Best of the Best

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Best of the Best

Scene 1

Off Camera

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Change is important in life.  Science has proven that if you do not change and adapt to your environment then life will pass you by and, eventually, you will go extinct.  It happened to the dinosaurs, it happened to the dodo bird, and it will happen to any and every creature, no matter how great and no matter how small, who dares ignore the reality of evolution and natural selection.

For the longest time in her wrestling career, Corey Jones was known as Jessica Lasiewiccz and people knew her as the woman who fought against the bad guys and the villains within the sport.  She was the woman who stood up for what was right, who stood up for the “little guy” as their defender.  But that grew old quickly, and not just as she was getting compared to her father, the infamous Andreas Lasiewicz, but also because she was only helping others to break free of the shackles that bound them so that they could achieve their goals.  Never once did she consider achieving her own goals.  She tried to be unselfish about her wrestling career but maybe, just maybe, it was time for her to be a little selfish.  Maybe it was time for her to think about herself.

Step one was to reinvent herself and she did with a name change.  She dropped “Jessica Lasiewicz” and went by her middle name of “Corey” and her mother’s last name of Jones.  She wanted to maintain the Jones identity because it spoke of and demanded respectability.  Step two was a difficult one for Corey and it was not one she was readily able to accept.  She needed to quit trying to be someone she wasn’t.  She needed to quit being a different person for different people just to help them.  She needed to be herself so that she could help herself.

She had always played the role of hero or vigilante for so long, a role that really wasn’t her at all, that she forgot who she truly was.  She forgot how to be who she really was.  To top it all off, Corey had so much  going on in her life that she had no idea how to control it all, how to balance it all, and how to find through all that mess who she really was.  Corey Jones was…

…Kyle Butler’s girlfriend.

…a student at Duke University, studying accounting.

…a cheerleader for Duke University.

…a GCW wrestler.

…an SCW wrestler.

That being said, who is the real Corey Jones?  This is a question that she is seeking answers to herself.  In a way it is an adventure, an exciting adventure.   And if all things go the way she has planned, then by the end of the adventure she will have her college education and she will be well on her way to a successful wrestling career not just as the daughter of Angelica Jones and Andreas Lasiewicz but as herself, as Corey Jones.

With every good plan there are bumps in the road, or obstacles if you will, that will try to hinder your progress.  In Corey’s case the biggest obstacle is the aforementioned issue of how is she going to balance all of this?  It’s already proven difficult for her.  While she did defeat Dylan Howell in the Shot of Adrenaline Tournament, the loss to Selena Frost in that same tournament ensured that she would not make the semi-finals.  Corey would not get booked for quite awhile until she finally got another match, this one against Gigi Steward.  Unfortunately, that match also turned into a loss for Corey.

Now SCW’s Best of the Best Tournament is coming up and while she is in the tournament, a first round match against Greg Cherry, she still can’t help but feel that the only reason she is even in this tournament is because it is generally expected that every SCW wrestler on the roster should actively participate, including those, like Corey, who have not been doing well as of late.

Still, this is a rare chance for Corey to pull off an upset and prove that she is still a threat in SCW.  For starters, no one expects her to do anything in the tournament.  If she is underestimated, she could fly in under the radar and win the whole thing.  Another thing working in Corey’s favor is the fact that her beloved Duke Blue Devils have been eliminated from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.  With Duke out of the tournament, Corey can now take a full length break from cheerleading and focus only on her professional wrestling.

And even still, while some distractions go away, there are other distractions that rear their ugly head.

Summer Newman and Corey Jones met when Summer was Summer Collins and Corey was still going by Jessica Lasiewicz.  They were professional rivals at first but grew to respect one another and, eventually bonded and finally had a friendship for one another.  As a team they were unstoppable.  As friends they were inseparable.  They were there for one another through thick and thin, including the lowest point of both of their professional careers.

In GCW they feuded with Golden Era, a team made up of Neil Newman and Kyle Butler.  The pair thought traditional wrestling was dying a slow death and that they were the only ones who could save it.  Among the things they felt they needed to do to save it was force women to quit wrestling, claiming that it was a “man’s sport” and not for women.

Summer and Corey would get the better of Neil and Kyle nearly every time they fought but that didn’t stop the male chauvinists from coming back.  They were annoying and very persistent.  Finally it was Corey who spoke up, against Summer’s better wishes, and convinced Neil and Kyle to put their wrestling careers on the line in one more match.  Neil and Kyle agreed only if Summer and Corey would agree to become their cheerleader valets if they lost.

Summer was hesitant about agreeing to the match and with good reason because on that night Golden Era managed to defeat Summer and Corey, thus subjugating them to cheerleader valets.  Months passed by and both women began to feel their wrestling careers could be over but they never once abandoned the other.  Quitting GCW was an option but they did not take the easy way out.  They stayed by each other’s side.  That’s how close they were to one another.

Eventually things would change.  Neil and Kyle would change as they grew to legitimately care for Summer and Corey, and vice versa.  Neil and Kyle allowed the ladies to wrestle again.  Summer would start dating Neil and Corey would start dating Kyle.  Now Summer is married to Neil and Corey is hoping that Kyle will pop the question to her one day.  But for now her focus is entirely on her best friend Summer.

Summer had been pregnant with Neil’s child until a psychopath with a sledgehammer drilled her in the gut, causing her to lose the baby.  Corey realizes that perhaps the best thing for her is to be preparing for Best of the Best but at the same time her friend needs to come first.  Summer suffered a great loss and she wants to be there for her right now more than ever.

Corey is sitting on a couch in the waiting area of a local hospital.  She watches nervously as her boyfriend Kyle paces the floor, seemingly more anxious than her.  Corey is wearing a knee length blue skirt (Duke blue obviously) a blue and white floral print blouse, and high heeled sandals.  Her long red hair is pulled into a ponytail in the back.

“I don’t think pacing is going to help anything, Kyle.  Unless you’re trying to create a moat.”

Despite himself and despite the tense situation that brings them here today, Kyle cannot help but chuckle a little at Corey’s response.

“That’s what I love about you, Corey.  You can always bring a smile to my face.”

“Someone has to.”

Corey stands up.  She walks over to Kyle and grabs him by the hands and then leans in and plants a gentle kiss on his cheek.  Shortly thereafter, the door creaks open.  Corey and Kyle turn to see Neil Newman, Summer’s husband, step into the lobby.  His putting up a strong front, trying to look unshaken, but clearly he, too, has been crying from this whole affair.  Newman approaches Corey and Kyle.

“I hate to break this up.”

“What’s wrong?”

Corey asks with a nervous look on her face.  Neil shakes his head.

“Nothing, just Summer wants to see you.”

Corey nods her head and then follows Neil back through the door.  Neil leads her down a hall, a hall colored in a dull blue paint with an off white floor tile.  Eventually to a room where Summer has been staying.  The hospital room is of the same dull blue paint and off white tile floor, only the walls here happen to be decorated with a few paintings.  There are also flowers here, brought in by friends and family of Summer Newman.   Summer herself is sitting up in bed, which is a good sign considering what she just went through.  Corey approaches the bed and immediately grabs Summer by her hand.

“Oh Summer!   How are you coping, sweetie?”

“I’m coping as best as you can imagine.”

Summer says this with a clearly forced smile on her face.  Corey looks at her and sighs.

“Yeah and I can’t imagine.  No one can imagine what you just went through.”

Corey shakes her head.

“People like that should be locked up.”

“I can’t say I blame her, Corey.”

Corey blinks her eyes a few times in surprise upon hearing this.

“What are you saying?  She caused you to lose your baby!”

“Yes, because she is psychotic and she is psychotic because I MADE her that way through how I treated her.  It’s a weird, twisted version of karma, but no one said karma was normal.  Karma is a bitch, isn’t it?”

Corey frowns and shakes her head again.

“I don’t believe that.  I don’t believe any of that.”

“Still, it’s the truth.”

Summer laughs lightly.

“And the funny thing is, I was going to retire after this and be a full time cheerleader valet for my husband Neil.”

“Really?”

Summer nods her head.

“Yeah, that was the plan anyway.  When we first met Neil and Kyle they forced us to serve as their cheerleader valets.  Now I’m married to Neil, you’re dating Kyle, you are a Duke cheerleader and I was going to willingly be Neil and Kyle’s cheerleader valet after I retired from wrestling.  We have truly come full circle, haven’t we?”

Summer sighs.

“I guess I won’t be returning to a wrestling arena at all…”

Corey squeezes Summer’s hands tightly.

“You’re right, we have come full circle, but there is no way in hell I’m letting you just give up like this.”

“Corey, sweetie, it just doesn’t make sense anymore.  It’s just too dangerous, especially with psychopaths like…”

“NO!”

Corey shouts loudly to interrupt Summer in mid-sentence.

“You are NOT going to let a maniac like the one who attacked you determine your future for you!  You are a strong, powerful woman who can determine her own future!  Now tell me, do you want to be Neil and Kyle’s cheerleader valet?”

Summer nods her head weakly.

“…yeah.”

“Then do it.  Furthermore, do you really want your wrestling career to be over?”

Summer stares at Corey.  Their eyes meet as they study one another intensely.  Finally Summer speaks.

“Honestly?”

“Yes, honestly.”

“I honestly did want to retire, but after this,  I don’t want to.  I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she made me quit altogether.”

“Then don’t quit!  Don’t give her that satisfaction!”

“It’s so much easier for you to say, Corey!  You don’t have that fear I have…”

Corey smirks.

“Do you really want to talk about fear?  My parents are both certifiable maniacs who could snap at a moment’s notice, and yet both Angelica Jones and Andreas Lasiewicz are incredibly talented and successful wrestlers.  Imagine the fear of having to live up to that standard while, at the same time, trying to overcome the shadow of their psychosis?  I will always have the fear that no matter what I do to make a name for myself that I will always be compared to my mother and my father. But did I ever quit?”

Corey shakes her head.

“I never quit.  I kept going out to the ring week in and week out and did my own thing.  It was hard for me at first to learn to do my own thing and still to this day it is hard but I do it.  I do it because I have to.  I win some, I lose some, but from now on I will always be just one person, and that person isn’t ‘The Daughter of Angelica Jones’ or ‘The Daughter of Andreas Lasiewicz’, that person is an accounting student, cheerleader, and a pro-wrestler, that person is me, Corey Jones.”

Corey gazes down at Summer, grinning from ear to ear.

“Now I have Best of the Best coming up in SCW.  I could go out there, be eliminated in the first round, and you know what I’ll hear?  I’d hear about how my mother or father  could probably have done better.  But guess what?  Do I care?”

She shakes her head.

“I don’t care.  This isn’t about them.  This is about me and my career.  Now as for you and your career, Summer, you just need to ask yourself are you going to be ruled by fear or are you going to get out there and do what you want with your career?”

Tears are forming in Summer’s eyes, despite the smile that is also forming on her face as she nods her head.

“You’re right, Corey.  You are absolutely right.  I will not let that psychopath decide what I do with the rest of my career.”

Corey leans down and the two women embrace.

“Thanks, Corey…”

“Anytime, Summer.”

Corey and Summer break the embrace.  Corey then walks out of the door, while Neil stays behind to be with Summer.  Corey walks back down the hall and back into the lobby.  Immediately back in the lobby Corey finds Kyle still pacing.  She shakes her head and sighs.

“Still pacing, I see.”

“Yeah…”

She gently guides him back to the couch.  She sits down first and then pulls him down onto the couch, sitting down right next to her.  She gazes into his eyes lovingly, warmly.

“There’s nothing we can do right now, Kyle.”

“I know, it’s just…it’s just…”

He shakes his head.

“…it’s so frustrating!  How could a psychopath like that be allowed anywhere near an arena full of innocent people?  She should’ve been locked up an asylum, not allowed anywhere near Summer.”

“Calm down, Kyle.”

“I can’t calm down, Corey, not until that psychotic bitch pays what she did to Summer and Neil.  They would’ve been…”

He stifles back tears.

“…they would’ve been great parents.”

“And they might still be someday.”

She squeezes Kyle’s hands tightly.

“But you need to calm down.   Seriously, Kyle, you seem to be taking this harder than Neil did.”

“Well maybe I am?  But I think I have the appropriate reaction because actions like that shouldn’t even be allowed in the ring, backstage, or anywhere near a wrestling ring! It just isn’t right!”

“Are you really worried about Neil and Summer…”

Corey kisses Kyle on the cheek.

“…or are you worried about me?”

“What do you mean?”

Corey grins knowingly.

“I can read you like a book, Kyle.  It’s not hard to figure you out.  Tell me, what’s wrong?”

Kyle sigh sand nods his head.

“Fine…it’s just, this happened in GCW to Summer.  I watch SCW, especially when you’re on…”

“You better watch when I’m on!”

Kyle rolls his eyes.

“…anyway, but I do watch SCW and I see some of the things that happen; I saw what Trinity Street did to CHBK, I saw what Red Rayne has been getting away with doing to Mr. D’s own daughter, I see Jake Starr and his nearly daily blindside chair shot attacks, unstable maniacs like Dylan  Howell still employed, and you even have people considered normal, like Dawn Lohan, who once thought of Red Rayne as her mother…”

Kyle sighs and bows  his head.

“…I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me, Kyle.  I promise.”

“Really?  Not even in Best of the Best?  You are in the same bracket as Red Rayne, Jake Starr, and Nicole Kinnick, three dangerous individuals.”

Corey smirks and shakes her head.

“I appreciate the concern but I will be fine.  I’m not easily manipulated like Mr. D’s daughter nor am I afraid of Red Rayne.  And it’ll take more than a steel chair to keep me down.  Besides, I have to get through Greg Cherry first.  One match at a time, right?”

“I guess you’re right, I just get worried, you know?”

He embraces Corey in a tight hug.

“I don’t want anything happening to my future wife.”

“Nothing will happen to your future wi…”

It’s at that moment that what Kyle just said begins to sink in.

“…future wife?!”

Kyle nods his head and then produces a ring, placing it on Corey’s finger.

“Jessica Corey Jones-Lasiewicz…”

Despite herself she giggles.

“You don’t have to use my full name!”

“Sure I do, it’s tradition.  Now where was I?  Oh yes…Jessica Corey Jones-Lasiewicz, will you marry me?”

Corey doesn’t waste any time.  She nods her head vehemently.

“Yes!  Yes I will!”

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Best of the Best

Scene 2

On Camera

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The camera feed begins to roll on the basketball court of the famous Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, home of the Duke Blue Devils.  Corey Jones hops and skips into the scene from stage left, wearing her Duke color cheerleading uniform, her long red hair pulled into a ponytail in the back.  She steps into center screen and, with a wide jubilant grin on her face, begins to speak.

“It’s March Madness in college basketball!  The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is on and finally we are down to four!”

She flashes four fingers up.

“Well I guess if the NCAA refers to its tournament as March Madness then can the Supreme Championship Wrestling’s Best of the Best Tournament be April Anarchy?”

She shakes her head.

“No?  Oh well, I tried…but the NCAA Tournament and the Best of the Best Tournament DO have a lot in common.  For instance, just as the NCAA Tournament was held in various cities, so will the Best of the Best Tournament.  SCW will be in Buffalo, Orlando, Anaheim, and Omaha as sixty four wrestlers, of which I am included, will fight for dominance until just one wrestler remains, the true Best of the Best in pro-wrestling!”

“Now the NCAA started with sixty eight teams but they are now down to four, just four teams fighting to see which is the best in the nation.  You have your number one seed, Carolina, which would be akin to SCW’s current champions who are in this Best of the Best Tournament, namely Sienna Swann the Women’s Champion, Gable Winchester and Autumn Valentine the world tag team champions, Selena Frost the Adrenaline Champion, Ravyn Taylor the United States Champion, Craig Thomas the Television Champion, and of course, Amy Chastaine, the current SCW World Champion.  Those would be your heavy hitters, just as Carolina is a heavy hitter in this NCAA Tournament, and for a Duke girl to say that about the Tar Holes that’s saying something!”

She winks at the camera.

“Then you have your two number two seeds, Villanova Wildcats and the Oklahoma Boomer Sooners…BAH GAWD!  SLOBBER KNOCKER!  BOOMER SOONERS BAR-B-QUE SAUCE!”

She clears her throat.

“…apologies, but I have always wanted to say that!  Anyway, what was I saying?  Oh right, those number two seeds are good, good enough to even beat the number one Carolina even.  Here they are representative of the athletes in this tournament who, at any given time, could knock off one of our reigning champions. These would people like a former world champion Kennedy Street, a current number one contender Syren, another number one contender Regan Street, and Kelcey Wallace, who holds a Trios contract.”

“Finally you have the Syracuse Orange.  Every year the NCAA Tournament has a Cinderella story and Syracuse is that story.  They are a number ten seed that has made it all the way to the final four.  And if they can somehow manage to topple the number one Carolina, they could make the national championship game and shock the world by winning the whole damn thing.”

Corey pats herself on the chest.

“I am going to be SCW’s Cinderella story. I am going to be the Syracuse of the Best of the Best.  I am a twelve seed up against a five seed named Greg Cherry.  If seeding means anything then I shouldn’t even make it out of the first round.”

Corey shakes her head.

“But I disagree with that logic.  For starters, who the hell decided Greg Cherry deserved a number five seed?  Now I’m not saying my work here in SCW since the last Best of the Best was all that great, but I know for damn sure that I have done MORE than Cherry has this year. He returned for Trios and was eliminated the first round.  I wasn’t even given the chance to participate in Trios.  Thanks for nothing, SCW.”

She sticks her tongue out at the camera.

“What else has he done?  He had a great match against Shaun Cruze…which he also lost, by the way.  Now once again, I don’t want anyone to think I’m being a hypocrite or anything.  I definitely earned this twelve ranking I currently have, but to say Greg Cherry earned such a high ranking is beyond ridiculous.  He lost in Trios, he lost to Cruze, and he will go out in the first round when he loses to me.”

“You can’t stick just to the way it looks on paper.  If the seeding, the statistics, and how things measured up on paper really mattered then Kansas, Oregon, and Virginia would all be in the final four right now, but they are all watching from home while Carolina, Villanova, Oklahoma, and a little underrated, underappreciated, underestimated team like Syracuse is now one step away from the grandest stage of them all in college basketball.”

“I am going to be that underappreciated, underestimated, underrated athlete who refuses to go away, who refuses to quit.  Greg Cherry can knock me down as much as he wants and I will keep getting back up, I will keep coming, and I will eventually beat him.  Then whether its Katelyn Buehler or Seymour Bucks, I’ll face them and no matter how many times they knock me down, I’ll keep kicking out, I’ll get my shoulder up, I’ll make it to the ropes, but however I do it I will not be stopped until I get past them.  Helms, Mason, Green, or Syren?  It doesn’t matter.  I believe in myself even if the SCW management does not.  But whether its Helms, Mason, Green, or Syren, I’ll beat them to make it to the finals of the Buffalo Regional where I could face Red Rayne, I could face one of the lowest ranked wrestlers named Derek Adonis.”

She smirks.

“Hey!  It happened last year!  And unlike some people, I refuse to underestimate anyone.  I will be prepared for anyone in this tournament, because I am the underdog and I relish my role as the underdog.  I know I have the tallest mountain to climb, I know I have the greatest challenge, but I am ready for that challenge and I am ready to prove any doubters and critics that I have wrong, because I know in my heart of hearts that I am the Best of the Best.”

The camera fades to black.

The Big Secret

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Off Camera

Scene 1

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Sunlight streams in from the window, striking Marie Annabelle Jones’s face as she lies down in her Queen sized bed in her hotel room in Barcelona, Spain.  Marie slowly blinks herself awake and stares into the sunlight with a warm smile upon her face.  In the past the sunlight would be an unwelcome visitor but lately, the sunlight has come to represent how much better young Marie’s life has been looking.

Despite an assault at the hands of a few thugs in Boston, Massachusetts, despite the fears of potential repercussions on behalf of the Russian Mafia which seem to be targeting Marie’s mother and aunt over in SCW, despite those potential issues that have arisen lately, there is still one issue that overpowers them all and has given young Marie new reason to hope and new reason to be happy…

…her boyfriend, Arthur Pond, recently proposed.

Being someone’s wife has been Marie’s goal for a very long time.  It has been her goal, really, ever since she gave birth to her only son, Sean Connor Jones.  The birth father was nonexistent, as Sean was the child of a rapist.  Despite the circumstances surrounding Sean’s conception, Marie never wanted to abort him.  She decided to raise her son Sean, despite what society may tell her is right or wrong about it.  The problem all along has been the fact that Sean never had a father figure in his life.  Already he is several years old and still has no father figure.  Granted, many have grown up to live full and complete life having only been raised by a mother.  Marie, herself, grew up without a father, considering her own father, Sean Williams, died while she was still very young.  Though Marie never wanted to take that risk with her son.  She wanted him to have a normal life.  She did not want him to have to endure what she endured growing up.

There were several men in her life but all of them were failures.  Some dumped her, some never really cared about her as anything but eye candy, and still others were abusive towards her and she had to dump them.  It got to the point that Marie began to give up hope on finding Mr. Right, the man she thought would be good not only for her but for her son Sean as well.

Just as she was about to give up hope, Arthur Pond came along.

Arthur seemed to be the perfect gentlemen around Marie.  He never raised his voice or his fist like some of her previous boyfriends, he cared about her not just for her looks but for her personality and who she was on the inside, and the most important thing is that he truly enjoyed being with her son Sean.  Arthur and Sean seemed to get along great with one another.  In fact, Arthur was like a natural as a father.  And now, with the proposal being made, he very well could end up being the step-father of Sean Connor Jones and the husband to Marie Annabelle Jones.

Marie’s wrestling career is on the uptick as well.  Marie Annabelle Jones recovered from an injury to become World Tag Team Champions alongside her best friend Sophie James.  The newly former tag team of Ginger Nation would dominate the IWC ranks until Uprising broke off to create the Uprising Wrestling Alliance where Marie and Sophie would continue to prosper as the dominant team of the UWA.

The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling would further illustrate how much of an impact she can still have upon the sport by entering the Last Stand Rumble and, while she did not win the rumble itself, she did end up lasting almost an hour in the match.

Now Marie is prepared to take on a new challenge in the form of a lethal lottery style tag tournament.  The lottery was good to Marie, as she gets former world champion Willow Wilkes for a tag team partner.  The talent and ability of Wilkes is unquestioned, so with a former world champion in her corner, Marie is confident that they can go all the way and win this tournament and get the reward that comes with it…

…a shot at the UWA World Championship in the main event of Olympus.

Jones is full of hope and optimism in recent weeks, so much so that it would take a crisis of extreme proportions to bring her down from the high she is currently on.  That much is evident from the wide warm smile upon her face as she throws the cover off and sits up, revealing herself in black lace panties, matching lace bra, and sheer nylon stockings.  She swings her nylon covered legs over the edge of the bed and stretches out before standing up…

“My, my, my, don’t you look sexy!”

She is startled and turns around quickly to spy her devious, deceptive half-sister, the sociopathic twin, Kimberly Williams standing there dressed in matching lingerie.  In fact, even the hair color matches as Kimberly just recently dyed her hair red to match Marie’s.  They literally cannot be told apart right now.

“Kimberly!  What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Now is that any way to greet your favorite sister?”

Kimberly walks over to Marie.   She grabs her by the head, pulls her in, and plants a kiss on her lips.

“Now THAT’S how you greet your sister…especially if you’re a fan of the movie Deliverance!”

Marie quickly uses her hands to wipe her lips of Kim’s germs.

“Kimberly, please…”

“What’s wrong?  Not into incest?”

Marie shudders at the thought.

“No, I am NOT into incest!  And I’m also not into you breaking into my hotel room!”

“I didn’t break in.  The nice man downstairs at the main desk gave me a key.  I told him I was Marie Annabelle Jones and he believed me.”

Kimberly strikes a pose.

“It’s hard to argue that fact, right babe?”

Marie can’t argue with that.  But at the same time she wishes Kimberly wouldn’t do that.  Kimberly once before had Marie kidnapped while she took Marie’s place in her life.  Events such as those are the reason why it has been difficult at times for Marie to trust Kimberly, but still they talk, still they work together.  They are still helping one another because, as Kimberly as said, she wants to try to make amends for what she has done to Marie in the past.  She wants to be a friend and a true sister to Marie.  The question in Marie’s mind is, how much of a friend can a sociopath really be?  Kimberly is an admitted and certified sociopath.  A fact Marie has no problem bringing to her attention…

“Yeah, I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“But it’s fun!”

“It may seem fun to you but to the rest of the world its crazy and its dangerous and you should stop.”

Kimberly playfully stomps her foot, feigning a childish tantrum as she folds her arms over her chest and pretends to pout.

“You are such a party pooper!”

Marie rolls her eyes.

“Party pooper, Kim?  Really?”

“Yes, you are a party pooper, especially considering the fact that I came here to help you.”

Marie frowns.

“Help me?  You’re here to help me?”

“Yes, I’m here to help.”

Jones sighs and shakes her head.

“Kimberly, this is proof positive of how sick in the head you still are.  Only a sociopath would believe that stealing my identity so that you could break into my hotel room is a way of helping me.”

Kimberly grins knowingly.

“You haven’t even heard me out yet.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I have some very interesting information, information that could blow your life wide open.”

Marie tilts her head to one side.

“What…”

Kimberly walks over to Marie and gently takes her by the arm.  She leads her to the bed and together they sit down on the edge of the bed.

“You may want to sit down for this, sweetie.”

“Ok, ok, what is it?  What did you come here to say?”

“I have a particular set of skills, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you…”

Marie furrows her brow with confusion as she continues to listen to Kim.

“…if you let my daughter go now, that will be the end of it…”

“Uh, Kim…”

“…but if you don’t, I will find you and I will kill you!”

“KIM!”

Kimberly blinks several times, stunned at Marie shouting at her.

“What?”

“You were quoting Liam Neeson.”

Kimberly holds her hand over her mouth.

“Oops, my mistake!”

Marie rears back and slaps Kimberly across her face.

“Get a grip!  I need you be serious because if this is a legitimate concern then I want to know!”

A part of the leader of the ginger nation doesn’t want to hear it.  Her life has been excellent so far and she doesn’t want to risk anything.  But then another side of her needs to know.  Another side of her realizes that she has to know what this is, because Kimberly Williams, as psychotic as she may be, has been pretty reliable lately with her information, and if this information will blow Marie’s life wide open, then it indeed will blow her life wide open.

“It’s a real juicy one, Marie, one I found out while I was visiting my psychiatrist, that hunk Dr. Jimmy!”

Marie frowns.

“You really shouldn’t be speaking of your psychiatrist like that, Kim.”

“Oh but it’s true!  And that’s just with clothes on, want me to tell you what he looks like without clothes?”

“KIM!”

Williams giggles hysterically.

“Oh you are fun, Marie!  You really are!”

“Why the hell are you doing that…with him…?!”

Kimberly shrugs.

“Because I can?”

Marie slaps her forehead.

“Oh geez…”

“But I can find out such fun facts due to our close relationship.  Facts such as extra information on one of his patients…”

“Kimberly, I don’t care about his other patients.”

“Not even if one of those patients was named Arthur Pond?”

Marie frowns as she stares at Kimberly, studying her intensely.

“Arthur?  As in MY Arthur?”

Kimberly nods her head.

“Yup, YOUR Arthur!”

She touches Marie on the nose.

“Your Arthur is seeing a psychiatrist!  Now I can’t tell you why, I just know he has been on Dr. Jimmy’s caseload for awhile now.”

Marie stares off in the distance.

“…Kimberly…

“Yes?”

“I need you to leave.”

“Why?”

“Arthur is coming back soon with breakfast.  I plan on confronting him about this.”

==========

Off Camera

Scene 2

==========

Arthur Pond is whistling happily as he walks down the hall of the hotel with a bag of McDonalds food in one hand and a key card for his and Marie’s hotel room in the other.  He hasn’t been to Barcelona before, but that’s the brilliant part of dating a professional wrestler like Marie Annabelle Jones.  He gets to see the sights of not just the nation but the entire world when the company goes on tour, such as the European tour the UWA is currently on.

He never was interested in professional wrestling until he started dating Jones.  Then he grew seriously interested in the sport, for no longer was that just some faceless celebrity competing out there in the ring.  Now it was his girlfriend, the love of his life, putting her body at risk week in and week out.  He made it a point to study the sport and get to know it.

Arthur knows how important wrestling is to Marie.  He knows how badly she wants to become world champion again and he knows that she very well could get that opportunity on this Barcelona trip on Outbreak 2 in this tag team tournament.  As long as Marie and her partner for the tournament, a wrestler named Willow Wilkes, can get along, then they have a good shot of winning the whole tournament and the winning team will both get world title shots.  Arthur hopes that Marie and Willow can pull it off.  He really wants to see Marie have a chance to fulfill her dream.  He wants her to be happy.

He approaches the hotel room door and places the key card in.  There is a clicking noise signaling the door unlocking.  He pushes it open and then walks in.  He finds Marie sitting cross legged on the edge of the Queen sized bed.

“Hi there, beautiful!”

He doesn’t seem to notice the scowl on her face as he kisses her on the forehead.  He then walks over and places the bag on the nearby table.  He reaches in and pulls a sandwich out…

“Bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit for me…”

He pulls another biscuit out…

“Sausage biscuit for you…”

It’s at the point that he finally notices the scowl on Marie’s face.  Arthur studies her for a moment, looking at her with concern.

“Uh, Marie?  What’s wrong?”

“I am glad you finally asked.”

Marie hops up off of the bed and storms over to Arthur, getting up in his face. Arthur is worried now.  He hasn’t seen her like this before.  She is really angry.

“When were you going to tell me?”

“Tell you what…?”

“My sister told me all about it.”

“About what?”

Marie laughs sarcastically.

“Relationships should be about total honesty and yet you haven’t been honest with me.”

Arthur places his hands on her shoulders.

“What are you talking about?  I HAVE been honest with you?!”

“Really?  Then why didn’t you tell me you have been regularly seeing a psychiatrist for several years now?!”

Arthur lowers his head in shame.

“Follow me…”

He takes her by the hand and guides her back to the bed where they sit down.    He shakes his head.

“Yes, I am seeing a psychiatrist, and I have been for several years.  That’s true.  And I hid it not because you have anything to fear but because I was ashamed.”

“Ashamed of what?”

“Marie, this wasn’t just something run of the mill, this wasn’t something simple.  I was committed for awhile.”

Marie’s eyes grow wide as the revelation of what Arthur just said hit her.

“Oh…”

“I had an extreme form of dissociative identity disorder.”

“Multiple personalities?”

He nods his head.

“Yeah, that one…”

His voice trails off as he tries to regain his composure.

“…eventually, with help from medication, with help from a psychiatrist, I got better.  I still have to see the psychiatrist every so often in order to make sure I don’t have a relapse.  But still, the fact is that I did spend time in an asylum and I was worried…”

He shakes his head.

“…I was worried you wouldn’t want to be with a nutcase.”

“Oh, Arthur…”

Marie takes his hand and squeezes it tightly.

“…my mother spent time in an asylum.  You should’ve just come to me, I would have understood.”

“So you’re not mad?  You’re not ashamed to be marrying a maniac?”

Marie kisses him on his cheek.

“You’re not a maniac and yes, I still plan on marrying you.”

Marie and Arthur embrace in a tight hug.  The look on Marie’s face tells the story of a woman who is relieved that the deep secret Kimberly had was not really as bad as she thought it might be, this is the look of a woman who is still looking forward to her wedding day.  But the look on Arthur’s face is different.  Arthur looks nervous and concerned, perhaps concerned that he may one day have a relapse, and that relapse happen around Marie.  Is he really better?

He isn’t quite so sure.

==========

On Camera

==========

We open with an overhead shot of Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe.  The green artificial turf is already installed as it appears a game of what Americans would prefer to call “soccer” is about to be played.  Next we cut to a view of the field where we see the redheaded vixen known as Marie Annabelle Jones standing in the center wearing black pants, black boots, a red top, and a black leather jacket.  Her long gorgeous red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  Next to her is Sophie James, the other half of the Ginger Nation and the other half of the UWA World Tag Team Champions.

“Ladies and gentlemen!  In a matter of days now you will see me, THE CROWN JEWEL OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING, completely dominate the field on Outbreak 2!  You will witness as I overrun the pretenders and even carry a former world champion on MY shoulders to victory and an eventual number one contender’s spot for the UWA World Championship!  I am Marie Annabelle Jo…”

“NO! NO! NO!”

The two women turn their attention to the right in time to see what appears to be another Marie Annabelle Jones walking into the scene.  This Marie is wearing a black blouse and  a flirty red skirt covered in sheer lace that falls below the lining for some extra tease, the skirt itself touches at the knee.  She is perched atop black high heeled pumps.  Her long red hair is also unrestrained to just below the shoulders.

“Kimberly, this is MY promo time…”

The woman dressed all in black was not Marie after all, as it turns out it was Kimberly Williams all along, Marie’s twin sister.  Kimberly rolls her eyes.

“Oh come on, Marie!  I was just doing you a favor.”

“How exactly?”

“By shooting the promo for you.  Trash talking isn’t that hard.  I can do that while you do the boring training crap.”

Marie shakes her head vehemently.

“No, that’s not how this works, that’s not how any of this works.”

“So what do you want us to do?”

Sophie asks this while grinning with mischief in her eyes.  Marie just shrugs her shoulders.

“I don’t care, really, just get Kim and go away for a moment while I finish this.  Ok?”

Sophie and Kim exchange knowing looks before turning back to Marie and nodding their heads in unison.

“Sure!”

“We’ll just be over there…”

Kimberly and Sophie exit stage left, leaving Marie Jones alone in the center of the field.  After regaining her composure, the next generation of the famous Jones Wrestling Family turns to face the camera and smiles proudly.

“Welcome Camp Nou, the home of the Football Club Barcelona.  This great stadium also played host to the 1982 FIFA World Cup and the football competition in the 1992 Summer Olympics.   Football, or ‘soccer’ as us Americans tend to mistakenly call it, is a favorite sport amongst Europeans but in a few short days the people of Barcelona will bear witness as professional wrestling comes to its doorstep.  And that brings me to Last Stand…”

Before Marie can get any more words out, Sophie and Kimberly come trotting back onto the field carrying signs.  Kimberly carries a sign that reads “Marie Was Screwed” with “(by Arthur Pond)” written underneath in smaller lettering.  Sophie carries a sign that reads “We Demand A Recount! Gore Won Florida!”

“…at Last Stand, I…”

Marie turns around and notices Sophie and Kimberly there with their signs.  Immediately she takes Kimberly’s sign and jerks it out of her hand, tossing it aside.

“No!  I wasn’t screwed at Last Stand nor does the world need to know about Arthur!”

She turns and looks over Sophie’s sign and frowns.

“Umm…what exactly does that have to do with Last Stand?”

“Nothing, but I found it lying around in Miami and figured I could get some use out of it.”

Jones sighs and shakes her head.

“No, no, no…”

She gently shoves Kimberly and Sophie off screen.

“Not…now…go away…”

Once Sophie and Kimberly are off scene, Marie returns to the center field and turns to face the camera again.

“Now then, at Last Stand I was determined to go all the way because I had a goal in mind and that goal was very simple; I wanted a one on one UWA World Championship match against Vanilla Skyy. Vanilla and I have a history but the problem is that each and every time we fought someone else was involved.  We fought in handicap matches, we fought in triple threat matches, and I even won one of those encounters, but was it a one on one match?”

Marie shakes her head.

“No, it wasn’t, and so as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t count.  I want a one on one match against Vanilla Skyy in order to prove to myself that I can hang in the ring with one of the best in the business today.  All I had to do to get that opportunity was to win the Last Stand Rumble and I lasted for damn near an hour before being eliminated. I came so close to getting the job done but I came up short in the end.  But am I giving up hope?  Am I giving up on my goal?”

Jones again shakes her head vehemently.

“I am NOT giving up!  I will continue to pursue my goal because I know if given the opportunity I can beat Vanilla Skyy and become UWA World Champion.  I just need one shot and maybe I can take one step closer to getting what I want in this lethal lottery style tag team tournament set up by the UWA.”

Marie uses her hands to motion towards the stadium.

“This stadium Camp Nou, and Barcelona in general, is known for hosting great football tournaments such as the FIFI World Cup and even European Tournaments and the Olympic games, but now it will be playing host to a new tournament of unique design, especially for professional wrestlers…”

Unbeknownst to Marie, Sophie and Kimberly reenter the scene, this time with a “soccer ball” as American fans would call it.  They are kicking the ball around with their feet and even passing it around with head shots, as if they were real football players.

“…because…um…”

Marie gets off focus, for the sound of feet against the ball distracts her.  She turns around and sees Sophie and Kimberly again.  Marie places her hands on her hips and frowns.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“Practicing, of course!”

“Practicing for what?”

“To be professional soccer players, silly!”

“Uh, Kimberly…”

“Yeah, Sophie?”

“I think they’re called football players.”

Kimberly shrugs her shoulders.

“Whatever.”

Marie walks over and snatches the ball away from Kimberly and Sophie.  With one mighty heave she throws it as far as she can…

“GO FETCH!”

Sophie and Kimberly quickly run after the ball.  Meanwhile Marie smirks with confidence as she turns around towards the camera to continue her promo.

“As I was saying, this tournament is unique for professional wrestlers.  Wrestlers are notoriously independent.  We want to do things ourselves and we rarely trust anyone.  The few times we do venture into tag team wrestling it’s because we chose a partner that we liked whom we could trust.  That’s just how it works.  It makes sense strategically.  You never go to war with someone you can’t trust.  And yet that is exactly the challenge that UWA has presented the roster with.  If I want to become number one contender, if I want to get a title shot, I have to trust someone I have teamed with before, I have to trust someone who has a dangerous history with New Eden, I have to trust someone that, some would say, is untrustworthy in the form of Willow Wilkes…”

“Hey, Marie!”

Marie turns to her left and watches as her other sister, Corey Jones, comes walking onto the scene, dressed in a cheerleading uniform.  Marie rolls her eyes.

“What are you doing here, Corey?”

“I’m here to support you through this random pairing tag team tournament thingy in UWA!  What else?!”

“Thanks but I’m perfectly fine.”

“I’ll be judge of that.  Who is your partner?”

“Willow Wilkes.”

“Oh, you mean Warwick Davis?”

Marie sighs and shakes her head.

“No, you’re thinking the movie Willow.”

“Oh, so you mean that redhead from Buffy The Vampire Slayer?”

Again Marie shakes her head.

“No, you’re thinking Willow Rosenberg.”

“Then who are you talking about, sis?”

“It doesn’t matter!”

Marie shoves Corey off camera.

“Just…go…away!”

Marie returns to the center of the field and faces the camera again.

“I hope that is the FINAL interruption…now then, my tag team partner as chosen by a random drawing is Willow Wilkes.  And yes, her history with New Eden would be cause for most to be nervous about her as a tag team partner but the way I look at it is that we both have a common goal.  She wants to be world champion and so do I but neither one of us will get there unless we can work together as a cohesive unit and win this tournament.  If she betrays me, she is costing herself a title shot as well.  It’s called Mutually Assured Destruction, ladies and gentlemen, and with that in mind I believe I can trust Willow to work with me and win this tournament.”

Jones grins knowingly.

“But there’s two sides to every coin, isn’t there?  I feel I can trust you, Willow, but can you trust me?  I got some statistics to prove my case…”

The number seven flashes upon the screen in the upper right hand corner.

“Seven…I am a seven time world tag team champion.”

The number four flashes upon the screen in the upper right hand corner.

“I won those seven championships in four different companies.”

The number five flashes upon the screen in the upper right hand corner.

“I won those seven championships in four different companies with five different partners.”

The number five disappears.

“You should draw two important conclusions from this, Willow.  First, I can work with anyone.  Second, I am a tag team specialist.  I know how to win in tag team action.  And I know your credentials in ULW as a former world champion.  Together we can be unstoppable in this tournament.”

Sophie James comes walking back into the scene, wagging her finger at the camera.

“But don’t you dare think about stealing my tag partner, bitch!”

“She’s not going to steal me, Sophie.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Marie gently shoves Sophie off camera.

“Now go find Kim!”

Once Sophie is off camera, Marie returns to the center of the field and turns to face the camera.

“Our first round opponents will be Benjamin Flynn and Gavin Taylor.  Gavin, we’re cohorts in Silverstone International, so in a way its good that at least someone from Silverstone will advance, but too bad for you because I gotta make sure its me.  I need this title shot, Gavin.  I need it badly.  And as for Benjamin, we’ve gone toe to toe before.  You tried alongside Jessica Wilde to take these belts from me and Sophie and you failed.  You and the new Sinistry have tried every trick in the book and yet you have failed to gain any sort of power within UWA.  What makes you think this time will be any different?  Fact is, you’re going against The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, someone who KNOWS how to defeat you, and I will continue to defeat you anytime and every time we are across the ring from one another.”

“As for everyone else, Cassius DeLight and Katherine Pearson, Kalinda and Lilith Evans, Alana Starr, Julia Braddock or Danny Darko, possibly even Myra Lynwood, Grace Morningwood and Ethan Von Aaron, and yes, possibly even Serenity and my own tag team partner Sophie James…at the end of the day I know what I must do in order to carry my weight and do my part to help make sure Willow and I advance and win this tournament, because while defeating these great UWA superstars will be a tough task, I know that the reward at the end if we can get the job done will be well worth it, because the winners of this tournament will both be the number one contenders and will both receive a world title shot at Olympus.”

She holds up one finger.

“This is just the first step for me.  Step one is making sure Willow and I win this tag tournament and become number one contenders…”

She holds up a second finger.

“…step two will be when Willow and I go to Olympus and compete against Vanilla Skyy in a triple threat match for the UWA World Championship.  And WHEN I go on to win the world championship at Olympus, I can finally move on to step three…”

She holds up a third finger.

“…because a triple threat at Olympus, while I will be grateful, is still not what I ultimately want.  I want Vanilla Skyy one on one.  I have to know I can beat her one on one.  So once Willow and I win this tournament and then I go on to Olympus and defeat her and Vanilla in the triple threat to become world champion, I will grant Vanilla an immediate one on one rematch and finally get the match I have wanted for a very long time.  And the journey begins right here in Barcelona…”

The camera fades to black.