Post by Admin on Feb 13, 2023 4:11:13 GMT
Americana Motel
London, Ontario
February 7th, 2023
“Ugh, I hated the mess you used to make, snorting these fucking things.”
Veronica Strader is… lost. She’s trying to find herself in the seedy east end motel that rents half their rooms by the hour or a night for a crisp fifty-dollar-bill. Sitting on the Queen Size bed that has sure to have been seen in a few amateur pornographic films over the years, or at the very least, pounds of crack blasted away on top of it. Reaching into her mom’s leather jacket she had taken for comfort, pulls out the pill crusher she had given Christian before he got clean.
“This really was and wasn't the best gift for you….”
Veronica’s Key West Condo
February 14th
Last Year
“Christian, you are gonna wreck my night table. Here, hold on.”
Veronica runs her fingers down Outcast’s bare back before getting up, throwing on her purple silk robe, walking over to her dresser. She holds up the clear cylinder with the yellow screw top crusher and walks back and he is sitting up on the bed, the sheets barely covering his manhood. Sitting beside him, robe open, giving him visual pleasure, she leans over his lap as she holds up the tool. Not that one, perverts.
“And what’s this contraption, darlin’?”
“Oh, this thing? This thing will stop my night tables from being damaged, and no more sharp shards of a rushed crush.”
“You know, most women would try to ‘fix’ me, not enable me.”
“I have a 12 point plan."
"Oh yeah?"
"But in all seriousness?”
Veronica leans in, her hot breath on his neck.
“I like you… just… the… way… you are.”
Their lips lock and tongues intertwine as he clumsily puts the crusher on the table and brings his hands up and under the shoulders of her robe to remove it.
“And I like you the way you are.”
“Oh yeah? Hmmm, good to know. Now… I think we need to get your, ummm, cardio and stamina up for the first ever Great Illuminatus. You will walk out defending champion.”
His smirk makes her knees weak, and she kisses him again.
“Damn right, Ronnie. My Queen.”
In one motion, she is on her back, chuckling. Daughter like mother. Veronica looks up into his dark and sad eyes.
“Love me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Veronica smiles to herself, thinking about the early days with Christian. He had gotten clean on the island OCW crash landed on, and when he came back last July from the PORTAL-POTTY trip from hell, courtesy of Victoria, he was a better man and she truly fell in love with him. He was afraid of love and wasn’t able to say it. She never pushed it. She knew. She also was missing him fiercely. And her mom.
“Time to take the pain away.”
She cracks open a can of Labatt’s 50 and takes a swig as she rolls her brown C-Note (Canadian 100 Dollar Bill) and sends the crushed Hydrocodone up her right nostril as it was the one she saw Christian use the most. The drips in the back of her throat tasted bitter, but that’s what the oldest Labatt Ale was for. Leaning back on the bed, she hits play on her Apple Music “V-List” and Mayday by TheFatRat plays. Her eyes close as tears run down each cheek.
“(Trembles) Save me, I'm running out of air… calling out Mayday….”
“... calling out Mayday...”
Denning's Funeral Home
February 9th, 2023
Veronica stood in the bathroom staring at the prescription of 30 mg capsules of Hydrocontin after the brutal encounter she had in CU:LT. She palmed six of them, tilted her back and dropped them one by one into her mouth washing it back with Christian “Outcast” Cain’s old beat up silver flask. It was filled with her mom’s favourite Rye Whiskey. She grips the torn leather wrapped around it with anticipation of its numbing abilities. At least she decided not to snort them this time in a seedy motel.
“(Sigh) Please kick in. I don’t want to feel this day. Not even a bit.”
“Ronnie….”
It was like looking in a mirror for them. Part of it was the splitting of the two personalities that had taken away the sweet innocence that was a major part of Vee’s personality, making her more like Veronica used to be. Before Christian, before embracing the Strader and Knox family ties. And it made her sad.
“Vee, how are you holding up? You were much closer to mom than I ever was.”
“Mom... she didn’t see it like that. She really loved us all the same. There’s something I think can help you.”
"Oh, and what's that?"
“It involves coming to Night City with me.”
“Ugh, Vee… I haven’t been there since… well, you know.”
“You know I took mom there a couple times….”
“I remember. I was hoping she would stay, be healthy and just be… alive.”
“Well, remember that Secure Your Soul engram program?”
Veronica looks with a tilted head and turns a new shade of white.
“Wait, you mean….”
Vee nods taking her hand.
Victoria and Brooklyn’s Condo
Night City
Alternate Dimension
“BABY! I’ve been missing you, this is preem! Who’s your - - - oh my, is that… Veronica? You weren’t kidding! You two are identical! Hi, I'm Brooklyn, it's real nova to meet you at last!”
Victoria embraces her girlfriend, the red headed Brooklyn that keeps her attached to this reality. Thank you, OCW PORTAL POTTY. Veronica steps forward and shakes the redhead’s hand.
“Hi, Brooklyn. Nova to meet you, too. Heard a bit about you, it’s uh, pretty shimra to see my sister happy. She deserves it.”
The slang of this alternate dimension came rushing back to Veronica and noticed the implants and Operating System opposite of her brain was back and in full function. For whatever reason, nothing from this dimension could go back to their reality, but when they return? Enhanced once again. Their mom was cancer free here, but Meghan would not take the easy way out.
“I’m just happy my Vee has reconciled with you! It's been real good for her. I have to delta if I want to make it to the market in Japantown. Will you both be staying for dinner? Please say yes.”
“We can’t babe, I just need Ronnie to speak to… someone.”
"Next time, I promise."
Brooklyn pouts but isn’t fazed by that and kisses Vee before grabbing her coat and calling the personal elevator in the living room. Veronica walks over to the great enormous windows that overlook The Glenn as it is called. Victoria comes up beside her, holding what looks like a USB stick, but much more advanced. Taking it in her hand, looking at Victoria with nervous anticipation.
“This doesn’t look like the advertisement.”
“Nope, a biological prototype, for brain placement. I pulled a favour with Hellman. Just slot it in. It’ll seem like she is in the room with you, can touch her. Talk with your thoughts or out loud. I’ll give you some space.”
Veronica stares at the Engram shard in her hand before flipping her hair over and slots it in behind her ear. Her line of vision lights up with lines of code and takes her back for a split second, seeing the raw data through her retinas. She hears the familiar humming of “Love Street”, a song her mom would sing to the babies to get to sleep. Veronica turns around slowly, and sees a very real-looking 'Meghan Strader' standing there in her signature snakeskin cowgirl boots, black jeans, white leather belt, a loose red tank top and her favourite leather jacket. Her icy blue eyes sparkle and she looks so real until a visual glitch reminds her that this is a complete copy of her deceased mother.
“It's unsettling, I know, babygirl.”
“Putting it lightly but I know all about the ‘Secure Your Soul’ program at ‘Saka. Vee said this shard is biological, so if the right host was found, you could have a life but….”
“No, no plans for that. I couldn't take her place. But love you just the same. I remember, or I guess it was her memory, that this was more anticipation of coping with loss that hadn’t happened yet. I realize now though, that your mom did this so she could always be with her dimension jumping daughters.”
Veronica turns back around to look out at the city where she spent a lot of time working as a mercenary with Victoria.
“The family is a mess, mom. Cara is keeping herself busy with the twins. Victoria is doing so by talking to you and spending time with Brooklyn. Uncle John has buried his head in expanding the MC and spending more time with Alexandra Calaway. Auntie Meeks though, what a rock she is.”
“I - - - I mean, your mom, put a lot of pressure on her shoulders but did so because she knew in her heart she would be there for all of you. That’s also why I exist. She knew her kids well, and you would all ignore the pain."
Just like Meghan, she stops, tilting her head, and with those digitized icy blue eyes looking at her, was going to ask a disrupting question.
"You know I can see high levels of Hydrocodone in your system, right?”
“(Cough) I had a brutal match in CU:LT. They were prescribed.”
“You couldn’t fool your mother before. What makes you think you can fool me, an exact copy?”
Veronica smirks and nods. 'Meghan' walks up beside her, and places a hand on her shoulder which would unsettle anyone being able to feel the touch, but Veronica isn’t most people.
“Yeah, I am self medicating. Mom was my only ally after Christian was taken from me, and I don’t have her anymore. Not really. I will stop taking them, but no promises after my next two matches.”
They smile and chuckle, and 'Meghan' just mouths one word; okay.
“You need to grieve and you should, but you also shouldn’t just phone it in. You have a big match coming up against Peter Vaughn, plus another chance to gain a shot at the title you missed out in CU:LT. Use the pain to better yourself. Better your career and your life. She was so full of life, even with all the horrible things that happened, and trust me, I know. So many things she never told you all, and I will honour her by not saying anything. You need to continue to live and grow. Your mother wanted that for you, and I am here if you ever need to talk.”
“Right… it must be weird for you to have all of someone's... everything... but not really be….”
“A bit of an digitized existential crisis, but I know my why I am here and it’s for what’s inside you right now....”
Veronica raises her brow with a small nod.
“That obvious?”
‘Meghan’ smirks.
“You slotted me in. And you know she would be excited? I know I am.”
Veronica falls back onto the couch, arms wrapped around her midsection. She was almost accustomed to tasting her tears.
“Christian….”
Strader Estate
Houston, Texas
February 11th, 2023
~ START TRANSMISSION ~
“Peter, I feel like maybe I was too hard on you the last time I spoke. It’s because we really are a lot alike, aren’t we? I mean, our origin stories are similar. We aren’t the prototypical good guys or bad guys.I mean, it’s not the 80s territory system, is it?”
“I can’t expect anyone to relate to me. I am an abomination and shouldn’t exist, yet here I sit where my mother’s final resting spot will be."
"Existing."
"You spoke about family, how you have looked at it with a longing heart. Not to be alone in the world. Your love hate relationship with your own dad isn’t that different from mine and my dad, commonly known as the other Raven. Families… not one is the same. You can draw parallels, sure, but not everyone gets lucky like I have. It took a lot to get here where I am with Cara and Vee. I mean, I threw Cara off the OCW Arena, almost killing her, and I spent my birthday falling into a coma from Vee throwing me off TD Garden.”
“With love, always comes pain. If you are lucky, you find loyalty in it all."
"Mom and Auntie Meeka are half sisters, but if you dared call them that, well, they would sack you, Or warn you. Depending on who it is. Their motto was if you share a parent, there is no such thing as a half sibling. That's more than lucky. I hope that helps you on your quest, because that’s the last thing I am going to give ya.”
Her eyes close as she rolls them back slowly, taking in a deep breath. Her nostrils flare with exhale, and the glazs coloured eyes appear green.
“Dangerous Dan. I don’t know which loss in my short yet pretty meteoric career is more embarrassing than that, and no one has pointed it out to me more than myself. The end of a long, hard fought reign, but at least he didn’t take the undefeated streak. I underestimated Dan, but if I am being completely honest, my body was broken and I needed time to heal. I had just beat Supreme Machine in his element without a tranquilizer gun or beating up a colour commentator."
"We all have been beaten by that one we should’ve had. Don’t deny it. If Danny didn’t run off like a coward because his reign was a fart in the wind, I would've corrected it. But honestly, Christian was missing, and I went looking for him. Distraction cost me.”
“I miss him so much. His grumpy disposition in the mornings before he got coffee and greasy shredded hash browns in him, with a side of menthol cigarettes, his faith, everything. Now I am also missing my mom.”
“My mom taught me a lot. She instilled values in her kids. Match positions and top titles are nice and make ya feel good, but once you realize that no matter where you are booked on a card, or what championship you hold or will hold, they are the same thing.”
“I guess that sounds silly.” Raising up her left arm and shaking her hand softly. “Main events are woooo, I made it. Imma World Champ.” Her arm comes down, does a super hero pose, knuckles on her waist, elbows out and head tilted up.
The smirk says it all.
“The position and title doesn’t make the wrestler, the wrestler makes the position and title the hottest thing in the game today. Yeah, chances are this is our show to steal but my only goal is winning.”
“Now, people could say ‘Hey, that chick lost her man after waking up out of a coma only a week before and her mom not even five months later, oh and didn’t she get brutalized in CU:LT a few weeks back?’ Which is reasonable. Plus, I am in another match this month. The ring will be filled with shards upon shards of glass.”
“I did plan on leaving this industry, disappear into the sunset. But Christian keeps giving me signs I need to stay, and with mom passing… I guess for the sake of simplicity and the fact it gives my aunt a headache thinking about it when I talk about it, I'll keep it simple. I had a 'dream' and got to talk to my ‘mom’ and she told me to continue on, that I am going to be the greatest wrestler named Strader to be in this game, and if I quit now, I would dishonour not only her but me as well.”
“Who knows, maybe this will become an annual thing? Wouldn’t that be something? Hmm.”
“So the thing is, you may have gotten another opportunity down the line to face me, but I would rather do it now myself.”
She gives her sister’s meek smile before pulling the ponytail out and shaking her hair out.
“I have never once said you aren’t talented though, because you are. No one can deny it. I am also talented, but lots of people like to deny it. We have both made names for ourselves, albeit yours, although not by much, has nicer things said about it. People see me as lesser, but if you go by history, you’ll see I tend to use that to my advantage.”
“We are about to show people what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. I still say, you need to win this match. I respect your respect for my family, but the majority out there? They don’t. If I don’t win? I am young. I have plenty of career left ahead of me and most likely a chance to correct that in the future, but if you don’t win? You’ll never hear the end of it, and not by me either. I'm surprisingly humble that way."
"To coin a phrase my auntie uses, there's 87.2% and 12.8% chance one of us will win. Choose right, Peter. Now... just like my ‘mamabear’ said before me….”
The Strader Sneer finally makes an appearance as her right hand touches the tombstone, looking at it for a few seconds before turning back.
“God forgives.”
“I don’t.”
The scene slowly fades as she gets up and the last thing we hear is the car door shutting and starting up.
