James Evans vs. Amelia Blythe

[Wisteria Waltz]

If there was one thing that was for certain in regards to The Light In The Darkness coming out of the recent Breakdown in Omaha, it was the feeling of uncertainty hanging over their heads.

Despite it not exactly being her proverbial cup of tea, Luz had put up a hell of a fight against Kimberly Williams in her bid to become Underground Champion. Unfortunately, Luz's best effort wasn't enough and Kim ended up retaining the championship. She and Amelia could at least admit now that Kim had proven that she did, in fact, deserve to be holding the Underground Title again, at least for the moment. Could Luz, or perhaps even Amelia, consider looking in that title's direction again down the road?

Only time would tell.

One thing Luz certainly was above all else coming out of that show was frustrated. She knew she'd given it her best shot and had honestly done a lot better than many probably would have thought she would in an environment that she wasn't fully used to, something that Amelia had reassured her about afterward, but Luz was struggling with the fact that both times she's competed in SCW so far without Amelia either by her side or also involved in some capacity she's fallen short. The fact that this Underground Title match could now join their Tag Title efforts a few months ago as opportunities she'd failed to capitalize on was only causing her to be that much harder on herself.

It hurt Amelia to see Luz grappling with her own self-confidence like this, especially since she hadn't struggled this much with it since the very early days of her career before Amelia ever crossed paths with her. She did her best to support her girlfriend and reassure her that she was an extremely talented wrestler and she'd earn her moment, but she knew there was only so much she could do and this was a battle that Luz would have to ultimately figure out herself. Besides, Amelia would soon have her own challenges to worry about as the next Breakdown was fast approaching, and with it, her place in the tournament for the now-vacant U.S. Championship. She had a daunting task ahead of her in the form of former World Champion James Evans, but she had all the motivation in the world to prove to him that her technique was superior after his comments following Luz's loss.

Nobody kicked her girlfriend while she was down and got away with it so long as Amelia Blythe could do something about it, and she believed James could do with being dragged out of his own head and introduced to someone else's point of view for a change.

Someone else she'd love to do that with was Henry White, the so-called 'Golden Prodigy' of The Empire. The trip down to Mexico had honestly gone a lot better for the couple and their friends than Marilyn had anticipated, though she did tell them in subsequent conversations afterward while Luz was training for her Underground Title match to watch their backs because The Empire knowing they were actively working against them now was only going to paint bigger targets on their backs. Getting to finally meet her supposed fiancé face-to-face had more or less been exactly what Amelia was expecting: just another man acting holier than thou and believing that Amelia's sexuality could simply be erased so that she'd just accept being his wife. The only difference, at least from the footage she'd watched, was that Henry at least had the skills to back up all his talk, but Amelia had been raised to never back down from a challenge and if there was any slightly positive thing she could take away from how her parents raised and trained her, that was something she'd cling to with every fiber of her being.

If anything, the way James had addressed her and Luz on Breakdown honestly reminded her a lot of Henry in the way they both carried themselves, and she had no problem with the idea of picturing the Golden Prodigy as the man standing across from her in Salt Lake City as she took care of her business in the ring and hopefully took a step closer to becoming U.S. Champion, and just as importantly, a win in general to help try and bolster Luz's spirits.

Today, however, Amelia found herself spending time with her old friend again as she was out and about clearing her head. Even though Amelia was the one booked for the next show, Luz had insisted on doing some solo training with Marilyn after asking her if she'd be willing to fly on in to help her. It stung a little bit that Luz wanted some space right now, though Marilyn assured her that she'd do her best to help get the luchadora back on her feet and heading in the right direction. Ivy had jumped at the chance to spend some more time rebuilding her relationship with Amelia, especially since she still knew her old friend well enough to accurately predict that Amelia was a tightly wound ball of nerves after her and Luz had parted ways earlier this afternoon.

“I don't know Ivy,” Amelia admitted after she'd just finished rambling about her anxieties over Luz's decision to train alone today and how much the loss to Kim was still affecting her. “I know Luz is taking all these failures to heart and I'm worried she's going to push herself too hard trying to earn the success she wants. She and I are a lot alike in that regard, even if mine is still lingering trauma from everything my parents did to make me 'perfect' in their eyes.”

“I'm sure she'll be fine Amelia,” Ivy tried to reassure her friend. “Yeah, it sucks that she didn't walk away from that match as champion, but Luz is a lot more talented than I think she gives herself credit for sometimes. I mean, she's the one who scored the fall in that twelve-person tag match, she took a hell of a beating for a long time when you faced the Frosts and held out long enough to tag you in, she wrestled for over an hour after being tased, she scored the pin on a Hall of Famer at your last pay-per-view... do I really need to go on?”

“No, you don't,” Amelia chuckled a bit, though her amusement faded rather quickly. “The problem is getting Luz to realize that, and the way SCW's been booking us probably hasn't helped a lot in that regard. Yes, we're a team and one day we'll prove ourselves worthy of being called Tag Team Champions, but obviously we'd both like to prove to everyone that we're not just tag team wrestlers either. Between my run as TV Champion, even if it was rather short, and this tournament staring me down now... you don't think Luz resents me for possibly proving myself more in singles action than her, do you?”

Ivy already knew the answer to this question, but she took a moment to ponder it anyway, mostly to make sure she wasn't going to send Amelia spiraling too if she didn't word this correctly.

“Amelia,” she slowly began. “You've known Luz for way longer than I have, but in the time I have known that woman, I've come to learn that she's not one to hold any sort of grudge without a damn good reason, and she loves you way too much to ever see you in anything but a positive light. Yeah, maybe she's struggling with the idea that she's not keeping up with you singles-wise right now, but wrestling's a tough business and you two are going up against some of the very best to ever lace up a pair of boots. There's going to be setbacks for both of you, but the more you accept that and keep pushing to be better anyway, the closer the time will come when you both will prove yourselves and earn the respect you deserve. Wasn't that the whole point of your deal with the Frosts?”

Amelia couldn't help but sigh as she'd almost forgotten about that in the face of the frustrations before her. This had been exactly what Selena had warned them about, and she was certain she'd hear that warning again if she made it past James and happened to meet Deanna in the next round. The thought crossed her mind: would it be frustrating if she didn't win this tournament and become U.S. Champion? Absolutely. But even if that was the case, anything she could prove even in the face of that setback would go a long way to ultimately proving herself worthy of the success she sought, and the same was true for Luz. Deep down, she knew Luz was very much aware of the fact that she'd been a serious threat to Kim's reign for someone not used to the Underground, but even if now wasn't her time that didn't change the fact that it was a step in the right direction as long as she was willing to take it.

“There's a reason you're worried about Luz beyond just this loss and how hard she's taking it, isn't there?” Ivy said with a raised eyebrow, pulling Amelia from her thoughts.

“I... maybe...” Amelia stammered, silently cursing just how well Ivy still seemed to know her even if she was honestly grateful for it. “How she's handling this is part of it, but part of it's also this whole mess going on with The Empire.”

“Right...” Ivy huffed, having grown sick of the games that were being played with her friends for God knew what reasons. “Did you guys at least pass on what we did gain out of that confrontation in Mexico?”

“Yeah, we called Ryan as soon as we had the chance to do so,” Amelia revealed. “He said the fact that we managed to gain a name for our wannabe Luz, even if it's only a first name, is something he can try to work with, especially in tandem with what else we were able to learn about her. Having a name for the Golden Prodigy also helps us out in trying to figure out what this guy's deal is, regardless of the fact that he's Caleb's nephew.”

“No one knew his name?” Ivy said, sounding surprised at that.

“He's only ever competed as the Golden Prodigy,” Amelia told her friend. “As far as just looking into family connections, the best Ryan's been able to find up until this point was that Caleb had a brother, which explains the nephew, but apparently the two cut each other out of their lives a long time ago and the brother basically disappeared without a trace, just like Caleb did for years after he retired.”

Both women were in agreement that there was something quite suspicious about that whole prospect, but for now they could only speculate on what it all meant. That was starting to get into Ryan's territory, and with any luck the investigator would be able to come through for them and find something that could free them from this whole disaster once and for all.

“I hate to bring the subject back around,” Ivy said after a moment, “but as stressful as I know that whole confrontation was, that doesn't quite explain what else is bothering you about the blow Luz took to her self-confidence.”

Amelia just sighed as she stopped walking, turning her attention to a nearby building. When Ivy stopped and followed her gaze, she found herself intrigued by the fact that they were now standing just outside of a jewelry store.

“You remember shortly after we started mending bridges how you were teasing me about proposing to Luz?” she asked after a moment.

“Come on Amelia, you know I was just messing with you because of how much you two love and care for each other,” Ivy started to defend herself.

“I think I want to go through with it,” Amelia suddenly said, causing Ivy to do a double-take that nearly sent her glasses flying.

“You are!?” she exclaimed. After a moment of silence in which Amelia didn't respond to her and she had the chance to think it over a little more, she spoke up again. “So... can I ask what the problem is?”

“I could just say I'm nervous and leave it at that, but I know you're too smart for that even if there's some truth to it,” Amelia responded. “I've... been thinking a lot about it lately, especially in the face of this nonsense about me being 'engaged' to our golden pain in the ass. I had the thought that maybe if I proposed to Luz publicly that it might put a dagger through the heart of that lie once and for all and The Empire would hopefully be scrambling to pick up the pieces, especially since I know she loves over-the-top romantic gestures. I'm just afraid... I don't want to give the idea that I'm proposing to her just to stick it to that jerk who thinks I'm already his future wife, because she deserves something honest and real from me. And maybe I've been worried about the toll wrestling might be taking on our relationship just because of all these setbacks because of how Luz has been acting lately...”

“Alright girl, take a breath,” Ivy suddenly cut in as she put a hand on Amelia's shoulder, letting her friend take a few calming breaths before she continued. “I get it, this whole situation is just a giant mess and the fact that it's going well outside just being some wrestling feud is making you both stressed, but if I've picked up on anything since giving our friendship another shot, it's that you and Luz are that rare breed of relationship that just feels like it's meant to be. I'm sure she'll see the gesture for what you truly want it to be and that's an honest proposal because you love that girl and you want to spend the rest of your life with her no matter what, especially when things get rough like they have been lately. But if you're that worried about it, then I think you know that you need to talk about it with her.”

“...you're right, and the more I think about it the more I think I'm slipping because Luz and I are notorious for just bottling things up thinking we can deal with it ourselves, even when we know we can always trust and rely on one another,”Amelia admitted. “I don't think I can just... talk about proposing to her though. Wouldn't it kind of ruin the surprise?”

“Not if you approach it the right way,” Ivy replied with a grin. “Even if you can't bring yourself to talk about that specifically with her, though, you two should never forget how important communication is. And hey, if you need help in dropping hints about a potential wedding between you two, you know I've got your back.”

“You'd do that for me?” Amelia asked, knowing the answer but too stunned to fully process it right now.

“That's what friends are for,” Ivy confirmed.

“And this kind of bad influence is exactly why we wanted you cut out of Amelia's life.”

Amelia felt a chill go up her spine at that voice, the only one capable of causing her to react this way. She and Ivy turned and, sure enough, that voice belonged to her father, Aleister Blythe, who had just stepped out of the jewelry store. The fact that he was here in Salt Lake City at all already set off every internal alarm Amelia had as she fought to keep herself from shaking. While there was barely any difference between her parents in terms of how they treated her, her mother had reached the point where she made Amelia either annoyed or angry because she'd been more upfront in the games she played to control her youngest daughter. Aleister, on the other hand... every word he spoke carried a threatening air to it, composed yet calculating. Considering he was the one who primarily trained Amelia... every awful memory of what she had to endure to reach his standards of perfection flashed through her head and had her on the verge of a breakdown.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ivy said, immediately stepping in front of Amelia and showing no fear against her father.

“Just doing a little shopping for my wife,” he said about as casually as he could, though even that came with a tone that suggested ulterior motives. “I don't believe that's a crime.”

“Everything you've done to Amelia sure as hell is, though,” Ivy growled.

“I simply raised her to be the best,” Aleister replied. “Sometimes a lot of pressure is necessary in order to turn a lump of coal into a diamond, but I don't suppose you would know anything about that, would you?”

Ivy clenched her fists, but Amelia put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from doing anything rash. The two women locked eyes and Amelia nodded in silent confirmation that she was OK before she turned to face her father, eyes narrowing into a glare.

“What brings you to Salt Lake City, father?” she asked in the same falsely sweet tone that her mother often employed.

“If you must know, I'm typing up a few loose ends to secure the future of our family,” her father stated. “And your role in that will come soon enough Amelia... I could do without that worthless masked thief you've been involved with for years having a role as well, but Caleb is insistent that she has just as much a debt to repay him as you do. As for why here and now exactly... well, you should certainly know all about your own upcoming show for SCW, yes? Since Lily seems to have failed in the simple job Caleb gave her to set up a meeting regarding the sale of the company, I have been tasked to not only make that meeting happen, but also close this deal before anybody else gets any bright ideas to try and undercut what we're trying to do.”

“You know Mr. D will never sell it to you,” Amelia spat. “I don't care what you, mom, or this Caleb creep think you're going to gain from any of this, but I trust Mr. D to have enough business savvy to see straight through whatever you're all selling.”

“Funny, because someone you supposedly look up to within the company doesn't seem to share that level of faith in him,” Aleister smirked. “And besides... you, of all people, should know how much money talks Amelia, and between Caleb White and the Blythes I seriously doubt anyone else in the running on this sale can match us in that regard without losing every last cent to their name in the process. But don't worry... soon, you'll get to compete in an SCW where your little friend won't have to subject herself to any of that hardcore nonsense ever again. But if I were you, I wouldn't worry about any of that... I'd worry more about not embarrassing yourself and letting an inferior wrestler choke you into unconsciousness just to prove a point, because that's what I raised you to do to people like him.”

Before anything else could be said, Aleister simply decided this is where the conversation was best ended and turned to walk away. Ivy started to go after him, but Amelia tightly gripped her arm to stop her. True, Ivy had the raw power to simply drag Amelia along if she wanted to, but the message was loud and clear: her father wasn't worth it, and it was better to not fall into his trap and simply focus on the other issues at hand right now.

Even if Amelia wished, with all her heart, that she could just get through this upcoming Breakdown with no further dark clouds on the horizon for herself and the people who meant everything to her.