I wake up suddenly. It's still dark outside and Drake is cuddled into my side again. I glance at the clock and it's nearly 4am, then my vision starts to focus and I notice her.
The person standing at the end of my bed.
Her hair is pulled back, arms crossed against her chest and the frown on her face says it all.
I know that frown. I know that look.

I know because it's mine.

Bliss: What the fuck....

My 'twin' rolls her eyes at me.

Kahlan: Don't worry...this is still all in your head.

I want to express relief but I'm wondering why she's visiting me yet again.

Kahlan: We have some things to discuss, come.

I slip out of bed, grabbing my shirt and what I think are my pyjama bottoms. Once I have them on I realize that they aren't mine at all. I smirk a little. I'd been wearing Drake's clothes a little too often lately it seemed.

I take a quick look back to his sleeping form. He tosses and a hand out on the bed as if looking for me but it doesn't take more than a few seconds before he's peaceful again.

With a sigh I follow 'myself' out of the room and into the hall. I almost expected her to be transparent but she's as solid as I am. In fact now I notice she's wearing sweat pants and a sports bra. Ewww. I hated sweat pants and they looked gross on her...rather me....

I frown and she shakes her head.

Kahlan: This isn't a beauty contest. This is what your mind depicts me as. I could easily show up at one of hell's minions but that would scare the shit out of you.

Bliss: At 4am? Yes it would.

Kahlan: Well I don't need you scared of me. I need you to be scared of failing.

I roll my eyes. Not this again. I mean that first dream had been a reality check ok, but this was becoming a regular thing now. Yes. I'd let things get to me way too much lately but now she was back again. Maybe I was clinically crazy and not just relatively.

Bliss: Ok what now.

Kahlan: Drake and that world title.

I take a big sigh. Yes. I was finally getting my world heavyweight shot and it just so happens that Drake...my live-in boyfriend, my stable mate, the man I now owned this gorgeous house with and a man I was helplessly falling in love with was my opponent.

Kahlan: He's expecting you to just lay down for him.

Bliss: I know.

Kahlan: I won't stand for that Kahlan. I'm way too ingrained in every fibre of your being to allow you to just allow him to win.

Bliss: I said I know...

Kahlan: So what did you plan on doing? I know that AoA is the single most important thing right now but you know what's more important?

Bliss: The belt.

Kahlan: The belt.

She starts down the stairs and I follow. There's a glow from the living room and I peak in. Chris has fallen asleep on the couch with the TV still on. It's playing the title screen of Call of Duty over and over again. The controller is still lodged in his hand and his head is leaning back on the leather couch, mouth wide open, eyes still slightly open under insanely long lashes...he's even snoring a little.

'Kahlan' looks impatient but I give her a look before I creep in, take the controller from his hand and force him down, groggily and sleepy into a flat position. I throw my grandma's afghan over him. I have to stop myself from kissing his forehead in a motherly fashion. Why? Why had these men become the brothers that I never really had? My own brothers had never treated me as an equal before. Not like Chris, Kuk and Dixon had.

Instead I turn, placing the controller on the coffee table and turning off both the system and the TV. He hadn't been kidding about staying on my couch...maybe I needed to get that guest room setup....I didn't like that he'd be here so often...I liked my privacy but on the other hand, I knew that if Drake ever had to leave for some reason, Chris had my back. I would never have to worry about being alone.

'Kahlan' is tapping her foot impatiently.

I whisper harshly at her.

Bliss: Oh stop. I don't care what your agenda is, I still take care of my own and Chris is one of my own.

Kahlan: More than your own blood brothers?

I think a few seconds before nodding.

Bliss: I'm close with Jerry and Jake but they still never treated me as well as these guys do. Let's go outside to talk.

open the French doors and we both step out into the moon light. The pool looks warm and inviting and the light from the moon is reflecting in it making it shimmer magically. I was instantly remembering a night not too long ago when Drake and I....

I turn back to 'Kahlan'.

Kahlan: You've done well since our last talk. I just wanted to get that out of the way.

Bliss: Ah...thank you?

As much as she seems to mean it as a compliment, I know myself way to well to not see it laced with sarcasm and un-sincerity.

Kahlan: But I want to make sure I get this perfectly clear. You are not laying down for that man.

She points to the window above us that I know is my bedroom.

Kahlan: This is our opportunity to show that we aren't just one Drake's minions. Kuk might think it's clever to tease about that but in reality, they are all just Drake's little followers aren't they? Eating up every word as if it's gold...

Bliss: Now that's not a fair at all. Chris and Dixon were tag champs before Dixon joined and Kuk was Xcore before that as well. They were doing alright for themselves but not without having to work harder than they should.

'Kahlan' smirks.

Kahlan: And you were Sin City until you blew it.

Bliss: Look a belt isn't everything...and either way the World stays in AoA

'Kahlan' nods.

Kahlan; Yes...it does but you better fight for it. Do you know what they'll say if you lose? That you sold out. That you just let him keep it for the sake of the group and his ego.

Bliss: They might but I'm not going to allow it to bother me. It's why I lost to Roxi remember...because I let what she said get to me, whether I was obvious with showing it or not? I can't let it get to me....you know what they'll say if I win?

I reverse it back on her because the things they would say about Drake would be far worse than what they would say about me.

Kahlan: Maybe the same thing reversed or they'll say that Drake is weak that he lost to his girlfriend. Heck it might even break you guys up....

'Kahlan' smirks. For some reason my Anger manifestation did not like the idea of me dating Drake and I had no idea why.

Bliss: What is your problem with Drake...really?

Kahlan: He's not any better than Jerry or Justin...or Dad. He's only keeping us back not pushing us forward. He actually wanted you to just let him keep the belt with out fighting for it at least. He wouldn't even give you that chance and part of me thinks that it's because he's scared that you could win. You won against him when you took the Sin City and you very well could take that world from him. A Six week title reign is not very long...you know that all too well.

I nodded. Yes I did know that really well. It was how long I held the Sin City the second time around.

Kahlan: I'm only here to warn you. If I see you start getting soft in that ring then I will take over. This isn't a threat, it's a promise....so I suggest you fight your ass off to make sure you do everything in your power to take that belt....you are destined to be the first female world champ.

I always liked the sound of it. Part of me knew that one day Roxi would get up to that level to go for world but right now she was too busy being irrelevant with the Sin City. I was well beyond that belt now. Let Kuk go for it...he deserved it. But me? If I couldn't get world than I didn't want anything. I looked back at her. She's been observing me while I've been thinking and I know I don't have to speak out loud. She's part of me and she knows what my inner ramblings better than anybody.

Kahlan: You get the big picture now don't you.

I nod. I did. Didn't mean I had to like that it was Drake I was going to have to destroy in the ring to get it.

Kahlan: You don't have to like it....I dunno...promise him a pan of brownies or a silk teddy if you win. I don't give a fuck, just don't cop out oh me Kahlan. I'm warning you now. You won't like what I do if I have to take over. This belt is mine and I'm not going to let you destroy our lives again.

I shake my head. She's right....or is that I'm right...it was confusing talking to a hallucination of yourself. I couldn't let the personal side of our relationship get in the way. At the end of the night, after I kicked the shit out of him, I'd pick him up and nurse him back to health and as weird as that was, it was what we had to deal with when people like Laura were the general managers.

Kahlan: She only did that to try and drive a wedge between you. She knows that you and Drake are the glue of AoA. You have to forge together tighter than ever.

Bliss: He'll be pissed if he loses

Kahlan: But you'll be even more pissed at yourself if you lose. This is your chance to come out of the woodwork and really make your impact. This isn't like when Nytrus bribed his way into a title shot, or when Ash Soulsfate butt fucked his way over top of you to get at world...this is you proving that just because it's your boyfriend in the ring with you, at the opposite corner, doesn't mean that you will show mercy. What you do outside the ring doesn't mean anything. Drake is just another opponent holding something you want. You will show that you are the true Queen of MPW. Always have been, always will be. Maybe new leadership is in order here Kahlan, maybe when you win that belt it will be them that look up to you....

Her last line renders me speechless, I didn't even want to think about it. She starts to walk toward my gate and then stops, turns and cocks her head.

Kahlan: Who knows, if he gets you angry enough and he's angry enough, the sex just might be that much better and he'll forget about the title for a while....

She laughs and with that she's gone and I kind of come out of a daze. I'm standing next to my pool, wearing Drake's pj bottoms and my feet are bare. I look up at the moon a second and suddenly someone's hand is on my back. I turn and Drake looks at me confused. Shirtless, wearing boxers that I know are clean.

Drake: What in the hell are you doing out here?

Should I tell him the truth? That I'd been talking with a personification of my anger who appeared to me in dream like states? I dunno if he would consider me certifiable or not.

Bliss: What?

I play dumb as if I'd been sleep walking the whole time. He pulls me into him and I can sense that he's a little scared for me.

Drake: Were you sleep walking? Damn it Kah you could have ended up in the damn pool.

I put my arms around him. I really hoped that after our match on Thursday that this part didn't change. Would he accept it if I won that belt from him? Or would he be so pissed off that he did leave...I hoped he'd be happy for me. He'd been a world champ before in his other feds, this would be my first time. Something I felt I had actually earned months ago. It should have been me facing Trey Baxter, but fucking Laura had to almost break my fucking knee.

Without warning, he's picking me up and carrying me back into the house, I can see the concern in his eyes. Another one of those rare moments when there was no one but Alex and Kahlan. As we pass the living room I notice that Chris is still snoring a little but he's at least comfortable under granny's blanket.

I smile sleepily when he finally sets me down on the bed, helping me to undress and get back under the goose down duvet, climbing in behind me to hold me tight.

Drake: Don't ever fucking do that to me again. I woke up, and I couldn't find you, then I just see you standing out there, talking to yourself....

I don't hear the rest of what he says because my eyelids start to droop. I knew he was paranoid. He'd woken up just like that when Lexi had been kidnapped and now, he'd been on edge with Khaotek making his 'moves'. But he didn't have to worry...it was just my anger...tired of taking a back burner. And man...she was pissed.

*~*

"What do you say to the man you care a great deal for and who is your opponent for the biggest most prestigious title there is?"

I offer the camera a slight smile but it's not happy.

"It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But it's not the first time I've had to face someone I cared about. I only hope that this time...that man doesn't go absolutely insane on me."

I sit back for a second.

"This won't be your ordinary promo. I can't sit here and just list every fault, or how I'm going to bust your ass...or how I'm going to destroy you... no. I can't do that to you but I do know this...I want your belt. You've known since we started dating that I coveted that thing just as much if not more than you did. No one over stepped on you for it. You fought for your chance and you earned it and then you got your match and that was it...you came out victorious."

I take a big sigh as I roll my eyes.

"I'm not a nice person, despite my heritage and the stereotype behind it. I've never been nice and I think that was part of my allure to you Drake. You took one look at me when you came back and saw something in me that I didn't quite see myself and I guess I have to thank you for that...for showing me the light and what the true meaning of being arrogant is....and now it's time for the student to surpass the teacher."

I still don't smile. Like I'd told myself many times....I can't get all nasty and destructive. Besides not doing a lick but making Drake laugh, I just couldn't lie like that....not to the man I was falling in love with.

"Your moves are great honey, but just remember...I beat you in the last title match we had together...mind you, you did throw me over the top rope about 30 minutes after that but I still came out of Army of One with my pride because I had my gold, my prize. I lost that prize and the second chance for it by not believing in myself completely. Not letting myself go in there with nothing but the thought of totally dominating her and look what it got me. Self loathing, Disappointment. I will not be disappointed again.

So this is probably really out of character for me. To not sit here and tell you that your an asshole...which you are.... or that your a fool...not always but sometimes you do this thing...."

I stop myself and the smirk that suddenly appears on my face with the memory.

"Or that your full of it....I mean on a personal level there are so many things I could do to embarrass you, to make this fight more directive and petty...but then I think back to the really hefty mortgage that has both our names on it....ya...but I'm still not backing down...

I could easily do what Roxi does and say that part of me hates you, or that I'm insanely jealous... no. I have no reason to be jealous or hate you...especially with what you do for me on a nightly basis...what's to hate? Win or lose out there on Thursday AoA has a victory. Not because one of us will win and the other will lose, no, it's because no matter the outcome we will not be divided. We will not let them try and break apart our foundation. They've pitted the two biggest competitors against each other and I guess part of me is proud that I get to face you baby.... we've only just shown the world that despite the hate we've generated from the front office, they had no choice but to put us against each other because it brings in revenue for them.

Now people like Roxi would probably interject here and say that we're doing exactly what they want. Playing right into their hands by not following our own creed of not pandering to the crowds, pandering to the drones, pandering to the corporate hydra that sits in it's fountain and waits for the 'next big thing'...but were not. They're playing into ours. They picked the greatest superstar and the greatest contender for a pay per view...finally some recognition on talent rather than gimmick....on skills rather than stage presence. We gave them no other option. We tied their hands behind their backs.

We have become powerful.

We have become stronger.

We have become dominate.

And best of all, we're unconquerable.

The MPW World Title belt will remain in the hands of the AOA.

If I lose to you Drake, I will be angry...no doubt about it but I know how to keep my personal life and my in-ring professional life separate. They have let themselves believe that its the only weakness they can play against us. I'm not about to let THEM get between what we have going.

I only hope that you feel the same way.

We knew this day would come. In fact we talked about it weeks ago when we gave this relationship definition. There would come a day when we would be forced to get into opposite sides of that squared circle and be opponents rather than lovers. I know your moves just like you know mine...but you also know how determined I am. How I'm able to do anything I put my mind too and I'm counting on you to not go soft on me...because I have no intention of going soft on you.

I am called the goddess for a reason. I have no remorse. I have no pity. I have no qualms about taking that which I covet....

Roxi also asked you several times if you were willing to sacrifice those you hold dear for a cause and you said with the most thoughtful, arrogant face that you would do whatever it took to make these dreams reality and I respect that. I know that when it comes to this cause you would throw me under a bus if it meant furthering this ideal of righting the wrongs of the wrestling world. I had no delusions that I would be held above the movement. I accepted this when I took the oath to join you in this fight. I knew the potential consequences then and I know them even better now...

When it comes to AoA, I am but another solider fighting the good fight to set in motion the wheels of a revolution that will ever change the face of wrestling as we know it...and you are it's leader...but when it comes to the life of Drake and Kahlan, domestic...we're equal....and I would think that you and I have an understanding that there is a line where personal and professional divide.

I'm sorry but I will beat you at Ruthless Assault. I will be the first women to hold that title....and I will be proud of it.

And better yet, I'd like you to be proud of me.

Am I sorry that it's you I have to beat to get it...maybe a little but I can't let my emotions rule my head in that ring any longer. I need to redeem myself for the way I've performed. I have not lived up to the ideals I preach. So I will go in fighting and I will die trying to take that gold from you....but to be perfectly honest, there is no one I'd rather face than you for it because I know out of anybody you respect me just as much for what I can do. What my full potential is. And I know you're not going to give me anything less than all of you. What you know I'm also willing to do to be on top.

No hesitation.

No holding back.

No regrets.

In all of this though, our real fight is with Laura and the gang of pansy pussy suckers she's got backing her. I know that she wants to try and quickly get rid of us by inserting her own brand of discord. Hoping that dangling this carrot in front of my face is going to get the natives restless and a rebellion will ensue. Don't worry fearless leader...we're not going anywhere. We're not going to let this pathetic attempt to drive a wedge into the sturdy walls we've built, take us down. Cracks are easily patched and this is far from something that will take away our keystone.

This fight will not be easily won. And now more than ever we are power in numbers.

Ranks undivided.

The Future

The Past

The Now

The Age of Arrogance began with one Man on a mission...little did he know that others would soon stand beside him with the same ideals. With it grew the hunger in others that were feeling the sting of being over looked, of being buried, of being stepped on for the sake of the people that were considered the 'faces' of MPW. We rose up and with that we will show the world the lies that flow beneath the streets of this metropolitan.

The Vermin

The Rancour

The Bullshit

Laura, you and your ass kissers are going to have to try a lot harder than this to get us to stop with our crusade. Consider this an example of what we do when we're threatened as a group. Watch as this only makes us that much harder to take down. Watch as we take full control.

I would like to welcome you to OUR show.

This is the Age of Arrogance."

I smirk at the camera, his message, my message, our message painfully clear and obvious.

Nothing will keep us from moving forward. Not superheroes, not clowns, not frat boys and shiny twits not even self appointed backstabbing whore general managers.

Just like nothing was going to make me think twice about changing ownership of that world belt on Thursday, even it means taking out the one man I've ever truly loved.