The Dragon Lady Vs. Alex Winter

I stared at Mameha who sat cross legged on our couch in our living room. I am ecstatic, so far beyond just being happy to have her home, and safe. She needed to rest more before anything drastic happened. Even with her persistence, I told her, "Mom please rest," even though I never called her mom, she knew. She had to, by now.

She could argue with me, fight me, but she looked healthier. Her cheeks were more red. She didn't look so vulnerable. She was and is my most perfect Mameha. Beautiful in all ways. Balanced when need be. Motivated when she should be...

Mameha said as our eyes stayed on one another, "Now, I know you have been worried for me. But I am home now. And that means no more slacking in the gym. You run down there and give yourself the workout of a lifetime. One's body, mind, and soul is a most precious thing. You cannot forget to take care of those things, not even to take care of me." she said, her tone equally warm and teasing.

I nodded my head and went to the front door, opening it wide so I could leave. Before stepping over the threshold, I looked over my shoulder at Mameha. "I am glad you're back home. The place doesn't feel so quiet anymore."

And with that, I began my sprint. I hustled, going out of my way to leap over anything I could hurdle. Tipped over trash cans, small fences, random debris. Anything to add a little extra to this most important workout. That aside, it was time to go down to the tree shrine anyways. Time to see if there were any notes there for me. Or rather, for The Dragon Lady.

The sky began to make a deep rumbling sound as I became my other persona. Someone much stronger than myself. Someone who could handle whatever came their way. Someone motivated to do better each time they were faced with a challenge.

After a twenty minute run, I find myself by the large tree behind 'World Fitness'. I try to catch my breath a moment before going inside the gym to give myself the workout of a lifetime, as per Mameha's request. I see three notes tied to the small garden fence I stuck around the tree a couple weeks ago. "Neat," I said, feeling the intrigue and excitement bubble up inside of me.

I bend a knee and take each note into my hands. Before reading them, I sit down on the wooden bench nearby. I begin reading. I make a face at the first note.

To The Dragon Lady- You're not so brave. You wanna show me brave? Let's see who is behind the mask. - yours truly, Harold

I stick the note in a pocket. Always one of these. Shaking my head I read the next note.

To The Dragon Lady- You are very entertaining to watch. Love the cool flips and tricks you have done so far. Can't wait to see more from you. - signed Terry

Well that note was nice. Better than the first, I thought. I stuck that note into my pocket along with the first note. Then I began reading the final message. A smile forms across my face, as I know this message definitely looks to have been written by a child.

Dear Dragon Lady,

I took your advice. I feel braver. And bullies at school aren't so mean anymore. I hope you get the belt. I mean if Adrienne gets it that's okay too. But I want you to win. I am excited for you to win. Thanks for the autograph by the way. My dad put it in a frame for me and it's on my desk now. Sorry I wrote so much, guess I just really like you. -Ruby PS: Alex Winter and his bodyguards stink!

This note is folded up very carefully and stuck under my tank top by my heart. Ruby must be that taxi driver's kid. I got to my feet, a lot more is on my mind now. However, I am very thankful for this note. It made everything going on that much more worth it.

I then pushed open the glass doors to the gym. My feet carried me to the nearest cupboard. A cupboard that held jumping ropes inside. Soon the sound of my feet hitting the ground after I jumped over that rope can be heard. I imagined the rope as all the obstacles in front of me. Each time I jumped, I am hurling myself up and over another challenge. My mind would have taken me back to the night Mameha found me in a gym much like this one, all alone and lost at that time.

Except there is a big difference between then and now. Then, the tattooed dragon on my back had been merely just art. And the world around felt as if it were crumbling beneath my feet. I had no sense of reality. I was hurting. I was in pain. Now? The dragon meant something more. It is a symbol of the courage and strength that had been buried deep inside. Qualities I never gave myself credit for. Qualities Mameha had been trying to show me had always been there.

Even with Mameha not here to coach me while I tried to jump higher through the air twisting my wrists at double the speed now, each movement had a purpose. A reason to exist. Not rooted in anger, nor frustration. Because I wanted to be braver. Stronger. Not just for myself. But for Mameha, The cute Raven, And people like little Ruby. That stinging from losing that title hit me.

Of course I am happy for Adrienne. She earned that title. I gave her all I had to give. And in no way did I blame her for anything she had said in her promo against me. And I can't deny, my stress levels have gone down. The worry I felt about holding and keeping that title is not mine to bear yet. Perhaps it's a good thing. I have more time to prepare for that big moment.

To be the kind of Champion I know that I can be.

I reminded myself, you're still finding your path. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to not be perfect. As long as I keep becoming better. Stronger. Braver.

Sweat began to soak my clothes. My face began to feel hot as I upped the pace of my movements even more. Each movement is more precise. The features on my face look determined. As I focused on the face of Alex Winter, the man who made me feel the complete opposite of absolutely everyone else on the roster, I felt my facial features tense. This disgusting look hit the corners of my mouth as if some nasty food had hit the tip of my tongue or perhaps some foul odor had filled my nostrils.

Alex is the man who had made the worst of myself come out into the open. At a time when I was and still am, trying to find that ultimate peace. That peace C$J allowed Alex to make seem so far away from me. Since the last time I had spoken to either of them, I have been for the most part not dealing with situations the way I have wanted to. And yes I have one win right now… but nothing I accomplished on my own.

I want it. I want that win so badly. That win has been so close to my fingertips a few times now. And right before I could grasp my hands around it, it had all just slipped away. Well, no more. Not this time. And I didn't even need to win the belt to get this rematch. A rematch that hopefully would help bring out more of the good inside of me. Not the ugliness I saw within Alex.

As I trained myself, my phone lit up inside of a pocket. A text is there from Mameha.

---

What is it? Fear? Pain? Or Guilt?

I found myself a nice comfy place to sit on a patch of grass. I am at the same park I brought Matt to for our date. In the sunlight, the place is even more magnificent looking. Bright happy flowers danced around me in a light breeze. The small wooded area Matt chased me threw, sat off to one side. And Mameha has been kind enough to let me borrow her fancy cast iron tea set.

I began to set my scene up. The feeling I have right now. This humbling feeling. Despite my numerous losses now, screw it. I ain't going to let it bug me. Nothing is going to get me down. Especially a person like Alex Winters.

I laid down a baby blue blanket on the grass. I sat the cast iron teapot and two cups there beside it. The scene is serene. Airy. Open. No bad vibes here. I am not allowing it. Not this time.

I sat my cam recorder a distance away from the blanket so it can get a full view of myself and the blanket I have meticulously set up. After a moment more of fiddling with the camera, I take a seat in the center of the blanket. I rested my hands on my thighs and rubbed them a moment wiping my sweaty palms. Always the jitters before I had to give some fancy speech I had rehearsed in my head about a 100 times by time I let the cam recorder start recording.

I closed my eyes and breathed. Calming myself. Getting myself into the state of mind I needed to be in. I am sure the camera is recording by now. But I continue my breathing before I say what needs to be said.

I opened my eyes and if Alex could see under my mask, he would see a wide grin there. "First off, I would like to address Adrienne Levi. It was an honor to fight in the ring with you at CHAOS 100. I am not going to lie. I really wanted to become a champion. More than I realized. I came to Carnage to find something within myself. I never really thought about holding a fancy belt, or representing the whole company until this match came along."

"It would have been an amazing feat for me. Something my heart speaks to me about now. This title match will not be the first I am given the honor to be a part of. Because that belt? The Baltimore City Champion belt, all the belts seem so much more to me now. And I think I am only beginning to understand what they truly mean. A meaning I hope to fully understand one day."

"Regardless, I am happy for you. You have treated me with respect and kindness. No matter what you believe you have said wrong or done wrong, it is water under the bridge now. I must move on and I am sure we will see plenty of exciting things from you. Blow my socks off. That belt you have is treasure and everyone is going to come for it now. I wish you luck on your journey. For now, I must continue on mine."

I took a deep breath, "Now onto my opponent for CHAOS 101. Hello Alex. And how have you been? You know, since the last time I saw you causing mischief? Twitter tells me you have been busy making plenty more enemies since the last time I spoke to you directly."

I chuckled then. "Nothing new I suppose though. I hope you see the difference in me since the last time we had a heated conversation. I just want you to know, seeing as you can't help yourself find so many enemies, I don't feel the need to be triggered by you. I'll admit. When I got here to Carnage you got the best of me. You… your presence is easy to let one overwhelm themselves with. And I have never been one to just ignore what's being said. Words damage me. Sometimes much more than physical pain. Sometimes much more than a loss in the ring."

I slowly lift the cast iron teapot up. "Have you noticed? I haven't spoken too much on twitter the past couple of weeks. Want to know why? Because I have been trying to eliminate distractions. And you know what? I feel better. I feel more focused and determined than ever to earn my place with the best."

I begin slowly pouring tea into the two cast iron teacups. "You want to know something else? I came to a realization. You, Alex Winter are nothing more than a distraction. One that also needs to be eliminated. Probably why C$J likes you so much and wants you on his side. To distract us. I noticed something else about you. I think you enjoy riling everyone up. You feed off of it. You're like a fly. A fly attracted to the burning smell of carcasses that have all fallen to the allure of that bug zapper. Surely, it won't get you."

"I now ask myself, why is it you are like this? Is it fear? Is it pain? Or is it guilt? What has happened to you, Alex? Or what have you done that has made you turn into this ugly person? And I don't mean your looks. I would be stupid to say you were ugly on the outside. You know it and everybody else does. No, what makes you so ugly is what's on the inside."

I set the teapot down gently after both cast iron tea cups are filled. Then I sit one in the grass in front of the blanket. The other sits directly in front of me. "Something has happened to you. Something has happened and it's changed you into this terrible person. And you know what? I am not mad or angry with you anymore. I feel sorry for you. And your two bodyguards? And now this new minion of yours? Kat? You literally had to pay off two of them to be your friend. The other one? Kat?"

"Well, she has made it known she is standing by your side of her own free will. I don't know whose worse. Your bodyguards who stand with you for a paycheck or this Kat, who has chosen to do dirty work because she simply wants to? Or worse, maybe she enjoys it? All participants have made the wrong decision. To stand with you. A person so obviously lost. You being the distraction you are, well I missed this during our last encounter. This, trying to understand you, to see past all your bullshit."

I lift the tea cup closest to me into my hands. "You know how you say, everyone really just wants to be you? No, I don’t believe that is the truth. The truth is you bring everyone down to your level because there's no way you could ever be us. Be better. You couldn't smell something better if you tried."

I inhaled the aroma of the tea slowly as I closed my eyes for a brief moment. "You couldn't taste being better if you tried." I took a small sip of my tea, turning away to conceal my face from the shot. I sat my tea cup down gently.

"I want you to know, I already know, you're going to say heinous things about me in your response to this. You're not a very good person. I wouldn't expect anything else from you, but to be called out and made to feel terrible about my performance here so far. And I want you to know, I am more prepared than last time to handle the animosity that is going to come at me from you."

"You're willingness to be as terrible as you are tells me so much. So to make you feel better," I scooted the first cup that has been sitting in the grass, closer to the screen. "Here's a cup of tea to help soothe your marred soul." Eventually, I leaned forward and turned off the camera.

---

I walked around happy. At least to begin with. I am studying and not by myself. There are plenty of people here. People at the moment I can't understand why I trust and love so much, but I do.

Some are friends, some are people I just feel and know they are my family. Which is very odd as I have never really known my family from either side. For all I knew none of them existed, but for now they were here to comfort me and be here for me when this sick feeling hit my stomach.

It felt like this knot that I couldn't understand was there. Or perhaps it always had been, I just never spent that much time dwelling on that knot. It hurt too much to do so. Everyone looked so happy as they mulled over what the answer to this question was. A question I honestly didn't understand. It's like I am not here with them.

I felt my shoulder touched, so I looked behind me. And there this pretty lady stood. More beautiful than I could ever imagine. And if it were possible, even more beautiful and exquisite than Mameha. She wasn't with these family and friends of mine. She was like me. Here, but not. "Pearl. There is something you need to know."

"I was there you know? Even though you didn't see me. I was there and have always been here. I saw it happen. Saw your mother, Yua. Saw how much she loved you. And I saw her die."

I began to feel my eyes well up with water. "Why are you telling me this," I asked, as old wounds felt as if they were reopening.

The beautiful woman smiled at me then. And rested a hand on each of my shoulders. "So you know, her dying, wasn't your fault. I tried to save her. But she was too weak. Her body, too sick. I stayed so I could help her spirit travel. Someone had gotten to her before me. Someone not like me. Someone evil. Someone who has been feeding off of every negative experience you have had to face. Open your heart, and you will see," she waved a hand at the family and friends that continued to be in their own little world.

"You are never really alone. Remember that, remember it for the times you are about to face are only going to test you more." With that, the woman turned around and exited the room.

I shook my head in disbelief. The knot in my stomach is still making itself known. I took off after the woman, "Hey! Wait! Who are you?"

I ran down this long hallway with windows adorning one side. I seem to be in a school. Probably why my family and friends are studying in the room behind me. I can tell the sky is dark. It is late. What a strange hour to be at a school.

I burst through the door that seemed to be an exit for me. My eyes got big then as I took a step forward submerging a foot in water. The school seems to be surrounded by a few inches of this lukewarm water. It almost felt like I could lay back and take a nice bath. And not too far in front of me… my eyes stay glued on this huge dragon that's curled around the trunk of a large tree. I approached it slowly, unafraid.

It's different shades of blue scales shimmered a reflection into the water. It's breathing is deep and has a steady pace. I walked towards it until I stood directly in front of this dragon. It lowered its head until we stared at each other at eye level. Impossible. And extraordinary. I reached a hand out to this dragon to pet its head.

"You sure look lost," I say as I rub the top of this dragon's head. The knot in my stomach began to unravel as the dragon slowly unfurled its body from the tree sending ripples out into the water as it moved. It began curling around me, and not like I was being put into a death hold. No. This was something else.

I closed my eyes then and leaned into its shimmering scales for an embrace, it's not lost. It's found. This dragon is exactly where it should be.

My eyes shot open then as I laid in my bed piled high with pillows. I sat up and shook my head not knowing if I should shake the dream away as a nightmare. That sick feeling in my stomach… I don't want to think about it. Not at all. But that dragon. It had made everything bad just go away. I closed my eyes and focused on that image. I focused on that feeling of being stronger, braver, and unbroken. Protected...

My bedroom door creaked open then. Mameha stood there peaking in. "Are you awake Pearl?"

"Yes. I am awake," I told her.

The door swung open the rest of the way and Mameha came in. She plopped herself on the bed next to me. She then handed me an envelope. "Look. I got us something," she said smiling. "A project of sorts. A project to make us whole."