Light in the Darkness vs. Hollywood

[Wisteria Waltz]

The closer you get to a monumental life-changing event, the more you begin to worry about how it'll all go down as the nerves begin to settle in.

This was no different for Amelia Blythe and La Pequeña Luz.

One would think they would be immune to nerves at this point in their lives. After all, they had been professional wrestlers for at least seven years by this point, and had hung around the business for a lot longer due to their status as second generation talents. They've both wrestled all over the world and amassed so many accolades for themselves that if there was an overall pro wrestling hall of fame, they would be guaranteed entries into it. Even in SCW alone, arguably the biggest promotion they've ever competed for, Luz and Amelia have established themselves as household names, fearlessly giving it their all against some of the very best to ever lace up a pair of boots and even making moments for themselves on the company's grandest stage.

There's a big difference, however, between winning championship gold together at Rise to Greatness and tying the knot to hopefully spend the rest of their lives together in holy matrimony.

At this point in time, the couple didn't have any confirmed plans just yet regarding the upcoming Under Attack pay-per-view, although they had made it clear they were more than willing to defend their World Tag Team Championships on that show if CHBK was willing to give them a chance to do so. It seemed like the most likely possibility as the only other thing SCW-related on their plate right now was Luz knowing a United States Championship match was in her future, although if and when exactly that would happen depended heavily on the condition of reigning champion Deanna Frost, whom Luz could only hope was recovering alright after everything she'd endured with The Enigma.

Hopefully, the two of them would get the chance to talk about it and gauge what the situation would look like during the reception.

While they waited with bated breath to see what Under Attack would have in store for them this year, it had allowed the vast majority of their focus to be put towards the final preparations for the wedding. While there would be at least a week after this upcoming Breakdown to make sure every last detail is exactly as they want it to be, in their minds they felt more comfortable having it all ironed out before heading up to Ottawa for what would ultimately be Amelia's final match bearing the Blythe name in any official capacity. That, in and of itself, would make what was otherwise a simple encounter with the team calling themselves Hollywood a special occurrence that warranted their absolute focus, a chance to bid a fond farewell to what good Amelia had managed to create for herself while locked in the shackles of her parents' legacies and plans for her before she stepped into a brand new life with a family that she knew would cherish her for far more than just what she could do in the ring.

That thought alone had Luz practically vibrating with excitement anytime it crossed her mind, because she knew better than most the full extent of how much her wife-to-be had suffered trying to live up to the unreasonable expectations of Aleister and Ophelia Blythe and everything that it had cost her for so long. She was honored to offer up her family name for Amelia to take as her own, and it warmed her heart to think of how much more they could accomplish together once they took this next step in their lives.

That said, there was plenty of time before that final Breakdown before Under Attack and whatever it had in store for them this year became their next focal point, and since they had long grown accustomed to taking large trips that seemed out of the way for one reason or another, no one batted an eye at them when instead of heading straight to Ottawa after the Breakdown in Boston was in the books, they instead headed down to Luz's hometown of Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico with two goals in mind:

Finalize everything that was ready and waiting regarding their wedding setup and walking through the plans for the ceremony.

And the task they were preoccupying themselves with right now, which was preparing the grave of El Espíritu Angélico for Día de Muertos.

At the moment, Camila and Valentina were working on an arrangement of marigolds, baby's breath and cockscomb flowers to form a pair of wings protectively folded over the gravestone while Luz was working on painting it in a manner that truly invoked the free and innovative spirit of her father by creating a little mural of some of his greatest accomplishments during his wrestling career. Not to be outdone, Amelia was carefully crafting little miniature skeleton figurines that would inevitably be posed at the base of the gravestone to represent Angélico standing triumphant over his opponents even in the afterlife.

“You and Mamá are doing an amazing job with the flowers, V!” Luz couldn't resist praising her sister as she looked up from her paint job.

“Thanks sis,” Valentina replied, her nerves shining through loud and clear. “But... are you sure I should be...?”

“Now, now, none of that, mija,” Camila gently scolded her. “I told you this last year and the sentiment has not changed: you being adopted doesn't change the fact that you are very much a part of this family, regardless of what you've done in the past. When I say that Manuel would have loved you just as much as I do and sympathized with your plight, I mean every last word of it.”

“Besides,” Amelia chimed in as she put the finishing touches on a little mask she was painting on one of the figures, “you're just as welcome to lend a hand with this as I am. I may not be part of the family just yet, but this is still an important tradition and we both are, or will soon be, Nevados in one form or another. It's the least we can do to welcome Lulu's father back so he can see her and I get married.”

“I'm guessing one of the perks of becoming your sister-in-law is putting up with even more of you two being so tooth-rottingly sweet with each other?” Valentina grinned, earning a snort from Amelia that gave way to jovial laughter from everyone, especially when Luz couldn't resist leaning over to plant a big kiss on Amelia's cheek that had Valentina groaning and recoiling in 'pain' from an 'overload of sweetness.'

All in all, it was a scene full of joy and happiness from a family that had endured so much more than they honestly deserved to over the years and had long since earned the happy moment that was almost upon them.

Even still, though, Luz and Amelia knew in the back of their heads that there were still unanswered questions and lingering dark clouds that all threatened to rain on their parade if they weren't careful.

In the aftermath of Apocalypse, several mysteries old and new that had been plaguing them got some bizarre developments, and the couple was still trying to make sense of it all. From the sudden and persistent efforts of Theresa Saintsbury trying to drive a wedge into their relationship so close to their big day to the discovery of a potential connection she may have had all along in the old headache that was Jacob Harrison's 'journalistic efforts' to 'expose' them, along with the continuing issue of who had been repeatedly leaving them all kinds of messages trying to convince them to call off the wedding 'to save their souls,' there were plenty of problems at hand that, unfortunately, probably wouldn't see resolution by the time the ceremony was underway, meaning that the admittedly excessive security the whole event was going to have may very well be necessary after all.

In their honest opinions, all signs seemed to point back to The Empire in one form or another, but there were plenty of coincidences that were making things difficult to truly add up to that conclusion. While the constant barrage of holy-themed messages trying to talk them out of tying the knot certainly lined up, they still had no face to connect to the voice they could at least attach to it all now. As far as their other problem was concerned, neither Theresa nor Jacob had any known connections to The Empire either as members of the cult or as accomplices. Given that Theresa, assuming she was, in fact, the mysterious 'insider source' who had been fueling Jacob's wild conspiracy theories about the couple all along, had even gone above Avery's head to their boss in order to barter for Jacob's initial release in exchange for throwing several prominent members of the cult under the bus to be captured, the only explanation that made any sense to them was that she saw an opportunity at some sort of twisted power play if she crippled what was left of The Empire with Caleb incarcerated, though what she truly had to gain from any of it and how it related to The Light In The Darkness was a big bold question mark that was just as infuriating as all the others that had been floating over the couple's heads lately.

After being jerked around constantly by both Caleb and Amelia's parents for so long, Amelia and Luz were in agreement that they were tired of these lingering questions and just wanted to know everything that was definitely on the horizon for them now. As far as they were concerned, was that really so much to ask for?

The four women finished up the work they'd been doing to El Espíritu Angélico's grave, with the finishing touch being all four of them scattering marigold petals on the grave itself, a tradition that carried the belief of the petals being a beacon to help the souls of the deceased find their way back once the holiday was over. As they stood there, admiring the work they had put into this endeavor for today and knowing they would be back to further prepare everything for Día de Muertos, Luz and Amelia began to walk through the ceremony in their heads, knowing that some of their guests may find some of it a little odd but hoping they would understand given how important this holiday was to Luz's culture altogether. In that sense, Luz would still be walked down the aisle by her father, ultimately followed by Amelia who would be walked down by her siblings due to her parents thankfully serving well-deserved jail time.

Before they could get too lost in their daydreaming about how it was all going to go down, they heard the sound of several people shuffling about nearby, and once it grabbed their attention, they were reminded of something else they'd been meaning to get to.

Over by the entrance to the cemetery, Avery was currently walking through the plan with a large group composed of not only local police officers but also FBI and NCA agents. Despite Mexico being well outside of the latter two's normal legal jurisdiction, some strings had been pulled to give them temporary authority over enforcing the law on Día de Muertos not just to protect Luz and Amelia's wedding, but also in the event that any remnants of The Empire sought to strike again and taint the sacred holiday through desecrating the graves like they'd done last year. Given that this cult had long since proven their sickening tactics extended across the globe and they hadn't been confirmed to be completely subdued even months after Caleb's arrest, no one was understandably taking any chances in the face of such a tempting target to strike at. With Darius and Evie still back in England trying to tie up some loose ends so they could be free to attend the wedding and pitch in with the security efforts, Avery had been put in charge of directing traffic and running through the gameplan, a task that everyone standing before them could tell they were taking extremely seriously.

“Alright, once the ceremony itself has concluded and Luz and Amelia are officially wedded,” Avery directed as they paced back and forth like a drill sergeant, “the reception is going to be held here in this cemetery. Given that this was a target of Empire attacks last year to try and desecrate and ruin Día de Muertos, that alone gives us more than enough reason to protect this area no matter what. Luz and Amelia wish to honor the tradition of the holiday by celebrating the next step in their lives with the spirits of the departed giving their blessings, especially Luz's father whose grave is in this very place. Now, as for patrol...”

Luz and Amelia couldn't help but wander over and watch Avery dictate the plan of attack. They had seen them in action before as an FBI agent, though beyond their efforts behind the scene it had only been brief glimpses in response to anything that had both threatened them and violated the law on top of it. Seeing how efficiently Avery handed out assignments and stressed the importance of making sure this entire cemetery was well-guarded to prevent any further incidents like what had happened last year had the two of them impressed and fully understanding exactly how Avery had earned their rank among the FBI's elite agents.

Once the plan had been laid out, Avery dismissed them all with the order that the local officers would show the agents around so they could get a lay of the land to make sure they were fully prepared for the task ahead of them. They watched as everyone dispersed before letting out a sigh.

“That never gets any easier.”

“You did such a great job though!” Luz complimented as Avery jumped for a moment before chuckling at the realization that she and Amelia were right behind them.

“Luz is right,” Amelia pointed out. “The way you laid everything out and made sure they're all on the same page for our big day was very impressive.”

“Heh, I'm glad you both think so,” Avery admitted as they nervously rubbed the back of their head. “Truth be told, I've always kind of struggled with public speaking. It was kind of easy to hide when I wrestled because Marilyn is a natural at talking to people... with this job, I feel like I'm only good at it when I know I'm in a situation where the commands I give could make a huge difference in the outcome.”

“Well, we're grateful all the same for everything you've done for us since coming into our lives,” Luz admitted.

“And I'm honored to have met the both of you, even if I wish it were all under different circumstances,” Avery sighed before looking to where Camila and Valentina were still doing some final fussing over their flower arrangement on the grave. “Maybe this doesn't mean much coming from someone who will be experiencing a proper authentic Día de Muertos for the first time, but I think you all did an incredible job with your father's grave, Luz.”

“Thanks Avery,” Luz sheepishly smiled. “I just hope Papá will like what I did too... I know he probably will, but I'm also probably just nervous because I'm so close to marrying this absolutely incredible woman right next to me.”

Luz couldn't resist reaching over to wrap an arm around Amelia's waist and pull her close, causing her to blush a deep shade of red as she and Avery both laughed.

“Ah... your love gives me so much life after all these years,” Avery admitted with a grin.

“Speaking of the wedding though...” Amelia took the chance to change the topic. “We had some new developments we felt needed to be shared with you.”

Avery raised an eyebrow as Amelia and Luz filled them in on both what Theresa had done as soon as they were leaving the Rogers Arena after Apocalypse had gone off the air, the sudden reappearance of Jacob and how it seemed to tie him to the former Lady Snapdragon (which Avery couldn't resist growling in frustration at the man's violation of his restraining order, even unintentionally) and the odd call they had received leading up to the Breakdown almost two weeks ago now in Buffalo where they'd last defended their World Tag Team Titles.

To their credit, Avery kept a stone face for the most part as they mentally took note of everything that was certainly worth digging into while there was still at least a week before the wedding. But when they heard the voicemail that had been left for them on Luz's phone from their mysterious messenger, the mask begin to crack and give way to definite concern.

“We've been debating if they were using a voice changer or not, but...”Luz said once the voicemail had finished playing, only for Avery to cut her off.

“That's no voice changer... damn it...”

Luz and Amelia exchanged surprised and concerned glances as Avery chewed their bottom lip, their own concern almost creating a thick tension around the three of them in that moment.

“Is everything alright, Avery?” Amelia chanced asking.

“I don't know...” Avery admitted. “That voice... I know it...”

“You do!?” Luz exclaimed.

“Assuming my ears aren't failing me or someone's intentionally setting him up, that was the voice of Vladimir Basmat,” Avery revealed. “He's an FBI technician whose been with us for a few years now. He always came off a little creepy in my honest opinion, but he's been a loyal member of our team and never gave us any indication that what we knew about him was any sort of facade. Although... he would fit the profile of someone with the resources and technical know-how to constantly bug you both the way he has... but he couldn't be...”

Avery finally sighed after thinking it over for a moment.

“I'm sorry girls,” they said. “I'm hoping I'm wrong on this because there's some serious problems we in the FBI need to address if I'm not. For now, let me get a copy of that voicemail so we can check it to be sure, and I'll get back to you as soon as I've got something.”

Luz and Amelia nodded before Luz handed Avery her phone, allowing them to fiddle around with it until the voicemail was re-recorded in a way that could be sent off for analysis. The three of them would spend a few minutes further discussing the situation with Theresa and Jacob, which ultimately led to Avery deciding that Jacob needed to be brought back in for violating the restraining order so they had a reason to interrogate him about what he was talking with Theresa about, but Amelia and Luz would inevitably part ways with them so they could join up with Camila and Valentina in moving on to the nearby church to walk through and finalize the last of their wedding plans.

Avery watched the couple leave, giving them an optimistic smile, but as soon as they were far enough away, the smile dropped and they immediately pulled out their phone to make an urgent call.

“Darius, it's Avery. Sorry to bother you, but Luz and Amelia just passed on a very troubling development from the attempts to sabotage their wedding. You and Evie need to pass the word on to any higher-ups you trust: if I'm correct about what they've given me, they may be a potential Empire breach within the FBI we're only just now learning about, and I'm fearful there may be some sort of infiltration within the NCA as well.”