Demons.

“We all have them… I’m no different from anyone else. I’ve dealt with my fair share, and I know I’m going to have to deal with even more as I go forward.” Jennie says.

The army stood side by side. There is a certain tension in the air… their nerves, high, but they did not waver; they did not falter. They remain stoic, firm, merely glaring forward as if ready to meet a great foe in combat. It is a vast darkness in front of them. Lava bubbles and oozes over along the edges of fissures that bring a faint glow but not enough to bring light to the center where a sound grows louder and louder… it starts as a series of overlapping screeches, as if nails on a chalkboard. Hisses. Snarling.

A light from behind the army is what finally shatters the darkness and unveils the hordes of demons in front of them. The army of the light begins their charge forward as the angelic figure hovers over them with their wings sweeping and piercing the ground while seemingly in pursuit.

Jennie continues her opening speech, “Demons. I’ve taken another huge step. I’ve hit another milestone, and I know that every step I take is going to bring another challenge– another encounter– another demon… A rope that taunts you time after time… A rope that is supposed to be your salvation, your safety, your net, only to be nothing more than a demon laughing in your face. A title that eludes you for months… a title that you chase for months! Taunting you! Mocking you! Letting you get close… so close… to taking it, only to have it snatched away.” Jennie scoffs.

“Another thing trying to tell you that you can’t do something! Another thing trying to tell you that you’re not good enough! Another thing trying to tell you your limits! But do you know what you do when they try to tell you your limits? YOU PASS THEM! You persevere! You fight harder! You fight longer! When everything– when everybody– when all the demons are trying to dissuade you from doing something, you silence them. You silence them by beating them.” She takes another momentary pause, as the battle ahead ensues. The heaven sent archangel, leading the charge against the demons.

“But even beating them isn’t good enough, because now you have that demon whispering in your ear that you don’t deserve it… The demon whispering that you don’t deserve what you have! That you didn’t earn it! That you can’t maintain it! That’s the importance of this fight… that’s the demon I’m fighting this time around. The doubt. The chance to prove that I’m not just holding this title to drop it to the next person, but I’m going to take it and SURPASS everything that all the former champions have done with it! I’m going to SURPASS what JJ has done, and…I don’t have anything negative to say about JJ…he was a great champion, and he fought to build the legacy for the Classic Championship. Now it’s my turn.” Her voice soon fades as imagery fades to black.

“THIS LOOKS AMAZING!” Jennie shouts.

The scenery returns to the Docherty Estate, inside of the shared office…it really is more of a “game room” than anything else. Giant computer desks at three of the four walls, LED lights lined across the wall, top of the line gaming PCs, and all of the latest consoles. Undoubtedly, the Docherty family is a gaming family. Jennie sits criss-cross atop a custom-designed TITAN series gaming chair with the “FENIX” emblem embroidered into the material, gripping the edge of her desk to pull herself as close to the screen as she can whilst the teaser cinematic for Diablo IV plays on the monitor. Next to her is a second gaming chair with her three titles draped across the backrest. She taps her hands against the desk, and then spins herself in the chair…it makes two full rotations before coming to a stop.

“What’d d’ya think?” Jennie asks with her typical enthusiasm.

Allen Chaney sits on a third gaming chair, swaying back and forth with his feet dragging slightly with every turn. He blinks a couple of times while glancing between the monitor that had just played the cinematic, and the nearby camera that is continuously rolling.

“Do we– do we need him here?” Allen asks.

“The cameraman?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, not realllllllly, but I just really wanted to try something different!” Jennie answers, “But tell me, what’d d’ya think of it?!” She repeats the question with even more enthusiasm.

Allen nods his head a bit, “It looks pretty cool.”

“Are you going to play it with me when it comes out?!” She asks while giving Allen a certain look with her bright eyes.

“I’ll definitely be checking it out, if you want me to,” Allen answers and gives a subtle nod.

Jennie claps her hands together with excitement a couple of times before a short vibration is heard against the desk; she spins back in her chair and pulls her phone up, reading a short text message and typing back an even quicker response before setting her phone back down and spinning back to face Allen.

“Everything alright?” Allen asks.

“Hmm?” Jennie inquires.

“Just asking if everything is alright from the text?” Allen asks again.

“Oh, yeah. That was just JC…telling me he’s gonna be in that whole Heaven Sent battle royal,” Jennie rolls her eyes while answering. The scampering of feet pitter pattering against the hardwood floor is heard from outside of the room and Damien, Jennie’s great-nephew, runs into the room and straight into her arms.

“Aunt Jennie!” Damien shouts happily.

“What’s up, ‘lil man?! I didn’t know you were coming to visit today!” Jennie answers while hugging Damien tightly, “Are your daddies here?”

“They’re talking to grandma,” Damien answers.

“Probably ‘cause of what happened on Friday…” Jennie states with a forced smile flashing toward Allen.

“That was pretty wild. But, y’know, this is our job, so I really don’t think they should be treating it as such a big deal. It’s just about the titles, right?” Allen rationalizes the ongoing situation.

Jennie gasps while stroking Damien’s hair, “You would challenge me for my title?!”

“I mean, if we get booked against each other. Yeah!” Allen answers while leaning back in the chair, and folding his hands behind the back of his head.

“You can TRY to take it!”

“I mean, that’s assuming you’re going to keep it at the show this week.”

Jennie does an overexaggerated gasp. Damien mimics Jennie, and covers his mouth to show his own astonishment.

“How dare you!” Jennie asks in a raised tone, but clearly she is still just joking around.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Damien repeats after her.

“What–”

“You dare suggest that I’m going to lose my title!” Jennie turns her attention to Damien, “How do you think we should punish him?!”

“Hmm…” Damien puckers his lips, showing himself to physically be contemplating and coming up with a solution, “No ice cream?!”

“NO! ICE CREAM! You, sir, are a genius!” Jennie says, and holds her fist out for a fist bump. Damien gives her the fist bump, “You wanna go for a ride on the four wheeler?!”

“YES!” Damien screams in response.

“Go make sure your da is okay with it!”

Damien scampers back out of the room, his footsteps heard echoing throughout the entire estate while simultaneously calling for his dad. Jennie and Allen sit in silence for a couple of seconds, just gazing at each other for the lingering time… Jennie finally adjusts her posture, just as Allen breaks the silence.

“I don’t really think you’re not gonna be able to win this week, just so you know,” Allen defends himself a bit, almost trying to reassure Jennie that he was joking.

“I know, babe!” Jennie says, still adjusting herself and does a breath check…as if the audience at home would actually be able to smell her breath, but possibly it’s more for the benefit of the cameraman, or Allen. She gestures at Allen momentarily to let him know to be quiet for the time being, and Allen traces a finger across his lips as if zipping his mouth shut. Jennie retrieves the Classic Championship from the chair beside her, and then hunches forward in her seat, looking directly at the camera while wagging her finger to gesture the camera to get closer… and so it does… closer, and closer, and closer, until Jennie holds a hand up, and cocks her head to the side, “Hiyo!” she gives the official-official greeting to the audience that is watching at home.

“Last month, at the first episode of CULT:TV…Killdozer…I finally did it! I finally captured the Classic Championship– and…in doing so…am now holding THREE SEPARATE TITLES at ONE time! Do you know how that feels? Do you know how it feels to have everybody counting you out? Do you know how it feels to have everyone comparing you to your family, and say how much better they are at this than I am, but I’m the one that’s walking around with THREE titles?” Jennie purses her lips together, hiding a satisfied smile behind them while letting the reality truly set in.

The glint in her eyes shows her inner pride… The sense that she accomplished a great feat. Undoubtedly, there were some people who could count themselves as lucky to ever win a single championship, and here she sat with three. She counts to herself without putting the other two titles on display: one, two, three, and she mouths each number.

“Some people thought that they’d never see the day. And, y’know, I’m happy with what I’ve done! Really, I am, but I still can’t help but feel that this is just the start, y’know? Do any of you ever get that sensation? The idea that this is just the start? ‘Cause now… I have to defend it. And I think to myself…” she asks while tapping her finger against her chin, “Who am I defending it against?” Jennie clicks her tongue, and smiles wide.

“That’s no disrespect for you, Miss Datura! Because I’ve seen some of the things that you’re able to do in the ring, and I see… some… of what’s going on with you, and I can’t help but think just how alike we are in that regard! I heard what you said, girl. I heard what you said about Monsieur English–” she speaks in a French accent for some unbeknownst reason, “–and how determined you were to defeat him! How you thought for sure you had his number! I remember that feeling… not against Casanova, but against Shawn Warstein. I remember thinking that that was going to be my night! I remember thinking that the world was against me, and I was going to prove something! And…” Jennie licks her lips, and nods to herself.

She flashes a quick smile to herself, snorting out as she recollects the memory of that match, “And I did. I did prove something– to the audience. I did prove something– to everyone sitting in the back. I did prove something– to myself. Y’see…no one thought that I should’ve been in the ring with Warstein that night. I mean, let’s be real, mostly everyone thought that Warstein was going to end me in under one minute… but that minute came, and that minute left! I was still fighting. Two minutes? TWO MINUTES came, and two minutes left! I was still fighting! THREE?! Three minutes came, and three minutes left! I WAS STILL FIGHTING! Everything Warstein could throw at me, I kept getting up to fight more… I kept digging deeper to fight more. I didn’t want to stay down! And every time he knocked me down, every time he would tell me to stay down, I would kick out. I would get up. I would keep fighting. That’s what I saw in you when I saw you fighting Casanova English; I saw a fighter. I saw someone who wasn’t going to stay down. Someone who had a chip on their shoulder, and something to prove– something to prove NOT TO ANYONE ELSE, but only to yourself!” Jennie pauses momentarily as a means to bring herself back down.

“They say that we learn more from losing than we do from winning, and to this day… that match is what stands out to me as my greatest teacher. That match– it shaped me, Datura. It put an even bigger chip on my shoulder, and y’know, I still go back and look at what happened after that match– I still remember the look on Shawn’s face after he finally kept me down for the three count. I felt that I– I earned his respect,” she says with a mild stutter, “What I learned is that I can do this. What I learned was to TRUST MYSELF. KNOW! What I can do, and stop worrying about what they can do! And conquer my demons! And that’s why every time I step into the ring, whether it’s here, whether it’s at IWF, whether it’s at PWV, no matter where it is in the industry, I know that I can get in the ring with anyone on any given night, and I! CAN! WIN! I know the hunger is there… and–” Jennie raises her shoulder slightly to showcase the Classic Championship, “–I know that just because I took the prize doesn’t mean that I’m done. I know that there’s a lot more work to do, and I know the work I have to do to ensure that I WALK OUT WITH MY TITLE!”

Jennie stops and cocks her head to the side again, letting her tongue trace across her lips slowly before finally resuming, “I know you’re good, Datura. I know you’re hungry. I know how badly you want to take this title, and you’ve done your homework… you’re going to watch every little thing you can on every single match that I’ve had, but honey, let me tell you–” Jennie shakes her head “–you’re not the first. You’re not the first person that’s going to be in the ring with me and think because you know my moves, and you know how I can hit them, that you’re going to somehow have my number ‘cause of it, but I’m here to break it to you…preparation only gets you so far. You need something more. You need the stars to align. You need to– make a wish, and you need to hope that your wish comes true! My run as the Classic Champion has just started, honey, and I’m happy to share the ring with you… I’m happy to defend this title against you, but it’s not going to end with that fairytale ending. It’s going to end with me having my arm raised, and me taking my title, while you… learn a valuable lesson. Smooches!”

END.