Polly Pingotti vs. Kemal Yilmaz vs. Gavin Taylor vs. La Pequena Luz

[Wisteria Waltz]

Some would say that La Pequeña Luz had a martyr complex.

In her mind, she was simply very good at bottling up her own problems because there were always more important matters to address, and addressing those matters would very likely resolve her problems anyway most of the time.

She knew it was complicated, and she knew it wasn't a healthy way to live, but it had unfortunately become painfully clear that being allowed to seek a healthier mindset was a luxury she wasn't going to be afforded anytime soon, not so long as The Empire seemed to be done hoping her and Amelia would be open to being 'saved' by them.

Maybe?

It was honestly hard to tell anymore.

The past few weeks had been a chaotic blur in Luz's mind when it came to the fanatical cult of Caleb White, and it was virtually impossible to really tell what was going on anymore. It had started with Vladimir Basmat constantly contacting them, trying to leverage the safety of their loved ones through surveillance they knew he was capable of and hidden Empire members ready and willing to kill if ordered to. That had been harrowing enough trying to navigate, especially as things in SCW seemed to start spiraling out of their control and the temptation to actually hear whatever advice Caleb was willing to offer as a wrestling legend grew harder and harder to ignore.

Then, several of the more fanatical Empire goons, apparently following the orders of a different elite among their ranks, seemed to break away from the plan and attempted to just straight-up attack Luz, Amelia and their found family. That, thankfully, had been thwarted by the timely arrival of law enforcement, but the fact that even Vladimir, who they'd been in the middle of a call with at the time, seemed put off by the loss of control as several of the cult's members who were supposed to listen to him instead blew him off, determined to just blindly follow their homophobic rage and 'end the problem' immediately... it was both concerning and intriguing.

And then there was last week, where Amelia had been trying to get the comments of a frustrated Xander Valentine out of her mind. All they were doing was just heading to their rental car to go back to their London hotel for the night, and they had once again been attacked. This time, Amelia's mom had been the one behind it, not caring that one of her Empire goons had sacrificed their life for nothing and several more had ultimately been arrested. Amelia had walked away from that night knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there was no part of her left that considered Ophelia Blythe her mother anymore and wouldn't shed a tear if anything happened to her... but Luz knew the whole incident had still shaken her up pretty badly. The fact that Amelia had recently wrestled a technical masterclass of a match with Ryan LeCavalier and come out on top despite that was both impressive and worried her a little bit.

Luz doubted she was doing a very good job of hiding it, especially around her wife, but she was struggling to keep herself together at this point, especially when The Empire was becoming unpredictable not just because they were outsmarting the couple and their loved ones, but because there seemed to be some inner turmoil within the cult that was making it hard to know how to proceed. They'd dealt with both attempts to manipulate them and attempts on their lives, but whichever effort was the focus always seemed to be telegraphed in some way because it was painfully obvious anyone with power within The Empire was also way too egotistical to not want to gloat or leverage whatever they were scheming.

'I thought their egos clashing and them getting in each other's way would make things easier on us,' Luz thought to herself. 'Not escalate things beyond our control.'

Before she could find some reason to start blaming herself for this turn of events, even though she knew full well she had about as much control over whatever The Empire did as she had control over guaranteeing a good number for the upcoming Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal, she felt a hand gently rest upon her own, her gaze briefly turning to find the reassuring smile of Amelia. No words were exchanged, but they didn't need to be, and Luz nodded in silent thanks before returning her eyes to the road.

With the Breakdown in Austin behind them now and Amelia having rebounded from the mess the became of their rematch for the World Tag Team Titles, Luz knew it was her turn now to try and gain some momentum for herself heading into the battle royal, as she and Amelia really didn't have a reason not to try and give it their best shot this year. Instead of heading straight to Atlanta to start preparing for whatever awaited her, however, Luz had wanted to take a small detour, and Amelia was completely on board with her doing so. That's why the two of them were currently making the long drive down to Luz's hometown of Tulancingo, the place where they had gotten happily married several months ago.

The reason why was twofold. First, Luz wanted to check in on her mom, who had returned home some time back as she had duties as a doctor to attend to and couldn't keep putting them off to follow her daughter on her wrestling journey. Luz knew her mom had mostly done it to try and make up for all the time they'd lost over the conflict regarding Luz even being a wrestler in the first place, not to mention her obvious concern for her baby girl as things with The Empire ramped up, but Luz had reassured her that they had plenty of time to spend together and Camila couldn't risk her job and her license when Luz was not only more than capable of taking care of herself, but had Amelia and so many others around her now to make sure of that.

The other reason actually circled back around to her struggles with trying to ignore the recent attacks from The Empire, especially as no person should ever see their life flash before their eyes this much in a relatively short amount of time. She and Amelia had already talked about it and would definitely continue talking about it as long as they needed to until something was done about these religious lunatics, and Luz could certainly use some advice from her mamá on how she can navigate the road ahead in spite of this... but it was her father she really needed to talk to. She wasn't sure what help the spirit of El Espíritu Angélico could provide her from beyond the grave or how it would manifest, but deep in her heart she felt she needed to visit his grave and just allow herself to truly let go of everything weighing on her shoulders so she could find some sort of relief.

She wasn't sure how much it would help, but... everyone who cared about her kept advising her to stop bottling up her problems, and this was what she felt was the best way to finally do just that.

“We're here,” she stated as she pulled up right next to the cemetery where her papá was resting.

“And look who's waiting for us,” Amelia pointed out.

Luz couldn't help but smile that smile that was so very hers as she quickly got out of the car and rushed over to her mom, who was waiting not that far beyond the cemetery gates. Camila couldn't help but laugh as she caught her daughter and spun her around, Luz laughing right alongside her as they embraced.

“Me alegro verte, cariño,” Camila cooed.

“Me alegro de verte también, mamá,” Luz replied, fighting to keep herself from tearing up just because it had been a little while since they'd seen each other... and a lot had clearly happened in that time span.

“I hope things have been going well, Camila,” Amelia added as she slowly walked up to them.

“Things have been busy, but good,” Camila admitted as she opened her arm, and Amelia accepted the invitation to join the hug as well with her wife and mother-in-law. “Marilyn filled me in on some of what's happened recently and... ay dios mío, how are the two of you holding up?”

“We're-” Luz started to say.

“Struggling, truth be told,” Amelia cut in. Luz pouted at this, but Camila could tell by the look Amelia shot her back that Luz was probably going to try and lie so she wouldn't be as worried.

“Mija,” Camila spoke in that tone Luz knew full well meant her mother wasn't playing games. “Please be honest with me. I know you're scared of me getting worried about you, but we all know this problem has nothing to do with wrestling and I have no reason to be mad at you over somebody who can't let go of the hatred that's consumed him so thoroughly that he's lost the ability to think rationally.”

“Lo siento, mamá,” Luz slowly said as she looked her mom in the eyes. “I just... I'm struggling. I know I shouldn't keep bottling it up and acting like everything's alright when it's clearly not, but I can't convince my brain to stop doing that! Not when I feel like I have to constantly watch my back for whatever these guys might try next since they're making it clear our lives are very much live targets now, fearing that any sign of weakness is going to get me killed... or worse, Ames, or you, or Ivy or Gage or-”

“Breathe, Luna,” her mother gently requested, holding both girls tighter. Amelia further encouraged this with a kiss on Luz's masked cheek, and Luz too several slow, deep breaths to try and ground herself.

“Trust me, Lulu, I'm in the exact same boat,” Amelia admitted. “Especially after what Ophelia tried to pull on me last week after the London show...”

“Ay, that woman had better pray to God that I never get my hands on her...” Camila growled, and while Luz and Amelia wanted to find the thought absurd given that Ophelia was, unfortunately, a very well-trained grappler while she was a doctor who they're pretty sure had never been in a fight before, they didn't doubt for a second by the tone of Camila's voice that she would figure out some way to actually rip the Blythe matriarch limb from limb for everything's she's done and then some.

“The point is, you're not alone, Luz,” Amelia leaned her head over against Luz's. “I know I struggle with bottling things up myself, but you helped me tear down those walls and keep reminding me that it's better not to let myself suffer in silence... let me and your mom help remind you that it's OK to share your burdens, because considering who's at the root of all of our problems, they're our burdens too.”

Luz blinked a tear away from her eye as she nuzzled closer in the embrace, knowing her wife was right. It was stupid to try and convince herself that she was somehow to blame for what The Empire was doing and everyone she cared about being in danger because of them. Their friends and loved ones all chose to stand up and fight against them, the NCA agents helping them chose to do so because nobody deserved to be the target of a group that had long since crossed over into being classified as a terrorist organization by most of the world... Luz wasn't even responsible for being a target of theirs, as that was born of lingering beef Caleb never seemed to let go of against her father even after the strings he'd pulled to end the man's life, much as Amelia was unwilling collateral damage in her own right because her parents practically tried to sell her into an arranged marriage for Caleb's grand scheme before she was even born.

“Speaking of sharing my burdens...” Luz quietly said, but it was loud enough for the other two women to hear it. She didn't need to finish the sentence, just as Camila and Amelia only needed to follow her gaze towards one particular tombstone near the heart of the cemetery to know exactly what she was building towards.

The three of them pulled apart and Luz led the walk to her father's grave. The silence that settled over them held a bit of tension, but it wasn't something unsettling. If anything, it felt like the remnants of a storm that was, hopefully, on the verge of finally passing and leaving a calm behind. Once they reached their destination, Amelia and Camila watched as Luz slowly dropped to her knees, folding her hands in prayer and bowing her head as she stared at the dirt beneath her as though she were staring her father right in the eyes fir the first time in years.

“Papá,” she slowly began, her voice cracking a tiny bit. “I know you've been watching over me... I can feel how proud you are of the wrestler your 'little light' has become. You know I love you with all my heart and soul, that I'm grateful for getting me started on my journey to create my own legacy as a luchador, just as you did. But... I'm struggling, dad. I'm struggling to keep my head above water and it feels like I'm drowning in my own thoughts and fears more and more with each passing day.”

Luz could feel the tears rolling down her eyes now, dropping from the edges of her mask's eyeholes onto the grave. She could almost picture the concern in the expressions of both her mom and her wife's faces without having to turn her head to look at them. Still, she continued.

“I don't know what to think... I know you wouldn't have wanted this for me, but I was never given a choice in the matter. I can't help but feel like I inherited your problem with this psychopath obsessed with his own religious salvation at everyone else's expense. I don't want to hate you for that... but part of me does, and I hate that I feel this way. I hate that part of me wants to blame you for this, blame the fact that you aren't here anymore to help me know how to deal with this. I know only Caleb is to blame... but I can't... I can't just keep this bottled up inside anymore. I don't want to hate you, papá, nor do I want to hate myself for any of this even happening. I don't want to hate at all! I just... I... I don't know what to do... what to think...”

“Lucecita...”

Luz's gaze snapped up, and she couldn't help but gasp in surprise. She wasn't sure if Camila or Amelia could see, and she wanted to believe she wasn't going crazy, but... she knew the people of Mexico always held a special connection with their deceased. It was why they had a whole holiday dedicated to welcoming the spirits back so their memory would never fade, after all. But Día de Muertos was still several months away.

That, however, wasn't going to stop the spirit of Manuel Nevado, aka El Espíritu Angélico, from seeing his little girl when she needed him most.

“Dad...” Luz gasped softly.

“Mi bebé...” she heard him say as he pulled her into a hug, or at least that's what it felt like. She tried to wrap her arms around him all the same. “Lo siento, bebé... I never wanted you to get caught up in this. You didn't deserve this... no one does. But you're allowed to feel angry at me, feel frustrated that you inherited my problem.”

“Even if it's not...?” Luz started to ask.

“Even if the only one to blame is Caleb,” her father's spirit confirmed. “He is... not a well man, I think that goes without saying. I wish I had an answer as to what to do about him... maybe then, I wouldn't be watching the incredible woman you've grown up to be from up above, but instead by your mother's side, getting to be in the crowd and cheer you on just as you did for me all these years. But your feelings are valid, Luna... and I'm glad you came to visit my grave and get this off your chest. I can tell it's been eating away at you for longer than you'd care to admit.”

“I don't want to feel this way, though,” Luz lamented as more tears were shed. “I just want to wrestle, to live my life with the woman I love and the friends I've made. I don't want to hate you for something I know you didn't even want or ask for...”

“I know...” her father told her, his voice a soothing balm on her raw emotions. “And I can tell these feelings do not come from a place of genuine hatred. Not towards me, not towards yourself, not even towards him, and I admire your strength and kindness, Luna. This... this is the young woman I'd always hoped you'd grow up to be, and never forget that I am so very proud of you. I know, deep down, that this is because you're afraid that you'll end up just as I did. But have faith, my little light... because I know, from speaking with you-know-who up above, that everything will work out and you'll have the life you deserve. Just stay strong, and know that I will always be watching over you... and that man will get what's coming to him soon enough, and he and he alone will be at fault when that time comes.”

“Gracias papá... gracias...” Luz choked out as she felt her dad's hands stroking her back... followed by two more hands that she knew were definitely real.

Camila and Amelia didn't need to see the ghost of El Espíritu Angélico to know he was present, and they were more than happy to join him in making sure Luz knew that everything was going to be alright, somehow, someway. The situation with The Empire wasn't ideal for anybody and they all wished it just didn't happen in the first place, but as long as they all had each other and knew that God above was watching out for them, regardless of whatever Caleb and his fanatical followers had to say claiming otherwise because of their own twisted beliefs, then everything would turn out OK.

They just had to stay strong and keep fighting, no matter the odds.

Thankfully, La Pequeña Luz was never good at giving up or losing all of her hope for a brighter future, no matter what she had to endure to make it a reality.