The Legend Of Theron
The Final Chapter
A black screen is seen. A message from a WZCW Talent Relations official named May Trix had found its way to Theron in the way of an email in his inbox, inviting him to one more match. A final show due to WZCW ending. Theron was ready to break the silence and share the remainder of his story with the world. His thoughts are heard.
Theron: It has been almost 3 years since the last time I competed in the ring for WZCW. Kingdom Come 8 in a TLC match for the Eurasian Championship against Titus, who I looked up to when I was young. Most of my time following that fateful night has been spent serving on an international missionary team. Surprised that I'm not saying "Tidarthian" instead of Titus? or "World Gladiatorial Combat Federation" instead of WZCW?
A few seconds pass, then his thoughts are heard again.
Theron: A lot of healing has taken place these last 3 years. Sometimes life throws you a curveball that you never expected. Here is what happened.
Kingdom Come 8
February 3, 2017
A mosaic animation transitions to the backstage area at Kingdom Come 8. Theron, weak from his TLC match, walks into the room and drinks a bottle of water. Tiffany his onscreen manager walks onscreen behind Theron. She places her hand on his back, but he pushes her away.
Theron: Why would you get involved in that match!? You could have gotten killed out there!
Tiffany: I'm sorry. I was just trying to help you. Why are you always being so stubborn? All I have ever done is try to help you.
Theron turns around to face her and glares at her.
Theron: That's a LIE and you KNOW it!
Tiffany: Hey! You need to calm down!
Theron: No, Kirilah! I'm done!!!! You try to control EVERYTHING! My finances, my gladiatorial career, my gaming accounts. This is MY life! I knew that you managing me onscreen was going to be a bad idea.
She crosses her arms.
Tiffany: I see. So this is how it is going to be. Go ahead and fire me from being your manager if that is what you want. What about our dating relationship? How are you going to fix this?
He walks over to her and is now right in front of her.
Theron: I'm calling Mark Flight and we're going to get counseling. You have not been honest with me and we need help from a man of The Triad in order for this relationship to become healthy again.
She closes her eyes and sighs.
Tiffany: Fine.
The scene fades to black with a mosaic transition. Theron's thoughts are heard again.
Theron: I really did love her, but this relationship was so unhealthy. We ended up having another argument again before our scheduled counseling session with Josh Browning, or Mark Flight as I called him back then, could take place. It was on the night that I was going to be giving a temporary farewell promo at the Aftershock Awards Special in March 2017. I was planning to take some time off to rest due to frustrations with the direction that WZCW was going in. Maybe a semester or a year, I might return I thought. Things did not turn out that way.
Aftershock Awards Special
February 26, 2017
Theron: That night we had one one of the worst arguments we ever experienced. I won't go into the details of this argument other than the fact that it was the end of the relationship. I knew that Tiffany Wyatt could not be in my life any longer, so I broke up with her. I never saw her again. I had signed up to be on Josh Browning's team for an upcoming mission trip with my church. Yeah I know some of you don't like Josh Browning. Tough. He's integral to my story and I'm not leaving him out. Before the trip I attended a training retreat with the rest of the team. This took place during the shows where Lynx had made his debut.
Undisclosed Location
March 21, 2017
A mosaic animation transitions the scene to a view of an outdoor gathering at night, there is a large campfire where a few young men and young women, all in their 20's, are interacting. Theron is laying down by a large wooden stick in a grassy area. Tears are running down both sides of his face, he has been crying for most of the evening. Three men approach Theron. One of them has brown hair and a long brown beard, this is Theron's pastor Josh Browning. The other two are young men in their 20's from Josh's team. The three stand by Theron for a moment as the fire crackles behind them, and then Josh breaks the silence.
Browning: Get up!
Theron does not respond, but his thoughts from his present self are heard.
Present Theron: ((((I didn't want to. My life had fallen apart. I had lost my dream job and also the love of my life. While it was my own decision to take a break from wrestling as well as my own decision to break up with Tiffany, I felt hopeless.))))
Browning: Shawn.... You need to get up. We're about break into a time of discipleship. Come sit with Pecard and DJ. You can be in their group. Let them know what's going on and they'll pray with you.
Still no response from Theron. Josh motions to the other two guys to help Theron up. They do so. Theron hugs Josh then follows Pecard and DJ to their group of men by the campfire. The other men are now listening to Theron as he tells his story to them.
Present Theron: ((((That night I shared my full testimony. About Dungeons & Dragons, my relationship, and about WZCW. Which still included my Theronisms. Pecard, who knew me better than the others, was able to translate some of the Theronisms. Later, as the men prayed for me, I heard a voice. It said "Open your eyes. What I have for you is better!".))))
Theron, who had been sitting by the campfire for a few minutes with his eyes closed while his friends prayed for him, now opens his eyes.
Present Theron: ((((Then, for the first time since 2013, the real world once again became a reality. I was Shawn Daggers. A young man from Texas. Not a Warblade of Mystra or a Hylian from Zelda. I remember going over to Josh Browning after this to speak about this revelation, as myself, and that was the pivotal moment. Now I knew my identity came from my faith and not from a D&D character sheet. My faith grew like never before on the remainder of this training retreat, and then we departed for our overseas mission trip.))))
Scene transitions with a mosaic animation to a picture of Lynx holding the Elite Openweight Championship. Theron's thoughts continue to be heard.
Theron: ((((And that brings us to Lynx. A fan of mine who had been motivated to pick up where I left off, when he saw my promo after Kingdom Come 8. The attack from Flex Mussel afterwards as well. Lynx did pretty well, even going on to capture the Elite Openweight Championship. The title I spent my entire rookie year trying to obtain! I found out about Lynx's initial success during outreaches when speaking with locals who were fans of WZCW. I decided to reach out to Lynx. At the WZCW 10th Anniversary Show, I had Lynx read a letter I wrote for him as well as for our fans. I wanted to pass the torch to him, which I now realize may have been a mistake.))))
Undisclosed Location
December 30, 2019
Scene suddenly shifts to an outdoor area by a waterfall, in present day. Theron is looking out into the waterfall while sitting on a bench on a porch. The angle zooms out to reveal that Doreen, Lynx's Social Media Administrator is next to Theron typing on a laptop.
Theron: You getting all this, Doreen?
Doreen: Yes she is. You know how fast a typer Doreen is!
Theron: Wondering why she's here? Doreen became the Administrator for our outreach team here after Lynx left WZCW. This made her the perfect candidate to correspond with WZCW for me regarding my appearing at the final show. Now, where was I.... Oh yeah. The letter I had written to Lynx was written with all Theronisms intact in order to preserve my character's persona. From that moment on I would speak normal when on outreaches but in-character when making appearances as my character, such as the Lethal Lottery in 2018.
He laughs to himself for a couple of seconds.
Theron: Speaking of Lethal Lottery.... The one in 2019? Turns out someone pretending to be me had entered that match. It should have tipped anyone off that it was an imposter when he came out to the wrong entrance song. While I do love Nightwish, I don't even like "Ghost Love Score". Should have been "Mother Of Light" by Epica, you know, my actual entrance music. Had it been the real me, I would have won that match. Just saying.
Doreen: Theron, another message has just come in. They would like to know if Lynx will also be competing or if it will be just you. What should Doreen tell them?
Theron: Just me. Lynx has no desire to compete again after his departure happening the way it did. I felt bad for him, though I know part of it is my own fault for trying to make him into the "next Theron" when he should have been focusing on being the first "Lynx".
Lynx is seen walking with a group of young adults, he waves at Theron. The men continue walking and Theron waves back to them. They are engaged in conversation and appear to be having a good time.
Theron: When Lynx began to struggle in WZCW, I mentioned it to Josh Browning that Lynx may need the same kind of healing from spiritual community that I did. So we reached out to Lynx and that is what led to my Lethal Lottery 2018 appearance. After quitting WZCW, Lynx ended up taking Josh Browning's offer to join our international team. Lynx lived much of his life thinking he was sent back from the future to prevent us from ending up in a post-apocalyptic world where the only language everyone spoke was Al Bhed. Now that he knows the truth that he was from this era all along and his "future world" never existed, he is focused on meeting people from other cultures and sharing the story of his salvation. He's flourished during his time out here and is now leading one of the outreach teams that I oversee.
Scene shifts to a picture of Lynx's Grand Dream faction as well as Theron's Misfits in 8 bit form. A few seconds after that a mosaic animation transitions to a D&D table with dice, as Theron's thoughts continue to be heard.
Theron: You may be wondering what happened to the rest of Lynx's Grand Dream group.... Unlike Doreen and Lynx, the others did not get involved in ministry. Remember that gym that Lynx trained with the Grand Dream in before his match with Triple X at Unscripted? Cousin Willy and Masamune ended up taking over ownership at that gym. They now train up and coming wrestlers there.
Theron picks up each of the 20 sided D&D dice except for the red one. It is Theron's crimson red D20.
Theron: Then there's The Merry Band Of Misfits. My closest friends who I saw as their D&D characters. None of which have been mentioned or seen since the Christmas party at Tiffany's mother's house 3 years ago. We still play Dungeons & Dragons at Ian's house, though our schedules never quite line up anymore. We began a 5th edition campaign about fighting lizards in the jungle in 2016 that we have yet to finish.
He throws a blue speckled dice onto the table.
Theron: Ian, who many of you probably remember better as Kaleesta the Healer, was my roommate in the real world. He is still our Dungeon Master. He's married now and works as an Information Technology technician. He plays a Drow Ranger in our current campaign. Ian's Ranger along with my Paladin Of Silvanus lead that campaign's Merry Band Of Misfits. Someday Ian and I need to finish the campaign where his first character, Davivel, took over the Cult Of Shar, however that is a story for another day.
He throws an olive colored dice onto the table.
Theron: Jason, who you knew better as Sheshmish the Orc Swashbuckler, was another of my roommates in the real world. He now manages a pizza restarant and his current D&D character is a human Bard Barbarian multi-class. Jason's Bard Barbarian is our comedic relief character, much like his Sheshmish character was. One such moment was when my Paladin of Silvanus tried to mentor a red Grung, only for Jason's Bard Barbarian to yell at the Grung asking if it spoke Common. He didn't and his family then tried to attack our party.
He throws a green speckled dice onto the table.
Theron: Kelly, who you might remember as Kellia the Elven Summoner, was Tiffany's roommate in the real world. She ended up moving back to her home country of Sweden after graduating from college. All those times she and I spoke in "Elven" it was actually Swedish.
He throws a black dice with blue numbers onto the table.
Theron: Austin, who you knew as Keifasar the Necromancer, was my former roommate in the real world. He's now working in a smartphone repair shop and is a competitive gamer. He has won numerous video game tournaments in his spare time. His D&D character in our current campaign is a Lizardfolk Cleric who he inherited from a guy that never showed up. Austin's Cleric often asks our other characters "Are you gonna eat that?". This became a recurring inside joke amongst the group.
He throws a magenta dice onto the table.
Theron: Last but not least.... Tiffany, who you all knew both as Kirilah the Paladin of Mystra and as my onscreen manager. I never saw her again after breaking up with her. I did however forgive her for how she hurt me, how dishonest she turned out to be, and for trying to control me. I forgave her because that is the right thing to do, no matter how hard it is. Once I had forgiven Tiffany and finally let the pain of that relationship go, I was ready to move on.
He turns around with a smile.
Theron: And then it happened. I remember back in January of 2019 going to my church's World Missions Conference.... Or the World Magic Conference for those who prefer the Theronisms to the real thing.... Josh Browning was one of the speakers that year and during his sermon I prayed, giving back the desires of my heart. Not even 2 weeks later I met a wonderful woman who I started a relationship with and we are serving now together in the young adult ministry.
He picks up the red crimson D20.
Theron: At WZCW's final show I have been invited to participate in one final battle. With Lynx having no desire to compete, I will fight on his behalf as well.
At that moment Dr Anderson flies in on his blue plaid helicopter the ART-Copter. He plays the boss theme from Sonic 2 on his smARTphone.
Anderson: Hullo! A final WZCW show you say? I must pARTicipate! That'll teach those wrestlers for never coming to my ART cless! Then I'll eat a pop tART!
Art's rival, Nunzio Phillip a student who avoided his class ever since the Spring 2006 semester, runs up to Art. Nunzio is dressed up like Hawkeye from Trials Of Mana. Next to Nunzio Phillip are his pets which include a husky named Rando, a great dane named Thor, a german shepherd named Corey, and a donkey, named Tex.
Nunzio: Not so fast, Art! If Theron and Lynx get to complete their story arcs then so do we. It's time for revenge for you trying to force me to go to that class all these years.
Anderson: Wot? Everyone has to go to my cless.
Nunzio: No one is EVER going to your class, Art! Rando, summon Jaws for me!
The husky casts a summon spell that summons a colossal Great White Shark that can fly.
Anderson: No! Not Sharko! Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrttttttttt!!!!
Art flies away in the ART-Copter and Jaws The shark chases the terrified art professor. Sonic 2's boss theme is no longer heard since Art had flown the ART-Copter several miles away.
Nunzio: His name is Jaws! Not Sharko!
Theron: What about all of Art's clones that he sent to department stores all over the world dressed up as Santa?
Nunzio: Ah man. I forgot all about them. Well, at least Art won't show up on your WZCW show now. Good luck, Theron!
Nunzio and his husky walk offscreen in the direction Jaws chased Art off into. Thor the great dane follows them while eating Beggin Strips. Behind Thor is Corey the german shepherd who is playing the Link's Awakening remake on Nintendo Switch as he walks which is impressive. Corey's brother Kory Witha C was also going to come but he got lost and ended up in an ART Anderson RP that never got posted. Behind Corey is Tex the donkey who is eating a good carrot that he made sure is trending on Twitter. The dogs and the donkey chase off ART's sidekick the overweight oppossum that got a 112 in Art class. He hissed at the dogs and ran away before the dogs could scare him away. Aloha couldn't make it because it'll take him 10 Hours to get here, plus he's looking for that bag of chips that they kept talking about at the end of every ART Anderson RP. The Bee Who Got a B in Art For Being a Bee also gives his regards. Oh yeah, hi! Remember me? I was that descriptive paragraph who went on strike in ART's second RP. I'm back for this one appearance. I can't talk any longer though, I have to do the dishes tonight and then I gotta mow the lawn. Ok, bye now!
Theron: Ok then, that was weird. In all seriousness, I am ready to fight. For one last time I will enter battle as The Warblade Of Mystra.