We stand as one. I guess in this case, sit as one. The Brotherhood is unlike the Black Circle in just about every way conceivable. The Circle is lead by an unruly dictating tyrant. His law. Those that follow him obey his every wish and his every demand. While it is true that I am the leader of the Brotherhood, you won't see my brethren standing behind me playing second fiddle. No, see, those that I lead into this bloody war I consider equals. Free to do as they please under one condition. The only condition that really matters.


Stay loyal.


I remain loyal to those that are loyal to me.


My Brotherhood sit beside me. Not behind me. We fight together. We succeed together. We fail together.


In the Black Circle, one man has a throne. John Madison. In the Brotherhood, we all have thrones. Which is why you see Peter Gilmour and Griffin MacAlister sitting on either side of me. Just, you know, chillin' while I think.


It's a dark room we sit in. The only noticeable light, is that of a fire. The XWF camera zooms in on me...



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Warfare. My playground. John Madison has seen fit, seen fit to place me in a ten man gauntlet and enter me at number one. Not only did he see fit to place me in a gauntlet at number one but he also made it so that the winner of said gauntlet gets a shot at Sebastian Dukes United States title!


“Confused?


“I thought you might be. See, this title belongs to me because I never lost it to begin with. Now, Eli James the fourth, is nothing more then a placeholder. As far as I'm concerned, that title is still mine, but Eli, you can keep it... At least for now.


“I don't even want the thing. The only reason I kept my name in this is because I want to prove to each and every last one of you out there that are watching this that yeah, I still got it. I'm still the fucking best you've ever seen. I'm still the Angel of fucking Darkness! I'm still the biggest, the meanest, the baddest son of a bitch to ever set foot inside an XWF ring! And tomorrow night, that fact will ring true and Eli James will get his wish!


“I will have proved myself 'worthy' which is something I've been doing since the day I walked into this company.


“That brings us to my nine opponents. The first of which is Mr. Natural. Is this guy even relevant? I've never even seen one damn promo from him. I don't mean just this week, I mean ever. I take it Mr. Natural, whatever the hell thats supposed to mean, has seen my work and has saw fit to just keep his mouth shut and take his inevitable beating like a man.


“Having never seen Mr. Natural, I only assume he's a man by having the salutation “Mister” in front of his name. Of course, this is the XWF and you just never fucking know. Mr. Natural is the first of eight other irrelevant pieces of garbage that stand in my way. Pete? He's not irrelevant.


“Mr. Irrelevant number two is a man by the name of Matt Ward. Unlike Mr. Natural, I have seen something from Ward. Here's what happened. My Messenger walked into my office and said 'Sebastian, I have a promo for you to watch from a Matt Ward.' He put the DVD in the player, I immediately felt the need to yawn, I blinked, and it was over.


“I actually had to watch it three times, because I kept dozing off.


“Here's what I do know. Ward says when he enters he'll be facing the weaker man, when in reality, you're facing the single most dominant force to step in the ring. You're facing the toughest motherfucker you'll ever face in your life! You want to know why that is, Matthew? Can I call you Matthew? It's because as soon as you step into that ring your night, is already over.


“I am as good as I say I am. Walk your ass into my ring, you lay your ass down, and just let me beat you for the three because that's the only way you'll get out of that match with your fucking dignity still in tact. If you don't you will receive the absolute worst beating of your entire life and that is a fact, Jack!


“You go on to talk about some of the others in this match, but I guarantee you, you'll never even see their faces. You're night is already over and it's only Tuesday!


“Alexandra Callaway. The daughter of the famed, Undertaker! Y'know, people say I look like him. I've checked you out, Callaway. Not bad. A young up and coming superstar here in the XWF. The thing is, I eat rising stars for breakfast... and lunch... dinner too, actually.


“Thing is, Alexandra... I'm hungry... My hunger will be satisfied tomorrow night because I plan on beating all nine of you!”



Gilmour hits me in the arm. I ignore him for the moment.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Mystica. Mistake-a. You make a lot of mistakes, don't you? First, you joined forces with the Congregation. That's a mistake because with your leader linked to the Black Circle that makes you all targets of the Brotherhood. The Black Circle has a giant fucking bulls eye attached to their collective back and YOU, by association are first!


“Then, you tried to refuse my challenge after your partner accepted. That was a mistake because whether you know it or not, I always get what I want! It's always been true and it will never change!


“Immediately after refusing my challenge it took Luca Arzegotti opening his mouth at the wrong time like he always does, to get you to accept. You accepting was your biggest mistake yet, because tomorrow night I'm going to give you a preview of what you're going to go through on August 7. It won't be fun. It won't be pretty. It damn sure won't be painless.


“Even with my acceptance of EJ4's terms, it's still a mistake on your part because my self along with Griffin MacAlister will defeat you and Rex in just 8 days. Your belts are coming to the Brotherhood.



I turn toward Griffin and we fist bump.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You have no idea what you accepted as your fate, Mystica! Your search for validity of being champion not only will end in 8 days, but it also will never come at my expense, or the expense of my Brotherhood! Not now! Not ever!


“Tomorrow night you get your first taste of just how mean and nasty I really am. In 8 days, you get the full course!


“Chris Legend. If there ever was a misuse of the word legend. It's right here. This guy would struggle to beat Swift Ion and JTC. If by legend, he means Brooklyn Brawler-esque then without question. He's an absolute legend.


“If he means legend in the sense of being considered one of the all time greats like Sammartino, Flair or Superstar Billy Graham, then yeah, it's a total misuse of the word.


“Your so much not a legend, I'm not wasting once more breath on you.


“Jason E. Smith. Another one just like Mr. Natural. Too gutless to utter a single word. If you can't find the time to talk about me, let alone anyone else in this gauntlet, then I suggest you find another profession.


“Tony Santos. Sitting in a tree because he lost a title. Bitch, get the fuck out that tree and be a man! This is the wrestling business! Very few things are a sure thing. One that is, is your fate tomorrow night. Just like all the men and Callaway that enter before you, I'll set them down. One, by one, by one. When its your turn, it won't be any different!


“You will be a champion again someday, Santos! But, you certainly won't be defeating me tomorrow night. As a result, you won't be a champion next week either. Don't be so hard on yourself! I'll be hard enough on you for the both of us!


“Death Merchant. What exactly does that mean, anyway?”



I look over at Pete and then at Griff. They both shrug. Damn. They don't know either.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Let's all watch this one together.”



The camera turns toward a giant projector screen as I load the disc. Death Merchants week of promos begin to play.......



After a few minutes, the promos end and there's nothing but silence. The camera turns back toward our Angel of Darkness and he, and his two fellow comrades are fast asleep in their thrones. The silence awakens Duke.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Shit!”



My yell woke up the other two...



PETER GILMOUR: “CHICKEN PARM!”



Griff and I look over at Pete who must've been dreaming about some awesome chicken Parmesan. I turn back to the camera.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Well, Merchant. Congratulations. You've successfully put us to sleep with your useless drivel. If you want any chance of defeating me, or even Pete, I suggest that before you even enter the ring tomorrow night, you start playing these promos of yours on loop. See, that's your only god damned shot at winning this thing.


“I better be fast asleep when you enter, and rest assured, I will still be there, because if I'm even half conscious, Merchant, you'll get put down faster then 'THE' Table put down Swift Ion!


“I just don't have much to say about you because you are the eighth and final Mr. Irrelevant to enter my ring. Just like those that came before you, I'll set you down. I am the Angel of fucking Darkness and there isn't a damn thing you, Santos, Mystica, James, Madison or any one of you, can do to change that.


“That brings me to Pete.”



I turn to Pete.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Make no mistake, Pete. I'm going out there to win, and even though you and I are allies, I will still put you down. I'm going out there to prove my dominance and that is exactly what I'm going to do, Pete.


“When its all settled, I will win, Pete. I'm not going to be like John Madison and ask you to lay down. No, see I want you at your best. You want a shot at the title? You'll get it. Because after I win tomorrow night, Pete. I'm handing my earned number one contendership right over to you. Then next week, Griffin and I take the tag team championship and you... You take the United States title.


“In the interest of not being so cliché and saying 'may the best man win,' I'll just say good luck, because after I'm done with the other 8, Pete....


“You're next. You may as well give in to the fact that I'm coming to Warfare tomorrow night to win it all. Only to prove to the world and the doubters, that I am still the best...


“We are one, Pete. We're going to go out there and battle each other like we have nothing to lose. And at the end of the day, we'll be poised and ready to bring home the gold to the Brotherhood.”



He and I fist bump, and I turn back toward the camera.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “In just over 24 hours boys...


“...I'll be seeing you...”



NIF