Making Things Right

==========

Off Camera

==========

It’s a dark night in Boston, Massachusetts but the night is very active, especially in the bar scene.  Bostonians from every walk of life are out and about, some to celebrate and their achievements, others to forget their problems, and still others just to be with the ones the love.

Things are a little different for Marie Annabelle Jones.  She is out and about on this night not to celebrate or to forget; she is here for a purpose.  She is here to meet one of the few people she feels she can trust whole heartedly and seek out their advice.

Unfortunately this person has grown distant from her in recent months.  It’s none other than her aunt, Kayla Jones.

Marie’s attitude change since being kidnapped by Kimberly Williams has led her to make new friendships and new alliances, such as her alliance with Alana Starr, Ethan Von Aaron, and Samantha Hodgson.  The attitude change also led to other relationships being strained; one in particular being her relationship with her aunt Kayla.

People question Marie’s actions all the time.  That’s nothing special.  She’s heard time and time again from people like Vanilla Skyy, the person she is scheduled to face at Upping the Ante, and Danny Darko, the man she is going to face in an I Quit Match at Riot, that she is on the wrong path.  The young Jones just ignores them.  Success speaks for itself and she has been much more successful since throwing her lot in with The Good Movement.

Darko’s opinions do not concern Marie.  People like him cannot be satisfied.  William Mason is a perfect case in point.  Darko got his revenge already at Reawakening Day.  He beat the hell out of Mason.  And now he wants yet another match against Mason?  He claims it’s still not over?  What more could he want out of the poor man?

No, Marie is not concerned at all with the opinions of a man like that.  He is clearly living in his own delusional world and if Marie has to step into his world in order to take him down then so be it.  She will make him utter those words come hell or high water.

Kayla’s opinions, though, do matter to Marie.  Despite the front she puts forward for the public, she still does care about the advice and opinions that her aunt Kayla can give and the fact that her aunt truly seems to believe young Phoenix is crazy, well, that has given Marie reason enough to swallow her pride and attempt to make things right with her family.

Family is important to Marie Annabelle Jones.  That may comes as a surprise to some but those who are close to Marie will not be surprised.  They know how much family means to her and how much their support means to her.  Marie, after all, grew up most of her life without a father.  Her entire father’s family was absent from her life with the exception of the times that her psycho twin sister from her father’s side interfered and tried to destroy her.  Marie recognizes, perhaps better than anyone else in her family, that the Jones family must stick together no matter what.

That means Marie has to do whatever it takes to mend this rift between her and her aunt.

Marie Annabelle Jones walks into the bar and finds her aunt, the lovely red-headed Kayla Marie S. Jones, sitting at the bar, currently by herself, but Marie knows that is all about to change as she slowly saunters her way to the bar.  The younger Jones sits down in the stool next to her aunt and smiles politely.

“Is this seat taken?”

“It is now.” Kayla remarks dryly. “You’re late, by the way.”

Young Phoenix did not intend to get off to such a rough start with her aunt but, then again, perhaps Kayla has reason to be frustrated?  Marie sighs, nodding her head.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.  I got a little tied up.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Kayla shakes her head before waving for the bartender to come over. “What do you want?”

“What I want is for you to keep your money in your purse.” Marie says, finally sporting a smile. “I said I was buying us drinks and I meant it.”

Kayla nods her head, smiling as well, perhaps because she is honestly surprised that Marie has thus far kept her word?  She hasn’t exactly been a woman of her word lately.

“Ok, I’ll have some rose wine.  If they have it.”

“This is a wine bar…” Marie says grinning “…and I’ll just have the same.”

The bartender goes to fill the order.  Meanwhile Marie turns back to her aunt and sighs with some relief.

“Thanks again for agreeing to meet with me, Aunt Kayla.”

“You know, you have been acting like quite a stuck up bitch lately,” the words hit Marie strong and she winces a little, almost like her aunt punched her in the gut “but you are still family and besides that,”

Kayla snickers “you ARE buying me a drink.”

Marie can’t help but laugh as well at that one as the bartender returns with a wine bottle and two glasses, one for each of the Jones women.  The bartender first pours the elder Jones some wine and then she turns to Marie and pours her some wine as well before walking away.  After each woman takes a sip of their wine, it is Kayla who finally breaks the ice.

“Ok, so what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Straight to the point.”  Marie smiles knowingly. “I always did like that about you, Aunt Kayla.”

“No use bullshitting around.”

“Well you know grandfather Jones is back in town, right?”

Kayla immediately sets her wine glass down.  Her eyes grow cold for just a moment and Marie can sense the hatred growing.  She can almost feel the emotion coming from Kayla’s ever pore.  But the elder Jones manages to keep her cool and just nods her head.

“Yeah, your mother told me he was in town.  She wants me to go see him but I won’t.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t want to, Marie.”

Now it’s Marie’s turn to set her wine glass down as she sighs out of frustration.  “See that’s just it, I want to know why…my father’s side of the family is all but gone, decimated.  The Jones family isn’t quite that bad off but still there’s still so much I don’t know.  What makes you and mom tick?”

“Is that it?” Kayla asks with a chuckle. “You can ask us that yourself, Marie.”

“No, no I can’t.” She shakes her head. “I can’t because I won’t get a full answer.  Grandfather Jones has been showing me things and telling me things that I never knew.  He’s the reason that I want to…”

“Want to what?”

“….I want to apologize.  I want to apologize for how I’ve been treating you and mom lately.  He made me realize that no matter how I act in and out of the ring, I can never afford to let my family relationships go to waste.  We are all we have.”

“And Bart told you that?” Kayla remarks skeptically.

“Yes, yes he did.”

“Same old Bart Jones,” Kayla rolls her eyes as she takes another sip of her wine “trying to be a saint.”

“Why don’t you like him?”

“What?”

“Why don’t you like your own father?” Marie asks again. “I mean, I get that he abandoned you and mom but still, he’s trying to make up for it I think.”

“Oh it goes beyond just abandoning me and your mother.”

Kayla is now frustrated to the point that she swigs the rest of her wine in one gulp and then slams the glass back down onto the table.  She leans in close so that the next words are not heard by anyone except her and Marie.

“You want to know the truth about this saint who is trying to warm his way into your life?”  Marie nods her head. “Then I’ll tell you.  He cheated on our mother.  Did he tell you that?”

Marie shakes her head. “No, no he didn’t.”

“I didn’t think he would.  But that’s not all.  After our mother was killed, he left me and Angelica, claiming it was because he couldn’t take care of us, that he was trying to protect us.  Even you have to admit that’s a cop-out.”

Marie nods her head, admitting she is right about that.   “Yeah…”

“And I know your mother has told you what happened when she was dropped off at that parochial boarding school.  But I haven’t told you much about the hell I went through, have I?”

Marie shakes her head. “No…”

“It’s because I don’t like talking about it.  I ended up in the foster care of Oliver Hardy.  Hardy beat me, Marie.  He…he…” Kayla is getting very emotional at this point so Marie places a comforting hand on her shoulder “…he molested me.”

“He…he what?”

“Now do you see why I cannot forgive him?” Kayla asks, tears now in her eyes rolling down her cheek. “My father abandoned me to the care of a child molester.”

“I’m…I’m sorry.”  Marie says quietly. “I had no idea.”

“It’s fine, but just be careful.  You’re keeping some bad company; Ethan Von Aaron, Samantha Hodgson, Michael Baeur…and now Bart.”

“Bart has changed.”

“Maybe he has.” Kayla shrugs. “But I doubt it.  Not after what he’s done.”

“Come on, Aunt Kayla.” Marie says, urging her to get up. “Let’s go.”

Kayla nods.  Marie slides enough money to the bartender to pay the tab before she and her aunt walk away from the bar and over towards the front door.  The two women exit out the front door and once outside they embrace in a hug.

“Thank you for coming.”

“Sure, just like I said, be careful.” Kayla says in a grim, serious tone. “You’re heading down a dangerous path with some dangerous company.”

“Maybe I am, but it’s the same path mom went down.”  Kayla is silent and her silence speaks volumes. “I’m right.  I know it.”

“Yes, your mother did pretty much the same things you did in her early years in the wrestling industry and look at her now.”

“Yeah, she’s a twelve time world champion in three halls of fame.”

“With three daughters from three different husbands, she’s been married three different times, and at one point had spent time in insane asylum.”

Now it is Marie’s silence that speaks volumes as the truth of her aunt’s words sink in.  “I didn’t…I didn’t think of it that way…”

“That’s why I worry about you, Marie.  That’s why your mom worries.  She won’t tell you but she worries about it too because she can see you on that same path she was, turning into her.  You are on her path to insanity.”

==========

Samantha Hodgson

On Camera

==========

Do you want to hear it?  Listen and listen well because this is the only time you will hear it from The House of Hodgson and you will never ever hear this come from the lips of my client Marie Annabelle Jones…

“I Quit”

…those words are humbling.  When a wrestler utters those words, he or she is admitting that they cannot win and that they would rather give up than continue to take abuse.  That is why I Quit Matches can prove to be quite deadly, quite dangerous.  The two combatants throw everything they can at one another, they inflict so much punishment, torture, and abuse until one of them cannot stand it anymore and they utter those humiliating, humbling words…

…I Quit.

My client will never utter those words.  I want you to understand that, Darko.  Marie Annabelle Jones is a lot of things but she is not a quitter.  She will not give up to you or anyone else, no matter how much punishment you attempt to inflict upon her.

She will bleed, she will have bruises and perhaps even broken bones, she may even pass out from the pain and be unable to continue, but she will never admit it.  She will never ever quit.

Quitting is not in her vocabulary.  Quitting is not part of her lifestyle.  Marie Annabelle Jones will always fight because that’s what the Jones women do.  They fight and they fight and they keep fighting until they have drawn their last breath.  It may sound clichéd, but if you want to defeat Marie in the I Quit Match at Riot, then you will have to kill her.  You will not be able to make her say I Quit.

==========

Off Camera

==========

The eyes of young Marie Annabelle Jones are still wide eyed in shock.  Making peace with her aunt was a good thing and needed to be done, but the bombshell Kayla dropped on Marie sent shockwaves through her nervous system.  She knew her grandfather, Kayla’s father Bart Jones, had done some pretty dastardly things to make Kayla hate him as much as she did, but she never expected to hear that.  She never expected that.

It is hard to believe that the sweet man who poured his heart out to her, who has tried to help her oh so much, could possibly be responsible for putting his own daughter in such danger.  Yet, Marie does believe it, because she can’t imagine her aunt Kayla lying about such a thing.

Still, Marie wants to hear it for herself straight from the horse’s mouth, and that’s what brings her to her mother’s home in Boston.  She knows Bart has been staying there recently until he can close the deal on a home of his own and thus it is here that she can find her grandfather.

The redhead approaches the front door with some apprehension.  She isn’t quite sure she wants to have this confrontation.  If he admits to it, would it crush her?  Would it forever destroy the image she had of Bart Jones as a man seeking redemption?  Still, she has to find out for herself.

Finally she knocks on the door…and waits.  The waiting is the hard part, especially as she begins to hear movement from inside.  Eventually the door opens and it isn’t Bart who opens it but instead her mother, Angelica Jones, who is standing there in the doorway.

“Oh, hi Marie.” The mother’s voice begins with surprise but quickly forms into one of delight upon seeing her daughter here before her. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I wasn’t exactly planning on stopping by.” Marie responds. “May I come in?”

“Sure.”

The mother steps aside, allowing her daughter access to her home, a home she has lovingly and playfully named Purgatory.  Marie accepts her mother’s quirkiness and eccentric attitude because that’s just who she is and she wouldn’t want her any other way.  Besides, Marie knows the other part of her mother, a dark side that she keeps hidden away unless absolutely necessary.  Marie knows about The Dragon all too well.

Phoenix follows The Dragon into the living room, quite a grand looking place with a luxurious fireplace and a fancy flat screen television mounted on the wall, and it is there where the two women find a seat side by side on the plush black leather sofa.

“I am glad you stopped by.”  Angelica begins with a warm, motherly smile on her face. “It’s a shame we don’t get to see each other that much.”

Marie nods her head in agreement. “The trials of being professional wrestlers.  It’s a real bitch.”

“That it is…” Angelica chuckles ever so slightly.

“Mom, can I ask you a question?”

Angelica immediately nods her head. “Of course, sweetie.  Anything you want.”

“Do you support me?”

The question is a strange one for a mother to hear and does take Angelica by surprise.

“Of course I support you, Marie.” She runs her hand through Marie’s long red locks. “There will be disagreements, sure, but you are my daughter, my oldest daughter, and I will always have your back no matter what.”

“Good…” Marie’s voice trails off for just a moment, pausing before she begins again “…but what about my grandfather?”

“What about him?”

“I went to see Aunt Kayla tonight and she told me everything.”

Angelica doesn’t respond right away.  The simple nod of her head is enough to tell the whole story.  The mother knows exactly what her daughter means when she says Kayla told her everything.  There are a few things that had been kept from Marie and Angelica knows it.  But now Marie knows as well.

“I assume you have some questions.”

“I do but I want to ask him face to face.”

Angelica sighs and nods her head again. “Ok, I’ll go get him.”

The mother stands up and exits the living room.  Marie is left there in her own thoughts, awaiting the confrontation that is to come.  It isn’t long until she hears the sound of heavy footsteps coming from upstairs and heading downstairs.  These are clearly the footsteps of a male and must be Bart Jones.  Marie braces herself as she hears the footsteps enter the living room.  Finally the figure, who sure enough turns out to be Bart himself, steps into view.

“Hi there Marie,” he greets her pleasantly “your mom told me you wanted to see me.”

Marie is kind of surprised to see him acting so happy and pleasant right now but, then again, maybe Angelica never told him exactly what it was she wanted to talk about?  Perhaps Bart has no idea what this is about?

The younger Jones shoots right up off of the sofa, standing up face to face (or at least as close to it as she can get) to the patriarch of the Jones family.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Bart appears to be genuinely confused. “I don’t follow you.”

“I spoke to my Aunt Kayla today and she told me everything.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, she told me how you cheated on your wife, MY GRANDMOTHER, with some bitch down in Florida!” Marie’s voice is dripping with venom. “And she told me what happened to her when you abandoned her and my mother!”

“I had no control over what social services would do with them.” Bart remarks slowly, with pain in every word he utters. “Believe me, Marie, if I knew what was going to happen to her I would have done everything  within my power to stop it.”

“You could have taken responsibility, the responsibility you had as a father!” Marie’s voice grows louder as she shouts angrily. “Hell, I know how tough it is to be a parent.  I’m a single mother.  But you don’t see me running away from my son or abandoning my son because it is the easy way out!”

She pokes him the chest. “And you cheated on my grandmother.  Why?  Were you just weak?”

“Yes, yes I was weak.  That’s how I gave in so easily.  But your grandmother, Kelly Ford-Jones, she was a saintly person.  She forgave me and got me the help I needed.  That’s why I returned, Marie.  I’m hoping you, your sisters, your aunt and your mother had enough of Kelly Ford-Jones passed down to you that you’ll find it in your hearts to forgive me.”

Marie shakes her head. “I did want to forgive you, but now I…I just don’t know…”

“Then let me at least help you.”

“How can you possibly help me?”

“I’m going to help you with your career.” Bart places his two strong hands on each of her shoulders. “You speak of responsibility, well take responsibility for what happened at Reawakening Day.”

“I never wanted Jackson Adams to interfere.”

“No, but he did interfere and you have that controversial victory on your record.  And you have Vanilla Skyy and Danny Darko coming after you.  You will have to walk through hell, I won’t lie to you, but you are a Jones.  You are a survivor and win or lose you will come out of both of these I Quit Matches as a stronger person.  But in order for that to happen you need to start taking responsibility for your actions.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m just like you, Marie.” He says smiling uneasily. “I’m broken and imperfect.  I need help.  I think we can help one another.”

==========

Marie Annabelle Jones

On Camera

==========

The clicking of heels across concrete floor signals the arrival of a beautiful young woman onto the stage.  The stage is set inside of the grand hall area of the Jones estate where the Jones women spent much of their lives before striking it out on their own.  Then the beautiful female steps into view from stage right.  This is none other than Marie Annabelle J ones and she is wearing a tight black dress with a hemline that stops just above her knees.  Her feet are encased in black high heeled pumps.  Elbow length opera gloves are on each arm and sunglasses are over her eyes.  Her long red hair cascades down to shoulder length.

“It’s just me.  No Ethan…no Samantha…no Alana.  Just Marie Annabelle Jones.”

She nods her head. “And that’s how you want it, isn’t it?  Danny Darko, Vanilla Skyy, that’s what you want?  That’s what you get.  Me and me alone.  And while you may think that gives you an edge, the reality of your situation is that you are still screwed.”

“What you are about to realize, Vanilla, is that I am just as deadly, just as dangerous, by myself as when I have backup.  That’s why I said I don’t need backup.  That’s why I did not want Jackson Adams to interfere at Reawakening Day.  That was between the two of us and he interfered.  I was just as pissed as you were.  He stole something from me.  He stole the chance for me to shut up my critics once and for all.  He stole from me the chance to say that I beat Vanilla Skyy one on one.”

“So am thrilled that finally I get what I want, what I wanted back at Reawakening Day…the chance to face you one on one.  I said it over social media, I proclaimed it at the show itself, and you heard me so don’t deny it.  You heard me declare that I wanted it one on one.  It was Desmond Drake who disobeyed my wishes and sent Adams out there.”

“But you’re right, Vanilla.  That’s behind us.  It happened to you, now it happened to me when you cracked me across the head with that chair, so we can finally move on, we can finally both get what we want.”

“Jones versus Skyy, one on one.”

“Granted I have gone on to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am not just a finesse wrestler; I have proven that I can not only hang in there with the best of them in a hardcore environment, but I can thrive.  I would have beaten Amanda Blayze had it not been for your interference…yeah, yeah, we’re even now, even though I didn’t ask Jackson Adams to interfere on behalf…and in another company I beat three other individuals in a ladder match.”

“So do I sweat an I Quit Match against you at Upping the Ante?” She shakes her head. “Not in the slightest.  I know the sacrifices of my blood and my body that I’ll have to make, and I am prepared to make them.  And I am prepared to force you to make those very same sacrifices of your own blood and your own body.”

She smirks. “We’ll paint the town red.”

“I will never…I have never…uttered the words I Quit during a wrestling match in my entire career.  I have never once given up.  I have never quit.  It’s not in my vocabulary.  I have been beaten into unconsciousness before.  I have been beaten until I cannot continue any longer.  But it was never of my own choosing.  I never once gave up on anything or anyone and that’s a fact.”

She reaches up with her hand raises her sunglasses so that her eyes are clearly viewable.  “And it won’t start here, not here and not with you Danny Darko.”

“This all started with you.  It all started when Apocalypse kicked you out of our group.  And you’re still not over it, are you?  I’m not surprised.  You’re just not the type of guy to ever get over something.  William Mason called you a care-bear and you responded by maiming him at Reawakening Day.  But in your warped world you still haven’t settled things with him so you want yet another match with him?”

“Damn…obsessive much?”

“We’ve both changed a lot since the Apocalypse situation.  And let me tell you something that you probably won’t believe…”

“….I actually do respect you.”

She nods her head. “That’s right.  You took a beating from Apocalypse, you were mocked by Mason and others, so you went out and formed your own faction.  You took Mason apart and Pain & Pleasure raised all kinds of hell.  All this accomplished in such a short amount of time.  How can I not respect that?”

“As violent as you are, as much pain as you can dish out, you will not be able to make me say those two words.  You will not be able to make me give up.  You will not force me to quit this fight.”

“It’s too bad, really.  In another time in another place we could’ve been great friends.  I can take as much punishment as you are prepared to dish out and I can give back all that punishment right back to you and then some.  In spades.  I am not afraid to bleed and pay the price.  If you want violence, if you want pain, then you’re get it, my friend.  You’re going to get all that and then some come Riot because I will not give up.”

“Never.”

“You care about this industry?  Do you care about this sport?  You claim you do.  I know I do.  I grew up in it.  I was raised in this industry.  You can question my motives, you can question my allegiances, but never once should you or anyone question my dedication to this industry.  I love this sport and will do anything for it.  I have sacrificed for this sport before and I stand ready to sacrifice for this sport again, just as every Jones before me has sacrificed.”

“I will come ready to sacrifice on Riot.  I will sacrifice my blood and my body in order to hurt you, to beat you down to the point that you have no choice but to utter those humbling and humiliating words…and if you don’t, then I’ll beat you until you cannot continue any longer.  I’ll beat you until the match is stopped to protect your well being.”

“I will settle for that.  I hope you are willing to settle for that because I can guarantee you, and you can take this to the bank, that you will have to kill me first.  You will kill me before you ever make me say those words.”