Team Desire vs. Light in the Darkness

[Konrad Raab]

SCW World Tag Team Championship

4 RP limit for tag

No word limits

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Friday, October 11, 2024

SHOW TAKES PLACE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2024 at Buffalo, New York – KeyBank Center

[Team Desire]

Team Desire | "Some Buisness and a lot Mistakes"

Inside of Dr. Evelyn Mercer’s office. Katie and Gigi sit in their respective seats for the counseling session with the doctor. Katie slouches down in her chair. She is at a loss. She isn’t a holder of the TRIOS contract and director of SCW as a whole. It was supposed to be her calling. What was her obvious next step after being SCW’s Queen and its Goddess. To become SCW’s grand wizard. Wait, not what she meant. She was just to be the woman working behind the curtain while showing the world her magic. She had a whole vision and everything.

“It was ridiculous.” Katie started off. “I had it all planned out. It was going to be the biggest, the grandest, the most epic moment that SCW would’ve had. Now, they’ve lost it. No one has my vision. My theatrics. It’s most disappointing. It was definitely on Josh and Blake’s part. They didn’t see my vision. Goddess, they are so blind.”

Katie lifts her hand up and rubs her forehead with her fingers. Trying to calm herself down.

“Thank you, Katie for sharing.” Dr. Mercer says. “I’m sorry that you were unsuccessful. We can work on improving and getting better.”

Katie sits back in her chair and calms down a little bit. Now Gigi is a bit restless in her chair.

“Yes. We’re all upset by Katie's unsuccessful TRIOS loss. It’s affecting us deeply. I can’t sleep.” Gigi shakes her head. Katie reaches her out and grabs her hand for support.

Dr. Mercer nods. “Ok, I’m detecting a bit of sarcasm. We’re not here to attack.”

“What?” Katie looks around confused, pulling her hand back.

“I’m sorry. I just would’ve been nice to be invited to the dance.I don’t know what I was expecting. It’s not like I have a lot of luck getting my name drawn for the brackets. “ Gigi grows frustrated. She really wishes the doctor had something in her office that she could take out some aggression on. Looking around the office, nothing but nice and expensive items and degrees on the wall. “Damn.”

“Ok, Gigi I know you’re feeling a bit down about it. That is where I would have come in. With my TRIOS contract we could’ve had so much fun. It could be months of teasing every single person on the roster with a threat of a Team Desire event. We could’ve been in a two on one handicap match against the United States Champion. Would you have loved calling yourself the United States Champion?” Katie sits up in her chair looking every bit excited about her comments.

Gigi shakes her head. “Eh? I don’t know. We’ll see how it feels in a couple of more months to be Champion of it.”

“Ladies, I see we’re kind of at an impasse. You're both drifting a bit apart. Which isn’t that good with your Tag Team Championship opportunity coming up. Think we need to work and understand each other. Remember you are stronger together. I want the two of you to take the time to really think about what the other is going through. When you do that, then you will be successful. I’ll see you again in our next session.” Dr. Mercer smiles and lets Katie and Gigi leave the office wrapping up their session with her. The Steward girls have their homework to do now.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Katie Steward sits at the end of the bar at TJ’s restaurant. In front of her she laid out all the details for her movie that she is directing. She tries to figure out what to shoot next. TJ walks over and stands there to talk to her.
“So everything went well with the doctor today?” TJ asks.

“Uh, yeah, Gigi and I are good. We’ve got our own things that are kind of pulling us away, but I think we just need to be comfortable with it and not let it destroy us. Although my thing did involve her so I was still thinking about her. So I don’t think I was the problem.”

TJ just nods along with the latter part of Katie’s comment. “So what are you doing right now?”

“Oh, I’m just going over some notes for Rift in Time. You know I’m making a really good time on it. In fact, we might be done filming by the end of the month.” Katie laughs. “And they thought the project was doomed.”

“That’s good. So things are working out with Drake then?” TJ asks, remembering Katie was desperate to find someone that could help him with his problems. Him liking things on Social Media that shouldn’t be liked.

“It is. I don’t know what happened. We went to his trailer to get him for some scenes and no problems. No one did anything. He is just a professional guy and he’s actually really good. This movie is going to be so good. It’s going to lead to so many more opportunities for me.” Katie claps her hands together, unable to control her excitement.

“I’m really happy for you. You deserve it.” TJ smiles at Katie. Always her cheerleader.

“I love it so much. I proved to the studio that I was the right person for the job.”

TJ leaves Katie to her work as he goes and helps others in the restaurant. Katie continues to think about everything happening around her.

“Everything is so good. I’m at the top of my game in both my careers. About to have a blockbuster movie. Also Gigi and I are going to crush it in our tag title match. Dr. Mercer said I should think about Gigi’s needs. She’s probably right. I’ve been busy with the movie and then TRIOS. Gigi needs me. I’m clearly crushing it everywhere else. Some of it should rub off on Gigi’s benefit as well.”

Katie smiles and collects her paperwork from the bar and puts it away before heading out.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Gigi walks into the kitchen of her boyfriend’s apartment to get herself a drink. The place is different. Liam must have moved things around and redecorated that place. Gigi walks back into the other room and sits down next to him on the couch. She sets her glass on the coaster on the table and then turns to him and she starts making out with Drake Lane.

Wait, what?

Drake? The same Drake that is the star of Katie’s movie she’s directing.

It happened a couple of weeks ago. While Katie was shooting her movie. Gigi, Maddy and Ash were all there visiting Katie on the set and getting some backstage access on the studio lot. That is when it happened. The last incident that Drake had. Blowing up at some people backstage and then rushing off to his trailer. Not before sprouting off some misinformation he saw on social media.

Gigi turned to Maddy and Ash and shook her head. She tells them she’s had enough and she walks off and heads to the trailer to give him a piece of her mind. That was pretty much it. Unexplainable. Soon as she walked into the trailer they just connected and the passion took over. She couldn’t control herself. It’s not the same as what she has with Liam. She doesn’t have the same feelings for Drake.

After fifteen minutes a stage hand knocked on the trailer door needing Drake on the set and he left so did his current reputation he has with social media.

Back at Drake’s apartment, he and Gigi are still making out. Though she suddenly pushes him back and sits up on the couch.

“Are you ok? Did I do something wrong?” Drake asks, sitting up next to her.

“No. It’s fine. It’s just me. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.” Gigi explains brushing her hair with her hand.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Drake gives her a bit of space. Ready to listen.

“No. It’s nothing that serious. It’s just a little distracting. Maybe I should leave and we could do this some other time.” Gigi moves over on the couch further away from Drake.

“I’m sorry. The offer to talk is still on the table. Or we could go out somewhere if that’s what you want? I mean anywhere you want to go. I can pretty much get us into any parties.” Drake jumps off the couch to get his keys.

“No. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Nobody knows about us yet. It’s probably for the best right now. What with Katie directing your movie and all.”

Drake looks at her confused. “What does she have to do with us?”

“She’s my mom.” Gigi explains, but Drake is still confused. “She adopted me after she was my big sister in the program.”

“Oh. That makes sense. That’s cool. So you just don’t want to do anything then?” Drake asks, trying to figure out Gigi.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin things.” Gigi stands up from the couch and walks over to Drake.

“It’s ok. I understand. If you want to call it a night then we can just reschedule some time later.”

Gigi looks to the door. She wants to head out. What is she even doing right now? Or for the last couple of weeks living like a brat. She could just head out now and get back to her apartment and focus on her upcoming title match. Like what everyone would probably expect her to do. She turns her head to Drake and looks him in his eyes. She realizes that was a mistake. She can’t control herself again. For the bad boy. Gigi just smiles at him and says, “Sorry, where were we?”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

“I think SCW made a mistake. Well I don’t think so, I know SCW made a mistake. I did not just become Supreme Champion, but I became the greatest Supreme Champion ever. That should hold a lot more weight to it. I said a lot. I’ve done a lot. Light in the Darkness should learn that when I talk, things happen. I make things happen. SCW desperately needed something big for Rise to Greatness. That’s when they gave Team Desire the opportunity to save it. That’s exactly what we did. We came in and we won the tag titles and then we went on to Rise to Greatness with Light in the Darkness and Twisted & Sadistic  and we raised the bar for all SCW tag teams. Now what could we have now.  SCW is throwing out the trilogy. What could the mind of Katie Steward bring to this match that’ll make it truly historic. Now after losing the TRIOS opportunity is bad. It’s alright though. What we needed anyways, is for Gigi and I to be stronger together. We need to forget about TRIOS. Gigi is better than that. Gigi deserves better. That’s why she’s going to win the DUOS title.” Katie laughs for an unusually long time at what she thinks is a hilarious pun. “See. I told you I’d bring something special to this match. My Goddess, I’m amazing.” -Katie Steward


“It felt so good. To call myself a champion again. All that time had passed by. Working my butt off and then finally everything paid itself off. It was an amazing match with Luz and Ameila. Every one of them. Now we get to close out our trilogy. I know Katie doesn’t like to lose. No matter what happens she’s always got herself a plan. For me, I wasn’t a part of TRIOS, unlike Katie, Luz and Amelia. Congrats to Ameila, by the way. So I’m more angry. I’m more determined. I’m the one that’s more hungry for something to bite. I’m preparing to bite down on the tag titles again because it’s something that’s dangling in front of my face and I don’t want to let go. Katie got what she wanted the last time we had our match. This time, it’s Gigi’s turn.” -Gigi Steward

[Wisteria Waltz]

OOC: Billy Heaven Jr. appears with permission. Also, just to cover my bases, despite not making actual appearances in this, something regarding Selena and Deanna Frost that appears in this CD was worked out with and approved by Hayden.
------------------------------

In a way, Apocalypse was almost starting to become the pay-per-view that always set the stage for the next big step in the careers of Amelia Blythe and La Pequeña Luz.

Last year at this very event, they followed up a strong run through a tag team turmoil match by winning a triple threat tag match under lucha libre rules to officially become the number one contenders to the World Tag Team Championship, ultimately going on to win those titles for the very first time roughly one year after they'd returned to SCW.

This year seemed to set the stage for them on the singles front, giving them the chance to remind the world that they were both incredibly talented and dedicated wrestlers and not just a phenomenal tag team. Amelia, alongside Billy Heaven Jr. and Xander Valentine, had fought her way to the finals of this year's Trios Tournament and ultimately helped get her team across the finish line, earning her an open contract for any match of her choosing over the course of the next year. Luz, not to be outdone, had fought tooth and nail to earn the win in a triple threat match over Scott Reed and Marie Jones to become the number one contender to the United States Championship.

One would think the future would be looking incredibly bright for the young couple... but all they could focus on were the dark clouds that seemed to hide a lot of that brilliant sunlight that should be guiding them to the next step in their wrestling journeys.

With Apocalypse now off the air, Luz and Amelia had their heads hung as they made their way through the backstage area towards their locker room, painting a very different picture than what many workers they passed by were probably expecting to see. The prevailing plan right now was to get showered and changed (especially since Luz hadn't done so after her win, not wanting to miss a second of Amelia's match) before heading back to their hotel room. The urge to talk about what had happened tonight was certainly there, but they wanted to be somewhere private to work through all of it together and figure out what to do next.

After all, for as successful as Apocalypse had been for them tonight, that success had a lot of asterisks attached to it. And if there was one thing Luz and Amelia both hated with a burning passion, it was asterisks tainting their hard-earned efforts to pull off victories.

Amelia's was obvious, and she knew it was only going to come with its own set of problems. It would've been one thing if a tainted win would've come from Billy's antics because, despite her best efforts, she had no control over the guy and she at least could play devil's advocate considering how much Selena had been willing to stretch the rules and turn a blind eye to Polly and Andrew's antics if it got her what she wanted. Interference from Blake Mason, for reasons she still struggled to fully comprehend, opened up a whole new can of worms that only made her efforts to try and get through to her former(?) friend even harder now. She had a Trios contract now, and all the power that came with it, but she struggled to justify to herself having truly earned it. All that training with Xander, putting up with Billy's obnoxious nonsense, fighting to prove what she was capable of without Luz... in a way, it felt like it had been for naught.

Luz wasn't faring much better on her end. Sure, she'd actually won her match clean and there was no disputing that she had earned the right to call herself the number one contender to the United States Championship... the problem was all the questions and unknowns surrounding the title itself that hadn't fully been answered by the time the show had gone off the air. She'd seen the unsanctioned fight between Deanna and The Enigma, rooting her friend on the whole way as she overcame her own exhaustion and, hopefully, put that wannabe supernatural psychopath out of commission for the foreseeable future. Just as important, however, was the confirmation that Deanna had, in fact, won that match, meaning Luz would get her wish of properly challenging her for that title and earning it the right way in the kind of challenge she wanted to further prove herself. She didn't know when that might be, but she was more than willing to wait if it meant she got the best possible match out of Deanna, the match that everyone deserved between them. Overhearing CHBK and some of the road agents discussing the possibility of an interim champion pending how serious Deanna's injuries were, however... she knew who that would end up being if it became necessary, and she knew she'd earned it given her win tonight, but to her that scenario felt hollow at best.

“It didn't feel this complicated last year,” Luz suddenly said, unable to hold it in any longer despite the two of them not even being back to their locker room yet. “We won, we earned our title shot, and we went on to our very first SCW World Tag Title reign. Simple and effective.”

“I'm sure Glory and Brittany would disagree,” Amelia noted, though her tone lacked the playful energy she probably intended for it to have. “We didn't pin them in that match, we didn't pin them in the triple threat at Retribution... all their issues with us had to start somewhere.”

“OK, you've got me there,” Luz admitted. “But still, that's an issue we could at least deal with and eventually did. All of tonight, though? I... Ames, I don't even know where to begin.”

“I feel like it's going to have to begin with the Frosts... speaking of things that didn't feel complicated last year...” Amelia lamented, briefly thinking back to how simple it was when the Frosts were Tag Team Champions and they were the challengers, and that was all there was to it. “I know Blake wants to be in the World Title picture, but my team eliminated his in round one. I don't care if he's got anything against Selena like everyone else does, he screwed me out of a chance to show Selena that the right mindset does still work in this business, despite what she thinks and wants to give in to.”

“I saw him nodding to Billy's dad after the fall was counted,” Luz revealed with a sigh. “I don't know what kind of deal they made, but I know they could care less about doing anything the right way in this business. Idiotas egoístas...”

“Well... the good news is that I have an entire year to figure out what to use that contract for,” Amelia tried to justify. “Hopefully that will be plenty of time to prove that I've not only truly earned it but also whatever I decide to use it for. At least Selena's predictable enough to know her reaction to all of this... Deanna, on the other hand...”

“Well, the next Breakdown's going to be in Buffalo, and that fight took place in New York, so maybe when we head out that way we should go visit her in the hospital and see how she's doing.” Luz slowly grew more frantic and worried as she spoke. “Even if she's not conscious yet, she still deserves to know that we're worried about her, and not just because I'm on deck for her title now. It's hard not to think about it in a wrestler mindset though... I want to earn that title, I want to prove I can beat her for it because of how much she's earned her lengthy reign with that belt. If I have to call myself an interim champion until I can get that match...”

“Deep breaths, Lulu,” Amelia cut in, draping an aching arm over her fiancée's shoulders. They took a few deep, calming breaths together, knowing that they both needed it right now, before they realized that in their slow mental descent, they had reached their locker room without even realizing it.

“I just...” Luz groaned as she leaned her masked forehead against the door. “What's wrong with the simple, honest approach? Why do so many people have to cause so much chaos to get their way?”

“I wish I had a clue, I honestly did...” Amelia leaned over and kissed the corner of Luz's lips. As much as they both knew they should step inside so they can get ready to leave the Rogers Arena behind for tonight, they just stood there for a moment, leaning against one another up against the door to their locker room, trying to collect their thoughts.

“There's my resident baddie lesbian goddesses! And presenting the goods for the Young King himself too! Talk about getting the party started early!”

And just like that, it felt like a wrecking ball had swung in and demolished all the tension that was starting to wear on the minds of the World Tag Team Champions. Given who said wrecking ball was, however, meant that Amelia could hardly call it a good thing as she audibly groaned, her and Luz turning to find Billy dancing up to them. At least... that's what he probably thought he was doing, but neither woman would call his 'dancing' anywhere close to good, even giving him the benefit of the doubt because he was still clutching at the arm Selena had trapped in that hanging armbar of hers during the finals.

“I'm not-” Luz started to say, the exasperation clear in her voice, but Amelia gently elbowed her in the side.

“Believe me with how much I hate that I'm about to say this,” Amelia whispered in Luz's ear, “but just let him think that. He already won't leave me alone despite how clear I've been that I'll never be into men. If he knows you bat for both teams...”

Amelia was practically gagging at even having to say any of that, but despite the low growl that escaped her throat in response, Luz got the hint. People like Billy had been enough of a problem for the both of them throughout their lives in one form or another, but poor Amelia had to just grin and bear it to pull off what she did in the Trios Tournament. It still didn't answer why Billy was bothering them now, but maybe they felt they at least owed him the courtesy of a conversation. Amelia had put up with him up to this point, and Luz somehow managed to tolerate him despite everything he did that warranted getting his teeth knocked out... maybe they could put up with one more chat with him before they hopefully never crossed paths with him again for as long as they were all on the SCW roster.

“What'cha whispering about?” Billy asked as he got uncomfortably close, to the point where he tried to lean back against them so he could snap a group selfie only for Amelia and Luz to shove him away. He didn't seem deterred by this, unfortunately. “You don't have to whisper and hide it. I know you ladies wanna know what Heaven feels like.”

“Is there something we can help you with Billy?” Luz asked, somehow managing to sound like her usual kind self.

“Straight to the point, I like it!” Billy clapped his hands, only to shake out his one arm when he was reminded of whatever damage was done to it. Amelia couldn't keep from rolling her eyes, knowing firsthand for better or worse what signs indicated a broken arm, and Billy's was far from being broken for sure. “Alright, here's the score: I had this huge party planned for hashtag my crew for when we won tonight out at one of the local clubs, no expense spared. Sadly, big Xandy bailed on ol' Billy, said it wasn't his thing and threatened to get all violent and shit when I tried to talk him into reconsidering.”

“You mean when you got on his nerves enough he threatened to put you to bed early tonight,” Amelia noted, having spent enough time training with her Trios partners at this point to know what likely really happened.

“But! But!” Billy tried to keep going, not letting Amelia's likely accurate observation derail his flow. “I know a bad vibe like you Amelia would never turn down a good time out with B.H. Da Remix. You and Not-So-Little Luz here can back me up with those big, juicy asses of yours, celebrate her nice win too. Maybe even consider it a double bachelorette party, my little wedding gift to the both of you. What do you say? We can throw back some drinks, cut loose on the dance floor, maybe the both of you can bring some bootyquaking through my Heavenly-”

“No.”

Billy's eyes went wide, almost like he wasn't expecting to suddenly hear the record scratch sound in his brain, but Amelia was firm in her refusal.

“No?”

“No,” Amelia confirmed. “I'm sorry Billy, you make it sound so 'tempting' but... the tournament's over. Luz and I just want to try and get back to our normal routine, especially since we got confirmation earlier that we're defending our World Tag Titles next Breakdown.”

“Right now, all we want to do is get cleaned up and go back to our hotel to sleep off the aches and pains from our matches tonight,” Luz added, using a more gentle tone. “To be honest, we've got a lot on our plate coming up and we really should worry about that first.”

“It was... interesting, to say the least, getting to work with you Billy,” Amelia admitted, though she had a feeling Billy barely paid attention to the way her face scrunched up a bit on the word 'interesting.' “Maybe our paths will cross again in that ring... but for now, we're tired and just want to get some rest.”

Billy opened his mouth to perhaps try and talk them into reconsidering, but Luz had already opened the door and stepped inside, pulling Amelia in with her before it was closed and locked, in case Billy got any bright ideas. Both women let out sighs of relief, although they swore they heard Billy through the door say something to himself about their answer being a no “just for tonight” and that there was always next time.

“Is it weird if I feel like he could've been more... tolerable, if he didn't maybe have everything handed to him?” Luz asked as she and Amelia headed over to where their bags were sitting.

“I kind of feel bad for him,” Amelia admitted. “But maybe that's because I feel like I could've been him in another life. But that would've required my parents to not be so obsessed with a family wrestling legacy.”

“I'm sure you'd be a lot less crass about how you talk to people too,” Luz chuckled. “For what it's worth, though... I know it was an ugly beginning, but I think I like who you ended up becoming.”

“Me too,” Amelia replied with a bit of a bubbly laugh escaping her throat. “I'm exactly who I've always wanted to be and I've never been happier. Although... I'm sure that will change in a little over a month when we...”

Luz had been smiling as she pulled out the clothes she planned on changing into once she showered, but that smile faded a bit when she heard Amelia trail off. She looked over to see Amelia pulling something out of her bag that wasn't clothes, nor was it anything either one of them knew had been in there when they first arrived to the Rogers Arena tonight. She carefully moved to look over Amelia's shoulder, trying not to get her hopes up in case she was more tired than she realized and her eyes were playing tricks on her, but there was no mistaking what Amelia was holding in her hand right now.

It was a pair of RSVP cards, the same ones they'd included with every wedding invitation they'd sent out. One had the name Selena Frost on it, the other bore the name Deanna Frost.

And both of them had marked that they would be happily attending Luz and Amelia's upcoming wedding.

“I'm not hallucinating this... am I?” Luz hesitantly asked. “I want to hope I'm not, but I did take a couple of knees to the face from Marie tonight, not to mention some of Scott's bigger moves.”

“No, these are the real deal,” Amelia breathed out, her finger moving to trace along the elegant lettering that she knew could only match her beautifully looping script. “But... Deanna wasn't even in the country because of her unsanctioned match. And Selena...”

Luz's eyes widened as a light bulb seemed to go off in her head. “My match! Because I was obviously in the ring and you were meeting up with Xander and Billy for last minute Trios finals planning, it would've been the only time we weren't both in this room. She must've stopped by and slipped them into your bag.”

“Are you sure?” Amelia looked skeptical, though that might've been due to the guard she was careful about keeping up when it came to Selena for the moment.

“Nothing else makes sense,” Luz pointed out. “She obviously couldn't have done it during your guys' match, and I feel like she would've been watching the World Title match like a hawk since she's been lording her rematch over everyone's heads. Plus, Alex, Dean and Lucas were all near the gorilla position when I heard them discussing Deanna and the U.S. Title situation, and I heard Selena insert herself into it briefly. She must've swung by our locker room sometime right after that.”

Amelia just blinked as she looked down at the RSVPs, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was even holding them. She'd confirmed the Frosts had gotten them when Selena had talked with her after the last Breakdown and was practically waving hers around like it was a magic wand, but to actually know for sure that despite everything, Selena and Deanna would be attending their wedding in a little over a month's time almost felt as surreal as the realization that she was so very close to finally being able to call Luz her lawfully wedded wife.

“They were the only RSVPs we were still missing,” Amelia mumbled.

“Well, not anymore,” Luz grinned, although it was a lot more subdued than she usually did. “We can let Mamá know either tonight or tomorrow so we can finally finish up with seating arrangements and catering and everything.”

“And...” Amelia started, turning to look Luz in the eyes as hints of a more proper smile began to grace her lips for what felt like the first time all night. “Maybe, just maybe, I managed to get through to her after all. It's not much, but the fact that Selena decided to attend after all gives me hope that the woman we knew she truly was is still in there somewhere.”

“Then we'll just have to keep doing what we do best: staying the course and showing her that it's still possible to succeed even in this era of SCW by doing things the right way,” Luz declared with a voice full of hope and determination.

“And by not forgetting or foregoing who you truly are deep inside,” Amelia punctuated her wife-to-be's statement.

Reinvigorated despite how iffy they'd been feeling just minutes prior, the couple wasted no further time in hopping in the shower and letting the hot water soothe the soreness in their muscles after their respective matches. In a bizarre sort of way, they couldn't help but admit that Billy's unwanted advances followed by Selena's surprise gift had gone a long way in helping to pull themselves out of their own heads before they began to lose themselves. It was a reminder of all the connections they'd made, especially over the course of the past two years, that helped to remind them of exactly who they were and why they fought so hard to be where they are today, both in and out of the ring. From Ivy and Gage to Camila and Marilyn to even Valentina and Henry and beyond, they were all proof of the positive influences Luz and Amelia strived to be not just for each other, but for others as well, and the benefits for everyone involved that accompanied those efforts.

It honestly made it all the more baffling why anyone would feel it was necessary to try and destroy everything that the couple had worked so hard to build for themselves, but they had long since come to the conclusion that some people just weren't worth trying to comprehend or reason with.

It did reignite a brief conversation as they showered about the other dark clouds that had been lingering over their heads for a while, that being the mystery of who had been trying so desperately to convince them to call off their wedding altogether. While they were still no closer to figuring out the answer to that question, they were doing their best not to worry about it anymore. After all, Avery had presented Luz with her and Amelia's marriage certificates while she'd been training for her triple threat match tonight, and the couple had since signed them, meaning that legally they were already recognized by three separate countries as a married couple. Still, they wanted to stick with tradition and officially recognize their union as beginning on the evening of November 1st, during Día de Muertos.

At this point, they deserved the chance to have a proper celebration with no interference from anybody who had some sort of nonsensical issue with them, and even then, there was nothing any of them could do to actually stop La Pequeña Luz and the soon-to-be Amelia Nevado from beginning the next chapter of their lives together.

That didn't completely rule out the possibility of something happening, however, hence why the ceremony was going to have heavy security as a precaution. Just because The Empire had seemingly fallen apart once they'd cut off the head of the snake didn't mean that things hadn't been a little too quiet on that front for way too long, especially considering several failed attempts had been made over the past few months to try and spring Caleb from his 'unjust imprisonment.' Luz and Amelia knew that Caleb's direction wouldn't be needed to justify some sort of attempt to disrupt the festivities... after all, several Empire members had vandalized and ruined Día de Muertos celebrations last year, especially in regards to the ofrenda for Luz's father, not because Caleb had ordered them to but because they believed it was in service to the 'good word' that the delusional madman had been preaching to his cult.

That said, the couple would give anything at this point for the peace of mind in believing that all that security wouldn't actually need to be used for anything and they could just enjoy the biggest moment of their lives to date, being able to take that next step together without harassment or senseless fighting or manipulative mind games.

That was the hope that had them staying in good spirits as they finished getting changed and headed out to find their car, thankfully without any sign of Billy hoping in vain to talk them into doing something they absolutely were not comfortable with and wouldn't even consider even if he wasn't part of the equation at all. Sure, they weren't exactly too thrilled still about a lot of the question marks and asterisks that were attached to their wins tonight, but talking about it even briefly had made it clear that there wasn't much they could really do about it right now and they'd simply have to adapt and tackle things as they got those answers, which would likely be found in Buffalo. Until then, they had work to do to settle an old score with the Stewards come Breakdown, determined to prove once and for all that despite the fact that they hadn't eliminated Team Desire from the match at Rise to Greatness, The Light In The Darkness were the rightful World Tag Team Champions now and would continue to remain so for the foreseeable future.

“Well now, if it isn't The Light In The Darkness! Splendid performances tonight, both of you!”

Luz and Amelia froze at the sound of that voice once they'd gotten their bags loaded up in the car. Amelia had vague memories of it from old clips her parents had made her study back before she debuted in the business, and she swore she'd heard it a few times during some of their social gatherings. Luz, however, had recently become more familiar with it, and a chill ran down her spine at hearing it again here and now. She silently prayed in Spanish that she was just hearings things because of needing some sleep after her match, but as she and Amelia turned, there stood Theresa Saintsbury, slowly applauding for the both of them.

“What do you want, Theresa?” Luz asked, struggling to keep the frustration out of her voice.

“Oh sprout, there's no need to be like that,” Theresa said as she took a few steps towards them, the tone of her voice already ignited an inferno beneath Amelia's skin. “Look at how successful you both were tonight, and without one another by your side! Of course...”

“Don't even think about saying another word,” Amelia snapped, her fists clenching tightly. “I heard all about what you tried to pull on Luz a few days ago, and we're not interested in anything else you think we need to hear.”

“How rude,” Theresa scoffed. “And here I thought your parents raised you better than that, Amelia Blythe.”

“They don't dictate my life anymore, not that they could from a jail cell anyway,” Amelia fired back, a small smirk forming on her lips.

“Ah yes, I heard all about that unfortunate little incident and that sham of a trial,” Theresa waved off Amelia's words. “It truly is a shame to see such potential being wasted-”

“The only thing being wasted here is our time,” Luz immediately jumped in. “Sorry ma'am, but we're done with people thinking they can get into our heads and mess with us because it's become tired and overplayed at this point. So unless you have anything truly important to say, then we'd like to just go back to our hotel for some well-earned rest, if you don't mind.”

“Well...” Theresa growled, although the look on her face was more impressed than anything else. “Someone's suddenly feeling more confident, all of a sudden.”

“Taking the words of someone who thought they'd gotten into my head and proving them wrong will do that,” Luz replied.

“If you're going to say anything,” Amelia chimed in, “then why don't you tell us what your deal is? No offense, but a legendary wrestler who was on good terms with both my parents and Caleb White once upon a time making a sudden appearance with no rhyme or reason is suspicious enough, but then for the first thing you do to be trying to mess with Luz and convince her that we're codependent when we've always respected each others' boundaries and genuinely support each other's efforts?”

“I don't think I like what you're implying,” Theresa scowled. “All I want is to see two promising young athletes such as yourself pick up where I left off in paving the way for women wrestlers everywhere, breaking down barriers and proving yourselves. Is that so wrong?”

“No,” Luz answered, “but you also could've done that without the head games hoping to sabotage our relationship.”

Theresa hummed to herself, narrowing her eyes in this tense standoff, clearly having not anticipated for Luz and Amelia to be so willing to fight back and not let her seeds of doubt take root in their heads. A silence began to fall over the parking lot, broken only by the ambiance of the city of Vancouver late at night all around them. Theresa clearly wasn't looking for a fight, and given her age she knew she likely wouldn't stand a chance even if she wasn't outnumbered, but she also didn't seem like she was going to just walk away and leave this be either. Luz and Amelia, however, were absolutely not in the mood for whatever brought her out to look for them, not when they had so many other things preoccupying their minds to worry about in the immediate future and the woman formerly known as Lady Snapdragon was not one of them.

“Maybe I underestimated you two... maybe he wasn't wrong when he said this wouldn't be as easy as I thought...” Theresa mumbled under her breath. It was very quiet, and would've probably been missed otherwise had Luz and Amelia not been laser-focused on this last obstacle currently standing between them and a good night's rest back in their hotel room. The fact that they had heard it, however, suddenly raised a bunch of red flags in their minds. They glanced at one another out of the corners of their eyes, double-checking to make sure they were both understandably wary of whatever game this woman was trying to play, and Amelia opened her mouth to try once again to demand some answers.

“Lady Snapdragon!”

It wasn't Amelia's voice that echoed through the parking lot. Instead, it was a very familiar voice that she and Luz had all but forgotten about, certain that their dealings with him were done when he'd openly admitted that he'd been wrong and likely misled about the garbage he'd been spewing about them. And yet, the more they thought about it, the more they realized that the man jogging up to the elderly retired wrestler standing across from them still had a few unresolved mysteries attached to him as well.

“We... I need to talk with you...” Jacob Harrison huffed, taking a moment to catch his breath. Before he could continue, however, he glanced over to the side and immediately jumped back at the sight of the couple he'd been trying to 'expose' several months ago. “Oh shit! I'm sorry, you two, I didn't know... please don't consider this a violation of my restraining order, I legit didn't know you ladies were out here and...”

Jacob continued rambling on, literally falling to his knees and begging for them to not say a word about the fact that he was breaking the restraining order that was supposed to keep him far away from them, which had been put into place once he was done serving time for all the stalking and invasion of privacy he'd committed in his relentless pursuit of a false truth. Luz and Amelia tuned him out, however, instead taking notice of the fact that Theresa was trying to use Jacob's sudden arrival as a distraction to slip away. She did pause to look back at them, however, realizing that they were paying the YouTube wrestling vlogger no mind.

“He's looking forward to seeing the two of you again,” she said, having once again coated her words with that sickeningly sweet tone that the couple had grown so tired of hearing. Once she'd let that slip, however, she began to walk away.

“Wait, Lady Snapdragon!” Jacob cried out as he scrambled to his feet and ran after her. Whatever he needed to talk with Theresa about, however, was in a low enough tone that Luz and Amelia couldn't make any of it out now that they were a good distance away.

“What the heck do you think that was all about?” Luz couldn't help but ask Amelia as she mulled over the thought of letting Jacob's sudden appearance and breach of the restraining order slip to Avery once they got back to the hotel.

“And what did Theresa mean by 'he's looking forward to seeing us again'?” Amelia openly pondered.

The two of them would watch as Jacob kept attempting to talk, perhaps even interview, Theresa while she just kept walking away before they ultimately started heading back to their hotel. The entire drive over, though, there was an uneasy feeling beginning to form in their guts, almost like a few dormant puzzle pieces were finally fitting together. And yet, there was still a lot about all of it that felt off for reasons they couldn't quite figure out just yet.

Thankfully, they had plenty of time to think everything over, and with any luck, the next Breakdown would only be the beginning of putting it all together and forging ahead towards the future they were so close to making a reality at long last.

[Wisteria Waltz]

This time of year always felt magical to Amelia and Luz for many reasons.

Amelia's birthday had fallen within this past month, while Luz's was on the horizon.

Two of their favorite holidays—Halloween and Día de Muertos—took place back-to-back during this time of year.

Not to mention this time of year held so much significance from an SCW standpoint to the couple as well. This was around the time four years ago when they'd first debuted for the company. Two years ago they'd announced to the entire world that they were coming back to try their hand once more. And, of course, last year they went on to become World Tag Team Champions.

This year was already shaping up to be no different, but Amelia and Luz knew that they needed to keep putting in the work to make it as special as they wanted it to be. Not only did they have the chance to walk into what was quickly becoming their most treasured pay-per-view on SCW's calendar with the very same titles they finally won for the first time the previous year at that very show, but just two nights prior they were finally going to seal the deal and take the next step in their journey together as a couple.

Both women were grateful that all the work they still needed to do provided an invaluable distraction to throw themselves into, because otherwise they probably would've melted into puddles from the realization that they were now less than a month away from becoming Mrs. and Mrs. Nevado.

They had managed to put Apocalypse behind them for the moment, knowing that at this point any lingering questions and issues they had would have to wait until Breakdown to hopefully resolve. Truth be told, if the couple had their way, they would put Luz's pending United States Title shot on the backburner until they were absolutely sure Deanna was 100% and she and Luz could have the kind of match that deserved to tear the house down. Besides, given the fact that this year's Under Attack would be their first time officially competing as wives, it would feel appropriate if they could compete together on that show, ideally defending their World Tag Team Championships since they knew there were some challengers who deserved an opportunity to step up to the plate.

Of course, that was assuming the couple had their way, like so many people seemed to think they always did for some reason.

They also had no plans of falling into the same trap they had with the Stewards once before.

A sense of déjà vu hung over their heads whenever they trained for this match over the course of the past week, but it helped them keep their eyes on the ball. The last time they had been asked to defend these titles against Katie and Gigi, they had been coming off the lengthy diversion of helping Twisted & Sadistic get out of the mess they'd made for themselves and had gotten so tunnel-visioned on finally settling that score on SCW's biggest stage that it ultimately cost them. This time, while they had hopes for what they wanted to do at Under Attack, nothing was set in stone just yet, and they were determined to prove that they had, in fact, learned their lesson from the last time this match had happened.

This was the first defense of their third reign with these titles—as much as that thought didn't sit well with them after how much time had passed since winning them back—and their top priority on the wrestling front was getting out of Buffalo with those titles still around their waists.

That didn't mean there wasn't other business to address. After all, they had a wedding to finish planning and preparing for. This is where their found family, most of whom were already serving in the wedding party in some fashion, had stepped in to take a lot of the burden off of the brides. Obviously Luz and Amelia had the final say on every decision since this was their big day, but by this point, the support system around them had forged a plan to keep them in the healthy mindset they deserved to be in, allowing them to put their focus where it needed to go so they could keep thriving. It honestly blew their minds just how loved and supported they truly were, and it made them grateful for just how far they'd both managed to come over the course of the past few years.

Of course, not everything could always go the couple's way, as mentioned earlier, and that wasn't just limited to SCW either.

Amelia opened the door to their hotel room in Buffalo, stretching her arms out as she stepped into the room. Luz followed close behind, cracking her neck before throwing herself onto the bed with a dramatic flourish that at least got a giggle out of her fiancée. It was a light moment that helped ease some of the frustration of their most recent endeavor: trying to visit Deanna Frost.

It had been enough of a pain trying to find exactly what hospital in New York she'd been admitted to, considering SCW officials had proven surprisingly resistant to the idea for reasons they refused to divulge and Selena, the only other person who likely knew where she might be, was keeping her distance from them likely because of what happened in the Trios finals. Luz had suggested maybe asking Avery to use their FBI connections to find where she might be recovering, but Amelia had put her foot down on the grounds of feeling like that was a questionable invasion of privacy and gross misuse of one of the more powerful connections they had in their support system. Through trial and error over the past several days, they had finally managed to find where Deanna was, only to be told that aside from immediate family they wouldn't allow any visitors for her at the moment. Luz's frustration had been palpable, her kind soul wanting nothing more than to make sure her friend was alright, but Amelia's level-headedness had at least allowed them to leave a message to be passed along to Deanna.

It was a simple message of the two of them wanting her to know they were thinking about her and hoping she got better, confirmation that they were excited to see her at their wedding, and a heads up that Luz was on deck for her U.S. Title so she could rest peacefully knowing her next challenge would be the exact opposite of the nonsense that The Enigma had tried to pull.

“Just two wrestlers who care about this sport giving it their all to show that to the whole world” had been Luz's exact words.

“You doing alright, cariño?” Amelia asked as Luz stretched out on the bed, pouting in a way that she found adorable despite the visible frustration her beloved was showing.

“I just hate how much of a waste of time this all felt,” Luz groaned. “We've done so much driving over these past few days just trying to find the right hospital. I feel like we've somehow explored the whole state of New York and barely indulged in any of it, and it was all for naught. Why couldn't we just be told that when we asked SCW officials what hospital she was admitted to in the first place?”

“I'm afraid I can only speculate,” Amelia sighed as she sat down on the edge of the bed, running her fingers gently along the patterns of Luz's mask. “They might just be playing cautiously given everything that happened with this Enigma nutcase. Plus... no offense, but she looked pretty bad the last we saw of her before the feed cut. Maybe she still needs time to rest before they feel comfortable going beyond immediate family visiting her.”

“You're probably right,” Luz admitted as she slowly sat up. “It's just hard knowing someone we care about is hurt and it feels like there's not much we can do about it.”

“And that concern for others is just one of the reasons why I love you so much, Luna Nevado,” Amelia softly smiled before pulling Luz into a gentle kiss.

“I love you too Amelia,” Luz giggled, “but maybe we should save some of the 'lovey-dovey mushiness' for our vows.”

“As if you haven't had yours written for years by this point,” Amelia laughed, prompting Luz to gently shove her as she started laughing as well.

She wasn't wrong, not to mention she was guilty of doing the same, but it really was the little things that helped breathe so much life into the love they shared for one another.

“Alright,” Luz said after she took a moment to catch her breath. “What should we do now? Get some training in for Breakdown?”

“Maybe not the best idea,” Amelia openly pondered. “We should definitely do some stretching, but we've been driving around for most of the day. Pretty sure our bodies aren't in the mood for anything too physical, and most of the gyms will probably be closing soon.” Amelia pointed towards the window, where it was clear the sun was beginning its descent for the day. “Not to mention, we've been working ourselves pretty hard these past few days for this match, even with how much we've been driving around. I think we've earned a break, for the sake of our physical and mental health.”

“All good points,” Luz nodded in agreement. Truth be told, her brain wasn't fully on board, but she was trying to be better about feeling like she needed to push herself too hard to prove something. “Maybe we could just study some film then? At least that way we're still putting in some work for this match.”

“I don't see why not,” Amelia shrugged as she moved to retrieve one of their laptops from their bags. As she did, she found a notebook sitting on top of them, and after grabbing it and looking it over carefully, her eyes widened briefly before her face settled into a look that Luz knew had the potential to spell trouble.

“What's got you ready to dive into the deep end of your brain?” she asked, snapping Amelia out of her thoughts before she could go too deep.

“Looks like your mom came in while we were out and left us the latest seating chart for the wedding, and...” Amelia trailed off as she held out the notebook for Luz to examine.

“What's with all the random X's on some of the seats?” Luz raised an eyebrow, which caused Amelia's to raise as well before she took another look at it.

“Let's see... according to the little note she and Ivy left for us, those X's are meant to represent 'plain clothes' officers and agents hiding out in the crowd, just in case anything happens and the obvious security is something that's expected and accounted for,” Amelia noted. “But that's not what got to me Luz. Look at the second row, closest to the aisle, right behind your mother and the seat reserved for your father's spirit.”

Luz took a closer look at the area Amelia had indicated, and now her eyes were widening at what had thrown Amelia for a loop. Penciled in right next to each other in those seats were Selena and Deanna Frost. Ordinarily, that wouldn't have been any cause for concern, but one thing Selena had noted when she'd talked to Amelia weeks ago was that things in her and Deanna's relationship... weren't the best at the moment, for lack of a better term, especially since that was all the explanation they'd been given to work with. Seating them next to one another for the wedding seemed like the perfect convoluted scheme to try and give them a little push to talk things out, and a far more naive Luz from a long time ago would've been all over that plan.

If she'd learned one thing from this relationship with Amelia, however, it's that you can't force things to happen, especially if it involved the lives of other people.

“Yeah... maybe we should change that,” Luz admitted. “Which one should we move?

“I say neither,” a voice suddenly chimed in. Luz and Amelia turned to their door to see Ivy entering and marching up to them with a wicked grin, swiping the notebook out of Amelia's hands with a “yoink!”

“Ivy!” Amelia cried, her tone half-playful and half-serious.

“You want to explain yourself, missy?” Luz said, trying to sound like a stern mother but only succeeding in making Ivy laugh at the attempt.

“Alright, if I must,” Ivy said with a dramatic flourish that helped ease some of the building tension, though she did put on a more serious tone when she spoke again. “Look, I know you two want to be nice to them, and I definitely respect that. But as Amelia's maid of honor, I feel it's my duty to give those two the kick in the rear they need to do what always works for you two: just freaking talking it out already.”

“Just because it works for us doesn't mean it'll magically work for them Ivy,” Amelia pointed out.

“And I'm willing to bet they haven't even given it a try yet,” was Ivy's response as she gently batted away Luz's hand trying to reach for the seating chart. “Look, if they get all upset about it, you can tell them to blame me and I'll happily tell them this was all my doing to their faces if I need to. Besides... I consider this payback.”

“Payback?” Luz asked as she and Amelia exchanged glances. “Payback for what?”

“Well,” Ivy began, holding up a finger. “For one thing, payback on Selena for that little stunt she pulled trying to drive a wedge between you two just to better her odds of winning the Trios Tournament.” She held up a second finger. “Also, the whole 'wrestling under a mask and pretending I'm someone else from SCW's past' stunt from last year's Open Invitational match. I think I have the right to be a little petty about not knowing I was throwing down with one of SCW's best when I entered that match.”

“I'm not saying you aren't entitled to some petty payback if you want it Ivy,” Amelia carefully said. “It's just... I don't know if we want to create any issues at our wedding, even if you want to rightfully take the heat for this.”

“We're already worried enough about even the slightest possibility of any lingering members of The Empire trying anything,” Luz added. “Not to mention if anything comes of all those weird messages we've gotten if it's not connected to The Empire, and this Theresa woman trying to get in our heads and convince us of problems that don't actually exist in our relationship...”

“Right... I heard about the whole Lady Snapdragon thing from right before this past pay-per-view,” Ivy sighed. She struggled to admit it because she was one of those wrestlers who was a natural to hate, but Theresa had been an inspiration of hers growing up to keep fighting and try to create her own path into the wrestling business. That inspiration had admittedly faded quite a bit when Theresa became a known associate of the Blythes outside the ring when Amelia had been blackmailed into cutting all ties with her, but hearing about the stunt she tried pulling on Luz had stomped out any lingering embers of that. It's like they always say: never meet your heroes.

“She tried to talk with us again when we finally starting leaving the Rogers Arena back in Vancouver after the show,” Luz informed her, not even bothering to hide the anger she felt for the old woman.

“She what!?” Ivy yelled, eyes going wide behind her glasses. “Why didn't you guys tell anybody?”

“Because we told her off and refused to let her plant her little seeds of doubt or whatever this time,” Luz responded.

“She ultimately just left us with cryptic nonsense,” Amelia added. “That wasn't even the strangest part about it all.”

“Yeah... our old 'friend' Jacob showed up wanting to talk with her, acting like it was urgent,” Luz rolled her eyes.

“What the hell...?” Ivy mumbled. “He didn't try anything, did he?”

“Nah, he wasn't there for us,” Amelia noted. “He didn't even realize we were trying to tell off Theresa, and when he did he begged us not to report the fact that he technically violated the restraining order he got slapped with to stay far away from us.”

“That's good at least,” Ivy admitted with a sigh of relief. “Still... what the hell was any of that about?”

“We're still racking our brains trying to figure that out ourselves,” Luz admitted.

“As long as Jacob isn't actively antagonizing us anymore, he's not a threat as far as I'm concerned,” Amelia dismissed. “I'd still like to know why the heck Theresa suddenly came out of the blue to try and screw with us before our wedding. I mean, what does she even have to gain from it?”

“...maybe she's been the one sending you those cryptic messages?” Ivy suddenly threw out, grabbing both of her friends' attention. “Think about it: these messages are basically trying to talk you out of going through with the wedding and actually becoming each other's wives, and it hasn't worked. So why not try a direct approach and convince you that there's problems to make you question things in your relationship that aren't there?”

“It's... possible...” Amelia mulled this theory over in her head. “Starting with letters definitely feels like enough of an old school approach to cover her tracks, but for as well off as she's become, she always gave me the vibe of being too old to care for text messages and modern phones, and I doubt she'd waste money on a ton of burner phones just to keep harassing us.”

“Maybe not her... but do you think Jacob would?” Luz pitched.

“I know he's supposed to be staying the heck away from us,” Amelia replied, “but why would he go out of his way to hold some sort of grudge? He ruined his own life following false leads he got from who I'm pretty sure was my mom because of how much she knew it could get to us while covering her tracks.”

“Or... his source could have been someone just like your mom!” Luz's eyes lit up as the pieces started coming together in her brain. “We both know enough about the kind of wrestler Lady Snapdragon was to know that her ability to get into her opponent's heads was perhaps second only to Caleb, and I could tell from when she first talked to me that she had a similar kind of vibe to both him and your parents with how she said anything. Why else would Jacob seek her out to talk with her?”

“He's definitely more tech savvy,” Ivy noted as she started to pick up on where Luz was going, “and if we're assuming Theresa was his source for the 'truth' about you guys, he'd have a connection to maybe do her bidding until she saw it wasn't working. And Jacob doesn't have to have a connection with Caleb or The Empire to be talked into doing something for someone...”

“...especially if he gets something out of the deal as well, preferably for his little YouTube show,” Amelia finished, realizing how easily the dots were starting to connect. She assumed her mom was Jacob's 'insider source' because Ophelia Blythe was that petty, especially to her own daughter, and would pull a stunt like that. The more she thought about it, however, the more obvious it became that she couldn't have done it given she and Aleister were in the middle of their trial around that time, and any contact they would've had beyond each other or their lawyer would've been heavily monitored in case they were plotting something. It's the whole reason Adrian had been the one to try and reach out to them about testifying in the first place.

Still, something wasn't quite adding up in her brain.

“I don't think Theresa or Jacob are behind the messages though,” she admitted, which surprised Luz and Ivy who were both looking like they'd just solved the mystery of the millennium.

“What makes you say that?” Luz asked.

“Don't get me wrong, everything lines up and the timing is convenient... maybe a little too convenient...” Amelia offered, standing up and beginning to pace back and forth as she mentally worked through this. “Even still, I don't think Jacob would willingly risk anything he has left trying to mess with us more than he already has. He's already been arrested multiple times, has the restraining order that's supposed to keep him away from us, and he even admitted in one of his videos that he was wrong about whatever lies he got fed and apologized for it. Why would he risk whatever reputation he's got left knowing full well if he got busted then he's probably not getting off so easily next time?”

“That still leaves Theresa though,” Ivy pointed out.

“I don't know...” Luz now chimed in, rubbing her chin as she thought back to that encounter in the parking lot. “What was it she said to us before she left? 'He's looking forward to seeing the two of us again'? Who's 'he'?”

Amelia opened her mouth, ready to offer another theory, but she was cut off by the sound of Luz's phone ringing. All three women exchanged looks before Luz retrieved her phone from the bedside table, finding a number she didn't recognize calling her. She moved her thumb to actually accept the call, but Amelia suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Ames?” Luz questioned.

“What are you doing, Luz?” was the question she got asked in return.

“Answering this call,” Luz replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“But I think I remember that being one of the burner numbers that texted us,” Amelia noted as she examined the number, Luz's phone still ringing away.

“Exactly!” Luz exclaimed. “I'm tired of this nonsense, and we can get to the bottom of who it even is right here, right now, and tell them to leave us alone already!”

“Unless they're using one of those voice changers,” Ivy pointed out, which caused Luz to groan as she realized her friend was probably right. That seemed like an obvious trick to pull for a situation like this.

“I say we let it go to voicemail,” Amelia offered. “Maybe this person's using a voice changer, maybe they're not because they're expecting us to answer. And if we have a recorded message...”

“...then we can have Avery and them look into it and maybe see if we can finally figure out who's our mysterious messenger is!” Luz caught on, looking at her phone one last time as she knew this was the final ring it would give before going to voicemail, her last chance to let her curiosity get the better of her. Instead, she resisted the temptation by instead opting to kiss Amelia, mumbling in Spanish about how brilliant her future wife was as Ivy just rolled her eyes at the two dorks she called her friends.

A few moments later, Luz got the notification from her phone about a new voicemail. Trepidation began to set in as she, Amelia and Ivy all exchanged looks before nodding in agreement. Playing the voicemail and putting her phone on speaker, they all listened carefully, not knowing what to expect.

A raspy voice that sounded like nobody they'd heard before is what they were ultimately met with, practically hissing the following message:

“The cross is the victory, the resurrection is the triumph. The resurrection is the public display of the victory, the triumph of the crucified one. If November 1st will be your unholy matrimony, then it shall be eclipsed by his resurrection. It's not too late to reconsider your sins.”

Luz and Amelia both looked annoyed and frustrated as the voicemail finished playing, and Ivy couldn't blame them. They at least got confirmation that something was planned for the date of their wedding, and whatever it was promising almost sounded like a declaration of war.

As far as The Light In The Darkness were concerned, however... if anybody wanted a war, they'd get one. And whether it was The Empire, whoever was behind these bizarre threats, or even Team Desire, they'd all come to learn firsthand that Amelia Blythe and La Pequeña Luz would fight like hell to defend everything that meant the world to them, especially when they'd worked so hard to get to this point in the first place.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The very first thing that greets our eyes is a close-up of the SCW World Tag Team Championships, proudly displayed for us to take in every elegant detail etched into the golden center plates. As we begin to pull away, we find that these titles are wrapped around the waists of their rightful owners, Amelia Blythe and La Pequeña Luz, The Light In The Darkness. As we get a sense of our surroundings, we can tell that there's a breeze by the way that it catches their hair, and it's not hard to begin to make out the Buffalo skyline behind them, indicating that they've made their way to the rooftops to say what they need to say. One would think that they'd look to be in higher spirits given the success they had at Apocalypse, but there's a more frustrated look in their eyes as the champions stand before us, hand in hand.

“We're going to be honest with all of you right here and now: Apocalypse was a night that left us with more questions than answers, and we can't help but feel frustrated by it all. I'm sure a lot of you out there probably think that's silly or stupid. After all, we both won our respective matches. What's there to be frustrated about? Anyone out there who really knows us or has followed our careers... you already know. Yeah, I currently stand before you as the number one contender to the United States Championship, just as I truly wanted in the grand scheme of how things could have played out in Vancouver. I made no secret about how I wanted Deanna to beat The Enigma because that title deserves a proper match between the two of us to see if I'm worthy of succeeding Deanna as champion or if her incredible reign deserves to continue. That said... I'm still not completely sure if all I am is the number one contender. I heard the talk from CHBK, about the possibility of an interim champion needing to be declared, and I truly hope that isn't the case. I know I'd have technically earned it with my win, but... between all of you and me? I'd prefer to try and beat Deanna for the actual title properly, not feel like I'm just a placeholder until Deanna and I can have our rightful classic that you all deserve to see.

Hopefully Breakdown will have more answers, but there is one thing I can say for sure on the matter... Deanna, if you're watching this, I'll be praying for a speedy recovery so you can get back to kicking butt like only you can, and whenever it does end up happening, preferably when you're 100% again, I'm looking forward to an incredible match with you worthy of that championship.”

“Meanwhile, I think it goes without saying why I'm rightfully frustrated coming out of Apocalypse. The finals of the Trios Tournament were my chance to prove myself and earn that coveted contract, much as Luz did the same with her future U.S. Title opportunity. It wasn't easy, and I'll honestly commend Polly, Andrew and even you Selena for the fight we got. At the end of the night, however, my team ultimately prevailed... but it hurts for me to stand here and say I truly earned anything. For reasons I wish I could comprehend, Blake Mason decided to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Maybe he wanted to brag about how someone like me, who truly wanted to earn this the right way, now owes him for his unwanted assistance. Maybe he just wanted to stick it to Selena because of their clashing World Title aspirations. Whatever the reason, I cannot truly stand here and say that I earned the Trios contract that is now in my name, and for as much as Blake probably doesn't care and Selena will no doubt try to use against me, all I can do is try to keep pushing forward to make up for it and prove that I do deserve that contract, and eventually, prove that I deserve whatever opportunity I choose to use it for as well.”

Amelia can't help but sigh and look down at her feet, clearly being more bothered by this than many might have expected. Luz looks over to her, her thumb gently rubbing along Amelia's knuckles to try and help put her at ease. After a moment, Amelia does look up, her lips curling into a soft smile that Luz returns before they turn their attention back to us, seemingly more at peace with the chaos that's unfortunately unfolded around them, at least for the moment.

“As much as we wish otherwise, there are things that happen in this company that are beyond our control, and the best thing we can do is try to adapt and keep moving forward. Maybe that comes as a shock to some of you out there, but contrary to this popular belief that seems to get tossed around a lot lately, Amelia and I don't have a lot of control over how things play out. We're not some evil schemers trying to play people like pawns on a chessboard, we're not sucking up to CHBK or acting like his pets... we're just two wrestlers who want nothing more than to get in that ring week after week and showcase our best efforts to show all of you where we are right now and how much we've grown since our last match. We're just as much at the mercy of Alex's booking decisions as just about everybody else on the roster, and even we find ourselves wishing for things we don't exactly get.”

“Case in point: the titles we proudly wear around our waists. Back at Rise to Greatness, we marched into St. Louis with only one goal driving us: to prove that we'd learned from our past mistakes so we could overcome the two teams that brought an end to our runs as World Tag Team Champions and get these titles back. We were bound and determined to bring the fight to both Twisted & Sadistic and Team Desire to put our crisis of confidence behind us and prove, definitively, that we are the best tag team in SCW today and want to keep elevating this incredible division to even greater heights so long as we stand atop the mountain. That's not to say that we didn't appreciate the opportunities we were given to stand on our own over the course of this past month, but we can understand the frustration and the desire to call us hypocrites because these titles we fought so hard to get back ended up lost in the shuffle, especially given how things with the Trios Tournament ultimately played out. This upcoming Breakdown, we plan to rectify that mistake, and all of Buffalo will get to come along for the ride as Luz and I proudly challenge ourselves to not only keep proving ourselves as singles competitors, but continue to defend our place as the top tag team in SCW today.

It's honestly fitting that the first challenge we have for this title reign is the same team that ended our last one.”

There's a notable pause as Amelia and Luz think back to that night. June 20th at the Kaseya Center in Miami, they had been challenged by Katie and Gigi Steward with the titles on the line. The Light In The Darkness had asked for a fight, and they certainly got one, watching as Katie ascended to Supreme Champion status at their expense and realizing the grave mistake they had made in underestimating just how much of a battle they were in for because they'd been looking too far ahead. Their eyes narrow, smiles giving way to more determined looks as we can almost feel the intense desire to get that win back.

“Katie, Gigi, I think it's pretty clear how familiar all of this feels. The Light In the Darkness defending the World Tag Team Titles against Team Desire on Breakdown, a match born of the fact that it's been far too long since Amelia and I have defended these titles and refuse to let either them or all our hard work together be forgotten. We know what you're probably thinking... there's an old saying that clearly states 'those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' I'm pretty sure we even said that leading up to our last match as well... but this isn't the exact same situation as June 20th. We're humble enough to admit to the mistakes we made several months ago, because when we said those words, they were in reference to our desire to not become victims of Supreme Champion history a second time... a task we ultimately failed because it was clear we were focused far too much on Glory and Brittany waiting in the wings at Rise to Greatness. At the end of the day, everything regarding them had set us up perfectly for your little plot twist. The Stewards had climbed to the top of the tag team division, Katie had earned her Supreme Champion crown... but then what?”

“There's a reason that no matter what twists and turns our wrestling journey has ultimately taken over the course of this past year, Luz and I have proudly held and defended these titles for the vast majority of it. It's a question we had to answer, a lesson we had to learn the hard way even before we reached this point for the very first time. It's one thing to become a champion, but the journey doesn't end there... if anything, it only gets harder the longer you're willing to fight to remain a champion. Not once, during any of our title reigns, did we ever back down from a challenge, and while we may have faltered twice, we always picked ourselves back up and came back stronger than ever, ready to take these titles back and resume pushing every tag team on this roster to keep stepping up their game and proving that this company has the best tag team wrestling in the entire world.

Katie, Gigi, you've both held championship gold in your own respective rights and have been around this company long enough that we expected to see you pick up where we left off, keep that passion burning bright and show the world that, at least for the time being, you truly were a better team than us. Unfortunately, you took your foot off the gas pedal, let the grandeur of Katie's newfound place in the history books create this illusion that you were invincible, and what happened? When the time came for you to show the world exactly what Team Desire was capable of as World Tag Team Champions, you couldn't show that same hunger from the night you dethroned us.”

“Make no mistake, we want to face the same Team Desire that stepped up to the plate and managed to take us down all those months ago, we want you to challenge us and give us nothing less than your absolute best. But we're far from the same team you crossed paths with on that night... this time, we're not turning a blind eye to how badly you want to take these titles back from us, we're not underestimating what Katie Steward, Supreme Champion or Gigi Steward, the woman who scored the fated pinfall back on that night are bringing to the table. Forget Apocalypse, forget my future U.S. Title opportunity or Amelia's Trios contract, forget any asterisks that hover over our heads from that night. Come Saturday night in the KeyBank Center, the only thing that matters to us is proving, definitively, that while we may not have been the ones to eliminate you two at Rise to Greatness, it's no mistake that we stand here before you as SCW World Tag Team Champions once again. There will be no doubts, no questions, no arguments this time.”

“We know there are other teams who probably aren't happy that you're getting this rematch, maybe even wanting to point out that you shouldn't even have it because you lost the belts in what was technically our rematch. Even still, that's irrelevant come Breakdown, because Katie and Gigi have their chance to prove, once and for all, that June 20th was no fluke. But if the fact that I made you, Katie, submit in the first round of Trios was any warning, then we hope you come prepared for the full force of our evolution as competitors. Saturday night, right here in Buffalo, we're going to find out just how much this truly means to the both of you. Despite the different challenges we've taken on over the course of this past month, one thing has not changed: tag team wrestling, and being able to call ourselves SCW's champions of it, mean everything to us. Our blood, our sweat, our tears... that is the foundation upon which this division as it stands today was built upon, and if you want to remove us from the top of this mountain again, then you'd better be prepared to introduce us to a Team Desire that plans on showing that same fight for every single match that follows this one.”

“This time, you don't have the benefit of us being distracted and worn down to take advantage of. The spotlight is all yours, Katie and Gigi, and by the end of Saturday night, we hope you'll understand exactly why we will always be the light shining strong in the darkness that will never go out.”

“We wish you the best of luck and hope to see the Team Desire that beat us before once again... but we'll be damned if we don't close the book on this rivalry without having earned our happy ending to this story.”

We watch as Luz and Amelia carefully unclip their titles before holding them high, the camera catching the glint of their engagement rings as well as the two stand tall and proud over the city of Buffalo, where they hope to continue their legacy as perhaps the greatest tag team of SCW's modern era. The doubts and questions of Apocalypse, the haunting memories of the Stewards ending their previous title reign... they know this is their chance to put all of that behind them and keep building towards their brighter future they're fighting for, and they're going to seize this moment no matter how hard the fight.