One-shot time! As we all we saw with this past episode of RAW, Goldust finally got his new tag team partner. And, I can honestly say, Stardust is a pretty good gimmick for Cody to work with (not to mention, he does look good in his new gear...face paint and all). After all, we get twice the golden bizarreness...what more could you want?
Anyways, I'm babbling. Disclaimer goes here: I own nothing used in this story. The wrestlers (past and present) used and mentioned in this are the property of themselves and of the WWE. I only own the idea behind this story and my OC, Alex Hardy. Mary Williams is the OC and property of foldintothenight, who is allowing me to use her OC with permission. Now that this is out of the way, onto the one-shot. =)
"I have a new partner for you. It's someone you've never worked with before," Cody told his older brother Dustin after the older man's loss to the team of Rybaxel. Before the older of the two brothers could say anything, Cody added "You're going to love him. Trust me."
The news of the new mystery partner for Goldust was something that had turned into a guessing game among the veteran wrestler's friends on the roster. A large majority of the guesses were all wrestlers that were still on NXT, ranging from Sami Zayn to Corey Graves; there were even guesses that pointed to a member of the roster that hadn't teamed with Goldust before, with names ranging from The Miz to Santino Marella. When the combined guessing power of the group failed, they all turned to asking Cody. However, when each roster member asked the second generation Superstar, he would always tell them the same thing.
"Sorry, guys. You all will have to wait until Monday," Cody said.
When questioning Cody failed as an option, everyone decided to just patiently wait until next Monday to find out who Goldust's next new tag partner was. The only one who wasn't patient enough to wait like the others was Mary Williams, second generation Diva and lifelong friend of the Rhodes men.
"Cody. You know you want to tell us who you picked to be Dustin's partner next week," Mary said, a slight threatening tone starting to color her voice, one day while she was out with some of her friends.
Shaking his head as he took a drink of his milkshake, Cody said "Can't do that, Mare. Like I said, you're going to have to wait just like everyone else."
Groaning, Mary looked over and asked "Alex, can't you make your man tell us who Dustin's supposed to be teaming with?"
Swallowing the bit of donut she was eating, Alex Hardy said "It's not my place to make Cody tell stuff he doesn't want us to know. Besides, haven't you ever heard that sometimes the best things in life are surprises?"
"I've heard that, but I tend to ignore it when it comes to situations that I feel don't really need surprises," Mary said, swirling her straw around in her cup of iced coffee. "I'm just worried about Dustin. It seems like ever since the split happened between him and Codes at PayBack, Dustin's been having nothing but shit luck. I just want him to have a partner that'll stick."
Putting a hand on the younger woman's shoulder, Dolph Ziggler said "Just chill out, Mare. After all, if Cody's got faith in this guy to be Dustin's partner, then that should be a sign that you should have faith in him too."
"I guess you're right," Mary said, sighing. "If I can just say one thing though, Dustin wouldn't be in this mess if Cody would've just chosen me to be his partner."
Laughing from beside Alex, Zack Ryder said "That's a team I could definitely see giving The Usos a run for their belts. The student and her teacher together in what would be one kick-ass team. The matches you two could have."
"Don't give her any ideas," Cody said. "She'll march into Paul's office faster than we can blink and demand it happen."
Smiling with a mix of innocence and deviousness on her face, Mary said "What? Is it a crime that I want to team up with my mentor? Besides, I'd get to kick Ryback's ass. So, what's wrong with that as an idea? Plus, I do look good in gold."
Laughing, Alex said "So we've seen when you decide to model Dustin's trench coat before and during his matches."
Shrugging with that same smile still on her face, Mary asked "Nothing wrong with me having a little bit of fun with Dustin, is there?"
"None really," Cody said. "After all, you are just like a sister to us, so it's only natural that Dustin treat you like one."
"Then why wouldn't he let me team up with him?" Mary asked, pouting slightly. "Unless he thought having you pick his partners was a good idea."
"Maybe he decided to just go with Cody's instincts since they've been teaming with each other for the past year," Alex said. "Besides, maybe we'll end up liking this guy come Monday."
Taking the younger Diva's words in, Mary sighed and said "I guess you're right, Alex. I suppose I can wait until Monday." Looking over to the Superstar that was like another younger brother to her, Mary said "Just know this, Codes. If your new partner for Dustin leads to a loss for them again, I'm going to personally ask for a match against you so that I can kick your ass."
Holding up his hands defensively, Cody said "Don't worry, Mare. You guys are all going to like this guy. Just trust me" as a grin started to work its way across his face.
…
The following Monday, the show had been going by at what felt like a snail's pace, with the only major high points being the roster gathering on the stage at the start of the show, more fallout between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, Vickie Guerrero falling victim to slapstick-esque abuse at the hands of the Authority, the battle royale that ended with Roman Reigns moving on to join the five men that already qualified for the Money in the Bank match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and Kevin Hart being made an unofficially official Rosebud. When it came time for the last mid-card match before the Stretcher Match main event, Dustin was in his locker room getting ready to head out when he got stopped for an interview by Byron Saxton.
"Goldust, if I can have a word," Byron said, getting the attention of the veteran Superstar. "I know you're getting ready to leave for your tag team match against Rybaxel. And, what I wanted to ask you was have you had the chance to meet your new tag team partner yet?"
"I have, actually," Dustin said, a bit enthusiastically. "He's great and he's everything that I was looking for in a partner. Now, for me to go have my first match with him. Wish me luck," Dustin said, leaving the locker room.
Walking out of the locker room, Dustin saw Alex sitting on one of the nearby equipment crates, eating from a bag of Dark Side Skittles and Mary standing beside the younger Diva. Walking over to where his student and his younger brother's girlfriend were waiting, Dustin asked "Shouldn't you two have already headed out before me?"
"We were going to, but we want to see who Codes picked to be your partner," Mary said, a playful pout on her face.
"And by 'we', Mare mostly means her," Alex said, in between bites of her Skittles. "I'm just here because the guys are showering and Paige doesn't want to be bothered right now."
"Well, why don't you two go on ahead, and you'll find out soon enough," Dustin said, a knowing smile starting to slide across his face. "Trust me. You two are going to love him."
Taking note of the smile on her mentor's face, Mary gave in and said "Fine. Come on, Alex. Let's go see who this guy is that Codes chose for Goldy."
Hopping down from the crate she was sitting on, Alex swallowed her mouthful of Skittles and said "Fine. Let's go." Turning to the veteran Superstar, Alex gave Dustin a thumbs-up and said "Good luck to you, Dustin. If you hear me yelling for you, it'll be because Mare's got Cody in a headlock again" before she turned on her heel and headed for the gorilla position with Mary, leaving behind a chuckling Dustin who was then joined by his new partner.
…
'Meat on the Table' was still playing as the team of Ryback and Curtis Axel were shown in the ring, talking and making a plan for how they were going to beat Goldust and his new partner that night. What the two men weren't counting on was the next song that filled the arena. 'I'm So Sick' soon began to play as Mary Williams and Alex Hardy made their way down the ramp and, instead of getting in the ring, made their way to the commentary table to join Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, and JBL in calling the next match. As the two Divas made their way to the commentators' table, Mary smiled innocently at the men in the ring while Alex did the same with the addition of not-so subtly flipping the two men off.
Making room for the two Divas as they took seats beside Jerry and were given headsets, Michael Cole said "Welcome ladies. Pleasant surprise having you two out here tonight."
Smiling over at Michael, Mary said "Well, Goldust is in action after all, Michael. I'd be a bad student if I didn't want to come out and show my mentor some support."
"And I'm only hear to make sure Mary doesn't take Ryback down," Alex added.
Laughing at the two Divas, Jerry said "Sounds to me like you're down here for more than just the emotional support, Maryanne."
Shrugging, Mary said "What can I say? I've been worried about Goldust ever since he and Cody split up at PayBack. If Cody would've just asked me, I would've been Goldust's partner and Dustin wouldn't be in this mess of having bad luck with his partners."
"It's touching to hear your concern, but are you sure you could help your mentor take on a team like Rybaxel?" JBL asked.
Hearing JBL say this, Alex snickered while Mary looked over with a look on her face that said 'Really?'. Before she could say anything, the opening for 'Gold-lust' filled the arena. Instead of the response she wanted to give JBL, Mary instead said "Just you watch this match, JBL. Because you're about to watch one of the many men that have my back in this company and one of the men that I've been a very huge help to" before she sat back and watched the match with Alex, who was eating more of her Skittles.
Goldust had just come out and was making his usual entrance when he stepped aside. 'Gold-lust' soon ended as new music soon filled the arena. Not only was the music a familiar-sounding track, but something that was also confusing everyone was the fact that the lighting for Goldust was still in use. Goldust's Titantron video ended as a new video played that accompanied the new music. The Titantron video that played next began with a star, similar to the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, being outlined on the tron. After that, the word 'Stardust' filled the screen. The next sight that the WWE Universe, the crew ringside, the commentators, Alex, and Mary were treated to was a Superstar who was dressed in a costume similar to Goldust's.
Not quite knowing what to make of this Superstar, Michael Cole finally found his words and simply asked "What the hell?"
"I'm with you, Cole," Alex said, confused herself as she ate another handful of Skittles. "This is rubbing me the wrong way. Like another one of Damien's bad cosplays."
"I agree, Alex," Mary said, trying to keep a clamp on what was beginning to feel like a bubble of anger rising inside of her. "In the words of Roger Smith, oh what fresh hell is this?"
While both Divas were still trying to make heads or tails of who this Superstar was, said Superstar kept his back to the crowd and the cameras, walked over to the screen under the Titantron, pressed up against it, and, after pressing his gloved hands together to show the cameras a complete star, pulled his hands away to reveal a face that caught both Divas that were ringside completely off-guard.
Not quite believing what she was seeing, Alex spat out the Skittles she was chewing on and stared ahead, shock clear on her face; Mary, on the other hand, simply stared ahead open-mouthed as Goldust and his new partner made their way to the ring.
Finally finding her words, Mary asked "I said it before, and I'm saying it again. What fresh hell is this?!"
"You sound awfully surprised by this, Mary," Jerry said.
"I am, Jerry," Mary said. Looking over to the wrestling legend, Mary asked "I'm not going crazy, am I?"
"No, you are not, Mary," Michael said. "This is the debut of Goldust's, ahem, new partner, Stardust."
"But, but," Mary said before giving up on trying to put her thoughts into words and sitting back to watch the match.
The two Divas said nothing else for the rest of the match as they watched Goldust taking on Ryback and then tagging out to Stardust, who went on to win the match for his team with a finisher that started with him holding Curtis Axel in preparation for a Cross Rhodes or Final Cut and transitioned into a Stunner. After the match, Stardust did more posing as Goldust walked over to the side of the ring nearest the commentator's table and waved for Alex and Mary to come in the ring.
"Girls, I think Goldust wants the two of you," JBL said, breaking the silence.
Wordlessly, Alex and Mary got up from their seats and climbed into the ring, joining Goldust and Stardust. Only a few seconds had passed before Mary raised the hands of her mentor and Stardust in victory, followed by the group of four getting out of the ring and heading up the ramp to go backstage. Once the four were backstage, Mary turned to take a better look at Stardust.
After giving him a good look, Mary said "OK. I know I've asked this question two times tonight, but I'm asking it again. What fresh hell is this?"
Laughing, Stardust, or better yet Cody, said "This as you so cutely asked, is Dustin's new partner."
"But, but," Mary said as Alex piped up.
"You're wearing contacts. And face paint. And, and, so much gold," Alex said, getting a better look at her boyfriend.
Laughing, Dustin said "You know, you two really should've seen this coming. After all, weren't you two the least bit curious as to why Cody was being so secretive with who my partner was?"
"We were, but we were being good so that the surprise wouldn't get ruined," Alex said. "Although, now that I think about it, I did think it was a bit weird that Cody asked me about any websites that sold costume contacts. In all honesty, I was just thinking it was for a Halloween costume."
Throwing an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, Cody said "Good thing I was able to keep this all a secret. Question now is did you girls like what you saw?"
Biting one of her lip rings, Alex then said "Yeah. As a matter of fact, I did. You look quite good in gold, Cody."
Smiling at what his girlfriend said, Cody then looked over to Mary, who was biting her own lip. Smile still firmly in place, Cody asked "So, how'd you like the debut of Stardust?"
Finally managing to get her words put together right, Mary said "I just have one request."
"Sure, Mare. What is it?" Cody asked.
A smile of her own starting to work its way across her face, Mary asked "Any possible way I can get in on the golden fun?"
Laughing loudly at what his student said, Dustin said "Oh, I think we'd be more than happy to have you join us, Mare. Especially since you pull off the gold look so well."
Watching as Mary and Dustin talked in front of them and began to head for where their friends were, Cody took hold of Alex's hand as the two walked after the older pair. Looking down at Alex, who was laughing at Mary and Dustin, Cody asked "You want in on joining Mare in the golden fun, too?"
Stopping her laughing as she thought it over, Alex shrugged her shoulders and said "Not quite yet. But, I've got one condition."
"Sure, what is it?" Cody asked.
"I get to help do your face paint before your matches," Alex said. "That's all I'm asking right now."
Laughing, Cody said "I wouldn't trust anyone else with helping me out" before he leaned down and kissed Alex on the cheek, leaving behind some of the black paint he used on his lips. Walking on with Alex as they went to meet up with their friends, Cody thought 'This could all be the start of a beautiful and weird stable. And I'm ready for wherever this ride takes me."
And can I be the first to say that I hope Stardust works as a gimmick for Cody? Because it really looked like he was having fun with it Monday. Anyways, I hope you guys all enjoyed this. Don't forget to R&R to let me know what y'all thought of it. =)