Tommy stood outside the arena as the final match of Warfare took place inside. The crisp Canadian air blew against his skin. In front of him was a logging truck from a local Vancouver area logging company. There engine roared as though it was ready to leave. Tommy looked down at his watch, when just then, Zahra walked up next to him.
Zahra Schreiber
”Calm down.. I’m here.”
Tommy turned his head slightly and looked down at the raven haired beauty.
Tommy End
”You’re late.”
Zahra Schreiber
”This one was a little feisty.”
As Zahra spoke, her female druid walked by with Ruby Riott on their shoulders.
Zahra Schreiber
”Put her with the other.”
The druids walked over to the logging truck. They stopped as two more druids popped up on top of the logging truck. There, tied to a giant log, was Sarah Logan. Still bound shoulder to knees with the cocoon of rope, but not bound to the log. The hood remained on her head, but now you could hear some muffled screams. The two druids on the truck reached over the edge and grabbed a hold of Ruby. They pulled her onto the top of the logging truck.
Tommy End
”You know Legion had to pull a lot of strings to get this.. I hope it’s worth it.”
Zahra Schreiber
”Believe me.. It’s going to be a blaze.”
Zahra winked up at Tommy with a devilish smile. Meanwhile, on the top of the logging truck, the two druids bounded Ruby to another large log on the top of the truck. Zahra smiled as she watched the binding. After a moment, she looked over at Tommy.
Zahra Schreiber
”I guess Bobby never found you.”
Tommy End
”The man is a fool..”
Zahra Schreiber
”A big fool.”
Tommy looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
Tommy End
”As always, the beast is more bark than bite. He knew that I was going to be here..”
Zahra Schreiber
”Guess you should have went to the ring.”
She laughed as Tommy looked unamused.
Tommy End
”There was no need for that. The big doof should have looked in the shadows.. That’s where everyone assumes we hang out. Not like we don’t have our own locker room or anything with our name right on it. If Lashley really wanted Legion, he would have found us.”
Zahra Schreiber
”Guess you’re right.. Maybe you should have left a map?”
Tommy shook his head. The two watched at the druids finished the binding of Ruby Riott to the logs. A few seconds later, Dante popped his head out of the driver’s window. He pounded on the door as he looked back at the duo.
Michael Dante
”Are we ready?”
Tommy looked over at Zahra.
Zahra Schreiber
”Sure you don’t want to go back in and find Lashley?”
Tommy stared at her, again unamused as her bad jokes. He then turned to the truck and gave Dante the nod. Dante ducked back into the truck and reved the engine to the big rig. After a few seconds the druids jumped down off the trailer and walked into the darkness. The truck slowly started moving, headed directly to the exit. Tommy and Zahra stood there in the parking lot.
Zahra Schreiber
”This is going to be fun.”
Tommy looked over at her before the duo turned to the side and walked towards a black, unmarked SUV. Tommy walked to the driver’s side rear door. He opened it and held it open. Zahra walked up to the open door and hopped inside. Tommy looked around the parking lot until he heard Zahra from inside.
Zahra Schreiber
”Better hurry.. Bobby’s gonna knock you out..”
Tommy shook his head once again before he entered into the back of the SUV. He closed the door and slowly the SUV took off in the same direction of the logging truck.
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The room was dark, only lit by a single candle at sat at the center of a small round table. The flickering flame dance with itself for a few moments before a soft creaking noise was heard. The noise was sudden, and then stopped. A few seconds later, the creak was heard a second time, now believed to be a door or gate, but nothing could be seen. In the darkness, soft footsteps could be heard getting closer with each step. Then, out of the darkness, Tommy End appeared and walked behind the small table. With the candle at his midsection, the majority of his torso was lit up. His face was barely visible in the dim light, but you it was lit up just enough to make out his facial features.
Tommy End
”Bobby Lashley.
You aligned yourself with Hardcore Holly and Lio Rush for what? Did you think that it was going to be you ticket to fame? Did you think that tying yourself to Hardcore Holly was going to instantly throw you into a title picture? Did you think that having Lio Rush as your mouth piece, he would be able to talk you into the EBWF World Championship picture?
What was it Lashley? Why did you choose to arrive in EBWF with those two?”
Tommy took a moment after asking his questions. He didn’t expect an answer, but he knew that these were questions that needed to be asked of Lashley.
Tommy End
”When you came into this sport.. Not this company, but wrestling in general. You were a force. You were a dominating force. Someone that everyone could easily picture at the top of the mountain.. You had the look. The build. The stamina. You went down the list and you checked off everything that would make a man, a superstar. Everything that would make a wrestler, a champion.
That was then..
Now, everyone thinks that you’re a stooge. A lackey.. No one takes you seriously. To be blunt with you Bobby.. Everyone see you only as Hardcore Holly’s sidekick. They don’t see you as the dominant for you used to be. That image is long gone. Now, Hardcore Holly is the champion.. A meaningless champion, but still a champion. He’s the one that gets the first nod. You look up at the marquee, and it’s not Bobby Lashley and Hardcore Holly. No.. It’s the other way around. And until you actually do something significant in this business, you will always be the afterthought. You will always be considered Hardcore Holly’s muscle. Until you stand up for yourself instead of your ragtag band of misfits, you will never be considered anything more than a lackey.”
Tommy placed his hands in front of him as he took another second.
Tommy End
”But you already know that don’t you, Lashley?
You already know that to be somebody, you need to stand out and stand by yourself. You know you need to be your own man. You already know that to be taken seriously, you need to drop Rush and Hardcore.
That is why we’re here.”
End outstretched his arms and opened his palms. He stood there for a moment before he slowly brought his arms down and returned to his normal stance.
Tommy End
”You finally stood alone.
However, you made a mistake. The first time you stood alone, you made a big mistake. You stood there and you called me out..
Now for months, you and Hardcore Holly have been calling out Legion. You both have claimed your superiority over Legion, time and time again. Yet.. The two of you have proven wrong, time and time again. Time and time again, Legion have been the ones to prove their dominance and superiority over the two of you.
This time, you’re only challenging me.. You didn’t challenge Legion.. You didn’t demand another EBWF Tag-Team Championship match. No.. You challenged me. You challenged..
Tommy End.”
He stood there for a second as he let it soak in.
Tommy End
”Let’s think about what that means for just a second.. Let’s look back over my career, all the men that I have destroyed. All the battles that I have been through. The wars. Everything that has made me the man I am today. Every time I bled.. Every time that I needed stitched up. Every broken bone, black eye, and bruises. All of that. It made me harder. It made me stronger. It made me fierce beyond anything I could have imagined for myself.. It made me a warrior.
That’s what fighting in the trenches did for me.. What did they do for you?
Being the son of a drill sergeant, did that make tough. Wrestling as a second to football all through secondary school, did that give you the fire.. Losing your bid to join the United States Olympic Wrestling Team because you cowardly jumped out of the way of gunfire during a bank robbery, did that make you a man? Your “wars” inside the ring, did those make you a warrior?”
Tommy shook his head.
Tommy End
”You talk a hard game Lashley.. You, Hardcore, and Lio.. You preach about how you love to fight and you love to destroy. But what have you destroyed? When have you actually had a hard fought fight?
Me?
Last year at this time, I was part of a revolution. Legion tore through EBWF and erased all of their heroes.. And incase you missed it, watching from the sidelines, I was the sole survivor in the war against EBWF..
So I ask this of you again Lashley, what have you done to prove what your mouth spews? I could list everything, but I shortened it for you because I wanted you to keep up with me. The point I am trying to make Bobby..
You may have the look, the athleticism.. But you don’t have the pedigree.. You don’t have the guts to be in the thick of the war.”
He scoffed for a moment before he continued.
Tommy End
”The son of a drill sergeant, and he doesn’t have the guts for war. I mean you would have thought that a military boy, would have at least tried to stop the back robbery, instead of injuring himself as he ran away..
See Lashley, that is why no matter how much you want to rant and rave about being dominant.. About fighting anyone and anything.. About being a weapon of destruction.. No matter how much you say those things, the facts always come back to haunt you. The truth, always shines through and shows what is real.. It illuminates lies. The falsehoods.. The truth, always reveals who is a man, and who is a myth. And you Lashley, you are a myth.
You’re a fable that has been passed around.. The story changing with each storyteller. WWE, you were the dominating force. TNA, you were a tank. MMA, you were considered, the boss. That is your story.. That is your fable. Your myth.. And here we are, you myth continues now in EBWF with you being the “Almighty”.”
Tommy stood there in silence. The faint glow of the candle shown him shake his head ever so slightly. The look on his face mimic everything he spoke. The look of disbelief.
Tommy End
”Now, Legion has already proven the myth of Hardcore Holly and Bobby Lashley as a tandum to be false. We have proven that every time the little group of you get together and proclaim to be the best, you’re not. We have proved that every time you say that you will get the EBWF Tag-Team Championship and destroy Legion, you don’t..
So tell me why now, after all that.. After the countless defeats handed to you by Legion, do you Bobby, believe that you can challenge me. Challenge me and claim you’re going to kick my ass. You’re going to end me, and end Legion.
Bobby.. You are forgetting one simple thing..
I am Legion, but I am not a leader. I’m not the savior. If I were to fall, Legion would continue on. So you may think that you can “end” me, but don’t believe that my failure would bring the end of Legion. In fact Bobby, because you didn’t challenge Legion, you’re not going to get Legion. So don’t worry about darkness. Don’t worry about what lurks around the corner.. I assure you, Legion will be around. We always are.. But Legion will not get involved in this match.
No..
You challenge me.. So I want you to find out just what that means. I want everyone to find out what it means to challenge Tommy End. It’s not like challenging Legion.. Legion has a code. I do not.”
Tommy shook his head slightly again.
Tommy End
”Lashley.. You’ve witnessed the carnage that I can do while being guided by Legion. In Legion’s name, I sacrificed Jimmy Havoc. I purified the lovely Zahra in flames, which lead her to fulfilling her destiny. In Legion’s name, Dante and I have come and we awakened a revolution in EBWF. We took control of the Tag-Team Division and we’ve held it hostage.. I’ve done all that, in Legion’s name.
At SummerSlam, you’re going to get Tommy End. Imagine what I can do when I’m fighting for my name.
That’s what this is going to be.. That’s what you asked for.. A fight. You said that I could choose whatever I wanted. It didn’t matter to you, you were going to knock me out regardless. So that’s why this match is what it is. You say you’re going to knock me out.
Knock. Me. Out.
How many men have you knocked out Lashley? Real men. How many? Any in MMA? Anyone in the ring? No? I didn’t think so. I have knocked out dozens, if not hundreds of men with one kick. That’s all it took.. One single kick. A kick that has taken out nearly every man that it has connected with. My Owari Death Kick.
Now you might be bigger than me.. Taller. Faster. Stronger. I’m not going to deny that. You can just look at the two of us and see it, plain as day. And when you look at us, everyone would instantly agree with you and say, you would probably knock me out. In the stat column, it would look as though you would probably knock me out.”
Tommy took a second, his face like stone as he showed little emotion.
Tommy End
”As with all things.. Looks can be deceiving.
So don’t let the look of you and I cloud your judgement Lashley. Don’t for one second think that because you’re a few inches taller. A few pounds heavier. A few kilometers faster. Don’t believe that matters..
Look back at the battles we’ve had over the EBWF Tag-Team Championship.. Look at the times that you and I have faced off. Did your size matter? Did Hardcore Holly’s experience matter? Did the fact your mouth piece screaming the entire match long, matter?
No..
If there’s a will, there’s always a way. And when the chips are on the table Lashley, the will for me to vanquish you is far greater than your will to simply, knock me out. That’s why during this last man standing match. It doesn’t matter if you spear me, powerslam me, or even drop me on my head. I doesn’t matter if you throw me off the stage or drive me through it. I will get back to my feet. One way or another, as long as there is still a breath left in my body.. I will get to my feet.
Can you say the same? Can you say that after one Death Kick, you’ll get back up? And if you do, can you say you’ll survive two, three? Can you say that after you head gets kicked clean off your shoulders, that you’ll get back up? Will you rise to the challenge? Will you rise to your feet?
That is why this is a Last Man Standing Match. Because at the end of this, there won’t be any doubt. There won’t be any questions. At the end of this match, the victor will be the only man who can stand on their own two feet. The victor will be the only man who can fight through the pain and manage, with the very last bit of their will, to get up.”
Tommy spoke with passion, but his face remained stone cold.
Tommy End
”To quote yourself.. Are you Lashley, going to grow a pair and actually come knowing that you’re going to be in a fight for your life. A fight for honor, dignity, but most of all.. A fight for respect. Because if you lose at SummerSlam, what respect can you have? You can claim that you’ve only lost the tag-team matches because of Hardcore Holly, or because there were ladders and other people. At SummerSlam, there won’t be anyone to blame. There won’t be any excuses.. At SummerSlam, when you get knocked out and you can’t get back to your feet.. You’ll know it’s because you’re not the man you think you. If fact, after SummerSlam, you will find out that you’re actually the same man you’ve always been..
A failure.
A failure to your father.. A failure to your country.. A failure to this business.. But most of all. At SummerSlam, you will find out just how much of a failure you are to yourself. ”
Tommy looked down at the candle. He raised his hand and held it next to the flame.
Tommy End
”You time is ticking Lashley, and when this is all said and done. When there is only one man left standing. When I’m left standing. You will be left with only one thought... The thought that this is truly..
The end.
See, after this match Bobby.. There will be no more. No more of hearing you, or your crew raving about how destructive you are. No more walking around here acting like you are the biggest and baddest men in the yard. No more demanding title shots. After I beat you.. No Legion. After Tommy End beat you at SummerSlam. The talk ends. The demands end. Everything that you, Hardcore, and Lio are about, ends. There won’t be any games.
At SummerSlam, when you can’t make it back you feet Lashley.. When you fail to knock me out like you promise.. You will realize that everything is over for you.”
Tommy closed his hand around the flame and then there was nothing but darkness.
