I can't thank everyone enough, to each and every one of you that have followed and favourited this story, I wholeheartedly appreciate it. I apologize for the length of time between updates. Sometimes, I get ideas for other fictions that I simply HAVE to get out of my head before I can go back to what I'm doing. Big thanks once again to rembeau, my ever suffering idea bounce board. Enjoy! xxx Zelkina xxx


As The Undertaker stormed off, Roman found himself holding back the furious ball of energy that was Ceridwen. He could have let her go, it was true, but there would be more harm done than good.

"Come on, Ceridwen, calm down." He tried to soothe her. It took another few minutes but he managed it.

"He..he made me loose!" she exclaimed.

"How?" asked Roman, perplexed. Sure, she'd been chokeslammed, but she had more than enough energy in her to recover from it.

"He did something out there…something unnatural," she said. "I couldn't move. I tried to get up, but it felt like I was paralysed. Urgh, never mind." She said, catching Roman's worried glance. "Look, Roman, you're a nice guy, can I ask you to do something for me?" she said, looking up at him, a hand in her sweat drenched locks.

"Sure, what do you need?" he asked.

"I need you not to get involved, between me and Taker when he returns. It's not your fight, Roman. It's mine."

"What, you think I'm just gonna stand there while he throws you to the lions?" he asked. "No. Not gonna happen, baby girl." He said, with a shake of the head.

"Don't tell me you're a stubborn asshole like he is?" she asked, exasperated.

"Stubborn, yes, but I draw the line at asshole. Come on, you need to head to medical." He said, and began to lead her off towards the medical bay.

"I don't need to head to medical, I need to kick his fucking head in." she grumbled, but allowed the big Samoan to lead her off.

When she awoke the following morning, it was to someone hammering on her hotel door.

"Feral! Wakey, wakey, rise and shine!"

"Fuck off Seth!" she yelled, recognising the man's voice. There was a jiggling sound at the door, and a click as it opened.

"Always knew that trick would come in handy." Dean said, and Feral buried her head under the pillow, missing Dean enter the room while sliding a paperclip that had clearly been bent out of shape back in to his wallet. He was followed by Roman and Seth, the door shutting behind them.

"So. You gonna get up, or you gonna stay under there?" asked Seth, leaning against the wall, the three of them very amused. They watched as she lifted the side of the pillow closest to the window, and got a garbled and very insulting response as a result. Roman then walked over and yanked the curtains apart.

"Go away ya bastards!" she yelled, pulling the pillow over her head once again. There was no way she was getting up without it being her choice.

"Nope!" Dean said, before pulling off her blanket. Ceridwen curled up in a ball, raising one corner of her pillow to look at the alarm clock on the hotel bedside table. She let out a frustrated cross between a yell and a growl, and pulled the pillow over her head again. Seth reached over and yanked the pillow away.

"Go away you swine, it's half past fucking six!" she exclaimed.

"Good! Time to get up. You want to get rid of Taker off your back? It starts today." Roman replied. Among muttered curses, Feral sat up and wiped her eyes.

"I am NOT a nice person when I am WOKEN UP DELIBERATELY!" she growled.

"No one is. You've got half an hour to get showered and dressed. Dress for the gym, by the way." Dean said. "Oh and in case you get any ideas," he replied as she flopped backwards, wondering what she had done to deserve this, "I'll take these." He yanked the pillow from under her head, and took it with the blanket out of the room.

"I hate you already!" she yelled after them, getting a muffled "We know!" in response.

After returning in 25 minutes instead of 30, Ceridwen was lead down to the hotel gym, where they proceeded to put her through a gruelling workout that suited them more than it did her, and lead her off to breakfast. Over breakfast, she was informed she was going to be travelling with Roman, and he would be her sparring partner at the arena the following day. Today was going to be mostly driving with the three of them, till they reached the arena for Smackdown.

"You're driving me up the wall already," she grumbled, as Roman poured her yet another cup of coffee.

"Well, at least Dean will have company when you finally go loopy." Seth said, as Dean paused midway through eating a slice of toast, the toast upside down. He shrugged and carried on.

"I'm done for." She groaned and put her head in her hands.

Once on the road, it was more than an hour before the obvious question come up. Surprisingly, to Ceridwen, instead of Roman it was Dean who asked, as he and Ceridwen sat in the back of the people carrier.

"So, Feral. Why do you hate The Undertaker so much?" he asked.

"Or rather, why does he hate you?" chimed in Seth.

"He's not the man I thought he was." She replied, looking out the window. Their initial meeting still gave her a horrible pain in her chest.

"How so?" asked Roman.

"He just...he wasn't...Have you ever met someone you idolised, spent most of your life looking up to, only to find the reality is almost heartbreakingly different?" she asked. Dean nodded. "Who?"

"Big league baseball player...I won't name names, you probably wouldn't know him."

"No, I probably wouldn't." She agreed. "Baseball has never been my thing."

"Well, I was eighteen. I'd looked up to this guy since I was four. He'd been my idol, I worshipped the ground he walked on. I finally got the chance to meet him. And I could not have hated someone more." Dean said, shaking his head. Ceridwen felt his pain, this was exactly how she'd felt with The Undertaker. "We met before the game. He was obnoxious, he was an asshole, so full of himself, he was even hitting on my mom at one point. I had to behave apparently, cameras all over the show y'know. We got to meet him again after the game, mom kept telling me just to tough it out, it would only be for an hour or so. I hated him even more so, and ended up faking a headache to go early. Not before putting about six sauce packets worth of tomato sauce, open packets, in his bag. He put it down just after I'd done it, and the stain was soaked through by the time I'd convinced mom I needed to leave. Course, then my mom slapped him for making an inappropriate remark, and took me by the arm, and stormed out." Dean looked over at Ceridwen. "So yeah, I know how you feel. What happened with you and Taker?" Ceridwen sighed.

"I've looked up to Taker since I was old enough to know what wrestling was. Good guy, bad guy, I didn't care. Undertaker was the cream of the crop when it came to wrestling, to me, and all I ever wanted was to meet him. To speak to him, maybe get to have some ring time with him. And get his approval. To hear him tell me I'm good at what I do. That I'll go far. So when I got to hear I was working with him, oh my god, you can imagine how excited I was."

"Bouncing off the walls didn't even cover it, right?" Roman asked.

"Exactly. So I get to the arena, I'm shown to this little room, and told to go on in. I couldn't even look him in the eye. And one of the first things he said to me, literally two sentences in, was "I am in no mood to waste my days on some silly child with a foolish dream. Are we clear?" I mean, can you imagine how hard that is to hear?" Ceridwen asked, as the boys collectively sucked in their breath at his words. "My idol became a grade A asshole in front of my very eyes, and he's not gotten much better." Ceridwen shook her head, and Dean reached over and put a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. By the time this month is up, you won't even need him." He said.

"How are you going to manage that? Vince himself said we had to work together." Ceridwen laughed, surprised.

"We'll manage. The how is not important right now. But you will be on your own by the time he comes back." Seth replied.

"I hope so. I really, really do." She replied, thinking to herself it wasn't just Taker that needed to be convinced to leave her alone.

When they got to Smackdown, they were quickly shunted in to rehearsals, and Ceridwen waited patiently backstage. She was wondering who her opponent for the night was, having been thrown against guys primarily had made her wonder if she was ever going to get to face a Diva. As she waited, her phone rang. Not recognizing the number, she answered.

"Hey Feral! It's Daz!"

"Oh man are you a voice for sore ears." She laughed.

"Yeah, I lost my phone, wanted to keep in touch. How's things going there? You're looking awesome on screen, just an FYI. Almost looks real."

"Yeah…we…we get on great together," Ceridwen replied, choosing in that instant not to let her old wrestling buddy know what was happening.

"Man I can't imagine what it's like working with him, he's my idol too. What's it like, Feral?"

"It's…it's definitely something else," she replied, tactfully choosing her words.

She enjoyed the respite from her routine, chatting to him for nearly half an hour, ending the call just as Zack Ryder came over. He informed her, with a bit of an eye roll, that he was her opponent for that evening. That he was getting a do-over, what with her having been pinned due to the Undertaker's interrupt, apparently someone didn't think it was fair. Yeah, I know who that someone was, and I doubt it was because he thought your win was unfair she told herself, as she smiled and told Zack she was going to look forward to the match.

And look forward to it she did, and enjoy it she did as well. The pair of them clearly worked well together, chemistry firing each of them up and taking it to the edge and back. High risk moves, fancy moves, everything came out, and in the end, Ceridwen won with a submission. With a smile and waves, she left the crowds, people chanting her name and cheering for her as she did so, and headed back towards medical.

"Hey, nicely done, Ceridwen!" called John Cena as she came in. He was sat nursing a bag of ice on his knee.

"Thanks…although he's a tough bastard, I'll admit." She grinned as the medics began to check her over.

"So…the thing with you and Taker over with?" he asked.

"To a degree. It will be by the time he comes back. I'll have proven I won't need him by then." She replied.

"I hate to rain on your parade, but it won't be that easy to get rid of him if he has his sights set on you…remember what happened between him and H at Wrestlemania? He came back for him the next year. You sure that won't be you?" John asked.

"I'm sure. He'll see he won't need to train me, because I can already kick ass with the best of them." She said, confidently.

The next week was filled with working out alongside The Shield, the three men putting her through her paces in the extreme. But she took it all in her stride. She sparred with Roman, Dean and Seth alternately, travelled with them wherever they went, from live shows to signings, to a hospital visit with a few other stars to a kids ward. She was confident that on the next RAW, she would have another win. RAW came, and her opponent was announced as Heath Slater. Ceridwen went out, confident, ready to take him out and take the win. She was perhaps a little over zealous, as Heath complained she went "too rough" with him as he reached medical after she did, to which Dolph Ziggler, getting an elbow looked at, promptly told him to man up.

"Feral could have ripped your arm off out there, you'd prefer that would you? No? Then stop acting like fucking pansy and man up. You're a wrestler god damn it. Suck it up." He said, before Heath stormed off, suitably ashamed.

The following day it was Adam Rose on Smackdown, then one of Los Matadors, Diego at a live event. Her winning streak continued the following week with the other member of Los Matadors, Fernando on Raw, and because Adam Rose was pissed at losing, The Bunny on Smackdown. No live event that week, she simply went around with The Shield. Then the next RAW she was surprised to find her opponents jumped up a few ranks.

Ceridwen looked at the schedule for the night slightly alarmed. Her match had been bumped to second to main event, but that wasn't the cause for concern. As she looked over at Roman, Dean and Seth, it was clear they hadn't seen the schedule yet. Ceridwen swallowed hard. This wasn't an appreciation of her abilities, it was a message. So much for leaving her alone for a month. Walking over to the three guys, she held out the schedule to Roman, who took it, looked at it, and frowned.

"Is he serious?" he said at last, passing it to Dean so he and Seth could read it.

"Deadly. I'm meant to lose this, Roman, on purpose. He wants to show me up." Ceridwen ran a hand through her hair, wondering what the fuck was going through The Undertaker's mind.

"Then we will be ringside for you." Dean said, shaking his head as Seth ran a hand through his beard.

"How's that going to work, Dean? You three aren't my friends in kafaybe, and you certainly aren't together as a stable at the moment. How are you going to get the go ahead for you all to be out there, and watching my back?" Ceridwen replied, before wiping her eyes.

"Y'know you're cute when you worry, Feral," Roman smiled. Ceridwen raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really? You're hitting on me now? Of all the times to pick..."

"I'm teasing, Ceridwen," Roman laughed. "Ok, it's true, Seth can't come out. But I can, and Dean can. Maybe we could have Dean ready to come out, and me out ringside."

"Will it be enough? He's not gonna go nutso on me is he?" Ceridwen asked.

"Depends what The Undertaker has asked him to do." Roman replied. "But best to be on our guard, I don't think there's much beneath his limits."

When they went out, the crowds went mad, seeing Roman at the side of Feral was apparently a very big deal. They got down to the ring, and once they were done enjoying the entrance, Roman clapped her on the back and gave her a hi five, before getting out of the ring. Her music died, or rather, The Undertaker's music, as apparently part of the conditions of her fighting for herself were that she had to use his music. Then the theme of her challenger rang out, and she felt her stomach drop.

"Making his way to the ring, from Las Vegas Nevada, RYBACK!" Lillian announced to the crowds. Ceridwen felt her stomach bypass her gut, and head for her knees, her heart close behind. Ryback was huge, he was built like the proverbial brick shithouse. The closer to the ring he got, the more afraid Ceridwen felt, and she was damn sure she had no colour left in her cheeks. So much for the confidence she would be on her own. How was it possible I'm more afraid of facing you than I was facing The Undertaker? She asked herself.

So deep in her thoughts was she, that she barely heard the ring of the bell, and Roman's yelled warning, before the man-beast charged for her. She ducked under his arm, uttered a prayer to...someone, she didn't know who...and rebounded off the ropes, running right at him. She leapt in to the air in a jump that must have made Roman proud, and punched Ryback square in the face. He barely stumbled as she landed and got upright as quickly as she could.

"Yeah! That a girl, Feral! Show him how it's done!" Roman yelled. Ceridwen would have liked nothing more than to do that, except Ryback grabbed her by the throat and chokeslammed her to the floor. She gasped, she couldn't breathe, Ryback went in for a quick win but Ceridwen would be damned if she gave him that. She kicked out of the pin instantly, and scrambled to get away.

But all she got was her ass handed to her on a plate. The few moments of offense were destroyed in seconds by Ryback, and the match was soon over. Roman was beside himself at the side of the ring, knowing he could do nothing to help her. As soon as the bell went, Roman darted in the ring, and Ryback darted out. He dropped to his knees next to Ceridwen as she lay on the mat.

"Hey...Feral...hey can you hear me?" he asked, helping her sit as she put a hand to her head.

"I'm gonna castrate The Undertaker when I see him next. Help me up." She managed. Roman began to do just that, but a cry from the crowds made him look up. Surrounding them on every side of the ring were two guys dressed in black hoodys, faces covered, hoods up...with The Undertaker's logo on the sleeves.

"Stay down, do NOT move," Roman said, standing slowly as the guys stepped inside the ring ropes.

Ceridwen heard the thundering of feet, and the sounds of Roman getting hit, and then the kicks and punches rained down on her. She tried to curl in to a foetal position, but it did little to help protect her. It seemed to go on forever, and then the screams of the WWE Universe told her they were saved. Help had arrived. She was surprised t be helped up by Seth, however, and Dean, as John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show and even Kane came running to their aid. Evidently someone had said to hell with the current storylines, and run out to help, most wrestlers out there at the moment hated each other. Seth and Dean got Ceridwen slowly to backstage, where Hunter was waiting. He saw her go past, Dean helping her walk to medical. He was livid, he was furious, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. If Vince believed the issues between Ceridwen and The Undertaker were a storyline, then he would change nothing.

It happened again on Smackdown. After a whole day watching Triple H try to get her off the hook, and Vince having none of it, citing she could handle whatever opponent The Undertaker picked, Ceridwen was thrown against Rusev. This match was even shorter than her match on RAW, and again, the moment she lost, the hooded figures came running to attack. Her friends from the back came running to her aid yet again, escorting her backstage like a personal guard of honour. Angry tirades and curses came from the medical room as Ceridwen was assessed, and ruled out of fighting in any live shows over the week.

"Y'know, it turns out the guys who beat you up are just young guys from NXT." Hunter said, with a shake of the head. "Taker asked for their help in exchange for helping them."

"I knew I saw someone like Kevin Owens here earlier today," Dean said. There was a pause as Ceridwen filled the room with expletives

"Can't you convince Vince this is a bad idea?" asked Seth.

"Hunter tried, I tried. Vince isn't exactly bothered, it's bringing in ratings through the roof at the moment, and he's in some loopy dream where Ceridwen and Taker are like some kind of perfect couple" Steph said, shaking her head.

"I'll kill him myself before this is all over," Ceridwen replied, and swore once again.

Ceridwen went home that week, and tried to prepare herself for what was coming that Monday. That Monday would be a month since he left. He would be back. And despite her best intentions, she knew there was no way she was going to be set free. There was no way he'd let her out of his sight that easily. Her heart was heavy when she came in, despite her resolve not to say anything to him, or, as she'd promised, shed one single tear.

His trailer was in the car park, but when she went inside, thee was no sign of him. She headed for catering to grab lunch, nothing. She reached Hunter to find out who she was facing that evening, only to find him stood with Steph, Roman, Seth and Dean, and none of them looking too happy.

"hi guys...what's the matter? Do you know who my opponent is?" she asked as Roman ran a hand though his hair.

"Yes...yes we do." He said, his voice almost empty.

"Well, who is it? Big Show? Mark Henry?" she asked. The group around them shook their heads, and Dean wouldn't look her in the eye. Ceridwen looked round and realised. "It's one of you three isn't it?"

"It's me," Seth said, shaking his head in disbelief. "He's put me down. And we're main event." Ceridwen looked at him, muttered an "I need a moment alone" and walked off.

"She gonna be ok?" asked Steph, watching her as Ceridwen left the room.

He did it on purpose, she thought to herself. It's not a test, it's a message, a notice to me. If people get involved, they will get hurt, and so will I. She took a breath and tried to steady herself as the door opened behind her.

"Everything ok, Feral?" asked Roman.

"Yeah...yeah I'm good. Look, I appreciate the work you guys have put in to help me...I'll miss hanging with you all."

"What? You act like you're going away somewhere." Roman frowned.

"In a fashion," Ceridwen said, realising what she had to do. "Stay away from me, Roman. I won't have you guys hurt at my expense."

"Stay away? What? You can't just expect us to leave you alone, to deal with whatever he throws at you." He said in disbelief as she stepped back from him.

"Whatever he does to me, he'll hurt you as well. Think about it. He's set Seth against me tonight as a message to both of us. Seth because he can defeat me, and send you a message, that your friends will get hurt too if you don't leave me alone." Ceridwen replied, hands running through her hair.

"What possible reason do you have for throwing away your only back up?" he asked, amazed.

"I can handle it...trust me. Stay AWAY!" she said, before walking off. Roman shook his head, and went back to the others. As Ceridwen rounded the corner, she leant against the wall, and wiped her eyes of the tears threatening to come. She hoped and prayed she was doing the right thing. There was no need for anyone else to get hurt, not for her sake. She knew her fate for the next year. Now, she had to make sure he didn't break her while she carried it out.

Roman watched from the outside the ring as Ceridwen went against Seth. Both were wary of each other, neither wanted to be in this position. But, they were main event. They had to make it look good. The two definitely had chemistry together; they worked well and fed off the crowds and one another. Roman wondered if she was doing this to get that oh so important recognition from The Undertaker. It would be the icing on the cake, after all, for someone who idolised him so to get the grand seal of approval from the man. But tonight wasn't about getting that, as Seth threw Ceridwen in to a turnbuckle. Tonight was about teaching them all a lesson. A glance at Dean said he too was thinking the same thing. While the girl could hold her own, and there was no way she was lacking in skill, it was painfully clear Seth would win. Ceridwen would get very, very hurt. Which, Roman realised as Seth knocked her to the canvas for the umpteenth time, was exactly what Undertaker wanted. He was teaching her not to get anyone involved.

Ceridwen saw boots walking around her on the canvas, as she fought back against her injuries, pushing herself back to her hands and knees. Not that she knew what she was going to do to win this.

"Come on, get up," Seth yelled, before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her to her feet. She had nothing left, she couldn't fight back, and it was with an easy pin Seth beat her. She lay on the mat, hearing the bell ring and Seth being announced the winner. Everything hurt, everything was on fire with the pain, and she was even bleeding from a split lip. She forced herself to her feet, stumbling and being caught, to her surprise, by Roman.

"You ok?" he asked, and Ceridwen could only nod. Then it sounded. The bell, the sound men feared, that women ran from. The sound that announced one man. The lights went down, Dean and Seth were by her side instantly, the four stood ready to fight in the ring. As they watched, the druids came out and surrounded the ring. Their flaming torches lit up around the ring, the four wrestlers in there were forced back to back, each facing a side of the ring as the druids took their places. The lights went down, the torches went out, and the feeling her friends were next to her suddenly went away. It was for a good reason too, because at the chiming of another bell the lights came back, the torches back on, and her friends were lying unconscious on the ring floor. In front of her he stood, tall and imposing, and Ceridwen fought with everything she had to keep her heart from doing a runner via her mouth. He raised the microphone to his lips, and spoke in to the sudden eerie silence of the arena.

"Feral. Your time is up."