"Are we there yet?" John complained, ramming his head against the headrest on the seat. "You guys made three hours seem so…quick."
"John…" Hunter's knuckles got white as he gripped onto the steering wheel even harder. "We have…been on the road…for thirty minutes! You are the worst carmate – "
"Would you two shut up?" Randy shouted, and Alix stirred, just a little. His voice piped down to what sounded like a hiss. "John – I'm sorry you're so twitchy. Hunter – get the fuck over John. Are we better now?"
Alix had been lying on Randy's shoulder, barely making a sound. It was as if she was in the same trace-state she had been before she fell asleep; only now her eyes were closed.
But now she sat up, took a quick look around, slouched back against the seat, took a deep sigh, and stared off into space again. Nothing had changed.
Cena looked back, and took a quick, close look at Alix. "Yep, I think it's a good idea that we didn't head back to the hotel…Alix, you there? Please say something…"
And yet Alix just sat there – as if John had just talked to air.
An hour and a half later, with just about an hour to go, John and Randy were fast asleep. The latter was heavily snoring, and the former was curled into himself against the window.
Hunter stared silently through the window. It had begun raining, and the only sounds in the car were the whooshing of the windshield and the faint sounds of one of Linkin Park's older CD's turned down really low for two of the wrestlers to sleep.
"This is a bit of a pain, Alix." Hunter sighed, his eyes drooping. He was every bit as tired at John and Randy, but for obvious reasons couldn't sleep.
"Sorry that I'm upset that it's my fault that my friends are hurt." Alix mumbled, crossing her arms. Hunter pulled over to the side of the road abruptly, and glared back at her.
"We are a half an hour from Richmond freaking Virginia from Baltimore freaking Maryland and you decide to get freaking back to normal?" Hunter growled, clutching onto the steering wheel as if his life depended on it, slowly swerving back onto the road.
"Oh sorry, you want me to back to staring at that black dot on your seat?" she sneered. "Fine, I'll do that."
"What, did you just act like you were all depressed as soon as you heard you would be meeting Jeff fucking Hardy?" Hunter shouted, ignoring the fact that there were still two sleeping wrestlers in the SUV.
"It's my fucking fault that there are four wrestlers in the hospital!" Alix roared, threateningly gripping the door handle. "I'll do it. I'll leave."
"Go right ahead." Triple H growled. "I don't give a shit. You're twenty minutes away from Richmond; maybe you can make it there on foot. Honestly there won't be a lick of guilt."
"Do you really think I faked everything?"
"That's what I'm thinking right now!"
"Well I didn't!"
And with that, Alix yanked open the door and launched herself out; not allowing for Hunter to pull over, or even slow down. Hunter looked wide-eyed back at the now empty seat, and yanked the door shut again; now unable to head back to grab her.
The X-Stinger's head slammed against the grassy ground, and her body soon followed. She lay flat against the ground as the stars twinkled brighter and brighter – even more than when she was looking up in the city.
The world spun faster and faster around her, and the only thing she could realize now was bright lights, like car headlights, were shining to her right. They stayed absolutely still as small, muffled steps came nearer and nearer to her.
"Welcome to the Imag-I-Nation…" a voice whispered as black clouded more and more of Alix's vision.
"You must be that Alix girl Matt called about…" the speaker said, picking her up and getting her into his small sports car. He started the engine and constantly looked back and forth between Alix and the road. "Guess that leaves me to wonder why you were on the side of the road; and knocked out. It can't be good."
Fifteen minutes later, and the creator of the Imag-I-Nation pulled into a small parking lot for an apartment building. He glanced up at the room on the highest floor, which had an orange glow seeping from it.
"Damn." He muttered, again to himself. "Forgot to turn the light off. Damn electric bill's been getting too high…"
He walked over to the side of the car to get Alix out, gently picking her up. Her head lolled on his arm, and he almost laughed.
"A lot of plans for you, little demon." He said quietly, giving her a quick nickname. "You gon' need a better name than that in the Imag-I-Nation…"
He silently walked into the lobby of the apartment building, the desk manager nodding once to him, not giving him a second look. It was something normal with the eclectic wrestler, to be bringing in random people. It wasn't as normal for them to be knocked out – but it had happened.
The wrestler stood silently in the elevator as it zoomed straight up to the top floor. He kept his eyes on Alix, both waiting for her to wake up, and trying to figure out exactly what he wanted planned for the girl.
He kneeled down and opened the door to one of his studios with his mouth. He set Alix down on one of the torn-up pasty yellow couches in the room, and looked around a the mess that he called his second favorite studio.
"Never as good as The Barn…" he grinned with his hands on his hips, looking around at the dimly lit, orange glowing room. He glanced back at Alix, and decided to wait to put in place whatever plans he had running in his mind for the girl.
He walked over to the wall opposite the door and plucked the dark brown acoustic guitar from the wall. He sat down on a dark green ottoman a few feet from the pasty couch and freely played – nothing important or noticeable, just whatever came to mind.
Alix's eyes fluttered open, and she stared upward at the one lone lightbulb dangling from the ceiling.
"Okay – I just argued with Hunter and flew to the side of the highway. Is this heaven or something?" she asked, laughing weakly.
"To me it is." He smiled, setting the guitar down on the floor next to him. "Welcome, Alix."
"Who are – " Alix whipped to her side in order to see who was talking to her. She immediately recognized him as soon as she set her eyes on him though. "Jeff Hardy?"
"You got it girl." He smirked, winking at her. "Found you on the highway. You're in one of my studios now. Matt told me you were all depressed – why is that?"
"I've got on the bad side of this team called the Nexus, and they're taking my friends out one by one." Alix sighed, holding her head in her hands. "First Edge, then R-Truth, then Matt, then John Morrison. But with Johnny…they cornered him on his balcony at the hotel and I'm pretty sure pushed him off it. I think he's alive and all – he landed in bushed but…if it wasn't for me they wouldn't be hurt in the first place."
"You're not accountable for the Nexus' actions, Lil Demon." Jeff shook his head. "Ha, I like that, that'll stick…anyway, yes, they may be doing it to get back at you. But are you holding a gun to Wade Barrett's head and telling him and his little ass-kissers to hurt everyone? Course not. That'd be stupid."
"If I wasn't in the WWE it still wouldn't have happened…" Alix muttered, looking from one end of the couch to the other. "Okay, I was trying to be dramatic and put my head in a pillow. You don't have any pillows!"
Jeff ran his hand through his purple and black hair. "Yeah – like I said earlier, this place ain't as good as The Barn, and it doesn't have much. Not up here as often as I am at home – even bein' on TNA. I thought I was told you weren't talking much?"
Alix clapped her hands to her mouth, and a muffled, "There, is that better?" creeped out. Jeff smiled and Alix laughed, lowering her hands to talk without them blocking her words. "I can't exactly stop myself from talking in front of one of one of my idols."
"You're doin' a pretty good job of showing how much you just adore me on your show." Jeff grinned. "I guess I don't need to do a lot of cheering you up then?"
"Not for now."
"Then how 'bout we have some fun?"
AN: It's…JEFFERS. YAY. REVIEW.