It was getting late in the evening, as Celeste pulled her new bike into the parking lot of the restaurant. Her old one had been destroyed after she wrecked it a couple of weeks ago; a night that had continued to burn into her psyche, and permanently destroyed the fragile outlook on she had clung to. Nothing in life was fair, and in order to move forward she had to reinvent herself. Order had fallen, and her spree of bad luck was her punishment for not upholding justice – she had given her word a year ago to punish those that deserved it, and now the fires of chaos were raging out of control and it was her god given duty to stop them once again.
She parked her bike, and started to walk towards the entrance. She opened the front door and briefly spoke to the hostess who led her to one of the private rooms. She opened the door and stepped inside. The room was quite spacious; there was a table in the center and two booths off to the side. Celeste took a seat at the front of the table and briefly gazed at one of the menus. The restaurant itself was casual, but at the same time a bit more expensive than ordinary family diners. He glanced at her watch and wondered if they were going to be late.
There was a noise towards the front as Celeste turned her head as the door opened. A tall and burly man with dark hair entered the room.
Celeste immediately recognized him, “Mr. Silver, I was wondering if your party had gotten lost.”
He grinned, walked forward and grabbed the chair across from her. His silver tie was a contrast to his black suit.
“Nonsense, Mr. Gold and I are never late, nor are we early. We arrive precisely when we want too.”
Celeste smirked, “Is your boss going to be joining us, or is it just you again? Was clear that I wanted to meet Mr. Gold face to face before I agree to do any more work?”
He smiled, “Absolutely Mrs. Crimson-”
“It’s just Miss now,” she interrupted with a growl.
Mr. Silver sat back in his chair, as the light flickered. Celeste gazed up at the ceiling with a slightly perplexed look on her face. They both turned as the door opened to reveal two more men – one was tall and lanky, and the other was short and rotund. Their matching suits were almost misplaced, as if they barely fit their statures at all. The two men held the doors as a fourth walked into the room; the fabric of his golden tie gleaming off the light.
Celeste eyed the man presumably to be Mr. Gold; he was tall, but not as muscular as Mr. Silver. His face was hidden by the shadows, but she could tell immediately how high and regal he carried himself – almost like a king. He carried a diamond tip cane, and wore a set of white gloves. He took off his gloves and took a step forward as the other gentlemen shut the door, and sat around the table. Mr. Gold sauntered forward and took his place at the head of the table opposite of Celeste.
“Good evening Miss Crimson,” he replied. She couldn’t help but notice how smooth his voice was - it was mesmerizing, like a gentle breeze the moment before a violent storm.
“Nice of you to show up Mr. Gold,” she replied. His face was still hidden by the shadows, but his eyes gleamed like fire. She gazed around the room at the other men as they seemed out of place with their fancy suits.
“I suppose that we could have met under better conditions,” he said as he scanned the private room. “While I enjoy the quaintness of the humble side of society, I would expect my employee to put on a show for me.”
Celeste scoffed and leaned back in her chair, “I happen to like this restaurant, alright?” She said sternly. “And I’m rather short in the money department, with everything going on in my life right now.”
“Ah, yes your divorce,” he said in a smooth tone.
Celeste gripped the side of the table; it didn’t surprise her that he knew about her divorce. She imagined him to be the shady type; and his face hidden by shadows was metaphorical enough.
“… how unfortunate.”
The waiter came and placed their orders, Mr. Gold ordered two bottles of the finest wine that they had, while she settled for a vodka martini. The waiter retuned with the drinks as Celeste got straight down to business.
“I’ve been keeping tabs on the WZCW champion like you requested; but you’ve yet to really explain to me why, Mr. Gold.”
“Why? It’s simple; I wanted you to create tension between Showtime and his allies. And you did just that. David is the kind of person that thrives on camaraderie, with you in the equation that creates confusion – and takes his focus off of me.”
“But why David Cougar?” she asked. “What do you have to gain by taking him out, just who are you?”
Mr. Gold took a sip of his wine as Mr. Silver chuckled, “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, Miss Crimson.”
Her eyes narrowed as Mr. Gold began to laugh, “Surely in your darkest hour you haven’t forgotten my voice Celeste.” He replied as he leaned forward, his face caught the light, and revealed the face of the devil himself.
Celeste gasped and knocked her drink off the table, “Y-you!” She pointed exasperatedly at the man in front of her. She couldn’t believe that he of all people was Mr. Gold. That she had agreed to take money from him of all people. It was disgusting, it was sickening, and it was demoralizing. She clenched the tablecloth as she stared daggers at him.
"Tell me why I shouldn’t kick YOUR ass!?” she screamed.
The men at the table started to laugh, as her face turned beet red. “Do you think this is funny!?” she bellowed as she suddenly stood up. Mr. Silver got up out of his seat, but Mr. Gold silenced him. He motioned for her to return to her seat, which she did so, slowly.
“Miss Crimson – no… Celeste. It’s not what you think. I have no desire to turn a woman with your abilities into a mere puppet.”
“You are so full of shit-” she started, but Mr. Gold cut her off.
“I helped you didn’t I? I gave you some money out of good faith. I don’t care what you do with Showtime; I just needed you there to cause some friction - which you did.”
“You and I don’t see eye to eye,” she replied. “And we never have, so why would you help me?”
“It’s because…” he started in that velvety voice “I want you to join me Celeste.”
Her eyes widened, “J-join you? That’s appalling; why would I ever join you?”
“I’ve watched the world spit on you, trample on your ambitions, and treat you like scum. And like a beacon of tenacity I’ve seen you remain steadfast against all odds; until recently. What changed?”
Celeste began to tremble; she wanted to scream at the man but she couldn’t, she wanted to tell him she was strong but she couldn’t. She averted her eyes, and tried as hard as she could not to look weak and pathetic. Not in front of him.
“What is this justice that you want?” he asked. “Is it simply revenge or is it spite? I’ve known you a long time Celeste – when you came back a year ago, I treated you like a peasant, and I didn’t understand the value that you had.”
Value. That was something that she had been lacking for weeks now. She was so worthless that she continued to fail time and time again. Her husband left her, and now her friends were gone too. But yet, he found her to be valuable. Why?
“How could someone like me be valuable to someone like you? You deplete a person’s life force and use them up and discard them as if they were trash. I’ve watched you do it, so why should I trust you? How could I trust you?”
She buried her face in her hands. She was weak, she was vulnerable, and Mr. Gold smiled like a predator stalking its prey. But wait! Those eyes; they always held such malcontent… could he… really be… trying to be compassionate? What a foreign concept.
“I’ll be taking my place soon as king of this world; I will be omnipotent! And when I do, I will represent the order you hold so dear. Join me, Celeste, and run as wild as you want. Punish all those who do not obey justice!”
She looked up, “Justice?”
He nodded, “Yes. You swore to punish those that broke the rules right - the sinners, the liars, the deceivers, and the blasphemers; all in the name of justice.”
She nodded as he continued, “Your dear friend Sandy Deserts, will you spare her from justice?”
Her eyes shot open and starred at the man, “No. When I formed Fairy Glitter Armageddon it was supposed to be fun, but we never amounted to anything. Our bonds were severed right from the get go, and we were forced to fight each other. I won the right to face Sam Smith, but I failed to win the one thing that I wanted so desperately – a title so that I could finally cement my name in the halls of greatness. But yet Sandy received her own shot, and I told her that I refused to play second fiddle to her.”
“And you shouldn’t have to,” Mr. Gold said understandably.
“Sandy was just out for herself. All this time she wanted to use what was left of my star power to launch her own career, as if Steven Kurtesy wasn’t enough.” Celeste continued. “I realized that she’s nothing but a leach that attached herself to my coattails and refused to let go. When my husband left me I swore vengeance… not on Sandy, not on the rest of the world, but on myself.”
“Justice is absolute Celeste,” said Mr. Gold. “Surely you realized that when you tried to take out Ty Burna and The Apostles, when you tried to take out Sam Smith, and when you tried to take me out and you failed each time. Why was that; have you realized?”
She nodded, “It’s because I was the one being selfish. I never realized that even my own allies weren’t free from the cold gaze of justice, and that I should have shown no mercy to everyone.”
Mr. Gold smiled, “What a lonely existence you must now have to lead, to uphold absolute justice. That’s why you should join me; a god is beyond justice. Join my side, and you’ll never be alone again…”
Celeste starred absentmindedly, caught in the melody of his voice, to register the hand coming towards her face. Mr. Gold reached out for her, and she jumped up suddenly and fell backwards out of her chair. Her heart was racing.
“I – I, don’t know about this!" she panicked. “It’s too much to think about right now. I-I have to go!”
She stood up and walked around the table. Mr. Silver stood up, but Mr. God motioned for him to sit back down in the chair. He didn’t even watch her leave. As the door shut, he smiled wickedly. Celeste dashed out to the parking lot, and began to fumble with her keys. She put on her helmet and started her bike. She didn’t know what to think anymore.
As she raced out of the parking lot she could only think about Mr. Gold and her mission, and yet despite that she had to think of the here and now, and that was her former tag team partner.
‘Justice is something that I failed to uphold a long time ago; and all my failures are punishments driving me back to the right path. I don’t hate you Sandy, but this isn’t a path you should try and follow me on. There’s no room for you in the hall of absolute justice and you will be my first example. If I can’t punish my allies for their sins then how can face true evil?’
She continued to drive along the streets of Sacramento; the night air beginning to calm
her nerves.
‘After this is over don’t try and save me Sandy, because I’ve already been reformed.’
