“YOU DESIRE TO BETTER MANAGE YOUR LIFE, AND TO BE EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU NEED TO. AND SO YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED THRICEFOLD. THESE WILL ACT AS YOUR SURROGATES; USE THEM AS YOU SEE FIT.”

The words of the Wishmonger rang in my ears as I sat in my home near the vineyard, the result of my wish sitting at a table with me. Daniel was brooding in his seat, while Devin was happily playing on his phone. Wide Dio appeared grumpy...or hungry; I really was having a hard time reading him. Soon, William entered the room, accompanied by a gentleman holding a case of sandwiches. He set them on the table before he quickly left. William then asked, "Is there anything else you need of me with your...uhh..."

"Guests?" Dionysus finished. "No, we'll be fine. You can take off for the rest of the evening, William."

William nodded, giving each new man a distinct head nod before quickly turning and leaving the room. Once the doors had closed, Wide Dio pulled the sandwich tray toward him, taking a sandwich in each hand. He was about to take a bite before he looked at the rest of us, slowly closed his jaw, then offered up one of the sandwiches, asking, "...Sorry, anyone want a bite?"

"You're-" I started before Wide Dio began to consume the sandwiches he already had. I sighed and shook my head; this was going to be a long night.

"Well, you got us all here," Daniel said, sitting cross-armed and loudly tapping his foot. "What is so important that we needed to be in the same room?"

I had given my idea a lot of thought, but never did I think a copy of myself was going to question what it is that I wanted. "It is as I had wished it," I began. "My life is becoming increasingly complicated, and the genie has given me the power to be anywhere I would like to be...through you all, I mean," I paused, gesturing to the group. "I suppose that would mean, at any given time, you may be called upon to take my place. The Wishmonger didn't really give me any specifics on what exactly this is going to mean, but I'm assuming I get control over that, so-"

"And why," Daniel interrupted, "Did the Wishmonger give you this power?"

"...Because I made the wish?" I responded sarcastically. "You weren't even in existence before I made the wish happen."

"Yeah man," Devin chimed in, still looking at his phone, "We're here to help our good buddy Dio out whenever he needs us. What's it to you, huh?"

"And you two are okay with that?" Daniel inquired.

Devin looked up from his phone, shrugging and laughing. "I mean, it isn't like I've got anything better to do with my life. Besides, Dio and I are pals; what's better than helping out a friend when he needs it, right?" Devin turned to look at Wide Dio. "What about you? You cool with all this?"

Wide Dio stopped chewing and swallowed hard, looking over at me while still double-fisting ham sandwiches. "You're not gonna send us anywhere weird, are you?"

"I mean, I hope not. I can't promise you that you will be sent off somewhere you don't want to be, but I imagine it will just be trading places for a moment, then switching back when I need to."

Wide Dio scrunched his face in thought, then shrugged, saying, "Seems good to me," before stuffing his face with more sandwich. I wanted to express some concern about his eating, but then I realized that he seemed content doing that to himself. Besides, who am I to stop someone from indulging themselves?

I turned back over to Daniel, saying, "Well the others seem to be onboard with the idea-"

"Yeah well, I'm not them," he once again cut me off.

"You are me, though, just as much as they are me. If this is all going to work out, we should, at the very least, be on the same page. Otherwise, we-"

"'We?' There isn't a 'we' here!" Daniel exclaimed. "There is just you here. Four different versions of you. I get that Devin is cool with doing what you want, and Wide Dio is..." He stopped, looking over toward Wide Dio who was too busy stuffing his face to notice the conversation happening in front of them. "...Well, they may be on board, but what about what I want out of this deal?"

"I would assume you would want what I want, considering-"

"No, Dio," Daniel cut me off yet again. "I am my own person too. Just as much as Devin is his own man. Just as much as Wide Dio is his own man. You can't force us to just do what you want with us just because some genie in a bottle decided to split you up like this!" Daniel quickly stood up, turning toward the door. "This is pointless; if I wanted to get lectured by myself, I'd just look in a fucking mirror and do it."

"Daniel, please," I said, trying to stop Daniel from leaving the room. "You are just as important as everyone else in this room, and if this is going to work-"

"You only want this to work for yourself and don't give a shit about the rest of us. I'm gone." Those words kept me silent as Daniel walked out the door. I slumped back into my chair, realizing what he was saying was true, for the most part.

"Aww, he's fine," Devin said, trying to cheer me up. "He just needs a bit of time to get used to the idea. We're all in the same boat; he'll come around eventually. Right Wide Dio?" Wide Dio simply nodded, grabbing another sandwich as he did so.

I ran my hand through my hair. "Still, I didn't really think about what kind of impact this would have on your own lives..."

"I mean yeah, you didn't," Devin replied. "But if I didn't want this, I would've said something too. Just because I'm laid back and Wide Dio is...well, Wide Dio, doesn't mean we don't have our own goals and ambitions that we want to try and pursue. For me, I just don't really know what that is yet. So if helping you will lead me to a goal or ambition I want to chase after, then that works for me." He looked over at me, giving me a wink. "Besides, how far do you think an undocumented guy like me is going to go in a country like this?" I couldn't help but agree. Devin might play more loosely than I would, but he still had a child-like wisdom that I could only respect.

"Not like he can get far anyway, right?" Wide Dio said, his mouth full of ham and lettuce. 

That particular revelation is what I had thought about for a while with the Wishmonger. Sure, I have these...clones...of myself, but how far apart from me can they actually go? I'm the one that can dictate where they travel...so where was Daniel? "I think I'll try talking to Daniel again." I stood up, leaving Devin and Wide Dio at the table while I walked outside.

Looking immediately to my left, I saw Daniel leaning against the railing of the porch, looking out at the driveway. His posture was slumped, his arms crossed and resting on the railing while he stared out, lost in thought. "I'm sorry about earlier. I should have listened to you. What do you want from this whole experience? What is it that you want to do?"

Daniel didn't even look back at me. "All I want...is to be my own man. I don't want to live under anyone's shadow...just to be myself. But this is all too much to take in at once...maybe I need to talk to someone."

A spark of inspiration came to me. I clasped Daniel on the shoulder, asking him, "What if I knew of someone who could help you figure this out?"

Daniel looked up at me. It was an eerie phenomenon having your own reflection look back at you, only it wasn't a mirror and actually a tangible person standing next to you as it happened. His expression softened as he whispered, "I think I would like that. Just give me a minute to collect myself, then we can talk more inside with the others."

I patted him on the shoulder a second time, then took out my phone, giving Daniel some space. I immediately called Elbrook.

"Hey doc. I'm gonna need at least two hours for our next session. ... Yes, I know it is unorthodox...but I've got a strange story for you..."

---

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With War Games now behind me, the only direction I can look to is forward.

Onward as your Television Champion.

When I first held this belt, an immediate question came into my mind. "What kind of champion should I be?" This, of course, was made easy once the stipulation was put into my hands. Two words stuck in my mind that day: dominant and unexpected. Hence handing that stipulation decision over to the fans. Am I perfectly capable to making a decision on my own for a stipulation? Of course I am! But then where is the challenge in that? I simply make up some stipulation that would put my opponent at a significant disadvantage from the word "go," and that becomes the end of any credibility I may earn. The XWF fanbase wants to see a two-out-of-three falls match, and that is precisely what they will be getting. The twist, of course, is the need for both a pinfall and a submission to secure the title. Now, I know what you're thinking; "But Dionysus, how did you get your beard so bushy? And why have one of each?" Well to the first question, that is a trade secret. But to the second, many matches result in either pinfall or knockout. Submissions are rare these days. We should have a champion that is able to do both, at least in my opinion. It may not be the most "unexpected" stipulation I could devise, but it is one that will help set the stage for what is to come. A unique stipulation for a unique championship reign. My breathing new life into these stipulations will mean I have ample opportunity to show off just what else I can do, so long as this belt remains around my waist.

It will also give my opponent, Angelica Vaughn, plenty of prep time to make this match a memorable one.

Now admittedly, prior to War Games I really didn't know much about you. That's not on you, of course; blame me for my own lack of research. It was based more around how you managed to become a captain of the Kitty Cat Kaiju for War Games than your in-ring ability. But after seeing your accolades and watching the tapes, it made a lot of sense; for someone of your background, coming into the industry without any prior skill, to get where you are today? It speaks a lot to your drive to succeed in this business. I can respect that, especially as someone who has managed to secure the tag titles on two different occasions with two different partners. That also tells me you are great at working with others, so of course making you a captain was a wise choice. And while circumstances played out differently, you did your best with the team that you had with you. You are a lot like me; we can bounce back from losses like that pretty easy, and we don't let the weight of that loss carry us through our other matches.

That said, there is one other unfortunate similarity we both share. Namely, that it seems like we cannot outshine compared to our best known partners. This isn't me saying you play second fiddle or anything to Lacklan, but admittedly, between the two of you, Lacklan has had more success in XWF than you have, at least as current history shows. It made your match at War Games more personal than should have been expected for someone like you. To go against not only a former partner, but also one of your best friends? I can't even imagine what was going through your mind at the moment. Especially when that same friend eliminated you from the match. Now, I understand that there is no love lost when friends have to compete against one another in the ring, but considering you were both captains, this has to have stung more than any other elimination on the card. So naturally, you are looking to rebound from such a loss by attempting to take the title from someone who was eliminated second in their own match.

That being said, I'd like to make something very clear; much as I don't expect your performance in War Games to be a reflection of your performance overall, neither should you expect my performance to be an indicator of the kind of competitor that I am. You were selected as a captain due to your ability to work easily with others. I was chosen in the draft due to my meteoric rise, and having the talent to back it up. Even a former rival in Dolly acknowledged what I could do in the ring by selecting me, even if the choice was made by fate. While I was eliminated early on, that does not diminish the work I have done to reach where I am today; a competitor worthy of being part of the XWF Warfare roster.

Winning this title is only the beginning for me. It means nothing if I cannot defend it successfully on my first defense. What message does that send to everyone else if I cannot hold onto this here and now? Not a good one, I can promise you that. So as much as I want to like you in this moment, I have to do everything in my power to maintain this legacy I have started. It is nothing personal; just business. That is the kind of champion that I aim to be; one capable of giving respect, but not allowing that respect to get ahead of my own ambition.

You will see soon enough at Warfare just what I can do when there are stakes on the line.