"What is going on here!"

"Randy Orton planting a vicious attack on Seth Rollins!"

"DEAN! Here comes Dean Ambrose! The Lunatic Fringe now going at it with the Viper!"

"They are both brawling! And now Orton takes the upper hand!"

"What is- ROMAN REIGNS! Roman Reigns attacking Orton from behind!"

"And now- now it seems they are all somehow... are they-"

"They are attacking Orton, all 3 of them!"

"Ladies and gentlemen Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are now issuing an extremely ruthless attack on Randy Orton!"

"What does this mean?!"

It was so loud in that place. The crowd was relentless as soon as they got an idea of what was going on. But... what was going on? Nobody really knew at that moment, the announcers being just as, if not more, in the blue than the rest of them.

Could it be?

Seth, Roman and Dean stood over a semi-conscious Randy Orton outside the ring. They'd taken him out right after he started attacking each one of them individually. Nobody had ever planned on witnessing this, ever; not even those 3 guys, this particular scenario also coming as a complete surprise to them. It had all gone down so quickly and their reactions came out all of a sudden, almost instinctual, like an automatic response to a brother being threatened.

Brother.

Could they even define themselves as brothers anymore? Dean and Roman had stayed pretty close after the falling out had happened, but Rollins? Was he included in all this?

Their answer seemed to be layed out on the floor right in front of their very eyes. They looked back and forth at each other briefly before Roman crossed his arms in front of himself, motioning for Orton to be finished once and for all. He hadn't done that in nearly a year but it felt damn good if he could be honest. Despite all those months that had passed, Seth and Dean caught on immediately with what the older man wanted. And they obeyed. They both grabbed Orton quickly, picking him up, and prompted him on Reigns' shoulders. This all happened so... so damn fast and was all so well-choreographed. It was something that neither of them had expected to be doing just a couple days ago, but that was now happening, presenting itself as the most natural thing in the universe.

After a giant, almost deafening roar exiting the Samoan's lips, they threw Randy Orton right on the English announce table, the Viper crashing onto it with a loud thud. Everything went completely quiet afterwards. Nobody spoke. Everyone was speechless at the spectacle that had just gone down a few seconds ago. Even the announcers, whose job was to talk, were as quiet as they'd ever been, Michael Cole's mouth dropping open. So many surprising things had happened in the years he'd been announcing, but he would be a liar by saying he'd ever been more in shock than he was right then and there.

The 3 boys stood outside the ring. 3 pairs of eyes scanned one another, confusion and unease registered on their faces. Rollins was extremely hype, however, a sudden rush invading the young man, like a shot of morphine injected in his veins. He grabbed one of the nearby announcer chairs, which was probably Booker's, and smashed it against the ground, the thing bouncing briefly. After a few more seconds of that same rush running rampant all over his body, he stopped right next to Dean and Roman, placing his arms around both guys in the process. The action really surprised both men who simply stared at him in response.

"YEA! That's what I'm talking about!" Rollins could not contain the words that came out, pure excitement speaking, "Have at it Orton!"

Roman and Dean just eyed each other then looked on as Seth did something no one quite had in mind. With a smile and a quick chuckle, the young man placed his fist right in front of them. Both guys looked on, extremely puzzled, breathing heavy in the process. That had been a rush for them too; it had felt so different to once again be able to do what they'd just done. It was all so... overwhelming for sure; like the walls coming together looking to crush them and leave with every ounce of oxygen there was left.

Roman stared at Dean, eyeing him intently, as focused as he could. All he could see in that moment was the brunette and the expressions or mannerisms that might come out of him. He needed a clue as to whether he should do this or not. If this was even an idea anymore. He wanted, no, he needed Dean's take on the whole situation because, after all, he'd been the one who'd gotten the most amount of raw pain when the break-up had occurred. That was a pretty well-known fact by now.

Rollins just looked back and forth between both men, the wide, tooth-flashing smile never quiet leaving his face. Sure, he might get the beating of a lifetime as a result of this little change of events, but he was willing to risk it. Risk it all in hopes both Dean and Roman would see things the way he just started noticing right there, in a different light. What if... just what if they were meant to be together, working together as brothers after all? With the same amount of work ethic and passion they had put over in their interviews so many times before. What if this was the end of it all, the end of a year of exhaustion, to give a new beginning to another time? The time of The Shield.

Dean's breathing turned even heavier as he eyed Seth, his expression completely readable to the younger man: he'd been broken. Hell, he had been completely demolished by what had happened. Roman was right whenever he said that if any one of the 3 had had it worse after the falling out, it had been Dean. Not only had he been meddling around in the midcard more than the other 2, but he was emotionally wrecked as well. Those 2 guys were not only his team, his partners, they were his fucking family. They had traveled, partied, and fought together on so many occasions, sometimes even done it all in the same night. All those signs of affection and brotherhood had felt in vain as soon as the youngest of the 3 had struck that steel chair right on Roman's back.

As those thoughts continued to creep up in his mind, Roman and Seth just looked at him, see if he was willing to do what all these people were waiting desperately for. See if he was, more than anything else, willing to forgive a brother.

And he did.

The Ohioan placed his taped-up hand right in front of them, right next to Seth's. The crowd went absolutely wild but quickly refrained themselves waiting for Roman to do the same, if he even did.

With a slight nod and quick smile, Roman Reigns also placed his hand amongst the other 2. The place erupted, the commentators also going absolutely wild at this showing. The Shield was once again something. It was no longer a faction of the past, but a team of the present and the future; a future that looked so damn bright from where they could see. Chants of "This is awesome!" filled the arena as the WWE Universe let them know how anticipated this had all been. So many rumors had drowned up the dirt sheets before regarding a potential reunion. Now it was all a reality.

The boys were not done however. Roman and Dean quickly pulled Orton up from his daze, throwing him right in the ring. They turned to Seth who looked very surprised at this. To be quite honest, all he'd been expecting after their reunion was for them to place their fists in the middle, celebrate with the crowd, and walk backstage. He didn't quite know what to do so Dean motioned for the ring and said, "Go ahead." Roman also nodded.

At the mention of those words, a blessing of sorts from the boys, Rollins went inside the ring, hitting his finisher quickly on a now probably unconscious Orton. Yea, beatings from The Shield usually ended like that for the other guy and now they would be able to them again. People backstage must've been terrified at all this. Seth pinned Orton and retained his title, with the help from Roman and Dean. Who would've thought about this, ever? After all that had gone down.

Seth completely forgot about J&J Security and Kane, who were regarding all 3 men from the ramp, confusion clearly written on their faces. The crowd was still going crazy and so they happily celebrated with them. Roman and Dean carried Seth up on their shoulders as the WWE Champ's laughs and cheers were drowned in all that commotion. Not like he could complain. That was such a special moment for him. The most prestigious title in the industry was now with The Shield, where it should have been a long time ago.

1 week later.

"Seth get down from there. You're going to fall right on your ass and I won't be putting up with your whining this time." Roman called out to the young man who was walking on top of the equipment boxes as he and Dean struggled to catch up shortly behind, on normal ground.

It was now Monday Night Raw, a week after Payback had happened. One week. 7 days had passed since The Shield reformed and it was all still pretty surreal for the 3 guys to be quite honest. Roman still had a hard time believing a reunion had actually happened. If someone had approached and told any of them that statement would come true even a couple weeks back, Roman and Seth would have regarded the person as if they were crazy and Dean, well, Dean would've applied a savage beating for spewing such lies.

All 3 guys were headed to see Vince and what he would have planned for them. Yes, going to work from now on would be extremely difficult and uncomfortable; that being the reason they hadn't shown up the week before opting instead to spend that Monday sleeping it off, hungover as could be from all that partying Dean had convinced them to do. Dean and his ideas. As usual, however, Roman and Seth had gone right along with it, ignoring the consequences that would occur right after, in this case being the world's biggest hangover.

But yea they already knew what they were getting themselves into if they ever reformed, even before Payback had taken place they knew it would be a pain in the ass for sure. The Authority was now in charged and things had definitely changed. You were either with the system or out of it and The Shield was fo damn sure not in it, and never would be. Never again. That being made clear, they would just have to put up with the group, put up or be put down for good, those were the new rules.

"Seth." He called to the younger man who was now nearly jogging over all those boxes, "I won't tell you again."

"Oh come on Roman! It's so fun!" Seth yelled out in a midst of chuckles. He could be such a little boy sometimes.

"Yea well, see if it's fun when you fall and bust your- Dean!" He quickly caught a glimpse of the Ohioan who got on top of one of the boxes and also started jogging to catch up with Seth. Reigns just stared at him in disbelief, "You too?"

"Yep." He called back cheerfully, making Roman seriously consider leaving both guys before they made him grow out white hairs. He couldn't though, even if he tried. Caring was a word used to describe him, and nothing else could fit him more perfectly. Yes, he usually cared about those 2 more than he should, but he couldn't help it. Spending most time with certain individuals would of course trigger that in him, specially if those 2 certain individuals so happened to be constantly placing themselves in danger.

He knew neither would ever listen, so Reigns just shook his head and continued walking along with them. It was settled... once they crossed those doors to Vince's office, once they got one look of the man, things would absolutely change. Whether it would be for better or for worse, they didn't know yet. This was definitely going to be an unexpected ride, but Roman was just glad to be on it with his boys once again. His brothers.

Another story! This one was requested by Bajor10 and so far is shaping up to be quite good! Hopefully you all enjoy this unexpected ride as Reigns called it, and as always, reviews are welcomed :)