Supreme Championship Wrestling

Trios Tournament 2022 Quarterfinals

2 RP per character in Trios Tournament (6 RP max per team)

3500 word max per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET THURSDAY, December 15, 2022 (NOTE DEADLINE DATE)

OOC: All characters appear with permission
---------------------

The ball was rolling for The Light In The Darkness as their return had gone without a hitch, and Luz and Amelia couldn't argue that it just felt right being back in an SCW ring.

Sure, maybe the win wasn't anything special in the eyes of many, but everyone had to start somewhere. Plus, if you asked them, the couple would be more than happy to tell you they'd rather work their way back up and earn a tag title opportunity.

With their feet firmly back on solid ground in the company, it came as no surprise that an old question suddenly resurfaced: what if one of you got an opportunity all your own? It was a question that had come up during their first stint in the company that ultimately went unanswered when they were both injured, although some believed they might get the answer when comparing Luz's concussion to Amelia's neck injury before the couple asked for their collective release altogether. It was the kind of thing that always got asked when you wanted to hunt for a way to drive a wedge between teammates by suggesting an imbalance, either to gain an advantage or just because you wanted to see a team implode and the battles that would result from it.

Personally, the question annoyed Luz—as much as she tried to hide it—because it showed how little some people truly understood the two. They had worked hard to establish themselves well before they ever crossed paths, even if that was a time in their lives they preferred to forget about. More importantly, they had found quite a bit of success individually over the years and were still going strong as a team to this day, owing to just how healthy their relationship was that any of the usual problems that would break up any couple or tag team when enough cracks began to show could be resolved by just talking through it and doing their best to support one another.

Luz knew it was inevitable that she and Amelia would be staring down opportunities in SCW that would shine the spotlight on one and not the other, but she had to admit that she wasn't expecting it to be literally right as the two came back.

When she heard her name had been drawn for the annual Trios Tournament, Luz was honestly expecting Amelia's name to be drawn as well with the potential for them to have to oppose one another in the tournament, but it wasn't a surprise when the random draw didn't bring her name up either. Even still, it was a hot topic of discussion between the two throughout the past week, even if that usually consisted of Luz feeling the need to apologize for something that was completely left up to the luck of the draw and Amelia assuring her girlfriend that she'd find something to keep her occupied in the meantime if Luz's team managed to make their way through the tournament.

Amelia was more concerned with who Luz would be teaming with, even if Luz herself felt she lucked out a bit with the draw.

Many in SCW wouldn't see Hairless Penguin and Calvan Greene as ideal partners for one reason or another, but leave it to Luz to always try to find the bright side of any situation. Sure, maybe Calvan felt like he didn't take this business seriously most of the time and often seemed like he was lost in his own little world, but he'd competed in the recent Chamber Match with a world title opportunity and had plenty of experience in the company to draw from. Maybe Penguin seemed like he was just a gimmick whose sole purpose was for Lexy Chapel to make some extra money and capitalize on... something, but there was no denying that the man had come a long way in the ring, and Luz and Amelia were never ones to underestimate a team who'd managed to reign as tag champions for the better part of a year regardless of who they were and how they got the job done.

As far as Luz was concerned, anyone else in the tournament could look at their team and see a joke if they wanted to, because she knew full well that her team had one thing that none of the others had: no noticeable issues between teammates. Where other teams had two people who did not have great history with each other or that one 'wild card' that had the potential to cost their team by doing their own thing and not cooperating, the closest you were going to find with her motley crew was the fact that Luz and Penguin were potential rivals in the tag division.

Given their respective teams hadn't crossed paths in the ring yet and what Luz had seen confirmed to her that Penguin was more likely to want to win the right way and actually prove himself than his partner was, she didn't think there would be any real animosity to try and exploit.

“I think I have to give him more credit than I initially wanted to,” Amelia said as the two sat backstage at Breakdown, having just finished watching the Frosts retain the tag titles. The fact that Penguin had intentionally ignored the injured arm of Deanna Frost was not lost on the couple, even when his partner and manager were blatantly trying to further damage it to get the belts back.

“I wouldn't have taken the match until Deanna was 100% again just so we could know for certain if we're the better team, but I can't fault him for the manager he's stuck with,” Luz noted. The possibility that Lexy Chapel and even Dancing Bear would likely be in her team's corner left a sour taste in her mouth, but it would be one of those things she'd have to try and work around to the best of her ability. In a way, it was almost a throwback to before SCW when she found herself having to team with someone who not only wasn't Amelia but also didn't share the técnico moral code she operated under in the ring, a lucha libre concept known as Relevos Increíbles.

She was tempted to ask Amelia to join them at ringside just to make sure they didn't try anything and ensure her trio could get the job done fair and square, but her going solo in trying to rein in two other people at once was a tall order and may possibly just cause more problems than it would solve. Besides, they had agreed a long time ago that in certain scenarios they wouldn't accompany each other to ringside to remove any complaints of foul play even if they never did anything more than support one another, and this was one of those times.

The couple chatted about things that weren't specifically Trios oriented as they kept watching the show from their locker room, even if Luz was taking careful notes in her head as every match that followed the tag titles contained a potential opponent she could find herself facing in the tournament. She couldn't help but flash Amelia a knowing smile and silent thanks for the change in conversation. They'd learned a long time ago that while Amelia was every bit the classic “student of the game” type of wrestler, Luz was able to focus better when she had something else to subconsciously focus on so her thoughts wouldn't wander. It was why she always trained or studied matches with some music playing or a show or movie she liked on in the background, and Amelia had no problem engaging in unrelated chit-chat if it helped Luz focus in her own unique way.

That was especially important during the main event as the two watched Owen Cruze put on the performance of a lifetime and earn the right to be called world champion once again, considering he was one of the first opponents Luz would face in this thing. Without something else to devote her thoughts to, she probably would have started overthinking and spiraling at the idea of her second match back in SCW pitting her against the new world champion, reigniting the concerns that the couple weren't ready for SCW yet and this second attempt might have been a mistake.

'Anxiety is a bitch,' Luz thought to herself as the two prepared to head back to their hotel for the night. No matter how many times she proved both the doubters and her own insecurities wrong, the thoughts always came back. She wanted to think that it wouldn't be this way if her life hadn't taken some of the twists and turns that it did, but she knew full well the burden of being compared to her father and following in his footsteps would've been present even if he hadn't unfortunately left this world.

Luz pondering this caused her to lag behind a bit in gathering her stuff, but Amelia didn't mind and patiently waited outside of their locker room. As she waited, her ears picked up on something just around the corner that caught her attention.

“I don't think I can do this.”

“Come on dude, what's the worst that could happen?”

“I could get my butt kicked? I know we're teaming with one of them next week and maybe beyond, but how do I know they'll actually help?”

“We could always go do our own thing. I've been wanting to give this 'life guru' thing a shot, helping you and others find the way of zen and rock hard abs.”

“...I think I'll take my chances with them.”

“That's the spirit dude!”

Amelia couldn't help but give a confused glance towards the hushed conversation happening around the corner, especially since she recognized the voices. She didn't get much time to ponder what it was about before a familiar voice graced her ears from the other side.

“Alright, ready to go! Sorry for the hold-up Ams... kind of let my thoughts linger on something, eheheh...”

Amelia jumped a bit, having not expected Luz to be ready while her focus was still on the bizarre pep talk(?) happening nearby, but she quickly calmed herself as Luz's nervous chuckling slowly turned into a proper amused giggle. Amelia shot her a light-hearted “don't do that again” look before the two turned to leave, but before they got very far they heard a pair of footsteps approaching them and looked back to find Hairless Penguin quickly approaching with Calvan Greene trailing behind. Luz was pleasantly surprised by this as she wasn't sure if she'd actually be interacting with her Trios team outside of match time and had required her girlfriend's help to keep from having a panic attack over worrying if she should even try to reach out to them between shows, considering she'd grown up being bullied over being overly enthusiastic in trying to interact with everybody.

Said girlfriend, who actually found that trait endearing in Luz given how little affection she'd gotten period in her own life before she entered it, was eyeing the two warily. Penguin seemed to grow nervous at catching her gaze, while Calvan appeared to be unfazed if he'd even noticed it.

“HP! Calvan!” Luz cheerfully greeted, oblivious to what Amelia was doing. “Something I can help you with, mis nuevos amigos?”

Penguin and Calvan exchanged looks of confusion for a moment.

“My new friends,” Amelia translated for them, and Luz looked embarrassed at how easily she'd slipped into her native tongue at the excitement of this actually happening.

“We're already friends?” Calvan asked. “Sweet, that was easy!”

Penguin joined Luz and Amelia in glancing at Calvan for a moment before the former cleared his throat.

“So... um...” Penguin mumbled for a moment before taking a deep breath to try and compose himself. “OK, I have to be honest with you both: I kind of suck at this.”

Luz and Amelia looked at one another, taken aback by such a blunt admission from a former champion, but Penguin continued.

“I know people have been talking about me improving and stuff, but I've pretty much lucked my way into my biggest achievements. The tag title reign, my Taking Hold of the Flame performance... believe me, I want to prove to people that I truly have gotten better and that I deserve all this praise people want to give me for it, I want to prove that the name Hairless Penguin actually means something in SCW, but I'm nowhere close to any of that as much as I may say otherwise. And yet, here you two are, riding into SCW after so much hype about these prestigious wrestling families you come from. You, Luz, fly around the ring at a speed that will probably make even Owen envy you next week, and Amelia's over here showing off grappling that Josh and Glory are secretly jealous of and will never admit to it. You and Calvan could probably carry me easily, but I really want to be able to contribute and not let our team down. Please, please teach me your ways!”

Both members of The Light In The Darkness had their jaws on the floor at this, neither one having expected this from someone that, outside of working with Luz for this tournament, was effectively considered one of their higher profile rivals in their pursuit of tag team gold. More surprising was that Amelia, who was often more careful about looking deeper into the true intentions of others compared to Luz, couldn't find any hint in Penguin's plea that what he'd just said was anything less than genuine. She'd never met anyone in this business, SCW or otherwise, who would ever think of openly admitting that they weren't very good at this despite the success they had to their name thus far. And yet, Amelia could feel her old instincts stirring that kept her on guard about this.

Luz seemed to recover and had started opening her mouth to respond, likely to agree if Amelia knew her as well as she thought she did, and she quickly cut in before a sound left her mouth. “Could you guys excuse us for a moment?”

Luz looked stunned as Amelia pulled her back into their locker room for a moment, catching a look of worry from Penguin that she knew was a sign he believed they were going to turn down his request, and her heart ached for the man after he'd just finished pouring his out in asking for their help. Still, as the door closed behind them, she knew that if Amelia wanted a private chat about this before they gave an answer, she had a good reason for it.

“Everything alright?” she asked.

“I don't know...” Amelia said, her voice shaky as Luz quickly picked up on the signs that she was having an internal conflict with her old self. “I could tell he was being genuine, but something about this just... feels off to me. How does someone actually make it to a place like SCW, have a months-long tag title reign and even place third in a match that rewards the winner with a world title opportunity on their biggest show of the year, and just flat out admits that they suck and need our help to not suck? This has to be some sort of plan by Lexy to make sure her team keeps an edge over us in the tag title hunt.”

“You mean the woman who's been spouting conspiracy theories for as long as we've been in SCW as a whole and planned to exploit an injury thinking it'd make it easy to get the tag titles back that didn't work because of the very person who just asked us for help?” Luz pointed out. “I think by bringing her up you answered your own question of how Penguin might have gotten into SCW, but we've both clearly seen he's serious about wanting to get better and earn his accolades fair and square, the way we prefer to do business.”

“I...” Amelia started before she fell silent, the look on her face clearly indicating that she knew Luz was right and whatever was going through her head right now was probably due to the remnants of her upbringing. “Sorry, I just... don't know what to make of this. I've never had anyone ask me to train them before.”

“And you think I have?” Luz asked with a small lilt to her voice that she hoped would help quiet the storm raging in her girlfriend's mind.

“Fair,” Amelia said with a small chuckle that brought a smile to Luz's face. “I'm just worried for you, as dumb as it sounds. I mean, this is a former champion who either sucks as much as he claims or, hopefully, is just so lacking in confidence after his team lost the tag titles and then failed to get them back that he only thinks he sucks that much. On one hand, him being honest about this is something that could tank your Trios team and that's an opportunity for you and potentially us in the bigger picture down the drain. On the other...”

Amelia trailed off, hesitant to put a voice to her other thought, but Luz had a feeling she knew what it was. It was no secret that Amelia had trust issues, which was completely understandable after everything she'd endured growing up. On the other side of that coin, Luz was notorious for being too trusting, always believing that she could see the good in others and having had it bite her in the ass on several occasions. While it struck a balance that worked for them, this was a situation where Luz's approach would have to be relied on because she had no other choice if she wanted to earn that contract, and Amelia was clearly concerned about what would happen if that necessary trust was misplaced.

“I get it Ames, I really do,” Luz finally responded. “Given the situation, I don't see the harm in training him if it helps better our Trios chances. And if down the line he ends up having to use that against us... well, how many times have we had to face off in the ring after training with one another and made an honest spectacle out of it?”

Luz's answer seemed to pacify Amelia for the time being, and with a soft kiss exchanged and a promise to talk more about it later, they stepped back out to see Penguin and Calvan still waiting there.

“Sorry for the wait!” Luz announced to get their attention. “We had some... personal things to talk over first, but we've got no problem working with you to make sure you're Trios ready!”

“Really?” Penguin asked just to be sure he'd heard that correctly, and Luz's enthusiastic nod sent a wave of relief washing over him. “Oh thank god. I'll have to let you know when I can train, if that's alright. Lexy's insisting that Bear and I go watch that new 'Cocaine Bear' movie so he can get that killer instinct she thinks he's missing.”

“I thought that didn't come out until next year?” Luz questioned as the two of them began exchanging contact details to set everything up.

Amelia just carefully watched this unfold before turning her attention to Calvan, who was still standing there. “Would you like to join us for training?”

“Nah man, I'm already all elite,” he said, motioning to his abs in the process. “I'm just here supporting our little Penguin bud.”

Amelia just blinked, dumbfounded at this response as he decided to wander off now that his job was supposedly done. Luz and Penguin parted ways shortly after and the couple finally started heading back to their hotel.

Luz may have been on cloud nine about being able to bond with her Trios team before they went into battle, but Amelia found herself concerned for whatever her girlfriend had found herself drawn into and whether or not that contract would be worth it.

1000% Olek's fault I only did one for this show. He didn't remind me it was happening until last night. LOL!

Love you, Dr. D.

Enjoy.



Ravyn Taylor's Diary
An excerpt from December, 2022

OOC: All characters appear with permission
---------------------

It's been a while since either member of The Light In The Darkness has directly addressed the SCW audience in this fashion, but La Pequeña Luz seemed to be taking that in stride if the grin on her masked face was anything to go by. It might be a bizarre sight to see no sign of Amelia Blythe, but as Luz sits in the locker room of a gym in Houston to take a breather from the training she'd been doing, she looks to be at peace with the circumstances that have her and her alone under the spotlight regarding her tandem. She takes a moment to lean back against the lockers and catch her breath before she gets started.

“When Amelia and I first came to SCW, it goes without saying that we wanted to make an impact and leave our mark just like anybody else breaking into this company. We were a promising new tag team that got a fair amount of attention early, and some of the wins we picked up could definitely be considered huge upsets. Unfortunately, when our first opportunity to prove we were ready to take that next step up and look towards tag team gold came around, a serious of unfortunate events left the both of us on the shelf for quite some time. I won't lie... our confidence got severely rattled for a time because of that, and a big part of us thought that maybe we just weren't ready for SCW. You know what we did? We took a step back, rebuilt ourselves and chose to give this another try to know for sure.

Will it work out? Only time will tell.

One thing that certainly came as a surprise was the upcoming Trios Tournament. Don't get me wrong, Amelia and I are familiar enough with SCW to know about it and the prize everyone is fighting for, but for me to actually be drawn into it wasn't something I was expecting. I'm sure some of you schemers lurking in the brackets might be salivating at the idea of me having to prove myself without my usual partner by my side, but let me fill you in on a little secret: Amelia and I are just as capable of performing without one another as we are teaming together. True, this will be the first time one of us will have to prove it in an SCW ring, but we all knew that challenge would have to happen eventually.

That said, while I may not be teaming with my usual partner, that doesn't mean I'll be fighting alone.

With all of the teams for Trios being randomly drawn, it does pose the question of whether or not they can actually work together. Unsurprisingly, a lot of them have come out to say that they'll be able to do that exact thing, but saying is always easier than doing. In the heat of the moment, how many of them will actually be able to keep their cool and remember that they have to play nice with someone they've been at odds with for weeks or even months? How long can those who have prided themselves on being 'lone wolves hated by everyone' fight under a counterintuitive mindset?

I consider myself lucky because I can sit here and honestly say that I don't have a single issue with either of my partners for this thing. Maybe you can chalk that up to the fact that I just returned, but the fact of the matter is that I have no reason to have any issues with either Hairless Penguin or Calvan Greene. True, on paper we look like a rather unorthodox team given that Calvan is... unique and Penguin comes off to most people as a gimmick Lexy is trying to sell, but that doesn't change the fact that they've both accomplished something here in SCW. Better still, we all work similar styles so the chances of us being able to gel in the ring is even better. Maybe you think I'm being a little naive about this because I haven't been back for very long, especially since there's a good chance Penguin and I will one day stand on opposite sides of the ring in the hunt for the tag titles, but I'd rather be honestly optimistic as opposed to trying to pretend that everything's alright when it clearly isn't.”

The irony of that statement is not lost on Luz as she pauses for a moment to grab a drink of water, but her ordeals outside of the ring are nobody's business but her own. As far as SCW is concerned, La Pequeña Luz has no reason to be anything but focused on the opportunity before her.

“I know that the odds seem like they're stacked against us right out of the gate, considering the trio waiting for us in the first round, but I'm no stranger to being considered the underdog in a fight and I know the same can be said for Penguin and Calvan. After all, did anybody think I had a chance with Amelia by my side when we faced the Golden Boys in straight-up two-on-two action in our first run? Or when we were given the task of having to overcome Syren and Christy Matthews? That didn't stop us from fighting with everything we had and earning those wins, just as it won't stop my trio from doing the same come Breakdown.

That said, I can understand why the smart money would be on our opponents considering one of them is the new world champion himself. Owen, congratulations on being able to fight your way back to the top of the mountain, and unlike some people I mean that sincerely with no strings attached. As much as I was surprised to be drawn into Trios, I was even more surprised to learn that I'd be testing myself against one of SCW's very best so soon in my return. You are living proof that if you fight hard enough and want to make your mark the right way then you can make it a reality, and that is exactly why I'm looking forward to be able to turn up the tempo against you and see how well I match up. I know people are talking about who you might have to defend that title against at the end of the year and I could possibly end up filling that role, but between you and me? I don't think I've proven myself worthy of that yet, so I'm considering this the one and only chance I'm going to get right now to prove myself against Owen Cruze, world champion, and I plan on impressing enough that maybe someday down the line a match between you and me for that title could be a very real possibility.

As much as I wish this match could be a genuine showcase of talent for all involved and nothing else... I do wish you didn't have to be caught in the middle of whatever powder keg exists regarding your partners.

Ravyn, you are an absolutely vile human being. I know you're probably just grinning at hearing that, but I truly have to ask what is wrong with you. I'm familiar enough with SCW and its history to know you've pulled a lot of morally reprehensible stunts over the years, but taking someone who's in a system and treating them like they're some sort of lab rat all because you were bored and needed something to do? I think the only positive thing I can say about that whole thing was that you screwed around and found out, and with any luck you actually realized that while you were away after that whole fiasco resolved. I honestly feel bad for Nicole for having to be in any proximity to you again because of random chance, just as I feel bad for Owen for having to try and weather whatever storm may still arise from that just so he can do what he actually wants to do and that's compete.

As for Nicole, or whichever alter of hers will be present... I swear to you, on my mask and the lucha libre honor associated with it, that aside from trying to deny your team a place in the next round, I mean you no harm. The only thing I want out of us meeting in that ring is to give our very best to one another, something I know I can get considering you won this tournament last year. I know you have no reason to trust me and one of my partners has history with you, but I'm not here to do wrong by you. All I want is to compete and prove myself, and I'm looking forward to being able to throw down with such a unique individual who deserves all the respect in the world.

You all might think the idea that Calvan, Penguin and I could advance past this challenge sounds farfetched, but crazier things have happened when Trios gets underway. Regardless of the challenge, the three of us are ready to put our best feet forward and see what happens. And if that happens to move us past the reigning world champion, one of last year's Trios winners and one of the smartest and most dangerous woman to ever set foot in an SCW ring?

Well, maybe that'll make us a team to keep an eye on as opposed to being written off by everyone.”

Luz grins and nods in acknowledgment of this possibility as the scene fades.


As Luz finished filming, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was one thing having to wrestle in front of an audience that hasn't seen you in quite some time, but competing in the ring was almost second nature to her now so even if she and Amelia hadn't competed back in their old stomping grounds for a bit to work off the ring rust, she felt like they would have fallen back into the familiar rhythm fairly quickly once the bell rang. Addressing the fans and her opponents was a different matter that she hadn't tackled in what felt like an eternity, and she silently hoped her nerves over that and the opposition she found herself facing hadn't shown through too much. Still, she hoped that with time it would come back to her as well.

“Guess I should go check on how Penguin's doing with Amelia,” Luz said to herself as she got her stuff put away and grabbed a drink of water. She thought they had been making pretty good progress considering that Penguin, unfortunately, hadn't been kidding about needing quite a bit of help. Still, what he lacked in immediate knowledge and skill he more than made up for with his heart and tenacity, and even though she knew that Penguin wasn't going to become a top tier athlete in a short amount of time, even if her team's Trios run somehow made it all the way to the finals, she was confident that training with her and Amelia was going to help Penguin go a long way even beyond this tournament.

It was a thought that affected her more than she thought it would, though that wasn't a bad thing. The idea of the couple actually training someone themselves, passing on the knowledge imparted to them by their parents, made her feel a sense of pride she hadn't truly felt before, and she couldn't help but appreciate the idea of Amelia being able to pass down some of her family's 'elite' techniques to someone else aside from her that existed outside of that circle. The mere idea would definitely piss off her parents if they found out, which was a win in Luz's book. Maybe if they were lucky, Penguin might want to keep training with them even beyond Trios, as dangerous as the idea sounded considering he and Dancing Bear would no doubt be itching to try and get right back into title contention.

Though she was hesitant to admit it out loud just yet, deep down a part of her was also hoping that this stroke of fate would be beneficial beyond being able to say she actually had a student. She recalled the conversation she and Amelia had at home prior to their first match back about wanting to make some friends, something they'd both admittedly struggled with. Honestly? Penguin was a good enough guy that Luz wouldn't mind a genuine friendship with him beyond Trios, though whether or not she could actually have that was up in the air since he had to sneak around Lexy and Bear to even train with them because of the former's obsession with conspiracies and possibly thinking her and Amelia would be in on it somehow for just trying to help.

Calvan was still a bit of a question mark admittedly, as much as Luz was hoping to maybe find something to truly bond with the man about. She'd at least gotten a good laugh out of Amelia telling her about Calvan trying to “let her down gently” thinking there was any chance whatever their team had would be ruined by either one of them being interested in him in any capacity beyond a professional one. It was clear the idea of Amelia being a lesbian while Luz, as a bisexual, was the only half of the pair that could even be interested in him in that way, as well as the obvious fact that the two ladies had already forged a deep romantic connection with one another, flew right over his head, but maybe that was something they could attempt to discuss at some point. Sure, Calvan was a bit odd, but admittedly so was Luz and she had just gotten painfully good at hiding it over the years.

If things worked out, then maybe Amelia wouldn't be the only one she could feel comfortable not having to hide parts of herself around.

“Is this the best you've got? Please tell me this isn't all you have to offer or else you are definitely going to let Luz down after coming to us for help!”

Luz froze near the door to the locker room, recognizing the icy tone her girlfriend hadn't used in quite some time as a sense of dread began to wash over her. She quickly headed back out into the gym and her eyes went wide at the sight that greeted her.

Penguin was down on the mat they had set up, squirming in agony as Amelia had his arm in one of her patented joint manipulation holds. Luz really wanted to hope she was using it as a means of teaching Penguin how to actually do it, but as she approached it quickly became clear that she was using it like she would against an actual opponent in the ring. Her eyes held a cold focus that caused Luz to flash all the way back to the very first time they'd crossed paths, and she felt like she'd swallowed a lead weight at how she was approaching this endeavor.

“You wanted us to train you,” Amelia said harshly. “You wanted our help to not let your Trios teammates down, one of them being my partner! You can't honestly tell me you're going to be able to pull your weight when-”

“What the hell are you doing, querida!?”

At the sound of Luz's voice, Amelia seems to snap out of it. As she looks up into Luz's eyes, she feels her heart sink, not because she sees anger from her partner towards her, but disappointment. She immediately lets go of Penguin's arm and scoots away from him, allowing Luz to kneel down beside him as he starts to get up to his knees.

“You alright, HP?” she asks.

“It hurt like hell, but I think I've taken worse,” he tells her. “I had two crazy women trying to flay me alive back at Rise to Greatness, after all.”

Luz nods at this, though Penguin can tell she's concerned about how casually he tried to sound in admitting that. She still looked over his arm and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Amelia hadn't gone too overboard in her joint manipulation. With a nod and a pat on his shoulder, Luz then turned her attention to Amelia, who was sitting on the mat staring at her trembling hands like she'd seen a ghost.

“Is she going to be alright?” he asked. “And what was that all about?”

“I'll take care of her,” Luz said with a sigh before she crawled over to sit beside her girlfriend. Amelia slowly turned her attention toward her as she carefully reached out a hand, pausing before she made any sort of contact. Amelia understood the silent question and nodded shakily, and Luz's hand quickly found itself resting on her shoulder before trailing slowly down her arm until it softly took hold of one of her hands, the back of which found itself subjected to Luz's thumb gently rubbing circles into it.

“You want to talk about it?”

Amelia let out a shaky sigh and nodded again. She took a few moments to slowly recompose herself as Luz waited patiently until she was ready.

“I know we've talked about what it was mean if you were able to come out this with a Trios contract,” she started, “and I knew once we started that he wasn't kidding about needing a lot of help. I tried to hold it in for as long as I could, but... I kept worrying about what could happen, I kept thinking that if I stepped things up that it would help. I know that's how my parents trained me and we've already talked about how wrong it is that they prepared me for this by basically treating me like a live opponent until I actually started learning and toughening up, but I let myself get consumed by insecurity and before I knew it I was back to who I used to be, except this time I was in my father's place and Penguin was in mine. I didn't... I didn't mean to...”

“Hey, hey, it's OK Ames,” Luz said as she pulled Amelia into a hug, massaging her back to try and help comfort her as she could feel her partner's tears start to fall across her neck. “I know you're going to say it's not OK, and you do owe him an apology, but it's my fault for not talking to you more about this and realizing this might be something that could happen. I could have held off on speaking my piece on our first round match if I'd have known...”

“But... Luz...” Amelia chokes out before Luz gently shushes her.

“Trauma doesn't just go away Ames,” she replies. “For as much as we've helped one another overcome it, there's still a lot we're dealing with even years later. Heck, we may never get over it, and that's alright. Every mistake we made proves that we're human—not machines, not just an addition of someone else's legacy—humans who can learn from this and do our best to keep getting better. We're fighters... just like Penguin is. Look at half the stuff he's been through! He's about our size and he's lacking in both experience and training, but he literally puts every ounce of his being into every attack and he's got an incredible heart that's taken him farther than anyone would have expected. Those two qualities sound familiar?”

Amelia chuckles as she wipes some of the tears from her eyes, slowly gaining strength from the smile Luz is giving her to punctuate her speech. The sound of clapping hits their ears as they turn to find Penguin as its source.

“That... that's beautiful...” he says, sounding a bit choked up. “If Lexy didn't have the final say on how our shows run, I'd give anything to have you both on as guests because there's so much that I think kids could learn from you guys.”

“Something for us to keep in mind I guess,” Amelia softly chuckles. “I'm sorry for pushing you too hard and treating you like that Penguin. If you want to call it early today, I wouldn't blame you.”

“I'd like to keep going actually,” Penguin says, to her surprise. “Your past and whatever it did to you is none of my business, but if you're willing to try again, then I am.”

Luz can see the gears turning in Amelia's head as she comes to terms with a scenario she hasn't faced since she suffered her very first loss at the hands of her now-girlfriend, and slowly she finds herself nodding and grinning as she resumes teaching Penguin some of her grappling technique, this time being more mindful of how she goes about it while her partner watches to make sure she doesn't slip again. Seeing some of Amelia's walls start to come down around Penguin gives her more hope about him becoming one of their first real friends.

She really hoped that would be something that could happen, for both of their sakes.