For Lucy, this night was more than just a simple cooperative match against Donovan Hastings and Dave Rydell. She wasn’t sure why. At the most basic level, that’s really all it was.. And they won. Rogan and Lucy, they went out there and they won.

And she had fun.

She hoped they both had fun.

For a little while she forgot everything that had been looming in her head. Michael, and the ultimatum he gave her. The loneliness that taunts her every night when things are quiet. The guilt she feels over the way she ended things with Joe. The gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she reached up and touched the black wedding band that hung around her neck and she remembered all over again that CJ was dead.

Lucy was full of emotions, but she was grateful for the few fleeting moments when she could just enjoy what she was doing. Having Rogan back, having her friend back, and being able to work with him again, it helped her to cope with everything that she couldn’t, or rather didn’t want to talk about.

She didn’t want to weigh anyone down with her problems, again.

She wanted to grow, and she wanted to someday be okay with the way things were. And tonight at Synergy, in that simple cooperative match… Well, it was a start.

Donovan and Dave had focused fairly heavily on Rogan’s shoulder, and as they walked backstage Lucy noticed Rogan favoring it.

“Should get you checked out, you know?”

He glanced at her and frowned. After a few seconds, he nodded in agreement.

“Perhaps. Hell of a welcoming committee, Rydell and Hastings. Good thing I had you to lean on tonight, they were a couple of wolves.”

“Between you and fighting amongst themselves… They were in rare form tonight.”

Lucy replied, shaking her head. Rogan smirked.

“Well, good. I like it when people are in rare form. Chaos ensues.”

He rubbed his shoulder and winced a little.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious, though. They probably just knocked some rust loose and my body didn’t like it.”

He winked and chuckled a little when Lucy didn’t return the humor.

“You’re something else… But I did tell you, didn’t I?”

She said, pushing him slightly with her shoulder (on his good side, of course) as she cracked a faint smile.

“When you’re right, you’re right, Ms. Wylde.”

He said cheerfully.

“I assume you’re driving me, then? I’ll leave the Buick here.”

He smiled at the mention of the Buick, an ominous talisman that seemed to make everyone’s ears perk up when they heard it, or heard of it. Lucy was no different, even if she concealed it well.

“You sure you can be away from it for so long?”

She replied sarcastically as they approached the exit. The truth was, she was obscenely curious about that car and she wasn’t entirely sure why. But someday, she thought to herself, someday she’d get an up close look at it and figure it out.

“I’ll manage.”

He said simply. He knew Jack would be waiting when he got back. Jack was always waiting. They left the building and Rogan followed her to her car. A few moments later they were on the road.

“So..”

Lucy said finally, after a few minutes of silence.

“So… How are you doing? I don’t know everything you’re going through right now, but I do know you’ve got a lot on your mind. You obviously don’t have to tell me anything, it’s none of my business. But, I do want you to know that if you need anything from me, don’t hesitate. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere for a while.”

He gazed at the yellow lines passing by on the road in the beams of the car’s headlights, something he often did. Something about it touched him, in ways he couldn’t quite describe.

A tinge of pink covered Lucy’s cheeks as she drove, but in the darkness of the car, she felt lucky that her passenger couldn’t see.

“I’m.. I’m okay. I mean who doesn’t have some crazy shit going on?”

She said, nodding her head as if she were agreeing with her own statement.

“Just trying to right my own ship, you know? Trying to… make sense of everything.”

Her voice trailed off as she quickly glanced in his direction as her heart beat quickened in her chest. She didn’t want her friendship with Rogan to end up the way her relationship with Joe did.

She didn’t want to be a burden.

“Thank you, though. I-I appreciate that. What about you?”

She added, trying to turn the conversation away from herself.

“Well, like you said, we’ve all got crazy shit going on. I’m just trying to find my place, I guess. I’ve got a lot of emotions that I feel I haven’t addressed. But I’m not quite ready yet. Obviously nothing big, I’ve spent a lot of these last… three years? Four? …contemplating and wondering if I even belonged back here. I disappointed many with my disappearing act. Not just from a physical standpoint. But mentally, as well.”

The Dark Man. He didn’t feel so dark right now. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he wasn’t sure. But, he carefully kept his eyes on the blurs of the yellow lines outside, shadows of an unknown horizon behind them.

Lucy nodded her head.

“Well, with everything that happened… I didn’t blame you one bit for.. disappearing. Jesus, I felt terrible for what happened to you.”

A pang of guilt hit her and her chest tightened as she remembered watching Gabriel as he hurt everyone that meant anything to her as he pursued the world title she held once upon a time.

“But I’m glad you’re back, and I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Rogan sat, darkness coming over him momentarily. Images raced through his head of everything that happened. And everything that’s happened since.

“He did what he had to do. He’s a predator. That’s what predators do.”

An awkward silence fell between them.

“But, it’s okay. I don’t hold any ill will towards him. We’ve since buried the hatchet. Besides, he’s like my best friend.”

He grinned. A dark man’s grin.

“You and me both.”

Lucy replied with a soft chuckle. A soft chuckle that’s replaced with a frown a few seconds later.

“Although I do wish….Nevermind.”

She stopped herself from saying what she really wanted to say, I wish he’d have just sent me to my father and left everyone else alone.. I wish he’d tortured me alone.

Turning into the parking lot of the hospital, she found a parking spot and put the car into park, glancing down at her hands as they laid in her lap.

He sensed her battling in her own head. But, he didn’t prod or pry. Instead, he squeezed her hand and grinned again.

“Here we are. Let’s go see what kind of damage they did.”

He stepped out of the car and waited for Lucy to get out before leading the way. Lucy watched silently as he got out of the car, and after a few seconds she followed suit – Stopped just as she opened the door by her phone dinging in her pocket. She really thought nothing of it, pulling the phone from her pocket – That is until she saw the number the message was from.

::Tick Tock, Lucille.

I hope the fact that your former fiance is in a coma doesn’t get in the way of making the right decision. Have fun with your new little… friend.

-M::

Out of instinct, Lucy looked around her car as she slowly got out and slid her phone back down into her pocket. Not that she’d actually know what she was looking for, or that they’d be that obvious.

Was Joe really in a coma?

The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her yes. Her brother wouldn’t lie about something like that, even if he is an asshole… Just one more thing to–

She’s stopped mid-thought as she rounds the back of the car to see Rogan still waiting for her. She forced a smile on her face and motioned towards the hospital.

“Let’s get you checked out, huh?”

 

A few days later, back in New York – Lucy was moving about her hotel room in a hurry. Picking up the remnants of the last few nights, and throwing the small bottles into the trash can to rid herself of the evidence of the wagon she’d fallen from.

Every bottle was another layer of shame she wished to hide. Another weight weighing her down with guilt and self-loathing.

But she didn’t have time to sit and think about it. She didn’t want to. It’s bad enough she feels every semblance of control she thought she had – slipping away bit by bit, but she didn’t want to focus on it. She had something else to focus on to–

Knock, knock, knock

Lucy stopped what she was doing and turned towards the door.

“Shit.”

She muttered to herself as she took one more glance around the room to make sure all the ‘evidence’ was as hidden as it were going to get before she moved to the door and pulled it open, revealing a rather impatient looking Eden Morgan behind it.

“About damn time you open up.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and pulled the door open the rest of the way, admitting her best friend to the room.

“Shut up, you were waiting for what? Three seconds?”

“Three seconds too long.”

Eden replied, stepping cautiously into the room as she casted a judgemental glance around her best friend’s current abode.

“Especially in a place like this.”

Lucy shook her head as she closed the door behind them and followed Eden into the main part of the room, trying her best to judge the room in the mind of her friend.

“I didn’t think it was that bad. I actually think it’s pretty nice.”

She replied matter-of-factly as she stepped past Eden and towards the table on the far side of the room where her bag was laid.

“For you? Yeah, I can see it.”

Edie said, letting out a sigh as she crossed the room as well, and glanced out the window at the Hudson river in all it’s disappointing glory. After a few moments, Eden turned and opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped instantly when she realized that Lucy was still stood there in her pajamas.

She let out another sigh.

“What?”

Lucy said as she turned her attention back down to her back, trying to gather her things so the two of them could leave and go shopping like Lucy’d invited her to do earlier in the day.

“So you invite me shopping and ask me to come here, and you’re not even ready?”

Lucy’s eyes widened as she stopped what she was doing and took a step back. She looked down at herself and let out a sigh of her own.

“Fuck. I..”

Her voice trailed off as she turned away and practically sprinted across the room and grabbed her clothes from atop the bed.

“I won’t be long.”

She took the clothes and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Eden by herself. She brought herself to a chair and sat down in a huff, her arms crossed over her chest like a child who didn’t get what she wanted.

After a few seconds, she grew bored and her ice-blue eyes began taking stock of the room her friend had been living in since she left her condo and her fiance. She wasn’t entirely impressed, although in a small way she might have been just a little. To Eden, Lucy would’ve wound up in a Motel 6 or something if not for her influence.

And there’s no way Eden Morgan-Baal would have even set foot in a Motel 6.

Her eyes settled on the table before her, and the strewn about contents of Lucy’s bag that Lucy hadn’t finished gathering. Among them was a necklace that caught Eden’s eye – a small silver chain with a black wedding band hanging from it. The same necklace she’d seen peeking out from around Lucy’s neck on more than one occasion. To say she was curious was an understatement.

She picked up the necklace and when she did, the chain caught on a folded piece of paper that laid beneath it and slid it practically into Eden’s lap.

A piece of paper with Lucy’s name scrawled across the front.

She inspected the ring for a few moments, her eyes wavering towards the piece of paper she held in her other hand – Her gut telling her the two were somehow connected. Deep in the recesses of Eden’s mind, she knew that she should leave well enough alone and put both items back where she found them.

But the truth was, she worried about her friend, even if she didn’t outwardly show it.

So she did what she was certain Lucy wouldn’t have wanted her to do.

She opened the letter.

The paper looked as if it had been unfolded and folded back up many, many times since Lucy had it in her possession, and when Eden began reading the words written upon it…

…

To my dearest wife,

By the time you read this letter, I will already be gone. Of all the things that ever held me back in what I wanted to do with my life, all of the wild emotions that have dictated my sometimes outlandish actions over the years, I will say that I could not bare to leave this existence behind without some tiny effort on my part of at least attempting to say goodbye.

I can say in full confidence at the end of my time that I only hold two regrets that I shall take with me in passing. My greatest regret is how I pushed you away when I felt as though my declining health would only serve as a burden to you. The other, and nearly as damning, is that even now, I cannot muster the courage to look into your eyes as I tell you these things. Because of what I’ve done, what I did to you, I can never convince myself that you’re anything but better off without me. I know that you won’t feel that way, either in disagreement in principle or you’d simply believe this is me feeling sorry for myself because of the position I’m in. But, to counter that, I offer this. This is my admission of guilt.

I needed you. I always have. I always will. I pushed you away. I did that. The burden of suffering through my last couple of years was the bed I tried to make for myself by forcing you away; by making sure that I would suffer alone. My biggest regret was seeded (and remains deeply rooted) in the fact that I failed to understand that since the day we decided that we wanted to be together that you have always shared that very same bed with me. I could never have suffered through cancer alone, or, as irony would be a cruel yet cunning player in this game of life, nearly-full paralysis alone without you suffering right along with me.

I never meant to make you suffer any more than what I thought was necessary. I thought that by severing that tie between us that I could spare you the majority of the pain my perceived condition would have inflicted on you. That’s what was so selfish about my actions.

That’s what makes me, to this, and until my final day, wrong.

If you didn’t want to watch me die, and you would have left on your own volition, that would have been your choice. If you wished to stay and suffer through my decline alongside me, that would have been your choice as well. I took that choice away from you, and there is nothing redeemable about that. It doesn’t matter what my thoughts were, nor my intentions. I can tell you that I did, or at least thought that I did what I did out of love, but that isn’t love. I failed our marriage at that moment. I failed your trust at that moment. I would ask for your forgiveness, but quite honestly, wouldn’t that be your choice as well? It’s not up to me… well… it shouldn’t matter that I would hope that you would forgive me someday. In my opinion you shouldn’t, but you may choose to anyway. If you do, or don’t, I only hope you make that choice based off of what is best for you moving forward. What I want is irrelevant. What you need is most important.

I am completely okay. I think about you a lot. I worry tremendously. It’s a horrible thing to be bedridden, (mostly) unable to care for or tend to my own needs. The only thing that I have been able to accomplish in this past little while was use whatever influence I have left to try to right the ship as it were; I’ve watched you have to push through some of the lowest points of your life and for a while there I was concerned that you’d end up exactly as I was… or worse. I knew that staying away, staying out of your life and not meddling in your affairs anymore was the last, best thing that I could do, but Lucy, I couldn’t help myself any longer. If there was one thing left that I could do that would have even been a modicum of redemption for my life’s biggest regret, keeping you out of being confined to a hospital bed or out of an early grave was something so important to me that I could not pass it up. Living the way that I have been living isn’t living.

I deserve this.

You don’t.

Enclosed with this final letter is my wedding ring, the one you placed on my finger just after we said our vows. For better or for worse, until death do we part. I broke those vows, and it caused damage and left a scar that I’m sure that no amount of time – that eternity could not heal. I’m not sure what I am to you anymore, or what I mean to you, but I have always loved you, and will always love you. I cannot bear to say goodbye without first mentioning that your life will go on without me and that’s something that ultimately neither of us could change. But the difference between us is that you deserve much more; much better than what you’ve got. You won’t want to believe it, but it’s true. You have a life to live, one where you do what makes you happy and fulfills you. I can only ask that you find yourself, find what makes you content and that you take each day moving forward as an opportunity to live the life that you deserve and not the one people like me keep trying to force on you. I can only write to you and tell you that it would make me happy if you took the reins moving forward and leave me exactly where I belong. Hopefully, the good times that we had can remain a fond memory. That is where I wish to reside.

If you ever need anything, I’m sure that there will always be someone there willing to help you, as long as you hold the courage to ask.

…and, if, should any part of me remain in existence, even if only as the tiniest fond memory in the deepest recesses of your heart, just know that I am there with you, forever, as I will always be.

I love you Lucy Wylde.

Yours eternally,
CJ

…

…She finally understood.

And for all her hardness, Eden couldn’t control the tears that had welled up in her eyes as she stared down at the last dying testament of the man whom at one point her friend had pledged her life to. A man who’d let her down in more ways than one.

Even if she wasn’t meant to see it, this gave Eden a much greater sense of what Lucy had been fighting with within her own mind over the last few months and she pitied her.

She–

“Hey, I’m sorry for–”

Eden glanced up as Lucy stepped out of the bathroom, guilt etched over her face as Lucy stopped mid-sentence, Lucy’s eyes falling upon the necklace and the letter that Eden held in her hands.

“I–”

“No.”

Lucy replied, cutting Eden off as she rushed towards her and ripped the items from Eden’s hands, shaking her head – her face red with anger as hot tears streamed down her cheeks, messing up the makeup she’d only just applied.

“So, just going through my shit now, huh?”

Eden’s eyes widened.

“Lucy, I–”

“Shut up!”

Lucy yelled, her eyes staring down at the letter. She couldn’t read the words through the tears, but she didn’t need to. She already knew what it said. She’d read it hundreds of times as she sat in this room at night, by herself.

“I-I can’t believe you.”

Lucy finally said, as she shook her head and folded the letter, much like she had done every time she tortured herself with CJ’s dying words, and she shoved the letter deep into her pocket even though she already knew the damage was done.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?”

Eden said, watching as Lucy slid into the chair opposite her.

“No, you’re not.”

Lucy spat back, not bothering to bring her eyes level with Eden’s. She wasn’t really angry with Eden. She knew Eden was a nosy bitch and it was her own fault that she’d left it lying around to be seen by anyone.

She was embarrassed, ashamed even of how… disheveled she was.

There was a lot of effort she put in, unbeknownst to everyone else, to keep her problems to herself, well, as much as she possibly could. And now look at her. She could sense Eden’s eyes on her, as her best friend tried to figure out what to say next.

Finally Eden sighed.

“Okay, maybe I’m not exactly sorry – But..”

It was Lucy’s turn to sigh now as she finally brought her eyes up to meet Eden’s.

“But.. What?”

Lucy questioned as she sat up, wiping her face off as she reached out and plucked the necklace from Eden’s hand and set it down on the table in front of her.

“Jesus, Lucy. I understand not wanting to talk about it, but it’s obvious you’ve got some unresolved–”

Lucy’s humorless laugh cuts Eden off.

“You think?”

Lucy cuts back, shaking her head.

“But isn’t that all it ever is with me? But hey, you’ve read it. You know what’s going on so I guess I might as well lay it out for you, huh?”

She laughs again.

“Lucy, I don’t want you to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Eden chimed in, trying her best to be a comforting presence in the face of being caught red handed reading something that she probably shouldn’t have been reading. Forcing a talk that perhaps Lucy wasn’t ready to have. But let’s be honest here, she’s Eden Morgan. It was going to happen sooner or later.

“No, no… Why not?”

She clapped back, leaning her elbows on the table.

“He died. I wasn’t there. And ever since I found out, ever since I read.. that… I’ve been wondering about a lot of things. I know I couldn’t have changed things. He made some decisions that.. We both made some decisions that tore us apart. I get that. But… CJ always told me that I was his second chance, you know, at happiness. After he lost his wife and daughter, I guess he never thought he’d find that again. But there I was.. He’d found his second chance.”

Lucy reached out and touched the ring.

“After Maggie, after Joe… It’s all got me thinking that maybe I don’t get a second chance. Maybe CJ was my only chance, and now he’s dead…”

She sighs as Eden watches, disguising her own emotions as she watches Lucy fiddle with the ring in front of her.

“I’ve only sought out companionship because I couldn’t bear being alone. I couldn’t bear living without at least feeling like someone loved me, or cared about me more than my own family did. That’s not fair to Maggie, or Joe… Because I know they cared. But the moment I felt like I burdened them in any way, I just couldn’t deal with it. I was with CJ because I genuinely enjoyed being around him. He completed me in a way I haven’t felt since… And maybe I won’t feel that way again.”

Lucy let go of the ring and sat back in the chair, again wiping her face off as she faces Eden again.

“Oh, Lucy.”

Is all Eden can manage to say while Lucy nodded her head.

“Pretty pitiful, huh?”

Eden shook her head.

“No.”

Another dry chuckle fell from Lucy’s mouth.

“Oh, I know it is. But that’s okay. It’s gotta be okay, right? Ain’t a damn thing I can do about it now. It’s for the best, anyway. I realized that I gotta be okay with being alone. So that’s what I’m doing.”

Lucy got up and started putting the rest of her things away in the bag. After a few moments, all was tucked away and Lucy moved towards the mirror, wiping away any evidence of the tears she’d spilled moments earlier. She turned around and faced Eden, who was still seated, watching her best friend with a combination of awe and concern as Lucy smiled and motioned towards the door.

“So are we going, or what?”

Eden nodded her head and stood, letting Lucy lead her towards the door and as she watched the platinum blonde approach the door, something told Eden that there was more hidden beneath the surface… And that concerned her even more.

What she didn’t know is that Lucy had already made up her mind that she was going to enjoy herself before she hands herself over to her brother.

And whatever fate he holds for her. 

 

“Well, here we are again.”

Lucy spoke softly, her voice the first thing we hear before the scene slowly fades in from black to reveal the UGWC Chaos Champion sitting backstage at Synergy, seated on top of an equipment box – Her long legs dangling just above the floor.  For the moment the arena was quiet, no other superstars walking around, no stagehands working on putting the show together.

No one.

Lucy was by herself.

She was dressed in a skin-tight black suit – the suit jacket with only a single button fastened, easily revealing the lack of anything else beneath it, and showing a certain necklace around her neck, a black wedding band hanging just above her bust.  She sat with her legs crossed, a pair of black high heels on her feet as they swung below her as she stared down at the Chaos Championship in her lap.

“Somehow, I always knew it would be you, Tempest.”

She says, bringing her bright blue eyes up to make contact with the audience.

“I know you want this back.  I know you want it bad.  But we both know, it’s my job to make sure you fail.  And hey, I’m all too happy to watch you fail and fail again in your little quest to retake that which you honestly believe is yours.  But we’re gonna do something a little different here tonight.  I’ve got myself a little list right in here…”

Lucy points at her head and smirks.

“A little list of reasons why you’re not gonna be getting my championship back here tonight. Let’s count down from ten, shall we?”

She holds both hands up, and counts her fingers silently.

“Number ten. I don’t fucking like you, Tempest.”

Her eyes narrow at the lens.

“I’m fully aware that my first reason is complete bullshit, but all things being fair – if disliking a person were enough to ensure that that person wouldn’t walk out with my belt – Hell, I’d be the Zane Scott of years past.”

Lucy shrugs her shoulders.

“A girl can hope though, can’t she?”

She lets her face relax back into a grin as she holds her hands up again, this time lowering one of her fingers.

“Number nine. You say that for seventeen whole months your name was ‘Chaos’. As if you completely exemplify what Chaos truly is – And for some odd reason, I think you’re full of shit.”

Lucy shakes her head and places a hand back down on the Chaos Championship.

“Sure, you’re not bad at being unpredictable. But I seem to remember someone else saying that they were the Chaos division… That seems to be something people think actually means something when they say it. Truthfully though, we all know it’s just a desperate attention grab.. Another way for you to convince every Tom, Dick and Harry that you actually mean something to the Chaos Championship.”

She puts on a thinking face and taps her index finger on her chin.

“But I don’t recall seeing your name as a member of the ‘Engine of Chaos’. Hell, there’s a man who used to roam these halls who’s actually called ‘Chaos’ and that man was far more of a badass than you could ever hope to be, Sweetie.”

She lets her hands fall to her sides.

“You aren’t Chaos. You aren’t special. You’re just a small, insignificant boy who wants to believe he’s got everyone’s number. Who believes he’s the only person who can ever take up residence in peoples heads. The only person who could ever hold this belt and give it any meaning… And until you get that fact through that simple little head of yours… You’re going to fail.”

Holding up her hands again, she lowers another finger.

“Number eight. You think you know me, Tempest. You honestly think that you know any God damned thing about me when in reality, you couldn’t possibly know me any less than you already do. I’ve heard you talk about how I’m only in this for the championships, for the success…”

Her voice trails off as she shakes her head.

“All of that from someone who can’t live without this championship?”

She chuckles.

“I’m grateful to be the Chaos Champion. Success is great, but I’m not immature enough to think that that’s the only thing that matters. There will come a day when I’m no longer the Chaos Champion, and when that day does come, I won’t lose all purpose. I won’t cry myself to sleep every night because I think that without a title belt in my possession, I’m nothing. But that’s where you’re at, isn’t it Tempest? You tell me that belts and prestige are all that matter to me – But methinks you need to take a look in a mirror, hmmm?”

She pulls the championship up and lays it over her shoulder.

“And until you grow up? You aren’t beating me for this belt, Tempest.”

She raises her hands again, lowering another finger.

“Number seven. Sometimes I wonder if you could actually go out there and win a match on your own. I know you’ve done it. I’d be real disappointed to look back on your career and see that you haven’t won shit without your little buddies by your side. You rely far too much on ‘strength in numbers’. Those of us who take pride in what we do, we don’t need anyone else’s help, you know?”

Lucy pats the belt on her shoulder.

“I took this from you even after your friends tried to help you out. So what does that say about you, Tempest? What does that say about the way you decide to fight your fights? I’ll let you figure that one out on your own.. Moving on.”

She brings her hands back up in front of her face, and lowers yet another finger.

“Number six. I never realized how much fun it could be to put someone’s lights out with something other than what God gave me. I’m sure it’s common knowledge by now, but Lucy Wylde’s never been one to dabble into hardcore wrestling – It never really appealed to me. But the longer I’ve done this, and the more people I’ve found… completely unlikable…”

She shrugs again.

“The easier I’ve found it to step into the ring and bleed for the simple cause of making my opponent bleed too. A few years ago, my sister lowered a steel cage onto my throat. A few months after that a woman named Mia Rayne decided to hit me in the throat with a golf club – And nothing.. I do mean nothing gave me greater pleasure than bending a golf club over her head a few months after that, when that bitch was fighting for the Carnage Ultraviolent Championship. There’s a certain thrill that comes along with hurting someone in ways that you shouldn’t be hurting them. But I’m sure you already know that, dear Tempest.”

She nods her head.

“And I’m damn sure you’ve thought of many, many ways to hurt me tonight. It’s just… I think you might underestimate how much I’m going to enjoy hurting you, Tempest. How much I’m gonna enjoy turning your face from that ghastly white to a much darker shade of crimson.”

A dark smile comes across her lips as she winks at the camera and raises her hands up once again, but this time she simply lowers one of her hands.

“Number five. You take this shit far too seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I know we’re out here to be the ‘best’ and prove that with numerous title belts and accolades. Well, some of us are. But I know what you’re gonna say Tempest. You have plenty of fun toying with people and hurting people.”

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

“And while that’s probably true. I see you, Tempest. I see what lies behind that ‘sadistic’ smile of yours. I see a scared child. A child that wants to be validated and wants to prove that he’s everything he claims he is. That isn’t fun, is it? Take it from me, bud. Relax. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Then maybe, just maybe you’ll get everything you’ve been hoping for.”

She adjusts the title belt on her shoulder as her hand falls to the necklace hanging around her neck. She raises her other hand into the air, lowering her pinky finger.

“Number four. Honestly? You’ve got your eggs in far too many baskets, Tempy. How can I possibly believe that you’re focused on me and this title when you’re off fucking with Eden. Fucking with Montague. Fucking with Seb… and doing God only knows what with Gabriel?”

She lets go of the necklace and her hands fall back down into her lap.

“You’re distracted. Hell, I even heard through the grapevine that someone burned down your farm.. or do you call it a complex? Either way, I’m sure you’re occupied with shoveling up ashes or crying over your charred collection of TV guides. But it’s a shame, really. A real waste of a bonfire, you know? I love me some smores.”

She sighs.

“That was a bit insensitive, now wasn’t it? But the fact remains, Tempest. You’re all over the place. You claim to BE chaos, you claim to want this belt back so badly but this belt deserves more focus than it seems you’re willing to give it. And add to it, the fact that you’re walking around with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb whispering in your ears about this and that – And everything in between… Tell me, how do you have a single moment to yourself, Tempest? Do you even have an original thought in your head?”

She cocks her head to the side.

“Or are you just a puppet? All I know is that something’s gotta give, and with how many people you’ve pissed off and how many thoughts you’ve got racing around in that skull of yours… You just might drop the ball tonight.”

“Not because you want to.”

She shakes her head. 

“But because you can’t handle it.”

She says, matter of factly – her eyes narrowing once more, as if she were looking at Tempest himself.

“Your cracks are showing, sweetie. It won’t be long before someone completely breaks you…”

She leans back against the wall, a satisfied smirk on her red painted lips as she raises her hand once more, lowering her ring finger.

“Number three… I’m in your head. Even if you claim that I’m not. It’s no real secret Tempest that your bread and butter is the way you slither into people’s minds and take them off their game. Might have happened to me once or twice. And to that, I say good job.”

She nods.

“But the only caveat to that is the moment when your so-called ‘victim’ wises up. And even worse? When the victim becomes the thought in your head that never, ever leaves. I know I’m in there, Tempest. I took this from you.”

She turns her head and softly kisses the Chaos Championship before turning her gaze back to the camera.

“I took the one thing that made you feel good about yourself. The one thing that you felt really defined you. It haunts you, doesn’t it?”

She closes her eyes and takes in a cleansing breath, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Good. And I hope it continues haunting you after I beat you, again.”

With her eyes still closed, she raises her hand and lowers her thumb, leaving only two fingers standing.

“Number two.”

She opens her eyes and leans forward on the equipment box, the Chaos championship slipping just a little on her shoulder.

“I’m dangerous, Tempest. I know I said as much earlier, but I think this one bears repeating, you know, just in case you didn’t take me seriously the first time.”

Her eyebrows raise, as if she were asking her opponent silently if that were the case. When she doesn’t get an answer, she shrugs her shoulders and continues.

“I mean, who knows what crazy things are going on in this fucked up head of mine? All I know is if you need proof of what I’m capable of… Ask your friend Gabriel what happened to him after he meticulously took away everyone of my friends and sent me off to my father to be beaten half to death for nearly a week. Ask him what it felt like to stand across from someone who shouldn’t have been standing in front of him, someone who should have been far too weak to defend the world title… And ask him how he felt when that weakened little bitch beat his fucking ass.”

Her voice took on a deeper tone as she spoke those last few sentences, her eyes almost turning a deeper shade of blue as she spoke.

“You can toy with me all you want, Tempest… But don’t be surprised when this bitch ends up ripping your fucking heart out and shoving it down your throat.”

She stops and sits back up, bringing her hand back up – showing only her pointer and her middle finger still up in the air. She slowly lowers her pointer finger, flipping Tempest off with the final finger remaining.

“And number one… the biggest and most important reason there is why I’m gonna walk out of here tonight with this belt still on my shoulder… You’re just not in my league, Tempest.“

She lets that sentence float in the air for a few moments before she continues.

“It’s true. Whether or not you wanna believe it, Tempest, you’re nowhere near my stratosphere. I might not be the most celebrated of superstars around these parts, and I might not ever be – But I’ve damn sure accomplished more than you. Besides holding the title that I took from you, what have you done here, exactly?”

She asks, an interested look on her face.

“You know, besides molding yourself into Necron Jr?”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“I might have given you the impression early on that I’d be some easy win, and I guess that’s my fault. I’ll be the first to admit that things were kinda rocky when I came back here last year. And by ‘rocky’ I mean I fell flat on my fucking face time and time again. I could blame you for your part in that, I suppose… but why give credit where it’s not due?”

“The point is, Tempest, the only history I see your name under is the Chaos Championship history.  I know, I looked, just to make sure you didn’t have any other forgettable title reigns that I might have missed.. But nope.”

Lucy shakes her head as she begins counting them off.

“World Championship? No. Cross-Hemisphere Championship? Nope. Cooperative Championship? That’s another negative. Maybe, just maybe Tempest had it in him to snag the Conques–Nope, fucked that one up too. And while I know I’m gonna hate myself after I say it, I’ve gotta say it… The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

She lets out a sigh.

“And while I know that my name isn’t on a few of those lists either, I rest easy at night knowing that it’s only a matter of time before I hit all those marks. For you? If it isn’t anything to do with scaring the bejesus out of people, you’re no good at it.”

She stops and stares at the camera for a few moments, letting the silence fill the room around her before she finally leans in as close to the camera as she can, a sadistic smile on her face.

“And do I look scared?”

She shakes her head in response, leaning back and bringing the Chaos Championship back down into her lap.

“I’m not scared of what you can do Tempest. Truth be told, I’ve been through much worse than anything you can throw at me. And I’m not smug enough to sit here and spout all this shit at you and think that you’re just going to hand me the win. I know that for everything I said, you could come out there and surprise me. You could think of something that I didn’t and boom – Everything I just said means jack shit. But those are the risks we take in this business, Tempest. And for you? I’m willing to risk it all…”

“I’m willing to bleed to make sure you don’t forget just what kind of bitch I really am.. I’m willing to put myself through hell just so I can put you through even more. So bring your worst, hun. Because I know I’m about to bring mine.”

She winks at the camera as she sits back and smooths out her suit as the feed slowly fades out to black.

 

OOC: Rogan and Eden used with permission! And Thank you to Chuck for CJ’s letter! Good Luck Cory!