Chapter 14

The hospital hallway was silent. Kanae and Natsuki had been sitting in their seats for a couple of hours. Then, the doctor opened the door they were sitting beside.

"How is she?" Natsuki asked.

"She'll live." The doctor said. "And she's agreed to an interview."

The reporters nodded and entered. Once inside, they met a woman sitting in her hospital bed. She had on a neckbrace around her neck. She had raven-black hair and eye makeup that belonged to Lady Kai. The damaged wrestler looked at her visitors and smiled.

"It's good to see you."

"So you're Lady Kai?" Natsuki asked. The ninja girl nodded her head.

"Just so you know," she said, "Sayuri Rogue already came to visit me and I told you I wasn't going to press any charges."

"Really?" Kanae asked. "After what Diaz did to you?"

"It's an occupational hazard, Ms. Kanae." Said Lady Kai. "I knew something like this would happen sooner or later. I'm just glad I survived."

"So how long do you think until you return to the ring?" Natsuki asked.

Lady Kai dropped her smile and sighed. "The doctors told me the nape of my neck has been dislocated. They can't surgically fix it without risk of brain damage. And to top it off, I can't wrestle with a hurt neck."

"Wait." Kanae said with a surprised look on her face. "You're saying…"

"Exactly." Lady Kai said. "Once I check out of this hospital, I'm officially announcing my retirement. I've been wrestling for fifteen years. I suppose it's time I hang up my ninja costume."

"Wow." Natsuki commented. "What will you do now?"

"Well, I was thinking I'd go recover with my family down south. After that, I don't know. Tell me, Kanae, did you go straight to reporting after your injury?"

"What?" Natsuki asked.

Kanae was almost shocked. "How did you know…"

"I used to watch Berserk during my tour." Lady Kai said. "I would recognize one of their finest."

"Wait, what?!" Natsuki asked widening his eyes and turning to his partner. "You used to be a wrestler?"

"It was a long time ago." Kanae admitted. "Sorry. I should have told you sooner, but… I don't know. I guess it wasn't important. Yes, I used to wrestle for Berserk, but I injured my back during a match. So I left the gym and moved onto reporting."

"Wow!" Natsuki said with a shocked stare. "I gotta admit, that's awesome."

Kanae gave one small chuckle. "Thanks. Now, Lady Kai, we were hoping you would answer some questions from us."

"Of course. Ask away."

The wrestler known as Calypso turned on her radio. Brazilian music shot out of the boom box filling the entire apartment. She closed her eyes and moved her body to match the rhythm. During the music, Amazon Aqua walked out of her bedroom with a heavy yawn. She tapped on Calypso's shoulder and pointed at the radio. The dancer chuckled and turned the music off.

"Seriously, C," Aqua said, "I know we're sharing rent and all, but I have been having insomnia last night and I just need my coffee."

"Sorry." Calypso said. She went to the kitchen to start preparing the coffee. "Think of it this way. It can be the world's most exotic alarm clock."

"All I know is, if we ever get surprise visitors and they catch you dancing like that to that music, then they're gonna get the wrong idea of what you do for a living."

Calypso chuckled. Her face then changed into a half-frown. "Hey, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Do you think we're a compatible tag team?"

Aqua stared at her for a moment. "What?"

"I mean… Sure, we're best friends and roommates and all, but do we really work well together in the ring? I mean, we're both have different wrestling styles."

"What brought this up? …Have you been browsing the fan forums again?"

"Just for a few minutes."

"C, you gotta stop caring about public opinion. The internet's full of trolls like that."

"I know, but whenever I think about our fans, I think about everyone who used to respect me back in Brazil. I tried to do the right thing, but they wouldn't listen. I…"

"Hey!" Aqua shouted. "You'll win them back. But you can't get there with doubt in your mind. Just do what you usually do and go with the flow."

"Go with the flow." Calypso repeated. "Right. Got it."

"Don't worry about it." Aqua said. "Remember, Team Spirit's a pair of cheerleaders with flexible moves. You can do that to. That plus my strength…" She flexed her bicep kissing it. "Those titles will be ours before we know it."

Calypso chuckled. "If you kiss your arms, then you're gonna have a problem getting a date." Aqua responded by tossing a throw pillow at her friend's face. They both laughed again.

"Got another one." Kaito said. He and Dawn Sawyer (ring name, Queen Bee) sat across each other at a café restaurant. Their table was placed right next to a window. They were wearing their casual clothes so they wouldn't be recognized. "If you would face anyone in an MMA fight, who would you choose?"

"Nice." Dawn said. "I suppose it would have to be that one girl who fought Calavera. I think her name was… Sarah?"

"Really?" Kaito asked. "Why?"

"Well, I heard she's a champion." Dawn replied. "Imagine me in a match against her. That'd be a spectacle."

"Well, it has to be an MMA fight." Kaito reminded. "There are some stuff in the squared circle that you can't do in the octogon."

"I'm adaptable." Dawn said. "Okay. My turn. If you could kill any wrestler you don't like, who would you choose?"

"Oh, that's an easy one. Brock Lesnar." Kaito replied without hesitation. "That guy rarely fights, even when he's champ. If anything else, he should stay in MMA."

Dawn chuckled. "Good one." Suddenly, she heard her phone ring. She checked the text message she had inside. "All right!"

"What?"

"Apparently, I got my match with Thunder Mana in the next show. Only thing is, if I lose, we fight for the championship in the next one."

"Are you worried?"

"You kidding me? She's like a female Dwayne Johnson. But it'd be an awesome match, even if the follow-up match has special rules."

"So does that mean…"

"No, I don't plan to lose. I'm just saying, it'd be a show-stopper."

Just then, the waiter came to pick up the check. The two of them wrapped up their date and left the restaurant. They continued chatting outside until…

"Dawn Breaker?"

Dawn widened her eyes and bulged them like she just saw a ghost. She froze into place for a minute. She and Kaito turned around and saw a woman next to an open black car. The woman had a green business suit, short glasses, and red, bowlcut hair.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"Are you Dawn Breaker?" the lady asked.

"Uh, no. I think you got the wrong girl." Kaito said. "This is Dawn Sawyer, not Breaker. Sorry to disappoint…" He shut up when Dawn approached the lady.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"My boss wishes to speak to you." She extended her hand to the open door. "It's about your 'goal'."

"Goal?" Kaito asked. "Dawn, what's this lady talking about?"

"Kaito, don't worry about it." Dawn insisted. "Just head back to your home. I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"But Dawn, I thought we were gonna watch a movie at my place."

"Just. Go." Dawn sounded strange, like a combination of eagerness and anger.

Kaito stopped pushing it and turned around. "All right," he said, "I'll see you tomorrow." He walked away while Dawn got into the car.

As soon as he returned to his house, Kaito sighed and went inside. He couldn't help but worry about his girlfriend. He sat down and turned on the TV. He saw that his favorite movie was being shown and he continued to stare at it. But while that happened, two figures came up behind him. He didn't notice until he felt a couple of taps on his shoulder.

Kaito turned around and widened his eyes in fear. One of them was a man. He had on a black-and-white-striped shirt patterned vertically. He was a referee. And right behind Kaito was someone he knew all too well. It was his first ever opponent, the Skunk.

"Hello, buttface." She said with a wicked grin. "I think you've got something of mine."

The black car stopped at where Dawn recognized as Max Dome. The red-haired lady walked her inside and to the backstage hallway. They stopped in front of an office and the Xtrema ace went in. She came face to face with a woman behind a desk. She had on a red shirt with a black jacket on. She also had long flowing hair and crystal-blue eyes.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Of course." Dawn replied. "You're Miss X of GWM. I kinda figured it out when we came to Max Dome."

Miss X chuckled. "Well, someone's got attitude. That's what I expect from Queen Bee, but not from Dawn Breaker."

"How do you know about that?"

"Queen Elizabeth, of course. When you started to become a rising star in women's wrestling, I began to scout you out. That's when Elizabeth told me about your history and why you may have moved to Japan. Who would've thought that someone like you would become such a star?"

"I suppose it'd be too much to ask for a match between me and her?"

"Maybe it shouldn't be." Miss X said. "What if I can guarantee a match between you and Elizabeth?"

Dawn opened her eyes and was further intrigued. "Where are you going with this?"

"Lady?" Miss X turned to her red-headed assistant.

Lady raised her clipboard. "Xtrema has gained a significant rise of viewers. The wrestlers there have been proven to make a strong impact in the ring. Some are hated, but loved in the ring. Others are relatable to the audience. In a basic sense, you've become very popular."

"And you haven't yet had an official pay-per-view." Miss X added. "As you can tell, it's starting to become a real bother in our business."

"Does it really bother you that much?" Dawn asked. "I mean, I've heard you guys make some kind of deal with Ms. Rogue."

"True, we did give our support for a special project," Miss X said, "But then, we realized that even though we'll be credited, it'll be Xtrema at the center of it. We can't retract our endorsement for business reasons, but we can't let them take control either. And that's where you come in."

"Me?" Dawn asked. "What do you want me to do?"

"It's simple." Miss X said. "All you have to do is convince your fellow roster to come and join GWM."

"You're asking me to bankrupt Xtrema?" Dawn asked. "Why would I do that?"

"Because if you do this and join up with us," Miss X said, "I'll guarantee you a shot at Queen Elizabeth for your debut match. After that, I'll pull some strings with Berserk so you'll be able to face Hornet. Then again, if you don't, then I could make sure you never face Elizabeth at all." Dawn was completely taken back. She was clearly in an ultimatum. Miss X smiled at that. "I'll give you some time to think it over." She pulled out a business card and gave it to Dawn. "Here's my number. Call when you make a decision."

Reluctantly, Dawn took the card and left the office. As she left, she kept thinking about the deal. It was the last thing she wanted, but it was on par with what she did want.

Kaito Marx was thrown to the ground by the Skunk. She giggled as she began to stand right over the male wrestler's prone body.

"Stop." Kaito said. "You can't do this."

"Uh, can!" the Skunk argued. "I have the right to take your little belt from you whenever I want wherever I want. I would have done it at that restaurant, but your mistress was there and she would've interfered. I had to wait until you were alone. And now…" She jumped up and landed butt-first on Kaito's chest. He gasped.

The Skunk stood back up on her feet and laughed. Kaito tried to take the opportunity to run, but all he could do was crawl before the Stinker grabbed his ankle and dragged him to the corner of the wall. She propped him into a sitting position and gave him a light slap.

"This has been fun," the Skunk said, "But now, I believe it's time for my prize and for you to make history." She turned around and pressed her butt onto his face. She wiggled it around as he struggled to breathe. "Go ahead! Be the first person in the history of wrestling to tap to this!"

Kaito tried to escape, but the Skunk kept herself pressing against his face. His life began to fade. In the end, he had no choice. He raised his hand and quickly tapped on the Skunk's hip. Satisfied, she removed herself letting Kaito refocus himself. She strutted to his table to grab the 24/7 Championship belt and the referee she brought raised her hand up. She took one last look at Kaito's exhausted face giving a smile.

"Hope you enjoyed it." She taunted with a smile. "The belt and my ass. Hope you win another belt… so I can take that away too. See you later, buttface." She finally exited the house leaving the Underdog with his disbelief.

After leaving Max Dome, Dawn sighed as she walked across the city blocks. She couldn't help but replay the conversation she had earlier.

"What am I going to do?" she thought to herself. "On one hand, I could be one step closer to getting those two back. But on the other hand, if I do this, I'll be no better than they are. Maybe after I catch up with Kaito, I could give Lyra a call. See what she thinks."

Suddenly, her phone vibrated again. She pulled it out of her pocket and held it against her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dawn."

"Kaito. What's going on?"

"Well, I got good news and bad news. The good news is, I'm okay."

"You're okay? What does that mean? What happened?"

"Well, that's the bad news…"