Shoopuf

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

These employer/employee interactions were never Fiona's favorite to deal with, and she'd gotten the sense by now that Gordon was interested in business above all else. Everyone in management was that way to some degree, but with Gordon Fiona felt like he got more entertainment out of seeing social media numbers climb following a match rather than the match itself. The wrestlers on the roster were all a means to that end for him.

"That's great. As you can see," Fiona said, "we've been spending every free moment training and getting ready. Last month was a wild ride, but I know I'm not wasting any time looking back. Just looking forward, to the next opportunities."

She glanced over at her partner, not catching any of the irritation she'd shown for just the briefest moment, before looking back to Gordon. "If NMW's getting started with tag competition like everyone's been saying, we want to be at the forefront of that for the women's division. We've got experience working together already, and I think we'll get a good amount of crowd support, too." She was never sure how aggressive to be in her requests for the spotlight, but it felt like confidence was the right approach, even when she had to feign it. There was no room for the meek and the soft-spoken in a pro wrestling roster.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

It felt to Fiona like she was perpetually either going to or coming from a workout. In this case, Defiant Dream had just finished their morning session, training to keep themselves in the best possible shape, with a focus on conditioning to make sure they'd both have the stamina to keep themselves in grueling matches. They would hit the ring in the afternoon to work on their tag team techniques and practice different strategies. Fighting as a duo came with a different set of challenges, and as a rookie Fiona found herself unprepared for some of them. Growing pains were to be expected for a young, inexperienced pair, but Fiona was hopeful they could come out looking much more dangerous under the new NMW brand.

There was a real opportunity here for them to make a name for themselves. Not everyone was interested in pursuing the tag team titles, some feeling that it would hinder or prevent them from going for the more presigious singles gold. Not everyone could work well enough with another wrestler in an environment where individual glory was so important. Fiona doubted the likes of Raven Veyn and Isabella Cadiz would bother with tag teams, and that made it seem tantalizingly possible to get some championship gold around her waist for the first time.

Of course, there was a twin-shaped hurdle they needed to clear first. On the women's side of things, it remained to be seen what teams would form and what new talent would be signed, but the most obvious challengers to the tag titles were Abby and Aubrey, the Beatifics. Defiant Dream's old NMWW nemeses were deadly in tag competition, with unmatched teamwork that let them run circles around their opponents, and often the referee as well. If Fiona and Kendra wanted those titles, they were going to have to go through them at some point.

With September's first show looming, Fiona was unsurprised to find herself missing from the match card. An exhausting August meant she needed time to recover, and time for the audience to miss seeing her in the ring. But when both she and Kendra got the call for a meeting with Gordon, it got her hopes up that they'd be getting involved sooner rather than later. Kendra especially had been forced to wait too long, and was eager to finally get another match.

They got to Gordon's office a few minutes early, still in their workout gear having just finished up in the training center. Sitting in the waiting chairs just outside the door, Fiona anxiously tapped a finger on the wooden arm rest, at least until Gordon came ambling around the corner.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. McKinney," she greeted, getting to her feet. "How are you?"

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona had been thinking something similar. The first two months of NMW had seen steady and significant growth in viewership and fans, and it was clear that the brand was off and running successfully. That was bound to entice new talent to want to sign, and it gave management greater resources to bring people in. So while Fiona was surging in popularity at the moment, it wouldn't be long before more competition arrived to try to muscle their way in and knock her down a peg.

"Most of my headaches are already here," she pointed out, thinking about the Beatifics, Ash, Shin, Tanya, all women that had fiercely opposed her and weren't about to stop now. "Maybe they go for one of the weirder ones from NMWW, Scato or Shadow Claw or someone they know won't align with us." She felt confident she could handle either of them given how much she'd improved, though.

"Honestly, I'm more worried they'll hire more of the old CSW roster, to give Raven some backup." With the men's title not going the way the Deguaras wanted, Fiona felt like they'd be eager to keep the women's title secure in the meantime. "She's terrifying on her own, but with a faction following her orders? It'd be hard to keep them from ruling the whole division."

Raven didn't seem like an easy woman to get along with, but her success was bound to make some leeches want to attach themselves to her for their own benefit. Cronies looking to advance their own careers by getting on her good side. That was the last thing Fiona wanted to deal with right now.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Kendra was definitely right about that. Fiona figured the Deguaras wanted Mihailo to hold down the title until Carlo was ready to take over and be champion. After the way their match in the tournament went, he definitely wasn't there yet, as he hadn't even put up a fight against the giant. Wyatt had thrown a wrench into their plans by winning, and while they couldn't openly steal his title without royally pissing off his legion of fans, Fiona assumed they were going to make it seriously difficult to hang on to. She guessed Jay would probably have to defend his title much sooner and more frequently than Raven would. All the more reason to try to make friends and help him out, she thought.

That and, I mean... he's really easy to like and root for. Easy to look at, too. NOT telling Kendra that, of course. Ugh, it's probably obvious, isn't it?

"We should be thinking about what's coming up for us, right?" she proposed, shoving the unwanted thoughts out of her head. "With the singles titles decided, it won't be long before we can show everyone all about the Defiant Dream. I know you're ready. They sure made you wait long enough."

She didn't hide her annoyance about that. Only one match for Kendra in the first two months of NMW, and it was against a complete nobody. Fiona knew from all the training they'd done that Kendra had improved greatly from last year, that she'd come back from her injury even stronger, but she couldn't prove that if they never gave her a real opponent.

"Got a feeling the Deguaras won't want me to have another match right away, not after the tournament run, but I think the odds are good you'll get something soon here, maybe even before they let us get in there as a team."

Fiona wondered if they'd even want her ringside for Kendra's next match, whenever it arrived. After the way the Shin match ended, they'd seemed none too pleased with the interference, especially with her boneheaded request to sit ringside for the fight to determine her opponent. Either way, she was confident in Kendra's ability.

Just like her tournament run, Defiant Dream was ready to surprise the NMW world.

Word association Game!

Deceptions!

the alphabet game. lol

Plato

Word association Game!

Knuckles

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

For the first part of the event, Fiona stewed on the couch with her feet up, reacting as little as possible while watching Raven claim the title, the silence between her and Kendra almost uncomfortable. The men's title match got her sitting up straight, however, and before long Fiona was on her feet, pacing around the room and shouting at her TV like Jay and Mihailo could hear her. She was almost comically animated, wincing with each huge hit Jay took, hands on her head when it seemed like it was over, jumping with renewed energy all the times the Astro Kid battled his way back, then finally letting out a long "woo!" with her fists extended towards the ceiling with the dramatic finish.

She beamed at Kendra. "He did it!" After the way their last fight went, Fiona had her doubts, but Jay Wyatt pulled off the upset. Inspirational was right on the money from Dan Rich; Fiona felt like Jay competed the right way, the way she wanted to. He went through a rollercoaster ride of trials, but he learned and improved every step of the way, and tonight slayed a giant that previously looked unbeatable. Seeing him celebrating, suddenly taking down Raven Veyn someday didn't seem so impossible to Fiona.

She collapsed back onto the couch with a tired sigh, clearly satisfied with the way the show had ended. "What a match..." Just watching it had been exhausting. She could only imagine how Jay was feeling. "Score one for the good guys!"

Katarina tended to her fallen brother, as shocked as anyone that he'd lost, and showing no small amount of anger towards the departing Jay Wyatt. Fiona couldn't help but wonder if he'd need anyone to watch his back. Part of being the champ was having the whole roster gunning for you, after all.

But that was an idea for another day. For now Fiona was just happy to feel refreshed by Jay's victory, motivated to keep taking on anyone that wanted to stop her rise. Doesn't matter how many times I get knocked down, as long as I keep getting back up. I'll have my own storybook showing someday.

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

In the days leading up to the Las Vegas show, the place where the championship belts would be handed out for the first time, Fiona told herself she was looking forward to having a Friday night to recover. Finally knocked out of the tournament, Fiona sorely needed the time to rest physically, but as she watched Elina and Raven battle it out, she knew she'd trade the pajamas she had on for shiny ring attire in a heartbeat. Her quick ascent into NMW meant she'd never had a chance to fight in a real title match, not even at the independent level. The closest she'd come was battling Shin Choon-hee for NMWW's rookie of the year roughly twelve months ago. Feeling the hype of the crowd through the TV, she had to imagine that what she'd experienced wasn't anything close.

Of course, it probably would've ended up with her absorbing another Taken To Hell, like Elina did. Raven was a cut above every other woman on the roster, and this tournament proved it. The belt practically looked like it was made for her, the No Mercy grinning skull right at home with the rest of the Goth Queen's getup. Her celebration was emphatic, authoritative. There was no shock, no disbelief, no catharsis of anxiety lifting off her shoulders.

Raven had the look of a woman who knew she was going to win when the tournament started. I told you so, was the closest way Fiona could come to translating her expression.

She'd been a storm of emotions since losing the steel cage match a week ago. On the one hand, every NMW fan knew her name now, she wasn't just some promising youngster with potential anymore, she was seen as a rising star on the women's side of the roster. Management wasn't going to run her into the ground with matches, but the fans were going to want to see her in the ring regularly. Opportunities to keep building her reputation were well on their way.

On the other hand... losing to Raven the way she did injected her with a dose of doubt. She told herself that Raven did that to pretty much every woman she entered the ring with, but even so, she felt like she didn't stand a chance against her once it was a one-on-one. If she ever wanted a title, she was going to have to take her on, or someone similar, without any help. That was a mountain she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to climb. For now, she could only keep fighting and defeating the matches put in front of her, but that got her thinking about her path through the tournament. A first round battle marred by interference (a match she was struggling in at the time), and a narrow victory against Tanya Redd, who was strong on paper but never seemed to live up to her own hype. The sooner I can get back in the ring, the better. Need a good, clean win to prove that being top three in this tournament wasn't a fluke.

Then there was the men's side of things. Though she wasn't involved in any of the alliances and rivalries brewing there yet, Fiona found herself heavily invested in the hero versus villain, David versus Goliath story that had emerged from their tournament...

💀 NO MERCY WRESTLING LEGENDS 💀

Fiona knew she couldn't make any more mistakes, so when Raven was able to muscle out of her DDT and get her hands on her, she knew it was over. The spinebuster probably would've been enough, but only an iconic finisher would do for Raven, a statement made. This wasn't even about Fiona anymore, not really. She was just the one unlucky enough to be used in a demonstration meant for Elina.

She was already mostly limp across Raven's back before absorbing her Taken To Hell finisher for the first time, the massive stunner leaving her sprawled out on the mat in a spread eagle, face up and eyes closed, not moving at all except for her exhausted breathing. Raven stood tall over her thoroughly defeated opponent, looking significantly stronger than Elina at ringside despite the match leaving her battered and bleeding. All the adoration of the crowd was on the Queen of the Goths right now, who was set to move on to the title match despite being ganged up on in this triple threat.

"And it's just a formality from here," Dan Rich commentated, barely audible over the crowd's cheering. "Raven can join Elina ringside at her leisure, Fiona Chevalier is not getting up after being Taken To Hell."

"She came into the match with the right strategy," Brent chimed in, "but when it came down to it, Elina made the necessary moves to escape. I still think Fiona should've turned on her when she had the chance. Not that it would've mattered, she is not in the same league as Raven Veyn. Not yet, anyway."

Rhonda nodded her agreement. "She'll come back stronger, I'm sure, but it may take her a while to recover from this one. Always tough when you pour your heart into something and then come away with nothing."

She doesn't belong here! She doesn't belong here! The words echoed in Fiona's mind, the mat shaking slightly as Raven left her behind to start climbing the fence. Despite telling herself before the match that she'd already achieved a great result just by being here when so many other women fell short, the words still cut deep. She came up with the right plan, she managed to work together with a rival throughout the match, two-on-one the whole time, and what was the result? She was destroyed, her limbs feeling heavy as lead, proving she literally wasn't half the wrestler Raven was. The whole NMW fanbase watched as Raven climbed to the top of the cage, and Fiona didn't even stir. Maybe she was tough enough for the likes of Tanya Redd, but Raven shattered her tonight.

Her rollercoaster ride of a Rubicon Gauntlet delivered some incredible highs and boosts to her young career, but it was ending with a brutal reminder of how far she still needed to go if she wanted to be a real contender for the women's title belt.