Penelope Serrano, AKA "The Anointed"

Penelope was hurting. She was hurting badly. She knew it was a stupid idea for her to try and go for that diving crossbody. Yet she did it anyway, pushed to do so by the fans. The same ones that were now calling for her to get out of this hold - this single-leg boston crab - be it by hook or by crook.

Reaching for her sanctity, Penelope’s fingers manage to graze the bottom rope, and she grabs hold. The referee steps in on the hold, pulling her opponent off of her while gesturing to the ropes. Thankfully for Penelope, her opponent’s arrogance gets the better of her, leading her to argue with the official over the rope break. Penelope knows she doesn’t have much time. She has to find a way to strike back, fast.

Hobbling up to her feet, Penelope uses the ropes to keep herself steady. Her opponent doesn’t seem to realize she’s gotten to her feet, but once she turns around? Penelope charges in, blasting her with a clothesline. Her opponent lands back-first on the mat, rolling to her feet. She's looking to cut Penelope off. Bam, another clothesline. This time with a little more **** behind it. Her opponent is staggering now, once she's on her feet. Punch drunk and swinging wildly, Penelope dodges. She bounces off the ropes, ducks underneath a wild swing, and plants her feet behind her opponent. Cinching in a waistlock, she bridges backwards… And drops her opponent onto their neck and shoulders with a picture perfect german suplex.

With her comeback being complete, Penelope gets up, motioning to the roaring crowd to get up out of their seats. They do so, screaming out their approval. Their support. Their fandom. Penelope calls for her opponent to stand up, still visibly favoring her left leg. As the opponent gets up, Penelope kicks her in the gut, and hooks the arms around her waist. Lifting her up, the crowd gasps, Penelope stumbling backwards due to the weight being put upon her shoulders. The opponent tries to struggle out of it, but Penelope charges forward, and slams her to the mat with a running sitout powerbomb!

Hooking her legs over the forearms of her opponent, Penelope keeps hold of her opponent’s legs, draping them over her shoulders as the referee gets into position.

One… Two… Three!

The bell rings. The fans come unglued. Commentary is calling out this unbelievable performance. But in Penelope’s mind? This is how things are simply meant to be. Having her hand raised by the official, basking in the fame… This was what she imagined all those years ago. This was her dream, and she was living it up.

High fiving some of the front row fans on her way to the back, Penelope smiles through the pain, heading up the ramp.

With Penelope’s ring gear designed for maximum fan appeal, there isn’t exactly much left to the fans' own imaginations. Long platinum blonde hair framed a face most men dreamed of waking up next to, while her toned legs and well-defined abs showcased the athletic background she came from. That all is completed with bronze-tinged, sweat-covered skin. Of course, it wasn’t just her muscles that got the attention of the fans, though. Penelope's prominent chest sat firmly on display in her custom-made top, a couple of fans unabashedly leering at them. Although, they still lack the same bounce or sway as a… More natural pair might be able to offer, showing the signs of annoyance at her own natural lack of development in the curves department. Giving one final bow to the fans, Penelope walks through the curtain, and immediately begins staggering upon exiting their sightline.

“Shit! Ah, damnit… someone, get me some water!” Almost instantly, the 'fan-favorite dream girl' motif fades away. Pain courses through her, as she favors her left leg still.

“That clumsy bitch, I told her to be careful with catching me! What if I messed up my knee?! I can’t afford to miss out on any shows!” Penelope gritted her teeth, hobbling off past gorilla position and hopping herself up onto one of the nearby production crates, left unused.

If there was one thing Penelope hated about this business? It was people who had no clue what the hell they were doing in the ring. She hadn’t been working in this company for over ten years now just to deal with glorified valets or ImmediApp thirst traps who don’t know how to safely perform a scoop slam, much less half the moves they try to perform out there. Sure, Penelope had been inexperienced at one point in time, too, but that was almost twenty years ago. She’s nearly pushing 40, and with what lies ahead of her, she simply refuses to let any more time go by with her out on the shelf, rather than pushing on ahead in her childhood pursuit of fame, attention, recognition, and glory.

Her eyes dart throughout the nearby area, but when she sees no interviewers rushing towards her, she lays down. A wave of nausea crashes through her, but Penelope ignores it. Just another night, Penelope. Closing her eyes, Penelope breathes heavily, adrenaline starting to fade out of her system. The nausea continues, and she shuts her eyes. The world is spinning too much for her to keep them open.

Out in the distance, she hears a voice. Someone responds to her call for water, but Penelope can’t answer. She’s fading fast. She tries to respond, asking for a trainer to come check up on her. Her call is never heard.

To the production assistant that’d brought Penelope her water, he watched with widened eyes as Penelope seemingly vanished from right in front of him, before reality caught up to him. Why was he getting water for Penelope? She wasn’t scheduled to be here tonight…

“...the one and only, Miss Penelope Serrano!”

Penelope Serrano's theme song

With the same canned applause as before, and another theme song blaring throughout the arena, out from the entrance stage comes a woman who Christian would undeniably be fanboying over, had this been six years ago. Now, though? He could only look on in shock as the first member of his supposed ‘roster’ walks down the ramp, quite clearly feeling the same compulsion that he had during his grand entrance. Even still, she appears to be favoring the leg, although it's clear she's recovering from it quickly.

“Well, Christian?” Serenity turns to him. “What do you think? Think that she’s good enough to be your future top star of the company?”

At this point, Christian’s still speechless. Thankfully for him, Penelope has enough words for the both of them, once she makes it to the ring.

“Uhm, excuse me?” Penelope asks, too tired from her prior activity to raise her voice at this point. “Where the hell am I? And what do you mean by future top star?” Penelope’s onyx eyes narrow. “I’m already at the top of my game, you know? I am a former-”

“Six-time women’s world champion, two-time tag team champion, and the third biggest female draw in the history of blah blah blah, I get it.” Serenity cuts Penelope off, smiling all the while. “But here’s the thing, Penny-”

“My name is Penelope.”

Serenity clicks her tongue. “...Here’s the thing, Penelope: Here on Harem Hotel? Those prior accolades… They don’t mean shit.” Serenity steps towards Penelope, her expression not wavering. “So if you don’t want to wind up an early boot from the season, why don’t you check your ego at the door - or, you know what? Actually? Don’t! Fans love it when there’s a bitch like you waiting to be knocked off of that precious perch of yours! Especially when it’s done with some of the more… Let’s say, interesting changes that can happen here on Harem Hotel.”

“Hey!” Penelope calls out, before the phrasing catches up to her. “Wait a minute, changes? What are you-” Penelope stops herself, shaking her head and knocking sense back into herself. “No, no no no, hold on a second. Scratch that; Who are you calling a bitch?” Penelope gets in Serenity’s face, clearly irate at the host’s gleeful disposition. “You better watch your mouth, before I-” Before Penelope can even finish that sentence, the same compulsion from earlier overtakes her once more, forcing her to go silent as another chair appears for her to sit in, which she does so 'obediently'.

“Now then! Christian, I’m sure you know all about Miss Serrano here. After all, you were one of her couple thousand self-proclaimed ‘biggest fans’ back during the height of your fandom. In fact, looking back through my records, it says here that you’ve spent over two hundred and fifty dollars on her merchandise, and that she was your most played female character in every video game she appeared in, up until your falling out with the sport of pro wrestling?”

The absolutely mirthful grin on Serenity’s face only widens as Christian sheepishly nods, a blush of embarrassment spreading across his face, as he averts his eyes completely from both ladies currently in the ring. Penelope, meanwhile, keeps her eyes firmly on Serenity, finding herself unable to get out from her chair. But, as Serenity keeps talking, Penelope does gives a slight smirk at the infodump that’s being provided.

“Oh, how wonderful!” Serenity squeals. “You see that, Penelope? You’ve already got the owner’s ear, without even having to do anything! I’m sure that’s going to do wonders for your new career, here. It'll be just like your old boss, with barely any changes! Although, I guess there’s less nepotism around here, and more ‘fucking your boss to get a world title shot’...”

Penelope’s smirk falls upon hearing Serenity’s mockery, as she tries to piece together what exactly is going on around here. It ends up taking her a couple of seconds, but eventually, she seems to figure it all out.

“Wait, hold on. If I understand this right, you two-” Penelope gestures between Serenity and Christian, “You and the superfan here, somehow managed to kidnap me right after my match, just to try and convince me to jump ship to some… Flimsy-looking rival promotion?” Penelope scowls, while Serenity laughs off her accusation, eyes narrowing in return.

“Oh, sweetie, you’ve got it all wrong!” Serenity exclaims, sitting herself besides Penelope. “We weren't the ones who transported you here. I was the one who did that, alone. Our lovely Master here has nothing to do with you being whisked away from whatever locker room or production crate you were resting up in, okay?” Serenity asks, Penelope’s eyes widening from the rather on-the-nose callout of her given by the host. “And we aren’t here to convince you to jump ship to our Master’s new promotion. No, you’re here to compete for your spot on this roster, and avoid being relegated to something far less lucrative for a budding star like yourself.”

“B-Budding star?” Penelope asks, before her brain catches up with what else was just said. “Wait, Master?! What the hell are you going on about?! Where is my phone? I need to call my agent, and tell him to get me the hell out of… Whatever this sick, twisted fetish-fuel company is!”

Another laugh comes from Serenity at Penelope’s expense. This time far less mirthful, and more cutting.

“First of all, Penelope, this ‘sick, twisted fetish-fuel company’? It’s where you’re going to be spending a rather long, memorable, life-changing length of time. This here is Harem Hotel, and just like a certain other infamous hotel of notable pop culture relevance, you can feel free to ‘check out’ any time you like, but unless I give you the okay? You, or anyone else that steps foot here in this here ring, can never leave. Not until the show is over.”

“But… B-But this is… This is… Wrong!” Penelope cries out. “You’re telling me that I’m stuck here? With him?!” Penelope gestures out to Christian, grimacing. “That sicko superfan has probably never stepped foot out of his parent’s basement his entire life! And you’re telling me that I have to… To seduce him?!”

“Oh, not just seduce him, sweetie. I want you to do whatever it takes to keep him happy. After all, you wouldn’t like what happens to those who refuse to play ball here, would you?”

“Play ball? What the HELL are you even talking about, you psycho?! I should show you exactly what happens when someone tries to mess with-”

As Penelope continues responding to the host’s query, the platinum blonde suddenly falls eerily silent. A few moments thereafter, the same montage of eliminations that aired earlier into the show abruptly beams itself straight into the mind of Penelope. While her screams of terror are muted by Serenity’s own doing, it’s clear that what she’s seeing is far too much for her to properly handle.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Christian yells out, drawing Serenity’s attention away from the ‘Anointed’.

“I’m showing her examples of what happens when people get eliminated off of Harem Hotel. Why, you want to see what happens, too?” Serenity raises an eyebrow at Christian. “Believe me, some of them get really spicy~.”

“N-No, no!” Christian swiftly responds. “Just… Just cut it out already, Serenity! Can’t you see that she’s in pain?!”

Turning with a sigh, Serenity lets out a breath, muttering to herself inaudibly as she does so. A couple of seconds later, the rush of information abruptly stops. Penelope gasps for air, goosebumps running up and down both of her arms. As she looks towards Serenity, her eyes widen in terror.

“So then, Penelope! Any further questions?” Serenity claps her hands together, only for Penelope to rapidly shake her head. It's clear that she is not wanting to go through any of what she just bore witness to. “Great! In that case, allow me to introduce our next contestant!”

Serenity stands up as she moves closer to the ring ropes on the entrance stage side of the ring.

“Just as every company needs their face of the franchise, they also need their resident no-nonsense ass-kicker who isn’t afraid to buck not the trends, and go after management itself! Now, despite her lack of experience inside the ring, let me tell you, folks - this stone cold lass-kicker sure is one brutal demon when she wants to be, especially whenever something really gets her going! Whether it be as an interviewer for a local TV station, or duking it out in front of thousands of screaming fans, she’s guaranteed to be one tough SOB, and a potential nightmare for the others if they don’t play their cards right.”

Giving a wink to Christian, Serenity throws it to the entrance stage once more, while a sinking feeling settles into Christian’s stomach. "Ohhhhh no. She... She doesn't mean...?"

“Playing the role of ‘The Anti-Hero’, please give a warm welcome…”