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The Switch
Act 8 ; Scene 1
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“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” --- Gerald Ford
Richard Nixon tendered his resignation to the Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at 11:35 a.m. At that moment, Ford became the 38th President of the United States. Once the now private citizen Richard Nixon had left the building, White House staff immediately began preparations for Gerald Ford’s inauguration and swearing in. The White House, as well as the entire nation, wanted to move on from the national nightmare that had been Watergate.
Forgetting something as enormous as Watergate is hard to do but many Americans attempted to just forget about it and move on with their lives. Just forgetting about something like that is difficult to do and, sometimes, can be detrimental. Gerald Ford tried to forget about the Nixon Legacy and it ended up costing him a re-election bid as he lost to Jimmy Carter.
My husband is Tony Morgan and he has been hounded and harassed by a psychotic woman by the name of Carolyn Rose York for as long as I have known him. Twice she has tried to ruin us, to destroy us, just so she can have Tony all to herself. But then, maybe I shouldn’t place all the blame on her. Tony does accept some of the blame as he participated in the initial affair with this crazy woman when she was his patient when he had a psychiatric practice. Nevertheless, she is gone now and this nightmare is over. Tony and I can move on with our lives. We can forget about everything she has ever done to us.
Or at least, Tony can.
I cannot easily forget what Carolyn did because she left a lasting mark on my psyche. Her most recent attempt to destroy us included putting a whammy on me, a whammy that separated my personality into two completely different figures. There was my normal self, the self that Tony loves to be with, and then there was the darkness, a beast that I created to protect myself during the years of abuse I suffered at the hands of my own father.
Tony does not have to live with this. He has no idea what it is like for me right now. I’m not completely sure he would even care even if he knew. He just knows that Carolyn Rose York is gone and he and I can live happily ever after.
Or so he thinks.
I know that beast is climbing its way back to the surface and one day it will regain complete control. When it does, God help the rest of the world. God help Tony Morgan. This beast does not care for anyone, not even him.
But for now I am willing to give Tony what he wants. For now I am willing to be that “normal” Sophie that he wants me to be. For now I am willing to try and fight back that beast and be his dutiful wife; and right now, my husband is in the mood to celebrate the reunion of our blossoming family.
I am not typically one to celebrate. I do not want to rest on my laurels. I want to keep in the gym, keep studying tape, keep training and keep preparing for the next challenge. Who knows what other psycho might pop up and try to ruin what we have built for ourselves? Who knows when this beast within me might break loose? And then there is the challenge that awaits at IWC Invictus…
Mark and I finally get out shot at the IWC World Tag Team Championship coming up at Invictus when we face The Harem, Black Crusade, and Pestilence in a four way dance. I had been trying to make sure Mark and I got The Harem all to ourselves but that did not pan out. Oh well, we’ll take what we can get and make due.
And I have no doubt in my mind that Mark and I can win that match at Invictus and become World Tag Team Champions. Together we have achieved many things as a tag team. Twice we have held the GDW world tag team championships and hold the record for the longest GDW World Tag Team Championship reign in history. Twice we have held the MWA world tag team championships and hold the record for the longest GDW World Tag Team Championship reign in history, as well as being the final MWA World Tag Team Champions in history, never losing them. As a team we are formidable and that is an understatement.
So are Pestilence and Black Crusade. So are The Harem. All three of these teams are made up of great athletes, no matter how weird they may be. If we let our guard down, any of those three tag teams could take advantage.
Total War cannot allow that to happen.
Still, Tony, the darling, insisted that we go out and celebrate our reunion. He insisted that we celebrate being back together and our nightmare being over once and for all. That’s fine. Maybe I should loosen up this once? But just this once.
Tony and I are sitting at the rounded booth table in the steakhouse restaurant. My brother, Mark O’Brian, and his girlfriend Ashley Murray are with us.
“Where’s my dinner!” Mark bellows loudly, causing a few heads to turn. Not even his madness can disrupt our time, though.
“Quiet, Mark.” Ashley scolds teasingly. “You’ll get us thrown out.”
“Let ‘em try.” He growls angrily. “I’m hungry!”
“There is a time and a place for everything.” I respond slowly. “And let’s be completely honest, this fine establishment is neither the time nor the place for a ‘pier six brawl’ as the Americans like to put it.”
“But I like brawls!” Mark whines. “I like ‘em whether they are not pier six or seven or eight or…”
“Oh shut up you ignorant baboon!”
We are silenced by the sound of laughter coming from Ashley and Tony. Mark and I turn to look at them first with anger but then that anger fades into looks of smiles and then laughter as well as we quickly realize that we indeed were making fools of ourselves in this very restaurant. Thankfully Tony reigns the chaos in by raising his glass of beer.
“I would like to propose a toast!”
We all raise our glasses in preparation, waiting for Tony to speak.
“First of all to my lovely, wonderful wife Sophie, for putting up with the skeletons in my closet and saving me on more than one occasion now.”
I wink at him knowingly. “We all have skeletons in our closet, love.”
“To Mark and Ashley, whose story has proven to be almost like the kind you would read out of a fairy tale…”
“Huh?”
Ashley elbows Mark in the ribcage. “Just go with it, dear.”
“…may your love, and ours, continue to grow in strength and endurance!”
We clink our glasses together and, in unison, take a drink. Mark then raises his glass back up and starts bellowing like the beast he is.
“Hey! I got one too!”
Ashley starts giggling uncontrollably but I just roll my eyes. “Oh God, Mark…”
“I propose a toast to ME! Me and Sophie! Cause we’re going to be the next IWC World Tag Team Champions!”
Ok, so maybe the big oaf isn’t as dumb as I thought. Tony, Ashley, and I follow suit and once again clink glasses together before taking another drink.
“Mark is right though.” Tony finally says. “We should also be celebrating the two of you finally getting a shot at the tag titles.”
I nod my head in agreement. “Yes, well, it will be quite the challenge. We have to defeat three teams, not just one.”
“The more the merrier!” Mark replies with a sinister grin on his face. “I like a good fight!”
“I know that all too well. But we will not be well served if this descends into an all out fight. We need to win through skill and strategy.”
“Skill and strategy can work on Polly and Kordy but what about Black Crusade? Pestilence? We’re going to have to outfight them and you know it!”
I sigh, shaking my head. “Now is not the time to be arguing about our approach, dear brother.”
“Sophie is right.” Tony chimes in hoping to break the tension. “This is a time for celebration.”
He stands up. “But first, I need to go to the bathroom. You know what I want, right Sophie?”
“Yes, dear.”
With that, Tony walks away. Almost immediately after he is out of sight Mark also stands up. “You know, I think I need to go to the bathroom too.”
“Both of you at the same time?” I ask with an arched brow. “You are worse than women.”
“Hey! I can’t help I need to piss!”
I roll my eyes. “Just go!”
Mark makes an exit as well. This leaves Ashley and myself alone. I wouldn’t be surprised if someday she is my sister-in-law, because Tony is right, her and Mark have had the storybook relationship so far.
My brother had at one time dated Leslie Murray. Out of jealousy for how much attention he was giving her and how little time with him I was getting, I convinced him to break up with her. That drove Leslie right into the arms of one Joshua Manning, a sick individual who killed his own parents and framed Leslie for the murders. Mark was devastated when he found out and even more pained when Leslie was executed for the crime.
I felt my own guilt, guilt knowing that had I not broken them up, she probably would not have met Joshua Manning and she would be alive today. To make myself feel better I tracked down Manning and murdered him and made it look like a suicide.
What neither Mark nor myself knew was that Leslie had an identical twin sister, Ashley. Mark met Ashley and the two immediately hit it off. Now they have been dating for a year and are quite happy together.
“I bet you are relieved, aren’t you Sophie?”
“Hmmm?”
“About Tony.” Ashley states. “I bet you’re relieved he’s back.”
I nod my head in agreement. “Oh of course. It is wonderful to have Tony back.”
“That York woman was real demented.” Ashley says, shaking her head in disbelief. “How could anyone think to do that to you and him?”
“Not that difficult.” I take a sip of my beer. “She knew what she wanted and she did anything to get it. And she damn near got it.”
“Yes, but she’s crazy.”
“Crazy?” I chuckle. “Consider that I once drove the Lohan family mad and harassed Brittany’s then lover Angelica just so I could become MCW World Champion. I knew what I wanted and did whatever I could to get it. Am I crazy?”
She is gazing into my eyes and I can’t help but wonder if she is thinking about it, even if only for a moment. Then she shakes her head vehemently.
“No, you’re not crazy.” She takes my hands into hers. “But if you need to talk to someone about what went on, I’m here for you.”
I nod my head. “Thank you.”
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Promo
Mark
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It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it? I mean, let’s be honest, ever since Sophie and I have come here we’ve had to put up with Black Crusade, Porno Lad and his Harem, and now Pestilence. Everything the Independent Wrestling Cartel could think of to put in our way and yet Total War continues to come back for more.
That’s just how we are. We don’t take no for an answer and we don’t give up that easily. We’re going to keep fighting until we get what we came for. It’s a lesson that these idiots in the Black Crusade are going to learn pretty quick. It’s a lesson I think those bimbos in the harem are already learning. It’s a lesson that Pestilence will learn. You can send as many goons or henchmen as you want and we’ll keep fighting. As corny and cliché as it sounds, it will take a hell of a lot more than that to keep us down for the count.
Another lesson IWC and these other three tag teams need to learn is that once Total War sets its mind on something we will do whatever it takes to obtain it.
Do a brief history lesson, pencil necks. Educate yourself on the history of Total War. Find out what we’ve done in order to win previous tag team titles, what Sophie has done to win her world titles. There is no low we won’t stoop to, there is no limit we won’t go, and we will push the envelope as far as we need to in order to become world tag team champions.
Harem, Black Crusade, Pestilence, you’re a bunch of damn freaks. You’re a carnival act pretending to be professional wrestlers. That’s all you are. But hell, at least the latter two have the right goal in mind. The Harem only wants to please Porno Lad, right? You want to impress him. You bitches want to prove that you can compete in a man’s world.
Fuck him. Fuck him and his opinions. This isn’t about that airhead freak. This is about the world tag team championship and you two are standing in our way. And you know what happens to people who stand in our way?
They get hurt.
Invictus is coming up and that is going to be Total War’s night to shine in the spotlight, Total War’s night to become world tag team champions, and none of you are going to stop us.
Learn that lesson quick, boys and girls.
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The Switch
Act 8 ; Scene 2
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Abandoning the crew during our outing no doubt will raise suspicions but it is for a noble cause. Namely, to settle the demons within me. Carolyn Rose York left some unsettling monsters deep down within my soul, monsters that must be satisfied in some form or another otherwise those I love might get harmed.
Tony Morgan, my husband, for instance.
Leaving these monsters inside my psyche to their own devices is also dangerous for other reasons. As good as it is to have unrelenting rage driving you during a wrestling match, too much of it can be costly. Too much of it can cause you to get disqualified and lose the match. Mark and I are on the cusp of winning the IWC World Tag Team Championships at Invictus and we cannot afford to screw this up now. I have worked too hard to get us into this situation only to let my rage get in the way.
Sorry Tony, Mark, Ashley, but I have to go. Things must be taken care of.
It is early in the morning, so early that still no sunlight has managed to peek in from the clouds. The darkness still rules the sky outside and yet I am awake. Enthralled by the feeling I experienced tonight in this bed I am lying in, a comfortable king size bed in a secluded, special place that no one knows exists but me and one other individual. I am dressed in a red one piece strappy lace halter teddy with cutout sides that shows just the right amount of skin and mixes romance with seduction for an unforgettable night with my partner, not Tony Morgan my husband but instead with my mistress Abigail Lindsey.
“Funny, a year ago I was hiding in a closet watching you and Tony ‘make love,’ a year later I find myself where I wanted to be from the minute I laid eyes on you.”
I roll over and stare deep into her eyes.
“Fact is, Abigail, I do love Tony. But he cannot give me what I need. He cannot satisfy the craving that I have.” I kiss her on the nose.“Only you can satisfy the carnal desires I have.”
I never have been good at expressing my feelings and emotions. Being beaten and abused as a child caused that. But being with Tony has helped me in that department. More and more I have become an emotional human being and perhaps that is how Carolyn Rose York managed to sneak her way in past my psychological defenses? Oh well, she’s dead now. No matter anymore. All that matters is me and this woman lying next to me, Abigail Lindsey, who smiles back at me.
“I aim to please.”
A faint laugh escapes my lips. “Strangely enough, you have Carolyn Rose York to thank for this. You know?”
“I’ve made a living taking advantage of the opportunities presented to me, why stop now?”
“Carolyn was smart, too smart for her own good. She thought she could control the darkness living inside me. Truth is, all she did was unleash it. And you, my sweet…”
I gaze down at her chest, which shows plenty of cleavage through the cover. After a moment’s pause I take a lick before looking back up with a look of mischief.
“You are the one who gets to dance with my darkness while Carolyn can rot in the grave I put her in...quite literally might I add. She makes a better corpse than a human being.”
“So how does it feel? Not the sex... talking to me like this? About dead bodies, rotting corpses, murder.”
I roll back over, facing away from her now. A sigh escapes my lips.
“Perfectly normal. You see, Abigail, the hardships that I endured throughout my life created what amounts to almost be two different personalities. One part of me is the normal, dutiful wife of Tony Morgan. The other is my darkness, a monster I created as a child to protect myself. Tony cannot handle the darkness.”
Tears start to form in my eyes and I am thankful I am turned away from Abigail so she does not see me crying.
“He would not want that side of me. He’s made that clear already. I have to have an outlet. Otherwise that darkness will take total control and all hell will break loose. Wrestling...and you...are those outlets.”
“I hate to be a buzzkill, Sophie, we both know secrets have an unpredictable way of coming into the light. I have no intention of sharing our nights together with anyone, what happens if this comes out? Hard to imagine a traditional man like Tony will understand our arrangement.”
Abigail is quite right and I hate to admit it. Damn I hate to admit it but she is right about that. I swing my legs off the bed and push myself up. I walk over to the dresser and place my hands on it, my face looking down at the floor before looking back up into the camera, my eyes red from the tears.
“This darkness is growing more and more powerful by the day. If this comes out…”I pause.“...when this comes out, I will murder Tony. Not that I want to, but I will be completely helpless to stop myself from doing so.”
“But, if you love him, shouldn’t that be enough to stop you? Or is love conquering all one big lie?”
“Love can conquer all but…”
I drop to my knees and bury my face in my hands.
“...I need help. This is a hard decision, Abigail. This is challenging because if I give Tony the Sophie that he wants, then I can no longer wrestle. When I step into an IWC ring each and every night for Riot and New Age it is the darkness that enters that ring. It is the monster. When I leave that arena I return to normal, to what Tony wants me to be.”
I stand back up and turn to face Abigail.
“In other words, I can fight off the darkness, but if I choose to reject the darkness then I am rejecting my career as a wrestler. That’s another thing Carolyn did to me. The whammy she put on me has made it impossible to wrestle unless I embrace the monster. I can either embrace the monster and wrestle or embrace Tony and be a stepford wife. Thanks to that bitch Carolyn those are the only options I have. Thank God she’s dead.”
“I’m here to help you any way I can. I can’t imagine growing up with an abusive father, feeling the need to create a persona to help deal with the pain. The only reason I give the world the happy version of me is because of my mom. The world can’t handle who we are inside, makes perfect sense to hide that aspect. I commend you for channeling the monster to your professional advantage, I haven’t reached that point yet. There is the Abi who gives the people what they want, when I shut off the lights at night I’m empty. Intellectually I know what I present the world isn’t real, damn fun living a lie.”
Abigail giggles. “Trust me, I understand. I will be here for you as long as you need me.”
“And that’s why I chose you, because you are the only one who truly understands me and what I am going through right now.”I walk back over to the bed and lie back down.“Hold me.”
Abigail does as I ask.
“Your wish is my command.”
“I must try and focus. I must concentrate and put this all out of my mind. Invictus is coming up and Total War must have those world tag team championships.”
“You are one half of the best tag team in the world. I found that out first hand at Civil War last year. Now its time to show Independent Wrestling Cartel no one holds a candle to Total War.”
“As a tag team we are second to none. I am confident we can pull it off. I was just hoping that I could have an...insurance policy...in my back pocket, if you catch my drift.”
“Yeah, I do. I do have Cassidy Haze to deal with, she can’t beat me, just a matter of how much punishment she’ll inflict. I have Maxine Moore; I should be fine. No telling how beat up I’ll be, all depends on what the order of the matches are. Lot of small stuff to factor in. If I am physically capable of being of service, you can count on me.”
“I know I can always count on you, but I was trying to procure another ace up my sleeve...
“I love the way your mind works.”
I nod my head.
“Indeed. The Scorched Earth Policy has been used for decades by the best generals in wartime history. Scorched Earth Policy means you destroy the resources of the enemy. Making their tools and weapons and resources useless. Kordelia Price is insane. There’s no helping her. Norah, on the other hand, I could reach her. If I could just have convinced her to break the contract, or at least given it to me. But she didn’t budge. Out of fear or being brainwashed, she never budged. And now a further monkey wrench was thrown into my plans because its her and Price defending the belts on that idiot Porno Lad’s behalf. I had been counting on him being in the match.”
A faint laugh escapes my lips. “I guess I’ll just have to resort to plan B if all else fails…which amounts to ‘Mark Smash!’”
“Mark isn’t known for his finesse...”Abigail chuckles. “Anyway, I have no doubt you’re reign supreme onto the tag team division again. Think how hot it’ll be, you laying beneath me with one half of the World Tag Team Championships wrapped around your waist, I can look at my own reflection. How cool will that be?”
I grin from ear to ear. “Indeed it will be, and I will do everything within my power to make sure it comes to pass.”
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Promo
Sophie
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I am a master strategist. I plan in advance for any possible outcome. In the case of the world tag team championship, I knew exactly how Mark and I would become champions.
Scorched Earth Policy.
William Tecumseh Sherman utilized the scorched earth policy in his March to the Sea. Sherman's "March followed his successful Atlanta Campaign. He believed that the Civil War would end only if the Confederacy's strategic, economic, and psychological capacity for warfare were decisively broken. Sherman therefore planned an operation that has been compared to the modern principles of scorched earth warfare.
Him and his army looted and pillaged villages and towns in the south. He and his army burned houses and towns to the ground. He left a scar that forever remains in the heart of the southern states to this very day.
That is how Total War planned on becoming IWC World Tag Team Champions. Much like Sherman we were going to take away the capacity for Porno Lad to fight back against us, making it quite a simple task for us to take the belts.
Unfortunately, Orlando Cruze allowed The Black Crusade to get involved in our business. He also allowed Pestilence to get involved in our business. Now instead of the one on one match Total War was hoping for against the defending champions we are in a four way dance for the championships.
Black Crusade, Pestilence, this has nothing to do with you except for the mere fact that you want the same thing we do. This fight is not your fight but you made it your fight by getting involved.
That’s fine, but you have no idea what you are getting yourselves into.
Admittedly my plan may not quite work out as I had hoped it would. But every good master strategist has a plan B and the Plan B for Total War happens to have been developed by none other than my brother Mark.
Yes, even he can come up with plans that don’t involve Spongebob Squarepants.
Near the end of World War II the Italians had already been defeated and the Germans surrendered shortly thereafter but the Japanese kept fighting. America had two options, one of which was a ground invasion of the Japanese Mainland, which would have been very costly in time, money, and American Military lives.
That option didn’t sound very fruitful so they went with option B, that being an atomic bombing of Japanese cities; killing their citizens.
Mark and I are near the finish line. We have overcome every obstacle up until this point. All of our enemies have surrendered except you three. You three are like those pesky Japanese who just don’t know when to quit.
Total War will make you quit by bombing you into the stone age at Invictus. We’re going to unleash hell at Invictus and we will become the IWC World Tag Team Champions.