The Light in the Darkness vs. The Shinigami Foundation

[Konrad Raab]

4 RP Limit for tag

3500 Word Limit Per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET THURSDAY, March 27, 2025 (Show taking place on Thursday)

[Thunderhorse]

(The Foundation) "Sterness"

[Wisteria Waltz]

Retribution

A pay-per-view that continues to haunt The Light In The Darkness for reasons even they can't seem to fully understand.

Earlier tonight, right here in the Alamodome, Amelia Nevado and La Pequeña Luz fought with everything they had, giving James Evans and Giovanni Aries a fight they clearly weren't expecting. The Fall of Man threw everything they had at the couple, but they refused to stay down and kept pushing forward.

Unfortunately, one capitalized opportunity later, and yet another loss at this event was on the ladies' resume.

Their third World Tag Title reign... ended at 231 days.

It left a bitter taste in their mouths as they helped each other back to their locker room to shower and change. While the Fall of Man would ultimately not get the complete domination William Heaven had so boldly predicted as Xander Valentine finally proved that Waylon Creek wasn't infallible, it hadn't done too much to soften the blow Luz and Amelia were dealing with as they didn't say a word, not even to each other, throughout their showers or their watching of the main event together. It wasn't the fact that they were no longer champions anymore... they'd been through this song and dance before and knew the end would be upon them eventually. The fact that they had reigned for so long this time was impressive in and of itself, truth be told, and put them into a very select group of Tag Team Champions in SCW's long and storied history. If anything, their efforts had solidified the belief of so many others that they may very well be the greatest tag team in SCW today.

It was the bitter pill they had to swallow that they had lost the titles to the Fall of Man.

Deep down, they knew they were capable of defeating the faction that had made it all but clear they wanted to seize power in the company just so they could burn it all to the ground. They had survived fights against them before, overcome the odds to hand them defeats... even tonight, they effectively had James and Giovanni teetering on the brink, all to be undone by one small moment where they took their eye off the ball and paid for it. They know the Fall of Man will gloat about tonight and act as though this truly was inevitable, believe that this match had been much easier than it really was... assuming they weren't spiraling over the fact that Waylon had finally been properly defeated.

There were sighs and huffs and deep breaths, but no words from either Luz nor Amelia as they sat in their locker room, hunched over and eyes locked on the floor. They knew the show was over now, knew their loved ones were no doubt waiting for them outside to try and lift their spirits, and they truly did appreciate the love and support they knew they had that would help get them back on their feet. Deep down, they also knew this feeling wouldn't last and they'd be ready to start working to turn things around as early as the very next Breakdown, but that didn't stop them from beating themselves up over this loss after everything they had poured into trying to earn the opposite result.

The human brain is a fickle thing, after all, especially when you've spent most of your life beaten down and so thoroughly convinced of your flaws.

“We failed...” Luz mumbled after a moment, her voice cracking in a way that made it clear she was fighting the urge to cry. “We fought... and we tried... and it wasn't enough...”

Luz threw her head back, running her hands along her mask in frustration as she ended up virtually leaning back so far into the locker behind her that she almost fell off the bench into it. This led to a noise of frustration escaping her lips. Amelia didn't react, remaining quiet in a manner that was disturbingly reminiscent of the old 'mask' she used to wear because of her parents to hide when things weren't actually alright. This led to a few more minutes of silence as Luz pulled herself back to a proper sitting position on the bench, sighing in unison with Amelia as they both closed their eyes.

“I'm sorry.”

The admission came in perfect harmony, and it caused the two of them to both snap their attention to one another, almost in sheer disbelief that the other had said those words.

“Why are you apologizing?” Luz asked, clearly confused.

“Because I was the one who got pinned,” Amelia pointed out. “If I hadn't been hit from behind... if I hadn't been knocked into you, we might still be champions!”

“It's not your fault, Ames,” Luz tried to argue. “It's mine. I should've been paying attention to where James was. I should've warned you to duck!”

“And then what?” Amelia snapped back. “I duck and you take the hit instead?”

“I wasn't legal!” Luz snapped back. “At least then you could've... I don't know, put him in the choke, or rolled him up, or something! I would've sacrificed myself if it meant-”

“I wasn't going to let you take any hit for me, you dummy!” Amelia fired back as she practically threw herself at Luz, wrapping her arms around her as the tears began to roll down her cheeks now. “Even still, it's not your fault we lost track of James trying to make sure Gio was out of the equation. I'm the one who took him down, I'm the one who left him be to save you from whatever Gio had planned. I'm the reason we lost tonight, and you know that's how they're going to spin it.”

“¡Mierda!” Luz yelled as her arms snapped shut around her wife like a human bear trap, holding her tightly. “If you hadn't gone after Gio, he would've just turned around and stopped you from getting the pin anyway. It's not your fault, Ames!”

“It's not yours either, Lulu!” Amelia retorted.

For the next few minutes, the two of them sat there, trembling, as they tightly embraced one another, crying into the other's shoulder. They were both breathing heavily, feeling the energy and frustration draining from their bodies as things began to sink in. They both knew arguing about this was silly and stupid, and yet, here they were, refusing to let the other take the blame for this particular defeat and acting like this was a hill worth dying on for each of them. Any sobs and huffs that escaped their lips soon gave way to bitter chuckles as they held each other closer.

“It's neither of our faults...” Amelia finally breathed out.

“...maybe you're right...” Luz ultimately admitted, even if her tone clearly showed she was struggling to believe that.

“You don't sound convinced,” Amelia noted as she pulled back a bit to look Luz in the eyes, but this also revealed the uncertainty in her own gaze.

“Ditto, cariño,” Luz replied, slowly shaking her head and taking a deep breath to try and clear her thoughts. “It's just... it's hard not to fall down that rabbit hole when everyone else always made you feel like you were always to blame when something went wrong.”

“Or when you were raised believing you were never good enough and had to strive for more,” Amelia added, “no matter what you truly proved already going above and beyond.”

“...we really are a mess, aren't we?” Luz forced a laugh at her own words.

“Mi amor, I don't think we'd really be us if we weren't,” Amelia sighed.

“Why do we keep doing this to ourselves?” Luz found herself asking as she and Amelia slumped against each other. “Aside from the obvious, I mean. I'd have thought we would know better by now.”

“Old habits die hard, unfortunately,” Amelia admitted. “I wouldn't be surprised if our brains didn't fully get the memo and start forgetting those negative aspects until the day comes when we finally retire. Plus, it just feels so easy to take all the blame when things go wrong and spiral figuring out how we could've done anything differently.”

Luz nods, knowing the logic from her wife was incredibly sound. She really hated to admit it, but deep down, she knew there was truth in Amelia's words. They had both been emotionally scarred by others and struggled for years to pick up the pieces, even once they had each other to rely on. No matter how many steps forward they took, losing all that progress just felt like second nature at this point, knowing what the next step would always be: pushing themselves way too hard to try and put the pieces back together in whatever way would prove that they were already making huge leaps and strides towards becoming an even better team than the version of themselves that lost like they had tonight. Just because it had worked as a coping mechanism for so many years didn't make it healthy, and if they didn't admit that to themselves right here and now, they knew they would hear all about it from their found family as soon as they finally stepped outside.

“OK, let's try looking on the bright side...” Luz mused as she slowly stood up, offering a hand to help Amelia to her feet as well. “Despite James and Gio's best efforts, we're still standing.”

“Right,” Amelia nodded. “They may be the champions now, but there's nothing keeping us from getting right back in the ring and fighting our way back to the top of the mountain.”

“Heck, we still have our rematch!” Luz pointed out, slowly regaining the excitability that Amelia loved about her wife so much. “And for as much as those two think we can't overcome them, we've always gone into rematches learning everything from our previous mistakes and making the most of the second chance!”

“Not to mention, there's other doors open to us if need be, especially if William tries to pull anything scummy in a desperate bid to avoid a rematch he knows threatens his already shaky narrative after tonight,” Amelia nodded, her lips slowly curling into a grin. “I still have my Trios contract I need to figure out what to do with, and I'm pretty sure you still have a rematch for the U.S. Title as well... regardless of whatever nonsense that one stunt was from earlier.”

Luz rolled her eyes at the reminder. “No me lo recuerdes. I don't care if it's Asher or if SCW actually recognizes whatever stunt this Jordan Majors woman is pulling. You're right, Ames, we've got options, we can still fight, and nothing's stopping us from walking into Breakdown and reminding the world that The Light In The Darkness can't be snuffed out that easily.”

“Not after how hard we've fought and how far we've come,” Amelia added, leaning in to capture Luz's lips in a soft, tender kiss. The two of them embrace for a moment as the kiss deepens just a little bit, but it's not long before both women pull away with nothing but tender love and affection in their eyes for one another.

“I needed that,” Luz said after a sigh of relief.

“We both did,” Amelia nodded. “We both made mistakes tonight, but we're not letting them define us.”

“Fourth longest reigning World Tag Team Champions,” Luz giggles. “No one can take that away from us, and we certainly didn't pull that off by accident.”

“Let's take advantage of the time we'll have to slow down, catch our breath, and clear our heads,” Amelia proposes. “Once we know if Breakdown has anything in store for us, we'll hit the ground running then.”

“And no going off the deep end trying to rebuild,” Luz nods.

With the tension dying down and the atmosphere around them feeling lighter than it normally would have after a tough loss like tonight, Luz and Amelia grab their bags before joining hands, their fingers threading together as they exit their locker room and finally start heading out to the parking lot, where they know everyone will be waiting for them. It honestly felt weird walking out of the Alamodome without that usual dark cloud hanging over their heads, but they were hopeful that their brains were finally starting to adapt to the idea that despite their mistakes that cost them their match tonight, the only ones they truly had to blame were the Fall of Man for taking advantage of them, creating that motivation to turn the tide and pull themselves out of the abyss and back into busting their behinds to keep defining their own legacies in the wrestling business.

Just when the door leading outside to the parking lot is in sight, however, Amelia's phone begins to ring. Thinking nothing of it, she retrieves it from her bag and checks the caller ID before frowning at the unknown number. Luz peeks over Amelia's shoulder at it, scowling.

“Should we even bother?” Luz asks, even though her tone makes it clear what her answer already is to her own question.

“We know it's not our friends wondering why we're taking so long,” Amelia notes. “Maybe we'll see what kind of voicemail they leave and call them back if it's important.”

“No need. I had a feeling you wouldn't fall for that old trick again.”

Amelia and Luz start looking around, clearly not having expected anyone else to chime in on their conversation. There's no one else around, most other wrestlers either being long gone by now, washing up in the likely case of at least Xander and Waylon, or being checked out by the trainers, and any crew are no doubt working on tearing down the ring already. As far as the two of them can see, they're completely alone.

“Did I startle you?” the voice calls again, sounding almost grainy... and vaguely familiar, in an eerie sort of way.

“¿Quién eres?” Luz replies.

“Show yourself!” is the demand for Amelia.

“Oh, but I'm sure you two already know who I am,” the voice calls once more. “I believe an old... associate of mine filled you in some time ago after my last calls to you. A shame about how far from grace dear Avery ultimately fell.”

As Luz keeps looking around, Amelia thinks back for a moment, the puzzle pieces slowly fitting together in her brain. The eerie, cryptic voice, the way it certainly sounded like its owner was likely not actually present, the way they spoke about Avery as though they knew them...

Amelia slid her phone into her pocket, knowing the name was on the top of her tongue as she snapped her fingers, trying to run back through her memories until she recalled a conversation with Avery prior to her and Luz's wedding day about the mysterious messages they'd been receiving, trying to convince them to call off the ceremony because 'God wouldn't approve of it' and other religious nonsense.

“Vladimir Basmat,” she finally says, her tone laced with a growl that was justified if she was correct on this.

“You do know who I am,” the creepy voice, now confirmed to belong to Vladimir, chuckled. “I'm touched... yes, this is Vladimir, former technician and communications specialist for the FBI-”

“And lackey to Caleb White and his insane religious crusade,” Amelia finished for him, though the grunt she heard in response made it clear Vladimir didn't seem to agree with that description.

“How rude,” he scoffed. “And here I'd heard your parents go on and on about how they raised you better than that. You truly have been led astray, haven't you, Amelia?”

“Big words from someone hiding behind a speaker,” Luz jumped in as she started walking over to a set of production crates. It took a moment to push them away from the wall, especially given that she was still a bit sore from their match earlier, but she dug around in the gap she'd made before pulling out what looked like a miniature version of those two-way speakers fast food places use for their drive-thrus. “Check it out, Ames. I thought the effect on his voice sounded familiar.”

“Really?” Amelia shook her head, her arms folding across her chest as she looked at the speaker with disdain even as Luz set it on top of the production crates. “You're really still pulling this nonsense of trying to stay hidden as you try to convince us of our sins or mistakes or whatever nonsense you're hoping to spew this time?”

“Unlike some of my other associates, I prefer to take the cautious approach,” Vladimir's voice claimed over the speaker. “The two of you know full well how many wars are lost because one side got careless. Caleb sends his apologies for the loss of your titles recently, by the way.”

“Noted and ignored,” Amelia replied, earning an annoyed grunt from the other end of the speaker she had a feeling Vladimir was trying to hide.

“Out of curiosity, Vladdy,” Luz added, grinning in amusement as she heard something from the other end that made it clear this creep didn't like the nickname she'd just given him. “What's stopping us from just walking away right now and leaving you talking to an empty backstage area?”

“Would the lives of your loved ones not be enough incentive?”

Luz and Amelia both feel a chill run down their spines, exchanging glances for a moment.

“You know we've been watching you,” Vladimir's voice continues. “You know we're more than willing to take lives in the name of our crusade. You also know that I'm not present in San Antonio... but how do you think my little device found its way backstage, hm?”

Luz mutters something under her breath in Spanish before she and Amelia go to start rushing outside, only for Vladimir's voice to call out to stop them.

“They're fine... for now. Of course, that could change if you go blindly charging in, looking to play the heroes... that worked out so well for you in dealing with your little wrestling problem, now didn't it?”

“What do you want?” Amelia snapped.

“I'm just delivering a message on behalf of Lord Caleb,” Vladimir responded, making Amelia and Luz want to vomit at the way he referred to his psychopathic zealot of a boss. “He's willing to extend an olive branch to the two of you, prove he's not the bad guy you believe him to be. He wants you to know he's willing to help the two of you if you wish to... take a different approach to your rematch with the Fall of Man, I believe they call themselves. And before you jump to conclusions, this is not an offer, nor an obligation, to join us in The Empire. This is Caleb simply wanting to show you he only has your success and best interests in mind, and you won't even have to give up any of your sinful ways. He's willing to see things from your point of view and help... won't you return the kindness?”

Luz and Amelia take a moment to engage in a silent conversation, weighing their options. Obviously, anything to do with Caleb was bad news, no questions asked. Vladimir could frame it however he wished, there was nothing in this or any reality that would ever truly get them to want to give Caleb the chance he was asking for.

That said, there was the matter of the people who meant everything to them. For all they knew, it could be a very easy bluff, especially since they knew their found family could handle themselves if need be. And yet, it was an unnecessary risk they didn't want to take against a force they knew would not hesitant to turn lethal just to prove a point, given that they remembered Empire members having pulled guns on them before, and who knows how many of them were actually trained to know how to effectively use them at this point.

“...we'll think about it,” they reluctantly answered together, their shoulders trembling as Luz bit her bottom lip and Amelia clenched her fists tightly.

“That'll do for now. Oh, and please keep this between us if you want to continue to ensure their safety. We'll be in touch,” Vladimir's voice replied before they heard the speaker click off, followed by it literally falling to pieces right before their very eyes.

Everything about the last few minutes made the couple sick to their stomachs, but they knew they were walking a delicate tightrope as they prepared to leave San Antonio and Retribution behind. They knew they could get their titles back from the Fall of Man, and they knew they didn't need anything Caleb was offering to do it... but were they really willing to risk more lives, especially ones important to them, if The Empire seemed like they were done playing games and ready to make a big move?

It was a question they honestly didn't want to answer, but they knew they had little choice now.

[Wisteria Waltz]

As we find ourselves in a dimly lit gym, it's hard to tell if we truly expected to find ourselves here or not. The darkness all around us certainly doesn't feel inviting, almost giving hints that it's after hours and we're certainly not supposed to be here. Amidst the faint outlines of weights and gym equipment, there's nothing to even give a hint of exactly where this gym might be located. And yet, none of that seems to matter, because we know exactly where we're being drawn to. We see that we're slowly closing in on the only light available to us in this place: a single spotlight that seems to be shining down on an old training ring that's clearly seen better days. Between its ropes, we find Amelia Nevado and La Pequeña Luz seated in the center, their heads bowed as they sit back-to-back. Even as we get close enough to be able to see into the ring without the ropes obstructing part of our view, Amelia and Luz don't seem to acknowledge our presence, sitting in silent contemplation as their focus seems to be on the canvas beneath them. For almost a full minute, the two are oddly still, a concerning sight especially from Luz as we've always known her to be full of energy. When we least expect it, though, the silence is broken.

“The Light In The Darkness are no longer your World Tag Team Champions...”

“At Retribution, James Evans and Giovanni Aries managed to dethrone us...”

The admissions are blunt, to the point where it's surprising even with what we know of these women, but they still don't move, nor do they even turn their heads slightly in our direction.

“We know what you're all probably expecting. The last two times this happened, Luz and I got pretty down on ourselves, hesitated at the mere thought of invoking our rematches, tried to shackle ourselves with insane additional provisions all to force ourselves to be pushed even harder to prove that we belong here.”

“The truth of the matter is... we've already long since proven that we do, in fact, belong here. From being derailed by injuries and coming back to having our commitment to SCW be questioned by those who came before us, Amelia and I have spent the past two or so years since that return fighting, scratching, clawing, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that SCW is worth every last bit of blood, sweat and tears we've been willing to shed for it and then some.”

“In that time, we've both called ourselves Television Champions. Luz has called herself an interim U.S. Champion. I've won the Trios Tournament. And the two of us together have called ourselves your World Tag Team Champions three times over a collective span of 421 days between them all.”

“The most important detail that some out there seem pretty keen to forget is that we've earned every single one of those accolades. We've stepped up and fought the very best SCW has had to offer without fear, and win or lose, we've always walked away knowing there's still so much more to learn, mistakes to improve from, work to build on.”

“We fully acknowledge that we're not a perfect tag team, and that's OK.”

“Because that means we know we'll always have more work to do to keep getting better.”

“And losses like Retribution? They're not as damaging as the Fall of Man want to believe they are.”

“After all... we can still fight.”

It's at this moment that we see Amelia and Luz both reach back, hooking their arms around one another's.

“That's why we're going to pick ourselves back up...”

“Shake off anything they were hoping would plague us after that loss...”

As they keep talking, Amelia and Luz slowly begin to rise, their backs still pressed together as they use one another to help themselves back to their feet, letting their legs do all the work.

“And remind all of SCW...”

“...that you can't snuff out The Light In The Darkness that easily!”

It's at this point that both women are completely upright once again. They unhook their arms and both turn to face us fully now, but we can see their hands still finding their way to one another, their fingers threading together as they, perhaps to the surprise of many, seem relatively unfazed by the loss of their World Tag Team Titles. If there's any change in their demeanor at all, it does feel like there's even more of a fire burning in their eyes now, but not to the same potentially self-destructive degree that we've seen hints of in the past.

“We're not going to sugarcoat it: yeah, it hurt to lose to the Fall of Man at Retribution. But for all William Heaven's talk of inevitability, we made James and Gio earn that win the hard way, we pushed them to their limits and deep down, as much as they hate it, we know they can't deny it. At the end of the day, if we were going to fall, then we went down exactly the way we would've wanted to... fighting with everything we had and being overcome by opponents who pushed themselves to fight just that little bit more. For as much as we know they'll try to brag and gloat, they played our game at Retribution, not theirs. If they had their way, Luz and I would be laying in hospital beds right now, questioning if we would ever be able to set foot in the ring again, or if we'd even want to. And yet, here we stand, clearly willing and able to pick ourselves back up and start our journey back to the top all over again if we need to.”

“Here's the thing that I know William's hoping we forget about: we do have a rematch we can use if we so choose to try James and Giovanni one more time. And if history has taught anything, it's that Ames and I? We're pretty darn good at learning from history and fixing any mistakes we make to be even better the next time around. We're always learning, always growing, always evolving, and if and when that time comes? We'll be a far different team than the one the Fall of Man has faced not just at Retribution, but up to this point period. We aren't going to just give up and go away all because we lost one match, and deep down, we're pretty sure William's afraid of the truth: that whether it's because of a rematch or if James and Gio are as dominant as they want to think, as long as they hold those titles? Sooner or later, they're going to have to meet us in that ring again, and they're going to have to once again prove they have what it takes to overcome us. That's the funny thing about this narrative: there isn't just one author deciding where this story goes next.”

“And that's not even getting into the fact that we're pretty sure mi amor still has a rematch for the interim U.S. Title she can choose to pursue if she wishes, regardless of whether it means another dance with Asher or seeing if this Jordan Majors woman is able to really put her money where her mouth is. Let's also not forget that I'm in possession of a Trios contract, which in and of itself could lead to any number of scenarios. True, for the first time since Rise to Greatness last year, Luz and I find ourselves without any gold to our names... but there are so many more paths laid out before us than ever before, which only further proves that for everything the Fall of Man has claimed they were going to do to us, they've ultimately failed in the grand scheme of things, and no amount of attempting to rewrite their past declarations to save face is going to change the fact that the hunters now find themselves as the hunted.”

“Of course, we're not blind to the opportunity that we know so many other teams in this company are seeing right now. For so long, we've stood at the top of the mountain, fighting tooth and nail to prove that our time wasn't quite up yet, and now that we are tag champions no more, they believe it's the perfect opportunity to strike while the iron's hot, hope to capitalize on our loss at Retribution to further try to keep us down and out of the way so they can go after the new champions. I mean, the Cowgirls From Hell returned recently and with greater numbers than before, and Retribution also saw the return of The Connection, a duo we wouldn't be surprised to have targeting us in the very near future. That's also not getting into every other team around here that has been a part of our journey in one form of another over these past few years to rebuild and remind the world of just what tag team wrestling is all about. Teams just like the Shinigami Foundation, who have made it clear they're chomping at the bit for this date with us come Breakdown.”

Amelia and Luz slowly approach the ropes, causing us to back up a bit to keep them completely in our sights as we look up at them. They lean on the ropes, thinking over the task ahead of them come Breakdown for a moment as we see the gears begin to shift and turn in their minds.

“Alex, Wil, Dante... regardless of which combination of the three of you we find ourselves facing come Breakdown, we know how badly you want to be able to walk out of saying you've beaten us. The thought of using the former champions as a stepping stone to declare your own shot at the current title holders? It's a tale as old as time in this business, and we're not surprised at how confident you feel in being able to pull this off. After all, Alex and Wil are the two men who claimed several months ago that they wanted to lock down the tag team division and have the final say on who does and doesn't belong here, and their attempts to enforce that and make themselves the only option to challenge our reign is what caused us to call for the Chamber. We gave the two of you and everyone else in that match exactly what you asked for, but we also warned you that we weren't just going to rest on our laurels and expect to simply walk out the same way we walked in. We started that match, barely 48 hours removed from our wedding night, and busted our behinds to overcome you and every other team in that match to prove that we were still worthy of being SCW World Tag Team Champions.”

“And we also remember a few weeks after that, Alex, when you and Aisling were paired together and earned yourselves another shot at our title reign. We'll stand here and wholeheartedly give you credit where it's due: you and Aisling managed to make a great team and gave us the kind of fight we were hoping for, and even if some people wanted to criticize us for being a bit careful with Aisling because of her injury, we still earned the win on that night. Now, I'm not saying any of that is a guarantee of how this match on Breakdown is going to go... far from it, actually. If anything, Amelia and I are walking down to that ring knowing two things for sure: that you're going to be determined to show us that you've learned and grown from those past encounters into the kind of team that can take us down, and that we need to make a statement of our own by reminding the world of exactly who we are. We're The Light In The Darkness, we've prided ourselves for years on being that beacon of hope for so many others in this business and proving that no matter who you are, you can succeed at anything you put your mind to if you're willing to work for it. Everyone else can say that we're the best tag team in SCW, and perhaps even the entire world, today... we'll gladly keep fighting and proving we deserve to be seen as such, one match at a time.”

“You guys don't have to demand our very best or tell us to expect that from you come Breakdown, because that's all we'll ever give and all we'd ever ask of you in the first place. We want the two of you to come as us like the toughest tag team in all of professional wrestling you claim to be, because that's the kind of challenge that we crave, the kind of fight we need to pick ourselves back up at the very bottom of the mountain and begin this climb all over again. That's what Luz and I have always been about, and that's something that the Fall of Man could never take from us, no matter how hard they try.”

“When SCW first reached out to us, they were drawn in by the allure of Amelia and I both being second generation talents. If anything, every match we have ever wrestled since day one has been about forging our own legacies, carving our own paths with just our bare hands, independent of those within our respective families that preceded us. That is who we are, and that's who we want to be remembered as. So to the Shinigami Foundation, we wish you the best of luck, but we'd also like to give you a friendly warning... if you believe this match is already won, then you're going to find out firsthand just how much harder we fight when we're back on the hunt as opposed to defending what we've built.”

“A whole new journey awaits us starting on Breakdown.”

“And we're more than happy to light the way on wherever that journey takes us next.”

Amelia and Luz glance at one another and nod, the smiles we've come to know fully present on their faces as any hope of them being train wrecks like in the past following such a heartbreaking title loss are clearly dead. What exactly this means is something we'll have to wait until Breakdown to find out for sure, but one thing is clear as we fade out: The Light In The Darkness may be shining brighter than ever, Retribution be damned.

[Thunderhorse]

(The Foundation) "Innocent Sin"

OOC: Warning some CD for Dante and yes, it will be confusing.