Big green eyes filled with tears and the lower lip trembled as the young blonde stared heartbroken at the man he'd considered to be an older brother for most of his life. Cocky brown eyes stared back unconcerned at the pain he'd caused the man he'd called brother. Arrogantly he smirked at the tears running down the other man's face. "You are such a child," Matt spat shaking his head at the disillusioned expression on Shannon's face. "Jeff Hardy you are NOT!" Matt turned and a pair of red angry eyes followed him out.

Mark Calloway stepped out from the shadows and moved with large quick steps to the heartbroken young man. "Shh Little One," Mark said and picked up the blonde. Immediately the young man curled his body into Mark's trembling with pain. "Why he do that?" He cried and Mark gently rocked the young man. "I dunno baby." Mark admitted. "I dunno."

Mark sat in his hotel room with the young blonde on his lap finally asleep after his traumatic evening. When his cell phone rang Mark didn't even bother to look to see who it was before answering, "hey little brother." On the other end he heard a deep growl prefacing the quietly spoken words, "What's wrong?"

Mark grunted looking down at the young man's tear streaked face. "That fool Hardy Boy burned his last bridge tonight." The man on the other end hissed and Mark didn't have to be there to see the fireball forming above his little brother's gloved hand. "Easy now boy," Mark soothed stroking the pretty blonde hair. "Ain't no need ta be burnin' the hotel down."

Mark heard his brother hissing with anger and shook his head. "Come on now boy… settle down." He heard the deep breath inhaled and sighed with relief. "I say that if little Matty wants to play with fire then we introduce him to someone that can really light up his life!" Mark heard the grunt of satisfaction on the other end. "Bring him to me!" Mark just smiled in the darkness as the lights mysteriously went out by themselves.

The Next Night

Matt woke up to hear a deep demonic chuckle coming from the darkness surrounding him. He turned his head and blinked trying to clear his vision so that he might see his environment, but was unsuccessful. "Would sight comfort you my child?" He heard a deep soft voice ask.

Matt did not answer immediately trying to place the voice but when no identity came to him he nodded his head answering softly. "Ye… yes please." He sensed movement around him and felt flesh and something prickly touching his ear. Instinctively he tried to turn his head, but felt a large gloved hand clamp down painfully on to his jaw restricting any movements. "Then you will be denied your sight, boy, for I am not here to comfort you and this is not about YOUR pleasure!" Matt shivered and heard a twin pair of giggles emerge from the darkness that the chuckle was hiding in.

"The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!
The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!
We don't need no water
Let the Matty fucker burn!"


The flesh at his ears chuckled darkly again making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. For the first time since he'd awakened he began to struggle making the being next to him laugh louder, pricking his temper. "LET ME GO!" Matt hollered, but the giggling only got louder although the person, whomever he was, did move away.

"Well now there is that famous Hardy temper that we have been waiting for." Matt growled loudly earning him the first cuff to the back of his head. It was then that he realized there was yet another person near him. Matt's jaw clenched as he struggled to hold in the temper that was giving them such pleasure. "Oh come on now boy, no sense in holdin' back now. I can assure ya that we're gonna enjoy ourselves no matter if you show that temper or not. "

That statement spoken from the familiar voice somewhere now in front of him in the darkness, made him still. How had this person known what he'd been thinking? Shaking his head Matt called himself a fool for surely it was just a matter of coincidence. "Well got one thing right boy. You are a fool, but there ain't no coincidence that I knew what ya were thinkin'." The unknown fourth man spoke finally whispering in his ear as the other one had before him. "He can read your mind you brainless wonder." Again Matt froze recognizing the voice instantly. "Glenn?"

Matt felt the hand pat the back of his head hard and at the same time felt a hand grip his chin again then suddenly realized who the other man was. "Oh fuck, Mark."

"You should be careful who you mess with, boy," Mark tisked. "Cause ya never know who someone is gonna turn out ta be. The truth of the matter is that we are much more like Kane and Undertaker than we ever have been Glenn and Mark."

"If you two are Ma… I mean Undertaker and Kane then that means that the giggles are from…" Matt trailed off not wanting to finish his realization. Again the Undertaker chuckled and removed the blindfold anticipating eagerly the pain that the unveiling was going to be. Matt tried to keep his eyes closed so that he couldn't see the truth in the flesh, but Kane forced his eyes open to reveal two naked sprites dancing in a circle holding hands in the moonlight.

The blazing torches surrounding the clearing they were in clearly revealed their identity, but Matt knew that he would have known their identity even in complete darkness. The two sprites, one golden haired and the other newly dyed red and jet black, were giggling and Matt could tell that they were happier than they had been in many years. He wanted to believe that it wasn't his impending death that was making them so happy, but their antics and sung rhyme made it impossible.

"Ring around the Rosie
Pockets full of Posies
Ashes, ashes The fucker's gonna burn!"


Undertaker grinned at the pained expression on Matt's face, cheered at the unhappiness in the pup. Taker had lived long enough to recognize when an early death was an inevitable ending and in Matt's case that was most certainly his destiny. Taker wasn't sure how the eldest Hardy had managed to live this long, but was pretty sure that his bright eyed baby brother's… talents had something to do with it. Taker knew that the baby Hardy had spent more time on his back than the young 'uns conscious was comfortable with. He had made it his mission to see to it that those days were long gone.

Matt couldn't believe that after everything he had dome for Jeff and Shannon over the years that they could do this to him. Jeff had always been daddy's favorite and Shannon like another youngest son. Both had been deemed wonderful angels by daddy dearest. If he could only see them now, surely he would be the one deemed angelic.

"What makes you think that he don't know about their dark tendencies and loves them more anyway?" The Undertaker asked softly. "What makes you think anything could make you angelic in his eyes? Don'tcha know that you are unlovable, boy?" In the back of Matt's head he told himself that the words were only said to cause pain, but the evil laughter made it hard to believe himself.

Taker could feel the spirit dying in the dark Hardy brother and grunted with self satisfaction. Nodding at Glenn he watched as his younger brother gathered the bag with the cans of charcoal fluid and divided them equally between Jeff and Shannon.

Matt watched helplessly and with disbelief as they danced around him covering him in the fluid. He and Jeff had always had a love/hate relationship with the moments of hatred usually much stronger than their moments of love. He was sure that Jeff had often dreamed of and plotted his big brother's death. The fact that it was now happening and he would get to be directly involved in it must be like a dream come true for him. Shannon though…

Shannon was everything Jeff wasn't. Shannon was sweetness to Jeff's caustic bitterness, naturally happy to Jeff's natural sullenness. Shannon was an empty headed little social butterfly where as Jeff was a smartassed hermit who would be happy if he never had to leave his imagi-nation again. Shannon was the most easily manipulated person on the face of the earth, whereas Jeff could only be manipulated if it fit into some psychotic plan that made sense to Jeff and Jeff alone. Shannon was really the original Mattitude Follower where as Jeff was the original Mattitude Hater. "Shannon, how could you do this to me?"

Bright green eyes connected with brown ones and the golden haired sprite paused his antics to study the man bound to the wooden pole. Matt watched as Shannon frowned letting his head fall to one side as his eyes flittered from one friend to the other before returning to Matt. "You was mean ta Shanny."

Matt opened his mouth to protest, to defend himself, but found speech impossible and knew that he didn't have to look any farther than to the Undertaker for the reason. "You always mean ta Shanny." With difficulty Matt drew his eyes from Taker placing them back on Shannon, confused. "All Shanny ever did was love ya an' all ya ever done in return was ta be mean ta him!" Shaking his head Matt felt the grip on his throat release and protesting said, "I was only tryin' ta make ya tougher!"

Shannon wrinkled his nose and shook his head before responding. "What the Shanny got ta be tough for? The Shanny is as The Shanny is 'posed ta be!" Nodding his head and putting his hands on his hips, Shannon stomped his foot as if sealing his point. "You burned The Shanny's las' bridge! Kane, will ya make him go 'way now?"

Matt shook his head screaming in protest, pleading his case, even going so far as to try and implore upon Jeff's sense of brotherhood, but it did no good. In the end Shannon danced away to join Jeff at Taker's side as Kane stepped forward. His mask missing, revealing his burned and scarred flesh, but it was the red glowing eyes that frightened Matt the most. There was no humanity there, no remorse, no pleasure, no nothing - only a red blazing fire that Matt knew sealed his fate.

Closing his eyes Matt refused to look at the fireballs hovering over Kane's hands. As if detached from himself, he heard someone screaming, but didn't really recognize it as him. In his final moments, he wondered if he had done wrong, if maybe he should have done better by the little boy that looked up at him with adoring green eyes. It was his answer to his own questions that doomed him to everlasting damnation. "Mattitude is always the path to righteousness."

Later Mark smiled as Shannon's singsong voice spoke up brightening the darkness. "Kaaaaaaaaaaaaneeeeeeeeeeeeeey, I gots your marshmallow done!" Kane smiled and kissed the top of Shannon's head then held out the graham crackers and chocolate awaiting his final marshmallow touch. Somehow making s'mores in the flames of Matt's burning corpse seemed to be a fitting ending to the Hardy Boy's life.

"Taker?" Jeff called softly and the big man sighed. He could feel the remorse in his little one's soul and longed to end his pain. Stepping forward he wrapped his big arms around his love's body feeling him trembling. "Yes love?" Jeff turned in Taker's arms lifting his eyes upward. "Did he feel bad? Did he regret any of it?" Taker studied Jeff before answering. "No my child. His final thought was only of himself." Jeff nodded and hung his head silent for a few moments before sniffling and looking up again. "Make it go 'way."

Taker nodded and pulled Jeff further into his arms. Kissing the top of his head before chanting some magical words which would steal the pain caused by Matt's death. When Jeff looked back up the happy sprite was back and Taker chuckled happy. "Wanna s'more?" Jeff asked brightly. Taker nodded before answering, "I would love some," then watched Jeff skip off to join Shannon.

Kane moved to stand by his brother and the two watched over the giggling boys. "Righteous path indeed," Taker snarled and Kane nodded smiling, "indeed."

The End!

Version #6 A Trip to the Great Outdoors