L.A.W. - Validation: snOw / Crucify PT.1

[THE Mac Bry v2]

+ ~ Sunday. May 4th, 2014 ~ +


"That BITCH!! Did ya SEE THAT, Martha? DIDJA?! TELL ME that didn't just go down!"

It was a mere handful of moments after snOw's match with Crystal Hilton. A handful of moments after Sarah Gordon's first professional loss.

She stormed through the halls, banging her fist against the doors, the windows and the walls. She sent her boot into a trash can, hurtling it across the hallway, before letting out a primal scream. Martha Faulken, her bWo team mate as well as girlfriend, tried her best to console the enraged 'Chill Factor', but it seemed all for nought. She eventually managed to talk snOw into resting upon a chair, as she sat in snOw's lap. Martha calmly ran her fingers through Sarah's hair, trying her absolute best to coax her into letting it all go.

Martha, a gal of very few words, knew she had to say something.

"Hun... you've been distracted. You've been spreading yourself between Violet, and Aphrodite, and the health of your brother, and your relationship with your cousin raYne. You haven't been focused, you haven't had your head in the game. Everyone's been telling you that. Lucas, Crystal, even Vi."

At that last name, snOw let out a low grunt. "Don't bring her up..."

Martha shook her head softly. "Sarah, you KNOW, that underneath it all, she's still Makayla. You're the one that reminded her in the first place."

snOw took in a deep breath, before letting it go slowly. "I dunno. She sure as hell seems adament 'bout keepin' that 'Elvira, Mistress of the Dark' thing goin', maybe I oughta just LET her. Maybe I oughta just GIVE UP, toss in the towel, back off... hell, I just got my first loss thanks to some skinny lil bitch playin' possum an' gettin' a lucky roll-up. Might as well hang up the boots."

At this, Martha suddenly stopped running her fingers through snOw's hair. Her facial expression shifted from comfort to irritation. She reeled back her hand.


*SMACK!!*

Martha promptly delievered a face-reddening slap to her lover, who held a palm against her cheek, a look of absolute shock stretched across her face.

"What in the FUCK was that for?! I gotta mind tah dump you on the floor!", snOw exclaimed, glaring at the gal she adored. "What's wrong with you..."

"Sarah. Where did you go?"

"...the HELL d'ya mean, 'where did I go', yer skinny fat ass is sittin' right here in my dat gum lap, ya need a pair ah glasses or somethin'?!"

Martha sighed to herself, as a small smile creeped along her lips. She playfully rolled her eyes, before gently placing her palm against the same spot she'd just bitch-slapped snOw. She lightly tapped her hand against snOw's cheek.

"Sarah, I'm the one that should be asking 'what's wrong with you'. This isn't you. Do you remember what your brother, Tony, told you when you sat at his bedside?"

snOw's eyes began to soften, the intensity slowly giving way to a look displaying the love, affection and most importantly, respect that she held for her brother.

"...told me he was proud ah me. Told me I was standin' up fer my beliefs, gettin' my story out there, provin' a lotta people wrong. Told me I'm strong. Stronger than him, even..."

"And are you?"

snOw paused. She shook her head.

"I lost. I went in there, feelin' like I had the world in the palm ah my hand. Feelin' like, after all the hell I been through... like I finally was reachin' a turnin' point. Then..."

"Then, what?" Martha sighed, stroking Sarah's hair, and kissing her softly upon the forehead. snOw fell silent. Martha spoke. "Hun... one loss. ONE, loss. You're gonna let one setback ruin everything you were starting to build? To destroy all the potential I know lies within? Sarah, do you think, for even one second, that things always go Tony's way? Even when the two of you were growing up together, and you looked up to him as a protector, a hero. Do you think he NEVER lost a fight? Never gave something his ALL...and yet, still fell short?"

snOw stood still for a second, before shaking her head 'no', the words sinking in. Martha continued.

"...but do you think he let that stop him? Do you think he's EVER let that stop him? Do you think, as soon as ONE little thing went wrong, he folded it in, and 'hung up the boots'?"

snOw stared ahead. Her eyes moved down to the floor of the hallway. She brought her hand toward her chin, and thought for one second. But she already knew the answer.

Looking up at Martha, she smiled. "Yer damned right he didn't."

Martha sighed heavily, then grinned. "And Tony doesn't lie, does he?"

snOw knew exactly what Martha was getting at. She looked down slightly, shook her head, and smirked. "Naw. Not that I can recall."

"So.", Martha stated, matter-of-factly, wrapping her arms around snOw's neck. "If he wouldn't give up. If he'd keep moving forward. And if he thinks, if he TOLD you, he 'ain't got nothin' on his little sis... are you gonna prove him wrong? Show that his faith was misplaced? Or, are you gonna pick up your boots, lace those bad boys up, and show the world what I already know?"

snOw's lip trembled ever so slightly, as a small grin appeared. She felt every word Martha spoke, reaching into her, and trying desperately to awaken something. And it worked.

snOw turned toward her gal, arched an eyebrow, and smiled. "Babe... I dunno how you do it. But gat dam, I love you for it. Let's roll."

Martha stood up, and Sarah followed. They journeyed down the hall to find Tifa, who was probably off setting fire to crickets or something...

= = =

--moments later--

Sarah, Martha & Tifa walked the corridor, when snOw spotted a monitor. While she had been receiving a pep talk from Martha, Aphrodite had been making short work of Kayley Hale. Breaking Miss 'BubblyBoop' down with a camel clutch, before finishing her off with her patented 'Fatal Attraction'. snOw seemed impressed, nodding her head a bit, realizing there might be more to this gal than she'd figured. But then, she witnessed what occured AFTER the match.

{Aphrodite stands and the referee raises her hand. She then asks for the microphone.}

Aphrodite: Now that, that piece of garbage is taken care of, I'm going to clean up L.A.W. I'm going to "cleanse" L.A.W. Because there are far too many ugly, stupid skanks running around here.

{Boos.}

Aphrodite: But, I'm going to need some help. So, I present to you, the newest, most powerful force in L.A.W. today. The Fab Four!

{From the back, Mackenzie Vaughn, Angel Kash, and Faith walk down, making sure that none of the fans can touch them. They all enter the ring.}

Aphrodite: Myself, Mackenzie, Angel & Faith. We're going to run roughshod over this company. Be warned you losers, we're coming for you!!

{The four women raise their hands in victory as the crowd boos.}

Troy Franklin: This force, Duke, it looks like bad news for a lot of people in L.A.W.

Duke King: Also the hottest stable of all time!

snOw shook her head, not amused in the slightest. Martha glanced over at her, before walking up from behind, embracing her in a hug. She whispered.

"They're good. But they're not us."

This brought a small smirk to snOw's face. She turned around, and gazed into Martha's eyes, the two interlacing fingers, as they walked hand-in-hand. The bWo 'Power Couple' rejoined Tifa as they continued their trek down the halls, headed toward the exit...

= = =

"I, like the Lannisters... always pay my debts."
~ Makayla Cooper
ViOL3†

Oh, how quickly one's mood can change.

+ ~ Monday. May 5th, 2014 ~ +

"...figures that my courage would choose to sell out now..."


She rested on the edge of her motel room bed... Martha Faulken. It was one in the morning, and usually, she'd be resting beside snOw, drifting off to sleep, with a smile across her face. Not this time.

"Gahh, it's STILL stinging..."

Martha wasn't one to shout, or to raise much of a fuss. She was the total opposite of Tifa BonJovi. Whereas Tifa allowed her emotions to guide her, and it was never all that difficult to tell precisely how she felt, Martha usually kept herself subdued. She kept her words to the point, aimed intelligently, as true as a marksman's arrow. She kept her sights set on the big picture. And she kept her emotions in check, always level-headed.

She showed affection, but preferred to silently rest her head against Sarah's shoulder and simply be close to her. Tifa, on the other hand, was never more happy than when she was skipping merrily down the highway, laughing and giggling, hand in hand with her boyfriend, Axl. When Martha was sad, instead of displaying her depression for the world to see like Tifa did, she bottled it inside. Just as she usually did with her anger. But the pain Violet laid upon her still lingered, and though she didn't scream or cuss like Sarah usually would, the agitation was visibly beginning to set in.

She held her leg, as Sarah was busy gathering an icepack. She brought it to Martha, having her rest the leg upon the bed. Sarah sat down beside her, and gently placed the pack against the bruise. Martha clearly felt a tinge of pain from the cold ice, but quickly the relief began to show.

"Note tah self. Avoid gettin' Martha a dog fer her birthday."

At this, Martha smiled, just a bit. snOw held the pack in place, softly rubbing Martha's leg with her free hand, trying her best to ease the pain. Though, she couldn't help but mention one thing...

"Ya know...", snOw said with an air of sarcasm, "...one thing 'bout all this." She then looked up at Martha, who returned the look. "At least NOW ya know how I felt when ya slapped the taste out muh mouth!!"

Martha's nose slightly crinkled. She then picked up the nearby pillow, before slinging it at Sarah, hitting her in the forehead.

Martha grinned. "And now YOU know how Tifa felt!"

snOw reached down and picked up the pillow, holding it in her hands. Her demeanor changed, as she looked down at it, and spoke. "I got a feelin' a pillow don't quite compare to a dog chain."

Martha sighed, and muttered, "Tell me about it..."

snOw pressed her tongue against her cheek, glaring at the pillow, almost as if she was staring directly into the eyes of Vi. Anger slowly began to build, before Sarah chucked the pillow across the room, toward the window. Martha glanced over at the fallen cushion.

"Soo...", she then glanced back at snOw. "...feel any better?"

snOw let out a deep sigh, licked her lips, and mumbled in frustration. "No. Not really..."

"Well, then." Martha replied, "Instead of throwing temper tantrums, or sulking and wallowing, or taking your anger out on poor, defenseless pillows..." Martha leaned in, nudging her head against Sarah's shoulder... feeling it was her turn to do the comforting. "Why don't you do what you do best? DO something about it. Take action. Someone has a problem with you, you settle it. That's why I love you, babe. That's why I've always stood by your side. Because Tony was absolutely right... you don't back down. You stand tall, and you fight." She then lifted her eyes, gazing into Sarah's. "You are to me, what he was to you. I'm a tough gal. But you are my knight."

snOw blushed, ever so slightly, and wrapped her arm around Martha's shoulder. She spoke softly. "When the time is right. Don't worry... she will get what's comin' to her."

Martha then shook her head. "That's not your focus, though. I want revenge, yes. You want the title, of course. But you cannot lose sight of the true goal. The reason we did what we did that night. Don't be like Tifa...don't allow your emotions to steal away your focus."

snOw chuckled, peering into Martha's deep brown eyes. "How'd ya get tah be so smart?"

Martha giggled, then sighed. "I dunno..." and she looked into snOw's eyes, with a loving gaze that, quite appropriately, melted her heart. "...I guess I was just Born This Way."

Martha bit her bottom lip, looking down...then lifting her gaze, her face glowing brightly. snOw reached in, and the two shared a brief, yet passionate kiss, embracing... but then parting. snOw ruffled Martha's hair ever so gently, before grabbing the remote control, turning on the motel tv set, and flipping it to Martha's favorite show --

"Yes!", Martha exclaimed...before turning to snOw with a quizzical expression. "But... after what Violet said, I was almost certain you'd have me swear this show off. You're always reacting so irrationaly like that, I just knew that line would cling itself to the back of your psyche..."

snOw's face beamed, unable to hide her grin.

"Thing is, Lil ol' Miss Violet Lannister? She was wrong. See, on our way home, when you an' I was in the back, me tendin' tah yer sufferin', Tifa drivin' like a maniac. I checked the inner-net, I did my research, I read the spoilers, an' tonight? Why, tonight's a very, VERY special epuh-sode."

Martha's expression became only the more curious, as she asked "Why...whadya mean, hun?"

snOw nodded, with a smug grin. She stood up from the bed, and grabbed her leather jacket. Gazing down at the floor, she spoke. "I don't wanna ruin it fer ya. But let's just say... Streaks end. Luck runs out.", she then looked back up at Martha, her smile beaming brighter than ever. "And some of the richest people on God's green earth? They go bankrupt."

snOw slipped the jacket on, speaking as she did. "Enjoy the program, sweetheart. I got bidness tah take care of." She then leaned in, kissing Martha on the forehead, just as Martha had done to snOw in the hallway of the arena. "Love ya."

snOw then headed out through the motel door, as Martha's face was awash with confusion...only, mixed with a smile. As if she knew Sarah had finally found that fire again.

~ + ~

"I've been lookin' for a Savior in these dirty streets.
Lookin' for a Savior beneath these dirty sheets..."


"Don't need others tah fight yer battles. Don't need a group tah fight fer ya. Ya got that right. Why rely on people, when a chain'll do the trick just fine. As upstandin' as ever, Mack. Way tah be 'real'."

The camera slowly opened upon the streets of Des Moines, 2AM, May 5th. Sarah Gordon roamed the night, clad in a leather jacket bedecked with chains and zippers. Upon her head rested a camo-patterned ball cap, flipped to the back. She wore a pair of fingerless, leather biker gloves; a pair of camouflaged, knee-length shorts; a pair of dark brown work boots; and a black tee, the 'bWo' logo proudly emblazoned across the front in hot-pink. And around her throat, she wore two dog tags, as opposed to her customary one. One of them, of course, was in honor of her Army-Strong bro, Tony. The other, however...

"'Violet'. And I'll tell ya what, it pains me, I mean, it feels like a kick tah the GUT every last time I speak that name. That slap tah the face of who you are. But, 'Vi'..." snOw stopped in her tracks, standing beside a sign... 'Dead End'. "Ya talk about lovin' tah fight. How it's 'fun'. Mack, I don't fight cuz it's 'fun'. I don't fight cuz I love tah hurt people, although, I'll admit. I'd LOVE tah have another chance at grabbin' that lil bitch Crystal Hilton by her scrawny lil neck and squeezin' it till her beady lil eyes pop out." snOw spat these last few words out, consumed with anger and disappointment, both aimed at herself.

She gripped the sign's pole in her hand, her eyes gleaming with intent. She choked back the frustration from her first loss, and she glared into the camera's lens.

"No, that might be a small part of it. But that ain't the REASON I fight. I like gold, I like throwin' down and tradin' fists, I LIKE hearin' the roar of the crowd. I liked that lil undefeated streak I was rollin' on for a little while. But that ain't why I fight." snOw gazed up, above the city skyline, at the stars above. "Ya remember that lil ditty that played, the night the bWo appeared in the center of an LAW ring for the first time? That song you heard, when we came to the ring, and my gal Martha locked you in that Fujiwara Armbar?"

She then returned her gaze to the camera. But this time, a calm had set in. She bowed her head, and a small smile crept along her mouth. Seeming almost compassionate. "Dead Sara. 'Weatherman'. I sing for the melody. And I sing for a reason. So go for the kill." She then rose her head. And a look was set in her eyes, one she hardly ever displayed. She looked into the camera's lens, as if she was looking into the eyes of Makayla. No anger. No frustration. Just compassion.

"...Cuz no one else cares."

"I don't do this fer the glory. I don't do this fer the gold, or the cash, or even the fans. I don't even do this cuz I like crackin' skulls. Though, believe me. I LOVE crackin' skulls. What's left, ya might ask? I'll tell you. I do this, I am IN this business...cuz it makes me feel alive. It makes me tick. It makes me feel like I got a purpose. When I step intah the ring, hell, from the moment I hear those words -- 'I hate the world today'...

"The moment I'm standin' back there, behind that curtain, an' I hear the voice of Meredith Brooks ring through those speakers? I feel it. Inside me, roarin' in my bones... This is my life. This, right here, it's my reason. An' havin' Martha, by my side, keepin' my head in the game? That's all I need. I can have a million people call me every name in the book. Hell, every last fan in the stands could decide they want my head on a stick.

"I look intah her eyes...", snOw pauses for a moment, and she bows her head once again. "I look intah her eyes, and all those names vanish in a cloud ah smoke.

"Yer damned right I'm a bitch."

She looked back up at the camera, and the fury and passion were beginning to seep back into her eyes.

"I'mma bitch. An' if you wanna treat me like a dog, if you wanna treat the woman I plan on spendin' the rest of my life with like a dog? Then hun...these 'dogs' will bite."

snOw breathed in deeply, before slowly releasing. She then turned her head, resting her gaze back upon the star-spotted skyline.

"I remember what you told Lil Miss Zelda Knite. Miss Know-it-all, who gets lucky over a champ and now she probably thinks she's next in line fer a crack at Kate's strap. Cuz let's face it, if Sin of all people got dropped intah the main event of our first big-time PPV, hey, why not right? I'mma tell you right now, Vi, the bWo didn't come down to that ring tah save that 'goomba'...the fuck IS a 'goomba', anyway, sounds like somethin' ya'd order at Olive Garden, with a side ah stromboli, but I digress." A tiny smirk appears on snOw's face, but she shakes it off. "Naw. We came down there, not fer her. But fer you. Not tah 'save' her. But tah save YOU. An' I remember what ya told her...cuz gawd knows I can't recall a single thing she said tah you, but again, I digress." snOw glances at the camera, looking for Mack, as a knowing smile spreads across her face. She then looks back toward the sky, as she returns to her serious tone. "You told her ya don't care fer how she uses the word 'whore'. That it ain't used properly..."

snOw then looked toward the camera, and the sarcasm and reassuring humor had been wiped clean. "Well, darlin', I know the feelin'. Ya see, the word 'bitch', tah me? It's kinda lost its meaning. Ya give some chick by the name ah 'candy' a group with these three initials, and it loses ALL meaning. I toss it around muh-self, but the REAL meaning...the real meaning? Tah me, personally, when it comes right down to it, is a word of pride. A word of power. Means a gal that don't back down, don't bite her tongue. And she sure as HELL don't back out, and run away with her tail tucked under her when the goin' gets rough. A chick like that, like 'candy', or any ah these other fly-by-night floozies. These, fake, plastic barb--...." Suddenly, snOw stops mid-sentence, as if she was about to tread in the wrong territory. She glances off to the side, mentally rewording the line. "...These fake supermodels..." She peers toward the camera with a look, as if she's trying to make sure what she's saying 'passes inspection'. She nods her head, smiling ever so slightly, before returning her focus to the stars above.

"Gals like that make me sick tah my stomach. They tout their accomplishments, talk 'bout how 'dominant' they are, talk 'bout how much better they are than everyone else cuz the way they look. Cuz the money they got in the bank, cuz the designer clothes they wear, the fleet ah fancy shoes in their big ol' closets that make Fort Knox look like a Six Flags port-ah-potty. They talk 'bout their past, like it has some kinda bearin' on their present, and like its a road map to their future." snOw then glances at the camera. "I might be a 'dog', but I don't roll over, and I DAMNED sure don't play dead. When a gal like that, who ain't used tah nothin' but life goin' her way... When somethin' comes along and suddenly things ain't all rainbows and sunshine? When SUDDENLY, things don't quite go accordin' tah plan? One setback. And they hightail it on the next first class jet plane tah Malibu....but me?

"I'mma bitch.
And I don't back down."

snOw turned her vision back toward the road, as she traveled down the sidewalk, her hand brushing alongside the brick walls of every building she passed. As she walked, she spoke, without removing her sight from the path ahead of her.

"Ya see, 'fake' comes in all shapes an' sizes, just like 'one of a kind', 'real'. Ya got yer plastics, people that hate themselves so much that they need tah cover up who they really are, just so they can fit in a mold. Appeasin' people that couldn't really give a damn about 'em. Tryin'ah please people that really don't deserve the time ah day. This type ah fake is what I like tah refer to as the 'Aphrodite'. I look intah the eyes of someone like that. I see they're empty, I see they're cold. I don't see a bad person. I see someone that sold their soul to please the world. That don't really make me sick. That makes me feel sorry for 'em. Makes me hope, that one day, they'll take a good, long, hard look in the mirror, and maybe, just maybe, they'll wake up. Sleepin' beauty..."

She stopped beside a shop. A bronzery... a salon filled with tanning beds.

"Nope. Not quite what I'm lookin' fer."

She kept walking, and talking.

"Then, ya got yer 'candies'. THOSE are the ones that literally make me wanna hurl. See, 'least with an 'Aphrodite'? They stick around fer the long haul. They may be a stuck-up broad, but at least they come tah put in work, and they're so damn pig-headed and full of 'emselves, their ego won't LET them leave. They stick around just tah piss people off. A 'candy' on the other hand? They're the kind that only sticks around on the sunny days. They're the KIND, that will tell you how good they are, then when they're proven wrong? They're like a ghost. Cuz in their record books? In their lil 'win-loss columns'? That never happened. They'll look you, right in the eyes, and TELL you their past is 'picture perfect'. They don't lie like an 'Aphrodite'. They don't lie cuz they're hurtin' inside. I look intah the eyes of a gal like that, and I do see somethin'. I see fear. 'Fraid the whole world will realize, they were hollow from the get-go. The difference between a gal like that, and a gal like Aphrodite, is they may both be self-servin'. They may both be focused on one person, an' that's the one they see in the reflection. But therein lies the difference."

snOw once again stopped, and turned toward the camera.

"When a gal like Aphrodite stops beside her reflection. When she looks intah her own two eyes... she sees the truth. She sees someone, that long ago, wasn't anythin' different from the rest of us. A lil gal, with aspirations, an' dreams, an' hopes. Wantin' tah be loved, wantin' tah be noticed. But she didn't get it. Didn't get the love, realized the world is a dark and dangerous place. Realized people would just as soon stab her in the back as they would smile tah her face. So she allowed this world tah twist her. Tah take that lil girl, and turn her cold. Violet... I see a lil bit ah that in you. But not quite."

She then turned to the store... A candy shop. She let out a deep sigh, and spoke.

"Then... ya got yer 'candies'. A gal like that looks intah her mirror? An' she don't see nothin' but perfection. She sees the outer shell, and that's it. Ya wanna know why?"

Sarah turned her eyes toward the camera. "It's cuz that's the kinda bitch that takes a lil gal with dreams, an' desires, an' GOALS... and twists 'em into an Aphrodite. Surrounds herself with gals who are lost, who've had their dreams shattered. Gals that are so broken that they're willin' tah do anything, and be led by anybody, s'long as they feel like they got a reason not tah end it all. A 'candy'? That's the gal that holds the blade. Ready an' waitin' tah drive it intah the next back she finds. Twistin' the knife, with a smile plastered 'cross her candy-coated face."

snOw glanced toward the door of the candy shop, shaking her head, before continuing her journey.

"An' finally... ya got the worst kind of 'em all. Kinda similar to an Aphrodite. With one difference.

"The kind that knows who they are. Deep down inside, they are ACHING to break free. To live, to be who they see in that mirror. The thing is, the SAD thing is... the world outside might reject 'em. Might keep 'em down. Might not agree, and make it difficult for 'em."

snOw stopped in her tracks, beside one last store. She spoke, without turning her eyes toward the camera. She spoke in a hushed tone, displaying emotion more serious, more focused, and more driven than she'd shown since she stepped foot into LAW.

"...but it ain't the world that keeps 'em locked away. Naw. My cousin, raYne? He's the same way. Sure, the outside world rejects him. Keeps 'im down. But it ain't the world that keeps him from bein' who he really is."

snOw then slowly turned her sight toward the camera. Speaking in an almost whisper, she gazed into the camera's lens.

"He is his own worst enemy. He is the one that holds the blade, by his own neck, keeping him from living. Keeping him from reaching inside, and breaking the truth free. A cycle that keeps him locked in a dual with the man in the mirror. Violet...he refers tah it as 'ego me bello'.

" 'I am in a war against myself.' "

She then stepped to the side, and it was clear what store she stood by. 'Gaither Bros. Gilding'. She reached toward one of her dog tags, before removing it, and holding it up to the light... the name etched into its plate could be seen. 'Sarah'

"Mack... I'm gonna get this thing gilded in gold. Cuz I am keepin' it as a souvenir." She rested her hand at her side, as she gazed into the camera.

"You tell me I'mma a 'dog'? Then I'mma wear my collar with pride. And the sign on the fence, will always read-- 'Beware'. See, I ain't ashamed ah who I am. I ain't afraid tah let myself loose. I don't care what others think 'bout me, an' I don't need others opinions tah validate who I am. I don't hide. I don't run. An' even through, the darkest days, this fire burns. Always.

"You can shove who you really are into a box, Makayla. Let some bitch named 'Vi' lock you up and toss away the key. But you will always be there, just below the surface. A fan in the stands takes a picture of some chick named 'Violet'. That fan develops the photo. An' what's he got? What he's left with, is the proof. Cuz when that light goes off, when that flash sets off in yer eyes... that amber disappears. And the truth shines through."

Sarah rested her back against the store's brick wall. She slowly slid down into a seated position, her knees bent and her dark brown boots rested firmly against the cement. She breathed in through her nose. Let out, slowly, through her mouth. And spoke.

"We didn't come down there that night fer some sawed-off Hyrulian wannabe. We came down there fer you. An' I can guaran-damn-tee you right here, right now, you deserved that win. Hook or by crook, you had it stolen from you, but you didn't throw in the towel, didja? Naw. You ain't a piece a 'candy'. An' yer a helluva lot smarter than I ever was. Ya didn't need a gal with a good head on her shoulders like Martha tah talk you intah stickin' around. Cuz you already got one ah yer own. It might rent space out to a 'shade ah vi', but no matter what name ya go by, you are smarter than a whip. An' yer one of the VERY few women in this comp'ny I got nothin' but respect for.

"So when we came down there? I wasn't lookin' fer a fight. I didn't have Martha & Tifa 'fight my battles', cuz that night wasn't a battle. We will have our war, that day WILL come. But I didn't need tah fight that night. You notice Tifa didn't lift a finger tah hurt you? Naw, on the contrary, she was brushin' yer purdy lil, Lucille Ball-dyed hair. And ya wanna know why? It's cuz, it took one gal tah hold you down. One gal tah TRY an' comfort you, tah keep Violet at bay long enough so one WOMAN could speak, and try her DAMNDEST tah get through to the real you. An' frankly, I dunno if it worked. Cuz I saw what you did tah my pal Tifa, an' I saw what you did tah the most important person in my world. An' hun, while I love ya. While I still respect everything ya do in the ring, as well as everything that makes up the REAL you..."

snOw paused, let out a deep sigh, before slowly rising to her feet. She stood tall, quickly licked her lips, and glared into the camera.

"...if you continue tah go down this path. If ya continue tah walk this road, tah fuck with the people that matter most tah me? Then I'mma tell you, just like I told Danny-cah Jones when I first came here, two months ago. I will have no choice...but tah break you. I respect Danica, just as I respect you. I love her, she's a good gal, she's gotta mind fer this business. And I can tell she's gonna bring Tifa one helluva fight, probably moreso than she brought me. But I had tah do, what I had tah do. She was the first in a line ah many. She's where it all began, an' I'll always give a nod tah her fer that. But again? I had tah do...what I had tah do.

"An' don't you doubt, fer one moment Makayla, that I won't hesitate tah do the same with you. From now on? You can call The bWo 'The Iron Bank'. Cuz we WILL...have our due. Believe that, babe. BAM."

snOw's eyes widened with intensity as she delievered that one final word. She gripped the dog tag in her fist, before looking toward the sign on the gild shop's door... 'Open @ 10AM'. She smiled, and nodded... ready to get some rest, laying beside her 'princess'. For after she awoke, the 'knight' would have her armor. A golden tag, as a reminder. An I.O.U.

She walked off into the shadows, headed toward the motel bed she shared with Martha. As the camera faded to snow.

|you're just an empty cage girl, if you kill the bird|

“Some people are afraid of what they might find if they try to analyze themselves too much,
But you have to crawl into your wounds to discover where your fears are. Once the bleeding starts, the cleansing can begin.”

~ + ~

“It’s the Iron Bank. … You can’t run from them, you can’t cheat them, you can’t sway them with excuses.

"If you owe them money, and you don't want to crumble yourself? You pay them back.”

~ T¥WiN

C://_2.B.Continued