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Thaddeus Duke · (06-25-2017)

Thursday, June 22, 2017 | 3:22 PM Local Time | Illuminatus ‘Red’ Headquarters | Paris, France

Sebastian Duke has spent the days and weeks since the failed invasion of the Vatican tirelessly reevaluating his troop positions. He has considered both a complete withdrawal from the Italian Peninsula, as well as a full on invasion of the entire nation that surrounds the Vatican. Knowing his military forces are no match for his sons Air Force, he keeps changing his mind. Indecisiveness is not a recipe for success in any war, no matter the enemy. When a military force receives conflicting orders multiple times it creates mass confusion when the shit does hit the fan.

So he sits in deliberation, and finally listens to his advisers.

”There can be no other way to win this war, sir. You NEED an Air Force,” says Matthew, the longest serving Illuminatus adviser to deposed leader Sebastian Duke.

Sebastian slams his fists into the conference table then stands and kicks the chair out from beneath him. ”Just where in the hell would you like me to find an Air Force!?”

To this question, none of the half dozen or so men in the room have an answer.

”Does anyone have any god damn answer as to how the hell Thaddeus got into this building and no one knew a god damn thing about it!?” the large man yells forth, still fuming over the impromptu meeting a couple weeks back when Thaddeus found himself in Sebastian’s office. Sebastian played it cool at the time, but inside he was boiling. He never received the slightest indication that Thaddeus and his ‘blue’ side even knew where he was holed up.

”About that,” Matthew begins. ”Reports indicate that a man named Lincoln Tritter is serving as Thaddeus’ intel adviser. I’ve done some research on the man and he’s worked for the United States, England, France, Israel… and the Vatican at different times.”

Sebastian paces with his hands on his hips. ”How the fuck did they meet?”

”Unfortunately I don’t have that answer, sir,” Matthew replies before sipping some coffee. ”If I were to venture to guess, and I’m not likely wrong, Thaddeus made a deal with the Pope. Thaddeus and his military would act as protector to the Church in exchange for an intel division.”

”I can’t have guesses, Matthew. I need answers, and I need the right ones. Lincoln Tritter, a single man, does not equal an intel division.”

”That’s where you’re wrong,” Matthew says to Sebastian, almost kicking himself for saying it knowing that his leader never liked being told that he was wrong. ”Lincoln Tritter has a network under him. He has spies in nearly every major nation world wide.

“Lincoln Tritter may be one man advising your enemy,” Matthew says before being interrupted.

”Our enemy,” Sebastian corrects him.

”The point is, its his network of operatives that we know nothing about.”

”What’s our next move?”

Complete silence. Not a single man offers an opinion. Not a single hand goes up. Suddenly, the sixty inch flatscreen television on the wall flickers to life. At first, it’s a blue screen.

”Get a tech in here,” he begins, reacting to the screen. The other men turn their heads toward the television. ”That TV is on the fritz. Better yet just bring in a ne...” Sebastian stops himself as the picture changes from a blue screen, to a grainy live feed of the church inside the Illuminatus Compound.

The men in the room look on with great interest. Until they see Thaddeus’ appearance.

[duke]Thursday, June 22, 2017 | 9:30 AM Local Time | Illuminatus Compound | Old Saybrook, Connecticut [/duke]

Thaddeus stands silently and alone within the washroom just off the side exit of the church. He gazes into the mirror as he collects his thoughts. Only his face, from just below his chin, to the middle of his forehead is visible to the cameras. He does not smile today. His eyes burn with blue intensity. A knock comes from the other side of the door to Thaddeus’ left just as he brings his left hand into view. On his ring finger, resides the ring of his grandfather. Golden yellow, with red rubies creating the cross of the Illuminatus. He hesitates, then turns his head left.

[duke]”Come in, Jimmy,”[/duke] he says, before returning his attention to the ring that he feels with his right hand fingers.

”I hope you like it,” Jim says, as he enters the view standing beside Thaddeus. Jim opens a small jewel case revealing Thaddeus’ own ring, freshly created. His version is identical to Asmodeus’ ring, except made of platinum, and the Illuminatus cross is made of sapphire.

Thaddeus smiles and wipes fake tears from his eyes. [duke]”What will the guys say?”[/duke] he jokes.

”They know true love when they see it,” Jim plays along.

Thaddeus holds his left hand out in a feminine manner.

”Thaddeus Leander Duke the Second,” James begins as he kneels down, holding Thaddeus’ fingers. ”Will you be my King?”

Both men struggle to contain their laughter. [duke]”I will!”[/duke] Thaddeus says, feigning his emotional response. Jim slides the ring onto Thaddeus’ middle finger. The camera finally zooms out, taking in the entire picture. Thaddeus stands wearing his royal regalia. Pearl white from head to toe, with small blue Illuminatus crosses covering him. His armor is platinum silver. Over his heart, rests a golden image of a roaring lion. A blue sash from left shoulder to right hip. His grandfathers crown, lifted from the crypt just minutes ago, rests tilted forward and slightly to the right upon his head. Attached to his chest armor and flowing to his back is his cape. Pearl white, like the rest, the blue cross in its center, Thaddeus the Lionheart arched around the cross above and below.

His happy and humorous facade fades to his more serious look as he sighs a deep breath.

”Are you ready for this?”

Thaddeus shakes his head. [duke]”I am the King of nothing, Jim.”[/duke]

”Does it really matter?”

The young leader does not answer.

”Asmodeus is right,” Jim begins. ”Dream or no dream, the men view you as the King. Your father has no crown. His men will see you as the King. Whether or not it works as you plan, is anyone’s guess, but King Thaddeus, the Lionheart,” James says before being interrupted.

[duke]”Don’t call me that, man,”[/duke] Thaddeus interrupts. [duke]”It makes my skin crawl. It’s archaic to say the least.”[/duke]

”There’s still monarchies around the world. England, Jordan, Saudi Arabia. Why not the Illuminatus State?”

[duke]”The ideology is flawed. This whole royal thing started because my father was obsessed with beating John Madison at his own game. That’s where it began. That’s where it should have ended.

“Instead, my grandfather indulged his obsession and...”[/duke]

”And here we are, Thaddeus. Four years on, and your grandfather wants you to accept who and what you really are. The undeniable, undisputed King of his Illuminatus.”

It is worth mentioning, that off camera, James and Thaddeus are as close as they appear while in front of XWF cameras. They talk about everything. After James relayed Thaddeus’ orders from earlier this morning, he told Jim of his dream, starring his grandfather. Jim believes that rather than some appearance from a man that has been dead for a year and a half, it is really his friends subconscious substituting Asmodeus in for his own internal dilemmas. Nevertheless, Jim is supportive. Thaddeus believes the appearance of Asmodeus within his dream was actually his grandfather reaching out to him. One may never truly know.

[duke]”Let’s get this over with,”[/duke] says the reluctant King with a deep sigh.

Back inside the church, the men gathered mumble to themselves in quiet conversation. Many wonder aloud why they’re gathered. Why the big meeting. What their commanding general has to say.

The scene fades and checks in on various Illuminatus military bases throughout the world. Bases from both sides. On large projection screens, the Founders Church, the church at the Illuminatus Compound, is very much evident. Some on the ‘red’ side of the conflict pay it no mind. Most have their eyes riveted to the screen once Thaddeus Duke appears from left side of the camera, dressed in royal regalia and wearing the crown. Men at the ‘blue’ bases kneel. Many of those on the ‘red’ side do as well. Out of tradition? One could only guess.

Sebastian Duke, from his headquarters in Paris, looks on and hangs his head in disgust. ”I thought Mister fucking regular guy abolished the crown!” he shouts toward Matthew.

”He did, last I heard,” Matthew begins. ”He must have changed his mind.”

Back live at the Founders Church, as Thaddeus emerges from the side exit hallway, those gathered inside fall silent quickly and leave their seats, kneeling in his presence. Thaddeus doesn’t realize this at first but just before he reaches the Illuminatus throne he stops and looks out at his men. He reaches his right hand out toward them, motioning for them to stand up. He may be embracing his role as King, at least for the moment, but the formalities that come with it, make him want to jump from his own skin and dive into the flaming abyss of Hell itself.

The Illuminatus’ King Thaddeus sits upon the throne and adjusts the microphone attached at his collar.

[duke]”In August of 19 hundred and 63, Doctor Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial,”[/duke] he begins. [duke]”And gave his famous dream speech. He made it clear that his dream was for his children to grow up and be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

“That struggle rages still today. Even nearly fifty-four years later.

“But I too, have a dream,”[/duke] he says, looking out over his followers, now sitting in their pews. [duke]”My dream is that one day this splintered existence of my Illuminatus will cease. I dream that one day we shall reunite beneath one banner… my banner.

“Those of you following my father down this road of extinction, I ask you to look within yourself. I ask you to ask yourselves if this is what your founder, my grandfather, would have wanted. For three-quarters of a millennium, the Illuminatus was always united with one cause. So you must ask yourself, why the split now? Why is the Illuminatus fractured into two pieces?

“You might think it has something to do with a power struggle between my father and myself and maybe you’re not wrong,”[/duke] he pauses, then looks to his left into the hard camera. The one linked directly to the outside. The one broadcasting to his enemies. [duke]”Ask yourselves, why is there a power struggle? You know me. You know power wasn’t something I ever wanted. Fighting alongside you to advance Asmodeus’ cause, that’s what I wanted. That’s the life path I chose.

“The answer, is both simple and complicated depending on perspective. My father removed me from military action and relegated me to nothing more that of an ambassador. I didn’t like it, but that was the role I was given, and again, you all know me. Regardless of my role, my goal was always to do the best I could in order to advance our cause and secure a brighter future for the Illuminatus as a whole. My father though, recklessly ignored advice from his most trusted advisers. They advised him to wait and see, until we knew for sure, what or whom was inside that warehouse in Iraq.

“Your brainless idiot leader, my father, ordering the bombing. A bombing that not only killed some of our men, our brothers, our friends… but also more than three hundred innocent school children.

“I ask you to consider this as you reflect on your decisions to follow him. You are all at a crossroads. You can continue to follow him and he will lead you to extinction. Or you can follow me, your King, into a life of freedom. A life of happiness.

“Lay down your weapons.”[/duke] Thaddeus stands from the throne and comes within inches of the hard camera.

Back in Paris, Sebastian Duke is fuming and about to boil over. ”He’s broadcasting this to my men?!?” the realization of something he didn’t consider takes his anger to a whole new level as he tosses a chair through the closed window. ”End it! Cut his fucking feed!”

Matthew scrambles quickly to his laptop.

[duke]”I know you’re watching, father. You have 48 hours to surrender to me here at the Compound. You are not equipped to handle leadership on a global scale. Your pathetic and embarrassing invasion effort at the Vatican proves without a doubt that you can not handle military operations.

“If I do not hear from you, I start calling the French President. I start demanding that your asylum be revoked.

“You have 48 hours, father, then I unleash hell.

“You have 48 hours, and not a second more.”[/duke]

Click. Fade.

[duke]”It’s amazing to me, War Pig, that you spend very little promo time talking about me and obviously a great deal thinking of me. I don’t really blame you. Look at this face! Look at these eyes! Hear my words! Kinda hard to hate, right?”[/duke]

”No one loves Thaddeus Duke, quite like Thaddeus Duke,” Jim says off camera.

[duke]”Am I wrong to?”[/duke] he asks of Jim. [duke]”I’m a pretty good guy. I care for others. I have a great smile, complete with dimples. I mean who doesn’t love dimples, amirite? Natural, key word, natural, blond hair and blue eyes. I love to joke around and have fun at others, and at times, my own expense. Soft, comforting features.

“What’s not to love?

“I kill with a smile, War Pig. Where others come out and try to cut their opponents with empty threats like the removal of limbs and breaking of bones, looking at you Chris Chaos and Jim Caedus… I choose logic and intelligence mixed with my own sense of humor.

“Looking at your last promo, its pretty obvious that I’m in your head. You’re thinking of me in your daily life and...”[/duke] the kid shakes his head. [duke]”It’s an honor, man. Truly.

“It’s an honor that you think of me so frequently. I’ll let you know if I ever think of you in my every day life. Though I doubt it, truthfully. Your promo is full of you… and you pondering what wouldn’t Thaddeus Duke do? I’m not sure where I come in to your life? I mean, yeah we have this match coming up and everything but why the fuck are you talking about your dogs and respecting them but wondering to yourself and making assumptions that I couldn’t fathom that type of respect? Why are you looking at a womans ass and thinking about me? That’s a bit concerning. I mean if you’re into guys, you’re into guys, I wouldn’t judge you for it, but c’mon bro. I’m a small guy by pro wrestling standards but I’m not shaped like a woman, so you can’t even cover up by going that route.

“Pig thinks my road to a 24/7 briefcase is only beginning.

“Duh.

“Did it take you all week to come up with that thought or did you hold off on that revelation until just the right moment? The road is a rough one, I’d never deny it. I don’t look to far ahead because then you lose sight of what’s directly in front of you. I can only defend it one match at a time, and the first stop on the rocky road to Universal dreams, is you, Josh Payne. I’m not going to throw out the overused boring cliches like ‘you never faced anyone like me before’ and I hope you’ll extend that same courtesy because let’s be real. Let’s be real and true. There is not one opponent in the XWF that is exactly like another so that baseless and weightless cliché is always the troof.

“The fact is though, Josh… can I call you Josh? The fact is, that I’ll undoubtedly be, one of the toughest mother fuckers you’ll ever face in your entire career. Say what you want about my youth and inexperience, but others have tried, and others have failed.

“I’m not walking into this match and expecting an easy victory. Victories here, are never easy. Yet I do expect victory. Expecting anything less than victory is a recipe for failure. Failure isn’t an option. Failure isn’t in my blood.

“I’m coming to Warfare on July 5th, Josh. My title will be on the line. You’ll be in the ring with a bona fide stud that is used to the bright lights of the main events. One that is used to facing tough opponents. One used to stealing the show. One used to defying expectations.

“I’m the star of this show, Josh. I hope you don’t mind taking home the award for best supporting actor.”[/duke]

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