Of Witches and (Half) Daemons

"Was I unclear?"

"Perhaps I was misheard?"

"Did I fucking stutter?"

"I said to bring me the downtrodden and those seeking opportunities; not the delusionally arrogant and pathetic."

With a violent crackle, the screen came to life to reveal the CBS Champion looking directly into the camera with an intensely angry glower upon her porcelain pale features. Her crimson eyes glowing with an unquenchable fire as her raven-dark hair hung loosely; clad in her ring gear and the championship slung over her shoulder it was clear that Action Wrestling's resident witch was war-ready.

"Hello, Max; tell me, how have you been since our last encounter? How have you been since this pathetic waste of space that I am nearly drove a knife into your soulless heart; when I left you choking underneath the weight of your own bullshit and a vending machine? Hm? Well, have you anything to say that doesn't sound utterly asinine simply because your brain turns off every time you open your mouth?"

"Of course not."

"That was a silly question on my part, wasn't it? After all, Mas Deamon NEVER has anything meaningful to say as is nothing more than an unrepentant jackass that cannot be bothered with his own bloody blatant hypocrisy; hypocrisy that has caused his career here in Action Wrestling to become stagnant and stale. So allow me to pose a different question, yes?"

"How does it feel to be competing for such a low-tier championship once again?"

"It should feel nostalgic, right? After all, the beginnings of your here and the subsequent success you enjoyed were predicated upon a championship that you would consider so low-tier that it couldn't even survive two separate incarnations in two separate companies. In fact, you might consider yourself to be the most successful failure in Action Wrestling history. Which is rather impressive when you consider the fact that this company has employed some real spectacular failures in recent memory; how long did it take you to deal with Bozo again? Even so, you haven't managed to advance your career a single fucking iota since all the overinflated hype about you died and, though you'll never admit to it, the evidence of your dead career lies in just how desperately you chase the clout of those whose name actually means something."

"You tried to mirror Jayson Price and failed."

"Win, lose, or draw your attempt to breathe life into what's left of your career by using McGregor's name will also fail."

"Now don't get it twisted, it isn't like I think you can't defeat the man; in fact, it's quite the opposite. However, your shallow arrogance shall get in the way of any clout you manage to garner from the publicity stunt and you shall continue to be NOTHING in Action Wrestling; nothing but filler so that people can run to the restroom during our sold-out events. As history has shown, you'll squander that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity much akin to how you'll squander your opportunity to take the CBS Championship from me."

"You'll look down on this Championship, you'll look down on ME, and you will deem it not worth your time; that your future failure against a man recently healed from a broken leg means more than building a legacy that people with actually remember years from now. No. You're more preoccupied with about that'll be forgotten the moment that he takes a fight with more name value than Max Deamon EVER had; you'll be forgotten and nothing will fucking change. This is where we differ, Max; while you fail to capitalize on every opportunity given to you by taking them for granted, I do not. In fact, I scratch and claw for every opportunity I get; and, should I fail, I continue to scratch and claw and make more opportunities for myself regardless of what the naysayers will say."

"This Sunday at Revolution five isn't any different."

"I may be CBS Champion, but the opportunity that lies before me is that of continuing to build a legacy never to be forgotten; least of all by arrogant piss ants such as yourself. You may consider me a worthless wretch only useful to pass the time until your big fight, but the fact of the matter is that you're going to be the second body that I use to build both my lasting legacy and the allure of the CBS Championship. So go ahead, Max, judge me by a standard that is as devoid of meaning and as pathetic as you are. However, when you find yourself regaining consciousness after failing to survive the Witching Hour, I want you to remember that it wasn't just your own delusional overinflated sense of self-worth that resorted in your defeat; but that it was me."

"That I defeated you."

"That I defeated you and there wasn't anything you could do to prevent me from walking out the same as I walked in; as the CBS Champion."

"Quoth the Witch forevermore."

Rearing back, Claire let loose that soul-shattering Banshees' wail as the camera faded to black.