“Ryan King, one half of the colossal connection known as Poisoned Power. I have to admit, sir, that I almost different recognize you. Something about you has changed, albeit I am hard pressed to figure out what exactly. New attitude? No, same old one. New hair style? Maybe. I never really paid attention to the old one. With a body like this guy has, I have to admit I never really made it as far as above the man’s neck. Still, all the pretty looks and condescending attitude won’t get you far against Sinful Obsession at High Stakes.”
“Let me be frank; I really don’t give a damn how long you may or may not have known Casey. I can practically guarantee that you two haven’t been together for nearly as long as Despayre and Gabriel have. Have you the same level of strength in trust? No. Have you teamed together to the point where you know the nuances of the other’s ring style as well? No. Can you honestly say you have the same level of trust between Casey and yourself that the members of Sinful Obsession have with one another? If you tell me yes, then you are either a liar or a fool. Look into Casey’s past. How many partners has the man had in his career? How many are now laid off to the side? What makes you believe that you will be any different?”
“Train as much as you like. Practice with Casey if you believe it will be of any help. In the end, it will make no difference. The experience, and the talent, both stand proudly in the corner of Sinful Obsession. They hold all the keys to unlock the paths to greatness. All you have, is an unreliable partner and a bottle of Jack. Bring the bottle, Ryan. You’ll need it to drown out the memories of your first true humiliation in Sin City Wrestling.”<HR>
"So tell me Joshua, are you ever going to tell me for whom this is for?"
Despayre just shook his head, silently answering Synn's question as the pair stood inside of the small Build-A-Bear workshop. The young one was obviously in one of his secretive moods. They made quite the sight in regard to the many adult women and pre-teen children who were also inside of this fun little establishment where "Best Friends Are Made". How could they not when Synn was rather an imposing figure alone with his 6'8" stature, and Despayre, pale sin and clad in his traditional black accoutrements? They'd most likely draw stares on the streets, let alone in a store that caters towards the marketability of kids.
The children almost paid them no heed, but the parents, mostly the mothers, stole the cautious glance, thinking themselves discreet. Synn cast a glance from the corner of his eye toward one woman who peered over toward them, as her small son stood at the station where he helped the young woman fill his bear up with the stuffing to 'bring it to life'. Synn finally tired of the idle curiosity and turned his head to the woman and stared back -
hard. She quickly averted her gaze and focused her attentions on where it
should have been.
In Despayre's right arm, he held, of course, the bear of the hour aka Angel. But now in the crook of his left arm, he had hold of a second teddy bear. This one was what was being marketed as a 'Winter Wonder' teddy bear, designed in varied shades of pleasant blues with snowflakes embroidered on it's plush fur. He had already finished bringing this new 'friend' to life, and was now in the process of figuring out just what sort of outfit he wanted to fit in it. Can't have a teddy bear walking around starkers, now can we? (Angel does that enough at home, so I hear!)
Synn continued to prod for information, a natural curiosity getting the better of his normally stoic demeanor, "It's not for one of us, is it? Remember we agreed that Angel shouldn't have his spot in our little family infringed upon."
"It's not for you." Came the simple answer as Despayre picked up a set of Hello Kitty rainbow PJs and scrutinized them like the teddy bear pro that he was, before setting them back. "Not for you or Shane or Gabriel or Fantasia."
"Teresa?" Synn smiled. Despayre just turned his head and gifted Synn with a look that was just short of reproachful. Synn knew all too well just how intimidated the little guy was of the feisty housekeeper and could not help but tease, just a little.
"No!" Despayre growled before he went back to his selections, looking over a blue ice skater outfit and smiled.
"This one?" He held the garment up to Angel and gave a nod, silently agreeing and he headed for the computer. He turned and looked at Synn, who just smirked and shook his head. Despayre was uncomfortable on computers at this point and Synn was now expected to fill out this new 'friend's' birth certificate information. The big man sighed as he sat down and looked up at Despayre who appeared deep in thought.
Synn asked, "So. What will be her name?"
What brought this pair to the Fashion Show Mall here in Las Vegas? Synn had been wondering the very same thing, and he had been reluctant to do so since he had a few business endeavors with the SCW to complete before the day was through. Despayre, however, had been insistent that this simply
had to be done and done today. Synn had always prided himself on being a master of the manipulative arts, but now he seemed to have found himself a prodigy. That or he just simply couldn't find it in himself to turn away whatever desire Despayre would have at any given time. The puppy dog eyes the kid seemed to have mastered didn't help matters any.
(This would of course explain why despite his wanting to finish up, Synn spent twenty minutes in the Godiva chocolate store, allowing Despayre to pick out a sweet assortment as a gift to Teresa, which she would hopefully share with him and Angel later this evening. This came as a surprise to Synn, but he chalked it up to simply not ever really knowing what to expect.)
<HR>
”Casey, can you understand where your problem in accordance with the Sins originates? You see, you seem to be on the train of thought, that in reference to our past together in the AWA, we were only referring to Despayre and Gabriel’s debut match against you in that tag team match. Untrue.”
“You see, there was indeed another match, one that perhaps you chose to forget. Where you and your partner named after a certain breed of canine, faced Sinful Obsession. You got your team disqualified, knowing beforehand my two men had your number. That is where our focus comes in to play. That is a match where the past will come back to haunt you. Despayre and Gabriel have not forgotten those times Casey, even if you have. Justice will be served, and this time it will be you who is left lying on the canvas, unconscious -- not Despayre. You bring up an intriguing fact when you shove the fact in everyone’s face that you are two and zero here in SCW, but… past or present, you are zero and two against the Seven Deadly Sins. A record that will remain intact, when you will soon fall a third time. What excuse will you use then, I wonder? What will you tell your friends, your loved ones? How will you explain defeat to your tag team partner you seem to value so highly?”
“Your excuse, much like your time, Casey, has run out.”<HR>
Before it was time to call it a day and head home, Synn decided to treat Despayre to lunch in the food court. There were choices galore from KFC to Greek t Mexican, but he need not even bothered in offering the choices because Despayre was set in his ways. Panda Express was the
only place to eat when out and about. Angel said so.
What is it about teddy bears and Chinese food? Hunh.
With Angel in his booster seat and the blue and white Build-A-Bear carton tucked away on a fourth chair, Synn ate quietly as he coyly watched Despayre try to follow his lead with a set of chopsticks. He wrestled with a piece of chicken on his plate with the chopsticks but snapped them wrong, sending the morsel flying. After all this time he never could seem to get the hang of using them and he always resorted to his own logic; he simply stabbed a stick through his food and ate it that way as if it was the only logical way to do so when all else failed.
"So," Despayre started to say between bites. "What shall we do to fill the rest of our day?"
Synn took a drink of his bottled water and sat it down before answering, "Well, it's as I said before. I have a little business to conduct for Gabriel and yourself. That might take up a good chunk of my time until this evening. Do you think you can keep yourself occupied?"
Despayre popped another stick full of orange chicken into his mouth and chewed as he contemplated how best he might spend some idle time through the day. He frowned for a moment, lost in deep thought, before looking over to Angel who hadn't seemed to touch his own plate full of brown rice and cashew chicken.
"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked his best friend, much to the amusement of Synn who could never seem to tire of these little social interactions between man and bear. Despayre turned nonchalantly to Synn and explained, "He says he's in training, and I should be too."
"Well, Angel does make a fair point." Synn nodded, speaking of the bear as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. "You do have two big matches coming up on just the one show. He wants you to be ready, and so do I." But Synn stopped as Despayre just shook his head.
"Nope."
"No?"
Despayre held up his forefinger for emphasis and said pointedly, "Just one big match. Teaming with Gabriel. That's all I wanna do."
"But there's also the match for the Championship and..."
Despayre shook his head a second time, interrupting. "No." He said. "No gauntlet match for me."
"Joshua." Synn started, having been over this multiple times and it looked like they would be multiple more. ""We've been through this already. Several times, actually. Everyone is booked for the gauntlet. You have to at least try..."
Despayre silently mouthed "no" and plopped his chin in his palm as he rested his elbow on the edge of the small table. "I can't focus on that when I have to focus on doing all the work in my match with Gabriel." He shook his head. "Nope. Can't do it."
Synn frowned. "What do you mean? Why do you have to do all the work in your tag team match?"
Despayre huffed and rolled his eyes, as if Synn had just asked the single most ludicrous question imaginable. "Because..." He sang in a singsong tone of voice. Synn would have almost thought the little guy was giving him guff. "The gauntlet match is for Gabriel. He's going to be the champ so we can't let him get all tired out or harmed before it's even held, now can we?"
There it was. Once again, Synn was witnessing the unorthodox bond between the two partners that transcended into something more familiar. A brotherhood if you would. When he had first introduced the pair, Synn had hoped they would click, if for only their partnership. He had never expected the two to become as close as they had. Gabriel was second only in Synn himself when it came to protecting and nurturing Despayre, and Despayre had stated more than once he loved Gabriel like a brother and best friend.
“No, no we cannot.” Synn agreed. “However, if that is the case, and you still don’t have an interest in the championship, you still have to be in the match.”
“Nope.” Despayre said simply, playing idly with the noodles on his plate. He paused a moment and then frowned. He asked aloud, “Why?”
Synn sat his fork down and leaned back in his chair against the large, glass paneling that allowed for a remarkable view outside at the mall’s courtyard fountain. He answered, “Well if you don’t go in there, who is going to watch Gabriel’s back and protect him?”
Despayre looked down and set his hands in his lap, trying to come up with an answer,
any answer, that would be better than having to step inside of that gauntlet event. When he could find none, he just offered a light-hearted shrug of his lean shoulders.
Synn nodded, “You see? Gabriel is going to need you, and you might end up needing him as well. You watch each other’s backs and protect one another in your tag team matches. This match will be no different.”
“Except that we can’t
both win.” Despayre observed with a keen eye of observation.
“Yes.” Synn agreed. “Except for that.”
Despayre fidgeted, not moving from his leaned posture. He was tense, unsure of himself, and Synn did not find this to be agreeable with the boy’s unorthodox and unpredictable nature. When his mind was at such a crossroad, he could very likely end up lashing out instead of settling on a mutually beneficial solution. Synn reached forward and placed his large hand on Despayre’s shoulder, prompting the boy to look up into his green eyes.
Synn said, “You know, even if you
don’t want to win, it’s important that you at least
try. I would be very proud of you if you were to do so, and so would Gabriel.”
Despayre bit at his lower lip in contemplation, and Synn knew that the battle had been won with that statement alone. Despayre wanted seemingly everyone to like him, and he wanted them to be proud of his accomplishments as well. Not just in the world of professional wrestling, but in every day life around them as well. Oh Synn realized and understood that Despayre did not
need to succeed in the business in order to have people like him. It seemed the fans and staff alike wherever they worked took to him before he ever set foot inside of the ring. Yet he
did succeed, at a success rate of 99% of the time. It caught many off guard just how successful he had been since his first time in the ring. Synn and Shane’s training regiment for him had been hard pressed to say the least. Yet just when it seemed none would have any hope for success in getting him to focus on, well …
anything, Despayre would pull out one of many lofty surprises inside of the ring. How
did this little guy, at such a delicate stature and unstable mental maturity, make for such a devastating grappler? Synn himself was unsure of that answer. He chalked it up to just another mystery to the enigmatic mind of his charge.
Only one match did he ever lose in his relatively short career. He had been forced to team with someone else other than Gabriel, and the chemistry, the dynamic, was simply not there. And point of order, it had
not been Despayre himself who brought the loss to his team in that one match.
Surprisingly, this was not intended to be a manipulative tactic that he might have used against anyone else. Synn simply did not need to ‘trick’ Despayre, nor did he have the heart to despite his namesake and reputation. He used simple logic. The logic that Despayre’s closeness to him and Gabriel would alone be enough to at least get him to set foot inside of the six sided ring for the Heavyweight Championship event.
Synn bent slightly at the waist and looked deeply at Despayre, coercing the young one to look back up at him. He said, “So you’ll give it a try?”
Despayre looked down and sighed lightly. “Okay.” Was his simple answer.
“Good man.” Synn said with a hearty smile, patting him on his shoulder. He stood up and scooped up their tray in his hand, prompting Despayre to stand as well, ready to head home. Despayre grabbed Angel and the Build-A-Bear box and looked up to Synn with wide eyes.
He asked, “So, will you be helping me train then?”
“Of course.” Synn answered, dumping the tray’s contents into the garbage. “But first I have some business to tend to. Soon as I get home, I’ll work with you. Maybe we can get Gabriel over to help as well.”
“I’ll start when you’re gone then.” Despayre said as they exited the glass double doors into the parking lot.
“Oh? And how do you intend to do that?”
<HR>
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The themed music played as the camera picked up a close up shot of the steps inside of the Synn/Despayre household. The soft thud of feet pounded against those very steps, and as the camera pulled back in it’s wide angled shot, it was revealed that Despayre, dressed in a gray sweat suit and sneakers, was jogging all the way up those very steps toward the second floor, and right back down again………….There was a close up of Despayre’s hands palm down against the floor… The camera pulled back to find him doing push ups, with Angel seated on his back for added ‘weight’………….A ‘Dancing With the Stars’ aerobic workout video was playing on the large screen television. Pulling back, Angel was dressed in a miniature aerobics workout clothes; headband, powder blue tank top and matching leotards. Its back was to the screen and as the camera pulled further back, Despayre was in front of him, dressed in the exact same outfit and mimicking the workout examples he was watching on the screen………….A close up angle of Despayre’s feet jumping up and down, maneuvering as a rope whipped underneath them over and over at a modest rate of speed. Pulling back slowly, it was revealed he was jumping rope, but this time with assistance… One end of the jump rope was attached to Angel’s paw, who was seated on a small stool on his right hand side. Further on his left side, the other end of the rope was being held by their housekeeper Teresa who was directing the rope up and over for Despayre………….Angel was pressed up against a bean bag on a table, ‘holding it’ while Despayre bobbed and weaved around it and boxed his fists into the padding. He danced back a few steps and continued to box in place when Teresa walked past him, and she playfully doubled up her fists at him. Despayre let out a yelp and took off!………….Despayre stood five feet away from Angel, and he was holding a medicine ball against his upper body. He gave it a toss to his teddy bear, and held up his arms.“Hooray!”
He exclaimed … right until the ball was thrown back and clobbered him in the head, knocking him flat!…
……….Despayre was swimming in their heated pool, from one side to the other, while Angel floated on an inflatable cushion with shades over his little eyes and a Mai Tai in a tall glass at his side………….Angel sat on a chair with a stop watch on his fuzzy lap. A breathless Despayre came running up, panting and gasping for oxygen.“H-h-how’d I d-do?”
He gasped. He reached down and looked at the stop watch and his face brightened.“Hey all right! My best time yet!”
He then scooped Angel up and set the teddy bear down on the ground.“Your turn!”
He promptly clocked the start of the stop watch and looked off into the distance, shielding his eyes against the sun. He frowned and looked down, and at the bear at his feet. He clicked the stop watch to stop and looked at the time. He immediately grumbled and stalked away toward the house.“Show off!”
