Chapter 2

Hiding herself in the corner of a quiet dressing room, Melanie turned on the monitor and mentally prepared herself to watch her husband's match. She already felt sick at the thought. She knew that this was going to be bad.

She smiled when Shane's music hit and he made his entrance, his enthusiasm for the business never failing to amaze her. Although he didn't wrestle on a full-time basis, he was always involved in everything that went on within the company, no matter how small or insignificant the detail. This business was his life. His one true obsession. Besides his family, this was the one thing that mattered the most to him. As long as there was a breath left in his body, she knew that Shane would always be a part of the business. But why he was willing to risk it all by challenging Kane to a No Holds Barred match was beyond her. She just didn't understand.

The sound of Kane's pyro exploding pulled Melanie from her thoughts and she felt the knots begin to form in her stomach as she waited for Kane to appear at the top of the ramp. But when several moments passed without any sign of the big man, Melanie already knew something was wrong. Seconds later, the camera turned to the ring and she saw her husband lying sprawled out on the canvas, Kane standing over top of his body, steel chair in hand. Kane's pyro had simply been a diversion to allow him to attack Shane from behind.

Fighting the urge to run to her husband's aid, she choked back a sob as she watched Kane hit him repeatedly across the back with the chair.

"Come on baby! Please get up!" she pleaded into the monitor, begging her husband to stand up and fight back.

Tossing the chair to the side, Kane bent over and grabbed Shane by the hair, pulling the smaller man back to his feet, before tossing him into the corner. He hit him several times with his large fists, while Shane tried unsuccessfully to bring his hands up to block the blows. Grabbing Shane's arm, Kane launched him across the ring into the opposite corner, then charged at his opponent, crushing him beneath his massive weight. Shane's body once again fell to mat, and Kane continued the beating, using his fists, his boots, the steel chair, any weapon he could find, to keep Shane off of his feet.

As the beating continued, Kane picked Shane up once more, this time tossing him over the top rope to the concrete floor outside of the ring. Stepping over the top rope, Kane followed him outside, pulling Shane to his feet again before shoving him into the solid steel ring steps. Repeating the move several more times, Kane made sure that Shane's head took the force of each blow.

Backstage, Melanie stared at the monitor in horror, crying as she watched her husband endure Kane's devastating wrath. His head had already been busted open and he was bleeding profusely, the crimson liquid dripping onto the mats beneath him as he tried to struggle to his feet. This time, Kane stood back and taunted him, giving Shane the opportunity to stand and charge him, but a large boot to the face quickly put the young McMahon on his back once again. Climbing back into the ring, Kane retrieved the steel chair and proceeded to beat Shane mercilessly across his head and back until he stopped moving altogether.

Laughing evilly, Kane tossed the chair aside and made his way around the ring, bending over as he rummaged beneath the apron for a new instrument of torture. Standing to his full height, he laughed again as he looked out over the crowd, raising the bright red gas can over his head for all to see.

Backstage, Melanie froze in place, her eyes glued to the monitor as she pleaded with her husband to get up.

"Somebody help him!" she cried frantically, when she realized exactly what Kane had planned for him.

Walking back toward to spot where Shane was still lying motionless, Kane raised the can and poured the liquid over his body, thoroughly soaking his clothes. Then reaching into his tights, he pulled out a book of matches and grinned as he pulled one from the pack and attempted to strike it. However, Kane's large hands made the task more difficult than it should have been and it took several tries before he was finally successful in creating the flame.

Turning to face Shane once more, Kane saw something move out of the corner of his eye, seconds before a hard blow to his chest knocked the air from his body as he was tackled to the ground. His distraction with the fire had given Shane the opportunity to regain his bearings after Kane's brutal assault and Shane was now taking full advantage of Kane's mistake.

Straddling Kane's body, Shane pummeled him with his fists as he tried to repay the big man for his earlier actions. Jumping to his feet quickly, Shane pulled Kane up beside him, shoving him into the ring post, smiling at the sickening thud of his skull as it connected with the steel. As Kane crumpled to the floor, Shane glanced toward the announcer's table, smiling again as he wiped the blood from his eyes. Bending over, he pulled Kane to his feet once more, leading him around the outside of the ring, making sure he connected with each of the steel ring posts along the way.

Finally stopping in front of the announcers, Shane somehow managed to pick Kane up and place him on the table, making sure to position him just right before he climbed back into the ring. Then climbing to the top rope, Shane stood to his full height and paused for a brief moment before he leapt from his perch, closing the distance between them as he came crashing down on Kane's prone form, both men spilling to the floor as the table gave way.

Although Shane had hit his target head on, the contact took a lot out of him as well and several long moments passed before he was able to catch his breath and pull himself to his feet. Grabbing Kane one last time, Shane rolled him back into the ring, quickly moving to pin him while the big man was still dazed.

The sight of the referee raising Shane's hand in victory did little to soothe Melanie's frayed nerves as she stared at her husband's bloody face. Despite the referee's ruling, she knew there would be no winners tonight. Both men had surely taken years off of each other's lives with the stunts they had pulled. And the worst part was that she knew this feud was far from over with. There was no way Kane would let things end like this.

The cameras followed Shane as he walked up the entrance ramp, raising his hands in victory again before disappearing behind the curtain. Then the view shifted back to the ring, where Kane was sitting up, glaring up the ramp in the direction that Shane had just gone.

No. This feud wasn't over with. Not by a long shot. Kane was determined to make Shane McMahon pay. If it was the last thing he ever did.