Xander Valentine vs. Amelia Blythe

[Wisteria Waltz]

We find ourselves looking around through a familiar home gym, all the equipment looking to be in pristine condition despite several years old at this point. The walls are decorated with bisexual and lesbian pride flags, a few old posters advertising wrestling matches for the legendary luchador El Espíritu Angélico, and framed photos depicting some of the triumphant moments of the tag team we know this gym belongs to. In the background, we hear the sound of someone hard at work, and as we find ourselves drawn to that sound, our attention turns to a training ring set up near the back of the home gym. There's a TV propped up enough to be seen over the ropes, and we catch the sight of what looks like footage of Xander Valentine in what many would consider his prime, decimating one of the many opponents he's overcome in his long and storied career. Inside the ring, however, we find the tandem known as The Light In The Darkness, both dressed in their wrestling gear and going full throttle through a practice match. La Pequeña Luz is certainly no Xander Valentine, but she's foregoing trying to emulate Xander in favor of trying to push her usual fast pace, forcing Amelia Blythe to match it despite her preferred style. For a moment, we stand here, witnessing as Amelia manages to maintain her composure are starts to pick up on Luz's movements, adapting to them as she catches her leg and takes her to the mat before fluidly transitioning between various holds, countering every single attempt Luz makes to squirm free or even overpower her.

Soon enough, Amelia manages to catch Luz in the Blight Choke, and Luz immediately taps. The two help each other back to their feet, checking to make sure they're both alright and sharing a soft kiss in confirmation. Amelia glances over and nods at our presence, and Luz quietly says something to her in Spanish before she climbs out of the ring, winking to us and mouthing “she's got this” before she heads off. Amelia just smiles and watches her go for a moment before turning her attention to the footage of Xander still playing, studying his movements briefly as he finishes the match in victory. Nodding to herself, she walks over to the side of the ring where we're at and drops to the mat before rolling out to the floor right in front of us. She reaches over and grabs something we hadn't noticed before that was in one of the corners, revealing it to be her SCW World Tag Team Championship belt as she drapes it over her shoulder. She looks down at it for a moment, almost in reverence, before her undivided attention turns to us.

“Roughly two months ago, Luz and I found ourselves at our lowest point, something that the whole world saw when we walked into CHBK's office and made what, in hindsight, was a rather ridiculous request. Knowing what you all know about us, though... can you really blame us? Twice this year at that point, we'd proudly held the World Tag Team Titles, doing everything we could to encourage all comers to step up and show the world why SCW's tag team division is the greatest in the world. Twice, we saw our reign come to an end in a fashion that resembled the two of us, despite all the hard work and effort we've been putting in, ultimately being seen as the last stepping stone for someone else's place in history. It raised questions about where our heads were at, it had us and several others no doubt questioning if we were truly good enough to be here, if we were worthy of being in the discussion of the greatest tag teams in SCW's history. Rise to Greatness wasn't just our rematch for these titles... to us, it was must win. We were given our chance to make a statement, prove we could overcome the two teams who had made history at our expense, cement ourselves once and for all as perhaps the best tag team, bar none, in SCW today.

If you somehow missed Rise to Greatness... then I apologize for the spoiler about how that worked out for us.”

Amelia sheepishly looks back down at the title draped over her shoulder, almost as if she's reminding herself that it's really there and she and Luz really are World Tag Team Champions for a third time.

“Now, I'm sure some of you out there are probably questioning some of what I just said. Maybe you disagree with that match against Twisted & Sadistic and Team Desire being 'must win,' especially since we could always just work our way back up to challenge for these titles again, or maybe even go a different route and pursue solo opportunities for a little while. Yes, that option may be on the table, but consider things from our point of view: if you endured a crisis of confidence because you'd been a victim of history twice within the same year and you were given the chance to prove you were more than just a footnote for somebody else, you'd fight tooth and nail to make it happen, wouldn't you? That's what Rise to Greatness was all about for The Light In The Darkness. We marched down to that ring to prove to the world, and to ourselves, that we could overcome our greatest setbacks, and the fact that we're holding these titles for the third time in our SCW careers is proof that we conquered that darkness looming over us.

Of course, now the question becomes... what's next for The Light In The Darkness?

Truth be told, that's not an easy question to answer. Finally pinning Twisted & Sadistic ensures that those two will have to accept going to the back of the line, and this time I doubt CHBK will let them pull any chaotic stunts to try and get back to us as soon as possible again. The Stewards could adopt Glory and Brittany's argument that since we never beat them, they should be allowed a rematch despite the technicality of Rise to Greatness being our rematch, voiding their claim to one. Katie, Gigi... I'm sorry, but Luz and I are not falling for that again, especially since unlike Twisted & Sadistic, we have proven we can beat you several times up to this point, and that's not getting into the non-title loss you both suffered on the last Breakdown before the biggest show of the year. That said, the likes of the Dangerous Minds would certainly have a claim to being next in line, and you also have the Shining Maidens quickly building themselves up into a future threat to our new title reign.

One thing we also can't forget about is another uncertainty hanging in the air... two weeks from this upcoming Breakdown, the Trios Tournament returns. Luz and I may be World Tag Team Champions again, but given that all of those trios are randomly drawn, the odds are pretty good that she and I may be facing one another instead of somehow being lucky enough to end up on the same team, or maybe one or both of us don't get drawn for it at all. But considering the prize is that every member of the winning trio gets a contract for virtually any match of their choosing, that could represent a lot of different things for a lot of different people. For Luz and I, it could be an ace in the hole for a future rematch should we lose these titles again... or perhaps it could be a chance to open some other doors regardless of whether or not we're still holding these titles down the line.

Perhaps that is a reason why I find myself with the Herculean task of competing solo in Dallas against arguably one of the most dangerous and dominant men in SCW history.”

Amelia takes a deep breath before cracking her neck from side to side. She's certainly feeling a lot better than she did at the end of that war to reclaim her and Luz's tag team gold, but she's studied Xander enough to know what a good portion of his offense focuses on. If there's any fear or concern about that, she's doing a good job of hiding it, her focus never wavering.

“Xander Valentine... what can be said about arguably one of the greatest legends in SCW history that hasn't been said already? It's already well-known just how dominant Xander has been throughout his entire career, how many times he's called himself a World Champion, the fact that for so many years he had the longest reign in SCW history with its greatest prize. A lot of people might say this is my opportunity to take advantage of a legend in his twilight years, given that Xander has admitted that retirement is on the horizon for him, and earn myself a definitive win to put my name on the map. While that last part may certainly be true, I would be a fool to assume that just because his time is coming to an end that such a win is going to be easy to obtain. People like Kandis have made that assumption and found out the hard way that no matter how old he is or what condition his body may be in, The Executioner has earned that nickname for a reason and I need to be prepared to walk into Breakdown believing I'm about to match wits with one of the very best in their prime.

To that, Xander, you have my word that I understand exactly who you are and will give you the fight that someone of your caliber deserves.

There's a lot working against me, obviously. Xander is easily one of the biggest opponents I've ever crossed paths with in the ring, and he's made it clear that no matter how he sees me, it doesn't change the fact that he's going full throttle to get this win over me. I've done my homework, I've seen everything that has made him a rightfully feared man over the years, but I'm going to tell you this now Xander... I'm not afraid of you. Maybe you think that's a crazy thing to say, maybe it could be easily assumed that I'm just defaulting back to the mentality my parents programmed me to have where a Blythe shows no fear to any opponent, but the truth of the matter is that to be afraid of you means I'm giving in to the aura you've built around yourself too easily. If this is going to be your final journey in this company, then I owe it to you to step up and give you the absolute best that I can, and being afraid of what you could do to me will hinder that.

Am I humbled that you've taken notice of what I'm capable of in that ring? Yes, I'll openly admit that it's a great honor and a much-needed confidence boost to hear a legend like you not only say that, but admit that you see the kind of potential in me to become so much more. I never really got a lot of that in my life or back at the start of my career... at least, not until I met Luz. That said, if we're going to talk about humility, then I need to correct something I observed in what you had to say to me. You drew a lot of parallels between The Light In The Darkness and Dark Fantasy, which isn't surprising given how we've been upfront with them about how much they inspired us once upon a time, and maybe the time to show I can be just as successful in singles action as I have been as part of a tag team is nigh. But there's one big thing that separates us from Dark Fantasy: while Syren and Ravyn found plenty of singles success, you could argue that there were points where that success was because of direct help from one another, and the clash of ideologies that ultimately spawned from it is what led to the rift that ended Dark Fantasy for so many years, even up to the start of last year where you stood by Syren's side against Ravyn and Adam Allocco. Me? I know I have what it takes to reach the top. It may not have happened in SCW just yet, but it's happened enough in other companies to know I can get to that point.

And so can Luz.

Where The Light In The Darkness differs is our support for one another, and that makes us something that I don't know if even you've seen before Xander. I wouldn't be where I am today without Luz, and she would admit the same about me, and for as much as we love each other and make for a very effective tag team, we know we have the healthy communication necessary between us to be able to find that competitive balance that so many others lack. For example, I was the first one between us to become Television Champion, and she responded by having a longer reign with the title than I did. Something small like that may start to form cracks in other teams, but for us? I see that as motivation to push myself to a point where maybe I can have a singles reign that tops that, pushing Luz to try and one-up even that, ultimately making the both of us better and better as time goes on. That is just one of the things that makes us who we are and proves not just how committed we are to each other, but also this business.

I'm looking forward to this opportunity Xander, to meet you in the ring come Breakdown on August 29th in Dallas, Texas. You know I speak the truth when I acknowledge that you're swinging for my head and I have to be ready to dodge that axe and respond with something that could send shockwaves throughout the SCW locker room. Win or lose, however, I'm going to walk away from this match knowing that I went to war with one of the all-time greats and proved what I'm capable of in the process, and what I take away from this battle with you will not only push me farther, but inspire Luz to step up and do the same. Maybe even you think it sounds silly, but Luz and I wouldn't be in SCW at all if we hadn't become the literal light guiding each other, and when the day comes for the both of us to also start considering that final road you now walk... if we're going down in history, then we're making sure the both of us are acknowledged, both in singles and in tag team action, because that is the mark we wish to leave behind to inspire future generations, and we wouldn't have it any other way. So give me your best Xander, try to make my world Fade to Black... because I know my light will continue to shine through no matter what the end result.”

With a nod of acknowledgment, Amelia turns and walks away, leaving us lingering on the training ring and the old footage of Xander still playing on the TV for a moment before we do, in fact, fade to black, with Amelia's words hanging in the air loud and clear.

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

With her piece spoken, Amelia starts making her way to her and Luz's bedroom, toweling herself off. In her mind, the fact that her neck's been holding up in training these past few weeks is a good sign that the Hell on Earth at Rise to Greatness didn't exacerbate anything, and Luz has helped her figure out a gameplan to keep a faster tempo than she's used to in hopes of countering Xander's size advantage to get him to the mat where she can try to wrestle her way. The plan now is to shower and finish packing so she and Luz can catch their flight out to Dallas, where she'll hopefully be able to get some training in with Ivy and Henry, the best she's got for trying to prepare for that huge size and strength advantage she'll be up against. The, come Beakdown, she gives Xander one hell of a fight and follows wherever the chips fall from there.

“You done, querida?” Luz calls out to her from the kitchen counter, where she's currently dressed to go and just sorting through the mail to pass the time until Amelia's ready.

“Yup, the message has been sent,” Amelia confirms. “I'm going to go clean up and then we can head to the airport for my showdown with The Executioner.”

“You can do this, honey,” Luz grins and leans up from her seat to kiss Amelia's cheek. She just returns the grin before resuming her walk to the bathroom to grab a change of clothes, but as she does, Luz notices something in the mail pile. “Hey Ames, can you hang on a sec? We've got a letter addressed to us, and it's not a bill or anything.”

“Could it be fan mail?” Amelia asks, curiously turning around and walking back over to Luz as she rips open the letter.

What greets their eyes, however, is a short but cryptic message.

“'Amelia Blythe and La Pequeña Luz, your time is coming soon, and you will pay for your sins in full,'” Luz reads aloud. “What the heck is this supposed to be?”

“Maybe Adrian's trying to scare us for ruining all his plans and getting my parents put away,” Amelia pondered. “Or maybe that Jacob Harrison creep didn't change his tune after all and is just not being public about it?”

“Or it could be someone from The Empire thinking they can succeed where Caleb failed and want to put us on notice?” Luz grimaced.

The envelope had no return address and whoever sent it wasn't arrogant or stupid enough to give them a name, but one thing was clear to the young couple: as much as they had wished otherwise, maybe they weren't quite out of this storm just yet.