Out of The (Sher)Woods

[winner3]

The following is a video package playing in the weeks that followed the conclusion of LAW Apex and We Are LAW 6

Our scene opens up with fan-favorite lightweight luchadora, LAW's beloved Galaxy Cat, Aurora Estrella. She sits on the edge of an examination table in a medbay room backstage. The shimmer of the bright white lights bounce off of her colorful leotard and off the star on the tail of her outfit. At first glance, she seems as colorful and as stunning as she always has been....but her smile soon fades and shifts to a more contemplative expression. Her hand grips the edge of the table she sits on. And a voiceover from Estrella carries the tone conveyed in her disgruntled and upset body language.

"We Are LAW 6..."

"I had a front-row seat in the crowd. I got the bear witness to Astrid Arvidsson making LAW history. For her tremendous performance in the Apex Tour, our CEO and General Manager crowned her Inaugural LAW World Champion..." Her voice echoes as a clip of the Galaxy Cat standing and clapping in the front row at the PPV as Astrid was awarded her championship.

"I admit, I took my time trying to figure things out with Apex. I wanted to put on a spectacle of a match. I had my sights set on quite a few ladies....hard workers and up-and-comers like Angelina Tarrant and Shimmerlace Snuggleblossom...top brass like The Smiling Demoness Dana Ashford... like The Emerald Storm Alizeh Midori...." Aurora shuts her eyes for a second before looking off to the side. Slowly the camera pans to highlights of her Apex Match against Piper Sherwood.

"But little did I know, you had other plans for me, didn't you Piper?"

"Phew ..." An uncharacteristically deep sigh left the lips of an otherwise normally composed and well-poised Aurora.

"If you could have seen me after that match, oh my stars...." The clips that played highlighted how Piper and The Assistant General Manager worked in tandem to coax Aurora into the match. How they used the element of surprise to set up an ambush, how Angie Defoe served Estrella to Piper on a silver platter, and how Piper was all too happy to pick up what was perhaps the biggest and most dominant win of her professional wrestling career!

"I...was... livid...."

"You would have loved it, Piper." Aurora motioned towards the camera.

"After the match, I couldn't hold myself up on my own two feet. I couldn't walk in a straight line for a few days....The doctors told me straightaway that I wouldn't be medically cleared in time for the pay-per-view."

"It all happened so fast. One minute I'm scribbling graphs and flow charts for how I might face another SWAT Cats to put on a match worthy of crowning a World Champion, the next minute, I'm out of the running! Out of action for a month and change!"

"I can't tell you how many nights I spent screaming into my pillow. How many times I watched replays of that mugging of a wrestling match over and over again...."

"Hehehe...you know, I don't think anyone's ever pulled my hair that much before, not without taking me out to dinner first, anyhow." Highlights from the Apex match played, highlights of Piper tugging Aurora's but afro poof, leading the luchadora around the ring. As the video continued, clips of Piper's offense on Aurora kept rolling.

"You did it, Piper. Bravo."

"You put the first and only black mark on my record. You took me out of world championship contention. You put me on the shelf. You had my friends, my fans, and the world out there worried for my sake. And to all you good people who rooted for my full recovery, to all my lovely LAW Colleagues and fans who left me supportive messages on my socials, I want you to know that I've read each and every last one. I extend my fullest and sincerest thanks. My tag partners, Kat and Tracy who stood by me during my recovery, to that tall beautiful, good bean of a man Oscar Orelash, thank you so much." We return to Aurora in the medbay. She put her hands together and bowed her head briefly. After a few seconds, Estrella would raise her head with a look of seriousness in her eyes.

"And to my single biggest fan, Piper Sherwood..."

"I'm sure you've loved this little recap thus far. I'm sure you'll be replaying this video package over and over again, delighting yourself in the spoils of your big win! And why shouldn't you, right? By hook or by crook, you squashed The Galaxy Cat, Aurora Estrella in the most important singles match of either of our careers. You can hang onto that one. I'm sure you've never met a chip you weren't happy to wear on your shoulder."

"But this point here?" The luchadora points her index finger downward. She continues to gesture as she looks into her camera.

"This is where you pause the video or swipe away if you want to keep that twisted smile on your little gremlin face."

"This is where you come to the realization that it really doesn't matter who takes you under their wing."

"Whether you rub elbows with Ayane Yamamoto or stay licking the red bottoms of Angie Defoe's stiletto heels, none of this plays out the way you'd like it to, Piper."

"In your mind, I'm sure you'd love for me to fly off the handle. You want an angry, hot-headed 'Rora to storm through the backstage halls and come seek you out, walk right into an ambush or something to that effect? I'm sure you'd love to see me jump through hoops to get a rematch. To try and right the wrongs you did by me. I'm sure you're sitting somewhere still full of yourself, still bragging to anyone who will listen about how you used me as a stepping stone."

"But consider this: if I'm your stepping stone, why are we 1 and 1?" The tone shifts as we switch to a clip of Estrella's and Sherwood's first match, a clip where Aurora hits her Double Moonsault finisher - The Drops of Jupiter, to pick up the win.

"If you've stepped over me, if you've stepped passed me, if you're really better than I am, then why do we both have 1 victory over each other?"

"Why is it that when I need to beat you, I can do it fair and square, between the ropes like a professional? But when you need to beat me, you need to sling your bat around. You need to jump me. You need to hit me with a low blow. You need our illustrious Assistant General Manager to bully me into signing a contract for a match with you?"

"When people look back on our little rivalry, they won't remember the story of a bright-eyed little rookie Piper that toughened herself up and got good. No one besides yourself will recall the story of Piper using Aurora as a stepping stone to get to greater heights and relevance in the world of wrestling."

"No, at the end of the day, despite getting a win, you're still the woman who has something to left to prove, not me. You're still the girl that needs another match with me to get anything more than just her 15 minutes of fame. And I know that doesn't sit well with you."

"So carry on the way you are now. Milk this for as long as you can. In a month from now, one year from now, two years, I'll still be a SWAT Cat. I'll still be one of the headliners at LAW. I'll still have my legacy. I'll still be The Galaxy Cat, Aurora Estrella."

"And you, Piper? You'll be forgotten because 15 minutes of fame only lasts for so long. I'm already back to training and looking for comeback matches. I don't need to request a rematch with you because quite frankly, when it comes to Piper Sherwood, I am the better woman and the better wrestler. I have absolutely nothing to prove."

"Understand this, Piper. You're the one that's in my rearview mirror. I've moved past you....and I have no intention of looking back. I don't really have a reason to." Various cinematic angles portray The Galaxy Cat shrugging and adjusting her hair tie before walking out of the room and moving on, both figuratively and literally....

(tagging @Bare so that he sees this )