Their Secret Weapon

by igncrxntripley

Summary:

The Judgement Day, one of the most popular factions in WWE at the moment, has begun recruiting for new members. What happens when they meet a firecracker at NXT who's looking for the next break in her career?

(originally posted on tumblr - some parts are more unedited than others, just a warning!)

Notes:

a/n: hi friends!! this is one of those parts that is a little more unedited but i hope you still enjoy!!!

Chapter 1: pt. 1

The Judgement Day had quickly become one of the most dominant groups in the WWE. They had a hand in both the men’s and women’s division, Rhea was on her way to one of the biggest matches of her career on the grandest stage of them all, and they obliterated any superstar who came in their way. The four of them all walked around backstage with an undeniable swagger that no one could stomp out and they knew they were the best; however, the best of the best still needed to find ways to grow.

Damian and Rhea would usually go to the NXT tapings every week and watch from backstage. They not only were looking for the best talent rising through the industry, they were looking for people just like them; people who were stomped on, taken advantage of…people who continued to prove themselves and got nothing in return. For the longest time no one stuck out. They didn’t see the drive and hunger they needed in The Judgement Day…until Y/N walked in. That night, they’d taken hit after hit in a championship match and had gotten so close to taking the win. And even though the WWE audience that night showed their appreciation, management in the back was much less kind. Rhea and Damian knew exactly what they needed to do. They told Finn and Dominik that night and immediately began working on a plan to get Y/N into the palm of their hand.

It began with small hints in Y/N’s locker room - black hoods, purple bandanas, any small indicator of the four monsters who’d begun watching them with a close eye. Y/N didn’t think much of it, they just kept going on about their business. They worked their ass off in NXT, fighting for every opportunity big or small just to prove they could be the face of the WWE. Even short backstage promos with other superstars just go hopefully work their way into the fold of what NXT had planned for its athletes. But for every ounce of work they put in, it was stomped on and ridiculed. Nothing they did was good enough…until four people walked in and changed their life.

It was the night of NXT Vengeance Day. The day Y/N’s career was about to take a turn for the best. They walked away from their locker room for only a couple of minutes, but when they came back a purple envelope was left on top of their suitcase. The envelope was sealed with purple wings, and when Y/N opened it there were directions to a different room backstage. It finished with simple instructions. Knock three times. Await your judgement day.

Y/N had to admit that the words gave them goosebumps, and while they wanted to run away and keep themselves out of whatever mess The Judgement Day was creating, they just couldn’t. Y/N hesitantly got dressed and made their way to the location given to them in the letter, which was a door that looked pretty much like any other closet door in the backstage area. They following their instructions and waiting for the door to slowly open though, looking around nervously in case any cameras or other superstars caught them. Once it was open, Y/N let themselves inside to a dark room lit only by a couple of candles and purple LED lights. “Take a seat.” said a deep voice from behind them that they recognized as none other than Damian Priest. They’d heard that voice enough during WWE broadcasts.

Once Y/N got comfortable, the other three members of the purple-hued faction made themselves visible while The Punisher joined them. They all stood in front of Y/N, looking down at them with the biggest smirks on each of their faces. “Your life is going to change today, Y/N.” Rhea said. “Yeah right.” Y/N mumbled with a small roll of their eyes.

“She’s right.” Balor chimed in, stepping closer to the NXT superstar. “We’ve been keeping an eye on you. We see how management treats you, how other superstars treat you…and you’re more than what they’ve made you out to be.” He said softly, Y/N’s face watching with curiosity mixed with fear. Dominik wrapped an arm around Rhea’s waist. “And if it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t even be here right now.” He said with the same shit-eating grin on his face as the rest of them. His words made Rhea chuckle softly. “I turned Dom into a star. I gave him an opportunity when no one else would.” She said softly, this time walking closer to Y/N and wrapping her arms around them from behind. “We could do the same for you. You just need to let us in.” Rhea smirked, her black lipstick-covered lips brushing against Y/N’s ear.

Her words and her touch made Y/N shiver with anticipation and nerves. Normally they weren’t this much of a pushover; they’d learned to put up a fight for themselves over the course of their time in this industry. But their words were too good to be true; the fact that four people - four stars in this business - were giving them more of a chance than anyone else had…it was like a dream. But Y/N couldn’t give in that easily. They let out a shaky sigh and looked up at Damian, Finn, and Dominik while Rhea continued to stand behind them. “What’s in it for me?” they asked softly. “How do I know I can trust you? I’ve been torn down enough in this business, I don’t need you all to help with that.”

Damian chuckled softly and looked at his friends before looking back at Y/N. “Anything you want and more.” He said. Rhea nodded in agreement and gently squeezed Y/N’s body. “At the end of the day, you have four people who want nothing but the best for you. Not only do they want the best…” she turned Y/N’s face to look at them. “But we’ll give you the best.” Damian nodded and stepped closer as well. “You just have to trust us.”

Chapter 2: pt. 2

Y/N had been preparing for this moment for weeks now. There was a plan in place for introducing her to the WWE audience as a member of The Judgement Day, but there needed to be some buildup. They had to begin dropping some subtle hints, both on Y/N’s home stage of NXT and on The Judgement Day’s segments during Monday Night Raw. The four members dropped hints that they began scouting new members, but gave little to no specifics as to who it was. Y/N was getting a championship push on NXT, but as usual, they were going to walk away with nothing; that would be the moment it was made clear which side they were on. As far as they all knew, it was the best kept secret on WWE so far. No one on social media suspected anything, no one backstage new…it was going just as they wanted.

During the last few weeks before the big reveal, Y/N had to spend as much time as possible proving themselves to the four disciples. They quickly began to recognize each of their roles in the group as well. Damian was ‘The Punisher’ for a reason; he held Y/N accountable, and punished their body almost every day in the practice ring. He helped them practice a new finisher and new submission moves to up their game in the ring, and he helped build new workouts that not only increased their strength but was already increasing their muscle.

Finn was the mastermind. He was the main one building up this new character for Y/N and giving directions to the other three members of the group. Even though there was no true leader of The Judgement Day, he knew when to take control. He’d been in the business long enough to know what worked and what didn’t, and everyone in the group trusted him. Dominik was young, but he became a quick friend for Y/N. They were similar in age, and often felt the same about their roles in the industry before joining The Judgement Day. He was able to help Y/N build the confidence to stand on their own and show everyone that they deserved to be in this business.

And Rhea…Rhea may have looked tough on the outside, but she’d never been more gentle with someone. She was touchy, often holding hands with Y/N or cuddling with them during late night conversations with the group. If anything, she was the most invested in Y/N’s new beginnings and did almost everything with them. What Y/N noticed about all of them though, is they worked as a team. No one member was above the others, and they all cared for one another. This is what Y/N needed, and they were shocked at how quickly they’d grown attached to each member.

****

Tonight was the night. Y/N was going to make their alignment with The Judgement Day known, and no one was going to be able to stop them from accomplishing whatever they wanted in this business. They sat backstage in a private room with all four members, each of them dressed in black suits for when they made their appearance later in the night. Y/N was dressed in gear, stretching their body as they prepared for one of the more physically demanding matches of their career thus far. And even though it was going to be a tough fight, they weren’t going to walk out as champion. It was the last straw for them.

Each of the four members stood by them until it was time to go to gorilla. When they got their cue, Y/N took a deep breath and smiled at each of their new partners as if to say ‘thank you’ for this new opportunity. Rhea placed a gentle hand on Y/N’s cheek and smiled at them. “Welcome to the rest of your life,” she said softly, her dark eye makeup clouding her eyes. Damian smiled as well and gently clapped Y/N’s back as well. “We’ll be there when it’s all over.”

Y/N nodded at everyone and put their jacket on, walking to the entrance and putting on their normal character for the audience. They were met with cheers as everyone rooted for them, but they had no clue what was going to be coming their way. Y/N felt like everything was a blur; every hit, every kick, every 2 count, the cheers in the audience…nothing even felt real. They couldn’t tell if it was the adrenaline of the match or the excitement of what was about to ensue afterwards, but either way it kept them going through every move their body made.

As the main event of NXT that night, the match took quite some time before Y/N was down for a 3 count. The crowd cheered with mixed reactions as their opponent celebrated and exited the stage, and it took Y/N a minute or so before they sat up and looked at the WWE audience in shame. It was written all over their face…until the Performance Center went black around them.

This was the moment Y/N had been waiting for.

After some time, purple LED lights illuminated the center of the ring where Y/N stood. Confusion was written all over their face as the beginning of the storyline commenced, and some audience members began to cheer as they had an idea of what was going on. The fog machine billowed around the ring, and the first spotlight shined down on Dominik in one corner of the ring. One by one, the other three members of The Judgement Day were exposed to the audience and cheers erupted as the realization hit; Y/N, who had never turned heel in the industry before this, was getting their moment.

Each member began slowly walking towards Y/N, who still stood in the center of the ring, giving them a predatory grin as they made it clear what their purpose was. “Welcome to your judgement day, Y/N.” Finn said for the camera to pick up, before the lights turned off again and the now five-member group was gone.

Once backstage, Y/N couldn’t contain their excitement. They jumped into Rhea’s arms and smiled as each member congratulated them. “Our secret weapon.” Damian confirmed softly, each member nodding in agreement. Finn nodded before taking off his jacket. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. “I think it’s time we celebrate.” Dominik nodded and smirked at Y/N. “And one thing about The Judgement Day? We get rowdy.”

Chapter 3: pt. 3

Notes:

a/n - this chapter is smutty and spicy!!! tags include:smut, poly!judgement day, fem!reader, dom!rhea, dom!damian, dom!finn, dom!dominik, bottom!reader, kissing, groping, oral, teasing, overstimulation, choking, masturbation

Dominik wasn’t kidding when he said The Judgement Day got rowdy when they celebrated. For four people who normally kept their composure, something about alcohol and good music really got them going. Not only that, but they didn’t need anyone but themselves to have a party. And now, that was a party of five. And Y/N felt like she was finally a true member of this group.

Not only did the four of them know how to party, but Y/N was now finally getting to see the behind the scenes of their relationship. While it was no secret that Dom, Rhea, Damian, and Finn were close with one another and had a special relationship…there was a whole other level to it that only real members of The Judgement Day got to see. Needless to say, Y/N was seeing it all clearly in front of her. No time was wasted getting back to the hotel after NXT and immediately purchasing the best bottles of liquor for the five of them to celebrate their new member. Damian was playing DJ for the night, and it was almost shocking just how good of a taste in music he had. While he controlled the music, Finn was playing bartender and making sure no one had an empty cup for more than five minutes. Just as Damian was a good DJ, Finn was great at mixology. Dominik was serving as the entertainment and was performing his party tricks for the group…even though many of them resulted in eye rolls from The Eradicator herself. There was only so many times the young wrestler could burp the alphabet before Rhea lost her mind.

As the alcohol kept flowing, the group got more and more rowdy. Damian’s music got louder, Finn’s drinks got stronger, and Dominik’s tricks got slightly more risky. As Y/N sat in Damian’s lap, her back to the large man’s chest and a cherry lollipop stuck between her lips, everyone couldn’t help but laugh as Dom tripped over his own two feet trying to showcase his newly ‘crafted’ backflip. He was feeling the alcohol just as much as everyone else since he stayed on the floor and laughed. “You’re all so mean.” He playfully pouted. Finn rolled his eyes and held out another mixed drink to the younger member. “We’re not mean, you’re just fragile.”

Y/N smiled and leaned her head back against Damian’s shoulder, smiling back at him as they made eye contact with one another. She fit perfectly on his lap, but then again Damian would say the same thing for their other three partners. Rhea sat next to them and leaned on Damian’s other shoulder and gently pulled the lollipop from Y/N’s mouth. “I’ve been dying to kiss you since you became part of our family.” She said softly, leaning in and kissing Y/N passionately. Y/N didn’t need any convincing to reciprocate the kiss either, and she began to make out with Rhea as Damian kept his arms around both of them. “Rhea hasn’t shut up about it,” he teased, finishing his own drink. “And truthfully, I think all of us have been just as patient.” Damian gently tugged Y/N’s face away from Rhea’s to begin kissing the new disciple with just as much fervor and passion as The Eradicator. For someone known as ‘The Punisher,” Damian was gentle with his affection. His desperate kisses were a compliment to his gentle touches on Y/N’s cheek and sides.

Dominik had moved to sit with Finn on the bed, curled up to the other man’s sides as he smiled at their partners. “You could at least come over here and share with us.” He teased, which made Finn laugh before he started to give Dom gentle kisses on his neck. Damian smirked and obliged by picking Y/N up in his arms and dropping her playfully onto the bed. Rhea wasn’t far behind, and she settled herself on the other side of Dominik. “Damian’s right, we’ve all been patient.” Finn mumbled before moving to sit closer to Y/N and letting his hands wander over their body. Y/N gasped and arched her back; she wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol speaking or the unacknowledged sexual tension that had lived amongst this group for the last couple of weeks. But now it was clear how much everyone was ready to finally act on their urges. “Oh my god…” she whispered and squeezed her thighs together.

Rhea laughed at Y/N’s reaction and it only made her want to fuck with Y/N more. “Jesus, you’re fucking irresistable.” She mumbled as her hands went to Y/N’s shorts. She didn’t waste any time undoing the buttons and slipping them off of the new girl’s legs to show the black lace panties (that she most definitely wore out of hopes something along these lines would ensue). Damian practically growled when he saw her underwear and began to palm himself. “Fuck.” he groaned and used his free hand to brush Y/N’s hair from her face. “She knew what she was doing when she picked those out.”

Dominik licked his lips at the sight of Rhea touching Y/N. He couldn’t help himself either and wanted his own piece of her, so he let his hands focus on her chest to play with her through the flimsy t-shirt she chose to wear. “I could rip this off of her right now.” Rhea laughed at Dom and started to leave gentle, teasing kisses against Y/N’s clit through her panties. “Who said you couldn’t?” She mumbled, Dominik immediately smirking before grabbing the fabric and ripping it down the front to expose the matching bralette. He leaned down and started to kiss Y/N’s chest, which only riled her up more and made her arch her back into his lips.

Finn smirked at the show in front of him and wrapped his hand in Y/N’s hair, giving it a tug so she was looking up at him. “Welcome to your initiation night, babygirl.” He said. Y/N smirked as her hips started to move in small circles against Rhea’s mouth after her panties had finally come off. “You’ve earned this after all the hard work you’ve put in the last few weeks.” Dominik nodded at Finn’s words, one of his hands playing with Y/N’s nipple while the other left small marks on her skin. “Only the best for our girl.”

Damian rested one hand on Finn’s lower back as he continued to touch himself. “Look at her squirming. She can’t even stay still long enough for Rhea to make her feel good.” Y/N whimpered at his words and Rhea grabbed her hips to keep her still. “She tastes so good.” She smirked against Y/N’s core, and her words only made Y/N moan a little louder. She turned her head and saw Dmian touching himself, and she couldn’t help but want to make him feel good. Her hand replaced his over his length and she began to slowly jerk his cock for him, and in return his eyes practically rolled into the back of his head. “Oh, fuck me.” Damian mumbled. Everyone chuckled as they watched Y/N, and it only made them work even harder to make her feel good. “She’s so helpful.” Dominik teased and moved his kisses up to Y/N’s exposed neck to leave more marks.

Y/N was so deep in ecstasy with her four partners around her that it was almost a shock when she reached her climax. She writhed under Rhea and Dominik’s touch while Finn and Damian continued to verbally tease her, all the while bringing Damian to his own climax. “Oh, good fucking girl.” Damian smiled down at her. “She’s so pretty when she cums.” Finn said, letting Dom and Rhea move off of her before he quickly flipped her over onto her stomach. “We’re nowhere near finished, though.” He smirked and kneeled behind her. Damian went to kneel in front of Y/N, pulling Rhea and Dom into their own passionate kisses. “Keep her entertained while Finn and I have our fun?” He mumbled, the other two both nodding with huge grins on their faces.

Finn started to slowly rub his hard cock against Y/N’s wet core. “Rhea was nice for not making you ask for permission to cum on her face.” He said before slapping Y/N’s ass. “I’m not as nice as her, though.” He smirked and started to poke his tip at her entrance. Y/N moaned and leaned her head back to see Damian holding his own cock in front of her face. “You can clean up the mess you made while Finn has his fun.” He groaned as she easily took him into his mouth and began to bob her head. Dominik and Rhea moaned as they watched, touching one another as well since neither got to finish yet. “Can you believe she’s all ours?” Dom asked against Rhea’s lips. She chuckled and focused her thumb on the tip of his cock. “It’s too good to be true.”

Y/N gasped as Finn finally gave in and slowly pushed himself into her entrance. He didn’t even give her a second to breathe before he began thrusting. “Finn’s just happy he has a new toy to play with.” Rhea smirked. Y/N pulled off of Damian to catch her breath, looking up at him as she drooled down her chin. “More…I need more…” she begged softly, to which Damian laughed at her and put her mouth back on his cock. “Don’t you worry, princess. You’re going to get plenty more tonight.” Once again, she barely got the chance to register how She was close to cumming until the edge hit her like a brick wall. Finn, however, knew exactly how close she was and slowed down his thrusts to keep her from getting what she wanted. “Remember what I told you.” He said and slapped her ass again. Y/N whined loudly and pulled off of Damian again with a gasp. “Please let me cum! Please please please!?” She begged as Rhea and Dominik laughed at her. Damian didn’t waste any time in putting her mouth to work again as Finn began to touch her clit. “I don’t know…I’ll have to think.”

No one had ever challenged Y/N like this before…but holy fuck did she love it. She loved it so much that the relentless teasing from her four partners and Finn’s magic touch made her unravel underneath them. Her body trembled as she came for the second time that night, and Finn growled behind her and tugged her hair so she was on her knees, her back to his chest. “I thought I told you to wait?” He smirked as his hand wrapped around her throat. Y/N moaned and continued to gently grind back against his cock out of desperation. “I-I tried, I promise!” She said, even though she was still smirking.

“Unfortunately, we’ll just have to keep going until you learn your lesson.” Damian said with a smirk. Needless to say, The Judgement Day has lived up to their reputation as rowdy partiers.

Chapter 4: pt. 4

Notes:

a/n - things are gonna get good from here...

Before The Judgement Day welcomed Y/N with open arms, she didn’t have many solid connections to the people she shared the ring with. Of course she had friends, but the industry sometimes made it difficult. That changed when she met Brooks, who had started training at the Performance Center not long after she did. He was someone she could confide in, someone she felt a connection with as more than a friend. Their relationship developed, but the two decided to split. They both still loved one another, but it wasn’t the right time.

Y/N had to admit that ever since becoming the fifth member of The Judgement Day, she hadn’t thought about Brooks once. He hadn’t reached out to her since it was revealed that she was a new member, and it spoke volumes that she hadn’t thought about picking up the phone once to call him. Little did she know, he was in shock. And now that it had been a few weeks, Brooks thought he needed to saw something.

The group was backstage at Monday Night Raw the five of them relaxing in their locker room before their appearance for later on in the show; Damian and Finn were stretching in one corner, Rhea was in another doing pull ups, and Y/N had her head in Dominik’s lap as they played video games together. For a crew who was so tough on the outside, they really were just five normal people. They all looked at the door when a knock came from the other side, and they were confused as they weren’t expecting anyone. Finn was the first to move, so when he opened the door he was shocked to see none other than Brooks.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” He asked the taller, larger man. “Last I checked we didn’t invite you.” Brooks rolled his eyes a little and tried to look behind Finn for Y/N, in which they made eye contact from her spot on the couch. “I need to talk to Y/N.” Brooks said confidently, Y/N already standing up even though Dominik tightened his grip on her waist. No one knew who Brooks was or what his connection to their girl was, so they were on edge once he said why he was there. “Sorry pal, she’s a little busy.” Finn said and began closing the door, but Y/N got up and stopped him. “Brooks…hi.” She said softly.

To say the other four members in the room were shocked was an understatement. Not only were they surprised, but they were protective of Y/N and wanted to know who this was at the door. She turned to them and gently put her hand on Finn’s arm since he was the closest. “Give me a few minutes.” Y/N was going to go with Brooks regardless, but once her partners nodded in agreement and gave her the space she needed she closed the door and walked down the hallway with Brooks.

Once they were alone the two embraced each other for the first time in a long time, and it felt good to Y/N to have someone there she knew cared about her. “God, baby. It’s so good to see you.” Brooks said into her shoulder as he squeezed her smaller body. She still smelled the same, of strawberries and flowers but now with a hint of cologne from each of her boys in the room. And her feminine aesthetic hadn’t changed in the slightest either, but he was still worried about the long term effects of being involved with The Judgement Day. “I’ve been worried about you.”

Y/N pulled back to look at him with furrowed brows. “Worried?” She asked softly. “Brooks, I…I know you mean well but you don’t need to be worried. The four of them are amazing, and they’ve helped me so much.” Brooks put her down and gently held her arms. “You feel that way now, but they’re going to turn on you like they’ve turned on others in the past.” He warned her. “I just…I hate how people have treated you in the past and I don’t want it to happen again.” Y/N gave a soft sigh and looked up at her ex. “As if you wouldn’t be the first one I’d call if I needed help.” She teased softly, making him chuckle. “I promise you, I’m happy, And the four of them take amazing care of me.” Brooks just had to trust Y/N like he always had, so he nodded and pulled her into another hug. “I’m proud of you. And I’ll be watching you tonight front and center.”

Y/N could feel herself buzzing with excitement when Brooks told her. She smiled at him and practically jumped up and down. “I think You’ll like the new stuff I’ve been working on. But I have to go get ready, so I’ll see you later?” Brooks nodded and gave her one last kiss on top of her head as a good luck before she ran back to the locker room. When she walked inside, she was met with four stares from four quite large individuals.

“Care to explain?” Rhea asked first, her arms crossed over her chest and the look on her face making Y/N nervously play with her fingers. “He’s…he’s my ex. And we still have a really good relationship so he just wanted to talk.” She explained quickly. Damian shook his head a little and stepped closer. “Do you remember what we told you when you became a member of The Judgement Day, mi amor?” His words made Y/N shiver. Finn followed suit and stood in front of Y/N, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. “In order to be the very best you can be, you need to leave everything behind that was holding you back.” He reminded her softly. Y/N frowned and looked at the four of them again. “I-I know, but…but that’s not Brooks! He’s always supported me…” she said softly.

Dom was the next one to speak. He shook his head and stayed where he was, running a stressed hand through his hair. “That’s what you think. But you need to trust us for all of this hard work to truly pay off.” She turned her head from her partners and tried to think about what they were saying, but she knew they were right. “Yeah, I guess.” She said softly. In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn’t going to be that easy to cut off Brooks. But she still had a match later in the night and she couldn’t think about anything other than that.

Her partners all smiled in response, and this time Rhea was the one to step closer and wrap her arms around Y/N. “We promise this is the right thing to do, baby. You won’t regret it.” She said softly. Y/N nodded and leaned into Rhea’s touch. “Thank you all. I mean it.” Even though she still meant every word she said, she was still thinking about seeing Brooks in the crowd during her match tonight…and whether she should tell her four partners about that.

Chapter 5: pt. 5

Y/N spent the rest of her time backstage before her match trying to relax. Her conversation with Brooks and the reactions of her partners were doing little to nothing to ease her nerves, but she knew she just needed to go out and do what she did best. She spent some time to herself getting ready before the others came back, and she smiled up at them gently as she laced her boots. Rhea took an eyeliner pen and did her signature TJD underneath one of Y/N’s eyes and Finn stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders to help loosen her up. “So this Brooks character…” Finn began. “He’s going to be out there watching your match?”

As Rhea finished her makeup, Y/N nodded and rolled her shoulders as Finn loosened her up. “He’ll be out there somewhere. And I’m asking you guys not to cause trouble with him.” Dominik scoffed as he tied a purple bandana around his neck. “We can’t make any promises, but we’ll think about it.” He smirked. Y/N wasn’t about to let her partners make a fool of themselves at ringside, so she turned to look at Dom with a small frown. “I’m serious, Dominik. I understand why you guys want me to distance myself from things in my past but I just…h-he’s a good guy.” She said softly.

For being the largest of the group, Damian was also the biggest softy. He immediately took note of Y/N’s reaction and gave Dom a light slap to the arm. “She has a match soon and you really think this is the time to act like that?” He scolded Dom, who blushed and put his hands up in defense. Rhea rolled her eyes at the two of them and moved to finish getting herself ready. “We’ll behave as long as he behaves.” She said, deciding that would be the end of the conversation. “And you two need to quit fucking around in the corner, we have places to be.” Y/N closed her eyes as Rhea mothered everyone in the room, working to calm herself down and focus on her upcoming match against Candace LeRae.

Eventually, The fivesome began to make their way to gorilla for Y/N’s match. She was in the middle, Damian and Dominik to her left and Rhea and Finn to her right. Damian and Rhea were definitely the most protective of Y/N and always placed themselves right next to her when possible. She adjusted her pink denim jacket one more time, placed her cherry lollipop in her mouth, and hit the cues with her partners as their lights and music hit. There was something about coming out to the crowds in this new persona, something about the energy that shifted when they all walked in a room…it made Y/N feel incredible. She could barely put it into words how it all felt. But she needed to channel that energy, as this match was huge for her in claiming her spot in the Women’s Division on Raw while also giving Brooks a show in the audience.

When Brooks said he was going to be front and center, he wasn’t kidding. As The Judgement Day came down to the ring, she immediately took note of where he was and smiled at him; where Y/N thought she would be nervous seeing Brooks during this match, she now felt his presence comforting her. The other four also took note of him and where he was in the audience, but Y/N was able to distract them and have them stand elsewhere during the match. They all begrudgingly did what she asked, but still couldn’t promise they wouldn’t get into any mischief down the road.

Truth be told, Y/N was also going to cause some chaos and rile them up. They couldn’t control her every move and she was going to continue being the same character she always had been, even before The Judgement Day came into her life. Y/N took the lollipop from her mouth and walked to where Brooks was standing, smirking as she held it out for him and placed the candy into his mouth. The audience around them cheered, having been aware of the history between the two, and Y/N went into the ring like nothing happened. The faces on her partners were not the most thrilled they’d ever been, but she knew she could defend her decision backstage if they had words about it.

Once the match started, Y/N and Candace were both on a roll. Candace’s acrobatic, more athletic moves were a nice contrast to Y/N’s harsher striking and submission style. Rhea, Dominik, Damian, and Finn all kept to themselves at ringside and even stayed on the other side away from Brooks. But that didn’t erase the fact that every so often they would glare at him; at one point Rhea was even mockingly waving at him to get some kind of reaction. But Brooks wasn’t giving in, he stayed focused on the match and cheered Y/N on while he kept the lollipop in his mouth. Every so often, when she wasn’t looking at her partners, she would look for Brooks and he’d give her a reassuring nod and smile. This was exactly what she needed. At one point though when Y/N fell out of the ring after a pretty nasty hit, Brooks was front and center at the barricade making sure she was okay.

“Baby, you good?” He asked, concern lacing his voice as he held his hand out for you to get back up. Without a second thought Y/N grabbed his hand and pulled herself up, smiling like the giddy girl she was whenever he’d help her in the past. Fuck, I can’t let him go. She thought to herself. Y/N turned her head though, when her four partners saw was Brooks was doing and made her way to the other side of the ring. “Don’t even think about it.” She told them, shaking her head and letting go of Brooks’s hand. “It’s fine, just go back over there.” Of course, Rhea wasn’t listening. She continued to step closer to them until she was standing in front of Brooks, even though Y/N was trying to keep her away. “If I were you, I’d stay away from our girl.”

Brooks shook his head and laughed in Rhea’s face. “She may be your girl now, but she was mine when no one else gave a fuck about her.” Y/N wasn’t even paying attention to them anymore but was now focused on the three boys. “I’m serious, go!” She knew she couldn’t handle being distracted like this, so she got back in the ring to continue her match. But when she did, Candace was ready to end the entire match and swept under her feet to bring Y/N to the ground. She was going to take advantage of her opponent being distracted, and once Y/N was back on the ground Candace climbed the ropes for a moonsault. Somehow Y/N was able to kick out at the two count, and that brought the attention of The Judgement Day and Brooks back to the match. “I’m not finished with you.” Rhea pointed at Brooks before following the boys back to the other side of the ring. “Come on, Y/N! Get up!” Her partners started to cheer as she took her sweet old time getting to her feet again.

After everything that just occurred, Y/N was raging. Five people she loved and cared about almost made her lose one of the biggest matches of her career thus far, and she wasn’t about to let any of them live it down. Once she was on her feet again, Y/N started to pace and watch Candace’s every last move. “Get up!” She yelled at her opponent, standing in the corner of the ring to watch her. Once Candace was also up on her feet, Y/N came at her with a spear that practically flipped her inside out and positioned herself for a submission move Damian had been working on with her. Almost identical to a sharpshooter but with a slightly different leg position, Y/N locked Candace into the hold and put all of the pressure on her back. From there, it was only a matter of seconds before Candace tapped and Y/N was announced as the winner.

She dropped Candace back down onto the mat and smiled as she caught her breath; Y/N didn’t even realize that her partners had made their way back over to Brooks in the crowd and immediately began to attack him. Brooks didn’t even have enough time to defend himself, as Damian lifted him over the barricade and they started to kick him while he was on the ground. “What are you doing?” Y/N yelled from the ring, watching as Finn picked Brooks up and threw him into the ring for everyone to see what they were doing. “Step aside, Princess. He needs to be taught a lesson.” Rhea warned, stepping in front of Y/N as if to block her from getting to Brooks. But Y/N was small and quick, so she was able to get around Rhea and stand between Brooks and the other members of the group. “Don’t hurt him, okay? He didn’t do anything!” She begged, her hands up and Brooks gently reaching out to hold her ankle as a way of thanking her.

The four of them were fuming. Finn was the first to speak up as he watched what was going on. “Remember what we told you, Y/N.” He warned softly. Brooks began to slowly get himself back to his feet and stood behind Y/N, a gentle hand on her waist this time. “Think about what’s best for you. Think of all we’ve done for you.” Finn said again. Dominik was already cracking his knuckles at the sight of someone else touching their girl, and steam was coming from Damian’s ears. No one touched their girl, and she was only making them more upset the longer she went without making a decision.

Y/N looked back and forth between Brooks and The Judgement Day. Finn was right; the four of them had done so much for her and every day showed how much they truly cared about her even if some of their actions were flawed. They took her under their wing when barely anyone else in the company gave a shit about her. But on the other hand, Brooks had always served as the person she could confide in when she was struggling. He was the first person who made her feel beautiful in and outside of the ring. But where was he when she needed someone to stand up for her in NXT? Where was Brooks when Y/N doubted herself and debated leaving this company? She was stuck between two parts of her life, and they were all expecting her to make her decision.

As the crowd roared around them, telling Y/N what decision to make, she slowly turned her back to The Judgement Day and wrapped her arms around Brooks’s shoulders in a tight hug. Y/N buried her face in his neck as he picked her up, his body relaxing into hers and holding her as tight as he could. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.” He said in her ear as they slowly stepped away from the four (clearly pissed) individuals in the ring. Brooks even put his hat back on her head like they always did when she won matches; he was just happy to see Y/N was picking the right side.

However, he had no clue what was coming his way.

Brooks gently placed Y/N back on her feet and kissed her forehead before glaring at The Judgement Day from over her shoulder. He didn’t even say another word to them, even though they were already hopping out of the ring and climbing underneath it to find whatever weapons they could. Brooks protectively put Y/N behind him, watching Damian and Finn who had stayed in the ring and started to slowly move closer to the two of them while Rhea and Dominik tossed a couple chairs into the ring. Y/N being behind Brooks was the perfect opportunity for her to make it clear which side she was on, because she quickly dropped to her knees and delivered a low blow to Brooks.

Y/N’s four partners immediately began to smile at her; Rhea was dying of laughter, pointing at Brooks as he fell to the canvas holding his manhood. Y/N looked down at him, his hat still on her head, and her own sadness and anger written all over her face at the decision she’d made. She had to prove herself to her partners, and that meant trusting them and their plan for her. Once Brooks was back on the ground the boys began to attack him again, and this time Dominik pulled Y/N into a hug as they watched. At one point when Brooks got up on his knees to hopefully defend himself, Rhea delivered a chair shot to his back.

The four of them turned to Y/N once they all had a turn giving Brooks a piece of their mind. Damian held out a chair to her and smiled. “Finish it off, princesa. End it.” He told her. And while Y/N didn’t immediately take the chair, she eventually did and walked in a circle around Brooks’s writhing body. “Where were you when I needed you?” Y/N asked Brooks as she looked down at him. “You didn’t care about me. You never did.” The look on Brooks’s face said otherwise, but Y/n knew she needed to end this. She looked at each of her partners before lifting the chair up and delivering the harshest chair shot she could manage to Brooks’s upper body.

She dropped the chair before taking off Brooks’s hat and dropping it onto his body, wiping away the one singular tear that had rolled down her cheek. The Judgement Day rolled out of the ring five deep, Damian pulling Y/N to his chest as they walked up the ramp to go backstage and Rhea continuing to taunt Brooks from a distance. They were all proud of Y/N and she was proud of herself, but the next step of this process was grieving the relationships she had to let go of in order to follow the plan. While The Judgement Day was prepared for that to happen, Y/N had no clue what was about to happen.

Chapter 6

Notes:

a/n - i apologize in advance

It had been almost a week since Y/N made it clear whose side she was on. She had avoided even thinking about Brooks and what she did to him at Monday Night Raw because her partners told her to move on, and she knew if she thought about him then all of their hard work was going to waste. They were all prepared for Y/N to grieve the life she was leaving behind to be their newest disciple, but all of them also knew it was going to be difficult. The question was, how long would it be until she finished grieving?

The Judgement Day was lucky enough to have the week off from any live shows so they were all able to stay home; Y/N needed that time away more than any of them so she could process what she’d done and how she was going to move forward. For someone who was normally outspoken and giggling with her partners, she’d been quiet and more reserved. She’d rarely left Damian or Rhea’s side the entire time they were home, but then she could barely sleep at night because it meant being alone with her thoughts. Her partners would often have her sleep in the middle since she was the smallest, but she would still manage to crawl out from their iron grips to clear her mind.

Tonight was no different; when Y/N’s thoughts consumed her and took away the ability to get a good night’s sleep, she gently crawled out from the mess of sheets and limbs her partners created which resulted in a whine from Dominik. He immediately latched onto Finn who was on the other side of him while Y/N got dressed.

She went into their gym, a place she’d been frequenting when she needed to clear her head, and immediately went for the boxing gloves and punching bag. It was no wonder she’d gotten better at striking in the ring with how often she was using it to cope. After turning on some loud music Y/N got to work and took out every ounce of frustration on the punching bag without giving herself much of a break. With every hit to the bag she switched focus to a different thought or person on her mind.

I can’t disappoint them.
I’m better than who I was before The Judgement Day.
I need to let go of him but I can’t.
I don’t deserve this opportunity.
They would be better off without me.
When Damian had woken up and noticed only three other bodies in bed rather than four, he woke up and decided to investigate. He heard the music as soon as he stepped into the hallway and was surprised that it didn’t wake up his partners; then again they all slept like the dead. Rhea could sleep through the apocalypse if it ever happened.

Damian walked to their home gym and stood in the doorway, Y/N’s back to him as he watched her destroy the punching bag. He could hear her mumbling to herself, but he doubted she even realized he was watching. Just hearing her made Damian see the self doubt that was filling her body and he wanted nothing more than to make it better for her; he knew his partners felt the same, but they also had high expectations of her. Especially Finn. Even though she doubted herself and she still had room to grow, Y/N had continued to prove herself since she joined The Judgement Day. They were all impressed by her. But she still had a ways to go.

“Not good enough…you’re better than the old Y/N…” she said in between strikes to the punching bag. Y/N didn’t even realize that she’d been crying, but after a certain point her grunts and heavy breathing turned into soft sobs. “Fuck!” She cried and fell to her knees on the floor. The weight of her thoughts and doubt had finally taken her down and she couldn’t do it anymore. Damian slowly walked over to her and kneeled next to Y/N as she sobbed. “Baby..”

Y/N looked up at Damian, unsure of how much he’d seen or heard but was still embarrassed that he’d seen any of it. “N-no.” She cried as he kneeled down next to her. She hated the sympathetic look Damian was giving her because she didn’t need anyone’s sympathy. She needed to prove to him and their partners that she was deserving of this opportunity they’d given her, even if she didn’t completely believe it herself. Damian shook his head and started to gently take the gloves from her hands. “Shh, mi amor. It’s okay.” He said quietly. It was still shocking how someone so big and tough, someone known as ‘The Punisher’, could be so gentle and caring. It was a side only his partners were lucky enough to see, and they felt incredibly lucky to do so.

Y/N sniffled as Damian took the gloves off, immediately bringing her hot, sweaty body against his. His hug only made her cry harder; her body trembled as she sobbed and buried her face in his neck. “What have I done?” She sobbed into his neck. Y/N struggled with the pride, but also the guilt over what she’d done to Brooks and the side she’d chosen. “I-I know I need to let my past go but…but I can’t. I’m trying but I can’t!” Y/n cried and hugged Damian tighter.

Damian held the back of her head and let her get everything out. She needed this; it was part of her grieving process, and he knew that. That didn’t mean it broke his heart any less listening to her cry. “No one said it was going to be easy, amor.” He said quietly. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” He stood up with Y/N in his arms, her legs around his waist as he turned the music off and walked with her to the bathroom.

He sat Y/N on the edge of the bathtub and ran the water. “I heard what you kept telling yourself in there.” Damian said softly, holding Y/N’s chin between his fingers and gently tilting her head up to look at him. “You’re not a failure. I promise you that, princesa.” His heart broke at the sight of their group’s firecracker looking gutted and destroyed. Someone who carried herself with confidence was now riddled with self doubt; but Damian and his partners also knew with time, that was going to come back. She was going to grow into the best she could be with their help. But for now, Y/N needed their support while she continued to work hard.

Y/N sniffled at Damian’s words and looked up at him with wide sad eyes, her shoulders slumped from exhaustion. “I want it all to go away.” She sniffled. “I ruined a relationship with someone I loved because I want to be better b-but at what cost?” She asked herself. Damian used his thumb to wipe her tears. “You did what you believed was the best choice. We’ve all had to go through this, and it’s going to get better.” He gently lowered her into the warm bath and she relaxed in the hot water, letting Damian clean her up. The two of them sat in silence as he wiped the sweat and tears from her body and face, and she’d been so exhausted that he barely remembered Damian lifting her out of the water and carrying her back to bed.

The next morning, the four left Y/N in bed so she could get caught up on her rest while Damian told everyone what happened the night before. “She’s weak, Damian.” Finn said the next morning. While they were all sympathetic, the Irishman had other concerns. “We don’t have time to wait for her to get herself together.” Rhea rolled her eyes at Finn, as did Damian. “We don’t have time? Or you’re impatient?” She challenged.

Finn sighed and pinched his eyebrows. “Both.” He admitted. Dominik looked up from his video game at his partners. “We told her it wasn’t going to be easy. We need to work with her, Finn. Not make things worse.” Finn bit his lip as he looked at the other three in the room. “Or we continue to test her loyalty.” He wasn’t going to let this go; he was going to continue testing Y/N until she proved she was truly committed to The Judgement Day. “And if she can’t be loyal to us? Then it’s time to move on.”

Chapter 7: pt. 7

“Prove herself? Her loyalty?” Damian asked in frustration as he stepped closer to Finn. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “You don’t think she’s done everything she can up to this point? You don’t think she’s given up a lot to be here with us?” He didn’t mean to raise his voice, but he couldn’t help but get upset with Finn when he acted like this. Rhea put her hand on Damian’s back to calm him down while chiming in her own thoughts. “He’s got a point, babe. We can’t expect her to just flip that switch when she’s betrayed someone she loved.”

Finn shook his head a little and looked at his partners. “You think I want to do this? I love and care about her just as much as every one of you do.” He said. “But we can’t let her flip flop on us. She needs to pick a side and stick to it.” Damian clenched his fists, Rhea taking a step closer to Finn. “If what she’s done so far isn’t good enough, and you continue to push her…then it’ll be your fault when she ends up getting hurt.” She said, her voice dangerously low as she stood toe to toe with her partner.

Damian nodded and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I’m not giving up on her, Finn. Not now, not ever. And it’s sad that you don’t have any faith in her loyalty.” Dominik got up and stood between his partners so they didn’t get any more frustrated with one another. The younger member’s hand gently rubbed Damian’s back as he looked between him and Finn, Rhea continuing to stare down the Irishman in front of her. “I hope you know what you’re doing right now.” She warned. “Because it’ll be your mess to clean up.”

What they didn’t know was Y/N had woken up when Damian began to raise his voice at Finn. She pretended to still be asleep, but was listening to every word of their conversation not far from the bedroom. She heard that Finn had little no faith in her loyalty at this point in time; she heard everyone else sticking up for her when he openly said they would need to move on if she couldn’t prove herself. Y/N took note of every feeling in her body - the sadness, the anger, the frustration - and knew she was going to need to channel it over the next few days.

— —

Y/N spent the next three days before the next taping of Monday Night RAW training like a beast. She was in and out of the gym with every one of her partners, she was trying new moves in the ring, and she was plotting her next move as to how she could prove her loyalty to the group.

Tonight was the perfect opportunity, as Damian and Finn had a match against Dexter Lumis and Johnny Gargano. Not just any match though, as it was a No Disqualifications match and anything was legal. It made sense for their feud that had been building up slowly over a couple of weeks, and it was a match that Y/N knew she could easily get herself involved in to not only prove her loyalty, but show the audience why she was their secret weapon.

Y/N took her time backstage getting ready and getting into the right headspace to go out with her partners. Everyone tried making conversation with her, but she would only engage in small talk before going back to taking care of herself. But once it was time to go to the ring, Y/N was ready. And she stood shoulder to shoulder with her partners as they walked backstage to gorilla. Dominik stayed back since he had his own promo to be ready for later, but he was watching from the locker room the entire time.

Standing between Damian and Rhea, the taller of the two keeping his arm around her shoulder the entire time, Y/N easily slipped into her character as she placed her cherry lollipop in her mouth. Not only was she bubbly and energetic, but she had an undeniable hint of crazy to her; she was the sore thumb in bright colors that stuck out in the group of black leather and chains, but they loved her that way. She felt confident walking out to the ring with The Judgement Day and felt even better when they all made it clear she was one of them. It may have been somewhat of an act with Finn, but he was damn good at it.

The match was pretty average; both teams were pretty much even as they both switched controls and kept trying to pin one another, but towards the end Damian and Finn were most definitely getting tired. Rhea and Y/N had even dealt with the unsettling stares from Dexter throughout the match while the boys took their beatings. Taking numerous hits through chairs and tables didn’t help them either. The boys were taking more hits, Damian was most definitely getting frustrated whenever Dexter or Johnny kicked out, and Finn was getting desperate. Rhea had gone to check on Damian after he took a pretty rough hit to the outside of the ring, and Y/N knew she needed to take advantage of the moment.

With Johnny and Finn still in the ring and everyone else occupied, Y/N used that as her opportunity to be helpful. In her head, she was going to distract Dexter and Johnny so her boys could take advantage of them and get the win before they could react. If that didn’t work, she wasn’t above distracting a ref or getting physical with an opponent herself. But she was going to see what she could get away with and prove why she was what The Judgement Day needed by their side.

She pulled out a new table from under the ring and set it up for the boys to use their advantage, but Y/N wasn’t done there. She watched closely as Johnny used the ropes to support himself, and she hopped up on the apron behind him to try and hold him in place for Finn. Her arms wrapped around his torso to keep him to the ropes for Finn, and as her partner approached them to have his way with Johnny he managed to scramble away. With how fast Finn was going he almost ran right into Y/N; they both looked at each other in shock and he put his hands up in defense. “All good, we’re good.” He told her softly.

Little did Finn know, it was going to be anything but good in a matter of seconds.

Finn turned away from Y/N and came face to face with Johnny, who was preparing a superkick to take out his opponent and end the match. He had half a mind to duck thanks to his quick reflexes, but Finn didn’t even think about who was behind him.

Unlike her partner, she didn’t have time to avoid the kick. Y/N became the victim of Johnny’s superkick, and the impact to her jaw made her lose her balance and fall off the edge of the ring. As she fell, she was met with the unmistakable impact of a table that shattered upon her body hitting it. All Y/N felt was pain as she listened to the cheers of fans in the arena, and her body quickly faded in and out of unconsciousness.

The looks on the faces of everyone in The Judgement Day were of pure horror and fury when they saw what happened. Finn was in disbelief at what he had done, but he took advantage of the shock on Johnny’s face as well and was able to deliver a finisher to end the match. But he knew that ending this match was only the beginning of fixing the mess he’d created.

Rhea didn’t even bother to go to Finn after the match ended, and neither did Damian. They were both so livid on what he’d allowed to happen to Y/N that the last thing they wanted to do was celebrate. Finn stood in the ring and looked at Y/N in horror as his partners went to her side.

“Y/N? Baby, hey! Look at me!” Damian said as his big hands cupped Y/N’s face. Her jaw was already starting to bruise from the kick she’d received. Her eyes opened and closed as she groaned in pain, barely able to focus on the faces of her partners above her. “I know, we’re gonna fix it. I promise!” Rhea comforted her, slowly helping her babygirl sit up before turning to look at Finn.

If looks could kill. Finn Balor would have been dead on the spot.

— —

The tension around the group was thick once they got backstage; no one wanted to deal with Finn, but at the same time each of them wanted to give him a piece of their mind. Dominik, Damian, and Rhea each glared daggers at him in the locker room while they waited for Y/N to come back from medical. Finn could feel the stares. “I need you all to stop starin’ at me like fuckin’ vultures.” He said.

“We’re staring because we’re waiting for you to say something!” Rhea said out of frustration. “Do you realize what even happened out there? You did this, Finn!” She said, anger laced through her voice. Damian stood up this time and slowly went toe to toe with his partner. “I hope she’s proven herself to you.” He said. “Because if that didn’t do the job then I don’t know what the fuck else you want from her.”

Finn turned his head away from Damian. He couldn’t look at his partners because he knew they were right. But he couldn’t admit that yet. “You act like I don’t feel like garbage.” He mumbled. All three of them scoffed, this time Dominik being the one to speak up. “You sure aren’t acting like you feel bad.” He said. “You haven’t apologized once to her. You haven’t talked about it once since you guys got back here!”

Damian crossed his arms and paced the room, continuing to stare holes into Finn. “You have to fix this.” He said, pointing at his partner. “You got her into this mess because she needed to ‘prove herself’ to you, so you can make it better.”

Before Finn could answer, Y/N opened the door with an ice pack to her jaw. Beneath the ice was a harsh bruise that was already turning black and blue, and she had a nice bruise on her back from the impact of the table. She looked at each of her partners, Finn’s look a lot shorter than the others, and they each looked at her with pity for what happened. Damian was the first to move closer to Y/N, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

Y/n clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk or deal with anything else for the night. She stayed in his arms and closed her eyes before letting out a soft sigh. “I’m gonna head out.” She mumbled into Damian’s broad chest. He nodded and pulled away to grab her bags. “I’ll go with you.” He said softly.

“Count me in.” Rhea said and grabbed her own things. Dominik didn’t even need to say a word; his silent glare at Finn as he stood up and walked out with everyone else was enough of a sign that he had no desire to be in the room any longer. The Punisher and The Eradicator walked out of the room with Y/N, and Rhea looked at Finn once more before she left.

“Fix this.” She mouthed, before walking away and closing the door on The Irishman.

Chapter 8: pt. 8

Notes:

a/n - finn gets a visit from an old friend

Finn stood alone after his partners all left the dressing room, and he started to think long and hard about the disaster he’d created. As wrong as it was...he wasn’t sure of what exactly he did wrong. Was pushing Y/N to be the best she could be such a bad thing? Was having that conversation with his partners not okay? Finn didn’t get it, and he knew that was worse than recognizing what he’d even done being wrong.

As he sat on the couch with his eyes closed and his fingers digging into his temples, he’d decided the best thing to do was just relax and try to sleep some of this off for a few minutes. Maybe he’d come up with some ideas of where to go from here while he did so. It didn’t take long for Finn to doze off as he laid on the couch, but as he did, Finn could feel a presence of someone - no, something - with him. He had no clue who it was, but he tried to ignore it.

Try as hard as he wanted...but Finn would never be able to ignore his demons.
He took a deep breath and tried to push away everything that he was feeling; oddly enough, the darkness surrounding him was comforting. It gave him the space to feel what he needed to feel without anyone else there telling him what to do. However, as his light slumber took over his body he noticed that presence finally showing their true identity.

“Christ, haven’t seen you in awhile.” Finn mumbled in slight annoyance, looking straight at the red and black Demon in front of him. Bálor stood in front of him in all his glory, smiling and swaying on all fours as he finally made his grand entrance.

“It’s been way too long, friend!” Bálor said in excitement. “I needed to come see you after the mess you’ve made.” Nothing about the Demon King was a good sign, and Finn knew that. He was the last person Finn wanted to see at the moment.

Finn rolled his eyes at Bálor’s words and shook his head. “Don’t even start.” He said, clearly agitated and wanting nothing to do with this conversation. “If you’re here to tell me I fucked up and they’re upset with me, don’t waste your time. Everyone else has already made it pretty clear.”

Bálor couldn’t help but laugh a bit, moving closer to Finn and standing in front of him. Just the sight alone made Finn’s skin crawl, but he’d also learned a long time ago to embrace his demons rather than pushing them away; that only made it worse. Bálor quickly caught onto that as well and used it to his advantage whenever he wanted to make his presence known. “I’m not going to repeat much of what’s already been said, friend. Especially because they’re all right.” The Demon stated matter of factly.

The Irishman was even more agitated. “Fuck this, I’m not having this conversation-”

“Oh, yes we are!” Bálor interrupted. “And you’re going to listen, which is something you haven’t been very good at.” The Demon began pacing around on all fours, watching Finn like a hawk as he began talking. “It’s no secret you love the humans, all four of them. Whether you’ve been acting like it, it a different story.” He smirked at how furious those words made Finn, who almost interrupted. But the Demon held up his finger as if to remind Finn to keep quiet. “You don’t show love by hurting others. And you’ve especially hurt the small one.” Bálor said, speaking specifically of Y/N. “She injured herself for you, and it still wasn’t enough?”
Finn listened carefully, seeing where Bálor was going with this but still not understanding why he was in the wrong. “I never said it wasn’t enough.” He answered softly. “I just...I want to make her the best she can be. Sure I’m harsh but how is that such a bad thing?”

Bálor tsked softly, showing his fangs as he watched Finn squirm due to the lack of comfort. “She shouldn’t have to hurt herself to prove to you she’s loyal.” The Demon said slowly and carefully. “Not only that, but she has already sacrificed enough. Leaving behind someone she loved, causes more pain than anything physical.” He reminded Finn softly. “Think of what happened when you met the humans...you did the same, didn’t you?”
He thought carefully about Bálor’s words. The Demon was right; not only did Finn have this same period of loss and grieving of previous relationships before joining The Judgement Day, but everyone else did as well. Hell, Dominik was still grieving and coming to terms with his own situation after all this time. Bálor was right - Finn wasn’t seeing the progress Y/N had been making. He looked up at the Demon before letting his posture relax. “Yeah...yeah, I did.” He answered softly. “I don’t know how to fix it though. I want to...I just don’t know how.”

A soft smirk crawled onto the lips of the Demon King himself, his fangs once again making an appearance. “You show each of them how much you love them, and you stop treating them this way.” Bálor said softly. “Your actions will speak much louder than your words.”
The Irishman gave another small nod as he thought through his conversation with Bálor. “I can do that.” He said softly, watching as the Demon smiled in satisfaction.

“Who would’ve thought I’d be the one teaching you to be human.” Bálor noted, a hint of sarcasm and pride in his voice. “You should work on that before I get too soft for you silly people.” That was when Bálor began to make his exit towards the darkness once again, hoping that his old friend would learn his lesson after this.

Finn came to and opened his eyes, back in the dressing room on the couch where he’d dozed off to think through what had happened. Oddly enough, Bálor was right and had taught him what it means to be human; how backwards that was.

All he knew, was that he had work to do. And that work began the next morning, knowing that none of his partners wanted anything to do with him for the rest of the night.

--- ---

The remainder of The Judgement Day had gotten back to their hotel long after finally leaving the venue. None of them were thrilled with the circumstances, but they needed to have faith that Finn was putting the work in to think through what he’d done and how he was going to fix it.

While Damian and Dominik crawled into bed, Rhea took Y/N into the shower so she could take some time for herself. She also wanted to hear what Y/N was thinking, as she hadn’t said much since leaving the arena earlier in the night. Rhea turned the water on and turned to where Y/N was sat on the bathroom counter, gently moving the ice pack away from her jaw and sighing at the sight of the bruise. “How are you feeling?” She asked softly.

Y/N gave a small shrug and took off the t-shirt she was wearing (courtesy of Damian) and revealed some more forming bruises on her back from the table spot. “I could be better. I’m just tired I think.” She noted quietly. Who wouldn’t be tired after getting kicked in the face and falling through a table? She thought to herself.

Rhea nodded and took a makeup wipe to start removing left behind eyeliner and mascara on Y/N’s cheeks. “I promise we can go to bed soon.” She gently stood Y/N up afterwards and helped her discard of her shorts, both of them stepping under the hot water and letting the steam relax their sore muscles. Y/N sighed in content, a small smile on her face for the first time almost all night.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful for a shower.” Y/N said softly, making Rhea chuckle. She leaned in to kiss her smaller partner’s forehead and grabbed some shampoo. “Is Finn coming back tonight?” She hated to admit it, but part of her missed the idiot. Yes he pissed Y/N off, but she still hoped he would come back that night and try to make things better.

The Aussie gave a small sigh and started to wash Y/N’s hair, gently getting at her scalp with her nails. “I don’t think so, bug.” She said quietly. “It’s probably for the better. He just...he needs the night.” Up to this point, Rhea had no clue Y/N heard anything Finn had said regarding her loyalty. She and the boys were living in ignorant bliss because of it; but Y/N knew she needed to tell Rhea.

So Y/N leaned her head back under the water as the shampoo was rinsed from her hair before looking up at Rhea. “I know what he thinks of me.” She said, Rhea furrowing her brows in confusion. “I heard you guys talking about...about whether I was loyal or not. I heard his doubts.” The sadness was written all over Y/N’s face, and Rhea knew she couldn’t change what had been said.

Rhea frowned and kissed Y/N’s forehead again. “I’m so sorry,” she said before giving Y/N a kiss on the lips. “He...I know it’s not good. He just has such high expectations of people. And we wanted him to think through what he said but he just gets so in the moment when he cares.”

Y/N shook her head and stood on her toes to give Rhea one more kiss. “I know, I heard you guys sticking up for me.” She said quietly. “I just wish I knew when...when I’d be good enough.”

With one more kiss, Rhea held Y/N’s cheeks and made eye contact with her. “You are.” She whispered. “You’re all we could ask for. And he’s going to come to his senses soon.” That was more to convince herself than Y/N.

The two spent the rest of the shower in silence, helping each other clean up and exchanging slow kisses with one another. Eventually they finished and got changed before heading out to bed, and they maneuvered their way into the mess of limbs that Dominik and Damian already created; Rhea took the easy way and laid on the outside next to Dominik, and Y/N shimmied between the two boys to take her rightful spot with Damian.

Damian’s arms easily wrapped around Y/N on instinct and she snuggled into his chest, the sound of the large man’s heartbeat lulling her to sleep. But as she laid there, alone with her thoughts, she couldn’t stop thinking of their missing Irishman who she wanted nothing more than to just admit he was wrong and fix everything.

The question was, would be even admit it?

Chapter 9: pt. 9

Notes:

a/n - this part is smutty, just an fyi; warnings include: NSFW 18+, poly!judgement day, minor descriptions of violence in matches, fem!reader, bottom!reader, top!finn, kissing, grinding, penetration, cumshot on reader, scratching, clawing, leaving marks,

the next time the judgement day was set to compete, it was a mixed tag team match for a taping of smackdown. the fivesome had spoken a bit since the catastrophe that was finn’s match against johnny, but it had been a minute since they had all been together as a whole group. someone was always with y/n to make sure she was okay and had what we needed, but y/n and finn hadn’t said so much of a word.

that was all about to change, though.

officials gave finn the opportunity to pick which of the girls he wanted as his partner for the match; damian and dominik would have their own segment later in the night, so they weren’t going to be competing in this match. but they were all on the same page in assuming rhea would be the one to go into this tag match with finn. they were all in the dressing room, and rhea started grabbing her things to get ready. “i’ll be ready shortly, finn-”

the irishman cut her off with a gentle shake of his head. “no need, love. i was going to ask y/n if she’d go with me.” he said, his voice almost shy as he said those words. he was met with looks of shock from all four of his partners, especially y/n, who was confused he even wanted anything to do with her. she wasn’t so much injured from the fall she took through the table during finn’s last match and was cleared to compete, but she still didn’t think finn would pick her.

why is he asking me to do this? she thought to herself. didn’t he just believe that i wasn’t loyal? that i couldn’t do this?
finn stepped closer to y/n and sat across from her spot on the couch. “love, i know you’re probably still pissed at me, and that’s understandable.” he began softly, looking at her with the most sincere look he’d managed in a long time. “but i know you’re going to kick ass and be amazing. you deserve this opportunity.” finn said.

y/n blinked, still in slight shock, her other partners scattered around the room and looking at her and finn with just as much surprise. but she took a minute to think through finn’s words; if she was going to prove herself in the ring, this was her moment to do so. it was no longer about proving herself to finn and her partners, though. this was about proving to herself that she was worthy of this spot in the judgement day.

after thinking through finn’s offer one more time, his own face practically pleading with her to accept, she gave a small nod and stood up from her seat. “let me get dressed.” she said softly, grabbing her bag and heading into the bathroom. once she was gone, though, the rest of the judgement day was about to pounce on finn.

he put his hands up in defense. “i know, i know.” he said; he’d already expected them to be pissed and have questions, but finn was prepared. “but i have a plan. i have to start somewhere.” he said in a hushed voice.

“and what the fuck is this plan, huh?” dominik began, his voice just as hushed. “because the last time you had a plan, she took a fall through a table for us.”

finn ran his hands over his face. “and i feel like shit about it. i’m going to talk to her after the match, but i just...i just need to give her this opportunity.” he bit his lip. “it’s not about me. it’s about her.”

everyone looked back and forth, waiting for someone to be the first to say something. eventually damian was the first to speak up, and he let out a soft sigh before looking at finn. “if anything happens to her-”

“i won’t let that happen.” finn interrupted. and for some reason, for the first time in a long time, the judgement day believed every word he said. this was a different finn than they had known when y/n first joined the judgement day; this was the old finn. the one they all fell in love with and had missed after these last few weeks. they just hoped he stuck to his word.

--- ---

y/n and zelina began the match once everyone was out in the ring, and they did not waste any time in giving the other a piece of their minds. they both had a lot of fight in them, and y/n was nowhere near giving up. but being in matches like this was exhausting, and it showed on her face when she was getting tired. but every time it showed, finn nodded his head at y/n and cheered her on. “you got it, love. you can do it.” he’d say, holding his hand out in case she was ready to make the tag. for once he was letting y/n take things at her own pace - a much different attitude than what they’d all seen as of late.

after a couple more turns tagging in and out, the match was reaching its climax and the crowd was reacting to everything they did. finn and santos had ended up outside of the ring, while zelina and y/n were tangled up on the ringpost. the two began climbing up the ropes until they were on the top turnbuckle, and it was clear y/n was looking for a move that would take both of them back to the mat so she could end the match. zelina, however, had other plans.

she began shoving and pushing y/n in hopes of getting her away, but one of those harsh shoves was enough for y/n to lose her footing on the turnbuckle. disaster had struck, her body falling to the ground below her and y/n yelped as she braced for impact.

to her surprise, though...y/n never felt the ache in her body after hitting the outside of the ring.

instead, she felt herself get caught into a pair of muscular arms that held her close to her body. y/n opened her eyes to see the caring gaze of her favorite irishman - a man who promised himself he’d never let her fall and get hurt as long as he could control it. finn smiled down at her as the crowd cheered around them. “i’ve got you, doll. i’m here.” he said softly to her which made y/n smile up at him.

the confidence only continued to soar through her body as finn gave her one more smile before sliding her back in the ring. y/n was able to bring zelina back down to the ring to deliver a finisher and submission move, and it was only a matter of time before zelina was crying out to end the match and tapping the mat to hopefully get some kind of relief.

finn rejoiced in the ring with y/n; his arms wrapped around her body in a tight hug, smiles on both of their faces at the realization that they were finally able to work together to accomplish something. but finn knew his plan was only beginning and that he still had some other tasks to complete.

--- ---

the winners were met in their dressing room with cheers and hugs from their other three partners. they had all watched from backstage as well, just as shocked as y/n and finn were that they were able to get through the match without choking one another.

while rhea and dominik wrapped their arms around finn, y/n jumped into the safe arms of the punisher and hugged him tight. “good girl, mi amor.” he whispered in her ear, giving the skin below it a gentle kiss as dominik couldn’t stop placing kisses all over finn’s face.

“so proud of the both of you!” the youngest member told his partners, making rhea laugh and give finn her own kiss. “just glad you two behaved.” she whispered, giving finn one more look.

finn recognized the look on rhea’s face, and he nodded in response. he knew he needed to continue this conversation with y/n, so he gently kicked out the other three to get ready for their own segment and reached for y/n’s hand. “come sit with me, my love.” he told y/n softly.

she obliged, sitting next to finn on the couh and gently holding his hand. their fingers danced with one another as she practically avoided all eye contact with him. it hurt him to see just how much she wanted to avoid looking at him, but he knew he needed to be persistent with her. his lanky fingers gently brushed against her chin, the same spot that once had a dark bruise from the kick she received due to his foolishness, and he tucked some hair behind her ear. “i meant every word i said out there, you know?” finn asked y/n softly.

y/n blushed against the feeling of his fingers. the way he spoke to her...no one, not even brooks, had managed to be this gentle and compassionate with her. it was as if finn worried she would break if he was even the slightest bit harsh. y/n had almost convinced herself she didn’t deserve it, but she quickly shifted her focus away from those thoughts. she was silent in response to his question; almost like...like she didn’t have the words for him. but finn wasn’t going to let this slide away from him.

“i promise i meant it.” he said quietly. “just like i mean i’m sorry for everything that’s happened.” finn watched her face the entire time he spoke, waiting for some kind of reaction. but she kept herself still and patiently anticipated his next words. “i never wanted you to get hurt, or to doubt yourself, or to think i never cared about you. you’re our girl, my love. and i just...i didn’t realize that what i thought was tough love actually was causing more harm.”

she bit her lip at finn’s words, watching him as she could’ve sworn finn teared up as he spoke. the realization had hit him that he messed up, and now y/n was watching finn work through that and do his best to make up for what he’d done.

finn squeezed her hand again. “i know you might still be upset with me, and that’s okay.” he said softly. “but please, baby. i’ll...i’ll do anything, love.” he brushed her hair from y/n’s face again, and her next move was shocking but the move exhilarating thing he’d felt in a long time.

y/n leaned in and kissed finn, the most gentle yet passionate kiss she could have managed in that moment, and let it linger for a couple of minutes. when she pulled back, their noses brushed against one another and she was finally able to give finn a small smile. “you’ll do anything?” y/n whispered.

she could see the glint in finn’s eyes; something flickered at her words, and he didn’t think twice before pulling her closer and nodding. “anything.” he confirmed. her next sentence sent chills down finn’s spine, and he could’ve sworn he blacked out from pure ecstasy at y/n’s words alone.

“then show me how much you love me.”
finn didn’t need to be told twice; his arms wrapped around y/n’s body and he easily flipped the two of them over so he could straddle her on the couch. “don’t have to ask me twice.” he whispered against her lips as his own mouth moved synchronously with hers. their hands wandered over each other’s body, both still slightly sweater and in ring gear, and they both giggled like fools as this was the first time in days either one of them had felt one another.

y/n grabbed the waistband of finn’s pants and slowly pulled them down his legs. “we have to be quick,” she said breathlessly between kisses. “they’re going to be back eventually.”

finn chuckled and moved his head down to kiss her neck. “nothin’ they haven’t seen before, peach.” he said. his own hands seamlessly pulled y/n’s shorts and tights off of her legs. their bare hips slowly started to move against one another’s effortlessly, not missing a beat even though they’d been physically been apart for days. y/n’s hand held the back of finn’s head as a small moan left her lips - he just always knew what spots to hit with her - and her manicured fingers tangled in his short hair.

the cheeky bastard that finn was took one look at y/n’s shirt - his own merch that she cut into a crop top - and smirked to himself as he made no effort to remove it. “i’d love nothing more than to make you moan my name while you wear my clothes.” he mumbled.

y/n couldn’t even begin to explain the surge of electricity that ran through her body at finn’s words. she wrapped her legs around his waist in an effort to keep him right there where he was (and where she felt he belonged). “god, i love you but i need you so badly.” she whimpered, making finn laugh as he continued to gently grind against her entrance.

finn could feel how excited she was; not only could he sense the goosebumps all over her body and the chemistry between the two of them, but the arousal between her legs grew the longer they moved and kissed. he himself was growing slightly impatient, but finn also wanted to behave and make sure y/n was being taken care of the way she deserved.

that self control only lasted a few more minutes though, because as her desperate whines and moans grew louder finn couldn’t help but give y/n what she’d been relentlessly begging for in his ear. with his lips pressed to hers in a sweet kiss, finn slowly pushed himself in y/n’s entrance and gave her a few moments to adjust. “that’s my girl...” he whispered as she moaned, pulling his body closer in an effort to have finn as connected to her body as possible.

the two of them moaned against one another’s lips and skin once finn began to move his hips. y/n’s manicured nails lightly scratched down his back - just as she’d done to all of their partners - and finn’s lips once again left another mark at the juncture of her shoulder and neck. “baby...fuck, finn. i need you.” she moaned quietly.

finn sped up his thrusts at those words alone. “i’m here, my love. i’ve got you.” he whispered right back as he got her closer and closer to her release. before either of them had even processed it, y/n reached her climax and tightened her grip on finn’s body in response. she went rigid, her thighs trembling and a loud moan leaving her lips. “fuck! oh, fuck! finn!” she begged.

the irishman shushed her with a kiss, helping her ride it out and finish until she was starting to catch her breath. finn slowly pulled out to her protest, but stayed kneeled between her legs as he continued to stroke his cock. “stay right there for me, love.” he said, a gentle hand on y/n’s thigh as he finished on her thighs. if finn was anything, he was smart about this type of stuff.

y/n smiled as she watched him, wasting no time in pulling him back down into another kiss. the two caught their breath as they continued to exchange gentle kisses, occasionally giggling and wiping some sweat from their foreheads. but the unmistakable sound of the door to the dressing room opening alerted both of them, and their other three partners entered the room with wide eyes.

“oh my god-” dominik mumbled, putting a hand over his eyes as if not to violate what had already been seen. rhea rolled her eyes at him and closed the door so they could all get inside without exposing anymore of finn and y/n’s indecency.

“i take it you two finally made up?” the australian mumbled, making y/n giggle and hide in finn’s shoulder.

finn smirked as well and kissed y/n’s forehead. “i guess you could say that.” for once, everything between the fivesome was okay. there was no more weird energy, no more worries over anyone being upset...things were okay. but how long would they stay that way?

Chapter 10: pt. 10

everything was going considerably well for y/n and the judgement day. finn was getting better every day when it came to not being as harsh on his partners, and his new demeanor had begun to make everyone else in their little family relax as well. they spent more time with one another having fun - something they all had missed out on for quite some time - and they got to show one another why they were all meant to be as a group. things were perfect. 

but someone came and decided to ruin that fun for everyone. and that someone came in the form of edge; a man y/n had looked up to for years, a man who led her through the ins and outs of the industry alongside his wife...the man who started the exact group she was apart of now. not only was edge all of those things, but he seemed to be turning into the man who put y/n in the position to distance herself from her newfound family. 

--- ---

"you're mad because i picked them." y/n noted softly during her backstage conversation with edge. the two stood, hidden amongst sound equipment boxes and tools, as the secret weapon to the judgement day was manipulated by a man she saw as a father figure. 

edge looked down at y/n and shook his head. "no, i’m worried and concerned because they picked you." he said. the look on his face told a slightly different story as the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth tightened in frustration. "last year, shortly after war games if I remember correctly, i swore i was going to end the monster I created." he started in a hushed but tense tone of voice. even with the cameras who had approached them to get this moment in action, hoping to find a hall of famer ripping the shy new girl into pieces, y/n had other plans. 

"so you're putting the weight of your mistake on me because i took an offer from the people who not only my surrogate father picked over me, but also dislocated my shoulder last year at the rumble when she eliminated me." y/n started, standing toe to toe with her hero. “you're upset that while you were gone, someone else took me by the hand and told me that i wasn't the mistake but those above me. you're upset because the force you created to give talent like me a platform came for me despite you turning your back on me from the moment damian intervened at mania. you only seemed to notice me again after the they decided they didn't need you, so finn kicked your ass." 

“watch your tone, kiddo.” edge said, that phrase being one that would normally turn y/n into a puddle of tears. not anymore, though. 

“no.” she spat, acid laced through her tone. “i’m not the same kid you and beth met when i was in NXT. or the same person you walked away from me to make your own little group - a group that you never treated right in the first place.” y/n challenged edge, a smirk tugging up at her lips. “i’m their secret weapon. the fifth member of the judgement day. and i stand on equal ground with four people who love and care about me and my success more than you ever did.”

--- ---

It had been a few weeks since both edge and beth confronted y/n in their own instances backstage. all of her partners knew about her conversations with them, and now it was time to unpack it all with four people who knew how to calm her down more than anything. 

a rare weekend, where all of them got to be home before elimination chamber, was the perfect time for y/n to be with her partners and discuss everything that had been going on. they knew bits and pieces of the conversations with edge and beth, but they hadn’t gotten their girl’s perspective on it yet. they all sat on their big, comfy couch in the living room; y/n in dominik’s lap with her back to his chest, finn with his head in damian’s lap, and rhea shoved against dominik’s side with his arm over her shoulder. the australian busied herself by playing with y/n’s hair, each of then listening intently to her side of the story. 

“i hate this.” y/n mumbled, fidgeting with dominik’s fingers. “i don’t get why he can’t just leave you guys alone. i don’t care if he talks to me like that or if he’s upset with something i did...but he always has to bring you guys into it.” she closed her eyes as rhea’s fingers gently worked at her scalp to help relax her, it being obvious at how much this conversation overwhelmed her. “he’s thinks i did something wrong...but i don’t get what’s wrong about finding my place with people who care about me.”

her last sentence made damian and finn smile, but they both quickly collected their thoughts before finn spoke up. “nothing is probably ever going to make him okay with you doing this, love.” he told her softly, his hand reaching out to rub her thigh over the blanket she was cuddled under. “but it’s not your fault. we promise.” 

damian nodded as his own fingers played with finn’s hair. “anything we did was going to make him upset.” he added softly. “don’t listen to him, princesa. you’re allowed to be your own person.”

y/n nodded, leaning her hand back against dominik’s shoulder and letting him kiss her temple. “i’m not the same kid he met in NXT.” she said quietly. “i’m better than that.” and all of her partners nodded in agreement, because they knew she was right; hell, she probably wouldn’t have gotten there without the four of them. 

rhea offered a small smile to y/n and pushed some hair behind her ear. “damn right you’re better than that.” she chuckled. “and you’re ours. that’s better than anything he could give you.”

all of her partners were right. and the moments like this, when they all were together and exchanging gentle words with one another, reminded y/n why she continued to be with them. it reminded her why she wasn’t just a member of their group...she was their family. and they were hers. 

dominik was the next to speak up as his grip on both girls tightened. “don’t worry about them, baby.” he told her softly. “it’s our one weekend that we get at home. don’t let their ridiculousness worry you this much. we can always deal with it when we go back to work.” y/n knew dom was right; they rarely got to be home anymore, so she was going to enjoy this time with all of her partners together on the couch and not stuck at the airport. 

damian smirked. “i could think of a couple different ways to take your mind off of it.” he teased softly, making y/n playfully roll her eyes and cuddle further into dominik. 

“you do that, i’m going to take a nap.” she teased him, the rest of their partners chuckling and following suit as they held one another on the couch. 

--- ---

monday night raw, two weeks before elimination chamber 2023. 

"the thing is, the thing is- i started the judgement day with the intention of elevating underutilized and recognized talent.” edge said, standing in the ring alongside beth as they spoke about the judgement day. “and i succeeded. every member is miles better than they were a year ago. and well, then there's dom." edge always knew how to get to the crowd and get them on his side; dom was an easy target, but no one in the judgement day found those jokes funny. "now i know, you all would like me to address the elephant in the room but i’ll get back to that in a second…"

what edge and beth didn’t see, was y/n backstage with her partners watching the entire situation unfold. the two people y/n saw as family, as surrogate parents when her own didn’t give her the support she needed, stood in the ring and spat nothing but hatred and sarcasm towards the people she loved; but it was about to get much, much worse. 

“now i am not a man that is used to feeling helpless, but when rhea hit beth with those brass knuckles and held that chair in her hand at extreme rules - i knew what was coming. and i was powerless to stop it. so congrats, judgment day. but also-" the hall of famer stopped suddenly, popping his lips after a moment, "there was someone else ringside during that match, wasn't there, beth?" 

tears filled in y/n’s eyes. she knew where this was going, and that memory alone caused tears to fill in her eyes again. watching someone she viewed as a mother figure, a role model...be beaten helplessly by someone who would eventually turn into her partner? it was a fucked up memory in the deep pits of her head - one that she’d barely been able to unpack with the judgement day - but now she was going to have to be confronted with it all over again. 

“they’re wrong...they’re so wrong for this...” y/n mumbled, her arms crossed and finn standing next to her with his arm around her waist. “they know what they’re doing and they don’t even care.”

“breathe, mi princesa.” damian warned softly, his own eyes still watching the monitor closely. he could feel the anxiety radiating off of y/n, but he wasn’t sure anything he did in the moment was going to make it better. 

edge started back up again, fake hurt all over his face as he spoke. “ i remember a certain NXT superstar being backstage that night.” he said. “i remember that certain NXT star crying inconsolably over beth as people rushed out to help her. i remember one arm around her shoulders, and the other hand nervously stroking my wife's face to make sure both of them were okay. not only that, but i remember wrapping my arms around that young girl once we got backstage to make sure she was okay before going to check on beth.” y/n sniffled and looked down at her feet at the memory, her partners each looking at her with sadness. they knew they caused that moment...they caused that pain. yet they hadn’t talked about it. 

y/n watched as she became nothing more than a plot point for this feud; no longer was she the fifth member of the judgement day, but she was the young girl caught between the two hall of famers and the group that loved her. she hated this. and there was nothing she could do except listen to edge spew utter hatred. 

beth was the next to speak up, her voice breaking y/n down even more. “i’ve spoken with y/n about her recent addition to the judgement day.” she started, the crowd booing once again. “and when i spoke to her, she presented the same story as dominik; feeling betrayed by the people she loved, feeling like there was something better out there for her...and she’s right. there’s always something better.” beth looked into the camera, and y/n could feel that nausea in her stomach once again. “but honey, this isn’t the answer.”

y/n hadn’t even heard anything else said, both over the monitor or by her partners. she didn’t even realize edge had challenged finn and rhea to a match at elimination chamber. damian gave her pointers about the interruption they were about to make, dominik was whispering to her to make sure she could even go out there, and she didn’t hear a single word. her body reacted faster than her mind did, and before she realized it she was following her partners out of gorilla and into the ring. 

--- ---

damian kept a hand on y/n’s lower back the entire time. her rage pumping through her body as she stared down beth and edge sent shockwaves through his own body, and finn and dominik stayed just as close by in case they needed to get her out of the ring. but they also gave her the room to speak up for herself and her partners, even if it resulted in her mentors slightly ridiculing her. she was waiting for the ring to open up and provide her with an escape, but instead she was stuck there in the middle of the arena; all eyes on her, laughing and booing when put up against her mentors who obviously had the leg up on the audience. 

finn accepted the challenge without any hesitation. he called his match at extreme rules against edge ‘child’s play’, knowing that match alone did enough damage to edge and beth alone that anything else would be catastrophic. but edge wasn’t going to allow them to have the last word. “everything i said about you being better is true.” he started with a shrug. “even though you’re better, you still all confuse me. priest, you follow these people around like a lost dog even though you said you didn’t want a leader. y/n has you wrapped around her finger, just like rhea does with dominik. and finn, you’re better than all of this. you’re walking around like a cheap, knockoff version of the finn balor who once ruled this company.” the son of a bitch smirked as he looked at y/n one more time. “none of you really have one another’s backs. y/n, kiddo, they’re going to stab you in the back before you can even count to five.” he warned her, watching the young superstar’s face fill with anger. 

eventually she lost it as they all bickered with one another. the last straw, was the last time edge brought her name up into the conversation and used her as a plot point for his own vendetta against the judgement day. her manicured fingers snatched the microphone from dominik, and she finally let herself speak up. “enough! enough, all of you! stop it!” she practically begged. “tear me apart all you want, i don’t care.” she turned to beth and edge. “but as soon as you two drag me into your issues with them, then i’m going to say something. keep my name out of your mouth, or rhea won’t be the only one with brass knuckles and a chair.” she said, beth and edge both laughing at her once again. 

“y/n, honey,” beth started as she smirked. “back up and let the adults talk, yeah?” she knew exactly how to get under y/n’s skin. 

damian rested a warning hand around y/n’s arm, gently coaxing her to let go of the microphone and pushing her body behind his. “easy, amor.” he whispered, his own eyes watching beth and edge carefully.

edge laughed at the judgement day as they stood in front of him, y/n slowly falling apart and the others trying to make sure she didn’t do something rash. “you wanted to play with the big kids, kiddo.” he said, smirking as she clung to damian’s arm to ground herself and stay calm. “grass isn’t so green on the other side, is it?”

those words made her see red, and before she knew it chaos broke out in the ring. everyone was throwing their hands at each other, damian ending up outside of the ring at one point and y/n by his side. she didn’t want to get involved in anything else that was going on, but needed to make sure her partners were okay. “damian?” she asked softly, but he was quick to calm her down through his own pain. 

“i’m okay, mi amor.” he said, groaning as he held his back in pain. “get out of here before-”

before he could even finish his sentence, y/n locked eyes with finn who was hunched in a corner. he was in direct line of edge, who stood across from him and clearly had every intention of delivering a spear. but y/n wasn’t going to let that happen. she’d proved her loyalty before, and she was going to do it again. 

y/n hopped back up into the ring and used all of her weight to push finn aside. edge was already running full speed ahead in hopes of getting to finn, but instead his body collided with hers so hard that not only did she have the impact from the spear, but she felt the impact of the ring post to the back of her head. she crumbled to the mat with one hand to her back and the other holding her torso; a loud whimper filled with pain left her lips, all of the air knocked out of her body, and it felt like the deepest of breaths couldn’t fill her lungs. 

edge looked at her in horror as she writhed in pain. he couldn’t even believe what he’d done - something he never would have hoped to do, he did because she didn’t want finn to get hurt. “honey, i-” he started, reaching a hand out to touch her and make sure she was okay. but as soon as edge’s hand touched y/n’s arm, she scrambled away from a man she once looked up to out of fear. 

if looks could kill, the judgement day would’ve ended edge right then and there. 

finn’s face turned red in rage, pulling y/n closer to him before passing her body to damian. “get her out of here. now.” he said, already standing up and going right back to where edge was standing. “you think this is a game? huh?” he yelled at the hall of famer. 

while finn continued getting physical with edge, damian had picked y/n’s body up in his arms and started walking back up the ramp. “i know, princesa. i’m so sorry.” he said in her ear, letting her groan and occasionally wheeze in pain. 

y/n gripped at his jacket and hid in his neck. the thoughts that ran through her mind were absolutely all over the place, but the pain in her body overpowered everything else. she couldn’t even find the words to say as she drifted in and out of semi-consciousness from the pain in her head. 

damian rushed backstage as an official led him into the medical area. he wasn’t taking any chances with how hard y/n hit her head, so he sat her down on one of the benches and held her face with his cheeks. “baby, hey y/n, look at me.” he said softly, trying to get her still slightly frantic, but mostly absent gaze to meet his. “you’re okay, i promise.”

y/n wondered why damian looked so...blurry; almost like her brain had photoshopped or edited him to look smoother than before. “edge did that to me...?” she mumbled, pieces of what happened being burned into her memory for the worst or for the better. this wasn’t the same man who would show her how to put someone in a submission hold when she’d just barely started her wrestling career, or who taught her the proper way to tape her wrists before going into a match. this edge was...he was different. he could’ve stopped himself when he noticed y/n get in the way of the spear but he didn’t; he let himself hurt her, and now he was going to deal with his consequences. 

damian let out a soft sigh and frowned as a medic began to examine y/n. “my head hurts.” she told him softly, her eyes closing as her head started to feel heavy on her shoulders. y/n leaned forward to rest her forehead on damian’s shoulder, but he was quick about sitting her back up straight. 

“i know it does, hermosa.” damian told her softly, making sure she stayed upright. “i just need you to stay still...” it wasn’t long before he heard the rushed footsteps of finn and dom enter the medical room, both of them out of breath and their clothes a disheveled mess from the brawl that occurred in the ring. 

“oh god, baby!”

“chica, are you okay?”

“y/n, we’re so sorry!”

the rushed voices of all three men in the room was enough to overwhelm both y/n and the medic working with her to assess the damage edge did in the ring. “fuck, guys! too much!” y/n winced, as her head throbbed in pain. 

the medic looked at damian, finn, and dominik with a gentle shake of her head. “i’m sorry but i need you guys to step out for a second.” she said, moving to lead all three men out of the room. of course they all tried to stay - none of them wanted to leave y/n alone after what happened. but before they knew it they were stood out in the hallway and staring at a closed medical room door. 

--- ---

the backstage aftermath was anything but calm after the judgement day’s segment with edge and beth. the match for elimination chamber was confirmed, and everyone knew it was going to be an absolute bloodbath because of what happened in the ring. this was anything but settled, and now they each had to deal with their own aftermath and emotions. 

edge paced nervously in his own dressing room with beth after he’d come to terms with what he’d done. he couldn’t even go see y/n to apologize; he was stuck in his own thoughts, replaying the moment his body slammed hers against the ringpost and he could do nothing but watch her moan and writhe in pain. beth was just as overwhelmed, and she was doing her best to talk edge down from his current state. “adam, we need to take a deep breathe and calm down.” 

“calm down?” he said, looking to his wife with panicked eyes. “i can’t calm down, beth. not after what i just did out there. i-i didn’t even realize she pushed finn out of the way. damnit, beth! she’s too involved with them that she’s taking their hits for them now?” he asked, a stressed hand running through his hair. 

beth shook her head. “honey, you couldn’t have controlled what she did.” she said softly. “she’s an adult, whether you want to acknowledge that or not, and she’s going to make her own decisions. y/n’s the one who has to live with what she did, not you.”

edge sat down on the couch and nervously bounced his leg. the lines on his face creased with tension as he gritted his teeth, looking up at his wife. “we have to do something.” he mumbled. “she’s in too deep with them...she thinks this is good for her but they’re only turning her against people who have been there longer than anyone else. y/n is throwing her relationships with everyone down the drain, including us.” he let out a soft sigh as he came to terms with what his next steps were. 

“we have no choice, beth.” he said softly. “we need to get her away from them and end the judgement day once and for all.”

Chapter 11: pt. 11

“what the hell happened out there?”

it wasn’t long after the chaos ensued in the ring that rhea was blowing up the phones of all four partners. she wasn’t backstage for this particular show due to some travel delays and booking, but she watched everything that went down between the judgement day and edge. needless to say, she was not thrilled and was giving her boys an earful as soon as one of them answered her call. 

the three boys sat in their dressing room, waiting for y/n to finish in medical and trying to calm rhea down over the phone. finn was the first to speak up. “baby, we had no clue she was going to-”

“you had no clue?” she interrupted. “finn, you know how she is! you know she’s going to fight tooth and nail to prove that she’s loyal to us! she’s taken table shots, kicks, why would this be any different?”

damian sighed and ran a stressed hand through his hair, the other hand holding dominik’s thigh to calm his bouncing leg. “okay, let’s just all take a deep breathe.” he said, hoping it would calm everyone down even though he knew that was a long shot at this point. “rhea, amor, it’s my fault.” he said. “i was trying to get her out of there before things got out of hand but she saw finn and took matters into her own hands. i should’ve just been quicker.”

rhea took her own deep breathe and pinched the bridge of her nose. “i’m sorry for freaking out.” she may have been a rock in front of an audience, but when it came to her family, rhea couldn’t help but panic - especially when she wasn’t there. “she’s going to be okay though, right?”

“she was a little fuzzy coming through gorilla.” dom said softly. “her head hit the ringpost pretty hard and she got the wind knocked out of her, but we won’t know anything for sure until she finishes with medics.” he bit his own lip with worry and grabbed damian’s hand, needing one of the older two to help calm him down. “this is edge’s fault. he knew what he was doing when he came out to the ring and started patronizing her. I swear to god the next time i see him-”

“hey, love.” finn shook his head at the younger mysterio and rubbed his back. “don’t even go there just yet.” he wasn’t about to let them make any irrational decisions. sure, they were all pissed; they’d just watched two people that their secret weapon, their princess, adored for the majority of her life and career humiliate her in front of an audience. he wanted their next moves to be calculated...he wanted edge to pay for what he’d done before anything could get out of hand again. because no one messed with the judgement day...especially their newest member. 

--- ---

everyone in the judgement day was lucky enough to be home again, altogether before elimination chamber so y/n could recover from her run-in with edge. she had a nice bruise on her rib and luckily walked away with nothing more than a small concussion, but that didn’t mean her emotions were any less hurt by what happened. 

this was a man y/n watched every week on tv growing up. she idolized the charisma that dripped from him and the way he carried himself in and out of the ring. he was one of the main reasons she decided to even become a wrestler. so when she was only a young newbie in NXT just a few short years ago and she met beth phoenix for the first time, she almost couldn’t believe it when the hall of famers took her under their wing to help her train and perfect her craft. beth and adam brought y/n into their lives and treated her like family when she felt so alone in the industry, teaching her new moves and finishers to only enhance the natural talent she had in the ring. 

as time went on though and edge came back to work on his own career again, y/n felt that relationship start to slip through the cracks. he and beth no longer spent as much time backstage helping her with the little details like getting her warmed up or taping her wrists; it became all about making sure the hall of famer had what he needed to build upon his already lengthy resume. but y/n still wasn’t hurt as much as she was now; she’d practically forgiven it and written the whole thing off as her being dramatic. 

then came the judgement day. a group edge started to give underutilized talent a leg up. a way to give people in this industry the opportunities they deserved and to build upon the already great things they’d managed to do. edge was recruiting former champions in damian and rhea...but y/n couldn’t help but feel a slight sting in her chest when he seemingly looked right past her. the man who helped train her, who told her she had so much potential as a professional wrestler...he wanted nothing to do with her joining his own stable. 

edge threw y/n to the wolves, left her with nothing and no one. she had become satisfied with being looked at as a ‘low-card’ wrestler and grew comfortable with being given all of these empty promises and opportunities. but that changed when four people took her in and gave her what beth and adam never could. of course she still loved the two of them; they were her home away from home, the parents she’d never had. but they crushed her soul little by little, and her four partners were the ones who were going to be tasked with picking up the pieces. 

the sound of dominik coming into the living room broke y/n from her train of thought. she’d been curled up on the couch under a blanket, rhea’s head in her lap and the aussie having fallen asleep long ago during their reality tv binge-watching. y/n smiled up at him, her fingers playing with some of rhea’s hair, and she leaned into dom once he got comfortable next to her. 

“i see we’ve switched from jersey shore to the real housewives?” he teased softly, a tattooed arm wrapping around y/n’s shoulder and his fingers gently rubbing a knot under her skin. “how’re you feeling?”

y/n answered with a small shrug and cuddled closer to him. “okay, i guess.” she said. “thinking too much. what else is new?” she couldn’t help the soft chuckle that left her lips as her focus drifted from the tv to dominik’s gentle face. 

dom hummed. “that’s only going to make your concussion worse, you know.” he kissed her temple, a sense of pride running through his chest as his girl chuckled at another one of his jokes. “what are you thinking about?”

her features softened and she curled into her blanket just a little more, being careful as to not wake rhea. “just...everything that happened on monday. the last few months.” she shrugged gently. “i guess i’m frustrated, that’s all. i’m finally growing into my skin and feeling comfortable in a ring. feeling like i actually belong.” she bit her lip as she sunk deeper into her train of thought. “but he made me feel like i’m nothing more than dead weight. or that it was a mistake for you guys to even bring me into the group.” 

dominik took a deep breathe and gently turned her face to look at him. “don’t let edge get to you, chica.” he said quietly. “this is what he does. he plays mind games with people, he says things to get under their skin, and he does whatever he needs to do to piss people off and get a win over them.” he brushed some hair from y/n’s face. “but he doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into by coming for us.”

y/n focused on the feeling of rhea’s soft hair slipping between her fingers. while she wanted to believe everything going on in her mind wasn’t true, something still was tugging at her heartstrings and trying to convince her that she wasn’t worthy of the recognition. “but what if-”

“there are no ‘what if’s’, love.” he shook his head. “you’re here for a reason wit us. you’re ours. we’ve fought to keep you apart of this group, this family, for as long as we have, and nothing is going to stop us now.” dom flashed a small grin. “you have four people who would lay it all on the line for you, just like you have for us. edge isn’t going to get in our way.”

she smiled at dominik, her eyes twinkling with love and adoration as she watched dom look at her the exact same way. “what did i do to deserve you guys?”

dominik smiled at her. “you’re you, and that’s all that matters.” he was always a charmer; dom knew just the right things to say to make butterflies go crazy in the stomachs of his lovers, and this was no different. he leaned in and pressed his lips to y/n’s in a soft kiss, but what neither of them saw was rhea slowly opening her eyes underneath them to see two of the people she loved kissing. 

a soft groan left the eradicator’s lips, her arms circling around y/n’s waist. “how rude of you both to leave me out.” she mumbled. 

y/n giggled and pulled away from dominik, leaning down and giving rhea her own kiss. “there. happy?” her question was met with a soft hum, and the three settled back into their positions on the couch to continue watching tv. 

--- ---

montreal, elimination chamber 2023

for the judgement day, this night was going to be incredibly busy. damian was participating in the elimination chamber match for the united states championship, and rhea and finn had their match against beth and edge. this was the last stop before wrestlemania, the last chance to set storylines and destinies in place before everyone got to the grandest stage of them all. the energy in the buiding, especially between the judgement day members, was almost difficult to even explain. 

even though y/n and dominik didn’t have matches for the night, they were probably just as excited as their partners who would be competing. as y/n was in the dressing room with her partners specifically sitting with finn to help him stretch and warm up, she could tell there was something beyond excitement or adrenaline running through his veins. something like...fury. anger. because he was going to finally get his hands on the man who the entire gorup had been after for months, now; he was the man who speared their secret weapon only a few short days ago. he was the man who stood in the ring and said awful things about the rising star he and his wife had a hand in training. all of them were furious with edge, but finn was the lucky one who got to give him a piece of his mind in the ring. 

y/n sat across from finn, wearing a cropped version of the group’s t-shirt and black jeans as she helped tape his wrists. she wasn’t medically cleared yet after taking the spear from edge, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be backstage to support her family; hell, she wasn’t even above going out to ringside to cause some trouble if she needed to. 

even as she watched him, she could see the gears turning in his head. “if you think any harder your brain might short circuit.” y/n teased. she ripped another piece of tape from the roll and used it to make the wrap on finn’s wrist more even. “do you wanna talk about it?” she felt like she didn’t even need to ask what he was thinking about. the answer was going to be evident. it was just a matter of whether or not finn would actually want to talk it out. 

he shocked her though, and let out a soft sigh. “just thinking of all the ways i’m going to make him miserable once we’re in the ring.” finn mumbled. “he’s not going to get away with what he did, you know? i’m going to make him pay. he doesn’t get to do whatever he pleases like that.”

y/n sighed and finished wrapping finn’s wrist before scooting closer to him. “i know you’re upset,” her hands grabbed his. “but just...keep in mind he’s important to me, okay? they both are. i knew what i was doing when i stepped in front of you and took the spear. this stuff happens, finn.”

“that doesn’t make it okay.” he answered. “i know he’s important to you, but i can’t promise i’ll behave once i get in the ring with him.”

she bit her lip. knowing finn, he wasn’t going to let this go. nothing y/n could say in the moment was going to make this any easier or any better for him, so she decided the best thing to do was step away and let him focus. y/n got up on her knees and kissed her favorite irishman on the forehead. “i’m gonna check on rhea.” she said softly, giving him her signature gentle smile. “behave.” 

with her final warning, she was off onto the other side of the room to check on rhea while she stretched with damian. but even as finn watched her walk away and he finally had space to think about what was going to go down that night, the anger didn’t die down inside of him. it only grew. 

--- ---

time ticked by all so fast yet all so slow as y/n stood by a monitor in gorilla to watch finn and rhea’s match. looking at four people she loved more than anything else in the world absolutely tear each other apart was not easy. it actually made her head throb and she could feel the nausea building in her stomach as they hit and kicked one another. 

but even as she watched, she couldn’t help but feel like...like maybe part of this was her fault. 

if she would have ignored the judgement day’s calls and stuck with her loyalty to edge and beth, she wouldn’t be caught in the middle of this. she would have went about her life and things would have been...okay. she may not have been totally satisfied with her place in the company, but that pain was a lot different than her current emotional pain. 

was that option really any better than what she was currently watching? she would have just been caught in the crosshairs of the judgement day for denying their invitations and she would have been an enemy rather than a partner. 

yeah...neither of those sounded good. 

y/n watched the match closely and chewed her fingernails as she did so. she was unsure who to root for, unsure of who to support, but also wanting nothing more than for the whole thing to end so they could move on. she wanted to be ringside with them like dominik was, but not being medically cleared just yet prohibited her from doing so. it was probably for the best, honestly; she wouldn’t be able to hold back if something happened or someone pissed her off. 

her stomach dropped though, when finn found himself locked into an edgecator. she knew the pain of that move all too well from the amount of times she’d trained both sides of the submission, and while finn was strong, she also knew he was running out of gas and could potentially tap to end the whole thing. 

y/n saw black, though, when beth put rhea in the same hold. her family torturing family, two people she loved being in pain all because her idols had them locked in excruciating submission holds...she wasn’t sitting back any longer. she wasn’t allowing them to continue this. 

y/n was going to fight for her lovers. for the judgement day, just like she proved she could. 

without a second thought, she grabbed a nearby chair from gorilla while dominik had the referee distracted and ran down the ramp. the cheers and jabs from the audience almost sounded like white noise, because the only thing she could focus on was making sure rhea and finn had the leg up. 

the entire match had already been chaotic...why not add more?

y/n slid into the ring with no problem, and faced beth and edge with the chair held high. both of the hall of famers looked at her in absolute shock, but that shock quickly turned to rage as rhea and finn watched on with pride. “you think i won’t do it? huh?” she yelled, staring at her idols before hitting the chair off the mat. “i will! try me!”

the referee was trying to get y/n out of the ring, but edge and beth weren’t going to play this game with her. edge started getting closer to her, his face filled with rage. “you need to learn how to mind your business, kiddo.” he challenged. “get out of here before you get hurt again, do you hear me?”

little did edge know, y/n wasn’t going to allow him to to talk to her like a child anymore; she wasn’t a child. she was an adult, who could make her own decisions and who was going to do whatever she wanted. edge and beth couldn’t change that, and they weren’t going to control her every move like they once could. 

“y/n, i’m not going to tell you again.” edge said, his own hand reaching for the chair but y/n not even loosening her grip. the two tugged back and forth at the chair, both of them yelling at one another and not once breaking eye contact, until finn managed to sweep at edge’s ankles to bring him to the mat. 

once he was laying down on the ring, y/n didn’t even think twice. with brooks, she remembered the hesitation that coursed through her body before she sealed her fate as the newest member of the judgement day. but with edge, a man she saw as a father figure, it was totally different. 

before anyone could stop her, that metal chair hit edge in the back as hard as she could manage. he’d probably taken harder chair hits over the course of his career, but the pain was still evident on his face. 

y/n blacked out; sure she could see her partners smirking at her, but the noise around her was almost nonexistent. she had barely even registered the officials coming out to the ring and ushering her out of the way so the match could finish. 

but as she walked back up the ring, chair still in hand, a smirk rested on her face in pride. young y/n would have never done something like this. not to people she looked up to and loved...

but tonight it was made clear. the old y/n was long gone and dead, thanks to the judgement day. 

monday night raw, february 20th; two days after elimination chamber 

what happened only two nights ago was still fresh and clear in the minds of not only the judgement day, but also to edge and beth. y/n was proud of herself for showing what she was capable of and cementing her position in her new family, and going into this inpromptu meeting with hunter, she thought things were going to go really well. 

maybe triple h was going to offer her a new feud? a couple matches leading up to wrestlemania? hell, maybe she was finally in line for a title match down the road!

everyone backstage knew that going into a meeting with triple h, a hall of famer in his own right, was going to end one of two ways; really well, or really bad. and y/n wasn’t even thinking of the second option as a possibility just yet. 

her partners had went to catering while she sat across from hunter in his makeshift office for the day, making small talk with him before he broke it down her for. for the first time in a long time, confidence was shining through and she was actually proud of herself and her recent accomplishments. the old y/n would have never been able to do this - go into a meeting with her boss, feeling as good as she was in the moment. 

but that wasn’t going to be the case for long. 

“y/n, i wanna talk about what happened on saturday.” hunter said, his hands in front of him as he looked at her carefully. “i know you have your reasons, i know there’s a lot of history between you and the people in that match. but that wasn’t acceptable.” he said. “you aren’t even cleared yet, kid. you could’ve hurt yourself.”

“but i didn’t!” y/n said, her brows furrowed. so this meeting was a tongue lashing from triple h? that’s all this was about? “i couldn’t sit back there and listen to edge and beth taunt them, hunter. they’ve been taunting us for a long time, and i wasn’t going to not do anything.” 

hunter shook his head. “do you interfere in a match? potentially get your partners disqualified?” he said. “you know, edge and beth have been telling me they’ve been worried about you for awhile now.”

they have?

“and i didn’t want to think too much about it. i thought you were just growing into your skin on the main roster, that things would calm down, and you’d be just fine.” another man y/n saw as a mentor was looking at her, disappointment ridden on his face. “but they were right. and y/n, i think you need a break.”

a...a break?

“i already called shawn. i want you back in NXT for a couple of weeks until after wrestlemania. you need a break from the judgement day, and they need a break from you.”

y/n’s heart shattered. tears built in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall in front of her boss. but she could barely even say anything to them, as her breath and her nausea was caught in her throat. “y-you’re kidding, right?”

hunter shook his head. “you need some time to find yourself. and you can thank edge and beth for looking out for you and talking to me, because we all agreed this would be good for you.” he said, his own voice unwavering. “i’ve already talked to johnny and candice. you’re welcome to stay with them for the next few weeks. but y/n, i don’t want you talking to the other four while you’re away. when i say you need a break. i mean it.”

her hands trembled and anger ran through her veins. “hunter, this isn’t fair!” she said. “you’re letting edge tell you what to do with my career? h-he started this!”

“y/n, i can guarantee you’ll thank them for this when it’s all said and done.” he said, a sense of finality in his voice. “i’ll talk to your partners, but for now, this discussion is over. you can grab your things and head out for the night.”

so that was it. y/n was being punished for something edge and beth started. she was being punished for sticking up to her idols, for standing up for her family...she had to pay the price. 

without another word from herself or hunter, y/n stood up from her chair and walked back to the dressing room. the tears finally ran down her face, a sob finally left her throat, and her body shook with rage and anxiety. 

no matter how badly she wanted to as she packed her things, she couldn’t find it within herself to contact any of her four partners. while she wanted to call or text them, or run to catering to beg them to change hunter’s mind, she couldn’t. there was too much shame, too much disappointment in herself to face them. 

all y/n could manage was to leave her purple bandana, something that marked her as one of their own, on top of damian’s bag. it was almost as a way of apologizing for what was happening; a way of saying to them, “i’m sorry i caused this.” or “i’m sorry i wasn’t enough.” not only that, but she left it as a goodbye for the next couple of weeks. 

she left the dressing room, trying to clean up her face and didn’t once look back. the normally busy hallways before a broadcast looked incredibly bare, incredibly quiet...except for one voice that rang like a siren in y/n’s ears as she made her way to a rental car. 

let me in, little one.

Chapter 12: pt. 12

Summary:

the judgment day and y/n come to terms with their new reality, and y/n makes a new friend at NXT.

Notes:

guess who's going back and adding all of the other chapters so i can finish this thing? ME. IT'S ME. ENJOY.

four people. professional wrestlers, who normally could keep their cool in any situation. but when they found out what had happened while y/n was in her meeting with hunter, those tough facades slowly faded away to expose what was hidden beneath the exterior.

“she’s what?”

as soon as the group found that abandoned purple bandana and strolled into hunter’s makeshift office, all hell had broken loose. they listened as their boss gave them the rundown of the decision he’d made, sending their newest member on a bit of a break back to NXT so she had time away from them to figure out “who she was on her own.” the judgement day knew that was a load of shit, though; and they knew exactly who was behind this.

dominik was pacing back and forth, damian sat with his head in his hands, and rhea and finn throwing question after question to hunter. “you’re joking, right?” rhea asked, echoing her previous statement. “y-you can’t just do that with no warning! that’s not fair!”

hunter watched the group with a straight look on his face. “i’m doing what i think is best for y/n, because what i’ve been seeing from her shows me that she needs to find herself and who she is in that ring. not under your influence.”

“no no no, you’re doing this because he doesn’t want her with us!” finn said. it was no secret edge, the man y/n had grown to recognize as a father figure after he and beth took her under their wing during her time in NXT, was the one behind this. he was going to break the group apart little by little, so why not start with the newest piece of the puzzle? “you’re letting his issues with us dictate y/n’s career and that’s not fair!”

“enough.” hunter’s voice boomed, the group deflating little by little as they realized this wasn’t a battle they were going to win right now. “I’ve made my decision and i’m sticking with it. y/n is going to be at NXT until wrestlemania is over, so the four of you can drop it. she’s going to be just fine without you, and if anything, she’ll come back better than before.” he gave one last look to the four individuals in front of him; four people, who under normal circumstances stood tall and with pride. but in this moment, they looked defeated and torn. something he wasn’t used to. “now please, go get ready for the show.”

as the four of them exited hunter’s office and made the slow walk back to their own dressing room, reality set in that the rated r superstar was sticking to his word and he was going to end what he started. he was going to pick this group apart, little by little and to their very core, until there was nothing left.

that walk to their dressing room felt endless. like that missing presence that was their secret weapon left a wide open wound in their group that nothing would be able to replace. and as soon as the door closed behind them and the group was alone, that wound only continued to bleed.

dom was the first to let his tears fall. as the youngest of the group besides y/n, he himself was still dealing with the highs and lows of this industry. he was also just a little more in check with his emotions, something he’d try to hide so he wasn’t seen as weak. but this time, he couldn’t help it. the poor thing couldn’t help but break the floodgates as damian pulled the young luchador into his lap.

finn watched rhea carefully, her holding that purple bandana in her hand and her own tears started to run down her cheeks. “it’s not fair.” she whispered, the irishman pulling her into his side and kissing the top of his head. the eldest two members of the group were focusing on making sure the younger ones were okay, which was only breaking their hearts more.

“i know it’s not.” finn said softly, rubbing his fingers through her short black hair. in that moment, he made a promise to himself and to his partners. one that he had every intention of keeping over the next couple of weeks until wrestlemania.

“he’s going to pay for this.”

--- ---

getting the group to relax, specifically dom and rhea, was nothing short of exhausting for finn and damian. with the eldest two still trying to navigate their own thoughts and feelings over the situation, making sure their partners were okay was only adding to the weight they were both currently feeling.

but finn found a few moments to himself, and even if he couldn’t be with y/n to ensure she was okay, he had someone at NXT who he knew would be more than willing to keep an eye on her.

he found a dark corner for himself with some leftover sound equipment and dialed the number of an old protégé, who answered the phone with his own excitement.

“heya finn, long time no talk!” the irish ace himself, jd mcdonagh, answered finn’s call as he packed his bag for the upcoming NXT taping. “what have you been up to?”

finn ran a hand over his face, balancing himself against the wall. “i’m good, lad.” the tone of his voice was enough of a sign to jd that something was up, so finn took a deep breath. “look, i need a favor to ask of you. i know you’re busy, you have your own stuff going on, but this is really important.”

jd sat up a little straighter, his old friend and mentor’s demeanor making him realize just how serious this was. “anything. what’s wrong?”

“so, you know we added y/n to the group awhile ago, yeah?” jd had known y/n during their time together in NXT, but they weren’t very close. a couple greetings and holding the door open for one another was about the extent of their interactions during their shared time at the developmental brand. “she’s going back to NXT for a little bit. not because she wanted to, but hunter and shawn are sending her back for a...a little break.”

jd raised his eyebrows and sat down on his bed. “oh, wow.” he sighed softly. “i’m sorry, finn. she seemed like she was doing really well with you guys. what happened?”

finn bit his lip as he tried to formulate a response to that question. “i mean, she has been. we’re still trying to figure everything out, but it came as a huge surprise.” he didn’t think it was the time to tell jd everything; at least not right now. “like i said, i know you’re busy, but for the next few weeks, just until mania is over, can you keep an eye on y/n at the PC?” he asked softly. “just...just make sure she’s okay. and please call or text me if anything comes up.”

“of course, anything you need.” jd answered immediately. finn had done a lot for him over the last few years, so this was the least he could do for the man he considered a close friend and mentor. “and if you need anything, please let me know? you sound exhausted, man.”

he was feeling exhausted. for a man who wore his feelings like a badge of honor, who dedicated himself to making sure his partners had what they needed, he was really starting to feel his own emotions and how heavy they’d become over the last few hours. “yeah. yeah, i will. thank you so much.”

--- ---

6 weeks. a little over a month.

that’s all y/n kept telling herself as she sat in the NXT locker room, taping her wrists and reminding herself that she only had to ensure this torture for the next 6 weeks.

the young wrestler wasn’t sure what to feel as she came back to the same place that had been her home only a few short weeks ago. sure, the performance center was full of a lot of great memories. but her coming back here was also a sign that she couldn’t hold up on the main roster yet, or at least that’s what this felt like. that she wasn’t ready to be on the same level as rhea or damian.

y/n was nothing but a rookie. always has been, always will be.

even though she was back in NXT for a couple of weeks, she knew she had people to rely on which would make this a little easier. johnny and candice were happily letting her stay with them since they were also floating back to the developmental brand for a month, and she had old pals that were happy to see her back in action with them.

and her ex. one that she hit with a chair to cement her spot in the judgement day. but she wasn’t going there. that’s a wound she was going to keep stitched close during her new stint at the developmental brand.

with this new stint at NXT, though, y/n found herself starting to learn the new locker room environment. even though she’d only been gone for a few months, things were already changing. new people were coming in to achieve their own dreams of being a WWE superstar, others were looking to move onto the main roster, some people were stuck in the middle. not only that, but y/n was trying to figure out where she was going to fit into this environment.

“well well well, look what the cat brought back in.”

that irritating, nails on a chalkboard of a voice made y/n look up above her to see a barbie-pink ensemble and blonde hair staring down at her as if she was the dirt on the bottom of her pink boot. tiffany stratton, one of those new stars y/n had yet to meet, was standing right in front of the stranded member of the judgment day and clearly had no intention of leaving her alone.

y/n sighed and ripped another piece of tape for her wrist. “get lost, tiffany. i’m not in the mood.” she had a match and wanted to take her time getting ready, getting into the appropriate headspace so she could show why she belonged on the main roster. tiffany had other plans, though.

focus, little one. she isn’t worth your energy.

with her new placement at NXT, y/n had been...hearing things. it sounded odd, but she thought maybe she was just overwhelmed and taking everything to heart. sometimes she would feel so overcome with emotion that she seemingly lost control of her actions and would lash out, but just as fast as it came it was gone. y/n couldn’t explain it, but she was trying her hardest to push it away. tiffany wasn’t making it any easier though.

“get lost?” tiffany scoffed and crossed her arms. “come on now, that’s not a very nice greeting. the least you could do is have a conversation with me.” she smirked down at y/n. “maybe you wanna talk about why you’re back? your gaggle of freaks don’t think you’re good enough to be apart of their group? hunter realized you don’t serve a purpose on the main roster?”

her blood was boiling. tiffany had no room to talk and had no clue what she was even talking about, and y/n wasn’t going to allow her to run her mouth. y/n stood up and tossed the roll of tape to the side, staring daggers into tiffany’s eyes. “you heard me loud and clear, tiffany.” she challenged, her voice lowering. “get. lost.”

tiffany chuckled to herself and got closer to y/n, their chests almost touching. “or what? you’re gonna send mamí after me? dom’s going to stop bullying his dad for five seconds to come save you?” y/n’s fists clenched at her sides, knowing that none of her little family was going to be able to come help her. tiffany was rubbing more and more salt into the wound without even realizing what had happened during her meeting with hunter. “you’re all on your own now, y/n. you’re the same nobody who left NXT to join a group of freaks who’s clearly washed their hands of you already.”

don’t listen to her. she only wants to get under your skin, love.

y/n let out a soft growl before tiffany even finished talking, shoving the blonde away from her so she hit the row of lockers behind her. “mind your fucking business, and stay out of my face!” that same voice was back again, wanting y/n to defend herself and once again taking over her actions before she’d even realized what she’d done, her hands were back on tiffany and shoving her against the nearest wall again.

jd was only walking through the hallways of the performance center, saying hello to coaches and producers so he could go get ready himself. but he was stopped in his tracks by the arguing coming from one of the locker rooms. when he took a peep inside to see y/n arguing with tiffany, he knew he needed to step in and do something; finn told him to look after y/n, so that’s what he had every intention of doing. even if it meant breaking up a fight.

just as tiffany had shoved y/n right back and the two reached for each other once again, jd stepped into the locker room to break the two of them up. he wasn’t sure why they were fighting, but he saw the look in y/n’s eyes and knew tiffany struck some kind of nerve. the irishman stood in front of of y/n to keep her from launching herself at tiffany again, and he could feel the anger radiating off of her body. “okay, okay. tiffany, clearly y/n isn’t looking to talk so just go away.”

tiffany straightened herself out and smirked. “wow, she has a bodyguard already? someone moved on fast.”

“i swear-” y/n tried to move past jd as tiffany walked away, but he turned and held her arms. “hey hey! come on, don’t stoop to her level.”

y/n took a shaky breathe and ran a hand over her face, trying to calm her frustrations. even though tiffany was walking away, her words left y/n with a bubbling rage inside of her; one that wouldn’t even be there, if edge wouldn’t have gotten involved and sent her to NXT. one that she wouldn’t have, if she were standing side by side with her partners to help run the main roster. y/n was swimming in anger and frustration. and she was taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

jd turned around and backed up a bit to give y/n some space. “hey, you okay?” he asked softly.

“i’m fine.” y/n mumbled, barely able to even look up at him. “listen, jd, i don’t know you very well and i don’t want you to get involved in whatever this shit is. okay? i’m just trying to lay low and get out of here.”

he wants to help. he’s a friend of the prince and wants to make sure you’re okay.

even though she was right, the two didn’t know each other very well, jd already knew this wasn’t the same y/n that had worked her way up the roster for the last couple of years; this wasn’t the same y/n that was personally recruited by the judgment day themselves to join their faction. parts of that person was still there, but jd was looking at a partial shell of her. and he was worried to see what would come from this situation.

the irish ace sat down on one of the benches. “you might not want me involved, but i know you getting into fights with people who aren’t worth your time is going to make this whole experience even worse.” he said, watching as y/n nervously bit her fingernails. “finn told me what happened. and i’m sorry you’re dealing with all of this. but finn cares about you so i care about you as well, and i’m going to make sure you get through the next few weeks until mania.”

y/n should’ve known finn was going to tell someone to keep an eye out for her. and while she would normally groan and complain about a partner having a babysitter for her, she had to admit that knowing finn cared this much eased some of that ache in her heart.

she finally managed to look up at jd and gave him a small nod. “i appreciate that.” she said softly. “is..is finn okay? did you talk to any of the others?”

now jd’s heart was aching. the poor thing wasn’t worried about herself, she was worried about the four missing pieces to her heart. and he wasn’t going to stress her out and tell her everything finn told her over the phone. “they’re all upset. finn sounded pretty overwhelmed. but if you can get through the next few weeks then so can they. it’ll be over before you know it.”

“yeah, we’ll see about that.” she mumbled softly, sitting on the bench opposite jd’s. “thank you.” y/n nodded at him, jd reciprocating that before he stood up.

“you know where i am if you need me.” he left the locker room. so y/n could focus on calming herself down a little bit more. six more weeks, she kept telling herself, trying to remind herself this wouldn’t be forever.

your prince and his little family are worried about you, little one. but they want you to be strong. show everyone why they chose you, why you deserve to be with them.

y/n rubbed at her temples, this voice only causing her head to throb with frustration and confusion. but for once she was choosing to listen, and whatever this was, she knew it was right. she could do this. she just needed to do what she’d always done, and continue to prove why she deserved her spot in this company.

six. weeks.

Chapter 13: pt. 13

Summary:

the group comes face to face with the mastermind behind this evil plan, and y/n works with a friend to devise a plan.

3 weeks until wrestlemania; 3 weeks until this nightmare would hopefully be over for the judgment day, and they could be reunited with their fifth member. none of them would lie and say the time she'd been away had been easy for anybody in the group though, as y/n being ripped away from the loving grasp of her partners was for no other reason than to get into the heads of those who turned their back on edge.

the house was quieter without her. road trips to the next city and hotel rooms were no longer the same. dressing rooms didn't have the same energy without her. and the entire time it killed the group to know y/n was so close, yet so far away.

and what tormented all of them? kept finn up at night, made damian clench his fists and rhea squirm at the thought? that they had yet to confront edge and tell him exactly how they felt. the man who helped build up y/n as a superstar, was also the man who ripped her away from her lovers; one way or another, the judgment day was going to make sure he got a piece of their mind. it didn’t matter how it happened.

the judgment day was going to make edge’s life hell until wrestlemania.

finn found himself sitting in the group’s bedroom, looking through boxes of y/n’s memorabilia and random things in boxes. most of this stuff was things she just hadn’t gotten around to unboxing when they moved her into their home, but as finn took a closer look, he began to realize why she’d waited.

photo albums. all of which contained pictures of y/n with her chosen family. her first christmas with the copelands, where beth bought all of them matching pajamas and made their family take a picture in front of the christmas tree. the beginning of her career, where beth stood in a practice ring with y/n and coached her through different finishers and submission moves. those long nights backstage at different shows, where a young y/n was absolutely exhausted and adam would keep her comfortable against his side so she could get some rest.

old trophies and titles, random pieces of ring gear, old things from edge and beth’s careers that they’d given y/n…she wasn’t just forgetting to put these things up or take them out of boxes. y/n was scared to do so. she didn’t want to literally open up a box full of hurt and fear after all the pain they’d caused. she was literally and figuratively repressing those emotions.

as finn sorted through the box and tried his hardest not to let his emotions get the best of him, rhea walked into the bedroom and took inventory of the different things in front of her partner. she took a seat next to him, gently rubbing his back and feeling that tension rising inside of him. “she’ll be coming back to us soon, love.” the aussie spoke softly. “only a few more weeks. she’s in good hands.”

“johnny and candance may be good hands but they aren’t her home.” he mumbled. “the fact that they’re treating her like a child and doing this to her is ridiculous anyway.” finn spat, putting the photo album back into the box. “y/n’s an adult. and the one person she sees as her father, one of the most important people in her life, won’t let her come home? our bosses are backing him up? rhea, it’s…” he couldn’t even finish his thought. he shook his head and tried to calm down his boiling anger.

rhea nodded and held finn’s hand. “there’s not much we can do right now.” she said quietly. “we’re all upset. but she’ll be home soon.” she gently turned finn’s head towards her own, holding the irishman’s cheek. “you’re the one who’s going to show him why no one messes with us.”

*****

that moment rhea was speaking of? it came a lot faster than anyone in the judgment day could have emotionally prepared for. it was like the movies, where finn and edge turned the corner at the exact same time and stood face to face for the first time since their newest member was ripped away from the judgment day. finn swore he could feel the anger radiating through his body at the sight of edge; claws were itching at his spine, his stomach felt like it was on fire, and his fists were clenched tight by his side. he took your princess away from you, my prince. it's time to take back what's rightfully yours.

the corner of edge's lip curled into a snarl. in front of him was the man who seemingly corrupted his mentee, the one who took her away from him and beth as another way to get under the skin of the founder of the judgment day. in his mind, he never took y/n away from her newfound family. he was only trying to give her a break from them! he wanted her to take some time to think about her recent choices and possibly remember what exactly the foursome had done to not only her, but himself and beth over the last few months. edge didn't see anything wrong with what he did. the hall of famer was only doing right by the young woman he saw as a daughter.

finn tried taking a deep breath, but his mouth was moving before he could even think about what he was saying. "i'd walk away the other way before i do something i regret."

edge couldn't help but chuckle at finn's statement. the prince was already trying to act so tough? so intimidating? it didn't phase edge one bit. "wow, not even a hello? no how are you?" he playfully looked finn up and down, noting the second bandana in finn's pocket that most likely belonged to y/n. "why so hostile, finn?"

"you know why, don't play dumb with me." finn poked his finger into the rated r superstar's chest. "you know what you did to me, to y/n, to all of us! and you thought the best thing to do was take her away from us when you've ignored her for the last, what, six months? that's not very fatherly of you, adam. more cowardly than anything."

again, edge chuckled. his eyes were growing dark, and he dared himself to step even closer to finn. "i don't need you telling me what's very fatherly. as far as i'm concerned, she's better off without the four of you." he challenged, almost getting joy out of how angry finn was getting at him. "you let her get kicked into a table? she took a spear for you? you doubted her spot in the judgment day? y/n doesn't realize it yet, but the four of you have caused so much more harm than good." edge flashed that cocky smile at finn. "we can continue this conversation in the ring tonight. i'll see you soon."

watching edge walk away, practically reeking of revenge and pure anger, caused all of those feelings within finn to intensify. if he could have unleashed all of that anger backstage, he would have; but finn also knew one wrong move meant having to wait even longer to have y/n in the arms of her four partners again. he wasn't going to risk that, no matter how badly he wanted to wreak havoc.

finn could be patient. he'd wait the three weeks until wrestlemania to give edge a piece of his mind and see their princess again. those three weeks would be hell, but finn was also planning on throwing edge into the deepest pit of pain and agony once he got his hands on him.

only a little while longer, my prince.

*****

each day without her loves, without her family, was causing y/n to fall further into this spiral of sadness. nothing was the same anymore without dominik's laugh, rhea's hugs, damian's bodyguard-esque presence, or finn's kisses. the longer she went without her little family, the more y/n was spiraling into feelings she hadn't felt in a long time, if ever.

sure, she had JD. that was the closest thing y/n had to finn while being away from the judgment day. but it wasn't her finn. being at NXT without any of them by her side wasn't the same. y/n didn't even see the purpose anymore in coming to the PC to work. it was so much easier to hide in johnny and candace's guest room, the lights off and hidden under the covers with rhea's sweatshirt clutched in her hands. no matter how many times she wore damian's t-shirt or looked at goofy pictures with dom, nothing eased the aches in her body.

y/n had practically stopped answering her phone at that point. every text, every phone call, it was ignored and went without response day after day. it didn't matter who it was from, there was radio silence on her end. sometimes the gentle knocks from either candace or johnny on her temporary room even went unanswered. and while people were concerned, it felt like no one was going to do anything to fix it.

no one...except for one particular irishman.

when JD hadn't seen y/n at the PC, she stopped showing up to NXT, his texts and calls went unanswered, he knew he needed to check up on her. finn was trusting him to take care of y/n while she was away, and that meant doing whatever he needed to do for y/n to be even the slightest bit okay. what he didn't realize, even while walking up to the front door of johnny and candace's home, that she already was slipping even further into this deep hole. if JD would have waited any longer, there's no telling how much deeper princess would've fallen.

the hurried, repeated knocks at the front door pulled y/n from her cave of blankets and her partner's hoodies. there wasn't much that could do that as of recent, but she managed this time. she took her time going to the door and opening it, but the sight of JD brought tears to her eyes for a multitude of reasons. guilt, sadness, hurt, anxiety, even a little bit of hope. "you shouldn't be here-"

"y/n..." JD said softly, not even letting her finish her thoughts. his voice alone broke her even more, and before y/n could think twice JD had his arms around his friend in the tightest hug he could manage. he wasn't sure when the last time she got one of those hugs was, so he made note to do it now. to remind y/n she wasn't alone.

y/n wrapped her arms around JD and gripped onto him like her life depended on it. at this point, it basically did; this was the first time in weeks she had someone who wasn't her dad, hunter, or shawn around her. someone who was on her side and actually seemed as though they wanted the best for her. y/n's hands gripped onto JD as tight as she could and she finally let the tears loose down her cheeks. "i-i'm so sorry."

"don't be. you have no reason to be sorry." JD said softly, gently ushering y/n inside with his arms still around her. "come on, y/n. talk to me."

even though y/n wanted everything she was feeling to just pour out, she couldn't. the words were caught in her throat and everything she'd held in for the last month couldn't find its voice. the only thing she could manage were pathetic whines and whimpers, until finally some of those words were choked out. "i just want to go home."

JD's heart broke. he'd never understand why anyone thought taking her away from her family was the right answer. no one was paying attention and noticed that this wasn't helping the frustrations between the judgment day and edge, because they were too focused on themselves. everyone ignored the consequences of their actions.

maybe JD shouldn't have spoken up, but he could only find one answer to the sad statement that left y/n's lips. "who's stopping you?"

y/n's cries slowed down into sniffles and she slowly pulled back to look at JD. "they said i couldn't." the answer felt so simply, yet the solution was even easier. and it never once crossed her mind out of fear of the consequences.

"did they take your key? are they bothering to watch your every move?" JD asked softly, wiping the tears from y/n's cheeks. "you live there too, y/n. no one can stop you from going home. not to the place where you pay the bills with everyone else. the place you call home." JD gently rubbed her arms, managing to give her a smile. "go home, y/n."

again, the answer seemed so easy. the solution was self explanatory. but y/n didn't about it once, until JD mentioned it out of fear for how edge or her superiors would react. needless to say though, JD's words were enough for her to pack her bag and rush out to her parked car in the driveway - the jeep that hadn't moved in days since she stopped going to training sessions. even in the rare cold, florida rain, y/n was rushing home to her people with those same tears rushing down her cheeks.

while the drive wasn't long, it felt like an eternity until y/n was in the driveway of the home she shared with the four people she recognized as her family. she knew their travel schedules and saw everyone was home from their own vehicles being in the driveway and the dimly lit lights through the window, but even after parking and standing in the rain ready to start taking her life back, her legs didn't move.

y/n was terrified, worried someone would catch her and she'd have to face the consequences of going home before she was given permission. even though she didn't need permission, she stood in the rain for a solid five minutes debating if she should've even made the move. but eventually she did it; her tears mixed with the raindrops, and y/n made her way to the front porch before pulling out her phone. her shaky hands sent a quick text to rhea, the aussie being the first of her four partners to pop up in her messages, and waited for someone to hopefully give her the piece of mind she wanted so badly.

"let me in? please?"

Chapter 14: pt. 14

Summary:

y/n's reunited with her loves, and they all begin to see just how much of a toll being away from them has taken on her.

"oh my god..." rhea had never reacted so fast to a text message. she was in bed, pajamas and all, ready to finally get some sleep after a hectic travel schedule and not having y/n home. but reading her phone for the last time before she planned to shut her eyes for the night had the eradicator jumping out of bed.

the rest of the group was scattered throughout the bedroom area; finn still deep in thought in the shower, dom fast asleep in bed already, and damian trying to make his side of the bed as comfortable as possible before hoping to be just as fast asleep as dominik. rhea getting out of bed and hurrying to slide someone's hoodie over her head was enough to wake dominik from his deep slumber, the young lucha rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "is there a fire?" he mumbled.

damian was just as confused. "rhea? babe, what's wrong?" he asked, watching the aussie hurry out of the bedroom and following closely behind. "rhea!"

"no no no no..." she was mumbling, panicking at the thought of what could have been on the other side of their front door. of course rhea wanted y/n home, they all did. but she also feared this was some sick joke. a nightmare she wasn't able to wake up from and she'd be forced to sit through the whole thing. the rain was drowning out the sound of damian's footprints rushing behind her, and a small crack of thunder sounded as she opened the door.

there stood y/n. soaking wet from the rain, shaking and trembling like a leaf, and the sight of rhea alone caused a sob to leave her lips. "m-mamí..."

"oh honey, shh," rhea tugged y/n into her arms and brought her inside the house. "i've got you, it's okay. you're home."

those words didn't feel real...none of this felt real to y/n. she'd spent the last month being ostracized from the people she loved as a form of payback. she was used as canon fodder against the judgment day, simply because she chose her own path and not what edge wanted for her. enough fear had been instilled in her that she didn't just go back home to her little family, and now that she was finally back in the safe embrace of the eradicator herself? that fear was even more rampant in her veins.

y/n was wriggling in rhea's arms, shivering and her teeth trembling as she tried to get warm. her entire body was drenched from the rain. even the warmth of rhea's body wasn't enough to make the shivering stop, and rhea realized that very quickly. "damian, dom, towels please?" she looked up at the top of the stairs, where dominik's mouth had practically dropped open with shock. "did i stutter? towels, dominik! dry clothes, blankets, anything!"

dominik snapped out of whatever trance he was in and ran into the bathroom for towels. finn was still showering, and upon hearing all of the commotion entering the steam-filled room where he was trying to process all of his emotions, he poked his head out from behind the curtain. "jeez, dom." he groaned. "it's late, what are you doing?"

the panic was written all over dom's face. "y/n..." he said, grabbing a stack of towels from a cabinet. "she's here. she came back in the rain." without another word, he left an astonished finn in the bathroom and rushed back to where rhea was holding a terrified y/n.

"i-i...i couldn't...rhea, it..." y/n could barely formulate words from how hard she was sobbing. it was hard to even distinguish what was tears and what was raindrops on her face.

rhea shook her head gently and wrapped y/n in a towel, then a blanket. "don't talk, y/n." she said softly, immediately pulling her close again to try and calm her down. "just take deep breaths for me, okay? come on, you're safe here. we've all got you."

damian, who's just finished bringing the warmest blankets in the house to where rhea and y/n were sitting together, took one of the towels from dominik and began drying y/n's hair so it would stop dripping down her back. "shh, estas en casa ahora hermosa." he said softly.

meanwhile, finn was left in a daze from dominik's words. y/n was here? she came back? how did she manage to do that? isn't she going to get in trouble? how he didn't slip when getting out of the shower was a mystery, because he got out of there as fast as he could and got dressed before rushing downstairs. the sight in front of him was one that not only broke his heart, but fueled every bit of anger that had already been permeating in his body. seeing y/n, shivering and huddled in rhea's arms as she sobbed and mumbled absolute nonsense was every reason for him to unleash absolute hell on edge.

go to her, my prince. she needs you now more than ever.

"oh, lovey..." the irishman rushed to where his girls were sat, his arms open for y/n who immediately rushed into them with another sob. "baby, what are you doing here? you know what they told you."

"i don't care!" she cried harder, hiding in his neck. "they can't keep me out of my home! t-that i pay for a-and clean and have a key to!" finn wrapped the towels around her a little tighter and she leaned into his loving touch. "no one is in charge of me but me."

all four members of the judgment day, while saddened this feud with edge and beth had gotten to this point, had to admit that there was an aspect to their princess's anger that had them feeling proud of her. the y/n they originally recruited into the judgment day probably would have never stuck her metaphorical middle finger up to her bosses or mentors. but her being in this position had forced her to dig up that buried confidence and finally put it to use.

time had passed, with all five members of this reunited judgment day sitting in the living room trying to warm up and calm down y/n until she was no longer sobbing and shivering. she'd been reduced to silent tears and the slightest trembles in her shoulders, but nothing more. more than anything, y/n was exhausted and she wanted to sleep in her own bed. "can i please go take s shower?" she asked quietly from finn's shoulder.

the prince nodded in response, damian moving the blanket and wet towels from her body as she stood up from her tight ball on the floor. "i'll put your pajamas in the dryer so they're warm for you, love."

the two walked upstairs, one of finn's arms around y/n as they went into the bathroom together. he grabbed a spare towel for the dryer as well, and gave a gentle kiss to y/n's forehead. "what else do you need, angel?" he was expecting something simple as answer from y/n; maybe her water bottle to be filled and by their bedside, or something to eat, maybe even a request for a specific member of their little family to hold her that evening or to sleep in the middle. but her words instead held a much deeper meaning.

"revenge. i want revenge."

****

monday night raw. only three weeks away from wrestlemania, the grandest stage of them all, and the judgment day only had one thing on their minds; ending this feud with edge, once and for all. for everything he did to them. for all of the chaos he put their little family through. every one of them wanted a piece of the fight, but finn ultimately was the one who'd be in that ring with the hall of famer.

edge stood in the ring, facing four members of the group who stood at the top of the ramp. they stood strong, like a solid barrier against the negativity and hurt edge had put them through. "a few weeks ago, you challenged me to a match at wrestlemania, right?" he asked finn. "and since you're not man enough to come in here and face me, you want your match at wrestlemania? fine, you got it!'

finn was hyped; he was nodding, smiling at the other man while the other members were getting just as hyped alongside him. finn had been dying for this match. he issued this challenge weeks ago, and the desire to be in a ring alone with this man was only getting bigger and bigger. the cheers of the crowd around them wasn't helping anything either.

"hey, did you hear that, dom?" the prince asked. "rhea, did you hear that? finn's going to wrestlemania! you think the beating i gave you at extreme rules was bad-" the adrenaline was pumping through his veins, he was trying his best to get through this promo without letting his hype get the better of him.

"shut your mouth!" edge's words silenced him, the crowd reacting in the canadian's favor. "for the last year of my comeback, i've wasted it on all of you." by his choice, for the most part. "the year before that, i wrestled in front of a bunch of tv screens in the thunderdome. i don't have time for this. i'm running out of time."

the irony in his words could be felt by the judgment day on an entirely different level. he had so much to accomplish that he abandoned y/n, left her in the dust in favor of his own career that had lasted twenty-plus years. sure, he was running out of time. but running out of time so fast that he had to practically forget y/n ever needed him in the first place?

the anger was pulsing through finn's body. the others could sense it, and dom put a careful hand on finn's shoulder in hopes that he'd calm down. but he couldn't stop pacing and moving as he glared deep into edge's soul from the top of the ramp.

"so the way i see it, there's only one way that this can end." edge said, holding onto the top rope as the audience also picked up on where he was going. finn was watching him carefully, his top lip twitching in anger just at the sight of him. "at wrestlemania, edge versus finn bálor, inside hell in a cell."

the audience reacted exactly how one would expect; finn stood stoic in his spot, edge was shaking with anger and adrenaline. the cheers from the crowd only fueled the two men and their respective anger.

finn was gripping his mic tight, his knuckles starting to whiten. "edge, i've been to hell before." he stated. "it spit me out because hell couldn't handle my demons. i'll see you at wrestlemania, but until then..." he looked at the other three members of the group, but what edge didn't see was what stood behind him with her own weapon of choice.

there y/n stood, coming up from her hiding spot under the ring with her own adrenaline rush. no one wanted this revenge on her mentor more than she did. no one wanted a front row seat more than her. this would be her first taste of that, as she swing her arms back and the kendo stick in her hands struck the back of the hall of famer. she hated to admit it, but there was a sense of pride as he fell to the mat and her partners began to unleash their own hell on him. y/n hit edge not once, not twice, but three times; and the yelps of pain that emanated from him sent chills down her spine.

even as the rest of the ring burst into chaos, other superstars coming out to edge's defense, she stood in front of him with her breath ragged and her palms sweating. "you're going to wish you never asked to meet the prince in the gates of hell." he'd never heard that growl to her voice or seen that ravenous look in her eyes. this was a new y/n, one that was sticking it to the people who'd caused her more pain than she'd been able to manage in her small body.

"get ready to meet the demon you created, pops."

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Their Secret Weapon (poly!judgement day x reader)