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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"Run…Matt…" Jeff rasped through ragged breaths. Black blood poured from his mouth as he spoke each word. "Run… Before he hurts you…"
Matt could only stare in disbelief. Jeff was still in there, fighting the demon possessing him.
Jeff dropped the bladed staff and gripped his head as if it might crack open at any moment. When the staff hit the ground, the vines unwrapped themselves from around Kane.
"Jeff, hang in there!" Matt stood up and approached Jeff, carefully wrapping his arms around him. "We'll help you, we'll save you."
"No!" Jeff shouted, pushing Matt away. "He's too strong! It's too late!" He screamed when another tremor of pain wracked his body. The younger Hardy looked at Matt with worried eyes. "I don't want to hurt you, Matt…"
Matt looked back at his little brother helplessly, the frustration he felt was clearly seen on his face. "I'm sorry, Jeff," his voice wavered. "I tried…"
Jeff's face softened a little and he even managed a weak smile. "I know…"
The young Hardy screamed again as the demon pushed forward. His body convulsed as Chiron pulled him back into the dark recesses of his own mind, a veritable prison of the soul.
When his eyes opened again they were blood red. Jeff was gone.
Chiron picked up his fallen staff and glared menacingly at Matt. After all, it was the older Hardy that had given Jeff the strength and will to take control.
"Not as in control as you thought you were, eh, Chiron?" Kane sneered, interrupting Chiron's advance on Matt.
"Silence, reaper!" Chiron snarled, black blood coming out of his mouth.
"Jeff's body is still rejecting you," Kane mocked further.
"And now we are going to help him!" The now freed Undertaker came down the steps, scythe in hand.
Chiron looked between the two brothers of Destruction. He unlocked the staff, separating the two blades.
As Taker and Kane advanced toward him, Chiron threw the blade in Matt's direction, hoping to eliminate one threat or distract another.
Taker changed his trajectory and dove in to block the crescent blade from slicing Matt apart. It bounced off the bar of the scythe and back into Chiron's hand. The demon now turned his attention to Kane.
"Go tell the others to get away from the door!" Taker yelled at Matt over his shoulder while running to help Kane. "Now!"
Matt nodded and dashed toward the others. "Guys get away from the door! They're going to try and seal Chiron! You have to get away from the door now!"
The other wrestlers didn't have to be told twice; they followed Matt back down the steps and watched with baited breath the battle taking place before them.
Chiron simultaneously blocked a strike from Taker at his back and one Kane in the front. The three of them were deadlocked, trying to overpower each other. Taker caught Kane's eye. He motioned with his head and his brother nodded.
The Brothers of Destruction moved in unison. Their weapons slid across the blades of the crescents in such away that Chiron was forced to spin around in order to not get caught off guard. When the demon got his bearings, he ended up caught in between the door and the Brothers of Destruction.
Kane and Taker thrust their hands forward into Chiron's abdomen. Their combined powers sent the demon flying back several feet.
Chiron crashed into the wall next to the door. Taker growled in frustration. It was close, but not close enough. The demon needed to be touching the door in order for the soul expulsion spell to work. And to get Chiron to stand against the door long enough for the spell to be conducted would be damn near impossible.
Unless…
Taker grabbed Matt's arm. "Want to help us finish this?" The question was more rhetorical rather than asking. Matt was going to help them whether he wanted to or not.
"What must I do?" the older Hardy asked.
"We're going to pull off a bluff." Taker started dragging Matt toward the steps, and motioned for Kane to follow. "I'm going to take to the door and then I'm going to threaten to kill you in order to open the door."
Matt might have hesitated upon hearing that, but Taker hadn't steered them wrong so far, so he trusted that the dead man knew what he was doing. Besides, Matt was willing to do anything help Jeff. Still, he some nagging doubts. "How will that help?" he asked.
"Hopefully this will trigger Jeff to take control again," Taker said quietly. He squeezed Matt's wrist, making the older Hardy wince. "Now make it look convincing."
Matt nodded and tried to pull his wrist free. He cried out, "No, Taker, don't do this!"
Taker growled and roughly jerked Matt forward. "It has to be done, this is our last option."
"Please don't!" Matt cried, still trying to free himself from Taker's iron grip.
The Undertaker threw Matt against the door and readied his scythe. "It has to be done! Since I can't use his blood to open the door, I'll use yours!" The Phenom raised his scythe.
Matt shut his eyes and turned his head away, waiting for the coming blow. However, instead of a sharp blade, he felt another body crash into his.
The older Hardy opened his eyes to find his little brother's sweat drenched face in front of his.
The eyes were green, it was Jeff. The younger Hardy had his hands braced against the door on either side of Matt, his body effectively shielding his older brother's. Taker had stopped his scythe in mid swing.
"Jeff…" Matt whispered, placing his hands on either side of Jeff's face and, touching his forehead to his little brother's. Jeff's form was shaking horribly from his fight for control with the demon inside him.
"Nice bluff, man…" Jeff managed a weak smile even though his face was a mask of pain. "Matt," he gasped. "You have to get out of the way, let Taker do what he needs to do."
"Jeff," Matt pulled back to look his little brother straight in the eye. "What he does to expel Chiron may be more than your body can take."
"I know…" Jeff rasped between ragged breaths. "But I'm in so much pain, Matt… Chiron's killing me inside."
Matt looked over at one of Jeff's hands. It was gripping the metal door so hard, blood began to flow. The demon's black blood mixed with Jeff's human red blood.
"Matt, get out of the way!" Taker shouted.
"Better do it, man," Jeff rasped.
The older Hardy opened his mouth to protest, but as his little brother's inevitable fate sunk in, he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Jeff smiled sadly back. "Matt, promise me that no matter what happens you stay away and let Taker do what he needs to do. Promise me."
Matt swallowed hard and nodded. He hugged Jeff tightly for few seconds, before moving away.
When Matt was a safe distance away, Jeff slowly turned around to face Taker. "Do it, Taker! Do whatever you need to do! No matter what it is! Even if it kills me!"
Taker hesitated for a moment. He hadn't expected Jeff to accept his fate so willingly, and it caught him off guard.
"Do it, Taker!" the young Hardy shouted again.
The Phenom shook his head and refocused. He raised his scythe, and after calling out an incantation, he brought the scythe down. As soon as the tip touched Jeff's chest, streams of glowing light surged through Jeff's body.
The symbols on the door began to glow as if welcoming their master home. Suddenly Jeff's hands wrapped around the scythe and tried to push it away from his chest. Chiron had regained control.
"Kane! Help!" Taker called out, not taking his eyes off Chiron.
The younger brother of destruction dashed over to his older brother's side. He also uttered an incantation and pushed down on the scythe, adding his strength to Taker's. As the power increased Chiron's hands were forced apart and away from the scythe.
The symbols on the door glowed even brighter. They flashed blindingly and quickly faded away. As the light faded away from both the scythe and the door, Jeff's body went limp. Since the scythe had not actually pierced his chest, he slowly slid down the door and slumped to the floor.
Black blood began to drain out of the pores in Jeff's skin as his body tried to cleanse itself of the foreign substance. The demonic clothes of Chiron evaporated into black steam and then dissipated all together, leaving Jeff dressed in the wrestling gear he wore before the possession.
Matt swallowed a sob before unsteadily walking over to Jeff's fallen form. The older Hardy carefully turned him over, before wrapping his arms around his little brother's body. "I'm sorry Jeff… I let you down… I'm so sorry…" He could not hold it in anymore and he let himself cry freely.
The other wrestlers drew closer to see what the final showdown had wrought. Shannon felt his heart stop when he saw Matt holding Jeff and sobbing. That could only mean one thing. Jeff was dead.
"Aw Fuck!" Shannon shouted, "After all that shit and we still couldn't save him!" He slumped down into a sitting position on the steps. He buried his head in his hands, unable to deal with the conflicting emotions of sorrow and frustration at the death of one of his best friends.
The other wrestlers bowed there heads in silent sympathy for Matt and Jeff.
After a few minutes of silence, the older Hardy got his sobs under control, but as he did so he thought he felt a heartbeat that was not his own. He swallowed and listened carefully, sure enough the soft beats and shallow breaths were coming from Jeff. They were weak signs of life, but life none the less.
"Oh my god, he's still alive," Matt said, his voice shaky, but hopeful. "Hang in there, Jeff, stay with me."
"Come on, let's get him to a hospital, maybe they can revive him," Batista said as he went to help carry Jeff.
Taker and Kane watched the scene from a distance, still trying to catch their breath, after sealing Chiron's soul away behind the door.
"Hopeful fools," Kane muttered to Taker. "Jeff's just a body. A body alive or not is nothing without a soul. Should we break it to Matt that Jeff's soul got expelled along with Chiron's?"
"Hopefully we won't have to," Taker slowly got to his feet, looking determined. "You need to make sure Jeff's body is kept alive as long as possible."
"What do you mean? What are you up to?" Then it hit Kane. He knew exactly what Taker intended to do. "What makes you think Grim will go along with this crazy plan of yours?"
"Jeff was willing to let himself be sacrificed in order to stop Chiron. Self sacrifice gets you extra kudos. And if Grim doesn't go for that, I'll think of something."
Kane stared at his brother for a long moment. "You've gone soft."
"I know," Taker groaned. "Blame Sara and Chasey for that."
000
Jeff's eyes snapped open. There was a blood red sky with dark ominous clouds swirling about. He knew that sky; he had seen it many times in his nightmares. He jumped to his feet and found himself standing on the bank of a blood red river.
He was in hell.
"No, no, no," Jeff stammered, backing away from the river, he stopped when he felt thorns piercing the back of his legs. "This can't be happening again."
"It is happening." Chiron appeared behind Jeff, his voice booming with rage, "And this time it is no dream."
Chiron grabbed Jeff by his hair and started dragging him toward a rocky cliff that stretched out over the bloody river Phlegethon.
"No!" Jeff growled, trying to free himself from Chiron's grip. "I won't be your victim anymore!"
"The choice is not yours," Chiron snarled, "This is my world now! I am in control and you will get what you deserve for ruining my plans!"
"I was just trying to get my body back, it was never yours to control in the first place!" Jeff shouted, dragging his feet in hopes of slowing their advance toward the cliff.
"Exactly!" Chiron jerked Jeff forward up steep stony steps towards the top of the cliff. "I had hoped you would rewrite your own wrongs by helping me save this mortal world from those who would destroy all that's good in it. Instead, you turned on me, you refused this noble mission and for that you must suffer!"
"I told you before and I'll tell you again!" Jeff remained firm. "No matter how much you think that you're right, it doesn't give you the right to do something like this! Many people who have been violent can turn over a new leaf, you don't know until you see it!"
Chiron's cold, indifferent face contorted with rage. "It's the same excuse they all give! It makes little difference to their victims! And you are one of them! By stopping me, you help them go on with their dirty work!" He grabbed Jeff by the throat. "Your suffering will be legendary, even in hell!"
"What will you accomplish with something like this?!" Jeff rasped as Chiron's hand impinged on his voice box. "Nothing! You'll be in more trouble than you had been even before I was your host!"
Chiron was unmoved; he simply tightened his grip on Jeff's throat and held him out over the river. "I am already doomed thanks to you! But I will take you with me!"
"Don't you dare, ese!" a voice shouted off to the side of them.
Chiron turned his head toward the intruder, still holding Jeff out over the river. "Who dares talk that way to me?
"I do, ese. I have a message from the Grim that say you better let him come with me unharmed!"
Jeff's eyes widened in shock when he turned he looked in the same direction Chiron was gazing in and saw who the messenger was…
"Eddie Guerrero?"
000
Chiron's soul was finally expelled from Jeff's body, but Jeff's own soul was expelled as well and now he is trapped in hell. Can Jeff's soul be saved and possibly returned to his body? Or is death's grip just too tight….