Moving on from the past: Part 3

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January 22^nd, 2017

Off Camera

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Marie Annabelle Jones had an opportunity to add yet another  accomplishment to her already impressive resume; the SCW United States Championship.  This would have been only the second time a member of the Jones family won championship gold in SCW and it would’ve been an important reminder not just to SCW but to the wrestling world that she was still a threat to be taken very seriously.  Unfortunately she faced the tough task of having to defeat Amy Chastain in order to achieve that goal.  And despite how hard Marie fought, despite her resiliency and durability, at the end of the day she lost the match and thus lost her opportunity at her first SCW championship.

It wasn’t just any loss.  A pin, count out, or disqualification would’ve been bad enough but at least Marie could have stomached it more.  The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling lost via submission.  Amy forced her to tap out and that makes the loss sting all that much worse.

Her mother, the infamous wrestling legend and matriarch of the Jones wrestling family, Angelica Jones, has famously said that when  you make someone tap out, you take a part of their soul; because a tap out is just an admission that they are better than you.  So, for all of Marie’s crowing about how she would prove to Amy and the world that she was the Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, it was Marie who tapped out to Amy.  It was Marie who admitted that Amy was better.  And now Marie definitely does not feel like a Crown Jewel.

Marie is beginning to question herself and her abilities just an hour after the match against Amy Chastain concluded.  She’s still in her dressing room in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.  The redhead is slouched down in a chair, with her head buried in her hands as she tries to take in everything that happened tonight.  Tonight was supposed to be her night.  She had it all planned out in her head:

She was supposed to win the SCW United States Championship and proudly walk into UWA the next day with the gold raised high above her head.  It would be one big step towards proving to Drew Bryant, David Helms, and all of UWA that she is worth top dollar.  But then to go on later on in UWA Outbreak and, as SCW United States Champion, go on to defeat Myra Lynwood to win the UWA X-Limits Championship as well, back to back nights?  It would be perfect.

But things didn’t happen that way.  Marie had all of the confidence in the world that she would pull off an extraordinary feat and win two championships in one night.  Now that confidence has been shot since she tapped out tonight to Amy Chastain.  Now she isn’t sure she can get the job done against Myra Lynwood on Outbreak.

That’s just for the short term.  There are long term implications for Marie Annabelle Jones.  She truly wonders now if she is The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling?

The beautiful redhead has already changed back into her normal street clothes, consisting of denim jeans, black boots, and a red silk blouse.  She’s wearing her signature black leather jacket.  Jones is deep in thought, so much so that she doesn’t even hear her dressing room door opening and then slamming shut.   She does, however, feel that hand on her shoulder.

“Better luck next time, kiddo!”

Marie is startled and, as a result, nearly jumps up out of her seat. She turns her head and sighs as she finds the culprit: her identical twin sister Kimberly Williams, standing there with a look of mischief etched across her face.  Kimberly is wearing a torn pair of black denim jeans, black high heeled pumps, and a brand new Sophie James t-shirt which reads “Drugs are bad, mkay?” on the front.  Marie frowns, looking rather unimpressed at her twin sibling.

“Kiddo?  Seriously?”

Marie stands up and faces her twin.

“We’re twins, Kim.  Same age.  You have no room to call me ‘kiddo’…”

Kimberly shrugs her shoulders.

“Just an expression, babe!  No need to go all tappy tappy on me!”

Marie narrows her eyes.

“Tappy tappy?  Now you’re just trying to piss me off because that is NOT just an expression!”

Marie’s anger is quite evident from the look on her face and Kimberly loves every bit of it.  Williams giggles uncontrollably as she gathers her thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah, I admit, I was just trying to rile you up…”

Kimberly wraps an arm around her sister’s shoulder.

“…but you gotta admit, you do make it oh so easy for me!”

“It doesn’t make it right!”

“Oh come on, Marie, relax a little bit!  Chill out!  It’s not a big deal!”

Marie steps back and blinks her eyes furiously, at first out of confusion but then that confusion turns into anger once more as she cannot believe those words came out of Kimberly’s mouth.

“Not a big deal?  Really, Kim?”

Kimberly nods her head.

“Yeah!  Really!”

Marie marches towards her and grabs her by the shirt collar.

“It IS a big deal to me!  I wanted to be the United States Champion!  But I lost!  And I didn’t just lose, I tapped out!  I gave up!”

She lets go of Kimberly.  Marie then sighs as she sits back down in the chair and slumps over.

“I gave up.”

Kimberly pats Marie on the back.

“Other opportunities will come, babe.  Trust me.”

“I don’t know how many more opportunities I have left.”

“If you’d quit moping around then I could tell you that you have Rachel Foxx in a Television Title Eliminator on the next Breakdown.”

Marie immediately perks up upon hearing this.  Her last Television Title Eliminator was ruined when Jake Starr interfered, distracting her and costing her the match.  Opportunities like this do not come often and Marie is thrilled to have another opportunity so soon after failing to capture the United States Championship.   She also knows that she cannot afford to lose this one, and it will be her toughest task yet as she faces another former SCW World Champion in the form of Rachel Foxx.

“Foxx?”

“Yep!  You and Foxx one on one!  You win and you get that Television Title shot.  How does that sound?”

Marie finally smiles and then nods her head.

“I like it, Kim.  I like it a lot.”

“Great!  So no more of the mopey shit, right?  Cause I can’t stand you when you’re moping around and all that crap.  You get me in a bad mood and you know what happens when I’m in a bad mood.”

Marie rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, and I’d rather not talk about it.”

Kimberly puts on her biggest pouty face that she can muster.

“Awwww, now don’t say that, sweetie!”

Kimberly grabs Marie and pulls her back up off the chair and into a standing position.  Kimberly then embraces Marie in a tight hug.

“You love me!  You really do love me!”

“I do love you…”

Marie forces a break of the hug.

“…but that doesn’t change what you’ve done to Emma.”

Kimberly’s facial features change as she begins to grow more serious.

“Don’t talk about her.”

“We have to, Kim.  We can’t just ignore this.”

Kimberly turns her back to Marie.

“Sure we can.”

“No, we can’t.”

Marie turns Kimberly back around to face her.

“Some psycho from your past and Emma’s past named Dave is after us because of what YOU did to her.”

That does it.  Without warning Kimberly snaps and wraps her hands around Marie’s throat.

“DON’T BLAME ME FOR THAT!”

“ACK!”

“IT IS NOT MY FAULT!  DO YOU HEAR ME?!”

“I…can’t….”

“DO YOU HEAR ME?!”

“I…can’t…breathe…”

Suddenly Kim is shocked back to reality.  She releases her sister and Marie immediately drops to her knees.  Kimberly sighs and shakes the cobwebs from her head.

“Look, Marie, I’m sorry that I went a little nuts there…”

“A little?”

“Ok, a lot.  But I did warn you not to talk about Emma.  Don’t talk about Dave for that matter, either.  They are MY responsibility.  I will deal with them.”

Marie gets to her feet.

“It isn’t that easy, Kim.”

“It can be if you just stay out of it.”

Marie sighs and nods her head.

“Fine, but will you at least tell me if Emma is still alive?”

Kimberly nods her head.

“Yeah, she’s still alive.”

Marie senses that Kimberly’s defenses may be cracking.  She has a whole slew of questions to grill her with.  Unfortunately she does not have the time to do so as the door to the dressing room opens up yet again.  This time it’s Arthur Pond, Marie’s husband, who interrupts her thought process.

“Hi Marie, hi Kim, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Kimberly puts on a sweet, pure, innocent face that, surprisingly fools Arthur.

“You interrupting nothing, sweetie!  I was just leaving.”

“You could come back to the hotel with us?”

Kimberly shakes her head.

“No can do, I got places to be, people to see.”

She kisses him on the cheek.

“But thanks for the offer.”

Kimberly opens the dressing room door and makes her exit, slamming the door shut behind her.  Arthur turns to face his wife Marie and while he may have been fooled by Kimberly, he is not fooled by the lackluster half-assed attempt at a poker face from Marie.  Her frowns as he gazes skeptically at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“You’re lying.”

Marie ignores shim as she sits down on the chair she was sitting in earlier.  Arthur pulls up a chair of his own and places it down across from her.  He sits down in that chair so that he is face to face with his lovely wife.

“Your sister is a good liar, but you’re a terrible liar, babe.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t always know when Kimberly is lying but I know when you’re lying and you have guilt written all over your face right now.”

He takes Marie’s hands and clasps them tightly.

“Something is wrong.  Tell me.”

Marie leans over and kisses Arthur on the lips.

“Arthur, you are a brilliant man, there is no questioning that.  But I doubt even you can help me with Kimberly.”

“What’s wrong with Kim?”

“What isn’t wrong with her is the better question.  She is out of control.”

Arthur chuckles.

“Yeah, I figured that much out the first time she pretended to be you just to get a kiss from me.”

“No, I don’t mean that.  Kimberly is a dangerous person, Arthur, and you don’t realize just how dangerous she is.”

Arthur frowns.  He’s intrigued now.

“How so?”

“She is a sociopath and she is very smart, very cunning, and very good at what she does.”

Arthur rolls his eyes.

“Thanks for being specific, babe.”

“You want specifics?  You got them.  Kimberly used to stalk the family, utilizing the sport of wrestling so that she’d have a legal means of fighting us.  She organized a faction to target us at every turn.  Then she dropped off the map, and we thought she was dead, only she turned up later and kidnapped me.  She locked me up in a basement.”

Arthur gasps ever so slightly.  He shakes his head.

“Marie, I…I had no idea…”

“I’m not finished.  For months she took my place in every aspect of my life.”

“Why would she do that?  What purpose did it serve?!”

“She had this crazy notion that I was the favorite of Angelica’s children, so she wanted to take my place and have my life.  And yeah, my life was better than hers, so she took my life as her own.  And she damn near ruined my career in the process.”

“Obviously she failed.”

Marie nods her head.

“Right, because while she had the wrestling world fooled, she didn’t fool my family.  My family could tell the difference and immediately they set out to trying to find the truth.  My other sister, Jessica, she eventually found out where I was.”

Tears form in Marie’s eyes and begin to roll down her cheek.

“I owe my life to Jessica.”

“I can see why Jessica hates her now and why she doesn’t trust her, and I’m also wondering if she isn’t right not to trust her.”

Arthur stares skeptically at Marie.

“Why do you trust her?”

“Your point is valid, babe, but it isn’t entirely her fault.  We are twins but I was raised in a stable environment by loving caregivers.  Kimberly was raised by a woman named Emma.  Emma Storm. A man named David Burns helped Emma raise Kimberly up until she was eighteen.  Emma shaped Kimberly’s sociopathic mind but Burns was the one who beat Kimberly regularly.  He made her ruthless.”

“I get the nature versus nurture arguments, babe, but that doesn’t excuse her behavior.”

Marie shakes her head.

“No, you’re not listening to me.  Kimberly was lied to!  Emma, David, they lied to her and made her think terrible things about me and the family.  She truly wants to be a part of this family and she truly wants to make things right between us.  But the way she wants to make things right…”

She pauses and shudders.

“…it’s just truly frightening.”

“What do you mean, Marie?  How is she trying to make things right?”

“Emma hates the Jones Family. That’s why she tried to manipulate Kimberly into destroying us.  Emma is a threat to the Jones family so long as she lives.  Kimberly has taken it upon herself to kidnap Emma and lock her in a basement.  She is torturing her as we speak.”

Arthur is in shock upon hearing this.  He shoots straight up out of his chair.

“My God!  So she’s….she’s still alive?!”

Marie nods her head.

“Yes, she’s still alive.”

“Well we’d better do something!  We need to stop her!  We…”

Marie shakes her head.

“It’s not that simple, Arthur.  I can’t turn over my own sister and besides…Emma deserves it…”

Arthur is stunned to hear his wife saying these things.  He shakes his head.

“Fine, whatever, but if you’re not going to stop her, then what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, Arthur.  I just don’t know.”

Marie stands up and faces Arthur.  Arthur wraps his arms around his wife in a tight hug.  He then plants a kiss on her lips.

“I love you, Marie, but you need to do something about Kimberly.  I had no idea how unbalanced she really was.  It really is unhealthy for her.  She needs help.”

He runs his right hand through Marie’s long red hair.

“And it isn’t safe for you.”

“I’ll fix this, Arthur.  I promise.  I don’t know yet how I’ll fix this, but I promise that I will fix this.”

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Present Day

On Camera

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Last week was supposed to be the glorious vindication for yours truly.  We began with Hazardous Envy and my shot to become the SCW United States Champion.  I fully intended to walk into Hazardous Envy, kick Amy Chastain’s ass, humiliate her, and take that United States Championship.  By doing so the fools running UWA would finally see the error in their ways, but it would be too late by then, because I would walk into UWA Outbreak the next day and defeat Myra Lynwood for the X-Limits Championship, thus becoming a dual title holder across two federations in the Triad.  There would be no denying that I was The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.

Unfortunately we don’t always get what we want.  You can pin it on me being overconfident and arrogant or you can simply blame it on the fact that Amy Chastain was better than me at Hazardous Envy.  But the point is that I lost the match.  I could not defeat Amy.

The worst part about it all is that I tapped out.  I gave up.

My mother, during one of her many wars with Selena Frost, once said that when you make someone tap out, you own a part of their soul.  I guess Amy owns a part of my soul now.  Regardless of owning souls or not, Amy beat me fair and square, straight up.  And for that, I congratulate her.

As for me, perhaps a part of my soul has been taken from me?  I honestly do not believe I deserve to be a Jones, because we Jones women are made of sturdy stuff and yet I tapped out quickly, way too quickly for the tastes of anyone in my family.  They may not say it, but I can sense it.  I can sense the disappointment.

But I can’t get rid of my name.  I was born with it.  I will always be a Jones.  My nickname?  That’s a different story.  I told Amy that I would prove to her and everyone else that I was The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.

Would a Crown Jewel tap out?

So maybe I’m not The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling?  I asked myself that question every waking minute as I prepared for my next match the next night against Myra Lynwood for the UWA X-Limits Championship.  Ultimately I decided not to compete against Myra Lynwood as The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.  I had fallen into the farthest regions of the abyss and I needed to fight back to the top.  I needed to take flight and reclaim my true identity.

I was The Phoenix and I rose from the ashes of the Crown Jewel to become the UWA X-Limits Champion!

It was more than just a title win.  It was a rebound, not just professionally but personally.  I knew at that moment who and what I wanted to be.  I was Professional Wrestling’s Phoenix and I am now ready to continue my march up the ladder here in Supreme Championship Wrestling.

The SCW Television Championship is a title that evaded me once already.  I could have already had a title shot had it not been for Jake Starr’s interference, costing me my opportunity against Brett Sinclair.  But I’m not going to reminisce or regret about past mistakes.  I’m focusing on the future because the future holds one of my biggest challenges to date.

Rachel Foxx.

I have no doubts about how challenging this will be, Foxx.  I have no illusions that this might be easy for me.  You are a former world champion and one of the most violent women in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  But therein lies why this gives me the true edge.

You’ve been to the top before.  What’s a measly little television championship to you?  Do you really care about what you might get if you win this match to earn the television title shot?  No disrespect, but I have my doubts.

I still haven’t held gold in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  I haven’t won a big match yet.  Sure, I’ve won matches here and there.  But the big money matches here in SCW I haven’t been able to win.  And me beating you, a former world champion, that would equal big money.

Last week I was looking to revitalize my career.  My career did get revitalized but just not in the way I had expected.  I’m back on the right path and I’m not about to change now or anymore ever again.  You can knock me down Rachel but just like The Phoenix I will continue to get back up, I will continue to rise up from the ashes more dangerous than ever before, and I will continue to fight until I have earned that victory.

I will not be eliminated in this Television Title Eliminator.

Moving on from the Past: Part 2

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Scene 1

Off Camera

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Friedrich Nietzsche says, “The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die.  As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”

Many would definitely classify Marie Annabelle Jones, the self-proclaimed Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, as a true snake in the grass of the industry for her role in masterminding the now infamous #GingerHoax in which she utilized Kimberly Williams, her identical twin sister to stand in for her in all tag team matches, thus pulling the wool over the eyes of all of the UWA faithful, but most importantly fooling Drew Bryant and David Helms, the management of UWA; for it was Helms and Bryant who Marie blamed for being pigeonholed in UWA’s tag team division.  The #GingerHoax also allowed Marie to sign a contract with SCW and compete for them as a singles competitor, which was in essence the end game all along behind the #GingerHoax.  Marie wanted a singles career and the #GingerHoax gave it to her.

Pulling off such a brilliant trick at the expense of those she blamed for her predicament in UWA initially pleased Marie.  Yet, despite the immediate afterglow, the great feeling of gaining a measure of retribution, Marie now begins o wonder if she truly did the right thing with the #GingerHoax.  Yes, Marie definitely wants a singles career and yes, the #GingerHoax played a substantial role in obtaining that for her.

Yet, on the other hand, Marie regrets what she did. She regrets it in the sense that her fans are disappointed in her.  The fans she once had, they no longer cheer her.  But it is not her fault that they do not see the truth of what Drew Bryant and David Helms have done to her career in UWA.  It is not her fault that they do not see that she has been trying ever so hard to do things the right way.

It’s because this, everything that has gone down in Marie’s professional life since the #GingerHoax went down, that made Marie recall that quote from German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.  Whether you think she’s a snake in the grass or not is irrelevant.  Change is a fact of life.  Evolution is a reality that all creatures, from animal to man, have to accept and deal with.

Marie has definitely evolved.  Her first years in the sport she was a good natured person, with a strong belief in the good in everyone and good in the world.  After learning that her mother, Angelica Jones, was responsible for the death of her father, Sean Williams, that perspective changed.  Marie went through a variety of different identities; from a dark and almost gothic version, her time as a beautiful sex object in the gang of girls known as Hidden Desires, her time in Silas World as a client of Silas Mason’s, and now most recently as the leader of the worldwide #GingerNation movement.

Now the beautiful Bostonian is wondering if it is time to change yet again.

After the never ending lights of the great city of Boston, it would be easy for Marie Annabelle Jones to underestimate the utter blackness of nighttime in the woods.  Kimberly Williams, her identical twin sister, not so much, because where they are going is a place she is used to.  In the dark of night the trees are like black trunks against a bluish charcoal sky, the path would become deepest brown, and the moonlight would bleach the stones within it.  The windows are down in their vehicle, allowing the cool air of the forest to come flowing in so that Marie can breathe it in as they continue down the path that was intertwined with thick tree roots.  The moonlight beamed through the tree foliage.  This hidden path that the twin siblings are taking was tucked away in the depths of the forest.  It swerved back and forth, unpredictable.  The path was remarkably clear for one so rarely traveled.  Curls of vibrant green ivy lined the narrow path.  Mighty trees arched over it.

The vehicle comes to a stop in front of what is technically a cabin but, in reality, is just a run down shack.  The old house must have been little more than a glorified shed, even in its hay day.  But now it looked for all the world like a giant had sat on the roof, for it had sagged terribly.  The windows were gaping holes for the wind to rush in and out through and the door hung on its hinges at a jaunty angle, although now it was really just a frame. It was a rotting heap, b owing down, subservient to the elements.

Kimberly and Marie stare at the run down shack, a place that both women have been to and a place that Kimberly knows all too well, for it is the place where she was raised by Emma Storm.  She was kept isolated from the rest of the world and that isolation from society caused her to grow into the sociopathic monster that she is today.  Kimberly has already visited her a few times in her quest to hunt down her former step-mother and guardian.  Marie has only been here once, when she was invited by Emma in an attempt to manipulate her.

So what would bring them back here on this night?  Kimberly wants to know, as evidenced by the curious gaze she shoots her twin sister.

“What are we doing here?”

“Emma is a special kind of deadly.  I get that.  And that’s why we’re here, Kim.”

Marie motions to herself and Kim.

“This woman has ruined both of our lives.  She took us from our mom at birth.  And you got it worse because your mind was…well…”

Kimberly snickers.

“You can say it, Marie.  She twisted me.  She made me psychotic.  I get it, it’s true.  And you’re right, she has ruined both our lives.  So does that mean you want us to gut her like a fish?”

A hopeful and somewhat evil grin forms across Kimberly’s beautiful face as she awaits Marie’s response.  She is disappointed when her twin sister shakes her head.

“No, that’s not the plan.”

“Well what else can we do to that insufferable bitch?”

Marie shakes her head.

“You’re missing the point, Kim.  And I missed the point for a long time, myself.  The point is that we need to move on, you and I.  We cannot continue to let events of the past shape our futures.”

Jones reaches out and takes her twin’s hands, squeezing them tightly.

“Emma tried to destroy us.  She tried to poison us against one another.  But we didn’t let her win and I couldn’t be happier to have you back in my life as my sister and not as my enemy.”

“Awww!  I’d cry if I was capable of feeling emotions!”

Marie rolls her eyes.

“Joking aside, we both need to move on. We both need to let go and move on.  We need to change, Kim, and change can’t happen as long as we’re holding onto that past.  We’re going to make peace with Emma.”

Marie knows the importance of making change.  As much as she may hate Emma for what she’s done to her family, she also realizes that she needs to move on from it.  She needs to let it go.  Her mother, Angelica Jones, has already forgiven Emma.  It makes sense to Marie that she would forgive her, as well, so that she, like Angelica, can make the necessary changes in her life to evolve and adapt, not just as a person but as a wrestler as well.

Kimberly Williams is good at maintaining a poker face.  She is good at hiding whatever few emotions she does feel.  Right now she has a feeling of dread but she hides it well as she stares at her identical twin sister.  Kimberly’s dread comes from the fact that she knows that she and Marie will be unable to make peace with Emma here tonight due to the fact that Emma has been kidnapped and is being held captive by Kimberly.

It took Kimberly a great deal of time to earn the trust of her twin sister Marie Annabelle Jones.  Earning the trust of Marie and becoming a part of her true biological family  was something Kimberly sincerely wanted, which gave Marie and Kim both hope that Kimberly could perhaps be cured. Or maybe cured isn’t the right word for someone who is a self-described sociopath, but at least she could be made better by being surrounded by a loving family.

But would that loving family still support her if they knew what she’s done to Emma?  It isn’t like Kimberly can turn back now.  She’s holding Emma captive.  What’s done is done.

“Uh, I don’t think you’ll find Emma in there, Marie.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I have been stopping by from time to time to check in on her….”

Marie frowns.

“You never told me that.”

“Do I have to tell you everything I do?”

Marie shrugs her shoulders.

“I guess not.”

“Right, well I have been stopping by from time to time to check on her and she hasn’t been there the last few times I visited my old homestead.  I’m guessing she skipped town.”

Kimberly once again puts on her poker face.  Inside she is nervously hoping that Marie will buy the lie she told her.  Kimberly does hate lying to Marie, as she truly does want to have a normal relationship with her twin sister, but she cannot let her know the truth behind what has happened to Emma Storm.

“That complicates things.”

“No it doesn’t.”

Kimberly places a hand on Marie’s shoulder.

“Just forget about her, Marie.  You said it yourself, we need to move on.  She ran away.  She skipped town.  Fine, let her go.  Let’s forget about her and move on with our own lives.”

Marie Jones sighs and nods her head.

“Maybe you’re right.”

Kimberly smiles, while inwardly she is celebrating the fact that she seems to have distracted Marie.  But then suddenly her eyes grow wide with fear.  She points over Marie’s shoulder.

“Marie!  Look out!”

The hands of a large, built, burly man reach in and grab hold of Marie’s neck.  The other hand of this mystery man opens the unlocked driver’s side door and jerks Marie out of the car.  Kimberly, meanwhile, exits the passenger’s side.  Marie is shoved to the ground and she looks up at the mystery man, who is wearing denim jeans, brown cowboy boots, a plaid button up shirt, and is sporting a long beard.  A sneer is written across his face as he glares angrily down at the fallen Marie.

“WHERE IS SHE?!”

“Wha…?  Who are you?!”

“Don’t play dumb with me, bitch!”

The bearded man kicks Marie hard in the ribcage.

“WHERE IS EMMA?!”

“I don’t…”

“Stop it, Dave!”

Kimberly steps in between Marie and the bearded mystery man whose name is apparently Dave.  His anger briefly disappears as he looks at Kimberly, back down at Marie, and then back up at Kimberly.

“Wait a fucking minute, there’s two of you!”

“No, dumbass, there’s just one Kimberly and that’s me.”

She points down at Marie.

“That’s my twin sister.”

“You’re Kim?  Then you’re the one I need to be getting answers from!”

He attempts to throw a punch but Kimberly blocks it and then throws a counterpunch of her own, staggering Dave backward.

“And I’m NOT the punching bag I used to be.”

He reaches up and touches his lip, which has blood dripping from it after Kim busted his lip with that counterpunch.

“I can see that.”

“What the hell do you want, Dave?”

He points an angry finger at Kimberly.

“I want Emma!  Where the hell is she?!”

“I have no idea!”

He growls angrily.

“You’re lying!”

He chuckles nastily.

“You think you’re so fucking smart?  You’re the same dumb little whore you always were.  I’ve been following you since you reemerged onto the scene.  It’s hard to miss you when you’re on television all the damn time.”

“You still haven’t answered the question, Dave.  What do you want?”

“Emma is my woman.  I want her.  I’ve been trying to find her ever since she went missing.”

He glares angrily at Kimberly.

“You think you’re so fucking smart but you’re a dumb fuck, Kim.  I know you had something to do with this, and until I find my woman safe and sound, you’ll be hounded by me, stalked by me, and I will make both of your lives a living fucking hell!”

Dave turns and disappears into the forest.  Kimberly briefly contemplates chasing after him but chooses not to.  Marie is more important right now.  She reaches down and offers a hand.  Marie accepts it and Kim pulls her back up to her feet.

“Are you ok?”

Marie nods her head.

“Yeah, I think so, but Kim…”

Marie looks towards the forest where the bearded Dave disappeared into.  She looks back to Kim.

“…who was that?”

“That was Dave.  Emma’s boyfriend.  He helped raise me before they split up.”

“Dave?  Who…”

Kimberly shakes her head vehemently.

“Look, I’d rather not talk about him right now.”

“But WHO is he?”

Kim’s anger flares up.

“I SAID I DON’T WANT TO FUCKING TALK ABOUT THAT ASSHOLE RIGHT NOW!”

Marie frowns, her eyes growing wide as well.

“Ok…fine…we don’t have to talk about him right now.  But if he thinks we did something to Emma, we could be in serious trouble.”

“We’ll deal with that later, Marie.  And I’m sorry for yelling at you, it’s just that…”

Kimberly sighs.

“…painful memories.  Let’s leave it at that.”

“Ok, we don’t have to talk about him right now, but there is one question you do need to answer.”

“What?”

“Kimberly…did you do something to Emma?”

==========

Scene 2

Off Camera

==========

There has been much controversy among psychologists and sociologists in the late 20^th century concerning whether some people are genetically disposed to crime, violence, or any other sort of psychotic tendency or whether these illegal and, at times, sociopathic acts have their origin in one’s upbringing and environment.  This is known as the nature versus nurture debate and Marie Annabelle Jones and Kimberly Williams are the epitome of the argument.

Marie and Kim are identical twins, children of the great professional wrestler Angelica Jones.  Right after birth, Angelica was forced to give them up and, as a result, the sisters got separated.  Marie found her way into the loving care of an orphanage and, eventually, back into the care of her biological mother, but Kimberly was raised off the grid, off the radar, isolated from the rest of the world, by a sociopath known as Emma Storm.

Marie Jones grew up with a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong.  She grew up with a strong feeling of what she considered to be justice and what she considered to be injustice.  There were times that she felt jaded about justice, good, and right in the world and that led her to making bad decisions.  There were also times where she utilized some rather dastardly methods to fight injustice, arguing that the ends justified the means.  The recent #GingerHoax perpetrated by Marie in order to right the wrongs she felt were done to her by UWA management serve as a prime as a prime example of this.

Regardless of how the actions she took, justified or not, Marie Jones always believed in right and wrong.  She always believed in good and fighting for what was good and just in society.  But she was, for the most part, raised by good people.  Marie had the advantages of being raised for most of her preteen and teenage life by the very close and very caring Jones family.

Kimberly Williams, her identical twin sister who utilizes the name of their biological father Sean Williams, is a different story altogether.  Marie knows all about her twin’s sad and tragic story.  She knows about how Kimberly was taken by Emma to be raised in isolation in a cabin deep in the woods.  No one knew it at the time but Emma was a dangerous person, a sociopath with dangerous thoughts and ideas.  She passed those onto Kimberly as she raised her from birth to adulthood.

Marie knows how dangerous Kimberly can be from personal experience.  For the longest time Marie and Kimberly were sworn enemies.  Kimberly hated the fact that Marie got a good, cushy life while Kimberly had to live in a hell on earth.  She took her frustrations out on Marie, trying to destroy her for several years as she blamed Marie for being the favorite child.  Only recently did Marie and Kimberly make peace with one another; but Marie still knows all too well how dangerous and deadly Kimberly can be and what she is capable of.

So when Emma Storm comes up missing, Marie instantly suspects that Kimberly had something to do with it.

Marie would never have learned about Emma’s disappearance had she and Kim not made the trip deep into the woods to Emma’s cabin, the cabin where she raised Kimberly.  Kim was hesitant to go, which surprised Marie considering she had been there before many times recently.  But she managed to convince her twin to travel with her.  The goal for Marie was simple: she wanted to make peace with the woman who played the biggest role in damaging both of their lives.

Marie wants to evolve and change into the person, both professionally and personally, that she knows she can be, the person that can take 2017 by storm.  But before she can leap into the future she has to tie up the loose ends of the past.  More so than that, Marie wants to completely leave the past behind.  This is why she feels making peace with Emma is a necessity.

Unfortunately Emma was nowhere to be found.  Instead they were met by a large, bearded man named Dave who also was searching for Emma.  Dave, apparently an ex-lover of Emma’s, was searching for Emma and he suspected that Kimberly did something to her or, at the very least, knew where she was.

Marie knows how Kimberly is, but that alone isn’t enough evidence to accuse someone of anything, but the fact that another person accuses Kimberly of the exact same thing makes things just a little bit more damning.

Marie now finds herself in a vehicle being driven by her identical twin sister.  They are off the beaten path in the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts.  Kimberly is reluctantly taking Marie to her home.  And the term “home” is used very loosely, because as far as Marie knows Kimberly has had no set home in a very long time.  The fact that Kimberly claims to have a place she calls home is unusual and is a new development.

But that’s not the real story.  The real story is that Kimberly is taking Marie to her new place in order to answer a question for Marie.  Kimberly’s twin demanded that she tell her the truth about Emma.  She demanded to know if she did something to her.

Kimberly will answer that question, and that answer could very well change the relationship between Marie and Kimberly forever.  But for now, Marie is doing her best to make small talk in order to ease the tension that she senses is building between her and her sister as they travel this dusty road.

 “So, uh, this place you’re taking me…how long have you had it?”

“Not long.”

“It’s nice you finally got a place to stay, Kim.  I mean, I know you’re used to staying off the radar and all, but you have to admit, it is much more comfortable to…”

Kimberly immediately interrupts…

“This isn’t about comfort, Marie.  I bought this place for two reasons; the first of which is because it was scheduled for demolition anyway and thus it was very cheap.”

There is a pause as Marie awaits the second reason why Kimberly bought this place she is taking her.  But nothing is said.  Marie finally speaks up.

“What was the second reason?”

“…”

“You said there were two reasons you bought this place, Kim.  What was the second reason?”

“Are you sure you want to go to my place?”

Marie sighs and rolls her eyes.

“I just want to know if you did anything to Emma, that’s all.”

“Don’t you have professional business to deal with?  Like your wrestling career or something?”

Marie chuckles lightly.

“Changing the subject?”

“Maybe I am, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m right.  You’re the one who wants to be The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, you want to be a champion again, well you have your chance.  Your precious Supreme Championship Wrestling granted you a shot at the United States Championship.”

“I know this.”

“And to win, you have to beat a former world champion in Amy Chastaine.”

“I know this, too.”

“Then you should know that becoming United States Champion isn’t the only perk you’d have if you win that match.  Beating a former world champion would send shock waves through the wrestling world.  If you want back into the title hunt, not just in SCW but in UWA or GCW, then this would be your chance.  And yet you want to talk to me about Emma…”

“I just need to know if you had anything to do with her disappearance, that’s all Kim.  That’s all I want to know.”

“Why do you think I had anything to do with her disappearance?”

Marie frowns.

“That’s not a denial.”

“I know it isn’t.”

“Look, I just know how you are, ok?  I know you’ve done questionable things in the past.  I know you’ve done outright criminal things in the past.”

“And you think I did something to Emma?”

Marie sighs and finally relents, nodding her head.

“Yes, yes I do.”

“At least we’re being honest with one another.”

“Damnit, Kim!  We need to take this seriously!  We have that psycho Dave after us because he thinks you did something to Emma.  We’re in trouble here and if you know something, then I need to know too.  We’re in this together, Kim.”

Kimberly sighs and nods her head.  Marie notices tears coming from the eyes of her sociopathic sister.  This is unusual for Kimberly, who rarely shows any emotion at all whatsoever.  Something, though, has brought this on.  Marie just listens as Kimberly begins to speak.

“I know this, Marie.  That’s why I’m willing to talk to you.  But not here.”

Marie is growing more and more frustrated by her sister’s lack of information.  She isn’t very forthcoming.

“Why won’t you tell me what happened to Emma?”

“I will, just not here.”

Marie sighs.

“Fine, will you at least tell me who that Dave character is?  You clearly know who he is.”

The vehicle nearly veers off the road as Kimberly turns and shoots an angry glare at her twin sister and yells.

“I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT HIM!”

“Get the car back on the road, Kim!”

Kim regains her composure and does, eventually, get the car back on the road.  Marie is glaring angrily at Kim.

“Something happened between you and Dave.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure that much out. But I need to know who he is, we both need to know what we’re dealing with.”

Kimberly is silent, but Marie continues to stare daggers right through her, expecting an answer soon.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes.”

“His name is David Burns, he was Emma’s ex-boyfriend.”

“Did he help raise you?”

Kimberly nods her head.

“He regularly beat me, Marie.  So if you call that raising, then yeah, he raised me.”

Marie is stunned by this revelation.  She was under the impression that Emma, despite her psychopathy, treated Kim quite well.  To hear that she was beaten by Emma’s boyfriend David Burns is an all new startling revelation.

“Kim, I…I had no idea…”

“It’s not something I like to talk about.”

“What happened between him and Emma?”

Kim sighs.

“Look, it doesn’t matter.  Point is that she ditched him shortly before my eighteenth birthday.  She had enough of the abuse we both took from him so she kicked him out of the cabin.”

“So what’s he want with her now?”

“No idea.  But he thinks I had something to do with her disappearance.”

“Did you?”

Kimberly doesn’t answer.  Instead she pulls up close to an old, desolate, wood home.  It’s definitely seen its better days and I can’t help but wonder how anyone could live in a place like this.  And yet is this the place that Kimberly claims to live?  Marie’s answer comes immediately as Kimberly puts the car into park.

“We’re here.”

“Seriously?  This is it?”

“This is it.”

Kimberly turns and looks at her twin with a mischievous grin.

“What’s wrong, sis?  Don’t like the digs?”

“It isn’t exactly the Ritz.”

“That’s putting it mildly!”

Kimberly snickers as she exits the vehicle.  Marie sighs, not knowing exactly what is to come next but she follows suit, exiting the vehicle.  Marie follows her twin sister up to the front door.  Kimberly easily pushes it open without even bothering to turn the doorknob.

“You don’t exactly value security, do you Kim?”

“Oh come on, sis, you said it yourself.  This place is a dump.  And let me tell you, there’s nothing of value inside.  So even if someone broke in, they’d be highly disappointed.”

Marie and Kim enter the desolate home.  It’s dark inside with the exception of the sunlight that streams in through the windows, which are missing any form of glass.  This place looks terrible that Marie doubts it actually passed inspection, and it makes her doubt her sister’s story that she actually bought this condemned building.  Jones turns and looks at her twin sister with a skeptical gaze written across her face.

“You bought this place?”

Kimberly giggles.

“Yeah, isn’t it great?  Doesn’t it just shout KIMBERLY?!”

Marie rolls her eyes.

“Yeah…it does have your name written all over it.”

Marie still doubts her twin sister’s story but chooses not to press it any further.  Instead she follows Kimberly down the hall until they reach a door.  Kimberly opens it and steps through.  Marie follows her through this door, which leads to a set of stairs that lead down.

“Come with me.”

“Not like I have a choice.”

Kimberly and Marie head down the set of stairs.

“Now before we get down to the basement, I want you to know that YOU asked to see this; I didn’t want to show you.”

“Show me what?”

Kimberly doesn’t answer the question, for they reach the bottom of the stairs and step down onto the floor of the basement.  Kimberly then reaches over and turns a light switch, flipping the lights in the basement on.  Marie then gasps with shock as she sees the barely recognizable female figure of Emma Storm.

She can barely make out her distinctive features through the bruises, cuts, and dried up blood all over the formerly beautiful and refined woman who now lies chained to the floor of the basement.  Jones turns and looks with wide eyed shock at Kimberly.

“Kim!  What the hell have you done?!”

“What does it look like I did, sis?  I kidnapped Emma and proceeded to beat the shit out of her on a regular basis.”

“I can see that!  But why?!”

Kimberly thinks on this for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

“I felt like it?”

Marie starts to pace the floor, looking very nervous and very afraid.  She realizes now that their trouble is getting all that more difficult and challenging.

“This is bad.  This is really bad.”

Emma attempts to sit up.  It pains her to move even a little bit but she recognizes that two different people are here now.  She tries to turn her head towards the sound of the talking.

“M…Marie?  Is that…is that you?”

Marie stops and turns to face Emma.  She can’t get any words out before Kimberly narrows her brow in a glare of anger at Emma.

“No one said you could talk!”

Kimberly kicks Emma in the ribcage.

“Bad dog!”

She kicks her in the ribcage again.

“Bad, bad dog!”

“Kimberly, stop!”

Marie places her hand on Kimberly’s shoulder and jerks her around so that she is facing Marie.

“This is insane!  You realize that, I hope?”

“I never claimed to be sane, babe.”

“Please be serious!  We have this nutcase Dave coming after us because he thinks you did something to Emma…”

She motions down to Emma’s fallen form.

“…and it turns out you did!”

Kimberly shrugs her shoulders.

“So?  Who the hell cares about Emma or Dave?”

“D…Dave?”

Kimberly looks down to see Emma trying to gather enough strength to move and talk.

“What about…Dave?”

Kimberly rears back and kicks Emma in the gut several times, over and over again, until Marie manages to pull Kimberly away.

“None of you damn business, Emma!”

“Kimberly stop!  We have to…”

Kimberly suddenly turns and pins Marie against a nearby wall.  She gets up in Marie’s face, staring angrily with what almost appears to be hatred in her eyes.

“NO!  You’re going to shut the hell up, Marie, and you’re going to listen to me!”

Marie silently nods her head.

“For starters, we’re going to have no further business dealing with David.  Are we clear on that?”

“Yeah…but what if he comes after us?”

“I’ll deal with him.  He is none of your business.  As for Emma…”

Kimberly shakes her head.

“You will forget that you ever saw her.  Understand?”

Marie stares at Kimberly incredulously.

“Are you crazy?  We can’t just forget her!  We…”

“No, I won’t forget her…but YOU WILL forget her!”

Kimberly wraps a hand around Marie’s throat.

“YOU WILL FORGET HER!”

Marie considers fighting back but decides that it might be best if she not tempt fate right now.  Obviously her twin sister is not in her right mind.  Marie just nods her head.

“Ok…I’ll forget I saw anything today…”

Kimberly sighs and releases her grip on Marie.

“Good.  Emma is my business, not yours.  Dave is my business, not yours.  I want to protect you, Marie.  And you getting involved in my business will only get you in trouble.  Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

Marie says this mainly to appease her irate and psychotic twin sister.  But she knows that she cannot stay out of this.  Looking down at Emma’s beaten, half-dead form, she knows that she will eventually have to get involved.  But for now, she is willing to take the coward’s way out and look the other way as a crime is being committed…

…so much for the change she wanted to make in her life…

==========

On Camera

==========

“The time has come…”

Clearly the voice is that of Marie Annabelle Jones, The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.  But where is she?  It’s a complete and utter darkness that envelopes the scene.  We have no way of knowing where she is right now.

“…the time has come to finish yet another journey.”

Slowly lights begin to come on, one after another, revealing a faded wrestling mat, ring ropes, and eventually a ring apron, completing this wrestling ring.  More lights come on, one after another, revealing the hard, cold gray concrete floor and then, finally, the last of the lights, revealing that we are in an empty gym.

“This is not the end of a redemption journey intended to make things right between myself and anyone I may have wronged.”

Footsteps are heard upon the concrete floor.  It isn’t long before we see that those footsteps belong to Marie Annabelle Jones, who ascends the steel steps of this wrestling ring and then steps through the ropes and into the ring.  The self-described Crown Jewel is wearing a black petite v-neckline sleeveless dress that features a stunning lace overlay at the bust and a flattering tiered skirt that finishes with a tulip style hem.  Her feet are encased in black high heeled pumps.

“No, this journey is about making things right for ME!”

She shakes her head.

“No more redemption journeys here because I already did that once and, as far as I’m concerned, it was a success.  Did I make mistakes along the way?  Sure.  Do I still make mistakes?  I’m only human, so of course I do.  But I can hold my head high knowing that I’ve done everything within my power to do what’s right and play within the rules.  But some people felt I should be held back, some people felt I should’ve remained pigeonholed in UWA’s tag team division and stayed quiet about it all, content with my role in professional wrestling.”

A look of intensity washes across her face.

“Not just no, but oh HELL no!  There is no way I am going to be content being a tag team wrestler and sharing the spotlight when I know I have the potential to be the best wrestler in any company I join.  So of course when I started to get screwed over by UWA, I would begin to look for greener pastures in one of the most competitive wrestling organizations in the world today, Supreme Championship Wrestling.”

“I didn’t come here expecting any kind of special treatment just because I had family here.  Quite the contrary, I wanted to start from the bottom and bust my ass each and every night for this great company and for its fans.  I wanted to bust my ass and work hard to earn my stripes here in SCW and pay my dues until such a time as I earned a right to compete for the prestigious gold of Supreme Championship Wrestling.”

“Anyone they decided to throw at me, it didn’t matter, I fought them all without complaint.  Kara…Hannah…Darrin…Bruce…Konrad…on and on, one after another they came and I fought with my head held high as a proud athlete and a proud competitor.  And you may be sitting at home questioning me and my tactics, and that’s fine.  You are welcome to cheer me or boo me in this country, that’s your freedom of expression, but the fact is that my SCW career has been a success and the evidence of that success is the fact that I am now getting the opportunity to compete at Hazardous Envy for the SCW United States Championship.”

Jones points a finger at the camera.

“That brings me to you, Amy Chastain.  You stand between me and everything I want going forward not just in SCW but in professional wrestling.  They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but this girl’s best friend is gold and I do want to hold championship gold once again.  It’s been too long since I have held singles gold and I am ready to do anything and everything within my power to take that United States Championship away from you at Hazardous Envy.”

“Oh but you’re the United States Champion for a reason, aren’t you?  I always give credit where credit is due.  You are good, Amy.  You’re one of the best SCW has to offer.  The talent you have, the things you can do inside that ring, well it’s astonishing to say the very least.  You are a former world champion in SCW and that alone speaks of how great you truly are.”

“That tells me that not only will it be a challenge to beat you, but that beating you will reap me a great many rewards.  I admit to having an ego.  You have to have a bit of an ego in order to survive in this business.  You have to be confident in yourself, otherwise you are sunk.  And I am damn sure confident in myself and my abilities to get the job done.  That’s why I unabashedly and unashamedly call myself The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.”

Marie smirks knowingly.

“Hazardous Envy is on the horizon and I know that you don’t underestimate me.  You’re better than that.  So before that first bell rings, I’m certain that, while you may not admit to us being equals, you will at least admit that I have a legitimate shot at beating you.  And then the bell will ring and the war will commence.  And as the fight goes on, as the battle wages on and you dish out your punishment…and believe me, I can take anything and everything you’re prepared to deliver and then some…and you take the punishment I am ready to give right back at you in spades, you will begin to suspect that I may very well be your equal inside of the squared circle.”

“But then I’ll wrap your head up and drive your skull into the mat with Ave Maria, and then the smoke will clear after the final bell rings, and you will witness my arm being raised in victory, and you will witness the referee handing me MY newly won SCW United States Championship, and then at that point you will recognize a harsh fact of your professional life…”

Marie’s intensity returns as she stares at the camera lenses, almost as if staring at Amy herself.

“….that Marie Annabelle Jones really is The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling and that she is YOUR superior!”

She pauses momentarily, allowing her latest words to sink in before continuing in a slightly quieter tone of voice.

“You won’t be the only one who comes to that realization, Amy.  When I beat you at Hazardous Envy, when the world witnesses me defeat a former SCW World Champion to become the new United States Champion, they all will realize that I am exactly what I say I am; that I am right up there with you and so many other top names in this sport as one of the best wrestlers in the world.  And by defeating you, a former world champion, the world will realize what a hot commodity I am, that I am deserving of my spot in this business, and that I am deserving, perhaps of a future world title opportunity.”

“The wrestling world expected me to play nice and be content as a tag team wrestler…”

Marie throws her head back and laughs.

“…that’s laughable!  And all of you will see just how laughable that is after I have an early match of the year candidate against Amy Chastain.  When the world watches as Amy and I tear the house down at Hazardous Envy, and more importantly when the world watches me defeat Amy to become the new SCW United States Champion, they will recognize that Marie Annabelle Jones is for real.”