Off-Camera
Monday, December 5, 2022
Office of Seleana Zdunich
Zdunich Zoological Gardens
Los Angeles, California
8:04 AM PST
Everything was different now.
Seleana Zdunich had not been on the last SCW Climax Control but, rather shockingly, her wife, Christina “Crystal Hilton” Zdunich, had been. This had been a surprise to everyone given that the last time anyone had seen Crystal in SCW she was being driven from the arena in an ambulance following a brutal series of ddts onto steel chairs by Bella Madison. Even more shocking was that Christina had been assaulted by SCW’s newest Bombshell, Cindy Warren, alongside Dr. Jimmy Warren, the siblings of Teddy Warren. The assault had ended with Crystal being taken to a facility in Bakersfield where Dr. Jimmy would be allowed to do things to Crystal in order to “correct” her past behavioral problems. The second this had occurred, Seleana had started making calls, their other wife, Alexandra “Diamond” Caldwell sitting right next to her. Together, they had reassured their twelve-year-old daughter, Aurora, that everything would be alright while also calling her half-siblings, Brayden Hilton and Brittany Williams-Annis to tell them the same thing.
Other messages, from Todd Williams, Diamond Steele, Chloe Martin and Melissa Chavez had all quickly come in. Contacts were quickly utilized to try and find this facility and see what could be done quickly to get Christina home. The process had continued all night even to the present when Seleana found herself sitting in her office at the Zdunich Zoological Gardens, Alexandra sitting ten feet from the desk on her phone as well. Aurora was in the next room, Seleana’s cousins Nadja and Freja Lindström doing their best to keep the child occupied, distracted and entertained while two of her three mothers worked to retrieve the third.
As Seleana’s call ends, Melissa Chavez walks into the office alongside the head veterinarian of the place Dr. Michelle “Chavy” Chavez alongside one of the animal handlers, Sam “Razorback” Matthews. Seleana looks up to see the three entertaining and nods, looking somewhere between expectant and hopeful.
Seleana Zdunich: Have you found anything?
Chavy and Razorback both shake their heads quickly, almost curtly.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: They don’t look like they’ve done anything here. Nadja looked at the computers and she was satisfied that nothing was amiss.
Sam "Razorback" Matthews: The animals are all accounted for, exactly where they should be. Ain’t nobody done nothing’ to any of them so we appear to be good there too.
Seleana nods acceptingly, a slight note of disappointment crossing her face at the reports.
Seleana Zdunich: What about at the company?
Melissa shrugs.
Melissa Chavez: Chloe’s still looking, but it doesn’t look like they’ve tried to come and take the company back for Teddy or anything. Whatever this is about, it doesn't look like it has anything directly to do with that at all.
Seleana Zdunich: Have you had the board meeting yet?
Melissa shakes her head.
Melissa Chavez: Not until this afternoon, probably three-ish? It’s going to take some doing to get everybody else in even for a Zoom call on this kind of notice. Thee’s been a rumbling about setting up a back-up CEO just in case Christina is incapacitated in any way for any real length of time.
Diamond frowns, visibly not liking where that line of thought is going.
Alexandra "Diamond" Caldwell-Zdunich: Anyone stand out that they looking at?
Melissa shrugs again.
Melissa Chavez: I don’t know who all is even being looked at. I would call this all premature, but I think they’re worried at the public perception. Given that Christina is a little unstable at the best of times, hearing that is just gone…
Diamond crosses her arms.
Alexandra "Diamond" Caldwell-Zdunich: They worried more about the stock price than they are about Christina!
Melissa Chavez: Not entirely. Christna sets the vision for every part of the company. If she is gone, they’re worried about how everything will function without that vision in place. If she’s gone, or even just compromised, who makes the decisions? Who makes the hard calls? Especially with Warrens in play after how things went with Teddy in charge, that’s the worry.
She pauses and then nods in acknowledgement.
Melissa Chavez: At least that I’ve heard so far.
Seleana exhales heavily before directing her attention to Razorback once again.
Seleana Zdunich: Have you heard anything on the other front?
Sam "Razorback" Matthews: Just that it’s all probably bullshit but that they have some scumsucking weasel of a lawyer running interference for them on multiple fronts. Least that’s the thoughts I’ve heard volunteered so far. It wasn’t exactly a deep conversation.
Seleana nods slowly.
Seleana Zdunich: Tack… thank you.
Razorback nods and takes his leave.
Dr. Michelle Chavez: Do you think they’re coming here after anything?
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: They sounded like it was about Christina, nobody else.
Alexandra "Diamond" Caldwell-Zdunich: Damn them…
Seleana nods.
Seleana Zdunich: We will get her back. They can only hold her for seventy-two hours at most and she has scheduled appearances that will be noticed if she misses them starting Thursday, I think. We know they like theatricality and we know where they appear on Sundays. We also know she will make an appearance in London soon.
She nods to Diamond.
Seleana Zdunich: You are scheduled to be there as well, ja?
Diamond nods stiffly.
Alexandra "Diamond" Caldwell-Zdunich: Yeah, though right now who knows if either of us is doing anything but standing here.
Melissa nods slowly, feeling awkward at even bringing up her girlfriend’s name given said girlfriend’s surname.
Melissa Chavez: Is this gonna be a bad time for Dawn to want to talk to you?
Seleana ponders this for a second. Dawn was Dawn Warren, another sibling to Teddy, Cindy and Jimmy who were obviously not in the group’s good graces currently. Seeing the worry in Melissa’s eyes, Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: No, she has done nothing wrong. We will not hold the actions of Cindy, Jimmy and Teddy against her, ja?
Melissa nods gratefully.
Melissa Chavez: She’s been talking about it alot lately, about me…
She trails off and Seleana manages a small smile for her.
Seleana Zdunich: You worry about nothing. Dawn has shown herself to be different from her siblings. She may even be able to assist us as much as we can assist her.
Melissa nods as Seleana turns to her phone.
Seleana Zdunich: I will contact Halo and consider other options as well.
Diamond nods her agreement.
Alexandra "Diamond" Caldwell-Zdunich: Me too.
Seleana turns and walks over to her wife and embraces her.
Seleana Zdunich: We will be reunited with Estrellita. We must have faith, Diamant.
Diamond nods and hugs Seleana back.
Alexandra "Diamond" Caldwell-Zdunich: I hope so…
Seleana nods to the Chavez Sisters allowing them to take their leave as the two lovers stand in the office in their loving embrace.
Seleana Zdunich: I love you, Diamant.
Alexandra "Diamond" Caldwell-Zdunich: I love you too, Sel.
On-Camera
Friday, December 9, 2022
Driveway
Home of the Zdunich Family
Los Angeles, California
8:04 PM PST
The camera opens upon Seleana Zdunich sitting on a folding chair
Seleana Zdunich: Jessie Salco…
Seleana nods knowingly.
Seleana Zdunich: We have a history, ja?
Quickly doing the math on her fingers, Seleana can’t help but smile ever so slightly.
Seleana Zdunich: We have been fighting four years’ time.
She looks down as if the enormity of the timeframe is only just not hitting her fully. Exhaling deeply, Seleana looks back up to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: Sometimes it was personal.
She places her left hand out, palm up.
Seleana Zdunich: Sometimes there were championship implications involved.
Her right hand pops out and then both drop down to their original position.
Seleana Zdunich: You were the one Christian placed in my path and gave the chance to stop me from rising to the top.
Seleaa nods to herself, the memories flooding back over her.
Seleana Zdunich: You were the one he dangled a tantalizing fruit above you if you could take me down. You were supposed to stop me from ever getting to Alicia Lukas. It was supposed to get your championship competition ban overturned and ended.
She nods to herself again.
Seleana Zdunich: You were the one who was given multiple chances to stop me from making my first championship reign here be a fluke. You were supposed to stop me from winning the championship opportunity my wife had put in front of me.
Yet again, she nods to herself, almost like she’s been going down a mental checklist.
Seleana Zdunich: You were the one given the chance to strip me of that standing and show the world that I could not do anything without my wife spoon feeding it to me. You were the one who was supposed to take it from me and prove I could not defend anything, nor could I stand on my own.
She waggles a finger at the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: It was always you, has always been you…
Her hands come together in front of her.
Seleana Zdunich: Which always made it funny that you and my sister, Zenna, get along so well. You and she would talk shop about thrash metal and guitars. You ever seemed to get along with our youngest sister, Katra, as well.
A small chuckle escapes her lips.
Seleana Zdunich: You could talk about Warbringer and Havok with them and be wonderful but when it came to me…
Seleana shakes her head.
Seleana Zdunich: It just never clicked, did it?
She shakes her head, the mirth fading away by the second.
Seleana Zdunich: You always wanted to show me, always said I could not do it. You always said you would prove I could not and I should still be angry at you for it but anger is not what i feel for you, right now, Jessie.
Looking down at the ground again, she shakes her head to reinforce the sentiment.
Seleana Zdunich: Nej… ingen ilska…
She looks back up.
Seleana Zdunich: I feel I should thank you, Jessie.
She stands, the look on her face remaining deadly serious.
Seleana Zdunich: Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for always coming at me as hard as you did. Thank you for hating me. I would not be where I am without you.
She points to herself.
Seleana Zdunich: I would not be a two-time champion here in SCW.
The point starts to pull away and then goes back, almost crashing into her sternum.
Seleana Zdunich: I would not have been Bombshell World Champion without you pushing me to prove you wrong, to prove Christian wrong, to prove everyone wrong.
The point moves again, repeating the near crash it performed only seconds before.
Seleana Zdunich: I would not have been Bombshell Roulette Champion without you pushing to show that I could not do it! I would not have proven that not only could I do it but could defend it without you pushing so hard in the opposite direction.
She turns the point back around to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: So thank you, Jessie, for hating me and trying to take me down. You helped me more than anyone else in proving that I am a championship-level competitor.
Seleana falls to her knees and holds her hands out to the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: Thank you, Jessie, for thinking so little of me then and going as hard as you could to prove your point because it made me who I am today! Now we continue on showing the world who I am and that no matter how little everyone thinks of me, it will never stop me!
She stands back up, smiling for the camera.
Seleana Zdunich: Thank you, Jessie, I could not have shown the world who Seleana Zdunich is without you.
