Nobody's Darlings

[AshCandor]

Don't let 'em know that I'm tired.
Don't tell 'em this is all that's left.
Say soon I'll be back beside her.
Tell my girl I love her best.

-Anjalee, Lucero

[OFF CAMERA]

Salem closed the door on the SUV that Nina Stokes had bought her for her birthday last year. She looked a little disheveled, sunglasses and leather jacket clad. She dragged her overnight case behind her on its wheels up the remainder of the driveway and bounced it up the brick steps that wound around to the side entrance of her home in Toronto. It was the morning after her big Mid-Atlantic Legacy title win in FGA, and truth be told she was pretty spent. Fumbling with her keys she entered to no lights on, leaving the case by the door as she shuffled through the house not wanting to bang her leg into anything. She made her way down the main hallway. Just then two small yet rough textured hands covered her face from behind, pulling her down to a stoop. A slightly gravely whisper deviously played at her ear.

“Where is it… let me see it.”

“Um..hold on.”

Salem backtracked to her case while the little imp clung to her, her hands warm. Salem unzipped a flap and extracted what she sought.

“Bring it here, closer. Let’s have some light.”

The smaller woman darted to the nearest lamp and flicked it on. Salem walked forward with a slight limp and held up the belt, shining as it did in the soft glow of the lamp.

“Happy, Arty?”

“Am I happy? What a silly question, of course I am! The question is, are you? I mean, you did it. You. Did. It. My witch is the FGA Mid-Atlantic Legacy Champion! Come here, you!”

Artemis leapt into her arms like the spry little demon she was, Salem letting out a small beleaguered grunt. Artemis clung to her like a spider monkey and peppered her face with kisses.

“Hey… I missed you too!”

Salem laughed for a bit before growing silent, and then dropped down to the floor on her knees, dropping the belt with a clatter.

“I’m… I’m more relieved than anything. Three times… three times competing for this and finally…”

“FINALLY! You know things happen at the appropriate time, even though it might not make any sense at the time. All of your slip ups and ordeals were preparing you for this moment… to finally be a champion in Frontier Grappling Arts. I’m so goddamn proud of you, Salem.”

Artemis pulled back to look at Salem’s face, as she pulled off the sunglasses and tossed them aside. Artemis was met with glistening wet raccoon eyes, black smudges running down the porcelain face of her wife. Salem’s tears continued to roll as she shrugged and smiled and coughed.

“You know, I’ve been real good about all this, Arty. I guess there’s a reason I pick to fall apart now, in your arms. You hold my pieces and put me back together again, don’t ya?”

Artemis looked her over and pressed her lips together, as if deep in thought.

“As if I needed a reason to hold all of your pieces, Salem. You’re a pretty fetching witch, don’t ya know? Besides, you didn’t fall off Annie Zellor’s wall, Humpty Dumpty. You knocked it down and took what you wanted.”

Artemis glanced over at the belt, winking at her. Salem exhaled and hugged her tight.

“Well, I guess that’s the thing about walls sometimes, eh? Sometimes they knock back. I didn’t sleep all that great last night. Maybe the adrenaline masked the pain, but I’m definitely getting that next day soreness right about night. Annie gave me one heck of a fight. I just want to get in my bed and sleep forever. I can breathe now, mission accomplished.”

Salem laid back on the floor, making angels. Artemis looked at the belt again and then frowned slightly, tapping her on the belly.

“Still, you know the only thing harder than winning a championship is defending it and keeping it around your waist, right? You were victorious in that particular battle, but the war rages on. The mission isn’t over.”

Salem puffed out some air and blew her bangs back.

“Yeah, yeah… I know. It’s the endless cycle. Bullseye on me now, hunter becomes hunted. Cliché-O-rama. I just need a moment to hibernate and revitalize my energies, woman! Let me sleep and I’ll fight anybody soon enough. If Annie wants a rematch, or Dom trying to complete that Grand Slam of titles in FGA, or…”

“…Or Izzy Anders? She’ll always say she’s the greatest MAL champion and if you even come close to duplicating what she did, she might come right at you. I know she’s always a sore subject between us but…”

Artemis’ phone was buzzing in her pocket and she pulled it out to look at it.

“Oh my god.”

Salem sat up on an elbow.

“What is it, babe?”

“Nothing… except that your FGA World Champion just walked out of the company and took his belt with him. Guess he feels he has no more challenges there….”

“Wait… what?!?”

Salem looked at Artemis’ phone with a since of disbelief.

“Zero… Zero frickin’ McHannon. Leave it to him to do something like this. Ugh. I mean, I try so hard to respect the hell out of that guy. Inside a ring he’s as tough and as seasoned as anyone. But to just go home because he’s got nothing left to prove? I know I can’t feel what someone else feels inside their skin, that just wouldn’t sit right with me. But I guess I can’t say much, I’m not a three-time World Champion in FGA. But I can say this…. I’m going to bed.”

Salem rolled Artemis off of her and began to shuffle off to the stairs heading to their bedroom on the second floor. She looked back at Artemis with a wink.

“You know… you’re welcome to join me.”

--

Noon as dark as midnight

The judge is down the road

Now walk with me

Just a little while

I'm just too weak on my own

-‘Noon as Dark as Midnight’, Lucero

[OFF CAMERA]


The next morning Salem was awoken by someone jumping on her head.

“Hey! Lukas! What the heck, kid?!”

Salem sat up bolt upright staring daggers, but it was not the face of her adopted son she saw at all, but of her best friend Nina Stokes.

“Hey champ! Love you! Come downstairs and have some breakfast, will you please?”

Nina draped the belt on her shoulder and patted her on the head with a chuckle.

“It’s an adventure, Ryan’s fixing pancakes. I know it’s not cereal but this is a rarity! Come on, kiddo!”

Salem screwed up her face and stuck out her tongue.

“Do I really want to eat to eat your wife’s cooking? I’m too young to die, ma’am!”

Nina pouted and swatted her in the head with a pillow.

“Hey hey, shut up! Be nice to my baby.”

Salem sat up and rolled out of bed, stretching.

“Yeah yeah, okay. But you’re trying it first before I take one bite!”

Salem darted after Nina swinging a pillow and Nina ran off down the stairs. Salem threw on a shirt, and rubbed her eyes walking downstairs. She swung the belt loosely from her other hand as she walked into the kitchen. Lukas sat there reading a comic book as the kitchen was filled with female wrestlers. Salem just smirked at the situation as she walked over and tousled his hair.

“Oh hey guys…. What, you couldn’t being Datura along? Is she locked up somewhere?”

Ryan shot her a look, shaking her head before breaking for a slight smile.

“She isn’t feeling well. As usual. Speaking of, where is that sister of yours, Morgan?”

Salem and Artemis shared awkward looks. Salem leaned over Ryan’s shoulder looking at her handiwork on the griddle.

“Yeah… um. Morgan is staying with Arty’s brother Gage right now. Don’t ask. I’m staying out of it. As long as she… they…are both happy. I’m not judging. So shhh, okay?”

She looked at Ryan and jerked a thumb in Lukas’s direction, who was still consumed by the comic. Nina tapped Salem on the shoulder.

“Hey Sal, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, Nina.”

They walked down the hallway out of earshot.

“So Witchy, what is up with this whole Lily situation? Have you gotten any word on where your daughter might be.”

“Well, working with the private investigators, it seems they are following some weak leads. One in North Carolina, and one in New York. And Lily’s dad is helping out too. I wasn’t sure how he’d be but… yeah, he’s been a rock through this. He wants to find our daughter as badly as I do. But please, keep this under wraps, okay?”

Just then Artemis and Ryan both walked down the hall, and they circle Salem. Artemis folded her arms, and cleared her throat, beginning to speak.

“So… you went behind our backs and met with this Stephen character huh? Your so-called brother? We should all take turns kicking your butt right now. Dude could be a psycho for all you know, Salem!”

Salem frowned and shook her head.

“Yeah… no. I had to. I had to follow my gut feeling on that. I just felt that a whole crowd of wild lady wrestlers might really intimidate him. I didn’t want him to feel any more nervous than he had to, it was odd. But… after seeing him, he looks just like me. I can see the family resemblance. We had a nice long talk over coffee. He is a sweet soul, a real poet and caring person. He’s sweeter than me if you can believe that. I can’t wait for Morgan to meet him. I think she’d kick his butt on her own. But yeah, as he tells the story… he was taken away as a baby and my parents assumed that he had died in childbirth. He says he was born on a cruise ship, and I did confront mom and dad. They were indeed on a cruise at that time. The question is why did it happen? Why do I have not one but two mysteries involving my family going on right now? And I didn’t even burden him with the knowledge of Lily yet. He just met his baby sister, he still needs to meet Morgan as well as our parents. I’m not gonna hit him with ‘oh by the way I have a six year old that disappeared years ago and I’m madly searching for her’, ya know?”

Artemis tapped her foot a moment and then exhaled. She moved in and gave her a huge hug. Nina eyed Ryan and they followed suit, all of them hugging Salem. Just then little feet came running down the hall.

“Group hug? Group hug! Me too, guys! Me too!”

Lukas wrapped his arms around them too. Finally they broke and Nina and Ryan walked back down to the kitchen, playing with Lukas. Artemis hung back with Salem.

“Hey Sal, about the FGA World Championship….”

Salem’s eyes grew wide and she held up the MAL belt.

“Whoa, whoa… I just won this, don’t expect to go off trying to hunt down Zero and bring that belt of his back to…”

Artemis cut her off, shaking her head.

“That’s just it, if you weren’t busy sleeping your life away you would’ve checked your phone alerts. Zero’s out of the picture. The FGA board has decided to crown a new World Champion to clear up the vacancy of his exit. The first round is a lethal lottery tag team tournament, and the members of the winning teams will square off in the next round on the very same episode of Vertigo. The next episode! You’re in the tournament, kid!”

Salem’s jaw dropped open.

“Whoa, hold on… I have a chance to… to… become FGA World Champion too? Who’s my partner, then?”

“Nero Darling.”

“Wow, interesting. So if we win I’ll have to fight her? I haven’t really interacted with her all that much but she seems like a sweetheart. Okay then, we just have to win this match. Who are we facing?”

Artemis just held up her phone so she could see.

“Savannah Taylor… and…. Izzy Anders?!? That’s… wow. That’s gonna be tough. I mean I’ve traded wins with Savannah and…”

Artemis tapped Salem’s Mid-Atlantic Legacy belt.

“And Izzy is Izzy… and you holding this belt is just going top piss her off more, you know that. I’m glad that Nina and Ryan are here…”

Artemis cracked her knuckles.

“…after breakfast we begin a new phase of training for you. Preparation. Boot camp.”

Salem gulped.

“…Hell”

Artemis nodded with a devious smile.

--

I'd be no guest at the table of the Lord
His food was not to be mine
'Cause I cursed His name every chance that I could
And I reckon that's why I'm still alive

-The War, Lucero

[ON CAMERA]


So it comes to this, the ghosts of my Christmas past come back to haunt me once more, eh? It’s an appropriate time to do some haunting, but this is Halloween, not Christmas. It’s only Christmas for one person; whoever advances through the tag team portion of this tournament and then survives all the way to the end in order to become the new FGA World Champion. It’s not the most perfect way to establish a new champion is it? Typically we prove our worth rising up through the ranks to challenge the champion and try to unseat them. But Zero McHannon decided that he had climbed every hill and planted his flag in every mountaintop that FGA had to offer. A three-time champion with nothing left to prove here in his own mind. In some ways I can understand that…. But then I don’t think I could ever walk away as a champion, but that’s just me. I’ve never been in that position or walked in those shoes under that particular set of circumstances.

But we aren’t here to talk about Zero McHannon. Rather, we are here to talk about what his absence means for Frontier Grappling Arts going forward. He takes the World Title home with him, claiming to be a champ for life of sorts I suppose. Now that phrase champ for life makes me smile because that reminds me of my wife, Artemis Kaiser. That’s even her twitter handle. She’s as tough as nails and has held a few belts in her day. Again, we aren’t here to talk about Artemis either. As far as Izzy is concerned I’d rather keep talk of Artemis to a minimum. That’s right I learned that I’d be pairing with Nero Darling to take on Izzy Anders and Savannah Taylor. Taylor and Anders comprise one heck of a team on paper that individually have had much success in wrestling. Izzy held and defended this Mid-Atlantic Legacy title currently in my possession more than anyone. She is the gold standard as far as this belt is concerned. That’s not to say that I don’t plan on bringing my own prestige to this belt. But yet still again, we are not her to talk about the Mid-Atlantic Legacy title either, are we?

We sit here right regarding the FGA World Championship like a priceline.com hotel room desperately in need of tenants. It is a vacancy that urgently needs to be filled. And the board has seen in its infinite wisdom to not perhaps take the expected route of having a match between Sunshine Tony and Johnny Cannon to fill this championship void. No, it appears to be a season of opportunity as sixteen individuals were chosen at random to compete in wildcard lottery styled tag team matches. The reward for winning a tag match being that you have to turn around and face your very partner later on in the same evening to make it to the final four participants when this episode of Vertigo draws to a close. I tell you, the fans in Springfield, Illinois attending the Prairie Capital Convention Center will be witness to a great night of FGA action on Vertigo. Likewise for those at home watching on WGN.

But some might look at this initial matchup and feel that Nero and I are overmatched. Savannah and Izzy have both defeated me before. But it’s also worth noting that I’ve also beaten Savannah, and really the only reason Izzy beat me was because of a belt shot with this very title I hold right now. Well, the past doesn’t matter and the future is now. Maybe I’ve never teamed with Nero Darling or even hung out with the girl all that much, but I know that for as sweet as she can be, she’s got a little gangsta in her…. She’s little and fast, and her attitude is quite positive. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but I feel that we will communicate well in that ring and might pull off a few surprises for that matter. Nero’s worked hard to be a success story in that ring. I want to help her achieve that success, at least for one match. Should we win, I will gladly shake her hand and then face her and may the best woman win to advance onward. I guess we get to see how hungry we all are in this thing, don’t we?

For Savannah, it’s always something. For as celebrated as you were coming into FGA in your prior stops, life in FGA hasn’t been all wine and roses has it? You haven’t reached the heights that you thought you would, and you feel this is a perfect opportunity to capitalize and soldier on, right? Sorry, the Witch can’t go for that, no can do. The endgame of this little tournament will not be FGA World Champion Savannah Taylor. Maybe someday, but not right now. Likewise, Izzy Anders returns from her time away and I’d really rather not touch on the circumstances of why she was gone. The main takeway is now she’s back and she seems even more pissed off, if that’s possible. She wants to tear everything down, destroy FGA and see everything burn. Well that’s just a fantastic attitude isn’t it? That’s just the sort of person we need representing this company as the top dog. A champion who would rather see their company close than prosper. You’re just the dog that bites the hand that feeds it. Without wrestling, what would you be, Izzy? In these arenas you are given a stage unlike any other to let your anger and hatred boil over. If FGA closes, then what? Bar fights and arrests? Perhaps a pine box? You’re such a destructive personality. The thing is you’re so good at what you do, but you doesn’t seem to care. Winning just left you empty? Maybe you don’t have any more goals you need to achieve? Maybe I should just start calling you Izzero McAnders. If you win this whole shebang are you gonna walk away too? Do we have to start this mess all over again? I don’t want to fathom these possibilities. So I have to nip it in the bud right here, right now. For the greater good of FGA, I can’t let you advance, Izzy.

I look at Nero and myself and I jokingly call our little team Nobody’s Darlings… because I’m sure nobody gives either of us much of a chance to win this thing. Heck, Status Quo somehow managed to get in this as an actual team. If they win, I want to see that next round match. But that match is not important to me right now. Nero and Salem vs. Izzy and Savannah is the most important thing on my plate. It is front and center. Because from this point is where the path leads, and it can be a path to greater things… or it can be a short-lived dead end. Me? I want to take a good long walk. Straight through you two, and straight through the quarterfinals. I’ve got this belt, but if I have a chance to add another… the sweetest prize in all of FGA? You’d be a fool not to be excited for it. So bring your best and do your worst, ladies. With it being so close to Halloween, I think it’s time for a Witch to stand tall. With a little help initially from the Glorious Leader. And oh how they danced, the little children of Stonehenge.

‘Tis the Season.