I remember the day I met MacAlister one on one for the first, and only, time. How Asmodeus, as punishment for trying to leave the Brotherhood behind, had imprisoned me, then forced me to sacrifice myself to MacAlister in the ring. I didn't know the significance of that at the time, but Asmodeus certainly did.


After that night, I had a strange, eerie feeling about MacAlister. As if I'd seen his face before. Where exactly, I could not remember. When, I remembered even less of. I started having vivid dreams of a man that was trying to kill me. I brought them up to Asmodeus in private. He asked if the mans name was Nick.


Indeed it was.


What did he know?


Of course I tried to get those answers directly from my father, but he has this strange quality instilled in him. A quality that always makes him want me to figure out answers for myself. He always said it was because if I didn't figure out the answers for myself then how could I ever understand what those answers meant? I always hated that, but I couldn't argue his point. It was, after all, a very valid point.


He had helped me that night. He helped me tap into my subconscious mind where all of ones inner most thoughts and secrets hide out their days. He helped me bring forth the mans name. Nick Donnelly. When I sat there in Asmodeus' residence reliving my hidden memories as if I were watching it on a television, I was able to bring forth the name, but not the face. The face was a blur. All future attempts had failed to reveal the faceless image. I could see everything else. The dark streets of Dublin. The lights in the windows of the homes. Just not the face. That's where I met Nick. He'd attacked me from behind and rendered me unconscious.


When I woke, I was trapped. Trapped in some device similar to a human torture rack. Mozart played in the background as the man I now knew as Nick Donnelly warned me of my impending fate. When the song was finished, I would be, too. Nick left the room I was in and I took advantage of the opportunity to escape. Which I did flawlessly. Never underestimate my brute strength. Those ropes he had tied to my wrists and ankle were no match for the Angel of Darkness.


After all the information I had revealed I still couldn't see his face. So I gathered a few of my most trusted men. Jacob, who you now know is also my Messenger, Lucas, may he rest peacefully, and even Jonathan. Yes, at this time, Jonathan was thought to be a young teenager. You all know that story and what transpired. We set off for Ireland.


We searched and searched for Nick Donnelly. Does anyone realize how many Nick Donnelly's there are in Ireland? Let alone just in the Dublin area? 2,600, just in and around Dublin. I remember it took hours, but we finally had it narrowed down to just one. We found out he'd relocated to the States by way of New York a few years ago.


When we returned to New York we discovered he'd changed his name. His name was hidden, but his address was not. So, we set our sights on that address in Wisconsin. When we arrived near the old farm it became clear to me just who Nick Donnelly really was.


Griffin. Fucking. MacAlister.


We waited until dark. Under the cover of Darkness, we moved. I laid in wait in the back of his car in the garage. When he went out to, I don't know, buy cigarettes or something, I secured the man that had tried to kill me.


There was just one problem.


He claimed to not remember any of it.


We brought him back to the Compound and I... used drastic measures... in order to get him to reveal his secrets. The problem was, he continued to deny his past as if I was making it all up. I went a little further. I stuck a defibrillator to the sides of his head and jolted the ever living shit out of his brain. My thought process was simple. If a defibrillator could bring people back from the dead, then why couldn't it bring memories back?


Unfortunately, I never did find out until much later. As I was away, for Warfare I believe, some idiot traitor, you know the name, “accidentally” set him free. He had help getting out of the Compound. Who or what they were and represented I may never know.


With MacAlister free from my clutches, I feared he'd return and try to finish the job if he had indeed remembered who he was and what he'd tried to do. In response to that, I built a fortress. I locked down my Compound with gates, fences, armed guards, snipers. The works. Much to my chagrin, he got in anyhow. It became apparent at that moment that I had a traitor within my walls. Within my fortress. The traitor was snuffed out and I had temporarily put my demands for justice, my bounty, on the head of Griffin MacAlister on hold.


Jonathan vowed to make me pay for my crimes against the Catholic Church. Jon had killed Lucas by causing an accident. He hadn't intended to kill Lucas, but that's what he did. All in the hopes of kidnapping my father. He was successful in doing so and as a result, as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures.


I contacted Griffin MacAlister and requested a meeting out by my lake. A meeting that went well. Sometimes, I guess, men can find a mutual respect within their enemies. I put my desires for MacAlisters head on a platter on hold in hopes of Griffin helping me secure the safe return of Asmodeus. MacAlister was on the run and needed a place to lay low. A place where they would never think to look. The Compound was that place. I gave him the security he needed. He gave me the help I needed.


I needed him.


He needed me.


Of course, at the time, no one knew who he was. He stayed hidden beneath a hood and went by the name of Silas. He even took part in the ceremonies that made him an actual member of the Brotherhood of the Illuminatus. He and I formed a bond during this time that I think may never be broken. We became friends. I'll remain loyal to him for all he's done for me. I suspect, he'll do the same.


That loyalty was put to the test one night just before Gauntlet City in March.


We'd captured Jonathan. We'd been planning to behead him with John Madisons guillotine. We came under siege by the DEA and Jonathan was able to escape. A man with the DEA had recognized Silas as Nick Donnelly and was preparing to blow his head off.


I had a difficult choice to make. Save Silas. Or continue to chase after Jonathan. I chose the former. I nearly kicked that agents head off his shoulders and we ran. We ran toward the garage. Now, it was his turn to show his loyalty. I was tripped up and a couple of agents held me to the ground and were trying to handcuff me. He could have continued to run for his own life. Instead, he chose to save my ass.


Loyalty breeds even stronger loyalty.


We made our escape from my Compound and decided to hide out in the woods that night. We got a little drunk. We got a little high. That night, it was decided by Silas, or Griffin, rather. That his time with the Brotherhood needed to end. The agent that was about to blow his head off? He works for that same entity that Griffin was trying to hide from. It was something I didn't want to see happen, but I knew he had to do what he had to do.


I hadn't seen him since the night he left.


When I found out he'd made his way back to the XWF, it was time. It was the clincher. I knew I needed help to wage this war with the Black Circle. Seeing Griffin MacAlister in the XWF told me I needed a man I knew I could trust. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember much of anything as it pertains to his time spent within my Compound. He remembers Sebastian Duke, just not why.



I snap out of my stare out the window and return to the conversation in the room.



ASMODEUS: “Silas in the Brotherhood is a good thing! That's the best news I've heard!”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “There's only one problem.”



I say that just before I return to my chair.



ASMODEUS: “Problem? I don't like problems. What's the problem?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “He doesn't remember any of it.”

MESSENGER: “Any of what?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Any of what made us friends rather then enemies.”

ASMODEUS: “What? Why?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I'm not sure.”

ASMODEUS: “Is it possible he's just playing it off?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I'd hoped. But...”

MESSENGER: “But, what?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “That's just not the case.”

ASMODEUS: “You're certain?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Very. He remembers me, but not why. Everything else is a total loss.”

MESSENGER: “Are you sure we can trust him? I mean, the two of you wanted to literally kill each other at one time.”



It's definitely a good question, no doubt.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “We can trust him. His loyalty to me, even though it's a loss to him now, it will come back.”

ASMODEUS: “How can you be sure?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I'm always sure of my decisions.”



The problem is, I'm not totally convinced. That's why I laid out the challenge to the tag team champions. Griffin MacAlisters test of loyalty...


Begins now...