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The Brothers Blackwater · (10-26-2019)

Raphael, Ezra and I, walked into King's Tavern, single file and in that precise order. Our father requested our presence. Said it was important and that he needed to speak with us. So I got a sitter for Arkin, called up my brothers and we set out to meet Azrael. Stepping through the front door, my sights were locked on him almost immediately, the unmistakable alien at the end of the bar, chatting up a storm with Axle King. He seemed happy and content but then again, he was conversing with an old friend. I've always prided myself on the fact that I had an amazing poker face, surpassed only by Griffin MacAlister but Azrael Erebus, well he was the master of illusions. If he had something to hide, not even tremendous amounts of torture would force him to reveal his secrets.

At times, it was almost inspiring but tonight, it only piqued my curiosity. What was he hiding behind that clever grin tonight? Obviously, it was information that needed to be accompanied by alcohol or else, we wouldn't be meeting up in a bar. I enjoy a drink as much as the next gent but this was different. I could sense it, something was off but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was or how it factored into tonight's discussion. Was this good news that my father wanted to share or bad? A celebration that required toasting or would we need something to take the edge off, when he delivered a tragic shock? I couldn't tell and I was already getting bored of attempting to decipher the situation from afar. So I turned to my brothers to obtain their thoughts on the matter and smiled, they were looking at me, watching as I silently assessed things.

Some things never change. We may be older but when it came to times like this, they still waited for my lead. Not that they'd be lost without it but in moments of doubt, when they noticed my quiet reservation, it was almost like an unspoken signal was sent to them, telling them to wait and watch for my cue to act. This was instilled in them, from when we were terrified children, sneaking about a house that was ruled by a lunatic and taking things we needed to survive. As well as several years after the fact, when she was locked away and we were on our own, on the run and hiding from a society that would otherwise lock us away as well, on the premise of it being for our own safety. A society that would never understand what we were and would only respond in fear.

Yes, those were the times they looked to me for guidance, for I was the one who took inventory of our surroundings and gauged the risks. I suppose that's the sort of thing that doesn't ever really go away. The role of leader and protector. Much like our... hive mind - the thing that allows us to realize certain things about the other, without ever uttering a word or even being in the same room. A type of gut instinct or sensation that I'm sure is only linked between triplets. With their eyes trained upon me now, I knew there was only one way to keep things moving and on schedule or else risk my father wondering why his sons were paused at the door, so I gave a slight nod and proceeded forward. Walking onward, into the further interior of the bar, with my brothers in tow and me in the lead.

Like I said... some things never change.

"Hello father."

Azrael's attention was still directed at Axle, so I said this in a way that would instantly pull his focus toward me. Mostly because he hated it when I said it this way. Think Norman Bates, in the television show "Bate's Motel", how Norman would address his mom and stress the word "Mother" with that sort of solemn, straight faced and serious way of speaking. It's fairly creepy and my tone of voice only intensified it. I knew this, I was fully aware of this fact but it was absolutely hilarious to me because it always got a reaction out of him. A rise. It irked him and it showed, yet he would never outwardly object or even make the slightest mention against it. He just gave me this look that said... "Oh, for fucks sake, Donovan. Do you really have to do that?" and I did, I really, really did.

"Donovan."

He singled my name out first and briefly caught my eye as he gave me the "look" and I responded with a smile. Meanwhile, tiny cartoon Donovan that only existed in my head, burst out laughing, uncontrollably. From there, Azrael turned to my brothers, acknowledging them separately and without even a hint of annoyance.

"Ezra. Raphael. Glad you could make it."

"Of course dad, you wanted to see us, there's no way we wouldn't prioritize this meeting."

"So what's up? What did you want to talk to us about?"

That is how my brothers replied, before they sat down. I'm already sitting by this point and since this conversation was taking place at the counter, they sat next to me, in the order that they spoke in.

"Yes, what's this urgent matter that we need to discuss, inquiring minds want to know?"

I stated this as I watched Axle pour four shots of whiskey before he made himself scarce. An outsider would've assumed, that meant that Axle knew what my father was about to discuss with us but the way I figured it, all that Axle understood is that Azrael, didn't want anyone around, when he spoke to us. At least, not in the period of time that it took him to relay the information and we initially, digested it. Which meant, this was bad. Real bad.

"Well, I don't know if you're aware of this but I recently went on an adventure, with Joachim Bright and Lux."

"What did you do?"

"We went to Purgatory to find the Engineer."

"Did you find him?"

"We did. He looked revitalized and extremely well, for being a man burdened with the promise of hellfire and brimstone but dying tends to do that to you... well, it does it to the beings that stay deceased. The ones whose souls actually leave their bodies. They're no longer imprisoned, within the sickly shell of their former, earth bound self. So all they're left with is their pure essence and that's never ravaged by disease. No matter how awful they were in life, in death that inner part, always appears to be the best version of them. Still doesn't take away the things that they've done. That's why there's a trial and a judgement based on prior actions. Luckily, Dexter got to go forward and start fresh, he was given a brand new life. The only catch is that he'll never remember the old one, which is for the best cause remembering past lives can take its toll. Takes a very unique individual, with a strong mind and the keen intuitive ability, to tap into their aura and the energy that surrounds it, to be able to do that. Not a common trait."

"This is all very fascinating and not to sound like a dick because even though I didn't particularly get along with your friend... Dexter, I am glad he gets a nice, brand new life, still I have to ask, what does this have to do with us? You said that you needed to talk to us and that it was important, something tells me that didn't pertain to informing us about Engy's reincarnation."

"It didn't"

Deep breath.

"I seen your mother."

"Our mother. You seen her? Where? She faked her death and escaped a psych ward. She's been on the run ever since then, no one has been able to track her down. Where did you see her and how do you even know it was her? You said the two of you had a one night stand. How do you even remember..."

"I never forget a face. As soon as I seen her, I knew it was her."

"Well, where did you see her?"

"Purgatory. Her trial was set to take place after Dexter's."

"So she's dead. She died and got sent to Purgatory."

"Yes."

"What happened? How did she die?"

"I don't know."

"What was the verdict? Her sentence, what was it?"

"I don't know that either."

"How don't you know that, you were there, right? That's how you seen her."

"Yes, but I had to take Joachim and Lux back and when I returned, she was gone. Her fate had already been decided. I'm sorry. I was too late, it must have been a flash judgement."

"She's gone though? It's not like they could say, oh we made a mistake, you get to go back to your old life, right?"

"That's uncommon but not impossible."

"If you were to take an educated guess and play the odds. What are the chances of that happening?"

"Close to zero. It would be highly unlikely to occur, since it's extremely rare for it to happen and that's for individuals that were next to saintly. From what I remember, she was far from that. Although, if I had to toss out a percentage based on her chances, it would be one in a million, maybe."

"Good enough for me."

I turned to my brothers and lifted my shot of whiskey, extending it upwards as they followed suit.

"Well brothers, the wicked bitch of the bughouse... is dead!"

All three shots were swallowed down in unison, as were the glasses slammed upon the counter.

"Time to fuckin' celebrate!"

After that joyous declaration, Axle King emerged and began refilling glasses. As he did this act, I spun back to my father, practically beaming like the sun. I couldn't be more thrilled about this fantastic news. However, when I fixated my focus on him, I immediately started laughing. He was looking at me, like he was worried. He must have thought we were going to be upset. Wow. Was he off! That couldn't have been further from the truth! We were over the moon, right now. Ecstatic. Our mother was finally gone and it felt like an evil curse had been lifted. Who the heck wouldn't feel happy about that? So I did the only thing that I thought would really emphasize the sheer relief and utter joy that I was feeling. I hugged him.

"Thank you for letting us know. You have no idea what this means to us. It's fucking incredible! Seriously! Thank you!"

When I released Azrael from my embrace, he looked at me and shook his head. Almost in dumbfounded, disbelief.

"Wow. From one extreme to the other. After witnessing and experiencing the final moments with my friend, I wasn't expecting you three to be so..."

"Happy? Giddy? Cheerful?"

"Right. All of that. I mean it's unusual but I suppose I would have had to have been there, seen things from your perspective and underwent what it was like to really know Stella, to understand. She must have been terrible."

"You have no idea."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to do something to stop her. To fix it and put things right."

"Don't do that, don't blame yourself, it isn't your fault that you knocked up a nutcase. We don't hold it against you nor do we despise you for disappearing. Not anymore, anyway. It's all good, we know it was out of your control and there wasn't anything you could do about it, you were abducted and trapped inside of a gold rock. Don't torture yourself about it dad, you're here now and that's all that matters. Now get fucking drunk with your sons! Dammit! We're celebrating!"

Azrael said nothing more, he simply drank his shot and put his glass in line for another.

"It's about that time. Time for me to speak to my opponents for Round One of Lethal Lottery."

"My randomly decided adversaries."

"There is no control over the outcome, both wrestler and general manager alike are prisoners of fate."

"United by chance and the luck of the draw."

"And what... pray tell, would Lady Luck have in store for me?"

"Well, for starters my partner is a man by the name of 'Box Office' Brian O'Haire. Someone that I admittedly know nothing about but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing, plenty of new talent blasted their way on the scene and instantly made a name for themselves. I know, I speak from personal experience, my first two matches were title shots and I won the second match. After participating in only two matches, I was awarded a title and became the X-Treme champion. So there's nothing wrong with being the new guy, if anything it gives you an advantage. People won't know what to anticipate, you're the wild card factor and that tends to make others nervous. I think Brian O'Haire and I, will get along famously and I look forward to working with him."

"Next up are my opponents. Jake Avery and Rebel Star."

"Jake Avery. A man that had a few matches in the early spring and then disappeared, only to resurface at the start of this month. His record is as impressive as an average, boring, run of the mill, rookie's, with no real accolades to tie to it. In my opinion, he's a wrestler that's better suited for roadie work and he'll be gone by next month, that's me being generous in my assumption too. I don't expect this man to do anything of worth with his time either. If anything, he's the cement shoes that are destined to make his partner drown. Pity. Since I find his partner rather charming."

"Rebel Star. A fierce competitor, when she decides it suits her to fight, which isn't often. I know she can take whatever I dish out and then some. She's also exceedingly stronger than I am. Rebel is... without a shred of doubt, the one that I have to watch out for in this fight. However, I happen to have a few tricks up my sleeves, strength isn't everything, y'know? I've been at this for awhile now and while she's a former queen of the XWF, that was a long time ago. A lot can change in three years. While she might have been the supreme queen B, back in the day, I've wrestled here longer and acquired far more than a mere figure head trophy. A trophy that would go right in the trash, I wager when she left the company, to do who knows what?"

"I couldn't do that, bail after a big win, it would make all my efforts seem pointless and silly. A waste of time for everyone all around and my time is far too valuable and precious, to ever do something ridiculous like that. I actually enjoy wrestling and it shows. Time and time again, I've astounded and amazed in that ring, win or lose, the entertainment value is always the same. It doesn't change and it never will. I put my heart and soul into the fight and I give it my all. Can Rebel Star, say the same thing? No, she can't and she more than likely, never will. Safe bet, she'll get married to my father and vanish, never to return again. Meanwhile, Donovan Blackwater is here to stay and that's a promise delivered straight from the source. Blackwaters don't quit. Remember that."

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