Breach

Московские ведомости (Moscow Gazette) “City Recovers from Sudden Earthquake” (Translation provided…roughly…by Randall Schwartz) “Moscow continues to recover from a surprise earthquake that rocked the city and its surrounding vicinity, causing some rather strange breaks in the earth itself as a result. Efforts to rebuild certain structures have been hindered by the appearance of people and animals stepping out from these--” 02.14.25 Budokan Hall Tokyo, Japan “Yeah, I think I’ve heard enough.” The voice of Kenny Freeman interrupts the proceedings, ending the retelling of the news “back home” courtesy of his friend Randall as the pair remain seated on the bench of the Red Army’s locker room. It has been a rough night for Kenny, as he is still recovering from the loss to Nate Colton, but the Masters of the Moscowverse have been directed to be on standby for the rest of the evening. Off in the distance we see an active monitor, allowing Kenny and Randall a chance to keep an eye on what’s happening back at ringside as The Anglo Luchador can be seen making his entrance for the match against Max Kael, the man who has mentored Kenny into…varying levels of success the past few months. Randall nods with a sense of understanding, putting down his phone after taking a few moments to close out the browser app that had the article. Turning his attention to the monitor, Randall seems drawn to the presence of Kael as the Commissar makes his way down the ramp. “Shame it’s gotta be like this, huh?” he asks, pointing to Kael on the screen. “We sure learned a lot from the guy.” Kenny takes a moment to ponder the question before slowly nodding in agreement. As much as he didn’t like Max’s methods, Kenny could not deny they had helped him start to figure out how to build up a killer instinct as of late…culminating in the win over Asher Creed to start his year off right. Things might not have gone as well tonight, but Freeman knew deep down that he just needed to push himself more to get back on track. Unfortunately, Kenny also knew that despite the teaching and prodding he’d been given, Kael’s days--nay, minutes--were numbered. Ruslan, even Stanislav himself, made that very clear ahead of time, and Kenny understood what needed to be done. Besides, taking out Kael also meant an ounce of revenge for Kenny after the Commissar had made it a point to involve his family. Maybe, just maybe, Ivan will ease up on the situation there after Kael’s been removed from the equation. This is a lot for Kenny to process, his mind focused on that as his eyes continued to be glued to the monitor as Kael gets caught with a DDT from the Luchador for a two count. Seconds later, the door to the locker room swings open to reveal Alexei Ruslan, a stern look on his face. “It’s time.” Kenny and Randall nod in acknowledgement, rising from the bench to join Ruslan on the way out of the locker room. Nary a word is spoken between the three as they join the rest of the Red Army, but the sentiment is there the entire time: out with the old, in with the new. The fall of one Max Kael would only lead to the rise of Bryan Dawkins, and by the end of the night the stock of the Red Army would rise. Kenny nods to himself with a smirk, knowing that he would finally be able to turn his attention to what he felt was sorely missing…respect. From the Army, from the rest of the PRIME roster, and even from the fans.

The Same Night Red Army Base Moscow, Russa As the Red Army make their march toward a massive change in Tokyo, a pair of guards keeping watch on their base back in Moscow are dumbfounded by the arrival of the strangest of trios at their proverbial doorstep. The feral doppelganger of Randall Schwartz, the curiously proper Kenny Freeman double, and their feline companion have finally made it to their destination as they stand outside the gate staring up at the security camera watching them, but the kitten seems rather disappointed as it realizes the target of their attention is not home. “What do we tell Starshy Praporshchik?” asks one of the guards inside the security room, pointing to the odd guests on their monitor. “Seems like his junior members are lost.” The other guard shifts his gaze between the cat, the bloke, and the snarling wildman before shaking his head. “Something tells me this isn’t his Masters of the Moscowverse. We’d better phone Agent Ruslan about this first, feels like something he’d want to handle himself.” As confused as they are by the mere presence of this trio, the guards quickly find themselves taken aback when the kitten finally opens its mouth to speak. “Hello there!” the cat exclaims with a slight purr. “We’re here to see one Kenny Freeman, and we’ve come an awfully long way to be turned down at the door.” The guards turn away from the monitor to discuss. “Right, we call it in,” states one guard, taking out his phone to call Alexei Ruslan…but, curiously, gets no response on the other end, which forces him to leave a voicemail on the situation before turning back to the other guard. “Well…I called it in.” The other guard nods in response before the pair turn their attention back to the monitor…only to find the trio have disappeared, a gaping hole in the gate nearby. This prompts the other guard to immediately raise an alarm to the rest of the base, speaking into the intercom that blasts out to the area warning of a compromise to their secured location…a breach to be dealt with swiftly.

I dunno how Sage Pontiff and I have managed to be in PRIME for this long without facing each other in the ring, but in the words of a renowned poet…it’s about damn time. Our paths finally cross at ReVival 64, and let me tell ya Sage…I am excited to finally be facing the Bawitdaba of Transformative Expe--wait, sorry…the Bodhisattva of Transformative Experience. I’m well-versed in the religions of the world, Sage, which may come as a shock to those who know the bare minimum about me…so let me enlighten you. You and I have a lot in common, and I don’t just mean the fact we’ve had our losses to the likes of RIA and Nate Colton. Above all else, we are both seeking something much bigger, much more significant than ourselves. Where you have found that in the pursuit of violence, I have found it in the open arms of the Red Army…but if it’s violence you so sorely seek, it’s violence you’re gonna get in Osaka. Because the path I’m on ain’t one to some grandiose idea of an awakening. I’m already awake, my eyes open to the right and proper way thanks to Starshy Praporshchik and his words of wisdom. Our fearless leader…and your new PRIME Universal Champion…is a man who leads by example, and I am thrilled to follow him into a new era of this glorious sport. An era where…hey!

02.19.25 Undisclosed Location A rare occurrence, to be sure, as Kenny finds himself interrupted in the middle of a promo by Randall Schwartz rushing into the room. “Randall, I’m trying to do something here,” Kenny remarks, shaking his head as he stops the camera app on his phone. “You know when I’m in promo mode that I’m not to be…” “Interrupted?” asks the arriving Alexei Ruslan, a look of confusion mixed with frustration on his face as he enters the room. “Well, I’m sorry to cut your precious time so short, but you and I need to have a talk.” He pulls out his phone, opening the photos app to show the Masters of the Moscowverse an image of the trio that intruded the base days ago. “You mind telling me what I’m looking at here?” Ruslan asks, furrowing his brow as Kenny and Randall stare at the picture in amazement. “Why do these two look so much like you…and why do I have my guards telling me they encountered a talking cat?” The pair look at each other, blinking a couple times as they struggle to find the words to explain such a broad topic as the Multiverse to the man that has previously scoffed at such a notion. Eventually, it is Randall who gathers the courage to try and “smarten up” Ruslan on the matter. “Remember when we were telling you about…the Multiverse?” Ruslan starts to roll his eyes at this. “No no, hear me out,” Randall says, raising his hands for emphasis. “All these other worlds out there in the grand scheme of things, and what you’re looking at is other, uh, us-es from other universes. Matter of fact, you’re technically looking at another Randall and two other Kennys.” “Kitty Freeman,” Kenny adds, causing Alexei to scoff even harder. “I know how it sounds, but…why do you think we went through all that mess with Ivan about it? Ask him about it, I promise he’ll tell you it’s real.” “Starshy Praporshchik has already briefed me on this supposed multiverse, Kenny,” Alexei answers gruffly. “He has made it clear that the topic is not to be discussed further, as you need to focus on…” “The topic is literally sitting back at the base, Alexei,” Kenny replies sharply, catching Ruslan off guard. “You wanted to know what you’re looking at, and I’m telling you right now…you’re looking at some weird shit going down. I’ll do my best to focus on what Ivan needs of me, but just having these three around means that this is actually serious for once.” Kenny pushes past the agent and his friend, leaving the room as Alexei turns his attention to Randall. “Comrade,” he states firmly, even as he rests a hand on the shoulder of The Entertainer. “I understand Kenny is upset, but I need you to remind him of his place within the Red Army. I will let this slide, but he will be walking on thin ice if he keeps up this subordination.” Randall, for his part, just nods in acknowledgement before leaving the room to catch up with Kenny. Ruslan looks at his phone again, shaking his head at the photo of the multiversal doubles before closing the app and making his own exit as we fade to black.