Chapter 84 (Daily)
Early in the morning, Sayuri Rogue walked out of her office and made a whistling sound for everyone who was currently in the Xtrema gym to hear. "All right, everybody! Gather round! Big announcement to make!"
The wrestlers dropped what they were doing and converged around Sayuri. Once everyone was standing still, their boss made her announcement with Ryuji Sakamoto beside her.
"Okay, everyone. To anyone who isn't here, they'll be getting their announcement through their emails. Anyway, I'd like to inform you all that this weekend, we are traveling to Tokyo to perform Xtrema Against the World. We'll be staying at the Red Sky Hotel which is right beside the Hinata Tower Stadium where we'll be performing. All expenses are paid of course. Check-ins are scheduled around noon on Thursday which will give you all time to make the Xtrema Awards show at 7 o'clock. On Friday night, we'll begin Xtrema Against the World tag team matches. Then, we'll have a Saturday to ourselves to either hang out, mingle, or train for our singles matches which will be on Sunday.
"In other news, to commemorate all your hard work, it's my proud pleasure to present to you all these." Sayuri handed out a handful of blue tickets with the Xtrema logo on it. "These are free backstage access tickets that I'm giving to each of you."
"But we're the stars of the show." Jun said. "We already go backstage. We don't even need tickets."
"They're not for you." Sayuri said. "They're for anyone you wish. One person from all your lives—friends, family, or fans. You can choose anyone to mail this too and they can be invited to a special access in the show and even receive special treatment from our staff. Just remember, only one ticket for a member of each of your lives. That's it."
Ryuji handed out the tickets to each Xtrema wrestler.
"Now, onto more matters regarding XAW, we have a more complete match-card to work with."
"So more opponents are announced?" Electra asked.
"That's right." Sayuri said. "Now, as you all know, the Killer Kitties tag team will be going against Fenrir Army. We also have Clementine Cirrus vs Tina Armstrong, Thunder Mana vs Viper Takagi, Cleopatra vs Asuka, Liza Surkova vs Mila, Willow Powell vs Sakura Hagiwara, Kaito Marx vs Ran Aeko, Diana Diaz vs Lady Kai II, Poison vs Ayah Gill, Kyoko Natsumi vs Makoto, Mantis vs Yuri Ora, N-Bomb vs Garm Takanashi, Freya vs Ms. Everest, Platinum Mask vs the Obsidian Blade, Clover vs Aoife Leavy, Black Swan vs La Mariposa, Zelda Logan vs Ouka Shimusen, Maria Crawford vs Mari th Kid, Sam Hamilton vs Alex Duncan, Amazon Aqua vs Gouda Yuma, Queen Bee vs Jackal Tojo, and myself vs Jackal Tojo. Ever since, we've got even more ideas. For example, Atlantis Force, your tag team match will be against the Super Pirates, a pair of scallowags with pirate gimmicks."
"Sounds fun." Calypso said. "Will they be friendly?"
"C, they're pirates." Aqua said.
"Good point."
Sayuri continued. "Also, for the Storm Ligers… These two have made a full challenge to the faces of Queen Payne, the tag team divas champions of GWM."
"Those two are facing Liz and Payne?" Clementine asked. "Oh, that's gonna be fun."
"Next, we have the Daughters of Darkness' opponents. You will be facing off against a pair of masked, Headhunter-type ladies called the Death Hunters."
"They sound good." Midnight said.
"I thought so. Next, Team Spirit. Your next opponents will be Candy Pair from GWM."
"Those are the two nicest divas in GWM." Starla said.
"Sounds like we got the good end of the stick." Isebella said.
"Well, don't expect them to go easy on you. They're a scrappy bunch." Sayuri said. "Anyway, Carina and Luna, the your opponents shall be Nikki and Brie Bella."
Both the sisters widened their eyes. "You're kidding. The Bella Twins?"
"They're the two who started the Twin Magic trick. They're pretty cool!" Luna agreed.
"I'm glad you two are proud. Now, Eris and Platinum Mask, first of all, the fans have been deciding your team name should be Pantheon. What do you think?"
Eris smiled. "I like it. Monument of the gods… or monument of a goddess in my case. So what about our opponents?"
"Their names are Mighty Yukiko and Bomber Kishima."
Eris smiled. "A beauty and a muscle beast? Yeah, right. I can out-beauty that Yukiko and my Platinum follower can outmuscle Kishima. After all, there's no way my sweet dear will allow us to lose and break my streak…" She glared at Platinum Mask. "Will you?"
Platinum Mask frowned. "No, my goddess. I swear, we won't lose."
"Well, in that case, onto the next tag team matches. By demand of the challengers, Queen Bee and Kaito Marx are going against Digger Yamamoto and Hornet from Berserk's League of Evil."
"Oh, boy." Clementine gasped. "Hornet already hates Bee and Digger's got a weight advantage over both her and her boy combined. This will be tricky for them."
"I can only imagine." Sayuri said. "Next, Diana Diaz and Poison, or as the fans are calling you, Venomous Muscle…"
"That ain't gonna fly." Diana Diaz interrupted. "Diaz and Poison works fine."
Poison scoffed before whispering to herself. "At least my name is in it."
"In that case, Diaz and Poison, your next opponents shall be Rainbow Mika and Yamato Nadeshiko from Iwashigahama Japan Women's Pro Wrestling."
"Mika's coming in?" Poison asked. "Great. I've been meaning to squash that pigtailed blonde…"
"I'll be doing the squashing." Diaz said. "You'll just stand there and tag in whenever I need a breather." That earned an angry growl from her partner.
"Next we have the Skunk and Mantis, or as the fans have been calling this pair, Stinky Stings."
"What?" Mantis asked. "Are they nuts? There's no way I'm associating myself with any stink!"
"I don't really care." The Skunk said. "Just keep us as Skunk and Mantis."
"All right." Sayuri said. "Anyway, your opponents will be called Juicy Pair, made up of Macky Ueto and Lucky Uchida."
"So they think they're hot?" the Skunk asked. "Well, we'll show them."
"I'd prefer someone a bit more notorious for us to make a name out of though." Mantis said.
"Well, like I said, this match card isn't solid yet. Your opponents can change anytime." Sayuri said. "Anyway, Scarlette and Clover, you will be facing Heat's top two wrestlers, Azumi and Death Carpenter."
"You're kidding!" Scarlette gasped. "Azumi's tough on her own, but Death Carpenter is no joke. She won't hesitate to fight brutally and outside of the rules. That's why she's one of the greatest heels in the sport. I don't understand why she's not in Hardkor."
"Well, we'll take them." Clover said. "By the way, boss, have the fans given us a name for the team."
"Actually yes." Sayuri said. "You and Scarlette make… the Crimson Waste."
"That sounds like that desert in that She-Ra show on Netflix." Scarlette said.
"Let's put a pin on that name." Clover said.
"Whatever you say." Sayuri said. "Anyway, next is Black Swan and Madame Python. The fans have taken to calling you Amphisbaena."
"…WHAT?!" both Swan and Mantis yelled out at once.
"What does that even mean?" Black Swan asked. "Like we're some kind of hot amphibians? Aye caramba."
"The hot thing, I can handle," Python said, "But neither me nor Swan here are amphibians. I'm a reptile and she's a bird. If anything, we're predators. Apex predators."
"That sounds much better, you know." Black Swan said. "The Apex Predators. Can that be our name now?"
"If that's okay with the fans." Sayuri said. "Anyway, you two will be going against the Won Sisters. Oof! Bet Carly X wouldn't want to see them."
"Why not? Aren't they in Hardkor?" Clover asked.
"Carly and the Wons used to be on WWE together." Scarlette said. "I've heard the three of them got into some backstage trouble and Carly got the sisters kicked out."
"Moving on." Sayuri said. "That's it for the tag teams. Now, for the new singles matches. First, Calypso, you're going against Laura Matsuda."
"Who's Laura Matsuda?" Calypso asked.
"I've heard of her." Kyoko Natsumi said. "She's developed her own method of BJJ called Matsuda Jiu-Jitsu. They say that Laura's moves spark lightning."
"Well, this will be exotic." Calypso said.
"All right. Next, the Skunk. Your opponent is scheduled to be Rainbow Mika."
"That girl who's facing Diaz and Poison?" the Skunk asked. "Well, after Diaz squashes her, it'll be much easier to knock her out with my ass."
"If you say so." Sayuri said. "Next, Azraella Bloodstone, your opponent is Joker Lady from Hardkor. Meanwhile, Midnight, your opponent will be the leader of a fantasy army called Rachel Arneson. Madame Python, your opponent will be Bunny Kisaragi from El Palacio. Eris, you've got Ledy Cody. Mewlie, your opponent is Leodora. Neko Girl, Mai Nagasawa. Starla, the Spike. Isebella, Dusty Lola. La Calavera, Maria Hirano. Mercy, Natasha Han. Carly X, Charlotte Flair. Scarlette, Liza Gorgon. Jasper Jones, Girl. Carina, Hitomi. Luna, Dynamite Rin. Jun Juli, Chun Li. Charlie Hart, Payne Fox. Hotrina, Bunny Bomber. Artemis Creed, Sachiko Kanda. Lastly, Electra Sinders, Britt Baker."
"Sounds like everyone's accounted for." Artemis said.
"Well, we've got until the night before the matches to make the match cards solid." Sayuri said. "But until then… Anyway, another thing I want to inform you all is special rules matches. Some of you will be partaking in a match with special rules. For example, me and Jackal Tojo will participate in a 60 minute Iron Woman match.
"60 minutes?" Zelda asked. "Your match is going to go on for a full hour?"
"That's right." Sayuri said. "Also, Ms. Cirrus and Ms. Armstrong will be in a Texas Bar Brawl match. Basically, that means they'll go for a pin before the referee counts them down to ten. It's kinda like a pinfall before a last woman standing match. Speaking of, Artemis Creed, since the winning conditions are similar to boxing, you and your opponent will face off in a last woman standing match."
"I can work with that." Artemis said.
"What about me?" Black Swan asked. "You promised that I'd get a special match against La Mariposa in exchange for us not betting our masks."
"And I'm working on it." Sayuri said. "Relax. We've got the rest of the week to figure it out. Next, Liza Surkova and Mila will face off in an Lion's Den match. They're surrounded by an octagonal cage and the only way to win is through submission or knockout."
"I thought you said no MMA." Liza said.
"It's not the same. Normal wrestling moves still apply, but the cage will be different as are the winning conditions. Other than that, you're free to do what you want. N-Bomb, you and Garm will take a special type of sumo match."
"Sumo?" N-Bomb asked.
"Yes. For this special match, the ring ropes will be removed and it'll be a no-rules match where the only way to win is to get your opponent out of the ring."
"I guess I can work with that." N-Bomb said.
"Good. Now, for Azraella Bloodstone, you and Joker Lady will have an Inferno match."
"My kind of match." Azraella said. "I've always wanted to burn a clown."
"Next, Midnight. You and Rachel are scheduled for a lumberjill match. You will be accompanied by your brides and she will be accompanied by four of her followers."
"She can bring her whole army and I won't care." Midnight said. "I'm bringing that nerd down and taking a few of her neophytes for my own."
"We'll see." Sayuri said. "Next, Mewlie, your scheduled match is a Hell in a Cell match."
"Hell in a Cell, huh?" Mewlie asked. "That means no rules. Talk about a good place for a private catfight."
"Okay. Next, Mercy's match will be a flag match. Mercy will have a German flag and Natasha will have a Russian. Cleopatra and Asuka will have a submission match. Kaito Marx and Ran Aeko will have an I Quit match where the loser is the first to say the words 'I quit'. Zelda, you and that Shimusen girl will have a tables match."
"Tables, huh? Well, that sounds iconic."
"Jasper Jones' match against Gurl will be Falls Count Anywhere. Sam Hamilton and Alex Duncan will act out as superheroes in a comic book, so it'll be a roleplay match. But the wrestling will still be real." Zelda scoffed at the idea. "Clover, you and Aoife Leavy will have a No DQ match."
"Naturally." Clover said.
"Poison, you and Ayah Gill will brawl in a parking lot." Sayuri continued. "Maria Crawford and Mari the Kid will have an Extreme Rules match. Lastly, Electra Sinders and Britt Baker will have a barbed wire match. That's our current choices right now. Everyone else will either have standard matches or undecided." Ryuji gave her a bottle of water which she drank out of. "Does anyone have any questions?"
"Yes." Scarlette said. "What if we wish to invite more than one guest each?"
"I'm afraid that's not possible. Only one ticket for each wrestler to give at a time."
"When do we leave?" Artemis asked.
"Well, everyone's scheduled to check into the hotel at noon on Thursday and it's only three hours from this gym to that hotel. So I recommend packing the night before so you can have a good rest and breakfast in the morning before leaving. Anything else?"
"I do." Jasper said raising her hand up. "You said the match card wasn't definite until the night before. How will the last minute change anything?"
"Good question. Changes will come when your opponents arrive before ten o'clock the night before your scheduled match. We're always open to change. Anything else?" Nobody spoke up. "Great. That'll be all." Everyone returned to their workout.
"Well, this is a dilemma." Scarlette said.
"Why?" Clover asked her friend.
"Well, I know Jason would love to see Scarlette in person on Xtrema Against the World. The problem is, I only have one ticket."
"So what? Just give the ticket to your kid."
"He's sixteen. I don't think he should visit a foreign country without adult supervision. And I'm sure he wouldn't be able to attend XAW without an adult with him."
"I see. So his dad can't come and you can't watch over your son because you have to be in the ring away from him."
"Exactly. What should I do?"
Clover smiled. "Don't worry, Em. Just let me take care of the lad."
"Excuse me?"
"You give your ticket to your kid and I'll give mine to his old man."
"For real?" Scarlette asked with relief on her face. "But what about you?"
"Ah, I wasn't going to use the ticket anyway." Clover said. "All my family is dead and you're kinda my only friend. No one to give this ticket to. So go ahead. Use mine."
Scarlette smiled in appreciation. "Thank you, Clover. You're a real help."
After returning to her Japanese home, Freya changed into her large casual wear and sat in her couch. She kept her thermostat set to low because it reminded her of home. Once she rested, she pulled out her phone and made her call. Much to her delight, her wife answered.
"Hey, Freya. What's happening?"
"Nothing much." Freya said smiling. "Except I just got the chance to invite you to my match at Xtrema Against the World!"
"What?"
"Yeah. Ms. Rogue gave everyone on the roster special all-access tickets to send to someone in our lives. If you can get someone to watch over Yeti for the weekend, then you can come on over and…"
"I'm sorry, dear, but that can't happen."
Freya stopped talking and looked worried. "Why?"
"Look, I really want to be there. I really do. But I've got things going on here for the weekend. I just can't make it. I'm really, really sorry."
Freya sighed. "All right. I understand."
"Thank you, Freya." Aurora said. "I love you."
"Love you too." Freya said before the phone hung up. She slouched in the couch sighing loudly. "There goes my plans in my hotel room. Oh, well. Time to start working out and training."
After their workout at the gym, the Daughters of Darkness met up with Electra Sinders in a desolate parking lot garage.
"You wanted me to come." Electra said. "Is this about your offer?"
"Actually, yes." Azraella said. "Have you come to a decision?"
"I have." Electra said. "And if you can give me the boost I need, I'd love to join."
"Splendid." Midnight said. "I think you'd make a great addition to our team. But first, you'll have to prove yourself."
"How?" Electra asked.
"It's simple, really." Midnight said. "We want you to challenge Clementine Cirrus for her 24/7 belt."
"For real?"
"For real." Azraella said. "That barnyard fool lost her match and she still got awarded a championship. This irks us to no end."
"So we decided to test you by pitting you against her." Midnight said. "The outcome of your brawl with her will determine your position on our team. Sound fair?"
Electra hesitated to answer. If she won, she'd not only be a champion, but she'd be part of a team. But if she lost, she'd probably lose her chance to work with the Tag Team champions. Still, she wasn't going to back down.
"Point me to her."
*Xtrema Shorts*
Chibi Monica Everly took in the applause of the crowd as she sat down. Next to her was a Chibi version of Black Swan.
"Welcome to Xtrema Shorts where we get to ask our questions and our guests answer. Tonight, our guest is none other than Xtrema's rudo luchadora and famous mask collector, Black Swan. How are you feeling, ma'am?"
"Relieved. It's about time those I get my time. I rarely get any matches anymore, even in the specials. So si, I'm ready to answer your questions, chica."
"All right. Now, as per standard, we'll be asking you generic questions we ask everyone followed by the personal ones just for you. You ready?"
"Si."
"Good. Now, first question… How long have you been wrestling?"
"Eight years. Impresionante, isn't it?"
"Do you have any dream opponents?"
"I'll take anyone in a mask."
"How do you feel about your fans?"
"Oh, forget them. They never supported me and they kept demanding me to stop betting masks. If anything, those ungrateful idiotas should be praising me."
"What's the toughest match you've had so far?"
"Hmm. Well, if I had to choose, I suppose it would have to be the Skunk. I've aimed to get that black-and-white mask of hers, but after she put me in that stinkface, I basically blacked out until after the three-count. Realmente apestaba."
"What do you do for fun?"
"Well, I put the masks of my defeated foes onto my training dummies. I then pretend they're the original owners and practice my moves on them."
"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"
"That would have to be someone who sticks true to their roots, the very meaning behind their wrestling style. You'll understand what I mean in a bit."
"Do you have any interests besides wrestling?"
"Well, I've taken up sewing. It's the best way to keep my mask collection fresh."
"All right. Now, for the personal questions asked by Awesome ax10. First… Did you really forget your past? If so, then how?"
"Whoever said I forgot my past? I just keep it a secret because it doesn't matter who I was before. I'm Black Swan and in the ring, I'm no one else."
"What masks do you desire more than any other mask ever?"
"Scarlette and Platinum Mask. They're basically my white whales."
"Being an avid mask collector, why didn't you go to a federation with more masked wrestlers like GWM or lucha inspired ones?"
"Well, most of the masked wrestlers in GWM are male and last I checked they don't do intergender matches. And as for why I don't go to lucha federations, it's because I needed money and there weren't any auditions. Xtrema was the only place available to me at the time."
"What got you into mask collecting?"
"Like I said, stick to the meaning behind your wrestling style. I'm a luchadora, and as such, it's tradition for me to claim the mask of whoever I beat as is tradition. It's the ultimate disgrace for the loser and the highest honor for the winner. Sure, I may lose my mask sometimes, but I am proud enough to keep going."
"Well, thank you for that enlightening interview, Black Swan. And to you readers, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask away. Also, if you have any change ideas for Xtrema Against the World, simply suggest them and Epiclot214 will consider them. Any and all comments are welcome."