Damon Cage vs. La Pequena Luz

[Kemal Yilmaz]

SCW United States Championship

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 Word Per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Tuesday, February 3, 2026**

[James Evans]

OOC: Good luck, Rupster

A Taste of Things to Come, 001

[Wisteria Waltz]

OOC: Chronologically, read this CD for Luz before you read Amelia's, as the events of this one basically lead into the events of Amelia's CD.
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Never before had Fatal Fortunes left Luz feeling so confused and conflicted.

Especially considering she'd just continued what was probably one of the single most impressive streaks anybody in SCW history has probably ever had with this special event.

Over the course of three incarnations of Fatal Fortunes, Luz has wrestled a grand total of eight matches, which was an impressive and daunting ask in and of itself when you realize she's been double and triple booked every single time. Add in the fact that she was undefeated at Fatal Fortunes as well, and it became much harder to argue that Luz's star was on the rise. She had proven herself to be one of SCW's greatest workhorses, especially this year considering she had kicked off the whole event by retaining the United States Championship in an Ironman Match against a very game Clyde Sutter. Her non-title draw had also proven to be quite fortunate for perhaps the first time in this streak, seeing her overcome Alex Belmont one-on-one to earn a future World Tag Title opportunity for herself and Amelia.

The prospect of Luz and her wife joining a very elite club by becoming only the third team in SCW history to become four-time Tag Champions together should have been one that filled the luchadora with so much excitement she would practically be bouncing off the walls in anticipation, to say nothing of the prospect of becoming a double champion once more.

Unfortunately, the thought only seemed to fill Luz's head with anxiety, and the reason why was the woman she considered her better half... even if everyone else didn't seem to agree right now.

Luz's heart ached for Amelia, especially after Fatal Fortunes had dealt her another major setback in the form of a rather humiliating situation that almost seemed way too convenient for her tastes. It was a mess that had Luz regretfully hoping that the Glimmer Sisters actually retained the Tag Titles against Selena and Xander at the next pay-per-view, if only because Luz wanted so badly to back Amelia up in getting some justified payback against two women who were proudly making a mockery of everything they had busted their behinds to build the tag division into for so long and acting like they actually deserved anything they were gloating about. Maybe if those twins were faced with a challenge from a duo that had been time and time again called the greatest tag team of SCW's modern era, not to mention a tandem that had experience in shutting down those twin-switching tactics, they would crumble and The Light In The Darkness could shine once again while fixing all the damage the Glimmers had done.

And yet, Luz had a feeling that wasn't going to solve the problems plaguing her wife as of late.

As much as Luz wanted to look ahead, picture the moment where they became four time Tag Champions together, hope that would bring the radiant smile back to Amelia's beautiful lips... she was painfully aware her boundless optimism could only do so much in this particular situation, and she hated it so much. She wasn't oblivious... Amelia wanted the same respect and progress on the singles front that Luz had going for her, and the fact that the two of them weren't already equals in that regard among SCW's ranks felt like she'd been shocked by a taser.

Yeah, Luz having the longer TV Title reign had been one thing, as she set out to try and prove she could do it in response to Amelia being the first one between them to actually hold singles gold. And yeah, maybe the first U.S. Title reign was also one thing since it had been an opportunity given to her while Amelia was winning Trios, something Luz still hadn't accomplished despite having more attempts at it. But Luz now had two more U.S. Title reigns to her name and everyone was talking about her as though she were already the World Champion, wanting a piece of her and thinking she had what it took to stand at the very top of SCW's highest mountain.

A mountain her wife had already taken a shot at and fallen short... and, for reasons Luz couldn't comprehend, kept falling.

The whole thing baffled Luz beyond belief, and with Amelia's growing frustrations giving her resistance to her wife's usual efforts of trying to cheer her up and get her head back in the game so she could turn it all around, she was at a loss as to what to do. The only plan she'd thought of that might work would be to go to CHBK directly and inquire as to why Amelia hasn't gotten more opportunities she absolutely deserves... but the last thing she wanted was Amelia thinking she'd only gotten something because of Luz intervening on her behalf, let alone the entire roster getting any more ideas about the two of them being CHBK's 'golden children' or anything like that when they simply worked hard and proved themselves in the ring night after night, following the philosophy that had defined them for so long.

“I don't know what to do...” she found herself mumbling as she buried her masked face in her hands. The admission got the attention of everyone in their found family that was currently hanging out in the hotel lobby, having just arrived in Phoenix for A Taste of Things to Come.

“Well, you could always start with preparing to kick butt and retain your title against that Damon Cage fellow,” Paul offered, and while Luz knew he was trying to be helpful, the reminder of what awaited her at the pay-per-view left a sour taste in her mouth right now. It was nothing against Damon Cage personally, considering Luz didn't know the guy on that level to really judge him, but Damon hadn't helped the problem currently consuming her every waking thought considering his face-to-face with her on night two of Fatal Fortunes had made Amelia feel so forgotten about she actually dipped from the arena early, forcing Luz to have to catch a ride with the others back to their London, Ontario hotel.

Come to think about it, Meghan Strader interrupting her interview to make it clear they needed to cross paths again sooner rather than later probably hadn't helped either if Amelia caught it, which strained the respect she had for the Cowgirl From Hell considering her comments were part of the reason why her wife's self-confidence was in the toilet right now.

“I've still got plenty of time to prepare for him, Paul,” Luz settled on, though the look in her eye did force Paul to offer a silent apology as it became clear his words were accidentally testing boundaries again. “I just can't help but be worried about Ames...”

“Getting a match for the pay-per-view to bounce back and prove herself didn't help matters?” Gage inquired as he peeked up from the notes he was taking.

“I'd hardly say the fact that she booked a room separate from me because she really wanted to be alone right now is proof that anything's changed for the better,” Luz groaned, earning sympathetic looks from Gage and Ivy. For as long as they've known the couple, especially considering Ivy's long history with Amelia, any time they were spending time apart (aside from their wedding as being apart until they were both standing at the alter was a good luck tradition) was always cause for concern. Usually, however, the couple were able to talk things out and everything would be back to normal within a fair amount of time.

The fact that Amelia was so frustrated she wasn't even going to entertain the thought of healthy communication set off alarm bells no one in this group, not even Luz, had ever really heard before.

“Has she said anything to you since Breakdown?” Ivy asked.

“No exactamente,” Luz sighed. “Aside from justifying why she wanted her own room this time and shutting down an attempt to sit down and talk about this because, and I quote, she's 'already laid bare her raw feelings about this.' I haven't seen her this bad since I became the reason she finally tasted defeat... but that got fixed when she realized I was being genuine about wanting to be her friend and help pick her back up through all those burdens her parents placed on her.”

“How did you manage to break through her walls, exactly?” Paul couldn't help but ask, leaning forward as he looked and sounded very much like a superfan about to be let into the loop on some super secret lore no fan has ever known before.

“Dude, she kind of just explained that,” Gage noted, glancing over at Paul like he wasn't impressed.

“Well, I guess she kind of did, but-” Paul tried to explain.

“If she doesn't want to share any more about it, that's none of our business,” Henry suddenly jumped in, perhaps a bit more aggressively than he might have intended, but Luz knew full well by now that something about Paul seemed to rub the former Golden Prodigy of The Empire the wrong way for reasons even he couldn't explain. It did seem to be enough to make Paul drop the subject though, and Luz shot Henry a grateful glance.

Even if Paul hadn't heard the full story like the rest of the group had, technically none of them had all the details as Luz always omitted the part about her unmasking as proof to Amelia that her words on that day were truly genuine. It's not that she didn't trust them with such a scandalous detail, but that moment with Amelia so long ago had already been a colossal risk to her acknowledgment of the sacred lucha libre traditions, and the less people knew that someone who wasn't in the know beforehand or responsible for making her into La Pequeña Luz in the first place knew her real name and face, the safer she was from who knows what awaited her if word about that got out.

Sudden movement out of the corner of her eye grabbed Luz's attention as she glanced over to see Darius rising from the table where he, Avery and Evie were all still trying to figure out anything in regards to the other problem constantly hanging over everyone's heads right now. “I'll go try to talk with her, see if she'd be willing to vent to me.”

“A splendid idea,” Paul chimed in as he began to rise as well. “I'll come along too and-”

“It'd be better if this remains a private conversation, with all due respect,” Darius immediately shot Paul down, and the newest addition to their found family sank back down into his seat, pouting in annoyance.

Luz knew Darius had worded it that way to specifically shut Paul down, fearing that his attempts to help may accidentally cross the line he's already been warned about several times by now and make things worse, but it still inadvertently made Luz feel even worse about her own position. The fact that things had gotten to the point where Amelia was actually believing all the nonsense about Luz being the superior wrestler between them, the true star carrying The Light In The Darkness, and Amelia didn't even want to talk with her about it even if it was just venting and unloading right to her wife's face about everything burning beneath her skin about all of this... it hurt more than even the moment when James Evans had powerbombed her off the top rope and tried to snap her spine across the barricade a little over a year ago now.

As Darius headed upstairs to go hopefully talk with Amelia, Luz found that she couldn't sit still anymore. In need of something to preoccupy her thoughts that wasn't her upcoming match (as she'd prefer a clear head when she starts training for Damon to avoid accidentally hurting herself due to her frustrations), she found herself hopping up to her feet and going to occupy Darius's empty chair, her eyes now turning to a map laid out before Avery and Evie that had several spots circled, though most of them also had big red X's through them as well.

“What's this all about?” she couldn't help but ask.

“We're trying to see if we can pinpoint where The Empire is holing up at,” Avery explained.

“They've been way too quiet for way too long and we don't trust it,” Evie added, and Luz could nod in agreement with that. “Since this cult originated on British soil, we're certain that their hiding place is somewhere within the country as well. We've had agents tracking the movements of their members over there to see where they disappear to, but somehow they keep eluding us.”

“Maybe they know you're trying to track them?” Luz offered, to which Avery shook their head.

“These are highly skilled agents trained specifically to deal with threats like this, Luz,” they explained. “From what we've observed, the vast majority of The Empire is akin to an angry mob following the disturbing preaching of a cult of personality. A pain if they have the numbers advantage, but nowhere near the level of a proper army.”

“Considering how easily you, Amelia, and just about everybody else in this group constantly subdue the majority of them we've bumped into,” Evie continued, “there is nothing that suggests they can pick up on our stealth tactics and throw us off their trail to keep that secret lair a secret.”

Luz frowned at that, knowing the NCA agents had a very valid point. Literally anybody wearing those white cloaks and plague doctor masks and screaming their devotion to Caleb White at the top of their lungs had proven to be of little threat in the grand scheme of things. There was the occasional one they'd come across who had actual training of some kind and had fallen under Caleb's spell, but even most of the remaining elites sitting just below Caleb on the food chain weren't built for combat, aside from the few who were former wrestlers, though that didn't quite translate well to this scenario. Even Caleb himself, despite his age, was a former wrestler at best, hardly the tactical genius he absolutely believed he was. The Empire were only ever a threat when they had a huge edge in numbers, got the jump on anybody, or sprung some elaborate and convoluted trap designed to put them in a position where they held all the cards, no matter what.

The more Luz thought about it, the more she felt that familiar itch in the back of her head, as if she knew the answer but couldn't quite place it for some reason. Thinking about it made her skin crawl for reasons she couldn't quite place... or, perhaps, didn't want to.

Almost as if guided by some sort of instinct, she found her gaze drifting back towards the others who were hanging out down here right now. Ivy, Gage and Henry seemed to be discussing something revolving around whatever Gage was showing them on his phone, and things at least seemed to be in good spirits there. Paul, however...

“Hey, where'd Paul go?” Luz called over to them after glancing around the lobby area and finding no sign of him.

“He said he had to go make a phone call,” Henry replied, the suspicious edge never leaving his voice. “He at least stepped outside, so it wasn't an excuse to go intrude on Darius trying to talk with Amelia at least.”

Luz frowned, wanting to raise the concern of Paul being alone. Just because The Empire hadn't been actively harassing them lately didn't mean they probably weren't still being watched. The cult may have been far from a proper military force, no matter how many times Caleb apparently hyped them up as “God's chosen army,” but she did remember some of them were either former military veterans of some kind or had defected from law enforcement in both America and England, not to mention there was probably also some semblance of basic training for espionage given that one of the elites Luz and Amelia had unfortunately dealt with for quite some time and was still active had been a former communications director for the FBI.

Just as Luz pondered the clutter that her thoughts had become and felt tempted to step outside for some fresh air and to keep an eye on Paul anyway, her phone suddenly began to ring. The anime-inspired tune drew quite a few annoyed looks from other hotel patrons, but she gave them a sheepish smile before she answered without even checking the caller ID. “¿Hola?”

“It's been a while... little light.”

Luz nearly dropped the phone, a chill running down her spine at the familiar voice that still haunted her nightmares. Everyone immediately noticed Luz's expression as Avery guided Luz back down into the chair while Ivy, Gage and Henry quickly moved closer, pausing only when Luz held up a hand so they wouldn't crowd around her.

“What do you want, Caleb?” she growled, immediately raising the level of tension among the group surrounding her.

“My, my, such bite in your words,” Caleb taunted her. “And yet, your father always intended for you to be such a kind and happy soul-”

“Keep mi papá's name out of your mouth,” Luz warned him over the phone. “Yeah, I try to be a good person, but anyone's blood would boil if they had to listen to you try to worm your way into their heads.”

“Believe what you will, but I have a devoted following that would disagree with you.” Luz could practically hear the grin in Caleb's voice and it made her sick.

“I'll ask you again,” Luz huffed as everyone, especially Avery and Evie, watched her carefully. “What do you want, cabrón?”

“Such foul language,” Caleb mock gasped. “You wound me, dear child. And here I am, trying to help you realize that the path you currently walk will only lead to your own destruction.”

“Uh huh,” Luz rolled her eyes. “You can preach your homophobic garbage all you want, Caleb, because that's all it is at the end of the day: garbage.”

“Really?” Caleb said, feigning intrigue. “Is that why Amelia is crumbling so much under pressure she should no longer be facing now that her parents are out of the picture? Or perhaps the Blythe name has always been a failure and a shrewd businessman tried to sell me on a lie for so long?”

“Shut up!” Luz finally snapped, shocking everyone and drawing even more unwanted attention from others loitering around the lobby, but she no longer cared. “I don't care if you've been keeping up with our SCW exploits, you do not speak about my wife like that! You're no better than Aleister and Ophelia, breaking people just to force them to conform to this disgusting expectation you have for the whole world born of your own narcissism. She is a far greater person worthy of so much more than you will ever be, and when she bounces back at our next pay-per-view, you'll eat those words!”

There was a long pause, enough to make Luz uncomfortable and even double-check to make sure Caleb hadn't hung up on her just to not hear her fiery response. After far too long, though... she heard a laugh. The kind of sick, twisted, holier-than-thou laugh that only made the fire beneath her skin burn even hotter.

“Oh, Luz...” he finally replied. “So emotional, so passionate... and yet, so naive and blind. Tell me... are you sure Amelia still cares this much about you? Or will she just look at you with disdain if you succeed in your own match come Sunday, knowing that you have everything she was forced to strive for and she just can't seem to get as lucky as you do?”

Luz opened her mouth, ready to fire back with even more ferocity, but the line went dead as Caleb hung up on her. She ended up staring at her phone in shock, trembling at the thought that the first time Caleb had made any sort of move against them in far too long had resulted in him getting under her skin and succeeding in infecting her thoughts like a parasite...  she slammed her phone into the table before burying her head in her arms to muffle the furious scream she couldn't keep bottled up anymore as her friends all tried to comfort her while Avery and Evie made a note of what had just happened, knowing their efforts to track The Empire had a greater urgency now if Caleb was being active again.

Everyone was so distracted by this turn of events, however, that no one noticed a familiar figure slipping through the lobby and heading up the stairs.