Blurred Lines: Episode Three (Special Guest Edition)

[Dark Lord Simon de Montfort]

Vasco Dias: Hello again and welcome to another edition of Blurred Lines. I am your guest, the voice of IWF, Vasco Dias. Usually for these open forums, I am joined by Roberto Verona, the Chief Operation Officer of IWF. However, due to prior commitments concerning the future of a pivotal member of the IWF management staff, Roberto has had to cancel to attend last minute contract negotiations. When he returns, rest assured, we will continue our sit-down interviews. In his place, we have a very special guest, none other than Mercedes Vargas. Mercedes, thanks for being here today.

Mercedes Vargas: Aw, thank you, Vasco.

Vasco Dias: Mercedes, 2014 was a rollercoster ride for you. Ups and downs. Triumphs and heartbreaks. Success and failures.

Mercedes Vargas: Yeah, no kidding.

Vasco Dias: Well, it's been a couple of rough weeks for you since your return to IWF in late November and your return match at Diamonds are Forever a month later. I don't think you imagined finding yourself in the crosshairs of the newest stable in the Diamonds Division, the Children of Eternity. This past Monday night on Sacrifice, you were on the receiving end of another beat down by the group for the third time in four weeks. I just want to know, where is your mind at after these events?

{Mercedes lowers her head and sighs. After a moment, sh raises her head and looks up at the IWF announcer. By her reaction, it's clear that she hasn't the greatest three weeks since this started.}

Mercedes Vargas: The shenanigans that went down this past Monday was inexcusable. Jess and Lexi, they didn't deserve what happened to them, and I don't know where Ana fits into all of this. Eternity and her "children" - and I use that term loosely – are desperately trying to make themselves relevant again after being away for so long, and I have to say, so far, they're doing a damn good job of it.

Vasco Dias: But Mercedes you can't claim to act innocent in all of this. Arguably, there are some Diamonds who feels that you are, for lack of a better term, above your station. From your fights on Twitter with various members of the roster and insincere comments about the company to your outspoken nature in general, you have, in a short time, become one of the most polarizing members on the roster, maybe the entire company. After recent events, do you have any --

Mercedes Vargas: "Regrets"? That is what you were about to ask me, right?

Vasco Dias: Yes, it was.

Mercedes Vargas: It's actually funny, Vasco. I keep asking myself the same thing. It's like a dark cloud is hanging over my head. Every night, before I go to bed, I wonder aloud what did I do to deserve this? Every night, before I close my eyes, the events these past three weeks play back in my mind over and over again. Every morning, when I wake up, I'm usually in a foul mood because I couldn't sleep and I dread looking forward to the rest of the day. And each time I look in the mirror, the person staring back at me has a clear conscious. So, no, Vasco, I don't have any regrets, not a one.

Vasco Dias: Mercedes, keep in mind that you decided to return to IWF. Not only are you an employee for the company, but Roberto Verona is your boss. Like in any job, talking negatively about your fellow employees or the company itself results poorly on you, and may even cost you your job. Just because you have a voice doesn't mean you should voice it all the time.

Mercedes Vargas: Excuse me? I will not sit here and be criticized for something that everyone does in this company. Amber has a gripe, she lets it be known. Ana has something she needs to be addressed, she voices it. Any of the male superstars want to get something off their chest, nothing stopping them from speaking their mind. And you're suppose to be a commentator, right? You and Terri are out there every night calling the action and giving your opinion on the match and the competitor and why this person or that person will win or lose. Since when did I become IWF's whipping post? I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking.

Vasco Dias: If you don't have any regrets as you said earlier, would you say these unprovoked attacks by the Children have brought you back down to earth?

Mercedes Vargas: Brought back down to Earth, sure. But I'm still above them all. Miss Twenty-Five Years has a grudge against me, she can't stand the fact that I have her number lately. Like I said before, she's a bully and a sore loser, and I guess this new group she's with now is her attempt at grasping at straws. At Diamonds are Forever, losing wasn't an option. Now she's out of options, out of excuses, and out of time. The Children of Eternity? They NEED each other. I don't need anyone. And it won't be long before all of this blows over and they go back into hiding. It's only a matter of time, Vasco. Only a matter of time.

{She shakes her head with conviction.}

Vasco Dias: Well, Mercedes, if you hope to emerge victorious at Metamorphosis, you're going to have to put your trust in Alexis Caffrey when you two team up to take on a common enemy in Isabella Maldini and Eternity, and while it may not be the match you wanted, this steel cage match has major ramifications as to whether or not you will get your long-awaited title match with Ana Valentine at the Danger Zone pay-per-view next month.

{Mercedes smiles.}

Mercedes Vargas: Talk about your high stakes, right, Vasco? Back is against the wall, facing all odds, the world is against you. Now, I realize me and Lexi aren't the best of friends, and we probably never will be. But you know what, that's OK. As long as she doesn't screw this up – and I know that she won't because she's dying to have another crack at the Diamonds Championship – she and I are going to get along just fine.

Vasco Dias: Let's switch gears for a moment and talk about your tag partner, Alexis Caffrey. Like yourself, she came back from a short hiatus. Had to deal with the Age of X. Mike Laszlo, her boyfriend, pulled off a convincing win and beat Angel to become the new World Champion, she suffered a pinfall loss to Rayne, was on the winning side of a six-woman tag team match, and then beat Kayla Richards for the fourth time, won a triple threat match. She has, more or less, been on a roll lately. Looking forward to Sunday and the huge stakes involved, Mercedes, are you concerned that Alexis may turn on you during the match? Roberto said it himself, if you lose, remember, your title match goes poof, it's gone.

Mercedes Vargas: I guess I never really thought about that. I guess you can say Alexis gets her title match no matter what happens. You know what, Vasco? I'm going to give Alexis the benefit of the doubt, it's the least I could do. Have people turned on me before, yeah. Have I betrayed people during a match, without question. But I'm going to hold Alexis to her word that she wants this win just as much as I do. Look, I've been paired with people that no one in their right mind would ever dream of teaming up with. I've teamed with Amber Richards during the Heiress to the Throne and we got along great. On the other side of the coin, I teamed with Eternity in my first-ever tag match here, again no problems. Plus, we won.

Vasco Dias: This is true on both accounts. However, Mercedes, you've also had cases where tag matches didn't go your way. Your tag match with Crystal Hilton and Bliss Riley against all three members of the Children of Eternity last week, for example. Now, the match itself got rave reviews, but during the contest, you walked out and left Bliss Riley to the wolves, so to speak, costing your team the win. What were you thinking there?

Mercedes Vargas: You know, Vasco, there is no "i" in team, but there is an "i" in "Bliss." Our fresh-faced Training Grounds rookie wants to point fingers at me and Crystal for costing us the match. You were there, so was Terri. Crystal was driven to the mat with a pile driver. I was facing a 3-on-1 assault. Where was Bliss then? Where was she when I was getting beat down, huh? Was she lost, did she need to use Google Maps?

You want to know why I walked out? Because I decided then and there it wasn't my hill to die on. Bliss wanted to play Wonder Woman, she wanted to play the hero? I let her play the hero. Turns out, she wasn't. The week ahead of our match, she said in her promo something along the lines that IWF is setting her up for failure. Well, she didn't need them that night, because she did a fine job of that on her own. And we sure got an encore performance this past Monday night, didn't we, Vasco?

Vasco Dias: Crystal Hilton defeated Bliss in a singles match.

Mercedes Vargas: That's right. IWF did not set Bliss up for failure. Bliss set Bliss up for failure. But, hey, at the end of the day, she's still a rookie, right? It's like she said, she's here to improve and grow and learn. And if you don't fail, well, how will you learn? We've all been there and we've all had to learn.

{Vasco nods.}

Vasco Dias: Back to the match at hand, you do realize this won't be easy. Eternity is unlike any Diamond in IWF. She is unpredictable, unrelenting, unforgivable. Isabella is just as more dangerous. You and Alexis are in grave danger and could very well be in for another beat down at Metamorphosis. Win or lose, the Children of Eternity isn't going away and you're still going to have to go Sacrifice the following week and deal with the consequences. Are you prepared to deal with those consequences, win or lose, the first Sacrifice after Metamorphosis?

{Mercedes pauses briefly, letting the question stew a moment before she answers.}

Mercedes Vargas: You talk about me having regrets earlier. Having regrets implies that I'm living in the past. It's not about the past, it's not about the future. I have no fear of the Children of Eternity or their alliance. I'm sure Rayne can feel better about herself with her first title match this Sunday. Whether she blows this opportunity for the Ruby Championship is up for debate. Hopefully, that isn't the case.

Let me tell you what's going to happen at Meta this coming Sunday at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Whether I have a partner or whether I'm on my own, I plan on winning Sunday, I plan on getting the title match that I should have had months ago, and next month at Danger Zone, I plan on beating Ana Valentine and become the new Imperial Wrestling Federation Diamonds Champion. That's all there is to it.

Vasco Dias: And we're going to have to leave it there for now. Thank you for your time Mercedes, and good luck to you and Alexis this Sunday at Meta.

{Easier into her chair, Mercedes smirks at Vasco, without the least bit of sincerity behind it.}

Mercedes Vargas: Not that we'll need it or that you mean it, but thank you anyway. I appreciate it.