==========
Off Camera
==========
Marie and
Arthur are supposed to be on their honeymoon right now. Marie Annabelle Jones, the oldest child of
Angelica Jones, and Marie’s new husband Arthur Pond, were planning on making a
honeymoon out of a cruise to the Caribbean and back. And not just her, but Marie’s sister Corey as
well got married, to her longtime boyfriend Kyle Butler. All in all, it was supposed to be a wonderful
day of joy and celebration for the Jones family.
Unfortunately,
the Jones Family can never have anything perfect and it can never have anything
good without also having bad accompanying it.
In this case, the bad eclipsed the good, turning the wonderful dream of
a wedding ceremony into nothing less than a nightmare.
What was so
awful and nightmarish about this day? It’s
complicated, but for starters the ceremony itself was interrupted by Marie
Jones herself, who freaked out in the middle of the wedding march and ran away,
exiting the church and then tripping over the steps, falling down and knocking
herself unconscious.
It was a
shocking event to say the least. You don’t
always see a bride attempt to run away in the middle of the wedding. It was a miracle that they still managed to
get her married off in a small ceremony at the hospital, upon the insistence from
Marie herself. And yet, as shocking as
that event was, there was an even bigger, more troubling news that would come
later that evening…
…Angelica
Jones, along with her sister Kayla, had traveled with Marie and Arthur to the
hospital to keep them company and to wait on the news of how she was
doing. Angelica was upset, at first with
Marie but, after talking it over with Kayla, Angelica saw that she was really
and truly angry with their situation; the situation of the Jones family. She called it a curse; a curse that Jones
women never could get with Mr. Right without something bad happening. And here, just as with everything else that
has seemingly come down to ruin the happiness of Jones women, Marie’s wedding
day was a pure disaster.
Little did
Angelica know that the situation was about to become even worse.
Kayla
received a phone call from the police who would give her and Angelica the worst
possible news. Bart Jones, the father of
Angelica and Kayla Jones, was dead. His
body had been found by the police. He
had been murdered.
Bart Jones
had been kidnapped by the Russian Mafia several weeks earlier due to a
trade-off, an exchange in which the mafia would return Angelica’s youngest
child, Kelly Jones, in exchange for the person they really wanted; Bart Jones.
The Jones
family had not heard from Bart or the mafia in a very long time. They could only guess at what they would do
to him but there was never any solid proof.
No one had heard from them and thus they continued to hold out hope that
Bart could potentially be returned safely…
…and then,
on the day that was supposed to be a day of celebration and joy for the family
as they celebrated Marie’s wedding and Corey’s wedding, that was the day that
they learned Bart Jones had indeed been murdered.
Several days
later and the grief is still there, the pain is still stinging, and the reality
is only now beginning to settle in.
Angelica and Kayla, along with the rest of the immediate and extended
Jones family and friends, gathered together for a special visitation as they
comforted one another and remembered Bart Jones’s memory.
Many came
but all have left; all except for Marie Annabelle Jones and her new husband
Arthur. This is Angelica’s home, so she
is still here as well, for obvious reasons.
Arthur is wearing a white button up shirt and black vest complete with
black pants and black shoes. Marie
Annabelle Jones is dressed in a petite navy lace dress with a scalloped hem and
capped sleeves. They sit next to one
another on the light brown colored sofa in the living room. Sitting across from them is Marie’s mother,
the legendary matriarch of the family, Angelica Jones, dressed in her ankle
length black dress with half-sleeves.
“How late is it?”
Marie asks
this, looking around for a nearby clock.
Arthur checks the watch on his wrist and sighs.
“It’s…um…eleven at night…”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
Angelica
furrows her brow.
“What?”
“I’m tired and that’s why. It’s eleven at night.”
Angelica
shakes her head.
“Then just
go home, sweetie.”
“I can’t…”
“Sure you can.”
Angelica
smiles politely.
“You’ve done all you can, Marie.”
“It isn’t about doing anything, mom.”
The younger
Jones squeezes her husband’s hand tightly.
“This is about my grandfather’s memory. I mean, you know how having a father was to
me…”
Angelica,
the woman who murdered Marie’s father, bows her head in shame, as she is unable
to even look her daughter in the eyes.
“…yeah, I know…”
“I never got to know my real father. I did
have my grandfather, though, and he was the closet thing I had to a
father. But now…”
Marie
chuckles sardonically.
“…now he’s dead.”
Angelica
looks up into her daughter’s eyes. Both
women have tears rolling down their cheek and, as tough and stubborn as both
are, they are also fighting to keep themselves from crying.
“It’s ok, Marie. Your grandfather’s spirit will always be
watching us from above. I know it.”
“I hope you’re right…”
Marie says this
before Arthur lets out a loud sigh. Angelica
and Marie turn to face the newest member of the family who has his own
statement to make.
“I just think…I think…”
Arthur
shakes his head, unable to finish his thought as his voice trails off.
“…I think it’s crazy.”
Angelica
frowns.
“What’s crazy?”
“I think it’s crazy that the Russian Mafia
of all people were the ones who killed your father. I mean…”
Despite
himself he laughs lightly.
“…it almost sounds like something out of a
crime novel!”
Angelica and
Marie both stare at Arthur for a few moments before turning to look at one
another. Both Jones women laugh in
unison, which prompts confusion from Arthur.
“What’s so funny?”
“You have no idea, darling.”
Marie kisses
Arthur on the cheek.
“No idea.”
Arthur turns
away from his wife to face Angelica, looking for answers from the matriarch.
“Huh?”
“My daughter is simply implying that this
kind of thing is normal for our family.”
Arthur cocks
his head to one side as he studies Angelica closely and intensely. He isn’t sure whether or not he wants to
believe what he just heard.
“You are kidding, right?”
“I wish I was…”
Angelica
sighs.
“…but the fact is that this is just the
latest in a string of tragedies and nightmares that have plagued this family.”
The redhead
shrugs her shoulders.
“And you know, maybe it’s dad’s own fault? Or rather his career’s fault. He was an FBI agent and that brought drama to
our doorstep. I just…”
She shakes
her head.
“…I don’t know.”
Marie
reaches out and takes her mother’s hands.
The two look into one another’s eyes.
“You’re right, mom, grandfather was an FBI
agent. The Russian Mafia was after
him. But now he’s dead. So…”
Tears roll
down her cheek as she stutters through the sobbing.
“…so…is it over? Is…is the craziness over?”
The look in
Marie’s eyes is one of hope, hope that perhaps the drama and nightmare in the
Jones family has ended with the death of Bart Jones. Angelica hates to dash these hopes but she is
prepared to do so right now as she shakes her head.
“I doubt
it. Trouble seems to follow us wherever
we go, Marie, and I don’t see that changing right now.”
Angelica and
Marie remain silent, as does Arthur, as the three contemplate that has gone on
over the past few days. But the silence
does not last for long as the sound of the front door opening and subsequently
slamming shut is heard. This catches all
three by surprise. Arthur Pond is the first to speak up.
“I thought everyone left?”
“Apparently someone came back.”
Marie turns
to look at her mother.
“Who has a key to your house?”
“Kayla has a key to this house. It’s probably her.”
Angelica,
Marie, and Arthur watch the doorway, expecting Kayla to be coming back. The footsteps get closer. The trio are taken by surprise when Mary Ford
walks into the living room, decked out nowhere as nice in a plain floral print
blouse, blue denim jeans, and white tennis shoes.
Mary Ford is
the sister of the original Kelly Jones, Angelica and Kayla’s mother. This means Mary Ford is also Angelica and
Kayla’s aunt. And surprisingly enough,
she never made it to the visitation. And
no one had expected her to come at all in the first place. Mary Ford and Bart Jones never did get along
too well. Plus, Mary Ford has been on
the outside looking in when it comes to family situations. She has been blackballed and disowned from
her own immediate family as well as from the Jones family.
Needless to
say, Marie and Arthur are shocked and Angelica is angry. We can see this as Angelica shoots up from
her chair and glares angrily at Mary with death and hate in her eyes. She points back towards the direction of the
front door.
“Get out of my house!”
Mary shakes
her head.
“No, not until we’ve talked.”
“We have nothing to talk about!”
“Sure we do, Angelica.”
Angelica
walks away from the chair and makes a beeline to Mary where she immediately and
with a great deal of force slaps her across the face.
“You have destroyed the Braddock family.”
She pokes
Mary in the chest.
“That’s YOUR immediate family, Aunt Mary,
and you are responsible for the chaos they are going through. Glory and Julia, YOUR children, have both
denied you and disowned you, and that’s YOUR doing. So why should I listen to you?”
“Maybe we should listen to what she has to
say?”
That’s the
voice of reason coming from Marie Annabelle Jones. Angelica turns to face Marie and shakes her
head.
“No way, Marie…”
She turns to
face Mary again.
“…my Aunt Mary does not deserve to be heard.
We are through with her.”
Mary sighs
and nods her head.
“Angelica, you are absolutely right about
me. I did play a major role in the
Braddock family’s downhill turn and it eats me alive.”
Mary points
a finger at Angelica.
“That’s why YOU need to listen to what I
have to say!”
Angelica
narrows her brow.
“Get…out…of…my…house…!”
Mary is
about to respond but Marie cuts her off.
“Wait…”
Marie stands
up and walks over to stand in between Mary and Angelica. Marie ignores Angelica and instead focuses on
Mary.
“…I want to hear what you have to say.”
Mary smiles
but Angelica rolls her eyes as her aunt begins to speak.
“Your mother is right. The Braddock family is on a downhill
slide. They are in chaos. And it’s my fault because of my secrets. I kept secrets from Glory and Julia for so
long and when those secrets finally came to light, it nearly ruined them.”
Mary wipes a
few tears from her own eye.
“I hate to say it, but I fear that secrets
have been the true reason why trouble, drama, and danger have been constantly
plaguing the Jones family.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“I do, Angelica! I know pretty damn well what I am talking
about! Secrets will be the death to your
family, Angelica, and you need to heed this warning. Your father didn’t heed the warning, he kept
a secret from you, and you see what happened to him.”
Angelica
rolls her eyes.
“Big deal!
It means nothing!”
“You would like to think that, wouldn’t
you? This is a big deal, Angelica, and
there needs t o be no further secrets in your family or else you could end up
like Bart.”
Marie turns
to look at Angelica.
“What is she talking about, mom?”
Angelica
shakes her head.
“I don’t know, Marie. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just the
ranting of a crazy person.”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about,
Angelica. Whether you like me or not,
you are still my niece and I will still do whatever I can to protect you, even
I have to protect you from yourself.”
“I don’t need protecting.”
“Oh yes you do, because you still have a
secret you are keeping, one that could destroy you.”
She points
at Marie.
“A secret that involves her.”
Marie’s eyes
grow wide.
“What secret, mom?”
Angelica
shakes her head.
“It’s nothing.”
Arthur now
stands up and joins his wife by her side, placing his arm around her shoulder.
“Ms. Jones…if you know a secret about your
daughter that you have been keeping from her, you should tell her. She has a right to know.”
“Angelica…”
Angelica
turns her attention back to Mary.
“You can either tell your daughter what this
secret is or I will. Either way, this
final secret of the Jones family must be known and it must be known now. No further secrets.”
Angelica can
be heard growling angrily under her breath.
“Just tell her, Ms. Jones…”
“Yes, mom, please tell me.”
Angelica
sighs and finally relents, nodding her head.
“Fine…fine, I’ll tell you…”
The
matriarch takes her daughter by the hand and guides her back over to the sofa
where the two sit down. Angelica places
her hands in Marie’s, gripping them tightly.
She gazes deep into her child’s eyes.
“Marie, your father and I…we…I…”
She slumps
down and shakes her head. Marie pats her
mother on the back to comfort her.
“….this is hard.”
“It’s ok, mom.”
Angelica
looks back up at Marie.
“Marie, when your father and I met he was a
practicing Catholic and I was a nun in the Catholic Church. So needless to say, our relationship in and
of itself was very sinful in the eyes of the Church and when I got pregnant,
that was quite scandalous…at least it would’ve been had anyone found out…”
“Right, that’s why you hid me away.”
Angelica
nods her head.
“Right, you were our little miracle. What I neglected to tell you is that you were
not mine and Sean’s only little miracle.”
Marie holds
her hand over her mouth.
“You mean…I have another brother or sister?”
“Yes, but you already know about her.”
“I do?”
Angelica
nods her head.
“It’s your
twin sister…Kimberly.”
==========
On Camera
==========
Angelica
steps into the scene wearing a black sleeveless jumpsuit with a surplice neckline
that pleated with a self-tie sash belt at the waist. It has a wide leg but you can barely make out
her toes peeking out from underneath the wide leg, her toes painted a dark
red. Her long gorgeous red hair hangs
unrestrained to below the shoulders. Her
fingernails are painted the same shade of dark red as her toes.
“Over the course of the past several weeks,
my sister and I have tried to make it clear to everyone that The Sisterhood has
turned over a new leaf, that The Sisterhood has changed, that The Sisterhood is
going to do things the right way from now on.
But does anyone believe us?”
Jones shakes
her head.
“No, of course not, but then again we get
the opportunity to prove to the world that we have changed and, maybe in the
process, become SCW World Tag Team Champions for a second time.”
She holds up
two fingers.
“That’s twice! But you know what? I think the memory of certain people in SCW
is a little rusty.”
Angelica
smirks.
“You see, Taking Hold of the Flame is coming
up. It will be a forty-person rumble
match to see who gets a world championship match. And my sister is right. There are certain names on the lips of
wrestling fans and observers as to who they think could win this whole thing.”
The redhead
points to herself.
“The name at the top of everyone’s list damn
sure should be me! Just because I have
been a tag team wrestler with my sister in recent months does not for one
second change who the hell I am. And the
other thirty-eight pieces of dead meat…and Kayla…need to remember that I am not
just The Golden Goddess and I am not just Firestar. There was a name I had long before any of
that. There was a name I went by long
before the tag team championship came to my attention. There was a name I went by on my first day
here in SCW.”
“The Dragon.”
“Yeah, I believe it, I believe that there
are those who are gimmick thieves, and I believe that there are those who wish
that the real Dragon would have just simply disappeared. But the truth is that there is only one
Dragon is SCW and it’s not that fraudulent female Justin Bieber. The real Dragon isn’t some overgrown smurf
running around UWA. The real Dragon is
standing right here in front of you and the real Dragon is hungry…”
Jones smiles
with a hint of sadism.
“…hungry for blood. And that should scare the hell out of
you. Me as The Dragon doesn’t care. Me as The Dragon doesn’t give a damn about
myself or anyone else. It just wants to
inflict as much violence, pain, and destruction as humanly possible. And that’s precisely what you need in order
to maim the field of competitors that might stand in my way to victory in
Taking Hold of the Flame.”
“Facing me in Taking Hold of the Flame isn’t
just as simple as that. You may want to
think it is, but it isn’t. As
yourselves, are you just facing The Dragon?”
Angelica
shakes her head.
“No, unfortunately for you, you all get to
go up against all three faces of Angelica Jones. You will see The Dragon but you will also see
Firestar, because that is the face, the persona if you will, that originally
brought me to the dance. Firestar is the
never say die attitude. It’s the side of
me that will never ever quit and will never ever give up on anyone. Firestar sacrificed her body and her years
just to get here and when I am in that mode you will have to kill me in order
to stop me.”
“Then after Firestar survives the field and
endures the pain and suffering that is inevitable in Taking Hold of the Flame,
and after The Dragon cleans house and destroys anyone and everyone in its path, burning their hopes and dreams,
reducing them to ash; after all of that has been completed, next up is The
Golden Goddess…”
Jones smiles
proudly, very confident in her abilities to accomplish what she says she will
do.
“…The Golden Goddess will clinch it. The Golden Goddess will stand supreme in the
center of the ring after finishing off the remaining competitors, because the
fact is that The Golden Goddess Angelica Jones belongs in the main event of
Rise To Greatness and it doesn’t matter if you’re Adrenaline Rush, Casey
Holliday, Kelcey Wallace, Shaun Cruze, AJ Helms, the list goes on and on. You line them up, The Goddess will knock them
all down, because at the end of the day Taking Hold of the Flame is about
showing the world who is the best.”
“And time and again, over and over, I have
repeatedly told each and every one of you that I am the best. Taking Hold of the Flame is my time to prove
it, because whether it is a Dragon, a Firestar, or a Golden Goddess, it’s all
still one person…”
“…it’s still me. It’s Angelica Jones. And I need this win. I have to have it. Being the best is all I’ve ever known. It’s what drives me. I live and breath wrestling because I live
and breath being the best there is in this business. And I can’t let anyone stop me.”
Angelica
sighs and shakes her head.
“That includes you, Kayla. I heard what you had to say, and I echo some
of those sentiments, but I’m also no idiot and I know you’re not an idiot. If we can work together in Taking Hold of the
Flame and eliminate everyone else, then we should do it. That gives us an advantage because one of us,
someone within The Sisterhood, would get that world championship match at Rise
To Greatness. Now whether you agree with
that, that’s your call, but I suggest you take me up on that offer. We could do a lot of damage working together
as a team. But the question still remains,
what would happen in the event that it came down to the two of us?”
Jones shrugs
her shoulders.
“I think the answer is obvious. All bets are off, sis. There can only be one winner and when all the
smoke has cleared I will do anything and everything within my power to make
sure that person is me. Just as you will
do anything and everything within your power to make sure you are the last one
standing.”
Angelica
winks at the camera.
“See you soon, sis. And to the rest of you…”
Jones
scowls.
“…I’m coming to Ontario and I am coming to
Taking Hold of the Flame where I will take no prisoners!”
Fade to
black.
