Finality

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Actions Speak Louder Than Words

On Camera

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Allow me to set a few things straight about Apocalypse.

First of all, Apocalypse is not just some run of the mill fad that comes and quickly dies out and is forgotten.  Apocalypse is a group of committed individuals, committed to the cause of mutual defense, the cause of fighting for one another.  True Apocalypse members do not join and then seven days later leave because the results weren’t to his liking.

That was a pipe bomb, by the way.

True Apocalypse members stick it out through thick and thin.  We fight through the stress and pressures that we are faced with.  We stare down any challenge and spit in its face.  We are not flakes who change our mind on a damn whim.

So if anyone at all thinks that a match between Aerik Walker and myself at Extreme Fury is going to split us apart, if anyone thinks making the two of us fight will somehow be the end of Apocalypse then you have another thing coming.  Apocalypse sticks together no matter what.  You cannot kill Apocalypse.  It may sleep, it may lie dormant, but it will always come back.

Instead of seeing Apocalypse obliterate, what you’re going to see is The Silverwolf and The Phoenix tear it up at the 02 Arena!  You are going to see us give the people of the United Kingdom a true show of class, sportsmanship, and what WRESTLING should be!

Actions speak louder than words, ladies and gentlemen, and we are going to stay true to our Apocalypse mission.  We are going to bring this company, hell this very industry, back from the brink of destruction by illustrating to the world what this industry ought to be about.

That’s what Aerik and I are going to do at Extreme Fury.  We are going to present the people of IWC and its fans with a clear choice of which direction they want to go.  And I am confident of what they will choose.

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Finality

Off Camera

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All of my life up until four and a half years ago I lived with the knowledge that my father, Sean Williams, had only one child and that I was that child.  The Jones-Williams War, though, had begun over me.  My mother, Angelica Jones, kept my birth a secret.  And even after Sean found out, she did her best to keep me away from him.  Eventually, though, she snapped and killed him in cold blood, thinking that his death would be the only way to keep me away from his family and his influence.  My heart was broken, my father was gone, and as sad as it was, the silver lining for me was that at least the war was over.

Four and a half years ago all of that changed.  Four and a half years ago a strange woman began stalking me.  At first her approach was typical of an obsessed stalker but eventually she grew more violent and more aggressive until the day she dropped the bombshell on me, until this strange woman declared that she was my sister, a daughter of Sean Williams.

Now that’s funny, isn’t it?  I never even knew I had a twin sister.  I never even knew she existed.  I should have suspected something when she looked so much like me, identical, really, except she had black hair and I was a natural red head.  I shrugged it off, though, as just an obsessed fan who wanted to look like me.  The truth was truly shocking, as I never knew my father had any other children.

The child’s name was Kimberly and she would pick up where her father left off in the war against the Jones family.  At first she went after me directly, trying to injure me and put me out of the wrestling industry for good.  When that attempt failed Kimberly manipulated me into working with her against my other sister, Jessica Lasiewicz.  When that did not work she finally tried to kidnap me and take over my life.

It seems like with each attempt Kimberly grew more and more psychotic.  It was sad, really, to watch her descent into madness.  To want revenge is one thing, but to go from there to the belief she currently held, the belief that I was some golden child and that she should become me rather than eliminate me was the ultimate in terms of madness.  Now I have to ask myself, has her insanity come full circle?  Is she completely gone and furthermore, how has it affected me?  How has the Jones-Williams war changed me and how I look at everyone else?  Also, and most importantly, is the Jones-Williams War finally over?

Warfare is something I have been used to for most of my wrestling career.  Being a member of a famous wrestling family makes you a target for anyone wanting to make a major impact.  I have constantly  had to fight on behalf of my family name to defend it and to defend myself against others wanting to take me out just so they can say they took out a Jones.  You also have to deal with warfare when you are Apocalypse.

I joined Apocalypse when Glory Braddock asked for assistance and I stood by her side fighting for the Apocalypse cause.  And I always stood by my Apocalypse brothers and sisters, I kept to my commitment no matter what way the wind blew.  No matter how hard it was to be Apocalypse, no matter what new cool fad came along that lured others, I always stuck to my commitments.

Now Desmond Drake looks to try and drive a wedge between Apocalypse by forcing me and Aerik Walker to compete against one another at Extreme Fury with his NHB Title Shot on the line.  What he doesn’t realize is that it will take more than just one match to destroy Apocalypse because Apocalypse is a group that never dies.  It may go to sleep and lie dormant but when called upon again it will rise up and fight.  And no matter what anyone says, Apocalypse members always have each other’s backs.  Always.

I would rather not fight Aerik.  I would rather someone like Karen McBride, who is not booked and wants to be booked, face Aerik if she wants to.  But all of our attempts fell upon deaf ears and it appears as if Aerik and I will have to compete at Extreme Fury.  But that’s ok, because we are professionals and we can take it like the professionals we are.  Just because the people who run IWC are animals doesn’t mean Walker and I have to act like animals as well.

As one war, the war for the heart and soul of IWC, rages on I must now put to rest the war between the Jones family and the Williams family.  It has a war that has taken lives and has ended careers.  It is a war that has broken hearts and souls and it must end.  It has to end and I have to find a way to put some sort of finality upon this bitter rivalry.

So, before running back to the United Kingdom, I have made a pit stop to the mental hospital where my twin, Kimberly Williams, has been locked up.  She had a bombshell for me four and a half years ago and now I am here to drop a bombshell of my own onto her, one she does not yet know about.

Jessica and I are walking down a long hall heading towards the visitation area.  The floors are a plain brown color and the walls and ceiling are an off white.  Jessica is dressed in denim jeans, strappy sandals with a slight heel, and a royal blue button up blouse.  Her long black hair hangs down unrestrained to shoulder length.  I am dressed in a black dress that stops just below the knee and an orange blazer.  My feet are encased in black high heeled pumps and my long red hair hangs down unrestrained to shoulder length.

“You know, Marie, you don’t have to do this.” Jessica chimes in as we walk down the hall, following one of the guards. “She’s locked up.  It’s already over.”

“No, it isn’t over.” I remark staring stoically ahead without bothering to look at Jessica. “Kimberly needs to be told face to face that it is over.”

“Do you want me there with you?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“It has to be me and me alone.  I met her four and a half years ago and she was just as obsessed then as she is now about winning this stupid war between the Jones family and the Williams family.  I am a Jones AND a Williams, only my words can end this.”

Jessica sighs. “I’m glad you’re confident.”

“Trust me, Jess, my words will put an end to this.  My words will protect us both from her and her psychosis once and for all.”

The guard leads us to double doors and he pushes them open.  He holds them open for us and motions for us to come inside.  We stop there and I turn to face Jessica, placing my hands on her shoulders.

“Stay here, Jessica.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I smile warmly. “Thanks for your concern, but I really want to do this on my own.”

“Ok, I’ll be right out here if you need me.”

“Thanks, Jess.”

With that I enter through the double doors, leaving Jessica behind.  The guard leads me to a row of chairs and desks, the desks separated by bullet proof Plexiglas.  I sit down at one of the chairs and I watch as my sister is led slowly to the other chair.  We are separated by the clear bullet proof Plexiglas.  She is wearing the plain white, loose fitting shirt and pants that all the patients wear.

“Hi Kim…”

“Hi Kim…” she repeats what I say before letting out a brief chuckle “…never in a million years did I think you would come to see me.”

She sighs and then leans back in her chair. “But you know, it makes sense in a way.  What better way to continue to torture me?”

“Torture you?”  I shake my head vehemently. “This is not torture.”

“That is where you are wrong, dear twin.  This is torture and you know it.  You said it yourself that death would be easier for me, and it would have.  I would have welcomed death rather than live as an obscurity, live knowing that not a soul cared about me.”

She points a slender finger at me. “I would rather die than see you happy…”

I should not be surprised or taken aback by these comments but yet I am.  I am surprised, shocked, and a little disappointed.  I truly had hoped that Kimberly would have had a change of heart, that somehow she would have grown into a better person.  That was truthfully my goal in letting her live.  Death is too easy for her, she needs to try and get help, real help, and try to overcome her mental problem.  But she seems happy and content with embracing her mental instability.  She seems happy with embracing her jealousy of me and my family and I just had wished better for her.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Kim.”

“What’s wrong, Marie?  Did I disappoint you?  Were you expecting a big change?”

She throws her head back and laughs.  Kimberly then brings her head back to eye level with me, staring at me with ice-cold eyes.

“The quacks in this loony bin will do everything they can to convince me that something is wrong with me.  They will do everything within their power to convince me that I am broken and that they can fix me.”

She points with her thumb out behind her to some of the doctors wandering around in the background.

“They will try but I doubt they will succeed, but if they do succeed I want you to understand right now while I am of sound mind and body that it is all a lie.”

“What’s a lie?”

“Anything they trick me into saying with their mental hocus pocus, anything their fancy medicine gets me say to act out, it’s all a lie.  The truth is what I am telling you right now, Marie, and the truth is that I hate you with every fiber of my being.”

Hearing those words sting painfully, it is so painful that I have to prop my head against the palm of my hand as my elbow is resting on the table.  Kim sees the obvious discomfort in me and laughs nastily.

“What’s wrong, Marie?  Does the truth hurt?”

I look up at her with red eyes. “You know what?  Maybe it does?  But then, why wouldn’t it hurt considering I was just trying to help you by giving you a chance to get real help?”

“Poor, naïve, little Annabelle,” Kimberly shakes her head “she wants to save the whole world and yet what she doesn’t realize is that the world doesn’t want to be saved?”

She turns her head to the right and nods at some of her fellow patients and then she turns to the left and nods at some other patients.  She turns her head back and looks back at me.

“See them?  Many of them are like in that they do not want help.  They are perfectly happy being the monsters that they are and they do not want to change.  And that has been your problem from day one.”

Kimberly and I stare at each other through that bullet proof Plexiglas for a long, tense moment.  It is at that moment that a metaphorical light bulb goes off over my head.

“You know what, Kimberly…you are absolutely right…”

“I know I’m right, you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know, dear twin.”

“I watched those video journals you made and I really had hoped to figure what it was that made you tick, but I never did get it.  I had an inkling of truth when you locked me up in the basement of your home but I didn’t want to believe it, but you just confirmed it for me just now.”

Kimberly furrows her brow. “Confirmed what?”

“You are a monster.  You are a monster and there are other monsters out there in this world just like you, monsters that do not want to be saved.  Oh and as for society, they are even worse because they do not want to take the necessary steps to eliminate monsters such as yourself.”

I rub my hands together as if washing them. “I am washing my hands of this…of you…”

“What are you saying, Marie?”

“I am done playing hero for an ungrateful people who do not give a shit.  I am also done playing by the rules and not getting rewarded for it.  From now on, I take what I want in IWC.”

Kimberly starts cackling like a wicked witch from one of those fairy tales.  A sinister half-grin forms on her face.

“Then I have succeeded!  You truly are my sister…”

“Your sister?” I shake my head. “Oh no, that’s where you are dead wrong.”

I point a finger at her. “You are psychotic and have no business being out there among the public.”

“That’s your judgment.”

“Yes, that is my judgment, and as your legal guardian I can make sure you never leave here unless it’s in a body bag.”

Kim’s face grows pale.  Now it’s my turn to chuckle as I watch realization set in for her.

“That’s right, Kimberly, the courts gave me legal guardianship of you, seeing as your mother never showed up to court.”

“But Emma is…”

“Yeah, I know all about your mother…”

I narrow my eyes and stare at her with an ice-cold glare.  Our intense gaze at one another is almost like a psychic link, one that sends a message to Kimberly letting her know that I do know that her mother is still locked up in her basement and that I have no intentions of rescuing her.

“It really is a shame what happened to your mother, if someone hurt her they should be ashamed, shouldn’t they?”

“Yeah…” Kim’s voice trails off and I almost hear a hint of guilt.

“And as your legal guardian I hold full control over your affairs, which means I decide when you get out of this place.  And you are never getting out Kimberly.  Never.  Dangerous people like you should not be allowed out in public.”

“But we’re the same, you and I.” Kim is grasping at straws now and I can tell. “We are blood!”

“We may be blood but we are not the same.” I shake my head. “I am loved, people care about me.”

I point a slender, carefully manicured finger at Kim. “But no one cares about you.”

“Stop…”

“What’s wrong?  Did I hurt the little psycho’s feelings?” I laugh nastily, enjoying every bit of this. “I tried to make you listen to me, I tried to help you feel loved but like you said some people just don’t want help.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “So let me tell you the truth instead.  The truth is that no one cares about you.  The remaining members of the Williams family are all embarrassed of you.”

I place both my hands over my heart and gaze upwards. “Oh but they love me so much!  They love and adore me because, even though I am a half-Williams, I actually do their family proud.   I actually make a good living as a professional wrestler while you have become a B-Rate Pinky and The Brain copy with your hair-brained schemes to get revenge against the Jones family.”

More laughter escapes my lips. “And that’s the real funny part because here you are trying to get revenge against the Jones family and for what?  Why?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Our own father didn’t want revenge against the entire Jones family, he just wanted revenge against my mother for not telling her about my birth and for keeping me away from him.  He loved the Jones family and he loved me.”

For the first time since I have ever known my twin sister, I see her changing.  I have always known her to be strong in a somewhat psychotic sort of way.  She had always been willing to take on the entire world.  Now, though, I have struck a nerve.  I have truly hurt her and I do not care.  Kimberly is beginning to break down before my very eyes.

“Please…please stop…”

“No, I’m not finished yet.” I grin, I’m getting a sadistic joy out of this. “There’s two more things you need to hear, and the first one is that our father loved me.  He loved me so much that he was willing to move mountains and even sacrifice his life to try and gain custody of me.  And you know just as well as I do that he would never do that for you.  It isn’t that he hated you, he just was apathetic towards you.”

I shut my eyes and chuckle. “People think hate is the opposite of love but that isn’t true.  At least with hate you do care in some way about the person, even if it’s hate.  Apathy means you don’t care and Sean Williams, our father, did not give a shit about you, Kimberly.  He didn’t care enough to hate you or love you.  You were just there.”

I gaze deep into her tear filled eyes. “Oh but you and him are definitely alike in one big aspect, Kimberly.  You both were stupid enough to take on a member of the Jones family.  With him it cost him his life.  At first I was angry with my mother for killing him but now I have to say, I am grateful for her for putting him in the ground.  This war between the Jones and Williams families has to end and it ends right here with you and me.”

Leaning forward, I sneer. “And I’ve won…”

==========

Competition

On Camera

==========

I respect the hell out of you, Aerik Walker.  I really and truly do.  When Apocalypse goes to war, outside of my sister, there is no one else I would rather have my back than you.  You are a veteran of ring wars with tons of experience.  Any time I get to share the ring with you is an honor and a privilege and saying that the two of us are both members of Apocalypse is an even greater honor, an honor that few people get to lay claim to.

It’s no secret that in the weeks leading up to this night at Extreme Fury neither of us wanted to have to fight the other.  It makes me even sicker to my stomach knowing that the only reason this was booked was in hopes that greed and jealously and our competitive spirits, the desire to win, would drive a wedge between us that would inevitably destroy Apocalypse.

Desmond Drake knows that he and his pals cannot alone destroy Apocalypse.  He knows that his best bet is to try and destroy us from within.  That’s his only goal.  He doesn’t care about this match, he doesn’t care about me getting the chance to win your No Holds Barred Title Shot.  He doesn’t care about any of it.

My first thoughts were to pull a similar stunt that my sister did.  Express my deepest grievances regarding this match and threaten not to show up.  It makes sense.  Why give Drake and his allies the satisfaction of watching us destroy one another?

But then I thought, this is a great opportunity for Apocalypse.  This is an opportunity for you and I to show Drake, IWC, and the IWC fans what this industry is supposed to be about.

Competition, you see, is not a bad thing.  Competition is what makes this industry great.  It’s why we have such great matches, because each and every one of us is longing for the same goal; to be the best.

Aerik Walker you are the number one contender for the No Holds Barred Championship and I now have a chance to take that away from you.  My competitive spirit is making it impossible for me to just walk away from such an opportunity.  Walking away is not an option for me.  I will stay, I will fight, and in this tables are legal match I will become number one contender to the NHB Championship.

Success is bred in me, Aerik.  It’s in my DNA because I am a member of the Jones family legacy.  I am a three time world champion, Aerik.  You have held many more world titles than that haven’t you?  You and I both know all about legacies and we both know that legacy is built upon competition.  We will compete and we will give the English fans a show they will never forget.

With every competition, though, there has to be a winner and there has to be a loser.  In this case, there will be two winners.  One winner is the collective group known as the fans.  The fans of professional wrestling will be the winners because they will be entertained by a show stealing performance like only The Silverwolf and The Phoenix can do.

The other winner will be me.

You are like a big brother to me, Aerik.  I love and respect you like no one else, but at the end of the day we are both competitors.  We are both wrestlers and our job is to go out to that ring each and every night and win.

Aerik, I’m tired of being the punching bag just because I play by the rules.  I’m tired of being the good girl, especially considering it does not pay off.  So maybe, for now, the No Holds Barred division is perfect for me, because everything is legal.  And at Extreme Fury, tables are legal and if that means putting you through a table to get to the promised land then I will do it.

We will put on a hell of a show, we will steal the show at Extreme Fury, I will win that title shot.  I will go on to become NHB Champion.  Either one of us can get the job done but I’m sorry to say, it won’t be you doing it, it’ll be me.

After it’s all over we can go and grab a few beers and celebrate knowing that we showed the wrestling world what class and sportsmanship and true fighting is all about.  We are not going to give Desmond Drake what he wants.  We are not going to give the enemies of Apocalypse what they want.  Instead we are going to show them that there is nothing anyone can do to break up Apocalypse and we are going to give them a glimpse into the future of IWC, a future that is dominated by The Silverwolf and The Phoenix.

The Gift

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The Gift

Off Camera

==========

We open outside of the Braddock Wrestling School, which is located on the outskirts of London, England.  It is here where many wrestlers have been trained; including thirteen time world champion Glory Braddock.  This school, owned by her father Glenn Braddock, continues to train the wrestlers of tomorrow.  So much history is contained within these walls that Marie Annabelle Jones and her sister, “The Morning Star” Jessica Lasiewicz, are in awe each and every time they visit this place.

No, this isn’t the first time they have visited this prestigious school, and as prestigious as it is, it certainly does not look like a prestigious school on the inside or the outside.  The grizzled veteran of the mat game known as Glenn Braddock is what most would describe as cheap but he would prefer to call himself frugal.  If it isn’t broke, do not fix it.  If it gets the job done, keep with it, why change?  That is why his wrestling school has been relatively unchanged for decades.

Change can be good and at the same time change can also be bad.  Valentina Madison continues to yap about changing herself like anyone really cares.  Jessica certainly doesn’t care and yet she is expected to, or at least she is expected to care enough to fight her at IWC’s next pay per view event Extreme Fury.

Extreme Fury and Valentina Madison are most certainly the farthest things from Jessica’s mind right now.  No disrespect to IWC, but much disrespect intended to Madison, fighting that little loud mouth isn’t considered very important as far as Jessica is concerned.

“Why are we even here?” Jessica’s voice is rather annoyed.  Impatience is written on her face.  “This is pointless.”

“It isn’t pointless.” Marie says, trying to encourage her sister. “Glory has something for us.”

“It had better be worth our time.”

Jessica pushes the front doors of the gym open and steps inside, Marie following her closely behind.  Once inside the young Lady Gambit takes a look around the empty school and sighs, folding her arms over her chest.

“So, where is she?”

“Right here!” Marie and Jessica turn around to find the retired thirteen time world champion standing behind them.  Glory is grinning knowingly as she looks upon the sisters. “You sound a little impatient, Jess.  Something wrong?”

“That is definitely an understatement.” Jessica rolls her eyes. “Everything is going wrong.”

“Oh now it can’t be that bad.”

“It’s pretty bad, Glory.” Marie responds. “I only just now got back after being kidnapped by Kim.”

“Well you got me there, but what else?”

“Apocalypse in IWC is a failed experiment.” Jessica chimes in. “Too many flakes, flakes like Danny Darko who go based on how the wind blows.  We can’t keep a group together.”

“Well as much as I hate to say it, William Mason was right about him.”

“Oh?”

Braddock nods her head. “Darko is dangerous only when his head is in the game but his head clearly isn’t in the game like it used to be.  You and Marie are much better off without him.”

“Then what do you suggest, Glory?  Apocalypse is coming apart.”

“First of all, Apocalypse never comes apart.  It never dies.  Apocalypse lives forever and that’s not just a cheesy line, it’s fact.  Apocalypse was founded upon the principle of watching each other’s backs…”

Glory places both hands on Jessica’s shoulders. “…and Jessica, you have to believe that while some members come and some will go, there will always be an Apocalypse member ready to stand by your side and fight to their dying breath with you.”

Marie places a hand on Jessica’s shoulder as well, prompting Jessica to turn and look at her sister who is smiling warmly.

“That’s right, Jess.  If anything you have me.”

Jessica looks back at Glory who just nods her head. “Apocalypse isn’t a standard organized faction like Sinistry, Chase Global, or any other run of the mill group that comes along.  Apocalypse is a force of nature that will never go away and cannot be stopped.”

“That’s all well and good, Glory, but what does this mean for Marie and I?”

“Simple.  It all goes back to FWA’s End of Worlds pay per view.  Isis Derrida assaulted my father.  I was ready to take on the world by myself after that I was so angry but you and Marie stepped up and volunteered your time to help me out.  You stood by my side and took on the world with me and together we took down Derrida and his cronies.  And now I am going to return the favor.”

“But I thought you said you were retired?”

Glory nods. “I am retired, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you out.  I said I was going to give you a gift and I will.”

Footsteps from behind Marie and Jessica cause them to turn around and see who it is coming towards them.  Their eyes grow wide with shock upon seeing Sophie and Mark O’Brian, better known as Total War.

“May as well wrap a bow on our heads then…”

“See, I told you this would be a good idea!” Mark says, pointing to the pink bow he tied around his head.  In response Sophie smacks Mark on the back of his head.

“You are a disgrace to ignorance…”

Jessica looks back at Glory. “Seriously?”

“Sophie and Mark have been very loyal to my father, not that they’ve needed to…”

“Hush that talk, mate.” Sophie retorts. “Your father saved our lives once and we owe your family a debt of gratitude.”

Glory rolls her eyes. “Whatever, point is, Sophie and Mark are my best mates, instead of doing whatever I ask, I’m asking them now to do that for you two.  You say the word and Total War will go to war with you.”

Sophie nods her head. “That’s right.  Anytime, anyplace, Mark and I will fight with you.”

Jessica smiles warmly. “Thanks Sophie…”

She looks back at Glory. “…but I’m not sure I’m going to be in IWC much longer.  This whole thing about them changing to SIN, not letting me team with Marie, I’m beginning to think if I should just stick to one company, just GCW.”

“And if she goes, I go.” Marie chimes in.

“And that’s fine,” Sophie adds “but remember, wherever you and Marie go, you always have someone watching your back, and its not just each other.  Understand that Mark and I have your back as well.”

==========

Irrelevant

On Camera

==========

Amazing how things change in such a short amount of time, isn’t it?  I signed up with IWC to tag team with my sister Marie and watch her back.  Since then IWC has become SIN and I cannot seem to buy a tag team match with my sister as my partner.  And instead of competing by my sister’s side at IWC Extreme Fury, I am fighting a Little Miss Muppet wannabe who is so uncreative that she can’t use any other insult but “princess” over and over again, and I am facing her at SIN Extreme Fury.

Is that it?  I just want to make sure I got everything right.  I swear this place changes its mind more times than Danny Darko.

I am completely unmotivated for our match, Valentina.  Nothing you have done to this point has made me believe that destroying you is worth my time.  To be completely honest with you, I am just going through the motions with this little rivalry between you and I.  After Extreme Fury is over I am moving on to something else, hopefully tag teaming with my sister or at the very least feuding with someone worth my time.

Oh but I will do you one favor, though.  Not that you deserve it, but I will do you one big favor.  I am going to put you over at Extreme Fury.  That’s right, Valentina, I am telling you right now that I am going to let you win.

Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, pop the cork on the champagne bottle and celebrate the completion of this half-assed transformation you’ve been rambling about, this transformation of yours that no one gives a shit about.  It will be done because you will win at Extreme Fury.  You will defeat me.

Now how it happens, I’m not sure yet.  I just might skip out on the show altogether.  Me and Steven could spend an intimate night alone in a nice hotel suite while the rest of the idiots beat the hell out of each other.  That sounds like a great idea to me.  So I may just skip out on the show.  Or maybe I will show up, beat the hell out of you, and walk away, leaving you unconscious and lying in a pool of your own blood.

Either way you will win by forfeit because I don’t give a shit about this match.  I never have and never will.  I never gave a shit about you.  I don’t even understand what the hell you’re saying half the time.  You do not make any sense to me and that just further adds to why I think you are irrelevant.

I’m being very honest here, I know it and I realize it could get me in trouble but I don’t care.  I really do not care what anyone thinks because I am tired of reading from the script handed to me.  The script says I am supposed to hate you for what you’ve done but I don’t hate you.  I don’t like you, either.  I just don’t care one way or the other.  You are completely one hundred percent irrelevant to me.

Irrelevant.

Lady Luck

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Fate

Off Camera

==========

Fate is a strange animal.  Humanity is naturally afraid of it because they cannot control it.  We humans can control how fast our vehicles go or leads our countries.  We can have it our way at burger king or buy as much shit as we want at Wal-Mart.  We can even guess at how we think the hands of fate will turn.  We can try to read the writing on the walls.  We can go into that casino and try to guess at what the lucky numbers will be.  Ultimately, though, fate is something we cannot control, and that fact alone terrifies us.  Why else do you think many Christian denominations condemn gambling as sinful and, going further than that, some states even outlaw the lottery?  It all goes back to a deep seeded fear of fate.

I have begun to think about fate a lot recently, especially since my sister Marie escaped from her kidnapping ordeal.  She had been kidnapped by her paternal half-sister Kimberly Williams, who had desperately wanted to make her pay for all of the suffering that her family had endured at the hands of the Jones family.

Funny, Kimberly tried time and time again to get revenge for her family, and her father Sean Williams tried before her, and none of them succeeded.  Sean Williams’ first love left him, mine and Marie’s mother left him, he got killed, and his daughter Kimberly damn near broke her neck and eventually ended up in the insane asylum.  It is enough to make one wonder if fate had always destined the Williams family to go down the toilet.  You have to ask yourself if the Williams family had just been dealt a bad hand and they were always destined to fail.

You know, had it not been for my father, who loved and cared for me deeply and provided a stable living environment for me, I could have easily turned out as crazy jealous as Kimberly.  I almost pity her.  The key word there is almost.  I cannot nor will I ever pity someone as insane as Kimberly Williams.

I think often about what fate has written for my mom’s family, the Jones family.  My father may be Andreas Lasiewicz but I am a Jones woman deep down inside and I cannot help but look back at my mother’s past and worry about my own future, especially now that I am engaged to marry Steven Bauer, a man I met while competing for the Global Championship Wrestling organization.

Steven asked me to marry him back shortly before GCW Resurrection.  Many thought it was a ploy to try and get me to back out of facing him for his International title at Resurrection but I gave him a chance and he proved his love to me.  We are supposed to be married but no date has been set.  We’ve just been talking and planning but no concrete date has been put into place and that’s all on me.  I am afraid of facing what fate has in store for me.  But then again, it is natural to be afraid of fate.  I am human after all.

Then there is my fate in the Independent Wrestling Cartel.  I joined IWC to provide back up for my sister Marie, to make sure she got an even playing field in a company where chaos and anarchy seemed to be the norm.  Never did I expect to receive the kind of push I just received.  Never did I expect, nor did I really want, to get thrust so deep, so quickly, into what I have been thrust into for Riot.

I am in a four way match for the X-Class Championship.

I have only been in one match, against The TPKid, and while I did win it hardly puts me in a position to get any championship matches.  It hardly makes me worthy of any championship matches.  Honestly, not one of the three of us in this match is worthy of facing Kathryn Pearson for that X-Class Championship.

No, not even Little Miss Muppet who keeps whining on twitter about her identity.

That’s the funny thing about fate; you never know what it has in store for you.  It’s much like a game of poker.  You may have to work very hard to achieve your goal or the dealer known as fate may very well deal you a royal flush right off the bat, putting you in the driver’s seat.

All three of us have been dealt that proverbial royal flush.  We are in the driver’s seat in that we have the opportunity to make a name for ourselves in IWC real quick, real fast.  We just cannot screw it up.

You cannot escape, fate, though, and I cannot escape it on this night out on the town.  Fate still goes through my mind as Steven Bauer, dressed in black dress pants, matching black blazer, and a white silk button up dress shirt, walks me into this fancy restaurant.  Steven wanted to celebrate many different things.  For starters he wanted to celebrate my winning the FWA Xtreme Championship at their recent pay per view, second he wanted to celebrate my upcoming chance to win even more gold at the IWC Riot event, and finally he wanted to celebrate the fact that I successfully rescued my sister from a living hell.

Honestly, I think Steven just looks for reasons to celebrate, but be that as it may, I do enjoy my time with him and we haven’t really had a nice time out like this in awhile, what with my busy wrestling schedule.  Unfortunately I am certain the topic of our pending wedding will get brought up and I would rather avoid that subject.

For this occasion I am wearing a navy blue mesh floral embroidered-top cocktail dress with metallic skirt.  It has an illusion boat neckline, a V'd back, and three quarter length bracelet sleeves.  The hemline stops just above the knee.  My feet are encased in strappy sandals with a three inch heel.  My long black hair is done up in the back.

“You are going to love it here, Jessie.”

“Maybe…”

Steven continues to gush praise out upon this restaurant, an upscale Italian restaurant while I try to downplay my enthusiasm.  Truth is, I do feel comfortable in this environment.  I get that from my Aunt Magdalena.  My father taught me not to gloat too much or flaunt my wealth too much.  Thus I have always been careful to try and appear as down to earth as possible.  In this case, however, Steven wants to show me off and I have no problem obliging.

“I know you would have preferred that French place but it’s not upscale for us Bauers!”

“Oh yeah?” I wink at him. “First of all, I am going to keep my last name when we get married.  Second, the French place you refer to is actually slightly more upscale than this. You just picked here because you didn’t want my Aunt Mags tagging along.”

My Aunt Magdalena is a sucker for all things French and Steven knew, as well as I, that there was a good chance she could have tried to invite herself if she learned where we were going.  With that said Steven cannot help but chuckle slightly at this.

Eventually we are led to our seat.  Just like the gentleman he is, Steven pulls out the chair for me, allowing me to sit down before he sits down himself across from me.  He really is pulling out all of the stops for this one, I think to myself as he and I both are handed menus by the female waitress.

“May I get you something to drink to start with?”

“Well, I…” I look at Steven and then back up at the waitress “…I’ll let Steven decide.”

Seven grins.  I can tell he liked that.  Certain men like the tradition of being able to make the decisions for the women in their lives.  Steven knows I enjoy my independence but, just this once, I figure I’ll let him have a sample of what it’s like to be in control.

“In that case, bring out your finest, most expensive red wine!”

“Very good.”

The waitress nods her head before turning and walking away to fill the drink order.  Steven and I then look back into each other’s eyes.  He breaks the ice first.

“I am glad you agreed to come tonight, Jessie.”

“Honestly, Steven, I am glad I came.” I smile warmly at him. “I haven’t had much time lately to just enjoy myself, you know what I mean?”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

“Just in the past two months I have had to deal with a chaotic situation in FWA that involved me co-holding their Xtreme Championship with Laurel Anne Hardy, I had to deal with Little Miss Muppet in IWC who has this ongoing identity crisis and somehow thinks attacking me is going to help her, and then I had to rescue my sister from Kimberly Williams who I thought had been killed.”

“That’s not to mention your upcoming schedule.  You’re wrestling Valentina Madison…”

“Little Miss Muppet.” I state, correcting him with a wink.

“Ah yes, Little Miss Muppet.  But you are facing her, Mya Denton, and Kathryn Pearson for the IWC X Class Championship.”

“Don’t even get me started on that!” I exclaim in a slightly louder tone.

“What’s wrong?”

Before I can answer the waitress returns with two glasses and a wine bottle.  She puts one glass in front of Steven and then another in front of me.  She takes the wine bottle and pours red wine into each glass.  After setting the wine bottle down she takes out a pen and notepad.

“Do you know what you want to eat or do you need more time?”

“Um, I’m not sure…” my voice trails off as I look over at Steven “…let him order first.”

She nods, looking at Steven. “Sir?”

“Ok then, I’ll just have a large lasagna.”

“You get a garden salad or a Cesar salad.”

“Cesar.”

The waitress turns back to me.  “Ma’am?”

“I think I’ll have a lasagna as well, only a smaller portion please.”

“Very well.” She scribbles the information down. “Garden salad or Cesar?”

“Cesar.”

The waitress scribbles the order down and then walks off, leaving me and Steven alone again.  He turns back to me, smiling nervously.

“So, what’s so wrong with you getting an X-Class Title Match?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Um…” he shakes his head “…no?”

I roll my head out of frustration. “Men…”

“I’m sorry…but I do want to help.”

“It’s just that I don’t deserve to be in this match, Steven.  That’s what’s wrong.  I have done absolutely nothing to earn this championship match.”

“Didn’t you defeat TPKid?”

I nod my head. “Yes, I won one match.  That hardly qualifies me for anything.  Abigail Lindsey won a match recently, and she’s even been in IWC longer than me.  What about her?  Hell, Alana Starr deserves a shot more than me.”

“GOOD!”

His shout was meant as a joke to make me laugh but it drew a few stares from the other patrons in the restaurant and it embarrasses me ever so slightly.  He can tell based on the look on my face that he made a mistake.

“Steven…”

“Yes?”

“Do that again and I will hurt you.”

“Sorry…” he says with a sheepish grin on his face.

“It’s ok, but seriously, I do not deserve to be in that match.  Hell, none of them do, to be honest.  Who the hell books these things in IWC anyway?”

“I don’t know but if it is bothering you then maybe we should talk about something else?”

“What else do you want to talk about?”

I am afraid of what the answer will be but I figure I should ask anyway.  Steven and I both take sips of our wine in unison as we compose our thoughts.  It is Steven again who breaks the ice.

“The wedding, let’s talk about the wedding.”

What amounts to the equivalent of a kick to the gut suddenly hits me like a ton of bricks.  This is exactly what I knew would happen and yet I hoped would be lucky enough to avoid.  I have been trying to put off this subject as long as I could.  And yet it was inevitable that we would have to cross this bridge eventually.  You cannot delay the inevitable forever.

“Do we have to?”

“No, I guess not, but…” his voice trails off

“But what?”

“…Jessie, I get the feeling something is wrong here.”

“Well…” after a tense pause I finally nod my head “…yes, there is something wrong.”

“Is it something I did?”

I shake my head vehemently. “Oh no, it isn’t anything wrong with you.  If anything you have been a saint, an absolute saint to put up with me for as long as you have.  You have been perfect.”

I take a sip of my wine, hoping the liquid courage will do the trick.  “I’m the problem, Steven.”

“You?” He shakes his head. “No, you are not a problem, Jessie.”

“Yes, Steven, yes I am a problem.”

I can feel the emotions rising up but I fight them back as best I can, mainly out of a desire to keep my makeup from running due to tears.

“My family is cursed, Steven.  My father has children with two different women, both relationships ended on a sour note.  My mother is even worse.  She had a relationship with a boy she met in school that ended badly, she ended up in a relationship with her own wrestling trainer and married up until that, too, fell through.  She married the man who would eventually be my father but obviously that marriage didn’t last.  She married another former wrestling hall of famer named Sean McBride and that marriage didn’t last.  She was engaged once to Brittany Lohan but they broke up.  Now she’s married again, this time to a woman named Lindsey Carter.”

“And you’re afraid the same thing will happen to you and me if we get married?”

I nod my head. “That’s right.  This prospect of marriage scares me, Steven.  It scares the hell outta me because I don’t want to become like my mother or even my father who have had a history of bad relationships.”

Steven reaches across the table and takes my hands into his.  He squeezes them tightly as he gazes lovingly into my eyes.

“Jessica, darling, are you listening to me?”

I nod my head silently.

“I can see why you’re scared and I want to make this as comfortable for you as possible because I love you, Jessie.  I cannot live without you.  You have to know that I will do anything to make this work out between us, absolutely anything.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything, because I cannot live without you.”

I take his hand and kiss it. “That’s what I needed to hear.”

“So we’re good?”

I grin from ear to ear. “We’re better than ever, babe.  Better than ever.”

==========

Lady Luck

On Camera

==========

“I really do love visiting the United Kingdom!”

I step in front of a backdrop of a large Union Jack that takes up the entire scene.  I am wearing black denim jeans, black boots, and a royal blue top.  My long black shoulder length hair hangs down straight.  Once I get to the center of the camera view I turn to face the front, using my right hand to motion to the flag backdrop behind me.

“It is here in the United Kingdom that I won my first World Championship in GCW.  It is here in the United Kingdom that I traveled with the Future Wrestling Alliance to win the Xtreme Championship in one of the bloodiest battles of my career.  Lately I have had a lot of luck here in the United Kingdom.”

A low chuckle escapes my lips. “Luck...we athletes hate luck, don’t we?  We like to think we don’t need luck, that we have earned everything we have ever received in this industry.  The fact that none of us want to admit is that there is always at least a little bit of luck involved in this industry.  Luck, whether it be good luck or bad luck, implies that we had nothing to do with it, and we like to think we had everything to do with everything that we have earned.”

“Mya Denton and Valentina Madison, two talents who have been here with IWC since Invictus.  You can count the number of matches Denton has been in on one hand.  You can do the same thing with Little Miss Muppet and her IWC record.”

“Yeah, your new name is Little Miss Muppet.”

“But me?  I haven’t even been in IWC that long.  I was at Invictus but I was only there for my sister.  I’ve had only one match, a victory against TPKid.  Now am I going to stand here and judge my opponents?” I shake my head. “No, I won’t judge them.  I won’t even judge Little Miss Muppet.  I can only speak for myself when I say that I do not deserve this great opportunity put in front of me.  Mya and Little Miss Muppet will have to speak for themselves.”

I shrug my shoulders. “Apparently Lady Luck has been looking favorably upon Lady Gambit, because not only did I get granted an X Class Title Match but it will be taking place in the United Kingdom, where more than just luck is on my side.”

“I may not be a native of the United Kingdom, but the Lasiewicz family has competed all throughout Europe, but especially the United Kingdom.  The English fans know and love the Lasiewicz family for all of our contributions to the industry.  This is going to be like hometown advantage these people, these fans, we have a connection.  Mya and Little Miss Muppet may have had more matches than I have here in IWC and Kathryn Pearson may have more IWC experience under her belt as well as the championship advantage, but this is my home turf you are about to set foot into.”

“Mya Denton is an amazing talent with a lot of bad luck.” I chuckle slightly. “There’s that word again, luck…”

I shake my head. “Anyone who says you are a loser, anyone who says you are pathetic or can’t wrestle, or does not deserve to be here is dead wrong.  You came within a hair of becoming GDW World Champion against Angela Jameson.  On multiple occasions you damn near defeated The Zodiac Killers for the FWA World Tag Team Championships.  And had luck been on your side, had the winds of fate been blowing just slightly differently in your favor, you might have won that world title, you might have won those tag titles.  But those are a lot of hypothetical questions which we will never know the answer to.  Bring your best, Mya, I look forward to it.  Bring everything you got.  Bring your new ‘friend’ April if you want.  I’ll be bringing The Morning Star…”

“That’s why luck is definitely not in anyone’s favor.” A sinister grin forms on my face. “I want you to pay very close attention to this part, Little Miss Muppet, because this pertains to you.  You want to think I am just a princess.  Most in the Independent Wrestling Cartel have been praying to God that I am just a princess and nothing more.”

“Ask IWC’s sister fed, the Future Wrestling Alliance, what I am.  Ask Dakota Smith who has been put out of the FWA after a match with me.  Ask Laurel Anne Hardy whose blood I shed at Darkness Within.  They will tell you I am no one’s princess.  I am the farthest thing from a princess.  What lies deep down inside me is not the heart of a princess but the dark heart of a demon.”

“If you want to fight me then I’ll gladly give you what you want, but the fact is that you have no fucking clue what you are asking for, Little Miss Muppet.  You have no idea what it is like to be in a real fight for your life.  You have no idea what it is like to really face a monster but that’s what you’re going to face on Riot; a monster, a monster named Jessica Lasiewicz, a monster with no conscience, no soul, and who has no problem putting you out of action in much the same way I have put so many others out of action.”

A light chuckle escapes my lips. “I might even do the entire world a favor and tear your tongue out by the roots so you can’t talk and saw off your fucking hands so you can’t tweet.  No one will have to put up with your bullshit anymore.”

“I really don’t give a damn about your wins over Chris Davids and Leviticus.” I sarcastically golf clap. “Congratulations on beating them.  But they just wanted to win.  I want to win the X Class Championship, yes, but I also want to gut you like a damn fish and send you straight to hell.  So yeah, this is just a little different.”

“I’m done talking about Little Miss Muppet.  Quite honestly, I don’t want to bother with her unless it’s to break her face and I will get the chance to do that at Riot.  I think it’s time to start focusing on the person who is arguably the major target in this match, Kathryn Pearson.”

“Somewhere, someplace there is some horny idiot shouting at the television right now that his client demands a title shot.” I throw my head back and laugh. “He’s probably also claiming that you’ve been ducking, dodging, and getting special favors.”

I shake my head. “If you’re ducking and dodging then you’re extremely stupid, and you don’t strike me as stupid, because a cowardly champion running from a fight wouldn’t run right into three opponents at once.  That doesn’t speak of cowardice on your part; that speaks of a fighting champion.”

“You are X Class Champion, Kathryn, and that took a great deal of talent, but you have to admit that some amount of luck had have been on your side for you to get the opportunity you had to win it, to hit that final move that allowed you pick up the win for the title, in some way, however small, you have to admit that luck was there, watching over you.”

“The fact that you are now facing three opponents on Riot is a sign that luck is no longer on your side, Kathryn.  And it’s an elimination match, that means you have to survive three falls in order to leave Riot with your championship.”

A frown forms across my face as I fold my arms over my chest. “My father used to close his promos with the same catchphrase each time.  He would always tell his opponents ‘Come and Place Ya Bets!’  Well I am saying that to you right now, Kathryn.  Come and place ya bets, but think long and hard about what you bet, about what you are willing to risk, because you and I both know that you have not been dealt a very good hand.”

“Now I’m not going to be so arrogant as to say that you have been dealt a losing hand and I am not going to say anything cheesy and equally as arrogant like I’m holding all of the cards.  The fact is there are four great talents in this match…” I pause momentarily and then shrug “…ok, three great talents and Little Miss Muppet…any of us could win, even Little Miss Muppet has a chance.  Hell, even the blind squirrel gets the nut from time to time.”

“What I am saying is that you will be tested like you have never been tested before.  I can’t speak for Mya and I can’t speak for Little Miss Muppet but I can tell you that I will damn sure test you.  I will push you to your physical limits and if you expect to survive with the X Class Championship, you will have to look deep into your soul and find that something extra, because The Morning Star is coming to take your soul and your championship.”

I shut my eyes. “Dobranoc…”