Rouge Hall, the largest of all party venues in France, where only the biggest names in France, no, the world could even think of affording to even rent it for only a few hours. It was a banquet like no other befitting of the night's guest of honor, none other than its hometown son, a professional wrestler, and a french diplomat. One whose announcement of him holding a party was enough to be spread three whole countries over, but one only French's finest could enter. Billionaires, celebrities, political, and military figures. All of them had gathered there to celebrate The Class Act as he walked into his first ever pay-per-view match in nearly years, as well as for other reasons.
Everywhere you looked, there was a different name you could all recognize. Entrepeneur Nathaniel Comier stood by the dance floor, stealing a dance from the girl on channel thirty-three, while his younger brother, esteemed science fiction author Desmond Comier was over by the concessions, helping himself to his third blini with sour cream and caviar. Over by the pool table was collector and one of his good friends, Minnie Holiday, taking sip of her martini, as she waited for her next victim to play their shot. But the man of the hour, was definitely its host, Xander LeBelle, who sat right up against the back wall to the building at a table, being fed attention and praise from just about everyone as they walked through the doors. And at his side, happily introducing himself to everyone was Andrew Adonis. The two of them had been so busy talking to others, it almost caught Xander off guard when Andrew finally said something to his client in his honeyed New Yorker tone.
"Quite a party, am I right?" Adonis asked his client. A faint grin crossed his chiseled features.
"My favorite kind of parties. I've held annual parties similar to these every year since I was a teenager" Xander said, smirking. "Tell me, Andrew. Have you ever seen a celebration quite as large as this one?"
"Buddy, there are more stars here than the Walk of Fame," the agent replied. In a swift motion he plucked a Vienna sausage from a passing waiter who was carrying a tray of hors d'oeuvres. The manager swallowed the tiny link in one bite. "Never say you don't know how to pick 'em."
Xander laughed.
"Enjoy it. The both of us will have our work ahead of us at Unscripted."
Xander sighed, before taking a quick sip of his glass of his Domaine Leflaive.
"...Tag matches." Xander scoffed. "I suppose it is a good thing that I am a former tag team champion.Although I have to wonder if I would have be easier trying to fight my opponents one-on-two than it would be to attempt to tame The Serpent."
"Never turn down a friend, guy," Adonis said, chewing on his toothpick. "You never know who could be walking down that aisle. Could be Saxoteur. Could be Technosa. Could be Kravinoff and his clone. Maybe Ty and his little masked lackey are worming their way back in. Hell, could it be The Devilspawns?"
Adonis amused himself with the mental image for a moment before continuing.
"Still, kid, I know exactly what you're saying. You can't trust a snake."
"I would say so. The serpent is an interesting symbol, one that represents both life and death, but also vengeance. A serpent can kill you in a heartbeat the second it feels threatened. While I doubt the surname of 'Serpiente' is literal, outside of her entering with a snake, it may help if we were to draw out her poison, so to speak."
Xander raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if Adonis knew just what he meant. Adonis smirked.
"Buddy, I make a living out of giving people that last little push."
"You know of how I enjoy the company of a nice lady, but I have absolutely no stakes in whether or not she sinks nor swims in WZCW. She could be ouroboros, eternal and iconic, or she could disappear off the face of the planet, but as long as she's stuck with me, my reputation all lies on her doing her part. If she costs us a victory, let us just say a shot at the tag team championships could never get me to willingly stay by her side ever again."
"And that is why we're partners, pal." Adonis flicked his toothpick into a nearby wastepaper basket. "You want to succeed in this place, you gotta be able to make the tough decisions and you gotta be able to make 'em instantly. There's a reason you're the World's Greatest Mind, kid!"
Adonis shifted the sleeve of his gold suit to look at his watch.
"And speaking of snap decisions, I think now's a good a time as any..."
In a single motion, Adonis grabbed a champagne flute from another passing waiter. Holding it high, he struck the glass with his index fingernail. A cold, clear tone echoed across the party, causing the distinguished guests to fall silent and turn to the host and his manager expectantly.
"Folks," he began, holding his arms wide theatrically, "I think I'm gonna have to do the party thing and propose a toast."
The gaggle of esteemed members of society tittered amongst themselves. Adonis continued.
"As you know, I'm a guy who says what he needs to, when he needs to. I'm a guy who knows how to pick his words and lay 'em out for you straight. And that's why I'm gonna be telling you all a little story, a story about what happened just last week on Meltdown."
As he spoke, Adonis and LeBelle made their way to the front of the room, all eyes on their radiance.
"Last week, as I was out at ringside supporting this man, the man of the hour and the smartest man the world has ever known, Xander LeBelle, during his match against that Bollywood baby, Veejay, I heard the greatest damn news of my life."
Adonis's sunglasses caught the light as he grinned.
"Lemme lay it out to you, folks. I'm standing at ringside, doing my job, when over my shoulder..."
His voice drops into a spot-on Sebastian Copeland expression.
"'Xander LeBelle has been on a winning streak since he has returned to WZCW.' Why, I could hardly believe our luck!"
The fashionable crowd murmurs.
"You noticed it, too, didn't you? Of course you did, you're all smart to the ways this place works. That's right, folks. A winning streak. And you know, they're damn right it's a winning streak! Think about it! He's beat Tony. He's beat Veejay. That's a winning streak if ever I've seen one, and just to make it official, the top brass at the company finally saw sense, and maybe a few dollar signs, and expunged that tainted victory that clown Cooper holds against my client. And why wouldn't they? No wonder they're saying this kid's on a winning streak. You can't fight facts, folks."
Adonis grinned, his pearly-whites flashing in the glow of the chandelier. Some of the upper class seemed a little restless, but most were still enraptured by the performance.
"And that's why I've decided to liven things up again. This may be a party for Xander LeBelle, but this toast is to so much more."
At a hand signal, Xander raised his cane up and slammed it on the floor, his wicked grin plastered on his face. There was a loud popping noise as banners unfurled from the ceiling and confetti drifted down onto the crowd. Many of them shuffled around and craned their necks to read the signs, but Adonis beat them to it.
"Folks, this isn't just a toast to Xander LeBelle. This is a toast to The Undefeated Xander LeBelle. The class act, lightning in a bottle, and a bona fide star. Cheers!"
Andrew Adonis raised his champagne glass high and with a cheer the assorted guests did the same. With a resounding cheers, they all drank to Xander's health. Although just as quickly as they returned to the party, did they fall silent once again as Xander stood up and cleared his throat.
"Let us give a warm applause for my manager, Mister Andrew Adonis, for that spectacular speech." Xander said, hands presenting Adonis for a change.
The crowd of Xander's friends erupted in a cheer for the Golden suit wearing, loud talking American.
"However, I have one last thing I wish to get off of my chest." Xander added. "My rise to stardom back in the year of 2012 was one worthy of the silver screen, but nothing will ever compare to what great lengths I will achieve in 2016, and beyond. There was so much I could have done were I not held back by the commitment I held towards that wretched piece of fabric. Numerous Championships, multiple different achievements, perhaps even headlining Kingdom Come. I had achieved so much in what little time I had in WZCW under the worst years of my life, what I can do now that I am truly myself will be historic. I have said it before, and I shall say it again. The talent of WZCW have no idea just who I am, but soon they will. And when they do, they will have wish that they hadn't. I give it one year before the world sees a new man carrying the company on their back: Titus. Burna. Tastic. Zeus. Stormrage...LeBelle."
Xander raised up his glass once more.
"One last toast, to new beginnings, and goodbye and good riddance to those who wish to hold you back. Adieu."
The crowd erupted once more with a loud Adieu, before tipping back their glasses to take one more drink. Just like the second run of Xander LeBelle and WZCW, the party was just getting started.
