Post by Teo Blaze on Jul 13, 2018 21:24:16 GMT -5
Wednesday, July 11th.
2 days before XIII.
The Mexico sun is high and bright, bearing down over the small desert town. The brown adobe roofs baking under the punishing heat. Older townsfolk sit on wooden porches held together loosely by steel nails and smile, watching young children run about the streets, playing games with water pistols and balloons, doing everything possible to alleviate the summer heat. Though the viewer watches, the sun seems to almost push past the screen, the sweltering desert air dry and arid even through the television screen.
It is on this summer day that Teo del Sol finds himself standing out among the sand dunes just beyond the boundaries of the city, his mentor leaning on a long-destroyed fencepost. Teo is seated on a long, flat rock, clothed in only a loose pair of shorts, feeling the burn come down on him like a laser beam, droplets of sweat everywhere around his body, dripping onto the rock to evaporate almost immediately. His head is bowed, as if in meditation, his breathing even, despite the exertion of sitting. It is clear to the viewer that he has been there for quite some time, though he keeps himself focused on his task.
His mentor Hector, the paunch-bellied man with a hand-rolled cigarette drooping out of one side of his mouth, leans across the fencepost and begins speaking in a low, slow cadence.
Hector Habanero: The Mojave desert is no joke, mijo. You’re going to be subjected to extreme conditions at all times. Are you ready?
Teo doesn’t answer immediately, but nods his head. Hector slowly nods along with him, then continues speaking.
Hector Habanero: This is no ordinary match, mijo. We are talking about the World Championship. Do you want it?
This time Teo speaks, his voice echoing forth as though from inside a cavern.
Teo del Sol: More than anything.
Hector Habanero: Enough to fight for it?
Teo seems to consider for a moment, then answers.
Teo del Sol: I would fight until the mountains crumble. I would fight until the seas dry. If it means claiming the championship I would fight until the sun goes out. There is nothing in my mind but victory. I will claim the belt, I will be champion if it kills me.
Hector looks at his pupil, sitting on the rock, and slowly rubs his chin, he reaches into his mouth and pulls the cigarette out, tossing it away.
Hector Habanero: Enough to forsake your honor?
This time, the question hits Teo much harder, and he takes a long time before answering, it is clear that there are memories playing in his head, and he can’t decide whether to give one answer or another. His face scrunches up, but finally and slowly he begins to speak.
Teo del Sol: I have betrayed my best friends in the past in the name of the World Championship. I have ended the career of a man who stood by me and saved me when noone else would. I have broken men and attacked without hesitation. In those moments, honor made me weak. It made me give into temptation, to try and take shortcuts to victory. I would give up my life for the World Championship, but to win it dishonorably would be worse than not winning it at all.
Hector places his hands on his hips, looking at his pupil with a quizzical look.
Hector Habanero: Do you think that your opponent gives any care towards honor? He will not hesitate to take shortcuts if it means keeping his world championship.
Teo shakes his head, answering almost immediately.
Teo del Sol: This Championship is all I have ever wanted. Even with no rules, I could still act dishonorably. But to know that I was only able to claim the world by sacrificing my ideals? My Principles? It would completely defeat the purpose. To live in a world where I knew I could only defeat Dune by resorting to such tactics...would be a worse fate than never winning the World Championship at all.
Hector shakes his head with disdain, looking at Teo with a frown.
Hector Habanero: Why do you show compassion for Dune? The man attacked you on Slam, did he not? He blasted you from behind mere moments after you beat David Sanchez, the man who haunted you for years.
Teo shakes his head, staring down at the rock even through closed eyes.
Teo del Sol: Dune may have resorted to dishonorable tactics last week, but how many of my opponents in the past have done the same? I have beaten every man who has stood against me, and I have beaten them all. The only times I have compromised my honor I have deeply and mournfully regretted it, but have also redeemed myself by giving them a fair rematch.
Besides, Dune’s actions do not speak to strength. He found it necessary to blindside me. This does not speak to someone who is confident. He wanted me to be afraid of him, to show the world his dominance over me.
But he made a fatal error.
I have been wrestling long enough to know that you don’t attack someone from behind unless you’re scared. You don’t attack a man when he’s not ready unless you want to gain an advantage.
Funny that such a big scary man would think it necessary to attack me, huh?
It was nothing more than an act of cowardice.
And that’s not the worst part.
Dune showed his hand, he showed me just how scared he was when he attacked me from behind, but he didn’t get the job done.
Two weeks ago, I came out to stand across from him so that he would remember that I was coming. It was a gesture to let him know my intentions.
He responded with a sneak attack. Don’t get the signals mixed. It was not a show of dominance, it was an act of cowardice.
I’d say I was disappointed if it was the first time Dune had resorted to such behaviors.
Hector looks at him with a cocked eyebrow but doesn’t interrupt.
Teo del Sol: You could go back as far as his tag title victory. He relished in grabbing the win even though Kyle had left me to fight a handicap match. Strength in numbers, right? Even though my own partner had handed him the tag team championship, he held it up as a great achievement. He preyed on our weakness so that he could win that belt, and he carried it just long enough until he got bored. I can’t even remember the last time he said the name Wade Moor...some friendship.
Hector speaks, interrupting Teo as he reaches for another cigarette.
Hector Habanero: It’s a dangerous man who forsakes his friends. They say that you can’t be world champion unless you’re willing to cross those lines.
Teo shakes his head almost immediately.
Teo del Sol: I just can’t believe that, Hector. For so long people have used that prize to justify their actions. They have turned it into a reason to forsake honor, to throw away decency. I cannot let that be the World we live in. That belt represents so much more. That belt is everything, That belt is the World.
I want it, but I cannot let it be corrupted by weakness. I have to claim it with honor, to restore it to its rightful position.
Teo shakes his head, finally opening his eyes. But it’s not Hector standing before him. Standing before him, shimmering with light, perhaps a hallucination brought on by the heat, perhaps something more….is himself.
Specifically he is looking up at the red-lensed eyes of Teddy Blaze, standing over him with a torn red trenchcoat and black jeans.
He looks up at himself looking down at himself, but he says nothing. Blaze smiles, looking at Teo with a grin.
Teddy Blaze: Now now, let’s not put the cart before the horse. Remember where that fire came from, after all.
Teo looks down at himself, knowing that the flames which have been burning are stronger. The desire to compete, to push himself, to succeed, the passion which had taken him so far.
Teddy Blaze: You can’t forsake passion in the name of honor. You have to have both.
Teo looks at his past self, knowing that there is truth in his words. Teo had always held honor in the highest esteem, but he had taken it too far in the past. He had offered Jared Holmes mercy and received a low blow, honor had blinded him to Kyle’s discontent until it was too late.
Teddy Blaze: It couldn’t be helped. Remember, the only way you can beat Dune is by balance. You have to use that fire, that passion that has always been there, but the trick is not to let it become a wildfire this time.
Even as he speaks, thoughts fly through Teo’s head, he wants to run right to the crater and to pin Dune immediately, to hold up the world title. As the images play themselves out across his mind he feels the fire inside him welling up, his passion calling for him to act.
Teddy Blaze: That’s it, feel the desire. Let it flow through you, but don’t let it run you. Neither you or me can beat Dune by our lonesome. That fire is strong, but if you let it go out of control, then you’ll get sloppy. You’ll make mistakes. Between your focus and my passion, we’d be practically unstoppable, but alone? Well you hesitate too often, and I don’t hesitate enough.
Teo del Sol: Two halves of the same whole.
Blaze nods, looking with a grin.
Teddy Blaze: But look at how far you’re going to keep the two halves separate. You’re talking to yourself.
Stop thinking of me as someone else. You want to see me as a dark half, but the fact is that we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all we have without your good qualities and your not so good ones. You’re flawed, you make mistakes. You’re fucking human.
So what?
You have to let it go, Teo. You have to acknowledge that I am not some other half, some being separate from you.
I am you.
Embrace it.
Together, we can do this.
Together, we can change the world.
Teo finally opens his eyes and looks up at his doppleganger, to see that Blaze has extended an outstretched hand. Teo looks up at Blaze, the man who for so long he was convinced were the worst parts of himself.
And the glasses fade. The mask disappears. Teo is no longer looking at someone else, he is looking at himself as though he were looking in a mirror. Slowly, he looks at the oustretched hand.
He seems to be lost in thought, his eyes sharply focused, but a long moment passes, and he reaches out and takes the hand.
And then, Teo was alone.
Standing in the Mexico desert, looking out to a blistering sun, there was no longer anyone to talk to. He looked around, and saw only a pair of red lenses glasses, dropped carelessly on the ground. Teo bent down and picked them up, dusting them off before putting them in his pocket.
And then he opened his eyes. Hector was staring at him, he had been silent for several minutes, and the Luchador’s mentor was beginning to look for signs of heatstroke. As his eyes open, however, Teo’s mouth opens in an answer.
Teo del Sol: I would not forsake my honor to win the World Championship, Hector, but my honor may not be the tool I need to win it.
Hector looks at his pupil with an approving nod, and then places another lit cigarette in his mouth.
Hector Habanero: Just making sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, Mijo.
Teo hears Hector’s words, but his mind is far away, he feels the passionate desire burning deep within himself, stronger than ever before. There is no voice to question him, there is only the drive to succeed, and as he stands up from the flat rock, feeling the burning sun beat down upon him, for the first time since putting on the wrestling mask…
He felt at peace.
Friday, July 13th, 2018
The viewer is greeted by a new sight, though similar. Teo now stands on the side of a cliff, somewhere in the Mojave desert. As the camera slowly pans into view, the actual scenery becomes far more recognizable. It is the very Ubehebe crater that Teo will do battle in the next day.
Teo looks down over the edge, staring into the abyss, with a grin. He begins talking, as if to nobody as he reaches into his pocket and removes a toothpick.
Teo del Sol: You ever get that feeling? When you’re standing on the edge of a cliff. You’re face to face with your own mortality. One wrong move and that’s it, your ticket’s punched. Makes a man wonder. Is there anything I’ve left undone? Any roads left to cross, any mountains to climb?
Have I found true love? Have I figured out whether Chicago or New York has better pizza?
So many questions, all left unanswered with a moment’s error.
Teo grins to himself and looks out over the vast landscape.
Teo del Sol: I’ve never been one for thinking about the what if’s though. When I started I never thought I’d etch my name in the history books, that I’d set records or win awards.
No.
I never gave any weight to such things, I always focused on my next opponent and everything else was separate.
And let me tell you, I have given you a lot of my focus, Dune.
The more I look at you, the more layers I peel away, the more contradictions I find.
You have a reputation as a hard worker, but you also disappear for months at a time over and over again, regardless of whether someone blows you up to make it happen.
You are supposed to be one of the toughest men in the world, but you were left hospitalized by Odin Balfore and beaten within an inch of your life.
You’re supposed to be one of the most intimidating men on the roster, but you constantly resort to cheap tactics, even going so far as to sneak attack me.
Teo shakes his head, looking out over the crater as if deep in thought.
Teo del Sol: You try so hard to build a reputation as the most frightening man in WCF and yet you cling so desperately to gold.
Unlike you Dune, I have never demanded a championship match, I have never abandoned my partner, vacated a tag team championship, and then abandoned him to his fate at the hands of the Church of Singh.
My desire has always been, first and foremost, to prove myself to any man, woman, or child who doubted me.
My victories and my losses are my own, and there’s not a single excuse I have for my actions.
You, however?
You are a vast collection of excuses. You can’t be held responsible for your mistakes because of the Jackal. You can’t be held responsible for Wade’s injuries because the Church carried them out.
Tell me Dune, where is the revenge? Why is the Church of Singh still walking? Why did you not, at the first moment you got, kick in the door to their locker room and put each and every one of them in traction for doing what they did to your “friend” and “partner”?
Oh, that’s right, you were too busy going after the World Championship. You would have paid back the Church for what they did to Wade except that you had your own agenda and goals to take care of.
Well, I’m sure when Wade is sitting in that hospital bed, and he turns on the Television and sees you holding the World Championship while the guys who put him in traction run unopposed, that he’ll at least take comfort in knowing you had his back.
The sarcasm in Teo’s voice has gone beyond biting into borderline mockery.
Teo del Sol: But it’s not your fault, right Dune? Demonic possession! Collusion! You had a stomach ache!
No.
You have no excuse for ignoring your partner. You left his assault unavenged, his pain unpunished, and you put yourself first!
Just like you did when you demanded an Omega Title Match.
Just like you did with Joey Flash.
Just like you did with everyone else, Dune.
You have always put yourself above everyone else, you are a self-centered egotist who doesn’t deserve any of the praise he gets!
Your accomplishments have only been possible by taking advantage of people and by using your reputation as a weapon!
You are false! You are empty! A paper tiger!
And paper burns real well, you son of a bitch.
Teo glares out over the crater, at the wrestling ring deep at the bottom.
Teo del Sol: It is not enough to desire, Dune.
It is not enough to want.
There are countless people who have wanted to be world champion, who would sell their own mothers for the chance.
The people who succeed are those people who can retain their honor while still letting their passion drive them.
The people who do not compromise!
The people who do not break!
Who no matter what happens to them keep coming back again and again!
Those are the men remembered by history!
And Dune, you are not one of those men!
You return when it’s convenient for you, and your first thought is to win as many championships as possible. You look for weak links, you snatch championships.
If John Rabid or Sydney Warwick was still world Champion, then Dune would still be tag team champion.
Because Dune, that is all you care about.
You put yourself before everyone else.
You can’t envision yourself as anything but a champion.
Teo smiles, looking at the camera directly.
Teo del Sol: What’s the matter Dune, are you insecure about something? Are we compensating a little bit with this gold obsession?
It’s almost like you don’t want the WCF to know just how scared you really are.
You would not have attacked me Dune, not if you were confident.
Not if you thought that I wasn’t a threat.
And I guarantee you, the first word out of your mouth, the first reason why you attacked me will be another excuse.
I would go with the demonic possession angle, personally.
Because if you really stop and think about it, Dune, you’ll realize something.
Look at our accomplishments.
You’ve won five belts in this company since 2015.
I’ve won eight.
I’ve set records that will likely never be broken, I’ve challenged legends and beat them at their own rules. I beat Zombie McMorris on the internet, while you lost to Alex Richards.
But the bottom line is that you have only wrestled when there was a chance you could get something out of it.
You disappear for months at a time again and again, and while you are waiting for a moment when it’s convenient for you to return, I have been fighting week in and week out against every single name that comes through the company. Win, lose, or draw I have never abandoned the WCF Galaxy the way you have, and I have never needed a championship to be on the line to accept a challenge!
This Saturday is about righting a great wrong in this company. For too long that World Championship has been kept in the grasp of greedy, selfish men, men who lie, cheat, or steal to get their hands on it.
This Saturday, I break the chain of avarice, I return the WCF World Championship to its former glory, and I prove to the world that anyone on any night can do the impossible!
I will beat you Dune, and I will expose you, or I will die trying!
You want me to be scared, you big son of a bitch? I say Bring it on!
Bring your sandstorm, your desert, your jackals! Bring your excuses, your sneak attacks, your conniving!
Bring every tool at your disposal, hold nothing back! I want you to show me every dirty trick you’ve accumulated in that toolbox over the years!
Teo’s voice arcs on the final syllable, he is shaking from the speech, and wavering dangerously close to the edge. He collects himself finally, and looks down at his feet, over the edge, before his voice echoes forth, deadly serious, and his words almost have a knife’s edge to their sharpness.
Teo del Sol: Because I want to see the look on your face.
I want to see the real Dune.
I want to see how you react when you realize that you can’t scare me.
That you can’t cheat me.
I want to see what you do when you realize that the World Title that you abandoned your partner for is slipping from your grasp.
Will you panic?
Will you cry?
Will you try something desperate? To cheat your way to a victory?
There’s no disqualification.
Nothing to stop you.
Nothing to stop me.
You want me so hard to be scared, Dune.
But you should be frightened.
You should be frightened of what I will do to you.
Because at XIII, there will be no disqualifications. No countouts.
Nothing to stop me from ending your world title reign.
And ending you.
Teo looks down in the crater, down at the ring, so far beneath him, and shakes his head before turning and walking back away from the canyon, looking up at the desert sky.
Thursday, July 12th, 2018.
1 day before XIII.
The scene has shifted once again with the shift to the previous day. Where before Teo stood in the desert, he now stands in a large, sparse hotel room, somewhere along the border of the Mojave desert.
Teo sits on the bed, staring up at the cracked ceiling, pondering the journey that is to come. He recounts the week’s events, reflecting on the vision in the Mexico desert, as well as strategies to face Dune.
He had to consider that Dune had a sizable advantage in terms of power and strength, but Teo could easily outpace him in speed. Furthermore, Dune had betrayed his desperation after attacking Teo on Slam.
The match with Odin had taken more out of Dune than he had liked to admit, Teo mused. He had been hospitalized and barely made it to Slam in one piece, and no doubt there would be lingering injuries. But would he be able to capitalize on them? And for that matter, should he?
He didn’t want to take advantage of any lingering injuries, but it was impossible to discount the potential advantage the damage could give him. Furthermore, it would leave a question mark on the victory, whether or not he could have beaten Dune without Odin first softening him up…
But then again, there was no easy way to avoid it. Dune would likely not give away any specifics on what type of injury he suffered, and Teo might not be able to avoid it anyway.
He sighed, putting his hands on his chest and looking at the Television, where a local news team was covering the assembly of the wrestling ring. One thing was for sure, Teo was ready for a hardcore match. Whether facing Kyle Kemp to win the People’s Championship or Facing Gemini in a Light Tube deathmatch, Teo’s excursions at XIII had been as enjoyable as they had been career threatening, and yet he couldn’t help but feel excitement at the prospect.
But he would have to also take it into consideration. He could use a kendo stick or a steel chair as an equalizer against Dune, but if he lost control of the weapon, Dune would be able to rock him with it much easier. Teo was tough, but not reckless.
As he sat, his mind drifted back to their first encounter. Teo had long wondered what he could have done differently, whether it was possible to have won the match that night on Slam.
But there was a truth that he had long accepted: by losing that match, Dune had given him a reason to keep fighting, to keep pushing himself.
Teo could feel it, there was so much improvement. He had worked too hard to falter, and XIII was the perfect venue for an impossible victory.
It was all lining up, and Teo just had to not trip at the final hurdle.
But he could feel the fire. It demanded to be stoked, it demanded someone to face. The more he thought about that gold, the more he wanted to fight Dune, to prove that he could stand face to face with the Sandman.
It was more than just a match, it was everything. Dune had remained the last hurdle, the final step for so long, and time and again Teo had come within inches of finishing him off.
Not this time.
He would not, could not let Dune get away again.
This was his chance to finally put an end to their rivalry.
To finish them off once and for all, to expose Dune’s weakness to the world and to prove once and for all that the World Title was not something that had to be stolen.
That you had to betray for.
That you had to steal for.
He would win the WCF World Title in the name of honor, and he would save Dune by destroying him, if that was what it took.
As he sat up in the bed and watched the television, he envisioned himself holding the World Championship aloft, and in that instant he resolved to offer Dune a handshake after the match.
He would start his World Title reign the right way.
Lead by example.
Even if Dune had to pay the price.
Friday, July 13th, 2018
The scene has shifted now back to the Mojave Desert. Teo sits next to a beaten up pickup truck, his mentor in the front seat. In the back of the truck is a duffel bag containing all of his ring gear, as well as medical supplies and food. In the front seat, Hector watches the XIII preshow on a small, portable television. Teo sits in the bed of the truck watching the sunset, preparing himself for the task ahead. As the camera slowly pans around to the front seat, Teo grins and looks directly at it.
Teo del Sol: I have a final message for Dune, precious little time as there is remaining.
I have heard you speak about legacy, especially about my legacy.
You’ve claimed I’ve been either a victor or a fool, and you’ve opined on which Teo you’re going to get.
But let me just tell you right now, you’re asking the wrong question.
I will tell you right now that every single loss, no matter what, has made me stronger.
I have fallen as many times as I’ve stood, and each one stung.
Frankly Dune, you have such a narrow view of things that I’m astonished you have been able to reach the heights you have, even though you had to do so by climbing over the backstabbed back of Wade Moor and by putting on a frightening mask to intimidate your way to victory.
You see things in terms of dominance. I was either the greatest People’s Champion of all time, or I was a loser who couldn’t keep myself together.
But see, the thing is...strength comes from experience. I am just as proud of each and every loss I’ve ever had as each and every win, because I earned both.
You don’t want to admit it, Dune, but I am stronger than you.
I am stronger only because I have put myself against any opponent, win or lose, and I have let myself grow from the experience.
You have shunted yourself into a narrow definition of dominance, relying on sneak attacks and tricks, on intimidation and misdirection to maintain this image.
So as much as you wonder whether or not you’ll get the dominant People’s Champion or the man who takes his losses without complaint or excuse…
The answer is that they’re one and the same.
You are a scared child trying to keep his ball away from everyone by being a bully.
I’m the kid who is going to punch that bully in the nose.
And do you know what will happen? You’ll start crying. You’ll say it wasn’t fair, that it was a cheap shot.
You’ll demand your ball back.
Maybe you’ll sneak up and jump me again.
But you’re going to have to make peace with the fact that you got embarrassed in front of the entire world.
And do you know why I’m going to be the one to do that?
Because just like Joey Flash. Just like John Rabid. Just like Alex Richards.
I’m the one who realizes that Bullies are afraid of someone who hits back.
I will make you know fear, Dune.
You will know what it means when you’re staring into the eyes of someone who is not afraid of you.
And you will lose.
That is the world I believe in.
That is the World Championship I want to hold.
One won and held with honor.
Defended with pride.
And one that is not tarnished by betrayal.
Teo turns and reaches into the Duffel Bag, pulling out a small roll of tape. He begins wrapping his fists as he unrolls it, and looks back up at the camera.
Teo del Sol: I’ll see you Saturday, Dune.
But you won’t be ready for me.
The camera slowly pans outwards as Teo continues wrapping his fists, the last shot that is seen is a long shot of the Ubehebe crater in the distance as the scene finally fades to black.
(Edit: Is now formatted and colorized!)
2 days before XIII.
The Mexico sun is high and bright, bearing down over the small desert town. The brown adobe roofs baking under the punishing heat. Older townsfolk sit on wooden porches held together loosely by steel nails and smile, watching young children run about the streets, playing games with water pistols and balloons, doing everything possible to alleviate the summer heat. Though the viewer watches, the sun seems to almost push past the screen, the sweltering desert air dry and arid even through the television screen.
It is on this summer day that Teo del Sol finds himself standing out among the sand dunes just beyond the boundaries of the city, his mentor leaning on a long-destroyed fencepost. Teo is seated on a long, flat rock, clothed in only a loose pair of shorts, feeling the burn come down on him like a laser beam, droplets of sweat everywhere around his body, dripping onto the rock to evaporate almost immediately. His head is bowed, as if in meditation, his breathing even, despite the exertion of sitting. It is clear to the viewer that he has been there for quite some time, though he keeps himself focused on his task.
His mentor Hector, the paunch-bellied man with a hand-rolled cigarette drooping out of one side of his mouth, leans across the fencepost and begins speaking in a low, slow cadence.
Hector Habanero: The Mojave desert is no joke, mijo. You’re going to be subjected to extreme conditions at all times. Are you ready?
Teo doesn’t answer immediately, but nods his head. Hector slowly nods along with him, then continues speaking.
Hector Habanero: This is no ordinary match, mijo. We are talking about the World Championship. Do you want it?
This time Teo speaks, his voice echoing forth as though from inside a cavern.
Teo del Sol: More than anything.
Hector Habanero: Enough to fight for it?
Teo seems to consider for a moment, then answers.
Teo del Sol: I would fight until the mountains crumble. I would fight until the seas dry. If it means claiming the championship I would fight until the sun goes out. There is nothing in my mind but victory. I will claim the belt, I will be champion if it kills me.
Hector looks at his pupil, sitting on the rock, and slowly rubs his chin, he reaches into his mouth and pulls the cigarette out, tossing it away.
Hector Habanero: Enough to forsake your honor?
This time, the question hits Teo much harder, and he takes a long time before answering, it is clear that there are memories playing in his head, and he can’t decide whether to give one answer or another. His face scrunches up, but finally and slowly he begins to speak.
Teo del Sol: I have betrayed my best friends in the past in the name of the World Championship. I have ended the career of a man who stood by me and saved me when noone else would. I have broken men and attacked without hesitation. In those moments, honor made me weak. It made me give into temptation, to try and take shortcuts to victory. I would give up my life for the World Championship, but to win it dishonorably would be worse than not winning it at all.
Hector places his hands on his hips, looking at his pupil with a quizzical look.
Hector Habanero: Do you think that your opponent gives any care towards honor? He will not hesitate to take shortcuts if it means keeping his world championship.
Teo shakes his head, answering almost immediately.
Teo del Sol: This Championship is all I have ever wanted. Even with no rules, I could still act dishonorably. But to know that I was only able to claim the world by sacrificing my ideals? My Principles? It would completely defeat the purpose. To live in a world where I knew I could only defeat Dune by resorting to such tactics...would be a worse fate than never winning the World Championship at all.
Hector shakes his head with disdain, looking at Teo with a frown.
Hector Habanero: Why do you show compassion for Dune? The man attacked you on Slam, did he not? He blasted you from behind mere moments after you beat David Sanchez, the man who haunted you for years.
Teo shakes his head, staring down at the rock even through closed eyes.
Teo del Sol: Dune may have resorted to dishonorable tactics last week, but how many of my opponents in the past have done the same? I have beaten every man who has stood against me, and I have beaten them all. The only times I have compromised my honor I have deeply and mournfully regretted it, but have also redeemed myself by giving them a fair rematch.
Besides, Dune’s actions do not speak to strength. He found it necessary to blindside me. This does not speak to someone who is confident. He wanted me to be afraid of him, to show the world his dominance over me.
But he made a fatal error.
I have been wrestling long enough to know that you don’t attack someone from behind unless you’re scared. You don’t attack a man when he’s not ready unless you want to gain an advantage.
Funny that such a big scary man would think it necessary to attack me, huh?
It was nothing more than an act of cowardice.
And that’s not the worst part.
Dune showed his hand, he showed me just how scared he was when he attacked me from behind, but he didn’t get the job done.
Two weeks ago, I came out to stand across from him so that he would remember that I was coming. It was a gesture to let him know my intentions.
He responded with a sneak attack. Don’t get the signals mixed. It was not a show of dominance, it was an act of cowardice.
I’d say I was disappointed if it was the first time Dune had resorted to such behaviors.
Hector looks at him with a cocked eyebrow but doesn’t interrupt.
Teo del Sol: You could go back as far as his tag title victory. He relished in grabbing the win even though Kyle had left me to fight a handicap match. Strength in numbers, right? Even though my own partner had handed him the tag team championship, he held it up as a great achievement. He preyed on our weakness so that he could win that belt, and he carried it just long enough until he got bored. I can’t even remember the last time he said the name Wade Moor...some friendship.
Hector speaks, interrupting Teo as he reaches for another cigarette.
Hector Habanero: It’s a dangerous man who forsakes his friends. They say that you can’t be world champion unless you’re willing to cross those lines.
Teo shakes his head almost immediately.
Teo del Sol: I just can’t believe that, Hector. For so long people have used that prize to justify their actions. They have turned it into a reason to forsake honor, to throw away decency. I cannot let that be the World we live in. That belt represents so much more. That belt is everything, That belt is the World.
I want it, but I cannot let it be corrupted by weakness. I have to claim it with honor, to restore it to its rightful position.
Teo shakes his head, finally opening his eyes. But it’s not Hector standing before him. Standing before him, shimmering with light, perhaps a hallucination brought on by the heat, perhaps something more….is himself.
Specifically he is looking up at the red-lensed eyes of Teddy Blaze, standing over him with a torn red trenchcoat and black jeans.
He looks up at himself looking down at himself, but he says nothing. Blaze smiles, looking at Teo with a grin.
Teddy Blaze: Now now, let’s not put the cart before the horse. Remember where that fire came from, after all.
Teo looks down at himself, knowing that the flames which have been burning are stronger. The desire to compete, to push himself, to succeed, the passion which had taken him so far.
Teddy Blaze: You can’t forsake passion in the name of honor. You have to have both.
Teo looks at his past self, knowing that there is truth in his words. Teo had always held honor in the highest esteem, but he had taken it too far in the past. He had offered Jared Holmes mercy and received a low blow, honor had blinded him to Kyle’s discontent until it was too late.
Teddy Blaze: It couldn’t be helped. Remember, the only way you can beat Dune is by balance. You have to use that fire, that passion that has always been there, but the trick is not to let it become a wildfire this time.
Even as he speaks, thoughts fly through Teo’s head, he wants to run right to the crater and to pin Dune immediately, to hold up the world title. As the images play themselves out across his mind he feels the fire inside him welling up, his passion calling for him to act.
Teddy Blaze: That’s it, feel the desire. Let it flow through you, but don’t let it run you. Neither you or me can beat Dune by our lonesome. That fire is strong, but if you let it go out of control, then you’ll get sloppy. You’ll make mistakes. Between your focus and my passion, we’d be practically unstoppable, but alone? Well you hesitate too often, and I don’t hesitate enough.
Teo del Sol: Two halves of the same whole.
Blaze nods, looking with a grin.
Teddy Blaze: But look at how far you’re going to keep the two halves separate. You’re talking to yourself.
Stop thinking of me as someone else. You want to see me as a dark half, but the fact is that we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all we have without your good qualities and your not so good ones. You’re flawed, you make mistakes. You’re fucking human.
So what?
You have to let it go, Teo. You have to acknowledge that I am not some other half, some being separate from you.
I am you.
Embrace it.
Together, we can do this.
Together, we can change the world.
Teo finally opens his eyes and looks up at his doppleganger, to see that Blaze has extended an outstretched hand. Teo looks up at Blaze, the man who for so long he was convinced were the worst parts of himself.
And the glasses fade. The mask disappears. Teo is no longer looking at someone else, he is looking at himself as though he were looking in a mirror. Slowly, he looks at the oustretched hand.
He seems to be lost in thought, his eyes sharply focused, but a long moment passes, and he reaches out and takes the hand.
And then, Teo was alone.
Standing in the Mexico desert, looking out to a blistering sun, there was no longer anyone to talk to. He looked around, and saw only a pair of red lenses glasses, dropped carelessly on the ground. Teo bent down and picked them up, dusting them off before putting them in his pocket.
And then he opened his eyes. Hector was staring at him, he had been silent for several minutes, and the Luchador’s mentor was beginning to look for signs of heatstroke. As his eyes open, however, Teo’s mouth opens in an answer.
Teo del Sol: I would not forsake my honor to win the World Championship, Hector, but my honor may not be the tool I need to win it.
Hector looks at his pupil with an approving nod, and then places another lit cigarette in his mouth.
Hector Habanero: Just making sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, Mijo.
Teo hears Hector’s words, but his mind is far away, he feels the passionate desire burning deep within himself, stronger than ever before. There is no voice to question him, there is only the drive to succeed, and as he stands up from the flat rock, feeling the burning sun beat down upon him, for the first time since putting on the wrestling mask…
He felt at peace.
Friday, July 13th, 2018
The viewer is greeted by a new sight, though similar. Teo now stands on the side of a cliff, somewhere in the Mojave desert. As the camera slowly pans into view, the actual scenery becomes far more recognizable. It is the very Ubehebe crater that Teo will do battle in the next day.
Teo looks down over the edge, staring into the abyss, with a grin. He begins talking, as if to nobody as he reaches into his pocket and removes a toothpick.
Teo del Sol: You ever get that feeling? When you’re standing on the edge of a cliff. You’re face to face with your own mortality. One wrong move and that’s it, your ticket’s punched. Makes a man wonder. Is there anything I’ve left undone? Any roads left to cross, any mountains to climb?
Have I found true love? Have I figured out whether Chicago or New York has better pizza?
So many questions, all left unanswered with a moment’s error.
Teo grins to himself and looks out over the vast landscape.
Teo del Sol: I’ve never been one for thinking about the what if’s though. When I started I never thought I’d etch my name in the history books, that I’d set records or win awards.
No.
I never gave any weight to such things, I always focused on my next opponent and everything else was separate.
And let me tell you, I have given you a lot of my focus, Dune.
The more I look at you, the more layers I peel away, the more contradictions I find.
You have a reputation as a hard worker, but you also disappear for months at a time over and over again, regardless of whether someone blows you up to make it happen.
You are supposed to be one of the toughest men in the world, but you were left hospitalized by Odin Balfore and beaten within an inch of your life.
You’re supposed to be one of the most intimidating men on the roster, but you constantly resort to cheap tactics, even going so far as to sneak attack me.
Teo shakes his head, looking out over the crater as if deep in thought.
Teo del Sol: You try so hard to build a reputation as the most frightening man in WCF and yet you cling so desperately to gold.
Unlike you Dune, I have never demanded a championship match, I have never abandoned my partner, vacated a tag team championship, and then abandoned him to his fate at the hands of the Church of Singh.
My desire has always been, first and foremost, to prove myself to any man, woman, or child who doubted me.
My victories and my losses are my own, and there’s not a single excuse I have for my actions.
You, however?
You are a vast collection of excuses. You can’t be held responsible for your mistakes because of the Jackal. You can’t be held responsible for Wade’s injuries because the Church carried them out.
Tell me Dune, where is the revenge? Why is the Church of Singh still walking? Why did you not, at the first moment you got, kick in the door to their locker room and put each and every one of them in traction for doing what they did to your “friend” and “partner”?
Oh, that’s right, you were too busy going after the World Championship. You would have paid back the Church for what they did to Wade except that you had your own agenda and goals to take care of.
Well, I’m sure when Wade is sitting in that hospital bed, and he turns on the Television and sees you holding the World Championship while the guys who put him in traction run unopposed, that he’ll at least take comfort in knowing you had his back.
The sarcasm in Teo’s voice has gone beyond biting into borderline mockery.
Teo del Sol: But it’s not your fault, right Dune? Demonic possession! Collusion! You had a stomach ache!
No.
You have no excuse for ignoring your partner. You left his assault unavenged, his pain unpunished, and you put yourself first!
Just like you did when you demanded an Omega Title Match.
Just like you did with Joey Flash.
Just like you did with everyone else, Dune.
You have always put yourself above everyone else, you are a self-centered egotist who doesn’t deserve any of the praise he gets!
Your accomplishments have only been possible by taking advantage of people and by using your reputation as a weapon!
You are false! You are empty! A paper tiger!
And paper burns real well, you son of a bitch.
Teo glares out over the crater, at the wrestling ring deep at the bottom.
Teo del Sol: It is not enough to desire, Dune.
It is not enough to want.
There are countless people who have wanted to be world champion, who would sell their own mothers for the chance.
The people who succeed are those people who can retain their honor while still letting their passion drive them.
The people who do not compromise!
The people who do not break!
Who no matter what happens to them keep coming back again and again!
Those are the men remembered by history!
And Dune, you are not one of those men!
You return when it’s convenient for you, and your first thought is to win as many championships as possible. You look for weak links, you snatch championships.
If John Rabid or Sydney Warwick was still world Champion, then Dune would still be tag team champion.
Because Dune, that is all you care about.
You put yourself before everyone else.
You can’t envision yourself as anything but a champion.
Teo smiles, looking at the camera directly.
Teo del Sol: What’s the matter Dune, are you insecure about something? Are we compensating a little bit with this gold obsession?
It’s almost like you don’t want the WCF to know just how scared you really are.
You would not have attacked me Dune, not if you were confident.
Not if you thought that I wasn’t a threat.
And I guarantee you, the first word out of your mouth, the first reason why you attacked me will be another excuse.
I would go with the demonic possession angle, personally.
Because if you really stop and think about it, Dune, you’ll realize something.
Look at our accomplishments.
You’ve won five belts in this company since 2015.
I’ve won eight.
I’ve set records that will likely never be broken, I’ve challenged legends and beat them at their own rules. I beat Zombie McMorris on the internet, while you lost to Alex Richards.
But the bottom line is that you have only wrestled when there was a chance you could get something out of it.
You disappear for months at a time again and again, and while you are waiting for a moment when it’s convenient for you to return, I have been fighting week in and week out against every single name that comes through the company. Win, lose, or draw I have never abandoned the WCF Galaxy the way you have, and I have never needed a championship to be on the line to accept a challenge!
This Saturday is about righting a great wrong in this company. For too long that World Championship has been kept in the grasp of greedy, selfish men, men who lie, cheat, or steal to get their hands on it.
This Saturday, I break the chain of avarice, I return the WCF World Championship to its former glory, and I prove to the world that anyone on any night can do the impossible!
I will beat you Dune, and I will expose you, or I will die trying!
You want me to be scared, you big son of a bitch? I say Bring it on!
Bring your sandstorm, your desert, your jackals! Bring your excuses, your sneak attacks, your conniving!
Bring every tool at your disposal, hold nothing back! I want you to show me every dirty trick you’ve accumulated in that toolbox over the years!
Teo’s voice arcs on the final syllable, he is shaking from the speech, and wavering dangerously close to the edge. He collects himself finally, and looks down at his feet, over the edge, before his voice echoes forth, deadly serious, and his words almost have a knife’s edge to their sharpness.
Teo del Sol: Because I want to see the look on your face.
I want to see the real Dune.
I want to see how you react when you realize that you can’t scare me.
That you can’t cheat me.
I want to see what you do when you realize that the World Title that you abandoned your partner for is slipping from your grasp.
Will you panic?
Will you cry?
Will you try something desperate? To cheat your way to a victory?
There’s no disqualification.
Nothing to stop you.
Nothing to stop me.
You want me so hard to be scared, Dune.
But you should be frightened.
You should be frightened of what I will do to you.
Because at XIII, there will be no disqualifications. No countouts.
Nothing to stop me from ending your world title reign.
And ending you.
Teo looks down in the crater, down at the ring, so far beneath him, and shakes his head before turning and walking back away from the canyon, looking up at the desert sky.
Thursday, July 12th, 2018.
1 day before XIII.
The scene has shifted once again with the shift to the previous day. Where before Teo stood in the desert, he now stands in a large, sparse hotel room, somewhere along the border of the Mojave desert.
Teo sits on the bed, staring up at the cracked ceiling, pondering the journey that is to come. He recounts the week’s events, reflecting on the vision in the Mexico desert, as well as strategies to face Dune.
He had to consider that Dune had a sizable advantage in terms of power and strength, but Teo could easily outpace him in speed. Furthermore, Dune had betrayed his desperation after attacking Teo on Slam.
The match with Odin had taken more out of Dune than he had liked to admit, Teo mused. He had been hospitalized and barely made it to Slam in one piece, and no doubt there would be lingering injuries. But would he be able to capitalize on them? And for that matter, should he?
He didn’t want to take advantage of any lingering injuries, but it was impossible to discount the potential advantage the damage could give him. Furthermore, it would leave a question mark on the victory, whether or not he could have beaten Dune without Odin first softening him up…
But then again, there was no easy way to avoid it. Dune would likely not give away any specifics on what type of injury he suffered, and Teo might not be able to avoid it anyway.
He sighed, putting his hands on his chest and looking at the Television, where a local news team was covering the assembly of the wrestling ring. One thing was for sure, Teo was ready for a hardcore match. Whether facing Kyle Kemp to win the People’s Championship or Facing Gemini in a Light Tube deathmatch, Teo’s excursions at XIII had been as enjoyable as they had been career threatening, and yet he couldn’t help but feel excitement at the prospect.
But he would have to also take it into consideration. He could use a kendo stick or a steel chair as an equalizer against Dune, but if he lost control of the weapon, Dune would be able to rock him with it much easier. Teo was tough, but not reckless.
As he sat, his mind drifted back to their first encounter. Teo had long wondered what he could have done differently, whether it was possible to have won the match that night on Slam.
But there was a truth that he had long accepted: by losing that match, Dune had given him a reason to keep fighting, to keep pushing himself.
Teo could feel it, there was so much improvement. He had worked too hard to falter, and XIII was the perfect venue for an impossible victory.
It was all lining up, and Teo just had to not trip at the final hurdle.
But he could feel the fire. It demanded to be stoked, it demanded someone to face. The more he thought about that gold, the more he wanted to fight Dune, to prove that he could stand face to face with the Sandman.
It was more than just a match, it was everything. Dune had remained the last hurdle, the final step for so long, and time and again Teo had come within inches of finishing him off.
Not this time.
He would not, could not let Dune get away again.
This was his chance to finally put an end to their rivalry.
To finish them off once and for all, to expose Dune’s weakness to the world and to prove once and for all that the World Title was not something that had to be stolen.
That you had to betray for.
That you had to steal for.
He would win the WCF World Title in the name of honor, and he would save Dune by destroying him, if that was what it took.
As he sat up in the bed and watched the television, he envisioned himself holding the World Championship aloft, and in that instant he resolved to offer Dune a handshake after the match.
He would start his World Title reign the right way.
Lead by example.
Even if Dune had to pay the price.
Friday, July 13th, 2018
The scene has shifted now back to the Mojave Desert. Teo sits next to a beaten up pickup truck, his mentor in the front seat. In the back of the truck is a duffel bag containing all of his ring gear, as well as medical supplies and food. In the front seat, Hector watches the XIII preshow on a small, portable television. Teo sits in the bed of the truck watching the sunset, preparing himself for the task ahead. As the camera slowly pans around to the front seat, Teo grins and looks directly at it.
Teo del Sol: I have a final message for Dune, precious little time as there is remaining.
I have heard you speak about legacy, especially about my legacy.
You’ve claimed I’ve been either a victor or a fool, and you’ve opined on which Teo you’re going to get.
But let me just tell you right now, you’re asking the wrong question.
I will tell you right now that every single loss, no matter what, has made me stronger.
I have fallen as many times as I’ve stood, and each one stung.
Frankly Dune, you have such a narrow view of things that I’m astonished you have been able to reach the heights you have, even though you had to do so by climbing over the backstabbed back of Wade Moor and by putting on a frightening mask to intimidate your way to victory.
You see things in terms of dominance. I was either the greatest People’s Champion of all time, or I was a loser who couldn’t keep myself together.
But see, the thing is...strength comes from experience. I am just as proud of each and every loss I’ve ever had as each and every win, because I earned both.
You don’t want to admit it, Dune, but I am stronger than you.
I am stronger only because I have put myself against any opponent, win or lose, and I have let myself grow from the experience.
You have shunted yourself into a narrow definition of dominance, relying on sneak attacks and tricks, on intimidation and misdirection to maintain this image.
So as much as you wonder whether or not you’ll get the dominant People’s Champion or the man who takes his losses without complaint or excuse…
The answer is that they’re one and the same.
You are a scared child trying to keep his ball away from everyone by being a bully.
I’m the kid who is going to punch that bully in the nose.
And do you know what will happen? You’ll start crying. You’ll say it wasn’t fair, that it was a cheap shot.
You’ll demand your ball back.
Maybe you’ll sneak up and jump me again.
But you’re going to have to make peace with the fact that you got embarrassed in front of the entire world.
And do you know why I’m going to be the one to do that?
Because just like Joey Flash. Just like John Rabid. Just like Alex Richards.
I’m the one who realizes that Bullies are afraid of someone who hits back.
I will make you know fear, Dune.
You will know what it means when you’re staring into the eyes of someone who is not afraid of you.
And you will lose.
That is the world I believe in.
That is the World Championship I want to hold.
One won and held with honor.
Defended with pride.
And one that is not tarnished by betrayal.
Teo turns and reaches into the Duffel Bag, pulling out a small roll of tape. He begins wrapping his fists as he unrolls it, and looks back up at the camera.
Teo del Sol: I’ll see you Saturday, Dune.
But you won’t be ready for me.
The camera slowly pans outwards as Teo continues wrapping his fists, the last shot that is seen is a long shot of the Ubehebe crater in the distance as the scene finally fades to black.
(Edit: Is now formatted and colorized!)
