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Thaddeus Duke · (06-02-2017)

The Year 2514 | 9:47 PM | Connecticut County | American Empire

Thaddeus Duke.

Young.

Blond haired.

Blue eyed.

Adorable and endearing to many.

Hated, even despised by others.

A fifteen year old Thaddeus Duke sits by a fire, joined by a lovely brunette roughly his age. She consuls him. Thaddeus was given a feast of a man killed by his father by the community in which they reside. Here, the dead are roasted like chicken to feed the living. The man did not sit well in Thaddeus’ stomach and a result of which sees him vomit several times.

”Are you okay now?” the girl asks sweetly.

[duke]”Yeah,”[/duke] he responds with a smile. [duke]”I don’t know if I’d have made it through without your help.”[/duke]

She giggles before fixing his disheveled hair. ”Don’t be so dramatic.”

[duke]”How the heck do you people eat humans?”[/duke] he asks of his new friend.

”You’re not from here are you?”

[duke]”That’s sort of obvious isn’t it?”[/duke] he replies in a sarcastic tone.

”Well listen. I don’t know wherever it is you’re from, but here, resources are scarce. Food even more so. Centuries of hunting animals for sport rather than need has made things difficult for people all over the Empire. So we adapt.

“Adaptation is central to our survival.

“I was raised on it so its not difficult for me.”

The thing is, Thaddeus himself doesn’t even know where he’s from. All he’s aware of is that he woke up inside some King’s castle then was promptly arrested for trespassing. That’s where he met Sebastian. And he liked Sebastian. The man seemed to know the unknowable which is at the same time concerning, and assuring. This man, Sebastian, he’s gone out of his way to protect young Thaddeus and that fact is certainly not lost on him. To the community here, they believe Sebastian is Thaddeus’ father because that’s what they were told. It was a lie, certainly.

But then again, Thaddeus thinks to himself, was it really a lie? The man seemed to take great interest in him. More interest in a 15 year old boy than a thirty something year old man should have. Of course, there are some folks out there that fancy themselves young teenage companions.

”Let’s go inside,” the girl says to Thaddeus as she grabs him by his hand and leads him into her tent. His heart pounds and races, but she’s soft and comforting. He feels himself falling for her. She’s around his age. Very pretty. Combine that with a soft touch, a gentle approach and a comforting demeanor, and you have a great teenage saga of puppy love.

New viewers may see this and grow confused immediately. It’s a very long story that was shared a few years ago. See, Sebastian Duke had a space friend in the XWF. This friend had what would be called supernatural powers. After Sebastian’s father murdered Thaddeus’ mother it sent the man into a deep depression. Whatever you think of Sebastian Duke nowadays, put that out of mind for now. Once upon a time, he was the focal point of the Duke world as it pertains to the XWF and he genuinely loved Caitlyn- the mother of Thaddeus Duke. In those days though, the existence of the Illuminatus was still a very big secret so he couldn’t tell her who he really was and what he was all about. In his mind, he wanted to marry her and come clean about everything. Asmodeus though, considered her a disposable tool.

Mother the heir, then leave this world behind.

To make matters more convoluted, Caitlyn was a Catholic. As you may have noticed the Illuminatus and the Catholics have not always been kind to one another.

With Caitlyn dead and Sebastian a single, depressed father, he called upon his space friend. This friend made it possible for Sebastian to view life like an out of body experience. He viewed what it would have been like if he’d ever told Caitlyn the real truth. He was warned though, not to alter the past as it could cause a ripple in the present. A change to the past and a ripple in the present could cause a rift in space time. This rift is a portal to other dimensions. As he viewed different scenarios, none of them going well for him, he made a mistake. Musing aloud that he wished he could bring Caitlyn back, did exactly what he was warned would happen.

Caitlyn was very much alive when he woke up from what felt like a dream, and they were indeed married. Blinded by the fact that life was right, he forgot all about the rift that could form due to the altering of the past. So, one night in March of 2014, Caitlyn Duke, mother of then not yet 3 month old Thaddeus Duke since December 25, 2013, lays her only child in his crib for bed, only for him to fade into the portal.

Things were explained to Caitlyn in a way she could understand, no matter how impossible and unbelievable it seemed. Her only goal was to retrieve her son. She’d go herself if she had to, but of course it was a fatherly duty to protect the young. Sebastian again called upon his space friend. The friend informed him that Thaddeus may not be what or who he expects. Venturing into new dimensions, Thaddeus could still be an infant boy, or he could be a 90 year old woman, or anything in between. There was no way of truly knowing.

When Sebastian found him, merely by chance rather than any real skill, Thaddeus was a 15 year old boy that knew his name but largely nothing else. It seems easy enough to just grab the boy by his hand and say “we’re going home.” But things aren’t that simple. The boy had to want to go home. He had to say the words and mean it. Sebastian knew his son was lost and confused. So he had to work on it, little by little. Earn the boys trust, and reveal bits of information as time went on hoping that he’d remember who he was and where he belonged.

Back in the tent, Thaddeus is staring wide eyed as this girl undresses in front of him. Her forwardness takes him by surprise which really should be no surprise at all. He’s lost and confused, but he knows he’s attracted to her. Not really knowing what sexuality is, he just laid there and allowed her to do whatever she desired. He rather enjoyed it, naturally, but he was clueless. As she stripped him naked and straddled him, she leans in for a passionate kiss…

[duke]”DOLLY!”[/duke]

CRASH!

...Present Day...

Thaddeus crashes to the floor from his bed, home at the Compound. Making a lot of noise, it causes Jim to burst in to investigate the commotion.

”You alright!?” Jim inquires.

[duke]”Yeah,”[/duke] Thaddeus answers as he sits on the floor with his back against the wall.

”You’re bleeding.”

Thaddeus reaches up to touch the right side of his head, then looks at his blood covered fingers. [duke]”Must’ve happened when I fell.”[/duke]

”Thad… What the fuck happened?”

[duke]”Just a dream.”[/duke]

Jim closes the bedroom door and sits on Thaddeus’ bed. ”Am I your friend?”

[duke]”Of course you are. What kind of stupid fucking question is that?”[/duke]

”You’re not yourself.

“And you haven’t been since you kicked Dolly Waters in her pretty little face.”

[duke]”Y tu, Jim?”[/duke] Thaddeus rolls his eyes. [duke]”You sound like Chris Chaos,”[/duke]

”That’s insulting.

”You’re depressed. Any idiot can see that.”

[duke]”Can any idiot take a hint to shut the fuck up?”[/duke]

”I could shut up, but that wouldn’t make me a very good friend.

“What did you dream about, Thad?”

[duke]”I don’t know,”[/duke] Thaddeus replies with a sigh. [duke]”I’m pretty sure it had something to do with how I’m 18 and not 3.”[/duke]

”The other dimension?”

To be clear, Thaddeus is aware of the other dimension he was in, but his memories of it are locked away.

[duke]”Yeah.”[/duke]

”You don’t remember any of it, yet you’re dreaming about it?”

[duke]”Yes.”[/duke]

”Ok, so tell me about the dream.”

Thaddeus sighs as he wipes the blood from his head. [duke]”I was barfing after eating a human,”[/duke] he begins.

Jim looks at him with a disturbed look.

[duke]“Don’t ask.

“Anyway this girl was helping me. She sat and talked to me by a fire. She fixed my hair and it was like I was instantly attracted to her. Then we laid down.”[/duke]

”Fucked.”

[duke]”Yes.

“But when she leaned toward me in bed, her face changed.”[/duke]

”To what?”

[duke]”You, Jim.”[/duke]

Jim is stunned silent with a mortified look on his face. Thaddeus is cracking a joke and he still can’t seem to smile.

”You were fucking me!?!”

[duke]”No you jackass.

“Her face changed to Dolly Waters.”[/duke]

”Woa!”

[duke]”It scared the shit out of me in the dream. I screamed her name and bailed the fuck out of bed.”[/duke]

”Thaddeus.

“Are you in love with Dolly?”

Thaddeus rolls his eyes. [duke]”Are you kidding me man? She’s 13 years old for fucks sake!”[/duke]

”That doesn’t seem to bother Micheal Graves.

“Anyway, yeah she’s 13, but you’re over looking a simple fact here.”

Thaddeus wipes the trickle of blood from the side of his head and stares at Jim, not saying anything.

”Do I really need to spell this out for you?” Jim asks.

[duke]”Spell it out Jim, I’m not that fucking good at reading minds.”[/duke]

”You are a 3 year old boy.”

[duke]”Legally.”[/duke]

”Yes, legally.

“More than that, my friend. You’re still developing your sexuality. You’re still developing your desire for human connection. Thaddeus, you say you’re 18 years old because your grandfather told you two years ago that growth plates suggested you were approximately 16 at the time.

“And you do look 18. But your brain hasn’t yet caught up to that. At least not in the sense of love and controlling emotions and that sort of thing. You didn’t age like a normal...”

[duke]”DON’T YOU FUCKING THINK I KNOW THAT!?

“Jim! I’m completely aware of my legal age. I’m aware that I’m still figuring things out in my own head and in my own heart! I’m fully god damn aware, Jim, that I’m not fucking normal! Don’t you ever forget that I never had a childhood! Don’t you ever forget all the shit that I missed out on because I want from a baby to a confused fucking imbecile of 15 in the blink of a god damn eye!

“Don’t you fucking pretend you have all the answers.

“Don’t you fucking sit there like some wise old man worshiping Buddha or some other bullshit pretending you have any idea what it’s like to be me!

“Just get the fuck out of here and leave me the hell alone.”[/duke]

Jim is stunned. In the two plus years that these two have been friends, Thaddeus has never snapped out and raged at him quite like this. These two are closer than friends. They’re more like brothers. Jim has always attempted to keep Thaddeus on the straight and narrow. This young man though, he’s in a bad way. His confusion seems to be getting the better of him. Guidance from his most trusted ally for whatever the reason, is unwanted.

Jim gets off of Thaddeus’ bed and heads for the door.

[duke]”Jim,”[/duke] Thaddeus says quietly with a sigh.

”You know, I’m only trying to help you.” Jim says without turning around.

[duke]”I’m sorry I snapped out.”[/duke]

”I know I don’t have all the answers you’re looking for.

“Don’t you recognize though, that you’ve not been yourself since you kicked Dolly? That’s uncharted territory. You’ve strayed from what really drives you as a man. Your dedication and the love you have for your friends. You don’t think Dolly Waters has everything to do with this?”

[duke]”It’s too late for that. What’s done is done. There’s absolutely no turning back now. And I wouldn’t if I could.”[/duke]

”Keep having those dreams. You’re having them for a reason.

“And you do love Dolly Waters. There’s not a doubt in my mind.” Jim proceeds to make his exit.

[duke]”Jim.

“I love you man.

“Thanks for trying.”[/duke]

”That’s what I’m here for. For you to shit all over me and then shower me with love.

“All I’m saying, is you can’t look at Thaddeus and Dolly as an 18 year old and a 13 year old. Because its not the same thing as a normal, naturally raised 18 year old. Emotionally, you’re probably younger than she is. That’s something your grandfather never considered because what’d he always say? ‘Emotions get in the way, child. Suppress them.’

“He’s not here anymore. You have him on a pedestal and that’s fine. But he sure as fuck was wrong on that one. Don’t suppress them. Deal with them. Sort them out.”

[duke]”I can’t fucking sleep, Jim. I have the biggest match of my career at High Stakes and I can’t rest. I need answers.”[/duke]

”I just don’t have them.”

[duke]”Right.

“And you and I both know, the only person that does.”[/duke]

Jim stands quietly for a second.

”Your father.”

Thaddeus sits on the floor and sighs deeply as the scene fades.

[duke]The time has come, people, for my ascension to the top of this industry. And with it, the rise of Duke Nation. Credit to Jim Caedus for coining that term. What is a nation without an army? The Duke Army is lacking followers right now but I’d suggest sooner rather than later that is going to change.

Big time.

If you think I’m coming on here and I’m going to tell the world that I’m going to win at pay per view and start dropping insults and throwing shit at Jim and Chaos… think again. There will be time for that. Just not this time.

I fully expect for both Jim and Chris Chaos to come out with guns blazing, ready to shoot down and twist everything I say in hopes of proving whatever stupid and shallow point they’re likely going to try and make. But you don’t even need to have any fingers to count all the fucks that I give.

See, Chaos comes out here week after week telling the world he’s the best ever and how he’s god’s gift to professional wrestling. Yet he’s proven otherwise a lot lately, hasn’t he? This is a man that in one breath, tells the world that I’m right when I said AX3 needed better collusion. Yet later, sends a giant bomb in to blow up his own stables plans. He cost Dolly Waters the Xtreme title, effectively ending any shot Micheal Graves had at claiming that title at High Stakes. Except the joke is on Chaos because Graves found himself with the title anyway.

There’s your leader, right?

Wrong.

Chris Chaos proved an ineffective leader within AX3 so what happens? Jim Caedus proves the point I made to Jenny Myst. Power is seized, not given. Chaos was given the power over AX3 so he really had no power. Caedus seized it and was about to fire that long haired cunt from AX3 when he was interrupted by my fathers brother.

But wait Thadly, Graves is the leader of this shit show!

No Jim. No one is going to listen to that clown. You seized it when you seized the mic and called me out. You seized it when you called out Chaos. You seized it when you almost relieved Chaos of his AX3 duties. Like it or not Caedus, you’re the leader.

Anyway back to Chaos.

Chris Chaos: the best in the world at proving me right.

Every.

God.

Damn.

Time.

He steps through the curtain.

He’s a guy that says one thing, and does another and pretends its creating chaos. It isn’t creating chaos. All it is, is you showing the world that you’re a complete fucking tool that can’t be trusted. There was another guy around here like that. I don’t see him around here anymore, Chris. His ego got the best of him, and he’s gone. Done. Never coming back.

I do have hope for you yet though, Chris. You’ve been run through the ringer since Lethal Lottery in April. You lost the Universal title. You lost to Doc D’Ville. You lost to me. You damn near lost to fucking Cadryn Tiberius of all people. The fact is, this is your new reality, Chris. Your new reality is squaring up against people that can, will and do beat you. I’m proof of that fact. I hope you enjoyed your win total fluffing matches because like the Iconococksucker himself, they’re history.

Maybe you can make that your next installment on the Christory channel. How Chris Chaos got his bloated win total. Tell us all about your great victories over Snow. Over Ravenwolf. Over Drezdin. Over Hunter Payne. Over Ginger Snaps. Over Shaun Crowe.

Get the picture?

Speaking of bloated win totals, let’s talk about Jim Caedus. While his win total is no doubt bloated in the way Chaos’s is, I can still at least respect Jim Caedus. To a degree at least. See, Theo Pryce being my uncle makes him no more a Duke, than you a perennial all-pro competitor. You cashed in, you became the Universal champ. Good for you. Good for the company because at least that fuck ain’t here anymore. You won Lethal Lottery and held the Television title for a hot minute. Impressive right? With the lack of talent involved in Lethal Lottery, fucking Maverick could have made it that far. And he hates even showing up.

That is what you said though right? If you’d have known Theo was my uncle then you wouldn’t have included me in AX3? That can be rectified at anytime partner. But don’t blame me because you don’t know your friends. Don’t blame me because of your own inability to do a little research, when the information is out there to be had if you just reach for it. Don’t blame me because I don’t always return your calls. Look man, I’m a busy guy. This wrestling thing, I do it because I enjoy it. I do it because its fun. I do it because, as it turns out, I was born to do it. But by no means does it make me who I am. By no means does it make me anything other than a rich fuckin’ guy with a shit ton of power and a military at my beckon call, that just happens to also do a little wrasslin’.

I have no problem with you Jim. Not even a little. But if you call me out again, in any attempt to belittle me like you did to Chaos, then you’ll find out what I’m truly capable of. You’ll find out that you don’t rattle the snake cage because- snakes bite back. I’m a nice guy, until I’ve been bitten, Jim. Just ask Dolly Waters what her selfishness brought upon her head.

You nibbled, but didn’t bite. And I consider it a warning. Now heed mine, Jim.

Too independent? I’ll show you independence, when I free the Universal title from your grasp.

Fuck Jim, I didn’t even receive a call, no text, no email, no fucking snail mail for that matter, informing me of the plans to take over Savage. That sure as fuck ain’t my fault Jimmy. It isn’t my fault, Jim, that no one reaches out to me and includes me in AX3 shenanigans. You’re barking up the wrong tree.

You tried to intimidate the unintimidateable. I don’t know if that’s a word, actually. Oh well, fuck it. I’ve stared down the barrels of guns, Jim. I’ve stared down the unseen power of the Catholic Church, Jim. I seized power of the Illuminatus from my own father, Jim. I’ve been to war twice and came out with victories.

You can’t make me tremble. You can’t make me fear you. You can’t intimidate me. You see this smiling face and you feel this charming personality Jim, but don’t forget who the fuck I really am. Because I sure as hell haven’t.

Pathetic expectations of taking that title, Jim? You call them pathetic expectations, I call it a dose of reality. The reality is Jim, that as much as this is the biggest match of my career, its also yours, its also Chris’s. The odds are even, right?

Or is Graves being the referee going to create an additional obstacle? If he so much as says anything out of line, Imma kick him in the face. I can promise you that. With that, the odds are even once more.

It’s sixty minutes.

It’s iron man.

It’s for the big gold.

And it’s right up my alley.

You’ll find out Jim, just like Arzegotti, just like Graves, just like Doc D’Ville, just like Chaos as well as his prematch fluffer Jenny Myst, that I am…

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