Death Is Only The Beginning

A WWE wrestling fanfiction
By: Jay 2K Winger

Disclaimer Stuff: The characters herein are the property of World Wrestling Entertainment (and don't get me started on how much I dislike the fact that they Got The "F" Out), and are not used with the intention of making a profit. This story is written to explore a few little concepts I thought up in regards to the storyline in question, as well as to explore some other aspects of their characters.

Teaser: The Dead Man will not rest in peace after being buried alive by his brother. A fictionalized version of the current Taker/Kane storyline, with a look back at their histories.

EPILOGUE TWO: THE GUARDIAN OF THE MORTAL REALM – IN THE RAFTERS
Like the guardian of the Void, the guardian of the mortal realm lurked in shadows and corners, but especially from the rafters. The rafters were like his home, his roost. Being up here, he reasoned, was like being God. He could watch everything from up here, and little escaped his notice. And when he noticed something happening that he disapproved of, he would descend from above, like the Grim Reaper.

He seldom interacted with people anymore. Those that did were often off-put by his cold, antisocial demeanor. He was not always that way, no, but time and stress and bitterness had hardened him against society. He'd grown cynical and callous, but not to the point where he refused to aid the people he watched over. If he had done that, he would have been stripped of his position. If the mortal realm lost him as its guardian, then the Things That Should Not Be from outside the eight realms of reality would surely take advantage of the vulnerability.

He had much in common with the guardian of the gates of the realms. Like the Undertaker, he had undergone a metamorphosis in his time, gone from the colorful, energetic defender of virtue to the darker, brooding silent knight. Of course, in the Dead Man's case, he'd gone from a cold, silent zombie to a dark, evil devil-worshipper to a much more human 'biker' before returning to his roots with the cold, silent demon. Of course, he had severed his ties to the realms of Hell and chaos, which did make the guardian of the mortal realm happy.

The three girls, the guardians of the threshold, had informed him that the Undertaker had pledged impartiality, but the guardian of the mortal realm doubted that. To be totally impartial, he would have had to sever all ties he had with all the realms. That would have meant not only ending his alignment with Hell and chaos, but also preventing himself from visiting the Void too often. The Void was the easiest realm to access apart from the cross-dimensional ether (which wasn't truly a realm in and of itself), and therefore it became simple to think of the Void as just that: a void, where nothing could watch you.

The guardian of the mortal realm knew otherwise. He knew that there were silent, invisible forces that lurked in the Void, converting all that stayed in its boundaries into nothingness, subjecting them to oblivion. And also, the guardian of the Void always knew when someone had strayed into his jurisdiction. Always. So the guardian of the mortal realm knew that the Undertaker could not stay impartial forever. He owed the Void a debt, but more than that, he still had ties to the mortal realm. He still loved his wife and child, and would no doubt strain the Rules of reality to their limit in order to see them.

The one who lurked in the rafters did not care about the Dead Man's ties to the mortal realm. He respected the Undertaker's abilities, and would have happily allowed him to visit his family without cost or obligation if the Rules had allowed it. Since they did not, he was forced to keep the law enforced. But, he had thrown his lot in with the guardians of the spirit realm, realm of order, and (though it pained him to do so) the Void, and supported the 'Taker's return to the guardianship of the gates of the realms. He knew it would bring him trouble from Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and chaos, but he was used to that. The mortal realm, his world, his beat, was the staging ground for all manner of otherworldly conflicts and battles, the proving ground of destiny. Wars started in the ether and the other seven realms, but they ended in the mortal realm.

He watched from the rafters as the Undertaker defeated his treacherous brother, and could sense the man boasting to the other guardians. That would bring trouble as well, but that trouble would come to find the Undertaker. The guardian of the mortal realm had taken great pains to keep himself off the radars of the other seven realms, because he represented the one obstacle in the path of invasion from all other realms, real and unreal. He had learned to use the powers granted to him by his office in quick moments, like a sort of sonar, taking soundings without giving too much away. In this manner, not only did he watch the mortal realm, but the others as well. He saw everything.

He rose from his crouch in the rafters, duster swirling around him. He had seen enough for now. In time, his path would cross with the Undertaker's, and when that time came, he would ascertain for himself just how impartial the Dead Man was. He was willing to allow a certain amount of partiality, but if it interfered or threatened the mortal realm, then...

Well... then, the Undertaker would feel the Sting of the scorpion...