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#Post#: 332--------------------------------------------------
Unintended Consequences - Chapter 6 - All For One
By: RampageSports Date: September 14, 2014, 9:22 am
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Character Reference
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Richelle_100x120.jpg
Name: Richelle Winterfeld
Nickname(s):
Background: Owner of the RSI stable, former underground fighter
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Danni_100x120.jpg
Name: Danneel Harris
Nickname(s): Danni
Background: RSI stable leader, reigning DEF welterweight
champion
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Emma_100x120.jpg
Name: Emma Watson
Nickname(s):
Background: Reigning FAC featherweight champion, training
partner and lover of Tiffany Mulheron
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Tiffany_100x120.jpg
Name: Tiffany Mulheron
Nickname(s): Tiff
Background: Former ESL featherweight champion, current ESL
featherweight contender, training partner and lover of Emma
Watson
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Trish_100x120.jpg
Name: Dr. Patricia Leone
Nickname(s): Trish
Background: Head of the RSI medical staff
[hr]
Chapter 6 - All For One
Danni strode around the bed, coming up next to me without a
word.
"So," I said with a bemused smile, "how ya doin'?"
She ignored me.
"Trish says you're probably going to be OK. That's good."
Her voice had a cold flatness to it that made me wonder if she
really thought it was good.
"Well, it's hard to keep a good redhead down."
Again, no response. Tough crowd.
"Emma's out in the hall. She's been pretty messed up over this.
You need to talk to her."
Clearly, Danni was not in a playful mood. So, straight to
business, then.
"OK," I said with a nod. "Send her in."
She turned and marched back to the door.
"Danni," I called after her. "Are you OK?"
She just kept going... straight back out the door without
another word. After a minute or so, Emma came in. She waited
carefully... making sure the door had closed behind her. Then,
she turned to look at me... those brown eyes already brimming
with tears.
Trish had done a masterful job with Emma, as well. The mouse
under her right eye was basically gone, but it had apparently
split open before Trish got to it... the wound closed with a
pair of butterfly strips. Her eye had the same black and blue
shading as mine. We were a matched set, no doubt about it.
She hung on for all of a bout a ten seconds before the tears
escaped and ran down her cheeks.
"Oh, God... I'm so sorry." She looked like she wanted to run to
me, but she held back... unsure of how I might react given that
she was the one who put me here. But, I never blamed her for
one second.
I held my arms out to her. "Just be gentle with me," I joked.
She laughed as hard as she cried as she stepped in and wrapped
her arms around me. My damaged ribs complained a little, but I
was too happy to care. For the first time in days, it felt like
maybe we were going to get our Emma back. It felt pretty damn
good.
"I can't believe I was so stupid," she said.
I broke the embrace and eased her back a step so I could look
her in the eye. "'We', Emma. We were stupid. This isn't all
on you."
She shook her head, unconvinced. "I'm the one who started this.
I'm the one who's been acting like a child for days. It's my
fault."
I gave a little smile, mostly because I was just happy to hear
her coming to her senses. But, I still wasn't going to let her
shoulder this alone.
"I'm the one who went down there, and I knew exactly what was
going to happen when I did. There were probably a hundred other
ways I could have handled this."
I reached up and touched her face, my thumb running gingerly
over the bandaged wound my fists had put there.
"I'm not proud of what I did, Emma."
She set her hand softly onto the wrap protecting my ribs.
"Neither am I."
We stayed like that for a moment, each of us replaying what had
happened in that cage... the things we'd said... the damage we'd
caused. We tacitly agreed, then and there, to put it all behind
us.
"I'll tell you one thing," I said to break the silence. "You've
got a hell of a right cross, young lady."
She laughed.
"Well, you're a lot faster than I'd expected." She paused for a
moment before adding, "Being such an old hag, and all."
I gave her a playful shove. "Kiss my ass. I had more than
enough to handle you."
"I'm not the one in the hospital bed."
I had to give her that one.
"Ohhh!" I shouted as I laughed. "Low blow! That was WAY below
the belt!"
She laughed with me. But, as the silence returned, Emma
appeared to drift away.
"Emma, the things you saw today... after I collapsed. I..." I
stopped, unsure of what to say. "Are you OK?"
Her eyes clouded over as the scene replayed in her mind.
"I can't believe how stupid I was. I can't believe..."
I reached out and took her hand in mine. She looked at me and I
shook my head slowly.
"Forget it," I said firmly. "This isn't any more your fault
than it is mine. I'm just sorry you had to go through that."
She shrugged. "It was pretty scary, at first. But, once Trish
got there... she certainly knew what she was doing."
I nodded. I was well aware of the things Trish could do.
"Anyway... I didn't really see that much."
That didn't make much sense to me, but I let it go. Emma didn't
seem too upset by what had happened, and that was all I cared
about.
"How are you feeling physically?" I asked as I gestured toward
her injured face. "I think maybe you need to sit out this next
event."
She shook her head. "We caught a lucky break on that. The
event has been delayed. Something about safety issues at the
venue. They pushed it off a week, so I should be fine."
I nodded. "We could certainly use a little good luck."
We were quiet again, and Emma seemed to drift, once more.
"Emma," I said, trying hard to put the concern I felt into my
voice. "What's going on with you?"
She spread her hands in front of her. "I don't even know."
That wasn't going to get us anywhere, so I gave her a little
nudge.
"Tiffany told me what happened that night. Before her match
with Nadine. Emma, that wasn't your fault."
"I don't know how much you know..."
"I know what she told you. I know you had a little trouble
dealing with it."
She looked at the floor.
"It's not your fault. It's not Tiffany's fault, either. It was
bad timing, that's all."
"I just can't believe I did that to her."
I was beginning to think she wasn't listening. But, at least
she was talking...
"I don't know what came over me. I had been secretly hoping for
that moment for months."
OK... that one I didn't see coming.
I made a small sound that sounded something like "Huh?" and Emma
continued.
"How well do you know Tiffany?" she asked.
I snapped out of my stupor. "Not nearly as well as you do."
"Well, you're missing out. She's such a wonderful person."
My eyebrow arched so high, it disappeared into my hair.
"Stop," I said. "Are you trying to tell me you loved Tiffany
BEFORE she said anything to you?"
She smiled. "More than anything."
Look at me. Wrong again.
"Emma, I thought all of this was because you felt weird about
Tiffany being..."
"A woman?" she finished for me. "C'mon, Richelle. It's 2014.
A girl is free to love whoever she wants."
"OK, flower child... then, what's the story?"
She shrugged. "I didn't feel like I was enough for her. I
didn't want to lose her."
I shook my head. All this... because Emma felt unsure of
herself?
I gave her my best southern drawl. "Why, Miss Emma Charlotte...
I do declare that you have lost your pretty little mind."
She looked at me as though I'd beamed in from another planet. I
guess my best isn't very good.
I smiled broadly. "Who would have thought Emma Watson would ever
feel insecure?"
She narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm not insecure."
"The hell you aren't. Just listen to yourself. And now I
understand why you were so p*ssed at me."
"What do you mean?"
"That thing in my office. I was trying to p*ss you off... get
you to start screaming if that was the only way to get you
talking. I thought I understood what your problem was. But, I
had it wrong, as usual. And doing that in front of Tiffany... I
only made things worse for you."
She gave a quick laugh. "Yeah. Getting tossed out on my ass
was not very impressive."
I smiled. "You said it yourself... it was a cheap shot." I
covered my injured ribs with my hand. "And, I have been made to
pay dearly for my transgression."
She laughed again, but I could see the remorse in her eyes. We
had been so stupid... neither of us was likely to get over it
for a while.
"This thing with Tiffany," I said as I took her hand in mine. "I
think you might be doing it wrong."
"I just... I don't want to disappoint her."
"That's funny, since disappointing her is actually the only
thing you've been doing."
She looked down at the floor.
"Emma, don't you get it? Tiffany came to YOU. She told you she
loved YOU. The original you. The REAL you."
She still didn't seem convinced, and I was getting a little
frustrated. Emma was suffering from the same kind of doubt and
insecurity that every woman on Earth has felt at one point or
another. Why do we do this to ourselves?
"Think about it... what do you want to change about Tiffany?"
"Nothing," she said instantly.
I nodded. "So, why would she want you to change for her?"
She continued to study the floor as she reached up and rubbed
her forehead.
"You're not perfect, Emma," I continued. "No one is."
"You don't get it," she said as she slid her eyes up to mine.
"I HAVE to be perfect. All the time."
And there it was.
I've said before that Emma handles everything that's thrown at
her with grace and poise. Fame... paparazzi... tabloids... you
name it, Emma's got it covered, and she makes it look easy.
Only, maybe it wasn't easy, after all.
Along comes Tiffany, looking to get inside... past the perfect
facade. Emma tried to hold her off at first, and the result was
a distracted Tiffany getting her head handed to her in the cage.
A disaster Emma blamed squarely on herself.
"I'm sorry to be the one to shatter your little reality," I
began, "but you DON'T have to be perfect all the time."
She shifted uncomfortably.
"Tiffany's not looking for perfect. And, neither am I."
"It's not that easy. I spend my whole life protecting myself
from..."
I cut her off. "Not with us, you don't. We're the ones you let
your guard down with."
She shook her head lightly as the tears formed again.
"If you can't protect yourself, Tiffany will. If she can't do
it, I will. If not me, then Danni... or Steph... maybe even
Dumb and Dumber, if it comes down to it."
She laughed as a few stray drops escaped from the corner of her
eye.
"RSI's strength doesn't just come from the talent on the roster.
It comes from being a team. A family. We have your back,
Emma. You never have to protect yourself from us."
Tears continued to roll down her cheeks, even as a broad smile
spread across her face. The smile didn't last long, though.
"I guess I really blew it with Tiff," she said as her eyes
dropped back to the floor.
I reached out and gently lifted her chin. "I wouldn't say
that."
She looked at me sadly.
"Emma, you have to TALK to her."
"She's been trying to talk to me for days. I shut her out.
Eventually, she stopped trying."
I thought of Tiffany, sitting sadly in the conference room as we
slowly ran out of options for bringing Emma around.
"I think she'd be willing to let you back in," I said with a
smile.
"Really?"
I nodded again. "Go. Find her. Talk to her."
She looked at me strangely for a second... as if she wanted to
say something, but wasn't sure she should. She decided against
it.
Instead, she stepped into me and wrapped me up again.
"I'm so sorry, Richelle."
"Me too, Emma," I said as I squeezed her back.
"Thanks for sticking with me."
"Once you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way..."
She stepped back and arched an eyebrow at me.
"West Side Story? Really?"
"I figured a fine thespian such as yourself would get the
reference."
"Those guys killed each other, you know."
I gestured down at myself, lying in the hospital bed.
She laughed and hit me with that smile one more time. Then she
turned for the door.
As she took hold of the handle, a question popped into my head.
"Emma... how did you get Trish there so fast?"
She c*cked her head and looked at me, puzzled.
"That wasn't me," she replied. "It was Danni."
"WHAT?" I stammered as my eyes went wide.
"After you fell, I started screaming like a lunatic. Danni was
there before I even knew what happened. She pulled me out of
there. She's the one who got Trish."
I shook my head slowly, still stunned. I thought she went home.
"That's why I didn't see anything, Richelle," Emma continued.
"Danni did it all."
#Post#: 345--------------------------------------------------
Re: Unintended Consequences - Chapter 6 - All For One
By: Dragons Den Date: September 15, 2014, 8:49 am
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Wonderful work, Richelle! I love all your characters, and
they're very vividly portrayed. You've done well with Emma. Not
easy to have her emotions jumping all over the shop, but you've
handled it perfectly. You got mad skillz yo! ;)
Hope you make a speedy recovery. I've no doubt Emma hits like a
minuscule juggernaut. A Shetland Juggernaut, perhaps... (perhaps
not. I'm facepalming over that 'joke'.)
Oh, and I liked what you did with Trish, too. Like I said,
awesome work on your characters. I really enjoy reading all your
pieces. :)
#Post#: 347--------------------------------------------------
Re: Unintended Consequences - Chapter 6 - All For One
By: RampageSports Date: September 15, 2014, 9:31 am
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OK, first up... I'm from New Jersey, not Harlem, yo! :P
Also, I don't even think the people from Harlem say 'mad
skillz,' anymore. It would be cool if it came back, though.
That would be da' bomb.
OK... NOW who's facepalming? :D
Oh, and did you just compare Emma Watson to a tiny,
stubby-legged pony? You'd better be careful. John's talking
about opening up the board to more than just the managers. A
comment like that one will set the legions of Hermione fans on
you. ;)
I'm glad you like what you're reading. I'm also glad you liked
Trish. I'm not sure how much we'll be seeing of her, but, with
the number of injuries the sim throws at us, I'm sure I'll be
able to work her in quite frequently. :)
#Post#: 348--------------------------------------------------
Re: Unintended Consequences - Chapter 6 - All For One
By: Dragons Den Date: September 15, 2014, 9:52 am
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Haha! I'm laughing or nodding at everything. As for the Hermione
fans... let 'em at me! Every good organisation needs a heel
stable. I always end up being the face. Perhaps a change is in
order...
Of course, I meant no disrespect to Emma. She's lovely. If it
makes her feel better, Alex Morgan's nickname is baby horse, and
she's in my stable. Obviously I don't see these comparisons as
an insult, is what I'm saying. Haha.
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