Fixing the Problem

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Off Camera

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“You were wrong!”

Angelica is making a beeline towards her younger sister Kayla.  They are in the hallway of the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin where Supreme Championship Wrestling is hosting a House Show.  Angelica seems rather upset, some might even say angry, as she tries to catch up with her sister Kayla, who walks as fast as she can to try and get away from her.

“Not now, Angelica.”

“Don’t you run away from me!”

Kayla is not running but she is definitely walking rather briskly.  Angelica speeds up her own pace to catch up with Kayla.  Kayla turns a corner and then enters an open dressing room.  She tries to shut it on Angelica’s face but Angelica gets her foot in the doorway in time, stopping it in time.  Angelica then pushes herself the rest of the way inside.  Angelica places her hands on her hips and watches as her sister turns to face her.

“We have to talk about this now, Kayla.”

“No, not right now.”

“Yes, yes we do,” Angelica points a finger at Kayla “because YOU were wrong and now WE have to fix it.”

Kayla sighs and shakes her head.

“First of all, I was NOT wrong.  Breaking up The Sisterhood was the right idea.  Going our individual singles routes was and still is the right way to go.”

And therein lies the reason for the argument.  At least that’s what Kayla thinks.  After failing to recapture the SCW World Tag Team Championship at Taking Hold of the Flame, the Jones women went their separate ways to take on singles careers.  Kayla engaged Punk Hazard and later on lost to Jake Starr.  Angelica nearly won the SCW Television Championship but lost due to interference from James Evans.  One could argue that their singles attempt has not been too successful.

But is there something else here?  Is there something else Angelica is upset about?  Perhaps.  Angelica Jones shakes her head vehemently.

“No, that’s NOT what I’m talking about!”

“Then what are you talking about?”

“April 3^rd…” Angelica lets Kayla think about it for a moment “…does that date ring any bells?”

Kayla shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head.

“Umm, no?”

“Then allow me to remind you of what happened that day.  On April 3^rd, 2016 SCW told us we HAD To participate in that stupid half-assed Best of the Best Tournament or we’d be fired.”

“Oh yeah…” a look of realization washes across Kayla’s face “…I remember now.”

“Do you remember what I said?”

Kayla nods her head.

“Yes, I do.  You said that we should walk away.  You wanted us to quit.”

“Right, but you begged me to stay.”

I didn’t beg…” Kayla says, rolling her eyes.

“Whatever.  Point is that you wanted me to stay, you wanted us both to stay.  You wanted The Sisterhood to stick together and to remain a force here in SCW.  So I agreed to stay and I agreed to change our behavior.  I agreed to play by the rules.  You said we’d eventually get what we wanted.”

Angelica shrugs her shoulders and looks from side to side as if she is looking for something.

“I wanted the SCW World Tag Team Championship.  Tell me, where are my belts?”

“We wanted a tag title match and we got it.”

Angelica pokes a finger in Kayla’s chest.

“YOU wanted a tag title match, but I wanted the belts.”

Kayla slaps her older sister’s hand away.

“Do not try to intimidate me, Angelica.   You know it won’t work.”

There is a tense stare down.  Angelica is seething but Kayla doesn’t back down.  Eventually Angelica’s face softens and she sighs.

“I’m sorry, Kayla, I’m just…I’m just…”

“Frustrated?”

Angelica nods her head and smiles weakly.

“Yeah…”

“Look, I get the frustration, I really do.”

Kayla wraps an arm around her sister’s shoulder.

“But quitting at this juncture is hardly the answer.  We made the right move and we need to continue on this path.  Things will get better for those who wait.  Trust me.”

“I trust you, Kay, but I’m not sure I have the patience to wait.”  Angelica shakes her head. “I cannot wait for opportunities to fall into my lap.  Something has to happen even if it means WE make it happen.”

“We?” Kayla frowns. “You’re assuming that I want to make anything happen.”

“Surely you’re not happy with your current situation?”

“How would you know?  I recently kicked Alexis Quinne’s ass.”

“And lost to Jake Starr.  And as of now you have NOTHING for Rise To Greatness.”

Kayla sighs and nods her head.

“You’re right…”

Kayla looks at her sister straight in the eyes.

“…so what do you suggest?”

“I suggest that maybe we made another mistake when we agreed to go our separate ways.  I suggest that maybe we should jump back into the tag team division again.”

“Angelica, please, not that.  Look, we haven’t given this singles thing enough time.”

“I figured you might say that.”

Angelica turns and starts to walk away.  She stops at the door.

“Just think it over, Kayla, because if things don’t get better for both of us, then I’m going to ask you one more time about a Sisterhood reunion, and I will not take no for an answer.”

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On Camera

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You may have guessed that I am feeling just a little frustrated lately with my current status in Supreme Championship Wrestling.  I had Miller dead to rights.  I should have had Ace Marshall one on one yet that moronic, generic, wannabe badass reject Miller gets to be a part of that Television title match making it a triple threat?  And then James Evans sticks his nose into my business and SCW does nothing.  It just sits on its fucking hands and does nothing while an injustice is done.  I should be the SCW Television Champion right now but that didn’t happen and I don’t blame Miller’s involvement to make what should have been a one on one match a triple threat and I do not blame James Evans and his involvement in the match either.

I blame SCW.

Anyone who is honest will admit that I should have been the SCW Television Champion.  SCW knows it and if they were honest with themselves then they would have at the very least given me another Television Title Eliminator.

Instead I’m stuck heading into a future match against Justin Davis in some kind of half-assed Boston Challenge?

Here’s a newsflash for everyone listening out there.  I do not need to participate in a Boston Challenge to prove I am the best athlete in Boston.  If given the chance I know I can beat Ace Marshall for the SCW World Championship and prove just what I’ve been saying from day one, that I am the absolute best wrestler to walk the earth.  I deserve to be treated better than this.  I deserve better matches and better opportunities.

I should not be stuck on the undercard in what amounts to the piss break match.  I’m sorry, but it is the piss break match and I deserve better.  Hell, my match on Breakdown against Thomas Valentine is a bigger match than what I get at Rise To Greatness.

Now Valentine gets Christy Matthews for the SCW Adrenaline Championship at Rise To Greatness.  So if I beat his ass on Breakdown, does that mean I’m just as worthy of a title shot as he is?  Logic would say so.  But do you think SCW management cares about logic?

No, they don’t.

Thomas Valentine versus Angelica Jones is definitely not a piss break match.  Tommy Valentine bringing his best and The Dragon bringing her best will make for one hell of a match, I can guarantee you that.  Together we can bring down the house.  Together we can have a great fight that the fans of SCW won’t soon forget.

But Valentine needs to understand that I have something to prove here.  He already has his title match.  He has something worth fighting for.  But me?  I have nothing worthwhile at  Rise To Greatness.   I don’t have a match that I really give a damn about at Rise To Greatness. But one thing that Free Botswana crap proved is that whining about it isn’t going to change anything.  There is only one way I can initiate any kind of true change in my current situation.

I have to physically change it and I do that by proving that I am worthy of a better spot on the card than what I have currently been given.  I have to show the SCW management that neglecting me and ignoring me is a terrible mistake.  And I can only show them this at your expense, Tommy…

Win, lose, or draw?  Hell, who knows with me lately?  It seems as if SCW has had it in for me lately so I’m not going to make any grand, bold predictions here.  What I will say is that I fully intend to hurt you as much as I can….

…but most importantly, I fully intend to put on the best performance I can, I fully intend to give you a fight like you’ve never had before in your life, and at the end of it all, you will know you have been through a war with The Dragon.

Return of Emma

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Scene 1

Off Camera               

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Reinhold Messner was the first man to climb Mt. Everest without the use of compressed oxygen.  When he was interviewed by a reporter, he was asked this one question: “Why did you go u p there knowing you could have died?  Why did you go up there to die?”

His response?

“I didn’t go up there to die.  I went up there to live.”

Angelica Jones can certainly relate to Reinhold Messner.  Just as Messner lived and thrived upon challenges such as Mt. Everest, Angelica lives and thrives upon the challenges of professional wrestling.  Wherever there is a new challenge, she feels she must conquer it, she feels she must overcome it, she feels she must use it as another opportunity to cement herself and her legacy as among the best athletes in the world of professional wrestling.

Most of her career was spent taking on the challenge of Global Division of Wrestling but she would move on to other companies, companies such as Motor City Wrestling, Future Wrestling Alliance, Millennium Wrestling Alliance, Global Championship Wrestling, and even Supreme Championship Wrestling.  To say that Angelica has been around the block quite a few times in this industry would be a major understatement.

But now a new challenge is facing Angelica Jones, one that she will tackle head on just as she has tackled all of her other challenges…

…Uprising Wrestling Alliance.

Does Angelica have anything to prove to anyone?  Absolutely not.  So why did she sign a contract to wrestle with the UWA?  What brings her here to this company?

It’s partially about competition for Angelica; competition in the sense that she wants to leave her mark indelibly upon the wrestling world so that no one can deny her greatness, nor will they deny her legendary status.  Yet there is another part of Angelica just likes the thrill of a good fight and that also play a partial role in her choosing to sign with UWA.  And there is no denying that UWA is just the place for a good fight.

Angelica also realizes that UWA will be a big risk and that risk comes in the form of her own daughter, Marie Annabelle Jones.  The younger Jones, the child of the legendary Angelica, has long wanted her independence and has long wanted to be able to prove to the world that she can do this on her own without her mother’s support.

Granted, Angelica being in the same company does not necessarily mean anything.  Marie knows this as does Angelica.  But they also know that perception is all too often reality in the sport of professional wrestling and the outside world could perceive Angelica being there just to provide Marie assistance and support.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Angelica is there to further her own career.

She knows a confrontation with Marie is coming soon but there is at least one confrontation that she will not have to worry about and that is a confrontation with her other daughter, the one known as Kimberly Williams.

The issue with Kimberly?  For years Kimberly grew up thinking that Emma Storm was her mother when in reality Angelica was Kimberly’s mother all along and had been keeping it a secret.

Angelica has now let the secret out.  She and Kimberly have talked things over and peace has been made between mother and estranged daughter and they have reconciled to try and make things even better in the future.

It appears that things could not get much better for The Dragon of Professional Wrestling…

…but appearances can be deceiving.

Right now Angelica finds herself in a local gym with her sister Kayla.  Both women are similarly attired in adidas windpants, though Angelica’s are black while Kayla’s are red.  Both are wearing white tennis shoes and both are wearing t-shirts, though Angelica’s is white while Kayla’s is purple.  Both women have their long red hair pulled into a ponytail in the back.

This local gym is full of people working out but Kayla and Angelica are focusing on the heavy bags.  Kayla is watching her sister drive her fists and feet into the bag as hard as she can.

“Good job, sis…keep it up.”

Kayla nods her head.

“Harder, now!  Yes, harder!”

“I don’t need the encouragement, Kay.”

Kayla watches Angelica continue to go to work on the heavy bag with her fists and feet.  Kayla just grins knowingly.

“Could have surprised me.”

Angelica stops and turns to face Kayla, hands on her hips.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t mean to insult you or question your wrestling ability, but let’s face facts, your match against Miller was not a wrestling match.  It was a fight.”

Angelica shrugs her shoulders.

“So?”

“It means a few things.  First of all, if you had kept it was a wrestling match, you may have won outright instead of just drawing with the bastard.”

She holds up two fingers.

“Secondly, if you are hell bent to fight him OR Ace Marshall next time, you need to be better prepared.”

Kayla holds up three fingers.

“And three, you have Gavin Taylor at Olympus in your UWA debut.  Gavin can definitely get it done either way, as a wrestler or as a fighter.  So you need to be prepared.”

Kayla motions back to the heavy bag.

“Now get to it!”

Angelica rolls her eyes and resumes her punching and kicking of the heavy bag.  She doesn’t like being lectured by her younger sister but Kayla does raise some good points and if she wants to continue her winning ways, she will need to be prepared for the upcoming challenges that face her.  Just as Reinhold Messner equipped himself and prepared himself for anything, she must be equipped and prepared for any inevitability or any possibility that may come her way as she prepares for the next big challenge in her career…

…UWA.

Gavin Taylor was a former two time Evolution Champion in the Independent Wrestling Cartel.  He knows how to get it done inside of the ring and Angelica knows that defeating him will be a tough task.  She was definitely not given an easy squash match for her debut.  Angelica, though, has the ultimate confidence in her abilities and she knows she can win this.

The ringing of her cell phone causes Angelica to stop what she’s doing.  She looks towards her gym bag and goes for it but Kayla stops her.

“Whoa, hold on, sis…”

“What?  I need to answer my phone!”

Kayla shakes her head.

“No, YOU need to get back to training.”

She points at the heavy bag.  Then she points at herself.

“I will answer your phone.”

Angelica rolls her eyes as she resumes punching and kicking the heavy bag.  Meanwhile Kayla reaches into Angelica’s gym bag and produces the cell phone.  She presses a button and puts it to her ear.

“Hello?”

Angelica listens intensely to what Kayla has to say.

“Yes, she’s here, but may I ask who is calling?”

Kayla frowns.

“No, she’s kind of busy.  What’s this about, anyway?”

Kayla sighs and shakes her head.

“Fine…”

Kayla hands the phone over to Angelica.

“Whoever this is insists she speak to you and to you only…”

Angelica shrugs her shoulders but takes the phone anyway and puts it to her ear.

“Hello…”

“Do you recognize my voice?”

Angelica’s eyes grow wide.

“Yes.”

“Good.  We need to talk.”

“Where can I find you?”

“You can find me in your second home…Sister Angelica…”

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Scene 2

Off Camera

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Kayla was none too happy with Angelica’s decision to leave so suddenly, nor was she particularly happy with Angelica’s unwillingness to let her know what was so wrong that she had to keep this a secret.  Angelica feels she can tell Kayla later.  Now is not the time to explain why she is to get to the local Catholic Church.

That’s right, Angelica’s “second home”, according to the person on the phone, is none other than the Catholic Church. Angelica knew that is what they meant when they referred to her as “Sister Angelica”, a reference to Angelica’s past life as a nun in the Catholic Church.

Angelica Jones, still in her workout gear no less, quickly makes a hasty rush up the steps to the doors.  She pulls one set of doors open and steps inside.  She is greeted by an image of Pope Francis on the wall.  She walks past that picture and past the Holy Water on the other wall until she steps up to the doorway to the entrance to the actual sanctuary itself. Angelica looks up and she can see the massive crucifix at the front of the church. Without taking her eyes off of the crucifix, Angelica quickly makes the sign of the cross over her chest.

The redhead notices a woman with platinum blonde hair sitting in the back pew.  Angelica walks to the back pew, briefly bows and then sits down in the back pew.

“It’s been a long time, Sister Angelica…”

“Yeah, it has been…Emma.”

Emma Storm, the woman to whom Angelica gave Kimberly nearly thirty years ago, the woman who raised Kimberly as her own, is the one who requested this meeting with Angelica and is now sitting here next to her.

“I have to admit, Sister Angelica, I am surprised I convinced you to come here.”

Emma grins knowingly.

“I thought Mother Church had excommunicated you for your lesbian preferences.”

“As far as they’re concerned I’m straight.”

“So you’re keeping your marriage a secret?  Why Sister Angelica, you continue to surprise me.”

Angelica frowns.

“Quit calling me Sister Angelica.  I am no longer a nun.”

“That was your sister who I spoke with on the phone, correct?”

“Yes.”

Emma smirks.

“See?  You are still a sister.”

Angelica rolls her eyes.

“You know what I meant.”

“Indeed I do, and I meant it when I say that you are looking quite well.”

Angelica looks genuinely surprised to hear this compliment from Emma.  The two were never really close.

“Uh, thanks…”

“I am just telling you the truth.  I only wish I could say the same for myself.”

The Emma that Angelica remembers always made certain to wear the finest clothing and sport the finest jewelry.  But this Emma looks rough around the edges.  This Emma looks as if she has been through hell and back a few times.

“What happened to you?”

“My daughter…”

Angelica interrupts her with an angry growl.

“…you mean MY daughter.”

“No, I mean MY daughter.  Remember our arrangement.”

“Whatever…what about Kimberly?”

“She is the reason I look this way.  The last time I saw her she had me locked in my own basement.”

Angelica blinks in confusion.

“That was a couple years ago, that can’t hardly explain this!”

“Correct, but I trusted my Kimberly and that was my mistake.  I gave her access to all of my resources and she and I worked well together for a time but I inadvertently made her angry and she locked me in my own basement.  Yes, I did escape eventually, but I had no money, no job, no home, nothing.  Kimberly took it all.”

Emma places a hand on Angelica’s shoulders.

“That is where you come in.”

“Me?!”

“Yes, I need to work way back to where I was.  I do not want to have anything handed to me.  All I want from you is a job with a wrestling organization.  You have connections with Supreme Championship Wrestling, Global Championship Wrestling, and Uprising Wrestling Alliance, correct?”

Angelica nods her head.

“That’s right, but…”

“All I want is an opportunity, Angelica.  I will wrestle, I will manage, I’d clean toilets, I will do anything.  I just need an opportunity.  That’s all.”

Angelica narrows her brow.  She shakes her head.

“No…”

“No?!”

“That’s right, no.  Nearly thirty years ago you took my children from me…”

“…you GAVE them to me!”

“…and you tricked Sean into dumping me!  You…you ruined my life!  Why the hell would I help you?!”

Emma sighs.

“I’m sorry, Angelica.”

“I’m sorry doesn’t cut it.  Not now.  It’s far too late for you.”

“Fine, fine, will you at least tell me where my daughter is?”

“YOUR daughter?  You don’t have a daughter, Emma!  Kimberly is MINE!”

Emma shakes her head.

“No, she is mine.  You gave her to me.  Remember our deal.”

“I told her the truth, Emma.”

Immediately upon hearing this Emma shoots up from the pew.

“You told her the truth?!  WHY?!”

Angelica stands up, facing her eye to eye.

“She’s an adult now, Emma, and deserves to know the truth.”

“But that wasn’t our deal!”

“That deal was thirty years ago, Emma!  It’s over!”

“No, it’s not over!”

Emma walks past Angelica, shoving her back down into the pew.  Just before leaving, Emma turns and glares angrily down at Angelica.

“This was a mistake, Angelica, and I want you to know that I will be back.  You will pay for this.”

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On Camera

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So here I am, UWA: The Dragon, The Golden Goddess, Firestar…all three of me…whatever you want to call me…I am here to compete, to prove that I am the best, and I am prepared to run through anyone who dares to try and stop me.

Some love me, some hate me, and still others fear me.  Everyone respects me whether they want to admit it or not and those few that don’t respect me are the fools who haven’t shared a wrestling ring with me yet, they are the few fools who have not had to go up against The Dragon.  But ask those who have had to stare into the eyes of hell itself…

…most blinked.

Gavin Taylor is about to share a wrestling ring with hell itself.

Knowing David Helms and Drew Bryant, I knew that they would not disrespect me by giving me some pushover of an opponent for my UWA debut on the grandest stage of them all, Olympus.  I just didn’t expect the opponent to be a challenge quite like Gavin Taylor.

I followed your career in IWC where twice you won the IWC Evolution Championship.  You took our world champion Vanilla Skyy to her physical limits.  Now you’re here in UWA and you’ve been rather stagnant.  It’s like you hit a plateau and can’t seem to get any higher than where you currently are.  And maybe, just maybe, you are hoping that a win against me will propel you back to the top.

That just isn’t going to happen.

I am no one’s springboard and I am damn sure not going to let my UWA debut at Olympus be used to save anyone’s career.  This match is going to help just one person and one person only…

…me.

Come Olympus you will step into the ring with The Dragon and you will stare into the Dragon’s eyes.  You will face the fires of The Dragon.  And unlike some you will not blink and you will not run away.  You will face it courageously…

…but you will still be consumed by the flames.  Just like everyone else was consumed by the flames after they fought me.

This is MY debut match, Gavin, not your wrestling resurrection.  This is my time to show UWA what I am capable of, not your time.  UWA has seen what you are capable of.  Now they get to see me and they will see me take you down, take you apart if necessary, and ultimately defeat you on the grandest stage…my stage…on the Olympus stage.