Chapter 74 (Daily)
Anesthesia snickered. "You know, for someone who's probably the richest woman in Japan, you have pretty lousy security."
Sayuri gripped her fist glaring angrily at the woman in the nurse's outfit. "What do you want, Annie?"
"Straight to the point? No foreplay?" Anesthesia asked standing up from the bed. "Come on, Yuri, you used to be so much more fun before you went soft."
"I was a brute. I hurt people."
"And after giving all that up, you broke my heart. Is that why you refused to have anything to do with me?"
"You still haven't told me why you broke into my home." Sayuri said.
"Right." Anesthesia said. "Well, I don't like how you keep ignoring my requests. I wanted my Candy Cane to take on your Carly X. Evil Rose would've been wonders against La Calavera. And I'm sure Clements would want a one-on-one rematch against Cirrus. But you denied them all. Then, I heard you were inviting nearly every other wrestling organization to some secret project, but you never came to us. So I thought I'd see for myself what it was." She held up the same manilla folder that Sayuri's been showing to many other promotions. "I must say, this plan is pretty insane. No doubt, this Xtrema Against the World will get you chances to invite other promotions as well. Still, it hurts that you didn't invite Rumble Roses. You know, I would've said yes."
"That's exactly why I didn't invite you." Sayuri said.
"Well, consider us signed." Anesthesia said. "I already signed it on behalf of Rumble Roses. Don't worry. If you don't want us to guest in your Xtrema shows, we won't challenge you. But at least let us into your Pandora Project. It's only fair."
Sayuri Rogue was about ready to strangle the nurse. Daggers shot from her eyes. But instead, she raised her hand to shake hers.
"Fine."
Anesthesia smiled as she took the hand. "Let's seal it like we used to." She leaned over to Sayuri and embraced her lips with her own. She broke the kiss and walked away. "Tata, Yuri. You'll see us soon."
As Anesthesia walked out, Sayuri sat in the bed and took a deep breath. She groaned in anger thinking about Anesthesia.
At her home, Emily Mancini took a deep breath. She opened up her laptop and turned on her Skype. Much to her delight, her son's face appeared on the screen.
"Hi, Mom." Jason greeted.
"Happy birthday, Jason." Emily said. "Did you like your present I sent you?"
"Yeah! A fresh new video game not released in the US yet? Every boy's dream." Jason replied. "I wish you could be here so I could hug you in person."
"Well, you know me. My work keeps me busy." Emily said. She wasn't lying entirely. She was focusing on her upcoming match in Xtrema where she would attempt to win back the TV Championship. Of course, she didn't want her son to know that.
"Well, either way," Jason said, "I'm glad to at least talk to you."
Emily smiled and nodded. "So… Anything you'd like to tell me?"
Jason laughed nervously before rubbing the back of his head. "Well, honestly, there was one thing I wanted to admit, but it's kinda embarrassing."
"I'm your mother, dear. If it's embarrassing, I need to know and I won't stop pestering you until I do."
Jason chuckled before admitting. "All right. I… I may have a crush."
Emily smiled. "Ooh. Now, I'm interested. Who's the lucky girl that's caught my son's eye?"
"Well… Have you ever heard of… Carly X?"
Emily's eyes widened. She recognized that name from one of her fellow wrestlers, the Stylish Tiger transferred from WWE and daughter of the GWM CEO. She was nervous. "Uh.. Sure? I mean, only by name."
"Well, when I went to Japan to watch Olympia, I had a conversation with her and we watched a few of the matches together." Jason said. "It turns out, Carly's pretty cool. When I came home, I looked her up and I kinda got attracted to her ever since. I know it sounds silly since she is a celebrity, but now, I've got someone else to look out for at Xtrema. Isn't that cool?"
"I… Uh…" Emily struggled to speak. She appreciated that her son liked someone, but she didn't think it'd be with someone like Carly X. Still though… "Well, if it makes you happy."
"Thanks, Mom." Jason said. "I gotta go. Love you. See ya."
"Love you too." Emily said just before the Skype call ended. She slumped down at her chair thinking hard about the news. "My son… and Ms. X's daughter? Am I crazy?"
At home, Jason Mancini placed his new game on top of his console so he could play it in a minute. First, he set up his mom's birthday card at his desk right underneath his autographed Scarlette poster. He opened the card wide so he could easily read his mom's written message.
"To Jason Mancini, best son in the world. Happy birthday. Mom."
Jason smiled. He was about to turn around, but something stopped him. He turned back to the card and looked up at the Scarlette poster. He read the message on it written by his wrestling hero.
"To my biggest fan, Jason Mancini. Scarlette."
"That's weird." Jason said to himself. "Scarlette writes my name the same way my mom does. Their handwriting is identical." He widened his eyes as a theory flashed in his head. "Does this mean my mom is… No, it couldn't be… Could it? Could my mom possibly be… Scarlette?"
The following night Sayuri Rogue bought a whole night at a nearby bar all to herself. Well, her and the woman she invited to join her, Jackal Tojo.
"Hey, Sayuri." Jackal said as she sat down. "Is everything all right."
"I wish." Sayuri said.
"You sounded spooked on the phone." Jackal said. "What's wrong?"
Sayuri sighed. "You remember back in my heel days and I was going out with Annie?"
"That girl who always encouraged your rough methods and showed PDA every time she visited our old gym?" Jackal asked. "Who could forget? Didn't you break up after your face turn?"
"Well… I kinda ran into her the other night." Sayuri said. "And she has her own wrestling promotion. You know Anesthesia from Rumble Roses?"
"No way. Your ex-girlfriend is that nurse?" Jackal asked. "What did she say?"
"She signed her promotion up for the Pandora Project." Sayuri said. "But I know her. She's up to something."
"Don't worry about it." Jackal said taking her friend's hand. She held on tight and Sayuri blushed at it. "Whatever she throws at us, we'll handle it."
Sayuri smiled. "Thanks, Jacky."
Jackal smiled back before turning to the TV. "Hold on. What's that?"
She took the remote and used it to turn up the volume. A rough-looking wrestling ring appeared on the screen and a certain woman took the center stage sporting her red jacket. She pointed upward in excitement for the crowds of fans cheering for her new show. She held up the microphone and addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I, Jessica Jacklyn, hereby welcome you to our first ever showing of the most brutal, most entertaining women's wrestling promotion in the entire world! I give you… HARDKOR!" Fiery explosions erupted as she pointed upward. "Now, tonight, we've got quite a series of matches which will leave you scared and very eager for more! And at the main event, we will host our first ever match for the Hardkor Universal Championship! Here are the matches…"
Jessica pointed at the titantron where a series of names appeared next to each other above the matches they'll have.
*Leodora vs Ryona Kuno
-Electrified steel cage match
*Kassidy Klaws vs Jinatana Mookjai
-Taipei deathmatch (where their fists will be taped and dipped into glue and covered with broken glass)
*Joker Lady (with Cerberus) vs The Tempest
-Piranha tank match (where the winner is the one who sends the other into a tank of piranhas)
*Sarah the Machine vs Cyclone Fuyuki
-Sadistic Madness match (where a wrestler can only get a pinfall or submission victory after she makes her opponent bleed)
*Rahn vs Olga Valeria
-Flaming Tables match (where the winner is the one who crashes her opponent through a table that is set on fire)
*Roxy vs Stampede Steele
-Hangman's Horror match (where the objective is for a wrestler to wrap her opponent's neck with a steel chain and hang her over the ring ropes until KO)
*Dark Machine (Jackie Cayman and Selena) vs The Foxy Ladies (Bloody Matsuki and Buster Horiguchi)
-A tornado tag team brawl that takes place in a convenience store brawl
*Vanessa Slayer vs Zombie Girl (buried alive)
-Buried alive match
*Fiona Fangs vs Tigress the Great
-Last Woman Standing for the Hardkor Universal Championship
"We'll introduce each of these lovely and brutal ladies as the show progresses! And at the end of it all, we will have some words coming from my partner, Yami, who will be present in this ring for everyone to see! Stay tuned because we are about ready for not only our first show, but our first ever PPV. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… BLOODBATH!"
Sayuri and Jackal watched in surprise as the show was about to begin.
"Well, this should be interesting." Jackal said.
"Something tells me we better order doubles." Sayuri said.
*Xtrema Shorts*
Chibi Monica Everly made her grand entrance for the viewers of her show. She bowed to everyone and waved as she sat down next to her guest, a Chibi version of Thunder Mana.
"Welcome to Xtrema Shorts! I'm Monica Everly, and here joining me tonight is the Dark Storm herself, Thunder Mana! Thanks for being here."
"My pleasure." Chibi Thunder Mana said. "I've been waiting a long time for this."
"I'm sure." Chibi Monica said. "Now, just to recap, I'll be asking you a series of questions that are standardly asked to the rest of the roster. After that, I'll begin by asking you the personal questions. Need anything else?"
"Just ready to get started."
"Excellent. Now, first question… How long have you been wrestling?"
"Nine years. I started training before I was scouted pretty early on in GWM."
"Do you have any dream opponents?"
"Honestly, I'd love to get a rematch against any of the GWM divas, especially Aoife Leavy. Technically, our last match was interrupted when we were both injured."
"How do you feel about your fans?"
"At first, I thought they were inconsequential. But after they showed support for my recovery, I began to see them as inspiration to get back up, heal further, and be stroner."
"What's the toughest match you've had so far?"
"Honestly, I can't decide between Queen Bee and Aoife Leavy. True, Aoife was my greatest rival in GWM, but right now, Queen Bee is my greatest rival in Xtrema."
"What do you do for fun?"
"Well, I do like to work out obviously. I also tend to keep in touch with my old friends at GWM. Sure some of them still resent me because of my actions at Olympia, but others are still pretty friendly to me."
"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"
"I don't know if this is advice, but I myself never give up. Even after my injury, I worked with great effort to get back in wrestling shape. Even when Ms. X told me I wasn't allowed back, I wouldn't let that keep me from the ring. And when I fight with a powerful amount of honor, I am satisfied."
"Do you have any interests besides wrestling?
"Well, back at high school, I used to lineback for the football team. That's how I mastered the spear."
"Now, onto the personal questions. What are your beginnings like?"
"Well, that's a story. I loved pro wrestling when I was a kid. When I was finally ready to hit the road, I traveled across Japan to pursue my dream. I then got myself an agent who saw my talent and booked me for several gigs. I won most of them which got Ms. X very interested in me. Of course, I had to let go of my agent to be part of her league, but we both understood. And that's how I got into GWM."
"What was your life like in GWM?"
"Honestly, every day was a trial by fire. After I signed my contract, I was put against opponents who had more experience than me. For the first couple of months, I lost just a bit more matches than I won. But after winning the crowd over, Miss X decided to grant me special privileges as long as I both followed her contract and pleased the fans. Because of those privileges, my record got much better. Of course, I didn't want to lose after all that. I've heard rumors of what they do to the men and I didn't want to know what happens to the women. It wasn't long until I was named the GWM Divas Champion. After that, I powered my way through any opponent who wanted to bring me down. One of them was Aoife Leavy, and she was by far the toughest to beat. On the night of our championship match, we both ended up critically injured and suspended for months. I powered my way out of physical therapy and returned to my feet in no time. Of course, Ms. X had a hard time believing I was 100% well, so I was let go. I was devastated until I learned of Xtrema. And that's how I signed up."
"Do you ever consider giving Ms. X and the other GWM wrestlers a second chance?"
"Well, if X and GWM do turn over a new leaf, I'd be happy about that. Of course, they'd have to win back my trust first. But aside from that, I would be willing to give them all a chance if they ask for it. We were friends after all."
"Well, thank you for your time." Chibi Monica said dismissing Thunder Mana before turning to the readers. "Thank you for your support. If you have any more questions you'd like to ask, go ahead. The only Xtrema wrestlers who are left to ask are Amazon Aqua, Black Swan, Kyoko Natsumi, La Calavera, Mercy, Jasper Jones, Clover, Poison, Hotrina, Electra Sinders, and Maria Crawford.
"For the next few chapters, we will be covering the first set of matches for an original wrestling organization made by Epiclot214 called Hardkor. Hardkor will focus entirely on matches with special rules. No standard rules. If you want more info about the wrestlers, you'll find most of their profiles in the next chapter. The rest are found in Awesome ax10's fanfic, Girmov BIO. On a related note, you can now ask questions to our Hardkor wrestlers and staff as well for interviews. So if you have questions for them, ask away.
"We thank you for your support. Any and all comments are welcome."