The Light In The Darkness - Fatal Fortunes RP Thread

[Wisteria Waltz]

As we fade in, we're perhaps a little surprised at the setting we're in. Perhaps it's because we've grown so accustomed to basically searching for two particular women and finding them in the middle of just enjoying their day before taking time out of it to say what they need to say, but this time there's no magical feeling in the air or noteworthy surroundings that stand out to us. If anything, perhaps it's a little off-putting that all we can see is a gray stone wall and floor along with a little banner advertising the upcoming Fatal Fortunes editions of Breakdown taking place in Denver and Edmonton over the next two weeks. Seated beneath this banner, their backs up against the wall, are Amelia Nevado and La Pequeña Luz. We can see the glint from the lighting off the gold of their wedding bands as their fingers are intertwined, along with the glint of the World Tag Team Championship belts resting at their sides and the United States Championship belt resting in Luz's lap. The two women have their heads down, but after a moment, they slowly lift them to look at us, leaving us unnerved by the virtual lack of emotion that is very uncharacteristic of these two for as long as we've known them. Luz's eyes slowly drift down to the title belt resting on her lap before she sighs and kicks things off.

“You know... when Ames and I walked into Breakdown last week in San Francisco, we didn't fully know what to expect. We'd just gone through a Chamber Match at Under Attack, going bell-to-bell and fighting tooth and nail to retain our World Tag Team Titles. We gave every team in that match their chance to step up and give us their best with no excuses, they could indulge in whatever chaos they desired, and at the end of it all we managed to rise above and survive. We thought we might get some insight as to who might be the next team to step up and challenge us... truth be told, I also expected this to happen, even if I was hoping it wouldn't. Yes, I technically earned this honor when I won that triple threat match back at Apocalypse, but if I were to be here today calling myself the United States Champion, I would've preferred to do it by properly earning the belt in a hard-fought classic against Deanna. That said, I know what it means to call myself the interim champion: I am to uphold the fight this title deserves until Deanna is ready to return, and then I can get my chance to see if I'm truly good enough to rightfully call myself the champion proper. Deanna, if you're watching, I give you my word that I will fight to defend this title just as you have, respecting everything that you laid the foundation for and hoping that we'll get that chance to dance sooner rather than later.”

“One thing we certainly weren't expecting, however, was for William Heaven to decide that the established order no longer applies to him or his clients as he sent James Evans and Waylon Creek to not just attack us, but thoroughly destroy us. We were simply, in their eyes, the most noteworthy casualty of a temper tantrum over their setbacks and perceived lack of respect coming out of Under Attack. Waylon lost but continues to shield himself behind the technicality of still being unbeaten because he didn't take the direct fall—a tactic I'm all too familiar with because I've pulled that card myself at the very beginning of my career and know how hollow the justification is, and James came just short of winning his Chamber Match and got especially upset over it because it was Selena he fell short against. So what do they do? Waylon attempts to break Scott Reed's neck when he's simply a challenger for Waylon's Television Title, the two of them proceed to assault two people just trying to find their footing and prove themselves, and then they take their anger out on us. And why? Because we've 'had it easy,' because we're 'selfish like Selena,' because we can't possibly be the kinds of champions SCW needs like James and Waylon can.

I took a piledriver, making it clear that Waylon knows full well that a neck injury is what sidelined me during our first attempted run here. Luz was powerbombed off the top rope and across the barricade. The Fall of Man made it abundantly clear that they're willing to destroy us just because we don't fit their self-centered, hypocritical vision of what an SCW champion should be. But there's just one problem with their efforts from last week...”

It's at this point that Amelia and Luz grab their title belts and slowly pull themselves to their feet. It's clear that there's still some discomfort and they're trying their best to hide it, but thanks to the little bit of support they're giving one another, they're now standing tall and proud, stepping away from the wall and draping their titles over their shoulders like the proud champions they are.

“We're still standing.

Yeah, maybe James and Waylon don't think that's particularly impressive, and we're not bothering to hide the fact that we're still feeling the effects of what they did, but it's not going to stop us from walking into the next two Breakdowns and doing what we do best: wrestling. Think about it: in their attempt to send a message and make a statement, the Fall of Man fired their best shots at us, hoping it would snuff us out and open the door for them to just be handed everything they're demanding because it fits their narrative much easier. After all, according to them, Amelia and I haven't been worthwhile champions. We haven't worked our butts off to earn every single accolade we've accumulated since coming back to SCW, despite acknowledging our defeats and shortcomings and working to bounce back when it does happen. We haven't done anything to elevate the SCW roster, despite the footage being there of every single team we've ever crossed paths with stepping up their game and giving us the fight of their lives when that's all we've ever asked of anyone, with or without the titles on the line. They claim we've had it easy and want to keep taking the easy route, despite us constantly finding ways to challenge ourselves so we can keep getting better, all just to prove that we belong here.”

“The truth of the matter is, James and Waylon are no different than so many other people we've dealt with in our lives who don't care about how hard we've had to fight to build ourselves up into who we are today. Everything we've earned is irrelevant to them because they have this need to dictate who we are and then cram us into that box because to them, it's easier than admitting when they're wrong or accepting their faults. Perhaps they were hoping that we wouldn't be able to make it to Fatal Fortunes, that it would cause us to have to surrender our titles without actually being beaten for them. Unfortunately for the two of you and anyone who might've actually believed in the nonsense you've been spewing since, it's going to take a lot more than what you did last week to put Luz and I down for good. Believe what you want, but the reality is that we're fighters. We've been fighting for our entire lives to be able to get to this point, to define ourselves and who we want to be, and to help elevate the entire wrestling business to greater heights through nothing more than our hard work and dedication. And if you think that's not enough because you two and William Heaven clearly think you know better than everybody else... well, you've already thrown down the gauntlet. We don't care that the two of you technically haven't wrestled as a tag team in any official capacity yet, and we doubt CHBK will deny us the chance to pay you back in proper fashion and definitively prove that if going through the two of you is doing things 'the hard way,' then we're not afraid to step up to the plate and earn a win over the two of you.

That also holds true for anybody on this roster who wants a piece of us for whatever reason, which brings us to Fatal Fortunes.”

Both women pause to briefly look back at the banner behind them, the sight slowly bringing back those familiar smiles we're used to seeing from the newly-wedded couple. They gently squeeze each other's hands as they turn their full attention back to us.

“It's funny to think that the Fall of Man want to criticize us for doing things 'the easy way' when there's nothing easy about what awaits us over the course of the next two weeks. Last year during Fatal Fortunes, not only did Amelia and I each have to wrestle twice, one non-title booking and one to defend our World Tag Team Titles, but I also had a third booking because I was the Television Champion at the time and had to defend that title as well. Trade out the TV Title for the interim U.S. Title this year, and it's the exact same gauntlet that awaits us. And yet, no matter who is drawn to challenge us or what kind of match it is, Ames and I welcome this challenge because it means whoever stands across the ring from us has the chance to step up and give us everything they've got to make the most of it, even if they never believed they would get that opportunity to do so. We're not holding back either, because the least these titles and all of our opponents deserve is a match worthy of being remembered as a hard-fought affair worthy of a championship being on the line, and if we happen to fall, then whoever we face can walk away saying they truly earned that win.”

“Last year, Luz had one regular singles match along with defending the Television Title in a match where to win you had to retrieve the belt from a forklift. I was supposed to have a tag team match that ended up turning into an unfortunate handicap match against me, and the two of us defended these Tag Titles in a Dumpster Match. That is just a taste of what Fatal Fortunes can throw at you. We could find ourselves defending these titles against two randomly paired competitors who, for all we know, could discover some untapped chemistry between them. Luz could defend the interim U.S. Title against someone who's just been hungry for that chance to have such a shot and will finally get it. Perhaps my non-title booking could see me challenging for a singles title myself to earn the right to join Luz as a double champion... of course, that also means the possibility exists that the two of us could have an opportunity we were denied back during the Trios Tournament of squaring off against one another in an SCW ring, maybe even for that interim U.S. Title. The possibilities are truly endless, but one thing is certain: despite what the Fall of Man did to us last week, we're still standing tall and we're proudly walking into both Denver and Edmonton over the next two weeks to put our best feet forward. Feel free to take advantage of the damage done to us, this is your open invitation to do so... call us crazy if you want, but we don't back down from challenges and if we have to fight through the pain and a disadvantage to keep proving that we've earned the right to belong here, then so be it.”

“That's the thing about us that doesn't seem to work with the picture so many others want to paint about The Light In The Darkness. We're only human, just like all of you and just like everyone on this roster. We make mistakes, we can be defeated, but every single time it happens we pick ourselves back up and work to improve for the next time. Yeah, maybe we do beat ourselves up about it sometimes, but it's because of how much wrestling means to us, what it represents in our journey both as individuals and as a couple. Not once, in all the time we've been on this roster, have we ever complained about anything that's happened to us, nor have we taken it out on anybody else. If that's who we were, then maybe we'd be standing here criticizing how 'unfair' the whole concept of Fatal Fortunes is instead of mentally preparing ourselves for whatever it has to throw at us. Maybe we'd be making wild claims or assumptions about ourselves to try and intimidate anyone who does end up against us. That's just it, though... we've never needed to be anything more than our authentic selves, flaws and all, and that in and of itself seems to throw people off because we're not these 'arrogant, unstoppable champions' you want to believe we are.”

“Time and time again, we've gone out of our way to make it clear that we respect what all of our opponents bring to the table, even if we have some sort of issue with you. And yes, that applies to James and Waylon as well, because to ignore how talented and dangerous they are would mean we're ignoring how big of a threat they could truly be to us. No matter who you are on this roster, no matter how you've been doing lately, it could all change at Fatal Fortunes. We acknowledge that, and that's why we're hopeful that if we're not meant to survive this ordeal with championships to our name, then whoever dethrones us has proven they are capable of picking up where we left off in elevating themselves and everyone around them to keep making SCW the elite wrestling phenomenon that it is today. We respect your efforts, no matter who you are, because the truth is that on any given night, you could do what no one thinks you're capable of. That is the kind of fight we hope to inspire, that is why we keep pushing forward, and that is why so long as The Light In The Darkness lives and breathes, we will continue to fight, not just for the future of SCW, but the future of the wrestling business as a whole.”

“To whoever we end up meeting in that ring over the next two weeks, no matter the circumstances, we wish you the best of luck.”

“And all we ask is that you give us your very best, because that's what these championships and SCW as a whole deserve.”

Luz and Amelia nod to us before nodding to one another, acknowledging that the next two weeks are not going to be an easy ride given what happened to them last week, but we know they're always up for a challenge. As we fade out, we can feel the fight that the married couple are ready and wiling to give no matter what happens, because that's always how they've conducted their business and that's all they asked of their opponents, no matter the scenario. They would bring their very best, and whatever happened from there was up to whoever was willing to fight harder for the win.