Ashes to Ashes: Part 1

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October 16th, 2019

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Off Camera

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When people hear the term “learning curve” they think about how long it takes to obtain new experience or new skills. When someone is hired for a new job there is typically a learning curve that they experience, for it is highly unlikely that anyone can just walk right into a new job and know it perfectly.  This is the case for any new experience, whether it be a new job or even getting used to a new school or moving to a new town.  There is always some sort of learning curve that people have to experience in life.

Glory Braddock isn’t used to dealing with learning curves.  Having grown up in the wrestling business surrounded by family members, almost all of whom were involved in wrestling themselves, The British Bombshell had already learned at a young age how to navigate through the rough waters of professional wrestling. So when she signed with Supreme Championship Wrestling back late 2018 The British Bombshell assumed that there would not be much of a learning curve, if any.  How could the situation in SCW be any different from any of the other organizations where she has competed?

Braddock walks through the backstage area, holding her jaw as she still feels the effects of Kiss By An Angel, The British Bombshell is realizing that perhaps there is more of a learning curve here with this organization than what she had originally thought.

The British Bombshell spots an unoccupied chair nearby.  She realizes that now would be a good time as any to get changed out of her wrestling gear and leave but instead she wants to sit and think about what just happened tonight.  Sienna Swann betrayed her in the six person tag main event.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise, she realizes as she sits down in the chair and rests her head on her right hand which is propped upon her knee. Everyone warned her about Sienna and hell, she even knew in advance not to trust her.  And truthfully, Braddock never really trusted her.  Again, she just assumed that Swann would want the win and that Swann would cooperate.  As it turns out, her and Sienna’s wrestling ideologies are completely different.  The British Bombshell had a suspicion before but now she knows it for certain…

Sienna is no better than Syren.

“We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.” Glory’s head instinctively perks up.  Not only does she knows this voice but she knows this quote.  It is a quote from Sun Tzu as taught to her by the only Sun Tzu expert she knows…

...her best friend in the entire world, Sophie O’Brian, who stands a few feet away.  The dark brown haired Irish lass is wearing black denim jeans, black boots, and a black silk blouse.  Her nails are polished in black and she sports black lipstick.  Yes, lots of black for this woman who typically isn’t in a good mood.  Ever.  Their closest friends all are in agreement that Sophie and Glory are mirror images of one another, but more accurately like the concept of yin and yang.  One being light and the other darkness.  Still, this has not been a good night thus far and Glory is happy to see her Irish friend.

“Penny for your thoughts, mate?” Sophie asks, remaining as stoic and emotionless as ever; her cold eyes never leaving the sight of The British Bombshell sitting in that chair.  Glory is actually somewhat surprised to see Sophie.  Rarely does Sophie drop in unexpectedly like this.

“What are you doing here, Sophie?” Braddock asks curiously with her head cocked to one side.

“You are my friend, Gloria.  We may have very different personalities and ideologies, you and I, but you are my dear friend and I am most definitely interested in your latest quest for the SCW World Championship.  When I heard you were going to team with Bree and Sienna tonight, I knew I had to be here to see this in person.”

“Is that so?” Braddock asks, rolling her eyes. “I assume you saw what happened out there, then?” Sophie responds with a nod of her head.

“Yes I did.  You forgot that lesson I tried to teach you before Rise To Greatness: We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.” Sophie frowns.  She shakes her head almost like a disappointed teacher would shake her head at a student. “You carelessly entered into an alliance with Sienna.”

“Tell me something I don’t bloody well know already, mate.” Glory snaps back.  The British Bombshell sighs as she points to a nearby chair, folded up. “If you’re going to criticize me at least sit down and be comfortable while you’re doing it, yeah?”

A smirk appears on the face of Glory’s IrIsh friend. “Don’t mind if I do.” Sophie approaches and then takes the chair, unfolds it, and sets it down next to Glory.  Sophie sits down in the chair and looks at her friend in the eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sophie asks, and her simple question is met with a stunned look from Glory followed by a sharp response.

“Talk about what?!  There is nothing to talk about!  I made a deal I shouldn’t have, I went out there and got my ass kicked.  Back to the bloody drawing board.” Glory throws her head back and sighs out of frustration.  She really wishes Sophie wouldn’t press her like this but she knows better.  She knows Sophie will keep pressing.  She’s stubborn like that.

“It isn’t just about tonight, mate.  You have been off lately.  In fact, you have been off of your game ever since Rise To Greatness.  You should have won the championship then and there and I understand that Abigail’s interference cost you.  But you should have choked the brasser out.  You should have crippled at Apocalypse but you two only managed a draw.  Now you’ve been making very questionable judgment calls, especially the one here tonight.” Sophie points towards the ready area where just beyond the curtains are the fans. “You can fool those people and you can even fool some of the blokes you work with in this company, but I am your oldest friend and I know you almost as good as your own father knows you.  You cannot fool me.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Sophie.” The British Bombshell is trying her best to sound defiant and convincing at the same time.  The truth is that Sophie is quite right in her assumption that something else is bothering Glory Braddock.  She just doesn’t want to talk about it right now. Sophie, for her part, isn’t backing down either.

“You’re distracted.  That much may not be obvious to the public at large or to your fellow co-workers but it is definitely obvious to me.  Now you can tell me and I may be able to help you through it or you can ignore me and try to deal with it on your own.” Sophie winks at her best friend. “Just understand that if you fail to figure this out on your own, whatever it is, then  you will walk into the chamber distracted   Just remember what a wise sage once said, ‘if you’ve got distractions around you your mind goes nuts’...” Sophie chuckles lightly at Glory who just looks on at her friend with disbelief.

“Who the hell said that?”

“Simon Cowell.”

“Bloody hell, you’re quoting Simon Cowell now.” Braddock laughs.  This is the first time in quite a long time that a smile has been upon this lovely woman’s face.  Sophie will never admit it, because she likes it when people thinks that she has no emotion to speak of, but she is happy to have brought a smile to her friend’s face.  She can only imagine how Glory must be feeling tonight after Sienna’s betrayal.

“So do you want my help or not?” Sophie demands.

“Fine.” Glory relents.  After a pause she breaks the ice. “It’s Melinda.”

“So your daughter is bugging you again.  What did Melinda do this time?” Sophie recalls Glory’s last episode regarding Melinda.  Braddock’s daughter was dating Clyde Sutter, the violent student of the Braddock Wrestling School who was kicked out for being too aggressive.  That relationship ended but not without Melinda getting hurt and her heart getting broken all thanks to the aggressive Sutter.  Sophie doesn’t yet know what problem has no crept up into the Braddock household that involves young Melinda Braddock.

“She’s dating Archie Van Stanton.”

“Van Stanton?” Sophie’s brow and interest is immediately raised. “Is this boy any relation to Henry or Mason?”

“Henry’s son.” Glory nods her head in confirmation. “I wasn’t exactly thrilled about this prospect at first.  Henry tried to end my career, after all, and Henry’s father, Archie’s grandfather Thomas, did end my father’s career.” A touch of venom seems to come from Glory’s lips.  This is not a pleasant memory for her and despite her attempts recently to bury the hatchet with Henry Van Stanton, she still has trouble forgiving Thomas.

“I don’t blame you.  I’m still a mite pissed at the Van Stanton family myself over that one.” Sophie admits.

“Yes, well I attempted to make peace with them; or Henry at least, for the sake of Archie and Melinda.  Archie isn’t a bad kid, to be honest with you, Sophie.  Henry isn’t exactly a bad guy himself.”

“That’s big of you to say that, Gloria.” Sophie responds.

“And if that was all there is to it then everything would be fine.  Kurt and I like Archie.  He is polite and well behaved.  Unfortunately not everyone in our household was happy about this development.” Braddock pauses as she lets Sophie ponder this statement for a moment.  A look of realization crosses Sophie’s face.

“Your father.”

“Dad was bloody irate.” Glory answers with a nod of her head. “He was angrier than usual, if you can believe that.  He went as far as to threaten to disown me if I approve of this relationship between Archie and Melinda.”

“So he wants you to choose between him or your daughter?” Sophie asks and Glory nods for confirmation.  Sophie must admit that this is a very difficult situation to be placed in.

“I don’t want to tell you what to do, Glory, but I will say that I cannot really blame your father.  After all, there is a pattern here regarding the Van Stanton family.  Remember what Sun Tzu says: Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.”

“What does that even mean?” Glory asks with confusion upon her face.

“It means chaos and trouble always follows the Van Stanton family.  Hell, this Archie kid may in fact be a perfect angel.  But the pattern says that he’ll cause you trouble eventually just like all of the other Van Stanton family has thus far.  So why take the risk?  Play it safe.”

“Melinda would hate me for trying to end another one of her relationships.” Glory responds, burying her face into her hands.

“But you were right the last time, were you not?  The last time she had a boyfriend it was Clyde Sutter.  Like I said, if it were me I would play it safe and thus get this whole drama out of my head and that, ultimately, is the most important thing you do.  However you do it, you need to get this drama solved and the distraction out of your head.  It’s clouding your judgment and causing you to make mistakes.  And if you make another mistake like you did tonight, you will not win the championship at Under Attack in the chamber.”

The British Bombshell knows that Sophie is at least partially right.  This drama that started with and seems to be centered around Archie Van Stanton has Glory Braddock distracted and that distraction has caused her to have a lapse in judgment.  That lapse in judgment perhaps cost her at Apocalypse and it definitely cost her here tonight on Breakdown.  Settling this drama with Archie is what she needs to do in order to get it off of her mind but the best way to do that is anyone’s guess.

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October 19th, 2019

Miami, Florida

Off Camera

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The exquisite living room of The British Bombshell in Miami, Florida is a gorgeous, sleek modern design.  It is also clean; almost to perfection with barely a spot and even if one exists, it isn’t noticeable.  The cream colored sofa is soft, comfortable, and plush.  It is situated in front of a large flat screen television mounted on the wall above a fireplace.  The fireplace does seem slightly out of place as it is the only piece in this living room that looks relatively traditional.  It isn’t used often; this is Miami, after all.  Sitting in a comfortable recliner with his feet propped up is the grizzled veteran and patriarch of the Braddock family, Glenn Braddock.  His stone faced gaze is glaring across at a television set which is tuned into the nightly news but his focus and concentration isn’t on the television.  He, like his daughter, is distracted.  Though perhaps the elder Braddock is a little more distracted right now than The British Bombshell, as he appears to be completely out of it, with a blank look on his face, as if he is staring past the television itself and out into space.

He can stay here as long as he wishes, for this is his daughter’s home.  He and Glory have always been close.  Glenn raised her from teenager to adulthood after he divorced his wife, Mary Ford.  Glenn also trained Glory and taught her everything he knows about profesional wrestling.  Many wrestling experts and observers attribute Glory’s success to his teachings.  So of course Glory would want to continue to be close to her father.  Is this a case of refusing to cut the apron strings?  Perhaps.  But neither Glory and Glenn have ever had any problems.

Problems have come up within the Braddock household as a result of this man and his opinions.  He is older and with that age he would argue has brought experience but in reality it has also brought a massive stubborn streak.  Glenn has also been known by many to be quite closed minded.  When he makes up his mind about something he rarely changes it and he never ever regrets anything he has done in his life.  Not one thing.  Until tonight…

Glenn is startled back to reality when he hears the front door open.  The voices are familiar; it is Glory Braddock and Kurt Logan.  Glenn looks at the watch on his right arm and notices that it is eleven o’clock at night, exactly when they said they would be home.  He knows their habits and knows that they will come into the living room next just to see if he is still awake.

“Hi, dad!” Sure enough, The British Bombshell and her husband Kurt step into the living room.

“Still awake?” Kurt asks with a pleasant enough tone.  Glenn grunts rather roughly, almost like an animal.  Glory chuckles.

“I’ll take that as a yes!”

“Did you two have a good time?” Glenn asks as he turns around his chair to face his daughter and son-in-law. Glory, for her part, is somewhat surprised by this question. Rarely has Glenn ever cared enough to ask how their night out went.  The British Bombshell shrugs her shoulders.

“Fine, I suppose.  Uh, was yours good?”

“It was fine.” Glenn responds coldly.  The tension is still there from when he threatened his daughter with the ultimatum, the ultimatum of choosing between him or Melinda Braddock’s happiness with Archie Van Stanton.  It is a completely unfair demand for anyone to make, Glory knows this, but up until tonight she has been afraid to really stand up to him.  Glenn either doesn’t realize this or he just plain doesn’t care.

“Well, uh, I guess Kurt and I are going to bed.  Are you going to stay down here much longer?”

“Yes.” Glenn answers. “But I want you to stay.  I want to talk to you...alone…”

Now The British Bombshell is thoroughly confused.  She exchanges a confused look with her husband Kurt.  He shrugs his shoulders before kissing on the lips. “I’ll be waiting for you upstairs, babe.”

“Sure.” With that, Kurt exits the living room.  Glory can hear Kurt’s footsteps going up the stairs out in the hall.  Then she starts to walk further into the living room and approaches her father.  She cannot help but see a smile cut across her father’s face when he finally lays eyes upon her.  It is rare for her to see her father smile, so this actually brings a smile to her face as well.

“God you look beautiful.” Glenn remarks.  She does look beautiful wearing a tight red strapless open back dress and red high heel patent leather pumps.  Anyone would think and should think that she is beautiful.  Glenn has never been one to point out beauty before in anyone. Ever.  This simple observation stuns Glory, as she was not expecting this reaction from her father. “You look a lot like your mother when we first started dating.”

“Wow, dad, uh…” Braddock is blushing furiously, unsure of how to take this “...um, thanks.”

“Sit down, please.” He motions to the comfortable cream colored sofa next to the recliner.  The British Bombshell obliges and sits down.  She turns and looks at her father, awaiting what else he has to say. “First, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you last Sunday.”

“Dad, don’t apologize.” Glory shakes her head. “You had a seizure, you were probably not yourself.”

“Don’t try to make excuses for me.  I fucked up and I deserve any kind of shit I get from you, Kurt, or Melinda.  I said it with hate, with malice, and it was damn sure unfair of me to force you to choose between me and your daughter.  For that I apologize.”

A sense of relief washes across Glory Braddock.  This had been weighing on her mind since Sunday.  Sophie told her that it caused her to make a lapse in judgment which cost her on Breakdown and could cost her again at Under Attack.  She had been thinking of how to resolve this situation but it appears right now as if the situation is resolving itself, which takes a load off of Glory’s mind.

“Well, I am happy to hear you say that dad.  It makes what I have to say now easier.”

“What’s that?” Glenn asks, arching a brow out of curiosity.

“I am going to let Melinda Braddock date Archie Van Stanton if she chooses to.”

“Oh is that so?” Glory can tell that her father isn’t exactly pleased with this but she stands firm, she stands her ground.  The British Bombshell nods her head.

“For starters, Melinda is nineteen years old now.  Technically she is an adult and doesn’t need my permission for a bloody thing.  Second, I have met Archie on more than one occasion now.  He is pleasant, he is friendly, he is well behaved, and pretty much everything a parent would want for her teenage daughter.”

“And yet he is still a Van Stanton!” Glenn exclaims. He stands up and stares down Glory, hoping to intimidate her.  Glory doesn’t intimidate easily as she stands up as well.  What neither of them notice is Melinda Braddock listening in from the hallway.

“Yes, he is.  So what of it?” Glory asks. “Just because we’ve battled his grandfather, his father, and his uncle at times doesn’t mean he’ll be the same way.  He could be different.  And from what I’ve observed, he IS different.”

“And you are some judge of character?” Glenn asks. “You couldn’t see that Sutter was bad news until it was too late. You made a deal with that brasser Sienna Swann.”

It hurts Glory to hear her father say these things, and yet she realizes that he has always been this way towards her.  The difference is now she is pissed off and she will not take any of this.  Not anymore.

“Have I made mistakes?  Yes.  I have made plenty of mistakes but I learn from them and it has made be a better person because of those mistakes.  I wish you could learn from your mistakes but you apparently haven’t.”

“What bloody mistakes are you talking about?!” Glenn angrily demands.

“How about we start with how you screwed up my childhood!  You and your obsession with being the best wrestler in the world drove mother away!  Then you tried to make me until a clone of yourself, another obsessed wrestler, obsessed with being the best!  You were such a lousy parent you even drove my sister out of this family!  She disowned us thanks in large part to you!” Glory points to herself.  “I learned better, I learned about the spirit of competition and how family is more important than this sport, but you haven’t learned from your mistakes.  And you still haven’t learned how to be a decent parent yet you want to criticize my parenting of Melinda?”

“Glory…” Glenn is quieter now; clearly The British Bombshell has struck a nerve but Glory is not through.

“Listen, dad!  Melinda is my child and I am her mother!  If I want to let her date Archie then that’s my business and none of yours.  Do you understand me?”

“I hear you.” Glenn nods his head. “I think the whole block heard you.  Oh and for the record, you don’t just look like your mother, but now you sound like her too.”

Glenn Braddock storms past his daughter.  “What’s that supposed to mean?!” Glory calls out after him but he doesn’t answer.  He just exits the living room and out into the hall, presumeably up the stairs to the living room.  A few moments later Melinda enters the living room, wearing her pajamas.  Glory’s eyes widen as she realizes her daughter must have heard this.

“Mel…”

“I heard it all, mom.” She says quietly. “I’m sorry Archie and me are causing problems between you and granddad.”

“Come here, Mel.” Glory motions for her daughter.  The two embrace in a tight hug. “Melinda, none of this is your fault.  This thing between me and your grandfather has been going on for quite some time now.  I just have never been angry enough to say anything.  Or perhaps I was always too afraid of him until now?”

“Why would you be afraid of grandad?”

“Maybe fear isn’t the proper word?  But I idolized him.  He was my hero.  There were many things he said and did that I often overlooked because of said hero worship.  But when he told me I had to choose between him or you…” Braddock shakes her head “...that was the last straw.  I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Glory runs her hand through her daughter’s hair. “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

Sophie told Glory to settle this issue once and for all so that any and all distractions heading into Under Attack would be gone.  Braddock isn’t quite sure the issue is settled.  Her father looked pretty angry and yet, at the same time, this wasn’t his typical reaction. Usually he would have yelled and shouted, swearing up a storm.  Instead he took it quietly.  He seemed tame.  This bothers Glory to a degree but then again, maybe he is finally accepting of the fact that he cannot change this?  Maybe this is the end of the drama…

...but Glory Braddock isn’t sure if this is the right solution.

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October 20th, 2019

Miami, Florida

Off Camera

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The sunlight streaming in through the window doesn’t immediately wake up “The British Bombshell” Glory Braddock, who sleeps rather soundly in a king size bed next to her husband, her beloved Kurt Logan.  Despite the tense argument between her and her father last night she did sleep rather well.  As her eyes flutter and she starts to wake up a smile creeps across her face.  Braddock swings her legs over the edge of the bed and places her feet on the floor.  She stretches before standing up.   A thought enters into her mind, one that she never imagined that she would entertain…

...maybe standing up to her father and telling him off was the best thing that could have happened to her?

The British Bombshell is wearing a pair of simple pink pajamas as she gets up and approaches her closet.  She opens the closet door, pulls out a matching pink robe, and puts it on.  The sun still rose, she feels at peace, the world didn’t come to an end because she stood up to her father.  Perhaps she had been fearing him for no reason?

“You ok?” This is the voice of Kurt Logan.  Braddock turns and finds that he is now sitting up in bed, staring at his wife.

“Yeah, sure.  Why wouldn’t I be?” Glory asks.

“Well, you and your father did have a pretty heated knock down drag out last night.”

“Oh, that.” Glory sighs as she approaches the king size bed and sits back down on the edge. “Honestly, dad needed to hear that and I think you agree with me.”

“Oh I agree with you, no question.” Kurt states strongly. “He had no right to tell you how to raise Melinda, let alone make such an ultimatum the way he did.”

“Exactly. So why wouldn’t I be ok, love?”

“I was just worried that you would feel guilty.” Kurt shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know, you’ve always seemed like you admire him.”

“It was more than admiration, love.  For the longest time I wanted to be him.  This needed to happen, though.  I needed to say it for my own benefit as well as his because he needs to learn that I am grown and he cannot control me.  And maybe he’ll finally learn to accept that he didn’t get the son he always wanted?”

“He wanted a son?” Kurt raises a brow out of curiosity. “You never told me this.”

“It’s true.  He had always wanted a son but instead got two daughters.  He always liked me better and treated me better back during my tomboyish stage.  When I started dressing more feminine that’s when his attitude towards me also changed.  Less positive.  More negative.” Glory sighs with some sadness in her voice.  Kurt wraps his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

“Your dad did the best he could.  He made mistakes but haven’t we all?”

“Sure.  I know I’ve made plenty of those lately.” Glory remarks, nodding her head.

“How about you go check on him and see how he is?” Kurt suggests. “I imagine he may not have taken this as well as you did.”

“Good idea.” Glory leans over and kisses her husband on the lips.  She stands up and walks towards the door.  She turns the knob and exits, shutting her bedroom door behind her.  She walks a short distance down the hall to her father’s room.  Braddock knocks a few times to see if he’s awake.

“Dad?” She waits but gets no answer.  “Dad, coming in, be decent!” The British Bombshell opens the door and steps inside.  Once there she finds that his room looks like a warzone, which is completely unlike him to leave it trashed like this.  He is a neat freak and always strives for perfection, even when cleaning up after himself.  Braddock walks further into the room and notices a lot of his clothes are gone.  A suspicion enters her mind but she hopes it isn’t true.  She rushes back out into the hall and shouts as loud as she can.

“Dad!  Where the bloody hell are you?!” She waits, hoping to hear something from her father.  She hears nothing. “DAD!” She shouts even louder this time but still hears nothing after another wait.  A fear is washing over her.

Her father left.  Her father, an epileptic who just recently had a seizure, and tends to have them more often in stressful situations, has just ran off.

“What’s wrong?” She turns in time to see Kurt joining her in the hall.  Glory Braddock is thoroughly distraught now and tears are flowing down her cheek.

“Dad’s gone…”

“He’ll be fine.” Kurt embraces her in a tight hug. “We’ll find him.  We know some of the places he frequents.  We’ll check them all.”

“But he took some clothes with him, it’s almost as if he is going to stay somewhere else!” She shakes her head. “Did I run him off?  This must have been a direct result of our argument!”

“Do not blame yourself for this, Gloria!” Kurt demands. “It is NOT your fault!  And we WILL find him!  Trust me…”

Glory slowly nods her head as she wipes a few tears from her eyes. “Ok, love.  I trust you.”

She says that she trusts her husband and yes, to a degree she does trust Kurt.  But there is a sinking feeling in the pit of her gut that this is her fault and that she may have lost her father.  All she knows now is that she must find him, no matter the cost.