"Wow. This has been some trip, huh?"
"Yeah. Japan is a great place to visit but I miss the house. I miss our swimming pool."
"I miss Theresa."
"Yeah. Say what you will about her always making us pick up after ourselves but that bird cooks a mean pan of lasagne."
"Do you think we'll get to head straight home or will we have to be on the Australia show, too?"
"Oh I dunno. I imagine you and Gabriel won't be booked for a title defense so soon after the Japan show, but they might still want you in Australia for personal appearances and such."
"Aw, fooey."
"Why? What's wrong with Australia?"
"Well, nothing is wrong with it, but I miss Las Vegas. We've been gone for weeks. I bet Theresa misses us, too."
"She's got your cat to keep her company. Plus she probably is enjoying the rest and relaxation. It's like a vacation for her."
"Now why would she need a vacation when she has us?"
"Well for starters, on vacations she doesn't have to shoo you from the kitchen every time she's trying to make us dinner."
"I like to see if she could use a helping hand with things. Every good chef needs an assistant."
"They don't need an assistant that turns the oven on to full blast."
"Well see, I had a theory about that. If baking that casserole at 350 degrees would take forty five minutes, then surely turning the heat up to 500 would make it take less time."
"That's all well and good but you forgot one key factor when you did that."
"I did?"
"Mm hm. You forgot to warn Theresa you turned up the heat."
"Gee I thought the billowing plumes of smoke from the oven were a good hint."
"Well that was certainly a good way to let her know the casserole was done, but warning her beforehand would have at least saved the meal from turning into a brick of charcoal."
"Hey it didn't turn out all bad. Soon as Synn calmed Theresa down, he took us all out to dinner, didn't he?"
"Yeah but Theresa didn't stop giving us the stink eye the entire night. She was really sore given she put a lot of time into making us dinner."
"You try and help someone out and that's the thanks you get."
She was watching the 'social' interaction at the small table in the hotel dining area, just the two of them; one-half of the SCW Tag Team Champions Despayre and his ever-present 'shadow' in wrestling's most popular sidekick, Angel.
The "Sin of Lust" aka Fantasia was seated a few tables over, a plate laden with fresh fruit in front of her and a glass of mimosa in her hand as she coyly stole looks from her own table over to that of her impish teammate's own. earlier Despayre had announced that he and Angel were hungry and had to have a 'private' chat so he headed out, and almost immediately Synn sent her to tail him and ensure that he would come to no harm -- or cause any in particular. She didn't have far to go. Their hotel had a very respectable restaurant and dining room in the lobby and Despayre had managed to find himself a quiet little corner for whatever it was he had in mind. He was seated on one side, and Angel in a 'booster' seat across from him.
She was so enamored in her duty that she didn't even notice that someone had approached her from behind. That is until he had draped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled her shoulder, causing her to jump with a start. luckily she did not make a sound, so as to alert her young target.
"Hey, sorry." Shane smiled as he maneuvered around and pulled out a chair to sit across from her. He wore a smile that told the truth; he got a tickle out of making her jump like that. "Didn't mean to startle you."
She smiled back at him and gifted him with a wink, but held a forefinger to her full lips to indicate Shane should keep his voice low. He frowned but she pointed to his left and when he turned his head, he smiled in understanding. Shane turned back to her and shook his head.
He asked, "Synn let him come down here alone? In a crowd?"
"If you can call this a crowd." Fantasia answered quietly, indicating most of the tables were empty at this particular time of day. "But no. As soon as he left, Synn had me tail him to make sure he kept out of trouble. Synn's been trying to give him space but you know how much he worries. especially now that the big secret was revealed."
Shane nodded and turned his head and it looked now as if the pair at the small table were playing, of all things, cards. Yes, cards. While Despayre had his focus on the cards in his hand, there were others in Angel's own paws in front of the teddy bear.
"What is he up to?" Fantasia smiled as she leaned over to see better and Shane chuckled.
"Losing at poker, if I'm reading Angel's cards right." Was Shane's answer. "But I think he's having another one of his little chats with the bear."
Fantasia shook her head in wonder and said, "Gabriel always told us about those little one-sided chats, but personally I never got to see one." She leaned in close to Shane and whispered, "Can you hear what he's saying?"
"Which one?" Shane turned his head and asked in all seriousness. "Despy or Angel?"
Fantasia quirked her head and Shane smiled and ducked back in his chair to avoid the swat she aimed at his shoulder.
"Easy!" He chuckled. "You didn't want him to know he was being watched so no spankings until we're alone. Then you can swat this sweet arse all you want."
They turned back and tried to listen, and luckily enough the restaurant wasn't that busy so voices tended to carry over a table or two. They were able to pick up bits and pieces from Despayre's table...
"So what do you think of Odette?" Despayre asked his best friend, and Shane turned and shared a look with his lustful lady. They turned their attention back to Despayre and heard, "Do you like her? ..... Mm hm, me too. ..... Yeah, I think so too. ..... Gabriel likes her a lot, huh? ..... More than us? ..... What do apples and oranges have to do with anything?"
Shane snorted back a choking laugh and turned away, his eyes clenched shut tightly as Fantasia could only smile and shake her head.
"Oh I bet Gabriel will wish he had been here for this one." She observed.
"This won't be an easy match, will it?"
"Well, no championship match is easy. They're not supposed to be. If championships were easy to win or keep hold of, what would really be the point? Then everybody would be winning one and those kind of championships are meaningless."
"Explain."
"Well title reigns that last a long time mean the title has more prestige. Who wants to see a championship match if they're just going to assume the belt will change hands every time it's defended?"
"You mean like what happens in WWE?"
"Yeah. Their titles used to change hands so much it was like a game of Musical Champions."
"Boy that must mean Gabriel and I have like the most prestigious championship in SCW, huh?"
"Well, you have held the tag team titles a long time. longest reign in the tag team division, as a matter of fact. But I think Nick Jones still holds the record for the longest SCW title run. He held the Heavyweight title just under six months the first time. You're heading toward five months, you and Gabriel."
"Yeah but you want to be technical? Nick doesn't hold the overall record for the longest title reign."
"Oh? Who does?"
"You, you silly bear! You won James Huntington-Hawkes III's Universal Championship last December! That's nine months! GO ANGEL!!"
Despayre held up both hands and whooped out his cheer and given the lack of diners, his voice inadvertently carried across and what heads there were, turned in his direction. Despayre sheepishly looked down and hid his eyes from everyone. Shane looked at Fantasia and smiled.
"This is too funny." Shane said, standing up. "I have got to go get my camera." And he hurried off as the friendly little chat between friends continued across the tables.
"Do you think this means Nick will challenge you to a title versus title match to show who the top dawg is?"
"I doubt it. He knows who the better bear is."
"Yeah, you're right. He has enough to worry about, Bernie's been telling me. Spike and Rage and all these other guys wanting a piece of him. Nobody challenges you because they see how good you are."
"All well and good, but enough about my championship. Your title match should be your top priority."
"More than finding the perfect present for Gabriel and Odette's new home?"
"No I have an idea for that, so let's focus on you and Gabe retaining your titles."
"Oh we will, don't you worry about that. After every mean thing Stepmom did to Gabriel and Synn, there's no way we're going to let him and Anthony win our championships!"
"And Casey and Aleksei?"
"I like Aleksei. He's fun, but where is he? I haven't seen him in a long time."
"I'm not sure. Maybe he got deported for excessive drunken antics? They are very proper here in Japan you know."
"I hope not. Otherwise Casey will be all by his lonesome in that cage against us."
"And that's bad?"
"Well, now that you mention it... no. Not after all the mean things he said about me. Saying I wasn't half the wrestler Gabriel is. I admit I think Gabriel is better, he was the heavyweight champion after all."
"And he still would be too if it weren't for certain backstage shenanigans."
"Exactly! But hey, I'm pretty good too, right?"
"Yes you are. You don't want to listen to anything Casey says. I don't think you're allowed to actually. I think it's the first rule of conduct in our contracts."
"Then why does he keep talking if nobody is allowed to listen to him?"
"Loves the sound of his own voice, I guess. Plus if he won't listen to himself, then who would?"
"He's just jealous because I have a championship, and he doesn't."
"Yeah, and that's why he wants to take yours away."
"He can't do that! It's mine -- and Gabriel's too, of course."
"Of course, but you have to remember. Your match is being held in a steel cage so nobody can run away or interfere."
"I don't want to be in a cage."
"Neither does Gabriel, I don't think, but if it means settling these issues between all of you, then a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."
"I love it when you quote the Duke!"
"Now, about that prezzie for Gabriel and Odette...."
Shane slid up beside Fantasia who had her dazzling green eyes firmly entranced on the goings on between Despayre and his teddy bear. Shane pulled a chair over and had a seat, asking;
"So, what did I miss?"
Fantasia turned to him and smiled, "Pep talk on his and Gabriel's match."
"Oo, damn." Shane hissed, holding up his camera. "That would have been a real hit on our youtube channel."
"Heyy! Thanks!" Despayre snatched Shane's camera right from out of his grasp, startling both Fantasia as well as Shane himself. Neither had even noticed Despayre had gotten up from his seat in that split second's time difference and made his way over to their table with Angel held firmly in his arm.
"Despy...!" Shane called aloud and made an attempt to retrieve his camera (his very expensive camera) from Despayre's grasp, reaching for it but Despayre pulled his hand away and held the camera up close to inspect it.
"Is this one of those digital thingamabobs?"
"Yes, Despy." Shane said and made another swipe but Despayre dodged him a second time. "It's a very expensive thingamabob so be careful."
"I will." Despayre smiled at the camera. "How does it work?"
*click* **FLASH!!**
Despayre staggered back and blinked rapidly, and Fantasia turned away and barked an unladylike fit of laughter as Shane could not be certain if he should use this moment to get the camera or enjoy it for what it was worth.
Screw it. Enjoy it, he would!
"Like that, Despy." Shane started chuckling. "Only turn it around the other way."
"Gotcha." Despayre said as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and shook his head. "Wow. Spots!" He squinted until his vision started to clear and then he looked at Shane and asked, "Can I take some pictures of Angel? I want to make a present for Gabriel's home with Odette."
"A little portrait?" Fantasia asked and Despayre nodded enthusiastically. She looked up over her shoulder to Shane and said, "Isn't that sweet? Surely you can't deny him that."
Shane gritted his teeth at the amusement that she was deriving from this situation until he came up with the ideal solution. He turned back to Despayre and nodded, saying, "Alright little buddy. There're no plans for today so we'll take you up to our room and you can take as many as you want. Saw a drug store across the road so when you're done, we can get them printed up for you and Gabe and Odette will have your gift by dinner time."
"Hooray!" Despayre called out and took off like a shot for the elevators. Shane called out, "Well be right up! AND BE CAREFUL!"
"Yes Missus Cleaver!" Came the answer. Shane looked to Fantasia, then paused and looked back in the direction Despayre had vanished to. Shane mouthed silently, "Missus Cleaver?"
"C'mon Angel, you're not being cooperative with this at all! .... This was your idea, after all!"
Shane and Fantasia heard the whine from behind the door to their hotel room and stopped when a thought occurred to them.
Fantasia asked, "How did he get in? We've got the only....?"
Shane shook his head and muttered, "Gabriel always told me the kid had a talent for this. Never really thought about it..." And he swiped his key card through the lock and pushed the door open.
The pair walked in and the room was filled with a pulsating music emanating from the stereo against the wall. Despayre was kneeling on the floor in front of a chair where Angel was propped up. Despayre lowered the camera and looked absolutely pitiful as he gazed at his plush pal.
He whined, "Come on Angel! Stop being so difficult. Nobody likes having their picture taken!"
"Except me." Shane said.
"Except Shane." Despayre mimicked, "But this is for Gabriel and his babe! So we gotta make it happen!"
Despayre took another picture before he huffed and lowered the camera. he looked back over his shoulder at Shane and Fantasia and waved a hand toward the teddy bear.
"He's giving me nothing."
"What happened in here?" Fantasia asked, stepping further into the room where pillows were over turned onto the floor and a lamp was turned over on the table by the bed.
"Oh, sorry." Despayre tried explaining. "Nothing causes a bigger struggle than making a teddy bear stay still for a photo op. I'll clean it up."
"Well, take a break sweety." Fantasia said and she popped open the mini fridge. "Want a Coke?"
Despayre stopped his photography career and looked at her wide-eyed, asking, "Cherry?"
"Would we keep anything but in case of special visitors?" Shane asked, patting him on the shoulder.
She pulled her hand from the fridge and held out a 20 ounce Cherry Coke and Despayre whooped in glee. He sat the camera down on the chair with Angel and scurried to his feet and joined Shane and Fantasia, both of whom popped open bottled waters for a sip. Despayre greedily twisted the cap off of his Coke and took a deep swallow.
Shane said, "Maybe when you finish your break, you can hold Angel still and I'll take the pictures myself."
Despayre nodded. "That makes sense. Angel is being awfully difficult over this."
"Yes, since when does Angel not like having his picture taken?" Fantasia mused with a smile.
Despayre answered, "I think it's because it's not just for Gabriel. It's for a babe too."
"Ah." Shane nodded in faux understanding. "Macho bear syndrome."
Fantasia looked closely at Despayre and frowned, "Sweety, what happened to your nose?"
It was only then that Shane noticed Despayre's nose was a little red and he was favoring it, rubbing it gently with his fingers.
"Oh, that." Despayre said. "For a guy filled with stuffing, Angel has a pretty mean right hook!"
**FLASH!**
Despayre turned around and called out, "Hey! Shane said only I could..."
**FLASH!**
"Stop that!"
**FLASH!**
"Put that camera....!"
**FLASH!**
"ANGEL!"
"A shame that it's all come down to this, isn't it? For the fans, it'll be an epic contest to decide which of the three teams inside of that cage will be the most deserving of holding the Sin City Wrestling Tag Team Championships. Cage matches mean only one thing; violence. There will be no running. No hiding. And no cavalry coming to the rescue. It's simply three teams, all in the ring at the same time, and everyone beating the living hell out of each other until one team walks away victorious."
"Personally I abhor cage matches. In most cases, to win a cage match you have to escape from it's confines. Not this time, fortunately. The bosses of the SCW seem to think that running from a match is no way to decide a champion, and I for one am glad for it. No climbing over the top of the cage. No running through the door and to the floor. No, this one is all about whichever team can score a win over one of the opposing team's members. Quite simple, really. At least, it will be for the champions once the steel is erected and the bell sounds."
"It's not something I'm looking forward to seeing, but this chaos has gone on for quite long enough."
"Sean, there came a time where I would have stood by you through anything, and part of me still wishes to stand by your side and see you through all the troubles of the world. But this trouble, this one problem, was by your own design. It was of your own making. You could have handled things between Gabriel and yourself man to man, and with words, not violence, but such was not to be apparently. You chose to use common gang violence, and everything went downhill from there. Part of me thinks you did it because you lost your temper with everything happening in your life. Another part of me wonders if this was your plan all along and you used me for the status you'd attain by attacking a member of my family."
"Why, Sean? Tell us the truth. Why did you do it? Was it a fit of jealousy? Not over my friendship with Gabriel, but over where he was standing in the eyes of the fans and where you wanted to be. The success that he has attained, the stature he had earned,, you wanted for yourself, and what better way to get it than by going after the man who had it in his own grasp."
"I just don't understand, how things could have fallen so far, so fast. You said there would be no hate, and it was about respect -- and yet right after that you not only insulted the champions by calling them garbage, but you made quite the revelation on how you truly see Joshua through your eyes. That, above all else, hurt me worse than any weapon used against me. More so than you already seeking to replace me after all I did for you. I left the door open for us to talk, and I heard not a word."
"Ask anyone, Sean. Gabriel even agreed that you would have made a perfect member of our little family, a Sin all unto his own. What happens next is entirely up to you."
"Anthony King, this will be short and sweet; you got caught in the crossfire of a most unfortunate situation. You were there when this all went down, weren't you? And that's how you managed to find yourself in a championship encounter so soon. Pity that this road to success for you will end so prematurely. You're going to think back and wonder what it was that you ever did to deserve what is to come. Only then will you realize just how foolish of a question that would truly be."
"And as for you, Casey Williams, our past goes further back than anyone here in SCW cares to realize. As far back as the Asylum Wrestling Alliance. It's almost comforting to see that you haven't changed very much since those days. Oh, you play the role of face and have joined a respectable team such as NXT, but deep down you are still the same bitter, cynical giant you've always been. You wormed your way into this match where you had no business, claiming you'd watch Gabriel's back, but he doesn't need it. Certainly not from you. For that he has Despayre, and we both give him far more credit than you seem to. Yes, we heard everything you had to say about Despayre, and it showed your true colors behind that false face you wear to endear yourself to everyone around you."
"Your bravado won't last Casey. Soon your memory will return to the forefront of that mess you call a thought process and you'll realize that not once have you ever opposed the Sins and walked away with your head held high, let alone your arms. You walked from the ring with shame in your step because you got beaten down like an old rug, and all your boasting and bravado made it all the worse."
"The truly sad part is the fact this will all weigh ever so heavily on your partner's shoulders. Perhaps that's why Aleksei has yet to show his face. Maybe he's ashamed of your words and actions. maybe he's just ashamed to be paired with you for a partner. Aleksei, you've been in the ring with the Sins before, and you above all others have earned their respect. true it won't stop them from fighting their hardest to put you down and retain their titles, but the respect will be there to say the very least."
Later that afternoon....
Despayre hurried up the hallway of the hotel shared by the Sins, his target goal the suite reserved by his bestest buddy Gabriel and his girlfriend, Odette Ryder. In one hand he had a careful hold of a long, flat package wrapped in brown paper. In the crook of his other arm sat Angel, going along for the ride.
"Boy, Angel! I can't hardly wait to see the look on their faces when they see our surprise! Think they'll like it? ... Yeah. i think so too."
He (or they) came up to the hotel door where Gabriel and Odette were staying and he grabbed the knob but it did not budge.
"Uh oh. It's locked. Now what do we do?"
Despayre looked from Angel to the door...
.....
And moments later the door was unlocked and swung wide open to give the little guy entrance to the hotel room. (What? Did you really expect I'd posy 'how' he did it?) He walked right in and spotted the pair of Gabriel and Odette seated on a sofa and about to engage in a fresh game of...
"Go Team Gabriel!"
<marquee>You'll have to pardon me for the time jump. You'll understand completely when you see Gabriel's promo -- trust me!</marquee>
"I got him! I got him!"
Despayre came tearing back into Gabriel and Odette's hotel room, and following after him was a curious band of friends and family in Synn, Fantasia, Shane, Kittie, Rage and Melody. Despayre was practically bouncing everywhere with his face alight in utter joy as he beamed with pride.
"I caught Godzilla! Go me!" he glanced down at the teddy bear in his arms and he nodded and held up an apologetic hand. "Okay, I'm sorry! Go team Angel!"
"So, you caught Godzilla, huh?" Synn smiled and he patted his son on the back. "Now what do you intend to do with him?"
"Uh, hello!" Despayre rolled his eyes as if the answer were obvious. "I'm gonna take him back to Las Vegas! Put him on display! I'll be famous!"
"You can't do that." Kittie frowned.
"Why not!?" Despayre protested. "I caught him fair and square!"
"Well Despy, buddy..." Gabriel reasoned with a smile, playing along. "Godzilla belongs to Japan."
"So?" Despayre looked crestfallen. "...I caught him. they never could."
"True." Gabriel nodded. "But the Japanese would be very hurt if you took him away. He's their National Hero."
"Oh." Despayre pouted with the classic bottom lip jetted out.
"And besides..." Synn said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder to draw his attention. "..I'm afraid you can't bring foreign animals like that into a new country. It's illegal."
"It is?"
"I'm afraid so."
Despayre sighed, "Aw fish sticks! All that work for nothing! Alright, I'll go let him go."
"Good boy." Fantasia cooed as they watched him walk out the door of the hotel room and into the hallway.
"Hey!" They heard Despayre shout from outside less than a minute later. "You can't come to America with me! They said you have to stay here! Okay?"
<EMBED height="25" SRC="http://www.godzillatemple.com/hidden/zilla5.wav" VOLUME="50" loop="false" controls="console" AUTOSTART="FALSE" width="200">
Everybody's head shot up with eyes wide. Odette turned her head toward the window and started to get up when Gabriel grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her slowly back down to sit at his side.
Gabriel slowly said, "I think we'll all be better off not knowing..."
