1WWF

"Shane, you okay?"

Stephanie walked into the trainers room, Jaina trailing hot behind as both the men in her life were back there at the moment. Her father was getting stitches in his head, due to a rather nicely landed punch to the forehead earlier in the night by Mideon. Shane on the other hand, was not being treated for any obvious injuries. Instead, he was sitting on one of the medic tables, an oxygen mask held close to his mouth by his hand. He took a moment to glance up at his sister and nodded his head before he went back to breathing in and out slowly and methodically.

"Dad?" Jaina sat down next to her father, grimacing some what as the on call surgeon was busy stitching up the last bits of an angry, red wound on Austin's forehead. "I'm okay, baby girl, just a scratch."

"Mmmhmmm...I've had 'just scratches' before. None of them ever required stitches." None the less, Jaina silenced herself, resigned to watching the medic patch her father up for a few more minutes before turning her attention to Shane. He was slightly pale, not that Shane had had much of a tan to begin with, but none the less, he'd lost some of the pigmentation due to a slight fear of heights. Not fear of heights so much as a fear of being suspended from the ground.

"You faced your fear tonight, congratulations," she smiled, kissing him delicately on the forehead just before Vince walked in the room. "There's my boy." Vince was grinning ear to ear, obviously a very proud father at present. No father ever liked to see their son afraid of anything, and it had been Vince that gave the push Shane needed to conquer his phobia. "How about next week, we do it again?"

Shane raised his eyes and give Vince a silent look of 'thanks, but no thanks', taking care to continue breathing in and out at regular intervals from the oxygen mask.

"Oh, Jaina," Vince pulled Jaina off to the side a bit, "look, you and Mark, fantastic job out there tonight, really great, really great. Think you can keep it up until King of the Ring?"

"Definitely," Jaina nodded, crossing her arms, "I'm actually having fun with this role...weird as that is, I mean, I'm pretty much a slave." Vince just shrugged. The evil role was no stranger to him, obviously, and he loved playing a character in the ring. It was a great way to just relieve stress, have fun, and give the people a show, give them their monies worth. "As long as you're having fun, you're doing something right. It's when the fun stops that we need to have the conversation."

Jaina chuckled. "Well, that won't be any time soon, I can promise you that."

"Glad to hear it." Vince patted her arm then headed over to Austin, checking with him and the medic on his condition. After a handshake and a good night, Vince left the four stars alone, and shortly after, the trainer finished his work, gave Steve some instructions on how to care for the wound, and left to care for any other wrestlers that were in need of medical attention at the moment.

"Dad, you're off until Smackdown! next week right?"

"Yea," Austin leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, "it's in the script. I'll have some photo shoots to go to, a new video recording session, couple interviews...think I'm on the Today show too."

"Wow, somebody's a super star," Stephanie admired, "don't worry, Jaina. Shane's gonna be out for the next week too, so it's gonna be all you."

"Yea, what's this I hear about you getting a storyline that's not with Test?" Shane wondered aloud, looking at his baby sister. But Stephanie, who had promised her father that she wouldn't tell anyone, not even her brother, about the new role that she was going to start playing in a few weeks, simply shook her head, a sweet smile on her face. "Nope. Can't tell you, bro."

"Damn confidentiality contracts," he grumbled back, finally putting down the oxygen mask and leaning back on the make shift medical cot, closing his eyes, "he's gonna tell me later anyway."

But Stephanie just shrugged. "Then wait till later. You need get some rest anyways, Shane-o. You shouldn't have to much excitement in one night."

"Yea I guess you-what? Why would I get excited?" He glanced at Jaina and Austin and was just about ready to start interrogated his little sister when Mark walked in the room. "How ya doin' kid?"

"I'm breathing," Shane answered, keeping his eyes on Stephanie, who took that moment to slip out of the room, waving good bye cheekily to her brother, "yea, that's right, go on and leave, but you're not getting out of this conversation so easily. I know where you live!" Stephanie's laughter echoed back into the room, and all Shane could do was look at Mark and Steve. "She's not afraid of me anymore. She doesn't even idolize me anymore."

"Oh my God, give me a break," Jaina said in mock disgust, shaking her head, "you guys have your boy moment. Dad, I'll go pack your stuff up, okay?"

"Alright, baby girl," Austin pecked his daughter on the cheek then sent her Shane's way. "Hey, find out what her story line is will you?" The pitiful, puppy dog look that Shane gave her was to much for Jaina and she couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"Okay," Jaina readily agreed, but Shane narrowed his eyes. "Then come back and tell me."

"Hmm, I think not, but when she tells me, I won't tell anyone else either!" Wagging her fingers good bye, Jaina sauntered out the door, leaving the three men in the trainers room, looking at each other with sarcastic amusement. Steve took that moment to glance over at Shane. "Trust me when I tell ya, it don't get any better."

While Mark laughed, Shane groaned and lay back further on the cot, closing his eyes.

WWF

"Shawn, Paul, come on in," Vince stood up behind his desk and extended his hand as the two original members of D-Generation X entered his Stanford, Connecticut Office Friday morning, "hope the flight was alright?"

"Yea, great," Shawn and Paul both shook their boss's hand and sat down in the very comfortable chairs that were provided for them.

"So, basically, our ratings are up, and a lot of that is due to the Ministry story line that we're running, the Austin/McMahon rivalry that's been happening for the past two years or so, and DX has been in there some, but I want them in there more."

"Actually, Vince," Shawn leaned foward, "Hunter and I have been talking about that a bit. We have some idea's if you want us to run them by you."

"By all means." Vince sat back. "Basically, what I want is this; Lauren McCabe is running WCW now, you both remember her, I assume?"

"The slut Shane was dating? Yea, I remember her," Hunter laughed, rubbing his chin, "caught her in my dressing room after a match tryin' to come on to me."

"Anyways," Shawn gave his best friend a meaningful look, "yes, we both remember her."

"Well, she's the General Manager for Nitro and Thunder, and Lauren isn't the kind of woman that takes the subtle route. She's very in your face." Hunter couldn't hold back a snort, but after another silencing look from Shawn, he quieted down, and Vince continued. "I want you to take the fight to WCW. I want you to take it right to them, right to their front door."

Hunter blinked. "Like, their front door in Atlanta?"

"Atlanta, Nitro, Thunder...where ever a show happens to be at that point, you take it to them. I don't care how you do it, and you will have my full legal backing in case Ms. McCabe decides to get a little bitchy...and she does tend to do that." Vince tapped his fingers lightly on the table, looking back and forth between Shawn and Hunter. "Think you can do that?"

"Oh we can do it," Hunter nodded his head, looking at Shawn. This was what they loved to do, this was what they excelled at, and after having years of practice making their own boss's hair gray, they had gotten pretty damn good at it. "Where's their next show at?"

"Well, unless you want to completely miss a live show of RAW, they're not going to be anywhere near us until the Monday after King of the Ring, which frankly, I'd rather do it then. We've just had a big pay per view, more people will be watching, and we can start off a new saga fresh rather than introduce it in the middle of one of the story lines we have now." Vince picked up his phone and dialed his secretary, asking her to get him a listing of all the Nitro and Thunder shows that were going to be occurring in the next three months. Soon afterwards, she walked back in, a few printed out sheets clutched in her hand which she handed off to the Chairman of the WWF. After asking him if he needed anything else, she quickly vacated the office and shut the door softly behind her.

Vince looked over the papers at the two stars in front of him, then, handed them the papers. "Get your schedules, compare them, choose the sites you want. If you want to miss a show to do this, that's fine, I have no problem with that. We just have to make sure that we have footage of you and the rest of DX 'invading', so to speak, to show our fans on a RAW or Smackdown! night."

McMahon sat back once more and folded his hands over his lap. "Think you can do this?"

"Oh, we can do this," Shawn assured, standing up, Hunter following suit. "Just keep your legal team on stand-by, will ya?" Vince also stood up and reached out to shake the hands of his employee's once more. "With you and Hunter being let loose? You damn right I'll keep the legal team on stand by. Have a good flight home gentlemen. I'll see you this Monday."

WWF

For the next few weeks, the WWF saw shows like they hadn't seen before. Raw and Smackdown! were slowly, but surely, inching up in the ratings, thanks to Commissioner Stone Cold Steve Austin and Chairman of the Board Vince McMahon vying for control of the WWF, along with both Austin and Shane McMahon trying every thing they could think of, albeit, separately, to retrieve Jaina from the clutches of the Undertaker.

Jaina was having a blast herself. With each passing week, she was falling more and more under the control of the Undertaker. She was no longer fighting him, no longer shrinking away from him or avoiding his hand when ever it caressed her paler by the day face. It was fun, in a bizarre kind of way, to play that kind of a roll. It wasn't that she was a damsel in distress, it was more along the line that Jaina was having to show the emotional struggle that she was going through, and she had to do it at certain, key points. For example, that previous Monday's RAW saw Shane, once again, trying to concoct some sort of plan to get Jaina out of Taker's hands, but not only did Jaina not go with him, when Shane reached for her, she slapped him.

That was how RAW had ended, and Smackdown! was going to begin no better. Both Austin and his daughter were still discussing the script as they pulled into the Sheraton parking lot at the Jerome Schottenstein Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Or rather, Jaina was talking about the script. Steve had just been listening from the airport all the way to the arena, which granted, wasn't very far. But he'd also spent the last two days listening to his daughter worry, the plane ride listening to Jaina vocally squirm, and now, he was just about reaching the edge of his rope.

"Dad, I really don't think I can do this," Jaina mumbled, getting out of the truck and walking into the hotel with her father. Austin stayed silent, getting his room key and waiting for Jaina to get hers and Shane's before leading the way to the elevator. Mercifully, his daughter had clammed up a bit, allowing Steve's temper to subside somewhat. Jaina had a way of knowing when she was pushing him a bit to far, and she seemed to have gotten the hint that possibly, maybe, she should stay silent for a moment or two.

They got off the elevator and Steve walked towards his room, opening the door when he got there and holding it for his daughter before he pushed it closed and dropped his luggage and gear. He didn't move, save for putting his hands on his hips and regarding his daughter carefully, thankful that she simply allowed him to appraise her.

"I'm not gonna pretend to understand what you're goin' through," he started out, slowly walking her way. "But you gotta understand one thing, and that is, this is entertainment. That's all this is. This is the business, this right here. You're never gonna get away from it. There's gonna be a lot of things that you don't think you can do, but when push comes to shove, you're gonna be able to do 'em. And I know you, Jaina; you can do this." He stopped in front of her, their matching eyes locked on one another.

"You're my father."

"No. I'm Stone Cold Steve Austin, and you're Jaina Austin, and you're under the control of The Undertaker." Austin sat down on the bed and shrugged. "It's as simple as that. If ya make it more complicated, the people ain't gonna believe it." Jaina didn't have anything to say to that, but dammit if she wasn't trying to figure out something retort.

"Go to your room, Jay," Steve stood up from the bed and rested a hand on his daughters shoulder. "Relax, take a nap before the show tonight, wait for Shane...and when the time comes, you better do it, and ya better do it right, cause I'll know if ya don't." With that, he headed over to the door and opened it, watching her as she made her way, slowly and reluctantly out of the room, taking her bags with her.

This is ridiculous she mused to herself, making her way up one more floor via the elevator before arriving at her and Shane's room in the hotel. Once she was in the room, she shoved her things to the wall and flopped on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. She had the courage to do a lot of things. No one could call Jaina Austin a coward. But it wasn't even being called a coward that she was afraid of. It was disappointing her father that scared her to death. He had a lot riding on her success, on her willingness to do what needed to be done to beat WCW in the Monday Night Wars. His name was on the line with Vince McMahon, his reputation was on the line with the WWF Board...

WWF

"Workin' hard or hardly workin'?"

"Working hard," Stephanie answered without missing a beat, not taking her eyes off the script or the run sheet that was in front of her, "but I like it, so it's not really working at all I guess."

Mark Calaway plopped down in the seat across from the young brunette, a frosty mug of beer in his hand. As Stephanie continued to work, he glanced around at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel. It was nice, but wasn't really his style. A little too bright with the reds and beige coloring, a bit to modern in its architecture. To be honest, the only reason Mark chose to stay at these hotels was because he had the money to do so and the rest of his wrestling buddies would stay there as well. He liked being around his friends, he liked the bonding that happened between all the wrestlers before, during, and after the matches. The eating, drinking, and occasional outings after shows were worth paying a few extra bucks to stay in a lavish hotel such as this.

All kidding aside however, Mark would have been just as happy at a Motel 8 for $50 a night.

"You know, you're much to young to always be working," he mused, watching Stephanie's bright blue eyes crinkle in concentration at the material she was reading. The girl was only 22 years old. She'd be 23 in September, and she'd just graduated college, and here she was, working for her father in a business that she'd grown up in all her life, sitting in a spiffy hotel restaurant, creative papers, scripts, and run sheets spread out in front of her.

"I don't look at it as work," she repeated, finally setting some of the papers aside and leaning back to address Mark, "this is fun for me. I've wanted to do this all my life, ever since I sat on Andre's lap when I was four years old..." she noticed Mark chuckling quietly, an amused expression on his face. "What?"

"Nothin'."

"No, really, what?"

Mark regarded the young woman in front of him. He'd known her since she was about 14 or 15 years old, and it was hard to believe that the slightly tom boyish, Daddy's girl was sitting before him now as a smart, savvy, business woman. "You're just like Vince, that's all."

Stephanie smiled. "Good. I'll take that as a compliment." She glanced at the bar and raised her hand, asking the tender to come over. "May I have a glass of red wine please? What ever's open is fine."

"Steph, it's 3:00pm."

She arched an eyebrow and pointed at his mug. "That doesn't seem to stop you."

"You know, you didn't used to have that much of a mouth," Mark grumbled, picking up his drink and taking a sip, "I remember when you were to shy to talk to any body when you came to the events." Stephanie shrugged. "I talked to the other diva's; they were always cool, but...I don't know, I was never really that good at talking to guys."

Mark cocked his head to the side. "You don't seem to have any trouble now."

"Yea, well, I don't have Dad and Shane breathing down my neck as much anymore either-thanks." Stephanie smiled at the bartender and took a sip of the wine, taking a moment to enjoy the flavor as it rolled over her tongue.

"Ah," Mark nodded knowingly, "Ole Vince and Shane-o-mac didn't want you to suddenly run off with a dirty, sweaty, smelly wrestler, is that it?"

"That about sums it up, yes," Stephanie was enjoying this conversation, and she allowed herself to relax fully by slouching in the chair slightly and crossing her legs underneath the table. "Though 'Vince' didn't seem to whisper any of those warnings to Shane."

"Do I hear a little sibling jealousy in your voice, Steph?" Mark jokingly asked. She just smiled at shrugged. "No. I love Jaina. I've known her for a couple of years, didn't really get to know her well until she came onto the roster, but I'm glad Shane and she are together. I don't think she knows what an affect she has on him..."

Mark waited for Stephanie to continue, but when she didn't, he gave her a little nudge. "Lauren McCabe?"

"Yea..." The brunette shook her head sadly. "Shane didn't show it much around the house shows or the pay per views or the other events. When he was at work, he was at work. But no one will ever know how much that bitch hurt him. Not even Mom and Dad know how bad it got." She fiddled with the base of her wine glass, eyes intent on her fingers that circled the bottoms edge.

"I take it you didn't talk to anybody about it much," Mark inferred, offering himself as a confidant if she so needed. This was one of the big things with the McMahon Family, this was what made them a Clan; what happened in the family, nine times out of ten, stayed within the family. They were entertainment royalty. They knew how and when to put on the pretty face, and all of them did that very, very well.

"After she left him, Shane spent two weeks at my apartment, in my guest bed room, drinking, crying, and throwing up." Stephanie's blue eyes welled up with tears at the mere memory. "He actually took vacation. Shane's like my father, he never takes vacation. But, Mom and Dad didn't think anything of it. After what Lauren did to my brother, they actually encouraged him to take some time off, and he did."

"They just didn't know how 'off' he really was," Mark traced his jaw with a finger, finally beginning to get the picture of just how down and out Shane had really been when he'd lost Lauren, and not just to any guy, but the man that was the head of their number one competition. "Where did Shane tell them he was going?"

"He didn't," Stephanie shook her head, "he just said he was going to go somewhere warm, where he didn't have to think about Lauren at all...where he wouldn't be reminded of her." She unraveled a napkin and dabbed at her eyes carefully, not wanting to streak the mascara. "So that left out the family house in Connecticut and the house down in Fort Lauderdale, because Lauren had been both places before. But she'd never been to my apartment in Boston. Had actually never been to Boston as far as I know. So...he came to me."

Mark waited for Stephanie to compose herself, feeling like he should be twiddling his thumbs. He hated to see a woman cry for any reason, and Stephanie had always held a special place in his heart for as long as he'd known her. "Well, he's definitely not doing any drinking now," he leaned back in his chair slightly, his mug in his hand, "I didn't know he was doing all that when she left him, but he was definitely off on some nights during a show. Quiet, didn't want to talk to any body...there was a couple of nights he didn't even want to perform."

"Yea, I know," Stephanie placed the napkin on the table and took a sip of wine, clearing her throat after swallowing, "and Mark, please don't tell anyone that I said anything about this. I probably shouldn't have even told you, but if Mom and Dad found out-"

Mark held up a hand, and Stephanie fell silent, a grateful smile on her lips. "Don't worry about it, Steph. I'm not gonna breathe a word to anyone." With Stephanie's mind a little lighter, she settled into a nice conversation with Mark, showing him some of the scripts that were handed down to her by the creative department, and going over various angles and strategies to employ with him.

WWF

"Jay?"

Shane shook his girl friend awake gently, brushing her brown strands out of her hair. "Jay, come on, we've got a call." He waited for her to open her eyes, watched her glance at the clock, and then look up at him, tired and worried blue eyes blinking. "I don't think I can do it, Shane."

"Hey, I thought we talked about this," he sat down next to her, a comforting hand on her back, "I thought you were okay."

"I was, and then I started thinking about it more, and...I just..." she shrugged, shaking her head as she sat up, staring at the floor, "it's making me sick, you know?"

"Yea." Shane felt for her, he really did. He remembered a storyline that his father and he did about a year back, where Shane had to verbally assault Vince just after giving Austin his job back. Some of the things that came out of his mouth Shane would have never said, wouldn't have even dreamed of, because they weren't true. But he'd done it, because it was what his father expected of him, and Vince knew that Shane didn't mean anything of what was written. Father and Son had a long sit down at the request of Shane because the speech unnerved him so.

"Look, let's talk about it on the way to the arena, alright?" He stood up and reached for her hand, helping her up. "Go get dressed. I'll get your stuff together."

Shane bent to give her a gentle, reassuring kiss on her mouth before stepping back and getting her bags and clothes together, leaving Jaina to freshen up and change her outfit before they both left the hotel room, silently, Shane holding Jaina's hand tightly in comfort and support all the way to the arena.

WWF

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Smackdown! We're coming to you from the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus Ohio, and we are just three days out from King of the Ring!" J.R.'s voice, which was usually loud, boisterous, full of excitement and anticipation, was none of those things right now. The reason was standing before him, in the ring. A suit clad Shane McMahon was waiting for the crowd to quiet down so he could speak, and he wanted as little noise as possible.

"King, Shane McMahon, this entire day, has been...well, he's been very un-McMahon like. He's been quiet, he's kept to himself. It's obvious that Shane is very hurt and I'd go so far as to say angry by the actions of Jaina Austin last Monday night, even though she really doesn't have much of choice in what she does."

"Yea, I mean, the girl's got a weak mind, she's under the control of the Undertaker, under some kind of spell of his, why Shane would want to waste his time with this girl, I've got no clue."

"Well, I guess we're about to find out; looks like Shane is ready to address us and, for that matter, The Undertaker and his father."

WWF

"You know, all my life, I've idolized my father," Shane looked at all the fans that surrounded the arena, gathering a kind of strength from him for what he wanted to say, "all my life, I wanted to be just like him. I wanted that power, that prestige, I wanted to be able to walk down the street and hear people say, 'hey, there's Shane McMahon, don't mess with him', and I can honestly say, I still want that. I want people to realize that when you screw me over, I don't care who you are, you're going to pay, and you're going to pay dearly."

"And Dad, that includes you," Shane continued, turning his attention to the entrance ramp, "last Monday night, when you and the Undertaker instructed Jaina to slap me, and yea, I know you told her to do it, because I saw you whisper to her just before she was going to reach for my hand and let me take her away from you, but last Monday night, when she slapped me..." Shane lowered the mic for a moment needing to compose himself. That was when he heard the fans start to chant his nick name, and he was able to look up after a moments, smile, and continue on.

"Dad, you should know, you should know better than anyone else; you don't screw with a McMahon. So, I want you to come out here right now, because I think I have an idea that's gonna settle this once and for all."

WWF

"Oh God, what is he doing?" Stephanie sat, eyes glued to her monitor as her brother stood in the ring, waiting for their father to go out and meet him, as Shane had requested. Her hands were wrung as tight as they'd ever been, and she couldn't quell the nerve that was beginning to knot in her stomach.

What was happening to her family?

WWF

Luckily for Stephanie, it was not Vince McMahon who made his way out to the ring, but Stone Cold Steve Austin, who, in his normal style, stopped out to glass breaking all over the arena. As he hopped in the ring, he didn't bother to go to the turnbuckles and enjoy the praise and love that the fans had for him. Instead, he went immediately towards the ring announcer side and signaled for a microphone, turning around once he was in possession of one to address Shane.

"You know...I don't know what it is with you and my daughter," Steve stalked like a lion around it's prey, glaring at Shane with the eyes of a rattlesnake, "I've been tryin' for weeks to make that girl listen to reason, but eh, eh, she ain't havin' none of it!"

"She's drugged!" Shane shouted, something that Austin either didn't hear or chose to ignore.

"But here's the way I look at it, this is how Stone Cold Steve Austin sees it! The stars have aligned, Shane-o Mac," Austin stopped in front of Shane, very close to his face, and ordinarily, the younger man would have stepped back, but not this time. He was done with letting Austin intimidate him, especially when it came to his daughter. "Cause it looks like, for the moment, that you and Stone Cold Steve Austin are on the same page! That don't mean I trust ya, it don't mean that I respect ya, and it sure as hell don't mean that I like ya, but it does mean, that for right now, you and I have the same enemy. What was it that Jaina said? The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

Shane looked warily at the Rattlesnake, but he couldn't help but nod his head. That phrase was what had started this whole road for him in the first place. He was about to answer Austin verbally, but he was cut off by none other than the music of the Corporate Ministry, the Ministry of Darkness. Luckily it was only Vince McMahon and the Undertaker, or so Austin and Shane thought, but when they walked out further, both could see the woman that meant so much to the both of them.

Dressed in a one piece, halter cat suit that looked to be all leather was Jaina, walking steadfastly and loyally beside the Lord of Darkness, and the look on her face was unbelievable. Steve, in all the years of raising her, had never seen such hatred in her pure blue orbs before, and even Shane couldn't believe the amount of loathing that emanated from the young lady as she followed the Undertaker and Vince McMahon into the ring. And to make matters more interesting, much to Austin and Shane's surprise, it was Jaina that took the microphone that Vince was holding in his hand.

For a few moments, all Jaina did was give a silent appraisal of both men, her cold eyes raking over the both of them. The most interesting thing was that since Jaina had been taken by the Undertaker, there were very few times that anyone had heard her speak, and so her voice was nearly unrecognizable when she spoke for the first time in a few weeks.

"Who do you think you are?" Shane visibly winced at the raspy, almost serpent like sound that hissed through Jaina's mouth. "Both of you have been walking around here, making demands these past few weeks, trying to make my decisions for me. If I didn't want to be with The Undertaker, The Lord of Darkness, my master...I wouldn't be standing here at his side."

Taker and Vince were more than a little amused by this statement and were obvious in their feeling as they smirked and laughed at the looks on Shane and Austin's face. Shane, for his part, licked his lips nervously. He knew that Jaina was being controlled, but he never thought he'd hear those words from her mouth. "Jaina, look, you have to understand, this isn't you. These clothes, this hair...that voice, my God...none of this is you. You're under some kind of spell by the Undertaker, don't you realize that?"

But Jaina didn't seem phased by the pleading brown eyes that tried to pierce her soul. Sure, she remembered something about not wanting to be with The Undertaker at first, but she'd come to the decision that he wasn't so bad after all. He treated her like a Queen, anything she wanted she had. All she had to do was snap her fingers, and it was delivered.

"I am under no spell, Shane. Yes, I admit, at first, I was nervous about being this man's Queen. What woman wouldn't be? I constantly asked myself, am I going to measure up, will he be pleased with me, what I say to him..." a sultry smirk wrapped itself on her lips, "what I do to him?" Her grin got wider as the shocked expressions on both Shane and her fathers face grew. "And you, Father, what are you doing out here any way? Shane seems to think I'm under some kind of spell, and he's been out here week after week trying to get me to 'come home', whatever that means, but where have you been? Oh, I remember..." she placed her hand on the belt that the Undertaker had around his waste. "You've been chasing after this; this belt that you don't deserve. This belt, what this championship represents, belongs around the waste of my Lord and Master...but let's forget that and focus on this spell that I must be under. You're my father, you claim you love me...if I'm under this spell, why are you more focused on beating the Undertaker than getting me back safe and sound?"

Austin made to answer, but Jaina put a strict hand up, effectively silencing him. "Shut up. I don't want to hear it. The fact of the matter is that you care more about this piece of gold than you do your own family, and the reason you're not out here like Shane is ever week asking me to come home, is because one, you know I make all of my own decisions, and two, you just don't give a damn." Her eyes flashed as she stepped up to her father, very much in his face, and she was enjoying the look of shock and confusion in his eyes. "You are focused more on this belt than you are on me because you know I have made up my own mind. I stand beside The Undertaker and serve him in any manner that he wishes, and if you try to take away that which is rightfully his-"

With stunning speed, accuracy, and strength, she delivered a stinging slap to the face her father, and the crowd reacting with a surge of cries. But it that didn't stop Jaina from finishing the rest of her speech. "If you try to take from him that which he owns, it won't be him that rains down the fires of hell on you, it will be me." With that, she stepped back, a sadistic grin on her face, and handed the microphone off to Vince McMahon.

"You know Austin, ever since my wife made you the new CEO of this company, you have been sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. You've made matches with championship implications, you've tried to destroy me physically and mentally..." he glanced at his son, "you've even tried to corrupt the mind of my son, Shane. But all that is gonna end this Sunday, Stone Cold, because when you compete against The Undertaker for the WWF championship, you will also be fighting to save your status here in the WWF. Your match is no longer just a fight for the title, but it is also a Pink Slip on a Pole match." Vince paused for a moment to let the boo's die down from the fans. "No, you won't lose your job if you lose the match, but you will lose your title of CEO, as well as any chance of a title shot ever again."

Austin shook his head in disbelief, still stunned from the slap he'd received from his own daughter. For the moment though, Vince was done with Austin as he turned his attention to Shane. "I seem to recall you saying that you have a little idea, a bit of a proposal for me, and I've got to tell you, I'm dying to hear what you have to say. Let's see if your idea's measure up this time, Shane, let's see if you can actually step up to the plate and follow through."

"Oh, I can follow through, Vinnie-mac, there is no doubt about that, the question is whether or not you have the...what's that phrase you like to use so much, oh yes, the testicular fortitude, to agree to this match that I have planned." Shane grinned as he watched the eyebrows of his father raise on his head. "Oh yea, you see, Jaina, you can say all you want that you're not under a spell, you can preach to heaven that you are willfully with the Undertaker and that you want to serve him, but I know better. And the reason I know better is because I saw it in your eyes last week, just before you hit me. I saw the hesitation, the confusion, even the pain that flashed through your eyes. It wasn't even a second long, but it was there."

Jaina shook her head, staring Shane down. "What do I have to do to make you realize that I want to be with him?!" she yelled, the mic catching some of her words.

"You don't have to do anything, Jaina. You don't have to do anything because I know it's not really you, and that's how I came up with this match. Dad," Shane stepped up to his father, "since it was you who made the match where Jaina and I fought each other to see which one of us would serve the Ministry, I think it's only fitting that I make a match between you and me."

"A match...between you and me, you want to fight me, Shane? You really think you can beat me?" Vince laughed. "Okay, let's hear the stipulation, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll agree to it."

"Oh, what's the matter, Vince?" Shane poked his father in the shoulder, taunting him. "It's not like you to want to hear what's on the line before you accept a match. Are you afraid I'll beat you? Is that it? Where are those grape fruits at Vince, huh?" Shane was all but touching noses with his father by this point, pushing Vince into a position that he didn't want to be in. But sure enough, to prove his metal, Vince shoved back, growling into the microphone. "Alright! You've got your match! Now, what do you want?"

"What I want," Shane glared at his father, then slowly looked over towards Jaina, who inched closer to her 'husband'. "What I want, is Jaina's freedom, and this is how it's gonna go down Vinnie-mac, it's real simple. I win, she goes free. I lose..." he swallowed, knowing that he had to force the next words out of his mouth, "I lose, you get what you wanted all along. You get me. I do whatever you want, I work for you, I do whatever you tell me to do."

"No!" Jaina stamped her foot down, glaring at The Undertaker and Vince. "No, no, no!" This outburst prompted The Undertaker to the mic from Vince. "Relax, my dear. No one will be taking you. As you said, you're here of your own free will. I've done nothing to keep you here, in fact, if you wanted, you could leave right now, and I wouldn't stop you."

"I don't want to leave you!" Jaina shook her head, wrapping her arms around the waste of the Phenom. "I want to stay right here, right where I belong, by your side!"

"Well, she might be saying that now," Shane nodded his head, glaring at Vince, "but you know and I know, that when I beat you this Sunday at King of the Ring, she's going to be singing a different tune, because when I beat you, Vince, any spell, any mystical control that the Undertaker has over her will immediately and without fail dissipate. And I can only hope that when she's freed from him, she returns to the Jaina Austin that I...that I came to know, and respect." Shane hoped that he had covered his slight falter from his father, but Vince was the ultimate business man, he knew when something was being kept from him or hidden from him, and he took the mic back from The Undertaker.

"You know, I had a feeling that there was more behind your little stipulation than met the eye, in fact, I know not only myself, but a lot of people in the back, in the locker room, have been having questions about the nature of your relationship with Jaina Austin. And just...just let me say this; if it will punish you for turning on me, for not being there for your father, it will eat you alive to know that this woman is with The Undertaker because she doesn't want to be with you...then I will be all to happy to agree to your stipulations, beat you at King of the Ring, and watch you have to align yourself with me and at the same time, live with the fact that you can't have the woman you want. That will be just fine with me!"

With that, the Corporate Ministry's theme hit, and both Shane and Steve Austin watched one more time, as Jaina, with a curt nod and twisted smile to both of them, followed obediently behind The Undertaker and Vince McMahon.

"So, I guess I'm gonna take care of The Undertaker, and you're gonna take care of your old man, it don't matter to ole Stone Cold how it goes down, but you can mark my words on this Shane. I don't care what happens, I don't give a damn how your match goes, how my match goes, but at King of the Ring, my daughter comes back home." Shane nodded in understanding, glancing between Steve and the ramp as he saw the last bit of Jaina walk behind the curtain. "If you can do that, then maybe, just maybe you can gain an ounce of respect from Stone Cold Steve Austin, but I swear on my daughters life, if this is you and your old man tryin' to screw me over, I will personally rip you a new asshole, and that's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so!"