Warning (Same as usual): English isn't my mother language (French is). So if you see mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me. I'm always eager to improve :-)

Note: if you want to be in the same mood I was when writing this chapter, listen to AUDIOMACHINE – Wars Of Faith.

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TOWARDS THE LIGHT

"The Corre of our Souls"

Chapter 3 – The Rite

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The moment he saw Brock Lesnar bend over and pick Heath from the floor, while the ginger was holding one of his ankles, begging from mercy, Wade Barrett knew something wrong was about to happen. He started running, leaving the locker room where everyone was watching on the big screen, preparing for their own matches in this Monday Night Raw, or just getting ready in their ring gears, in case of any change in the planning of the show.

Usually, Wade would have stayed sit and enjoy the show. Seeing Heath receiving a beat down from one of the old guys from the past had now become a classical view since last June. But the look on Heath's face – as well as his two 3MB mates' expression – only meant one thing: he didn't know Lesnar would come up instead of The Shield.

Wade had been a little puzzled last week, when The Shield had attacked 3MB, but had taken that as a sign that 3MB was to be presented as mere insects to the public. Not a real feud. Because even if Wade knew deep inside that Heath had what it took to take down the Shield by himself – a thought the Brit would never admit that publicly – he also knew that WWE would never allow that to happen. The Shield was 2013's Nexus. Untouchable. Every passing day, Wade was feeling nostalgic about their old team.

But here, chaos had erupted in a way he would never have expected; under the shape of probably the most mentally unstable guy of the roster: Someone who wasn't here to entertain, but to physically destroy people, and end their career. Was it what WWE wanted? Getting finally rid of 3MB after keeping them just below the surface of the water for so many months? The way himself had been treated recently, Wade had an idea he would be the next in line used as a fool in order to entertain the masses. It looked like WWE management had found a slow but sure way of getting revenge upon Nexus' coup d'état three years ago.

Wade almost made it to the curtains below the Titantron when a solid pair of arms grabbed his waist and pulled him backwards, cutting his breath under the impact.

"You can't…!", he struggled madly against whoever was delaying his rescue. He doubled his effort when he saw Brock lifting one more time Heath over his shoulders. "Wade! You can't! It's his rite of passage!". Wade realized then who was talking directly into his ear and turned towards the blue eyes of John Cena. For a split second. Before turning back his gaze towards the ring. Just in time to see Brock slamming Heath right onto the barricades. The youth's legs impacted strongly on the barrier, and he bounced back on the floor, right at Brock's feet.

Wade stayed still, holding his breath, Cena still holding him, as his words sank in. His rite of passage? Such term was used in the roster for someone who was about to walk towards the light. It could happen to anybody, at any time. When WWE management had decided that it was your time, they didn't warn you. They sent a big trial to your face, a psychologically or physically painful one. And if the public took pity of you, or cheered for you, you were accepted.

Wade couldn't see Heath from his point of view, the ginger was still on the floor on the other side of the ring, but he could see Brock. The monster made a few steps backwards, as if he was done. Wade glanced at the screen near the curtain, and saw a close-up on Heath, lying on the floor, his hair masking partly his face, but not preventing Wade from seeing an expression of utter pain. The youth's fists were clenched and his knuckles were almost white.

The camera tilted up to Brock Lesnar's face, and Wade saw with a pit in his stomach the demented light in the older man's eyes. Any hope he had gotten about the rite to be done vanished in thin air as Lesnar moved forward again, bending over his victim, and grabbed his long red golden hair to force him on his feet. The grip was so strong that it looked like his was ready to rip Heath's scalp, exploding the holy PG level Vince McMahon was defending so fiercely.

Lesnar lifted Heath in the air again, and once more, slammed him into the barricades. Heath's legs and hips hit violently the obstacle, but instead of sliding to the ground like the first time, the ginger remained bent over the edge of the barricade. Lesnar walked to him, grabbed his legs, and pulled him with all his strength towards the ring. Heath landed on his side and rolled on his back, his hair spread around his head and his eyes closed under the pain, while Lesnar was towering over him menacingly.

Wade heard then something horrifying. The crowd should have cheered the victim, finalizing Heath's rite of passage. But instead, they were shouting "One More Time!" repetitively, apparently finding this massacre entertaining. With the same horror, Wade saw the smile Lesnar gave to the WWE Universe, his beasty head nodding in rhythm with their chant; himself was having a lot of fun. He had told it beforehand: he wasn't there to entertain the crowd but to destroy his opponents. Sometimes of course, the two concepts would meet some agreement. The Beast bent over the fallen ginger, reaching out for his head again. Wade tried to get rid of Cena. The rite was turning wrong. How could John not see it? The crowd wasn't with Heath, and his opponent was a psychopath who was about to kill him, or "at best", end his career prematurely.

But then, something happened. Paul Heyman, the top manager, the legend, interfered and put his hand on Lesnar's arms as the latter was seizing Heath again. Wade didn't hear what Heyman was shouting to his client, but it was clearly meant to stop the massacre. Heyman had to shout several times, both to cover up the chants from the crowd as well as for the information to reach Lesnar's brain. It looked like he was trying to lure the Beast towards the ring, and it finally worked. Lesnar let go of Heath who fell on the floor like a lifeless doll, and followed his manager almost like a docile cow. Whatever Paul Heyman told in his promo once they were in the ring, Wade didn't hear it. His whole attention was on the 3MB crew, especially his former teammate. If Drew and jinder seemed to come back to their senses and mostly cringe in pain, holding their limbs, Heath was remaining on the floor, a referee kneeing next to him and whispering; checking on him. The camera wasn't on them when it happened, so Wade could only watch from a distance. He didn't see clearly what happened between Heath and the referee, but he saw the X sign the ref made with his crossed arms towards one of the side cameras.

The former Nexus leader felt his stomach drop in his feet. The injury was legit. His impulsion was to leap from Cena's grip and run ringside to help his fallen comrade, but to no avail. Cena pushed with all his strength and slammed him into a nearby wall.

"You can't help him there!", he shout again. "There might still be a chance for him to go in the Light. Don't waste his chance by appearing by his side, or he'll have suffered for nothing!"

The rest of the Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar segment went like a blur for Wade. He saw as two medics reached Heath and the referee and lifted his former teammate on the stretcher. Heath seemed conscious but barely moving. The medics waited for the "advertisement" signal, meaning they weren't on air, before lifting the stretcher and walking to the side of the podium, away from the spotlights and from the crowd.

From the other side of the wall, Wade ran towards them, passing a few of his coworkers. CM Punk's initiation to the "New Nexus" had been painful, but Wade suspected that it was nothing compared to what Heath had gone through for his initiation towards the Light. There was a time, during the Nexus era, when this kind of assault wouldn't have gone unpunished. Lesnar wouldn't have left the building without having a warm and friendly meeting with the rest of Nexus. Come to think of it, no one would have dared putting their hands on Heath like he had done, simply by fear of Nexus' legendary retaliation. In the Brit's heart, a wind of nostalgia and rage was rising.

Then, he saw the ginger at the end of the corridor, 30 feet from him, as the medics were passing the black curtains. He overhead "possible broken leg", and was about to run to his fallen friend, when he remembered Cena's words.

He couldn't.

He couldn't be seen by the fans as a comforting presence by Heath's side, but neither could he be seen as such by his Face coworkers. The transition had to be complete. If fans were still doubtful – bunch of stupid ones who had encouraged the Beast – maybe himself could do something to give Heath a final push towards the light. The backstage cameraman was filming as the medics were temporarily lowering the stretcher to the floor. Hoping that this sequence would be used later, Wade took a deep breath and walked to his fallen comrade. Maybe he was Heath's last chance, but the following seconds cost him a lot.

He stood near Heath, and made sure that his face expression showed nothing else than contempt and mockery. He remembered how he had mocked Cena, some years – and a lifetime – ago, and prepared to kick the old adage saying that it is unfair to beat down a man already broken.

"You have fallen low these past months", he started in a scornful way when Heath's gaze met his own, "but never yet as low as today!". He paused, as Heath's eyes widened, before going on. "I thought that there was some hope for you, and that maybe we could one day resurrect the Nexus together. But what I saw today just makes me wanna pick you up, and shake you until all the hours and days of my life that you've wasted… fall out. You appear to be a man that is utterly without talent. Unless, of course, you wanna count the fact that you are the second-best ginger wrestler in WWE. You are a total disgrace!", he concluded with his low-pitched and strong voice.

All the emotions that were storming on Heath's face told Wade that he had been credible. In truth, all he wanted was to give the youth one of these comforting hugs he knew the ginger was craving for. But he couldn't. Not anymore. For Heath's sake, they had to be enemies now. He turned his back with a scornful Tssk! before his eyes could betray him,

("Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present Man Not Caring!")

and left Heath on the floor, physically as well as spiritually.

He passed John Cena who was rushing towards Heath. He didn't turn but heard how Cena spoke to the One Man Band in a (pretended) concerned tone. Wade wanted to throw up. Cena was playing the nice guy, welcoming the newbie to the Light, and making sure that the camera was catching everything.

("Oh. Would everyone please watch this? Because nobody, but nobody, cares like John Cena. He leads off with the Chin Quiver. Then he goes right to the Pat On The Shoulder. He tries to hold it back but he just can't because there's too much pain! And then finally, he squeezes out one single tear. Ladies and gentlemen, that is some quality Crack Addict Theatre!")

Wade clenched his fists and walked towards the darkness at the end of the corridor, leaving Heath behind with his new "friends". Hoping that after all the physical and spiritual pains, the youth would be allowed to stay in the Light. And heal.

The former Nexus leader had a match now. He didn't know who his opponent was, but he didn't care. Wade felt as if he was about to explode and he wanted to take it out on someone. He hoped that his opponent would last a bit.

And he hoped that what he had sacrificed... would be worth something.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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If you want to watch the video of the massacre Brock Lesnar did on Heath Slater, search for Raw 2013.04.15.