Selena Frost vs. Xander Valentine

[SnowQueenSCW]

********************

June 9, 2019
Schoenburg Castle
Oberwesel, Germany
8:13pm

“Well now...” came the mocking voice as it echoed through the church-chamber room. “Isn't this a delightful scene!” 

The guests in the room and three at the end of it all turned their attention to the voice as its source strolled down the path between the church pews. His hair was black with a white trim wrapped around the middle of it, a sign of his heritage. He wore a black suit, similar to Selena's but, unlike the Snow Queen, who held another woman's hand in hers, this man had chosen a handgun as his hand's occupant.

“I must admit...” smirked Brachiss Frostmere as he strolled closer to Selena and Deanna, who stood at the altar. “I was a little offended at not receiving an invitation.”

At the other end of the room, in front of the holy man that had been performing the ceremony for their renewal of vows, Selena squeezed Deanna's hand before slowly stepping down the steps to meet Brachiss. “I was afraid you'd have objections.” she answered coldly, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Is that right?” Brachiss tilted his head as he finished his journey, now standing before Selena. “You must have me confused with my great-grandmother. I've always supported your marriage to Deanna, haven't I?”

“As I recall, you held a knife to her throat.” Selena narrowed her eyes at the head of the Frost/Frostmere clan – her clan. 

“Not my finest moment.” Brachiss shrugged. “I don't suppose this would be either, but one must do what one must do.”

“And what exactly are you here to do, Brachiss?” Selena asked, gazing over the man's shoulder. Across the path Brachiss had walked, Selena saw the woman dressed in black, and though her face was obscured by a black veil (the woman dressed as if she were attending a funeral rather than second wedding), there was no second-guessing the identity. Her withered frame and gnarled hands made it quite clear to anyone that knew her.

“What is going on?” one guest – Selena recognized as Gunther's wife, Margarette – spoke out. “This is a joyous event! And we will not allow-”

BANG!

Brachiss' firing the gone towards the ceiling was enough to silence THAT particular argument.

“Easy!” proclaimed Selena, holding her arms out to stop any further action. “Brachiss...” she tried to reason. “Whatever it is you want-”
“Please. You know what I want-”
“Does not need to involved anyone but me, right? The guests... let them leave...”

There was a moment of silence before Brachiss shrugged his shoulders.

“I don't see why not. By the time they call the police, I'll be done here.” he stated before tilting his hand towards the crowd. “You and Deanna stay. Tell the rest that they can go.” 

With a nod of her head, Selena slipped past Brachiss, who moved to another side of the room, allowing him to see everyone, and react if they tried anything. They won't... Selena breathed and gulped a little, her eyes taking in three women only.

“Elsa...” she stated. “Regan... Gerda... please...”

No other words had to be spoken as all three women acted immediately. Elsianna, who had done perfectly as the ring bearer, gathered up baby Amiliah and walked her out the door, never dropping her or shaking once. Gerda, meanwhile, had taken David by the hand and guided him outside, while Regan, with help from her husband and Gunther, took the few remaining guests (small list as it was) out of the church tower.

All that remained were the Frost women, Brachiss, DeWinter, and the holy man.

“Father?” Brachiss waved his gun at him. “I'd appreciate it if you not bother us.”
“No use with that, Brachiss.” sighed Selena. “He's a devout. Gunther said he doesn't leave this church tower most of the time and unless you speak German, I'd just leave him be.”

“Stop wasting time!” ordered the old woman that stood against one of the pews, the one closest to the group remaining in the church. “We had a deal!”

“Ahh, yes...” Brachiss hummed, gazing at Selena with an amused grin. “It seems our matriarch got the idea into her head that you were going to deliver someone to her. A person that, once captured...” he waved his gun while he spoke. “would restore her stance as the power figure in the clan. Now, personally, I think you're full of it – but it did get me thinking. What figure could Selena hand over to Evangeline over there that would give her enough sway to even CONSIDER such a thing?”

Slowly, Brachiss held the gun up to Selena's forehead.

“Where is Nicodemus?” he asked calmly. “And just so you know, seeing as how your friends are probably calling the police by now, I'll give you this chance to answer me correctly.”

She took a deep breath, Selena did, and exhaled before nodding her head. “I did make a deal with Evangeline. We wanted amnesty and immunity from the Frost/Frostmere clan.” she admitted. “To be forgiven and forgotten. No more being hunted. No more being threatened. Nothing... and I would find her the head of the Dragon-Slayers.”

“You expect me to believe that?” laughed Brachiss. “You would denounce your heritage?” he asked. “After all the years you spent fighting for it? The tournaments you won to prove you were one of us? You'd throw it all away for peace of mind?”

“I would.” Selena replied. “Because it's not worth all of this- look at where we are, Brachiss! You've hunted me down to German of all places! Endangered yourself and your great-grandmother! Just to find me! Just to force my hand! Deanna and I... we just want this to end. So... I agreed to do what Evangeline DeWinter originally wanted me to do. What this whole thing has been about. Finding the head of the Dragon-Slayers...”

For a moment, Brachiss seemed to consider Selena's words, turning his head this way and that. At long last, he gave a short nod. “Very well.” he shrugged. “I shall grant you that.”

“You will?!” Deanna asked in disbelief.
“Of course. We'll have no further use for you. You're a small cog in our world, Selena – both of you are. You've served your purpose, so I will honour DeWinter's previous promises.” despite his offer, the sound of the hammer of the gun being pulled, the cocking of it, was heard. “If you hand him over now.”

“Then consider him handed over...”

The voice came not from Selena or Deanna but from the man behind them. Taking off his hat and robes, the holy man revealed the gray suit he wore underneath. “Forgive me.” he stated as he lifted his hands and began picking at his face, tearing off the latex that lay underneath it. “It's quite sticky.”

“What the fu-” Brachiss started but the holy man snapped his fingers.
“Young man! We are in a church!” he barked as he removed the rest of his 'face'.

Evangeline stood there in shock as the face from her past, one she had not seen in decades, soon stared at her. “Hello, Evy.” Nicodemus Malko smiled sadly at her. “It's been awhile.”

“I...” she started, unsure of what to say. For Selena, she could not imagine what was going through the matriarch's mind. How many times had the old woman envisioned this in her near 100 years of life? How many times had Evangeline pictured seeing the father of her daughter again? “N...Nick...” she settled on, using the name she had known him as.

Nicodemus simply stood there, a sadness weighing upon him unlike anything any person in the room could understand. “I wish you had told me about Sirus.” he replied.
“I...I didn't know what to say...” DeWinter's expression grew cold. “You were a Dragon-Slayer!”

“I was.” Nicodemus nodded. “And not a day goes by that I don't regret being one. At least when we were...what we were.”

“Oh, I imagine killers, rapists, villains of the worst kind?” Brachiss offered.
“Look who's calling the kettle black!” Selena spat at Brachiss.
“A pot!” Deanna added.

“Okay.” Brachiss turned his head to the Frost women. “Enough from the peanut-gallery.” he pointed his gun to them to add a bit more authority. “You can go now.”

Neither woman moved, both turning their gaze at Nicodemus.

“Go, my dears.” Nicodemus offered with a sad smile. “If this is all I can do – some actual good... then I hope it will be enough.”

Without hesitating, Deanna rushed over to Nicodemus, throwing her arms around him. “Why? Why does it have to be this way?”. Tears ran down her eyes... “You promised you'd tell me more about my parents...”

“I know...” the old man smiled sadly. “But...the world... it can't exist with people like me in it anymore. It can't survive or prosper while people like me are rotting it away with our past...”

“Spoken like a true Nazi.” Mocked Brachiss.

Ignoring him, Selena stepped towards Nicodemus as well, wrapping her arms around him. “I'm sorry.” she whispered, feeling him nod against the crook of her neck.

“Be brave.” he whispered so only she could hear. “Never let your demons catch you.”
“I won't.” Selena whispered back before releasing Nicodemus and walking past him, Brachiss and Evangeline, Deanna rushing ahead with her and taking her hand in hers.

“Very sweet.” Brachiss replied. “Now, Nicodemus...”  he turned his attention to the old man. “Here is what I am proposing. You and I will go back to America, where I will hold a grand meeting of your capture and subsequent torture until you provide me with the location of all your Dragon-Slayer members and families-”

“What about me?” Evangeline interrupted. “Don't I get a say in this? This was my work – my idea! Nick is MY-”

BANG!

The sound of the gun firing stopped Selena and Deanna as they reached the door, the pair spinning around to see Evangeline DeWinter clutching her chest, staring at her great-grandson in shock before slumping to the ground.

“EVY!” Nicodemus cried out, lowering down to cradle the woman in his arms.
“Sorry, nana.” Brachiss offered weakly. “But looks like we won't be reaching that 100th birthday, will we?”
“You're a monster...” came the sad, defeated words of Nicodemus.

“Hey, like you said.” Brachiss grinned, reaching down to pull the thin, much older man to his feet. “The world can't exist with people like you in it anymore.”

Despite his sadness, Nicodemus gave a small, knowing smile as he turned his head to Brachiss. “I wasn't talking about just me...”

CLICK!

Brachiss jerked his head around in time to see Selena holding the metal object she had concealed in her suit pocket – the item Gunther had given her as planned. The pin had come out with a swift jerk and both Selena and Deanna held the grenade in their hands.

“1...2...” they both counted. 

“NO!” Brachiss screamed, pointing his gun at them but Nicodemus moved faster, grabbing the man's arm and thrusting it upward. Without a clear shot, Brachiss tried to move but he suddenly felt something heavy on his feet. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror as Evangeline DeWinter clutched to his leg with all she had. “You fucking-”

Deanna and Selena didn't listen to him finish, the Frost wives rolling the grenade out of their hands and tossing it together before the trio before them, Frostmere and Dragon-Slayer. Turning quickly, they ran to the door, crossing it and slamming it behind them.

“3...4...” Selena counted as she sprinted behind Deanna, ensuring her wife was out of the tower first until-

“5!” Leaping forward, Selena tackled her wife to the soft ground outside of the tower just as a massive explosion was heard that rocked the ground! A flash was seen and smoke immediately came from the shattered windows! It felt like the world was being torn in two!

But as fast as it began... it stopped... and all was silent, the people farther away, safe from harm, staring in shock at what they had witnessed – and the two women that lay just a few feet from the tower itself. 

And as Selena lifted herself off her wife, her own suit ripped and torn from the dive and roll, she saw her wife beaming at her with teary-eyes.

“It's over...” Selena whispered, helping her wife to a sitting position. “It's finally over...”

*****************

October 25th, 2019
Forever Home
Manhattan, New York
12:00am

You are not a monster.
Good-girl. Hero.
The world... it can't exist with people like me in it anymore.
It's finally over...
It's finally over...
It's finally over...

Selena lay on the floor, clutching the large pillow to herself, keeping her eyes shut, trying to stop the memories, the voices that kept repeating, invading her mind and soul like a tornado. Each time one would end, another would begin – with it a fresh set of pain along with it.

Four months – and every night since that fateful day had just added more and more to the wreckage that was her mind. Because she had been wrong. Brachiss, Evangeline... and Nicodemus... they were dead – their bodies removed from the tower that night, but no... it hadn't been over. 

Life had not been so kind – would never be so kind. Because freedom came with an ironic twist. Selena had her freedom, but not the person she desired most of all to share it with.

Taking another huff of a deep breath, Selena breathed in the scent of the pillow she was holding. It was Deanna's and she could still smell the strawberry-scent her beloved had left behind. 

It's finally over...
It's finally over...
It's finally over...

Her mind mocked, reminding her of the last part of the tornado events that haunted her. The police that had come to the castle that night. The police with the outstanding arrest order.

The police that had come for her Deanna...

“Someone...” Selena whispered as she, as she had every night for the past four months, began to cry herself to sleep. It was the only way she was able to now... “Anyone...help... help... make it stop...”

But no one could help her. No one could save her...

She was alone... 

Alone in the center of the storm.
________________________________________

The camera focuses in the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. However, unlike previous segments of “Frozen Central”, there is no ring constructed yet. Nor is there a ramp or a titantron or anything resembling that of an SCW event. In fact, with the SCW trucks, just now, beginning to park within the parking lot of the arena, the space is, otherwise, quite bare and devoid of life. Except for the woman sitting on the scaffold high above the main section where the pay-per-view Under Attack will take place. Her legs are wrapped around one of the poles of the guardrail running the scaffold, as is her arms and she wears black pants and a dark-green blouse, her hair in its iconic braid.

However, same as the lack of audience, there is a lack of 'special lighting' that would normally accompany this scene. In fact, bare bones of it, it is merely the woman and a camera.

Your lawyer says that you are not in a proper, mental state-of-mind. That you should not be held accountable for your words or your actions. starts the woman, turning her head and sapphire eyes to the camera. I'll make this clear from the start and from this point out, Xander Valentine. While your lawyer can pretend that you're not in control of your actions – rest assured that I am in complete control of mine.

The Snow Queen, Selena Frost, rolls her shoulders back. And it didn't seem right to film something in the throngs of such an event that I really won't have much of a part of. the platinum-blonde says, her gaze along the bare arena, knowing it will soon be filled with a ring and the metal of a chamber.

I think this will be the first pay-per-view in my entire career that I'm 'officially' not booked for. I mean, aside from 'the special shows' like the Trios Tournament, this may be the first SCW event of my career that I'm not part of... Reaching up, Selena scratches her head. An event without Selena Frost... wonder how many people would like that. I mean, the Beauty Factory would. Sisterhood would. Probably a good section of the roster would... but what about everyone else? The people that I'm doing this for. 

Maybe... she sighs. Maybe this is something that I'm going to have consider as a future... if Xander shows up and has his way... and I don't really see any reason for him NOT to show up.

Shaking her head, Selena pulled herself to her feet to walk the scaffolding. What other kind of opportunity will he have? All those months of haunting me, attacking me, harassing me and my fans and family – I'm GIVING him exactly what he wants. Why wouldn't he show up? Why wouldn't he make an appearance? Why wouldn't he actually do what he seems hellbent on doing?

A sad smirk comes across Selena's face. Oh! That's right! Because it's Xander friggin' Valentine! And that's what Xander Valentine does! Promises the world and delivers nothing!

Yeah, let's look at that for a second, Xander, because I want to talk about how you and I got to this damn point in time. This whole thing started, you remember, right? This whole thing started with you, like a damn coward, attacking Mr. D. from behind as he tried to leave SCW, the place HE built, with integrity! You attacked him, an old man, smashed his head through a window and for what? Because you claim he was 'holding you back'? That he wasn't giving you what you wanted?

Selena scoffs.

You know something, Xander? That's been the biggest load of crock of your entire months' worth of argument. That SCW didn't give you what you wanted, when, let's face it, without SCW, you'd be nothing! You hear me?! 

Credit where it is due, Xander, you were a force to be reckoned with in mid-2000s. You were the Executioner. One of the longest winning streaks and title reigns of that time! And SCW showered you with praise! Hell, you got your Hall of Fame ring for that! Your legacy is well known, Xander. I won't deny it. Don't mistake that for my respect, Xander. You've got none of that. But I will acknowledge the reality of who you are and what you did in SCW. 

But what happened after that, Xander, huh? What happened AFTER Josh Hudson beat you and things started to get harder? What happened, Xander? That's right... Xander quit. Xander headed for the hills. And for the last, I don't know- Selena shrugs. Fifteen or so years, you've been coming and going through SCW's doors, demanding exorbitant amounts of money for just a few appearances worth of work, playing off nostalgia and legacy and giving back... what, exactly? Even your own bio says your returns were lousy at best and forgettable most of the time! Hell, I remember a time you were brought in and you couldn't even be bothered to show up to work. You just did an interview from your own house!

Selena shakes her head. But no! It's SCW's fault, right? We're to blame for not bowing down in 2019 and giving you the throne you 'deserved'. What a bunch of crap! You know what happened, Xander? After nearly fifteen years of you promising everything and SCW paying you highly over and over again only for you to come up short every single time, SCW decided they weren't going to fall for it for the umpteenth time! They told you that if you wanted the high-money, the big matches, what you wanted, you'd have to do what the rest of us have to do each and every day in the ring – EARN IT!

Reaching the stairs, Selena descends down them.

I don't come here expecting handouts, Xander. I don't demand titles or high pay here. I started at the bottom of the rail and worked my way up to the main-event calibre I pride myself on. I let my abilities in the ring do the talking and I earned everything: every spot, every moment, every day! That's what SCW is about now – something Sasha D. has stated over and over again. EARNING your keep! EARNING your spot! No one is sparred. Not Syren, not Sienna, not Bree, not CHBK and sure as hell not you, Xander!

Reaching the bottom, Selena continues to walk throughout the arena, heading into the backstage sections, the camera following her.

That was what our match at Rise to Greatness was about, Xander. Me, the Face of SCW, showing you the standard we operate on now and you, trying to prove your words at being above it all. 

And I won. You can call it a lucky shot – or three – or whatever you want, Xander, but the fact is that I not only beat you, I KNOCKED YOU OUT! I took everything you threw at me and kept on coming! And yes, I was damn proud of it! After what you did to the Drachewychs, to my wife! A humiliating loss like that was what you deserved!

Selena stops for a moment, reaching up to run a hand along the bare wall of the hallway. But we both know this has grown into something much MORE than that now, hasn't it, Xander? Now? SCW is going to let us fight – but only unofficially. Only if we sign hold harmless agreements. Because – they want to make sure that if we kill each other that they aren't responsible.

And yes, I've signed my agreement. The second I got it, I signed it, Xander. Because I know you will sign yours too. And I know you will show up, no matter what 'smoke-screen' your lawyer throws at Sasha and I.

The Snow Queen chuckles a little as she walks through the halls and into the back area, where there is a mountain of tools and cables as the trucks start to move into the arena to set up for tonight's show. 

You'll show up because you can't help yourself, Xander. You can't help it. It burns away at you, doesn't it? Reliving that memory over and over again. Waking up minutes after the bell rang at our match at Rise? Looking up at the lights? Artemis glaring at you while I walked away in triumph. See, you can claim that this is still to 'get your throne' back, but you know what, Xander? If you wanted that back, you could have just asked for a rematch.

Selena stops to stare at the camera. What? Did you think I would have said no to you? Come on! Xander Valentine? You gave me one of the most memorable moments of my career! You're still the Hall of Fame guy – the SCW Executioner! You think I'd say no if you came up to me and said “Hey! Frost! RTG was a fluke! I want a second chance! You and me!”. You think I'd of said no to that if you showed me that kind of respect in a challenge? 

Selena shakes her head. Unlike you, I don't hide behind lawyers and jail-cells. I don't hide period. I face every challenge and you know it! If beating me was all that this was about, you would have just challenged me, I'd have said yes and we'd be on our way in an OFFICIAL SCW match – Selena vs. Xander II – a match of the year candidate!

But this isn't about your throne. This isn't about your legacy. This isn't about anything to you except for one thing: your damn fragile ego!

Angrily, Selena slams her fist against the wall. You know, I've had alot of people say I was nothing. Some little princess in a war zone that couldn't survive. Had a lot of people declare that I wasn't in the same league as them, just like you've said it about me, Regan, Owen, Kennedy – I could go on. And every single one of them, I've taken down and shut up, including you. 

But instead of learning from it. Instead of actually being the professional legend you claim to be, you do the same thing as Bree Lancaster – congratulations, Xander, you're in a similar boat as Bree, floating down the river of Denial! Because, despite me kicking your block off, you STILL don't think I belong in the ring with you. You STILL don't think I'm in your league. But instead of blaming yourself for your loss... Selena's eyes narrow. You go back to blaming the people that matter most to me.

Sharply, Selena shakes her head. You know? I could almost get the whole 'messing with my wife and bus' thing, Xander. You didn't lay a hand on her so I guess it falls in the same book as what Vixen Cain did to me years ago. And attacking the boss? Yeah, there's a long list of people that've done that. Don't like it, but I can at least say you're playing a style or strategy.

But when you laid your hands on those fans – when you grabbed that innocent child the Breakdown after Rise to Greatness – bet you didn't know her name was Corrie Hamil, did you? the platinum-blonde takes a deep breath before releasing it. When you did that, Xander, you made the biggest mistake of your miserable life, you piece of garbage. You crossed a line that none of us deserve to cross. And for what, Xander? To 'get to me'? To 'piss me off'? That's it? You did it to get me so riled up, I'd agree to a match where you can do anything you want to me?

Standing near a stack of collapsing tables, Selena runs her hand along one of them. Like what, Xander? You gonna put me through a table again? You gonna smash my head with a chair? You gonna break my face with a monitor? Throw me through plexiglass? What, Xander?! That's your big plan? Tear me apart piece by piece?!

You think I don't know you can do that? You think I don't know you WILL do that? I know, Xander! Hell, I've known from the second you began targeting me before Rise to Greatness what you can do to me! You're gonna break me like no one ever has before...

But that also means that they - them – SCW – will be safe...

And that's the thing I find unforgivable for you, Xander. These people, my wife, without them, I'm nothing. You're nothing. They deserve our respect. They deserve to feel safe. Because they are what makes SCW what it is today. They are the reason we are both here, regardless of what we want in this world. 

See, I don't care that you cost me the United States Championship, cost me my match with Sienna Swann, even cost me the semi-finals at God of Wrestling. I can get over that. That's the nature of the business – sticking it to a target like that. But you took that safety away from them, Xander. You have stolen that faith and belief in SCW from those people because you couldn't accept that I, on that night, was better than you. You took from them what wasn't yours to take and if I have to be broken apart to stop you and bring that faith and safety and hope back to them, I will do it – you better believe that I will do it!

Reaching the parking lot, Selena stands beside her “Believe It!” tour bus.

You want to get even with me? Make me pay? You've got all the tools you need to do that, Xander. But just remember this: our last match wasn't stopped because an official stopped you. Our match ended because an official stopped me. I let the official stop me, Xander.

Not this time...

I'm not just 'teaching you a lesson' this time, Xander. I'm not just 'proving you wrong' this time, Xander. This time, even if I go with you... Selena's face twists to an expression of rage and fury. I AM GOING TO PUT YOU DOWN!! her voice rings throughout the parking lot.

Even if it kills me, Xander, I am going to stop you! Even if it ends my career tonight, I am going to make sure you NEVER harm another SCW fan or innocent person ever again!

The Snow Queen takes a moment, her breathing ragged as she stands in front of her bus. Everything I've been through... the Tactical Warfares, the Elimination Chambers, the Roofed Cages, the Scaffolds – every opponent, every injury, every thing... it's all prepared me - lead me to this moment. It's all made me ready for this time – to be enough not only to beat you, Xander Valentine, but to STOP you once... and for all.

One last shaky breath comes from Selena as she rolls her shoulders back, her eyes becoming darker in their glare. 

Because the world of SCW can't exist with people like you in it anymore... And tonight, I will make sure it doesn't have to EVER again... Believe it, you son of a bitch! I'll be waiting...

The camera fades one last time... a calm before the inevitable storm...