End of an Era: Part 2

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End of an Era

Part 2 ; Scene 1

Off Camera

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Olympus was a momentous occasion for Julia Alexis Noel, better known as “The Kensington Knockout” Julia Braddock.  It had been half a year or more since Julia Braddock was drafted to the Uprising Brand of Independent Wrestling Cartel and shortly thereafter Uprising branched off and became its own wrestling force.  They became UWA, Uprising Wrestling Alliance, and Julia went with them.  But from her time in Uprising in IWC to her time in Uprising in UWA, Julia never could seem to get off on the right footing.

It was shameful for Julia.  She felt humiliated.  She proudly used the Braddock name in the ring, a name that was synonymous with victory, and yet victory was something she herself could not seem to achieve.  Every match she had been in was either a loss or a draw.

Granted, no one would call Julia Braddock a failure, but Julia herself felt that she had failed the Braddock family name.  Even in the UWA Queen of the Ring League, she only managed to win one match the entire round robin style tournament.

It had been a disaster for Julia.  She felt as if she deserved no opportunities heading into Olympus and yet Drew Bryant and David Helms felt that she was worthy of one more opportunity, a chance to compete against Abigail Lindsey to determine who would be the first ever UWA Hybrid Champion.

Julia knew that she had to make the most of this opportunity, because if she did not claim this championship, then she may never get another championship opportunity for a long time.  This was her opportunity to show that she still was a force to be reckoned with.

A force to be reckoned with?  She was all of that and more.  Julia Braddock defeated Abigail Lindsey to become the first ever UWA Hybrid Champion.

It was just the kick start she needed for her career and it was just the confidence booster she needed.  Now Julia is ready to take on the world, starting with Danny Darko.

Danny Darko had once been Julia’s tag team partner during the lethal lottery tag tournament to crown new number one contenders for the UWA World Title.  Ever since then Darko had been seemingly trying to forge an alliance with Julia, and at the same time tear apart the bond she had with Glenn Braddock, her trainer and uncle.

Now Darko gets the first shot at the UWA Hybrid Championship, and Julia must deal with him again, but not before dealing with another force that threatens the bond between her and her uncle Glenn.

This is what brings her to a place she is very familiar with; the home of Aphrodite Noel.  It is more like an estate than a home.  Julia remembers this exquisite mansion quite well from her time when she called this place home.

In the past when she first met Aphrodite, she was blackmailed into working for Noel as her servant.  Later on that relationship changed.  Over the years, the two bonded.  It was a bond that few truly understand but does it really matter?  Aphrodite Noel is the mother Julia never had and thus Julia has no problem calling herself a daughter of Aphrodite Noel.  Julia may have been born a Braddock but now she considers herself a Noel.  She only uses the Braddock name in the ring because of the respect and fear that comes with it.

This home before her with the lovely, expensive oak front door, is her new familial home.  She will always feel comfortable at her mother’s residence.

She doesn’t knock on the door, as large as that house is it is doubtful anyone would hear.  Instead she rings the doorbell.  It isn’t long before an old friend of hers, Bret, answers the door.  Julia smiles warmly.

“Bret!  How are you?”

She greets him with a warm hug.  He sighs and shrugs his shoulders.

“Fine I guess, Ms. Noel...”

Julia frowns and wags her finger at him.

“No, no, no!”

“Huh?”

“We worked closely together once upon a time, Bret.  We are friends.  You can call me Julia, ok?”

He grins.

“Ok, Julia…but what brings you out here, though?”

“Do you have to ask?”

He chuckles and shakes his head.

“No, I guess not.”

He leads her inside and then shuts the door behind her.

“Your mother is in her room.  I will go let her know you are here.”

He starts to walk off but Julia stops him by placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Oh no, don’t bother.  I remember where her room is, I will go find her myself.”

Julia makes her way through the hall, a hall she knows quite well from the time she spent living here as servant and later daughter of Aphrodite Noel.  At the end of the hall she turns and walks through a door.  The room, Aphrodite’s room, is large as well as extremely elegant and luxurious.  She sees Aphrodite standing by the window with her back turned.  Julia lightly knocks to get her attention.

“Mother?”

Aphrodite turns around to see her loving daughter and current UWA Hybrid Champion standing there. She beckons for Julia to join her at the window. She does. Aphrodite greets Julia with a loving hug.

“Always great to see you.”

“I had to stop in and see you and…”

She stops as she looks out the window at the view.  Julia sighs.

“...such a beautiful view.  I forgot how beautiful it was.”

“I’m hoping Chris will move in with me when we get married. We haven’t discussed living arrangements yet. I can’t give this up.”

“Of course not, our family home should remain in the family.”

Julia smiles warmly as she takes Aphrodite by her hand and kisses it.

“How have you been, mother?”

“Trying my best to stay strong publicly. Privately...”

Aphrodite frowns.

 “... not well. Hope you understand beating Abigail at Olympus had very little to do with her going off on Victoria Salinas. Abi made a bad decision joining New Eden. I blame them. Cindy and Willow screwing with her mind was wrong. Neither of them regret a damn thing. Feel powerless. I want to defend my cousin but she won’t let me. And then there’s your sister.”

Aphrodite runs her hands through her thick blonde hair. “I blame myself for what is happening in GCW. I love her for not denouncing our family name. It’s because of my actions the Board over their views her as unfit to use her power. And now the entire company is going to suffer because of it. Our family is not in a good place. I am powerless to do anything about it.”

Julia nods her head.

“I understand, and as far as my cousin is concerned, I agree, New Eden ruined her.  And I will always support Abigail.  She is my family now and I want to help in any way I can.  As for Glory…”

She sighs and shakes her head.

“...I’m not sure.  You’re right, she chose not to denounce our family name, knowing that had she done so she would have gotten  her power back.  I think that shows she does truly love you and this family, but at the same time I can’t help but worry if this quest for power isn’t going to her head.  You know what they say, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

“A reality I know too well. I came close to losing you because my ambition made me forget there are things in the world more important than power.”

Aphrodite smiles.

“Family. I don’t need to rule the world. As long as I have you. Glory. And the rest of our extended family, it’s enough. I do fear Glory is going to get lost on the same dark path. She loves us. I don’t question that. Hate watching her allow the thirst for power corrupt the beautiful person she is. Hate people calling her a monster and a psychopath. That’s not who she is.”

Julia shakes her head.

“No, no she isn’t, but at the same time…”

She balls up a fist and smacks it in the center of her other palm.

“...if push comes to shove, if my hand is forced, I will stop her.  She can’t be allowed to destroy professional wrestling like this.”

“I don’t want a war, Julia. It's hard. This is tough for me too, but, there has to be another way.”

Julia sighs and bows her head.

“I’m sorry, mother.  It is difficult but...I will try not to wage war with my sister.”

Aphrodite wraps her arms around her daughter.

“We’ll get through this, ok. I found my way back, so will your sister.”

“I do not doubt that, but there is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about.  I need your opinion, mother.”

“What can I assist you with?”

Julia laughs lightly.

“I’m here...I really should be preparing to defend my Hybrid Championship against Danny Darko...but I can’t.  My agent Henry Van Stanton and my trainer, my dear uncle Glenn Graddock, both refuse to work with me.  They’ve given me an ultimatum, mother.”

Tears form in Julia’s eyes which she quickly wipes away.

“Neither one of them approve of our relationship.  In their ideal world, I would denounce the family name, just like the GCW Board of Directors want my sister to denounce our family name.  The difference is that uncle Glenn, my trainer, has accepted that he cannot change my mind.  And he will allow it, against his best wishes, because he fears that voicing his concerns will drive me away from him.  Henry is a different story…”

Julia shakes her head.

“...the Doctor distrusts you so much that he will never let me forget your past.  He will never quit voicing his concern.  He will constantly bring it up and he is threatening to leave if I don’t denounce.  Now Henry and Glenn are angry with each other, because they do not like the other’s approach in dealing with me.  They refuse to work with me and are making me choose between them.”

She sighs.

“I don’t know if I CAN choose, mother.  Glenn is my blood but Henry has helped through so much.”

Aphrodite scoffs. She has no love for Henry Van Stanton. Changing her devious ways hasn’t erased the ill will she holds towards that man. Glenn, she had her tit for tat with him, the one thing she has in common with him is their love for family.

“Julia, no one gives a Noel an ultimatum. We are strong, independent. Driven by a passion to do what WE feel is right, no one will box us into a corner and make us feel guilty.”

Aphrodite places a hand on Julia’s shoulder.

“Both men have helped you. I will never be a fan of Von Staton, professionally he has been of great service. Henry should know his place. It is not his place to dictate who you associate with. As far as Glenn is concerned, he should have more faith in you. Assure him he can speak his mind without consequence. A line in the sand must be drawn. Don’t let them dictate terms. They can’t accept your choices, they know what to do. Being a Noel means standing by your guns. Both men want to back you into a corner? Don’t let them. Call there bluff. See what happens.”

A knowing grin forms on Julia’s face.

“Well, there may be a third option that Glenn and Henry do not yet know about…”

Julia produces a small card.  She passes it over to her mother.

“...what do you think?”

Aphrodite furrows her brow. “Interesting. Going Option C wouldn’t be a bad idea. It's worth looking into.”

Julia curtsies.

“Thank you, mother.  I think I know what I must do now.” 

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End of an Era

Part 2 ; Scene 2

Off Camera

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“Where the hell is she?!”

To say that Glenn Braddock is an impatient man would be an understatement.  Glenn Braddock never has been one for patience.  He wants what he wants and he wants it yesterday as opposed to right now.  Glenn Braddock truly does hate to be kept waiting, especially when it comes to the sport he loves; professional wrestling.

Glenn Braddock finds himself pacing the floor, about to create a moat if he keeps it up, in his gym on the outskirts of London, England.  He has been asked to wait here for the arrival of Julia Braddock…

…and he is not here alone.  With him is Henry Van Stanton, but instead of pacing the floors like a caged lion, Henry seems patient and calm.  He appears cool and collected as he awaits the arrival of Julia Braddock, the same woman who asked both of them to meet her here.

“Give her time, Glenn.”

Henry looks at his watch.

“She still has five minutes.”

“I always told her to arrive ten minutes early!  What the hell is wrong her?!”

Henry smirks.

“Now look who is trying to force their will upon her.”

Glenn sneers as he turns and points a finger at Henry.

“Don’t you get smart with me, you pencil neck geek!  You’re the one trying to impose your will on her!  You’re telling her she can’t be a Noel!”

“And if she wants to continue our working relationship then she cannot.  Don’t pretend you like the idea of her being Aphrodite’s daughter.”

Glenn growls angrily.

“No, I don’t like it, but I love my niece enough to give her the freedom of choice.  If that’s what she wants, let her do it.”

“Wrong.  What you have is a fear of losing her masked under the auspices of freedom of choice.  You wouldn’t even bring it up.”

“But at least I’d keep her!  Which is better than you can say!  She’s going to dump you, I know it!”

“She knows my ultimatum.  Me or Aphrodite.  It’s her choice.”

The two bickering men are interrupted when the front door swings open.  Glenn stops his pacing immediately.  They turn to the front entrance of the gym and they watch with interest as Julia Braddock enters.  She makes her way over towards Glenn and Henry.  She smiles, but it is clear that the smile is forced.

“Hi, guys.”

She checks her watch.

“Three minutes early! Heh…”

Glenn grunts angrily.  Henry chuckles.

“We’re just glad to see you, Julia.  Why did you ask us to meet you here?”

Julia sighs.  She pulls up a chair and sets it down across from Henry.  Glenn stands over them and watches on intensely.  It is clear that Julia has made her decision and the decision she made is a tough one.

“Several weeks ago you gave me an ultimatum.  You told me that you could no longer work together and that I had to choose…”

She points at Henry.

“…you…”

She then points at Glenn.

“…or him.”

Julia lowers her finger and then sighs.

“And all of this is because you two don’t like the fact that Aphrodite Noel is my mother.”

Henry shakes his head.

“She is NOT your mother, Julia…”

“SHUT UP!”

Julia sighs and shakes her head.

“I’m sorry…but yes, she IS my mother.  That is why you tried to back me into this corner and tried to force me to make a decision.  And unfortunately, that makes my decision very easy.”

Julia stands up.  Henry follows suit and now the two are face to face.

“Henry…I apologize for this but you left me no choice.  You are fired.”

Henry Van Stanton remains stoic as he stares at her for a few moments.  It’s hard to tell what is going through his mind right now.  Finally he just simply nods his head.

“Ok then, it is clear to me that you have made your choice.  You did not choose Glenn Braddock over me, you chose Aphrodite Noel over me.  And that is fine.  You may have that witch if you wish to have her.  But know this...”

He points a finger at her.

“…when she betrays you, again, I may or may not be there to help you.”

With that, Henry turns and walks away.  Julia tries to remain strong.  She forces back her tears as she watches Henry leave her presence and leave the gym, possibly for the last time.  Once Henry is gone, Julia immediately turns her attention towards Glenn.

“As for you…”

“Me?!”

“Yes, you.  You are not just my trainer but my uncle.  I value your opinion and you need to share your opinion with me.”

She takes his hands and squeezes them tightly.

“We are a team, you and I.  But this team cannot work if we do not communicate and that means communicating the bad along with the good.  If there is something that concerns you, tell me and we can discuss it.  I was disappointed when I learned that you had been hiding concerns from me, just because those concerns had to do with mother.”

“I was afraid of losing you, damnit!”

“Don’t be stupid!  I wouldn’t leave you!  You are my uncle!  I love you, but you need to play your part and train me, work with me, and help me through this business.  And I’ll play my role by getting the job done in the ring.  You play your role, I play my role, and we’ll go places.”

Glenn nods his head.

“Fine, I understand, but I don’t have to like her…I don’t have to like Aphrodite.”

“No, you don’t  have to, but you have to respect that she is my mother.”

“Look, let’s forget her for a moment…”

He points to the door that Henry just walked out of.

“What are you going to do about representation?  I’m a damn fine trainer if I say so myself but I’m not an agent.”

“I know this, and I already have a replacement in mind.”

She hands him the same card she handed Aphrodite earlier.  He grins from ear to ear.

“I like this idea.  I like it a lot.”

“So did mother.  The fact that you both agreed on something tells me that this must be a good idea.  I’ll set up a meeting with my potential new agent as soon as possible.”

“Excellent.  And Julia?”

“Yes?”

Glenn frowns.

“You sound a lot like your mother.”

 “You mean Mary?”

“No…I mean Aphrodite.”

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On Camera

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It’s been a long time since Julia has had reason to smile, but she is smiling, grinning from ear to ear, and one reason could be the UWA Hybrid Championship that is setting on the brown stool next to her.  Julia herself is wearing a royal blue allover sequined mini-dress with a deep v-back three-fourth sleeves.  Her long blonde hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.

“Yes, I’m smiling.  Yes, I’m happy.  I’m happy because finally I have made my mark in UWA!  Finally I have done my family proud!”

Julia picks up her UWA Hybrid Championship belt and slings it over her right shoulder.  She pats the centerpiece.

“This has been a long time coming!  Ever since I came to the Uprising Brand back when we were all part of IWC I have been trying to make my mark and prove that I was worthy of the Braddock name.  And my career was in a slump.  I clearly did not deserve anything, because I had been losing match after match.  My career in UWA had been, for lack of a better term, a complete and utter failure.  But Drew Bryant and David Helms gave me a chance.”

She holds up a finger.

“They gave me one final opportunity against my cousin Abigail Lindsey for the UWA Hybrid Championship.  It was an opportunity that I did not let slip through my fingers.  I took full advantage and became the new UWA Hybrid Champion…hell, the FIRST ever UWA Hybrid Champion!  I made history and now not only have I made an impact but I have put my name forever in the history books as UWA’s first ever Hybrid Champion.  That is an honor that can never be taken from me.”

Julia grins knowingly.

“And I find it very appropriate that my first title defense is against Danny Darko.”

Julia laughs lightly.

“Heh, I guess I should go ahead with the typical attack, right? Well, the most logical line of attack, at least.  The most logical line of attack would be to point that you don’t deserve a shot at the UWA Hybrid Championship.  At Olympus you lost toKalinda…and before that you lost the last chance battle royal…you lost to Myra Lynwood…and I could go on, and on, and on…”

She shakes her head.

“…but that’s unfair of me.  The fact is that you and I were in the same boat once upon a time.  The fact is that I did not deserve to be in the Hybrid Championship match at Olympus because I hadn’t done much of anything to earn my way either.  All it took was one opportunity…”

She holds up one finger.

“…I just needed one shot and I took that shot and now here I am standing before you as the Hybrid Champion.”

She points at the camera.

“Now you have a shot to revitalize your career just as I revitalized mine.  But there is a distinct difference between us, Danny. You have seemingly given up on the sport.  Don’t think it went unnoticed by me about how you’re ready to end it all in a match against Trinity Street.  Your last match ever, supposedly, is going to be at Sectioned.  But me?”

She shakes her head.

“I am not ready to end it.  But I do know how you feel.  I was damn near insane with the direction my career had taken.  The losses and constant failures hurt my spirit and I was to the brink of giving up but I told myself that I would not give up.  I refused to give up.  And now I stand here as a champion because I fought through the trials and tribulations in order to get to the promised land.”

“But what about you?  Are you ready to fight through the trials and tribulations that you will have to fight through in order to get this championship away from me?  Being Hybrid Champion means I get to choose how I defend this title and I chose to defend it in a submission match.”

A smirk forms across her face.

“Submissions, technical wrestling, that happens to be my specialty, Danny.  You should know that just from watching Olympus and how I defeated Abigail Lindsey in a submission match to become champion.  But you should also know due to the fact that we have worked together before.  We have been tag team partners before.  You should know what I’m capable of.”

“And that is your only advantage, the one and only advantage that you have.  You were my tag team partner and you had a real good chance to scout me.  But that was just the one time and besides, even with whatever information you were able to scout from that one time we were tag team partners, all it does is it lets you know that you are doomed.”

Julia sighs and shakes her head.

“You have no hope, Danny.  Your spirit is all but broken and you are competing against a submissions master in a submission match.  I’m going to give you the same chance Bryant and Helms gave me, but unlike me, you won’t be able to take advantage of it.  You will lose.  Again.  And maybe then you will quit trying to put crazy thoughts and ideas in my head.”

“Time and time again you’ve tried to tell me I’ve been doing things all wrong.  The way I see it, I am a champion and you are not.  And I got here by doing things my way, with my trainer, my wonderful uncle Glenn Braddock, and with all of my support.  I don’t know what kind of support you have, Danny.  I don’t really care, either.  But you’ve been trying to pull me away from my support system.  You’ve been filling my head with bullshit.  Now?”

She chuckles.

“Now you learn not to mess around with The Kensington Knockout.”

Fade to black.

End of an Era: Part 1

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Off Camera

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Dr. Henry Van Stanton knows the Braddock family all too well.  His father was the man who ended Glenn Braddock’s active wrestling career during a match.  Henry would get involved in wrestling himself, not to be like his father, but so that he could one day have a chance to make up for his father’s past misdeeds.  Van Stanton would become President of Global Championship Wrestling where he would spend over a year sacrificing his job and his own physical well-being fighting to liberate Julia Braddock and her sister Glory Braddock from slavery to Aphrodite Noel and her Camelot group.  He failed Glory, but he did manage to liberate Julia and he would become Julia Braddock’s manager in IWC and later on in UWA as well so that he could keep an eye on her and to make sure that she would not be lured back into the Aphrodite Noel trappings as Glory did.

Needless to say, Henry Van Stanton is not too happy with his young client right now, as evidenced by the scowl on his face as he sits on a stool in a far corner of the Braddock School of Wrestling on the outskirts of London, England.  And one can understand why Dr. Van Stanton is scowling right now.  He dedicated a great deal of his life fighting to save Julia from having to live under the Noel name, and what does she go and do?

Julia willingly goes and agrees to once again become Julia Alexis Noel, daughter of Aphrodite Noel.

Glenn Braddock is Julia’s trainer as well her uncle and Glenn, on the other hand, is dealing with this news differently than Henry.  It was Glenn’s daughter, Glory, who convinced Julia to once again become Aphrodite’s daughter after finding out that Mary Ford, Glory’s mother, had secretly been having an affair with Peter Braddock, Julia’s father, which made Mary Ford Julia’s real biological mother.  The news that Mary, Glenn, and basically the entire Braddock family had been lying to her the entire time had driven Julia over the edge, it drove Julia to the point where she felt she could not trust the Braddock family any longer.

He can understand the anger of Julia, he can see why she no longer trusts him or any of the family.  And he understands why she would want to disown the Braddock name.  They were not honest and trustworthy with her, they lied to her all of her life.  Why would she want to be associated with them?

In that sense, Glenn almost feels lucky to still have Julia in his life.  Julia still wants to be associated with him, even after the news broke.  And while he is upset that the Braddock family name may perhaps die with him, he will not show up publicly.  He will not argue with Julia.  He will continue to keep a straight face and act business as usual.  It’s the best he can do, in his mind, if he wants to maintain a relationship with Julia.

Julia’s manager, Dr. Henry Van Stanton, does not like this at all.  He does not like it one iota but he can only watch and seethe from afar as Glenn trains Julia in the ring with one of the sparring partners, a female of the same height and similar weight and build as Abigail Lindsey, who just so happens to be Julia’s opponent at Olympus.

Olympus is UWA’s biggest event and it is coming up in two short weeks.  Julia Braddock will be facing Abigail Lindsey for the vacant UWA Hybrid Championship in a submissions match, a match that highly favors the technically savvy Julia Braddock, but this is also a match that Julia isn’t quite sure she is worthy of competing in.

In the recent Queen of the Ring League, a round robin style tournament to crown a new Queen of the Ring Champion, Julia Braddock only managed to win one match, against Grace Morningwood.  Outside of that one win, Julia has been on a nasty streak of losses and draws ever since leaving the IWC Riot brand for the new upstart Uprising brand, which would eventually become the UWA.

Yet despite her lackluster performance, David Helms sees fit to grant her an opportunity to claim a vacant championship, the vacant UWA Hybrid Championship, on the grandest stage of them all.  Winning a vacant championship to become the first holder of that title, putting your name in the history books in a historic event such as Olympus would definitely put Julia’s wrestling career back on track.

Defeating Abigail Lindsey will be no easy task, even if it is a submissions match, a match that Julia is favored in.  Abigail Lindsey has done something that Julia has not: she has won a world championship, and she won it on the biggest stage.  Now Julia faces Abigail on another big stage for a championship and on this stage Julia knows that she has to win.

“Hold nothing back!”

Those words that seem to drip with venom from the voice of Glenn Braddock are directed at Julia’s sparring partner.  This young woman not only is Abigail’s height and build but also has the same hair color as Abigail, blonde.  Glenn takes this sparring business seriously and he wants this sparring partner to give Julia all she can handle.

The blonde sparring partner nods and then charges Julia, wrapping her up and taking her down in a double leg.  She proceeds to pour on rights and lefts without any break or hesitation.  Julia manages to kick her off and scramble back to her feet.  The woman charges again but this time Julia sidesteps her, sending her into the ropes.  She comes back and Julia hip tosses her.  The woman scrambles to her feet, charges, and Julia connects with an arm drag deep into an arm bar.

Glenn grins pleasantly as he claps, applauding his niece’s accomplishment.

“Good job, Julia!  Now keep it up!”

The sparring partner slowly but surely fights up to her feet.  Julia keeps wrenching the arm bar in tighter and tighter.  The blonde woman reverses the arm bar into an arm bar of her own.  Julia then counters again, this time into a hammerlock.  The woman breaks it with elbows to Julia’s face.  She runs off the ropes and comes at Julia only to get floored with a Julia Braddock dropkick.  Julia immediately goes back to the arm bar.

“Perfect!”

Glenn is enthusiastically supporting and encouraging his niece.  Henry Van Stanton, however, does not share in his sentiments.  He shakes his head with disappointment as he watches the proceedings in the ring.

Meanwhile, Julia transitions the arm bar into a crossface submission.  It isn’t long until the woman taps out and, of course, Glenn Braddock is ecstatic.

“Excellent!  Perfect!  Good job!”

Glenn is rarely this happy.  It’s clear to Henry that Julia is being appeased.  Glenn is showering her with these kind words of praise and adulation just to keep her happy.  And that’s enough for Henry as he gets up off of the stool he was sitting on…

“Glenn…can we talk?”

“I am kind of busy, Doc…”

“Now.”

Glenn sighs as he turns to face Julia Braddock and her blonde Abigail stand-in sparring partner.

“I want you ladies to go another round.  And as for you…”

He points a finger in the face of the sparring partner.

“...remember, hold NOTHING back…”

She nods her head.

“Right.”

Julia and the woman begin to spar once more.  Meanwhile Glenn Braddock steps through the ropes of the wrestling ring.  He walks down the steel steps and begins to make his way over towards Dr. Henry Van Stanton.  The grizzled veteran British athlete stops in the far corner where Henry is standing.  The two men, both of whom are close to Julia in their own unique ways, glare at one another, eye to eye.  Glenn is the one who finally breaks the silence after several moments of a tense stare down.

“What do you want?”

“I want to know what is wrong…”

Henry pokes a finger in Glenn’s chest.

“…with you.”

A sneer crosses the face of the legendary British amateur grappler.  He doesn’t like being questioned to begin with and to be questioned by the son of his arch nemesis makes this even worse.

“Not a damn thing is wrong with me, Van Stanton.”

“I’m not so sure.  Lately your actions have made me question your judgment.”

“Look, you pencil necked geek…”

He pokes a finger into Henry’s chest.

“…let’s just leave this arrangement the way we originally had it, ok?  You handle the business side of things, you manage my niece’s career, while I handle the wrestling side of things.  You got that?”

“This has nothing to do with how you train her, Glenn.  As a matter of fact…”

Henry smirks.

“I am quite impressed with her progress.”

“Yeah?”

“Indeed.  I can tell she has improved and should be quite ready for Abigail Lindsey when the date of Olympus comes.”

“So if you don’t have a problem with my training, then what IS your bloody problem with me?!”

Henry snickers.

“Don’t play the fool.”

Henry pats him on the head, to which Glenn responds with an angry grunt.

“It doesn’t suit you, my friend.”

Glenn shakes his head.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Henry stares into Glenn’s eyes.  The angry rage from earlier when Glenn thought Henry was questioning his wrestling and training abilities has dissipated.  Instead Glenn looks saddened, almost grieved.  Henry reacts to this by placing a comforting hand on Glenn’s shoulder.

“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Henry motions to Julia Braddock, who is once again performing quite well against the blonde sparring partner.

“And furthermore, I think you don’t like it any more than I do.”

“Henry, I…”

Glenn turns around to face Henry and throws a right hand, knocking the much younger Van Stanton to the floor, right on his backside.  This draws the attention of both Julia and the other woman, who look on in shock as Glenn Braddock stands over the fallen Van Stanton, pointing an angry finger down at him.

“…I think you should mind your own bloody business!”

Henry slowly starts to push himself up off the floor as Julia cautiously makes her way over.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“That’s pretty damn obvious.”

Before Glenn can react, Henry throws a right hand of his own, knocking Glenn to the floor now.  Julia quickly drops down to the floor to aid her fallen uncle.

“GLENN!”

She holds his head but Glenn quickly swats her away, pride taking over and not allowing him to receive any kind of assistance from anyone.

“I don’t need any help!”

He pushes himself up and points at Henry.

“But he’ll need a damned RAF fighter fleet to protect his scrawny ass!  I plan to tear him apart!”

Henry and Glenn both try to get at one another but Julia gets in between them, holding them back, keeping them apart.

“GENTLEMEN!  PLEASE!”

Henry backs off first and eventually Glenn backs off as well.  Julia looks over at her uncle and then over towards Henry, hoping one of them can give her an answer.

“Will one of you two please tell me what the hell is going on?!”

Glenn doesn’t say a word in response.  He just growls angrily under his breath, growls that are directed at Henry Van Stanton.  The good doctor just sighs and nods his head.

“Fine, I’ll be the bigger man and answer this one.  But I think you’d much rather your father say it than I do.”

Julia furrows her brow.

“What do you mean?”

“Because he’ll just appease you.  He’ll just tell you everything that you want to hear, not everything that you need to hear.”

Julia throws her head back and laughs.

“Glenn Braddock NEVER appeases, Henry!  You should know this!”

“You can say that all you want if it helps you feel better, but deep down inside you know that he has been just saying everything you want him to say, and he’s been saying just to keep you happy, because he is afraid…”

Julia frowns.

“Afraid of what?”

“Don’t listen to that scrawny bastard!”

Julia ignores her uncle’s exclamation.

“What could he be afraid of?”

Henry points at Julia.

“You.  He’s afraid of losing you.”

Julia turns to face Glenn Braddock, the man who has trained her all of her life.  A man who, in many ways, helped raise her.  Needless to say, she finds much of this hard to believe.

“Is this true, uncle Glenn?”

“Julia, it…”

He turns away from his niece in shame, shaking his head.

“…it’s none of my business.”

Julia sighs and turns back to face Henry.

“What’s he talking about, doctor?”

Henry places a hand on her shoulder.

“Julia, I’m sorry, but I am going to perfectly blunt with you about this.”

“About what?”

“Julia…you are a BRADDOCK and you need to drop this Noel garbage immediately.”

Julia’s eyes grow wide.  She wasn’t expecting her manager and friend to say this.

“Henry…”

She turns to face Glenn, who still has his back turned towards her.

“Glenn…do you agree with him?”

“It’s not my place to say.”

Julia turns back to face Henry, her eyes narrowing as she studies him closely and intensely.

“Henry…”

“Julia, please understand that I do understand.  You like Aphrodite.  I get that much.  But you are a Braddock…”

She nods her head.

“…yes, and I still go by that name when I’m competing, because the Braddock name is feared and respected in most wrestling circles.”

“And yet you disrespect the Braddock name by this charade of legally being a Noel.”

Julia grits her teeth in anger.

“Charade?  Henry, the only charade was the claim that the Braddock family ever cared about me.”

“They did…”

The young woman shakes her head.

“They didn’t!  They lied to me all of my life about who I really was!”

Henry Van Stanton tries to place another hand on Julia’s shoulder but she swats it away.

“People make mistakes, Julia.”

“Yes, and this one was a big mistake on their part!”

Henry sighs and looks over at Glenn.

“Glenn, my friend, help me out here!”

Glenn Braddock turns to face Dr. Henry Van Stanton with that angry look in his eyes.

“She’s an adult and can make her own damn decisions, whether I bloody well like those decisions or not!”

“Is that so?”

Henry tries to get to Glenn but Julia once again gets in his way.  Henry sighs and steps back.  He shakes his head in disappointment.

“Is this how you want it, Julia?”

She nods her head.

“Yes.  I’m sorry, doctor, but this is how I want my life.”

“In that case, you have another decision to make.  The fact is, Julia, if this is how it will be from now on, then I cannot work with him any longer.”

Henry points a finger at Glenn, who reacts with a typical Glenn Braddock growl.  Julia’s eyes grow wide with shock.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you can either have Glenn as your trainer or me as your agent…but not both…”

Henry turns and starts to walk away.  Julia turns and looks back at Glenn, almost pleading with him to stop Henry. But Glenn just shrugs his shoulders and turns and walks in the opposite direction, back towards the ring.  Julia then turns back to face Henry.  Henry has made it to the door when Julia shouts after him.

“Henry, wait!  Come back!”

“You know how to get in touch with me, Julia.  Contact me when you have made a decision.  I want to know if you want me to continue to work with you or if you want me to sever ties with our association for good.  I do not like being kept waiting on the edge of my seat.”

Henry pushes the door open and walks out.  Julia begins weeping, worrying that Henry may have just walked out of her life.

==========

On Camera

==========

The UWA logo flashes upon the screen.  Then we cut to a standard gray backdrop.  Some of the cameras and lights are in the shot, oddly and strangely enough.  Julia Braddock then enters the scene from stage right.  The beautiful blonde is wearing a form fitting strapless teal mini dress with lavish filigree patterning and a skirt that is plastered with sequins for a stunning finish.  Her long blonde hair hangs down to below the shoulders in waves.  Her feet are encased in strappy high heeled shoes.  She faces forward with a knowing half-grin on her face.

“Obviously, there is no fancy setting today…I’m also not in some special location…you don’t get either of those, because today is going to be different.  Today you get a different kind of Julia Braddock.  This is me being incredibly real because this is an incredibly serious situation.  And we’ll start by talking about the Queen of the Ring League which was…”

She laughs ever so lightly as she shakes her head.

“…well, let’s be completely honest, it was not my crowning moment.  Now sure, I had a draw with a great wrestler like Selena Frost.  She is SCW’s reigning Best of the Best winner and a former multi-time singles champion in other organizations.  Most wrestling experts would say that a draw against her is nothing to be ashamed of…”

Julia frowns.

“…but you don’t know me.  None of you really and truly know me.  For me, that’s not something I can be proud of.  A draw is failure.  A loss is failure.  Anything less than a victory is failure.  I failed to defeat Siqua and while you can argue that it was due to interference from a Sinistry operative, I still failed to defeat Kathryn Pearson.  The only person I actually gained a victory over was Grace Morningwood.  As a matter of fact, ever since I left the IWC Riot brand for the IWC Uprising brand, which would eventually evolve into the powerhouse wrestling organization we have here today known as UWA, I have only had one win…and the rest of my matches have been losses and draws…”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“…why would I keep doing this to myself?  Most would have just given up after a slump of this magnitude.  Most would have quit.  Why do I keep doing this to myself?  Am I just a glutton for punishment?  Do I just enjoy this string of failure after failure after failure?”

A hard, stoic, much more intense look passes across her face.

“No, I keep doing this because I am a competitor.  So even though I fell flat on my face in the Queen of the Ring League, I still keep going forward to compete against the next challenge.  And the next challenge before me is another wrestler who has arguably been in a bit of a slump ever since losing the IWC World Championship…”

Julia waves at the camera.

“…hi there, Abigail, my dear cousin.  Second cousin, to be precise.  Now just as I said about myself and my own situation, no one would have blamed you for giving up after you got into your long slump.  But you’re not one to give up, are you?  And neither am I.  This family doesn’t give up so quickly.  This family fights on and while I may not be family by blood, your first cousin, Aphrodite Noel, did adopt me into the family.  I am her daughter and she is my mother and she told me not to give up.  She told me to keep fighting.  And I know you will keep fighting as well,, which makes our match all that much more interesting, because you and I are both are at a crossroads in our careers, as we are both in slumps, and we are facing one another for the UWA Hybrid Championship in a submissions match at Olympus.”

“Now most wrestling experts would argue that a submissions match favors me. And maybe it does, because I do have the blood of the Braddock family running through my veins.  Glenn Braddock is my uncle and trainer…”

Julia taps her head.

“…and he has filled this head with an unbelievably large number of submission and technical wrestling knowledge.  At the same time, that means the pressure is on me, isn’t it?”

She nods her head.

“The pressure is on me because if I win, that’s great, I become UWA Hybrid Champion and my career is back on track.  If I lose, however, well I just lost to someone whose submission skills are not supposed to be near the Braddock family level.  I just lost to someone whose submission skills are not supposed to be anywhere near my own.  I’m the one left looking even worse than I already do.  And when you think about it like that, a loss here at Olympus in a submissions match to Abigail Lindsey could be the death of my UWA career.”

She grins knowingly and shakes her head.

“Now please, ladies and gentlemen at home, don’t read too much into this.  I’m not putting all of my eggs into one basket by any means.  I’m just stating the true magnitude of this situation I find myself in, a situation that Abigail doesn’t really find herself in.”

Julia nods her head.

“And you know I’m right, don’t you?  If you lose to me at Olympus, if I tap you out at Olympus, it won’t affect you, now will it?  You’re not the one with the submission background and thus you don’t have that pressure on your shoulders, weighing you down, pressuring you not just to perform but to win.  At the worst, a loss for you could potentially bring the wrath of Cindy Todd upon you, and event that’s not a guarantee.  It only depends upon how important the UWA Hybrid Championship is to the New Eden cause.  And that’s if you lose.  But if you win…”

She throws her head back and laughs.

“…oh but if you win, you get the claim to fame that you tapped out a Braddock.  You tapped out someone who is supposedly a submission specialist.  And you will definitely be back on track while I am flushed even further down the toilet.”

Julia turns around to get a good long glimpse at her surroundings, the random cameras scattered here and there and the lighting equipment scattered around here and there, and then she turns back to face forward.  The blonde beauty sighs.

“I ditched the flash and the flare because this was very real for me.  So allow me to get very real for you, Abigail.  I do not deserve this championship opportunity.  You yourself said that you do not deserve this championship opportunity.  And yet one of us will become champion, while neither one of us deserves it by our own admission.”

Julia shakes her head.

“But this sport isn’t about winning as many championships as possible.  And I’m sorry to break it to you, cousin, because I know you enjoy this, but this sport shouldn’t be about playing mind games with other people, either.  This sport is about competition and here at Olympus we have a rare opportunity, and I’m not talking about the Hybrid Championship.  We have a rare opportunity to show the UWA what you and I can do in straight up competition, not ricks, and no games.  Just competition.”

The blonde grins knowingly.  She shakes her head again.

“Unfortunately for you, dear cousin, that’s as far as you will get.  The fact is that I have to win this.”

She nods her head.

“Yes, yes, I know, it’s said so many times, wrestlers claim they NEED to win so often it’s become one of those corny phrases, in a way.  But for me this is very real…”

She motions to her surroundings yet again, the cameras and the lighting equipment around her.

“…just as real as this setting.  This is as real as it gets for me because I am quite literally at the bottom of the barrel.  I have been a miserably bloody failure ever since I joined the Uprising brand and eventually UWA, and I am damn lucky to be in this position now competing for a championship, competing for the right to insert my name permanently into UWA history.  I know damn well that I do not deserve this opportunity and yet I know I have to make the most of this opportunity I have before me, because eventually, someday, these opportunities will cease.  Eventually, if I continue to fail, if I continue to lose, no one will want to see me.  If I continue to be a disappointment and a letdown, then UWA will no longer see value in me.”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“It wouldn’t be anything personal on their part, it would just be business.”

She balls her right hand up into a fist and smacks it up against the palm of her left hand.

“But that’s why I HAVE to win, Abi!  That’s why I cannot afford to lose to you at Olympus!  And if you still don’t get it, let me put it to you this way.  If you continue in your slump here in UWA, you at least still have a future somewhere.  You have New Eden as a support system.  Many in UWA may not understand it, many may not want to understand it, but at least it provides a future for you. It provides something you can fall back on.”

Julia pats herself on the chest.

“What do I have, Abi?”

She shakes her head.

“Without this sport, I have nothing.  Without professional wrestling I AM nothing.  Somehow, someway, I must make this work, and that means defeating you at Olympus.  Making you tap out at Olympus to become the first ever UWA Hybrid Champion would not only put me permanently in the UWA history books but it would give my wrestling career just the springboard, just the spark it needs to get going back on the right track.”

She points a finger at the camera.

“That’s why I need to win, Abi.  That’s why I need this win more than you or anyone else can ever imagine.  And I will not leave Olympus without it.”

The camera fades to black.