The Soul of a Rose

At the sound of a particularly funky entrance theme blasting over the AFW Arena's speakers, the usual Friction audience began to boo and jeer, as none other than Anesthesia herself walked out from backstage, her head held high with a briefcase clutched tightly in her right hand and a microphone in her left. It had been a very, very long time since the naughty nurse had made a public appearance like this, but the crowd still remembered how much they disliked her, and they let her know with their yells and boos.

Anesthesia didn't care though. She honestly didn't give a damn about a single person in that audience or any of their opinions. Tonight, she was here on business. She had a message to send and that was exactly what she planned on doing.

She began the long walk down to the ring, climbing the steps as she reached it, then stepping onto the apron and ducking down to pass through the ropes. She headed to the center of the ring, and waited for both her music and the audience to settle down and go quiet. The audience didn't seem to want to stop booing her though, but that was okay. Anesthesia was a patient woman. She could wait all night if she had to.

When the crowd finally went quiet, she raised the microphone to her lips, her lightly accented voice calling out crisp and clear. "I'm a busy woman, so I'll get to the point. I certainly wouldn't want to waste anyone's time tonight, so let's just get started, shall we?"

"Several years ago, when I first came to the AFW, I brought this along with me." She raised the briefcase up, holding it above her head, giving the audience a chance to think back and remember her original promo when she first appeared in the company. "You all know what this is. At least, I hope you people remember. Inside this briefcase is the Rumble Roses one and only Rose of Roses title, and as the last woman officially in the company...which, if you remember, I still own the rights to...that means I am the last champion of the Rumble Roses."

She smirked, and waited for the crowd to stop booing again, after they started up with her last sentence. Once they finished, she lowered the briefcase and released a long, sad sigh from her lips, shaking her head from one side to the other. "But, there's a problem. I haven't been actively wrestling in a great long time, have I? And we can hardly have a champion who's not fighting and proving herself worthy of the title, now can we?" She began to smile again, turning slowly in place, looking out over the audience as she spoke. "That is why I have taken it upon myself to choose a new Rose of Roses, a woman who I believe is best suited to hold this title."

She turned to the entrance, set her briefcase down, using her now free arm to gesture dramatically up the ramp. "So I would like everyone to join me in welcoming our new, one and only Rose of Roses champion to the ring. I'm sure all of you will show her the same respect and admiration that you show me..."

With that said, Anesthesia lowered her microphone, and went quiet, waiting for the woman in question to make her appearance...

What happened next confused the crowd. At first.

They heard music, but it wasn’t just anyone’s music - it was Aisha’s. More specifically, it was the main song from her ‘Sista A’ album, from her ‘dark period’. Aisha’s most ardent fans refused to even admit it existed, and she only brought it out for the occasional hentai hardcore match. Hearing it here raised a few questions. Was she coming out to challenge Anesthesia? Aisha had been a little sketchy in the past, especially so in recent months, but she could really be stooping that low.

There were confused murmurs, misplaced claps and cheers, a discordant rumble from a crowd that wasn’t sure how to react - that was, until Aisha, Dancing Sistah No. 1, came out on stage. The woman who used to be Aisha, anyway.

She was in her full Sista A outfit, now. The high-heels. The top that left precious little to the imagination. The completely superfluous beads in front of her crotch. The gold glitter adorning her chest.

Sista A looked like something meant for the stripper pole, not the wrestling ring. Judging by the crocked smile on her face, she had no problem with that.

The crowd broke into full-on jeers as she strutted - yes, strutted, with long strides and a shaking hip and everything - her way to the ring and made her way inside, slithering under the bottom rope. She stood up and sashayed over to Anesthesia, graciously taking the microphone from the world’s naughtiest nurse. Sista A let the crowd go on for a moment, soaking in the atmosphere before she spoke up.

Felt good. Felt so good.

”Oh, I’m sorry.” She pouted with her bee-stung lips and rubbed her eyes, wiping away imaginary tears. ”Were you all expecting something a little different? Expecting me to come out here, do a little dance, shake my ass,” She stuck her hips out and gave said a quick slap. For the first time in AFW history, that sort of got more boos. ”Thinking I might do the hero thing, beat this nurse around? Nuh-uh.” She wagged her finger. ”Not the Aisha y’all getting from here on in.”

The Artist Formerly Known As Aisha stepped over to Anesthesia’s side and brushed shoulders with her, making sure they made their alliance clear. Also, because the nurse had nice skin, and she liked the way it felt against her own. ”Y’all had Aisha, and Aisha thought she had you. But the moment things got down, what happened? You laughed. Didn’t take her seriously. Loved when she got beat down, every single time.” She shook her head and brushed her shoulders off. ”But hey, see, it’s cool. I learned my lesson. From here on in, I’m done trying to make you suckers happy. Aisha cared about the fans, Aisha wanted to make you happy, and now Aisha’s gone. You got Sista A, and Sista A? She don’t ask nice. She sees something, she takes it.”

Sista stepped to the sides as a fresh wave of hate came their way. Many of the fans were looking to the entrance ramp, expecting someone to come out and stop this debacle. Reiko? Dixie? Fujiko? They’d even take Aigle.

Nobody was coming.

Sista A swung around and handed the microphone back to Anesthesia. ”Wanna do the honors?”

Anesthesia watched Aisha's entrance with her usual calm, collected look on her face, but if anyone had looked right into her eyes, they would have seen far more emotion than they would have expected from the nurse. As she watched Aisha...no, as she watched Sista A make her appearance, there was a look of pure delight in her eyes. Everything was perfect, from Sista's huge, bombastic entrance music, to her re-found confidence, to the absolutely perfect outfit that showed off her perfect body oh-so-well. Even the boos and the jeers of the crowd were exactly what Anesthesia had predicted would happen, and hearing the audience fall so easily into their role was perfect. She and Sista were playing the AFW audience like a violin, and not a single one of them realized it.

She watched, never once taking her eyes off of her newly found partner as she made her way to the ring. It was hard to do so, anyway. Sista looked stunning, and Anesthesia was reminded of what had drawn her to the woman in the first place, all those years ago in the Rumble Roses.

When Sista finally hit the ring, Anesthesia handed her the microphone and smiled, stepping back to let the diva speak her piece. When Sista stepped towards her again, brushing their shoulders together, she shivered, just enough to show that she enjoyed the sensation. She waited patiently for the diva to finish, nodding slightly as she spoke, just enough to add emphasis to the woman's words. This was exactly what she wanted from Aisha. This was the woman she was going to use in her plans, and Sista was playing her role even better than the audience was. When Sista finished speaking, and the crowd rained a new wave of boos and angry shouts down upon them, Anesthesia couldn't help but smile a little bit more. Sista knew how to handle a crowd. She had spent all that time performing for them and working with them that she knew exactly how to rile them up. It was just one more reason out of many that Anesthesia had decided to use the woman in her plans.

When the crowd finally died back down, Anesthesia took the microphone back from her, turning to the crowd again as she lifted it back to her lips to speak again.

"I'm sure that all of you are wondering why I've chosen Aisha to accept this title. After all, she hasn't had the best record in the AFW, has she? On the contrary, she's racked up quite an impressive number of losses..."

She paused, briefly, taking a moment to smirk at Sista, knowing those words would sting her.

"...but, that's exactly why I've chosen her. You see, Aisha here is the only Rose that has the proper drive to win. The other Roses that have been brought to the AFW? They're jokes, all of them. Just look at them! Miss Spencer? She ends up losing to bunnygirls of all things. Candy Cane? Everytime she sticks her head out from under the bed, someone chases her back under again. Reiko?" Anesthesia had to stop and and smirk again, shaking her head disdainfully. "She's the biggest joke of them all. Most of her matches are just...filthy. The way she grinds and moans against her opponents...whatever would her mother think, if she was still around?"

The nurse turned back to Sista, and stepped towards her, slowly starting to circle around her as she continued. As she did so, she lifted a hand, tracing her fingertips lightly against the bare skin of the diva's shoulder. "But Aisha here? She has the drive and the desire to actually win and actually make a name for herself. She is the only fighting Rose left who can actually stand tall and triumphant, and remind the world what a true winning Rose looks like. Forget what you've seen from her in the past. From this day forwards, Aisha is a brand new woman. She has been reborn into something greater, and all of you should make a note to remember that. No Rose, or anyone else, for that matter, will ever stop her again."

She brushed back by Sista again, finishing her speech with a few more simple words. "That is why I've chosen Aisha to take on the mantle of the final Rumble Roses champion. She, and she alone, is worthy to hold this title."

With that said, she passed the microphone back to Sista, and stepped towards her briefcase, kneeling down in front of it. With a few quick motions, she undid the lock on the briefcase and opened the clasps, reaching into it to lift out the shining, sparkling Rose of Roses title. She rose back up to her feet, lifting the belt high into the air and holding it there as she stepped back towards the diva, slipping behind her with a series of long, easy steps.

Once she was behind Sista, she lowered the belt, leaning against the woman as she reaching around her, adjusting the belt into position. She pressed lightly against her back as she did so, whispering softly to Sista as she pulled the title against her waist. "This is going exactly as I've planned. These fools don't even know they're acting just like I told you they would..."

She went quiet again, and stepped back away from Sista, pulling the belt straps behind her to fasten them into place. The crowd began to jeer and boo the two of them once again, of course, hating the sight of the new Rose of Roses champion. They could hate all they wanted though. Anesthesia didn't care, and in the future they'd learn why it didn't matter what they thought.

Once she had locked the belt into place, she stepped back another step, lifting her arms to gesture at Sista. She smiled at the woman, and spoke up softly to her. "A few words, perhaps, from our brand new Rose of Roses champion...?"

God damn, it had been a while since Sista A heard Anesthesia go on one of her rants. She'd almost forgotten how much the woman enjoyed the sound of her own voice.

Being a loudmouth didn't make her wrong, though, and she hit quite a few points right on the head. Even the part that was clearly designed to piss Sista A off. She wasn't wrong, as much as she was aiming to get herself a fat lip.

The Rumble Roses used to be a great organization, the pride of the wrestling world. They were the elite, considered the best female wrestlers. And where were they now? Slumming it. The ones who were still wrestling at all had become shadows of their former selves. And Dixie…

Aisha pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she took the microphone. This day was about her. Getting what she deserved.

Sista A was already smirking when Anesthesia came over and snapped the belt on her, doing it in the same way she did everything - slow, sensual, with a subtle disdain for everyone else in the room. Sista A took a moment to soak everything up, as she stood there with the belt she’d deserved for so long, right where it belonged. All eyes were on her. Yeah, the fans were booing, but she knew what many of them would be doing when they're got home tonight and they went into their rooms where no one could hear.

She was the center of attention. A champion. Everything was at it was meant to be.

”Yeah, I got words.” She swung her finger around, pointing to the whole audience. ”To everyone who ever doubted me, didn't think I could make it? Look at me now and look at you.”

Sista A gave her belt a hearty slap. ”I'm the champ! I'm the best! And there ain't a damn thing none of y’all can do about it, so shut your mouths and get used to the new shit, bitches!”

Anesthesia stepped back and watched, letting Aisha have her moment, a sly smile on her face all the while. All of her pieces were finally falling into place. All she needed now was for someone to take the bait, and even if they didn't, she was already planning on how to twist that to her advantage, too.

Little did she and Sista know that they were being watched by someone backstage.

Miss Muriel Spencer, yet another former member of the Rumble Roses, had been watching the entire scene in the ring from the very beginning. Muriel had been keeping tabs on all of the Roses in fact, from her first day in the company to the present. As the oldest and most experienced of all of them, she felt a certain responsibility for her former co-workers, and had done her best to follow each of them from the time that Rumble Roses had fallen to now.

And right now? She wasn't too happy with things at all.

It was bad enough that Anesthesia had crept out of the darkness to join the AFW, and it was bad enough that she had someone managed to get her hands on both the rights to the company and the title belt itself. But now? Seeing how she had swayed Aisha to her side? Seeing how she had declared her of all people the Rumble Roses champion, the sole Rose of Roses? It was disgusting. It was a joke, and one that the teacher planned on ending right here and right now.

She waited for Aisha to finish her little rant, and then stepped out from the gorilla position to the stage atop the entrance ramp leading to the ring, her entrance music blasting around her as she stepped into view. At once the audience began to cheer and cry out for the blonde, glad that someone had finally came to shut up Anesthesia and Aisha.

Muriel stepped onto the stage, and stood there in the center, a microphone in one hand, her arms crossed over her chest. She said nothing, not yet at least. She simply stood there, glaring down at the ring, letting the two vile woman feel her presence and letting them make the first move before she said anything herself.

Things were going great. There Sista A stood, the Rose of Roses, the baddest bitch in the locker room. She felt invincible. Like, for one shining moment, she’d achieved the heights that she so richly deserved. If anyone was intent on spoiling her moment, they surely would’ve do so by now. She was in the clear.

Then Ms. Spencer had to show up and ruin the whole thing.

”Gotta be fucking kidding me.” Sista A sneered as her former colleague came sauntering out from the back and instantly got the crowd on her side with the biggest cheer of the night. She moved like she owned the ring, glaring down at them like they were both a couple of unruly children in dire need of punishment.

Sista A watched her, expecting to go on some rant about how unscrupulous and naughty they were. She didn’t. Ms. Spencer said absolutely nothing. Did nothing. Just stared.

This went on for five seconds before Sista A lost her patience. ”Hey! Hey, bitch!” She screamed out over the microphone, getting much louder than necessary. ”You want to be quiet? Fine! Keep that mouth shut! Sweat to God, I’ll bitch slap your pasty ass back to the short bus!”

Anesthesia raised a hand to her mouth as Miss Spencer boldly made her entrance, the nurse trying to hide a soft chuckle. This was delicious. She had expected Dixie, or Reiko, or Fujiko, or anyone else really. Miss Spencer was an interesting and pleasant surprise, and Anesthesia couldn't wait to see how her partner in crime handled things.

She stepped back, moving away from Sista A, wanting everyone's attention to be on the new champion. She listened in amusement as the diva blew up on the teacher, while back at the top of the ramp, Miss Spencer was looking more and more dour with every word.

"Miss Taylor!" She forcefully barked, raising her microphone to her lips as she began to stomp down the entrance ramp. "Mind your language! Do not disgrace that belt around your waist more than you already have!" She made her way down the ramp, finally stopping about halfway down, adjusting her glasses with one hand as she stared towards Aisha. She was not in a good mood, and hearing Aisha explode on her wasn't helping things at all.

"Listen, Miss Taylor. I understand that you are a woman of little patience and of low intelligence, so I will make this brief, for both of our sake. That belt that you wear around your waist? That does not belong to you. Regardless of what that...that...that miscreant that you're sharing the ring with thinks, you are not champion quality, especially for an establishment as highly regarded as our Rumble Roses was!"

Muriel was heated up, that much was obvious as she continued her steps to the bottom of the ramp, stopping there and looking upwards towards Sista, locking her eyes with those of the diva. "No offense, Miss Taylor, but that belt is retired, as it should be, as it should stay. Neither you nor that awful woman behind you have any real claim to it, especially you with your record as of late." She reached up again, adjusting her glasses once more as she thought carefully over her next words.

"That is why I am here now, Miss Taylor. Consider this an official challenge for your unofficial belt. If you really deserve it as you claim you do, then face me, right now. I'll win the thing from you and put it away, as it needs to be, then you can shuffle off back to obscurity...you and your nurse friend."

Anesthesia stood there, listening the whole time, until Muriel finally made her challenge. She glanced at Sista again afterwards, an amused look in her eyes as she waited to hear what her chosen champion would do.

And here came the talking.

Sista A didn’t stand still while Ms. Spencer talked. She paced. She moved back and forth, her heels tapping against the mat as she moved. A furious scowl was etched on her face, imagining all the things she wanted to do to this frumpy little bitch who’d popped out of nowhere and had the nerve to talk down to her.

To her. She was the damn champ! ”Fuckin’ bitch, stupid fuckin’ cunt,” She muttered and growled under her breath, looking like a caged tiger. ”Fuckin’ curse all I want, knock your teeth down that throat-”

She stopped her treading, though, when Spencer made her intentions clear. After that, her wicked smile returned, inch by inch, until it was her turn to speak again.

”Oh. Oh, this is good.” She chuckled and thumbed Anesthesia’s way. ”Hear that, Anny? Bitch comes out here, talks all this shit, then she says she wants a title shot? Got to be kidding.”

She shook her head and unclasped the belt, holding it up for Spencer to get a good look. ”Tell you what: I’m in a good mood. You’re on.” The crowd broke their steady stream of boos and cheered, glad that they had a championship match - of sorts - to watch. ”But! But. If we’re gonna have a Rumble Rose match, i want a Rumble Rose official doing the ref work. And since Anesthesia is the owner…”

Now the audiece was booing again.

Muriel hesitated with her response, but only for a moment. While the idea of having Anesthesia as their referee worried her, she knew this chance was too important to pass up. This would be worth the risk. Besides, she felt like she could handle Anesthesia if the woman tried anything fishy.

With a slow nod, she raised her microphone to her lips again. "You're on, Miss Taylor," she answered, making her way to the ring, tossing the microphone to a nearby official as she approached it. She took a deep breath and climbed up onto the apron, ready to start the match and end this farce once and for all...

(Continues here.)