the quinnsane diaries. // edge of a knife.

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the quinnsane diaries
2.3. // edge of a knife.

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With the eyes of the PWE world on the subset of the "Most Magical Place on Earth", the PWE Victory Champion Ellie Quinn looks out into the horizon as she takes a slow stroll through Disney World's Magic Kingdom Park. The champion has her championship draped across her left shoulder. Sunglasses cover her eyes as she makes her way down the sidewalk, Johnny Cash's classic "Ain't No Grave" playing as she walks.

There ain't no grave can hold my body down
There ain't no grave can hold my body down
When I hear that trumpet sound
I'm gonna rise right out of the ground
Ain't no grave can hold my body down

Leaning over a railing, Quinn takes a deep sigh as she adjusts the snapback on her head, turning it around so the brim of the cap faces behind her. A soft chuckle leaves her lips as she eyes the sign in front of her: "Welcome to Fantasyland!"

"Well, what a 'small world', huh? Here I am, right here at Fantasyland, Angel. But let's be honest here, our match at Rebirth will be anything but a smooth sailing boat ride. No, no, no, our match is going to be a fight...a war. See, Angel, a lot of people have said that the reason I have this title is because of you...and to that? I say bullshit. Yeah, you may have come out there and distracted Lachlan Kane, but I sure as hell never needed your help to beat that goody-goody goof. I could've done it on my own, solo, without any help from you or anybody else."

Watching on as the "it's a small world" boat glides across the water, Quinn cracks her neck from side to side.

Well, look way down the river

What do you think I see?

I see a band of angels, and they're coming after me

Ain't no grave can hold my body down

There ain't no grave can hold my body down

  

"There's a huge difference between you and I now, Angel...see, all those months ago, you stuck your nose in my business just to get at Lachlan Kane. I don't go getting in other people's business...I fight my own battles and I take care of my own business. I get done what I have to get done, and at Rebirth? That's turning you from Angel to a fallen angel when I put you down and keep this championship over my shoulder."

Continuing to make her way through Fantasyland, Ellie Quinn makes her way to the Mad Tea Party ride, making her way through the line and taking a seat in one of the teacups.

"Curiouser and curiouser, aren't we, Angel? Well, lucky you, we're all mad here..."

A sly, Cheshire grin forms on Ellie's face as she places her arms on the brim of the teacup, the cup spinning wildly. Ellie becoming a blur of bright red hair and tattoos as she spins wildly, a laugh leaving her lips as she spins, yelling out as she continues a blurringly fast spin in the ride.

"Bring your best, Angel, because I'll leave your head spinning just like this goddamn teacup if you bring anything less than your A game! There's a reason why I'm the longest reigning champion in PWE history, and you'll get an opportunity to get the Ellie Quinn Experience firsthand right here in Fantasyland!"

Well, look down yonder, Gabriel
Put your feet on the land and sea
But Gabriel, don't you blow your trumpet 'til you hear it from me
There ain't no grave can hold my body down
Ain't no grave can hold my body down

The camera continues to film as Ellie spins around and around, the ride at last coming to a stop as she somehow seems unfazed by the rapid spinning of the teacup ride. As she steps off the ride, the cameraman with her hands her back her championship which she once again, quite proudly, drapes over her shoulder. Stepping out of the line, Ellie walks further through Fantasyland, stopping at Cinderella's Royal Table. Once inside the lavish, gaudy looking Cinderella-themed restaurant, Ellie's eyes lock with the chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. Slowly, she lowers her sunglasses onto her nose, her eyes now visible as she glares into the camera.

"This seems more your speed, doesn't it, Angel? Hm? Still waiting on your fairy godmother and your pumpkin carriage to come riding through the night and whisk you away from a life of misery and self-loathing. You've been so caught up on that geek Lachlan to recognize that with every Angel on one shoulder...comes a devil on the opposite shoulder. And you, Angel, are staring into the eyes of a devil."

Her lips curl into a twisted smirk as she makes her way out of the restaurant, backtracking her way through the Fantasyland section of the park. 

Well, meet me, Jesus, meet me

Meet me in the middle of the air

And if these wings don't fail me

I will meet you anywhere

Ain't no grave can hold my body down

There ain't no grave can hold my body down

As she at last arrives back at the Fantasyland sign once more, the Victory Champion takes a seat on the pavement beneath the sign, leaning back against the pole holding it up.

"So here we are, back again at the beginning. The beginning of my title reign, where you had to stick your nose where it didn't belong. The beginning of a new era for the Victory Championship, where I've become this company's longest reigning champion in history. January 17th, 2022 was the day that my reign as Victory Champion began. But unfortunately for your visions and delusions of grandeur, Angel, this reign sure as hell isn't going to end on October 3rd, 2022 here in the middle of the Magic Kingdom. And you know why? Because PWE is my kingdom. This championship is my crown, and the people that I've felled on the way to making this company my kingdom have been made into my throne. And at Rebirth? Your name will be another name etched into my throne. Another piece to be added. Another lost gem added to the crown of Pro Wrestling Excellence's one shining diamond."

"So, if you actually, truly believe that you can beat me for this championship? I'm sorry, but the clock has struck midnight on that fairytale, Cinderella. This isn't a Disney story...this is my story. I write the ending to this story, and in your case? It sure as hell isn't going to be a happy ending. It's going to end the same way that the last eight months have ended: With me holding this championship high above my head. And if you think otherwise, well...let's just say this..."

Trailing off, Ellie grabs a sheet of paper and a marker. Using the Fantasyland sign as a makeshift clipboard, she scribbles onto the sheet of paper before tugging a roll of tape from her pocket, taping the sheet of paper to the "Welcome to Fantasyland" sign. On the sheet, it reads: "POPULATION: ANGEL."

"If you think for one second that you have even the smallest sliver of hope that you're walking out of this park with my title? You're living in a fantasy world, Angel. And if you're so hellbent on staying in your fantasy world? Well then, at Rebirth, I will be the dose of reality that desperately needs to be injected into your bloodstreams. I'm going to hold this championship until the day comes that they have to put me in the ground, and they'll be burying me in the dirt with this championship wrapped tight around my waist."

"So go right ahead, step up to me just like Peach Dillinger and Sabina Sainte did. And just like them, I'll run you out of this company. I have won gold all over the world, I have put better men and women than you in the dirt, I have made lesser men and women weep at my hands and grovel at my feet. You want to be some type of hero to your little sister, and that's real noble of you...until she finds out what I already know: you're nothing special, Angel. The walls will close in around you real, real quick, and you'll suffocate before anyone else can get you out."

"I'm the upper echelon of this industry, and you're scratching and clawing your way to the top of my mountain. It's lonely at the top, and there's only room for one. So I'll take great pleasure in kicking you all the way back down to the bottom. And who knows? Maybe one day, you'll get another shot at this title. Maybe one day, all your little fantasies will come true. Maybe one day, your little sister will start idolizing a real champion...someone like me."

Ain't no grave can hold my body down
There ain't no grave can hold my body down
There ain't no grave can hold my body down

At her own previous words, Ellie chuckles to herself, pushing her sunglasses back up to cover her eyes as she looks off into the distance, tightening her hold on her championship as she keeps it draped across her shoulder. Shutting her eyes and letting out an exhale through her nostrils, she brings herself to address the camera off once more. 

"Bring all your fantasies. Bring all your hopes and dreams. Bring your family. Bring your psychiatrist. Hell, bring a whole goddamn army...because it'll take one to put me down. I've made a living off broken dreams, broken hearts and broken bones, and I've come to collect the bill, Angel."

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2.3.