For you.

[Savannah Andrews.]

FIRST CONTACT [ PAY-PER-VIEW ]

VERSUS ANA SOMNIA
IPW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

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FOUR DAYS BEFORE FIRST CONTACT

UNKNOWN LOCATION

SOMETIME BETWEEN MIDNIGHT & 3 AM

❝You talk a lot for someone who wishes to shut others up.❞

Irina gets straight to the point, seated in the grass as they stare at the camera set up several feet away. They are in Joshua's yard, their brother-in-law, nice and comfy in a cropped hoodie and some shorts.

❝Let us clear the air and make a few things straight for you, Ana. I am younger, faster, stronger, and more resilient than you will ever be. Just because we come from the same homeland, does not mean I owe you a modicum of respect.❞

There's a pause, contemplating if they had used the word modicum correctly. Though, they continue amost right away.

❝I have gone through people who have proven to be better than you. Even if you have the silly notion that you can or will beat me. Leo Reza, in my debut. Then, I faced someone who disrespected me and everything that I stand for.❞

Irina shifts in their spot, though a slight little smirk lifts a corner of their mouth.

❝But, Recoba was quite the competition. He gave me a fight I had not felt in quite a long time. Even if he came up a bit short in the end. After all, look at where I am now. Look at where we are right now. Two of Russia's bests. Main eventing for the piece de resistance.❞

❝I do not know about you, Ana. But, this is quite the opportunity we have on our hands. I do not want to squander it, so you will have to excuse me for what I must say next. You will have to excuse me for what I must do next.❞

A dark look flashes across Irina's face, though it passes almost as quickly as it appears.

❝You want something you do not need, but something you want. Championships are mere fodder for you, things to pad your longstanding record. But, for me? This is not just something I want for myself. My sister, buried six feet under the dirt, laying with worms and maggots... She wanted to be a part of this business more than I ever did.❞

Irina pauses, clearing the lump in their throat.

❝So, I decided to pick things up when she could not. I do this for her memory, for her honor. But, most importantly, I do this to make sure people like you do not get to continue to simply take opportunities away from far better talents. You may think of yourself as some killer, but when I am through? You will be the one fighting to find your teeth and left in a puddle of nothing but bile, sweat, tears, and blood.❞

❝There is much more at stake in this for me than there is for you. For you, you can move past this with a loss. It will not affect you the way it would affect me. I am not afraid to admit that. But, I will not stop fighting until my hand is the only one raised.❞

❝I will not stop fighting until you understand that you cannot simply speak to people however you want. I am not as soft as the other people you may have faced before. I am as stonefaced and hardcore as you may get it. Though, I am sure we have that in common.❞

There's the sound of a plane going by that fills the air, gentle gaze following it until it disappears.

❝I like you, Ana. Do not think differently, I simply will not tolerate the disrespect you have handed to me over and over again. You believe me to be a mere child, someone who has no idea what they are getting into.❞

❝But, that is where you stand corrected. I know exactly who and what I am dealing with. I knew the moment we came face to face when your hand was raised in victory during your last match. You are ruthless, brutal, and cunning. I am not afraid to admit that you may have me beat in few factors.❞

❝But, I will work ten times harder than anyone to ensure that I walk away with the gold in my hands. Not just for me, no. There are far more others I fight for. Those who cannot fight for themselves. Those who have been silenced by people like you.❞

❝Those who continue to fight for opportunities. While people like you, the old age, have faded into irrelevancy and turned into desperate pleas for attention. Desperate pleas for something to latch onto in your days of darkness.❞

Irina sits up, one boot pressed to the ground, the other tucked beneath them.

❝You have held countless championships, I am sure and almost positive that you can live without winning this war. Because it will unfortunately for you not be one you will be able to win without putting up the fight of your life.❞

❝I have trained for this very moment, secluded myself away from those I love to avoid any distractions. I have sacrificed parts of myself to make sure that there are no feelings in this for me. But, my heart is a damned thing. It has always been too kind to a world undeserving of its kindness.❞

❝Which is why I will show you a far more dangerous side of Irina Sokolov. The side that does not care, the side that will fight tooth and goddamn nail to make sure they come out of this victorious. I do not care who you believe you are. I do not care for the way you have spoken to me.❞

❝I will make sure I shut you up, whether by making you scream and beg for me not to snap your arm in two. Or while making sure you are the one staring up at the lights, while I stand victorious above you. With gold in my grasp.❞

Irina dusts their hands onto their shorts, stepping forward to cut the feed off. Static filling the screen. The days were ticking down and soon enough, it would be time to end Ana Somnia once and for all.