Polly Playtime vs. Deanna Frost

[Kemal Yilmaz]

SCW Adrenaline Championship

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 Word Per RP

Deadline: 11:59:59 pm ET Saturday, March 21, 2026

[SnowQueenSCW]

Frost No More

”Sound of Silence”

Eyrie Tower
New York City, New York
March 14th, 2026
12:33pm

The bus ride back had been too quiet for her, and that was with her trying to distract her mind with the sounds of a shower, Netflix/Crunchyroll, and calling her children the next morning as she travelled.

Deanna Frost didn’t like silence like this - not real silence. Not forced silence that was forced on her through someone avoiding her. It reminded her too much of her time in Frankfurt, of her time locked away in Kentucky and being told she was mentally-unwell. The kind of silence that pressed in around her ears and made her thoughts sound louder than they should be. Like the voice of the heart...

She didn’t. She couldn’d have...

Usually, even after the most brutal matches, there was noise. Crew chatter. Superstars screaming, either in victory, in defeat, or in some kind of ‘mission’ or ‘tantrum’ – the latest being Polly Pignotti, who had gone back to the name of ‘Polly Playtime’ like it was some kind of ‘power-up’ or something. For a moment, Deanna sighed at that. She had faced the woman so many times, often coming out the victor. The semifinals of the Shot of Adrenaline championship had been the most recent time, where the redhead had won cleanly and retained her Adrenaline Championship. The noise had been especially loud after that, with Polly attacking Deanna right after and declaring it was ‘luck’ or a ‘fluke’.

On that, Deanna couldn’t understand. She had beaten Polly in tag matches, singles matches, chamber matches, even a last-person standing match. Yes, every match had been close and yes, Polly was a hell of a competitor – there was no denying that. But Deanna had won. So what did that say about her? Why did it have to be ‘luck’ every time? Why did it have to be a ‘fluke’? Did it really matter this point?

This kind of noise – this mental debate – combined with the hum of the road, would have been normal to the redhead following Breakdown especially one where she had teamed with the reigning world champion and her friend (of sorts) Kimberly Williams to win the main-event. Selena’s voice would be drifting from somewhere nearby (or close if it was an intimate moment – sleeping, cuddling or – hell, Deanna wasn’t ashamed to admit – the intense sex they could have). A voice that was either calm or passionate,or cutting or distant depending on the day and ‘activity’.

There was no mistaking what the former world champion would say in helping Deanna dealing with Polly. The woman had fought the frustrated Pignotti more times than Deanna had, and had been far more vicious in her approach than the redhead – being the Blue-Eyed Devil and all. She would have a strategy, suggest brutality and zero room for doubt. To find a way to silence the critics and Polly emphatically. Even if it meant scaring the respect into Polly through dominance like Selena had.

Deanna sighed at that, running a hand through her as she looked at herself in the mirror, checking her appearance as the luxury bus moved along the streets. Much as the Heart of Veil’s voice loudly agreed with the Snow Queen, Deanna couldn’t imagine doing that. Yes, she would endure every punishment and keep fighting. Yes, she would play within the confines of what an ‘Adrenaline match’ was, but the idea of injuring Polly? She was mad at her, yes, but she didn’t want to put Polly on the shelf like Selena would possibly suggest.

In many ways, she understood the woman. Polly had been through so much abuse and torment in her past, with the collar and cages – she hadn’t been shy about that – and what was more, she had fought like nobody else Deanna had seen in SCW (except maybe Selena) just to get ahead in the business. But where Deanna had met success with the few opportunities she had been given, Polly had met roadblock after roadblock. And not just with her, but the likes of Dexter Grant, Some Loser, people that had just slipped by her to either take a title from her or keep her from winning one. And all she wanted was to be seen on the same level as people like Selena.

In that, Deanna understood better than most. She had spent so many years to be seen as something other than “Selena Frost’s wife” and then as something more than “The Other Frost”. It had taken years and countless battles, but the Shot of Adrenaline, beating both Polly and Dexter Grant in a single night, to make her feel something akin to it happening. She had done what Selena hadn’t – run the gauntlet from start to finish and finish the Shot of Adrenaline undefeated. A perfect run. Something that could be hers and not “Selena did it first”. It had made Polly’s insults about her the other night sting less and Gavin’s little jabs with alliteration seem childish.

But Breakdown hadn’t been about any of that, had it?

Again, the silence filled her ears, pressing down on her, causing a sigh to escape her as she adjusted her hair after drying it. Slipping into her blue jeans and a green shirt with a coat, Deanna tried to not let the silence get to her again. To let her mind run wild with possibilities and, instead, remain focused.

She could hear the low, mechanical growl of the engine and the occasional hiss of air brakes as the luxury bus carved its way through the highways. She wasn’t working on being ‘Deanna the wrestler’ right now. She was focused on being ‘Deanna the woman’ and ‘Deanna the partner’. Because it was her partner that Deanna was seeking.

Selena’s not there. That was the problem Deanna kept circling back to everywhere she went. After the last segment on Breakdown and somewhere during Deanna’s match with Syren and Kimberly against EFN, her lover had left the arena without a trace. She’d gone missing.

Not in some dramatic, public way. Not with alarms or panic or anyone really noticing. Deanna had just returned from the main-event and... Selena was gone. Her bag was gone, her things were gone, her tag-title was gone. And then all those segments came rushing to Deanna. Her ex-wife declaring herself as the one getting the ‘world title shot’ at Retribution when it was supposed to be Gavin Taylor. The confrontation with CHBK. Attacking Xander on instinct. Attacking the Glimmers. Selena had been everywhere, doing gods knew what. And... nobody had a clue, least of all her.

None of it made sense. Everything had seemed fine arriving at the arena. She remembered Selena being there with her. They had showered together in the luxury bus, gone over strategy for dealing with EFN – Selena having boatloads of experience lately with them. Yes, looking back, Selena had seemed a little distant. A little distracted, but that wasn’t anything that was a ‘red-alarm’.

It was only as Deanna checked her reflection once more that she remembered what Selena had said.

“I have a plan.”

That was all she had said. But it hadn’t been the words. It had been how Selena had said them. The conviction, the look, the clarity in those sapphire eyes. At the time, Deanna had tried to nod it off while, simultaneously, being supportive. Not because she didn’t believe Selena, but because that was easier than asking the questions that sat heavy in her chest.

Getting rid of the tag-team title situation with her and Xander.
The world title.

Those were Selena’s only goal. There was no “surefire” way – other than forfeiting and quitting – to get her out of being world tag-team champion with Xander Valentine, just like there was no ‘surefire way’ to get a world title shot for – CHBK had seen to that for the Snow Queen.

Selena had been obsessed for over a year, yes. Denied opportunities, yes. Held back - at least in her mind - by the icon. Deanna understood the frustration - She really did. But obsession had a way of twisting reality. Of turning “unfair” into “impossible” and “unlikely” into “guaranteed if I just push hard enough.”

That’s what worried her. That’s what made the silence on the bus feel like something more than just absence. Because Selena hadn’t just stepped out for a moment.

She hadn’t come back.

And you know why... growled the Heart of Veil in the back of her mind, causing her to quickly dismiss as she had countless times in the silence. She was assuming nothing! But she wanted answers, dammit! And no amount of hiding was going to stop her.

By the time the bus pulled up to Eyrie Tower, she was already anxious and nervous. The castle suite loomed above the city like something out of another world - sharp lines, dark stone, tall windows somewhat obscured by the lower clouds. It had always felt slightly unreal to Deanna, even after all this time.

Selena’s space.
Selena’s sanctuary.
Even after the divorce, it had remained hers.

Yes, the redhead and their children had occupied it for months while their ‘Forever Home’ was renovated from the fire almost a year ago, but she had always felt more like a ‘guest’ there rather than an ‘owner’.

The driver, Eric, didn’t say much when Deanna stepped off the bus. Just a nod, a quiet “take care,” and then the low rumble of the engine fading as he had pulled away. She had told him to just head where he needed to. If necessary, she’d take a cab back to her Manhattan home. A few moments of traffic and Deanna walking through the front door, entering the elevator and...

Silence again.

Adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder, her body aching with every movement from Breakdown. The match had taken more out of her than she’d admitted to anyone. Adrenaline had carried her through it, but now, a day or two later, all that remained was soreness and fatigue.

And something heavier. Something she didn’t want to name as the numbers on the elevator continued to rise with the metal-confine. Inside, the suite was exactly as she remembered.

Immaculate. Cold. Beautiful in a way that felt almost untouchable.

The high ceilings made every sound echo just a little too much. Her footsteps clicked against the polished floor as she stepped inside, setting her bag down near the entrance. Compared to the warmth of her Manhattan home, filled with the noise of children and covered in pictures of her family, messes here and there from a family that loved each other, the strands of dog an cat hair in odd places – Deanna hated it here. It was too cold, too silent, too... inhuman.

“Selena?” she called out, her voice echoing through the space. Nothing.

Deanna exhaled slowly, pressing her lips together as the immediate rush of alarm and frustration took root. “Okay...” she muttered to herself quietly. “Okay. She’s here. She has to be here.”

Selena wouldn’t just disappear. Not like that. Not without telling her. Stomp off to the castle to sulk? Fine. That was Selena. But disappear entirely? No, she wouldn’t do that… Right?

Deanna shook her head, as if physically dislodging the thought, and started moving through the suite. The living area was empty. Everything was in its place - perfectly arranged, like a showroom no one actually lived in. The couch cushions were untouched. The glass table was spotless. No sign of anyone having been there recently.

“Selena, this isn’t funny.” she called out, louder than before, zero humour in her voice. Still nothing.

She moved toward the kitchen next. Same story: Clean and unused. No dishes. No signs of recent meals. Not even a stray glass left out on the counter. It felt… wrong. Like she was invading some stranger’s home – part of her even wondering if she had ended up on the wrong floor by accident – some kind of glitch in the elevator and the security doors. Maybe this was the castle BELOW the castle on top!

What was it David’s Mario game always said? “Your princess is in another castle”? Maybe that was it – A castle on top of a castle? She mentally slapped herself. Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?

Still, that didn’t explain the suite’s state! Selena wasn’t messy, not by any stretch of the imagination, but she wasn’t this sterile either. There was usually something. A cup of tea. A half-finished glass of water. A trace of life. SOMETHING!

Deanna felt her chest tighten. “Okay…” she whispered. “Where are you?”

She checked the office. Empty. Not even any messages or notes.
The balcony. Just cold air and the distant sound of the city.
The guest rooms. All untouched.

Each empty space seemed to press in on her a little more, the silence growing heavier with every step. And with it, the thoughts she didn’t want to have. Selena’s words echoed again.

“I have a plan.”

What did that even mean?! A real plan? Or one of those ideas that started small and spiraled into something reckless? The RTG-contract plan? The masked Keitaro plan for EOTY? ‘Plans’ were dangerous in Selena’s hands, especially with her like this!

Deanna leaned against the wall for a moment, closing her eyes, trying to ignore the Heart’s voice as it repeated the same words as before – truth she refused to consider.

“You’re overthinking...” she breathed quietly. “She’s probably just… out.” Out where? Doing what? Why wouldn’t she leave a note? A message? Anything?

Deanna swallowed. Because Selena wasn’t careless. Not when it mattered. She was methodical, relentless, stubborn – all the things Deanna loved about her... but also could curse her for.

The opposite of Polly. Polly was unpredictable. Loud. Invasive in a way that crawled under your skin. And now she was gunning for Deanna’s Adrenaline Championship like it was some kind of game. Now? Deanna’s skin crawled because of Selena because it THAT should have been her focus. Putting together a strategy against Polly. She was going to come at Deanna more desperate and dangerous than ever, and gods knew what she would do to the Adrenaline division if she won it. She could treat it like she had the Television Title, which would do it wonders, but that had been Polly Pignotti... Polly Playtime? Deanna wasn’t sure about.

Which was why she needed to be ready! It was her responsibility. But standing here, in this empty suite, it felt distant. Secondary. Like something happening in another life, despite it lingering at the edges of her thoughts.

Polly had been getting closer. Pushing harder. Saying things that blurred the line between mind games and something far more personal. And Deanna knew she couldn’t afford to be distracted where that woman was concerned, considering the number of times Polly had gotten the jump on her.

And yet - how was she supposed to focus on a title defence when Selena had just… vanished?

“Selena!” she called again, almost a yell, a growing frustration in her voice. No response.

Deanna ran a hand through her hair, pacing now. “This isn’t-” she started, then stopped herself.

What was this? A misunderstanding? A miscommunication? Or something worse?

Her thoughts stalled there. Because the next step – the one the Heart wanted her to take - was one she refused to fully form.
There was only one place left to check, which was where Deanna’s steps had, inevitably taken her. The bedroom. Her heart was beating faster as she approached the door - not from exertion but from something else.

“Okay.” she whispered. “Just… go. 3...2...1!” She pushed the door open.

The room was dim, the curtains partially drawn. Soft light filtered in, casting long shadows across the floor. At first glance, everything looked normal: the bed was made, the surfaces were clear, but something felt off.

“Selena?” she called again, softer now. “Please come out and talk to me. I promise I’ll listen...”

Still nothing. She moved further in, her gaze shifting toward the closet and her eyes caught it. The door was slightly ajar. For some reason, that was what made her stomach drop.

“Don’t...” she muttered under her breath, but she moved toward it anyway. Her hand hesitated for just a second before pushing the door open.

Empty.

Well, not completely empty, but emptier than it should have been. Several hangers sat bare, spaced unevenly along the rod. There were gaps where clothing should have been - noticeable ones. Gone. Not all of them, but just enough to mean something.

Deanna’s breath caught. “No…” she whispered.

Her fingers brushed against one of the empty hangers, nudging it slightly. She watched it sway, the faint creak of metal sounding too loud in the quiet room.

This wasn’t an accident.
This wasn’t someone stepping out for a few hours.
This was deliberate. Careful. Planned.

“She wouldn’t…” Deanna started, but the words fell apart before she could finish them.

Wouldn’t what?
Leave?
Lie?
Take?
Disappear without telling her?
The answer hovered there, just out of reach.

Or maybe just out of ACCEPTANCE.

Deanna stepped back, shaking her head. “No, no, no...” she murmured, pacing around the room. “This doesn’t make sense.”
Because it didn’t! Selena had a plan - A world title plan. That was what she’d said. But how did this connect to that? Why would she need to leave? To take clothes? To vanish without a word?

Unless—

Deanna stopped, her thoughts slammed into something solid. Something she immediately tried to push away but was too loud now for her to ignore. “No.” Her voice was firmer this time. “I’m not going there!”

She refused! Because if she did - if she let herself follow that line of thinking - it would lead somewhere she wasn’t ready to face, something she wasn’t ready to face...

“Selena…” she said softly, her voice breaking just slightly. “What are you doing?” Again... No answer. Just the quiet.

Deanna sank down onto the edge of the bed, her body finally giving in to the exhaustion she’d been ignoring. Her hands rested on her knees, fingers curling tightly into the fabric of her pants.

She felt… stunned. That was the only word that fit. Not angry - not yet. Not even fully scared. Just... stunned. Like the ground had shifted under her feet and she hadn’t quite processed it yet.

“This isn’t how you do things...” she said quietly, as if Selena could hear her. “You don’t just leave, unless... unless...”

Selena had always been capable of distance. Of shutting people out when she felt cornered or wronged. Of convincing herself that she was alone, even when she wasn’t. Deanna had seen it before.

But to hide... from me? Her gaze drifted back to the closet - to the missing pieces. To the silent evidence of a decision already made. And the question that kept circling back, over and over:

Why?
Why she hadn’t said anything.
Why she hadn’t trusted her enough to explain.
Why she’d left her here, piecing together clues like this.

Unless it’s YOU she’s hiding from... came the voice. [color=redUnless you’re the real thing she’s running from...[/color]

Deanna exhaled slowly, leaning forward, elbows on her knees, her frustration and fear being replaced by something far easier to handle.
“Fine...” she muttered. “Fine!”

If Selena wanted to play it this way...
If she wanted to disappear into whatever this “plan” was...
Then fine!

She sat there for a long moment, staring at nothing, listening to the quiet press in around her. Eventually, she pushed herself to her feet, moving back toward the closet one last time, as if something might have changed. As if the missing pieces might suddenly reappear.

They didn’t - of course they didn’t.
She let the door swing closed with a soft click.
The match.
Polly.
The title.
Selena.
The ‘plan’.
Too many pieces of a puzzle and none of them fitting together.

“Where are you?” she asked again, barely above a whisper. The question hung in the air. And as the silence swallowed it whole, one thing became painfully clear: She wasn’t going to find Selena today.

Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even for Retribution. And whatever was coming next - whatever Selena had set into motion - Deanna was to have no knowledge of it.

That thought lingered, sharp and unwelcome. She didn’t let herself follow it all the way through. Didn’t let herself ask what it meant.

Because some questions – and the answers they brought - were the kind that broke things. And she wasn’t ready for that... not yet.

So she stood there, alone in the quiet of Eyrie Tower, surrounded by the silence that continued to press on her, trying to make sense of a plan she didn’t understand, a disappearance she couldn’t explain...

And a future that suddenly felt a lot less certain than it had just a few days ago...

[Jay Gold]

Part 1 of 2.



Season 7 / Episode 29 / Too Much (Part 7 - Homewrecker)

[Jay Gold]

Part 2 of 2.



Season 7 / Episode 30 / Too Much (Part 8 - Poisoned)

[SnowQueenSCW]

Frost No More

”The Space Between Silence”

Frost’s “Forever Home”
Manhattan, New York
March 17th, 2026
7:33pm

The house wasn’t quiet. That should have helped.

Sadly, it didn’t.

Noise filled every corner of the Frost “Forever Home”. It was alive in all the ways Eyrie Tower never was. The low murmur of a television playing some animated show in the basement. The soft padding of feet across hardwood floors. The occasional bark from Oberon, followed by the offended flick of Midna’s tail as she leapt onto higher ground to avoid him.

Normal.
Warm.
Real.
And yet, somehow… It all felt distant.

Like Deanna was standing just slightly outside of it. She stood in the kitchen, her hands resting on the edge of the counter, staring down at her phone like it might suddenly give her an answer if she looked at it long enough. The screen had gone dark minutes ago, but she hadn’t moved... Hadn’t blinked much, either.

“Mom?” The voice broke through just enough, causing the redhead to turn her head slightly to the side. Elsianna stood at the edge of the kitchen, her small frame half-hidden behind the wall by the doorframe like she wasn’t sure if she was interrupting something important.

“Yeah, sweetie?” Deanna replied, her voice softer than she felt.
Elsianna hesitated. “Is dinner… still happening?”

That pulled Deanna fully back for a moment. Dinner. Right... She glanced at the clock, which showed a later time than she thought.

“Yeah...” she said quickly, pushing herself upright. “Yeah, of course. I was just...”Her voice trailed off. Just what? Waiting? Worrying? Pretending everything was fine? “Thinking.” she finished lamely.

Elsianna nodded slowly, though the look on her face said she didn’t fully buy it. Kids were like that. They didn’t always understand what was wrong - but they knew when something was definitely wrong.

“David said we could order pizza...” Elsianna added carefully, like she was testing the idea and trying to get her mother ‘off the hook’.

From the room dowmnstairs (or maybe by the stairs), David’s voice called out, “I didn’t say that! I said we should order pizza!”

Deanna exhaled softly through her nose, something almost like a smile tugging at her lips despite everything.  “Pizza’s fine.” she called back, hearing a small ‘Wooo!’ come from David’s location.

Normal. Gods, she wanted to feel normal again.

“Go tell your brother and sister to figure out what they want.” Deanna instructed Elsianna gently. “I’ll order it.”

The eldest Frost-child nodded and disappeared, her footsteps quick and light as she ran off.

The moment she was gone, the silence came back. Not the absence of sound. But the weight of it. Deanna’s gaze dropped back to her phone... Still nothing.

No message.
No missed call.
No explanation.

Her thumb hovered over the screen before unlocking it again, scrolling through her messages out of sheer habit. The last conversation still sat there, unchanged.

“This doesn’t make sense…” she whispered to herself. None of it did. For days, she had mentally circled around the same conclusions. Selena didn’t just leave. Not like that. Not without something. A note. A message. A single word. Anything!

But there had been nothing.
Just absence.
Just silence.
Just— The phone vibrated in her hand and Deanna froze!

For a split second, she didn’t even look at the screen. Her heart jumped into her throat, her breath catching as that single vibration seemed to echo through her entire body. Only then did she look at the screen.

Selena. The name and small picture positioned on the screen. Deanna didn’t hesitate. She answered immediately.

“Selena?!” The word came out sharper than she intended - relief and tension colliding all at once. There was a pause on the other end. A silence, then...

“Hey.”

Just one word. And somehow it hit harder than anything else. Deanna closed her eyes briefly, exhaling a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Where are you?” she asked, the question coming out fast, almost overlapping itself. “Are you okay? What-”
“I’m fine.” came the interjection -  so calm it made Deanna’s grip on the phone tighten slightly.
“Selena-” the redhead tried.
“I said I’m fine, Dee.”

“Then why did you leave?” she asked, her voice dropping, trying – trying - to keep it steady. “Why didn’t you tell me anything? I went to the Tower and—”
“I know.”

That stopped the younger woman dead in her tracks. “You… know?”
“Yeah.” Selena answered. “I figured you would.”

Deanna blinked, confusion flickering across her face. “Then why—”
“I needed to go.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the one I’ve got.”

The frustration surged through Deanna. How many times had Selena done this in the past? Hidden things from her? Acted on her own? And how many times had it not worked? Backfired? Cost this family! More times than you can recall... mocked the Heart. And who was the one often paying for it?

“No, it’s not.” Deanna shot back. “You don’t just disappear and then call me like everything’s fine and expect me to just – what - accept that? No!” she declared. “We’ve been down that road so many times, remember? With me being the one who often pays for it!”

There was a moment of silence and, in that moment, she thought she had actually gotten through to her partner...

“I’m not asking you to accept it.” came the quiet, crushing reply.
“Then what are you asking me to do?” Deanna demanded.
Another pause, this one longer.
“Trust me.”

Deanna let out a short, incredulous breath at those two words – as if Selena thought they solved the problem.

“Trust you?” she repeated. “Selena, you vanished. No explanation, no message, nothing - and now you’re asking me to just trust you?”
“Yes.” The answer came without hesitation. And somehow that made it worse.

Deanna turned slightly, pacing a few steps across the kitchen, her free hand dragging through her hair.

“That’s not fair.” she said, quieter now but no less intense. “You don’t get to do that. Not to me. Not again.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” Deanna shot back. “Because it doesn’t feel like you do.”
A third silence, but it didn’t last long.

“I didn’t have a choice.”

There it was: That line. That tone. One that made Deanna’s heart sink.

“What... What does that even mean?” she asked. “Why were you shouting that you were next in line for the world title? How is that even possible? And what about Xander and the tag-titles-”

“I can’t explain it.” was all she received. “But I meant what I said.”

The frustration twisted into something else now, Deanna could feel it. Something sharper. Something closer to hurt.

“Selena...” she tried, her voice tightening, “Talk to me. Please. Whatever this is, whatever you’re dealing with - we can figure it out. Together. That’s how this is supposed to work.”

A faint sound came through the line - like a breath, or maybe a quiet, humourless laugh. “Not this time.” Those three words hit harder than anything else she’d said and Deanna felt her chest tighten painfully.

“Why?” she asked.
“Because if I do...” came the slow voice... “You’re going to try to stop me.”
Deanna didn’t hesitate – for the first time against her wife. “Then maybe you should be stopped.”

A loud silence between the two came from that, perhaps because it was Selena’s turn to be stunned by Deanna’s defiance. Still, time continued and she, eventually, found her voice. “I can’t let that happen.” she answered. “We had a deal.”

“And you’re breaking it!” Deanna shot back. “Why else would you be hiding from me? From our family? You’re going to break a rule, aren’t you?” she reasoned – her mind buzzing towards a path she had refused to go down. “For the world title. You’re going to something you know I won’t have a choice but to get involved!”

She was almost certain she heard a gasp on the other end, but it was quickly covered. “I’m fixing something.”
“That doesn’t tell me anything!”
“It’s not supposed to.”

Deanna’s grip on the phone tightened again, her knuckles whitening slightly.

“Is this about CHBK?” she pressed. “About everything that happened? The tag titles? Xander? The Glimmers? Because if it is, then we can-”
“It’s about everything,” Selena cut in. “And it’s bigger than that.”

Deanna’s heart sank further. “Bigger how?”

“You wanted this to end favourably? So I don’t jump at the deadline?” that made Deanna’s blood run cold. That damned deadline. Looming over her like a guillotine. They were a little over four months away – time running out – and far as she could tell, there had been no real progress in Selena’s recovery. In fact, the Snow Queen seemed to be getting worse as the weeks went by. More desperate. As for Deanna, she kept fighting, kept getting back up no matter how much it hurt. She had to keep fighting against people like Polly, calling her a fluke, and against people like Frank, calling what she did as ‘pointless’.

“You’re not making any sense.” she said. “You’re talking in circles, you’re shutting me out, and you’re talking about your deadline. What am I supposed to make of all of this?”

“That I have a plan.” Selena tried. “That I’m doing this to make everything better, okay? To stop this stupidity. This bias system and to give some meaning back into everything. I...” she stopped, as if she wanted to say something more but only silence came from her.

“You what?” Deanna pressed, needing to hear more.
“Nothing.”

“No.” the redhead demanded, her voice barely above a whisper now. “No, you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to decide all this for me.”
“I already have.”

“That’s not how this works!” She managed to get out but the line went dead before she could the last few words out. Deanna stopped, moving her hand to gaze at her phone, wanting nothing more than to throw it into the nearby wall. From the living room, she could hear David arguing with Elsianna about toppings. Amiliah’s voice chimed in somewhere in the middle, trying to mediate. Oberon barked again. Midna hissed. The house noise filled in around her: Normal, warm, real.

And yet… she had never felt more uncertain in her life.

“What are you doing?” she whispered to the empty kitchen. No answer came. Only the distant sound of her children arguing over pizza...

And the quiet, lingering weight of everything Selena hadn’t said...

_________________________________________

So... where do we start?

We’re in London, England! We’re gonna be in Wembley Stadium! A place of history! A place of champions! And we are going to be fighting in the name of ‘Retribution’!

And that’s some important words being juggled around there: History, champions, Retribution. The weight of that sitting heavy on every SCW superstar in the back, every superstar that is going to come down and fight! Opportunities abound! Beliefs on the line! Do-or-Die mentalities! This IS S-C-W!

...

But for me, this is much more than that. It’s not just about a championship. It’s not just about history. It’s not just about retribution. It’s about all three! Because I had to fight like hell to get this championship. I’ve had to fight like nobody else in SCW – an undefeated run in one of the most iconic tournaments in SCW’s history to be the SCW Adrenaline Champion! Four tournament winners in the SoA history – only TWO have run the gambit. The first and the last.

And for me, personally, that moment – to do what not even my partner, Selena, could do... That said something. That made something loud in my mind. Because so many people, my opponent at Retribution included, have all relied on the same thing – the same one-liners over and over again.

That I’m not Selena Frost.
That I’ve gotten what I’ve gotten because of my last name.
That I’ve never had to work for anything in my career.
That they care about this title more than me.
That I don’t know the meaning of suffering and hardship.

And ever since I started the journey towards the Adrenaline championship, the loudest critic of me hasn’t been Dexter Grant. It hasn’t been Kimberly Williams or Jonathan Knots. Hell, it hasn’t even been CHBK or Frank Delatosso!

It’s been Polly Pignotti – Polly Playtime – Polly.

Yeah, you can change your last name back and forth for some kind of cheap ‘push’, Polly, but the name doesn’t matter! What matters to me is the person! And when it comes to that, Polly, I’m done holding back!

Last Breakdown, for the umpteenth time, you attacked me from behind. You made it clear that you would do ANYTHING to take this title from me, but you know what I saw more than that, Polly? More than the desperation?! More than the delusion?! I saw someone that – deep down in their core - doesn’t believe the crap coming out of their mouth!

You wanted to bring up Selena, right? Comparing me to her? Lowest hanging branch, but you know what? You’re the one trying so desperately to be her! You’re the one copying her ‘theories’ about being held back. You’re the one that’s making excuses about some kind of ‘conspiracy’ against you! The difference between you and Selena, Polly, is that Selena has a semblance of an argument. I’m not saying she’s right, but she at least has some ground to stand on!

You want to whine about being held back? You want to whine about people being ‘favoured’ over you? Who the hell are you to talk? Let’s just consider that for a second! Because when it comes down to it, I don’t think ANYONE in SCW has been given more opportunities than Polly!

I mean, that history I was talking about? Let’s see... you and me for the United States Championship? Ring a bell? Breakdown 2024? Retribution in a Last Woman’s Standing match – the last time I was at this event – that jog your memory? How about the chamber match, Polly? You going after me and the title I held? Hell, we just finished an epic tournament with some of the hottest and most driven talent in SCW today – where you got not one, but TWO chances to get the SCW Adrenaline championship! No wonder you don’t want to look to the past. Sort of blows your whole ‘didn’t beat me cleanly’ line off the rails, doesn’t it?

And that isn’t to say anything about the opportunities that DIDN’T involve me: Countless Television Championship matches, Scaffold Scramble, entry into multiple Trios Tournaments, the most recent Underground Chaos match that happened a few weeks ago – I could go on, Polly, but the fact is that, aside from the World title itself, there hasn’t been a singles title that you haven’t been given an opportunity for! Just from RTG to now, you’ve had so many chances to better yourself. To win a title. Scaffold, Trios, Television, Underground, Adrenaline with this being your THIRD chance to get it...

So, what boggles my mind is that you can stand there with a straight face, with at least SIX opportunities since Rise to Greatness this year and still complain that you’re being ‘held back’. That there’s this big ‘conspiracy’ to keep you down and out of bigger things! That you’re not getting what you ‘deserve’.

Explain that to me, Polly! I really want to know how you can justify attacking me from behind time and time again and calling the numerous times I’ve beaten you, including in the semifinals of SoA as a ‘fluke’, or not a ‘real victory’, considering I’ve knocked you out to the count of ten and taken you down inside a damn chamber. I’d really like to know, Polly.

Especially when you know - You KNOW - that it didn’t have to be this way! Two years ago, at this same event, you got a second chance at me for the United States Championship, didn’t you?! Did you have to attack me from behind to get it? No! You came into the ring, called me out and said you wanted another go! And I gave you one!

That’s all you needed to do here! Come to the ring and say you wanted another chance! I would have said yes, Polly. Know why? Because despite what you’ve done and what you’ve said? I respected you. I respected your grit. I respected your moxy. I respected what you had gone through in this business and kept going!

More than that, Polly, I respected you for what you did for me. Almost every championship I have held in this business, you have been there to challenge me in some form and fashion. Whether it was with your Playgirls or you, yourself, you were there to keep me on my toes. To keep me sharp. To keep me from getting complacent, because I know that even a SECOND mismanaged – a SECOND mistakenly made – can be the difference between beating you and losing to you. I will say it, truthfully, I will say it with a straight-face on any interview, podcast, to any fan that asks me: No matter what name you use, Polly made me a better superstar and a better champion!

That’s what we should be talking about, Polly. That’s what this match SHOULD be about. Two people trying to push the bar higher. Trying to elevate the Adrenaline Division after an amazing tournament. But now? All you do is make excuses and promises you don’t keep. All you do is point the finger! You blame CHBK. You blame me. You blame the SCW Universe that you’re not where you feel you deserve to be! You blame every single person you can while cozying up to a sycophant like Frank Delatosso just to get what you want. You buddy up with a guy that looked at our sacrifice at the tournament and labelled it as ‘pointless’ and ‘unnecessary’. You say I don’t deserve this title and that you deserve better, well maybe that’s not it at all.

Maybe... maybe you’re right and I just need to say it. You want me to call a spade a spade, Polly? Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s not some conspiracy against you. Maybe it’s not CHBK when you’re handed half a dozen opportunities and can’t seem to win the majority of them. Maybe it’s not me when I’ve beaten you clean time and time again. Maybe it’s not the SCW Universe when they’ve seen you drop the ball and choke over and over again.

Maybe, like you said... Polly just sucks!

Maybe the reason you haven’t broken that glass ceiling isn’t because of them or me, but because you can’t break that glass ceiling. Maybe the reason you can’t win the opportunities given to you is because you don’t have the grit and the heart that you say you do. Maybe, after all this time and not only having more opportunities than any other superstar but also failing more opportunities than any other superstar, maybe it’s all on you?!

You dared me to go there, Polly? We’re going there. Because I look at you now? I hear the words coming out of your mouth? I see and experience your actions of sneak attacks and ambushes and you wouldn’t need any of that if you were as good as you say you are!

You’d just win. You wouldn’t need six or seven opportunities. You wouldn’t need three tries at this title to be champion – you’d just need one to BE the champion!

And that’s the real reason you can’t stand me, right? Because I did what you couldn’t. I represent what you cannot be! Because I didn’t blame management when I was put on the shelf! I didn’t blame the SCW Universe when they didn’t trust me. I didn’t blame CHBK when the United States title was taken from me. I didn’t blame anyone when I was passed over for opportunities. I blamed no one but myself and I used it as fuel to better myself and to keep hitting that glass ceiling until it broke for me! Which is why I stand before you as the Adrenaline Champion and you... you stand before us whining and crying and going for any title you can get your hands on.

The grit. The passion. The accountability. The refusal to stay down. That’s always been the difference between us, Polly, which is why whenever we’ve faced, I’ve come out on top. Why is why at Retribution, in England, I am going to again come out on top. Whether it’s by knocking you out for good or a pin that ‘doesn’t count’ in your mind, I do not care. I will find a way, like I always have because I refuse to let you define my career. I refuse to give you any credibility to your disrespectful conspiracies. And I refuse to let you take what I have worked so hard for simply out of jealousy and ‘any title will do’ mentality.

You want this to be personal, Polly? Consider it personal. Consider it the biggest mistake you’ve made. And when it’s done, you will STILL consider me the SCW Adrenaline Champion!

Question is, who are you going to blame when that happens... and you STILL suck?

Checkmate, bitches!