Adam Brock vs. La Pequena Luz

[Wisteria Waltz]

It was the start of a brand new year, and Luz and Amelia were on the fence regarding how they felt about the way 2024 had started for them.

While they had notched their second successful defense of the World Tag Team Titles and Amelia had gotten her win back against Diamond on Breakdown earlier tonight, they were admittedly a little iffy about how the whole thing had gone down for several reasons. The fact that Diamond hadn't been given the chance to team with her actual partner of choice and instead found The Enigma slotting himself into that role, not to mention him leaving her high and dry after he'd had his brief time in the ring, didn't make them feel like they'd truly proven what they had wanted to out of this endeavor... even if they could call it karma given how Diamond had “claimed” a win over Amelia back during Fatal Fortunes. The fact that The Enigma had laid them both out so easily even despite being the freshest individual in the match didn't sit well with them either, which only stoked the flames of pushing themselves to keep improving so that if they ever crossed paths with him again, they'd be ready.

Breakdown had also presented another interesting development that left them confused and, honestly, a little frustrated as well. While they could deal with the mounting tensions regarding who may be next in line for their tag team gold at Body, Heart & Soul given that they'd be more than willing to defend against both Dark Fantasy and Twisted & Sadistic if need be, what threw them for a loop was the sudden return of Selena Frost. The fact that she had returned now and immediately secured a World Title match for the pay-per-view had left them reeling after she hadn't shown up to team with Amelia back during Fatal Fortunes due to a miscommunication in promotion (despite now proving that she very well could have), not to mention the proof that she was the mysterious Hakuri Keitaro who had won the open invitational at the End of the Year Special. At least with that last fact, they could help bolster Ivy's confidence even further in her performance for that match now, but the whole thing still left them struggling to comprehend what the hell had happened, especially with Deanna also being left in the dark.

Hopefully they'd get a chance to maybe talk with Selena soon and get some answers, though that was arguably the least of their worries when it came to matters beyond the ropes.

As the couple returned to their hotel room in Toledo to settle in for the night and shake off the whole encounter with The Enigma for now, it was impossible not to turn their thoughts back to just a few days ago in Toronto when their family celebration of New Year's found itself crashed, in a sense, right at the stroke of midnight by the deranged zealot who continued to haunt their lives. It had been one thing to hear Ivy pass along what Henry had divulged to her about his uncle having big plans for 2024, but to hear it straight from the wannabe messiah himself somehow made their skin crawl even more. The reveal that The Empire had captured Ryan Lumis at some point made the couple truly feel like Caleb had put them in check on this proverbial chessboard for the very first time, and they were at a loss for what their next move should be. His offer to let Ryan go in exchange for Amelia's father being released from NCA custody had “trap” written all over it, especially when everything they'd learned about the man up to this point made it clear that no word that left Caleb's mouth could ever be trusted. Unfortunately, this wasn't a decision they could really make, nor did they want to considering the life of another person was actually at risk now.

Caleb had given the NCA one week to respond... whatever happened to Ryan after that hung above the couple's heads like the Sword of Damocles, given that Caleb had explicitly stated his fate may be up to them in that scenario.

“Do you think we should've done something on New Year's Eve?” Luz suddenly asked as she and Amelia were changing into their pajamas, breaking what felt like a tense silence as everything from the past several days weighed on their shoulders.

“What do you mean?” Amelia asked back, confused.

“Like... that thing with the grapes... las doce uvas de la suerte,” Luz stammered out. “Or that weird superstition about wearing a specific color of underwear, or... I don't know! Something!”

“I... doubt we'd have been able to do the grapes,” Amelia sighed. “You-know-who made sure of that.”

Luz groaned as she flopped onto the bed, hands running along her mask in frustration. Amelia frowned at Luz's behavior, but it didn't stop her from sitting on the edge of their bed and carefully taking one of her hands. She pulled it away from her fiancée's mask, intertwining their fingers as her thumb rubbed comforting circles into the back of Luz's hand, the old trick they'd discovered immediately helping to put her at ease.

“I'm not the only one who isn't fully happy with how this year's started off so far, am I?” Amelia asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear what Luz had to say about it.

“I'm just... I want to say frustrated, but I don't think that's an accurate description of what I'm feeling,” she replied. “At least retaining our titles in a match we asked for helped to lift our spirits, Enigma notwithstanding. I just wish we had more control over things outside the ring... heck, it kind of feels like we barely have control of things in SCW, even when it seems like we do.”

“I know...” Amelia lamented. “Tonight didn't leave me feeling too proud about getting that win back with how it all went down, we're going into the last Breakdown before Body, Heart & Soul with more questions than answers it feels like... and that's not even getting into this other mess...”

“Why can't Caleb just take no for an answer!?” Luz spat, which resulted in Amelia pulling her close so Luz could lean her head on Amelia's shoulder to keep herself grounded. “Why can't he just accept that we want nothing to do with him or his creepy pseudo-religious cult? Why does someone's life have to potentially be in our hands just so he can get his way? Why can't we just focus on wrestling and enjoying something we both love, or planning our wedding, or just going on dates or spending time with friends and family without it all being part of some elaborate game we never wanted to be a part of in the first place!? Haven't we both suffered enough because of him and the people he surrounds himself with?”

“I wish I had an answer, cariño...” Amelia sighed as she cuddled closer to Luz. “I would give anything to be done with Caleb and his Empire, my parents, these games... I just don't know how on earth we'd actually accomplish that right now, and I doubt any special New Year's tradition or superstition would magically grant our wish of him being locked in a jail cell to rot for the rest of his days after everything he's done. That'd be too easy sadly...”

“You'd think the universe would give us one easy thing for a change,” Luz chimed in, “given how hard we've been fighting for everything else up to this point.”

Amelia couldn't help but giggle at that as Luz finally cracked her signature smile, both women relieved that they'd managed to create some levity out of this moment. It was getting harder and harder to do the longer this mess with The Empire went on, but they would happily take anything that reminded them that there was still a bright side to any situation, that proverbial light in the darkness that was their namesake, to keep them going no matter how suffocating it all became.

“I really hate to even ask, but...” Amelia paused to take a deep breath, clearly not wanting to deal with the matter any more tonight but knowing they'd both feel better the sooner they had some semblance of a plan in place. “What do you think is next for us?”

“You mean regarding SCW?” Luz asked back. “Or the other situation?”

“Both,” Amelia confirmed, which caused Luz to take a deep breath of her own as she pondered her answer.

“Well...” she finally began after a minute of thought. “As far as SCW goes, I'll probably be back to the TV Title grind next week. Almost feels a little surreal to be holding that title around the same time you earned it yourself a year ago.”

“In that ball pit,” Amelia groaned as Luz giggled and kissed her on the corner of her lips. “You know I'm still proud of how well you've been doing as champion and know I don't have any issue with your reign being quite a bit longer than mine turned out to be, right?”

“I do,” Luz softly smiled and nodded. “After all, you winning that title is what opened the door for where I am now, and I know in my heart it'll only be a matter of time before you're back in the singles title hunt as well. No matter what happens, I also have faith that we'll make it through whoever tries to take the Tag Titles from us as well and keep going strong as a tandem. As for Caleb... I wish I even knew where to start, especially since I don't think it's really even our decision. Maybe I'm being too hopeful here, but part of me really thinks him trying to put that pressure on our shoulders is a scare tactic to throw us off.”

“Maybe... maybe not... the real question is what he meant by Ryan's fate potentially being up to us,” Amelia noted. “Maybe we could try and reach out to Darius or Evie and-”

Amelia was cut off as the couple heard a knock at their hotel room door. They exchanged glances before realizing that neither one of them was expecting anybody. Being cautious, especially after all the attempts by The Empire to abduct them for their unholy Christmas wedding plans, Luz took the lead while Amelia was right behind her, both women ready to strike if necessary. Carefully, Luz peered through the peephole on the door, and she felt herself breathe a sigh of relief at the sight that greeted her, which resulted in Amelia relaxing a bit as well. Luz proceeded to open the door, finding the very two NCA agents they were just talking about standing on the other side, along with a third figure whose attire immediately made it clear they were an FBI agent. Taller than Evie but slightly shorter than Darius, they took a moment to adjust their glasses and run a hand through their dark silver hair before extending a hand.

“I apologize for interrupting you girls at this hour, especially after your wrestling performance tonight,” they spoke. “I'm Special Agent Avery Raine of the FBI... I believe you've already met my associates from the NCA, Darius and Evie.”

“We have, and it's a pleasure to meet you as well,” Amelia replied as she and Luz shook their hand.

“Does this mean you're the old friend Marilyn mentioned having in the FBI?” Luz couldn't resist asking, and seeing Avery look away to try and hide a blush while stumbling to form a decent response  got her to grin like the Cheshire Cat, her brain satisfied with a potential distraction she could pursue later.

Despite the temptation to do so now, Darius cut off any hope of that when he cleared his throat. “I hate to interrupt, but unfortunately this isn't a social call.”

“Right, sorry,” Luz nervously replied. “What can we help you all with?”

“This deal that Caleb White is looking to make,” Evie told them, the guilt in her tone easy to pick up on as the girls quickly understood that they all seemed to be on the same page. “Normally, we wouldn't want the two of you involved in the interest of witness protection, but given that he's hinted at wanting you two involved in some fashion regarding the survival of Ryan Lumis...”

“You'd rather play it safe as much as we all want Luz and I to have no part in anything more to do with The Empire,” Amelia confirmed.

“Like it or not, Caleb has proven to be extremely crafty,” Avery lamented. “He clearly hasn't laid all his cards on the table regarding this deal, so we'd prefer to cover as many bases as possible so he doesn't spring something on us.”

“Maybe it's me, but I hate how simple this all sounds,” Luz admitted as she and Amelia stepped back to allow the agents to enter their room before closing the door to ensure a private conversation. “Trading Aleister for Ryan... I hate the idea of Amelia's dad being let go and becoming a threat again after everything he's done for all of this, but threatening the life of someone who's been a big help to all of us if we don't... it just can't be that simple, can it?”

“With all we've learned about Caleb to know exactly what we were up against since he started all of this, I doubt it,” Amelia backed up her fiancée's suspicions.

“We're all in agreement on that,” Darius responded. “Unfortunately, Caleb's followers have been trying to force our hand since the new year started. Somehow they found where we've been keeping Aleister and several of his followers have made rather brazen attempts to break him out.”

“WHAT!?” Luz and Amelia yelled in unison.

“We've managed to keep him in custody,” Evie reassured them. “Unfortunately, we don't know how much longer we'll be able to do that. Not only did we underestimate their numbers even with the FBI's assistance to close that gap, but they've proven incredibly crafty in their attempts to free him. No matter how many of them we thwart and arrest, it hasn't weakened their morale even a little bit.”

“Surely that has to break some term of this deal Caleb wants, right?” Luz pleaded.

“We tried calling him on that,” Darius growled, not hiding how annoyed he was at this whole turn of events. “He noted that his exact words when he intruded upon our New Year's conversation were that he would release Mr. Lumis safe and sound in exchange for Aleister's release. He gave us one week to decide if we wanted to accept or not, but technically he never said that we had to comply.”

“Whether or not that means he'll stand by his word to let Ryan go, unharmed, if his followers break Aleister out as opposed to us handing him back over is not an answer he would give us,” Avery added. “He was insistent that we remind you both of Ryan's fate being in your hands and that's about it. We have made our decision... given how he wants this to play out, though, we thought it best to speak with you about it while we still had time.”

“...you want to accept his deal, don't you?” Amelia's voice quivered a bit, but she did her best to keep herself grounded when she spoke.

“Trust me when I say that's the last thing we honestly want to do,” Darius told her. “Unfortunately, Caleb's leaving us with little choice in the matter... Ryan has been invaluable to gathering the evidence we need to ultimately put Caleb away once and for all, and we're not willing to cost someone their life even if it means letting a criminal go free. Make no mistake... we do not plan on letting Aleister Blythe stay free for very long, and we will not allow Caleb to have this kind of leverage again.”

Amelia and Luz exchanged looks in silent conversation, hating the idea of Aleister going free but not wanting to see anyone else lose their life at Caleb's hands if it could be prevented. Assuming Caleb actually kept his word—which was a stretch in and of itself—at least they felt like they could deal with Amelia's father if he immediately became a thorn in their sides again. Maybe if they were lucky, they could even remove his wife from the chess board as well, costing The Empire arguably two of their most valuable members.

“Do it,” Luz finally told the agents.

“Are you sure?” Avery asked, almost sounding like they were pleading with the couple to think this over a little more.

“We're sure,” Amelia backed up her love. “We may not like it, but we hate the idea of letting Caleb take any more lives in the name of his twisted version of salvation even more.”

“You guys do have a plan, right?” Luz added. “In case Caleb tried to pull something and go back on his word?”

“You better believe we have no intentions of letting him try to pull a fast one on us for something like this,” Avery confirmed with a grin, giving the girls a bit of whiplash at how quickly their tone changed. They reasoned that the concern was most likely a precaution to make sure they didn't add in their two cents lightly, which was fair given the gravity of everything.

“Hopefully we can get him to back off on these attempted raids to set Aleister free,” Darius noted as everyone heard the ringing that indicated he'd put his phone on speaker, a tension beginning to settle in with every ring until the call was finally answered.

“Mr. Darlington,” the familiar confident tone of Caleb oozed its way through the NCA agent's phone, bringing a sneer to Luz and Amelia's faces. “What can I help you with this evening? Do you perhaps have any more questions regarding-”

“We're accepting your deal,” Darius cut him off, refusing to give the zealot any further chances to get under everyone's skin. “Just tell your followers to stop trying to free Aleister Blythe and we'll hand him over, but you need to keep your word of Ryan Lumis being handed back to us safe and sound.”

“But of course.” Caleb's grin could practically be heard in his voice, and it took a great deal of willpower from Luz and Amelia to not let it be known they were listening in on this call. “You can even bring as many NCA and FBI agents as you desire to guarantee as such, and I can do the same with members of my Empire.”

“Just name the time and place so we can get this over with,” Evie snarled, clearly losing her patience with this man.

“Someone has a short fuse,” Caleb laughed. “Very well then... I believe SCW's next show is being held in Brooklyn, New York if I'm not mistaken. We can make the exchange in the parking lot of that arena after the show... that way, Luz and Amelia can also be present for this arrangement.”

“Absolutely not,” Avery put their foot down. “This deal is strictly between The Empire and the authorities. They will have no part to play in this.”

“If my terms are going to be such an issue,” Caleb replied, “then perhaps you can break the news to them about how their failure to be present resulted in-”

“You would break your word over two people we refuse to have present?” Darius snapped.

“I did say that Ryan's fate was ultimately in their hands, did I not?” Caleb clarified, which only angered the agents even further.

“We'll be there,” Amelia suddenly chimed in, to the collective shock of the agents.

“You have to be a man of your word though,” Luz warned. “No tricks, no interfering with our SCW booking, no plots or schemes to try and abduct us in the process... you let Ryan go, unharmed, and you'll get Amelia's dad back.”

The call was quiet for a moment before Caleb's chuckling somehow only added to the tension. “Was that really so hard? You all have a deal. Luz, Amelia, I look forward to seeing you both again.”

With that, the call ended and the agents all looked at the couple like they'd each grown a second head. Luz and Amelia simply gave them determined stares back, refusing to allow Caleb to keep changing the terms of the deal until he either got his way or spilled blood.

For better or worse, they were willing to play along to ensure Ryan's safety... and, with any luck, find some sort of weakness they could exploit to begin unraveling Caleb's demented plans once and for all.