Comedy.

[Serenity Holmes]

Every act on stage delivers their best performance, and the crowd goes home with laughter supplementing their bellies. It's so easy to admire the fool when the court is pleased, but they never forget that the fool is a puppet on the strings. The puppeteer always has the last laugh.

---

STAGEFRIGHT.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Indeed, the applause inside the Yokohama Theater, where the red seats embroiled the audience's comfort in this ancient institution that housed performances from the old times, has been renovated to modernize the historical spirits that warmed the people's hearts. However, the applause from the slow clap of a young woman sitting in the crowd of empty seats and hollowed spirits echoed throughout the forum of this magnificent building.

You are such an entertainer, Allen. It hurt when I had to stand ringside, watching my mentor put you in your place again. After all, you're the only fool at the court of highborns, so of course, you would feel cheated when you don't even know your purpose in life.

Serenity slowly stands up from her seat and continues to clap as if she witnessed the best stand-up performance by Allen Chaney. However, her smile and laughter didn't originate from the happiness of a child's joy but the stroke of a mother's anger. Ever since her new deal with the supposed devil, the demons of her past have come back to haunt he,r, but she's learned to tolerate their madness for now. As she thought about it, she tilted her head upwards to the ceiling lights, understanding that the chaotic nature of her predicaments was ripe to host the fool known as Allen Chaney.

I should be very mad.

I honestly should be furious that you cost me my match against The Black Widow, but in my expressions of justified anger, I've learned to look at it from a different perspective. A perspective is one you would share because there's always a bright side to things.

We're always told the grass is greener on the other side or there's a silver lining when an opportunity arises. Always believe there is hope in the world to conquer any challenge or impossible force trying to stop you, and you, Allen, are someone who will fight until your last breath. Look at what you've done against the machine, man!

You've finally gotten your match against Roberto to become the Joker, and you have your fiance, Jennie, who will do everything to help you. Granted, you want to call me a sell-out for joining Verona and his legion, but at least I'm not sharing a bed with an IWF World Champion and management of IWF. That is a joke in itself.

Because that's what you've been all this time.

A joke.

Serenity's clapping comes to a sudden halt, and her hands remain clasped as she prays in front of her chest. She takes a moment to breathe, doing her best to control her emotions, and then leaves her seat to walk down the inclined aisle to the stage.

I've found it funny. We found it funny.

The crusade you're on to believe you are the David against the Goliath story when you amount to every low-living scum in this world who cannot grasp the big picture. I understand why you made yourself known in my match against Black Widow; you wanted revenge for taking an offer that brought me to become the Invictus Champion. In other words, my entire reign was built upon Roberto Verona again using you as a pawn in his game, and you were too much of a babbling bafoon to understand what was at stake.

Roberto Verona chose me to become one of his prospects, and I earned his trust when I took the championship away from Nick Knight, who also decided to stand against him.

You'd think you'd learn from your peers, but you've only proven everyone right that you're a fool without a cause, and we've supplied you with purpose.

She leaned her arms on the stage and looked up at the artistry. Her eyes took in the beautiful masterpieces, and she could understand why people would do everything to have this moment to themselves. It's the power of understanding how to entertain. Controlling people's lives for an hour or two makes the one on stage feel like a God, and Serenity huffed in, realizing the concept of the higher ground compared to the audience watching from below.

I mean, you're the patsy. You're the one people rally behind because they need hope. It reminds me of the Hunger Games. I understand why President Snow said the people needed some hope. It gives them a sense of freedom, a false image that they are in control.

But we both know Allen that there is no control.

Everybody wants to believe that God has a plan for them, but everybody always refuses to believe that people have a plan for them, too.

Serenity begins to climb onto the stage and gently sits on the edge with her legs dangling in the air. She looks at the audience as she puts her right knee close to her chest and rests her chin on the top of her knee. It was befitting that she would be calm, and being on higher ground felt like home.

We executed our plan very well. You didn't see it coming. You were too busy to see it, wrapped up in this folly idea that we're the wrong people in your story. The villains to your heroic tales of how you disrupted the evil system that controls IWF when you've been enjoying the fruits of the illusion we've crafted for you. In other words, Allen, we are the reason you exist in this company, and our grace has done everything you've done.

Yet you continue to bite the hand that feeds you. I don't hate you; I pity you.

Serenity takes a moment to look at the extensive infrastructure inside and rises to her feet. She stands center stage with a dim spotlight, highlighting her presence inside the structure. After pacing back and forth, she removes strands of her silky black hair behind her ears and firmly holds a solid stage presence.

I pity you, Allen. You want to judge me because I watched you get beaten down like an ordinary dog? You want your revenge because I stood aside and washed my hands away from the justified discipline you needed to get?

You're pathetic. I didn't do anything to you other than make a deal that benefited my future more than yours. You know, I hate people like you, Allen. I used to be you. When I first stepped into the ring, I thought I would be different, the one to tell the system to screw itself, but then I realized that there's a difference between those who are at the top and the bottom. This is a business; to be on top of the company, you must align yourself with the most powerful.

In other words, Allen, to keep your job, you need to be in good graces with the man who runs the company, and ever since I took that advice, I've been at the top of my game as your IWF Invictus Champion.

But you?

All you've done is complain and try to fight, but you end up being put down repeatedly. It's bad enough that your fiance has to be your crutch in abusing her power to defend you. How long will you put her position at risk because you are too stupid to understand that you can't defeat a system you are a part of?

After she made that statement, she took a moment to gather herself. Serenity's smile evolved into a chuckle, and then the laughter escaped. She calmed down after a few moments and shook her head.

That is funny. All this time, you've been fighting, and here you are at the mercy of a man who could end everything you've ever done in this company. You've been focusing on the wrong thing and wonder why everyone around you has reached heights in this business you'll never see.

Allen. People don't laugh with you; they laugh at you.

They laugh at you for producing the same insane methods, trying to rebel against a system that has worked harmoniously for years. The people at the top create this platform for idiots such as yourself to be seen and heard, and you continue to spit in their faces, knowing the consequences.

Are you a rebel or a fool?

The jokes have gone too far, and the games are over. This isn't about your rebel story; this is simply a rebellion that will be put down, and you will be an example to anyone with the same idea. I will personally enjoy ripping your flesh inside that cage where you will have no excuse. There won't be any Legion, and Roberto will not be there; it will simply be you and me. Don't even think about belittling me because you know what I can do in extreme environments, especially from our little CU: LT days.

Serenity walked out of the stage forum behind the curtains. She moved through the middle to return with the IWF Invictus Championship belt but also showed a little puppet design of Allen himself as she sat him down on the wooden structure for all the empty seats to marvel at. She knelt beside the plush toy and patted him on the head before standing up again.

Now, I will put you down on behalf of Roberto Verona. You can pay your debt to me because now you've crossed my path. I didn't want to do this to you. Roberto didn't want this to happen, but this is the price you must pay when you've continued to act like a child and cause disturbances to our plans that would have benefitted scum eaters like you.

You've rattled the hornet's nest, and I will end you. Everything that has gone wrong for you has been your fault. It's your fault you lost to Madjinn and wanted to blame us, but you knew you weren't cut out for it deep down. You want to say that all these companies have it out for you, yet I don't see a damn company, let alone IWF, that would invest in you.

Simply because you are what you are.

A joke.

You don't mean anything to this business let alone to us, so stop pretending you're the crusader who can defeat us when you won't even be a martyr when I end your life in that cage.

Serenity holds her championship belt by the end of her strap and swings it over her head to crush Allen Chaney's puppet. She swings it over one more time for good measure, and the puppet almost shatters completely, with Serenity standing over it with a penance expression on her face.

This will be your final act, the end of your attempt to be something more than a dog who didn't understand his place, and the irony is that you were the one responsible for your end.

You know what? I think it's funny. It's funny how you believed in yourself when no one else has, and it's funny that the only reason you're even doing this is because our CEO is entertaining you.

I'm not. I wouldn't say I like your jokes; I don't want your pathetic run of this game to take us down when you're locked in the cage with me. There's nothing more to run, hide, or pretend to be someone worthy of our attention.

You've had your fun, but the games are stopping now.

The only joke that matters is the one where a bullet gets put into your spine.

Consider it a killing joke.