Behind The Mayhem-Build Our Machine

{I am aware}
{That your soul is now divine}

{We care to not toil}
{With unbroken chains}
{So don't toil with ours}
{Like he did to our shining stars}

{So prepare for adventure}
{We're a whole new creature}
{From the darkest side}

{You can't take away the pain we feel}
{Created as monsters}
{That come to life}
{Come back to life!}





Date: 06/01/2020
Location: Jacob Striker’s home, Sleepy Hollow NY

The house at 1985 West Peach Creek was a very nice multi-level affair that sat off from the road done in an older Victorian style with an old oak tree that sat in the front lawn that was well kept.

The inside of the house was slightly dark, only the faintest of light was able to enter the house from how tightly the drapes were closed in some locations and it was very quiet-so quiet in fact that when the sound of a key in the lock was being made, it sounded like the scraping of some great creature and a moment later, the front door to the house swung open and its owner stepped in, inputted a code and then motioned for someone else to enter.

Jacob:
I keep telling you that I’m okay, I’m just going to grab a couple of bottles of IBC and chill, Ryo.

The blonde Japanese man that followed Jake into the house simply shook his head.

Ryo:
If I believed that, Jake, then I wouldn’t have insisted that I drop you off before I headed home.

Jake shrugged as he tossed his keys into a mock crystal skull before tossing his travel bag off to the side before heading into his kitchen.

Jake:
Suit yourself, brother. I’ve got no other plans than to just chill and recover from that weekend before I get ready to head to the next One Wrestle show before Genesis.

Ryo nodded before he heard a faint mewing which he turned to face the source of as a large dark gray cat came bouncing across the kitchen to where Ryo was and demanded attention, which Ryo happily gave.

Ryo:
Look, Porthos is concerned…

Jake just shot his best friend a “are you shitting me?” kind of look to which Porthos simply purred before heading over to his human and demanding the same attention.

Jake:
Hey you, did mom or da come by to check on you?

Ryo watched as Jake took care of his cat and watched at Jake simply went about his kitchen and living room, doing exactly what he said that he was going to do.

But there was something in Jake’s movements that bothered Ryo-they were too...automatic for the lack of a better term...and in that instant, he made a decision.

Ryo:
Alright, I’m going to head home. Just be careful alright? Alex did give you a pretty good slam into that turnbuckle.

Jake:
Bah, I’ve been hit harder and you know that.

Ryo simply rolled his eyes before he walked over and pulled the shorter man into a brotherly hug.

Ryo:
Just take care of yourself, alright fam?

Jake didn’t say anything but simply returned the hug and headed for the larger of his couches with his drinks and snacks at which point Ryo gave Porthos one last pet before heading out of the house, closing and locking the door behind him.

Once he was at his car however, Ryo pulled out his iPhone and quickly scrolled through his contact list before finding one and hitting dial before he brought it up to his ear.

Ryo:
Hey Arley, it’s Ryo. I know that you’re probably busier than a Spider Monkey hopped up on Red Bull during a crack deal but do you have a minute?
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Jake keyed up Netflix and started up the “Patriot”, feeling the need for just something completely not serious and started to relax, taking a pull from his cold bottle of IBC as he went..

Erick St. John: A hardheaded BASTARD that requires more than one ass-kicking to gain his respect?

Jake blinked at the strength of the words from the memory as he reached up and clutched at his right temple which started to throb...it was almost like Erick was right there with a megaphone, repeating those same words hard into his right ear.

Super Tiger: I MEANT people close to me...Honestly? I'm not even sure I've MET you before.

Again, the words were very sharp and very loud as he fought to set his drink down on his coffee table before it fell from his nerveless fingers and onto the floor as he clutched his head in pain, his teeth grinding hard to keep from...

Darius Crowley: Secondly, Jacob Striker has already picked a fight with me and has repeatedly been SHOWN that he cannot back up his child level TANTRUMS.

Darius' sneering words slashed at his mind, a red hot rage filled his sight as he struggled to stand up...flashes of his matches with Darius went through his mind and how Darius was always mocking him...no matter how hard he fought...

Lash Donohue: However, you earned my RESPECT, Darius. We have no beef that I'm aware of. I'ma politely BACK AWAY now...

The mental image of Darius sneering at him in superiority slowly shifted into Lash...his entire right side in that fucked up costume while his entire left was normal...moving out of reach as Jake tried reaching out to him...needing his brother...

Graham Baker: Jacob Striker got away with a BLACK EYE from me last time. Next time, he won't be so LUCKY to leave with JUST THAT.

Lash Donohue: SACTAP Green and me know a pair of NO-GOODNICKS when we see 'em....

Jake slowly fought to cross his living room as his cat looked on with concern from his perch on the back of the main couch as Jake fought to walk as the pounding in his right temple grew even stronger, strong enough that he fell down to his knees.

Jake:
No...no….no….

{They have sent you a letter}
{To come back home to play}
{But to your dismay}
{This isn't your day}

Somewhere in the damaged recesses of Jake’s mind, a song that Robert had showed him...an old timey thing with a slight modern beat...started to echo through the jumble of voices speaking in his head, their words slashing at him as the pain in his right temple simply grew.

He slowly fought to his feet as the room started to melt around him and into the corridors from where the first chapter of Defiant was held, twisting around in front of him like some kind of warped fun house...

{For the happy fun time}
{Has begun to fade}
{Watch as we reanimate}
{our corpses you abandoned}

A spunky British woman's voice echoed through the warped halls with;

Sammi: CHIKORITA, YOU FUCKIN’ CUNT!!

{We're dismantled}
{We're mishandled}
{But we won't be skipped and swayed}

The words echoed, making frost crystals appear around him as he fought to move forward..towards where he knew his kitchen was...

{Trapped within these}
{You left our souls to drip away}
{The ink decays}
{The walls at bay}
{But the reckoning has come today}

Then another woman's voice, this one more smokey...happy sounding...memories of a happiness could be felt as his heart started to race;

Katrina: Anyway! This was cool of you to agree to, Jake. And...I’m glad you brought me along… Us...along.

Suddenly the twisting hallways spun around on fire as they shifted to a wrestling ring and Jake looking between two people....Uiriamu and Katrina...a feeling of utter disbelief like an asteroid of ice filled his very core as he could see *HIMSELF* in that ring!

{You say}
{Boris has no guts 'cause}
{Replaced it with mechanical strain}

Jacob:
{weakly} noo...

As the Jacob in the ring looked between the two people, faint ghostly images of Jacob and Katrina were also in the ring..swirling around as phantom voices spoke in happy words but with an eerie tone to them;

{We've been tortured}
{But we move forward}
{This disorder kills your day}

Kat: So have you seen your mentor yet?

Jacob shook his head before turning to look at Kat before gently wrapping an arm around her waist.

Jacob: Not yet, I don’t want to bother her quite yet..and besides, maybe I want to spend as much time with you before I get drawn into anything?

Hearing this, Kat smiles as she wraps her arms up around Jacob’s neck and leans into him.

Kat: Well now, I like the sound of that!

Suddenly there was a bright light and all of the wrestlers he knew were now standing around him, but their faces were missing...laughing at him in bellowing, echoing, haunting tones;

{I am alive!}
{Immortalized}
{You're the creator}

Voices:
There's no vaccine to cure our dirty deeds. For now you must build up our machine...you die tonight...tonight!!

Jacob then fell back down to the floor, things started to fade as he thought he heard a door and voices as everything started to swirl into blackness.
////////////////////////////////////////

A few seconds earlier, Ryo was pulling back into the driveway and a moment later he got out of his car followed by an older woman with her rich dark hair still showing its natural color despite her age.

Older Woman:
Thank you again for bringing me by, Ryo. I wanted to surprise him but after what you told me happened at Defiant, I’m kind of concerned.

Ryo could only nod to the older woman as they approached his front door, giving her a reassuring smile as he did so.

Ryo:
Don’t worry, ma’am. He’ll be fine...I mean he is his father’s son after all.

The older woman rolled her eyes at the attempt at a joke.

Woman:
Just because he’s like his father does not mean he’s ready to handle that level of abuse!

Ryo:
True.

Ryo then pressed the doorbell and waited for a response but before either person could say anything, they both heard a meaty sounding *THUD* at which point Ryo reached into his pocket and pulled out his key ring, selected a key, and quickly unlocked the door at which point the two rushed in.

There laying on the floor of his kitchen was Jacob, his cat was rubbing its furry frame against him in attempt to soothe its human as Jake was clutching the right side of his head.

Ryo didn’t say anything as he quickly ran over to his friend and checked on him, noticing how he was holding his head and saw a bowl on the floor with some food around it which was Jake’s usual snacks.

Ryo:
Minor concussion my aching ass…

The older woman knelt next to Ryo and the two then helped pick Jacob up off of the floor before they carried him over to his couch and sat him down on it, he was mumbling something even though his eyes were closed and he seemed out of it.

Ryo:
I think he pushed himself a little bit too much this past weekend, Missus Striker. He took that blow from Alex on Thursday, caught a red eye for his debut on Legendary the next day, and then flew out for FightFest.

Mrs. Striker nodded and she looked over her oldest son before heading into his kitchen and coming back with an ice pack which they put over the right side of his face which made him seize up and come to a little bit.

Jacob:
Oh...hey mom. What’s up?

Mrs. Striker:
Not much, Ryo brought me by to surprise you and we found you out cold on the floor. What happened?

Jake shook his head to try and clear it, looking around and seeing that the Patriot was over on his TV and he blinked a couple of more times.

Jacob:
Honestly...I don’t know at the moment.

Mrs. Striker looked over at Ryo who nodded in return as he went over to where Jake’s travel bag was and dragged out the medication to help with the post concussion pains and wondered if his call to Arley would be helpful.