"I woke up," Dominic whispered softly with a smile on his face, as he saw Suki had well already fallen asleep, that contented smile on her face. The poor girl had stayed up so late for him... crying her eyes out and yet never letting herself fall asleep until he woke up...

Dominic closed his eyes in sadness and anger, cursing Absolution for what they'd done to him; what they'd done to the both of them. The emotional distress, the shattering of their security... all in the span of one night, Absolution had tried to take it all away.

Carefully, Dominic reached out for the remote control to the hanging television in the corner, making sure the instant that he turned it on to turn down the volume for Suki. Having finally awoken, Dominic really couldn't get back to sleep-- even as early in the morning as it was. The television flickered to life overhead and a Japanese news station came on, as Dominic smiled sadly to himself.

'We're heading to Korea tomorrow... I never did get to take Suki out with me for one night in Japan, and now it's too late...'

He would have had more time had Absolution not laid him out as they did, and he knew that... and though he cursed them for it, he also knew it best not to seek revenge. Chris said it perfectly to him in his dream, "Just set out to prove how much better you are then them at this thing."

"I've beaten the three of them before..." Dominic muttered to himself, changing the channel now, "I can do it again... I believe in myself, those fans believe in me..."

Yet he knew Absolution had a trump card up their sleeve... the man by the name of Ethan Andrews. A living legend of the NLCW... when they first faced each other, the fans were behind Andrews then. Of course, it was only Dominic's second match here... but the matter still remains: those fans absolutely love Ethan Andrews. Dominic only prayed he'd have their support when he faces that man... he didn't mind if he got the same reaction, but he would hate to have to go against the people he fights so hard for.

Flashbacks of all of his matches in NLCW... he'd only lost three times in his career here. Galen, Durst... and Tyler Scott, the most recent loss caused by the man he would be facing very soon. Dominic closed his eyes, that image of Violent A looking down at him with his sick grin replaying over in his mind.

He hated it.

He hated how Violent A had really seeped his way into his mind, how that little clown bastard somehow was able to take control of what was around Dominic, and completely destroy him in front of all of the fans. Fans who cheered for Ethan Andrews during all of it, fans who watched on as he got annihilated just because Violent A had a greedy lust for his title. A lust that he could only take care of by softening Dominic up for the beating of a life time.

Whatever happened to the days where respect was a little more apparent? When people didn't have to use their allies to take down those held a higher rank above them? The days where if you wanted to fight someone, you didn't start behind their back?

"Where has all the honor gone...?" Dominic whispered to himself, stopping on a Japanese sports channel. He couldn't understand a word coming out of the reporter's mouth-- he couldn't really understand most of the stations, actually-- but he stopped on the channel for some reason, some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint.

Then he heard her say NLCW.

Then... he changed the channel.

Knowing full and well that what next was to be played on that station would likely be a report of the last show NLCW had while visiting Japan, the show where the attack had taken place. There might be some interviews with people backstage, or maybe some home-cut promos taken by wrestlers to send a message to their opponents from the sofa in their apartment room.

Dominic turned his head to the side, looking down at the cold linoleum floor below him in disdain. He was beginning to realize how far and few there were in the NLCW that actually held the same respect for life as he did. As the NLCW's champion, he wasn't out getting drunk or doing drugs like so many had before him... he wasn't sleeping with random women from the places they went, nor was he acting like he was the king of the world.

He respect the title for what it stood for, he respected the men who held it before him, and all that they and the belt had to represent for this company and this business. He held so much respect for the in-ring ability of the champions of the past... but for some, he had no respect for the actions he'd heard they'd taken.

From Dillon Durst walking out after losing the title, to Ethan Andrews abusing everything he could while he was on top.

Dominic lifted his head back towards the glowing television screen, flipping the channel back to that sports station once again, curiosity killing the cat as it always did. It was obvious that whosever promo this was, it had been running for a few minutes. Dominic sighed at the camera quality, shaking his head. It was a grainy picture, not too horrible yet not exactly perfect either. The scene was some sort of bathroom, with grunts and groans coming from one of the stalls. A woman crying out in a foreign language Dominic still couldn't understand, and suddenly Ethan Andrews was back on the screen.

"Alex??" he asked, looking towards the stall. In an instant, Dominic sneered and shut off the television completely, blackening the room in darkness once again. Dominic dropped the remote to the floor and closed his eyes, letting out a disgruntled sigh and shaking his head.

'I don't even want to watch them... it makes me sick. So Violent A's out somewhere screwing a hooker in a bathroom stall? What a way to prepare for our match... have the time of your life while your boys do the grunt work.'

He felt the urge to cry out in frustration and anger, the two feelings swirling about inside of his stomach and bubbling up like an overflowing cauldron within his being, waiting to explode from his mouth and let loose to the world his inner feelings of hatred towards the brothers of Absolution.

The respect was there for their talents and their abilities... but for who they were, all respect had finally fled away; and no amount of respect would ever allow Dominic to forgive them for what they'd done.

His lids beginning to feel heavy again, Dominic closed his eyes with a small yawn and rested his head deeper into the pillow beneath it, his eyes closing as he realized tomorrow morning he'd need to do a whole lot of stretching when he woke up and got out of here. He had a plane for Korea to catch... he'd be lucky to make it to the show on time-- hell, he was already lucky he'd be making it at all.

Out cold for days... hooked up to machines monitoring his health the whole time, all with Suki by his side... every night, forcing herself to stay up in hopes that maybe he'd finally wake up for her. Every night, crying herself to sleep in the early hours of the morning, only to spend the day waiting, praying, hoping for the best.

Dominic felt the cold hatred and rage burning within him, but suppressed it all down inside. He knew better now... knew the things he'd need to remember if he ever wanted to get through Absolution, if he ever wanted to take down Violent A.

Sleep slowly beginning to consume him, as Dominic silently prayed that in the coming days... everything would turn out just fine. Praying that he'd make it out with his career like he always was able to...

... and this time, walk back up the ramp with his title in hand.