Taking Hold of the Flame Battle Royal

[TheOne]

OOC Note: This RP is being written in a new style I am giving a try. It is two differing story arcs, that the goal is, to eventually have intersect into one. GENESIS is considered way in the past, where EXODUS is more recent times, but not quite present day. The ultimate goal is to have GENESIS end at the beginning of EXODUS, and EXODUS end in present day, but both coincide with one another to tell the character's backstory and current iteration in a simultaneous basis. Basically it's the "young girl" and the "older girl." I think it should be easy to follow, but I could be wrong. It has been in my head since I retired Jake Starr, and I've had fun working on the videos to hype her coming. So I hope everyone enjoys this first RP that I've done in probably 20 years as someone other than Jake Starr!



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GENESIS: Chapter One

In the beginning, life was, for all intents and purposes, normal. Or at least, that's what I saw. I was a Midwestern kid, in the middle of a small Midwestern town, living with successful Midwestern parents. To the naked eye, we were an average family doing normal things. To my young eyes, I saw the same things. Growing up, I never knew what was right or wrong, good or bad, or what would be considered out of the ordinary.

You see, growing up in this town, most people knew most people in each class of society. If you were well off, you knew the others who fell into that economic specturm. We were well off for the standard of living, so it wasn't unfamiliar territory for my parents to be invited to dressy events, or even host them at our house. It also wasn't out of the ordinary for there to be a "designated area" for all of the children who got brought to these events. Me being naive and younger, I just went with the flow. It was what it was. But slowly over time, the galas and events became more and more hosted at my own house, and involving less and less kids. It began to be less and less people at the house. Again, I thought nothing of it. It was what it was. People would come over, and occasionally I'd join them for dinner before being sent to my room and doing what most kids my age did at the time, got online. I'd put myself to bed, wake up the next morning, the event would be over and everything would be back to as it normally was in the house.

It was life as normal.

Years went by with this kind of gradual diminishing routine of external events and more home-based ones, and I began to grow older as well. My curiosity began to pique as I aged because I wanted to know what the adults were doing. i wanted to be involved. Sometimes my parents would throw me a bone and let me stay up a little later, and I would entertain everyone who showed up with my randomness, breaking into song and dance on a whim, and just trying to be the center of attention. Something about preteen in the mid-2000s, breaking into a rendition of "Hello Dolly," made adults chuckle because it was so out of the ordinary. Truthfully, for me, I was just maturing at a rate faster than those around me because I was in this constant company of adults and people outside of my age. I started to not understand what it was like to be a kid in society, and I thought everyone was like me. I didn't know about sleepovers, hanging out outside, playing video games together, all I knew was the internet and these random adults who would come by, occasionally being ones I recognized. But for what it's worth, it was strangers, what seemed like, every other week in my house, and my parents acting like they had known them forever.

It wasn't until I got to middle school that things begin to take shape for me, and really change my perspective on life. I had grown up in this small town, and I knew kids from every elementary school around town. While I wasn't as avidly involved in extracurricular activities, thanks to the internet, and silly games online, I met a lot of people my few friends knew, and it would branch out from there. My social circle was a bunch of avatars, but ones I knew the actual voices of. In middle school, voices began to grow faces. I began to see the people I talked to online. The problem was I didn't look like them. I didn't act like them. Besides gaming with them, I would exercise and I was looked at as one of the more "boyish" girls in the school. In this day and age, I knew bullies, and I knew that the slurs would come my way. With the advent of YouTube, and my ability to learn to hurl insults back, people quickly realized that trying to insult my looks was a waste of time and effort. I usually could best them using self-deprecation, threatening to kick their asses in front of the cheerleaders they were trying to hook up with, or threatening them with the middle school whammy of a kiss from the "manly girl." Needless to say, I could handle my own.

But it was during middle school that I did start to notice a shift in the attitudes of those I thought I could consider "friends." I began to talk less and less with them, both at school, and online. I started to notice that the adults would even look at me as if I was standing out among the hundreds of students in the building, just like nobody else was there. I would swear I could see them whispering about me, pointing at me, and then gossiping about whatever the topic was. And for once, the uncomfortable nature of the situation was sitting in. This wasn't bullying, like I had seen it. This was grown adults. This was friends disappearing. This was as if I was slowly put on a raft, and pushed out to drift away alone, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Middle school was becoming hell on Earth, and I had no say in it, or understanding of what was going on. And that's when it really took a turn for me because there was a day everything seemed especially bad. I felt more isolated than I had ever felt before. I felt like nobody was talking TO me, but everyone was talking ABOUT me. I needed someone who I felt I could trust, and I went to one of those few friends who I had been friends with for years, and just vented my frustrations.

Me: Ugh...

My friend seemed to be acting different herself. She seemed surprised to see me, as I leaned on the locker beside her, and groaned. I remember her looking up at me as I shook my head in disgust and frustration. Her eyes were different. Her look at me was different. But this was my friend, and I needed her more than ever.

Me: Do you know how ANNOYING it is to know everyone is talking about you, or looking at you funny, and you don't even know why? Like, seriously, what have I done to anyone? And then teachers are pointing and whispering like they're our age... UGH!

I remember shaking my head again and looking at my friend. She had been talking to another classmate of ours, who looked at me, then back at my friend, and back and forth again. I knew she was adding to my angst, but I figured she just wondered why I was all of a sudden there and complaining. My friend, after showing how uncomfortable she was, finally turned back toward me completely to talk.

Friend: Well you know why they're all talking about you, right?

This wasn't the response I was expecting. I was expecting compassion from someone who had always been a good and reliable friend. This was more confrontation, like I had done something wrong and I should know about it.

Me: No... Why should I? I haven't done anything to anyone...

Friend: No YOU haven't... But... You know, it's not my place... Nevermind...

Being brushed off by a friend wasn't something I was going to tolerate. I don't know what came over me, but a sense of anger and frustration took over. I wanted answers, and I knew she was withholding them from me. I remember watching her try to walk away, and I see my hand almost get a mind of its own and grab her backpack and yank her back my way. I remember injecting myself into her way out of the situation and staring her down with a look that, I at least felt, could kill.

Me: No... It's definitely your place now. You're my "friend," remember?

Friend: HEY... Don't say that too loud?

Now my confusion was even greater. What was wrong with being my friend? What about being my friend suddenly became such a crime?

Me: What? That you're my friend?

Friend: Yeah... Most of us have been told that's not OK anymore...

Me: Why? What have I done to you? You! What have I done to you? I haven't done anything! We've known each other for almost 7 years!

Friend: It's... It's not you...

Me: Then why can't you be MY friend?

I could see her look of resignation that she was going to have to tell me something I didn't want to hear. But I was relentless, and she could tell she was going to have to tell me, or stand there with an angry, hormonal, girl, staring daggers through her.

Friend: It's your parents...

If I wasn't confused before, I was now. My parents were brought into something I thought was my fault for losing friends. I looked around, and I saw people watching me, seeing what I was going to do next, and all I could do was glare their way, and make them turn around in fear.

Me: What do my parents have to do with it?

Friend: They're... You know...

She made this motion with her body that I couldn't describe in words. Her vague nature was making my blood boil more and more.

Me: Know what? They're my parents. You've met them. Others here have met them...

Friend: But our parents have told us they are different, and believe some things our parents don't agree with. So they've told us to not hang with you or talk to you.

Now I was even more confused, and before I could get answers, a teacher who had seen and heard everything interjected and my friend was able to run off before I could get more answers. This disturbed me. My parents were the reason I was losing friends? Why? What were they doing to my friends or their family? More importantly, why was everyone convinced I knew and was going to somehow cause problems because of it?

That night, it weighed on me heavily. I didn't know what to do, what to think, or what to even say. I felt more isolated than I had ever felt, and I knew I was a loner to begin with... But I always had my "friends," who had all scattered like cockroaches all of a sudden. My parents did, as they normally did, and made dinner for me and them, and we all sat and ate. I sat and kind of fiddled with my food while I ate, and I admit, it was almost like in a silly TV show, the way I moved food around trying to catch the attention of my parents. I wasn't making it overly dramatic, but after a period of time they could tell I wasn't eating as much, and had to inquire.

Dad: What's up kid?

I didn't bite my tongue. I wanted answers, and I wanted to know what was going on.

Me: Dad, are you and mom "different?"

Mom: What do you mean?

Me: I was told today I couldn't have friends because you two have beliefs others don't agree with...

I remember this moment as if it were still happening. Mom looked up at my father and I could tell they knew what was going on. I knew they knew what everyone else, but me knew. But because they were my parents, I also knew they wouldn't give me the straight truth.

Mom: Well sometimes, some families have different beliefs than others. We have our beliefs, and if anyone may think those aren't common or the same as theirs, they may try and make it out to be bad or evil. But I will say this, your father and I are neither bad nor evil. We are simply your mom and dad, and we we live our lives by our rules. We don't live it by how we are told to by others, you know?

Dad: Your mom is right, kid... We may not be a conventional family, but we are a family nevertheless. This is the age where things are just going to seem like they change, and it's not your fault, and in the end will be OK...

Mom: Exactly...

While this explanation didn't answer anything, I decided I would start to do my own reconnaissance, and hopefully get my own answers. Several days later, we had the same dance. We had new guests over, and after dinner and a few rounds of me showing off, I was told to retreat to my room. I wanted answers, and I wanted to know what happened after I went to bed. This night was a bit different and one I will never forget. After a couple of hours in my room, playing a game online, I decided it was time to try and see if I could get an idea as to what was going on. I cracked my door, and I immediately could hear the voices and laughing between the group. It sounded about as boring and mundane as I expected, but I was not deterred because at the worst, I could blame it on not being able to sleep, or hearing something outside. I begin to creep toward the area where the group was, and what I saw when I peeked around the corner was something that told me everything. As I got to the precipice, I looked around the corner of the room and saw what I never expected. My mom, kissing another man, and my dad kissing another woman. The two of them in the middle of this other couple, and two other pairs swapping partners beside them.

My eyes went agape.

What was I seeing?

I thought my mom and dad were to only kiss one another, and here they were kissing people I had never seen before. I couldn't wrap my head around what I was seeing, and instead of continuing to watch, or being caught for that matter I turned and ran back to my room and quietly closed the door. I jumped into my bed, and threw the covers over my head. The whole night, what I saw replayed, and I knew there would eventually be some kind of confrontation as to the truth. I knew tonight wasn't that night, even with the sounds and noises I heard coming from adjacent and close-by rooms. I realized these were the norms I had gotten used to, and now officially seen with my own eyes, and I knew at some point I'd have to understand what is going on, and why it is impacting me as much as it is



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A woman walks in the dead of night, down streets dimly lit by the occasional street lamp. Extra light periodically illuminates her tall figure as the rare passing car drives by. She wears a dark hoodie, doing her best to blend into the night, but everyone can see her piercing blue eyes with any beam that crosses them. She walks with pace, occasionally looking over her shoulders on the off chance that she is being followed, as she knows there are many who want to find her. But whilst this concern flows through her body, she knows she's being watched by a camera, one looking to pick up her words, and find out who she is, and why she's chosen the path to "Greatness" that she has.

... In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Dominion... An idea that one has authority over another, be it something considered, by all means, "equal," or otherwise "inferior." It's an idea that has given people so much greed in this world, and some much blinding desire to believe they are better than someone or something else. Be it man over animal, race over race, or moral code over moral code. Everyone in this society has been primed to believe that they are somehow better than someone else. And why? Many look at it from the religious aspect. They cite it as the moral basis for their superiority, but yet, never stop to think about what they are actually suggesting. They're suggesting that someone, someway, there are people in this world who walk like them, talk like them, and are yet different in a way that puts them as a lesser being. This is the world in which we live. This is the world in which I have lived for the past few years. I've watched as a bunch of entitled, perverse, and rich, assholes take advantage of others all for their own personal gains. And while this may just sound like politics as usual, this isn't a political organization that I have had to run security for, no, it's a bunch of grown ass adults, who have thought their deepest, darkest, and most intimate secrets, were kept in some compound in the woods.

Their ignorance is breathtaking.

Having watched this behavior for years, I was finally given a reason to open my eyes and see what I, too, was blinded by the dominion of others. I was a pawn in a game that, in truth, I could see in front of my eyes, but didn't want to believe. But it was when I saw the treatment of the one person I took an oath to protect, that the blinders were lifted. It was the treatment of her, The Oracle, that made me realize everything I had been "protecting" and standing watch over for years, was all a sham. Everything was about power. Everything was about control. Those who were acting prophetic didn't know that it was through their abuse, and a lot of luck, that they're fortunes grew. But then they made the mistake, and I was freed. I still was cursed. I was still known by a pseudonym, and a Scarlet Letter I carry as a burden and a reminder to the fact I played a role in this. I wasn't a name, anymore... I was, and am, The One.

The One stops as she reaches a small bridge overlooking a spillway, filled with recent rains and a slight sound of a flow beneath her feet. She pauses and turns, leaning on the railing, and continuing to speak, knowing she is being heard.

Many will not comprehend why I just don't shed the moniker of The One, and go back to my original, given, name. I don't expect them to. I don't expect people to feel my pain and my burden. But I do expect to one day shed it, and feel as if I have atoned for my sins, and brought forth some sense of redemption to my story. It's what has led me down a path I've never walked. Not just a path of combat. I've walked that lonely road many times. I've suffered pain. I've inflicted pain. I've ruined the lives of many. Not necessarily by choice, but by force and expectation. I was expected to ensure nobody crossed me or those who were in charge of me. If anyone tried, I was the muscle. I was the enforcer. So confrontation doesn't scare me in the slightest. But that's not professional wrestling. Where I come from, there is no structure, only chaos. There are no rules, just outcomes. It's the world in which dominion over others proves to be the focal point over anything else, by any means necessary. It showcases evil, selfishness, and the moral lows people will sink all for the thrill of seeing someone else in pain. Professional wrestling, however, combines the physicality of combat, with the mental need to know the rights and wrongs, and most importantly, the need to adapt to a changing and differing environment. It's not always "your way or the highway," no, it's the you versus the rules and reality. You don't get to move the goalposts, but instead, have to adapt to your surroundings. It's a true test of physical and mental preparation. And it truly separates those willing to do right by others, versus those wanting to impose their will, and their dominion upon you.

That is where SCW comes into play for me. That's why I have been direct with my interjections into events. Taking Hold of the Flame is an event where it opens the floodgates to anyone and everyone who feels they want to test themselves in a form of chaotic combat, but still be forced to mind certain P's and Q's. It allows for some rules to be bent and broken, while others remain rigid. It's as if it is the perfect avenue for someone with no background, no pedigree, and no history to walk in, and make a name for themselves. It's as if, it called to me.

Now admittedly I am no fan of prophecies. While I acknowledge her as "The Oracle," it, like my pseudonym, is just that. I don't foresee a prophecy bringing The One to Taking Hold of the Flame or Supreme Championship Wrestling, but what I do see is an opportunity. I see a chance for me to do what I feel is necessary in order to begin my, pun intended, "Rise fo Greatness." I have stood on the edges of Hell and watched as those who frolic in its evil dance around those who get suckered in by the "fun" and "excitement." I protected those who leeched on the weak. And I have to do better, and better, and better with myself to ever have a hope of becoming a shell of the woman that I could be in my life because ALL I have known in adulthood is this constant barrage of violence and evil. I've never had the opportunity to do right by anyone, but her. And this is my chance to begin that process. I have a chance to walk into something I don't know. I have a chance to walk out and be someone everyone just pushes to the side and ignores, until they find out what I am about. I am about opportunity. I am about finding those who have done the SAME THING that I have watched others do, and finding their exploits. Everyone has them, including me. Nobody is perfect, and that's where I believe I carry a potential advantage because most, if not all other combatants are walking in with knowledge of pro wrestling. They "know the ropes." They have been confined into that ring and become accustomed to knowing where they are at all times, and knowing who is around them, for the most part. I have none of that. But what I have is an awareness to the fact that I'm not as prepared and have to be willing to change my perspective, change my focus, and change my game plan on a whim. This is not my type of fight where it's disorderly conduct, anything goes, chaos. No... This is organized chaos. This is something I have to be able to adjust to.

So ultimately, why? Why pro wrestling, and not something like MMA? Why not something more along the lines of the cock-fighting type of background I am accustomed to? It's because in MMA, there is always an element of luck, and always levels of respect. Things are much more stringent. Wrestling, people want to exploit the rules. They want to game the system. They want to feel they are smarter than the rest in order to say they are superior to another. They are willing to cheat, steal, scratch, and claw for what they WANT, and still not be satisfied and want more. Pro wrestling, SCW, it's all fueled by ego. It's fueled by what I have had to watch corrupt many, and if I want to earn my way back into the good graces of society and become someone who isn't known by a badge of dishonor, then it's time for The One to walk into a situation where she can begin to take out that evil, once again, from the inside, out. My plans, my goals, they're simple. It's not about wins or losses or championships. It's about rooting out the corrupt and disgusting human beings who have been showing the world that it's OK to act like them in order to get what you want, as long as you don't get caught. It's about turning their game, their plots, their strategies against them. It's showing them that there are those who can fight that same battle, but throw it right back in their face, and expose them as the true cheat.

The One turns her body and faces the camera for the first time, lowering the hoodie, and showing her full face, complete with the mark over her eye, symbolizing she is "The One," from whatever past she has.

Also, I stand here and I think that I also look at this as a different type of opportunity than everyone else. For everyone else, it's a meal ticket. It's a golden ticket. It's a free pass to the biggest event of the calendar year for SCW, and it's a chance to win a shiny gold belt. But what about after that? What about beyond Rise to Greatness? Why does everyone make this match about one night, and one night alone? Why does an event that, arguably, puts you in a much more impactful light, have to only culminate in one night in the future? That's where I see this much differently. I don't look at Taking Hold of the Flame as a one-stop shop, toward a quick freebie chance at Rise to Greatness. Why? Because in order to get there, you have to have the masses, everyone who has come out of the woodwork, and decided to try and resurrect their career, lose. You have to be the one who stands tall over thirty-some-odd others. You have to set yourself so far apart from the rest of the field that JUST looking at Rise to Greatness is being short-sighted, and fucking greedy. There's so much more to do, if you win. There's so much more promise and good that can come over you walking away from Taking Hold of the Flame having bested everyone and their dead wife. But nobody thinks about that. They are focused on the shiny object. They're focused on greed. But I don't care. It's not about the World Championship for me. It's not about finishing in the top 2, top 5, or being the first out. It's about proving that there has come a point in Supreme Championship Wrestling, and quite frankly, the World, where someone has to begin to begin an implosion of what we see today. Someone has to be the one to burn it to the ground, so SCW can begin to truly Rise to Greatness in a new era.

So why not me? Why not a nobody, a person scarred with a past that has led me to lose my own identity? Why can't it be someone who just walked in, destroyed the status quo, and began to create dissension among the ranks and cause the truth to be exposed? There's nothing saying it can't be. There's nothing saying it won't be. But win or lose SCW will be faced with a path of internal strife that it has never seen because it needs it. It needs to have someone come in, get rid of those who just want to hold others down, hold others back, and say they're the better performer than everyone else.

Greed always topples great empires. It's how the empire rebuilds after a rebellion, and how they view the martyr that struck the first match. How will SCW react to "The Flame" not just being taken, but kicked to the ground Mrs. O'Leary's cow? While I don't believe in prophecy, I'm known to hedge my bets... And I think it's safe to say, if I were to bet, when the embers finish smoldering, when the smoke clears, and when the ash settles, there will be more than two truths in this world... Death... Taxes... And The One!

The One slowly turns her back to the camera, and lifts the hood back up over her head. She again begins to walk into the night, this time alone, and not followed by anyone, disappearing into the distance.

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EXODUS: Chapter One

My main role, outside of "security," in being The One was plain and simple, protect The Oracle. Protect the most prestigious entity that lived among the masses inside the compound. It was always her visions, her premonitions, her predictions, that brought the patrons more and more of exactly what they wanted. In some cases it was visions on finance, in other cases it was advice on their ways to continue to enjoy the wild sexcapades that have benefited them in being members of this compound. I took my role seriously. She was young. She was precious. She was innocent. She somehow had a gift that provided, honestly, for so many, and I wanted to see that gift cherished properly. So guarding her, I took that role more serious than anything because she deserved it. She brought happiness, honestly, to so many people, including my parents.

I knew that there was something about how she got these visions, but for the longest time, I would simply bring her to her seance room, allow the Prophets to enter, and once they were done, they would have their newest prophecy from her, and I would be instructed to take her back to her quarters. She was also a bit of an anomaly. She was just a kid, yet she was the reason that much of the financial success for these people. I didn't know her name. I wasn't allowed to truly interact with her, outside of instructing her to when her presence was requested, and asking if she needed anything on the way back. And then, out of the blue, as came with many of the perks of being The One, I was finally permitted into the seance room for the first time ever. I remember that day. I remember seeing all of the ornate drapery, and then I saw these two hulking guards that I wasn't familiar with. I was aware they came and went from the compound, but I wasn't aware they were involved with The Oracle in any way, shape, or form. But there they were. I watched as The Oracle slowly took her spot on a carpet, surrounded by candles, and this was the moment I saw what was really going on. The Oracle took a deep breath, and she looked up at me, with fear and sadness in her eyes. The two men set a pipe with some form of hallucinogenic drug in front of her, and told her it was time. She slowly nodded, and began to take hits. After she was sufficiently high, The Prophets walked in. They patted me on my shoulder and thanked me for everything I did, and knew that I would be curious as to how this ceremony took place, and why I was bringing this girl here. They felt I deserved to know.

This was their biggest mistake.

They quickly sat in front of her, and began taking hits themselves. Being adults, whatever the drug of choice was didn't affect The Prophets in the same extreme as it did a young girl. This male and female duo got themselves to a point where they felt no pain, and finally began talking to The Oracle, as all I could do was watch.

Male Prophet: How are you feeling?

Female Prophet: Yes, how is our little girl feeling?

The Oracle: Mommy? Daddy?

Female Prophet: Yes, baby... We are here...

I was completely taken aback. Not only were these two adults drugging a child to get their "prophecies," but it was their own daughter. I was in shock. I was disgusted. I was disappointed. I began to realize that everything I was being fed, everything I was "protecting," was not just a haven for rich, sex hungry, swingers, but was all based on the fact that the two leading this farce was doing so on the premise that they were, somehow getting wisdom from a true oracle of lore. Instead, they were drugging their own child. Their own fucking child! And then the other realizations began to set in. I was responsible as well. It wasn't just these two. It wasn't just The Prophets. I was The One, I was in charge of delivering and protecting The Oracle. I was the one who was responsible for the intimidation of others and making sure they knew who was truly in charge of this place. I was as guilty as they were, if not more so, because I blindly followed them and carried out all of their dirty work around town, around the compound, and anywhere else I was needed. All for their greed and desire to hold onto power. I wasn't just a pawn in their game, I was whatever chess piece you want to call the "strongest." I was that to these two pieces of garbage. I was their muscle... Their enforcer... Everything they wanted, and I followed blindly, thinking it was all for a good reason. Now, the blinders were lifted. Now, reality was sinking in.

As I sat there and watched, my mind began to race. What do I do? Why is this happening? How did I not see it? None of this was making sense to me. The Oracle was always the girl who could channel deities, but now I could see the truth. She was just made to get high and say whatever hallucinations she saw. She was being abused, and I had taken an oath to protect her, and I had to find a way to honor that. Especially now. I couldn't let this atrocity continue. So my mind began to think of options. How could I make these two lunatics stop using their own daughter as another piece in their evil game of chess? I knew things were going to have to change, and I was going to be the one to facilitate it.

That night, after their "seance" was complete and they got whatever information they believed they were getting from her out, she was, as always, released to me. But this time I began to see the process. They would grill her and try and get whatever information they believed she could have out of her. They wanted that next nugget to feed patrons hat they would bring in, and have me effectively extort because I knew who they were, what they were, and why they were there. I was their cog to tighten their grip on society so they could continue to be profitable and run their sex shop, and extort their patrons for whatever they could. But now I knew the game. I knew the gig. I knew what they were doing, and as The One, I knew what they knew and also what they didn't. I had the wherewithal to always keep track of the access I had, and how it could be manipulated, and when it came down to brass tax, I ran the entire joint. It got to the point they didn't care either because they thought they had brainwashed me into not having a soul, much like them. But they were wrong, and I was on a path to do the one thing I swore an allegiance to do... Protect The Oracle at all costs...

Once the seance had ended, and everyone had left, she was, as usual, released to me. She was groggy as always, but now I knew why. I also knew this was my opportunity to try and gather some of the intel I may not have, and I wasted no time.

Me: You're their daughter?

I will never forget the look in her eye as she slowly turned her head my way.

The Oracle: You didn't know?

Me: I was told not to ask... Why haven't you told me? I'm supposed to protect you?

The Oracle: Protect me? I am The Oracle, and many will try and use me...

She was still in a daze, and I could tell I wouldn't be able to get much out of her that night. As we arrived to her quarters, the man, whom I always assumed was like the guards answered the door. This time I asked who he was, and he wasn't hiding anything, and said "her brother." All along The Oracle and her brother had been effective prisoners on this compound, and I was the one holding them. I became even more disgusted with myself. i had been doing more evil than good all along, and the whole time, all I believed I was doing was keeping perverse locals safe from any big scandals. No, I was protecting two selfish people from being caught up in child abuse, extortion, and several other crimes. Hell, deep down, I knew I was just as culpable. But I knew there was one step I could take. I knew there was one avenue that could begin the process of ridding me of my guilt, my pain, and my suffering. And while that path is somewhat selfish, it does provide the help to others that is deserved.

Commence "Operation Conscience."

I knew if I was going to begin to right the wrongs I had participated in, and begin to find some form of clarity for my realizations, I would have to find out the facts even more so than I already knew. Several days passed, and I knew after that amount of time the drugs would be somewhat out of her system, and clarity would be more so than when I first spoke to her. I decided that my only action was to pretend she was needed, but get her alone, and find out the truth. I went to her quarters, as I always do, but after getting her, I began walking her down a different route...

The Oracle: Where are we going? The room is the other way...

Me: Hush...

What she didn't realize was I knew the coverage of every camera on the compound. I knew where was and wasn't seen at all times. Once we got to a secluded area in a corner of the compound, I turned to her and instead of looking at her with the typical menacing look that The One was known for, I looked down and felt so much guilt over me.

Me: Listen... I brought you here for a reason. I need answers...

The Oracle: Hey, I know you saw the whole thing the last time, but I don't even know what I do or say that keeps them doing it...

Me: No... Not those answers. You're the daughter of The Prophets?

The Oracle sighs.

The Oracle: Yeah...

Me: How did this all start?

The Oracle: My folks, one day, were getting high, which I knew they did, and I wondered why they always did it. I was always told drugs were not good. I sat behind the couch quietly, and the smoke happened to cloud around me long enough where I began to see things and start speaking. I don't know what I said, but after that they isolated us, and began having you take me to them and they'd give me the stuff to smoke. I'd blackout, and wake up back in the room with my brother...

The One cocks her head.

Me: Brother? The older guy isn't another guard?

The Oracle: No... He's my older brother. But he's stuck knowing even less than you, and I was ordered not to tell him anything or they'd hurt him...

After a couple more moments of talking, I found out that they agreed to stay quiet because of intimidation and being given everything they could want. She explained that their rooms were full of games, TVs, their favorite foods, and all they had to do is follow the rules that were set for them. She said the only downside was not liking how she felt the next morning when she began to detox. She said it would last for a few hours, and then life would go back to normal. She'd never remember anything, and she didn't understand why she was always called upon. She was manipulated, as was her brother, and the more and more I heard, the more I realized I could have stopped this long ago. But I have the chance now, and I know what I need to do. I told The Oracle I was finally going to live up to my promise to protect her, and now her brother as well, at all costs.

The first thing I had to do was figure out a way to ensure that The Oracle would never been "seen" again. I walked into her seance room on a day the "guards" were not at the compound. I remade the ares where The Oracle sat to have draperies, and cloth to obscure the view of who was behind them. I then waited for the two brutes to show up again, and explained that The Oracle had requested more privacy for her sessions, and also required her desires be met when she was in their presence. I gave them each stacks of cash, and told them that whatever The Oracle asked for, no matter how questionable, to be sure she got it. They tried to ask questions, which is when The One got to be The One, and The One runs the show. I was in their faces, asking them if they dared question The Oracle, and reminded them their whole paycheck relies on her having the visions she has. I played the situation up to the best of my abilities, and thankfully, I had earned enough of a reputation for them to believe what I was saying, and stop being as defiant. Phase one, was complete.

Phase two came in a dual form. Firstly, I took The Oracle, again, to the safest spot in the compound. This time she knew where we were going, and I had whispered for her to take notice of how we got there. I told her there would come a day when she got a signal, and would come to this location, clip the fence, and get away. I told her the cameras wouldn't see them, and there was a straight path to the highway. I promised there would be some form of transportation for her and her brother to get away, and then a day would come shortly after where I would find them, and continue getting them safely away. The second part of this phase was a little more dicey. I had to use my knowledge of the local community's drug population to find someone who could not only look the part of The Oracle, but wasn't so baked out of their mind where they could play the role as well. I began to scour the underbelly of society and met up with several people I thought fit the mold. I can promise that my luck was slim to none. Then I saw one recently arrested individual, who was arrested on meth charges, but was obviously not a long time user. I bailed this stranger out of jail and she looked at me confused. I made a deal with her that would guarantee her no jail time, and all of the substances she could want, if she could meet the qualifications I set forth. She proved to be a natural, and at that point, I waited another couple days for the guards to not be there, and then I snuck the woman onto the premises. I took her to the seance room, and got her safely positioned behind all of the curtains and gave her some of the hallucinogens left over. I told her that when the two guards appeared, she was free to demand anything she wanted. They'd take care of it.

And the day finally came where this whole calamity was to take place. The guards had been giving the fake Oracle whatever she wanted, and when I tell you this person was wanting everything, it isn't an exaggeration. But when The Prophets told me they were wanting another seance with The Oracle, I knew this was my chance. I informed them that she would be there by the specified time, but I was keeping my eye on some suspicious activity around the entry to the compound. It was always my "get out of jail free" excuse because that was always their biggest fear. So I went to the quarters of The Oracle and her brother, knocked, and left. I stayed in the shadows, watching, as her brother opened the door, looked down, and saw the pair of "snips" that had "fallen" out of my pocket. He picked them up, and said something, which brought The Oracle out to the door, and she immediately looks around. I see her grab the snips, then her brother by the collar, and begin going down the path I had showed her. Her brother was clueless, and tried to speak, and from the distance, I could hear him being shushed. The pair reached the corner, and this girl, for as young as she was, wasn't naive to what needed to happen and she began cutting the fence. She cut a hole, and pushed her brother through it. She looks around one more time, and I know I need to validate what she has done. I sneak out of the shadows, long enough for her to see me. I simply nod at her, and back away disappearing into the darkness. She looks in my direction and, through sign language, says "thank you," and follows her brother through the hole she made.

From here, I head back to my guard shack, and I move the cameras in a way where I can see the highway in the distance. I see the motor scooter left for The Oracle and her brother speed by in a blip, and at that moment, I know she is free. I know that, at least for now, she begins her life away from being mistreated. I knew that, in this moment, I had at least begun the process of keeping my oath for the first time. For the first time, The Oracle was safe. The Oracle wasn't being abused. The Oracle and her brother were now at a point where they could, hopefully, start to find there way permanently out of the evil world in which they were, effectively, imprisoned and held hostage.