"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
~ Marcel Proust</color>
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the mother of all flashbacks. I would introduce myself, but you'll come to understand to whom you are paying such rapt attention to -- all in due time. Just know for know that I am your host, and you may think of me as your tour guide. Tour guide to what you might ask? To a little thing I like to refer to as the Pool of Friendships. Let us dip our toes, shall we?"</color>
March of 2010
The exact date is unimportant. What is important is the fact that this is the day of beginnings. Not just the beginnings of a dynasty that was yet to be born, or even thought of, but the day that a friendship was to spark into life, even if neither of those two 'friends' were aware of it as of yet.
'Power Gym' was the name of the establishment, and it was the joint venture of two men who had gone on to very successful careers in the sport of professional wrestling, and had even in one case, achieved the status of legend. Both men knowing their careers inside of the 'squared circle' could not, and would not, last to infinity, sought outside ventures to support their lives following their careers in the sport. This gym, as it were, was one of four in the United States, opened for the sole purpose to teach and to train men and women in health and fitness, and in some cases, used to for the beginning stages of careers for a very select chosen to become professional wrestlers.
Bo Dreamwolf, you remember him? He was the first to set foot inside of this very gym in the 'City So Nice, They Names It Twice.' He went on to a successful career that was ended too quickly due to injuries, which were, unfortunately, a mere piece of the puzzle to those who chose this as their career path.
There was, however, another, who had started his training stages to get his foot in the proverbial door. In fact, his training had started in this gym this very month. It was a slow and grueling process, the working out with weights and teaching how to take falls without serious injury, but soon the following stages would be fought towards, and a shining beacon would emerge in the form of a two-time World Champion, and an unbeaten World Tag Team Champion -- in two separate promotions. All due respect to Mister Dreamwolf, his career pales just a dollop to that of the man who became known by a single name:
Gabriel.
"Ow! Sonofa...!" The aforementioned Gabriel openly winced as one of his trainers, a veteran in the female ranks, Fantasia, ducked behind him and thus twisted his arm tightly up his back in a wicked hammerlock.
"C'mon, pretty boy." The saucy vixen teased the student who would knowingly in years to come, emerge as one of the finer members of the team known as the Seven Deadly Sins. She continued, "We showed you what to do, so DO it!" She wrenched his wrist upwards again, forcing Gabriel to again grunt in pain. "Or are you going to let a woman...?"
Her taunting question was never finished because Gabriel indeed did display the insight that was beginning to be forged into his brain. He quickly bent down and grabbed her foot in-between his legs and pulled it out from under her, causing Fantasia to trip and fall to her back on the mat.
"Ha!" Gabriel smiled, proud of himself. "How was that for..." But his own words were cut short as Fantasia placed a boot firmly on his backside and shoved him off, causing Gabriel to crash to the mat face and chest first!
Fantasia stood up and dusted her hands off, speaking to Gabriel in a commanding manner, "One good counter does not a success make! Don't get cocky until you can back it up!"
"How is he doing?" Asked Synn, who had just arrived at the gym, toting alongside of him the young man who was not yet out of his teen years, the same young man who had been rescued from a mental institution up in Canada, and who had yet to be revealed as Synn's own flesh and blood; Despayre.</color>
"You see where I'm going with this? Good for you! Here, have a cookie!"</color>
Shane followed up with his praise on their newest prospect to anoint as a Sin, Gabriel. They had met the young man when he made the fateful attempt to pick both of their pockets in London, and they caught him at it. Where most men would have demanded a pound of flesh for such a deed, Synn and Shane were impressed with both his guts as well as his speed and agility when he tried (unsuccessfully) to elude them.
Shane stated, "This guy is a natural where ring psychology is concerned." Shane turned to Synn and smiled brightly, "I've never seen such a prodigy before."
As both men discussed the man inside of the ring, neither noticed Despayre, then known simply as Joshua, gazing into the ring with rapt attention. As a small child, he adored watching wrestling on TV when he was allowed. G.L.O.W. (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) was his absolute favorite, but he did enjoy watching WWE (then 'F') sometimes as well. When he was confined the walls of Broodmoore, he was unable to watch either, as such programming was not allowed, and more often than not, he was confined in solitary due to his violent nature. But here and now? He was watching the budding start of a career, live and in person!
Joshua felt a hand on his shoulder, and openly flinched, but he allowed Synn, an enigmatic man at best, to draw him away from whatever his private thoughts were. He did have a way of distracting himself and allowing his mind to wander to places unheard of. Apparently the training session had ended while he was distracted, and the young man being trained inside of the ring was watching him with a curious eye.
"Joshua, I want you to meet some people." Synn started to introduce Fantasia, and Despayre's infamous shy factor where women were concerned was kicked into high gear as all he could do was meekly mutter a soft "Hi." and twiddle his fingers in a 'hello' gesture. Of course, his response to Gabriel's introduction was far more eager. He grasped his hand before Gabriel could even finish extending it and shook it vigorously.</color>
"To this day, nobody -- not even me -- knows why Despayre took to Gabriel so quickly, immediately as a matter of fact. There was just something about the magician that caught Despayre's affections and interests, and the rest, as they say, is history. We all gave up on trying to figure it out long ago. We just decided to go with it, and thank all that Joshua was connecting with someone."
"Oh, here's a little bit of Despayre Gossip: He was never meant to even be a professional wrestler! Gnarly, huh?"</color>
"Joshua?"
Synn's voice startled him, and he turned and eyes widened as if he had just been caught at doing something naughty. All he was doing was watching the ring with a rapt interest, and the fact he was inching his way closer to said ring was pure coincidence. He grasped his fingers in his hand and looked down as if waiting to be admonished, when Synn's voice drew his attention again...
"Did you want to get in the ring?" He asked, and there was a light that lit deep in Joshua's gray eyes. He looked back and forth between the ring and Synn, until he was given the green light as Synn motioned forward and said, "Go ahead."
Despayre's face lit up and he quickly ran to the ring and slid inside like a pro. Even seasoned professionals found themselves getting tripped up in the ropes in their first forays inside of the ring, but not this young teen, which gave cause for notice by those watching. Joshua stood in place, as if he were frozen in fright in worrying about doing something wrong, but they then noticed he was simply pressing his feet to the mat, testing how soft (or hard) it in fact, was. He then walked over to the ropes and ran his fingers alongside of them, before grasping hold and giving them a tug.
Once satisfied with whatever he was looking for, Joshua started to bounce against the ropes. He then took off into those ropes, and came off into a forward roll, playing the part of a wrestler. He jumped to his feet, and ran into the other side, then rolled again. Synn, even Shane and Fantasia, could not help but notice the smooth movements.
Synn whispered to Shane Boswell, "Go in there and don't let him get hurt."
"Right." Shane replied and he climbed inside, all the while the others watched. Yet no sooner did Shane stand up than he found someone pouncing on his back!
"Got you!" Joshua laughed, taking this 'playing' to an all new level as he wrapped his arms and legs tightly around Shane's upper body and waistline. Try as he might with his power, Shane had a devil of a time even getting a firm grasp on the teen to pry him loose!
"Oy! Ow!" Shane yelled, trying to dislodge the little 'spider monkey'. "Cut it out!"
"Don't hurt him, Shane!" Synn called from the outside as he watched in amusement, despite himself.
"Hurt him!?" Shane called, and caught a small fist swung around from behind and right into his nose. "What about me!?"
Gabriel stepped up on Synn's left side, watching and wincing, despite the smile he had on his face in what was unfolding before him.</color>
"Yes, it's hard to believe that at one point, Despayre was not meant to become the success he is today. It's even more mind boggling to know that at the start, Gabriel had little to no desire to be around him. He thought Despayre was a menace and too dangerous to be near, but that's a tale to be told on another day. For now, suffice to say, a friendship was indeed started that day once the two were brought into one another's lives, even though it was known to perhaps just the one."
"But you wouldn't know about such things, now would you, J2H? Your idea of a friendship is one that you can purchase, rent or manipulate. Simpson is not your friend. I seriously doubt he even likes you. He's an employee. A stooge, and nothing more. Why he puts up with you is beyond me. He could easily get a better job to a nicer employer than what you give him, but that's neither here nor there."
"The person next closest to you is Austin Parker, and I imagine the man doesn't have to like you in order to be responsible for you. Because that's all he is; responsible. He took you under his wing. He trained you to actually have the ability to back up that mouth of yours. Until he did that, all you were in the ring was a joke. All the success you had up until recently was either by luck or because of the actions of another. You are so desperate to keep to yourself, you would go and hurt those who actually do care about you. Despayre? Of course he cared about you. he actually liked you -- why though is beyond me! But you made it clear only too recently that you are less than interested in a friendship with him. That will be your own mistake in the end."
"And the way you treat a mutual 'friend' in Miss Melody Grace?"</color>
Melody Grace, professional wrestling's ultimate #1 fan girl.
She started off as a fan of none other than Odette Ryder-Stevens, now the wife of Gabriel, who we met before. But Melody kick started her SCW notoriety as the biggest fan of Odette, and then by proxy, thanks to her friendship with Odette and Odette's marriage to Gabriel, Melody came into contact with none other than Despayre. It is cute to acknowledge that at this point in time, Melody carried something of a torch for the mentally challenged youth.
"Hi!" Melody called with delight in her voice as she skipped over to where Despayre sat at the table in the hotel lobby. She landed with a light thud on both feet, and leaned in a bit too close for Despayre's comfort. "What're you doing?" She asked in all innocence as she could plainly see he was playing checkers with Angel -- and losing badly. Despayre jumped at this stranger just popping in, and the closer she got, the further he leaned away -- until his chair tipped over and it (and he) spilled onto the floor!</color>
"Despayre, or Joshua, doesn't make friends very easily. It's simply his nature to be cautious and afraid. You can count on one hand the number of people that Despayre might consider and honest and for true 'friend', and all of the members of the Sins can't be guaranteed a spot. And while Synn is his dad, and Gabriel more than a mere friend and more so a 'big brother,' one of the select few that has endeared themselves to this young man is Melody Grace."
"With a fun loving and quirky personality, Melody seemed only to naturally assert herself as a cohort in whatever schemes and fun there was to be had for Despayre and Angel. If you listen to Rage, this pair (or trio) were a trouble making tandem that could wreak havoc wherever they went. Synn openly stated that when one would say to the other "You know what we should do?" were words often to cause fret."
"But she is a friend. her mutual love of Looney Tunes, Skittles and Angel assured that, and your rejection and cruel treatments of her as of late, J2H, have assured that Despayre will step up to defend the honor of his pal. It's simply the natural thing to do. But you wouldn't know too much about that either, would you?"
"Melody played 'dress up' and wanted to be a bride. She admitted she was behind that little charade, and she apologized for it, but you continue to torment her, despite the obvious affection she has for you (again, why!?). It was a mistake, a bad one I admit, but it did not warrant the cruelty that you have showered her with since. And Despayre's part? I imagine that is a good deal why you treat him so disdainfully, or is it something more?"
"Could it be that you actually are concerned that Despayre just might be the one person that can do what nobody else has been able to do? That is dethrone you from your perch and walk away with the World Championship? I think it does. You'd think a smart man would want to befriend the one who is an actual threat to them, but nobody ever accused you of being very smart."
"Yes indeedy, he is a threat. You'll come to find that out soon enough, worse than the times you've met before. But not for the reasons you may think. The World title isn't his highest priority, but his friends are, and you caused quite the storm when you kept making Melody cry and feel bad about herself. Think back, J2H. The first time you met one on one, you two could not beat each other, but unlike you, Despayre has beaten you. Six-Man Tag? Ring a bell? And whereas he might not care if he ever becomes World Champion, he'll now do it if it means hurting you, and that is exactly what he wants to do. Trust me."
"And Crystal Millar? You played your part beautifully, I must admit. You used Despayre like a pro to get where you are, and then showed your true colors, just like a snake. Even though you take credit for all the work your team endured to win Blast From the Past IV, your only win was the last one. You never would have gotten that victory, if it hadn't been for the three other wins credited to Despayre and Despayre alone. You're a liar and a two faced hypocrite. A bully who can't stand having her own tactics used against her. A woman who cries foul when her own misdeeds are turned against her. Be grateful Despayre is a gentleman, otherwise you'd have much more to worry about than Samantha Marlowe wiping you all over the mat like a fine Picasso."
"You are mean and vile, and if I am going to be honest, you're not all that in the looks department either. But your vanity will be your own undoing. You manipulating Despayre into thinking you were a friend, only to turn and hurt him? That will come back and bite you in the fanny. It already has when Mikah whooped your behind, and it will when Sam Marlowe gets hold of you too."
"How can I be so sure of these things? It's simple."</color>
"There you are!" Despayre huffed as he walked into the sleeping area of his hotel suite that he shared with his father. He walked across the room to his bed where Angel the teddy bear was perched back against a pile of pillows, with Synn's camcorder stationed on another pillow in front of him.
"What are you doing? Shooting a promo for me?" Despayre asked. "I hope it's a good one! I really want to win!"
Despayre picked up Angel and reached over for the camera...</color>
"Simple. Ask Despy: I'm never wrong."</color>
**static**</color>
