25.January.2023
Blath Gardens Apartments
New York, NY

(Continued from “The Bizarre Tenants of Blath Gardens, Part Two”)

“Let’s hold Palaver, Dark Man. Help me.” Lucy said that last part, almost desperately and Rogan picked up on it immediately – grabbing her by the hand and pulling her over to the couch where they both sat.

“Talk to me.”

Lucy nodded her head, taking a deep breath. “His name was Arthur. He lives downstairs, you know? Nice man. Really nice. But like… He told me he wondered when we’d finally find our way here and that was crazy in itself because how could he know?”

“Indeed…” Rogan said quietly, contemplating her words as she continued.

“He said he’s been here a long time, and he’s waited for us nearly that long. Do you think that’s…” Lucy’s voice trailed off and she glanced over at Rogan, who met her gaze and smirked.

“Well, Lass – It isn’t that far-fetched.”

Lucy’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Really?”

Rogan chuckled.

“Aye.” The two of them continue to stare at one another. The longer they gaze into one another’s eyes, the more Lucy thinks about why Rogan wouldn’t find Arthurs words to be crazy.

After a few moments, Lucy closed her eyes and sighed. “Of course you wouldn’t think so. The Dark Man and his Buick, and his travels… I guess it just caught me off guard. That and his knowledge of my past.”

Rogan sat up, his interest piqued. “What about your past?”

“Told me how lucky you are…” Lucy replied with a soft grin upon her lips, and she elbowed him in his side.

“Smart man.”

“…And how lucky everyone before you was too.” Lucy finished with a scoff.

Rogan shook his head. “You don’t believe him, I assume.”

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what to believe. But yeah, I mean.. What got me the most was that he said I needed to figure out what to do in order to reconcile my past so that I can fully move on. I just.. I just don’t know what he means by that.”

She sits back on the couch, laying her head on Rogan’s shoulder. After a few minutes of silence, Rogan lets out a sigh and leans his head onto hers.

“Is there.. something that’s happened…”

Lucy turns her head just enough to look at the side of Rogan’s face. “Something that what? Bothers me?”

“Aye. Something that maybe feels… A bit unresolved?”

“I don’t know…”

Rogan smirks.  It wouldn’t be a conversation with Lucy if she weren’t trying to disguise something. “I think you do, Lucy.”

Lucy sighs.

“Yeah…” A bit of pink rises to her cheeks as she sits up, putting a bit of separation between herself and Rogan. Upon seeing the smirk on his face, she bites her lip.

“What is it Lass?”

Groaning, she buries her face in the couch beside Rogan. But he’s not about to let her get out of this that easily. He runs a hand along her back, fingertips tickling her sides until she sits up once again.

“Do you think he’s right?” Rogan prods again, hoping to help her see a bit clearer.

Lucy nods. “I know he is. Ain’t much can be resolved when you decide to end a relationship, and an engagement with a note.”

“Joe?”

“Yeah..”

Her voice was quiet, it was pretty clear she wasn’t fond of thinking about it, but the events of the day had brought one of her biggest regrets to the forefront. Of course she regretted what she did to Joe. It wasn’t right.

It wasn’t fair to him.

“I really did him wrong.”

Rogan shrugs his shoulders. “I think you had your reasons, regardless.”

“Maybe, but it’s still something that’s been on my mind… since he’s been back. I just, I didn’t really think there was a use to, you know..”

“Apologize.”

Lucy lets out another, more exaggerated sigh. “Yeah. I felt like it would have gone over like a lead balloon if I even tried. It wasn’t the right time, I guess. I don’t know.”

When it comes to this particular situation, she was more than uncertain. It’s not that she never thought she’d end up coming face to face with how their relationship ended, but she’d hoped they both ended up in a better place. She knew she did. It’s not far fetched to believe that he was too, considering he was back, seemingly picking up where he left off.

But that note, and the way she left things… It hangs over her, whether she initially thought it did or not.

After another few moments of silence, Lucy turns toward Rogan – The uncertainty etched all over her face. “But we’re both doing better.. Does it really make sense to drudge up the past and make things more awkward than they already are? I mean, I’ve got Montague to focus on and he’s got.. Whoever he’s gonna wind up facing. I’d hate to mess things up for him, again.”

“I wish I had an answer for you, Lass. I’m afraid I’ve never found myself in a situation like this.”

“Oh, I know.” Lucy replies quietly, surveying the room at the home that they’re slowly building around them. It warms her heart to feel secure, and truly at home here with him, but it also brings the feelings of what was back into her mind.

Now, would she go back and change what happened? No.

Could she have handled it better? Absolutely. Her regrets are based solely on her own handling of the deterioration of her relationship with Joe. Not on the ending itself.

“It’s not exactly something to be proud of… Being in those kinds of situations. Creating those kinds of situations.”

“It takes two to tango…” Rogan interjects, leaning forward on the couch. “That’s how that saying goes, yeah?”

Lucy chuckles. “Yeah, that’s how it goes. And you’re right.”

There was more to say, but Lucy wasn’t quite sure how to word it. A new wave of silence settled over the room, that is, until Rogan pats Lucy’s leg and brings himself up to his feet.

“Lucy, don’t worry yourself over it. You will make the right decision.  You’re the only one that determines your fate, after all.”

 

6.February.2023
UGWC Arena
Chicago, IL

The sounds of Ezra Wolf battling it out with JC plays in the background as Lucy sits with her back to the monitor, her eyes resting on a door. A door that’s no different than any of the others that line the hallways back here, but incredibly different in the eyes of the UGWC World Champ. It just so happens to be the door of the man that’s out in front of the bright lights at this very moment, likely shoving his boot so far down Ezra’s throat that the poor guy might be tasting dirt for weeks after.

She sat here the week before too, just not nearly as long. After seeing what happened out in the ring with Tempest, Lucy had quickly decided that talking to Joe wouldn’t go well at all. Not that she was scared of Joe when he was angry – She’d been there, dealt with that side of him many times over the years they’d known one another.

Lucy just didn’t want to start this particular conversation whilst ‘The Bogeyman’ was already seething. Not that she necessarily wanted to start this particular conversation this week either, but maybe this week would find him in a slightly better mood.

Sitting back, and leaning her head against the wall – she listens to the action happening in the ring, expecting to hear a loud thud and a ‘one, two, three’ followed by the bell – and each time, her stomach turns with anxious energy. Every second that passes by, is a second closer to something that she’d never thought she’d be doing.

Maybe she should save this for another time.

Infinity is coming up after all, and after the last few weeks – She knows Montague is around here somewhere, and quite frankly, she’s shocked he hasn’t been running his mouth like he usually does.

“Lucy?”

Her eyes open suddenly, resting upon her brother in law. “Oh, Ken.. Hey.”

Ken Davison takes a tentative step forward, eyeing Lucy up before he turns his gaze towards the door, examining it for a second before he realizes who’s door it is.

“I’m not sure I want to ask why you’re sitting outside your exes locker room, but you do know that he’s not in there, right?”

Lucy chuckles and shakes her head, sliding forward on the chair she’s been seated on while still trying to listen to the action happening behind her.

“Oh, I know,” A bit of pink rises to her cheeks as she realizes how suspicious this actually looks, as the two of them simply exist there, awkwardly for the moment until Lucy finally clears her throat, motioning towards the conquest title on Ken’s shoulder. “Congratulations, by the way.. On the title and the kid.”

At the mention of Kyra’s pregnancy, Ken’s face softens and a smile crosses his lips. “Thanks. I’m scared, nervous, excited, all at the same time.”

“I can imagine.”

Trying or not, the two of them are pretty adept at creating an awkward silence between them. Finally, Ken sighs and looks between Lucy and the door once more.

“So…” He begins again, wondering if he’ll regret asking what he said he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask about – but he’s too curious to refrain. “…What is this about?”

“I was honestly hoping you wouldn’t ask, but here we are,” Lucy sighs and stands up, turning around to take a glance at the monitor – Watching Joe and Ezra still going at it. “I… Jesus this sounds pathetic… but I wanted to apologize to him. However, I think I’m probably gonna save it for another time.”

She hesitates in front of the door another second before she steps away, heading back in the direction of her own locker room. Unexpectedly, Ken sticks around, walking along the corridor beside her.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know what you have to apologize for. I also know that I’ve messed up a bunch of times and whether I’m the one who should apologize or not, I do it if I need to cleanse my soul.”

Ken’s face contorts. The awkwardness he’s feeling right now doesn’t need words, only his expression.

“Which reminds me, sorry about how bitchy I was when you beat me. I was definitely not in a good place. I know it’s not an excuse, it’s just an explanation.”

“Water under the bridge at this point.” She replies, shrugging her shoulders. They walk a few more feet as she ponders the first statement he made – Cleansing the soul. She can’t help but appreciate the accuracy of those three words in her present situation. “As for the other thing.. Yeah. It doesn’t really matter at this point, but I hope in doing it eventually.. It’ll help us both.”

“You do what you need to do. I’ve got a lifetime of sins that I don’t have the connections to fix. All I can do is do right by your sister and your niece… and you. I know you and I aren’t exactly the best of friends, but if there is anything you need, ask.”

“I appreciate that. Right now, though, I think I need to focus on Infinity because I know Montague is. And you, well you’ve got a match in a little while and you’ve got a Global Challenge to win.” She says with a sideways glance and a grin.

Maybe not the greatest subject change in the history of subject changes, but she’d rather this than having to recount to someone else what reasoning she has for needing to talk to Joe.

“Well, that’s why I mentioned needing anything. There was that Astrocreep beatdown I was on the receiving end of a couple of months back. I’m not about to let the same thing happen to you. I won’t touch Cervantes, because I’m not about to get you disqualified. But even if you refuse, I see so much as one other Creep around, they’re going to get their receipt.”

“I know better than to refuse, especially with the creeps. I don’t think Montague will be as stubborn about needing to beat me himself as Tempest was. I appreciate it, Ken. I really do.”

The conversation is interrupted by the chorus of Mz. Hyde by Halestorm coming from Ken’s phone.

“Sorry, I’ve got to take this.” Ken says while turning away. Lucy smiles, knowing it’s her sister. “Yeah, babe. I’m about to leave and head back your way… Wait, you want me to pick up what? Alright, I’ll find it… See you in a bit… Love you, too.”

Ken turns back to Lucy with the look of a lovesick puppy.

“I gotta go. Listen, I mean what I said. After all, I’m coming for you after Infinity.”

Ken turns and power walks off, not quite running, but certainly not taking his time.  Lucy watches him, smiling – but her eyes show a bit more melancholy than she puts on.

“Looking forward to it.”

 

We find Lucy Wylde seated in Goodale Park, not too far from the Nationwide Arena here in Columbus, Ohio.   On this chilly day, the park is fairly empty, aside from a few kids playing soccer across from where she’s sitting in front of the fountain that adorns the center of this place.  Lucy sits quietly for a few moments, pulling her jacket closer to her chest as her hair is tousled by the breeze circling around the park.

“Oh, hey.  Congratulations, Montague.”

She says, turning towards her audience with a smile on her lips as chilly as the winter air swirling around her.

“It was a truly rewarding experience to watch a talent such as yourself work so hard, and put so much on the line in order to earn this shot at me.”

The World Champs eyes twinkled as she speaks, her nose crinkling up as she finishes with a chuckle and a shake of her head.

“Oh, no.  That’s what I’ll say to whomever leaves Infinity as the winner of the Global Challenge and the true challenger to my World title.  What you did, Monty.. Was have friends in high places.   The real congratulations in this case should really be going to your little buddy Daedalus for slithering his way into the position of Creative Director and making sure my first defense after beating his original Golden Boy was against his Understudy.”

Lucy rolls her eyes.

“I know, I know.  Montague Cervantes doesn’t like being labeled as anything but an equal to Tempest and the Astrocreeps.  But to channel my inner Travis Pierce… the truth hurts, doesn’t it, Showman?”

She narrows her eyes at Cervantes, the intensity in her stare making it seem as if she can really see him through the lens of the camera.  A few moments pass and eventually her gaze softens and she sighs.

“The real truth here being that you’re not second fiddle to anyone.  In case you’ve forgotten, we had this song and dance last year – except it was the Global Challenge that was on the line.  It didn’t exactly go my way, did it Montague?  And that, among a few other things, is why I know better than to overlook you.  Overlooking someone is far different than pointing out how exactly you got to where you’re at right now.   You’ve gotten here before, last year’s Infinity being a perfect example of how you CAN get opportunities based on mostly merit… You just choose not to.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“To each their own.  Just know that things aren’t gonna go your way.  I know that’s what everyone says, but just think about it.  Think about the masterpiece in violence that Tempest and I created together.  Think about how desperate the Spider King was to take this away from me…”

Pulling the UGWC World title out from behind her, she lays it on her lap and stares at it as she continues.

“And he was desperate.  But you already know that.  You know how deep into his head I managed to get, and you watched him give everything he had… And he still failed.  You’re not Tempest, Montague.  But I also don’t sense the same torture, the same madness that I sensed in him when it comes to silencing The Omen and taking back what you all feel is rightfully yours.   And that’s all just… disappointing.”

Finally, she glances back up into the lens – the blue of her eyes just a little dimmer.

“When I say I’m disappointed, please understand that it’s not because you’re lesser than.  It’s because you’re here out of pure, unadulterated convenience.   Tempest failed, so Daedalus decided it’s next man up, or in your case, next Creep up.  You’re not here because you want this.  Of course you want it… But can you honestly look me in my eyes and tell me you want this belt more than anything you’ve ever wanted in your life?   Can you peer into the portals of my soul and tell me that this world title, that besting me for the biggest prize in the UGWC is the one thing that would quell the demons inside your mind… and allow to you rest peacefully for one night in your miserable existence?”

Lucy tilts her head to the side, a wicked smile crossing her features.

“No?  I didn’t think so.  To you, this is just a trinket.  This is just a plaything for the Showman to parade around with, showboating to the rest of us.  And sure, who doesn’t win the big match and puff out their chests a little bit?  But for you, that’s all it is.  It always has been, Montague.  And that’s why you’re leaving Infinity empty handed.   Because while as a champion, I haven’t defended it, or given it the level of status that Seb’s given the Chaos title – Like Seb, I understand what being a champion means.   And it’s not what you, and the Creeps stand for.”

“The World title’s been a fucking hot-potato for most of 2022… my goal here in 2023?  Bring this belt back to the prestige that it damn well deserves.  So bring your best, Montague and the Dark Lady will bring hers.”

Lucy finishes and takes another glance out at the fountain as the picture slowly fades out.