"Young Bradley Thomas. To what do I owe the honor of this most unexpected visit? What brings you to my doorstep?


For a moment, Bradley drew a blank. He simply stood there and stared up at the spaceman. Somewhat awestruck and slightly dumbfounded, he blinked. The boy never thought he'd see Azrael again. For the most part, up until now, that was true. After Bradley was gifted a gold rock from a troll that burrowed through his wall. A rock that broke open and released Azrael, thus granting him, his freedom, which led to an epic return over a year ago, there wasn't any communication between the two. Azrael went on his own path of adventure and Bradley returned to being an awkward, friendless, nerd. If he wasn't getting bullied and stuffed into a locker, he was floating through the halls of High School like a ghost, borderlining on becoming a recluse.


However, to do that he'd have to stay in his house and his home life, wasn't much better. With parents that ignored him just as much as the rest of the world and lived their life like they didn't have a child. He was shunned and ostracized there too. It was too much of a hassle for his parents to actually put forth the effort it took to raise him or pay him any mind whatsoever, so instead they simply shoved money in his direction and went on their merry way. Nary a care in the world. They were wealthy after all and could afford to be cruel and stupid. So daft they didn't even understand what they were doing was wrong, all they selfishly understood was their own needs and it showed, even if they couldn't see it themselves. The only comforts for him were video games, comics and of course, watching wrestling.


Now here Bradley stood, looking up at Azrael and all it took was ringing a doorbell. The one being that paid him any mind and actually saw him. Why didn't he do this before? It was all so simple and at the same time it was a lot to take in, all the time that had gone by and yet, it seemed like only yesterday he was standing outside of Shane 's door, after Azrael had entered Shane's office. Crossed the threshold to the other side, shut the door and rekindled a new contract for employment. Still he couldn't help from gazing upon his idol, in silent awe. Eyes wide and mouth agape. The picture image of a dazzled fan, stricken by stultification.


The reaction summoned a chuckle from Azrael as he shook his head and snapped his fingers sharply in front of Bradley's face. Which immediately pulled Bradley out of his trance, causing him to stumble back a tad. Adjusting his glasses, he sighed and tried to muster the ability to obtain enough of his fleeting confidence to speak, after that ridiculous display. Not Bradley Thomas' finest hour. Azrael on the other hand, had no issue with speaking. This time with some slight concern.


"Are you okay? Is there something I can do for you?"


"No!"


Bradley exclaimed, much louder and way more excitedly, than he had intended. Taking a deep breath, he finally composed himself and located his nerve to relay his reason for dropping by Azrael's tower. Out of the blue. A feat most couldn't accomplish considering its location wasn't information that was made public. Nothing beyond the fact that it existed in New York


"No. I can do something for you though."


"You can do something for me?"


The spaceman raised an eyebrow in inquiry.


"And what might that be?"


"Give you something. I discovered an object that you might find of interest. That is... I think you might find it of interest. Maybe? I don't know, I can't say a hundred percent, for sure. Something in my gut told me to bring it to you. Like instinct. Only more overwhelming and stronger. I felt like this is important and you needed to see it. You had to see it."


"Well what precisely is this mystery object?"


"Hang on."


Another sigh, this time more frustrated, Bradley swung his backpack around and started rummaging through it. After several seconds, he produced a rock. Not just any rock, this one was shimmering, practically gleaming, silver and closely resembled the gold rock that Azrael had been released from. Seeing that Azrael never witnessed the shiny gold rock that he was encased inside and only encountered the crater it left behind, this was merely a rock to him. Pretty. Still simply a rock and nothing more though.


"You brought me a rock. That's... interesting and not at all weird."


Fully exasperated and surprisingly, allowing it to show as he fought the urge to face palm. Like his name was Peter Gilmour. Bradley further explained.


"Okay. I'm not slow or something. I didn't fall and bump my head, I wouldn't bring you a rock out of nowhere, for no reason. I brought it to you because it looks exactly like the rock that you hatched out of in my basement, over a year ago. Only it's silver."


An expression of contemplation briefly crossed Azrael's face and then he extended his hand outward. Bradley gave him the rock and Azrael instantly held it up close to his face, turning it about as he examined it carefully.


"You're certain this looks the same and the only difference is that it's silver. It's been over a year. Your memory could be foggy and you could be seeing something strange, when in reality this is nothing more than a silver rock."


"A creature bore a hole in my wall and gave me a rock, that fell through two stories of my home and left a crater in my basement floor. Right before an alien hatched out of it. That's not a memory that easily fades over time."


"Touché."


Tightening his grip on the silver rock, Azrael clutched it in his hand and gave a grin.


"Then I suppose there's only one thing left to do."


"What's that?"


"Take it to my lab, crack it open and see what's inside."


Azrael turned and walked inside, starting the journey up the long, stone, spiral staircase that led to his abode but not before looking over his shoulder and asking.


"You coming?"


It was a question that didn't need to be asked twice.




"In this business, wrestling in the land of the X-Treme, no one is off the table in the terms of fighting. Not even family. On the next edition of Warfare, I shall once again showcase a prime example of that, when I take on another one of my sons. With the exception that this time, it's going to be a one on one match. A one on one match against Donovan Blackwater. Probably the most gifted in the terms of wrestling, his talents are miles ahead of his brothers. That's not a slam on the others, not everyone can be the very best at everything but in this industry, Donovan has proven himself to be a worthy and formidable adversary. He's accomplished great things and taken on a myriad of opponents. Their talents ranging from some of the worst, to the very best that the company has to offer."


"While he doesn't always win, he does manage to give it his all and put on a great show in the process. Dare I say, out of all of my children, he's probably the closest to resembling me, when I was very young and if I am being truly honest, even still to this very day. From how he carries himself, to his mannerisms and mentality and even that smirk he gets, when he's being overly arrogant and cocky. That look he gets in his eyes, that gleam that says I know I'm better than the rest. Which is far from unwarranted, in many cases he has every right to feel that way. I'm proud of his achievements and I believe there's only a bright future ahead of him on this career path of wrestling he chose."


"Alas, that will not include a victory over me, in either his near future or even if we ever wind up clashing again sometime down the line. He's good but he hasn't even come close to the battles I've experienced. You could drown someone... multiple someones, in the sea of blood that I've drawn, while you could barely dip a toe in his puddle. I didn't hold back or show leniency towards Ezra and I won't do anything different when it comes to Donovan. How else would he learn to improve his technique and use that knowledge to become an even better wrestler? If I hold back, that won't happen. It might seem cruel or harsh but in this company, you need to be prepared for whatever comes your way and at least it'll finally be me, that's the one delivering the lesson."


"Who better to teach him than his father? I wasn't there to see him grow up and that's something, that weighs on my heart, everyday. At least I can do this for him. I didn't have a father there to teach me how to fight, he was taken by the Grendal when I was very young. Captured and enslaved, most likely killed. Along with my mother and younger sister Alara. At least I'm here now and I can help him in a way that I wasn't. I can be the teacher and show him what it's like to really go to war. Fitting this fight will take place on Warfare."

2x Universal Champion (First reign was less than a day though, lol. Due to Sebastian Duke cashing in his briefcase.)
2x Tag Team Champion
3x Triple Tag Team Champion
1x Television Champion
2x US Champion (Title retired during my second reign as champ.)
2x X-Treme Champion
1x Bombshell Champion
2x HMW Champion
2x SOTM