Burial of the Dead

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Burial of the Dead

Off Camera

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I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord;
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Father Bernacki is the celebrant today and his voice echoes out in the cemetery while the small crowd of family gathers around the empty remains of Tony Morgan.  The priest is decked out in a long, loose-fitting black cassock with a white stole.  The black symbolizes death, the end of life, but the white symbolizes the resurrection and the beginning of a new life.  This service is supposed to be for my late husband, Tony Morgan, but this is every bit about me as it is about him.  And I apologize if that sounds rather selfish or conceited of me, but it is the truth.  It is how I truly feel.

It is a bright and sunny day in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Tony was never much of a churchgoer.  I was not either, to be completely honest, but part of me felt it was only right to give this man a Christian burial.  Maybe it was out of my own guilty conscience considering I was the one who took Tony’s life?

I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth;
and though this body be destroyed, yet shall I see God;
whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold,
and not as a stranger.

For nearly a year I had been battling demons within myself, demons brought to the surface by a perfect storm of outside influences that drove me to the brink of insanity.  The potential of a happy life with Tony, living forever as his contented wife, was presented to me.  Another potential given to me was the life of a successful professional athlete, a life that had been threatened to end when GDW shut down just as my reign as GDW World Heavyweight Champion had only really begun.

Most professional athletes can successfully juggle both lives.  Most can be a good husband or wife and a good athlete at the same time.  My own inner demons and their constant mental battles with one another made it impossible for me to do both.  I could not have my cake and eat it too, I was faced with a question; would I make Tony happy and be his wife or would I seek out my own success and be a wrestler?

In the end my demons won out by eradicating that happy, sweet wife personality.  All that was left was the darkness and that darkness deep inside of me forced me to take the life of my beloved Tony.

For none of us liveth to himself,
and no man dieth to himself.
For if we live, we live unto the Lord.
and if we die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

Father Bernacki folds his hands in front of him and bows his head, closing his eyes in the direction of the coffin containing Tony’s remains.

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord;
even so saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labors.

He looks back up at us and smiles warmly.

The Lord Be With You!

“And with thy spirit…” I mumble silently to myself while the rest of the family and my brother Mark gathered here today shouts it in their loudest voice.

To this day a nagging part of my mind feels guilt over what happened with me and Tony.  I truly did love him; or at least, a part of myself loved him, but the darkness did not love him.  The darkness did not trust Tony and wanted Tony out of the way permanently.  The darkness felt threatened in more ways than one.

When I was a child and all through my teenage years I suffered beatings and abuse at the hands of an abusive father, a man I no longer consider my father.  George O’Brian routinely beat me and I got to the point where I could not take it any longer.  I ran away from home with my brothe Mark intending to bring ourselves up and we did, with the assistance of Glenn Braddock, a man we owe our lives to.

But I swore from that day on that I would never again allow myself to get caught in that situation again, I would never again allow myself to become that weak young girl who would get beaten and abused.  That is why I created the darkness.  The darkness is an evil side of my personality, a side I created for myself as a protection, a security blanket if you will, to make sure that I never again suffered abuse like I did at the hands of George O’Brian.

The darkness did not see me as a loving, happy wife.  It saw me as becoming weak, weak enough to allow myself to get abused once more, this time at the hands of Tony Morgan.  I do not believe Tony would have ever hurt me, but the darkness did not believe it.  The darkness wanted to protect me.  That is why the darkness took over and eliminated him.

Can you imagine how difficult it must be to feel so powerless?  I killed my own husband and yet…I did not kill him…

“Let us pray…”

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our
prayers on behalf of thy servant Tony Joseph Morgan., and grant him an
entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of
thy saints and the Ever-Blessed Virgin Mary;

through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth
and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, on God, now
and for ever.

“Amen…”

Now that the darkness has seemingly taken complete control of my mind and body,  I have begun to descend into old habits of manipulation and deceit.  Back when GDW was still around the fans cheered me, they respected me for winning the GDW World Heavyweight Championship fairly in a tournament.  The fans cheered Mark and I was we sought after the IWC World Tag Team Championships by facing off against The Harem.  But now what have I done?  After failing to capture the titles from The Harem I have sold my soul and joined them just so I can be one half of the champions, replacing Polly Norah in their title match against Kathryn Pearson and a mystery partner at Extreme Fury.

Is that really who I am?  Am I someone who is willing to sell her soul for the world tag team championship?  Or am I doing this for something else?  Am I doing it for someone else?  Am I putting up with all of this for the sake of Polly Norah?  Maybe there is hope for me after all.

There is no hope for Tony, though.  He is dead and gone and any hopes of a relationship with him has been wiped out after I put a bullet through his head.  I made it look like a suicide, which is easy enough to believe considering his psychotic ex, Carolyn Rose York, had just kidnapped and tortured him.  It’s easy to believe the post-traumatic stress syndrome of that ordeal could lead to him committing suicide.  But I know the truth and I have to live with it the rest of my life and that kind of pain is something not even the darkness can protect me from.

O God, whose blessed Son was laid in a sepulcher in the
garden: Bless, we pray, this grave, and grant that he whose
body is to be buried here may dwell with Christ in
paradise, and may come to thy heavenly kingdom; through
thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Amen…”

Upon the closing prayer I watch with silenced grief as the casket is slowly lowered into the ground.  I blow a symbolic kiss towards the casket as it slowly drifts further and further away from me, a past life of mine being buried forever.

Tony had few family left and of those family few actually cared for him.  Truth be told, they are just here to keep up appearances.  They are wearing a mask, hiding their true feelings.  I have made it a point not to hide my true self any longer.  What you see from Sophie is what you get, unlike this crowd of mourners and grievers who do not stay long by Tony’s side after the service concludes.  Father Bernacki approaches me next.

“Are you ok, Mrs. Morgan?”

“Ms. O’Brian…”

“Excuse me?”

I look up into his eyes. “Tony is dead.  I guess that makes me Ms. O’Brian again.”

“I suppose so…”

“I am fine, Father.  Thank you.”

He is certainly not convinced but he knows by the look on my face and the tone of my voice that messing with me right now is not a good idea so he turns and walks off.  I do not need words of encouragement or spiritual advice right now.  I do not anything or anyone.  Perhaps all I truly am good at is inflicting pain and punishment upon others?  Perhaps I do need to just unleash the darkness, do not hold back.

“Hello Tony…” everyone is gone and now is a perfect time to meditate to myself “…I think now is as good a time as any to explain myself.”

A deep sigh escapes my lips.  I brush a strand of my long black hair out of my face.

“You were a good sweet man, Tony, and you deserved better than this.  You took a chance on a woman who was obviously broken and you tried to fix her, you tried to love her, thinking that your love could make her better and that makes you a saint.  I break things, Tony.  I break things and break people.  That’s what I do best, inside and outside of the ring, and you knew that going in.  You knew the risks going into such a relationship with me and you still loved me and wanted to help me.”

Tears form in my eyes.  Immediately I reach up and wipe the tears out of my eyes. “I am sorry, I am so sorry, I did not mean for this to happen, but I could not control the darkness.  It just happened.”

I gaze up into the heavens. “I am not an atheist.  I do believe there is something beyond this life, what it is I do not know.  I just hope that wherever you are now you know that I truly did love you.”

I look back down at the casket. “Goodbye, Tony.”

Well that’s it then.  I have said my goodbyes to Tony and I hope he has forgiven me, wherever he is.  I hope we can now move on from this and I can focus on the rest of my life.  As selfish as it may sound, I still have a career to worry about.  I cannot be mourning over Tony forever.  I cannot let Kordy and Polly down.  That in mind I turn around with the intent of walking away but I find my muscular, well-built brother Mark O’Brian is blocking my path.

“We should talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Mark.”

I start to walk away but he puts his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from going any further.  Mark is not usually this aggressive with me.  Whatever this is about, he is hell bent on getting his words in.

“Oh I think we have a lot to talk about.”

“What’s your problem, dear brother?”

“I’ve been watching you the past month and I just…I just…”

“What is it?” I am growing more frustrated now. “Spit it out.”

“I just don’t recognize you anymore!”

I chuckle. “Oh really?  I’m glad you like my new hairstyle.”

“I’m not joking around, Sophie.” He remarks. “You have changed.”

Great, here comes the lecture.  I place my hands on my hips and prepare for what he has to say.

“Really?”

“Yeah, and let’s start with the small stuff.  We came to IWC together to become world tag team champions together.  But then I find out over the internet not from you personally that you have joined The Harem?  What’s wrong, Sophie?  Couldn’t wait for me?”

I shake my head. “No, Mark, I couldn’t.  I could not wait for you when you and I together were getting treated like a joke.”

“Total War is not a joke!”

“No, it’s not, but IWC is treating it as such.  Instead of being in the thick of the tag title hunt we are relegated to working with three imbeciles to fight Sinistry?”

“But Sinistry…”

“…is not our problem.” I remark, interrupting him. “Sinistry is not our problem, dear brother, and yet certain people are expecting us to just fight the good fight?”

Once more I shake my head. “No, I do not fight the good fight, I fight for myself, I fight for success, and I came to IWC to fight for the world tag team titles.  Now, thanks to my agreement, I have inserted myself into the thick of the tag title picture right where I belong.”

“Yeah but what about me?!”

“What about you?” I frown, sneering at him. “You didn’t seem to mind being interim world tag team champion with Greg Venom in MCW while Doctor Ian was on the shelf.  How is this any different?”

He sighs, holding his hands up in a sign of defeat. “Fine, you got me there, but there’s one other thing you can’t argue…”

“What’s that, pray tell?”

He points at the casket. “Tony.”

“Mark…do not go there…”

“Oh I’m going there.” He points a thumb at himself. “I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but I’m not completely stupid and I am pretty damn observant.  I am not ignorant to what you’ve done.”

He points a finger at me. “My girlfriend Ashley’s sister Leslie was framed for murder by Joshua Manning and his boyfriend.  After Leslie was executed YOU killed Josh and his boyfriend in revenge.  You killed Carolyn Rose York.  You killed Tony.  You killed all four of them and painted all of them as suicides.”

I sarcastically applaud him. “Bravo, Mark!  You are not as stupid as I thought!  Do you want a prize?”

“No, I just want you to listen to this one last thing I am going to tell you.”

He shakes his head. “I am done.”

“You are done with what?”

“I am done protecting you.  It’s becoming increasingly difficult, Sophie.”

I never asked for your protection.”

“You damn sure needed it!” He exclaims loudly. “Even Ashley is beginning to notice how suspicious it is that so many suicides have happened when you were around.  I have convinced her it’s just a coincidence but how long do you think the police will think that?”

I honestly do not have an answer for him.  I open my mouth to answer but I cannot, no words come out.

“Ashley and I are going to get married, Sophie.”

“You…you are?” I am stunned by this revelation. “But it’s…it’s so sudden…”

“Yeah, well, you’ve been so busy fucking Polly Norah and plotting your own husband’s death that you couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to my life.”

He holds up one finger. “Firstly, Ashley and I successfully gained custody of my daughter from Ashley’s parents.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and that’s not all.  Ashley just found out she’s pregnant.”

“So you’re going to have another child?”

“Yeah, this time with Leslie’s sister.” He chuckles. “Funny, I have a daughter with Leslie, now that she’s gone I am with her sister Ashley and am about to have a child with her.”

He turns his back and starts to walk away. “Mark, wait…”

“Sorry, Sophie, I do not want my daughter or my future child around death and that’s what you have become.”

“Mark, please!”

“You know how to reach me, Sophie.  Get yourself help first.  Seriously, get yourself some professional help.”

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Secret Weapon

On Camera

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With the exception of Alexander the Great and the Greek Empire, no one single nation has ever been able to conquer the entire known world.  Many have tried, but all have failed.  Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, The Soviet Union, Napoleon Bonaparte and the French empire, and many more whom I could continue to name off one by one, all have tried to achieve global conquest but all fell short of their ultimate goal.

It took the massive bloodshed and human wreckage of a world war for the world leaders to figure out that individually they could do nothing on the world stage but together, as a united force, they were unstoppable.  So, after World War II, under the innocent pretense of ensuring safety and security, the world leaders formed the United Nations but, in reality, its goal was a new world order in which they could play with the globe as they saw fit.  Individually they had failed, but together they had finally succeeded.

Ever since it was announced that I would be taking Polly Norah’s place in the world tag team championship match people have asked, why would I take on such an immense challenge?  Furthermore they wanted to know why I would seemingly turn on my own tag team partners in the elimination tag and focus my time and energy on something else entirely?

It’s quite simple, really.  Jessica Lasiewicz may have caused quite a stir with her recent pipe bomb but she is absolutely right when she speaks of having your priorities in order.  My priority when I came to IWC was to become IWC World Tag Team Champion.  My only enemy were the champions, at the time The Harem.  But then Sinistry’s Pestilence decided to stick their nose into Total War’s business and so we had to take care of them.

So to all of my supposed fans who thought Total War was fighting the good fight against Sinistry, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Total War does not care about Sinistry.  Let Desmond Drake and Ba’al name it SIN and take over this company for all I care.  They were my concern only because they had been standing between me and the world tag team championship.

Oh but there are so many ways you can skin a cat, there are many ways to achieve your end game in a global battle of chess.  Victory on the battle field is not the only way to achieve ultimate victory.  Backstage politics, making new friends and allies, that is how the art of war is truly played.

Nikita Kruschev, during the heart of the Cold War, once said “We will take America without firing a shot.”  That is what I have now done.  I have become world tag team champion without firing a shot.

Did I sell out to Ethan Von Aaron and The Harem?  Yes, I did.  I sold out but what did I get in return?  I gained the gold I so rightfully deserved.  Am I taking my very good friend Polly’s place on this team?  No, we are teammates together in all of this.  So of course I am going to step up and help Polly out in her time of need when she is unable to compete.  And if Polly being hurt wasn’t bad enough, the challengers have the added advantage of a mystery opponent.

I applaud Pearson for her shrewd tactics.  Keeping her mystery weapon shrouded in secrecy in a time honored strategy that tends to work out.  After all, how can one prepare for the unknown?  How can we combat something when we do not know what it is we are combating?

Nazi Germany tried this very same tactic as they were racing to build the atomic bomb.  Unfortunately for Hitler, the allies discovered it first and they built the bomb first and they did not keep their bomb a secret.  They unleashed the bomb and they unleashed a living hell upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki, promptly ending world war two.

You have your mysteries and secrets, Pearson, but The Harem has its own not-so-secret weapon, an atomic bomb by the name of Sophie O’Brian.

Ethan didn’t just choose a random schmuck to replace Polly Norah in this match, he didn’t just choose a great tag team wrestler either, he chose an individual who is tag team wrestling personified.  Twice I held the Global Division of Wrestling World Tag Team Titles, twice I held the Millennium Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles, in both companies I was the longest reigning tag team champion in company history.  I held both sets of tag titles at the same time.

I have a history of working together with anyone and everyone I am paired up with, not just my brother Mark.  Working together with Kordelia Price is going to be a piece of cake.  For sweet, innocent Kordy is dangerous on her own, she just needs guidance to make her deadly.  And just think of what she can do under the guidance of the most brilliant wrestling strategist in history?

If you think you are in the driver’s seat heading into Extreme Fury with the IWC World Tag Team Championship on the line then you are sorely mistaken.  If you foolishly believe that your mysteries and secrets, your masked partner hiding behind you, gives you an edge, then you have fallen into our trap, a trap set by your own arrogance.

Your arrogance will be your downfall, Pearson, if you think that everything is set up for you all nice and neat in a shiny package with a bow on it.  Victory for the allies in World War II was won through blood, shed, tears, and the loss of millions of lives.  Victory for the allies came at the cost of two entire cities of civilians in Japan.  Victory for the allies came at the sacrifice of men and women on the beaches of Normandy.

Victory will not be wrapped up for you or for Kordy and I in some nice and neat package.  It will be bloody, it will be violent, and the ones willing to push the envelope, the ones willing to unleash the Extreme Fury upon their opposition, will be the ones who walk out victorious.

The Switch: Act 9

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The Switch

Act 9 ; Scene 1

Sophie’s P.O.V.

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I used to be quite a fearsome force in this industry.  In my first year as an active competitor not only did I win multiple world tag team titles with my brother Mark, but I would win multiple world heavyweight championships.  I battled through tournaments and came out on top to win gold, and if that weren’t enough I attacked a man who had been beaten half to death in a cheap win to unify the MCW and FWA World Championships.  And what do all of those things have in common?

The one thing that was the same with all of those victories of mine was the fact that not once did I care.  Not once did I show emotion or empathy towards my opposition.  My goal was a singular one, focused only on winning.  Anything and everything I did was done in order to achieve that one goal of mine, that one goal that every superstar in this industry should strive for…

…victory.

Yet I started to slip.  Mark and I lost the GDW World Tag Team Championship to Angelica and Kayla Jones at Wrestlecade X and it all went downhill from there.  We never could regain our footing that we once had.  We never could regain that fearsome intimidation factor that we once had.  I had hoped that a new chapter in my career would provide the boost that Mark and I needed in order to once again be champions.  GDW shut down and that gave us the opportunity to branch out into the Independent Wrestling Cartel.

There in IWC we found ourselves deep in the thick of the tag team championship hunt, against the likes of Pestilence, Black Crusade, and The Harem.  The plan was quite simple; all I had to do was create tension within the ranks of The Harem.  All I had to do was make sure Polly Norah went off the reservation, leaving Kordelia Price alone to fend for herself.  This would put the champions at a decided disadvantage, a  disadvantage that Mark and I could capitalize upon.

But I slipped.  I let my emotions get the best of me.  I could not allow myself to do that to Polly Norah.  As a result The Harem tandem not only stayed together, but they did something to Total War that no other team had managed to do.

They out-thought us, they out-cheated us.  Kordelia and Polly let Mark and I do all the work while they stole the win right out from under our noses.  It was a classic strategy, a strategy we had used before to win matches.  And it was used against us at Invictus.

That was the wake-up call I needed.   That was the reality check, the kick in the gut that brought me right back down to earth.  It made me realize that certain sacrifices needed to be made if Total War was to once again become a dominant force in tag team wrestling, it made me realize that changes would have to be made.

No, those changes did not include my brother.  Mark O’Brian, to his credit, never changed.  Ever since we hooked up as a tag team in the industry, he had always been the pure, brute force of Total War.  He had been my Sherman Tank, a muscular powerhouse.  All he had to do was destroy any living thing that stood in front of him.

The individual that had changed was none other than the brains of the operation; me, Sophie O’Brian.  And that changed the moment I met Tony Morgan, the man I would begin to date, the man I would marry and whose wife I would become.

Do not get me wrong.  I felt something for Tony, something that special that I had not felt for a very long time.  It was an emotion I had kept locked away, hidden in fear of being hurt by it.  Most call it love.  I called it a curse.  A curse because it kept me torn for the longest time, torn between the monster that led me to championship victories galore in professional wrestling and the woman who loved Tony Morgan.  I wanted the championships and the glory but at the same time I also wanted the love of Tony.  I wanted to be his wife.

I know now that it was that this tension between the monster and the woman that had caused me to slip and become less effective in the ring than I had been.  I know now that I cannot be both.  I cannot be the monster and the woman who loves Tony.  My husband said that himself.  He told me I had to choose eventually.  All of those close to me kept telling me I would eventually have to choose.

The time for choosing had come.  I had made my choice.

I am standing in front of the sink in the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror, dressed only in a lacy bra and panty.  Outside of the bathroom, in the bed waiting on me, is none other than my husband.  Poor Tony had been through quite a lot, lately, what with being kidnapped and held hostage by Carolyn Rose York for so long.  We haven’t had much of a chance to really enjoy ourselves very much with so many things happening all at once.  Getting some time to ourselves is rare.

“Sophie!” comes the expectant voice of my husband “I’m waiting…”

He isn’t the only one who has been waiting on this moment.  I have been waiting on this moment myself.  Tony wants desperately for us to settle down and have children.  He wants to start a family.  For awhile I felt extremely guilty because we did come close to pulling that off.  I had been pregnant with his child, but I chose to continue wrestling instead and I ended up losing the baby.  Tony was angry at me for a long time after that, and rightfully so.  But we made up.  We pressed forward, stronger than ever.

In his mind now is the time to once again try for a child. This is what he’s been waiting for; to make love, not the lustful kind just for pleasure’s sake, but for the sake of creating a human life.  And yes, Tony is quite right in thinking that human life will be the subject of tonight’s mission.

I’ve kept him waiting long enough.  And I do mean that in every sense of the word.  We have not made love in quite awhile.  It is difficult to do so when your mind has been so preoccupied with a psychopath named Carolyn Rose York as well as trying to win world tag team championships in IWC.  And still, my mind will be preoccupied tonight, for Kordy and Polly have agreed to put the titles on the line on Riot.

A match between the two of us was scheduled to be non-title but the two women, women who have earned my respect at Invictus, have agreed to put the belts on the line.  It was a shocking move on their part and I would be stupid not to agree to it.  But that just raises the stakes even further and makes this match all that much more important.  If the belts do indeed get defended on Riot, then this may be our last chance, our last opportunity.  Few individuals get multiple title shots.  Few individuals get any title shots, for that matter.  Mark and I know this and we will not let this opportunity slip by, an opportunity to defeat The Harem.  An opportunity to prove that we are still at the top of the tag team food chain.

“Sophie…”

“I’m coming!”

Nevertheless, I have indeed kept Tony waiting long enough.  Truth be told, I have been waiting for this moment long enough as well.  It is time that we both get what is coming to us.  Exiting the bathroom I immediately set foot into the bedroom.  Upon feasting his eyes upon me Tony’s jaw hits the floor with shock and then lust on his face.  Is he drooling?  Yes, yes he is.

“Wow…”

“Is that all I get out of you?”  I grin knowingly. “Wow…?”

“Words cannot describe the beauty that I see before me.”

“More than mortal man deserves.” I wink at him.

“Quit quoting lines from movies, Sophie.”

“You love it, Tony.” I begin to saunter my way ever so sexily towards him, making certain to swing my hips in a sexy gait that will make him drool and lust after me even more than before. “You love everything about me, all of the quirks and flaws included, don’t you?”

His head bobs up and down, but typical to men his eyes do not leave my chest. “That’s right, Sophie.”

“You love me just the way I am, don’t you?”

I approach the bed and then crawl over onto it.  Tony is on his back as I climb over on top of him, mounting him.  Tony is traditional and usually likes being the dominant one in the relationship.  That also applies to the bedroom and I can sense he is just slightly uncomfortable with me being on top of him, but my pure skin and the sight of my sexy curves makes him forget all about it; it makes him drop his guard.

“That’s right.  I would not want you to change for the world.”

“LIAR!”

I punch him in the face, drawing blood from the nose.  Then in one swift motion I reach underneath the bed, pick up a sharp needle and stick him in the neck with it, inserting a liquid directly into his system.  Tony recovers at that moment and shoves me off of him, causing me to tumble over onto the floor below.

“Son of a bitch!” He sits up, rubbing his neck in pain. “What the hell, Sophie?!”

“Hell has not yet begun.”

“Huh?” He stands up, getting off of the bed.  He approaches me. “What the hell is going on?  Why did you hit me?!”

“Because…”

“Because why?!” He shouts, getting louder. “I demand answers!”

“You are in no position to demand anything from me.”

“What do you…”

He places a hand on his forehead, the other reaches for the post on the bed to keep himself up as he begins to feel a little dizzy.  A sinister grin forms across my face.

“That drug I inserted into your bloodstream has begun to take effect.”

Indeed, now that the drug has begun to work its way through his system he is growing sleepy, drowsy.  It becomes quite easy now for me to shove him back down onto the bed where he had been moments earlier.

“Now wait right there, Tony.” As if he had a choice.  I smile at him, winking. “I’ll be right back.”

I step away from the bed and approach my own nightstand where, shoved in the back of one of the drawers is a small back.  I pull it out and bring it with me over to the bed.  I easily, gently lay it down on the floor before reaching inside and producing gloves, placing them on my hands.  Then I get back on the bed, in mount position over Tony, who is now much too weak to fight back against me.

“I hate liars.” I rub a gloved hand across his cheek. “We had a great thing together but relationships mean there must be honesty.  And I give you credit, except for tonight when you lied to me about wanting me just the way I am, you have been one hundred percent honest with me regarding who you are and your expectations.”

“No, I never lied, I just…”

“Oh no you did lie.  You said you wanted me just the way I am but that was a lie.  You didn’t want me to be who I am.  You wanted me to be a doting wife and you wanted me to bear your children.”

I shake my head. “But that’s just not who I am and in that sense, I was the one in our relationship who was not honest.  I was not honest with you and I was not honest with myself.  I continued to try and be the person you wanted me to be.  But do you want to know who I am?”

I bend over and pick the bag up off the floor.  I reach inside and produce a small pistol.  I stare at it with a nasty gleam in my eye.

“I am the woman who butchered Carolyn Rose York.”

“You…ki…you killed…” his voice is broken, not as much out of shock, though that part is there, but mostly because of the drug.

“That’s right, I murdered her.  She didn’t commit suicide as I led you to believe.  That’s the story you wanted to believe.  That’s the story that made you feel safe.  Had you known that your loving wife was the cold blooded killer of Carolyn then you would have run for the hills.  That’s the real me, Tony and you do not like the real me.  The real me frightens you and it should frighten you.”

I point the gun at his forehead. “I should frighten people but because of you I have slipped, because of you I have become soft.  The only way I can reclaim who I really am is to get rid of the extra weight…”

Pulling trigger creates a loud blast and then his head damn near explodes from the force as he falls back, lifeless on the bed.  I put the gun in his right hand and laugh sardonically.

“…dead weight!  I like it!”

Now it’s time to put the suicide note next to the body and be on my way…

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Thank You

On Camera

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We open inside of an empty training school, a school where wrestlers train for their future in the industry.  This one isn’t very impressive looking on the inside or outside, as the walls are gray as is the concrete floor, some of which is covered with blue amateur wrestling mats.   A larger pro-wrestling ring is set up near the center of the room and weights are scattered here and there around the ring.  Standing in front of the ring is none other than Sophie O’Brian.

“I want to begin by thanking Polly Norah…and to a lesser extent Kordelia Price…”

Sophie nods her head. “That’s right, I want to thank the both of you.  At Invictus it was The Harem and Total War who tore the house down that night in the tag title match.  Pestilence and Black Crusade were just there as match filler and everyone knows it.  Everyone recognizes that Invictus was about you two and Mark and myself and we showed it to the entire world, did we not?  We cleaned house.  Just as I predicted, we marched through Invictus just like Sherman, burning everything to the ground as we went along.  Nothing was left standing.”

“Mark and I dropped that pathetic brasser Jessica Wilde on her head with Sudden Jolt.  It really was all over at that point.  It was merely academic, as they say.  It was a matter of me getting the cover and scoring the win.”

“But it didn’t happen that way, did it?” She shakes her head. “No, it didn’t.  My plans to become IWC World Tag Team Champion with Mark were dashed because you snuck in the back door and scored the pin fall yourself.  You stole the pin right out from under our noses.”

She claps slowly. “I refuse to make excuses like some do.  The fact is that you did what I would have done.  Hell, you did what I have done before in the past.  You took lessons that I was taught and you applied them and for that I congratulate you.”

“And I also thank you for waking me up.  I thank you for reminding me just who the hell I needed to become.  For far too long I have allowed myself to become soft and weak, because I wanted to be a normal woman.”

She shakes her head. “No more.  That changes starting now.”

Sophie motions to the scenery behind her, a wrestling school which is usually teeming with life but on this evening is quiet.

“Behind me is where all of the magic happened many years ago.  This is where my life was quite literally saved.  This is where a great man named Glenn Braddock took pity upon a poor teenage girl named Sophie O’Brian who had been beaten by her father and trained her in the art of professional wrestling so that she could defend herself.  He took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew.  I listened to him closely and I took in everything he had to say.  But the greatest of his lessons was the last one, his final lesson.”

“A wrestler, him or herself, is a lethal weapon; use the knowledge and skills I have given you wisely.”

“The fact is that I have not been using the knowledge and skills I have very wisely.  I have allowed myself to become something else, something different, something pleasing to the fans, pleasing to my now late husband, something pleasing to everyone else but me.”

“So from now on I am going to do whatever the hell pleases me.  My goals will all be egocentric, because, quite frankly, I have had enough of giving everyone else what they want.  It is time that Total War gets what it wants and do you want to know what Mark and I really want?”

A grin forms upon her lovely features. “You…you and everything you posses.  It’s called the spoils of war.  To the victor goes the spoils and when we win, I want it all.  Hell, I’d like to own your contract.  I bet you would like that too, wouldn’t you Polly?”

She winks at the camera. “Instead of serving that idiot Ethan you would serve me and Mark as a member of our army.  But alas I doubt that moron would be gracious enough to hand it over.  Besides, we can have one another physically as often as we like, can we not?  So really the only thing I want that I truly have to fight for is the world tag team championship.”

“And that means I have to go through you.” She points at the camera.

“When I first heard this match announced I must admit I was happy.  A non-title match was the perfect opportunity for Total War to prove ourselves worthy of a rematch for the tag titles.  Few people ever get one opportunity at the gold, we would have to really put on a hell of a show if we wanted to prove ourselves worthy of a second shot and the best way to do that would be to defeat the champions themselves.”

“But imagine my surprise when you offered to put the belts on the line in the match.” She grins knowingly. “Perhaps there is still a thing or two I can teach you after all?”

“If you want to make this a title match then Mark and I gladly accept, because that makes our mission all that much quicker and simpler.  We were planning to earn our way back to the title shot but hey, if we can just win them in one more title match, then that’s much better for me.”

“Truth is, it should’ve always been just The Harem against Total War.  Pestilence and Black Crusade just got in our way, didn’t they?  Who knows what would have happened had we been granted the match the both of us wanted all along?”

Sophie shrugs her shoulders. “Perhaps you would not have had to use what the leeches claimed were ‘underhanded tactics’ against us?  Perhaps you could have beaten us clean?  Or maybe…just maybe…you would not have been able to get the job done.”

“But then again, you are the champions.  You have nothing to prove.  Mark and I are the ones who have everything to prove.  We are the ones who have to prove that we are still on top of the tag team mountain despite who is technically the world tag team champions.”

“And we will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are the best tag team in the world today.”

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The Switch

Act 9 ; Scene 2

Mark’s P.O.V.

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Invictus really did suck.

Ok, so it didn’t actually suck as in the matches were bad.  I mean, hell, I love watching Alana and Brittany beat the fuck out of each other.  I loved Taylor and Legion’s world title match.  The IWC wrestlers had a hell of a time that night and I enjoyed watching it.  But for me and Sophie, Invictus truly did suck because we walked out of the show losers.  We did not complete our stated goal.  Or to put it in the words of my sister…we failed in our mission.

Bah, we failed.  Big fucking deal.  It was one match and, besides, it wasn’t as if we were actually beaten.  Jessica Wilde was pinned, not Sophie and not me.  Hell, we actually did all the work.  We knocked the bitch out and Polly just took advantage.  And I can’t say I blame her all that much as I woulda done the same damn thing if I had been in her position.

Plus it isn’t like one tiny loss is the end of the world.  At least, to me it isn’t.  I realize that other times will come.  Just work harder, win the rest of your matches, and eventually IWC will give you another opportunity.  But then, I’m more laid back like that.  Unlike Sophie.  Sophie always seems to have a stick shoved up her ass.  She can’t figure out really how to be laid back or to have fun.  She has been kicking herself since that loss at Invictus and I really can’t seem to figure out why she is so pissed.

If anything she should be focusing on next Riot, because just as I suspected, if we waited patiently, we would be granted another big opportunity and lo and behold we’ve been booked against Polly and Kordy in an Invictus rematch.

Now IWC originally booked it as non-title but Polly has been petitioning to make this a true Invictus rematch.  She wants to put the titles on the line and that would be even better as far as I’m concerned.  Finally, the one on one match Sophie and I have been waiting for.  The chance to face off against The Harem.  Just Total War and just The Harem.  That’s the way it should’ve been at Invictus and I guarantee had it been that way the outcome would’ve been different.

That’s neither here nor there.  This is a new day and a new chance to prove ourselves.  And I’m not even going to worry myself over the titles just yet.  If IWC agrees to make it a championship match then so be it.  But even if they don’t then this is still a great chance to put ourselves right back into the driver’s seat of the tag team title hunt.

Though I do worry about Sophie.  My sister has been acting very strange lately.  It’s been happening ever since Carolyn Rose York once again invaded her life and tried to ruin her and Tony’s marriage.  Now I don’t know who the hell I’m gonna get when I talk to her.  Am I gonna talk to a cold hearted bitch who is capable of murder or am I gonna talk to Tony’s domesticated little wife?  It’s almost as if she has split herself up into those two different personalities and that can’t be good.

Sophie knows it too.  She knows it’s unhealthy and that eventually she will have to pick, she will have to decide to be one or the other.  She may deny it but it’s the truth.  Even I know it’s the truth.

Which one is the best choice for her?  Honestly I wish she’d just choose Tony.  Sophie has been through hell in her life.  She got the worst of the abuse from our bastard father and it didn’t make matters any better when she found out that the abuse began because of her birth, because he didn’t want her.  After all of the hell he put her through, Sophie deserved to be happy.  She shouldn’t have to live her life fighting.

But then again, I’ve always let Sophie run her own life.  That’s how we operate.  She lets me run my life the way I want it and I let her run her life the way she wants it.  If she wants to be a fighter all of her life then so be it.  If she wants to be that monster she had become then so be it.  Who am I to judge?

I’m lying awake in bed next to my girlfriend, Ashley Murray.  My strong arm is rested across her lovely body.  Her long blonde hair drapes beautifully over her shoulders.  I have found my happiness and she is lying right next to me.  I pray Sophie will find her own happiness.

Ashley turns over and looks at me in my eyes, smiling warmly. “Oh, you’re awake…”

“Yes but you shouldn’t be.  Go back to sleep.”

Ashley kisses me on my lips. “You are a very special man.  How did I get so lucky?”

“Luck?” I chuckle silently to myself. “I’m not sure you’re luck to have a bonehead like me.”

“You’re not a bonehead.  You are a wonderful, caring individual.”

“Yeah?”

Ashley nods her head. “That’s right.  The things you do for your sister are amazing.”

“Sophie needs someone to look after her.” I state plainly. “She’ll deny it but she does.”

“And she’s lucky to have a brother like you to look after her.”

We stare into each other’s eyes lovingly.  That love draws us closer and closer.  Slowly our lips draw closer to each other until they are nearly touching.  Then, the kissing commences.  A passionate, loving, romantic kiss that illustrates our love for another.  It is also a kiss that is about to be ended rather suddenly…

BANG!

That loud noise startles us both as we sit up in bed.  Ashley holds onto me tightly.  As we both gaze at each other curiously.

“What the hell was that?”

“No clue.” I state as I listen for other noises.  Then I hear footsteps downstairs. “Hear that?”

Ashley nods her head. “Yeah, footsteps…”

“Someone is in the house.” I get up out of the bed. “Stay here, Ashley.”

“Be careful!”

I nod as I turn away from the bed and make my way over to the door.  As quietly as I can I open the door and exit, shutting the door just as quietly and making my way downstairs, catching quick glances everywhere to see who has invaded our home.  I am prepared to defend Ashley if necessary as I finally make my way to the bottom of the stairs.  I enter the living room and find that our intruder is none other than my sister, sitting on the sofa with her feet propped up on the coffee table.

“You really are terrible at sneaking around, you know that?”

“Yeah?  Well I’m not the one who slammed the damn door shut and woke Ashley up!”

“I seriously doubt you and Ashley were sleeping.”

I roll my eyes.  She has a point, I have to admit.  I flip the light switch on to get a better look at her and immediately I am taken aback as I see blood all over her.

“Sophie!” I exclaim loudly. “What the hell happened to you?!”

“Shout a little louder, idiot, I don’t think the rest of Belfast heard you.”

I approach her cautiously. “Be serious, Sophie.  What happened?  I want to know?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes it matters!” I exclaim loudly again, despite Sophie’s protests. “We have a tag team match coming up, Sophie.  We’re facing The Harem and the belts could very well be on the line!  You need to be in tip top condition and to be honest, you don’t look like you’re in tip top condition.”

“You should see the other guy.”

I’ve seen that look in her eyes before.  “What happened?”

Sophie stares a hole right through me.  It’s as if she is mentally trying to tell me to drop it but I won’t.  I care too much about her to just drop the subject.  I have to know what happens before…

“What’s going on?” Ashley says as she descends the stairs.

…before my girlfriend gets down here.  Ashley enters the living room and her eyes go wide with shock.

“My God!  Sophie!  What happened?!”

This entire time Sophie had been acting cold and stoic around me.  This entire time she had been acting like nothing at all bothered her, as if nothing was wrong, despite the evidence of the blood all over her.  Suddenly the waterworks turn on.  Suddenly Sophie starts crying like an emotional wreck.

“It’s…it’s Tony!  He…”

“What is it, mate?” Ashley asks

“He…took his own life!”

“Oh no!” Ashley rushes over and embraces Sophie in a hug. “I…I can’t believe it…”

Neither can I.  In fact, I don’t believe it at all.  For reasons that are completely unknown to me, Sophie has decided to murder Tony.  I know it.  I don’t even need to ask.  The only question is, do I confront her with it?  Do I call her out on  it?  Or should I play along and let her continue to play her games?  Should I continue to protect Sophie?

“Yeah…hard to imagine, but I guess the whole Carolyn York situation just became too much for him to handle…” I reply, droning on with Sophie’s talking points.

“Oh my…” Ashley shakes her head in disbelief as she again hugs my sister tight. “…unbelievable.”

Yes, unbelievable…

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We open in front of a modest two story home, blue in color.  It is nighttime and thus a street lamp hanging overhead is the only light that allows us to see this home for all its glory.  Standing in front of this simple yet lovely structure is the muscular powerhouse of Total War, Mark O’Brian.

“My sister started off by thanking Polly and Kordy for giving her a reality check.” He shakes his head. “I’m not gonna do it that way.  Quite frankly, I think me and Sophie deserve a bit of a thank you ourselves from our esteemed champs.”

“Think about it, ladies.  We were the ones who knocked Jessica Wilde into next week.  We were the ones who wrecked her to the point where she had no more hope of fighting back.  We put her out, we set the table and you snuck right in there and took the main course for yourselves.  My sister is trying to be polite, but I’m not in the mood to be polite, so I’ll just say it bluntly.”

“We are the reason you two are champions today.”

Mark nods his head. “You know I’m telling you the truth and that’s also why I’m here today in front of my house, not the place I live today but my childhood home where I grew up.”

“I fought for every damn thing I ever earned.  I left my mum and dad and went out on my own with no damn money.  I busted my ass under the hardest of hard asses this industry has ever seen, a man named Glenn Braddock.  And it was under his tutelage that I became the toughest son of a bitch in the game.”

Mark points at the camera. “But you had the tag team titles handed to you by Orlando Cruze when he said you would be defending the titles on behalf of Porno Lad.  Then at Invictus you were handed the win when Sophie and I destroyed Jessica Wilde for you to take advantage.”

“Is it so much to ask for a thank you?”

“So go ahead, thank Orlando Cruze for giving you your first championships.  Then thank Sophie and me for giving you your first successful title defense.  Do it and get over with because you know what I say is the truth.”

“I know that you see it, because otherwise you would not have offered to put the championships on the line on Riot.” A grin forms across Mark’s rough features. “You know, just as the rest of the world knows, that Total War are the uncrowned tag team champions.  Winning a half-assed four way clusterfuck, in the manner you won it at that, doesn’t mean shit.  In order to be legitimate tag team champions you gotta beat the best hands down and you know that you haven’t done it yet.”

“And you see this as your chance at redemption, your chance to prove that you are legitimate, because God knows you haven’t proven anything yet, what with how you’ve had every damn thing handed to you so far.”

“Don’t think I’m not grateful.  Hell, not only do I love a good fight but to get to fight the tag champs again is an honor.  And if the IWC actually gives you and us what we all want, a tag team championship match, then all the better.  For us it’s a chance to redeem ourselves in the eyes of the world as the top tag team in the world and for you, it’s a chance to legitimize your reign.”

Mark chuckles quietly. “Heh, looks like we both get something out of this either way.  But on Riot, it’ll be Total War leaving with the victory and, hopefully, the gold…”