12-10-2021, 12:33 PM
12-14-2021, 08:19 PM
Send in the Clown
Chapter 13: Couch Conversations
Is it possible that I invite these beatdowns upon myself? Am I a glutton for punishment? Or is it just the ‘way things are’?
I mean, let’s think about this for a moment. Who else has had their ass handed them in such a manner more than me, Shilo Valiant?
First, I get put through table after table in the months that preceded RTG. Then, I get put through more tables and shoved into ladders at RTG in a TLC match. Then, I go through a FLAMING table and then get shoved through plexiglass pods and chains of metal in a chamber match, and then – as if that wasn’t enough – I get a beatdown by Jabba the Hut and his little henchman named ‘Ricky’.
Now, to be clear, I don’t know if that heckling laughing cretin in “Return of the Jedi” was actually named Ricky, but come on! No one else named him and it’s a close enough analogy to that mass of sweat and puss known as Rudy!
And I can’t even say I was still ‘being smart’ at this point by hiding my damaged knee. At this point, everyone in SCW had figured out that Shilo Valiant, the Hall of Famer, was wrestling with a handicap. I basically became the Matt Hodges of 2021 – remember that? Geez, that was one thing I couldn’t be proud of. What was next? I open a clinic like him and get others in? “Clown School”! Yeah, teach the fakes like Ace and Gio how to really entertain the masses!
Still, I guess I could be grateful that Rudy didn’t sit on me or something. I’d be more disgusted if that slug had sweated his slime on me then the beatdown his little puppet had played on me. Even so, while Ricky’s behaviour was as fickle as plastic bag stuck in an updraft, he still possessed the skills that had impressed me at Rise to Greatness.
The beatdown had done two things to me, actually. First, it had made me realize that this confrontation with Ricky had to happen. Now, I don’t want to overuse my ‘promo material’ here, but it’s best to explain, at least, that I had come to that conclusion. Ricky’s flopping back and forth was anything but entertaining in SCW – and that slug Rudy was just plan boring the hell out of me with his constant whining and shit/slime trails that followed him wherever he went. Ricky could very well have been Adrenaline champion at either RTG or Apocalypse, in that chamber, if he had just dropped all that weight that was Rudy Powell. He needed to learn a lesson or two when it came to the entertainment and wrestling going hand and hand in SCW – at least while I was around.
Which lead me to the second thing that I realized after beatdown number “insert number”, I honestly had lost track at how many times I’d suffered a beatdown at the hands of someone trying to make a name through me in the last six months. But the one thing that was clear was Marina’s words – the idea that I only had a few of those left that I would be able to survive.
Let’s not fool ourselves here, guys. I knew that I was on borrowed time. I knew that, sooner or later, I would need to step away from SCW again in order to take that surgery that would fix my knee. I knew that the window that this surgery would fix me was closing with every beatdown and, if I waited too long, then the surgery wouldn’t be able to do anything. The problem was, as Nomas had pointed out, the surgery would take me out for three to four months. And that much time out of SCW? Well, look at last year’s big names: Bree Lancaster, Sienna Swann, Owen Cruze, Giovanni Aries – even legends like Xander Valentine and Regan Street. It was so easy to be ‘forgotten’ when it was time to take a leave. All momentum was gone when you came back, and you’d have to start from square one.
That wouldn’t bother me, normally, I had done it before when I had worked my way through SCW to get to the Adrenaline championship. But the problem was, people were talking a little about my name circling around the World Championship. Now, compared to names like Glory Braddock, Xander Valentine, and Jordan Majors (I refused to acknowledge Holly Adams as a candidate just because she had won a popularity vote – not after I had pinned her and eliminated her in that chamber and in the Big Top match), my name probably had been pushed aways back, and rightfully so.
Still, being pushed a little bit back was a far cry better than not being mentioned at all. And that was what was going to happen the second I left to have the surgery on my knee.
And maybe it was me. Maybe I was deliberately inviting beatdowns on me – it WAS, after all, my idea to have a TLC match at RTG and I had leapt at the chance to light tables on fire with Ace Marshall and at the chance to be in a chamber match to reclaim part of me that I had ‘lost’ years ago - Whether I had remained to be seen.
Do you want to know when I started thinking that maybe I was the author of my own endangerment? That, perhaps, I was to blame for my own declining health? I can tell you exactly when that thought had entered my mind. It was when the ‘new guy’ O’Dry-sense-of-humor had brought back the Underground Championship.
Let me paint you guys a picture. Kimberly Williams and Jordan Majors had just had a pretty epic and hardcore cage match. So much so, that Cian had pranced on down, looking like he had just invented water or something and declared Kimberly the new Underground champion.
And I scoffed at that.
To be clear, I was NOT scoffing at Kimberly. She had earned her win and she sure as hell was entertaining to me. Part of me just wanted to let her loose inside a Home Depot and see what she would do. No, I had scoffed at Cian’s notion that THAT particular match had been what had inspired him to bring back the Underground division – after I had spent months giving Under the Big Top, TLC, Tables on Fire, and then, afterwards, a chamber match.
I was scoffing because I had, unofficially, LIVED through the Underground lifestyle while defending/fighting for the Adrenaline division. Because, no disrespect to Jordan or Kim, I had been LIVING the underground style better than they were… than anyone else had been.
You can imagine that it wasn’t much of a stretch to start thinking about myself as the Underground Champion and, from there, thinking that I was responsible for my misery. Of course, Ricky James had started being an idiot and that had then taken most of my attention.
Still, Marina had insisted on talking about the surgery again as soon as we had returned home. And again, I had had to tell her that I wasn’t ready to have it yet.
“Why?” she had asked. “What are you waiting for?”
“Well…”
We were sitting in our family room, Memphis was playing in the backyard with the neighborhood kids – we were thankful the restrictions of the pandemic were being reduced in Guelph, albeit slowly – there was still that nasty variant out there… like me running around SCW! Bad analogy, I realize but, let’s face it, I’m an annoying handful. Just ask O. D.!
But we sat there on the couch, Marina dressed in black leggings and a green sweater that was too big for her, but made her look so cuddly. I was in black track pants and a gray t-shirt. Marina wasn’t mad at me, per say, we had had this discussion before, multiple times, but with each beatdown and loss, the more powerful her argument became and the weaker my defence was. How many times could you justify staying in a place where you were, more often than not, left knocked down and/or knocked out?
“I just…” leaned forward on the couch, my elbows resting sharply on my knees. “I’ve made a lot of progress lately.” I argued. “I mean – no one has held a title longer than me. And they were mentioning my name with the world title a few Breakdowns ago.”
It was true. I had the Adrenaline title for over six months – no other champion had come close to that this year. Hell, I was the only person that had defeated Autumn Valentine during her current reign as Television Champion – a fact that SCW FAILED to acknowledge because it had been a DQ win thanks to Ace Marshall. But they had also ignored me becoming Supreme Champion, so how was that anything new, right? Colon capital P, am I right?
The problem was…
“You haven’t won a big match since Under the Big Top.” Marina countered.
That. Right there. While I had done ‘okay-ish’ in Breakdown matches, I had one of the worst track records for PPVs lately. Holly, Ace, Jordan, they could all claim a victory over me – all of them preventing me from still being Adrenaline champion.
“Have you considered that you’re slowing down?” the question came from her, not spiteful or meant to hurt, but rationale – Marina was just looking out for me, always worried about me, her soulmate and father of her children.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, her question, at the time, going over my head.
“Nomas said that if you didn’t get the surgery, your knee would continue to get worse. The lockups and problems would persist and you’ll continue to have problems. Have you considered that, maybe, that has slowed you down? That that is the reason you’ve had problems winning your matches lately?”
“I…I guess.” I answered, sounding so lame in my own head.
“Shilo…” I saw her reach out to take my hands into hers, mine only a bit bigger and longer than hers. “Let’s just say that you WERE picked as the next contender for the world title. Can you honestly tell me that you’re at a level to beat Selena Frost? Or Cid Turner? Or Xander Valentine? Or Glory Braddock?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but immediately closed it. I couldn’t convincingly lie to her. Ace Marshall had fallen to Selena Frost, as had Jordan Majors, and those two had soundly defeated me. I couldn’t even beat Xander Valentine when my knee wasn’t as bad as it was now. No, I couldn’t beat Selena Frost as I was now. The same was true with Cid Turner-
It was just so unfair! All the old veterans like Cid Turner, David Helms, Chris Cannon, and more had come in and found success with the world title! Yet, there I was, struggling just to stay in the mid-card! What was I doing wrong? Where was I fucking up besides my knee?! What was I missing that they all had?
“No.” I answered glumly. “Maybe eight years ago, but not now.”
“Okay…” Marina sighed knowingly. “So, you admit that you’re struggling to keep up with everyone.”
I nodded my head. It was a somber reality. Let me explain this, guys. I was headed to Breakdown to face Katie Steward! Katie Steward – the woman that hadn’t won a title in gods know how many years. A woman that hadn’t even been CONSIDERED for a title in years. A woman that NEEDED her family like Gigi or her lackey TJ to help her with her matches. You want to talk about someone that’s struggled to ‘exist’ in SCW more than me, it’s her.
On paper? Shilo Valiant should have been able to tear through her and all that run down to save her – the difference in their skills and accolades huge. On paper. In reality? I wasn’t sure. The difference between Katie and I was that, while her skills and abilities had maintained themselves over the years, mine had deteriorated more and more with each match. I was slower, stayed down longer…
In fact, looking back, I’d go as far as to say that Katie as a wrestler was in better skill and shape compared to me heading into this match. In other words, I wasn’t certain I could beat her – or even come close to.
Shilo Valiant wasn’t sure he couldn’t beat someone that wasn’t even on the Elite 15 and hadn’t been since it had been brought back after Rise to Greatness – least I could brag I had been on it once (HA!).
It was crushing when you considered everyone else in SCW. Was I even able to be in the mid-card at this point? Or was I just high on the low-card now?
You have to understand, guys. For someone that once held the World Championship, etched his way into the Hall of Fame, and was considered the poster-boy of SCW for years, this reality took the wind right out of my sails, deflating me more than anything Ace Marshall could ever do to me.
“Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead.” I whispered, unable to believe those words were leaving my mouth, my hands rubbing together. “I had hoped…”
I didn’t finish that statement. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to be the world champion one more time. I wanted to headline Rise to Greatness one more time. I wanted to make history just one more time – something to end things on my terms. I didn’t have to say it aloud. I had whined about it in my promos a few times and more than that to Marina quietly off-camera.
“I know.” I heard her whisper, her hands squeezing mine as they held them once more. “I’m not saying that isn’t an option, but… maybe you’re not losing as much as you think by taking a few months off to have the surgery.”
Her tone was hesitant, but it got my attention as I gazed at her. I saw her eyes flicker over the scars lining the one side of my face, fleeting between my two, different colored, eyes. “You admitted that there’s a ceiling to what you can do in the ring?”
“Yes.” I whispered, though admitting it hurt like hell.
“Alright. Well, what if Nomas is right and having this surgery can remove that ceiling? What if, by doing this sooner than later, yes, you have to start over, but you can achieve more than you ever could now?”
Well…that was a bit overzealous, don’t you think? Nomas wasn’t offering to make me the Bionic Man or something. He wasn’t turning me into a cyborg or some kind of super-solider. He was just giving me a way to fix a bad leg. Even if he could bring it back to 100%, that didn’t just ‘make me great again’.
It just seemed so… too good to be true.
“I can’t believe that.” I admitted aloud.
“Oh…” I turned to see Marina’s head lift at my words. “You’re afraid.” She concluded. “You think that if you get this surgery, come back and nothing happens for you, then you have no excuse to give yourself. You’ll have to admit that you’re not as good as you once were – and maybe will never be that good again.”
“I can admit that.” I laughed.
“Yes.” Marina tilted her head. “But you’ll add an asterisk to that statement – something to the effect of ‘because of my knee’.” She gave a shrug. “Take that excuse away, how would that make you feel?”
“If I had to admit that I’m not as good as I use to be? That I can’t be as entertaining as I once was…”
Okay, so here’s the funny thing, guys. As I said those words, as I added layer after layer of description on it:
“That I can’t be as entertaining as I once was…
If I can’t stand in the spotlight anymore…
If I can’t be the most entertaining SCW superstar again…”
The more it hurt. The more it stuck with me. The harder it was to say without my voice shaking. What’s more, the idea of saying those things and not having my knee to blame for it…
What if it was true? What if I went through with this surgery and was, essentially, better for it but still unable to compete against the talents of Jordan or Glory or Selena or Cid or Xander?
Was that why I took the beatdowns and went for the dangerous matches? No, those had been thrilling to be part of! I wanted to be part of those dangerous matches. I wanted to be in the Underground where not only were such matches the norm, but I could rewrite the rules as I saw fit simply because… there WERE NO rules!
Still, was I merely stalling because I was afraid of wrestling without my crutch that was my bad knee? Was I afraid of being in top form and ‘failing’? What would that say about Shilo Valiant? What would that say about the man that had done so much?
Looking up, my eyes took in the house, the simple designs and furniture. The ‘old Shilo Valiant’… eh… that guy had lived in both worse states under Toronto and also in luxury above it. Part of me missed being that Shilo. Running around the catwalks and within the audience, being unpredictable, being entertaining and untouchable… the pyro incident had been the first ‘chink in the armor’ that had existed in me, I think.
“You know…” I said aloud. “We really need to start putting up Christmas decorations.”
To my surprise, Marina turned her head to look around the room. “A tree at least.” She offered, dropping the subject for now. “Should we get an artificial one this year?”
“Why?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, watching her eyes immediately fly down to my bad leg. “Marina…” I sighed. “You understand that the more you try and coddle me, the more useless I feel?”
“Well, get over it.” She stated simply. “Your hurt ego isn’t as bad as you blowing out your knee and making surgery impossible.”
“I know but…” I sighed, the frustration clear in my voice. “I can still do simple stuff. Lugging a tree won’t kill me.”
She gave a shrug of her shoulders. “Fair enough.” She added.
I’d like to say something else happened – throw some exciting event or something entertaining to make this chapter more than just a ‘lovers quarrel’, but I can’t do that here. Thing is, guys, at the time of this, I was debating leaving SCW for several months. It consumed most of my thoughts. Like I said, it was a closing window – less of a ‘if’ and more of a ‘when’. I was losing ground to the point where I wasn’t sure I could compete with mid-low card talent. I wasn’t even sure I could beat a brat like Katie Steward.
I felt SCW was slipping out of my hands – just like it had when I first ‘retired - just when I had thought I still had it with the Adrenaline championship. And though Marina was right on so many points, I couldn’t get rid of the reality that was gripping me… either I stay and continue to let it slip out of my hands, watching my stock drop further and further… or take the risk… and risk losing what little respectability my legacy still had…
And for those of you wondering how that tree-acquiring went? I managed it. I’m not saying I Superman-lifted a tree. The manager at the tree shop (just outside of the Canadian Tire) helped me get it into the car and Marina helped me get it into the house, but it was done, and my knee didn’t act up!
Least I could do something right at least once…
12-15-2021, 08:11 PM
The Carnival of Rust
Well, well, well…
Let no one say that Shilo Valiant does not know how to take a beating! I know, hardly a surprise right? Pretty sure nobody has gone through more tables and been beaten up backstage more than me. I sort of wish I had some kind of punch-card cause I’m pretty sure all these beatdowns would mean I get a free coffee or ice-cream cone at catering or something!
Now, to give credit where credit is due, which means I need to give respect to Ricky James. Don’t get me wrong, he’s nowhere near the respect I had for him when he invaded Rise to Greatness and took over the match that I, personally, orchestrated. The match where he held his own and went toe-to-toe with me while Holly Adams used the hit-and-hide technique to steal the Adrenaline title from me. He’s nowhere near that level respect at this point.
But after the events of Apocalypse, I was really under the belief that the boy couldn’t even wipe his ass without Rudy Powell coaching and encouraging him all the way. Couldn’t even make a breakfast of cereal and milk without Lucy Huckabee Sanders holding a press conference about it.
And, given his win-loss record, I assumed that he couldn’t even do half the crap Jabba the Butt was telling him at all! Afterall, at least I HELD the Adrenaline title – can he say he did that? No! Two tries and he failed! And all because I thought that he couldn’t even follow a plan or direction – even one from someone as dumb as Pow-wow Powell.
In that regard, my Entertained, I was wrong. The jester made an error. I admit it!
If there is one thing Ricky James proved to me a few weeks ago, it’s that he CAN follow orders. Hell, he doesn’t even question them. Jabba goes “HO HO HO!” like a deformed, blubbering Santa Claus, and Ricky just does what he’s told! What a good little cretin!
But here’s the thing, Ricky. I don’t like followers. I don’t like sheep. I don’t like people that just do what they’re told without thinking for themselves. Because if all you want to do is ‘play inside the box’ Rudy and Lucy have built for you, then you’re just boring the audience and you’re boring me! And I did not come back here to be bored!
I came back here to be entertained. I came back here to entertain.
And here’s the thing, Ricky, I thought you were an entertaining guy when you didn’t have three-hundred and fifty pounds of slug clinging to your back and a blubbering mass of contradictions doing segments for you with the same tired catchphrase. I thought you COULD be entertaining when you were fighting me just because you wanted to be a good wrestler. But low and behold, when things didn’t work out immediately for you, back to basics you went – back to the original crap that got you nowhere and just like that, you were boring again. Not surprising. How many people have done an ‘about face’ on their morals and gimmicks and whatever for some quick heat or fast attention? Yeah, nobody’s ever heard of a slow burn before? Come on, guys! It’s hardly original if everyone is pulling a Syren – even Syren!
Well, Ricky, the sad part is that you’ve already wasted my time… and now there’s a price to be paid. See, I wanted to see some entertainment from you, and if you’re not going to give it to me beyond a simple beating backstage? Well… then sooner or later, I can assure you, I am going to get my laughs and entertainment from you in my own way – in an SCW ring.
And if you want to see what that is like, well, just watch how I deal with Katie Steward tonight.
Yes! Someone older in experience and more beat up than me and as fickle as Ricky James! I mean, Katie, at this point, I have to think you’re as beat up as me, if not more so. I mean, you’ve been in and out of SCW so many times, it’s like “if she sees her shadow, six more months of no Katie Steward”, which we could all use, I am sure.
It's funny because, I talk about entertainment, and you haven’t been entertaining in years! Now, shouldn’t I have more respect for you? After all, you did beat Masquerade, Shawn Winters and I in a fatal-fourway to become the first female world champion… but you didn’t really pin me, did you?
Besides, that was what? Eight or nine years ago? Something like that? Close to ten years? You can’t hang your hat on that one accolade! That be like me only having “I headlined Rise to Greatness three years in a row! WOO HOO!”… gets boring really quick, doesn’t it? But speaking of accolades, how’s that “Supreme Champion” status thing going? What?! Still not done it! Come on, Katie! I’m currently the longest person it took get there! I need you to beat that record! It’ll be the ONLY record that you never have to worry about people breaking, as SCW would probably close long before anyone got close!
Oh, come on, Katie! Learn to take a joke. Besides, being ‘Supreme Champion’ isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I did it earlier this year and SCW didn’t even mention it. I had to REMIND them that I had done it. Yeah, not exactly the same as Christy Matthews getting praised up and down for doing it, but that girl’s ego is so fragile, SCW is probably afraid she’ll throw another tantrum like she did at her own Hall of Fame ceremony and break down Breakdown and NOBODY wants that!
But getting back to you, Katie. Looks like I get to face you at Breakdown, and to me, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, I get the chance to beat a Hall of Famer, a former world champion, a person that’s ALMOST a supreme champion, and, let’s face it, people love it when you get beaten up in the ring. The less you’re conscious, the less we have to hear your whining and crying with TJ – who by the way deserves a ‘lifetime achievement award’ for putting up with you for so many years.
But on the other hand, Katie, let’s not kid ourselves. You suffer from the same problem I do. You live with the possibility that you’re losing your touch. The wins don’t come as often as they used to, right? The Steward family isn’t as dominant as it used to be, right? The Steward name holds less sway and power compared to the earlier 2010s, true?
I mean, let’s see, aside from losing to Glory Braddock, your last match was a win against Crystal Zdurich? Not to mention a loss in the Trios tournament.
Things is, Katie, I can’t say I’ve been much better. Least not lately. At the beginning of this year? Oh, I was untouchable! Glory Braddock, Dylan Howell, Holly Adams, Datura, person after person couldn’t get past me – I thought, damn! I’ve still got it!
Now, here I am, losing as many matches as you, if not more, and I wonder, am I as bad as you? Not in skill, mind you, I’m sure you’ve got some good moves in you, but am I as far down the ladder that I now exist in the realm of insignificance? Because, let’s face it, Katie, there’s been whole Pay-per-views and Breakdown episodes where we haven’t even shown up or been mentioned and nobody cares. Nobody asks, “What happened to Shilo? Where’s Katie Steward?”
I don’t know about you, Katie, but it’s depressing as hell. Two Hall of Famers facing off – You’d think this have some kind of build or some kind of “let’s talk about it” element – hell, you’d think SCW Twitter would mention it! Nope. We’re upstaged by Order of Chaos facing The Jackals for the third or four-hundredth time and throwing in the “Ooops! Did we just release a ‘sex tape’”, super-real ‘couple’ in Lexy’s Angels or whatever their names are: And just to be clear, I’m not saying they’re not a couple, but from a guy that knows a thing or two about ‘over-acting’? Well… let’s just say I have some ‘critic doubts’ watching them ‘go at it’ on a webcam.
Thing is Katie, you’ve been down in that realm of underachievement for a long, long time – far longer than me. No title win in how many years? No significant feud in how many years? When was the last time you were even considered for high-tier title like the Adrenaline, the United States, or even the World title? The fact that I can’t recall off the top of my head says a lot.
The stock of Katie Steward, let’s be honest, is low and has been for a long time because, no matter how hard you try and ‘get attention’, your opponents usually seem to find a way around you, unless they’re still green like Crystal.
And maybe you are happy being in that position, Katie. Maybe you’re happy because you’ve practically done it all and as long as you can get that paycheck, you can just come and go in the effort department.
Here’s the problem: I don’t WANT my stock to reach that low point. I don’t want to be staying here in the realm of ‘opening-act’ or ‘curtain-jerker’. I don’t want to go show after show with no appearance or no entertainment! I might as well have stayed retired if that was the case.
No, I want my stock to go up. I want the entertainment to go up with me. I want to go back to what I was before! I don’t want my reign as Adrenaline champion to be ‘it’ for me! You think I want to be at a point where Ricky James – a follower of Lord Jabu Jabu – can trounce me? You think I want to be at a point where I’m HIS bitch? Are you kidding?! That’s not even funny!
The point is, Katie, you may be content with just showing up when you want to and winning when you can… but I’m not. I’ve not given up on myself and what I can do just yet. I’m not ready to be a legend-turned-jobber. I am STILL the Man Who Laughs! I am still The Greatest Showman in SCW! And I am still Shilo Fucking Valiant!
So, tonight, Katie, this will be ‘another loss’ that you can stack up to your large list of losses. I’m not arrogant enough to think that ‘this loss will change you’, ‘this loss will break you, BWUHA HA HA!”. No, I expect that losing to me will be something you can shrug off and walk away from because, hey!, you’re still the Hall of Famer! You’re still “The First Woman to win the world title”! You’re still the “Queen of Queens” and “Goddess of Desire” and blah blah blah!
But me? I need to be above the level you find yourself living in. I can’t be in the part of the SCW card that you occupy. I refuse to give up my spotlight. I refuse to give up my place in SCW – what my name means! And that will happen if I can’t beat you! If I can’t prove that I am above that level of ability, intelligence, and lack of entertainment.
In that, Katie, you are going to be my proving ground, just as I was yours all those years ago when you took the world title. Only this time, you are not taking a damn thing from me. You’re going to give me the show I want to give to the Entertained and to Ricky.
A show that shows what Shilo Valiant is still capable of.
A show that shows that Shilo Valiant is still one of the best of SCW.
A show that shows just what Ricky and Rudy have got coming to them.
And a show that will, most assuredly… MAKE ME LAUGH!
12-15-2021, 09:13 PM
SCW Goddess El Diabla | Katie Steward | "Goddess Supernatural 'Resrruction"
{The episode starts in Los Angeles, California at Katie’s church of her Lady Goddess. The skies are cloudy and make gray and gloomy. The scene opens inside of the church. Katie Steward sits in the middle section of the main hall in a pew. She looks to be lost in her thoughts over the recent revelations. She wonders if her inner Goddess being corrupted and how her journey is changing. How she can progress now?}
{TJ Johnson walks over and joins Katie on the pew sitting next to her.}
TJ Johnson: So a lot has happened since we were off doing the noir movie, huh?
Katie Steward: I think the thing I can’t understand is that this is all my doing. I cause everything to happen. This isn’t the work of my Goddess, or SCW. It’s all on me. I’m the one that burned the fates of fate and changed everything. I corrupted myself.
TJ Johnson: I don’t believe it. It all just a tale that people are spreading. No matter how hard they try. You will beat this. You always do.
Katie Steward: Thanks TJ.
{Katie and TJ share their moment as Angela, a member of the Cult of Katie that they just found out exist last week walks up the aisle. She approaches Katie.}
Angela: Excuse me, your holiness. Do you have a minute?
Katie Steward: Are we still going to call me the Devil?
Angela: I’m sorry. It’s just how the stories were told. We just wanted to show our support as we could, in your honor.
Katie Steward: Right. I guess that at least sounds like an honorable thing to do, but I am back now so I need to set the record straight.
Angela: Of course.
Katie Steward: What did you want?
Angela: We had a gift for you downstairs.
Katie Steward: Oh? A gift? For me. Let me see it…
TJ Johnson: Is this a gift from the cult? She has to go downstairs to see it?
Katie Steward: Yeah, but it’s a gift. For me. Show me.
Angela: Come with me.
{Angela leads Katie to the stairs to the lower levels of the church. TJ follows closely behind Katie with her eyes watching for anything suspicious.}
Katie Steward: So this gift that you have for me downstairs. Is it… a crown? I do look so good in them?
TJ Johnson: Or since they think you’re the devil they’re planning to lock you up?
Katie Steward: Why are you trying to ruin this? They are giving me a gift.
TJ Johnson: I know and I’ve seen the ‘gifts’ that some of your fans send you.
Katie Steward: They’ve gotten better since Autumn helped screened out the bad ones.
Angela: Katie, it is a dangerous world out there. It’s not just us. The fandoms are all escalating. Especially during this time of the year.
Katie Steward: Interesting. See TJ, it’s not just my fans. Everyone else’s is way worst.
Angela: Oh yes, we have stories.
Katie Steward: (gasps) I want to hear these.
Angela: Maybe at some other time. First, your gift…
{Angela opens the door to one of the rooms in the basement of the church where the furnace is. The cult changed the furnace into a forged. Katie walks into the room and notices a shirtless muscled forager in an apron.}
Katie Steward: Well, this is quite a gift.
{The forager reaches his hand into a water trough and pulls out a sword.}
Angela: Ms. Steward. We present to you the Queensblade. We crafted it just for you with the blade being scripted with specials runic language of Goddesses.
Katie Steward: They have a language? So cool.
Angela: Go ahead and try it.
{Katie takes the sword and she plays around with it some to get a feel for it.}
Katie Steward: Oh my Goddess, TJ this is perfect. Now I have a sword of my own like she has. She’ll get whats coming to her for what happened to Gigi.
{Katie leaves the room and shes heads back up to the top floor of the church. She still toys with the Queensblade. Something happens, the runes on the blade light up with Katie’s signature pink color. Katie falls under its spell and stops in place. TJ overhears her speaking in some kind of bizarre language. He lashes out to Angela.}
TJ Johnson: Katie? What’s happening? What did you do?
Angela: We did nothing. It’s what Katie wants.
{TJ tries to help Katie, but she shoves him away still speaking in the bizarre language. She raises the sword and points it to a door in the basement of the church. The Queensblade glows in it’s pink light and light shines behind the door it’s aimed at. A minute passes by and then everything stops. The sword releases Katie and the light goes out. Katie just blacked out in the moment.}
Katie Steward: TJ. Why are you on the floor?
TJ Johnson: You pushed me on it.
{Katie confused and she helps TJ up. A knock is heard in the basement and every turns their attention to the door. Katie approaches the door and goes to open it. Inside is Katie’s Brat Robin Brooks who she hasn’t seen since she had watched her collapse and die in her noir movie.}
Katie Steward: Robin.
{Katie reacts grabbing Robin and hugging her tight.}
Katie Steward: Oh Goddess, I thought I lost you.
{TJ watches on as he puts things together in his own trying to figure out what the Cult of Katie’s wants with her and how Katie seems to had performed a resurrection as the scene fades.}
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{The scene changes back in Katie’s church. She walks around the altar with Robin standing around. Katie looks to be a bit more upbeat and happier. It’s definitely a different Katie Steward SCW has never seen before.}
Katie Steward: I feel so much more a live. I feel stronger. I feel powerful. I feel like ending this year on a high note is exactly what I and SCW needs. Reunited with my Brat and rekindling an old rivalry with Shilo Valiant. I can’t wait to see what this new Katie Steward can do. Last week was just the tip of the iceberg. Shilo though will be a true test at what I am capable of now.
Katie Steward: Robin, I am just so happy to have you back. I’ve miss you and you know SCW fans have missed you too. So much has changed since you’ve been away. Last week had me thinking and you’ll be proud of me, Robin. I think I finally understanding myself better. Instead of fighting everyone’s opinion of me. I’ve embraced it. Maybe what I need was to let the darkness in and harness it as a weapon. To feel that power. To be that dark Goddess and we are going into Breakdown and facing off against the dark clown. The theatricals of it all is exactly what Katie Steward is best at. Breakdown is going to be a Katie Steward presents.
{Katie smiles as she is happy with herself. She grabs Robin by the arm and leads her out of the church as the scene and episode end.}