Post by Icon Lord Jon Kellar on Aug 25, 2015 14:16:34 GMT -6
For God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of Kings…
Jonathan Harrison Kellar opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned his head, wincing as he did, and saw that he was hooked up to a machine. He turned his head back, and saw a familiar face opposite him.
Sean O’Riley: Welcome back…
Icon Kellar blinked twice, then reached up and touched his aching forehead. It was heavily bandaged
Kellar: Where…
Sean: You’re in a hospital. Apparently recent medical opinion is that it’s a better idea for blood to be inside your body rather than all over the ring Kolic really did a number on you. Thank god you’re type A…
Kellar: I… I won… I remember… I was about to pass out and then… I… something took over…
The 2006 Lord of the Coliseum pulled himself upright, groaning as he did. Sean leant over and supported him.
Kellar: Sean I… something happened in that ring. It was like… like muscle memory… I wasn’t even awake but I remember locking in the klutch… how could I…
Sean: I guess you were more conscious than you thought.
Icon Kellar eased himself back against the pillow, and pulled the oxygen tube out of his nose.
Kellar: If you’re here where’s…
And then he saw her, curled up on some chairs in the corner with her father’s signature jacket draped across her. Kellar smiled as he watched his daughter Melissa sleep peacefully.
Sean: It’s a long flight to New Zealand, and a long flight back, but the nurses said she could stay.
Kellar: New Zealand? Did Sophia win?
Sean paused
Sean: She did herself proud…
Kellar smiled
Kellar: Well, at least one of us did…
Kellar sat up and turned, pulling himself up to his feet.
Sean: Careful Jonny boy, your red stuff is still replenishing…
Icon Kellar slowly moved towards the chairs and sat down. He stroked Melissa’s hair and smiled as, in her sleep she curled up and lay across his lap without waking.
Kellar: She looks so much like her mother…
Sean: Yeah… but I think she takes more after her father. I found her putting her teddy in a sleeper hold the other day.
Kellar: Her mother would be furious…
He sighed
Kellar: And not just at her…
Sean moved over towards his friend and sat on the bed opposite him.
Sean: Johnny boy, we’ve been friends for years now… so I’m going to say something, and you stop me if I’m out of order.
Kellar: Go on…
Sean: Well… you made enough money for us to be comfortable off of Heatwave XII but you didn’t come home… and now you’re taking on this NJFC Collision Course thing… and you’re sticking around in GZW2K1 and making surprise appearances at Redefine Pro…
Kellar: You want to know if it’s just about the money now…
Sean: Well… yeah… are you… back back?
Kellar sighed
Kellar: I don’t know Sean…
Sean: That’s what I was worried about…
Kellar looked down at his daughter.
Kellar: I’m a mess Sean. I put on a smile and a swagger but the truth is, every time I step into that ring I worry about whether I’m doing the right thing. Dyna never made any secret of her detest of wrestling, but I carried on anyway because I knew she wouldn’t stop me. Ironically, now that she’s gone I… I…
Kellar put his head in his hand, and took a breath.
Kellar: It’s like there’s this wall inside of me… and on the other side of that wall is the man who won the Lord of the Coliseum and all those championships, and the man who was so desperate to stay in the ring and keep fighting that he was popping pill after pill after pill… and every time I go to knock down that wall I hear her voice, and M’s voice… and something stops me.
He reached up and touched the closed gash on his head
Kellar: But when Kolic was beating on me… it was like that wall came down… that’s how I beat him Sean, because everything fell away and all there was left was the fighter.
Kellar looks up at Sean
Kellar: That’s the real me Sean… but…
He looks down at his daughter
Kellar: but…
Sean looked across at his friend. Kellar was breathing deeply, close to tears. He could read him like a book. Could the “Human Dynamite” be the father that this girl deserved, and do justice to the memory of her mother.
Sean: Jon… I say this with the greatest of love and respect that I can give any friend of the years we’ve had together. You’re not Dyna…
Kellar nodded
Sean: Dyna was smart, beautiful, and I’ve never seen anyone call you on your bullshit better than she did, I mean she had it down to an art. And yes, she was the responsible and mature one and it breaks my heart that Melissa isn’t going to grow up with her… but that doesn’t mean you should try to be her.
Kellar nodded again
Kellar: Melissa needs a father Sean.
And she’s got one… but her father is a crazy, face paint wearing, mist spitting wrestling machine who never stops believing for one second that he can beat anyone on this little blue ball we call Earth…
Sean stood and walked over to his friend.
Sean: Now… if you don’t want to be that guy anymore, then walk away and be a sensible everyday boring father but if that’s what you’re gonna do… then you need to walk now. You have nothing more to prove, and while there’ll be some flak in the short run people will understand why you did it.
Sean put his hand on his friend’s shoulder.
Sean: I know you’ve waited so long to get John Pariah in a ring and now you’ve got him, but this isn’t the dream match people want; this isn’t the Jon Kellar he wants to fight. So if you want to stay in this mad mad business we call wrestling, and if you want to win this tournament, then you need to find a way to knock that wall down and you need to do it soon.
Sean rose and made his way to the door.
Sean: Jon…
Kellar looked up
Sean: Melissa could do a lot worse.
Sean left. As he disappeared, Kellar looked down at his daughter as she stirred and opened her eyes.
Kellar: Hey…
Melissa: Your head looks funny...
