SCW Taking Hold of the Flame Battle Royal

[TheOne]

OOC message to all: The next two RPs are the "year in the making" RPs I've been leading to, and those who know me know I am TERRIBLE at CD, so these are exciting for me to write.  Also I'm writing them early because I'm heading on a cruise next week, my first honest to go vacation in almost 20 years, and while I can finalize the second RP on the boat, I'd rather just get it done.  These are two, where, I would love feedback how they work in a setup/final chapter RP mentality, for those of you who are AMAZING at CD, if you have time to read and just send me a message.  This first one was fun writing, and initially was part of the massive CD one I have coming which I am giving myself a week to actually make lol.  It's outlined, but it's going to be probably the longest CD-wise RP I've ever written, and it may prove I need to stick to shorter ones, or maybe if I think things out, I can actually tell a good story!  So like I said, any feedback would be appreciated, good or bad, because I won't get mad or anything.  Life is too short for that.  I just want to write better for everyone's enjoyment.  Thanks everyone!  Good luck to all.

The One RP 1 of 2

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{NUMBERS: The Final Chapter, Verse One}

There have been many twists and turns around my journey, finally leading to this moment.  I had everything figured out, I had The Oracle saved, I had The Oracle protected, and then next thing I knew she was re-captured, and I was forced to go the route that I had never considered before, and that was working with the authorities to do something I thought I was strong enough to do on my own.

And then, on top of it all, we have the wild card of the situation... We have the piece I never considered ever falling into place... We have Hailey...

She's become the sinple point of the failures and the slip-ups of all of our plans.  It was her parents who gave The Oracle away.  It was Hailey who couldn't take out my predecessor when she felt she was ready.  It was Hailey who began acting suspcious when Agent McConnell showed his face and approached her with whatever he approached her with.

And yet, now we have to put all of that behind us, to begin focusing on what is ahead...

But what is ahead?

What happens next?

That is where we stand.

The framework has been put in place, for us, while Agent McConnell has handled many of the finite details for us to simply follow.  He has acted as our liaison to those others who may be involved.  We haven't had contact, that I have been made aware, and our job has to be to continue to be the smaller cogs in the bigger wheel.  And now it's time to make sure everything turns as one.

My mind is littered with concerns because what has been relayed to us has been a plan of military-like, almost cinematic-like, play by play.  It is something you expect to see in a movie and not something you expect to truly be part of in real life, or potentially see play out before your eyes.  It's why this all seems surreal to me, now that it is coming up on the eleventh hour.  All of this time, all of this planning, all of this desire to finally do what is right, is coming to a head in a superhero like situation that they are a part of?

Is this the real life?

Is this just fantasy?

Outside the county where The Compound still, effectively, "holds jurisdiction," the trio, and Agent McConnell have arranged points where they can meet safely.

Unlike before, this time they aren't in a backwoodsy area, where people think serial killers take their victims to die.  This time the agent has arranged for them to meet at another rural town's local diner, in their parking lot, so they can discuss things without anyone who would know any better overhearing.

The trio of The One, Hailey, and the brother of The Oracle opt to use this meeting location as a place to also grab a final bite to eat before they go into full lockdown and "ready" mode, for their ultimate mission.  They arrive earlier than they are expected to, and The One and Hailey use their keen senses of remembering faces and knowing who may be watching them to know they are alone in their desire for one final bite to eat.

They then walk in and are greeted by the Midwestern woman, who obviously has been working at this diner for some time.  She quickly seats the three, and gets their drink order, and passes them each a laminated menu, and walks away.  Upon her departure, they quickly begin to talk.

The Brother: I don't know how in the hell we are supposed to eat...

The One: It's called carb loading...

The Brother: Yeah and right now anything makes me feel like I'm about to blow chunks...

The One: Well answer me this, would you rather be blowing chunks now, or blowing chunks when we need you to actually ACT?  Carbs give energy.  Carbs are what you eat before you do something where you need a lot of fucking adrenaline...

The Brother: And you think we're going to need a lot of adrenaline?

Hailey laughs.

Hailey: You don't think you're going to have your adrenaline pumping when you get ready to fuck with your parents?

The Brother: I...

The Oracle's brother pauses and stops to think.  He realizes there is a reallity to what Hailey says.

The Brother: ... Ok I didn't think about that...

Hailey shakes her head, and chuckles.

Hailey: Dude... You have no idea what you're in for, fo you?

The Brother: Should I?  Nobody has told me much of anything.

Hailey: And there's a reason for that...

The Brother: What is that supposed to mean?

The One isn't wanting any confrontation, and decides to de-escalate the situation.

The One: Listen, man... We each ONLY know what we are supposed to know.  Our job isn't to know everything.  Our job isn't to know the whole plan.  Our job is to trust the process, and trust each other... Am I right?

The One looks directly at Hailey, who feels the pressure of The One indrectly calling her out over all of her actions of late.   She takes a breath and nods.

Hailey: Exactly... Look at the three of us, right now.  We are amateurs in major operations like this, so why should we know all of the damn details?  Think about how risky that would be for the rest of the PROFESSIONAL members of this operation.  They would look at us like the weak link if we knew everything...

The One: Hailey is right.  As much as I want to know the ins and outs of everything, I don't get to... And does it drive me nuts, of course, but like I said, we have to trust the process, right now...

The Brother: It just all still just doesn't sit right, with me...

The One: Honestly, has anything sat right with you?  You didn't trust in me saving you and your sister from the get-go...

The brother nods.

The Brother: Ok, that's a fair point...

The One tries to calm his nerves to the best of her ability.

The One: Listen... I get it... This is something that, I'll be real, is terrifying us all.  We aren't experts in this.  We don't save the world on a daily basis.  So the fact is, none of us are feeling just perfect.  But we have to calm our nerves are much as possible because once this all starts, our lives will become the most hellacious that they have ever been in their lives.

This really could be that last relaxing moment we have for a long time...

The brother lets out a sarcastic laugh.

The Brother: Like we have had ANY relaxing moments since you set us free?  We had to walk in the damn alleys until we found you.  Then we we were in a fucking hotel room.  Then she gets captured at HER house again...

The One quickly stymies him.

The One: Stop... Stop right there... I get it.  I wasn't being literal.  I was being very simplistic based on this situation.  We aren't relaxed.  We are all nervous.  But if we don't take care of ourselves, if we aren't doing what is right for YOUR SISTER by preparing to the BEST of OUR abilities, then how are we doing what we promised to do for HER?

We aren't here to joke around.

We aren't here to have a good time.

We are to get our sustenance so we are charged and ready for a fight.  I don't know if we will have to fight.  I don't know if we will have to do much more than show up.  But I know we will need to have our energy.  We will need to be ready for ANYTHING.  Food gives energy, food gives sustenance, food gives health.  So you better fucking eat...

The Brother: Ugh... Really?  I seriously feel like if I try and eat right now I'm going to wretch...

The One: Seriously... If you want your sister safe again, we have to be ready...

The One's encouragement begins to wane as the waitress approaches them, and she does not want to garner a scene.  She quickly glances at the menu again, assuring the waitress that the others can order first, and she'll be ready.  Hailey is quick to order a fuller breakfast for dinner, than one would have expected, while the Brother goes more along the style of a-la carte.  When it comes to The One, she is already annoyed at The Brother for his minimalist order and has to compose herself to not seem more inconspicuous than the three of them already do.  She finds a "brunch" meal that suffices for her, and puts her order in as well, collecting the menus and handing them to the waitress, who, the whole time, is super friendly to the trio.

It's at this point the chatter of the "why" that they are there begins to die down.  Each begin to slowly try and take some personal time just browsing on their phone and playing trivial games to get their minds off of things while they await their meals.  And as with any Midwestern diner, it takes nearly no time to bring out the trios respective meals, and get them moving forward in regard to giving their body the sustenance they are going to need, for whatever is looming over their head.

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{PROMO}

There is nothing but darkness, but obviously in the woods somewhere remote.  The One can be barely seen, with the foliage crunching under her feet.  She looks around, looking up at the moon, the stars, and the silhouettes of the trees, feeling the gentle breeze on her skin, and just taking it all in.   She is at "one" with her surroundings, and after hearing the sounds of nature, her voice breaks the sounds of the wild.

It's been one year... ONE year, since the debut of The One in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  It has been ONE YEAR since I made a statement in this organization, by making it all the way to the final grouping of individuals who vied for the ultimate opportunity, and a main event slot at the biggest show in the world, Rise to Greatness...

And it was in that moment, ONE YEAR ago, that I walked into this place and declared that change was coming, and while I could say that I may have not, personally, created that change, I look around, and I am beginning to see that very thing becoming a reality.  New names... New faces... New CHAMPIONS... I am seeing things change from the life and times of the days that brought me here, and I begin to wonder, did I succeed?  Is that mission, technically, over?  Is it something that I can consider "Mission Accomplished," or is it still "ongoing," or even "failed?"

To be honest, I don't know.

I just... Don't... Know...

You see, when I came to SCW, I thought that the successes of my mission would be directly correlated to the successes I had as well.  And if that was the case, the amount of stagnation that the mission would be engulfed in would be palpable.  It would be so mediocre that everyone would taste it, feel it, and sense it.  Nobody would believe in it or want it to even be mentioned because if it was directed BY ME and BY MY ACTIONS, it would have ended up right where it started ONE YEAR ago.

But like I said... The scenery is changing... The TALENT is not the same four people, playing dress-up, but rather, the new crop of what defines the BEST of the BEST in this business, and as it relates to me, if that makes me "mid" ONE YEAR into this, I would say that is a win for me...

Why?

Why would mediocrity be a win?

What was one of the things that I said when I first came to SCW?  I said titles, wins, losses, NONE of it mattered, as long as the mission was accomplished.  And around me, I am seeing the changes that I wanted to feel like I may have been, or flat out HAVE been, the catalyst to create.  I wanted to be that ignition switch.  I didn't have to be the blaze that raged during that year, but if I was the one who lit the fire, that I did my job.  I did what I wanted to do when I made the splash ONE YEAR ago.  I brought the fire back to the rest of the SCW roster to realize that THEY were the ones who made this place what it has always been.  THEY were the ones who brought the organization to it's ultimate greatness and resilience, while other organizations have come come and gone by the wayside.  SCW has always been there and it's been because of the depth, the talent, the NUMBERS of individuals who could emerge as the best on any given day.

And we are, in my opinion, at that point, and at the time where, no longer, do we have to sit and just accept a few people getting ALL of the showtime and limelight, but it being those who have EARNED IT and DESERVE IT each week...

So... Maybe... Just MAYBE... I can say, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

The moonlight illuminates The One smirking.

So now that we are moving forward from that mission, what's next?  Where is all of this talk about "the end" of The One coming from?  Is The One retiring already?

Heh... Hardly...

You see, The One has been a moniker I have dawned because it was a stain on my life.  It was something I had to atone for.  I had to earn the right to not have to wear it as my "Scarlett Letter," and I am on my path, finally, to that conclusion.  It's always felt as if it was a pipe dream, after everything I had done in my past.  It had always felt like it was never truly lifted from me.  But now... Now... I see the moment before me and I see the opportunity to crash through the ceiling that has held me down for this long period of time in my life, and I see the day of that shattering as the magical ONE YEAR mark of my time in Supreme Championship Wrestling...

TAKING HOLD OF THE FLAME!

Why?

Because in ONE YEAR I have learned a lot about this business including what you DO and DON'T have to do to get ahead.  I have learned that I could say, fuck the battle royal, and put myself in the main event, RIGHT NOW.  RIGHT THIS FUCKING MOMENT.  I have that ability.  The One could circumvent everything that everyone vies for and make a match that, even after the "main event" is the "new main event" where the winner faces The One.  Then I would have done just like many others have done before.  Then I would have taken that easy road.  Then I would have gone against EVERYTHING that I said I was about, and that was proving you didn't need a name, or a caveat, to get you to where you want to be because this is SCW and in SCW you fucking EARN YOUR WAY to the top.

It's also why I haven't cashed this contract in... I'm not "looking for the right moment," or trying to cash it in when it's "most beneficial."  I want to make this memorable.  I want to make it right.  So I'm not, and you can quote me on this, NOT cashing this in at Rise to Greatness for the main event.  Win or lose at Taking Hold of the Flame, this contract isn't impacting the main event.

But what is impacting the main event is me inside the battle royal.  What is impacting the main event is the fact that ONE YEAR ago, I was a challenger in this thing, and I made it to the bitter end of the 40 person clusterfuck, and now I'm a year older, and a year wiser.  I'm someone who has tasted defeat and lost some matches that have TAUGHT ME what it takes to do things in SCW, and emerge victorious.  I've faced adversity, and I'm sill here, and that should say a lot...

Am I wrong?

Where's the lie?

How many new people come here, don't immediately succeed, and then fall off the fucking planet?  Or run somewhere where the talent pool isn't as difficult?  How many people run AWAY from the challenges that SCW poses, instead of embracing them?  I can say a far larger number than those who have held ALL CHAMPIONSHIPS in this organization have failed because they're not willing to fight it out, stick it out, and FIGURE it out.

That's why I am more than ready for this battle royal...

Because I've been in title matches...

I've been in Chamber Matches...

I've been in most falls at the end of the night matches...

And I've been in this battle royal and when I did so that first time, I damn near shocked the world!

So what's stopping me from doing that in 2023?  What is stopping The One from being THE LAST ONE standing, when the dust settles?  Yeah you have every major competitor for the World Championship in this match.  You probably have someone from SCW's past, desperate for attention again, making a surprise return, but who the fuck cares, all they have to do is go over a rope.  I don't have to make them do a Mariachi dance at a young girl's Quincé in order to win.  I don't have to make everyone else make sure they have not shit their pants, by removing their gear and bearing their asses to the world.  No, all I have to do is ensure they go over the top rope, and hit the fucking floor.

It's tale as old as time...

A song as old as rhyme...

It's your damn feet hitting the floor!

The One chuckles, and faintly sings the final lyric, "Beauty and the Beast," to herself, before continuing.

This match isn't a hard concept to figure out, but it IS hard to traverse because you always have to watch your back, and that is something I have gotten VERY used to doing in my ONE YEAR in SCW.  I have been expecting people to come after me.  I have expected people to want to take me out, but the thing is, in this match you know you can be eliminated just as easy as anyone else.  You could eliminate the former World Champion or be eliminated number one, and there is really no difference is odds whatsoever.

That's why it takes strategy...

That's why it takes smarts...

That's why it takes the ups and downs of a year to understand what it really takes to go out there and put together a game plan in order to ACTUALLY WIN... Because it's not a normal match.  It's not your typical one on one, tag team, or whatever match.  It's 40, count them 40, people who are all trying to do the same BASIC thing, and you have to be the one to outsmart them, PLUS whatever ideas they have to put into a strategy of their own.

And I know what the doubters, the trivializers, honestly, the BITCHES, of SCW will say, "oh wow someone's been here a year and magically knows how to win Taking Hold of the Flame.  People have been here for decades and have never done so."  And guess what, BITCHES, you're right.  There are SCW Hall of Famers who have never done what I am about to do this year, and they will have been trying for THEIR ENTIRE CAREERS.  But I'll be different.  It won't be about talent.  It won't be about anything but the fact I approached the match like it should have been done, and they didn't.  They made it about something that would motivate them, and I need no motivation.

Why?

BECAUSE I ACCOMPLISHED MY GOAL!

SCW IS NOT PACKED WITH THE DEGENERATE SCUM IT WAS MARRED BY FOR YEARS!

Instead, I was able to help light a fire under people's asses to get them to rise to their potential.  I did my job, and now, I can be me.  I can be the person I was BORN as, and begin to ascend past the visual mediocrity you have seen, and do something that NOBODY would have expected, and that's simple... WIN!

Seriously, who would say, right now, The One has any shot at winning?  Who would put her in the echelon of those who were given a stake in the World Championship Tournament, which let me add has former winners in it?  Who would put The One there?

Nobody!

Fucking NOBODY!

And that's fine because I don't need support from doubters anymore because whether they were believers or doubters on the outside, what has transpired in the past year has shown that they were HOPEFULLS in what I was preaching.  They WANTED a new SCW with a NEW LOOK and NEW CHAMPIONS, and they have it.  Kimberly Williams ENSURED the calamity of champions that we have now would begin the spiral that I envisioned long ago, and now going into the penultimate MAJOR event in professional wrestling, I have the chance to do as she did, but instead of making calamity by way of contract, I do it by action.

Nobody expects it, like I said!

Nobody WANTS it...

Nobody WANTS The One to win this match, and I am fine with that because that night will be the night where The One is engulfed in flames in a way that signifies her demise.  It will be the moment where not only does the world watch as the infamous "dust settles," but the ashes will as well because the new Phoenix of SCW will have done what the prophecy always professed she would do...

She would be the final ash on the pile...

She would be the ember that smolders...

She would be the CATALYST, once again, to REIGNITE the new heartbeat of Supreme Championship Wrestling...

And then she would emerge, in all of her glory, from the ashes, from the rubble, from the DESTRUCTION that is Taking Hold of the Flame, and she would turn her eyes to the Heavens, looking at the sign that marks her new destiny.  This Phoenix, unlike those of past who may have used the metaphor as a rallying cry, will emerge anew.  She will be flanked by those she calls friends and family, and she will be the one who proves that words have not been shallow, and all along, there has been three final truths of SCW, before her resurrection...

Death... Taxes... And THE ONE!!!

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{NUMBERS: The Final Chapter, Verse Two}

If there was ever a "most awkward meal" of my life, this was it.  And that includes all of the ones with my parents, after I knew what they were engaging in.  Hailey, The Oracle's Brother, and myself, would struggle, bite by bite, to put food down.  You could tell that our minds and our stomachs were not in rhythm here, fighting the notion that food was not a good thing, versus food was the NEEDED thing.  Regardless, it was a meal that saw us all make it through it, and not have to run to the bathroom our outside to vomit, and for that, I call it a win.

It was at that point I hoped our bodies would begin to do what they were created to do, and effectively go into autopilot and digest the food, and induce a relaxation feeling among us all.  And honestly, it could have been the case.

But I had forgotten a key point of us being where we were...

Agent McConnell...

The way we were seated left me facing the door and all of the windows of the cafe.  I could see out, and I could see who was coming in.  To this day I don't allow myself to sit with my back to the door.  I want to be able to adapt and attack if necessary to any situation.  I choose to let the fearful find the exits and let them create the crowded escape, while I would much rather handle the situation and go back to what I was doing.

In this case, however, I didn't get that option...

When he arrived my heart sank, I won't lie.  I knew that everyout would become tense again, and the questions, the fear, the doubt, everything would begin to creep back into the minds of everyone, myself included.  This whole idea was becoming more and more unrealistic to me.  It was becoming a dream, and something that if I had failed this much until now, there was an inevitability I would fail at something far greater than anything I had faced in the past.

All I could do was watch him approach the table, grab a chair, spin it around, and straddle it, smiling as he looks at the three of us without any reservations or caring of our personal feelings.  He can see our uneasiness to his presence, and without care, just begins talking to us all as if this was just an every day, run of the mill, discussion.

Agent McConnell: Guys!  Glad we could all meet!  Y'all enjoying the food?  Let me tell ya, if you haven't tried it, try the chicken fried steak... One of the best ever... We have it regularly when we meet here...

The One looks at him with a concerned look in her eye.

The One: I can't say any of us ordered that tonight...

Agent McConnell: Aww... Shame... It's the number one thing here, next to the pies!

The One: I guess we will file that away for next time, huh?

Agent McConnell: Well that next time would be on you.  This is the last time we are all talking before we make HISTORY!  Everyone ready and excited?!

Hailey just throws her fork on her plate.

Hailey: Can the fucking niceties, McConnell... Let's get this whole "talk" over with.  None of us WANT to be here, or quite frankly are as excited about this thing, like you apparently are.  So stop with the fun and games, and let's get down to business...

Agent McConnell smirks.

Agent McConnell: You know, in several years these monthly mood swings will really begin to start to minimize themselves...

Hailey becomes instantly furious, and tries to jump up.

Hailey: Alright, fuckface, you're little agreement is about...

The Oracle's Brother instinctively jumps up and sits her down, not realizing he also stopped her from revealing anything about their previous meeting.  The One, assuming the comment came from the agreement of their respective cooperation in the situation tries to diffuse the hostility.

The One: HEY!  Hey... Listen... None of that condescending language is going to make us any more "ready" than we already are.  We aren't "trained agents" in these types of operations and I'm sorry if we are on edge.  But the reality is, we are, and you need to give us a lot of reason to know that everything is in place and ready to be executed properly...

Agent McConnell: Your fearless leader is right.  You guys are on the greatest mission of your lives and have the chance to do something quite noble, and also make me look good in the process.  And it's as long as you follow the plan, things will hopefully go without major incident.

Hailey: Hopefully?

Agent McConnell: Nothing is a guarantee in this business.  There could always be flaws in the system.  But from the recon that The One has given us, and the access we have to the surveillance to The Compound, we are almost completely certain this is going to be one of the safer raids we have ever conducted.

The One: So... What do we do?

Agent McConnell: For starters, The Brother is heading in alone...

The Brother's eyes widen and he tries to say something but it immediately shushed by The One, who instructs him to let the agent finish.

Agent McConnell: ... The Brother is going in alone because he'll be the safest asset to send in first.  He'll trip the alarms, and have the eyes on him, plus be able to lure everyone out a lot easier than any of the rest of us.  The One will be positioned in the woods where she can then appear to surprise the group, once they are out.  With what she gave us we have been able to compromise some of the security devices and camera, so we have a path for her in.  Hailey has her way in as well.  Once everyone is accounted for, and we know there is no threat, BOOM, the rest of us jump in and surprise them all, cudding them here, there, and EVERYWHERE!

Everyone got it?

EVeryone looks at one another, confused.

The One: That's it?

Hailey: No maps or diagrams?

Agent McConnell: C'mon... Nobody knows that terrain better than your walking warrior here.  Besides, they don't have a clue how in position we already are, so it should be a cakewalk.  So, how does it go?  Everyone puts their hands in?

The Agent sarcastically puts his hand in the middle, hoping others will follow suit.

The One: I think not... I just don't think so on the whole hands thing...

He slowly retracts his hand embarrassed.

Agent McConnell: Well.... Ok... Anyway, everyone get some sleep, and get ready for something they will never, EVER forget!

Agent McConnell jumps up and leaves the table leaving the trio behind.  They all simply stare one anoher down, wondering what to expect out of the others, and how this is actually going to play out.  Will it succeed?  Will it fail?  Only tie will tell.