The Glimmer Sisters vs. The Light in the Darkness

[Wisteria Waltz]

OOC: Once again decided to do separate RPs for Luz and Amelia, both because of where their respective stories are at and for Luz's benefit since I also have her in the battle royal. This is Luz's effort, and not only do I recommend reading this one first in terms of chronological order as what happens in this CD sets up something in Amelia's CD that will be posted shortly, but I will also be posting this again in the battle royal thread to count for both matches.
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La Pequeña Luz felt like her entire world was shattering around her... and she had no idea what to do to save it.

For months now, Luz had watched her wife fall further and further into frustration, letting her setbacks eat away at her even though Luz knew, better than anybody, just how good Amelia truly was. They'd both been through rough patches but ultimately pulled themselves out of those ruts with one big win, and Amelia had done just that when she won the right to become number one contender to the World Title in her home country, even succeeding where Luz had failed when it came to Retribution, the pay-per-view that always seemed to haunt them.

She never knew just how far Amelia had seemed to fall... nor could she convince herself that any of it was real.

When Amelia had seemingly vanished after that Breakdown in Nashville two months ago, Luz had struggled to justify it. Worst case scenario, she figured Amelia was simply avoiding her out of fear and shame for whatever Luz thought about the reveal of her allegiance to Frank Delatosso and this 'new order' he was preaching now. It wasn't ideal, but Luz could at least understand and try to reassure Amelia that she didn't hold her frustrations against her.

Never, not even in Luz's absolute worst nightmares, did she ever think she would see the day Amelia Nevado would be among The Empire.

The only thought that made any sense in her mind was that Amelia had been abducted by them... but based on what little evidence she was working with, Amelia looked more like a willing member than someone who was under The Empire's banner by force.

Looking back on the past month or so, a lot of things finally began to click. While Amelia had been actively trying to avoid her backstage for the most part, how cold and distant she'd been couldn't have been the CEO's doing. Delatosso may have started fancying himself as the man who 'needed' to steer the ship in SCW, but not even he understood Amelia well enough to drag traces of her old self out. That was straight out of the playbook of The Empire's self-proclaimed lord.

Unfortunately for both of the manipulators that had gotten their hooks into her wife, La Pequeña Luz was never someone who backed down from a challenge, especially when someone she cared about was at the heart of the issue.

While this past Breakdown had made it clear to Luz that, despite what both she and Amelia had ended up claiming, there were some cracks in the foundation of The Light In The Darkness, as evidenced by the disjointed way they had ultimately beaten Hollywood, it also proved that Amelia wasn't beyond saving. Luz had seen it... the slight hesitations from Amelia whenever she was brought up, the contemplation over the fact that Luz was still willingly trying to support her and give her the moment she'd earned, the fact that Amelia had listened to her and let go of some of her frustration when Luz tagged herself into the match.

It was subtle, but Luz's haphazard idea of a plan was working, and she couldn't afford to give up now, regardless of what she'd seen.

In order to make the next crucial step a reality, however, she would have to overcome her most daunting challenge yet... and hope Amelia understood why she was doing this.

First, she needed to help Amelia retain her World Championship, and try to secure their record-tying fourth reign as World Tag Team Champions together in the process, by dealing with the Glimmer Sisters and their deranged challenge. The only thing Luz would honestly give Gia and Gina credit for is screwing up any plans Delatosso had to try and keep her and Amelia completely separated, because by forcing this scenario with Gina's Trios contract all just because their egos couldn't comprehend that she and Amelia had earned their status and reputation, it gave Luz the opportunity she'd been hoping for to finally try to communicate with her wife and repair that rift that had formed between them.

It wasn't perfect as she'd been unable to get a private moment to try and discuss everything, and she wondered if Delatosso was onto her or just trying to play nice with her to prove his claims of 'opportunities for all who've earned it' true, but it was an in she had to make the most of while she had it.

She just wished her next match teaming with Amelia didn't have to be in their underwear... for that, the Glimmers might actually find out what happens when Luz stops being the ball of sunshine and hope she's always prided herself on being.

Once that mess was behind her and Amelia had her place in the Rise to Greatness main event, the next half of the challenge needed to see Luz claim the spot in that match as Amelia's challenger. To do that, she was going to have to push through whatever the Glimmers do to her and successfully pull off a daunting task that she'd come nowhere close to doing before: winning the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal.

At least she'd be able to wrestle that match while wearing proper attire.

Obviously, that was quite the challenge for anybody to pull off, considering she would have to overcome 39 other wrestlers all fighting for the same thing... but that was where she believed her edge lie. Everyone else in this match was fighting solely for a World Title shot and the honor of main eventing Rise to Greatness. While she'd be more than happy to lay claim to both herself, they were secondary to the primary reason she felt she had to win this match, and that was getting Amelia in the ring one-on-one.

“Wrestling helped work before,” she told herself. “It's what brought us together and helped us understand one another, and if I can make this happen, I know I can get through to her again and bring her back.”

She could sound more confident in the idea, but Luz knew she was working against a lot of unknowns here. There were the obvious ones, such as when she'd enter the battle royal or who would enter the match that hadn't been publicly confirmed yet, or even how she'd be feeling after fighting to complete phase one of this plan first. But then there was the unknown only she knew about that haunted the back of her mind: just how deep in Caleb's clutches was Amelia?

“No, don't think for a second he's completely changed her,” Luz shook her head to exile that thought from her brain. “You got through to her when she was completely under her parents' thumb for years... that psicópata has had her for nowhere near as long and I know she's still in there somewhere.”

Luz paced back and forth in front of the whiteboard she'd set up in her D.C. hotel room at some point, which she knew had drawn some concern since Luz was usually never a planner to this degree and had already admitted that this particular plan may as well have been held together by duct tape and fragments of hope. The only reason no one in her found family had done anything about it was because Luz had explained it was to help her brain focus on exactly what she needed to do to hopefully pull this off, and given that everyone was well aware by now she had ADHD, it was a sound and responsible argument on her part.

That still didn't stop them from checking in on her and making sure she hadn't started spiraling herself, and a knock at her door snapped her out of her thoughts. She could only sigh and chuckle to herself, feeling a little annoyed but grateful that everyone was trying to look out for her... as well as guilty over the thought that she hadn't tried hard enough to keep Amelia from slipping to this low point.

Of all the people she'd expected to see standing on the other side when she opened the door, Paul hadn't been one of them. Maybe it was still the shock of seeing him again after he'd abruptly left them to supposedly make sure his family (which he'd never mentioned having until that day) was alright, maybe it was still the weird feeling she couldn't quite identify whenever he was around, but it didn't change the fact that she just didn't think for a second he'd be willing to check up on her. Seeing him here now was a pleasant surprise... or at least, she hoped it was pleasant, considering he'd been the one to break the news about Amelia's place in The Empire now.

“Can I help you with something, Paul?” she asked.

“My apologies Luz,” he bowed his head a bit. “I just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing. I... can't imagine the bad news I shared a few days ago has been sitting well with you.”

“It hasn't,” Luz honestly admitted, “but it also hasn't derailed my efforts. If anything, it's made me more determined than ever to try and figure out what's going on so I can help Amelia back from the edge.”

It had been strange enough that Paul hadn't apologized for sharing the news about Amelia to her, as human beings naturally felt inclined to do because no one wanted to be the bearer of bad news and see someone hurting because of it, but she also didn't miss the confused look he gave her over her response.

“That's quite...” he seemed to stumble a bit in figuring out what he wanted to say to that. “Some would probably call that stubborn.”

“Maybe,” Luz shrugged, “but I've never been one to give up on people. If I do, then they're truly lost, and I know the woman I love is still in there, no matter what Caleb thinks he's probably done to her.”

“...may I come in?” Paul asked, almost coming off like he wanted to change the subject all of a sudden.

Luz contemplated for a moment before she stepped aside and let him in, though she decided to leave the door open just in case. She hated not fully trusting Paul, but too much about the guy just didn't add up despite the kindness she'd showed him and she wasn't about to lose the ability to call for help if she needed it. For his part, Paul seemed to focus primarily on the whiteboard where the next phase of Luz's 'plan' had been scribbled into existence.

“This is... quite a daunting task you've burdened yourself with,” he admitted. “Are you sure you'll be able to-”

Paul had started turning to face Luz again as he spoke, but he cut himself off when his eyes landed on the bed. Luz, for her part, felt her face go crimson beneath her mask as she quickly dove towards the bed, grabbing the lingerie she'd had laid out and cramming it into her bag with an embarrassed laugh. The lingerie wasn't anything that screamed 'sexy' and probably wasn't going to win her and Amelia the contest portion of the mortifying nightmare that awaited her in Las Vegas, and she wished she didn't even need to devote any thought to that at all, but it still embarrassed her that she'd forgotten to pack it up before letting someone else into her room.

“Lo siento,” she shakily apologized. “I forgot I had that out...”

Paul just gave her a look that could only be labeled as pure disgust, but he let out a pained sigh and turned his gaze back to the whiteboard. “I wish I hadn't seen that, but I also wish you and Amelia didn't even need to compete in such revealing attire. It's unbecoming of a woman to show so much of herself to strangers, and SCW should have outright declined such an ill-fitting display.”

“Believe me, if I had any say in this matter, I wouldn't touch this match with a 5000 foot pole,” Luz tried to reassure him, her own disgust over the Lingerie Showdown leaking through. “Like it or not, though, Trios contracts are ironclad and the Board rarely says no to any idea, especially one as... ugh... unique as this.”

“It's truly sad the way this world is,” Paul lamented. “Women being forced to flaunt themselves against their will, women who willingly show themselves off and call it empowerment, those who hide their true intentions from the people who care about them and are led astray-”

“Hey!” Luz suddenly snapped, startling Paul a bit. “I don't know how Amelia ended up in The Empire's clutches, but there's only one person to blame for that and it's their narcissistic leader and his god complex.”

“Are you quite sure about that, Luz?” Paul questioned. “Hasn't she been lashing out at you all year, frustrated over her failures and your successes? Isn't she the crown jewel of this 'new order' formed by SCW's CEO? And, if I read the 'rules' of this match correctly... don't you risk sending her even deeper into this proverbial abyss if you score the win and take that World Title from her?”

Luz felt her hands trembling as Paul dug rather deep with these theories of his, her skin crawling because he wasn't exactly wrong. He may have been trying to blame Amelia for all of this, but it ignited the embers deep in Luz's mind of how much of this she felt was her own fault for not trying to do something sooner. The inferno that resulted, however, resulted in Luz suddenly standing up and getting in Paul's face as best as she could, given how much taller he was compared to her.

“That's enough!” she yelled, something that definitely caught Paul off-guard. “I know Amelia far better than you do... you're not wrong, but you're also not right either, and you're starting to really cross a line again, Paul. Yeah, that risk is real, but I do not plan on letting this match end any other way than Amelia being the one who leaves as World Champion. I'll have plenty more chances to reach the top of the mountain, but you and everyone in SCW don't understand that this isn't about me! And before you bring up the battle royal... yeah, I plan to win, and if I beat Amelia for the World Title at Rise to Greatness, then so be it. But I'm not doing this to outshine her... I'm doing this because wrestling her is my best chance to save her, and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen! The biggest stage, the brightest spotlight, the highest stakes... no excuses, nothing but the very best we know we can give each other. I have to make that a reality... even if I have to put up with wrestling in an uncomfortable situation to do it, even if I have to survive a test of endurance the likes of which I've never faced before. I would walk through Hell itself if I had to for the woman who means everything to me!”

Luz felt her fury starting to lose steam as she took deep, heavy breaths, turning away from Paul to let him really think about her words. Luz never snapped like that... not without good reason, and for as much as she wanted to give Paul the benefit of the doubt, he was pushing her to a place she really didn't want to be right now... but knew she might have to be in order to get the results she wanted at Taking Hold of the Flame, be one step closer to fixing everything.

“My apologies, Luz,” Paul said, though Luz wasn't so lost in her emotions that she missed the strange tone to his voice. “I was just concerned for you is all, and I just don't want you to get hurt. I can see how much this means to you, and I want to help however I can... even if that means helping you win this showdown thing. Perhaps it would help if you considered leaving your mask-”

Paul never got the chance to finish that sentence.

Any good luchador had a sixth sense when it came to their mask, as it was an integral part of the identity they built for themselves in the culture of lucha libre and Mexico as a whole. You always had to be prepared to defend yourself against anybody wanting to see beneath it... and that instinct had Luz seizing Paul's hand before it got anywhere near the laces before she threw a back elbow with her other arm, sending Paul stumbling back. Still, even though Paul absolutely deserved it for getting caught red-handed trying to mess with her mask, Luz still felt bad that she'd hit him in the first place.

She opened her mouth to apologize to him... only for her words to die in her throat as Paul pulled himself together. Except... it wasn't Paul's face that was staring back at her. The long brown hair, the bushy beard... they'd been knocked askew. There was a familiar scar across the bridge of his nose that hadn't been there before, no longer hidden beneath makeup. Everything suddenly made sense... the attempts to 'help' that sounded more like subtle gaslighting, the insistence on being involved in things that didn't concern him, the overall uncomfortable feeling whenever he was around...

“...Caleb White...” Luz managed to say, her blood running cold as she locked eyes with The Empire's leader... and the man who had been masquerading as a target of theirs for almost a year now.

“Well...” Caleb huffed, no longer using an over-exaggerated version of his British accent as he slowly pulled the fake hair off his head. “Bravo, Luz, you've uncovered the truth. You even know before Amelia figured it out. Although... she did get close. It must be painful, knowing your wife made such a reckless mistake that put everyone in danger and choosing to keep you in the dark anyway.”

Luz wanted to respond, tried to force herself to respond, but it felt like her body had been struck by lightning. She could feel all of her nerves on fire, her legs shaking, her hatred torn between the man who was trying to destroy her life for his own 'salvation' and herself for being stupid enough to let any of this happen.

'Had Amelia truly known? Is that why she...?'

Before Luz could begin to spiral, she saw Caleb casually moving towards the door. He was saying something, probably gloating in that self-righteous tone of his, but Luz didn't hear any of it... all she could focus on was the fact that he thought he was just going to walk away after he'd broken whatever hope she was still clinging to.

“Hey!” she yelled, cutting off whatever she was saying as she lunged for him. Caleb quickly stepped out of the room and booked it down the hall, moving surprisingly fast for a man his age. Luz pursued him like a wild animal, refusing to let him get away after everything he'd done as she chased him all the way down the stairs and into the front lobby, which immediately grabbed the attention of everyone there... including her loved ones.

They tried to ask her what was going on, tried to even stop her, but she couldn't hear them. She was hellbent on making sure Caleb didn't get away, and as soon as they saw The Empire leader trying to flee, they moved to help her without question.

Unfortunately, Caleb wasn't going to let his plans be ruined any further as he tossed something behind himself, which detonated in a thick black cloud of smoke that obscured him. While that slowed down the others, that didn't stop Luz from barreling through the smoke and lunging... only to grab nothing as she tumbled onto the sidewalk. She looked around frantically, but unfortunately, Caleb had managed to escape, and she could only pound the pavement and let out the most heart-wrenching scream anyone had ever heard from her.

“Luz?” she heard Avery asked as all but Darius and Evie carefully approached her, concern etched all over their faces as the other two NCA agents worked to clear the smoke and make sure anyone else in the lobby was alright.

“There was no Paul...” she finally choked out in a voice that tore at everyone's hearts. “He was Caleb all along... and I let him be one of us... I was just trying to... to...”

She couldn't keep going after that, and no one could blame her. This revelation rocked all of them, and even those who suspected Paul of being an Empire spy never once thought it was actually their leader himself getting his hands dirty... taking advantage of Luz's trust and caring nature.

She may have been devastated, but what Caleb didn't realize is that he didn't break La Pequeña Luz on this night... he only ignited an inferno that was more determined than ever to make things right.

Even if it meant letting the flame consume her to fix this mess... fix the mess that she felt responsible for.