CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

"Now, listen, girls. SummerSlam is tomorrow, and we don't have a strategy. Therefore, it's time to get to it, and make one."

The girls sitting around the hotel suite's living room groaned as Trish took her place at the head of all the girls, standing in front of them. The girls had simply been eating takeout Chinese food, a treat on Trish's cash, so that they would be well-fed for SummerSlam's Battle Royal. They wouldn't be doing any training that night at the very large denial of the girls who had been training madly for weeks.

Trish smiled brightly, ignoring the groaning as she looked over them all. "So. I, obviously, will make a first decision, leading this unofficial DEAR meeting. I want to take on AJ. After everything I've been seeing that little brat doing, I'm going to teach her a lesson, without a doubt. Who's next?" Trish let her eyes wander over the girls before calling on one of them. "Mickie? Would you like to take your pick?"

Mickie set down her small takeout box of Chinese food and nodded. "Definitely. I'm taking on Michelle-she and Layla ruined my homecoming, and I'm going to make her pay for that. Gail?"

"I'll take Kelly. She thinks she's all that because she's back, but she's just riding the waves. I'm going to prove to her that the perfect storm is coming her way." This earned Gail a high-five from Victoria, who chuckled a moment before speaking.

"I want to take Veronica. I want to prove I can beat her."

"I'll take Tamina," Maria commented. "I've been off my game lately, and I want to prove that I still am a member of DEAR." While she was smiles on the outside, accepting high-fives and gratification for her pick, on the inside, she was shaking her head. None of you deserve to be champion. Not after what you all did to Eve and Beth. I'm gonna get taken on by Tamina, and I'm going to be eliminated, and that will give the Diva's Army the one-up they need to eliminate DEAR. End of discussion.

The girls were silent once more, until Ashley let out a deep sigh. "I'm taking Kennedi, in case any of you were thinking of taking her. I'm still not over that worthless little brat taking Edge away from me. I will prove to Edge that I'm the better woman."

"One of the top members of DEAR has to face the top woman of the Diva's Army, and that's Natalya. I've got her covered." Lita smiled, taking a large bite.

There was another moment of silence, and finally, Candice laughed. "Well, I guess that leaves me with Kaitlyn. I'll take her out, easy." She snapped her fingers. "Just like that."

"Well, now that that's all worked out, you can finish eating. See how easy that was?"

While DEAR was discussing strategy and eating out, the Diva's Army was training. Jazz stood just outside of the ring, putting the Diva's Army through their paces and making sure they were all still up to speed on everything they should be doing. They all did a lot of running the ropes, their now-more-muscular bodies bouncing off of them flawlessly as Jazz watched.

"Blondie, Tamina-I want to see a Samoan Drop and a Super-fly Splash. Get on it in that corner." Jazz pointed to the far corner of the ring to her left, and the girls slid out of the ring as Kelly and Tamina got there and began Tamina's practicing. "Natalya, AJ. Let's see how far you can bend AJ before she's broken-I'm only joking. But I want Sharpshooter practice. Hit it up in that corner." Jazz pointed to the other far corner, before pointing out Michelle and Veronica. "Faithbreakers. And, Veronica, I know you want to hit a Scorpion kick. Tamina, Blondie-when you're done, get out of the ring and stand at attention. You know the drill. Kaitlyn, Kennedi-I want to see you two hit some backbreakers. You're both a little rusty on them. Get to it. Five a piece."

The line of girls at attention grew quickly, and within five minutes was all of the girls. Jazz slid in the ring, standing in the center of it as Edge helped Alicia, who he had been spotting as she lifted weights and kept in shape without working her fracture, to join all of them.

"Alright, girls. Hit the showers, get dressed, brush your hair-do all that crap. Then, I want to see you back here, at attention, in twenty minutes. Strategy. At ease."

The girls ran off, showering as quickly as they could and dressing in their casual wear-at this point, none of them dressed up when it came to being casual anymore, and all of them wore jean shorts, tees and sneakers. AJ wore a tank top, and a few of them wore their Diva's Army tank tops, but they were all uniform for the most part.

Jazz had been joined in the ring by Edge, who was smiling, and Alicia, who had been helped into the ring so that she could sit down comfortably enough, on the mat.

Kelly spoke up before Jazz could even ask. "If any of you were thinking about taking Victoria, don't. I'm taking her out of the battle royal. She's mine after what she did to Eve. If I see any of you eliminate her, I will eliminate you. Do you hear me?"

"Lighten up, Blondie." Jazz shook her head a bit as Kelly moved to stand back in attention, and the other girls began to name who they wanted to fight with.

Natalya stepped up first, at the permission of Jazz. "With all due respect, I have unfinished business with Gail Kim, and I feel that I should be the one to eliminate her."

She stepped back in line, and Jazz called AJ forward. "I'm going to take on… Candice Michelle. I feel that she and I could go head to head rather well, but my agility and speed will overtake her and I'll be able to eliminate her quickly and easily."

Kaitlyn stepped forward next, standing to AJ's right-Jazz was just going down the line now. "Maria's mine. I normally would have opted for someone larger, claiming they were more challenging, but now that Maria's been trained, it should be interesting to see how long she can last against me."

To Kaitlyn's right stood Kelly, who Jazz skipped, to move on to Kennedi. "I'm taking on Ashley. No doubt. I'm still a little burnt about the injury I sustained at Ashley's hands, and I'm not just going to let that sort of shit slide. I want to prove to her, once and for all, that I am better."

"Good." Jazz motioned for Veronica to step forward.

"Since I can't have Victoria," Veronica looked over to Kelly, who still stood at attention in the line, not moving. "I'm going to take Lita. She's the next best thing."

Tamina stepped forth. "I'll take on one of the foremost challenging women of DEAR, Trish. I feel that I am one of the stronger girls here, and with my size, I should match up quite well with Trish. I'll get her eliminated fast."

Michelle laughed. "I'll gladly take on Piggie James."

Jazz nodded slowly. "Good, good… Alicia, you're not going to SummerSlam at all, are you?" Jazz turned to face Alicia, who shook her head. "That's good. Stay home, rest up, and fix that fracture. You'll get yourself back in shape when you're healed." She turned to face Edge, standing on her other side. "Is there anything you'd like to say to the girls?"

Edge nodded and stepped up to the girls, who moved to attention for him. "At ease." They fell into a line of easygoing-looking girls as Edge spoke.

"When I first looked over all of you, the original all of you, you were a motley crew of girls who, I'll admit this now, I thought would never be able to win over DEAR. However, you've proven that with a little help from Jazz, you all do deserve the title of WWE Diva. Not because you're divas at all, but because you have worked to get where you are. No matter how many first class flights DEAR takes in a private jet, you're taking coach because you're down to earth. No matter how many limo rides DEAR takes, you all take a taxi, or a rental car. And you all have shown me the true meaning of what it is to be a female wrestler. Thank you, all of you."