Chapter 21: Blood Feud

He almost had the Viper. He also had that pest of a garden snake out of his hair for good. He could have moved on to the next thorn in his side in the Authority in Seth Rollins, but tonight just wasn't going to be that night unfortunately. Roman laid on the ground, back burning and pain forcing him to cringe in agony.

Tonight was the SummerSlam rematch with Randy Orton, and Roman Reigns was going to show the Viper that his victory over him at SummerSlam wasn't just any sort of fluke victory; the powerhouse was the real freakin' deal. Things were going his way at first as well. He had Orton on the ropes after hitting an explosive Superman Punch, but naturally the Viper's cohorts Kane and Seth Rollins came rushing out with what looked like a bunch of the equipment crew.

They immediately began setting up spikes on the outside of the ring, and that's when reality finally hit Roman: they were going to try and trap him in a cage with them and give him a punishment that he would never forget. Well, two could play that game. Channeling his inner strength, Roman delivered a stiff uppercut to Kane as well as Seth as they rolled out of the ring. Randy tried to slither out the ring, but Roman grabbed his leg and tossed him into the corner, shaking his finger at the former WWE champion.

Seth tried to sneak back inside with a steel chair, but with the steel cage closing in fast with spikes for some odd reason, the Architect hustled the hell out of dodge, unfortunately leaving the steel chair in the ring with Roman and Randy, not his intention at all. Roman picked up the chair and pointed it towards Randy, who's eyes grew wide into fear realizing the powerhouse's intentions.

Roman went in, swinging like a maniac, as the steel chair hit every single portion of Orton's body with Roman relishing in the Viper's screams of pain. "How's that feel golden boy huh?" Reigns taunted, tossing the steel chair aside and throwing Randy into all the cage walls. Blood began to trickle down under the Viper's chin, as the relentless Roman continued his assault. Howling with the crowd, Roman unearthed a nasty Spear that put Randy on his back for good.

Seeing Kane trying to break open the steel cage door, Roman hit a leaping Dropkick that sent Kane spiraling back into the barricade. Unfortunately for the Samoan Thor, he momentarily forgot about the airborne antics of Seth Rollins, and Seth made him pay with a diving cross body from the very top of the cage.

Randy recovered enough to see the downed Roman and as Kane made his way back into the cage, he went back into a full blown Viper mode once more. "He's mine!" Randy shouted, grabbing the steel chair in the corner, and driving it straight into the chest of the powerhouse. "You thought you could beat me huh? Well I guess today just isn't your day!" Randy said, taking multiple shots to the back of Roman with the steel chair.

"My turn Randy," Kane butted in, interrupting Randy's assault to take his own shot at the downed powerhouse. Kane grasped the throat of Roman and lifted him up high into the air, bringing him back down to the mat with impact, courtesy of his deadly Chokeslam. Seth, who had recovered from the dangerous leap he took from the top of the cage, stared down Roman. "Stand back boys, I'm gonna finish this one off myself," Seth warned.

Dragging Roman by his hair, Seth screamed. "I made you Roman Reigns! I made you and now I'm going to destroy you!" Running against the ropes for momentum, Seth hit his finisher the Curb Stomp, driving Roman's face into the steel chair and leaving him out cold. The Authority posed over the prone body of the Samoan to end the show, pissing the fans off as they all began to file for the exits.

Moments later, Roman made his way backstage, head aching in extreme pain. He couldn't tell whether he had a concussion or not, but he knew one thing was for certain: he was going to ri Seth Rollins' hair out and knock the Viper's head off. Believe that. Grabbing an ice pack, he held it up to his head just as the Crazy Chick AJ Lee came skipping up to greet him.

"Aww my poor baby, he got beat up," she said, making a face as she kissed the top of his head. "Are you alright? Hellacious beating you took out there," she commented, handing him another ice pack from the bucket. Roman shrugged it off. "Bumps and bruises, we all take'em. I'll be fine by the morning, promise," he assured the Jersey native. "Thanks for caring."

AJ closed her eyes and nodded, a grin shining across her face. "Oh that reminds me, last week on RAW, as soon as you left, my sweet crumpet Paige and the deputy of craziness around here Alicia Fox assaulted me in the locker room," AJ said, none too pleased at reliving that memory. "So you got your ass kicked. Wonderful," Roman chuckled, and AJ punched the ice pack out his hand. "What?"

"Do you want to relive your ass kicking from this evening?" AJ questioned, and Roman shook his head. "Thought so. Anyway, I thought I was doomed until your side chick Sasha Banks randomly showed up and saved me from doom," AJ said, crossing her legs as she smirked at the juggernaut's look on his face.

"She's not my side chick. We just had a falling out, that's all. And, that was quite random as hell, but I'm glad you're safe...so does that make you and Paige friends with benefits? I'm bi-curious," Roman joked, and AJ leveled him with a Shining Wizard. "That's not funny!" she said, skipping away with a smile on her face as Roman held his head in pain.

Ugh, women.

Making sure that nobody he knew was around, John Cena entered the side door of the Ryker's Island Maximum Security Prison, dressed in his black Rise Above Hate shirt as well as a black hat, jorts, and Reeboks. Nodding to some of the guards that automatically allowed him to pass by, one could tell that this wasn't just any kind of visit. If John Cena was visiting a maximum security prison, something urgent had to be going on.

As John passed through the security scanning, he made his way into the back chambers room where an unlucky guest awaited him. "How has he been acting today?" John asked the guard, who shrugged his shoulders. "Pissy, moany, grumpy, and regularly shouting insults at us all day long. Nothing I can't handle since I'm getting paid good money to do this for you Cena," the guard said.

John nodded his head in affirmation. "Don't worry pal, it's all gonna be worth it in the end." The guard nodded his head, and allowed the Cenation Leader into the cell, where the most famous prisoner in the world sat. Phil Brooks, aka CM Punk.

"John boy, so nice of you to finally make it," Punk sarcastically greeted his guest. "Did you finally work up the nerve to come and see me?" John chuckled at the sarcasm of one of his greatest rivals. "You always were a riot Punk. Too bad that rioting act has landed your ass here," John quipped.

"Yeah yeah, and while my rioting ass is in here rotting, your ass is getting measured for a tattoo of Brock Lesnar's name after he kicked it about 20 times," Punk quipped back. "I can do this all day Cena," Punk said, leaning back in his chair, and fiddling with his fingers. "Yeah Punk, and so do I, but we both know that I don't have that kind of time, especially with your trial coming up in just a few short weeks," John said, setting down his bag.

"Alright Cena, so what's the progress? They still trying to probe that Sasha girl for information?" Punk said, peeling a banana open and taking a bite out of it. John sighed, as he studied his notes. "Yeah, and unfortunately for them, Sasha seems to be having a case of retrogade amnesia, and barely remembers a thing."

"Damn it," Punk said, kicking the bottom of the table. "Any luck trying to probe her mind on your own accord?" John shook his head once more. "Nope, and unfortunately the Authority are trying to spook her at every turn. From Randy playing sick games with her to Seth trying to get in her head with their old relationship, they've been trying everything. Hell, I heard Joey Mercury went cold on us-" Punk slammed his hands on the table, prompting John to stop. "My bad Phil," he said.

"No no John it's not your fault. I just...I mean I trusted that guy, y'know? I literally saved him from being homeless and now he stabs me in the back just to kiss Triple H's ass," Punk said, doing his best to resist blowing his top. After all, this had to be as low profile as possible. "Yeah I hear you Punk. Yet here we are, friendly rivals meeting convertly in the underground of a maximum security prison. Don't worry though, I got an inside...'coffee man' getting us some extra details that we'll need," John said, tightening his cap.

"Yeah cool...John, let me ask you something. How's AJ?" Punk inquired, staring John straight into his calm blue eyes. Punk knew John was an honest man, and he was curious to see how his separated wife was doing while he was...apart.

"Hard to say Punk. Some days are better than others for her. One day she's palling around with Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, and the next day she's breaking down crying, saying that she needs you. It's a mixed bag for sure," John said. That was about as honest as the Cenation Leader could put it.

Punk scratched his beard, soaking in every word John told him. The time away from AJ had allowed him to think, and during that thinking, he finally figured it out. Perhaps he and AJ did rush into things, but there was no doubt in his mind that he still loved the Black Widow. "Alright Punk," John said, interrupting the Second City Saint's thoughts, "our inside man should have more inside info for us by tomorrow night at the latest, but in the meantime, I'm gonna go ahead and arrange our next meeting for next Friday, two nights before Night of Champions, alright?" John asked, with Punk obliging and nodding his head.

As John stood up ready to leave, Punk stood up as well, placing a hand on his longtime rival's shoulder. "John wait, I have a request to make to you. And promise me you won't break this promise. Swear to me Cena," Punk said, in a bold and cold way. "I'm a man of my word no matter what Punk. I swear to you, I'll live up to my end of your request. What is it?" Cena asked.

"If anything, SHOULD anything ever happen to me, I need you to take care of and look after AJ for me. Not Dolph Ziggler, not Dean Ambrose, not even Roman Reigns. Just you Cena," Punk said, making his request as he pulled a hood over his head. "And out of respect, I ask that you don't ask me why. This is just a request that I'm making," Punk said.

John Cena studied his counterpart, carefully. "Alright Punk, you got it."

John left the chambers and walked past all of the guards back to the side entrance of the prison. Thanking the guards, John got into his boat that he rented to head back to the mainland. Hopefully, if John's 'inside man' could get the info that he so desperately needed, they could turn the tide of battle against the Authority and free Punk to clear his name. Easier said than done.

Why? Because greeting him at the mainland entrance was the unwelcoming sight of Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods, all dressed in very expensive suits. And they too, looked like they had sold out, or in Seth's words, bought in. John prepped himself for the fight of a lifetime.

Then, on second thought, rather than engage the trio in battle, John quickly did a 180 spin with the boat, heading off in another direction before Big E and company could do anything to go after him. A hand was placed on Xavier's shoulder before they could move. "Don't worry boys, at least we now know my wonderful boyfriend is up to no good. I can't wait to find out what he's been up to," came the sultry voice of one Nikki Bella.

September 12, 2014 SmackDown 7:50pm

Roman Reigns walked into the locker room, completely dressed and ready for combat. To his surprise, Sasha Banks was there, talking discreetly to Chris Jericho. Something about her presence was off to Roman this time. Sure, they hadn't seen each other in quite a few weeks, but there was an aura she was giving off that felt completely different. Her hair was much darker, her makeup stood out much more than it originally did, and the look she gave the powerhouse was something he hadn't seen before.

He sighed, knowing he should greet her at the very least. "Hey Sasha," he said, and Sasha nodded at him. "Hi," Sasha said, trying to walk out of the locker room, but Roman gently placed a hand on her arm. "Hey wait, where are you going? I need to talk to you," Roman continued, but Sasha slapped his arm off. "Leave me alone," she said, before shuffling out of the locker room while Jericho looked on.

"What was that about?" Roman asked, looking to the Canadian's direction. Jericho shook his head and sighed. Sasha made him promise not to say anything, but Chris didn't like living with guilt one bit. This was just a promise that Y2J was gonna have to break.

"You probably haven't heard about it yet Roman because the Authority has kept it under wraps, but some crazy shit went down yesterday at the international WWE Network launch party," Jericho said, fixing up his jacket for their tag match later in the evening. "How crazy we talking?" Roman asked.

"Zombie apocalypse crazy," Y2J exaggerated. "As in, guns were involved," Jericho said. "You didn't hear it from me, but let's just say Sasha will probably be traumatized by being held at gunpoint," the Canadian said. Roman had to close his eyes for just a few short moments, because he knew the rage inside of him was about to be unleashed.

"Who did this shit to her?!" Roman roared, tearing an entire locker door off of its hinges and throwing it through a window. "Tell me right now Jericho!" Roman said, grabbing Jericho and lifting him by his throat. "Whoa whoa take it easy junior! It was that two-toned jackass you used to call a brother!" Y2J gasped, being let down so he could catch his breath. "Don't kill me, kill him in our tag match tonight eh?"

"Oh I'm gonna do much more than kill his ass. I'm going to blatantly murder his ass," Roman spat, walking out the door with Jericho in tow.

Tonight, somebody was going to bite the bullet once and for all.

Roman Reigns and Chris Jericho vs Seth Rollins and Randy Orton

Roman tried to keep his rage bottled up as he stared down Seth with deathly glances as Seth mocked him from across the ring. The Architect knew that he had finally gotten into the head of his former partner. He knew what made Roman tick, and now he was finally going to destroy the last remaining remnant of the Shield. Goodbye Dean, and it was now going to be goodbye Roman.

Roman finally got the hot tag from Jericho and flew into the ring with an unstoppable rage, dropping Randy with a huge dropkick to the face of the Viper, as well as delivering massive uppercuts to Seth Rollins. The high flyer kept getting up too quickly and Roman trounced him with an impactful Samoan Drop. Jericho knew that Roman was going to continually focus on his rival Seth, so tagging himself in, the Man of 1,004 Holds took on Orton while Seth brawled with Roman into the crowd.

While Jericho did eventually beat Orton with the rollup pin of doom, that wasn't the main story. Seth and Roman brawled into the production area of the crowd, but Seth placed a well-timed thumb to the eye, and quickly got the hell out of there and headed backstage. Normally, Roman would let him live to fight another day.

Not tonight.

Roman ran after Seth in full force like an unstoppable juggernaut backstage. Seth leaped over chairs and tables trying to evade his pursuer, but Roman ran right through his obstacles en route to Seth. He reached the parking lot, hot on the Architect's trail. Pausing for a moment's notice, Roman looked around before finally spotting Seth climbing the ladder to one of the taller production trucks. Like a cat climbing a tree, Seth was quick to leap up the ladder to the top of the truck. But Roman, hungry and aggressive like a hound, wouldn't stop until he captured his prey.

Roman reached the top of the production truck, but Seth was already running off the edge of the truck and hopping over to the next production truck. "Catch me if you can Roman! We both know you won't!" Seth shouted from the other side of the truck. Roman grinned, leaping over the truck to the next one, shocking Seth completely. Seth quickly advanced to the next production truck, showing off exactly how much his Crossfit training had paid off.

"You severely underestimate my ability Seth," Roman growled. Rather than jump to the next production truck, Roman used the lights in the parking lot to swing to the production truck that Seth was currently on. "Surprise mothafucka," Roman said, without a trace of a smile on his face.

"Damn you Reigns! Why can't you just lie down in a grave and die!" Seth screamed, climbing a ladder to the outside of the building to climb to the very top, Roman in very hot pursuit. "It ends here Seth. Right here, right now. Tonight you're gonna pay for all your sins," Roman growled as the rain continued to pour. Seth slipped and fell down, trying to maintain his balance. "Buy in Roman! Just buy in! Think about what you're about to do!" Seth yelled, trying to regain his balance, only to be met with Roman's Superman Punch.

Thanks to Seth's unnecessary superb selling, he went rolling halfway across the building, sliding off the edge, and barely hanging onto the edge. "Tonight's the night Seth. I'm gonna wipe your scum off the face of the earth. This is for Dean Ambrose. This is for Sasha Banks. This is for the Shield," Roman growled, as Seth made his way back onto the top of the wet building.

"No Roman don't! You're making a big mistake! Think about what you're doing here! I'm supposed to destroy you!" Seth screamed. "I CREATED YOU DAMN IT!"

Roman paid him no mind, howling loudly to the moon, and running towards Seth, intent on delivering a murderous Spear to his tormentor, no matter what damage was going to be done to him. And just as justice was about to be served, two electrical surges emerged from out of nowhere, blindsiding Roman and stunning him right in his path. Seth quickly barrel rolled to the left, as a very pale and skinny woman emerged from the murky rain water.

Paige.

"Have a nice fall," the Anti-Diva said, blowing a kiss to the Samoan Thor as Seth hit a Curb Stomp on Roman, sending the powerhouse falling into the murky depths of water below.

Well, there's chapter 21 for you everybody! I hope you all enjoyed. More to come as well so stay tuned! And don't forget to leave a review and read these other stories in the Deadly Sins series as well:

Envy by MellyxBrooks

Temptation by xeloquentangelx

Revenge by PikaSixJoy

Insanity by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl