Post by Kasey Winterborn on May 18, 2021 5:08:42 GMT -5
May 7
The night after Fallout VI
Brasilia, Brazil
The aching of her body was nothing compared to the pounding in her head. Waking up to the early morning sunlight streaming through a small slit in the hotel room curtains, Kasey Winterborn groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, reaching for a pillow and throwing it over her head to try and block out the light. She managed to almost make it back to sleep when the thud of the hotel room door opening against the wall made her wince as a fresh wave of pain shot through her temples. Raising her head up a few inches, she glared as she watched Darrell and Nolan stroll into the room carrying various paper bags and trays of coffee cups. Darrell looked over to the bed and gave her a sly smirk.
“Well, well, well...look who decided to grace us with her presence,” he said, setting the bags down on the small dining table in the corner of the room. “How nice of you to join us, Little Miss Lush.”
Nolan let out a snicker of laughter as Kasey sat up in the bed, her bright hair a wild tangle around her head and her eyes narrowed into slits (partly from the brightness of the sunlight, partly because of her annoyance.) She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched her arms above her head, hearing the satisfying pop! of a vertebrae or two settling into alignment. She got to her feet and padded over to the table, snagging one of the paper cups of coffee and giving it a sniff before taking a deep swig of the warm drink.
“So, seems like you had quite the time last night,” Nolan commented, taking a bite out of what looked like a breakfast burrito. “If it hadn’t been for you falling into the door and bonking your head, we probably wouldn’t have known you even got back to the hotel and you probably would have spent the night out in the hallway, since we found you passed out against the doorframe.”
“Yeah, you and that Shawn guy must have really painted the town, huh?” Darrell commented, as the two men exchanged sly glances and snickers.
Kasey ignored them, reaching into one of the bags and pulling out a plastic container with scrambled eggs, sausages, and hash browns. She crawled back onto the bed and balanced the container on her knees as she pulled off the plastic cover and dug in eagerly. After a few bites of eggs, she finally looked up at the two of them with an icy glare. “I know exactly what the two of you are trying to do, and I’m just going to say this once - Shawn’s a cool guy, we went out for some drinks after the show, and nothing happened.”
“We didn’t say anything of the sort!” Darrell sounded offended, placing a hand on his chest. “Did you say anything like that, Nolan?”
“Sure didn’t,” Nolan mumbled through a mouthful of his burrito. “Sounds like someone’s projecting.”
Kasey shot them both another glare. “I hate you both. So very much.”
“You don’t. You love us to pieces, and you know it.” Darrell blew a kiss towards her, which she pretended to swat away as they all dissolved into laughter and continued on with their breakfast and playful banter.
------------
May 17
Arpoador Beach
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The sun was all but set in the late evening sky, only the thinnest band of orange light riding low on the horizon underneath the sparkling canopy of inky blue hanging above the tropical beach where the camera slowly pans around. A faintly glowing light off to the left side grows brighter and brighter as the camera swings around, and the telltale crackle of burning wood fills the twilight air as the bonfire finally comes into view, flames dancing up towards the sky. From off-screen, a log is placed carefully at the base of the fire, and soon the flames catch and grow even brighter as the camera slowly pans around again, showing the face of the Ascension Champion Kasey Winterborn. With her hair plaited into a loose braid that hung over one shoulder and bundled in a warm blanket, she stretched out her slender legs towards the fire pit, digging her toes into the soft white sand under her feet. Laid carefully beside her on the thick wooden log she sat upon, the silver faceplate of her treasured championship belt reflected the firelight and gleamed softly. She gazed into the flames with a serene expression across her face, a slight smile curving up her lips as a light breeze tousled the wispy tendrils of hair around her face.
“Well, hey there again, Kagome. Long time, no see. Been a couple months since you and I clashed in the ring. Quite a bit has happened to each of us since then. You got swindled out of a Noble title shot, while I’m now the longest-reigning Ascension Champion. As of Disputed Territory, I will have held this belt for fifty-six days. And once you and I meet up in that Backyard Brawl match and I overcome you just as I have every other challenge that has been set in front of me, my reign will continue on, strong as ever. That’s not to say that you won’t step up and give me everything you’ve got, because I know you will. After all the crap you just had to endure, I’d be surprised if you didn’t come out of the gate swinging for the fences. If I were you, I’d be spitting venom right now. You were all ready to sign that nice, shiny contract for a Noble title shot, only for Pixie Sloane to swoop in and steal it right out from under you.” Kasey tsk-tsk-ed and shook her head sadly. “That’s a damn shame. And I’m not saying that to mock you or anything, believe me. I know exactly the position you’re in, because I’ve been in it myself far too many times that I care to count. So I understand the rage, the anger that must be boiling in the pit of your stomach right now. Having to watch as someone else gets the opportunity that was rightly yours...it’s enough to make anyone snap. And I bet you’re gonna be taking all that pent-up rage and aggression and you’ll be bringing it to me at Disputed Territory, right? You’re gonna storm to the ring, all fire and fury, and you’re gonna beat my ass from pillar to post and claim the Ascension championship. Is that what you think is gonna happen?”
Kasey’s face went deadly serious at this point, her dark eyes narrowing at the camera lens as the firelight flickered in their depths. “Well, I’m here to tell you that it won’t. There’s a reason that I am soon to be the champion with the most successful title defenses in this entire company. It’s because I step up to every challenge put in front of me, and I overcome.
Every.
Single.
One.
And in case that wasn’t enough to impress you, they’ve all been brutal, unforgiving hardcore matches, in some way shape or form. Well, with one minor exception…” Kasey gave a small shrug of her shoulders as if to say ‘not my fault’. “Regardless, I’ve had shards of glass embedded all over my body, I’ve been stabbed with scalpels, I’ve been slammed into solid concrete. I have bled more to keep this title than I have in my entire ten-year career. That should tell you exactly how much this title means to me. Sure, some people can look down their noses at it and call it ‘inferior’ or say that hardcore wrestling ‘isn’t real wrestling’. And yeah, once upon a time I used to be one of those people. But now, after everything I’ve gone through...all the pain and suffering that I’ve endured not only to win this title, but to keep it as well….” She takes a moment to look down at the title by her side with a fond look in her eyes, her hand reaching out from under the blanket to brush across her engraved nameplate gracing the front of the belt. “It was all worth it. Every last drop of blood spilled, every scar, every bruise, all of it. And you will not take it away from me.”
She picked up the belt and laid it across her lap, her grip on it tightening imperceptibly as her gaze flicked back to the camera lens. “And, just for the record...I don’t need help.”
With that last phrase seemingly directed towards her “secret” admirer, she turned her gaze back to the bonfire, reaching down to toss another log onto the waning flames as the camera traveled up to follow the dancing sparks as they ascended into the night sky.
The night after Fallout VI
Brasilia, Brazil
The aching of her body was nothing compared to the pounding in her head. Waking up to the early morning sunlight streaming through a small slit in the hotel room curtains, Kasey Winterborn groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, reaching for a pillow and throwing it over her head to try and block out the light. She managed to almost make it back to sleep when the thud of the hotel room door opening against the wall made her wince as a fresh wave of pain shot through her temples. Raising her head up a few inches, she glared as she watched Darrell and Nolan stroll into the room carrying various paper bags and trays of coffee cups. Darrell looked over to the bed and gave her a sly smirk.
“Well, well, well...look who decided to grace us with her presence,” he said, setting the bags down on the small dining table in the corner of the room. “How nice of you to join us, Little Miss Lush.”
Nolan let out a snicker of laughter as Kasey sat up in the bed, her bright hair a wild tangle around her head and her eyes narrowed into slits (partly from the brightness of the sunlight, partly because of her annoyance.) She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched her arms above her head, hearing the satisfying pop! of a vertebrae or two settling into alignment. She got to her feet and padded over to the table, snagging one of the paper cups of coffee and giving it a sniff before taking a deep swig of the warm drink.
“So, seems like you had quite the time last night,” Nolan commented, taking a bite out of what looked like a breakfast burrito. “If it hadn’t been for you falling into the door and bonking your head, we probably wouldn’t have known you even got back to the hotel and you probably would have spent the night out in the hallway, since we found you passed out against the doorframe.”
“Yeah, you and that Shawn guy must have really painted the town, huh?” Darrell commented, as the two men exchanged sly glances and snickers.
Kasey ignored them, reaching into one of the bags and pulling out a plastic container with scrambled eggs, sausages, and hash browns. She crawled back onto the bed and balanced the container on her knees as she pulled off the plastic cover and dug in eagerly. After a few bites of eggs, she finally looked up at the two of them with an icy glare. “I know exactly what the two of you are trying to do, and I’m just going to say this once - Shawn’s a cool guy, we went out for some drinks after the show, and nothing happened.”
“We didn’t say anything of the sort!” Darrell sounded offended, placing a hand on his chest. “Did you say anything like that, Nolan?”
“Sure didn’t,” Nolan mumbled through a mouthful of his burrito. “Sounds like someone’s projecting.”
Kasey shot them both another glare. “I hate you both. So very much.”
“You don’t. You love us to pieces, and you know it.” Darrell blew a kiss towards her, which she pretended to swat away as they all dissolved into laughter and continued on with their breakfast and playful banter.
------------
May 17
Arpoador Beach
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The sun was all but set in the late evening sky, only the thinnest band of orange light riding low on the horizon underneath the sparkling canopy of inky blue hanging above the tropical beach where the camera slowly pans around. A faintly glowing light off to the left side grows brighter and brighter as the camera swings around, and the telltale crackle of burning wood fills the twilight air as the bonfire finally comes into view, flames dancing up towards the sky. From off-screen, a log is placed carefully at the base of the fire, and soon the flames catch and grow even brighter as the camera slowly pans around again, showing the face of the Ascension Champion Kasey Winterborn. With her hair plaited into a loose braid that hung over one shoulder and bundled in a warm blanket, she stretched out her slender legs towards the fire pit, digging her toes into the soft white sand under her feet. Laid carefully beside her on the thick wooden log she sat upon, the silver faceplate of her treasured championship belt reflected the firelight and gleamed softly. She gazed into the flames with a serene expression across her face, a slight smile curving up her lips as a light breeze tousled the wispy tendrils of hair around her face.
“Well, hey there again, Kagome. Long time, no see. Been a couple months since you and I clashed in the ring. Quite a bit has happened to each of us since then. You got swindled out of a Noble title shot, while I’m now the longest-reigning Ascension Champion. As of Disputed Territory, I will have held this belt for fifty-six days. And once you and I meet up in that Backyard Brawl match and I overcome you just as I have every other challenge that has been set in front of me, my reign will continue on, strong as ever. That’s not to say that you won’t step up and give me everything you’ve got, because I know you will. After all the crap you just had to endure, I’d be surprised if you didn’t come out of the gate swinging for the fences. If I were you, I’d be spitting venom right now. You were all ready to sign that nice, shiny contract for a Noble title shot, only for Pixie Sloane to swoop in and steal it right out from under you.” Kasey tsk-tsk-ed and shook her head sadly. “That’s a damn shame. And I’m not saying that to mock you or anything, believe me. I know exactly the position you’re in, because I’ve been in it myself far too many times that I care to count. So I understand the rage, the anger that must be boiling in the pit of your stomach right now. Having to watch as someone else gets the opportunity that was rightly yours...it’s enough to make anyone snap. And I bet you’re gonna be taking all that pent-up rage and aggression and you’ll be bringing it to me at Disputed Territory, right? You’re gonna storm to the ring, all fire and fury, and you’re gonna beat my ass from pillar to post and claim the Ascension championship. Is that what you think is gonna happen?”
Kasey’s face went deadly serious at this point, her dark eyes narrowing at the camera lens as the firelight flickered in their depths. “Well, I’m here to tell you that it won’t. There’s a reason that I am soon to be the champion with the most successful title defenses in this entire company. It’s because I step up to every challenge put in front of me, and I overcome.
Every.
Single.
One.
And in case that wasn’t enough to impress you, they’ve all been brutal, unforgiving hardcore matches, in some way shape or form. Well, with one minor exception…” Kasey gave a small shrug of her shoulders as if to say ‘not my fault’. “Regardless, I’ve had shards of glass embedded all over my body, I’ve been stabbed with scalpels, I’ve been slammed into solid concrete. I have bled more to keep this title than I have in my entire ten-year career. That should tell you exactly how much this title means to me. Sure, some people can look down their noses at it and call it ‘inferior’ or say that hardcore wrestling ‘isn’t real wrestling’. And yeah, once upon a time I used to be one of those people. But now, after everything I’ve gone through...all the pain and suffering that I’ve endured not only to win this title, but to keep it as well….” She takes a moment to look down at the title by her side with a fond look in her eyes, her hand reaching out from under the blanket to brush across her engraved nameplate gracing the front of the belt. “It was all worth it. Every last drop of blood spilled, every scar, every bruise, all of it. And you will not take it away from me.”
She picked up the belt and laid it across her lap, her grip on it tightening imperceptibly as her gaze flicked back to the camera lens. “And, just for the record...I don’t need help.”
With that last phrase seemingly directed towards her “secret” admirer, she turned her gaze back to the bonfire, reaching down to toss another log onto the waning flames as the camera traveled up to follow the dancing sparks as they ascended into the night sky.
