*The cries of a four-year-old girl should, by default, conjure empathic reactions from those closest to her. For Solace, one of her closest considered it weakness and a flaw rather than a normal human response. The emotion wasn't "useful" in making the humungous decisions her mother made daily and if to quote her, "She made all of her judgments at the emotional level, they'd be piss poor and foolish." Quotes like that stuck with Solace for the duration of her childhood, her mother's philosophy such as "Gotta break a few omelets," and "Love is for the poor." In this sense, despite her environment, she found herself more in tune with her father's beliefs... quite the opposite sentiment than her mother and her father was successful as well... but not as... globally invested.

Through grade-school, a small town wasn't fit to raise Solace, and since her mother always got her way, Solace went to elementary school in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. Her father was on business trips a majority of the week just as her mother was, but the only difference was during their sparse quality time, one would cherish the moments and the other would groom Solace to become an unstoppable woman of business. It wasn't Solace's dream but she tried hard to convince herself that it was; making her mother unsatisfied wasn't worth the joy of doing what she loved to do... sports. Her father made sure any basketball or softball games were not only recorded but would have copies made just in case one was lost through time. He named Solace. The one argument he won against her mother and his inevitable ex-wife.

Before their final signatures legalized the destruction of their union, Solace doesn't remember a version of her parents that were warm for longer than the hormonal and sexual needs her mother would bend herself to indulge. It was always a short-term sacrifice she'd make to soften only to achieve her husband's occasional warmth but when she realized she didn't need to soften for the men around her elsewhere, she felt that opening up at all was a chore and simply wouldn't bother after long.

Her mother was a strong woman. There was no denying that. Solace found it admirable for a while, but she also didn't know how toxic her mother was because there was no other mother-figure to compare her to. It wasn't until the divorce that she saw who her mother really was on the inside; a monster.

At the age of eight, no little girl should have to be pit against both parents by the other, but that's exactly what happened. She wanted them to work things out, but she knew it was something outside of her realm. She wondered why her wishes weren't enough for both of them to put their differences aside and just find a common ground, even if it was Solace herself, but she wasn't enough to ease the tensions. It was warfare short of actual bloodshed. This battlefield was in courtrooms with armies of lawyers and bullets made of word-bending and suggestive influence in front of people who had no business in her family's life. Nobody asked Solace what she wanted, they only insinuated that one parent would be the better choice, until one day, they finally asked Solace what she wanted... in front of both parents, unfairly expecting her to pick aside. *

Mommy: Come on, baby. Tell them the truth.

*She softens up for the audience looking on, but Solace knows it's a temporary moment sure to pass once she has what she wants.*

Daddy: Honey. Sol. I'm sorry you are in this position... it's not fair for you to have to make this decision and it's sickening that these bloodsuckers are so desperate that they would put this on you-

"Objection!" *From the other side of the court.

Judge: Sustained.

*Solace remembers the sad eyes of the judge turning to her, leaning towards her on the stand, and with a comforting voice he asks,* "My dear, I know you don't want to do this at all but if you must, would you rather do this privately?"

Solace: Yes...

*And so with a recess ordered by Judge Carlita, Solace, her Mommy and Daddy made their way back to his chambers to hear her decision privately. A tear streamed down either cheek as she dug deep inside of herself for the strength to choose, who in her mind, would interpret her decision as who she loved more.

This wasn't the case, at least in Solace's mind, and being eight years old with a combination of a fear of her mother all but decided for her.*

Solace: I'm sorry, Daddy...

*As Solace sobs, she embraces her father, who has tears at each corner of his own eyes.*

Daddy: Baby, don't you worry. Don't you worry, your old man will be all right.

*He looked up, tears now rolling down her own cheeks, and lands his gaze with his ex-wife. She doesn't offer sympathy, but a subtle and prideful smirk just at the corner of her lips. A quick flare from her eyebrow to let him know that she had won, and felt nothing watching him hug his daughter for the last time.*

Solace: I love you, Daddy.

Daddy: I know you do, sweetheart. I love you too. I will always love you.

Mother: Okay, let's get this taken care of if you don't mind? Can we get going here? I have a pre-engagement; work-related.

*Solace and her father break apart, but he holds her shoulders to look down into her eyes; perhaps for the last time.*

Daddy: Don't become anything but what you want to be.

Solace: I won't, Daddy...

Daddy: Promise me...

Mother: Come on, Ekon. That's enough.

Daddy: Promise me, baby. Be true to yourself!

Solace: I promise, Daddy.

*Her Daddy smiles through his tears. *

Daddy: Good... now, you go on, baby. You treat your mother well, alright?

Solace: Okay, Daddy.

*She pauses for a moment, wondering if she could change her mind, but her mother's eyes lock with her own and she loses her edge. She moves to her mother, her head hanging in regret, and joins her at her side. *



Judge Carlita: This is highly unorthodox but as both lawyers have agreed to these terms, it would appear that the decision has been made and will be legally binding.

*Solace would be with her mother for a short time before she began to feel more alone than ever before. Her mother's warmth was forever absent when Solace needed her the most and the mere mention of her father would spark a fury that eventually would cause Solace to hide how she felt. Without being able to talk about her father's memory coupled with the constant negative light her mother would shine on him, it became clear to Solace that her father was systematically being disenfranchised to remove his memory altogether.

This was the beginning of a dark time in Solace' life...*

---------------------------------PRESENT DAY----------------------------------

*Solace wakes up in the present time to the sound of the obnoxious alarm setting that she chose for that purpose. She wakes up in her apartment in New York City, her first month of rent provided by her father, next month will be from the XWF.

She yawns and the butterflies return to her stomach as she begins to think about March Madness again. She received notification that the tournament's first brackets were released and today she planned on sitting down and looking it over. She was sure there would be names she's never heard of in the tournament but just hoped her first match wouldn't be against Joey Oddjobs again.

After her shower, she brewed a black coffee and sat down with a protein bar while opening up her laptop on a table. She navigated herself to the XWF website and found the first round brackets almost immediately for the next coming Savage. First, she scrolled for her name and found her opponent... Kris "The Hammer" Von Bonn. Her eyes narrow in suspicion that Joey Oddjobs might have had more merit than this misfit. Nonetheless, it wasn't in her nature to pre-judge her opponents before a thorough study of their past, present, and potential future.

She moved her eyes back up to the top of the card to start right where the tournament begins. Mini Morbid. She hasn't heard of this one but thought the same sounded interesting. She wondered if it represented his attack style, but mini? That makes him sound dead on arrival.

His opponent... Slash Hopkins. Solace wonders if either of these two were card fillers or had a reputation for greatness. She would investigate further. For now, she is unsure of who Liam Roberts is, but knows Osira Sirus must be related to XWF great Atara. She had followed Atara's time in Fade2Black, one of the free wrestling shows she could watch with her Daddy in China. She was good, but she had a chip on her shoulder. A goddess? Come on. Although Solace appreciated the theatrics, she would love to be able to say she took down the goddess, Atara... but perhaps she'd have to settle for the lesser sister.

Noah Jackson. Well, he sounds like a character from a Nicholas Sparks novella. Like... maybe one of his first that nobody ever reads because it's not interesting and lacks substance going against "The Storyteller" which, at this point, seems pretty comical to Solace after her first reference to this Jackson character.

Ned Kaye. Solace liked this one. She hoped to face him in the second round but wasn't going to get her hopes up, as he would be facing a woman named Scarlet "the huntress" Donaldson. *

Solace: Wow...

*Solace can't help but say it out loud as she comes off of reading her name with potential intimidation to be buzz killed by 'Donaldson'. If that isn't the most vanilla name she had ever heard, and following such a cool name like "The Huntress". what a letdown. Oh, she realizes, another member of the Misfits. *

Solace: Ah. Everything becomes clear.

*She wasn't going to, but she just had to pause her reading so she could look up just what the Misfits are about. As she arrives at their group's page on the XWF Roster, she begins studying each of their members, seemingly lead by the mysterious "Mastermind" who, to Solace's knowledge, isn't actively in the XWF. Interesting, she thinks, but upon further reading, the interest faded so quickly that she considered just getting back in bed to sleep off her boredom. *

Solace: Annnyway.

*Solace clicks back over to the Savage page, realizing there was nothing to learn about her opponent or their group of "Misfits" worth learning. *

Solace: Another gimmick.

*Keiran? Keiran Overton? That's a strange one. Against Miss Fury. Ooh. That might be a good one. From what Solace has seen, Miss Fury was a pretty formidable opponent, and the very thought of meeting her in the ring was something Solace would feel unprepared for no matter how often she would certainly train. It was something about Miss Fury that seemed a bit more dangerous than just a professional wrestler in a match-up. It seemed that the honor of being a wrestler came second to showmanship, these days... but somewhere along the line, actual sadists and masochists found professional wrestling as their outlet. This made things more dangerous than the circuits in China.

Centurian. He's a legend here, solace has been told. Not sure who Dean Rose is but he seems to be on the uprising. Oh, wait, this isn't for March Madness.*

Solace: Dummy.

*Solace shakes her head at herself, reaching for her coffee, and taking a long sip. She needs no spoon for her coffee, for as long as she can remember, she's preferred it without sugar or cream. Her father never understood it, he would ask "How can you drink it like that?" but Solace had an answer: "I'm not drinking it for the taste. I'm drinking it to wake up." It's always function over fashion for Solace, something that her father swore was the trait of a Virgo, but Solace didn't buy into astrology.

Shawn Warstein. Solace thinks she's heard the name but doesn't think she remembers seeing it on the XWF Roster. She was probably wrong about that. There were so many names to remember and she is only on her second match, but it drives her nuts not being able to keep everything in her head.

Her eyes squint.*

Solace: Bearded War Pig. Oh, okay.

*She rolls her eyes, wondering what the hell was going through some of these wrestler's minds when choosing their alias. Some didn't even bother to pick an alias and went by just Alias. No effort was put in with that one, or maybe he was 'too cool' for a name. What did Solace get herself into here, she wonders?

Hawaiin Hardhead. Hanari Carnes. Ash Quinn. Mandii Rider. Solace has gone through all of those in the first-round matches for Savage and nobody other than Miss Fury or Ned Kaye has stood out to her. She isn't, however, keen on underestimating her opponent or any of those in the tournament... stupid name or not. Stupid gimmick or not. She would treat anyone she goes against the same way... as a threat.

Although the threat of 'The Hammer' coming down didn't promote fear in Solace, she was certain that this was one nail that might just snap its handle. She wondered if that metaphor was appropriate considering the velocity of its swing would have to be strong enough to snap against the impact, but judging from this man's site bio, it was clear that he most likely wasn't worthy enough to even lift it, to begin with.

Solace smirks at her own thoughts, before taking another sip of her bitter coffee. She clears her throat and prepares herself to make a promotional video right there in her NYC apartment's kitchen. She was in her silk bathrobe, but she couldn't pass up the morning lighting to formally address the first match in March Madness III's tournament. She hits record and begins.*

Solace: Good morning, XWF. I know that my previous engagements with you have been a little less... personal, but I'm putting myself out there so you know just how comfortable I feel with my circumstances going forward into March Madness III.

First of all, I've studied the past March Madness tournaments and their results. I've looked over the potential opponents I could be facing in the second and third rounds. I've also checked out my own opponent's stats and wrestling history and I have to say that for my first few matches, the XWF management must have a soft spot for me... or a vendetta against those they've matched me with.

*Solace laughs a little, her eyes lifting to the ceiling.*

Solace: I am so sorry to come off as arrogant, but I assure you, I don't mean to. It's not that I think I'm better than my opponents, I just can't get past some of their names. The Hammer. I mean, I get it... you want to sound intimidating and forceful, believe me, the hammer sounds like a good option to get that message across... it's just, I mean, you have to actually bring that energy when you show up and looking at your history, my man, you should have named yourself Kris "The Noodle" Von Bonn.

Now, I don't want you to misinterpret what I mean by that as I'm sure your toxic masculinity will most certainly whisper to your tiny brain that I am somehow trying to immaculate you, but to be completely honest, there's no shame in being defeated by a girl. Humiliating, for you? Yeah, no doubt... but you shouldn't let it bother you too much... what's more humiliating is your little group of Misfits. I mean, you should tell your friends less is more... because every time they get on a microphone and open their mouths... it seems that the entire world of XWF laughs, and not in the good kind of way.

Look, I'm sorry if you have to remain in a group to feel like a big man, but I won't be showing up at Savage with anyone but Me, Myself, and I... and if that's not enough to leave you in the first round of the tournament, then so be it. Just know, I am not backing down to you or your Misfits, and I really hope you bring your A-game because I'm bringing mine, and when I bring my A-game... you know you're not walking out of there with an L.

By the way, I'm not quite sure what you are even doing in this tournament. Can you imagine "Kris 'The King of XWF' Von Bonn" Does that sound realistic to anyone? Sure, you have just about as much opportunity to pull a rabbit out of the hat and achieve this goal, albeit, far-fetched as it is to me... and I'm a newcomer! Imagine how the others feel about you... The King of XWF. I just can't. Anyway, opportunity or not, take a look at yourself now! I had to actively search you out just to find information about you... you couldn't be found on title histories or even on many cards if any. Quite frankly, I think Joey Oddjobs has more of a right to enter this tournament than you do, and that is quite frankly, the nicest I can be regarding your value as an XWF competitor.

Again, I'm not trying to be a bitch here, but you are my opponent and the XWF expects me to talk about it a little bit before going in.. you know, get the hype for our match-up and everything. So, don't take what I'm saying too personal.. no, what you're going to want to take personally is when we step into the Savage ring... and I give you the spanking you should have received from Mastermind for even thinking about signing up for this tournament.

I'll see you next Saturday, Kris. Can't wait.