One for the money
Two for the freak show
Three gettin' ready
Four cuz you never know
Throw in them chips tonight
Under the neon lights
One for the money
Two for the freak show

______________________________________________________________________

12/26/2021

It was like having a parrot on speed superglued to her shoulder.

“Did you know that it’s the avocado capital of the world Ly? I don’t know why. They’re so gross! Green like a booger. I don’t like green vegetables. Are avocados vegetables? What about a tree? They grow in the ground like fruits and veggies. Hey! The biggest tree in the world is there, and it has a name! General Sherman. That is so silly. Maybe we should name our trees at home. That might be fun. Cable car rides look like fun too, by the way. Will there be any where we are going? Can we take a ride? Can we go back to Disneyland and ride the rides there too? I promise not to climb the Matterhorn again...”

Lycana struggled to keep her eyes from glazing over as she bobbed her head periodically. It had started from the moment she had decided to book a flight last minute the day before, making the massive mistake of telling Reika. She had been bombarded with questions, facts, and generalized randomness about their trip until she went to sleep, only to start right back up again the second her eyes had popped open at two thirty this morning for them to catch the ass crack of dawn flight.

To be honest, Lycana wouldn’t have been shocked if the girl had talked about it in her sleep.

Reika keeps happily babbling on from the middle seat, as Lycana’s gaze flickers beyond her, to the quiet figure staring tranquilly out the window at the scenery going by, her fingers busily working a fidget toy.

As if she could sense it, Adalynn turns her head, her sage green eyes connecting with Lycana’s for just a moment before flitting away, a light smile curving her full lips. Her gingery red hair tumbles over her shoulder in a riot of waves, a smattering of freckles marching across her nose and cheeks, her teeny frame making her appear much younger than the twenty that she was. She was on the autism spectrum and had a younger mentality that matched with Reika very well. They were best friends, both enjoying the simple things like coloring, and hide and go seek.

Addy fishes around in her backpack a moment, before poking Reika in the leg, silencing the torrent of words for a glorious moment.

“What Addy?”

Addy shows her a pack of crayons and a pair of Lisa Frank coloring books, drawing a gasp from Reika. “Oh em gee, you got new ones?!”

Lycana helps them put their trays down, and after much deliberation, they each select a page and pick up crayons.

“What color should I make the tiger?”

“Purple.”

“You’re a silly goose.” Reika giggles.

“I’m not a goose, I’m a human.” Adalynn informs her, intent on carefully staying within the lines of the dolphin she was making a rather vibrant shade of green.

“I wonder if they have geese in California. The state bird is a quail. I wonder why they didn’t choose the Condor... I mean, its CALIFORNIA Condor. It’s nuts! Oh, speaking of nuts, they produce the most almonds... Do you like Almond Joys Addy? I think coconut is disgusting...”

And here they went again.

Lycana looked across the aisle at Adalynn’s mother, neck pillow in place, mask firmly over her eyes, head back, as light snores were emitted. Eva was in her fifties, and had been a resident of the werewolf village in Seven Devils from the beginning, before Lycana had taken the reins over from the previous leader. She was a sweet woman, who took no shit. Perfect for watching the two rambunctious ones... even all over the damn United States.

From North Carolina, to Cali, then onto Ohio for her triple threat match with Mercy and Jay Omega, and back again.

“... and the state drink is wine. Lycana says I whine sometimes. Sometimes she asks if I want some cheese to go with it. I like cheddar the best. You see those commercials with the cows from California? Do you really think they are happy there? Maybe we should go find some...”

Lycana closes her eyes. It was going to be a long flight.

Later That Day

She was crazy.

Why in the everlasting hell had she decided to come back here?

The icy fingers of a chill tickles its way up her spine, making the fine hairs on her arms stand up as she regards the house in front of her through the windshield of the rental car. It was just as stark, emotionless, and creepy as the first time she had laid eyes on it. Add on the new facts that she had learned since that visit, and it just made everything even worse. She sits back in the seat, her fingers tapping out a rhythmless tune on the steering wheel contemplating her options. Why was she here? What had she hoped to accomplish from this?

The last time she had charged into this particular abode, she had nearly died. She had no doubt that on some level, he was playing with her. Biding his time before he finished the job.

Running up and poking a finger in his face accusing him of sending her a testicle probably was not the wisest move.

Same with the small mountain of other things that she laid at his doorstep, even if she couldn’t fully prove all of them. If she was smart, she would turn this car around and drive back to the hotel, pick up Eva and the girls, so do something fun so it wasn’t a total loss, then haul ass back to North Carolina and prepare for her first match back since Bad Medicine. But who ever said she was smart? Her jaw firming, she put her fingers on the handle of the door, just as a figure appeared at the top of the stairs of the solid black home of John Caedus.

Lycana opens the car door and exits, slamming it shut, her eyes locked onto Arcana.

They move towards each other in a direct line. Arcana gracefully glides down the steps while Lycana’s boots crunch small rocks and gravel with the sand. Tension grips Lycana’s muscles as they draw closer, her body automatically preparing for the upcoming confrontation.

Fire and ice.

Pyro and wolf.

What used to be good and bad... that line had blurred quite a bit for the both of them now. Despite how much she had changed, Lycana was well aware of the darker fragments of her being still lurking around down in her. The way she handled herself when it came to matches spoke volumes to that. But Arcana? She had always been the one to try and do the good thing, refusing to see the shades of gray that Lycana did. It was always black and white.

They come to a halt about a dozen feet from one another. Lycana lets her eyes roam Arcana’s face. Something was... different. Off. Wrong. Just as she had surmised from the start of all this. Her gaze shifts to over her shoulder, ready just in case her new buddy decided that he was going to show up.

“He doesn’t have time for you right now.”

Her voice was dull, monotone almost, with no shred of emotion in it.

“Is he busy in his lab slicing out another testicle? A urethra perhaps?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course not. What are you doing Kai? Why the hell would you do what you did? For John Caedus of all people?”

“You just cannot see him for what he really is.”

“See what? That he is some kind of psychopath who tried to kill me, probably killed the elves, stole what I had assumed was a corpse, has something to do with my past, tried to kill you... Need I go on?”

“I would have thought of all people you would understand what he is trying to do, and accepted the gift he was kind enough to offer you.”

“For me to be under his control.”

“To make you something.”

Lycana stares at her incredulously. “Kaiya, you literally joined the XWF to keep an eye on me and what I was doing in the Left Hand. You wanted to stop it, and me. You warned me against everything that is coming out of your mouth right now.”

“I was wrong...”

She might have celebrated those words coming out of Arcana’s mouth at one point, but not with what followed.

“... You were on the right path. You just chose the wrong person to follow. You were unable to step into your destiny and truly become what you were created for. Did you not see what could happen if you embraced your truest form? Did you not see what you ancestor was made to become and the power she gained from simply pledging herself? You know what you are, and what you always will be. What you are supposed to be...”

“No.”

“You are the Wolf, Tavora. The weapon.”

“No. I am my own person.”

A light smattering of laughter, containing zero humor, a monotone affair comes from Arcana.

“You cannot run from your destiny. You walked away from something that could have given you greatness had you but waited for the right one to come to show you the way. You walked away from the Dark and became a nothing. Join us, accept John, and be something. We can make you better in the ring and out. Don’t you want that? I can perhaps persuade John that you have some value if you agree to be obedient. Your choice Tavora, bend or be broken. Be John’s wolf, and destroy the world by his side.”

“I belong to nobody, and I never will.”

“Don’t be silly. Ones like you, they just exchange one master for another. You were adrift until the Baphomet scooped you out of the gutter you were wallowing in. Then what? You slid along with your pet by your side... and now that you are alone? You are lost. You need that bridle put on; the bit slipped between your lips to guide you.”

“I don’t... What the hell did he do to you?!”

“Opened my eyes.”

“I’m going to kill him... I swear to fuck I’m going to figure just what the hell he...”

She drops to the ground, nearly getting a face full of sand as the crackling sphere flies over her head, close enough she could feel the electricity coming from it. She pushes off with her hands, rolling swiftly to the right as another slams into the spot where she had just been moments before, sand and gravel spewing everywhere, peppering her with tiny missiles that stung her flesh, as she lays on her back, eyes wide as she stares upside down at the advancing Arcana.

“You will not go near him!” her voice sounds crazed, the first flare of emotion in her eyes that Ly had seen since she first arrived.

Lycana gets her legs under her and dives, making it behind a decent sized boulder as part of it explodes into fragments, curling up to make herself a smaller target.

“Why do you think he wants you?” she yells, her mind rolling around to try and figure out a way out of this.

“Because we make the perfect team of course!”

“He’s using you!”

“No, he’s not!”

WHAM!

Splinters of stone crawl their way under her skin, drawing random droplets of blood all over her. “He just wants you because you have powers and he doesn’t!”

“Lies!”

She skuttles from her spot as it turns into nothing but a pile of rubble. Yelling as she crouch-runs, her eyes focused on a thicket of cacti that were better than nothing. “You are a tool! What can he teach you?! He does nothing but lose!”

“So do YOU!” the screech returns along with another sphere, this one nailing its target, lifting Lycana right up off her feet, sending her sailing into a large cactus, the spikes digging deep into her back, catching her clothes and hanging her up like a target as Arcana storms towards her, vibrating with anger and vengeance.

“Pathetic little turncoat. You gave up glory, for what? Your morals? You should have been culled from the start, the moment you started showing you had a soft side...”

Lycana shakes her head, trying to clear the cobwebs, gritting her teeth as the prickers dig their way deeper. She touches her fingertips to the charred flesh on the side of her belly, blackened and oozing, her clothing sticking where it melted to her body. She sucks in a breath at the pain. She didn’t have much choice when it came to escape options now, her luck had run out. Her eyes lift to Arcana, who is spewing out such similar things she had, so long ago.

“So short sighted. Simple minded. Do you think this begins and ends in the XWF? It’s beyond you... And it is just too bad you won't be around to see it.”

Arcana stops, a false smile appearing on her face, eyes deadened in her face. She raises her hands up, the bright pink energy forming between her palms.

“Goodbye Tavora.”

The rosy orb flies, unerringly finding its target, the poor cactus bursting into pieces that fly high into the sky, lighting the area with bright little blips of neon pink fire. But under it all, slides an obsidian figure, hurtling towards Arcana, a lethal shadow showing a flash of pearly white as her paws eat up the gap between her and freedom.

“...and after you, I’ll end that abomination you adopted.”

WHOOSH!

Lycana dodges, but Arcana lands a glancing blow, knocking her legs out from under her as she goes nose over tail, flailing as her fur gets singed, smoke spiraling up from her coat as she manages to gain her footing as a red haze drops down over her eyes. Reika. She threatened Reika. She launches forward once more, escape no longer on her mind, leaping up with a roar before the crimson haired sorceress could get another off, smacking into her with enough force they both go careening across the ground, tumbling over and over as they fight for dominance. Fists fly and teeth snap. Blood splatters and the heavy sound of bone crashing into flesh sounds around them. Screeches mix with snarls adding to the symphony of violence taking place.

With a hard thud, Arcana ends up face down, the wolf on top of her, sharp teeth cradling the back of her neck. Hot breath rasps as blood trickles as fangs slide in as easily as a knife through butter. One sharp snap and it would be over...

She hesitates...

She couldn’t do it.

A bright flash of red and Lycana gets a nose and mouth full of sand as Arcana poofs away.

Snorting, her head jerks up, spying both her and John standing at the top of the stairs of the onyx hued home, staring at her. She slowly begins to back away, as John hoists something up to his shoulder.

FUCK!

She whirls on her haunches, but he wasn’t aiming for her.

The rocket from the bazooka whistles over her head, the rental car jumping straight up into the sky, landing nothing but a burning, mangled husk of metal as the explosion rocks the surrounding area, feeling like an earthquake.

The thought that the rental company wasn’t going to be please crosses her hysterical mind. She looks back, seeing John raise his hand in an almost friendly gesture, before taking off across the desert, a sense of déjà vu heavy on her as she goes, running headlong just like she had months ago.

That Night

He had been playing with her.

And she had been a moron to go back.

Lycana stares out into the night through the hotel window, the moonbeams playing across her face, casting sharp shadows over it. Soft snores sound at her back, as the other three occupants sleep soundly, exhausted from their day at the zoo. Her fingers glide along the edge of the blackout drape, her mind racing far too much to even consider trying to get any rest.

She had accomplished next to nothing, other than seeing for herself first hand just how deep in Arcana was, and now she was even more convinced something was afoot. Something was coming to the fed, and it had to do with her past and now, everything going on currently. Dots were slowly starting to connect, but the picture wasn’t close to being clear yet. Largest on her mind, was how the hell he had managed to get control over her friend with such completion. It was as if Arcana had done a complete one eighty. What Lycana had encountered, was not her at all... She had been against all of the things she mentioned, against Lycana when she had been in the Left Hand, and yet here she was singing the praises of John Caedus?

It didn’t make sense.

With a sigh she drops the curtain, leaving the barest sliver of light to guide her way to the couch, plopping down and stretching out on it, staring up at the rather ugly picture mounted on the wall. Why did hotels usually have the most garish décor?

Well, while she was here, she could make another little stop before she hopped a plane back, so it wasn’t a total loss.

And maybe, from there, she would at least be able to learn something that might make more of the pieces click.

Tomorrow, she would go and see someone else who had stakes in all this

______________________________________________________________________



“Last week, I introduced Jay Omega to my Fluke and took home the win over both him and Mercy.

I could have gone with my Metamorphosis, but I figured the name of my inside cradle alone was just too good to pass up given the amount of doubt surrounding me within that lovely little triple threat. Added some sprinkles to the layer of icing that was my win. A wink and a grin to all those that bet against me looking for a nice payout only to watch the money they dreamed of go traipsing away, into the distance, along with the hard-earned X-Bux they had laid down to start.

I suppose it just goes to show, you just never know, eh kids?

For having such a big mouth, Mercy’s handler has an even bigger one, and now his foot is firmly lodged in there.

You were saying about her being the standard I hoped to live up to?

As for Omega... He at least put up a little bit more of a fight in that ring.

I’m not going to lie, I had some hopes, but that Warfare match certainly did not come close to the level of excitement as the one at Bad Medicine did. I’m probably setting myself up for some massive disappointments going forward if that’s the standard that I hold everything to, except... Except my upcoming match is quite the blast from the past.

Corey, Corey, Corey...

It has been a really long time, hasn’t it?

In fact, it’s been a year since our first match, and nearly a year since our second at Snow Job. Our paths have barely crossed since then, mere fleeting moments only. A few threats here, an appearance within the twenty-four seven hall there, names cropping up in a promo randomly... Largely though, you and I have not had the opportunity to really show each other what we have learned, or how we have changed over the course of time. I’ve been ever so patiently waiting for my chance to get ahold of you again, biding my time and letting fate take its course, and now, here we are!

What makes it even better, is we finally get a one on one, instead of having dance partners with us.

And in a ladder match no less!

It’s going to be fun!

I can't wait to catch up and see where your head is at, and see just what you are thinking. I have quite a few guesses on where you are going to go with it, but I would rather hold my tongue and let you bury yourself, because if there is one thing I can count on, it would be you not having paid enough attention to what was going on, especially when it comes to me. You never did, even back then, I’m pretty sure that is something that has not changed all that much.

You might get on me for my record, but I have to say darling, after your brain got all messed up and you were dumped on your head, your return has not exactly been anything to toss the confetti around about, now has it?

Shall we compare? Let us start right after Relentless, at the beginning of October, when you cashed in and got your hands on your new toy.

In the last three months I have;

Defeated Quid.

Defeated the tag champions, Flynn and NK with Betsy.

Lost to Alias.

Defeated Mercy and Jay Omega.

And as for you?

Defeated Kieran Overton.

Defeated Elijah Martin.

Defeated Thad, though you admitted that you would, and should have lost that match, but I digress.

No contest against Teeks and Charlie, with good ol’ R.L. Edgar- hey buddy!

You know Cor, I’m not really seeing anything in there that has me shivering in my timbers. Matter of fact, it kind of seems that we are on rather similar trails. While Quid and Omega, they might have been unknowns, Mercy has a history that cannot be scoffed at... meanwhile, you have had it rather easy with your first two defenses, huh? Let us not beat around the bush with it, you said it yourself, a placeholder and one most suited for the dark halls of Anarchy. As for the rest? Well, there is a little something, something hanging over that third victory, but a win is a win, right?

What I’m seeing, is that the self-proclaimed golden boy’s gilded layer has not only cracked, but started to tarnish...

The former dominant force in the XWF is fearing to be just another face in the crowd, hoping that his past reputation can keep him afloat as he amasses “great” victories over people he himself places far outside- read... below... his caliber. A farce, a thinly veiled attempt to pad a record that had been finding itself floundering a bit before your ah... big come back.

So I don’t know Corey my dear, this certainly isn’t the golden boy of old that I am going to be entertaining on Warfare, is it?

Except in the ego area.

At least that always remains constant.

It is funny to watch you, the one who is supposed to be this kind hearted soul, the one who takes care of others, the essential good guy... always finding your way into the drama, and always siding with the pack, no matter who they are, or what side of the coin they dance on. Even if it has nothing to do with you in the faintest, you slide your way on in... lured like a moth to the flame, and unable to resist putting in your two cents. I’ve seen it time and again over the months. It’s like you are addicted to the attention. Bluntly, a lot of your actions certainly counter what you act like you are. You choose the side that benefits you the most, right or wrong, not caring a whit about anyone else in the process. Or you simply cannot resist stirring a pot that doesn’t need stirring. You pretend to be a better person than you are, singing your own praises that you are no longer controlled by the darkness of Engy. That part, is definitely still there in you... rearing its ugly head for all the world to see pretty damn often... you just don’t want to own up to it.

You didn’t then, and you still don’t today.

That makes you a hypocrite sweetheart.

At least I own up to all the bad shit I do, and have done during my time here, most of it being during the timeframe of the Left Hand and after when I took over the mantle as leader. I don’t hide behind anything; I tell it like it is. I’m a bitch, and I don’t pretend to be anything different... thing is, I tend to be a bit more of a selective bitch these days, aiming it at those that deserve a taste of the snark. You happen to be one of them. Know why?

You are the worst kind of person...

Two faced.

A snake.

Someone who views the people around them as mere stepping stones to chase the spotlight that you so desperately need to be in at all times, elbowing whoever is there out of the way so that you can gain a little bit of it back.

You ride the coattails of those around you, letting them carry you around... something I pointed a finger at you for long ago. Or you “hunt”, taking stock of everything around you, but you don’t go for the large prey... nah, not Corey Smith. He settles down for when he sees a weak link, preferably one that is already close to being in its death throes... A hyena, a scavenger... would you have even had the tag team championship if it wasn’t for pity? Would you have gone for the TV against Andre Dixon if you hadn’t defeated him before? The Super if you didn’t cash in against Duke after he battled Mark Flynn? Retained it without the aid of Thad’s daddy dearest?

Probably not.

Especially that last one, making yet another singles run go down the way of all the others... but, c’mon Corey, get on me about my X run as a defense against that. It seems to be the flavor of the season when people pick and choose what to fire at me. But you know what they say about glass houses right?

Ahhhhh a cliché! It's been awhile... you must bring it on out of me.

It’s funny, that you would get on Elijah for the things he said to you, you remember? The things you said that make you a decent human being?

Like, being a good listener.... unless you’re Corey with selective hearing, picking and choosing what his ears pick up, in his own context as well naturally.

Being open to change.... unless you’re Corey, whose ability to do that is shuttered as tightly as his asshole when people point out his rigidity and flaws.

Don’t talk shit about people.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

By those standards, you just said pretty much the entire roster is made up of shit people, including yourself, for doing their job. The one exception maybe being Ruby... maybe. Come ON Corey! Do you really think your little Coreytopia negates the fact that you run your mouth about people just as much, if not more, than just about anybody? Does it make you some kind of knight on his white steed, charging into the fray against... well, anybody at all, resolved of everything you have to say about them? It doesn’t matter who they are, your mouth is flapping with your particular brand of venom splattering around.

We all do it, and you... you’re no different despite the pedestal that you try and prop yourself up on, acting like your shit don’t stink and you’re above it all.

I mean hell, whenever my name pops up in your mouth it is always something negative. Color me surprised. But I think we need to face some facts that you might be shying away from, purposely putting some blinders on so that you can continue on your headlong path that you have always been screaming about “evil” Lycana.

I’m not someone you can turn your back on Corey, because you simply never know.

Look who underestimated me and took a tumble.

I have some names under my belt like R.L. Edgar, Betsy Granger, and Mercy...

We have Alias, the only blemish on his record in an entire year.

And we have Chris Page... the one who did not see it coming at all. The one who was undefeated for months in head on matches until he came up against me, and in hindsight, I’m sure he is kicking himself for not preparing better, just assuming that I was a little nobody.

Much like you do Corey.

Records don’t matter, just ask sweet Reggie how it felt... Stepping in all cocky and self-assured thanks to his previous victories, getting twisted up all nice and neat for the three count.

I suppose it’s your lucky day that a pinfall is taken off the table, and the end of this is likely who can beat the other senseless enough to set up the ladder and then climb it fast enough to grab the prize at the top before they wake up again and teach them how to fly the hard way. No Chronic Fluke for you, mores the pity.

I'll keep my inside cradle, but maybe this is prime time to start changing the whole "fluke" aspect people keep attributing to me. Climbing, leaping if need be, up those rungs to claim victory over you sounds like one hell of a poetic start in the right direction."