The History Maker and The History Shaper

by **krzy** Thu Apr 13, 2023 8:57 pm

“The History Maker” Amber Reed, freshly parted with her Hardcore Championship, is escorted into a room that Tailcoat Val has made her own. One of the walls is lined with monitors, each showing various angles of Reed’s match, in the loosest definition of the word, with Celestina Marquez.

When it comes to Val, it’s hard to tell if this is to get under Reed’s skin or if there’s something of value she thinks can be gleaned from that short, yet explosive encounter.

Likely both.

Reed clenches her jaw, eyes flickering from screen to screen, hand subconsciously rubbing the back of her head, phantom pangs still lingering after being unceremoniously driven through a table.

Then her eyes fall to the back of Val’s head.

Despite having realized by now that her guest has arrived, Val still studies the screens intently. In fact, she addresses Amber without turning to face her.

TAILCOAT VAL:
Do you take pleasure in what you've done, and what you still continue to do? Every time the tree that is the women's division bears new fruit, you snatch it from the branches and crush it in your hands. Is it joy that drives such destruction?

AMBER REED:
I wouldn’t call it all that, Val. The women’s division has so many talented individuals. So many up and coming stars. What I do isn’t for my own joy or to cause destruction. I do it to test them. To see if they’re ready.

TAILCOAT VAL:
So not pleasure, then. Fascinating. So it's strictly business, I presume? They're just fish in a barrel that you shoot at will--names without faces that you ruthlessly check off to observe how your talent compares to their own…

AMBER REED:
Business? Not at all. If it was business…I wouldn’t give a damn about them. I care about them. I want them to get better. I want them to reach that next level. Many people can agree that I am a pretty good test for those rising up. I’m not here to compare my talent to theirs…

Val finally turns around and looks at Reed for a long time. Reed’s expression appears earnest, and Val studies every inch of that expression--a twitch of the eye, a flicker of a smirk, that would expose any bit of deception.

TAILCOAT VAL:
You've taken a unique approach to expressing your care and your virtue. But humor me. Tell me who, if anyone, has passed your test?

Reed lowers her head down for a moment and shakes her head in annoyance, before looking back to Val.

AMBER REED:
You want to know who has? Before I answer that…how about I ask you a question, Val. Since you like to ask all the questions around here…maybe you should be answering one yourself. Why the hell are you so interested in what I do? Huh? Why do you care so much about what I do?!

TAILCOAT VAL:
Because I like you.

Of all the answers Val could have given, the look on Reed's face says that she wasn't expecting that one.

TAILCOAT VAL:
I can respect your efforts to show that women can take when we're expected to beg--and that we can shine when we're expected to defer to the men. But your success comes at a cost...a cost that greatly inconveniences me each time you add another accolade to your list of achievements.

Reed leans forward.

AMBER REED:
Now Val…how does my success…cause you inconveniences? Why is it that when I add accolades to my list…it costs you?…are you jealous?…

TAILCOAT VAL:
Jealous! Perhaps if we were chasing the same dragon, but my goal is simply to foster the growth of this company's women's division...and to keep out those who want to use and abuse it. Those who would disappear for months on end then come running back for a hero's welcome. Those who show up, scrape by and expect the world to be handed to them. The expectation should be effort and loyalty...above all else!

Val pulls off her mask and rests it on her desk. Her eye twinkles with a glint of mischievousness.

TAILCOAT VAL:
Just think, a year ago someone the caliber of Tora Troy-Evans wouldn't even think of gracing us with her presence, but now here she is...to the delight of us all, no doubt.

Val locked eyes with Amber when mentioning that name, and smirks when she gets the reaction she was looking for.

TAILCOAT VAL:
Now Amber, I don't doubt your effort or your loyalty...but this dance between divisions that you do, chasing any title that you think you can get your hands on makes it impossible to build the division around you and inconvenient to build it without you. And aren't you worried? That burning the candle at both ends will make your chapter in the history books a cautionary tale instead of an inspirational one? If I'm allowed to ask questions again, of course..

Reed lowers her head. Taking in what Val had said. Clearly shook by what she said. She continues to talk, but not looking at Val.

AMBER REED:
I…I don’t…I don’t know…

Reed pauses to collect her thoughts for a moment. Remembering other people saying very similar things as to what Val said.

AMBER REED:
You think you can just do something that could be inspirational…but instead…it’s taken a different way. So what are you really trying to say here…Val…

Reed looks back up at Val and locks eyes with her again, but gritting her teeth this time.

AMBER REED:
Do you want me to choose a division and stick with it or something? Is it one or the other? Hm, Val?? Tell me!…

Amber Reed, a titan of the industry, a force to be reckoned with, a superstar of unparalleled talent who has forever changed what it means to be a female competitor in CMV, stands before Tailcoat Val who is notorious in her own way, but for her exploits outside of the ring. It seems impossible that two women who have had such an incredible impact in CMV have never shared the same space until this very moment. And it has become clear that it will be equally impossible for either of these two women to leave this meeting holding as strongly to their beliefs as they did when they entered it. After their morals and their actions have been so deliberately and thoroughly challenged, even if they don't change entirely, there's no way they could carry on the same path without even the softest of a nagging voice in the backs of their heads. And it's Amber Reed, of the two of them, who has proposed the question that will spark that irreversible change. A long silence passes after she asks it as Val respectfully takes her time to collect her thoughts before answering.

TAILCOAT VAL:
Yes.

Amber continues to stare at Val as tensions rise.

AMBER REED:
“Yes” you say…hm…and what exactly…will you do if I don’t stay in one place…Val? What the hell will you do if I continue down the path that I’ve been on? Are you going to hurt me? Are you going to continue to annoy me about it?

TAILCOAT VAL:
I don't know.

She eyes Amber cautiously.

TAILCOAT VAL:
Maybe there will come a time where the division can withstand the weight of your greed. But the moment I feel the foundation I build buckle, the second I see it start to crack, then my hand will be forced.

She sighs.

TAILCOAT VAL:
Which would be a shame. Contrary to what you may think, I wasn't looking to make an enemy out of you. But if you won't see reason, if you won't stand down, for your own sake, then I'll have to do what must be done...just like I did to Janet Torre…

Amber clenches her fist upon hearing Janet Torre’s name. One of the very few Amber considered a friend that didn’t stab her in the back like one others did. She’s ready to give Val a beating right then and there. After a few moments, she begins to calm down. Realizing, nothing will change by going through with that. She sighs.

AMBER REED:
That will be a decision I make…when the time calls for it. For now, I will continue to do what I do.

She gets a little closer to Val. Staring at her, face to face.

AMBER REED:
But I’m going to let you know now Val…if you try in any way to cause problems for me in the future…because it sounds like you may. I swear Val…I’m going to beat the living hell out of you…and it won’t just be for me. Oh no, it will be for Janet Torre. It will be for all those that you’ve made suffer…

With those ominous words uttered, Reed lets herself out of the room, lest her emotions push her toward actions she’d regret later.

Val’s expression is unreadable.

She stares at the void where Reed once stood, silently absorbing the words that both were and weren’t spoken. Finally, she turns back around to face the screens. With the touch of a button, they all change at once…

…to footage of Ashley Rayne challenging Ari Lee for the CMV Women’s Championship at Fortune.