Part Three

Jeff Hardy stood at the top of the ramp, taking in the energy the crowd was giving him. Here he was, about to take on the Undertaker for the Undisputed Championship. Victory could come only by pinfall; it was a compromise the Undertaker demanded in exchange for participating in a ladder match. Adrenalin coursed through his veins as the Hardys music blared across the speakers. After dancing around the stage a bit, he raced down the ramp and into the ring, where the Undertaker waited. Ladders were set up in each corner of the ring.

"Let the battle begin", he thought with a smirk.

Backstage, Matt Hardy paced in front of the monitor, his long curls occasionally draping in his face. Impatiently, he pushed them back out of the way. He had promised Jeff he wouldn't interfere unless someone else did first. And he intended to keep his word. He couldn't shake however, the feeling of foreboding he had. He sensed danger, he just didn't know for sure how it would happen. The gnawing feeling he had just wouldn't go away.

"C'mon, Jeff!" Matt practically screamed at the monitor. The Undertaker was larger, and was certainly giving him a beating, but ladders were a Hardy specialty, and Jeff was using it to his full advantage.

Jeff had just clocked the Undertaker with the butt end of a ten foot ladder. That was what finally took the Undertaker down. Quickly, he set up the largest ladder in the corner and scurried up to the top. Giving the crowd his famous guns salute, followed by a dramatic bow, he leapt off the top rung, performing a picture perfect Swanton bomb. Rolling up the Undertaker, the referee slid to the mat, beginning the three count.

"One"

"Two"

"Three!" Matt finished, screaming in the back. Exhilarated for his brother, he dashed out of the locker room and raced towards the front to join his brother in celebration.

Out in the ring, Jeff rolled off the Undertaker and leapt to his feet, jubilant in his victory. He finally beat the Undertaker and his prize was the Undisputed Championship. The referee reached him the belt, while Lillian announced his victory. The crowd was going crazy. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Matt racing to the ring to join him, while the humiliated Undertaker had rolled out of the ring and was slowly making his way towards the back.

Matt and Jeff were celebrating in the ring, posing on the turnbuckles while the crowd was still showing their happiness and support of Jeff's victory. Suddenly, the Hardys music stopped and the lights started flashing. New, eerie music took its place. The Titantron sprung to life, interrupted by a snowy screen and squawking noise. Quickly, both Matt and Jeff spun their heads around, their eyes instantly glued to the screen.

The screen turned black, then slowly a picture faded into view. Standing in front of the camera was a familiar face. Matt's feelings of trepidation returned, as he realized who that person was: Raven.

"Oh, no," Matt said as he began to figure out where Raven was filming this at.

"Matt, that looks like Lita's car," Jeff said, the dangerousness of the situation dawning on him as well.

Raven turned to face the camera, a hideous smirk on his face. "So, hello there, you little Hardy punks" he began. "I trust you're having a wonderful time there at the arena. Well, I want you to know, I'm having a wonderful time as well." Raven began to walk around a bit, waving his arms dramatically as he spoke. The camera was not moving. Obviously he had set up a tripod and was filming himself.

"You see, I couldn't be at the arena tonight, given that I've had a little disagreement with the management. So, I thought I'd spend the time with another person who couldn't be there tonight either."

Matt began to curse under his breath. Jeff didn't appear to be breathing at all.

Raven approached the camera, standing directly in front of the lens. In the background was Lita's car, parked on what appeared to be the side of a country road. The trunk lid was up. Raven smiled menacingly into the camera. "I hope you're enjoying your match tonight Jeff. And I hope you won, defeating the Undertaker. But most of all, I hope you regret your foolish transgressions against me over the past few weeks, because you're going to regret them for as long as you live."

Jeff just stared at the screen, mesmerized by what he was hearing and a blank look on his face. What did that lunatic mean by "regret for as long as you live?"

Matt on the other hand, was getting angrier by the moment. His face was getting flushed, and he clenched his fists at his sides unknowingly as he watched the madman on the screen.

Suddenly, Raven walked closer to the camera and picked it up. The picture swung wildly at the ground. He was carrying the camera now. The audio however, couldn't be misunderstood. "And you, Matthew. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Attacking a man when he's down." The camera's picture whipped back to Raven's face as he held it unsteadily, focusing on himself.

"Didn't your daddy ever tell you it's not nice to pick on other kids? No one likes a bully you know. You must be punished for what you've done to me, when I was at my lowest." He laughed evilly, then continued. "I think I came up with the perfect way to make you pay." His face then turned dead serious as he said, "What better way to hurt you two idiots than to take away the one thing you care about most. Just as I cared about the WWE and it was taken away from me. Does this hurt, Matthew?"

Raven then panned the camera down on Lita's car, and zoomed into the trunk. Matt and Jeff both gasped as theirs worst fears were realized. Raven had taken Lita. She lay there in the trunk, hands and feet bound and gagged, a look of sheer terror on her face. "So, Lita, comfy are you? You think your big strong boys are going to come to your rescue?" He continued to taunt her. "I don't think so, babe. You see, this time, I win."

Raven turned the camera back on himself. "Catch me, catch me, if you can." He laughed maniacally then turned and slammed the trunk lid shut. "Oh, sorry to run off, but Lita and I have other business to tend to." Raven held up the car keys, shaking them as he spoke.

With that, he reached forward and turned off the camera. The screen zapped back to the snowy picture and static.

In the ring, the two brothers stood dumbfounded. What had just happened?

to be continued................