Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2015 19:32:35 GMT -6
Nathan stood in the gym after his last sparring session and looked at the new belt the courier had brought. The old belt, still carefully wrapped in plastic, had left with the courier, to go back to New Edge’s corporate HQ, where Nathan was reasonably sure Jesse would have the thing destroyed or set aside or something. The bottom line was that Nathan had gotten his wish. A brand new title belt and now, before him, stood the next leg of his challenge. Rebuilding the World Title’s prestige and credibility. To make it mean something.
That was the difference here. He had a goal in mind. A duty. A mission. Valora may think she had the same.thing but what did she have? She had desperation. A need to have the belt like a drug addict needed their next fit. And just like a drug addict, she was willing to do anything for said fix and was destroying herself in her quest for it. She was also distracted. Her relationship with Rob Riot was becoming more and more known and the connections that Valora wanted so badly to avoid to keep herself from being vulnerable were now open. As a priest, there were so many, many things he could do to make the lives of Hunter Valentyne and Rob Riot miserable. Hell, even if he wasn’t still a priest, he had options open to him. The bottom line was that Valora was now vulnerable. She was distracted. She was unstable and that made her very dangerous true, but it also made her very susceptible to mistakes..Mistakes like she made in the World Title match, mistakes like teaming up with Apathy rather a person she currently had better chemistry with in Rob Riot. Mistakes like siding with Al Envy and Jesse Styles and thinking they wouldn’t throw her under the bus at the first time it was expedient for them to do so. Mistakes like risking her career in her desperate need to prove something that she had no real need to prove.
His thoughts were interrupted by Tera walking over to him and looking over at the belt and raising an eyebrow. “You got that interview dun forget.. 10 questions or what not and then we gotta get ready for the parade. I picked up some flyers and we have autographed pictures and the like to hand out. Ready to go?”
Nathan nodded. He had forgotten about the interview. Part of being the World Champ. New Edge’s website was starting a new piece to help fans get to know the wrestlers better and while it was technically an optional exercise, for those who held titles, especially the big titles like the World title and TA title, it was more or less expected. Part of being Champion meant being a leader and helping the company. More than that, it was an opportunity for Nathan as well. People liked him. He had a big fan base. Fans, as always, wanted to know more about their heroes. This was a golden opportunity for Nathan and he had no intention of passing it up.
A couple of hours later saw Nathan and Tera walking out of New HQ where the interview had taken place. The look on Nathan’s face was nearly emotionless, but it was just barely visible that the Irishman was irritated. Tera was not so composed. “Did you hear him? As if you and I would be romantically involved?!”
Nathan took a deep breath. “We’re in New Edge, Tera. Everyone is having sex with someone so they naturally expect that I’m part of the norm. I made our relationship clear. That’s the end of it.”
Tera walked around and turned to face him, walking backwards as she did so until Nathan stopped and thus so did she. “No Nate. By dignifying the question with an answer, you fed it a bit. There will still be talk about it.. Course, not that you could have ignored the damned question either… just… I cannae believe people are that sick to think you and I might actually be doin’ something… Firstly, it’d violate your vows, both as a priest and the ones you made to Amy.”
Nathan thinks for a second as the two of them start walking again before nodding as they get into their car, preparing to head off for the next stop. Before starting the car up, Nathan paused and turned to Tera. “What do you think she would think? About the vow? About becoming a priest?”
Tera sighed. “Nate… you know damn well she thought. She told you she wanted you to be happy, and that if you found love with someone else to go for it, that she’d be waiting for you when your time came. Given her religion, I’m not sure she’d approve of you siding with the Church, but the work you do makes a difference and I think she’d at least respect that. I just wanna know where someone gets a idea like you and me bein’ intimate from.”
Nathan shrugged. “That’s easy. You’re a beautiful woman, Given my past and how much time we spend together, the rumor writes itself.” Nathan said as he started the car and the pair drove off. As they drove, Nathan’s phone beeped and so he pulled it from his pocket and handed it to Tera who checked the message. ‘It’s that damn Twitter thing.. Valora says Happy St. Patrick’s Day, this time it’ll be pagans massacring the Christians.. she’s a pagan?”
Nathan nods. “Used to be Catholic, but sometime during her wrestling career she embraced her Aztec heritage. I guess she chose to adopt their religion too. Let her talk. She’s already lost this match, she just hasn’t realized it yet.”
A short while later, Nathan and Tera were at the starting point of the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade that goes through Downtown Chicago. The weather was nice on the Saturday afternoon and with the Shannon Rovers marching down the street playing their bagpipes, drums and similar instruments, various Chicagoland schools that teach Irish dancing showing off their skills as they had their girls out dancing traditional Irish dances and jigs. And other attractions moving down the street, the big crowd was fully into it as well, a veritable sea of green as everyone in Chicago seemed to be Irish, at least for the weekend. Nathan and Tera marched with a small contingent from New Edge Wrestling, Tera, every so often showing off her own Irish dancing skills and both her and Nathan would at times move close to the crowd, shaking hands, passing out signed pictures and flyers, advertising Ignite as well as the upcoming Pay Per View. As he marched, Nathan had the New Edge World Title out and over his shoulder, lifting it over his head and showing off to the crowd every so often, bringing a big cheer from the crowd, the Irish fans obviously pleased with an Irish champion.
At one point while near the crowd, shaking hands, Nathan looked up and caught a glimpse of Rob Riot and a woman that looked like she might be Valora but she was dressed much too professionally and clean for Valora. And she didn’t have Valora’s trademark blue streaks in her hair. Nathan nudged Tera and gestured over towards the sight. Tera looked and raised an eyebrow. “Well now, we have guests.” Nathan nods. “Seems so. Oh well, let Rob Riot and his babysitter enjoy the party. I always love St. Patrick’s Day. The perfect reminder to the British that they failed to destroy our culture and heritage. Our island might be small but 70 Million people claim Irish heritage.” Nathan says as he and Tera move back towards the middle of the parade and Nathan speaks softly to Tera, the noise of the parade ensuring only she hears the next part. “Yet another thing Valora doesn’t understand. She isn’t the only one competing and fighting for National pride. But Valora tries to have it both ways. Mexican and American. I’m Irish and that’s all I need to be. All I’ll ever need to be.” Tera nodded and the continued their business, and, as promised, after the Parade ended, Nathan made himself available to take pictures with, sign autographs and did a few meet and greets with fans.
By the end of the day, Nathan was glad to get back to the hotel room Training, dealing with the rigors of building up the title out of the ring and preparing for the two tough in ring challenges he had coming up were definitely enough to wear one out. Taking the belt off his shoulder, Nathan carefully rested it on the counter, taking one last look at it for the night. World Champion. He had finally made it. People asked about the New Guard. People likely wondered what he meant by his claim of being held aside and kept out of things, denied a chance at glory. He and Valora had been in New Edge about the same length of time. Valora had many more shots at this belt than he had, but it had taken her 4 tries to win the World title. It had taken Nathan only 2. Valora had lost her title the week after she won it. Nathan planned to break the so called curse of champions losing the belt their first defense. Valora was a Hall of Famer. Nathan wasn’t currently even mentioned as a contender for that honor. But he would be.
It wasn’t that Valora wasn’t talented. She was. She deserved the honors she had, the way she had gotten them though.. there was the problem… but it was also Nathan’s advantage. Valora had to win the belt. She was desperate and she was getting more reckless…
All Nathan had to do was wait for the one mistake and Valora would end up on the mat wondering what the hell had just hit her.
That was the difference here. He had a goal in mind. A duty. A mission. Valora may think she had the same.thing but what did she have? She had desperation. A need to have the belt like a drug addict needed their next fit. And just like a drug addict, she was willing to do anything for said fix and was destroying herself in her quest for it. She was also distracted. Her relationship with Rob Riot was becoming more and more known and the connections that Valora wanted so badly to avoid to keep herself from being vulnerable were now open. As a priest, there were so many, many things he could do to make the lives of Hunter Valentyne and Rob Riot miserable. Hell, even if he wasn’t still a priest, he had options open to him. The bottom line was that Valora was now vulnerable. She was distracted. She was unstable and that made her very dangerous true, but it also made her very susceptible to mistakes..Mistakes like she made in the World Title match, mistakes like teaming up with Apathy rather a person she currently had better chemistry with in Rob Riot. Mistakes like siding with Al Envy and Jesse Styles and thinking they wouldn’t throw her under the bus at the first time it was expedient for them to do so. Mistakes like risking her career in her desperate need to prove something that she had no real need to prove.
His thoughts were interrupted by Tera walking over to him and looking over at the belt and raising an eyebrow. “You got that interview dun forget.. 10 questions or what not and then we gotta get ready for the parade. I picked up some flyers and we have autographed pictures and the like to hand out. Ready to go?”
Nathan nodded. He had forgotten about the interview. Part of being the World Champ. New Edge’s website was starting a new piece to help fans get to know the wrestlers better and while it was technically an optional exercise, for those who held titles, especially the big titles like the World title and TA title, it was more or less expected. Part of being Champion meant being a leader and helping the company. More than that, it was an opportunity for Nathan as well. People liked him. He had a big fan base. Fans, as always, wanted to know more about their heroes. This was a golden opportunity for Nathan and he had no intention of passing it up.
A couple of hours later saw Nathan and Tera walking out of New HQ where the interview had taken place. The look on Nathan’s face was nearly emotionless, but it was just barely visible that the Irishman was irritated. Tera was not so composed. “Did you hear him? As if you and I would be romantically involved?!”
Nathan took a deep breath. “We’re in New Edge, Tera. Everyone is having sex with someone so they naturally expect that I’m part of the norm. I made our relationship clear. That’s the end of it.”
Tera walked around and turned to face him, walking backwards as she did so until Nathan stopped and thus so did she. “No Nate. By dignifying the question with an answer, you fed it a bit. There will still be talk about it.. Course, not that you could have ignored the damned question either… just… I cannae believe people are that sick to think you and I might actually be doin’ something… Firstly, it’d violate your vows, both as a priest and the ones you made to Amy.”
Nathan thinks for a second as the two of them start walking again before nodding as they get into their car, preparing to head off for the next stop. Before starting the car up, Nathan paused and turned to Tera. “What do you think she would think? About the vow? About becoming a priest?”
Tera sighed. “Nate… you know damn well she thought. She told you she wanted you to be happy, and that if you found love with someone else to go for it, that she’d be waiting for you when your time came. Given her religion, I’m not sure she’d approve of you siding with the Church, but the work you do makes a difference and I think she’d at least respect that. I just wanna know where someone gets a idea like you and me bein’ intimate from.”
Nathan shrugged. “That’s easy. You’re a beautiful woman, Given my past and how much time we spend together, the rumor writes itself.” Nathan said as he started the car and the pair drove off. As they drove, Nathan’s phone beeped and so he pulled it from his pocket and handed it to Tera who checked the message. ‘It’s that damn Twitter thing.. Valora says Happy St. Patrick’s Day, this time it’ll be pagans massacring the Christians.. she’s a pagan?”
Nathan nods. “Used to be Catholic, but sometime during her wrestling career she embraced her Aztec heritage. I guess she chose to adopt their religion too. Let her talk. She’s already lost this match, she just hasn’t realized it yet.”
A short while later, Nathan and Tera were at the starting point of the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade that goes through Downtown Chicago. The weather was nice on the Saturday afternoon and with the Shannon Rovers marching down the street playing their bagpipes, drums and similar instruments, various Chicagoland schools that teach Irish dancing showing off their skills as they had their girls out dancing traditional Irish dances and jigs. And other attractions moving down the street, the big crowd was fully into it as well, a veritable sea of green as everyone in Chicago seemed to be Irish, at least for the weekend. Nathan and Tera marched with a small contingent from New Edge Wrestling, Tera, every so often showing off her own Irish dancing skills and both her and Nathan would at times move close to the crowd, shaking hands, passing out signed pictures and flyers, advertising Ignite as well as the upcoming Pay Per View. As he marched, Nathan had the New Edge World Title out and over his shoulder, lifting it over his head and showing off to the crowd every so often, bringing a big cheer from the crowd, the Irish fans obviously pleased with an Irish champion.
At one point while near the crowd, shaking hands, Nathan looked up and caught a glimpse of Rob Riot and a woman that looked like she might be Valora but she was dressed much too professionally and clean for Valora. And she didn’t have Valora’s trademark blue streaks in her hair. Nathan nudged Tera and gestured over towards the sight. Tera looked and raised an eyebrow. “Well now, we have guests.” Nathan nods. “Seems so. Oh well, let Rob Riot and his babysitter enjoy the party. I always love St. Patrick’s Day. The perfect reminder to the British that they failed to destroy our culture and heritage. Our island might be small but 70 Million people claim Irish heritage.” Nathan says as he and Tera move back towards the middle of the parade and Nathan speaks softly to Tera, the noise of the parade ensuring only she hears the next part. “Yet another thing Valora doesn’t understand. She isn’t the only one competing and fighting for National pride. But Valora tries to have it both ways. Mexican and American. I’m Irish and that’s all I need to be. All I’ll ever need to be.” Tera nodded and the continued their business, and, as promised, after the Parade ended, Nathan made himself available to take pictures with, sign autographs and did a few meet and greets with fans.
By the end of the day, Nathan was glad to get back to the hotel room Training, dealing with the rigors of building up the title out of the ring and preparing for the two tough in ring challenges he had coming up were definitely enough to wear one out. Taking the belt off his shoulder, Nathan carefully rested it on the counter, taking one last look at it for the night. World Champion. He had finally made it. People asked about the New Guard. People likely wondered what he meant by his claim of being held aside and kept out of things, denied a chance at glory. He and Valora had been in New Edge about the same length of time. Valora had many more shots at this belt than he had, but it had taken her 4 tries to win the World title. It had taken Nathan only 2. Valora had lost her title the week after she won it. Nathan planned to break the so called curse of champions losing the belt their first defense. Valora was a Hall of Famer. Nathan wasn’t currently even mentioned as a contender for that honor. But he would be.
It wasn’t that Valora wasn’t talented. She was. She deserved the honors she had, the way she had gotten them though.. there was the problem… but it was also Nathan’s advantage. Valora had to win the belt. She was desperate and she was getting more reckless…
All Nathan had to do was wait for the one mistake and Valora would end up on the mat wondering what the hell had just hit her.