Michael McBride had not been interested in this match at all, but it looked like Charlie Nickles’s interest in it was not exactly high, either.

Unfortunately for both, Raion Kido knew what was riding into this match - and he did not sign up to Warfare for nothing - and certainly less to come up empty-handed. After all, if, according to the Nickleman, the Lion’s momentum had stopped cold - why was there interest in him now?

The Lion contemplated on his as he beheld the stars, as was often his habit, from the cockpit of his N-1 Starfighter - a small, sleek and elegant gold-plated craft whose turbine exhausts emitted pale blue flames, complete with an R2 astromech droid in the back of the cockpit for navigation assist.

*Beep boop! Beep beep!*

“Let’s get ’em, R2.”

In the vastness of the galaxy, the ship joins a small formation of other Starfighters like it - all facing a gigantic, metallic, moon-like object inside of a solid ring…

“That’s no moon. That’s a space station!”

… and indeed, on a closer look, the gargantuan ship turns out to be a Droid Control Ship - the fearsome Trade Federation’s mastermind for the ground forces on the bluish-green planet below.

“Copy, Rogue Five. Glad you could join us, those damned bugs on the ground kept us from turning those droids to scrap.”

“But now we finish the job, sir.”

“Rogue Squadron - the droid army below is directly under control of this ship. This is our chance to cut off the invasion of Naboo at its head. Those droids are not stopping unless this ship is destroyed. Your mission is to buy time for the bomber squadrons to disable or destroy the ship. Shoot down any and all fighters that come your way. Understood?”

“Roger that, command. Rogue Squadron, form up!”

“Rogue Seven, standing by!”

“Rogue Six, standing by!”

“Rogue Five, standing by!”

“Rogue Four, standing by.”

“Rogue Three, standing by.”

“Rogue Two, standing by.”

“Eyes open squad, we got company! Fighters, dead ahead!”

“Roger, Rogue Leader!”

From the massive space station’s hangar launches a swarm of fighters - droid Vulture-class starfighters, two menacing robotic red eyes in an insect-like frame. Soon enough, the battlefield is littered with explosions and blaster shots of green and red - green for the majestic Naboo ships, red for the Trade Federation droids.

“This is where the fun begins!”

The Lion makes short work of a small detachment of Vulture droids, and the Naboo ships begin to move in on the Droid Control Ship, firing at targets of opportunity along the way, but they begin to concentrate their fire on the massive station. Unfortunately, the stray bolts that hit the target barely put a dent in the steel behemoth.

“Its deflector shields are too strong!”

The Droid Control Ship’s large cannons open fire on the Naboo Starfighters, and little can the squadron do but to attempt to break off.

“Rogue Leader, we’re in trouble! We can’t stay here much lo-AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!”

Caught by a direct hit from the Droid Control Ship’s cannons, the Starfighter belonging to Rogue Two is soon blown up into a fireball…

“Damn it, Rogue Two is down!”

“Rogue Leader, I’ve got a fighter overhead! It’s not a Vulture droid, it looks to be a manned craft! He’s the one that shot down Rogue Two!”

Among the myriad of Vulture droids stands out a different craft - an elongated fighter with a spherical cockpit and folding wings - two sickly green eyes among its unassuming nickel color. A deadly craft that moves with a lightning speed - none of the shots that Rogue Squadron fires at him are close to even landing.

But there is one among the Naboo pilots that refuses to give up.

“I’ll hold him off! You all continue the mission!”

“You heard him, Rogue Squadron, let’s bring down that station! Thanks Rogue Five, and good luck!”

The Lion heads towards the unidentified craft, and starts firing. One of the blaster shots impacts one of the folding wings, but the nickel fighter is quick to maneuver, and soon a dogfight ensues between them.

“Here we go!”

Back and forth the crafts trade fire and attempt to position themselves behind one another, and the Lion’s Starfighter is soon barrel-rolling and dodging all the shots that the nickel fighter is firing. He accelerates to get a lock on and is about to pull the trigger for a missile launch…

“Wait, what!?”

… but soon the lock vanishes, and the nickel fighter disappears in the blackness of space!

“Rogue Five, what’s going on?”

“Rogue Leader, he’s gone! My R2 isn’t picking him and I can’t see anything!”

*BLAST!*

“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAARRRGH-!”

*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!*

From out of nowhere, a blast catches Raion’s craft and he’s sent spiraling away from the battlefield. The R2 unit to his back lets out a horrifying screech as the ship flies aimlessly in the void. The Lion barely manages to stabilize the ship, and once he’s in a stable position, he checks at the different indicators in his heads-up-display. Most of them show yellow, but no critical damage. Which means he can still fight - and fight he will.

“Rogue Five, report! What’s your status, do you copy?”

“Sir, that fighter must have cloaked! I’m picking up some damage but I’m good to go, coming back! ETA two minutes!”

“That might be just too much, but we’ll hold on!”

“On my way!”

From out of nowhere, a blast catches Raion’s craft and he’s sent spiraling away from the battlefield. He barely manages to stabilize the ship, and once he’s in a stable position, he checks at the different indicators in his heads-up-display. Most of them show yellow, but no critical damage. Which means he can still fight - and fight he will.

“R2, divert all power to thrusters. We need to get there back as soon as we can!”

*Boop beep boop boop!*

The Lion guns the engine back in the direction of the Droid Control Ship, but he has to maneuver through a heavy swarm of vulture droids. He has no problem taking them down, but there are many, and he is alone. In the meantime, the unidentified nickel craft is picking off Rogue Squadron piecemeal.

“I CAN’T SHAKE HIM! Thrusters offline! Weapon systems offline! Somebody-*ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*”

As Raion Kido makes his way to his squadmates, the nickel craft vanishes into and pops back out of space with impunity - running roughshod through the remaining Rogues.

“That damned cloaking system! I can’t get a clear shot!”

“Break off! Rogue Squadron, regroup and form an element!”

“I can’t see him! Wait, where did he…? AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!”

“Rogue Four! Damn it all!”

“He’s on my six! Support! Somebody! SUPPOR-BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTT!”

“Rogue Leader, breaking off! Wait! Incoming!”

Before Rogue Three can escape the nickel craft, a missile launch catches him right in the back exhaust port, turning it into a descending shooting star into the planet below.

“Rogue Leader, hang tight, I’m on my way!”

The Lion finally makes it, but as he spots the Rogue Leader, the nickel fighter has engaged him, and they’re now in a dogfight.

“I can’t hold on much longer - he’s matching me move for move!”

The closer, and faster, that the dreaded enemy ship moves, the more desperate the squad leader’s maneuvers become.

“Sir, I’m here! Coming in to assist!”

“Rogue Five - there’s no way to shake him off and I won’t last at this speed. There’s only one way to take him down. I’m going to draw him out and act as bait. No matter what happens, bring this bastard down. Shoot through me if you have to, you understand?”

“Sir? I-I can`t-”

“That is an order, pilot! If this craft stays alive, the rest of the ships in here don’t stand a chance. Bringing this guy down is the chance to win the battle!”

The implacable nickel fighter approaches the Rogue Leader.

“Rogue Five! Do you have a lock?”

“Not much longer, sir!”

“Stay on target…”

At the breakneck pace of the pursuit, the Rogue Leader begins to slow down - but the nickel fighter comes straight behind him - with Raion on his tail.

“Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay on taaaaaaargeeeeeeeeet…”

“Target locked, sir!”

The nickel craft fires a missile - a proton torpedo, that impacts directly on the Rogue Leader - blowing the Naboo Starfighter to pieces with a huge blast.

“Get him, K-BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!!!”

“RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH…!”

*BLAST!*

Letting out a roar of fury, the Lion fires a missile of his own - and before the nickel fighter can cloak, he’s caught close to the cockpit! A shower of crackling lightning courses through the ship’s body, now rendering it visible, and unable to cloak again.

“You can’t hide from me now. Come on!”

Without the cloaking system, the ship has lost its advantage, and with the Lion on its trail, it has no choice but to attempt to shake him off.

“Not this time, nickel man! This time, the fight is mine!”

The nickel ship begins to run. Steep turn after steep turn, rising and falling, barrel rolling, and trying every possible maneuver to break off from the pursuing Lion.

But the Lion has seen his prey, and will not let it go.

“BURN, COSMOS!”

Tapping into all of his concentration, The Lion matches the nickel fighter move for move. The nickel craft is now desperate, shooting chaff flares in an attempt to cause the Lion’s distraction. But the Lion does not fire - he simply moves closer, and closer, to the nickel ship.

*BOOP BOOP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!*

R2 signals for a target lock, and the Lion finally shoots. The proton torpedo impacts almost point-blank in the nickel craft - finally putting it out of the Naboo troops’s misery. The burning, exploding ship flies in a whirlwind away to the vastness of space…

“Yeah! We got ‘em, R2.”

At that point, the Droid Control Ship blows up - the remaining squadrons having fulfilled their mission.

“Whew–- at least it’s over now…”

Now having finally hit the brakes, Raion heaves a huge sigh of relief, almost failing to notice the voice of command over the communications system.

“Mission accomplished - all pilots, well done. Rogue Squadron, report… Rogue Squadron? Rogue Squadron, do you copy?”

“Command, this is Rogue Five. That unidentified craft did a number. Rogue Squadron is down. I-I’m the only one left.”

“Then I suppose there is only one thing to say. Congratulations on your promotion, Rogue Leader, and may the Force be with you…”


“It’s almost as if I’ve seen this coming, Nickles. Almost as if I knew exactly what you were going to say.”

The sun setting over the dusk horizon, and the majestic Palace of Theed, serve as the backdrop for the location - a flower-strewn courtyard in which the burnished, gold-plated Naboo Starfighter now rests- one of its wings showing the proud scars of battle.

And in front, clad in his golden armor, shining as majestically as the ship, stands Raion Kido - flowing wild hair fluttering in the wind, and a wry smile plastered on his lips.

“Did I not say that you’d boast about me like you’ve been doing every time you had a camera near? You’ve had all of this week to come up with something better than the “flavor of the Month” and hot-as-habanero lines. Oh, and by the way - I got XWF Star of the Month after our match, so let’s not pretend you beating me did anything to change that situation.

But then again, pretending is all you do, is it not? Pretending to have a new wife, pretending to be a father rather than a mere sperm donor to your children, pretending to join the Bastards, pretending to be this unstoppable force that carries the XWF Television Title. You wish me to talk about your record-setting reign? Of those names that you have faced, the only ones that may be compared to mine are Betsy Granger and Centurion. Dangle Elijah Martin and Ruby all you want, but as I told to Jenny Myst last time - let’s not pretend that what people do on Anarchy means anything when names like yours and mine are involved.

Oh, and speaking of Centurion. Did I not say that you and I both beat the same man? More than that - I beat him before you, and that’s how we came to face each other in the first place. So try to talk about showing people how it’s done when beating someone no one has beaten before. Ah, but I forgot - you’re Charlie Nickles, and pretending is all you do, all you’re capable of doing. Pretending, one more time, that Raion Kido got handed opportunities. Because, Mr. Nickleman, in case you haven’t noticed, the reason the Lion is in this match is because whoever was in charge of booking knows that, as much as you want to hide behind your barbed-wire hell… the Lion is more than able to beat you.

And how do they, and how do I know this? Very simple, Charlie. It’s all due to the fact that, when you have to puff yourself up to do your “I’ve beaten everyone that matters” routine… the name of Raion Kido is not only the one that comes out the most, but the one that, if we go by you, has suffered the worst of your ire. I mean, if we’re to believe you, you stopped me from being Star of the Month, you maimed my face, you stopped me from winning the King of the XWF, you’ve stopped me from doing anything of relevance and I might as well be a flash in the pan!

But alas, Charlie Nickles, the truth turns out to be not quite as pleasing. After all, Raion Kido is still here, his face is no worse for wear, and he stands before you again. I’ve had you on my mind since that time, only, you know, I work for what I get. You might call not stalking someone and jumping them after a match avoiding you, I just call it doing the right thing. I just knew that eventually we’d meet again, and I’ve been waiting, all this time, like every wrestler worth their name does, to take you head on in the only place that matters - inside those four sets of ropes.”

The Lion clenches his fists, and his smile is now gone, giving way to the peeled back lips, the canines on display, and the rage he is about to unleash.

The burning power of the cosmos.

“And in return, what do you do? You go back to pretending, to spewing lie after lie again, right like you did when we first faced. It’s almost like you’ve said to the Ring Master before Cage Coleman laid you out - behind the scary Nickleman, his troubled mind and his barbed-wire baseball bat, there lies nothing but an empty, hollow shell.“

Little does the Lion do to hide his fury. It was one thing to celebrate a victory over Raion Kido - it was an entirely different thing to pretend it was a public humiliation, and to keep boasting over it for a month. It was time for payback - and the Lion was coming to collect with interest.

And since Charlie Nickles had said that he would not dare talk about his career, the Lion was now going to prove he dared to do that - and more.

“Because, once we really come down to it, tell me, Mr. Television Champion, what exactly have you done, other than desperately trying to find a credible contender to win against? It’s almost like, I don’t know, you can’t resort to the name of Reggie Estrada to show just how important the Television Title is. It’s almost like Betsy Granger is gone, but of course, you have to bring her up because there’s no one else that compares to her; and it’s almost like I, Raion Kido, earned myself the title shot Centurion was getting anyway, in the span of three matches.

It’s almost like, right after losing, I earned my place to the King of the XWF Tournament Finals, and that, after my victory against me, Bobby Bourbon lost with you, then failed to put down the first opponent I ever faced here! Some King he turned out to be. Some great example for the Brotherhood of Bastards and the XWF as a whole - no wonder you’re now trying to break away from them.

Which, speaking of - all these people in the Bastards, and you’re the best they have? Thunder Knuckles? I beat him. Jenny Myst? I beat her. Bobby Bourbon? Came crashing down after getting a miracle win against me. And you? You’ve been nothing, had nothing, of even the slightest importance since having to face me. A loss to Alias, a loss to the Tag Team Champions, and victories over people that I have either beat, or aren’t on my level.

So much for that destitute talk, Charlie. Come to think of it, now it looks like I might have even been fortunate, because right now? This match, like this narrative, isn’t yours to control. I might have said I would kill you last time, and I will be certain to do so. But now? I get to make my own addition to the script, and my choice is not to kill you instantly, but instead, to keep you alive just a slight bit longer.

To prevent you from dying, just like Darth Plagueis used to do, to watch you buried underneath a mob of angry Ewoks like a hapless Stormtrooper after I’m done with you, with the thought planted inside you that the Brotherhood of Bastards is doomed to wait for the inevitable fall, just like the Empire at Endor, and that the end is now coming for you - just as it was for the Emperor.”

A gold-plated fist extends towards the camera. Justice was riding on this match, and the Lion would bring it with his own fists. But before he got to that, there was something else to do: He would prove that he would beat Charlie Nickles at his own game.

If boasting was what Nickles wanted to do, Raion would first bring down every single accomplishment he’d ever had to the ground.

“All of you are collapsing, and I, even after two big match losses - which, since the time we faced, is one less than you did - continue to shine. Seven-two I am right now, and after these last two victories, I am not going to stop until I reach Leap of Faith, for it might be there that I finally get my time to enter this company’s annals of history. And who knows, Charlie… it might be against you. It might be even better than that. But I was placed in this card first, and that means I get to give you a sample, of what’s to come.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chucky Murder - your own two defeats just happened to be against people on the upper echelons of the XWF, just like mine, and they came in the form of the current Universal Champion - and the Tag Team Champions. And you want us to think that one single, miserable loss, means that you’ve finished me?

I mean, if the almighty Charlie Nickles is still grand-standing and pounding his chest after losing to people with titles greater than him, I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine. After all, I’m not the one that’s now looking to abandon ship once I lost a tag team match.”

This time, Raion grins ear to ear - though the look of his eyes is that of the executioner, come to deal the final blow. Had Raion Kido sought excuses after having lost the Television Title match? Or the King of the XWF Tournament Finals? He had about as much as Nickles himself upon losing that tag match.

And yet he had not.

If they would not accept any reason he had - why should he accept the Television Champion’s narrative?

“Seriously, Charlie, I know that you can’t be this utterly stupid, so the only alternative is that you are, as I first said, a liar.”

This time, the Lion makes a final, decisive point at the camera. Charlie Nickels may want to try to appropriate the truth, as he always did. But the Lion would not let him. This was his fight - and nobody else’s. Eyes were watching him, people were cheering for him.

And he would prove that this time - he would succeed.

“And here, consequently, comes the biggest lie of all. You want to claim I’m avoiding you, what, because I’m not jumping you like you did me after I beat Thaddeus Duke? I thought, Nickles, you said you didn’t need to play mind games against me - that’s what you said to him too.

Maybe if you weren’t so obsessed with me, from the moment I came to the XWF, you’d realize that I’ve been doing my job, just like any other member of the roster, to go from opening the card to eventually reaching main event, and gold. Don’t blame management for booking me where I am - I mean, I can’t help being this talented, to get booked on nothing but skills.

Remember, Charlie - I’m not the one that joined the Bastards, I’m not the one that picks his own opponents, I’m not the one that picks the match stipulations. And once you and I are in that ring, I’m not going to need any mind games, no Bobby Bourbon interferences, no stable behind me. The only thing I’m going to need is that moment for the Lightning Plasma to leave you twitching like a droid hit by a lightsaber. It’s going to be a shock to you, I’m sure, but to the rest of the galaxy? It will only be the natural conclusion of this story between us two - and they still know that there shall be one more episode left.”

A slight, almost imperceptible nod as Raion Kido arches his eyebrows and gives his leonine grin one more time. The entire point of this match was that, once he stood victorious, the Television Champion would fear his name, with the knowledge that the Lion… was finally coming for him.

But the Lion is not yet done. There was yet another matter that needed to be addressed.

“But you know what, Charlie? I’ll give you something that has left me shocked. I did not expect, after all your boasting, and all your claims of dominance, that you’d resort to the same low-brow, stereotypical jokes about Asia that Jenny Myst, Thunder Knuckles, and Cage Coleman before you, decided to throw at me.

It’s almost like, in your endless obsession with me, you failed to do your work. We all know how that went for them, do we not? I don’t know, it’s like you expect me to be offended because I am Japanese. At least Thunder Knuckles had the wherewithal to bring up the war - you didn’t even have the manhood to bring up anything other than the old and tired honor matter.

I said last time that I could pretend to be offended, or I could even be furious at being taken for a fool, but from you, Charlie? From the very XWF Television Champion, someone with a record-setting reign that should be doing better right now? It’s just as disappointing as Michael McBride’s performance for this match. It’s just as disappointing as hearing the same talk you’ve said to everyone else, for a month straight, about how you beat the flavor of the month.

And the worst part of it all, Charlie, it’s that it’s the textbook definition of stolen valor. Something that never happened - you did it before he was even chosen as that. Just like when you boasted about beating Centurion - something I did before you ever got your hands on him. Nothing but stolen valor, which is the biggest disappointment to come from someone who holds a belt in the XWF.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say that’s desperation setting in, but, as I said earlier, it goes even deeper, even worse than that. Like your life, like your allegiance to the Bastards, like your entire reign - you are empty. You’re running on fumes, and not because of all the matches you put yourself through. You like to make grandiloquent speeches to people below, but against your equals, or your betters, you fall flat. You have nothing. And all that time my name spent coming out of your mouth is now wasted, because now you know you have to face me again, in a match whose stipulation you don’t get to decide.”

The smile vanishes once more, giving way to a face of stone and eyes of steel. Charlie Nickles craved control, from his possession of the Television Title, to the claims he made about Raion Kido, to his own children, if past indication was to be believed.

It was finally time for him to be denied.

“And you know what, Charlie? I have every reason and motivation to be the one that finally brings you down. March 4th, a galaxy, far, far away, is going to be the ultimate Duel of the Fates. It’s where I finally show that your reign is but a falsehood, and is about to come to an end. It’s where I finally make you realize that that rookie with which you filled your mouth is back to give you the end that you’ve had coming for a long time. You want to claim you fly over our heads, and I’m going to be the one that shoots you down. And as much as a future Television Title rematch is a tempting reason for me to beat you? It’s still but a promise, something that may come in the future. This is about something immediate, something that goes much, much deeper like that.

Just like you said to Reggie Estrada, Charlie:

This is about making you pay.”

This last sentence echoes in the courtyard of Theed Palace, almost as if carried by the Force itself. One more step within a whole process, yes - but a crucial step to be taken.

For there was no doubt that this edition of Warfare was special in its date. But for the Gold Saint of Leo, so was in its significance.

Especially when he would be the next man to the Universal Champion to bring the Television Champion down.

“And once the final bell has rung, once you’ve finally crashed down, once the noise has quieted and all the smoke has cleared, you’re finally going to learn the truth about the Lion that you’ve so desperately tried to deny, but that rests in the back of your mind like the Phantom Menace of the Sith.”

The Lion leans into the camera, giving it a good look at his bare fangs, and at the fury in his eyes - even though the final sentence is but a whisper, which lingers eerily in the airwaves once the picture has faded.

“You’re finally going to learn that I am a lot scarier than you are.”

Fade to black.