La Pequena Luz vs. Kemal Yilmaz vs. David Striker vs. Gavin Taylor vs. Meghan Strader

[Konrad Raab]

SCW United States Championship

2 RP Limit for singles

3500 Word Per RP

Deadline: WEDNESDAY, December 17, 2025 at 11:59:59 pm ET (NOTE THE DEADLINE – this is for both shows)

[Thunderhorse]

(Striker) "Run for the Hills"

[CowgirlsFromHell]

Cowgirls Forever, Forever Cowgirls Part V: Gut Feelings

[Wisteria Waltz]

OOC: In terms of reading order regarding my characters for this PPV, read Amelia's CD first and Luz's (this one) second. While they chronologically take place at the exact same time, something that happens in Amelia's CD will be referenced near the end of this one to tie the two together.
----------------------------------

La Pequeña Luz was a proud woman who wore her heart on her sleeve.

She's known this for as long as she can remember. Anything she wanted to try, she threw herself at it with so much raw passion that it was easy to understand why she grew frustrated or doubted herself if it didn't turn out the way she would've wanted. In her mind, if you didn't give every last ounce of passion you had for something, especially if you loved it, then what was the point of even trying it in the first place?

For as long as she can remember, other people have been more than happy to take advantage of her passion.

She remembers growing up how her kindness was used against her, believing she was making friends only for them to reveal it was all just to get close to her for some cruel prank, or perhaps just to meet her father in the flesh. After all, El Espíritu Angélico was a living legend, while Luna Nevado was just a nobody. She was bullied for some of the weirder interests she was passionate about just because no one else understood them and came to the conclusion that she was just a freak. Even when she had trouble staying focused at school, long before she was properly diagnosed with ADHD, others dogpiled onto her and made her believe she was a failure, that she'd never amount to anything. Even the mere thought that she could follow in her father's footsteps as a luchador was met with jokes and laughter at her expense.

Whenever Luz was bullied at school, nothing was ever done about it. In the eyes of her teachers and the school staff, Luz was the problem, not the other kids. This was the claim that she recalls being reiterated time and time again whenever her mom and dad met with the principal. Her papá never believed it, knowing his daughter much better than that, but not even him being on the level of a real-life superhero in Mexican culture ever seemed to sway the opinion of those who were supposed to be helping and guiding her.

Her mom, on the other hand? She cared for her daughter... maybe a little too much. Unlike her husband, Doctora Camila Nevado was willing to consider the possibility that maybe her little light was, in fact, just a little too much for everybody else and needed to tone it down a bit. Luz had rarely heard her parents fight, but the few times they did, it was always a disagreement over what to do with her. Luz never told anybody this, but the way everyone treated her like she was just a problem that needed to be solved? The fact that her own parents even disagreed over whether or not that was the case instead of just outright supporting their little girl?

Luz lost track of how much further she retreated into her own imagination just to try and make sense of it all.

Losing her father had been the breaking point. Between her parents, he was always the one who stood stronger on defending his little girl and never swaying in the face of blatantly obvious efforts to try and decide what to do with her, as if they knew better than her own mom and dad. The darkness that Luz found herself in after she watched him be carted away from the ring only to be pronounced dead shortly after only fueled her decision to honor the memory of the man who tried to pave the way for her. In retrospect, especially considering what she knows now, her mamá was right to be worried... just maybe not in the way she would've expected.

Now, it was easy to say that Luz's relationship with her mom was in a much better spot than it was back during those days. They weren't constantly butting heads over Luz competing in the ring, especially when she'd witnessed what happened to El Espíritu Angélico and was still willing to take the same risks that he did, and Luz was eternally grateful to know that her mom was supporting her wrestling efforts just as passionately as she supported her husband back in the day.

That didn't mean Luz didn't still carry scars of the past, and she knew they needed to be addressed before she hit a point she truly couldn't recover from, even with her mom, her wife and their entire found family having her back now.

The doubt had already tried rearing its ugly head after Under Attack. That night had meant a lot to Luz, both wanting to celebrate her one year anniversary of being married to the woman who had shown her that she was not, in fact, too much to ever be genuinely loved for being herself and honoring the memory of her father on what she considered the most important holiday of the calendar year for her. Losing her United States Title to Meghan Strader, especially through the interference of Gavin Taylor for his own self-serving interests, had hurt so much worse than she was willing to admit. Being practically forced to actually take some time off had helped immensely, and she and Amelia had proven that when they bounced back as a team to get that win back from the Cowgirls From Hell, but it wasn't the solution to the problem as a whole.

Luz knew, somewhere out there, a certain religious zealot still lurked, seeking any weakness to exploit that would break her beyond belief and 'save her from herself,' effectively proving all of her former bullies correct in a way that even they would probably be disgusted by. On a smaller scale, who was to say that someone in SCW wouldn't see her doubts as an opportunity to try and lead her down a dark path, knowing the right thing to say to turn Luz into something she wasn't by convincing her it was a desperate gamble that had to be taken in order to reverse her fortunes.

If the stars aligned, then she believed she had no reason to put this off any longer, and that's exactly why she was sitting here.

As much as part of her wanted to be out training with Amelia, Henry and Darius in preparation for her fiveway dance where she could hopefully regain the U.S. Title, she knew she still had plenty of time to prepare for the chaos she knew awaited her at Shattered Reality. But, just like Amelia was hoping to achieve, Luz knew that if she was going to have any hope of pulling that off, then she needed to fully embrace the belief that she could make it happen. And to do that, she had some loose threads that were long overdue to be tied up.

That was what currently saw La Pequeña Luz sitting across from Dr. Celine Bolton, who had an opening to be able to make her way to Boston for a therapy session with the luchadora face-to-face. Luz wasn't alone, however, as Camila was sitting beside her, looking both intrigued and nervous as to why her daughter had asked her to be a part of this session with the NCA-affiliated therapist who was hoping to help put Luz and Amelia's lingering psychological damage to bed once and for all, for their sake. She had tried to ask Luz about it, but Luz had only told her that things would be clear soon enough.

When Luz was being cryptic like that, Camila felt she had every reason to be worried.

“Alright, I believe we can get started,” Celine said after double-checking to make sure the hotel conference room she had asked to borrow was secure. Admittedly, she would've preferred to be able to do these sessions in the confirmed privacy of her own office, but she understood the difficulty of asking wrestlers like Luz and Amelia to constantly make trips out to England just to spend an hour or two talking with her. “Now... Camila, I believe Luz has said your name is?”

“Sí,” Camila answered.

“Do you know why your daughter asked you to join us for this session she wanted to have today?” Celine asked her.

“I'm afraid I do not,” Camila shook her head. “She was insistent on having me be here with her, but she wouldn't tell me why.”

“I see...” Celine answered as she glanced over at Luz. While she understood why Luz likely kept her mother in the dark about this, she felt justified in giving the masked woman a disapproving look. “Well, when I had my first session with Luz and Amelia, I learned quite a lot about the both of them and what they've been going through... though it was mostly Amelia. I offered Luz the chance to give me some insight into her own past just as her wife did, but she asked that we hold off on discussing that until you were able to join us.”

“Mija,” Camila turned to look at her daughter, and Luz bit her lip at seeing how worried and concerned her mom was. “Did I... did I do something wrong? I thought we had worked everything out.”

“I...” Luz started before she cut herself off, needing a moment to try and sort out her thoughts as her brain felt the need to scramble everything suddenly. “Trust me mom, things between us right now are incredible, and I mean it when I say I'm so happy we worked things out and you stopped trying to get me to give up wrestling. It's just... I feel like there's still some things we never really had the chance to address with everything going on.”

“Would you feel comfortable elaborating, Luz?” Celine gently nudged her before glancing at Camila to reassure her. “The floor is yours, so don't feel like you need to hesitate or hold back.”

Luz took a deep, shaky breath, her hands fiddling with one another in her lap. “Well... my mom already knows this, kind of, but... I was bullied growing up. I was always 'too weird' or 'too much' or a 'loser,' things like that. Other kids would make fun of me, mock my interests, pretend to be my friend as part of some overly elaborate prank.”

“This was all before she was properly diagnosed as being neurodivergent,” Camila clarified, and Celine made a note of that.

“Luz said you were aware of it, Camila?” she asked.

“Sí... kind of...” Camila sighed. “Her father and I found ourselves meeting with her teachers and even her principal more often than we would've liked. Even when we got Luz diagnosed and let the school staff know so they could properly accommodate her... they always made it seem like Luz was the reason why it was happening. They blamed her being bullied on her being the one causing disruptions, claimed her interests were so out there that it was making others uncomfortable.”

“Sadly, not the first time I've heard that,” Celine nodded, the look in her eyes clear this was far from the first time she'd handled anything pertaining to a school system refusing to accommodate for anything that they didn't consider 'normal.' “How did you and your husband handle all of this?”

“Papá always tried to stand up for me,” Luz noted. “He saw the way things were and refused to accept that me being bullied was my own fault... not that it made any difference. Him practically being a living legend of lucha libre who even used wrestling as a platform to help champion charitable causes to support kids like me swayed them at all to rethink their stance.”

Camila looked a little surprised that Luz had answered for her, but what struck her the most was the sudden bitter tone in her daughter's voice. Luz hadn't used that kind of tone in her presence outside of any conversation where The Empire was unfortunately the subject. Beyond that, it was a tone she hadn't heard even subtly directed at her since before they had reconciled several years ago... or so she had thought, anyway.

“Cariño...” Camila almost choked up for a moment, but when Luz looked at her, the next words out of her mouth really hit Camila like a ton of bricks.

“Why didn't you fight for me like he did, mamá?”

Thinking back to the day when the crazed leader of The Empire's splinter cell had kidnapped her and Valentina and threatened to end both them and Luz, Camila was suddenly wondering if accepting her fate and taking that bullet several months ago would have hurt less than this. The sheer, sudden hurt in Luz's voice felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart with a dagger that was constantly being twisted to maximize the pain she felt with every heartbeat. For the longest time, she had always wondered, feared even, that her daughter held some sort of resentment towards her for even considering that her principal may have actually had a point. She had her reasons, but... hearing the sheer hurt in Luz's voice now that she knew for sure made her truly realize just how deep this all ran and why her daughter often pushed herself too hard.

Celine, to her credit, didn't interject. She just sat there, watching those words sink in for both daughter and mother, giving this a chance to naturally progress.

“I...” Camila choked out. “I'm sorry, mija, I truly am. You're right... I should have stood up for you when you needed me most, more than I did. I knew your father was right, that the faculty who were supposed to be looking out for you just saw a problem child they wanted to get rid of by any means necessary. He and I were in agreement at first, but... the more it kept happening...”

Camila sighed, taking off her glasses and wiping a tear from her eye before she put them back on.

“You'd think I'd have known better to let them make me doubt you, Luz. Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind... and I let them twist that and use it against me.”

Luz couldn't help but do a double-take at that, even glancing over at Celine, who just looked like she was trying her best to follow along.

“Mom?” Luz slowly asked. “Did you... did you just quote Lilo & Stitch?”

“Sí,” Camila huffed, sounding a little embarrassed. “I was... maybe a bit of a nerd in my own right growing up. Believe it or not, Disney movies were something your father and I bonded over when we first met, while I was watching over his recovery after Caleb pulled that one awful stunt that almost ended his wrestling career altogether. I, too, had a hard time growing up because of some of the things I was interested in... it's no excuse, but hearing about what you were going through and being offered solutions to try and 'help'? I thought that maybe you could avoid going through what I did, that it might put an end to your bullying. I should have listened to your father... he knew it wasn't going to work. He, too, had been bullied growing up, but once he donned that mask and became El Espíritu Angélico, it was like his old bullies were ready to throw themselves at his feet and beg for forgiveness he said. I never got that chance... and I see now how you probably thought I didn't care about what you were going through, that you felt it was easier to bottle everything up rather than feel like you could talk to me about it.”

Luz slowly nodded, her body shaking a bit. “When we lost papá... when you made it clear you didn't want me to become a luchador like he was, I truly thought that you believed I was... I don't know, a mistake, a failure, someone who had to be changed just to fit in with the rest of the world...”

“No, Lu- Luz,” Camila briefly hit the brakes on how high her emotions were starting to run, nearly breaking the sacred lucha libre tradition by revealing Luz's real name in the presence of Celine. After she took a breath to calm herself, Camila's hand reached out to gently cup her daughter's masked cheek. “If anyone made a mistake, it's me... and I'm truly sorry I didn't see it sooner. The greatest mistake in all of this is that I tried to change this beautiful, brave, radiant luchadora into something she wasn't, all in a misguided effort to protect you. Lo siento, mija... can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me for all the years of pain I never meant to cause?”

Camila's answer came in the form of Luz throwing herself at her mom in a hug, the chair she'd been sitting in toppling over. Camila didn't even hesitate to hold her daughter close, quietly mumbling “lo siento” over and over again.

“Luz,” Celine suddenly said, garnering both women's attention. “I'm sorry to interrupt, but... how do you feel now that you've gotten this all out in the open?”

“Honestly, Dr. Bolton?” Luz replied, a smile slowly forming on her lips once more. “I feel like my head's the clearest it's been in a long time. Like I don't have to keep pushing myself because of some invisible expectation that never existed in the first place. And mom?” She glanced over to Camila, who stilled for a moment. “I'm sorry too... I know I wasn't an easy child to raise, and I feel bad that you even had to worry that I was suffering like you did.”

“That's still no excuse to hurt you the way I did cariño, even if that was never my intention,” Camila clarified.

“I know, and I do forgive you,” Luz responded. “It'll... probably still take my brain to fully come to terms with that, but now that I know both you and papá were nerds just like me growing up...”

“I think this is a case where time can heal whatever wounds are left for the both of you,” Celine noted. “It won't be an overnight change, but it will be a change that I think the both of you will certainly appreciate. That said, I believe we still have some time if there's anything either of you want to discuss with me.”

“Actually...” Luz realized. “I did have something that's been bothering me ever since we survived the leader of The Empire's splinter cell. I've been-”

What felt like the perfect opportunity talk to both her mom and Celine about the nightmares she'd been having since around Rise to Greatness suddenly met an interruption in the form of her phone ringing. Luz cringed at the anime tune she'd chosen for her ringtone, but it got a giggle out of her mom and that alone made her breathe a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, I thought I'd silenced it,” Luz apologized to Celine before she pulled out her phone and answered it. “¿Hola?”

“Sorry to bother you if you're still meeting with Dr. Bolton, Luz, but I'm getting a bad feeling from Paul and I needed to tell you.”

Luz immediately snapped to attention at Henry's voice from the other end, and her reaction immediately caught the attention of Camila and especially Celine.

“I know he said he wanted to come with you guys to see how Ames trains,” Luz noted. “What'd he do?”

“Well...” Henry then proceeded to fill Luz in on what Paul had said and how it had not only gotten him a little heated, but also apparently caused Amelia to briefly spiral into a panic attack. As Henry explained the situation, Luz put her phone on speaker so Celine could hear, and the more she heard about what Amelia had apparently relayed to Henry to pass along to Luz, the more she felt like her hand was going to snap the pen she was holding in half.

“She managed to pull herself out of it and says she owes your father a thank you for the assist?” Henry finished, sounding confused, and Luz couldn't blame him. “She certainly seems like she's found a new spark that's really shown in our sparring matches, but... I don't know, I want to give this Paul guy the benefit of the doubt if Uncle is after him, but something about him just feels... very off to me.”

“Thanks for the heads up, Henry,” Luz replied. “Maybe we can talk more about it when you guys get back?”

“Then I guess we'll see you shortly, because Amelia's ready to call it a day on her training,” Henry responded.

While Amelia seemed like she might've found a sense of inner peace and strength that her parents had buried long before now because of Paul's innocently insensitive fan opinion, this revelation had the exact opposite effect on Luz. She was just wrapping up a therapy session that had gone a long way in helping her finally come to terms with some old mental scars she'd been hiding for way too long, she and her mom may have finally found some long overdue closure...

So why did she still feel like she'd made another huge mistake?

[Corner G]

https://allstargavintaylor.wordpress.com...ng-antiga/

(Good Lord, what have I done?)

[Kemal Yilmaz]

Kemal playing for a reserves football team in Germany just to improve on his stamina part three: Considered to play a proper football match for the FC Koln Reserves team.

[Corner G]

https://allstargavintaylor.wordpress.com...-or-psyop/

(Sweet merciful Jesus...)

[Kemal Yilmaz]

Kemal and Konrad having discussions on passing the European Fiery Nation leadership torch along with going for the United States championship and addressing his reasons to use Gavin Taylor to get to that goal.

[Wisteria Waltz]

Located roughly 40 minutes away from the city of Boston, Massachusetts lies a city on the Merrimack River known as Lawrence. It's a city many might know as the early residence of legendary poet Robert Frost, as well as an old textile juggernaut for the United States. While the city does seem to have fallen on hard times in recent years, it still continues to fight on as a city with a rich cultural history, especially as a home to many immigrants over the years. Most notable to us right now is its thriving Latino population and even as we pan along the street, we can see many of them out and about on their daily business, though they are more than happy to turn and wave to us as we pass by. Some of them can even be seen sporting a familiar mask, and their cheers as we pass by make sense as you realize Boston is hosting night one of Shattered Reality, and on that night a certain luchadora hopes to regain the United States Championship.

Speaking of said luchadora, we finally find her after taking a turn that leads us to the North Canal, walking along the fence that leads to the bridge built right over the Merrimack River. As she turns to face us, we're greeted with the familiar smile of La Pequeña Luz, though we can tell the smile seems to be a bit more forced than usual. It becomes a little more genuine after Luz takes a deep breath of the cold air, her breath visible to us as she exhales.

“You know what's good for fixing doubt? Going back to your roots, remembering where you came from. Yeah, the city of Lawrence might just seem like a neighbor to Boston, and it's not actually Tulancingo, but I feel at home here, surrounded by a rich culture I grew up in and traditions we're more than happy to share with the rest of the world. That's what makes America what it truly is... I believe it was once described as a melting pot where all of its people are born of influences from all around the world, given the opportunity to learn about different worlds even beyond this country's borders because somewhere among these 50 states, you're bound to find a little slice of whatever you're looking for.

Being surrounded by a proud, thriving Latino community that has withstood so much reminds me of exactly who I am: a fighter, ready to fly high and push myself to even greater heights to prove myself in the ring that may as well be my second home at this point.

You know... I wasn't the most popular kid growing up. I've mentioned before that I was bullied, for no other reason than I was a little different, maybe a little weird in the eyes of others, maybe a little too bright-eyed or enthusiastic or passionate. It was painful, being convinced that I was worthless just because of who I was... but look at me now. In crowds all over the world, you see people wearing my mask, you hear them cheering my name. Even in my own culture, I've gone from being seen as a joke and a weirdo to a symbol of hope. When Amelia and I first decided to call ourselves The Light In The Darkness, this is the reason why. We didn't just want people to love and cheer for us, we wanted to inspire them, to be that light that guides them through the darkness and gives them hope that no matter who you are, no matter how difficult things may be... you have what it takes to be the person you truly want to be, and all you have to do is be willing to try. That's why I love where I come from, because I'm part of a culture of fighters who are always ready to stand up and fight for what's important to us, and every time I hear someone say I inspired them, I can't help but smile and wish them luck in their own fight. At the end of the day, we're all fighting something, and only those who are willing to put in the effort are ever going to get to where they want to go.”

As she says this, the smile starts to fade completely from Luz's face. She turns and leans on the fence, her gaze fixed on the river flowing just beneath her, unbothered by the city and everything going on around it. In a small way, we almost get the sense that Luz might envy the river for this.

“Honestly, I think that speaks volumes about how we got to this point. On night one of Shattered Reality, over in the neighboring city of Boston, I find myself in familiar territory. Stop me if you've heard this one before: La Pequeña Luz in a match with multiple competitors. I know, it almost seems to be a trend with me, and I wish I could tell you how this became a thing, but I'd have to figure that one out for myself first. If anything, I think that alone should be a warning sign to the four other wrestlers in this match... after all, I walked into a similar match at Rise to Greatness, just with one less competitor, and I walked out on that night having proven I deserved to be the outright undisputed SCW United States Champion.

I wish I could say I was walking into this mess as the defending champion still, but that brings me to someone who embodies the exact opposite of everything I just spoke about when it comes to putting in the work.

Let me ask you something Gavin... do you think this is funny? I don't get if you're just doing some kind of bit or if you truly believe you're now a carbon copy of a man who's best not spoken about, but either way, it's a joke that's just not landing. It's clear you're putting a lot of effort into this whole 'Make American Gavin Again' nonsense... but for what purpose? How does campaigning like you're trying to become President, making ridiculous claims that anybody with five seconds to spare for a Google search can disprove, and sticking your nose where it doesn't belong prove you deserve to have this title opportunity at all? Ever since Rise to Greatness, all you've done is claim you have a title shot and gotten involved in my matches while I was champion as if you could just suddenly be inserted into things on the spot... just because you say so. And you know what? I didn't care if you actually had a contract for a title shot or not... not that I thought you'd done anything to truly earn it, but I will always pride myself on being a fighting champion, and if you had done what Meghan did and challenged me, face-to-face? I probably would have given you a shot, just to see how seriously you actually take any of this when the time for talking is done and the time to actually prove yourself is upon us.

You want to know the saddest truth of this whole matter, Gavin? I know you have the talent to be U.S. Champion... I've faced you in that ring, my wife has both faced you and teamed with you for Trios, and it's clear that there's a very capable wrestler hidden somewhere beneath all the bragging and nicknames. Instead of just proving it and silencing all your critics, we get you and your 'security' attacking people hoping to bully your way into what you feel you're owed. We get things like Losing Luz, which... really? You think that's original? You know how many people have just taken to calling me Luzer over the years hoping it would get to me?

But the biggest mistake you made in all of this is what you did at Under Attack. You want to go on and on about how the U.S. Title should be on the same level as the World Title? Well to me, Under Attack is just as big as Rise to Greatness, not just because of all the success my wife and I have had at that pay-per-view over the years, but because of the time of year it falls on for me. This year, it fell on a holiday I personally consider one of the most important in my culture, it fell on the day of my one year anniversary of being married to the greatest woman I've ever known. I marched down to that ring, paying homage to my father, the man who was my own light in the darkness growing up... and if Meghan had beaten be fair and square, yeah, it would've hurt, but I could've at least accepted that she was truly the better wrestler on that night. But you just couldn't help yourself, could you Gavin? You ruined one of the most sacred nights of the year for me, and just as unforgivable, you ruined Meghan's chance to truly prove to everybody that she can actually beat me, that she truly deserves to hold that title right now instead of me.”

Luz audibly exhales, her breath drifting across the river in the breeze and taking her frustrations with it.

“If you put half as much effort into actually wrestling as you do ticking people off, then who knows? Maybe you would be U.S. Champion right now. Maybe you'd be a World Champion. Maybe you wouldn't have David Striker wanting to pay you back after what you did to him at Rise to Greatness.

Speaking of David... please don't apologize for what happened at Under Attack. I've watched that match back countless times preparing for Shattered Reality, and I know that what ultimately cost me that match was all Gavin's doing. You came out to get your hands on him long after the damage had already been done. If anything, I believe I owe you an apology for Apocalypse, for not being able to say I gave you the match we deserved to have. Yeah, that can be blamed on Gavin's interference as well, but you still deserved better. I wish I could say this match makes up for it, but I think you've made it pretty clear your number one priority is getting revenge on Gavin for everything he's done to you and your friends. Normally this is the part where I would advocate against that kind of stuff, and you saw my wife and I enforcing that when we got between you and Gavin's so-called 'secret service' this past Breakdown... but you know I always advocate for resolving wrestling problems in a wrestling ring. You and Gavin are both in a sanctioned match along with the rest of us, so whatever you do to him come Saturday night? As far as I'm concerned, it's acceptable for the business we're all a part of.

Just do me one favor David... don't sell yourself short. Yeah, you have every reason to get your hands on Gavin in this match, and I appreciate that you're telling me that's your priority over actually wanting to win the title. But, personally? I think you should still take a shot at earning it since you have the opportunity to do so. You are absolutely capable of being United States Champion, I experienced that firsthand back at Apocalypse, and while I'd be more than happy to discuss running things back one-on-one if I happen to win this match... you shouldn't have to wait to try and make your moment happen. Take it from me David, the longer you wait trying to get the right moment, the farther the lengths will be that you feel you need to go to in order to earn that chance. It's why I will always be grateful to CHBK for telling off Amelia and myself heading into last year's Rise to Greatness, because it's clear now that these opportunities don't come along by chance. You've earned the right to be a part of this match David, so please... make the most of it.”

Luz turns her head and flashed the camera that familiar radiant smile, the sincerity in her every word front and center.

“Since the theme of today is putting in the effort to prove yourself, I guess that's going to make Shattered Reality a big night for you, huh Kemal? I know we've only really crossed paths back in the first round of Trios this year, but I think it's already pretty clear you share the same opinion of me as your friends Dakon and Ludvig do. I get it, you think I'm boring, you think I'm too nice for this business, you don't care about the raw passion I have for wrestling that pumps through my veins because for one reason or another, you deserve this more than I do. It's a running theme with the European Fiery Nation, but this pay-per-view is quite significant to you guys, isn't it? On Sunday night in Montreal, Konrad will be wrestling his final match before he retires, and this is the moment where you take the reins and prove to the world why he chose you to be his successor. Answer me honestly for a moment Kemal... do you think you're ready? The easy answer is yes, but I'm not looking for the easy answer just to get me to shut up. I want to know, honest to God, if you truly think you're ready to take that mantle, if you're truly ready to step up and be United States Champion.

I ask because I'm of the opinion, Kemal, that if you're ready to be the leader of your little group, then you have a lot to prove to them above all else come Saturday night. You seem to have deviated away from everything you guys claim to stand for when you assisted Gavin in some of his heinous acts recently, and even if it was all just a ruse to try and get to this moment, it doesn't change the fact that now you're in a position where it's time to put up or shut up, and no alliances or gambits will save you when it's every wrestler for themselves. Believe me when I say I'm very familiar with the approach of the European Fiery Nation, and I wouldn't even be surprised if you try to ally with Gavin one more time hoping you'll be able to steal this match right out from under everyone's noses... for your sake, I hope you really show me what you're made of come bell time, because you're going to need your best if you hope to prove anything over my dead body, camarada.”

Luz glances over and spies a leaf laying on the ground, one that hadn't yet been carried off by the wind or swept away with the others as fall begins to transition into winter. She carefully bends down and picks it up, admiring it for a moment before she lets go, allowing it to gently drift until it touches the water, the river carrying it away to who knows what kind of adventures that could await it.

“Meghan... by this point, I think we've both made it clear what the United States Title means to both of us. You see it as a challenge to prove you're ready to be in contention for the World Championship, a challenge that you believe I've already passed. I, however, made it clear that while I'd be more than happy joining my wife in that hunt, I have my own reasons for wanting to take that title back from you, and come Shattered Reality, we can finally get the proper resolution we were denied back at Under Attack. I've heard it in your voice, I see it in your eyes... you hate the way you won that title from me, you hate the doubt that lingers all because of Gavin's involvement. Like you, that doubt, that drive, it pushes me to prove that I can win that title one more time and have the reign I wanted to have with it, the reign I promised a friend I would have to show the world the true value of the SCW United States Championship.

That title, just like this country, represents everything that has made me who I am today. All the adversity I've fought through, all the struggles I've had to overcome, all the doubt that has reminded me of who I am, what I'm capable of, and why I love being a wrestler.

That's why I'm going to walk into Boston for night one of Shattered Reality and look to build on the momentum I gained over you a few weeks ago, Meghan. That's why I know you're going to come at me in a fury, determined to get that win back, just as Gavin, David and Kemal are determined to achieve their own respective goals and prove themselves. But I'm going to warn all of you now... there's a reason I've been able to thrive in the chaos a match like this creates, why it's so easy to lose track of me. Facing four opponents at once? It's no different than finding the openings I needed to escape crowds of people that all wanted to break me just because they didn't understand me? But the SCW fans? The proud people of Lawrence and in Boston? Across the world?

They're ready to understand me.

They accept who I am.

And I will happily be the light that guides the future of both SCW and the wrestling business because that's what I want to be, what the U.S. Title will help me achieve.

La Pequeña Luz has become an inspiration... and one that refuses to be snuffed out no matter what any of you have to throw at me.”

Luz's lips curl into a grin, and while there's hints the confidence may be a little shakier than she's letting on, the fire in her eyes makes it clear the reason has nothing to do with any of her opponents. Whatever's going on in her head, it'll be a non-factor come Saturday night, and it's clear as day that Luz has no plans of ending the year without becoming SCW United States Champion for a third time... and, with any luck, this time she can make the reign last for a long time to come.

[CowgirlsFromHell]

Cowgirls Forever, Forever Cowgirls Part VI: Crumbling Down

OOC: I'd say good luck, but a first defence in a five way... I am the one who needs it haha