Valkyrie is in the middle of the ring, standing on a crutch and wearing a cast on her left ankle
Valkyrie: I shouldn’t be here tonight, but there is something I want to get off my chest.
Valkyrie: So Aerith... get out here and talk to me, face to face.
The crowd is mumbling, as Aerith makes her way to the ring with no music and no lights, just a surprised look on her face. She gets closer to Valkyrie, whispering something in her ear
Valkyrie shakes her head vigorously, pushing Aerith away with her free hand
Valkyrie: No! I’m not coming to the backstage with you. We are doing this right here, right now. Get a microphone and answer me.
Aerith: What is wrong with you?
Valkyrie: What is wrong with me? What is wrong with YOU?!
Valkyrie: You said you were different from the others. Yet, as soon as you got a chance to be in the title picture, you completely forgot about me.
Aerith: What are you talking about? I called you multiple times, but you never picked up. I even went to the Brooklyn Hospital Center this Monday but they told me I couldn’t get in.
Valkyrie: Oh, really? How come my phone has been dead silent for the past few weeks?
Aerith: I have no clue, but I swear I tried to reach out for you multiple times.
Aerith: It’s me, Aerith. You know me. We are friends. You need to calm down and take some time off. Do not underestimate the effects caused by these types of injuries… it’s not just the physical pain, but the mental trauma as well. I’ve seen people retire for much less.
Aerith: Can’t you hear yourself? You are paranoid, you are seeing black helicopters everywhere.
Valkyrie: “Time off”? I had to spend my “time off” watching the woman who purposely crippled me having a match on last week’s Turmoil instead of me. Do you really expect me to simply sit back and watch?
Valkyrie: What happened to me and you taking down ShowBlitz together? What happened to us sending a message to the world?
Valkyrie points to the ankle cast she’s wearing
Valkyrie: Is this the message? That evil wins? That this is what happens when you step up to bullies?
Aerith: You want to talk about evil winning? Last week I had my chance at a title match taken away from me because people I thought were my friends lied to me, telling me my husband was in hospital.
Aerith: And when I say that I’m in this for you as well, it’s not just a gimmick. I truly mean it. I’m doing this for us. That’s why tonight I’m going to smash Dawson’s smug little nose in to prove to management she doesn’t belong where she is.
Valkyrie: “Us”? You think I’m 8 years old, or something? There is no “us” in this industry.
Valkyrie: I’m so sick of the rest of our female colleagues treating me like I’m some sort of defenseless puppy that just stepped inside a forest and is about to get eaten alive by its wildlife. I’m not your little sister! I don’t need you to fight for me.
Aerith: I know you don’t mean it, so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. These must’ve been the worst two weeks of your life and I understand it’s not easy for you.
Aerith: But right now, I need you by my side: this is about setting things right, it’s about setting the record straight. I don’t need to live my life worrying everyone’s in hospital, nor do I need my worries used against me.
Aerith grabs Valkyrie by the shoulders and looks her in the eyes
Aerith: I’m going to say this one last time and I don’t want to say it again. And this is not Aerith talking to Valkyrie, it’s Melissa talking to Sarah…
Aerith: You are my best friend in OCW and as of now, after what happened last week, you are quite possibly the only person left I can trust around here. We are going to make things right. Together.
The two stare at each other in silence for a few seconds
Then as soon as Valkyrie is about to respond, Aerith swiftly grabs her microphone preventing her from speaking further
Aerith: Now come to the back with me, enough of this nonsense.
The camera fades back to the commentary team
The camera pans to the announce team.
So much is happening.
This is the state of Turmoil.
Backstage we find a cowering Jim Black who seems to have been forced inside a large pet carrier. Save for that, the room is fairly normal. His suit jacket and shirt are slightly ripped, but most glaringly, his pants have been stolen and can be seen discarded in the background, torn apart on the floor.
The sound of tearing material causes the camera to swing around, revealing the new king of scumbaggery, Wrex himself and his mysterious new acquaintance. Wrex rolls his eyes towards the cage before looking to his friend and back to the camera.
Wrex: It was either this or a hoover box. But that went missing, so ask your questions.
Jim Black: Uh-
???: Quieres saber quién soy? You think you get to make the rules? You ask a question, snap your fingers and I just answer? You mamabicho’s, we…
The mystery man points between himself and Wrex.
???: We make the rules now. Este es nuestro mundo y solo pagas el alquiler! Tell them chacho!
Wrex: Isn’t he great? It’s amazing what this place overlooks down in developmental. Can barely understand a word he says yet he’s already the most useful guy I’ve worked with.
Wrex takes a seat on top of the carrier, kicking his feet out.
Wrex: While he might be a little hard to understand. What he does say is truth. It took so long to realize something so painfully obvious. Something that only a few people seemed to figured out over the years. When you just decide to do whatever you want to do. Things become so much more simple.
Wrex: Drop a paper champion into a box for a month? Why not, Take out our beloved champions better half and just, take a seat to watch what happens? Sounds like a great monday. Put a reporter into a cage because it just happens to be there, well. You can probably guess how that one works.
???: You see… Certain people… They have these strange ideas, ignorante. Stupid. They don’t want to understand what Wrex and I are about. Ellos no pueden entender. You want a name? You want to ask ‘who’s that Rican?’ I am more than a flag on my back! Mi nombre es Jay Fury, and this is simply the beginning. Ragnarath, CJ, TayTerror, Code Jackman… Victims.
Fury smirks.
Fury: We’re not here to establish a new world order, we’re simply letting you see what society is really all about.
Wrex: A society of anger, of sleazebags, assholes. People who just don’t really care. A society of the worst we have out there.
Wrex: A society of scum.. a Scumciety?
The camera pans to the announce team.
Bombshells!
Are the bomb!
Karissa Dawson vs. Aerith
The camera pans to the announce team.
Damn.
...
Cort Marshall and Christian Shepherd, the somewhat-renowned tag team of AWOL, make their entrance.
Randy Rice: Uh oh, these two look like men on a mission!
Tom Sanders: Really? I don’t see it. I mean they don’t have the purple robes, and they’re missing a few hundred pounds...
Randy Rice: By that I mean they have a point to make!
Cort and Shep enter the ring, and grab mics. Cort opens his mouth, but Shep holds up a finger.
Shep: Wait a minute, I’ve got something.
Cort shrugs and lets Shep have the floor. Shepherd is looking more serious than usual, and quite determined.
Shep: I’ve been holding this in awhile… I hope you’ll forgive the speech.
Shepherd starts to orate.
Shep: Seems to me, lately in OCW… we’ve got a lot of complainers. No, scratch that. A lot of y’all like to bitch.
The crowd OOOHs.
Shep: Now I know, everyone likes to bitch once in a while. It’s cathartic. FUCK that guy who thinks the left lane is for going 30 under the limit. You all hear me?
The crowd cheers.
Shep: Yeah you do.
Shep: But I mean in a more constant sense. Every goddamn day we--YOU--have to listen to these fools. MY TITLE! MY SUMMER! MY LEGACY! WHY AIN’T I BIG TIME? WHY IS HE BIG TIME?
Shep: Sensation was right. In this world you can only put up or shut up. And I’d love to see a lot of you shut up. So you were great once. Earn it back. Don’t sit in a chair and complain. So you wanna be great for the first time. That’s good. Put your effort in the ring. ‘Cause that’s the American way. And this…
Shep points down at the ring.
Shep: … is America.
The crowd cheers and Cort looks an approvingly.
Shep: But.
Shep: Maybe I’m mistaken. Because the America of today doesn’t really feel all that much like America. Maybe because we got a big guy upstairs who doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing. Maybe because America is supposed to be about unity. Solidarity. About knowing that though you and me may be different, we live and die under the banner of the red white and blue. That those colours matter more than the ones we’re born with. That this country works for us as much as we work for it.
Shep: But that ain’t how it’s shaping up to be, is it? Ever heard of “love thy neighbor?” Maybe you could try somethin’ like that instead of calling ICE on ‘em.
Shepherd is looking more angry, and more passionate, by the second.
Shep: We ain’t standing up for one another. I turn on the TV and I see cops beating people. I see the president treating countries we’ve been allied with for longer than he’s been alive like enemies. I see this country tearing itself apart at the seams.
Shep: I don’t want this company to be the same. At Wrestlelution we saw someone try to destroy another wrestler’s career… which make no mistake, to us is our LIFE. And why? Over what? Nothing is worth that kind of retaliation. This kinda shit has gotta stop. And it will. To anyone and everyone in OCW who likes to sow the seeds of hate… you won’t have this safe harbor no more. Cause we comin’ for you.
Shep drops the mic down to his side and points at the camera. The crowd are taken aback by his determined speech, and so is Cort!
Cort: Damn!
Cort: You just did a better America speech than I could! I don’t even know what to say.
Cort thinks for a moment while Shep paces around the ring. Suddenly, Shep brings the mic up again.
Shep: How ‘bout this. CQC, get ready. Because miracles don’t happen twice. AWOL, OUT!
With that, they make their way back up the ramp, as the crowd cheer in admiration.
