Stoking the Fire

Dark Angel was trying to calm her nerves as she waited in the hallway just outside Lukretia's office. In any other situation she wouldn't be worried or scared of anything. That was the whole point of wearing a mask and doing everything she did. To escape that fear. But not all people were oblivious of her real identity. And whenever they were around, Angel choked up and reverted to her normal self. She'd tried to avoid talking to these people at all costs. But at least this time, there was no way around it. She needed something and didn't know how else to get it.

"I want to see the GM," Angel stated simply to the secretary as she walked into the office. She didn't feel comfortable enough referring to Lukretia by her first name. "I need to know WHY my rematch with Cassie hasn't been booked yet," she added with a sudden surge of confidence as she placed her hands palm down on Hilde's desk. "Why is she wrestling that nobody at Summer Splash?"

Hilde was typing away at her keyboard when Talia Wilson, a.k.a Dark Angel strode into her office. It seemed as if the girl hadn't had an appointment and when she demanded so rudely to see the general manager of Friction, along with the sharp follow ups, Hilde was stunned. She looked at Talia and blushed. "M-Ms. Wilson!" She exclaimed. "Ms. Von Creuzfeldt will be with you shortly, I'm sure. It's difficult when you haven't made an appointment. She's a very busy woman!"

In fact, Hilde knew the answers to all the questions that Talia wanted answered. Because of how busy Lukretia was, Hilde was more or less the de facto co-general manager. It had been her job, for most of her life, to be just as in synch with Lukretia's schedule as Lukretia was, if not moreso. Hilde opened her mouth to ask if Talia wanted a drink or if she could wait a few more minutes when the buzzer sounded.

Hilde stood up and smiled. "Ms. Von Creuzfeldt will see you now." She said and escorted Talia into the office and closed the door behind her.

Lukretia looked out the window of her office and down at the city of Tokyo. When the door clicked signalling it had closed, Lukretia lowered her head. "Take your ridiculous mask off, fraulein." She said. "I von't vaste anymore time speaking vith a covard und meine eyes vill only gaze upon ze features of a fearless voman. You are neither fearless, nor a voman. Zere is nothing you can hide from me anyvay, so quite using meine office as a place for your silly fantasies. Maybe zen ve can get to ze point of things."

Angel cringed when Hilde said her name. She wanted to just lash out and shut her up. But she didn't. She needed to keep her cool in front of these people since they actually could make her life worse. They didn't have to keep her identity a secret but did anyways for whatever reason. Maybe because Lukretia enjoyed the drama she caused. Or because she actually somewhat liked Angel. Probably, though, simply out of laziness. Why bother telling everyone when she was just a nobody? Angel simply bit her lip and walked a few steps away before the buzzer sounded. "Thank you," she stated bitterly. She was somewhat surprised by how quick she was being let in. Maybe they really did take her seriously after all. With a smile hidden behind her mask, Angel walked into Lukretia's office brimming with confidence.

Then the door shut. And that all changed. Physically, Angel stood her ground at first. Mentally, however, she cowered at Lukretia's voice. She wanted to argue with her about that statement. She wasn't a coward. She wasn't a little girl. She was a courageous and tough AFW wrestler. Well, Dark Angel was. Talia, on the other hand, wasn't. Slowly, she reached up and pulled her mask off. As if flipping a switch, Talia's voice got quiet. She wasn't about to question Lukretia's insult. As far as she knew, the GM was right. "W-Why am I not wrestling Cassie at Summer Splash? We both agreed to another match but everytime I look at the schedule something else is going on."

"Do...do you not want us to wrestle? I mean...it generated a lot of cheers and stuff last time...I'm sure the fans would love it..." Of course that wasn't the argument Talia had planned in her head beforehand. But it was all the stuttering girl could muster.

Lukretia knew when she heard the trembling voice that Talia had pulled her mask off. She swiveled around and stood up. She looked at Talia with the blankest expression she could muster. As if she was boredly staring off in the distance past Talia. The German domme was certainly not a very tall woman, but that almost never stopped her from being the tallest person in the room and even when she was looking up, she looked down. Unfortunaltely in Talia's case, Lukretia was looking down on all counts as she stalked towards the formerly masked girl.

When she was close she tilted her head and looked at Talia. "It is not as zough I don't think you have some ability, Fraulein." Lukretia said, seemingly ignoring Talia's words. "I can certainly appreciate doing vhatever it takes to vin, I just find...." Lukretia lifted up her hand and brushed the back of her hand along Talia's cheek. "You given yourself quite a crutch."

Lukretia leaned in and snatched the mask away and looked at it. "Ze people who can climb ze highest mountains in zis vorld are ze ones who are not afraid of falling." She then turned and looked back at Talia. "Vhen you are suspended from a gret height, you turn und look below you und tremble. Und ZAT is vhat sickens me!" Lukretia whipped the mask back at Talia, hoping to smack her int he face with it.

"I have no problem giving you vhat you desire. Ze longer you keep vinning, ze better you do for yourself, naturally.' Lukreita then smiled sinisterly at Talia. "Und ze more exciting it vill be to vatch you break your neck vehen you fall." Lukretia then sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "But I am not ze one keeping ze match from happening. Ms Elliot's camp has yet to sign any contract zat has been sent zere vay all vhile requesting und accepting other matches." Lukretia shrugged. "I cannot speak for zem, but it is all very tedious. I run an organization zat is supposed to represent ze peak of strength und prowess und cunning in ze human spirit. Und yet... sometimes I see only ze most pitiful of zis mass of humanity. Too stupid to relize their place und just strong enought o believe zey can defy it."

Lukretia plopped back in her chai and leaned back in it, looking at Talia. "Do you have any other questions, or vill you be slinking avay just as zat bravado you carried vith you did vhen you came into meine office?"

Talia watched nervously as Lukretia walked over to her. She looked up at the GM wondering what she was about to say. Talia knew the woman was strong-willed and powerful, but the way she walked with such authority made her feel extremely weak. Without her mask, she felt like a nobody. In a way, she almost felt glad Lukretia said she had some ability even if her point was quite the opposite. As the domme's hand slid across the woman's cheek, Talia stared with eyes wide open at Luk.

Then Lukretia suddenly ripped her mask out of her hands. Talia watched it, wondering what she was going to do with it. It was as if Lukretia held all of the girl's confidence in her hand at that very moment. So afraid was she that she didn't understand any of Luk's words out of fear that she'd steal it from her. Then Luk smacked her across the face with it. Even though the smack wasn't incredibly painful, Talia's knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground while covering her face. She was already cowering by then and it all culminated in this pathetic display.

Talia got her answer and climbed to her feet while grabbing her mask from the floor. She wanted to just leave right there and run away from Lukretia. It didn't really surprise her that Cassie apparently didn't want the match. She'd pushed her to the edge several times and Cassie never seemed to enjoy that side of herself. Something else would have to be done to stir up enough trouble. Talia took a deep breath and prepared to leave the office.

But those last words of Lukretia didn't sit well in Talia's stomach. For a moment, she just stared at her. Clearly, the GM was referring to her. Six months before, Talia would've acknowledged that the GM was probably right. But after all her hard work and success, even the passive girl wouldn't just take that insult in stride. "You run an organization of perverts and low-lifes and think I am the most pitiful of them all?" Talia squeezed the mask in her hand. "I'm only this way because of the scum in this league! I work my ass off day in and day out and I win. What else can I do? All those...good people you speak of, the peak of human strength and prowess as you said are just back-stabbing scum of humanity that are honored for how much they hurt other people!" Talia's teeth were grinding in anger. She hated being talked down like that. The brunette had come so far just to be put down like Lukretia did.

"Nein!" Lukretia said firmly and stood up in her chair. She eased around her desk and slid towards Talia. "Vhat you vere vhen you came here, is exactly vhat you are now." Lukretia pushed her face back into Talia's and stared her down. "Veak, unable to do vhat it takes to push forvard. covardly, in over your head. Not fit to be here." Lukretia looked down at the mask. "You have found a convenient crutch. It is vhat you need to survive because you could not othervise. People like you need to know vhere zey belong."

Lukretia then lifted her head and looked back into Talia's eyes. "But... if you are vhat you say you are... Fraulein..." Lukretia said, leaning close so their lips almost touched. She brought her hand to Talia's cheek as her eyebrows softened a little bit. "If you really aren't a scared little girl hiding behind a mask. If you are more zan just an illusion in ze ring. If you have become a truly strong und confident voman, zen shouldn't you be thanking me und my organization for forcing you to change into something much better zan a veak, sniveling, pitiful girl?"

As Lukretia stared Talia down, she bravely stood her ground. The petite girl stared right back up at Lukretia. Whether it was courageous or foolish didn't matter to her. At that moment, she was fearless even without the mask. Lukretia may had been telling the truth but Talia would hear nothing of it. She was tough. And clever. And in over her head. The extremely close proximity of the two's faces reminded her of the time when another big shot in the AFW was just as close. And she hated that. The thought of lashing out at Lukretia crossed her thoughts. That would show her how serious Talia was.

But Lukretia was right. Before the AFW, she was naive and weak. And alone. Now, she was defiant and strong. And alone. Talia didn't want to admit that she had become better. She missed that innocent girl she use to be. This...thing she had become wasn't something she enjoyed being. But it was something she had to be. Despite what she wished was the truth, the AFW taught her what people really were capable of. She ground her teeth together in frustration. Talia wasn't about to confess something like that to Lukretia. After breathing in and out loudly through her nose, the woman stepped away from Lukretia and kicked the office door open. Without a word, she slammed the door shut and stormed off. There was never going to be any thanking or displays of gratitude towards the German woman. It'd be like thanking the devil for showing her what hell was like. But at least she now knew where to direct her rage.