The air was calm and the sunrise was pure as John Cena sat on the edge of the cliff behind the Safe Haven staring off into the horizon where the sky and ocean met. He was unable to sleep that night, his mind still reeling after his wife, Nikki Bella, explained to him what she felt might have been wrong with Cesaro. John sat there all night trying to reason with why the other man decided not to share his feelings with him and simply allow things to transpire as they have. He even recalled a moment in time where he might have felt similar feelings. John had been so drawn into his thoughts that he did not hear Macey sit down next to him.
"I see you like the sunrise, too, Johnny Boy." She said to him, pulling him out of his trance.
"Oh, hey." He greeted her. "Yeah. Kind of." Macey gave him an airy laugh.
"I just said that to bring you back to reality. I've been sitting here for a while listening to you talk to yourself." John looked away from her in embarrassment. "You look like you haven't slept a wink. I'm a neutral party here. What's on your brain?" John furrowed his brow. He knew next to nothing about Macey, but he knew that the woman would not have allowed him to ruminate alone any longer than he already had.
"It's just…" He started hesitantly as Macey listened. "I feel like I'm part of why Claudio's been lashing out. I feel like I've been living my life without him. I promised him I wouldn't do that. I promised him I wouldn't leave him behind and that's exactly what I did. Claudio's been crying out for us… for me… and I didn't listen. Now he's out there hurting and I don't even know how to find him. I can't even begin where to look." Macey placed her hand on John's shoulder to try and console him.
"Look…" Macey started. "If you're really something to him, he'll come back. We all deal with life differently. Maybe he just wants to be by himself for a bit, you know. Figure things out. We're all still human, regardless of what we can do. We all have hearts and they all break sometimes." John shook his head.
"It's not just that." He said to Macey. "It's all this other mess he's in. The President is after him now, and I'm sure everyone else who's seen the news hates him now, too." John then looked her in the eyes. "He's a good person, Macey. He doesn't deserve to be hated… not with everything he's given to us all. Not with everything he's sacrificed." Macey balled up her mouth and tried to hold back a tear.
"We're all gonna hated for something, John." She said. "No matter how good we think we are, there's always someone out there who thinks we're the worst person alive. Nine times outta ten, it's someone who don't mean a hill of beans to us. I can tell Claudio means a lot to you… to all of you. Maybe he's not seeing that right now, but he will again and he'll come back around."
Macey's words weighed heavy on John's mind. Perhaps she was right in that Cesaro simply wanted to be alone to work out his problems, John could not bring himself to allow that to be true. He wanted to help Cesaro get through whatever he was going through. He wanted to protect him just as he had promised his father Donovan he would. Before he could dwell any further, the two heard what sounded like a bomb going off in the distance. They looked to the horizon and saw the clouds disappear in a spot in the sky. Then, a large gust of wind hit them so hard that they were blown backwards. John looked up to see that the clouds had all dissipated and the ocean had begun to shift behind the gust that had just passed.
"What the hell was that just now?" Macey said as she brushed herself off. John looked back to the horizon. He knew that there was only one explanation.
"Claudio…" He said. The two then looked back to the mansion and up to where Stephanie and Triple H's room was to see their bedroom light turn on. They both quickly rose to their feet and made their way back to the mansion. Upon entry, they nearly ran into Sami Zayn who had rushed out of his room, likely due to the phenomenon that had just occurred.
"Rami!" John yelped. "What the hell was that?"
"It was Claudio." Sami replied. "I could feel him as soon as that wind passed through." The three then heard Stephanie call from upstairs as she and Triple H made their way down the hallway.
"Rami!" Stephanie said as they made their way down to the lobby. "Tell me you felt him." Sami nodded.
"It was him." He confirmed. They were all then joined by Lana and Rusev.
"You felt him, too?" Lana asked them.
"Yes."
"Can you remember exactly where that energy came from, Rami?" Stephanie asked him. Sami nodded.
"Yes." He said. "It came from the other side of the country. Washington State." Triple H looked over to Rusev.
"Miro." He said. "Go get everyone. We need to go get Claudio now!"
Travis Browne waited patiently for his wife, Ronda Rousey, to return to the hotel room after receiving a text message from her saying that she was on her way back from her mission. That had been nearly an hour ago, and he was about to send a text message to check on her when he heard an aggressive knock on the door. Travis knew it was not Ronda and his suspicion was confirmed after hearing the person on the other side speak.
"Mister Rousey?" It was a man. Travis stood to his feet and approached the door.
"Who is this?" Travis asked.
"We are here about your wife." Travis felt his heart sink a little as he had no clue as to why the man was at his door instead of Ronda. He unlocked and opened the door expecting the worst news. He then saw that the man had three others with him.
"Yes?" He said with worry.
"Mister Rousey." The leader said. "The President has requested your presence. We are here to retrieve you." Travis blinked.
"It's Browne, actually. What's going on?"
"We can't discuss that here. Please gather your things and come with us. We don't have time to waste." Travis saw the seriousness in the men's eyes and immediately went for his phone. "We've already contacted the hotel personnel for you." Travis looked back at the men and then began to gather Ronda and his things out of the room. Once he got everything, he grabbed as much as he could and headed out of the door, the other men helping him with the rest. They all made their way to the convoy, got inside, and drove off. Once settled, Travis asked the men what was happening.
"The President has instructed General Rousey to go to his office." The leader explained. "She has requested you to be there." Travis blinked.
"General Rousey?" Travis asked. "When did Ronda get promoted?"
"When General Zodrick stepped down, he requested her as his replacement, effective immediately. That is all we know." Travis looked down at his feet as he tried to process what the man had just told him.
"General Ronda Rousey…" He said to himself. "Momma Rousey would be proud."
Some time had passed and the convoy reached its destination: the capital where the President's office was held. The man escorted Travis out of the vehicle and into the building, where they navigated the halls to reach the official's office. They motioned to the guards to open the doors and allow them to enter. Upon entry, Travis saw the President himself, Shane McMahon, and his wife Ronda, all of whom seemed to be waiting for him. Ronda quickly made her way over to him and hugged him as tight as she could.
"Ronda." Travis said to her. "What is going on?" Ronda looked at the President and then back to Travis.
"We have a mission." The President said to him. "General Rousey and Mister McMahon are to lead a team on a search-and-retrieval mission. The General agreed to accept her new duty upon the guarantee of the safety of you and your teammates. They are being transported here as we speak."
"Search-and-retrieval?" Travis repeated. Ronda then placed her hand on his face.
"I'm sorry, Trav." She said. "Can't tell you everything, but I told them that I wouldn't do it without knowing you guys are safe and this is the safest place you can be." Travis blinked.
"Okay then." He said. "If it's that important then I'll play along."
"I will have my guards escort you to the safety bunker once the others arrive." The President told Travis before looking to Ronda. "Thank you again for accepting my offer, General Rousey." Ronda then looked down at the device on her wrist.
"It is my duty to serve this country, Sir." Ronda replied. That moment, Shane felt a wave flow over him like a telepathic tidal wave. The sheer amount of energy made him involuntarily close his eyes and even sent a chill through everyone else in the room, evident from the sudden change in their body language.
"What was that?" Travis asked. "It got cold all of a sudden."
"… Claudio." Shane replied without opening his eyes. The President snapped his gaze over to Shane upon hearing Cesaro's name.
"That was him?" He asked. "Do you know where he is, Shane?"
"I do now." Shane opened his eyes. "He's in a forest in Washington. I need a map." The President walked over to his desk, pressed several places on its glass surface, summoned a map projected on the wall.
"Point to it, Shane." He told the telepath. Shane proceeded to point to a green spot on the map near the ocean and a marker generated.
"In this vicinity." Shane said. "That's what I'm seeing still."
"Wasn't he here only a few hours ago?" Ronda asked. "How did he move so quickly?" Shane looked over to Ronda.
"He is stronger than any of us can understand." Shane told her. "We need to stop him before he does anymore damage." Ronda examined Shane's expression and nodded.
"Right." She said. "Let's go then." Travis then hugged his wife once more.
"Be careful, Ronda." He said to her after releasing the embrace.
"I'll be back, Babe." Ronda said. "I promise."
"The team will be waiting in the briefing area for you, General." The President said. "Good luck and Godspeed."
The air was filled with the sound of the wind howling through the mass of trees and the brittle night sky. There standing among the trees was Cesaro with the body of the man known as Trevor at his feet. Cesaro's clothes were still weathered and covered in everything that happened earlier that night and his eyes were wet with tears. His mind was racing, filled with cycles of emotions that weighed down on him as if he were physically holding the world on his shoulders.
"What is wrong with me?" Cesaro asked. "Why is all this happening? Why can't I… why does this… why doesn't…"
It was the pain of losing Trevor, the confusion of losing control of his powers once again, the fear of potentially losing his friends after involuntarily attacking them, and the underlying pain he had felt for months. All of it overwhelmed him so that it made him want to scream, and scream he did. Cesaro let out a loud, avian scream and emitted a massive pulse of electromagnetic energy that shifted all the land beneath him and instantly charred all the trees surrounding him. The release seemingly drained the energy that he had left, causing him to faint and fall to the ground, the fiery veins still vibrantly lining his then darkened skin. It was then that a bright light shined down from the sky upon his unconscious body and from the light descended what appeared to be a humanoid figure. It was a petite woman with pale skin, icy blue eyes and shimmering blonde hair, soft yet maternal features, and white and lavender garbs made with an elegance as foreign as the surface of the moon. She averted her gaze down to Cesaro, knelt near him, and placed her hand on his forehead. In a matter of seconds, the burning lines on Cesaro's skin faded and his color returned to its natural olive hue. The woman moved her hand away from his head and wrapped him in a warm embrace. Then, in an ethereal tone, she spoke to him.
"I am here, Claudio." She said to him. "I am here." She then looked over to Trevor's body and walked over to it. A sad expression filled her face as she examined him.
"Poor boy." She said as she knelt. "A cruel fate, given to you for blindly caring for another." The woman then stood to her feet and looked around at the charred trees and grass. It was then that she noticed that Cesaro's energy filled the air around her. She reached out her hand and she could almost physically feel it. It was an energy that gave her a strong sensation of pain and grief, of loss and fear. She looked back to a still unconscious Cesaro.
"I see." The woman then walked over to him and knelt. "They have brought to you great pain and suffering. They do not deserve you, my son. May this pain, this torment… never be yours again. I will protect you from them." She placed her hand on his chest and her eyes began to glow a vibrant crimson hue. That moment, Cesaro's body emitted his signature golden light and energy began to swirl around him in a growing energy field. The field began to fill with ribbons of gold and red until the field let out a massive pulse of energy and a roaring sound. Soon, the sky above the trio brightened and the land beneath them slowly gave way to beautiful blue water. Then, beaches began to form amongst the water out of the golden-crimson energies and then picturesque mountains. The trio were then lifted in the air and a beautiful home began to form around them, piece by piece, until they were encased in a large room. Furniture began to form in the room complete with a dresser, various pictures, and a bed that was fitted around Cesaro's body. The energy Cesaro emitted from his body began to dissipate as the home became complete, and the woman slowly withdrew her hand. With her hand came some of the essence of Cesaro's energy. She closed her fist and then made her way into a room next to where Cesaro was laying. In the bed was Trevor's body, carefully tucked under the covers. The woman walked over to his side.
"Where fate was not kind to you, child…" She said as she placed her hand over Trevor's forehead. "…I will be." The energy the woman held in her hand flowed over Trevor's body and disappeared. The man then proceeded to take a deep breath and slowly open his eyes to see the woman's warm smile.
"I…" He started weakly. "Where… am I? Who are you?"
"My name is Diana." The woman known as Diana told him. "This is our home."
"Huh? 'Our' home?" Diana smiled once more.
"You were kind to my son in his time of need." She said. "I thank you for that, with this second chance at life." Diana then touched Trevor's temple and he inhaled sharply as his eyes shined crimson red. He then felt a feeling of peace flow over him and an almost overwhelming happiness fill his heart. Diana then carefully laid Trevor back down in the bed.
"Now." She said. "Worry not of your past life. Rest." Trevor instantly shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Diana then walked out of the room and out onto the massive deck of the home. She looked off into the crystal blue water and smiled.
"Welcome home, Claudio." Diana said aloud. "Welcome home."
