Ok … let's try this again.

First, we find out what's going through the Animal's mind. Then, after learning of a change in plans for Monday night's match, Matt finds someone in a bind.

Here we go!


Batista closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to relieve the tension seizing his entire being. The warm Tucson night air filled his lungs as Batista looked up towards the dark sky. Dave really wanted to see some of the stars, but the bright lights of the busy city prevented that from happening. Scratching his head in disappointment, Dave turned his attention back to what he let himself do in the locker room.

"I'm not a bad person. I'm not. I just get angry every so often. … Ok, I get angry all the time. Being around them while I'm angry is dangerous. I'll hurt them. I don't want to hurt them anymore."

The sound of the arena's doors opening broke Batista's concentration, and he turned to see the two Ortons emerging from inside. Upon seeing Dave, the brothers braced themselves for a fight. Batista stared at the duo and let out a little chuckle.

"What? I can't come out here and take a breather every now and then? You two should do it once in a while too."

Randy and Matt looked at each other with furrowed faces and narrowed eyebrows, relaxed slightly at Dave's odd answer.

"You ...", stammered the younger of the two, "... you aren't angry?"

"Not anymore. It's amazing what some fresh air can do for you."

"What were you angry about? You looked at John like you were going to rip his head off and feed it to the dogs", Randy commented.

Batista looked up to the night sky before answering. "Well … it's just something I'm dealing with. Jealousy. John has the one thing I came into the company to get. Ever since I decided to join this business, that belt has been my goal. And to see it so close to me ..." Dave stopped his explanation. The big man looked down to the ground and chuckled. "I'm not good at this sort of thing. I wish I had that psychedelic communication thing that you two share. You'd understand what I'm going through."

Matt couldn't help but giggle. Randy quickly frowned at him, thinking he was an idiot for laughing at the Animal. "It's 'telepathic', Dave. Psychedelic is something you heard in the 70s."

Randy was surprised that Dave chuckled yet again. "Are you trying to say I'm old?"

"Well … you are rather …"

"Shut up, Orton", Dave rang out with a smile on his face. The two brothers were now completely relaxed. Instead of having to subdue a raging animal, they were joking with a man who almost seemed like he was their age.

"So … let me get this straight", said Randy still incredulously, "your jealous of John and his belt, and all you need to do is walk outside for some fresh air?"

"Yeah … basically."

Matt shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, still sore from the chair shot earlier that night. "Problem solved. Let's go back to the hotel and have some pizza."

"You are eating way too much of that crap", Dave blared out as Matt was opening the doors to the arena. "You're starting to gain body fat from it. I can see it on you."

"I didn't know you enjoyed looking at my body so much, Dave. Remind me to not room with you when we're on the road. You might do ..."

Randy's eyes widened in disbelief. Surely a jab like that would infuriate Dave to the point to where Matt would be beaten to a bloody pulp. Seeing Dave raise an arm to strike, Randy reached out to stop him … but was too late.

Dave punched Matt in the shoulder playfully.

Randy stopped walking and stared at the two men in front of him acting like they were teenagers. Well … Matt already fit into that category, but to see Dave like that … it was unbelievable.

"Are you two trying to jumble my brain or something? I thought he was going to ..."

"Will you shut it? He has anger management issues just like we do. His are maybe a little bit worse than ours, but we can manage to help him. Chill. It'll be alright. Let's get back to the locker room and pack up."

Dave and Matt continued to play fight down the hall to the locker room, much to the bewilderment of Randy. With his hands on his hips and his gaze to the ground, Randy slowly followed in step of the two other men.

"You know", Randy kept to himself, "we can't be childish like this forever. Nothing lasts forever."


The rest of the week passed by quickly. Matt took Dave's comment to heart, resulting in him giving up pizza and running 30 minutes more a day on the treadmill. The Sunday before the next RAW, Eric and Amy visited HBK in the hospital, who had waken up from his coma. After a Amy stayed behind while Eric went to train with Dave, Randy, John, and Matt at a local gym, where the group was mobbed by fans wanting autographs. Dave and John kept the fans at bay while Eric, Randy, and Matt spotted each other on the bench press.

"How is Shawn?", Randy said, watching his brother complete the third rep of his set. "He's gotta be in great condition given your attitude change."

"Well, I'm just grateful he's awake. He's gonna be out of it for a little while, but I've still got my mentor there when I need him."

"No kidding. If something like that happened to Matt …", Randy shuddered. "... I wouldn't like it too much."

"How's about you two chatterboxes help me?!", Matt said through gritted teeth, struggling intensely to push the weight up a fifth and final time. With a slight assist from both Eric and Randy, Matt racked the bar and sat up, rubbing his upper chest. "Dammit … almost five. I'm just stuck at 305."

"Aww … poor baby", Randy said mockingly. Matt gave an annoyed stare at his brother before getting up to put more weight on for Eric. Barringer, meanwhile, was browsing the net on his cell phone.

"Heh, look at this", Eric handed the phone, which was on a wrestling blog, to Randy. Orton looked down to see that an irate Chris Jericho had let loose a caustic choice of words toward Jeff Hardy for making a challenge at his Intercontinental title.

"It's like he's actually 14 years old ranting and raving like he just got his PlayStation taken from him. You know, I don't know if I'll ever be able to respect him like I used to before I got into the business."

"The words 'respect' and 'Chris Jericho' don't belong in the same sentence", Matt interjected. "After all the crap we've endured from him, it would take something close to an act of God for him to get any sort of respect from me."

"Whoa ...", Randy exclaimed after browsing a few more pages of the blog. "Looks like Austin's got a change of plans for tomorrow night. Instead of those two matches that we wanted against Jericho and Christian, Austin's put you, Jeff, and the two idiots in a Fatal Four Way for the #1 contender's spot to me."

Matt's shoulders went down a bit in disappointment. He had really wanted to get his hands on Christian without having to worry about two other people in the ring. But if it meant getting another shot at Randy's title...

"I'd worry more about Christian and Jericho then getting a swipe at my belt", Randy mentioned as Eric started his set. To Matt's surprise, Eric blasted through the five reps quickly, racking the bar before Matt could realize it.

"Apparently you need to worry about how I can lift more than you too", Eric smart talked to Matt. The younger Orton rolled his eyes while unracking the weight on the bar.


Wandering the halls backstage alone at a WWE event wasn't Matt's favorite thing to do. He knew that any one of his current or former rivals could ambush him at any time.

"I need to find Jeff. I have to form some sort of alliance with him. I may be an Orton, but I can't take on three men by myself."

Orton navigated the halls quickly and quietly, paying attention to what superstar came out of what locker room. Matt had spotted which one was Christian's, and momentarily contemplated grabbing a nearby lead pipe and playing baseball with Christian's head.

"No … not now. If I draw Jericho's anger out even more right now, he could be on Randy and I for a very long time to come. Not to mention Christian himself might be a tad bit angry ..."

Matt's thought stopped when he turned the corner. He stood behind Christian and Chris Jericho, each holding a weapon, cornering someone at the end of the hallway. Assuming it was Jeff, Matt snatched a nearby 2x4 and ran full speed towards the duo. Hearing the coming footsteps, Christian and Jericho turned around and readied their weapons to swing away at Orton. Thinking quickly, Matt launched himself in a baseball slide in between the two men. Matt turned and smacked Jericho in the back of the knee with the piece of wood, sending Y2J to his knees. Christian managed to hit Matt in the back with a chair, but Orton shrugged it off and pulled Christian to the ground by the ankle. Ignoring the stinging on his back and readjusting his grip on the 2x4, Orton stabbed the blunt end in Christian's chest, knocking the wind out of him. Matt got to his feet and held his weapon high before saying …

"The next time I see you two, it better be in the ring. Jeff and I ...", Matt looked behind him, expecting to see Jeff walking up to his side. Matt dropped his weapon at who he saw, however.

Cowering in the corner was Lilian.

Something in Matt snapped. After taking a moment to let Randy know where they were and what was going on, Matt picked the 2x4 back up and start to wail on Christian. Not caring where the blows landed, Orton let loose with everything he had. Jericho managed to get to his feet and rushed down to the end of the hall. Turning the corner, Chris ran into the someone and stopped dead in his tracks.

An angry older brother was staring him down. Randy grabbed Jericho by the back of the head and rammed Jericho face first into the nearby brick wall, sending him to the ground. Not done yet, Orton picked Jericho up and repeated the movement, this time knocking Jericho out cold. A small trickle of blood could be seen on Chris' forehead, and Randy turned his attention down the hall. Christian was down there in much the same state that Jericho was: knocked out and bloody. Lilian ran down the hall and latched onto Randy, crying and shivering with fear. Randy held her tightly as a still trembling Matt walked up to the pair.

"I'm so angry, I can't give myself the self-control to speak. Please tell me why those two nimrods would attempt something like that."

"To get under our skin." Randy glanced back down the hall at Jericho, who was slowly beginning to stir. "Jericho tried before to get the Intercontinental title from us and failed. Apparently … he wants us to take him more seriously."

The sound of running footsteps echoed in the hallway, and the two brothers looked over to see Eric sprinting towards them.

"I passed a bloody Jericho getting down here. Did they seriously try to hurt Lilian?"

Matt gently nodded his head. Lilian could be heard crying, her face still buried in Randy's chest. The older Orton carefully moved Lilian's head so that her eyes were looking up at his. Quietly and with great patience, Randy uttered …

"Trust me. Go with Eric. We'll take care of this."

Lilian looked down at both fallen men, who both were beginning to come to. She hesitated, but Lilian started to follow Eric, who was careful enough to stay in between Jericho and Lilian as they rounded the corner. With only a nod, Randy signaled his brother to carry Christian's body over to Jericho. Chris was now beginning to stumble to his feet, but was caught once more by Randy smashing his head into the wall. A few seconds later, Matt ungracefully unloaded Christian straight on top of Jericho. Randy squatted down in front of Jericho's face and said...

"If you ever muster up the cowardice again to go after my wife ..."

Matt's ears perked up at Randy's choice of words.

"... I will hunt you down and make your life a living hell for as long as I shall live. It's one thing to go after my brother, who can defend himself. But to go after a defenseless woman … someone who's not even on the active roster …"

For one last good measure, Randy slammed Jericho's face into the concrete. From the blood now spilling out onto the floor, he surmised that Chris' nose had been broken. After a few more moments staring at the pile of bloody and broken flesh, the brothers finally turned away and started to walk back to the locker room.

"Thanks."

"... for what?"

"For behind stupid enough to want to go off by yourself. Otherwise, you would have never found her."

"You couldn't believe the feeling I had when I saw it."

"I know exactly how you felt. I felt your emotions myself: anger, confusion, hatred …It was so intense. You then told me what was going on and I bolted out the door. And all for this damn belt? Seriously?!"

"To be honest, Randy...", Matt thought hesitantly, "... stuff like this has happened many times before. Remember the crap Stephanie McMahon went through when she was about to be wed to the Undertaker, back during the whole Ministry era? It's not uncommon for loved ones to go through something like this."

Randy stopped walking and looked back at his brother.

"I was put on this earth to protect two people: you and the woman who will become my wife. I will NOT fail."

"We were put on this earth to keep each other strong. Whether it be kidding around with each other or saving each others wife, everything we do supports the other. You're not the only one who wants to protect people, Randy. Remember how helpless I felt when I found out that I couldn't have done anything to save my parents?"

Randy's eyes sunk to the ground.

"... I'm sorry."

"Just keep doing what you do. No matter what happens, we'll always be there for one another."


Camilla was inspecting Matthew's back, seeing if the one chair shot Jericho managed to land did any damage.

"It's just red. Nothing you can't deal with. Now go suit up. Your match is up first."

"I guess it'll be just me and Jeff", Matt commented. "I'd be really surprised if either of those two idiots will be able to make it down to the ring."

Camilla shrugged as Matt grabbed his tights and went off to go change. Randy came into the room with the Intercontinental belt around his waist and his half of the World Tag Team Championships on his shoulder.

"What's taking him so long? We're gonna go live in about 2 minutes! We've got to get to the TitanTron ASAP!"

"We've?", asked Camilla. "You're going to go down there with him? Don't you know enough about your brother so that you wouldn't have to scout him?"

"Eh … I'm just going down there so I can stare down whomever ends up winning the match."

Camilla raised an eyebrow at Randy, then rolled her eyes. "I'll never understand the constant yearning you two have to one-up the other."

"We're brothers. Enough said", came Matt's voice as he emerged wearing a new set of maroon tights with gold lettering. Camilla handed Matt his tag championship belt and slapped him on the ass.

"Sexy", she said with a devilish smile.

"Down, girl. Down. Later."

Camilla sat down on a bench with a big smile on her face as the two brothers walked out of the locker room towards the TitanTron.

"Remember when you said to me that you were a virgin?"

Matt chuckled. "Yep. Not so true anymore."

"How many times do you think you've had sex between when you got married and right now?"

"WAY too many to count. She initiates it most of the time. Not that I'm complaining, but that woman is way hornier than I am."

"It's because she has an Orton for a husband."

Both men jumped back a little as they heard numerous explosions rock the arena … then calmed down when they realized those explosions were just the opening pyrotechnics for the night's events. As they continued, Jeff Hardy's new theme played, but was overwhelmed by the immense wave of cheers and applause from the crowd.

"Looks like he's finally getting the respect he deserves."

"After what he's been through, Jeff better not get anything less. On that thought, you know you're gonna have to keep him grounded, right? Do not let him get on that top rope."

"Duh. I know what I'm doing. You forget that I was nearly tag team champions with this man. I know his moveset."

"... you were his partner for only a couple of matches. Don't tell me you know everything there is to know about him and his strategy."

"You don't know everything either. Just let me do my thing."

'Burn In My Light' started to play, and both Randy and Matt stepped out onto the stage. A recovered Lilian proudly announced the two brothers down to the ring. Jeff stood in the opposite corner as Randy and Matt posed on the turnbuckle, each holding their belts in the air. Randy slapped Matt on the back and said a last word of luck before hopping out of the ring and sitting next to Lilian. Jeff and Matt started to circle around the ring, and the referee started the motion for the bell to ring when …

"... you have got to be kidding me."

Chris Jericho and Christian stumbled down the ramp, each bandaged up from the earlier melee. Matt spun around to see Randy shoot up from his seat next to a horrified Lilian.

"Stay there and protect her. Looks like you're going to face Jeff at Unforgiven."

"What the hell do you think you're talking about?"

"You think winning this match is the first thing on my mind right now? I'm going to destroy those two."

Matt then turned to Jeff and yelled, "Help me launch myself into them!"

Hardy nodded and got down on all fours on the side of the ring facing the ramp. Matt took a couple of steps back before running at full speed towards Jeff. Matt stepped on Jeff's back and went flying through the air. Christian managed to move out of the way, leaving Jericho to absorb the full force of Orton's momentum. Matt leaped to his feet and tossed Christian into the ring for Jeff to deal with.

With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Matt positioned Jericho for a powerbomb on the cold steel ramp.

"Three of them", Randy thought.

Matt adjusted his grip and let loose. The first and second powerbombs were easy enough; the third one stung a little from the chair shot earlier in the night. As soon as Matt was done with the third one, he instantly converted it into the Texas Cloverleaf. Matt reared back on Jericho while facing the ring; he could only smile as he saw Jeff deliver a Twist of Fate on Christian, followed through by a Swanton Bomb. A quick three-count later and Jeff Hardy was the new #1 contender to the Intercontinental Championship. Both Ortons watched Hardy celebrate in the ring for quite sometime. Before long, Matt forgot he still had Jericho in the Texas Cloverleaf. Orton let go and turned around, only to see Jericho motionless.

"Huh … must have passed out from the pain. Poor baby."

Randy walked up beside Matt and handed him his belt. The older Orton looked down at Jericho and delivered one swift kick to the side of Jericho's head.

"He wanted us to take him seriously. I'd say he got exactly what he was asking."


FINALLY!

Anyway, even after the beating they took from Hardy and both Ortons, Chris Jericho and Christian come back to state their intentions to the world next Monday night.

Matt's actually glad that Jeff Hardy is now the #1 contender to Randy's title. Will that rub Randy the wrong way?

One more bizarre and dangerous thing will happen to the Ortons before this Monday night is over.

I'm back!

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