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Summary: Jeff Hardy has been chosen to be the human host that would allow the demon keeper of the seventh layer of hell to enter the realm of Earth. In fighting for his life Jeff has some unexpected allies. Featuring: Matt Hardy, Undertaker, Kane, Batista, Umaga, John Cena, Ashley, Maria, Edge...
NOTE: On June 26th, 2007 according the WWE schedule Smackdown is giving a show in San Antonio, TX, while RAW is in Corpus Cristi, TX. This fic is written with the assumption, that Jeff and Umaga are still on RAW, and Matt, Kane, the Boogeyman and the Undertaker are still on Smackdown, and that Undertaker is still the World Heavyweight Champion.
000
It was just like before, the thorny bushes and the river of boiling blood.
Despite being in hell, Jeff shivered, feeling a little cold. Perhaps it was the fear of seeing Chiron again, or perhaps it was just Chiron's cold blood in his stomach.
He walked along the bank trying to ignore the screams and moans of the people drowning in it. Though he did let his mind wander as to why they were in there in the first place. Up ahead he saw what looked to be a girl lying on the bank, she was immersed in the river only up to her ankles.
Jeff had kneeled down next to her and reached out to nudge her shoulder, when she lifted up her head to look at him. The Hardy was surprised to see how young the girl was, she couldn't have been older than her mid 20's. What was someone so young and rather pretty doing here?
"What happened to you?" Jeff asked softly.
The girl looked at him with dead, tired eyes. She had the look of someone who was clearly on some sort of hard substance. Jeff regretfully knew that look well.
"Overdose," she answered. "Heroine. I was on it for a long time."
"I'm sorry," Jeff whispered.
"I deserve this." Surprisingly a look of resignation replaced the dead tiredness on her face. "I robbed people; I hurt them to get more and more. I did violence to those I loved, violence to others and violence to myself."
"I see..." Jeff murmured sadly.
"A pathetic choice for the course of one's life," a deep voice rumbled from above Jeff, sending shivers up and down his spine.
The young Hardy looked up to see Chiron. He quickly got to his feet and backed away from the demon.
Chiron pulled the girl up so she was standing in the bloody waters again. "Stand up, girl... Your time is nearly done."
At least she's not screaming in agony like the others, Jeff thought with some relief.
"She does not scream because she does not deny her sin, and accepts the pain of her punishment," Chiron stated. "I can read your mind. I can read your soul."
Jeff gulped, and not knowing how to respond, he simply nodded.
"Pathetic. Born with everything to live for. Wasted," Chiron said, running his fingers through the girl's hair. However, his usual monotone had a twinge of genuine anger in it. "She squandered her gift of life, abused it, and killed it."
"Maybe she had a reason," Jeff whispered, his mind recalling his own abuses to his body.
"She did. That is why the river level is so low and her sentence so short," Chiron said turning away from the girl. "Of course, there are many more darker souls here than this one."
Suddenly, Jeff felt Chiron's hand on his lower back, nudging him forward. Despite himself, Jeff followed Chiron's lead toward the river. As Chiron stepped into the river, the blood turned to solid ice just below his feet. As he kept walking a bridge of ice formed under his feet. Jeff was careful to stay in step with Chiron; he did not want to fall in to the river.
As they drew closer to the deepest part of the river, the screams and moans only got louder. Jeff put his hands over his ears, trying to shut out the noise, but the screams seemed to pierce through his very being.
Chiron wrapped his hands around Jeff's wrists and pulled the young Hardy's hands away.
"I know what you think," Chiron whispered into Jeff's now uncovered left ear. "You pity their suffering. You should not waste your pity."
"Why not?" Jeff asked, trembling a little.
Chiron moved now to whisper into Jeff's right ear. "Shall I tell you why some of these souls are here?"
"What did they do to deserve this?"
Chiron extended an arm and pointed with one bony, clawed finger. "You see that man there, the one immersed up to his neck?"
Jeff gulped and nodded.
"He beat, raped and murdered his own daughter," Chiron said coldly.
Jeff shook his head in disbelief. It was too overwhelming, he wasn't sure whether be afraid, angry or just break down and cry. He felt his stomach turn over and a lump form in his throat.
Chiron placed a hand on Jeff's stomach, freezing up the churning. "Now don't you think he deserves this suffering for all the suffering he caused and the life he stole from her?"
"Well...yeah..." Jeff said slowly. "I mean... Well, it's obvious that guy deserves it. But I still don't understand why that girl who overdosed is here in the same place as that horrible guy?"
"She committed violence against herself," Chiron stated.
"But if you are just harming yourself, and not anyone else, why is that punishable?"
"By doing violence to yourself, you hurt others indirectly. Take the girl from before, with her biological make-up she would have lived a very long life, had she not gone down the path she chose. How sad that your mother, a person who appreciated the gift of life given her, died from a faulty biological structure."
"Stop. Don't go there man," Jeff growled, but his voice wavered a little.
"Your mother is a person who appreciated life, instead of taking it for granted like the girl here. Tell me, should not the girl be punished for the violence against herself that destroyed the gift of a biologically long life, something that you and your family wanted for your mother?"
"Don't ask me that. That...it...That isn't fair..." Jeff said weakly, turning away, horrified and ashamed to find in the depths of his mind and heart, he had wondered and wished the same thing. Why did a good person his mother die of a brain tumor, when so many biologically healthy people took their health for granted and even went so far as to abuse themselves?
'"You do agree with me..." Chiron stated, with a slight hint of satisfaction in that cold voice. "Good. You are not so naive about your world. Perhaps you will understand."
"Understand what?" Jeff looked back at Chiron warily.
"What I intend to do when I enter the Earth realm."
"What would you do?" Jeff asked quietly, though he was ashamed that he was genuinely curious about it.
A crooked smile spread across the demon's face; a face clearly unfamiliar with such an expression. "Clean up the mess the Earth realm has become. The same wars and the same crimes are being committed over and over again. I would cleanse the Earth of all those who would commit violence against their fellow man. No more war, no more murder, no more violence on the Earth."
A look of awe replaced the fear on Jeff's face. "How would you do that?"
Chiron's twisted smile grew broader. "I can read the souls of mortals; I can see the vile intentions in their minds. I would take their souls directly to hell where they belong, before they commit their atrocities."
Jeff slowly nodded.
"Now, I have a proposition for you." The smile disappeared from Chiron's face.
The young Hardy's eyes widened a little and he swallowed hard. "Yeah?"
"Give me the use of your body willingly, and I will trouble your dreams no more, until it is time, when the doors are weak," Chiron held out his hand to Jeff. "And after I am finished it will be returned to you in better condition than before you gave it to me."
Jeff stared at the demon in disbelief. "I..."
000
Umaga was startled by a loud knock at the hotel room door.
"Who is it?" he asked cautiously. He assumed it was either the Undertaker or his manager Estrada, but he wanted to make sure before opening any doors.
"Undertaker." His unmistakable deep, gravelly voice came from behind the door.
Umaga opened the door to find not only the Undertaker standing there, but also his brother Kane, and a rather odd looking man Umaga had never seen before. The man had his face painted in an intricate design of red and black with yellow highlights. He wore feathered bands around his arms and carried a gnarled wooden staff, and he had a strange, wild look in his dark eyes
"Jeff is sleeping. I did not know whether to wake him or not," Umaga said, letting the other men in. "He keeps talking while he sleeps, but I cannot understand what he's saying."
The Samoan reached out a hand to wake Jeff.
"Not just yet." The Undertaker stopped him. "I want to see what he is dreaming. Hopefully it will be one sent by Chiron and I can see it for myself, and I think it will be good for the Boogeyman to see it too."
"Boogeyman?" Umaga furrowed his brow confusion and looked at the unfamiliar man standing next to Kane.
"My tag-team partner, he calls himself the Boogeyman." Kane grinned, motioning to the man next to him. "Turns out he's an expert in dream-catching."
Umaga nodded, still eyeing the Boogeyman warily.
The Boogeyman strode over to stand next to the Undertaker and studied the sleeping Jeff.
"I see the aura of a nightmare, a strong one, a message from the world beyond." As the Boogeyman spoke, his body made jerky movements that punctuated each word he said. "A powerful being sends him these things, a powerful creature indeed."
The Undertaker nodded. "Right. The one sending them is a demon named Chiron. Do you think you might have a method of protecting Jeff from the dreams?"
The Boogeyman pulled out a book from his bag. "Chiron is powerful. But I think I might have something to stop the dreams. However, there is a problem."
"And what is that?" Kane asked.
"You say, he swallowed demon blood, demon aura within him would eat away at the dream spell I put on him," the Boogeyman explained gravely.
"Hmm...That is a problem." Taker scratched his chin pensively.
Umaga spoke up, "I think I can block the demon aura."
"Good. You and Boogey can discuss some way to combine your magic," Taker said, and turning to Kane, he continued, "Kane, give them any help or reaper advice you can." He turned back to Jeff. "I'm going in."
Taker placed a hand on Jeff's head, careful not to wake the sleeping Hardy, and concentrated...
000
"Give me the use of your body willingly, and I will trouble your dreams no more, until it is time, when the doors are weak," Chiron held out his hand to Jeff. "And after I am finished it will be returned to you in better condition than before you gave it to me."
Jeff stared at the demon in disbelief. "I..."
"Do you not want to rid the world of useless people who would only do harm to others?" Chiron extended his arm even more towards Jeff. "Come, help me do this."
The young Hardy hesitated, looking down at the outstretched white hand with black claws. He took a deep breath and slowly reached out his hand toward the demon.
Suddenly Jeff's hand became a fist and he punched Chiron across the face with all his might.
"NO!" Jeff shouted at the top of his lungs. "It's not right! Forget that you've been making my life miserable for the past month! Never mind you shoved your blood down my throat, and are driving me crazy with sleep deprivation! No! It's not just that! What you want to do is wrong!"
Chiron, his face punched to the side by the young Hardy's fist, turned his face back towards Jeff. There was a dark, menacing look on his face that would send shivers down even a reaper's spine. "You should not have done that."
"Look, man, you can't send people to hell for what they might do! Even if you can read souls," Jeff shouted at the top of his lungs. "Anyone can have an intention, but whether you follow-up on it or not, makes you who you are! That's what separates the good from the bad! A thought or an intention means nothing if the person does not act on it!"
Chiron's face did not change. "That was the same answer God, Grim and even Lucifer gave me. But they created and run the Earth realm, and to admit I am right would be to admit an error in themselves, and they have too much pride and superiority to do that. You will regret your choice."
"Leave him alone Chiron!"
Both the demon and Jeff turned to see the Undertaker, standing not far away, looking the same as he always did, except now he held a huge scythe at his side. Jeff never thought he would be so happy to see "the Deadman" in all his life. The young Hardy immediately bolted from his place in front of Chiron to stand next to Taker.
"You have no business here, reaper," Chiron's cold, monotone voice returned, though there was an extra bite on the word "reaper."
"A demon planning an invasion into the earth realm through this mortal is my business," Taker growled back.
Chiron studied Taker for a moment. "Ah, you are one of those reapers. The ones trained in keeping agents of heaven and agents of hell out of the Earth realm."
"I am. And you'd better remember that, because if you come through the gate, I'll be there, waiting to throw you right back through it in to hell," Taker snarled.
An urbane smile tugged at Chiron's lips. "I think not..."
Suddenly the scenery and Chiron began to fade as Jeff began to wake up...
000
Jeff awoke to the sounds of voices near by. He could feel his heart beating at an abnormally fast pace with fear. He slowly opened his eyes and was relieved to find he was in a regular hotel room. However, he found it odd that he was sleeping on the end of the bed.
He lifted his head and found that the blanket pulled over him was the pretty Samoan quilt he had seen on Umaga's bed. It was then he saw the dark form of the Undertaker standing above him.
"What exactly did Chiron offer you?" Taker asked, getting straight to the point.
Jeff looked up at Taker, still a little dazed with sleep. "What? Oh..." He sat up, shaking his head to clear it, before continuing. "He said that if I went along willingly, he wouldn't show up in my dreams any more and he'd give me body back when he finished."
Suddenly, the Undertaker smirked, a genuine pleased smirk with amusement mixed in. Jeff automatically leaned back little bit, the only thing scarier than the Undertaker's icy stare, was his smirk. It meant he was up to something, something that was bad for you.
"And you said 'no.'" The smirk on Taker's face grew broader. "And then you gave the bastard a punch for good measure."
"Yeah..." Jeff answered slowly.
A smirk crossed Kane's face as well, and he laughed. "Excellent!"
"That was the right thing to do right?" Jeff glanced back and forth between the brothers of destruction, not sure whether to be frightened or not.
Undertaker gave a small sinister chuckle alongside his brother's laughter. "Exactly right, even better since you punched him."
"Yeah?" Jeff smiled a little, starting to feel a little better about the punch since he had Taker and Kane's approval. However, he frowned when he realized Chiron was going to be angry at him the next time he fell asleep. "I'm a little scared to go to sleep now; Chiron's going to be pissed at me..."
Now it was the Undertaker's turn to frown as he realized the grave situation, however Kane remained smiling.
"Boogey, Umaga, and I have been talking over things, and we think we've come up with a spell to protect you," Kane said rather proudly.
"Really?!" Jeff beamed at them.
"Yes," Umaga nodded back, but suddenly became serious. "But it take time to make mixture for protection symbol."
"Oh..." Jeff lowered his head a little, his burst of happiness quickly fading.
"What mixture?" asked Taker, quirking an eyebrow.
"For the protection Tattoo," the Boogeyman answered. "It will temper the demon aura inside him, and shield him from the nightmares. It will be permanent, yet temporary."
"Permanent, yet temporary? What does that mean?" Jeff asked warily.
"Like a henna tattoo. It lasts for a long time but it eventually wears away," Kane explained.
"Okay...I get it." Jeff nodded. "Um...How long will it take for you to make the stuff?"
"Four to six days, depending how long it takes to get the ingredients." Boogeyman grinned.
"Oh man..." Jeff moaned, pulling the Samoan quilt over his head. "That's going to be four days I'm spending in hell if Chiron has anything to say about it."
Taker let out a frustrated groan as he rolled his eyes and pulled the quilt off. "Not necessarily." "He's already sent you two dreams in one day. One of which he actually had physical contact with you. It's very trying on him, and every time he sends you a dream, he is taking his watchful eye off the souls under his charge."
"So he might not come after me again?" Jeff asked hopefully.
"Hopefully. At least you may get a small reprieve," Taker said solemnly.
Jeff lowered his head and nodded slowly. "Wait...So I'm not actually in hell in the dreams?"
"No, he's projecting what is going on in the seventh layer into your mind. Like a hologram," Kane explained. "A very vivid and interactive hologram."
"Then the whole blood thing...That wasn't real?" Jeff stared at him in shock, it seemed so real and he could still feel the coldness in his stomach.
"No, the symbol turned black, that was real," Taker said. "My guess is Chiron sent an incubus in the form of a security guard or wrestler, and found you while you slept in the locker room."
"Incase you don't know, Incubi are created by demons to act as their agents in the other realms," Kane explained. "These creations have the blood of their creator in their veins. All Chiron's incubus would have to do is slit its wrist to deliver the blood to you while you slept."
"Clever bastard. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, what happened, happened and that's it." Jeff lifted up his head. Though his eyes remained sullen, he did his best to look grateful. "I really wanna thank you guys for coming all the way down here to help me in all this. I know the trip from San Antonio where Smackdown is to RAW in Corpus Christi a long drive in Texas. I really do appreciate it."
Taker shrugged. "As reapers it is our duty to make sure Chiron does not make it easier for himself to possess you and enter the Earth realm."
"Yeah...I guessed that, but still...Thanks."
A loud knock at the door startled them all. Umaga went to answer it and found Matt Hardy standing there, looking very apprehensive.
"Um, is my brother Jeff here?" the elder Hardy asked quietly, but firmly.
"Yes." Umaga stepped aside to reveal Jeff, sitting on the end of the bed, and Taker, Kane and the Boogeyman sitting at a table near the window.
"Matt," Jeff's sullen face immediately brightened up, but then fell again as he remembered the harsh words he had said to Matt over the phone before.
"Hey," Matt greeted him as he approached the bed, a nervous smile on his face. "I'm, uh... I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier, it just sort of all came out in a wrong way."
Jeff smiled gently back. "I said mean things too."
Matt returned the smile. "Well, I brought a peace offering anyway."
The elder Hardy reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a bag of skittles. Jeff's eyes went as wide as saucers.
"You're the best brother in the world." Jeff hugged Matt's arm. Matt grinned and patted Jeff's head.
"Oh, gross..." Kane groaned. "They've made up and now they're being so nice to each other it's pathetic."
"Yeah, I guess it kind of is." Jeff chuckled. "But you have no idea what these skittles mean to me right now."
The young Hardy tore open the bag and shoved a whole handful of skittles in his mouth, looking as if he had just eaten a little piece of heaven.
"Come on let's get out of here," Taker grumbled, getting up.
"Now?" Kane asked as he quirked an eyebrow.
"What? You want us to stay and end up like Wally and the Beaver over there?" Taker jerked his thumb at Matt, who had his arm around his brother, and Jeff, who looked like he was high on skittles.
"No!" Kane jumped to his feet and made for the door. "Come on, Boogey, Umaga, we can continue our talk about insignia ingredients in the bar on the top floor."
"I guess I'll get a room then." Taker went after Kane and Boogey.
"You coming?" Umaga looked at the two Hardy's and motioned for the door. "You are welcome to stay here too."
"Thanks Umaga, but I better head back to my room before Carlito gets Torrie in there and shuts me out." Jeff chuckled. "Come on, Matt, you can help me defend my claim to the room."
Umaga chuckled as well, as he opened the door for the two brothers, and followed them out.
000
"So what's been going on?" Matt asked once they had entered Jeff's room and made sure Carlito wasn't there. "I feel so out of the loop."
"Sorry, Matt...Everything's happening so fast I can barely keep up." Jeff sighed and crashed down on his bed.
Matt carefully settled down next to him. "So what's happening?"
"Chiron wants my hot body." Jeff groaned.
Matt tried to hold back his laughter, but an amused snort escaped. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You make me laugh too easily." He managed to get his voice under control and turned serious. "He chose you, huh?"
Jeff just nodded, not wanting to worry Matt further by going into detail about the dream.
Matt sighed and began gently playing with his little brother's hair.
"That feels nice," Jeff murmured, looking at Matt drowsily. "You know Kane said he and Umaga and the Boogeyman have figured out a way to stop the dreams."
"That's good, hopefully you'll sleep easier tonight," Matt whispered, continuing to stroke Jeff's hair.
"I hope so," Jeff yawned. "I can't believe I'm still sleepy. Could you stay here tonight?"
"I was hoping you'd ask, I wasn't looking forward to driving right back to San Antonio." Matt chuckled, before yawning. "I'd better brush my teeth before I drift off."
Jeff smiled as he watched his brother go into bathroom. "Good to have you here, brother."
000
Author's Note:
Aw, Matt and Jeff made-up. I'm sorry; I couldn't resist the insert of Jeff's love for skittles. I see it as his comfort food that he eats in times of trouble. It was inspired by Shadowcat619's story "Jeff and the Skittles." It's a fun read you should check it out!
In case you have never seen any of the old sitcoms, the reference Taker made to "Wally and the Beaver" was about two brothers from the 50's sitcom "Leave to Beaver". It is a show that is considered the archetype show for showing America in its "simpler" days.