One last goodbye

[Venom 🕷]

The day the movies died
Tokyo, Japan

The J-Rok event has long been over, but yet here in the locker room El Combatiente sits alone watching his match on an iPad scrutinizing his work when there is a knock on the door. El Combatiente hits pause on his iPad and calls out

El Combatiente: Come on in.

Slowly with his head lowered Javier walks in slowly. El Combatiente looks up with a look of disgust.

El Combatiente: What do you want?

Javier: I’m here with news.

El Combatiente: I told you never to come back. What news could you possibly have for me?

Javier: EC, I need to tell you…

Javier chokes on his words before continuing.

Javier: …Steve Awesome has died.

EC falls to his knees and screams out dramatically.

El Combatiente: We must once again travel to Heaven and Hell to bring him back!

El Combatiente looks hard into the camera and waits for the Bang! Bros music, but it never comes. Instead, Javier has walked over to his former client and put his hand on his shoulder.

Javier: No. This time there is no coming back for Steve.

El Combatiente: What?

Javier: He’s really dead this time. He’s gone.

El Combatiente: This isn’t another Bang adventure?

Javier: No. Steve’s not coming back this time.

El Combatiente cocks his head to the side and stares up at his former friend. He stares for a long time before he breaks out in tears. Javier drops down and comforts his friend as we fade.

---

I stand here and I look at this mask and I ask myself, what do I even do with this anymore?

Without Steve. Without my friend. What does this even mean to me anymore?

My family disowned me a long time ago so this mask is no longer to honor them.

I’ve had my major comeback and proved that I have what it takes on this level.

So what’s the point?

Why would I continue to don this mask without my friend by my side? Why would I continue in this business without one of the three men who taught me to have fun in this business again?

I stand here looking at this mask and try to find these answers, but nothing comes to me.

Maybe, just maybe, if I could hear one of Steve’s dumb remarks that used to enrage me I’d know these answers. Maybe if we could just go on one more adventure we’d find those answers in the end.

But that can’t happen anymore.

Even though Steve could sometime enrage me without him here I just can’t seem to find those answers.

But I have no choice but to don this mask again because what’s coming up is a show in Steve’s and the other fallen XHF members honor.

I have no choice but to walk out to that ring and honor my fallen friend and do what he had the hardest time doing, defeating the Crinkley Bottom Boys.

I have no choice but to honor him.

One.

Last.

Time.

This is for you Steve. You will forever be my friend.

BANG Bros for life.