The Enigma vs. La Pequena Luz

[Wisteria Waltz]

To say that La Pequeña Luz and Amelia Blythe were not having the best time right now would be an understatement, to say the least.

Breakdown had just gone off the air, leaving the two of them to return to their locker room to clean up and head back to their hotel to get some rest. They barely felt like doing anything, though... making that trip through the backstage area of the Spectrum Center without the World Tag Team Titles was a big reason as to why. They knew the reign would come to an end eventually... they'd been through this song and dance so many times over the years that they both knew full well it was part and parcel of the business. 'Nothing lasts forever' was a universal truth of life itself, after all.

That didn't make the loss sting any less.

The work they had put in to get to this point, the strides they'd made in getting better so they could proudly carry that banner of being seen as the best tag team in SCW... it hadn't been enough to get them past a team that had become that seemingly insurmountable wall for them. The loss also carried with it a deeper meaning as well, as Glory Braddock had finally achieved the rank of Supreme Champion. To Luz and Amelia, they were actually happy for her despite being the final piece of the puzzle, mostly because they had put everything they had into trying to prevent it and Glory had earned that right fair and square. That said, they knew there would be many who would gladly bury them just because it happened, the mere idea of Glory being on the list of Supreme Champions despite having well and truly earned it being considered an insult in their eyes.

They would have laughed at the absurdity of the thought if they weren't still reeling from not just the title loss, but everything that had been plaguing their minds for some time now.

As the couple sat down in their locker room and leaned against each other, they quietly reflected on the fact that they truly had given tonight their very best, somehow, in spite of having every reason imaginable to ask for this match to be postponed. It had been just a week and a half ago when they'd been having breakfast with Ryan and the agents to discuss anything the investigator may have picked up while in captivity at the hands of The Empire, and while what little he had to share had been horrifying, the true blow came when Ryan had suddenly and inexplicably fallen into a nasty seizure. Despite the best efforts of the agents and the speedy response from Boston paramedics, Ryan had ultimately passed away within the hour.

He had died right in front of them... and there was nothing they could do.

The two of them had been an absolute wreck since that day, and while the news hadn't sat well with anyone in their little found family, it was clear they had taken it the hardest and not just because they'd beared witness to it. To some degree, they had started to consider Ryan as a part of that family to some degree, having encouraged him to become both a better person and an investigator with integrity that put doing the right thing over financial gain. He had gone from being a contributing catalyst to a lot of the issues they were up against to being a vital ally in keeping them one step ahead of the crazed cult that was after them and trying to put their twisted leader away for good.

For Luz, she couldn't help but flash back to the day she watched her father die in the ring, feeling consumed by the storm of emotions that had spurred her into making a few decisions without fully thinking on them... decisions that had ultimately worked out for the best years later, but not without causing unnecessary friction between her and her mother in the process. Amelia had never been in this position before, but getting a taste of what Luz had gone through and feeling powerless to help in any way had rattled her bad, reminding her of how powerless she felt in the face of her parents for so long growing up that she made so many mistakes and lost sight of the person she wanted to be.

Admittedly, throwing themselves into training for this match with more aggression and ferocity than they'd ever shown before probably hadn't been the best idea, something Ivy had cautiously pointed out to them leading up to tonight, but it became their escape in a sense. With their Tag Title reign now over, though, they realized this might be what they ultimately needed to take a step back and actually figure out where to go next.

“I'm sorry...” Luz finally said, causing Amelia to slowly turn her head a bit to look at her.

“I'm sorry too...” Amelia responded, which didn't seem like what Luz was expecting to hear as she turned and the two locked eyes, the surprise clear in the luchadora's expression.

“You have nothing to be sorry for Ames,” Luz insisted. “I'm the one who got pinned, I'm the one who lost us our titles. I'm the one who wasn't good enough to-”

“You are good enough, Lulu,” Amelia cut her off. “I know it, our loved ones know it, those fans know it... deep down, I know that you know it too. It's my fault that I couldn't get past Brittany to save you when you were finally at your limit.”

“It's not-” Luz started before stopping herself, letting all the words they'd exchanged in the past minute really sink in. A wet chuckle escaped her lips as she rubbed a tear from her eye, which got Amelia mirroring her. “We're really sitting here about to argue over whose fault tonight's loss was, huh?”

“We are,” Amelia snorted. “How much dumber can we get?”

“Well... it's at least healthier than what we've been doing,” Luz admitted, the two of them taking a deep breath as they cuddled closer, trying to maintain the positive feeling even with the shift in topic.

“I know it's... been hard on both of us,” Amelia confirmed. “And we really haven't done the best job of coping with it. Immersing ourselves in the sport we love can only do so much, and trying to do that too much is probably the real reason we fell short tonight.”

“Maybe we keep that to ourselves, though, since I wouldn't be surprised if some people try calling B.S. on us 'coming up with excuses' or whatever.” Luz rolled her eyes. “Still... it hurts, seeing what happened and not being able to do anything about it.”

“We can recover from this loss,” Amelia agreed. “Maybe work our way back up to hold those titles again someday. Recovering from watching someone die right in front of you, though... Luz, is this what it felt like when you went through this with your father?”

“More or less,” Luz admitted, her voice growing more somber. “That one definitely hurt worse because... you know, mi papá. He taught me everything he knew, helped me to become who I am today, was more than happy to step down and leave his legacy for me to take over and shape however I desired. But Ryan... he didn't deserve this...”

“No one did,” Amelia growled, and Luz nodded in agreement. So many lives had been taken by Caleb White over the years, all in the pursuit of his twisted idea of paradise on Earth and the purity of mankind, and not a single one of them truly deserved to die as a result of his megalomania. And yet, the old man with the very out-of-date view on the world somehow continued to live on, plaguing the world until he was either finally stopped or succeed in his 'divine mission.'

“So...” Amelia slowly asked as the two just sat there in thought for a little longer. “Does this... get any easier?”

“No...” Luz admitted. “But we still have each other, as well as all our closest friends and family. I think that's going to help us out a lot... especially since I'm pretty sure you-know-who is probably going to hear about everything and think tonight's loss was the first step to us being as broken as he wants us to be for phase two.”

“You're right,” Amelia nodded. “He wants us to feel powerless... he wants us to think that he's all we'll need so he can sink his hooks into us. I went through this with my parents, I know the tactic.”

“And I know we're both stronger than he thinks we are,” Luz grinned.

“Which is why I think we need to look at tonight from a different angle,” Amelia continued. “Yeah, losing the Tag Titles sucks, but we had a good reign in the time we were champions. We just ran into a team that wanted it more... but losing to Glory and Brittany again should just be all the motivation we need to keep pushing ourselves even more.”

“Right!” Luz exclaimed as she hopped up to her feet. “Besides, I'm still going strong as TV Champion. The door's open for you to maybe start trying to work towards another singles title of your own. We can definitely work to prove ourselves worthy of a chance to get the Tag Titles back and be better than ever next time we face them.”

“There's also still our rematch I'm pretty sure we might get,” Amelia stated. “And Dark Fantasy is still in the mix too, all things considered...”

Luz sighed, but she held out her hand for Amelia to take so she could pull her love to her feet as well.

“Not sure how I feel about all of that...” she admitted. “And we definitely need to figure out what our next move should be in dealing with The Empire. Buuuuuuut... maybe that can be a tomorrow problem?”

“Deal,” Amelia nodded with a tired smile, the exhaustion of the hard-fought match really starting to take hold now. They proceeded to shower and get cleaned up for the trip back to their hotel, trying to keep their spirits high by reminding themselves that, even in defeat, they could finally say they've main evented an SCW show, another accomplishment that was small in the grand scheme of things but still meant a great deal to them and was more proof that they were definitely heading in the right direction despite everything.

Once they were all good to go, they headed out to the parking lot to load up their rental car and head back, actually taking solace in the relative silence that greeted them considering most had long since left by now. The ideal goal was to just rest tonight, then tomorrow they'd have a more thorough talk with each other and everyone else about everything to help them fully work through the grief and trauma of what they'd seen. Together, they would all be able to figure out the best way forward, especially since Luz had a bad feeling Caleb had only left them alone because of whatever hand he surely had in Ryan's death.

“You guys did good out there.”

Amelia quickly turned around after closing the trunk while Luz peered through the back window once she'd gotten the car started, and the both of them were surprised to find not only Avery, but also Marilyn and Camila as well, the latter of whom wasted no time in running towards her daughter and pulling her into a tight hug.

“¡Oh, mi preciosa bebé! ¿Estás bien?” she quickly asked, her voice trembling.

“Si mamá, I'm alright,” Luz told her. “As alright as I can be anyway.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Amelia asked as Camila continued to fuss over her daughter, much to Luz's embarrassment.

“Obviously we all came out to support you guys,” Marilyn grinned, though it faded after a moment. “Sorry it didn't pan out tonight.”

“Luz and I talked a bit about it before we started getting ready to head out,” Amelia replied. “It sucks, but we had a good run and we know we'll be right back in the hunt sooner than later.”

“Not letting it get you down! Attagirl!” Marilyn's grin returned.

“Where's everyone else?” Amelia couldn't help but ask, looking past Marilyn and around the parking lot to see that it was only the three older adults who were present.

“They headed back to the hotel already,” Camila stated as she let Luz go following a kiss to her masked forehead. “Said they were exhausted from all the cheering and would catch up when you got back.”

“Yeah... wasn't the result we were hoping for, but we're trying not to let it get us down,” Luz admitted. “Especially if it denies a certain asshole the satisfaction of thinking he's beaten us just yet.”

“Language, mija,” Camila sternly told her daughter. “Even if you're not wrong to call him that.”

“That actually reminds me,” Avery chimed in, drawing everyone's attention to them. “It took a while, mostly because I asked for second opinions and a really thorough examination to be absolutely sure, but we've got the autopsy results for Ryan now.”

Luz and Amelia exchanged glances before looking to Camila and Marilyn, who both had a look that made it clear they'd definitely heard whatever Avery was about to tell them already, but they're letting the FBI agent do their job.

“Caleb did something, didn't he?” Amelia asked, though she wasn't hiding the fact that she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

Avery grimly nodded. “Arsenic poisoning. If given in small enough doses over time, you can delay its effects on the body. Caleb must've been lacing the food he allowed Ryan to have with traces of it... not enough for even Ryan to realize he was eating poison.”

“But enough that it would cause a slow decline in his health,” Amelia realized.

“Eventually killing him well after the exchange so he 'technically' didn't break the deal!” Luz exclaimed, picking up on where this was going as well.

“Bingo,” Avery confirmed. “That's why he wasn't behaving how we expected him to during the exchange. He'd already planted the seeds and knew by the time he got what he truly wanted, we couldn't do anything about it.”

“Dios mío...” Camila bit her bottom lip, looking at Luz with concern. “What kind of monster is he?”

“The kind who won't stop until he gets whatever the hell he's after,” Marilyn growled, having already suffered quite a lot herself at the hands of the deranged zealot.

“Too bad he's not going to get it,” Luz said, a determined edge to her voice as Amelia nodded in agreement.

“Mija... I don't know-” Camila started to say.

“Sorry mom, but like it or not, we're kind of in too deep to just be allowed to walk away and stay out of all this,” Luz told her, a waver to her voice making it clear she didn't like the idea of having to talk this way to her after they'd finally patched things up but that it was necessary. “I'm sure dad didn't want any of this either when all he did was just beat the guy in a wrestling match a handful of times and Caleb turned it into this ridiculous revenge scheme!”

“Sorry Ms. Nevado, but I'm with Lulu on this one,” Amelia cautiously added as she put a hand on her beloved's shoulder to help her stay calm. “Like it or not, there are people out there who will go to absurd lengths to justify whatever crazy thought is driving them. If Caleb can keep convincing himself that we're some sort of key to his delusional holy power fantasy, then like it or not we're stuck in his crosshairs until something gives.”

“It's not going to be us, though,” Luz reaffirmed. “We will never let him break us just to get his way, and we will find a way to put an end to all this so we can just go back to living our lives and loving the sport of wrestling.”

Camila just blinked, her mouth open at the outburst from her daughter and future daughter-in-law. She knew they were right and their family had gotten caught up in all of this over something that even she knew was trivial and barely justifiable at best, but it was hard not to worry and pray that this could all somehow just be dropped and no one else would have to get hurt or worse. Caleb White was beyond reason, though... she had seen that firsthand the night she'd helped Luz and Amelia get Valentina out of his sick clutches.

“...you know, mija,” she sighed wearily before her lips curved into a smile. “Your father would be so proud of you right now. And as much as I doubt Caleb would believe it, I know he's looking down at you from Heaven, cheering you on as you both prove yourself as a wrestler and stand defiant against someone who really needs a mental health check at this point, at the very least.”

“Gracias mamá,” Luz said with a soft smile.

“Welp,” Marilyn began as she clapped her hands together, “you both are in good spirits despite the loss tonight and your heads are definitely screwed on right about everything, so I'd say things are still looking up. What do you all say we head back to the hotel to get some shuteye and tomorrow we figure out what's next for us?”

Luz and Amelia were all aboard that train as they hopped in their rental car, with Luz even offering to take her mom back so Marilyn and Avery could meet them there if they wished. The two waved them off, but the smiles did fade once the car was heading away from the Spectrum Center.

“...you sure there's no way we can keep those kids out of this mess?” Marilyn chanced asking.

“We're trying Marilyn,” Avery sighed, “but as long as Caleb is hellbent on bringing them into his flock, the best we can do is keep trying to protect them until we bring him down.”

“I wish they didn't have to be a part of this at all,” she bemoaned. “They're still young, have their whole lives and careers ahead of them! They don't deserve to be at the heart of some wackjob's religious plot that only makes sense to him.”

Avery just chuckled, which earned a raised eyebrow from Marilyn. “Never thought I'd see the day you would care so much about anyone that wasn't yourself or your sister... or me...”

“Yeah, well... those two truly know how to earn a place inside someone's heart and show them a better way to do things,” Marilyn admitted as she and Avery exchanged smiles, knowing that would have to be something they still needed to unpack later when things were calmer.

For now, though... doing their part to help Luz and Amelia navigate this storm was their top priority, and they would help the young couple keep their heads above water by any means necessary.