“Not again! Not one more cursed time!”

It was one thing to lose March Madness. It was one thing to have been outdone. It was another thing to have been cheated, as Peter Vaughn did him. And so, Raion Kido was indignant.

Because he had not been outdone.

“It’s always the same damnable story - if it’s not March Madness it’s always CCPE, and I am tired of it all!”

“Yooooooo… we gonna drink or not, Kido? This thing ain’t gonna open itself.”

The bottle of sake stood on the table between the two members of the SAGA. The young Saint of Athena still could not come to terms with the outcome of Wednesday Night Warfare, but now with the Tag Team Titles on the line, it was a good opportunity to build some team cohesion - and the DioGEE was more than happy to share a drink with the Lion.

“... Sorry, Cashe, I don’t feel like drinking. I shouldn’t be doing this, I shouldn’t even be here. I should be preparing for the tournament semi-fin-”

“That’s why now is as good a time as any to do this, Kido. Ever hear of “drowning your sorrows away”?”

“I do not seek to drown my sorrows away, Cashe. What I seek is a solution.”

“The solution is we go take the belts from them two chicks..”

It went against all the fiber of Lion’s being to do this, but perhaps he had too much frustration bottled up, and that meant there was a pressure valve that needed a release.

“And we also beat up Gravy and that Cadryn dude, but we’re not going to do this if you’re still hung up. So just for once, let yourself go. Leave it all behind and vent your frustration away. And then we’ll go fuuuuuuuuuuuuck these people up!”

The Lion lets out an exasperated sigh. It was that or wallowing in his own impotent fury, and impotence is something with which he could never come to terms.

“Well, whatever - here goes nothing.”

*SLAM!*

Banging the bottle upon the table, Raion opens it and pours it over a glass, which he chugs in a sudden, violent motion.

*GULP!*

“Well? What’s it taste like?”

*SLAM!*

“Not to my taste, Cashe. I don’t like alcoholic beverages much, and I don’t see how this is helping me do anything.”

“Calm down, Kido, you just haven’t given it enough time. Let it talk to you a bit more.. Drink up!”

Moments later, the DioGEE is smiling ear to ear as he fiddles with his phone, while a visibly distraught Lion - for lack of a better term - is hunched over at the table, rambling incoherently and slurring his words.

“Y’see, I can unnerstand when I’ve been outdone. I can unnerstand being up-ended at the end, I can understand losing without being pinned, but this time I wasn’t outdone. Vaughn cheated - and he holds my place at March Madness.

And I AM TIRED, Cashe! I wash - was - undefeated until now and everyone I beat went on to get title matches and the one - the ONE time -I’m trying to do something for myself it’s alwaysh gotta get ruined - and I hate every god damned bit of it!

Becaushe I’m trying to do things with dignity here and ain’t nobody seemsh to notice - but dat’sh what guidesh me above all else, man. Dignity - alwaysh dignity…”

*BONK!*

“ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz…”

The poor Saint of Athena’s energy appears to have run out, and so he slumps over on the table. Cashe hoists him up and lifts him over his shoulder, making a SHHH! sign to the phone.

“Don’t worry about it, folks! Kido the Kid’s a GOOD guy, he just can’t hold his liquid courage, but he’ll do well in time. Hell, he couldn’t win March Madness last year, but there is always next year! Why worry about what happened yesterday when today and tomorrow could be a lottery victory?”

The morning light finds the Lion awake, but not for the excitement of a new day…

“BLEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!”

Wracked by dizziness and pain after last night, the unfortunate Saint of Athena is now emptying his reluctant bowels at the toilet - hurling like there’s no tomorrow, but thankfully inside the toilet bowl.

“Wakey Wakey, hands off your snakey! How you feeling Kido?”

“Does it look like I feel alright, Cash-BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!”

A wicked grin appears in the DioGEE’s face.

“Whoa there! Careful where you aim that - always goes within the bowl. So, last night was fuuuuuuuuuuuuun! Do you remember what you did?”

“I remember having a drink because you would not stop insisting, the world went dark and next thing I remember is my stomach waking me up violently. I had to run so as not to make a mess, and-...”

The Lion bends over the toilet bowl once more, but this time nothing comes out. Mercifully, his hangover seems to give him a break.

“... and now I have to stay here for fear of throwing up everywhere.”

“Oh, but there was a lot more than that, dude! We should get you drunk more often, it will be great. You think the fans love you now, look at the views and like buttons here!”

The DioGEE shows Raion his cell phone, where footage of last night has been recorded - including his now infamous speech…

“... Becaushe I’m trying to do things with dignity here and ain’t nobody seemsh to notice - but dat’sh what guidesh me above all else, man. Dignity - alwaysh dignity…”

The Lion’s face goes from red, to white, to a deeper shade of red as a mixture of shame, fury and regret begins to fill his mind…

“... God damn it, Cash-BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!”

And so, the Lion’s stomach condemns him to hurl into the toilet bowl once more, drowning out the sound of Cashe’s raucous laughter…



“I am indignant.”

Thus the Lion begins in the Arlington gym where he and Jason Cashe are training - the DioGEE pretending to face an invisible opponent, shadow boxing and grappling as if an entire gang was in front of him.

“I am indignant that this happened right before the very end, that Peter Vaughn had to cheat to get one over on me, but there is no way to make up for that now.

There is, however, a new opportunity for Jason Cashe and I, and that entails beating Sarah Lacklan and Angie Vaughn for the XWF Tag Team Titles, and to get Micheal Graves and Cadryn Tiberius out of the way while we do that.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, means it’s time for the SAGA to step up and make those tag team belts get some much-needed measure of dignity."

"My Dooooood if I needed dignity, I'd have become a Pro Bowler.. Not Football but like PBA. My average is NICE!"

The overwhelming - and inexistent - odds soon prove out to be too much for the DioGEE, as he is suddenly on a closed guard and dodging like a myriad of shots were landing on him. The Lion pretends not to see - after all, he has the team’s dignity to salvage.

“Let’s begin with the ones that lack it the most, Micheal Graves and Cadryn Tiberius. So, what’s new with these people? Last time Graves was relevant it was because he lost both to Mark Flynn and myself for the Universal Title, and last time we heard of his partner, outside of whatever cryptic, irrelevant messages he can be bothered to send occasionally once a year, just to remind us he is still alive, was 2017.

And upon his resurgence, what does this Tiberius, this Essence of Excellence do? He hangs around for a month doing absolutely nothing, but I suppose that’s par for the course considering that’s what he has done since the last time he won a match - which just so happened to be these same titles he and his partner couldn’t  even be bothered to defend two months later.

Under any other circumstances this would be depressing, but I suppose it’s not so bad here - after all, it’s the same thing Sarah Lacklan did before she decided to take advantage of both Angie Vaughn and Dolly Waters to win her half of these belts. But little did that work in her favor when she had to face the power of the cosmos, and little will this work for you - because this time, I fight for dignity. Not just my own, but that of the SAGA, and that of the Tag Team Titles that have been passed around like a drink - and now we come to put that to an end.”

"Lacklan is gonna call me Mr. 4CW.. I hate that woman and I ain't even had sex with her before..!"

Cashe reels like he’s been hit by a battering ram, and staggers all around to the young Saint of Athena’s corner, hand extended. Raion is quick to pick up the tag.

"Kido, you gotta hold the tag rope or it doesn't count!"

Raion holds on to the bottom rope and Cashe makes the tag again - and this time it works, so the Lion steps into the ring.

“And I say that, ladies and gentlemen, because here we come to another nice, spicy detail: This isn’t even the first time that Micheal Graves has tried to come back to relevance for the Tag Team Titles, but I guess not even having Barney Green at your side was of any use at Snow Job. In fact, Graves does not even care about the Tag Team titles - he went as far as to outright stating it to Noah Jackson! No big deal, were his exact words!

So tell me truly, gentlemen - or lady, whatever you are now, Graves - what is this? An attempt to rekindle what was but a flash in the pan in 2018? What do any of you have individually, let alone together, that can do anything against me? By the looks of this, it is clear you just don’t care. Whether male or female, whatever he/she/they decide to be in any given message, it’s always the same story. In his own tiny little mind, if he’s not fired, he’s pushed backstage, and he’s complaining about not being given a fair shot despite having been in three title matches since 2022, and having failed at every opportunity!

And in the face of that, I’m indignant as well. I’m indignant because I have proven, more than one time, to be among the best the XWF has to offer - something which you should already know from experience. I’ve had enough of people I have defeated moving on to title opportunities while I still, somehow, have yet to prove myself, and now that this has come my way, there is not a chance in hell I am letting it pass. So bring your unique brand of pain and extreme - I’ve already had it before, I’ve withstood it before, and I shall do so one more time. But don’t worry, Graves - you said this was no big deal, so I’m sure you, Barney, or Tiberius will be here again eventually.”

"It's no big deal until he has a hard time walking after before he didn't want to have any foreplay. Barney Rubble and Tiberius can come get some too. If you're tagging with me, we are equal opportunity ass kickers. You need to let that grrrr out Kido! Show me your grrr face!!!"

The DioGEE’s calling from the corner makes the Lion go over and tag once more, and so Cashe comes into the ring to do his epic fighting moves one more time.

“But we move now to the ones whose dignity is just slightly better than the earlier team for the mere reason the belt is in their possession. Now as for Angie Vaughn, what is there to say? Angie at least gives dignity a try, and she does it successfully at that, but her problem right now is that she’s being misdirected, and I mean that in more than Sarah taking advantage of her. You want to be addressed as who you are, rather than what people think you are, but here you are letting your dear sister waltz into your addresses. Here you are believing San Antonio turned on you because of what Sarah omitted to say.  Here you are, letting her speak for you!

I know blood is thicker than water, Angie, but there is such a thing as a toxic family - and that is what happens here. You’re letting her turn you away from your own self - and believe me, Ms. Vaughn, I know that of what I speak. Where is the Angie Vaughn that faced me no less than three times? At least she was able to function on her own!

This may be the first time I am teaming up in the XWF, but at least I have always been myself, and here it is no different. I am shouldering my burden but Cashe shoulders his - and here you are content for Lacklan to carry it for you.

But be warned, Ms. Vaughn. As good as you are, I see that the essence of you is being drained away - subsumed into Lacklan’s cult of personality. But now you face two members of the SAGA who fight as a cohesive force. Two minds work better than one, and come March Madness, we shall demonstrate it to you and your sister. I hold no ill will towards you, but perhaps when we’re done, you will get the message I’m trying to convey.

Reclaim yourself, Ms. Angie. Reclaim yourself, lest the parasite consumesyou whole.”

"Is there a cream for that? Will I need to get tested after this? I can't risk an STD or staph infection.. I'm serious.. This is my serious face, Kido.."

Drawing a sigh, Raion holds out his hand for Cashe’s tag - this time making certain he is holding onto the tag rope. The DioGEE comes out and he goes in once again.

“Speaking of parasites, here comes the Blood Princess once more. Well then, Ms. Sarah - there is yet a question that you have yet to answer. You have mentioned in the past the names that sent you to the so-called loser’s window, but there is a certain someone there whose name is absent. So what’s it going to be, Ms. Lacklan? You speak of the Wheel of Disappointment, but you have no one to blame but yourself for having underestimated Raion Kido, and you’ve shown it stings.

I’m sure it’s a nice cope to have the fantasy of me pleasuring myself to your likeness - I suppose I should be flattered that you think of me this way - but if that has been all you gathered from our encounter, then you’ve made the same mistake as Atara Raven faced when we did - which I’d expect someone who beat her in five second might do better.

Tell me then, Ms. Sarah! What shall you say now? Last time we faced you spoke about change, and where is it? The only thing you have done with the titles is to defend them against a newly-formed, makeshift team. It is one thing to play royalty against an unfocused Atara, and to beat a team of newcomers, but it’s when the challenges come your way that you begin to falter - when there is someone in front of you that can send you, as you have said yourself, to the loser’s window - and even that happened with the help of Dolly Waters, who you dethroned!

And now this time comes again, Ms. Blood Princess. You and Angie might have held titles elsewhere, but your greatest challenge comes now, for both of you, and once more, it comes by my hand, and that of the DioGEE. We’ve had enough of your parasitic piggybacking upon your sister and the rest of the XWF, and it’s time we solved that issue for good.

So get ready, my dear Cool Kids. Not everyone can sit at your table, but that means very little against people coming to flip it over - and empty your meal trays upon you.”

"My doo- Wait, we bullying folks?! Sheeeeit! My Dooooood!!"

This time, Raion stomps on the ground, pointing at the camera as if he were a conquering general, his face almost sculpted out of stone. Dignity incarnate, were it not for the display that the DioGEE caught on him on camera before.

Alas, there was no point in dwelling over it - there was, at least, something liberating in having vented his frustrations away.

But a Saint of Athena’s duty was to rise again until he could no more - and rise he could still.

“Most of you have already fallen by my hand, but now it gets harder for you all, for I am not alone. I have with me a former Xtreme Champion that knows just how bad a fight can really get - and someone who knows just how to make a comeback after going through the desert for months, and who is hungry, perhaps much more than I am.

The XWF tag team titles have been made a mockery for long enough. At March Madness, the next chapter of the SAGA is written in blood; that same blood by which the titles will be anointed, because only through blood shall they be restored to their rightful place - one of dignity.”

The Lion lowers his head, a steely glare in his eyes, as he grinds his teeth and clenches his fists, before uttering his last words. As anathema as they may sound with his earlier display - they are the one thing that remains within his soul, and they shall never be gone.

“Always dignity.”

Fade to black.