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Sunday, May 18, 2014 – 7:31 AM EST – The Laboratory – Old Saybrook, Connecticut

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Last night was a rough night. Caitlyn spent the night balling her eyes out. Father Asmodeus sequestered himself here in his laboratory. Sebastian never did return from the dungeon. Nothing may ever again be the same.

The remains of young Thaddeus lie on the cold stainless steel slab. I stare into his lifeless eyes and wonder what could have been. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been just an infant. I very much considered him my own nephew and planned to teach him so many things. Not just about the Illuminatus, but life in general.

I can not help but to imagine him becoming the first King of the Church of the Iluminatus. Ascending to the throne in Saint Peter's Square. Right in the heart of Rome. Right in the heart of Vatican City. Among the ruins of the Catholic Church. All that has changed. I fear though, all of that has indeed changed, but not for the better.

This very well could spell the end of the Illuminatus as we know it. Father Asmodeus' power over his son is weakening by the day. Now this, whatever is going through Sebastians mind, whatever he intends to do moving forward, Father Asmodeus won't be able to stop him.

I can only imagine Sebastian Duke being a freight train of anger at this moment. An anger that is consuming him as we speak. I've not seen him since he materialized from that other time line. I've not seen him since I took the dead future King from his arms. The last time I saw him, Thaddeus' blood and brain matter covered his face. I've never feared Sebastian Duke. Mainly because I've always considered him my brother and he, me. I've always known he had these periodic bouts of being completely belligerent and hard to talk to. I've always known he had a bull headed stubbornness about him. No matter what the case was, no matter what was going on, I never feared him because he and I trusted each other.

All that has changed.

I fear him. I fear him and I fear for him. I fear for the innocents walking the Earth. Believe it or not, I even have fear for the hundreds of millions of Catholics that grace this planet. For the King of Darkness is in the absolute darkest and most dangerous place I have ever seen him. I fear not what he might do, I fear what he absolutely will do.

It's hard to explain. You know how identical twin siblings always have that connection with each other? You know how they have a feeling when their twin is in trouble? Like there is some kind of unknown supernatural connection between the two. Sebastian and I have always had a similar connection. We could be a million miles apart but I could always sense when he needed my help. I could always sense him everywhere.

Not now. That connection has gone dead. I can no longer feel what he feels. I can no longer see what he sees. I can no longer hear what he hears. It's like speaking on the phone and you're instantly and without warning, cut off. He's become detached. Detached from society. Detached from his friends and family. Detached from human emotion. Deep within his soul, lies the now lifeless body of a child. That's what I fear most about the King of Darkness.

God speed to anyone that tries to stop him.


ASMODEUS: “He looks good, no?”


Through everything it's easy to forget that Caitlyn and Sebastian are not the only ones affected by this tragedy. Thaddeus may have been their son, but he was always Father Asmodeus' grandson. One he loved dearly. One he had big plans for. One that he built all of what you see for.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “I guess so.”

ASMODEUS: “I was able to nearly make his skull defects invisible.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “I saw that.”


Actually, I didn't even notice. Seeing Thaddeus lying here, his head wounds were the farthest thing from my mind.


ASMODEUS: “Have you seen Sebastian?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Not since last night when...”


My voice trailed off. For some reason, I was unable to finish my thought.


ASMODEUS: “I'm worried about him.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “As am I.”

ASMODEUS: “Perhaps you should go see...”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “SEE WHAT!? TO SEE IF HE'S OK!? I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU, FATHER! HE'S NOT OK!

“And he won't be.

“CHRIST!

“Your Grandson is dead and you...”

ASMODEUS: “I WHAT!?

“Do you think for one damn second that I enjoyed preparing my only Grandson for funeral!?

“Jacob, do you have any idea what this is doing to me!?”


Now I feel bad.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “You're right. You have my deepest and sincerest apologies.”


He just waves his hand. I think he realizes that tensions are running high all over the Compound.


ASMODEUS: “What I was going to say is, maybe you should go see him, and tell him Thaddeus' funeral is set for noon.

“But uh, I know. He's not okay. He may never be. And as his father, it kills me that I'm unable to help him.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “You know, I am afraid for society. He's locked himself in the Dungeon and he's not come up since. The last time he did this was when John Madison betrayed him. This is something far, far worse.”

ASMODEUS: “I know.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “I don't know what, if anything, that he's planning.”

ASMODEUS: “Look, Jacob. He's going to do whatever it is he's going to do. We're not going to stop him. Why would we?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “What about the innocents?”

ASMODEUS: “As far as I'm concerned, there are no innocents. We're not going to stop him, because he's a genetic freak. You're five foot eight. I'm five foot nine and old as hell. If anyone of us stand in his way, he'll just mow us down. So...

“What will be, will be.”


I have the gravest of feelings. Unfortunately, I'll just have to live with it.

---

One Hour Later

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For much of the last hour after leaving Father Asmodeus' laboratory, I've kind of stuck around the ground floor of the Compound. I headed off others that might have attempted to bother Caitlyn upstairs or Sebastian downstairs. I was basically distracting myself by running the Illuminatus.

Soon though, I'd have to face my fears and head down to the Dungeon. I'd have to face my fears and confront Sebastian head on. I'd have to tell him that his sons funeral was in just a few hours.

So here I stand. At the doorway to Hell. Of course, I'm just being facetious. It's not really the doorway to Hell. However, the man that has kept to himself down there for the last twenty four hours is undoubtedly going through Hell.

I descend slowly. With every step I take on my descent, I feel my blood pressure rise slightly. The fear, too. As I reach the bottom I have to steady my nerves in order to even grip the door knob. With a slight turn and push, the door open and I enter.

The room is dark, but for a few burning candles. Sebastian sits in his throne with his back to me. Slowly, I step forward until I stand beside the throne on Sebastians left side. Ahead of me sitting on a table is one of the most grotesque things I've ever seen. On the table, lying between four lit candles, two on either side, lies the faceless skull of King George. Former King of the future American Empire.

Okay, I lied. It's the second most grotesque thing I've ever seen.

I turn my head and look at Sebastian and I'm stunned and shocked in horror at the realization that he's WEARING the King's face! It's right eye is covered with a Shane -esque eye patch. He looks at me with his left eye.

Part of me just wants to leave and never again come back down here. Okay, about 99.99999999% of me wants to do that. That miniscule part of me that doesn't, reminds me that regardless of what is happening now and what has happened in the past, that he is my best-friend. He is my brother. And he needs me whether I want to be needed or not.

I imagine he knew what I was thinking, because he slowly reaches up and removes the face from his face. He lays it down on a small table on his right side. That's when I feel like I should say something.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “I was in the lab an hour or so ago.”


As I expected, he says nothing.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Father wanted me to let you know the funeral is at noon.”


He lets out a deep sigh, but nothing else.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “You know, I'm here for you.”


He just stares into space.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Whenever you're ready.”


Just then, the door swings open. Caitlyn stands in the doorway and I'm actually thankful for an interruption.


CAITLYN: “Jacob, can you excuse us.”


Gladly. I will gladly leave this dungeon and I would gladly never return to it. I nod at Caitlyn and begin to leave when Sebastian grabs my arm.

DAMN!

So close!

He stands up then grabs me by my shirt and slams me against the wall. It was a triple 'ouch, that hurt.' My head and back slammed against the wall combined with his massive fist slamming into my chest.

For the first time in twenty-four hours, he speaks. But only one word.


SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Stay.”


Caitlyn obviously feels the tension as she begins twiddling her fingers.


CAITLYN: “Sebastian, um. After the funeral, I think its best that I go and stay with my parents.”


Oh no she dit'nt.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Are you fucking kidding me?”

CAITLYN: “It's for the best. I'll be filing for divorce this week.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Are you out of your God damned mind!?!”


Sebastian gently places his right hand over my mouth. Obviously telling me to shut the hell up. He then steps forward and places his hand gently on the side of Caitlyn's head. He pushes the hair out of her face and kisses her on the forehead.

Saying nothing, he retreats back to his throne and resumes staring into the dead eyes of his sons murderer. The door shuts behind Caitlyn. I look back to Sebastian and he's replacing the 'mask' over his face.


JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “I uh... I'll leave you alone with your thoughts.”

---

Sunday, May 18, 2014 – 12:00 PM EST – The Compound – Old Saybrook, Connecticut

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It's the moment I've dreaded. Thaddeus lies, like the Catholic Popes of past centuries, beneath a glass box in an open coffin. The entire Brotherhood of the Illuminatus is in attendance. Caitlyn, too. Sebastian however, has yet to show. Part of me thinks that maybe he won't. That's his choice. But I think that if he doesn't, he'll certainly regret it.

Father Asmodeus stands at the altar, preparing to speak.


ASMODEUS: “It is with deep regret and sadness, that we gather here.

“We gather together to mourn the loss of young Thaddeus. A young man with a predetermined future. A young man with a life of destiny cut short by a tyrant in another dimension.

“We gather to reflect on what would have been.

“As you can see, he lies here in repose like Popes of the past. It's a symbolic gesture, no doubt. He was to be the first King of the Church of the Illuminatus. His premature absence from this life, changes a great many things, though the goal will forever remain the same.

“We will fight on.

“We will carry out our mission.

“We will fulfill our goal of one day occupying Vatican City.

“When that day comes, the bones that lie beneath St. Peter's Basilica will be destroyed and replaced with the young man you see before you. When that day comes, Vatican City will become Thaddeus City. When that day comes, St. Peter's Square will become St. Thaddeus' Square. When that day comes, St. Peter's Basilica will become St. Thaddeus' Basilica...”


It is that moment, that the doors burst open. Standing in the doorway is an emotionless Sebastian Duke. Thankfully, without the 'mask' of King George and with his crown on his head. All eyes fall upon him. He walks the aisle slowly. Not once taking his eyes off of Thaddeus.

As he nears the altar and the deceased body of his son, he stops. Again, not once allowing his eyes to deviate from the young boy. Unsure of anything at this point, I feel within myself a deep yearning to stand beside him. So I stand up, and do so. Caitlyn follows just a few seconds later. Then, his brother Enigma. Then Father Asmodeus himself.

Completely unplanned, yet entirely in unison, the five of us kneel before the would-be King of the Illuminatus. Behind us, the 200 plus other Brothers do the same. We kneel for what seems like an eternity. No one wanting to move until Sebastian does.

Once he stands, everyone returns to their rightful seats. Sebastian relocates himself near the head of Thaddeus. Slowly, he opens the glass case and removes his crown. He reaches down and gently lifts Thaddeus' head, then places his crown upon it before gently lying him back down. He closes the case, then quickly disappears.

In one fell swoop, the man has lost his son and his wife. It'll be interesting, to the say the least, to see what happens next.


Fade to Darkness.