07-24-2020, 12:05 PM
OOC: CD takes place off the events of Selena's last Breakdown roleplay. Promo takes place a few days later.
Washington, DC
July 15th, 2020
2:13am
She sat there in the middle cushion of the couch inside her luxury bus. Her lithe frame, which had her favourite dark-purple, silky nightgown wrapped around it, was leaning forward just enough to avoid contact with the back cushion and allow her to balance her forearms over her satin-covered legs. Around her bare shoulders, she had a slightly more reddish-purple shawl (with snowflake patterns lining the hem) draped over them, though it was not to keep her warm. Selena could have chuckled at the idea. When had she ever preferred heat to cold? Everything about her screamed the exact opposite - being born on a Canadian island covered and surround by ice, being raised in a remote, isolated town in the coldest, most northern state in the U.S, her very nickname being 'The Snow Queen'.
No, there were two reasons she wore the shawl over her bare skin: A main reason and a secondary.
The main one gripped her and filled her with a familiar sadness and longing. The shawl had been one of the last gifts her wife had given her, Deanna surprising her beloved with the gorgeous cloth only a few days before their renewal of vows had taken place in Germany... Before Deanna had been ripped out of Selena's arms and trapped in a cell like a princess in a castle. The young woman wrapped her arms around her, her eyes closed as she breathed deeply, her exhale the only sound filling the luxury bus. Moments like these, in the silence of the night, when her mind wasn't consumed with the business that was SCW, were when she missed her beloved redhead the most. When she should have been wrapped around Deanna in bed, spooning her wife and keeping her safe and warm.
It wasn't enough, to have this small part of her wrapped around her bare shoulders, but it was all Selena could have in such times, so she clung onto it with all she had.
The second reason she kept her shoulders covered was more of a manners...
Casting her gaze up and opening her sapphire eyes, the platinum-blonde scanned the dimly lit ceiling of her "Believe It" limo bus (only a few of the lights were turned on within the vehicle) and the shadows of various sizes and shapes that took up residence inside it alongside her. The first thing she saw, located to her right further down the bus by a few feet, was her United States Championship belt sitting on one of the counters attached to the bus wall. The scarce lights and their amber illumination somewhat bounced off a few sections of the golden plating, giving it a light glow of sorts within the shadows. Even now, she felt a sense of pride at being not just a champion in SCW again, but being the United States Champion again. At winning another tournament to acquire it. A small smile graced her features, and she felt somewhat guilty of being prideful but, in this, she could not help it. She had wanted the United States Title back ever since she had lost it to Giovanni Aries, thanks in part to Xander Valentine and this very bus. The memory, and by association its connection to Deanna, forced the small smile to disappear, the feeling of pride settling and disappearing as Selena's gaze continued to rise, this time to the window Xander had smashed over a year ago - long since repaired.
And it was out that window that Selena saw the tall building: The Hyatt Place Hotel, the high tower of windows and steel and gods knew what else. She could only see a fraction of it from where her bus was parked in the "public parking" lot a short ways down the street from it. Again, a random thought brought a smile and small laugh from her, quiet as it was. There she was, 'The Face of SCW', 'The Snow Queen', 'The United States Champion', and 'Number one contender to the tag-team titles with Frozen Hell partner Regan Street' Selena Frost... Choosing to stay, not in a lavish suite at the Hyatt (costing a solid hundred dollars a night) like most of her fellow SCW roster/peers were doing, but nice and cozy in her bus in a public parking lot for seven dollars all day/night - fourteen in her case as the bus took up two spaces. Yes, she had been given the option to stay at the Hyatt, but she had, instead, given that option to her driver and friend, Eric.
The slightly older man, compared to Selena, spent more time on this bus than she did, driving it to and from locations, performing routine maintenance and cleaning, and, of course, meeting her at airports and whatever else was necessary. As far as Selena was concerned, her friend deserved the comfort of the hotels and ammenities it offered that, she was certain, he would take full advantage of.
It was a different mindset: this bus was Eric's job, but to Selena, it was her second-home. She loved Germany and practically everything about it and the Schoenburg Castle. It made her feel like a real Queen and her family was there - but it couldn't compete with her home in Manhattan: her 'forever home' that she could not be at without Deanna - having not visited it in over a year. She knew Gerda's husband, Kai, was looking after it. But she knew she would never be able to return there until Deanna was with her again, a free woman standing by her side.
This bus was the second home for the platinum-blonde. The memories of travelling with her beloved, going to SCW shows together, spending nights on the road and in parking lots like these with only one another - Selena could manage the pain and absence better here because it was also the 'home' for her as a wreslter: the sort-of 'amalgamation' of her different worlds. Wife and wrestler. If she was suffering as a wife, she could be a wrestler here. If she was suffering as a wrestler, she could wrap herself in her love for Deanna here to get her through.
Yes, it was strange, but it got Selena through the months and that was enough for her.
Again, Selena cast her eyes towards the tall Hyatt Place Hotel. She could see a few windows with light pouring out from them, clearly some residents still awake within their rooms, but the majority of windows were pitch-black, the inhabitants sleeping the night away, as dawn was only a few hours away.
Again, she felt guilty, but she swallowed the feeling down. Turning her head to the couch she sat on, the young wrestler reached out to pick up her cellphone. Biting her lower lip, playing with the tender flesh with her sharp, hard teeth, she unlocked the phone with her fingerprint and turned her attention towards the screen, taking in the text message she had sent twenty minutes ago.
If you're awake, can I please talk to David F2F? I'm parked down the street in the parking lot space.
That was her message. The one below that, sent four minutes after that:
He'll be right there.
That was from her sister, Regan, and Selena was grateful to her. No request for explanations. No 'it's so and so in the morning!'. Regan knew that Selena wouldn't have bothered either her or her husband unless she needed to. And to Selena, this needed to happen. She had been sitting and stewing about whether or not to confront the man she respected and, in so many ways, idolized as a wrestler, which was partly why she han't been able to sleep. The other part...
Don't forget... We've got your anniversary to celebrate...
Quickly, Selena shook her head to try and banish the memory of Queenie's words from earlier this week. She needed to keep her head on straight and not be scared of "what-ifs". Deanna had Shar there to protect her and the platinum-blonde needed to have faith that Shar and Deanna could take care of themselves as they had since the beginning of Deanna's incarceration. And if Queenie even touched Deanna again, there would be hell to pay... Selena's jaw clenched at the silent vow, banishing the image of the dark-skinned, pearly-white toothed woman and her thinly-veiled threats.
Conceal... Don't feel... she breathed, allowing herself to speak the words in a light whisper to bring her mind to focus on the present and back to the main reason of her unrest. Her and Regan's trip would start in a few hours as well, along with the sunrise, and the thoughts that were plaguing her? Thoughts she knew she would not get much time to say once she and Regan returned next week for the final Breakdown and began the "Rise to Greatness Experience" that included shows, meet-and-greets, interviews, the Hall of Fame Ceremony and pre-show - basically the works that SCW did when they pulled out all the stops...
She needed to do this. For David, for Regan and for herself.
The knocking on the bus doors jarred her a little and, by instinct, she was suddenly on her bare feet, shuffling silently across the carpeted floor, followed by the rubber-tiled floor of the 'driver's section'. Reaching over with the closest hand, she felt the cold metal of the door handle by the driving-wheel and rotated it enough so the doors slid open. Immediately, the visitor stepped in, allowing Selena to close the door behind him. Without a word, Selena retreated back into the main section of the bus, turning on a few more overhead lights to illuminate the interior of the vehicle.
"I'm sorry for bothering you both so late." She started, her back still to the older gentleman, her pale hands reaching under her shawl wrap them around her elbows and forearms. In her movement, she felt her braid bumping against her bare neck and her back. "Can I get you anything?" She asked. "I can make coffee or something."
"I thought you didn't drink coffee." Came the amused voice, a chuckle being added from the man's husky tone. Still, the platinum-blonde could hear the sleepiness in his voice.
"I drink iced-coffee once in a while." she admitted. "Hot coffee makes my stomach queasy."
"I'm fine." He laughed again.
"Regan laughed at that too." Selena replied off-handedly as she turned around to face her visitor, leaning against the kitchen countertop. Before here, in a simple black t-shirt with gray shorts and running shoes with no socks stood David Helms. In the added light, she could see the slight redness in his eyes and his hair, despite being short, had a few wild strands in different directions. Still, there was no irritation in his stance or gaze. He merely leaned against the wall opposite of Selena - his body, Selena noticed, moving a little stiffly from the night's events - as he watched his wife's sister-in-arms.
"So, what's up?" He asked, crossing his arms slowly, again, perhaps due to the stiffness in his body. "Trouble sleeping?"
"Yes." Selena sighed. "Something's been on my mind all this week and I sort of... Left you out of the loop in some of the planning."
There was a moment of silence between the only two winners of the SCW Best of the Best Tournament - David in 2015 and Selena in 2016, as the latter's confession sunk in. Raising an eyebrow, the Hall of Famer crossed his arms over his chest, though he looked no less relaxed than he had a moment ago as he awaited Selena's explanation.
"Guess I'll get the big stuff out of the way." Selena tried, focusing on her hands for a moment. "I called Sasha and got her to give Regan and I the house shows off. We won't be going to Virgina either."
"Okay..." Helms drawled. It didn't seem like important news yet. Usually, David didn't do house shows, travelling home - recently with Jordan Majors - and leaving such shows to his wife and Selena. Still, he humoured the young woman as he replied. "Regan said something like that. That she and you were needing some 'bonding time'. Where will you be going?"
"California first." Selena started. "Regan and I will be spending a day or two there, but then I want to take her to Germany."
"For the weekend?" David asked, causing Selena to shake her head.
"We'd meet you and Mikalea and Delilah on Wednesday in Milwaukee for Breakdown."
Another bout of silence came between the two, Helms' reaction clearly one of surprise. It was clear that if Regan had mentioned anything to him, it was certainly not to this detail. He released a huff of breath like blowing out a series of candles for his birthday, but it was far more irritated than that. "Can you please..." He spoke slowly. "Explain to me how this came about? And why I'm, only now, getting these kind of details?"
The Snow Queen took a deep breath to reassure herself. She couldn't let her herself feel nervous about this, or guilty. We all need this! she told herself, pushing her head up to stare down David's questioning gaze.
"Truth is I've been thinking about it since your speech a few weeks ago."
"What speech?" David asked, his tiredness giving way to slight issues with memory.
"After your match with Tommy. Where Bree interfered."
"Oh. That." He shrugged. "You agreed with me, didn't you?"
"Yes I did agree with you. Then. But I'll get to that." Selena stated. "That's when the idea starting creeping into my head. I visited Deanna and she actually gave me the full idea."
"Okay...so then what?" David asked.
"Well, I managed to convince Regan to go out with me a few hours before Breakdown."
"A few hours..." The Royale winner's voice trailed off as he tried desperately to recall that night. It was probably a little blurry after the beating he had taken at the hands of those cowards Tommy and Bree. The group had been so wrapped up in the cowardly acts of the two that Selena's victory and becoming United States Champion earlier that night hadn't been discussed. That spoke volumes to them all at how important this war had become between David, Regan, and Selena and Bree and Tommy and Kandis. Still, after a few moments, Helms recast his eyes on Selena. "Is that why she came in...like... A minute before the show started?"
Selena nodded. "Essentially." Selena shrugged. "I was nervous about tag-teaming with her that night against the Las Bandidas. Cause we hadn't really since Retribution."
"Uh huh." David replied, his gaze never leaving Selena.
"So..." Selena continued, looking away to pace around the 'kitchen' section of the bus. Without thinking, her hand flew to the fridge to pull out a large jug with a filter on it (wiggling it out of its snug holding in the back), filled rather full with cold water. Reaching up with her free hand, she pulled open the magnetic drawers and pulled a glass out of the rubber holders within, allowing her to pour the cold water into the glass. She held it up to David in offering but he merely shook his head, allowing Selena to sip the contents, feeling the freezing water hydrate and invigorate her. Cold water had been her constant 'best friend' as she travelled through the humid heat of the spring across the states, downing at least two or three of those jugs a day by herself. "So..." She continued on, placing the jug on the counter-top, "So, when I arrived in DC and after we had filmed our promos for Breakdown, I persuaded Regan to join me on a ghost walk."
"A what?" Helms half-laughed.
"A ghost walk." Selena repeated. "It's where they take you around the city to different locations and they talk about the history and they have actors act like ghosts and re-enact the-"
"I know what a ghost walk is." Helms interjected. "I just can't believe you managed to convince Regan to go with you."
"Yeah..." Selena sighed, taking a sip of water again. "That was actually harder than I thought. She wanted to discuss strategy and such - like a good tag-team partner. But I was just too nervous to think clearly. I figured some time together would just, I don't know... Bond?"
"And did it?" David asked, though he sounded as if he already knew the answer, giving a knowing smirk for good measure.
The platinum-blonde could only scoff at the question initially. "David, the amount of times that woman rolled her eyes? I lost count."
"Yeah, I thought so." Came that hearty laugh. "She doesn't like to waste time."
"It was the exact opposite of what I wanted. I kept trying to get her to focus on the tour and the history of the buildings and such - and she kept wanting to discuss different ways to win our tag match!"
"Probably because she already knew the history of DC and most of the buildings. You know that's sort of her thing when she does her promos right? Her locations? History speaking? It's not new."
"Yeah, sure that makes sense now." Selena groaned. "And I probably should have thought about that. But I just-"
"Nervous, I get it." David nodded. "So what happened?"
"Well, by the time we got back to the Capital One Arena, we were both so frustrated with the waste of time that we just went out and... Did it." There was hint of surprise in Selena's voice. "I can't explain it but, since we had no time to do a strategy-plan, we just... Wrestled. I knew what she was going to do when she was doing it and vice-versa. It just... Made sense?" She tried to explain, for a moment forgetting she was talking to a tag-team legend.
"I get it." David smirked. "You have a chemistry that's been built from years of wrestling one another and together. That's not something that can just be swept under the rug when considering you two as a tag-team."
"I guess." Selena shrugged, sipping a bit more of the cold beverage in her hand. "Anyway, afterwards, I apologized up and down to Regan and came clean on what I was feeling and why I tried to get her to go with the DC Ghosts Ghostwalk. I told her how scared I was about Rise and how I wanted her and I to be on the same page and at our best. She told me that stupid events like a ghost walk weren't going to do it. That, if bonding was what I wanted, it needed to be real - just us - that sort of thing. So...that was when I asked her to come to Germany with me for a week."
The slightly irritated look in David's eyes came back, but it wasn't something he acted on. He was with someone he trusted, who he knew had his wife's and his best interests at heart. That, in the New Jersey native's mind, deserved some kind of hearing out. "And she said?"
"She was confused for a moment, but after I explained everything to her, she agreed, but only if we went to California first. Since I was showing her a side of me, she figured she'd do the same."
Helms nodded his head, the sounds of late-night traffic fleeting into their ears for a brief moment as cars passed by the parking lot from the nearby street. "So what? Did you call me to get my blessing or something?" There was a bit of confusion in his voice. "I mean, I'm flattered but, Selena, I trust Regan and I trust you to look out for each other. You're both adults and can do whatever-"
"No, it's not that." Selena held her hand up. "We both knew you'd say yes, even if it bothered you. Regan said you're 'too damn good for your own good.'" David's laugh at that spurred her on. "In fact, she said the only person more of a 'goody-goody' than you-"
"Was you?" David interjected, earning a playful shrug from Selena.
"Believe it?"
"Ha ha." He laughed dryly. "So what's the issue. I'm not exactly thrilled of being without Regan for a week but you probably knew that... Given your circumstances." He tried to carefully say. "What did you want to tell me?"
"It's what's been on my mind." Selena explained. "What I told Regan after Breakdown. And I think I won't get a chance at it once we return and we're busy with the Rise to Greatness events... I know you and Regan will need time together."
"Out with it." the older wrestler half-laughed and half-ordered.
"Are you sure you're doing the right thing about all this, David?"
The bluntness and massive confusion Selena's voice caught Helms off-guard, causing his eyes to widen and his jaw to drop a little, not to the floor, but certainly enough to make it clear that he had not expected this from the usually patient and calm one of his wife's tag-team.
"I'm sorry." Selena sighed, reaching up with her free had to pinch the spot between her eyebrows. "But I know Regan and I are going to get into some pretty serious talking this week and I've done nothing but dwell on all this and what's ahead for weeks. Because, I have to admit, David, that stuff you said two weeks ago? About how we should 'do nothing' and let Tommy and Bree and Kandis just show how spotlight-crazed they are?"
"That wasn't what I said." David stated, trying to explain. "I didn't say we should 'do nothing'. I said that I wasn't going to stoop to Bree's level."
The Snow Queen remained silent, the night's events of Breakdown playing through her head. She's be lying to herself if she said that seeing Kandis 'pretending' to be wearing her title didn't bother her. She'd be lying if she said Tommy and Kandis' assault on her, busting her head and giving her a concussion weeks prior didn't bother her. But all of that and what Bree and Tommy had done to David?
Selena nodded. "I know you did. But it's just... It feels like we're doing nothing. It feels like we're letting them get away with this week after week. And I hate it so damn much!"
"Why?" David replied, somewhat confused.
"Because is that who we are, David? Is that who you or Regan or even I am!" Selena asked in frustration but sighed at the end. "We don't just 'let' people who do wrong get away with it! Did I just 'let' Xander get away with hurting innocent people in the SCW audience? Did Regan just 'let' Datura get away with all the haunting and crap she pulled on her? Did you just 'let' Beauty Factory try and steal the Royale away with their numbers?"
"Selena... You need to stop." Helms warned. "I never said you and Regan should do nothing. You're free to do what you want to Tommy and Kandis - I actually am REALLY looking forward to seeing you do that. But..." His voice trailed off. "Does your desire to do something involve cracking open Tommy's head now or next week? Or belting Bree in the face with, perhaps, your title?"
Guilt wracked through the young woman, forcing her eyes to turn away to stare at a corner in the bus, her arms defensively wrapping around her in a meek attempt of self-protection. Her answer was barely a whisper. "Yes..."
"That's what I was talking about." David sighed, moving over to sit down on the couch Selena had occupied earlier. "You can't." He patiently explained. "That's Bree-stuff. That's Tommy-and-Kandis-stuff. That's their level and that is not who you are."
"But..." Selena interjected. "After everything- and-!" Her words were a jumble for a moment as she tried to explain, her guest quietly waiting and giving her the time she needed. "They've taken so much from Regan... From you..."
There was a moment of silence as Selena straightened her back, moving across the bus to stare out the large window towards the hotel tower David had come from. "There's only one person I love and respect in this business, as an active wrestler right now, more than you." She slowly explained. "And that's Regan." She felt her eyes begin to sting with unshed tears. "Do you have any idea how much I idolized you coming up through the years? How much of an effect you've had on my career? On my life?"
David remained silent, guessing correctly that Selena wasn't looking for an answer.
"Remember when SCW was fighting New Eden in that Tactical Warfare? When Silas refused to let you fight? And at the last minute, Mr. D. picked me to go in and fight for SCW? Who was it that handed me that chair - knowing he could very well be putting his own career on the line if I was pinned - and told me 'Don't 'eff' up! Here's your chance.'?"
David's eyes widened at the memory, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I think I actually swore... But I'm surprised you remember that-"
"And who was it that, when I did the impossible and won the Best of the Best Tournament, who was the first person to congratulate me, hand me that trophy, and actually wish me well? Who saw something in me that even I couldn't see?"
Again, Helms remained silent.
"Ever since I realized I could do some good in this business, all I ever wanted to be was like you." Selena admitted. "The Last Shadow of Hope, right?" She shook her head, placing her glass on the counter by the jug of water. "And then to become best friends with your wife, to become her sister, where she is the most important person to me in this messed up world you and I work in? I just..."
The young woman stopped, looking down at the floor to take a slow breath. "You know how much I owe to Regan. How much I love her and would do anything for her. But it extends to you, too, David. And when I see Tommy mocking you and declaring himself 'the rightful number one contender' for a title shot YOU earned."
"Called that, by the way." David chimed in with amusement, which did nothing for Selena's nerves.
"And then what happened tonight?" Selena dared, her eyes still moist with unshed tears as she narrowed them, moving to step right up to him. Despite being taller than her, she had the height advantage with him sitting on the couch. She refused to back down. "You going to tell me I DIDN'T see her holding that title and standing over you? You going to tell me that I didn't see that?!
David inhaled sharply but said nothing.
"I'm sorry." Selena quickly spoke, holding her hands up. "I know that still stings. I'm just... I don't know..."
"You're worried." David stated simply.
"About so much." Selena pressed the fingers of one of her hands to both of her temples.
Again, the Hall of Famer said nothing, choosing to inhale and exhale loudly and slowly before finally speaking. "What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know. Just...something. Please. Tell me this is all part of your plan." Selena asked. "That everything will work out." She raised her arms and dropped them. "That things will be different than they have been the last few weeks for you - for all of us."
He was about to speak, but seemed to want more time to choose his words carefully. It was clear that Selena wasn't hating or angry at the man. She was confused, scared and lost. Was it that final image on Breakdown with Bree standing over David that was driving this or something that happened in her tag-match with Regan, or a combination of things both inside and outside of SCW - David honestly couldn't be sure with the woman.
"Has it ever occurred to you what happens after Rise, David?" Her words interjected his train of thought.
"What?" David asked.
"After Rise." Selena explained. "Because several times I've had to wrestle Regan back from the brink of retirement. I've had to comfort her and console her when you weren't there or when you were running around in that luchador mask or whatever. All she thinks about is the future. All she thinks about is her legacy and being the best she can possibly be. But...fuck..." David almost choked at Selena whisper-cursing, but the Snow Queen continued. "The thing she thinks about most in her future is you. The same way I think about Deanna." She choked a little at the mention of the redhead. "Did she tell her what she wanted more than anything? More than this? More than SCW?"
"In what way?" David asked.
"With you." Selena explained. "She told me more than anything, she wants to have a baby. Your baby."
"She...she told you that?" David asked.
"Of course she did." Selena turned to Helms, tilting her head. "I've seen her light up at the mere idea... And then she tells me, 'hey! You'll be her aunt! Aunt Selena!" Selena laughs. "Just like how you're 'Uncle David' and 'Auntie Regan' to my kids..."
Part in self-anger and part in sadness, Selena reached up to aggressively swipe at the tears finally escaping her eyes. "And what about my kids, David? Do you know what's gone through my mind more often than I can say from the moment I've held each and every one of my children?"
The tired man could only shake his head.
"What if they want to be like me?" Selena answered. "What if they want to be wrestlers? The thought is so scary for me, that they would have to endure what I have - what you, Regan, me, Kelcey, Kennedy, and all the people that matter to us have endured over the years. But... The idea was also wonderful to me..." Without missing a step, Selena turned gracefully to sit on the couch, keeping her eyes on her guest. "Because I thought - we could bring them to the AnteUp Academy. They could have me and their aunt and uncle/godparents train them. They could learn from the best people and best wrestlers I know..."
Her voice trembled more than ever, as did her jaw and it was not hard for David to understand why.
"But that dream is gone." Selena growled. "That bastard took it away."
"Whoa, wait a minute-" David tried, pushing himself to his feet as Selena swept her gaze back out the window - clearly not hearing him.
"That's all those people want to do to us, David. Take. Take everything, not for the sport or for SCW, but to punish us! And you both have waited for all of this for so long. Regan to be a tag-team champion and supreme champion and you? To headline Rise to Greatness... And all I want to do is just smash their heads in like Regan wants to! I know she does - gods I know she does. But I can't... And lately, I don't know why I can't or why I haven't..."
The platinum-blonde paused in her spiel to turn and regard David, watching his expressions and gaze morph and alter with each statement she made and idea that came to his mind. "How many more dreams are we going to allow them to take, David? How many more moments are we going to let them taint and change with their crap before we shut them up for good?" She gave him a moment to answer, which he didn't. "I'm selfish." The young woman laughed. "I want to be there at the end, like you were for me when I won that Best of the Best Tournament. I want to be there with your wife as the new tag-team champions, the United States Champion, as she, the new Supreme Champion, embraces you, the new World Champion. I want to stand in the ring with you and her as we celebrate - as we end the crap that Tommy, Kandis and Bree and the Beauty Factory have done to this company!"
"And why can't we?" David finally spoke, his eyes boring into Selena's sapphire ones. "You think I can't beat Bree? I can't win?"
"I...I don't know." Selena answered truthfully. "I've just kept thinking about how they're going to try and screw us. How they're going to try and cheat their way to beating us and you. And we're...we're not going to stoop to their level, so we're just going to walk right into whatever ambush or plan they have..."
"They haven't taken our dreams, Selena." Helms suddenly stated, interrupting the young woman. "Not one."
It was Selena's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked. "Tommy. He-"
A soft smile came to David's face as he shook his head. "Your kids can still be trained by me and you and Regan if they want to someday. Because I've begun looking into building my own training academy."
Selena's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. "B-build your own...? Wha...when...?"
"I started thinking about it a long time ago. I realized that I didn't want to be associated with how Tommy was acting - and teaching other people."
"But...Regan didn't tell me..." Selena whispered.
"We're still looking for property spaces." David laughed. "It's going to take time to do it, but I imagine that when your kids are old enough, it'll be ready."
Silence hung between the two, Selena trying to process the information. The way David had said it, explained it, like it was the simplest change to keep his hard-work and dreams alive. Was it just that simple? Was it as simple as just finding a new dream or rebuilding the one you had when something knocked it down for a bit? "But what about-"
"I didn't want you or Regan to stoop to their level, Selena... Because I've been there. And so has Regan." He sighed with a hint of guilt in his voice. "I was part of a faction with Syren and Ravyn and Tommy called Pinnacle... I've been the person you're contemplating being - and it's not worth it. Wasn't back then and it isn't now."
"But-"
"No, Selena." David held up a hand to calmly silence here. "I need you to understand. You've never been that way here. Never gone down that path, so you don't know the fight it takes to get out of it. I do, and more importantly, Regan does."
Sapphire eyes widened at that statement. The Hellcat, her sister, had worked for so long to turn her career around. She had hated what she had become in her darker days and never wanted to return... But the tendencies to lash out were always there and while Selena, in her frustration and confusion, was starting to consider joining her in such a rampage, David, ever the good man, was seeing the bigger picture that she just couldn't.
"Funny..." She sighed. "After all these years, you're still teaching me stuff." She shook her head, her platinum-blonde braid swishing a little from the movement.
"Yeah, I come in handy every now and then." He teased.
Selena nodded. "I had to go to Nome both times I fought for the United States title to clear my head - to figure out what was important to me and where I needed to be to do what I knew was right - for me, those I love and for SCW..."
"That why you want to take Regan away from all this for a bit?"
Again, Selena nodded her head. "If anything, you've just made me realize how necessary it is. Because Regan and I, we're still acting like we're the victims. We're still putting the blame on each other alone - her on her shoulders and me on mine..." Swiftly, she shook her head before continuing. "You made me realize that we've let them - I've let them - make us into something we're not. Made us only try and react to whatever they do. But SCW doesn't need that. They don't need those people. They need the Hellcat." She pointed towards the large hotel tower in the distance. "And they need the Snow Queen." She brought a hand to herself. "Just like, most of all, they need you, The Last Shadow of Hope. Because... For the World title..." She laugh-cried as she shrugged. "You fucking are."
It took a moment for the man to speak, choosing to sniffle a little and wipe his eyes at the raw emotion of Selena's words. "Sounds like a damn good plan, kid." He offered her a kind smile. "You two do what you have to. I'll hold the fort down and all that till I see you next."
Selena half-laughed, half-cried at that. "Sure." She sighed. "I'm sorry to throw all this at you so late."
David nodded. "It's alright. This was important. I get the feeling you and Regan are going to have some harsh heart-to-hearts of your own in the coming days... I do not envy not being there for that." He teased.
"I'm partially worried she might throw me off one of the rock-climbing cliffs." Selena joked to which David shook his head in amusement, as he slowly made his way towards the exit of the bus.
"Just remember, Selena." David stopped, placing a hand on her shawl-covered shoulder. "They want us to lash out at them...because what we want to do? What you are 'so selfish' about wanting?" He grinned mischievously. "I'll wager they are terrified of it." He winked knowingly before continuing to make his way through the bus. Watching him go, Selena wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and face, her other hand clutching the shawl pieced together in front of her. She let out a soft sniffle as she saw Helms stop at the door after opening it with the lever. Slowly, the RTG-main-event-challenger turned around to gaze at the Snow Queen..
"One last thing..." He paused before his eyes met hers, a smirk crossing his features. "Don't fuck it up. Here's your chance..." His voice whispered, just enough for Selena to hear. With a surprised snort of a laugh, Selena nodded her head.
"Back at ya, old man." She replied, earning a quiet chuckle from said 'old man' before he was gone, making his way back to the hotel and the wife that was waiting for him. Selena watched him go through the windows of the bus until he was out of sight before she turned off the extra lights again, put the water and glass back in their respectful places and returned to sitting on the couch. With silence and the shadows, once more, her only company, she simply held the shawl around her a bit tighter as she slowly lay across the couch, hopeful that maybe, just maybe, that sleep would actually come to her tonight...
****************************************************
As the video fades in, the young woman front and center of the shot just finishes sitting back in a dark-green 'throne chair'. Behind her is a dark-red wall, which contrasts with her gentle light-blue, long-sleeve, bare-back halter top, platinum-blonde hair, pale skin and sapphire eyes.
Hey guys. Selena smiles as she waves at the camera, a for more comfortable and casual tone her voice. First and foremost, Regan and I are sorry that we couldn't be there for our fans and audience in Virgina for the house shows last week. There is clearly a note of guilt and sadness in the Snow Queen's voice. I know I speak for Regan when I say that we don't like missing any show for the SCW Universe.
But, to be honest with all of you- Selena takes a deep breath before she continues. Regan and I realized something as we fought Valeria and Maria a few nights ago in Washington DC. First, it was that the Las Bandidas are an incredibly tough tag-team and if they become the number one contenders for the tag-team titles at Rise to Greatness, then Regan and I would love another match with them with the titles on the line...
Which brings me to the second thing Regan and I realized as we tag-teamed together the other night... Again, Selena pauses for a moment, looking down to focus on her hands. I don't think I'll get too much hate if I said that Rise to Greatness is the most important night for all of SCW - for fan and superstar alike. As wrestlers, it's the biggest show with the biggest opportunities and crowd. For you, the fans and True Believers, it's the biggest night! It's the Super Bowl mixed with the Oscars and Tonys with some Stanley Cup thrown in for brawling. If you saw SCW's "Rise to Greatness by the numbers", then all of you can guess how much this event means to all of us and how much we know it means to all of you.
And if that wasn't enough - recently, the stakes for Regan and my match were raised even higher. What started as a match for the World Tag-Team titles became a 'do or die', 'winner take all' match...
And with that in mind, Regan and I realized that we were not ready for it. shaking her head, Selena lifts her head up to gaze back at the camera. I could lie to you and say otherwise, but this isn't some Breakdown match with no implications. This isn't some Pay-Per-View match with just a title or bragging rights on the line. This is, quite literally, a winners take all match. And while Tommy and Kandis can flaunt their 'predictions' as 'spoilers' on Breakdown, already seeing themselves with the United States Title as nothing has changed in terms of what they're wagering, Regan and I had to be honest with ourselves and ask ourselves - with these raised stakes - if we were 100% ready to risk it all and survive. More than that: if we were ready to risk it all and win!
And we weren't. As singles competitors, absolutely. But this isn't a singles match. This is a tag-team match. And as a tag-team, we were not ready.
So, Regan and I are here, in Germany. We're committing every moment of every day we are away from SCW and all of you to being ready. Being ready for, easily, one of the most important matches in both of our careers. To giving all of you the show-stealer match of the Rise to Greatness night. To giving you all a match that all of you, all of SCW, can be proud of. Because we all know Tommy and Kandis will not care about giving that to you.
Her expression growing more serious, Selena rolls her shoulders a little and adjusts her iconic braid, flicking over her shoulder to rest against her chest.
Kandis... her voice lowers to more of a growl. Tommy.
It would be so easy to talk about this and how personal it's gotten. To yell and scream and curse you both for all you've done. Selena exhales slowly. But if I did that right away - if I started with that rather than end with it... then I'd miss so much, wouldn't I?
See, you two think you've got us all figured out. That you've played us this entire time like a couple of violins. That you've got Regan and I right where you want us. "Oh, we got Selena to put her U.S title on the line! We got Frozen Hell to make this their 'last chance' match!". a coy smile crosses the Snow Queen's pale face. But you fail to see that it's the other way around, guys.
Because it's us that have got you all figured out.
The platinum-blonde sits back in her seat, her eyes still on the camera and her audience.
It's funny when I think about it. When you two defeated us at Retribution, I thought it was some sick joke. The universe's way of just pushing another failure on my shoulders. Another way that I let my sister down. But life is kind of... she looks away, her tongue clicking inside her mouth before shrugging her bare shoulders and smiling again. Kind of amazing in its own way. And I think it had to happen this way, everything had to happen this way. I mean, where are we going? Rise to Greatness! The biggest pay-per-view of the year. The night where it all comes together. Where moments are etched into history and our journeys are reflected upon, right?
And what a journey it has been... The Snow Queen rubs her hands together. In fact, let me tell you about it, Tommy and Kandis.
It began on an episode of Breakdown in late December of last year. Two women stood in the ring and declared that they were going to work their way to become SCW World Tag-Team Champions. They knew it wouldn't be easy. It would take time and effort to prove themselves as true contenders. To earn a shot at the prestigious titles. One had already been a tag-team champion, so you might say that she had an inkling of an idea of what was necessary and the other? Well, she'd been in more tag-team matches than you think. So they had an idea of what we were doing.
But here's what it gets interesting. You two didn't take kindly to us coming into "your" division, did you? Do you remember that, Tommy? Kandis? You said that we didn't deserve a chance at the tag-team titles. You said that you two were the "the guardians" of the division. That Regan didn't give a damn about the tag-team titles, only seeking status as "Supreme Champion", and that I was simply a 'gold-whore' that wanted any title and wanted it at no cost. That the tag-team titles didn't truly matter to us like they did to you. There is a smile tugging at Selena's lips as she speaks.
And at the time, guys, part of me could understand where you were coming from. I mean, Regan and I had only been a tag-team for a few months and, while we both had a hell of a resume as singles competitors, we hadn't really broken into the tag-team scene together guns blazing. Compared to you two, already an established tag-team and former tag-team champions. So, I could see your frustrations at a newly formed team pushing through the ranks and I could, partially, understand why you would believe the things you wanted to believe about Regan and I.
But that was then. This is now. And now, here we are, Ass Connection. It's been seven long months since that annoucement from Regan and myself. And I have to wonder - can you two say the same insults you said months ago? Because I also have to wonder:
Who are the ones that don't deserve those tag-titles now?
Who are the ones that don't care about those titles now?
Who are the ones that are, quote, 'gold-whores' now?
The Snow Queen tilts her head. Because, despite losing at Retribution, Regan and I are still here. Still wanting to become tag-team champions together. We've gone through hell and accomplished so much - the Television and United States Title being key examples there.
But who was it that first leapt at the chance at having another title to add to his collection, Tommy? Who was it that couldn't wait to challenge for the Television title? Was it you, Tommy? Or was it Kandis, who demanded a shot at Regan for the same title, while you both were tag-team champions? Or should I go back to you, Tommy, who promised the world that he was going to become Adrenaline champion AND Supreme champion when he faced Peyton Rice for the title at a recent episode of Breakdown - and again, this was while you were still tag-team champion?
Funny. You call me a 'gold-whore' and Regan only caring about "Surpreme Champion status", and yet, when the same kind of opportunities came your way over and over again, each and every time you both did all you could to get those titles and that status. Hell, you were flaunting the two titles you held for a short while, weren't you, Tommy? One on each shoulder? I mean, not too long ago, say last Breakdown, you were flaunting how my United States Championship would look on Kandis, right? Matching the tag-team title?
Selena looks away, as if in thought. In fact, let's look at that shall we. If you two were such 'devoted' people to the tag-team titles, and not 'gold-hoarders like wretched Selena' as you have claimed, why even demand I put the title on the line in the first place? Why demand a title shot to a belt that you two had shown zero interest in until I won it? After all, you two are the 'pinnacles of the tag-team division'! You don't care about 'other titles', right? That's what you told Regan and I. That's what you called us out on months ago, right? That's what you declared made you a better tag-team than us, right?!
So why go for the Television title? Why go for the Adrenaline title? Why demand I put the United States title on the line if that were so? She pauses for a moment, as if waiting for an answer. Kandis? Tommy?
After another moment, Selena shakes her head. You want to know how things are different than they were last time we fought, guys? It's that last time we fought? Neither Regan or I had the evidence to prove you wrong. To expose you as the liars and hypocrites you truly are. We were inexperienced as a team and Regan still saw you as an old friend, Tommy. For our part, all we could do was go to the ring and do our best. Show that we cared about this division. Showed that we belong in the tag-team division!
But now? My how the tables have turned.
Because it's you two - Kandis and Tommy - that want all the titles. It is you two that are using the tag-team division for your own ends. It is you two that don't give a damn about the division - only the power that comes with it! And you crave more of it.
Selena leans forward, resting her arms on her legs as she does. You want to know what the United States Title means to me? Enough that you won't see me whine and cry and stand in the ring night after night and demand a shot like you two did. Enough that, when I got my opportunity, I didn't drop the ball like you both did with the Television title, the Adrenaline title, and your first attempt at regaining the tag-team titles after Fatal Fortunes. No, I took my one opportunity and I fought through a damn tournament and a two-on-one assault in the finals to win it! The United States Title means that much to me. Enough that I was willing to consider pulling double-duty at Rise to Greatness to defend it as it deserved to be.
Now - you want to know what the Tag-team titles mean to me in comparison? What Regan and her dream mean to me? Selena's eyes narrow.Enough that I would put that United States title - and everything I just said that comes with it - on the line without a second thought. Put it on the line in a match where I don't have to be pinned or forced to submit to lose. Enough that I would endure months of uncertainty in being Regan's partner as replacements threw themselves at her feet. Enough where I would risk all I have - risk Frozen Hell's future as a tag-team - to make her dream a reality. To become World Tag-Team Champions with her.
And Regan? Well, you tell me, Tommy. Because we didn't have to give in to your demands. The match was already set. We had our shot. We didn't have to give you two anything. Would you have if the roles were reversed? Tommy? Kandis? I doubt it. You've spent this whole time trying to get more and risk nothing for it. You would have laughed in our faces if we had done what you did and just keep the match as it was.
But that's where Regan and I are different. Because we didn't want you two to bail on the match. We didn't want you to have any excuses. We didn't want those belts handed to us because you two were spoiled, little cowards who bailed because they didn't get what they wanted. We wanted to earn those belts by being better than the 'champs', just like we wanted to back in December.
That's where we have always been different, and it's taken us all this time to see it - to have the evidence to prove it. Because to have that match? To guarantee you two show up in the ring? We agreed to your terms. We agreed to risk it all for those tag-team belts. We agreed to put all we have on the line for this chance to have this match and to give it - give this division - the attention, the prestige, and the respect it deserves!
But you two? You just want to have another title. You just want to take something else from Regan and I again. Because if you cared about those titles, than that would be what all this would be about for you. Selena's smile spreads across her face, as if she can see right through her future opponents. You are the ones that are using this division. You are the ones with greed in your eyes. You are the ones that see this division as a means to an end for you both.
And it's that greed that gives Regan and I the thing you had at Retribution: the edge.
Because now, Tommy, Kandis. Frozen Hell are ones with our backs against the wall. We are the ones risking it all. We are the ones that are going to have to dig deep inside ourselves and find the people that have defied every set of odds, every obstacle we faced in the past. Taking a breath, Selena looks down for a moment before lifting her head again.
You're forcing us to find the Hellcat and the Snow Queen, guys. The woman that knocked Xander out in record time and then knocked him down until he couldn't stand anymore. You're forcing us to find the woman that silenced Datura, silenced YOU, Tommy, and took the Television title from you without so much as a second-thought. The woman that beat you, Kandis, and retained that same title.
The women that aren't afraid to risk it all. Who aren't afraid to risk everything for the tag-team division. For SCW!
That's what drives us, guys. Not fear, but a passion and love for this business and for this tag-team division that we would do anything for. But you? The fear is written all over your faces. In your eyes. In every word you say, in every sneak attack you throw at us, in every greedy and cowardly act. It's fear. Deep...deep down, you two have been afraid of us since the beginning. Afraid of us realizing the difference we have realized between us and you. Afraid of us seeing you for the low-lifes and con-artists you are. For the liars and cheats you are. Because you both know what Regan and I can do to such people. Ask Xander. Ask Vixen Cain. Ask Datura. Ask Bree Lancaster.
Or wait till Rise to Greatness, where you will join that list. Because soon... Very soon, Kandis... Very soon, Tommy... There won't be anywhere for you two to hide. There won't be anywhere for you two to scheme and lie and cheat and con... And fool yourselves with your pretending. You will be in the ring with two of the most dominant people in SCW today. The two women that will risk it all to win this match.
Because THAT, Connection, is what this division truly deserves. Not your BS of 'worthiness'. Not your crap about 'more titles on the line' but champions that will take whatever risks they have to do right by it.
Selena takes a slow breath, returning her gaze back to the camera. You may have made us risk it all, guys. But soon, when it's all said and done... Regan and I will take it all! And leave you with absolutely nothing!
And both of you... Can believe it!
Selena sits back in her seat as the video slowly fades to black.
The Dark Side of the Sun
"Things in Place"
Washington, DC
July 15th, 2020
2:13am
She sat there in the middle cushion of the couch inside her luxury bus. Her lithe frame, which had her favourite dark-purple, silky nightgown wrapped around it, was leaning forward just enough to avoid contact with the back cushion and allow her to balance her forearms over her satin-covered legs. Around her bare shoulders, she had a slightly more reddish-purple shawl (with snowflake patterns lining the hem) draped over them, though it was not to keep her warm. Selena could have chuckled at the idea. When had she ever preferred heat to cold? Everything about her screamed the exact opposite - being born on a Canadian island covered and surround by ice, being raised in a remote, isolated town in the coldest, most northern state in the U.S, her very nickname being 'The Snow Queen'.
No, there were two reasons she wore the shawl over her bare skin: A main reason and a secondary.
The main one gripped her and filled her with a familiar sadness and longing. The shawl had been one of the last gifts her wife had given her, Deanna surprising her beloved with the gorgeous cloth only a few days before their renewal of vows had taken place in Germany... Before Deanna had been ripped out of Selena's arms and trapped in a cell like a princess in a castle. The young woman wrapped her arms around her, her eyes closed as she breathed deeply, her exhale the only sound filling the luxury bus. Moments like these, in the silence of the night, when her mind wasn't consumed with the business that was SCW, were when she missed her beloved redhead the most. When she should have been wrapped around Deanna in bed, spooning her wife and keeping her safe and warm.
It wasn't enough, to have this small part of her wrapped around her bare shoulders, but it was all Selena could have in such times, so she clung onto it with all she had.
The second reason she kept her shoulders covered was more of a manners...
Casting her gaze up and opening her sapphire eyes, the platinum-blonde scanned the dimly lit ceiling of her "Believe It" limo bus (only a few of the lights were turned on within the vehicle) and the shadows of various sizes and shapes that took up residence inside it alongside her. The first thing she saw, located to her right further down the bus by a few feet, was her United States Championship belt sitting on one of the counters attached to the bus wall. The scarce lights and their amber illumination somewhat bounced off a few sections of the golden plating, giving it a light glow of sorts within the shadows. Even now, she felt a sense of pride at being not just a champion in SCW again, but being the United States Champion again. At winning another tournament to acquire it. A small smile graced her features, and she felt somewhat guilty of being prideful but, in this, she could not help it. She had wanted the United States Title back ever since she had lost it to Giovanni Aries, thanks in part to Xander Valentine and this very bus. The memory, and by association its connection to Deanna, forced the small smile to disappear, the feeling of pride settling and disappearing as Selena's gaze continued to rise, this time to the window Xander had smashed over a year ago - long since repaired.
And it was out that window that Selena saw the tall building: The Hyatt Place Hotel, the high tower of windows and steel and gods knew what else. She could only see a fraction of it from where her bus was parked in the "public parking" lot a short ways down the street from it. Again, a random thought brought a smile and small laugh from her, quiet as it was. There she was, 'The Face of SCW', 'The Snow Queen', 'The United States Champion', and 'Number one contender to the tag-team titles with Frozen Hell partner Regan Street' Selena Frost... Choosing to stay, not in a lavish suite at the Hyatt (costing a solid hundred dollars a night) like most of her fellow SCW roster/peers were doing, but nice and cozy in her bus in a public parking lot for seven dollars all day/night - fourteen in her case as the bus took up two spaces. Yes, she had been given the option to stay at the Hyatt, but she had, instead, given that option to her driver and friend, Eric.
The slightly older man, compared to Selena, spent more time on this bus than she did, driving it to and from locations, performing routine maintenance and cleaning, and, of course, meeting her at airports and whatever else was necessary. As far as Selena was concerned, her friend deserved the comfort of the hotels and ammenities it offered that, she was certain, he would take full advantage of.
It was a different mindset: this bus was Eric's job, but to Selena, it was her second-home. She loved Germany and practically everything about it and the Schoenburg Castle. It made her feel like a real Queen and her family was there - but it couldn't compete with her home in Manhattan: her 'forever home' that she could not be at without Deanna - having not visited it in over a year. She knew Gerda's husband, Kai, was looking after it. But she knew she would never be able to return there until Deanna was with her again, a free woman standing by her side.
This bus was the second home for the platinum-blonde. The memories of travelling with her beloved, going to SCW shows together, spending nights on the road and in parking lots like these with only one another - Selena could manage the pain and absence better here because it was also the 'home' for her as a wreslter: the sort-of 'amalgamation' of her different worlds. Wife and wrestler. If she was suffering as a wife, she could be a wrestler here. If she was suffering as a wrestler, she could wrap herself in her love for Deanna here to get her through.
Yes, it was strange, but it got Selena through the months and that was enough for her.
Again, Selena cast her eyes towards the tall Hyatt Place Hotel. She could see a few windows with light pouring out from them, clearly some residents still awake within their rooms, but the majority of windows were pitch-black, the inhabitants sleeping the night away, as dawn was only a few hours away.
Again, she felt guilty, but she swallowed the feeling down. Turning her head to the couch she sat on, the young wrestler reached out to pick up her cellphone. Biting her lower lip, playing with the tender flesh with her sharp, hard teeth, she unlocked the phone with her fingerprint and turned her attention towards the screen, taking in the text message she had sent twenty minutes ago.
If you're awake, can I please talk to David F2F? I'm parked down the street in the parking lot space.
That was her message. The one below that, sent four minutes after that:
He'll be right there.
That was from her sister, Regan, and Selena was grateful to her. No request for explanations. No 'it's so and so in the morning!'. Regan knew that Selena wouldn't have bothered either her or her husband unless she needed to. And to Selena, this needed to happen. She had been sitting and stewing about whether or not to confront the man she respected and, in so many ways, idolized as a wrestler, which was partly why she han't been able to sleep. The other part...
Don't forget... We've got your anniversary to celebrate...
Quickly, Selena shook her head to try and banish the memory of Queenie's words from earlier this week. She needed to keep her head on straight and not be scared of "what-ifs". Deanna had Shar there to protect her and the platinum-blonde needed to have faith that Shar and Deanna could take care of themselves as they had since the beginning of Deanna's incarceration. And if Queenie even touched Deanna again, there would be hell to pay... Selena's jaw clenched at the silent vow, banishing the image of the dark-skinned, pearly-white toothed woman and her thinly-veiled threats.
Conceal... Don't feel... she breathed, allowing herself to speak the words in a light whisper to bring her mind to focus on the present and back to the main reason of her unrest. Her and Regan's trip would start in a few hours as well, along with the sunrise, and the thoughts that were plaguing her? Thoughts she knew she would not get much time to say once she and Regan returned next week for the final Breakdown and began the "Rise to Greatness Experience" that included shows, meet-and-greets, interviews, the Hall of Fame Ceremony and pre-show - basically the works that SCW did when they pulled out all the stops...
She needed to do this. For David, for Regan and for herself.
The knocking on the bus doors jarred her a little and, by instinct, she was suddenly on her bare feet, shuffling silently across the carpeted floor, followed by the rubber-tiled floor of the 'driver's section'. Reaching over with the closest hand, she felt the cold metal of the door handle by the driving-wheel and rotated it enough so the doors slid open. Immediately, the visitor stepped in, allowing Selena to close the door behind him. Without a word, Selena retreated back into the main section of the bus, turning on a few more overhead lights to illuminate the interior of the vehicle.
"I'm sorry for bothering you both so late." She started, her back still to the older gentleman, her pale hands reaching under her shawl wrap them around her elbows and forearms. In her movement, she felt her braid bumping against her bare neck and her back. "Can I get you anything?" She asked. "I can make coffee or something."
"I thought you didn't drink coffee." Came the amused voice, a chuckle being added from the man's husky tone. Still, the platinum-blonde could hear the sleepiness in his voice.
"I drink iced-coffee once in a while." she admitted. "Hot coffee makes my stomach queasy."
"I'm fine." He laughed again.
"Regan laughed at that too." Selena replied off-handedly as she turned around to face her visitor, leaning against the kitchen countertop. Before here, in a simple black t-shirt with gray shorts and running shoes with no socks stood David Helms. In the added light, she could see the slight redness in his eyes and his hair, despite being short, had a few wild strands in different directions. Still, there was no irritation in his stance or gaze. He merely leaned against the wall opposite of Selena - his body, Selena noticed, moving a little stiffly from the night's events - as he watched his wife's sister-in-arms.
"So, what's up?" He asked, crossing his arms slowly, again, perhaps due to the stiffness in his body. "Trouble sleeping?"
"Yes." Selena sighed. "Something's been on my mind all this week and I sort of... Left you out of the loop in some of the planning."
There was a moment of silence between the only two winners of the SCW Best of the Best Tournament - David in 2015 and Selena in 2016, as the latter's confession sunk in. Raising an eyebrow, the Hall of Famer crossed his arms over his chest, though he looked no less relaxed than he had a moment ago as he awaited Selena's explanation.
"Guess I'll get the big stuff out of the way." Selena tried, focusing on her hands for a moment. "I called Sasha and got her to give Regan and I the house shows off. We won't be going to Virgina either."
"Okay..." Helms drawled. It didn't seem like important news yet. Usually, David didn't do house shows, travelling home - recently with Jordan Majors - and leaving such shows to his wife and Selena. Still, he humoured the young woman as he replied. "Regan said something like that. That she and you were needing some 'bonding time'. Where will you be going?"
"California first." Selena started. "Regan and I will be spending a day or two there, but then I want to take her to Germany."
"For the weekend?" David asked, causing Selena to shake her head.
"We'd meet you and Mikalea and Delilah on Wednesday in Milwaukee for Breakdown."
Another bout of silence came between the two, Helms' reaction clearly one of surprise. It was clear that if Regan had mentioned anything to him, it was certainly not to this detail. He released a huff of breath like blowing out a series of candles for his birthday, but it was far more irritated than that. "Can you please..." He spoke slowly. "Explain to me how this came about? And why I'm, only now, getting these kind of details?"
The Snow Queen took a deep breath to reassure herself. She couldn't let her herself feel nervous about this, or guilty. We all need this! she told herself, pushing her head up to stare down David's questioning gaze.
"Truth is I've been thinking about it since your speech a few weeks ago."
"What speech?" David asked, his tiredness giving way to slight issues with memory.
"After your match with Tommy. Where Bree interfered."
"Oh. That." He shrugged. "You agreed with me, didn't you?"
"Yes I did agree with you. Then. But I'll get to that." Selena stated. "That's when the idea starting creeping into my head. I visited Deanna and she actually gave me the full idea."
"Okay...so then what?" David asked.
"Well, I managed to convince Regan to go out with me a few hours before Breakdown."
"A few hours..." The Royale winner's voice trailed off as he tried desperately to recall that night. It was probably a little blurry after the beating he had taken at the hands of those cowards Tommy and Bree. The group had been so wrapped up in the cowardly acts of the two that Selena's victory and becoming United States Champion earlier that night hadn't been discussed. That spoke volumes to them all at how important this war had become between David, Regan, and Selena and Bree and Tommy and Kandis. Still, after a few moments, Helms recast his eyes on Selena. "Is that why she came in...like... A minute before the show started?"
Selena nodded. "Essentially." Selena shrugged. "I was nervous about tag-teaming with her that night against the Las Bandidas. Cause we hadn't really since Retribution."
"Uh huh." David replied, his gaze never leaving Selena.
"So..." Selena continued, looking away to pace around the 'kitchen' section of the bus. Without thinking, her hand flew to the fridge to pull out a large jug with a filter on it (wiggling it out of its snug holding in the back), filled rather full with cold water. Reaching up with her free hand, she pulled open the magnetic drawers and pulled a glass out of the rubber holders within, allowing her to pour the cold water into the glass. She held it up to David in offering but he merely shook his head, allowing Selena to sip the contents, feeling the freezing water hydrate and invigorate her. Cold water had been her constant 'best friend' as she travelled through the humid heat of the spring across the states, downing at least two or three of those jugs a day by herself. "So..." She continued on, placing the jug on the counter-top, "So, when I arrived in DC and after we had filmed our promos for Breakdown, I persuaded Regan to join me on a ghost walk."
"A what?" Helms half-laughed.
"A ghost walk." Selena repeated. "It's where they take you around the city to different locations and they talk about the history and they have actors act like ghosts and re-enact the-"
"I know what a ghost walk is." Helms interjected. "I just can't believe you managed to convince Regan to go with you."
"Yeah..." Selena sighed, taking a sip of water again. "That was actually harder than I thought. She wanted to discuss strategy and such - like a good tag-team partner. But I was just too nervous to think clearly. I figured some time together would just, I don't know... Bond?"
"And did it?" David asked, though he sounded as if he already knew the answer, giving a knowing smirk for good measure.
The platinum-blonde could only scoff at the question initially. "David, the amount of times that woman rolled her eyes? I lost count."
"Yeah, I thought so." Came that hearty laugh. "She doesn't like to waste time."
"It was the exact opposite of what I wanted. I kept trying to get her to focus on the tour and the history of the buildings and such - and she kept wanting to discuss different ways to win our tag match!"
"Probably because she already knew the history of DC and most of the buildings. You know that's sort of her thing when she does her promos right? Her locations? History speaking? It's not new."
"Yeah, sure that makes sense now." Selena groaned. "And I probably should have thought about that. But I just-"
"Nervous, I get it." David nodded. "So what happened?"
"Well, by the time we got back to the Capital One Arena, we were both so frustrated with the waste of time that we just went out and... Did it." There was hint of surprise in Selena's voice. "I can't explain it but, since we had no time to do a strategy-plan, we just... Wrestled. I knew what she was going to do when she was doing it and vice-versa. It just... Made sense?" She tried to explain, for a moment forgetting she was talking to a tag-team legend.
"I get it." David smirked. "You have a chemistry that's been built from years of wrestling one another and together. That's not something that can just be swept under the rug when considering you two as a tag-team."
"I guess." Selena shrugged, sipping a bit more of the cold beverage in her hand. "Anyway, afterwards, I apologized up and down to Regan and came clean on what I was feeling and why I tried to get her to go with the DC Ghosts Ghostwalk. I told her how scared I was about Rise and how I wanted her and I to be on the same page and at our best. She told me that stupid events like a ghost walk weren't going to do it. That, if bonding was what I wanted, it needed to be real - just us - that sort of thing. So...that was when I asked her to come to Germany with me for a week."
The slightly irritated look in David's eyes came back, but it wasn't something he acted on. He was with someone he trusted, who he knew had his wife's and his best interests at heart. That, in the New Jersey native's mind, deserved some kind of hearing out. "And she said?"
"She was confused for a moment, but after I explained everything to her, she agreed, but only if we went to California first. Since I was showing her a side of me, she figured she'd do the same."
Helms nodded his head, the sounds of late-night traffic fleeting into their ears for a brief moment as cars passed by the parking lot from the nearby street. "So what? Did you call me to get my blessing or something?" There was a bit of confusion in his voice. "I mean, I'm flattered but, Selena, I trust Regan and I trust you to look out for each other. You're both adults and can do whatever-"
"No, it's not that." Selena held her hand up. "We both knew you'd say yes, even if it bothered you. Regan said you're 'too damn good for your own good.'" David's laugh at that spurred her on. "In fact, she said the only person more of a 'goody-goody' than you-"
"Was you?" David interjected, earning a playful shrug from Selena.
"Believe it?"
"Ha ha." He laughed dryly. "So what's the issue. I'm not exactly thrilled of being without Regan for a week but you probably knew that... Given your circumstances." He tried to carefully say. "What did you want to tell me?"
"It's what's been on my mind." Selena explained. "What I told Regan after Breakdown. And I think I won't get a chance at it once we return and we're busy with the Rise to Greatness events... I know you and Regan will need time together."
"Out with it." the older wrestler half-laughed and half-ordered.
"Are you sure you're doing the right thing about all this, David?"
The bluntness and massive confusion Selena's voice caught Helms off-guard, causing his eyes to widen and his jaw to drop a little, not to the floor, but certainly enough to make it clear that he had not expected this from the usually patient and calm one of his wife's tag-team.
"I'm sorry." Selena sighed, reaching up with her free had to pinch the spot between her eyebrows. "But I know Regan and I are going to get into some pretty serious talking this week and I've done nothing but dwell on all this and what's ahead for weeks. Because, I have to admit, David, that stuff you said two weeks ago? About how we should 'do nothing' and let Tommy and Bree and Kandis just show how spotlight-crazed they are?"
"That wasn't what I said." David stated, trying to explain. "I didn't say we should 'do nothing'. I said that I wasn't going to stoop to Bree's level."
The Snow Queen remained silent, the night's events of Breakdown playing through her head. She's be lying to herself if she said that seeing Kandis 'pretending' to be wearing her title didn't bother her. She'd be lying if she said Tommy and Kandis' assault on her, busting her head and giving her a concussion weeks prior didn't bother her. But all of that and what Bree and Tommy had done to David?
Selena nodded. "I know you did. But it's just... It feels like we're doing nothing. It feels like we're letting them get away with this week after week. And I hate it so damn much!"
"Why?" David replied, somewhat confused.
"Because is that who we are, David? Is that who you or Regan or even I am!" Selena asked in frustration but sighed at the end. "We don't just 'let' people who do wrong get away with it! Did I just 'let' Xander get away with hurting innocent people in the SCW audience? Did Regan just 'let' Datura get away with all the haunting and crap she pulled on her? Did you just 'let' Beauty Factory try and steal the Royale away with their numbers?"
"Selena... You need to stop." Helms warned. "I never said you and Regan should do nothing. You're free to do what you want to Tommy and Kandis - I actually am REALLY looking forward to seeing you do that. But..." His voice trailed off. "Does your desire to do something involve cracking open Tommy's head now or next week? Or belting Bree in the face with, perhaps, your title?"
Guilt wracked through the young woman, forcing her eyes to turn away to stare at a corner in the bus, her arms defensively wrapping around her in a meek attempt of self-protection. Her answer was barely a whisper. "Yes..."
"That's what I was talking about." David sighed, moving over to sit down on the couch Selena had occupied earlier. "You can't." He patiently explained. "That's Bree-stuff. That's Tommy-and-Kandis-stuff. That's their level and that is not who you are."
"But..." Selena interjected. "After everything- and-!" Her words were a jumble for a moment as she tried to explain, her guest quietly waiting and giving her the time she needed. "They've taken so much from Regan... From you..."
There was a moment of silence as Selena straightened her back, moving across the bus to stare out the large window towards the hotel tower David had come from. "There's only one person I love and respect in this business, as an active wrestler right now, more than you." She slowly explained. "And that's Regan." She felt her eyes begin to sting with unshed tears. "Do you have any idea how much I idolized you coming up through the years? How much of an effect you've had on my career? On my life?"
David remained silent, guessing correctly that Selena wasn't looking for an answer.
"Remember when SCW was fighting New Eden in that Tactical Warfare? When Silas refused to let you fight? And at the last minute, Mr. D. picked me to go in and fight for SCW? Who was it that handed me that chair - knowing he could very well be putting his own career on the line if I was pinned - and told me 'Don't 'eff' up! Here's your chance.'?"
David's eyes widened at the memory, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I think I actually swore... But I'm surprised you remember that-"
"And who was it that, when I did the impossible and won the Best of the Best Tournament, who was the first person to congratulate me, hand me that trophy, and actually wish me well? Who saw something in me that even I couldn't see?"
Again, Helms remained silent.
"Ever since I realized I could do some good in this business, all I ever wanted to be was like you." Selena admitted. "The Last Shadow of Hope, right?" She shook her head, placing her glass on the counter by the jug of water. "And then to become best friends with your wife, to become her sister, where she is the most important person to me in this messed up world you and I work in? I just..."
The young woman stopped, looking down at the floor to take a slow breath. "You know how much I owe to Regan. How much I love her and would do anything for her. But it extends to you, too, David. And when I see Tommy mocking you and declaring himself 'the rightful number one contender' for a title shot YOU earned."
"Called that, by the way." David chimed in with amusement, which did nothing for Selena's nerves.
"And then what happened tonight?" Selena dared, her eyes still moist with unshed tears as she narrowed them, moving to step right up to him. Despite being taller than her, she had the height advantage with him sitting on the couch. She refused to back down. "You going to tell me I DIDN'T see her holding that title and standing over you? You going to tell me that I didn't see that?!
David inhaled sharply but said nothing.
"I'm sorry." Selena quickly spoke, holding her hands up. "I know that still stings. I'm just... I don't know..."
"You're worried." David stated simply.
"About so much." Selena pressed the fingers of one of her hands to both of her temples.
Again, the Hall of Famer said nothing, choosing to inhale and exhale loudly and slowly before finally speaking. "What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know. Just...something. Please. Tell me this is all part of your plan." Selena asked. "That everything will work out." She raised her arms and dropped them. "That things will be different than they have been the last few weeks for you - for all of us."
He was about to speak, but seemed to want more time to choose his words carefully. It was clear that Selena wasn't hating or angry at the man. She was confused, scared and lost. Was it that final image on Breakdown with Bree standing over David that was driving this or something that happened in her tag-match with Regan, or a combination of things both inside and outside of SCW - David honestly couldn't be sure with the woman.
"Has it ever occurred to you what happens after Rise, David?" Her words interjected his train of thought.
"What?" David asked.
"After Rise." Selena explained. "Because several times I've had to wrestle Regan back from the brink of retirement. I've had to comfort her and console her when you weren't there or when you were running around in that luchador mask or whatever. All she thinks about is the future. All she thinks about is her legacy and being the best she can possibly be. But...fuck..." David almost choked at Selena whisper-cursing, but the Snow Queen continued. "The thing she thinks about most in her future is you. The same way I think about Deanna." She choked a little at the mention of the redhead. "Did she tell her what she wanted more than anything? More than this? More than SCW?"
"In what way?" David asked.
"With you." Selena explained. "She told me more than anything, she wants to have a baby. Your baby."
"She...she told you that?" David asked.
"Of course she did." Selena turned to Helms, tilting her head. "I've seen her light up at the mere idea... And then she tells me, 'hey! You'll be her aunt! Aunt Selena!" Selena laughs. "Just like how you're 'Uncle David' and 'Auntie Regan' to my kids..."
Part in self-anger and part in sadness, Selena reached up to aggressively swipe at the tears finally escaping her eyes. "And what about my kids, David? Do you know what's gone through my mind more often than I can say from the moment I've held each and every one of my children?"
The tired man could only shake his head.
"What if they want to be like me?" Selena answered. "What if they want to be wrestlers? The thought is so scary for me, that they would have to endure what I have - what you, Regan, me, Kelcey, Kennedy, and all the people that matter to us have endured over the years. But... The idea was also wonderful to me..." Without missing a step, Selena turned gracefully to sit on the couch, keeping her eyes on her guest. "Because I thought - we could bring them to the AnteUp Academy. They could have me and their aunt and uncle/godparents train them. They could learn from the best people and best wrestlers I know..."
Her voice trembled more than ever, as did her jaw and it was not hard for David to understand why.
"But that dream is gone." Selena growled. "That bastard took it away."
"Whoa, wait a minute-" David tried, pushing himself to his feet as Selena swept her gaze back out the window - clearly not hearing him.
"That's all those people want to do to us, David. Take. Take everything, not for the sport or for SCW, but to punish us! And you both have waited for all of this for so long. Regan to be a tag-team champion and supreme champion and you? To headline Rise to Greatness... And all I want to do is just smash their heads in like Regan wants to! I know she does - gods I know she does. But I can't... And lately, I don't know why I can't or why I haven't..."
The platinum-blonde paused in her spiel to turn and regard David, watching his expressions and gaze morph and alter with each statement she made and idea that came to his mind. "How many more dreams are we going to allow them to take, David? How many more moments are we going to let them taint and change with their crap before we shut them up for good?" She gave him a moment to answer, which he didn't. "I'm selfish." The young woman laughed. "I want to be there at the end, like you were for me when I won that Best of the Best Tournament. I want to be there with your wife as the new tag-team champions, the United States Champion, as she, the new Supreme Champion, embraces you, the new World Champion. I want to stand in the ring with you and her as we celebrate - as we end the crap that Tommy, Kandis and Bree and the Beauty Factory have done to this company!"
"And why can't we?" David finally spoke, his eyes boring into Selena's sapphire ones. "You think I can't beat Bree? I can't win?"
"I...I don't know." Selena answered truthfully. "I've just kept thinking about how they're going to try and screw us. How they're going to try and cheat their way to beating us and you. And we're...we're not going to stoop to their level, so we're just going to walk right into whatever ambush or plan they have..."
"They haven't taken our dreams, Selena." Helms suddenly stated, interrupting the young woman. "Not one."
It was Selena's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked. "Tommy. He-"
A soft smile came to David's face as he shook his head. "Your kids can still be trained by me and you and Regan if they want to someday. Because I've begun looking into building my own training academy."
Selena's eyes widened and her mouth hung open. "B-build your own...? Wha...when...?"
"I started thinking about it a long time ago. I realized that I didn't want to be associated with how Tommy was acting - and teaching other people."
"But...Regan didn't tell me..." Selena whispered.
"We're still looking for property spaces." David laughed. "It's going to take time to do it, but I imagine that when your kids are old enough, it'll be ready."
Silence hung between the two, Selena trying to process the information. The way David had said it, explained it, like it was the simplest change to keep his hard-work and dreams alive. Was it just that simple? Was it as simple as just finding a new dream or rebuilding the one you had when something knocked it down for a bit? "But what about-"
"I didn't want you or Regan to stoop to their level, Selena... Because I've been there. And so has Regan." He sighed with a hint of guilt in his voice. "I was part of a faction with Syren and Ravyn and Tommy called Pinnacle... I've been the person you're contemplating being - and it's not worth it. Wasn't back then and it isn't now."
"But-"
"No, Selena." David held up a hand to calmly silence here. "I need you to understand. You've never been that way here. Never gone down that path, so you don't know the fight it takes to get out of it. I do, and more importantly, Regan does."
Sapphire eyes widened at that statement. The Hellcat, her sister, had worked for so long to turn her career around. She had hated what she had become in her darker days and never wanted to return... But the tendencies to lash out were always there and while Selena, in her frustration and confusion, was starting to consider joining her in such a rampage, David, ever the good man, was seeing the bigger picture that she just couldn't.
"Funny..." She sighed. "After all these years, you're still teaching me stuff." She shook her head, her platinum-blonde braid swishing a little from the movement.
"Yeah, I come in handy every now and then." He teased.
Selena nodded. "I had to go to Nome both times I fought for the United States title to clear my head - to figure out what was important to me and where I needed to be to do what I knew was right - for me, those I love and for SCW..."
"That why you want to take Regan away from all this for a bit?"
Again, Selena nodded her head. "If anything, you've just made me realize how necessary it is. Because Regan and I, we're still acting like we're the victims. We're still putting the blame on each other alone - her on her shoulders and me on mine..." Swiftly, she shook her head before continuing. "You made me realize that we've let them - I've let them - make us into something we're not. Made us only try and react to whatever they do. But SCW doesn't need that. They don't need those people. They need the Hellcat." She pointed towards the large hotel tower in the distance. "And they need the Snow Queen." She brought a hand to herself. "Just like, most of all, they need you, The Last Shadow of Hope. Because... For the World title..." She laugh-cried as she shrugged. "You fucking are."
It took a moment for the man to speak, choosing to sniffle a little and wipe his eyes at the raw emotion of Selena's words. "Sounds like a damn good plan, kid." He offered her a kind smile. "You two do what you have to. I'll hold the fort down and all that till I see you next."
Selena half-laughed, half-cried at that. "Sure." She sighed. "I'm sorry to throw all this at you so late."
David nodded. "It's alright. This was important. I get the feeling you and Regan are going to have some harsh heart-to-hearts of your own in the coming days... I do not envy not being there for that." He teased.
"I'm partially worried she might throw me off one of the rock-climbing cliffs." Selena joked to which David shook his head in amusement, as he slowly made his way towards the exit of the bus.
"Just remember, Selena." David stopped, placing a hand on her shawl-covered shoulder. "They want us to lash out at them...because what we want to do? What you are 'so selfish' about wanting?" He grinned mischievously. "I'll wager they are terrified of it." He winked knowingly before continuing to make his way through the bus. Watching him go, Selena wiped the remaining tears from her eyes and face, her other hand clutching the shawl pieced together in front of her. She let out a soft sniffle as she saw Helms stop at the door after opening it with the lever. Slowly, the RTG-main-event-challenger turned around to gaze at the Snow Queen..
"One last thing..." He paused before his eyes met hers, a smirk crossing his features. "Don't fuck it up. Here's your chance..." His voice whispered, just enough for Selena to hear. With a surprised snort of a laugh, Selena nodded her head.
"Back at ya, old man." She replied, earning a quiet chuckle from said 'old man' before he was gone, making his way back to the hotel and the wife that was waiting for him. Selena watched him go through the windows of the bus until he was out of sight before she turned off the extra lights again, put the water and glass back in their respectful places and returned to sitting on the couch. With silence and the shadows, once more, her only company, she simply held the shawl around her a bit tighter as she slowly lay across the couch, hopeful that maybe, just maybe, that sleep would actually come to her tonight...
****************************************************
The Royal Letter
As the video fades in, the young woman front and center of the shot just finishes sitting back in a dark-green 'throne chair'. Behind her is a dark-red wall, which contrasts with her gentle light-blue, long-sleeve, bare-back halter top, platinum-blonde hair, pale skin and sapphire eyes.
Hey guys. Selena smiles as she waves at the camera, a for more comfortable and casual tone her voice. First and foremost, Regan and I are sorry that we couldn't be there for our fans and audience in Virgina for the house shows last week. There is clearly a note of guilt and sadness in the Snow Queen's voice. I know I speak for Regan when I say that we don't like missing any show for the SCW Universe.
But, to be honest with all of you- Selena takes a deep breath before she continues. Regan and I realized something as we fought Valeria and Maria a few nights ago in Washington DC. First, it was that the Las Bandidas are an incredibly tough tag-team and if they become the number one contenders for the tag-team titles at Rise to Greatness, then Regan and I would love another match with them with the titles on the line...
Which brings me to the second thing Regan and I realized as we tag-teamed together the other night... Again, Selena pauses for a moment, looking down to focus on her hands. I don't think I'll get too much hate if I said that Rise to Greatness is the most important night for all of SCW - for fan and superstar alike. As wrestlers, it's the biggest show with the biggest opportunities and crowd. For you, the fans and True Believers, it's the biggest night! It's the Super Bowl mixed with the Oscars and Tonys with some Stanley Cup thrown in for brawling. If you saw SCW's "Rise to Greatness by the numbers", then all of you can guess how much this event means to all of us and how much we know it means to all of you.
And if that wasn't enough - recently, the stakes for Regan and my match were raised even higher. What started as a match for the World Tag-Team titles became a 'do or die', 'winner take all' match...
And with that in mind, Regan and I realized that we were not ready for it. shaking her head, Selena lifts her head up to gaze back at the camera. I could lie to you and say otherwise, but this isn't some Breakdown match with no implications. This isn't some Pay-Per-View match with just a title or bragging rights on the line. This is, quite literally, a winners take all match. And while Tommy and Kandis can flaunt their 'predictions' as 'spoilers' on Breakdown, already seeing themselves with the United States Title as nothing has changed in terms of what they're wagering, Regan and I had to be honest with ourselves and ask ourselves - with these raised stakes - if we were 100% ready to risk it all and survive. More than that: if we were ready to risk it all and win!
And we weren't. As singles competitors, absolutely. But this isn't a singles match. This is a tag-team match. And as a tag-team, we were not ready.
So, Regan and I are here, in Germany. We're committing every moment of every day we are away from SCW and all of you to being ready. Being ready for, easily, one of the most important matches in both of our careers. To giving all of you the show-stealer match of the Rise to Greatness night. To giving you all a match that all of you, all of SCW, can be proud of. Because we all know Tommy and Kandis will not care about giving that to you.
Her expression growing more serious, Selena rolls her shoulders a little and adjusts her iconic braid, flicking over her shoulder to rest against her chest.
Kandis... her voice lowers to more of a growl. Tommy.
It would be so easy to talk about this and how personal it's gotten. To yell and scream and curse you both for all you've done. Selena exhales slowly. But if I did that right away - if I started with that rather than end with it... then I'd miss so much, wouldn't I?
See, you two think you've got us all figured out. That you've played us this entire time like a couple of violins. That you've got Regan and I right where you want us. "Oh, we got Selena to put her U.S title on the line! We got Frozen Hell to make this their 'last chance' match!". a coy smile crosses the Snow Queen's pale face. But you fail to see that it's the other way around, guys.
Because it's us that have got you all figured out.
The platinum-blonde sits back in her seat, her eyes still on the camera and her audience.
It's funny when I think about it. When you two defeated us at Retribution, I thought it was some sick joke. The universe's way of just pushing another failure on my shoulders. Another way that I let my sister down. But life is kind of... she looks away, her tongue clicking inside her mouth before shrugging her bare shoulders and smiling again. Kind of amazing in its own way. And I think it had to happen this way, everything had to happen this way. I mean, where are we going? Rise to Greatness! The biggest pay-per-view of the year. The night where it all comes together. Where moments are etched into history and our journeys are reflected upon, right?
And what a journey it has been... The Snow Queen rubs her hands together. In fact, let me tell you about it, Tommy and Kandis.
It began on an episode of Breakdown in late December of last year. Two women stood in the ring and declared that they were going to work their way to become SCW World Tag-Team Champions. They knew it wouldn't be easy. It would take time and effort to prove themselves as true contenders. To earn a shot at the prestigious titles. One had already been a tag-team champion, so you might say that she had an inkling of an idea of what was necessary and the other? Well, she'd been in more tag-team matches than you think. So they had an idea of what we were doing.
But here's what it gets interesting. You two didn't take kindly to us coming into "your" division, did you? Do you remember that, Tommy? Kandis? You said that we didn't deserve a chance at the tag-team titles. You said that you two were the "the guardians" of the division. That Regan didn't give a damn about the tag-team titles, only seeking status as "Supreme Champion", and that I was simply a 'gold-whore' that wanted any title and wanted it at no cost. That the tag-team titles didn't truly matter to us like they did to you. There is a smile tugging at Selena's lips as she speaks.
And at the time, guys, part of me could understand where you were coming from. I mean, Regan and I had only been a tag-team for a few months and, while we both had a hell of a resume as singles competitors, we hadn't really broken into the tag-team scene together guns blazing. Compared to you two, already an established tag-team and former tag-team champions. So, I could see your frustrations at a newly formed team pushing through the ranks and I could, partially, understand why you would believe the things you wanted to believe about Regan and I.
But that was then. This is now. And now, here we are, Ass Connection. It's been seven long months since that annoucement from Regan and myself. And I have to wonder - can you two say the same insults you said months ago? Because I also have to wonder:
Who are the ones that don't deserve those tag-titles now?
Who are the ones that don't care about those titles now?
Who are the ones that are, quote, 'gold-whores' now?
The Snow Queen tilts her head. Because, despite losing at Retribution, Regan and I are still here. Still wanting to become tag-team champions together. We've gone through hell and accomplished so much - the Television and United States Title being key examples there.
But who was it that first leapt at the chance at having another title to add to his collection, Tommy? Who was it that couldn't wait to challenge for the Television title? Was it you, Tommy? Or was it Kandis, who demanded a shot at Regan for the same title, while you both were tag-team champions? Or should I go back to you, Tommy, who promised the world that he was going to become Adrenaline champion AND Supreme champion when he faced Peyton Rice for the title at a recent episode of Breakdown - and again, this was while you were still tag-team champion?
Funny. You call me a 'gold-whore' and Regan only caring about "Surpreme Champion status", and yet, when the same kind of opportunities came your way over and over again, each and every time you both did all you could to get those titles and that status. Hell, you were flaunting the two titles you held for a short while, weren't you, Tommy? One on each shoulder? I mean, not too long ago, say last Breakdown, you were flaunting how my United States Championship would look on Kandis, right? Matching the tag-team title?
Selena looks away, as if in thought. In fact, let's look at that shall we. If you two were such 'devoted' people to the tag-team titles, and not 'gold-hoarders like wretched Selena' as you have claimed, why even demand I put the title on the line in the first place? Why demand a title shot to a belt that you two had shown zero interest in until I won it? After all, you two are the 'pinnacles of the tag-team division'! You don't care about 'other titles', right? That's what you told Regan and I. That's what you called us out on months ago, right? That's what you declared made you a better tag-team than us, right?!
So why go for the Television title? Why go for the Adrenaline title? Why demand I put the United States title on the line if that were so? She pauses for a moment, as if waiting for an answer. Kandis? Tommy?
After another moment, Selena shakes her head. You want to know how things are different than they were last time we fought, guys? It's that last time we fought? Neither Regan or I had the evidence to prove you wrong. To expose you as the liars and hypocrites you truly are. We were inexperienced as a team and Regan still saw you as an old friend, Tommy. For our part, all we could do was go to the ring and do our best. Show that we cared about this division. Showed that we belong in the tag-team division!
But now? My how the tables have turned.
Because it's you two - Kandis and Tommy - that want all the titles. It is you two that are using the tag-team division for your own ends. It is you two that don't give a damn about the division - only the power that comes with it! And you crave more of it.
Selena leans forward, resting her arms on her legs as she does. You want to know what the United States Title means to me? Enough that you won't see me whine and cry and stand in the ring night after night and demand a shot like you two did. Enough that, when I got my opportunity, I didn't drop the ball like you both did with the Television title, the Adrenaline title, and your first attempt at regaining the tag-team titles after Fatal Fortunes. No, I took my one opportunity and I fought through a damn tournament and a two-on-one assault in the finals to win it! The United States Title means that much to me. Enough that I was willing to consider pulling double-duty at Rise to Greatness to defend it as it deserved to be.
Now - you want to know what the Tag-team titles mean to me in comparison? What Regan and her dream mean to me? Selena's eyes narrow.Enough that I would put that United States title - and everything I just said that comes with it - on the line without a second thought. Put it on the line in a match where I don't have to be pinned or forced to submit to lose. Enough that I would endure months of uncertainty in being Regan's partner as replacements threw themselves at her feet. Enough where I would risk all I have - risk Frozen Hell's future as a tag-team - to make her dream a reality. To become World Tag-Team Champions with her.
And Regan? Well, you tell me, Tommy. Because we didn't have to give in to your demands. The match was already set. We had our shot. We didn't have to give you two anything. Would you have if the roles were reversed? Tommy? Kandis? I doubt it. You've spent this whole time trying to get more and risk nothing for it. You would have laughed in our faces if we had done what you did and just keep the match as it was.
But that's where Regan and I are different. Because we didn't want you two to bail on the match. We didn't want you to have any excuses. We didn't want those belts handed to us because you two were spoiled, little cowards who bailed because they didn't get what they wanted. We wanted to earn those belts by being better than the 'champs', just like we wanted to back in December.
That's where we have always been different, and it's taken us all this time to see it - to have the evidence to prove it. Because to have that match? To guarantee you two show up in the ring? We agreed to your terms. We agreed to risk it all for those tag-team belts. We agreed to put all we have on the line for this chance to have this match and to give it - give this division - the attention, the prestige, and the respect it deserves!
But you two? You just want to have another title. You just want to take something else from Regan and I again. Because if you cared about those titles, than that would be what all this would be about for you. Selena's smile spreads across her face, as if she can see right through her future opponents. You are the ones that are using this division. You are the ones with greed in your eyes. You are the ones that see this division as a means to an end for you both.
And it's that greed that gives Regan and I the thing you had at Retribution: the edge.
Because now, Tommy, Kandis. Frozen Hell are ones with our backs against the wall. We are the ones risking it all. We are the ones that are going to have to dig deep inside ourselves and find the people that have defied every set of odds, every obstacle we faced in the past. Taking a breath, Selena looks down for a moment before lifting her head again.
You're forcing us to find the Hellcat and the Snow Queen, guys. The woman that knocked Xander out in record time and then knocked him down until he couldn't stand anymore. You're forcing us to find the woman that silenced Datura, silenced YOU, Tommy, and took the Television title from you without so much as a second-thought. The woman that beat you, Kandis, and retained that same title.
The women that aren't afraid to risk it all. Who aren't afraid to risk everything for the tag-team division. For SCW!
That's what drives us, guys. Not fear, but a passion and love for this business and for this tag-team division that we would do anything for. But you? The fear is written all over your faces. In your eyes. In every word you say, in every sneak attack you throw at us, in every greedy and cowardly act. It's fear. Deep...deep down, you two have been afraid of us since the beginning. Afraid of us realizing the difference we have realized between us and you. Afraid of us seeing you for the low-lifes and con-artists you are. For the liars and cheats you are. Because you both know what Regan and I can do to such people. Ask Xander. Ask Vixen Cain. Ask Datura. Ask Bree Lancaster.
Or wait till Rise to Greatness, where you will join that list. Because soon... Very soon, Kandis... Very soon, Tommy... There won't be anywhere for you two to hide. There won't be anywhere for you two to scheme and lie and cheat and con... And fool yourselves with your pretending. You will be in the ring with two of the most dominant people in SCW today. The two women that will risk it all to win this match.
Because THAT, Connection, is what this division truly deserves. Not your BS of 'worthiness'. Not your crap about 'more titles on the line' but champions that will take whatever risks they have to do right by it.
Selena takes a slow breath, returning her gaze back to the camera. You may have made us risk it all, guys. But soon, when it's all said and done... Regan and I will take it all! And leave you with absolutely nothing!
And both of you... Can believe it!
Selena sits back in her seat as the video slowly fades to black.
![[Image: hffOaUZ.png]](https://i.imgur.com/hffOaUZ.png)
SCW Supreme Champion
6x SCW World Champion
4x SCW World Tag-Team Champion
2x SCW United States Champion
3x SCW Adrenaline Champion
SCW Television Champion
Longest Reigning SCW World Champion (234 days)
Winner of Shot of Adrenaline Tournament (2016)
Winner of Best of the Best Tournament (2016)
Winner of Trios Tournament (2018)
Winner of U.S. Championship Tournament (2020)
Winner of World Championship Tournament (2023)
Winner of Tactical Warfare (2014, 2019)
Winner of Elimination Chamber (2015)
Winner of Roofed Cage Match (2019)
Winner of Last Person Standing Match (2019)
The Unbelievable Main Event (2021-2023)
Winner of Double Jeopardy Match (2022)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Winner of EOTY Invitational (2023)
Female Wrestler of the Year (2016, 2021, 2022)
Tag-Team of the Year (2020 - w/ Regan Street)
Match of the Year (2018, 2019, 2021, 2023)
Feud of the Year (2014, 2019)
![[Image: 34zetxl.png]](https://i.ibb.co/SnpvD5T/34zetxl.png)