______The blood on my hands scares me to death...

A war between two enemies is damageable but it'd never be as destructive as a battle between two friends.

In the first both part are solely animated by hatred and revenge, each despising the other's existence with every ounce of their entity. In the latter both hearts are originally filled with love and respect and it eventually turned into deception and pride.

In the first a winner emerges from a sea of blood and guts. In the latter there is no winner because both parts lose something they cheerished their entire life : a pure and unique bond capable of living on forever.

Owens and Zayn kept on repeating they're "destined to fight forever" except that kind of competition can only push the two wrestlers closer and closer to their graves, neither willing to hold back any bit of frustration building up.

What is a forever of glory compared to a lifetime of regrets and sorrow ?

Unfortunately Sami nor Kevin are able to see pass through the moment they're living in, completely blinded by their stubborn ways and silly disagreement. Though their usual matches prove to be dangerous, the ones they have whilst being both done with the other outside the ring obviously are the most violent.

The desire to demonstrate that they're better than the one they shared a ring and an undying friendship with for more than a decade burns bright in their souls. The flammes manifest themselves in a mess of unbearable cries of pain and a river of blood dripping down their bodies. Both men reject the doctors' aid and nothing but vivid animosity is perceivable through their gazes as they keep yelling at the other : "it's time to put a final end to this."

But an end to what ?

An end to this madness, to their friendship or to their carreers caused by an endless battle finishing with two corpses placed beside one another, drowning in their own blood, tears and stupidity.

With the shadows seemingfully becoming his home, the Reaper itself grants the unfolding scene with the greatest attention, analysing the smallest movement unleashed and still trying to figure out if it'd result in something beneficial for him.

He ingeniously made the decision to sit not so far from the Devil's daughter, her mane the same colour as the fire endlessly igniting in Hell, in an attempt to gather some precious informations allowing him to wrap his mind around the blurry situation.

Thus far only nonsensical babbling escaping from a blonde's mouth made their path through his ears and only infuriated him, sparking up the will to knock her out in the second.

Rollins eventually grows tired of Emma's rambling and takes it upon himself to shut her down once and for all after she questioned Banks about why The Authority wasn't attacking the Canadians since it's a no disqualification match.

"Because they don't have to. Steen and Zayn are already destroying each other." Seth answers on a cold and haughty tone, still ashtonished about the fact Sasha would align herself with such a clueless character.

The poisoned daisy attempts to think about a comeback, probably pointing out the fact such things would be obvious to someone that spent years working with the despicable faction, but another voice prevents her from doing so.

Though Sasha had been both quiet and motionless through the entire show, she finally seems to have recovered some life.

"Something's off." The lethal beauty cautiously places her hand on her acolyte's thigh to signal her she needs to take a look towards the screen.

Indeed after Owens noticed the referee's slow count - which for once was actually deliberately delayed - and started spitting out all the french's insults he could think about, Zayn took advantage of this felony to roll up Kevin.

Much to everybody's surprise - each competitor included - the bell rings just when Sami's about to rush down on Owens, still not through with their battle. He needs to be pushed back by the officials who shout to his face that the match is over whilst the former champion exits the ring, a bewildered expression written all over his features.

The two rivals exchange a confused look and a subtle nod, expressing that they'd be ready to face yet one more intervention. Except the only thing that occurs is even more surprising to Zayn's point of view.

Shades of his first championship's run come crashing down into his heart as emotion is almost palpable when all of his former NXT's friends come down the ramp to embrace and congratulate him.

The only difference here is that this time he had to take away his best friend's biggest achievement in hopes to go down in History as the best IC that ever lived.

"He wasn't supposed to lose the title tonight." Sasha mumbles to herself, still hypnotized by Sami's win yet bitter for her friend's disappointment as he's storming out from the curtains only to head toward Vince's office, closely followed by a worried Emma.

The celebration on screen duplicates itself to appear in front of Rollins' eyes, to which he solely answers with a sarcastic clapping. Aiden English and Enzo Amore shoot daggers look to him and seem to amuse Seth even more since he's now standing up in a "respectful way", mocking a win that is simply pitiful to him.

The ironical masquerade sadly takes an abrupt end once Owens marches toward Rollins, seriousness exuding out of him and a phone tightly hold in his grip.

"We have a problem." Escapes from his mouth, a slight crack in his voice indicating how morose the news actually are.

______________

The heavy silence intensely weights on all three men presents inside of the faded vehicle, the pressure only temporary released by the scary engine's noises. None of them would like to spend more time than needed at the same place, let alone stay stuck together for hours in the middle of nowhere.

Since they took off after the pay-per-view ended and Owens forced Rollins inside of Grave's damaged car, no one had spoken the smallest of word. The one on the passenger's seat kept staring at Corey in hope he'd make some sort of a truce with Rollins whilst the latter contented himself with the crappy landscape offered to his view - the darkness of the night lighted by occasional thunder claps.

The NXT's commentator apparently is mesuring his anger, trying his hardest not to let it influence his driving, willing to abandon his former best friend to the side of the road right in the middle of the thunderstorm.

"Why do you hold such a grudge against him anyway ?" Owens asks in a courageous attempt to break the unbearable tension, exposing himself to Graves' wrath.

"Spare me Steen. We're not having this conversation." Corey responds with difficulty while retighten his grip on the wheel - just like the one that smothered his heart all these years ago.

A deep sigh comes out from the Canadian, growing tired of seeing all his friends perpetually at war. "You know he wasn't in his right mind back then." His tone is less hesitant this time, filled with a building annoyance and a slight provocation, as if he's defying Graves.

The tattooed man pulls out so abruptly that Seth almost hits his head on the window, taking off the headphones that prevent him from grasping anything out of the situation. Luckily for him or not, things are about to clarify themselves really quickly.

"He might have been a jerk to you guys but to me ? He destroyed me." Corey snaps, turning towards the object of all his hatred, burning holes in Rollins' skin - or at least he would do so if he wasn't facing the Devil itself.

Lifeless expression plastered on his face, the former adopted son of The Authority doesn't show any sign of guilt neither does he shift his gaze from Graves'.

Althought he appears absolutely careless about his old friend's heartfelt outburst, deep down his words do move him at least a bit. While Owens can't seem to make much sense out of Corey's statement, Rollins effortlessly remembers all the obstacles he threw in his way back in the day.

During their wild clash behind closed doors he indeed went to Hunter and more or less talked Graves out of his job for quite some time, unable to accept the fact he wasn't the one that ended their bond.

Therefore Corey probably had to deal with a lot to keep providing for his family and, if Seth recalls correctly, he did hear some rumours on how heating bills were pilling up and he had a really hard time figuring out a way out of this nightmare.

"And were you there ? No, you were not. So don't expect me to forgive you just because you show up out of the blue." Corey ultimately spits out after throwing meaningful glimpses of how his life turned into Hell, slamming the car's door in his way out of both the vehicle and the nonsense that the whole conversation appears to be to him.

As the irksome silence is about to take over once more Kevin puts an end to it, a fake enthusiasm in his tone. "Good talk."

____________

Rollins wanders through the frightening hospital's corridors, the white so pure it'd nearly blind him. Owens ordered him to take care of finding the right door while on his part he'd make sure to keep an eye on Graves.

Knowing for a fact that he's the instigator of his former friend's fury and still clueless about the reasons why Kevin brought him in the first place, he reluctantly agreed - not like he had much of a choice anyway.

The discovery of the B117's room unleashes an unmatched relief inside of Seth's remaining scraps of soul, finally free from those walls that seem like closing in more at each step he's taking.

He bursts inside of the room in panick, stupefying the man sitting on the white sheets who's readying himself to exit the building in the same hurry as Rollins entered it.

Once he slightly lifts his chin up and the Iowa native is able to distinguish his features, his hazy questions immediately find very clear answers.

He'd like to think he just bumped into yet another Ring of Honor's acquaintances except this particular wrestler has been nothing else but the metaphorical crutch to Seth's early success.

The same man that popped up inside of his troubled mind a couple of days before, their valued backstage talks something he'd always keep close to his heart.

From what he could gathered out of Steen and Zayn's unusual intense conversation, their mutual friend had try to fight against the system with every ounce of passion and dedication he hold in his heart before being unceremoniously fired on live television by Vince McMahon himself.

After that his fate became blurry. Some stated that he had plunged into a very worrying depression. Others explained he attempted to drink the pain away several times, his broken dreams becoming too much for a lonely man to handle.

To Seth's eyes he's a wrestler of exception, the kind you encounter once in a lifetime and the CEO's absurdity about how he "lacked charisma" prove once more that he had nothing to do in charge.

He was probably the toughest individual he ever met and for that reason alone, he refused to believe the backstage's foolishness. But maybe he should have.

"Thought you hated alcohol." Rollins lets out in a whisper, still contemplating the Swiss as if he was yet another type of mirage.

"Thought you were some kind of a man." Cesaro answered with confidence yet unpretentious, locking eyes with an ashtonished and depraved soul, before focusing again on the boots he's attempting to lace.

Seth faked being utterly offended, bringing one hand to his heart - as if he still had one - well aware his ROH friend never sugarcoat anything.

"Did you figure it out by now ?" Cesaro continues, his voice becoming more serious than before.

"He's not exactly being subtle." Seth responds whilst leaning on the night table - white as well, which sicks him to his gut even more.

The two had made an habit out of understanding the other without long and tiresome speeches, both having a very methodical and logical mind.

Though he had already thought about it once, Rollins didn't exactly conclude anything out of his suppositions but with Cesaro probably coming to the same conclusions he did, it had to be just that : Vince's targets are the former NXTiens.

It's no secret that the old man always resented Hunter's iniative because it did not respect the mold he created and envisioned for the company to fit in. Since he couldn't exactly go against Triple H - he could prove to be extremely useful for the CEO - he decided that he'd send a direct message to the children of the black and yellow's brand.

Cesaro had been fired, Zayn and Owens are continuously attacked by The Authority and the same goes for Becky Lynch and Emma. The two only exceptions are Rollins and Banks. One is under Stephanie's protection while the other can be sure to added to the endless victims' list soon enough.

"I hate hospitals." Seth eventually breathes out, uneasy in that type of places since his dog got hit by a car all these months ago. The veterinary surgeon assured he did all he could and the sole respond he could give was a long and hurtful sobbing.

"Wasn't I a fool ?" The sentence sparks Cesaro's interest and he ultimately stops dressing up so he can understand where Rollins is going with all of this.

"I mean everything comes and eventually goes away, that's how it works." Rollins recalls to his former friend, implying that if he changed so much over the years it was just his faith to do so.

"And you can't hold on to it forever, that's what you're going to say ? That's why you're here tonight, because you let go of your past ?" Cesaro finishes the reflexion, too accustomed to Seth's habit of pulling out parallels between life lessons and his devious attitude.

"You can't pretend to be somebody you are not all the time." The Swiss astounds him as his cutting words echo to the ones that kept repeating inside of his disturbed mind, informing him that he wasn't always a coldhearted demon.

In a desperate attempt to avoid Cesaro's judging stare, Seth marches toward the room's window, realizing that the horrifying weather outside is matching the hurricane unleashed inside of his entity.

"Just because I'm not the one you guys want me to be, that doesn't mean I'm faking it." Rollins finds within himself the will to throw yet another lie at the face of one of the most important persons in his former life.

"I know you well enough to figure out when you're lying." An excessive frown draws itself on Seth's tense features once the statement hits his brain. It's true that he had this impression that'd always betray him when lying : he's just never able to look them in the eyes before ceilling their death with the bullets coming out from his mouth.

Just like he couldn't look Leighla in the eyes the day he got on one knee and proposed to her, well aware that his sins would ultimately stain her heart.

"Watch carefully and you'll see who I really am." Rollins makes it an oath to Cesaro, promising that he soon would realize the one he knew back then has been buried alive six feet under.

Colby had been smothered by the darkness exuding out of The Reaper : Seth Rollins.

____________

E L E N A ;

Long ass chapter but hopefully it's worth it all!

+ Owens' friend that had been fired then had some alcohol problems that I was talking about in chapter 4 and Seth's ROH's acquaintance in chapter 17 ? Yep, Cesaro

+ I want to apologize for portraying such a dark side of him, though I didn't dive on the details in purpose here. He won't be around much anyway but eventually, you'll understand why I added him to the mix.

+ Graves / Rollins' history is finally revealed!  What is your take on it and on Zayn winning the IC title ?

Thanks you so, so much for all the support and if you liked it, please let me know what I should (or shouldn't) do for the upcoming chapters.

love you all xxx