loch ness monster and here I am sitting in front of you. You must be freaking out….but why. I don’t just don’t understand why you think I am a myth.”
The filmmaker laughs again and moves in closer to Karina. “As far as I can tell you saved orphans from death, stole money from mobsters and have been nearly married over a dozen times. Not to mention being a pro wrestler, cage fighter and possibly what I can only describe as some kind of hired ninja for a while. You never stay in one place more than a month. You go by many names and your personality seems to shift with the wind…I…I mean I am half expecting you to punch me at any moment or make out with me.” The man then blushes and looks down at his food. Karina chuckles.
She stands up grabbing the bread and stuffing it in her purse. “Don’t believe everything you hear.” She turns to leave.
“Wait…your just going.” The mans says with disappointment.
“Have to keep the myth going Darren.” She says as she walks away. She moves through the hoards of tourist, somehow managing never to make contact with anyone. It is an odd fascinating dance. She moves towards The Aria resort as people go about their lives. At the intersection the swell of people becomes too great and we loose her in the crowd.
*********************************************************
It is night time when we see Karina’s face again. She is dressed in a short purple dress and looks ready for a night out on the town. She sits in her suite looking out the massive windows. In one corner of the room are five laptops set up in a row, all of them are showing different matches that Vixen and Alexis have had. She turns to the camera and sits down so that her face is close.
“I want to take a moment to address those that challenge me for my title belt. I also want to make clear things that were said in the past that are still truth. First of all I want all of the people to know that I am still very dedicated to the art of pain. I am in limbo and do not yet know who I will be after Sunday night. But no matter who I am, my skills will be deadly and I will still know a thousand ways to break any fighter who wants to meet with me in the ring.”
“I also want to make it clear that I still believe Roulette Title is the top title in the world. That means that the two women I plan to do battle with have my respect more than almost any other because both are champions. Both have entered the ring not knowing what form their trials will take and they still rose to be the winners. When I arise from the ashes as champion again it will not just be as Roulette champion, but it will be as the best fighter in the SCW. To that end I plan to prove to what ever low level talent who walks away with the “bombshell tittle” who runs this division.”
Karina smiles in a predatory way and reaches down for a bottle of vodka. She takes a long sip and runs a hand through her hair.
“To Vixen I say hello again. It has been too long since I have addressed you. This match on Sunday should just be between you and me. The warrior I met in the ring who managed to take that belt from me should have been strong enough to hold on to it. I watched the girls that try to claim to be true fighters and they are so weak….what happened to you? Was it just because I was not around to challenge you or did our match take something away from you that you struggle to recapture. You see…do you see now why it is foolish to hold on your values and beliefs. You are strong, but can be broken. I can not be broken because there is nothing to break. I will come to meet you in the ring with none of my baggage. I have no anger for you or even any regard
“….I have studied your tapes and know how you fight. You are the same old Vixen but just weaker. If you want to challenge me at all girly you better dig deep and tear yourself open. You could be so much more and when I crush you….it will be such a gift. Imagine how much better you might become.”
Tears build at the corner of Karina’s eyes and her smile fades. She takes another drink.
“Alexis, we have not met formally. I was the woman who made you scream out like a wounded animal. I watched your little promo and I am happy to hear that you liked the Wolf Bite. I will put you in it again. You of course also have potential. You are a talented fighter who has few limits. You like pain and blood. You dance with the shadows and I can respect that. Part of me wants to dance with you…but then again part of me want to break your jaw so I don’t have to hear you waste air with pointless words. You think that your Brotherhood gives your strength but the hold you back. Maybe if I was fighting all of you…your pure power brought to the ring we could have a real contest…but that will not be the case. You are all dark and no light. You are a fire that burns bright but a fire that I can move around. A fire that I can put out.
I think it is good that you have the title. I worry Vixen alone would not be a strong enough challenge for a rebirth as brilliant as mine. You have made things interesting and for that I thank you. I will break you gladly and your screams will be my working song. I have had a taste of how sweet your pain can taste, sister….but I want more. I will have more. I will take the belt from you but someday if you can break the chains of your family…well perhaps you can take it back. But Sunday will not be your night.
Karina claps her hands and finishes off the bottle. “So rest well my roulette sisters. Enjoy the pleasant sensation of not feeling immense pain. Be glad for ever movement you make that does not make you wince, because at High Stakes I must make examples of you. People have forgotten what Karina Koji had in store for the SCW. They have forgotten how she planned to dominate and now a great rebirth will take place. I will rise as something more stunning and terrible then before….and when people curse my return…or thank me for it. I will tell them it was the sacrifice of Vixen and Alexis that made it possible.
