-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The moon shined down and illuminate a lone car which sat on the edge of a ledge. Behind the car, down in valley the ledge overlooked, a large city sat. Lit up like a christmas tree. The light pollution clouded the sky above the city of the natural stars. However, the distance from the city allowed for a faint shimmer of stars to light up the sky above the lone car.
Suddenly everything disappeared in a blinding light as the headlights of the car flash on, the high beams clearly being used. As the lights blinded anything from being seen, the sound of the car’s doors could be heard as the clicked. A few moments passed before the sound of the doors shutting was heard. One after the other until three individual doors were shut. The light flicked as three figures walked out in front of the light. The size differences in each of the figures were clearly defined by the light. Shadowed by the light, the three black figures walked forward. Slowly as they made their way, with more of the headlights being blocked, the three figures could be identified as Tommy End, Michael Dante, and Zahra Schreiber. Legion.
After a few seconds of walking, the three members of Legion stopped and stood in front of the light. Tommy stood in the center with Dante to his lift and Zahra to his right. With a smile on his face, Tommy spoke out.
Tommy End
”The world sleeps while we remain awake...”
Tommy outstretched his arms and paused for a moment. He looked left, then right. He brought his arms down and placed them in front of him. He cupped his hands at his waistline.
Tommy End
”The sleep so they can dream. Dream of the future they wish to have. Dream of the life they want to live. They dream of hopes. Of grandeur. They lay their little heads down on their soft pillows and lay there.
Peaceful.
Peaceful because they believe the lies. They believe in those dreams. They think that if they try hard enough. If they work hard enough. Then those dreams can become their reality.”
Dante shook his head which catch Tommy’s attention. He paused and looked over at his brother. He reached out and put his hand on Dante’s shoulder.
Tommy End
”I know Dante, but we can not force everyone to see the truth. We can’t wake them all.”
He lowered his hand and returned it in front of him. Tommy turned his head forward and lowered it as he continued.
Tommy End
”Unfortunately, there are still those who do not wish to be shown the truth. For they believe that what they see before them is the truth. They believe that the words they say are the truth.”
Tommy took a deep breath as he paused.
Tommy End
”There are a few of those false believers before us.
Royalty…
The new kids on the block who believe that after a hard start in EBWF, they’re destined for greatness. They’re destined to be the greatest faction in all of EBWF. In all of wrestling. They believe that they’re better than everyone.”
Tommy raised his head and looked forward once more.
Tommy End
”Royalty, I ask you.. No.. Better yet, Zelina Vega, I ask you…
Why are you great? Why is Andrade great? Why is Charlotte great?
Sure, the past couple weeks the three of you have been on a bit of a win streak. Building up a string of victories over the likes of Mankind… Mandy Rose… The cream of the crop here in EBWF. I have to hand it to you on those. I really don’t know if I could have beaten Mankind. The dude is fast. He hits like he’s only in his thirties. And Mandy Rose…”
Zahra reached up and put her hand in front of Tommy’s mouth. Tommy looked over at her out of the corner of his eye.
Zahra Schreiber
”Listen, we’re not going to make up some clever remarks about Charlotte. Fuck no. She picked up my scraps. Charlotte went after the knee that I damaged. She took advantage of a flaw in Mandy that I put there. If it wasn’t for all of my hard work months ago, Charlotte would have never made Mandy tap out. Simple as that.”
Zahra took a breath and removed her hand from Tommy’s mouth. He eyed her up for a second or two before he turned his attention forward again.
Tommy End
”Well, there you have it. I guess I don’t have to say anything more on the subject of Charlotte, do I? That’s fine. Everything that Zahra said, it’s all true. Everything that said, well.. It was kinda fluffed it up a bit. It turns out that beating Mankind and Matt Hardy, it’s not the challenge that the three of you would like to believe. Beating the two of them, it seems kinda.. What’s word I’m looking for??”
Tommy spun his hand around as he thought.
Tommy End
”Trivial. A joke. It proves nothing, except for the sorry state of the EBWF Tag-Team Division. I mean to pair up two sets of teams at complete random to throw our way. Mankind and Matt Hardy. Andrade Almas and Rey Mysterio.
At least the latter was able to pull together some common, interests, to get the job done. But you couldn’t even give us an established team. Breeze and Dar.. Edge and Orton.. Havoc and anyone from his past. Any of those would have been better, and shown your faith in this division, than to have thrown together two men. Two random men. Men that don’t have the history behind them like we do.”
Tommy pointed between himself and Dante.
Tommy End
”Do you know who we are? Do you know what we’ve done?”
He shook his head.
Tommy End
”If you did, then you know putting two random guys in the ring is suicidal. If you knew the destruction we cause, then you would know that whether it was Andrade and Mysterio, or if Matt and Mankind actually won.. The two random men that you decided to team up against us, they would fall.
We would step across the ring from them and we would destroy them, and any hopes they had of becoming EBWF Tag-Team Champions.
But here I am talking about it like it could happen, when in reality, it will be happening. See, Andrade and Rey, the two of you won the match a few weeks ago. You earned a shot at the EBWF Tag-Team Championships. You earned a shot to face us. And you’re happy about that. You’re happy that neither of you have done anything in this business up til now, but here you are. In an EBWF Tag-Team Championship match. The excitement you must be feeling.”
Tommy pretended to be excited, but then his mood quickly turned back to his normal, serious self.
Tommy End
”You should be excited. This could possibly be the biggest moment of your careers. This is, and could possibly be your dreams come true. Or at least, you believe so. Am I right?
The two of you.. Or should I say the four of you, all believe that this is going to be your moment to shine. Your moment of glory. A spectacle to highlight your accent not only into greatness, but into true, royalty. Live the high life. Drive the fancy cars. Stay in the swankiest hotels. Go on month long vacations all over the world.
A perfect world.”
Tommy shook his head. He raised his hand up and pointed at his head.
Tommy End
”A perfect world, inside your heads.”
He returned his hand down in front of him.
Tommy End
”But we’re not inside your heads. This.. This is not inside your head. This is not your world. You’re not meant to be champions here. You’re not meant to be great. In this world.. In the real world. You’re not meant to be royalty.
No, here in reality, when you step in the ring against Dante and I. You’ll be up against something you’ve never seen before. You’ll be up against a force that has changed the direction of EBWF. We’ve breathed new life into this division. The division that we’ve made our names in. The division that the two of you make a mockery off. The division that will be end of you.”
He paused and he looked over at Dante.
Tommy End
”See, Dante and I, we’re the best tag-team in this world because we have that goal in common. The two of want to be the best. So when the two of us are in the ring, our two minds… They act as one. I don’t have to call out moves to Dante, I just know when I want to do something, he’ll be there ready. And vice versa.
Why?
Because Dante and I have been doing this dance for years. Up and down the roads, crossing borders. All the trips to the hospital. All the nights where we’d leave a show at twelve in the morning and have to be at the next show at noon to set up. We travel together. We live together. That’s what has made the two of us click.
That’s why Dante and I have dominated every tag-team division we’ve stepped into. That’s why everywhere we’ve gone, we rose to the top faster than anything. We’ve taken each of their division and made it ours. There wasn’t a team they could throw at us that we didn’t defeat, and those were actual teams. Teams that were together for years. Teams that tore up the roads together just like us. Teams unlike we’ve been facing here.
Andrade.. Mysterio.. The only thing the two of you have in common is your heritage. Nothing else.”
Tommy turned his head over to Zahra before he stared straight ahead again.
Tommy End
”You don’t have the bond that is built from all the hours crammed in two door car traveling up and down roads. You don’t have the bond that is build between two men who fought side by side for years. Men who had to watch each other’s backs for years, just to live to fight another day. The ups and the downs. The wins and the loses.
Royalty, you don’t have the bond that makes you a family. Instead, you are just a cluster of random superstars that got caught up in the gravity of that massive ego, and mouth, of Zelina Vega. You’re four separate brains all throwing ideas around. No one truly taking charge. Sure, Zelina speaks a big game for you. She’s a real loud mouthpiece, and does get your word out there. She preaches of your greatness. Of your talent. She believes in you. She believes that this little group of yours will be the best thing in this company. You’re going to be EBWF World Champion. She believes. And that mouth of hers tries to make everyone else believe.”
Tommy stood still as he took a pause.
Tommy End
”All of that belief.. All the hype. All talk. Everything that Zelina Vega says about you. Dante and I, we’re going to prove it all wrong.
We’re men that will prove that all the hype being put behind you and your little group, it’s false. This thought of you winning, it’s all false hope. You’re not great. You’re not grand. Sure, Rey Mysterio, he’s had success, years ago. Believe me, I know how good Rey Mysterio was. But here in EBWF, Rey Mysterio has been a shell of man he used to be. Yet, in his head and your eyes, he’s still that same Rey Mysterio of yesteryear. You accepted him into your group because you feel that this little team of you and him, it’s going to make you EBWF Tag-Team Champions.
But it’s not Andrade.. Rey Mysterio is not your ace in the hole. He’s not your saving grace.”
Tommy reached up and he grabbed a hold of his beard.
Tommy End
”But he’s not. This is not your moment.
Two matches. One victory.
This is what you’re basing all this on. Zelina keeps barking about your greatness. Saying that you’re going to be the next big thing here in EBWF, but you’re batting five hundred. You’re one and one. And that victory was in a tag match. A tag-team match against a team who was just like you. A team that was thrown together last minute and given a shot that they didn’t deserve. A shot that you don’t deserve.
Now don’t worry, Dante and I we don’t turn down a fight. You fought and you won this shot. You won a shot at our EBWF Tag-Team Championships. The thing that you should be worried about however is the fact that Dante and I, we don’t hold back. Whether we think you deserve this shot or not, you’re in it. You’re up against us and Dante and I, we only know one thing…
Destruction.”
Tommy’s calm demeanor turns a little angier.
Tommy End
”It doesn’t matter if you’ve been together for a day. A week. One year. Ten years. It doesn’t matter if you’ve teamed up once, twice, or a thousand times. When you step into the ring with Dante and I.. When you step in the ring with Legion..”
He paused and looked at his two friends.
Tommy End
”When you step into the ring with us, you step into the ring to meet your destruction. Your end. When you step in the ring with us, you meet the real truth.
All the fantasies and dreams, they go out the window. All the planning that you attempt, it proves futile. Nothing that you do or have done, it doesn’t matter. All the words that Zelina Vega can spew out of her mouth. It doesn’t matter. None of that matters. None of that can save you. None of that will change the outcome.
When you step in the ring with us.. You get woken to the real truth. Not the truth that you believe. Not the ideals of you being Royalty. No.. When you step in the ring with us, you find out the truth that we.. All of us.. We’re the best there has to offer. Dante and I, we are the EBWF Tag-Team Division. Zahra, she is changing and making the EBWF Women’s Division the most feared division in this company. Not because we have not, not because we want to. We take over and dominate our divisions because that’s just what we do. It doesn’t take effort. It’s not a job. We don’t feel like we’re going to work.
No, we dominate because there’s no one who can stop us.”
Tommy smirked as he looked between Dante and Zahra once more before he continued.
Tommy End
”So Andrade… Rey Mysterio…
The two of you can come with everything you have. You can come with Zelina Vega and Charlotte. You can put your entire group into this match. It will make no difference. There is no chance in hell that you’re going to walk out of Warfare with our EBWF Tag-Team Championships.
See, it doesn’t matter if we’re up against one of you.. Two of you.. Or the whole damn group. No matter who you bring. No matter how many of you there are. It won’t matter.
It won’t matter because no matter how many people are standing across from us. No matter how many people stand up to try and fight against the truth..
There is always more of us…”
Tommy outstretched her arms once more.
Tommy End
”For we are everywhere.. We are…
LEGION!!”
The three laughed and all turned around and walked back to the car. Legion vanishes behind the light before a the car doors were heard once more. The headlights remained on for a few seconds before the car finally sped off.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Warfare returned from break, the show was quickly taken over by static. The ringside faded into the static until it was completely gone. The static remained for a few more seconds before it abruptly cut off. Only a black screen was left, but only for a few seconds. The black screen was replaced with a black and white video feed with Tommy End front and center. He stood with a stern look on his face. His hair tied back out of his face. He wore a white button up and a pair of black slacks.
Tommy End
”Royalty...”
Tommy shook his head and turned his body slightly to the left.
Tommy End
”A word that has been thrown around a lot lately.. So much so that I can’t even count on one of my hands the amount of people around here that are staking their claim of being, royalty…”
Tommy held his hand outward with his palm up.
Tommy End
”You have the man that beat me a couple weeks ago in the finals of the King of the Ring Tournament, Seth Rollins. Now sure, his claim has a little more justification to it than some of the others. But then you have his girlfriend who has come out and declared herself to be a queen. Simply because of her relationship with Seth Rollins. Now sure, history states that when a king marries, his bride then becomes the queen. History needs to be re-written…
Seth Rollins may have beat me at King of the Ring and earned a shot at the EBWF World Championship. Congrats, I hope that you enjoy your time in the spotlight. But remember this Seth, just because you beat me, it doesn’t make you better. One night. One match. One victory. Just like lightning, it won’t strike twice. Next time we meet in that ring, you won’t be so lucky.”
He closed his hand and placed it at his side.
Tommy End
”However, Seth and Paige aren’t the only ones who claim to be royalty. All the Kings and Queens of Ring of the past.. All of them claim they are royal, but they’re not the Royalty I’m talking about.
See, there is a group here in EBWF who claim to be Royalty.
Look, I get it, wrestling is in your bloodline. Your parents and grandparents, they were great. We all hear the stories of their pasts. You can’t travel the roads without telling a great Ric Flair story. Same goes down in Mexico with El Moro and Brillante. Seriously, you walk into any bar down in Mexico and mention El Moro or Brillante and you’ll get your ears talked off by all the stories.
However, those stories… It’s their stories, not yours. Andrade and Charlotte. The two of you have rode the coattails of your family for all your lives. Anywhere you went, you would instantly thought of in a different light once that last name was said.
Do you know what is brought up with my last name?”
He paused for a moment.
Tommy End
”My last name is End because that’s it. There is no beginnings, it’s just an end. I’m not in this business because of who’s seed I come from.. No. I’m in this business because I grew up to love this business. Every single time wrestle came on the television, I sat myself down and I knew one day, I’d be there. Here I am. After a lot hard work. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears. The bruises.. The broken bones.. The nagging pain that just won’t go away. After all that.. I stand here, making a name for myself. Not living under my father’s name.”
He stared into the camera.
Tommy End
”Now you two may think that makes you great. It made Zelina Vega think the two of you were great. She hasn’t shut up about it since the two of you show up on the scene. You made her believe the hype, and now.. Now she’s trying to make the entire world believe in the hype. She’s trying to make the entire world believe that the two of you are great…
But names don’t make you great. Names don’t make you Royalty. If that was the case, then I would change my last name to Trump and I’d be a billionaire. If your names truly made you great, then you wouldn’t need to use those names. You wouldn’t have to ride the coattails of your parents to the top. If names made you great, then the two of you would have been able to come into this company, on your own, and make a name for yourself, not your family.
You didn’t do that though, did you? No. The two of you walked in here with that mouthpiece, and you instantly started to claim your greatness. Claim your Royalty. The two of you didn’t work at it. The two of you didn’t come in and prove yourselves. Honestly, if people were to judge the two of you on your debuts, they would have thought you were amateurs. Rookies. No bodies.
But no, they knew who you were because of your name. Which made them expect great things, but you didn’t deliver.”
Tommy shook his head.
Tommy End
”No, instead Andrade you lost two a trailer trash, redneck, who doesn’t even know how many kids he has. And Charlotte, at least you lost to a former EBWF Women’s Champion. At least you were beaten by someone who has proven themselves in this business. You were up against a challenge, and you failed. But you Andrade, you weren’t up against a challenge. You were up against a push over. You lost to Heath Slater. A joke.”
He paused for a moment before he continued.
Tommy End
”All kidding aside, the two of you made up for the horrible starts to your EBWF careers and you both managed to win a couple of matches. Charlotte, you beat another former champion in Mandy Rose. Andrade…”
A sigh of disappointment was heard as it escaped from Tommy.
Tommy End
”Andrade, you picked up your victory, sure. But unlike Charlotte who got her victory on her own, aside from distractions and that loud mouth Zelina. You however, your victory was in a tag-team match…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no stranger to the tag-team world. In fact, Dante and I, we pretty much are the tag-team world now-a-days.
But you, Andrade, you were forced into a tag-team match at random. With a random partner against two random opponents. I’ll hand it to you, you lucked out with your partner. I mean pulling Rey Mysterio to be your partner, that was good. But just like you, Rey Mystery, be it he’s done a lot of great things on his own, but he’s another guy who built his career off his father. He became known because of his name. Later it was because of his talent in the ring, but at the start he was given the looks just like you and Charlotte were given the looks. Because of your names.”
He paused once more as he shook his head in disbelief.
Tommy End
”Now the two of you did good out there. You worked at a unit. Your styles complimented each others. It was solid performance…
Against two random people.
See what you don’t seem to get is that yes, you won a tag-team match. We get it. But the team that you were face was a random, thrown together tag-team, much like yourselves. Do you really think that Matt Hardy and Mankind really had chemistry. Do you really think that they were a worthy challenge for you. Given that it was for a shot at Legion’s EBWF Tag-Team Championships… Do you really think that Matt Hardy and Mankind should have been there? Better yet, do you really think that you should have been there with Mysterio?”
He had to stop as he thought about what he just said.
Tommy End
”Of course you do, who am I talking to…
Given you only had one match, which you lost, you still believe that you deserved that match because you come from a great wrestling family. You have the blood of great men in your veins. You are Royalty.
I bet that belief also makes you think that you deserve to have this match against Dante and I for out belts. You believe that it’s your right to face us. Andrade, and even you Mysterio, the two of you think that all the greatness from the past means you deserve to fight for the EBWF Tag-Team Championships.
Dante and I, we don’t...”
He stared directly into the camera once more.
Tommy End
”Dante and I, we’ve fought from the bottom to get to where we are in the tag-team world. We fought to be known all over the world. The two of us. For years, we fought to prove ourselves.. Finally we made it. Finally we busted our asses off long enough to be noticed. We got the call and we showed up here, in EBWF. Together.
Since then, this company has done nothing but throw together a couple of tag-teams and fed them to us. We haven’t faced a single great team. I’m being serious here. The only team that was together for longer than a couple of matches, that we’ve face since coming to this company, was Tyler Breeze and Noam Dar.
Dalton Castle and Grado, worked a couple of matches together. Finn Balor and Braun Strowman… First time teaming together. And now here we are, once again.. A team who has only ever teamed together once…
You have the chemistry of wrestling together for one match against a team who has has spent over a decade together.
But don’t worry, they have great fathers...”
He placed his hand on his chest.
Tommy End
”I’m not worried. Dante’s not worried.
You’re the ones that should be worried. Andrade, Mysterio, the two of you should be worried because Dante and I, we’re one in the same. When we’re in that ring together, we’re a well oiled machine that has no kinks in it. We know each other so well that it’s instinct. I know what he’s doing, where he’s at. I know what he’s planning as soon as he plans it. We’ve been through battles, wars, takeovers… We’ve been through the apocalypse. Together.
You and Rey, what have you done together. What have you been through. A couple of training sessions. One match against a hardcore legend and a man who has lost his mind. That’s it. That’s all you have.
The two of you don’t know each other. Sure, you worked together good last time, but what happens if Rey trips. What if Andrade falls off the apron and twists his ankle? Is Rey willing, and capable to handle the load? What if Mysterio goes for his Six-One-Nine and misses the top rope and crashes down to the floor?
What if one of Slater’s kids jumps the barricade and starts making out with Zelina Vega?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
Tommy End
”In a tag-team match, there is a lot of what ifs.. You may try to game plan the match, but what if your plan doesn’t match your partners? What if halfway through the match, the plan goes out the window? What if you have to think on your feet? Are the two of you able to improvise at the last minute? Do you think that you can read each other to know what to do next?
These are the questions that the two of you need to be thinking about. Dante and I, we’ve been doing this for so long, we don’t need to plan for these events anymore. We know when something happens, both of are on the same page and we’re ready for what is next. We’re like that because we’ve had moments of distrust. We’ve had moments where I wondered if he had my back and he wondered if I had his. It was hard to work through that. It took time to build that trust. It took a long time to be able to know what each other is thinking, but we’re there.
Dante and I, we’re a destructive force that no team can stand against.
Note, I said team…
I said team because that’s what we’re used to facing. We’re used to facing men who have been up the same roads Dante and I have been. We’re used to facing teams that have the same chemistry that Dante and I have. But the two of you, you’re not like that.”
He shook his head once more.
Tommy End
”No, the two of you are not a team. You’re not stablemates. You’re probably not even friends. The two of you are just a couple of guys that had nothing to do at King of the Ring, so to fill the card EBWF thought to themselves..
“Let’s increase our Hispanic viewership and put our two Hispanic guys together.”
I can hear it now like I was standing out front of Wes Ikeda’s door. The two of you are nothing more than just a publicity stunt to increase the Hispanic vote. You’re not meant to stick around. You’re not meant to be a dominant force in this division. No.. The two of you are not meant to be champions. All you’re meant for is views.”
Tommy threw his arms in the air.
Tommy End
”Hate me for speaking the truth if you want, but you know deep down that I’m right. You know that I speak the truth, like I always do. You know that this little group… This Royalty.. It’s nothing more than a sham…
I mean the only thing that is royal about the whole group is the fact that Zelina is a royal loudmouth..
Charlotte’s not as great as she thinks. Andrade’s not as great as he think he is. The two of them are not as great as Zelina thinks the two of them are.. And Rey Mysterio, you’re not as great as you used to be. Now whether or not you’re going to officially join Royalty or not. The fact that you’ve stood side by side with them. The fact that you started your career just like the other two are starting theirs. All of that, it shows that you have the same mindset as them. The same thought of being great. The thought of being “wrestling royalty”, just because of your name.”
He took another pause before he adjusted himself and continued.
Tommy End
”Tonight, Dante and I we’re not fighting names. We’re not fighting bloodlines. Andrade and Rey, we’re fight the two of you. We’re fighting who you are now. We’re fighting a couple a men who think that they’re better than they are. We’re fighting a couple of men who want to play in division that they don’t belong in. Tonight, we’re fighting a couple of men who believe they are a team.
Regardless of what the two of you think you are, Dante and I know what we are…
We know that we’re the most dominant team to arrive here in EBWF in quite some time. We know that we’re capable of destroying teams.. We know that we’re walking into that arena tonight as the EBWF Tag-Team Champions. And we know that we’re going to be walking out of Warfare tonight, still the EBWF Tag-Team Champions.
And we will continued to be EBWF Tag-Team Champions until this company finally decides to not feed us these thrown together random tag-teams. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy the matches. We enjoy the destruction.. But we want more. We want a true challenge.
So after we destroy yet another team you wanted to throw at us. You better get on that phone, call up every team there is out there. You better find one of them to step in the ring with us because once we’re done with Andrade and Mysterio, we want to fight a real team. We want to fight a team who is worth our time. Worth defending our titles against. That’s what Dante and I want. We want to be given competition.”
He looked off camera for a second.
Tommy End
”But that’s after tonight.. That’s after to throw away another thrown together team. That’s after Dante and I destroy yet another faction of random guys… Guys who think their better than they are.
But after we’re done… After the Sumerian Death Squad takes aim and destroys Royalty.. We will have proved that Andrade “Cien” Almas and Rey Mysterio.. They are nothing but disappointments to their family. Nothing but disappointments to themselves. After we’re done tonight, Dante and I will prove that Royalty will always bow to...”
He turned forward and looked at the camera. He closed his eyes and took a moment before he opened them back up and spoke.
Tommy End
”LEGION.”
Tommy backed away from the camera as he faded back into the static. Once the video feed is completely covered, the show returned to ringside.