"Wake up, sleepy head... wakey wakey eggs and bake-- WAKE UP BEFORE I BREAK OUT THE CHAINSAW!!"

Alice stands beside Ophelia's bed, anxiously anticipating her 'big brother' to wake up.

Alice: Opie, what are ya gonna do with your life?!

Ophelia: ...Alice, go back to your room and wake me up at 5pm, I'm not Dee Snider.

Alice: WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE?!

Ophelia sighs heavily... before sitting up in bed and gazing at his kid sister with glee [faux glee, but still]

Ophelia: I WANNA ROCK!!!

Alice: That's the spirit, now we're cookin' with gas, now go sign up for the I.C. Title Contendership Rumble! ^__^

Ophelia: ...............later.

Ophelia plops back into bed and shuts off the alarm, before turnng over and trying to get some more rest.

Alice: But... But Tush is gonna be in it! You could probably do well to face him, he's a hot prospect ya know. If you can outlast him then you'll be able to tell people like Equinox and Reb to blow it out their ass!!! :^O

No answer.

Alice: ...and Tommy Gunn, I know you wanna get back at him for that commotion the two of you went through...

Still no answer.

Alice: ...Trax is--

At this Ophelia shoots out of bed, eyes wide.

Ophelia: TRAX?

Alice: ...yes?

Ophelia: ...hmm. The chance to overcome that pompous assclown and redeem myself after this past week... I like the sound of that...

Alice: Then let's go, silly!!! Time's ah-wastin'!

Ophelia: Ok, fine, we'll go to XWF HQ and place my name in contention. But I doubt if they'll take me seriously, being a two for two loser, not to mention a rookie they've probably never even heard of.

Alice: ...Seriously? Hun, I thought you were over all that?

Ophelia: All what?

Alice: That self-pitying shit, you're better than that! You can't cave in and coast now just because of what some of those bastards have said. Sweetie, just think about it. You've got the best position. If you lose, it's not that big a deal cuz no one expects you to win anywayz. ^_^

Ophelia: Well, thanks for the pep talk...

Alice: No, no, no, listen boobalah. I'm playing with you, stop being what they tell you you are and start being what you BELIEVE you are. Up till recently you've had this fire... but now, when the cameras are off, you mope and stay in bed all day. It's not over, ya know. See, if you WIN, then you prove all the haters wrong, and you show the world that you've got what it takes to hang with the likes of Trax, Vinnie, Gilmour., Frodo, Ginger, Austin... you'll shock the masses, and in the end, you have nothing to lose, everything to gain. And I BELIEVE in you, Bubby! Show them what Ophelia McVeigh is made of!

Ophelia: Organs, blood, bones and muscle tissue?

Alice: ......Road trip?

Ophelia: Road trip!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

50 minutes later, we find Ophelia in the driver's seat of a jet black Lincoln with twin crimson stripes down the center. Alice is in the passenger's seat, and she's listening to the debut album of a new band she discovered, Dead Sara. When the CD arrives at her fave song, 'Lemon Scent', she begins to head bang, and Ophelia smiles.

Ophelia: You'll break your neck that way, you know?

Alice stops for a second, "Will not! What is this, "A Christmas Story"? :P "

Ophelia: So, whadya think of Rebel Star?

Alice: Whyyyy, got a crush on her or somethin'? ^.^

Ophelia: Do not!! This isn't kindergarten, if I like a girl, I'm not gonna pull her pig tails or something. That's childish, as Ghost Tank would put it.

Alice: ....Huh?

Ophelia: Nothing, in-joke, nevermind, ANYWAY... How's school?

Alice: I killed a girl.

Ophelia: ...As in literally murdered a girl?

Alice: Yeah, but she had it coming to her.

Ophelia: Why's that?

Alice: She talked too much.

Ophelia: .........................Sooo... nice weather we're havin', eh?

Alice: Yip. ^_^

= = = = = = = = =

20 more minutes, and Ophelia pulls up to a gas station/convenience store. He heads out to fill the tank, leaving Alice to the radio. She switches it to the local rock station, but instead of music, the local DJ is having a quick interview with XWF's rising Star, Rebel. See what I did there? ... Anyhow, they discuss Reb's entrance into the company, her goals and aspirations, a quick touch of her past involving her being just a "tad" different from most... and finally, they reach her upcoming match with Luca against Nico and Ophelia. Rebel seems to be more than ready for McVeigh, wondering if he's ready for her...

Alice: That smarmy bitch... If I could just get my hands around her THROAT, WHY I'D--

Ophelia: Whoa, whoa sis, calm down.

Ophelia stands beside the ride, done filling it up and speaking to Alice through the open window;

Ophelia: Why does Rebel get you steamed up so much? She's just another non-believer. She'll see the light one day, and she'll be fighting alongside us, in the name of Truth. The mediocrity in this place is overwhelming, and she's being dragged into it. But she's too good for that, she's above it. I told her, just as I told Alexis Riot, that this isn't an act, and it's not assimilation. Either people open their eyes or not. I don't force them to break away from the cuffs of #NORMALOCRACY. I lead them. But I can't make them drink... to paraphrase a famous saying.

Alice: I just hate the fact that she thinks she's got you beat already. When she meets you, face to face, in the ring, why...

Ophelia: I know, my dear, but don't fret. Right now, I need you to take this cash to the convenience store, pay for the gas, and treat yourself to some candy or soda pop or something.

Alice: Ooooo, candy!! ^.^ Thankiez, Opie.

Ophelia: No problemo, sis. Just make it quick, we need to get to HQ in about half an hour.

Ophelia steps back into the car, as Alice heads off with the money. "Take A Picture" by Filter plays... Ophelia begins to speak, eyes trained on the shop...


Ophelia: So. I'm heading out to XWF HQ, to sign up for the IC Chance Rumble thing-ah-mah-jig. Some might say that's a tall order when I already have Rebel Star and one half of the tag team champions on my plate, but it's not like that. Not at all, because I have the reserve to step inside the ring one more time to do something that a guy like NorthKoreanWarCriminal can only fantasize about;

Ophelia: Hold every title in the company.

Ophelia: Sure, it may not be all at once, unlike say, Hayabusa, may he rest in peace. No, it'll most likely take a year or two, but I'm willing to put the time and effort in to get out what I'm dreaming of. Gilmour took a handful of years to finally make the Xtreme championship mean something, and that's precisely what I plan to do. Fight, brawl, battle until I've laid claim to each and every strap in this company.

Ophelia: So, Tush. And they make fun of MY name... Regardless, you're an athlete, not just another pretty face, though you do look like a guy straight from the cover of a 70s porno flick. Complete with the hairiest chest I've seen since Jack Black in Nacho Libre. You're not the champ for nothing, I can tell, but you've yet to be in a situation like this, where literally ANYONE could end up standing across the ring from you. From NKWC to Robbie Bourbon to Frodo Mother Fuckin Smackins, everyone's got their eyes on what's around YOUR waist.

Ophelia: You're a target. A walking, talking target.

Ophelia: See, I've been a target my entire life. Due to the way I act, the way I dress, the things I say. I've been beaten down, bloodied, and left for dead. To be a champion, you have to be prepared for all challenges from all sides at all angles. It just comes with the territory. I'm still no vet, not by a long, long shot, BUT... I've been through the indie scene as well as the international circuit, and I've held a belt or two. And let me tell you, regardless of how high up it may be on the totem pole, you're always going to have a league of challengers chomping at the bit just to get a crack at what you got...

Ophelia: ...I just happen to be the man with the incisors to bite through these one-liners.

Ophelia: Tommy.. I've not got much to say to you. For now, anyway. You're not someone I wanted anything to do with, as my kid sister's friend, raYne, told me a lot about you. He returned from the dead, returned here as Reeve, and he found you to be a thorn in his side. He had challenged Paul Heyman to be on 'The Show', a talk segment he put together... but instead, you stepped up to protect your favorite member of the administration. You know, cuz people like you only get ahead by sucking up and kissing ass. But to each their own, I suppose.

Ophelia: Well, I arrived. I went after the Federweight Title, and you walked away with the gold still in tact. Make no Bones about it, I'm not done quite yet. And by the way... Reeve's first match back in the XWF was a 4-way involving Gator, Bones and yourself. ...Wait, that was Tommy Wish. Well, you're both as disposable as Shade. You're BOTH an afterthought when it comes to the bookers, and you're both much better served as jockstrap carriers for stars like Trax and Vince, so there's that.

Ophelia: And speak of the devil, that brings me to one man...

Ophelia finally turns his attention to the camera, stationed on the passenger's side;

Ophelia: Trax. Trax, you won, just as you said you would. It helped that you actually had a competent partner, unlike Chris MacBeth, but as I've mentioned prior, I don't bitch over losses or the steps I take backward. I instead take the losses as lessons to move forward, better frame of mind, more focused, more driven than the last time. I'm ready. If you're in this thing, so am I, and you can bet your ASS that I WILL see to it that I'm the man to toss you over the top rope and straight to the concrete below. There's no chance in hell I'm letting you get the best of me again. If I have to, I will start a petition to get a one on one match with you at the next PPV. Why?

Ophelia: Because you were the first to dismiss my beliefs. You put that virus in the back of my mind that crept its way into my psyche, and YES, I'm blaming you for both of the losses I've suffered as of yet. And I will NOT allow you to get one over me again. I'm too good to be derailed by some once-off champ with sub-par mic skills and even worse in-ring ability. And yes, you're going to come back at me with reasoning behind why you're one of the best here. If that were true, why would you need protection? Women, weapons, cheap tactics. It's your play book, Traxxie Cab. It's all there in black and white, you're the Christian Cage circa 2012 of XWF circa 2016. In other words?

Ophelia: You're the type that's always asking for one more match... after he's already had ten. You're the type that uses every short cut in the BOOK to get over and pick up another 'W'. You're the type that bad mouths someone for sticking to cheap tactics... right before you smash someone over the head with a steel chair when the ref's not looking. We're both bad guys, Trax. But we're not cut from the same cloth. While you have to stick to using every trick in the book to scrape out a win, I've got the cards stacked in my favor as soon as I step into the ring. I don't need a wild card, I don't need the Joker or even an Ace in the Hole. All I need is the King of Spades.

Quote:It represents the ultimate in spiritual energy and wisdom. Be it in some profound, noble role, or in some far less conspicuous expression of service, your true place is to be found in an expression of leadership. Quandaries as to what you want to do may leave you in a mire of mediocrity, drowning your frustrations in anything that will dull your awareness of your failures.

Rise to the challenge, and you may bring inspired leadership as a teacher, counselor, healer, statesman or parent. Accept the opportunity spelled out symbolically in your card, and apply the essence of mastery, or personal discipline which it encompasses, and there should be no limit to what you can accomplish.

Ophelia: Menos was a fluke.

Ophelia: You won't be.

Ophelia: 'Nuff said.


Alice skips back to the car holding two arms filled with candy bars, Nerds, Twizzlers and other assorted, teeth rotting garbage, far too much to have been paid for with the cash Ophelia handed her... She slides into the passenger's side and smiles at Ophelia. She says only two words.


Alice: Move it.

Ophelia: ... (looks at Alice... then at the store clerk quickly running toward the Lincoln) ...Got'cha.


::i feel like a new born... kicking and screaming::

|you're not cut out for this...you've got that lemon scent|

--why do we settle for mediocrity, when greatness is right below--