Post by The Madness Menagerie on Oct 18, 2020 19:12:26 GMT -5
~Post Chaos 100~
Hospitals had been places that Mia had avoided like any and all plagues known to man and beyond. Repetitive, high-pitched noises were the bane of her existence, their piercing and repetitive noise penetrating into the deepest places of her mind. Pacing outside in the designated area for smoking outside, half to keep her
Matt Knox himself walked into the area, working on his gut instinct and already drawing an unfiltered camel to grip between his lips, as well as grabbing another for Mia, offering it to her as he makes his approach.
“You good?” He inquires, tone even.
Mia jumps, her eyes wide with surprise and ready for a fight. Since Chaos 100, she hadn’t bothered bandaging the scrape the bottom of the boot Succubus had used to kick her with. It was red and angry but she didn’t seem to mind as she raises her e-cig. “Cigarettes will kill ya, you know.”
To accentuate her point, she takes a puff off of it, holding her breath as she offers it to Knox. Without letting her breath out, Mia mutters, “Interested?”
“I’ll take an honest death over flavored vapor.” He replied with a wry smile as he produces a bright silver zippo, and sparks up before snapping the lighter shut and pocketing it. He shifts from one foot to the other as he inhales his first taste of the Camel Non-filter, exhaling the noxious fumes before speaking once more,
“Bad business, all this.” He says in a somber tone.
Mia shrugs and plops down, “For the sake of record keeping, it isn’t flavored vapor, it’s a bit more, potent than that.” She smirks before exhaling and putting it back in her pocket. She sighs.
“I’m honestly not sure what to make of it all to be honest. No one in there will tell me anything about my sister, regardless of blood or not. Not that Belle will let me anywhere near anyone with information before her.”
Putting her head down in her hands Mia shakes her head, “Not that she has any reason to believe me when I apologize. Not that I actually DESERVE forgiveness.” She rubs her forearm, wincing slightly and sitting upright. “I have a deadly cult to deal with, a cult I might add that stole my sisters from me and did whatever they did to them, I still don’t know what’s going through Su’s head, but at least Zephyr listened to reason…”
She trails off as her voice catches and she trembles. It wasn’t windy and wasn’t that bad for an October evening. Her gaze clouds over as she reaches her her e-cig and takes another deep hit off of it. Truth be told, Ouroborus didn’t hit her as hard as she might have expected. Granted, they hit hard, but it was nothing more than a warning shot. Mia’s thoughts turn to what they would do if they knew where Zephyr was being kept and shivers.
“I become the ‘Conscience of Carnage’ to make this place BETTER and in doing so put my sister’s girlfriend at risk for being seriously injured, again. I let myself get ambushed by my enemies and couldn’t help when C$J decided he wanted to take the wind out of the roster’s sails, MY sails, by attacking my sister as she was about to get back in the ring. Since finding out about her, I have had this recurring dream of being an unbreakable sister team. Not like Kyra and Lucy, before you came in, the two were at each other’s throats, turned the proverbial corner, and then I let my anger get the better of me and took a golf club to Lucy’s throat during a match. I have this image in my head of us reigning supreme against anything and anyone and now?”
She gestures uselessly around her, shrugging helplessly and falling silent.
“Best laid plans..” he remarks, walking over and taking a seat next to Mia. He remains silent, leaning against the wall they’re by, taking another drag and being sure to exhale the smoke away from her.
“You’ll come back from this. So will Zephyr. So will all of us. Men like Chris? They never win. They get cocky, their hubris makes them do something stupid, and then suddenly they’re slithering to a whole new hole.” he takes another drag, shaking his head.
“Yeah, nah. We’ll overcome this.”
Mia shakes her head an almost visible lightbulb going off above her head, “In interest of our budding friendship, you need to know something else about my past Knox. I’ve been one of Chris’ henchpeople twice now. Each time I’ve come to my senses before I did something for all of the wrong reasons but still; there are just some things that you can’t wash off, ya know? One thing is for sure, I’ll do whatever can be done to atone. Right now though, the only thing that has REALLY been at the forefront has been Zephyr. She’s what matters most to me right now. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes.”
She shakes her head and falls silent for a time, Knox giving her some time to stew. They both knew these things had a tendency to taper off if given the time and space. Mia appreciated the company and someone who understood the feeling of being alone while surrounded by people. Chuckling to herself she shakes herself and stands, stretching her legs as she does so, but wobbling as she tries to steady herself. She stumbles but catches her balance, slowly regaining equilibrium. She touches her wound gingerly and winces before taking another hit.
Matthew stays seated a moment longer, before pushing himself vertical. He walks to Mia, offering an arm for support, as he begins to speak.
"All of us have done things we regret. Don't get crushed under the weight of being human, Mia. Not while they need you."
Mia scoffs but takes Matt’s arm in spite of herself, “People? Need me? Please. They only rejoiced prior to 100 because I had the ability to stick it to C, dollar sign, J. People were excited to see him get what was coming to him. But…”
She gestures to her wound and the world around her, “I failed. I got too wrapped up in one thing and took my eye off the ball. I was supposed to protect people and couldn’t because of an attack I was full on expecting from the Oreo Bros.” Knox gives her a quizzical look as they start making their way to the door leading back into the hospital. Mia smiles slyly, “An old nickname for the Ouroboros. Oreo Bros. Anyways, they’re predictable. They wanted to let me know that they were finally there and just like I knew that, they know that I’m not going to be staying down for long. But…”
She stops again and her face scrunches up in confusion, “This time feels different. There’s something more dangerous about them and not just because they got the jump on me and threw me around like a ragdoll; that new guy… He was… New and I don’t exactly like the vibes he’s giving off. Puts me on edge…”
Mia mumbles to herself as Knox guides her inside to a pre-waiting waiting area. The receptionist takes note and nods to Mia who returns a half hearted wave. She smiles at Knox and says, “See? They know me here.” Still woozy, Mia stumbles through the door leading to a more private waiting area where Belle currently sits, bouncing her leg as she stares off into space. Her gaze narrows at Knox and Mia as they come in, Mia leaning up against the door frame and closing her eyes briefly before waving Knox off of her. “I’ll be fine. Know you wanted to discuss Beyond the Bell for 101 and…” Mia opens an eye and looks at Belle, whose gaze is cast on Mia, her eyes dark with an unknown fury. “I’ve got some, uhm… Things to get done.”
Mia nods her thanks to Matthew before stumbling out of the room. Belle scoffs at the space that had just been occupied by Mia and then shakes her head. “Yeah, SO much more important stuff going on right now. Stupid piece of…” She doesn’t finish the sentence, her voice trailing off into silence.
"It's rough all around, kid." Knox remarks, reaching out to Belle and paying her shoulder a friendly squeeze "We all hate the same people. Don't lose sight of that."
Belle shakes her head but gives Knox a grateful smile. "Thank you for coming to my humble abode. It isn't much but…"
Belle stops herself again, upset at how upset she was getting. "I'm sorry. It's been a long, however long it has been since, well… Anyways, how are you feeling after everything? Heard about your match at 101. You truly deserve that spot." She squeezes his hand reassuringly and then sits back to take a sip of what had to have been her umpteenth cup today.
Matthew lets a small smile break across his face, betraying the stoic nature, “Yeah. It’s a trip. Can’t help but wonder what angle Chris is playing though. Because there’s always an angle.”
At the sound of CSJ's name, Belle's face darkens, "Well cheers anyways. Though something tells me that that isn't all this visit is about."
Matthew clears his throat, shaking his head, “Guess, I wanted to see if you made a decision regarding Beyond the Bell? More I think though, much as I’d love to. I need to focus on being the best me that night. I can’t risk another mugging or a war before I go and fight Amber and JC.”
“But if you want to be there, make a statement. We’ll do it. And I'll make sure that not a damn thing happens to you.”
Belle looks at him for a long moment, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm tempted Knox, and don't think for one moment I'm not eternally grateful for everything you've done. I've never been one to run and hide; this is my life. But… What if she wakes up while I'm gone? I don't care about anything in that building Matt. I don't care if Alex and all of his muscle shows up to shut my mouth. At the end of the day though, Zephyr is my priority.”
Matt nods, his expression flat, “You need to be here for her. I’ll hold down the fort, we’ll talk at another show, yeah?” he offers, smiling kindly.
Belle nods but before Knox can move she puts a hand on his arm and gently squeezes, "Thank you Matt, I mean it. Part of me thinks that hiding out here isn't what Zephyr would want me to do. Somehow I feel like if she knew I was staying for her sake, she'd hurt me." Smiling, Belle takes her hand back. "For you. I'll come back and do the show for you and then I'm gone until I'm ready, until I get more news on…" Her voice catches as she looks to the closed off hallway she knew last to Zephyr. Worst case scenarios always had a nasty habit of popping up in her head at the worst of times. "Just… I have to know, why do you want me to do your interview? Carnage is full of reporters, tenured and new, why me?”
“You’re in it.” He says simply, standing up and exhaling slowly “In this whole mess. And, I trust you more than the other ones. Already know you’re not in Chris’ pocket.” he begins heading toward the elevators but stops, turning around.
“You’re good people. You, Zephyr, Mia. Carnage is full of good people. Just...Just don’t let Chris ever make you forget that, okay?” and with that, Knox turns and heads off to get ready for the fight of his Carnage career.
Belle blinks, blushing slightly, a small smile playing over her lips. She never considered herself to be a member of any kind of group but now? Maybe providing a voice to the voiceless wasn’t all that bad and Zephyr IS the toughest person Belle knows. Her smile falters as she sees Zephyr’s doctor coming down the forbidden hallway. Normally she’d just assume that he was coming to give her the frustrating update of that there were no changes, but as she looks up and sees him try and avert his gaze, she knew that this wasn’t any kind of “normal.” She steadies herself, preparing for the worse when finally the doctor turns into a room just by the door leading into the waiting room. It isn’t long before Belle hears faint echoes of the cries of the suddenly mourning. Shivering, she hugs herself and sits back, sinking once again into her thoughts. Hospitals really weren’t one of her favorite places after all.
Hospitals had been places that Mia had avoided like any and all plagues known to man and beyond. Repetitive, high-pitched noises were the bane of her existence, their piercing and repetitive noise penetrating into the deepest places of her mind. Pacing outside in the designated area for smoking outside, half to keep her
Matt Knox himself walked into the area, working on his gut instinct and already drawing an unfiltered camel to grip between his lips, as well as grabbing another for Mia, offering it to her as he makes his approach.
“You good?” He inquires, tone even.
Mia jumps, her eyes wide with surprise and ready for a fight. Since Chaos 100, she hadn’t bothered bandaging the scrape the bottom of the boot Succubus had used to kick her with. It was red and angry but she didn’t seem to mind as she raises her e-cig. “Cigarettes will kill ya, you know.”
To accentuate her point, she takes a puff off of it, holding her breath as she offers it to Knox. Without letting her breath out, Mia mutters, “Interested?”
“I’ll take an honest death over flavored vapor.” He replied with a wry smile as he produces a bright silver zippo, and sparks up before snapping the lighter shut and pocketing it. He shifts from one foot to the other as he inhales his first taste of the Camel Non-filter, exhaling the noxious fumes before speaking once more,
“Bad business, all this.” He says in a somber tone.
Mia shrugs and plops down, “For the sake of record keeping, it isn’t flavored vapor, it’s a bit more, potent than that.” She smirks before exhaling and putting it back in her pocket. She sighs.
“I’m honestly not sure what to make of it all to be honest. No one in there will tell me anything about my sister, regardless of blood or not. Not that Belle will let me anywhere near anyone with information before her.”
Putting her head down in her hands Mia shakes her head, “Not that she has any reason to believe me when I apologize. Not that I actually DESERVE forgiveness.” She rubs her forearm, wincing slightly and sitting upright. “I have a deadly cult to deal with, a cult I might add that stole my sisters from me and did whatever they did to them, I still don’t know what’s going through Su’s head, but at least Zephyr listened to reason…”
She trails off as her voice catches and she trembles. It wasn’t windy and wasn’t that bad for an October evening. Her gaze clouds over as she reaches her her e-cig and takes another deep hit off of it. Truth be told, Ouroborus didn’t hit her as hard as she might have expected. Granted, they hit hard, but it was nothing more than a warning shot. Mia’s thoughts turn to what they would do if they knew where Zephyr was being kept and shivers.
“I become the ‘Conscience of Carnage’ to make this place BETTER and in doing so put my sister’s girlfriend at risk for being seriously injured, again. I let myself get ambushed by my enemies and couldn’t help when C$J decided he wanted to take the wind out of the roster’s sails, MY sails, by attacking my sister as she was about to get back in the ring. Since finding out about her, I have had this recurring dream of being an unbreakable sister team. Not like Kyra and Lucy, before you came in, the two were at each other’s throats, turned the proverbial corner, and then I let my anger get the better of me and took a golf club to Lucy’s throat during a match. I have this image in my head of us reigning supreme against anything and anyone and now?”
She gestures uselessly around her, shrugging helplessly and falling silent.
“Best laid plans..” he remarks, walking over and taking a seat next to Mia. He remains silent, leaning against the wall they’re by, taking another drag and being sure to exhale the smoke away from her.
“You’ll come back from this. So will Zephyr. So will all of us. Men like Chris? They never win. They get cocky, their hubris makes them do something stupid, and then suddenly they’re slithering to a whole new hole.” he takes another drag, shaking his head.
“Yeah, nah. We’ll overcome this.”
Mia shakes her head an almost visible lightbulb going off above her head, “In interest of our budding friendship, you need to know something else about my past Knox. I’ve been one of Chris’ henchpeople twice now. Each time I’ve come to my senses before I did something for all of the wrong reasons but still; there are just some things that you can’t wash off, ya know? One thing is for sure, I’ll do whatever can be done to atone. Right now though, the only thing that has REALLY been at the forefront has been Zephyr. She’s what matters most to me right now. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes.”
She shakes her head and falls silent for a time, Knox giving her some time to stew. They both knew these things had a tendency to taper off if given the time and space. Mia appreciated the company and someone who understood the feeling of being alone while surrounded by people. Chuckling to herself she shakes herself and stands, stretching her legs as she does so, but wobbling as she tries to steady herself. She stumbles but catches her balance, slowly regaining equilibrium. She touches her wound gingerly and winces before taking another hit.
Matthew stays seated a moment longer, before pushing himself vertical. He walks to Mia, offering an arm for support, as he begins to speak.
"All of us have done things we regret. Don't get crushed under the weight of being human, Mia. Not while they need you."
Mia scoffs but takes Matt’s arm in spite of herself, “People? Need me? Please. They only rejoiced prior to 100 because I had the ability to stick it to C, dollar sign, J. People were excited to see him get what was coming to him. But…”
She gestures to her wound and the world around her, “I failed. I got too wrapped up in one thing and took my eye off the ball. I was supposed to protect people and couldn’t because of an attack I was full on expecting from the Oreo Bros.” Knox gives her a quizzical look as they start making their way to the door leading back into the hospital. Mia smiles slyly, “An old nickname for the Ouroboros. Oreo Bros. Anyways, they’re predictable. They wanted to let me know that they were finally there and just like I knew that, they know that I’m not going to be staying down for long. But…”
She stops again and her face scrunches up in confusion, “This time feels different. There’s something more dangerous about them and not just because they got the jump on me and threw me around like a ragdoll; that new guy… He was… New and I don’t exactly like the vibes he’s giving off. Puts me on edge…”
Mia mumbles to herself as Knox guides her inside to a pre-waiting waiting area. The receptionist takes note and nods to Mia who returns a half hearted wave. She smiles at Knox and says, “See? They know me here.” Still woozy, Mia stumbles through the door leading to a more private waiting area where Belle currently sits, bouncing her leg as she stares off into space. Her gaze narrows at Knox and Mia as they come in, Mia leaning up against the door frame and closing her eyes briefly before waving Knox off of her. “I’ll be fine. Know you wanted to discuss Beyond the Bell for 101 and…” Mia opens an eye and looks at Belle, whose gaze is cast on Mia, her eyes dark with an unknown fury. “I’ve got some, uhm… Things to get done.”
Mia nods her thanks to Matthew before stumbling out of the room. Belle scoffs at the space that had just been occupied by Mia and then shakes her head. “Yeah, SO much more important stuff going on right now. Stupid piece of…” She doesn’t finish the sentence, her voice trailing off into silence.
"It's rough all around, kid." Knox remarks, reaching out to Belle and paying her shoulder a friendly squeeze "We all hate the same people. Don't lose sight of that."
Belle shakes her head but gives Knox a grateful smile. "Thank you for coming to my humble abode. It isn't much but…"
Belle stops herself again, upset at how upset she was getting. "I'm sorry. It's been a long, however long it has been since, well… Anyways, how are you feeling after everything? Heard about your match at 101. You truly deserve that spot." She squeezes his hand reassuringly and then sits back to take a sip of what had to have been her umpteenth cup today.
Matthew lets a small smile break across his face, betraying the stoic nature, “Yeah. It’s a trip. Can’t help but wonder what angle Chris is playing though. Because there’s always an angle.”
At the sound of CSJ's name, Belle's face darkens, "Well cheers anyways. Though something tells me that that isn't all this visit is about."
Matthew clears his throat, shaking his head, “Guess, I wanted to see if you made a decision regarding Beyond the Bell? More I think though, much as I’d love to. I need to focus on being the best me that night. I can’t risk another mugging or a war before I go and fight Amber and JC.”
“But if you want to be there, make a statement. We’ll do it. And I'll make sure that not a damn thing happens to you.”
Belle looks at him for a long moment, tears welling in her eyes. "I'm tempted Knox, and don't think for one moment I'm not eternally grateful for everything you've done. I've never been one to run and hide; this is my life. But… What if she wakes up while I'm gone? I don't care about anything in that building Matt. I don't care if Alex and all of his muscle shows up to shut my mouth. At the end of the day though, Zephyr is my priority.”
Matt nods, his expression flat, “You need to be here for her. I’ll hold down the fort, we’ll talk at another show, yeah?” he offers, smiling kindly.
Belle nods but before Knox can move she puts a hand on his arm and gently squeezes, "Thank you Matt, I mean it. Part of me thinks that hiding out here isn't what Zephyr would want me to do. Somehow I feel like if she knew I was staying for her sake, she'd hurt me." Smiling, Belle takes her hand back. "For you. I'll come back and do the show for you and then I'm gone until I'm ready, until I get more news on…" Her voice catches as she looks to the closed off hallway she knew last to Zephyr. Worst case scenarios always had a nasty habit of popping up in her head at the worst of times. "Just… I have to know, why do you want me to do your interview? Carnage is full of reporters, tenured and new, why me?”
“You’re in it.” He says simply, standing up and exhaling slowly “In this whole mess. And, I trust you more than the other ones. Already know you’re not in Chris’ pocket.” he begins heading toward the elevators but stops, turning around.
“You’re good people. You, Zephyr, Mia. Carnage is full of good people. Just...Just don’t let Chris ever make you forget that, okay?” and with that, Knox turns and heads off to get ready for the fight of his Carnage career.
Belle blinks, blushing slightly, a small smile playing over her lips. She never considered herself to be a member of any kind of group but now? Maybe providing a voice to the voiceless wasn’t all that bad and Zephyr IS the toughest person Belle knows. Her smile falters as she sees Zephyr’s doctor coming down the forbidden hallway. Normally she’d just assume that he was coming to give her the frustrating update of that there were no changes, but as she looks up and sees him try and avert his gaze, she knew that this wasn’t any kind of “normal.” She steadies herself, preparing for the worse when finally the doctor turns into a room just by the door leading into the waiting room. It isn’t long before Belle hears faint echoes of the cries of the suddenly mourning. Shivering, she hugs herself and sits back, sinking once again into her thoughts. Hospitals really weren’t one of her favorite places after all.