[Chelsea]

 February 17, 2017
Los Angeles, CA

11:58
Chelsea takes a deep breath. She was meeting someone that she had admired for a while, yet had never met in person despite how easy it would have been. Parker, Coby’s trainer had set this up for her. Seeing as though this woman was nearly his sister-in-law. She needed some perspective and there was no other person with this particular similarity than Violet Ripley.

The LA coffee shop isn’t very busy despite it being nearly noon and that being a prime time for people to pick something up that was quick and convenient for lunch. Inexpensive too, if you thought on the terms of someone living in LA that is. To a normal person the prices were quite extravagant. Chelsea however was used to the high end pricing for cheap pastries and bitter coffee.

12:03
She was late but Chelsea tried not to get nervous or aggravated. It wasn’t like she had to be there exactly at noon even if that was the time that had been agreed upon. If anything, Chelsea was just nervous about meeting someone considered a hall of famer yet was only a few years older than herself. But the thing that Vi hadn’t done in her short career was get to the very top of LAW’s pyramid but she got sick and that derailed her plans. She was a fighter though and that was something Chelsea admired.

12:04
She starts to tap her fingers on the table. Patience was not a virtue she had herself. She was more worried that Vi wouldn’t show up at all and Chelsea did not like looking like a fool.

12:05
The bell above the entrance door dings. Chelsea looks up, almost letting the anxiety exhale through her lungs only to see a man enter. She deflates again.

12:07
The barista comes up and asks her if she wants a refill. Chelsea ops for a bagged tea instead. She thought that they couldn’t screw up a tea... right?

12:09
From the front door, the back of a woman’s head is seen. The flaming red colour of the hair has Chelsea’s hopes up as she struggles with a stroller, using her back to push open the door. When she finally does, and turns, Chelsea is excited to see that it’s her guest but the guest looks pretty furious.

“You know, it’s okay... see a woman struggling with a stroller and NO ONE, not one of you assholes bothers to get up and hold the damn door? You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

A few people look down at their coffees in shame as Violet blows hair out of her face.  She pushes the stroller towards the table where Chelsea has stood up.

“I’m sorry... I...”

Violet waves her off.

“I can excuse you, you’re a virgin right?”

Chelsea blushes and looks away, stuttering on her words and Violet grins from ear to ear as she takes a seat. She raises the canopy on the stroller where her sleeping 1 year old daughter was.

“Oh... so you and Coby had some fun huh? Good for you.”

Chelsea gives an uncomfortable cough.

“Alright. So you wanted to talk to me... about your SCW match? Why? I’m sure you could have asked Coby, or your Daddy or even Parker about this... why ask me?”

Chelsea straightens up and then puts a piece of paper on the table. On it, is the bio information of her opponent at SCW, Raynin. She pushes it toward Violet and she glances down at it, scanning its contents and then a smirk passes over her face.

“Seriously?”

She looks up and when Chelsea nods she breaks into loud laughter.

“Oh that is rich. I doubt very much this woman has a true case of DID. You know how long it took my doctors to admit that was what I have? Years. They wanted to call me every other psychological disorder in the book before admitting that I actually had multiple personalities. Doctors do not like admitting it’s actually possible. She’s probably just skitzo.”

Chelsea’s face breaks off into a slow rising smile.

“You know, I was thinking that it was something extremely rare and to see two cases of it in the wrestling world was awful coincidental.”

Violet shrugs.

“I don’t think she copied me. In fact until you showed me this, I wouldn’t know anything about her. No... this is just her trying to maybe get some attention. Maybe make herself look more dangerous than she really is. How long has it been since she’s held a singles title?”

Chelsea laughs.

“Years.”

Violet laughs again.

“And she’s been away for a time?”

Chelsea nods.

“She’s trying to bite off more than she can chew in my opinion. You are younger, faster, more hungry and you don’t have excuses holding you down like being incorrectly diagnosed with a disorder you probably don’t actually have. She would probably be better off, getting her feet wet with a few more matches, getting proper medications and then seek out a title. Sometimes, old dogs need to know when to lie down. And if not...”

A barista comes by with Chelsea’s tea and then a cup of coffee for Violet with little creamers and sugar packets.

“I”m so sorry ma’am. Please... this is on the house for the trouble. We’re going to be looking into getting some automatics installed really soon.”

“See that you do.”

The woman nods and walks away. Chelsea takes a minute to watch the woman. She opens up six packets of sugar and dumps them in. Then adds the same amount of creamer until the cup is nearly overflowing into the saucer.

“You orchestrated that to get attention... didn’t you?”

Violet smiles over her cup, she takes a sip before answering.

“I have no idea what you mean dear... I’m just a mom trying to have a coffee date with a friend.”

Chelsea shakes her head but the smirk hasn’t left her face. This was why she admired this woman. She never let anyone see the weakness within her but right now, she needed to know some because Violet was probably the closest she would get to knowing how Raynin probably thought. She wanted to study her, try to find Violet’s weakness and then apply that same strategy to the one eyed wonder.

“What advice could you give me for this match, as someone that thinks maybe a little like she does.”

Violet sets her mug down.

“If we were facing each other, I would not let you see a single weakness of mine. I would have this exterior coating that only a few have ever been able to break. This Raynin person... It seems like she doesn’t have that. She’s weak and she let people see that. She has admitted to having a weaker personality. Wrong. If you let people know that.. .then they will do everything to provoke that part of her. Two...”

She holds up two fingers for emphasis.

“She keeps threatening to let this... darkness out, but hasn’t really. You know what the biggest weakness I had when I first won the Marquee title?”

Chelsea shakes her head.

“I was still in constant turmoil with the other voices in my head. Once I let all those voices have a turn, it hasn’t been chaos in here...” she taps her head, a devious smile crossing her face. “Only to everyone here on the outside because when the three of us are working together, there is nothing anyone can do to break that shield. Raynin does not have unity. She fights her darkness. It means that with the right provocation she too can lose it and end up locked up in a padded cell like I was. I doubt very much she has someone like Phillip to unify her.”

Chelsea crooks her head to one side, a realization coming to her.

She finished the meeting with Violet rather quickly after that. They talked about her family. About how her and Parker hadn’t always gotten along but that had started to improve. Talked about their siblings and now annoying they could be and then when Lavender started to stir, Violet said her goodbyes. Three people got up to open the door for her this time.  Chelsea sat there for a few minutes after, slowing contemplating her strategy now.

Raynin didn’t have a ‘Phillip’. Phillip was Violet’s strength and if Raynin didn’t have a Phillip that made her an easy opponent... not that she would ever actually admit that out loud because then, Raynin would have leverage.

***
:::OFF CAMERA:::

When I arrived at the Hollydale Mental Asylum I was not expecting the groups of buildings. From the outside it looked like it was still intact minus some of the doors and windows being boarded up. I pull Coby’s car to a stop but I'm almost frightened to get out of the car. I wasn't one to scare easy but this place just made a chill run up and down my spine. Two seconds later, the sound of an engine makes me look in my rear view. A woman pulls up on a racing style motorcycle and comes to a stop slightly ahead of me. A black leather jacket and a purple helmet. She pushes out the kickstand, steadies the bike before pulling the helmet from her head.  
The motions of it remind me of those cliche movie scenes when the pretty girl reveals herself much to the arousal of the male protagonist. That was not the case though. Alice Bates, --professionally known as Alice Quinn-- was not my type but I could certainly be hers.

Her long dark curls fall part way down her back and she steps away from the bike, turns and then waves at me with more enthusiasm than I expected.

I exit the car, making sure to lock it and put the keys firmly in my pocket and walk up to her. I am instantly hugged tightly.

“Chel-SEE!”

When she releases me, she winks.

“Thanks for helping me out today.”

She eyes me for a split second.  

“Of course. You’re like family now. You wanted some place creepy although there are no abandoned buildings that aren’t especially creepy. This one has a LONG history. Even a guy that committed suicide.”

I stop. Her smile widens. I try to change the subject.

“How did you find out about this place?”

“I squatted here when I first came to LA. Not for long though. The place gave me the willies.”

“How reassuring...” I say under my breath and she walks to the front gate. It's chained shut with a padlock.

“Are you good with climbing...”

I blanch. I was... but the barbed wire along the top didn't have me feeling confident. Then she laughs, or rather cackles.

“I’m kidding. I know a guy.”

She takes a cellphone from her pocket and types and within seconds a rather portly looking man comes around the corner in a blue uniform. He shakes his head before coming to the gate.

“If they knew you were back here...” he says, shaking his head.

“Don't worry, just a short visit. And if we get caught I’ll not mention a word about you. Just like last time.”

The security guard looks skeptical but he pulls a key ring on an elastic retractor and unlocks the gate. He pulls it open.

“You got an hour. Then my partner will see the cars and you're on your own.”

He leaves the padlock hanging. From a distance it looks locked again. Alice thanks him before taking my hand and pulling me toward the door.

“Come on. I know the perfect spot. Don’t be scared, I’ll protect you.”

***

::N CAMERA:::

The camera is a little shaky as it tries to focus on the figure in front. When the picture clears it reveals the figure to be Chelsea Payne. She’s standing in what appears to be an old gymnasium.

“Our minds are not perfect. We all have things that nobody else in the world knows. We lock them away in rooms inside our heads, hoping they never see the light of day. Inside our mind, it is a thriving Institute of secrets.”

She looks around. There are piles of garbage, fire damaged furniture and refuge.

“But if you neglect the institution, it goes into disrepair. Descends into chaos and madness. I know there are many people who embrace that about themselves. Including my friend Alice.”

The camera suddenly turns to show the face of Alice Quinn.

“Hi!”

She then turns it back to Chelsea.

“People like LAW HOFer Violet Ripley who marketed her brand of crazy into a winning strategy. Raynin, my opponent, is not someone I would consider marketable. Crazy or not.”

She moves to take a seat in an old chair to the side.

“Much like this institution it was once known for helping to rehabilitate many people whether it was from the great depression in 1929 when so many people suffered from the stock market crash. Or during the second world war. And they treated a variety of issues here from a Polio center to treating addictions and a wide variety of mental illness. Not to mention a place for thousands of the elderly to transition into nursing homes.  Up until the late 1980’s this place was in operation until finally closing its doors. They built a new facility across the road. Not nearly as big mind you but it eliminated many of the redundancies here. Since then it has been a home to squatters and hundreds of feral cats.”

She leans forward a little on her knees.

“Raynin is a lot like this institution. For a long time she was a unique member of the SCW Bombshell division. What was it she said, the fourth person to ever hold the bombshell title? And a multiple Bombshell tag champion. That is a good solid history. The problem is, she didn't take care of the institution up here...”

She taps her head.

“Or here...”

She taps her heart.

“She claims to now have multiple personalities inside her. And one of them apparently wishes to hurt any and all that stand in her way of regaining bombshell gold. But... She’s not ready. It would be like letting patients back into this place as it stands now. It's dangerous. To her...”

She smirks.

“She has way too many things going on. Plus...”

She sighs.

“Her winning gold again means nothing. There have been so many roster changes since she's been gone. New fans have started filling the stands. Younger fans that will see Raynin and ask who she is. The whole thing about being an internet champion is to be someone with a presence ON the internet. She might not want to reveal her age but if SCW has been around four years and she was on the original roster than you are probably in the same territory as Mercy.”

She slowly shakes her head, she then stops. She taps her bottom lip as a thought comes to her.

“In fact, I think it's rather selfish to be looking to take this opportunity away from the newer bombshells. SCW seems to be littered with old news trying to constantly resuscitate their careers. But Christian and Mark are trying to bring in younger talent. I understand the importance of having veterans. My own father is one. But my father wouldn’t dare get back in a ring for gold at this stage of his career. Make room for the new ones. Whether you have one eye or two, I am walking away from this match the winner.”

She offers the camera and the audience a prideful smile.

“I have made it my job to prove that SCW is ready for change. The fans deserve the new and exciting not the dull and useless. I am the future, Raynin is the past. Get used to seeing my face because it won't be long until I am the new Internet Champion.”

She then blows the camera a kiss as it suddenly cuts off.