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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
Jeff stared in complete shock. Standing before them was Eddie Guerrero, the WWE's Latino Heat until his sudden death in 2005.
"Eddie Guerrero?" Jeff rasped. Despite his shock and the terrible situation he was in, he would know that familiar face anywhere.
Chiron backhanded Jeff across the face. "Silence!"
"Stop it!" Eddie yelled.
"What makes you think I will obey you?"Chiron snapped.
"This!" Latino Heat held up a tablet with ancient runes written in blue flame on it. "A message from Grim himself!"
Chiron frowned, before tossing Jeff aside into a near by rock, knocking the young Hardy unconscious. When he took the tablet, it took every ounce of restraint on Eddie's part not to attack the Hell Keeper for his continued abuse of Jeff.
The demon read the tablet with a face devoid of any expression at all. When he was finished, he casually tossed it back to Eddie. "There is nothing in there that I don't already know or care about," Chiron said coldly, before heading over to where Jeff was lying on the ground.
Eddie's next move was pure soul memory and instinct. After years of being in the WWE, his wrestling style and moves had become so much a part of his life that they molded part of his personality. Apparently his soul retained some of it beyond the grave; without thinking, he slammed the tablet in his hand over Chiron's head. The demon reeled backwards; off balance, he backed up over the edge of the cliff and fell.
Eddie stood there open mouthed for minute as he realized he had just knocked a demon of hell over the head. He cursed in Spanish and dashed over to the fallen Jeff.
"Aw ese, how can you be unconscious? You're dead!" Eddie grumbled, pulling Jeff onto his back. "Stupid soul memories..."
Eddie looked down over the edge of the rock formation and saw his low-rider below. He could either walk down the steps cut into the rock, or jump for it. He guessed time was of the essence, for no doubt Chiron was already recovering from his bump on the head, so Guerrero chose the latter. He had to keep reminding himself that he no longer had a physical body and had no bones to break.
He jumped and landed perfectly on his feet and dashed toward his car. When he was only inches away Chiron burst out of the river and landed in front of them.
"Enough of this!" the demon snarled. "You have crossed me too far, messenger! I'm going to make sure you drown in Phlegethon as well!"
Suddenly the ground shook and more clouds formed in the red sky. Two figures rose up through the ground, while six levitated down from the sky. The figures encircled Chiron and Eddie, glaring at them with sinister expressions.
Eddie felt his whole body freeze when he realized that the other figures were hell keepers like Chiron. He couldn't stop himself from taking a step back as the largest Hell keeper stepped forward. He wore garments similar to Chiron's except spikes made of ice stuck out all over his body, save for his face, which bore an eerie resemblance to Eddie's friend and fellow wrestler Batista. The demon was Antaeous, the keeper of the ninth layer of Hell, the layer closest to Lucifer.
"You will do no such thing, Chiron!" Antaeous boomed.
"Stay out of this, Antaeous!" Chiron snapped. "This is no concern of yours."
"It is every concern of ours!" Antaeous bellowed. "You have committed crimes against this mortal, in doing so you have also committed crimes against us!"
For the first time Chiron actually looked surprised. "What crimes have I committed against you, my brethren?"
"The crime of heresy!" Dis of the sixth layer accused. "You denounced your sacred vows as a hell keeper!"
"Wrath!" shouted Plutus of the fifth layer. "You no longer have control of your anger and hate!"
"Abuse of power!" Malebolge of the eighth layer hissed.
"And treachery," Antaeous finished darkly. "In betraying your vows, by unauthorized entering of the mortal world and, possessing a mortal, you betrayed us!"
"Have God and Grim and their ilk turned you against me too?" Chiron demanded.
"Not just that, Libido informed us of your wrong doings as well," Phylegyas of the fifth layer answered.
Chiron turned his icy glare to the keeper of the second layer. Libido glared back at him with an angry and hurt expression on his face. "I did not think you would actually do it, that you would actually betray us like that."
Chiron's glare became even harsher and he advanced on the other hell keeper. "Why you forked tongued little wretch!"
"Enough!" Antaeous got in between the two. "Libido, escort the victim and the messenger to the entrance of hell, and ensure their safe crossing over the River Styx,"
Libido nodded and motioned for Eddie to follow, before exiting the circle. Eddie took one last wary look at the hell keepers and followed Libido over to his low-rider. He dumped the still unconscious Jeff into the back and hurried over to the driver's side. He breathed a sigh of relief at being back behind the wheel, but tensed up again Libido got in the passenger's side and sat down beside him.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Libido drawled; quirking an eyebrow at Eddie.
"Nothing," Eddie said, gunning the accelerator. Latino Heat didn't have to be told twice to get the hell out of Hell.
"Take a left when you go through the flaming tombs and head straight till Acheron," Libido directed.
Eddie opened his mouth to say he remembered the way back but decided not to question the demon and took the direction as told. It was not long before they reached the River Styx, the mouth of the great river that ran through Hell. There the boatmen were at various places along to shore to ferry condemned souls across the river into Hell.
Latino Heat drove up to the dock he had exited from before.
"Hey, ese," Eddie grinned at the boatman. "Mind giving us a ride to the other shore?"
"Present your identification," the Boatman demanded coldly.
Eddie rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, man, I came over here twenty minutes ago!"
"Present your identification!" the Boatman demanded again.
"It's not getting into Hell that you need identification for, it's getting out that's the trick," Libido explained with some amusement.
"This is because I'm Latino, isn't it?" Eddie said offhandedly as he opened the glove compartment and pulled out another stone tablet.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Libido asked curiously. The Hell keepers were all virtually blind to such things as race, ethnicity, all souls were equal in death. You were either a condemned soul in need of cleansing or you were not.
"Never mind, it's a mortal thing," Eddie waved it off with a chuckle.
Libido shrugged and dropped the subject, while Eddie handed the stone tablet, he had taken out of the glove compartment, to the Boatman. The demi-demon looked over the tablet and nodded, handing it back to Eddie, before directing him to drive onto the boat.
As they began to move across the water, Libido climbed into the backseat. When Eddie looked around to see what he was doing, he was surprised to see Libido's form had changed to the beautiful image of Maria Kanellis dressed in Hell keeper's clothing, instead of looking like a demonic version of Jeff.
The Hell keeper had pulled the still unconscious Jeff's head into her lap, and was gently stroking his hair. "Poor beautiful creature, his soul still thinks it's alive and exhausted. Not that I mind though, he looks even more beautiful in his sleep. Much cuter than his brother."
Eddie watched the scene a little unnerved, wondering if he should intervene and rescue Jeff from Libido's clutches. However he decided against it, he didn't want another demon to be angry with them, plus Hell keepers were demons whose job it was to cleanse souls, not corrupt them.
"You met the Hardys before, ese?" Eddie asked carefully.
Libido nodded. "Yes, Chiron channeled me into Matt Hardy's dream, into the image of his brother to seduce him. I did not know what was going on at the time; Chiron said Matt might be one of my incest souls that had escaped from my layer. In truth, Chiron just wanted to scare Matt and Jeff for whatever reason." The Hell keeper sighed lustily. "Either way I got to meet both brothers and I think I'm in love…"
"You? In love?"
Libido rolled his eyes and groaned. "Well, if you want to get technical, 'in lust' with them, I guess."
"I don't get it…" Eddie grimaced. "They get a demon consumed by lust to punish the lustful souls?"
Libido smirked knowingly. "Who better to understand the inner workings of the lustful than he who is lustful himself, eh?"
"I guess that makes sense," Eddie murmured thoughtfully.
He started the engine as the boat pulled up to the other shore. With a heavy sigh, Libido got out of the car, but stopped to reach in and caress Jeff's face one last time. "Good-bye, my sweet one..." He leaned in and kissed Jeff on the forehead. "I hope we meet again soon."
At that moment Jeff opened his eyes and looked up dazed at Libido. "Maria?"
Libido grinned and gazed back at Jeff with sultry eyes. "I'm sorry, darling. Did I wake you up?"
Unfortunately, the Hell keeper had not completed the transformation enough to change her voice from demonic to Maria's voice. Jeff's eyes snapped open wider and he moved to the other side of the car, trying to keep himself as far away from Libido as possible.
"Damn it! Can't you guys just leave me alone?!" Jeff snapped in both anger and panic.
Libido teleported to right behind Jeff and began toying with his hair. "Now why would I want to do that?"
"Because ese, you'll end up like your pal Chiron..." Eddie said with a grin.
Libido frowned and let go of Jeff's hair. "Fair point. Well, off with you then." Before leaving, he kissed a shocked Jeff on the cheek. "Happy afterlife, dear…"
When the Hell keeper was clear of the car, Eddie gunned the accelerator, he wanted to get as far away from the entrance of Hell as he possibly could. Jeff sat silent in the back still in shock. Up ahead there was a long winding road up a mountain covered in mist.
When the entrance to Hell was no longer in site, Eddie slowed down the car to a much easier pace and flipped on some music. The familiar theme of "I lie, I cheat, I steal!" seemed to jolt Jeff out of his shocked stupor and at the same time he realized he was with Eddie Guerrero who was supposed to be dead.
"Um…is this some sort of dream?" Jeff asked softly.
"Afraid not, ese," Eddie shook his head.
"Then that means…" Jeff said slowly, then groaned and slumped back against the seat. "Damn it, I'm dead aren't I…?"
"Yup," Guerrero chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Jeff asked incredulously.
"You... me, this whole situation." Eddie laughed again. "I was kinda expecting to see you soon, but in a different way."
"A different way?"
Eddie shrugged. "I mean I thought you'd be here because you broke your neck on a ladder or overdosed or something like that. Not because a demon possessed your body."
"Me neither," Jeff murmured, still bewildered by the whole situation. "So... What happens now...?"
"You stay with me, until they decide what to do with you," Guererro smiled reassuringly, hoping to calm the young Hardy's nerves. "We're going to my house for a while. So sit back, man, and enjoy the ride, ese."
Jeff only nodded and shut his eyes, allowing his mind to wander blankly away from his troubles. He was jolted out of his reverie when the car came to a halt. He opened his eyes and saw the car was stopped in front of a silver gate.
"Hey, Holmes, mind letting me back in?" Eddie said to one of the guards at the gate.
The guard nodded and the silver gate opened for them to pass through.
"These guys are a lot more easy going than the boatman guys," Eddie whispered as he drove the car through.
"Yeah…?" the young Hardy murmured distantly, looking around like a tourist in a foreign land.
They were driving down a street where all of the houses looked exactly alike. The sky was perpetually overcast, neither raining nor did the sun shine.
"What is this place?" Jeff asked. "A suburb of Heaven or something?"
"I guess you could cal Purgatory that." Eddie shrugged.
"Purgatory? So we're in limbo?" Jeff raised a curious eyebrow.
"Nah, Limbo is the place where the soul waits for a reaper to sever them from their body, be it dead or alive. Kinda a way station between the mortal world and the afterlife."
"Okay…" Jeff nodded, still a little dazed.
"Yup, Purgatory is my home sweet home until my judgment day." Eddie pulled up to one of the houses and switched off the car. "Welcome to your new home for awhile."
Jeff nodded numbly as he got out of the car and followed Eddie into the house. While the outside of the house looked exactly the same as the others, the inside seemed to resemble the essence of Latino Heat.
"Nice place you got here." Jeff smiled, the fun loving vibe of the place lifted his spirits a little.
"Thanks, you can think of it as your own while you're here." Eddie grinned.
"Thanks, man," Jeff said tiredly.
Eddie's face softened as he studied the weary look on Jeff's face. The kid had been through a lot and his soul had been severed from his body so quickly it still reacted as if he were still alive.
"You look like you could use a stiff drink and a nap," Eddie said, patting him on the shoulder
"Yeah…" Jeff rubbed his hands over his face. "That sounds good."
"Well I can't offer you the stiff drink since that was a vice of mine in a former life, so I'm not allowed to have any here," Eddie said a little embarrassed. "But my couch is good for napping."
Jeff sat down on the couch and looked curiously at the television. The show that was on seemed to be showing Vickie Guererro and two children.
"Home movies?" the young Hardy asked.
"Nope, this allows me to watch and see what my family is up to. I can only view people blood related to me." Eddie smiled at the screen as it showed his two daughters playing tag. "Well I'll be in the other room if you need anything."
Jeff nodded and lay back on the couch. H didn't know how long he had slept but when he opened his eyes again, he heard Eddie's voice coming from the other room.
"Yeah, he's right in there, Ruby, I don't know how awake he is, he's been through a lot and his soul still thinks it's alive."
"Awe... my poor baby! Alright, we'll let him sleep a little longer."
At the sound of the other voice Jeff felt as if the couch had been pulled out from under him and the whole thing shook. He had not heard that voice since he was a little boy, in fact it was only a distance memory in his mind, more vivid in dreams than reality, yet still he knew it right away. At first he thought it wasn't possible, but then he remembered now that he was dead it made perfect sense.
It was the voice of his mother, Ruby Hardy.
Jeff got up from the couch and walked unsteadily into the other room where Eddie and his mother were talking.
"Momma?"
Ruby turned around and tears filled her eyes as they fell on her youngest son standing there. "Jeff…" Without hesitation, she ran up and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. "My little boy…"
Jeff stood there, frozen in shock while his mother hugged him. But soon his senses returned and he hugged her back. "I can't believe I'm seeing you again…"
She pulled away a little to get another look at her son, whom she'd been separated from for twenty-four years. "I know... I can't believe you're here either."
"It just kind a happened," Jeff began shakily. "There was this demon and a big door and..." he trailed off as his voice wavered from all of the emotions overwhelming him. His mother was just as he remembered her, from both his own mind and the photographs he kept. The same dark hair, the same gentle eyes, the same loving smile. The only thing that was drastically different was a pair of white wings on her back. Matt had been right. She was in heaven.
"Sssh, that's enough, you don't have talk about it." She placed her hands on either side of his face. "My little boy is all grown up and he looks even more handsome in person." She pinched his cheeks the way mothers do.
"Mom…" Jeff blushed the way sons did when their moms embarrassed them with shows of affection in front of other people. In this case it was Eddie.
However, Guerrero took the hint. "Well I gotta go buff some dents out of my low-rider, I'll be outside if you two need anything."
Jeff watched Eddie leave out the front door. When Latino Heat was gone Jeff turned back to his mother. Taking a deep breath, he decided to tell his mother something that had been troubling his mind for a long time. "Mom, there are some things I have to tell you, some things I-I have to get off my chest. You're not going to be very proud of me, but..."
"Son, I know," she said softly. "I've watched you and Matt everyday since I arrived here in Purgatory and when I was sent up to heaven."
Jeff felt relief and dread at the same time. It was a relief to know his mother was always watching over him, but at the same time that meant she had seen all the bad things he had done in his life. Knowing she had a low opinion of him would be a fate worse than being thrown into the bloody river of Phlegethon and tortured by Chiron.
"You have?"
Apparently she saw the apprehension in his eyes, for she gently brushed some loose strands of hair out of his face. "I know you had some dark days, and I was worried about you. I was worried I might see you up here too soon. But you overcame your struggles you climbed your mountain, or should I say, ladder."
Jeff could not help but laugh a little at the ladder comment. She had been watching him after all. However, his worries still remained and he said soberly. "But that still doesn't excuse what I did, Mom."
"Yes..." Ruby nodded firmly, but smiled again. "But what makes a man is his ability to recognize that he is going down a bad path and tries to retrace his steps and get on the good one. And you did that. I'm so proud of you."
Jeff felt as if a great weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. Not only had his mother forgiven him for what he was doing, but she was also proud of him. "Thanks that means a lot to me to hear that form you, Mom."
"Feel better?" Ruby patted his cheek.
Jeff nodded. Feeling relieved and happy, his eyes wandered up to gaze in awe at his mother's wings. "Wow, angels really do have wings…" He reached up like a curious child and touched one of the feathers. To his horror he accidentally pulled it out. "Oh no! I'm sorry!"
"Don't you worry, honey," Rudy chuckled. "They come out all the time and grow back; it keeps them fresh and strong." Sure enough and new feather grew into the old one's place and the wing looked like nothing had happened. "See? Now why don't you keep that one?"
"I can? Really?" Jeff beamed at her.
She nodded.
Just then, Eddie came back into the room accompanied by another angel that was none other than Owen Hart.
"Hey, sorry break up the moment, ese, but they wanna see Jeff now," Eddie said softly, a slightly worried expression on his face.
"What about?" Jeff asked nervously.
"Good news and bad news," Owen answered. "The good news is they might send you back to your body, the bad news is they might not."
"Right now?" Jeff asked, sounding a little disappointed. There were so many more questions he wanted to ask his mother.
"Yes, now," Owen said a little more urgently. "Keeping them waiting, won't help your case any."
"Well, go on, son," Ruby gave the young Hardy a push.
"Mom?" Jeff looked at her; surprised that she was so eager to send him off.
"Jeffery Nero Hardy," she said to him gently, but seriously. "I don't want to see you back here for a very long time. I want you and Matt to die happy old men peacefully in your sleep with lots of children and grandchildren around you, after leading very long and full lives, whatever they may be. Even if it means jumping off ladders until you're sixty."
Jeff chuckled. "Alright, Mom, I'll try."
"Good." She smiled proudly at him. "Now I want you to tell your brother that I am so proud of him too, for his good grades, his choices in life, and doing his best to be a big brother to you. Oh and to not dwell on the wrongs of the past, but to learn from them."
"That's some good advice, ese," Eddie said and Owen nodded in agreement. "Well, let's get going, shall we?"
Jeff nodded and followed the two men to the low-rider outside. "Um, could my mom come with me?" he asked as he got into the back seat of the car.
"Unfortunately not," Owen said apologetically. "She wouldn't be allowed in the judgment hall even if it was her rotation there, because she might raise hell in defense of her little boy."
"You can bet your teeth I would." Ruby grinned.
Jeff smiled back. "Thanks, Mom, I love you."
"I love you too, son," she said, kissing the top of his head. "Here's love and a kiss for Matt too." She kissed Jeff again this time on the forehead.
After the final good-bye, Eddie hit the accelerator and they sped off. It was only when his mother could no longer be seen in the distance did Jeff finally turn around and face front.
"Now, I remember you!" Owen announced out of the blue.
"Huh?" Jeff blinked.
"Yeah, you were that new kid jobber, me and Yokozuna beat up back in '95," Owen grinned.
"Heh, one of the proudest moments of my life, getting beat up by two legends at the same time," Jeff chuckled.
"Yeah, good to see you've come a long, long since then," Owen nodded smugly. "I knew you would."
"You did?" Jeff's eyebrows shot up.
"Yeah, Vince isn't the only person who can spot talent a mile off. I said to Yoko, 'This kid's got a lot of heart, so let's beat him up extra hard so then we'll really put him over with the crowd.'" Owen winked at him.
Jeff chuckled. "Thanks, man. Yeah, after getting squashed by Yokozuna, jumping off a ladder didn't seem so bad."
"You're welcome. Oh, Eddie!" Owen snapped his fingers. "I almost forgot, because of your good behavior and your assistance in getting Jeff out of hell, your Judgment date has been moved up."
"Orale! Thanks, Holmes!" Eddie gave Owen a high-five. Latino Heat was eager to get his judgment over with, serve whatever sentence they gave him so he would be cleansed and could move on to Heaven. In Heaven, angels wee permitted to visit the living, as long as they didn't interfere too much.
"Congratulations, Eddie," Jeff said softly. "You're a good guy you'll probably avoid Hell all together."
Eddie shook his head. "Nah, I ain't no saint, ese"
"But he's right; you are a good guy." Owen added his two cents. "I've read your profile. It sounds like you made up for a lot of your mortal sins while you were still alive, so I think your sentence would be lighter. You probably won't be sent past layer one."
"Still I could use some soul cleansing, ese. I still got some regrets," Eddie said somberly.
"Ah, good point, a soul with regrets in Heaven, might as well be in Hell." Owen nodded thoughtfully.
Jeff leaned against the seat and stared up at the cloudy sky, allowing his mind to wander again.
I wonder what Matt's doing now…
000
Matt slowly opened his eyes to the blank white ceiling of the hospital room. He winced a little as he sat up, falling asleep in a hard hospital chair, had left a large crick in his neck. He did not remember falling asleep; apparently his exhausted body overrode his desire to keep vigilant at Jeff's side until his little brother had come out of his coma.
The older Hardy looked over at his still comatose brother, but noticed he was no longer alone at Jeff's bedside. Maria was sitting there, holding Jeff's hand and, gently stroking his hair.
"Hey," Matt said softly. "How'd you get in here? I thought it was family only."
"Well they think I am family," Maria said shyly. "I told them I was Jeff's fiancée. Maybe that was bad, but I just wanted to see him so much. I hope you're not mad."
"Nah…" Matt managed a weak smile. "I think he'd like that."
Maria blushed and looked back at Jeff. "You think so?"
"Yeah, he doesn't share his Skittles with just anyone."
Maria giggled. "I feel honored then."
Matt managed a small chuckled, before sighing. "Actually, I'm glad you were here to watch over him while I was asleep."
"I was happy to do that. I thought about waking you, but you seemed like you needed it."
Matt suddenly became distance as he remembered the dream he had had. "I had a weird dream… I dreamed I was in Eddie Guererro's house, but Jeff was there, and so was my mom."
"Your mom?"
"Yeah," Matt nodded a little sadly. "She was an angel and she was talking to Jeff about something, I don't remember what it was, except that she was proud of me and Jeff. And then Eddie and Owen Hart came in and I woke up."
"That is a bit on the strange side," Maria said thoughtfully. "But it sounds like your mom is proud of you and that's a good thing."
"It is…" Matt murmured. "It felt so real at the time. I almost thought that…"
"Thought what…?" Maria whispered.
"That I was dead…."
000
Oh dear…. What's in store for Jeff's soul when he goes into judgment?