A/N - Just wanted to take a minute to thank you guys for the reviews. Glad that you liked the first chapter. Hopefully you'll like the second too. As always, I'm always interested in what you have to say and any feedback you may have to offer!

Enjoy!

It was quarter to 10 when Randy arrived at Nationwide Arena. The parking lot was packed, which was unsurprising. Dusty had truly left his mark and Randy figured most if not all of the current superstars and divas would be out to show their support.

Randy pulled into a spot and then made his way to the door. Instantly he saw the sign:

Dusty Rhodes Tribute in the ring area. Open to current and former WWE personnel and their families only. Please check in with the security desk. Thank you.

Like most arenas, the security desk was located right inside the door, the first line of defense so to speak.

Upon seeing Randy, the guard looked up from his monitor and smiled.

"Glad you could make it son," the man said as he stood to shake Randy's hand.

Randy nodded with a smile of his own. "So, they got WWE doing detail tonight? Guess you pulled the short straw."

The man laughed. "The arena was nice enough to let us do this after hours. They just said we needed to provide our own security and keep everyone strictly in the seating area."

"That was cool of them," Randy said.

"Yep," the guard continued. "The President, Jack Flanagan, he's a big fan. Grew up watching Dusty. He said giving us the space for the special gathering was the least he could do. Hunter invited him to stay but he was catching an early flight into Tampa for some business."

"Dusty certainly made an impact, didn't he?" Randy laughed to himself.

"He sure did," the guard replied. "Tonight is the perfect example. Go in there and you'll see. There's dozens, hell maybe even hundreds of guys and gals in there. A lot of former guys even flew out when they got the news."

"I'd say I was surprised but that's Dream for ya," Randy added. "There will never be another quite like him."

"You're damn right kid," the guard smiled before checking his watch. "The show will be starting soon. You better get in there."

Randy looked down at his phone and sure enough, it was almost 10. Putting the device back in his pocket, he turned to the guard, shaking his hand. "Thanks Drew," Randy said. "Tell Allie and the girls I said hi."

"Will do Randy," Drew added as he let Randy go inside and he himself, went back to his post.

Upon opening the doors to the seating area, Randy quickly realized that Drew hadn't been exaggerating.

There must have been close to 300 metal chairs surrounding the ring, most of them occupied by current divas, superstars and other WWE personnel. He saw a lot of legends too and former employees as well as a handful of people he didn't know, who he figured must have been Dusty's final crop of NXT kids. Randy offered the occasional nod to those whose faces he recognized as he made his way through the crowded room. He was about to take a seat near the back when Seth spotted him and waved him over to where he was standing talking to Paige.

"Why didn't you tell me on the phone earlier that you were coming tonight?" Seth asked when Randy was within earshot.

Paige smiled at him. "Hi Paige, it's nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too Randy," Paige said.

Seth folded his arms. "Uhm hello? Seth Rollins speaking here. Earth to Randy, come in Randy."

Randy cocked his head and then turned to face his friend. "I heard you," he said curtly. "But it would have been rude of me not to acknowledge Paige. You on the other hand, you could wait."

Seth pouted for a few seconds as Paige and Randy chuckled.

"You two suck, you know that?" he said defensively.

"Take it easy Seth," Paige said as she put her arm on his shoulder. "You're still my favorite champion of course. Can't forget that NXT bond right?"

"Right," Seth said simply. "You're right. I hope you kick Nikki's ass Sunday."

"You know I will," she smiled before noticing a few of the NXT divas clustering in the corner. "Now if you'll excuse me, there are some ladies I need to talk to."

Seth nodded.

"Bye Paige," Randy called after her, causing her to turn around.

"Bye Randy," she winked before making her way over to the group.

Seth looked between the two before sighing heavily.

"What?" Randy asked.

"I hate you guys," Seth said.

"Oh come on, you know we're just having a little fun with ya champ," Randy said playfully.

"Whatever," Seth rolled his eyes. "But that's not important. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Because when I hung up with you I didn't even know there was a thing to be coming to," Randy answered. "I was checking my messages and got Steph's voicemail. That was like 20 minutes ago."

"Oh," Seth replied before gazing over to where Paige was talking to a handful of NXT Divas. "I wonder what that's all about."

Randy followed his gaze, slightly intrigued himself. He and Paige weren't exactly friends but they had a mutual friend in Seth so they managed to get along okay. In fact, they actually bonded over how much they both enjoyed picking on the current champ. It was the one thing they had in common, outside of the love of the business of course.

"You know them?" Randy asked.

Seth nodded. "Yes and no. They weren't really there when I was so I just know them by reputation. They call themselves the Four Horsewomen of NXT."

"Four Horsewomen huh," Randy said, "interesting name."

"I mean they aren't really a stable per se but it makes sense. After all, Charlotte is the leader," Seth said, pointing to the tall blonde who stood in the center of the group.

"Charlotte," Randy repeated, "wait as in Flair?"

He had heard about Ric's WWE-bound daughter through the grapevine but had never actually seen her. He took in the appearance. She was kind of a bombshell. He could see the Flair resemblance too.

"Yep," Seth said. "That's the nature girl."

Randy chuckled. "Wow, just like her old man huh?"

"Oh you have no idea," Seth smiled as he began to identify some of the others.

Randy nodded politely when a few of the NXT kids made eye contact. It was clear they knew who he was, even if that feeling wasn't reciprocated. But that didn't stop him from trying to be accepting. If anybody, they were closest to Dusty in his final years. They were owed the respect of being allowed to say goodbye to him as well.

Ignoring whatever story Seth was telling at the moment, Randy continued to look around at the faces that were rapidly filling the arena. One was notably missing however.

"Hey, have you seen Cody at all today?" Randy asked, turning back to Seth.

"No, I haven't," Seth said. "He taped on Tuesday. Haven't seen him since. That's not that unusual though. I'm sure he's home with the family."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Randy conceded.

"You're worried about him aren't you?" Seth asked, easily reading Randy's mind.

Randy turned to him. "I've been worried about him ever since this whole Stardust crap began but now, yeah I'm worried. Cody was always kind of a private guy. I'm just afraid he won't let anyone in."

"Well he's got his brother which is good," Seth replied. "The two of them can help each other. After all, they know better than anyone what this feels like."

"Yeah, makes sense," Randy said, realizing Seth was right. "I'm sure Dustin and Cody are together now anyway."

"There's no need to worry," Seth said slowly, his words seeming to hold a double meaning as he noticed Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose walk through the doors. The pair looked around and then for a brief second made eye contact and proceeded to make a beeline to where Seth and Randy were talking. Instinctively, Seth moved behind Randy, causing Dean to chuckle a bit as he got closer.

"Why don't you just save it for Sunday?" Randy said as he prepared to do whatever necessary to prevent a fight between the two men. "Hunter would be furious if he saw a brawl break out. We're here for Dusty, not anything else."

Instead of backing down, Dean approached Randy, Roman standing in fighting position behind him. "What did you even care about Dusty? You slapped the man in the face and punted him in the head, remember?"

Before Randy could defend himself, as if his actions were even capable of being defended, Dean continued.

"Whatever, this isn't about you, it's about him," he said, pointing to Seth who had cowered behind Randy. "I'm not here to fight but I will gladly if you two insist. I just want a word with the sell-out."

"Why?" Seth asked, as he stepped to the side of Randy.

Dean shrugged as he looked back at Roman. "For Dusty."

Seth looked at Dean and then at Roman and nodded.

"Are you sure about this?" Randy asked.

"Yeah," Seth replied calmly, his attention solely focused on Dean in that moment. "He won't do anything, not like that."

Randy nodded. "Alright, just watch your back around these guys."

"Thanks," Seth said to Randy before turning back to Dean. "So, let's talk."

"In private," Dean replied. "Just you and me. Roman and Randy stay here."

Seth looked back at his friend and then at his former brother. "Don't kill each other," he said with a weak smile before following Dean.

"Don't be afraid to kill Seth," Roman added, causing Dean to offer him a wink.

Roman then turned his attention back to Randy, who was the first to speak.

"It's no secret we can't stand each other," Randy began, a sentiment Roman nodded his agreement to. "But you're not on my radar right now and I'm guessing I'm not really on yours. So let those two handle their shit like adults. I won't get involved unless you force my hand. Two on one, it's not going to happen."

Roman laughed. "Funny you say that because that is the only reason Seth has won everything, including his match over you. The numbers game, it's always there in his favor. Kane, J&J. I mean come on, you remember Hell in a Cell right? Payback? Elimination Chamber? That triple power bomb," Roman smirked. "That's all Dean wants. He just wants to make sure Seth will fight fair on Sunday because he sure as hell will and you can believe that."

A/N - So this chapter started a little slow but it's setting up some of our major storylines and developing some of these characters a little more. Share your thoughts! Is Randy really going to stop worrying about Cody for the timebeing? What could Dean Ambrose possibly want to talk to Seth about? Who would you like to hear eulogize Dream in the coming chapters?