It's Now Or Never

[Niobe 'Nightmare' Martin]

” Outlawed tunes on outlawed pipes
sounding in the wind.
In the heat of every battle
hold the Skiltron high.

No forbidding will stop them
when they're coming through.
Encouraging a whole army,
standing in the rearguard.

Bagpipes of war - Powerful as thunder
Requiem for an epic fight.
Bagpipes of war - Prelude of fury
Let the Bagpipes start the war…”
#Skiltron – Bagpipes of War

Niobe let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair as she stood at the sliding doors that lead into her backyard, staring out at the bleak, grey sky. It was going to rain fairly soon, she could feel it. The clouds were moving slowly, purposefully, just waiting for the right moment to let loose. It would probably be the last real thunderstorm of the season, sadly. Winter was just around the corner and instead of seeing green grass everywhere she went, it would be replaced with a never ending expanse of white snow. Not that she didn’t mind it at all, it was just nice to be able to wander outside without a jacket. Plus her poor flowers would all die out, not being able to survive the winter chill. She raised the beer bottle to her lips and took a long swig out of the bottle, listening to the metal music thrum and thump in the background, the beat vibrating in her head. Someone was talking over the beat of the music, a female by the sounds of it. But Niobe was off in her own little world at the moment and was missing the whole conversation.

”So yeah, she caught him cheating and pretty much dumped him on his ass. Said he could have his new little piece of arm candy. It’s a shame, thought those two were going to last for a while. Guess all guys aren’t as perfect as they seem, you know?”

”Yeah…” Niobe trailed off absentmindedly as the song on the radio changed to something else. Still one of those pounding tunes that made her head throb, but good none the less.

”Oh and I got a pair of tickets to go see a hockey game in a few weeks if you can fly out. Right by the rink too. I lucked out on that. Thought for sure they’d be up in the nosebleeds. Everytime we would get tickets to something we’d always end up in the upper section. Not this time, thankfully. Man this is a good song, haven’t heard this one in forever. Probably should download this from Itunes or something. You still have your mp3 player lying around somewhere? Did you unpack any of your stuff at all from last time?” A pause as Monica turned to look at Niobe standing at the sliding glass doors, staring out into nowhere. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tilted her head, clearing her throat. That did nothing to pull her friend out of it. ”You know there’s a really cute guy at your door right now. Some famous actor or something.”

Not a thing, no reaction.

”You know there’s a bunch of dirty birds in your kitchen, trying to steal everything, especially those dirty birds you hate so much.”

Niobe blinked her eyes and whirled around, her free hand clenching into a fist as she started marching towards the stairs going up. Monica squeaked and flew off the couch, quickly walking over to Niobe and pulling on her arm to get her attention. She stepped back a bit when she saw the look in her eyes. That intense, focused look that she got whenever she set her mind to something. Swallowing the lump that had suddenly rose in her throat, she tried to get Niobe to come back down to earth from whatever lofty realm she had been in for the past several minutes.

”Niobe, calm down. It’s just me, and that was just a joke. There’s no one else in your house but us. Trust me, alright? I’m just trying to get you to lighten up you know? Did you hear any of what I was telling you, please tell me you did. I don’t want to feel like I was talking to a brick wall the entire time.”

”I know you were…just joking…I know and I’m sorry for reacting the way I did. Just things have been really messed up lately. Really messed up and I’m still trying to sort things out. But yes I heard bits and pieces of what you were saying. Something about a breakup, and I hope that wasn’t related to Maury because that kind of thing happens on that show everyday. And about some hockey tickets, I think. About that, if I can steal away from all of that…stuff, then yes I can join you. Would be nice to sit rink side for hockey. Guess you really did luck out for those tickets. I can’t even get decent seats at a concert for crying out loud.”

Monica breathed a sigh of relief, walking back with her to the couch as they both sat down, enjoying what was left of their beers.

”Thank goodness. I was worried there for a second. But yeah if you can come out for the game, that would be great. Can send you off with a few souvenirs or so, maybe you could throw your name out there and get us back in the locker room with the guys?”

”Haha, nice try, I’m not doing that. I just want to be able to relax and have fun.”

”Well that’s good over. What are you going to do now?”

Niobe smiled a little, taking in a deep breath as she started to talk again.

”Give them all the payback that they deserve.”

With the end of that sentence, the scene slowly started to fade away, just as the rain begin to pour from the sky, thunder sounding in the distance.

When you could see again, Niobe was standing in a field somewhere, tapping a metal folding chair on a rather large pumpkin as if she was thinking.

”So this is where things are coming to an eventual head. No more run ins, no more screwing around with one another, all of us finally get to get our hands around one another. Frankly I’m excited about the whole thing. I’m tired of our group getting our asses kicked, or matches screwed up by one of you guys.

Let them think that The Black Hand has the upper hand so to speak because of myself. I am the odd card out, the one that no one expects anything from because I’m a woman…or the fact that I run with my fellow brothers in The Black Hand…or maybe it’s because people still think I can’t do anything just because of that.

I moved from being over looked like he said, to being someone people should take a closer look at. I’m always going to have a moment in the spotlight. Tonight isn’t just the one and only night I will have my moment. There will be plenty of other moments to be had. I’ve had my chances in the spotlight, my time to shine. I’ve done good and I’ve done bad, and I take that all in stride within myself. I learn from my mistakes and I make myself a better person.

I have run and fought with the big boys in this company since I first got here. Hell I’ve been doing it since the indy days, so I’m not worried about being laid into at all. I want it, I crave it. I want each of you to come after me with all that you’ve got. I want you to look straight into the eyes of the Nightmare and come at me. Don’t puss out and make a mistake or back away because I will be there to capitalize. I will do whatever it takes to help us win, whatever it takes. And some of you have experiences this first hand. Or do I need to give you guys a refresher course?

I will find my own way to shine, whether it be in this match or somewhere else. I will be known, I will be recognized because after tonight, it’s like you said. I’m probably not going to have a faction to go back to. Since my Tommy took off, things have been chaotic, so I am preparing for what happens after this. But even after this and beyond, I will consider those in our little group my brothers forever. That’s how much they mean to me. I have their backs and they have mine.
And when it comes to the War Games, that makes me feel a little safe out there.

Perhaps it’s time to really step up to the plate and show the world who Niobe Martin really is, and make the War Games a true living Nightmare.”