"I'm proud of you Gabriel" Synn says "You've changed and grown over the last few years. I'm happy that you've found the right person"
Synn squeezes my shoulder.
This is an odd moment, I know Synn sees me as a son, but this is one of the few times you catch him on camera giving out fatherly advice. Synn does it in his own way but we are not young guys, he knows the boundries. He protects me but know when to let me step away. The thing with me and Synn, we're alike, VERY alike with a lot that we do. He trusts me and looking at him now, I think he is more then proud to see me do this. I know he worries about Despayre, but he also knows I'm a brother to Despayre. I know it's been a rough month for Synn too seeing the drama. I guess Sean didn't consider that. I guess I didn't consider it when I hit back. Now this shit is calming down, maybe life will be easier for everyone involved.
"Thank you Synn" I reply to my mentor
"Right, let's hit the bag a bit more, with your fists Gabriel, not you knee" Synn says with a wicked smile "Odette arrives soon and Despayre told me you're going hunting?"
"We are" I say smiling "And thank you for the first class ticket for Odette"
"Pleasure" Synn says with a smile.
I stand up, hitting the punchbag one more time at half speed.
"Still got it in you?" I ask with a devilish smile.
Synn stands up and removes his jacket, flashing a smile at me. He stands in front of the punchbag and slams a hard shot against the punchbag, the sound echoing around the room.
"I still got it" Synn says with a serious nod.
The camera fades out as Synn continues to hit the punchbag
TOKYO, JAPAN - 13TH SEPTEMBER
"Why are we dressed like this?" I ask Despayre
The sunlight peaks through tree branches, heading down in to a grassy area, where I am ducked under a bush with Despayre and Angel, both dressed is safari suits. I look down at myself, dressed in green and black army camouflage clothing, with big dirt covered boots.
"Because we're looking for him Gabriel" Despayre informs me.
"Who?" I reply.
Despayre rolls his eyes, looking at Angel.
"I agree Angel, his mind is elsewhere" He says to his stuffed best friend "But I don't think we should smack him on the head for it, that's seems mean"
I turn my head around and something hits me in the back of the head, I turn back to see a branch falling to the dirt beneath me.
"Angel!" Despayre yells "That was very mean, you didn't have to throw that"
I look at Despayre, my eyebrows raised curiously before looking down at Angel, waving my finger in the bears direction.
"Very mean Angel" I reply
I turn around, rolling my eyes before quickly looking back at Despayre
"So, who we looking for?" I ask
"Well it's big..." Despayre starts
"Rage?" I reply with a smirk
"No" Despayre says quickly "It's slimey"
"Shane!" I say as quickly
"No!" Despayre replies again "It's vicious when it's angry"
"Kittie!" I snap back to Despayre
Despayre rolls his eyes at me
"It's scary to look at" Despayre continues
"Synn... gotta be Synn" I reply back
Despayre shakes his head.
"No, I know where he in. I saw him going in to a sauna thing earlier" Despayre replies innocently "By the way, what is a happy ending?"
I run my fingers through my hair
"Ummmm" I stumble out "What else does this thing have that we're hunting?"
"Good point, focus on the prey!" Despayre says "It has really big and pretty eyes"
"Fantasia?" I ask Despayre in a joking manner
Despayre slowly shakes his head at me
"Angel knew you was gonna say that" Despayre informs me. "He told me before I continued"
"Wish that bear could predict the lotto or something" I reply with a roll of my eyes.
"He can" Despayre says confidently "But he says you have enough money and don't need anymore"
A rustle in nearby bushes makes Despayre turn his head and look in that direction
"Put your hat on" Despayre informs me "If he sees that long hair, he's gonna know people are near and run away"
I roll my eyes as I reach in to my back pocket, pulling out and putting on a camouflage hat, Despayre shakes his head.
"No, not enough" he tells me
I look at my little brother curiously, my eyebrows raised as he reaches down, taking a handful of mud and rubbing it across my face. I look at him for a few seconds, but quickly close my eyes. As I open my eyes, I see Despayre nodding approvingly.
"Now you blend in" Despayre tells me.
"Despy, it's the middle of the day, I think people might see us and I don't even know what we're looking for" I say exhaling.
"Isn't it obvious?" Despayre asks "We're in Japan, and I told you in China!"
Shit, I thought he was joking
"Angel knows you just said a swear in your head, swear jar money" Despayre says holding out his hand.
I reach in my pocket, pulling out a note and handing it to Despayre. Despayre looks at it curiously and shakes his head.
"This isn't money" He informs me.
"It is" I reply
"Nu uh" Despayre protests "This money has a picture of a man with a funny mustache on it and squiggly writing on it. It's not real"
"It's Japanese money" I try to explain "They have different money here"
"No, it's not real" Despayre says "When we get back to the hotel, I want real money"
"Ok" I say, putting my hand out to take back the money I just given
Despayre slides the note in to his pocket. I couldn't help but shake my head and smile.
"We're hunting for Godzilla Gabriel!" Despayre tells me
I was afraid he was gonna tell me that. I do love being around Despayre, I feel like a kid again. No complaints from me, we have fun, we work like a team that's been around for more years then we have been.
Despayre breaks my chain of thought.
"He's over there!" He yells out.
Despayre charges though the bushes, leaves rustling under his feet as he charges through the bushes. I look around and chase after Despayre, snapping twigs beneath my boots. I run in to a clearing, walking around the clearing, but an arm reaches through a bush and pulls me back in. I look at Despayre staring at me.
"You're not meant to run out in the open. I set a trap over there" Despayre tells me, pointing to the opening.
"What did you do?" I ask
"I left a cheese sandwich there. As soon as he smells the cheese, he'll come out to eat it and we'll jump him!" Despayre says seriously
I look in the clearing to see a sandwich sitting in the clearing. I turn to face Despayre with a raise eyebrow
"Godzilla likes cheese?" I ask with a tone of disbelief
Despayre nods as a noise is heard in the clearing. Despayre and I look to the clearing to see the sandwich has disappeared.
"He's close by!" Despayre yells
Despayre runs in to the clearing and darts in to another wooded area. I quickly follow him out, in the direction of Despayre, finding him hiding behind a bush.
"He's there!" Despayre yells, diving out of the bushes.
I step through the bushes to see Despayre holding a poodle in his hands.
"I got him Gabriel! I caught Godzilla!" He tells me excitedly
"Despy!" I say raising my voice slightly "That's a poodle!"
Despayre closely looks at the dog as I look at the dogs owner, a horrified looking, middle aged, Japanese woman.
"Rats!" Despayre says putting the dog back on all fours
Despayre looks at me, a determined look on his face.
"Ok, we need reenforcements to catch this clever thing" He tells me "We need daddy Synn, uncle Rage, Shane, Fantasia, Kittie"
"Why don't we just hire the A-Team?" I say with a smile.
"And people call me the crazy one" Despayre replies with a shrug "There's no point to the A-Team, they shoot lots of bullets and never hit anyone!"
"You got me there" I say with a smile.
"Right, rally the troops!" Despayre yells "We will catch Godzilla!"
Despayre storms off with determination, leaving me standing and shaking my head
TOKYO, JAPAN - 14TH SEPTEMBER
I sit in the middle of a ring, turning around to see all six sides covered in a steal cage. The lights are out and only I can be seen under a spotlight in the middle of the ring. The cameraman moves in a little closer to me, my eyes focuses in on it as I slowly run my fingers over the SCW Tag Team title belt on my shoulder.
"You know, so much has been said lately, it's hard to keep up with it all. The other day was a strange one, a random tweet from Casey Williams made me see so much. To top that off, a little interview appeared with Blaque Hart Bruce Evans. Both reminding me that it's been almost one year since my name went down on a contract to be a Sin City Wrestling superstar, almost one full year. So much has happened in this one year of my life, it's been madness, so much has changed"
I walk around the ring, my back to the camera.
"Change is gonna be the topic of this here speech because so much has change. Day one, I turn up, I end up on show number one, Climax Control one, along side Despayre and Casey Williams, the other survivors of day one. Also DJ Williams, admittingly, DJ disappeared for what ever reasons, but I can't help but sit there and think back to that day. October ninth, Star Of The Desert arena, starting with Christian Underwood in the ring, rallying his troops, gearing up for a make or break show. then watching Casey Williams wrestle as part of Poisoned Power, then hearing Despayre and I's music playing for the first ever time in an SCW arena, the thoughts, the feelings, the start of the journey"
I rub my chin
"A journey that lead me to November sixth, a night that became infamous in my history, High Stakes, the night I became the first ever heavyweight champion. So much changed from that day on to today. I become part of SCW history, and it felt good. I look down at all the things I've done in that year from that day. Heavyweight title, tag team titles for almost six months, beating everyone put in front of me, which leads to here, now today."
A smile breaks out on my face
"In the last month, I have had my arse kicked on a regular basis, I have bounced back constantly and still standing, I've falling in love with an amazing woman, who I now live with and never wanna let go. With the love of one came the hate of another."
I flick my hair back.
"This is where the change thing makes sense, because I've gone from having my arse whooped to an almost defeated Sean Williams, an almost respectful thing"
A curious look crosses my face
"I like this side Sean, I think maybe you are seeing the error of your ways now, I think you're finally seeing what I've been trying to help you see from day one. Within the space of a couple of weeks, you've changed for the better. I feel like I'm pulling the real Sean Williams back, I feel like I'm pulling back the future legend. I know people will doubt your meanings behind this, people will expect you to take a blade and stab me hard in the back, repeatedly, but the respect side of you Sean, the change in you since I stepped in the ring with you a month ago to tell you your errors, I think you've learned a lot about who you are, what you've become, who you really wanna be. I respect that Sean and begrudgingly, starting to respect you. A lot of people come at my title, come at my name, and disappear once they get shown the door, you show determination to get what you want, you showed you have balls for constantly coming at me and not getting disheartened every time I get to my feet. I give you credit for that Sean."
I shrug
"I know, who would have thought a month down the line of Sean beating me with his fists, and me beating him with my words would have changed feelings from hate to respect?"
I shrug again and continue
"Obviously Sean, this could all be a trap, something to throw me off my game, change my new aggressive style, but you have to remember. While you've used your fists, and I've used my words, you've constantly tried to dig at my girlfriend, my best friend and my little brother through this whole war. I know they're only words to dig at me and to throw me off my game, drag in my emotions, this is part of the reason why I said you would make an almost perfect sin. You play the mind games that come along with the territory of a sin, you act like a sin, but I'm gonna set the record straight here about the three closest to me that you like to throw insults at and hope in your new, better, improved mindset, you'll appreciate these a little more. Odette is beautiful, amazing, and loving. There's nothing bad about this woman at all. Someone broke the mold when they made her. Despayre, my little brother, would give his heart and soul to protect what's dear to him, would give up everything to see people close to him happy and as for Synn, my best friend. You know Synn as well as I do, you know the kind of guy he is, you know he puts on the front but secretly, this war between us is putting him in an awkward place, but you know like I do what kind of mentor this man could be. He saved me from being a crook, a common theif, to being who I am today, for having what I have today. I have millions from perfecting my craft in magic and wrestling, I have a beautiful girlfriend and a future, I have family. These are the reasons why I'm positive and confident in everything, these are the reasons why I get up every morning and fight to keep them."
I look humble as I stare down the camera.
"It's true, I will die to defend these people Sean. Now it seems you're on the right path, you're putting your talent forward, using the personal issues to add something to your in ring skills, my advice now to you is to get people like this in your life, keep them close. I know the life of a wrestler is a hassle, especially when you find yourself on tour like this. Whole different story when we're back home in our settled lives, a short flight from any show, happily sitting for four or five days in a place we call home. I have found myself like you, wanting to break out from this tour and get back home, but I don't jump on it like that all the time, because my family is right here with me. Synn, Despayre, Rage, Kittie, Fantasia, Shane and Odette, my family are with me, they help me take away the strain no matter where I am in the world Sean. You need the same, you need to end this Dream Chaserz thing, you need to pull the plug, the people your with are not family Sean. You can break free and chase the real dream. If I lost this title to you at Violent Conduct, I won't worry or lose sleep, hell, you can take all the bragging rights in the world over it, because the real dream for me is my SCW family."
A little smile crosses my face
"Who woulda thought it? Sin of greed not worried about losing. Greed is not about owning everything, it's about owning what you desire, and I have what I desire. With your new found respect Sean, you have the perfect oppotunity, the perfect timing to do so. With these changes Sean, you could be on the way to get whatever dream you want."
I walk around the ring, again looking at the bars around me.
"My dream for this match isn't to end you Sean, it's to improve you. You can do it, seen from your past that you can do it. You can make this change for the better Sean. I could probably talk to you like this all day, but I got others to talk about too. I will see you in that cage Sean"
I walk away from the center of the ring, leaning against the cage.
"Anthony King, so hard to really wanna rip you apart Anthony. You have talent, you've been unlucky the last couple of matches that you've come up against opponents with real quality. That's also a problem though, cause as good as James Shark and Giani Di Luca are, this is a big step up. I have no doubt in my mind Shark and Di Luca will become heavyweight champions someday but I've already done that and still a current champion, which sucks for you really. The other guys were a challenge but this is gonna be more then a challenge for you in a relatively new place for you. I know you probably don't wanna be in this position, you came in after the shit hit the fan, but by proxy, that makes you part of the shit hitting the fan problem and it's gonna take a whole lot of cleaners to clean this mess up."
I look up at the light above following me
"You remind me of Sean without the history, like you're a new generation of Sean, something that's him, but not him. Make sense? Ah, I know what I mean. Now this right here, is the biggest match of your SCW career Anthony, this is the toughest match you will be in for a long time. It's gonna be a bitter pill to swallow for you, a harsh reality really. I wouldn't blame you in the slightest for getting nervous, feeling those butterflies flapping around your stomach, it's natural for you to feel this way, it's normal. Anyone who steps up in a match like this would be jumpy and nervous and honestly, shitting themselves at the prospect of being trapped in a cell. Not so much from me, but from Despayre. I mean come on, you're trapped with a man who was locked away from society for so long, I doubt he will be able to control himself in this one, I doubt he will be able to handle this situation without exploding like a wild man. I know this will not make you feel better or exterminate those butterflies flapping but it is cold, hard truth. Could you imagine him Anthony? The thought of being locked up again and having to fight his way out through you? I don't hate you, I don't hate your style, I feel you have some kind of talent we haven't seen yet, but make no mistake about it, this is not gonna be an easy ride for you, this is not gonna be much fun for you. It's gonna be a very harsh lesson on picking friends wisely"
I roll my shoulders backwards
"Picked mine wisely, it's got me pretty damn far and speaking of picking friends"
I lean off the cage
"Casey Williams. I'm gonna give you all a little history lesson on Casey Williams and I. I met Casey some years ago in a federation run by Goth, called the AWA. Casey was my first opponent in the wrestling world, my first win, sorry buddy, had to throw that one in there. Casey left AWA after some dispute, most wouldn't have give a damn, but I did. I sat and spoke to Casey about things, he was disappointed, but we spoke. First chance I got, I went to bat for him, tried to get them to change their mind, bring my old rival back so we could finish what we started but all my attempts were in vain. Casey thanked me for trying, he knew he had someone in his corner. Casey is a worker, he will work with anyone, and give nothing less then one hundred and ten percent. When I ended up in SCW, I made sure Casey was coming in too and the man has been nothing but loyal, like me, a real SCW original. Win or lose, he moves on. This is why Casey and I have a lot of respect for each other. We can kick the hell outta each other, and not worry. This is why I agreed for him to be in this match"
I run my hand across my chin
"I know some thinks he asked to get a title shot. Not the case. Casey knows I will put the tag titles up against him whenever he fancies his chances. Real respect for a real opponent. He knows my game, I know his, we both know each other in the ring, I love the challenge of going up against Casey. I love the fact that Casey Williams is a warrior. Casey Williams will fight like a trapped lion when he has to. I know he gives it his all when it comes to matches against me, friendly rivalry. I know what he can do, he knows what I can do so facing Casey pushes me to come up with new things, it forces me to pull something out of the bag not seen before, it improves me as a wrestler."
I nod seriously.
"It makes me better myself and well, it's what we all want, right? To change to be better, to strive for that perfection, to force ourselves to be bigger then the day before. Casey my friend, you push me in the ring to improve every time I face you, and every time I do improve. This one will be no different, this one will be another push in the right direction of improvement. We've done this dance a few times, so we know what to expect, but I'm bringing it again buddy, I'm fighting again and defending the gold again. I know your mind might not be with the gold, more punching Sean again, which is cool but I'm still coming out with the gold, I'm still gonna be a champion after Violent Conduct, but I do look forward to your challenge. Race ya to Triple Crown Casey"
I put my thumbs up to the camera for a few seconds and back down.
"And your partner, Aleksei Koji. I gotta admit, I'm one who wants to party with the horde. Win or lose, always a party going on with you guys, I like that a lot., shows the lighter side to things. I respect that you're a former roulette champion, holding the one title I haven't, but this is stepping up in the ranks a bit, this one is moving on up to the big leagues a little. You stand as good a chance as any to take this title, you stand a fair shot of being the one that steps up and takes it, but the thing is, that chance is very little. It's not that I don't think you will, I'm not singling you out, I make this case to everyone that enters the ring with me. I tell it how it is and although you've proved your as tough as old boots, as we say back in England, you will still fall in to this catagory of people who tried and failed."
Gabriel looks up for a few seconds before looking back down
"This is your kinda match big fella, this is your sort of environment, a match with less rules where it's a given to put your body on the line. This is your type and not mine. In my years wrestling Aleksei, I have never been in a cage match in my life, where as you have become accustomed to putting everything on the line. You may have a slight advantage over me, but I have other motivations leading me on. I have other things driving me forward to do well in this match, and it's not about looking good in front of Odette, she already loves me, it's about the gold, it's about getting in the ring with Sean, it's about pushing each and every one of you to their limits. If anything, I worry a fair amount about you Aleksei, you are unique, you fight every day for your spot, you risk serious injury every time you step in to the roulette division. You don't know what match you may have, but you adapt and adapt quickly, it's why you was a champion in that division. When you take all that and add it to the fact you have Casey Williams on your side, a man who know what it's like to face me, you could be a very dangerous weapon in this match, but I have one of those two and his name is Despayre."
A wide smile covers my face.
"Despayre is the difference maker in this one. I know with my love story with my stunning girlfriend, oh yeah, girlfriend, no stupid in character thing, MY girlfriend, is grabbing the attention, people have been focused on that, but isn't that the point of me? You're all watching my right hand, and paying no attention to what my left hand is doing."
I bow my head with a smile, biting my lip as I look up.
"Open your eyes gentlemen, see the big picture. It's a beautiful piece of art when you look at it. The big picture shows that no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do..."
I tilt my head slightly
"I always have a trick up my sleeve"
I pull the title belt from my shoulder, watching it drop down in my hand
"Believe that Gentlemen.... Believe that"
I walk away from the camera, walking beyond it as the scene fades out
(OOC: Sorry about the two posts, board squashed things together at the end, which would have made it unreadable. This way, it works)
