Angie's Alts

[angelicavaughn]

Ichabod.

Hastings.

What had Angie ever done to them???

She was pacing around in her living room in San Antonio, the conclusion of the contract signing fiasco less than a day behind her. Her heart was racing, starting to beat faster every single time she thought back on that cursed event. Why had she even agreed to it? She should’ve known she was going to be set up by the powers that be! Hastings was clearly trying to drive a wedge between the #CoolKids in some kind of twisted Divide & Conquer scheme, pouring poison in Kenzi’s ear as if he were King Claudius. Meanwhile, Ichabod seemed all too content to look at this game of proverbial chess, in which he was about to sacrifice his Queen for a guaranteed checkmate. She felt like a playtoy of the Gods, rather than a Champion of the World. She was obviously not wanted as their avatar; and as a result she could feel the foundations of the entire #CoolKids stable squirm underneath the weight of their machinations. They sought to reduce their stable into a pigsty, and wouldn’t rest before even that was reduced to rubble. They had done it by appealing to Kenzi’s vanity, by carefully maneuvering her mindset to a place of despair and entitlement and threatening her with visions of mediocrity. Kenzi’s insecurity over her legacy was Ichabod and Hastings’ gain, that much was clear.

Of course Sarah wouldn’t listen, trying to stay out of the dispute between her true love and her best friend. Angie knew that it was probably for the best that she sat on the fence, since she knew that if she had to jump off, she would jump over to Kenzi’s side every single time. It was exactly what ‘they’ were hoping for. So no, she wouldn’t push her. Wouldn’t force anything. This was between her and Mackenzie Grey, and the solution had to come from both of them.

One might think this all could’ve been avoided had Roxy simply agreed to step into the ring with her, but even within her heart of hearts, she couldn’t cast blame on her; no matter how much Johnny Bonecrusher tried to do so. Angelica remembered all too well the paralyzing fear that had gripped her when faced with the prospect of potentially hurting a friend. Roxy would never admit being terrified, but it was a characteristic that behooved her. Angie had learned to let go of that particular emotion when the bells rang, but she knew Roxy didn’t avoid her out of lack of respect, but out of love. No, Roxy wasn’t to blame for this. It was Kenzi’s overreaction that had put them both in this situation, eagerly playing into the hands of those who wished her harm or reduce her to a puppet.

Her cats were getting anxious, watching her pace. Her hands locked behind her and the wooden floorboards creaking with every step, they were watching her from afar, their tails waggling in a way that betrayed their nervousness. Their head followed her movements like a spectator in a tennis match, watching her emotions bounce back and forth like a tennis ball, smashed by the rackets of friendship and duty.

Exhausted, much more mentally than physically, Angelica stopped her pacing and crashed down into the couch, letting the thick cushions embrace her. Cat hair flew up into the air and she sneezed, ignoring the first signs of an impending allergy. There was only so much she could take right now. She was glad she was home alone. She’d forced her mom to go out with Dave, since they’d had their own couple of tensions these past few weeks. Dave seemed top be more on her side than almost anyone else, but he had never hid his dislike for the rest of the #CoolKids, not even when everything was still sunshine and rainbows and they were still dominant Co-op Champions. Their title loss to Kenzi and Hastings, in retrospect, had acted like the catalyst for many of these recent issues. Letting Hastings into their lives had probably been the worst. Still, it’s not like she could snap her fingers and make him disappear. Such things only happened in those weird superhero movies that Kenzi liked so much.

Bobby and Alex were glad she’d calmed down. They pussyfooted over to her and started circling around her calves, comforting her with butts of the head. But still, she couldn’t find inner peace, or forget about her current situation. Her eyes were drawn to her fireplace, above which the UGWC World Championship was placed, standing on the mantlepiece. It felt like it was looking at her, the dancing flames underneath casting shadows that made the central globe look like a mocking emoji as if it knew that it was the agitator that had stirred up all of her troubles. Things had been so much easier on the midcard… it almost seemed like she’d lost the sense of wonder that she’d had for so long. The view from up top had been magnificent at first, but it was lonely… and she’d gotten used to it rather quickly. Those silver linings in the clouds had lost their shimmer.

She was disturbed by a ticking on the window. Angie looked over and saw one of Sarah’s unmistakable carrier pigeons sitting on the window sill. Bobby and Alex both started licking their beards, but Angelica shooed them away as she stood up and walked over to the window, opening it. The pigeon knew better than to come inside, fully aware of the feline dangers the ranch’s interior offered. She took the letter that was attached to it (on the envelope was written ‘ANGIE DO NOT FEED MY PIGEONS ANYTHING I DO NOT WANT THIS ONE TO EXPLODE’, which made Angelica roll her eyes as that had happened only ONCE and they didn’t even explode, they were just… poisoned… accidentally) and gave the pigeon an appreciate scratch on the head. It cooed and flew off, leaving Angelica alone with the letter. She leaned her back against the wall to read it.

After many, many, MANY paragraphs covering the usual subjects of kitties, bunnies, pigeons, cute-as-FLAME purses and matching hats, their latest piano and vuvuzela duet, meeting for Church next time they were in the same town, passive-aggressive snippy comments about how her clothes were covered in cat hair AGAIN, and narrow-eyed chiding about how she REALLY needed to show more of her bust if she was ever going to catch the attention of that cute boy who sold them popcorn and ice cream at the Synergy Arena three or four Mondays a month, the final few lines catch Angie’s eye.

”I love you, Angelica. Our little circle has been a boon to me in ways you can never know, and while I have grown surprisingly close to Roxy in the last few months, my relationship with you shines as bright as the sun. If you take away my Beloved, you are my best friend and favorite taggie team partner. And while this may be a bit presumptuous: I do not know what it is to have a sibling, but what you and I share makes me feel as if I have a sister.

That being said, I am praying to God Above that Kenzi curb stomps you into the mat so hard that you finally realize that, no, coconut on a pizza does NOT make it a Hawaiian style.

You have been an amazing champion for the Coalition. You brought Dave out of obscurity and banished Wallace to the midcard. You have been a beacon of hope. But this industry deserves a Lacklan at the top. It deserves a Lacklan as the World Champion. It pains me, as you know, to admit that I cannot be that Lacklan anymore. And I pray that Step-Mumsie stays obsessed with her idol. But my Beloved, to my shock, has finally begun to embrace the part of her name taken from me, and it is HER time.

Please bring everything with you on Monday. I want to show the world that WE are right, that WE are what is best for the business. Best friends...sisters...who fight with every inch of their being and celebrate the winner. I look forward to celebrating my wife and then buying you a consolatory ice cream cone after.

Eternally, S.S.G-L

She crumpled the paper in her hand. The pain in her jaw that came from gritting her teeth was dominated by the surge of anger and adrenaline. She formed the letter into a ball and flung it right across the room and into the flames; a kind of accuracy that she could’ve used very well on the field of the Texas Rangers. She watched the orange flames lick at the pper’s edges before it consumed it whole. Not even the sturdy Lacklanland paper, product of her ancestors, could withstand the fire.

“HMPF!” Angie scolded, folding her arms and leaning back against the wall so forcefully the windows shook. “tHe PaRt Of HeR nAmE tAkEn FrOm Me” she said, trying to mimic Sarah’s Londoner accent, with more than a hint of annoyed mockery. “iT dEsErVeS a LaCkLaN aS wOrLd ChAmP. Well guess what, sis? If only you’d know!”

Angie felt bad. It was her own fault after all, and she couldn’t blame Sarah for not knowing what SHE had never told her. But still, it felt wrong. Wrong that Kenzi would carry the Lacklan name, while the only reason she even bore it was because Sarah ALLOWED it. But Angie had the blood; the genetic makeup; the talent. But somehow, she was unworthy? Somehow, she wasn’t good enough? She was the daughter of Jean-Paul Lacklan, and for the first time ever she thought about it with a touch of pride. A deadly sin, to be sure. And the thing that turned angels into devils.

“What are you looking at?” she shouted at her title belt, the mocking grin on its centerpiece seemingly only growing bigger as the flames crackled. “Why did you have to come between my friends and I? You were supposed to be the best thing that ever happened to me!!”

Bobby and Alex cocked their head as they watched their mommy shout at an inanimate object and they both loafed simultaneously, their eyes peering at the spectacle.

Angie marched over to the fireplace, snatching the World Championship from its mantelpiece. She held it by one of its leather straps, letting the other drag along the floorboards as she made her way to the mirror over the cat treat cabinet. She held it up and looked at her own reflection in the mirror.

“I wish you’d never come to me!” And she flung it across the room, causing it to crash in the corner behind the couch, kicking up dust as it landed with a thud. Angelica put her hands on the cabinet, continuing to look at herself. “I wish none of this had ever happened!”

She hung her head in shame at her outburst. She was feeling a lot of things. Greed. Envy. Pride.

”None of it, huh?” a voice spoke, causing Angelica to throw her head back up and look around. She threw up her forearms and took a defensive stance, her fighting instinct kicking in immediately.

“Who’s that? Who’s there? Show yourself right now!”

”Errrr, over here?”

The voice sounded incredibly familiar but she couldn’t quite place it. She looked around, even at her cats but they just stared up at her.

”The mirror, dummy.”

Angelica looked at the mirror, and she saw herself looking back at her. Except it wasn’t. The mirror wasn’t reflecting her own movements. It was as if there was a different person inside, an entity of its own that didn’t reflect reality, but offered a glimpse into another world. Angelica shook her head and threw her head backwards, whispering to herself.

“Ow em gee, I’m so toooooooootes going craxy!” She looked over at the corner where she’d thrown the World Championship. “It’s all the fault of that… THING! Well, Kenzi can have it! I’ll be glad to be rid of it!”

”Sheesh, I sure as flame hope you ain’t craxy, girl. That’d mean I’d be craxy too!”

“Whatevs. Drunk, then! Or Roxy put something in my tea again.”

”You haven’t touched a drop today, a rare enough occurrence as that is, no?”

“Wowwwwww. Judgmental much? If you’re really my reflection, you could tone it down a little, you know.”

Angelica sighed while her reflection smirked back at her.

”Meh! Crazy. What’s crazy, right? Were you crazy when you and your cats went on an adventure with Lil Has into the Lacklanland woods? Were you crazy when you encountered daddy’s specter?”

“I… don’t know?”

”Correct! You don’t. But what does it matter, right? All that matters is that you look like you could use someone to talk to.”

“Talking to oneself is the first sign of craxiness, I’m afraid. I just… I don’t know what to do anymore. I just wish things were different.”

”Do you though? Do you really?”

“OBVS! I’m at odds with almost all of my closest friends, and things are falling apart left and right.

”Wow, and you blame Kenzi for overreacting? Don’t fret, Ang. I’m here to tell you that all this talk about wanting things to be different is hogwash. What’s more, I’ll prove it to you. Come.”

The reflection stuck out her hand, but Angelica just looked at it. It wasn’t like it popped out of the mirror so she could grab it. She stared it at it for couple of seconds. And for one second. And one second only. She abandoned her suspension of disbelief. She grabbed the hand and was warped into space and time.

And thus, our PROLOGUE ends
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THE BEGGAR

Angie didn’t know what came over her. But still, what choice did she have? If fate intervened, would the WISE decision not be to let it wash all over you?

Her reflection screamed out at her, as visions of a girl lying on the ground struck out at her. She was laying there, motionless and paper thin, just as the tiny paper cup placed in front of her that held just about enough cents to form a single dollar, Canadian. She stared in front of her, her once golden locks reduced to pitiful strands of grey, and her bright blue Lacklan eyes downcast and without the twinkle that had brought joy to so many people over the years.

”See her? That’s us, Angelica. It’s us when we quit. That’s us when we ran away from our parents and quit, deciding that we were foolish to pursue our wrestling dream after all. Insecurity crippled us, because nobody believed in us. We are, after all, a product of those who shaped us. This is the Angelica in whom nobody ever believed, who quit in the face of adversity because she believe she could never reach the heights that you did.”

The specter in front of Angie looked like her, except it WASN’T her. It was a pitiful reflection of Angelica, devoid of life and legacy, She peered at what was possible, wondering at the things she’d left behind as faceless passersby threw a few cents into her paper cup.

But let’s move on.

Her reflection touched her shoulder, and she was warped further on.

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THE DESK SLAVE

The tapping of a multitude of keyboards. Nothing was more fitting for the sound of silence. It was a room with over twenty bodies, each of them staring straight in front of them, looking at a computer screen. Angelica and her reflection surveyed the room, until her reflection pointed at a figure in the back. Angelica recognized her own face, but not the life behind its eyes. Her hair was cut short, her blonde locks dyed a dull brown.

”See her? That’s us, Angelica. That’s us when we ran away, but got hurt. That’s us when we had people believe in us, but our body couldn’t keep up. Remember when Voidstar bashed our brains in? Well, we never recovered. We never reached our levels of old. We simply… gave up. We let the bad guys win, and we fed on the small remnants of success that were on our plate. But even those few scraps soon became as distant a memory as last week’s meal.”

“She looks… not sad, but… empty?” Angelica remarked, looking at the lifeless eyes as she was staring at the screen, concentrating on typing in the right numbers.

”She does, doesn’t she? But she’s got it pretty good, compared to some.”

“What do you mean?”

Her reflection once again touched her shoulder/

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THE NUN

They appeared in a small chapel. There was a hooded figure seated on her knees in front of a large wooden cross, her hands folded together in deep prayer. Her eyes were shut, her lips muttering empty words. It didn’t take Angelica long to recognize her own face underneath the headdress.

”See her? That’s us, when we never ran away. That’s us, indoctrinated to the nth degree by Richard Vaughn, who exiled us into a life of divine servitude out of fear. We never ran away. We never wondered for things that might be. We simply existed, nothing but a pawn in the scheme of other people. This is us without ever rebelling, without ever discovering our talent for wrestling. This is us as a servant, not a Champion. And it is what Richard Vaughn would’ve reduced you to, had you not struck out to scratch the itch that our Lacklan blood gave us.


Angelcia looked at herself in silent prayer. Never had she questioned or regretted her connection to a higher power, but the figure in front of her seemed so… dull? So devoid of life? So… ordinary?

She turned to her own reflection.

“But… But what if my mother had never run? What if she had stayed at father’s side? Who do only my actions define my destiny?”

Her reflection shook her head.

”Trust me, that is one outcome you do not wish to see.”

“Show me.”

With a sigh, the reflection grasped her shoulder once again.

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THE NOTHING

Angie and her reflection stood in front of a pile of rubble surrounded by scorched woods almost burnt to the ground. Angelica’s eyes darted from left to right, not believing what she was seeing.

“Where… where is the compound? Where is Sarah? Where am I? Where is the happy ending?”

But her reflection shook her head once again.

”There is no happy ending to be found here, Angelica. The saddest thing about our mother and Richard abandoning our homeland is that they were right to do so.”

Angelica shook her head. She couldn’t accept that answer.

“No. They were NOT! That decision took EVERYTHING from me!”

”It did not. Instead, it GAVE you everything. It gave you a chance at a legacy,it gave you a chance at a career. Sarah may love you now, but the civil war that ensued when the two of you fought over the throne crippled the legacy that our father left us. With you receiving the same training that Sarah did, many saw you as a more fitting heir. But you know Sar-sar. She didn’t take that just lying down, even if you would’ve given up everything. She had a point to prove.”

“NO!” Angelica shouted, shaking her head. ”This can’t be! What are you trying to say? What is this? Take me away from here! I don’t like this!”

But her reflection grabbed her hands and stared into her eyes. Her skin was cold to the touch, like the glass of a mirror.

”Don’t you see, Angie? YOU are the best of us! In spite of all your trials and tribulations, YOU are everything we could ever hope to be! You got the best training on the planet. You had people believe in you. You met your friends, you have your cats, you have the titles and accolades that would make even daddy proud. YOU, Angelica, are living the best life! SO what if you’re going through a rough period? Kenzi will get over it. She always does. You know that to be true.”

Angelica couldn’t keep up with her own thoughts. Was all of this true? Was she being an ungrateful shell of her best possible version?

Her dream was collapsing, panic settling in as the reality of her visions crept up on her. They’d been right. All of her visions. She WAS living her best life, and she was throwing it all away because of a petty feud. She was the World Champion, for God’s sake! She’s broken free from the shackled that had bound her and in doing so pursued her destiny and SUCCEEDED! She nodded. The realization dawned on her. She had so much to be thankful for. So much to live for, and KEEP fighting for.

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A few days later

Angelica stood in front of the camera, her World title draped over her shoulder. Clad in her pink caped outfit, she looked… certain. Her back was straightened, her jaw unclenched, her body showing all the signs of a warrior going into combat.

“Mackenzie Grey… Or rather, Kenzi Lacklan. It seems to be quite the difference. You’re both the same person, but you have different purposes… and the latter seems to be intent on dethroning me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming you. That’s the name of the game, we fight to achieve our full potential and carve our names into the record books to last forever. We all strive to become immortal, or otherwise we might as well give up. No, that’s not the issue here. Far from it.

You see, Kenzi. I’m not here to tell you that you don’t stand a chance. I’m not here to tell you that you will never reach my level. That’d be foolish, since I never would’ve gotten this far without your support. No, I’m merely here to say thank you.

Thank you, Kenzi. For being my friend. For believing in me from the start, even if it was just because Sarah asked you to give me a chance. Thank you for picking me up when I was down and accepting me into your life, your career and your family.

I feel like we’ve all come full circle. Our little group, ever so ambitious, al trying to achieve our greatest goals. Roxy is going for the Cross-Hemisphere title. Sarah is rebounding from an injury that would’ve crippled most forever. I seek to prolong my World title reign, while you seek to claim your biggest prize yet. And we will all go to war in trying to achieve our goals.
War is the cost of peace in our time… and this is a battle neither one of us can escape. I find myself trapped in a cage to which integrity’s the key. And I won’t be trapped forever, Kenzi. My words, they’re not just hollow phrases. Expressing gratitude is courteous, but the highest appreciation doesn’t come from uttering words, but from living by them. I will LIVE my gratitude, and in doing so I will touch Heaven itself. So once again, thank you. Thank you for helping to make me what I am.

But be careful, Kenzi. Entitlement is a cancer, because it is void of gratitude. This past week your switch seems to have been flipped. You think you deserve this title match, and you do. But you seem to have forgotten why. ‘Just because it’s me’ is no reason, Kenzi. We’re all a product of our choices and their consequences. And even then there are things out of our control. Trust me, I’ve seen it. All of our successes can be attributed to the people in our lives as much as to ourselves. For without them, we are nothing.

I’m nothing with you guys. I realize that now. You’re my friends, and this title on my shoulder? It doesn’t just belong to me, it belongs to all the people who helped make me who I am. To all the people who believe in le, and supported me, myself included. I’m just a small piece in the jigsaw of my own success, because without my friends, my trainers and my family, I’d just be ordinary. And for that, Kenzi, I thank you. In a way, the World Championship you’re trying to claim is already partly yours, because it’s thanks to your faith in me that it rests on my shoulder.

Sarah told me that I should bring everything I have on Monday. And believe me, I shall. No quarter given, no advantage left untaken. I wil do you the honor of fighting my hardest to defend what’s mine, Kenzi, because I believe that deep down, you’d have it no other way. I won’t roll over. I won’t just quit. And while many may believe this to be ‘your time’, I believe my reign is far from over You deserve this title, Kenzi. But not yet. Not at my expense. Not yet.”

And Angelica patted her UGWC World Heavyweight Championship as the screen faded to black.


[/b]

[The Circle Television Network]

This was terrible! Jesus! Did you let your cat write it?!

LOL Great stuff as always. I figured it would be good to feed into that "Lacklan" as World Champ to give us all some mileage afterwards. Hopefully we have an over the top brutal match that we can never find a way to be friends again when its over!

[Zane]

I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed Angie showing anger and even a touch of paranoia. Conspiracy theory is a trait that's so contrary to the Angie Vaughn character that it really stood out to me. The letter from Sarah played off of this perfectly as a plot device to pull her out of her self-pity and fire her up. Her indignation towards the Championship itself for "causing" her problems, rather than seeing the ambition to possess it as her actual problem was a well executed play on her basically positive/ naive personality. I admit that the "man in the mirror" scene didn't really work for me, but I think that you used it well as a leaping off point to the larger message about the stip. Your ending tied it all together perfectly as a young champion who realizes the value of her influences can't be ignored, but also shouldn't be allowed to define and denigrate her achievements either. You've not only kept a strong trajectory for Angie, but managed to elevate her a bit, which not every champion can do.

[T-Robosaurus Rex]

It's been said before, but you really do know how to write a great face character, and that isn't easy to do.

It's even more difficult to take a face character who is SO nice and SO likeable and SO unicorn fluffy and make them a dominant force.

Yet here you stand, a second successful title defence against high quality opposition, after your first defence being against high quality opposition and after winning the title from arguably our historically greatest World Champion.

Even if this reign ends at Melee two successful defences is a great record for the first time with the title, but I believe the manner in which you have done it makes this an even more special reign. The quality of the opposition you have had, as noted, was high, and they all came at you with phenomenal work, but you still managed to win.

You consistently produce at a high standard and I am certainly proud you represent us as The World Champion.