AN: Got a feeling today I should work on all my updates. I'm not sure why, and I don't know if Marshall and Nero are really up to the task, but there it is… So, I might as well listen to that unnamed voice in my head that tries to kill me when I don't… It sounds an awful lot like Marshall…
Disclaimer: I do not own World Wrestling Entertainment or any of the wrestlers mentioned herein. The wrestlers portrayed in this act of fiction are property and copyright of the WWE and their respective owners.
TheDarknessThatDivides
Jeff had somehow managed to get to the kitchen, where he cleaned himself off. He waited in there for a few minutes until he figured he could walk, and then made his way out of the room on his feet, limping and looking at his clothes for a moment. He sighed, cleaning up the mess on the couch before he grabbed them, walking back upstairs with them. If Matt saw what his throat looked like, it was very possible Hunter would be dead, and Jeff still loved him. Jeff changed into a pair of black Tripp pants with neon blue seems, putting on a matching neon blue belt. A black turtleneck was next, and Jeff slid his feet into some boots. His body ached like hell, but now the cause was serious. If Victoria didn't help them, Jeff might kill her himself. Yeah, it was that bad.
So, Jeff began the walk into the 'working' part of town. Usually, do to both his dislike for walking and his desire to be climbing stuff, he'd be climbing up walls and making daredevil jumps, but his body was just too sore for that today. He turned a corner, hitting an alley that most people missed, moving down it and then hanging a right. The difference was amazing. While on the other end of the alley there was maybe one or two people, over here there were women and men, some dressed provocatively, some dressed innocently. Jeff knew this area well, and everyone in there – well, most everyone in there – knew him. He smiled when he heard a squeal of joy, and then was promptly hugged by six or seven girls at once. He hugged each one back, listening to their words of affection, how much they missed him, the usual. He replied, keeping the conversation on a casual tone. Some of the guys came over and greeted him too, men who understand what these women were going through because they were too. Once most all of them were together, he held up a hand.
"As much as I hate to say it, this visit isn't social," he said. A few groans of disappointment were heard, but most of them understood. They did, after all, know about Jeff. "I'd stay, but this is some pretty serious business. I'm looking for a woman who goes by the name of Victoria," Jeff held up the picture, looking at them all. "This is her. It's really important that I find her. You all have my cell number, so if you see her, let me know, okay?" Everyone nodded and there were a few mumbles. Jeff sighed to himself and was about to head to another part of town with the same people, before he heard someone speak.
"I can do you one better."
Jeff turned as a light brown girl with curly lighter brown hair came up. She wore a pair of tight blue jeans with a bright green snake-skin tubetop. In her hair was a neon green headband, and the rest of her hair seemed to puff outward. Jeff tilted his head.
"Alicia, right?" he asked. She nodded.
"I've seen her. A few of us have, but most of the others are working. She usually calls us over to her house for errands. She gives us meals, and money, if we need them, in exchange for going to pick stuff up for her. She has us do it because we can keep our mouths shut and know where to get stuff most others wouldn't. Not only that, I think she likes that we don't ask questions," Alicia said. Jeff tilted his head.
"Where?" he asked. Alicia pointed him in the right direction, giving him specific directions on how to get to her house. Jeff thanked her, slipping a fifty and a condom in her back pocket when he hugged her before he followed her directions, jogging in that direction, swallowing back the wince as his abused body was forced to go in that direction. He stopped, leaning against the wall with a gasp of pain. Before he could get back up and keep moving, he heard a voice.
"Jeffro! Get over here, man!"
Jeff turned his head, hiding his expression of pain. He saw Mike with his two dear friends, and a smile came over his face.
"Shannon… Shane…"
When they got close enough, Jeff hugged both of them, laughing softly when Shane grinned and stroked his hair back.
"Look what being the leader has done to you baby," he said. Jeff laughed, playfully punching Shane's shoulder.
"What have you found?" Jeff asked, looking at the three of them as he leaned on Shane. Shane was only a touch surprised by this, but held onto his childhood friend anyway.
"Well, your boy Miz here came knockin' on our door, the right way, and we started walking. The last time we saw Victoria was a few weeks ago," Shannon said. Mike looked at Jeff.
"We followed a trail down here, but this is as far as we've managed to get," Mike said. Jeff nodded, smiling at Shane and Shannon.
"We'll have to catch up some time," he said. Shane grinned, rolling his eyes.
"Why would we wanna do that?" he asked. "We don't even like you. Just sayin'."
Jeff punched him, making Shannon laugh as he shook his head.
"You two go find this Victoria girl. Shane and I have some other business we need to take care of," Shannon said. Jeff nodded, hugging them both and watching them go, Shannon punching Shane for something he leaned over and whispered to the other man. Jeff turned to look at Mike, about to speak, only for the younger man to speak first.
"Where's Hunter?"
Jeff stiffened slightly, and tried to play it off, but Mike saw it. His eyes softened and he sighed.
"He hurt you, huh?" Mike didn't even wait for Jeff to confirm it. "I was hoping whatever this is wouldn't touch you and Hunter. We've got to do something, don't you think?" he asked. Jeff nodded.
"And we will. Lucky for you, you're on the right track. I found out that Victoria works down here. She sends a few of the girls out to run her errands because they don't ask questions and can get the job done. They know where she's been staying," Jeff said. Mike nodded and the two of them moved in silence, walking to her house. After a minute, Jeff bounced up the stairs, stumbling only for a second on the last one. Mike was there, one hand on Jeff's lower back, keeping him from falling. Jeff smiled at him before knocking.
The door opened, a blond head peeking out. Jeff's eyes widened in shock as he saw the pink streaks in her hair. She opened the door all the way, raising an eyebrow.
"Who are you?" she asked. Jeff didn't answer.
"Come on, David... I want her... She's so pretty," the woman said. David chuckled slightly, patting the woman's hair.
"Now, Natalya... We must be patient…"
"Look what he did, David! He scared her off!"
The night he met her was burned into his memory. It was the night that he had met Hunter, the night that his life had changed, and the night that everything he knew took a drastic change.
"Natalya…" he whispered.
Jeff and Hunter had killed her and her two companions. The knives that slashed their way up her spine had been his, and she had died. Jeff had watched her die!
"Yeah, and you are?" she asked. Mike seemed to realize that Jeff wasn't going to answer, so he flipped his wrist, revealing to the woman the Undertaker symbol seared into his flesh. When Jeff refused to move, Mike pulled up the sleeve of Jeff's shirt, revealing his tattoo as well. Natalya shifted before closing the door. Voices were heard, and a minute later, another woman came to the door.
In comparison to Natalya, the woman was darker skinned, her hair a dark brown to Natalya's blond. Where Natalya had pink, this woman had red. She ignored their faces, looking directly at the two exposed wrists.
"Finally. I thought he was dragging his damn feet. Come in," she said, walking back into the house. Natalya held the door open, looking at them and shaking her head, only closing the door when they were inside.
"Nattie, pour some tea please," she said, sitting down. Jeff and Mike sat down as well, Jeff pulling out his phone.
Found her. Head back to the house. We'll be there shortly.
The text went out to the ones who were out searching for Victoria.
"As I'm sure you've guessed by now, my name is Victoria. Tara's been the most recent name, but I'm finding it's boring to me. So, you now lead Undertaker's band of misfits, hm?" she asked, looking at Jeff. Jeff smiled slightly.
"Yeah, that's me. Mark's in Texas," he said. Victoria rolled her eyes, though the gesture was affectionate.
"That man and his ranch. He never really liked the city. What can I do for you?" she asked. Jeff took a breath.
"Here lately, all of the relationships in the group have started to disintegrate. Well, all but one. For example, not too long ago, Mike here started a relationship with a man named John. They went to the fair last week and John lost his temper. It wouldn't be a big deal, but John's a big teddy bear. Then, my brother and his boyfriend have hit each other and won't talk now…" Jeff trailed off. Victoria raised an eyebrow as Natalya came back, setting a cup of tea in front of each one of them. Jeff was, once again distracted by Natalya's presence. Victoria followed his gaze, laughing softly.
"Ah, Natalya. Yes, you killed her," Victoria said. Jeff started, looking at Victoria with wide eyes. "Mark told you I have experiences with dark magic, right? Well, it goes a bit farther than that. In the most basic of terms, I suppose I'm like a witch, though it's leaning more towards necromancy lately. You did kill Natalya. I revived her, however. She has no memories of her previous life, and has been staying with me," Victoria said. A strange light came to Jeff's eyes, and he bit his lip.
"Can you do that with anyone?" he asked. Victoria shrugged.
"It really depends. How long they've been dead, how they died, what state the body's in, that kind of thing. They don't always come back without a memory of their past lives, but it happens sometimes," she said. Jeff nodded and shook his head.
"The point of the visit is that Mark said that you could help us. This is tearing all of us apart, and everyone in the group has too much information for them to just walk out. Putting that fact aside, I'd really rather not lose anyone," Jeff said. Victoria took a drink of the tea, thinking it over.
"Alright. Tell me everyone that's been affected."
So, for the next hour, Mike and Jeff talked. They told Victoria of the affected members, and who they were with. They told her how Hunter had raped Jeff, how Gail and Michelle weren't affected, and what had happened. Victoria asked a few questions, but was mostly quiet. Finally, she sighed.
"I know what it is. It's a spell. Someone has targeted someone in the group, and is separating the relationships by any means necessary to get to them. I don't know who's targeted, but I do know the only person who would cast that spell. Her name is Katie Lea Burchill. She used to have a brother named Paul, but when they were trying to resurrect their mother, the spell went wrong and Paul was killed. After that, all Katie had were her spells," she said. Jeff's eyes narrowed.
"Where can we find her?" he asked. Victoria smiled at the determination on his face.
"I don't know who hired her, but whoever did it is extraordinarily underhanded. She only hires her services out through the underground, and won't talk to just anyone." Victoria gave them both more specific directions on how to get to Katie, and then Mike stood up.
"I'm going to wait outside," he said. "Who do you want to bring with?" Jeff paused to think about it, before smiling slightly.
"Bring Matt along," he said. "He can help. I'll be out in a second."
Mike nodded, pulling out his phone and heading outside. Jeff looked at Victoria, eyes a little sad.
"This is a favor on behalf of Mark… I need a personal favor," Jeff said. Victoria looked at him, one eyebrow arched.
"I don't come cheap," she said. Jeff nodded.
"This isn't something I'd want to be cheap."
TBC
AN: Daaaaamn. Long chapter. Next chapter, we find out what Katie Lea is doing to the group!!
.: TheMizMagnet :.