The Undertaker's Brides

The curio stall was situated at the heart of a twisting maze of dark, garbage strewn alleys. Although the area seemed to be deserted, sounds muffled by the oily, yellow fog indicated that the rotting and dilapidated buildings were inhabited - drunken laughter, screams of agony within which were echoes of a perverted pleasure, someone pleading "Help me, help me", in a mechanical monotone.

At last the dreamer reached the inner courtyard and Mankind stepped out from behind the stall. He held an intricately patterned box of black and gold in his outstretched hand and there was a demonic light in his eyes.

"What is your pleasure?" he enquired conversationally.

The dreamer was tempted and reached out to take the box. As he did so a wall seemed to fold in on itself and a black robed figure was revealed waiting for him to take this final step.

The dreamer screamed in terror and fled back to the waking world and the alleys dissolved into an unformed greyness.

"Obviously not ready to experience the real thing," Mankind commented cheerfully to Jean as he dematerialised the stall and box. "That was a good illusion you projected there. It nearly scared ME!"

"I.." she began and then her face took on a worried expression. "Something's happening back at the Parlor... I sense darkness closing in on them. I've got to go."

"Call me if you need me," he said.

She smiled a grateful acknowledgement at him and teleported to Kiri's realm.

**********

She arrived to find everyone frozen into a tableau of shock amongst the wreckage. Kane was holding Kiri's body while Taker and the Brides looked on with grief and horror stamped on their faces.

Then Judy said "This is just a dream..it's not real. There's got to be something we can do."

"What happened?" Jean asked as she moved into their view. "Open your thoughts to me in turn and let me see."

Their relief at seeing her safely with them again was short lived due to the terrifying events they'd just experienced. Then, one by one, the Brides and Kane followed her instructions, some a little surprised that she had developed these telepathic powers but all accepting this as part of her ever growing strangeness.

Taker was the last to tell his side of the story, his revelations far deeper than any of the others. For all that he was genuinely stricken by the recent developments there was an underlying darkness to his thoughts - an anger and resentment towards her because she didn't find him fascinating and desirable. She recalled the last time he'd passed on information this way and finally knew that his sharing things that should have been kept private had not been entirely due to inexperience with this form of communication. Some part of him had intended her to see what she'd been missing so that she'd want him and stay in hope that one day he'd be hers.

She masked her own thoughts because this was hardly the time to reveal her far from high opinion of him. Then she went over to where Kane was still holding Kiri and touched her friend's face.

The others watched her as she stood there for a long moment, her expression far away. Finally she said

"She's experiencing a death within life. When she returns, something within her will be changed."

"You mean she's going to be different when she wakes up?" Kaliegh asked worriedly.

"Yes," Jean confirmed. "But I can't tell you in what way. It could be that she acquires a completely new outlook on life. Or the change might be so subtle that even she isn't aware of it for a while. I can't even say how long she'll be in this state so I suggest you all go to Taker's realm and guard her until I return."

"And where are YOU going?" Taker asked, sounding more than a little irritated that she was giving everyone instructions.

"To Bearer's realm so I can find out exactly what happened to her." she explained, refusing to let him see that she found him equally as irritating.

"But it's too dangerous," Kane protested.

"His realm is no more dangerous than anywhere else," she told him kindly because she knew he was genuinely concerned for her. "He's as much a part of this group as any of us and we are linked to him as we are to each other. He can find me wherever I am if he has a mind to."

"But you can't go alone," Cindy insisted.

Jean gave her a smile of reassurance. "I won't be alone," she said and teleported.

*********************

Jean mentally tuned into her surroundings and checked for any indications that Paul Bearer was somewhere in his house. The imprint of his presense was everywhere but even the most recent traces of this psychic scent were a few hours old.

"Uncle Paul's not here," Mankind announced, having done a similar check of his own.

They explored the house together, reading the echoes of thoughts and emotions its owner had left behind but it was a difficult task to find the relevent pieces of the puzzle and fit them together. It was also difficult to find their way around because the building's layout was forever changing with no logic to any of its configurations. They'd started off in the sitting room only to find themselves back in it at the other side of the house. When they'd returned to where the kitchen had been it was a third floor bedroom. They then went downstairs and ended up in an attic room full of dusty storage chests and a door from this led them to an empty garage. Some rooms were neat and tidy, others were deep in dust, their walls and furnishings stained with damp and mildew. At last they found the kitchen yet again only now it stank of rotting meat and crawled with maggots but this time the door to the pantry led into a cellar.

It was very dark down there but Jean didn't look for a lightswitch. It didn't seem wise to trust in a light source which was part of the house even if one existed so she created a powerful torch and Mankind did the same.

The psychic impressions were very strong in the cellar and she was able to pick up everything that had happened concerning Bearer's attack on Kiri and Kane's subsequent arrival. Interpreting Bearer's mental state was far more difficult, though, because he'd left a tangled mess of conflicting emotions behind. Eventually, however, she knew that he'd been lost in delusion for all that he'd believed he was in control and while he'd only been aware of hatred and a drive for revenge, his unconscious thoughts and feelings had been chaotic.

"Uncle Paul's as crazy as his house," Mankind commented.

Jean sighed. "That's how I'm reading it as well. And he's lost what little real awareness he'd gained too. When I last saw him he knew Kiri wasn't really his daughter but he went back to believing it again." She paused then added. "I sense that a small part of him didn't want to hurt her but it was blotted out by the darkness. He thought he'd chosen it because it gave him power but I don't think it was that at all."

"I've just seen another door," Mankind said. "It wasn't there a minute ago."

They crossed the cellar to the new doorway which led them to what had once been a boy's bedroom. The bed wasn't made up and the furniture was covered in dust as if the occupant had moved out leaving the most loved toys and books of his childhood days in place for sentimental reasons.

The imprint of Bearer's presence was still powerful here and Jean was able to fit the last piece of the puzzle into place. He'd made a genuine effort to change and, as this room had been created from memories given him of Kane's childhood, he'd come here in an attempt to tap into what little he knew of affection and kindness. The oldest imprint revealed how hopeful he'd been that Jean's message to Taker would be the means by which a reconciliation with Kane could be brought about. Then there was a newer scent which told of his disappointment that things were taking so long although he'd told himself that it might be due to Kane still being unaware and therefore difficult to persuade. And then, at last, he'd known that neither Taker nor his son was going to come and see him and he'd thought that feeling hatred and revenge again would wipe out the hurt of rejection.

A low keening noise caused her to turn round. Mankind was sitting crossed legged on the floor, rocking to and fro with his arms wrapped round himself. At the same time there was the sensation of something being ripped away from the deepest part of her mind.

"Here is a candle to light you to bed," Mankind intoned. "Here is a chopper to chop off your head. Chip, chop. Chip, chop. The last man's dead."

Everything dissolved into an unformed greyness and Mankind, now sitting on what appeared to be nothing, looked up at her with his head on one side.

"Uncle Paul's gone," he said sadly. "I couldn't find him. I tried but he knew how to hide his tracks. I only sensed where he was at the end and it was too late then." He stood up. "We've got to go to the Parlor."

*********************

Seconds later they were following Bearer's psychic trail through the burned and twisted wreckage. The impressions were too confused for Jean to learn where he'd been the past few hours but a saner part of him had surfaced enough for him to realise that his actions had cost him everything; he'd allowed the darkness to possess him again and it had led to his injuring Kiri and driving Kane even further away. Grief and despair had taken him to the Parlor in a vague and desperate hope that he could tell them he was sorry and finding it ruined and deserted had been more than he could cope with.

They found him lying in what remained of the sitting room. The images of his last moments revealed that he'd created a rope and a chair and hanged himself from a ceiling beam; these material props had ceased to exist once he'd achieved his objective and his body had crashed to the floor.

Jean was not entirely convinced by the scenario so checked Bearer's condition as she had with Kiri. Mankind saw her face take on an expression of mingled puzzlement and shock.

"He's never coming back," she said. "But I don't understand. How can one of your kind really die?"

"This is the Dreamworld," he reminded her. "Anything is possible if you want it badly enough."

"Even if the millions of people who created you still believe in your character?" she asked.

His eyes took on a certain far away look which told her he was sensing something elsewhere in the Dreamworld. "How many miles to Titan Town? Threescore miles and ten." he whispered. "Can I get there by candlelight? Yes, and back again."

She was more puzzled than ever by his reference to the realm where the unaware WWF characters carried out their bizarre and fued filled existence.

"There still has to be a Paul Bearer," Mankind said before appearing to flicker out of existence for a fraction of a second. She guessed, however, that he'd just been to Titan Town so wasn't at all surprised when he added "Everyone's created a new version. But he's just a dream image with so self awareness at all and he knows nothing of the Brides. Our own Uncle Paul really is dead. Look at him."

She did as instructed and saw that the body was already showing signs of decay. Even though she knew it would make no difference as far as he was concerned it still didn't seem right just leaving him to rot away on the floor so she created a casket around him and laid a wreath on its lid.

"I don't know if Kiri would want him buried in what's left of her graveyard," she said. "But I don't know where else we can put him."

*************

They finally solved the problem by creating a small realm in the Dreamworld for the purpose. There was a square of well manicured lawn surrounded by trees and the grave was headed by a plain memorial stone engraved with his name. It should have been a peaceful place and yet, for all their efforts to make it so, it still seemed lonely and abandoned.

"It's time you told the others," Mankind said as he covered the lawn with daisies in an attempt to make it look less formal. "I'll wait for you here."

When Jean had gone he sat beside the grave as Bearer's sole mourner. But then, he knew how difficult it was for his kind to free themselves from what others wanted them to be and not everyone made it.

***************

Jean found everyone crammed into Taker's casket room. Judy and Cindy were half heartedly discussing how his vaguely defined mansion could be transformed into somewhere habitable but so far they'd only created a few chairs and a bed for Kiri. She lay there, pale and unmoving, while Kane sat at the bedside holding her hand with Storm beside him. The other Brides, meanwhile, were watching Taker, obviously concerned by his sitting alone in a corner radiating an aura of ill tempered brooding.

Jean wondered what they saw in him. He was certainly very attractive to look at but the promise he'd shown at his first awakening had come to nothing because he was turning into a self centred lecher. He was nothing like how she'd imagined the Undertaker character would be but, irrespective of her feelings towards him, she was still linked to him no matter where she went. Her opinions were irrelevent right now, though, because she was here to make a report so she calmed her mind before making her presence known.

Everyone was very relieved to see her safely back, including Taker although he still seemed a little huffy that she'd gone in the first place.

"Something else happened while you were away," Kaliegh said. "It was like..like we lost something from deep within our minds. But we don't know what it meant."

"Paul Bearer's dead," Jean told her. "We all felt it because he was linked to us."

Storm shook her head in denial. "I don't believe it. He's trying to play some kind of trick on us to make us relax our defences."

"I don't believe it either," Taker insisted. "He's a dream creation and we CAN'T die." But there was an undertone of fear in his voice which suggested he was considering the possibility of being wrong.

"What evidence do you have?" Kane asked. "Can you show us?" He sounded calm and collected but there was a flatness to his tone as if he were trying to hide whatever emotions the news had evoked.

"I can share everything I felt and experienced," Jean said. "As you will see, I'm exploring the Dreamworld with a friend. He's fully aware so don't let his identity alarm you."

As she'd expected, everyone got distracted from receiving her information when she revealed who her friend actually was and, because her mind was open to them, she was able to pick up their reactions. The Brides' feelings were mixed; they'd tended to like the Mankind character while watching wrestling in the waking world but none of them would have wanted to seek out his Dreamworld counterpart even if they'd thought about it. Kane was astounded because his fictional memories were of a dangerous madman and he'd never considered whether or not Mankind might be capable of change. Taker was surprised too but she also detected anger and resentment again, this time because she preferred to be with someone else.

When their minds were settled again she shared everything she had experienced where Bearer's thoughts and emotions were concerned, sparing them nothing because it was important that they understood. The moment she'd finished she cut the telepathic link because she didn't want to be overwhelmed by so many people's reactions to her news.

Kane hunched forward in his chair and covered his face with his hands.

"It's my fault he's dead ," he said bleakly. "I should have gone to see him."

Storm put an arm round his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. "You mustn't think that. You weren't to know. None of us were to know."

"I didn't know because I was too afraid to find out," he retorted, his voice wracked with guilt.

He took a few gasping breaths as if he were fighting an overwhelming urge to cry before suddenly getting up and rushing from the room. Storm, who'd been knocked back heavily into her chair, looked shocked and worried by his blaming himself for Bearer's suicide. Then she too got up and hurried out after him.

"I should have gone to see him too," Taker said. "Maybe if I had, Kiri wouldn't be in the state she's in."

There was a half hearted protest from some of the Brides at his statement which suggested that, deep down, they knew he was right. He looked very uncomfortable at this as if he'd been hoping they'd tell him he wasn't responsible for anything that had happened.

There was a long, gloomy silence which was broken by Judy.

"We're all to blame in a way," she said. "We were too busy moping and distracting ourselves with poker games to wonder if Kiri was alright. If we'd sat down and discussed the situation we might have suggested that Taker and Kane went to see how Bearer was doing."

"I feel really awful," Kaliegh put in.

"Same here," said Cindy. "But what's done is done and we still need to get this place habitable."

Jean volunteered to give them a hand while Taker elected to stay with Kiri in case she woke up. She wondered if she, too, could have done more and went over the conversation she'd had with Taker after she'd left Kiri in Bearer's realm. Everything he'd said, including the interpretation of his vision, had indicated that he'd known this was an important development raising issues which had to be faced. But once she'd left on her travels again he'd just shelved the problem. Yes, she could have stayed and kept pushing him into doing something but she'd thought him capable of making his own decision on the matter even if he'd felt the need to call her back for advice or support. And Kiri, too, could have summoned her for help if she'd thought she needed it. Finally, Kane had chosen not to see his father for his own reasons so again there was nothing she could have done there other than nagging him in the hope he'd change his mind.

The other Brides' wanting to make a start on the interior decor didn't mean they were indifferent to Bearer's death; they all felt sorry for him but he'd been anything but a friend so they couldn't grieve for him. There was nothing they could do for Kiri either so it was pointless sitting around feeling miserable when they had their living accommodation to sort out. Between them they created a comfortable sitting room and bedrooms although the latter were only furnished with the bare essentials so their occupants could finish designing them according to personal taste. Last of all, they turned their attention to making a fully fitted kitchen because some of them enjoyed cooking even though they were all capable of conjouring meals up out of thin air.

When everything was done to their satisfaction they made coffee and sat round the table to talk because everyone wanted to know what Jean had been up to during her travels. She showed them Annwn because only Kaliegh had seen anything of it and then she took them on a mental tour of other realms; the Lord of the Hunt's caves, the Star Trek universe where she'd had a brief but happy romantic encounter with a very aware Data and Titan Town where she'd collected everyone's autograph just for the fun of it. She'd also hunted vampires with Buffy, fought an army with Xena and Gabrielle, had a fun affair with a not so aware Ioles, helped Santa's elves make toys for Christmas and had long conversations with Mulder and Scully about where the X-Files series might be heading.

"You've certainly been around," Cindy commented.

"And in more ways than one," Judy teased. Then she added in a more serious tone "I expect you'll be off again soon."

"Well, I should be going now," Jean told them. "Although time's relative between the realms, Mankind and I have a few..er..assignments and I'd like to get them out of the way.

"So what are you doing?" asked Kaliegh.

"We're acting as messengers for one of the Dark Lords," Jean replied, deliberately choosing to be vague. "You could say we're helping to sort out wannabe timewasters from the true seekers of..er..Hell I suppose." She smiled a grim little smile. "You could also say that the few who pass the test are the UNlucky ones."

Kaliegh shivered. "I certainly wouldn't want to meet THAT Dark Lord."

"He's OK if you're not into that kind of thing," Jean explained. "He's fully self aware and has a strict code of honour in his own strange way. He's also a friend of Lord Arawn and the Lady of Annwn - in fact she was the one who suggested I take these assignments so I could see something of the darker aspects of the Dreamworld."

"But why would anybody want to look for Hell?" Cindy wanted to know

. Jean shrugged. "You'd be surprised what some people desire. Anyway, I'll be back to see you all soon but you can call me any time if you need me."

And then she was gone.

Book Eighteen of The Undertaker's Brides

© 1998 by The Brides of Darkness

**This story cannot be used in any way without written permission