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!”