Post by Alyssa Grace on Apr 14, 2022 18:04:58 GMT -5
WELCOME TO THE HOUSE OF FUN.
Alyssa Grace vs Mr Wright.
The following footage has been taken from the 75th edition of Omega Wrestling Alliance's all women’s show, Odyssey.
THWACK!!!
Ashley Walker: WHAT THE HECK?!?!
Gia Cervantes: IT’S ALYSSA GRACE!!! ALYSSA GRACE FROM BEHIND WITH A STEEL CHAIR RIGHT TO NAKITA DUBOV!!!!
Ashley Walker: AND SHE’S NOT DONE THERE! SHE TURNS AROUND AND BLASTS SKYLAR ACROSS THE SPINE WITH THE CHAIR!!! LOOK AT THE LOOK OF RAGE IN THE EYES OF THE FORMER OMEGA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!!
Gia Cervantes: SHE IS IRATE! AND SHE’S TAKING IT OUT ON DORADO ENTERPRISES! ONE SHOT AFTER ANOTHER! SHE DRILLS NAKITA! SHE DRILLS SKYLAR! SHE DRILLS NAKITA AGAIN! NOW SKYLAR! NAKITA! SKYLAR! NAKITA! SKYLAR! ALYSSA GRACE IS WEARING THAT CHAIR OUT AS SHE’S ABSOLUTELY DESTROYING THESE TWO!!! TIANA ROYCE RIGHTFULLY CALLS FOR THE BELL!!!
(DING! DING! DING!)
Rebecca Sawyer: Ladies and gentlemen, the referee has ruled this match a DOUBLE DISQUALIFICATION!!!
(Alyssa slams the chair down between the two lifeless bodies of Skylar and Nakita before grabbing a microphone.)
Alyssa Grace: LLORONA!!! THIS SHOW IS OVER!!! THIS SHOW ISN’T GOING A MINUTE FURTHER UNTIL YOU GET OUT HERE AND GIVE ME MY REMATCH WITH HANA NAKAJIMA!!! I WILL DESTROY ANY AND EVERY WOMAN ON THIS ROSTER UNTIL YOU GIVE ME WHAT I WANT!!!
(Alyssa, while she waits, grabs the chair and bashes it over the spine of Nakita and Skylar one more time for good measure until “Superthug” by N.O.R.E. hits the speakers. Alyssa stops the beating and turns towards the stage where Llorona walks out, stopping at the top of the ramp with a disappointed look on her face.)
Llorona: What the hell do you think you’re doing?
Alyssa Grace: For one, saving these people from having to endure one more second of the Dorado Enterprises. I think we’ve all seen enough of them. But also…I want my rematch, Llorona. And until I get it…you can consider Odyssey 75 officially OVER.
Llorona: No.
Alyssa Grace: WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN NO?!
Llorona: Why would I give you a rematch? Devi was clearly going to defeat you at Clash of the Titans anyway, hence why she has her shot here tonight. But you? Have you already forgotten how you won the belt in the first place? Whine and complain all you want. You didn’t see Graham Baker acting like this when you cashed in on him.
Alyssa Grace: I’m not Graham Baker. I’m not Diantha Rosso. I’m not Jeff X. I’m not Bull Connors. I’m not ANYBODY else that’s been cashed in on here, Nicole! I’M ALYSSA FUCKING GRACE!
(The crowd pops wildly for the Irishwoman.)
Alyssa Grace: And I WILL get my title back.
(Llorona thinks for a moment.)
Llorona: What do you all think? Do you want to see Alyssa Grace challenge for the Omega Heavyweight Championship?
Crowd: YES! YES! YES! YES!
Llorona: Well too damn bad! It’s never going to happen! And do you know WHY Alyssa? Because I don’t like you. I’ve never liked you. Ever since you first showed up here, you’ve been a constant thorn in my side. Only now? Now I hold all the cards here on Odyssey, Alyssa. And trust me when I tell you…you are NEVER holding that Omega Heavyweight title again.
Alyssa Grace: Wrong choice.
(Alyssa grabs the chair and wraps it around the head and neck of the still laid out Nakita DuBov.)
Llorona: Hey…what…what are you doing???
Gia Cervantes: What the hell IS Alyssa doing?! She’s got that chair wrapped snugly around Nakita’s neck and now she appears to be exiting the ring…WAIT! NO SHE’S NOT! ALYSSA STEPS OUT ONTO THE APRON AND NOW BEGINS TO SCALE THE ROPES! SHE’S HEADED ALL THE WAY UP TO THE TOP TURNBUCKLE! OH NO! THIS ISN’T GOOD AT ALL!!!
Llorona: HEY! STOP!
Ashley Walker: AND ALYSSA SAILS FROM THE TOP WITH THE NO HAPPY ENDINGS!!!! THE DIVING DOUBLE FOOT STOMP RIGHT ONTO THE CHAIR AS IT ENCLOSES AROUND THE THROAT OF NAKITA DUBOV!!!! DEAR GOD, SHE JUST CRUSHED HER WINDPIPE!!!! NAKITA IMMEDIATELY ROLLS OVER AND STARTS GUSHING BLOOD FROM THE MOUTH!!!! WE NEED SOME HELP OUT HERE!!!
Llorona: WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!?!
Gia Cervantes: AND ALYSSA ISN’T DONE!!! SHE GRABS SKYLAR BY THE ARMS, PULLING HER UP AND INTO THE DOUBLE UNDERHOOK!!! SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!! THE DOUBLE UNDERHOOK FACEBUSTER CONNECTS AND SHE ROLLS RIGHT INTO THE FUJIWARA ARMBAR!!!!
Alyssa Grace (no mic): GIVE ME MY MATCH LLORONA!!! GIVE ME MY DAMN MATCH OR I’LL SNAP HER FUCKING ARM!!!
Llorona: SECURITY!!! SECURITY GET OUT HERE NOW!!!
Alyssa Grace (no mic): HAVE IT YOUR WAY!!!
Ashley Walker: AND ALYSSA STILL WITH THE ARMBAR APPLIED!!!! SKYLAR IS SCREAMING IN AGONY!!!! YOU CAN SEE TEARS POURING DOWN HER FACE AS SHE TAPS OUT BUT ALYSSA DOESN’T CARE! SECURITY STARTS POURING FROM THE BACK AS ALYSSA WRENCHES BACKWARDS EVEN HARDER!!!
Gia Cervantes: AND SHE SNAPS SKYLAR’S DAMN ARM!!! HOLY SHIT!!! SHE JUST SNAPPED SKYAR’S ARM IN A DIRECTION IT’S CLEARLY NOT MEANT TO GO!!! YOU CAN SEE THE DAMN BONE!!! SKYLAR SCREAMS BLOODY MURDER AS SECURITY FINALLY DIVES INTO THE RING AND PULLS ALYSSA GRACE OFF OF SKYLAR!!!! I DON’T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!!!!
Llorona: GET HER OUT OF HERE! OUT OF THE BUILDING! I WANT HER GONE!!!
Ashley Walker: THERE MUST BE A DOZEN SECURITY GUARDS IN THE RING, AND THEY HAVE A HOLD OF ALYSSA AS THEY PULL HER, KICKING AND SCREAMING FROM RINGSIDE!!!
Gia Cervantes: But as they remove Alyssa from the building, I can’t get over what’s in the ring right now! Nakita bleeding profusely from the mouth, unable to breathe and Skylar’s elbow is literally protruding from the skin! This is SICK! EMTs begin to rush the ring now but the damage may have already been done!
Ashley Walker: Well, I can’t condone what just happened here, but it is crystal clear now if it wasn’t before that Alyssa Grace is going to stop at nothing until she gets her title back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her on a warpath like this, Gia.
Gia Cervantes: I don’t either, Ashley. This is a whole new side to Alyssa Grace…and that could be bad news for EVERYONE!
Gia Cervantes: I don’t either, Ashley. This is a whole new side to Alyssa Grace…and that could be bad news for EVERYONE!
Later that evening.
New sounds rustled through her depressant haze; a gentle reverberation from the heart of the cell... another creek... another thunk... rapid clicking like the wings of a broken cricket. Then, raindrops on metal... the escalating blare of a car horn outside... the scream of wet tires filled the atmosphere. Memories of the previous night manifested slowly from the back of her brain, every new detail hammering her heart like a war drum: the screams, the overwhelming smell of blood that she had come to not only bare but enjoy, the cold metal slapped against her wrists, the tears she shed and the sleep she missed out on. She couldn’t pinpoint how she was doing in this moment of time. “Foreboding” might have been the appropriate word. “Dread.” The promise of fear lingered. It was tangible fear, smell able the stale odour soaking into the dirt and lingering in the windless jungle of dead branches and train tracks to nowhere; lovelier than angst, kinder than panic. The feeling coursing through her veins was indeed fear, she realized, but it was a new type of fear; more sincere than the jitters she felt before a match and it was not as piercing as the terror of crashing cars. This fear was darker somehow, mysterious... curious like the retracted paws of an alley cat.
She had been so caught up in her own cesspool of thought that she had failed to hear an officer approach the cell in which she sat with her head facing down, twiddling her thumbs and tapping her foot in hopes that time would pass by faster.
“Alyssa.”
Finally, the woman of the hour pops into frame, looking the total opposite of her usual calm, determined and joyful self. Alyssa Grace looked practically unrecognisable. Her tresses were unbrushed and reduced faded shade of her signature vibrant orange, her eyes which once shone with promise and sparkled with life were dull and lifeless, she was unable to pay attention to the world around her, her gaze remained locked on a random part of the floor, her face was colourless and devoid of expression, under bags that resembled the finest bruises rested beneath her eyes, makeup that she hadn’t been able to remove remained on her face in a less than perfect state, her hands inadvertently shook, even if she was aware of such or wanted to change this, it would’ve been impossible to do so and blood that did not belong to her stained both her jeans and her boots.
Slowly, she turns to face the guard, one she is yet to become acquainted with and she raises an eyebrow as if to say “What do you want?”. Speech seems impossible right now.
“You’re free to go, Miss O’Bryant.”
This made her perk up ever so slightly, not out of joy of being released from the jail cell she’d spent the past twenty four hours in but instead, it was an act done out of confusion. Had someone paid off her bail? That must’ve been the case, she was anticipating spending god knows how long locked up inside of a little box yet here she was, a free, sick woman. It couldn’t have been her fiancé who had done so.. he would have informed her of such during the conversation they had on the phone and considering the couple were currently on opposite sides of the country, it would’ve been impossible for him to get here so quickly. She continued to rack her brain for a moment before remembering where she was and realising that the guard was glaring daggers at her.
“Oh.. okay, great, thanks.”
Truth be told, the guards didn’t want Alyssa there anymore and Alyssa certainly didn’t want to be there anymore. The details of what had exactly occured after she’d been dragged away literally kicking and screaming from Odyssey were a blur but considering the amount of filthy looks that had been shot in her direction from just about everyone she had encountered and the fact her knuckles were red, sore and covered in dry blood, she was sure that she hadn’t exactly given the best first impression. Unsteadily, she rose to her feet and did her best to keep herself to herself and be as small as possible as the guard led her out of confinement and back into the real world, it was as if she had forgotten how to walk. Her head ached more and more with every wobbly step she took, she somehow felt worse than she looked.
“Now, we don’t want to see you here again, understood?” This time, Alyssa returned the look she was given and if looks had the power to kill, both individuals would be six feet under.
“Trust me, you won’t be seeing me again.”
Rather bluntly, she stood up straight, shook her shoulders and headed out of the police station, feeling completely lost, unsure of herself and miserable for the first time in her career. Her daily habits had been disrupted by a sense of ever-spreading, all consuming chaos which rendered the future unpredictable, the past unrecallable and her ordinary life beyond haphazard. Never before had anything been this severe, never before had she been forced to sit down and truly assess her morals. The worst part of it all?
It was entirely her fault.
Unbeknownst to her at the time, Alyssa had been warned.
As she stood in the bathroom of her hotel room, brushing her hair dry after a much needed shower and changing into fresh and clean clothes, she realised that perhaps everything that had happened could have been prevented. It was painstakingly obvious and she was livid at herself for multiple reasons. Alyssa had lost count of the amount of people she had been forced to witness transform, or perhaps devolve is the right terminology to use, from good to evil. It happened all the goddamn time, was it finally happening to her? How hypocritical she had been in the past to preach remaining true to your core just to snap and severely injure not one, not two, but THREE individuals? Granted, they had all done her wrong in one way or another but up until that moment, it was all water under the bridge.
Tears began to pool in her eyes as she dabbed away the last bits of smudged mascara from her eyes, she couldn’t recognise the person.. the thing that stared back at her, her own reflection terrified her beyond belief for it may have looked like Alyssa but it did not think nor act like Alyssa anymore. No, it was more like a monster, a desperate and ever so feral animal finally exposed as being the textbook definition of unhinged. She had been warned of moments in life when everything is all turned inside out, what is real becomes unreal, what is unreal becomes tangible, and all your level headed efforts to keep a tight ontological control are rendered silly and indulgent existed but she had been too foolish, too ignorant and too stubborn to believe it until now.
Would it be possible to save herself before it became too late or had she already fallen too far?
One step forward, ten steps back.
That’s what her career was becoming and Alyssa felt totally powerless in just about every situation she found herself in, how could she not feel that way when the times she had tried to do something, she wound up on the receiving end of a beatdown or, even worse, the perpetrator of a beatdown so severe that she wound up in jail.
What the fuck was she supposed to do?
The question plagued her mind and no matter how desperately she attempted to come up with any kind of plan to stop herself from descending into the same type of madness she’d spent the past two years battling, her mind drew blanks. Power nor control belonged to her, she wasn’t quite sure who it belonged to and the fact she could acknowledge that was the one and only thing that gave her the tiniest bit of hope.
Ninety nine percent of her was pessimistic but that one percent could change everything. It had to.
It was all she had left.
A shaky sigh left her lips as she forced herself to look in the mirror, she simply stood and stared at herself in silence for a few minutes until something shiny caught her attention, a pair of scissors.
For a large majority of her life, altering her physical appearance had been a comforting coping mechanism for when things went wrong, ever since her youth, getting a new piercing or changing the style or colour of her hair had been her way of regaining a degree of control in her life. Was it the best way to cope? Probably not. Did it work? For the most part, yes. And if something isn’t broken, why bother fixing it?
Alyssa ran a shaky hand through her locks, internally contemplating something. Her hair was a representation of who she was, it was pretty difficult to blend in with the crowd when your tresses were long and the exact same shade as the fire you breathe. But as she glanced over to the pair of hairdressing scissors, back to herself and then back to the scissors, she pondered whether or not it was time for something new.
Maybe if she looked different, she’d feel it too.
Using that as justification, she muttered “fuck it” and moved quickly to ensure she wouldn’t able to regret her impulsive decision at a later date. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that she had little to no idea what she was doing but as she grabbed the scissors and went to work snipping away sections of her own hair, she felt satisfied, she felt her lips curl up into a smirk and most importantly.. she felt whole again. It wasn’t until she shook her head that she realised just how much she had cut off but as she combed through the remains of her hair and styled it in a way that she felt suited her, she was overjoyed.
New hair, new Alyssa.
Maybe.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
When the chips are down…
… you get the picture.
Life is a continuous cycle of adversity in all aspects and angles of it, from personal to work, even getting up in the morning to make a decision, which then becomes a long series of steps that will indeed affect the outcome, one leads to the next which then leads to this, my point is the moment my eyes open, and I try to carpe diem or seize the day, what I do and where I go from here all depends on my choices.
We all have a destiny, one where everything that happens as its supposed to, because it's simply meant to be. There has to be a great deal of belief and trust in the paths taken. The paths are never straight, you gotta expect detours, but with that; success, failure, rejection. Things aren't always clear and failproof. We have to be strong, determined, and stubborn to fulfil our destiny. In this destiny, the paths I've taken lately have been ones that have not been expected, my actions have surprised even myself but as I stand here preparing for the first of several big matches I have, I realise that there are no wrong turns to take, only the paths I had not known before. Ones that I was ultimately meant to walk from the very beginning of taking my first steps into this company. It's been an incredible journey filled with so many challenges and roadblocks, some self-made, some natural, that have tested both the faith I put in myself as well as the resiliency to keep going no matter what the circumstances may be. It's not always about winning and losing; but more about the time and the efforts that are put in to be ready for those challenges. It's about embracing the pain, staying positive, and no matter what you fight on. For many the easy part is starting, but somewhere in between they get to a point where they start thinking too hard about the challenge that they eventually become afraid of it, finding little to no monetary reward for the efforts they put in. They get discouraged, lose focus, they lose hope because they failed to see the big picture. Those are the ones that don't finish. Not only do I intend to finish though, I intend to make everything I decide to do count as I ready myself to face the next obstacle in this challenge.
In life, you get a few special moments that you never want to forget. They’re the times when you wish you could take a photograph that captures everything, externalising the entire scene, feeling, and essence of the experience. These moments rarely come along, but when they do, you have to seize them. This is one of them. Although it has happened through means that could’ve been prevented, as of late, I feel like I’ve been humble enough to realise that perhaps I cannot keep going for as long as I’d originally anticipated. Now, before any conclusions are jumped to, I’d like to elaborate a little and assure everyone that I don’t plan on riding off into the sunset tomorrow or even next month.. I just no longer envision myself competitively going like I am now for years. When I first entered this world, that was the dream but sometimes dreams change. Sometimes, that just happens, it’s a part of life no one exactly prepares you for but it isn’t necessarily a negative thing.
Mr Wright is a.. unique individual, interpret my comments in whatever way you desire for I do not mean them as flat out insults, I actually believe that this industry needs more characters who stray away from the norm, I think variety is a beautiful thing and I can appreciate, acknowledge and actually somewhat respect differences until I step in the ring. The second I step through those ropes, everyone, and I mean.. everyone, becomes the same. A target. Nothing more and nothing less than a nameless and faceless obstacle for me to run straight through. The past month or so has been fun, that cute stunt pulled in the tag match didn’t surprise me so I didn’t let it get to me, plus, there’s no shame in coming up short to people like Michael and Liz. Last Fallout? That was just me sending a message. On my end, it’s nothing personal, it was just to prove that the hungriest competitor is going to be the one that walks out the champion. The fact I have no idea what I’m walking into is irrelevant, I’ve had wacky stipulations thrown in my face as a (weak) attempt to throw me off my game and it’s never worked before and over my literal dead body do I let it start working now. Perhaps the world doesn’t want to deal with me as a champion here once again but none of you have a choice, I’m leaving Public Execution with that title wrapped around my waist and there’s nothing Mr Wright and co can do about it. Try as they may, the best will prevail and I still believe I’m the best this company has to offer. Don’t believe me? I’ll just have to prove it all in this match.
The key to surviving and sustaining yourself in this company is just to prioritise yourself to what matters. You see, I am still part of a very minimal select group who believe that the only results that matter are the ones acquired inside the boxed ring. That does not mean I go mute and let things persist as they are, I create hedges in dimensions by covertly talking myself into situations and make sure that my opponents know who the superior competitor is by the end of the bout. Mr Wright can plug himself to the top all he wants but I can guarantee everyone paying attention to this message that his fall will be long and hard if he is not able to come up with an exceptional performance at the end of it.
Public Execution is going to be very simple, it’s going to be the time where Alyssa Grace kicks down the door and takes exactly what she should have had months ago.
Every single little fucking piece that I am owed, I am coming for.
Ashley Walker: That she did Gia, but this ability to just draw power from Havoc now that Hana seems to have embraced it just feels like an absolute game changer. I don’t know if anybody is going to be able to stop Hana Nakajima at this point. HEY! WAIT!
Gia Cervantes: LOOK! IT’S ALYSSA GRACE! ALYSSA GRACE HAS RUN IN THROUGH THE CROWD AND IS JUMPING THE BARRICADE! AND WHAT’S THAT SHE’S GOT WITH HER?!?!
Ashley Walker: IT’S A LIGHT TUBE WRAPPED IN BARBED WIRE!!! SHE WAS THROWN OUT OF THE ARENA EARLIER TONIGHT, BUT SHE CLEARLY DOESN’T CARE! SHE SLIDES INTO THE RING BEHIND HANA AND HANA HAS NO IDEA!!!
SMASH!
Gia Cervantes: ALYSSA BLASTS HANA RIGHT ACROSS THE FACE WITH THE LIGHT TUBE! IT SHATTERS INTO PIECES AND A GASH FORMS ACROSS THE HEAD OF HANA! SHE’S BLEEDING PROFUSELY AND ALYSSA IS GOING TO OPEN UP THAT WOUND! SHE MOUNTS HANA AND STARTS FIRING OFF ONE PUNCH AFTER ANOTHER! ALYSSA GRACE IS BATTERING HANA NAKAJIMA!!!
Ashley Walker: AND SHE ISN'T DONE THERE! ALYSSA GRABS THAT BARBED WIRE FROM THE SHARDS OF GLASS LYING AROUND THE RING…AND SHE WRAPS IT AROUND THE THROAT OF HANA! ALYSSA GRACE IS STRANGLING THE OMEGA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION AS THAT BARBED WIRE DIGS INTO HER NECK! THE BLOOD IS LEAKING FROM THE HEAD AND NECK OF HANA NAKAJIMA! ALYSSA GRACE IS CRAZED! FORGET HAVOC AND HANA, ALYSSA IS THE ONE THAT’S POSSESSED RIGHT NOW!!!
Gia Cervantes: AND STILL ALYSSA HAS MORE FOR THE CHAMPION! SHE USES THAT BARBED WIRE TO DRAG THE BLOODY HANA NAKAJIMA TO HER FEET! SHE HOOKS BOTH ARMS! WE SAW THIS EARLIER! SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!! SHE NAILS THE DOUBLE UNDERHOOK FACEBUSTER AND ROLLS RIGHT INTO THE FUJIWARA ARMBAR!!!!! SHE SNAPPED SKYLAR’S ARM WITH THIS EARLIER TONIGHT AND SHE’S LOOKING TO DO THE SAME DAMN THING TO HANA NAKAJIMA RIGHT NOW!!!!
Llorona: SHE’S TRESPASSING! GET HER OUT OF HERE! I WANT HER LOCKED UP! I WANT HER ARRESTED RIGHT NOW!!!
Ashley Walker: IT’S LLORONA! LLORONA IS ON THE STAGE! AND SHE’S CALLING FOR ALYSSA TO BE ARRESTED!!!! SURE ENOUGH, LOOK WHAT’S COMING! IT’S THE POLICE! HALF A DOZEN POLICE OFFICERS ARE STORMING THE RING! BUT THEY BETTER GET THERE FAST!!!
Gia Cervantes: THEY’RE NOT QUICK ENOUGH!!! ALYSSA GRACE SNAPS THE DAMN ARM OF HANA NAKAJIMA!!!!! THE BONE POKES RIGHT THROUGH THE SKIN AS HANA SCREAMS IN AGONY!!!!!!!
Ashley Walker: ALYSSA IS CRAZED!!!! SHE IS IRATE ABOUT HER TITLE BEING STOLEN FROM HER AND SHE’S WILLING TO GO TO JAIL BECAUSE OF IT!!!! THE OFFICERS STORM THE RING AND TACKLE ALYSSA OFF OF THE BROKEN AND BLOODY HANA!!!!! TWO OFFICERS TEND TO HANA WHILE THE OTHERS SHOVE ALYSSA FACE FIRST INTO THE CANVAS AND PROCEED TO PLACE HER IN HANDCUFFS! WHAT HAVE WE JUST WITNESSED?!?!
Llorona: I WANT HER GONE! THROW HER UNDER THE JAIL! THIS IS TRESPASSING AND ASSAULT!!!! YOU’RE DONE ALYSSA!!!
Gia Cervantes: I hate to say this…but Llorona is right. Alyssa may have crossed the line this time and…as understandable as it may be…these officers are not seeing it that way. They have Alyssa in cuffs and are escorting her from the ring.
Ashley Walker: But just look at her Gia! She’s SMILING! Alyssa Grace is very pleased with herself after leaving Hana covered in her own blood with her arm LITERALLY broken in two pieces. EMTs are now rushing onto the scene to try and tend to Hana…and folks…this has been one of the wildest Odysseys in recent memory, but I’m afraid that’s all we have time for tonight.
Gia Cervantes: Be sure to tune in in two weeks time to see ALL the fallout from this INSANE edition of Odyssey! For Ashley Walker, I’m Gia Cervantes saying…GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!
(The last thing we see is the police escorting Alyssa past an irate Llorona. As the two pass each other, Llorona shoots her an ice cold glare while Alyssa, stained in Hana’s blood, smirks evilly at Llorona.)
Present day.
New sounds rustled through her depressant haze; a gentle reverberation from the heart of the cell... another creek... another thunk... rapid clicking like the wings of a broken cricket. Then, raindrops on metal... the escalating blare of a car horn outside... the scream of wet tires filled the atmosphere. Memories of the previous night manifested slowly from the back of her brain, every new detail hammering her heart like a war drum: the screams, the overwhelming smell of blood that she had come to not only bare but enjoy, the cold metal slapped against her wrists, the tears she shed and the sleep she missed out on. She couldn’t pinpoint how she was doing in this moment of time. “Foreboding” might have been the appropriate word. “Dread.” The promise of fear lingered. It was tangible fear, smell able the stale odour soaking into the dirt and lingering in the windless jungle of dead branches and train tracks to nowhere; lovelier than angst, kinder than panic. The feeling coursing through her veins was indeed fear, she realized, but it was a new type of fear; more sincere than the jitters she felt before a match and it was not as piercing as the terror of crashing cars. This fear was darker somehow, mysterious... curious like the retracted paws of an alley cat.
She had been so caught up in her own cesspool of thought that she had failed to hear an officer approach the cell in which she sat with her head facing down, twiddling her thumbs and tapping her foot in hopes that time would pass by faster.
“Alyssa.”
Finally, the woman of the hour pops into frame, looking the total opposite of her usual calm, determined and joyful self. Alyssa Grace looked practically unrecognisable. Her tresses were unbrushed and reduced faded shade of her signature vibrant orange, her eyes which once shone with promise and sparkled with life were dull and lifeless, she was unable to pay attention to the world around her, her gaze remained locked on a random part of the floor, her face was colourless and devoid of expression, under bags that resembled the finest bruises rested beneath her eyes, makeup that she hadn’t been able to remove remained on her face in a less than perfect state, her hands inadvertently shook, even if she was aware of such or wanted to change this, it would’ve been impossible to do so and blood that did not belong to her stained both her jeans and her boots.
Slowly, she turns to face the guard, one she is yet to become acquainted with and she raises an eyebrow as if to say “What do you want?”. Speech seems impossible right now.
“You’re free to go, Miss O’Bryant.”
This made her perk up ever so slightly, not out of joy of being released from the jail cell she’d spent the past twenty four hours in but instead, it was an act done out of confusion. Had someone paid off her bail? That must’ve been the case, she was anticipating spending god knows how long locked up inside of a little box yet here she was, a free, sick woman. It couldn’t have been her fiancé who had done so.. he would have informed her of such during the conversation they had on the phone and considering the couple were currently on opposite sides of the country, it would’ve been impossible for him to get here so quickly. She continued to rack her brain for a moment before remembering where she was and realising that the guard was glaring daggers at her.
“Oh.. okay, great, thanks.”
Truth be told, the guards didn’t want Alyssa there anymore and Alyssa certainly didn’t want to be there anymore. The details of what had exactly occured after she’d been dragged away literally kicking and screaming from Odyssey were a blur but considering the amount of filthy looks that had been shot in her direction from just about everyone she had encountered and the fact her knuckles were red, sore and covered in dry blood, she was sure that she hadn’t exactly given the best first impression. Unsteadily, she rose to her feet and did her best to keep herself to herself and be as small as possible as the guard led her out of confinement and back into the real world, it was as if she had forgotten how to walk. Her head ached more and more with every wobbly step she took, she somehow felt worse than she looked.
“Now, we don’t want to see you here again, understood?” This time, Alyssa returned the look she was given and if looks had the power to kill, both individuals would be six feet under.
“Trust me, you won’t be seeing me again.”
Rather bluntly, she stood up straight, shook her shoulders and headed out of the police station, feeling completely lost, unsure of herself and miserable for the first time in her career. Her daily habits had been disrupted by a sense of ever-spreading, all consuming chaos which rendered the future unpredictable, the past unrecallable and her ordinary life beyond haphazard. Never before had anything been this severe, never before had she been forced to sit down and truly assess her morals. The worst part of it all?
It was entirely her fault.
Unbeknownst to her at the time, Alyssa had been warned.
As she stood in the bathroom of her hotel room, brushing her hair dry after a much needed shower and changing into fresh and clean clothes, she realised that perhaps everything that had happened could have been prevented. It was painstakingly obvious and she was livid at herself for multiple reasons. Alyssa had lost count of the amount of people she had been forced to witness transform, or perhaps devolve is the right terminology to use, from good to evil. It happened all the goddamn time, was it finally happening to her? How hypocritical she had been in the past to preach remaining true to your core just to snap and severely injure not one, not two, but THREE individuals? Granted, they had all done her wrong in one way or another but up until that moment, it was all water under the bridge.
Tears began to pool in her eyes as she dabbed away the last bits of smudged mascara from her eyes, she couldn’t recognise the person.. the thing that stared back at her, her own reflection terrified her beyond belief for it may have looked like Alyssa but it did not think nor act like Alyssa anymore. No, it was more like a monster, a desperate and ever so feral animal finally exposed as being the textbook definition of unhinged. She had been warned of moments in life when everything is all turned inside out, what is real becomes unreal, what is unreal becomes tangible, and all your level headed efforts to keep a tight ontological control are rendered silly and indulgent existed but she had been too foolish, too ignorant and too stubborn to believe it until now.
Would it be possible to save herself before it became too late or had she already fallen too far?
One step forward, ten steps back.
That’s what her career was becoming and Alyssa felt totally powerless in just about every situation she found herself in, how could she not feel that way when the times she had tried to do something, she wound up on the receiving end of a beatdown or, even worse, the perpetrator of a beatdown so severe that she wound up in jail.
What the fuck was she supposed to do?
The question plagued her mind and no matter how desperately she attempted to come up with any kind of plan to stop herself from descending into the same type of madness she’d spent the past two years battling, her mind drew blanks. Power nor control belonged to her, she wasn’t quite sure who it belonged to and the fact she could acknowledge that was the one and only thing that gave her the tiniest bit of hope.
Ninety nine percent of her was pessimistic but that one percent could change everything. It had to.
It was all she had left.
A shaky sigh left her lips as she forced herself to look in the mirror, she simply stood and stared at herself in silence for a few minutes until something shiny caught her attention, a pair of scissors.
For a large majority of her life, altering her physical appearance had been a comforting coping mechanism for when things went wrong, ever since her youth, getting a new piercing or changing the style or colour of her hair had been her way of regaining a degree of control in her life. Was it the best way to cope? Probably not. Did it work? For the most part, yes. And if something isn’t broken, why bother fixing it?
Alyssa ran a shaky hand through her locks, internally contemplating something. Her hair was a representation of who she was, it was pretty difficult to blend in with the crowd when your tresses were long and the exact same shade as the fire you breathe. But as she glanced over to the pair of hairdressing scissors, back to herself and then back to the scissors, she pondered whether or not it was time for something new.
Maybe if she looked different, she’d feel it too.
Using that as justification, she muttered “fuck it” and moved quickly to ensure she wouldn’t able to regret her impulsive decision at a later date. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that she had little to no idea what she was doing but as she grabbed the scissors and went to work snipping away sections of her own hair, she felt satisfied, she felt her lips curl up into a smirk and most importantly.. she felt whole again. It wasn’t until she shook her head that she realised just how much she had cut off but as she combed through the remains of her hair and styled it in a way that she felt suited her, she was overjoyed.
New hair, new Alyssa.
Maybe.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
When the chips are down…
… you get the picture.
Life is a continuous cycle of adversity in all aspects and angles of it, from personal to work, even getting up in the morning to make a decision, which then becomes a long series of steps that will indeed affect the outcome, one leads to the next which then leads to this, my point is the moment my eyes open, and I try to carpe diem or seize the day, what I do and where I go from here all depends on my choices.
We all have a destiny, one where everything that happens as its supposed to, because it's simply meant to be. There has to be a great deal of belief and trust in the paths taken. The paths are never straight, you gotta expect detours, but with that; success, failure, rejection. Things aren't always clear and failproof. We have to be strong, determined, and stubborn to fulfil our destiny. In this destiny, the paths I've taken lately have been ones that have not been expected, my actions have surprised even myself but as I stand here preparing for the first of several big matches I have, I realise that there are no wrong turns to take, only the paths I had not known before. Ones that I was ultimately meant to walk from the very beginning of taking my first steps into this company. It's been an incredible journey filled with so many challenges and roadblocks, some self-made, some natural, that have tested both the faith I put in myself as well as the resiliency to keep going no matter what the circumstances may be. It's not always about winning and losing; but more about the time and the efforts that are put in to be ready for those challenges. It's about embracing the pain, staying positive, and no matter what you fight on. For many the easy part is starting, but somewhere in between they get to a point where they start thinking too hard about the challenge that they eventually become afraid of it, finding little to no monetary reward for the efforts they put in. They get discouraged, lose focus, they lose hope because they failed to see the big picture. Those are the ones that don't finish. Not only do I intend to finish though, I intend to make everything I decide to do count as I ready myself to face the next obstacle in this challenge.
In life, you get a few special moments that you never want to forget. They’re the times when you wish you could take a photograph that captures everything, externalising the entire scene, feeling, and essence of the experience. These moments rarely come along, but when they do, you have to seize them. This is one of them. Although it has happened through means that could’ve been prevented, as of late, I feel like I’ve been humble enough to realise that perhaps I cannot keep going for as long as I’d originally anticipated. Now, before any conclusions are jumped to, I’d like to elaborate a little and assure everyone that I don’t plan on riding off into the sunset tomorrow or even next month.. I just no longer envision myself competitively going like I am now for years. When I first entered this world, that was the dream but sometimes dreams change. Sometimes, that just happens, it’s a part of life no one exactly prepares you for but it isn’t necessarily a negative thing.
Mr Wright is a.. unique individual, interpret my comments in whatever way you desire for I do not mean them as flat out insults, I actually believe that this industry needs more characters who stray away from the norm, I think variety is a beautiful thing and I can appreciate, acknowledge and actually somewhat respect differences until I step in the ring. The second I step through those ropes, everyone, and I mean.. everyone, becomes the same. A target. Nothing more and nothing less than a nameless and faceless obstacle for me to run straight through. The past month or so has been fun, that cute stunt pulled in the tag match didn’t surprise me so I didn’t let it get to me, plus, there’s no shame in coming up short to people like Michael and Liz. Last Fallout? That was just me sending a message. On my end, it’s nothing personal, it was just to prove that the hungriest competitor is going to be the one that walks out the champion. The fact I have no idea what I’m walking into is irrelevant, I’ve had wacky stipulations thrown in my face as a (weak) attempt to throw me off my game and it’s never worked before and over my literal dead body do I let it start working now. Perhaps the world doesn’t want to deal with me as a champion here once again but none of you have a choice, I’m leaving Public Execution with that title wrapped around my waist and there’s nothing Mr Wright and co can do about it. Try as they may, the best will prevail and I still believe I’m the best this company has to offer. Don’t believe me? I’ll just have to prove it all in this match.
The key to surviving and sustaining yourself in this company is just to prioritise yourself to what matters. You see, I am still part of a very minimal select group who believe that the only results that matter are the ones acquired inside the boxed ring. That does not mean I go mute and let things persist as they are, I create hedges in dimensions by covertly talking myself into situations and make sure that my opponents know who the superior competitor is by the end of the bout. Mr Wright can plug himself to the top all he wants but I can guarantee everyone paying attention to this message that his fall will be long and hard if he is not able to come up with an exceptional performance at the end of it.
Public Execution is going to be very simple, it’s going to be the time where Alyssa Grace kicks down the door and takes exactly what she should have had months ago.
Every single little fucking piece that I am owed, I am coming for.