So. The prequel is finally up, is it? You don't necessarily have to read "Vindictive Angels" before this, or vice versa.
Summary: "Vindictive Angels" prequel. Lina Lavigne had been wrestling at a few independent promotions since she graduated from high school when she finally gets her big break as a pro wrestler when she looks to the WWE. Jeff Hardy takes her under his wing after she loses the Divas Search contest and she signs on to Raw as his intern and valet. But she has bigger ambitions and expectations of herself, and just as she has her sights set on some of the Superstars, they in turn have their sights on her. As the months roll by, she begins to feel like she's bit off a little more than she can chew.
Setting: WWE, opens in mid-2005. Like June, during the middle of the Divas Search, right before the finalists debut. It's going to be a bit AU, because Jeff Hardy comes back in 2005 here instead of 2006.
Warnings: violence and language throughout. Somewhere in the middle of the story, the rating will be raised to M.
Disclaimers: I don't own WWE or any associated wrestlers. I do however own Lina Lavigne and her finishers.
Copyright: I also own this story. And as such, stealing is a no-no. So…
Demonic Angels © My Life Craves Pirates 2011-?
Enjoy! Reviews, please!

Demonic Angels

by My Life Craves Pirates

Chapter 1: stroke of luck

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

"I really don't know at this point. We haven't exactly been known to hire non-finalists in the past."

This was what she wanted. Ever since high school, Lina Lavigne could envision nothing but herself as being a professional wrestler. Ever since high school, she wanted to be in the WWE. And here she was, backstage in a WWE arena, sitting in the Raw General Manager's office. But the circumstances would so have it that she…wasn't as happy as she could be.

"Eric, the Divas Search was pretty much my only hope," Lina said. "So I didn't make finals. Does that automatically mean that I should just give up and leave?"

"Lina, I admire your determination, I really do," said Eric. "But the annual Divas Search competition does tend to bring in a lot of new women to the roster. You can imagine how packed it would get every year after the competition, I'm sure."

There was no arguing with that. Eric Bischoff sounded like a nice enough guy, but the news was bleak, and it didn't seem like there was any real way of breaking it easy to her. She understood, but if he thought she was determined before, he hasn't seen anything yet.

"I wish there was something I could do. You seem very promising," Eric continued, shifting through her file. "How many independent promotions have you been to?"

"Several," Lina answered, slightly despondent. She couldn't put a name to a specific number right now. "Just trying to build up on my experience and skill."

"It's a good strategy, to say in the least," Eric said. "But your file looks excellent. I've called some of your promotions, and they all recommend you."

"I've worked so hard just for this. I don't want to lose it."

She wasn't officially in the WWE. Even during the Divas Search contest, she wasn't officially a Diva. But even so, she loved being in the arena. The WWE arenas dwarfed the indy arenas in size. There was just no comparison. No indy promo in the world could compare to being in the biggest professional wrestling company in the country, home to the grandest stage of them all. She never appeared on television, but the feeling was still exhilarating to know that she had been so close. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She felt like she had belonged there like she had never felt before. She was so sure she belonged there.

This was what she wanted. And she couldn't lose that. She was still so close.

"Is there any way we could talk to Vince?" she asked.

"The chairman is not here today, so for the time being, he has put me in charge," Eric replied. "He'll return in—." He stopped talking suddenly. Lina looked on anxiously as he shuffled around her papers. He held up a finger before pulling out a binder labeled "DIVAS SEARCH" and then bringing up the WWE roster on his computer. He glanced through both things for about a minute before looking back to Lina.

"You know," he said. "There may be hope yet."

Lina was taken aback. "Really?"

"Because of the Divas Search competition, few new Divas will be joining the WWE. But as I tell all prospective Superstars and Divas, we're always looking for new wrestlers. The door is open, but right now it looks like the only way for you to join is if you have connections with a current Diva or Superstar," said Eric.

Her smile slowly faded.

"It's a slim chance, but let me ask you this," he said, leaning forward. "Do you know anyone here?"

Lina was from California. WWE headquarters was in Connecticut. The show she was at right now was in St. Louis, and she had been in Calgary when she got eliminated from the competition. There was no one she knew here.

Despondently, she shook her head. "No. No one."

Eric sighed. "I see. Well, it was pleasure having you on the show. I encourage you to come back and try out for the Divas Search again next year."

Lina hated to admit defeat. She never wanted to admit that things had to come to an end, and she especially didn't want to admit that now. But as much as she hated to admit the facts, as much as she didn't want to come to terms with the truth, she knew that there was little she could do, if anything. This was the apparent end of her journey, her quest for WWE greatness. But still, having Eric dismiss her like that kind of hurt.

Kind of a lot.

So now she was expected to completely give up and leave, to go home and wait until next year where she could try and enter the Divas Search competition again. And what if she was eliminated again? What then? Her hopes weren't high.

"I tried to pull strings for you, I really did," Eric said. "A referral probably would have done it. I'm sorry to see you go."

She appreciated him and his efforts, but couldn't help but feel bitter. But who did she feel bitter towards? Eric? The company? The Divas Search competition? Herself?

She didn't know.

"Me too," Lina said, standing up. She turned around, eyes towards the floor. She was feeling blank, pretty much crushed by the weight of the situation. She couldn't even find it in herself to shake Eric's hand good-bye, or to even say anything else to him. She felt like he'd understand.

Outside, the halls seemed darker than usual. Lina really didn't know how long she had been in Eric's office, trying to barter her way onto the WWE's main roster. It kind of felt like she was missing or forgetting something, but in her current state of mind, she could put her finger on it. She was leaning against the wall beside Eric's office door now, unsure of where to go from here. From the looks of things, she had two options. One, she could fly back to California in the morning and then go back to her indy promos and continue to train. Or two, she could hang around here for a little longer, borderline stalk Vince McMahon that she can catch just a shred of his time.

Neither…sounded very appealing.

There were people passing her left and right. None of them really seemed to be paying much attention to her, but by the same token, she couldn't exactly say that she was focused enough to pay attention to them either. She figured that they had more important things to do than to worry about who she was or why she was loitering outside the General Manager's office. The WWE was currently doing a live Raw taping right now, so she assumed everyone to be fairly busy. So it didn't make much sense for her to be lingering here with nothing more to do.

She ultimately decided that she was going to go back to her motel for now, and try to catch Vince later. She was a fighter, but the fight on her part seemed like a futile one.

But then again…when have I ever let that stop me?

She would give it a shot. If anything, it was worth a try. Eyes still cast downwards, she pushed off the wall to make the slow, long trek to the parking lot. With her vision not focused on her surroundings, she almost ran in to someone who was walking in a hurry past her. He muttered a quick "Sorry" without looking at her and kept walking. She glanced at him apathetically before turning around and started walking. She suddenly stopped. When she had glanced at him, she barely caught sight of his rainbow-colored hair out of the peripheral of her vision. She knew who that was. Lina quickly whirled around at stared wide-eyed at the man walking away from her.

Jeff Hardy.

Eric's words rang through her head. She needed a referral from a current Superstar. This man that just passed her, Jeff Hardy, was one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling. She knew it from following his matches weekly all throughout her indy days, following him from Raw to TNA. Just think of what a recommendation from him would get her. She felt her spirits lifting at the thought.

This wasn't the best idea she had ever come up with, and using Jeff to piggyback her way into the company was probably just a huge backfire waiting to happen. He had just returned from a two-year run with TNA a few months ago. Would it be right to suddenly ask so much of him so soon after his return? She recalled that in a recent interview, his brother Matt said that Jeff was like no other celebrity out there, that he was kind and giving, and would do anything for his fans.

But to call herself a fan right now would be kind of misplaced. She definitely enjoyed watching him fight, and he had been one of her favorites to watch during her run in the indy circle. But here, she wasn't a fan. She wanted to be more professional than that. But even amongst her excitement and rising hopes, she couldn't deny the underlying tone of desperation and urgency. So she ran after him, praying that Matt was right.

"Jeff?" she said, slightly out of breath. He glanced down at her very briefly.

"Didn't know they let fans backstage these days. How much have things changed since I've been gone?" he said, mostly aside to himself.

"Jeff, I—," she started.

"Listen, I'm in kind of a rush—I have a match up next," he said. "But if you want an autograph or something, that's fine. Just hand me a pen or something and I'll sign whatever you have while we walk." He held his hand out to her, waiting for her to place some sort of writing utensil in his hand. "What's your name?"

In what she considered to be a bold and slightly inadvertent move, she grabbed his hand and pulled him to a stop. He made a quick about-face, surprised by this move. Upon finally looking at her, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Jeff, listen to me," she said, slightly exasperated. " My name is Lina, and I need your help. My entire future depends on you and what you say right here, right now."

Good job, Lina, she thought to herself. Way to be professional like you wanted.

He stared at her, taken aback. "Well," he said. "I sure don't get that every day." He hunched his eyebrows, studying her. He pulled his hand out of hers and pointed to her. "Hang on. I know you. You're in that Divas Search thing, right?"

"I was," she answered, "which is why I need your help."

"Oh that. Yeah, what did you mean by all of that? Are you out of the contest already?"

"Jeff, my whole life I've been working for this. To suddenly give up and throw it all away is a heart breaking and impossible thing for me to do," she said. "I need a referral from a Superstar in order to get into the WWE. I'm asking you to just do something really base for me, like letting me intern for you. You won't even have to use me or train me or anything. Just help me get into the WWE and then you never have to see me again if that's what you want."

He was stunned. Anxiously, she waited for an answer.

"You know, I have to go fight right now. But if I catch you afterwards, I'll try to give you an answer then." His reply seemed half-hearted. Her hopes sank again.

"But I might not still be here by then!" she said as he started to move away from her.

"Sorry, Lina. Really."

And then he was gone. And once more, Lina was out of options.

.xXx.

Jeff had a match that night against a Superstar by the name of Johnny Nitro. Nitro was a part of a stable called MNM, where he fought along his teammates Joey Mercury and Melina. Mercury and Melina accompanied Nitro to the ring while Jeff himself was alone. Some people saw that as being a bit of a problem, but Jeff said it was nothing he couldn't handle. Jeff had only recently started feuding with the group, though he knew full well of their malicious and underhanded capabilities. Jeff had lost most of his return matches against them, on account of repeated interference from the other group members.

Tonight was no different.

As MNM left the arena, celebrating Nitro's victory and Joey and Melina's handiwork, Jeff sat in the ring, absorbing what had happened. The crowd raised an uproar as Jeff ran his hands through his hair and sighed heavily. And then he thought about Lina and what she had said.

He didn't really know her. During his run in TNA, he had barely found the time to keep up with WWE programming. He hadn't paid much attention to the Divas Search competition, but he did watch bits of it. He had only just recognized Lina when he encountered her in the hallways.

He tried to be nice to people. He was a fan favorite, and prided himself for being so. It made it easier to get along with co-workers and management. He wanted to be nice to Lina, but what she asked of him sounded like a pretty big favor. If anything, it was more like an act of desperation.

But then again, she implied that she had been eliminated from the Divas Search. Half of the women who had entered the competition entered on a whim. The other half actually wanted to be there, while some of them didn't even know how to wrestle. Lina had clearly been a part of the group that wanted to be there. He recalled what she had said to him. All she wanted was to get into the WWE, so he couldn't help but feel like she intended to use him to get a spot in the roster. He didn't like being or feeling used.

She said she wanted to intern for him. Whether she actually, genuinely wanted to intern for him, he didn't know. If anything, he doubted her words. But she may be of some use yet. Jeff had been involved with MNM for some time now, and interference from Mercury and Melina had cost him the match. This had not been the first time this has happened by any means. Matt was currently occupied sitting at home, seething about his release and predicament, Jeff was feuding with MNM, and Lita had long since left Team Xtreme to be with Edge, so he was essentially by himself, and he was tired of MNM costing him matches.

So if Matt wasn't available to watch his back for him, who could?

.xXx.

Lina had reached the door to the parking lot. She had the door half-way open with her car keys in hand when she stopped. That nagging voice she was suppressing, the one telling her that she had forgotten something when she left Eric's office, suddenly became clear. When she left Eric's office, she forgot to get her file back from him.

So far, her plan was to just hang around for a while and try to see if she could catch up with and talk to Vince. It would probably be easier to talk to him if she had her file herself so they wouldn't have to spend time searching for Eric.

She closed the door and headed back into the arena's backstage.

.xXx.

He was backstage now, and was walking towards his dressing room, turning his head every now and then to look for her. He soon passed a stagehand and asked if he had seen anyone named Lina.

"Who?" he asked.

"I don't know her last name, sorry," Jeff admitted. He saw her compete in the Divas Search contest, but never bothered to learn any of the contestants' names. "She has long brown hair, I think she's wearing a red shirt, about five-foot-three or so…"

"I think I know who you're talking about. She was in the Divas Search, right?"

"Yeah, she was. Hey, you work here. How is it you don't know who she is?"

"To be honest, I mainly just work ECW and Smackdown tapings. Raw has been exceptionally busy as of late, so they asked me to work today," he said. "I find myself too busy to keep up with Raw and the competition. All I know from the Divas Search is that the eight finalists are debuting on TV soon."

"Great. Do you know where she is, then?"

"Last I saw, she was over by Eric Bischoff's office, but that was more than half an hour ago. Sorry I couldn't be more of a help, Jeff."

"It's fine, really," Jeff replied.

When they were talking in the halls before his match, Lina really did seem heartbroken and upset. A part of him didn't want her to use him for her own plight towards WWE stardom, but then again…a part of him also wanted to help her. He kind of resented her for being able to inadvertently manipulate him like this, but even more so, he resented himself for letting her.

"It's not all bad, I suppose," he muttered to himself. "I'm just doing something nice for her, that's all…"

He was standing outside his dressing room now. He had one hand on the doorknob, eyes cast downwards. His head still throbbed from where Joey hit him with his WWE Tag Team Championship belt while Johnny had the referee distracted. Matt thoroughly had his hands full with the Edge and Lita situation. Perhaps having Lina around wouldn't be such a bad thing.

And then suddenly he was standing outside Eric Bischoff's office. He inhaled deeply and then knocked on the door. A few seconds later and Eric invited him in. Inside the office, Eric was busy with his paperwork and documents. He looked up when Jeff walked in, and put his things down.

"Ah, Jeff," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey, Eric," Jeff said. "Did you happen to catch my match tonight?"

"No, sorry. I've been busy, as you can tell," Eric answered.

"Ah. Well, I lost."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Guess why."

"I think I can."

"Eric, I'm really tired of this," Jeff said. "Something needs to happen. I can't count on Matt to be there to get my back for me; he's not even here anymore. Every time I go out there against Nitro, I feel like I'm at a disadvantage, just because Mercury and Melina are out there too. And I have no one."

"Well Jeff, what would you like me to do about it?" Eric asked.

Jeff put his hands on the edge of Eric's desk and leaned forward. "What can you tell me about Lina?"

Eric stared at him with a slightly confused look on his face. "Lina Lavigne? Well, she was eliminated from the Divas Search competition a week ago. I looked over her file today, which I actually still have here for some reason, and it's very impressive. She's been to a several independent promotions, and looks like she's been touring the indy circle for the last five years or so. Hard worker, exceptional performer, persistent…why do you ask?"

Jeff mused. "I'm getting an idea here. Eric, earlier today, I encountered her in the halls before my match, and she was really upset about the competition. She said she wanted to intern for me, but I think all she wanted was to just get into the WWE."

"That was probably my fault, sorry," Eric said. "I told her that the only way to get into the WWE right now would be to have connections with a current Superstar. She really wanted to win the Divas Search."

"Think she was being serious?"

"When she said she wanted to intern for you? Probably. I wouldn't put it past her," he said. "But if it was just an act of desperation, I wouldn't take it personally."

He was mulling things over in his head, Eric could tell. He was staring at him, waiting for him to say something. Jeff's grip on Eric's desk was harder now. He started rapping his fingers on the wood.

"You know what, Eric?" Jeff said finally, looking up. Eric. "I think I just might take her up on that."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "Really," he said.

"I haven't decided anything yet. But still…it would be nice to be able to fight Nitro without having to constantly worry about what Joey and Melina are up to," Jeff said. "Plus, the transition from indy to WWE is a big one. A big, drastic, different one. Maybe I could help her out with that too."

Eric nodded slightly. "Well Jeff, she did leave my office some time ago, and I really couldn't tell you where she is right now. I could try to call up her agent tomorrow, or call her latest indy promo in a week, but for right now I—."

There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. Jeff straightened up and both of them looked towards the door. "Eric, I'm sorry for bothering you, but I think I left my file in here, and—." She cut herself off. Jeff had turned around to look at her, but the mere fact that he was there was enough to catch her off guard.

"Oh, so that's why I still have your file," Eric said.

"Oh I'll just take it and go, it looks like you guys were talking," she said, moving forward to take her file from Eric. "Sorry to interrupt."

"No, no, stay," Eric said. "I actually wanted to thank you for coming back, Lina. We were just talking about you."

Lina looked apprehensively from Jeff to Eric. "Is that a good thing?"

"I'd say so," Eric said, standing up. "It seems that Mr. Hardy has decided to consider your offer."

She paused, stunned. "My what?"

"To intern for him?"

Her jaw dropped slightly. "Oh! Oh my god, are you serious?"

"Before you get your hopes up, I'm still thinking about it," Jeff said, grinning slightly at her enthusiasm.

She smiled. "Good enough for me. I don't even know what to say to that."

"That'll pass, don't worry about it," Jeff said. "Eric, we done here?"

"Well, unless you want to sign her to a contract right now, I don't see anything else I can do for you," Eric said, mulling about his paperwork. "Actually, I really should run this by with Mr. McMahon first…So you can take her for now if you'd like, and I'll see you next week before the show."

"Great," said Jeff. "Come on Lina, I'll show you around." He took her by the shoulder and led her out of the office. Lina doubted that Jeff even needed to show her around at all. She had spent most of the competition using what free time she had to give herself a tour around the various arenas, learning the inside happenings and functions. She had wanted to know everything about the WWE. It made her feel more like she was actually a part of it.

"Jeff, I'm sorry about earlier today," Lina said. He glanced down at her.

"Hmm?"

"When I approached you. I meant to be more um…professional than that," she explained. "So I don't blame you for passing me off as a fan. I was just really upset."

He nodded. "I suppose if I were in your shoes, I would have been too."

They were just walking around the halls now. Occasionally, he would point something out to her and talk about the business and how things worked backstage. In between Jeff pointing things out to her, they would talk casually. It was mostly about Lina's time in the indy circle and the Divas Search competition. To change things up, Lina in turn would ask him about his time in TNA and his recent return to the WWE. Around that time, they came across an interview set with a live-circuit TV switched on in the corner.

"Yeah, sorry I can't tell you more about the important stuff that's happening," Jeff said as they approached it. "I've been working here long enough to tell you all about the backstage politics, but I don't think I can explain any of the storylines going on. You might actually know what's happening better than I would."

Kane had just defeated Sylvain Grenier in a match. As he was celebrating his victory, he was suddenly interrupted and promptly joined in the ring by a brunette woman and a much taller male companion.

"Maybe I do know the storylines better than you, Jeff," Lina said. "But I haven't been able to pay attention to all of them. I get the feeling that this is one of the more important ones I've missed."

"Oh…" Jeff said, frowning at the TV set. "That's uh…that's Lita, and that's Gene Snitsky. Shit's about to go down."

"Funny. You've been gone for two years, yet you can pick up on their feud like that?" she said.

"I have something of a back story with Lita," he said. "Well, actually my brother does more than I do." He seemed so bitter. She didn't understand.

"You've piqued my curiosity, I have to admit," she said.

"Half of the reason my brother got released from the WWE in April," he pointed at the screen, "is because of her."

Lina bit her lip. "Ah."

Back in the ring, Lita had been bashing Kane and putting over her friend. At one point, she kissed Gene and Lina was just barely able to pick up the word "slut" from Jeff when he coughed loudly. Lita then asked her fiancé to come down to the ring, and a few seconds later, a tall blond man emerged onto the stage, and she announced that next week she would marry him. Lina raised an eyebrow.

"Who's that?"

"The other half of the reason."

"Oh." She felt almost awkward. "I think this is something you're going to need to explain to me more thoroughly sometime."

"You don't need to worry about what happened to my brother," Jeff said, not taking his eyes off the screen. "What you do need to worry about is him."

"The blond guy?"

"His name's Edge. Watch out for him."

She paused, expecting more. "That's it?"

"Maybe some other time," Jeff said, a little more upbeat now as he led her off of the set. "So why did you have to go this route, anyway?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You lost the Divas Search thing. So what? Couldn't you have just entered again next year?"

She stopped walking, and he did likewise, looking at her quizzically. "I considered that. But to be honest, I don't think I would have been able to stand it again." He furrowed his brow at her. "Did you realize that this year for the competition, they actually specified that the contestants didn't have to know how to wrestle, or even have a desire to wrestle? Half of the girls out there don't know what they hell they're doing, and probably just entered for shits and giggles. So what the hell's the goddamned point? I want to be in the WWE so I can be a wrestler. I didn't sign up for this preppy girly stuff."

"Then why sign up at all?"

She sighed. "Because I knew that once I got in to the WWE, I'd be able to be my own woman. I could break free of the stereotypical Diva hold and I could actually fight like I want to. The Divas Search was just a means of getting in. After that, I'm home free. But after I got eliminated, I felt like I had sold out for nothing."

Jeff nodded slowly. "I can respect that." He pulled out his cell phone and glanced at it. "Hey listen, I gotta run since I'm done for tonight. I told some friends I'd meet up with them. But I'll see you next week, okay?"

She cocked her head. "You will?"

"Well, we gotta sign you to a contract, don't we?" he replied, grinning. "Catch you later, Lina."

He turned on foot and walked away, leaving her by herself in a hallway that seemed a little less big than it did five minutes ago. She smiled slowly, sinking in to the feeling of belongingness and victory, knowing that she beat the system and got what she wanted after all. It was so exhilarating, she could barely think.

When she regained composure enough to remember how to move, she shook her head, laughed slightly, and said "Jeff freaking Hardy."

Jeff freaking Hardy indeed.

End Chapter 1

Bear with me. The first few chapters aren't going to be very good, as I'm trying to set up an opening for Lina. But as her storylines and her friendship with Jeff develop, it'll take off.
NOTE: I'm going to be adhering to WWE's original storylines currently taking place in this time setting. I've done lots of research on it, so all the storylines will be the same, 'cept I'll be tweaking some of them to put Lina in and make her fit. You'll see :D
Reviews, please!