Trouble In Paradise: Part 7

==========

Monologue

==========

You learn a great deal about yourself when you face adversity.  When trials and tribulation stare you in the eye, when you are backed into a corner, are you going to crouch down into a fetal position and whimper or are you going to fight like never before?

It’s easy to step out onto the stage with a microphone and claim to be the best, but you have to back it up with actions and having nice big championship belt helps the argument as well.  It has been well over a year since I could claim to be the best wrestler of any promotion and, to be perfectly frank, my actions inside of the wrestling ring haven’t lived up to my standards either.

Now you may say to yourself “Marie, since that time you were UWA X Class Champion and SCW United States Champion”…but damn it I am a Jones and I hold myself to greater standards.  I have to be the best and lately I haven’t been performing like the best.  Now I could have been the type to slink away and just give up but that’s just not me, that isn’t who I am.  I never give up and I never quit.  I will one day be the best and that starts with my performance.

I still have it in me to perform not just at my best but to raise my game, to perform better than I have ever performed in my career.  That talent and that ability, that potential, is still there, I just have to tap into that potential energy and turn it into kinetic energy…energy that will lead me back to the promised land, energy that will lead me to the single most prestigious championship in professional wrestling, greater, even than the championship I lost over a year ago.

Yes, I have faced a great deal of adversity recently, but I am not going to let it stop me, I am not going to let it hinder me.  I am going to learn from it and I am going to use it as motivation as I claim what I want, what I need….

…the SCW World Championship.

==========

Off Camera

==========

Marie Annabelle Jones feels deep down in her heart and soul that she must settle certain issues, deal with unresolved problems between herself and her mother, before she can move on to bigger and better things; namely her upcoming battle royal match at Future Is Now in what could very well earn her a world championship opportunity if she can be victorious.  Jones cannot afford any distractions, none whatsoever.  Anything that gets her mind off of the task at hand could topple her, could upend her chances at getting the title shot.  She already felt the consequences of what a mental distraction could cost her; she lost her match on Breakdown to Torsten Voigt, losing a great deal of momentum in the process.

Now more than ever she knows that this is a meeting that must take place.  It doesn’t make it any easier, though…

We find Marie in the passengers’ seat of a red Ford Taurus. Her mother, the matriarch of the Jones Family, Angelica Jones, is driving.  With the exception of the occasional glance to the left to get a look at her mother, Marie has had her face forward nearly the entire trip since they departed from the hotel just about ten minutes ago.  Marie has tried to get her mother to open up, to talk about something, anything, but to no avail.  Angelica has remained stoically quiet.  It is an eerie calm and somewhat troubles Marie, for she has not seen her mother like this before.  She has never been this quiet, this calm.

“Are we almost there?”

“Almost.”

Marie is stunned that she actually got her mother to answer with “almost”, and she is thankful to get that answer.  Truth is, she doesn’t know where her mother is going.  Her mother insisted on driving to a particular location, a location she did not reveal about to Marie ahead of time, and she has been silent ever since.  Marie tried to get answers out of her but without success.  She is just along for the ride, not knowing where that ride will take her.

Still, the younger Jones tries to get her mother to open up…

“Funny, you know?  I wouldn’t have to ask if we were almost there if I knew where ‘there’ was, right?”

Marie laughs uneasily but she hears no such laughter from her mother.  Angelica remains silent, stoic, and quiet.  Marie, for her part, is doing a good job of maintaining her own composure.  She does not like the current attitude of her mother, Angelica Jones.  She just wishes she could get some answers from her.  But everyone has their breaking points, including Marie.

“Mom, will you please say something!”

“We’re here.”

“Huh?”

Marie feels the car slowing down to a stop as Angelica pulls the Ford Taurus over to the side of the road.  Angelica turns the vehicle off and takes the keys out of the ignition.  Marie watches with some bewilderment and confusion as her mother steps out of the vehicle.  She sighs as she realizes she must follow suit.  Marie takes off her seatbelt and then exits the vehicle as well.

Once outside Marie notices that her mother is staring off into the distance, staring blankly, standing in front of the vehicle that brought them here.  Marie walks over to join her in front of the Ford Taurus and watches her closely for a reaction but gets nothing.  Marie waves a hand in front of her mother’s face but Angelica remains unblinking.  It is chilling.  It is creepy.  It makes Marie nervous.

“Mom, what’s wrong?  Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” Marie retorts, shaking her head. “You’re not acting like yourself.”

“Trust me, Marie.  I am fine.”

“Bullshit!” Marie exclaims. “You’ve been acting like a damn zombie ever since we left the hotel!  And then you brought us here, to the middle of nowhere!”

“You wanted to talk.  So talk.”

“Sure but first why did you bring me out here?”

“Because we need to be here so we can talk.”

“Damn it, mom!” Now Marie’s anger begins to come to the forefront. “Where the hell is here?!”

“Look…”

Angelica motions with her right hand up towards the skyline.  Marie looks forward and finally she spots it; the towering vision that is the Salk Lake Temple off in the distance.  The three large towers touching the heavens themselves, with the one in the center looming the highest, with the infamous “All Seeing Eye” as its centerpiece.  It truly is an awesome sight, awesome enough to squelch Marie’s anger.

“Wow…” Marie’s voice trails off as she seemingly forgets about anything and everything else, watching this sight from just outside downtown Salt Lake City.

“Talk.”

“Huh?” Startled back to attention after several moments of staring at the impressive Mormon Temple, Marie turns to look back at her mother. “What?”

“You wanted to talk.  So talk.”

“Oh, right…” Marie shakes her head, regaining her composure as she tries to collect her thoughts, recalling exactly why she set up this meeting in the first place “…well, mom, there’s just a lot of things we need to talk about, some problems that I think exist between you and I, and maybe something you need to share with me.”

“You’ve spoke with Kayla, haven’t you?” Angelica says, still frowning.

“Yes, I have, but she didn’t tell me everything.”

“See that temple?” Angelica points again to the temple. “It is majestic, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I agree, it is beautiful, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“A great deal.”

Angelica sits on the hood of the car.  Marie shrugs her shoulders and follows suit, sitting down next to her as she continues to listen to her mother.

“So much symbolism in one building…” Angelica muses out loud “…take the centerpiece, for instance.  The All Seeing Eye is there, reminding us that God sees into all of our hearts, souls, and knows all truth.”

Angelica looks over at her daughter. “Marie, no matter what may happen to me, know that God is always watching over you.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Marie answers back, shaking her head. “You’re scaring me.”

“There’s nothing to be scared of, I’m just speaking the truth.”

“And that’s what I want to know.” Marie demands, getting a little loud, her anger rising ever so slightly. “Kayla told me that my grandmother might be alive.  Is that true?”

There is a pause as Angelica turns to look away from Marie.  She notices this pause, this hesitation, and immediately shakes her head vehemently.

“No, you’re not getting out of this one, mom.  I noticed your reluctance to answer the question, your hesitation, but you’re not getting out of it.  Tell me…is my grandmother alive?”

After another brief pause Angelica finally turns to face Marie again and shakes her head.

“No…my mother, Kelly Jones, is not alive. She is, in fact, dead…”

“Mom, I…” she shakes her head with a note of disappointment on her face “…why are you lying to me?”

“I’m not lying.  Your grandmother is dead.”

“Your reluctance to answer direct questions says otherwise.” Marie remarks back. “Something happened in Europe that changed you, mom.  What is it?  What happened?”

Angelica pauses again, this time that stoic gaze breaks as she finally smiles warmly at her daughter.  Angelica reaches out and runs a hand through Marie’s long red hair.

“I just realized that you’ve been right about a great many things, Marie.”

“Huh?” Marie says, looking back at her mother curiously.

“Look back at the temple…” Angelica points to the Salk Lake Temple again “…there is another image there, an image of a beehive.  It is not only Mormon imagery but it is also imagery used by the Freemasons.  The beehive represents industry and perseverance.”

She lets a hand rest on Marie’s shoulder. “Marie, you are the very definition of perseverance.  You persevered despite losing your father at a very young age, you persevered without me for a couple of years when I was locked up in a mental institution, you persevered when your sister Kimberly went insane and kidnapped you, you persevered through tumultuous times in your wrestling career including the troubled times in UWA that led to your debut in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  You have persevered through a rough spot here in SCW to the point where you now could find yourself in the top spot, next in line for a shot at the SCW World Championship.”

“Mom, if this is about what I said a month or so ago, I…”

“Hush…” Angelica shakes her head “…listen, you were right, you are the first ever Marie Annabelle Jones and I am proud of you, but if it means anything, I am also proud to say that you have surpassed me.”

“No, not at all.” Marie remarks, shaking her head. “You are a thirteen time world champion in multiple companies, you…”

“…titles are a dime a dozen in this industry.” Angelica says, interrupting her daughter. “It’s about talent and, Marie, you are far and above more talented than I ever could hope to be.  You have surpassed me, Marie.  That’s what I wanted to tell you today.”

Angelica leans over and embraces her daughter in a tight hug.  For her part, Marie isn’t quite sure what to think of this.  After breaking the embrace Angelica is still smiling as she asks the next question.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Uh, nothing….” Marie answers in a deliberate lie.

“Seriously?” Angelica asks with a grin. “So we drove out here for nothing?”

“No, not for nothing.” Marie looks back at the temple. “I mean, this is a beautiful sight to behold.”

“Yeah…I guess it is…”

==========

On Camera

==========

The Future Is Now…last week it was just a cute catchphrase to use in front of the camera, but this week it is for real, this week the landscape changes when the future of Supreme Championship Wrestling will be decided where it should be decided: inside of a wrestling ring.  And damn it, I am going to make certain that I am among those who set the course for the future of this company.  I want it, more than anything else I want to be the future and I want it because of who I am and what I can do inside of a wrestling ring.  Maybe I haven’t shown it lately, but by God I know that I can do things in that ring better than anyone else on this roster.

I think it’s time that I proved to the world that I can.

Remember who I am; I am Marie Jones; that’s right, JONES.  Wrestling runs in my family and it is in my blood.  Jones women do not accept second place or third place or fourth place or even fifth place, yet we very well could see some of that at The Future Is Now in the battle royal I am participating in, a battle royal to determine a number one contender.  If there are places, it won’t matter to me.  Anything less than first place to me is a failure because of who I am and because of what I was born to do…

…I was born to win.  I was born to a family of winners who will accept nothing less than the best.  And just like those who came before me, the great Angelica Jones and Kayla Jones, former two time SCW World Tag Team Champions, and even my father, the less-known Sean Williams, himself a former title holder back in Global Division of Wrestling, the company where I made my pro-debut back in January of 2007.

Why am I doing this?  Why do I want to be the future and, more specifically, to get the world title shot?  Because I am paving the way for the future, not just of SCW, but for my own family.  It’s one thing to say that you are The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling…or at least The Crown Jewel of the Jones Family…but it is a different thing altogether to actually go out there and prove it to the world, to shut everyone and make it happen.

I’m ready to make it happen.  For far too long I’ve been letting my family down and I’ve been letting my fans down.  I have been letting them all down ever since losing the United States Championship just a few short weeks from Rise To Greatness.  I want to make it up to my fans and, more importantly, to my family name by proving to them all that I am still the future, that I am still the best, and that I deserve this world championship opportunity.  There’s no better way to do that than to go through nine other superstars in the battle royal and win it all.

And damn it, I will win it all.  I accept nothing less than complete and utter victory.

Why else do I want…no, NEED…why else do I NEED to win this battle royal and then go on to become SCW World Champion?  One word…or rather three initials…UWA.

Am I still a little bitter about that?  Yes, I admit that I am a little bitter about my time in UWA.  I was a former UWA World Champion and X-Class Champion and apparently the only champion not to get a rematch, whereas all the others did.  I took my talents here to SCW where I became a United States Champion but my journey towards proving myself to everyone else, that the spirit of The Phoenix still lives on and will not die, that journey and that Phoenix’s flight is not over.  There is still one final goal to accomplish…

…the SCW World Championship.  My family already knows how good I am, proving myself to them is for my own psyche, but I want to remind UWA what they once had and I want to remind them of that by becoming SCW World Champion.

To make it to the top of Supreme Championship Wrestling would not only be the ultimate achievement for me as a competitor, it would not only prove my critics wrong, but it would also prove to myself that I am exactly what I say that I am…that I am The Crown Jewel, The Phoenix, and the next leader, the next matriarch of The Jones Wrestling Family…it would be my hallmark achievement to become SCW World Heavyweight Champion…and I am not going to let anyone stop me.

I damn sure want this more than someone who has already been to the top; people like Ace Marshall, Syren, Ravyn, Alistaire Alloco, Christy Matthews, and Alexis Quinne.  They’ve been to the top of the mountain and tasted the gold and I’m sure they’d love to go back to the top, but this isn’t about them…this pay per view, this battle royal, it is not about them…it is about the Future.  They are part of the past and I do not want to sit idly by and watch as some of the same old, same old reaches up and grabs that brass ring.

That brass ring belongs to me and I am going to be the one to take it.

Donovan Kayl, Brittany Lohan, you are two of the athletes in this battle royal that I respect more than anyone else.  I wish you both luck and I truly mean that, but understand this; you’ve had your chances.  You’ve both been associated with SCW a lot longer than I have.  This is my time now and I am going to prove it, even if it is at your expense.

Bree Lancaster, we’ve danced before and yes, you got the better of me.  But I’m more focused now and I am more determined now and while you may think that you are the future, you may think that this battle royal is YOUR golden ticket…at the end of the day you are just plain wrong.  You do not want this more than I do.

No one in this battle royal wants it more than I do.  Each and every one of my nine opponents represent just nine obstacles that I must overcome and damn it, I will overcome them all, I will reach the finish line, and I will have my shot at the SCW World Championship…

…because the future is now and the future is me!