Taking Hold of the Flame Battle Royal

[The Matt]

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May 26th, 2022
St. Louis, Missouri
On Camera
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We are backstage after Breakdown has gone off the air. Cameras are still rolling, however, and they catch up to the eccentric, somewhat deranged, Kimberly Williams. The Woman Scorned is still wearing her torn denim jeans, black boots, and a Konrad Raab t-shirt with “Konrad Raab” marked out and “Oktoberfest” written underneath. The lunatic ginger has her SCW Underground Championship title belt draped over her right shoulder. Williams notices the cameras following her so she stops and turns to face them.

“I suppose you want me to comment about tonight? Well no one ever accused me of hiding from the spotlight, am I right?!” Kim throws her head back and cackles loudly. “See, ever since Retribution and that world title double jeopardy craziness, ever since then I have been telling the world that I only wanted one thing and one thing only, and that I would do anything to get it. I kidnapped people, I vandalized SCW property, I even walked off the job…” Kimberly sighs and shakes her head “...and I admit, that last bit wasn’t in my character. It wasn’t who I am. That was all Marie. And unfortunately, Marie’s scheming, manipulation, and cowardly tactics did not get me what I wanted. So I took matters into my own hands. Instead of making all sorts of intricate, complicated plans, I went back to what works for me…I became an agent of chaos. I just did things. I harassed Oktoberfest’s family. I mocked him in song…a damn good song, might I add…and ultimately, forced the hand of not only Oktoberfest but Shaun Cruiserweight as well. I earned my shot at the Underground Championship and I beat Oktoberfest inside the confines of the steel cage.” Kimberly pats her Underground Title belt.

“Now this is back where it belongs! I have reclaimed the one thing I have wanted! I am happy…” she snickers nastily “...but I am FAR from content. See, tonight I was trying to explain my future with the Underground Championship when I kept getting interrupted by the likes of Thunderlips, a fake as gem stone named Diamond whose ass I already kicked a few weeks ago on Breakdown, Alexis Quinne, Crystal Zdunich, both of whom have been doing so poorly as of late that they have to step into my lane onto my segment and interrupt MY television time in order keep themselves relevant? And all so they can tell the world that they are going to win Taking Hold of the Flame…” Kimberly shakes her head.

“It’s sad, actually. It’s sad that you are so down on your luck, so down in the gutter, and in the case of Thunderlips just so cheesy and pathetic, that you have to hedge all of your bets on Taking Hold of the Flame in order to earn any kind of self respect in this company. You are eyeing Taking Hold of the Flame as your ticket to the main event of Rise To Wasley and the SCW World Championship. Then again, you’re no different from the rest of them. In fact, there are thirty nine wrestlers who look at Taking Hold of the Flame as their way to achieve their dream of becoming SCW World Champion.” Kimberly shakes her head.

“But not this girl…I said back at Retribution that I don’t care about the SCW World Championship and I still don’t care about it. So why then am I entering Taking Hold of the Flame where the prize is a shot at the SCW World Title? Well part of it is just to be able to be the Grinch who stole Christmas. Or in this case, the Grinch who stole Rise to Wasley. I am going to win Taking Hold of the Flame and thus deny each and every one of those thirty nine other competitors their dream. But I’m not just doing this out of spite alone. I’m not that kind of a cold hearted bitch. I do have another motivation. Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness. You will have to wait to find out exactly what is going on inside this crazy old mind of The Woman Scorned. Just remember that just like with Retribution and the double jeopardy match, Taking Hold of the Flame is not about the SCW World Championship. It’s about sending a message.” Kimberly turns and walks off. The camera fades to black.

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May 29th, 2022
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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After several months of being given the runaround by SCW management, months of negotiation, and harassment, finally “The Woman Scorned” Kimberly Williams has won back her SCW Underground Championship from Konrad Raab. It was a brutally violent and bloody affair inside of a steel cage, a match that definitely took years off of the careers of both wrestlers, possibly even years off of their lives, but for a woman as twisted and deranged as Williams she doesn’t really care about that. She saw her prize, the Underground Title, and she took it. She did whatever was necessary to achieve it. Now with Taking Hold of the Flame and the beginning of Rise To Greatness about to begin, Kimberly sees the opportunity to not only proudly represent the Underground division, but to even elevate it. A Taking Hold of the Flame victory by the Underground Champion would certainly elevate not only her status but the championship’s. So Kimberly, along with thirty-nine others, will be throwing her name into the hat for Taking Hold of the Flame and The Woman Scorned feels very confident as she walks into this challenging battle royal style match, especially as she is coming off of a championship victory.

Yet Kimberly still finds herself distracted by forces outside of her control. For the better of the year The Woman Scorned has found herself the victim of an obsessed stalker. Many celebrity athletes should be used to this kind of treatment, obsessed fans can be a part of life if you are in the public spotlight. The other problem is that this isn’t an obsessed fan. This stalker is obsessed with doing whatever it takes to ruin Kimberly’s life. What began as a direct physical assault on Kimberly herself outside of a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee eventually expanded to attacks on her sisters; Marie Jones’s home was burned down by an arsonist and Jessica Lasiewicz’s home was broken into.

It wasn’t hard for Kimberly to figure out who this stalker was; she already had an inkling as to the stalker’s motivation. The attacks began shortly after her twin sister, Marie, initiated a very public legal defense of their uncle, Douglas Williams, who was convicted of a series of murders in Massachusetts years before they were born. Kim had discovered evidence that their uncle may not have been acting alone and Marie wanted to use the evidence in order to get his sentence reduced. Kimberly knew their uncle was a murderer, regardless of if he acted alone, and that he belonged in prison. She also knew that Marie would potentially stir up a hornet’s nest if she got involved. Kim had no idea that someone would take such great offense to Marie’s legal wranglings that they would take it upon themselves to attack them and their family. But Kim knew that is exactly what had happened. Someone wanted to stop Marie…and by extension Kim…from helping exonerate their uncle. And a little more digging helped Kim learn the identity of the stalker; a young woman named Carol Johnson, the baby sister of a woman who had been killed by Douglas Williams.

A few weeks ago Kimberly came face to face with Carol in a local cemetery in Boston. After a brief struggle, The Woman Scorned had gained possession of a knife and had the opportunity to put an end to Carol once and for all. All she had to do was drive the knife through Carol’s throat and it would have been over. But somehow, for some reason, Kimberly could not bring herself to end Carol’s life. Perhaps Kim feels pity for Carol’s family? Kim’s uncle took her sister away from her, and if Kim took Carol’s life then their mother would be left all alone without either of her daughters. Kim’s act of mercy may have just prolonged the inevitable, because Carol made it clear that she would not stop until either she or Kim was dead.

It is obviously difficult to enjoy yourself when you have that kind of dark cloud hanging over your head. The Woman Scorned has also come to have a great appreciation for her family, especially after the lives of her sisters were recently threatened by the demented Carol Johnson. This is why Kimberly is currently spending time with her twelve year old nephew, Sean Connor Jones. The twelve year old is Marie’s son. Kim is taking care of him this afternoon because Marie is busy speaking with the attorney handling their uncle Douglas’s case. Marie had been hell bent on continuing the legal defense of their case, despite the attack in Nashville and despite the arson. But when the attacks began to focus on their half-sister Jessica Lasiewicz, Kim finally managed to convince Marie to drop the case. She convinced Marie to let Douglas stay in prison. Meanwhile Kim takes care of Sean today to ensure he is safe from Carol. Plus, Kim gets to bond with her nephew.

Williams and her nephew are walking down the streets of downtown Boston. Kim is dressed in torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a black “SCW” t-shirt. Sean is wearing denim jeans, sneakers, a plain white t-shirt. Kimberly is carrying her stuffed lead weight loaded penguin Wasley with her. Sean has his hands full with a bag of goodies that he just won at the arcade. In the other hand he has a thing of cotton candy that he is munching away.

“This afternoon has been awesome!” Sean exclaims as he takes a bite of cotton candy.

“I’m glad you had fun kiddo! You really did kick some major ass in that arcade…uh, butt, I said butt, right?”

“Sure ya did, Aunt Kim.”

“That better be your story. Your mom already doesn’t trust me with you. She thinks I’m dangerous or some shit like tha…uh, crap! Yeah! Crap!”

“Well…” Sean’s voice trails off as he thinks about what his aunt just said. Kim notices his doubt and shoots him a look.

“Wait, a sec, you don’t think I’m dangerous DO YOU?”

“You did get us kicked out of the arcade, Aunt Kim.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault that stupid manager doesn’t have a sense of humor!”

“You were using Wasley to play the Whack-A-Mole Game.” Sean says, pointing to the penguin. “You destroyed the machine.”

“And I said I’d pay for it!” Kim says defensively. “Besides, those stupid moles were asking for it. Did you see how they were looking at me?!”

“Heh…” Sean chuckles softly before embracing his aunt “...I love you, Aunt Kim.”

“I love you too, kiddo.” She pats him on his head. “Now come on, there’s a drink machine up ahead. We can get some drinks before catching a taxi back home.” Sean nods his head and follows Kimberly towards the pepsi machine. She looks down at Sean. “Do you have any cash?”

“No.”

“Neither do I.” Kim shrugs and then uses Wasley, smacking him just hard enough not to damage the Pepsi Machine the way Sean accused her of damaging the Whack-A-Mole machine, but definitely hard enough to jar a drink loose and out of the machine. Kim does a pose reminiscent of Fonzie of Happy Days “Eyyyyy!”

“Eyyyy?” Sean asks curiously. Kim rolls her eyes.

“Before your time, kiddo.” She reaches inside and pulls out a Pepsi. “It’s a Pepsi, is that good?”

“Uh, I suppose it’ll do.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well it isn’t my favorite. But it’ll do…”

“Nonsense! Only the best for my nephew!” Kim smacks the machine again with Wasley, this time two drinks pop out. Kim’s face lights up. “Sweet! Two for one!” She reaches inside and produces another Pepsi and a Dr. Pepper. “Do you want a Dr. Pepper?”

“Sure!” He quickly snatches it out of Kim’s hand. Kim then turns and begins to walk away, she motions for Sean to follow her. Kim leads Sean over towards a bench on the sidewalk facing the street. Kim sits down on the bench and then Sean follows suit. “Hopefully a taxi will be along soon. I hate waiting!”

“Right. But uh, Aunt Kim, may I ask you something?”

“Sure thing, kiddo. Just don’t ask anything about algebra or calculus. I hate math.”

“Calculus?”

“Don’t ask. You’ll find out later.”

“Ok…but uh, seriously can I ask you a question?”

“Of course you can.”

“I know mom named me after my grandfather. And I know he and grandma didn’t always get along that well. Why is that?”

“Well, you can probably blame me and your mom for that.” Kim says snickering. “I mean, we didn’t exactly have the most normal of childhoods. Your grandfather and your grandmother, through no fault of their own, thought I was dead. They blamed each other for losing me so they split up. They only had your mom left in their lives. And they both wanted her to themselves. They fought bitterly over your mother.”

“But I have heard mom saying some things about him lately and I’m wondering, was my grandfather really as bad a person as mom says?”

Kimberly sighs deeply. This was a touchy subject that she really was hoping to avoid. Unfortunately kids his age are very curious and it appears that he has overheard some of what Marie has been saying about their father, Sean Williams and his potential involvement in the serial killings perpetrated by their uncle Douglas. Kimberly isn’t even used to dealing with kids of any age. Should she be direct and honest with him and tell him his grandfather was a monster like uncle Douglas? Or should she lie and let him live in blissful ignorance until he is old enough to understand?

“I don’t want to lie to you, kiddo, because quite honestly, I was lied to my entire life. And it made me into a very resentful and bitter person because of it; I don’t want to see that happen to you. So I’m not going to lie. But what you just asked is probably a question your mom can answer better than me. But I will tell you that your grandfather was a flawed man…but hell, we’re all flawed individuals. None of us are perfect. We will always make mistakes and when we do, the only thing we can do is strive to be better. I think your grandfather was trying his best to be a better man and to overcome the mistakes he may have made in life. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“I think so.” Sean says, nodding his head.

“And just remember, your grandfather was not a bad man. He made mistakes but he did try to better himself. He tried to help people by becoming a police officer, before he died he started studying law because he wanted to help people who were unjustly found guilty of crimes they didn’t commit.”

“That’s cool, I guess.”

“It is.” Kim says nodding her head. “Your grandfather…my father…was a flawed man but at the end of his life he was a good man. You understand?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Kim pats him on his head. A smile creeps across her face and a warm feeling enters her heart. She feels good. She enjoys this time she is spending with her nephew. For a long time she never would have expected herself to be a family person, yet here she is enjoying this time with her nephew. She almost wishes this feeling would never end.

Unfortunately it is at this point that the feeling ends abruptly and violently. A loud shriek is heard from behind the pair. Kim feels a rope wrapping around her throat and it squeezes, cutting off her air and oxygen. Sean screams in terror as he jumps off the bench. He sees the figure of Carol Johnson choking the life out of his aunt.

“Aunt Kim!” Hearing this distracts Carol. She releases Kim and slowly begins to stalk the twelve year old. She points an accusatory finger at him.

“I cannot let another generation of Williams live!” Before she take another step towards Sean, Kim tackles Carol to the ground. Kim looks up to see Sean running off to make sure he is safe. Carol then kicks Kim off and tackles her back to the ground. Carol mounts Kim and begins to pound away with rapid fire right hands to the forehead and face.

“I told you, Williams! I told you that this would not end until one of us is dead!” Carol continues to pound away at Kim’s face but surprisingly, Kim just starts laughing uncontrollably. Carol growls angrily. “What is so damn funny?!” She punches her again. “Why are you laughing?!”

You need to hurt me in order to move on. Hell, you probably won’t move on unless me and my sister. But me…” Kim spits up some blood as she chuckles nastily “...I have moved on. I no longer care. So go ahead, Carol. Hit me!” Carol obliges and punches Kim in the face. “Oh come on, you can do better than that!” Carol hits her again. Kim snickers. “That’s better. Not good but better.” Carol punches her again. “HARDER! HIT ME HARDER!” Kim doesn’t have to ask twice, Carol hits her again. Kim just continues laughing uncontrollably and the more she laughs the angrier Carol gets. Carol gets up off of Kim and begins shouting.

“Why are you shouting?!” Carol stomps on Kim’s gut and Kim still laughs. Carol sets up for another stomp but then from out of nowhere several police officers swarm the area and point the firearms at Carol.

“Freeze!” One of the officers shouts. “Put your hands in the air!” Carol looks at the officers surrounding her. Then she looks back down at Kim who is slowly getting back to her feet and still laughing. Carol considers her options. “Don’t do something you will regret, lady!” Ultimately Carol does put her hands in the air, surrendering to the police. The police approach and begin to take her into custody.

Meanwhile Kim has pulled herself back to her feet. Sean quickly returns to her side. “Are you ok, Aunt Kim?”

“Don’t worry about me, kiddo, I was never in any danger.”

“Are you kidding me?! She was beating you up!”

“Her?!” Kim points to Carol, who by now has been handcuffed and is being stood up by the police. “Please. I recently took a dive off of a steel cage onto a pane of glass. I think I can take whatever that crazy broad has to offer. Besides…” she walks over to the bench and picks up Wasley the penguin “...I was never in any real danger.”

“Then why didn’t you use him against her?”

“Because she was threatening you, and taking care of you is more important than anything else. Also her family has suffered too much because of violence. I don’t need to add to that count by bludgeoning her with Wasley.” Kim pats Sean on the head. “You were brave to go get the police for me, kiddo.”

“Thanks, Aunt Kim.”

“This isn’t over!” Kim and Sean turn to see Carol being shoved into the back of the police cruiser. She is shouting angrily back at Kim. “It isn’t over!”

Kimberly’s heart tells her that she did the right thing, that letting the police handle it is the moral and just thing to do. It serves as a good example to her nephew. But her mind suggests that Carol is right, that this isn’t over. Kimberly’s mind tells her that at the end of this, one of them will have to die before it truly ends.