Title: A Hard Kind of Life
Author: Ashley
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.
Spoilers: I spoiled EVERYTHING. Just kidding.
Rating: R
Characters/Pairing: Punk/Lita, Jeff/Maria, Scott Levy, Kane, Kevin Nash
Summary: "Darkness pervades his mind and all my senses, like a heavy cloth over my mouth and nose, choking the life out of me as I gasp for air."
Notes: Originally this was supposed to follow the daily prompts but I think we all know I veered off of that about five or six chapters ago sorry. On another note, this chapter makes me feel like I returned to the soul of this fic and when I finished it there was indeed choruses of, "Another one bites the dust." So thank you Freddie Mercury.
Warnings: Contains supernatural content, unnatural beings and just a general dark quality.

Kane's mind, if possible is twisted and darker now than it ever was before and I find it hard not to slip in too deep as I sit near the door to the basement, listening to him rattle around downstairs. I don't even really know how they managed to get the chains on him, and frankly don't really want to think about the mechanics of it because it's a little too much for me to handle.

Darkness pervades his mind and all my senses, like a heavy cloth over my mouth and nose, choking the life out of me as I gasp for air.

He is no longer human; he is feral with no humanity within him and no chance of being saved. It makes me feel pity, an emotion I wasn't even aware I was capable of any longer but I pity him.

He has no human memory, no memory of any deeds he committed before being turned as most other vampires do, instead it is just a brain muddled with bloodlust and a savage nature to destroy anything in sight.

I pull out of his mind slowly, shuddering somewhat because I know now what it is like to have something feral within me.

"Are you alright?" Maria is kneeling next to me and I hadn't even heard her come in, her hand resting lightly on my knee.

I nod my head and push a lock of red hair out of my eyes, "Yes. He needs to be killed Maria," I tell her bluntly, seeing in her eyes the sorrow I feel myself for someone who was once a man and has been turned into nothing more than a monster.

Maria shakes her head and lowers her eyes to the ground and I feel terrible for not being the slightest bit sensitive with her around, especially with how she seems to be more sensitive to everyone mainly because of her powers.

"I know," her voice is soft. "There is only a lust for blood in him, I felt it."
I feel less like a monster when she affirms my suspicions that there is nothing good, nothing human left within the husk of the man.

"I'll do it," Jeff says, standing in the doorway to the kitchen looking down at the both of us. "Are you going to be okay?" He asks Maria, and there is a brief moment of jealousy that flashes through my mind and body like quicksilver.

"I'll be fine," Maria replies and pulls herself to her feet, glancing back at me with a worried expression on her face; one I wish didn't have to be there. "You need to eat," she tells me, bustling into the kitchen leaving Jeff and myself alone together.

Jeff turns to me, studying me and next thing I know I'm being pulled off the floor and into his arms as he hugs me tightly.

"We missed you Amy," he murmurs into my hair and warmth floods me now that I know that I wasn't alone in missing the friendship and closeness we all shared together before everything began to change.

"I've missed you," I kiss his cheek softly and smile sadly, looking into his eyes. "But you know that when this is all over…"

Jeff smiles back at me, a bittersweet smile. "Nothing will ever be the same again, even worse than before," he finishes for me and I instantly feel guilty as though almost everything that has happened up until this point has been my own fault.

It's not your fault Scott's mental voice startles me and I look over my shoulder to find my brother standing there silently, all the tension he's ever felt in his life seeming to exude from him in this moment.

I don't know what to say to him, my anger still rising up in me I find myself turning my back on my brother and leaving the cabin for the second time today.

Maria will get me when the food is ready.

I'm not prepared however for the sight of Punk, teeth bared, in human form standing in front of a man who

I knew through my childhood as Kevin but now can't stomach the thought of such familiar terms.

I race forward before I can stop myself until Punk and I are both standing toe to toe with him.

"What do you want?" I am surprised at the growl in my own voice, and the anticipation within me.

Nash looks surprised, his eyes widening slightly until a look of impression falls upon his grizzled face.

He looks older than I remember him looking, by quite a bit.

"What do you think I want Amy?" His voice is silky smooth and I close my eyes shortly because his power is one I have always wanted, but hated at the same time.

Two different sides of one coin I suppose.

My mind reaches out and a gasp, choked falls from my lips.

"Good girl, I can always count on you to be so susceptible," Kevin mocks, his voice filled with nothing but distaste for what he perceives as my weakness. "What do I always want?"

"To win," I respond, the reply falling from my lips but the words are not my own.

I can feel my muscles relax but I don't want them to, my beast slips back into the recesses of my mind and panic settles in, my breathing falling from my lips at a rapid pace.

"No," the words are weak, and I wish I felt stronger in this moment, struggling with the cotton that seems to have been shoved into my psyche, his power feeling just as stifling and hard to get through.

I turn to Punk, and I know my eyes are pleading as my beast rises again, wanting to turn on its mate and howling at the injustice of it all.

The transformation threatens, hot power sliding through me, leaving burns I know aren't real. It's all part of his game.

Control, it is amazing to have it taken from you, few short moments of bliss until you realize the person can make you do anything.

Scott hates having the power, yet Nash seems to revel in it.

"Sorry sis," I feel Scott's hand on my shoulder, turning me toward him and after a swift blow to the face

I feel my focus snap back into control, Kevin slipping away from my mind.

Darkness clouds my vision, I hear Punk howl in anger and outrage opening my eyes wide in time to see him lunge at Kevin, and then there is nothing as unconsciousness overtakes me.