The Devil You Don't

Tatyina panted as she frantically ran towards the entrance that lead to where the general public would come and go. The big facility had monitors everywhere and they were now showing Emily running scared out of the arena proper. Tatyina had been training in the gym while Emily was around. They had come together but Emily stayed in her street clothes. However, when Tatyina saw Emily shuffling down the arena ramp, she immediately left the gym and raced down the halls in her wrestling gear, watching as the quick bout barely gave her time to get down to the arena.

She skidded down the nearly barren hallways, with only a few straggling patrons who didn't care if they missed the next match. All she knew was she had to get to Emily before that enraged ophidian did. her blood red locks streaked behind her as she raced until finally she saw Emily emerge. She quickly bolted towards the girl and captured her in a fast but surprisingly gentle embrace, spinning around to put her own back to the door.

"Emily-ue!" Her voice struggled to reach conversation level but her eyes said a million words. "Are you hurt!? Are you safe, Emily-ue?!" She asked, sparing only a moment to look back while urging her fellow red head and roommate to continue making a hasty retreat.

Emily was hardly watching where she was going as she breathlessly ran from the arena. It didn't matter where she went, as long as it was a straight line away from the ring and away from Brittany Luvve.

Whose idea was it to book that match? Was it some kind of sick joke?

She didn't see Tatyina in front of her until the girl had caught her in a hug. "AIE!" She screamed, and started as if to defend herself, but she quickly recognized her roommate and melted into her arms.

"No, I'm not okay!" She panted. "I'm... I'm... I'm fine, I... Oh, god." She put her head on Tatyina's shoulder and began to sob, her body shaking with heavy, gasping breaths in between. "I'm so pathetic!"

Tatyina hugged Emily tightly when the girl embraced her. Her hand slid through the long, red hair and she patted Emily's back. "No. Never. There's nothing pathetic about you, Emily-ue."

Tatyina pulled away and put Emily at shoulder's length. "Emily-ue, why were you in that match?" She whispered with concern in her tone.

Emily tearfully looked over Tatyina's shoulder, half expecting to see Brittany or any of her bitch friends stomping after her. She couldn't stay in the arena. She had to disappear.

"I dunno!" She sobbed. "I didn't even know! Until... They just told me to go out, and..."

She stood upright and pushed Tatyina back. She wiped her face with her hands and stopped crying. She couldn't just stay a hysterical mess, she had to pull herself together. She had to think. She looked blankly at her roommate.

"Tatyina... I dunno what to do, but we have to get out of here. If Brittany comes this way... She'll kill me! She'll kill both of us! I... God, I think I've messed everything up, and so quickly. I'm so terribly efficient when it comes to ruining my own life. I've got to text Morrigan..."

She pulled out her phone and grabbed Tatyina and strode purposefully down the halls, headed for the nearest exit. Without her sweatshirt, she'd be pretty cold outside, but that was better than dead. She quickly tapped out a message to Morrigan.

Still alive. Need to train ASAP.

Tatyina was jarred by Emily's tugging but tried to keep herself under control. "If Brittany-ue comes, then I'll make sure she doesn't hurt you, Emily-ue!" Tatyina said, trying to ease the girl's mind until finally she stopped.

"You're just trying to be bold and independent. This is a hard place to be for anyone, no matter the skill level, Emily-ue." Tatyina whispered, trying her best to help her dearest friend.

Morrigan had barely even gotten changed when she saw Emily take off. It was pretty sad, really, but it was also probably the smartest thing the red head could do. Morrigan knew the arena exceptionally well and once she had her things collected, she head out of the locker room and began to weave towards where she figured Emily would spill out if she kept going in that direction. Hopefully Brittany wouldn't give chase. She'd hate to have to confront her right then and there. Though... the girl was quite out of control.

Mercy, meanwhile, had been watching from the skybox. She could occasionally enjoy the fruits of her labor and wanted the best seat in the house to watch Emily get hers. That bitch was finally going to understand that SHE didn't belong here and that SHE couldn't hurt the people she cared for! Even if she did have to talk to a thug like Brittany to get her to do her dirty work.

Unfortunately, it seemed like she was only good at cheap shots and running away. Mercy stood up as Emily fled the arena and picked up a phone, dialing security. "Hey!" She barked. "This is Mercy Wrenn, Assistant to the Chief of Talent Relations! Tell Miss Clarkson that she needs to see me in my office, right away!" She said and left the skybox to head towards the other side of the mammoth facility where Rally's office was located.

Emily nodded, but was only half listening to Tatyina. She hurried down the hall, and was put on alert when a security guard rounded the corner and held up a hand to stop them.

At first, she was afraid that she was in some kind of trouble for fleeing her match. Maybe she would be kicked out of AFW, and end up back home, like Aunt Dinah wanted. And to be honest, that would probably be much worse than having some loony want to kill her. A small part of her was scared of the guard himself, that he might be some new creep like Brittany.

On the way upstairs, Emily remembered Mercy Wrenn, assistant to the Director of Talent Relations. Fortuna. A moment later she realized that the pink haired girl she had met when she officially signed up was the same pink haired girl that was in the dressing room with Bonnie, after the match with Aunt Sarah. Maybe she was there on business? But...

Suddenly, Emily had a few questions, and she had a feeling that they might all be answered once she stepped inside.

She was still shaking when she pushed open the door and stepped into Mercy's office. She couldn't hide the telltale signs of her tears, even if the tears themselves were gone, but her face had remembered it's stoic, teenaged aloofness. She awkwardly stepped in front of Mercy's desk. Her eyes wandered a bit. She looked at Mercy without smiling.

"Yeah?"

Tatyina stopped when Emily was called by official AFW staff. She fidgeted for a moment but let Emily go with them. She'd be safe with them and Tatyina would stay where she was in case Brittany finally showed up. She didn't though and Tatyina breathed safely. She would just have to get back and change now and send Emily a text about where to meet after shew as finished.

Tatyina lowered her head. thankfully people would probably not recognize her but while she remained quiet, another woman with blood red hair stepped up to her. "Where did she go?"

Tatyina looked up with her gray eyes at Morrigan. She then bowed deeply. "Emily-ue? She was called away I don't know to where. Excuse me but.. who are you? What do you want with Emily-ue?" Tatyina asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm her trainer. Morrigan said, grinning at her fellow red head.

Mercy had just sat in her chair when Emily entered the room. She lifted her head up and saw the girl crying. She resisted the urge to grin at her and throw it back in her face. Instead, she calmly shuffled some papers and adjusted her glasses, silently for a moment.

"Miss Clarkson, I just saw your match." She said. "I was... rather disappointed, to be honest. The staff works hard to get matches for the people who come into the AFW, you know? Miss Von Creuzfeldt and Rally are busy, busy women. They don't have all day to micromanage the careers of the unwilling."

She lifted her head and looked at Emily. "I called you here so you wouldn't have to face either of them. But... is this the sort of match we can continue to expect from you? Perhaps we should discuss possibly terminating your contract? If I recall..."

Mercy turned and began typing gibberish on her computer screen like she was looking something up. "You didn't do so will in your debut match either..."

Emily remained stone-faced while she endured the withering tongue-lashing from Mercy. She controlled her breathing and ironed out any hint of emotion from her face, like she was used to doing. She had been subject to so much harsh criticism at home that she had learned, by necessity, to take it without falling to pieces.

"I've yet to receive a proper match, actually," she said, her voice as even as her poker face. "First, I was challenged by a veteran who has been wrestling since I was fourteen. Then I was ambushed with a match against a two-time champion. I can see that you must be overworked if this is the best you can do."

The defiance came naturally, but she would have been much happier if Mercy were suddenly called out of the office. She imagined the pink-haired bitch falling out a top-floor window.

Mercy furrowed her brow at Emily's words. She didn't like her tone one bit! "It's not unheard of for rookies to be put in matches against veterans." She said. "We just had a rookie challenge before Avalanche, in fact."

Mercy smugly lifted her head up in the air. "Would you like to be scheduled for a match against someone from the kawaii division? Is that a bit more your speed, Miss Clarkson? There's girls in the league who might jump at the chance to immediately propel their careers with a good showing or win against a veteran or former champ, you know." What an uppity bitch. Mercy was glad she put her in the match with Brittany. She just wished that Brittany had actually CAUGHT her!

Emily stared back at Mercy while almost completely motionless. Her stone-faced facade was impenetrable, but for her reddened eyes and tear stains.

"Why, are you offering? D'you want me to come face you in the Kawaii division?" She said snarkily. "I know that I've lost, but being a wrestler is my dream and I'm working hard at it. If you want to fire me, then do it, but I won't have some prissy little pencil-pushing cunt talk to me like this." Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she added "Was that your girlfriend, was all dolled up like my aunt? The one Aunt Sarah demolished for the second time?"