The Confrontation

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Scene 1

Off Camera

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“I don’t think is a really good idea.”

Sophie O’Brian enters the living room wearing a knee length black skirt, a teal sleeveless top, and open toed high heeled shoes.  Her long dark hair hangs down unrestrained to shoulder length.  Taking appraisal of her as she enters the room is none other than her brother Mark O’Brian and his wife Ashley Murray.  Sophie is voicing her clear disapproval of this situation.

“You have to do this.” Mark says, sitting down with his wife on the sofa. “You know you have no choice.”

“Like hell I don’t have a choice.” Sophie spits out, marching over to the both of them, sitting down next to them on the same sofa. “I always have a choice.”

“Yeah, you can choose to make yourself better or continue your descent into madness.”

“Considering what I have to do to ‘make myself better’ I’m thinking madness might be a good alternative.”

What’s weighing so heavily on the mind of Sophie O’Brian today?  Nothing short of having to endure the painful memories of a traumatic childhood she had hoped was left far behind.  As a child growing up in Belfast, Sophie had been beaten and abused by her drunk of a father known as George O’Brian.  The beatings she endured left a lasting scar upon her and turned her into the dark and sinister woman she is today.  For she put up a barrier, a wall separating herself from her emotions, a wall that kept what heart and soul she had left locked away under lock and key while a monster of her own creation took hold of her consciousness.

The monster’s purpose was to protect Sophie from any further damage that anyone like a George O’Brian could do to her.  It is that monster that was responsible for murdering Joshua Manning, the man who framed Ashley Murray’s sister for murder.  It is that monster that murdered Carolyn Rose York, the woman who tried on numerous occasions to destroy Sophie and her then-husband Tony Morgan.  It is that monster who also murdered Tony Morgan himself, all with the purpose of protecting Sophie from further emotional distress and harm.

What happens when Sophie no longer needs that monster to protect herself?  What happens when she wants to be normal, like any normal person, and have a normal life?  What happens is that the monster begins to feel threatened.  The monster feels as though its very existence could come to an end.  So the monster begins lashing out.

The monster systematically begins taking away everything and everyone Sophie held near and dear to her heart.  Tony was murdered and it attempted to drive Mark O’Brian away from her.  The monster knows that if Sophie loses everyone, then all she has left is the monster and she’ll have no choice to accept it; whether she wants to accept it or not.

“You can’t mean that.”

“I do mean that.” Sophie responds. “You were always the stronger one.”

Mark takes a look at his massive bicep and grins. “I know…”

Sophie smacks him in the back of the head. “Not in THAT way idiot!  I mean emotionally.  Mentally.  You stood up to our father by yourself.  I needed your help and Glenn Braddock’s help to escape that situation.  You got away all on your own.”

Sophie has been visiting a psychiatrist about her issues, a psychiatrist she knows all too well by the name of Dr. Jennifer Warren.  Warren was familiar with Sophie’s condition due to the fact that she was the GDW staff psychiatrist for GDW’s tenure and thus she had plenty of opportunity to treat O’Brian.  She turned to Dr. Warren due to the familiarity with her and she was the one who made the suggestion that Sophie go visit the source of all of her mental problems.

Sophie’s father, George O’Brian.

Dr. Warren is convinced that a confrontation with George O’Brian is the only way Sophie can cure herself of this mental illness that plagues her.  And that may very well be true.  But even if it can cure her, Sophie still doesn’t want to do it.  Deep down inside she still fears her father.

“You can do it, Sophie.” Mark grabs her hands and holds onto them tightly. “I believe in you.”

“We both do.” Ashley responds with a warm smile on her face. “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

“Maybe…” Sophie sighs “…but today?”

“If not today then when?” Mark pressures her, squeezing her hands even tighter. “You know just as well as I do that the longer this goes on the more you lose control.”

“But I have a tag title defense in a few days…”

“Stop right there.” Mark releases his grip upon her hands and holds up one finger. “First of all, how can you be focused when you got this crap on your mind?”

“I have Kordy…Polly…and master.”

Mark rolls his eyes. “Right, the three stooges.  Well, let’s see how they like it when you lose control.”

Sophie became one half of the IWC World Tag Team Champions when Polly Norah became injured.  Sophie stepped up and agreed to be Kordy’s tag team partner.  Many have since asked her why she would throw her lot in with The Harem.  Many have asked why she would call Ethan Von Aaron, a male chauvinist pig, master?  Sophie’s answer is always the same…it’s all about the IWC World Tag Team Championship and she will do anything, including selling her own soul, for the title.

That’s only part of it.

Another part of it has to do with Sophie’s relationship with Polly Norah.  Sophie began to feel herself losing control and that’s part of the reason why she entered into the lesbian relationship with Polly.  Joining The Harem and subjugating herself to Ethan Von Aaron adds yet another layer to the complex relationship.  The more people there are in Sophie’s life to be a support system, to more likely the monster is to be held at bay.  That’s why it had Sophie murder Tony, to get her biggest support out of the way for good.

Now she has Kordy, Polly, and Ethan.  They do not realize that they perhaps stand between her sanity and a total loss of control.  All they know is that Sophie is a great talent, a great in-ring tactician, and one of the greatest tag team wrestlers in the industry.  If anyone can be an asset to them in helping them maintain their grip on the tag team gold, it’s Sophie O’Brian.

They will need that kind of asset and tag team prowess in order to defeat Andre Jordan and Gavin Taylor at Reawakening Day.  Ethan Von Aaron sounds confident and is flaunting his team’s skill and resume.  They have been champions for quite awhile and even took home tag team of the year honors recently.  But Sophie knows that momentum is sometimes all one needs and Taylor and Jordan, for all of their faults, have a ton of momentum going their way.

 Their biggest fault as a team, and the flaw that Sophie intends to exploit at Reawakening Day, is the fact that they lack true tag team chemistry.  There is no real trust there.  There is clearly something fishy going on, everyone can see it plain as day.  Andre Jordan does not trust Gavin Taylor.  It’s just a matter of rubbing salt in the wound.

And yet that great big flaw, that mistake The Harem could use against them, could be all for naught if Sophie herself is not mentally in top condition at Reawakening Day.

“I may not like those three, in fact I wouldn’t mind seeing the three of them crippled, but I do care about you.  The last thing anyone needs is for you to go into this tag team match at Reawakening Day and lose control.  Sure, you may very well hurt Gavin and Andre, but you may also hurt your tag team partners…you may hurt Ethan…you may hurt yourself.”

Sophie stares deep into the eyes of her brother and realizes just how grim, just how serious he really is.  She knows that he is right and, as much as she doesn’t want to admit, she does need to go and confront her father.

“You’re right.” Sophie nods her head. “You’re absolutely right.  It’s just…”

Tears begin forming in her eyes.  The Northern Irish woman reaches up with her right hand and wipes the tears out of her eyes even as Ashley embraces her tightly with a hug.

“We’re here, Sophie.”

“I was hurt, Ashley!  I was hurt beyond anyone’s imagination!” She shakes her head. “I just don’t know if I can do it by myself.”

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Scene 2

Off Camera

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The streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland are not real busy this afternoon, and Sophie is grateful for that small miracle.  The last thing she needs right now is the noise of a hustling and bustling city to distract her as she makes her way down some all too familiar streets towards a fate she wishes she could avoid; towards a date with her own father.

You may think she is making her way towards her childhood home, or her father’s home, but you’d be mistaken.  She’s tried there and found it empty.  She even visited her mother to see if she knew where he was but she’s cut all ties with her ex-husband ever since they broke up.  She has no idea where George O’Brian is and, to be honest, she doesn’t care where he is either.

Sophie knows where she can find him.  There is one place he always visits where all else fails.  There is always one place he will go to get away from it all; one place where he can drink his sorrows away.  It is the place that caused all of Sophie’s problems from the beginning.

The watering hole for drunkards everywhere; the local pub.

Sophie can see it up ahead and the closer she gets, the more apprehensive she feels about the coming storm.  This is not what she wants to do.  But she also realizes this is something that is unavoidable.  This is something she has to do.

Entering the pub isn’t unfamiliar for her, as Sophie has visited many pubs in her time, but coming to see her father makes this seem all too strange.  Thankfully it is rather empty right now, as the largest crowd doesn’t come until much later.  Due to the small crowd there are several empty seats at the bar itself to pi ck from and Sophie makes her way over to them, sitting at the bar.

“What do you want?” The bartender asks.

“The strongest stuff you got, mate.” Sophie responds.

“I’ve heard that request a time or two.” He says with a grin as he goes to fill the request. “Usually it’s from people with something on their mind.”

“You don’t say?”

“That or they just want to get drunk quick.” He snickers. “So which is it for you?  Do you just want to get drunk or is something on your mind?”

“A little of both.”

“Oh yeah?”

The bartender walks back over, sliding the drink over to Sophie.  He watches as she immediately tips it back and takes a big gulp of it right away and slams it down on the bar.  He raises his brow.

“You must have something damn big on your mind.”

“I do, not that it’s anything you could help me with.”

“You’d be surprised.”

Sophie tilts her head to one side. “You don’t know me, do you?”

The bartender shakes his head. “No clue.”

Sophie chuckles as she takes another gulp of her drink. “That’s a surprise, considering my family has always lived here and my jackass of a father frequents this place.”

“Your father, eh?” The bartender’s interest is peaked. “Who is your father?”

“He was the asshole.”

The bartender chuckles. “Lots of assholes frequent my pub.”

“How many of them are named George O’Brian?”

“George?” The bartender grins. “Ah yeah, I remember George.  One of my best customers.”

“It’s hard to believe George would be the best of anything, but I guess if he would be the best of something it would be the best drunk.”

“I take it he didn’t win father of the year?”

“No…”

Sophie takes a third big gulp, this time finishing her glass.  Seeing this the bartender takes her glass and begins to refill it.  A moment later he returns with a full glass.

“This one is on the house.”

“Thanks.”

“You haven’t been around here in awhile, I take it?”

Sophie shakes her head. “No, I’ve been traveling the world as part of my job.  I am a professional wrestler.”

“Wrestler?” The bartender asks, to which Sophie responds with a nod of her head. “So you’re THAT O’Brian?  Total War!”

“The one and the same.”

“I got a celebrity in my midst.”

Sophie chuckles. “I’m hardly a celebrity.”

“Hell you aren’t.   I’m going to be cheering you on at Reawakening Day.”

“Thank you.”

“So what brings a famous lass like yourself to my pub?”

Sophie sighs. “Actually I was looking for my father.”

She turns her head to the left and then to the right and then she turns around and looks behind her before turning back to face the bartender.  She shrugs her shoulders.

“But I guess he’s not here, either.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that…” the bartender’s voice trails off.

“Did he find a new place to get dead drunk?”

“No…”

“Did he find another woman to beat and abuse?”

“No…”

“Then where, pray tell, is he?” Sophie asks, with a note of sarcasm mixed with genuine curiosity. “We have things to discuss, he and I.”

“That will be impossible.”

“Why?”

“He’s dead.”

This news comes suddenly and hits Sophie like a punch in the gut. “Dead…?”

The bartender nods, taking Sophie’s glass to refill it. “This one is also on the house.”

“Thanks…”

“Don’t mention it.” He returns the glass to her. “Your father committed suicide recently.  It was all rather sudden but not too unexpected.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He came to the pub more and more frequently.  He seemed more and more depressed.”

“Great…” Sophie shakes her head “…just great.”

“I’m sorry,” he reaches into his pocket and produces a folded sheet of paper “…but he did want me to give this to his daughter.”

“Huh?” Sophie reluctantly accepts the strange gift.

“I don’t know how he knew you’d come looking for him here but…well…here it is.”

Sophie unfolds the paper and begins reading:

“DEAREST SOPHIE,

IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN I HAVE ALREADY TAKEN MY OWN LIFE.  YOU ARE PROBABLY THRILLED TO HEAR THAT, AREN’T YOU?  I KNOW I DID NOT TREAT YOU RIGHT AND ONLY NOW, AT TH END OF MY LIFE, DO I REALIZE THE MISTAKES I MADE.

I THOUGHT YOU WERE A CURSE AND I HATED YOUR MOTHER FOR GIVING BIRTH TO YOU.  I SEE NOW THAT YOU WERE A BLESSING, A BLESSING I SQUANDERED.  YOUR BROTHER HATES ME, YOUR MOTHER HATES ME, AND WORST OF ALL, YOU HATE ME.  AND I BROUGHT IT ALL UPON MYSELF.  THIS IS WHY I TOOK MY OWN LIFE; BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING ELSE.

ANOTHER REASON I TOOK MY OWN LIFE IS BECAUSE I KNEW YOU WANTED ME GONE.  ME BEING GONE WOULD PROBABLY BE THE ONLY GIFT I COULD GIVE TO YOU.  SO I GRANTED YOUR WISH.  I ONLY ASK THAT YOU TRY AND FIND IT IN YOUR HEART TO LET GO OF WHATEVER HATRED AND ANGER YOU HAVE IN YOUR SOUL.  I WANT MY BABY GIRL TO GROW INTO A WONDERFUL WOMAN.  I DO NOT WANT HER TO BECOME THE MONSTER I WAS DURING MY LIFE.

YOUR FATHER,

GEORGE O’BRIAN”

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On Camera

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A door comes into view.  As we inch closer and closer to the door a hand reaches into view and pushes the door open, allowing our camera access to the room, which turns out to be a bedroom.  The camera looks down at the floor as we continue the walk along, getting a good shot of a variety of female clothing scattered all over the floor.  Blouses, skirts, shoes, panties, and the bras make for a nice trail along the floor to a king sized bed.  It is apparent, by the fast and furious movement as well as the moans groans that come from underneath the covers, that we just walked in on something steamy.  Nevertheless, almost like an excited pervert or a precarious peeping tom, the camera still inches closer and closer to the bed.  Finally we are almost on top of it when Sophie O’Brian sticks her head out.

Only her head.  Sorry, guys.

“How dare you interrupt us?  We’re busy!”

“Kordy sorry!  Kordy thought it was promo time!”

“Not now.” Sophie remarks. “Later, sweetie.”

“Later. Ok.” She pauses. “How about now?”

“Later to you is three seconds, darling?”

“Uh-huh!”

Sophie sighs. “Fine…”

Polly Norah pokes her head out from underneath the bed covers…again, sorry, but just her head…

“Is ‘Tony’ still there?”

Polly nods her head.

“Excellent.  Bring him out.  We’ll have to finish this later.”

Again Polly nods before ducking back underneath the covers.  A short time later her hand emerges (only her hand) with the IWC World Tag Team Title belt which Sophie has affectionately and rather strangely has named Tony, after her deceased husband.  Sophie takes the title belt in hand.

“SOPHIE’S NAKED! SOPHIE’S NAKED!”

“Oh like you haven’t seen it before.” O’Brian says with a wink. “Be a good girl, Kordy, and toss me my bra.”

On cue, a bra is tossed to Sophie and she catches it.  “Do you want Kordy to film you getting dressed?”

“No, the people won’t get that kind of pleasure.” She grins.  “And speaking of which, panties too…”

And again, on cue, the panties come at Sophie and she catches them.  The camera turns around so that we are no longer gazing at Sophie as she gets dressed but instead we are staring at a wall.  We hear Kordy behind the camera humming the theme to my little pony.  A few minutes later…

“Ok, Kordy.”

The camera turns back around and we see Sophie, not fully clothed but at least decent enough for a PG-13 audience.

“Sun Tzu said that we cannot enter into alliances until we know the designs of our neighbors.  I entered into this alliance because I knew Polly,” Polly’s hand again emerges from underneath the covers and waves to the camera “and I also know the designs of Kordy and Ethan Von Aaron.”

She taps the tag title belt draped over her right shoulder. “Championship gold.  Kordy, Polly, Ethan, and yours truly, we all want the same thing.  That’s why we have been so successful.  That’s why we are not just the best tag team in IWC, but we are tag team wrestling period.  End of discussion.”

“Can the same be said of Gavin Taylor and Andre Jordan?” Sophie shrugs her shoulders.

“Sun Tzu also said that to fight and conquer in all of one’s battles is not of supreme excellence.” Sophie shakes her head. “Supreme excellence is breaking the enemy without having to fight.”

“I have said it time and time again, the United States of America did not lose the war in Vietnam because of military inferiority.  They lost because their enemy successfully turned public opinion back home in America against America’s own military.  The government lost the trust of the public and thus it lost the war.  It was a classic case of causing infighting within the ranks of your enemies.”

She smirks knowingly. “That is the easiest way to win a war and that is how The Harem will retain the tag team titles at Reawakening Day.”

“Kordy love when Sophie pontificate!  Its fun fun silly willy!” Sophie rolls her eyes.  Polly’s hands emerge a few moments later holding a small whiteboard with the words ‘Quiet, Kordy’ written on it.  “Sorry, Polly.  Kordy hush.”

Sophie nods. “Right, now where was I?  Oh yes…”

Sophie points the camera held by Kordy and then to the bed where Polly lies underneath the covers and then she motions to herself.

“Polly, Kordy, and I, we are a unified force.  We know what we want and we know we can trust each other to achieve those ends.  Kordy knows that I will sacrifice my very being in that ring to help her in any situation she may find herself in and I trust her in the same way.”

Sophie points at the camera. “Can the same be said for you two?  Can the same be said for Gavin Taylor and Andre Jordan?”

“I think we already know the answer to that question.”

“Just as Sun Tzu so eloquently put it, Kordy and I don’t have to do much fighting in this war.” Sophie shakes her head.  “Not when you two are doing all the fighting for us.”

“Tag team wrestling requires a certain amount of trust, and when that trust doesn’t exist then the team is doomed to failure.  One of you clearly has an agenda, the other just plain doesn’t like the other, and then you have your poor, longsuffering manager having to deal with it all.”

Sophie mockingly waves. “Hi there, Tabitha.  I am going to talk to you because of the three mousekateers, you are the only one with any brain.  So maybe you can relay this message to tweedle-dee- and tweedle dumb.”

“Look at me and Kordy and how we stand tall and proud, united under The Harem flag.  Look at how well we operate together.  We operate like a well oiled machine.  Look at the trust we have, the chemistry we have together we have inside of that ring.  Just take one good long look at Kordy and I and then take a look at the circus that is Gavin Taylor and Andre Jordan.”

“Team Epic?” Sophie rolls her eyes.  “More like Team Failure.”

“Next time your two boys start bitching with one another, when they choose their latest pissing contest, I want you to realize that they do not stand a chance in hell at defeating The Harem at Reawakening Day.”

“In fact, I find it rather offensive that IWC thinks it can randomly throw two singles competitors…and not just any two random singles competitors, but two singles competitors who had been beating the hell out of each other for the past few months…and expect them to defeat the greatest tag team in IWC.”

Sophie shakes her head. “It won’t happen.  There is a reason why Kordy and I are tag team of the year, there is a reason why Kordy and I are tag team champions, and that is because we are tag team specialists.  Two Neanderthals looking to outdo the other all with the sole purpose of getting in the pants of their agent do not belong in the tag team division.  So after we finish with you two at Reawakening Day, please do us a favor and take your little rivalry elsewhere.  Kordy and I do not need it anymore.  And stay away from OUR tag team division!”

vs Gavin Taylor

“It’s real nice seeing you, Aunt Sophie.”

The sweet little girl is quite polite and intelligent.  Truth be told, Martina O’Brian has the best parts of the O’Brian genes, intelligence as well as politeness.  Granted, no one ever accused my brother of being intelligent but intelligence does run in the family.  I am quite intelligent myself.  And it isn’t even that Mark is an idiot, even though I frequently accuse of being one.  His intelligence is more street smarts.

Perhaps Mark, then, truly is more intelligent than I am.  Shocking, isn’t it?  He would never sell his soul for the IWC World Tag Team Championship but I did.  I took the coward’s way out.  I took the easy way out.   Instead of staying beside my brother and fighting The Harem, I joined The Harem.  I joined that which I had stood against, that which I hated.

No one can understand, no one can possibly understand why I did it.  Without a championship I am nothing.  Being a champion defines who I am.  In my first two years as an active wrestler I won four world championships and broke world tag team title records.

Maybe I got lazy, maybe I gave up too quickly after failing to defeat The Harem, but either way I chose that being world tag team champion in IWC by any means necessary was better than trying to earn them the right way and failing to do so.  And yet there’s one other thing that people refuse to accept, refuse to acknowledge.

I did it out of love.

Polly Norah isn’t a willing participant in all of this.  She did not want to work for Ethan Von Aaron and The Harem.  She did not want to be working for Alana Starr and The Good Movement.  So why not help her by keeping her company.  Misery, as they say, loves company.

I am not a horrible person and yet I am among the most detested in IWC right now all because of how I went about my business.  But no one understands the grief that I go through.  No one understands the mental anguish I go through.

This anguish goes far beyond just what goes on in the Independent Wrestling Cartel.  Outside of the ring, my personal anguish having to deal with my dark side.  My dark side has slowly grown stronger, more influential.  That dark side took control and murdered my husband, my sweet Tony Morgan.  I lost my husband and not only did I lose him, I lost him because I murdered him.

My descent into madness has not gone unnoticed.  My brother Mark and his wife Ashley have noticed it and have since tried to keep me away from their child, my sweet niece who stands before me today in her bedroom showing me her IWC action figures.

“And this one you got me.” Martina produces an Ethan Von Aaron action figure without its head.

“Where did its head go, Martina?”

“I took it off.”

“Oh?  Why did you do that?”

“Ethan is stupid.”

A smirk forms on my face. “You really are a smart girl, you know that?”

I lean over and kiss her on her forehead.  Meanwhile Martina roughly tosses the Ethan figure away and then picks up an Orlando Cruze action figure.

“I like this one.”

“Yeah, Cruze is quite a guy.”

“Will he be ok, Aunt Sophie?”

I wish I could say yes.  He took a terrible beating on Riot and is even now in a coma.  Rumors are circulating about his condition.  All I know for certain is that he is in a hospital fighting for his life.  I also know that Martina is too young to understand…

“He’ll be fine, Martina.”  I pat her on the head.

“Ask her who her favorite wrestler is?”

I turn around and spot Ashley, Mark’s wife and my sister-in-law, standing there in the door way smiling politely.

“Oh, Ashley, I didn’t know you were standing there.”

Ashley ignores me and just walks over to Martina.  Truth be told, Martina is actually Ashley’s niece as well.  Martina is the daughter of Mark and Leslie, Ashley’s sister.  But Leslie is dead now and Mark is married to Ashley.  It’s good for Martina, though, that she at least has a mother figure in her life.

“Tell Aunt Sophie who your favorite wrestler is?”

Martina embraces me in a tight hug. “SOPHIE!”

I hug her back. “Thank you, Martina.”

After we break the embrace Ashley motions to the door. “Why don’t you go downstairs and see your daddy, ok?  Me and Aunt Sophie have something to discuss.”

“Ok, Aunt Ashley!”

Martina quickly makes her exit.  I turn and smile sheepishly at Ashley. “Thank you for that.”

“She adores you, Sophie.”

“I know and I also know that I don’t deserve it.”

“I know things have been rough on you lately.  But I am glad you made that first step towards getting help, REAL help, by seeing a psychiatrist.”

“Yeah, but it isn’t that simple.  Dr. Warren says that the next step towards recovery is going to see my father.”

“Oh…”

Ashley knows full well about mine and my brother’s past.  She knows how hard it will be for me to go see him after all of this time.  Ashley walks over and wraps an arm around my shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Sophie.  You always have me and Mark backing you up.  Know that.”

==========

Promo

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I do what I do for a reason.  Every step, every action I take is with a purpose.  It is all part of my plan.  I do not have to agree with everything Alana Starr and Ethan Von Aaron stand for.  I just need to know what they are doing for me and what they ask of me and thus it all boils down to this.

You need to be eliminated.

You are gunning for our world tag team titles with Andre Jordan as your partner.  Good choice, by the way.  But my task is to make sure that you don’t make it to Reawakening.  And like a good soldier I always do what I’m told.

Nothing personal.

Professional Help

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Professional Help

Off Camera

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Extreme Fury was the date that I revealed to the world that I had sold my soul to The Good Movement in order to become a World Tag Team Champion.  Did I sell my soul for the world tag team titles?  Partially, yes.  Part of me said that if I cannot beat them, then join them, and I had done everything in my power, Mark and I had done everything in our power, to defeat them, to bring them down, but none of it had worked.  Perhaps it was time for me to join the enemy and let them give me what I had wanted all along?  At least, that was the decision that I had come to reach.

Becoming a champion wasn’t the only reason I had decided to throw my lot in with The Good Movement.  Another big reason was my lover, Polly Norah.  I hated to see her suffer as an unwilling member of that group so I joined them so that I could at least keep her company and, maybe, protect her.  Perhaps that is the noble thing I had done.

Then there’s a third reason I went and joined The Good Movement.  I need some way to be able to contain my aggressive, violent urges.  So far I have assisted Kordelia Price in defending the tag titles against Kathryn Pearson and Syren and I have assisted The Good Movement as a whole in taking apart TPKid.  All of this is done to help contain these urges I am having, urges to maim and destroy.  I will not be able to contain them for long, though, and that is why I need help.

“You really are serious about this, aren’t you?”

My brother’s voice is one mixed with surprise and concern.  I don’t think he truly expected me to actually go through with this, to actually go to see a psychiatrist.  The truth is, I have to do it.  This darkness within me, this beast, is becoming nearly uncontrollable.  I have to find a grip around what created it and then find a way to contain it.  Besides, Mark and his new wife Ashley made it clear that I won’t get to see them or their daughter until I get real help and if that means going to see a psychiatrist, then so be it.

In all honesty, Ashley doesn’t trust me even now that I am beginning my sessions with the psychiatrist.  If she had her way, I wouldn’t see them at all ever again period.  But as it is, my brother is the voice of reason…surprise, surprise…and I do have this chance, perhaps my last chance, to redeem myself.

It’s a challenge to admit you need help.  At least for my family it is.  My brother and I both tend to be rather stubborn when it comes to asking for help.  We generally want to go to war on our own.  We generally want to fight the battle ourselves until the bitter end, consequences be damned.  Not very strategic or smart, but that’s just how we are wired.  But this time I know I need help.

“I meant what I said, Mark.” I respond dryly without bothering to look over in his general direction. “I am going to see help.”

“But why?”

“Stupid question, Mark.  Don’t ask stupid questions.”

“I don’t think it’s a stupid question.  I think it’s a pretty good question.  Are you doing this because you sincerely want to help yourself or because you just want to appease me?”

I turn my head and glare at him.  “I told you not to ask stupid questions.”

“I don’t think it’s a stupid question!” He exclaims.

“Well it is.”  I sigh deeply. “Fine, yes part of it is because I want to be able to see you again; all of you.  Your daughter, my niece Martina, is sweet and I miss her and you…”

I let out a slight chuckle, shutting my eyes as a warm smile crosses my face. “…we’ve been through so much together, Mark.  Too much to watch it end just like that.”

I open my eyes back up and compose myself. “Even Ashley.  We may not have known each other long but I’ve grown to like her, even if she doesn’t really trust me right now.”

“Can you blame her for not trusting you?”

I shake my head but remain silent.  If I tell the truth, I don’t even trust myself in this current frame of mind that I find myself in.  What started as a small spark has escalated into a full blown wildfire that has already taken the life of my husband Tony Morgan.  Who knows?  My beloved Polly Norah could be next if I cannot maintain some control over it.

Thankfully, due to Polly’s injury keeping her inactive, the only person who gets that close to that side of me is Kordelia Price.  And while no one would really miss her much if Kordy were to get injured or worse at the hands of my dark side, I am quite certain that she can handle herself against it.  As dimwitted as she may be, so is also quite a formidable fighter when called upon to defend herself.  The young girl just needs proper motivation and a good general to direct her.  Kordy, truth be told, is a great weapon in warfare, she just needs the right individual to point her and pull her trigger.

Ok, that sounded perverse…moving on…

I took over as IWC World Tag Team Champion when Polly Norah got put on the shelf with an ankle injury.  Now it’s me and Kordy as The Harem defending the belts and our next challengers will be Mr. Hush and P Clarence Whitman III.

Therein lies another underlying reason for the therapy, one which I have not mentioned to Mark but one which I’m sure he can guess.  I cannot afford to snap in the middle of a match.  I cannot afford to let my potential psychosis cost me and Kordy the world tag team titles.

“We’re here.”

Where exactly is here?  Well, it’s the offices of Dr. Jennifer Warren, the former psychiatrist who treated me in GDW before it shut down.  I was going to continue treatment there but never went through with my promise to do so.  Now is as good a time as any to do it.

The parking lot is almost empty except for two other vehicles.  Dr. Warren and I scheduled it this way so I would have some privacy walking in.  I didn’t want the prying eyes of God and everybody upon me, watching me enter a psychiatrist’s office.

Mark pulls the vehicle into a parking space up front.  I place my hand on the handle and am about to open the door before Mark’s hand wraps itself around my wrist.

“Sophie, wait…”

I turn and look at him, into his warm eyes, that look on his face, him smiling down at me.  “I want to say how proud I am of you that you’re doing this and…”

Are those tears forming in his eyes?  I didn’t know that he was that big of a softie!

“…I am glad you’re doing this, because I missed you Sophie.”

“I missed you too, Mark.”  I lean over and embrace him. “Now cut out the waterworks, ok?  Dr. Warren will make me good and we’ll be back together again.  Better than ever.”

I make a hasty exit out of the car before anything else can be said.  Honestly, I just didn’t want Mark to see the tears beginning to form in my own eyes.  I always wanted to appear strong; stronger than I really am.  Emotions, to me, had always been a weakness and I didn’t want to show any signs of weakness.  Especially not to Mark, not now that I am about to walk into quite the battle, a battle against a foe that will be quite challenging indeed…

…a battle against my own consciousness.

I cannot let Mark see me right now.  I have to be strong and I do not look very strong as I enter the front doors and walk into the waiting area.  The chairs and a sofa are all empty as I am the only person there except for a secretary who immediately takes notice of my entrance, looks up, and waves politely.

“Oh, hello Sophie!”

It’s bad when their secretary is on a first name basis with you.

“Hello.  Is the doctor in?”

She nods her head. “Yes, she is.  In fact, she’s waiting for you right now.”

“Good…”

I am glad to hear that.  I want to get this first session over with as soon as possible so immediately I make my way past the secretary, through the doors, and into Dr. Warren’s office.  Jennifer Warren got her start as a psychiatrist by working for GDW, which had required its wrestlers to pass a mental examination before being cleared to wrestle.  Since GDW closed up she was able to use that past experience to springboard her into her own practice, serving all types of individuals, but she still receives some visitors from former GDW athletes, myself included, although it has been quite some time since I had any encounter with her.

The office itself is a beige color and is very business oriented.  It definitely does not illustrate excitement and neither does Jennifer.  Jennifer, or Dr. Warren as it were, herself is sitting at herself doing paperwork when I walk in.  I do not believe she heard me so I clear my throat to get her attention.  Quickly she jerks her head up and smiles upon seeing me there.

“Ah, Sophie!” She waves politely. “You made it!”

“You sound surprised.”

“I hate to say it, but I kind of am.” She says, smiling sheepishly. “Your record isn’t that sparkling.”

I nod my head. “True enough.”

I make my way over to the nearby plush red sofa where I lie down.  It is perpendicular to Dr. Warren and that’s where she likes it; her patients comfortable and close to her so she can analyze them.

“Well Sophie, there is indeed a lot we can discuss…”

“That is true.” I laugh somewhat sarcastically. “My husband’s death…my brother and I having difficulties with one another…my lesbian relationship with Polly Norah…where to start?”

“You always were a psychiatrist’s dream.” She chuckles and, despite myself, I laugh a little as well. “But truthfully, before we get into any of that, why don’t you just tell me what you want out of these sessions?”

I sit up and turn to face her with a steely-eyed glare. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“I kind of have to know, Sophie, otherwise we cannot continue.”

I lie back down, shut my eyes tightly as I begin…

“Mark is the oldest.  But you knew that, right?”

“Mmmhmmm…”

“What you didn’t know is that I wasn’t planned.  I wasn’t supposed to be here.  I was an accident and my father made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want me.”

I can feel the tears welling up inside as I fight them back. “He would routinely get drunk worrying whether or not he’d have enough money to sustain a wife and two children.  Then he started taking it out on me for being born and my mum for giving birth to me.”

“I…” her voice trails off “…had no idea…”

“Eventually I learned to fight back.  My heart grew colder, less caring, and I buried my emotions deep down inside out of fear, fear of showing weakness.  Tony…”

A smile creeps across my face as I speak the name of my husband. “…Tony, sweet man that he was, you knew he was a psychiatrist too, didn’t you?”

Dr. Warren nods her head. “Yes, I knew that.”

“He told me I didn’t just learn to fight back.  Based on my actions after I moved on, my vicious streak, my violent streak, he said I created a security blanket for myself, something to protect myself with.”

“Interesting.” I can hear the doctor furiously scribbling notes onto her notepad. “That seems like an accurate diagnosis, at least it’s something I would agree with, but I have to ask…protection from what, exactly?”

“Protection from ever becoming that girl again.  That girl who allowed herself to get beaten and abused.”

I sit back up and swing my legs over the side of the sofa.  I bury my face into my hands.

“Tony is dead, doctor.  I have no one to help me.  I am worried about what I might do if I get out of control.  What might I do to Polly Norah?  What might I do to my own tag team partner Kordelia Price?  And then there’s Mark…”

I shake my head. “Mark has a daughter.  My niece.  I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt her.”

I look up pleadingly at Dr. Warren. “Please, doctor…please help me…”

“It seems to me like you need to cope with the root cause of all of your pain.” Dr. Warren states, placing her pen and notepad down, staring at me intensely.

“What does that mean?  What do I need to do?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“What?”

“You need to confront your father.”

==========

This Isn’t A Joke

On Camera

==========

A leopard never changes its spots, zebra doesn’t get rid of its stripes.  It’s a fact of life.  A rattlesnake, at the end of the day, is still a poisonous reptile that will strike at a moment’s notice.    That is the snake’s nature and you cannot change that about it.

When I graduated from the Braddock Wrestling School, Glenn Braddock told me one important lesson.  He told me that a wrestler, him or herself, is a lethal weapon and that I should use my newfound knowledge and abilities wisely.

I graduated that day with Glory Braddock and she received the same advice but she interpreted it differently than I did.  She interpreted it was meaning to show mercy and not be selfish in this business.  I interpreted it as meaning that I should make every shot count that I should not waste my time.  I needed to make sure I had my goals set, I had to make sure my eyes were on the prize and that everything I did was to ensure I achieved that goal.

And that was how I conducted my business when I got my start in professional wrestling.  Glory, my good friend, got my brother and I started with GDW.  Under that motto of Total War we became two time world tag team champions of GDW and the longest reigning GDW world tag team champions.  We moved onto MWA and we did the same thing, two time and longest reigning world tag team champions.

This was the Sophie O’Brian who used a faction of FWA employees to invade MCW in order to take its world heavyweight championship.  This was the Sophie O’Brian who took advantage of a vulnerable Jacob Laymon, lying unconscious after a beating from Dante, to take the FWA World Heavyweight Championship from him.

That Sophie O’Brian was unstoppable.  That Sophie O’Brian did not believe in taking any prisoners.  But the wrestling industry could not handle that Sophie O’Brian and I was pressured to make changes in order to fit in with the status quo.  I softened myself, I became what you people call…

…normal.

It was that Sophie O’Brian, the soft and weak Sophie, who joined IWC with her brother Mark in hopes of becoming World Tag Team Champions.  I should have known that playing it their way, by playing by their rules, would not get me anywhere.  I should not have listened but I did, I tried to give them all what they wanted and I was the one who suffered as a result.

The people wanted Total War to take on The Harem?  Too bad.  I am through giving the people what they want.  I am through being the person that the world wants.  I am going to be the person that I need to be.  I am going to return to the original Total War philosophy of winning by any means necessary.  Achieve the objective by any means necessary.  My objective was to become world tag team champion in IWC and I did just that.  I achieved that objective by selling my soul to The Good Movement.

All I have to do for them in return is what I would’ve done anyway…

…hurt people.

Anyone who dares challenge for the tag titles, be that Kathryn Pearson or anyone else, or an enemy of Porno Lad’s like TPKid, they will all meet the same fate.  I have nothing personal against any of them.  I just have a job to do and some aggressive urges to exercise and you’re as good a people as any to take them out on.

Mr. Hush and Mr. Whitman are next on the list.  A pair of running gags if I ever saw them.

Well I’m here to tell you that this isn’t a joke.  This isn’t a comedy relief.  This is my job and I take my job deadly serious.

True, Kordy may not take her job very seriously.  Sometimes I have to keep the girl motivated and focused.  But let Kordy have her fun.   Let her enjoy herself.  She’s effective either way and whether she decides to be the fun loving Kordy or the destructive death machine I know she can be, the end game is still the same…

…you two will suffer.

So laugh it up now while you can.  The world can laugh it up now while it can but soon the joy will die.  The smiles and the laughs will fade away and that will remain are tears and sadness when we are through with you.

That’s what I do, you see.  That’s what I’m best at.  I destroy things.  I end things.  I finish them once and for all.  That is why I am the ultimate weapon of The Good Movement.  That is why I have made The Harem ten times more dangerous than it already was.  I have no conscious, I have no passion and no mercy.  I live for the suffering of others.  I enjoy hearing the cries of pain and anguish of my victims and I will enjoy torturing the two of you.

I sacrificed a great deal to become IWC World Tag Team Champion.  I sacrificed normalcy so I could become IWC World Tag Team Champion.  If you think I’m going to just let a pair of stand-up comedians like you take this from me then you truly are dreaming.

If anything, I will turn your dreams into a nightmare.