Viva La Familia

Prologue
Don’t Close Your Eyes

In the matter of a month Ciela Luiz had fallen from grace. She had dropped from the time traveling wisecracker to being stuck in a time she knew very little about. She was in the middle of trying to find her mother and get her approval, all while she was trying to be signed to OCW. In the midst of all of that she was signed to Pro Wrestling Excellence. Excellence is what we all strive for. The quality of being outstanding. That is all Ciela knew was how to stand out and be herself. For every hater and every doubter she was becoming more and more anxious to prove them all wrong.

She had proven to be a handful to the wrestling world. She wouldn’t go away. She was young and here for the long haul. She wasn’t going away at all so it was time the people who hated on her recognized it. It was time the LC Pinkston’s and Bert McAlroy’s of the world realized it. The green hair, the sassy tones, were here to stay. Like it or not.

Ciela was accustomed to fighting and fight she shall. Fighting for relevance. Fighting for fame. Fighting for family. She was ready to do it all.

Scene 1
Sky is the Limit


Ciela Luiz paced her hotel room as she looked about the room. The four walls always seemed to be closing in on her as she tried to be good and not alter the time she was in. How could she not try? Homicide was running rampant. She, being a hispanic female, was constantly discriminated against and told to “Go back where she came from” when she was born in Los Angeles. How could someone not want to change the ugly of this world? Fact is, she wanted to. Making a difference is all she was about. Unfortunately not being from this time makes her fight even harder. She feared she wouldn’t be able to go back to her time. She was on the run, a fugitive of time itself. She sighed as she picked up the phone and dialed the number on the back of the paper. It rang, momentarily before the voice of Estrella Luiz was heard on the other side. ”Hello?”

Ciela paused before speaking in a hushed and nervous tone. ”Madre, I told you I would be calling you. We need to hash this out. Things have changed and I have no one to turn to. Betsy is the only other person who may understand but you are the only one I need. I need my mama.”

The other end of the line goes quiet for a moment. For the better part of a month Estrella Luiz, the former wrestling champion, had tried to ignore what was right in front of her. She tried to ignore the fact that her daughter, born April 18 of the year 2021, was now wrestling as an eighteen year old green haired girl from the future. Recent events had made it where she totally believed it now. She bought in. When others still disbelieved, her own eyes had proven what she tried to hide. ”Ciela, you need to lay low. NASA won’t give up so easily. You need to try and push everything aside and focus on staying safe. What has you so worried?”

Ciela teared up a bit. She was going through a whole lot with the being a fugitive of time itself. She sniffled as she wiped her tears, her mascara coating her cheeks. ”With being stuck in this time period and preparing for the one night extravaganza that is PWE Victory and the Excellence Championship. I am overwhelmed. I am nervous. I am downright scared.”

Estrella interjected with the sass and confidence we have grown to love from her in the wrestling world. ”Dammit Ciela, you are a Luiz. I didn’t name you Sky for you to try and stay grounded. You need to spread your wings. You need to fly baby bird. You need to leave the nest and venture out on your own. You need to be you and do your name justice. You need to be better than me. Makayla had the right idea. She came here to be better than Geri and better than Derrick. She doesn’t have the charisma you have. She doesn’t have the wherewithal in her like you do, to make things happen. She wants them to just come to her and that is not how this business works, that is not how life works. Good things don’t come to those who wait. Good things come to those who go out and grab what they want by the balls, the cajones, mi hija. You need to do just that. Go to PWE and grab that damn title and hold on for dear life. If you can’t handle the pressure now what are you going to do when you inevitably win a world title? What are you going to do when the whole world’s eyes are upon you?”

Ciela perked up as a look of confidence washed over her make up ruined face. She knew her mother would know the right things to say. She smirked as she spoke again, her voice filled with confidence. ”You are right. I can do this. I can make it all better. I can make the world remember the name of Ciela Luiz, Sky Light! The Sky is the fucking limit and I will be damned if I am held back any longer.”

Estrella got a little giddy on the other end. ”That is my girl! Now go show the world who you are! I love you mi hija.”

Ciela smiled from ear to ear. She finally had purpose in this time period instead of aimless wandering. She was no longer alone in her fight. She answered her mother. ”I love you too, madre.”

The scene faded to black as the feel good moment couldn’t last forever. Ciela had some focusing to do.


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Scene 2
Whatcha Say


The scene began as we saw Ciela Luiz looking up at a building. The NASA logo is proudly displayed on the side as Ciela laughed lightly. ”It is kind of funny that in this time NASA is seen as good yet in my time they are literally pressuring people for answers. They want to control everything around them. They think they are perfect, kind of like Ashley Whitmore. You see, it takes a lot of nerve to call yourself the Perfect Score. Ashley what have you done to earn a name like that? Six years in this business and not one accolade to show for it? That seems to be rather, dare I say, less than perfect. You are nothing more than a dumb nickname that YOU gave yourself in hopes that it would stick. In hopes that it would be all well and good in your life. You didn’t plan on being up against someone who has dealt with trying to be perfect her whole life. I grew up the child of a woman who gave everything up for me. She gave up the designer names and the limelight to try and keep me from this business, from the ugly world of professional wrestling. She didn’t want me to see what goes down in this business but I see it and the ugly begins with presumed perfection.”

Ciela flipped the bird to the building and turned as the camera focused in on her middle finger. She spoke with a confident feel to her voice. ”Fuck you Ashley. Fuck whatever entitled actions happened to make you think you are perfect. You see, none of us are. We are all fuck ups and the sooner you realize this in life the better. No one has it in them to be perfect but we can strive to be better. We can strive to be better for our families, for our significant others, for our jobs…. But mainly we can strive to be better for ourselves. You see, I have spent the last month trying to impress the fans and the mindless drones on Twitter. I have tried to impress the higher ups at OCW and for what? To become just another meme on the internet? To become just another face in the crowd? Fuck impressing others. I know my worth and I will be damned if morons like you are going to break me down and make me feel worthless. Too many people in this fight for the title. Maybe you can break down Ross Hanson and Chelsea Skye with their new found relationship but I will not be broken. You want perfection, Ashley, perfection will get you laid the fuck out on the outside of the ring as my green hair bounces in celebration. Perfection will simply get your ass kicked.”

Ciela walked a little ways down a path. She looked up as the tiny speck of what was a rocket is seen in the air. She marveled at the dot as if she was seeing things with a new perspective. A new lease on life in the past, which had become her present. ”Kind of crazy really. Have you ever stopped to think about how things that once meant the world to everyone have become insignificant blips in the grander scheme of things? Take Lachlan Kane for instance. For the better part of a decade the man has been in this business. What does he have to show for it? A tag title? One title in ten years is not an accomplishment. You can say all you want to defend yourself but what is one to do when even John Blade is more relevant? Lachlan what makes you think you have an ice cube’s chance in Hell of winning this whole thing? What are you going to say that is any different than the incessant droning on and on the world has heard from you for a decade? You are insignificant and I will be the one to show that when I toss your overrated ass over the top rope at Victory. The first Victory will be yet another stumble in your not so illustrious career.”

Ciela’s gaze into the sky is broken by the sound of cheering. She looked up to see some of the Green Moblins that had been helping in her efforts to get signed in OCW in front of her. They held up signs saying “Sign Ciela Luiz” and “Ciela = Victory” Ciela was humbled a bit as she spoke again. ”You wish you had a following like this don’t you Kayla? You see, Miss Richards you are one of those keyboard warriors. You make your rounds on Twitter saying you are perfect but who is echoing those sentiments. You say others are saying but I haven’t seen one damn person saying those words. You are trying to put on a false sense of entitlement and it is because deep down within your black soul you know that you are nothing. You are a failure or two away from a complete breakdown. You are on the verge of your body and mind joining your soul in the deep dark recesses of hell. You are on your way to obscurity and that scares you. That makes it so you have no idea what to do. You grasp on to any false hope that you can. You hold on to your relationship with Billy but, deep down, you know he is more successful and deserves better than a sorry duffelbag of shit like you. You claim to have all the beauty but that is all superficial. You know as you age your beauty is beginning to fade. You know that you are disposable. Disposable to the fans. Disposable to this business. Disposable to the ShieldMaidens. You fly your flag and I can respect that if it is genuine but yours is not genuine. You fly your flag for acceptance not for pride. You are scared they will pass you by just like everything and everyone else has. I get it. You want to make your family proud as they all came from this business. Hey, my family does too. My grandfather practically owns the wrestling scene in Mexico. My mother is a multiple time champion. You have the world at your beck and call. You could use your platform for good but instead you use it to make yourself seem superior. You could be different but instead you play the cookie cutter “The World Owes Me Everything” schtick and when people call you out on it instead of answering it you simply deflect. How will you deflect anything when your body is flying over those ropes and crashing to the floor below? How will you deflect when it is me, not you, moving on in this tournament?”

Ciela had a seat on a bench. She shook her head side to side. ”If none of these people have a chance, what chance does Nathaniel Cartwright have? The man literally walked out of the Canadian Wilderness and Ophelia Pain thought “Let’s hire this guy”

Is that president you want to set for this company, Miss Pain? I thought this company was about excellence and yet you let the likes of Cartwright and Xaria Linette in here with nothing to show for themselves. They, like Richards, are just cookie cutter curtain jerkers who simply can’t cut it in this sport. That will be proven when I, Ciela Luiz, the third generation lucha superstar, become the first ever Excellence Champion. Bring on Ross Hanson. Bring on Chelsea Skye. Bring on LC Pinkston, I owe him an ass whooping anyway. It doesn’t matter who you throw at me. I am a woman who LITERALLY has nothing left to lose. I have already lost my own sense of being. I have lost my own time period. I will stop at nothing to make sure everyone remembers that my name is Ciela Luiz. My name means sky so I am going to rocket to the top. NASA can’t hold me back so the morons of PWE certainly can’t hold me back. Step to me and find out.”

Ciela walked off, her hips switching in rhythm of her hasty exit.


Scene 3
Grandfather Knows Best

The scene opened to show Ciela Luiz sitting on the bed in her hotel room. She seemed to be meditating but her focus was broken by a knock at the door. She opened the door and there stood her grandfather, Benedicto Luiz alongside her mother Estrella Luiz. Estrella rolled her eyes before speaking. ”I tried to get him to stay in Mexico but when I described the situation to him he..”

Benedicto walked in, standing straight up and walking with a sense of pride. ”I had to come see it for myself. You have the look of a Luiz. You have the presence of a Luiz but how do we know you are who you claim to be?”

Ciela had never really thought of how to prove she is a Luiz. She had always thought the similarities in looks between her and her mother was enough. ”I...I… uh..”

Estrella interjected herself. ”Papa, I have already told you. She has told me things about me and the family that only I knew. I had to have told her. She knew about the time you and mama were in the car accident and told no one because you had a wrestling match that night and didn’t want to get checked by the doctors. She knew about my prom date and how he ditched me to go watch a Quiet Place and how mama and I had a movie and ice cream night while I cried and cried.”

Benedicto, the intimidating figure he was, stopped Estrella from speaking. ”Estrella, we both know Time Travel does not exist. You are being brainwashed into believing this.. This.. this abomination. She is not my granddaughter. My granddaughter is with her grandmother.”

Estrella stood between Ciela and Benedicto. ”Dad, I was skeptical at first too but there is no way this many coincidences can be guessed. I hadn’t released her name to the public and somehow she guessed the name Ciela. Ciela is a special twist on Ciel, sky, that I chose. She had the note I left for my future self inside the same locket. She knows our families skeletons and secrets. She is my daughter and thus she is your granddaughter. You can choose to not believe all you want. You never believed in me and thus you don’t think I have it in me to have a daughter smart enough to come make a name for herself in a past time period. You want to keep questioning this and you will NEVER see us again. Understood?”

Benedicto shot a scowl toward Estrella. Estrella continued her speech. ”I get it but you have got to listen to me. You have to believe in Ciela. She is here in a time she isn’t from and she can’t leave anymore. She is scared and I will be damned if I leave my daughter alone like you left me alone to fend for myself after you deemed I wasn’t good enough to be your daughter because I chose to hide drugs for Robert. I fucked up dad. We all fuck up. I won’t be a bad parent. I won’t be you. You were married to your career. I chose family over career. Isn’t that what you always instilled in me? Family over everything? Unfortunately you didn’t heed your own lesson. You didn’t allow the family to stand over top of your own career. Your own riches were more important. We took a backseat to this business. Now, you have a choice to make. Family… or disbelief. Believe it or not, this is your granddaughter, my daughter. You need to come to the realization before you fuck things up for mom again.”

Benedicto reached back is if he were going to slap Estrella but Ciela jumped in the way and caught his hand. She looked at him, a look of evil in her eyes. ”You better fucking leave, NOW! I will not hesitate to break your fucking arm right here and now. Mom told me how you used to slap her and grandma around simply because you were a “man” and to assert your dominance. Real men don’t do that. Real men don’t make the problems in their lives worse with violence. You want to prove something step back into that ring old man but I promise you, I will end your career on a note more sour than that look on your fucking face.”

Benedicto pulled away, shaking his arm a bit. He looked at her and Estrella. ”Typical modern women. No respect for anything. I will be back and you will both be sorry.”

Benedicto rushed out of the room, his pride and his arm both throbbing in pain. Estrella looked at Ciela. Ciela hugged her mother close. ”Are you ok?”

Estrellla nodded at her daughter. ”You did what I never had the balls to do. You stood up to him and his ways. Maybe you are my daughter after all. Maybe you and I are not so different. Together, the Luiz family, with or without the support of Benedicto, can accomplish anything. Now go my daughter. Go and do what I couldn’t. Go become a world champion.”

Ciela kissed her mother on the cheek. ”Your time in this business isn’t yet over. You are young. A world title may be in your future. Who knows what the future holds? I am from the future and it is changing by the day. Our futures will be shaped by the present we are currently making. Let’s make the change together. Viva la familia.”

Estrella looked at her daughter. ”Viva la familia!”

The two women’s faces twisted into a sense of belonging. A sense of happiness. A sense of family.

Epilogue
Do it for Her

Ciela Luiz started this journey with her best friend but it would continue with family. Benedicto would come around but, only if he would drop the violent ourbursts. Estrella was finally accepting of her daughter and Ciela couldn’t be happier. A title win would be nice but as long as she had her family by her side, Ciela was happy. She wanted Estrella to strongly consider another run in this business by her side. She would keep working at that.

In the mean time she had to focus on victory, both the PWE show as well as the verb itself. Victory is all Ciela could think about. Moral and physical victories. She was ready to make a stand and this was how it would begin. Battle royals are a crap shoot, luckily the Luiz’s were the gambling type.