I Don't Want To Grow Up Part II
It roared down the city streets of Lexington, Kentucky, just outside of Louisville, the soon-to-be locale of the latest pay-per-view of the Asylum Wrestling Alliance, 'Bloodshed'. The distance between the two cities was roughly seventy-five miles, or an estimated hour and twenty minute drive, but judging by the roaring down the street of the ruby red, 2010 RX-8 Mazda, the distance would most probably be cut in a significant amount of time by comparison.
Stationed in the driver's seat was the enigmatic Synn, a man who had set foot inside of the squared circle for a number of years and had caused a fair amount of controversy in the time of his career. For the time being, however, he had deemed it worthy to take a step back and focus his attentions on the careers of others in the business he had so recently turned enough heads in.
Beside him, his full attention focused on the small, hand held video game he wielded in his hands, was just one of those young charges he had found in his 'care' so to speak, the man known simply as Despayre. Stealing glances ever-so-slightly from the corner of his eyes, Synn watched as Despayre narrowed his eyes, attempting to achieve a new level on this game he had gotten for him. It was increasingly difficult for him, but Synn believed it a valuable tool for Despayre to learn to focus his mindset for a particular task.
"Yes, I imagine that you're believing this, the four of you, that because Despayre does not think as you or I do, that it means he will be all the easier for you to subdue inside of the ring and achieve victory at his expense. Not so, but if it makes you feel better, believe it if you will. After all, I would hazard a guess that such beliefs are really all you have when it comes to this upcoming match that you've found yourself in."
"Oh don't get me wrong, there is a level of discomfort that Despayre will be experiencing in the match, but not for the reasons that you might believe. You see, for quite a bit of his life, this young man has experienced nothing but a feeling of isolation. Have you any idea what that must be like? To know few people outside of the doctors and nurses who see it as their duty to treat you to the best of their abilities when in all reasoning, they simply wish to be done with you and move on to their next 'subject'. It creates a feeling of loneliness. To be away from the companionship that you or I might take for granted, but it has also created an anxiety if you will, to be around those very same people."
"You see, it comes as little to no surprise that Despayre is uncomfortable around strangers, especially those in high number. Finding himself inside of the squared circle with not just one opponent, but four? Well, personally I don't understand the logic in this but to each their own. That anxiety will not work against him, but for him. You cannot argue that I simply know him better than any of the four of you might. The 'fear', the desire to be rid of you, it will drive him forward and make him want to fight to be rid of you. That will be the underlying key. That will be the factor that will see him bury you in there and walk away as the new AWA Television champion."
Despayre looked up as he felt the car swing around and saw that they were pulling into a parking lot. He forgot all about the game in his hand and it slid from his fingertips and dropped to the car floor at his feet.
"What are we doing here?" He could all but ask when he saw the storefront signs with their colorful logos and the image of Jeffrey the Giraffe above the main storefront entrance.
[align=center]I don't want to grow up. I'm a Toy's R US kid.
There's a million things at Toy's R US that I can play with.
From trains to planes and video games,
it's the biggest toy store there is.
I don't want to grow up, cause baby if I did
I wouldn't be a Toy's R US kid.[/align]
Synn turned to Despayre and smiled. He said, "There's something in here that I want to show you. Consider it a bit of an added reward for your hard work with Gabriel. Oh..." He glanced over the seat into the back of the car where a child's safety seat was attached and the familiar bear christened 'Angel' was tucked in safely. "...maybe a bit of a reward for Angel as well."
"For Angel?" Despayre mimicked with a look of hope and wonder as he looked back at his 'friend' and what he perceived to be his own manager. 'Did he do something special?"
"He inspired you to help your team win, didn't he?" Synn said without a trace of mockery to his tone. "You didn't want to disappoint him and so, you didn't. That’s something called inspiration so what best way to reward you, than to reward him?"
Despayre smiled broadly at this reasoning and he hurried from the car and proceeded to open the back door to retrieve his buddy. Synn unlatched his own safety belt and followed him outside. Once Angel was in Despayre's arms and the car locked against unwanted intrusion, the 'trio' made their way inside.
"Casey, you might be a large individual, that I grant you, but the common misconception in that regard is that it makes you believe it makes you nigh invulnerable. What you seem to forget in your time is that the biggest men also have the biggest weaknesses. Their physical strength is a plus. Only a fool would deny that statement as fact. Their mind? Well, some have the brains to go along with their physical prowess but so far I've yet to decide if you share the same. You see, the last time you appeared I saw you speak so much but say so very little."
"I mean, for all the things that you might focus on, Despayre's hair should be the very least of your worries. I can imagine a man with your slow wit got your jollies by using the old practice of insults and put downs, but what it all boils down to is the fact that you have yet to figure my man here out, so you haven't the faintest clue as to how you're going to handle him in the TV title match. Really Casey. Calling Despayre ugly? If that is not the proverbial pot calling the kettle black."
"True, I grant you that with your size and weight advantage, he won't be able to lift you for his preferential moves he enjoys using to put people away, but he, unlike you, is not so limited. He does not have to rely on those one or two moves to end a match. So go ahead and continue on making these ridiculous threats and promises about what you'll accomplish in this match. You'll just look the bigger fool for when another's hand, Despayre's in particular, is risen in victory with that Television belt in their grasp."
Once inside of the toy store, Synn began to head closer into the vast interior, amidst the shelves and aisles of objects that make the dreams of young children come true. He stepped past the line of registers, when he heard Despayre call out to him;
"Wait! Wait up!"
Synn stopped in his steps and turned about face to see Despayre at the row of carts, pulling one free. He then proceeded to sit Angel into the child's seat and fasten the small belt around its waist before he started to join Synn. From the corner of his eye, Synn caught sight of a few stares emanating from those in line at the registers as well as the employees behind them themselves.
"What's the matter?" Synn spoke aloud. "Never seen a grown man pushing a teddy bear around before?"
"Welcoming Despayre to the world of the Asylum is a touch of irony, I must say. Especially given how he had spent most of his adult life in one, up until now. Dmitri, now here is a man that seems to command attention to him. For good or ill, you can not help but find yourself paying heed to whatever garbage he opts to spew forth like pea soup on a priest's face. Perhaps it's the makeup, or the continued references to blood and mayhem that he will reap as a harvest upon the soul. I only assume it's not his personal actions because despite what he says, a record of one win and four losses only leads me to wonder how exactly you managed to find yourself inside the ring for this match."
"I watch, and I can only feel the insatiable desire to ask whether or not you sparkle when you step out into the glaring rays of the sun. Perhaps you have a young woman that adores you but cannot help but feel her loyalty at times drift to the lycanthrope that dogs your every step? Pardon me, it had to be said. The common vampire shtick is rather cliché. Thanks to Anne Rice and the like, you can not pass a book or video store without being assaulted by Twihards and other such mindless drones."
"You rely on your dark image and distinguishing speech to intimidate your opponents, or try to at least, but I assure you that in this case you have grossly failed. If you had watched Despayre in his debut, with Gabriel at his side he handled quite easily an AWA Hall of Famers and former multiple time champions. Maybe you should put down your latest copy of 'Emos and me' and instead focus where your attentions should truly lie if you have any hopes of improving your local status. Underestimating your opponents as you seem to will only get you thrown into an open grave. Then again, somehow I get the impression you might find that to your liking."
Walking alongside his mentor, Despayre pushed the cart with his friend Angel strapped in safely like a small child might be by its own parent. Heads turned everywhere they went but Despayre seemed to not notice. His eyes seemed to be glued only to the many displays of countless toys and games that lined each and every wall where he turned his head.
Synn watched, and yes indeed, pitied him as he did so. He knew of the tragic past Despayre led in his time, and part of him seriously doubted he had ever set foot inside of a toy store, or at least, had not done so since before the accident so many years before.
A woman turned her head to gawk but a sharp glare from the much larger Synn made her look away hastily, but not before she had turned her cart into a display and sent the contents scattering to the floor around her. Despayre himself stopped and watched as the flustered woman regained her composure and tried to hurry off before any clerk or further witnesses could see her in such a moment. Despayre turned back to Synn with a slight smile on his face at the woman's embarrassment and Synn cocked his head to the right.
"Come on. Here's where I wanted to take you."
They turned down a certain aisle and found themselves where all the action figures that young males would be interested in were stored for purchase and display; most namely, the wrestling figures. Despayre's attention was now on these rows of card boarded figures sheathed in plastic and his eyes went from one to the other until he made a noise;
"Ah!"
He grabbed at it and held it up for Synn to see. It was from the AWA line of figures and was one of his own opponents for the upcoming event...
"Now Sin, there is a man after my own heart, as well as name. He speaks lightly of committing the Seven Capital Sins, but he forgets that the consequences are only paid to those that hold them in such light contempt. Perhaps you forget your own history in that the Seven Sins are simply vices that the Christian Church had found to be the most objectionable and those to the imminent fall of humanity."
"I disagree."
"The fall of humanity has been initiated since the dawn of time when man dragged his knuckles on the ground and his women by the hair. Sin, if you trust in such a term, has been inside of mankind's hearts and souls for always and shall remain so. You seem to forget, like so many others before you. A sin is only a sin, if your heart believes it to be. I have said it a great many times before, so indulge me if I repeat myself this once. What is one man's sin, is another man's salvation. You might hear those who are afraid to fly say that if God had meant man to fly, he would have given them wings. well, look at what he did give us, and then tell me whether or not we were meant to indulge. After all, there is little harm in bringing oneself pleasure, and it will truly be a pleasure watching your stunned reaction when your words fall on deaf ears, and the referee's hand falls on the mat a third time for Despayre."
"Those tales in the Bible of the consequences of sin? Two cities being destroyed in a sky storm of fire and brimstone. Simply tales, and I have had enough fairy tales read to me when I was a wee child. The tales in that book are so ludicrous and full of contradicting itself that one wonders how many brews the original author had before it became transcribed."
"You, Sin, are simply just another fairy tale. Something to be enjoyed for the time being, and discarded once the novelty has worn off."
Synn smiled at the toy being held up for him and he took it in hand and dropped it into the basket of the cart Despayre was wheeling. A few other adults wheeled past down the aisle with a small child beside them, looking up at the two adult males in wonderment.
Despayre's eyes however were on Synn and he asked, "What are you doing?"
Synn reached past him and grabbed another figure, this one being that of Casey and deposited it too into the cart beside the first. He then looked at Despayre and winked.
"That part of your reward that I told you about my friend. Something to both take your mind off of other unpleasant things and to help you work things out against some of your more unsavory opponents."
"With toys?" Despayre looked down into the basket and reached up with his free hand to scratch idly at his head.
"Why not?" Synn shrugged. "Just a little light hearted manner to help lift your spirits and show yourself how you want the match to go."
Despayre nodded d turned to the rows of figures and he begun to rifle through them. Synn watched as he dropped figure after figure into the cart, each one a different AWA star, and a few randomly grabbed ones from other lines and promotions.
"Don't forget a ring." Synn reminded him and with a nod, Despayre grabbed the large box and dropped it too in the cart. He then put a finger to his lips and began looking back at the displays. "What is it?"
Despayre's shoulders slumped and he sighed, "They don't have one of me."
"Not yet." Synn said and placed his hand reassuringly on Despayre's shoulder. He leaned over and whispered into his ear. "The time will come where you get one of your own."
"Which brings us to the current King of the Mountain, the champion himself. Kain. Now I won't take away from any of your credentials. They do in fact speak for themselves. The mere truth that you hold that title belt around your waist is truth enough of your level of skill and tenacity inside of the ring. You are indeed a dangerous opponent and I fully acknowledge and respect that. But...I do not respect you."
"For such a valued asset to the business, your mental scope of all things is microscopic at best. Not to take a man seriously because of how he might act outside of the arena is a foolish thing and not something that I would have expected from such a man. You think because Despayre has an issue or two mentally, that it makes him any less of a threat to you and your championship reign? That's all well and good, but you just keep that in mind when you step through the ropes and he proceeds to shred you like ground beef."
"There are times when Despayre fights as you do. Focused. Disciplined. Then there are the times where he feels he is wronged and you find yourself instead in there with a creature of wild ferocity. An animal that goes for the jugular and won't release it until it has tasted blood. How do you prepare for such a man? How do you see yourself handling such an animal? You will treat him, as well as the others in this match, with a lack f respect and disdain as only you can manage I'm sure, and it will cost you more than you might have reckoned to be prepared for."
"Take good, long look at that golden emblem around your waist. Hold it. Caress it and sleep with it if that brings you comfort. It ends in Louisville, and not in your favor. The only undeniable fact to all champions is that every champion, will one day become a former champion. That is your role in things to play. It is your destiny. Your title reign ended the moment the ink on the contracts dried with Despayre's name."
Despayre turned to Synn and raised his eyebrows. "You promised Angel a reward."
Synn nodded and agreed. "That I did. Which do you think he would like best?" He waved his hand at the lower shelf where there were many replicas of golden wrestling championship belts.
"He gets his own championship??" Despayre yelped.
Synn smiled. "Go on, pick him out one."
Despayre was by now all smiles as he turned around to the belts and it was a spoil for choice. World titles, tag tea titles, International, Universal, Tag Team...women’s? Hm. No. He looked up and sighed.
"I'll let Angel pick his own. It's his reward."
Despayre turned to the cart and to the seat and stopped fast, gasping in shock. The cart's seat was completely empty.
"Angel? ... ANGEL!"
