Purity vs. Maturity

[OrochiGeese]

*It's a few days after Continuum VI has concluded. Thunder Strike is standing in a promo room with a UBL banner behind him. He looks at the banner with reverence and then turns to the camera.*

[Thunder:] "I don't schedule time in this room often. Ever since I got here in 2007, people have immediately known if I'm on their side or ready to knock them on their asses. It's usually obvious. But what I'm about to do calls for an explanation.

THRASH Ogawa - I'm challenging you to defend your Universal Circuit Championship against me at the Anniversary show in December. But I'm not doing this because I'm angry that you got in my face at C-6. A cooler head has prevailed and allowed me to make this challenge with two broader, constructive goals: help you evolve and protect the Universal Circuit Championship. Your behavior has convinced me that any Title you hold is not in stable hands. An unstable title compromises the very promotion that it’s in. I can’t allow that to continue. 

This isn't personal. Up to this point, I’ve actually been a supporter of yours. You led the militia that delivered Jarec to me on a silver platter. That is something I’ll always be appreciative of.  And you are often unfairly maligned. In fact, I assume some might call a match between us 'order vs. chaos' but I disagree. You aren't Geese Walker. He has lied, manipulated, and propagandized his way through his career.  It's the polar opposite of who you are. There's an honesty and purity to your approach that I respect. The fight is everything to you.

But the problem with purity is that it can be misguided, naive, prone to being manipulated, and self-defeating without maturity.  Your match with Tyler is proof. Rather than slide into the ring and take the count out win, you jumped into the crowd to continue fighting him. Not only did you put the crowd in danger, but your single-minded desire to fight cost you the chance to score some more points in the most competitive block of the league.

You can't afford to keep behaving like this, but I don't see you changing any time soon. Maybe I get through to you here, but it’s more likely that it takes a few elbows for the concept to be properly absorbed."

*A hint of a grin appears on Thunder's face.*

[Thunder:] "Maturity requires a constant willingness to re-examine ourselves in light of our circumstances. When a situation of great concern arises, that means the hierarchy of our goals may have to change. The fight can't be everything to you, THRASH, especially not now. The repercussions of singlemindedness will be the death of this promotion.

A fox has just taken over the henhouse.  Her grounds for doing so is twistedly ironic. She claims that her years of feasting on hens have taught her how to protect them. You would think that would be cause for alarm to everyone.  To the credit of some of our more responsible roster members, like Corey O'Brian, it clearly is.  And yet, we all heard what you said to Moreno. You don't care about your past with her as long as she keeps giving you quality opponents. But her past is proof that we can't trust her to do anything that serves UBL's interests. Your short term compulsion to fight allows you to ignore the threat that she poses to the UBL: short circuiting everyone's ability to wrestle in the long run. Your myopic purity is standing in your own way and allowing Moreno to keep you under control. Well fed hens don’t riot, after all.

Moreno has failed multiple times in her direct assaults on UBL so she has shifted tactics to defeat us from the inside. Therefore, UBL needs to protect our Titles from the inevitability that Moreno starts filling the roster with Destiny sleeper agents as she's done before.  Our titles do not just indicate who our best fighters are, nor are they mere license to attract them, they represent the spirit of UBL itself. How can you be okay with her compromising it just because she throws you a few meaty bones? How is that in anyone's long term interest?

The truth is that you would willingly defend that title against anyone you would enjoy fighting, regardless of their motivations. The consequences of losing the Title do not matter to you as long as the fight fulfills you. But what happens shortly after you face Corey O'Brian at Continuum VIII?  Will you continue to fight anyone at any time? You think you'll be healthy enough to fight anyone she offers to you? You don't think she knows exactly when you'll be at your most vulnerable point? You'll be chomping at the bit to face a cyborg Jeff Monroe a week later. Maybe he takes that opportunity to exact a painful revenge on you for the leadership role you played in demolishing Gauntlet.

That's why I need to defeat you and defend the Universal Circuit Title with restraint and a critical eye on those who wish to claim it. It's too important a chess piece for the UBL to be lost in a reckless pursuit of a single-minded goal."

*Thunder turns to walk away but then pauses for a few seconds.*

[Thunder:] "Oh, and I saw how you looked at Alicia. It made me uncomfortable but I get it.

You want to fight her just as badly as you want to fight Kyle Walker. I don't hold that against you. Anyone who wishes to face the best fighters will have her on their radar. So let me offer you some advice you probably aren't expecting. Ignore Walker, stick to pursuing Alicia. If both of you advance past your blocks, you have a good chance of facing each other in the tournament. All you have to do, then, is focus and keep winning. But Kyle isn't even on the roster and has no reason to fight you. That means you're going to have to enrage him to get his attention. We both know what kind of behavior, and target, pushes his buttons the most. But pursuing that strategy risks raising the ire of Geese as well. For your own good, stay away from the Walkers. You will put your entire career at risk for one fight that you may not walk away from.

Mature, prioritize, then you can fight all you want for yourself and for UBL."

*Thunder nods to the camera and walks off as the scene fades.*

[OrochiGeese]

*THRASH Ogawa is sitting in one of the multipurpose rooms in the Peter Venkman Memorial Arena. Despite watching Thunder Strike's challenge, THRASH is uncharacteristically relaxed.  A hint of a smirk rests on his face as he sips a beer.   But after a particular sentence uttered by Thunder, a suddenly surprised THRASH shouts an expletive, throws the beer across the room, and runs out of the room. He rushes down the hallway with reckless abandon.  Coincidentally, he crosses paths with none other than Thunder Strike. Thunder puts a hand up to get his attention.*

[Thunder:] “If you’re mad, we can talk about this-“

*THRASH completely ignores him and runs right by. A minute later, he finally stops in front of a door. Without knocking, he storms into Ruby Moreno’s office. Ruby was reading a newspaper with her feet up on the desk. Despite the sudden intrusion, she calmly puts the newspaper down. She looks almost apologetic but with a tinge of impatience in her voice.*

[Ruby:] “Yes, I saw what he said. Once again, I have no malicious intentions-”

[THRASH:] “I don't give a shit. Just tell me you can make the match happen.”

[Ruby:] “Of course, I can. Why wouldn't I be able to?”

*THRASH is ecstatic and slams his fists down on the desk, causing Ruby's feet to jump. She takes her legs off the desk and sits up straighter.*

[THRASH:] "I just gotta know, what exactly is he now?"

*Ruby takes a few seconds to think about this.*

[Ruby:] "He's always been a short-tempered boy scout, but he seems more pretentious than usual.  You’d think I’d be angry at him but really it's just boring at this point."

[THRASH:] "No, not Thunder Strike. Tell me about Jeff Monroe!"

*Ruby looks utterly perplexed and shrugs in resignation.*

[THRASH:] "Is he an actual cyborg now or just a human with a few spare robot parts? Are they fused to his nervous system? Do they just repair the function he’s lost or provide enhanced ones? Does he have a fuel cell powering him?"

*Ruby puts her hand over her face but THRASH hits the desk one more time to get her attention.*

[THRASH:] "Let me fight him!"

[Ruby:] "Enough."

[THRASH:] "One more question."

*Ruby grabs a bottle of aspirin with her free hand then sighs.*

[Ruby:] "Fine."

[THRASH:] "Do Asimov's laws apply to cyborgs too? I don't want him holding back."

[Ruby:] "Ogawa, I gave you Tyler. So why are you f*cking with me like this? Thunder was being facetious."

*A smirk forms on THRASH’s face as his demeanor relaxes a little.*

[THRASH:] "Yeah, I'm not an imbecile.  This was just a test.  See, I kinda believe you, Moreno. I don't think you're intentionally trying to start any sh*t around here anymore. But I wanted to see your reaction."

[Ruby:] "Oh?"

[THRASH:] "You passed...for now. But I need you to make three things happen for me."

[Ruby:] "Need is an overly dramatic word, don't you think? But I’ll hear you out."

[THRASH:] "Thunder's not gonna stop lecturing me til I wire his jaw shut, so make the match."

*Ruby's eyes light up.*

[Ruby:] "Done, that's UBL's main event for the Anniversary show now. And the second thing?"

[THRASH:] "Medically clear Geese so he's active again."

*Ruby looks surprised.*

[Ruby:] "Why, why is that any of your concern?"

[THRASH:] "I wanna be the one that takes him down in the tournament."

[Ruby:] "You aren't concerned with what he did last year?"

[THRASH:] "The difference between what you both did in the past is that he had no control. You're taking over UBL and asking people to forgive your conscious sins, but Geese is treated like a pariah despite being drugged? That's bullshit. He's an asshole, don't get me wrong. And if you wanted to ban him for anything else he did in the past, I get it. But not the emperor shit last year – that wasn’t him any more than Robin Walker was a succubus.”

[Ruby:] “I mean….definitions for that term do vary.”

*Ruby makes no attempt to conceal a sly grin on her face.*

[THRASH:] “Bottom line - having Geese compete makes this place better and gives me a philosophy to fight against. He’s Machiavellian and I’m all instinct. I’d still rather fight Kyle for the unholy war he’d bring, but beating Geese for the Title on my terms would be euphoric. "

[Ruby:] "As I said, it's up to Dr. Holt to clear him."

[THRASH:] "Don’t bullshit me. I gave you an ounce of trust, don’t spread it across a mile. We all know you're the one who calls the shots now. So recognize the truth - this league can't end right if he's on the sidelines. Simple as that."

[Ruby:] "I'll take it under advisement. And your third request?”

[THRASH:] “I need that match with Corey O’Brian but C-8's a long ways off.  So watch yourself.  Don't sandbag and extend the league past his contract expiration. If he's not able to fight me, you’re gonna be his replacement.”

*Ruby doesn’t blink but pauses for a second.*

[Ruby:] “Noted. And now, I have a request for you."

[THRASH:] "Is it about my fight with Tyler?"

[Ruby:] "Yes."

[THRASH:] "Do what you gotta do, fine who you gotta fine. The fight was worth it like it always will be.  Later."

*THRASH smiles and leaves the room as Ruby shakes her head in amazement.*