Glory Braddock vs. Amelia Nevado

[Wisteria Waltz]

Amelia Nevado was getting tired of this.

If she were being honest, Amelia was tired of this years ago when it first started becoming a problem, and she knew her wife was in agreement with her on that.

When The Empire had first started becoming a thorn in their side, it was a matter that had started in the wrestling business. When Amelia and Luz had returned and started working to re-establish themselves in SCW and prove everything they had wanted to the first time around before injuries and the following crisis of confidence derailed everything, The Empire was surfacing over in the old British companies Amelia had initially come up in, claiming they were going to 'save' and 'purify' the business. Being led by arguably one of Britain's most well-known living legends of the industry and with her parents involved, at worst it seemed like a group that was determined to return wrestling back to 'the good old days' and would inevitably try to find a way to cross paths with The Light In The Darkness solely due to the spite Amelia's parents had towards her not being their 'perfect prodigy' anymore, all because of La Pequeña Luz.

Two years later, and things had escalated to a point that Amelia had never thought she would ever find herself in, even if she had stayed under her parents' thumb.

Any traces The Empire had in the wrestling business may as well be gone now, the legacies of any wrestler among it ranks certainly tarnished by this point. They had gone from being a wrestling stable using religion as justification to 'restore' wrestling to what it 'should be' to a full-blown religious cult that treated their leader like the second coming of Jesus Christ and completely bought into his belief that the entire human race needed 'cleansed' so that only those who were 'truly worthy' would be left with the paradise they swore to make of the Earth.

Amelia was certain that God himself was disgusted with the way they were using His name to justify the horrible things they were doing, but these people were either so far gone already or so thoroughly brainwashed by Caleb White that they never stopped to consider that possibility. No, Caleb's word was the word of God to them, and his word was absolute: the road to paradise ran straight through a sapphic couple who wanted nothing to do with them and never asked to be made into the 'ultimate evil' by some deranged lunatic seeking to use them for his own salvation.

“Why couldn't they just leave us alone?” she lamented out loud. “Let us just live our lives and wrestle to our hearts' contents without fearing for our lives? What did we do to deserve being labeled the 'necessary evil' they have to purge trying to carry out this insane desire that will never come to fruition anyway?”

“Exist, apparently,” Ivy offered from where she was packing up her gear, not even bothering to hide her disgust.

Amelia turned to look at her oldest friend, blushing a bit from the fierce protectiveness that she picked up on as she couldn't help but wonder now: if all this chaos with The Empire had evolved into its current form longer than two years ago, would Ivy have been just as willing to stand up and fight for her old friend? Or would she have still been skeptical enough of how much Amelia had changed for the better since she had been blackmailed by her own parents into cutting ties with her that she would have left Amelia to the proverbial wolves.

She really didn't want to think about how much worse that timeline would've turned out, and Luz seemed to pick up on the potential distress her thoughts were causing as she nuzzled closer to her to help clear her head.

Taking Hold of the Flame was in the books for the couple, and they weren't beating themselves up over having not won the battle royal. Part of them wasn't expecting to, but they'd still given it their best shot and arguably had better runs overall compared to their last attempt at this match two years ago, having hung around for quite a while and scoring a number of eliminations to their names. In their minds, the highlight was easily when they had eliminated the now-former World Champion James Evans, scoring a measure of long overdue revenge for everything the Fall of Man had put them through for so long. Maybe none of that sounded like a big deal to anyone else, but they would take the small victories as a sign of their progress as their focus shifted towards whatever the road to Rise to Greatness had in store for them this year.

Of course, the bigger problem still lingered beyond SCW, and the couple truly hoped it stayed that way despite knowing full well their enemies had taken a vested interest in their SCW careers in hopes of weaponizing their failures and feuds to coerce them into considering the notion of letting themselves 'be saved' by Caleb. Or at least... part of The Empire seemed to, which was why the situation had somehow become even muddier than before. The Empire pulling some sort of morally questionable stunt they tried to justify with religious rhetoric that arguably didn't truly apply, that was par for the course at this point. Attempts to force a conversation that would allow Caleb to try and get his hooks into Amelia and Luz, up to and including threatening the lives of the people closest to them? Nothing new by now.

Actively trying to take lives, including Amelia and Luz themselves? That was a stage they didn't think The Empire would resort to until Caleb felt he literally had no other choice and deemed the couple 'beyond saving,' and by his own admission, things hadn't escalated that far quite yet.

“Alright, here's what we know so far,” Avery dictated from where they sat, watching as Evie arranged a little corkboard to organize everything that they had gathered up to this point. “Intel from Vladimir and Adrian, of all people, confirms there's serious cracks within The Empire's elites, to the point where an entire splinter cell seems to have formed from it that's even defying Caleb's orders in favor of just trying to get rid of all of us once and for all to 'clear the way' to their so-called paradise.”

“The letter Adrian dropped was written by Caleb himself, confirming this,” Darius noted as he pinned the letter in question to the board. “We analyzed the note as a precaution and can confirm that this is his handwriting.”

“We can also confirm based on past encounters that Vladimir and Adrian are against this splinter cell and still firmly licking Caleb's boots,” Evie added as she pinned some photos to one end or the other of the board. “Ophelia is for sure on the side of this splinter cell, and it's safe to assume Aleister would be as well.”

“She also told me, to my face, that any desire they might've had to 'save' me is out the window because they're considering trying to conceive a 'replacement' for me in the Blythe legacy,” Amelia spat, thinking back to that encounter in London and how badly she wanted nothing more than to see the woman that was her mother in biology only once again behind bars, this time for good.

“Definitely going to need to keep an eye on that situation since they've long since proven they are not worthy of calling themselves parents to anybody,” Darius muttered, trying to restrain his anger over that thought.

“About the only other thing we know for sure is the Blythes are not leading this splinter cell, which likely leaves any of the other elites still unaccounted for in regards to picking sides,” Avery noted as they added photos of the other elites to the board, including ones Amelia and Luz only vaguely remembered being part of the little hologram display Caleb 'gifted' them on the night of their wedding to announce his jailbreak.

“And that Caleb is desperate enough that he's hoping we can work together as an 'enemy of my enemy' situation,” Luz pointed out.

That reminder caused the air to grow heavy in the hotel conference room the NCA agents had commandeered to give themselves enough space to try and sort this out. It made sense to Amelia and Luz to head to St. Louis, site of the next Breakdown, shortly after Taking Hold of the Flame was in the books, mostly because Ivy also happened to have a show for the promotion she wrestled for in this same city, giving them a chance to enjoy watching Ivy get to put in work and prove just how much farther she's come as a wrestler before Amelia walked into Breakdown to renew an old rivalry with Glory Braddock.

While the agents continued to lay out everything they knew thus far, wanting to make sure they left no stone unturned that could lead to any nasty surprises they were caught unprepared for, Amelia looked away from the corkboard that was starting to remind her almost of those conspiracy boards some people poured way too much time and energy into. Her gaze ended up back on Ivy, who was making sure she had every piece of her gear accounted for, especially her contacts so she could see as she wrestled. It was still so surreal to Amelia that a little over two years ago, a chance encounter with her oldest friend opened the doors for her to try and fix what she still considered her greatest mistake, and she still couldn't believe that Ivy had not only ultimately forgiven her, but their friendship had been reforged as a result. It certainly wasn't exactly as it used to be, far from it... but Amelia couldn't say she hated how things were between them now, mostly because she actually had this powerful woman who was always stronger than Amelia's parents ever bothered seeing back in her life at all.

“Care to share what's going on in that pretty little head of yours?” Luz teased as her masked cheek nuzzled against Amelia's bare one.

“You say that like your own head isn't pretty,” Amelia teased back before briefly catching her wife's lips in a kiss.

“I swear, you two are so sweet you're going to give me cavities,” Ivy playfully interjected from where she sat by the door as she zipped up her bag.

“You love it,” Luz sang before sticking out her tongue before Ivy returned the gesture.

Amelia couldn't help but laugh, her heart fluttering at how well her wife and oldest friend got along. She felt a small pang of jealousy, but it was quickly banished as she remembered how cold Ivy was to even Luz at first, purely because she was teaming with Amelia, but Luz's trademark persistence and overall sunny disposition had been the key to ultimately convince Ivy to give Amelia a chance to share her side of the story and finally clear up some of the gaps that made no sense otherwise so many years later.

“I guess I'm just... reflecting on how lucky I am to call you my friend again, Ivy,” Amelia admitted, which caused Luz and Ivy's smiles to disappear a bit as they turned their attention back to her. “There was a part of me that never thought we'd be together again, that you would turn me away even after I told you why I did what I did all those years ago... and I'd already accepted that possibility, to the point where I think I was expecting it. I'd hate to think about how things would be playing out right now in a world where we weren't friends again... or even a world where I was still under my parents' thumb and probably serving The Empire in misery just because I was doing what was expected of me. But I see you now as the girl I should've seen you as back then, the girl I should've stood up to my parents for: the strong girl with the big heart who deserved so much better.”

Ivy just blinked at Amelia, taken aback a bit by how raw the admission was, even if she'd heard some variation of it several times by this point. She knew Amelia still struggled to believe she truly deserved having Ivy back in her life after everything, even though the only people to truly blame at the end of it all were her parents, but after everything those two had put their youngest daughter through... Ivy was certain that if they didn't end up back in jail when The Empire was dealt with once and for all, then she would happily serve jail time for murdering the two of them herself for everything they'd done to break her oldest friend and try to weaponize Amelia to ruin her own life.

“Hey,” Ivy called as she stood up and set her bag aside, walking over to where Amelia was sitting and putting a firm but comforting hand on her shoulder. “It's not your fault Amelia. It hurt, I won't lie, but you were doing what you thought was best to protect me, and your parents blackmailing you like that as a child, on your birthday? That's all I need to know that they are scum of the Earth and they never deserved a daughter like you. Make no mistake, Ames: I can't begin to tell you how glad I am to call you my friend again too, and how lucky I am to see you become exactly who you wanted to be, who you deserve to me, your parents and The Empire be damned. I don't care if they think they can end your life or act like they're 'saving' you or whatever... they're doing it over my dead body.”

“Really hope it doesn't have to come to that,” Luz admitted nervously, which only resulted in Amelia pulling her wife into a group hug with her and Ivy.

“Agreed,” Avery nodded. “Especially considering this situation is very delicate right now and we need to tread lightly considering there are some within The Empire who are no longer hesitating to kill.”

“Where this gets tricky is with Caleb's little plea,” Evie huffed. “Obviously, we don't want to help him for any reason, but we can't just ignore this splinter cell within their ranks when they're clearly the more immediate threat, at least as of this moment.”

“Perhaps the only thing we can confirm there is the fact that none of them are likely to directly attack Caleb himself, seeing as how he's their 'lord and savior,'” Darius added with clear disgust. “We also know almost certainly that Caleb cares very little for anyone serving him and would love to punish those acting of their own accord.”

“I have to ask... what happens if we can figure out who started the splinter cell?” Amelia asked.

“What do you mean?” Evie replied as everyone eyebrows raised at wherever she might be going with this.

“Well... I think we all know Caleb is a narcissistic egomaniac,” Amelia noted. “Yeah, he may be asking for our help, but only because it's getting in the way of his plans and he's hoping either the NCA can pick off enough of his rogue followers that it makes them reconsider going against his word, or we can deduce who's behind this for him so he can deal with that elite himself. But what if... what if we beat him to the punch?”

“Wait... are you suggesting we not only find out who started escalating things against Caleb's wishes and then take them out ourselves?” Luz asked, eyes lighting up at her wife's resulting grin.

“Not necessarily take out,” Amelia noted. “But if that person is arrested...”

“...then we have a bargaining chip Caleb can't ignore!” Ivy finished with a wide grin of her own.

“Of course...” Darius nodded, stroking his little goatee. “Caleb would want so badly to deal with this himself since it's 'housekeeping' to him, to make an example to the rest of his flock on why you don't defy his orders, that he would likely be willing to bargain almost anything for us to hand that elite over. It's brilliant!”

“Mi brillante y hermosa esposa!” Luz couldn't resist cheering as she planted a big kiss on Amelia's cheek.

“Luz!” Amelia couldn't help but laugh as Luz began attacking her with kisses, causing the two of them to fall to the floor in a giggling heap.

Ivy couldn't help but laugh herself, smiling at how happy her oldest friend was and admitting, for probably the umpteenth time, that Luz really was good for her.

“Well, I hate to bail now that we've got an idea of our next plan of attack,” she said as she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, “but I need to get going or else I'll be late for our show. That means wifey time is over until you're both alone in your own room, you two.”

Amelia and Luz both went crimson as they untangled themselves and helped one another back to their feet, neither one wanting to miss seeing Ivy in action once more.

“I'll escort you both, just in case,” Evie noted, leaving Avery and Darius to resume discussions on their plan of attack that she could be filled in on later as the four ladies left the conference room and made their way outside, nodding to some of their friends who were just chilling around the hotel lobby waiting for them. Everyone gathered together and made their way through the doors, taking in the warm weather of a peaceful night and happily chatting about what Ivy was going to do to her opponent once that bell rang.

It was a moment of peace that Amelia couldn't help but smile over, her own excitement to see just how much farther Ivy had come as a wrestler almost impossible to contain.

If only the peace could last... or maybe if Amelia hadn't let her guard down for even a split second to enjoy it, because Ivy caught it before she did.

“GET DOWN!”

The next thing Amelia knew, Ivy was tackling her to the ground and the others were scattering as a gunshot rang out, immediately stirring up panic in the streets of St. Louis as people who were just minding their own business frantically fled. Evie wasted no time in drawing her gun, catching sight of an armed man in a familiar red cloak trying to duck into a nearby alley across the street, only to drop when her shot caught him right in the kneecap. She immediately sprinted over to pin him down before he could retaliate, with Darius immediately bolting out of the hotel to back her up as Avery checked on everyone else to make sure they were alright.

“Holy shit...” Amelia breathed out, her heart racing at just how close that bullet came to meeting her skull, swearing she'd felt it whiz right by her head. “Thank you Iv-”

Amelia cut herself off as she caught sight of a familiar crimson substance, and while she was silently thankful it wasn't emanating from her... seeing it trickling from a small but noticeable wound across Ivy's shoulder just about stopped her heart all on its own.

“I told you...” Ivy chuckled through gritted teeth, clearly in pain. “Over my dead body...”

“IVY!” Amelia shrieked, immediately drawing Avery's attention. They were quick to rip part of their shirt sleeve off to form a tourniquet and slow down the bleeding as Henry joined them in helping Ivy up. She looked alright aside from that, save for obviously being rattled, but Henry refused to take any chances as he put whatever medical training he'd no doubt had drilled into his head by his uncle to actual good use while Avery made sure to inform the police that quickly arrived to the scene that an ambulance was needed, despite Ivy's claims that she was fine and the bullet only grazed her.

Amelia, however, wasn't sure if she was fine, even if she was physically unharmed, and not even clinging tightly to Luz could erase the horror pulsing through her veins at this latest attack from The Empire's murderous splinter cell.