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Sebastian Duke · (04-10-2015)

Saturday, April 4, 2015 | 10:21 AM Local Time | Berlin Tegel Airport | Berlin, Germany

It's been a rough few days for the King of Darkness. Some may scoff and laugh and perhaps even think to themselves, 'well the guy is uncaring and cold.' Most certainly he does release an air about him that does suggest that he is cold hearted and that he cares very little, if at all, about human beings and the human condition in general. The truth is, Sebastian Duke is a man. A human being. A mere mortal entity. He does indeed have a heart and if one gets to know him, which very few do, you'd learn that he has feelings like anyone else. Feelings of love and hate. Feelings of fear and determination. Feelings of heartache and heartbreak. While he is not the warmest person on the face of this rocky water world, he most definitely has emotion, and sometimes shows it.

The death of his best friend, a man he long considered to be his little brother, has nearly shattered him. Most often, when faced with the death of someone close to him, he retreats to the recesses of his home and sulks by his lonesome. Deep in the heart of Berlin and embroiled in an ancient war, retreating to anywhere is out of the equation. No, Sebastian Duke must maintain, at the very least, a visible presence in front of his men.

Among the reasons that this is a must, the most dominant of those, is morale. The death of Jacob Anderson, both the King's right hand and his Messenger, has sent shock waves through the Illuminatus. Not a man exists within their ranks that does not feel the sting of his loss. He was important for to the cause for a great many reasons. His high regard for those beneath him always sat high in their minds. It caused a great deal of respect to be afforded to him.

As the King of the Illuminatus waits on the tarmac in a Lincoln limousine, he stares out the window at his own jumbo jet, Air Darkness One, as it taxis to rest. It's engines start to wind down and the door opens as the stairway is maneuvered into position. The King strokes his beard in deep thought, not even noticing as several minutes pass and finally, the guest of all guests steps out of the plane and down the steps.

It has been quite a few months since the two men have seen each other. The last time, was when the arriving guest gifted an underground mega military installation beneath Death Valley to the King of Darkness. He stares out, watching but not actually seeing as the limo driver opens the trunk and lays in the luggage, slamming it shut. Seconds later, the driver opens the passenger side rear door, and Theo Pryce enters the car. The driver slams his door shut and enters the car himself.

â€Well hello to you, too,â€ says Theo with a great deal of sarcasm and a smile.

â€What?â€ says Sebastian, turning his head toward his younger brother, only just now realizing he had even entered the car. The King's face brightens a little, â€shit man, sorry. I've been so deep in thought that I hadn't even realized the plane even landed, let alone that you're siting here,â€ he concludes.

â€No worries,â€ Theo says turning his own head to look out the window as the car starts its motion. â€Listen, um,â€ says Theo hesitantly. â€We didn't really get along very much, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. You know, about Jake.â€

â€Yeah I know. Me too,â€ says the King to his younger brother.

â€Look, if you don't mind my asking,â€ Theo begins with a slight bit of nervousness. â€I've seen a news report here and there, but what the hell happened?â€

â€Well,â€ the King begins to explain, â€Dad had just concluded a round of questions by the United Nations and by and large, he's got the world at our side. Poland surrendered and we were all riding high. I mean, we were pretty euphoric.

â€œDad had this idea that we should all relax and unwind a little by going out on the town to have dinner together. As we were exiting the Chancellery, shots rang out from two different locations. Two of the struck Jacob. One hit him in the neck and the other in the chest.

â€œThere was very little hope of saving him,â€ the King concludes.

â€Christ, man,â€ Theo replies. â€Like I said, we didn't really get along, but I know how close you were to him.â€

â€Yeah and I never really understood that,â€ the King responds.

â€To be honest, neither did I,â€ says Theo, before pausing. â€I think with the MacAllister thing, he had private reservations about XWF entities being so close to what you do in your private life. In his own way, I think he was just trying to protect you. That, and I think maybe he was jealous because while you considered him like a brother to you, I was actually your brother. Maybe he thought I was encroaching on his territory,â€ Pryce concludes.

â€You could be right. It seems logical, at least from his perspective.â€

The two fall silent for the moment as the limousine, flanked by police and military escorts, weaves its way through traffic in Berlin.

â€I have something I need to ask you,â€ says Duke, looking at his younger brother.

â€Hey, I'm here. Ask away,â€ Theo replies.

â€Jake was by my side for a long time, little brother,â€ he begins as he returns to staring out the window. â€There was an unspoken love there. I trusted him almost implicitly. He did a lot of good for me. But there is no one to take his place,â€ he pauses, looking back at Theo who is now leaning forward and staring down at the black carpet of the car. â€You're not in the wrestling thing right now. In fact, you're not doing much of anything except partying it up and screwing sluts. The fact is, little brother, I need you. What's left of your family needs you. Most importantly, the cause needs you,â€ he finally concludes.

â€Man,â€ Theo begins, extremely hesitant to live his older brothers lifestyle. He sympathizes of course, but its not his life. â€Can I think about it?â€ he asks his older brother.

â€Of course,â€ the King answers. â€It's just that with Jacob dead, I just don't see anyone else that can really handle the job. It takes a certain kind of man to do it. Jake was my right hand. He did things no one else could, or at the very least, no one else would. He was my conscience a lot of the time and was never afraid to stand up to me if he thought I was wrong. Let's face it, a lot of the men are intimidated by me. Because of my size, because of how I carry myself. Whatever the reason. They're used to just obeying orders and never questioning anything. Even if I'm wrong and they think it, they'll never say so.

â€œThat's a big part of what made Jake stand out. A lot of that is because we were close when we were kids, so he felt he could stand up to me without getting punched in the mouth. You're the only one that could handle the requirements of the job, Theo,â€ he concludes.

â€You're probably right,â€ Theo says.

â€I usually am,â€ replies Duke with a rare smile.

â€I will certainly consider it,â€ replies Theo.

The limousine comes to a stop outside the Chancellery building and Theo goes to exit immediately. To which, the King grabs his arm and pulls him toward him while shaking his head. â€We wait for security to get in place these days,â€ Sebastian states to his younger brother. The only response from Theo comes in the form of a head nod. Once security does get in place, the door is opened and both Sebastian and Theo are hurried out of the limousine and up the steps and then into the building.

Since my return, I have done every single thing I said I would. These days I find myself wanting to face only the best of the best. Tri Bute? No match. Eli James the fourth? He always falls short when it comes to facing anyone with Duke blood coursing through their veins. LH Harrison? See Tri Bute. Goat Face Killa? Please. Justin Sane? Schooled in the ways of victory by the veteran that I am. Corvus and Mastermind? HA! And don't make me laugh, respectively of course. Hysteria? That's hysterical.

Either I'm better than even I think I am, or those names are not the best of the best. This Wednesday on Warfare, I am again stuck in a position where I must face talent lesser than me. Four of them, in fact. Odds are against me winning, but they are most definitely in my favor when it comes to not losing.

From top to bottom it is literally a who's who of the XWF. No. Seriously. Who are these guys? I mean, the only one I consider remotely important is Austin Fernando and by the way, it has less to do with him and more to do with who he is associated with.

You see, Austin Fernando made the dumbest mistake of his life by aligning himself with Defiance. He joined them in hopes that they'd make him a champion. He entered the Stampede on Madness with his Defiance buddies in hopes of actually winning the thing and becoming the Hart Champion.

You don't have to take my word for it, but let's look at the facts. Defiance put the target on their backs and at one time held the Tag Team titles, the Xtreme title, and even tried to claim my Intercontinental title. Not to mention the fact that Gator was in a position to claim the Universal title had he played his cards right. The night of the Stampede, March 16, Defiance was in the most unique position possible. They could have walked out of Calgary with every single title the XWF has to offer.

What they didn't count on, is the fact that they poked a sleeping giant with a pretty sharp stick. What they didn't count on is your King of fucking Darkness reawakening and putting each and every one of them in my cross hairs.

In one night, I put an end to Defiance. Don't get me wrong, they lived on life support for a few more weeks but let's call a spade a spade here. I interrupted Defiance at the Stampede. I put an extremely dominant Defiance in their place, which for the record, is flat on their backs.

Since that moment, what has Defiance done? Corvus and Sane were quickly and easily eliminated from the Stampede after my appearance. They left Austin Fernando alone to do what we all know he isn't capable of doing on his own: win a championship.

Fernando was eliminated.

Later in the night, I was the final weapon in the chamber of horrors and Gator fell to Doctor D'Ville.

Two days later, Justin Sane lost his Xtreme title to Unknown Soldier.

At Lethal Lottery III, I crushed Corvus and he's not been seen or heard from since.

On the last Warfare, Gator and Justin Sane lost the tag team titles to Scully and Maverick. Yes, you heard it right. Fucking Scully, and fucking Maverick.

Austin Fernando is all that remains. Corvus is gone. Sane is in his own world. Gator has announced his sabbatical. Whether it was a direct result of myself or not is a moot point. The fact is, all of Defiance's troubles are all because they poked the giant with a stick. I awakened, and Defiance is left with nothing. No titles whatsoever. And Austin Fernando holding the bag.

Fernando finds himself the number one contender to my title. Something he was rewarded for defeating Peter Gilmore. Really? Gilmore? That's like defeating a quadriplegic in a foot race. What's done is done, though. Fernando is the number one contender. Sooner or later, he'll stand face to face with the man that, one way or another, took the fight out of all his friends. Sooner or later, he'll get to experience first hand, just who the hell I really am.

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