==========
Scene 1
Off Camera
==========
Breakdown
from Indianapolis, Indiana was just the shot in the arm Marie Annabelle Jones
needed. The Phoenix defeated Blake Mason
on Breakdown, giving her much needed momentum heading into her United States
Championship rematch against Jinn on Breakdown from El Paso, Texas. A victory over Blake Mason, someone who has
been in the main event against the likes of Kelcey Wallace, Selena Frost, and
others, was a big boost for Marie’s confidence.
Now, more than ever, she feels she is ready to take on Jinn and she is
feeling confident about her chances to recapture the SCW United States
Championship.
If only she
felt just as confident about repairing the fractured Jones family.
Jones can’t
help but feel responsible, in a way, for a lot of the problems that have been
plaguing the Jones family recently. Her
mother, Angelica Jones, has always favored her over the other children,
including Jessica, Marie’s half-sister and Kimberly, Marie’s identical twin
sister. Marie, according to Angelica,
was the glue that kept her sane.
Needless to say, this created friction amongst Marie and Jessica,
friction that would grow over the years.
Kimberly
would take her rage to a new level by attempting to destroy the family, going
to the point of even kidnapping Marie and attempting to replace her in her
life. Jessica, though, rescued
Marie. To this day, Marie does not know
what all Jessica went through to rescue her, but Jessica claims she sacrificed a
great deal to rescue her half-sister.
Now Kimberly
is repentant. She feels bad for what she
has done and wants only to be welcomed back into the family. Marie has accepted her and has even gone to
the lengths of helping Kim to get the mental help she needed.
Jessica, on
the other hand, is unwilling to accept Kimberly back into the family. One can understand Jessica’s
perspective. Kimberly has performed many
dastardly deeds during her lifetime, many of those crimes against the Jones
family. It’s hard to ignore those
facts. But there’s more to Jessica’s
reaction to Kimberly than just mere skepticism…
…Jessica is
jealous, and that jealousy boiled over in a bad way one day earlier, when
Jessica and Marie met at the Hope and Anchor bar in El Paso, hoping to hammer
out their differences. Unfortunately
things did not turn out too well for Marie when Jessica lost her temper and
knocked her to the ground.
Lucky for
Marie, she does have one more chance to try and make things right between the
two of them. She recently received a
text from her half-sister Jessica. She
wants to meet, alone, in an old park on the outskirts of El Paso.
Entering the
park, a slight breeze rustles the leaves making them fall to the solid ground
one by one. The park, once resplendent
in the town's heyday was a scrub of moss and weeds. Used needles lay amidst the shabby greenery,
invisible and able to pierce the common light-weight shoes the children
wear. They had benches, ornamental
trees, flowers year round and water fountains in clear lakes. The air was warm, the beams of sunlight
glowing on Marie’s skin as she makes her way through the grass.
The
beautiful redhead is wearing an ankle length flowing floral print skirt, a
black sleeveless top, and flip flops. Her
long red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length. The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling
scans the area, looking for her temperamental half-sister, and it isn’t long
until she hits pay dirt…
…just over
the hill she spots an old bench. Sitting
hunched over on the bench is Jessica Jones.
Marie, being a devout Catholic, feels that the best way to prepare for
this is to invoke the man upstairs, so she makes the sign of the cross over her
chest before making her way up the hill and towards the bench.
“Jessica!” Marie calls out, but Jessica
doesn’t acknowledge it. “Jess!”
This time Jessica
does look up just as Marie stops right at the bench. Jessica sighs and nods her head.
“Hi there, Marie.”
“Greetings, Jess.” Marie says, forcing a
pleasant smile. “I’m glad you texted
me. You had me worried.”
“Yeah, is that so?” Jessica chuckles. “Well trust me, I had to think long and hard
about this before arranging this meeting.”
Jessica
scoots over a little and pats the bench, motioning for Marie to sit down next
to her. “Come on, Marie. Sit down. I promise not to bite.”
“Yeah, lately I’m not so sure.”
“Yeah, you got a point there, but I mean
it. You’re safe.”
Marie sighs
and then sits down on the bench next to her half-sister Jessica. “So I’m
safe?”
“Yeah, you’re safe.” Jessica says,
nodding her head. “I apologize for
attacking you back at Hope and Anchor, I just my temper but all is well. My temper is under control.”
“Your temper is well known.” Marie
begins. “I’m not surprised at all, but
for you to lose control the way you did, to not only attack me but attack me in
public the way you did. You do realize
the danger you were in, don’t you?”
Jessica nods
her head. “Yeah…”
“Had I pressed charges you could’ve been
arrested. Or worse.”
“Well thanks for not pressing charges,
then.”
“Yes, but that’s not the point.” Marie
says, shaking her head. “The point is
that I haven’t seen you lose control the way you did yesterday. What gives, Jess? What’s wrong?
And if any of this is my fault…”
Marie’s
voice trails off as she shakes her head “…if
any of this is my fault, I’m sorry. I…”
“No, stop.” Jessica says, shaking her
head. “None of this is your fault. I don’t even have a problem with Kimberly.”
“Then who do you have a problem with?”
“Our mother.”
Marie nods
her head in realization. She suspected
this much from the beginning. It isn’t
as if Angelica Jones has been trying to cause rifts or stir up trouble between
her children, but the sins of her past has come back to haunt the family. The sins of Angelica neglecting Kimberly and
neglecting Jessica have finally come back to create problems between the three
children. Kimberly had long since lost
control over the situation and now seemingly it’s Jessica’s turn to lose
control.
Marie just
hopes that she can help Jessica find her way back. But first, she has to hear about her sister’s
problem…
“This isn’t easy for me, Marie.” Jessica
begins. “It’s easy for you because you
are mom’s favorite but I was neglected.”
“You had your father.” Marie answers back. “I didn’t have that.”
“True, but my father was so obsessed with
his wrestling career that sometimes I felt neglected by him, as well. I felt ignored, Marie. And then to see you give so much attention to
Kimberly…”
She chuckles
“…I’ll admit, I was rather intrigued at
the possibility of Kimberly being normal.
But then as I thought about it more and more I began to consider the
very real possibility of Kimberly rejoining the family….”
Jessica
shakes her head “…I got jealous. I admit it, I was jealous of the fact that I
was ignored, I was loyal but ignored, and Kimberly tried to destroy the family
once and yet she’s being accepted back in with open arms? No consequences?”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Marie says,
shaking her head. “Kimberly is normal
now, her mind is right, and that means she feels guilt, the guilt over what she
did in the past to me, to you, to our mother.
She will have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life. Do you want consequences, Jess? How is that for consequences?”
“Ok, I’ll give you that,” Jessica says,
nodding her head “assuming you’re right
and Kimberly has changed, then yeah, guilt would be consequence enough.”
“And that right there is what I’m talking
about,” Marie says “Kimberly HAS
changed. She went through a great deal
to make amends for the past and to change her life. She took your worst beating and never fought
back. Remember?”
Jessica
sighs and nods her head. “Yes…”
“What I’m trying to say is that anyone can
find their way back from that dark place.” Marie rests a hand on her
sister’s knee. “I found my way back when
many thought I was lost. Kimberly has
found her way back, whether you believe it or not. And Jessica…”
Marie smiles
warmly “…you can find your way back too.”
“But Marie,” tears are forming in
Jessica’s eyes “why would I want to find
my way back? Why return to a family
where Angelica Jones, OUR MOTHER, favors you and maybe even Kimberly over me?”
“Jessica, I can’t change our mother, and I
can’t change your opinion of our mother, but our mother, even if she is the
matriarch of the Jones family, is just one member of the family.”
Marie smiles
warmly. “Think of the rest of the family;
Aunt Kayla, our sister little Kelly, and of course Kimberly.”
“Yeah…” Jessica says quietly, not
sounding very confident.
“I’m not asking you to make amends,
Jessica.” Marie begins. “I’m just
asking you to try.”
“You want me to try?”
“Yeah,” Marie says, nodding her head “just try.”
“I think I can do that.” Jessica says,
smiling warmly. “I want to do that. If for no one else then for you.”
Jessica
embraces Marie in a tight hug. “I hate us
feuding, Marie.”
“Me too, Jess. Never again, right?”
“Right.
Never again.”
After
breaking the embrace, Marie smiles knowingly. “I got an idea, Jess; an idea for some sisterly bonding.”
==========
Scene 2
Off Camera
==========
Marie and
Jessica, at least, seem to have repaired the rift that had formed between
them. For Marie, that is a good
start. Is there a long way yet to
go? Of course. Will Jessica forgive Kimberly and accept her
back into the family? That remains to be
seen. Will Jessica forgive Angelica for
what she claims is a lifetime of neglect?
That also remains to be seen. But
at least Jessica has made amends with Marie and at least she has seemed willing
to entertain the possibility of making amends with the rest of the family. For Marie, that is a victory.
Jessica was
certainly willing to engage in the “sisterly bonding” that Marie brought up
earlier in the day. She didn’t know it
at the time but now she realizes that the “sisterly bonding” is specifically
some training for Marie’s United States Championship match on Breakdown.
The sounds
of a female grunting as well the echoes of feet against a heavy bag are heard
throughout an empty gymnasium on the outskirts of El Paso, Texas. The concrete floor is gray and the walls are
painted an off-white color, at least the walls that still have paint on them,
as most of the paint on the walls have begun to peel. There is a standard wrestling set up in the
center, weights scattered all over the floor.
At one of the far ends of the room is a red heavy bag. The lovely Marie Jones is standing there at
the heavy bag dressed in a pair of workout shorts, black tanktop, and her long
red hair pulled into a ponytail in the back, as she viciously attacks the heavy
bag with her well-educated feet.
The Phoenix
lost to Jinn at Supreme Saturday from Puerto Rico and that loss cost her the
SCW United States Championship. Marie is
getting a rematch now in El Paso and she realizes that if she fails this time that
she may not get another opportunity for a very long time. And not only that,
but this is still the road to Rise To Greatness. Marie wanted to walk into Rise To Greatness
as a champion but Jinn put those plans in doubt. Marie will now have to fix things, she will
have to repair the damage that was done in Puerto Rico and reclaim the SCW
United States Championship in order to right the ship and punch her ticket to
the biggest event of the year.
With each
kick, from roundhouse kicks to jumping spin kicks, Marie grunts loudly and the
bag heaves back and forth. The force of
these kicks would be enough to take the head off of any competitor; she just
hopes they will be effective against Jinn on Breakdown. The kicks continue, increasing in ferocity
and intensity, until Marie finally decides to take a break.
“Stopping so early?”
The
beautiful red-head reaches down and picks her white towel up off of the blue
mat she had been standing on. She wipes
the sweat from her forehead and then drapes the towel over her right shoulders
and sighs. She turns around in the direction of the voice. It’s her sister, Jessica Jones, who is
watching her closely.
“Early?
I’ve been beating this bag to death.” Marie remarks somewhat
incredulously. “And that’s not to mention
the running, the weight lifting, and the sparring…”
“You’ve done no sparring, Marie.”
Jessica says with a smirk.
“Alright, fine,” Marie says chuckling “there was no sparring, at least not yet.”
“Sparring would do you some good.”
Jessica remarks. “But who do you have in
mind?”
Marie points
a finger at Jessica. “You…”
“I could,” Jessica sighs and shakes her
head “but let’s be honest, Jinn is more
of a high flyer, I’m a mat technician. I’m a submission wrestler. If you want
to defeat Jinn, if you want to be ready for Jinn, then you need to be sparring
against someone who is a high flyer. You
also need to prepare your speed. That’s
why that running earlier was a good idea.”
Marie
doesn’t answer right away, she just smiles, grinning from ear to ear. Jessica looks on, rather puzzled. “What?”
“I’m just glad the two of us are back
together and back on the same page, Jess.” Marie answers. “That’s all.
We work best when we’re on the same page.”
“Damn right we do.” Jessica says,
nodding her head.
Marie and
Jessica lean in and embrace in a tight hug.
After breaking the embrace Marie just sighs and motions away, towards
the doors.
“Well, come on then, Jess.”
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s leave.” She says. “If I can’t spar today then I may as well
leave. Sparring was the last thing I
wanted to do anyway, maybe I can get in some last minute sparring the morning
of?”
Jessica
shrugs her shoulders. “I wouldn’t suggest
it, but suit yourself.”
Marie
immediately makes a beeline towards the doors with Jessica following closely
behind. Marie pushes the doors open and
steps outside, Jessica follows her outside.
Jessica immediately stops dead in her tracks as she spots Kimberly
standing just a few feet away from herself and Marie. Jessica looks quizzically at her half-sister.
“Marie, what is this?”
“Jess, please, I asked for Kimberly to
come.” Marie quickly gets in between Kimberly and Jessica, in fear that
another physical confrontation may erupt.
“You did say you would try to make amends.”
“Right, but Marie,” Jessica frowns “aren’t you putting me on the spot?”
“Remember what we talked about?” Marie
asks insistently. “Remember what we stand
for? Redemption.”
Redemption
was the name of the tag team that Marie and Jessica once formed. They used the name Redemption because they
felt that the purpose of the tag team was to redeem the Jones family. They believed in the idea of redemption. Marie hopes that she can get her sister to
remember the value of redemption right now.
“Yeah, I remember Redemption alright,”
Jessica begins, “but…”
“No, wait a minute.” Kimberly steps in
front of Marie, getting face to face with Jessica. “Let me talk to her.”
Kimberly
sighs. “Jessica, I’m not going to stand
here and say that I’m a saint now. Far
from it, I’m still a dirty bitch. But am
I a Jones?”
She nods her
head. “I am…Jones blood runs through my
body…and do I feel guilty over what I did to my sister and to our mother?”
Tears, real
tears, form in Kimberly’s eyes. “Yes, yes
I do. Jess, I’ve never had a real
family. That’s what I want. I just want the chance to have a real
family.”
Jessica
pauses for a long period of time, staring incredulously at Kimberly and then
she turns and glares at Marie.
“Why did you set this up?”
“Because I want to fix things for us, for
this family.” Marie states definitively. “And because I believe in redemption.
I’ve needed it, Kimberly needed it, you needed it. And Jess, I think you still believe in
redemption too.”
Jessica
rolls her eyes as she turns back to face Kimberly. “Kimberly, I’m keeping my eyes on you…and I may never ever trust you,
not after what you have done…”
She sighs “…but I do still believe in redemption. So yes, I’ll give you a chance.”
Jessica
extends a hand. Kimberly accepts the
handshake. “That’s all I want. I just want a chance.”
Jessica
grins. “Welcome to the family.”
What Jessica
and Kimberly do not notice as they shake hands are the tears, tears of joy,
flowing down the cheeks of Marie Annabelle Jones. The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling
does still have a material possession to win, the United States Championship,
but she has perhaps won a bigger victory here.
She has achieved a healing that her family has so desperately needed. She healed the family and now, while the
future is unclear still for Kimberly and Jessica as well as Marie, the future
is now much more promising.
==========
On Camera
==========
“Redemption is not perfection. The redeemed must realize their
imperfections.”
Redemption
is something that means a great deal to me.
I believe in redemption because I have needed it, my sisters have needed
it, and hell, if she’s honest with you, my own mother has needed it. Redemption, I’d dare say, is something that
almost all of us have needed at least once in our lifetime. So to me, redemption is a very important
aspect of life.
If I was
perfect, living in a perfect world, I would have beaten you in Puerto Rico,
Jinn, and this match between you and I in El Paso would not be necessary. I would be coasting into Rise To Greatness as
the SCW United States Champion. But on
that night my best just wasn’t good enough.
On that night my best was not perfect; I was imperfect and you managed
to take advantage of my imperfections to get a win over me and claim the United
States Championship.
Good job on
that one, Jinn.
This is why
redemption is not and never will be perfection.
Once redemption has been achieved you still have to work at it, you
still have to fight carnal urges that tend you towards imperfection, and you
have to also realize that everyone has the potential to improve in some manner,
no matter how good they are.
So really
and truly, redemption is a never ending journey to better yourself. And Jinn, I’ve done a great deal of
introspection ever since Puerto Rico. I’ve
watched that match again and again to see what went wrong and to see how I can
improve myself, because El Paso, Texas the tables have been turned. You’re the champion and I’m back in the role
of challenger. This is my rematch and I
know that I may not get many more opportunities at the United States
Championship after this, so I’d better make it count.
And this isn’t
just about improving myself, Jinn. This
is also about Rise To Greatness. We are
squarely in that oh so special season where everyone wants to make their mark,
everyone wants to make an impact heading into the biggest event of the year.
This is my
first Rise To Greatness since joining Supreme Championship Wrestling. But if you think I have no idea what this is
all about, what Rise To Greatness is all about, then you are dead wrong. I know exactly what’s at stake, I know
exactly what this great event means to the athletes here in SCW.
My mother
has been with this company for years now.
I’ve been on the sidelines witnessing Rise To Greatness come and go for
her and in that time I have come to realize that Rise To Greatness is that time
when your legacy can be forever written in the stars in one match and in one
night. My legacy as an SCW athlete has
yet to be determined, but Rise To Greatness very well could go a long way to
determining what my legacy here with this company will be.
I’ll get a
spot on the card, either on the main show or on the pre-show, I’m sure of it,
that much doesn’t bother me. But I would
love nothing more than to walk into this great event as the SCW United States
Champion. I would love nothing more than
to defend the United States Championship on the grandest stage of them all.
It’s what I
was born to do, Jinn. It’s what I was
bred to do. Wrestling is in my blood, it
flows through my body. I live for the
cheers of the fans and I live for those moments when the referee raises my hand
in victory and the announcer tells the world that I’ve won the match. I live for those moments. Just like this past Breakdown when I drove
Blake Mason’s head into the canvas with Ave Maria. I made the cover and heard the referee count
the pin. Then I heard the voice of our
announcer, Phillips, declare…
“Here is your winner, via pinfall, Marie
Jones!”
…I live for
those moments, Jinn, not because I’m arrogant and want to have my ego stroked,
but because those moments are shining examples of hard work paying off. I busted my ass several months ago not just
to make my return to the SCW roster but to return the right way in the right
frame of mind, with the determination that I could get the job done without any
tricks or cheap tactics. People doubted
my sincerity but I knew who I was and what I was capable of, and I knew that my
hard work would pay off eventually.
Defeating
Tyler Tucker to become SCW United States Champion was just the perfect,
sweetest example of my hard work paying dividends.
Now I have
another task on my hands and that involves winning that championship back. My task now doesn’t involve proving myself
because people know now what I’m capable of doing inside of the wrestling
ring. My task doesn’t involve proving
that I can win without cheap tricks, because ever since returning I have beaten
the likes of Tyler Tucker, Regan Street, and Blake Mason all without resorting
to under handed tactics.
My task now
is to rise to greatness, pardon the pun.
My task is to become a two-time SCW United States Champion, thus
punching my ticket to the self-named greatest event on the SCW calendar, allowing
myself to walk in as the defending champion.
That means
defeating you, Jinn.
You want to
keep this championship safe from the evil-doers, or that’s what you say. If by “evil-doers” you mean people like Regan
Street then I would definitely agree.
Her actions as of late have not been those of someone worthy to
represent this great company as a champion.
And Jinn, if it puts your mind at ease in any way, I will promise to
make sure people like Regan Street and others who subscribe to her philosophy
do not get anywhere near that championship.
But this is
where I burst your bubble, because this isn’t about the forces of good against
the forces of evil. Hell, some would say
that Supreme Championship Wrestling, as of late, has been evidence that pure
good and pure evil may not exist anymore.
The best of individuals, or at least those we thought were the best of
individuals, have proven to have spotty records while those who were the worst
scum of humanity once upon a time now are working to improve themselves.
Ask them and
they’ll tell you that there is a time and a place for the discussion of good
and evil, but that place is not inside of the wrestling ring. When that bell rings, Jinn, it doesn’t matter
who is good and who is evil. What
matters is who is the best athlete. What
matters is who is worthy of carrying that United States Championship into Rise
To Greatness and representing this company as champion on that grand stage?
I know that
I can be that person, Jinn. I was that
person once before and I know I can do it again. You got one over on my in Puerto Rico and that
cost me the title, that cost me my spot at the top of the mountain.
You can fool
me once, Jinn, but now that I’ve wrestled you, now that I have experience against
you, I will be more prepared than ever before.
I have studied the tape and have found my imperfections. Those imperfections have been improved. The mistakes I made in Puerto Rico will not
be made again.
El Paso will
not be easy for you, Jinn, I can guarantee you that. If you want to walk into Rise To Greatness as
champion and defend that belt against the “forces of evil” then you’re going to
have to earn that spot at Rise To Greatness in the fight of your life against
The Crown Jewel of Professional Wrestling, against The Phoenix.
And I know
deep down in my heart and soul that I am in for the same fight, that I am also
in for the fight of my life. I remember
quite well what it was like to win my first singles championship here in SCW
and I was not ready to give it up so easily.
I fought like hell to keep it.
Just ask
Regan Street and Tyler Tucker what I was willing to do, what I was willing to
sacrifice, in order to keep that championship.
I know the
feeling that you must have, being SCW United States Champion, and so I know you
must be experiencing similar feelings, similar desires of wanting maintain that
grip on the championship. So I know full
well that taking the championship away from you in El Paso will be a tough
task, but it will be a task that I am ready for, a task that I am capable of
achieving, because I want that title back, I want it badly, and I will
sacrifice my body if necessary in order to get the job done.
Puerto Rico
is in the rearview mirror. I’m moving on and looking forward into the future
and that future has you in my sights, Jinn.
You have the United States title that I want and we’re both on that same
road to Rise To Greatness. I just have
to get past you in order to get to the promised land, so to speak.
You knocked
me down, Jinn, and in the process you took my championship. Fair play to you, but understand who I am, or
more specifically WHAT I am. I am The
Phoenix and if you know you know mythology then you know that even when the
Phoenix dies, it is resurrected in fire.
The fire of
my passion for this business still burns bright and hot, Jinn, and this Phoenix
will be resurrected in El Paso, Texas when I reclaim the SCW United States
Championship and I ride on past you and into Rise To Greatness where I will
begin to write my own legacy.
