Something unexpected was taking place. All of the Smackdown roster had been summoned to Raw, and everyone had been told to assemble in a large conference room, where they were to be addressed by Vince McMahon.

"What's this about?" Zelina asked Seth as they slowly walked towards the conference room among the large pack of other superstars. As if he had a chance of knowing any more than she did, which was nothing.

"No idea," he replied with a shrug. "Big changes for 'Mania?" he ventured.

"Surely they wouldn't need Smackdown guys here for that. They could tell them tomorrow night. Maybe it's a draft?" she added, eyes widening.

Karl Anderson happened to walking behind them. "That's what people are saying," he joined in.

"They are?" Seth asked, half turning to look back at him.

"Yep. No one knows for sure, but what else makes sense?"

He had a point, Zelina thought. Getting everyone together before a random Raw episode was decidedly odd. She could think of no other reason that might fit the bill.

The surprise had certainly taken her mind off the fact that it was her first night working with Seth since they had embarked on... whatever it was that was happening between them. A secret, that was one thing it definitely was; they had agreed on that. At work, they were colleagues and nothing more. But when they got to the hotel at night, it would be a different story. Just so long as they were careful not to get busted by someone.

"If it is a draft, they'd better not split us up," Seth said to her.

That possibility hadn't even occurred to her. Surely that wouldn't happen. They were only just getting started together. That statement applied in more than one sense now, she thought, suppressing a smile. "They'd better not," she replied. "We're only a couple of weeks in."

"I'm sure they won't, but is possible," he said cautiously.

It would be a real kick in the gut if they did, she thought as they filed into the conference room. Their budding relationship would surely die along with their kayfabe pairing if they were put on separate rosters.

Vince McMahon was standing at the far end of the room behind a lectern. Hunter and Stephanie Helmsley were there beside him, as was Shane McMahon. Full house, Zelina thought.

"Okay, move forward," Vince instructed loudly. "There are more people coming in. Make room."

Zelina found herself being shepherded over to the right side of the room. Being short was such a pain in the ass sometimes. She ended up behind a bunch of guys, and couldn't see Vince at all. She would have to make do with listening.

"Okay, everybody here?" Vince called out a couple of minutes later.

"Looks like it," Someone called back from near the door. It sounded like Baron Corbin. There was still some general chatter going on while people waited for the meeting to begin.

"Good. Okay, let's have some quiet," Vince ordered loudly. He quickly got what he wanted.

Zelina looked up at Seth. Noticing, he looked down and gave her a little shrug. He still had no clue either as to what was going on.

Now able to speak at a more normal volume, Vince got down to business. "Needless to say, you all want to know why you've been brought in here. The reason is this: I have decided that it's time to shake things up. As you obviously know, we're just a matter of weeks away from Wrestlemania. On the Smackdown following Wrestlemania, we will be holding the 2018 WWE draft."

Murmurs of conversation started around the room as people reacted to the news. Zelina looked up at Seth and saw him raise his eyebrows. "You called it," he said.

"Alright, quiet!" It was Hunter's voice this time. "We can all have a chat afterwards, but for now let's just listen."

Silence descended again.

"Now," Vince said. "At previous drafts, as some of you will remember, we've announced who is going where on the day of the draft. This time, we've got it all planned out ahead of time. The plans are agreed and finalised, so we are able to tell you now which roster you will be on starting the Tuesday after Wrestlemania. Any questions so far?"

"Can I be on the opposite show to Sami?" Kevin Owens called out. The room erupted into laughter. The two men were close off-screen, but the amount of times they had worked together as friends, then enemies, then friends again, and enemies again in the past few weeks, was bordering on the ridiculous.

Zelina chuckled, looking up at Seth, who was laughing heartily. He looked great when he laughed. Stop it, she told herself. This wasn't the time or place.

"Yes, you're on opposite rosters," Vince confirmed. Ironic cheers came from multiple people in room, but it quickly settled down so that the boss could go on.

"Shaking things up isn't the only reason we're having this draft. I'm sick and tired of hearing Smackdown referred to as the B show. There is no B show. For that reason, we're putting Smackdown on an equal footing; changing it to a three hour show. And we're going to make sure the rosters are more fairly balanced."

Zelina looked up at Seth again to gauge his opinion. He rolled his eyes at the three hour announcement. She agreed. Surely making Raw two hours would have been better? Still, it wasn't her company to run.

"I'm also going to be trading the Commissioners," Vince announced. "So Shane will now be on Raw, with Stephanie on Smackdown. The current General Managers will remain in their current positions."

"Wow!" Zelina mouthed to Seth, her eyes wide in surprise. Stephanie and Daniel Bryan working together? That would damn sure be an interesting storyline. And Shane working with Kurt? Those gentlemen had gone to war in the past as well.

"Holy shit," Seth mouthed back to her.

"I have a list here of who is going to be on which roster," Vince was saying. "It's in alphabetical order by surname or character name where appropriate, so listen out for your name."

Zelina knew that meant she was probably last of all, unless she was listed with Seth as his manager. She decided that while Vince read down the list, she would make sure to listen out for the people she and Seth had been working with, his friends, and other notable names.

"Before I start with the list, there are three people not here tonight: Cena, Lesnar, and Rousey, all listed for Raw."

No surprise there, Zelina thought. Now the list itself began to be read out.

"Ambrose: Raw," was one of the first.

"Balor: Smackdown."

There went their current rivalry.

"Banks: Smackdown."

"Bayley: Smackdown."

Oh, shoot, Zelina thought. Huge changes, and one of Seth's friends gone.

More names went by, some changing shows, some not.

"Deville," was the next notable name for Zelina. "Smackdown."

Fuck, there goes my closest thing to a friend, she thought.

"Flair: Raw."

Damn, the Smackdown champ was going. Alexa Bliss had also been called for Raw. Presumably there would be at least one women's title change at Wrestlemania.

Vince proceeded through the middle of the alphabet without much of interest to Zelina.

"Reigns: Raw."

Both of Seth's best friends were on the red brand, while Sonya was off to Tuesday nights. Zelina knew that either she or Seth were going to come out of this disappointed, even assuming they stayed together. Rollins had be coming up, too.

"Rollins and Vega: Smackdown."

Zelina felt relief that they had been announced as a team, but she saw Seth lean his head back in disappointment. He would be leaving Roman and Dean behind. She really felt for him in that moment, and wanted to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. But she couldn't risk doing that.

"Roode: Smackdown," Vince went on.

"Samoa Joe: Smackdown."

They were certainly throwing some big names at the 'B show' problem, Zelina thought.

"Tamina Snuka: Raw."

"Styles: Smackdown."

Rollins and Styles on the same show. That was fire, she thought.

Shortly, Vince was coming to end of the list.

"Zayn: Raw." Owens had been called for Smackdown.

"Ziggler: Raw. Okay, that's it," Vince announced. "Anyone who didn't hear their name called out?"

No response came. By her count, Zelina had the major changes as Banks, Bayley, and Deville going to Smackdown, with Flair, Naomi, and Tamina going to Raw for the women. For the men, she had Balor, Joe, and Seth heading to Smackdown, with Corbin, Zayn and Ziggler joining Raw. Smackdown had the best of that, in her opinion.

"Good," was the verdict. "I will open the show tonight to announce the change of Smackdown to three hours, and the draft. I'll provide the audience with details of when it will happen, what the rules will be, and the fact that I'll be switching the Commissioners around. For those moving to a new brand, you will be informed as to the creative plans relating to your debuts closer to the time. Everything clear?"

Rumblings of agreement came from the room. Whether they liked their new assignments was not up for discussion. Zelina looked up at Seth, trying to make eye contact, but he was looking towards the lectern.

"There is some other business to take care of tonight in relation to this matter," Vince announced. "Before we get into that, I need a path clearing to the door. Some of you will be leaving the room in groups momentarily."

People shuffled around to make that happen. Seth looked down at Zelina, and she gave him a quizzical look, as if to say, "What groups?"

"Hunter, why don't you start us off?" Vince suggested.

"Sure," Hunter agreed, then raised his voice to be more clearly heard. "I need the following people to come with me: Bayley; Joe; Roode; Rollins; Vega."

Zelina was shocked to have heard her name called, and Seth's. Was this good or bad? Either way, she couldn't stand there questioning it. Seth was excusing their way through to the walkway that had been created to the door.

As she stepped out of the crowd, Zelina saw Hunter standing there waiting. The others must have already left ahead of them. "Let's go, guys," he said, gesturing to the door. At least he had smiled. That put her at ease a little bit.

There was no opportunity for Zelina to talk to Seth, so she just followed him out of the room. Sure enough, Bayley, Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe were all standing in the hallway.

"Just go in the office across the way, please," Hunter said, pointing to a closed door.

Zelina filed in last of the people who didn't have a clue what was happening, with Hunter behind her. Joe had turned the lights on, and was first to speak as they all took up standing positions, facing the boss. "What's going on, H?"

Hunter wasted no time in starting his answer. "The five of you are now all Smackdown superstars, or will be after the draft, I should say. You're also going to be a stable."

Woah, Zelina thought, trying not to let her excitement show too much. These were some huge names to put together, apart from her own. They were also a mix of heels and babyfaces, so some turns were on the cards.

They all looked around at each other, eyeing up their new teammates for the first time. Everyone looked surprised, but no one appeared unhappy with the idea.

"Are we heel or face?" Bayley asked. "Currently, you have both here."

"You're a heel stable, called The Vega Cartel."

Zelina could have been knocked over with a feather in that moment. The Vega Cartel? What the shit? They were giving her all of these awesome talents to be 'in charge' of? Everyone was looking at her now, which didn't help at all.

"Don't look worried," Hunter told her with a reassuring smile. "We have total faith in you to take this on."

I'm glad you do, Zelina thought sarcastically. What about these seasoned veterans who are supposed to act like they're working under some main roster newbie?

"The Vega Cartel, huh?" Joe asked thoughtfully.

Here it goes, she thought. He's going to tell Hunter to stick it up his...

"I like it," Joe said. "I dig what Zelina's got going on. I think she'll do an amazing job."

That was too much. Zelina felt tears coming fast. "Sorry," she mumbled, turning around to hide her face. She covered it with her hands to make sure.

"Hey, it's okay," Seth said comfortingly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Bayley also came over to check on her. "Don't cry. I'm with Joe; you've got this."

"That's why I'm crying," Zelina said into her hands. "I'm being given something so big, and you guys are supporting me. I just..." Words failed her as the tears continued to flow.

"We can give you a minute of you need it?" Hunter asked gently.

No. Don't accept that. Pull yourself together, Zelina told herself. Stop looking like an idiot in front of these guys. She took a very deep breath to get herself under control. "No, I'm okay," she said, turning back around to face Hunter.

"Attagirl," Bobby said kindly.

Zelina knew she would be forever thankful for how they had rallied around her in that moment instead of distancing themselves, which, apart from Seth, they could easily have done.

"So, who wants to hear some more about The Vega Cartel?" Hunter asked brightly, wanting to lift up the atmosphere in the room.

They all said that they did.

"As the name suggests, the faction will be put together by Zelina. The aim will be to take over Smackdown. We've decided we don't want our authority figures to be heels, so we're using this to put a face turn on Steph, and myself if I end up involved in it. She'll be uniting with Daniel Bryan to take on a real enemy to their brand: you guys."

"Yes!" Seth said enthusiastically. "Strong stables aren't something we do enough of. This one is killer."

Bayley, Bobby and Joe all muttered agreement. Zelina was still too stunned by it all to say anything.

"Exact creative details are still in the works, like Vince said just now," Hunter went on. "But I do have a couple of things I can show you if you crowd round and look at my phone."

They quickly obliged him and he pulled up his picture gallery. It opened on a picture of his three daughters. "Oops, not that," he said with a smile. "Good job it wasn't nudes of Steph, huh?"

Zelina noticed Bobby and Joe look at each other with childish expressions. Neither of them actually had the balls to tell Hunter to show them if he had them, though.

"Here we go," Hunter said, now having loaded up the correct gallery. There were only two pictures in it. He opened the first one.

Zelina saw a black background with the word Vega in very fancy, elaborate gold lettering. It looked amazing.

"That's the logo for your team; our starting point for branding this thing. What do you think?"

"Sick," Bobby said.

"Second that," Bayley nodded.

"It's awesome," Seth added.

Joe just nodded, but Zelina saw on his face that he did approve.

"Then there's this," Hunter said, loading up the other picture.

"Oh my. Is that...?" Zelina asked, feeling her head spinning again.

"That's fucking sick," Bobby said. "Oh, excuse me," he quickly said to the ladies.

"He's right," Seth said.

The picture they were looking at showed what was obviously a ridiculously expensive tour bus. It was coloured all metallic black, with the gold Vega brand on the side near the door at the front.

"Please tell me we actually get to travel in that?" Bayley asked.

"Undecided as yet, but I'm pushing for you to have it," Hunter said. "We'll see."

"You're shitting us now," Seth accused.

Hunter shrugged. "I don't see the point in us buying it to have it driven round empty to the shows. But like I said, that's still being discussed. One thing is for sure: if you do get to use it, you trash it, you pay for it."

Everyone laughed, although they knew he meant it.

"Okay, that's about all I've got for now," Hunter said, putting his phone away. "I'll take questions if you have them?"

"Just to be clear," Bayley said. "Zelina is going to put us together to attempt to take over the show on Smackdown. Look at the people we have here. It's hardly likely we would fail."

"Nobody said you would fail," Hunter pointed out. "But I can't go into creative as it's still in progress."

"Then I don't think there's anything else," Seth said for the group. They nodded agreement.

"Okay, off you go," Hunter said, gesturing to the door.

Zelina was closest to the door, so she led the way. She had better get used to that, she thought. This was all so far beyond wild. The Vega Cartel. It was unreal.

Outside in the hallway, she guessed Seth could tell she was still overwhelmed by what they had been told. Luckily, he could help her while looking like a friend, not something more. "We'll catch you up," he said to the rest of their new team.

Zelina stopped walking and leaned her back against the wall.

"You okay?" Seth asked.

"Just need a minute," she said, feeling close to tearing up again.

"Hey, come on," he said soothingly, wishing he could do more to care for her in the moment, but they could still hear Vince talking in the conference room, and Hunter was likely to come out of the office at any moment.

"They're just giving me so much," she babbled. "I feel like I haven't earned it."

"Zelina, you have amazing talent. Anyone can see that. Your promos are fire, and you play your part so well. Plus you have such a positive attitude backstage. Hunter notices all of those things. This is him pushing you because he knows you can do it. And yes, he does think you deserve it."

They had maintained eye contact the whole time, and Zelina drew strength from him. She wanted to believe what he said. It would just take a while to hit home. Luckily, they had a few weeks before everything that had been discussed would actually start taking place.

Before she could reply to Seth, the office door opened and Hunter walked out, heading back to the conference room. Noticing them nearby, he stopped. "Everything okay?"

Zelina managed a genuine smile. "Yeah. Thank you, Hunter, for this and everything else."

He nodded once. "Grab the ball, remember."

"And run with it," she finished sincerely.

Seth looked slightly amused by that, but he smiled once Hunter was gone "See, just what I was saying."

They started walking in the direction their new teammates had gone. "Thanks, Seth, for having my back. I'm sorry I lost it in there. I won't do that that again."

"That's why I'm here, muñeca," he said.

She could tell he was hoping that wasn't too much for the early stage they were at. It definitely wasn't as far as she was concerned. "Thank you," she said, giving him what she hoped was one of her best smiles. "And I'm here for you, too. I'm really sorry they split you from Roman and Dean. That must hurt."

"Yeah, it does. But I'm a big boy. I can handle it."

It was more than obvious that he was putting a brave face on it, but she wasn't going to push him if that was what he wanted to do. "Just know that I'm here if it gets hard."

Seth smiled appreciatively back at her, and she wanted to take his hand again. This secrecy stuff was going to be a damned nightmare. But it was totally necessary.

"We'll be starting this angle before we know it," Seth said to drag them both out of the moment. "And we'll even have our own tour bus."

"You really think Hunter will swing that for us?"

"I do, actually. Like he said, what's the point in them buying it, painting it in that awesome scheme, then also paying to have it driven to the shows empty when they can give it to us and make us cover the running costs?"

Zelina had to agree with the logic there. "You might be right. But we've got, what, five Raw episodes until 'Mania including tonight?"

"Sounds about right. And we don't even know what we're doing tonight yet."

A/N: I'd love to get your thoughts on the new idea they've been given. Personally, I'd love it if that stable could really be a thing.

Just a heads up to say that I won't be including chapters for every Raw or Smackdown episode. It would take too long to advance the story if I did that. But I can promise at least a couple between each pay-per-view. Some of the episode chapters will be relatively short, too, because as we know, sometimes a particular storyline isn't touched on much in an episode.

Shout out as always to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter.