Clack-Clack-Clack-Clack

Lucy had all but given up on sleeping as she sat upon the reasonably comfortable couch, her legs folded beneath her, trying to look at her phone while listening to the energetic pitter-patter of Sebastian’s fingers as they danced on the keyboard across the room. In an otherwise silent place, the clack-clack-clack was grating away at the singular nerve she had left.

She was tired.

She was unbelievably bored.

But most of all, she remembered why it is that she was going to get a hotel room when she came into Chicago.

Silence. Sweet, blissful silence. She missed it.

Clack-Clack-CLACK

Lucy rolled her eyes and did her best to return her attention to her phone, the only source of light within the confines of the living room, well unless you counted the blinding light coming off of Sebastian’s laptop – enough to light an entire block of New York City in a power outage. It’s a wonder he’s not blind, she thought to herself as she continued scrolling through real-estate ads – Growing more unsure by the second as to what she’s even looking for.

She knows she can’t stay in that hotel forever, and when she’d originally made the move to New York, she’d thought she found the place that was going to be hers for a very long time. It just felt right.

That is, until it didn’t.

Clack-Clack-CLICK-CLACK!

Lucy sighed softly and glanced back over her shoulder at the illuminated face of Seb as he stared angrily at the screen, and whatever it is that he’s working on.

“You know, if you’re going to be keeping me awake angry typing on that keyboard you could at least come over here and help me for a minute.”

Seb turns slowly to face Lucy, his eyes burning a hole in her.

“I am creating a masterpiece here – would you have stopped Monet in his tracks and asked him to check out your ex-boyfriends penis pictures?”

Lucy’s eyes widened.

“What the fuck? That’s NOT what this is!”

Seb scoffed and turned his attention back to the screen in front of him, mumbling.

“Well then you’ve merely degraded my interest further.”

“Why would I want to show you pictures of Joe’s dick?”

Lucy replied, turning her body to face him, her eyes boring a hole through his head as she stared – Until he turned his eyes back up at her, a dark expression on his face.

“I meant CJ.”

Lucy stared at him with angry eyes as Seb shrugged his shoulders.

“Too soon?”

He smirked and it took all Lucy had to stay in her seat when all she really wanted to do was smack the taste out of the little pricks mouth. Instead, she growled and turned her focus back onto her phone.

“Get your ass over here before I smash that laptop over your head.”

“Fine. Fine. Grouchy… You have five minutes.”

Seb moves away from the table and walks into the lounge area taking a seat next to Lucy, he looks down at various houses that are currently on the market – each one in a different location.

As Lucy opened her mouth to ask him something, the sound of soft footsteps entered the room – The two of them turned to look just as Sloane entered the room, blinking her eyes blearily as she looked over at them on the couch.

“Strategizing?”

Sloane asked, her voice still sleepy as she took a few steps forward.

“What?”

Seb asked as Lucy simply shook her head.

“No, I’m just trying to decide which one is best.”

She continued to look down at the phone, Seb with her. Sloane moved over beside them, sitting on the arm of the couch as she looked down too.

“Hmmm. Not very defensible.”

Both Seb and Lucy looked at her like she’d just grown two heads.

“What?”

“Sometimes I think I’d like to see how your brain works.”

Seb scoffed.

“It doesn’t.”

Sloane turned her gaze to Seb, placing a hand on her chest as if she’d been wounded by his words.

“Excuse me, my brain works like everyone else’s unless I’m tired or I’ve been asleep or I’ve had a lot of sugar or caffeine. But that’s why I’m up, I just had the craziest dream.”

Seb groaned softly, letting his head fall backwards for a moment as Lucy looked at him – obviously confused at his reaction.

“Oh no.”

“Can we stop it?”

He shook his head.

“Probably not.”

Sloane paid them no mind, continuing on.

“So, I was…”

“Let me stop you right there…”

Sloane watches Seb as he gets to his feet and slowly walks towards the table where he was sat earlier. He pulls out the chair, and sits down, before turning and smiling.

“There. You have a captive audience. Continue.”

Sloane glared at him reproachfully for a moment before looking to Lucy and dropping down on the couch beside her. Lucy shot a few daggers in Seb’s direction before sighing and settling in for what she could only imagine was going to be a very interesting explanation.

“So anyway, I was addicted to buying snakes, I just couldn’t stop, and I was like… one more snake, just one more snake… and they were free-range snakes. I just let them go wherever they wanted to, mostly in my barn… I had a barn in my dream… and when I’d go feed them, it was in a doggie dish because I guess snakes can like that too, but when I’d turn around to leave I would forget they were there and then I’d turn back and back it was like… Ah! Snake! You know, if I can be vulnerable with you guys for a second, I think I was in way over my head.”

“You? Nooooo.”

Sloane glared at him a moment and then looked back to Lucy, who shook her head and sighed.

“No shit…”

Sloane shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s probably because of what I was thinking about before I went to sleep.”

Lucy’s eyebrows arched as she ventured a guess.

“Snakes?”

Sloane shook her head.

“No, pottery.”

“Lucy… you’re falling down the rabbit hole…”

Seb chimed in, but Lucy was having none of it.

“Shut up Seb– Wait a minute… Pottery?”

Lucy asked, not realizing that she was now tumbling ass over tea-kettle into the rabbit hole that Seb was warning her about. Sloane nodded her head and continued, not letting their banter derail her train of thought.

“Like going through the glazing process specifically. So, it’s like cool and all at first, you’re just getting painted on and then you get dipped in this stuff or it’s poured over you or whatever it is they do with the glazing and then it’s like battle armor? It’s kinda cool, kinda claustrophobic at the same time— what are you giggling about?”

Sloane looked over at Seb who was practically sputtering at some of the word choices she’d used, whereas Lucy was utterly confused and only had one question she could possibly ask.

“ — why—?”

“Why was I thinking about that before bed? Because I painted my nails and when I did the clear coat I got a little on the side of my finger and then when it dried my skin felt all tight but also tougher and not quite like skin so I thought that must be what it feels like to get glazed.”

Seb lost all composure.

Lucy did her best impression of someone who wasn’t a child as she nodded her head.

“Like pottery.”

Sloane nodded her head triumphantly.

“Like pottery.”

Lucy shoots Seb a look as he continues snickering across the room.

“What is your deal, dick boy?”

Seb leaned back in the chair, a satisfied look on his face.

“Oh nothing, nothing – Just Sloane away in her bedroom imagining getting glazed.”

Lucy closed her eyes, trying not to let the smirk that she’d tried so hard to contain emerge. She took a deep breath, fully preparing herself to ignore Seb and listen to whatever else Sloane had to say but when she opened her eyes, it was just as Sloane was getting up from the couch – A look of excitement all over her features.

“OMG, I’m here, you’re here, Seb’s here, we should totally strategize! I’ll get drinks. Well cups anyway.”

And in saying that, she turned and rushed out with a skip in her step, leaving Lucy with a dumbfounded look on her face as she laid down on the couch and covered her face with her hands.

“Strategize about what?!”

Lucy said into her hands, wondering if now were the right time to take up drinking again. If there were a good time to do so… Now seems like the perfect time.

Pushing that particular thought into the back of her mind, she uncovered her face, and let her arms fall down to her sides as a yawn escaped her lips.

“When the fuck do you people sleep around here…Christ…”

“You get used to it…”

Seb replied, his eyes focused on the screen in front of him.

Clack-Clack-Clack-Clack!

“Ugh…”

 

Two men are stood in front of the Equinox Hotel, staring up at the building before one of them sighs loudly.

“Man, what’re we doin’ at this uppity joint anyway?”

The second man gives his partner a sideways glance, trying to figure out how he always ended up with the stupid ones. Finally he shook his head and made a move towards the entrance.

“I told you why we was comin’ here, Bobby. Boss man wants us to leave that broad a gift.”

“That blondie that he’s been eyeing up for months now?”

The second man nods as the first opens the front door and they both step into the lobby.

“She ain’t just some blondie, ya know.”

The first man’s eyes widened, and he turned towards his counterpart and tugged on his sleeve as they made their way towards the elevators.

“What does that mean? What is she to him?!”

“Ohhhhh no, I ain’t givin’ up the boss’s secrets man. Come on. Let’s just get this done.”

They stepped into the elevator and the first man pressed the button for the floor that Lucy’s room was on. The second man, now armed with the knowledge that Lucy was more to his boss than he’d realized, began pacing around the confined space – much to the annoyance of his partner.

As the elevator ascended to the seventh floor, the first man pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and looked down at Lucy’s name scrawled out on the front.

“Come on, Joey… Just tell me.”

The first man, Joey, shook his head once more.

“I ain’t makin Mike mad at me. You can ask him yaself if you wanna know so bad.”

“Oh no, I ain’t that bold.”

The two men share a laugh as the elevator stopped and the door opened. They stepped out and looked from side to side, glancing at the room numbers.

“We’re lookin for 741.”

“This way.”

Bobby said, pointing to their left. They moved to the left and began the long walk down the hall, ending up at the very last room.

“Oh, corner suite – Very cosmopolitan.”

Bobby said, as he rolled his eyes.

“Mike must really want this chick if he’s willin to be comin all the way up here for her.”

Joey nodded as he knelt down, shoving the envelope under the door until it disappeared. He rose back to his feet and shrugged his shoulders.

“All I know is she’s important, and she ain’t the only one… I hear she got a sister too.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, and he want em’ both real bad.”

They stood in front of the room for a few more minutes before Joey motioned back towards the elevator.

“We better get outta here.”

“Why? She in there or somethin?”

Joey shook his head and began walking back towards the elevator.

“Nah, she’s at some wrestlin show or somethin. But we don’t need no unnecessary attention comin our way, huh?”

Bobby nodded his head.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Besides, boss man wants us back in B-more for the next shipment anyway.”

And with that said, the two men disappeared into the elevator, having completed the task that Michael had set out for them.

 

Lucy walked down the very same hallway barely a day later, lugging a bag on her shoulder. She yawned as she got to the door of her room and pulled the keycard from her pocket, and shoved it into the lock. As the door unlocked, Lucy pushed it open and stepped into the room – grateful to be back, and even more grateful for the silence that being by herself brings.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she turned back towards the door, closing it softly as she fiddled with her bag, setting it down on the ground beside her. She almost couldn’t believe how tired she was, and she knew that the moment she relaxed on the bed that she’d be asleep. No doubt catching up on all the sleep she’d missed while staying with Seb and Sloane over the weekend.

After a few moments, she turned back towards the rest of her room wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the day in bed, drifting in and out of consciousness.

“Something’s not right…”

She heard that warm familiar voice, but she saw no signs of him, a feeling of dread filling her gut as she took a few steps further into the room. Her stomach clenched and her mind began running through all the reasons things don’t feel right… And none of them made her feel any better.

What if it were Michael? She thought to herself, a cold chill running down her spine.

Pulling her phone from her pocket, just in case, she rounded that corner and when her eyes fell upon not Michael – but instead Johnny ‘hitmaker’ and Hide Yamazaki, the two of them looking up as she entered the room. A hot flash of anger took her over as her things dropped from her hands and she balled up her fists.

After what they’d done to Eden, Lucy wasn’t in the mood for any of their shit.

“Oh, fuck no…”

She growled, as she took a few more steps towards her unwanted guests.

“Hey, heeeeyyyy, Ms. Wylde!”

Johnny said in a tone that one could get was in the name of trying to calm someone down, but coming from the big mouth of the prolific manager, it inadvertently bore menacing undertones to it.

“We just happened to be in the neighbourhood and though we’d-”

Before he could finish the sentence, a small vase that Lucy had grabbed from a table flew past his head and shattered on the wall behind him, which caused him to shriek.

“Get OUT!”

Lucy yelled, grabbing for another piece of decor, looking to actually hit him with the next throw. She couldn’t believe that these two had literally broken into her room, let alone found it. With everything Lucy had on her mind, this wasn’t something she’d ever imagined would be happening and now that it was, she really didn’t have to think twice about wanting to throw Johnny ‘Bonecrusher’ through the window and watch his bones be crushed by the concrete of the sidewalk below.

But before Lucy could throw the ice bucket she’d grabbed, Johnny got up and held up his hands.

“Wait wait wait, listen! We’re here for a reason!”

He then turned to Hide, who calmly remained seated.

“Ju-just don’t stand there, man! Get her! She’s crazy! She’s liable to throw a barbell at my head next!!”

Hide looked on at the irate Lucy, then back at his manager. He sighed.

“This was your idea to break in here; you settle it.”

Johnny’s mouth went agape.

“Was this seriously time to recite one of your world-famous haikus?! I think not!”

He frantically pulled Hide up to a vertical base, hiding behind him.

“Ms. Wylde, Ms. Wylde, calm down! Let’s figure this out like adults!”

A few tense moments passed as Lucy contemplated how hard she’d have to throw the ice bucket in her hand in order to render Johnny and his mouth unconscious. At the end of it, however, she sighed again and lowered the bucket, but by no means were Johnny and Hide off the hook.

“What possible reason could you have for BREAKING INTO MY ROOM?!”

She bellowed, her eyes narrowing on the pair of men in front of her.

“It’d better be a damn good reason or else housekeeping is going to have a lot more to clean up than just broken glass…”

Insulted at the perceived arrogance of their host, Johnny points at her from behind Hide.

“Need I remind you you’re in the presence of ‘Deathwish’ Hide Ya-”

Hide cleared his throat.

“We are also in the presence of a fellow former World Champion. Don’t antagonize her more than you already have.”

Johnny had little recourse but to assume Hide wasn’t going to step up. He narrowed his eyes back at Lucy, to which Lucy raised her eyebrows.

“You’re just lucky he’s saving all his violent hatred for your besties! Ah! And speaking of which, the very reason for our visit in the first place!”

Lucy couldn’t believe what she was listening to as she shook her head.

“Are you fucking serious? THAT’s why you’re here? Well you might not wanna hear this, dickhead but you’re acting an awful lot like one of my BESTIES right now, hmm?”

Lucy couldn’t see it, but judging by the audible gasp that came from behind Hide, Lucy smirked as she knew any comparison between Johnny and Gabriel would set him off.

“WHOOAAAHHH!!”

Johnny bellowed from the comfort of behind his client.

“That’s a low blow and you know it!! We didn’t come here to start a fight – well, not with YOU, anyway; we came here to gather intel on The Harpy Queen and Doctor DoNothing. We’ve decided that the only people who can finally… FINALLY take Incendium down… are US! But we can’t do it alone, and a little hipster birdy told me that there’s TWO, count ‘em, TWO people in The Coalition that know them better than anyone! So we’re here to help you get your revenge on them!”

Lucy couldn’t help the look of awe that crossed her face in that moment. It took the Chaos champ a few moments to fully comprehend everything that she’d just heard and when she finally did, she shook her head and laughed as she turned away from Johnny and Hide and made for the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water even though, along with the other night, now might have been another good time to grab the whiskey and say ‘fuck it’.

But she didn’t, regretfully.

“First off… There’s SO much wrong with everything you just said but let me just say a few things.”

She began, taking a sip of water.

“What makes you think I’d give you ANYTHING on Eden and Gabriel, considering I wouldn’t even give my own sister anything good just a few weeks ago? And secondly, but more importantly… You’re gonna help me get revenge on the two people I have no need to get revenge on? What sense does that make?!”

Johnny looked on incredulously.

“Wha- ..you- ..huh- ..the- …are you serious? Are you serious right now? I would have thought you’d be third in line behind Hide and myself in wanting to see those jabronis get their comeuppance! We’ve seen how they would speak to you on social media! Who were the first people to celebrate the demise of your long-lasting relationship with JC? I’ll give you a hint, Ms. Wylde: it wasn’t us!”

Johnny rested a finger on his lips and thought about it some.

“Are you- are you a… a masochist? Is that it?”

Lucy took a seat in a chair across the room, closing her eyes. How Hide deals with this guys idiocy is beyond her. But as she sat there, wishing them both away in her mind, she realized that maybe, just maybe she should give Johnny what he wants.

Then maybe she’ll get a moment’s peace.

That and something funny to tell Edie and Gabriel about.  Hell, maybe they’ll even be proud of her conniving wit.  Crazier things have happened.

“You’re right.”

She finally said, opening her eyes and looking across the room – a flash of sadness crossing her features, as if admitting that hurt her deeply. Which it did, just not in the way she was hoping Johnny was thinking she was.

Meanwhile, Johnny looked on warily and with much confusion. He got out from behind Hide and edged closer towards Lucy, not getting too too close.

“You… ARE a masochist??”

“No, you fucking moron…”

Lucy rolled her eyes and let her head fall back in defeat. It was hard to maintain the sad demeanor when she kept envisioning herself, with Hides help, picking Johnny up and throwing him into oncoming traffic. But she managed to, somehow, as she covered her face and continued.

“About Joe and I. It was hard enough to end things, but then.. Seeing everything that they said, just made it even harder to deal with. Especially after I kept Edie’s secret about–”

She stopped herself and sat up, shaking her head.

“No, I told her I’d never tell anyone, no matter what…”

Lucy’s vagueness intrigued Johnny, she saw it in his face. Internally she smiled. Hook, line and sinker, the thought to herself as Johnny edged his way a little closer to her.

“Yeah, no, I get it, I really do. I mean, who are we if we break our promises, give away our secrets? Why, we’d hate to, ah, you know, put you in a precarious position and everything, but… it’s like you yourself said: they confided in you, they trusted you, you did your duty as a good friend, and look how they repaid your kindness!”

Johnny looks back at Hide briefly, then back at Lucy.

“I mean, I don’t… WANT you to tell your secret… but if, say, you felt that this would make things even between you two, you know, uh, it might just, ah, strengthen! Yes, do nothing BUT strengthen your bonds!”

Lucy met Johnny’s gaze for a moment before she put her head down, nodding her head.

“I-I don’t know.. Maybe you’re right. They.. They went too far this time.”

Johnny frantically nodded as Lucy seemed just about ready to open up.

“Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah, you’re right, of course, 100% too far! We just wanna do the right thing here, Ms. Wylde. Help us. Help us help you!”

“Here’s the thing…”

Lucy started out, nearly whispering as she stared down at her hands.

“You two have been on her for a while now.. And behind the scenes, she’s been a wreck. As much as I’ve tried to help her.. I-I think she’s thinking of doing something more… drastic.”

Johnny let out a quiet gasp. Even more intrigued than before, he moved in even closer as Lucy tried to look down further – trying to hide the subtle smirk on her lips. Even she couldn’t imagine Eden Morgan-Baal being a wreck over these two.

“You… you don’t say. The big-”

He pantomimed a cut throat complete with that cut throat sound almost made Lucy lose her marbles right then and there. But after a few seconds to compose herself again, Lucy glanced up, her eyes wide with fear as she nodded her head.

“Yeah… I think she might try to… Fake it again, just to get away from you.. And him.”

She closed her eyes again and sighed, while Johnny looked a bit disappointed.

“Oh. Er, uh, I mean, oh! Right! Fake it again! Okay! Well, that just means we’ve got her on the ropes!”

He fishes into his inside pocket for something as he speaks.

“This has been some valuable information, Ms. Wylde. We can leverage that intel into something big big BIG at Outlast, I’m sure!”

He pulls out 10 bills, resting them on her coffee table as he beckons for Hide to get a move on.

“That’s for your troubles, Ms. Wylde. Now don’t you worry, we’ll get a leg up on Incendium again thanks to you!”

Lucy glanced up just as the two of them rounded the corner, no doubt rushing away in hopes of figuring out how to use that useless information against Eden and Gabriel. Lucy sat back in the chair and yawned, finally able to smirk as she heard the door to her room closing.

“Fucks sake…”

She said to herself, looking at the table where Johnny had laid what looked like money. The smile on Lucy’s lips broadened as she sat up once more, reaching out and grabbing the money, but as she counted it – the smile slowly faded.

“Ten bucks? Cheap bastard…”

She muttered to herself tossing the money back onto the table. She pulled herself up off the chair, and moved back across the room to pick her phone up off the floor. She had to tell Eden about this… Hopefully Eden would let Johnny and Hide believe they had something for a little while before dashing their hopes.

“Edie?  You’ll never believe what just happened…”

Lucy said into the phone as Eden had picked up. Eden responded, but Lucy wasn’t listening – When she looked up towards the window, she saw him… Those auburn eyes and she stopped dead in her tracks, with Eden’s voice in her ear, saying something…

She followed his eyes as he glanced towards the door and that’s when she noticed an envelope laying there on the ground. How hadn’t she noticed it?

Stepping cautiously, she approached the envelope and once she got closer, she saw her name written on it and that feeling of dread crept back into her gut once more. As she knelt down to pick it up, she finally heard Eden saying her name – A hint of annoyance in her voice.

“I-I’m sorry Edie… I gotta call you back.”

She didn’t even wait for a response before hanging up and tucking the phone away, getting up and bringing the envelope back into the room with her. Part of her didn’t even want to open it, but the other part knew she had to.

Dearest Lucille,

     I suppose you realize by now that there is no way that I won’t follow you everywhere you go. It was a very nice try though.

     It’s time for us to talk, don’t you think?

     443-871-2889

     I’ll be expecting your call.

          -M. Krauss

Lucy sat upon the bed, her back resting against the wall as she stared at the note for a few moments, reading the phone number over and over.

She wondered if that was actually his phone number – or if it were just another game that he was playing with her. She was tired of the games. As she yawned and leaned her head back against the wall, she closed her eyes.

“There’s only one way to know for sure…”

His voice said as she nodded her head slowly. The truth was, she was scared to call and she was exhausted…

So when sleep took her, she didn’t resist.

 

And when she awoke, she found herself… not in her room, not on her bed, and for a moment she didn’t know where she was. She took a few clumsy steps forward, and suddenly everything that was once a blurry mess came into focus.

She was backstage at a show.

Except there was no crew hurriedly running around to set things up, there were no other wrestlers meandering around as they awaited their chance in the spotlight. There was nothing. No equipment boxes, no bags laying on the ground, no anything.

Lucy was confused as she started walking, running her hand along the wall as she went – Feeling the coolness of the cinder block structure beneath her fingertips.

“How did I get h–”

She begun asking herself when she rounded a corner to see Rogan MacLean standing there, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall – A smirk on his face.

“…Boo.”

He said, leaving Lucy shaking her head.

“…Boo?”

She asked, staring at him incredulously. It’s been years since she’s seen this man. Years that she’s missed her friend, her confidant. Ever since Gabriel broke his leg and put him on the shelf, she’d wondered where he was.. how he was.

And now, somehow he was right here in front of her in this empty arena and she couldn’t figure it out.

He shrugged his shoulders and pushed himself off the wall, taking a step towards her.

“Well… you were supposed to jump. But I guess your sixth sense is a little better than Eden’s. How are you doing?”

Lucy looked around.

“I’m…okay. I think.”

She paused, shaking the cobwebs out of her head.

“…But why was I supposed to jump?”

“..Because I said ‘boo’.”

Lucy and Rogan stared at one another awkwardly for a few moments before Lucy sighed and closed her eyes. Of course that’s what he meant… Duh. She thought, chiding herself silently.

Unperturbed by Lucy’s reaction, Rogan smirked and took another step forward.

“The Creeps must have desensitized you. I’ll go with that. It seems that you got the better of them, however. Congratulations!”

Lucy nodded her head.

“Yeah, thanks.. I- I guess they have.”

She’d never thought about it that way. Although she knew there were scarier things than a friend hiding in a hallway…

“Them and our buddy Gabriel. It’s been a long time.. How are you, Rogan?”

Lucy asked, wanting to turn the conversation away from herself. Although deep down, she was flattered that he’d known that she’d beaten Tempest, and that she’d won the Chaos Championship. Rogan tilted his head to the side, watching Lucy as if he could see her inner dialogue before he responded.

“Can’t complain. Better and better every day, in fact. I’m finally beginning to feel like myself.”

“Can’t deny.. It’s nice to see you, finally.”

She said that final word in such a way, telling her friend without actually telling him that she wished she’d seen him sooner. He nodded his head, his eyes never leaving her face.

“Likewise. It’s been a while. I know you’ve been through a lot… but you’re handling it well, I think. Better than I’ve handled adversity in the past.”

Lucy could feel her cheeks beginning to flush as she shrugged her shoulders and looked away.

It seemed to always come down to everything Lucy’s been through and how well she’s coped with the shit show that was her life. It’s no wonder she’s by herself now, she thought to herself as she finally spoke.

“Couldn’t have gotten much lower honestly, so it’s nice to see a light at the end of the tunnel. So what brings you to–”

She stops and looks around the empty halls, beginning to wonder if they were even where they appeared to be.

“–To wherever this is?”

Rogan took a few steps down the hallway. Lucy turned, her eyes followed him as he stopped a few paces away and turned back towards her, his arms extended to his sides.

“I’m not really sure. It’s just where I ended up.”

He paused, a smirk on his lips as Lucy’s mind began wandering once more.

“Just kidding. The other day, Gabriel and I were bantering back and forth on social media. Joking around about me being there to stop his dominance. Well, it kind of got me thinking… and, since Outlast is my jam, so to speak, I began to explore the web of possibilities that maybe I could come back… you know, just this once for my own amusement.”

In an instant, Lucy forgot the questions she’d been asking herself about where she was and how she’d gotten there and for the first time since she awoke here, she was happy.

“Really? That would be fantastic! I mean, I’ve missed y– I mean..”

Her cheeks blushed and she shook her head.

“That would be fantastic for you. But just ‘once’? Come on… You know once you get the itch, you won’t be able to just stop at one time.”

Lucy grinned softly.

“Well, you could be right about that.”

He paused once more, the expression on his face thoughtful before he continued.

“I guess if the interest lies, then maybe it’ll become more than a temporary fling. There has been a certain, undeniable hungering that I imagine I’ll need to pacify… eventually.”

“Eventually being… Now.”

She replied almost immediately, the tone of her voice almost hopeful as she looked up at her friend with a glint in her eyes, one that her friend smiled at, as he nodded his head.

“Perhaps… perhaps some may not be in favor of such a thing. Not that those feelings would fall into my considerations. But I doubt most would be as happy to see me back as you, and of course Gabriel and Eden.”

Silence settled between them for a few moments. Rogan motioned to Lucy, and the two began walking through the halls, both of them with their hands on the walls to their sides. Lucy felt at ease, even though she wasn’t entirely sure why or how she’d gotten there. But maybe it was Rogan’s calm that… calmed her too…
Finally, as they continued making their way around, Rogan turned his head, staring at her – Until she felt his eyes and she turned to meet his gaze.

“How about you? How are you feeling about this Outlast tournament? You’ve been ascending. Almost back to the old Lucy that we all know and love.”

She shrugged her shoulders, a feeling of uncertainty beginning to creep into her mind.

“I don’t know. I finally feel like I’m starting to get my feet under me again, but a part of me wonders if I even know who I’m supposed to be – Or who the old Lucy is. It’s been a long time since my mind has been clear.. Like, really clear and… I-I don’t know.”

Rogan stopped, and placed a hand on Lucy’s shoulder.

“You just need to shed your skin again. Which you’ve already begun doing, whether you realize it or not. The year of your redemption has come.”

Lucy looked up at him as she wondered if he saw more than she could possibly know. Things she couldn’t comprehend.. Things she’d never believe even if he told her.

Maybe, just maybe she should take him at his word… There was already so much uncertainty in her life, even though she’d been trying to right the ship and live her life in a way that she could actually enjoy. Why try to see the fault in the words of someone she trusts implicitly? Someone who’s never given her a reason to doubt…

“I hope you’re right.”

A soft, gentle smile comes to Rogan’s lips.

“No fate but what we make, Lucy.”

Those words played over and over in her head as everything around her began to get blurry all over again, everything except Rogan.

No fate but what we make…

And then slowly, Rogan started to back away from her, he himself getting blurry as well.

No fate but what we make…”

 

Lucy’s eyes opened once more and she found herself back in her room, right where she’d been before… that little trip. She blinked a few times, and shook her head, squinting as she looked at the clock – Only to find out she’d been sleeping for a mere thirty minutes or so.

Groaning, she got out of the bed and tried to remember what she’d dreamed about, but it was already starting to slip out of her mind – All except for Rogan, and Outlast.

“No fate but what we make, Lucy.”

His voice fills the otherwise empty hotel room with an air of jealousy as she glances over at his figure, leaned against the window on the far side of the room, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Why is it that you can open up to Rogan fucking MacLean in a dream… But you can’t admit things to me?”

Lucy sighed and shook her head.

“You are me.”

She replied, shaking her head as she noticed the note left by Michael had fallen to the ground beside the bed.

“And technically, dream Rogan was probably me too. So what does that tell you, Ceej?”

He pushed off of the window and moved across the room, taking a seat on the bed.

“Actually, it tells me that you are okay and maybe you don’t need me hanging around anymore to keep an eye on you.”

Lucy’s eyes widened as she turned her attention from the note to the visage of her dead ex-husband, CJ.

“Wait, you’re leaving?”

“It’s like you said, Lucy.. I am you. So will I ever truly be gone?”

CJ motioned towards the note in her hand.

“Besides, don’t you have a phone call to make? I’d hate to distract you…”

He said, a sly grin on his face before he slowly disappeared, leaving Lucy all alone once again with her thoughts and that damned note in her hands. She didn’t want to make the phone call. She was scared.

But instead of doing what she would have done before, instead of tossing her phone and that note to the side and forgetting both – She gritted her teeth and she dialed the number.

4-4-3…8-7-1…2-8-8-9…

Her thumb shook over the ‘send’ button, but she pressed it anyway and instantly her heart rate shot up as the phone started ringing.

It rang only a few times before a man’s voice came over the line.

“Ah, Lucille.”

It was him.

“How… How did you know–”

“I’ve been following your every move for months, and you think I do not know your phone number?”

He chuckles and Lucy’s cheeks burn bright red with anger.

“Then why send a stupid fucking note, huh?”

She growled but it came as no surprise when Michael ignored the indignant tone in her voice and continued as if she hadn’t said anything of value. Just like our father… Lucy thought to herself as Michael spoke.

“I simply wanted to see if you still follow instructions, like a good girl.”

Those last two words made her feel sick to her stomach.

He worked with him, Lucy thought… That’s why he sounds so much like Gary. Those thoughts did nothing to stop the anger that she felt, nor the fear of what this man could possibly want from Lucy and her sister.

“What do you want?”

Lucy finally said, ignoring what Michael had said out of spite. She wasn’t a play thing for him to jerk around, no matter what him or his questionable moral values told him.

“Right to business, huh?”

He began, the tone of his voice almost happy as he spoke to her. She knew deep down it was only because he wants to ruin her and her life. But why? That’s the question Lucy still hadn’t figured out the answer to.

“Well, Lucille. I think I’ve made myself clear with my intentions. You and your sister took something from me and mine – and it’s quite simple.. I want it back.”

“That’s the thing, Michael… Neither Kyra or I know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

He chuckled again.

“You don’t?”

Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Well, let me spell it out for you, dear. It’s your fault that Garrison is dead. It’s your fault that our organization lost quite a bit of stock. And while I let you run about for years, doing whatever you pleased… Just waiting for the right moment to take it all away from you… That time is now, Lucille. And to be perfectly honest with you, it’s you that I’m interested in. Your sister and her daughter are just a bonus.”

Lucys blood boiled with a hatred she’s not felt since her father. Her hands shook, and her voice quivered as she finally spoke, her voice quiet – Quieter than she wanted it to be.. But she couldn’t help it.

“If you say one more thing about Kyra and Adina, I swear I’ll–”

“You’ll what, exactly? You’re nothing Lucille. To me? You’re just an incubation chamber that somehow managed to get away from the system.”

Lucy closed her eyes.

“You’re disgusting.”

“Funny, Garrison always said the same thing when he spoke about you, Lucille.”

She scoffed.

“That shitbag’s opinion means nothing to me. And if you don’t wanna end up just like he di–”

He laughs.

“Oh, you’re going to get Mommy to kill me too? At present she’s not in the condition to rescue you this time… Sister.”

Lucy’s eyes widen as he speaks that final word in a near whisper. Her heart nearly beating out of her chest.

“W-What did you say?”

He didn’t respond, and Lucy’s mind started racing a thousand miles a minute as she thought about what he’d just said.

“WHAT did you SAY, ASSHOLE?!”

“Garrison Johnson wasn’t his name, Lucille… His real name was Garrison… Krauss.”

 

The scene opens with Lucy standing in front of the bed in her New York hotel room, clad in a short black dress with a lace pattern over her shoulders and a pair of black heels. Her hair falls down over her shoulders in soft waves, and a smile adorns the red painted lips of the Chaos Champion whilst her championship rests on the bed behind her, the metal plates shining in the light, catching the side of her face with a golden glow.

“You know… I was gonna stand here and say something about Outlast being my favorite time of year and how I’ve been in the finals nearly every time I’ve participated. While those facts might be true – It doesn’t really go with the story I’m trying to tell today.”

She pauses, taking a seat on the bed and crossing her legs.

“What we’ve got here kiddies is a story of someone who loves what she does and holds a lot of pride in being able to be one of the best to go out there and live out her dreams. It’s not always been fun and it’s sure as hell never been easy – But that’s not what I wanted when I decided to live this life. I didn’t come from easy and I sure as hell didn’t want to live the life I have, a life I wasn’t supposed to have… having everything handed to me.”

Shrugging her shoulders, she takes a glance over at the Chaos Championship that sits on the bed beside her.

“I’ve messed up a lot along the way. But I’ve also learned a lot about myself and the people that I open up my life… and my heart to. I started out Lucy Johnson, the daughter of an abuser and an enabler. But I never wanted that to define me. I never wanted the pity that comes along with an admission like that. I just… I just wanted to earn my way, just like every single one of you.”

She motions towards the audience.

“But what I didn’t realize is that along the way, I let it define me. It took a long time, right up until… A few months ago? Hell, I don’t know.. But I finally realized that I’ve been defined by my past… Because I didn’t know how to cope with it. I didn’t know how to put it to rest and really move on with my life.”

Glancing down at her hands, she continues.

“I drank, a lot. I thought it would numb the thoughts in my head, I thought if I drank enough that I’d eventually forget where I came from and what it did to me. But it didn’t… I didn’t. I found myself in relationships… Relationships that I now realize that I thought I needed because I just needed it, when in reality… I just didn’t want to be alone.”

She looks up, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.

“What’s the point of all this, you’re asking? I’m not really sure. I just found out I have a brother.. And he’s.. He’s just like my father. And it’s made me really think about all of this… And what my place within this world is. Outlast is difficult, but I think that’s why I like it so much. I enjoy the challenge. And this year, the powers that be have added a curveball that makes me wanna get in there and make it all the way again… Because I know I can.”

Nodding her head, she reaches over and pulls the Chaos Championship onto her lap, looking over the belt with pride as she continues speaking.

“But if I don’t? That’s okay too. Winning this, proving to myself that I can still do this by beating Tempest when I’m not sure anyone thought I could… Well, maybe I wasn’t sure I could… but that means more to me than any key or even winning the World title could mean. I’ll get back there, you know? The UGWC is full of people who want that big prize and most of them are willing to do anything to get it – And while I’d love to be in the finals and challenge Sloane for that title because I know it would be one hell of a fun match – I’m not willing to shit on this Chaos title just to do it. I’m not willing to be anything other than what I am right now, in this moment… I’m not willing to stop being this Lucy… Just to attain the biggest prize at the end of the night.”

She smiles.

“For the first time in a long time, my head is clear and I’m okay with who I am and where I am in my life. That doesn’t mean there are no problems on the horizons because if you all know anything about me by now… It’s that I’ve got problems stacked on top of problems. The difference now is, I can handle it. And I will… But for now I’m gonna come to Outlast and I’m gonna find out who I’ll be teaming with… And to whoever you may be? You needn’t worry about me. I’m gonna do what I always do, the one thing I do better than anyone.”

“I’m gonna put in one hundred and fifty percent because if I didn’t? I wouldn’t be able to walk out of there on Monday night with my head held high. I wouldn’t be able to look my peers in the face and tell them that I did everything I could. And to those of you who’ll be standing across from myself and my teammates? Look out. Even if I don’t make the finals, you can damn sure guarantee that I’m gonna make it hard on those of you who do.”

She sits back and tucks her hair behind her ears.

“And Sloane? Good luck out there, sweetie. You’re one hell of a champion and there’s a reason you are where you are right now. I admire your talent and your work ethic… Not so much your dreams… But that’s not the point here.”

Lucy chuckles and shakes her head.

“You’re the pinnacle. You’re the best in the UGWC right now, and Outlast is going to be the biggest challenge you’ve had yet. But if anyone can do it, if anyone can face this test and come out the other side still the World Champ? It’s you. But if I make it to the finals, I’m coming for that pretty belt and I know you wouldn’t want any less than my best, so that’s what you’ll have.”

“That’s what all of you will get. So let’s have some fun on Monday, huh? I know I will…”

She winks at the lens as the picture cuts to black.

 

OOC: Thank you to Helder, Cory, Mike and Britt for the Collaborations! Good Luck everyone!!!