The Disappearance of Sophie El

[ʝᴜɴᴏ - ✿]

Part I.
After Redemption 104

The stroll backstage after a crushing defeat. As Sophie said, there would be tears and hugs. Yet, she spoke of them under the pretense of the joy of victory. Alas, she found herself the loser that night. She did not leave the arena with a championship tucked underneath her arm. No, she was just was not good enough this night. To her, the loss hit harder than her tapping out to Beth Keaton on Subversion weeks ago.

Tapping out is one thing, but having to await the judges’ decision? It is heart wrenching to hear that they did not believe you were good enough. There was this sense of her not finishing the fight. She had the advantage in style. She fought Aurora as an equal. In some instances, she was her better. She cursed herself for not having the ruthless streak to take what she believed was hers. Furthermore, she looked at the Phoenix Wrestling logos scattered among the backstage environment.

“Homefield advantage,” Sophie thought.

She stopped midway through, falling against the wall. She slid down it, burying her head into her knees. The dam that kept her disappointment and grief at bay finally fell to pieces. Tears strolled down her eyes; they were unlike the ones of earlier time. She cried in the ring for the spectacle, the love of the fight. Now, she felt pity towards herself. The opportunity to win a World Championship was not a rare one.

Artemis, throughout her career, has never had a chance to fight for a World Championship. It has only been Cameron, the oldest, to win a World Championship. That was a year ago now. After that, Cameron failed to continue his trek for complete domination. Sophie felt eyes on her all throughout the fight. There were not looking at the spectacle; they were seeing her mistakes. She hated herself for realizing them after she made them. Each one of them docked her bits off her points. If she did not make those mistakes, she would have been the champion.

She felt the eyes fall on her again. They were familiar. Albeit, they were not alone. At that moment, she started to notice the lack of commotion backstage. When she peered up, she caught the ending of some barrage. A male figure struck the ground hard where he failed to move afterwards. Not an inch, not a millimeter, he seemed lifeless from Sophie’s perspective. When she turned back, she flinched. A person had filled the vacancy in front of her.

“Hi there.”

Her voice hit a realm of her mind that she had not delved into for a while now. Piercing orbs of ice fell on Sophie, where Sophie’s commonly green eyes turned to a deep shade of red. No rage radiated from Sophie, but she knew that the person in front of her was familiar. In fact, she was more than that.

She was...a friend.

The woman started to walk off, trailing down the narrow hallway. She brushed past the unconscious man on the ground, stepping on him to get past. She got around the corner, which sprung Sophie to make chase. Like a pup, she followed the woman, her eyes wide and shining red in the shallow light. She got to the corner and the woman weaved around it to meet her there.

“Do you want to go on an adventure, Juno?”

Juno, a name that made her stiffen up immediately. Only a few people knew that name. Not even Anastasia knew of Juno. She must have been more, Sophie thought. But right then, a familiar voice sounded out.

“Go with her; she’s family after all.”