"You know what the best thing is about flashbacks? The fact that if and when something interesting or fun happened to you in days past, then you can bring up that memory as if it were today and no one would be the wiser. Why, thanks to the miracle of modern promos, it would seem as if what had happened days ago, were happening right now!"
"Cool, huh?"
"So take a little trip with me down memory lane. Well it's actually more a hop, skip and a jump than a trip, and it's more a sidewalk than a lane because we are only talking about a week in the past. Thanksgiving! -- Hm? What? Friday? Thanksgiving wasn't on Friday! It was... Oh this is about Black Friday! Thank God! If thought our stars were those losers who insist on shopping on Turkey Day rather than celebrate the holiday with their families!"
"Psht! Wankers...."
November 27 - 1:30 AM
Yep! You guessed right! We are in the City of Sin, Las Vegas, Nevada, the day after Thanksgiving! And we are outside of the house that Synn, Despayre and Theresa Aguilera (and Angel, duh!) call home. It has yet to be decorated in the festive holiday cheer that friends and family have come to expect, despite the not-too-subtle hints thrown Synn's way by his son. That was more of a tradition for the first weekend of December and not because Synn had become accustomed to taking a swan dive off of the porch's overhead and into the bushes trying to hang the lights.
Thanksgiving itself was a very pleasant day for this family, despite the fact that the vast majority of its' members were not from the United States and thus did not celebrate the holiday as a whole. Such a fact, however, did not stop them from converging here at the house anyway to partake of the feast that had been made ready and hang out for the day with one another. It was simply what family did. From the early morning hours when Despayre had gathered everyone present to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, to watching American football (nicknamed "candy arse ball" by Gabriel) throughout the vast majority of the remaining day, eating turkey and stuffing and so many other dishes, it was a day well spent for one and all.
The soft hum of a vehicle's motor cut through the silence of the night. A sleek, silver 2015 Bugatti Veyron slowly pulled into a crawl in the drive of the house, parking behind the two vehicles already stationed there; Synn's red Corvette Z06 and Theresa's tanned Kia Sorento. The head lights slowly dimmed as the ignition was switched off, and soon enough, Gabriel stepped out of the epitome of sports cars, eyeing the house. He was admittedly a tad surprised that his 'little brother' hadn't burst from out of the doors and charged in to greet him as was his usual custom, despite the early morning hour. He shook his head, figuring that despite pre made plans, Despayre most likely fell asleep after consuming so much food through the day. Hearing another vehicle arriving, Gabriel silently mused where Despy put it all, given the little guy weighed less than 170 pounds on his best day.
He turned his head as the black Hennessy Venom GT pulled into the drive, alongside his own car. Once the lights dimmed and the engine shut off, the "Sin of Wrath" aka Rage stepped out.
"Where's Despy?" Rage inquired, looking around for the elusive son of Synn. "If thought he was meeting us out here?"
"That was the plan." Gabriel acknowledged, fishing a key from his pocket and he turned and headed for the house. "Chances are though that he crashed out. Little guy ate more than you at dinner, and that's saying something." He turned and headed for the house, continuing, "I'll just go get him up."
Rage followed Gabriel up the path to the spacious homestead, asking, "You sure you should? Can't you go get that -- whatever it is you're after at this hell hole?"
Gabriel said, "One, it's called Wal-Mart, and two, go Black Friday shopping without Despy?" He glanced back and smirked at Rage, "Surely you jest, Baldy." Rage growled at the unwanted nickname granted him by Gabriel and Shane Boswell alike. Gabriel continued, "You'll never have a finer human battering ram than Despy in that chaos. Take him and you're guaranteed to get what you're after."
"Chaos is right." Rage muttered. "Can't believe I'm doing this."
"Well nobody is forcing you." Gabriel frowned. "What's stopping you from turning around and going home?"
The pair stepped up to the door as Gabriel went to insert the key he was given years ago and enter, but said first, "I'm after something for my son. What are you after?"
Rage shook his head, "Just something for Phil."
Gabriel stared at Rage for what seemed like an eternity until the big man sighed, "Fine! It's something for that cat of Phil's! Something he wants to get her!"
Ah." Gabriel nodded and turned back to the door, whispering, "Something <If>he</If> wants to get her." But before Gabriel could turn the key, the door itself swung open and there stood Synn in his sleeping clothes of loose t shirt and pajama pants, both a dark, deep red in color.
"Bloody hell!" Gabriel barked, jumping back in a start, but Synn held up a forefinger to ward off any further loud noises. He stepped aside so that Gabriel and Rage could set foot inside and the magician shook his head. As they did, Gabriel eyed Synn with a frown and asked, "What the hell you doing up? I'd have thought you'd be in bed."
"Mm," Synn shook his head in the negative. "Nobody to play with. And besides, you should know me better. If won't be able to sleep until Joshua comes back from that hell you two are taking him to."
"Speaking of," Rage started. "Where is that secret weapon of ours?"
Synn jetted a thumb towards the living room, and as Rage and Gabriel leaned over to get a look, they spotted the aforementioned Despayre. He laid out on the sofa, clad in his winter jacket and a snug hat over his scalp, snoozing soundly with Angel cuddled up against his upper body.
Synn said, "Been ready for a fair couple of hours. He tried to stay up but, well..." He motioned towards his son with his hand.
Rage offered, "Maybe we should let the kid sleep and just do this ourselves."
"No." Synn shook his head, turning back to the two men. "He's been looking forward to this. He does every year. If he woke up to find out he missed out on this little insane adventure of yours, he'd be distraught."
"Well," Gabriel started to say as he took a step forward, entering the living room and thus heading for the sleeping Despayre. "We can't have that now can we?"
And moments later, a sleepy looking Despayre was being led out of the house by Gabriel as Rage and Synn followed. Before Rage could step off of the porch, Synn stopped him with a hand on the shoulder and turned him around.
"Be careful." Synn forewarned. "You know how he is with crowds."
"Relax." Rage assured him. "Despy'll be fine. What could possibly happen during a little shopping?"
"What indeed?"
"You know what Black Friday shopping entails, right? No, not door buster deals or the best prices on a new television that you didn't even know you wanted until you saw the ad price. It's chaos. That's what makes the headlines. That's what people notice and are prepared for -- or so they think. And do you know what else can be pure and unadulterated chaos? -- Battle Royals."
"That's right! Circle gets the square! When you have a Battle Royal, absolutely anything can happen, and usually does. And that is exactly why my bestest buddy and close confidante Despayre is going to win! He's just made for a match like this! Forget the fact that he's the smallest guy in the ring! When competing, Despayre is wild and out of control, which puts him at the biggest advantage in a match where there are no rules other than to be thrown out over the top rope and onto the arena floor!"
"Hey, just a friendly reminder: In SCW, there's none of that 'both feet must touch the floor' jazz. You touch the floor, you're gone."
"Anyhoo, where was If? Oh yes! The one thing that most opponents are willing to give fair credit to Despayre on is his unpredictable nature. The fact that he is capable of anything inside of the ring. Can he fly? he can, but admittedly it probably wouldn't be the best idea to go up top in a Battle Royal. I'll have to talk to him about that. Can he wrestle? He can, he just doesn't choose to a lot of the time. And when he feels scared or hurt or especially threatened, then what happens? The true fighting nature of our Despy comes out and he starts fighting. That's F-If-G-H-T-If-N-G! He'll throw punches, bite, kick -- you name it! And in a match like this, it's not only allowed, it's encouRaged! You can't beat an opponent by wrestling them down to the mat and trapping them in a step-over cross toe hold with a double peppermint twist! You have to hurt and weaken them enough that they can be thrown out of the ring!"
"Despy isn't the biggest and he may not be the strongest, but once he gets that engine of his revved up, ohhh boy!"
It was packed outside of the shopping mega monster known as Wal Mart, with a line of eager shoppers stretching from the front entrance clear around the store and into the parking lot. At this particular Las Vegas location, due to safety standards, the law as well as the property owners did not allow the usual 'camping out' in front of the store to ensure the shopper be first in line to get the best deals. It was simply a matter of who got to the doors first, and thanks to a friend who waited for them, Gabriel, with Despayre and Rage at his side, managed to be right up front.
"Bitch, if you don't stop shoving me...!" Rage growled ominously as a woman who obviously believed the world revolved around her continued to press forward as the hour approached where they'd be let inside to spend money she didn't have on things they don't make and she couldn't buy.
The threat fell on deaf ears, obviously, as she did not even so much as acknowledge him while continuing to try to get closer to the doors, even if it meant cutting by force rather than by stealth as the Sins did.
Despayre grunted as another attempt by the woman caused him to stumble forward and almost lose his balance. Gabriel managed to catch him by the arm and looking him over, could tell he was starting to get scared due to the crowd getting worked up and physical. That was the last straw.
"Oy!" Gabriel barked in the woman's face, startling her enough that she had no choice BUT to notice him. "You shove him again and ..."
"You'll what?" The woman snarked. "Hit me? If seriously doubt that."
"He won't." Rage leaned in so that his massive frame could look her in the eye. "But I'm tired and pissed off and NOT in the mood to deal with bitches like you so BACK OFF!!!"
It was an amazing thing, the fact that having a man like Rage go off in your face like that could make you all but forget the desire to be first to get your hands on a 48 inch plasma television for $300, isn't it? The woman stumbled back, her eyes glued to Rage as he stared her down and she about vanished behind the relative "safety" of more shoppers.
"Thank you..." Despayre whispered, and Gabriel gripped his shoulder tenderly, giving it a little shake before patting his back with calm reassurance. They indeed knew how Despayre was with crowds: as Synn warned, he didn't like them. He was, in fact, scared of them, and they knew to defuse any situation quickly before anything could happen to cause Despayre to react violently from his fears and discomfort.
"You going to be okay there, Despy?" Gabriel asked, and he was given a silent nod of assurance. He still was not saying much, at least until Rage tapped him on the arm to get his attention.
"Didn't you tell me there was a 'Best of Daffy Duck' release here?"
Despayre gasped, eyes wide, "If had forgotten all about that!!!"
"There ya go!" Gabriel smirked. "Add that to the mission, soldier."
"Cool beans!"
"Here we go." Rage said, having spotted the employees inside begin to unlock the doors. He cast one last glance back towards that woman and she hid again behind in the crowd as the doors were pulled open and...
"GO!"
Gabriel shouted, and the moment he did and those locked doors slid open, his 'little brother' Despayre went right into action as Gabriel knew he would! The crowd at the WalMart Super Center surged forward, and when Despayre shot forward, bodies were toppled like bowling pins, despite his diminutive stature! A row of interlocked shopping carts were lined up to maintain order at the entrance but the ever-unpredictable Despayre simply leapt up onto them and ran right straight down then and jumped off of the end and landed on the floor and took off like a shot! A proud Gabriel watched on as he jogged after him, Rage following close at hand!
"That's my boy!" Gabriel laughed as Despayre vanished into the store to retrieve the item Gabriel had wanted and of course, that little something for himself too!
The Fisher-Price Bright Beats Touch Play Space was being heralded as this year's hottest toy for babies, and being their son's very first Christmas, Gabriel had his heart set on immediately spoiling his son by ensuring he had one on that morning of mornings. It would be Hell trying to get your hands on one at any time of the year, and being Black Friday? That just made things worse!
Fortunately, Gabriel had his secret weapon...
Despayre dashed at a mad pace, having the added advantage of not just a smaller body, but he wasn't silly enough to get hold of a shopping cart to slow himself down! He was beating many of the other shoppers in pace and speed as he dashed around a corner to get to the toy department! As he pivoted around an end cap, an employee pushing a cart filled with stock cut him off but thinking by instinct as he did inside of the ring, Despayre played a game of leap frog and landed on the other side of the cart and took off down the aisle before the employee knew what had happened!
Two adults, men, were gaining on him! Were they after what he was? No matter! Despayre ran past a cage filled with rubber balls and with a hard yank as he blew by, the cage spilled and the floor was flooded with small, rubber balls, and his pursuers went tumbling on them and hit the floor hard!
Two more rather large and rotund women were looking at something in the doll aisle and Despayre dove forward and slid right through their legs, coming up the other side! The women shrieked but he vanished around the corner to the baby toy aisle!
Unfortunately, another shopper had made it there first, and he was after the same exact toy that Gabriel had unleashed his little brother for -- and there was only one on the shelf! Despayre had just laid hands on the box with a 'woop' of glee, but the man, larger in frame, also grabbed the box and with a hard shove, pushed Despayre aside so that he could get it, not him! Despayre fell forward against the shelves and simply ... reacted. The man expected no repercussions, especially since he was holding the toy, but this <If>was</If> Despayre that we were talking about! Despayre charged forward with arms stretched out and with a mighty shove against the box itself, he sent the man toppling backwards and he landed hard on his butt! The box fell to the floor but as the man reached for it, Despayre stepped on his outstretched hand to keep him from reaching it and with a dive, delivered a roaring elbow to the head that would have made Masato Tanaka proud! The larger man skidded back against the shelves, stunned!
Despayre happily scooped the large box up into his arms and turned around to find Rage shaking his head at him, but with a smile of pride on his lips, while Gabriel had practically fallen back against 'the Sin of Wrath', laughing heartily. The two had seen <If>everything</If>!
Gabriel composed himself and started to approach him, "Said it before -- that's my boy!"
********************
After near forty minutes of shopping chaos, Despayre found himself in one of the many long check out lines with Gabriel and Rage, and a shopping cart filled with the toy Gabriel had wanted for his son, a new TV for Phil, a present from Despayre to Theresa... everything but that much prized Daffy Duck Blu Ray.
"They didn't have any in the back?" Gabriel asked, trying to soothe Despayre who looked absolutely crestfallen that he had been unable to get his hands on the latest release in the Almighty Looney Tunes collection.
Despayre shook his head sadly, his eyes glued to Angel who was perched safely in the cart's child seat. "No." He mumbled. "They thought one was left one the shelf but someone else musta grabbed it."
"Someone else did." Rage said, pulling the much desired Daffy Duck collection out from behind his back and held it in front of Despayre's face. The little guy shrieked in joy and used one hand to grab the disc from Rage's own, and the free hand to reach up and pull the big man into a 'teddy bear hug'!
"And thus ends our happy tale to tell? Well, not quite. There is still a little more to tell, but first these words from our sponsors:"
"Can someone please explain to me why some of these other guys are even in this match with Despayre? Hm? There was a lot of hype behind the debut of SCW's first ever Japanese wrestler, Jin Watanabe, but what happened? The guy couldn't even be bothered to show his face for a promo and all that hype went flying right out the window. The excitement? Poof! Gone! Yet he's being given a chance to not just get a title shot but take control of the dude's division for a day? Alllllllllrighty then!"
"CJ Sharpe, If have nothing against, but If am curios why he, too, is in this match with such an opportunity. He was the one scheduled against Jin Watanabe and he didn't show up with a promo, either! Not sure it would have mattered, given his track record, but come on! You don't get ahead if you don't try, and last week the guy who wears more makeup than a Mabeline convention doesn't even bother to arrive! He blows the chance to shine off, and is rewarded for his non-efforts. Sheesh!"
"Kris Halc's not so bad. I guess. At least he has a championship track record. Problem is, he's been known to blow off a match promo a time or two himself. Plus after my boy Despayre beat him for the Internet Championship, he tucked his tail between his legs and ran off and hid. He told the world he refused to go on tour because he didn't like the traveling SCW was doing, but why become a professional wrestler if you didn't like to go on tours? And if he were to win this match and get that title shot? What then? When it comes time to hit the road and defend it, he's going to claim to not like touring again to try and get out of it? Fat chance! It's not like that's an issue anyway. he'd never win that title shot, let alone this match."
"Don't know too much about this Chris Shields dude, but are guys supposed to be that pretty? or at least think they're that pretty? The man has never met a mirror he didn't like according to locker room legend, and hey: that's okay! The guy obviously has the stuff because he beat Casey Williams, and that's no small feat! get it? Casey Williams? Giant? Small feat? Nothing, huh? Well I would have laughed had you said it. Either way, I think this guy is going to be more preoccupied at protecting his face than he is about winning this match. Well good news Chris! You won't be winning! Huzzah!"
"And then there's Steve Ramone, he's okay. Unlike the others I've talked about so far, I've never really known him to just not show up. He has pride in this business. He wants too be the best he can be and be at the top. That's what everyone with any common sense wants, but he goes out and works for it. Things may not always work out the way Steve wants, but he doesn't let that stop him. He just keeps plugging along. So for that, I have to name Steve as the man that's going to be the toughest to oust to win this whole shebang."
"Except for Despayre, of course. He's not going too get eliminated though. He's going to win!"
And what, pray tell, was Despayre's reward for a job well done? Well in years past on Black Friday, Gabriel always treated Despayre to breakfast at McDonalds to "celebrate", and this year was no different. Both he, Gabriel and Rage sat in the far corner of the McDonalds dining lobby with their meals in front of them, each man eating, tired but wired in spirit if not body. It was certain all three would crash once they finished their meals.
"`Scuse me." Gabriel said as he stood up, empty coffee cup in hand. Despayre glanced up, a mouthful of snausages preventing him from asking the obvious, so Rage did so for him, "Where you headed?"
Gabriel answered, holding his empty cup and said as if it were obvious, "Refill." And he headed off toward the counter as the early morning traffic slowly picked up inside.
Rage turned and saw Despayre take great effort to swallow the Herculean mouthful he was working on, and he immediately set to work, drowning his pancakes with as much syrup as he was able to con the employee behind the counter into giving him. Despayre glanced up, but not at Rage. He looked to the teddy bear in the booster seat beside Rage, and Angel's own tray with the tattered remains of his meal. Despayre smiled with pride that the teddy bear had put such a dent in the food bought for him.
"Say, Despy..." Rage started to say, and Despayre paused, about to shovel another H-U-G-E mouthful of pancake into his gaping mouth. His eyebrows rose up in a silent questioning, inviting Rage to continue. "You know Aggie...?"
"Of course!" Despayre smiled, his pancake temporarily forgotten. "The kitty you saved!"
"Right. Well, see... there's this cat tower on sale at PetsMart. Real nice, real elaborate, and real cheap."
Despayre blinked, and Rage held up his phone to show the PetsMart screen on it, and Rage continued, "And this says there's just one left in stock so I was hoping...."
********************
And Despayre charged through the crowds in PetsMart, scattering bodies in all directions ...
