07-26-2025, 11:29 PM
OOC: Just as a note to avoid any confusion, any CD parts between my efforts for both Luz and Amelia that look very similar are intentional. This is because their CDs basically take place at roughly the same exact time and there is a bit of overlap between them at least in the beginning, but I did my best to line everything up while still making each part feel like its own.
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La Pequeña Luz should've felt a lot happier than she did when she arrived in Houston.
She had every reason to be in much better spirits than she was. She was about to have the biggest solo match of her entire career, having her very first Rise to Greatness match without Amelia as her tag team partner, therefore having the brightest spotlight on her and her alone she's had to date. She would be part of a match to finally resolve the United States Title dispute once and for all, not only having a chance to win the proper title instead of being recognized as an interim champion, but also being able to finally face off with her friend Deanna Frost in a proper match, along with getting a rematch against Asher Hayes... and, of course, finally being able to try and put Jordan Majors in her place once and for all.
Needless to say, there were a lot of reasons for her to look forward to Rise to Greatness.
Unfortunately, her light could be considered flickering when she and her found family finally did land in Houston.
Somehow, the splinter cell of The Empire that was led by Stephen Crane had succeeded in getting past NCA agents that had been acting as their security detail ever since the attempt on Amelia's life a little over a month ago, and while Amelia was going to have her own problems spawning from that to deal with, Luz was barely holding herself together at knowing that these religious lunatics had not only kidnapped her adopted sister, who had already been somewhat brainwashed by The Empire once before to try and impersonate her, but also kidnapped her mom, who deserved to be tied up in all of this about as much as her father had a long time ago.
The delusional ego of Caleb White knew no bounds, and the fact that it had spread so thoroughly to some of his most loyal followers that they were effectively trying to usurp his selfish, twisted plans disgusted her to a degree that she didn't even think was humanly possible.
The revelation had clearly impacted Luz and Amelia during their tag team match on Breakdown in Seattle just days prior. It would've been hard to tell because they were both far too good at hiding their problems, for better or worse, but they knew in the back of their heads and from watching back tapes after the fact that they had been a step or two behind at several points when they knew they shouldn't have been... when Syren and Chris Cannon deserved better.
Granted, it wasn't too much of a surprise when chaos ultimately reigned and the match was ultimately thrown out, but Luz felt a little bit ashamed that she'd let her emotions from her family being kidnapped start to get the better of her by that point. She'd tried to pursue Jordan despite thwarting her predictable attempt to intervene in the match to gain any advantage that she could for Rise to Greatness, something that she typically didn't do. Yeah, fighting to defend herself from an attack was one thing, but Jordan's efforts had been cut off and that should've been the end of it as far as she was concerned on that night... and yet, she joined Asher in pursuing, which had left Amelia wide open to almost fall victim to Chris's attempt to catch her with a C4 for that little extra edge before their own match.
Needless to say, Luz and Amelia had quite a long conversation once they got back to their hotel room that night, reassuring one another that everything was alright and they were going to get their loved ones back, safe and sound, and free themselves from this latest burden The Empire was trying to bury them under to ruin such a monumental night for their careers. That had led to a conversation with Darius and Evie the very next morning to try and figure out what happened... surprise, surprise, Stephen Crane had apparently used Caleb's preaching tactics to “save” a few NCA members who had acted as double agents in the moment and struck when the opportunity presented itself, explaining how the carefully crafted security measures of the UK's equivalent of the FBI had been breached so easily.
That left the burning question: what was the plan?
Given that both Luz and Amelia were informed that they'd both be contacted prior to Rise to Greatness for their respective “private meetings” regarding their kidnapped family members, Avery had joined Darius and Evie in immediately weaving together an extremely detailed plan, starting with getting members of the NCA as well as MI5, and any fragments of the FBI who were willing to help and weren't just going to keep ignoring this because the President said so, to do arguably the most thorough combing of Houston and the surrounding areas that's probably ever been conducted to try and pinpoint exactly where this splinter cell was hiding out with their hostages. Unfortunately, it seemed like the rogue Empire members either anticipated this or were playing very cautiously all of a sudden as the entire city was turned upside-down and there was no sign of anything pertaining to The Empire at all.
“It's possible they could not be in Houston yet as a precaution,” Avery had theorized, though that didn't quite put Luz at easy.
Given that was probably the best assumption they could make right now if no hint of this splinter cell was turning up, Luz and Amelia had proposed the idea of everyone simply heading into Houston fairly early. They were certain the city would be spending the whole week celebrating how imminent Rise to Greatness was, but that didn't mean SCW performers themselves needed to be in the city until closer to the end of the week to be ready for the pre-show and the fan expo. By arriving fairly early, it was their hope that they could have time to settle in and scope things out so they could be ready for anything once this rogue faction of The Empire finally did contact them.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Stephen, and Amelia's parents, were really bringing their A-game to try and keep everyone off-balance and get whatever they wanted out of this whole effort... which was likely the couple's lives.
Once Luz, Amelia, and their found family had arrived in Houston, they had wasted no time in getting checked into their hotel. As soon as Luz and Amelia were settled into their room, however, they each received text messages from burner numbers, revealing the locations they were expected to have their respective meetings at, and it was no surprise that they were on opposite ends of the city to make absolutely sure they couldn't help one another this time. They had tried to go inform the others, but found a pair of men who you would never know were part of The Empire if you didn't recognize the cult's emblem pinned to their shirts waiting for them the second they opened the door, having anticipated the tactic and been ordered to personally escort the two to their respective meetings so that they could truly come alone as requested. That was how the two had found themselves being led down to the hotel parking lot, noticing that others who also had to be plain clothes members of this Empire splinter cell had been strategically positioned outside of the rooms of the others to prevent any immediate interference until the girls couldn't be tracked.
If that didn't confirm that Stephen Crane was every bit as intelligent and dangerous as Caleb White, then nothing would at this point.
It wasn't long before the couple were led outside, where more plain clothes religious cultists hoping to ultimately see them dead were waiting with a pair of red SUVs to get them to where they were expected. Before they separated, however, Luz had grabbed Amelia's hand.
“You've got this, mi amor,” Luz gave her the cheesiest, most confident grin she could muster in this situation.
“You do too, sweetheart,” Amelia gave a shaky yet determined smile back.
“I'll see you at NRG Stadium on Sunday night, proving yourself against Chris Cannon,” Luz chuckled.
“And I'll see you there, holding that U.S. Title above your head once again,” Amelia replied.
With that, the two had sealed their promise to survive whatever was in store for them with a kiss. It didn't last too long before they were forced apart by their “private escort” and herded into the separate SUVs, which is how Luz found herself where she was at right now.
“Hand over your phone,” one of the Empire members demanded, holding out his hand once Luz was settled into the back seat.
“And why should I?” she replied, knowingly trying to get under their skin knowing (or at least hoping) that they wouldn't do anything yet if their boss was intending to meet with her first.
“We were told not to take any chances since we know how tight knit you are with your little friend group,” another Empire member said as he got buckled up in the driver's seat. “You can hand it over peacefully, or we can take it from you by force.”
Luz made a face, but these guys were ultimately unfazed. Not wanting to take any chances, Luz reluctantly pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it over, with the goon who took it making sure it was powered off to be absolutely sure it couldn't be tracked somehow before they hit the road, leaving Luz glancing out the back window and locking eyes with Amelia briefly before they were shepherded off to their respective meetings. It was no surprise her nerves began to flare up as she racked her brain for anything that could help her even as she was driven off towards the unknown and knowingly cut off from any help, and the silence of the drive was not helping matters as she found her leg bouncing absentmindedly, which seemed to catch the attention of one of her escorts.
“You mind stopping that?” he said as he turned to look at her.
“What? Bouncing my leg?” Luz asked with a raised eyebrow beneath her mask. “Can you blame me for being nervous about you guys leading me to what's probably my death?”
“...I guess I can't,” the guy admitted after a moment of thinking about it. “Still, it's annoying.”
“How do you think I feel knowing you guys haven't left me and my loved ones alone for years at this point?” Luz shot back. “Caleb wants to 'save' us, your renegade leader wants us dead, and for what? A supposed paradise? How do you even know you can make something like that happen?”
“Because it's what God intended for the world,” the driver casually said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “That's why he put Caleb on this Earth, and why we exist to make sure he stays on track without you and your sinful harlot to keep distracting him when he doesn't need redemption in the eyes of the Lord like he believes he does.”
“You can't honestly sit there and tell me that God would truly approve of anything Caleb has done, or any of you for that matter,” Luz offered. “Pretty sure parts of the Bible say something about not using God's name to justify causing harm unto others, no matter the reason, and I know the body count Caleb has left behind has probably already barred him from Heaven no matter how badly he thinks Amelia and I are the key to a redemption he doesn't deserve.”
“Shut up,” one of them snapped. “You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.”
“But...” the driver openly pondered. “We have caused a lot of damage in the name of Caleb and the Lord and Savior...”
“Don't you start getting cold feet now, man,” his fellow Empire member warned. “Don't forget why we joined this cause!”
“I wanted a better world,” the driver admitted, “but what if something happens and I don't make it to see that world? What if I get to Heaven and find out we were wrong?”
The two of them spent some time debating this, which got a small smile out of Luz that she might've sown enough seeds of doubt that maybe, just maybe, she could find a way out of this after all. First thing was first, though: she needed her mom and sister safe and free above all else.
She wouldn't have to wait too much longer, as the SUV seemed to take some very specific and winding turns until it pulled into what looked like an abandoned parking garage on the edge of the city limits, with plenty of signs noting that it was scheduled for demolition sometime in the near future. Luz wanted to think they hadn't been set up in here for very long as this certainly was an area combed through by all the federal agents helping them out. After all, an abandoned building scheduled for demolition? If this were a movie or some sort of TV crime drama, this would scream “obvious hideout for the bad guys” at the top of its lungs, if it had any.
Once the SUV was parked, the Empire members shelved their debate and got out before opening the door for Luz and began leading her to where she assumed she would be having her meeting. A quick glance towards an opening in the parking garage made it clear they weren't quite on the top level, but were definitely on one of the higher ones, intentionally picked to make it as difficult as possible to get to in the event the NCA, MI5 or FBI did manage to get anybody out here to try and save her. It wasn't easily accessible by means of a helicopter, was too high for a sniper to perch themselves anywhere nearby and be able to get a clean shot and almost required a bit of a journey to reach that would give this splinter cell enough time to be ready.
All things considered, it truly felt like Luz was walking into the lion's den on this one.
That said, she was pretty sure lion's dens didn't usually play classical music.
The closer she got to where she was being led, the more clear the music became. She wasn't too into classical music, and even if she was she'd have made a point not to listen to it given it had become a forced taste Amelia had been made to accept for years because of her parents, but she recognized it from some of the clips she'd seen of the London Symphony Orchestra in regards to the man she assumed would be waiting for her. Sure enough, surrounded by several red-cloaked Empire splinter cell members clearly armed, she saw a short old man, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose along with short white hair and a prominent mustache. He was sitting on a rather elegant-looking chair, far too elegant for this place, with his eyes closed as he waved his arms as if he was still conducting his symphony, lost in the music emanating from the nearby CD player. Her attention didn't linger on him for long, however, as it almost immediately shifted to the sight of Camila and Valentina bound and gagged back-to-back in chairs, and the moment their eyes met Luz's they got frantic and nodded with their heads in a way that Luz realized was warning her to run while she still could... not that she felt she really had much of a choice at this point.
“¡Mamá! ¡Hermana!” Luz cried as she started to run towards them, but skidded to a halt the moment the cloaked Empire goons pointed their guns at her, making sure she knew they were locked and loaded.
“Silence, you ungrateful wench. You're ruining my symphony... just as you've ruined this world God created for man.”
Luz winced at the age she could hear in the voice as the old man spoke, confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was older than even Caleb was. Not to the point where he didn't seem like he could be a threat if it came down to it, but it almost made Luz's chest hurt at the thought of having to actually fight someone like him if it really came down to it, even though she already knew the guy would deserve a butt kicking. And yet, he kept faux conducting away, lost in his own little world as though he were entertaining his captive audience.
“Let them go, Stephen,” Luz warned, cutting through the act as she was getting frustrated at how confident this old man seemed to be with the level of control he was certain he had. It was at this point when the song came to an end, and Stephen finally opened his eyes, chuckling in amusement.
“I'm going to assume that failure who got himself arrested told you who I was?” he asked. “A shame, really... he, like everyone else in Caleb's flock, had so much potential. But to be incapable of killing a defenseless woman when God demands she be purged from this world for the betterment of man? He was never going to be worthy of the paradise Caleb has promised us all.”
“Says the man who very clearly has the wrong idea about this so-called 'paradise' you and all these goons have been lied to about,” Luz spat.
Stephen merely chuckled again as he stood up and slowly approached her, the guns trained on her from his henchmen ensuring she doesn't risk trying anything. “You're quite talkative, aren't you? I kind of picked up on that from watching this one-” he motions to Valentina, who shoots him a glare, “-be molded by Caleb into a copy of you. I would say she was perfect, but that would be giving both her and you credit you don't deserve. At least she knew her place, though: a tool, told what to do by someone superior to her and performing the task without question. It's a shame to see you've convinced her that she can be so much more...”
“Yeah, every word coming out of your mouth is making me want to puke,” Luz admitted with clear disgust. “I heard about how misogynistic you were, but dang dude, you really sound like you truly believe God made a mistake when He created women. Super messed up thought, by the way.”
“But an accurate one,” Stephen huffed, which only made Luz's skin crawl that much more. “To take a rib from Adam and create a vile temptress such as Eve, who clearly broke God's rule about taking the apple from the tree and tempting Adam to throw his virtue away as well... without women, humanity wouldn't have the original sin that taints us all and requires The Empire to cleanse what God created.”
“And without women and this so-called 'original sin' I'm pretty sure no one in this room would even exist in the first place,” Luz pointed out, which got a few of Stephen's goons exchanging weird looks.
“Man would have found a way to adapt, as was God's will,” Stephen continued on, unfazed.
“Then what about the women that are in The Empire?” Luz couldn't help but ask. A quick glance over to her mom and sister made it clear they were in shock that she was trying to seemingly provoke this woman-hating lunatic, but right now she figured her best bet was pushing as many buttons as possible to see if it could create any sort of opening that might either buy them time or get them out of this mess, somehow. “Theresa Saintsbury is clearly a respected elite in Caleb's ranks just like you are, or were, and I know Ophelia Blythe has been buying into this whole 'splinter cell' thing you've got going on right under Caleb's nose.”
“Mrs. Blythe knows her place,” Stephen commented as he reached under his sleeve and pulled out what looked like a conductor's baton, although the tip looked like it had been significantly sharpened to be wielded as a weapon if need be. “As for Miss Saintsbury... this is neither the time nor place for my opinion of her. This is about you, little luchadora... you, and your existence that continues to distract Caleb from the unity he seeks to bring to us all through cleansing the impure and leaving the worthy with the paradise we deserved to have from the very beginning.”
“You know that Caleb's just using all of you, right?” Luz tried to point out as she took a step back from Stephen's continued approach, only for the two plain clothes Empire members who escorted her here to grab her by the arms and make sure she wasn't going anywhere. She growled in frustration as her struggle didn't get her anywhere before she continued. “He only cares about believing he can secure a place in Heaven when he dies by 'saving' two people who don't want anything to do with him after he's tried to destroy both of our lives for his own messed-up satisfaction.”
“And it's that distraction that forced my hand,” Stephen admitted as he reached forward, the sharpened top of his wand poking into the cheek of Luz's mask and causing her to grit her teeth as it pierced the material and began pressing into her actual cheek. “Caleb is not wrong about the paradise he promised us all, I know he isn't... but he's so worried about making sure he can enter the kingdom of Heaven when he's already long earned that right for doing God's work that he's become blind to his own ambition and ability. A truly great man spearheading such a noble cause... led astray by two women whose very existence is an affront to God Himself.”
“Do you even hear how crazy you sound right now?” Luz spat as she turned her head to try and get him to stop trying to poke his baton through her face. That seemed to finally provoke a look of irritation from him, but he quickly recomposed himself.
“If I am crazy for saving Caleb from being tempted into losing his way, then you must believe God is crazy for even conceiving the idea of humanity in the first place,” Stephen stated, causing Luz's blood to boil with how easily he seemed to believe such a ludicrous statement. “Not that your opinion means much in the first place, considering you were brought here so I could conduct your final symphony and send you and your wretched sinful family to Hell where you belong. At least you can take solace in knowing that your 'beloved' will be waiting for you, so long as Aleister and his wife do not fail.”
Luz's nostrils flared at the implication that her wife was going to die at the hands of her parents, but she mentally reassured herself that Amelia was strong and very capable on her own, as she would prove in her own match once they made it out of this mess and through Rise to Greatness on Sunday night. That thought, of not only watching Amelia compete solo on SCW's grandest stage before she, herself, would do the same, went a long way in grounding her as her brain continued to try and figure a way out of this.
“So, what are you waiting for?” she decided to push, earning looks of horror from her mom and sister as they struggled more against the chains that bound them. “You've done an awful lot of monologuing about how right you think you are, even more than Caleb apparently, but that's all you've done so far.”
“Forgive me for wanting to make sure you understood exactly why your song had to end on this day,” Stephen smirked. “I have all the time in the world to put an end to you... it's not like you can actually do anything so long as my associates here remember their notes in this little performance of ours.”
“Are you sure about that?” Luz cocked her head before she kicked at Stephen, and while he managed to move out of the way, she did manage to kick the baton out of his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as it hit the ground and rolled over to where her mom and sister were tied up, and the brief exchange of looks between her and Valentina was all it took for her sister to quietly and carefully grab the baton between her feet and attempt to shimmy it up along her body towards her bound hands. The fact that she made it look so effortless just reminded Luz of how much of a 'problem child' her adopted sibling had been labeled growing up before Caleb had initially gotten his hooks into her, but in this moment, Luz couldn't have been more proud of her sister's shady skills.
“Vile little witch!” Stephen suddenly snapped before he smacked Luz across the face. She'd taken far worse in the ring and in the occasional fight she'd been dragged into growing up while trying to defend herself from some of her more aggressive bullies, and her mask helped to absorb a lot of the sting such a strike would've normally left, but the sudden shift had definitely caught her off guard, even more when Stephen roughly grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. “I was going to savor this... the moment of my glorious conquest that would finally set Caleb free and prove to God that the concept of Eve was flawed from the beginning, but if you're that desperate to feel your life leave your body...”
He pulled away from her before reaching into his pocket, and after a bit of digging he produced a dagger. Luz was almost taken aback by the fact that she was now staring down the blade of an actual, ornate, antique-looking dagger, but it was becoming more and more clear that Stephen Crane wanted a more personal approach to trying to literally cut her down and his armed henchmen were merely a present threat meant to keep her from trying anything.
Unfortunately for him, Luz wasn't one to follow such directions when it became a matter of survival.
She tried to kick at him again, but the two men who had been holding her arms suddenly stepped on the back of her ankles, trying to force her to her knees. She struggled, but the sound of a gun cocking caused her to pause as she slowly looked over and saw one of the armed goons now had his rifle resting right against her mother's temple.
“¡Mamá!” she called out in fear.
“Luz...” Camila spoke softly, a tear trailing down her cheek. “If this is my time... know that I will not give these idiotas delirantes the satisfaction of believing I died being afraid of them. I will die at peace, knowing that your father is waiting for me on the other side.”
“Don't even start with that,” Stephen spat in disgust. “Your husband had no right to claim he was an 'angelic spirit' in gimmick or personality. He was a twisted mockery of God's true angels and his soul has long since rotted away and been forgotten about.”
Stephen continued to rant about how he saw the concept of Día de Muertos as disrespectful and Luz began to tune him out, having heard this disgusting and racist rhetoric far too often from Caleb or any of the other Empire nutjobs. Speaking of which, Luz noticed that a lot of said Empire nutjobs that were here as Stephen's flunkies seemed to be growing a little uncomfortable with how unhinged their leader was starting to become. Say what you will about Caleb, but at least he was always able to keep a cool head no matter how intense things got, which made him unnerving to deal with. Stephen, on the other hand... well, Luz pushing buttons seemed to have worked. That didn't stop her heart from skipping a beat once he turned back to point at her, his gaze now locked on the two men pinning her down.
“Remove her mask,” he ordered, drawing a gasp from Camila and Valentina.
“What?” one of the goons restraining Luz couldn't help but respond.
“You heard me!” Stephen snapped. “Rip her mask off! If I'm going to send this bitch to Hell, then I want her to stop hiding her face behind that ridiculous mask and the so-called tradition it represents. I want to be able to see the true face of the woman that drove Caleb to obsess over trying to save her before her heart plays its final beat. Now stop wasting time and remove it!”
Neither of the men who had escorted her here immediately made any move to comply with their leader's request, seemingly too shocked at how Stephen was now addressing them to comprehend his orders. It was clear that Stephen Crane must have maintained some semblance of composure even as he threw men away as they were thwarted and arrested time and time again trying to actually hurt or kill Luz, Amelia, or any of their friends or family up to this point, and that was probably the only reason many of them even still listened to him. He may be as manipulative and even more religiously radical than even Caleb White, but it was clear his patience had a limit that was finally broken, and showing a side of himself that caused all of them to be afraid in his presence had shifted the tone in this abandoned parking garage drastically.
“Don't be afraid, my little light. You're stronger than you know... believe in that light that shines within you, and it will always guide you.”
Luz was surprised for a moment as she heard her father's voice echo in her thoughts... a memory of long ago when she was still a child, when her father had started referring to her by the name she now proudly wore as a luchadora. She had thought it was a little silly back then, as any child would, but the older she got, the more she began to trust in that 'inner light' he always told her she possessed. It had gotten her this far, especially after his passing, and had guided her to so much success and happiness in her life, and if there was ever a time to trust in that very light within her, now was that time.
It was in that moment that, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Valentina had Stephen's sharpened baton hidden in her hands and was using it to pick the lock on the chains. Such an action would easily draw attention and potentially result in gunfire, especially from the guy who had a rifle pressed against Camila's head, but the two of them being free could also go a long way in turning the tide of this situation, especially with Stephen's men stunned and disturbed by his increasingly erratic behavior as he continued demanding for Luz's mask to be removed.
She knew what she needed to do.
“Go ahead,” she finally said, cutting off Stephen's unhinged demands. “Do it... remove my mask.”
Things in this parking garage got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The Empire goons—at least, the ones she could see the faces of—had their jaws dropped at Luz seemingly giving up on the one thing that was more sacred to a luchador than anything else, no doubt having been told by Caleb about how much of a fight it was going to be to get this result. Camila and Valentina were looking at Luz like she'd finally lost it... but Valentina picked up on a look in Luz's eyes directed towards her, leading to her quietly saying something in Spanish to their mom.
“Well, you heard her!” Stephen motioned to the two men still pinning Luz down. “Rip it off so I can finally get The Empire back on track at long last!”
Even with Luz no longer resisting and seemingly accepting her fate, there was still a lot of hesitation from anybody to actually perform the requested action. After what felt like an eternity, though, the guy she remembers as the driver who brought her here finally moves to start untying the strings on the back of her mask.
“I'm sorry about this,” he says, and Luz can actually believe he means it as she can feel a significant shift in the air at how much things have seemingly unraveled.
“Me too,” Luz quietly admits, which briefly gets the man to pause before Stephen's unhinged withering glare gets his fingers moving once more. After all, surely Luz is just mourning her decision to finally reveal her face, right?
Just as there's only one set of threads left to untie before her mask can be removed, it's the chains binding Camila and Valentina that are undone first.
They clatter to the floor as Valentina finishes picking the lock, and thanks to the distraction caused by all eyes being on Luz willingly submitting to an unmasking, Camila wastes no time grabbing the rifle pointed at her head and wrenching it from the hands of the Empire member holding it before she uses the butt of it to turn his lights out. Valentina, with a speed that matched Luz's in the ring, quickly scrambled out of her seat and lunged for the other armed Empire goon, catching him off guard as she stabs him in the arm with the sharpened baton to force him to drop his rifle before catching him in the face with a palm strike that knocks him to the floor, his nose leaking blood as he scrambled away from her.
“You incompetent idiots!” Stephen shrieks, his voice cracking as he reaches octaves his old vocal chords clearly aren't meant to reach anymore. “They're women! We have the upper hand from a biological standpoint, and you dare to embarrass yourselves-”
He never got a chance to finish his disgusting statement as Luz found a gap between the two men holding her down and slipped through it, using the momentum to flip them onto their backs. The legs of one of them caught Stephen's leg, tripping him up and sending him to the ground.
“¡Lo siento!” Luz apologized to her two captors almost on instinct as she reached back and tightened the strings of her mask enough to make sure it wasn't going to be coming off too easily, but she wasn't going to stress over fully securing it when she knew they weren't out of the woods yet. Camila and Valentina rushed over to her, the three Nevados embracing in a long overdue family group hug. “Mamá! V! You're OK! That was amazing!”
“Says my crazy sister who was willing to be unmasked as a distraction so we could safely get free,” Valentina laughed.
“I hate to ruin this moment,” Camila admits, “but we should probably get going while we have the chance.”
“Sí,” Luz and Valentina agreed as they turned to run, but Luz paused and grabbed her mom.
“Watch out!” she cried as she fell back, making sure she was in front of Camila as they fell. The reason why became clear as a familiar dagger soared just over her head, missing Valentina entirely as well as Camila thanks to Luz's quick thinking. Luz, however, wasn't entirely unscathed: a few of her bangs now fluttered to the ground after having been clipped by the blade, and she could feel a breeze as one of the decorative pieces around her mask's left eyehole had been caught, a notable slash now cutting through the mask... and through Luz's eyebrow in the kind of deep cut you just knew was going to scar.
“Luz!” Valentina cried as she helped her sister and mom back to their feet, with Camila immediately wincing at the sight of the cut through Luz's eyebrow.
“I'm fine! I'm fine... I promise,” Luz reassured them.
“For now, but you harlots will be dead shortly!”
The Nevados all turned to see Stephen, who had desperately thrown his dagger to try and catch any one of them, preferably Luz, with a killing blow, scrambling to pull himself back to his feet before he frantically looked around and dove for the rifle left laying on the ground. He quickly aimed haphazardly in Luz's direction and moved to pull the trigger.
Time seemed to stop as a gunshot echoed throughout the abandoned parking garage.
After a few moments of closed eyes and fearful waiting, Luz slowly opened her eyes and pat herself down, realizing that her only wound had been the one on her face from the dagger. She quickly looked over to her mom and sister, also frantically checking themselves out, and no one found a single bullet wound anywhere.
Then they turned to look towards Stephen, and they were just as shocked as his Empire goons who were starting to stir and had witnessed what happened.
Stephen Crane was standing eerily still, eyes wide in horror but slowly rolling back into his head, before he fell forward and collapsed onto his face. This allowed for a very clear bullet wound to now be visible in the back of his skull, confirming that the leader of The Empire's splinter cell was now dead. By whose hand, no one had a clue, but it was enough to get the henchmen Stephen had on hand to scramble and retreat for their own safety.
Luz, Valentina and Camila all stood perfectly still, unsure of what to make of this turn of events even as they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hello?” Luz couldn't resist calling out, though she got no response. “Um... whoever you are... thank you. Kind of wish it didn't have to end with him dying even if he kind of deserved it, but... thank you again for saving our lives.”
More silence was the response she got.
“Come on, Luz,” Camila carefully said as she put a hand on Luz's shoulder. “We should go while we have the chance.”
“Right, right... I need to make sure Amelia's OK!” Luz replied, moving to grab her phone that had been dropped by the guy who had taken it from her earlier before the Nevados began to leave. They didn't exactly have a way out of here, given the circumstances, but Luz was quick to place a call to Marilyn so everyone could be filled in on what happened, at least on her end of things, before they would ultimately be picked up and agents would scour the garage for any further hints of Empire activity or any clue as to who had shot Stephen Crane dead.
As much as it sickened her to watch a life be snuffed out before her very eyes, it was hard for Luz to admit that it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy and she hoped Stephen rotted in Hell for everything he'd said and done. She may not know who her guardian angel was on this day, but she knew one thing for sure: for now, at the very least, she hoped The Empire could be put behind her once more so she could put her undivided focus on doing what she loved and hopefully walking out of Rise to Greatness as the undisputed SCW United States Champion.
What Luz and her family never saw was the gunman who had saved her walking away in the opposite direction long after they'd left and before the authorities arrived, smiling to himself and shaking his head at the disappointment that one of his traitorous elites had become.
“You're welcome, La Pequeña Luz...” Caleb White couldn't help but chuckle to himself, feeling proud of the purging he'd done within his own flock and the relief that his own plans could now get back on track, knowing that no one would dare to continue following the orders of a dead man, especially when he was struck down by the very 'lord' who had given him purpose in the first place.
As we open up, we are greeted with an absolutely beautiful overhead shot of the city of Houston, accompanied by a beautiful day with clear blue skies and the sun shining down upon the city. Sure, it's quite hot as a result, but the residents of Houston know things will be getting much hotter soon enough as Rise to Greatness is on the horizon. SCW's biggest event of the year always brings out the best in everyone who sets foot on that grand stage, and La Pequeña Luz is no exception. As we pan back, we find the luchadora in question as she leans on the railing to her hotel room balcony, taking in the picturesque view and breathing in the air of a brand new day. She doesn't turn to face us right away, however, instead choosing to keep looking out at the city for a little longer, though we can still hear the joy and excitement in her voice that is very much Luz as she gets started.
“Beautiful view, isn't it? Honestly, I feel lucky that I get to enjoy views like this. Being able to travel the country, the whole world even, doing something that I love and dreamed of ever since I was a child... that is the very definition of the freedom to be yourself. I've talked before about how, growing up, there were a lot of people who thought it'd be fun to bully me and tell me I'd never amount to anything, and while they were free to have that opinion, I was also free to not let that opinion define me. That's why I became La Pequeña Luz, The Little Light, because I wanted to be that beacon of hope for others to follow so they could find themselves and become exactly who they truly wanted to be.
My wife, the love of my life, Amelia Nevado? She was just the first to be inspired by who I am and how I choose to carry myself, and the more I do this, the more begin to truly understand me and realize why I do this.
Don't get me wrong, for as much as I love mi papá, I know he's looking down on me from Heaven, proud of the path I've carved for myself, respecting the legacy I came from while also building my own while inspiring others to do the same. That's what gave birth to The Light In The Darkness, what led to Amelia and I becoming three time World Tag Team Champions... heck, it's what led to me run as an interim United States Champion in the first place, taking advantage of a chance to prove myself while Amelia was doing the same and doing my best with the circumstances I was dealt in the aftermath.
Of course... those circumstances have kind of gotten a little out of control, haven't they? Too many unanswered questions, too many claims to this or that, too much confusion in general. I think we can all agree that the best answer to a problem like this is something concrete... yeah, maybe the way this all came about kind of sucks a bit, but we're all professionals and this is why we do this: to put on a great match for you, the fans, and to push ourselves beyond our limits to be the best versions of ourselves we can possibly be.
Well... most of the time.”
Luz sighs a bit as she turns to face us finally, her smile dimming just a bit as she knows there's one person in this match who's been the centerpiece of all the problems that led to this moment, and while she might be relishing in that knowledge, Luz is clearly not a fan of it.
“You know, sometimes it feels like wrestling in Texas is as close as I'm going to get to wrestling in my own backyard, so to speak. I know that Tulancingo probably isn't a big enough stop for SCW to hold a show there, but for as proud as I would be to find myself wrestling for this company in front of my fellow countrymen, the great people who helped me figure out who La Pequeña Luz truly is in the first place, I know that many of them would gladly travel to Houston or any other city in Texas to see me compete and show me the love and support that helped me get this far in the first place.
Which makes it all the sadder that Jordan Majors only thinks of Mexico as the perfect place to dump someone while ruining their life, all just so she can claim to be a champion without actually putting in the work.
I wish I could say I understand you Jordan, but I truly can't. Once upon a time, you were a wrestler worthy of respect, someone who was dedicated and passionate and proved just how good she was every time she set foot in that ring. I remember some of your matches from back during the brief first stint Amelia and I had with SCW, what you were capable of while clearly enjoying being an SCW wrestler. Heck, the fact that you were nominated as the Star of Tomorrow should have meant something to you. And yet... here you are, insistent on being the Star of Today now while refusing to prove that you're still a legitimate competitor who's every bit as good as she was back then. You sunk so despicably low just to pretend to be a champion, yet every time you were put in a position to put your money where your mouth is, you were exposed and left running with your tail between your legs... at least, until you thought you had a chance to think you could just rewrite history and act like nothing ever happened.
Sorry Jordan, but there's a reason why I've always been a firm believer in the concept of resolving wrestling problems in a wrestling ring: the results always speak for themselves, and they'll always prove far more than anything you could do being a thief and playing pretend as though your own little world is supposed to be the reality we all live in.
Yeah, I may have been the interim champion, but being able to call myself the United States Champion regardless is still significant to me, an achievement I know I earned with nothing but my skills and my hard work. That's why it bothered me so much when you tried to ruin someone's life without a care in the world all just so you could act like you'd earned anything. It's why I stepped up and challenged you to a one-on-one match and pinned your shoulders to the mat, fair and square, back at Rebirth. It's why I continued to refuse to let you just get away with this little joyride you were trying to take, even when Asher also beat you fair and square, even when Deanna returned just to finally put this all to rest. Yeah, you may look at this and see your golden ticket Jordan, but that golden ticket also requires you to also deal with three people who very clearly have a problem with your new attitude and won't let you just steal this match and the undisputed U.S. Title as easily as you probably think. Like it or not, Jordan, you really are going to have to earn this one... and I think Deanna, Asher and I can all agree that's much easier said than done.”
Luz's smile slowly returns at this point now that she's addressed Jordan, taking a deep breath to ground herself once more as she leans back against the railing, the gorgeous sky and the beautiful Houston cityscape really helping to highlight just how much of a ray of sunshine Luz truly is no matter the situation.
“Maybe some of you believe that helping out my opponents is stupid, that they're supposed to be my enemies for a reason, but I disagree. Unless they're acting like Jordan and actively trying to be malicious, at the end of the day this is all about respect and proving ourselves in that ring, and as I've said and proven time and time again, there's never a guarantee that the end result will always be the same when you see two people meet again inside the squared circle.
I know there were a lot of you wondering why I stepped up to help Asher after everything that Jordan did to him, and while, yes, some of it had to do with untangling the mess Jordan created in regards to the title we're all fighting for come Rise to Greatness, most of it simply boiled down to showing respect to a man who not only beat me in that ring, fair and square, to win the interim title off of me, but also didn't deserve what happened to him. The personal life of Asher Hayes is his and his alone to share with the world, and only if he chooses to do so... so to see Jordan think it would be fun to drug him and leave him for dead in my home country like this was some sort of made-for-TV crime drama or something was just wrong on so many levels. What decent human being wouldn't help Asher in that situation, especially when I've acknowledged that he beat me and the title rightfully belonged to him, not a petty thief desperate for validation like Jordan?
That said Asher, I know you're not going to make it easy on me to try and get that title back, undisputed or otherwise, but I also know that things have changed a bit between us. I remember leading up to our one-on-one match over that very title, you made a few comments that rubbed me the wrong way and I called you out on them, but by the end of that night, I'd like to think I earned your respect even in defeat with how hard I pushed you. As I said, helping you out and standing up to Jordan was just the right thing to do, and I was always willing to wait to try and challenge you again for that title between waiting for you and Deanna to unify the belts if that needed to come first and also having tag team matters with my wife to attend to as well. But... here we are. Rise to Greatness, and the two of us make up half of a match where walking out with the win is just that little bit more difficult.
Even still, I know you enough by now Asher. I've shared that ring with you, I know what you're capable of, and you better believe I've learned a lot from our last match and won't quite be the same Luz you faced on that night. I want to hope that the thought of what I'm going to bring to the table this time to push you even farther has you excited and ready to give me your best shot, but I'm also not going to ignore how tempting I know it would be for you to just focus primarily on Jordan to make sure she gets what she deserves after everything she's pulled. Either way, I wish you the best of luck, and I look forward to crossing paths with you in that ring again and settling this once and for all.
Just as I'm looking forward to finally being able to share that ring with Deanna Frost as an opponent once again.”
Luz's smile falters a tiny bit, and it's not hard to know why. She's spent time with Deanna during shows due to how complicated things have been between her and Selena, she and Amelia have both seen how jumpy she's still been after everything the man now known as Veil had done to her, but she also knows that the temptation of competition between the two of them is a good enough motivator to put all fears and doubts aside when the moment calls for it, and knowing from teaming with her that Deanna is more than capable of that, her smile returns full force now.
“Deanna... I know it's not quite the one-on-one match we probably envisioned back when I originally became the number one contender for your title, but I still cannot begin to state how excited I am to be able to finally face you all the same. I know we've faced off in a tag team match a few years ago, and I know you've thrown down with my wife on a few occasions, but it truly is special to finally be able to test myself against you and see if I'm truly worthy to hold the mantle outright of United States Champion, even with two other competitors I also need to overcome to make it happen.
But I'm also going to be upfront and say that I wish you didn't feel like you had to return just to resolve this mess that all started with the pettiness of Jordan Majors.
I mean it, as your friend and as a fellow wrestler, when I say I care about you Deanna, and I'd always want to see you at your best no matter the situation. As excited as I was at the prospect of being able to challenge you for the U.S. Title last year when I won that number one contender match, I meant it when I said I was more than willing to wait until you were truly ready so that we could give each other, and those fans, the match we all deserve. I know the return did have to happen eventually, but it's hard for me not to worry given what I've seen over the past few weeks.
But I also know that you're not a woman who's going to let that stop her, and I can always respect and admire that.
I experienced it firsthand while teaming with you against the European Fiery Nation a few weeks ago, and I know that you're more ready than you might think, Deanna. I know that when you focus on me, on Asher, and yes, even on Jordan, all those fears and issues will disappear and we'll all be in for the Red Lioness who reigned as United States Champion for a full year and definitely earned the respect you deserve. I know you'll understand when I say that I can't take it easy on you Deanna, but I know that, no matter what, you'll rise to the occasion and make me earn my way back to being United States Champion, just as you would've done last year before all of Veil's cryptic games, and just as to be expected of the woman who may not see herself as the rightful United States Champion anymore... but I know, deep down, how much you'd love to prove that is the case with this one win, and I'm looking forward to seeing you back in action.
Make no mistake: Rise to Greatness is upon us, and I know this is easily the biggest match I've had yet, especially being the first Rise to Greatness where I'll be standing on my own without Amelia by my side. But as I've always said: we'll always push each other to greater and greater heights to prove ourselves, to prove we belong here, and I know that by the end of the night, Amelia and I will both have brand new Rise to Greatness moments to add to our resumes, and while I'll happily wish most of my opponents the best of luck and look forward to how this match shapes up, I'm also not going to stand here and lie...
I'm determined to prove that I'm ready to be the undisputed SCW United States Champion, and I'm ready to rise as high as I need to in order to prove it.”
With a flash of her tr4ademark grin, Luz kind of dances in place for a moment, clearly excited about the challenge awaiting her on the horizon, before she steps past us and heads back into her hotel room, leaving us with one last look of the breathtaking Houston skyline before we slowly fade out.
--------------------------------
La Pequeña Luz should've felt a lot happier than she did when she arrived in Houston.
She had every reason to be in much better spirits than she was. She was about to have the biggest solo match of her entire career, having her very first Rise to Greatness match without Amelia as her tag team partner, therefore having the brightest spotlight on her and her alone she's had to date. She would be part of a match to finally resolve the United States Title dispute once and for all, not only having a chance to win the proper title instead of being recognized as an interim champion, but also being able to finally face off with her friend Deanna Frost in a proper match, along with getting a rematch against Asher Hayes... and, of course, finally being able to try and put Jordan Majors in her place once and for all.
Needless to say, there were a lot of reasons for her to look forward to Rise to Greatness.
Unfortunately, her light could be considered flickering when she and her found family finally did land in Houston.
Somehow, the splinter cell of The Empire that was led by Stephen Crane had succeeded in getting past NCA agents that had been acting as their security detail ever since the attempt on Amelia's life a little over a month ago, and while Amelia was going to have her own problems spawning from that to deal with, Luz was barely holding herself together at knowing that these religious lunatics had not only kidnapped her adopted sister, who had already been somewhat brainwashed by The Empire once before to try and impersonate her, but also kidnapped her mom, who deserved to be tied up in all of this about as much as her father had a long time ago.
The delusional ego of Caleb White knew no bounds, and the fact that it had spread so thoroughly to some of his most loyal followers that they were effectively trying to usurp his selfish, twisted plans disgusted her to a degree that she didn't even think was humanly possible.
The revelation had clearly impacted Luz and Amelia during their tag team match on Breakdown in Seattle just days prior. It would've been hard to tell because they were both far too good at hiding their problems, for better or worse, but they knew in the back of their heads and from watching back tapes after the fact that they had been a step or two behind at several points when they knew they shouldn't have been... when Syren and Chris Cannon deserved better.
Granted, it wasn't too much of a surprise when chaos ultimately reigned and the match was ultimately thrown out, but Luz felt a little bit ashamed that she'd let her emotions from her family being kidnapped start to get the better of her by that point. She'd tried to pursue Jordan despite thwarting her predictable attempt to intervene in the match to gain any advantage that she could for Rise to Greatness, something that she typically didn't do. Yeah, fighting to defend herself from an attack was one thing, but Jordan's efforts had been cut off and that should've been the end of it as far as she was concerned on that night... and yet, she joined Asher in pursuing, which had left Amelia wide open to almost fall victim to Chris's attempt to catch her with a C4 for that little extra edge before their own match.
Needless to say, Luz and Amelia had quite a long conversation once they got back to their hotel room that night, reassuring one another that everything was alright and they were going to get their loved ones back, safe and sound, and free themselves from this latest burden The Empire was trying to bury them under to ruin such a monumental night for their careers. That had led to a conversation with Darius and Evie the very next morning to try and figure out what happened... surprise, surprise, Stephen Crane had apparently used Caleb's preaching tactics to “save” a few NCA members who had acted as double agents in the moment and struck when the opportunity presented itself, explaining how the carefully crafted security measures of the UK's equivalent of the FBI had been breached so easily.
That left the burning question: what was the plan?
Given that both Luz and Amelia were informed that they'd both be contacted prior to Rise to Greatness for their respective “private meetings” regarding their kidnapped family members, Avery had joined Darius and Evie in immediately weaving together an extremely detailed plan, starting with getting members of the NCA as well as MI5, and any fragments of the FBI who were willing to help and weren't just going to keep ignoring this because the President said so, to do arguably the most thorough combing of Houston and the surrounding areas that's probably ever been conducted to try and pinpoint exactly where this splinter cell was hiding out with their hostages. Unfortunately, it seemed like the rogue Empire members either anticipated this or were playing very cautiously all of a sudden as the entire city was turned upside-down and there was no sign of anything pertaining to The Empire at all.
“It's possible they could not be in Houston yet as a precaution,” Avery had theorized, though that didn't quite put Luz at easy.
Given that was probably the best assumption they could make right now if no hint of this splinter cell was turning up, Luz and Amelia had proposed the idea of everyone simply heading into Houston fairly early. They were certain the city would be spending the whole week celebrating how imminent Rise to Greatness was, but that didn't mean SCW performers themselves needed to be in the city until closer to the end of the week to be ready for the pre-show and the fan expo. By arriving fairly early, it was their hope that they could have time to settle in and scope things out so they could be ready for anything once this rogue faction of The Empire finally did contact them.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Stephen, and Amelia's parents, were really bringing their A-game to try and keep everyone off-balance and get whatever they wanted out of this whole effort... which was likely the couple's lives.
Once Luz, Amelia, and their found family had arrived in Houston, they had wasted no time in getting checked into their hotel. As soon as Luz and Amelia were settled into their room, however, they each received text messages from burner numbers, revealing the locations they were expected to have their respective meetings at, and it was no surprise that they were on opposite ends of the city to make absolutely sure they couldn't help one another this time. They had tried to go inform the others, but found a pair of men who you would never know were part of The Empire if you didn't recognize the cult's emblem pinned to their shirts waiting for them the second they opened the door, having anticipated the tactic and been ordered to personally escort the two to their respective meetings so that they could truly come alone as requested. That was how the two had found themselves being led down to the hotel parking lot, noticing that others who also had to be plain clothes members of this Empire splinter cell had been strategically positioned outside of the rooms of the others to prevent any immediate interference until the girls couldn't be tracked.
If that didn't confirm that Stephen Crane was every bit as intelligent and dangerous as Caleb White, then nothing would at this point.
It wasn't long before the couple were led outside, where more plain clothes religious cultists hoping to ultimately see them dead were waiting with a pair of red SUVs to get them to where they were expected. Before they separated, however, Luz had grabbed Amelia's hand.
“You've got this, mi amor,” Luz gave her the cheesiest, most confident grin she could muster in this situation.
“You do too, sweetheart,” Amelia gave a shaky yet determined smile back.
“I'll see you at NRG Stadium on Sunday night, proving yourself against Chris Cannon,” Luz chuckled.
“And I'll see you there, holding that U.S. Title above your head once again,” Amelia replied.
With that, the two had sealed their promise to survive whatever was in store for them with a kiss. It didn't last too long before they were forced apart by their “private escort” and herded into the separate SUVs, which is how Luz found herself where she was at right now.
“Hand over your phone,” one of the Empire members demanded, holding out his hand once Luz was settled into the back seat.
“And why should I?” she replied, knowingly trying to get under their skin knowing (or at least hoping) that they wouldn't do anything yet if their boss was intending to meet with her first.
“We were told not to take any chances since we know how tight knit you are with your little friend group,” another Empire member said as he got buckled up in the driver's seat. “You can hand it over peacefully, or we can take it from you by force.”
Luz made a face, but these guys were ultimately unfazed. Not wanting to take any chances, Luz reluctantly pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it over, with the goon who took it making sure it was powered off to be absolutely sure it couldn't be tracked somehow before they hit the road, leaving Luz glancing out the back window and locking eyes with Amelia briefly before they were shepherded off to their respective meetings. It was no surprise her nerves began to flare up as she racked her brain for anything that could help her even as she was driven off towards the unknown and knowingly cut off from any help, and the silence of the drive was not helping matters as she found her leg bouncing absentmindedly, which seemed to catch the attention of one of her escorts.
“You mind stopping that?” he said as he turned to look at her.
“What? Bouncing my leg?” Luz asked with a raised eyebrow beneath her mask. “Can you blame me for being nervous about you guys leading me to what's probably my death?”
“...I guess I can't,” the guy admitted after a moment of thinking about it. “Still, it's annoying.”
“How do you think I feel knowing you guys haven't left me and my loved ones alone for years at this point?” Luz shot back. “Caleb wants to 'save' us, your renegade leader wants us dead, and for what? A supposed paradise? How do you even know you can make something like that happen?”
“Because it's what God intended for the world,” the driver casually said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “That's why he put Caleb on this Earth, and why we exist to make sure he stays on track without you and your sinful harlot to keep distracting him when he doesn't need redemption in the eyes of the Lord like he believes he does.”
“You can't honestly sit there and tell me that God would truly approve of anything Caleb has done, or any of you for that matter,” Luz offered. “Pretty sure parts of the Bible say something about not using God's name to justify causing harm unto others, no matter the reason, and I know the body count Caleb has left behind has probably already barred him from Heaven no matter how badly he thinks Amelia and I are the key to a redemption he doesn't deserve.”
“Shut up,” one of them snapped. “You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.”
“But...” the driver openly pondered. “We have caused a lot of damage in the name of Caleb and the Lord and Savior...”
“Don't you start getting cold feet now, man,” his fellow Empire member warned. “Don't forget why we joined this cause!”
“I wanted a better world,” the driver admitted, “but what if something happens and I don't make it to see that world? What if I get to Heaven and find out we were wrong?”
The two of them spent some time debating this, which got a small smile out of Luz that she might've sown enough seeds of doubt that maybe, just maybe, she could find a way out of this after all. First thing was first, though: she needed her mom and sister safe and free above all else.
She wouldn't have to wait too much longer, as the SUV seemed to take some very specific and winding turns until it pulled into what looked like an abandoned parking garage on the edge of the city limits, with plenty of signs noting that it was scheduled for demolition sometime in the near future. Luz wanted to think they hadn't been set up in here for very long as this certainly was an area combed through by all the federal agents helping them out. After all, an abandoned building scheduled for demolition? If this were a movie or some sort of TV crime drama, this would scream “obvious hideout for the bad guys” at the top of its lungs, if it had any.
Once the SUV was parked, the Empire members shelved their debate and got out before opening the door for Luz and began leading her to where she assumed she would be having her meeting. A quick glance towards an opening in the parking garage made it clear they weren't quite on the top level, but were definitely on one of the higher ones, intentionally picked to make it as difficult as possible to get to in the event the NCA, MI5 or FBI did manage to get anybody out here to try and save her. It wasn't easily accessible by means of a helicopter, was too high for a sniper to perch themselves anywhere nearby and be able to get a clean shot and almost required a bit of a journey to reach that would give this splinter cell enough time to be ready.
All things considered, it truly felt like Luz was walking into the lion's den on this one.
That said, she was pretty sure lion's dens didn't usually play classical music.
The closer she got to where she was being led, the more clear the music became. She wasn't too into classical music, and even if she was she'd have made a point not to listen to it given it had become a forced taste Amelia had been made to accept for years because of her parents, but she recognized it from some of the clips she'd seen of the London Symphony Orchestra in regards to the man she assumed would be waiting for her. Sure enough, surrounded by several red-cloaked Empire splinter cell members clearly armed, she saw a short old man, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose along with short white hair and a prominent mustache. He was sitting on a rather elegant-looking chair, far too elegant for this place, with his eyes closed as he waved his arms as if he was still conducting his symphony, lost in the music emanating from the nearby CD player. Her attention didn't linger on him for long, however, as it almost immediately shifted to the sight of Camila and Valentina bound and gagged back-to-back in chairs, and the moment their eyes met Luz's they got frantic and nodded with their heads in a way that Luz realized was warning her to run while she still could... not that she felt she really had much of a choice at this point.
“¡Mamá! ¡Hermana!” Luz cried as she started to run towards them, but skidded to a halt the moment the cloaked Empire goons pointed their guns at her, making sure she knew they were locked and loaded.
“Silence, you ungrateful wench. You're ruining my symphony... just as you've ruined this world God created for man.”
Luz winced at the age she could hear in the voice as the old man spoke, confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was older than even Caleb was. Not to the point where he didn't seem like he could be a threat if it came down to it, but it almost made Luz's chest hurt at the thought of having to actually fight someone like him if it really came down to it, even though she already knew the guy would deserve a butt kicking. And yet, he kept faux conducting away, lost in his own little world as though he were entertaining his captive audience.
“Let them go, Stephen,” Luz warned, cutting through the act as she was getting frustrated at how confident this old man seemed to be with the level of control he was certain he had. It was at this point when the song came to an end, and Stephen finally opened his eyes, chuckling in amusement.
“I'm going to assume that failure who got himself arrested told you who I was?” he asked. “A shame, really... he, like everyone else in Caleb's flock, had so much potential. But to be incapable of killing a defenseless woman when God demands she be purged from this world for the betterment of man? He was never going to be worthy of the paradise Caleb has promised us all.”
“Says the man who very clearly has the wrong idea about this so-called 'paradise' you and all these goons have been lied to about,” Luz spat.
Stephen merely chuckled again as he stood up and slowly approached her, the guns trained on her from his henchmen ensuring she doesn't risk trying anything. “You're quite talkative, aren't you? I kind of picked up on that from watching this one-” he motions to Valentina, who shoots him a glare, “-be molded by Caleb into a copy of you. I would say she was perfect, but that would be giving both her and you credit you don't deserve. At least she knew her place, though: a tool, told what to do by someone superior to her and performing the task without question. It's a shame to see you've convinced her that she can be so much more...”
“Yeah, every word coming out of your mouth is making me want to puke,” Luz admitted with clear disgust. “I heard about how misogynistic you were, but dang dude, you really sound like you truly believe God made a mistake when He created women. Super messed up thought, by the way.”
“But an accurate one,” Stephen huffed, which only made Luz's skin crawl that much more. “To take a rib from Adam and create a vile temptress such as Eve, who clearly broke God's rule about taking the apple from the tree and tempting Adam to throw his virtue away as well... without women, humanity wouldn't have the original sin that taints us all and requires The Empire to cleanse what God created.”
“And without women and this so-called 'original sin' I'm pretty sure no one in this room would even exist in the first place,” Luz pointed out, which got a few of Stephen's goons exchanging weird looks.
“Man would have found a way to adapt, as was God's will,” Stephen continued on, unfazed.
“Then what about the women that are in The Empire?” Luz couldn't help but ask. A quick glance over to her mom and sister made it clear they were in shock that she was trying to seemingly provoke this woman-hating lunatic, but right now she figured her best bet was pushing as many buttons as possible to see if it could create any sort of opening that might either buy them time or get them out of this mess, somehow. “Theresa Saintsbury is clearly a respected elite in Caleb's ranks just like you are, or were, and I know Ophelia Blythe has been buying into this whole 'splinter cell' thing you've got going on right under Caleb's nose.”
“Mrs. Blythe knows her place,” Stephen commented as he reached under his sleeve and pulled out what looked like a conductor's baton, although the tip looked like it had been significantly sharpened to be wielded as a weapon if need be. “As for Miss Saintsbury... this is neither the time nor place for my opinion of her. This is about you, little luchadora... you, and your existence that continues to distract Caleb from the unity he seeks to bring to us all through cleansing the impure and leaving the worthy with the paradise we deserved to have from the very beginning.”
“You know that Caleb's just using all of you, right?” Luz tried to point out as she took a step back from Stephen's continued approach, only for the two plain clothes Empire members who escorted her here to grab her by the arms and make sure she wasn't going anywhere. She growled in frustration as her struggle didn't get her anywhere before she continued. “He only cares about believing he can secure a place in Heaven when he dies by 'saving' two people who don't want anything to do with him after he's tried to destroy both of our lives for his own messed-up satisfaction.”
“And it's that distraction that forced my hand,” Stephen admitted as he reached forward, the sharpened top of his wand poking into the cheek of Luz's mask and causing her to grit her teeth as it pierced the material and began pressing into her actual cheek. “Caleb is not wrong about the paradise he promised us all, I know he isn't... but he's so worried about making sure he can enter the kingdom of Heaven when he's already long earned that right for doing God's work that he's become blind to his own ambition and ability. A truly great man spearheading such a noble cause... led astray by two women whose very existence is an affront to God Himself.”
“Do you even hear how crazy you sound right now?” Luz spat as she turned her head to try and get him to stop trying to poke his baton through her face. That seemed to finally provoke a look of irritation from him, but he quickly recomposed himself.
“If I am crazy for saving Caleb from being tempted into losing his way, then you must believe God is crazy for even conceiving the idea of humanity in the first place,” Stephen stated, causing Luz's blood to boil with how easily he seemed to believe such a ludicrous statement. “Not that your opinion means much in the first place, considering you were brought here so I could conduct your final symphony and send you and your wretched sinful family to Hell where you belong. At least you can take solace in knowing that your 'beloved' will be waiting for you, so long as Aleister and his wife do not fail.”
Luz's nostrils flared at the implication that her wife was going to die at the hands of her parents, but she mentally reassured herself that Amelia was strong and very capable on her own, as she would prove in her own match once they made it out of this mess and through Rise to Greatness on Sunday night. That thought, of not only watching Amelia compete solo on SCW's grandest stage before she, herself, would do the same, went a long way in grounding her as her brain continued to try and figure a way out of this.
“So, what are you waiting for?” she decided to push, earning looks of horror from her mom and sister as they struggled more against the chains that bound them. “You've done an awful lot of monologuing about how right you think you are, even more than Caleb apparently, but that's all you've done so far.”
“Forgive me for wanting to make sure you understood exactly why your song had to end on this day,” Stephen smirked. “I have all the time in the world to put an end to you... it's not like you can actually do anything so long as my associates here remember their notes in this little performance of ours.”
“Are you sure about that?” Luz cocked her head before she kicked at Stephen, and while he managed to move out of the way, she did manage to kick the baton out of his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as it hit the ground and rolled over to where her mom and sister were tied up, and the brief exchange of looks between her and Valentina was all it took for her sister to quietly and carefully grab the baton between her feet and attempt to shimmy it up along her body towards her bound hands. The fact that she made it look so effortless just reminded Luz of how much of a 'problem child' her adopted sibling had been labeled growing up before Caleb had initially gotten his hooks into her, but in this moment, Luz couldn't have been more proud of her sister's shady skills.
“Vile little witch!” Stephen suddenly snapped before he smacked Luz across the face. She'd taken far worse in the ring and in the occasional fight she'd been dragged into growing up while trying to defend herself from some of her more aggressive bullies, and her mask helped to absorb a lot of the sting such a strike would've normally left, but the sudden shift had definitely caught her off guard, even more when Stephen roughly grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. “I was going to savor this... the moment of my glorious conquest that would finally set Caleb free and prove to God that the concept of Eve was flawed from the beginning, but if you're that desperate to feel your life leave your body...”
He pulled away from her before reaching into his pocket, and after a bit of digging he produced a dagger. Luz was almost taken aback by the fact that she was now staring down the blade of an actual, ornate, antique-looking dagger, but it was becoming more and more clear that Stephen Crane wanted a more personal approach to trying to literally cut her down and his armed henchmen were merely a present threat meant to keep her from trying anything.
Unfortunately for him, Luz wasn't one to follow such directions when it became a matter of survival.
She tried to kick at him again, but the two men who had been holding her arms suddenly stepped on the back of her ankles, trying to force her to her knees. She struggled, but the sound of a gun cocking caused her to pause as she slowly looked over and saw one of the armed goons now had his rifle resting right against her mother's temple.
“¡Mamá!” she called out in fear.
“Luz...” Camila spoke softly, a tear trailing down her cheek. “If this is my time... know that I will not give these idiotas delirantes the satisfaction of believing I died being afraid of them. I will die at peace, knowing that your father is waiting for me on the other side.”
“Don't even start with that,” Stephen spat in disgust. “Your husband had no right to claim he was an 'angelic spirit' in gimmick or personality. He was a twisted mockery of God's true angels and his soul has long since rotted away and been forgotten about.”
Stephen continued to rant about how he saw the concept of Día de Muertos as disrespectful and Luz began to tune him out, having heard this disgusting and racist rhetoric far too often from Caleb or any of the other Empire nutjobs. Speaking of which, Luz noticed that a lot of said Empire nutjobs that were here as Stephen's flunkies seemed to be growing a little uncomfortable with how unhinged their leader was starting to become. Say what you will about Caleb, but at least he was always able to keep a cool head no matter how intense things got, which made him unnerving to deal with. Stephen, on the other hand... well, Luz pushing buttons seemed to have worked. That didn't stop her heart from skipping a beat once he turned back to point at her, his gaze now locked on the two men pinning her down.
“Remove her mask,” he ordered, drawing a gasp from Camila and Valentina.
“What?” one of the goons restraining Luz couldn't help but respond.
“You heard me!” Stephen snapped. “Rip her mask off! If I'm going to send this bitch to Hell, then I want her to stop hiding her face behind that ridiculous mask and the so-called tradition it represents. I want to be able to see the true face of the woman that drove Caleb to obsess over trying to save her before her heart plays its final beat. Now stop wasting time and remove it!”
Neither of the men who had escorted her here immediately made any move to comply with their leader's request, seemingly too shocked at how Stephen was now addressing them to comprehend his orders. It was clear that Stephen Crane must have maintained some semblance of composure even as he threw men away as they were thwarted and arrested time and time again trying to actually hurt or kill Luz, Amelia, or any of their friends or family up to this point, and that was probably the only reason many of them even still listened to him. He may be as manipulative and even more religiously radical than even Caleb White, but it was clear his patience had a limit that was finally broken, and showing a side of himself that caused all of them to be afraid in his presence had shifted the tone in this abandoned parking garage drastically.
“Don't be afraid, my little light. You're stronger than you know... believe in that light that shines within you, and it will always guide you.”
Luz was surprised for a moment as she heard her father's voice echo in her thoughts... a memory of long ago when she was still a child, when her father had started referring to her by the name she now proudly wore as a luchadora. She had thought it was a little silly back then, as any child would, but the older she got, the more she began to trust in that 'inner light' he always told her she possessed. It had gotten her this far, especially after his passing, and had guided her to so much success and happiness in her life, and if there was ever a time to trust in that very light within her, now was that time.
It was in that moment that, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Valentina had Stephen's sharpened baton hidden in her hands and was using it to pick the lock on the chains. Such an action would easily draw attention and potentially result in gunfire, especially from the guy who had a rifle pressed against Camila's head, but the two of them being free could also go a long way in turning the tide of this situation, especially with Stephen's men stunned and disturbed by his increasingly erratic behavior as he continued demanding for Luz's mask to be removed.
She knew what she needed to do.
“Go ahead,” she finally said, cutting off Stephen's unhinged demands. “Do it... remove my mask.”
Things in this parking garage got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The Empire goons—at least, the ones she could see the faces of—had their jaws dropped at Luz seemingly giving up on the one thing that was more sacred to a luchador than anything else, no doubt having been told by Caleb about how much of a fight it was going to be to get this result. Camila and Valentina were looking at Luz like she'd finally lost it... but Valentina picked up on a look in Luz's eyes directed towards her, leading to her quietly saying something in Spanish to their mom.
“Well, you heard her!” Stephen motioned to the two men still pinning Luz down. “Rip it off so I can finally get The Empire back on track at long last!”
Even with Luz no longer resisting and seemingly accepting her fate, there was still a lot of hesitation from anybody to actually perform the requested action. After what felt like an eternity, though, the guy she remembers as the driver who brought her here finally moves to start untying the strings on the back of her mask.
“I'm sorry about this,” he says, and Luz can actually believe he means it as she can feel a significant shift in the air at how much things have seemingly unraveled.
“Me too,” Luz quietly admits, which briefly gets the man to pause before Stephen's unhinged withering glare gets his fingers moving once more. After all, surely Luz is just mourning her decision to finally reveal her face, right?
Just as there's only one set of threads left to untie before her mask can be removed, it's the chains binding Camila and Valentina that are undone first.
They clatter to the floor as Valentina finishes picking the lock, and thanks to the distraction caused by all eyes being on Luz willingly submitting to an unmasking, Camila wastes no time grabbing the rifle pointed at her head and wrenching it from the hands of the Empire member holding it before she uses the butt of it to turn his lights out. Valentina, with a speed that matched Luz's in the ring, quickly scrambled out of her seat and lunged for the other armed Empire goon, catching him off guard as she stabs him in the arm with the sharpened baton to force him to drop his rifle before catching him in the face with a palm strike that knocks him to the floor, his nose leaking blood as he scrambled away from her.
“You incompetent idiots!” Stephen shrieks, his voice cracking as he reaches octaves his old vocal chords clearly aren't meant to reach anymore. “They're women! We have the upper hand from a biological standpoint, and you dare to embarrass yourselves-”
He never got a chance to finish his disgusting statement as Luz found a gap between the two men holding her down and slipped through it, using the momentum to flip them onto their backs. The legs of one of them caught Stephen's leg, tripping him up and sending him to the ground.
“¡Lo siento!” Luz apologized to her two captors almost on instinct as she reached back and tightened the strings of her mask enough to make sure it wasn't going to be coming off too easily, but she wasn't going to stress over fully securing it when she knew they weren't out of the woods yet. Camila and Valentina rushed over to her, the three Nevados embracing in a long overdue family group hug. “Mamá! V! You're OK! That was amazing!”
“Says my crazy sister who was willing to be unmasked as a distraction so we could safely get free,” Valentina laughed.
“I hate to ruin this moment,” Camila admits, “but we should probably get going while we have the chance.”
“Sí,” Luz and Valentina agreed as they turned to run, but Luz paused and grabbed her mom.
“Watch out!” she cried as she fell back, making sure she was in front of Camila as they fell. The reason why became clear as a familiar dagger soared just over her head, missing Valentina entirely as well as Camila thanks to Luz's quick thinking. Luz, however, wasn't entirely unscathed: a few of her bangs now fluttered to the ground after having been clipped by the blade, and she could feel a breeze as one of the decorative pieces around her mask's left eyehole had been caught, a notable slash now cutting through the mask... and through Luz's eyebrow in the kind of deep cut you just knew was going to scar.
“Luz!” Valentina cried as she helped her sister and mom back to their feet, with Camila immediately wincing at the sight of the cut through Luz's eyebrow.
“I'm fine! I'm fine... I promise,” Luz reassured them.
“For now, but you harlots will be dead shortly!”
The Nevados all turned to see Stephen, who had desperately thrown his dagger to try and catch any one of them, preferably Luz, with a killing blow, scrambling to pull himself back to his feet before he frantically looked around and dove for the rifle left laying on the ground. He quickly aimed haphazardly in Luz's direction and moved to pull the trigger.
Time seemed to stop as a gunshot echoed throughout the abandoned parking garage.
After a few moments of closed eyes and fearful waiting, Luz slowly opened her eyes and pat herself down, realizing that her only wound had been the one on her face from the dagger. She quickly looked over to her mom and sister, also frantically checking themselves out, and no one found a single bullet wound anywhere.
Then they turned to look towards Stephen, and they were just as shocked as his Empire goons who were starting to stir and had witnessed what happened.
Stephen Crane was standing eerily still, eyes wide in horror but slowly rolling back into his head, before he fell forward and collapsed onto his face. This allowed for a very clear bullet wound to now be visible in the back of his skull, confirming that the leader of The Empire's splinter cell was now dead. By whose hand, no one had a clue, but it was enough to get the henchmen Stephen had on hand to scramble and retreat for their own safety.
Luz, Valentina and Camila all stood perfectly still, unsure of what to make of this turn of events even as they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hello?” Luz couldn't resist calling out, though she got no response. “Um... whoever you are... thank you. Kind of wish it didn't have to end with him dying even if he kind of deserved it, but... thank you again for saving our lives.”
More silence was the response she got.
“Come on, Luz,” Camila carefully said as she put a hand on Luz's shoulder. “We should go while we have the chance.”
“Right, right... I need to make sure Amelia's OK!” Luz replied, moving to grab her phone that had been dropped by the guy who had taken it from her earlier before the Nevados began to leave. They didn't exactly have a way out of here, given the circumstances, but Luz was quick to place a call to Marilyn so everyone could be filled in on what happened, at least on her end of things, before they would ultimately be picked up and agents would scour the garage for any further hints of Empire activity or any clue as to who had shot Stephen Crane dead.
As much as it sickened her to watch a life be snuffed out before her very eyes, it was hard for Luz to admit that it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy and she hoped Stephen rotted in Hell for everything he'd said and done. She may not know who her guardian angel was on this day, but she knew one thing for sure: for now, at the very least, she hoped The Empire could be put behind her once more so she could put her undivided focus on doing what she loved and hopefully walking out of Rise to Greatness as the undisputed SCW United States Champion.
What Luz and her family never saw was the gunman who had saved her walking away in the opposite direction long after they'd left and before the authorities arrived, smiling to himself and shaking his head at the disappointment that one of his traitorous elites had become.
“You're welcome, La Pequeña Luz...” Caleb White couldn't help but chuckle to himself, feeling proud of the purging he'd done within his own flock and the relief that his own plans could now get back on track, knowing that no one would dare to continue following the orders of a dead man, especially when he was struck down by the very 'lord' who had given him purpose in the first place.
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As we open up, we are greeted with an absolutely beautiful overhead shot of the city of Houston, accompanied by a beautiful day with clear blue skies and the sun shining down upon the city. Sure, it's quite hot as a result, but the residents of Houston know things will be getting much hotter soon enough as Rise to Greatness is on the horizon. SCW's biggest event of the year always brings out the best in everyone who sets foot on that grand stage, and La Pequeña Luz is no exception. As we pan back, we find the luchadora in question as she leans on the railing to her hotel room balcony, taking in the picturesque view and breathing in the air of a brand new day. She doesn't turn to face us right away, however, instead choosing to keep looking out at the city for a little longer, though we can still hear the joy and excitement in her voice that is very much Luz as she gets started.
“Beautiful view, isn't it? Honestly, I feel lucky that I get to enjoy views like this. Being able to travel the country, the whole world even, doing something that I love and dreamed of ever since I was a child... that is the very definition of the freedom to be yourself. I've talked before about how, growing up, there were a lot of people who thought it'd be fun to bully me and tell me I'd never amount to anything, and while they were free to have that opinion, I was also free to not let that opinion define me. That's why I became La Pequeña Luz, The Little Light, because I wanted to be that beacon of hope for others to follow so they could find themselves and become exactly who they truly wanted to be.
My wife, the love of my life, Amelia Nevado? She was just the first to be inspired by who I am and how I choose to carry myself, and the more I do this, the more begin to truly understand me and realize why I do this.
Don't get me wrong, for as much as I love mi papá, I know he's looking down on me from Heaven, proud of the path I've carved for myself, respecting the legacy I came from while also building my own while inspiring others to do the same. That's what gave birth to The Light In The Darkness, what led to Amelia and I becoming three time World Tag Team Champions... heck, it's what led to me run as an interim United States Champion in the first place, taking advantage of a chance to prove myself while Amelia was doing the same and doing my best with the circumstances I was dealt in the aftermath.
Of course... those circumstances have kind of gotten a little out of control, haven't they? Too many unanswered questions, too many claims to this or that, too much confusion in general. I think we can all agree that the best answer to a problem like this is something concrete... yeah, maybe the way this all came about kind of sucks a bit, but we're all professionals and this is why we do this: to put on a great match for you, the fans, and to push ourselves beyond our limits to be the best versions of ourselves we can possibly be.
Well... most of the time.”
Luz sighs a bit as she turns to face us finally, her smile dimming just a bit as she knows there's one person in this match who's been the centerpiece of all the problems that led to this moment, and while she might be relishing in that knowledge, Luz is clearly not a fan of it.
“You know, sometimes it feels like wrestling in Texas is as close as I'm going to get to wrestling in my own backyard, so to speak. I know that Tulancingo probably isn't a big enough stop for SCW to hold a show there, but for as proud as I would be to find myself wrestling for this company in front of my fellow countrymen, the great people who helped me figure out who La Pequeña Luz truly is in the first place, I know that many of them would gladly travel to Houston or any other city in Texas to see me compete and show me the love and support that helped me get this far in the first place.
Which makes it all the sadder that Jordan Majors only thinks of Mexico as the perfect place to dump someone while ruining their life, all just so she can claim to be a champion without actually putting in the work.
I wish I could say I understand you Jordan, but I truly can't. Once upon a time, you were a wrestler worthy of respect, someone who was dedicated and passionate and proved just how good she was every time she set foot in that ring. I remember some of your matches from back during the brief first stint Amelia and I had with SCW, what you were capable of while clearly enjoying being an SCW wrestler. Heck, the fact that you were nominated as the Star of Tomorrow should have meant something to you. And yet... here you are, insistent on being the Star of Today now while refusing to prove that you're still a legitimate competitor who's every bit as good as she was back then. You sunk so despicably low just to pretend to be a champion, yet every time you were put in a position to put your money where your mouth is, you were exposed and left running with your tail between your legs... at least, until you thought you had a chance to think you could just rewrite history and act like nothing ever happened.
Sorry Jordan, but there's a reason why I've always been a firm believer in the concept of resolving wrestling problems in a wrestling ring: the results always speak for themselves, and they'll always prove far more than anything you could do being a thief and playing pretend as though your own little world is supposed to be the reality we all live in.
Yeah, I may have been the interim champion, but being able to call myself the United States Champion regardless is still significant to me, an achievement I know I earned with nothing but my skills and my hard work. That's why it bothered me so much when you tried to ruin someone's life without a care in the world all just so you could act like you'd earned anything. It's why I stepped up and challenged you to a one-on-one match and pinned your shoulders to the mat, fair and square, back at Rebirth. It's why I continued to refuse to let you just get away with this little joyride you were trying to take, even when Asher also beat you fair and square, even when Deanna returned just to finally put this all to rest. Yeah, you may look at this and see your golden ticket Jordan, but that golden ticket also requires you to also deal with three people who very clearly have a problem with your new attitude and won't let you just steal this match and the undisputed U.S. Title as easily as you probably think. Like it or not, Jordan, you really are going to have to earn this one... and I think Deanna, Asher and I can all agree that's much easier said than done.”
Luz's smile slowly returns at this point now that she's addressed Jordan, taking a deep breath to ground herself once more as she leans back against the railing, the gorgeous sky and the beautiful Houston cityscape really helping to highlight just how much of a ray of sunshine Luz truly is no matter the situation.
“Maybe some of you believe that helping out my opponents is stupid, that they're supposed to be my enemies for a reason, but I disagree. Unless they're acting like Jordan and actively trying to be malicious, at the end of the day this is all about respect and proving ourselves in that ring, and as I've said and proven time and time again, there's never a guarantee that the end result will always be the same when you see two people meet again inside the squared circle.
I know there were a lot of you wondering why I stepped up to help Asher after everything that Jordan did to him, and while, yes, some of it had to do with untangling the mess Jordan created in regards to the title we're all fighting for come Rise to Greatness, most of it simply boiled down to showing respect to a man who not only beat me in that ring, fair and square, to win the interim title off of me, but also didn't deserve what happened to him. The personal life of Asher Hayes is his and his alone to share with the world, and only if he chooses to do so... so to see Jordan think it would be fun to drug him and leave him for dead in my home country like this was some sort of made-for-TV crime drama or something was just wrong on so many levels. What decent human being wouldn't help Asher in that situation, especially when I've acknowledged that he beat me and the title rightfully belonged to him, not a petty thief desperate for validation like Jordan?
That said Asher, I know you're not going to make it easy on me to try and get that title back, undisputed or otherwise, but I also know that things have changed a bit between us. I remember leading up to our one-on-one match over that very title, you made a few comments that rubbed me the wrong way and I called you out on them, but by the end of that night, I'd like to think I earned your respect even in defeat with how hard I pushed you. As I said, helping you out and standing up to Jordan was just the right thing to do, and I was always willing to wait to try and challenge you again for that title between waiting for you and Deanna to unify the belts if that needed to come first and also having tag team matters with my wife to attend to as well. But... here we are. Rise to Greatness, and the two of us make up half of a match where walking out with the win is just that little bit more difficult.
Even still, I know you enough by now Asher. I've shared that ring with you, I know what you're capable of, and you better believe I've learned a lot from our last match and won't quite be the same Luz you faced on that night. I want to hope that the thought of what I'm going to bring to the table this time to push you even farther has you excited and ready to give me your best shot, but I'm also not going to ignore how tempting I know it would be for you to just focus primarily on Jordan to make sure she gets what she deserves after everything she's pulled. Either way, I wish you the best of luck, and I look forward to crossing paths with you in that ring again and settling this once and for all.
Just as I'm looking forward to finally being able to share that ring with Deanna Frost as an opponent once again.”
Luz's smile falters a tiny bit, and it's not hard to know why. She's spent time with Deanna during shows due to how complicated things have been between her and Selena, she and Amelia have both seen how jumpy she's still been after everything the man now known as Veil had done to her, but she also knows that the temptation of competition between the two of them is a good enough motivator to put all fears and doubts aside when the moment calls for it, and knowing from teaming with her that Deanna is more than capable of that, her smile returns full force now.
“Deanna... I know it's not quite the one-on-one match we probably envisioned back when I originally became the number one contender for your title, but I still cannot begin to state how excited I am to be able to finally face you all the same. I know we've faced off in a tag team match a few years ago, and I know you've thrown down with my wife on a few occasions, but it truly is special to finally be able to test myself against you and see if I'm truly worthy to hold the mantle outright of United States Champion, even with two other competitors I also need to overcome to make it happen.
But I'm also going to be upfront and say that I wish you didn't feel like you had to return just to resolve this mess that all started with the pettiness of Jordan Majors.
I mean it, as your friend and as a fellow wrestler, when I say I care about you Deanna, and I'd always want to see you at your best no matter the situation. As excited as I was at the prospect of being able to challenge you for the U.S. Title last year when I won that number one contender match, I meant it when I said I was more than willing to wait until you were truly ready so that we could give each other, and those fans, the match we all deserve. I know the return did have to happen eventually, but it's hard for me not to worry given what I've seen over the past few weeks.
But I also know that you're not a woman who's going to let that stop her, and I can always respect and admire that.
I experienced it firsthand while teaming with you against the European Fiery Nation a few weeks ago, and I know that you're more ready than you might think, Deanna. I know that when you focus on me, on Asher, and yes, even on Jordan, all those fears and issues will disappear and we'll all be in for the Red Lioness who reigned as United States Champion for a full year and definitely earned the respect you deserve. I know you'll understand when I say that I can't take it easy on you Deanna, but I know that, no matter what, you'll rise to the occasion and make me earn my way back to being United States Champion, just as you would've done last year before all of Veil's cryptic games, and just as to be expected of the woman who may not see herself as the rightful United States Champion anymore... but I know, deep down, how much you'd love to prove that is the case with this one win, and I'm looking forward to seeing you back in action.
Make no mistake: Rise to Greatness is upon us, and I know this is easily the biggest match I've had yet, especially being the first Rise to Greatness where I'll be standing on my own without Amelia by my side. But as I've always said: we'll always push each other to greater and greater heights to prove ourselves, to prove we belong here, and I know that by the end of the night, Amelia and I will both have brand new Rise to Greatness moments to add to our resumes, and while I'll happily wish most of my opponents the best of luck and look forward to how this match shapes up, I'm also not going to stand here and lie...
I'm determined to prove that I'm ready to be the undisputed SCW United States Champion, and I'm ready to rise as high as I need to in order to prove it.”
With a flash of her tr4ademark grin, Luz kind of dances in place for a moment, clearly excited about the challenge awaiting her on the horizon, before she steps past us and heads back into her hotel room, leaving us with one last look of the breathtaking Houston skyline before we slowly fade out.
![[Image: uKMzpho.png]](https://i.imgur.com/uKMzpho.png)
Tag Team Record: 28-11-1*
La Pequeña Luz Solo Record: 21-11
Amelia Blythe Nevado Solo Record: 15-11-1
*The tag team turmoil on the 9/14/2023 Breakdown is counted in this record as the three separate matches LITD had in the gauntlet up until their elimination.
Breakdown 3/30/2023 - Kim Williams' Trios Cash-In
La Pequeña Luz: 3 Falls
Amelia Blythe Nevado: 2 Falls
*Neither one finished high enough to win any championships in this match
*Result listed separately and not counted in records due to lack of clarity on how to count falls
SCW Accomplishments
SCW Television Championship (Amelia Blythe Nevado - 29 Days)
SCW Television Championship (La Pequeña Luz - 98 Days)
SCW World Tag Team Championship [3] (1 - 81 Days) (2 - 109 Days) (3 - 231 Days)
SCW United States Championship (La Pequeña Luz) [2] (1/Interim Reign - 94 Days) (2 - Current)
2024 Trios Tournament Winner (Amelia Blythe Nevado, w/ Xander Valentine and Billy Heaven Jr.)
2023 Tag Team of the Year
2023 Match of the Year (Kim Williams' Trios Cash-In)
2024 Tag Team of the Year