Chapter 27:
Royal Rumble
Wrapping her wrists in black tape, Jory studied her reflection in the full-length mirror at the back of the women's locker room. Her shirt was black, with Catwoman on the front with the purple Hell Here font. It was cut deep on the chest, enough to show off her assets, the neck almost halter style. The shirt was also cut and tied at the bottom to bare her midriff. Black vinyl shorts with fishnet stockings, knee-pads and boots completed her look. Her hair was done in a French braid that fell down her back. When she finished wrapping her hand, she jumped from foot to foot, shaking out her arms, trying to get herself into the zone. The scar on her arm was still quite red, but it wasn't going to be a factor in the fight.
It was no secret that Stephanie was livid about the street fight, but everyone knew it was going to be put up or shut up time for Alexa. Stephanie wasn't going to get personally involved in the fight; she was going to stand back and watch what Alexa could do. Alexa needed to prove that Hunter and Stephanie made the right decision when it came to backing her over Jory. It wasn't something that Jory thought Alexa could prove.
The door to the locker room opened. Jory turned to see Nia walk in. She turned back to the mirror, taking in the smoky eye-shadow and nude gloss. Garage glamorous was the first words she could think of, a line from "Paparazzi". She thought it was the only way to describe how she looked. "Hey," Nia greeted. Jory turned again. Nia could see that Jory was in the zone already. Jory nodded.
"Hey."
"You are looking hot tonight," Nia observed, inspecting every detail of Jory's outfit. "Have you seen Seth yet?"
Jory shook her head. "He's not here tonight." Nia shot her a confused look.
"What do you mean he's not here?"
"He's been banned from the arena. Thanks to his little stunt at TakeOver last night, Stephanie and Hunter hired extra security to patrol the perimeter so he can't get in here. This place is wound up tighter than a stopwatch." Jory quit jumping from foot to foot and sighed, her shoulders slouching.
"How's your arm?" Nia asked.
"It's not a factor." She sighed. Jory wasn't about to say it out loud, but she wished Seth was with her to give her a pep talk before she walked through the curtains. "Alexa isn't going to know what hit her."
"If he's not here, you know Seth is going to be watching."
"I'm going to stop listening to you now," Jory said with a roll of her eyes.
"I'm going to keep asking – what's up with the two of you?"
"Nothing's up. We're just...kind of in this together." Nia examined Jory.
"You're into him."
"Can we stay on topic, please? I don't want to hear about this going into a street fight with the woman that did this to my arm. I'd like to stay in the zone." Nia nodded and sighed; Jory had won this round.
"Fine. I'll save the Rollins talk until Raw tomorrow." Jory rolled her eyes. "Good luck out there. Give the little bitch what she's got coming to her."
"That's not going to be a problem." She shook her head. "Tonight, I show The Authority why it was a huge mistake to write me off."
The dub-step entrance music of Alexa Bliss blared through the arena loudspeakers. She came out, dressed in her Nightmare on Elm Street inspired gear. It was obvious she wasn't happy about having to compete in a street fight, but she did her entrance as if nothing was wrong. She got into the ring and began to pace on the canvas, waiting for her opponent.
Jory's techno music blared through the speakers, and she was surprised to hear the crowd ignite at the sound of it. She emerged through the curtain, holding a kendo stick in her hand. Alexa glowered at her in the ring; Jory returned the glare. She walked down the ramp. Alexa slid out of the ring and ran at her, but Jory swung the kendo stick like a baseball bat and took her down to the ramp. Jory hit her over and over again with the kendo stick until it splintered and was rendered useless. The skin on Alexa's exposed back was raised and welted, but Jory paid it no mind as she grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down the ramp.
She slammed Alexa into the ring apron. Her face bounced off the canvas and she crumpled to the floor. Jory found herself almost disappointed; she'd expected Alexa to put up a little bit more of a fight. Grabbing Alexa by the hair once more, she threw her into the ring. While Alexa lay on the canvas with a hand on her face, Jory was underneath the ring, throwing weapons over the top rope. Alexa curled into the fetal position when a garbage can hit her.
Sliding into the ring, Jory stood tall over Alexa, staring down at her fallen attacker with a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You're not so big," Jory taunted, kicking her in the side. Alexa rolled onto her stomach and attempted to crawl towards the corner, but Jory was on her, grabbing her by the hair and lifting her head back, just to slam it to the mat. Jory left Alexa to grab a steel chair.
It was all the time Alexa needed. When Jory returned and attempted to swing the chair, Alexa propped herself up and kicked it out of Jory's hands. The tide was suddenly in Alexa's favor as Jory was taken down to the ground and pummelled, Alexa screaming incoherently the entire time. The referee was on Alexa, admonishing her about the closed fists. Standing, Alexa turned her vitriol onto the referee. "Back off. I know what I'm doing," she told him, holding up her hand in his face. She went back to Jory and kicked her in the ribs. While Jory was trying to catch her breath, Alexa did her Insult to Injury handspring, driving her knees into Jory's midsection, knocking the breath out of her further.
Alexa grabbed Jory by the hair and dragged her to the ropes, positioning her over the bottom. She stood on Jory's back and pulled back the rope as hard as she could, choking Jory in the process. Alexa posed and grinned while the referee urgently counted to five beside her. Alexa released her hold on four and Jory hit the canvas, sputtering and coughing. Alexa strutted around the ring, tossing a strand of hair over her shoulder. After weathering the initial storm, she suddenly felt confident.
Moving to the top rope, Alexa looked to end the fight early. Setting herself for the Twisted Bliss, Alexa launched herself but found nothing. Jory rolled out of the ring, hitting the ground with a thud on the thin mats. Both women lay in their spots, trying to catch their breath. Jory's hand moved underneath the ring apron, looking for some kind of weapon. Rolling onto her side, she slid her other hand under the ring, grabbing something cool and metal. The fire extinguisher is here, she thought to herself.
Alexa grabbed her by the hair to pull Jory back into the ring. Grabbing the first thing she could, knowing the extinguisher wouldn't be feasible at that moment, Jory produced a kendo stick and rammed it up into Alexa's chin. Alexa released Jory and fell backward to the mat. Jory landed on a knee outside the ring. Rushing back into the ring, Jory ran at Alexa, swinging the stick. Alexa crawled backward quickly, putting herself underneath the middle rope. Jory advanced, but the referee stopped her.
"Back up. Don't make me tell you again, Jordana," Chad Patton told her. Throwing her stick down, Jory backed up, hands in the air. She looked at Alexa, taking in the fear in her eyes. You made this bed.
The referee backed away and Jory went towards Alexa. Moving swiftly, Alexa hit Jory with a drop toe hold. Jory put her arms out to brace the fall and smacked herself on the rope. Her injured arm throbbed. Alexa gave her no time to think, as she was on Jory, grabbing her by the back of the head and mashing her face into the canvas. With one last slam, Alexa backed off Jory, moving over to where the kendo stick had fallen. She swung it, setting herself up like a baseball player before bringing it down on Jory's spine.
Jory yelped at the pinching sensation on her spine and the sting of the cane. Alexa was merciless, hitting Jory over and over until she was screaming on the mat. Then she was on Jory, sitting on her back, choking her with the cane. Jory grabbed the rope, but Alexa still held on until the referee counted to four. She backed off Jory, who coughed and sputtered once more on the canvas. She felt Alexa's grip on her ankle, pulling her and rolling her over for the cover.
"One. Two..."
Jory's shoulder shot up and the crowd let out a collective sigh of relief. Alexa was furious. She tried to pin again and received another two count. Then, she was up and arguing with the referee. Jory moved slowly but rolled Alexa up for a count of two. Rolling through, Alexa went for a kick, but Jory caught her ankle.
Raising to her feet, pulling Alexa's leg up higher, Alexa bounced, her arms out, begging Jory to have mercy on her. Instead, Jory kicked her leg out from under her. Turning Alexa onto her back, Jory locked in the Mood Ring.
The crowd cheered. They were waiting to see Alexa tap out. While Jory kept the hold locked, Alexa used her free hand to reach for anything. Grabbing the kendo stick, Alexa swung backward, hitting Jory in the face. After a few swats, Jory released the hold by buckling onto Alexa. Crawling towards the ropes, Alexa grabbed it with her free hand and tried to pull herself to her feet. Both women were exhausted.
Jory propped herself up on her hands, looking up in time to see Alexa running at her, ready to kick her head clean off her shoulders. Jory rolled out of the way in the nick of time, rolling Alexa up. The momentum took her right through and she hit Alexa with the super kick. Alexa fell back to the canvas. Jory buckled to a knee. She knew the kick wasn't going to put Alexa away.
Moving to the edge of the ring, Jory picked up the garbage can. Walking over to Alexa's stirring frame, Jory threw it down on Alexa's back, bringing her back down to the mat. She picked up the garbage can and walked over Alexa, to the other side of the ring, where she set up the garbage can against the corner between the top and middle rope. She grabbed Alexa by the hair and brought her to her feet. Going for an Irish Whip, Alexa reversed. Jory reversed as well, sending Alexa back first into the garbage can. Alexa hit the canvas yelling, her legs moving like she was having a tantrum. Jory took a few steps back and tried to catch her breath.
Then she ran at Alexa. She went for a dropkick, but Alexa rolled out of the ring. Jory felt a sharp bolt of pain up her legs as she hit the ring post feet first. Alexa was on her like a shark smelling blood, grabbing her leg and smashing her against the ring post. Jory screamed in pain as her knee bone bounced off the steel. She tried to scramble back, but Alexa held on as best she could. She slammed Jory's knee into the post again. Jory screamed again. She grabbed the rope further ahead as Alexa tried to pull on her leg. With all the strength she could muster, Jory pushed herself backward, drawing Alexa into the post. Jory tried to crawl towards the middle of the ring. Her knee felt swollen. Turning onto her back, Jory tried to remove her knee pad to alleviate some of the pressure, but Alexa was already back in the ring. She was on Jory's knee, hitting with punch after punch.
The referee forced her to back up. Jory held her knee in pain. Chad was by her side in seconds. "Do you want to stop? I can call the match..."
"No. Hell no." He backed off. Alexa came for her again, and Jory tried to back away. Reaching the ropes, Jory tried to push herself away, but Alexa grabbed her sore knee. Jory pulled herself up, pulling her legs back and shoving Alexa off her as hard as she could. It was a tenuous hold on the top rope, and Jory ended up going over the top, hitting the apron and hitting the floor in an ugly spill. She felt her shoulder throb. "Fuck."
She reached underneath the ring for some kind of weapon to brandish. Every muscle in her body ached. Alexa was between the ropes, reaching down to grab at Jory. Rolling onto her back, Jory pointed the fire extinguisher straight up at Alexa's face and fired. She turned her head to avoid a direct shot to the face, but Alexa wasn't so lucky. Alexa stumbled backward and fell on her butt in the middle of the ring. Jory put the extinguisher down beside her and pulled herself up as quickly as she could. Sliding into the ring, she grabbed the lid to the garbage can and swung it with all the force she could muster, hitting Alexa in the face.
With a defeated sigh, knowing it was going to hurt her just as much, Jory rolled Alexa onto her back and locked in the Mood Ring once again. The effect this time was different; Alexa tapped out quickly, much to the relief of Jory, who buckled and rolled away from Alexa.
"Here is your winner – Jordana Moody!"
The crowd roared. Chad held her hand up from the ground. "How's your knee?" he asked her.
"I can walk out of here. No assistance needed," Jory promised him. She rolled underneath the ring rope. She winced as she put weight down on her leg. But she was okay. Midway up the ramp, she turned to see the referee helping an angry Alexa to her feet. Jory turned and walked up the ramp, stopping for a moment to pose for the fans and remind Alexa that she had been their princess first.
Walking backstage, she spotted Stephanie sitting with her father. Stephanie looked up at Jory and glowered. With a smirk, Jory walked past, through the curtain, and into the backstage area.
"Get in, loser. We're heading up to your room."
Jory stopped in her tracks, staring at the luggage cart in front of her. "You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting," she told him with a dry laugh. The look in his eyes told her that Seth was dead serious. "I'm not that hurt."
"You're limping pretty bad. Just get on."
"I'm pretty sure hotel policy..." she started, but the front desk agent, a young man named Tim interjected.
"Don't care, really. I've seen people do worse with these." Jory shook her head and laughed.
"Put your bag on the one side and sit down. I'll take you up to your room."
"You are the worst."
"You're stalling. Get off that leg. We've got Raw tomorrow." Seth reached through and grabbed her bag, positioning it on the end. With a sigh, knowing there was no way out of the argument, she sat down on the luggage rack and put her legs up. She winced as her knee stretched out. Seth changed position and began wheeling her down the hallway towards the elevator. Jory clapped a hand over her face, feeling the red-hot burn of embarrassment.
Inside the elevator, Jory couldn't help but laugh. "I can't believe we're really doing this."
"I can't believe you still think arguing with me gets you anywhere," he said with a laugh. She rolled her eyes. The elevator doors slid open and Seth rolled her out into the hallway. She was thankful it was an empty area, that nobody could see her like this. Reaching into her pocket, she handed Seth her key-card. He stopped in front of the door and opened it, propping it with her suitcase.
He leaned down. "Put your arm around me."
"Seth..."
"You know how this is going to end up. Just do it." With a sigh, she draped her arm over his shoulders. She hissed when he put his arm underneath her knees. He lifted her, bridal style, walking into the room with her. She looked around the room, at the flowers on the nightstand and the bottle of wine with two glasses on the nightstand.
"What is this?" she asked. He placed her on the bed.
"I set up a little 'congratulations' package with the desk. There are ice packs and ice cream in the freezer, too. I'll be right back. I'm just going to take the cart downstairs. I'll be right back." Taking her key, he left her on the bed. She took off her sneakers and dropped them on the floor beside the bed before she leaned back on the pillows with a loud sigh.
It felt good to put her feet up, to relax after the battle. She knew that Stephanie couldn't be happy; the woman they'd hand-picked to replace Jory – the second attempt after Nikki Bella failed to work out – had failed. There were a few times Jory thought it wouldn't work out in the end for her, but somehow she had pulled out the win. She'd made Alexa tap out. She'd inflicted some measure of payback on her for the scar on her arm. It wasn't enough, sure, but it was only the beginning. Alexa was only the first roadblock to get past on her quest to Stephanie McMahon, but she was going to have some fun making Alexa pay for her decisions.
The door opened and Seth was back, kicking his shoes off at the entrance. "That was a hell of a fight, Jory."
"You don't have to tell me. I lived it." Seth went to the freezer and got her an ice pack.
"Head's up." He tossed it to her and she caught it, pulling up her pant leg to place the ice pack underneath her knee. She groaned and winced when it made contact, but she adjusted and sat back on the bed. "How's your shoulder? That was an ugly spill you took over the rope."
"It's okay. It's a little sore, but not like the knee. I felt it rattle."
"Wow." He sat down on the bed beside her. "I bet you'd be awesome in a bar fight."
Jory laughed. "Oh, God, no. Did you watch the same fight I just had? Alexa had my number a few times."
"I cringed when you hit her with that trashcan lid. Holy shit, the force behind it."
"She earned that."
"I'm not arguing it." He reached over and grabbed the wine bottle.
"I didn't see you as a wine guy," she told him. He laughed.
"I'm not. I, uh, actually had to ask around and see what people recommended." He shot her a look. "I had nothing better to do tonight, okay?" He opened the bottle and poured two glasses. "I knew you were going to win tonight, and I knew that you were probably going to need a drink afterward. Was I wrong?"
"No."
"Am I ever wrong...?"
"Don't push your luck." Seth laughed.
"Here's to getting back at Alexa Bliss."
"I'm with that," Jory said with a laugh, clinking her glass with his. They took a sip. "What is up for your night?"
"If it's cool, I thought I'd hang out with you."
"Of course it is." She sighed. "I might not be the best company, though. I'm pretty beat up."
"You're just fine," he assured her. He looked at her knee. "How serious is it?"
"It'll be fine, I promise. I'd be surprised if I was still feeling it at Raw tomorrow." She sipped her wine. "They were hard shots, but not hard enough. But if I'd hit Bad Mood Rising on her, I think we'd be in a different boat." She sighed. "You should have seen the look Steph gave me backstage. Thank God looks can't kill, because my ass would be underground."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I gave her a smile and left." Seth laughed. "If Mick could find a way for me to get this match with her at WrestleMania..." She shook her head. "I don't think he can. I shouldn't get my hopes up like that."
"Don't count Mick out," Seth assured her.
"Working on it." With a sigh, she placed her wine glass on the nightstand before she grabbed the ice pack. Seth watched her swing her legs over the bed and stand. He could see it bothered her to put weight on her left leg. She moved slowly, holding onto the bed as a brace. He suspected her leg was a little worse than she was letting on, but he knew the fact that she could put pressure on it even a little meant that she wasn't lying, that she would be okay.
He was proud of her. She'd shown some quick thinking. Over the past few months he'd come to learn that Jory Moody was tough as nails and often underestimated, but tonight had driven the point home. She was tired of being pushed around and swept under the rug. Somewhere along the way, a fire had been lit inside of her, and it had been something to see. It had kept his fire burning during the darker times. They kept each other motivated, kept each other composed. It was something he hadn't felt since his days with The Shield, the feeling of a bond.
"Jory, what are you doing?" he asked her, getting off the bed. She was moving so slowly he was sure the bag was going to be melted by the time she made it to the fridge. "Get back on the bed. I'll put it back."
"Seth, I'm not an invalid..."
"I never said you were. But you're clearly hurt and the best call would be to stay off that leg."
"Seth, I'm..." She took a step and buckled. Seth caught her quick, his arm wrapping around her waist. She ended up against him, her hands on his chest to brace herself. He had to admit that it was a great feeling. It was like she belonged there, like she was made for this. She looked up at him, and he gripped her a bit tighter. "Seth..."
Before she could say anything more, his mouth covered hers.
