"Don't go gentle into that good night."

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."-Dylan Thomas



If there was any feeling Alexis Riot despised the most, it was the feeling of being on a plane. At first, this may seem odd, considering Riot's tendency of using high flying maneuvers during her matches, but there was a key difference between jumping off the ropes and flying in a plane thousands of feet in the air. Riot loved the feeling of leaping high into the air. The adrenaline, the cheers of the crowd, the wind in her face, the feeling of brief freedom from the very laws of gravity, even the uncertainty of knowing if her high risk offense would actually pay off, these were what filled Riot with joy.

In a plane, however, all these factors were stripped away.

Instead of getting thrills, all Alexis got in a plane was boredom. All Riot could do was sit in her seat, read through the shitty magazines, try to discover what actually was the deal with airline food, and try to resit the urge to punch the guy or girl who loudly snored next to her.

And if a baby was crying on the flight? God, a crying baby might the be the worst sound in he world besides a Ghost Tank promo!

Despite all this, however, Riot had to admit there were some positives to a plane ride. One, and most obviously, it's more efficient than driving. Two, it was a good place to get some last minute rest, well, at least when babies were not crying, strangers weren't loudly snoring next to her, and turbulence wasn't shaking the very steel vehicle to its core.

Three, it gave her time to think about things, like the words of a certain Thomas Nixon.

Ordinarily, Riot didn't really pay attention to the things her opponents said to her. All their empty threats and posturing could barely make her flinch, and if they did have an accusation against her, she would be quick to disprove, owe up to, or counter it with some stinging remarks of her own. But something about the weird man who probably got triggered when that one lizard got eaten in "Mad Max" words seemed to strike her on a deeper level than most accusations sent her way. Why?

Because they were true.

Alexis sighed as she continued to ponder Nixon's words. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Why was she potentially risking what little well being she had left? Why was she continuing to risk her life at the expense of her family?

Why didn't she just leave after blacking out backstage?

She had little achievements to speak of, little to hold to her name, and she wasn't in the XWF long to leave any real impact.

But she wasn't going to just give up like that.

That's what quitters and pussies did.

Alexis then began to clench her fist.

What Nixon, and possibly everyone else in the XWF, didn't understand was that while it was true she didn't get to achieve much in the XWF, belts and accolades weren't her main goal. When she walked into the XWF just a little over a year ago, she didn't have titles, money, or even fame dancing in her head when she entered. Like Nixon, she had a different purpose.

To prove to the world that circumstances couldn't determine what someone could or could not do.

She was raised in a ghetto neighborhood in Detroit, was abused constantly by her mother, and had to experience things no young child, or adult for that matter, should have the displeasure of going through. She could have had all that define her. She could have became just another thug or whore walking the Chicago streets. She could have just given up on her dreams and ambitions.

But she didn't give up.

Instead, she survived the abuse of her mother, along with the other dangers of inner city Chicago, graduated from both high school and college, started a family, and followed her dream of becoming an wrestler.

Besides, the few accomplishments she did gain throughout her career filled her with pride.

The XWF X-Treme title, while indeed held by a lot of XWF superstars in its time, was also one of the most prestigious titles in the company. The fact she got to have her name listed with other legendary names such as Unknown Solider, Trax, Frodo Smackins, Vinnie Lane and many others was a definite feather in her cap, not to mention the fact she won it just a few days after signing with the XWF.

That alone was more than what Nixon was probably going to ever achieve in the XWF.

She also took on many of the XWF's best and gave them the absolute fights of their careers. Guys like the Morbid Angel, Peter Gilmour, and the aforementioned Trax, who could easily kick Nixon's ass in an instant, had to actually work for a victory against her.

Hell, in the cases of Trax and Gilmour, they needed outside interference to get the victory!

Not only that, but she took on the absolute king of the XWF, a man who was and still is known as a near invincible force, one half of the currant Tag Team Champions, Dr. Louis D'Ville, and WON.

Alexis chuckled at the thought of seeing a someone like Nixon try to pull that off.

In the end, Alexis was content with her successes, and if this whole concussion situation hadn't taken place, she knew she would have achieved more.

But even before she had all those victories to look back on; even when she got thrown off a scaffold and set on fire on the same day, she didn't give up and quit. Even against insurmountable odds and squaring off against arguably one of the most dominate factions in XWF history, the CCWF, she didn't throw her hands up and "quit while she was ahead" like Nixon suggested.

If even through all the shit she had been through throughout her career couldn't cause her to quit, why would she back down to a loony bastard who believed reptilians were real?

She might have not been in the best shape of her career, but even in this state she knew that Nixon stood no chance against her. After all, what's to be said about a man whose devastating finishing maneuver is a roll up?

Thomas Nixon was just another semi-interesting face who was going to fade from memory after a few weeks; and Alexis had faced off against plenty of those.

And do you know what she did with all of those so called superstars?

She destroyed them.

That's what her fans wanted to see, and that's what she was going to give them before she finally called it a career.

In the end, Thomas Nixon was the lizard, just like the ones he claimed to be raised by, lazily lying around in an open desert field.

Alexis was the hawk about to rip its guts out and eat them.

Suddenly, Alexis's train of thought was interrupted by the turbulence of the airplane. The entire lobby shook and rattled as the plane began to descend from the heavens, prepared to land at its final destination. When the plane finally touched down, Alexis heard an overly cheery voice ring through the PA system,

"We have now arrived at your destination, Boston, Massachusetts! We hope you enjoyed your flight, thank you for choosing to fly with Delta Airlines!"

As all the passengers began to rise from their seats, stretching out their cramped muscles and anxiously waiting to be let out, Alexis had only one thought in her mind.

Nixon was right, a career was going to end this Sunday. Not hers, oh no, her career was going to end next week.

The career being ended this Sunday was going to be Nixon's.

.........

TICK TOCK

Love me? Good. Hate me? Better

Accomplishments:
1 Time X-Treme Champion
Snow Job Gauntlet Winner