STEVE JASON: Undeniable

Next Match:	[Disclosure] Platinum Cup Finals Steve Jason versus Pete Ebdon versus Draven
Previous Match:	[Speak No Evil PPV] Your Disclosure: Last Man Standing Steve Jason def. Giovianni Aries
Friends:	Angel Deveraux, the Royal Cartel, Julian Dark, the Nolan brothers
Neutrals:	PDW at large, Blake Selters, the Benjamins
Enemies:	Nicholas Jaxx, Pete Ebdon, Giovianni Aries, Star Deveraux, Christy Matthews

DATE/TIME: 1:00 PM, Saturday, July 26, 2008
LOCATION: Buddhist Temple, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

"Whoa, swanky..." Douglas Henry Phidippidies McNamara III announced with a low, impressed-sounding whistle.

The place Dougy was referring to was... not usually the kind of place one would find Steve Jason in, that was for sure. He'd had to go a little way out of Philadelphia itself to find it, heading way out of the city center and deep into the suburbs, but sure enough, he'd finally managed to work his way over towards the small Buddhist temple compound he'd decided to go to in search of Temujin.

The temple itself wasn't so much one building as it was a compound, separated from the street and the rest of the area by a large pointed fence extending around a large rectangular area. The fencing didn't seem to be so much to keep people out as it was to indicate the area of the temple compound, however, as the area directly in front of Steve had its gates wide open, allowing any and all who wanted access inside. The compound itself was based around one large temple building in the center of the area. The building itself had been constructed in a traditional style, with a large red and gold roof with numerous triangular 'layers', and a sharp-cornered perimeter running around the edge of the roof. Red pillars hung at the front of the main building, supporting the roof and keeping it off the ground while a wide doorway allowed access to the inside.

The other buildings around the compound were somewhat less grandiose, and seemed to have been set up simply to give the monks who no doubt tended the temple a place to sleep. They seemed more Westernised, set up into small dormitory-style blocks. The rest of the area, however, was almost breathtakingly beautiful, set up into several well-tended and well-stocked gardens with all kinds of colorful plantlife tiled around the temple. In addition, the area directly beyond the walkway that led into the temple was set up with a round, multiple-layered fountain that flooded up from the top and cascaded down the several layers like some kind of waterfall.

"Not too bad at all. Pretty..." Steve observed. While he'd improved considerably from the wreck he was immediately after Speak No Evil and the bloody clash between Giovianni Aries and himself, Steve still bore a few battle scars- mainly around his head, which he'd continued to surmount with a navy blue bandana, as a form of defiance to the actual injuries themselves- turning a wound into a fashion accessory so to speak. His eye, thankfully, had been given the go-ahead to be unpatched, although it was still adjusting to the bright sun after having been in the complete dark for days. A simple black short-sleeved shirt and jeans adorned his upper figure- in contrast to an even more colorful shirt than usual on Dougy, with oranges and greens and yellows and reds all over the place, matching his shorts.

"What's the plan?" Even Talia had decided to come along for this particular jaunt- although Steve suspected that was more out of having nothing better to do. She'd dressed for the summer months, wearing a pale green sleeveless top, pale blue jeans, and a pair of those ridiculously-large sunglasses that, to Steve, seemed almost bug-like, but it didn't stop half the non-Y-chromosome population from wearing them it would seem.

"Simple, really. We're gonna go and talk to the abbot in charge of this joint, and then I'm going to ask him a few very important questions."

"Still, you're following the trail at an arbitrary Buddhist temple?" Dougy raised an eyebrow, "The man could be anywhere in the country, SJ."

"Alright, let's move then." Without even allowing his friend the chance to react, Steve set off straight through the open gateway, looking around for any kind of help that would happen to make itself present. Steve hadn't the faintest clue where the abbot was or how to find him- he might have been in the temple building, but storming into the place and demanding to see him was a... bad idea. He looked around left and right, then his eyes finally settled on a small round garden area off the main track that was being tended to by a young-looking monk of Asian descent in orange robes and shaved head, watering can in his hands. Looked like that would be their first port of call.

"Good afternoon." Steve greeted the monk, crossing over towards him with a friendly smile on his face.

"Hello, sir. Can I help you?" the monk spoke in English that was heavily accented and obviously his second language, but was nevertheless understandable. Steve nodded in affirmation to that politely.

"I hope so. I'm here to ask about a friend of mine. I was wondering if I could speak to whoever's in charge around here about that?"

"That would be the abbot," the monk answered with a short nod, "I'm not certain if he will be accepting visitors- he may be in meditation at the moment, but if he is not, I can take you to see him. Follow me- although I must warn you, once we are inside the temple building itself, you will need to be very quiet."

With that being said, the monk set down his watering can and moved away from the garden, heading back onto the main path leading up towards the temple building itself. While it didn't seem to be too far a distance, the pace the monk was leading at them wasn't exactly the fastest, and Steve figured they had at least a few minutes to pass before they would make it up to the steps of the temple. The monk seemed to be off in his own little world as he led the way, which effectively left the three to their own devices. After a few seconds, Steve turned his attention to Talia in mid-walk.

"While we're here, Talia, I've got a certain question to be asking you, and I think you know exactly what it's going to be."

"Oh?" There was an air of deliberately feigned innocence about Talia's face as she turned to regard that question with a raised eyebrow, "I can't say I honestly know what's on your mind there, Steve. Why don't you share it with us though, hrm?"

"Did you put Dayshia Raye and Aurora Snow up to their little shenanigans last week?"

"You know who I'm talking about," Steve's reply was rather flat as his gaze settled calmly on Talia, "The two hosts of The Naked Truth. You know, that show you told me I really, really should accept the invitation to be on? Little curious that you suggested it, and I proceed to get put on the spot on national TV regarding a certain topic that I decided I wasn't going to discuss with you?"

Steve resisted the urge to shoot off a few four-letter words at the way Talia phrased that, "Whatever you want to call it. I had a hell of a lot of smoothing over to do after those two finally got their claws outta me. I just find it curious that Aries rambles on about it, then you try to pry it out of me, then a few days later there's an attempted Grand Confession live on pay per view."

"Would I do that?" she replied, her eyes widening into an expression of almost adorable innocence.

"Yeah, I probably would, sweetie, but I didn't. I honestly had absolutely nothing to do with this one, Steve. Looks like you dug your own grave, I'm afraid. Probably left enough obvious hints lying around, and those two, being the gossip-hungry proverbial vultures they are, jumped right on top of you." She just smirked now, her blue-green eyes sparkling. Obviously, she was clearly enjoying herself at this little bind, "And you say you've smoothed it over, but I'm fairly willing to bet you haven't. Now that it's been aired on live TV... well, I'd say your troubles are only just beginning. Good luck, SJ. You'll need it, dealing with the flock that's about to descend on you." With that and another little smirk, she fell into silence.

"You remember what happened the last time you were nosing around this topic. I tried to end the conversation, and then you decided to turn my own stare against me." Steve almost flinched at the memory of Talia's eyes boring into him, slicing away at his mental defences and beginning to crumble his resolve to keep his mouth shut, "Now we've come back onto this topic, and you're just going to let it go without another staredown- particularly as there's no real way for me to escape it this time?"

"Oh, I don't have to, Steve." Talia answered casually, a smug little smile crossing her face as she tossed her head and smoothed her blonde hair back, "Not any more."

"Yep. Your little show of extreme discomfort at Dayshia and Aurora's hands told me far more than any staredown ever could. I don't need to crack your mind open and get you to confess everything. Those two silly girls might have missed a lot of it, and your pretty little Angel's too innocent and naive to see it, and Dougy's got all the psychoanalytical skills of a block of wood..."

"...but I was told everything I needed to be told that night without you ever saying so much as a word."

That superior, all-knowing tone she'd used was perhaps the most infuriating part of it. For a couple of seconds, Steve was seriously debating going toe to toe with her and demanding to know precisely what it was she so arrogantly claimed to have found out, but all things considered, Steve had blundered headlong into enough humiliation on the subject for quite some time. Thus it was that he mentally reined himself in, gritted his frustration back, shook his head with a scowl, and continued walking behind the monk. They'd gotten a lot closer to the temple building now, but there was still a short way to go.

"I'm going to have to add something right there while we're on the subject..." Dougy spoke up, his loud, brash voice echoing throughout the gardens of the otherwise quiet, peaceful and serene compound, "I've got an issue with that name. 'The Naked Truth'. It's been rammed down our throats a million times- it's the big, cutting edge show on Platinum, it's the place to be interviewed on, it's part of what makes PDW shows so great, but I'm just going to cut to the one big flaw in that show, the one big thing that has been troubling me- an issue that I feel needs to be addressed right here, right now."

"What I want to know is when are those two chicks finally going to stop false-advertizing our sorry arses and get naked? I mean, come on, the show's called 'The Naked Truth' for a reason. It's an implicit promise that somebody on that show is going to get naked, and those two ain't delivering! Somebody could get sued for that shit."

"Congratulations, Dougy..." Steve turned to regard his friend, a weary and exasperated look crossing his face as his voice took on a vastly cynical tone, "Of all the places you could make that comment, you just had to do it in the middle of a holy temple where a bunch of freakin' monks are hanging out. You don't go to church and talk about this, do you?"

"No, I'm usually too busy imagining that the ridiculously-hot pastor's wife and the ridiculously-hot twenty-three-year-old organ player are taking off their clothes and..."

"Enough!" Steve cut Dougy off sharply, glaring at his friend before offering a look of nothing short of pure apology to the monk, who seemed almost completely unphased and who continued to lead the way, "I'm gonna apologize for my friend here. My friend has a... certain lack of discipline and decorum in these situations, and he doesn't seem to understand that a place like this isn't appropriate for his gutter-mouth."

"It's all right," the monk assured him with a tolerant smile, shaking his head, "I've heard much, much worse than that before coming here."

"Oh, is that a challenge, Gandhi?!?" Dougy piped up optimistically behind him.

"Will you shut up?!?" "...shut up, Dougy!" Steve and Talia both seemed to chastise Dougy at the exact same time.

Fortunately, it looked like Dougy would have had literally no choice but to 'shut up' now, as they had finally reached the foot of the temple building. It had looked impressive even from a distance, but from the outside it looked nothing short of opulent. The red bricks making up the roof of the temple almost seemed to gleam in the sunlight, and intricate carvings and other artwork were cut into the bricks of that roof and painted over with a golden sheen. The stone pillars also had a number of stone creatures- miniaturised versions of the Asian model of the dragon, most likely- set up aside them on each side of the set of stone steps leading up towards the doorway. This was more than just a simple structure, somebody had seriously gone out of their way to make this structure one of beauty. Steve winced at the amount of effort it must have taken to build such a place. The monk came to a stop at the foot of the door, then held a hand up for silence.

"I am afraid we must now be very quiet and stop our conversations," he half-apologised, "We are about to enter the temple."

Steve didn't reply in words, he simply nodded. Talia did the same, and even Dougy did- although straight off the bat, he looked like he was in some serious discomfort at having to do something he very rarely had cause to do- be silent. With that said, the group ascended the steps of the temple in complete silence, then passed through the open doorway inside the building.

Incense assaulted Steve's nostrils the second he stepped inside the temple- a smell he'd never been able to accustom himself to, even during the times he'd spent over East. Smell was only a small part of the area Steve had stepped into, however- the inside of the temple had managed to combine both a sense of simplicity and a certain opulence at the same time. The area was relatively dimly lit and was fairly wide open, with a long red carpet stretching all the way to the far side of the room. Various cushions and tables were set up throughout the area, all under the watchful eye of a large golden statue of Buddha himself, set up as the centerpiece of an altar that also featured various candles, burning incense and various offerings. There were a small number of people- ranging from an orange-robed monk to a man in office clothing- sitting throughout the place in relaxed and comfortable positions.

The monk leading them in came to a stop and beckoned to Steve, then motioned to a man not far away from the altar. He seemed to be of considerable age, but not so much that couldn't be active and in good health- probably about sixty or so if Steve were to guess. His head, not surprisingly, was shaved, and there was a certain kind wisdom about his face as he turned to regard the new arrivals. The monk left them behind, then moved over to address the man- who was no doubt the abbot himself- and the two conversed in hushed tones so as to avoid disturbing the others. Finally, he crossed back over towards Steve, continuing to speak in barely a whisper.

"There is an office set up to the side of this main room." he told Steve, motioning to a door on the left wall, about halfway to the altar, "The abbot will meet you in there."

Steve nodded, then turned to Dougy and Talia, speaking in a quiet, hushed tone of a voice.

They nodded in affirmation, then Steve followed the abbot, who had already carefully opened the door and was holding it open for Steve. He nodded to him politely, then passed through into the office.

In contrast to the rest of the temple and indeed the compound, this room had been set up very much like an office, with plain white walls, cream carpet, several bookshelves, and a steel desk with a laptop set atop it. No doubt this was an area where some of the business and information aspects of the temple went on- a stark contrast to the austere, almost mystic air of the rest of the compound, but nevertheless a very necessary one. As Steve and the abbot entered the room, the abbot came to a halt, and finally spoke in a regular volume.

"My name's Steve Jason, abbot," Steve began casually and politely, aiming to get on the abbot's good side from the start, "I'm from the inner city at this time. I've come here to see if I can get your help about a few questions. There's somebody I'm looking for, and this temple struck me as the best place to start. I'll explain in a moment, but the man's name is Temujin."

"Temujin?" At the mention of that name, the abbot's eyebrows rose considerably, and a look of serious consternation crossed his face. That was enough to let Steve know that he was most definitely on the right track, his eyebrows narrowing slightly- but, in an attempt not to spook the abbot, he moderated his response and simply nodded softly.

"That's right. I was contacted recently by a man I used to train under when I was travelling Asia- Shinzo Kanetatsu. You might have heard of him, you might not have."

"I know of him by reputation. He runs a combat academy of sorts in northern Japan, I believe."

"That's right. I'm a graduate of that academy. Kanetatsu came to the United States to inform me that Temujin has recently gone missing. He can't find him, has no real record of where he's gone, he's completely disappeared off the map. He's charged me with finding him. Temujin's a Buddhist and he has worked with monasteries in the past, and I live in the Philadelphia area, so I figured coming here would be a good start. I know you might have some confidentiality rules and I might be wasting my time here, but..." Steve shrugged, "I had to at least try."

The abbot nodded at that and seemed to consider Steve's words, a frown crinkling his features as he took several paces forward before pacing back. Finally, he looked back up at Steve, an inquisitive squint written all over his features.

"Well, you match the physical description, so I can probably speak to you. I have in fact met a man named Temujin who matches your description. In fact, not only have I met him, but he in fact spent some serious periods at this temple not long ago."

"He was. I cannot say for sure whether he is. The strangest thing about it, however, is the fact that he claimed to have come here looking for... well... you. He said that he was here to seek out an Australian man named Steve Jason, some kind of professional fighter- six-three, dark hair, ice-blue eyes, athletic build were his exact words. I thought he would have tried to find you by now?"

"Abbot, I didn't even know he was in America until a couple of weeks ago..." Steve spread his hands, "That surprises me, though. I'm not a hard man to find. My apartment building address is kept relatively quiet, but there are certain places in Philadelphia I'm known to frequent- the Dynasty Spectrum, Selters Hotel and Casino, the Platinum Spot, The Shack... why wouldn't he have tried any of those places?"

"I don't know. And the strangest thing is, he seems to have left the city, or so I would assume." the abbot frowned again, "He was staying in the monastery dormitories and had been with us for a couple of weeks, but eventually he just seemed to have left. Some of his things had gone, but some are still here in those same dorms. It's as if he had to leave in a hurry for some reason, or if he'd just... vanished."

"Great. That's just great..." All of this was starting to go over Steve's head right about now. It was strange enough that his fellow trainee had apparently come all the way to Philadelphia to find him- and not actually go to his most frequented places to try to find him- but the fact that he'd apparently take it upon himself to just disappear, without even finding Steve, set a distinct sense in Steve's head that something was very, very wrong. Obviously, he'd have to do a little more snooping around, but this abbot wasn't going to be of much more help. He'd been lucky enough to learn what he had- evidently Temujin had given the abbot leave to talk to Steve before he vanished. But why?

"That is all I know," the abbot apologized to Steve, shaking his head sadly, "I worry about the young man. He seemed to be bothered by something, as if he was very gravely concerned about something, and for him to just vanish is... strange. I apologize that you have wasted your trip here."

"I'm not so sure I have..." Steve disagreed, "Before this point, I didn't even know where in America Temujin had gone. Or how he got here. At least now I have some insight into where he at least started... and I even seem to know some of his motives. That's something, abbot- and I dare say you didn't have to tell me any of that. Thanks."

"I admit to concern for the man's safety being my main factor. We searched for him, and informed the relevant authorities, but they've turned up nothing. Perhaps you will fare better- you no doubt actually know him better than we do."

"I hope so..." Steve's reply wasn't quite so optimistic before nodding back to the abbot, "Anyway, abbot, thank you very much for your assistance in the matter. I'll keep an eye open, and I'll get in touch with you if I find anything."

"It was my pleasure." The abbot smiled in a calm and peaceful manner at Steve, "And I wish you luck. Should you or your friends have any need of the temple's services in the future, do not hesitate to visit."

"Hey, you never know. My Buddhist side might need a bit of refreshing one of these days..." Steve chuckled before turning to face the door back out to the main temple, "Thanks a lot, abbot. I'll see you round."

Well, it had been... more productive than Steve had expected, that was for sure. He was expecting an apologetic 'no, I'm sorry, we don't know him' - or worse, a firm 'we're not permitted to discuss this with a stranger'. It hadn't completely solved the mystery... after all, Steve's fellow student still could have been anywhere in the country- but it had at least shown him where Temujin had gone, and the purpose he'd gone there for. Of course, the burning question of why was yet to be answered.

But Steve shouldn't have even been worrying about that now. He'd done what he could, and he'd report back to Kanetatsu and start the next stage of his investigation as soon as he had his thoughts together. Admittedly, his mind was still... very occupied with the upcoming match. A lot was riding at stake here, and Steve had been surprised to be in such a high-priority match after the Pay Per View... but then again, it was kind of only natural that he finally have that epic confrontation with Ebdon- and Draven to boot- and it was even more fitting that maybe, just maybe, his ticket to a major title would be the result of that clash. Maybe it'd also finally be a chance to shut Ebdon's mouth for a while- and Steve had to candidly admit that shutting it with his fist would be appropriate. All things considered... with all these major events going on around him, maybe the abbot's offer of using the temple's services wasn't a bad idea.