KnightMask hadn't heard a word from Eddie Hooray since he got banned from the dojo they'd once shared, the Mongoose Den, over trumped up, fabricated PED accusations. Really, it wasn't much of a surprise.

The Mongoose Den was probably the only thing they shared in common. Eddie was into illicit substances to the point that books he published on the art of grappling were in part odes to his favorite narcotics and was also a huge conspiracy theorist. He also derided the grappling arts of the past as embarassingly primitive and saw himself as a leader of grappling's avant-garde, standing on the cutting edge of the art's evolution, while KnightMask not only revered the likes of Gotch, Thesz, Hodge, LeBell and Fujiwara, but felt he continually learned from study of them. In fact, even though a number of catch-wrestlers trained at the Mongoose Gym, Hooray had made a special point to deride catch-wrestling in particular as backward.

So, when Ed called him in the middle of his umpteenth attempt to defeat Rickson Gracie with his created likeness in Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, KnightMask was immediately wondering what he wanted, if not grateful for the reprieve from getting rear-naked choked into virtual defeat yet again.

"Yeah, so, you know, we figured it'd be a cool stunt to do some old school dojo raiding, you know, like they did in Gracies in Action? But this time, it'd be all about advertising my cutting edge Mary Jane Jiu Jitsu...and our target...we figured we'd hit up one of those old school Japanese jujutsu gyms! I mean, those dudes are total McDojo...so, you know, we figured we'd hit 'em up and make a DVD of it, just like the Gracies did back in the 80's. And like Kano did to all those jujutsu schools back in the late 1800's...of course, he didn't video camera to capture it with back then..."

Edward Hooray stopped for a second, to allow KnightMask time to either laugh or tell him what a great idea that was. He didn't. And it wasn't because his injured knee hadn't left him downcast and melancholy (though it had). It was that he thought the idea sounded incredibly obnoxious and arrogant. Actually, every time he heard about people embarking on dojo raids, he always hoped for the comeuppance of the would-be raiders.

"So anyway," Ed went on, "We walked in on one of their classes and asked for their instructor and their top blackbelts. Most of the guys weren't even in shape...it was ridiculous! And when they saw what we wanted, man, did they get psyched out...anyway, the cameras rolled and I rolled up each and everyone one of them and smoked 'em like it was 4:20 brotha! So, anyway...long story short, we decide that dojo raiding is so much fun, we went and hit up every cheesy Japanese jujutsu school we could find...not to mention a few 12-Animal Kung Fu and ninjitsu schools along the way...and you know, pretty soon, we got the DVD ready...and it turns out BudoVideos.com is down to produce it and sell it!"

KnightMask thought back to how that woman, Red Huntress, had similarly challenged him before he'd even had time to rest after the last Warfare show. All so that the guys who made the drug that was apparently responsible for her superhuman strength could advertise their product. She lacked any real combat skills and so he'd been able, even injured, to dispatch her fairly quickly, but not before she got in one hit that might have made his knee even worse than it already was. Apparently his old training partner Ed and the guys marketing Primal Fury shared the same twisted thought process. Or at least it seemed twisted to KnightMask.

It was certainly true that the Gracies and before that Jigoro Kano had taken similar actions to market themselves. Still, there was something about it that seemed wrong to him.

"So anyway, we're back at the Mongoose Den, partying down, celebrating the release of the DVD...when this old, I mean, totally ancient...Japanese dude crashes the party, wearing just a gi and sandals...anyway, he says he heard about how strong we were and says he'd like to have the privilege of experiencing that strength himself. I'm thinking, man, that is some cheesy-ass fortune cookie Master Splinter crap, you know? So, we're like, dude...buy the DVD sometime, otherwise scram...but then, he says anyone in the gym can apply a submission on him as hard as they can, as long as he's allowed to return the favor the next day. And bro...the guy must be Mr. Fantastic's brother...he's been neck-cranked, arm-barred, short-arm scissored, Kimura'd, wrist-locked...and the dude just shakes it off! So you know, we got careers to think about...so of course, the people that put the old geezer in the submission ain't been back to the gym since...pretty soon...there won't be anybody at the Mongoose Den!"

"So...what do you want me to do about it, Ed...?"

KnightMask knew the answer already.

"Come on, bro. You owe us, man...I mean, the gym took a big hit in cred after you got caught juicing...if you could, you know...come over there, put 'em in that KnightLock...you know, save our rep...cause this dude is making us look like a bunch of pansies..."

KnightMask knew the answer in advance, but he wasn't sure why he was unable to say no to Eddie. He wasn't sure what it was inside of him that wouldn't allow him to simply let the same dojo that had cast him out without so much as a goodbye and without ever trying to hear his side of things get hung out to dry. By all accounts, they'd been acting like bullies. It wasn't his problem if this old Yoda-type made them look bad. And his knee. His knee was still killing him, in part due to someone trying to pull the same crap with him that they'd been pulling with these other dojos.

Why was he always letting other people walk all over him?

"Alright man...I'll meet you over there."

"Meet me over there? Are you crazy, bro? I can't be seen over there...I ain't even been on that street in a week...what's gonna happen if that old man sees through my false mustache and Ed O'Neil mask...?"

TO BE CONTINUED....