End of our Journey, End of your Reign

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Against All Odds

Off Camera

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The arrogant gait of Marie Annabelle Jones tells the story of a young lady who is quite proud of herself and what she has accomplished tonight in the successful defense of the UWA World Tag Team Championships.  But she didn’t accomplish this feat alone.  Her partners in crime, her twin sister Kimberly Williams and their best friend and ally Sophie James follows Marie closely behind as they walk down the halls excitedly, very much enthused about what went down tonight.

Unfortunately for them, they are probably the only ones enthused about tonight’s proceedings.  The trio known collectively as #GingerNation stop dead in their tracks.  The reason for this happens to be the two women standing a few yards away.  Angelica Jones and her younger sister Kayla are standing up against a wall, glaring holes right deep into the very soul of Marie, Kim, and Sophie.

It’s clear just based on their facial expression that they were not necessarily pleased with tonight’s turn of events.  It’s an awkward stare-down for Marie and Kim as they gaze across the hall at their mother and aunt.  Sophie, though, is either oblivious to the awkward nature of it all or just doesn’t give a damn as she lets out a few giggles.

“Heh, I wonder what their problem is?”

Sophie looks over at Kimberly as if expecting an answer.  Kimberly just shrugs her shoulders.

“Aunt Kayla never did have a sense of humor.”

“You go on ahead of us to the locker room.”

“Huh?”

Marie turns and looks at Sophie with a stoic gaze.

“It’s family business.  Kim and I will handle it.”

Sophie shrugs her shoulders.

“Suit yourself.”

With that, Sophie walks on past them.  Once Sophie is out of sight Marie and Kimberly walk over to their mother and aunt, Angelica Jones and Kayla Jones respectively.  This is a rather cold moment between the family, who also happen to be two teams competing to be the best tag team in pro-wrestling.  It’s an awkward silence for several seconds until Kimberly breaks the ice with a tight embrace of Angelica Jones, her mother.

“Hiya, mom!”

She then turns and hugs her aunt Kayla in much the same manner.

“Hiya, Aunt Kayla!”

Kayla pushes her away.  Kimberly smirks.

“What?  Not gonna congratulate us on our BIIIIIIG win tonight?”

Kayla’s face turns into one of disgust.  She shakes her head.

“I’m not going to congratulate you two.  What you did was…it was…”

“Brilliant?”

“I was going to say shameful.”

Angelica steps forward, stepping in between her daughters and Kayla.

“What you did was wrong and you know it.”

Marie arches her brow.

“Oh do we now?  It’s wrong and we know it?”

Angelica nods her head.

“Yes, it is wrong.  It’s wrong because you don’t need to stoop down to those lows and use those kind of cheap tricks and tactics to retain your championships.”

The elder Jones taps Kimberly on the shoulder and then taps Marie on the shoulder.

“You ladies are great wrestlers.  And you, Marie, you won these titles with Sophie because you were the greatest tag team in UWA.  You kept them because you were the best tag team in UWA.  And as long as you’ve held those belts, some would argue that you and Sophie are the best tag team in pro-wrestling…”

Angelica sighs.  The next words out of her mouth will be difficult, even for her.

“…perhaps even better than Kayla and I.  And while I cannot speak for your aunt Kayla, I can speak for myself when I say that you, Marie, will be a better more accomplished wrestler than me, if you are not already.”

Marie’s eyes grow wide.  She genuinely was not expecting those words to come out of her mother’s mouth.  For Marie, growing up in a famous wrestling family with such a rich heritage, this is the ultimate compliment and even this arrogant young lady is humbled.

“Wow, mom, I…”

Marie shakes her head.

“…thank you.”

“It’s the truth, Marie, and that’s why it’s a shame to see you stoop to those levels to win a match.”

Marie smirks.

“So you’re mad at us?”

“We’re not mad.  We’re just disappointed.”

Kayla chimes in.  Marie responds with a nod of her head.

“I can appreciate that, and I appreciate the compliments.  I’m not sure I deserve such lofty praise, but thank you.  But there’s something you and Aunt Kayla need to understand as well.”

Marie’s smirk turns into a scowl.

“I busted my ass to become world champion.  Vanilla Skyy was granted an immediate rematch and yeah, I did ask for it, but in the lead-up to the match everyone was rooting for me to fail.  And then in the aftermath everyone cheered her while they forgot me.  But that’s fine, everyone has their right to cheer for who they want in this country.  But was I granted an automatic rematch like Vanilla?  Did anyone give a damn about me?”

The younger redhead shakes her head.

“No, no one gave a damn about me.  As for Helms and Bryant, they tried to blackball me.  They tried to pigeonhole me into the UWA tag team division.”

She shakes her head.

“I wasn’t about to let that happen.  But that’s one perk to having a twin sister.  You can pull the wool over people’s eyes.  So tell me something, mom, and be honest; can you honestly say that Helms and Bryant were right?  All of those people out there…they’re right?  Can you blame me for doing what I did, mom?  And I hope, I PRAY, that you are honest with me, because…”

She points a long slender finger at her mother accusingly.

“…not long ago, you and Aunt Kayla were no better than us and don’t try to deny it.  Free Botswana!  Does that ring any bells?”

Angelica can say nothing else.  She remains silent as Marie and Kim in unison wave jokingly at their mother and aunt.

“Bye, mom!  Bye, Aunt Kayla!”

Angelica sighs and shakes her head.

“Yeah…bye…”

The Sisterhood duo watch as Marie and Kim waltz ever so arrogantly away, Kim with perhaps a slightly more skip in her step.  Once they are out of sight, Kayla turns towards her older sister and looks at her curiously, almost scoldingly.

“You’re just letting them go?”

“What would you have had me do?”

“You could have called them out.  You could have told them how half-assed backwards they’re thinking!  You could’ve continued to at least ATTEMPT to teach them a lesson but…”

Kayla sighs and shakes her head in disgust.

“…it was like you threw in the towel the very moment your daughter started to put up a fight!”

“Kay…”

“Your daughter was acting like a stuck up diva!  Why didn’t you do anything about it?!”

Angelica frowns.

“Why didn’t you say anything to her if you feel so damn strong about it?”

“She’s not my daughter.”

Kayla pokes Angelica in the chest.

“She’s your daughter.”

Angelica sighs deeply.  The matriarch of the Jones family may be strong most of the time but in this case she is not strong.  She lowers her head.

“That’s why I can’t say much more beyond what I already said.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Do you really have to ask, Kay?  I nearly lost her.  I screwed up our relationship royally with my dumbass actions and how I treated her and I nearly lost her for good.  I honestly couldn’t blame her if she didn’t want to see me ever again.”

Tears start to form in Angelica’s eyes.

“I killed her father, Kay!  Do you understand that?  I murdered her father!”

Kayla sighs as she embraces her sister in a gentle, comforting hug.

“It’s ok…”

“I am lucky to still have her in my life and I am damn lucky that she forgave me!  Do you think I’m going  to risk that relationship?  Besides…”

Angelica shakes her head.

“…Marie’s right, we are no better than them.”

Angelica walks off slowly.  Kayla sighs as she is left there alone, not sure what will happen next.

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Present Day

Off Camera

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Against All Odds was certainly sent shockwaves throughout the UWA tag team division.  As it turns out, the UWA World Tag Team Champions had been Sophie James and Kimberly Williams, NOT Marie Jones.  The women pulled the twin magic almost since day one, since the moment that UWA had decided to put Marie in the tag team division almost exclusively at the expense of her world heavyweight championship aspirations.

Many were shocked by this, shocked that Marie Jones, who was once a hero to many in professional wrestling, would be able to mastermind such a feat.  Many were shocked that Marie would stoop to such lows just to get what she wanted.  They felt it was unfair and unjust and that a crime had been committed against The Heartbreakers.

Crime or not, The Ginger Nation still holds the UWA World Tag Team Championship and now, perhaps more than ever after the #GingerHoax pulled the wool over the eyes of the professional wrestling world, the tag teams of the UWA are looking to dethrone the record setting champions and perhaps bring honor and respectability to belts that many claim have been soiled by the #GingerSwerve.

The Heartbreakers definitely want another shot at the belts.  Understandably so.  They went through hell to get the shot, having to defeat The Burns Brothers and TheSisterhoodto even get to the title match at Against All Odds, then to have Marie, Sophie, and Kim screw them out of the belts in the way that they did definitely has them wanting payback and another title match…

…and they will get that opportunity on Outbreak.  Niles and Corey may be happy about this, but unfortunately for them, they will not be the only ones getting a title shot.

This will be a triple threat match also featuring Angelica and Kayla Jones, The Sisterhood.

For The Heartbreakers this may be just about becoming the world tag team champions, but for The Sisterhood this is incredibly personal and will be incredibly awkward.  Angelica and Kayla Jones will have qualms will beating up Sophie James if given the chance, but Kimberly Williams is an entirely different story…

…for Angelica Jones, at least.

Kimberly is Marie’s twin sister, thus making her Angelica’s daughter.  Angelica is used to fighting Marie in the squared circle as she has had to do it before.  This will be the first time that Angelica has had to fight her other child.

Then there is the matter of Marie herself.  Marie was the mastermind behind the #GingerHoax.  Angelica definitely does not support nor does she endorse Marie’s recent change in attitude, but Angelica is afraid of going after her, of targeting her, of even trying to discipline her, in fear of losing her relationship with Marie.

Now they have to fight, which will be troubling for Angelica.  It won’t be as troubling for Kayla.  Kayla Jones, much more of a professional than her older sibling, able to control her emotions better, will be able to fight Kimberly and Sophie with no qualms.  When push comes to shove, she will be able to kick their teeth down their throat in the name of becoming UWA World Tag Team Champion.

Winning the UWA World Tag Team Championship is ultimately the goal of The Sisterhood.  Winning tag team gold again has been the goal of The Sisterhood since their reunification.  Now they have an opportunity to claim the UWA World Tag Team Championship as theirs; they just have to dethrone the #GingerNation, and they do not even have to beat them to win the match.  Triple threat matches bring chaos with them.  The #GingerNation could lose the belts without being pinned.

This will be far easier for Kayla than it will be for Angelica.  The Sisterhood want to become world tag team champions but if they do win the world tag team titles then it will have to be at the expense of Angelica’s twin daughters, Marie and Kimberly of #GingerNation.

The sky is a bright light blue color on this beautiful day in Boston, Massachusetts just outside of a local gym.  The action, though, is within the walls of that gym.  The sounds of a female grunting as well the echoes of feet against a heavy bag are heard throughout the aforementioned empty gymnasium.

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 Kayla 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.  Nearby Angelica Jones, the elder of the two Jones sisters, is doing sit-ups.  She is wearing a pair of black adidas windpants and a plain white t-shirt with tennis shoes.  Her hair is also pulled into a ponytail in the back.

“997…998…999…1,000!”

Angelica hops up off of the floor, reaching over and snatching her white towel before she does so.  Angelica wipes the sweat from her brow.  Her sister Kayla snickers as she continues kicking hard at the heavy bag.

“What’s so funny?” Angelica asks.

“One thousand sit ups, sis?”

“Of course.  That’s normal for me.”

Kayla ceases striking the bag.  She places her hands on her hips and stares at Angelica suspiciously.

“You’re lying.”

Angelica smiles knowingly.

“Ok, fine…you got me…I only did one hundred.”

Kayla rolls her eyes and then resumes striking the heavy bag. “Riiiiight.”

“I’m serious!”

“Of course you are.”

Angelica steps in front of the bag.

“I’m just glad we have this shot…”

“The tag title shot?”

Angelica nods her head, indicating that Kayla correct in her assumption.

“Yes, the tag title match.”

She takes Kayla by her hand.

“You and me, sis…you and me all the way, all the way to the world tag team titles on Outbreak!  We’ve been fighting so long and we’ve been fighting so hard.  Hell, we’ve been fighting for over a year to win tag team gold.”

Kayla nods her head in agreement.

“That’s right, an entire calendar year…”

“And that drought is about to end.  We’re going into Outbreak and we’re going to win the gold.”

Kayla smirks but then she shakes her head.

“You’re full of shit.”

Angelica blinks her eyes furiously.

“I’m full of…wait, what?!”

“You heard me, sis.  You’re full of shit.  You don’t believe a damn thing about what you say.”

Angelica folds her arms over her chest.  She tilts her head to one side and frowns.

“What makes you say that?”

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out, Angel.  Let’s look at the one simple fact that bothers you more than anything else about this match…”

She holds up one finger.

“…you have to fight your daughter.”

Angelica sighs and nods her head, admitting that Kayla is right.

“Yeah…”

Kayla reaches out and grabs her older sister’s hands, squeezing them tightly.

“I get why you’re worried about this, why you’re nervous about this.  I really do.”

“Do you?  I’m not sure you understand.  My relationship with my daughters has always been a rough and rocky relationship and it’s always been my fault.”

Angelica shakes her head.

“I dare not risk it.  I just…I can’t…”

“Do you want to become World Tag Team Champion?”

Angelica looks up into Kayla’s firey eyes and nods her head.

“Good, because if you want to become World Tag Team Champion then you will HAVE to fight your child…and Sophie James…and The Heartbreakers.  It’s a triple threat match, sis.  First pin wins the gold. We’ve been fighting for this for over a year, as you’ve said, and now we’re on the verge of achieving our goal.  But you don’t want to fight?”

Kayla sighs and shakes her head.

“If you don’t fight with me, then I’m out there on my own, and I can’t beat the Ginger Nation and the Heartbreakers on my own.  We already lost to the Heartbreakers one on one, add the Ginger Nation to the mix, add a little chaos to the mix, and you have the makings for something insurmountable.  Now you know me, I’ll never give up, I’ll give in.  You’ll have to break my damn neck first before I’ll stop.”

“Don’t even think such things, Kay, let alone say it.”

Kayla snickers.

“I know, I’m sorry for reminding you of my bum neck, but you know I’ll fight no matter what.  You know I’ll give it my all.  Unfortunately my all isn’t enough on its own.  I need you, sis.  Kayla Jones cannot win this match by herself.”

She motions to herself and to Angelica.

“The Sisterhood, though…when we’re on the same page, clicking and working on all cylinders, we cannot be beat.  You know this.  All you have to do is just be a professional.  Your daughters are both professionals.”

Angelica finally cracks a smile.

“I’m not sure Kimberly is much of a professional, Kay.”

Kayla snickers.

“Point taken.  But you get my point.  This is all about being a professional, because this is a match, a match for the world tag team championship.”

She places a hand on Angelica’s shoulder.

“And partially about teaching the Ginger Nation a lesson, because you KNOW damn well what they did was not right.”

Angelica sighs and nods her head.

“I think I can…”

“You think?  Sis, you NEED to KNOW that you can do this.  We HAVE to do this.  We have to win this for our professional careers but also to send your children a message, that this kind of action is not right.  Taking the tag titles from Ginger Nation is exactly what we need to do.”

“Kimberly is still my daughter…”

Angelica tenses up.

“…but you’re right, what they did was wrong, and The Sisterhood have been waiting for this opportunity for way too long.  I’m ready, sis.  You and me…all the way.”

Kayla looks at Angelica, staring deep into her eyes. She still is skeptical.  She still doubts Angelica’s sincerity.  But for now, she nods her head.

“Good.  If that’s true, then no one will stop us, and we will be the next UWA World Tag Team Champions.”

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On Camera

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We open in front of a backdrop of a waving flag of Botswana, a bright blue with a black stripe near the center.  Angelica Jones steps into the scene from stage right.  She is wearing a stretch knit dress, black in color, with spaghetti straps and a darted triangle bodice above a banded waist.  The mid length skirt of this dress creates a sleek bodycon look, complementing her curves for an elegant finish.  Her feet are encased in black high heeled pumps.  Her long redhair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  A pair of sunglasses cover her eyes.  The beautiful matriarch of the Jones wrestling family bends over, reaching down for something off screen.  She returns to standing up at full length and we find that she has produced a sign in her left hand, a typical protest sign which reads “Free Botswana!”

“Free Botswana?”

Angelica looks over at the sign and chuckles lightly as she shakes her head.

“This brings back memories, but those memories are not good ones.”

She tosses the sign off screen.  A scowl appears on her face.

“I’ve had a great deal of time to think about this, to think about what I want to do, what I NEED to do heading into Outbreak when my sister and I will challenge The Ginger Nation and The Heartbreakers in a triple threat match for the UWA World Tag Team Championship; because this isn’t just a normal, everyday championship match, now is it?  This isn’t even your typical triple threat match, now is it?”

Angelica shakes her head.

“This is a family affair.  If The Sisterhood expects to become the UWA World Tag Team Champions, then we have to do it at the expense of my own daughter. And I admit, that was a difficult thing at first, especially for me.  But the more I thought about it, the longer I sat and let it simmer in my head, I began to realize that winning the World Tag Team Titles is the best thing that can be done, not only for the careers of me and Kayla, not only for the UWA as a whole, but it is also for the best  of my children.”

A clicking on the hardwood floor is heard.  Eventually the lovely, feminine figure of Kayla Jones steps into view, wearing a gold colored knee length half-sleeve sheath, chic and modern formal cocktail dress with a bateau neckline.  Her feet are encased in strappy three inch heels and her long red hair hangs down unrestrained to shoulder length.

“Angelica is right.  Marie, what you did with Sophie James as a part of the Ginger Nation is an incredible feat.  You were amazing champions for UWA.  There is no denying that.   And I understand that you wanted to be world champion so badly and that you were disappointed in being pigeonholed into the tag team division.  I get it, really.  But you could’ve held those belts for as long as you wanted AND won back the UWA World Championship without having to pull that stunt by switching places with Kimberly.  Pulling that switch, trading places because you are identical twins, that was unfair to Niles and Corey, The Heartbreakers.”

Kayla shakes her head.

“You never gave them a fair opportunity at the titles.  You could’ve beaten them fairly but you had to cheat.  You had to use cheap tricks, cheap and childish tricks.  And to be honest, your title reign here recently has been nothing but childishness.  Sophie dry humping the Heartbreakers mid-match?  Is that what we want out of our world tag team champions?”

Kayla motions to the flag of Botswana behind her and Angelica.

“We know this all too well, right Angelica?”

Angelica nods her head.

“That’s another reason that I was hesitant at first about doing what needed to be done.  The fact is, The Sisterhood, at one point, we weren’t much better than you with our childish games, our ridiculous cheap tricks.  But the difference between the Ginger Nation and The Sisterhood is that we matured.  We learned from our mistake.  We realized that we could get the job done without the silly mind games.  We didn’t need the games or the cheating tactics because we are good enough to beat anyone on any given day!”

The flag of Botswana fades away.  In it’s place is a UWA logo backdrop.

“So we scrapped the dumbass Free Botswana campaign and we started to do things the right way, OUR way, The Sisterhood way!”

Angelica points at the camera.

“And just looking at the collective group known as Ginger Nation, you just make me sick to my stomach because you remind me and Kayla of what we used to be and now it doesn’t really matter to me if my daughter is in the match or not, all of you need to get your ass kicked!  All of you need to have some sense beaten into you!  All of you need a reality check and maybe, just maybe, losing those precious World Tag Team Championships will be just the reality check that brings you back down to earth.”

Kayla smirks.

“You’ve held those belts for over a year now. But in that time period how many times have you actually been legitimately challenged?  Hell, if I remember correctly, there was a period of a couple months where you went without even defending the belts; I imagine that was primarily because you kept going against the same opponents over and over again.  A year long title reign, but how REAL is that title reign?  How legitimate is that title reign?”

She shrugs her shoulders.

“Who knows?  Well we’re about to find out just how good you really are because this is going to be the biggest challenge of your title reign.  Even with that twin trick you have going on, it’ll be damn difficult to overcome two teams…”

She holds up two fingers.

“…two teams, both looking to take what you have.  And you don’t even have to get beaten to lose those belts on Outbreak.  Now I think that would just be poetic justice if you lost the titles after The Sisterhood beats The Heartbreakers.”

Angelica nods her head in agreement.

“And that brings us to Niles and Corey.  The Heartbreakers is an appropriate for you two boys, considering it wasn’t but a few weeks ago that you broke OUR hearts by denying us a shot at the World Tag Team Titles.”

Kayla shoots her older sibling a stoic glare.

“You really are not as funny as you think you are, sis.”

“I beg to differ.  I happen to think I’m hilarious.”

Kayla rolls her eyes.

“Well one thing that isn’t going to be funny is Outbreak, and it won’t be funny for you two.  You were cheated by the Ginger Nation out of a fair shot at the tag team championship.  You deserve to have a fair one on one opportunity, because you did earn that shot, you earned that opportunity when you beat The Burns Brothers and then went on to defeat Angelica and I.”

The younger sibling shakes her head.

“That won’t happen again.  We made the mistake of underestimating you, and that’s on us, but just like we told Sophie and Kim, we have learned from our previous errors, we have grown, and we will not make the same mistake twice.”

Angelica shakes her head.

“No, Kayla, we won’t make the same mistakes again.  And Niles, Corey, as much as you may deserve another opportunity at the titles, and hell, some may even go as far as to say that Against All Odds should’ve been your night…”

Angelica takes her sunglasses off and tosses them aside.

“…but Outbreak will not be the time and the place for your vindication.  Outbreak will not be the night that you get revenge against Ginger Nation and claim the UWA World Tag Team Championship.”

She motions to herself and her sister Kayla.

“Outbreak is our night to complete a year long quest for redemption.  Outbreak will be our night, after over a year, to finally become World Tag Team Champions again.  I hate that our redemption journey has to come at your expense, but you stand in our way of tag team gold and that just can’t happen!  We won’t let you stop us!”

Kayla smirks.

“So Niles and Corey, you two can continue breaking the hearts of young teenage girls everywhere, that’s fine, but the gold is coming home to us.  As for Ginger Nation…”

She shakes her head in disgust.

“You do make us sick; you make us sick to our stomach with how you disrespect the business we love.  You think this is just a damn game?  It’s NOT!  This is a serious life and death world as far as The Sisterhood is concerned.  But hey, if you want to act like childish fools then go for it.  Sophie can hump the damn referee if she wants and Kimberly can play any damn games that she wants, but Angelica and I take this business serious and we will fight, we will never give up, and we will sacrifice everything in order to become the tag team champions.”

Kayla turns towards Angelica.

“And what else are we going to do to them, sis?”

Angelica’s eyes light up like a child on Christmas Day.

“You mean…I can say IT?”

Kayla nods her head.

“Yes…”

Angelica grins knowingly.

“Heartbreakers, Ginger Nation…we’re going to kick your teeth, right down your throat!”

The camera fades to black.