vs. Billy Breakdown

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Scene 1

Off Camera

March 28^th Breakdown

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She’s devious, some would go as far as to say she is downright wicked and evil.  But Sophie O’Brian disagrees with the assessment other individuals give about who she is.  Sophie O’Brian is a self-described sociopath.  She does not believe her actions are inherently evil, but neither does she believe them to be good, either.  Sophie believes herself to be beyond the notions of good and evil, right and wrong.  She believes the concept of a moral compass is pointless.  That’s how she views herself, despite what others may say about her.

The truth of the matter is that it is hard to judge Sophie O’Brian.  Judge, in this case, means to interpret her.  Why does she do the things that she does?  What drives her?  What motivates her?  In the past she has tormented athletes such as Dawn Lohan and Brooklyn Smith simply to see how far they could be pushed.  In the past she has built up a cult-following around her, not to conquer or run roughshod over a company, but to see how long it would take for them to break free from the mental hold she had upon them.  Most recently she went on a campaign to prove to the wrestling world at large that there are no true heroes, that everyone is flawed, everyone is a villain.

Now the self-described sociopath claims that she wants to put championship gold back around her waist.  She did recently win a match against Helena Merriman but, the truth is, Sophie realizes that it will take more than just one win to put her name on the map in Supreme Championship Wrestling and it will take better performances than what she’s been putting forward if she hopes to get the opportunities she desires.

“Blast it!”

Unfortunately, things are not going her way. We’re backstage in Madison Square Garden in New York City and Sophie O’Brian, following a loss to Thomas Valentine, is heading back through the halls of the backstage area, looking for her dressing room.  The match has just ended so the sting of the loss is still fresh.  Mark O’Brian is following her closely behind, making sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.

Imagine that; the Pinky to Sophie’s Brain is the one who is trying to make sure SHE doesn’t do anything stupid.

“Hey, Sophie!” Mark’s booming voice seems to drown out every other noise around the sibling pair as he tries hard to keep up. “Calm down!  And, y’know, slow down!”

“This wasn’t how it was supposed to bloody work out!” The Belfast native’s voice is shrill as she shouts with anger without even bothering to turn around and look back at her brother. “This was supposed to my moment!  My time to make a statement!  But instead I was humiliated and embarrassed out there!”

“It was a good match, Soph.” Mark offers up consolingly.  Sophie immediately turns around and faces her larger brother. “You did the best you could.”

“But I lost, you lummox!” She slaps the taste out of his mouth. “As much as the fake heroes try to tell you that putting on a good math matters and that doing the best you can matters, the truth is that the only thing that matters is victory.”

“But it WAS a good match.” Mark insists.  Sophie just shakes her head vehemently.

“Yes, and I lost!” She sighs. “Look, take Angelica and Kayla Jones, for example.  You remember them, right?  The Sisterhood?”

“Yeah.”

“They wrestled some damn good matches in the latter period of their SCW career.  They lost most of those matches, but they wrestled some good matches.  Did they get rewarded with a tag team title match?” Sophie pauses, waiting on Mark to answer.  He just shrugs his shoulders and Sophie rolls her eyes. “No, idiot, they did not!  They did not get rewarded for wrestling good matches.  Only the winners got rewarded.  Lexi and Chad, two heinous individuals in SCW, got rewarded with the SCW Tag Team Championship.  Syren is easily the biggest crook in this company right now and she was rewarded for her theft and  underhanded tactics with the SCW World Championship.  So no, my dear brother, wrestling a ‘good match’ does not mean anything.  Winning is all that matters and did I win tonight?”

“No…” Mark’s voice trails off as he shakes his head.

“That’s right!  I did not win!”

Sophie spins back around on her heel and begins storming back down the hall with Mark trying to catch up.  It is clear that Sophie is frustrated with herself tonight.  But it is more than just about tonight.  These frustrations have been building for quite some time now.  Since her SCW debut at Taking Hold of the Flame, Sophie has not made much of an impact.  Her biggest achievements in her short stint thus far has been a battle royal victory, a victory over Helena Merriman, and taking Ravyn Taylor to the limit in a Television Title Match.  But by Sophie’s own standard, taking Ravyn to the limit still means nothing.  She did not win.  She did not become Television Champion.

It was her desire to win championship gold in SCW.  No longer did she have some strange point to prove about society or human nature.  No longer did she desire to mentally torture anyone.  She wanted the material possession of a championship belt and the accolades that went along with it.  But she realizes that she’ll have to do better than she did tonight if she hopes to get to that point.  In fact, Sophie is beginning t o worry if she can get to that point at all.

Finally Sophie comes to a door and pushes it open, stepping into the locker room area.  Mark follows her inside, making sure to shut it behind him.  Sophie turns around and stares at him inquisitively, tilting her to one side.  Mark frowns.

“What?  What are ya staring at?”

“You.”

“Why?”

“Think about it for a second……brother.”

Sophie makes certain to put an emphasis on the word ‘brother’, as it is a clue.  Mark does hear the emphasis but clearly does not understand it.  He looks around the room, trying to think about what Sophie could possibly mean, and then he shrugs his shoulders.

“Uh…I don’t get it…”

“Seriously?”

“Nope, not a clue.”

“Bloody hell,” Sophie rolls her eyes “we’re in the WOMEN’S locker room, you dolt!”

“Huh?!”

“Yes, Mark, we are in the women’s room.  Imagine the shit you’d get if one of the women came out right now half-dressed or not dressed?”

“Uh…that’s not a problem, is it?”

“I am related to a Neanderthal.” Sophie smacks her forehead.

“What’s the big deal?  I’m your brother!”

“Look, Mark, I’ll explain he birds and the bees and the difference between men and women to you later,” Sophie approaches her Sherman Tank of a brother and gently shoves him, intending to get him out of the women’s dressing room “but why don’t you get out before you get in trouble?”

“You won’t be long will ya?”

“No, why?” Sophie smirks. “Afraid to be alone without me?”

“Nah, I just don’t want to have to talk to anyone.  And there are people out there, you know?”

“You really are a social butterfly, brother.” She nods her head. “Fine, I’ll try and get changed as quickly as possible.  Not like I want to spend any longer here than I have to; not after this humiliating loss.”

“Alright, Soph, I’ll be right outside, but…”

“But what?”

“…I know ya lost and all that.  It sucks.  But, you’ll bounce back.  You always do.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, brother.  You don’t know how much that means to me.” She sighs and shakes her head. “Though I’m not entirely sure it is true this time.  I had direction the previous times.  I had strategies and back up plans.  I don’t have direction, strategies, or any back up plans.”

“Oh…” Mark’s voice trails off and he shrugs his shoulders “…I dunno much about your plans but maybe you should just start from the beginning?”

“The beginning?” Sophie asks with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah, blank slate.  Know what I mean?”

Sophie scratches her chin as a knowing grin forms upon her face. “I think you gave me a good idea, Mark.”

“Really?”

“Yes, there is a first time for everything.  Now get out of here before someone sees you.”

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Scene 2

Off Camera

April 5^th, 2018

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It is dark outside in Belfast, Northern Ireland and the thunder rolling in the background signals to any normal common sense individual that a storm is brewing and it would be best to stay indoors.  But Sophie O’Brian is far from normal, even if her common senses do tell her that she is about to get wet.  But she knows that she can get to her destination before the downpour.  She knows because she can see her destination, an old warehouse, up ahead in the dim lighting of a few overhead lights mounted on the warehouse itself.

Her journey here was one she hasn’t made in a long time, and yet she still remembers it all too well.  The houses gave way to an empty barren road a full twenty minutes ago and the verge became more of a junkyard than the junkyard.  The old machinery lines, the road covered in dirt, and scavenged into skeletons of whatever they were.  Still it has the curved roof like an aircraft hanger and the walls are corrugated tin. The broken tarmac around it is empty except for a forklift – it must be in use again, just like it was all those years ago.

Sophie O’Brian feels the first rain drop hit her hand.  She stops gazing at the warehouse and makes her way up to the door.  One might expect this place to be locked up by whoever owns it but not Sophie.  Sophie expects it to be unlocked and, sure enough, as she turns the doorknob and it opens easily.  She steps inside and shuts the door behind her.  The lights are off and it is pitch black.  Sophie can’t see her hand in front of her face.

This causes great frustration for the Belfast native.

“Ok, stop the games!” Sophie shouts loudly. “I know you’re here!”

She pauses to wait on an answer from someone who apparently doesn’t exist.  Sophie growls angrily, shaking her head.

“Damn it!  You wanted me back!  You ALWAYS wanted me back!” She spins around. “Well here I am!  So come out of hiding!”

Again Sophie pauses, waiting for an answer from this unknown individual.  But still nothing.  Sophie is very agitated by this point.

“I called you!  You said you’d be here!  Now you stand me up?!  You stand me up when I need you the most?!”  Sophie sighs and shakes her head.  “I suppose I deserve this…”

Suddenly the lights in the warehouse come on all at once.  Sophie smirks knowingly.

“Now I know you’re here.”

“Of course, how could I reject this proposal of yours?” Comes a female voice from off in the distance.  The sound of clicking heels can be heard as she continues talking. “I had to have my fun, though.  You said it best, Sophie.  You deserve it for abandoning me.”

Sophie watches the center of the room.  A woman with raven black hair in a crimson red dress and matching patent leather heel pumps steps into the room.  She motions for Sophie to come towards her.  Without waiting for another request, Sophie immediately steps towards this woman.

“Greetings, Sohpie.  It has been a long time.  Too long, if you ask me.”

“Yes, it has been too long….” Sophie’s voice trails off as she kneels down before this woman “…my Mistress.”

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On Camera

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“War is a catalog of rough mistakes.” --- Sir Winston Churchill

I made my debut in Supreme Championship Wrestling back at Taking Hold of the Flame 2017.  It’s been nearly a year now since that point.  I came here making the declaration that all of your heroes were flawed.  I told each and every fan in attendance at the arenas that their precious heroes would stab them in the back or sell them down the river all for the sake of fulfilling their own selfish agenda.  It’s what they do because, even though they are beloved, even though they are cheered, they are also human beings.

Human beings are flawed individuals.  We make mistakes.  Our plans never work out exactly as we wish and that goes for everyone, even the most expert of strategists like myself.  Yes, even I make mistakes and I’m willing to admit that my first year in this company has not gone according to plan and much of it has to do with my approach.

A mistake or two does not necessarily mean failure.  And failure itself does not necessarily mean the end of the road.  It just means you have to go back to the drawing board and retool, rework your strategy.  Make new plans that perhaps work better than the old ones.  But to have any plan or strategy work you need to have your goal in mind.  My goal still remains clear and present.

I want to have championship gold back around my waist.

But after my recent string of failures I’ve learned that I need to expand my horizons.  Winning championships is my primary goal; secondarily, I intend to learn more about myself.  I intend to grow as an athlete and, more importantly, as a master strategist.  I want to win championships and I want to be recognized as one of the smartest individuals in the sport today.

Billy Breakdown is a fool.  Furthermore, Billy Breakdown is a prime example of those who refuse to learn from their mistakes.

The comic relief who thought he was a world champion but, to be perfectly frank, is celebrated by absolutely no one.  People laugh at you, Billy.  No one takes you seriously.  In fact, I am somewhat offended that I am facing you on Breakdown in the first place.

But I’m not offended at you or SCW but more at myself because I put myself in this situation where I now face the comic relief of SCW.  It’s fine, though, because unlike you, Billy boy, I have retooled, I have reworked my strategy, and even more importantly I have done some introspection.  I have changed myself in many ways.

I look at our match as motivation. I am motivated to send a message to SCW that I want better competition than this and that I will EARN better competition than this.  I will mow through each and every one of the curtain jerking comic relief boys and girls they throw at me.

You’re the first they threw at me Billy, and I’m going to send you right back to them……on a stretcher.

vs. Tommy Valentine

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Off Camera

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“I am not carrying on a war of extermination against the Romans. I am contending for honour and empire. My ancestors yielded to Roman valour. I am endeavouring that others, in their turn, will be obliged to yield to my good fortune, and my valour.” – Hannibal

Anyone with half of a brain and even a slim amount of an attention span knows about my fondness for Sun Tzu.  But that great military genius isn’t my only favorite.  A close second would have to be a man known as Hannibal.

Hannibal is a Carthaginian general known his military feats in devastating the armies of the Roman Empire, and for transporting an entire army, over treacherous land most would have deemed impossible for him to pass.  His most celebrated victory is probably the Battle of Cannae. The Romans were sick of his constant victories over them and decided to amass an army so large that no one could defeat it. Using genius tactics he defeated their army. It was one of the greatest victories in military history, and one of the greatest defeats. After his many victories over Rome Hannibal was cemented in history as one of its greatest military strategists.

Many have questioned why I do what I do.  What is the purpose behind my mind games?  I recall times when I tormented Dawn Lohan.  I targeted my own trainer and best friend’s father Glenn Braddock, a man I idolize.  Most recently I made it my mission to prove to the entire wrestling world at large that their heroes are just as foul and tainted as any of the villains.  What have I accomplished through my mental torture and social experimentation?

Most would argue that I have accomplished absolutely nothing.  They would have an easy case to make, for I have not held championship gold in quite some time.  If you measure success in terms of the material possessions you win inside of the squared circle, then perhaps I would indeed be a failure.

I do not measure my success in terms of material possessions alone.  Four times I have been a world heavyweight champion.  Five times I have been a world tag team champion.  I can definitely get the job done if I want to.  But I’ve been focused on other matters.  Matters of philosophy, matters of ethics and morality, and matters of my own mind.

Conquering the Roman Legions was the easy part for Hannibal.  It was traversing lands that many thought were impossible to traverse, that was the difficult part for Hannibal.  That tested his leadership and forced him to look deep into his own soul to discover just who he really was.

That was my ulterior motive behind everything.  Never was this done to find out about the morality of society but my own morality.  I wanted to find myself by going deeper and darker into an abyss of my soul that I have never been to before.  I knew I was not inherently evil but I had to know if I could bring myself back from the darkness once I went to that place.

I am sorry.  I am deeply apologetic.  But I had to know.

It was a fine day in New York City.  The Big Apple will play host to Breakdown in a few short days.  It will be an important Breakdown for me.  I haven’t been on television in a couple of weeks.  In fact, the last time I saw action was against Helena Merriman; albeit it was a victory, but still, that’s just one victory in what has thus far been a lackluster and not so impressive SCW career.  I need to string together a series of victories if I hope to be taken seriously in my new quest; a quest for championship gold.

 A miniature storm had washed every sidewalk and gutter clean and a tincture of freshness still lingered in the air despite the traffic fumes. The vibrancy of the city had bounced back in the instant the clouds cleared and already the parks were a hum of activity.  I find myself just inside the city itself…alone.

The pavement, in all its stunning decrepitude, looked as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, diligently hitting every cement rectangle with enough force to make a network of cracks, many of them now colonized by weeds.

You know the bars are open when the streets are full of folks who walk as if the ground is the deck of a storm-tossed boat. Each foot comes to the sidewalk as if the collision of shoe and concrete wasn't entirely anticipated and the person lurches, stumbles. The sober ones stride like the only adults in a party of infants, shepherding them to a car ride home.

A part of me, a large part of me in fact, looks down upon them as inferior.  They are inferior due to their lack of common sense and intelligence.  They are oh so reminiscent of my brother.  And yet as I think that, I cannot help but think about how loyal my brother has been to me.  He has been loyal and very kind to me when I have done nothing to deserve loyalty and kindness.

These are just the people I need right now.

I scan the area at the group of individuals walking to and fro, most without much of a sense of direction due to the alcohol that has inhibited their sensibility.  I need someone sober for my purposes.

Three men, two of which are sober but they are busy carrying their drunken friend.  I can’t bother them.

A woman, she looks sober but she also looks like a hooker.  Not chancing her.

A man dressed rather nicely in denim and a button up shirt.  He walks straight and narrow and upright.  Clearly sober.  A woman who apparently is his girlfriend is with him.  She appears to be sober as well.  They are my targets.

“Greetings!”

They didn’t quite hear me yet, or understand that I was talking to them.  I jog lightly to catch up with the couple.  Waving my hand to flag them down, hoping that will get their attention.

“Hey there!  Hold on just one moment, mates…”

They slowly come to a stop as they begin to realize that I am talking to them.  They smile at me curiously as I approach.  I hold out my hand offering a friendly handshake which, thankfully, they do accept graciously.

“Uh, hello…” the man says

“Hi!” the female answers cheerfully.  Clearly she is the extrovert here.

“My name is Sophie O’Brian.” I greet them with a perfect winning smile. “You wouldn’t happen to know me, do you?”

“I don’t think so.  Should we?” The girl asks curiously.

“Your face looks familiar, but I can’t place the name.”

Perhaps the man is a wrestling fan?  I have been all over the world wrestling for many different companies before coming to Supreme Championship Wrestling.  If he is a wrestling fan, there is a good chance he ran across me on his television set before.  But there is only one way to truly answer that question.

“It is possible.  I work for Supreme Championship Wrestling.  We’re having an event here, Breakdown, have you heard?”

“Oh yeah!  Me and Clarissa are going!”

“That’s right!” Clarissa answers, nodding her head. “I admit I’m not big into wrestling but Todd here is and he is excited about going.”

A confident smirk forms across my face.  This is going better than I expected.  I reach into my pocket and produce a couple of tickets.  I pass them across to Todd.

“I assume you already have your tickets, but these are backstage passes.” I wink at him. “Just ask for Sophie and Mark and we’ll show you around.”

“That’s awesome!” Todd replies, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

“But, I’d like you to do something for me, if you don’t mind.”

“What’s that?  Nothing hard, I hope.” He chuckles.

“Oh it’s nothing hard.” I shake my head. “I just want you to answer a question.”

Todd folds his arms over his chest.

“Go ahead, shoot.”

“Suppose there was a person, and that person lived a very tough life.  You name it, she experienced it.  Abusive drunk of a father led to her and her sibling being on their own at age eighteen.  As she grew up she felt a strange…tugging…”

“Tugging?”

“Yes, a tugging.  A pulling towards the darkness, a temptation towards evil.  She tried very hard not to give in to that temptation but then, one day, she decided to embrace the darkness, not because it was easy, not because she wanted to get even with a world that she felt had wronged her all of her life, but because she simply wanted to find out if she could pull herself back out of the darkness once she went there.  What would you think about that woman?”

There is a tense moment that passes as Todd and Clarissa stare at me with wide eyes.  It isn’t hard to figure out that they know who I am talking about.  Clarissa looks nervously at her boyfriend Todd.

“Uh, Todd…?” her voice trails off.

“Right…” he looks over at me “…sorry, Sophie, but we have to go.  Thanks for the tickets.”

Todd and Clarissa quickly walk off.  I watch them walk away and then bow my head, sighing. “That was the answer I was afraid of…”

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On Camera

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“Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.” --- Hannibal

This Latin phrase means “I will either find a way or make one.”  It is most commonly attributed to Hannibal in response to his generals who had declared it impossible to cross the Alps with elephants.

I love the stories of Hannibal almost as much as I enjoy the works of Sun Tzu.  Both are great military tacticians and strategists.  Hannibal’s strategies and tactics helped him overcome the greatest Roman Army to march across Europe.

And it will be my own great strategy and tactics that help me overcome you, Valentine.

You see, Thomas, I am through being overlooked and passed over.  It was ok at first, for I had my mind set on other issues and other goals.  But that time has passed.  I am done sitting idly by while other people take the credits that I deserve, take the accolades that I deserve, take the glory that I deserve.

I am an accomplished athlete yet I was left off the Retribution card?  Why is that?  Because I didn’t hold a fancy trinket?  Because I didn’t come up with some multi-layered automobile accident and frame up?  Because I’m not a self-absorbed sociopath or the comic relief out of Japan?

I am tired of being overlooked, Thomas, and it is you who will pay the piper.  You will be the first to suffer for what I find to be the great offense of looking past Sophie O’Brian.

The beginning of the Sophie O’Brian era begins here when I TAKE what is mine.  When I TAKE hold of my destiny and start to write my own path.

But unlike Hannibal, I will not eventually be overrun by the Roman Legion.  It will be the legion, YOU, who gets run mowed over by me.

vs. Helena Merriman

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Off Camera

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Sun Tzu says….

夫兵形象水，水之形，避高而趨下：兵之形，避實而擊虛；水因地而制流，兵因敵而制勝。故兵無常勢，水無常形；能因敵變化而取勝，謂之神。故五行無常勝，四時無常位，日有短長，月有死生。

 “Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain. The five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) are not always equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days and long; the moon has its periods of waning and waxing.”

Warfare takes many shapes as it goes along.  To win a war, one must be able to adapt to an ever changing environment in the war.  A warrior must be able to adapt to the ever changing environment, to the flowing stream of warfare.  Sun Tzu warned future generations that warfare was fluid.  He compared warfare to a flowing stream of water in that it retains no constant shape.  It’s always changing.  In other words, according to the great Chinese military philosopher, the best laid plans go to shit rather quickly.

For the longest time I have proclaiming to the ends of earth, to anyone and everyone who will listen, that there is none pure, none holy.  To put it perfectly blunt, I went a step further and declared that within everyone is the stain of a sociopath, just like me.  And those that pretend otherwise, the heroes of the world, are but merely lying to themselves and lying to those who look up to them and idolize them.

I found a great deal of experimental subjects within Supreme Championship Wrestling who proved my point.  Mr. D is either corrupt or stupid, proven when Bree Mason, a woman who while unpopular did rightfully earn a world title shot but had to share that title shot in a triple threat match with a “hero” in Syren and why?  Because Syren was involved in an “automobile accident”, an accident of her friend’s devising?  And Syren, the hero, selfishly took the opportunity and the title, all the while framing Kennedy Street.

Yeah, they are the heroes.

I was right, right all along, and I should be boasting right now, boasting about how I was right about the filth and corruption within SCW.  I should be gloating about how I was right about how each and every one of the heroes are, in actuality, a sociopath just like me.  I should be happy.

Yet what was accomplished?  What have I gotten out of this and indeed what will I get out of gloating over this perceived victory?  This is what makes it difficult to brag.  Knowledge is only half the battle.  While Sun Tzu did speak highly of knowledge and strategy before the physical fighting itself, ultimately there must be some form of physical fighting in order for true victory to be obtained.  And I fear that what I have learned with my time in SCW may impact elsewhere, it may impact other parts of professional wrestling.

It’s a secret I must share, even with those who I never thought I would entertain a visit with, not in my lifetime at least.

We open at a small café on the outskirts of Belfast, Northern Ireland.  The yellow sundress that I am sporting on this day features criss cross straps, along the empire waist, smocking at the back and a hidden side zipper. This sundress conveys fun and has a feminine touch.  My long dark hair hangs down straight and unrestrained to just below my shoulders.

I am sitting at a table.  A cup of coffee is sitting in front of me but it has barely been touched.  I am too anxious to drink it, too excited to touch it.  The nerves and stress of the upcoming situation are getting the best of me.

“Do you want a refill?”

“Hmm?”  Startled I turn to see the waitress standing there with a coffee cup in hand.  I smile pleasantly as proceed to shoo her away.  “No thanks, love, I’m fine.”

She nods and walks away.  I regret ordering this coffee.  I will regret even coming here if Glory Braddock doesn’t soon show herself.  She is the one I am supposed to meet.  She reluctantly agreed to meet me here, and I suspect that it’s because her father asked her to come.  I have made somewhat of an uneasy peace with Glenn Braddock.  He was willing to forgive me because he spent so much time and energy training me.  His daughter Glory Braddock, who competed in the End of the Year Battle Royal, were trained together, side by side.  We both received the same lessons from her great father and yet we seem to have vastly different outlooks on life and the sport of professional wrestling.

Glory Braddock always held back.  She never did whatever it took to obtain ultimate victory.  Don’t get me wrong, she’s extremely good at what she does and has a killer instinct, but she lacked the willingness to actually go that extra distance all for the sake of victory.  I am the darkness to her light, I am the yin to her yang.  I am and always have been willing to do whatever was necessary to get what I wanted.

That just never sat well with Glory and eventually we went out separate ways in the sport.  But perhaps it is time to bury the hatchet?

I begin to get more discouraged until I hear a familiar voice behind me.

“Sorry I’m late.”  I turn my head in time to see Glory Braddock approaching.  “I got caught up in traffic.”

I let out a sigh of relief, hoping mother didn’t notice.  “Ah, it’s ok, mate. I barely noticed you weren’t here.”

“You always were a bad liar, Sophie.”  She says, grinning as she sits down at the table with me.

“Am I that obvious?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.” The self-described British Bombshell folds her arms over her chest and stares at me with an intensity that few get to see, but I know it all too well.  She’s on guard, ready for a fight.  I can tell that she doesn’t trust me. She has no reason to. “I take it we’re not here for a friendly chat anyway, am I right Sophie?”

“Yes, you’re right.  But before we get to why I called you here…” I make a waving motion with my hand to flag down the waitress, she comes over with a pen and notepad and I motion to Glory “…get her whatever she wants.”

“Just a water will be fine.  I don’t plan to stay long.”

The waitress nods and walks off to fill the order.  Glory turns and looks back at me intensely. “Yes, Sophie?”

“For what it’s worth, Glory, I apologize for any grief I’ve caused you.”

“Apologize?” Glory’s eyes grow wide with shock. “That’s what you wanted me here for?  To apologize?  That just…” she chuckles “…that just doesn’t seem like the Sophie I know.”

“The apology is part of why I wanted you here.” I respond, watching as the waitress returns with a glass of water, placing it in front of Glory. “We’ve been through a great deal you and I, some good times and some bad, and it is my belief that some troubling times for all of us may be coming up.  It may behoove us if we, at the very least, buried the hatchet.”

Glory thanks the waitress as she walks off.  Glory then takes a sip of her water and then shakes her head in disbelief.

“Sorry, Sophie, I just find it difficult that you’re making this sudden one hundred and eighty degree turn on me.  You must have an ulterior motive.”

“Yes, and I told you what it is.  I believe troubling times are on the horizon and we should be prepared for it; and besides, I…” my voice trails off as I simply shake my head “…just forget it.”

“What?  What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It was something.” Glory smirks. “Now what was it?”

“I…miss you.”

“You miss me?” Glory snickers. “The so-called sociopath misses me?”

“Don’t gloat.” I snap back at my English friend. “I will admit when I am wrong and I was wrong to ruin the friendship we had.  I’d like to get it back, if possible.  I’d like to rebuild that bridge I burned.”

“Hypothetically speaking, if this is true, when did you finally realize that your “brilliant mind” led you to making  some stupid mistakes that destroyed our friendship, Sophie?”

“The End of the Year Bash.  I was there, I wasn’t competing but I was there, watching you the entire time.  You had been through hell since we went our separate ways, enough that would’ve broken a normal person.  I thought this entire time you’ve just been putting on a brave face and I sincerely expected to see pain in those eyes.  And yet at End of the Year Bash, and even here tonight as I look into your eyes, I see something that I never expected to see…”

“What’s that?” Glory asks, now genuinely curious.

“Happiness.  You were happy and I never expected that.  But then, that’s something I can never be an expert on.  I have studied the military experts of history from Sun Tzu, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar to William Tecumseh Sherman and Patton, I have studied philosophy and politics.  You name the academics and I know it like the back of my hand.”

“Ever so humble, are we Sophie?” Glory says mockingly.  I ignore her.

“But you were feeling happy, happy in a way that I will never feel because I am just not wired that way.  I am not a feeling person, Glory, you know this better than anyone else alive other than my own brother Mark.  I realized at the End of the Year Special that we went our separate ways because of my jealousy.”

“Jealousy?” Glory asks, arching her brow.

“Yes, I envied you, Glory, because you have something I never had and never will have.  But that’s not a reason to destroy our friendship.” A sly grin forms upon my face. “You, Mark, and I were quite the trio are your father’s wrestling school.  You do remember what they called us, don’t you?”

“How could I forget?” Glory says with a laugh. “Trinity!”

“We were the best in that school and we even dominated professional wrestling for a couple of years until my jealousy destroyed everything.   We could have it again, Glory.  We could recreate Trinity.”

“So that’s what this is all about.” Glory chuckles lightly. “What’s the problem, Sophie?  Are you having difficulties within SCW?”

“Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant, trouble is brewing and there’s nothing better or stronger than the alliance we had to prepare ourselves.”

“Yeah, you’ve said that already a few times now.  What are you babbling about?”

“It isn’t babbling.  It’s fact.  It’s something I’ve observed during the entirety of my wrestling career but has now been proven fact in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  Each and every superstar we wrestle, who we work with, in any and every company we work for, all of them has a dark side, all of them has an inner sociopath just waiting to get out.  Even the heroes.”

“Oh, the Dark Fantasy controversy you mean?” Glory chuckles. “You know, I expected that would get a rise out of you.  A couple of fan favorites prove to be involved in a complex automobile frame-up all in order to get the world championship.  You can say you were right about them all along.  So now what?  I know Ravyn Taylor beat your ass a few times. Are you going after her, is that it?”

Glory shakes her head. “Well let me stop you while you’re ahead and just tell you that I’m not interested in helping you this time, Sophie.  Besides, if you think you’re going to jump that far ahead of the line and face the likes of them you’re delusional.”

“I don’t care about Dark Fantasy!” I bang a fist on the table. This gets Glory’s attention. “What worries me is what I learned.  A theory is nothing until right or wrong.  I was hoping that my theory about the inner darkness of humanity would be proven false but I was proven right, Glory.  In other words, what I’m getting at is that if Syren would do something like that, then what could ANYONE do to either of us, Glory?”

“So this isn’t some crazy mission of yours?”

“No, it isn’t.” I answer while shaking my head. “Trinity was originally created not to dominate the sport but to watch each other’s back.  That’s why I want Trinity back together. I think we should go back to its original purpose of watching each other’s back.”

I extend a hand across the table. “So what do you say, Glory?”

I watch Glory as she pauses to consider my proposal.  I feel anxious as I await her response, hoping that it will be a positive one.  She takes a sip of her water and puts the glass back down.  She sighs and, to my disappointment, she shakes her head.

“Sorry, mate, but there’s been so much done already by you, things that I cannot just forget.  I cannot just forget all of that and reform Trinity.  I don’t trust you yet.  But…” much to my surprise she reaches out and accepts the handshake “…I do believe in second chances, even if you don’t.”

“So does this mean we’re…”

“Yeah…” she winks at me “…we’re friends again.”

It is true, I always envied Glory Braddock due to her ability to feel whereas I was always the thinker.  While I never have been labeled as such, I have self-diagnosed myself as a sociopath due to my seeming inability to feel emotions.  But that isn’t entirely the case.  Every so often, in rare occasions, my emotions come out unexpectedly.  Glory no doubt would have to be blind in order to miss this one.  Tears are flowing the cheeks of this sociopath.

Who would have imagined?

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On Camera

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Expecting another rousing quote from “The Art of War” as written by the great Sun Tzu?  Not this time.  Helena Merriman, as your mentor should have informed you, and as you should know if you’ve done your homework, I am a student of military strategy and military history.  Sun Tzu may be my favorite but there are other military geniuses from history and one, in particular, who has made an observation about you.

Julius Caesar says, “Men in general are quick to believe that which they wish to be true.”

I would dare say you are on cloud nine, are you not Helena?  You have a few wins under your belt here in SCW; Scarlet Grey.  Mr. Money Maker.  And you even took out your own mentor, Brittany Lohan.  The once feared War Machine is gone thanks to you.

I applaud you for that, all of it.  Even the destruction of Brittany Lohan.  I mean, let’s face facts, I would be a hypocrite myself if I were not to applaud you for what you’ve done up until now.  As another military genius, William Tecumseh Sherman, once said “War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it; the crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”

If only the rest of your SCW career could continue to be that easy, right Helena?  It won’t, though, and I’m not entirely sure you are aware of it.  I believe that you are falling into the trap that Julius Caesar alluded to.  Men, or women in your case, are quick to believe that which they wish to be true.

I call it buying into your own hype.  You so fervently believe that you are the next War Machine, that you are carrying on Brittany Lohan’s legacy and that you truly did her a favor by taking her out.  You believe that you are capable now of taking anyone out, of beating anyone.

This is where your world come crashing down around you, Helena, because I am here to inform you that I am not a Mr. Money Maker and I am not a Scarlet Grey.  No, I’m not even Brittany Lohan, and that’s not a knock on her, because I recall how good she was in this squared circle.

I am Sophie O’Brian.  You want a fight, Helena?  You’re going to get one but it will be a fight on my terms, not yours.  It will be a fight where I dictate the pace, where I dictate the rules of engagement.  After all, it is according to Sun Tzu’s teaching “this the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”

Oops, I apologize, I lied a teensy little bit there.  I did use a Sun Tzu quote.

You want a straight up fight.  No tricks and none of my mind games.  But you are not in any position to dictate the terms of this battle which we are about to engage.  Do you have something I want?  Hardly.  You are but merely new to this game.  You may have done well in development companies but I’ve competed all over the world winning world championships.

But my championship accolades isn’t what brings you to me, is it Helena?  You’re not stupid.  You’ve heard the stories from Lohan and her associates, many of whom I have fought in the past. They have told you about what I am capable of.  For you this presents a unique opportunity, an opportunity to truly test yourself.

Thus you need me and you need this fight.  Thus I dictate the terms of engagement, not you.

You knew all along that there was nothing you had that I wanted, Helena.  If you thought there was then you are truly delusional and I’m happy to have opened your eyes.  But don’t get me wrong, I do want to defeat you.  I want this victory.  While you have been handed softball matches early on in your SCW career I have been from the outset facing the toughest of the tough.

Torsten Voigt, a former SCW Television Champion.

Angelica Jones, two time former SCW World Tag Team Champion and the current SCW Television Champion.

Ravyn Taylor, her resume speaks for itself.

Those are just a few of the names I’ve been facing off against since my arrival in SCW.  Needless to say, I never got a softball start like you. I’ve been fighting tooth and nail since the beginning and it’s been like a roller coaster, up and down, wins and losses left and right.

Well it’s time to accumulate some wins and forget all about those bloody losses and Helena, you’re the first; the first in a series of victims.  I don’t care about proving myself right any longer about the nature of man.  I believe Dark Fantasy already did a pretty damn good job of proving me right. The philosophical debates and experiments end.  Now I want success of my own.

You stand in my way, Helena, and that is just not a good place to be, especially for a very green rookie who has never been challenged and does not know what it is like to taste defeat in SCW yet.

But that’s where I come in.

Here’s a spoiler alert for the upcoming edition of Breakdown, so cover your ears if you plan to tune in…Helena Merriman, I will hand you your first defeat in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  And with that defeat you will be brought kicking and screaming into reality.  And when you get over the shock of it all, you will realize that making a career of it all here in SCW will not be as easy as you perhaps thought it would be.

It won’t be as easy as it was when you took out Brittany Lohan.  It sure as hell won’t be as easy for you when you defeated Money Maker and Scarlet Grey.  You will realize that you will run into opponents like me, sometimes tougher than me, and you will have to figure out how to deal with it.

I may have quoted Julius Caesar but he isn’t exactly the best example of a warrior due to the simple fact that he never lost.  Few true warriors ever are that lucky and I guarantee you won’t be as lucky as Julius Caesar because I will defeat you on Breakdown.

A true warrior, Helena, is determined based upon how they handle adversity, and specifically how they handle defeat.

You call yourself a warrior; so the world will be watching with great interest to see how you handle defeat.  We’re all about to find out very soon, my dear.