Disclaimer: I don't own anyone here, the characters belong only to themselves.

A/N: This is actually a recycled story. All my current stories are reaching an end I have a massive writer's block so I can't write for the life of me. Then I was talking to DZ about Punk and Maryse twetting that they were on their way to Chile and she suggested that I could re-write this story with them as the main characters and I decided to give it a try. Let me know if you want to see more of it, like I said, this is a re-written story so I would just need to work a few details and voila.

The Catalyst

"Sorry, but your flight has been cancelled."

I hear the words just fine, but it takes a while for my brain to register them and comprehend their true meaning, and when they finally sink in, I find myself face to face with the dilemma they represent.

Chuckling, I hang up my cell phone, not even bothering to warn the person at the other end that our conversation is done. I just focus all my attention on the woman who so diligently broke the news for me.

Maybe I didn't hear well after all… or maybe her words got mingled with that of Brie's because there's no way the airline cancelled my flight.

Not again…

Pushing my Gucci sunglasses up my face, I let them rest at the top of my head and blink two times before speaking. "What do you mean it got cancelled? That's not possible." A chuckle escapes my lips but it's not an amused chuckle, it borders more on desperation. "My papers are all here and I need to take that plane now."

The woman doesn't even bat an eyelash; her countenance remains unperturbed as her fingers keep working the keyboard. "It got cancelled due to weather conditions." Her tone is monotonous, bored. "I have another flight available to that destination for tomorrow at two in the afternoon if you are interested."

"No, no, no… you don't get it. I can't wait until tomorrow afternoon. I need to be in Chile by tomorrow morning." I say, part of me relieved that my Visa has nothing to do with this sudden cancelation.

The woman doesn't seem impressed by my tone and by the look on her face she doesn't care about my urge to board that plane; and really, why should she? She's not the one that got screwed by the airline.

"This can't be serious!" I exclaim to no one in particular although I am looking up to the ceiling, kind of as if expecting God himself to give me a good explanation of why he is messing with me.

I get no response, not from God and not from the woman behind the counter.

The truth is that I'm already running in a tight schedule and there is no way I can wait until tomorrow to take a teen hours flight headed to the other side of the continent, there's just no way.

Waiting is not acceptable, my time is limited here and I need to resolve this matter as soon as possible. I need to catch up with the South American tour the company has embarked into and the sooner I get there the better.

As I try to think on what to do, my phone starts to ring again, interrupting my thoughts with instant speed. I don't have to look at it to know it is so I just ignore it.

"Listen," I sigh, trying to keep the exasperation off my voice but failing miserably in my attempt. "Is there any other option other than tomorrow?" a boat? a spaceship? Perhaps a teleportation device? I'll take anything that will take me to Chile today.

With the same dull expression she has been sporting since the moment I walked to this counter, the woman just stares at me indifferently. "We do have an independent line of private jets that could take you to Chile today. It would cost you more though and we are not responsible for any mishap."

I almost chuckle, almost. Money is not an inconvenient for me… time is, and I already wasted enough of it.

I take out the credit card that I always carry with me in case a situation like this presents itself and pass it to the woman. "How soon will this jet leave?"

"I'll contact the crew so they can refuel the jet and make preparations for the take-off. I say an hour, maybe less."

Somehow that doesn't sound like soon enough, but hey, one hour is better than tomorrow. So yes, it can be a lot worse, because if I don't make it to Chile by tomorrow then I will be in real trouble and probably end up getting suspended and fined. And that's without mentioning the fact that I could get heat with management as well.

"Are you going to answer that or are we going to dance to it?"

Raising an eyebrow, I venture to glance over at the man who is now standing by my side. I knew who it was even before looking; I would recognize that voice anywhere.

It's Phil, when I informed our road agent that I was going to miss the flight he told me he was trying to contact Phil and that the two of us needed to get in a plane to Chile as soon as it was possible. Apparently, I was not the only one that would miss the flight so I was relieved… very relieved.

But anyway, at least things are starting to look more promising now. The misunderstanding with my Visa was checked in and corrected and I successfully solved the jet thing. Now I also have a wrestler… and not just any wrestler, but one of the best in the business stuck with me in this mess.

Meaning that if I go down, I won't go down alone…

"So you finally decided to show up." I say, making point of his tardiness while silencing my phone. "I thought you were not going to make it."

He chuckles, leaning into the counter and laying his hands on top of it to support his weight. "Well, sorry I didn't drop everything soon enough to join you in your little adventure to hell. I wasn't even scheduled to make this tour and packing for three days in South America is kind of a pain in the ass when you are not even home to pack properly."

I shoot him a cold glare and say nothing. You see, Phil and I, we are not friends, we are nothing more than co-workers and if truth be told I don't like him that much.

He's as arrogant as they come and I don't like that, he's also an ass with no regards of others.

"Anyway, did they call you at last minute too?" he asks while his eyes scan mine.

Shifting my weight, I let out a tired sigh. "Not really, I got problems with my Visa and missed the first flight."

He smirks, his eyes shining with amusement as he looks down on me. "Oh, I bet Vince was very happy about that."

I hum, pushing my cheek with my tongue. Vince was actually fuming when our road agent called him, I know because I was there listening. I think we caught him in a bad mood because one, it was not my fault or Pat's that the airport didn't let me board and two, that he demanded me that I moved everything in my power to get there was stupid and I bet he knows it.

I'm not going to have a match, I don't have any signings and to be objective I was just scheduled into the shows because Ted was going to be there. But because I'm not in the mood to share that with information with Phil I just look away and focus on the papers I have to sigh to rent the jet.

So I sign these things, trying to ignore his eyes on me as he lurks around. What a creep, and he definitely looks the part. Crazy eyes and all… how long was this flight?

"Are all those suitcases yours?" He chuckles and I look at him with raised eyebrow.

He's taking a glance at my bags and I shrug, why should he care? "Yes, so? Is not like you have to carry them on your back all the way to Santiago."

"Oh, testy…" He says and shrugs as well, the look on his face screaming of nothing but sarcasm. See, this is why I don't like him, he thinks he's too much and in reality he's not that good.

He puts himself in a pedestal because he came from the Indies and wrestled for all these different small promotions. That doesn't make him the best thing ever but he acts like it.

Well he isn't, he's good but he is not that good.

I feel like telling him that, but instead I put the pen down and turn around, walking to the small waiting room area until I'm called to board my plane once and for all.

I wake up startled and disoriented; a feeling I always get whenever I wake up anywhere that is not my own big comfy bed. I blink a couple of times; trying to gather up the last memories I had before getting caught in the arms of Morpheus.

I can't get much out of my still drowsy brain. The last thing I remember is doing some online shopping through my laptop and then nothing. So I remember that much, but I can't for the life of me remember what was I shopping or how long I've been out.

Rubbing the sleep off my eyes, I take a look at my laptop… the monitor is just a black canvas that mocks me by showing me my own reflection. I assume the battery just died while I dozed off.

I grunt, just very convenient. I grab my cell phone with the intention checking the hour, but when I try to turn it on I find it has died too.

Great, just what I needed, no laptop and no cell phone… and when I look down to my wrist I notice that my watch is not working either! This is just fantastic, now I'm in a limbo when it comes to knowing what time it is and how long I was out.

Despite myself, I frown at all these coincidences, hoping we are not flying over the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle… or even worse, over some mystery island with a huge magnetic force that has the power of manipulating time and space. Because this plane crashing would be the ultimate inconvenience.

I take a look out the window pane and through it I see nothing but blackness. It's the same panorama I got before falling asleep.

"Whatever," I mumble under my breath. I just hope we are close to our destination already because there are a few calls I need to make.

Getting up to my feet I look around, taking a few steps in search for someone in the crew who can fill me in as of why my phone is not working.

Looking around to see if I spot anyone that could help me here, I notice that Phil is sitting not too far from where I stand.

His eyes are closed while his head rest casually against the back of the seat, making his face look relax and tranquil, a trait one rarely sees in him. I can't tell from here if he is sleeping or not, he probably is, even when I can hear the music blasting from his iPhone.

And whatever he is listening sound horrible.

Suddenly, I feel the floor beneath my feet move and I gasp in surprise, taking a quick hold on the edge of the seat. Wow, I got scared, but it was just that with a scary suddenness matched only in movies, the plane took a quick descend that almost made my sprawl to the floor.

Almost, but I managed to hold on.

With my heart beating ridiculously fast inside my chest, I look over to where a very awake Phil is sitting; he has taken off his iPhone's headphones and is now looking around the cabin.

God, my eyes feel like two huge sockets in my face. I hate turbulence… it makes me antsy.

I begin to prepare mentally with the task of moving my glued feet off the floor when the plane takes a quicker descend into nothingness, too violent to give me time to think and this time I'm not able to hold myself. I end up down on my knees… my pride hurting more that the damn knees.

"Hey, are you ok?"

I hear him say as I attempt to get up to my feet. It's not an easy task, because even when the plane is no longer free-falling it is shaking.

I bet he is smirking, but when I look up at him he is not, he has a very serious expression on his face and I nod through my shame, biting hard on my lips and trying to look as graceful as anyone in my situation could manage.

He offers me a hand and I take it, allowing him to help me up to the chair next to his.

"What's going on here?" He asks… as if know!

Right on cue, the flight attendant came walking toward us. She is smiling and that kind of alleviates some of my worries.

"I'm going to need you to fasten your seatbelts. We are experience some turbulence but nothing to worry about, it will be over soon."

I do as she says, still unable to utter a word. The plane is violently shaking and even when her words reassured me a little, I still don't like it.

With my eyes, I follow the young flight attendant as she walks to the back of the plane and sits in one of the chairs over there. She fastens the seatbelt and stays there…

Nope… I don't like this at all.

"This is really some turbulence, uh?" Phil says but I'm not in the mood for chatter right now, not with the plane shaking like this.

I look up to where I was sitting and notice my laptop laying in pieces on the floor. The monitor is broken.

Then, all of a sudden, a deafening noise drills into my brain, making me cringe in response. My head feels about to explode, it's awful…

Then as if made out of paper, I watch in horror as a the jet starts to crack… and no longer after that first crack it just brakes, the stupid plane breaks in half! The section where the woman who told us not to worry about the turbulence was sitting disappearing into the blackness of the night.

"Oh My God, OH MY GOD!" I chant over and over again but I'm sure no one can hear me. In full panic mode, I close my eyes and grip the edge of the chair with all my strength, feeling the force of the wind hit me hard in the face.

This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening! I'm still asleep, this is a nightmare and the plane did not just break in two while in midair!

God, but it did, I saw it happen… and I saw a woman get swallowed through the darkness of the night never to be seen again.

Something tells me that this is a good time to pray, but I can't remember the words. I was never good with this kind of stuff…

While my brain goes into overdrive, I feel someone grab my face and yank it to the side. I don't want to open my eyes to see who is touching me, what if its death trying to take me away… because I'm sure going to die of a heart attack before hitting land… or ocean, whatever is coming.

OH MY GOD! I don't want to die like this.

But no, I won't die of a heart attack; how could that be possible when I'm about to throw my heart out! I can already feel it in my throat… I'm going to vomit it.

"Maryse, look at me!"

I shake my head, I don't want to… I don't want to die just yet, there are so many things I wanted to do before this moment.

"Maryse!"

I swallow my heart back to its place and open my eyes at the sound of my name, once I open my eyes I find myself lost in a pair of deep olive green eyes that stare back at me.

Can he see the terror reflected in my eyes? Does it matters that I finally show weakness in the verge of dying?

I hear him saying something, something about my seatbelt, I don't know what it is but then I feel him unbuckling it.

No! What are you doing? I want to yell at him, I want to stop him! But I can't, I'm petrified… staring into the green of his eyes.

And staring into those greens I feel something hit me in the head, almost knocking me out with the force of the impact...

It hurts, but I'm not sure of anything anymore.

Everything around me is a fuzzy mess. I can only feel a killer pain in my head… and water, my feet are getting wet… and my knees. Why are my knees wet?

"Look at me Maryse, stay with me."

I look up to him, feeling water raising up to my waist and his hands on my face… my head hurts… and his face, his face is fading right before my eyes… I try to hold on, but then there's nothing.

TBC