1WWF
"Alright," Vince walked in to the make shift office they'd set up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was Friday, the first day of three days full of events. Everything from autograph signings, to photo shoots, and arranged 'run in's between Stone Cold, Vince, Shane, Jaina, and the Undertaker, to two house shows were going to be packed into those 72 hours. At the moment, it was 7am, an hour before Jaina was due to be at her first photo shoot and interview for WWF magazine.
"Ratings were up last night," he announced, "we didn't beat Thunder, but we jumped considerably from last week. The ministry storyline is working better than we planned, so we're going to keep with it. I understand you," he looked at his daughter, who was sitting at the table with her brother, Jaina, Steve, and Mark, "have a few idea's on how we can capitalize on this, so," he put the files down on the desk and sat down, folding his hands in his lap, "you have the floor."
"Okay," Stephanie smoothed her hair behind her ears, mentally urging the tremors in her body to stop for the time being. It was her first meeting that she was in control of, and even though she'd been a part of the wrestling industry her entire life, she was still anxious at the thought of having a small part of control in it now.
"Like Dad said, the ministry storyline is a huge hit right now. We polled 1,185 WWF fans and asked them a series of questions, such as 'what storyline are you most interested in right now', 'who is your favorite wrestler', 'who is your favorite diva', etc. etc. What we found was pretty interesting." She cleared her throat. "Apparently, 71% are in high favor of a love storyline between you two," she pointed at Shane and Jaina, "68% are in favor of seeing more drama with Jaina and the Ministry, specifically either Vince McMahon or The Undertaker, and there was an overwhelming response of affirmative for Austin having the title back again." She flipped the folder she'd been holding closed and looked up.
"So, after I looked at the data, I got to working on a few story idea's. Jaina, I know you've pretty much said you're up for anything." She raised her eyebrows. "Is that everyone's take on the situation?"
"You bet," Austin shifted in his seat, and both Shane and Mark Calaway uttered a positive response as well.
"Okay," Stephanie grinned, "well, by the power invested in me by all of you, here's what I've come up with. It's drastic, it's edgy, and it's probably going to cause a stir with the parents out there, but I'm almost positive that it will draw us side by side with Nitro and Thunder, if not surpass those brands." She leaned forward and started in on her idea's, and as she spoke, she watched in glee as the eyebrows shot off everyone's heads, including her fathers. She was pretty proud of that one. It took a lot to shock him in this business.
I guess I'm just as crafty as him after all, Stephanie thought to herself as she continued to talk.
WWF
"Good job, Jaina, hold it just like that," the photographer snapped his shots in rapid succession, taking about 15 photo's in the span of 10 seconds as Jaina looked on, giving the man a million dollar smile. While the other diva's of the WWF preferred skimpy clothing and sultry looks, Jaina wanted her first spread in WWF Magazine to be simply her. Simply her was natural make up, wavy, loose hair, form fitting jeans with a Texas cowboy belt and an Austin 3:16 shirt, styled to give her a mid drift. Black boots completed her outfit.
"Alright everyone, that's a wrap, thank you very much," the photographer nodded at everyone and walked up to Jaina, "are you sure you haven't done this before?" he teased, "you're very natural at this. The camera loves you, not to mention the photographer." He winked at her, and Jaina felt a flush on her cheeks. Until she'd come to the WWF, men hadn't really paid her any mind. Oh, they complimented her and told her how pretty she was, but...well, the industry was 90% male and many of the men were away from their wives 250 days out of the year. There was bound to be some heavy flirting going on with the life they all led.
After talking to the photographer, Jaina made her way over to her father. "Very nice," he complimented, "just let me know when we're gonna upgrade to barely there bathing suits so I can grab me some heart medicine with that issue comes out."
Jaina snorted, walking over to her chair where her purse and light jacket lay covering it. "I don't think that will be any time soon, Dad. Besides, I need to get a bit more in shape before we do any of those kind of shoots." She flipped her jacket on over her shirt and slung her purse over her shoulder. "What's next?"
"An hour for lunch, then at 1:00, we have to be back at the Marriott for the autograph signings' and pictures with fans. There's a forum at 4:00 for some of the fans in one of the ball rooms, then after that, we have the house show." Austin shoved his hands into his coat pockets and led his daughter out the door of Ballroom A of the Philadelphia Marriott. "There's a restaurant in here, you game?"
She nodded and followed him in, listening to her father ask for a table in the back, away from the crowd with a bit of privacy. After the hostess had left them, their waitress came up, took their drink orders, then left them both in peace.
"So, what did you think of the meeting this morning?" Steve asked casually. "Didn't really get to talk about it with you 'cause we had to get right to your shoot, but...you okay with everything?"
Jaina shrugged, looking around the ornately decorated restaurant. "I don't know. I mean...yea, I guess I'm okay with how it's all gonna go down but...man, I had no idea Stephanie's mind was so devious. Now I know why Vince want's to put her with the writers. If this doesn't make RAW's ratings pull even with Nitro's, I don't know what will." She trailed off as their server came back with their drinks, took the food order, then left again.
"You should talk to Mark," Steve suggested, leaning back, "he hasn't really done anything like this either; might be good for the both of ya to ease your fears with the other, you know?"
Jaina frowned. "I'm not afraid of Mark, Dad."
"Of course you're not, but Jay, I can look at your face and tell that for the next three weeks, until King of the Ring, are going to be kind of strange for you. It's alright, we all have something like this that makes us feel a little weird, out of our element, uncomfortable..." Steve took a drink of his beer as he leaned forward.
"Yea, I know..." Jaina smiled lightly, then laughed, "I guess I'm going to have to be careful not to tell Stephanie to do what she wants with my character, right?"
"That was your first mistake," Austin agreed, "telling a McMahon they could do whatever they wanted. That never goes well. They'll all take you up on it. Speaking of McMahon, does Shane have anything to say about this?" Jaina shook her head. "Mostly he just can't wait to see it all happen. He's eating this up like a kid in a candy store...which is weird really because I'm his girlfriend and you shouldn't be that happy to see your significant other having to serve another man, but..." she trailed off again, shrugging her shoulders and looking at her father, "he told me not to worry about it, everything would be fine. I think he's going to be my counselor through the next few weeks or something."
"Talk to Mark," Austin said again, "do it soon, so you guys can have a comfort level when you get that ring. You hold back just one tiny bit, Jay, the camera's gonna catch it, mark my words, I know. The forum is gonna end around 6 o'clock tonight or so. Mark's gonna be there takin' questions; grab him for some grub after the house show and work out how you two are gonna do this." As he finished up, the server came back with their food, and both Austin's set to munching on their lunch, each of them mulling over their own separate storylines.
WWF
"So, this is interesting."
Mark Calaway sat across from Jaina in a small little restaurant in Philadelphia. They'd decided to forgo the Marriott's restaurant because of the busy atmosphere and also because after the forums and the house show, many of the wrestling fans were going to eat there anyway, and neither Mark nor Jaina wanted to be bothered while having this conversation.
"This is all gonna start Monday, right?" he asked, and Jaina nodded an affirmative. "Okay, so we have a couple of days to go over how we're gonna do this. Obviously, it's not going to be mutual between you and me in the ring..." he stopped as he noticed Jaina biting her lip, staring at the table. Even this conversation was making her uncomfortable. And he understood, he really did. Jaina wasn't the kind of woman to be overly affectionate in public, much less in front of 20,000 fans. She was, in all aspects, a very private young woman. She wasn't a basket case, but Mark had known her for years; he was good friends with her father, and Steve had raised quite the young lady.
Mark signaled his waiter to come over to the table. "Can we get two scooners of whatever's on tap?" Once the waiter left and came back a few minutes later, Mark pushed the beer towards Jaina. "If we're gonna talk about this, I'm gonna need you to loosen up."
That got a laugh out of the girl, and she picked up her glasses, cheered Mark, and took a drink. "Yea, that does help a bit," she sat back again, a smile now on her face as the tension had been cut.
"You ready to get to work?"
Jaina nodded. "Yea. I'm ready. What have we got?"
WWF
The music that hit the arena that night was a new theme, one that the fans hadn't heard before. It sounded like the McMahon family theme, but there was new twist to it, a darker under tone to the melody. When the group emerged, everyone discovered why.
Vince McMahon, along with The Undertaker, made his way down to the ring, his pompous swagger in full swing tonight. The events of the first Smackdown! event didn't seem to phase him at all as he leapt into the ring with a confident air, The Undertaker slithering in after him.
"You know," McMahon started out, but he quickly had to stop because the fans were letting him know, in no uncertain terms, how they felt about his actions as of late. "Shut up!" He looked around, but his ominous growl had done nothing. "You know, this is a tough business. I have to make decisions to keep you people happy every day of my life. But more importantly, I have to make decisions that I know will keep these wrestlers in line, to make sure that they know just exactly who is in charge around here, and that's exactly what I did last Thursday night."
"You see, Austin, if you'd just played by the rules, if you'd been the champion that I know you could have been, none of this...nothing over these past few months would have ever happened. This is all your fault, Austin. I had to do what I did to teach you a lesson, and I'm proud of what I did!"
"Now," he cleared his throat, "as for my family. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in them. This was just business. All of it. It was just business! I still love my daughter...Stephanie is my baby girl, Daddy's little girl, I love her with all my heart, in fact, I did what I did for her...so that when she grows up, she knows that Daddy will always be there to make sure that no one runs over our family name."
Vince's words were not being received well by the crowd, but he continued on, knowing that they were just fools, they couldn't possibly understand the pressure that a man such as himself had on him. "I wish I could say the same thing about my son. Now, Shane...I still love you...I really do, you're my son. You're going to take over this business one day, at least, that's what I had planned, but your actions on Thursday night," he sighed, taking the mic away from his mouth for a moment, 'gathering' himself. "Shane, your actions last Thursday night were inexcusable. You know what this business is, you know how it's run, you know the chances and risks and decisions I have to make every day. But as if spitting on me and pummeling me in my face wasn't good enough, you, Shane, decided that you needed to hurt me, to betray me, right to my very core. And how did you do that?"
Vince paced the ring, stopping finally at the ropes closest to the ramp, and he pointed up at the entrance way, as though Shane were standing there. "You did that by...by shacking up with my worst enemies daughter!"
While Vince might not have liked that fact, the fans in the audience overwhelmingly approved, and they cheered even louder when the original McMahon Family's music filled their ears, and still louder, when they saw not only Shane McMahon step out into their sights, but Jaina Austin as well, and neither one of them looked too pleased.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dad, I'm gonna stop you right there," Shane interjected, "number one, I haven't shacked up with anything or anyone. And since you like to talk about business so much, even if Jaina and I were an item, which we're not, that would be a business you wouldn't have any say in!"
"As for my actions last Thursday night, I stand by them. I stand by them because you watched, you watched for these past few months, you've watched your daughter, my baby sister, the woman that both you and I are supposed to protect with our lives, you watched her as she cried, as she looked over her shoulder every time she stepped out of our house, Dad. You listened to her cry herself to sleep almost every single night, you saw her jump at any noise she heard! You watched her almost go insane with fear because of that man!" Shane jabbed a finger in The Undertakers direction, his self control teetering on the edge. "And the entire time, it was you doing it to her! You!"
"And then what, and then what?" Shane strolled down the ramp, feeling Jaina move with him. He knew that she'd follow him as far as he walked, and if he got in the ring, it was comforting to know that she'd be standing by his side, much as he didn't want her there. Jaina, however, was adamant. They were to stick together, no matter what. She wasn't leaving him alone, and he most certainly was not going to let her out of his sight after discovering who it was that was behind his sisters kidnaping.
"You sent The Undertaker after Jaina, because of who her father is. I don't like Austin anymore than you do, dear ole' Dad, but she hasn't done anything to you, nothing at all. She's actually treated you with a lot more respect than you've given her!" He paused as he ducked under the ropes and held them open for Jaina to step through.
"You know," he ambled up to his father, a casual hand in one of his pockets, showing that he was indeed, not afraid of his father, or the man that was standing behind him, "you've done a lot of things to me over the years. I was never good enough for you, my athletic achievements were never good enough, my grades in school and in college were never up to your standards, and just recently, you've literally made me lose my mind wondering if my baby sister was safe. No more!" Shane's head shook in anger. "Never again! I'm not gonna let you hurt Stephanie or our family anymore, our good name is smeared now, because of you, and it's gonna stop, right here, tonight!"
The fans definitely agreed with the younger McMahon, as did Jaina, who silently nodded, one eye on Shane and his father, the other on The Undertaker, who had been watching her with a silent hunger that unnerved her.
"What you did to Stephanie will not happen to Jaina, and I know that's what you're planning, I know that's what you want! You want The Undertaker to actually accomplish with her what he was going to do with Stephanie, what is that, some kind of prize for the 'good work' he did for you, some kind of bonus?"
The entire time Shane had been speaking, Vince's face had remained passive, almost as though he didn't care what his son had to say. Now though, a crafty grin had spread across tempered Irish features, and he stepped back, rubbing his chin in thought.
"You know, there's one thing I am proud of you for Shane, and that is your ability to come up with ideas. It's a shame that you never recognize one when you have it though. But you've just given me a great one..."
"Ya know," he cleared his throat, "I'd hoped that you would come on board with my new Corporate Ministry, I'd hoped that you would be able to stand beside me and rule this business with an iron fist! And I'm still willing to give you that chance, but I know what you'll say, so I'm not even going to make the offer." His eyes caught Jaina's for a moment, and even though she didn't break eye contact, she felt a feeling of doom begin to form in the pit of her stomach. She'd seen that look on his dozens of times before, and they were almost reserved exclusively for her father.
"You two seem so...so close, so determined to protect the other," Vince observed, stepping back next to The Undertaker, "and you're right; The Phenom would like nothing better than to have you, young lady, standing by his side at King of the Ring when he sends Austin to Hell. And I don't need you, Shane, to stand beside me, but it would make life a lot easier for me, so here's what I propose...." He cleared his throat, letting his inner muse fester and deliver a shocking offer.
"You two have become so close, you're so determined to protect each other, make sure that no harm comes to the other....but I want what I want, and Shane, you know, I always get what I want, but here's what I'm going to do. You two are in a match tonight, yea, and if you two win, Shane, you're off the hook, you can do whatever you want, you don't ever have to see me again if that's what you really want. And Jaina, I guarantee you that The Undertaker will cease his efforts to obtain you!"
Jaina raised her eyebrows as Shane walked over to her. They had a quiet conversation so that Vince couldn't hear them. They could when a tag match, no problem. Shane was very well versed in the ring, having grown up in the business, and Jaina could hold her own in a fight. If she got into trouble, she'd just tag Shane in.
"You're on!" Shane yelled. "You can throw anyone you want to at us, Vinnie Mac, and I know you will, but when Jaina and I have our hands raised at the end of it, you better know one thing: if I can do anything I want, you better believe, I'm comin' after you! So come on! Who are we fighting?"
"Oh, well," once again, that smile, that devious, McMahon smile made it's way back onto Vince's lips, "that's the catch, isn't it? You see, your opponents, Shane...or rather your opponent..." his eyes shifted slowly from his son's face to that of Jaina, and the girl almost felt her knee's give way. No...
"Your opponent is actually standing in this ring, right behind you."
"What?!" Shane yelled, almost leaping at his father, but The Undertaker got in the way, sending the son a menacing look warning him not to do that again, or there would be some very painful consequences. "You can't do that!" Shane protested, looking back at Jaina, whose face was noticeably paler.
"Oh yes I can, yes I can, because I own this company, it's mine! So yes, I can do this. We'll call this...yea, we'll call this a 'Sacrifice' Match. Since both of you are so adamant on making sure the other doesn't come to harm or fall into The Undertakers hands, this will be perfect, and here's how it's going to work. Shane, if you beat Jaina in the match, you save her from The Undertaker, but your loyalties, anything that you do will be for me and me only. It'll be like old times, you'll love it."
Shane shook his head and looked away from his father, his face a mixture of anguish and confusion. How could his own father do this? He new that Vince was ruthless in business, but pitting his own son against a good friend, and a woman at that?
"And Jaina," Shane was brought back into the present as he watched his father advance on the young woman, and when she actually backed away from McMahon, Shane stepped in, placing a hand on his fathers chest.
"Oh, excuse me," Vince said smartly, but stayed where he was, knowing that he was now in full control, in his most powerful element, "as for you, young lady, if you win, Shane can remain free as a bird, to do whatever he wants. I won't be able to touch him, but you...you will willingly become a servant of The Undertaker, and when I say willingly, I mean it for the both of you. Because after there is a winner in tonight's match, that person will have to immediately exit the ring and report to either myself or The Undertaker."
The looks on Shane and Jaina's faces were to much for Vince, and he couldn't help but let a little snicker escape his mouth. Unfortunately, he'd been looking around at that point, and his snicker turned into a choke as his eyes settled on the top ramp.
"Linda?" He squinted, as though he were seeing a mirage of some sort. "Stephanie?"
WWF
Stephanie blinked back tears as she looked at her father and The Undertaker standing side by side in the ring. "Dad....Dad, how could you be so cruel to me?"
"I...I wasn't really trying to be cruel Stephanie, you see....it was just business." Suddenly, the confidence that Vince had been feeling a few minutes ago seemed to evaporate into thin air. He didn't even notice Shane and Jaina leave the ring. To him, they just suddenly appeared at the top of the ramp, but he wasn't concerned with them at the moment. He'd already taken care of them.
"Love doesn't have anything to do with business," he pleaded with his daughter to understand, but he saw her shake her head, and dammit if she didn't look exactly like her mother when she did that to him. "Love doesn't have anything to do with it, Steph, I still love you, you're still my little girl!"
Uh oh.
Not only had Stephanie not bought that explanation, she'd handed the microphone over to her mother, and Vince really did not want to hear from his wife at the moment. She had a habit of dousing all his plans, and he was having a really good night so far.
"Well, Vince, let's talk business." Linda had a smart little look on her face and Vince didn't like that one bit. But none the less, he stood silently. What else could he do? Oh, wait!
"Linda...first, before you say anything, I'd like to publicly say, in front of all these people here, that I love you!"
"And Vince, I love you," Linda replied honestly, "but in your own words, love has nothing to do with business." The crowd loved that retort and loved it even more when they saw Vince McMahon visibly swallow nervously. "You uh...you don't wanna go there, Linda."
"Oh yes I do want to go there. Yes, I do. First of all, I want to correct the lie, the lie that you've told everyone that you own 100% of this company. You very well know that there are four of us in this family, and that we own four equal shares. You also know that you didn't build this company by yourself, that while you were out front doing your thing, I and a lot of others were behind the scenes helping to grow and make this company successful. And this morning, I called an emergency meeting of the Board of Directors." She nodded her head at Vinces shaking one as he held up a hand.
"I-I wasn't notified," he said dumbly.
"You weren't notified?" Linda shrugged. "That's really unfortunate. But let me assure there's going to be some changes around the office, changes starting with the dress code."
Vince furrowed his eyebrow, looking at The Undertaker in confusion. "What?"
"Yea, the dress code. It's going to be a little...less formal, a little more casual at the office, in fact-cut off jeans might be the dress of the day at the office."
Stephanie stepped back and let her mother have more of the stage, leaning over to whisper to her brother. "Watch this."
"Number two; how about a little profanity in the office? Well, every now and then, a little sprinkling of profanity at the office if the situation warrants would be just fine, and third, drinking on the job-Yes, drinking on the job," she repeated, seeing her husbands hair line reseed about three inches just from where she was standing.
"Yes, at the end of a long, hard day at the office, how about a nice, cold alcoholic beverage to quench your thirst?" She smiled innocently for him. "What this all means, Vince, is that this morning, I stepped down from my position as the CEO of this company, but," she held up a finger, "not before I hand picked my own successor."
The crowd, having been given clues to what was going on, now erupted into a cheers, fairly certain of what was going on. But Vince was still in the dark. "You what?!"
"And that successor," she continued, "will have the full power and privileges to run this company as he sees fit!"
Vince swallowed again. He certainly did not like what he was hearing, and a voice in the back of his head was shouting at him the clues that were making him put everything that his wife was saying together.
"So, Vince, without further ado, allow Stephanie and me to introduce to you, the new CEO."
WWF
When Austin walked out onto the ramp, a red tie about his neck, the audience simply erupted, and they weren't the only ones. Jaina was grinning from ear to ear, clapping her hands, the problem with having to fight Shane later on tonight forgotten for the moment.
"Hell, I think ya heard what happened at the meeting today, so let's go ahead and start with that dress code thing," he yanked the tie off of his neck and threw it out to the audience, "I can go ahead and take off this power tie because I really no longer need this power tie, because Vince, you know that ole Stone Cold always has...the power finger, so here's to ya!"
WWF
"Oh my God," Jaina murmured, shaking her head as she watched her father walk back and forth across the ramp, her eyes darting from him to Vince, who was standing in the middle of the ring, completely dumbfounded. Hell, he was probably surprised as all hell that his wife managed to pull this off, but Linda was a McMahon, and it seemed that for as long as she'd been married to Vince, she'd picked up some of his own tricks.
Stephanie tapped her on the shoulder. "Have fun," she grinned and walked past the curtain, following her mother. She felt another hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Shane, a strange look of calm about his face.
"You okay?"
"Oh yea," Shane smirked, "I'm definitely okay. This is what happens when Dad pisses Mom off; she yanks the floor out from underneath him."
"Well," Jaina giggled, listening with half an ear as her father continued to spew out all kinds of demands and matches that Vince's Ministry were going to have to endure, "she certainly did that."
WWF
"Now, and I got one more thing for ya Vince..." Austin stopped dead in his tracks and dropped the microphone to his side, his eyes finding a matching pair standing just feet from him. When he raised the mic again, he didn't bother to look at Vince at first. "You just made a match between your little boy wonder over here, and my little girl. Ole Stone Cold can't do nothin' about that, but what I can do," he pointed his finger at Vince and the Undertaker, "is bar your ass and that dead ass standin' right next to you from ringside!"
"What?!?!" Vince was absolutely livid. After hearing that Austin was now the CEO, he was going to make himself a title match, and he had placed nearly all the members of the Ministry in matches tonight with their own respective worst enemies, he'd just about had enough. Why had his wife done this to him? It was just business!
"Yea, and there's also gonna be another little stipulation, cause I know you got all those referee's in your pocket, they all kiss your ass, so the stipulation is that there will be a special guest referee," Austin paused long enough to allow the crowd to show their appreciation for taking control of the situation, "and that special guest referee will be none other than Mic Foley!" Stone Cold grinned. Vince was now jumping up and down in the ring, his face red as a tomato. His night had not gone exactly the way he'd wanted it to go, and Austin was more than willing to continue to make his life a living hell.
WWF
"Shane?"
Shane looked up, seeing his sister standing in the doorway of his private office. He didn't bother to get up, or otherwise acknowledge her presence, but he didn't tell her to leave either. She slowly walked in, cautious of her surroundings and sat down next to him on his couch. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay..." he sighed, hanging his head slightly. "No. I'm not okay. After tonight, I don't know if I'll ever be okay, no matter how this match winds up going."
They sat silently for a moment, Shane thinking about what was going to happen in just under an hour and a half, and Stephanie trying to find the words that would comfort her big brother. Unfortunately, none were coming to mind.
"How could he do this?" he suddenly asked. "I don't understand...the Ministry, having The Undertaker abduct you, this match with Jaina...how could he do this to our family? Why is he doing this?" He pinched his nose with his fingers', trying to stop the headache that was threatening to unleash in his head. He felt his sister grip his other hand in her small one and smiled slightly. The bond that they shared was closer than that of any other siblings he'd met.
"I don't know, Shane..." she leaned against his shoulder, brushing her long, brown hair out of her eyes, "I've been going over this in my mind the entire weekend, and I still haven't come up with anything. I guess...this is just...who he is."
"This is just who he is?" Shane scoffed. "Well, that's not good enough for me, Steph! He put you through hell, he's making me wrestle Jaina tonight, I don't even think she's ever been in a ring before!He's going to make me get in there with her and...and..."
Stephanie bit her lip, wrapping her arms around his torso. "You could always ask her to let you cover her. I know you don't want her to beat you, I know how you feel about her...you guys like each other, don't you." The fact that it was a statement and not a question made Shane's head sink even lower.
"You know, I can deny that to everyone else in the world except you. You know that right?"
Stephanie smiled lightly. "Yes, I do. And there's no doubt in my mind that she feels the same way. You guys have to figure out something before the match tonight. I don't want to see either of you lose."
"You mean win?" Shane smiled sadly at her. "Yea...but I'd much rather I pin her than her pin me. I don't think there's much chance of that happening but..." he trailed off, tapping his sister's knee, her que to get up and leave him alone.
"I love you, okay?" Stephanie leaned down and kissed her brother on his head, and he returned the gesture on her cheek.
And she left, leaving him alone with his thoughts, wrestling with what he was going to have to do that night.
WWF
"Jaina, I ain't jokin' here."
"Dad, I'm not laughing here."
"Watch your tone of voice, baby girl," Austin growled, "I'm tryin' to make sure you don't wind up as The Undertaker's personal assistant here."
"You think that I want to do this match!?" Jaina yelled, not heeding her fathers warning. "You think I want to get in there and fight Shane tonight? I don't! But I have to, and if it's between me doing what The Undertaker wants or having Shane under Vince's thumb for the rest of his life-" she bit her lip and turned away, covering her face with her hands. Damn Vince, damn The Undertaker, and damn anyone else who had anything to do with this mess. She felt her father move behind her.
"Aw, hell," he breathed, "you're gonna try to beat him, aren't ya?" When she didn't answer, Austin moved to stand in front of her. "You're gonna sacrifice yourself so that Shane don't have to, is that it?"
"Dad-"
"Jay, just because ya like the guy don't mean that you've gotta do this. He's a McMahon, he and Vince probably have this whole thing set up, he'll probably turn on ya the second-"
"Dad, shutup!" Jaina yelled at her father, the first time in a long time, she screamed at him. "I am tired of hearing about how Shane is going to screw me over just because his father had done it to you, I am tired of it!"
"Now," she continued, not paying attention to the look of shock that was in Steve's eyes, "I am going to go out there, and I am going to do my best to win that match, and if winning the match means that I have to sacrifice myself to The Undertaker, then that's what it means, but I am not going just lie down and let Shane sacrifice himself for me, I won't allow it!" With that, she turned on her heel and slammed open the door, leaving her father to stare after her, a lost expression on his face.
WWF
He found her sitting in a forgotten room, in a part of the arena that the WWF wasn't using. He knew he'd find her in a place like this because it was exactly the kind of place he'd go to get away from everyone else. He'd searched a couple of hallways and rooms before he'd found her, but none the less...He took a deep breath and walked partially into the room.
"Hey."
Jaina looked up, not surprised that Shane had found her. "Hey."
He heard her let out a long, calming breath as he walked to sit beside her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each treasuring the quiet and privacy, and the last moment that they were likely to have with each other for a long while.
"I don't want you to try and beat me tonight," Shane murmured, "I've dealt with my father before, I know how his mind works, I can deal with what ever it is that he wants me to do for him."
Jaina didn't look at him, she just kept her eyes focused on the floor, folding and unfolding her hands. She couldn't speak at the moment, in fact, if she opened her mouth, she knew that she would let the cry that she wanted to shed so badly escape her mouth, but she wasn't going to put herself, or Shane, in that situation. She didn't want his pity or his sympathy. She just wanted him safe.
"Jaina." Shane turned his head further to the side to see more of her face, but she remained averted from him, her blonde hair falling to cover her eyes and cheeks. "Jaina, promise me. Let me do this. I don't want you with The Undertaker, I don't want you anywhere near him, I don't want you to have to endure what my sister would have had to endure. I don't want that for you."
"Shane..." Jaina sniffed, actually sniffed, and that was when Shane knew that, even though she was doing her best not to, she was hiding her face because she was crying. "I don't want you to have to be under your dad's thumb for the rest of your life."
"Don't worry about me; I know what I'm doing."
"I do worry about you..." she turned her head towards him just enough so that he could make out icy blue eyes in between her honey strands, and the look on her face nearly took the breath out of him. "Don't ask me not to fight. That's something I can't do. There's obviously a side of your father that you didn't know about and-" she swallowed trying to regain some control of her voice, "and I don't want to have to watch you do things that you don't want to do...just because of me." She was finally able to look at him fully, and she wasn't sure what she saw in his eyes, but she knew that in the two months she'd known him, and for all the times she'd watched him on television, he'd never looked as torn as he did at that moment.
"Don't do me any favors, Shane McMahon," she murmured, "because when we step into that ring, I won't be doing you any."
Shane sighed; what was he going to do? She actually wanted to fight him, she wanted to win...for him. She was ridiculously stubborn, didn't she know what she was asking him to do?
"I know what I'm doing, Shane," she consoled him, as though she'd read his mind, "so please don't ask me to lie down in that ring and let you cover me. Please." She locked eyes with him, and in that moment, there was an unspoken agreement; whatever happened out there tonight would be fixed as soon as possible, no matter what.
Shane stood up, not blinking, not losing sight of the woman's eyes in front of him. Kindly, he held out his hand. "At least let me walk you to the ring?"
Jaina blinked. What?
"That way we show everyone that we're a united front, that we're not afraid...that you and I..."
"That you and I what?" she repeated, placing her hand in his and standing up.
"That you and I....that we didn't want to do this," he finished, gripping her hand tightly. Jaina smiled lightly. "I think I can do that."
WWF
"The following match is scheduled for one fall, and it is a Sacrifice Match. Now, if Shane McMahon is able to pin Jaina Austin, he will serve Vince McMahon willingly and faithfully. However, if Jaina Austin is able to pin Shane McMahon, Shane will be free of his father's influence, and Jaina must serve The Undertaker in any capacity he see's fit." Lillian Garcia visibly winced as she spoke. She didn't like this match anymore than anyone else in the locker room did. "And now, introducing the special guest referee for this match, Mic Foley!"
The familiar strings of a guitar filled the arena, and the fans were up and out of their seats, always excited to see Mic Foley, whether or not he was wrestling. The King of Hardcore made his way down the ramp, fist raised and toothless grin all the way down as he climbed into the ring, taking his place beside Lillian Garcia.
When Mic was ready to go, Shane's entrance music sounded. "And introducing first, weighing in at 234 pounds-" she stopped once she saw Shane and Jaina walking down to the ring together and quickly reworked her announcement in her head, "Shane McMahon, and introducing Jaina Austin, weighing in at 136 pounds!"
She looked on, the very picture of sympathy on her face as they both got into the ring, making their way to separate corners. As she turned around, heading back to her position, she noticed one of the ring hands signaling for her to come over. She bent her head down, and if her expression hadn't been sympathetic enough for the young pair in the ring, she found herself having to gather her voice once again.
"Excuse me, I've just received a message from Mr. McMahon regarding this match," she waited until Mic, Shane, and Jaina had they're eyes on her. "Per Vince McMahon's orders, the match is now scheduled for no count outs and no disqualifications." She mouthed 'I'm Sorry' to both Shane and Jaina as she managed herself out of the ring and down to her usual chair, sitting down heavily.
This was not going to be pretty.
WWF
It was a stand off. Neither Shane nor Jaina wanted to start the match. They walked around each other, biting their lips, shaking their heads, pacing in their own private corners. Mic Foley just let it happen. He was there to referee, not to start a brawl between a man that was about 100 pounds heavier than a woman who'd never seen ring action in her life.
Finally, Jaina faced Shane, her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. She wanted this over with, and it looked like if she wanted that to happen, she'd have to be the one to start it. She walked over to Shane and looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry," she said, before she slapped him across the face, taking the opportunity of his shock to push him into the corner nearest to him, landing him with sloppy fists and knee's and anything else she could think of. But Shane, having had some time to regroup and not having someone as powerful as a WWF superstar punching him, shoved Jaina to the mat and watched as her head smacked into the surface. Seeing his chance to end the match quickly, he rushed over and covered her, yelling at Mic to get the count down, but Jaina lifted her shoulder at the 2 ½ , and Shane rose up again.
"Dammit, Jaina, don't make me do this!" His plea's felt on deaf ears though as Jaina got to her feet and beckoned him to bring it on. "I could say the same to you!" she shot back. "The Undertaker wants me, not you, so just let him have me!" She rushed at him, spearing him to the mat and hitting him again with slaps to the face, straddling him as she did so.
So, Shane did the only thing that he could do; he grabbed her by the hair and threw her off him once more, but this time, he didn't allow her to breathe. Right where she landed, he gave her an elbow drop straight to her chest, the impact so great that she bounced off the mat, lying prone after she landed, only able to blink up at the lights. But she felt Shane cover her again, and once more, she kicked out on sheer will and stubbornness.
Shane slapped his hand to the mat in frustration. Why couldn't he just let him do this for her, why? Standing up, he crossed over to the turnbuckle and climbed up it, turning around once he was on top and looking down at his target, still lying right where he'd left her. He shook his head just before he jumped.
And he hit the mat hard, folding over and holding his stomach and pelvic area, realizing after the fact that Jaina had moved at the last minute.
Jaina, meanwhile, had decided that she wasn't going to beat Shane with just her hands. And since this was no disqualification, and because he wanted to make things difficult, she pulled herself over to the side of the ring and slid out, making her way over to Lillian. "Get up," she told her, and the announcer hesitated for a moment. "Lillian...get up. I'm in no mood to play a sympathy card right now, get up." Lillian did so, and Jaina took the chair out and folded it back up, taking it with her back into the ring.
She waited until Shane got up, and being that he'd tried to perform a Shooting Star on her, it took quite a while, but when he did, and when he turned around, he was greeted with a chair shot straight to the forehead. Mic looked at the young woman somewhat approvingly, until she walked towards Shane, chucking the chair to the mat and rolling Shane over, covering him. But she didn't hear the pounding of the mat, and she looked around for Mic.
"Foley, get over here and count!" She could see the uncertainty in the man's eyes. "Mic, please!"
Reluctantly, Mic got to the mat and began to count, but that little hesitation had cost Jaina, and Shane was able to kick out. This time, it was Jaina pounding the mat in frustration. "Don't hesitate next time, Mic, I know what I'm doing!" She pulled Shane up, intending to send him into the ropes, but Shane countered and flung her instead. When she bounced off, she was able to duck the clothesline that was coming her way, and bounced off the parallel ropes, flying into Shane as fast and hard as she possibly could. They both went down, but Shane was able to roll over top her, and Mic began counting again, but Jaina, once more, lifted her shoulder up, able to save herself (ironically) one more time.
However, Shane's positioning enabled him to see the chair that was still lying in the ring after Jaina had gotten done hitting him with it. He picked her up and dragged her over in a head lock, intending to bull dog her into the seat. But Jaina was alert now, and she countered, pushing Shane into the ropes just behind the chair, and as he came back, she used the move he was going to do on her...on him. A bull dog right into the chair. Wasting no time, she quickly rolled him over and covered him.
One.
Two.
Three.
"I'm sorry, Shane," she immediately got off of him and instead knelt beside him. "I'm so sorry!" Those were the only words she was able to get out before the arena went dark and she heard the tolling of the bell. That bell now took on special meaning for her. She felt a hand on her cheek and knew it was Shane's as she took it in her own. "I'm so sorry," she said again, hanging her head over his, looking at the small trickle of blood that was now there.
"Jaina run...please, run...I'll take your place, just get out of here," Shane wasn't used to begging, but now it seemed like the perfect time to learn as he got to his knees in front of the blond. "Get out of the ring," he told her, looking toward the ramp, watching as not only The Undertaker, but Vince McMahon stride to the ring, taking their time. They were in no hurry. "Jaina, please!" he looked back at her, but she shook her head sadly. "I'll be seein' ya," she leaned forward, pressing a small kiss to his cheek before rising to her feet, Shane following her lead. He wasn't going to leave well enough alone though; he got in front of her, not wanting to let her go without a fight. He heard the fans cheering for him, a remarkable feet in and of it's self. Who knew that all he'd have to do was be the charming, chivalrous guy he knew he could be to earn that?
"I believe the deal was that whom ever won the match was to come immediately to the back to their respective master," Vince reminded them both, "so, Jaina, I want you to take a look at the titantron for me."
"You son of a bitch!" Jaina was looking at the screen, and what she saw on it infuriated her. Her father, the new CEO, was being beaten to a bloody pulp in his own locker room. "Dammit, stop Vince!"
"You want me to tell them to stop?" Vince grinned at her evilly, "walk over to The Undertaker and leave with him. That's all you've got to do. Just agree to carry out the stipulations of the match, and I'll call off the Ministry." He watched the girl stare at the screen a few more moments, but inch by inch, she began to make her way over to The Undertaker, until Shane stopped her.
"Dad, this is ridiculous, okay? She doesn't need to go with The Undertaker, I'll go with you, right here, right now, no problems, I'll go willingly," Shane spoke up, holding out one hand to stop Jaina, holding out another as an offering of himself, "c'mon, Dad, like you said, it'll be just like old times."
"Shane, I told you, I knew what I was doing, I didn't get the crap beat out of me to win that match and then watch you play let's make a deal!" Jaina shrugged Shane's grip from her arm, but his other hand was still out, waiting for his father to shake it.
"You know, Shane...that sounds like a great idea to me." Vince took his son's hand, shaking it once, twice-
Then, he pulled the young man towards him and in the blink of an eye, per a clothesline, Shane was lying on the mat, his head having hit the back of the mat so hard that it had knocked him out. Jaina forgot about the two men that were there to take her and fell to his side, calling his name, trying to revive him.
"Undertaker," Vince pointed at Jaina, "make her see some reason, will you please?"
Stealthily, The Undertaker walked over to Shane's body and knelt down, placing a cold, clammy hand around the boy's throat and looked at Jaina. "Get up, or I can do worse," he warned her, and between seeing Shane defenseless on the mat and still hearing the sounds of a brutal beat down coming from the Titantron, Jaina slumped and closed her eyes. It was a moment of truth for her.
Slowly, she rose to her feet again, her eyes never leaving The Phenom's as she crossed over Shane's body, walking to the turnbuckle. She waited until she felt the dark presence beside her, and with a last look at a man she'd come to care very much about, she exited the ring, Vince McMahon on one side, and her new Master, The Undertaker on the other.
It was the longest walk of her life.
