EMERGE CHAMPIONSHIP - JENNIFER HELMS (C) VERSUS MELISSA KILLGRAVES

[thisisemerge]

DEADLINE ONE - 3250 ROLEPLAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2020 2359 EST
DEADLINE TWO - SHOOT / SEGMENT 20TH SEPTEMBER 2020 2359 EST

[Jennifer Helms]

OOC: This was one of those weeks I didn’t know how things would turn out, but after I started writing this it turned into one of my favorite RP’s with Jennifer. Went CD Only, Shoot will come on the show.


Anything with the “REC” on it is Viewable to the Public.

The Views Expressed By Jennifer Helms Do Not Reflect Those of the Publisher. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

TURNING POINT

(Click Title)

[Ruppy]

Melissa hadn’t been feeling right in the head for what felt like some time now, and that was the last thing she needed going into Heavy Is The Crown.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed, but it had also been addressed differently depending on who you asked. Jennifer and Claire were both concerned because what it was doing to her painted an uncomfortable scene where it looked like they were slowly losing their friend as she became some kind of heartless monster. Cindy, on the other hand, had embraced this more psychotic mindset and tried to feed into it as a means of getting Melissa to the point where becoming EMERGE Champion would be all but assured, although she gave the military maiden fair warning that her repeated failures weren’t going to be tolerated for much longer, reminding her of the fate that befell Willow.

The harder Melissa trained for that upcoming show as she struggled with which mindset was in control, the more Cindy’s words began to haunt her as she reflected back on her past outings. She had been given a pass regarding the tag match where control of EMERGE was at stake, seeing as how she hadn’t been involved in the finish and Aiken’s own change of rules had ultimately cost him everything, but the fact that she had ultimately lost the physical war with Annabelle Burchard despite winning the mental war with the lingering damage she had caused to result in the ‘woman of faith’ remaining who she was now had put her on thin ice. She hadn’t been deaf to the whispers backstage at the past few events, questioning both why she had gotten the title shot in the face of these defeats and why she’d even be considered at all purely because she was a member of The Unforgiven, and all she could do was growl in irritation. The setbacks were one thing, but the idea of her not being given a chance just because of the path she’d chosen would’ve had her ready to start attacking people on the spot if it wasn’t for the fact that doing so would likely jeopardize her ability to actually have this match.

If they wanted to question why she was challenging for the EMERGE Title, then perhaps she was simply going to have to show them.

Before she could shift her focus towards the latest entry into her little rivalry with Jennifer Helms, however, even she knew her head had to be straightened out, and as much as she hated it… there was only one way she was going to be able to do that.

That was what had led to her taking an unannounced trip overseas back to America, only leaving behind the promise that she would be back in time for Heavy Is The Crown. While she knew Cindy was likely going to be angry over this, she wouldn’t be able to argue with the results if it led to her ‘chosen one’ standing at the top of the mountain. Throughout the entire trip, a voice in the back of her was practically yelling at her about how this was a horrible idea and was only going to do more harm than good, but Melissa didn’t care. After all, it seemed like everything in her life lately had only granted that result, and at least this time she was getting a choice in the matter to test the waters on whether or not she would hit that wall again. Plain and simple, she was tired of it haunting her dreams and distracting her in training, driving the need to inflict harm upon herself as though it was going to keep pushing her over the edge into this horrifying state of mind that was dangerous to her and everyone around her. She needed answers.

“And that brings me to here…”

It was a quiet affirmation to herself more than anything else, but it still left a bitter taste in her mouth. Standing before her was the prison she’d been told her father was being kept at, and the closer she got to the building the stronger the hurricane in her head seemed to become. The one thing she knew for sure was that, after willingly coming all this way, she couldn’t turn back now and abandon this, no matter how much a part of her desperately wanted to. She knew she’d need to confront this sooner or later, and the idea of it plaguing her and keeping her mentally unbalanced going into a battle with a woman she’d never been able to beat yet was just asking for them to already declare Helms the winner, and that wasn’t something Melissa was going to allow again if she could help it. Keeping her in mind and running through all of their past encounters in her head, while frustrating, seemed to do the trick because it kept her moving forward until she was standing before a desk, the officer sitting there and carefully watching her as he waited to know why she was here.

“I want to speak to my father… Sgt. Brett Killgraves.”

The moment she uttered those words and the officer recognized who she was, he’d quickly made a call with wide eyes to try and see if her request was something they could do, though it was clear there was a ton of apprehension about actually going through with it. She couldn’t blame them… after all, the last time the two Killgraves had been in the same room, she never truly finished her testimony in a court of law before he lost all semblance of the world-renowned restraint he had and attempted to get his hands on her, and before that, he’d essentially committed the act of police brutality that put him on trial in the first place before she fought back. It wasn’t a case of him not being allowed to see or speak with anyone, but more of a precaution to make sure nothing happened if he saw her in particular.

While the thought amused her, it also made her feel guilty, which was so new and foreign for the woman and especially in terms of dealing with this man specifically that she actually felt her blood run cold for a moment.

After a few minutes, the officer’s phone conversation ended and she was instructed to follow him, being led into what she recalled from her father showing her around once when she was younger (“as a means of making sure you stay on the right path in life”) was one of the private rooms for one-on-one meetings with prisoners, usually designed for visits where someone was either meeting with a lawyer to privately discuss trial matters or to keep more dangerous prisoners isolated when someone actually came to talk with them. It didn’t surprise her that they considered this entire situation so volatile it warranted some semblance of privacy, nor was she surprised that officers were posted at the doors on either side of the glass wall, just in case. Once she was led into one half of the room she took a seat and found she wouldn’t have to wait long as a door on the other side opened and a man in cuffs was led in. To say that Melissa was taken aback now was an understatement, as the strong soldier she once somewhat proudly called her father looked like anything but. Even if you took away the handcuffs and prison jumpsuit, you’d still have a man that looked broken and defeated, something that she had never seen in all the time she’d known him or heard stories about him from when he was on the battlefield. The officers in the room certainly seemed tense as the two sat across from one another, and even though they both knew their time was limited, neither one seemed willing to break the silence. Brett wouldn’t even lift his head to look at his daughter, but it seemed that once some of the guards started to move towards him to call an end to this, he finally found his voice so they could actually use the time they were given.

“…what are you doing here?”

Melissa picked up on a few things from that one line alone, the most noticeable being that it was a genuine question and not one asked out of anger or hatred. It certainly seemed like her father wasn’t expecting her to ever come and visit him, and under any other circumstances, she would give him that one. She’d be more than happy to let him rot for everything he’d put her through growing up, but she couldn’t shake that feeling in the back of her mind that had thrown her off and led her to this very moment in the first place. Beyond that, however, she noticed that he spoke with the voice of a defeated man who had nothing left and seemed to accept his fate, which further dug away at her. None of this should be happening, and she shouldn’t be showing him any sympathy after all that had transpired, but something inside continued to push her forward with this.

“I don’t know, if I can be honest… as much as I like seeing you get what you deserved, I’d have much rather forgotten you ever existed and left you to rot so I can focus on my EMERGE Title match coming up.”

At this, Melissa finally found her father glance up at her, though his expression was unreadable. She could tell he knew she had more to say and was waiting for her to continue, and it took a deep breath for her to be able to do just that.

“Something’s… been bugging me, since that day in the courtroom. It wasn’t just that I’d never seen you act that way before… even with everything you pulled before you always tried to stay as composed as possible, like you knew you were about to walk into a minefield. When you tried to rush the stand, I was expecting you to throw a punch or hope to tackle me or strangle me or something. But… you weren’t aiming to do any of that before you were hauled out, were you?”

Silence overtook the room again as the two stared one another down, though with no malicious intent to be found from either party. Melissa was simply curious and her father was pondering if he even should continue this conversation, but it certainly seemed like the both of them were trying to get used to what was clearly the first halfway civil conversation they’d been able to have in… who knows when. Finally, the silence was broken again when Brett let out a forced chuckle.

“I didn’t think you’d pick up on that. Maybe it’s the bitterness of everything talking, but I never would’ve expected you to catch that, or let it weigh on your mind as much as it has.”

Melissa’s fists balled up, almost on instinct at this point at anything that sounded even remotely like he was trying to goad her into doing something, though he quickly held up his cuffed hands in defense.

“I know I acted irrationally in court… I had my reasons, and I knew that your testimony was going to be the end for me. If I could rewind time and give it another try, I’d attempt to be more level-headed about it all. But if I was going down… I wanted to make sure you understood that, beneath all the anger and stubbornness… I do love you, Melissa, and I’m proud of you.”

Melissa choked back a laugh in such a way that made it sound a lot harsher than it was supposed to come out, but it certainly fit the situation as far as she was concerned.

“You actually love me? Sorry if I find that a little hard to believe, dad… last I checked, years of trying to forcibly decide my future and mold me into what YOU wanted, and even going so far as to treat me like a criminal for fighting back against it… that’s not love, in any sense of the word.”

“I know, and I’m ashamed to admit that it took going too far and being on the wrong side of everything I stood for to finally realize that. I… don’t think it would surprise you, between the actions that led to your conception and how I’ve treated you all this time, to know that I don’t exactly do ‘emotions’ very well. It’s not the kind of thing you’re expected to show in the military, lest you make a fatal mistake because you thought with your heart instead of your head.”

Melissa practically snorted at this, leaning back in her chair as she tried to put up an appearance of intimidation, but her father wasn’t buying it. He knew she was at least somewhat intrigued by everything that had gone down, or else she wouldn’t even be here. With that in mind, he pressed onward.

“Ever since I was arrested, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on everything. It should probably come as no surprise that a lot of it drove me mad. I realized that everything I’d done had been wrong, and I had no right to consider myself worthy of enforcing justice after the way I treated you went against all of that. But, like any soldier, I was stubborn. I had a reputation I was desperately clinging to, and it clouded my judgment every step of the way. Even when I’d finally accepted that I had been in the wrong this entire time… my pride refused to ever admit to it in front of you. All because of this stupid idea that I could not appear weak in front of anyone… especially my own flesh and blood.”

Brett let out a staggered breath as he briefly held his head in his hands, almost as a sign that he’d been far more affected by this than he was still trying to let on. Melissa wanted to hate him, especially now that he’d finally admitted to everything in front of her… but she couldn’t. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find it in her any further to feel angry about him or anything he had done. She had every reason to hate him for all of it, but she could no longer summon that particular emotion as the two locked eyes again.

“I’ll be watching you… the guards let us watch wrestling shows as a means of entertainment in here. I know you have no reason to believe me when I say this, but… I’m looking forward to actually giving you the proper attention when you’re competing, and not trying to view it as a means to some stupid legal end. I still disagree with the path you’ve chosen… but you’re an adult Melissa, and you’ve proven you were an adult long before I ever truly realized that fact. Only you can decide your future, and if this is what you want to do, then I have no right to stop you… not after everything I’ve done.”

“…thank you. And… I’ll keep that in mind. But you need to keep in mind that this doesn’t mean I forgive you for anything that happened.”

“I know… I do not deserve it. Maybe in time, but not now.”

Melissa thinks for a moment, knowing she has more she wants to say but can’t bring herself to say any of it. By the time she starts to find her voice, the guards intervene, signaling that their time is up as they start leading him away. Melissa watches him carefully as he goes, almost as though she’s searching for any hint that he’s still trying to use this to get to her one last time, that this is part of some bigger plan… but she finds none of that. Only the departure of a broken man who has finally come to terms with his horrible actions over the years and is accepting the punishment he deserves for every last bit of it. After she’s escorted out of the prison, Melissa can’t bring herself to start leaving the place behind just yet, letting everything she’d heard today slowly sink in.

The knowledge that her father is hoping she’ll forgive him one day… not expecting it to happen because she’s his daughter, but simply hoping that maybe they might be able to mend the bridge that was destroyed down the line.

Confirming that he does truly love her as his daughter and simply never knew how to actually show it, allowing himself to be blinded by the heroic status he had achieved before he even knew she existed.

Even wishing her luck at Heavy Is The Crown…

Melissa couldn’t resist letting out a short scream of frustration as she slammed her fist against the wall of the building, having gotten the answers she was looking for mostly but not really feeling satisfied with this newfound knowledge. Perhaps she would return someday to talk with her father again, maybe even getting more answers in the process.

Right now, with her feelings on him and how he raised her slowly disappearing, she did manage to latch onto something that would benefit her, and that was the overwhelming desire she had to finally put Jennifer Helms down for the count once and for all and prove she could beat the champion everyone wanted to put on a pedestal and believe that she could do no wrong.

After all, nobody was perfect, and she was living proof off that.