La Pequena Luz vs. Ryan LeCavalier

[Wisteria Waltz]

La Pequeña Luz didn't sleep when she and Amelia got back to their hotel room after Breakdown.

Amelia also didn't get the greatest sleep, but she did ultimately succumb to it at some point, likely due to the exhaustion of the match she wrestled.

Luz, however, didn't sleep a wink.

You'd be hard-pressed to notice it the following morning, however, because she was somehow her usual, energetic self.

The fact of the matter was that Luz was just as good at masking her true emotions as Amelia was, perhaps even more so since Amelia had always been forced to wear that proverbial mask while Luz developed the habit on her own, almost out of defiance to try and show her bullies growing up that they weren't getting to her when, deep inside, they had very much scarred her sense of self-worth.

Truth be told, Luz was furious, something that wasn't easy to achieve and something she tried not to show, and almost all of it had barely anything to do with her.

During breakfast that morning, her thoughts drifted back to the past week here in St. Louis, over everything that had happened, her fury becoming harder to mask as she thought over how much Amelia had been affected. It all started with someone clearly from this Empire splinter cell attempting to assassinate her, and while Ivy had thankfully only taking a grazing shot to save Amelia and no serious damage was done, their best friend had still gotten hurt. There was a strong part of Luz that was beating herself up over not doing anything, not stepping in herself perhaps to take the bullet so neither Amelia nor Ivy would have been hurt, but she knew that would've been a senseless self-sacrifice on her part and would've impacted Amelia just as badly, if not worse.

Breakdown didn't seem to play out too much better. Sure, Luz had tried to help better handle the situation between Asher and Jordan, and she was legitimately happy to see Deanna back even if it complicated the lingering thread of her place in the U.S. Title situation, but that was probably the only positive thing that came out of the night in her mind. It hurt her to see Amelia try her best only to fall short against Glory again, but while she could let that go because that was the nature of this sport and she knew her wife would pull herself back together and improve for next time, it was the other aspects surrounding it that made Luz's skin crawl. The fact that Amelia pushed herself to still wrestle this match even after what had happened, even if Luz knew she would've been guilty of doing the exact same thing if they'd traded places, the fact that Glory had proven herself a hypocrite and taking advantage of the respect Amelia had for her as a competitor by not only accusing her of getting advice from CHBK (something both Luz and Deanna could've vouched wasn't the case if Glory had been respectful enough to ask) but even willingly bending the rules because, unsurprisingly, winning to prove she was worthy of anything was the only thing she cared about.

As much as it made Luz sick watching Glory get attacked by Ryan afterwards, there was a part of her that felt Glory deserved to have her overinflated ego knocked down a few pegs, and she hated that the thought even existed in her brain at all.

SCW was a distant concern for Luz right now, however. She knew she'd be facing Ryan next week in Rochester and had a chance to get some momentum back not only for herself but to hopefully inspire Amelia, but none of that was a concern to her right now. As of this exact moment, she watched Amelia barely pick away at her breakfast before looking up, needing to rub her eyes for a moment because the very visible frown on Luz's lips looked so wrong that she probably thought she'd nodded off again.

“Are you alright, mi amor?” Amelia carefully asked.

“Are you?” Luz almost immediately replied, which elicited a shuddered breath from her wife.

“I...” Amelia started as her eyes drifted back down to her untouched food.

“Hey, it's OK,” Luz gently said as she reached across the table, her hand laying gently over Amelia's. “It's OK that we're not OK. The important thing is that we're not OK together, and that means we can work together to fix that.”

“I don't know if that's how that works, Lulu,” Amelia mumbled, but Luz saw her lips twitch into a bit of a smile and knew she was breaking through the walls Amelia was subconsciously trying to put back up in the wake of these latest setbacks. “Especially the fact that you just admitted you're not doing alright.”

“I mean... there'd probably be something wrong with me if I was doing alright after what that Empire bastardo tried to do,” Luz admitted, maybe with a bit more force behind her words than she'd intended. The fact that Luz had resorted to swearing, even in her mother tongue, certainly threw Amelia for a loop, but she couldn't find it in her to call her wife out on it or disagree with the sentiment.

“We really need to figure out how to put an end to this whole mess,” Amelia lamented with a sigh. “I'm tired of people getting hurt, I'm tired of having to watch our backs every time we try to do anything...”

“I know we're both tired of the impact it keeps having on our wrestling careers,” Luz added. “I feel like the only reason SCW's board hasn't stepped in and forced us to take time off until this whole thing is resolved is because of how stubborn we both are to wrestle despite it.”

“Or the NCA doing a fairly good job of keeping these incidents mostly isolated and contained,” Amelia pointed out.

“Just... please promise me you'll eat for right now... please, Ames?” Luz asked, her voice tinged with worry. “After breakfast, we can figure out where to go from here.”

Amelia couldn't help but nod at that, knowing Luz had a point and she was going to need food in her stomach to really address anything in the wake of everything that had happened to them here in St. Louis. Luz relaxed a little bit as she saw Amelia actually begin to take proper bites of her breakfast, but it didn't stop the fire burning beneath her skin as she thought about the day ahead. Ivy was getting discharged today, the doctors having no reason to keep her any longer given that her wound hadn't been anything significant and had already practically healed up a fair amount, and she knew Amelia wanted to be there to walk her out of the hospital and couldn't help but smile at the thought of just how much those two had truly come back together after years of pain and heartache caused by the manipulation from Amelia's parents purely for their own self-interest.

Still, though... something had to change, some sort of progress had to be made, and Luz knew that was easier said than done right now.

Ever since the guy who had tried to murder Amelia in broad daylight was arrested, Evie, Darius and Avery had been interrogating the Empire goon night and day, trying to pry anything out of him, but Luz had been told that the guy wasn't giving up anything to them and had practically been trying to goad either them or any of the St. Louis police officers into killing him so he could “ascend for doing God's work,” a thought that just had her rolling her eyes in disgust.

This guy was the best chance they had at trying to get anything, and Luz was determined to do just that, no matter how ill-advised it was to get involved at this point.

Once Amelia had finally finished eating and confirmed to Luz that she was feeling much better with food in her stomach, the two of them returned to their room to change before heading down to the lobby to meet with Avery, who was going to shadow them on the drive over to the hospital just in case there were any more Empire members of either side lurking around. Constant sweeps of the city from law enforcement had turned up nothing yet, but no one was taking any chances after what had happened last week and neither Luz nor Amelia could blame anybody on that.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Amelia had all but run inside after Luz told her it was alright and she'd catch up. She knew how much Amelia had been beating herself up over what happened to Ivy despite Ivy clearly making the decision of her own volition and saving Amelia's life in the process, and Ames deserved to have this moment to both reassure herself and also serve as a distraction before she fixated too much on her recent loss and began spiraling. The fact that Luz had already reassured her countless times last night on the drive back to the hotel that she'd get Glory eventually had somehow stuck it seemed, and Luz was thankful for that because she knew it was the truth.

“Well, I'm off to the station to see if today's the day we can get anything out of this Empire thug finally,” Avery said to Luz. “Call me once they finish discharging Ivy and one of us will tail you guys back to the hotel, just in case.”

“Actually...” Luz called out before Avery could get back into their car. “Can I come with you?”

“H-Huh?” Avery had to do a double-take, clearly having not expected Luz's request. “Luz, with all due respect, it's too dangerous and we'd rather not take the risk. Yeah, he's locked up tight, but-”

“I still want to come,” Luz said, a little more firmly this time. “I'm sorry, Avery, but this guy tried to kill my wife right in front of me, and I probably would've been his next shot if he thought he could get another one. He's probably the closest we've got right now to getting any answers, and I'm getting so sick of people getting hurt or threatened just because some guys are reading so deeply into the Bible that they're making up their own version at this point just to be in the right.”

“I still don't feel comfortable taking you with me on this, Luz,” Avery repeated.

“I really don't feel comfortable asking to do this, honestly,” Luz admitted, further stunning Avery. “But I can't just sit back and do nothing! I have an idea, and I know you and the others will definitely not agree with it, but... maybe it'll work, and I trust you guys with my life to make sure nothing happens.”

Avery just looked at Luz intently, almost trying to get a read on her to see if they could figure out what she was up to, but Luz was surprising them by keeping a cool head about this. It almost felt like Luz and Amelia had traded personalities as Avery had never seen Luz this intent about something aside from wrestling... and it was a little scary, to be honest.

“Alright... but be careful, Luz, and please don't make me regret this...” Avery finally sighed before getting into their car. Luz just nodded and got in the passenger seat before Avery drove off towards the police station where the Empire assassin had been held since he was arrested. On the way, Luz had gotten a text from Amelia, asking her why she was taking so long, and Luz couldn't help but feel guilty when she texted back that she was going with Avery and would see her when Ivy was discharged, begging her wife to trust her. She expected the avalanche of concerned text messages begging to know what Luz was up to and demanding that she not do anything to reckless, even though she was a little surprised to see one where Amelia ultimately admitted she did trust Luz, even if it was impossible not to worry.

It truly bothered Luz that she was making this move and leaving even her wife in the dark about it, but she was determined to get some answers even if she had to make a move on her own because all of this had to stop.

It wasn't long before they arrived and Avery led Luz to where the station's interrogation room was, although the officers were skeptical of Luz's presence even with Avery reassuring them that it was alright. Darius and Evie, however, were a little more vocal about their concerns once they saw the two.

“Avery, what is Luz doing here?” Darius demanded to know.

“Don't be upset with them,” Luz quickly jumped in. “I asked them to let me come along, even when they tried to warn me against this.”

“Avery was warning you for a reason, Luz,” Evie sighed. “Just because this guy's thoroughly handcuffed to avoid any rash or violent actions on his part doesn't mean he isn't still dangerous. If he sees you...”

“He's going to, because I want to take a crack at interrogating him,” Luz suddenly said.

The room suddenly got so quiet a pin dropping would have sounded as loud as an explosion.

“I'm sorry, you want to what!?” Avery all but shrieked.

“Out of the question, young lady,” Darius firmly added.

“Absolutely not,” Evie chimed in.

Luz sighed, having expected this, but the determined look remained on her face. “Look, I know this is risky and dangerous, you don't want to tell me considering I almost watched this guy end Amelia's life right before my very eyes, not to mention the shot still caught Ivy even a little bit. But if he's refusing to spill anything to you or the local authorities, then maybe I can get him to talk.”

“I don't know, Luz...” Avery grimaced at the thought of even letting Luz be seen when they opened the door. “That seems like a senseless risk to take, and, no offense, you're not exactly the kind of person who seems like they'd have the stomach for this, wrestling experience aside.”

“Trust me, I know, and I admitted on the way over that I don't really want to do this either,” Luz reminded them. “But... I think I know how to get him to talk, and I just want a chance. If it doesn't work, I'll take full responsibility and not cross this line again, but I feel like I have to do something to get us moving towards no longer having to deal with lunatics like him!”

The three NCA agents all exchanged uneasy looks, clearly still not liking any of this, but an unspoken fact hung over their heads: nothing they'd tried had gotten this guy to share anything yet, and if Luz was certain she could get him to talk, then maybe there'd be a chance at progress finally.

“Alright,” Darius sighed, clearly still concerned. “But one of us is coming in with you, just in case.”

“No arguments from me,” Luz replied. “And... thank you...”

Nods were exchanged before Evie opened the door, which got the guy's attention. Avery walked into the room first, taking a position beside the door and making it very clear they weren't afraid to draw their gun if need be, though they hoped it wouldn't come to that. Luz stepped in behind them, watching as Evie closed the door before she turned to lock eyes with the guy. There wasn't anything particularly special about him without his red cloak or plague doctor mask that the Empire members had settled on to hide their faces in public, but the moment he caught sight of Luz, he quickly tried to stand up, only to meet resistance fromhis hands being cuffed behind the chair he was sitting in and also fed through a sturdy metal bolt in the floor.

“How amusing,” the man laughed, clearly sounding deranged. “They actually brought in one of the sinners to end me. He knew Caleb was wrong thinking there was any good in you useless d-”

“Don't mind me,” Luz cut him off before he could definitely tread into 'homophobic slur' territory. “I just figured I'd get a good look at the man who thought God would actually reward him for taking a life. Pretty sure He is against that under any context.”

“You have no right to take the Lord's name in vain, you filthy harlot!” the man shouted, trying harder to break free from his restraints. Avery looked like they were about to move in and call this off, but Luz just nodded to them before nonchalantly taking a seat across the table from the guy, kicking her feet up and smiling at him, which only infuriated him more.

“So... who's the 'he' you were talking about?” Luz asked, making her curiosity so obvious in her tone it was almost insulting. “Since it's clear you don't trust Caleb enough even though he's the one who gave you this chance at a 'utopia' in the first place.”

“You really think I'd tell you!?” the man harshly laughed. “Those agents have been asking me for days and have gotten nothing, so what makes you think you can do any better?”

“I mean... it doesn't really matter to me,” Luz shrugged. “We're going to stop you guys either way, that's a fact. I just wanted to see if you'd be willing to share since it's clear neither this guy nor Caleb care enough about you to come rescue you.”

“Of course they care!” the man firmly stated. “I've earned a place in paradise and the likes of you will not tarnish it by-”

“That's an awful lot of words to admit that they're not coming to bust you out, and you know it,” Luz cut in, irritating the guy with how surprisingly annoying she was being. “Like I said, we're going to stop The Empire either way because we've all never been very good at just giving up on anything, but if you truly were as worthy as you claimed and not just another grunt doing whatever was asked of you, then surely you would've gotten some sign that your freedom was inevitable, right?”

“You little...” the man started to yell, but trailed off as it seemed to sink in that there had been no sign of anybody coming to try and break him out for almost a week now, nor any hint that his efforts had amounted to anything. “No... you're wrong! They have to be coming, we're all in this together! That's what he said... Caleb would understand once we finally had a clear path to unity. He couldn't have lied... that's not who Stephen Crane is...”

“Stephen Crane, huh?” Luz raised an eyebrow, which got the man angry again once he'd realized what he'd said.

“You... you tricked me! You vile temptress!” he yelled at her.

“All I did was tell you the truth and give you a chance to reflect on it,” Luz sighed as she slowly stood up, looking into his eyes with sorrow. “Maybe you do deserve a better life than whatever drove you into Caleb's clutches in the first place, but The Empire clearly isn't it if they would abandon you so easily for doing what they ask you to... and clearly this Stephen Crane doesn't even appreciate your efforts. Maybe something to think about with the jail time you're going to serve.”

Luz began to walk towards the door, resisting the instinct to start trembling at how she played this whole thing because she hated trying to weaponize her kind nature and her 'annoying energy' as her bullies always used to tell her, but she did leave the guy with some food for thought and got the agents what they needed, and the stunned but impressed look on Avery's face as they opened the door said it all.

“Andy...”

“Hm?” Luz hummed as she glanced back at the guy one more time, whose head was down now as he seemed to be fighting the urge to cry.

“My name's Andy...” he said again.

“Thank you, Andy,” Luz replied, shocking him with how sincere she sounded. “You want me to maybe stop by again before I leave St. Louis, see how you're doing? You seem like you could use a friend, and even if I have every reason to hate what you tried to do... I think blind hatred will get nobody anywhere in life.”

“...I'd like that... even if I don't deserve it...” Andy shakily replied.

Luz just gave him a smile and a nod before she left the room, to the stunned gazes of even Darius and Evie. She knew she was definitely going to catch some flak from Amelia for this once they met up back at the hospital, and part of her hated a lot of how she'd played this interaction, but it was a step in the right direction.

She could breathe a little easier now that it felt like some real progress was being made again towards ending this nightmare once and for all.