The Dark Fénix Reveals Herself

[ScylliasExoter]

The LAW show started with a cold open. The grim-faced commentators began with a grave announcement.
”Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that Oscar Orelash has been injured and is not medically cleared to be here tonight. We have obtained live footage of the BARBARIC assault against Oscar and his friends. We will show it to you and then we will hear from his attackers. Be warned, the footage is difficult to watch.”

The TitanTron and television screens then played the events of Oscar’s victory celebration the day before. The replay of the carnage flashed in great detail across the hospital room TV screen where Drake Benton was visiting and hanging out with Oscar Orelash. Oscar suddenly had many new enemies, but on the bright side, he won over a new close friend in the Steel Colossus. Drake, being the bro he was, expertly smuggled beer into Oscar’s hospital room like it was a sporting event. The two men were having some cold ones when they saw the LAW footage.

[MappleMan7]

Oscar was quiet as he watched the show on the hospital TV. The paralyzing agent had worn off thankfully so he was able to move again- but even with Drake having somehow smuggled beer into the hospital, none of those things were cheering him up. Watching the footage of that night made Oscar uneasy- like he was being reminded how Aurora had betrayed him and the group. Aurora's reasoning being so unclear didn't help either. The Barbarian Prince just quietly sipped his beer- a gloomy expression resting on his freckled face as he watched the screen. A far cry from his usual self.

[ScylliasExoter]

Drake did his best to cheer Oscar up. In some ways, he felt partially responsible considering he was once one of Aurora’s mercenaries beating up the Barbarian Prince. Drake didn’t regret his matches with Oscar. They were good matches. But he regretted the vitriol and jealousy he had towards Oscar. So Drake visited him in the hospital and supported his new friend as much as he could.

However both Drake and Oscar were not expecting to see footage of Katrina and Cyndi being ambushed and captured. Aurora was thorough in the whole operation. Magna approached the two disguised as restaurant staff saying someone dinged Cyndi’s motorcycle. Cyndi and Katrina followed only to be ambushed by the twins and Magna. They were subdued, bound and gagged, and thrown into the freezer. In a cruel twist of the knife Aurora opened the freezer door, feigning shock that she had found them like that. After starting to free them and giving them hope, she smiled a sadistic smile and said she would take care of Oscar, before giving the two more of a beating. And cruelest of all, she took their signature hooded sweatshirts!

Drake was pacing wildly during this turn of events. The footage ended and the crowd was left in utter shock. The TV switched to the interviewer in the ring, who said,
“Ladies and gentlemen. We will now hear from ‘La Fénix’ Aurora Gonzalez.”
A massive explosion of boos erupted to the point it was hard to hear her music.

Spoiler

Then out walked Aurora.

Spoiler

[MappleMan7]

Oscar did his best to manage a smile toward Drake. The Barbarian Prince knew how much Drake was trying to make up for the years he spent as Aurora's pawn and he would always appreciate it. However, nothing could have prepared Oscar to see just what happened to Katrina and Cyndi. Oscar's heart sank into his stomach as he watched the scene unfold- starting all the way from the ambush out in a parking lot, to the imprisonment in the freezer, to the false sense of safety that Aurora gave them before beating them even further. It was unbelievably cold and cruel of Aurora- making Oscar even wonder if the Aurora he knew was even real in the first place.

The shock shifted to anger fairly quickly, his silence still evident but emotions projected just the same as Oscar narrowed his eyes sternly at Aurora's appearance. Even the beer can in his hand crumpled slightly as Oscar tightened his hand together. Whatever Aurora had to say for herself, she better have had a good reason for what she did.

[ScylliasExoter]

Drake lost it upon seeing Aurora appear on screen. He walked over to Oscar and placed a hand on his shoulder.
”I’ll take care of this, bro.”
The Steel Colossus then stormed out.

Meanwhile Aurora milked the crowd’s boos as she walked down the entrance ramp towards the ring. She grabbed a poster with Oscar’s face on it and tore it in half. Even the commentators were livid.
”WHY, AURORA?! TELL ME WHY!!”
La Fénix entered the ring and snatched the mic from the interviewer, shooing him away. She paused, took a deep breath as the boos rained down upon her, and began speaking.

”For those of you who haven’t connected the dots… IT WAS ME! ¡IT WAS ME TODO EL TIEMPO!”
BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
”You all wanted me. You all wanted to know why. Why I beat down Oscar Orelash and his friends. Why I betrayed him. Why I HATE him. Por fin, yo estoy aqui.”
BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
”Cállense… I want you to imagine a little girl from Ciudad Juarez…”

[MappleMan7]

Oscar tried to call out to Drake- but the Colossus was gone before he could get a word out. Knowing Drake, he probably was going to do something dramatic. Oscar only hoped that whatever it was he was going to do wouldn't put him in any more danger.

"S'pose that's a start for some answers... but I feel a villain monologuing coming on"

Oscar muttered to himself as he put the beer down and crossed his arms. Hearing Aurora use the word hate toward him stung. It really was a strong word.

[ScylliasExoter]

“Imagine this little girl with a wonderful family and parents who love her. Her father would take her to wrestling shows. She loved wrestling before she even knew how to walk. And when she grew up, she wanted to be a Luchadora more than anything.”
The personal story seemed to calm the crowd down. While by no means were they forgiving her, they wanted to listen.
“My father supported me every step of the way in my journey to be a Luchadora. He got me my gear. We designed my mask together. My most prized possession. I LOVED wrestling.”
She paused, her eyes closed, almost as if she was remembering the good times.

”I lied about my age to begin wrestling training early, you know? I think they knew, but my father took care of it. Because he was a provider. You see, my father was a Narcotráfico… a drug smuggler. It was how we got out of poverty. And despite his work, he came to every match I had. He was my good luck charm. I was getting better and better. My star rose. I felt invincible with my father in my corner… until he wasn’t.”
Hushed whispers of anticipation permeated the audience as the crowd began speculating wildly.

”You see one day, on the eve of the greatest match of my career, my father was arrested… in Canada… by a police officer named MAXWELL ORELASH!!!”

[MappleMan7]

Oscar's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that name. Maxwell Orelash- Oscar's beloved Uncle who took him in after the debacle with his father got arrested and made his Mom unable to properly care for him. Oscar knew his Uncle worked as a detective for the Toronto Police and arrested many, many people who tried to bring drugs into the city- but Aurora's own Dad was one of those convicted? What were the odds of that?

Oscar's other hand gripped the railing of the hospital bed tighter as a sense of urgency tugged at his heart as he waited for Aurora to continue. Oscar was sure it was safe to assume that Aurora was talking about Uncle Maxwell when she mentioned "Hurting you to hurt him". Was this all a long-planned, carefully executed revenge scheme from the start? Was Oscar just a target being used to hurt his family?

[ScylliasExoter]

The crowd gasped. Everything was becoming clearer. “My father wasn’t just thrown in nice Canadian jail. Thanks to that PIECE OF SHIT PIG Maxwell Orelash, my father was extradited to the United States where he faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison!”
Aurora lowered the mic and took a breather.
”I learned of this the day I was to face my rival Cassidy Ryder for our promotion’s championship. I had put my mask on the line to secure the title shot. My father was taken from me and I was devastated. My head wasn’t in the game. I lost the match. I lost my mask, the most important treasure of my father’s I had. And if you don’t know how these things work en México, I lost my Luchadora identity. I cannot wear my old mask again.”

[MappleMan7]

Oscar covered his mouth and leaned back onto the bed as all of this information came to light. On top of his Uncle putting Aurora's Pop in prison, Aurora blames the incident on the reason she lost her mask in the first place? It sounded like a crappy thing to happen, yeah, but the man was running DRUGS. It really goes without saying what kind of problems can stem from that. Plus it was illegal. The soft part of Oscar couldn't help but feel bad for Aurora- until he remembered the footage of Katrina during the whole assault in the bar. Oscar continued to listen, his eyes locked onto the screen as he waited to hear more from Aurora... and wondered if Drake was really going to show up on there or not like he thought.