Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2021 19:30:48 GMT -5
- Prologue -
August 31st, Two-Thousand Twenty-One -
There wasn't much of a backstage area to speak of at the TopGolf complex in Las Vegas. So fighters set to compete in Level Up Wrestling's Devil May Cry event had to make do with the luxury suites adjoining MGM Grand hotel.
The time, locally, was just past 7 in the evening. The pay-per-view was about to start just as the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon. There was a buzz in the air from the fans in attendance. They had never seen a wrestling ring and chairs set up on a driving range before. This new federation, still less than a year old, was going out of its way to stand out boldly, beautifully. So too were the competitors who were ready and all-too-willing to put their bodies on the line. Big names from legends to promising young rookies packed a stacked card that night.
From the fans to the wrestlers, to the ring crews and the behind-the-scenes staff who worked so hard to coordinate and to put on this show, they all understood one thing:
Tonight was going to be a night of memories.
Some hearts would be filled with joy. Others would be broken.
In one of the aforementioned MGM Grand suites was a relatively young woman who carried with her the label of being Level Up's first and so far only Final Boss champion. As far as being threatening, her appearance was deceiving: short, thin; more ink in her skin than printed on the pages of a New York phonebook. By appearances alone, no one would have guessed that the silver-haired girl with the mako emerald eyes would be rounding out the evening with an attempt to accumulate her third defense and to solidify herself as one of the most dominant champions of all time.
But the test still ahead of her was perhaps one of her most significant yet.
Magdalena Marie Lockheart knew that she had to wrap her wrist tape a little tighter, that she'd have to yank on her bootstraps to snug them up just that little bit extra tight tonight because she was going to war. She had no reservations that her opponent, the massive, towering, bullishly strong E.A. Blizzard, was going to use his strengths to whip her around the ring like a ragdoll in a few hours' time. She felt she had to prepare for the worst because with a man as determined and as idealistic as Blizzard that is precisely what she expected to get.
But what she didn't expect was a knock on her hotel room door interrupting her prematch ritual.
Knock Knock Knock
"Is that you, Lonny?"
Three knocks, again, a second time. They knocked so loudly that she thought it might be the police trying to break down her door.
Maggie groaned and rolled her eyes as she pushed herself up to answer the door. Her head had been killing her again recently, so she stopped to pop a couple of Vicodin pills from the orange bottle on a side table before finding out whomever it was that thought it a good idea to disturb her.
Knock Knock Knock
"Hold on!" she grumbled.
She unhooked the chain and slid back the deadbolt. She slammed the doorhandle down from the inside and yanked the door open. With gritted teeth, she flared at the incessant knocker.
"Listen Brisco, I told you for the last time-"
But as she glanced up at them, it wasn't Lenny Brasco at all.
::: 6/10 Studios Presents :::
MML.2021.018a -
Heaven in our Memory (Part 1)
Heaven in our Memory (Part 1)
Some say time travel isn't real, and yet we do it all the time.
Clocks tick tirelessly into the future as our memories fade like the past. Maggie's eyes widened like the full moon when she saw who it was that was standing on the other side of that doorway, her past a specter ready to greet her once more.
"Maggie-" the woman with the dark hair and tattoos to match Maggie's said.
"Amber?" Maggie's jaw agape at the sight of her ex-girlfriend. "What are you doing here?"
Amber Caldwell, a former employee of Maggie's, back when she was the owner of the Paper Street Tattoo Company in Inwood, reached through the threshold to take her former squeeze, the Final Boss, by her wrist. "We've come to get you out of here."
Maggie reacted with a bit of a double-take. "We? Who's we?"
Out in the hallway and from the side, another person stepped forward. This time it was a man, who was among the most well-dressed in Vegas, decked out in a three-piece suit with a label that cost more than some people's homes. The smell of chocolate pipe tobacco radiated from him.
"Doc?"
It was Maggie's doctor, Dr. Theodore Gordon, who like Maggie was proven to be one of the best in his profession. "Good evening, Miss Lockheart. Now if you would be so kind as to join us."
To say Lockheart was stunned to see the two of them would be an understatement, considering the last time that she spoke to either was quite some time ago; and it didn't end particularly well. She was shocked as Amber continued to pull on her by the wrist while Gordon seemed complicit in her behavior. Maggie quickly put a stop to it, however, by planting her feet firm and pulling her arm free.
"What in the hell are you doing?" Maggie asked.
When Amber had realized that Maggie wasn't going to leave the MGM Grand so easily, she welcomed herself into the suite with her hands on her hips. Perhaps one of, if not the nation's leading neurosurgeon followed along as if he owned the place, too.
Maggie was none too happy.
"I think I made myself perfectly clear Mags," Am said as she stopped and turned on a dime in one of the far corners of the room. "You're not doing this. So get undressed or whatever it is you need to do, but we're leaving Vegas... tonight."
Hold up. Leave Vegas? Surely Amber couldn't be serious.
She's the Final Boss champion. The highest title there is. Maggie couldn't just walk out, shirk her responsibilities, take her ball and go home. It didn't work like that. So many people had already paid to witness a fight tonight. So many people were already expecting to see the answer to the question if Lockheart could dig down deep enough, maybe tap into some darker force to slay the beast known as the best-for-business businessman.
But that's just it, isn't it?
Maggie shook her head vehemently. "Nuh-uh, ain't no way in hell that I'm fucking leaving 'till the jobs done." She turned to Gordon who had meandered over towards the floor-to-ceiling window. "And what are you even doing here anyway?"
Gordon shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, Miss Lockheart. How about you tell us why we're here?"
"You make no fucking sense."
Theodore turned and glanced at the orange pill bottle that Maggie had left open on the table.
"When's the last time you ordered a refill, hmm?" He asked calmly. "Two days ago? Three? Bottle's half-empty already. It was a thirty-day supply."
Maggie turned and looked away. Amber crossed her arms over her chest.
Doctor Gordon continued. "Did you honestly think that just because you skip a few appointments that I'd stop keeping tabs on you? I thought that we had agreed that I'd be your Doctor, and you'd be my patient. If you're having a problem you need to tell me."
But Maggie didn't feel like they were all that concerned - that they had her best interest at heart. Instead, she felt attacked.
"And you two decide, what, a couple hours before I'm set to go on that you're going to come in and try to ruin my career?"
"You're having the headaches again, aren't you?" Amber chimed in, trying to come across as a bit more calm and reassuring to ease the tension in the room. "That's not a good sign, baby. You can't be-"
"Please don't call me that."
Maggie's voice went cold. It was almost as if the lights in the room grew a little dimmer - the air a little thicker and harder to breathe.
"Don't call you what?" Am asked.
Lockheart closed the distance between them and pointed a finger aimed at her chest.
"Every time, every... time that I have tried to show you even the slightest bit of affection since your Mother died you never fucking hesitated to stop me, dismiss me, or correct me outright. So don't try to force your way into my room out of the thin blue and start with that baby shit."
Amber's jaw dropped so far that it almost hit the floor. Maggie continued.
"We've been done for months now. Done. Fin-eto. Finished." Lockheart lowered her head. "...you told me as much on several occasions and I was always too stupid to fucking hear it."
Yet being the type of woman that Amber was, she wasn't about to give up so easily. She doubled down, placed her hand on Maggie's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, even at a time when it seemed like Maggie was about to blow.
"Maggie, I'm sorry," Amber replied, "I tried to leave you a message. What I said to you in that bar that night. You were only trying to reach out to me to start over. I was the one that was being stupid."
Lockheart looked up at her.
"The bar?" She chuckled. "What about that night on the front porch? With the red-head? What's her name again?"
Amber pursed her lips.
"Well, I could say the same thing with you running around Lucy again. Isn't that why you suddenly popped back up in UGWC?"
Maggie didn't say a word. In her mind, she had reasoned that wasn't going to dignify that comment with a response.
"I mean, we can do this all night," Amber finally added, breaking the silence between the three of them, "Anything but having you step in the ring with that madman."
"Oh, is that why he's here?" Maggie pointed over to Gordon. "Was that your big plan? Reason with me first, and when I refuse, have him pull my medical clearance?"
Maggie started chuckling yet again. Both Amber and Gordon seemed confused.
"Well, jokes on you cause Gordon doesn't work for Level Up anymore." Maggie said.
"I know." Am replied.
"Gordon can't do shit," Maggie added. "And even if he could, he has no authority in UGWC or Revo."
"Revo?" Gordon asked. "You're in three federations?"
Amber shook her head.
"Jesus Christ Maggie," Am scoffed. "You can't keep doing this. You can't run around putting a mask on and popping pills trying to get into every fight you can find pretending that this is all alright-"
"Why can't I?"
Maggie's question was as loud as it was sharp and pointed. Gordon didn't feel comfortable and felt more like the third wheel in an argument that seemed all too familiar to the other two.
"You never seemed to care before-"
"You're killing yourself, Maggie!" Amber shot back. "And I'm not going to stand for it, because I care!"
"That's not what you said a few months ago," she responded.
Amber growled.
"You stayed in Baltimore while my mother was dying. You refused to even drive back up to New York with me-"
"I wasn't allowed to go-"
"Horseshit-" Amber shouted, "You're probably not even close to being medically cleared to fight tonight but that isn't stopping you now... is it?"
Gordon finally chimed in. "That's because Level Up doesn't really give a shit about her, Miss Caldwell. Pardon my French, but it doesn't seem like you two ladies would be the type so easily offended."
Both Maggie and Amber rolled their eyes at him at the same time. Maggie turned back to Amber and shook her head.
"I'm not leaving," She said. "I've got a job to do, and even if it kills me, I'm gonna fucking do it."
Amber sighed.
"What about the tattoo parlor?" She asked, having run out of options. "I thought you wanted to start a new one up... or at least get Paper Street back going again?"
Maggie shrugged.
"I invested that money," she replied. "You told me no, so I got tired of waiting. For once in my damn life I went out and finally did something for myself. Is that such a crime?"
"No Maggie," Amber shook her head. "This... all this? This Jenova bullshit you keep telling yourself... that you keep feeding all of those people out there... it's been nothing but selfish."
Amber motioned to the Doctor to follow her, as the two headed back for the door. Amber stopped and glanced back over her shoulder in the doorway.
"Take care of yourself out there tonight, Maggie. That's always been what you were best at."
- Promotional -
"It's almost a fucking joke at this point."
Present day. The actions of three weeks ago already growing older in the record books.
The best part about time is that time continues to move on regardless. Choices all-too-quickly become memories, both for the bad and for the good. Even with all of the time in the world there's absolutely none left over with which to dwell on the things that can no longer change. Moving on is sometimes the best thing we can do, even if it's the only thing we can ever do.
Maggie Lockheart's moving on with the Final Boss championship still over one shoulder, and a chip on the other. Her mirrored aviator sunglasses show the face of backstage interviewer Lenny Brasco, chomping at the bit to plug LevelUpShop.com as soon as he can get a word in while the cameras are rolling.
"D'aww, look on the bright side, CHAMP-" Lenny said with a big smile, the microphone in his hand held between the two of them, technically, but much closer to his own lips than hers. "The more multiplayer matches you're in, the more opportunities you have to improve your record."
"...or make it worse..."
"That too." He nodded his head. "But hey, listen, you've got a star-studded cast this week and you're up against the Time-Jumpers and who they claim is their future momma... damn shame Delivery Girl had to bounce."
"Yeah," Maggie sighed almost dismissively. "Not much like I really care, though. I mean, the Delivery Girl situation does suck... hate to lose good talent like that."
"And also, you've had three weeks to rest up, I guess, since EAB really did a number on you back at Devil May Cry-"
Maggie shook her head.
"I don't rest, Lonny," She replied. "Plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead."
"Haha, ain't that the truth!" He chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "You're just like LevelUpShop.com.. Always open, always up, always running! Twenty-four seven, three-sixty-five! That's what I always say!"
I told you about the plug.
Maggie rolled her eyes even though Brasco couldn't actually see her do it.
"Hey, do you mind if I... I dunno... actually talk about the match here a little bit?" She asked.
"Oh, sure thing, Champ." Brasco smiled and moved the microphone over to her lips, only to immediately pull it back. "I mean, after three defenses, a perfect four-for-four in Pay-per-view victories, Final Boss since almost day one... you've more than earned it!"
He then puts the microphone back up to her face.
"Thanks," she replied sarcastically. "I mean, I just want to talk a little bit about the Time Jumpers."
Maggie peels back her sunglasses with one hand and takes the microphone from Lenny with the other. She peers over into the camera lens to reveal that she still has the remnants of a black eye, as well as a busted nose all thanks to Ragdoll.
"Now before I begin, I just wanna say, that I'm not going to be the type to come out and dismiss you girls being from the future." Maggie said as she tucked her sunglasses away hanging them on the collar of her shirt. "A lot of crazy shit goes down that I don't know anything about. Time travel. Multiverses. Hell, fucking Waluigis running around the damn place. I'm not going to stand here and tell Ciela Luiz and Makayla Vayden that they're clearly full of shit... because the way I see it... we're all clearly full of shit."
"No no, please don't mistake me with the prejudicial assumption that I would look down my nose at any on this roster. The truth is, it doesn't matter if you're from the future or from Outer Space trying to head to or from the Andromeda galaxy or whatever. What matters is now. Right here, right now. And I know what type of match this six-person multiplayer looks like on the surface but I also know that the three champions, hell, we're in for a fight. You see, everyone but the Time Jumpers thinks that the Final Boss, the Power Champion, and the Courage Champion are just going to have a fun time and a field day with an established team. But the Time Jumpers, they're not here because they're from the future. They're here because they can fight. And they very much are that established team."
"Looks can be deceiving so I just want to say that I do see you, Ciela... Makayla. And I also want to thank Estrella Luiz for stepping up and stepping in. I'd like to be the first to welcome you to our humble little place and I look forward to seeing how you and your future girls fight. Me? I've always been less of a team player rather than more and yet I always seem to end up in these sorts of situations."
"Odd."
"But I know when the music hits and it's time to waltz out there that... quite honestly... I don't know what I have standing next to me... besides talent. I know it's Duncan RyderShepard and I know that it's Queen Machine Jenny. I know that they are proven talents... but I also know that you three are, too."
'And that's what's on the line this time. A little bragging rights... and a lot to prove."
"So I won't lie. I'm beat up and I'm worn out... what else is new? I don't trust Jenny or Duncan or anyone as far as I can pick up and throw Grauman's Chinese Theater. But that's no knock on them, because I don't trust you three, nor anyone in that locker room... nor do I trust the trainers in the back or the staff for that matter. I've had the biggest target on my back for so long that I don't know how to do anything else but to walk into an EXP prepared for anything less than all our war... I do hope that's what the future brings because you ladies wouldn't want to disappoint me."
"I'll fight all three of you myself if I had to. And do you know why? That's just the nature of the beast... that's just who I am. I always take on all challengers and when I'm finished I tell them:"
"Look at what you just made me do... every time."
