I do not own, and am not involved with the production of Victorious, iCarly, or Real Life. So, without further adieu, enjoy...
Octagonal
A Victorious Fanfiction
Not in association with
Dan Schneider
or
Nickelodeon Studios
Tori Vega sighed as she closed her phone. The news she got from the voice mail was exciting, but at the same time, she felt exhausted by it. She wandered mindlessly towards the patio and her lunch. What would her parents say? What would her friends think? This passed week sucked for Tori, there was no other way to put it. It really started last Saturday when she found out her boyfriend, with whom she was to share her very first one hundredth day kiss, was two timing her, with her favorite web show host of all people. Then Jade beat her to a part that she really wanted, Becky Thatcher in the theater adaptation of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. And Trina? Well, Trina was being Trina.
She grabbed a salad and a packet of vinaigrette from the lunch truck, better start the diet now so she wouldn't have to cut so much later, a trick she learned from one of the many people she followed on twitter. She grabbed a water and took a sip. She was parched, so she took a second one. It was supposed to be eighty today, but it felt closer to one hundred, Stupid Los Angles heat.
She glanced around and spotted her friends at a table in the shade of the overhanging loft. Andre Harris was on the far left. The African American was her best friend, and could always be counted on to be honest with her and helped her out of jams. Maybe he'd know what to do. To his left, sat Robbie Shapiro and his companion Rex. She'd been friends with Robbie for nearly a year and still couldn't figure him out. Did he see Rex as an extension of himself? Or was Rex another personality?
Next to him was Cat Valintine, a cloud cookoolander if there ever was one. Not that she knew what that meant. Trina through it out once, and it sounded like it could describe Cat. Her head was in the clouds and she could be a bit cookoo sometimes. Next to her was Jade West. Now Tori didn't exactly hate Jade, it was just... complicated, yes complicated was the best word. Her boyfriend, and the resident male eye candy, Beck was nowhere to be found.
She sat down between Robbie and Andre, she wanted to be nowhere next to Jade at the moment, and began eating her salad, not noticing her name being called by Andre. "Tori... Tori... TORI!" She glanced in his direction, he had a look of expectation on his face.
"What?" She asked in a tone somewhere between hostility and whining.
"Maybe she was dreaming about all the boy's she'll never have." That was Jade, in that slimy 1940's Hollywood southern belle impersonation that grated on her nerves so much.
"I do NOT talk like that!" Tori's emotions were frayed already, and Jade was defanatly not helping.
"This one time my brother-" Cat always had a story about her brother. And most of the time they were really disturbing, not something to talk about while food is being consumed.
"Shut it Women. Can you not see we're trying to eat?" That was Rex. It was a little harsh Tori thought, but Rex had a point. He always did.
"Rex, Be Nice." Robbie chastised his puppet/subconscious. Tori hated thinking abut it.
"Awe, does wittle Wobbie have a cwush on Cat?" Rex fired back. They were at least good for some entertainment, they had that going for them. She dared a glance at Cat and saw a glint of something in her eye. Cat and Robbie? Really? That was interesting.
"Anyways," The attention was back on Andre. "We were thinking about going to that Chinese restaurant after school, the owners nuts sure, but that food is so good!" That it was, unfortunately for Tori, she knew she couldn't. In fact she needed to leave as soon as possible, the drive to Huntington Beach was a long one.
"Awe. I'm sorry Andre but I just got this really important message and I have to go to Huntington Beach right after Sikowitz's class."
"The Beach?" Cat's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the prospect of the beach. "Can we come?" Tori hated to say no to Cat. In fact, it was down right painful.
"I'm sorry Cat, but I'm not actually going to the beach. In fact where I'm going is nowhere near the beach-" Tori's phone started ringing. She looked at the number and sighed. It was his number. "Sorry, I got to take this." She got up and moved away form eavesdropping distance. She pressed the button and took the call.
"Hello?" She tried to take the nervous tone from her voice, answering with all the false bravado she had. It didn't work, that was more Trina's thing anyway.
"Tori? Hey it's Bas." The man on the other end of the phone- Bas, spoke in a kind calming voice with a hint of a dutch accent.
"Hay, Bas. I was going to come in after school, but we can talk now. I've got" she glanced at the clock on the wall of the school over looking the courtyard. "A good twenty minutes of free period left."
"No, no, that's good. It would be better to discuss this in person. Do you need someone to come grab you?" Tori thought this over and realized that yes, she did. Trina had the car this week.
"Um, hehe, Now that you mention it, yeah actually. Um, if you could that would be nice. Who will you send? Jason, Jamie, Danielle?"
"No no, their all busy, I got just the guy. In fact, he's part of the reason why I need to talk to you. I'll send him in my car, so you know where to go."
"Thanks Bas. I owe you." Tori was a bit calmer at this point. She should have known better then to think Bas would put any pressure on her.
"No problemo chica. When do you need him there?"
"Um, In an hour or so? I only have one more class." She requested.
"That's fine. I'll see you when you get here." She hung up and walked to the table where a new addition greeted her, Trina Vega her sister.
She sat down and did as much to ignore Trina talking about some party she was invited to, (but she wasn't really).
"So," Jade asked semi-sarcastically "who was that, hm?"
"The guy I'm going to see down in Huntington later today." Tori answered shortly not really wanting to get into it. However what she didn't count on, was Trina having a genius moment.
"Wait." She glanced at Tori's almost finished salad bowl and one and a half finished bottles of water, and put two and two together. "Your going to Huntington Beach? I thought you said you weren't going to f-"
"Trina!" Tori, realizing Trina had indeed put two and two together and got four, cut her off just in time.
"Oh, right, sorry." This just increased the curiosity of her friends. Trina never apologized.
"Can we just drop it?" Tori asked as she picked up her garbage and her bag, getting ready to get to class. Being stressed made time fly by, and it was time for Acting with Sikowitz.
"... And that class, is how you identify trees from a long way away." The entire class blinked. That lesson was absolutely pointless, like it was something from a British sketch comedy show from the seventy's or something. Thankfully for them, the bell rang before Sikowitz could continue his diatribe on silly things."Remember to read chapter's two and three of your British Comedy book for Thursday's quiz."
Tori shook her head at her weird teacher and rushed hurriedly out to the parking lot, trying to get away from her friends before they could get to her. She knew they were curious. Needless to say, she failed measurably.
"Tori, whats the hurry?" Cat walked up to her with that near ridiculous smile she seamed to always wore plastered on her face.
"Why are you trying ever so hard to run away from your friends?" Jade and in that damned voice too, spoke.
"Dammit Jade! Stop!" God she was so mad she could kick her.
"Come on Jade lay off a bit."Andre came to Tori's defense, his concern for her mounting. She gave up hope of leaving secretly. She was at the end of her rope, and didn't really give a damn at the moment anyway.
"Fine, come on. My ride should be here in a moment." She turned and walked towards the front of the school. Of course, they followed.
"I was curious how you were going to get down there, I have the car this week." Trina, was standing by the stairs up front. She moved next to Robbie, she wanted a look see too.
Tori shook her head and walked out the door and abruptly stopped is surprise.
He was gorgeous. Blonde shaggy hair framed his sculptured face. And his body, If you looked up hot California surfer in the dictionary, his picture would be there. Luckily for the female population of the school, he was dressed in an Amp Energy promo tee and board shorts. She didn't even have to look for Bas's car. Only one person he would send looked like that. She made eye contact with him to get his attention, and started in his direction.
Trina bit her lip, Cat gasped to avoid squealing in delight, and Robbie stared at his shoes, feeling inadequate.
"No way." Jade was in disbelief. " Him? How do you know him?" She looked at Tori who just shrugged her shoulders.
"Dude" If Robbie wasn't going to say anything, Rex would. "That boy is h.a.w.t. Hot." He turned to Robbie. "How come you can't look like that?"
Trina looked at Tori dubiously, but stayed silent. This was the one line she would never cross with her sister. "Yes Jade," Tori spoke in parts glee for Jade being jealous of her, and in exasperation at the prospect of having to explain this one tomorrow. "That is my ride." She said looking deliberately at the Mercedes the man was leaning on. "See you guys tomorrow."
As she reached the car and got in the passengers side front seat, the man moving to the drivers side, at least he seemed to know the score, Trina called out her name."What?" She yelled back, half inside the car. Trina said nothing, but her eyes spoke volumes.
"I'll tell you when I get home I promise." She closed the door and he drove away.
Jade was deep in thought. She knew she'd seen him somewhere before. Oh well, she figured it would come to her sooner or later, Maybe she'd ask Beck.
The minute they drove away he started laughing. That was hilarious. At least he thought so.
"Ha, ha, very funny." Tori was pouting, which just made him laugh harder.
"So," he defiantly had the SoCal voice to go with the SoCal looks, "Bas told me a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you in person." He nodded to her. Tori, not one to miss social cues, took the opportunity to introduce herself.
"Tori Vega" She said still a little pissed.
"Urijah Faber" He shot back in the same inflection. Tori looked at him for a second and then burst out laughing her self.
"The Look on Jade's face!" she barely got out between laughs. "Oh my god! That was hilarious."
"So," she looked at him questioningly, "Why are you of all people here? Don't you have to get ready for next month?"
"Yeah, but Bas asked me a favor, so, I came down to train with him for a week. I'm leaving Saturday. And I want to take you with." Tori looked confused for a second.
"Is this about what Bas wanted to tell me? I mean, I'm not even licensed in California."
"No worries. Its not here. I doubt you want to spend a week in Lemoore anyway. And frankly, It's been a while since your last one, so you're not licensed anywhere anyway."
"True." Tori conceded to his point.
The rest of the drive was fairly quiet. And when they arrived, Tori walked into the building looking for Bas, Urijah right behind her. The receptionist, a pretty blonde lady pointed him towards his office.
"Tori Vega!" Bas shouted in delight. " How are you?"
"I'm okay. A little confused, but okay." Tori grabbed a chair and sat across from Bas's desk. Urijah closed the door and sat in the second chair to Tori's right.
"Okay okay, down to business. Tori, What do you know about Bellator?"
Tori thought for a moment, not figuring out what Bellator was, but because of the implications of what he was suggesting. "Wait... Bellator? Third biggest promotion in the USA Bellator?" Tori was shocked and excited in equal amounts. When the message from Bas came that morning, she thought it was going to me one of those local promotions she turned down every once in a while. But Bellator was big time, she might even have to agree.
"Okay Tori, her's what happened. I got a call this morning from Bjorn Rebney. And one of their fighters pulled out of the 115lb. tournament-" The squee, for that was what the sound that came out of Tori's mouth could only be called, was almost deafening compared to the relative quiet if the gym.
"Sorry." Tori blushed embarrassed by her outburst. Urijah just looked amused.
"Its okay. Sometimes I forget you're still a teenager. Anyways, Yes, I proposed your name. However, If you do choose to participate, you Must fight as Victoria Vega, not as Shelby Marx."
Tori sobered up immediately, the nerves were back. She never fought under her real name before. In fact, She made it a point to fight under her pseudonym. Sure she was girly, but ever since her dad started teaching her basic self defense when she was a little girl, she's been hooked on martial arts, and as a fourteen year old, started competing in MMA. She was quite good, so she thought, going pro two years previous, with a record of four wins, three by knockout, one by submission, and no losses, as well as grabbing local Washington promotion CFC Woman's 125 lb. Title, becoming the youngest champ in the promotion's history at seventeen. But never as Tori Vega. She couldn't, at least, not then. But now, maybe. Bas definitely had confidence in her, and she had a stable set of friends, something she didn't have in Kent, Washington, where she lived before her dad got the Sargent's job and Trina got in to Hollywood Arts.
"Um. How long 'til I have to decide?" Tori knew she needed to talk to her parents about this. Oh this was tough.
"Like I said, I'm leaving Saturday morning." Urijah spoke up for the first time, Tori was wondering why he was in there. Apparently she just found out. "That leaves you with about seventy-two hours."
"Wait, you want me to go train in Sacramento? To train with you?" Tori was floored again.
" Oh man when is the fight and who would I be fighting?" That was a key piece of information, she needed to know how much time she would need to train, and to give an excuse to her friends.
"Crap I forgot to tell you that." Now Bas was embarrassed. "Well, you'd be fighting July Twelfth in Seattle. As for you're opponent, we don't know. They are doing the draw for the bracket two weeks before at a press conference for the event." Bas Explained. We do, however know who's in the tournament; Lisa Ward, Monica Lovato, Angelica Charleston, Mei Yamaguchi, Carla Esparza, Jessica Aguilar, and of course Megumi Fujii." Tori gulped. Those were the best of the best in the weight class. "I'm going to be honest with you, they're looking for a showcase fight. You will be the underdog. However, you will get some of the best training you can buy, because I believe in your skills. You will go train for you're first fight with Team Alpha Male in Sacramento." Faber took the floor from her head trainer.
"After My fight, which by the way you will be attending, I'm all yours. As is Joe and Chad. And you're in luck too. Misha is also in camp prepping for a fight a few weeks after yours, so you'll have someone to go all out against, all day everyday." He looked at Tori for a second trying to gauge where her head was at.
She didn't know where her head was at. On the one hand she wanted to compete really bad. This was like a dream come true. Fighting on the big stage, On national TV. But on the other hand, the odds of her getting her face beaten in were high. The best of the best was in this tournament. Bas Believed in her, and his words went a long way.
When she arrived in LA she had nothing. No friends and no direction. She needed something, anything. Bas Rutan, after getting a call form her trainers and coaches in Seattle, took her in. She wasn't ready to compete in California, not in her mental state. So he built her from scratch. She had some of the best stand up him and his team could force upon her. They worked her hard so she wouldn't think about how lonely she was. Then HA came and she stopped coming daily. Moving to about three times a week. He understood though. He had a teenage daughter.
She stood up to leave and turned around at the door. "Let me talk to my family." She finally said after a fair silence. "I'll call you tomorrow." She walked out of the room tired and knowing a Spanish inquisition was awaiting her when she got back.
Bas and Urijah shared a look. They knew she would do it.
"Um..." Tori was back by the door. "Can I get a ride home?" Bas and Urijah laughed. The California Kid got up and as he passed Tori patted her on the shoulder.
A/N: Welcome and thanks for reading. The origins of this fic are hard to place. But I guess it started with my dislike of the portrayal of Mixed Martial Arts, a sport that I love, in iCarly. My friend finally suggested we do something about it. After two years of complaining and one and a half seasons of saying "thats Shalby Marx" whilst watching Victorious. So being the passive aggressive punks we are, we decided to write this fanfic.
Now there are a couple of things to keep in mind while reading this. The first is that my friend and I are way outside the target demographic for this TV show. We are not tween or teenage girls and the spirit of full disclosure, I am a college aged male, who fully enjoys a show for tweenaged girls. (I blame Ariana Grande) So, this story is a bit on the serious side.
This is heavily AU, as well as a crossover with iCarly (eventually) and real life. Canon does it's hardest to separate Shelby Marx and Tori Vega. But the premise of this story is that they are one and the same.
The third is that all characterizations of the real people used are not representations of who they are in real life. There are many sides to people and the ones used are the ones we get to see in public such as in Interviews.
Fourth, I understand that some of you reading this will have a minimal understanding of MMA, so a glosery of terms and other important information will be provided at the end of chapters as needed, See?
Glossary of People, Places and Terms (In order of appearance)
Bas Rutan- One of the greatest Mixed Martial Artists ever. Retired after winning 22 fights in a row and was the first UFC Heavyweight Champion
Urijah Faber- Known as "The California Kid" Urijah is one of the more popular MMA fighters Fights out of and is the face of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, CA. Fights at 135 lb. Weight class.
Bellator- Latin for Warrior, it is the name of the USA's third biggest MMA Promotion.
Bjorn Rebney- Head promoter and match maker for Bellator Fighting Championships
CFC- Cage Fighting Championship, fictional promotion that Tori fought for as Shelby Marx in iFight Shelby Marx
Lemoore- Lemoore, California. Home of the Tatchi Palace casino and a popular place for staging Regional MMA events.
Draw- The lotery system used to randomly deside opponents in the first round of a tournament
Lisa Ward, Monica Lovato, Angelica Charleston, Mei Yamaguchi, Carla Esparza, Jessica Aguilar, and of course Megumi Fujii.- All are existing Female Mixed Martial Artists competing at the Woman's 115lb weight class. Except for Angelica Charleston, she was made up for purposes of filling out the roster.
Chad (Mendez)- UFC Fighter and member of Team Alpha Male. Fights in the 145 lb. Weight class.
Joe (Benavidez)-UFC Fighter and Member of Team Alpha Male. Fights in the 135 lb. Weight class
Misha (Tate)- Strikeforce Fighter. Fights in Women's 135 lb weight class.