Meghan Strader, Gavin Taylor & Nevado vs. Oskar Theron, Deanna Frost & Waylon Creek

[Wisteria Waltz]

OOC: Between the two characters I have in Trios, this RP chronologically comes first as it takes place right after Apocalypse. If you're reading the full story, read Luz's after this one.
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She had failed.

That was the only thought that ran through the mind of Amelia Nevado as she made her way to the back once Apocalypse had gone off the air.

Not for a lack of trying, far from it. She had given Cid Turner her absolute best and held nothing back. Several times she was certain she had him, but even when he kicked out or forced a rope break, she never lingered on it, getting right back to work.

It was as she had once tried to tell her parents: no matter how much she was molded and trained until she was 'the perfect wrestler,' there were still things she lacked that would find a way around that, meaning she could never truly be as perfect as they desired. Experience was one of those things, as Cid had simply drawn on being in this position numerous times over the years to get the exact position he needed to hit the Sovereign Takeover and score the pinfall.

She knew she shouldn't beat herself up too much over it. After all, while she was no stranger to World Titles and main events (heck, she main evented Apocalypse last year because of the Trios finals), this was the first time she had tasted the weight of an SCW World Title match, and it was every bit the suffocating experience she'd been warned it would be. Even despite that, she had pushed Cid to his limits and looked better than she probably ever has inside that ring, almost like she belonged in the main event scene of the biggest wrestling company in the entire world. Yeah, she wasn't World Champion coming out of tonight... but she had shown that she could very well be somewhere down the line.

Her mind, however, was quick to disagree. As she walked through the gorilla position, past the applause and praise from CHBK and his staff for an incredible effort, it only barely registered to her. Even as she left that area and started moving towards her locker room, knowing that it likely wouldn't be long until Luz was barreling up to her, all she could hear was the condescending voices of her parents in her head, berating her for her failure and claiming that Selena Frost was right all those years ago before she became the 'villain' she believed SCW needed... that she wasn't ready, that she never would be ready, that she had just wasted the only chance she would likely ever get to try and be World Champion.

Deep down, she was certain that wasn't true, but that's the thing about a scarred mind: trauma doesn't just disappear in the blink of an eye, even when you're free from what caused it in the first place.

Luckily, Amelia was soon ripped from her thoughts by a familiar pair of lips meeting hers in a big, loving kiss, one that she returned before seeing the brilliant and reassuring smile of the masked woman she was certain was meant to be her soulmate.

“Lo siento,” Luz sheepishly apologized, “You looked like you needed that.”

“I did, actually,” Amelia smiled, though Luz knew it was half-hearted. “And... I'm sorry. I know we'd hoped to be able to stand tall together, but... I failed.”

“You lost,” Luz tried to clarify. “You didn't fail. Yeah, it sucks we couldn't end this show standing together as U.S. and World Champion, but you still kicked butt out there, Ames. If anyone thinks you don't belong in the main event and can't be a future World Champion just because you lost tonight, then clearly they either need to get their eyes or their egos checked.”

“Easy for you to say...” Amelia said. She didn't mean to sound so bitter about it, but it was hard to hide some of her frustrations after such a big loss.

Thankfully, Luz didn't take it to heart, instead opting to hug her wife and nuzzle into her neck.

“Maybe it is,” Luz admitted. “But it's the truth. This won't be the last time you get to challenge for the very top, mi amor. You'll earn your way back there, I just know it. Maybe this becomes the last time you lose in a very long time, maybe you go back-to-back on Trios... maybe the day where you get to be the singles champion and I'm the one trying to match you isn't as far off as you think.”

Amelia couldn't help but chuckle. “You lovable dork.” She then took a deep, calming breath. “You know you're in Trios again too this year, and we once again have the possibility of meeting in the finals.”

“I know,” Luz grinned into Amelia's neck. “And if we finally get that scenario, I won't back against you. But if you happen to win and go back-to-back? You'll know you earned it.”

Amelia hummed as Luz finally broke her hug, only to shift to holding hands as the couple made their way back to their locker room.

“Thank you, Lulu,” she finally said after a moment. “Believe me when I say I want to believe everything you're saying and I know I can trust you, and not just because you're mi corazón. My brain's just... determined to shut that down right now and make me feel like I'm a failure for not being able to finally find singles success like you have.”

“Well, then it's a good thing we can finally get some of these issues addressed soon, huh?” Luz noted as the couple made it back to their locker room, where Amelia opted to just grab her bag so they could head out now and she could take a shower once they got back to the hotel.

“Yeah, Darius mentioned something about an NCA-sponsored therapist who agreed to help us while working with me,” Amelia replied, briefly looking away in resignment before she fought to clear her head. “According to him, she's worked with war veterans and abuse victims who've suffered from PTSD and other lingering symptoms of trauma, and she's already sympathetic to what she's heard about our ordeals.”

“As long as it's not going to sabotage our wrestling careers, I'll take all the help we can get,” Luz nervously admitted.

“Me too, Luz,” Amelia agreed. “But we should consider it regardless. Not that I'd appreciate the idea of having to step away from doing something I've finally grown to genuinely love if necessary, but... we need help, and I think the help we can give each other only goes so far anymore after everything we've been through.”

“I hate to say it, but you're right, Ames,” Luz sighed as she pushed open the door leading out to the parking lot of the Rogers Centre. “I just want this whole nightmare with The Empire to be over and done with and for us to have our heads finally screwed back on correctly so we can just live our lives, be the wrestlers we love being... maybe even safely think about expanding our family...”

Amelia didn't need to have x-ray vision to know that Luz's cheeks were glowing red beneath her mask at the thought of expanding their family, and she'd be lying if she said her own cheeks didn't get hot at the thought as well. Her wife wasn't wrong, though... ultimately, the root of their issues always came back to The Empire, namely its fanatical leader Caleb White. Everything that had ever been a significant issue in their lives ultimately traced its origins back to him somehow, someway, and while the two were getting close to being able to celebrate their first anniversary together as a married couple, the fact that it still felt like their lives were having to be delayed because they needed to constantly look over their shoulders was getting exhausting. They still hadn't even done anything for their honeymoon despite almost a full year passing now, let alone gone into any deeper discussion about their futures after wrestling.

If anything, wrestling felt like their only true safe haven right now, likely because Caleb deeply respected the integrity of the sport to pull anything, and the odds of him or anyone associated with The Empire joining SCW to take that away from them were practically nonexistent at this point given the entire world was well aware of the cult's status as religious terrorists now. Amelia found it almost ironic, in a sense... the one thing Caleb cared for more than his own twisted vision of a 'purified and united world' forever lost to him because his own actions torched that bridge for good.

“Oh!” Luz suddenly exclaimed as she was putting her and Amelia's bags in the back seat of their car. “Speaking of The Empire, I almost forgot to tell you! Lily and I ran into some of their goons outside the museum.”

“What!?” Amelia nearly shrieked, any lingering thoughts threatening to beat herself up over her World Title loss tonight immediately vanishing. “Why didn't you say anything!”

“Sorry, I didn't want to worry you when you had such a big night in front of you tonight,” Luz pleaded holding her hands up in surrender. It almost reminded Amelia of a puppy begging for forgiveness after it had been caught doing something it wasn't supposed to. “Besides, nothing happened to us. That's the weird thing: according to them, Caleb gave explicit orders to leave us and our loved ones alone for now. Why, I couldn't tell you.”

“That...” Amelia started to reply before pausing. She wanted to say that it made no sense, but deep in her brain, she was certain she knew the kind of logic Caleb would justify for such a decision. “I hate to say it, but I think I'd know why. It's probably his attempt at a 'peace offering' after everything his cult's splinter cell put us through. It would give him time to finish cleaning up that mess, especially since he lost three elites out of it, and he'd hope the peace would cause us to let our guards down so we can be 'grateful' or something and be more open to hearing him out.”

“I don't know about you, but I'll take the break and he can forget about us being 'grateful' when he's done nothing but cause us pain for far too long, period,” Luz huffed, and Amelia nodded in agreement. As much as she knew Caleb wasn't going to leave them alone forever, if he was going to back off in an attempt to 'play nice' right now, she wasn't going to complain.

“That reminds me, though,” Luz suddenly continued as she opened the front passenger-side door for her wife. “While they weren't after us, they were harassing some guy before they ran off when Lily and I jumped in. Claimed he knew why they were after him, but the guy didn't have a clue who they even were, much less what they'd want from him.”

Amelia frowned at that news. “Who were they after?”

“Miss Luz!”

Both women suddenly turned to see a man running up to them. Luz seemed to recognize him, but Amelia couldn't help but take a moment to examine the man who'd intruded upon their conversation. The clothes he wore seemed... a little old-fashioned, but that was probably her mother's voice critiquing his fashion from inside her thoughts given that being 'elegant and stylish' was one of the things she'd drilled into her daughter's head because 'appearances were everything' had been her little mantra to drive Amelia mad, much like her father's had been about never showing weakness. Brown hair tied back into a ponytail, a bushy brown beard... honestly, nothing about this guy really jumped out at her right away as important, but there was this burning feeling of familiarity that was bothering her.

That, however, simmered down when Luz extended a hand and the man eagerly shook it before turning to her.

“Ah, and Miss Amelia... Nevado now, correct?” he carefully asked.

“Mrs. for both of us technically now, but you're correct,” Amelia carefully responded, keeping her guard up a bit with this guy despite Luz's seeming ease around him.

“Ames, this is Paul,” her wife introduced, arms moving dramatically in that Luz fashion she couldn't help but love so much. “I was just telling you about him!”

“Good things, I hope?” Paul nervously chuckled.

“I wouldn't exactly call getting harassed by The Empire good,” Amelia mumbled, and Paul's face seemed to drop at that.

“Ah... yeah, right,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Luz and some other friends of hers told me all about them after they saved me from those ruffians. They seem like quite the misguided lot, don't they?”

“Among other things,” Amelia huffed. “Luz said they were after you... you sure you don't have any idea why?”

“I'm afraid I don't,” Paul shook his head. “I've just been living my life like anybody would. Happened to make the trip here to Toronto because I'm a long time SCW fan and wanted to catch the pay-per-view, and the next thing I know I'm being jumped and was apparently supposed to know why they'd want me. By the way, my sincerest apologies on the loss tonight, Amelia, but I know you'll get it next time.”

Amelia nodded, appreciating hearing it from someone who was a stranger to her as it definitely helped quiet the doubts chomping at the bit in her brain to start drowning her in self-doubt once more. Still, she kept her guard up, knowing that just because he'd also been a target of The Empire didn't mean she was going to openly let her guard down around someone she was just meeting for the first time.

Maybe she was being too cautious with The Empire still mostly on the loose, but she'd already learned several times over it was better to be safe than sorry with them lurking around.

“Thank you,” she finally said to Paul. “And... I'm sorry if I felt like I was grilling you there for a moment when you've probably already gone through that with some friends of ours who are trying to stop these guys. Luz and I have been dealing with them for way too long at this point, and we've just grown used to watching our backs and trying to stay a step ahead of them.”

“I completely understand,” Paul nodded. “I just wish I had any information to actually share with you, but I'm afraid I don't. I'm just some guy... not like the two of you. La Pequeña Luz, United States Champion of SCW, and Amelia Nevado, eventual World Champion of SCW.”

While Luz beamed with a bit of pride at Paul's words, Amelia felt a little put off by his tone when he said she'd be an 'eventual' World Champion. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about the tone came off as almost condescending, mocking... she chose not to address it, though, hoping it was just the exhaustion from going twenty minutes with Cid not that long ago and her brain feeling at its most vulnerable to her own intrusive thoughts leaking through the emotional scars, almost wanting to goad her into doing something she knew she'd regret.

“Well,” Amelia slowly started to say, “there's always the Trios Tournament coming up in a few weeks. It does feel like I've got a team that's pretty similar to the one I was on that won it all last year that got me this opportunity here tonight.”

“You'll have to get through me and my team in the finals first, Ames,” Luz grinned, and Amelia couldn't help but give a playful yet challenging grin in return.

“Heavens, you ladies really don't mind having to face one another if it comes down to it?” Paul couldn't help but ask, drawing both women's attention.

“Why would we?” Luz shrugged.

“It wouldn't be the first time we've faced off in the ring,” Amelia added. “I doubt it'd be the last either. We're more than happy to give it our all and get the best out of each other to push ourselves farther than ever.”

“I see...” Paul said, though he didn't seem convinced. “Forgive me, I'm just so used to seeing such situations result in... well, rather unsavory collapses between partners, even when they claim the partnership can survive such competition. I mean, just from the teams they revealed earlier tonight, I struggle to think of the likes of those European Fiery Nation fellows or those Fall of Man ruffians or even those Shinigami Foundation individuals being able to actually look one another in the eyes again if they were to try and destroy one another in the squared circle.”

“Well, we wouldn't actually be trying to destroy one another if we do cross paths in the finals, sir,” Amelia pointed out. “There's a difference when healthy competition is what we aim for.”

“I believe you,” Paul nodded. “It's just... when you're a wrestling fan for as long as I've been, it's hard not to assume the worst when egos begin to clash. But I've probably held you ladies up for long enough, and I'm dreadfully sorry about that. Have a good night, and I hope to see you both in action again soon! And I'll keep in touch if those Empire fellows come after me again for God knows whatever reason!”

That was the point where Paul quickly walked off, waving goodbye to the couple before he blended in with a crowd of fans who were leaving and seemed to be walking back to a hotel that was likely nearby. Amelia and Luz waved goodbye back to him before Amelia finally got into the passenger seat and let Luz close her door before jogging around to hop into the driver side and get them moving back to their hotel, where her body was definitely aching for a shower and some sleep to put tonight's loss behind her.

Still, as Luz drove them back, Amelia couldn't help but reflect back on her first meeting with Paul, and a lot of little things about what he had to say kept bugging her.

“Luz,” she spoke after a moment.

“¿Sí?” Luz instinctively responded in Spanish.

“Maybe it's just my brain being exhausted from the main event and really wanting to have me thinking the worst about literally everything right now,” Amelia started, earning a knowing frown from Luz, “but... did anything about that Paul guy seem... I don't know... off, to you?”

“I mean... maybe?” Luz shrugged, wanting to wave one of her hands in that so-so kind of gesture but stopping herself when she remembered she was the one at the wheel right now. “I think it's probably because we're just tired and need rest. And yes, I'm down for simple cuddling and snoozing tonight after how hard David fought and then Gavin... ugh...”

Luz soon found herself slipping into a rant entirely in Spanish over her frustration with Gavin getting involved in her match when he had no business being there, and Amelia just quietly let her ramble. Yeah, Gavin was going to be one of her Trios partners this year, but that didn't mean she had to condone his antics tainting her wife's title defense.

Still, she was really hoping that her first impression of Paul was just tainted by trying to suppress the negative thoughts mocking her over her loss tonight, because she hated the thought of feeling that way about someone else who seemed to be caught up in The Empire's schemes. It had already cost them the lives of two people who, despite their own issues and mishaps at one point or another with the couple, didn't deserve to be slain by the hands of a religious cult who may as well be borderline doomsday worshipers at this point, and no one else deserved to be the victim of the twisted machinations of Caleb White.

Amelia would just have to hope that if she ever crossed paths with Paul again in the future, she'd have a clearer head next time... and hopefully, winning Trios again and knowing for sure she could take another shot at the World Title when she felt she was ready would be enough to do just that.