04-10-2020, 02:00 PM
The conclusion of Invasion: South Africa was magical. After a year plus of the seemingly unstoppable Willow Wilkes standing atop the Emerge roster; both with and without the backing of Cindy Todd; no definitive challenge stood in her way, the wicked witch of Emerge finally fell to the hand of Jennifer Helms. A real case could be made that Jennifer has the number of Willow. Add on to that the split 50% ownership stake of Jennifer's parents, along with Shaun Cruze, Lucas Knight, Regan and Trinity Street, the future was looking brighter for the Emerge roster by the day. There was a cause for celebration. Anyone who wasn’t a member of The Unforgiven would rejoice. Happy days ahead. Unfortunately for Annabelle Burchard she was not going to engage in the festivities. After her disqualification victory over Melissa Killgraves, she stayed to watch the rest of the show alone backstage. She had a smile on her face watching as Jennifer reaffirmed to the world that good people can finish first. Annabelle then grabbed her bag with her ring gear in it and headed back to the hotel alone.
Back at the hotel Annabelle, wearing a sky blue pajama set, stood in the bathroom gazing at her own sad reflection in the mirror. She places her hair in pigtails. That wasn’t enough to wipe the sadness off her face. Wasn’t sure what would, she was alone in a country she had never visited before, isolated from a locker room that didn’t take the time to get to know her. She walked back into the bedroom, with nothing else to do she headed straight to the King size bed, she crawled into it. Laying on her back Annabelle stared straight at the ceiling. Sleep felt like a great idea. Where was she going to go? She knew no place to hang out. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. A knock on the door pulled Annabelle out of her own mind. She sat up wondering who was on the other side. She wasn’t expecting anyone. No one should know she is in the room. This could be a mistake, possible whoever was in the hallway knocked on the wrong door. Had to be that. Annabelle laid back down hoping sleep would claim her.
Again, a louder knock on the door made it quite clear whoever was on the other side wanted to see her. Figuring whoever it was wouldn’t go away until she answered, Annabelle slid out of bed. She cautiously walked to greet her unexpected guest. Pulling the door slowly open, seeing who it was, Annabelle tried quick fast and in a hurry to slam the door in their face. Her effort came to no avail, the door wouldn’t budge. No matter how hard Annabelle tried to close the door, the stoppage of momentum made it clear that she wasn’t strong enough to hold her visitor at bay.
“Go away!” Annabelle screamed.
The person on the other end pushed the door open, the momentum sent Annabelle crashing flat on her ass. She stared up at a sweet suit wearing Liam Dillinger. He walks into the room. He offered Annabelle a hand. “Don’t be rude.”
Annabelle slaps Liam’s hand away. “If you came to finish the job Melissa started--”
Liam shrugs his shoulders. “Don’t be ridiculous. Melissa doesn’t need me to finish you off. Far from it. Looks like you can use some company.”
Annabelle manages to pull herself up. She walks to the door. Pointing into the hallway, Annabelle says defiantly. “Can you please go, Liam? And pass along a message for me... tell Aiken, Silas, all your friends in The Unforgiven they can focus their attention on someone else.”
Liam walks over to Annabelle, looking down at her he slams the door shut. Folding his arms into his chest, Liam calmly says; “Don’t make this anymore difficult than it needs to be, Annabelle. We can be your friends or your worst enemy. After the performance you put on tonight, you can use all the friends in the world.”
Annabelle grabbed the door knob. Before she could open the door Liam places his hand on it. He shakes his head. “Seriously, how much longer are we going to do this? Hear me out. Then I’ll go. Simple.”
Annabelle sighs. She knows Liam is right. She was not going to overpower a man who looks like a Greek God. She storms past him. Taking a seat on the bed she points over to a brown chair next to a small table. Liam nods. He walks over to the chair she directed him too. He sat down.
Placing his right ankle across his left knee, the Man of the Century told Annabelle. “I get it just as much as anyone. Society preaches at you every single moment of every single day to be good. We are forced to follow this unwritten social contract to get ahead. We are convinced our desires are dead wrong. Succumbing to all this judgement for what? To live a repressed life? What you saw tonight from Melissa is a woman living without restraints. She is living life as the very best version of herself, with Cindy’s guidance you can become part of a world that won’t judge you at all.”
Annabelle tilts her head to the side. “With all due respect Liam, you are wasting your time. I am not interested in your sales pitch. There is nothing Your Queen can offer that God can.”
Liam rolls his eyes. “You don’t get it, Annabelle. My Queen is not giving you a choice.”
Annabelle shakes her head. “We all have choices, Liam. You chose to run away from your problems, I--” Annabelle points to herself. “-- am trying to fix mine. I am a woman who wanted her daddy’s approval so much I became him. I am not a woman born from tragedy like your Queen. I am sorry for everything she went through--”
“She doesn’t need your sympathy.” Liam hisses angrily.
“What Ms. Todd needs is love. So do you. So does Melissa. So does Willow. I don’t want a war with The Unforgiven, I didn’t choose to become the subject of your attention. I want redemption for my crimes. That’s all. There are more troubles for men and women out there... I don’t understand why you think I’m special.”
“Redemption?” Liam laughs. “Please. Redemption doesn’t exist, I learned that first hand. No one who knows about my part in Ricky getting beat up by Alistaire [Taylor] is ever going to forgive for that. They are a bunch of self righteous assholes who believe they can dictate who is good and evil. The concept of redemption is a joke.”
Annabelle walks over to Liam. She places a hand on his shoulder. “I forgive you. Who am I to judge?”
Liam looks at her hand on his shoulder. Then he looks into her soft eyes. “I appreciate that Annabelle. Changes nothing. There will come a day in the future you won’t be able to deny who you truly are. And when that day comes, you have a home in The Unforgiven. They won’t forgive you. We will.”
Having said his peace Liam rises to his feet. He walks to the door, opens it, closes the door shut behind him.
The confrontation with Liam accomplished one thing, made her tired. She took advantage of the new found fatigue by walking back to the bed. Before she knew it, night-night Annabelle went.
The next morning Annabelle woke up. To her surprise she slept well. She rolled over to grab her phone from the nightstand. She pulled up the Twitter app to check her notifications. A few fans expressed how impressed they were by her toughness, encouraging her to stay strong. Others expressed that she needed to fight back, play diriter. Of course there was the segment of the fan base that said she wouldn’t last walking her current path. One thing that caught her eye above all else, a brand new follower. The name and the photo she couldn’t forget if she tried...
“Poppy Stephens.”
A smile broke out on Annabelle’s face. Unable to contain her excitement she immediately followed Poppy. She followed that up by sending Poppy a direct message.
Annabelle set the phone down, she didn’t expect Poppy to respond back immediately. Before she could reach the bathroom her phone pinged. She ran back to the phone.
Annabelle was overwhelmed with joy. Poppy reaching out was just what she needed at a time like this. She didn’t feel alone anymore, that alone helps tremendously.
She closed Twitter, pressed the telephone icon, wasted no dialing the number.
Didn’t have to wait long for Poppy to pick up...
--
The scene opens on a nice sunny day. Annabelle Burchard can be seen sitting at the top of a flight of steps. In the background the viewer will notice auburn church doors. Annabelle’s hair is tied together to sport a pigtail. She is wearing a white sleeveless shirt, blue jeans and sandals.
“This needs to be said... Melissa Killgraves; if your intention was to break me, you failed miserably.”
Annabelle pauses to let her definitive statement sink in. “Some will deem me unwise to poke a wounded animal. Overall, The Unforgiven didn’t have a great night. Mr. Bryant sold his shares to individuals Aiken and Silas aren’t fond of from the research I’ve done. Losing the Emerge Championship was a huge setback. One could hold the perception The Unforgiven are vulnerable. We all are expecting they intend to send a message that will eliminate the perception that this is the beginning of the end for them. They don’t need my words to inspire. My words don’t matter ultimately, especially when it comes to you Melissa.”
“At Invasion: South Africia; don’t think I don’t realize you could have pushed the envelope further. I was in a vulnerable state. I was in no position to defend myself. Not lost on me you chose to walk away. Here is a word of advice my former self would give to you...” Annabelle glares into the camera. “Next time finish the job, teasing is NOT good.”
“Speaking of teases--” She waves for the camera “-- hello Madeline. Desiree.”
“I don’t believe I am out of line calling your careers in EMERGE so far one big tease. Madeline. You debuted at Invasion: Miami. You competed in an open invitational battle royal. Stars from years past and present saw that match as their golden ticket, one KALI wound up winning. KALI wasn’t the only Emerge talent to have a breakout performance. You did too. The wrestling world talked for weeks on end about how well you performed. You were pegged to be a breakout star. Many expected you to carry that momentum forward... you haven’t. I was blown away by the other memorable performance you had, the Ladder Match against a man who defeated our current Emerge Champion. Once more the wrestling world is buzzing just like they were after your battle royal performance.”
Annabelle pauses.
“Desiree. You debuted in the same battle royal Madeleine did. You came to EMERGE as a Taylor Chase admirer. Everyone sees you are doing your best to be known for more than that. Going as far to call yourself... Top Dollar. Unlike Madaline, your teasing comes in the form of hype. On Twitter we can always count you making some variation of how much you are going to make a statement, how the world underestimates you; especially leading into your first round match in the Ricky Memorial against Willow. You were so driven by the naysayers who felt Willow would destroy you. How many times can we pull out our phone to make declarations to the world that don’t come true? How long are we going to have to be teased until we see what Top Dollar Desiree Deneva is all about? There comes a point in life when everyone gets tired of being beat over the head with when this or that is going to happen.”
Annabelle stares down for a moment. She takes no real pleasure speaking to her opponents in this frank manner. She lifts her head up; looking straight into the camera again.
“Madeline, Desiree, my question is straight forward, how will Emerge #37 be different than the other times you’ve teased greatness?”
“My goal every week is the same regardless of the perceived magnitude of the match. I am not burdened by lofty expectations. Safe to focus on what I can control. My personal redemption matters more to me than anything. I am not driven by the same externals most of my peers are. Don’t take this to mean I don’t like winning, I do, losing to my tag partner and losing to the current SPIRIT Champion sucked. I am not one of those people who will say winning and losing doesn’t matter. Winning, in this case, puts me in a position to challenge for the tag team championships. However I am not one of those winning is the only thing absolutist. I am the furthest thing from Vince Lombardi. I know where my priorities lay. And that is the one advantage I hold over you two. How long before being ‘The Light’ becomes a fade? How long before being ‘Top Dollar’ goes out of style? Win, lose or draw, I know exactly who I am.”
Annabelle rises to her feet. “Can either of you say the same?”
She turns her back to the camera. Annabelle walks into the church as the scene fades to black.
Back at the hotel Annabelle, wearing a sky blue pajama set, stood in the bathroom gazing at her own sad reflection in the mirror. She places her hair in pigtails. That wasn’t enough to wipe the sadness off her face. Wasn’t sure what would, she was alone in a country she had never visited before, isolated from a locker room that didn’t take the time to get to know her. She walked back into the bedroom, with nothing else to do she headed straight to the King size bed, she crawled into it. Laying on her back Annabelle stared straight at the ceiling. Sleep felt like a great idea. Where was she going to go? She knew no place to hang out. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. A knock on the door pulled Annabelle out of her own mind. She sat up wondering who was on the other side. She wasn’t expecting anyone. No one should know she is in the room. This could be a mistake, possible whoever was in the hallway knocked on the wrong door. Had to be that. Annabelle laid back down hoping sleep would claim her.
Again, a louder knock on the door made it quite clear whoever was on the other side wanted to see her. Figuring whoever it was wouldn’t go away until she answered, Annabelle slid out of bed. She cautiously walked to greet her unexpected guest. Pulling the door slowly open, seeing who it was, Annabelle tried quick fast and in a hurry to slam the door in their face. Her effort came to no avail, the door wouldn’t budge. No matter how hard Annabelle tried to close the door, the stoppage of momentum made it clear that she wasn’t strong enough to hold her visitor at bay.
“Go away!” Annabelle screamed.
The person on the other end pushed the door open, the momentum sent Annabelle crashing flat on her ass. She stared up at a sweet suit wearing Liam Dillinger. He walks into the room. He offered Annabelle a hand. “Don’t be rude.”
Annabelle slaps Liam’s hand away. “If you came to finish the job Melissa started--”
Liam shrugs his shoulders. “Don’t be ridiculous. Melissa doesn’t need me to finish you off. Far from it. Looks like you can use some company.”
Annabelle manages to pull herself up. She walks to the door. Pointing into the hallway, Annabelle says defiantly. “Can you please go, Liam? And pass along a message for me... tell Aiken, Silas, all your friends in The Unforgiven they can focus their attention on someone else.”
Liam walks over to Annabelle, looking down at her he slams the door shut. Folding his arms into his chest, Liam calmly says; “Don’t make this anymore difficult than it needs to be, Annabelle. We can be your friends or your worst enemy. After the performance you put on tonight, you can use all the friends in the world.”
Annabelle grabbed the door knob. Before she could open the door Liam places his hand on it. He shakes his head. “Seriously, how much longer are we going to do this? Hear me out. Then I’ll go. Simple.”
Annabelle sighs. She knows Liam is right. She was not going to overpower a man who looks like a Greek God. She storms past him. Taking a seat on the bed she points over to a brown chair next to a small table. Liam nods. He walks over to the chair she directed him too. He sat down.
Placing his right ankle across his left knee, the Man of the Century told Annabelle. “I get it just as much as anyone. Society preaches at you every single moment of every single day to be good. We are forced to follow this unwritten social contract to get ahead. We are convinced our desires are dead wrong. Succumbing to all this judgement for what? To live a repressed life? What you saw tonight from Melissa is a woman living without restraints. She is living life as the very best version of herself, with Cindy’s guidance you can become part of a world that won’t judge you at all.”
Annabelle tilts her head to the side. “With all due respect Liam, you are wasting your time. I am not interested in your sales pitch. There is nothing Your Queen can offer that God can.”
Liam rolls his eyes. “You don’t get it, Annabelle. My Queen is not giving you a choice.”
Annabelle shakes her head. “We all have choices, Liam. You chose to run away from your problems, I--” Annabelle points to herself. “-- am trying to fix mine. I am a woman who wanted her daddy’s approval so much I became him. I am not a woman born from tragedy like your Queen. I am sorry for everything she went through--”
“She doesn’t need your sympathy.” Liam hisses angrily.
“What Ms. Todd needs is love. So do you. So does Melissa. So does Willow. I don’t want a war with The Unforgiven, I didn’t choose to become the subject of your attention. I want redemption for my crimes. That’s all. There are more troubles for men and women out there... I don’t understand why you think I’m special.”
“Redemption?” Liam laughs. “Please. Redemption doesn’t exist, I learned that first hand. No one who knows about my part in Ricky getting beat up by Alistaire [Taylor] is ever going to forgive for that. They are a bunch of self righteous assholes who believe they can dictate who is good and evil. The concept of redemption is a joke.”
Annabelle walks over to Liam. She places a hand on his shoulder. “I forgive you. Who am I to judge?”
Liam looks at her hand on his shoulder. Then he looks into her soft eyes. “I appreciate that Annabelle. Changes nothing. There will come a day in the future you won’t be able to deny who you truly are. And when that day comes, you have a home in The Unforgiven. They won’t forgive you. We will.”
Having said his peace Liam rises to his feet. He walks to the door, opens it, closes the door shut behind him.
The confrontation with Liam accomplished one thing, made her tired. She took advantage of the new found fatigue by walking back to the bed. Before she knew it, night-night Annabelle went.
The next morning Annabelle woke up. To her surprise she slept well. She rolled over to grab her phone from the nightstand. She pulled up the Twitter app to check her notifications. A few fans expressed how impressed they were by her toughness, encouraging her to stay strong. Others expressed that she needed to fight back, play diriter. Of course there was the segment of the fan base that said she wouldn’t last walking her current path. One thing that caught her eye above all else, a brand new follower. The name and the photo she couldn’t forget if she tried...
“Poppy Stephens.”
A smile broke out on Annabelle’s face. Unable to contain her excitement she immediately followed Poppy. She followed that up by sending Poppy a direct message.
Quote:“Please tell me that’s really you!!”
Annabelle set the phone down, she didn’t expect Poppy to respond back immediately. Before she could reach the bathroom her phone pinged. She ran back to the phone.
Quote:“The one and only girl. Me and Carol watched Invasion: South Africia last night. We heard you got back into wrestling. Thank goodness. You should not have quit in the first place. Shocked you were not wearing the face paint. What’s a little make up? Anyway. Happy you are back in the ring. Here’s my number [insert phone number here]. Keep in touch.”
Annabelle was overwhelmed with joy. Poppy reaching out was just what she needed at a time like this. She didn’t feel alone anymore, that alone helps tremendously.
She closed Twitter, pressed the telephone icon, wasted no dialing the number.
Didn’t have to wait long for Poppy to pick up...
--
<PROMO TIME>
The scene opens on a nice sunny day. Annabelle Burchard can be seen sitting at the top of a flight of steps. In the background the viewer will notice auburn church doors. Annabelle’s hair is tied together to sport a pigtail. She is wearing a white sleeveless shirt, blue jeans and sandals.
“This needs to be said... Melissa Killgraves; if your intention was to break me, you failed miserably.”
Annabelle pauses to let her definitive statement sink in. “Some will deem me unwise to poke a wounded animal. Overall, The Unforgiven didn’t have a great night. Mr. Bryant sold his shares to individuals Aiken and Silas aren’t fond of from the research I’ve done. Losing the Emerge Championship was a huge setback. One could hold the perception The Unforgiven are vulnerable. We all are expecting they intend to send a message that will eliminate the perception that this is the beginning of the end for them. They don’t need my words to inspire. My words don’t matter ultimately, especially when it comes to you Melissa.”
“At Invasion: South Africia; don’t think I don’t realize you could have pushed the envelope further. I was in a vulnerable state. I was in no position to defend myself. Not lost on me you chose to walk away. Here is a word of advice my former self would give to you...” Annabelle glares into the camera. “Next time finish the job, teasing is NOT good.”
“Speaking of teases--” She waves for the camera “-- hello Madeline. Desiree.”
“I don’t believe I am out of line calling your careers in EMERGE so far one big tease. Madeline. You debuted at Invasion: Miami. You competed in an open invitational battle royal. Stars from years past and present saw that match as their golden ticket, one KALI wound up winning. KALI wasn’t the only Emerge talent to have a breakout performance. You did too. The wrestling world talked for weeks on end about how well you performed. You were pegged to be a breakout star. Many expected you to carry that momentum forward... you haven’t. I was blown away by the other memorable performance you had, the Ladder Match against a man who defeated our current Emerge Champion. Once more the wrestling world is buzzing just like they were after your battle royal performance.”
Annabelle pauses.
“Desiree. You debuted in the same battle royal Madeleine did. You came to EMERGE as a Taylor Chase admirer. Everyone sees you are doing your best to be known for more than that. Going as far to call yourself... Top Dollar. Unlike Madaline, your teasing comes in the form of hype. On Twitter we can always count you making some variation of how much you are going to make a statement, how the world underestimates you; especially leading into your first round match in the Ricky Memorial against Willow. You were so driven by the naysayers who felt Willow would destroy you. How many times can we pull out our phone to make declarations to the world that don’t come true? How long are we going to have to be teased until we see what Top Dollar Desiree Deneva is all about? There comes a point in life when everyone gets tired of being beat over the head with when this or that is going to happen.”
Annabelle stares down for a moment. She takes no real pleasure speaking to her opponents in this frank manner. She lifts her head up; looking straight into the camera again.
“Madeline, Desiree, my question is straight forward, how will Emerge #37 be different than the other times you’ve teased greatness?”
“My goal every week is the same regardless of the perceived magnitude of the match. I am not burdened by lofty expectations. Safe to focus on what I can control. My personal redemption matters more to me than anything. I am not driven by the same externals most of my peers are. Don’t take this to mean I don’t like winning, I do, losing to my tag partner and losing to the current SPIRIT Champion sucked. I am not one of those people who will say winning and losing doesn’t matter. Winning, in this case, puts me in a position to challenge for the tag team championships. However I am not one of those winning is the only thing absolutist. I am the furthest thing from Vince Lombardi. I know where my priorities lay. And that is the one advantage I hold over you two. How long before being ‘The Light’ becomes a fade? How long before being ‘Top Dollar’ goes out of style? Win, lose or draw, I know exactly who I am.”
Annabelle rises to her feet. “Can either of you say the same?”
She turns her back to the camera. Annabelle walks into the church as the scene fades to black.