Amelia Nevado vs. Cid Turner

[Wisteria Waltz]

OOC: Consider this CD taking place at the same time as the one for Luz's match in terms of a timeline. Also, if you're curious what song is being referred to as the one that's playing in this CD, it's "That's What the Wise Lady Said" by Angtoria: https://youtu.be/SkfDSKns9vQ?si=jNJwjK2QS8DezyNo
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Amelia Nevado had been born and bred for this moment.

At least, that's what she was always told growing up.

Between the strict upbringing and the abuse she would endure over the simplest mistakes, that was the one thing that had always stuck with her growing up, playing like a broken record in her mind especially when she felt like she was at her lowest. Her father would tout to anyone who would listen that she was the best pure wrestler on the planet, bar none. Her mother would heap praise upon her in that honey-sweet tone Amelia grew to hate, claiming that she was destined to be a world champion because it was all she should ever know.

Looking back on it, Amelia couldn't help but wonder if any of it was even genuine... and if that was the point, just in case things ever reached a scenario like this.

Amelia's sense of self-worth had always been extremely fragile at best. Granted, her wife's wasn't much better, but Luz at least had loving parents to support her growing up, along with a concerning tendency to put others before herself and tethering any boost to their confidence to her own validation. Amelia never really had any of that before Luz barreled into her life, and the few moments of hope she did have along the way (like her old friendship with Ivy) were quickly snuffed out and deemed 'distractions' for one stupid reason or another, all to keep her in the mold her parents insisted on fitting her into. Any praise she ever received from Aleister or Ophelia was purely transactional, treated as an attempt to market their youngest daughter rather than truly convince her that she was anywhere close to being the wrestler they painted a picture of to the public.

Even now, long after she'd severed all ties with the Blythe name, standing on the precipice of what could be the biggest moment of her entire career, she still heard their 'praise' echo in her mind, almost condescending in how sarcastic it sounded. It brought to mind the thought of a world where she had never met Luz, where she was still Amelia Blythe and still a veritable robot in the ring, where becoming SCW World Champion wasn't celebrated as her crowning moment, but shrugged off because it was the bare minimum expected of her and then weaponized because she should have reached this point a lot sooner.

Everything her parents did was designed to pitch Amelia as the one who would carry the Blythe name to its greatest heights but never let anyone believe that she could have done it herself, that only because of her mother and especially her father was she the greatest wrestler to ever live.

Outwrestling her father and seeing both him and her mother be arrested and locked away for what would hopefully be the final time, while immensely cathartic, still wasn't enough to heal all of the damage they had done to her.

Their 'praise' taunted her relentlessly as she worked over a training dummy in the Toronto gym she currently found herself in. Every flaw she tried to iron out in her technique, their echoes brought her back to the rigorous exercises that were meant for this exact purpose, the phantom feeling of being choked out by her father because she kept getting something wrong causing her to gasp for air she didn't need. The critiques that stained her memories stoked the fires of her long-dormant inner perfectionist. She tried to ignore those ghosts haunting her every thought, attempting to replace it with the praise Luz had given her every chance she got ever since she declared she was aiming for the World Title, the mental image of the two of them holding SCW's top two prizes high and proud to close Apocalypse, not to mention every single affirmation her friends, her siblings, heck, anyone in the found family that had formed around the couple in the past few years.

It was always easier said than done, and not even overcoming Aleister and Ophelia Blythe for hopefully the final time prior to Rise to Greatness could ever erase the mental and emotional scars they'd left behind.

It left Amelia torn in a way that she hated, and even worse, had her struggling to focus. This was a huge opportunity, one that she truly believed she was finally ready for after earning a singles win over a former World Champion and sending a message to anyone who still doubted her. But every time, a mental comment bearing the voice of one of her parents would see that belief give way to doubt. Fear would rise over whether or not she truly could do this, whether becoming World Champion truly would be the culmination of her own dedication and hard work and proof that she had risen above everything her parents had designed her to be and come into her own as both a wrestler and as a person. Those would eventually open the door for memories of the past few weeks, how someone she still respected and saw as a friend despite everything refused to believe in her all because someone besides herself was the one defending that title in this match.

“Amelia... you deserve better.”

Those words from Selena had struck a chord with her on that night, and while Amelia had managed to maintain her composure as best as she could in the ring, it had been hard for her to shrug off that one line from someone who's been clued in to how she was raised, a line that her parents loved falling back on to try and push her to do better in the ring, leave little doubt that she was more worthy than anybody else of whatever opportunity they believed she'd been unjustly passed over for. The reminder of others believing they knew better than Amelia herself what was best for her...

“I think that poor dummy's had enough, Amelia.”

Amelia snapped to attention, not even aware she'd zoned out until she heard a familiar voice she knew wasn't just a fragment of her scarred memories. At some point while lost in her thoughts, she had apparently put the dummy she'd been working over into the Blight Choke and applied so much pressure the thing literally looked like it was about to lose its head. With her cheeks turning crimson from embarrassment, she sheepishly let go of the dummy and carefully rolled it off of her before pulling herself back to her feet. She glanced out of the training ring, confirming that the voice belonged to Darius, and judging by his relaxed posture even as his arms were folded, he'd likely been observing her training for some time now.

“Sorry,” she apologized, her voice a bit shaky as she tried to somehow clear her thoughts.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Darius waved it off, his tone of voice making it absolutely clear he wasn't disappointed at seeing her zone out or for apologizing, like her parents likely would have.

“What are you doing here?” Amelia couldn't stop herself from asking. “Not that there's anything wrong with that, and I hope you weren't waiting for too long...”

“Take a deep breath and relax, Amelia,” he interrupted, holding up a hand to, again, show he wasn't annoyed or offended in any way. Once she had done as he'd asked, he continued. “I came to check on you, see how you were holding up after what happened with your parents in Houston. Avery mentioned something about you and your wife wanting to seek therapy after all you've endured, and we might have a solution for that.”

“Oh!” Amelia sounded a bit surprised as she moved to lean on the top rope while looking at Darius. “I, um, don't mean to offend Darius, but I would've thought...”

“That Avery would be delivering the news?” he replied with a raised eyebrow, a ghost of a smirk playing on his lips.

“...yeah...” Amelia admitted as she stepped through the ropes and sat down on the apron. “Not that I haven't been grateful for all the help you and Evie have also given us throughout this whole mess. It's just... hard to think that you would've ever sought me out one-on-one like this, given your history with my parents.”

“That's nothing to beat yourself up over,” Darius told her before sighing. “Avery did want to come by and tell you themself, but they've been tied up as of late trying to convince the FBI to keep helping us try to bring The Empire down once and for all. You can imagine how much of a headache that's becoming as of late...”

Amelia could only sigh and nod, not bothering to hide her disgust with the political landscape of America at this point and how, unfortunately, The Empire's religious extremism seemed to perfectly mesh with the President's disturbing vision of how to “make the country great again.”

“I don't blame you for your concerns, though,” he continued as he carefully moved to sit beside her, giving her enough space that she didn't feel uncomfortable while she was still trying to wrap her head around everything. “Once upon a time, I considered your father my best friend. We had each other's backs all throughout school, we supported one another in trying to make our own paths in this world... we were even allies in the wrestling business for a time, had some plans we never acted on to even maybe become a tag team and pursue gold together much like yourself and Luz. It sickens me to think about the kind of man he ultimately became, especially towards his own children.”

“Do you... want to talk about it?” Amelia carefully probed, realizing that anything she knew about her parents, especially her father, prior to her birth only related to his wrestling career, and she had a feeling Aleister kept it that way on purpose.

“Only if you're willing to open up in return about what's going on in your head,” Darius offered. “I'm no Luz, but... I can certainly try my best if you need to get something off your chest, because I could tell you were really overthinking for a moment there. Anyone else would say it's just nerves, but I know your family well enough to know better, Amelia.”

Amelia silently weighed the pros and cons of accepting this deal. She knew, without a doubt, that she could trust Darius by this point. The man had been at the forefront of helping her and everyone else deal with The Empire for quite a while now, and any discomfort she had around him was purely because her father had tainted her perception of his former friend, another tainted piece of the mental puzzle for Amelia Nevado.

“I can even go first, if you'd like,” Darius offered, and that was all it took to finally kick her father's voice out of her head for now.

“Please,” Amelia replied. “I want to know what kind of man my father was before he became the monster I've known my whole life.”

Darius nodded, quietly muttering to himself for a moment about how sadly accurate Amelia was on calling her father a monster. “I'll be honest: there was a lot about him that wasn't too different from the man who 'raised' you. Just... a lot more toned down than what you've experienced. He was very religious, something he got from his parents. Before he made himself a household name as a wrestler, the Blythe name was prominent because of everything they went out of their way to do in the name of God, the kinds of things you should think of when you picture someone doing the Lord's work like helping those less fortunate and fostering a genuine sense of community. I personally thought Aleister's parents were a little too uptight and maybe took a little too much pride in how everyone saw them... funny thing is, so did he.”

“Sounds like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree in that regard,” Amelia noted, and Darius immediately picked up on hints of self-loathing in her voice.

“We're unpacking that later,” he told her with a shake of his head to make it clear he disagreed with her trying to apply that to herself. “It was the fact that your father thought the Blythe name could be so much more than just a community pillar doing good deeds that caused a rift between him and his parents. You can partially blame Caleb White for that one... your father saw what that man could do in the ring, how he preached his faith and then made opponents literally bend to his will to create this perception that Caleb truly was God's chosen wrestler, and he wanted to stand in that same divine spotlight. I was right there with him, not for any religious reasons, but because I was always an athletic young man and pro wrestling seemed like a no-brainer for me to apply those talents.”

“If you don't mind me asking...” Amelia carefully said, and Darius already had a feeling where this was going.

“How our friendship ended?” he found the words for her, and Amelia sheepishly nodded. “Truth be told, I think the strain was always there. We always played off any barbs we traded as competitive banter to motivate one another, but there was always hints of jealousy whenever one would succeed where the other failed. It was like we had just enough between us for it to feel real, genuine... but there were so many things we never addressed that started to force us down different paths. The breaking point was when he wanted to pitch the idea of us being a tag team again after years of putting it off, all because that was the only title he was missing to really cement himself as one of the best. I turned him down... told him I was considering hanging up my boots. Some personal things I'd rather not talk about yet changed my course, had me considering taking up law enforcement. Your father got it into his head that I was abandoning him, betraying him. He said so many things that could never be taken back... things that really showed me who the man I thought was my best friend truly was all along.”

Amelia's eyes went wide at this revelation. Deep down, none of it surprised her, but she wanted to hope, just for a brief moment, that her father had become what she knew him to be just because of the influence of the deranged zealot who spearheaded The Empire today, that maybe there was some vague hope one of her parents could change their ways. Unfortunately, this wasn't some fantasy story, and reality wasn't always that pretty.

“I'll say this,” Darius finished as he looked down at Amelia with a smile. “If there's one good thing that man ever contributed to this world... it's you and your siblings.”

“Are you sure?” Amelia blurted out. Seeing Darius raise an eyebrow, she looked away for a moment before deciding it was her turn to open up. “I... haven't really told anyone else this besides Luz, not even Ed or Em, but... I've had my moments while training where I just zone out when I hear them too much in my thoughts, contradicting all of my own efforts. I've tried to push someone too hard before while helping them train to team with Luz for Trios a few years ago, just like dad, and last year... last year I manipulated one of my own partners just to get him to cooperate, just like mom. Luz told me it was alright because I actually felt remorse, but...”

“You're still struggling to justify it to yourself?” Darius asked, and Amelia nodded. He audibly exhaled as he leaned back against the ropes. “Don't get me wrong, I hate everything I've heard your parents did to you, Aleister especially. But that Luz girl has a good head on her shoulders, and I agree with her. You were forged in a fire you never asked to find yourself in, molded to become something you never wanted to be... and you still broke free to become your own person. I know it's easy to focus on the setbacks rather than the steps forward, but trust me when I say this: it takes immense strength to break the kind of cycle you were trapped in.”

“Even if Luz helped me to get out of it?” Amelia questioned.

“Luz offered you her hand, but it was still your decision to take it,” Darius firmly stated. “You are far stronger, far more capable, than so many would give you credit for Amelia, both in and out of SCW. Your parents were too full of themselves to ever truly see that... that's their loss, and you can prove it by making the most of this opportunity and earning the right to call yourself the World Champion of the best wrestling promotion in the entire world. And I think I might have something that could help.”

Amelia looked confused for a moment, wondering if Darius was going to gift her some secret technique or insight as she saw him pull out his phone. Instead, he just cued up some music, chuckling at the look on her face.

“It's been a while since I listened to this song,” he explained. “The band may not exactly be together anymore, but their music was always inspirational and powerful. This one specifically... I'd almost think the lyrics were written just for you, now that I think about it. If you ever hear your parents' voices in your head, trying to throw you off... just ingrain the voice of Sarah Jezebel Deva into your thoughts to sing these words louder than they can speak. Or even picture your wife singing them, if that helps you more.”

“What about voices that don't belong to my parents?” Amelia asked as she used the ropes to pull herself back to her feet. “Maybe a voice that belonged to someone I thought was a friend, someone who just won't listen to me when I have a reason for why I did what I did?”

“Same thing applies,” Darius nodded up to her as she stepped back between the ropes and he hopped off the apron. “And if I learned anything from being friends with your father... if this person is truly your friend, they'll believe in you and understand your point of view. If they don't want to listen... well, that's on them at that point, not you. The only voices that should matter are those that truly care about you...”

“...and my own.”

As Amelia said those words, she felt the mental fog began to lift. Those voices trying to drag her back down, make her doubt herself... they were still there, but as she took deep breaths and left the uplifting lyrics of the song Darius had found for her consume her very soul, she found them being drowned out by positive affirmations from those who believed in her, who knew she could truly do this, who wanted to see her rise and become SCW World Champion.

“Maybe you should be our therapist,” Amelia chuckled wetly, wiping a tear from her eye as the song began to make her emotional from the overwhelming thought of support. “You're actually pretty good at this, Darius.”

“Nonsense,” Darius scoffed. “I just know what you've been through and how it's affecting you, because I've been there too with your father... just not to the degree that you have. Besides, we do have an NCA-sponsored therapist who can help more than I ever could in the long term, whenever you and Luz want to schedule your first appointment.”

“After Apocalypse,” Amelia firmly stated, more to herself than to Darius. “As long as Luz and I have wrestling to immerse ourselves in, we can make it through this pay-per-view. And hopefully, by the end of the night, I'll be able to stand tall right beside her, both of us proudly holding SCW's top singles titles high... imagine the statement that alone would send to The Empire after everything they've tried to do to us.”

“I can,” Darius nodded to her, “and I believe you are more than capable of making that a reality.”

Amelia was starting to believe it too. She could see that image in her mind clearer than perhaps ever before. It was a statement not only against her parents, The Empire, everyone who didn't believe she was worthy of reaching the top for one reason or another, but it was also a statement to herself, that she truly was worthy, that she truly was more than she was ever made to believe she could ever be.

As she threw herself back into her training, this time with more focus and clarity than ever before under Darius's watchful eye, she let the lyrics of Angtoria wash over her, carry her body and mind into a state she'd used to think she could never reach... a state of true confidence in herself, a state that could truly see herself with the World Championship around her waist, living up to everything The Light In The Darkness vowed to be.

Not since her wedding to Luz had a more beautiful thought ever existed in her mind.