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The XWF has forever had its ups and downs regarding the Tag Team Division. In its greatest form, a Trios Division existed along with it and it was overwhelmed with competitive teams that came in all shapes and sizes. In its weakest form, teams were forged last minute or scrambled together for tournaments and contendership matches. From there they face a champion team with an A+ in chemistry who are finishing each other’s sentences.

For nearly the entire year of 2020 Cataclysm held the Tag Team Titles. There wasn’t a single team that could overcome the odds and take down the unstoppable team of Chris Page and Robert Main. It wasn’t until the last pay-per-view event of the year, High Stakes, where that team finally met their demise. Was that the same formula that followed the cycle that everyone became so accustomed to? Was it just two random competitors coming together, joined by a handshake, pressing against the odds and putting it all on the line in a once in a lifetime opportunity?

On paper it may look that way. To someone who doesn’t know the good doctor might think that there wasn’t a discussion or two prior to the announcement of the challengers. The unlikely team of Thad Duke and Doctor D’Ville just strapped up their boots and off they went. But that’s just not true.

For many weeks leading up to High Stakes, Doc was sure to connect with Thaddeus. He knew the bond between the champions was as strong as it ever was and knew that it was up to him to create a similar bond… a trust between himself and the then future Universal Champion. While Doc’s methods were a bit unorthodox and quite unpopular in his partners mind, the two of them succeeded to defeat the long-running champions and walk out of High Stakes with the titles. On top of that, with the help of Doc and Corey Smith, Thaddeus Duke won the High Stakes Battle Royale and the vacant XWF Universal Title along with it.

One month later, the time comes once again for the XWF to bring a show like no other and ask for each champion to step forward and take on the next challenge. Doc was ready to go, but since the titles were won Thaddeus Duke took it upon himself to invite a third member to the party. You guessed it, Corey Smith. So, while Duke is off defending his Universal Championship in the Main Event, the team of Doc and Corey will be involved in the triple threat match against the Left Hand and Them No Good Bastards from B.O.B.

So after all of the work the good doctor put in with Thaddeus, is Doc going to turn around and attempt the same thing with Corey? While deep down Thaddeus reeked of darkness, Doc knew that there was just too much goodness in the boy’s life to really take a good grasp. To truly pull the evil from him, Doc would have to take everything away from him. Make him hurt. Make him regret. Make him hate.

Doc was unsure about the change at first, but soon realized that everything he was searching for in Thaddeus already existed strongly and much closer to the surface in Corey. The issue was breaking open the shell and blowing past the defenses. Doc already attempted the same strong arm approach by invading Corey’s thoughts and brought his past back to life as he did Thad. Now, like the Trojan horse, Doc knows that Corey is onto him and if Doc is going to get in he’s going to have to take a different approach.


THE FOLLOWING EVENTS WERE WITNESSED BY A LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE:



The scene pans across a large living room in an ordinary home in an ordinary world. The couch occupies the middle of the room facing us and the television with the staircase leading upstairs in the background. The camera continues to the left where an open kitchen connects with the living area. Inspecting the refrigerator while tapping his foot is Doctor Louis D’Ville.

Studio audience applause.

Doc is wearing a white apron over his normal get-up and looks through the icebox up and down, up and down, down and up, before slamming it shut and walking away from it.

He heads over to the dining table and stares it down with a hand scratching his chin. A light bulb literally flashes above his head! He claps his hands and rubs then together then snaps his fingers! An entire buffet of food appears on the table from a bowl of fruit to scrambled eggs and toast.

Breakfast!!

Studio audience laughter.

Doc announces from where he stands and his voice bellows through the halls of the house. In a few moments, Corey Smith slowly comes down the steps and into the kitchen.

Good mornin’, sunshine!

Corey gives a nod and walks past Doc and over to the table.

Hey, Doc.

Corey grabs an apple from the bowl and walks into the living area and plops down on the couch.

Not hungry?

Yeah, thus the apple. What army you cookin’ for, anyway?

Studio audience laughter.

Doc pouts and looks up the stairs.

Where is Thaddeus?

Corey flips through the channels mindlessly on the television only half paying attention to Doc.

Hello, my friend?!

Corey doesn’t take kindly to Doc snapping his fingers above his head and turns to him.

Upstairs?

Studio audience laughter.

Doc’s eyes roll into the back of his head and he turns to face the stairs.

Thaddeus! Come now, boy! Your breakfast’s quality is slowly depleting by the second!

I think he’s doing his hair or something.

Doc looks at Corey who is still mindlessly channel surfing.

Is it picture day at school? He hardly runs a comb through that lion’s mane, what would he possibly be doing to his hair.

Studio audience laughter.

Again, Corey is of no help so Doc walks back into the kitchen as Thad comes trotting down the steps. He is indeed a bit more dolled up than usual with gel in his hair and a dressy, collared shirt, and slacks. Thad stops in the mirror on his way to the kitchen to check his hair and gets noticed by Doc.

Well, well, well! Look who decided to join us! What’s the occasion?

What do you mean?

The get-up. The new threads. The hair.

Doc inquires as Thad picks a pear out of the bowl and walks away from the table.

So I tuck my shirt in once in a while. What’s the big deal?

Doc looks back at the huge buffet that he snapped together with another pouty look and waves it all away into smoke.

Studio audience laughter.

Thad joins Corey on the couch who is still cycling through the endless channels.

You stink pretty.

Oh, shut up, dude.

Your ride should be arriving at any moment, now. You boys do your best and have a great day at school, ya hear!

Corey becomes aware of his mindless clicking and stops as something tweaked inside his head. He closes his eyes and rubs his temples before Thaddeus reaches over and snatches the remote control from his hand.

You seriously drive me nuts when you can’t settle on anything.

Thaddeus stops on what looks like two fellows journey through the Circles of Hell… but at the moment Corey just doesn’t recognize them therefore pays no attention.

What is this?

I dunno. Looks stupid.

Studio audience laughter.

*DING-DONG*

The doorbell sounds a loud chime and signals time for the boys’ departure.

Alright, gentlemen, time to hit the road. Make me proud!

The boys have always hated when Doc gets all gushy towards them. At least they think they have. Doc opens the front door and in pops their Mailman Vinnie Lane!

Studio audience cheer.

Yo, yo, yo! What’s crackin’ everybody? How’s the people in my favorite stop of the day doing?

Together the two boys answer, “Good/Fine”.

Awesome!

Vinnie looks over to Doc and his smile fades a bit, but shakes his head vigorously until it comes back, while Doc gives a smile right back at him.

What brings you by today, Mister Mailman?

That pain stings Corey again and he stumbles back a bit. Thad grabs him by the elbow thinking Corey was about to faint, but he catches himself and quietly gives Thad a nod.

I’m cool.

Doc’s hand presses onto Corey’s shoulder and squeezes almost too tightly.

Are you alright, my boy?

Corey bites his lip and tries to worm away, but submits and looks deep into Doc’s eyes.

I’m fine.

Doc’s eye twinkles and he winks at Corey upon releasing him. Mailman Lane continues to stand awkwardly in front of the door with a large envelope in his hand. Doc slowly looks back and down to it excitedly.

A package! For me?!

Studio audience laughter.

Doc says gleefully. Mailman Lane’s gaze doesn’t break for a moment then he looks down at it and clumsily hands it over.

Oh, yeah, dude! Uh, it’s addressed to….

Yes, very good.

Doc snatches the envelope from his hand and begins gently pushing Mailman Lane towards the door.

Woah, woah! You gotta sign for it first, dude!

Mailman Lane holds out his touchpad and Doc swipes a quick finger across it leaving a perfect John Hancock. Corey looks on, confused.

Why does---

What’d you order, Doc???

Thaddeus eagerly inquires as he eyes up the plain, yellow envelope.

You’ll see!

Doc pulls the door open and bumps into Mailman Lane and Doc is Uncle Theo!

Studio audience cheer.

Hi, guys! You ready to go?

Hi, Uncle Theo.

Hey, Uncle.. The...o…?

Corey loses his thought mid-greeting and another, yet, duller pain zaps him in the head. He grits his teeth and closes his eyes. When he reopens them he looks at Mailman Lane and Uncle Theo observing each other in the doorway.

Do I know you?

Are you on my route?

Uhhh?

You kinda look familiar. What’s the name again?

Doc quickly interjects.

It’d be lovely to make acquaintances, wouldn’t it? Perhaps another time, maybe? These boys need to be getting to school, don’t they Uncle Theo?

Is that why I’m here?

Studio audience laughter.

Corey looks around the house suspiciously until his eyes meet the yellow envelope that Doc has seemed to have been very protective of since it’s delivery. Thad impatiently gives Uncle Theo a little nudge.

Yes! Can we go, please?!

Woah, heh, what’s your hurry?

He’s asking someone to the Valentine’s Day Dance.

Corey didn’t know that. The thought never crossed his mind, but the words simply fell from his mouth.

Dude, shut up!

Dude, right on! Lady killer, go get ‘em!

Mailman Lane throws a couple playful jabs towards Thaddeus, but he shyly shrugs them away.

Well that explains the do!

Studio audience laughter.

Can we go?! NOW?!

Corey steps towards Thaddeus and grabs him by the shoulder.

Thad! Stop and think for a minute. What are you do---

Corey is interrupted by the smoke alarm blasting over his voice coming from a smoke filled kitchen from across the house.

My pastries!

Studio audience laughter.

Scene fades to black.

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The scene reopens to Doc sitting on the couch reading a book when Corey enters through the front door. He stands there for a while, looking around the house again then staring down at the doctor who has yet to acknowledge his entry. Slowly, he begins to walk towards him, dropping his backpack on the floor along the way. Corey opens his mouth to speak, but before he can the door swings open behind him and slams shut. Thaddeus slams his bag down and walks hastily past Thad towards the stairs.

So, how did it go?

Terrible!

Doc doesn’t look away from his reading while Thad pulls a gallon of milk from the refrigerator, pours some into a small glass, and slams it like whiskey. Doc closes his book and rises up from the couch. Corey continues to stand frozen in place by the front door, watching from afar.

Terrible? What could be so terrible, boy?

Duke pours another short one and slams it down.

Thaddeus…?

Thad slams down the glass and buries his face under his hand. Doc turns to Corey.

You know anything about this?

Corey stares at the two of them from across the house. His mind is drawing complete blanks. The last thing he remembers is standing close to the same place he was before the smoke alarm went off then everything went blank for a second before he walked through the front door.

Hello, my friend? Earth to Corey?

It’s just not fair.

Doc takes part of his attention back to Thad, but keeps an eye on Corey who just now noticed the yellow envelope Doc received earlier sitting on a small table nearby.

What isn’t fair, my boy?

Thad grumbles to himself for a moment.

I dunno… Life?!

Well, of course not, we can’t just assume that it is, correct? The uphill climb, the rat race of life…. We all succumb to drawbacks from time-to-time.

It sucks.

Corey inches his way towards the table with the envelope trying not to give notice to the doctor.

What troubles you, boy? SPEAK!

Thad chokes up for a moment before catching some strength and swallows it up.

Chris Page asked Dolly to the dance.

Once again the words escape Corey’s mouth involuntarily and without warning just as he was reaching for the envelope. Both Doc and Thad look to Corey, Thad with puppy dog eyes and Doc with…. Dark ones.

The FUCKER!

Studio audience: AWWWWWWWWWWW

Doc darts back to Thad. Corey takes the opportunity to snatch the yellow envelope and shove it into his pocket and shuffles his way towards the two in the kitchen. He remembers nothing about Chris Page or Dolly Waters at this point… Doesn’t remember anything from today, anyway.

Hey now. My obscene little soldier…. Let’s not act like this is the end of the world, huh?

Thad sniffles as Corey reaches them.

Thad. THAD! Think about it, man. This didn’t happen! You never asked Dolly to a dance. What fucking dance?! C’mon, Thad!

Almost on cue the doorbell rings. Corey turns to the door frustrated when it quickly ding-dongs again. Corey turns to Doc.

And who the fuck could that be?

It ding-dongs several more times, over and over. Doc smiles and shrugs.

Not sure, but it sounds urgent…

Corey scowls at Doc who continues the exchange with a grin from ear-to-ear. Corey scoffs and bolts for the front door and whips it open and with a tiny step walks in Dolly Waters.

Scene fades to black.

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The scene reopens to everyone sitting around the living area. Thaddeus on the couch with Doc in the middle and Corey on the other side and Dolly on a chair offset from the couch. She appears just as lost as Corey at the moment, who is once again baffled that he’s traveled through time ….. again or ….. something! Dolly stares blankly at Doc as he reaches over and gently pats Thad on the back.

Now, let’s get all of these grievances off our chests, hm?

Doc smiles and observes the room. Corey sits tucked back in his seat and reaches back into his pocket to ensure the envelope is still there, which it is.

Miss Waters?

She seems to snap out of whatever trance she was in and focuses her eyes on Thad.

Thad…

Dolly has a soft, yet raspy voice that she attempts to clear as she speaks.

Thad, Chris and I were just talking.

Thad scowls at the mention of his name and looks further away from her. She drones on, as if the words were put there for her.

Chris DID ask me to the dance… but I told him “no”.

Thad looks halfway back, almost in disbelief. Corey remains still, observing.

You did?

Well…. Yeah.

Thad perks his head up and looks across to Dolly.

So… Will you? Will you---

Dolly sighs and interrupts…

I want to go with Corey.

What?

WHAT?!

Thad’s face turns purple as he looks around Doc to Corey sitting on the other side who is just in as much shock as him. Dolly remains still on the chair and attempts to repeat herself.

I want to go with---

Thad shoots up off the couch and lashes out at Corey.

What the fuck?!

Corey throws his arms up in defense and whips his glance back and forth between the three of them.

Dude, woah! Wait a minute!

Thad, please!

No! Fuck you both! You can have each other!

Corey pushes himself up out of the couch but falls over the arm and to the floor. He quickly picks himself back up and takes a couple of steps back towards the front door.

Thad! Dolly! Listen to ME! This isn’t right! Nothing here is right!

Shut up!

Corey looks down at Doc who is still sitting back on the couch watching this all collapse around him.

You son of a bitch!

Tears well up in Thad’s eyes as he stares a hole through Corey. Dolly has gone back to staring an infatuating stare at the doctor, paying no attention to the two boys arguing.

You’re nothing but a leech! You latch on and suck the life out of everything in your life! You’re just like him! You’re just like the Engineer!

Another streak of pain seems to slowly thread it’s way through Corey’s brain, slower yet stronger, and brings him to his knees. He screams aloud and causes the house to shake as if there was an earthquake! Doc seems surprised himself by the heavy tremors and jumps out of his seat. Corey rolls on the floor and tries to pick himself back up, but another shrill of pain shoots through his head knocking him to the ground again! He screams and dinnerware can be heard crashing down to the floor from the shelves in the kitchen. Glass knick-knacks fall from the shelving around the room and shatter on the floor. Papers and small furniture begin blowing around the room from the strong gusts of wind that now accompany the madness.

You never cared anything about me!

Thaddeus’s voice now echoes through the room as he continues to scold Corey as if he sees no disaster happening around them. With every word Thad screams another painful shot stings Corey and brings him to a near fall. Corey screams again accompanied by another hard tremor which causes Doc to lose his footing and fall into the television, knocking it over and shattering the screen in a plume of smoke in the process. Through the front window, Mufasa, Thad’s surviving lion companion, leaps through and roars. Corey whips around to see it and Doc’s eyes grow wide as well. Thad continues his rant while Dolly still sits in place, unable to break her death glare towards the doctor. Corey holds his head with all of his might, feeling like it is ready to blow apart. A distant scream can be heard from above that gets louder until someone in a red jumpsuit falls through the ceiling and lands cleanly on the couch.

What the ff---... Where the fuck am I?!

Gator leans up on the couch and meets Doc’s eyes.

YOU?!

Theo Pryce falls back into the picture as he comes tumbling backwards down the stairs. He rolls to a stop on the ground and looks around just as confused as Gator. The tremors and strong gusts of wind continue on without the harmony of Corey’s shrieks. With one hand still holding his head in one piece, he slowly crawls towards Dolly and, when he reaches her, he grasps her shoulder. Her head whips around from whatever trance she was in and she belts out a scream that shatters all of the windows in the house that survived everything else and shakes it ten times harder than before. Doc, who just reached his feet, is blown back again from it as the house around him begins to collapse. The wind whistles through the house taking everything away with it…. The lion, Gator, and Theo are all swept away while Corey watches in horror as Thaddeus stares blankly at him before blowing away like dust in the wind.



DOLLY!!!!!!

Corey holds up his hand and watches as it slowly deteriorates, as well, like dust. The absolute terror that rushed through him as he watched himself crumble is unspeakable, but then just as thoughtless as the cut scenes he dealt with just a short time ago…………..

Doc picks himself back up as Dolly continues to belt out a scream that now engulfs their surroundings and Doc into flames. He falls to the ground as it consumes him and delivers unspeakable pain. The entire house around him either burns into nothing or is torn apart and thrown into the nothingness that surrounds them. Eventually, there is nothing but the two of them. Doc on his knees and Dolly standing quietly with a blank look until she too slowly blows away. Scene fades to black.

Studio audience applause.

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Doc opens his eyes to the nothingness. With his eyes wide open he is blind to the void. The solidness below him is not a floor nor the ground of grass and dirt as we know. It’s nothing. It’s also not unfamiliar territory for him, either. The doctor knows the void and he knows it all too well.

In his blindness he stands up straight and brushes himself off. He feels his burnt clothes, his charred skin, and wounds from the recent… mishap and shakes them off. He takes a moment and appreciates his loneliness in the void, before it was interrupted.

SSSSSSSSSS……….

A hiss slithers it’s way through the darkness.

Heh.....

WHAT HASSSSS BECOME OF YOU….

A chorus of hissy voices struggle to speak and whisper through the dark.

How do you mean? I think that went rather well.

LOS----SSSSSING YOUR GRIP?

Nonsense. I suppose looking back it wasn’t the best of approaches, but we live we learn, am I right?

The silence in return is ambiguous.

He’s stronger than I gave him credit for. Being a walking mental breakdown, I figured the keys were left under the doormat. Apparently he’s put up some pretty strong fences in the meantime.

A long hiss follows the doctor’s words out of his mouth as if the darkness around him let out a long sigh.

THE GIRLLLLLLLL

Hm?

WHAT OF KSSSSSSSSSSSSSS THE GIRRRRRRRLLLLLLL?

Dolly? What of her?

ARE YOU….. ksssssssssssss…… LOSING YOUR GRIP……?

She was only there to create a bit of turmoil.

kssssssssssssssssssssss

Doc feels slithering over his ankles, his legs, and arms…. Like snakes or tentacles or vines reaching for him…. He remains still, letting them slither about.

Everything’s fine.

The slithering extends up and around Doc’s neck and he continues to allow it. He closes his eyes.

There’s still ti---

Doc’s throat is constricted by the vine-like slitherness that invades him right now as he’s interrupted by more hisses.

THERE ISSSSSSSSSSS NO TIME………….

*kak*

SHEEEEEEEEEEE…..

*HUK*

SHEEEEEEEE IS WHAWWWWAAAW

The hiss turns into a radio-like squeal.

*GAK*

WOWWWWWOOOOOWWWWW

The sound fades away as well as the grip on Doc’s throat. The solid nothingness below him fails and he falls for about twenty seconds before face-planting into several feet of snow. He opens his eyes and inhales a full breath of water before regurgitating it all back up… Only it’s not water. A black tar projects violently from out of his mouth and stains the ground melting the snow.

He looks around and finds himself in the middle of who knows where… A snowy tundra in all directions. Another vast plain of nothingness only accompanied by heavy snow and freezing cold. Doc stands himself up and begins to walk.


You know, from the start of this I told myself it would all be far more worth the effort.

Doc trudges through the high snow without a problem. The snow steams and even melts slightly as he pushes through it.

Easy, peazy. Cataclysm was nothing. Obvious wanna-be’s individually and together they’re a show that got cancelled after just one season. It is not that I could simply stand by and watch those two knuckle-heads claim something they had no idea they were stealing from ME. 2020 may have been the year that Cataclysm couldn’t couldn’t get beat until the very end but 2016 and 2017 were the years that Doctor Louis D’Ville had them and NEVER got beat. But it appears that those simple fellows have to adjust the narrative to fit their story.

I’ve proven that I own this division. There’s not a single person that can deny it. It doesn’t matter who stands in my corner, as long as they’re MY titles…. They will stay MY titles until I decide otherwise. Roll the tape if you must.

My personal outlook on Snow Job is great, by the way. My worst enemy appears to be the person I’m defending the titles with. Corey Smith. No matter how much I try to extend an olive branch to this fellow, he refuses to remove the gun from my head. Cross-hairs dead on and fully-loaded… ALL THE TIME. I do suppose I can’t blame him. My track record doesn’t fit his liking and the poor thing IS damaged goods, so what should I expect?

It’s obvious that neither of us are doing backflips in excitement leading up to this thing, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that our mission remains the same. Though we may be supporting different charities, the end-goal is the same and that is to leave Snow Job fully-intact. On paper, I have to agree with my partner, it looks like a train wreck waiting to happen. You’ve got the Left Hand, made up of Lycana and Murf, and you’ve got Them No Good Bastards, from BOB, Mister Robbie Bourbon and Thunder Knuckles. Two solid teams going up against a championship team that can’t even sit through breakfast without taking jabs. Also on paper, you’ll see two elites. Two top tiers. Two, while separate are unstoppable, CRAZY unstoppable forces going up against a bunch of scraps. Fodder, as I said. Let’s just grab whatever crap we can and fire it at the enemy and see what happens, right? Right.

I can’t take away anything from Mister Bourbon here though. I’m not going to cut him down. He’s put in the work and he leads a great bunch of guys around doing whatever Brothers of Badhood do. Don’t turn things around and tell me I haven’t put in the time. Everytime I turn around everyone is wondering where Doc has been. Where were you when I was this? What were you doing when I won that? Let’s be clear here… Okay? Robbie Bourbon won the Universal Title from James Raven. Kudos deserved, indeed! James Raven is a rascal. However, what became of it after that? A few months later he was stripped of the most prestigious, most glorious, most valuable belt in all the UNIVERSE for what I’m guessing was a lack of participation? If THAT’S the case...... Did he just win the title and go into hiding? Forgive me, it WAS a lifetime ago, it seems. Would it be kind of not too far out in left field for me to say that he’s lucky I wasn’t around during his little stint as champion because that short little reign he already had could’ve been cut far shorter. Or maybe not even existed at all.

Everyone has their highs and their lows around here. Look at Charlie Nickles, for example. The guy came in like a ball of fire. He beat some tough guys and even competed for the UNIVERSAL Championship. After that he just kind of petered out and kind of nestled into a nice place as Television Champion, where he belongs. Then I shoved him and his burnt out limelight down a chimney.

Robbie Bourbon. Bobbie Bourbon. Man of the People.

I do appreciate the guy, I’m never shy of sharing that I’ve always been a “Bourbon Man”. However, I will say that it appears that either Mister Bourbon has taken one too many to the head or is indulging in too many liquid calories on top of his air fryer chicken.

Scared?

How am I supposed to even respond to that. Scared of what, exactly? Losing? Scared of getting beat up? Scared of tarnishing my already torn legacy because people like him who just refuse to accept that I will ALWAYS be there and I will ALWAYS be better and I will ALWAYS improve and I will NEVER …. EVER …. Go away.

The luminous shadow, the feeling of being watched, the breath on the back of your neck, the uneasy feeling when you’re alone but not really alone…. The stranglehold…. Bourbon’s felt it before. He knows and whether he just ignored it at the time and continues to like that strange lump on the back of your neck… Well, that’s up to him. I hope he’s shared with his partner what it feels like.

I went on before about how I kind of felt for Thunder Knuckles in this situation. Robbie Bourbon probably rallied all of the BOB Squad together and hyped up the fraction of a chance they have of winning this match and TK just seems like a hype guy. Either that, or easily manipulated by a man in a mask. I mean, I’m sure Robbie Bourbon could sell ice to an eskimo and water to a fish and maybe even convince a man to stick the barrel of a loaded gun in his mouth… But to convince someone that THIS is a good idea? Phenomenal work, Mister Bourbon. I’m taking notes!

Anywho, so, I KIND OF felt for TK in the beginning until I realized the guy may just need a session, after all. He walks into this and, let me tell ya, this guy should have let his dog eat his homework. His memory didn’t only fail him from the night of his debut, it betrayed and lied to him, my friends. It was not Unknown Soldier who left the doctor in ruin that night, it was that thing that Corey Smith keeps ranting on about. LUX. Unknown Soldier was the other half of Doctor SATAN! My unbeatable tag team from the before-time in 2016 when TK was still tuning in from his bedroom. After holding the titles for seven straight months, Unknown Soldier VANISHED!

POOF!

It was like he was never there. Forced to do something, I called an old friend and that was the FIRST occasion that I was forced to share a title that I won. The KINGS came as a package deal JUST AS the boy and Corey Smith do. One not without the other. Yay me.

So it makes me wonder if Mister TK was paying any attention at all leading up to all of this. Has he been too busy scamming for xbux that Robbie Bourbon literally pulled the carpet under him and pulled him into this match? He’ll go back a full year to fail in his research but not truly know the feelings that my partner and I share a few days before we defend the titles he’s after?!

See? Everyone gets upset when someone like myself doesn’t put them at the pinnacle of my target list. They say that I don’t take them seriously, AND SHOULD! They say that I’m making a grave mistake by not seeing them as the threat they are simply not because I see the sheep below the wolves’ clothing. I see the through the skin and muscle fibers into the hobbling, broken spirit that you all torture week in and week out by just believing a little bit that you can stand with the absolute best. What a disappointing, miserable life to live.

Now, on the other side of the spectrum, instead of cleaning the muck off my face I’m cleaning it from my boots. I’ve been getting phantom knocks to my office doors for quite some time now and I can only imagine it is the Left Hand who is responsible. I appreciate the good gestures and I thank them both for truly seeing their position in this fight. I’m in glee that the one they call Marf is willing to step first in line to exchange blows with the good doctor. I’m tickled that he treats our work as an artform, just as I do. Like a dance or a painting with broken legs and blood. I, too, look forward to our first encounter and always have to laugh when I get brushed off as a non-threat. They need to make up their minds!

They know where I sit and they’ve made that clear. In fact, they spent the entire time addressing me looking up, so, how am I supposed to see them without looking down? To rise to the top of the ladder, you first have to climb it, and it's a damn hard thing to do with a boot pushing down on you from the very place you’re trying to go. The Left Hand? They fell in line pretty well. While some throughout this FINE federation may embrace it and others even see a threat within their cryptic messages and attacks. I fail to. Perhaps Lycana is right and I’m just as blind as everyone else…. Perhaps I am. Perhaps I am blinded from the actual true horrors that I’ve witnessed in my time wandering the green pastures and dark depths of this world. One thing that I am not is clueless or blind of is the true threats that lie before me. The Dissentients seems to acknowledge and appreciate my tenure here and that’s smarter than the two bumbling idiots joining us. I’ve seen and been through a lot, including such groups as your own. It’s not strange territory for me and it’s also not something that I would benefit from. Right now, Left Hand, you need to respect the fact that your level of existence is all thanks to one doctor. You’ve been treading loudly enough to disturb the folks trying to sleep on the lower levels of this ship, but as the captain, I have no real urge to snuff you out. Have your little secret meetings and a goat sacrifice from time to time. And against my partner’s liking, eat Alias’s hand or whatever you all have going on there. Keep in the confines of what you can handle and you will all do just fine. It’s forgivable that you’re here now challenging for something you have no businesses in, but we’ll make things perfectly clear very soon.

Doc continued to plow himself through the snow the entire time without missing a breath. He reaches what could only be an abandoned cross-road where a sign covered in snow reaches above his head. He waves his hand and a strong gust of wind blows the snow away from it.

Green Bay - 100 mi

Doc smiles and pulls a cigar from his inner pocket and lights it. Taking a nice long drag, he waves his hand once more and clears the road ahead of him down to the pavement and follows the sign.

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