Healing: Part 10

I always fashioned myself as a firm believer in redemption.  Hell, my sister and I were once a tag team known as Redemption.  God knows, I’ve needed redemption in my life.  I’ve needed to redeem myself after the infamous #GingerHoax, I needed to redeem myself after the cheap tricks I used to pull in SCW.  Were it not for redemption, I would have been lost forever to whatever darkness I had found myself in.

I think I can safely say that very few people understand and believe in the concept of redemption more than me.  That’s why that I believe people like Shaun Cruze and Blake Mason are capable of redemption.  I needed it, I’ve witnessed others who needed it.  Redemption is a beautiful thing if you take advantage of it and I do know of people in my life that still need redemption of their own and trust me, they are fighting to earn it.

I’d like to think I’ve earned my redemption but whether I have earned it in the eyes of the fans and the wrestling public is irrelevant.  This isn’t about THAT kind of redemption.  This is about a different kind of redemption.

I dropped the ball in Puerto Rico and Jinn took advantage and took away my SCW United States Championship.

It’s time I fixed that.

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Scene 1

Off Camera

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“Failure isn’t falling down; it’s remaining where you’ve fallen.”

The above quote describes the frame of mind that Marie Annabelle Jones currently finds herself in.  It wasn’t but a few months ago that The Phoenix made her return to Supreme Championship Wrestling and, thanks to Fatal Fortunes, she had earned a shot at the United States Championship.  She would take advantage of that opportunity and defeat Tyler Tucker to become the SCW United States Championship.  She was on cloud nine for she had achieved her redemption.  She had vindicated herself and restored the trust her fans had in her by winning the championship and by winning it the right way.  No one could bring her down from the high she was on…

…not even an enraged bully by the name of Regan Street.  At Taking Hold of the Flame it was Street, as well as the former champion Tyler Tucker, who challenged Marie in a triple threat match for the SCW United States Championship.  Against all odds, Marie retained the gold, defeating both challengers.

Jones thought her road to Rise To Greatness was now clear and set, that she was going to head into the biggest pay per view event of the year as the SCW United States Champion.  But then came her next challenger at Supreme Saturday from Puerto Rico; the strange, rather odd individual known as Jinn.

Perhaps she got careless and looked past Jinn?  Perhaps he was just better on that night?  Or maybe it was a combination of the two?  Whatever the reason may be, Jinn managed to defeat Marie on that night to become SCW United States Champion.

The old Marie would have sunk into a depression.  Perhaps she would have thrown a tantrum at worst or at best just been content to stay exactly where she was as a former champion.  But The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling has changed her ways.  She will not throw a tantrum nor will she accept her place.  Failure, she realizes, isn’t in losing, but remaining where she’s fallen.  She’s lost the United States Championship but that doesn’t mean she has to like it.

The Phoenix is determined to right the ship as she sails towards Rise To Greatness.  She is determined to head into Rise To Greatness as the SCW United States Champion but to do that she will have to defeat Jinn in her one on one rematch on Breakdown from El Paso, Texas.

She’s been champion before.  Can she do it again?

A luxurious rental car has pulled up in front of the entrance to the Homewood Suites Hilton in El Paso, Texas.  Marie Jones exits the passenger side, followed by her husband, Arthur Pond, who exits from the driver’s side.  Arthur is wearing a Carolina blue button up shirt with black denim jeans.  The Phoenix is wearing a cute sexy blue cotton spaghetti strap sleeveless A-Line midi knot cut out button plaid fabric summer slip dress.  Her feet are encased in black high heeled sandals.  Her long gorgeous ginger locks of hair hang unrestrained to shoulder length.

They’re here for the Breakdown show in El Paso where Marie will be challenging Jinn for the SCW United States Championship.  The stay here may not be long but she still needs to be prepared, thus she has two bags with her, unlike her husband Arthur, who is traveling lightly with just one bag.  A man in a hotel uniform including black pants and white button up silk shirt, no doubt the valet, approaches Arthur who hands the man the keys to the vehicle.

“Thank you sir,” the man gives a slight bow walks towards the driver’s side as Marie and Arthur begin the walk towards the entrance.

“Ahhh,” Arthur takes in a deep breath “so this is El Paso?”

“I suppose so.” Marie says with a nonchalant attitude, which Arthur immediately notices.

“Are you ok, babe?”

“Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind right now.  That’s all.”

“Jinn and the United States Championship?”

“Yeah,” Marie says, nodding her head “among other things.”

The United States Championship is definitely important to Marie and Arthur knows this. The title symbolizes the end of her redemption quest.  Being champion meant a great deal to her and losing it stung, it stung a lot.  Winning it back would mean the world to Arthur’s lovely redheaded wife.

And yet Arthur suspects that there are other issues on his wife’s mind as well, issues that she is keeping hidden away from public view.  Arthur has his own suspicions as to what those issues entail but he  figures that now is not the time to  get into that, not when they are about to check into the hotel.

The young couple approach the automatic doors, which instantly slide open for them as they enter the hotel.  Next they approach the lobby.  Arthur takes charges as he rings for the attendant.  The attendant, a young woman with long blonde hair and wearing a navy blue suit skirt and matching blazer with a white silk button up shirt, approaches the front desk.

“Yes, may I help you?”

“My name is Arthur, Arthur Pond.  I have a room here reserved for me and my wife Marie.”

The attendant furiously types away at the keyboard of his computer.  It isn’t long before she gets a result.

“Ah, yes, here you are,” the attendant reaches into her desk and produces a key card.  She hands it to Arthur “room 236.”

“Thank you very much, miss.” Arthur answers back as he takes the card and tucks it away safely in his pocket.

“Is there anything I can help you with, sir?”

“No, I think we’re fine thank you.”

Arthur’s voice trails off as leads his wife Marie away from the lobby desk and over towards the elevators.  Arthur presses the button calling for the elevator and the door opens.  Marie and Arthur enter the elevator and then Arthur presses the button for the elevator to go up.  The door closes and the elevator begins to rise.

The two remain in silence.  Marie feels her husband’s eyes staring at her, studying her intensely.  Arthur knows her well and can sense that something is wrong but she remains quiet about it as the elevator continues to rise.

The elevator doors open.  Usually she lets Arthur lead the way, but on this occasion Marie steps out first and storms her way down the hall of the second floor, looking for room 236.  Arthur, with the key card and now carrying both bags, does his best to keep up.  It isn’t long until his wife stops in front of a door that reads “236.”  Marie turns as Arthur approaches…

“Here’s our room.”

Arthur sets the bags down so that he can insert the key card into the door.  He hears the door unlock and then pushes it open.  Marie steps inside first, followed by Arthur, carrying the bags.  Jones steps in front of the window staring out at the skyline overlooking the city of El Paso, Texas.  Arthur sets the bags down on the bed and then approaches his wife, standing behind her.

“Beautiful scenery, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Marie agrees, nodding her head “it is.”

“But you know what’s more beautiful?”

“No, what?”

“You.”

Arthur steps in front of his wife and attempts to plant a kiss on her lips but she turns and the kiss lands on her cheek instead.  Arthur sighs and shakes his head with disappointment.

“What’s wrong, Marie?”

“Nothing.” Marie says sharply and simply as she turns to walk away from her husband.  Eventually she finds a place to sit on the edge of the king size bed.

“You don’t act that way when nothing is wrong.” Arthur remarks as he walks over and sits down on the bed next to his wife. “So tell me the truth, what’s bothering you?”

“I already told you, I have a lot on my mind.” Marie responds with some frustration in her voice. “I’m challenging for the United States Championship against Jinn, the guy who beat me at Supreme Saturday in Puerto Rico.  I need to win this, Arthur.”

“Oh come on, babe,” Arthur retorts “I doubt you’d be this upset over a title match.”

“You’d be surprised.” Marie answers back with sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“Tell the truth, Marie.” Arthur answers back to her sternly. “What’s wrong?”

“Fine…” Marie sighs “…it’s Jessica.”

Marie and Jessica have always had a rather tense relationship, or at least that’s the impression Arthur has been given.  That relationship got even more strained a couple of weeks ago when Jessica made her way to Marie and Arthur’s home in Boston, Massachusetts.  Arthur slept through the incident but he heard all about it after it was over.  Jessica threatened Marie only to turn and assault their sister Kimberly instead.

It seemed to all start with Kimberly.  The identical twin sister of Marie Jones, half-sister to Jessica Jones, had been a thorn in the side to the Jones family for a long time.  Her psychotic and sociopathic tendencies had made it hard for anyone to trust her.  But Kimberly insisted that Marie give her another chance.  She insisted that she wanted to change, just so long as she was allowed back in the family again.

Kimberly went so far as to commit herself to a mental institution for treatment.  The fact that she was willing to go to those lengths seemed to prove to Marie that Kimberly was truly serious about fixing her mental state.  The mental institution decreed that Kimberly was able to leave the institution so long as she was under the care of close family.

Enter Marie and Arthur, who chose to take Kimberly into their home.  This move was not a welcome one by all, for when Jessica got wind of it, her jealous rage boiled over and she assaulted Kimberly at their home.  Marie and Kimberly’s relationship may be fixed, but the relationship between Marie and Jessica has never been this strained.

“I don’t what to say to her, Arthur.”Marie says, her voice beginning to crack. “I’ve always sensed that there was something wrong with Jessie, some kind of hidden emotional turmoil that she was keeping chained up, locked up inside, but I didn’t know what to do about it.”

Marie sighs as she shakes her head. “Perhaps if we had just talked about it, more?  Perhaps if I had bothered to reach out more but I was always wrapped up in my own problems.”

Tears begin to form in her eyes.  She reaches up to wipe the tears away.  Arthur wraps his arms around his wife’s shoulder, hugging her closely and tightly to his side in order to comfort her.

“I had my own problems with mom and I didn’t seem to care if Jessica had problems with mom.  I had my own identity crisis trying to figure out who I was but I never cared about Jessica’s identity crisis. I had my own obsession over being the best wrestler in the world but I never cared about Jessica’s career or the pressure she was under being the daughter of not just one legend but two.”

She sighs and shakes her head. “I’ve been a terrible sister.”

“Now listen here, Marie,” Arthur says as he takes his hands and gently turns his wife’s head so that their eyes meet one another “you are not a terrible sister.  You do the best you can.  Now do we make mistakes?  Yes, everyone makes mistakes.  You make mistakes, I make mistakes, that’s a part of being human.  But do any mistakes you may have made justify her actions a few weeks ago at our house?”

He shakes his head. “Absolutely not.”

“Ok, maybe it doesn’t justify her assault on Kim,” Marie answers back “but I still can’t help but feel at least partially responsible for Jessica’s outburst.”

“You’re not responsible for her actions.”

“My mind knows that but my heart says otherwise.” Marie says with a hint of sadness in her voice as she wipes more tears from her eyes. “I need to at least try to fix this, Arthur.  I need to repair this damage that’s been done to mine and Jessica’s relationship.”

“Marie, babe,” Arthur says as he shakes his head “it isn’t your responsibility to fix every problem in your family.”

“I know that, but I just want to.”

Arthur smiles warmly. “That’s what I love about you, you always want to help.”

Marie stands up and walks towards her bag. Arthur furrows his brow in confusion. “What are you doing now?”

“I’m going to take care of this.”

She reaches into her bag and produces her iPhone.  She immediately starts pressing buttons.

“Who you calling?”

“Jessica.” Marie answers. “And I’m texting, not calling.”

“Jessica?  She wouldn’t follow you all the way to El Paso, would she?”

Marie smirks knowingly. “You don’t know Jessica that well…but besides that, GCW is hosting a show near her so I’m going to see if she’d be willing to meet me nearby to talk things over.”

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Scene 2

Off Camera

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Despite The doubts from her husband, Marie Jones was successful in contacting her sister Jessica and a time has been set for them to meet.  One thing that can be said about the children of the legendary Angelica Jones is that, no matter how lost they may become, no matter how angry with each other they may become, one thing that will remain important to them, more important than any of their petty squabbles, is family.

The importance of family is something drilled into their heads ever since they were children.  Angelica Jones knew all too well what life was like growing up as a teenager without a solid family life to support her.  She did not want that for her children and wanted to make sure they understood that, no matter what, they would try to maintain loyalty to each other, that they would try to always be there for one another and support one another.

So when Marie sent that text message to Jessica requesting a meeting in El Paso in order to repair their tense relationship, she was not surprised at all that Jessica had no qualms with making that meeting.  It made perfect sense to them both.  Something had to be done.  This problem had to be resolved.

It is a problem that, for Marie, is more important than even the United States Championship.  She does want to defeat Jinn on the July 12^th edition of Breakdown in El Paso to become a two time SCW United States Champion.  She wants that real bad; but more than that she wants to resolve this situation with her half-sister Jessica.  Jinn can wait, Jessica is more important than him right now.

This is what brings Marie to the Hope and Anchor bar in El Paso, Texas.  Jones is wearing an ankle length, floral print skirt, a ruffled silver colored tube top, and flip flops.  Her long red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length, flowing beautifully behind her as she walks past onlookers and patrons, a few making eye contact with the beautiful Boston native, some even recognize and make catcalls, but she ignores them all.

Jones reaches the bar.  The bartender, a slightly older woman with blonde hair, has her back turned towards Marie.  She gets her attention by clearing her throat loudly.  The bartender turns around and smiles politely.

“Oh, hello.” She greets her. “What can I get you, ma’am?”

“Nothing  for me, thanks.” Marie answers.  “I was just here to meet someone.  About my height, red hair…”

The bartender nods her head and points outside to the patio area. “She wanted to sit outside.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Marie immediately steps away from the bar and makes her way towards the entrance to the outside patio area.  Stepping through the doors and into the patio area outside she notices that there is another bar area outside along with high top chairs and tables.  It’s decorated beautifully with green bushes.  She scans the area, looking for her sister.  It isn’t long before she spots a feminine figure over by the corner of the patio area, sitting at one of the high top tables.  She’s hunched over and her long red hair is covering her face as a result, but Marie is certain that this is Jessica.

Jones approaches the table and pokes the female, presumably Jessica in the back. “Jess?”

“Huh?” She sits up and looks over at Marie.  Sure enough, it is Jessica. “Oh…hi…”

“Nice to see you too.” Marie hops up on one of the chairs next to her.

“You’re lucky I even came, Marie.” Jessica snaps at her. “So don’t push your luck.”

“I knew you were coming, Jess.” Marie responds confidently. “You believe in this family every bit as much as I do.”

“Whatever.” Jessica rolls her eyes before picking up a half-empty glass of Guinness and takes a sip.  Marie notices it and points at the glass.

“How many of those have you had?”

“Just one.” Jessica holds up one finger with a knowing smirk across her face. “Don’t worry, I’m not getting like my dad.”

“Excellent,” Marie says, chuckling “that’s good to hear.”

“Look, Marie, I…” Jessica sighs as she sets her glass back down “…I want to apologize for what happened back in Boston.”

“No apology is necessary, Jess.”

“Yes it is.” Jessica answers. “I threatened you, I scared your son…my nephew…I just lost my temper, that’s all.”

“Well, you get it honest.  Mom always was known for having a temper.”

“As was my dad…” Jessica smirks “…you get a temper just from mom, I get it from both our mom and my dad.”

“True enough.”

“So yeah, I apologize for my outburst.” Jessica remarks, taking another sip of her Guinness. “But that changes nothing regarding my feelings towards the family and specifically towards Kimberly.”

Marie sighs and shakes her head. “Jess, we’ve been over this before…”

“Yeah, and you keep telling me that she’s changed.  I heard that all before but guess what?” Jessica shakes her head. “I don’t buy it.”

She sets her glass back down and then points a finger at Marie. “You are a fool, Marie.  This is the same woman who kidnapped you, held you hostage in God knows where, and tried to take over your life.  That’s just one of the many hair-brained schemes she concocted in order to try and destroy you and this family and yet you’re willing to sit there and tell me that you’re going to forgive her?”

“Yes,” Marie says immediately, nodding her head “I am willing to forgive her because she is repentant and she has changed.”

“I don’t buy it.” Jessica shakes her head. “Not for one second.”

“Redemption is possible for anyone, Jess, even Kimberly.”

“I used to believe that,” Jessica says quietly as she takes another sip of her Guinness “but not anymore.”

Marie stares at Jessica as she finishes this glass of alcohol and slams it down on the table.  The look on her face and she sound of her voice makes her suspect that she was lying when she said this was her first glass.  But she doesn’t bring it up.

“This isn’t just about Kim, though.” Marie begins. “You said yourself that nothing has changed regarding the family.”

“Yeah, so?”

“So what’s wrong with the family, Jess?”

Jessica sighs and shakes her head. “The fact that you even have to ask that question is so sad that it’s funny…”

“What do you mean?”

“Mom always taught us to be loyal to family and to always stick by one another.  That’s why I went through all I did and sacrificed all I did in order to rescue you from Kimberly when she kidnapped you.  But honestly, what have I ever received in return?”

She points a finger at Marie. “Mom always said YOU were the glue that kept her together.  But what about me?  You’ve betrayed her more times than I care to count; only recently have you and her finally made up once and for all.  I’ve never betrayed her.  Yet you’re the ‘glue’ that keeps her together, you’re the favorite.”

“And don’t you think I feel ashamed and guilty knowing this fact?” Marie snaps back at her. “I hate knowing that mom favors me over you…”

“Bullshit!” Jessica hops down off of the chair. “You love it!”

“Honestly, I…” before Marie can get the next word out, Jessica shoves her off of the chair, causing the chair and Marie to tip over and Marie to land on the ground below.

“You love it!  You revel in it!”

“Jessica, calm down!” Marie scrambles back to her feet only to get met by a hard, vicious right hand from Jessica that knocks her back down.  Immediately the few patrons on the patio stop and stare, Jessica is shocked at what she did as she finally begins to regain control.

“I…I’m sorry…”

Jessica turns and runs away, Marie pulls herself up to her knees and shouts…

“Jessica!  Wait!”

But Jessica does not listen, instead she continues to run, leaving Marie in the dust.

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On Camera

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“Nothing is real if you don’t believe in who you are.” ---Sylvester Stallone

A great deal has been made about reality, especially when it comes to my opponent.  Every chance she gets, Regan Street mocks him for his own rather…unique views about his own reality.  But then again, that’s all someone like that can do when she realizes her own reality of never getting a shot at the United States Championship.

At least, not until she grows up.

I could do the same if I wanted.  I could mock you all day long, Jinn, and believe me when I say I can get nasty with the best of them.  Just look at who my mother is; the infamous Dragon, and while she is reformed no one should ever think that I didn’t learn a few things from “The Dragon” Angelica Jones.

Then there’s my aunt, Kayla Jones.  They say a leopard never changes its spots and that is true with Kayla, whether the fans cheer her or whether they boo her, she always is and always has been and always will be a little bitchy.

Sorry, Aunt Kayla, but you’ve said it yourself.

I could draw upon that and get just as nasty as people like Regan Street but that’s not who I am anymore.  I’m not the same overbearing, arrogant bitch who threw temper tantrums when she lost.  Not anymore.  That person is gone.  So while it does admittedly pain me to say it, I will say congratulations, Jinn.  You beat me at Supreme Saturday from Puerto Rico.

I’m not going to try and make any excuses about how I was simply looking past you or how I was preoccupied or distracted with something else in my personal life, I’m not going to pass the blame off onto anything else and thus cheapen your win.  I threw my best at you and you beat me.

That is reality.  I have to accept it.

Another reality is that I am now in the place of the challenger and it is appropriate that I have that quote from Sylvester Stallone of Rocky fame because as the challenger I once again feel that addiction that I no longer felt when I was United States Champion.

You see, Jinn, what you do not realize yet is that being a champion is like a drug.  Once you’ve had a taste of that gold you have to have it again.  Once you have been a champion but then lost the belt, that hunger to be champion again will drive you insane until you get the gold back.  Some people can’t handle it.  Some people can’t take not being champion and they lose control.

Regan Street is a case study of that.

I won’t get that bad, I at least have some control over myself, but you had better believe that I have that drive, that hunger to be champion again; or, as the band Survivor put it in Rocky 3, I have that eye of the tiger, the thrill of the fight…

…don’t worry, I won’t break out into song, but understand that my new reality is that of a hungry challenger, a former champion who doesn’t just want but needs to have that championship gold back around her waist.  That’s my new reality.

And your new reality, Jinn, is that defender.  No longer are you trying to get where I am, you already ARE where I once was, you have achieved that goal and, as a said, congratulations, but coming with that is the responsibility of defending that spot from hungry competitors like me who will not stop until they have reclaimed the throne.

The pressure is also now on you, Jinn.  Just think, one more defense of that championship and you have a clean ride to Rise To Greatness.  While you suffered setbacks against some top SCW talent and attacks from the likes of Regan Street, despite all of that you can walk into the biggest event of the year as a champion.

But that’s not your reality, Jinn.  At least, it isn’t your reality just yet.  You still have one major roadblock on your Road To Rise To Greatness and that roadblock is The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, that roadblock is yours truly, “The Phoenix” Marie Annabelle Jones!

I want that to be my reality, Jinn; because, you can honestly all of those things about me.  I had setbacks in my SCW career that caused me to have to take some time off, but then I returned and became United States Champion, only to become the victim of attacks from Regan Street.  I overcame that and now I could also punch my ticket to Rise To Greatness as United States Champion.

I just have to get through one major roadblock named Jinn.

That scenario will become reality for me or for you, Jinn, and you had better believe that I will do everything in my power, sacrifice everything in my body, my heart, and my soul, every drop of blood, every tear, and every bead of sweat in my body in order to claim that reality as my own!

And you remember what Sly Stallone said about reality, right?  Nothing is real if you don’t believe in who you are.  Well I believe in myself, Jinn.  I believe in myself because I’ve been to the deepest darkest recesses of depression and I fought my way back.  I’ve been to the dark side and fought on the side of “evil” as some may call it but I fought my way back to the light.  I’ve been to hell back and lived to tell the tale.

So when you hear what I have to say next, understand that I do not say it out of arrogance or out of overconfidence.  I definitely do not say it because I’m some kind of egomaniac like some in this industry.  I say this because I am confident.  I say this because I KNOW who I am and I KNOW my reality.  I say this because I believe in myself.

I say this because I’ve played this game before and won.

Jinn, you may have defeated me in Puerto Rico at Supreme Saturday, but that won’t happen again.  That won’t happen in this rematch on Breakdown from El Paso, Texas.  That reality I described to you about overcoming the odds, capturing the United States Championship, and marching into Rise To Greatness as the champion?

I’m going to claim that reality as my own.

You are good, Jinn, you are very good, there is no denying that, because you don’t win a title in SCW without being good at what you do.  Hell, I know from experience how good you are.  But trust me when I say I’ve done my homework, I’ve reviewed the tapes, and I’ve made the proper adjustments.  Things will be different this time; because as good as you are, this time from El Paso, Texas, I will be better.

This time, I will be the one who will raise the championship high over my head when all is said and done and my reality will be set in stone, my road to Rise To Greatness will be clearly marked with no further roadblocks to stop me.

Reality, Jinn.  We’re both going to have to face reality in El Paso, but only one of us will get the reality we want.  The other will have to settle.

I’m not settling, Jinn.  Not this time.  I want to become a two time SCW United States Champion.  I want to walk into Rise To Greatness as the champion.  And if ending your reign is what I have to do then so be it.  I will do what needs to be done, because I am The Phoenix, I am The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, and by the time our match on Breakdown has concluded, I will be your two time SCW United States Champion.