Pride before the Fall

[OrochiGeese]

*We fade in to Arthur Wingate's office in Royal Wingate Hall. He has just gotten off the phone and is talking to Sergeant Drake Yoshida.*

[Drake:] "Well?"

[Arthur:] "Thunder Strike will take J.U.S.T.I.C.E, sans Alicia Gordon, and fly over to the Walkers to discuss strategy. Matt Rivers has been invited as well."

[Drake:] "At least this time he's going as a willing passenger."

[Arthur:] "Yes, it would seem so. *Arthur pauses noticeably*  May I ask you something, Drake?"

*Drake looks shocked at the polite nature of the question.*

[Drake:] "Certainly."

*Arthus composes himself for about ten seconds as he considers his words.*

[Arthur:] "Do you think my position here to be secure, what with their renewed interest?"

*Drake shows a hint of a smile.*

[Drake:] "Yes. My hunch is they will not conduct this war against Destiny head on so they need you as a proxy. Geese won't want to get back on their radar immediately. The "poison pill" exists as you both agreed when he signed UBL over to you, but they consider you their ally.  And you have settled into your position here. It would be foolish for them to have to take over and get re-acquainted with everything while they battle Destiny. If I know Geese, he'll want to force them into a two front war and that means we stay partially independent but briefed and supported."

[Arthur:] "It's only a one front for Destiny, we have no funds or power. If we suddenly got a cash infusion and an arena in the United States, it would be rather obvious that Geese or Holly, whoever has the purse, is funding it.  We're either on the sidelines impotent or being propped up by them publicly. Even if they try to hide the money, Moreno isn't stupid. Our other allies, like O'Brian and Tim Wolf, have already offered to help us but the benefactor would be obvious if we suddenly got Venkman Arena or the equivalent back and under our sole ownership."

[Drake:] "But who says we need a UBL show to take Destiny down?"

[Arthur:] "My pride, but I see your point."

*A voice comes from outside the slightly ajar door.*

"The pride comes before the fall."

*Drake tries to make out who is talking but the voice registers first.*

[Drake:] "...Darius?"

*Sure enough, Darius is on the other side of the door. He slowly walks in.*

[Darius:] "Pride, in the construction and maintenance of a plan, sometimes has to fall by the wayside when events change."

[Drake:] "And you have a solution?"

[Darius:] "We have news, before your plan is reconsidered."

[Arthur:] "You are joined by a peer? Rivers? Another Champion, perhaps? A Front Lines trainee?"

*Darius looks uncomfortable.*

[Darius:] "I only ask that you both, especially Drake, be...open-minded. He will not harm you."

*Drake looks confused but the gradual paling of his face points to specific fear*

[Drake:] "Wait, you're not...Darius, who-?"

*Darius opens the door further to reveal...*






[Drake:] "Furis!"


*Drake feints as Arthur calls for security first, than a doctor.*


*Part 2 coming soon!*

[OrochiGeese]

"The Vhy of Furis"


*Goro Yamashita, JET Hamada, and the Marauder arrive at the scene a few minutes later as Drake has been awakened by EMT personnel. Darius and Jakob of f'n Furis stand at an attempted non-menacing distance. Goro and the Marauder appear absolutely ready for war.*

[Arthur:] "How could you, Darius? We gave you all of our trust and confidence and you let...this into our home!"

[Darius:] "I have never once betrayed your confidence or goals. Naivete is a pet peeve of yours, don't fall subject to it yourself. Do not let your thoughts be colored by the rivers of blood Jakob has drawn. If he or I wanted to harm you, we would not have waited for the cavalry to roll in. As formidable as you are, Arthur, Jakob and I had the clear advantage when we first arrived. But we did not do anything but talk. All we ask is that you hear us out."

[Marauder:] "So, all this time, your secret mentor was Furis?"

*Furis bows with a smirk on his face*

[JET:] "That explains the bargain basement track suit. You wear that to an all night gym?"

*Furis ignores JET but Marauder grunts out a laugh.*

[Darius:] "My mentor is Jakob, but you have to understand. It's not for any nefarious purpose."

*Jakob growls, causing just about everyone in the room to get the chills.*

[Darius:] "Sorry, not for any nefarious purpose against any of you or this promotion."

[Jakob:] "I vill bleed Destiny dry."

*A mix of utter fear fills the room upon his proclamation with the exception of a look of renewed hope on Arthur's face. He laughs.*

[Arthur:] "Wait, you mean to tell me, that you two have been conspiring all this time to bring down Destiny?"

[Darius:] "Yes, but not violently. My original plan was to demoralize them through in ring victory. That is why I challenged Joachim after he won the NEXUS Title and I was preparing to face The Summit. Jakob was to be my back-up in case they targeted me the way they have others. Once my in ring domination was complete, and their humiliation ripe, I would reveal what I know about them to finish their organization off, once and for all."

[Arthur:] "Which is..."

[Darius:] "More than I can completely divulge right now. But as I said, our plans changed."

[Marauder:] "Your friend get too thirsty to wait?"

*Furis knocks over a chair and begins panting, trying to keep his anger under control.*

[Darius:] "Don't poke the bear, Barton. You would be surprised to know that Jakob is actually a victim here."

[Goro:] "If he makes any more aggressive posturing, he will be turned into one. I have not forgotten, Furis."

*Goro rolls up a pant leg to show the third degree burns that he received as part of a Jinchuu attack from four years ago.*

[Darius:] "But Jakob had started to move on from that unfortunate time in his life. Do you recall the last you all saw of him?"

[Drake:] "Yes, and both John Randolph and I go drinking to celebrate its anniversary every year."

[Marauder:] "It was that Geese 'funeral' before Immortal. Schassberg came back and grabbed Furis, shot him up with something."

[Darius:] "The good Doctor took him back under his care. Treatment has gone smoothly since then, allowing Jakob to remember his mortality and humanity. Although the Doctor could not cure him of all his behavior, some of the more feral actions were purged. However, he still harbored resentment for the way that Destiny treated him years ago, the most public of those events being relatively recently when Joachim and Matthias made a fool of him."

[Drake:] "Yes, at the Battle Formation a few months before Immortal."

[Darius:] "Even though Jakob's rage has been under control since 2012, he wanted to see Destiny stopped based on the threat that they posed and his memories of their mistreatment of him. it was they who you should blame for his actions here years ago. I know the real Jakob Furis. He is not the man you think he is. He is certainly not the monster you all want him to be, or the one some of you contributed to him becoming."

[Drake:] "You know what? Bull.Shit."

*Everyone looks shocked at Drake's rare usage of foul language and the anger on his face.*

[Drake:] "I was there when he wantonly attacked Holly. He got what he deserved. Geese exercised mercy on him compared to what he could have done."


*Furis begins seething but Darius places a hand on his shoulder and looks at Drake.*


[Darius:] "You continue to taunt him so I'll make this short before civility breaks down."

[Jakob:] "No, I vill. Schassberg, he vas kidnapped...again. Last time *he looks at Drake* it vas by Geese. This time it vas by Destiny."

[Arthur:] "Dr. Schassberg is in Destiny custody? They took him against his will?"

[Darius:] "Yes. But he knows them and they need him too much to harm him significantly. Jakob and I were coming back from training last week when they took him. We could not stop them in time nor could I identify them, but the Doctor screamed to us that it was Destiny."

[Arthur:] "It wasn't obvious that it was Gauntlet Security who abducted them?"

[Jakob:] "No."

[Arthur:] "Then how did he know it was Destiny as he was being abducted?"

[Jakob:] "Because he vonce vorked for them."


*Everyone in the room immediately becomes silent (even Jakob and Darius who already knew this!) *


*Part 3 is coming soon!*

[OrochiGeese]

*Everyone waits with baited breath to hear more about this unsettling revelation.*

[Arthur:] "...what did Dr. Schassberg do for Destiny?"

[Darius:] "Project Illumination."

[Arthur:] "That clearly sounds like it was spearheaded by Moreno but the name does not shed light on the details."

[Darius:] "During the 1990's, Ruby Moreno was authorized by Destiny to set up a number of labs around the world. It is unclear if those who supervised her realized that her plans involved genetic engineering and mind control. Her goal was to create a brainwashed army of warriors for Destiny to rely on to lead their pious followers. Project Illumination was mostly concerned with cloning but genetic engineering and mental conditioning were practiced as well."

*Some murmurs of disbelief are heard. Drake Yoshida is particularly incredulous but Arthur raises a hand and leads the questioning.*

[Arthur] "And we can only assume you know this because you were a subject?"

[Darius:] "No, my parents were doctors who worked under Schassberg.  Originally he was the lead researcher at the lab when it was primarily involved in legitimate medication for psychological patients.  However, the lab was bought by Destiny and handed to Moreno.  The transition was very gradual. Neither Doctor Schassberg nor my parents realized the intention of Moreno's projects. They just thought she was trying a new approach to psychotropic drugs.  Their research and work played a role in her plans. Since they were not told the true nature of the laboratory that they worked in, the one they raised me in as a child, they were not prepared for the risks. One day one of the subjects, an unstable clone, got loose. He was threatening to escape after disposing of scientists and security in his way. Moreno was notified by Schassberg and she gave 'Order 9' which meant an immediate extermination of all people in the lab. Schassberg was able to escape with me but everyone else was killed. Schassberg then raised me and effectively became my father."

Years later I met Jakob when he first came under Schassberg's personal care, fresh from his home in Densus, Transylvania. Jakob and I became close like brothers. We had both suffered personal losses. His, a close friend whose death was blamed on him; mine, the birth parents who Destiny killed. The Doctor helped us lean on each other and him to cope with our feelings and forge ahead.  But our renewed peace shattered in 2005 when a member of Destiny found us. They came looking for the Doctor and I, hoping to finish "Order 9" for Moreno.  Not finding us, they kidnapped Furis. They did not realize that their custody of him knocked him off of his regular treatment. Without his medications, he became impossible to control and eventually escaped their grasp, likely injuring those who harbored him. He then joined the world of professional wrestling in 2006, not remembering who we were. I was busy protecting Dr. Schassberg after the Destiny spy incident, making sure that we were not abducted by them. Instead, the Doctor was eventually abducted by Orochi Geese. I did what I could, but I was not strong enough yet to get in the ring, certainly not against Geese or his cronies. Finally, Schassberg was freed and then found Jakob, thanks to Jean Carter, at that distasteful funeral show. We have reunited as a family since then.  I came to UBL in an attempt to end Destiny for good. Moreno knew who I was and resented my taunting of her. Destiny eventually found where we lived, and adducted Dr. Schassberg."


*Everyone is silent for a few minutes. Drake and Arthur look at each other, deciding who will speak first. Drake sighs and puts his head down in disgust.*

[Arthur:] "As my brother agrees, this story is ludicrous. I thought I had heard everything in UBL from ghost goats to water-based Samoans to beef pollonaise recipes to medieval frisbees to people getting launched into space to four year leagues.  But this story, my good man, I simply can not abide."

[Darius:] "But this story is true."

[Drake:] "Clones and vampires and secret labs?!  What? Did you somehow forget to mention the ancient aliens!?"

[Darius:] "I come here with Furis, after all we have suffered, and you mock me.  Despite the fact that, as Arthur said, you have experienced nothing short of comic absurdity in your strange corner of professional wrestling for the past 8 years. A corner of wrestling that started with a Championship called the 'Time-Space Continuum' Title which would literally get ripped in half, forcing people to change story lines. Why is my story so hard to believe?"

[Arthur:] "If...if you are truthful and also not delusional, what do you expect will happen to Schassberg? Why did they take him? To complete Order 9?"

[Darius:] "If they wanted him dead, they would have killed him the second they saw him.  They want him alive and I can only assume it has to do with Ruby's power struggle in Destiny and the multiple clones that she created, some of whom infiltrated UBL. John Matthews: Clone. Jeff Monroe: Clone. The Summit, a masked 'brother' clone of Jeff Monroe called Jack Monroe, named after Ruby's father containing some of her DNA. Matthias...."

[Arthur:] "Wait, you mean to tell me that Matthias is a clone too?"

[Darius:] "It is uncertain. Matthias does have the DNA of someone important to Destiny, but I do not know who or how. 'Project Matthias' was the most important one that Ruby gave Dr. Schassberg, a project that the Doctor worked long hours on and was often very secretive about.  Oddly enough, he eventually became secretive to Ruby about it too, a fact my parents found confusing and Ruby found infuriating. There are other high ranking clones  in our world too, some that were intentionally kept outside of Destiny so that they could prove themselves to be worthy on their own and surprise others."

[Arthur:] "Like you?"

[Darius:] "Hmm...I admit to not knowing for sure. But Dr. Schassberg said he has no reason to believe I am anything but a product of natural human reproduction from my parents. While my hair is blonde like all of Destiny's clones, my other features and build are different and match my parents."

[Arthur:] "So we are all straight on this: We have Destiny clones running around, under the leadership of Ruby Moreno?"

[Drake:] "I think I'm going to faint again.  The more I think about it, the more I realize how similar Destiny members look to each other. Matthews, the Monroe brothers, Matthias, very similar faces.  Joachim is the only one who looks different."

[Arthur:] "I still don't believe any of this. And he is telling us this while standing next to a bloodthirsty monster."

[Darius:] "Believe what you wish. But realize that the war against Destiny has seen it's stakes rise-"

*Furis grumbles at this*

[Darius:] "Sorry, brother. The point is that the potential destructiveness of this war is greater than all of you even realized just one hour ago.  Take this to heart: you must put us in touch with Thunder Strike or Orochi Geese. They must be told about Schassberg and the clones, before it is too late. They are walking into a trap if they expect to invade the Destiny compound.  Even if they wiped out everyone there, hundreds more await."

[Arthur:] "This is what will happen. We are going to tell Thunder Strike about this, and he will relay the message to Geese.  In the meantime, get to a safe house but don't go far. If you are telling the truth, then Destiny will be targeting you.  If you are lying, then we will."

[Darius:] "I thank you for hearing us out. We will be in touch. Jakob?"

[Jakob:] "Jean Carter is the only vone, outside of Darius and the Doctor, who believed me and treated me with respect.  

Keep her safe from Destiny... or I vill."

*Drake gets pale again as Darius and Jakob walk out of the office.*

[Arthur:] "Drake..."

[Drake:] "Yes, Arthur?"

[Arthur:] "Maybe I don't want my position here to be so secure, after all."

*The scene fades with everyone looking dumbfounded at what they just heard.*