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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: This fic is written with the assumption, that Jeff, Edge, 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 and Matt and Jeff are still the Tag-Team Champions.

000

"They're what?!" the Undertaker growled.

"Fighting," Umaga sighed and then frowned, "Over stupid things too."

Taker rubbed his temples and sat down on his bed, trying to calm his temper. It didn't help that he could hear Kane's frustrated groans in the background. "What were they fighting about?"

"I saw Matt snap at Jeff about Jeff being an annoyance," Umaga explained, his own frustration evident in his voice. "Then Jeff yelled that Matt had done nothing to protect him against Chiron and marched away like a storm."

"And they haven't spoken a word to each other since?" Taker looked up at the Samoan bulldozer.

Umaga nodded.

"Should we tell Jeff that Matt has been protecting him all along?" Kane looked sideways at his older brother.

"The protection symbol only works if the person, it is trying protect, willingly accepts its protection," Umaga said gravely.

Taker took off his hat and combed his fingers through his hair, as he tried to figure out what to do next. "I know…I know…Each scenario has its bad points. If we tell Jeff and he insists on removing the protection symbol he will once again be open to Chiron's nightmares, and suggestions, however if Jeff is on bad terms with his brother, he will not be as strong as he should be when Chiron finally makes his move. That might be even worse…"

"Idiots…" Kane growled. "Damn it! Why the hell do they have to get so stupid now?!"

Umaga mumbled something in Samoan.

The Phenom pinched the bridge of his nose, "Give us strength to not strangle the people we're supposed to protect..." He took another deep breath and blew it out so he could clear his head. "Okay...Let's give them a few days, hopefully they'll patch it up themselves, if not...we'll tell Jeff about Matt's dreams."

"Sounds like a plan…" Kane shrugged, though he was quick to point out the flaws in his brother's plan. "Let's just hope Chiron doesn't make his move before then."

"Thanks for the support Kane…" Taker muttered.

"Anytime brother…"

000

Jeff leaned against the balcony railing and stared blankly out at the city. It had been almost two days and he and Matt were still not talking. Even though he was still very angry at his older brother, he missed having Matt by his side. His older brother had always been a pillar of strength for him, particularly during this whole Chiron situation. Even though the demon had not invaded his dreams lately, without his brother's added strength, Jeff felt even more vulnerable.

"You okay?" Maria asked as she joined him on the balcony.

And here was his other problem. Maria was beginning to detect that there was something terribly wrong with him. Plus, he was growing ever worried that she was becoming too involved with him and might be an innocent bystander caught in the dangerous crossfire. So he'd been keeping her at an arm's length and, giving her a slightly cold shoulder, even though he really didn't want to. He constantly wondered whether to tell her to whole truth or not.

When he didn't answer her she pressed further. "Come on, Jeff… What's wrong?"

"Um…" Jeff started. He was still debating if he should tell her the whole truth or not. He worried if he told her the truth she would either become too involved or think he was crazy and leave him. Without Matt around Jeff really needed a caring voice, which he knew he would not get from either Taker or Kane. He could possibly get it from Umaga, but currently the Samoan bulldozer seemed too irritated with him for not making up with Matt right away.

"Maria…" Jeff started again, and said carefully, "I know you've been asking me about what's really been going on with me and I've been afraid to tell you..."

Maria shook her head and sighed. "Please tell me you haven't been doing drugs again." She looked away from him as she waited for his confirmation.

"What? No! No! It's not that at all," he protested quickly, caught of guard by her half-accusation. He cringed a little bit inside at the fact that his past mistakes might get in the way

She looked back at him, keeping her face carefully neutral. "Then what is it?"

"You're probably not going to believe me when I tell you and you're probably going think I have been hitting the drugs again," Jeff fumbled over his words. "But I swear to God, what I am telling you is the truth, and if you gave me a blood test it would come out clean."

Her face softened a little. "So… what is it then?"

Jeff took a deep breath thinking over his words carefully. "Just hear me out, I didn't believe it myself when it started. Those guys that kidnapped me a couple months ago, they were worshippers of this demon, and they had some sort of cult for him."

The diva's eyes widened in shock. "They were…?" Now she was ready to fully hear him out. Crazy stalkers and kidnappers were a possible threat to every superstar. "Jeff, please tell me what happened."

"They put some sort of curse on me, and this demon started sending me nightmares," Jeff started off shakily, but then it all came spilling out before he realized what he was saying. "The demon said that he was going to invade earth and he was going to use me to do it. That's when the tattoo showed up on my stomach." He lifted up his shirt to reveal the symbol. "It's not ink Maria. It's from in the inside."

Maria reached out and gently brushed her fingers against it, before turning away form him. "I don't know, Jeff... it all sounds too weird to be true. Are you sure you're not doing drugs again?"

'No! Maria, I swear on all that's holy, it's the truth! The reason I've been so distant is I'm afraid you're going to be in danger when they start coming after me again." Jeff pleaded his case. "And if you don't believe me go ask the Undertaker!"

Maria took a few steps away, her back still turned to him. "It's hard to swallow, Jeff, I don't know...I…" She picked nervously at her finger nails. "I think I'd better go…"

"Please don't go!" Jeff started off strong, but by the end his words were almost pleading. "I know it sounds like something I made up, but I swear it's the truth! I'm willing to do anything you want to convince you. Just give me a chance... please?"

Maria swallowed hard. She walked back into the room to grab her purse, before going to the door. Jeff was stunned that his worst fears at how this scenario would go were coming true. All he could do was follow her like a lost puppy. "Please, Maria, I'm begging you, stay..."

She opened the door and hesitated for a moment. However, without looking back, she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Jeff leaned against the door, his shoulders shaking. "Maria… Damn it!" He banged his fist on the door, before turning around and, sliding down it to sit on the floor.

Maria walked uneasily down the hallway, wondering if she did the right thing. She stopped several times and thought about going back, but always continued down the hallway away from Jeff's room. She felt bad about leaving him; he had begged her to stay so much it hurt, but the idea of him going back to the old habits he once had was not a situation she wanted to be in. On the other hand, if he was telling the truth…

She stopped again and headed in a different direction. She soon came to the door that led into the lair of the Brothers of Destruction. She decided it was fair to give Jeff's story a chance. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

After a minute, the door opened to reveal none other than the phenom himself. The Undertaker. "What do you want?"

"Um..." Maria wilted a little under his harsh gaze. "Is it true that a demon worshipping cult is stalking Jeff and put a curse on him?"

Taker's eyes widened, before he lashed out and grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her into the room.

"How do you know this?" the Undertaker snarled, glaring right into her eyes. "Who sent you?!"

"No…no…one…" Maria stuttered, terrified. "Jeff told me. So it's true, then?"

Taker let out a small groan and let Maria go. "Yes, it's true. Though for your own safety, you should not pry into this issue any further."

"Okay…So he's not on drugs…" Maria murmured and smiled. "Thanks, Taker!"

"Is that all?" Taker said; quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah," Maria nodded. "I just wanted to make sure he wasn't lying or on something he shouldn't be…"

"He shouldn't have told you…" Taker pinched the bridge of his nose. "But now that it's out, you should not discuss this information with anyone else. Got it?" There was an icy edge to Taker's voice, emphasizing his point.

Maria nodded and, started heading for the door. "Oh um, there is one more thing…"

"What?" Taker snapped.

"Um, is there any way that Jeff's curse could be passed on to someone else?" She tittered, a little embarrassed. "I just want to know in case Jeff and I want to...well you know..."

Taker rolled his eyes. "It's a curse, not an STD…. It doesn't get just passed around."

"Good! Thanks again Taker," Maria smiled at him before leaving the room.

A few minutes later she returned to Jeff's room. The door was surprisingly unlocked, so she slipped in and spotted Jeff lying on one of the beds, with his head covered by a pillow. She crawled onto the bed next to him and spooned in behind him. She felt his body tense as he had not been expecting her touch. He lifted up the pillow and looked at her, surprised.

"You're back…" he whispered.

"Yeah…" she said, nuzzling his neck. "Sorry I ran out before….I just had to think things through. Whether all this is true or not, I'm not going to run out on you when you need me."

He rolled over and kissed her gently on the lips. "I'm glad…"

000

The Undertaker was about to wring the necks of both of the Hardy brothers. Particularly Jeff, not only had he told Maria about things which he really shouldn't have, but he still had not made peace with his brother. It had been almost a week and neither brother had budged to patch up the relationship. It was then that Taker decided to take matters into his own hands, which was why he was storming towards Jeff's hotel room.

It had taken a couple of days for Taker to realize that Chiron might have had a hand in all of this. No doubt the demon had convinced Matt that he should stay as far away from Jeff as possible. Clever bastard.

Taker had no hesitation in pounding on the door to Jeff's room. He was not surprised when it was Umaga who answered the door.

"Good, you're here," the Samoan Bulldozer whispered. "I've been trying to talk to Jeff about making up with his brother, but he won't hear of it. Perhaps you can convince him."

"I intend to," Taker growled.

The phenom stepped in as Umaga stepped out to allow the Deadman to talk to Jeff alone. Just then, the younger Hardy stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel and, was drying off his hair.

"Jeff, this feud between you and your brother has to stop," Taker stated, getting straight to the point.

"What for?" Jeff muttered, going over to pick up some fresh clothes. "Matt's the one being an asshole, go talk to him."

"No!" Taker snapped. "You be the better man. If you are going to fight Chiron properly, you're going to have to patch things up with your brother..."

"He was the one who snapped..." Jeff protested, storming into the bathroom to finish drying off and change. "He should come to me first!"

"Oh grow up for God's sake!" Taker shouted through the door.

After he had gotten fully dressed, Jeff threw open the door, almost hitting Taker. The younger Hardy looked very angry and frustrated as well. "Matt's is acting like a total bitch! He snaps at me then claims he's been saving me when he hasn't done shit!"

Taker pinched the bridge of his nose. Here it was. The moment of truth. "Jeff, Matt's been bearing the nightmares sent to him by Chiron in order to keep them from you."

Jeff froze in his place, staring at the phenom in shock. "He did what?"

"After you had the protection symbol placed on you, Chiron started sending dreams to your brother," Taker explained. "It was intended to torture you indirectly. However, he hadn't counted on Matt's resolve to protect you. So Matt said nothing to you about this in order to protect you."

Jeff looked at Taker as if he might cry. "All this time he…"

"Yes…"

"And I yelled at him… All those things I said… I…"

"Acted like an asshole," Taker finished, grabbing Jeff's arm. "Now go make it right."

Ten minutes later found them at the room where Matt was staying, though it was a slight surprise when Shannon Moore opened the door. Just behind him, Matt looked over to see who it was, but immediately turned away when he spotted Jeff.

"Um…What's up?" the prince of Punk said, quirking an eyebrow at them.

"You," Taker pointed to Shannon. "Out of this room."

"What? Now?" Moore looked at the phenom like he was crazy.

"Do I have to say 'now'?" Taker gave him an "I will throw you out if I have to" look.

"Okay, okay… Hey, Matt," Shannon called back into the room at the elder Hardy. "The Deadman is kicking me out, so I'm going to get some dinner before the show okay?"

After Shannon had left, Taker shoved Jeff into the room, closing the door behind the younger Hardy, leaving him alone with his brother. The elder Hardy was sitting on one of the beds, facing away from Jeff; he seemed to be working on putting some new laces in his wrestling boots.

"What do you want?" Matt said coldly, not even turning around.

"Matt, you have to listen to me…" Jeff started uncomfortably, and steeling himself, he kept talking. "I know what's been going on!"

"About what?" Matt snapped angrily.

"About you being the one who was taking those dreams from Chiron!" Jeff blurted out.

Matt froze, almost dropping the boot. "What makes you think I would do that for you?" He was still trying to sound cold and angry, but his voice was shaky.

"Taker told me…" Jeff said softly.

Matt closed his eyes as all of the pretended anger left his face. He turned his head to look at Jeff for a moment, and looked away; back down at the floor.

"Matt… I'm really sorry for what I said to you earlier… I…"

"I know…" Matt murmured, still looking at the floor. "I made you say those things... I wanted you mad at me to keep you away… so you'd be safe…"

"You should've told me," Jeff said as he took a seat on the bed next to Matt. "I would've understood."

"It's not that; it's just..." Matt swallowed the lump in his throat that interrupted his words.

"It's just what?" Jeff prompted gently.

Matt started trembling, his hands clenching around his wrestling boot. "You need to stay away from me Jeff... I might hurt you..."

"What do you mean? I know you, Matt. I know you'd never hurt me!" Jeff protested. "I mean nothing serious beyond the occasional spat we've had. Nothing that would call for a restraining order or something…"

"I know, I would never do that by my own will." Matt swallowed hard again. "One of those dreams... it was so real..."

"What... happened?" Jeff prodded further.

Matt started shaking even more and, looked like he was about to cry as the memory of the dream flashed in his head. "I can't…"

"Why not…?"

"I just can't; not right now…"

Jeff opened his mouth to protest, but closed it, choosing instead to tenderly rub his older brother's back. He could see Matt was really upset and he didn't want to push it further, particularly before the big match they were teaming up in tonight against John Cena and Batista.

Jeff couldn't help but smile a little. He was glad and tremendously relieved that he and his big brother were back on friendly terms. He rested his head on top of Matt's. "You're a good big brother, Matt, and don't let anyone tell you different."

"Thanks…" Matt finally looked up at Jeff, smiling weakly.

It was then that Jeff really noticed how much the dreams had taken their toll on Matt. His elder brother looked pale, dark heavy shadows dragged down his eyes, and his eyes looked dim and dark like a dying star.

"Jeff," he murmured. "Promise me you won't remove the protection symbol."

"Matt…" Jeff began to protest, but the older Hardy cut him off.

"Jeff, please, this is the one way I can help you in all this," Matt insisted. "You have enough to think about with the prospect of Chiron and his cronies coming after you for real; let me shoulder some of the burden along with you."

Jeff might have argued further, but his brother's weary eyes seemed to beg him not to press the matter further.

"All right." Jeff sighed resignedly. "Because you asked me to, I won't remove it, unless I feel that your very life is really being compromised."

Matt shut his eyes, letting out a patient sigh of his own, before nodding to the compromise.

The two brothers sat in silence, leaning on each other's shoulders until there was a loud knock on the door.

"Have you kissed and made up, yet?" Taker called from outside the door.

"Yes," both brothers responded at the same time, and chuckled a little.

"Well it's about damn time…" the phenom growled.

"He's got that right," Jeff grinned at his brother.

000

Fortunately the Hardys have made up, but what new ploy will Chiron come up with to get his hands on Jeff?