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Finn Kühn · (03-28-2018)

"We may have hell if we have war, and we may have hell if we have peace. But if we have no vision for what we do, we have hell anyway."

~ Gerald Stanley Lee

26 March 2018
Maverick's Mansion
Battle Creek, MI

"You're back," Maverick grumbled as he heard the doors to his private office open, "Finally."

Gerald calmly stepped through the doors - or at least as calmly as his haggard frame could suggest - walking past the mountains of literary books Maverick had picked out. His feet were dragging through the maroon carpet, with crow's feet apparent around his eyes from all the late nights he spent up. His balding hair was greasy enough to act as fried chicken. He felt like his eyes were going to well shut at any moment. As soon as he was before Maverick's desk, he slowly bowed, his hips threatening to burst.

"I- I live to serve, Master Solomon," the butler managed to choke out as he returned to a standing position.

Maverick sneered at the weary soul. "You look awful. Gerald, how much sleep did you get while in Africa?"

"I, uh..." Gerald trailed off, trying to count the numbers visibly. He didn't go to use two hands. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about again?"

"Oh for fuck's sake..." Maverick began rubbing his temples; he could feel a headache coming on. "What about Finn's DNA? You know, what I sent you out to get?"

It took a long moment for Gerald to register Maverick's words before snapping his fingers. "Of course, sir!" he cried. Digging into his coat pocket as Maverick looked on unamused, Gerald dug out five plastic baggies, each with their own separate DNA sample, and set them on the table.

"...That's it?" Maverick asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I- is it not enough of a sample size, Master Solomon?" Gerald almost looked affronted as he put a hand on his chest.

"No, no, it is. I was just making sure," Maverick sighed. If he was going to scold Gerald, he might as well do it when he's fully lucid.

Scanning his eyes over each of the plastic baggies, he found what was awaiting him. Multiple strands of hair sat in one baggie, likely fallen from his head at one point or another. A cotton swab holding Finn's saliva sat in the second baggie, probably grabbed from Finn drooling on his pillow. The third was traces of dead skin, no doubt from when the body shed it, as it naturally does daily. The fourth baggie held fingernail clippings - collected from the trash can when Finn was clipping his nails, perhaps? But the fifth baggie held something far more interesting to him.

"Explain," Maverick said, pointing to the fifth baggie, which held another cotton swab, this time with blood on it.

"What do you mean?" Gerald inquisitively raised an eyebrow, not following along.

"When the hell did Finn manage to bleed? I don't recall seeing it in any of his matches." Maverick crossed his arms as Gerald tried remembering what happened, which wasn't exactly an easy task for his tired mind. After a couple moments however, he snapped his fingers in realization.

"That's right!" he cried. "We were at this nightclub, and I was trying to stay out of his sight. He went to the bathroom, and for fear of being discovered, I held back outside. I caught a glimpse of him though as he went out. Due to the lighting there though, I do not believe he recognized me. Anyway, I saw one of his hands cupped over the side of his throat, and I noticed a faint trace of blood somehow through the lighting. I went inside to investigate, and I checked out the stalls once I realized the bathroom was empty. I found a gash in one of the walls there - the origin of which, I do not know. But I placed two and two together and inferred the blood there must be Finn's. So, I took my swab, and I collected the blood there, and I preserved it in the baggie."

"Interesting..." Maverick placed his fingers together, almost arguing against himself for a few moments. After a brief pause, he said, "And you're certain you weren't caught? At all?"

Gerald shook his head vehemently. "I'm sure not even the cameras caught me a lot."

Maverick smiled. "Impressive!" he said, rising out of his chair. "Very well then. You've performed your task to the best of your ability. You may have the rest of the day off, however tomorrow I expect you back at your usual position. You are excused. " Maverick collected the baggies into one spot, and shoved them in one of his many desk drawers... but Gerald didn't move. Hesitantly moving his eyes to meet Gerald's, he asked, "You... you realize you are excused now, yes?"

"With all due respect, Master Solomon..." Gerald asked. "...What are you using those DNA samples for?"

Maverick frowned as he pursed his lips. "I thought that would have been obvious," he said, crossing his arms. "I'm having these samples analyzed. It's time to see whether or not Finn's claim as to being the Kaiser will hold up."

"I... I see." Gerald nodded, and bowed again. "Very well, Master Solomon. I'll leave you to your work." Gerald walked out of the room as Maverick nodded, before he turned around, looking out of the window behind him. The bitter chill of winter was slowly being replaced with the new birth of spring. Slowly, flowers were starting to grow again, as birds could be seen starting to make new nests for the road ahead of them for the rest of the year. Even the pale sunlight above held a new sort of warmth to it, as it ducked throw the clouds that hung overhead.

"Even if you've seemingly changed, Finn," Maverick muttered to himself, "... I do hope you can at least get past Wraith."

20 February 2018
Abandoned Kühn Family Home
Frankfurt, Germany

"Schachmatt." The woman's voice echoed throughout the abandoned house as she slid her rook in position, trapping the king and forcing it to be unable to move at the very end of the board. "Das macht ... acht Mal habe ich dich gerade geschlagen?"

Finn, meanwhile, was flabbergasted that he allowed himself to be beaten so decisively by the woman. He found himself at a loss for words as he found himself being decisively defeated again in chess. "Das ist absurd!" the Kaiser cried as he stood up. The woman, for what it was worth, remained unfazed. "Was zum Teufel hat das mit meinem Spiel zu tun?!"

The woman stood up with Finn, and sat him down with a quick chop to the neck. Finn clutched at his throat and neck, groaning in pain as he was quickly hushed. "Schweigen," she said as she slowly went back into her seat. Finn seemed to be normal again, though he was still lightly rubbing the spot in which he got chopped in. "Wenn Sie keine Strategie entwickeln können, werden Sie wie Peter Gilmour im Ring bleiben. Und das willst du nicht, oder?"

Finn grunted as he spoke. "Fein. Ich verstehe es. Aber können wir diesen Prozess irgendwie beschleunigen? In ein paar Tagen werde ich ein Spiel haben."

The woman pondered on that question for a brief moment before responding. "... Wir werden das fortsetzen, wenn ich denke, dass du dazu bereit bist."

Finn seemed taken aback as he talked. "W-was?"

"Du hast mich verstanden," the woman spoke as she stood up again. She quickly turned around, however, and left the room. Curious, Finn followed her out. As they were in the main room, however, Finn felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he saw the woman as she placed an old, dusty book in his hands. "Wie vertraut bist du mit dem Buch The Art of War?"

Finn blinked in surprise as he looked down upon the decrepit book that was now in his possession. Sure enough, The Art of War stared back at him, with Chinese characters glistening, and Sun Tzu's name held right under the title in small lettering.

"I- Ich habe Schnipsel des Buches gelesen. Ich habe das Ganze jedoch noch nicht durchgegangen," Finn stammered as he tucked the book between his arm and his side.

The woman nodded in response. "Ein akzeptabler Ort, um dann zu beginnen. Sehr gut. Ich erwarte, dass Sie das ganze Buch gelesen haben, wenn wir uns das nächste Mal wieder treffen."

Finn shakily nodded in response. "Du hast auch erwähnt, dass ich etwas zurückfordern würde..?"

The woman thought upon it for a moment, before disappearing into another of the side rooms. Finn sauntered after her, however the flying sword that was thrown towards him took him off guard as he somehow caught it in midair, thankfully while it was still in it's sheathe. Inspecting it for a few seconds though, Finn went wide-eyed in realization. "Das war das Schwert mit dem du mich hierher gebracht hast!"

The woman nodded. "Ja. Dies ist ein deutsches Offiziersschwert, das zu Zeiten des Kaiserreichs verwendet wurde. Das war insbesondere dein Urgroßvater's. Wilhelm II's selbst."

Finn was silent as he held the ancient sword in his hands. Above all, he could feel the power seemingly radiating through it. This gave him just a small tinge of authority. Of power, the very power he so desperately craved. And he wanted to hold onto it, to make that feeling grow with every fiber of his being. "Es ist so schön ein Geschenk."

The woman nodded once more. "Mit dem Schwert des Kaisers in Ihrem Besitz müssen Sie sich einen neuen Weg mit der Klinge basteln. Das Gelobte Land, hast du gesagt?"

"J- Ja." It was at this point a glimmer caught Finn's eye on the sword. Moving his hand off the hilt, he noticed a gemstone... a diamond? Turning it around to see the other side, he noticed a sapphire in it's place.

"Der Diamant spiegelt den Zweck und das Streben des Kaisers wider und seinen Wunsch, mit jeder Faser seines Seins erfolgreich zu sein. Es ist einem frisch verheirateten Paar nicht unähnlich, das seine Liebe in irgendeiner Weise arbeiten lassen möchte. In der Zwischenzeit, mit dem Saphir, spiegelt sich die Fähigkeit wider, mit deinem Ziel durch Fokus und Disziplin Erfolg zu haben."

"Aha." Fastening the sword to his belt, Finn listened while the woman continued talking.

"Wie du letztendlich deinen Weg schnitzen musst, ist eine Armee, eine mächtige Armee. Menschen, die Ihnen dienen und Ihnen helfen, Ihre Ziele zu erreichen, da Sie ihnen selbst besser helfen müssen. Eine für beide Seiten vorteilhafte Beziehung, wenn Sie so wollen." After that last line, the woman disappeared back into the same side room. Finn, deciding otherwise, didn't follow her this time. After a few brief moments, the woman returned as she held a small oak closed box. Slowly opening it, Finn was surprise to see multiple rings inside.

[Image: 15ed6a772b08ffcad557c3e138f038cf.jpg]

[Image: 15ed6a772b08ffcad557c3e138f038cf.jpg]

"Wofür sind diese?" Finn asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

"Diese wurden seit Generationen in Vorbereitung auf diesen Moment weitergegeben. Diese werden die Zeichen deiner Anhänger sein, wie sie vor dir waren."

Finn raised an eyebrow. "Wie sie vor mir waren? Was meinst du damit?"

The woman furrowed her brows as if she were disappointed with herself. "Ah..." Shaking her head, she continued. "Das ist eine Geschichte für eine andere Zeit. Bevor Sie jedoch gehen, gibt es eine Sache, die Sie wissen müssen."

"Was ist das?"

"Selbst wenn du das Schwert des Kaisers bei dir hast, weiß nur, dass das nicht dein wirkliches Schwert sein wird. Noch nicht."

Finn almost seemed taken aback by the woman's words. "Was meinen Sie?"

The woman closed her eyes as she continued. "Alles soll in den kommenden Prüfungen klar werden," she said, her voice now just a small whisper. "Jetzt geh. Zerstöre alle, die sich dem Kaiser widersetzen wollen. Beweisen Sie Ihr Geburtsrecht." With that, the woman clapped twice, and the house became enshrouded in darkness. The starscape twinkled down from above, providing the only source of faint light from the outside.

Finn quietly muttered a small "Danke," before walking out. It was time to fulfill his promise to himself.

27 March 2018
Crowne Plaza Port Moresby
Port Moresby, Papa New Guinea

"Graves, you're fucking pathetic."

"Do you really think you can stop me while putting forth such a lack of effort? Not even bothering to try and respond to me anymore? Seriously?"

"Fuck you. You're not worth my time at all. I was right. You really are a relic and this is proof. Fuck everyone who thought this was going to be your coming out party, because all that awaits you at the end of this tunnel is my boot over your chest."

"Anybody who legitimately thinks Wraith is beating me is in for a rude awakening when I expose him as Micheal Graves and leave him in a heap on the floor. Anybody who thinks that I'm not the next Universal Champion can eat their words and eat shit after the Shove-It."

"This is only a prelude of things to come. Once I've finally dealt with Chaos for good and get him off my tail - which by the by, Wraith, the reason I wanted to settle this with Chaos was because he started it - I can finally claim those Tag Team belts for myself. And why even stop there? I've been saying this ever since I stepped foot here in the XWF. I am Universal Championship material. I am Top 50 material. I am the fucking Kaiser. And Wraith? What is Micheal Graves to me? I'll prove it tomorrow, and I'll prove it the Warfare after if management can stop being dumbasses and give me my tag title shot."

"Micheal Graves is nothing to me."

~FIN~

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Act XIII: Homecoming (Part 4)
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