When the car came to a stop near the hotel, nightfall was but a few hours away and Rey had slept the entire journey. None had wanted to wake him. Mark decided to stop the car away from the main entrance and regroup. What lay beyond those big glass doors was something they needed to prepare for.

Adam caressed Rey's face gently waking him up. To their surprise he looked a lot better, almost no mark of the exorcism available to the naked eye. He rubbed his eyes and looked outside the window.

"What are we going to tell them?" Chris asked.

No one answered.

"Don't worry. I'll explain them" Rey spoke softly still looking outside.

"What are you going to say?" Adam asked and with his hand turned Rey's face towards him feeling a little worried from his calm reaction.

Rey did not answer immediately. He looked at his friends and smiled reassuringly.

"I will go inside alone."

"Why alone?" Chris asked.

"Because… this is all my doing… If anyone should explain, it's me…"

With these words, he opened the door and stepped outside. He walked the last remaining feet to the hotel with a confidence and a strength he didn't remember ever having. The cold was bone piercing and the moisture of the air was chilling his muscles, but he didn't care. The freedom he had in his heart and the love he carried in his every step gave him the force he needed.

He wasn't surprised seeing his hands not trembling when he pushed the hotel doors and entered the crowded lobby.

The silence that greeted him was deafening. Many eyes looked at him and he didn't bother to try and figure out what they're might be thinking. He came to a stop and stood silently looking as innocent as a new born child.

The first one to speak was Tazz.

"Rey Rey?" his voice sounded like he couldn't believe his own two eyes. "He man, where have you been? We were worried sick about you? What happened?"

Rey smiled and reached out touching Tazz's shoulder.

"I didn't want to stay anymore in the hospital."

"But… but you were stabbed… how…?"

"The doctors exaggerated… I am fine… I begged Eddie, Chris and Adam to take me away… too many bad memories. I'm sorry if I caused too much trouble. I should have told you… but it was just too painful… staying in there alone… I just couldn't handle it. And they were only thinking of me when they took me away… I am so sorry… about everything…"

Rey's eyes fell on the ground, almost ashamed. He knew he had lied, but he was trying to protect his friends and his secret.

Another secret

He had intentionally left Mark outside. Something in his heart told him that his involvement had to be kept secret. He was surprised when he felt Tazz's arms wrap around him in a tight embrace, relieved to having found him again unharmed.

"Rey… what happened in that room? With Dave?"

Rey's eyes shone brightly, innocently.

"It was nothing… just an accident" and his smile grew. "Is Dave alright?"

"Yeah… he came back a while ago. He was in a bad shape, but all in all, he is fine. He is resting…"

"Can I see him?"

Tazz lead Rey to the elevator, passing by the other wrestlers in the lobby that looked at him in disbelief. Obviously Rey hadn't convinced them about what had happened, but he didn't care. He smile at them and they knew that the truth didn't matter. Because his heart and his soul were at peace… at last…

The elevator doors opened on the third floor. Outside Dave's room stood two police officers and a man that was probably a police detective.

"Detective… this is Oscar Guttierrez… he is the man we were looking for… he just came back…" Tazz tried to explain.

"Nice to see you are alright Mr Guttierrez. Your friends were a lot worried about you… Would you mind answering some questions?"

"Can I see Dave first?"

"In a while, Ok?"

Rey just nodded.

"Look detective. Nothing happened. It was just an accident. Dave just panicked."

"An accident? All that blood in the room? And what about the whiplashes on your back?"

"What whiplashes?"

"The ones on your back…" the detective tried to describe, but Rey was one step ahead of him. He removed his shirt and revealed his muscled tattooed back, leaving the detective speechless. Not one scar could be seen, not one single wound. Nothing…

"Like I said. It was just an accident. It was nothing. That's why I asked my friends to take me away from the hospital…"

For a few moments the police officers were at a loss of words. There he stood, in front of them, a man, the alleged victim, unharmed, contradicting not only the eyewitnesses of the crime scene, but also the diagnosis of the attendant doctors. This just didn't make any sense.

"This is all one big misunderstanding. I am sorry if I wasted your time… but as you can see I am fine" Rey looked straight into the detective's eyes.

"I guess… I guess we are done here." He mumbled and rubbing his forehead, motioned the two police men and left the hotel.

Rey felt a little guilty for making a liar out of all of his friends, but it was necessary. The alternative was just not an option. When he heard the police leaving, he opened Dave's door, but before entering he whispered to Tazz.

"I am sorry… for everything… this is all my fault, and I wish in time you can find it in your hearts to forgive me… but you wouldn't understand…"

"Please Rey Rey… what happened?"

Rey was fighting back tears. He wished Adam was there with him in this hour of truth.

"Please… someday maybe I will be able to tell you… but not now… not so soon… let's… let's just say that what you and the police think that happened… is true…"

"What?" Tazz shouted.

"Please Tazz… don't say anything… for me… for my sake… I swear one day I will find the strength to tell you… but not so soon… right now, I have to see Dave. He has been through a lot, and it is not his fault. He doesn't deserve this guilt and this pain. It was not his fault."

Seeing the tears run down Rey's face was enough for Tazz to realise how serious Rey was. It was painful to see him speak these words and even more painful to know that everything that had happened was real. His Mexican friend had been through a lot during his past and it was a shame to see him suffer again. He couldn't figure out where he got the strength to carry on.

"I am sorry you have to carry the burden of knowing, and I swear I would give anything to take it off your shoulders…"

"Rey… you are my friend… and I am just happy that you are back with us… I am just happy you are ok… I ask of nothing else… nothing else…" Tazz was never a man on tears but tonight he had to fight them real hard.

Rey smiled and entered the room closing the door behind him.

Tazz left and headed to the lobby with a secret he swore he would never tell anyone… with a secret the swore he would take to his grave…

ooooooooooooooooooo

Dave's room was dark but for a small reading lamp on the night stand. Rey stepped carefully and knelt beside the laying form of the Animal. But Dave wasn't asleep. He sensed a presence beside him and opened his eyes.

He would have jumped at his sight, but the soothing hand caressing his front and the warm pair of eyes that comforted him kept him in place. He opened his mouth to speak but Rey cut him off.

"No Dave… this is my time to speak… I know what you are going to say… but this is my time to explain… and what I will tell you, you alone can know. Eddie, Benoit, Mark and Adam know, but to you I have to explain because you are an innocent victim…"

Dave felt his heart racing from the electrifying words. He knew this was a moment where one's world was about to change… towards the better… or what he feared, the worse.

"What happened in your room was not your fault… it was my fault. I know you remember everything, but what you don't know is that I was possessed by a demon…"

He paused, letting the first words sink in. He didn't speak the cursed name from fear. Subconsciously he touched the pendant.

"What you did was because he wanted you to do… he wanted you to suffer and he wanted me to…" he didn't finish it. It didn't matter now, did it? He shook his head and continued. "He put a spell on you and he made you do it… and I am sorry…" Rey finally broke. He hated how easily he cried, but he couldn't hide it anymore. He buried his face in the bed sheets and let himself cry, the sobs shaking his body always repeating 'I am sorry'.

Dave found the strength to get up. He was sure he would have cried first if Rey hadn't broken down. He reached his hand and lifted Rey's wet face from the bed. He had to be strong. He looked into Rey's saddest eyes and brought him into a firm embrace. His heart skipped a beat when he felt the small Mexican relax under his grasp.

"I am sorry too…" he only said.

When Rey broke the embrace his face was calmer and the sobs had subsided.

"I would never hurt you" he spoke softly. "I know how this sounds, but I swear it is the truth. It's like a nightmare, only it is true. And I can only hope this demon is gone for good."

"Rey I believe you… I don't know how, but in my heart I know it is the truth. After I left you for dead, I ran and I didn't run from guilt. I ran from fear… I had so much hate, sin and evil in my heart, I knew it didn't come from me… and you… the way you had spoken, they way you had laughed provoking me… it felt like staring into the eyes of the devil… it felt like being inside the twilight zone and I couldn't escape…"

Rey took Dave's face in his hands and let their foreheads touch. They stayed for a while like this. No more words where needed. Dave had learned the truth but he somehow knew it all along. He was just happy that Rey was alive, well and away from the devil's claws.

Rey was thankful he was forgiven. Everything else would have to wait. In time, all was going to go back to normal.

A knock on the door interrupted them.

"Come in" Rey spoke sniffing back his tears and wiping his face with the back if his hand.

The door opened slightly letting the corridor's light shine inside. Adam's head poked inside. Seeing both their faces happy and relieved, he understood.

"I take it, everything went well…"

"Yeah…" Rey said, laughing faintly. He stood up. He looked one last time at Dave. "We made our peace with ourselves and I think at last we can go on with our lives"

Dave just shook his head and smiled at them.

"I'll see you around" Rey said and walked away towards the other half of his soul. Adam greeted him in his arms and held him strongly, like they hadn't seen each other for years.

"Where are the others?"

"Eddie and Chris are downstairs with the others trying to duck their questions…"

"Mark?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing we'll be seeing him around… so don't worry"

"I am not… I am just happy… that you are here… with me…"

"I am happy to have found you again"

When they kissed, their souls connected and became once more one, reunited in light and in life.

"Take me home" he whispered to the Canadian and he felt his heart empty from all evil when Adam held him tighter.

They started to walk down the hall towards their room.

"It is over… we are free now…" Adam told him. "It's done… at last…" and closed the door to their room, leaving the world outside.

oooooooooooooooo

None of them heard a whisper and a sinister laughter in the empty hollow corridors.

That's what you think

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

THE END

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So… this is the end…

This story was particularly hard to write mostly because of some personal problems I had to deal with and which unfortunately are still troubling me.

Anyway, I thought I should tell you a bit about the background of the idea, so if you are interested keep reading…

The main influences were mostly some books and texts I found inside the National Library while I was studying in Paris a couple of years back. Many of the spells and the rite of exorcism are taken from these books and according to the writers and the Catholic Church are real. All these texts can be found on the internet or I can mail them to you if you want a deeper insight on the subject.

So one night, I thought I take those passages and put them in a story. There was some major planning and researching involved, many sleepless nights and almost all the chapters were written well after midnight and after 2 glasses of red wine…

So go figure!

However many parts did not turn out as I planned. For example, at first I wanted to kill Eddie during the rite… but then he passed away in November 2005. From grief, I stopped writing for four months. Every time I touched the keyboard to continue the story, the sorrow was too great. So while still struggling with some major problems, I decided the only solution and absolution was to keep him alive, at least for this story.

As you can see, I have been battling with STIGMATA for almost 2.5 years. It has changed and grown with me and it is sad to see it come to an end.

Thanks to everyone who read the story and especially those who reviewed.

You are the ones who gave me the strength to continue.

Jill: I am glad you liked this story. I am sorry that you and your 10 year old cousin lost your sleep over Jacob, but it IS a slash story "RATED R"! It also tells you a bit about my mental state!

Souless666: Thanks for the review and your good words. I too love this role for the Undertaker. I am planning to bring him back in the final installment of this trilogy, although I am not sure how big his part will be. Any suggestions?

Also thanks to El Tejano and the Unpredictable Mind who reviewed PACES.

I am leaving on vacation for two weeks, so I leave you with the final chapter of the second installment.

But do not fret. Come September, I hope to have the first chapters of the third part of the trilogy ready for you.

Until then, feel free to tell me any ideas you have, any requests about the sequel, what you hated, what you loved, what you would have done differently.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.

See you soon.

Peace.