DEADLINE ONE - 3,250 WORD RP ALL COMPETITORS 7TH JUNE 2019 2359 EST
DEADLINE TWO - 750 WORD SHOOT / SEGMENT 9TH JUNE 2019 2359 EST
DEADLINE THREE - 2ND 750 WORD SHOOT (WINNING CONTENDER AND CHAMPIONS ONLY) 12TH JUNE 2019 2359 EST
Undefeated.
It was a word that carried a lot of power and respect to it, but also one that tended to not last very long when referring to someone. The pressure alone from carrying such a title was often too much to bear and caused even the greatest to crumble eventually, whether it simply be due to getting too full of themselves believing they were invincible or ultimately cracking from pushing themselves too hard trying to continue living up to such lofty expectations.
Melissa Killgraves never expected to still be undefeated after about four months of action with Emerge, and while publicly she would gladly gloat about it to no end… behind closed doors was a different story. On one hand, the pressure from trying to stay this way almost felt like she was being forced to live up to everything her father had expected of her after all, which she thought she’d left behind long ago. On the other, it was something she could take pride in knowing that she, and she alone, got to this point and he would certainly have to take notice of the point she was trying to prove now.
As Melissa thought ahead to Emerge’s upcoming Invasion event, she couldn’t help but mull over the situation before her. It would be the very first time she’d be competing in something that wasn’t a traditional match, and Matt had made absolutely sure to make clear the dangers of what awaited her. A Ladder Match, especially with multiple people, had all the ingredients for a catastrophe waiting to happen, and someone with no experience in such an environment was going to have to adapt quickly if they wanted to survive, let alone hope to win. She had tapes of some of Matt’s own Ladder Match endeavors from the past to give her an idea of what she was in for, and he’d altered her workout accordingly to try and prepare her both for that and the possibility of having to wrestle again the very next day no matter how much pain she was in.
Hence the reason why she was currently swimming full speed laps repeatedly in the pool Matt had gotten privately reserved at the local recreation center for the day.
Despite her body feeling ready to shut down, Melissa blocked out the feeling in favor of other aspects of the Ladder Match she needed to take into account. In addition to needing to readjust to climbing a ladder and grabbing something to claim victory, this would also be the first time she couldn’t focus on smashing just one opponent into the canvas. Four others would join her in fighting over two contracts all just to see who would go one-on-one the very next night. The concept wasn’t a new one to her despite lacking the experience to back it up… after all, her father ran her through all his military training, including accounting for more than one enemy at a time and dealing with the situation accordingly. The fact that this was all taking place on a cruise ship that would be out sailing on the ocean wouldn’t make any of it easier, but one that made it all worth it was the thought of getting her hands on the RUSH Championship. Being able to hold her first title belt high would be the ultimate proof that she’s finally made something of herself that wasn’t “daddy’s little soldier.”
Melissa was snapped out of her thoughts by a piercing whistle as she finished her latest lap, and she immediately leaned up against the edge of the pool to catch her breath. Every muscle felt like it was on fire despite the cool water trying to offset it, every breath was painful to take, but in her mind, she was starting to get more and more used to this and knew if she could lock down her prize in the Ladder Match on night one, then she’d still be more than ready to go with the title actually on the line for night two. She looked up at Matt from where he stood, and a simple nod was all she needed to know she was on the right track in his eyes. He extended a hand to help her out of the pool, but she shook her head and managed to pull herself out to at least sit on the edge until she felt ready to try walking.
“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone I’ve trained before, military or wrestling, keep up that kind of pace for so long. I know that’s all you as well kid, not anything your father programmed into you. Nice work.”
Melissa smiled and nodded, still trying to catch her breath to be able to verbally respond. He held out an open hand to see if five minutes was enough of a break before she resumed, and she nodded again. Maybe it wasn’t wise of her to be pushing herself this hard, but she knew championship gold and the validation she’d been seeking long before Emerge was ever an option was so close and she’d have to go well beyond even her impressive level of toughness to cross that finish line. Besides, she’d have plenty of time to recover before boarding the ship and having her match, so it was worth the extra precaution of making sure she could handle what was being expected of her going in.
“With that kind of perseverance, I wouldn’t be surprised if a little gold was also catching some sunlight on this cruise with us after the wrestling’s all done.”
Melissa turned her head and couldn’t resist raising an eyebrow as Claire strutted over to where she sat like a runway model soaking up all the attention in the room. Now, Melissa had every reason to be wearing her red and yellow bikini right now as the pool was her proverbial gym for the day so the attire had to handle the workout and not restrict her. Not that she didn’t look great in a swimsuit, as much as a certain glorified blogger would probably argue just for shits and giggles, but needless to say wealth wasn’t the only reason why Claire was so popular in school, and compared to the tough as nails woman needing something practical and tested, the blonde looked like a bombshell about ready to explode right out of the blue and silver bikini that just barely clung to her curves for no real reason at the present moment. She needed a minute to find her voice amidst the heavy breathing, but once she’d stabilized herself the military-bred combatant had to get some answers.
“Dare I ask why you look like you’re trying to attract everyone’s attention when Matt and I are the only ones here?”
“I just wanted a final opinion from my dear friend before we embark on that cruise. I know you’ve got business to attend to, but I figured it wasn’t worth wasting the chance to relax and enjoy the trip afterward.”
“Hold up… ‘we’? I know you’ve been a huge support for me in this endeavor Claire, but since when do you actually attempt to attend and watch when I get into the ring?”
Claire just giggled as she sat down beside her friend, resting a hand on her shoulder only to pull it away when Melissa winced slightly from the fact her body was still trying to get over the amount of full-speed laps she just forced herself to swim around the huge pool at their feet.
“OK, I know you can probably guess it’s partly because this show’s happening on the biggest and most extravagant cruise ship in the world, and I can say I’ve been on a public cruise for once instead of just sailing around on my family’s yacht, like we used to do during the summer, but I realized that I should try to be a little more supportive even after everything I’ve done so far. To help a friend get into this business and not even see them in action just once… what kind of a friend would I really be?”
“Still probably a better friend than those Moustache Ride buffoons to Ivy, but a win’s a win so I have no reason to complain.” Melissa couldn’t resist cracking a smirk at how her undefeated record remained intact and knowing her disregard for the ‘honor’ of the situation would drive the Englishwoman mad. The smirk didn’t last long, however. “Are you sure about this though? I know for years you’ve been trying to break past that stereotype of the ‘spoiled and sheltered rich brat’ but are you show showing off this much in public is the best way to do that? I can’t exactly play ‘bodyguard’ while I’m busy seeing if a ladder or someone’s body would break first if I throw them into it.”
“I’ll be fine Melissa. I know it’s not an ideal situation, but how else can I prove I’m able to handle myself? I can’t just expect people to ignore my presence even when I’m only trying to watch you do your thing, so I have to be just as prepared to stand on my own two feet for the future, just like you.”
“If I may offer a suggestion, I think Emerge is still advertising open slots in that battle royal they’re doing in a ring surrounded by a pool basically. I know you don’t need the money Miss Prescott, but-”
“Tempting, sir, but I don’t think I’m ready to break that far out of my shell or whatever just yet.”
Matt simply shrugged at the suggestion being shot down, still holding on to hope that he might be able to convince the young blonde to take a stab at the business herself one day. It was already doing wonders for Melissa’s confidence in herself. True, sometimes it felt like borderline egotism, but it was natural for a wrestler to feel a little cocky about their abilities at some point in their careers, especially early on if they were doing as well as she was. He’d prefer that over any more breakdowns she might suffer from psyching herself out with mental images of her father’s self-righteous ‘my way or the highway’ drill sergeant approach. He would never disagree with the positive values he himself would proudly defend in combat, but the subject of trying to forcefully inject them into someone who never wanted to have any sort of military influence was one he would stand his ground against all day long.
“Claire, I’m all for trying to follow my lead on kicking a father’s poor influence to the curb, and some R&R would sound great on that ship after I’m done hopefully claiming the RUSH Title, but I just don’t want you to put yourself in a situation that might-”
“So you can be a caring and supportive individual looking out for those in need, and you choose not to uphold those values in a public setting, because…?”
Miranda could feel her blood run cold at the sound of that voice. Eyes wide, she carefully turned her head and found herself making eye contact with the mountain of a man whose looks made it clear enough what kind of relationship she had to him. She was silently praying that, at worst, this was just another hallucination triggered by her brain from the exhaustion of her recent set of laps around the pool, but the fact that both Claire and Matt were also looking right at him with mixed emotions all their own made it clear this nightmare was a lot more real than she could hope for. Even if he wasn’t clad in his police uniform, Sgt. Killgraves could command attention and intimidate even the most dangerous of individuals with just that glare alone, and right now as he stood in the doorway there was only one person in his line of sight it was meant for.
“Brett, what are you doing here? I’ve got a private rental on this part of the rec center for the next-”
“One of my men saw you all come in while he was working out and informed me. As far as I’m concerned, I’m treating this like a missing persons’ case and it’s about time the young woman who fits that bill gives up this wrestling nonsense and comes home.”
That seemed to spark something in Melissa as the dull ache of her muscles became nonexistent in her mind as she shot to her feet and slowly marched in the direction of her father. Claire tried to grab her hand to keep her from doing anything she might regret, but one advantage to having recently been in the pool was still being wet enough to slip free of her friend’s grip and keep on moving. The officer stood still as a statue as his daughter slowly closed the distance with a fire in her eyes that he’d only ever seen whenever an argument broke out between them.
“Give this up? Give this up!? I’ve felt more like myself wrestling for the past four months than I have in roughly a decade and a half or so being programmed by you like I’m supposed to be some sort of robotic drone marching into war only because it’s what you want my life to be! I’m back-to-back matches away from being able to say I accomplished something with my own bare hands that you had nothing to do with!”
“You’re also about to cause harm to other human beings using ladders as weapons for no reason other than the ‘entertainment’ of other people. Do you really take delight in doing this? And especially bragging about it afterward?”
“Maybe I wouldn’t have turned out this way if you’d-”
“Not tried to raise my daughter to be-”
“A broken clone of yourself?”
“Try a young woman who could be a true inspiration to other young women in this country, but clearly you’ve let outside influences lead you astray.”
As father and daughter found themselves trying to get nose-to-nose, that comment felt like a sucker punch right to Melissa’s gut. She knew that was a shot directed right at Claire, who had absolutely nothing to do with the decisions she’d made up to this point. Blinded by rage, Melissa reared back, ready to cold-cock her old man, who squared up as though he were expecting it and waiting to see if she really had what it took to actually try and hurt him like she could any wrestler she shared the ring with. Before any lines were crossed, however, Matt had finally closed in and grabbed Melissa’s wrist tight, using all his strength to make sure she didn’t make a huge mistake right before what could potentially be the biggest moment of her wrestling career. She turned to glare at her trainer, but the veteran pulled her back so he could get between the two, keeping his own gaze locked onto the local hero who had served several times under him on the battlefield.
“That’s enough, both of you! Melissa, do some more laps if you need something to clear your head, otherwise, I think we can call it a day. And Brett… soldier to soldier, we need to have a talk, outside.”
For what felt like an eternity, the world seemed like it was frozen in time as Sergeant and General stood engaged in a silent battle of wills. Finally, Brett relented, but with one last glare towards his daughter and the words ‘We’re not done with this conversation’ mouthed clear as day he was almost forcibly pushed out the door by his superior officer in the military for a conversation that Melissa wasn't going to know the details of by the time Emerge hit the Symphony of the Seas. After watching the two men disappear outside, Melissa finally let out a frustrated scream before running and diving into the pool, immediately breaking back into a single lap around it before she slowed to a stop near where Claire was still sitting. She needed a moment to try and compose herself enough to form words again, but once she finally did a shaky voice is what greeted her blonde’s ears.
“I’m… sorry you had to hear my dad say that Claire. Don’t listen to him… you’re… you’re not any sort of negative influence on-”
Melissa’s train of thought was derailed when her friend suddenly threw herself both into the water and onto the reluctant soldier, knowing she would have the strength to keep them both from accidentally slipping beneath the water’s surface. Claire just clung tightly to her, not crying but still speaking softly as though she were, which jerked at Melissa’s heart to hear her like this just because of the man she resented for everything he tried to build her into.
“Don’t listen to that jerk Melissa… he’s not worth it. You’re stronger than this… you’ll prove it on that ship. You’ll prove it to four people who dare to stand in your way. You’ll prove it to the world… and I’ll get to watch it and see how strong my best friend truly is. A real inspiration…”
Melissa slowly returned the hug awkwardly, clearly not used to having someone actually care for her and her aspirations. It was a bizarre feeling… but one she was ready to welcome with open arms. No matter what happened at Invasion, deep down she knew she was going to make a statement, even if it wasn’t one most were expecting of her or even one they were expecting, period. Those two days would be the days where the world truly learned what Melissa Killgraves was capable of. No ladders were going to hinder her, no so-called monsters or technicians or gamblers or nymphomaniacs were going to deny her, and her father sure as well wasn’t going to be able to hold any power over her when she could stand in front of him, raise the RUSH Championship high and say to his face that she’s finally free.
And if he has a problem with the way she does it? He has no one to blame but himself, and so does all of Emerge for the storm that would soon seize that gold and never let it go.
OOC: Read this RP before Minerva, thanks.
The Views Expressed By Sundown Is That of his Own and Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
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