Date January 8th 2018 / Time 12:45PM / Status Not Recording
Location The Carnage Arena – Baltimore, Maryland

Lucas and I circle one another and suddenly we lunge at each other, locking up in the center of the ring. If I were sparring with anyone else, anyone bigger I guess I should say – I’d already be flying across the ring into the turnbuckle. But Lucas is smaller. He and I are very evenly matched when it comes to strength.

I push him back a few steps and he returns the favor; pushing me backwards. I release him and chop him in the chest, sending him staggering back a few steps. He doesn’t waste much time in rushing forward and again returning the favor.

“Is that all you got?!”

I say, laughing as I duck another chop and take him down to the mat with a Russian leg sweep. Almost as quickly as I landed on the mat, I’m back up on my feet. He’s not on his A-Game today. I can tell. He rolls over and climbs back up to his feet and as he’s bent over, I smack him in the back of the head with an elbow, sending him back onto his knees.

“Come on, little boy… Get up.”

He grumbles under his breath as he looks back at me and begins climbing back up to his feet again. This time I let him get up and we come face to face again. I’m sure the smile on my face is pissing him off, but that’s the point. I need him to get angry. I need him to stop holding back.

“Hit me. Come on.”

I point to my chin as I step forward, holding my face out – hoping that he’ll take bait. But instead of stepping forward and laying me out, he steps off.

“God damnit, I said hit me!”

All at once I move forward and push him as hard as I can. My frustration with him not taking advantage of the opportunities he’s given boils over. I wanted to train him to help him, to get him experience so that he can go somewhere else and fight. But I don’t want to help someone who isn’t going to give me all he’s got. I know I’ve been pushing him hard today, much harder than I did the last time. But he can take it. I’ve watched him fight much bigger and much worse people than me.

He moves in and suddenly I’m standing face to sweaty face with an equally angry and frustrated Lucas Silva.

“Don’t give me anymore of that pussy shit, just–”

“Don’t call me a pussy!”

He rages, his copper colored cheeks taking on a few shades of pink as he sets his jaw. This is what want to see. I want to see that anger, that passion. I don’t want some little boy who doesn’t want to hit me. I’m not some damn piece of china that can’t handle being dropped. I can’t respect people who treat me that way, so if he thinks hitting me as hard as he can will lose my respect… then he’s dumber than I thought.

“Then stop acting like one!”

He lashes out with a few good hits, but no where near what I know he can dish. I circle around him, kicking him in the shins a few times; making him dance around.

“I told you…”

I growl between breaths; continuing to circle this young man and watching his cheeks turn to darker shades of pink. He lashes out once again, getting me pretty good in the side of the head. I shake it off and smile; throwing a few punches of my own – and surprisingly enough missing my mark. He’s quick when he wants to be.

I feel him move beside me, and quicker than he can get away, I turn with a roundhouse kick and nearly take his head clean off his body.

“…to stop being a pussy.”

He roars with anger, the spit flying from his mouth as his arms fly in my direction and before I realize it I’m seeing stars. He hits me hard a second time, and I try to block it but he pushes me into the ropes. Before I can put my arms up, he’s got me pinned and he lays down a couple more good hits to my face. As he’s laying hits, I reach around the back of his head and knee him in the gut. He lets out a loud groan and falls backwards while I fall down to the mat.

“It’s about damn time…”

I say quietly, shaking my head – trying to get the cobwebs out. My eyes flicker upwards to see him back on his feet, standing a few feet away, breathing heavy. That look of rage slowly fading from his eyes. I reach up and wipe my head off, only to find a little bit of blood on my hand when I bring it back down in front of my face. He must have gotten me good. I wipe my hand off and shake my head again.

“Are you–”

I put my hand up as he approaches.

“I’m fine. Great actually. That’s the shit I want to see from you, Lucas.”

I pull myself up to my feet and smile at him. I know I probably shouldn’t have pushed him to that point – but everyone else isn’t going to give a flying fuck about him being prepared for any and every fight. So he shouldn’t’ care who he’s fighting, especially when he’s inside this ring.

“Besides, Melody is probably gonna do a lot worse to me in a few weeks – So I might as well toughen up now.”

I say with a shrug. If I’m being one hundred and ten percent honest; I’ve let myself go. I’ve softened up in my skill since I lost Carnage – and until now, or rather until I was faced with the opportunity to right my wrongs I’ve not given a shit about being any good inside the ring anymore.

“You’re going to smoke that rag, Lennox.”

He says, moving towards the ropes.

“I’ve never beaten her.”

It’s humiliating to admit that, but there it is right out there in the open now. It’s always been public knowledge, but I’m sure not everyone cares about where Melody and I were before we came to Carnage. She and I have a history. Maybe not as storied as the iconic Sinc and Tweeder battles, or the mythical matches that JD’s told me about when he was in CWA with a young Lucy Johnson.

No, our history isn’t anything that amazing, but to me it’s one of the driving forces behind almost everything I’ve done as of late. Sure, I’ve lost. I’ve lost a great deal, but I’ve always been able to come back and learn; get better and grow. I’ve always beaten those who have beaten me… eventually.

Except for Melody.

“You two fought before?”

I nod my head.

“Before I came back here, we were in a place called ‘Uncensored’.”

He rolls his eyes.

“Stupid name.”

I can’t stifle the laugh that spills from my mouth.

“Yeah. It was. It was ran by a dude named Spyder though. With a ‘y’.  Much dumber name.”

He raised his eyebrows. I can tell he’s thinking about what I mean. If he’s not careful he’s going to set something on fire. It’s a good thing he’s got a good mind when it comes to fighting, because I’m pretty sure he’d never make it as a scholar. I reach out and pat him on the shoulder.

“Nevermind. Anyway. She and I had two matches in Uncensored. We debuted together and we fought for number one contendership to the Banned Championship. I lost both times. Obviously.”

“Sounds like this time.”

I roll my eyes. They are nothing alike.

“Yeah, except we’re not in a ‘crazy train’ this time around.”

“Wha?”

I don’t much like thinking about that bout. I don’t even know why I brought it up in the first place. Nothing like getting kidnapped afterwards to sour any and all feelings I had about that particular match.

“It was… It was insane.”

“On a train?”

“Yes. On a train.”

“Wow.”

I can’t tell whether or not he’s impressed by that. I wouldn’t be if I were him. That match, while at the time I thought it was pretty damn cool; and I honestly thought I had the best chance of coming off of that train first – Especially against who Melody Lennox used to be – But I was dead wrong. I was too full of myself back then; and it cost me.

“Come on, let’s get back to it. Believe it or not, this is helping me too.”

I push off of the ropes and begin hopping around the ring, stretching my arms out. It is helping. I didn’t realize how rusty I felt until I started training him. Just goes to show that whether or not you believe in a certain aspect of this business – that you should make damn sure you’re well versed in all of it.

You never know who you’re gonna meet.

You never know what’s gonna be expected of you.

It’s really no matter I lost all those times; even in the more hardcore matches… I didn’t pay enough attention to the technical aspects of it. It can’t all be baseball bats and kendo sticks. In between all those weapons are actual wrestling moves – things that I’ve remembered how to do, I just never cared about doing them right.

That’s where I could learn a thing or two from Lucy… If she weren’t such a bitch, and I weren’t so damn stubborn.

“Helping you?”

“Yeah. If I want to have any chance at beating Melody – I need to get my shit on lock. I need to work my ass off and make sure I know the right way of taking this number one contendership – because God knows what she’s going to do to try and beat me. She’s not the same woman anymore.”

 

Date January 9th 2018 / Time 3:11PM / Status Not Recording
Location The Mohr Residence – Pensacola, Florida

“Where is my baby and what are you doing to her?!”

I yell down the hallway as I close the front door behind me. I drop my bags on the ground and set out searching for my baby; and at the same time her father. I could hear her screaming outside; our poor neighbors.

“In here!”

I sigh and shake my head, moving down the hallway towards Adina’s room. I step into the doorway and grin as that ornery little girl smacks my husband in the face, slips from his grip and runs into my arms.

“There you are… What is Dada doing to you?”

JD gets back to his feet and smooths his hands over his pants, trying not to look like he’s just been through hell – but I can see it in his eyes. I can’t say he doesn’t deserve it, especially with the way he’s been acting lately. Our eyes meet as I stand up, holding Adina in my arms – I can already feel the chilliness that I was expecting as I made my way back here.

“She wouldn’t let me change her.”

I hear him, I just don’t acknowledge it. I take the baby to the changing table and lay her down, where she stays perfectly still for me as I start changing her diaper.

“You mean like this?”

He sighs and I can’t help but smile down at the baby. His frustration recharges my batteries, especially since I’m not unhappy at the moment. Lucas and I had a really good day of training and Chaos was, well Chaos was Chaos. I’m so ready for Act of Defiance; and in all honesty – outside of the kids and making sure they’re taken care of… I don’t really care about much else.

“Funny.”

“I thought so. There, all better.”

I bring Adina back up into my arms and turn back towards JD, who’s standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows so close together I could swear that they’re making out or some shit. This time I’m the one sighing as I approach him; figuring I should at least try to show him some affection – At least when he rejects me I can say I tried.

I get up on my tip toes and peck him on the lips. He doesn’t say anything right away; I can tell he’s thinking about something though.

“I missed you, John. Has she been like this the whole time I’ve been gone?”

He nods his head and uncrosses his arms.

“The entire time.  She didn’t even want to play with the boys.”

“Now you know how I felt for the entire first year of her life.”

“Fucking sucks.”

“Imagine that.”

I can’t disguise the sarcasm. But it’s true. I couldn’t get this child to even look in my direction for the first twelve months. Now, I can’t get her to get out of my ass. I would feel bad for JD, for having to deal with her tantrums while I’m back in Baltimore.. But it’s his choice to stay down here, therefore it’s his own damn fault.

“So, training… how did it go?”

I raise my eyebrows in question.

“Are you actually interested?”

“Kyra…”

“It went great. He’s a talented kid, and I realized that all of this training is helping me to get ready for this match with Melody.”

I honestly hate mentioning her name in front of him, partially because his infatuation with her is the reason he and I almost got divorced a year or so ago… and I still kind of think there was more to his little conversation with her than the simple ‘I just wanted her to come back to Carnage’ excuse. But then again, my husband has always been a manipulator… That’s just something about him that I’ll never understand and I’ll never be able to change.

“I’m glad she came back.”

I scoff and roll my eyes.

“I’m sure you are, John.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. She’s a talented kid. Carnage can use someone with her talents.”

Talented, she is. But I’m sure he wants to know of more talents then just what she shows off in the ring.

“Of course she’s talented. Took the Banned championship off of you, didn’t she?”

Whooped his ass too. Yeah, I forgot to mention to Lucas that when Melody and I were fighting over the number one contendership to the Banned Championship, we were fighting for the right to try to take it from the ‘Legendary’ Bullrush himself.

“And Carnage needs a lot more than the overrated Melody Lennox in their ranks to make things better. It’s funny, you know…”

I continue, slipping past him and taking the baby back out to the living room.

“What’s funny?”

“I don’t know, I still think it’s funny that you tried so hard to get her to come back to Carnage… yet she didn’t need you to help her find her way. And how you still take credit for her being here again.  What is your deal with her, John Dustin?”

As I sit down on the couch, I look up to see that same sour expression that he’s had with me since I started training Lucas. Except now I’m bringing up old shit that he doesn’t like being reminded of. Like how he’s older now, and people don’t see him as the legend that he sees himself as. That pretty young things like her see him as a creepy grandpa, not a potential lover.

“I had more to do with it than you think, Kyra.”

I can’t stand that cocky look on his face. Always trying to make everything about him. As if he’s had any real interest in Carnage in… ever. At least not an interest that wasn’t based in selfishness or an undying desire to get his dick wet.  Maybe I am a little jealous of her.  Why wouldn’t I be?  I may not have seen the entirety of the text conversation between the two of them that started all our issues before… but I saw enough of it and I remember enough of it to believe that he was doing a lot more than trying to get her back to Carnage.

“Why? Did you try a dick pic this time, babe?”

“Fuck you Kyra.”

I laugh out loud. That’s how I know I’m getting to him. He’s so obvious it’s painful.

“Listen, I know you’ve got a thing for her. She knows you got a thing for her. While I think it’s stupid, she just finds it creepy.”

“Think what you want.”

Wrong answer, bucko.

“Well that’s convenient because I was going to anyway. And just to butter your biscuit, baby… I’m going to fucking beat her and send her right back down to the bottom of the barrel. Maybe then she’ll feel like giving you the time of day.”

 

Melody fucking Lennox.

So we meet again. Last time we fought, we fought aboard a moving train.  Do you remember that shit?  The last time we fought, I swore to God I had you beat because as I said it ‘You were stepping into MY arena’ and you were going to be so far out of your comfort zone that I’d put you away with ease.

With fucking ease.

We both know how that went. You walked off of that train and won your shot at Bullrush’s Banned Championship. You. The sweet little girl who could barely put a sentence together without stuttering. The petite blonde who was unnervingly nice to everyone that it made people like me wanna puke. I underestimated you back then, Melody. I can admit that now.

My how we both have changed.

I know you can probably make a convincing argument that I haven’t really changed much since our days in Uncensored. I’ve still got a shitty attitude and I still lose more than I win. That’s a pretty accurate representation of the ‘Kyra Johnson philosophy on life’, am I right?  You’ve always had my number, Melody.  That I can’t deny.

But the main difference between then and now?

Well, hun… You’ve become a much shittier human being than I ever thought possible.

It’s hard to believe that the girl I met back then is the same whiny little Bitch that I’ve been reintroduced to here. You’ve gone from a woman who wouldn’t cheat a robber of a dime, even if they were taking your life savings… to a woman who can’t help but to cheat everyone, even those who try to treat you with some semblance of respect. You went from a woman who didn’t complain about anything, even if you got totally shafted… to someone who’s fucking complaining about losing a world title match fair and square.

I get that you don’t like Amy Jo. I don’t either. But the Bitch beat you. She beat you cleanly and definitively. I know you won’t believe me, but for once… You weren’t the best, Melody. Don’t get me wrong, you’re a damn good wrestler when you’re not being a spoiled little cunt. You are more than worthy of another world title shot. You’ve proven yourself over and over, no one denies that.

It’s just… I can’t let you have this one.

I can’t let you get past me again.

You’ve had your chance, Melody. This is my time. You can tell me that I’m not worthy all you want. You can tell me that I’ve fucked up everything else in my life, so what makes this any different… You can tell me that I don’t deserve this shot at whoever walks out of Fort McHenry with the World Title. You can tell me whatever you wanna… and chances are you’re going to be right about a lot, if not all of it.

You aren’t telling me anything that I don’t already know. I’m a perpetual fuck up. Everything I touch seems to turn to shit. But that’s not going to stop me from beating you and moving on to face either Amy Jo or Will.  You know why? Because I don’t have anything else left to lose. As far as I’m concerned, I’m at rock bottom and the only possible way I can go is up. Unfortunately for you, Melly… That means going through you. That means going through anyone that gets in my way.

Fort McHenry isn’t just the setting of Act of Defiance. There’s a reason I wanted this show to be there last year. Fort McHenry is a symbol of the ultimate Act of Defiance. We all went to school. We all know what happened in the war of 1812. We all know that the British wanted to get into the port of Baltimore in order to gain a foothold in America, but the fort and the brave fighters within its walls stood tall.

They defied the odds against them and they kept the British at bay.

I’m going to defy everyone’s expectations and I’m going to be the number one contender for the Carnage World Championship for the first time in my career. I know the lot of you don’t believe me and you definitely don’t believe in me. I’m used to it. I’m used to being the butt of everyone’s jokes. In the most unprofessional move ever, the current boss here in CW – he told me that the fans are wasting their money by coming to watch me.

The real waste is having someone running things that doesn’t appreciate the people of Baltimore, the Legion of Carnage Wrestling. The real waste is having someone who can’t possibly appreciate where we all came from trying to shove shit we don’t want down their throats.

I do thank you though, Jason Bridges, for one thing. I thank you for the opportunity to prove you and every single one of my naysayers wrong.

I may have lost at Wargames. I may have talked a big game and ultimately, I failed everyone. I don’t expect anyone to come into the Fort on Sunday night and actually think that I’m really going to beat Melody. I don’t even expect anyone to listen to these words I’m saying right now.

It’s time to put up or shut up.

It’s time to be everything that I know I can be and everything that no one else thinks I am.

 

OOC: Good Luck Melly.  It’s been great being able to face you again!
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