Post by Aphrodite IX on May 10, 2021 22:39:19 GMT -5
The lights flashed over and over in her eyes.
The sound faded into a dizzy whine of impossible silence.
She couldn’t move.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t lift a single finger.
The force of the explosion had left the whole ring a disaster. Through the haze, Aph could make out the smoke rising around them. She vaguely felt a hand draped over her. She tried so hard to fight. To push herself up off the mat and keep going. More, she screamed, but no sound came out. She wanted to keep going. To fight forever until there was nothing left of either one. She didn’t want it to end now. Not yet. She screamed.
More.
MORE.
MORE!
Aph felt the impact of hand hitting mat. She tried to push herself further. To get a shoulder up so the fight could keep on happening. Her body betrayed her. Not maimed, yet spent. She gave everything she had to raise a shoulder. It wasn’t enough. The hand fell. The match ended. No gold. No suffering. Nowhere near enough to satisfy her.
After it was a rush of medical teams looking her over. Asking how she felt. Checking her injuries. Aph let it play out. After all, she wanted to burn out. She couldn’t do that if she couldn’t get cleared to go out there in the first place. If she were left broken and mangled, abandoned to wither away without any hope of the loss she wanted…
The despair of it posed a great temptation.
But she was born to burn bright before the end.
She’d have to see it through.
It hurt to exist.
The whole way back, she felt the burns and cuts stinging at her. They always gave her the shittiest drugs for pain. It didn’t take her long to get into her stash once she got home. As the pain started to fade away and the world started to spin around her, she had a moment where she felt real and true peace.
“Ashley…”
The Dead Girl’s voice whispered in her dreams.
The Ghost shuddered.
Aphrodite IX shoved her back to the dark.
Almost got ‘em.
I bet I had all of you sweating. Sitting at home, wondering just what would happen if the pervert with the deathwish walked out of there with your big belt around her waist. It sure checks out when you consider how quick they had a new ref out there. Smoke barely cleared and yet hand was hitting mat, ready and waiting.
Gotta keep the golden girl pretty, I guess.
So here you are with a moment of panic and now…what? I get a chance to do it all again? I blew the almighty hell out of your champion once and now here you are giving me a chance to rise right back up to the top of your company and make everything just a little bit more chaotic.
Ha. I’ll take it.
I get to settle some business on the way as well, it seems. My first step back to blowing myself up is against good old Not Not Richard Dweck. When I first arrived, I was all prepared to face down your shadow. As it turned out, he was a coward who ran away from it just as I’m sure he’ll run from my good friend Jin tonight.
What kind of man are you?
After all, you drove your shadow to become a shadow by virtue of the challenge you posed to him. He crumbled before you, but as we saw, he also crumbled before some mean words I said to him so it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that the original is much to speak of. After all, if you were really something to speak of…wouldn’t you do something about a chump like that walking around with your name?
I guess ‘Not’ your name, but you know.
There’s always the hope at the heart of it. That when you see a shadow which fades to the light, the thing which is casting it should be something more impressive…but that doesn’t always hold true. We are all just flesh and blood in the end and the shadow we cast will always be longer than we are. Not Dick Dweck was a pale imitation, but that doesn’t mean the original is well constructed.
There’s always hope at the heart of it.
But you know I bet on despair.
That trust took me right to the doorstep of Chelsea herself and left her with all kinds of pretty scars to carry with her. Is she thinking of me now, hand holding her title so afraid that after all that I’ll come and take it away? So full of lingering despair…
If I can put the World Champion of this company into such a state, what chance do you really think you have against me?
Not that the title is a thing.
That’s just a means to an end.
No, when I take my shot at Chelsea again…well…
Last time, I went and blew her up.
Next time…
Next time we’ll top that.
And you Richard…you’ll be buried along with your shadow.
But Chelsea?
I’ll be seeing you again, real soon.
Sleep tight.
The sound faded into a dizzy whine of impossible silence.
She couldn’t move.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t lift a single finger.
The force of the explosion had left the whole ring a disaster. Through the haze, Aph could make out the smoke rising around them. She vaguely felt a hand draped over her. She tried so hard to fight. To push herself up off the mat and keep going. More, she screamed, but no sound came out. She wanted to keep going. To fight forever until there was nothing left of either one. She didn’t want it to end now. Not yet. She screamed.
More.
MORE.
MORE!
Aph felt the impact of hand hitting mat. She tried to push herself further. To get a shoulder up so the fight could keep on happening. Her body betrayed her. Not maimed, yet spent. She gave everything she had to raise a shoulder. It wasn’t enough. The hand fell. The match ended. No gold. No suffering. Nowhere near enough to satisfy her.
After it was a rush of medical teams looking her over. Asking how she felt. Checking her injuries. Aph let it play out. After all, she wanted to burn out. She couldn’t do that if she couldn’t get cleared to go out there in the first place. If she were left broken and mangled, abandoned to wither away without any hope of the loss she wanted…
The despair of it posed a great temptation.
But she was born to burn bright before the end.
She’d have to see it through.
It hurt to exist.
The whole way back, she felt the burns and cuts stinging at her. They always gave her the shittiest drugs for pain. It didn’t take her long to get into her stash once she got home. As the pain started to fade away and the world started to spin around her, she had a moment where she felt real and true peace.
“Ashley…”
The Dead Girl’s voice whispered in her dreams.
The Ghost shuddered.
Aphrodite IX shoved her back to the dark.
Almost got ‘em.
I bet I had all of you sweating. Sitting at home, wondering just what would happen if the pervert with the deathwish walked out of there with your big belt around her waist. It sure checks out when you consider how quick they had a new ref out there. Smoke barely cleared and yet hand was hitting mat, ready and waiting.
Gotta keep the golden girl pretty, I guess.
So here you are with a moment of panic and now…what? I get a chance to do it all again? I blew the almighty hell out of your champion once and now here you are giving me a chance to rise right back up to the top of your company and make everything just a little bit more chaotic.
Ha. I’ll take it.
I get to settle some business on the way as well, it seems. My first step back to blowing myself up is against good old Not Not Richard Dweck. When I first arrived, I was all prepared to face down your shadow. As it turned out, he was a coward who ran away from it just as I’m sure he’ll run from my good friend Jin tonight.
What kind of man are you?
After all, you drove your shadow to become a shadow by virtue of the challenge you posed to him. He crumbled before you, but as we saw, he also crumbled before some mean words I said to him so it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that the original is much to speak of. After all, if you were really something to speak of…wouldn’t you do something about a chump like that walking around with your name?
I guess ‘Not’ your name, but you know.
There’s always the hope at the heart of it. That when you see a shadow which fades to the light, the thing which is casting it should be something more impressive…but that doesn’t always hold true. We are all just flesh and blood in the end and the shadow we cast will always be longer than we are. Not Dick Dweck was a pale imitation, but that doesn’t mean the original is well constructed.
There’s always hope at the heart of it.
But you know I bet on despair.
That trust took me right to the doorstep of Chelsea herself and left her with all kinds of pretty scars to carry with her. Is she thinking of me now, hand holding her title so afraid that after all that I’ll come and take it away? So full of lingering despair…
If I can put the World Champion of this company into such a state, what chance do you really think you have against me?
Not that the title is a thing.
That’s just a means to an end.
No, when I take my shot at Chelsea again…well…
Last time, I went and blew her up.
Next time…
Next time we’ll top that.
And you Richard…you’ll be buried along with your shadow.
But Chelsea?
I’ll be seeing you again, real soon.
Sleep tight.