(Note: I wrote "Monday, Monday..." as a stand-alone, so it sorta ended up existing outside of any established canonical timeline. So when it was suggested that I make a sequel dealing with the Evolution feud, it got a little interesting trying to realign everything with reality. For the sake of making things make sense as much as possible, here's the way things stand in this reality: The Shield face-turned shortly following the "Shield Summit" and promptly starting feuding with the Authority. The events of "Monday, Monday..." occurred shortly after that. The Shield/Authority feud continued through to where we join the story already in progress, a week following WrestleMania 30. As always, feedback and critiques are welcomed. Thanks for reading!)
There are No Season Premiers in the WWE
Triple H left the dazed Roman Reigns flat on his back in the ring and jumped to the floor. The crowd reacted with great consternation as he began to rummage around beneath the ring. A strange look crossed Triple H's face. He started dragging folded up chairs and tables out of the way, unable to locate a certain something. Suddenly, the crowd exploded into wild cheers.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Helmsley," said a voice, "Are you looking for this?"
Carly stood at the top of the ramp. One hand held the microphone, the other balanced Triple H's sledgehammer across her shoulder.
Triple H bellowed in rage and started towards her.
"I don't think so, Mr. Helmsley," Carly said with a confident smile, "I'm here to see that Roman Reigns gets a fair fight. And if not, I'll be only too happy to put this little toy of yours to good use."
Livid, but unable to do anything to stop Carly, Triple H turned back to the ring, where Roman Reigns waited for him.
As soon as the bell rang and Roman raised his arms in victory, Carly slipped backstage. Seth and Dean would be running out there shortly, and she didn't want to intrude on the Shield having their moment. She passed the sledgehammer off to the first stagehand she saw.
"Would you please see that this gets returned to its rightful owner?" she asked, "It looks like I won't get to redecorate the place tonight."
Laughing a bit at the employee's bewilderment, Carly headed towards the locker room. She would've liked to keep the sledgehammer, but that wouldn't have felt entirely honest. She'd only taken it as insurance. Besides, Triple H could get a new one at any given hardware store, so what would be the point?
Suddenly, someone grabbed a handful of Carly's hair from behind and hurled her against the wall. Someone's knee caught her in the stomach before she had a chance to react. Acting on instinct, Carly threw herself forward, catching her attacker off guard. It was Alicia Fox. Carly slammed her against the opposite wall of the hallway, managing to get in a few good punches before being shoved away. Alicia's fist caught Carly squarely on the mouth. Carly stumbled back, lost her footing, and fell to the ground. She tasted blood.
Before Alicia could renew her assault, Carly heard shouts and the sound of running feet. Someone collided with Alicia Fox, ordering her off while Alicia sassed in reply. Someone else put a hand on Carly's shoulder.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked a woman's voice.
Carly looked up to see two dark-haired women standing over her. The one who had spoken was Brie Bella, so Paige must have been the one to fend Alicia off. They both helped Carly to her feet.
"Yes, I'm fine," said Carly, massaging her jaw. Alicia Fox could throw a mean punch, and this wasn't the first time Carly had been on the receiving end of one.
"What was that all about?" Paige asked.
"I'm not sure," said Carly, "But I'm pretty sure it wasn't Alicia's idea."
"I don't think Alicia Fox is capable of having ideas. She's absolutely crackers," said Paige, laughing.
"Either way, thank you, both of you," Carly said earnestly.
"Anytime," Brie smiled, "The sane ones have to stick together. We're outnumbered around here."
Carly took her time finding the Shield. They'd be celebrating Roman's victory, and she was pretty sure that if she showed up bleeding from the mouth, it'd bring down the mood just a bit. That worry was well-founded. With a pang of regret for not giving them more time, Carly watched the triumphant grins fade from the Shield's faces.
"Congratulations, Roman," said Carly.
She tried to smile, but it quickly turned to a wince as the movement stung her cut lip. The Shield was around her in an instant. Roman lifted her chin to assess the damage, and Carly let him fuss for the moment. Roman Reigns' gentle, brotherly concern was one of his most endearing (and unexpected) qualities. It was like being mothered by a lion.
"You got jumped again?" said Seth, brows furrowed incredulously.
"Who'd Stephanie send to rough you up this time?" asked Dean.
"Alicia Fox again. She's got a mean right cross. I'm ok, Roman," said Carly, pulling away, "Brie and Paige chased her off."
"Carly, that's the third time this week," Roman folded his arms disapprovingly, "Don't you think it's about time we did something about this?"
"I'm inclined to agree with you," Carly sighed, rubbing her jaw, "This is starting to get old. Well, I think I'll have to handle it like a McMahon."
"Like a what now?" Dean frowned and felt Carly's forehead, "Are you feeling alright? We know you've been under a lot of stress lately and all. Maybe you oughta lay down for a while, relax a bit."
Carly pushed his hand away impatiently.
"I'm fine, and I'm not going crazy, Dean," she said, "I'll let you keep the monopoly on that. I'm just saying that if there's one thing no – would you please stop that?"
Carly swatted Dean away in annoyance. He had grabbed hold of her wrist and seemed to be trying to take her pulse. Under normal circumstances, Carly enjoyed (or at least tolerated) Dean's antics. But she was trying to make a point here, and all they were doing was fussing.
"He's right, though," said Roman, "We're all getting a little concerned. You can't go on like this, Carly."
"Every time you leave our sight, you come back in worse shape," said Seth before Carly could interrupt, "I mean, you've got bruises on top of bruises at this point. Don't take this as an insult, but I don't know how much longer you can hold out if you keep taking this kind of punishment."
"Either we have to have eyes on you at all times," Roman said, "Or we need to think of way to end this, and soon."
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," said Carly, "I have an idea. If there's one thing no McMahon can resist, it's an ultimatum. I issue one to Stephanie, and then we hit each other a lot until we settle our disagreements."
"You're gonna fight Stephanie?" Dean asked skeptically, "You really think that's a good idea? I mean, you haven't actually won a match since… well, you haven't ever actually won a match, come to think of it."
"And you aren't anywhere near being at one-hundred percent right now," Roman added.
"And how many years has it been since she was even in a match?" said Carly, "I've learned a lot from you three. I may not be very good, but I know I can handle her."
"That's all well and good," said Seth, "As long as Stephanie fights fair, and the odds against that happening are astronomical."
"True," Carly admitted, "Which is why I'm going to need the help of the most dominant faction in the company, not to mention the best strategist around."
She smiled hopefully at Seth. Though he wrinkled his nose, Carly knew the flattery and the challenge had won him over.
"You're gonna go out there and make some noble promise that we'll be honor-bound to uphold, and make life difficult for me, aren't you?" Seth groaned.
"It's sort of what I do, yeah," Carly shrugged sheepishly.
"That's our princess," said Roman, shaking his head.
"She's so innocent and devious at the same time," Dean grinned, "It's adorable. And a little frightening."
"Alright, Carly," interrupted Seth, "Here's what you need to do."
xXx
This was the sort of development that warranted opening the broadcast with: Carly Caden was going to issue a challenge to Stephanie McMahon. Nobody knew what to expect. The only ones in on the plan were Carly and the Shield.
Over the past month, the Shield had been enjoying a string of successes in stomping on the Wyatt family. They also thwarted efforts by Triple H, Batista, and Randy Orton (not to mention their lackeys, Kane and the New Age Outlaws) to screw Daniel Bryan out of a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship title, and continued to defend him against their efforts to take it from him following his victory at Wrestlemania. To assist them, Carly had been acting as a sort of neutralizer against the Authority. Knowing them like she did, Carly was able to spot a double-cross from a mile away and did everything possible to sabotage the saboteurs, up to and including hitting the problem with a kendo stick until it stopped being a problem.
This strategy had stopped working when Stephanie got wise to it and started going after Carly instead. Carly had been able to handle it until recently, when the attacks came more frequently and with greater numbers. It was time to get Stephanie off her back so she could continue helping out the Shield.
Carly couldn't help but smile when she heard that music start up: "The Mountain" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Particularly, the section of the song that contained the recognizable melody of "In the Hall of the Mountain King." Carly couldn't begin to describe how empowering it felt to have her own entrance music. She'd only used the Shield's music for that one time, when she thought she was fighting to save Seth's job. After that, Carly knew she'd have to find her own. She was the Shield's manager (a title that was mostly a formality, "ally" would be more accurate), and their friend, but she wasn't part of the Shield. It would be presumptuous, almost disrespectful to their brotherhood to use their theme as her own.
The orchestral-rock reworking of Grieg's music that heralded Carly's arrival elicited cheering from the crowd. Her anti-Authority stance had earned their approval. Carly walked down to the ring, smiling and high-fiving with the people who lined the ramp. Some days it was good to be the rebel princess. Other days, not so much, she thought as the smile pulled at the still-healing cut on her mouth. Once the music had stopped, Carly raised the microphone.
"How are you all doing tonight?" Carly asked, then waited for the cheering to die down, "Rumors are going around that I'm going to make a challenge to Stephanie McMahon. Well, I'm happy to tell you that's absolutely true. Stephanie, I know you're here. Why don't you come out so we can talk?"
Instead of Stephanie's entrance music beginning, her face appeared on the Titantron. She smiled condescendingly, apparently speaking from her office.
"Oh, I'm sorry Carly," she said, "As one of the principle owners of this company, I'm very busy. I only come down to the ring for important things."
Carly raised her eyebrows, scoffing at the slighting remarks. The crowd expressed their disapproval on her behalf.
"Alright, let's get right to the point, then," said Carly.
"You look terrible, by the way," Stephanie interrupted, feigning concern.
Carly paused, running her thumb across the cut on her lip, very aware of the fading bruise around her left eye.
"Going for the cheap shots tonight, are we?" said Carly, "Yes, Alicia Fox throws one heck of a right-cross. But then again, you already know that. You are the one who sent her to attack me, after all."
"Now, why would I do a thing like that?" Stephanie feigned innocence.
"Because you're a vindictive, terrible person," Carly answered without hesitation.
The crowd cheered and Stephanie kept smiling, seeming to feed on the reaction like the strange sort of hate-vampire she was.
"But for all our differences, Stephanie," Carly continued, "There is something we have in common. A title we're both called: princess. And the way I see it, there's only room for one princess around here. So I challenge you, Stephanie McMahon, to what you might call a 'Right to Rule' match. The first one to admit defeat, to say she yields, will lose that right. And, in the spirit of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, it'll also be a strap match."
A rumble of interest in the strange hybrid match filled the arena.
"And the exact terms are?" asked Stephanie.
"If you lose," said Carly, "You are no longer allowed to directly or indirectly do anything to harm, affect, or otherwise interfere with me and mine. If I lose, I put myself at your disposal for the next month. Anything you ask, any order you give, I'll do it."
Stephanie's eyes lit up at that. Carly knew they would. Carly couldn't and wouldn't, of course, put her career on the line, but she was certain that Stephanie would jump at the chance to abuse and humiliate her without repercussion for any length of time.
"Tempting," Stephanie mused, "But not quite good enough. If you lose, I get you for three months."
"Alright, three months it is," said Carly, smiling, "I don't plan on losing."
Let Stephanie think she was over-confident. Let her think that victory was close enough to taste.
"And how do I know you won't sic your dogs on me?" said Stephanie.
And finally, let Stephanie think she'd backed her into a corner. Carly had been waiting for this, and she knew that somewhere backstage, Seth was waiting for it, too. He was hoping she'd avoid giving a straight answer, leaving him room to interfere. But Carly knew that evasiveness wouldn't be enough to convince Stephanie.
"I give you my word," said Carly, "The Shield will not touch you."
Stephanie stared hard at Carly for a moment. Even with Carly's reputation for deviousness and counter-sabotage, she had always been a woman of her word. Stephanie had no reason to doubt that she would keep her promise.
"Alright," said Stephanie, "I accept."
Stephanie's face vanished from the screen as her music began to play. It was not lost on Carly that Stephanie had not made an equivalent promise to not allow interference. But there had been no official decrees banning anyone from ringside. This was going to get interesting.