Annabelle Burchard vs Melissa Killgraves

[Corner G]

Anabelle Burchard and Melissa Killgraves face off in single's action.


DEADLINE ONE - 3250 ROLEPLAY 20th MARCH 2020 2359 EST

DEADLINE TWO - 750 WORD SHOOT / SEGMENT 22nd MARCH 2020 2359 EST

[The Atoner]

(Direct continuation of the rp Vs The Chuck.)

2015

Having the emotional meeting with her father was the hardest thing Annabelle had to do. She is a daddy’s girl through and through. Last thing she wanted to accomplish was disappointing the man she still idealized in spite of all the horrific crimes he committed in the past. Annabelle’s conscience told her that leaving the professional wrestling world was what she needed to do.  What’s done is done. No more demons unleashed. No more promoting her family history for profit. The question now became what to do next? Her entire life was dedicated to becoming a professional wrestler. Didn’t bother going to college. Had no marketable skills. When she wasn’t wrestling in the local New York area she worked the week at Target. Being one of many redshirted khaki wearing workers wasn’t going to sustain long term prosperity. Not enough to pay rent, bills, purchase groceries on a consistent basis. Independent wrestling did enough to keep her semi afloat, plus it also helped her live with her mother. Living a lifetime with mom wasn’t going to cut it either.      


What is a soon to be former professional wrestler to do with the rest of her life?


Annabelle sat on a park bench not paying attention to the ongoers going on about their day thinking whatever thoughts were running through their minds. Mothers pushing their strollers, joggers running past her, teenagers talking among themselves, no one paid attention to Annabelle staring blankly into the distance, half in this world half in her own mind, asking herself questions about the best path forward is.


“You appear troubled...” The soft, older, comforting feminine was enough to break Annabelle out her trance. 


No one was sitting next to her before. The older woman must have taken a seat next to her. At what point, Annabelle wasn’t certain. She feels at peace for the first time in awhile. She turns her head to look at the older woman who was wearing a long black dress with black stockings, black shoes. The crucifix the woman was wearing did catch Annabelle’s eye. She nodded, acknowledging that the older woman was right in her assessment that the world was weighing on her mind.



The woman placed her hand on Annabelle’s knee. With concern in her voice she asked,  “Would you like to talk about your troubles?” 


Annabelle looked down to the ground shaking her head. “I’m not worthy to speak to you--”


The older woman quickly responds. “In God’s eyes all his children are worthy.”


Annabelle shrugs her shoulders. “Not me. I am guilty of succumbing to my wrathful impulses, Sister.” Annabelle looks up into the older woman’s light blue eyes. She tilts her head to the side “Did I address you correctly?”


The older woman nods. “You did, my name is Sister Marisol.”


“Sister... are you familiar with professional wrestling?”


The Sister shakes her head. 


Annabelle continues. “We beat people up for a living; like boxing. Controlled violence. Rarely do any of us cross a line that severely endangers the person we are working with. We try to protect each other to the best of our ability. I went too far. I kicked Melissa harder than I should have. Now she is in the hospital. Hope Melissa is ok. I want to believe what happened was an accident. Starting to question was it. My father is in prison for murdering a lot of innocent people. I embraced his violent streak. Is Melissa being in the hospital an accident or an ‘accident’?” Annabelle pauses. She was fighting back tears as she was sharing her story with Sister Marisol. No point holding them back. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She bows her head once more. Covering her face she tearfully completed her train of thought “What’s wrong with me?”

Sister Marisol wrapped her arms around Annbelle to comfort her. “I feel that you are remorseful.” 


“Yes!” Annabelle agrees. 



“There is hope for you... you never told me your name.”



“Annabelle Burchard.” 



“There is hope for you Annabelle.” Sister Marisol released Annabelle from her embrace. She handed her a pamphlet. “I am a nun at the St Dominic Monastery. Stop by anytime.”


Annabelle accepted the pamphlet. She smiles. “Thank you.”


Sister Marisol stands up. She places her hand on Annabelle’s shoulder. “I have to go. Remember, God loves us all, doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your life, He will forgive you.”


With that Sister Marisol walks off. Annabelle places the pamphlet in her pocket. Stood up and walked off in the opposite direction. 



Annabelle felt there was one more stop to make before settling in for the day. 


Mercy Hospital. She was fortunate to have one friend who visited Melissa the other night. That friend shot her a text telling her where Melissa was in the event Annabelle wanted to stop by. Off to the hospital Annabelle went knowing full well it wasn’t going to be easy. 


Once there, she walked over to the man working behind a desk. She told him that she is a friend of Melissa Pierce. Quickly ran through how they work together, she stopped by to check in. The man told her which elevator and floor to exit on. She thanked him. Only two people were on the elevator as she made her way up. More joined her. She wasn’t paying attention. The elevator stopped at the floor she was meant to. Exiting the elevator she walked to another station to ask where she could find the woman she put in the hospital. Before Annabelle could open her mouth, she couldn’t ignore someone grabbing her by the arm.

“You have some nerve showing up here” an angry woman shouted. 


Annabelle yanked her arm away. Standing in front of her is Melissa's mother. 


“I just came to see--”


A slap to the face stopped Annabelle from completing her sentence. The mother once again yelled, “You are not welcome here!”


Wasn’t long until security came to diffuse the situation. The male security guard was about to speak. Annabelle waved him off. “This is my fault. I am leaving. Sorry for causing a disturbance.”



Annabelle walked away. She knew this was a bad idea she cursed to herself. The hostilities were far from over, Annablle didn’t notice the mother following her to the elevator. Spinning Annabelle around the mother goes to smack her again, this time, Annabelle grabs the mother’s wrist. 



“I’m leaving Mrs Pierce. Please, let me go.” Annabelle said as calmly as she could given the circumstances. 


Mrs. Pierce yanks her wrist away. “Don’t you dare put your hands on me, Annabelle. Melissa trusted you! This is how you repay her?! People like you don’t deserve to live.” 


Annabelle turns around. All she wanted to do was leave. Why can’t the elevator door just open, she said to herself. The mother wasn’t in the business of showing Annabelle any mercy. “All wrestling companies care about is money, why else would they allow freaks like you to put other people in danger? Is your daddy proud? Were you two having a good laugh at Melissa’s expense?! She’s a human being!” 


Tensing up, Annabelle closed her eyes. On one hand she wasn’t about to talk back to a mother who is worried about their daughter. Mrs. Pierce needed to vent, fine, that’s her right. She didn’t want to piss her off even more. The other half of her wanted Mrs. Pierce to shut up. Why couldn’t she understand what happened in the ring was an accident?   Finally the elevator door opens. Annabele takes one step inside. Suddenly she was yanked out of the elevator by Mrs. Pierce. Melissa’s mother spun her around, no telling what Mrs. Pierce was going to do this time. Annabelle wasn’t about to find out. She wrapped her hand around the thick throat of Mrs. Pierce ramming her up against the opposite wall. Anger didn’t fill the eyes of Mrs. Pierce... fear took over, all the anger buried looking into the now soulless eyes of Annabelle Burchard. She had enough control over herself not to squeeze the life out of Mrs. Pierce, doubting she would have gotten the chance to escalate the conflict further, whoever was on the elevator quickly intervened to break up the fight. 


Annabelle didn’t stick around long enough to get chastised. Seeing a door with an Exit sign above it, she bolted into the hallway. Ran down a few flights of steps. She was grateful no one bothered to follow her. Sitting down on the steps she slapped herself twice. Annabelle had never lost it like that before outside the ring. Normally she was capable of curbing her impulses. Not today. She dug into her pocket looking for the pamphlet to St Dominic Monastery. 


In that moment she knew what decision she needed to make--


--



A couple days have passed. She nervously told her mother what she intended to do, to her delight her mom was supportive. Annabelle didn’t escape the typical mom questions like “are you sure you want to do this;” all and all, Mrs Burchard gave her daughter her blessing. She had one last person to speak to. Her father. She went back to the prison with the intention of informing him of her major life altering decision.   


“YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!” Tavis Burchard screamed as he pounded the glass separating them. 


Annabelle didn’t flinch. She was used to his violent outburst by now. “I don’t trust myself anymore, daddy. I could have seriously hurt Mrs. Pierce.”


Tavis rolls his eyes. “We don’t show mercy in this family, sweet pea. You should have bashed her skull in.”


“I wanted to.” Annabelle sighs. “Mrs. Pierce didn’t deserve my wrath, she has every right to be mad about the state her daughter is in. All my fault. I don’t deserve to be a member of society anymore, once I isolate myself away from the general public, God will forgive me for all the wrong I’ve done. Society will be a lot better off with one less psycho on the street.” 


“All you are doing is running from who you really are.” Tavis insisted. 


Annabelle tilts her head to the side. “Who am I, Daddy?” 


Tavis coily smiles. He places his hand on the glass. “My beautiful monster, sweet pea. The day you were born I knew you were  my greatest accomplishment. I beamed with glee knowing there would be a little me to pass on my legacy. So far you have done a great job showing people what it means to be a Bruchard. Your mother has to stop planting these silly ideas in your head about joining a monastery, that is not the answer sweet pea, there is no escaping who we are.”


Unable to look at her dad trying to make his case, Annabelle lowered her head. He continues, “Search your heart. You know what I am saying is true, the whole truth and nothing but. Get these silly thoughts out of your head. Sleep on it. You were born to follow in my footsteps. Embrace your destiny.”


Taking a deep breath, Annabelle found the strength to look her father into his cold emotional eyes. “I’m going to miss you, Daddy. Sorry, this is the way it has to be. I wish you well...”


With Tavis' hand still on the glass, Annabelle presses her hand to where his is. She focused on his hand knowing the expression on his face was going to be one that broke her if she had the courage to look directly at him. She hung up the phone, turned around, walked away. He banged the glass once more trying to get her attention, it was too late. She resolved on that day this was the last time she would see her dad. A life of isolation from the general public awaits. 


Time to start a new life.

[Ruppy]

OOC: All characters that aren't my own appear with permission.

If you were asked to sell your soul to the devil… would you do it?

Melissa had done just that, and she had no regrets about her decision.

Everything pertaining to Emerge had been an interesting transition so far this year when it came to the military maiden, from having to move to England for the time being to avoid spending too much on traveling back and forth between the country to being welcomed into the family of The Unforgiven. The former came with the added benefit that she was as far away from her father as she could possibly be now, given that he was likely to spend time behind bars after the stunt he pulled before the end of the year, and his longstanding status of ‘hometown hero’ of Bridgeport was no doubt in shambles now. As for the latter? Despite seemingly butting heads with Willow Wilkes even though Melissa herself had made it clear she wasn’t here to replace the longtime EMERGE Champion, she had been welcomed with open arms. The fact that she could say she started off the year with a shot at the EMERGE Title was certainly a sign that she had made the right decision, though she still had her doubts about willingly committing to taking part in this war at all.

After all, didn’t picking a side mean she’d finally committed to the path she had spent her entire life trying to fight against walking?

It was a thought she ignored when she first joined the group, considering her initial focus was on her impending EMERGE Title match with arguably the group’s crown jewel, but after the six-person tag match on the previous show and the massive brawl that broke out afterward, it became next to impossible to deny the fact that the show ended with her “motivating the troops” in a sense before Willow called them all off. Lost in the moment, she’d become the very thing she despised, and that thought had been burning in her mind ever since, throwing off her focus as she attempted to prepare for the task ahead of her at the next Invasion in South Africa. This had not been lost on Cindy Todd, who quietly observed Melissa’s routine from a secluded back room of the pub she now operated out of with Emerge’s change of headquarters. While her strikes and motions carry the raw power and intensity that she’s always been known for, Cindy can easily see that something is off that no one else would be able to just by watching. As Melissa finishes up a routine of throwing strikes at a stationary heavy bag, Cindy decides it’s time to voice her concerns.

“Something is weighing heavily on your mind Melissa.”

Melissa instinctively scoffs at this as she rehydrates herself.

“I’m just pissed off at the mess that the last show turned out to be, that’s all.”

“Really? Because if that were the case, your workout wouldn’t feel like it’s missing something, and I would hate to see you begin to relapse into what you were before you came to me.”

That comment draws a sharp breath from the African-American woman as she sets her water bottle down on the bench. She recalls how their first true talk went and how easily Cindy was able to read her like a book and knew that being honest and upfront with her was the only way she was ever going to truly undergo the evolution she so desperately sought deep down inside. This causes Melissa to slowly take a seat as Cindy walks over to her, awaiting her explanation.

“When I first came to Emerge, the only thing I had to worry about was finding success and carving my own path away from my father’s influence. When you began to build The Unforgiven and everyone started talking about a war between you and anyone not standing with you, I wanted no part of it because the last thing I thought I wanted was to be considered a soldier for either side. I wasn’t second-guessing my decision to finally go against that and coming here to seek guidance from you, but… at the end of the last show, when I was basically psyching everyone up to go back into battle before we were called off, it fully hit me after the fact that maybe I had become exactly what I spent my whole life trying to fight against.”

Melissa wanted to keep going, but she cut herself off once Cindy’s hand found its way to her shoulder. At first, her face was unreadable but there was a dangerous presence that came with it, one that said she wasn’t happy with how the show had ended but that would be a different matter she would tend to in due time. After a moment, she locked eyes with the military maiden and offered her an understanding look.

“Given what you’ve told me, I’m not surprised that you’re having a hard time breaking those old emotional attachments, no matter how much you want to simply be done with them once and for all. Abuse always leaves its victims with scars that are difficult to forget.”

“Abuse? My father may have been a lot of things that made me hate him with every fiber of my being, but he never abused me.”

“That’s where I would beg to differ Melissa.”

The implications Cindy was putting forth were beginning to make Melissa feel sick, not just because the idea of her being abused by her old man irritated her as the man had never tried to lay a finger on her up until the incident that finally drove her to accept this offer in the first place, but the fact that it seemed like she was actually defending him in some capacity was not sitting well with her on any level.

“He never dared to lay a hand on me… not until recently. He was too much of an upstanding citizen proud of his ‘hero’ status to even dare-”

“Abuse takes on many forms Melissa, and I was not implying he ever did lay a hand on you. Your mind, however, has been suffering for a long time because of him. Tell me something… how long have you defined your entire life by trying to become anything but what he tried to force you to be?”

The question actually caught Melissa off-guard, and she had to take a moment to think back on her childhood and when exactly she knew she had to start trying to rebel against his desires to make her march the same path he did. As she sat there thinking, her ears registered what sounded like familiar screams coming from out in the bar area, but she did her best to try and drown it out to continue searching her head, which slowly brought a smile to Cindy’s lips.

“As… as long as I can remember, to be honest. I didn’t actively start butting heads with him until sometime in junior high, but I can’t recall a memory where I didn’t hate him for the constant boot camps he subjected me to every single day in our own backyard.”

“Good… I want you to focus on that feeling of hatred and hold onto it. Now, how did you think you would be able to accomplish this task? How would Melissa Killgraves break away and become her own person instead of daddy’s little soldier?”

“I… I started off by just trying to live my life against his military credo. I felt disgusted by anyone who was all about helping others and being selfless, so I started to bully people. I didn’t care if I became popular because anyone who was saw me as the perfect muscle to keep anyone ‘unworthy’ away from them, because all that mattered to me was seeing how upset it made my father.”

“And how did he respond to this?”

Melissa let a low growl escape her throat, both at the memory that had been called to the forefront of her mind because of that question and the fact that it seemed like Cindy was playing a game with her that only she was getting any enjoyment out of, even if she did her best not to show it. She took a step back when Melissa aggressively rose to a stand, but she didn’t budge any more than that no matter how infuriated the woman started to become.

“He doubled down on his efforts to discipline me, trying to cut off any hope of a social life outside of school by having me go through his stupid boot camps more and more or having me spend my summer vacation at a boot camp where someone else took over that godforsaken task. He was hellbent on doing this high way or else, and he knew that as long as I lived under his roof and he was bigger and stronger than me, I wouldn’t dare try to pick an actual fight with him.”

Melissa’s voice slowly began to lower in pitch as her tone grew angrier and angrier, the thought of every interaction with her father burning in her mind to the point she was surprised her head didn’t spontaneously burst into flames. As much as she wanted nothing more than to literally strike back at him, she never did. She knew that no matter how strong she became or how well he trainer her that she would never be able to win a no holds barred fight against a man with actual military battlefield experience and police training on top of that, and what made it worse was the knowledge that he didn’t even need to actually fight back… his reputation alone meant that if she ever did lash out at him, no one would ever take her side even if she was truly in the right in this scenario. After all, how could the wartime hero that was Sgt. Brett Killgraves ever do any wrong? To all of them, he was about as perfect a human being as you could get.

“You said you were living on your own when you first came to Emerge. You finally had that freedom you so desperately sought, and yet all you could do with it was continue to think about trying to free yourself from his shadow.”

Cindy slowly began to leave the room, though it was clear by her tone of voice that she wanted Melissa to follow as they continued this conversation. Melissa’s body was on autopilot as she complied, her mind still burning hotter and hotter the more they kept going about this issue that made her tick for so long.

“That son of a bitch was practically a celebrity in our hometown. There were some big names living there like Claire’s father, who was a wealthy wolf of Wall Street pretty much, and Jennifer’s stepfather who’s a world-famous surgeon, but even they could never compare to what my father had. Even if he didn’t have his badge, everyone shut up and listened to him because they all respected what he was, never seeing him the way I did or understanding why I had such a problem with him. The ground he marched on was practically sacred to them!”

“Your father was a master manipulator even if he never fully realized it himself. He enforced his beliefs and desires for your future upon you for so long that even if you thought you’d broken away, you were still under his influence. He robbed you of your ability to make decisions for yourself and be the powerful, unbreakable woman you always wanted to be. If that’s what you were going to become, then it would be his definition of those terms, not yours. And all those people watching it unfold, too blinded by the hero they always believed him to be to ever question his choices in regards to you, or even the fact that he was a single father raising a little girl with no explanation to any of it. He never needed to say a word to them and they would never dare question him.”

Cindy stopped once she reached the door that would lead out into the bar area of the pub, turning to face Melissa. It was easy to tell at this point that the military maiden was about ready to violently lash out if she didn’t get some answers as to why she was being forced to take this painful trip down memory lane, and Cindy could only give a smirk in response to this.

“I know it’s not easy having to reflect back on your past Melissa, but there’s a reason why I made you do it. No matter how much you change your look or show a new attitude to the world, you will always be a slave to your father’s influence if you allow him to continue taking residence in your mind. All that anger you feel toward him, all that rage and hatred that thought of him evoke within you… if you truly wish to be free of him and proving to the world everything that you say you are now, you’re going to need to start weaponizing that. Think of anyone standing in your way as your father trying to keep you under his thumb, and respond as though he was threatening to put anyone you now call family into grave danger just to take you away from us.”

As soon as she uttered those last words, she opened the door and stepped out into the bar, with the still seething Melissa following close behind. Cindy’s words began to echo in her mind, further calling upon memories that only added more fuel to the fire. As soon as they were through the doorway, the first sight that greeted Melissa’s eyes was her friends, Claire and Jennifer. Since they needed to undergo their own trials and transformations while under Cindy’s watchful eye, a challenge they were both willing to face both for Melissa and for themselves, they had been working with Seraglio to get accustomed to working the bar and dealing with the drunken guests that came and went. Today seemed to be the day a small group of young men had gotten particularly wasted and decided to get a little too grabby with Melissa’s friends, which had invoked a small fight. None of the women of Seraglio jumped in to lend a hand, instead staying out of the way to see how the new girls would handle themselves. They weren’t natural-born warriors like Melissa was in a sense, but they had been working to improve themselves and prove they could hold their own in a fight if they ever needed to or were asked to get involved in Unforgiven matters. Despite the fact the girls were outnumbered, they seemed to be doing alright with keeping the rowdy drunkards at bay, although some of the noticeable cuts and bruises along with torn outfits that exposed underwear that only seemed to further drive the men’s inebriated desires. As well as they were doing, this situation wasn’t anywhere close to the worst of what would be to come for them and being outnumbered was beginning to take its toll, and Cindy seemed well aware of this. That was why she chose this exact moment to lead Melissa into this area, and she stepped aside with a grin as it became clear the military maiden was seeing red.

“Tell me, Melissa… would you let your father harm your friends the way these men are, just because he can if he wanted to?”

That seemed to be all the trigger needed because the next thing anybody knew, one of the drunken patrons found themselves being hit by what felt like a freight train and smashed into the wall before sliding to the floor, painfully coughing up a bit of blood. All eyes suddenly turned to Melissa, who glared at the remaining men harassing her friends with the kind of anger Clare and Jennifer had never seen before. The men all tried to rush her, but the numbers game didn’t work out this time as she effortlessly used their movements to turn them into human shields against one another’s blows before laying two of them out with well-placed Kill Shots. She caught an incoming punch from the last man standing and wasted no time in violently twisting his wrist until a very audible snap could be heard. He dropped to his knees, suddenly sobbing and begging for mercy, but Melissa’s glare was cold and uncaring to his pain as she lifted her foot and smashed his face into the floor with a nasty axe kick. Breathing deeply, she surveyed the damage she had done before whipping around to see if anyone else wanted to pick a fight with her, but all the other patrons quickly turned their attention back to their drinks and trying to forget about what they just witnessed.

“She still needs some work to hold on to it, but she’s getting there. If I can’t erase her father’s efforts, I can always find a new way to use them to get the Melissa Killgraves we’re both looking for.”

Cindy muses to herself as she watches Melissa slowly snap out of her rage and start tending to her friends. While Claire and Jennifer had managed to hold their own, they would still need to be pushed as well in order to prove they were worth being here and worthy of standing by Melissa’s side when all was set and done. The fact that they held meaning to her was very useful, but not enough on its own to yield what she was looking for. There was still plenty of time to see how this would all play out, however, and putting an end to the delusions of atonement for someone who also could have been just as welcome within the ranks of The Unforgiven would be a perfect showcase of what kind of monster Melissa Killgraves was starting to become.