A/N: Well, the last chapter was a bit… odd, I have to say. It shot off into a completely different direction than I'd intended. Crazy stuff. Hopefully, things will get back on track this time around. Jeff and Matt will talk. Taker will see red. Adam will cower. Jay will be smart and stoic. Far as I figure it, that about sums up where things need to go from here.
Now, to respond to some very kind reviews I received. Slashdlite, Jeff's in good hands with Mark; don't worry! ;) Esha Napoleon, I laughed my a** off when I read your review; you and Grandma Napoleon are so rad! :) Seraphalexiel, nah, I'd never abandon this damn story. I wanna see how this ridiculous mess turns out in the end. :) To answer your question, yes, Matt is indeed a ninja. LOL at the dog thing… Crystalgurl101, sorry for the cliffhanger! I know, I'm evil… :)
Well, without further ado, here it is. As always, WWE owns all (except Jeff, who owns himself), I own nothing.
Taker stood in the alley, staring off into the darkness. His head was tilted slightly to the side as he listened for any signs of Jeff. He sighed in frustration. The nearby city was putting out an array of background noise, the distant sounds of the highway mixing with blaring radios and car horns. It was driving Mark to distraction.
He had no idea if he was following the correct path, or if he'd been uselessly meandering in the dark for the past forty minutes.
There was nothing to lead him in the right direction.
"Shit", he cursed under his breath.
He pulled out the flashlight he'd taken from the rental, and began to steadily and methodically make his way forward. His sharp eyes were peeled for any clues as to his young friend's whereabouts. His ears were perked.
Moving as silently as possible, he walked forward into the shadows. He stalked aimlessly, searching, searching. He walked until the hotel, its parking lot, and the yawning mouth of the alley all faded into the dim landscape behind him.
* * * * * * *
Jeff was scared out of his fucking mind.
Matt had not relinquished his grip even slightly since they left the parking lot, and Jeff found that he was far too frightened to fight back. He allowed himself to be roughly guided along, falling ever limper in his brother's painfully tight grasp.
The younger Hardy could not stifle a gasp when he was pulled backwards, suddenly and violently, into his brother's chest. Matt threw an arm over Jeff's chest, holding him still. They stood there, unmoving, engulfed in darkness.
Matt, who perceived his brother's extreme unease, let out a sinister chuckle. Jeff instinctually tried to move away, repulsion overtaking him.
"What's wrong, little brother?", Matt laughed, increasing the strength of his hold and eliciting a small whimper from his captive, "Are you scared of me?"
Jeff did not reply. Every muscle was a caricature of rigid and immovable fear.
Matt smirked, moving his face in close to his brother's ear. Jeff let out a frightened moan, and tried to pull away from the older Hardy's grinning visage.
Matt leaned down and spoke in a gentle tone, one that did not belie his words. "Stop struggling, Jeffy, or I'll cut your throat and watch while you choke on your own blood."
A fat tear rolled slowly down Jeff's cheek. He began to hyperventilate as his fear escalated, but he stopped struggling.
Matt smiled, his eyes narrowing as he turned Jeff to face him. He studied his terrified brother closely. He reached out and gently took hold of Jeff's long locks, running his fingers through the tangled, multi-hued hair. He wiped the tear off of his brother's quivering cheek.
Matt let both his hands drop to his sides. Jeff, too petrified to move, just stood there, staring up at him. The older Hardy let out a heavy sigh, and smiled sadly as he regarded him. "You shouldn't force me to treat you this way, Jeffy. Bad things could happen."
Jeff flinched as Matt reached out and grabbed tight hold of his chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. The older Hardy sneered as Jeff's green eyes widened in fear. "You are truly pathetic, little brother."
Jeff was rapidly tiring of his brother's cruel behavior. He felt anger suddenly overwhelm the paralyzing fear he'd felt ever since he'd been dragged away from the hotel.
"Go to hell", Jeff hissed, glaring. Matt reared back suddenly, and slapped Jeff with enough force to send him reeling.
"Fuck", Jeff panted, struggling voraciously in Matt's grip, "Let me go, you psycho! Get away from me!"
Matt hit Jeff again. Blood now trickled freely down the younger Hardy's chin, dripping into a small red pool on the ground beneath their feet.
"Please, stop it", Jeff sobbed, "Jesus Christ, Matty-"
Matt grabbed Jeff's arm, holding it in a painful vice-grip. He dragged him along, pulling him at a wickedly fast pace through the blackened alley. Jeff stumbled after his enraged brother, head spinning, unable to free himself.
"Please don't do this, Matty", he pleaded, "If you want me to leave the WWE, I'll leave! Please just let me go-"
Matt shook his head, never slowing his pace. "It doesn't matter anymore, Jeff. I couldn't care less whether you wrestle or not."
Jeff looked confused. "Then why are you doing this?"
Matt no longer appeared interested in speaking with him, however. He increased their pace even more.
"Please, Taker, hurry", Jeff pleaded silently, "I don't have much time left…"
* * * * * * *
Jay cursed loudly. Who the fuck had been banging on his door for the last five minutes? It was three o'clock in the morning, for christ's sake! Groaning, he threw the warm bedclothes off. He would kill whoever had dared to disturb his sleep.
He unlocked the door, then threw it violently open. Without even looking to see who it was, he yelled, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT???!!!!!"
Adam stood there, hand raised in mid-knock, eyes wide and alarmed.
"Fucking forget it", he said quietly, after a moment, "I shouldn't have come here."
Without another word, he turned on his heel and began to walk briskly down the hall, towards the bank of elevators.
"Adam!", called Jay, stepping out of his room with a hand set firmly on his hip, "Get your dumb ass back here."
Adam pondered for a moment.
"Now!", ordered Jay, "Before I change my mind!"
It was all the Rated R Superstar needed to hear.
"Thanks", he muttered, before entering his ex-partner's room.
Jay rolled his eyes. He had a feeling he wasn't getting any sleep tonight.
* * * * * * *
Jeff kept thinking that he had to be dreaming. None of this could possibly be real, because his own brother would never drag him to a deserted warehouse in the middle of nowhere and tie him to a chair. Matt would never threaten his life. Matt would never treat him this way.
As the younger Hardy sat, lashed to an uncomfortable high-backed wooden chair, he stared hard at the filthy floor of the nameless warehouse in an effort to avoid Matt's gaze. The darker Hardy stood over his captive, staring down at him with hard eyes.
"If you're gonna kill me, why don't you get it the fuck over with?", Jeff said quietly, anger lacing his tone.
Matt smiled. "Oh, Jeffy", he said, "I have so much more in mind first."
Jeff scowled, and returned his gaze to the floor.
Matt watched him, and continued to grin.
* * * * * * *
Mark ran his flashlight over the high walls surrounding the alleyway, bringing it back down to the filthy concrete ground. He was getting frustrated. He'd been searching now for two straight hours, and he still had no idea if he was even going in the right direction. He told himself he was a god damn fool. He should've gone to the police hours ago. It was his own desire to tear Matt Hardy's head clean off of his body that had made him charge blindly into a dark alleyway. But he hadn't found shit, and he couldn't get Jeff out of his head. What was happening to him right now? The thought of what Matt Hardy could be doing to his young friend at that moment made him want to hurt, destroy, kill.
Sighing heavily, he ran his light in a pass across the alley again. He froze, coming to a standstill.
Mark bent down over a tiny pool of fresh blood, that continued forward in a trail
of tiny droplets. Like Hansel following the trail of bread crumbs home, Mark carefully walked beside the intermittent drops of blood. He had no idea if these belonged to Jeff, but he had a hunch. He figured that was something.
Mark told himself that if he hadn't found Jeff by daybreak, he'd call the police. He couldn't keep this cavalier crap up forever.
The Deadman frowned as his thoughts turned to darker things. Matt should pray that he stay hidden forever. Because if he should find him, there would be hell to pay.
And, Mark realized, he'd enjoy every damn minute of it.
Jeff's in trouble (isn't he always?), Matt's being an asshole, Adam's being a wuss, Jay's being Jay, Deadman's being badass, and Jericho's nowhere in this story (which is sad but true). I've been checking out Jericho's tweets lately, and god dammit are they entertaining! Just a side note. Anyway, I hope to keep the updates coming, so please please please keep the reviews coming! They are my crack.
Thanks for reading guys! ;)