Post by hayden on Apr 25, 2021 22:56:52 GMT -5
Thank you for responding so promptly. We will see you at Lights Out #43 Miss Willow. We look forward to seeing you in action once again.
She blinked, finding it difficult to swallow the lump in her throat as she read those words again and again. She had done it. Despite the nightmares that followed her for weeks after her last venture into Union Battleground, she had willingly chosen to return. To come back to the place where she nearly lost it all.
She could feel the goosebumps along her skin, the hair standing up on the back of her neck. Why? Why had she chosen to return, when she still bore the scars of her last battle there? Why did she have to go back?
Therapy.
It was a mutual decision. Danny had suggested she speak to someone, and despite her attempts to convince him otherwise, she needed to speak to someone qualified. Someone to help her make sense of these fears and worries. And with Danny fighting in a kumite and a tournament soon, not to mention his own responsibilities as Union and Trench War Champion, she didn’t want to tear his focus from those. Even though he would move mountains at her request, she couldn’t bear the thought of handicapping him in the slightest.
So, therapy it was. Two sessions a week.
She recalled how she felt in those moments after the match. The helplessness, her mind screaming at her to defend herself but her body too worn down. Her hands subconsciously moved to her face, tracing over the scar that Miles Lucky had given her. She remembered just how… how scared she felt at that moment. How sure she was that she was going to die, that Miles Lucky would make good on his promise and take her face. As the glass dragged along her flesh, all she could do was scream. Scream in terror at her fate.
So the first session went well.
But repeated trips helped her with her nightmares. She could accept her feelings of helplessness and forgive herself rather than stay angry. She could begin to heal, which led to this moment. Being able to return to Union, they reasoned, would show Karen that she was no longer plagued by the past. If she could come to Union and wrestle without an incident occurring, it would be the final step in her healing.
And if it didn’t, well, then they would have more work to do. But it was important to go back and give it a genuine chance.
Letting out a low sigh, Karen pushed away from the computer, getting to her feet. The nerves were getting to her now that it was official, the announcement of her return imminent. Would people care that Karen Willow was coming back to Union? Would they want her blood, like many wanted during her match against Miles? So many questions and worries filled her mind as she wandered aimlessly, ending up standing in front of the pool outside. Staring down at her own reflection.
“Funny, isn’t it? How you come back to the very thing that you hated, the very thing you swore you would avoid. Doesn’t matter if it’s a month or a year or however long, eventually everyone comes back around to the thing that hurts them.
I mean, I’m a prime example. It’s crazy to think that I’m ready to come back to Union after what happened. Miles got the match he wanted, but it didn’t end after the bell. No, I had the audacity to come close, closer than he thought I would, closer than anybody thought. I was arrogant enough to think I could win.”
She crouches down, managing to balance on her feet even as she wraps her arms around her legs.
”I really did think that I could walk out as Union Champion. I mean, why else come into enemy territory and take on Miles Lucky? Why come to Union if I didn’t think I stood a chance?
That’s what gets me, Jack. You have all this tape, you have all of Karen Willow’s history at your disposal, and you missed something that was obvious.”
Karen exhales slowly as she gets back to a standing position, looking up into the afternoon sky. Not a single cloud on sight as the sun shines brightly, the glow lighting up Karen’s face.
”I don’t need to know your history with Miles Lucky to wrestle you. I don’t need to know your past accomplishments, your accolades, I don’t care about your win-loss record, because ultimately it doesn’t matter one bit. Anybody can be beaten on any day, and you need only look at Miles Lucky’s first and last matches in Union to understand that thought process.
I’ve been down this very road, Jack. I’ve been in this very position, having to play the role of stand in while someone tries to do what their predecessor couldn’t. Bryan couldn’t beat Danny, so Miles had to beat me. Miles lost his first match, so you have to win at my expense. You two aren’t just cut from the same cloth, you two were cut from the same piece of thread, fractions of millimeters away from one another. You follow in his footsteps so much I could believe you’re placing your foot in the imprints he left, so it stands to reason that you would think you can come into Union and hand me a loss. To hear you talk about it, you’d think it’s already a done deal.
You look at NVR and see an albatross I willingly placed around my neck. You think I’m fine wallowing in the muck, the best option in a company of.. what, rejects? Castaways? Whatever metaphor or allusion you can come up with, know that I’m not representing NVR in this match. I am not “NVR Representative Karen Willow”, I’m my own woman. I’m not carrying the NVR Title into this, I’m not wearing NVR merch, nothing about me coming into this match involves NVR, so do me a favor and let that die. Miles did this song and dance before, and honestly, that should have been the last I ever heard about it.
But I know you. I know you and Miles are connected, which means that same hyperfixation he had? You have. You will focus on the most minute of details and hammer them, and hammer them, until you’ve blown it up into gigantic proportions… and then you leave. You move on, not caring how your actions affect someone else. You don’t know me, but you mention NVR and Danny. You think you have a reason and a right because we have a match and Danny’s made his feelings about NVR known. You don’t care if it causes arguments and fights, you don’t care how it affects us, because your only concern is you. Your match. Your thoughts about it. You you you. That’s all your concerned about.”
Karen rolls her eyes, biting at the corner of her lip as she looks back down. Her reflection is right there to meet her, undisturbed by the wind or a ripple in the water. The face that looks back is one of determination as she continues on.
“And I might just be wasting my breath here. I may just be shouting into the wind, but I don’t think so. If you’re anything like Miles, if you share any sort of similarity with him, I know you’re watching this right now because it’s about you. It’s about Jack, so I know you’re watching me right now, probably with an amused smile on your face as you prop your feet on the countertop. You’re scoffing, you’re saying I don’t get it, that I couldn’t understand. I know because I’ve heard it before, and the only difference here is that Miles had two titles when he said it.
Well Miles Lucky found out that I’m more of a fight than he expected. Miles Lucky found out just how far I’m willing to go and how deep I’m willing to dig in order to win, and I can promise you Jack, you’ll see that firsthand. He couldn’t keep me away from Union despite his best efforts, and these scars on my face say that I survived my first match. I may have been beaten, I may have been marked forever, but goddammit, I’m still standing and I am coming back.
So Jack, give me everything you got. Be willing to go that extra step, be ready to put me down for a ten count just to be sure. Because I’ve shown Union what I can do when a title’s on a line.
But now? Now, it’s personal.”
Karen continues to stare at the reflection in the pool, letting out a deep exhale as her body relaxes. The last image we see is Karen’s reflection disappear as she walks back into the house.