IV. “ PATTERNS ”

Quite the buzz had been created in Visionaries of Wrestling recently. The media had made sure that the entire globe was well aware of what was dubbed as the unfortunate and immediate closure of Visionaries of Wrestling. The reporters and the people behind cameras were rigorously trying to find out what actually is the truth and what can be dismissed as false information.

Such things didn't matter much to Keelan Lightwood, however. He didn't care about why the company he had signed with less than three months ago was folding. He had decided it was best to wait until an official confirmation was provided and all the questions were marked as answered. It would be a lie to say that Keelan didn't care about his future. The years and years of hard work it took him to sign with a high-profile wrestling company in North America came to his mind. And now that he had finally arrived, bringing a kind of storm with him, there existed the threat of the rug being pulled from underneath his feet. And it weighed heavily on his mind.

The way things were shaped at this moment had brought up a need in Keelan. His future in the field of professional wrestling now looked more uncertain than ever before and in this time of not knowing where to look or what to do, the young man quickly found himself in need of brotherly advice. Sitting on the bed inside his hotel room in Detroit, Michigan, Keelan had made the easy decision to call his elder brother, Junior, for a little guidance. With his brother's number highlighted, Keelan gently touched the green call button and, after a few beeps, Junior picked up.

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ Hey! What's going on, brother? ❞

His voice was delightful, full of excitement.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ I might find myself unemployed in the near future. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ What? Are you going to get fired for beating someone up beyond imagination? ❞

Junior's joke was accompanied by a small chuckle but Keelan stayed serious.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ No, that's not it. It seems as though VoW will be witnessing its last few weeks. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ What? Why? ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ I don't know any of the details but I'm sure they will become crystal clear to all of us sooner rather than later. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ Okay. Well, then what? ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Yeah, exactly. That's why I'm calling you. I was hoping you would give me some advice on what to do next. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ What do you mean by “next”? You are going to continue to wrestle, right? You're not going to change professions? ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Of course not! Wrestling is my passion. ❞

A sigh of relief escaped from Junior's mouth.

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ Alright, good. So, any particular options you have in mind? ❞

Keelan's response to his brother's question sounded almost frustrated.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ I don't know, I really don't. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ Why are you stressing about this now anyway? If nothing about VoW's future is set in stone right now, you shouldn't worry about yours. You have plenty of time to reassess your career if and when your departure from VoW is certain. ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ I know. It's just that I want to have some options on the table just in case. I've been thinking about going back to Japan. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ Japan? What for? You've already spent the majority of your life in Japan. ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Yeah...I'm not sure about anything right now. ❞

An audible sigh came from Junior's end.

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ You can always come back home to Canada. The family misses having you around. ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ I don't know, man. I want something of a little more...grandeur. I don't know too many wrestling companies in Canada that can say they're important. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ I understand, but is prominence really everything? You could come home and take it easy for a little while. There's no need to work a tough schedule all the time. ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ I guess I could consider that. But one thing I do know: when my career in VoW is finished and I return to Canada, I will be doing so as the final Zero Gravity Champion. ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ That's my little brother! Good luck in your match. ❞

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Yeah. Look, I have to go and begin my preparations. Talk to you soon! ❞

| ✖ |─JUNIOR LIGHTWOOD

❝ Yeah, bye! ❞

Having said goodbye to Junior, Keelan hang up and locked the phone screen. He put it deep into his pocket, got up from the bed and left the hotel room, thinking about his Zero G Championship match at Breakthrough fifty-three.

❝ They never pictured me in this position. Even in the wildest of their dreams was I nothing more than some random child born into a wealthy family whose dreams were unreasonably big. But the people that kept putting me down forgot about the drive I had to succeed──that's all I have ever wanted out of my life. Every time I was successful in something in my life, they always told me that so far so good but there will come a time when I will fall and not get back up. Yet now I find myself three months deep into my professional career and I'm already scheduled for a match in which the prize is the very thing I laid my eyes on when I arrived. Now, I'm dying to ask those people what their opinion of me is now. Will they still see me as the kid that was never supposed to make it? Or have they learned by now that I'm unbreakable?

I can't help but wonder what Ace Watson's true opinion of me is. When he looks at me, does he see his own past self upon whom everybody used to cast doubt? Or is that any more of a thing of the past as it is of the present?

I may never find out the correct answers to these questions but what I do know is that I now find myself about to free fall into the unknown. The fortress is crumbling, the road is about to reach a dead end and the sand in the hourglass is just about to pass from the upper to the lower bulb. Truthfully, these metaphors are perfect for describing my life right now. Days keep passing and every day Visionaries of Wrestling is one step closer to being erased from existence. My short road in VoW is slowly coming to an end and I'm left looking down from the edge, my mind empty of any ideas about where to go next. However, it warms my heart to know that the ball is in my own court.

But before the ship will sink, there remains one more thing for me to do, one more task to complete. That is, to dethrone Ace Watson and end his title reign of well over a hundred days. I can easily consider this the most grueling test in my VoW career so far and I expect our duel to come down to who wants it more. When the dust clears and allows the public to see the result, only one of us will be standing. Only one of us will leave the arena the same man and with the Championship while the other is force-fed defeat and must leave empty-handed. I intend to be the former. When it comes to me and a goal I have set, I go at it with all guns blazing. I would like to believe that Ace is smart enough to realize that despite having been around for only a couple of months, I'm still the grandest challenge and the most impeccable threat to his Zero Gravity title reign. He had better bring it because he knows I will. I have absolutely no desire to fight against the Ace Watson that tapped out to Zahara Matisse at Breakthrough fifty-one. I want to face the Ace Watson that tenaciously scratched and clawed for over a year to get to where he's at, the Ace Watson that will stop at nothing to keep his reign intact. But no matter the condition he shows up in, I must and I will end his reign to start my own. And the best part? Once I win, I cannot ever lose possession of the gold. ❞

The opening of the camera feed was greeted by a black room. In the dead center of that room, there was a steel ladder set up for no apparent reason. The room stayed perfectly quiet, at least until the atmospheric sound of footsteps approaching was heard. Before long, it became obvious that said relatively slow steps belonged to the man known as “The Black Dawn Killer.” Keelan stepped into the view, just in front of the dormant ladder, wearing a neutral expression upon his visage. He quickly turned his cold eyes towards the camera, greeting it by shooting an unimpressed glare. Softly and calmly, he began to speak, a sense of concern barely noticeable in his tone.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Lately, I have found myself thinking deeply about how this cruel world we live in functions. It is needless to state the obvious, but the clock is ticking. First, you are born and soon thereafter, you start to live. In this point in time, you are left with a choice. You either live by dancing to the beat somebody else has created or you take the bull by its horns and live the life you desire, not caring about any of those angry looks you are bound to have to endure. The choices you have to make should be made wisely because every living thing must always meet its end. With each clicking sound the clock makes as a second passes by, you realize that not much time is left. And I don't intend to predict the end of the world here. The world is not ending anytime soon, nor does the world of professional wrestling cease to exist. However, recent events suggest that the wrestling world will be reshaped with the impending deletion of Visionaries of Wrestling. Just like with human lives, wrestling companies are born from nothing but an idea, then the people working for those companies keep them alive and healthy before their days become numbered. The endless and inevitable spiral of life and death is this world's very defining pattern. ❞

A pause ensued as Keelan began to pace back and forth in the camera's view, not allowing his eyes to wander anywhere that was not the camera.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Patterns, Ace Watson, patterns. Let me take you back to the first match you ever had inside of a Visionaries of Wrestling ring. The date was April 27th of last year and your opponent was an accomplished man by the name of Jaedon Church. I reckon you remember this but you came just a little bit short in defeating your fellow newcomer. Thinking back to this present day, what remains important from April 27th is not that you lost your debut. Rather, it is the fact that that night started your journey in this company. It is a typical occurrence in wrestling that the road of a wrestler is long and rocky. Yours has truly been just that, has it not? A gallant race. Despite what the foolish public and your fellow co-workers might think, it is still safe to say that you have earned the right to be called the Zero Gravity Champion. The long distance you have traveled has shaped you into the man you are today, Ace. You've never looked back, thinking what would have happened, what could have happened and what should have happened. You have found yourself opposed by numerous different obstacles during your tenure. Roadblocks have been thrown in your path yet you still continued to fight courageously. I can respect a man like you, Ace, even if we don't see eye-to-eye on everything. ❞

Another pause occurred.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ I am not sure if you realize, Ace, that even though our paths have been different, they have both had quite an interesting amount of patterns in them. For you, the sequence of events that eventually led to these patterns started on 13th of May in 2015 when you, in only your second match, went toe-to-toe with “The Cumberland Jet.” Who would have thought at that time that Katie Moicelle would later become your arch-nemesis? A year and a month stood in between your next encounter, which took place on the 16th of June at Fate of the Gods. The name of the pay-per-view could not have been any more accurate because your hunt for your first VoW Championship came to an end as you were crowned the Zero Gravity Champion. Two months passed and the rivalry between you and Katie had reached its climax. As if your two previous face-offs weren't enough, you squared off one last time and the pattern that had occurred twice before occurred again. You defeated Katie and you put to rest any doubt anyone had about which one of you was the better wrestler. ❞

Lightwood stopped, also halting his constant movement.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Whereas you have had your troubles with Katie Moicelle, I have had mine with Dazi Miyashita. When you were battling Katie, I'm sure you were thinking how many times you need to beat her to prove that you are her superior and now I'm in the same situation with Dazi. But what is much more significant than that is that on the most fateful night in this company's history, at Heatstroke 2016, you became Katie's kryptonite, I became Dazi's kryptonite before we even had a match and Emma Carlisle became Casanova English's kryptonite. I made my first appearance as an official Visionary that night, declaring my intentions of coming after the gold around your waist, while you ended up becoming the only Champion to successfully retain their title. Maybe that was destiny's way of prematurely informing us that we will do battle for the Zero Gravity title. Regardless, on August 18th, I took my first step towards the top on the ladder of success. ❞

Keelan walked over to the ladder and positioned himself on the first rung, keeping his balance by leaning against the rest of the ladder.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ As I stated earlier, the road you have taken has been a really long one. Now, I don't mean to undermine or belittle your reign as the Zero Gravity Champion but your road has, to date, been filled with weak-minded, easily disposable individuals. I need not keep reminding you of how Katie Moicelle failed to defeat you in all of your encounters. I don't have to retell the story where she showed just how fragile her mentality was when she refused to take a TKO victory over you at Heatstroke. And now? Now she is known around the entire VoW as their resident failure, a fact acknowledged by Katie herself on more than one occasion. Or how about Tristan Ambrose? A man who threatened to decline any further bookings until he got a chance to defeat you for your Championship. When he got the opportunity to put his money where his mouth is, he was sent down in defeat yet again, proving to the world that he can't get things done in the ring. And Jamo? Ace, you and I both know that he was given a Championship opportunity out of pity for his disastrous track record. Quite the consolation price, for sure. And lastly, Valerie Beasley? Do I really even need to go there? Even though she technically defeated you in tag team action at Breakthrough fifty-two, she couldn't hang with you at Armed and Dangerous. And while you were defending your Championship against anyone who was put in front of you, I kept moving up on the ladder silently and more quickly than anyone could reasonably have expected. ❞

As a concrete demonstration of what he had just said, Keelan climbed up on the ladder, stopping just before the very top.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ The point I'm trying to get across here, Watson, is that I'm vastly different from all of the individuals I mentioned before. The word “weak” or any of its derivatives no longer exist in my vocabulary. I have sent my respects your way for defending that title of yours without sticking to the predetermined rules of the squared circle. A good Champion will defend their reign by any means necessary and you have done just that. You have said multiple times that should an opportunity present itself, you will take it no questions asked. But here is a little something to consider: none of the opponents you have put down while successfully retaining possession of the Zero G have had that mentality. All of your previous challengers were addled with the fear that they will be subject to a backlash from the public or from the executives working backstage. But me? I think you know by now that I very much possess the same mindset as you do, Ace. The very night you were successful in your defense against both Tristan Ambrose and Jamo, I scored my first victory in VoW and I sent Leo Dempsey out of this company and possibly out of wrestling as a whole. When things look bleak, I will never hesitate resorting to underhanded tactics just so I can turn things around. I realized not too long ago that we are a lot alike, Ace. I imagine that when we stand across from each other at Breakthrough fifty-three, it will be like looking in the mirror. For the both of us. ❞

Keelan's speech stopped suddenly. He took a moment to look at the floor beneath his feet as he was perched on the ladder. Soon, he lifted his head up and spoke again, glaring directly at the camera once more.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Amidst all of this praise I've been tossing your way, I will acknowledge the glaring weakness that has been plaguing you for a long time now. Vividly do I remember all of the many occasions that you were complaining about how nobody ever believed in you and how nobody supported you in your quest to become a Champion. See, you are way too concerned about what the opinion of the public is. You feel pressured because you want to meet and exceed their expectations. You worry about always having to do something more to prove to everyone that you deserve to be where you are at right now. And what for? The public will never accept you or your reign as the Zero G Champion, not until you start kissing all of their asses and saying nice things about them. You and I are like night and day in that regard. I never think of myself as the underdog, as someone who doesn't believe in himself. I never put myself in a position where somebody else's opinions about me hinder my preparation. For the longest time, you have been trying to convince everyone that the boos, jeers and naysayers can't get to you. More importantly, you have been trying to convince yourself that such environment is where you thrive and where you succeed. But Ace, I am smart enough to not fall for that trap. I know you feel the pressure. Even though you try to mask your feelings with your make-believe confidence, I can see that you are starting to crumble. With people constantly breathing down your neck, impatiently waiting to see the day that they can say you fell off and with my rapid rise through the undeserving individuals in Visionaries of Wrestling, you are most concerned that you will not quite be successful in achieving the goal you set for yourself after Fate of the Gods: taking your Championship reign beyond that of Katie Moicelle and making it the second-longest in company history. ❞

Keelan paused but only briefly.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ This match we will be competing in at Breakthrough fifty-three? Quite frankly, I am not interested in turning it into an instant classic. Though, if that ends up happening, I guess it's nothing short of a bonus for both of us. Ace, I need you to know that it does not matter to me if the match lasts sixty seconds or sixty minutes. My interest lies in ripping your Championship away from you at all costs. When we step into the ring and fight for the title, you will not see me respect you in any fashion. The ring is where I completely forget that such word even exists and it's where I forget the value of the life of a human being. Sooner or later, that life will come to an end anyway. Watson, the roads we have taken are drastically different yet our paths will cross this one time and regardless of where we will end up when the story of Visionaries of Wrestling reaches its denouement, the paths of all of the Visionaries past or present will lead to the exact same location. The hierarchy, however, will be different and rest assured, my place then, as the newly-crowned Zero Gravity Champion, will be at the very top. ❞

Keelan began to climb the ladder yet again, this time going all the way to the top. He perches himself on the top comfortably, sitting so that he faces the camera directly, resting his arms on his thighs.

| ✖ |─KEELAN LIGHTWOOD

❝ Ace, the time has come to inform you of the most important pattern pertaining to our match at the Halloween Special. You will enter the arena as the Zero Gravity Champion with the title around your waist. Shortly after stepping into the ring, you will be required to hand the Championship to the referee who will proudly display the prize to the audience. The referee will then hand it to the timekeeper who will cherish it throughout the match. This same pattern will repeat itself after the match, except in reverse. When the bell rings for the second time to officially end the contest, the timekeeper will surrender the Zero G to the referee. The official will then hand the Championship to me as a reward for defeating you. As the referee raises my hand in sweet victory, I will simultaneously raise my first Championship in wrestling in the air in celebration. The title will be placed around my waist and that's where it will be carried back to the backstage area. Do you see, Ace? Life is all about patterns. Champions will defend their titles while the challengers just keep coming, seeking to do their best to dethrone the kings and queens of the ring. You know what it feels like to be a challenger and you know what it feels like to be a Champion. You know the pressure a Champion must endure and that pressure is perhaps at its harshest going into our title match. It took you over a year to secure the title of Zero Gravity Champion but it's going to take only four matches──three months──for me to become Champion. I cannot allow you to think that I'm not interested in the Zero G just because of the remarks I have made about its value. At the end of the day, it's still a Championship and your reign hasn't seen any worthy challengers until now. People like Valerie, Tristan, Katie and Jamo haven't realized their dream, but I have. I am absolutely hellbent on achieving the first goal I set for myself when I stepped into the VoW ring at Heatstroke. Thus far, defending your title has been a walk in the park. The walls that have been your challengers have been fragile but me? I am an impenetrable wall you simply cannot break through. Yours has been truly a Cinderella Story, Ace. And at Breakthrough fifty-three, the final chapter of the story will be written. You will go down in history as an above-average Zero Gravity Champion, sure, but I will go down in history as the final Zero Gravity Champion and thus I will be the Champion forever. Your run towards holding the title longer than Katie Moicelle or Ziu Zhong will be cut short just before you can reach the finish line and the legacy that you have spent the past year and a half building will be reduced to nothing more than dust. When the time comes, I don't care if you beat me half to death or if I beat you the same. I don't care if you leave Detroit carrying one of my limbs with you because I know that the one thing you will not leave with is the Zero Gravity Championship. ❞

Following one more intense look at the camera, the scene fades to black and brings Keelan's final message to Ace Watson to a close.