Emerge 6

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Off Camera

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“So how do I look?”

That is the voice of Kimberly Williams, identical twin sister of SCW superstar Marie Annabelle Jones. Kimberly is in the living room of Marie’s Boston, Massachusetts home.  Attired in a full length maxi skirt, sandals, a floral print blouse, and a black leather jacket, Kimberly twirls around three-hundred-sixty degrees so that her boyfriend…or companion, as he prefers to call themselves…John Ortiz can see her.  John, sitting on the cream colored leather sofa looks up at her, sighs, and shakes his head with a look of utter disdain.

“You look boring, dull, and drab.  You look like a pathetic little prude.” He remarks rather bluntly and rudely.

“Excellent, I look like Marie then.”

Kimberly and John’s relationship has evolved over time.  She met him at a bar and, thinking he was just another stranger whom she could drug and then mess around with, took him back to her place, but he turned the tables and drugged her.  A few weeks later she tried again and again he turned the tables on her and drugged her.  Most women would have taken the hint and run from a sociopath like him.  But Kim isn’t like most women.  Kim enjoys a challenge and it has been far too long since anyone challenged her the way John has.  Thus she looks forward not only to the companionship he offers but also to learning from this unique man.

Tonight, however, isn’t about Kim and John having fun at each other’s expense.  It isn’t about companionship or Kimberly learning anything from John.  Tonight Kimberly sweet talked John into helping her do something for Marie…

“So do you mind explaining to me once again what exactly it is we are doing?”

“Silly boy,” Kimberly begins as she sits down on the sofa next to John “you know this already; my sister has this abusive prick of an ex-boyfriend named Damian being all stalker-like and shit.  Marie is on a flight to Japan as we speak for Breaking of the Downs, which leaves me completely available to hijack her home for this little meet up with Damian.  I’ll pretend to be Marie and find out if his intentions are pure; see if he really has changed like he claims.  If he has, I’ll try to nicely let him down and let him go peacefully on his way.  But if he doesn’t take to well to rejection or if it’s clear he hasn’t changed any, then we get to have our fun with that little bastard.”

“In other words we’re doing charity work for your sister who is clearly too damn weak to handle this on her own?”

Kimberly isn’t too keen on John’s harsh response about her twin sister.  She shoots him an angry glare.

“Ease up on her, Johnny boy.  It was a bad experience for her that she still hasn’t fully gotten over.  She isn’t like me, she isn’t a sociopath who can just shut down all of her emotions and still function.  She’s normal.”

“Honestly, I question how much of a sociopath you are.  You are allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment.  This whole plan of yours, it is all emotionally driven.  You want revenge on behalf of your sister.”

“You’re damn right I want revenge.” She says with a low growl in her voice. “He hurt my sister, who is unable to hurt him back.  So I’ll hurt him for her.”

“You hurt your sister.” He says with a smirk. “From what I recall, you once kidnapped her and took her place.  No one was the wiser.”

Kimberly casts her gaze down to the floor and sighs. “She’s a very forgiving soul.”

“Therein lies another reason you are doing this; not only do you want revenge, but you want to make amends for your past sins.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit, I have done some terrible things.  I have a lot of red on my ledger that I’d like to wipe out because I do feel guilty.  Do you have a problem with that?”

“None at all,” he chuckles “but with these kinds of emotions swirling all around you, well I hate to tell you, but you are definitely not a sociopath.  Your time with your sister has definitely changed you.  I hope you realize that.”

“I do.” She nods her head. “And it bothers me, Johnny.  It bothers me because I have a hard time handling it.  It’s like those old cartoons, you know?  The devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other.  I have a devil’s voice whispering in one ear and the voice of an angel speaking in my other.”

“That angelic voice would be your conscience.”

“Yeah, my conscience told me to go and save Peyton last Emerge.  My conscience told me to go and destroy Mika, rip her limb from limb.  But…” she sighs and shakes her head “…but the devil on my shoulder convinced me it was none of my business, so I ran.  Sometimes I listen to the devil, sometimes I listen to my conscience.  Sometimes I don’t even know which is which.”

“It’s understandable, my sweet.  You went over two decades with no conscience worth a damn.  Now that your conscience has developed you have difficulty recognizing it because you’ve never used it.  You’ll get used to it in time.”

“A conscience…I have a conscience.” She snickers. “Never thought I’d see the day.  Promise not to tell anyone?”

“Your secret is safe with me, my dear.” He leans over and kisses her on the cheek.

A doorbell is heard ringing throughout the house.  Kimberly immediately leaps to her feet, John gets to his feet far slower than Kim.

“Ok, Johnny, get to your place.  That’s Damian.”

“If he does give you trouble, do I at least get to use lethal force?”

“No,” Kimberly shakes her head “I promised my sis no stabby-stabby; only humiliation.”

“Damn.”

Kimberly sticks her tongue out as she watches him walk out of the room.  Kimberly then turns and makes her way out of the living room and over to the front door.  She opens it up and standing there, wearing a dirty off-white torn t-shirt, jeans, and black boots, is none other than Damian Daniel Toole.

“Hi there, Marie.” He says with a warm smile. “I’m so glad you decided to let me say my piece.”

“You’re LUCKY you’re getting to say anything, mister.” Kimberly remarks as she steps aside to allow Damian entrance. “Come in.”

Damian walks in and Kimberly shuts the door behind him.  Kimberly leads Damian into the living room.  She motions for Damian to sit down on the sofa and he does so.  Kimberly sits down next to him.

“I don’t know what you have to say but you’d better make it quick and make it good.  I have a match in Japan coming up and I need to catch a flight tomorrow.”

“I know and I appreciate you taking this time, babe…err I mean Marie.  I have been keeping up with your career, you know?”

“Well that’s kind of what you do when you stalk someone.” Kimberly remarks in a nasty tone.

Damian winces. “Yeah, I probably deserved that.”

“You deserve that and then some, asshole.”

“You’re right, I have been an asshole in the past,” he nods his head “but that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.  I have changed.  I went to anger management classes and it’s really helped.”

“Sure was a real help, bucko.” Kimberly sneers. “You attacked my husband twice.”

“Right, you have a point; the first time when I saw your kid with him in Hyde Park I kinda lost my temper.  Heat of the moment thing, you know?  Second time I want to say he provoked me but, to be honest, he was already pissed the fuck off at me from the first attack.  So yeah, that’s probably on me too.”

“Fine, whatever,” Kimberly shakes her head with frustration “even if that’s true, what is it that you hope to achieve with all of this…the chocolates I got, the flowers, all of that…what do you hope to accomplish?  I’m married now, Damian.”

“I want you…but as a friend.”

“Wait…friend?” Kim’s face is nothing but confusion at this point.

“Do I want you back as my girlfriend?  Of course I do.  Not gonna lie about that. But I’m realistic.  I know I fucked up any chance of us ever hooking up.  That ship has sailed and I recognize that.  But before we were an item, we were great friends, and if there’s any chance I can save our friendship then I want to at least try.”

Kimberly is stunned beyond belief.  This wasn’t the revelation from Damian Daniel Toole that she was expecting.

“Damian, I…um…”

“Don’t answer yet, take your time.  I said my piece and that’s all I wanted.” He stands up and starts to walk away. “No more flowers or chocolates from me, no more stalking you from the shadows, none of that shit.  You know how to reach me.  If you’re interested in trying to rebuild that bridge, contact me.  If I don’t hear from you, then I know we really are through and you’ll never hear from me again.”

Kimberly watches in wide-eyed shock as Damian exits the living room.  She hears the door open and shut.  She barely notices John Ortiz walking back into the room with a smirk on his face.

“Do you want to know what I think?”

“Not really.”

“Too bad.” He chuckles. “Because this is where it pays to be a sociopath, because people like me don’t get bothered by those silly emotions that constantly cloud your judgment.  Do you know what I see when I see Mr. Toole?”

“What?”

“I see a lying piece of shit.”

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On Camera

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Finally someone appreciates the hard work and dedication that a sociopathic stabby-stabby lunatic puts into this game!  Finally someone sees how I’ve fought, clawed…and yeah, sometimes stabbed…my way to this point where I deserve the right, have earned the right, and will now get to compete for a championship.

Thank you, Danny Dorko…Darko…whatever…THANK YOU!

But let’s be realistic, here.  I know this isn’t necessarily about rewarding me.  I realize and accept that it will be difficult for any promotion to accept me as a potential face of the company.  I’m just the lesser of two evils when compared to a bulky ass masked monster named Abattage.  And I realize also that the only reason I’m in that position to begin with is because Danny-boy wanted to punish Abattage for being a bad monster.

Bad, Abattage!  Bad monster!  Very bad and very naught monster!

If this were any kind of legitimate thing I’d earned and I deserved then I’d be facing the big dumb klutz on my own, not in some triple threat match with Mr. Clean Cut All Star Gavin Taylor.

So I finally get the chance to prove I’m more than just Marie’s sidekick, the chance to prove that I’m more than just a crazy fun loving sociopath, that I have the legitimate skill to carry this company on my back.  All I have to do is reach up and grab the first of what will be many brass rings…

…the Rush Championship.

Mr. Abattage, I kinda feel like we’re kindred spirits in a way; I mean, other than the fact that you’re really big and growl.  I was once thought of as a monster.  Some still view me as a monster.  Does Danny Darko think I’m a monster?  Not sure he cares, he just thinks I’m the monster who can punish you by taking away your Rush Championship.

Regardless of why he chose to put me in this match, the fact is that I am THE perfect person to put an end to you and your reign of terror in this company.  I have the sick, twisted, and sadistic mind that can come up with all sort of cute and fun ways to chop your big ass down.

Then there’s Gavin Taylor, the other individual Danny boy chose to help implement his punishment upon Abatttage.  Someone like you, with your pretty little face and your sparkling record of achievements, you don’t need this.  You’re already a legitimate All Star.  Everyone knows it.  This would be just another shiny trinket to add to your trophy case.

You want to know what I think of the shiny little trinket?  You can shove it up your ass, Gavin.  I don’t care about the belt.  What I care about is what the belt represents.  It represents greatness.  It represents the reason I came to Emerge in the first place, to prove to the wrestling world that I am just as good as anyone else…maybe even better.

Winning this Rush Championship by toppling the unstoppable beast and by besting the so-called All-Star will be proof positive of how good I am and I can shove that accomplishment in the face of any and all of my doubters.

I’m not belt hunting by any stretch of the imagination.  I want what that belt represents.  I want to make Emerge, and by extension the SCW’s, worst nightmare come true when I represent them as THEIR Rush Champion, as one of the faces of THEIR company.

I want to make anyone who ever doubted me or looked down on me as just another crazy nutcase eat their words.  I know I’m not being rewarded with that opportunity, I know I’m just an instrument to punish Abattage.  I get it.  But you can be damn sure that I will take full advantage of this opportunity and walk away with my first championship in Emerge.

This is my time.