What (You Think) You Deserve

“WHAT (YOU THINK) YOU DESERVE”

Pro Wrestling Excellence, Victory VII (Reach Heaven)
Non-Title Match: vs. Amber Payne

Cameraperson: N/A
On-Camera: Zoey Madigan-Star
Off-Camera: Katalina Star, Makayla Star, ?

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Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021
Private Beach outside the Madigan-Star Residence, Malibu, California
9:14pm, Local Time

”You realize this is a very… strange… request.”

The figure stands back a bit from where the waves lap at the shore, the sand worn soft and smooth from the constant touch of the salty water. Even were there more light to work with, it would be difficult to make out their features. The stylish fedora is tipped low and the trench coat masks their figure. Hands stuffed in their pockets, the person speaks again, voice low and controlled… with traces of amusement.

”I’m not saying I won’t accept it, mind you-”

”You were referred to me by trustworthy sources who say that you excel with jobs that are beyond the ordinary.”

”Kind of like yourself?”

The voice is deep, but clearly feminine. The view draws out a bit more, putting them further in shadow, to show Zoey Madigan-Star standing right where the waves reach the beach. The tepid water washes over her bare feet, the Magical Maiden standing in well-worn denim jeans and a black hoodie, her dark hair hanging loose and tossing about in the breeze. She makes no move to push it away.

When the comment is made about her being ‘beyond the ordinary’, Zoey sighs and lowers her head.

”No jokes. Got it.”

Zoey’s expression becomes angry. She keeps her back to the other person, not wishing for them to see it and start to think otherwise about her offered task…

”The job is yours if you want it.”

”Shall we discuss payment and expenses, then? Perhaps a timeframe you want me to try and work in? I’m not sure you’re aware of the protocol in all this, Mrs. Madigan-Star. It isn’t at all like hiring someone to clean your house or wash your car-”

”With all due respect-”

Zoey cuts the woman off as gently as possible.

”-my associates told me that you’re one of the best. That you get results. Results are what I want. More than anything. And money is not an object so long as you produce. This is a… very troubling situation. I need to know, once and for all, what the truth is.”

The truth? This does not sound like something having to do with wrestling… though, all things considered…

Anyhow, Zoey finally turns to the person after taking a moment to compose herself, taking from her pocket a USB memory stick that she offers to the person in the hat and coat. The person takes it and examines it closely before pocketing it.

”I accept. I’ll be on the first plane to New Jersey in the morning.”

”Thank you.”

”Don’t thank me yet. Not until I produce.”

The person tips their hat, then turns and leaves. Zoey looks after them with a calm expression but it is all for show. Sighing, she starts making her way back up to the house, her hands shoved in the front pocket of her hoodie.

Friday, December 24th, 2021
Cavalleri Condominium Complex, Malibu, California
7:27pm, Pacific Time

Why now, of all times, on the eve of Christmas, in the middle of a gathering of family and friends, would Zoey choose to address PWE and her opponent, Amber Payne? Within the living area of the condo, presents are stacked high beneath and around a well-decorated tree. Several people mill about, some familiar and some not… like Zoey’s wife and daughter, her parents, some local friends… all of them happy and celebrating. So, again, why would she step away from that for something that, by the looks of her expression, is going to raise her hackles so?

Questions, perhaps, for another time. Regardless, as she steps out onto the balcony of her parents’ condo at Cavalleri, her phone’s camera actively recording, Zoey is set to do just that. At the very least she looks lovely, her dark hair styled so that it falls in waves over her shoulders, her makeup subtle yet alluring and that red dress is perfect for either the holidays or a walk on the runway… though the fire in her gold eyes outshines it all. This is not an evening for anger, nor time to be wasted on thoughts of violence. But… perhaps that is the reason why?

If Zoey does not get some of it out of her system now, it might ruin the night.

”What I expect, from you lot, is a thank-you. Not to me, but to my wife.”

An odd way to start…

”I have tried. Oh, Lord, how I have tried. By now some of you must think that I am angry and stressed all the time. That is not far from the truth, not since the first horrid accusation was leveled my way, but at Victory VI, it was simply too much. And if Katalina had not stepped in? I would have put you on your rear end right there in the hallway, Xaria Linette. Right in front of your nephew, Remi. Right in front of Tara Ayla. Right in front of the entire world. And you know what?”

The camera gets an excellent shot of the light of sunset causing Zoey’s eyes to glimmer a bit.

”I would have enjoyed it and you would have deserved it. Do you know how awful it feels to think that, much less say it? Probably. I doubt you care, though. To you, comments like that likely have you thinking that you’ve proven your point. Might as well just keep digging this hole for myself, eh?”

Truly, she looks hurt for even having to record such a comment, but there it is. No going back now. Hurt at first, anyway. Her expression quickly shifts to affronted, her voice taking on the tone of a mother who is already well beyond sick of your nonsense.

”So I reiterate: you owe Katalina a thank you. And I expect her to receive that in short order. Now, with that being said…”

A moment is taken to breathe, to center herself. Rarely does the cool, winter air reach a place like Malibu, but there IS a faint nip in the air. For a native of the Northeast, though, it hardly bothers Zoey. The pink it adds to her cheeks and the clarity it brings when breathed in has a positive effect on her, even. It might also help that it IS Christmas, and such a giving soul as the Magical Maiden cannot help but smile this time of year.

”...and the unpleasantness out of the way, I have a gift for you, my apprentices. For all of PWE, in fact. Something that, up until recently, you might not even have known you wanted. But, much like a certain jolly old elf-”

She winks and smiles even more brightly.

”-I have a way of knowing these things. And I shan’t keep you in suspense any longer. The gift for you all… is the timely exit of one Amber Payne from our company.”

Yet she maintains that smile, even after saying something… well… kind of mean?

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2021
The Madigan-Star Residence Kitchen, Malibu, California
9:33pm, Local Time

”You know, if you’re going to cheat, it might be a better idea to make it more of a mystery. I mean, I could see you two from the house.”

Katalina’s saucy humor knows no reasonable bounds. Zoey, having come into the house after her guest departed, is in the process of hanging her hoodie on the rack by the door. She glances over her shoulder at her wife and rolls her golden eyes.

Naturally, this only emboldens the former Naughty Girl.

”Or, and I’m just spitballing here… is that the real source of all your wonderful granola recipes? Something told me that you weren’t manifesting all those delicious creations on your own. How much does she charge, hm?”

And she keeps right on going. Zoey by now appears to be ignoring the good-natured rambling of her lovely wife. That is, until she’s within reach…

”...wait, is that why I had to foot the bill for the Christmas tree this year?! The betrayal! Why I-”

”She’s a private investigator, sweetling.”

It wasn’t WHAT Zoey says, but HOW she says it. The magician sounds very small, almost childlike. Katalina, for all her provocative ways, knows her wife very well after these past several years together. That tone of voice usually precipitates some unpleasantness. Folding her arms beneath her chest, Katalina tilts her head to the side a little, eyeing her partner.

”So you’ve been seeing more of this… I’m sorry, love. I’m not sure how to term it.”

”Apparition? I’m afraid to call it anything because that might make it real…”

Coming forward, Katalina puts her hands on Zoey’s shoulders, squeezing at first but then lowering them to step in and simply embrace the Italian beauty. She rests her head between Zoey’s shoulders, nuzzling affectionately.

”Do you think she’ll find anything?”

”Maybe? I don’t know. Part of me doesn’t want her to. Is that strange?”

”The last time the subject of your brother came up between us with any seriousness, I pushed you too far and you slapped the taste out of my mouth. Our dentist was quite cross with you.”

”Even to this day I still feel horrible about that. But this isn’t the same. That was you trying to pull me out of a funk the only way you knew how. This time… I don’t know if I’m being stalked or if someone is trying to scare me or what. But on top of everything else…”

”Now isn’t the time.”

Uncharacteristically firm in her delivery, Katalina brings Zoey up short, squeezing a little tighter on that hug in the process. Zoey’s hands come to rest on the lady’s arms and she closes her eyes. No missing that tear dropping out of her lidded eye.

”Since you got home, you haven’t slept. I realize that you had to support Katie, especially after the match didn’t go her way, but you’ve already gone above and beyond the call. What has it been now? Well over 30 hours, I would imagine.”

”Thirty-four.”

”Exactly. And did you forget your promise to Mama Madigan?”

”Not without fearing for my life.”

Releasing her grip, only to turn Zoey around to face her, taking the young lady’s hands, Katalina musters all the love and seriousness she can. Which… is rather impressive. Something a camera will never take in if she has any say.

”You are going to shower. Then you’re going to bed. And you will NOT be setting an alarm, do you understand?”

”Then who will get you out of bed, cook your breakfast and send you to work with a gourmet lunch?”

Oh, that has Katalina hesitate. She’s very much NOT a morning person. And Zoey’s cooking is not to be underestimated. But the Domme sticks to her guns.

”I only need to go in for trivial matters. Katie can handle the rest. In and out. Now, do as I say. Otherwise I’m going to have to chain you to the bed.”

She pauses, then adds.

”And not in the fun way.”

”Well, when you put it like that…”

Zoey kisses Kat’s cheek and moves off toward the main hall. After watching her go, and waiting to hear a door close and water turn on, only faintly audible, Katalina takes out her phone and makes a call.

”She put someone on this matter a little while ago. Please tell me you’ve found something? I don’t know how much more of this she can take…”

Katalina moves to wander off in the direction of the hallway herself, worry laced into her every word.

Friday, December 24th, 2021
Cavalleri Condominium Complex, Malibu, California
8:03pm, Pacific Time

Back at her parents’ condo, Zoey is still out on the balcony. Behind the sliding glass door the crowd seems to have grown, or perhaps it has simply gotten closer together. As to the Sorceress Supreme, she’s contently sipping from a holiday mug, taking it from her lips to reveal a line of creamy foam smeared on the upper half. A quick sweep of her tongue clears that away, and the cuteness of the effort is not lost on her.

”Mom’s eggnog is the best. A little extra spice and that loving, homemade touch. Although I think she slipped a little of the mean stuff in here…”

Mean stuff? Does she mean rum, perhaps? Or something similar? It is well known that Zoey is NOT a drinker, not by a sight. She has partaken only twice in her life and regretted it both times even despite going ‘light’. For now, though, if such is indeed the case, it isn’t affecting her poorly just yet.

No, just a little more pink in her cheeks and twinkle in her eye. Her smile seems proper again, too.

”...but when in Rome, no?”

Cute little nod to her ancestry, that. Zoey takes another sip. A long one. Puts down half the mug, in fact. Then she sets it on the glass-topped patio table with a soft clink and leans lightly, hands resting upon the edge. She takes a few quiet moments to consider what’s on her mind before speaking to the camera. To Amber Payne.

”One of the most important lessons taught at the Sicilian Empire Wrestling School is that you always do business properly in wrestling. You always meet your obligations. You don’t mix personal matters with business. And if you have a problem, you deal with it like a professional… or at least an adult. But you just couldn’t manage that, could you, Amber? I’ve made noise recently about how people act in wrestling these days, from the sense of entitlement to the arrogant attitudes that are 100% unearned and all else. And of course, I didn’t name names in that because, well, why give these poor souls free publicity? They would take it like an open ticket to keep acting that way because, in their twisted minds, any attention is good attention. Sound like anyone you know, Amber? Maybe someone you saw in the mirror recently? Let me offer you just one piece of advice if you listen to nothing else I say-”

A bit of a pause there. Zoey’s brows elevated and all of a sudden she giggles. The back of her hand goes to cover her lips and she shakes her head a little, raising that hand now to beg a moment to regain her composure.

”-ah, what am I saying? You aren’t listening to this! You probably don’t even know my name! But that’s all right. I’ll give advice anyway. Someone smarter and more mature than you can make use of it and be better for it.”

Composing herself, Zoey tucks her hair behind her ear, takes another deep breath and centers anew.

”The wrestling business NEVER forgets.”

Ever see those shows where someone gets all foreboding and out of a clear sky lightning strikes and shrouds them in darkness for a moment, save for some glowing eyes or the like? That’s how it feels when Zoey says that.

A moment later, though, she’s all sparkly again. Dang magicians…

”I was brought into this business right, Amber. And what you did should not fly. You disrespected Pro Wrestling Excellence with your nonsense. And your silence? It disrespects me. If you’d been paying half a mind to what has been going down in this company lately, you would know what a terrible idea that is. Something tells me you wouldn’t care either way, though. This holier-than-thou attitude you’re showing proves such. The last thing I need right now is motivation to storm that ring and tear you a new one in front of the world. To use you as a reminder for why people should treat me just a little better than they have been.

Another lesson taught at the Sicilian Empire is that any company you wrestle for is the most important company on the planet because you are there. That’s the mindset that should be part of your every moment within this business. I am a part of PWE. So, to me, PWE is the most important company in the business. Not because of me, but because thinking otherwise would be doing it a disservice. And shall we be real for a moment? PWE didn’t have to sign me in the first place. Being out of the ring for over a year had to make them think twice. Even with my pedigree in this business, the records and championships I have held. But they did. And they did it immediately. No hemming or hawing, no drawing things out… as soon as my contract reached them, they put out to the world that I was Made of Excellence.

And from there?”

A wave of her hand and a snap of her fingers… and the Impulse Championship appears in her hand in a puff of smoke. Without taking her eyes off the camera she drapes that belt over her shoulder, stroking it like she would a lover’s cheek with those red-tipped fingers.

”From there, I proved that I was worth their while. The first-ever Impulse Champion. They gave you a similar opportunity, differing background and circumstances aside. And what did you do?

You spat in their face.

You, Amber Payne, are a disrespectful, self-absorbed, unlawfully-arrogant brat. The same kind of brat that infested the halls of my high school, trying for all they were worth to make my life a living hell. A hater who can’t stand anyone succeeding except for themselves, the kind who wishes ill on a stranger because ‘it should have been me’. A pampered, spoiled princess who stomps her feet when she doesn’t get her way. And I implore you, Amber, to bring ALL of that attitude to the ring at Victory VII. No, I don’t implore you… I BEG you. Because it would do me untold amounts of pleasure to give back to the company that let me be reborn under their umbrella by showing the rest of the locker room and the good people in the stands what happens when you treat this business as beneath you.

Maybe part of this has to do with being painted as a villain of late. Being hated on, accused of crimes I haven’t committed, having my veracity questioned… it just takes me back to the old days. The days of being picked on and hiding from tormentors. From knowing everyone that looked at me was thinking poorly of me without reason. And that puts me in a mood to fight. So, yes, I might be guilty of displacement for wanting to damage you in front of the world, Amber, but I wouldn’t have thought of it for a moment if you had acted like a woman instead of a petulant child. So I’ll look at myself in the mirror with pride and fall asleep with a smile on my face knowing that I’m sending you to parts unknown with a lump on your head and a very sore arm.

No matter how I decide to finish this, though? The irrevocable truth is that you brought it on yourself. And PWE will be better off without you.”

Title still gleaming from her shoulder, Zoey calmly picks up her mug, lifts it toward the camera, and takes a long sip. Then with a smile and a wink, she picks up the phone and shuts off the camera, presumably rejoining the party within.

Thursday, December 30th, 2021
The Madigan-Star Residence, Zoey’s Office, Malibu, California
8:20am, Local Time

”Up and at ‘em, ladies! I don’t want to be late! The airport is going to be a bloody madhouse as it is!”

Seems like Zoey’s bringing the family along for Victory this time around. But seeing as how Katalina’s presence made so much difference last time, it isn’t all that bad of an idea. From elsewhere in the house comes Katalina’s tarty retort.

”Which would be a LOT easier if you would let me have the keys, love!”

”Then next time you’ll remember to put your things away like I ask, won’t you?! Kay, sweetheart, don’t forget your laptop! Remember that we have some studying to do while we’re away!”

”Yes, mama!”

The young daughter of Zoey and Katalina darts past, hunting down said laptop with her bag already over her shoulder. Zoey, meanwhile, shuts down her computer and makes sure her own carry-on is packed when her cellphone rings.

”If that’s Claire, tell her I’m NOT available for ‘special holiday testing’! I remember what happened last time!”

”It was fun for everyone! Now hush or you’ll be packing without the ability to make smart comments!”

Smirking, Zoey answers the call without checking the ID.

”Dr. Madigan-Star. Yes? Wait… I’m sorry, what did you say?”

At about that moment, Katalina wanders into the office, looking flustered. And who can blame her? There’s a pair of polished black steel handcuffs manacling her hands in front of her while she clutches precariously a heavy suitcase.

”I will have you know this is cruel and unusual punishment! If Kay sees this, you’re in big-”

And just like that, Katalina sees the look on Zoey’s face, one of abject shock and horror. Without another word, Zoey puts down the phone, now shaking like a leaf in the wind.

”...love? What happened?”

Numbly, Zoey walks over to Katalina and unlocks the restraints, no doubt a leftover from last night’s fun, and puts them in her desk before Kay returns, stuffing her laptop into her back. A smart, perceptive child, she, too, can tell that something is wrong.

”Someone… they desecrated Drake’s grave. Broke the headstone, dug it all up… it’s… it’s empty!”

Katalina has a comment for everything. But not this. Not now. Kay, who oftentimes seems bored with the world, is wide-eyed as well. Even at her young age, she knows this is wrong.

”Should we-”

”N-No. No, there’s nothing I can do right now. We have to… have to go. Come on…”

But this is definitely a bad situation. The sightings and all else, and now this? Where does it stop? Zoey moves out of the room trance-like and her wife and daughter, sharing a worried look, follow quickly after her.