Memories.

Tara sits in a rocking chair, rocking gently back and forth with Lilith cradled in her arms… The floorboard creaks ever so slightly, causing Tara to raise her head to see who is entering the room: Hayleigh Blake. Tara’s stepdaughter, the daughter of Angel Blake, Tara’s ex-husband and current boyfriend, and Tara’s opponent at the Tara Fenix Charity Event this year, Shelly Diamond. Legally, Hayleigh was Tara’s stepdaughter, but Tara refused to ever acknowledge her as such: Hayleigh is her daughter, just as much as Dean Harper is her son. She loved each of them as her own, and would treat them as her own. Tara’s lips curl into a smile, and she taps the screen on her phone that is set on the changing table to see the time. 3:34 in the morning.

“Good morning…” Tara whispers to Hayleigh, being certain not to be too loud to wake up Lilith, “What are you doing awake so early?” Tara asks.

Hayleigh walks further into the room, “I couldn’t sleep…” Hayleigh answers whilst getting next to the rocking chair. She places her hand on the backrest, and both she and Tara turn their attention toward Lilith with a binky, and peacefully asleep. If only this moment could last forever. Hayleigh finally does break the silence, “Can I hold her?” she asks.

The silence ensues for several seconds… Tara finally does lean forward in the rocking chair, and carefully stands up, “Of course,” she answers, “Go ahead and sit down.” Hayleigh sits in the chair and adjusts slightly upon getting seated to get more comfortable, “Are you ready?” Tara asks, and Hayleigh just nods; Tara then carefully hands Lilith over to her older sister, “Just… make sure you support her head.” Tara says in a calm tone.

“Like this?” Hayleigh asks, while cradling her Lilith.

“That’s perfect!” Tara answers with enthusiasm behind the whisper. Tara takes a step back and watches in admiration of her two daughters.

Hayleigh smiles briefly over the praise from Tara. Tara rubs her own eyes while walking to a second chair in the corner of the room. She slumps into the chair and lightly rocks back and forth. Hayleigh looks over at her with a puzzled expression, as if a question were eating away at her mind, and then back at Lilith. Hayleigh licks her own lips before finally muttering the question, “Are you scared?” Hayleigh asks.

Tara bites her lip, but remains silent for the moment. The chair continues to rock back and forth, but the silence continues to linger.

“Your winner of this match… via… FORFEIT!” Tara can hear Alison Valance’s voice, the IWF ring announcer, ringing through her head, and she cannot help but cringe as that word escapes: forfeit. “AND STILL IWF Women’s World Champion: SHELLY! DIAMOND!” the announcement continues. Tara is falling further and further into the past as this event rings true, until the gentle voice is heard.

“Tara…?” Hayleigh questions.

Tara blinks a few times as she comes back to reality. Tara sighs while giving a puzzled expression toward Hayleigh. “Hmm?”

“Are you scared?” Hayleigh repeats, and furthers the question, “Of fighting my mom…” Hayleigh cradles Lilith carefully and looks over toward Tara to await her answer.

Tara purses her lips and stays in silent contemplation for several seconds, and finally cocks her head to the side; her lips curl into that Docherty smirk momentarily, but she quickly wipes it from her face and scoffs as a way to erase the shades of her character coming out while in the confines of her home. She did not want to say anything negative about Shelly Diamond, Hayleigh’s biological mother, but she knew she had to answer… Tara’s nail scratches the oak armrest. She smiles weakly, and albeit a little nervously, then shakes her head and mutters, “No.”

---

The imagery fades into a dark room, with a single overhead light that is over the center focus: Tara Fenix. She sits in a metal folding chair placed in the center of the room. Her head is down, and the traditional curled blue hair hangs down. She begins to rub her palms together without raising her head, and she lightly snorts before her voice finally creeps to the camera in front of her.

“Did you beat me…?” She mutters.

Tara raises her head, and brings her hands up to pull her hair back behind her shoulders. She cocks her head to the side, and is already sporting the Docherty smirk while the question lingers, and Shelly Diamond, who is undoubtedly watching, must now consider that question. Tara licks her lips, and snickers before finally resuming.

“The last time that we got into the ring, I was… for the lack of a better word: foolish…” Tara says with a heavy sigh, “But I am not the type of person who would like to make excuses, because the records will reflect what you are telling everybody who placed their bets on me to win that you hold a victory over me, and there is absolutely nothing that I can do to change that! But that is why my only question is: did you beat me?” She repeats the question.

Tara waits for several seconds again while her bright blue eyes look straightforward, and finally shrugs one of her shoulders before straightening her posture on the chair, “If you feel that you won, then the fact of the matter is that I do not understand why you were so desperate to have this match. You got what you wanted, right? You had me one-on-one in the ring, and we waged war, Shelly… Oh, what a war we had! You found a chink in the armor, and you went after it… You attacked it like any good warrior would, Shelly, because contrary to what I did believe about you for the longest time: you are a warrior! You did step into the ring and fight against every great force that the Imperial Wrestling Federation had to offer. You stepped into the ring with Eternity! You stepped into the ring with Rowan! You stepped into the ring with Virginia Stepanov, and you conquered each and every one of them, which,” Tara slightly shrugs and tilts her head with, but resumes without missing a beat, “is impressive. Is something that I have not done. At least not Rowan. And to make matters worse, you retired them! You made them feel so out of their league that they could not muster the will to get back into the ring… and, poor Virginia, you beat her enough times that she is happy playing a janitorial role and just picking the scraps off the people that are never going to fight for the World Championship merely because they are not good enough.” She pauses following the statement, and shrugs again.

“You went into the ring with me, Shelly… You went into the ring with me, and every time that we fought before that fateful night, we fought to a draw! Whether it was a time limit. Whether it was being ruled as unfit to continue. We fought, and on every single night that we fought, I was just not good enough to defeat you. Then…” She winces, “You finally did it, Shelly. You finally did what you sought out to do from the moment you entered our world! You. Defeated. Me.”

Tara remains still for a couple of seconds, and then starts to clap her hands for Shelly Diamond’s success. “Brava, Shelly!” She calls out, and then stops clapping and hunches forward with her elbows resting on her knees; the bright blue eyes appearing more ferocious as she narrows them, and she scoffs before continuing, “Encore?” She says, with her voice riddled with disdain.

She bites down on her bottom lip before curling her lips into a grin, and cocks her head to the side, “That is… If you really…” She tilts her head the other way, “Really…” and back again, “Think that you have a chance at defeating me when I am getting back into ring shape…” Tara sneers.

“There are people out there that did not believe that I would be ready for this… There are people who tell me every single day that I have been out of action since April, and do not believe that I am going to be ready to face–” Tara gestures forward, “–THE. BEST. EVER.” Tara states in a mocking tone. “But Shelly, ever since that night… I have dreamed of this moment… You do not understand what it was like to know that I had to do something that I had never done before in my career! Something that I refused to do! Do not misunderstand me: I have been pinned… I have been submitted… I have even been counted out! I have conquered ladder matches, cage matches, cell matches, bullrope matches… If you could imagine it, I conquered it! But in all my years, I never… NEVER… had to forfeit a match.” She says through gritted teeth; the recollection that she was forced to forfeit in her last encounter against Shelly Diamond made her sick to her stomach.

She hunches forward and begins shaking her head, and her hand balls up into a fist, trembling. She lets out a long drawn out sigh before muttering the next sentence.

“I made the right decision.”

She sniffles and straightens her posture again. She raises her head high, and nods more as a reassurance to herself for having made the right call on that day by stepping out of the ring, knowing that she could not compete any longer and protect Lilith.

“I made the right decision, Shelly, and I would make that decision every single time! This is not something that I am blaming you for… You did not know that I was pregnant; it was me being foolish… It was me believing that I could do something that no one should. I should not have been in the ring that night; I should not have gone on to face my sister at FIGHT; I should have gotten out of the ring…and ensured the safety of my baby…but I am foolish. I am stubborn. But…I am also better than you.” She says as her lips curl back into a smirk that radiates confidence.

“I have told everybody around the world, and I will damn sure tell the world again… When I step into the ring: it is mine. Every square inch of it, every rope, every corner, everything around it! It is mine.” She cocks her head back to the side, and bites down on her bottom lip while letting that message sink in loud and clear before resuming, “You have a legacy, Shelly? Do you believe that legacy is going to outweigh mine?” She asks with a chuckle under her breath, “Angel and I created a DYNASTY! The next generation is going to be filled with Blake or Docherty blood that is going to conquer every corner of the globe; Dean Harper. Sabin…Wraith. Hayleigh. Edward. When the day comes, Lilith. Beyond that, the people that I have trained, or helped train: MYŌJIN…one of the greats that the next generation is going to see. Seth Evans; he had his time in the sun and he conquered some of the best that this business knew, and you never know when you might see him come back. Vendetta; taking the Imperial Wrestling Federation by storm. Jennie; starting to finally turn heads… Sabin; one of the youngest World Champions in the history of the industry!”

Tara counts off each person she has under her belt as a trainer. She takes a dramatic pause, and traces her tongue across her bottom lip before letting out a light snort, “Do you really believe that you are the best person to train Hayleigh, Shelly? Like… you are her mother, and I am not trying to take you out of her life! You know that I love her just as much, because she is also my daughter; I could show her the world, Shelly! You… and that whole Diamond clan you have… you are second rate. Do you understand? Everything good that you do in the ring, you learned from Angel. Do not think that I have not noticed that style of yours in the ring matching my love. I want you to be there for her, Shelly, and for her sake, I do not want to hurt you… bad… But I think if you really want her to follow her dreams, and if you really want her to be the next great in the family: you let me take her under my wing. The choice really is yours.” Tara shrugs slightly and purses her lips together; she rubs her palms together.

“But, umm…” She hesitates briefly.

“It is time for you to accept the truth about me, Shelly. It is time that you accept that as far back as this industry goes, and as far as we are now: I am the best. I already told you that the moment I step out from behind those curtains, that ring is mine, and that is exactly why I am telling you right here, right now: I am the best! Everybody that I have taken under my wing, all of them show exceptional promise, but as much as they have learned from me… they…are not…me. I go into the ring, and I will still beat each and every single one of them, every single time! That includes MYŌJIN. That includes Sabin. The day may come that Sabin will surpass me, and I surely hope that he will because what kind of mother would I be if I did not want the absolute best for my children? The day… may come… that he surpasses me…” She repeats, “But it is not something that I am going to give away. It is something that he is going to have to earn! Now… Shelly…”

Tara stands up from the chair, and spreads her arms out like wings. Seven weeks after giving birth, Tara was able to rebuild and emerge incredible; she is a veteran of the ring, a proud warrior… One that would rise and conquer every single time, and there was no denying that Tara had her sights on the next prize: she would re-acquire the throne in the Imperial Wrestling Federation. There was more to conquer, though, and she would take it all… in time.

She spins in a circle as if to showcase herself to the audience watching at home, and she proudly sports every scar that she earned.

“You are not walking out of Waikiki with another victory over me… Everybody sitting at home that voted for me to win, they voted for me to win because they know the determination I have to be back in the ring! They know how hungry I am to get back into action! Remember, Shelly… when the bell tolls… Remember that you wanted this. You wanted to fight the greatest of all time.”

The overhead light begins to flicker. Tara drops her arms to her side, and at the same moment, the light goes off the rest of the way. Out.

---

Hayleigh is taken up and over with a hip toss in the center of the training ring! The thud in the center of the ring raises a momentary concern in the eyes of the individual who has been training Hayleigh the last couple of months, Emmanuelle, but the look quickly diminishes as Hayleigh gets back to her feet. “Again!” Emmanuelle commands, and Hayleigh snaps forward to be taken over with another hip toss, and another perfect landing… Emmanuelle gives a subtle nod to Hayleigh, and as if the two had practiced a dance, Hayleigh gets into a defensive position when Emmanuelle charges in and raises an arm for a clothesline! Hayleigh ducks underneath, but hooks one of Emmy’s arms, and then the other, before rolling her backwards into a cover!

Emmy rolls out of it, but steps forward and shakes Hayleigh’s hand accompanied with a slight bow to which Hayleigh returns the gesture, “That was terrific, Hayleigh! Let’s go ahead and take a short break… Get some water, and take five.” Emmy says.

“Thank you!” Hayleigh exclaims.

Hayleigh rolls out of the ring to walk over to the water fountain, and Emmy looks over the ropes to see Tara at the punching bag as she is practicing her own routine. Emmy calls out to her, “How do you think she’s doing?” Emmy asks Tara.

Tara takes a deep breath, and nods her head; she has a visibly pleased expression on her face, “She’s doing great! You’re doing a great job with teaching her!”

“Thank you,” Emmy answers and nods her head in satisfaction, “But you've been overseeing. You should probably take over soon. Are you going to get in the ring with me? Or are you scared that I have your number this time?” Emmy asks with a smirk.

Tara smirks at her, “You’ve lost the last two times we’ve been in the ring… What makes you think you’re going to get me this time?”

“The last time we went one-on-one, if I remember correctly–” Emmy shoots a glance back at Hayleigh to ensure she’s far enough, then back at Tara, “I pinned you.”

Tara purses her lips, “True. But it was a different set of rules…”

Emmy snorts out a light laughter, “I’m kidding, Tara. But you do need to get yourself ready! I can’t even believe you let this girl beat you… And to forfeit, of all things…” Emmy clicks her tongue in discontent.

“If you remember, I wasn’t exactly in shape…” Tara answers.

“That’s your own damn fault,” Emmy says and then she becomes disappointed, “I shouldn’t have let you get in the ring. I shouldn’t have, but you somehow convinced me…”

Tara walks closer to the ring, and places her hands on the middle ropes; she stares up at Emmanuelle with her bright eyes, an apology clearly hidden behind them, “Emmy… I…” Tara sighs, “I should have listened to you. I should have listened to Shouta. I was stupid, okay?”

“Y’think?” Emmy answers sarcastically, “You really shouldn’t even be getting in the ring this time! You need more time!”

“I can’t, Emmy–” Tara says.

“Tara, it’s too early!” Emmy insists.

“Emmy! Please… I have to do this…” Tara continues looking up at Emmy, and places her hand on top of hers in a comforting gesture to calm her friend down, “Please trust me.”

“Just don’t get yourself hurt,” Emmy answers.

She pushes herself away from Tara and whistles aloud, “Hayleigh, let’s get back to work!”

---

It’s a clear day, with a light breeze; if there was ever a perfect day to be on the beach, this was it. The beach is surrounded by the media, and endearing fans that are partaking in some of the fan events for the Tara Fenix Charity Event that includes the typical meet and greet, a volleyball tournament, and many more!

The focus, however, is on a group of ladies on a quiet, sectioned off part of the beach. A beach blanket was sprawled across the sand, and pinned down at the corners, and a pair of sun umbrellas placed to create a small shelter from the sun. The ladies are Ophelia Pain-Pinkston, Emmanuelle, and Tara Docherty, who sit in a triangle formation.

“I thought you were bringing Lilith!” Ophelia exclaims.

“It’s too hot, Pheelz!” Tara answers in turn.

Ophelia mumbles under her breath and leans back, “But it’s such a beautiful day!”

“I know. We can bring her out another time, but daddy wanted time with her anyway… It’s for the best.” Tara reassures Ophelia. “There's always another day! Maybe to a beach that’s less crowded…” Tara suggests.

Ophelia nods her head slightly but grumbles.

“You should probably be careful in the ring, Tara,” Emmy says as she looks up toward Tara. Tara stares back toward her.

“Aww, you do care!” Tara says in a joking manner.

“After that night…” Emmy answers.

“What night?” Ophelia chimes in.

“Oh, you mean–” Tara starts saying.

“I wanna know! What night?!” Ophelia asks again, slightly more aggravated.

“I wasn’t that bad was I?! You didn’t forget me, right?!” Emmy shouts in turn.

Tara starts to turn red, and clicks her tongue a few times, “How could I?”

Ophelia gasps aloud! She looks back and forth at both of them, and says, “Wait, did you two… TARA! You! You're!”

Tara rolls her eyes, and smiles over at Ophelia, “It was before Angel and I got back together. We just were hanging out, and you know how it goes…one thing leads to another…which leads to another…and another…and then…well…” Tara shrugs.

“I still have pictures from that night!” Emmy digs into her bag for her phone and immediately starts scrolling through it.

“What?!” Tara says in a stunned tone.

“Pictures! Let me see!” Ophelia says, and leans over toward Emmy. “Oh, they’re perky!” Ophelia looks up and gives Tara a thumbs up.

“Fine. Fine. It’s nothing neither of you haven’t seen anyway…” Tara says with a shrug.

While Ophelia and Emmy are scrolling through the pictures, Ophelia says something, “Oh, send that one to me! Was that a video?!”

“We can’t watch the videos!” Emmy insists.

Just as the two are continuing to look through them, a volleyball lands beside them and Jennie comes rushing over! Emmy throws the phone face down, “Oh! Hey, Jennie!”

“Hiii!” Jennie says in her perky tone. Emmanuelle shoots a smile at Jennie, as she waves to each of them. “Oh, can you… can you… umm? Pass the ball?”

Ophelia picks up the ball and tosses it over to Jennie.

“Gratzi!” Jennie shouts in turn, and starts running back to the rest of the group with the volleyball in hands.

Emmanuelle watches Jennie go, and tilts her head, obviously admiring the sight… until Tara suddenly smacks Emmy on the arm, and she snaps back to attention, “What?!”

“That’s my sister!” Tara snaps at her.

“…and?!” Emmy answers.

“My sister!” Tara repeats.

“Is she single?” Emmy asks.

Tara smacks her again on the arm, and Emmy just cracks up with laughter from teasing Tara on the subject. While the two fight amongst themselves, Ophelia seems to be at a loss for words… But then Vhodka Black walks toward them in a grass skirt!

“Aloha!” Vhodka greets them.

“Hi, Vhodka! Are you having a good time?” Tara asks while looking up at her.

“The best! Hula lessons happening in three minutes! I’m teaching!” Vhodka answers.

“I didn’t know you were a hula dancer…” Ophelia says.

“You learn things on the carnival circuit,” Vhodka answers, and starts walking toward a tent while waving to them, “Until next time, friends!”

Tara and Emmanuelle glance at each other, then spring to their feet and rush toward Vhodka to join her for the hula lessons. Who wouldn’t want to? Everyone loves Vhodka. That’s Tara’s girl crush right there, don’t try to take this away from her. Ophelia gasps several times and looks at the stuff on the beach, and then at them, “Well I guess I’ll just pick this up by myself!” She grunts and starts gathering the belongings.

END.