This is Heaven

7/4/2024, 11AM Japan Standard Time (note: this will take place around 10PM tonight for jabber purposes)

“This is Heaven.”

Magen Nackedy had thought this sentence at least 12 times in the month she’d been in Japan. It was a beautiful country, and she was with a beautiful man. What could be better?

As she lay in a hotel room in the Japan countryside, she thought it again as she clutched a pillow and mused about how her life got her to this point, laying in a younger man’s bed in Tokyo. She swore after Foster that she’d never date another wrestler: she found the sport idiotic, and it tended to breed angry and violent people. But after her son began to wrestle, despite her protests, she became resigned to the fact that she lived in this universe, so she may as well gaze at the stars while she was there.

Plus Roosevelt wasn’t angry, nor was he violent out of the ring. She had been so used to Foster’s temper tantrums and mood swings that she forgot what it was like to be with someone so unflappable. He never frowned, never grimaced, had never raised his voice to her in the six months they’d been together. He did express homesickness, though, and being the Bang! With Your Partner Tag Team Champion made it difficult for him to come home. So after a little bit of planning and a lot of trepidation, she boarded a plane with no return ticket and brought a little piece of home to him.

It was a little scary, especially on mornings like today where Roosevelt had training with Tani. Bang! was on hiatus before the big Tag League, but Roosevelt told her he didn’t want to get fat during the break. As if, she thought, smiling to herself. His abs are made of stone.

She didn’t like being alone in a country where she didn’t speak the language. The few times she left his apartment or the hotel, she ran into people waving their hands at her as if smelling something rotten, telling her “no English” like a shield. Roosevelt wasn’t fluent, but he could get them to where they needed to go, and his small celebrity status helped more than she thought it would.

But as she lay there on Independence Day, a day that meant nothing there, she realized she would have to leave again. She was getting hungry, and they had eaten so well the night before there were no leftovers. She had planned to call Connor today to make arrangements for him to visit, but she wasn’t going to do it on an empty stomach.

Grimacing, Magen got out of bed and got dressed. She slunk down to the hotel lobby and walked down the street, taking in the gorgeous landscape around her.

She was able to fumble through ordering takoyaki— not exactly a breakfast food but she had slept in anyway. As she sat down to eat, she looked up and saw someone in the distance that made her take a second look.

Magen had been fully removed from the Gray’s Academy drama as soon as Julian Bathory and Paxton Ray evicted her from the premises — while Shweta had talked about building a new gym, Foster was not invited to be part of the process, and out of respect to her ex husband she declined.

She’s not sure why she gave him that grace, of course. He was loud, domineering, and possessive. She signed out of jabber last night because dealing with his calls to come home were too much. Maybe she would talk to Shweta and see if she can help with the new gym — it’d give her more time with her son.

All of this entered her mind because the woman she saw in the distance looked a lot like one of the new students she had seen during the gym takeover. Tall with dark hair, she looked cold and decisive. She had wrestled against Connor at some of Tom’s events — Petra, was that her name?

What is she doing in Japan? Maven wondered as she stood up and slowly walked towards the woman, who had just turned a corner. The questions kept coming in her mind.

Why am I following her? Why don’t I just go back to the hotel? If she’s here, does that mean —

The questions emptied her mind as a large hand cupped her mouth and she was lifted into the air.

_______

Magen came to in a small room built of cinder block. She was laying on a thin sleeping bag. Standing up and walking to the door, she tried to open it and found it stuck.

“Somebody help me! Hello? Where am I?”

Magen’s eyes filled with tears as she screamed and fought against the door. She finally collapsed in a heap under the door, wiping her eyes and leaning her head against the cold cinder block.

“This is Hell.”