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Angelica Vaughn · (07-30-2023)

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean
A few days before Leap of Faith

Flying private wasn’t so bad. Angelica had never felt at ease in ‘smaller’ airplanes, but the leg room certainly beat that of flying coach. Her great-grandfather had insisted he take the company jet after having invited her over to his Upper Midwest apartment for some rather startling revelations.

Angelica had mulled them over ceaselessly ever since. Obviously the fact that he was dying was terrible; even though they had never been particularly close. But that made the fact he wanted her to be his sole heir all the more… intriguing? Angelica wasn’t sure if that was the right word. ‘Exciting’ was another that had crossed her mind, but she felt horrible for even entertaining that one. ‘Intimidating’ was probably the best word.

There was some part of her, a big part of her in fact, that had simply wanted to say ‘no, thank you’. The responsibilities that would be dumped on her shoulders would be immense, and she wasn’t sure if she would be ready for them. She had enough on her mind as it was, and on top of that, she had always been adamant about making her own name. Heck, that was the whole reason why she had kept the Vaughn name to begin with, even if it was nothing more than a corruption of her ‘fake’ father’s real last name. It was also the reason why she had refused to take on the Lacklan name when, in fact, that should’ve been her birthname (with all the birthrights that came with it).

But then again, hadn’t she already done that? Wasn’t the fact she had built her own name and brand the exact reason why her great-grandfather wanted to leave her everything, rather than his son or granddaughter. Was this not a direct consequence of everything she had worked for? After all, Thomas Hightower hardly seemed like a man who would leave his own family anything just for the sake of it. He was clearly not that sentimental.

Angelica groaned. She didn’t want to be thinking about this, as she had other stuff on her mind. Defending the TV Championship should be at the forefront of her mind, and she would be in for a rude awakening if it wasn’t. B.O.B. D had made it very clear exactly what he thought of her; and while it didn’t make an awful lot of sense, she was going to be on the receiving end of a Dan Slam if she didn’t keep her focus. So now would be a good time to address a few things.

”Hello and howdy-ho, my Vaughnstars! Coming to you from a height of around 35,000 feet, which is more than the usual 5’11, it’s me! The TV Champion! I’m on my way to Paris, and I wish I could go and see some sights like the Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower and the steps of Montmartre. But unfortunately, it’s all beeswax on this trip.

Beeswax against the D’s wax… Wait, no, ew that sounds SO wrong. Never mind! You all know who I’m talking about, as I’m sure you’ve all seen and read his exploits as of late. Firstly, attacking poor old Ned. Now, I don’t have anything against Ned, although his fanbase is extremely corrupt, if you know you know, and I don’t think many people do. He’s an easy target if you want some cheap heat, which made him ideal for what you’re seemingly trying to do.

And what you’re trying to do, is become the mayor of Edgeville, edging your way in the edgiest of edge-ploits. Careful not to cut yourself, sir! I guess that’s what joining B.O.B. does to a man, huh? You are trying so hard to be what B.O.B. wants you to be that you seemingly are willing to forsake all that truly matters in this world. I’ll never understand why people do that. See, when I joined the #CoolKids back in the day, I knew I was the odd one out. I love Sar, Kenz and Rox but especially back then we weren’t exactly… alike. We shared some traits, sure, but they were meaner than I was, badder than I was, more ferocious than I was… And yet, they never demanded I stopped being kind or caring or anything that made me who I was. I was my own person, with all my flaws, and never did they ask me to partake in anything that went against my wishes or would compromise who I am.

Seems to me like you’re running away from what, or who, you hold most dear in some kind of desperate attempt at finding acceptance and affirmation from a group of misfits who won’t give two cents for your life when push comes to shove. Fairweather friends don’t last, Dan… You don’t mind that I call you Dan, I hope, it seems weird to use your ‘ring name’ in this case. Fairweather friends will throw you under the bus like you did with Ned. They will use you for as long as you’re useful and cut the cord when you cease to be. Thing is, I think you actually know that, which makes your actions all the weirder. What is it you’re looking for? What are you trying to achieve? What is your motivation here? I’m struggling to come up with an answer that makes sense, beyond the stereotypical ‘wrestler wants to dominate all life’ as if you’re some fantasy or comic book villain.

So now we’ve seen you going around, partaking in petty crimes just for the sake of it, like a 9 year old stealing sweets from a candy store to impress his older buddies. Dear oh dear. It’s quite pitiful. Would be comical if it were satirical or ironic. But you’re AXLY serious. I think you can do better, Dan. And I hope you don’t interpret that as ‘you can do bigger crimes’.

Know what else can do better? The TV title! After all, you went on a tirade describing it as a memento of mediocrity, but that seems like projection. After all, that’s all you’ve ever managed to turn it into. I don’t see this title as ‘low-tier’, I see it as the single hardest title of cosequence to defend in the entire company – and this will be my third defense of it. A TV Champion is always being hunted, and the hunter changes face every single week. Even on PPV events, they are forced to defend this title, which is the only reason I did not sign up for the Leap of Faith match right away. I’m just putting that out there, seeing as you accused me of ‘settling’ for a TV title defense, when in fact my only crime here is not being the head booker of the XWF. An odd thing to lay at a person’s feet, but go off.

Of course, I know this match isn’t a gimme by any stretch of the imagination. Our little game of Connect Four will be fun, but violent. After all, the only way to win this is by incapacitating your opponent so badly you have enough time to connect the four pieces on the board. Some could say it’s even harder than a Last Man Standing match. You and I will have to beat the baby Jesus out of one another in order to win, so in spite of its playful appearance, this one is going to be brutal. And it’s going to take more than one #Vaughnemous to your head in order to win. And don’t worry, I won’t cheat by using handcuffs or anything. Did I mention those are forbidden? I’m sure I did.

N-E-Ways, what I’m trying to say is that I don’t take this lightly, and I don’t take *you* lightly. I didn’t take Dionysus, Noah or Alex lightly, and I’m glad I didn’t, or I would not be sitting here today, holding the TV Championship. And I don’t intend to part with it any time soon, either. You make a compelling case when you say that you want B.O.B. to dominate the XWF from the top down to the bottom, as its previous iteration did. But your friends can’t help you in this upcoming match, Dan. There is no strength in numbers for you here. There will be no shortcuts for you here. There will only be you, me, a board of CONNECT FOUR, and the arena, which will become our playground. As the TV Champion, I’ve given the XWF fans something they’ve never seen before with every show. A cook-off match, a one-count to the finish Cell match, and now a connect 4 match. There is a lot more where that came from, a lot more ideas that I have cooking inside of my brainbox. It’s honestly half the fun of getting to carry this title. Not so I can twist things in my favor, but so I can make sure the fans have the most entertaining night imaginable.

And if not for the fans, who do we do it for, eh? At least, that’s what I think. So see you out there, Dan. A bientôt!"

A few days later…
At a café in the Quartier Latin

The past few days had been little more than grueling workouts, match prep and film study. It was the first time Angelica had allowed herself a moment of respite, and what better way to relax than breakfast with a Croque Madame, an omelette, croissant, and French Toast? She also really wanted a pain au chocolat but that would be too much, even for what was a bit of a cheat meal.

Yes, her prep for this match had been good. She hadn’t slacked off, had stayed focused and was confident of her game plan. And yet, she had a lot of other things on her mind. Throughout the week she had tried to ignore them, but the closer Leap of Faith came, the more she realized it would be in her best interest to purge those other thoughts by addressing them. Only that way would her mind be clear enough to give the Connect Four match all the attention it warranted. She hadn’t told her mother about the business with her great-grandfather yet. She was scared about how she would react. Disappointed? Angry? It was clear that Angie’s mom wasn’t held in high esteem by her own grandfather.

Still, she felt a bit guilty for not trusting her. And that would have to change. Angelica took her tablet from her phone and set it up on the table. It wasn’t exactly an uncommon sight around here, so she wasn’t too worried she’d be disturbing the other patrons, especially since she was going to be wearing Bluetooth earbuds during the call. The only gamble was that her mother might have gone to bed already, given the hour difference. But as the videocall went through, it didn’t take Mary Vaughn a long time to answer. While she hadn’t gone to bed yet, it was clear she had planned to do so sooner rather than later. Her hair was loose, her makeup was gone and she was wearing modest nighttime attire.

"Hey there, sweetie. What’s up?"

”Hey, mom. Hope you’re doing well. Sorry for calling this early… Well, I mean, late. There’s just… something I wanted to talk to you about?"

Angelica didn’t know why she posed that as a question, but it probably was because she was still hesitant whether this was the right call or not. For now, she sidetracked the main topic of the conversation.

”So, how’s things in Maine? Pop-pop and the rest behaving okay?"

Mary let out something that resembled both a sigh and a groan.

"Uugghhhhh, I suppose so? They’re keeping to themselves for now, but the Lacklanlanders are NOT pleased with their presence. A few of them have tried to go into town, but that didn’t end well. Please come back as soon as you can after Leap of Faith. WITH that TV title, preferably, of course."

”Obvs. Wait, they didn’t get into fights or anything, did they?"

"It’s probably something you’ll have to see for yourself once you get here, sweetie."

”Ah yes. Show, don’t tell. Gotcha."

"Pretty much. But it’s nothing to worry about. Although I wouldn’t test Aveline’s patience for much longer. I’m guessing that’s the only reason why she hasn’t given her people the order to drive them off yet. For now though, just focus on doing what you gotta do over there. I have to say, I’m kind of jealous. I hear Paris is lovely this time of year."

”Totes! Although I’ve mostly been training. This is the first time I’ve gone into the city and allowed myself to unwind a bit. I really wanna win this one, mom. It means a lot. If I do, I’ll have gone undefeated all of July and have racked up three consecutive title defenses. Consistency is key, you know. And perfection is a lot of little things done well. Two things to strive for. Buuuuttt… That’s not the exact reason why I called."

"Oh?"

So Angelica told her. How she’d been intercepted by her great-grandfather’s bodyguards, how they had taken her to his apartment right next to Central Park, and how he had stated his intent of making her the heir of his fortune, and business shares. Mary remained rather stoic throughout Angelica’s explanation. It worried Angelica, since her mom had become a lot more expressive ever since Richard Vaughn had disappeared from their lives. When Angelica was finished, the silence was… deafening. Mary had averted her eyes from the camera, and seemed deep in thought. But right now, all Angelica wanted to hear was a reaction.

”…mom? Say something? Please? I could really use your guidance, here. I don’t know what to make of it. I’ve been wanting to tell you this for days, but I wasn’t sure how you would react, so… Please?"

Mary eventually looked back into the camera and at her daughter’s face.

"Sweetie… Your great-grandfather is a spiteful man who has never put his family first. I always assumed he wanted nothing to do with any of us because of our life’s choices. For all the blame he likes to put on your grandfather for not living up to his standards, I think he has also made mistakes. You see, Angie, he was a young parent. Your father was a young parent. I certainly was a young parent. At your current age, all of us had children already. But I don’t think any one of us were ready for it. Your great-grandfather just left college and was building his firm, having no time for his child. No wonder your pop-pop ended up resenting that life… it had taken his father away from him.

Of course, that lax attitude ensured he would have me when in truth, he wasn’t ready for it either. Him and your grandma were living that hippie lifestyle, which I grew up in. The boundaries he had rebelled against were completely lacking. But maybe boundaries were exactly what I needed, and I wouldn’t have ended up running off. I was young, too young, when I met your father, but I was so enamored I thought little of the consequences. But in the end, all of those mistakes were for the best, because every decision led to *you*, sweetheart. And I wouldn’t change any of those things.
And… he’s right about you. You are smart and responsible, no matter what anyone might say. You’ve carved out a place for yourself in history, and every risk you’ve taken has been a measured one. But don’t be mistaken, sweetie. This *is* a risk you’re taking. If you inherit his money and infrastructure, you will take on the legacy of someone who had to be ruthless and cold to maintain what he had built. And I do not want you to turn into that."

”I… understand. Temptation is the devil’s work, eh? But then again, when I found out who my dad was, it didn’t change me either. And the Lacklan legacy weighs heavily on my shoulders as well, although I’ve never let that change who I was. In fact, I told my Leap of Faith opponent something similar. He is willing to change who he is, willing to run away from love and happiness, because he has deluded himself into thinking he has to be something, or someone, else. I will never do that, whether I accept his offer or not…"

A pause fell… Eventually, Angelica asked another question.

"How do you think pop-pop and gangy will react? After all, they should be first in line to inherit, right?"

”Your grandfather has never wanted his father’s money, and like I said, he certainly doesn’t want anything to do with his firm. I think he’d be relieved, if anything…"

Another silence fell. This time, it was Mary who broke it with a question.

"…how did the dem-… I mean, how did Sarah react to this news?"

”…I haven’t told her yet."

"You may be surprised to hear this coming from my mouth, but she deserves to know. Are you scared of how she will react, too?"

”…no? …yes? …Eye Dee Kay. But you’re right, I shouldn’t keep this from her. Bad stuff happened the last time I hid a secret from her for too long. As soon as I’m back in Maine I’m having dinner with her to explain everything. Promise!"

"Good."

Angelica felt relieved. She knew where she stood with her mother. For now, that was enough. It hadn’t brought her much closer to a final decision, but it had given her the peace of mind she was looking for. With that out of the way, she was ready. For Leap of Faith. And for all B.O.B. had to offer.

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