(A/N: Here we are again after so long! Now, before we continue on, I'm gonna go ahead and address the elephant in the room: as y'all remember, my guy in this story is currently in a feud with Bray Wyatt; who sadly is no longer with us in real life. Now, this rivalry is a crucial part of the story that can't be changed or skipped over. So, I'm going to continue with it, but I'm going to try and make this as respectful as possible. This'll be my tribute to Wyatt in a way.
Now, if any of you are uncomfortable with this, I understand. This chapter and the next will be part of my tribute while moving the plot forward.

P.S. Since it's been so long, I've decided to give you guys a LONG update. I hope it turns out well and that everyone enjoys. Thank you.)

Within the next couple of weeks, the rivalry between Daniel Dalton and The Fiend had only gotten even crazier. First, Daniel had a six-man tag match with Jeff and Ricochet against The Miz, John Morrison, and Sheamus. While the referee was out, the lights went off for a moment and were soon replaced by red ones, revealing The Fiend himself. This led to a brawl between him and Dalton that spilled into the crowd, leading to a three on two situation, thus costing his team the match.

So this week on Raw, Daniel went out to the ring to call out The Fiend.

He stands in the middle of the ring, the usual crowd energy surrounding him. He has his gear, paint, and jacket on with a microphone in his hand, looking all business.

"So last week, The Fiend finally decided to take the first shot at me instead of hiding behind his usual creepy, ominous BS. So clearly, I've done something to upset him now; which, as crazy as it sounds, I'm actually happy about; because now he's starting to realize that I don't back down from ANYBODY! Most importantly, maybe he realizes how ticked off I might be right now! And pretty soon, Bray, you're gonna realize that I am NOT the guy to pick a fight with! I am NOT the guy to piss off! And I'm sure as hell not the guy to start a war with!"

The audience cheers with the intensity and determination Daniel carries. However, before he can continue, the sound of the Firefly Funhouse's theme cuts through the arena, interrupting Dalton's moment with the fans. Everyone's attention turns to the big screen as the logo pops up before being replaced by the disturbingly happy Bray Wyatt. Plus, as usual, Little Miss Bliss stands right next to him with her own energy to match his.

"Hey, Dan!" He calls out.

"Hi!" Alexa follows, both waving at the Archangel.

"Good to see you again, buddy! Sorry about last week. We know things got a little heated between you and The Fiend, but we're not here to hurt you, Dan, we're here to help you. After all, we just want to be your friend, for you to come and be a part of the Funhouse family!"

The usual silly reactions follow before Bliss chimes in.

"Take it from me, Dan, I know it's hard at first; but once you become more accepting of things, start opening your mind more and just..... let him in... things will start to look brighter than ever for you!"

She smiles in an eerily adorable way that manages to both send a chill down his spine and entice him.

Does Daniel have a problem? Most likely....

"So, what do you say, Dan?" Bray continues. "Can't we all just get along? Let's not waste time on all of this meaningless fighting with each other and start seeing a whole new light through unity."

He displays a half-grin, almost laughing with disbelief.

"Bray, let's make something clear: I did not start this fight, you did! Spin it however way you want; blame it on your darker half if you may, but this whole thing started by YOUR doing! You lit the match, you made the first move, and now you say you wanna be friends?! I'll tell you what, why don't you bring yourself down here, no matter which version that is, and we'll settle this in some friendly competition?"

The WWE Universe cheers as Bray grows excitingly intrigued. He happily scoffs before briefly covering his mouth.

"Me... in a match tonight?!" He glances at Alexa, who happily claps with her own level of excitement before they both turn their attention back to the camera. "Well, how could I say no to that?! You just wait right there, Dan, and we'll have some fun!"

Bray and Alexa all-too-happily make their exit from the Firefly Funhouse as Daniel shakes his head with weirded out eyes. He returns the microphone to ringside before removing his jacket. In the meantime, a referee makes his way down the ring, signaling that this will indeed be an official match. He checks with Daniel to ensure he's good with this decision and the Archangel nods.

A minute later, the Firefly Funhouse's theme returns to echo through the arena, followed by Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss stepping out in person for this impromptu match for tonight. The duo is all smiles, perhaps even a little too giddy, as they start waving at the local crowd, who return their welcoming gestures with kind cheers for the iconic pair. They start to make their way down the ring like two happy children going to school, never changing their somewhat disturbing and offbeat behavior.

The two reach the end of the walkway and are about to enter the ring, but Dalton launches himself over the ropes and takes down Wyatt on the outside! Perhaps, a wise strategy to catch the highly unorthodox and unpredictable Wyatt off guard for an early advantage. Dalton stays on the attack while Bliss looks startled, catching Bray with several knee strikes before forcing him into the ring. Daniel hops up the apron while Wyatt staggers to his feet. Once up, Wyatt is taken back down by a springboard meteora. He rolls onto his knees before getting caught by a basement superkick.

The referee now attempts to maintain some order while Bray staggers back into a corner. As soon as he gets to his feet, the ref calls for the bell, signaling the official start for this match. Daniel wastes no time in advancing on Wyatt, not giving him any breathing time with a stinger splash. He uses the momentum from bouncing off to roll back to his feet and connect with a running knee to the jaw. He then proceeds with his usual combo of landing a running bulldog, coming off the ropes for rolling thunder, and then a springboard moonsault into the cover.

"One... two..."

Bray kicks out, but Daniel is in control, staying on him with ground and pound tactics.

Wyatt covers up before shoving Dalton off, managing to roll back to the corner. Staying quick as always, Daniel charges to the ropes and returns to Wyatt with an Archangel's Arrow. The Eater of World's goes down as Dalton heads up to the top, looking to end this quickly with the Angel Splash. Daniel rises with his wings motion with Wyatt motionless on the mat, bringing about the end to this match.

Wait, Bray suddenly lifts himself up with his possessed-like crab stance, smiling up at the Archangel, who just looks down with utter shock, frozen on the top turnbuckle. The audience vocalizes their horrified reaction as Bray keeps that sick grin, looking unfazed by any of the offense Dalton has displayed. Not knowing what else to do, Daniel proceeds with the Angel Splash but is forced to land feet first and roll through as Wyatt rolls to evade. Daniel turns back to rush at Wyatt, but Bray has rolled back into his unholy position, now looking directly at him in a way that forces a stop. The Archangel is somehow trapped in a twisted staredown, like how a fly gets trapped in a spider's web. A paralyzing effect has ensued with Bray drawing closer with his infamous spider walk. Daniel is frozen in his tracks, neither backing away nor making a move to stop his disturbed crawling.

However, once he is close enough, Daniel jumps into a double stomp, which Bray easily rolls to avoid before jumping to his feet and catching Dalton with his arm. He's looking for Sister Abigail! Perhaps this won't end the way everyone thought it would; but just as Wyatt is about to connect with his finishing blow, Dalton shifts his body to where he somehow catches Bray and takes him down with a crucifix pin!

"One... two... thr-"

Wyatt kicks out!

Both men rush back up before Wyatt rushes back at him, but Daniel stops him with a Heaven's Light! Bray is stunned as the match is back in Daniel's favor. There is hope yet as the crowd becomes hyped. Daniel bounces back from the ropes, gets the wheelbarrow, and nails the Faith-Breaker!

Bray is down! Victory is within Daniel's grasp!

"ONE... TWO... THR-"

*Blackout!*

Everyone becomes stunned as the lights go out, anxiously wondering what is happening and what will happen next. A solid, frightening moment goes by with nothing happening, the fans remaining on the edge of their seats.

Then, some dim flashing lights begin emitting around the arena, barely hinting but never revealing what is happening in the ring, with that familiar horrendous sound effect screeching through the building.

Finally, the noises and flashing stop, but dim red lights illuminate the ring, revealing Bray's worser half, The Fiend, on his feet while staring a hole into the soul of Daniel Dalton. Everyone becomes shocked and frightened by the sudden transformation, none more than the Archangel himself.

Unfortunately, before he can fully comprehend what is happening, a tight mandible claw is locked in, choking the very life out the Archangel. Dalton tries to fight out of it, but it's no use. The Fiend has his victim right where he wants him, inflicting pain and suffering in such a way only he knows how. The young superstar grows weak, fading further away with each second. As soon as enough life has been drained from the highflyer, even forcing him to the mat, Bray lifts him back up with his arm around his neck and connects with Sister Abigail!

Then, just like a hungry animal approaching its wounded, helpless prey, The Fiend crawls to Daniel's unconscious body, placing nothing but a hand over his chest for the only cover he has made the entire match.

"One... two... three!"

The audience is stunned from witnessing how quick, how little to no effort it took for Wyatt to keep the resilient angel down. The Fiend's music plays as he rises to his feet, the ref too scared to even reach for his hand to raise as the victor. Alexa joins him while staring at Dalton with a sadistic, murderous grin. She does the honors herself of raising Wyatt's hand while they both continue to stare down at Dalton, who just lies motionless with some blood pouring from his mouth.

If nobody knew any better, it would seem that Daniel Dalton really has been murdered before the world's eyes on global television.

Unfortunately, it's not ending there as Bray looks to continue his torturous torment and ensure this angel would never rise again.
Thankfully, Jeff Hardy rushes out to stop The Fiend before anymore harm is caused. Both heels retreat as Hardy safeguards his old friend. The evil duo continues to stare down the veteran wrestler and the wounded warrior lying beneath him on the mat. They take great pride in their work on this night and have proved their advantage in this battle against the Archangel.

This first battle was theirs, and the war seemed impossible for their opponent.

X

The next week on Raw, The Fiend has another scheduled match, this one being against none other than Jeff Hardy. After what went down last week, Jeff approached Adam Pearce and demanded a shot at redemption for his buddy, which the General Manager obliged.

The Charismatic Enigma makes his entrance as the audience welcomes the timeless fan favorite. With his usual dance and pyro, the crowd becomes more ruckus, welcoming the veteran daredevil as he runs down the ramp, high fiving the fans as he makes his way into the ring. He slides in and jumps up the corner for his classic poses, the majority of the fans mimicking his gestures. The energy in the building never stops while the United States Champion hops down and removes his belt, handing it to a ringside official and awaiting his opponent.

Then, the music is cut off and the lights begin shutting down one by one. Once the arena is dark, the words LET ME IN rise on the titantron, smoke emits from the stage, and that all too familiar beat that sends an eerie chill through the air begins to sound and creep up the spines of everyone in attendance. Finally, from the smoke emerges The Fiend, the infamous lantern in his hand, along with his friend by his side, the dark goddess herself, Alexa Bliss. Their presence, as always, is both captivating and horrifying, managing to entice the audience while presenting a living nightmare all at once.

Along with the beat of the song, step by step, they slowly but surely make their way to the ring. Alexa is all smiles and disturbed glee while Bray keeps his eyes directly on Hardy. With each passing second, his presence and aura become more effective, striking fear into the hearts of many, including the fearless individual standing in the ring. Like a true predator, he never takes his eyes off of his prey while approaching the squared circle. Once there, he places the lantern with the disturbing replica of Bray's face over it on the apron. Alexa struts around the ring, eyes on Jeff Hardy as well, while Wyatt walks up the steps before doing his usual poses for the crowd.

The Fiend has risen and is ready for murderous intent.

However, as soon as he enters the ring, Jeff Hardy flies at him with a forearm smash that sends him into the corner, not even giving him time to remove his jacket. The ref immediately rings the bell to start the match while Hardy tees off on The Fiend. His punches don't seem to have much effect as Wyatt just shoves him back. Hardy doesn't relent, though, throwing his foot up, only for it to get caught before twirling into his inverted kick, sending Bray into the corner. Jeff quickly rolls to his feet and Bray tries to meet him with a clothesline. Hardy ducks and runs to the corner. By the time Bray turns around....

Whisper in the wind!

Jeff makes the cover, but he only receives a one count....

If that isn't disheartening enough, once Hardy rolls off, The Fiend rises into his spider stance again, causing Jeff to jump back. Both men quickly get to their feet, but it's Wyatt who beats him to the punch with a hard clothesline. He capitalizes with a running senton that almost crushes Jeff, a painful cry surging from the wrestling veteran.

The Fiend doesn't go for the cover, though. Instead, he grabs Hardy by the hair, moving him back to the corner, and repeatedly smashes his head into the middle turnbuckle. The referee has to physically pull Bray off but practically jumps away when The Fiend becomes threatening towards him. Jeff, meanwhile, is dazed as he rolls into a sit in the corner. Wyatt returns to him and begins choking him in the corner. Alexa laughs ever so evily as Bray stares directly into the camera by the corner. It is only until the ref nears a five count that Bray releases the grin, Jeff gasping and coughing as he desperately climbs up to his feet. Bray wanders to the opposite corner while finally removing his jacket and tossing it aside. He then turns as Hardy reaches his feet, charging like a boulder with a corner clothesline. Hardy returns to a seated position while Bray runs back, bouncing himself off the corner and running back with a hip to the face. It doesn't end there as Bray grabs Jeff's hand to pull him up to his feet before planting him back down with a uranage slam. The Fiend spreads out his arms as he takes in the crowd's energy, turning to face the hard cam as it zooms in.

"YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!!!!"

The crowd reacts before he returns focus to Hardy, who is writhing in pain on the mat while hoping to regain his stance. The Fiend pulls down his leather glove before raising his hand, likely readying for a mandible claw. Hardy slowly begins reaching his feet, pushing through the immense pain he has already suffered in the few short minutes of this match. He makes it to his feet, barely keeping his balance, before turning back towards Bray, where he's met by the mandible- No, wait! He kicks him in the gut and gets an arm around his head. He's looking for the Twist of Fate; but no, Wyatt turns through the twist and catches him with his for Sister Abi- No, Jeff reverses now and catches a roll-up!

"One... two-"

Wyatt kicks out! He wastes no time in reaching his feet and advancing back on Jeff, but he's caught by an inverted atomic drop, followed by a double-leg takedown. Hardy capitalizes with his signature double leg-drop before rolling back for a basement dropkick to the face. However, Bray sits back up Undertaker style, appearing unfazed by Jeff's offense. Hardy stays on him, flying into a basement clothesline before laying down grounded punches.

Wyatt suddenly reaches up and locks in a mandible claw! Jeff tries to pull away, but Bray follows him up while keeping his hold locked in. He tightens his grip and Hardy is already losing balance. He starts to fade, but he then kicks Bray in the gut, relinquishing the hold and nails the Twist of Fate Stunner! Wyatt is stunned, but he's not going down! Jeff hits a second Twist of Fate, the original version this time. Wyatt immediately crawls back up, but not as quick as usual. Finally, Jeff grabs his head, turns him over, and nails an inverted Twist of Fate! Wyatt is down and he's not getting back up.

Hardy has a chance!

He rolls under the ropes, pulls off his shirt before tossing it to a fan, then quickly climbs up the top turnbuckle, doing his signature gun gesture, and.....

SWANTON BOMB!!!

This is it! He's got him!

"One... two... thr-"

What?! Wyatt kicks out! Jeff Hardy's best move that has put so many opponents down has failed against The Fiend. He is not human!

Jeff and the audience are stunned, unable to believe Bray kicked out. Alexa just continues to watch from the outside, laughing with evil mischief. Being the veteran that he is, however, he knows he can't let frustration get the best of him. He rolls to his feet and readies for another Twist of Fate as Bray is already reaching his own. The Fiend turns, Jeff gets the kick, the twist, but Bray locks in another mandible claw right as Hardy does the twist! He slips his head out of Jeff's arms while keeping the hold locked in, increasing the pressure. Hardy is growing weak, fading further by the millisecond. Until finally, Bray wraps his arm around his head, plants the kiss, and Sister Abigail connects!

Bray simply crawls back to make the cover on Hardy.

"One... two... three!"

Another shocking yet dominant victory by The Fiend.

He stands tall in the center of the ring, the referee once again too scared to even attempt raising his hand. Alexa joins his side in the ring as both prove once again that they rule the WWE. The referee moves to check on Jeff, who's barely moving a muscle after the devastating hit. Both entities just continue to stare off into the crowd as they sulk in their proven, unstoppable dominance.

*LIGHTS OUT!*

Everything goes dark all of a sudden. Is this another trick by The Fiend? Or is this something else?

The audience remains confused for a moment before those dim red lights return. However, there's another shining light that has everyone intrigued. The Fiend and Alexa glance over their shoulders to see a white light shining down on one of the corners; and at the top of that corner stands a figure covered by a white hooded cloak. It's like a messenger from heaven has suddenly descended upon them. Bray and Alexa stare at this figure with confused silence for a moment, although everyone has a good idea of who this is.

Then, the figure suddenly dove down with a crossbody, taking down The Fiend. The lights all return to normal as the hood comes off, revealing Daniel Dalton himself! He hasn't been heard from anywhere since the loss last week, but he's back and more furious than ever! He catches Bray with a Heaven's Light once again before charging off the ropes and sending The Fiend to the outside with a Faith-Breaker!

The crowd has come alive with the Archangel as he dares The Fiend to return inside. He stares at Dalton with fury from the outside as Alexa moves between them while against the ropes. She looks shocked, some may even say somewhat astonished, by the sudden return and attack of the man they thought was done for after last week. Daniel just shoots them a look that says, "You have not defeated me yet! I'm still standing here!"

They seem to get the message as Miss Bliss moves outside with her friend, getting him to retreat for now and fight another day. Daniel keeps a close eye on them as he kneels by Jeff, checking on him with the ref.

The question that remains is what is next for this battle between Heaven and Hell?

That question looks to be answered the following week on Raw.

Alexa had announced that she would be at her playground tonight and extended an invitation for a second play date to Daniel. Like last time, she promised assuringly that it would just be the two of them, that she only wanted to talk.

Now, Alexa is sitting on the swing set of her playground in the ring as the show comes back from an ad break.

"Hello, everyone! And welcome back to Alexa's Playground!" She announces with the mic headset. "We had so much fun the last time we did this that I just had to do this again with my new friend. So everyone, please welcome back to the Playground, the Archangel, Daniel Dalton!!!"

The audience cheers as Awake and Alive plays out with the honorable guest himself arriving. Even though it isn't needed, he went ahead and did his usual pyro motion for the crowd. He gets the usual loud pop before making his way down the ring, receiving welcomes from the front row fans. Alexa looks down the ramp with all smiles as Dalton climbs the steps and enters the ring. He locks eyes with her and becomes more serious and prepared for anything. Alexa never loses that adorable look of admiration as she studies his stance. Despite being on opposite ends, there is a strong sense of mutual respect and admiration between the two. It's almost as if they have their own level of understanding with each other. Daniel takes a seat opposite to the swing set Alexa is sitting at. He takes a microphone out from his jacket pocket as his music fades and the two settle in their presence.

"Welcome back to my playground, Daniel," she politely greets. "We're so glad you could join us again."

"How could I say no?" He half jokingly asked. "Besides, what better way to settle this than face to face?"

"You're too sweet," she cutely giggles; "but you know, you can't say I didn't warn you.... I mean, I know you're the Archangel and everything, but I tried to warn you how unprepared you were, which my friend did prove to you in the worst way; and don't think what happened last week earned you any points against him."

Daniel leans back in his seat a little with a slight grimace, unable to argue her point, nor could the audience. He sighs as he raises the mic up.

"Yea, it's true. My previous battle with The Fiend was worlds apart from what I had expected; but just because I failed the first time, it doesn't mean I can't beat him. I know I can; and regardless of how impossible it may seem, I won't give up until I find a way."

The fans applaud that statement, admiring his courage in the face of certain doom. Alexa, on the other hand, just looks sad for him.

"Oh Danny, I admire your bravery, but this would all be so much easier if you just... let him in. I know it's scary at first, trust me, but it all works out perfectly in the end. He helped me to reach my full potential, a potential I never thought possible. Besides, haven't you been through enough already? All we want is to help you and to make sure you never have to go through the pain and suffering you went through.... last time you were here."

The audience can feel the weight of that last comment that refers to that dark time in Daniel's life. The Archangel himself even faces down at the mat, thinking back to that low point in his career and personal life. The expression on his face says it all for the WWE Universe.

"You faced your demons then, but you failed," Alexa continues. "If you continue to resist now, you'll crumble much harder and much worse than you did before. You will never be able to recover from this. So why continue to persist? When with us, you'll never have to deal with that ever again?"

Daniel remains silent for a moment, lost in his thoughts as he takes in the words spoken by Alexa. After an intensely silent moment of anxious waiting, Daniel slowly raises the mic back up, never moving or looking up from the mat.

"You know, it seems like ever since I came back here, that question of whether or not history will repeat itself has followed me around just like a demon...... and now, that demon has taken its physical embodiment in the form of The Fiend.... and I'll be the first to admit, that does scare me, it scares me a lot; but regardless, that is exactly why I persist." He now faces back up to return eye contact. "That is exactly why I must defeat him because I REFUSE to go through that ever again! I REFUSE to let my demons get the better of me; and no matter what the odds are, no matter how many times I fail, no matter how many times I hafta try, I will fight and fight and fight and fight and fight until the day I am able to stand up and say I. MADE IT. THROUGH!!!"

The WWE Universe can feel his energy and cheer loudly at the courageous speech he just made. Alexa's expression, on the other hand, becomes unreadable, neither sadistic nor angry. She appears more taken aback with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

"Because Lex, I'm not doing this just for me, this is for every person out there that has ever had to go through what I have gone through; and believe it or not, Lex, I'm doing this for you too."

The fans grow shocked by that revelation while Alexa remains the same, if not somewhat questioning.

"When I left WWE to figure things out, one thing that helped me through so much of that was this..." he points to the giant screen, which reveals the social media post Alexa first made for him all those years ago, showing her support and her own experience in order to keep Dalton's spirits up.

The audience shows their approval and gives Bliss her props for the kind thing she did for him.

"That helped me in more ways than you can even imagine. Then, just last year, you went through a similar ordeal. You say The Fiend helped you realize your full potential at that time? He took advantage of you when you felt alone, hurt, and betrayed; and Lex, I am so sorry that I wasn't there to return what you did for me, but I am here now and I am NOT backing down until this is over! So you can tell your friend that I will not surrender, I will not give in, and I won't ever be conquered again! I. Will Be. The Conquerer! You tell him that the next time we meet, I will overcome my demon inside HIS playground, HIS home world..... HELL IN A CELL!!!"

The fans erupt from their seats as Alexa seems conflicted on how to react. On one hand, she looks like she could smirk from what Daniel just got himself into. On the other hand, it also seems as if he has reached a part of her not seen in so long, a part that is captivated by his unwavering heart and determination.

However, the moment is cut off when the sound of things shutting down suddenly arises, which can only mean one thing. Little by little, the lights, the LED boards, and everything around them began shutting off. Then, before long, everything went dark. The buzzards all come out to grant what little light they can in the darkness of the large arena.

A minute later, the darkness is replaced by the ominous dim red lights, the silence replaced by the screeching sound effect straight from nightmares, and a third distinctive figure having joined the ring. Daniel is on his feet, showing no fear nor sign of backing down as he stares down with The Fiend. After a brief minute of an intense staredown, the noises stop with Wyatt bringing up one of his leather gloved hands. This particular one has the word PAIN on it, his way of officially accepting the challenge. Daniel nods as the crowd cheers in excitement, all knowing for a fact that this would be an all-out war.

The segment ends with all the lights shutting down and the show going to commercial. All roads are now leading to Hell in a Cell!

(A/N: Stick around for that match, which will be out soon. I'd also like to shout out to my lady for her assistance. I would not have been able to complete this without her. So don't forget to vote, take care and have a lovely day/night!)