Post by Deleted on May 23, 2017 17:44:26 GMT -5
MAY 21, 2017
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
"Injustice robbed you of everything. Your titles as champion. Your family's honor. Even Amanda has moved on with another man. And now you’re lying here next to your parents waiting for Resurrection Day when the Meshiach Adonai will make his promised return. But I don’t want you to wait until that day to receive the good news. I want my goodbye to be a well-deserved farewell.”
Xion Ben-Judah stood inside the Kalel family mausoleum. He looked different from his appearance on L!GHTS OUT #10. He was dressed in an all black pinstriped suit with a white shirt and black tie. The free-flowing hair was now cropped. And his clean shaven face now wore a dark five o’clock shadow. He stared endlessly at the marker that read:
XANDOR KALEL
“You won, Xandor. The information we found on High Brother was shared with WikiLeaks. The murder plot against your parents, my father’s death for exposing the brain chip technology, the pillaging of human and natural resources in war-torn countries, it’s all there for the world to see. The World Council of Churches has no choice but to acknowledge the existence of Missio Dei and do damage control. They are dismantling the organization. You’re vindicated. You can rest in peace. You’ve earned it."
Xion took something out of his coat pocket and stared at it in his hand for a couple moments before fastening it to the candleholder adjacent to the tomb marker. They were Xion’s dog tags.
“But injustice is still rampant everywhere. The destruction it caused you and your family is being seen in countless others because no one is willing to stand up against it. It’s easier to turn a blind eye than to challenge it. You taught me the opposite. So I’m going to take what you taught me and continue what you started in Union Battleground. No more international spy games. I’m done. I’m a professional wrestler now. I will be the harbinger of justice wherever and whenever I step into the ring. I will be your legacy. And wrestling, maybe even the world, will be better for it.”
The protege holds back a tear as he stands rigidly at attention. He salutes his mentor for the final time.
“See you in Heaven, my brother. And thank you."
Xion took a step back and spun around to exit the mausoleum. He let out a deep sigh as he left his past behind, embraced the present, and hoped for a bright future.
“Thank you, Damon Xalvador.”
“Thank you for being the hardest-working part-timer in wrestling today. Thank you for giving us your sweat and tears every single time you step into the ring. Thank you for the blood you shed as a solid hardcore wrestler. Thank you for taking every chairshot, barbed wire, broken table, trash can cover, and light bulb over the head possible so others might strive for greater things.”
“At L!GHTS OUT #11, in my in-ring debut, I want to salute you, Damon. Why? Because without the losers, there would be no winners. If everyone excelled, everyone would be average and there would be nothing to celebrate. There would be no championships for anyone to win, and no recognition by anyone. I know it hurts. But from every hurt you will learn.”
“It hurts to think that nobody remembers you, or that no one thinks you're adequate. You learn that the small things in life need to be appreciated because they don't come around all that often. You learn that you can't give up on anything if you want it, because it's not just going to come to you. You have to work every second for anything to go well, and when it does, it can be the best thing in the world. You learn to take life a little slower, and to appreciate the good friends you have. You learn to laugh when you can, and you learn to laugh at yourself. And though all this learning is painful, you will be a better person for it.”
“I have always hated when people say, ‘someday things will go right.’ Someday is not what you're thinking about when you have lost more matches than won. Someday is the hope for all losers. And somehow you never give up hope. Like a godforsaken little engine that could, you keep reaching for things that are over your head. You keep on looking where nothing is usually found. You keep on getting back up when you've been DDT’ed yet again. And you keep on hoping, when anyone else would give up hope. You get built up to be let down, but somehow, it's not the worst. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger.”
“Our L!GHTS OUT match, Damon, is a recognition to all who have walked the path of mediocrity. I was once you in Israeli Pro Wrestling until Xandor Kalel helped me see otherwise. Now I am extending the same grace to you. I am acknowledging that champions can’t be made without those succumbing to finishers, submissions, count-outs, and disqualifications. Hardworking people like you, the Half-Drunk Gladiator. I guarantee that at L!GHTS OUT, you will be loved, you will be appreciated, and you will be remembered. Everyone has their someday. Just keep on walking, keep on hoping, keep on breathing, and don't you ever give up.”
“Damon Xalvador, thank you for being… YOU.”
“See you in the ring.”
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
"Injustice robbed you of everything. Your titles as champion. Your family's honor. Even Amanda has moved on with another man. And now you’re lying here next to your parents waiting for Resurrection Day when the Meshiach Adonai will make his promised return. But I don’t want you to wait until that day to receive the good news. I want my goodbye to be a well-deserved farewell.”
Xion Ben-Judah stood inside the Kalel family mausoleum. He looked different from his appearance on L!GHTS OUT #10. He was dressed in an all black pinstriped suit with a white shirt and black tie. The free-flowing hair was now cropped. And his clean shaven face now wore a dark five o’clock shadow. He stared endlessly at the marker that read:
XANDOR KALEL
1988-2017
“You won, Xandor. The information we found on High Brother was shared with WikiLeaks. The murder plot against your parents, my father’s death for exposing the brain chip technology, the pillaging of human and natural resources in war-torn countries, it’s all there for the world to see. The World Council of Churches has no choice but to acknowledge the existence of Missio Dei and do damage control. They are dismantling the organization. You’re vindicated. You can rest in peace. You’ve earned it."
Xion took something out of his coat pocket and stared at it in his hand for a couple moments before fastening it to the candleholder adjacent to the tomb marker. They were Xion’s dog tags.
“But injustice is still rampant everywhere. The destruction it caused you and your family is being seen in countless others because no one is willing to stand up against it. It’s easier to turn a blind eye than to challenge it. You taught me the opposite. So I’m going to take what you taught me and continue what you started in Union Battleground. No more international spy games. I’m done. I’m a professional wrestler now. I will be the harbinger of justice wherever and whenever I step into the ring. I will be your legacy. And wrestling, maybe even the world, will be better for it.”
The protege holds back a tear as he stands rigidly at attention. He salutes his mentor for the final time.
“See you in Heaven, my brother. And thank you."
Xion took a step back and spun around to exit the mausoleum. He let out a deep sigh as he left his past behind, embraced the present, and hoped for a bright future.
“Thank you, Damon Xalvador.”
“Thank you for being the hardest-working part-timer in wrestling today. Thank you for giving us your sweat and tears every single time you step into the ring. Thank you for the blood you shed as a solid hardcore wrestler. Thank you for taking every chairshot, barbed wire, broken table, trash can cover, and light bulb over the head possible so others might strive for greater things.”
“At L!GHTS OUT #11, in my in-ring debut, I want to salute you, Damon. Why? Because without the losers, there would be no winners. If everyone excelled, everyone would be average and there would be nothing to celebrate. There would be no championships for anyone to win, and no recognition by anyone. I know it hurts. But from every hurt you will learn.”
“It hurts to think that nobody remembers you, or that no one thinks you're adequate. You learn that the small things in life need to be appreciated because they don't come around all that often. You learn that you can't give up on anything if you want it, because it's not just going to come to you. You have to work every second for anything to go well, and when it does, it can be the best thing in the world. You learn to take life a little slower, and to appreciate the good friends you have. You learn to laugh when you can, and you learn to laugh at yourself. And though all this learning is painful, you will be a better person for it.”
“I have always hated when people say, ‘someday things will go right.’ Someday is not what you're thinking about when you have lost more matches than won. Someday is the hope for all losers. And somehow you never give up hope. Like a godforsaken little engine that could, you keep reaching for things that are over your head. You keep on looking where nothing is usually found. You keep on getting back up when you've been DDT’ed yet again. And you keep on hoping, when anyone else would give up hope. You get built up to be let down, but somehow, it's not the worst. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger.”
“Our L!GHTS OUT match, Damon, is a recognition to all who have walked the path of mediocrity. I was once you in Israeli Pro Wrestling until Xandor Kalel helped me see otherwise. Now I am extending the same grace to you. I am acknowledging that champions can’t be made without those succumbing to finishers, submissions, count-outs, and disqualifications. Hardworking people like you, the Half-Drunk Gladiator. I guarantee that at L!GHTS OUT, you will be loved, you will be appreciated, and you will be remembered. Everyone has their someday. Just keep on walking, keep on hoping, keep on breathing, and don't you ever give up.”
“Damon Xalvador, thank you for being… YOU.”
“See you in the ring.”