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Raion Kido · (02-26-2023)

*VRRRRRR-!*

“And now we go into another challenge.”

Mastermind had gone down one more time, and the final round of the March Madness tournament was now that much closer.

*VRRRRRR!*

“This has been a long time coming - and it ends next Weekend Warfare!””

But to get through that, there was a reckoning long-awaited - none other than Peter Vaughn.

*VRRRRRR-SPUTTT!*

“But first we need to get this engine running!”

Unfortunately for the Lion’s spirit, the car at which wheel he’s sitting - a beautiful 1969 Datsun 240z colored midnight blue - doesn’t seem to be as cooperative - the engine going dark and petering out every time he tries to start it. In the San Antonio auto custom shop where he was located, the mechanic crew looking under the car’s hood were sharing looks of concern as the Lion turns the key and presses the accelerator, every time reaching the same result.

“Let’s see - carburetors are fine. Engine is as new as could be for a restored beauty from the ‘60s, it’s got fuel in the tank. Fuel filter isn't clogged, no bad cables…”

“Don’t worry Raion, when we get this ride working, it’s going to be a beast!”

“Where you get this anyway? It’s a rare Japanese import, and a vintage one to boot!”

“A gift from Ryleigh’s family, sir - they’re very grateful for me having come into her life. They insisted I could get a newer one, but I’ve always wanted one of these!”

“Have you tried the battery?”

“It’s a new damnable battery, this shouldn’t be happening! This car was born to race, but it seems to somehow… resent it.”

“Then it has to be the spark plugs. Maybe that’s the problem - it was made to go too fast, too soon, and it chokes out before it gets enough strength to keep speed going!”

That remark from the technician makes a spark ignite in his brain.

“That sounds just like the kind of problem I’ll be facing next week!”

“Hmm?”

The young Saint of Athena snaps his fingers, blurting out the words that next exit his mouth.

“I’m going against a guy that had a rapid rise everywhere he has been, but is just as quick to fall off. I suppose for mechanics like you, it would be that he has a lot of torque, but not enough top speed.

So we need to get the car in just the right torque to be able to hold on to its speed - doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make it there fast, but rather that it keeps it going.

He’s proven he can’t - and now I’m going to prove I can.”

“That’s actually a very nice way to put it for someone that isn’t familiar with mechanics!”

The Lion gives a silly smile, rubbing the back of his head, like the young man from Osaka he still is.

“Ehehe - lots of things you learn through Anime, sir. Also my opponent goes by the Mechanic, so I made sure to do some research!”

The lead mechanic takes his hand to his chin, in quiet thought.

“Hmm, actually it could be. A few adjustments to the transmission to give it more power over acceleration, and something to give it just that spark it needs to get running - like a new set of spark plugs. Let’s try that!”

The crew soon gets to work, the Lion also lending assistance in whatever way he can - from handing out tools to help pushing the vehicle to the garage’s entrance.

“Alright - the moment of truth.”

“It’s going to run, Raion. Just get in there and give it gas!”

Thus the Lion opens the Datsun door, gets in, and turns the key. A spark goes in the dark, from the battery to the spark plug, and then to the engine.

*VROOOOM! VROOOOOOOOOM!*

And to the elation of everyone in the auto shop, the Lion turns the key, and the beast inside the Datsun hood lets out a mighty roar. And of course, with the spark that started the engine, the mighty racer comes alive. The dashboard’s gauges light up, and the headlights ignite - blinding everyone in the auto shop.

“And this shall be the spark that ignites the cosmos… and the doom of Peter Vaughn!”

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*VROOOOM! VROOOOOOOOOM!*

Only the stars under the night sky and the lights along the Texas highway are the witnesses to a lone vehicle speeding through the road like a bullet - a Datsun 240Z blue as midnight - burning fuel through its exhaust as its engine roars.

“This is your reckoning, Mr. Vaughn.”

And so does the Lion’s cosmos burn, his face filled with grim determination as his hands grip the wheel.

“You called this an inevitable confrontation, and on that much I do agree, because this has been a long time coming. From the World Series of Wrestling to that time in the WGWF, but we do it now where it never has occurred, and where it really matters - you and I, one on one, in this XWF anticipated match.”

The car reaches a curve, at which Raion hits the brakes and turns the wheel, shifting a gear and accelerating once more - the midnight blue vehicle almost embracing the guard rail in its drift.

“Here, Mr. Vaughn, is where it really begins. I owe all of CCPE for the end of the year until now - and you are the one that shall see the beginning of the end. Because there is something that all of this has taught me, and it is that I am tired. I am tired of the name of Raion Kido used to further Chris Page’s ends. I am sick of CCPE exploiting everywhere they go and somehow getting dragged into it, and it’s about damned time I taught you all what it means to use the Lion’s name in vain.

And this time, there’s no Mark Flynn here to save you like at the West Coast Rumble, Mr. Vaughn, and so the time comes for you to inevitably fall. You may be the winner of the 2022 World Series of Wrestling, but do not for one second forget who it was that drove you to reach that number - because I was always a step beyond you until the very end. And I remember that, Mr. Vaughn.

I never forgot that, and I shall make certain the rest of the world never forgets again - when the Lion scores yet another monumental victory in this entire tournament, in yet another epic showdown.

For this is the year 2023 - and there is nothing that prevents me from knocking the 2022 WSOW winner, the WGWF and Thunder Pro Wrestling World Champion off the XWF March Madness tournament.

I say this, Mr. Mechanic, because I too know one or two things about ascending.”

A long, empty straightaway extends before the Lion, and so he floors the pedal - the needle in the speedometer goes from low to high, the one in the RPM meter from white to yellow to red. His snarling face now matching the bestial roaring of the moving car.

“You consider yourself a climber, faster than anyone else in ascending to the top - and just as quick to fall when a true challenge comes your way, as ALIAS did first - something that stings you to this day -, Charlie Nickles did later - because it surely was a refreshing change from having to defend against Calypso every other week - and as your own partner did to you at Snow Job.

Except you didn’t quite ascend there, did you? You just fell back to square one, touting instead your accomplishments elsewhere to cover up for the fact that you simply could not get it done. Mark Flynn may still be the Universal Champion - but he had to take it from me, it took a wrong referee call to do so, and he hasn’t yet tried to hold it from me. And as you might be very well aware, I have the power to take it from him right in my very hands.

But there’s a process a Mechanic like you surely can understand - you may be about torque, about acceleration - but I am about top speed. I came to the XWF the very exact moment you defeated Jim Caedus, and though Charlie Nickles beat me, I never once stopped ascending. By the time I came to the Leap of Faith match, you had eased off the pedal for the safety of the SuperContinental Title, and I was only shifting into the top gear that saw me beat the man that took that title from you, and the man that had prior sent you into the wall at the same time!

And if you want to bring up Relentless, allow me to remind you: Ever since then I have not been anywhere near a title match - but every match has been a victory, gradually rising until it’s come to catch you at the moment of your tailspin. You crashed against Flynn and only now got yourself looking forward again - after another Calypso match - while I was beating Sarah Lacklan - one of the best ever names to grace this company.

Now, Mr. Vaughn, I’m coming for you, and I’m coming with a speed that, as much as you accelerate, you simply cannot hope to match.”

The straightaway ends up in a sharp turn, and the Lion slams the brakes, his hand moving at the transmission stick almost lightning fast, and the Datsun turns almost 90°, taking the turn just this close from impacting the guard rail, before its driver makes a sharp turn of the wheel that makes the car exit the curve straight once more.

“For it’s one thing to gloat to Calypso about how you want to see him devastated - especially after it took a low blow to take him down, and more than once! - , and a very different one when you go against someone that can actually deliver the one thing you so terribly fear - that very same Plunge that you make your opponents take.

Because once the Lightning Bolt stops your heart cold, I shall fling your lifeless carcass over the ring, and those voices that you so desperately try to convince yourself are wrong, well… when next they bring up Raion Kido, they shall be right.

And you shall know it, Mr. Vaughn. From that top spot you hold at Thunder Pro. From that upper echelon of the WGWF. My name isn’t going to be there at all, but the moment you hold on to those belts, and to whatever glory you can… it’s going to be in your head.

When that happens, you shall experience that same sensation you want people to have - the gnaw of incredible jealousy, and the humiliation that comes when the car that overtook everyone at the starting line was shown up by the one that reached the top speed right at the end.

And know, in the end, that all achievements you earned were for naught.”

Now nothing but the open road stands in front of the Lion, the faint rays of the morning sun beginning to rise at the horizon.

“Get ready then, Mr. Mechanic. Get ready for your bright star to go against the Lion’s supernova, and know that your rollercoaster has only initiated its sharpest descent - soon to be made into a standstill that shall spread for the rest of CCPE.

Because after this Weekend Warfare, we reach the final stretch of the March Madness Tournament…”

The Lion bares his teeth, and floors the pedal once more - the mighty Datsun 240z now running like a streak of light.

“... and the Mechanic’s engine will have gone dark.”

And as the vehicle blends into the rising sun, the scene fades to black.

2000 words (wordcounter.net)

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