Chapter 22 (Daily)
"Are you nuts?" Queen Bee asked as she slammed her fist on Sayuri's desk.
"Word of advice," Sayuri Rogue said, "If you start calling your boss nuts, your career prospects begin to dim. As I was saying, you're still going to face Thunder Mana for the championship."
"But that wasn't a fair win!" Queen Bee shouted. "That masked bitch showed up out of nowhere and attacked thunder thighs winning her the match! For all I know, she probably set it up that way!"
"I told you, I have no idea who that masked woman was or why she interfered." Thunder Mana asked from the other chair next to Queen Bee. "I had nothing to do with that."
"Yeah right." Queen Bee responded. "And I suppose it's a coincidence that the match turned out in your favor. How convenient."
"Enough!" Sayuri shouted. "I don't know who that masked woman was, but I'm getting to the bottom of this. In the meantime, the fact of the matter is, Thunder Mana won the singles match against you, Bee. Whether it was a technical win or not, it doesn't matter. She's still getting a title shot against you in Olympia. So build a bridge and get over it."
Queen Bee shot daggers from her eyes as she glared at Thunder Mana. She sighed and returned her gaze to her boss. "Fine. But I'd like this match to have hardcore rules. Don't want Mana to cheat a win again."
"I didn't cheat, but fine. I'm for it." Thunder Mana responded.
"Fair enough. I'll see what I can do." Sayuri Rogue said. "Oh, and Bee, one more thing. I'm gonna have to ask you to relinquish your title."
"What?" Queen Bee asked in surprise. "Why?"
"Don't worry. It's only for us to rebrand it." Ryuji assured.
"You see," Sayuri explained, "When this league started, there was only one championship belt, which was called the Xtrema Championship. Then, we made it a couple of years and we gained a few more belts. It's about time we clear this generic name and give it a more unique label. This new belt will be given to either of you once you win."
"…Fine." Queen Bee said. She removed her championship belt and passed it to Ryuji. She gave one last hateful glare at her opponent and walked out of the room.
"I'm telling you, Ms. Rogue, I didn't set it up." Thunder Mana defended.
"Honestly, I don't know what to believe." Sayuri Rogue said. "I won't accept anything until I find more details. I've got a plan to figure this out. If you are innocent, you've got nothing to fear. Now, get out of my office. I've got work to do."
Thunder Mana nodded and obediently left the room. Ryuji and Sayuri were left alone in the office.
"You okay, Ms. Rogue?" Ryuji asked. "That was a bit bitter for you."
"I'm just stressed out." Sayuri said. "After what happened the other night, people have been breathing down my neck for justice to be done. Apparently, Queen Bee isn't the only one calling Mana a cheater, basically because of her past in GWM. Not to mention, this is our first pay-per-view. I'm running on fumes with everything going on. This has to be perfect."
"I understand." Ryuji said.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Sayuri called them in and Jasper Jones walked in with her casual clothes on.
"You wanted to see me, Ms. Rogue?"
"Yes, Ms. Jones. You said you had a hobby as an investigator, right?"
"Oh, I get it." Jasper said. "You need me to help you solve the mystery of the masked woman, don't you?"
"Strong and smart. Not a bad combo." Sayuri said. "I need to find out before Olympia, so I need this done ASAP. Who is this masked woman? Why did she interfere? That's what you need to know. If you succeed, I'll give you a considerable bonus in your pay and a favor of your choice."
"Nice deal." Jasper said. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'll find the truth. I swear by Barbaria the Savage Queen." She left the room leaving the two staring.
"Does she actually believe in all that reincarnation stuff?" Ryuji asked.
"Of course." Sayuri said. "I know it's strange, but her belief gives her strength, and strength is necessary for pro wrestling. Now, if that's all, we can…"
She was interrupted by an aggressive knock on her door. She sighed and allowed them to come in. The person turned out to be Liza Surkova.
"What is it this time, Liza?" Sayuri asked.
"I want a rematch against that Ishtar girl at the pay-per-view!" Liza demanded. "Our match ended unfairly last time, and I won't be satisfied until it does."
"Not going to happen." Sayuri said.
"After what happened, you owe me at least that."
"You misunderstand. I couldn't make her a guest wrestler if I wanted to. You see, I've already booked a visitor match."
"What?" Liza asked.
"What?" Ryuji asked as well.
"Liza, the whole point of a visitor match is to test our strength against wrestlers from other leagues. The rule is, we can only have one guest wrestler in a match card. Since we already have one for Olympia, we can't let Ishtar in unless they're an Xtrema wrestler. Any other visitor would lessen the chances for other wrestlers in our roster to have a match."
"Spare me the lecture!" Liza said. "If I can't have Ishtar at Olympia, then I challenge someone else! That'll show everyone I mean business!"
"All right then." Sayuri said. "If you want a match, you can have one. In fact, you can choose. I've got two wrestlers in my roster that deserve a chance to compete: Eris and Freya. I want you to choose who you'll be facing at Olympia."
"And whoever I choose, that'll be my opponent?" Liza asked.
"Of course."
"Then I want both."
"What?" Ryuji asked.
"You heard me." Liza replied. "Put me, Eris, and Freya in a triple threat match! Once I beat both at once, no one's going to look down on me again!"
Sayuri thought for a moment. She then gave a grin. "Very well. You've got your match."
Liza nodded her head and exited the room. Ryuji turned his head to stare at his boss.
"You actually approved of that?" Ryuji asked.
"If she wins, she gets us good ratings as the woman who broke Eris' streak. If she loses, she'll be sorry. Either way, it's a win-win for me."
"I got it." Ryuji understood. "Just one more thing: you said you've already got a visitor match booked. How come you didn't tell me?"
"I was about to, but we were just interrupted." Sayuri explained. She pulled out a piece of paper and presented it to Ryuji. "This will be our visitor."
Ryuji gazed at the paper and dropped his jaw. His eyes widened in shock. "Really?"
"This is our first pay-per-view, Ryuji. I want it to be memorable."
"Well, if that's so, then who's her opponent?"
"Oh…" Sayuri chuckled while presenting a grin. "I'll save that for the press conference."
The black limousine drove through the streets. At the passanger area of the car, the CEO of GWM, Miss X, was gazing at the news on her phone. She chuckled as she saw several reviews pointed directly at Thunder Mana.
"Poor Mana. Don't worry, it'll be over soon." Miss X commented as the limo halted at a stoplight.
Suddenly, something happened that shook Miss X. The door opened and a teenage girl jumped in. Miss X was even more surprised to see that it was her daughter.
"Carly?" Miss X asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm surprised you even recognize me." Carly said. "Did you even know I was in Japan for the past year and a half?"
"Miss X, is something the matter?" the limo driver asked.
"…No. None at all." Miss X answered with a stoic look on her face. "Just keep driving."
"All right." The driver said as the light turned green.
"You have until we stop at the next red light." Miss X said as the limo began to drive. "So say whatever you need to say."
"I've got plenty I need to say." Carly said. "But if I had to start, I'd say… How could you praise Thunder Mana that night when I was the one who did all the work?"
"You would never understand my point of view, Carly." Miss X responded. "Thunder Mana is one of the best wrestlers in GWM's women's league. To not acknowledge the strength she seemed to have would be folly. As for you, you can't expect professional praise after defeating one girl."
"I didn't expect professional praise! I expected you, my mother, to be proud of me!"
"This isn't grade school where you can get a 100% on a math test for me to hang on the fridge, Carly. This is pro wrestling, where people get hurt."
"I know all that! I understand what it does!"
"No, you don't! Look at it from my point of view, Carly! I've seen things that make what they do at Xtrema look like childish games! You have no idea what I've been through!"
"No!" Carly shot back. "You have no idea what I've been through! After you left me and Dad, I did everything I could to understand your world! I've become one of the youngest Divas in WWE, where I was eventually kicked out of because McMahon didn't appreciate what I tried to do! I've traveled all the way to Japan to get close to you and still wrestle in Xtrema! And just the other night, I was utterly decimated by Neko Girl who threw me in a trash can!"
"And believe it or not, that's not the worst that would've happened." Miss X said. "I know about ten other female wrestlers who would break you in half in less than thirty seconds! You're actually asking me to comfort you when you get a taste of the real world, to support your childish dream?"
Carly was left with her mouth open before giving a sigh. "So that's it. You still see me as the eight-year old girl who has no idea her parents were being divorced until her mother walks out the front door." Miss X didn't answer that. She just stared as Carly took a breath. "You know, I quit soccer and joined pro wrestling for you. I moved to Japanese wrestling so I could work close to you. But if you're not ready to have me back in your life, then I'm going to stop trying to be in it."
"Are you saying you'll quit wrestling?" Miss X asked.
"Of course not. At first, I only joined for you. But after winning my first official match at WWE against Dana Brooke, I loved the feeling of it. So no, Mom. I'm not quitting. I'm still wrestling… but I won't be doing it for you. From now on, when I'm winning matches, beating my opponents, or even winning championships, I'll be doing it for me. If you're ready to have me back in your life, I'll gladly accept. But until then, Carly X is turning her career around." The car stopped right behind a stop light. "Until then, Mom."
Carly exited the car and left her mother staring. Miss X sighed before turning away from the window.
"She'd never understand."
After a long day of working out, Amazon Aqua and Calypso were ready to go home. They changed into their casual clothes and left to the far side of the parking lot where their car was.
"So what are the odds are that Starla and Isebella are going to improve their moveset for us?" Calypso asked.
"Don't ask me." Amazon Aqua said. "I'm more muscle than brains."
"Well, I'm the dance fighter." Calypso said. "We'll just have to…"
Calypso didn't get the chance to finish her sentence. Suddenly, both her and Amazon Aqua were attacked from behind. They continued getting stomped on until they weren't able to identify their attackers. Calypso was lifted from the ground and spread out on the hood of their car. Someone then lifted Amazon Aqua from the ground before slamming her right on top of Calypso.
The two fell off the car and they fell into unconsciousness. They didn't even get the chance to see their attackers before they fled. Luckily, it wasn't long before a passing bystander found Atlantis Force and called for an ambulance.
"YES!" a boy's voice was called from upstairs. His dad was so shook, his square glasses was crooked. After straightening them back on, he ran upstairs to see his son.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Just the opposite, Dad!" the teenage boy said as he sat across from his computer which was on the official Xtrema website. "We can go to Japan!"
"What?" the father asked.
"I just won a sweepstakes, and now, we have two free tickets to Xtrema's pay-per-view, all expenses paid for by Sayuri Rogue herself!"
"Really? And you want to go?"
"Well, yeah!" The son stared up at his poster of the ex-TV champion, Scarlette. "I read that Scarlette's going to compete! I gotta see it for myself!"
"Hmm… I suppose I could spend some of my vacation days." Isaac Mancini said. "And while we're there, Jason, maybe we can surprise your mother with a visit."
Jason Mancini cheered. "Yes. I can't wait! Xtrema, here I come!"
Author's Note: Well, I got done with this a lot sooner than I thought. I'll do just one more daily chapter (which will include the match announcements) and after that, I'll do the PPV chapters.
Any and all comments are welcome