Important Matters / Adapt. Evolve.

The sound of “The Eagle Flies Alone” could still be heard playing throughout the arena signifying the end of the match where three people had just made their debuts for Project: Honor. Only one was able to walk out with their arm raised as the winner, and on this particular night, it happened to be the twenty-year veteran known to the world as Tara Fenix. Many of the fans were cheering her on as she walked back up the ramp, many of them stretching their hands out to their furthest length, but she paid them no mind. Her eyes had looked down for several steps, and when she reached the stage, she finally looked back at her competition for the night. A hard fought victory over Daniel Ackerman, and John Blade.

Daniel Ackerman… I’ll remember the name. She thought to herself while giving a nod of respect meant for him. She tilted her head for just a moment, and shrugged her shoulders, before finally turning away from the ring and walking beyond the curtain… The show must go on.

Success. I’ve been back in the business for less than six months, and I couldn’t help but think of the rust that I may have acquired-- but it just wasn’t there… It was like riding a bike. I never forgot. Tara continued in quiet contemplation as she wandered through the hallway, where some of the crew had congratulated her on her victory; she would raise her head and give them a smile and a nod, along with a quick “thank you” but she used this time to reflect on what she could improve on. What she could have done differently. What would have made her more dominating. The chain of succession could only come based on her recognizing her own faults, and it was how she had been as successful as she was throughout her illustrious career; however, as she neared the locker room, she could hear the buzzing sound of her phone already going off and she rushed over to answer, seeing that it was her son, Sabin.

“Hey, Son,” she answered, “Is everything alright?”

”Yeah, I just called to congratulate you! … well. Umm. Congratulations!” Sabin answered from the other end of the phone.

“Thank you, baby!” she said, smiling ear to ear, “Is there any news on your end?” she asked in turn. She turned from her locker and walked back toward the entrance of the shared locker room.

”Umm. Well--” I could hear the hesitation in his voice, “There’s no rush for you to come home-- you don’t have a booking for next week--” Tara shrugged her shoulders over the comment, but listened intently, ”But I’m going to face Dean in a Death Cage--” Death Cage? Dean? It was technically his step-brother… or former? But he is a great competitor, and only one thing mattered-- “And--”

“Baby,” Tara interrupted Sabin, “I’m not going to miss it! This is the biggest match you’ve had, and I’m not going to miss it. But-- is there any news on Edward? Are they willing to let me get at least one visitation?”

I could hear it in his breath before he even had to say it… it wasn’t good news, “No, Mother. They said they haven’t seen enough out of you to give visitation-- maybe after tonight? You looked… different. You looked… happy.” Happy? As happy as I could be without my son. I licked my lips, and I knew I shouldn’t have expected a different answer, but all the same, it was still hurting that I couldn’t see my baby child-- I still smiled, and tried to hide it in my voice.

“Yeah, the win-- I needed it.” She said, “I’m glad you called, but I do need to get cleaned up. I’ll call you back, okay? And I’m not going to miss your big match. I promise.” Tara insisted.

”You never have. Despite a busy schedule. Enjoy your night, Mom. Talk to you later!”

“Love you!” she called out. She could hear him chuckle on the other end before replying.

”I love you, too, Mom.” After that, the call came to a close. Tara put a towel over her shoulder to head for the showers.

---

The past week, I’ve felt nothing but happiness every time I thought about my successful debut with Project: Honor. I could hear the sound of people crashing on the rings around me, as I couldn’t help but look around to see the next evolution preparing to get into their ring… I could feel their lingering eyes on me, and I tried to pay them no mind. I could hear the trainers barking orders at their students-- at my students.

“Don’t look at her! She’s not going to save you!” They would start, and I couldn’t help but let a smirk show from their reactions. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the students all snapping their attention back to their trainers.

Back here, in this part of my gym, was my own personal training center… And my first student, the head trainer of my school, was always here to help me prepare for my next contest no matter where it was at. No matter who it was against. Standing across from me was another one of my star pupils, Jessé Marchand; he was a tag team specialist, and probably my best bet at walking out of this one with a win.

“--going to have your work cut out for you--” Huh? What? I seemed to have zoned out, and looked over at Seth who seemed to be giving me his insight on the match that I had at Project: Honor for Proving Ground. Seth had his hands gripped on the middle rope, as he resumed, “--and I think your best option is going to be taking charge of the match. Be quick. Pick your spots, and avoid confrontation.”

“You do know who my opponents are, right?” I questioned him.

He had a smug look on his face, and snickered over my comment, “Yeah, Daniel Ackerman, and Mark Kelly. Don’t get me wrong! You’ve got your work cut out for you, but it’s nothing that you haven’t been up against. Quick on your feet!”

Quick on my feet… Jessé and I charged toward each other and locked into a grapple, only for him to easily overpower me. He got his arms locked around my waist, and I tried to push myself free but to no avail. Instinct kicked in and I reached an arm back to get a hold of his neck, then charged for the corner for the Siren!

--Siren. This move has served me the longest, and I seemed to be able to catch anyone with it when it seemed like they had the advantage. The technique was in feigning them having control of the situation, when I was really going to use their own momentum against them, and the impact was just enough to seal the victory.

One foot up; second foot up; I pushed myself off and just as I felt myself coming backward-- I felt Jessé push me off and save himself from the impact. I sneered. My own student had telegraphed it perfectly; I should be proud… but it let me down…

“Tara, you need to try something new!” Seth said. His voice had risen toward me in almost a commanding fashion; perhaps the power I gave him over my training center was getting to his head, but then again, I couldn’t be here to train everybody. I needed him more than I cared to admit, especially if I was going to be competing full-time around the world, again. “That’s a move that you’ve used for such a long time, and it’s great! You can hit it! But I think the issue is that people can telegraph it nowadays, and even if they can’t avoid it, they can brace for the impact. Change is the name of the game, and you’ve done well at adapting-- how about we adapt further? We need something new. Something explosive--” Seth pulled himself onto the apron, “--Something that will just drive the wind right out of your opponents. Something they can’t counter easily, and something that even if they avoid, you’re not going to put yourself in bad positioning.”

“What do you have in mind?” I asked, but there was already something that came to my mind… I couldn’t keep the smirk off my face as it hit me. I knew what I could do. I knew-- I wouldn’t be able to use it for this match… but maybe the next one? No, it was better to focus on building on what I’ve perfected. “You know what-- never mind. I’ve got something in store, but let’s just focus on what I can do this week rather than learning something new.” I said with a smile.

“Alright, we can work with that, but you know the name of the game: change. Too much of the same old and not only do you get stale, but the competition knows what you’re bringing and they’re going to have an answer.” He was right. I couldn’t argue with him at all.

I heard a sudden commotion coming from the entrance to the center, and almost simultaneously, we all raised our eyes to see the camera crew for Project: Honor walking in. The director appeared to search for me, but it didn’t take him long to see me-- it was hard to hide with my hair that just stood out. “We’ll take a break and get back to it when you’re done,” Jessé said to me, and I just answered with a nod. He and Seth walked to the breakroom, sharing in their own conversation the entire way.

---

Following the Pixie Sloane versus Elena DeDraca, Tara now cleaned up and ready to go, she had her duffel bag slung over her shoulder as she seemed to say her farewell to someone that she had already come to befriend. She walked down the hallway at a brisk pace to go toward the parking garage where a car was already awaiting her arrival and prepared to take her to the airport.

“Leaving so soon?” a voice called out from the side, and Tara turned her head to see Christian DeMarco, the Fallout GM, approaching her.

She bit her lip a little nervously, but gave a slight shrug, “Yeah-- I have a personal matter to tend to back in the States.”

“You’re going to miss a good one,” Christian insisted, almost in a tone that wanted to encourage Tara to stick around a bit longer. The two continued walking down the hallway, making a turn here and there as they got closer to the parking garage.

“I imagine,” Tara answered, “But my son comes first. He just told me about a big match he has coming up, and I want to be there--”

“Whoa, whoa! Your son? How old is your son?” Christian asked, seeming confused.

“Eighteen.” Tara replied. Having reached the door leading out to the parking garage, they stop there for a moment to continue the conversation. Tara didn’t want to be rude.

“Holy shit--” Christian took a double take at Tara, “What’s he doing?”

“He’s going into something called a Death Cage--”

“Death Cage! That sounds like it’s in my ballpark,” Christian said as he got his cell phone from his pocket, and with a sniffle, he merely held it out, “Go ahead and put in your number. Give me the details. I want to watch this one, too! Of course, I can’t bail right now, but I can afford one day.”

“I mean, from what I’ve heard, yeah-- it definitely sounds like something you need to see.” Tara said while typing in her number and shooting a quick text to herself from his phone. She handed it back to him.

“It sounds like an absolute delight! Anyways, I just wanted to let you know… great match! And-- have a safe flight.” Christian said, and took a step forward to hold the door open.

“A gentleman. Thank you,” she said, “Have a good night!” she continued before walking out the door; the two shook hands like professionals.

“My pleasure,” Christian replied, “Have a safe flight!” he repeated before finally letting the door close behind him whilst he walked back toward the arena to catch the last part of Hell on Earth.