Taking Hold of the Flame 2026

[Wisteria Waltz]

OOC: My second for Luz, posted in both this and the Lingerie Showdown thread to count for both matches.
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The very first thing we see is a close-up shot of what looks like a craps table you'd find in a casino, which feels fitting with Taking Hold of the Flame going down in Las Vegas. We don't see much else at first, as any glimpses we get beyond the table show nothing but darkness. After a moment, we see a single hand sliding a poker chip forward, though this chip has a very familiar logo upon it: a crescent moon inside of a sun, the logo we've come to associate with one particular tag team in SCW. As the hand pulls out of the shot, we see a pair of purple and gold dice thrown onto the table, rolling around for a moment before they both land on sixes. The single poker chip suddenly has a massive stack pushed in to join it, every chip bearing the iconic symbol of The Light In The Darkness.

It's at this point that we pan up and off the table, rotating around to find the hand we saw belongs to none other than La Pequeña Luz. She stands at this table under a spotlight that cuts through the darkness, as there appears to be nothing beyond the warm, inviting light. Contrary to what some people may have been hoping for, given what she's going to be walking into on Sunday night, Luz is dressed in a pair of black jean shorts and an old Light In The Darkness t-shirt along with her familiar mask, and she seems to be perfectly comfortable in this attire no matter what two certain women might believe. Despite the impressive dice roll, Luz's signature smile is absent, the only jarring thing about this whole scene.

“Wrestling has always been a dream of mine... that's easy to say when mi papá was a luchador who fought to become one of the greatest to ever wear the mask. But even if wrestling wasn't in my blood, it's still something I wanted to pursue from a young age. I loved the athleticism, I loved the devotion to turning something as simple as a mask into an entire identity that could redefine who you are, as long as you were willing to put in the work to make it happen. Yes, I am a caring soul and maybe you think that doesn't belong in this world, but when push comes to shove, I will fight with all my heart for this sport and the people who matter to me, that helped me define who La Pequeña Luz truly is.

That's why Sunday night is going to be one of the hardest nights of my entire career... and I didn't even get a choice in the matter.

When people go out and gamble, that's a conscious decision they're making. If they aren't able to control themselves and find out they have a problem, an addiction, to the danger of losing everything by trusting in Lady Luck... first off, please get help, I beg of you. But ultimately, that discovery, that downward spiral when luck is no longer in your favor, can all be traced back to that one choice you made. No one can take that choice away from you, and you're free to own every thrill and every consequence that comes with it. That's a choice I made when I decided to enter my name into the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal, betting on myself to go all the way even knowing what may await me at the end of that road.

One thing I did not get to choose was whether or not I also wanted to compete in front of a Las Vegas crowd in nothing but my underwear.”

Luz's eyes turn away from us, and while it might be hard to see because of her mask, there is definitely an embarrassed blush burning on her face at the mere thought of having to go through with such a thing. The fact that she doesn't even want to be in this position is obvious, but like it or not, this was the hand she was dealt. She eventually sighs and turns back to us, trying to regain her composure.

“I hope the Glimmer Sisters are happy with themselves. I've seen them waltzing around backstage and strutting down to the ring in barely anything, always pushing boundaries all because they want attention. They want a big pay day without doing the actual work to deserve it. They want to call themselves champions while spitting in the face of everything that the rest of us have done to prove we belong here. The highs, the lows, the mental struggles when we've found ourselves faced with setbacks until we finally broke free and rose above... they know none of that. They just walked into SCW on their very first day like they owned the place and have taken advantage of everybody they've faced by shoving their sex appeal down everyone's throats and exploiting how uncomfortable that makes everyone to act like they deserve to be acknowledged as the best. If that doesn't work, then they lie and cheat and resort to whatever they have to in order to escape and act like they deserve any of their wins.

Now, if you two are actually comfortable in your own skin and want to flaunt what you've got, I'm not going to tell you not to. I have built my own career on the premise of being able to embrace who you truly want to be through the art of wrestling, and telling you two not to do something that clearly makes you happy and comfortable would make me a hypocrite. But trying to force not only me, but someone I love with all my heart and soul, to join you in these antics? That's where the line is crossed, and if I were Derek Adonis, I'd be reevaluating how much the two of you fit his KABLAMia brand because neither Amelia nor myself consented to any of this.

Let me make something clear to the two of you: whether or not I can be considered attractive never has and never will matter. As much as you two seem all too happy to try and mess with it, I have a woman in my life who loves me for more than just my looks. Those fans all pay their hard-earned money not to see what I look like, but what I can do in that ring to make it all worth the investment. I don't need to strip down or flaunt anything to be loved and respected... and at the end of the day, that's what this is all about, isn't it?

For as much as the two of you have tried to dominate the tag team division, you can't stand the talk of how The Light In The Darkness is still considered arguably the greatest modern-day tag team in SCW. You can't comprehend just why everyone, from the fans to the locker room, have put Amelia and I on such a pedestal, and you're so desperate to try and replace us up there that you're trying to drag us down to your level. You're going to force us to strip down to nothing but bras and panties and parade ourselves around in front of thousands of people all just to laugh and say we're no different than you after all. You claim to respect my culture because you're letting me keep my mask on for this, but I'm not stupid, Glimmers... given the first half of this Lingerie Showdown is a contest being judged, you're banking on either me removing my mask and disgracing the culture I came from just to try and better our chances of winning an advantage, or that by clinging to one of the most important things that makes me who I am in a sport that means everything to me, it may as well make it a cakewalk to win the judges' favor just so you can claim you beat us at something.

You know what, though? You can have the advantage... Amelia and I don't need the numbers in our favor to beat you two. Take every advantage you need, because you're going to learn the hard way that The Light In The Darkness earned the right to be considered one of the best tag teams in SCW history. We fought with everything we had to overcome arguably the greatest tag team of all time around here, we busted our butts to carry the tag team division on our backs and rebuild it into what it was before the two of you thought you could just take it over and claim dominance off the back of stolen valor.

The fact that we care, that this means everything to us, that we're willing to push ourselves further beyond to prove we deserve everything we've fought tooth and nail to earn... it bothers you, doesn't it? Gia and Gina Glimmer can laugh and shake their booties and claim they're the best, but you can't fool the people who've believed in us since the very beginning, and you certainly can't fool us. That's why you used Gina's Trios contract to create a scenario that, on paper, can only benefit you and humiliate us. That's why you wanted to take away my ability to decide, on my terms, when I decided to pursue the World Tag Title opportunity I earned back during Fatal Fortunes. That's why you thought it was brilliant to strike when Amelia and I are clearly not entirely on the same page, why you chose to put the World Title she earned up for grabs, and why you thought you were so clever with that little detail I didn't miss about how whoever scores the fall becomes World Champion.

You think you can tear us apart to claim an easy win and brag like you accomplished anything... but for as much as you're banking on us to underestimate the two of you, you've gone and made that very mistake yourselves.”

Luz places her hands on the edges of the craps table and leans forward, a fury in her eyes the likes of which we've never seen before. The fire burning within her... it's far more intense than we've ever known, a raging inferno that didn't even burn this hot when she and Amelia were being targeted week after week by the likes of the Fall of Man. This is a very different La Pequeña Luz, but it can't be denied that the raw passion we feel in the air right now is unmistakably the luchadora we've all grown to love and respect.

“Gia, Gina, you can think you've come up with the most clever plan anyone's ever devised, but in doing so, you've only set yourselves up to fall harder than you ever have since you arrived here. If you actually knew anything about us, you'd know that Amelia and I never take anybody lightly and treat every opponent, no matter how they present themselves, as though they're our toughest challenge to date. Even if we weren't entirely cohesive, we didn't take Hollywood lightly on Breakdown, and we're not going to treat the two of you any different come Taking Hold of the Flame. You've put in all this effort to rip us out of our comfort zone, force us to meet you on your level, manufacture a way to try and pit us against each other... but The Light In The Darkness has always risen to any challenge thrown at us, and this one will be no different. As much as I hate everything about this, it's not going to stop me from teaching the two of you a lesson you're long overdue for: if you want to overcome The Light In The Darkness, then you better be ready to work harder than you ever have before and prove you've actually earned it.

And before you think I'm getting ahead of myself and trying to drive a wedge between us, let me address that little line you're hoping will keep Amelia and I from truly being on the same page come Sunday night: Amelia can trust me to have her back, because I have no interest in walking out of this pay-per-view as World Champion. Say what you will about the decisions she made to get there, when it comes to that ring, Amelia has done what you two never have and that's earned the right to call herself World Champion, on nothing more than her own blood, sweat and tears. It'll be my honor to help her walk out of Allegiant Stadium with that title still around her waist, where it belongs... I'll be happy enough being able to call myself World Tag Team Champion alongside her again and treating those titles that mean the world to us with far more respect than the two of you have while dancing around wearing them like bras.

Amelia deserves to be able to go on to main event Rise to Greatness as World Champion... and I plan on meeting her there.”

Luz's gaze slowly shifts down to the craps table for a moment before she reaches down and picks up one of the poker chips, her eyes fixated on the logo that has been a proud calling card for her and Amelia for so many years. Her expression shifts a bit... the passion is still there, but there's a deep contemplation we can see going on in her head right now.

“Despite the fact that the Glimmer Sisters have tried to manufacture a scenario where I can take the World Title from my own wife and partner depending on where the chips fall come Sunday night, my name is still among the forty participants entering the battle royal to try and earn a shot at that very title in the main event of Rise to Greatness. Maybe some of you think I'm simply creating a backup plan for myself, maybe some like Jonathan Knots think it's a stunt to get in Amelia's head and try to steal her spotlight. If you believe either of those, then you clearly don't know me as well as you might think you do.

If you did, then perhaps you would know why I've been going about this the way I have... and why I'm not afraid to say, right here and now, that I need to be the one who wins this battle royal.

Everyone is in this match for reasons that are very understandable: you want a shot at the World Championship, you want to prove you're one of the best in SCW, you want to make a statement if you're new or coming in from somewhere else, you want to go on to claim that coveted main event spot at Rise to Greatness. I can understand all of that, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want any of that for myself. But there's a difference between me and each and every one of you who are going to bet on yourselves come Sunday night... and that's the woman who I'm going to make sure walks into the biggest show of the year as the defending World Champion.

This... this isn't about trying to outshine Amelia or to forcibly share the spotlight with her, like some might believe, especially those who have followed Frank Delatosso's whims like Amelia's found herself doing. This isn't even about trying to become World Champion, because we've already established I could pull that off at Taking Hold of the Flame without needing the battle royal if I really wanted to. No... I need to win the battle royal, I need to main event Rise to Greatness, I need to meet Amelia there because I am the only one on this entire roster who can actually be the light that guides her back from the darkness!”

Luz slams the poker chip back down onto the impressive stack on the table before her, which causes the stack to fall and the chips to scatter everywhere. This doesn't seem to deter her, though, as she takes a few deep breaths before looking right at us with that same intensity that was directed at the Glimmers not that long ago.

“Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that I'm the only one in this match who can actually go on to beat her, because I know that thought is going to drive each and every one of you who are only thinking about this in terms of the top title in this company and the biggest moment you could maybe ever have in your career. I'm saying that out of everyone in this match, out of everyone in SCW, I'm the only one who has the best possible odds of saving Amelia from the path she's chosen. I appreciate the efforts of some of you to try and talk her down from that ledge, I really do... but this is my mess to clean up, and mine alone. This all started because I wasn't a little more mindful of how Amelia was feeling when she was struggling with setbacks while I was fighting to prove myself as United States Champion. It's easy to say this could've been resolved simply by talking things out... but if there's one thing Amelia and I both know, it's that love isn't always easy, and sometimes you need to take a different approach and be ready to fight with everything you have to save the people that are most important to you.

Whenever I've said that Amelia deserves to be World Champion and has earned that right, I've meant it every single time. When it comes to the two of us, I could never lie. But Amelia let her frustrations consume her and I didn't fight hard enough to save her... hence why she's letting herself be guided by a man who is no different than her parents when it comes to telling her everything she wants to hear and molding her into something that isn't her. Sorry Mr. Delatosso, but everything I'm going to do at Taking Hold of the Flame, from helping Amelia retain her World Title in the most uncomfortable circumstances we've ever dealt with to overcoming even your own handpicked army in the battle royal? I'm not doing it for you or your New Order... I'm doing it for her.

I saved Amelia from this same scenario once before... early in our careers, in my home country, long before we were ever even friends, we put on one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time against each other. On that night, not only did I shatter Amelia's then-undefeated streak across her career... I also shattered the walls she'd been made to put up that were making her miserable and keeping her from being who she truly wants to be, who she truly deserves to be. And I plan to do it again... the brightest spotlight, the biggest stage, the highest stakes, the greatest challenge either one of us could ever face in our entire careers.

This is about so much more than the World Championship or main eventing Rise to Greatness... this is about fighting for what means the most to you and being willing to do whatever it takes to pierce the darkness and fix everything that was broken. This is the burden I bear entering Allegiant Stadium on Sunday night, and that is why there is only one right way that Taking Hold of the Flame can end.”

Luz reaches down and slowly grabs the dice off the table, taking a moment to shake them in her hand as she looks at us with an intensity that burns hotter than the proverbial flame she seeks to take hold of.

“Me llamo La Pequeña Luz. I am the daughter of the late, great El Espíritu Angélico, but I have made my own name and earned my right to be here. And at Taking Hold of the Flame, I am going to rise above the shallow games of the Glimmer Sisters.

I am going to become a record-tying four time World Tag Team Champion alongside Amelia.

I am going to help my wife retain the World Title she's more than earned.

And I am going to win the Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal and meet her in the main event of Rise to Greatness.

I'm going to do all these things because love is not for cowards, and to save the woman I love from the abyss threatening to claim her, I am willing to walk through Hell itself if that's what it takes to bring her back.

And on Sunday night? That will be more valuable than any reason anybody else has to try and stop me from making things right.”

With that, Luz tilts her hand and lets the dice fall, clattering down the pile of chips before finally stopping their roll. She gives us one last fierce look before she directs our gaze down to the table, the dice resting atop a pile of chips devoted to The Light In The Darkness, the result being another pair of sixes. It's this sight, with Luz clearly betting on herself and willing to gamble it all, that we fade out on.