The Demon Inside Me
Chapter Six: Monster

Bray Wyatt and his family; their paths were crossing yet again with the former NXT Champion after about eight long months.

'Follow the buzzards.'

The next night on Monday Night Raw, the show opened up with a few special guests - the Wyatt Family themselves. It had been so long since they last began the show, and they were going to make the most out of their and everyone's time. The scratching noise that was so iconic to the Family opened their segment as two lines of lit torches, carried by hooded men in brown cloaks, came out to fill in the perimeter of the ramp and the ring as they sang "Dies Irae," reminiscent of the Undertaker. He wanted to steal a certain aspect of the man who once inspired him to be a monster, to let the audience know that he still stole some of his powers. Their music hit, and Bray Wyatt appeared, wearing his usual outfit of black and red, the three other members of the Family behind him sporting their respective animal masks, Luke's face bare. They were greeted with the fireflies that came from the crowd, glowing white lights that helped illuminate the arena. The patriarch began to pace back and forth for a few seconds inside the ring before stopping and looking directly into the camera. The people in the crowd murmured amongst the themselves, curious to what he had to say.

"Do you feel a chill in the atmosphere tonight?" He smiled just as he always did, with a touch of creepiness. "He has returned to us after a period of eight months, ladies and gentlemen. When he stepped inside that ring across from me at Night of Champions with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, I knew that one day, our paths would cross again. I felt that energy surrounding him, man… that darkness, that thirst for power, and that overwhelming desire to prove himself. And so, Lady Destiny whispered in my ear at that moment, advising me to keep his name and his face locked away in the back of my mind, for he would come back to us some time in the future. Now, that time has come, and he is here with us once again… The Authority did approach me and my family with selfish intentions; yes, it is true… however, it was we who carried out the plan. We had been given the opportunity to rectify a tired old soul that has come to roost…" He began to pace again, this time slowly and methodical with his eyes still so fixated on the camera. "Finn Bálor… I see you, man. I see the man that you present yourself as to the world, this hero type who always tries to do the right thing… but that is not who you are, man. No, there's the real you that I see within your belly that's scratching and clawing his way out of the prison that you've built for him. I see just how scared of him that you are, and you don't know what to do with him now that he's breaking free from your grasp. Well, I've got some news for you, Finn Bálor, he's on his way out as we speak. He's breaking free, slipping through the weaknesses of those stone walls of that prison designed for him, and seeping into your very veins! You no longer have control over your inner monster, but I, Bray Wyatt, Seducer, Accuser, The Man Of A Thousand Truths, can do what you cannot, and that is to release him once and for all! And with that freedom, you can finally be who you were truly meant to be, my son…" His voice started to become more insistent and urgent, speeding up the more he talked to the audience. "You and I, man, we aren't so different. We view the world in the same light. So, you can continue on and try to hide your true self, but realize that I can see right through you. I see you, and the more you hide, the better I can see! You cannot escape the eyes of me and my family; we see you, we smell you, and we hear the outcry of that demon inside of you that you try so very hard to bury but realize that you are not as strong as the world perceives you to be or that you think you are… You cannot be strong if you keep hiding so very deep within your own shadow." Bray began to laugh hysterically, throwing his head back and spreading his arms out like a pair of wings. His voice, raspy and strong, boomed into camera once more, just to make sure that the viewers could understand just who he is. "You must be warned… I am the Apocalypse. I am the monster hiding in closets and under the beds of children. I am lingering in each and every single human being's nightmares. I summon the thunder, I summon the lightning, I summon the darkness that sprouts and grows in this very universe! The light of your soul that once shined with the strength of a thousand suns is going to fade and be consumed by the malevolence that I created, for I am Bray Wyatt, the New Face of Fear!" The four ring posts exploded, four bright and orange lights burning the air as the audio and visual cut out to that familiar scratching noise.

Finn himself remained in the locker room; he heard every word come to of Bray's big mouth, and now it was time for him to react. He had been called out, and he was sick of the disrespect that he had been given ever since he debuted on the Main Roster. First it was The Authority who put him through hell for a month, and now here comes the Wyatt Family, hoping to intimidate him and get inside his head. But there was no way in hell that a bunch of Duck Dynasty rejects from the swamps of Florida would get under his skin. They wanted anger? Well, they've got it; Finn was pissed. His body was aching, but that was nothing in comparison to the wrath he felt; there was yet another obstacle he had to get over on the Main roster, and he was only a little over five weeks in. He thought he was done proving himself.

Later that night, the Wyatt Family - Erick, Harper, and Braun - were facing Damien Sandow and the Usos, with Bray Wyatt watching the match on commentary.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest joining us at ringside tonight," said color commentator, Michael Cole. "He is the patriarch of the Wyatt Family, Bray Wyatt."

"Thank you for having me, Cole," Bray said with his relaxed yet raspy voice. "Now recently you and your family were caught in a bit of a scandal, specifically last night at Extreme Rules when you four attacked Finn Bálor during his match with WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Roman Reigns; can you explain your motives?"

"Michael Cole, now is not the time to be asking questions meant for an interview… you see, we already explained ourselves at the beginning of the show, and my brothers are out there having a match; I would appreciate it if you focused on them."

"You must admit you gave some pretty cryptic responses to the questions we all had."

"Then you are not ready to be asking those questions, Cole, if you do not understand the answers that I told the world." Bray didn't look at anyone on commentary; his eyes were fixed on the three men wreaking havoc inside the ring.

The Wyatts showed the WWE Universe the true meaning of domination; while they didn't "squash" the Usos and Sandow per se, they certainly didn't give them much time to breathe or react, either. Every time the Usos thought they had the Wyatts figured out and created a necessary moment of separation, one of them would quickly retaliate. Seven minutes into the match, Braun caught Jey in a bear hug, and that was it.

"Beware, Finn Bálor!" Bray Wyatt said as he entered the ring and stood over Jey for a brief moment - Jimmy Uso and Damien Sandow were outside near the barricades after being attacked from behind - before dropping to his knees with his hands outstretched to his sides and laughter pouring from his mouth. "We're coming for you, my son… RUN."

He could not escape the Wyatts; no matter how hard Finn tried to avoid, he would turn a corner, and there they would be…or so he would think. He could hear Bray's caught in the back of his head, loud, haunting, bone-chilling. He was real, with disciples following him closely at every second. Their loyalty was undeniable and unshakeable; there was no convincing Harper, Rowan, or Strowman otherwise. Every night out there for weeks, it was the same ordeal; Finn would be having a match, and just as it were getting toward the end, the Wyatts would show up to interfere. They never attacked in the same way, either; Bray had gone out there by himself to Sister Abigail him, they attacked as a whole unit, and they even went for whomever Finn's opponent was, pummeling them to give Finn the DQ victory only before ganging up on him in order to beat him to a near bloody pulp. He could feel himself becoming angrier, even unhinged at times, but that would be giving Bray what he wants. He had to keep cool; he had to stop the demon inside of him from stirring, no matter how progressively difficult it was becoming. Bray was wrong, and Finn had to prove it.

Finn was getting nowhere come the end of May. No one in the locker room dared to approach him; the threat of The Wyatt Family just around the corner still hung over their heads, and Finn was starting to snap at people for the most mundane things. Someone could slip up in their wording, and he wouldn't have it. Slowly but surely, he was becoming isolated and admittedly lonely; people barely wanted to be in the same room as him.

He needed rest. Anything to get his mind off of these delinquents. After Smackdown one night in Texas, he decided to traverse the street to the local bar and grab a drink. He didn't get much of an opportunity to have a beer in recent times, but tonight, he figured why not.

Finn sat at the bar, reading the Irish News on his phone as he sipped a Guinness. Even with all the people talking around him, this was the most relaxed he'd been in a long time; the occasional fan would recognize and see him, thus asking for a photo or autograph. He was happy to do so; those were people who were supporting him and his profession, so this was the least he could do in return. They were quite polite, anyway; he couldn't say no.

He was about halfway done with his beer when he heard a voice calling for him.

"Finn!" That voice. His heart skipped a beat; he knew who it belonged to. Bayley.

He turned around, and there she was; her brown hair down instead of in her signature side ponytail and a smile ever present on her face.

"B-Bayley!" He was in shock; he hadn't seen her in what seemed like years, and that angelic voice hadn't graced his ears in such a long time. It had been for too long.

The two pulled one another into a tight embrace, neither wanting to let the other go. "It's been so long…" they both said to each other. Bayley's face leaned comfortably against Finn's shoulder as Finn could rest his chin on top of her head with one of his hands in her hair, their arms entangling.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Finn asked. "We have to catch up." After all, Bayley might be his only friend left.

"No, that's okay; I was actually on my way out, but yes, we really do need to catch up!" She looked at him with soft eyes as he sat back down on the bar stool. "I guess I can stick around for another minute… I haven't seen you in ages; I miss you!" She sat beside him, turning in her stool to look at him; Bálor did the same.

"I didn't think it'd be this hard to keep in touch with… anybody, really. Sorry about that."

"What are you sorry for, Finn? You've got your own thing to worry about; that's where your head needs to be." The smile that she had slowly faded into a more serious expression. "Speaking of which, how are you doing? I've been watching Raw and Smackdown, and I can't believe what Bray and his family are doing to you." She reached out and touted his shoulder, her thumb rubbing his collarbone. She had missed him just as much as he missed her; NXT just wasn't the same without him. "When I get my hands on them when I debut…"

Finn laughed, placing his hand on top of hers. "Don't you worry bout me, Bayley; I'll be okay. You just worry about keeping that championship of yours."

Bayley's face lit up instantaneously at the mention of her championship. "I think I might beat Paige's record."

"Seriously?!"

"What day is today…? May 30? So that means I'm at two-hundred and…" Bayley thought for a moment, counting the days in her mind. "…eighty-two days! She has three-hundred and eight, so I've still got some time to go, but… I think I'm… no, I am going to!" She couldn't stop smiling; she worked her entire life for this moment, and in less than a month, it may become a reality. The excitement swelled inside her heart, just at the mere thought of becoming the longest reigning NXT Women's Champion, and that's exactly who she was; the Women's champion.

He loved seeing her like this, so happy and full of life; he couldn't help but feel inspired, the demon recoiling back. For once, he felt less antagonized; Bayley was treating him like a friend, and not like some precious china that needed to be protected. "You deserve this, Bayley!" And she did; she truly did. "There's no one more fitting than the first Iron Woman to hold that honor. I'm so proud of you; I truly am."

Her cheeks flushed to a pink color, instinctively brushing her hair behind her ear. "It's honestly still so weird to be called that… it feels like such a dream. Champion, Main-eventer, Iron Man… The only thing that would've sweetened this whole run of mine would have been working with you on screen, and not just at house shows, y'know? I think we would've kicked a lot of butt out there, whether it would've been once or continuous, or whatever. Not everybody got to see us."

Now it was his turn to blush; she was too kind to him, too sweet. "Never say never… you never know; we may work together when we're both on the main roster."

Her eyes sparkled. "It might not be too far off…"

Finn took a sip of beer. "Not far off?"

"Since you were the first person who told me they were going up to the main roster…" She couldn't help how big the smile on her face got to be, and Finn's heart was ready to beat out of his chest in anticipation to her next few words. "…keep it on the down low, but they want me backstage for a few weeks…and by the end of June, I should be… officially on the main roster."

"What?! Bayley, are you serious?" His jaw dropped, his hands shaking. They were about to be reunited, and they would be together again, just like the old days. She nodded her head in response, putting her head in her hands to hide her face. She was just so excited to be able to tell him at last. "My god, I could kiss you right now."

She laughed. "I was hoping I'd be able to see you sometime soon so that I could tell you in person…I wanted you to be the first person to know."

"I'm… so excited. You're finally gonna be here! I appreciate the notification." His mind began racing with thoughts of him and Bayley traveling together and possibly even working as a team. He could count on her, and she could count on him; it was going to be wonderful - Wyatt Family who?

"Well, I got to get going. I got a meeting with Hunter early in the morning!"

Finn couldn't help but frown at that name, Hunter. The man who happily brought him up to the Main Roster…only to try to berate him and make him go back as soon as he got there. "Be wary of him, Bayley. I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. The Main Roster changes him."

"It really does, doesn't it?" She nodded her head, deciding to give him a kiss on the cheek, a soft peck, as soon as she stood up. "Anyway, I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Uh…yeah," he said, his face flushing completely. She…kissed him. Granted on the cheek, but she kissed him! "You definitely will!"

She turned to leave, but something told him to ask her something. "Bayley?" he called for her, even standing up. She stopped and turned around, those dark brown eyes staring back at him with a look of curiosity. She was only a few inches away from him.

"Yeah, Finn?"

He almost couldn't get the words out, he was so nervous. "Since we're going to be back around each other a lot more… and we have time to see each other… would you… maybe… want to grab a bite to eat sometime?"

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date."

She smiled that beautiful, toothy smile of hers. "I'd love to! We should grab breakfast or something… I'm a sucker for pancakes."

"Before Raw on Monday?"

"Sure! I'll see you then."

"Yeah! I'll call you."

"Bye, Finn!"

She said yes. Bayley said yes to going on a date with Finn; this was real. He chuckled to himself, his face still flushed and his fingers trembling at his sides. The smile didn't leave his lips for the rest of the night; the thoughts of Bayley and him out on a date held his attention so much, he didn't register the flash of light that caught both of them in a tight hug.

Monday morning around eight o'clock, the two friends made it to a small café. They were the first ones there, so they had the place all to themselves, choosing to sit at a round table across from one another. Finn and Bayley had an hour to kill before they had to be at the arena to rehearse and find out what their jobs were for later that night. They engaged in conversation, never leaving a moment of silence occur; they had so much to catch up on that the little time they had was eaten up in what felt like minutes. Bayley talked about what she was accomplishing down in NXT; she wanted to leave it in a better place than where she had found it. She was preparing herself to hand over the keys to all of the other NXT women, the likes of Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke, Nia Jax, Asuka, and many others. This was all in due time, of course - not an immediate change - but it was time to start mentally getting ready.

"Does it scare you?" he asked her, taking a bite out of some bread.

She hesitated. "Yes and no, honestly. I'm…I'm ready to go up there and join everybody, but… NXT is my home, and there's no place I love more."

"We - er, the other women, they need you, Bayley. Really badly."

She smiled, her face becoming pink. "Well, I guess I could give my buddies, Sasha and Becky, some help…" She took a sip of tea before continuing. "Just kidding, of course I'll help them. Maybe by the time I come around, they'll have Charlotte, and it'll be a big Four Horsewomen reunion! Us against the world." She couldn't help but laugh, though her lips started to relax into a bit of a frown after a minute. "You know, I always dreamt about this whole ordeal… wrestling, making it to WWE… and now it's here… and already, I've just created so much history in such a short amount of time. It's… it's so overwhelming to sit down and just think about it. I'm part of a women's wrestling revolution! And my debut, it's around the corner."

"We're all so proud of you; I can't stress that enough. You have a fire in you like nobody else. Don't tell the others this, but you're definitely one of my favorites…"

Bayley asked about the Wyatts after a while. "It just seems so strange to me that…no one is on your side. No one is helping you."

"People are scared of the Wyatts. And now people are scared of me."

"…of you?" She furrowed her brow in confusion. This man spends his leisure time playing with legos; he is opposite of scary. "Why?"

"Well, people are scared of the demon. No one on the Main Roster has physically seen him yet, but they're scared he's going to come out soon. They say they see him in my eyes. And with the Wyatts ever so convinced that they're going to set him free, understandably everyone in the locker room is side-eyeing me. Not that it makes it any easier…"

Bayley placed her hand on top of Finn's; it was surprising how natural it felt to just hold his. "Just because he's in there somewhere doesn't give them the right to blow you off," she said. "He's not even that bad! They're scared for no reason!"

He looked up at her, his blue eyes searching hers. She meant it, every word. "I wouldn't say that… I know what he's capable of; NXT knows what he's capable of. But those on the Main Roster haven't the faintest idea. I even think that Neville forgot what he was like."

"Are you going to show him to them? To The Wyatts or anyone?"

"Part of me says I should… but I don't want Bray getting any ideas."

"Let him; you and the demon can handle him, one on one. He'll get his comeuppance; he is already asking for that side of you, anyway."

Finn laughed; she had a point. "I'll consider."

Once their free hour was finished, the two friends took to their rental car and drove over to the arena together. Some people saw Bayley and immediately started talking to her; they were in total shock that she was making an appearance. Was she debuting tonight, they asked her. Hair and makeup staff, other Divas, other Superstars; they all crowded the NXT Women's Champion, sucking her up and stealing her from Finn. He himself was patiently going to wait for her, but alas, they were taking her down another hallway, away from where he had to get ready. His own people, Creative specifically, pulled him in another direction to discuss topics like entrances and wardrobes. It was all boring, but alas, it had to get done.

They had just came off of a pay-per-view known as Payback the week before on the twenty-second of May, and they had not booked Finn for a match on it; unbeknownst to the audience, he needed to take a week off before the pay-per-view and not wrestle to tend to the beginnings of a wrist injury he had sustained against a random one-off with Ryback. But he was back and ready for action that night, and he was prepared to get back to work. He kept his eyes firmly planted on the Wyatts, watching as they completely decimated The Dudley Boyz for the umpteenth time. They were dominating as they usually were, and decided to cut a promo in the middle of the ring, another message to the former champion.

"I know you're out there, man; I know you can hear me right now!" Bray said, snatching a microphone as he walked in front of Bubba's fallen body. "One by one, they all fall before us. We have sent many men to the grave, like tonight for example, men that believed that they could stand up to us and try to dismantle us, but that was folly! There is no man, woman, or child in that locker room, in this arena, or in this world that contains the power to rip us apart, and if they think that they do, they are lying to themselves! All of you who think this way are liars!" He looked toward the titantron, his blue eyes, the color of the sea, staring at the entrance with expectation. "And the biggest liar of them all is Finn Bálor. He thinks that I am the one who lies, because I talk big and so eloquently, don't you, Bálor?" He smiled, chuckling. "I have never once lied to you, or to anyone for that matter; it is simply not worth my time to lie. You, on the other hand, I know you. I know you from what we have all seen on NXT, and I know about that being within your belly. He's alive. He breathes just like the rest of us, and he has power unlike any other! Give him to me, Finn. Give him to me, for I know what to do with a case like him; you can continue pretending to be the hero in your story like you desperately want to be, but you must cut the strings to that part of you! Let him go, and give him to me. But I don't need to ask you for your permission in the first place, because I have marked him! Cuz I've got your whole damn world in my hands."

Finn couldn't take much more of this nonsense. His music went off, and he appeared a moment later, the crowd naturally popping for him. There was no demon, but he wore his signature bandana across his face, with sleeves on his arms and his boots laced up. He had a microphone in hand, and he made his way down the ramp, stopping just before he could have entered the ring. He pulled his bandana down so he could talk, but the ferocity and intensity of his expression did not diminish.

"You think you're so clever, Wyatt," he started, as the three other members of the Family started to step closer to him, stalking him as if he were their next meal. That didn't scare him, though; Finn held his ground. "But you see, you don't have me all figured out like you think you do. You can beat me down as much as you want, physically degrade me to your heart's content, but you will never be able to touch that other side of me. What stirs within me is as much a part of my existence as my skin and my limbs; he did not appear out of nowhere like some sort of possession!" Finn slid inside the ring, feeling a rush of adrenaline that he did not expect to have. All of this anger at being senselessly beaten week after week was finally getting to him, and he was going to shove this back in Bray's face. He stepped closer to the patriarch who stared down at him like a small man, grinning like a proud man. "If you want my demon, you're going to have to kill me." He threw the microphone to the side, creating a loud thud, and then slapped the smile off of his face; everyone in the arena didn't need the microphone to hear just how hard Bray was hit. His elbow connected with his cheek, and then another, and another. Bray fell to the ring, and Finn jumped on top of him, unable to hold back. He was losing it again, and fast, but he didn't care. Luke grabbed Finn by the arms and pulled him off of Bray, but he came loose and greeted Harper with a vicious tornado kick, hitting him square in the back of the head. Braun and Erick came next, but with superhuman-like speed, he was able to escape their reach, using the strength of his legs to kick the giants in the back of their knees, dodging every single one of their arm hooks. No way was he getting caught in one of their rampages. Once they both had their backs turned, Finn jumped up and hit Rowan straight in the chest, the adrenaline giving him the strength to force him out of the ring from the top rope. He used the momentum to clothesline Braun over the top rope before being grabbed from behind and thus caught in Sister Abigail. Bray brought him back over to the center of the ring, laughing and ready to slam his head into the ring. Just as he brought Finn's head to his lips, he came back alive and reversed the move by jumping over and behind Bray, slipping his arms free to wrap one around Bray's throat and then lifting and slamming him down hard in a Bloody Sunday. Finn's eyes flashed toward one of the cameras before rolling to the back of his head as the veins running along his arms popped up against his pale skin.

"You want my demon, Bray? You caught him in a good mood… he'll see you Thursday."

The main event for Smackdown was settled here; it was Bray Wyatt versus Demon Bálor, one-on-one, without the Family interfering. And as Finn left the patriarch and the Family in the ring, he gave them one last look, and simply smiled.

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