Let This Be The Day

The lights went down in the Friction arena, and the crowd sat in idle anticipation, silently, as only Japanese crowds could. A moment passed in near total darkness, the atmosphere carbonated with the excitement of a sea of fans. Even in the dark, the Friction arena was a sight to see.

The announcers powerful voice cleft the silence.

"Introducing..." The word hung in the air.

"From New York..." Another pause. The crowd was at full attention.

"Rebel Angel..." The announcers voice gained gritty momentum, and the next part came out in a scream.

"TAYLOR PARKER!"

[url=http://youtu.be/6qz_iKTv214:256mauk8]The music cut through[/url:256mauk8] like thunder, and just at the right moment the lights hit at the top of the ramp and Taylor bounded from backstage. She covered most of the distance to the front of the ramp in one jump and landed with both feet, and when she straightened up she threw her arms out to the side with a big grin. The crowd roared, they still recognized her. That was a relief. The wall of cheers they hit Taylor with seemed bigger than before she left, and it nearly made her timid. She stood her ground at the front of the ramp, tall, chest out, and arms spread straight out to the sides while she soaked it up. The lights shone off her golden blonde hair and gleamed off her smile. In her full wrestling gear, red skirt and halter top and black boots over her knees, she was radiant.

She gave a wink to the camera below her and started the walk down the ramp. It felt good, familiar, like going home. Once in the ring, she suppressed a grin while she waited for the buzz in the crowd to die down. She'd been absent for over nine months, and it was a while before the crowd's chatter died down enough for her to speak. She motioned with her palms downward for them to settle down.

Finally she lifted her microphone. "Hi!" She said, and the crowd responded with more cheering. Taylor dropped the mic to her side and giggled, with a big, pretty smile.

She raised the mic to try again. "So being retired's pretty cool," she said, letting the words hang in the air. "I did a lot of stuff, ya know. Mostly my Johnny. Some of you probably know him. Like, I know Shauna O'Connor does."

With a little laugh, she suppressed her smile and kept talking. "But now here I am." She took a lavish bow. "This is where I belong, right here, and I'm not going anywhere for a long time. I'm back!" She raised her fist in the air and the crowd roared.

She paced around the ring for a moment, her head down while she thought. She looked up. "There's a reason, a few of 'em, why I'm standing here right now. Some of them you know. Akashi Tanikaze. Aurelia Fortuna... Cassie Elliot. Jun-Bug." She laughed. "But also, I realized something. All of us Friction girls, us crazy bitches and pop singers and athletes and porn stars and spoiled brats and lost kids and sweethearts and daddy-issues, all of us. we're all the same." She pointed to her forehead with her finger. "We're all nuts. We're all crazy enough to fight, and to like it. We're all alive under the lights, and we all hate losing, and we all need to win. I used to think that it was me against the world, and I was at war with every other girl here. I hated it. But being here isn't about war. It's life. This is what we're made for, this is what I was made for, and we're all in this together. All our blood and sweat, our energy, all that comes together right here, in this ring. And... it's good. She smiled.

"So now everyone I've fought with, that's still here... Natalia, Adrian, Brittany... gawd, even Heather, it's all good. Everything that happened, happened. Don't worry about it. No hard feelings." She shook her head, and picked up steam. "But all of you, every name on the roster, you sure as hell better worry about what's going to happen. I'm coming for each and every one of you, with every ounce of me, every drop, so consider this a big fucking target," she tapped her chest with her fingers. "Aim for me, because I'm aiming for all of you."

Her lips curled and her voice became a low growl as she went on. "And you can try anything you want. You can bring a chair, bring a taser, bring your friends, I don't give a fuck. It won't matter. I'm unbreakable, I'm unstoppable. I'm Taylor Parker, and I can do anything."

She paused. Her eyes scanned over the far back rows, and for a moment she marveled at the sheer scope of the crowd, at how far people must come just for a seat in the nosebleeds. She continued, in a sober tone. "And I'm coming for the belt. The belt. And I'm not stopping until it's mine, and if you think you deserve it more than me, come and try to take it. How long has it been since some asshole took the belt and skipped town? Way too fucking long, and it's about time that belt was on someone that knows what it's about. It's time to put this place back together."

She walked over to lean on the top rope, and her face softened with her voice. "And you guys in the stands, I just wanna say... thanks. We're all here because of you. You guys give us a purpose. We'd all just be fighting in bars and stuff, and ditching parole officers and ending up in the local news, but you guys let us be more than that. I hope that when you watch me fight that I can give you that feeling I get, where anything's possible, and where you'll risk everything to do something great.

"When I have the belt, whenever I wear it, I'll wear it for you."

She switched her microphone off and placed it back in the corner. She slipped through the ropes and made the walk back up the entrance ramp while the crowd cheered.