Natural Selection

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Off Camera

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It’s bitter, cold, and dark outside in a gloomy, creepy cemetery on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts.  Inside this cemetery are trees, some are alive and well, but most of them are dying.  The grass is also dying, as indicated by its brownish color.  Lightning can be seen flashing in the background the wind can be heard howling off in the distance.  Leaves are blown about and while most of the headstones in the cemetery are upright and stable, others look as if they could topple over any moment, they look in total disarray.  Not a person, squirrel or even bird can be seen.  Its eerily quiet and empty, just completely empty.  Off to one side a new looking headstone stands out. Even the ground in front of the stone is fresh dirt.  The smell of moss and decaying leaves permeates the air.  Off in the distance is a marble stately mausoleum, which is in direct contrast to the rest of the cemetery, which is in clear disarray and has been neglected.

Standing directly in front of the entrance to this magnificent mausoleum is the red headed Bostonian known as Angelica Jones.  Angelica is wearing a long flowing black maxi skirt, black high heeled pumps underneath, a white silk blouse, and a matching floral print black blazer.  Her long red hair hangs unrestrained to shoulder length.  There is a distinct look on her face that tells the story of a woman who is deeply troubled.  She is shaken up, more so than she has ever been shaken up.  This woman, who has dealt with so much tragedy and triumph in her lifetime, is faced with a new challenge, one that has her shaken to her very core and questioning whether or not she can continue.

“I don’t…” Tears form in her eyes as she shakes her head “…I just don’t know.”

“What don’t you know?”

That second voice is not who you might expect.  It isn’t her younger sibling, Kayla Jones, her tag team partner and confidant who always gives her advice and guidance on how to get through tough times like this.  Angelica came here without Kayla.  Angelica is here with her daughter; one of them at least.

Kimberly Williams steps up behind her mother.  Kimberly is dressed far simpler and much more casual than Angelica, wearing torn denim jeans, black sneakers, and a black t-shirt with the words “I Like Throwing Things At Old People” written in bright purple lettering.  Angelica Jones turns around and faces her daughter.  She sighs and once again shakes her head.

“I don’t know who I am.”

“This isn’t like that amnesia shit, is it?” Kimberly says with a half-joking smirk on her face. “Because, you know, I have absolutely no experience fixing that crap.”

“Be serious, Kim.” Angelica remarks with a critical frown. “I think you know exactly what I mean.”

“Well then,” Kimberly folds her arms over her chest and studies her mother intently “tell me all about it.”

Angelica and Kimberly haven’t had much of an opportunity to bond as mother and daughter.  Kimberly, the mentally unbalanced sociopath, has only recently been through her own mental crisis and was accepted back into the family after being cleared by a family psychiatrist.  Angelica had always promised to spend more time with Kimberly, so this is an opportunity to do just that, to bond with a daughter she never knew she had, and plus there’s the fact that Kimberly has endured some of what Angelica is currently going through right now.  It made more sense to Angelica that she bring Kimberly along rather than Kayla, Marie, or any other member of the Jones family.

“A long  time ago, before you or Marie were even conceived, I witnessed my mother get sexually assaulted and then murdered by an assassin, a hitman who was gunning to make an example out of her for my father, to scare him off of a case he was working on for the FBI.  Then to make matters worse my dad abandoned Kayla and I.  We ended up in social services while he adventured in Europe trying to track down mom’s killer.” A look of intensity and anger flashes across Angelica’s face as she recounts these memories to Kimberly.  “I used those memories to fuel me throughout my life.  Dad left me and Kayla in a position where we were doomed to flounder in the abyss of the system.  But I was determined to fight my way out of that situation and damn it, I did!”

“Woo hoo!” Kimberly says playfully pumping her fists like a cheerleader. “Go team!”

“I was also determined not to be the type of parent my father was.” Angelica continues on as she ignores Kimberly’s playful antics. “I refused to abandon my children.  At the end of the day, Kim, this family will come first before anything else.  That was how I planned to honor my mother’s memory.”

                         

“Sounds great.” Kim answers back. “So what’s the problem?”

“That’s the problem.” Angelica sighs and motions to the mausoleum behind her. “I was convinced mom was dead.  I thought my father was a scoundrel who didn’t care about me.  But in the recent SCW European Tour my entire belief system, everything I knew, was destroyed.”

“What do you mean?” Kimberly asks, cocking her head to one side and gazing at her mother with a look of confusion.

“We need to go inside.” Angelica remarks, pointing towards the entrance to the mausoleum.

Angelica just turns and steps towards the entrance to the mausoleum.  She doesn’t even bother to check behind her to see if Kimberly is following her; it’s as if she instinctually knows that her daughter will follow her inside, whether it be out of trust or just out of sheer curiosity about what her mother has to tell her.

Inside of the mausoleum is full of marble and granite.  It’s exquisite, definitely befitting a family with connections.  It didn’t used to be this grandiose.  Kayla and Angelica have added to it, trying to make it look nicer as their own wealth increased over time.  They wanted to honor their family in a way they felt their family didn’t honor themselves.  Kimberly is definitely impressed.

“Looks nice.” Kimberly remarks.

“This is our family mausoleum.  This is where our father’s remains will go if we ever get them back.”

“If….?”

“Don’t ask.” Angelica motions to a marker in the center, with an angel over the top of it.  The marker reads “Kelly Jones”.  “That is where I thought my mother’s remains were.”

Angelica stands there and stares at the marker for a long time.  Tears return to her eye, which she immediately wipe out of her eyes.  Then she turns to face Kimberly.

“Now do you see?  My entire life, everything I’ve done, was based on a lie.  I am a thirteen time world champion and I achieved that success for the memory of my mother.  I am a somewhat successful country music recording artist and I did that for the memory of my mother.  But it turns out I did all of that for the memory of a lie…all of it was based on a lie…”

“Is that so?” Kimberly chuckles as she approaches her mother and, in a move very much unlike the sociopathic Kim, places a loving, comforting hand upon Angelica’s shoulder. “Well let me tell you, I know a thing or two about having a life based on a lie.”

“I know…” Angelica’s voice trails off.  She does know all too well about the life Kimberly lived.  She still blames herself.

“I was raised off the grid by a sociopath and I didn’t even know of your existence until I was a teenager and even then my knowledge of your existence was limited.  My head was filled with lies about you, and for a long time I believed those lies.  Those lies, combined with being raised by a sociopath, it twisted my mind.  I was one fucked up girl…imagine what it did to me when I found out all of that was a lie…imagine what it did to me when I learned the truth…” Kimberly chuckles “…you know, mom, as disturbing as it is to you, I still would love to take Marie’s place, to take her life as my own.  But…”

Kimberly sighs and shakes her head “…I just know that isn’t going to happen.  I just have to play the hand that was dealt me.  You know?”

Angelica nods her head.  She understands precisely what her daughter is trying to tell her.  The elder Jones walks over to the marker that falsely marks her mother’s remains and she places a hand on it.

“Yeah, I know.  I just have to play the hand that was dealt to me.  My whole reality has changed and I have to adapt to those changes.”

“That’s right.” Kimberly remarks, stepping up beside her mother. “But that doesn’t mean you have to change who you are.”

“Doesn’t it?  This has shaken me to my core.  I have been hurt by this emotionally and mentally.  Kayla thinks I need to get professional help.”  She turns her attention to Kim, looking her square in the eyes. “What do you think?  Do I need professional help?”

“Coming from someone who just got through with some professional help, I’d say it couldn’t hurt.” Kim says with a smirk on her face. Then she shrugs her shoulders. “But who am I to tell you what to do?”

“No, it wouldn’t hurt.” Angelica says, shaking her head. “And to be perfectly honest, Kayla is probably right.  I probably do need the help.  But…”

Angelica’s voice trails off and Kimberly immediately takes note of it and calls her out on it.

“But what?”

“I’m scared, Kim.”

“You’re scared?” Kimberly can’t help but laugh a little at this prospect. “The great Angelica Jones is AFRAID of something?  Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Well what is it?” Kimberly asks, very intrigued. “What’s so bad about mental help that’s so frightening?  I mean, I was there and it didn’t hurt me.”

“You are stronger than me.” Angelica says with a sigh. “You, your sister, all of you in this family.  You’re all stronger than me emotionally and mentally.  But me…I’m weak…”

“Nonsense.” Kimberly says, shaking her head. “You’re strong.  Damned strong.”

“I’m not!” Angelica exclaims. “I’m weak and I’m scared!  I’m scared of going back…I’m afraid that…that…”

“That what?  What are you afraid of?”

“The last time I saw a psychiatrist was when it was court ordered and I was locked up in an institution.”

“But that was almost a lifetime ago.” Kimberly counters, hoping to calm her mother, but Angelica shakes her head.

“It doesn’t matter…I’m afraid that if I go back to the psychiatrist again, I won’t be coming out.”

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On Camera

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Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution would have no legs to stand on were it not for natural selection. Natural selection means that those who are capable of adapting and changing will survive but those who cannot or will not adapt to change will fall into extinction.

I credit you with this one thing, Konrad; you do recognize the reality of change and the necessity of adapting to those changes.

You had to compete in a hardcore match, something you claim you personally detest.  Now you could’ve been the weakling who ran from a fight but you didn’t.  You were not afraid to get violent.  You have added a brand new dimension to your game, a hardcore dimension. Instead of sticking your head in the sand and letting the world pass you by, you learned and you adapted.

That’s a lesson I had to learn before I even got involved in the wrestling business. I learned growing up that this life is a cutthroat, kill or be killed kind of life.  I learned growing up that you had to do what it takes to survive and sometimes that meant violence.  That lesson served me well when I did become a wrestler.

You were once a lone wolf in SCW and while it may have taken you a while to learn the necessity of having friends and allies, the fact is that you did learn.  You learned the lesson and you followed suit.  You joined my old sparring partners; you joined Adrenaline Rush.

Hey, I congratulate you on your choice of allies.  The Sisterhood have had quite the rivalry with Adrenaline Rush.  Sometimes we’re cool, most of the time not, but there’s always a respect there.  I can personally vouch for what they can do.  And so you chose them to side with.

I learned that lesson far quicker than you.  I learned real quick that you cannot be an island unto yourself.  If nothing else, I do have my sister backing me up until the bitter end.

Speaking of the “bitter end”, it seems that things are changing oh so rapidly in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  Newcomers and rookies are joining our ranks right and left, the tag team division has been shaken up by the addition of new, formidable tag teams, and hell, it seems as if even the comic relief crew are being granted title shots ahead of those more deserving.   And don’t get me started on the damned lizard people.

So, with all of these changes taking place at such a rapid fire pace, can Angelica Jones adapt?  Is Angelica Jones just a relic of the past destined to go extinct?

Natural Selection will not be the end of me.

You’ve seen the writing on the wall, Konrad, and you changed.  You adapted.  Good for you.  But that’s the one area we are alike.  I, too, need to change.  I need to adapt.  And that means perhaps doing something that I never wanted to do.  Doing something that even I am afraid of.  It means embracing something that I have kept suppressed for a very long time.

But if it means my survival, if it’s the key to my adapting to the changing environment, then I will embrace any and all necessary changes.  The key to my adaptation and change is accepting that there are three faces of Angelica Jones.

Konrad Raab, you will meet each and every one of them.

The Firestar is too fast for you and more importantly The Firestar is more competitive than you.  As big and strong as you are, there is nothing you can do to beat the competitive fire out of her.  There is nothing you can do to make her give up or quit the fight.

The Golden Goddess is a ring general unlike any other you’ve had to face, Konrad.  The Golden Goddess knows every trick in the book and will use each and every one of them against you if necessary.  The Golden Goddess is a master strategist and will devise a perfect plan of victory.

Finally there’s The Dragon, the part of me I’ve tried to suppress.  But no more.  I’m done holding back.  The Dragon, my more violent and aggressive side, is going to be unleashed against any and every opponent that I face.

And that includes you, Konrad.

Part of adapting to a changing environment is learning and Konrad, I have been in this business for a very long time.  I have a lot of experience and I have learned a great many things over my time as a professional wrestler.  I will use that experience and knowledge, I will use those lessons I learned, as weapons against you on Breakdown.

One thing I have recently learned is that it is indeed very difficult to win back the trust of your colleagues and, indeed, the fans.  Granted, the fans seem to have been a bit more forgiving of The Sisterhood than the locker room.  Kayla and I can fight each of our matches fair and square and no matter what happens, as much as we try, we’ll end up still with the locker room doubting us.  The locker room against us.

But hey, I admit, we brought that on ourselves. So there’ll be no complaining from The Sisterhood.  I have had to fight my way up on my own from my teenage years up until I broke into the wrestling business.  I know what it’s like to fight on my own without any support and so does Kayla. We’re used to it and by God, we’ll do it again if we have to.  We’ll keep fighting and we can keep winning or go on another losing streak, but ultimately we will keep fighting until we have earned the respect of the locker room back.

That’s what I want more than anything else out of this match, Konrad.  It’s not really about a win for me as much as it is about respect and earning the respect of the SCW locker room by proving we are not the childish Free Botswana team of old, we are not the egomaniacs who think the tag team division belongs to us.  Kayla and I are the two time SCW World Tag Team Champions.

And as for me specifically, I am a legend who has a deep respect for this business, a respect that runs deep, way too deep to make a joke out of this business or to belittle anyone.  I have contributed a lot to this business, I have given to this business.  I already have a career worthy enough of me retiring right here and now if I wanted to.

But I’m not ready to call it quits.  Not right now, not the way my legacy as part of The Sisterhood here in SCW is perceived. I’m not finished until I win back the respectability I deserve, the respectability that I admit I have squandered.

What all of this means, Konrad is that you can expect me to put you through hell on Breakdown.  Win, lose, or draw, expect a fight, because I’m bringing the fight to you.