Annabelle Burchard versus Sierra Swann

[thisisemerge]

DEADLINE ONE - 3250 ROLEPLAY 15TH MAY 2020 2359 EST

DEADLINE TWO - SHOOT / SEGMENT 17TH MAY 2020 2359 EST

[The Atoner]

4-27-2020

Thirty minutes after Emerge 38 went off the air, Annabelle found herself sitting all by her lonesome down in the boiler room of the Motorpoint Arena. She sat on the dusty dingy floor staring off into space. The only thing she wanted to do in the moment was to be alone, far away from the locker room. The fans. Anyone for that matter. That is exactly how she felt with the face paint still fresh on her face.


Alone. Distant. Defeated.


Annabelle made a promise to herself she would never revert back to the dark place she allowed herself to get sucked into which led to a young woman sidelined in the hospital for an amount of time. One tragic event led her to abandoning wrestling, cutting ties with her Father, embracing a life as a nun, due to a spark of inspiration she returned to a sport she does feel passionate about. This time would be different she convinced herself, there would be temptations, life was always going to present challenges, the mark of an evolved human being would be overcoming the obstacles. On this day, as Annabelle continues to stare at the rusty steam boiler in front of her, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she lost the battle. She knew the moment she brought the make up kit to the Motorpoint Arena with her...



Annabelle remained isolated for another fifteen minutes. She couldn't stay in the arena forever. The building would be closed soon. She pulled herself up, walked towards the door. As she was leaving she heard the squeaking of a rat. She turned around just in time to see the rat scurry off into the darkness. Annabelle sighed, walked out the boiler room leaving the darkness behind her, for the time being.




Back at the hotel, Annabelle marched straight to the bathroom. She immediately cut on the shower to a moderately hot temperature. Taking off all her clothes she stepped into the moderately hot running water, she allowed the water to wash over her face first with the intention of removing the face paint. She adjusted the shower head slightly downward. Backing up she slid down the wall of the shower, the hot water completely engulfed Annabelle. Lowering her head she allows the water to cleanse her of the impurity of the night. Deep down she knew washing away her sins was not going to do the trick.


“You win Daddy...” Annabelle screamed.


A few moments pass, again, Annabelle screamed out. “Unforgiven... you win. Melissa... you won.”


The shower water wasn't enough to muffle the tears Annabelle began shedding.




She failed.


The interesting thing about failure is how a man or woman responds to it.


How would Annabelle respond..?


..


Annabelle hopped on a flight back to Buffalo, New York the following day. When her flight landed the first thing she did was head home to get some much needed rest. The next couple days were spent largely in isolation. She read. Jotted in her journal. Refused to entertain the litany of phone calls that blew up her cellphone. The only interaction she engaged in was with Sierra Swann and Danny Darko on Twitter. Aside from the rare social media appearance she obeyed all forms of social distancing. She had enough food, no need to go out.


Toilet tissue.


Water.


Check.


On the third day her phone continued to ring. She didn't want to answer. Frustrated she looked at the Caller ID. Annabelle rolled her eyes. Deep down she knew this day would come. With no other choice she answered the phone. Waited for the voice on the other end to stop talking.


“Yes, I accept the call.” Annabelle reluctantly said.


Pressing the speaker button, she laid the phone on the kitchen table. She folded her arms into her chest.


“How are you doing, sweet pea?” the voice of her father called out to her from the phone.




“Get to the point, Daddy.” Annabelle sighs.


“Sweat pea, this is a cause for celebration. I knew my little girl would see the light.” Tavis exuberantly said.




“NO, THIS ISN'T. Annabelle scowled. “Of course you would never understand that, Daddy! What do you know about principals?”




“Principals?” Tavis broke out laughing. “The only principal in human nature sweat pea is kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest. There are no laws in the jungle.”




“We're not animals, Daddy!” Annabelle rolls her eyes.




“Of course we are. What have I tried to tell you all these years. Civilization made us weak. Drowned out the animal instinct in most of us, the true hunters rule the Earth. The key is to tap back into our base instincts. Not resist the pull.” Tavis stops talking, allowing his daughter to pond what he just said.




Annabelle simply stared at the cellphone, refusing to respond to what her father said.




“Anna--” Tavis continues. “I want what is best for you. Do you believe me?”


Annabelle runs her fingers through her hair. Tilting her head to the side she finally speaks “If that were true Daddy, you would have made better life choices after I was born. Leave me a positive legacy to live up to, not one filled with murder, chaos, and embarrassment. This is my fate thanks to you.”




“Your welcome.” Annabelle knew her father well enough to know he was smiling on the other end, didn't need a genius to figure that out. Tavis continues. “I left you a legacy of honesty, sweat pea. All that self help charlatans preach about living your authentic sense. I am. No regrets. Sucks I can't nurture you along this path. I have all the belief in the world you are going to be alright. Surround yourself with people who understand. Don't go through life alone, Anna.”




“Daddy... you are right about one thing. I can't help who I am.” Annabelle smirks “What I can control is what happens next. All is not lost. I'll take your advice to heart.”




“You should. I need to go. Talk to you later?” Tavis asked.


Annabelle nods. “Yes Daddy... later.”


“So I don't need to blow your cellphone up for days on end?” Tavis chuckles.


“Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Annabelle said reciting Exodus chapter 20, verse 12.


She presses the phone button ending the call immediately. For once her father gave her a useful idea.




Time to act on it.




-




Annabelle sat alone on the front steps of St Dominic Monastery. Five years of her life she dedicated to becoming the best nun she could be. Her intentions were noble. Best laid plans as the old saying goes. She keeps her focus on the various onlookers going about there day not aware she is keeping her mind busy observing there various movements. Men and woman of all walks of pass by the monastery without a care in the world. One person in particular caught Annabelle's eyes. He walked slowly up the steps wearing a Philadelphia Eagles cap, a light jacket and denim blue jeans. His crisp clean beard stood out. Benjamin Flynn takes a seat next to Annabelle. “Never been invited to a monastery before. This is definitely a first for me.”




Annabelle shifts her body so she is peering into the brown eyes of the man she asked to meet her at this spot. “Thanks for showing up.”




“You were quite cryptic.” Benjamin Flynn smirks. “Curiosity has never failed me in the past, why not test fate. Ms. Burchard, what do I owe the pleasure?”




“How alone do you feel in the world now that EMERGE is no longer your home?” Annabelle asked.




Benjamin raised his right eyebrow. He rubs his chin. “Wow, you don't waste time Ms. Burchard.”




“Annabelle. Ms. Burchard is my mom. Not me.” Annabelle insist.




“Very well, Annabelle--” Benjamin nods. “The transition out of the wrestling business has not been easy. Does pain me just a little bit that I am not in the thick of things. No one said life was fair. I try not to dwell on the negative.”


“Like Shaun [Cruze] granting his newest project complete and total control over wrestling operations, an honour Drew Bryant didn't grant you?”




“Not that simple. Thanks to the deal Drew made, Silas and Aiken are out voted in the boardroom. I was out of line speaking out. Reacted in the moment. It happens.”




“Drew Bryant hung you out to dry, Benjamin. That happened!!” Annabelle tilts her head to the side. “Where is Drew now? Ran away. Left the problem he created in the hands of his half brother and SCW Superfriends. Besides Thomas Wasley, who else has reached out to you, Benjamin? You supported the Resistance. All of them outright forgot about you, didn't they?”




Benjamin chuckles. “ What's it to you?”




“I was abandoned too.” Annabelle places her hand on Benjamin. “Been doing a lot of thinking since Emerge 38. I realized how alone in the world I truly am. Everyone in Emerge wrapped up in their own little bubble. You noticed how everyone on the roster wrapped their arms around Jenni when she expressed how disappointed she was in her first match as champion. Where was my support, Benjamin? The Unforgiven kept picking, prodding, no one there. I came out at the end of the program a few months ago to lend a land, where was the hand to help me out? Who was there to tell me everything to be alright?”




Annabelle sighs. “Nowhere to be seen. I was under the assumption if you tried to do right the world would notice. They would be there for you. I was wrong. No one aided me in my fight against The Unforgiven. They left me no choice but to resort back to the only comfort I know. Being The Hunter. Not the prey. And now I am on a mission of justice. My brand of it.”


Benjamin takes a moment process everything that Annabelle had told him.


“Nothing new, Annabelle. The pack mentality has always existed in Emerge.”


“Stop rationalizing everything, Ben!” Annabelle scoffs. “Answer my question, do you feel abandoned?”




Benjamin lowers his head, looking down at the steps. “Yes.”




Annabelle scoots over to the former general manager of Emerge. She wraps her arm around his shoulder “I won't. We have each other.”


Benjamin looks up into Annabelle's eyes. “Is that so?”


“Yes.” Annabelle smiles. “We are one in the same, Benji. You did the best you could playing by their rules. Deep down, you are still the man who manipulated Mya and Lilith to your own ends. You are still the man who was apart of New Sinistry. No one understands more than me the desire to rise above our internal nature. Maybe my Daddy was right, I can't rise above my DNA. Perhaps I am a monster. Perhaps; you are as well. Monsters need each other. Daddy was wrong about one thing, we aren't animals, we are human beings, we need a tribe to survive. I can't survive without assistance. Care to walk this road with me, one failed redeemer to another?”




Annabelle rises to her feet. She extends her hand to Benjamin. “Take my hand and walk this way...”




Benjamin doesn't hesitate to rise to his feet. He grabs Annabelle's hand. “Where too.”




“Don't know. Lets find out... together.” Annabelle offers a smile.




Benjamin nods. “Together.”




Annabelle and Benjamin walk down the steps to follow there new path... together.


–

<< PROMO >>

“Swann... you are an interesting case study...”




“There is the FACE your opponents are accustomed too. They see a woman who constantly reminds us little people you are the Face of Emerge. You remind us that your face will be plastered across every lunch box, frisbee, any product we can imagine on an international scale. Not a moment goes you say your opponents are below you in someway. For a woman who does not want to draw comparisons to her own sister, the same thread of arrogance runs through her as it does yourself. No, arrogance isn't a Swann thing, it is an affliction of humanity.”


“The same arrogance that brought The Unforgiven to my doorstep.”


“The same arrogance The Resistance embodies with there short sighted belief that they know what is best for the company. Who gave them the authority to be judge, jury and executioner of what is right and wrong.”


“In a way Swann, you are right. You are The Face of Emerge. This company in a nutshell is ripe of arrogant wrestlers who will eventually destroy themselves.”


“BUT the arrogant FACE is not the only one you've shown. There are moments Swann, rare as they may be, where you pulled back the veil. Allowed the general public to witness what you are like when you are not lost in the underbelly of the human ego. You are kind to me on social media. You have spoken highly on Jennifer Helms. Heck, before you allowed Drew Bryant's assertion you are the Face of the company get to your head, your ego was dialed back more than it is now.”


“Confess Swann, did the pressure to succeed straight out the gate get to you?”


“Did early setbacks defy the expectations you set for yourself?”


“Did the lone time you were left off an Emerge pay per view inspire you to go down this road, Swann?”




“Are you doing all this to stand out in a crowd?”


“Is that what you value, Swann?”




“Are my questions disrespectful?”




“Have I earned your wrath... yet?”




“On May 18th you will see the same FACE that Melissa Killgraves bore witness too.”


“Up until last month Swann, all I wanted was to embrace redemption. I wanted to overcome my complicated past. Rise above my genetics. Show Daddy that I wasn't the same heartless monster he made it his mission to mold me into. Last month, I felt he won. Melissa and The Unforgiven got what they wanted. They prodded. And prodded. And prodded. Got underneath my skin. They inspired me to unleash the monster I created to make Daddy proud. A funny thing happened, Swann. Not funny in a hysterical way. Funny in the ironical sense. Time didn't heal any wounds. Didn't make me rethink my stance. Three weeks between shows, you'd think I would settle my mind enough to walk back on the boulevard of broken dreams. Then I realized Swann... I don't want to go back.”


“Not anytime soon.”


“Possibly, not ever again.”


“Why?”


“Emerge is damned! Damned to hell. There is no hope for this place. Does not matter who is in charge or who the actual face of the company is. There are so many lost souls it would be a waste of time trying to play the role of savior. Don't mistake my decree Swann as me linking up with the Unforgiven. I serve no Queen. I will obey no King. I am the master of my fate now. I am not Daddy's Lil Monster. No. I am something much more than that... the embodiment of God's wrath. Swann, the 18th is not about judging you. As of now, you have not done a thing to earn my judgment, but there are those in this company who have earned the wrath of God. One, by one, by one they all shall fall. Knowing the arrogance of those in this company Swann, more will be added to my list. You can mark May 18th down on your calendar as my coming out party?”


“I will never claim the person across the ring from me is a stepping stone like you claimed Madeline and Desiree to be in your first encounter, the only words of comfort Swann I offer are... what happens next won't be personal at all.”

[Sierra Swann]

The Views Expressed by Your “Rose Gold Standard” Are That of Her Own and Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. Viewer Discretion Is Advised.

 
 

A SISTER’S BOND

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