Ottawa
Situated on the famous Rideau Canal with complimentary stunning views of Parliament Hill and a mere walk to the Byward Market, the Westin Ottawa is a haven of relaxation, luxury and change for travelers of all form; from business to pleasure. And when you are thinking of the men and women who compromise the talented rosters of athletes for Sin City Wrestling, you would have to most definitely take one into account with the other.
Inside of the luxury hotel, downstairs in the lobby, you just might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of some of those said Superstars and Bombshells. In particular, you might find your eyes falling upon the forms of the more controversial stables in recent years, that of the Seven Deadly Sins. Past the foyer of the hotel and through the lobby where guests could come to and from at their whims, there was a recreational area with comfortable chairs and tables for guests to gather and socialize. The carpeting was a plush blend of browns and greens, while the surrounding walls were a white mahogany. There were chairs a plenty, wrought in wooden frames and cushioned in soft, supple leather, while the sofas spaced throughout the room were tanned leather and comfortable enough that one might feel the desire to relax enough into a gentle slumber.
The Sins were each gathered together as the evening sky prepared to rise and cover the former sunset hues of pinks, oranges, reds and yellows with that of the deepening blue of night with the stars and moon above baring down on those below their soft luminescence.
Amongst the gathering was, of course, the leader and mentor of this most dysfunctional of makeshift families, Synn himself. Along with him was Chris Shipman, the one member that Despayre affectionately coined as "Stepmom," and perhaps with good reason. Shipman and Synn had a rather 'carnal' past with one another, one that perhaps has stretched into the present. Also there was the reigning Internet Champion, the "Sin of Wrath" known as Rage, who looked in an even more brooding mood than was the usual norm for him. Kittie, a Sin in her own right, was at Rage's side. Even Shane Boswell and Fantasia were present. The occasion coming up certainly called for all Sins to be present. The fact that two of their own would be meeting inside of the six-sided ring with the very title Rage called his own on the line.
Sin versus Sin. Such a thing was uncanny, and almost unheard of. In all their years together as a stable of friends, family, and yes - outcasts, two of their own had only faced each other one time; during the inaugural Blast From the Past tournament when, shockingly enough, it was Gabriel against Despayre. That very thought was difficult to even comprehend given the affection the two had developed for one another over the years together as Sinful Obsession. Despayre loved Gabriel like a brother, and the feeling was most definitely mutual. As a matter of fact, it was those two very members that were not present at this gathering. At least, not yet. Synn glanced up from the center of the gathered seats and as his eyes took in a new arrival, so did the heads of the others turn in order to do the same. Gabriel entered the room, having received a text from Shipman to "hurry the fuck up" and where to meet them. Even though Gabriel was no longer an active competitor, he never the less remained a full fledged member of this group and was used to Shipman's brusque manner in dealing with things and people, even if it were one of his own inner circle of which he had few.
But what drew their attention even more was the fact that Gabriel was not alone. At his side was his first and, to date, only protege that he had taken a personal hand in training; Evie Baang. The young woman walked with confidence at Gabriel's side, even though there was a hint of reluctance deep in the recesses of her eyes if Synn were not mistaken. Skilled and as outspoken as the young woman was, it was still a matter of the new kid in school, walking into the crowded cafeteria and having all eyes turn to stare. The simple fact was, that in this case, Evie was the outsider.
"Sorry I'm late." Gabriel said, and before he could offer any reasonable explanation, he was cut off by Shane Boswell who piped up and said, "It's okay, mate. We understand. You had to take extra time to put on that fresh coat of eyeliner."
Evie blinked at the saucy dig of familiarity tossed in her trainer's direction, but the smile on Gabriel's face spoke volumes that it was all in good humor. Just like the one finger salute was that Gabriel threw up in Shane's general direction, right in the middle of all of those people.
Gabriel turned his head towards Synn, and even though his attention was on him, his words were for all of them as he spoke up and said, "I hope you don't mind, but I brought a plus one."
"Not at all." Synn said as he turned aside in his chair to give Evie his full attention. "I was wondering when we would ever have the pleasure of your company. I was beginning to think that perhaps Gabriel here was ashamed of us."
"Don't be smart." Gabriel sneered. "It doesn't become you." Synn smirked on the dig that came as second nature to their group with one another, and Gabriel continued, "Evie here just tends to prefer keeping to her own counsel."
"Evie is standing right here." The Bombshell said, folding her arms across her chest. "And Evie would have been just as happy ordering room service and leaving you all to your own."
To which, Gabriel turned to his student and said simply, "Tough. Shit." He planted a hand on her shoulder and soothed his tone, saying, "These folks here are my family. Arseholes though they are..." Rage growled between his teeth as he stared up at the two standing before them, but it bounced right off of Gabriel (and Evie!) and Gabriel said, "So I wanted you to get to know them in a less formal setting than the goddamn backstage area of wherever the bloody hell SCW decides to toss ya."
Evie sighed audibly, unfolding her arms and stuffing her hands into the pockets of her slacks, "Fine."
"Oh relax, would you?" Gabriel smiled. "You haven't lived until you went to dinner with Despy." Gabriel turned to Synn and gave him a conspiratorial wink, when he noticed that very person was missing from the gathering. "Say where is that little nutter of mine, anyway?"
"Upstairs in his and Synn's room." Fantasia answered with a soft purr, her hand stroking the inside of Shane's thigh. "I imagine he's getting some last minute advice from Angel before he ends up facing this one." She jetted a thumb in Rage's direction, and was promptly rewarded with a soft but intense growl from the big man. It was all too well known that Rage had no desire for this match to happen for personal reasons, reasons Despayre more than agreed with.
Synn followed up, "The reservations aren't for another hour so I gave him some time to get it out of his system. This will be our last chance to have a nice, quiet dinner together before Violent Conduct III, so thought it best we take full advantage."
"I'll go get him." Gabriel offered and turned around to take his leave for Despayre and Synn's room. Before he did, he muttered just loud enough to be heard, "Nice and quiet? When's the last time we had dinner with Despy?"
As he left, that statement was met with soft chuckles from those around them, each being all too familiar with what an evening, any evening, out with Despayre could easily turn into. Everyone, that is, save for Evie. As she slowly sunk into a vacant chair, her eyes roamed around them and she asked, "What did he mean by that?"
Shane said, "What he meant was that Despy can be ... well he has a tendency to..." He opened his eyes wide and exhaled through pursed lips, at a full loss for words.
Fantasia took over and she leaned over in her chair to speak firsthand to Evie and she said, "What Shane is trying to say is that Despy is ... well he's..." She smiled and patted Evie's arm. "Oh! Why spoil the surprise?"
"Wow. I guess they were really serious about this whole this whole thing, huh?"
"What do you mean? Serious about what?"
"About the breakup of One Direction. About my match with Uncle Rage, silly! They're really making us do it?"
"Boy! It's been nigh on two weeks and you're just now coming to grasps with the fact you're the one challenging Rage for the Internet Championship?"
"I know! I know! But I was hoping that they'd change their mind. or that it was some kinda big colossal joke."
"Oh yes. Mark Ward is known for his elaborate pranks and sense of humor."
"Well, he's played a lot of jokes on Kain and Drake Green ... so it's possible."
"Yeah, but in cases like this, he and Christian are all business. You know Rage was making noise about wanting a real challenge for his next title defense, and my bestie, you just happen to be it."
"I guess. Doesn't mean I have to like it. I went all sorts of lengths to not cash in my return match clause for the longest of times. I thought when Uncle Rage won the title, it'd be even easier. Especially since during all that time they had me wrestling James."
"Yeah but you can't keep on wrestling James, over and over. He has other challengers and you have all sorts of new experiences too!"
"Wrestling for the Internet Championship isn't a new experience. I did it once before, and I won. I held the title once before so why do it again?"
"You held the tag team titles three times."
"That was different. I like tag team matches."
"You know what I don't understand?"
"Why when Gabriel's head moves, his hair doesn't?"
"No ... although that is an interesting question to ponder. I just have to wonder why you fought so hard to win that battle royal to get this title match if you didn't want it or to have to wrestle Rage in the first place."
"Because I promised Gabriel that I wouldn't do in this match what I did in that gauntlet all those years ago. I promised him and dad that I would try to win, and you know me Angel. I'm a man of my word!"
"I know you are, pal o'mine. Now all you have to do is keep that word going into this match and try your best against Rage."
"But I don't want to hurt Uncle Rage!"
"You really think you'll end up hurting him?"
"Well if I win the Internet title from him, sure! That title means a lot to him. It may not have at first, what with him wanting the world title, but it does now. And if I take it away from him, he'll be hurt. He might even be mad at me if I do it."
"Rage isn't going to get mad at you, buddy! Is that what has you so worried?"
"I guess."
"Listen to me. Rage is a professional, just like you. Were you angry at Gabriel when he pinned you in that mixed tag team match?"
"No?"
"Exactly! And was you angry at James when he beat you both times, back to back? Twice?"
"Boy you just had to rub that in, didn't you?"
"I mean, wow! Two straight Supercards and he beat you in both of them..."
"ALRIGHT already!"
"Sorry. Just sayin'."
"I know. *sighs*"
Despayre laid his head down into Angel's plush lap, a comfort between friends.
"I don't like this."
"I know, but nothing bad will come of this. Win or lose, you'll both stay friends."
"I hope so. ... Now, are you gonna gimme back my money?"
"Of course not!"
"Wanker."
Just then, there was a knock on the hotel room door. Despayre lifted his head from Angel's lap and stood up at the foot of his bed in the deluxe suite he shared with his father (and Angel). Naturally wary, he fidgeted as he twisted the fingers of one hand in the grip of the other.
"Yes?"
"Despy?" came the call from the other side of the door.
"Is this about that pen I swiped from the porter?" Despayre called back.
"No Despy!" Gabriel laughed. "It's me, Gabe! Now open up!"
"Gabriel!" Despayre cried out in glee, always thrilled beyond measure whenever there was time to be spent with his 'big brother'. He raced over to the hotel room door and pulled it open with a flourish, and before he knew what hit him, the little guy had practically slammed into Gabriel with his arms squeezing his upper body in one of his super duper patented teddy bear hugs! Once they separated, Gabriel held him at arm's length and asked, "Now what's this about a stolen pen?"
"Not stolen!" Despayre emphasized. "Swiped! It's a world of difference!"
"Ah." Gabriel patted him on the back. "Well hurry up and grab that furry buddy of yours and let's get moving. Your dad is ready for us to leave for dinner."
"Did he find a Panda Express!?" Despayre asked excitedly.
"Afraid not." Gabriel said. "We're going to a pretty nice steakhouse."
"Oh pth!" Despayre rasp berried as, with Angel cradled in his arms, he was escorted from the hotel room by Gabriel.
Madisons New York Grill
It took a good deal of explaining on the part of Synn and Gabriel, but Despayre had finally come to understand that they were not, in fact, flying all the way to New York JUST to eat supper. That would be silly! Madisons was simply a more upscale steakhouse in Ottawa that offered fine dining and a pretty kick ass wine list, if Gabriel were to say so himself -- and did. The surroundings were comfortable and pleasant, with music playing lightly overhead and little to distract the patrons from themselves.
Once Synn had spoken with the maitre 'd, the older man had escorted the party to their reserved space, a large and comfortable booth in a bow shape, surrounding a large table and additional chairs around. Under most circumstances, Despayre would have insisted on sitting beside Gabriel and his father, but given the sticky situation they were in, Despayre had asked to be seated beside Rage, which all but surprised the big man. So with Rage on one side of him, and Angel (in a booster seat) on the other, a rather disgruntled Despayre sat pouting while the evening moved on about the party of diners.
"What's wrong with him?" Evie asked, having noticed like the others, how Despayre's mood was visibly soured.
"Don't mind him." Synn advised. "He just lost a good sum of money on a fantasy football bet to Angel. Joshua has deemed the bet unjust and wants his money back but Angel has proven reluctant."
Evie pulled her eyes away from sizing up Synn's forearms, a fact he did not have a lack of notice on, and she looked from between him and Gabriel as if she were wondering if his explanation was serious or not. When she sat and watched as Despayre requested the booster seat for the teddy bear, and even ordered a meal for it (Hey! You didn't expect Angel not to get to eat, did you? Teddy bears need their energy!), she was unsure of what to make of this enigmatic young man and his mannerisms.
"I didn't know Despy played fantasy football." Kittie observed.
"Oh he doesn't." Synn shook his head as he took a sip from his wine glass.
Gabriel added, "That's why it was unjust." Despayre nodded and Gabriel came to a sudden pause, then lowered his head. "Oh god! It's making sense!"
Despayre swerved in his chair to look at Angel and he growled, "Give me back my money Angel!" But when he got no response, he turned back in his chair and huffed.
"Tremblay, Party of Five. Your table is waiting."
The voice carried across the restaurant from the maitre d's station where the older man spoke into the small microphone on his stand. Despayre watched as he picked up a set of menus and met with the afore mentioned party and started to escort them to their table.
"Excuse me a moment." Despayre said timidly as he stood up. "I gotta go." And he carefully climbed around Rage and skidaddled off. Gabriel watched him for a moment, then turned to Evie with an impish smile.
"Wait for it." Gabriel said.
"Wait for ...?" Evie started to question when Gabriel held up three fingers and counted down.
"Three! Two! One!" And he pointed...
"GIMME BACK MY MONEY ANGEL!!!
Heads turned at the outburst that echoed across the entire restaurant, courtesy of the microphone at the maitre d's station! The only ones who seemed unaffected were the table of the Sins, save for Synn who sighed with resignation and wiped his mouth, preparing to get up from his chair.
"Are you kidding!?" Evie started, but Gabriel was shaking his head, silently holding in his laughter.
"If you think that's something," he said. "Right about now I'd say Despy is engaging in an epic tug of war with the maitre 'd..." Evie looked past Gabriel to see that indeed, in the background, Despayre was pulling on the microphone one way, while the older gentleman was pulling in the other! Gabriel calmed himself and said, "And right about now the poor old sod is going to regret getting his hands that close to Despy's mouth..."
And an ear splitting screech of pain cut through everyone as Despayre bit down hard on the old man's hand to make him let go! Synn was off like a shot, to both retrieve his son and to soothe any potential (further) unpleasantness -- most likely involving cash.
Soon enough, Synn was forcibly escorting Despayre back to their table, but before he could retake his seat, Gabriel quickly enveloped him in a fierce one armed hug and ruffled his hair before he said to Evie with a hearty laugh, "Do I know my Despy or what?"
"Nobody wants this match. Well, I should say that. Almost nobody. I would dare go on record and say that the fans are interested in this match, perhaps more than most of the rest offered on the lineup for Violent Conduct III. But the actual participants? Not so much."
"It's a given fact that if you win a championship, you have to defend it. Well, if you listen to Crystal Millar, you might hear otherwise, but what does she know? Champions defend their titles, or else they're not much of a champion, now are they? Rage has defended the Internet championship -- often! Maybe more often than any other Internet Champion in SCW history. And they also say that the quality of challengers determines the quality of the champion. Rage has defended that Internet title against all comers, from Dmitri and Casey Williams, to Markus Reeves, Steve Ramone and Kain -- and a bunch of other guys in between! See? Fighting champion!"
"But this title match is going to be different. It's going to be the toughest test yet for champion AND challenger, and not for the reasons you might think. As a champion defending his title, Rage didn't care who he was against. He's simply pound them into puddles of pink paste and walk away with his title intact. He can't do that this time. Whereas when Despayre is in the ring, he's capable of anything and everything and will fight tooth and nail to make everyone proud of him with another win added to his record. He can't do that this time -- well, not exactly."
"You see, despite wanting to win and retain his title, the last thing Rage wants to do is hurt a person he considers family, someone who has been a headache to him since day one, but someone that is HIS headache. Same thing foes for Despayre. Rage is family to him, and he even calls him Uncle from time to time. Despayre wants to win and make people proud of him, but he doesn't want to have to hurt Rage in order to do it. Therein lies the question:"
"How do you wrestle someone with the desire to beat them, but without the desire to cause them physical pain?"
"Pain and wrestling go hand in hand. They belong together like peanut butter and jelly. Yet here we have two men, champion and challenger alike, who want to win, but not at the expense of bringing harm to their friend and family member. Rage, I'm sure, will do whatever he has to do, within reason this time around, in order to keep his title securely around his waist."
"But you know for the first time... I have no idea what Despayre is going to do where Rage is concerned. No, he doesn't want to hurt Rage, but given their size differences, that may be a necessary evil in order to bring the big man down. The Internet championship may not be altogether that important to Despayre, but winning certainly is. And if he has to take the belt from around Rage's waist to get his arm raised in victory, well I know my Despayre."
"That is exactly what he is going to do."
