Failure To Launch

Kyoto, Japan - Sunday - 1:30 p.m. - AFW Tension Fitness Center

With a small radio playing [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjj4hk0pV4:itvoayr6]"N.Y. State of Mind" by Nas,[/url:itvoayr6] Clyde Gastin, a once notorious alcoholic, was now completely sober and engaged to Heather Sunderland. But today was different, today he wasn't sitting around, he was trying to re-train himself, recover from his injuries and get back into the ring. His day at the gym began with him just bashing the heavy bag with his bare knuckles, making them red with every punch he landed, punching away all the frustrations he felt with getting picked apart so easily by Nha, Sha & Rika.

Clyde battered the heavy bag over and over, making it rock back with every punch he gave until he finally stopped and held his sore knuckles, massaging them before going to sit down on a nearby bench, wrapping them up with tape before reaching into a small bag to pull out a whole gallon of milk that he began to drink. It wasn't long though before he attracted the attention of a few people, a couple of older and taller males and a short female who were laughing from far away, mocking Clyde.

"Aww... Is the Wittle Whiped Champ Drinking Milky Wilky Like a Wittle Baby now?" "Awww Lookie... The Champ's all alone..." "What's the matter Gastin? Got your ass kicked in a bar now you don't drink anymore?" They'd ramble on and on, prompting a scowling Clyde to just flip them the bird without taking his lips off the carton of milk, earning the wrath of one of the three who approached Clyde and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt, getting right in his face.

"You got somethin' to say ya little punk!?!?" The taller, older wrestler would yell before Clyde suddenly spat in the man's eye and suddenly headbutted him, sending him falling onto the ground, clutching his forehead that had been cut."Lucky I didn't have a cigarette to spit in that goddamn eye, Muthafucker!!" Clyde would declare while the other two began to approach Clyde menacingly. "Fuck! Let's get this sonovabitch!" they'd yell with their fists up, ready to attack Clyde while he sat on the bench, unable to rise up quickly.

Since Heather had 'reunited' with Clyde after his being in a coma for such a long time, it felt like the two were really getting things back on track easily. They had reconciled after a slight misunderstanding, and Heather had in her mind solved another one of the problems that seemed to be nagging at her. Inside she still felt slightly bad about forcing what she did on him, but she felt like in the end it was all for the better.

This evening though, she knew that Clyde was going to train to recover himself from the coma that he had suffered through. The AFW training facility was one of the best places around and she knew that that's where he had to have went. She told herself she would let him be, but in the end she decided that she wanted to check up on him and see how he was doing. She figured it couldn't hurt and if he needed some help, she couldn't think of anyone better than herself to be his personal trainer.

Before she took off for the facility, she got herself all up and ready, preparing a sort of surprise for Clyde. "He better be happy"



She had remembered him saying how much he liked her old look and decided to go out and find something similar. However this time she put her own new twist on it, making sure the colors were alot less vibrant than they used to be, going with a nice darker tone instead. Nodding to herself, she would take off, heading to AFW's training facility as quickly as she could, almost excited for what was to come. As she pulled up and walked in however, what she saw was something she definitely wasn't expecting.

She would watch as a taller man approached Clyde before he would spit at him and headbutt him. She didn't know the details but she shook her head as two other wrestlers seemed to step up to him, clenching their fists, seemingly ready for a fight. Heather knew Clyde was still in no condition for one, especially against three people, so she knew she had to do something quick.

"Hey!" Heather would yell out towards the small gathering as she would walk up to them, behind the two wrestlers that were standing up. She crossed her arms, glaring at them both and tapping her foot. "So what the hell is going on here? I suggest all three of you leave the goddamned injured guy alone before I make sure the three of you are hurting more than he is.."

After giving a hard headbutt to one of the three thugs that were bothering him, Clyde would glare at the other two before setting down his gallon of milk, ready to fight them all off even though internally he was afraid now. He was generally afraid of taking on another group alone in his current state. In his mind he feared that another triple team beat down meant he was to go back into a coma and his hospital bill would add up. But the worse thing for him would be worrying Heather.

But like an angel descending from the heavens above to save him from judgement, Heather appeared from out of nowhere, saving Clyde from the three angry thuggish wrestlers. "H-Heather!?" Gasped Clyde in great surprise upon seeing Heather, not expecting her to be here at all, or in that type of attire that reminded him of her old look when they first met. Either way, Clyde was happy to see Heather.

"Shit! It's that bitch who beat Conway!" All female would gasp before all three wrestlers glared at Heather & Clyde, growling and gritting their teeth at them like a pack of hungry wolves before backing away and leaving the two alone, making their way towards the front door. "We'll be back, Gastin!" They'd shout before leaving the gym.

After seeing the trio leave, Clyde let out a relived sigh before taking a long swig from his carton of milk, guzzling it down until a milk mustache grazed his lips, which he'd wipe off before slowly forcing himself to stand on his feet, looking at Heather.

"Come to save me again, darlin'?" He'd ask her playfully with a grin before slowly staggering over towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist, looking her in the eyes. "Im uhh... Really diggin' the New-Old look too..." He'd comment with a smile. "First day tradin' beer in for milk and Im already gettin' in trouble... Can ya believe it?"

Heather would hear Clyde's saying her name and gasping as she glared at the three wrestlers that were menacingly advancing towards Clyde. She would glance over at him quickly, checking to make sure nothing was too wrong with him. She didn't know what had happened before or how long it has been going on, but it seemed like she got there just in time before anything happened as he seemed fine.

As the females in the room would gasp, and Heather heard what the one said, Heather would click her tongue, holding in what she felt about that. She did what she had to, but hearing people's reactions to just seeing her after all that sort of set her off a bit. It certainly wasn't something she wanted to be known or feared for or anything like that, but it seems like that must have been the case.

She would watch as the three wrestlers glared at her and Clyde, gritting their teeth before backing away and leaving. She would close her eyes and let out a sigh, ignoring their shout at Clyde as she would shake her head. She would watch Clyde guzzle down his milk and would smile slightly before he would force himself to his feet, staggering towards her.

"When you're walking around on spaghetti legs like you are I know I can't keep you out of my sight for too long." Heather would let out, grinning back at him before he would wrap his arms around her waist. "Well! Glad you like it. Did it for you." Heather would say, letting out a little laugh before she would hear his next words. "That's seriously what this was about...My God people are so stupid. I don't see a thing wrong with that at all." Heather would say, shaking her head as she kept her sight on Clyde's eyes.

"So how are things going with your training? I didn't only come here to save you you know. I came to offer the best training you can get in the world."

"Well I guess Im glad you're as worried as ever about me... I don't like walking like this either..." Clyde would comment to Heather before the two went on about her attire that she chose today, her words causing Clyde to smile wide.

"R-Really? All for me? Heh... Well I gotta say you lookin' mighty sexy in that... Always did look good in black too, I thank ya for thinkin about me though, comin' here to check on me... Love ya." He'd tell her with a wide grin, happy that she'd do that for him even though he began to generally find appreciation for her current attire. Still he was thankful and liked her look today and would kiss her softly for going out of her way to do this for him.

Later, Heather went on about the reasons why the 3 other wrestlers confronted him, earning a clear frown on Clyde's face as he discussed the reason. "That... And prolly cuz I got my ass kicked babe... I... I can't lie... I was scared to fight another group again... Like they'll just pick me apart. Heh... Can you believe it? Me? Scared now? God... What did they do to me?" Clyde would muse to Heather with half laugh while his head hung down, generally still bothered by the horrid beating that he was still feeling after nearly 2 months.

His mood would perk up though upon hearing Heather's other words, along with her statement that followed. "Training... Well I punched the bag till my knuckles turned red..." Muttered Clyde with a laugh before showing Heather his taped up right hand. He would raise an eyebrow and perk his head up though when he heard Heather's next statement, about ready to answer before deciding to joke with her.

"You got me Micky from The Rocky Movies?" He'd ask her bluntly.

"Right well..It shouldn't be too long. I'm glad you're out here training to get yourself better." Heather would say, nodding her head at his words. She was just as down about his condition as he was. She couldn't wait for him to recover and be back to his self, wrestling in the ring just like he used to.

"Hah, Well of course, that goes without saying. All the other girls wish that they could be like this." Heather would say with a grin to his complimenting her on how she looked. She would puff out her chest slightly as he held her, messing with him a bit before he would lean in towards her, kissing her, which she would immediately return just as well.

Talking about his confrontation with the wrestlers from earlier, she would watch the frown on his face before he went to respond to what she said. "Look..in the end, they are just a bunch of jealous idiots. They WISH they would be able to just come here and train again after taking such a beating. As for you being scared, don't worry about it, honestly I'm glad you were. Maybe that feeling will get you out of trouble a bit before we get you back into shape." Heather would say, winking at him teasingly.

"Punching the bag? Well..I guess that's something, but you can't do just that" Heather would say, shaking her head as she saw his taped up hand. As he responded to her words however with the joke, she would pout and push him away slightly, crossing her arms. "Obviously not you idiot! I'm talking about me!" Heather would say, still with the pout on her face as she stood looking at him with her arms crossed.

"Ha! You're glad im actually scared about gettin' triple teamed just 'cuz it might keep me outta trouble!? Geez Heather..." Clyde would mutter out with a laugh, smirking at Heather after that teasing wink she gave him, which caught his eye quite fondly. His smirk would fade though when Heather talked about his current training methods, as they seemed to work for a majority of his time in AFW.

"It's... Kinda all I've been doin' to be honest... It's all I know..." He'd tell her with a nervous grin before making that remark about getting trained by Mickey from the Rocky Movies, earning that pout from Heather which caused Clyde to laugh aloud after he purposely teased Heather. Even when he was pushed away by her, Clyde continued to laugh and grin in amusement.

"You know... You're really cute when ya get all pouty like that..." He'd tell her with a warm smile before hearing her next couple of words that had her mention herself as his trainer.

"Y-You...?" Clyde would say in a started manner but was generally glad to hear that from Heather. "...Sweet!" He'd mutter out before thinking more about Heather training him. Prompting him to ask a question. "...So wait... H-How are we doin' this? Are you just gettin' me back in shape or are ya teachin' me some moves?" He'd ask her curiously.

"Yup!" Heather would say, nodding her head at Clyde's words as he laughed and smirked at her teasing wink, though it seemed that she got to him when she talked about his training methods. "Well that's gonna be a problem now isn't it." Heather would say, letting out a small sigh.

As she pouted and pushed away from him though, his laughing would just cause her to turn slightly red from frustration. "Sh-shut up! It's not funny and I'm not being cute!" Heather would let out, still with her arms crossed as he teased her a bit. She would stomp her foot slightly, almost regretting offering the training to Clyde before she would hear what he said next.

Letting out a sigh as she heard his reaction to her training him, she would shake her head and a small smile would appear back on her face. "Well I'm glad you're happy. I've never trained anybody before, but I assure you I'll make sure you're well prepared to get back into that ring when the time comes!" Heather would say with a confident nod before she would hear his next question.

"Well..a little of both I guess, but more so teaching you some moves. You said..you only know punches. Thats...I mean I'm sure you're good at it but you need a bit more. Something more exciting..some stuff that will stun your opponent while dealing huge amounts of damage to them. When it comes to that, I'm certainly the best! All of my moves will train your body too, so we'll be getting you back into shape as well! By the end of the day, you'll be as ready as you'll ever be!"

"Well punches ain't all I know! It's just... All I practice... I mean I don't know how else to train other than that... I know a couple other moves though! I know the uhh... The Sharpshooter!" Said Clyde with a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of his head, generally embarrassed that he had such a small library of moves, but was able to mention his number 1 submission maneuver, but generally did not know what Heather meant by more exiting moves until Heather went on about how those exiting, stunning moves were her specialty.

"Wait... You want me to learn the moves you use?" Clyde would say with his eyes wide, almost groaning out this statement in frustration and slight fear. "Do you even remember the last time I tired to copy one of your moves? I think I'm still feelin' that one... Dang Ol' GastinFault..." Mutterd Clyde bitterly while rubbing the back of his neck where he had once landed the last time he attempted and botched an attempt to copy Heather's Sundersault manunver.

Heather would cross her arms again, waiting patiently as Clyde spoke. She knew what his statement was going to turn out to, but she listened through, just because of how much it amused her. "The Sharpshooter huh? I'd love for you to find me someone who can't do one of those." Heather would say, getting him back slightly for the teasing that he just gave her earlier as she would let out a small laugh.

"That's right! My moves!" Heather would say, smiling wide and nodding her head before she would hear his groan and what he said next. "Hey! Knock that off! You only tried that once and that was just from observing..but that's my finisher so it's understandable that only I could pull it off perfectly." Heather would say, laughing a bit as she looked over at the ring in the training facility.

"Ok! No time to waste Clyde! Let's get to it! Can't do it here, we need that ring to do my moves." Heather would let out, laughing aloud with her hands on her hips as she walked over to the ring, clearly overly excited about training Clyde.