Ultimate Equalizer

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February 10th, 2019

Boston, Massachusetts

Off Camera

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Usually death is the ultimate equalizer.  After all, everyone has to die eventually and no amount of money and no amount of political influence can change that fact.  Everyone dies and there is nothing we as human beings can do about it.  In that sense, death is fair.  Death takes everyone regardless of socio-economic status and regardless of political persuasion or sexual orientation.  Death takes everyone no matter who you happen to be.  It is truly fair.

Marie Annabelle Jones used to agree with that statement.  She used to believe that death was fair.  Now that she’s experiencing firsthand the emotional and mental pains of the death of a loved one, she finds it difficult to admit that this death, the death of her husband Arthur, is fair by any stretch of the imagination.

Arthur Pond was still young, far too young for death to take him.  Arthur had so much left to give to the world.  He had so much he could still accomplish in his life.  And he had so much love he could have given to his wife Marie.  It just doesn’t seem fair that the young would die so early in their lives.

Perhaps that is why this particular death has rocked Marie so much?  In truth, what really has shaken Marie to her foundations is the guilt she feels on top of the grief of her loss.  Arthur’s death was a suicide.  He shot himself after he and Marie got into an argument and she kicked him out of the house.

And Marie blames herself.

She’s been trying to remain strong throughout the whole ordeal.  A part of her is glad that this is almost over, that she can at least attempt to move on once Arthur has been laid to rest.  All that remains now is for Father Heiney to complete the funeral mass.

Father Heiney has been the Jones family’s local parish priest for as long as she can remember.  He has been very good to them and has tried to help them in any way he can.  He hated seeing Marie like this.  He hated seeing Marie lose Arthur in the manner that she lost him.  The least he could do is to provide his services to perform the ritual of burial to, hopefully, allow Arthur’s soul to rest in peace in the after life, even if it didn’t end peacefully in the current life.

“Almighty God and Father, it is our certain faith that your Son, who died on the Cross, was raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.” Father Heiney gazes up and out into the audience of onlookers and mourners, most of whom is composed of the Jones family as the deceased did not have much family to speak of.  The deceased is Arthur Pond, Marie’s husband.

“Grant that through this mystery your servant Arthur Jonathan Pond, who has gone to his rest in Christ, may share in the joy of his resurrection.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”

The widow, Marie Jones, sits outside in the church cemetery.  Arthur had no real family and he died young, thus he never had any real plans for death.  It was Marie’s idea to allow Arthur to rest eternally in the Jones family Mausoleum.

“Before we go our separate ways, let us take our leave of our brother, Arthur Jonathan Pond.  May our farewell express our affection for him; may it ease our sadness and strengthen our hope.  One day we shall joyfully greet him again when the love of Christ, which conquers all things, destroys even death itself.”

The sun shone brilliantly and the virescent color of the spring day under its glare was offensively bright and cheerful.  It was as if nature itself conspired to go against the grain of the somber atmosphere that the occasion presented.  It was as if nature was determined to show Marie Annabelle Jones that the world would go on without her beloved Arthur Pond, her beloved husband.  It shouldn’t.  Everything should be as grey and foggy as my emotions, it should be cold and damp with silent air.  But the birds still sang and the flowers still bloomed.

Marie struggled to hold back the grief and tears flowed steadily and silently down her immobile face, feeling bruised inside, feeling numbness, emptiness, walking behind the mahogany coffin, saying goodbye to her sweet Arthur, although he was gone already.  Marie’s grief was great and the redheaded Boston native was unwilling to acknowledge the finality of death.  She didn’t want to admit that she would never again gaze upon Arthur’s face, never again feel his embrace, see the warmth in his eyes, and be surrounded by his love.

It doesn’t seem fair; none of this seemed fair.  A part of her mind blamed herself for pushing Arthur to this point.  She was the one who kicked him out of the house.  She told him to leave.  She never knew he would take such a drastic action as to kill himself.  If she had any inkling he was disturbed or depressed in any way, if she had any idea that kicking him out would push him over the edge, she would never have done it.  She would have just listened.  She would have tried to talk things out.  She would have tried to make it work.

No, it isn’t fair, but life has seemingly been unfair to Marie since day one.  Her mother gave her up at birth; and when she was reunited with her biological parents as a teen it was her own mother who murdered her father.  Her innocence was taken from her at a drastically young when she was raped.  All she ever wanted for her child was to have a good father figure, a good role model to look up to; but even that fell through as her first boyfriend, Damian Daniel Toole was an abusive drunk and then Arthur Pond, who she thought was finally Mr. Right, ended up committing suicide.

“Marie…”

The Phoenix had been lost in her own thoughts and didn’t even notice that Father Heiney had wrapped up the service and had made his exit.  All of the onlookers and mourners have also begun to make their exit.  Marie is one of the few left, along with her aunt, Kayla Jones-Snow.  It was her aunt who got her attention.

“...Marie, the service is over.  Do you want to go and say your final goodbye to Arthur?”

Marie knows that she probably should go up and say at least a little something.  Yet she is finding it difficult to get the courage to do so.  There is a momentary pause as Marie just stares straight ahead with a blank look on her face.  Kayla can tell that her niece isn’t quite sure what to do and pats her on the back.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to.” Kayla states. “We don’t have to.”

She has an out.  Her aunt said as much.  But Marie knows that she needs to be strong.  She knows that she needs to move on past this part of her life and part of that moving on process involves saying her final goodbye to her lost loved one.  The younger Jones looks up at her aunt and shakes her head.

“No, Aunt Kayla.  It’s ok.  I want to see him.”

“Alright,” Kayla takes her niece’s hand and squeezes it tightly “but know that I’m right here with you the entire time.  Ok?”

“Thanks, Aunt Kayla.” Marie answers, nodding her head.

The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling stands up and, while holding tightly onto her aunt’s hand, walks slowly down the center aisle of chairs up the carpet laid out on the grassy area of the cemetery up towards the coffin containing the remains of Arthur Pond.  This coffin will eventually be placed inside the Jones family Mausoleum but for now it rests just outside.  Marie approaches the coffin, the lid still up, and she gazes upon the empty, dead face of her late husband Arthur.

The funeral director did his job quite well.  Arthur’s body looks nearly perfect.  If she didn’t know any better, Marie could easily see him sitting right up in the coffin and embracing Marie in his loving arms one last time before crossing over.

But that’s just a child’s dream.  Marie knows that her time with Arthur has now come to its conclusion.  She brushes a tear out of her eye as she tries to remain strong and composed.

“Goodbye, Arthur.  And I’m sorry…” the ginger sighs and shakes her head “...I’m so sorry, Arthur.”

“Oh Marie,” Kayla takes her niece and embraces her in a tight hug “it isn’t your fault.  Quit blaming yourself.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, Aunt Kayla,” Marie breaks the embrace and gazes into Kayla’s eyes with her own tear-filled eyes “but it is my fault.  I drove him away.  I kicked him out of the house.  I just…”

Marie shakes her head “...I just had no idea he would take his own life.”

“Sweetie, I don’t think anyone had any idea that he would do something like that.” Kayla places a comforting hand on her niece’s shoulder. “You can’t control that.  No one can.  So please, stop blaming yourself.”

“Easier said than done.” Marie answers, bowing her head.

Marie and Kayla hear footsteps approaching.  They look up and notice Angelica Jones, Marie’s mother and Kayla’s older sister, approaching.  Marie scowls angrily at her mother who just seems to look on with pity.

“How are you holding up, Marie?” Angelica asks.

“How do you think I’m holding up?!” Marie snaps back angrily.

Marie’s relationship with her mother is yet another complicated matter.  Marie hasn’t exactly gotten along with her mother in recent months.  It all started with the power struggle that erupted in Supreme Championship Wrestling where both compete as professional athletes.  Marie has chosen to side with Katya and Dark Fantasy, thinking that Katya will run things in a more fair manner.  Angelica has sided with the group fighting against Katya.  Being on opposing sides of a power struggle only intensified issues that were already there between Marie and Angelica, just ready to boil over, ready to erupt like an active volcano.

Angelica is far from the perfect parent.  She abandoned Marie and Kimberly when they were born.  That was bad enough but when Angelica was reunited with Marie, it wasn’t long after when Angelica would lose her mind and put a bullet into the brain of Sean Williams, Marie and Kim’s father, thus ending his life.  That alone angers Marie to no end.  Marie wants her son, Sean Connor Jones, to have a father figure in his life.  Marie could have had one but Angelica took that from her.

“I’ll bring the car around, ok?” Kayla tells Marie as she pats her on the back.  Marie nods her head and watches Kayla walk off, giving her some time alone with her mother; time she does not necessarily want but time she knows she has to deal with eventually.

“I just want to check and make sure you’re ok, that’s all.” Angelica says as she cautiously approaches her obviously distressed daughter.

“Well I’m fine.” Marie snaps back coldly.

“You say that you’re fine but are you really?” Angelica asks quizzically. “Trust me, I know.  I’ve had to deal with loss before and it is very difficult to hide but I have become very good at hiding it.”

“You didn’t lose anyone the way I did.”

“Oh no?  Granted I may not have had anyone commit suicide on my watch but Lindsey Carter, she disappeared and I have no idea where she is.  She may be dead for all I know.  My father, your grandfather, he’s dead.  And I had to watch my own mother get murdered.  So don’t tell me that I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone and don’t stand there and act like you’ve had it worse than anyone else.”

There is a tense stare down between mother and daughter.  Eventually Marie breaks the ice with a sigh.

“You’re right.  I’m sorry.  But I don’t...I still don’t…”

“What is it?”

“I still don’t think I want you here right now.” Marie shakes her head. “I don’t know, I just know that I have to work through some things right now.  I have to do some serious introspection and serious thinking about where my life goes from here.  And I’d rather you not be here to involve yourself.  Because whether you like it or not, mom, this is my life.  I have to make these life changing decisions for myself.  And Arthur’s death is just one of many things I have to deal with on my own.”

Marie reaches out and takes her mother’s hands.  She squeezes them tightly. “Maybe I was wrong for being as harsh towards you as I was?  Maybe…”

“I take it this has to do with more than just Arthur.”

Angelica’s daughter nods her head. “Arthur and I had a heated argument the night he killed himself.  We argued about many things, including my infidelity and my association with Dark Fantasy and Katya.  We were arguing about the some of the same things you and I argue about, mom.  I kicked him out for treating me like a child and not being supportive.  Then this happens…”

“I hope you understand that this isn’t your fault.”

“Aunt Kayla kept saying that but it’s easy to say it but much harder to actually believe it.  I just know that I need to cope with what happened to Arthur and I need to understand why he did it.  I also need to make sure that I’m making the right decisions.”

“I see,” Angelica remarks as she nods her head, a telling look that shows that she realizes where her daughter is going with this “you know what I think.”

“Of course.  But I need to figure this out for myself.  This is my life and I can’t let you try to impose your will on me, mom.  That’s all I’ve been trying to tell you.  Maybe I am wrong about Katya and Dark Fantasy?  After what happened in that championship match on Breakdown I am definitely suspicious.  But then again, they’ve never done wrong by me before.  So what do I do?”

Marie shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know yet, but whatever I do I want to arrive at that decision on my own.  By myself.”

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February 13th, 2019

Orlando, Florida

Off Camera

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Just like death is fair and comes for everyone eventually, life too consistent in the sense that it moves on.  You may think yourself as the most important person in the world but life always moves on even after you die.  Marie has buried her husband Arthur and now, just a few days later, she has already had to move on herself.  Because life does not stand still and neither does she.

It’s odd for Marie to find herself alone in a hotel room in Orlando, Florida.  She used to take her husband Arthur on the tours with her and he would stay at the hotel with her.  And yet it still shouldn’t feel very odd.  For the past several months, ever since Arthur found out about Marie’s affair with Blake Mason, he hadn’t been traveling with her.  Marie wouldn’t allow it due to his insane jealousy.  She was worried his jealousy would distract her from the task at hand.  And sure enough, keeping Arthur away tended to help her wrestling career.  She has truly had one of the best runs of her SCW career, which has included two shots at the SCW World Championship.

What makes this unusual is the realization that she will never again have her beloved Arthur with her in the hotel rooms.  Never again will she have him with her on tour to support her.  It’s like a shot to the gut for Marie and it makes this particular day all that much more difficult.

But as the sunlight streams in from the outside, shining upon Marie’s face, she realizes that she does have to get up.  Breakdown is tonight and she has to put in an appearance.  Not only that, she wants answers.  She knows she was within a hair of beating Syren to become SCW World Champion and then things went horribly wrong.  Somewhere, someway, someone screwed her out of the gold.  Was it Syren or was it Kimberly?   That’s the question Marie wants answered.

The Phoenix can’t get any of these questions answered while still lying in bed.  Jones throws the covers off and then she swings her legs over the side of the bed and stands up.  Marie is wearing a pink silk teddy and matching lace panties.  She walks slowly and robotically across the floor to where finds a pile of her clothes lying on the floor.  Just before she can begin dressing she hears a knocking on the door.

“Damn it.” Marie exclaims, rolling her eyes.  Instead of the clothes she walks over to a closet where she finds a long black robe hanging from the door knob.  She pulls the robe off and throws it over her.  It’s long enough to cover her entire body and most of her legs.

The knocking is heard again and Marie sighs out of frustration. “Coming!  Geez, be patient, will you?”

The Phoenix approaches the door as the person, whoever it is, continues their incessant knocking.  Finally Marie opens the door and is somewhat surprised to find Kimberly Williams, her identical twin sister, standing there.

“Oh, Kim, it’s you!” Marie exclaims. “I wasn’t exactly expecting you…”

“Can’t I visit my favorite twin?” Kim asks playfully and with a wink.

“I’m your only twin.” Marie retorts. “But that’s not really why I’m surprised.  I’m more surprised that you used the door like a normal person.  Normally you break in or climb in through the window or some crazy shit like that.”

“Yeah, I admit, I thought about it but I figured you could use some normalcy right now.  Considering…” Kim’s voice trails off “...you know….”

“Yeah,” Marie sighs and nods her head “I appreciate that, actually.”

“So, uh,” Kim motions to the inside “can I come in?”

Marie nods and steps aside, allowing her sister entrance into the hotel room.  Immediately Kimberly flops down on the king size bed, making herself at home.  Marie sits down on the edge of the bed and doesn’t even look at Kimberly.  A few moments pass before Kimberly swings around and sits up next to Marie.  Kimberly looks deep into her sister’s eyes and detects the sadness, the grief.

“Hey, uh sorry about Arthur.”

“Thanks, Kim.”

“And I’m sure this is all meaningless in the grand scheme of life and death and shit but, uh, sorry about last week.  Sorry about Syren and the world championship match.”

Marie turns and stares at Kimberly stoically. “Kim, I do appreciate what you’re trying to do.  I really and truly do.  You’re looking out for me, you’re trying to help, and I do understand.  And I know you don’t trust Katya or Dark Fantasy.”

“Actually I just want to maim them, gut them, and feed their entrails to hungry pitbulls.” Kimberly says with a creepy grin on her face.

“Right, I get that, but I’m going to tell you the same thing I told mom.”

“Whoa, hold on a sec,” Kimberly interrupts Marie in mid-sentence “you spoke to mom?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t deck her?”

“No,” Marie chuckles “actually, it was rather civil.”

Kimberly smiles warmly. “Good.  That’s real good, sis.  I was really hoping you two could sort things out.  Things are so much better and you both are so much happier when you are getting along with one another.”

“I can agree with that.” Marie nods her head. “And maybe saying ‘we’re getting along’ is a bit premature, but we definitely have made some progress.  We have an understanding.”

“What do you understand?” Kim asks quizzically.

“Mom understands that there are certain decisions that I need to make on my own.  That goes for you too.  Kim, I get that you want to help me.  I understand all of that.  But I need to make my own path.  If I succeed I want to succeed because I did it on my own.  If I fail I don’t want to be able to blame anyone but myself.”

“I understand.” Kimberly nods her head.

“Good, because this past Breakdown is a perfect example.  I lost but not because Syren was any better than me but by disqualification.  Now that means I have an excuse.  Someone screwed me, Kim.  I don’t know who is more to blame but what irks me is that I wasn’t in control.  If I lost because Syren was simple better than me, I could’ve lived with it.  But now I’ll never know.”

“Well like I said, I’m sorry.  I guess I fucked that one up, huh?”

“I’m not saying that.” Marie shakes her head. “I still don’t know the whole story.  A lot went down that I don’t know about.  I’m looking for answers and I’m reserving my judgment until I get those answers.”

“I understand.  Hey, do you have any beer?”

Marie nods her head and points to the mini-fridge. “Sure, help yourself.”

“Great!” Kimberly hops up and walks over to the fridge.  She opens it up and reaches inside, producing a can of beer.  She gets another and tosses it to Marie.  Marie looks at it and shakes her head.

“No, thanks Kim.  Not this early.”

“You might need it with what I’m going to tell you.”

“Oh?” Marie’s eyes widen out of curiosity.

Kimberly opens her can of beer and takes a swig.  Then she sits back down on the edge of the bed next to Marie.

“You know I like to stalk people, right?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Marie rolls her eyes.

“Well ever since the whole thing between you and Blake came out into the open and Arthur found out, I started keeping tabs on Arthur.  Mainly because I was worried about him.  You know?  I was worried about what he might do in retaliation or to himself or whatever.  I mean, you see what he did to...you know…”

“Yeah, unfortunately I remember and will probably never forget.” Marie says out of frustration. “Get to the point.”

“Well apparently while you were on tour with SCW, he had been taking secretly seeing a psychiatrist and he paid him under the table in cash so that the psychiatrist wouldn’t have to record any paper trail.”

“That makes no sense.” Marie states. “Arthur was in perfect mental health.  Why would he want to see a psychiatrist?”

“Apparently he kept a few secrets from us, sis.” Kimberly says somberly.  “From what I understand, Arthur has always had a battle with depression.  It got severe when he found out about your affair with Blake.”

“Oh my God…” Marie’s voice trails off as she tries to take in what she’s just heard “...I really did kill him.”

“No, Marie, don’t say that.” Kim sighs. “Ah shit, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Get out, Kim.”

“But sis…”

“GET THE FUCK OUT!”

Kimberly sighs and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Marie.  I really am.  I shouldn’t have said anything but I thought you would want to know.”

Kimberly gets up off of the bed and makes her exit.  Once Kim has exited Marie buries her face in her hands and begins to cry.

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On Camera

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All I have ever wanted since coming to Supreme Championship Wrestling was a fair shake.  It’s the one thing I did not get in UWA.  It’s what I had hoped SCW would grant me.  And yet despite everything I gave, all of my blood and sweat and tears that I gave for this industry, everything I sacrificed for this industry and for this company, I was still largely ignored.  I was ignored in favor of obese jackasses who peddle pornography, drug addicts spouting off inane rambling about Wonderlands and Lizard Kings, and losers who get things handed to them on a silver platter just because of their damn name.  I was ignored by SCW management in favor of these undeserving imbeciles.

Until Katya came along.  Katya and Dark Fantasy told me that if they had their way things would be different.  I was told I would get the world championship opportunity that I rightfully deserved.  I admit I was skeptical but I was also open minded.  Hey, Mr. D had his chance and nothing changed.  Why the hell not try something different for a change?  I mean, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I’m not insane and I’m not stupid.  I’m also not naive.  I know damn who I am dealing with.  I knew going in about the reputation of Ravyn and Syren.  I’ve had my guard up around them since day one of my association with them.  But that didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to give them a chance.

My reward for giving them a chance was not one but two opportunities at the SCW World Championship.

That’s all I’ve ever wanted.  I just wanted an opportunity and I knew that if given that opportunity that I had the potential to get the job done.  I know that I have the tools necessary to defeat anyone on this roster.  My first opportunity was against Sienna Swann at the End of the Special but I didn’t get the job done.

No excuses.  She beat me fair and square in the center of the ring.  But you see, I have no problem accepting a loss, so long as I’ve had a fair opportunity.  On that night she was the better athlete.

My next opportunity was a week ago.  Breakdown.  I fought Syren in what I thought would be the match of my career.  I expected it to be a show stealer and in many ways it was.  We had a hell of a match and that match should have been the highlight of the show.  And had Syren beaten me straight up I would have again had no qualms with admitting that on that particular night, Syren was just a little better.

Oh but no, heaven forbid a wrestling match actually end without controversy!  There was so much damn chaos in the ring that it was hard to keep track of it all!  Masked vigilantes running around, Syren wielding a championship belt apparently ready to strike, and now yet again I’m left confused, befuddled, and just unsure of who or what I can trust as being real anymore.

There is one person I know I can trust and that person is me.  I am The Phoenix and The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling.  I know I can count on myself to live up to my word when I say that I will always give it my all inside of the wrestling ring.  I may not be able to count on certain people living up to their word when they promise me opportunities or I may not be able to count on certain people to live up to their promise to stay out of my business when I’m competing for the richest prize in our industry, but I can always count on the greatest in ring performer of this generation to get the job done and that person is me!

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  I won’t be fooled again.  I’m done relying on others to give me a leg up.  I’m going to take  matters into my own hands and there is no better opportunity to do just that than with the Trios Tournament.

Earning a Trios Contract will give me the ultimate ability to create my OWN opportunity.  I can create an opportunity for myself that makes it impossible for well intentioned idiots to stick their nose into my business or for champions to get intentionally disqualified.  With a Trios Contract I can cover all of the bases and ensure, without a shadow of a doubt, that I get the fair opportunity I deserve.  I can virtually guarantee myself the one prize that has eluded me since coming to SCW…

...the World Championship.

Do you think I can get along with my tag team partners?  The Hellbilly Goddard and Konrad Raab?  You damn right I can.  They may like me, they may not like me.  From what I understand, Konrad doesn’t think much of me.  Konrad can kiss my adorable little ass.  But we don’t have to be friends.  We just have to get along and be tag team partners, we have to be professionals, for one night, as we work towards a common goal.

I mean hell, look at our team kiddos, and you realize that this may be the team with the most differences in terms of look and personality.  We all look different, we all have different personalities, and we all damn sure have different outlooks on life.  But one thing all three of us have in common is the fact that we are professionals and we all are competitors.  We all want to win.

Good news for you two chuckle heads is that on eight separate occasions I have been a world tag team champion and almost every time it was with a different partner.  That means I can work with anyone and get the job done.  I can put my differences aside and work towards the goal of victory.

Question is can you do the same?  If you can, we three, Team Dark Horse if you will, will be unstoppable.  No one thinks we can get the job done.  No one thinks we can get along and survive and ultimately win this whole damn tournament.

I say we give them all the one finger salute and show them that their opinions mean bullshit in the grand scheme of things.  I say we throw down the gauntlet and kick all of their asses in route to winning the Trios Tournament.  I say we shove their opinions right down their fucking throats.