INTO THE DARKNESS: LESLEY ADORA GGG
Jul 13, 2021 17:37:23 GMT -5
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Post by thewhiterose on Jul 13, 2021 17:37:23 GMT -5
An entire day had passed. 24 hours. That may not seem like a long time, but for a teenager who had just ran away from home, it was a lifetime. Our house backed up to the woods, and I knew my way around the shallow edges of the forest from playing when I was younger. I should have stuck to that, to what was familiar, but I didn't. I wandered too far, and while the purpose was to never go back home, I wanted it to be on my terms - not because I died of starvation of was eaten by a bear.
I wandered aimlessly for, as a kid, what felt like hundreds of miles. But in the shade of the massive trees who knew how far I had actually traveled. Each tree looked exactly the same, yet ominously different at the same time. It felt like an eternity. I was down to my last water bottle that I packed from the house. I started losing hope. That is, until I came into an unfamiliar clearing and saw a small rock cave nearly completely covered by moss and foliage. At first I though it too good to be true, but as I poked my head and flashlight into the cavernous abyss, I knew it was real. Surely something called this place home, but I was so tired. I was so lost and hopeless that I didn't care. I only went about fifty feet in, just enough to get shelter from anything in the forest and hopefully warm up a bit while also not traveling deep enough to discover whatever was using this cave as a dwelling. I sunk against the wall, taking out my last granola bar and polishing it off with my water. Then using my backpack as I pillow, I closed my eyes, and for the first time in 24 hours, I felt safe and hopeful.
That is, until I heard the crash. The disgusting sound of stone on stone as rocks starting to fall. I jolted up, but entirely too late. As I opened my eyes I saw the last fleeting glimpse of light as the entire cave front had collapsed, completely seeling off my exit...
I was imprisoned in the darkness.
"It's said that time heals all wounds - and time has come so close to finally making everything correct again." White smoke billows from behind Lesley Adora, rays of light penetrating the cloud-like smoke alongside the occasional white dove. With a look of tranquility Lesley sits on a nondescript stool, staring into a large ornate mirror - the same one we saw during his debut. The burn scars on his face have started to fade, and Lesley looks much more like his old self. Determined. Fulfilled. Sensitive, yet confident.
"Brothers and sisters of The Light - for too long have I waited for an opportunity that should have been mine ages ago. An opportunity to have a one-on-one contest for the Ascension Championship. I have come so close - but time, like the fickle mistress she proves to be - kept the opportunity away from me.
Until now." Lesley traces the deep engravings in the mirror, his finger hovering over the carefully sculpted carvings of roses and doves, before moving and lingering over the scars on his cheek. "Perfection is subjective. It's definition differs from person to person. You can't be perfect if you're weak. You can't be perfect if you differ from social norms. You can't be perfect if you don't look exactly like everyone wants you to. But in the eye of The Light? We're all perfect. Our flaws leave room for continuous improvement and a want to be better. Our uniqueness makes us just that - unique - not imperfect. And physical perfection pales in comparison in emotional and mental perfection.
As long as you're willing to try and better yourself - you're perfect.
Which is why we need to have another chat, Mason Destruction." With a sly smile Lesley looks from the mirror to the camera for a moment. "You and I are getting to know each other pretty intimately at this point, no? It seems like no matter the match, there's one common denominator, and that's you and I. Whether it be a scramble, tag matches, a dumpster fire match, a tag team cluster match - it's always the same. No matter the stipulation, no matter how many opponents are thrown in our way, at the end of the day when the smoke clears there's always two men left standing eye-to-eye: Mason Destruction and Lesley Adora. Regardless the intentions creators may have; destiny always has a way of getting the ending it desires.
It seems Mason that you and I... we're just destined to have this final match. It was written in the stars and they've finally aligned. At last its just me...
... and you." Lesley pauses momentarily, his lip curling.
"I want you to know that I don't pursue this match with malice, however after all we've been through I know you clearly hold a grudge against me. I hear it and I see it Mason. A 'creepy fuck head' is how you so elegantly put it on social media, no? Mmm yes I believe it was. But that's okay Mason, for I understand that comes from a place of ignorance, not hate. I know that what you truly hate is the fact that deep inside, you're scared. You know everything I've been warning you about and all the 'nonsense' I've been talking about is reality. This 'feud' is because I want - no. I desperately NEED to get through to you Mason.
I spoke earlier about perfection being the willingness to want to improve, and that Mason, is why The Light brings us together. I fear you don't see any wrong in your actions. I fear that like a dog biting it's own tail, that you're your own worst enemy but refuse, or are unable to acknowledge it. I fear that you see yourself as a martyr, that if you hurt yourself enough and conform to the preset views of the masses, that it'll be enough. But enough, is not GOOD ENOUGH... Mason. You, are special. You're strong physically and mentally, you just need to put that strength towards a righteous cause instead of using it to swing trashcans. You have purpose, my brother, and you're ignoring it. I understand that it's hard, but you're better than the life you've set up for yourself. You're doing it all for your family, but living the life of 'win or die trying' isn't acceptable when you have that same family counting on you. Its unfair, because I can tell that the 'win or die' is a win win for you Mason. You either get the admiration and attention you crave - or you get out easy. The money, the fame, none of that matters to them. They don't want a daredevil, they want their husband. They don't need a champion, they need their father. You being the 'Deathmatch Backyardigan' isn't cool, it's not admirable - it's irresponsible.
Were it just you suffering, though my heart breaks equally for all of my wayward siblings, but maybe I'd be able to turn a blind eye. Alas, it's not just yourself you're effecting.
It's Kadence."
The silence is deafening as Lesley closes his eyes. The flapping of wings as a few doves flutter by breaks the soundless void, followed by a deep, guttural breath by Lesley as he opens his eyes. "Kadence, Kadence, Kadence. K. A. D. E. N. C. E. Your boy, your flesh and blood, the... mirror image of yourself, if you will. I know you think my fascination with Kadence is strange, but I think the fact that nobody else has the backbone to tell you the truth should be more disturbing. Nobody can condone leaving their child for as long as you have to. Nobody can condone allowing your child to watch their own father be brutally beaten over and over and over and over again. Nobody... can condone... a father going out on live television and selling his soul for ten pounds of silver and an 'atta boy' from psychopathic sociopaths disguised as promoters. Yet nobody else has the heart to tell you.
Everything I've said is true, just as I said they'd get their hands on you and string you up like a puppet. Now you walk and you talk and you dance not on your own volition, but to suit their perverted ideals. Fallout has gained another soldier too lost to realize they're just a weapon in a war they never intended to fight - and in turn the world lost an incredible wrestler. I lost a brother of The Light.
Kadence... lost his father. That's why this has to be it. I have to stop you Mason - before they make you do something you can't return from. I need to take the Ascension championship from you once and for all, so that I can combat this cancerous plague by removing one of its tumors. Without that title they'll leave you be, for you'll no longer be the toy they want to play with. And I see it, I'm not foolish. I see that just as they did with you, the sharks are now circling me. The more I say and expose them, and the closer I get to taking that championship... I see them setting me up. I hear Edgebrook picking me to win at Guts Gold and Glory. I hear Fairweather putting me in his top list. The darkness thinks the artificial light it's chosen to shine on me now will trick me, but I see their lies and I smell their deceit. They don't want me, they're just trying to stay one step ahead in their twisted game.
And whilst I know they'll just move to the next toy after you Mason - I have to try.
Not to save you. As I said, you're a strong soul who can save themselves. But I need to do it for my brothers and sisters who can't. I need to do it for myself. I need to do it - for Kadence. He deserves a fighting chance Mason. Never did he ask for his father to risk his own life for him, to be mixed up with the corrupt politics of Fallout, or to be taught that hating people, mocking them on social media, and selling your soul to the highest bidder was the right thing to do. Yet that's what you've done. You've taught him all this Mason, and you should be ashamed of yourself.
So this?" With a swooping hand Lesley motions at the mirror. "This mirror isn't just to help me illustrate a point. Rather, it's not for me at all, Mason. It's for you. I want you to look into this mirror and search for truth, search for purpose, and see that inner perfection. I want you to WANT to be better. But if you don't? If you're fine being what you've become? That's your choice. However I will not allow you to keep making those decisions for others. You either vacate that title and concede to being a misguided soul; or alternatively unpleasant yet necessary... just as a vanquished Rey de las Sombras and fought you to a draw on Fallout... I will take that title by force.
'The White Rose' vs 'The Deathmatch Backyardigan' has been one of the most beautiful interactions in Project Honor. It has become a highly anticipated contest, and a marquee match for one of the biggest shows in Fallout history. Yet the outcome is inevitable. The Ascension championship is tainted, and I will purify it. I will win that championship... and since everyone deserves to have a real role model and a true champion to look up to...
I'm dedicating this match and my victory to Kadence. That way he has a beacon of hope, for when his father let's him down...
again." With that, Lesley blows softly on the mirror and in the fog writes with his finger 'For Kadence' on the glass in swooping script. A soft smile lights up Lesley's face as he slowly vanishes into the white smoke, the scene fading with one final shot of the message in the mirror.
'For Kadence'.
End.
