A/N: Next chapter, enjoy! Btw: if anyone is interested I've set up a new twitter account for the sole purpose of keeping you guys up to date on LOS and future pics, as well as the occasional playlist mix. Follow if you wish - link is on my profile page :) Onto what you actually came for...
A minute into Raw's broadcast the following night, Paige's music hits the arena and the Diva, no longer allied with The Authority, is cheered on as she makes her appearance. She soaks in the warm atmosphere with relief. This moment is a perfect one considering the emotional fallout from Wrestlemania. After Dean, Summer and Natalya join her, the wrestlers make their way down to the ring for the opening segment of the evening.
While they walk, Natalya stopping a couple of times to interact with the crowd, the commentators speculate on the whereabouts of the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Roman Reigns was the superstar to promise the end of the power stable around here, so where is he now? Cole doesn't have much more of a chance to discuss those thoughts, however, as the music dies down and the focus of the camera returns to those stood in the ring.
Paige grabs a microphone, waits for the crowd to settle, then says, "I know, I know… you're all wondering what the hell happened last night. You're wondering why I became a member of The Authority only to betray them and my boyfriend weeks later."
She pauses to share a look with Dean, who smirks at her.
"I guess you could say it has something to do with Dean Ambrose." The crowd cheers wildly for the superstar. She waits until they've quietened down to add, "After all, if anybody deserves revenge it's Seth's former brothers. Or maybe I wanted revenge on the Bella twins for what they put myself, Summer and Nattie through for months."
The camera briefly pans onto the women: Summer folds her arms in defiance, while Natalya shakes her head.
"But if you want the actual truth? It was for all of those reasons, and more. You see, Seth Rollins and I used to be friends. Best friends…. in fact, I have the pictures to prove it," she states, turning in the general direction of the stage.
The titantron rids the Raw logo to show the first picture of many: her and Seth posing for a picture outside of a cinema; chilling at her house after unpacking her belongings; him holding her in a waist lock during one of their training sessions; and, finally, him giving her a piggyback down some desolated road on a dark night. Paige can't remember who took the photo but she remembers the bubbling delight she felt at what felt like a spontaneous adventure with one of her best buds.
She brushes past the nostalgia that bubbles to the surface, pushing on to announce, "So then we fell out of touch. For a long time, actually. Until finally we started talking again and it developed into this…"
Again, the titantron begins to display some rather more intimate pictures. Summer can't hide the smile on her face as a sleeping Seth Rollins comes up on the screen, taken in the hotel room by Paige per the blonde's suggestion to have some pictures to further embarrass him with. The audience chuckle along as the images become more stupid and private, and more contradictory of the serious side the two-toned superstar is always so adamant to get across.
Paige's smile disappears as soon as the pictures do. One minute she's joking along in the jovial atmosphere, the next the Diva looks the most serious she's been since walking out with her group. "But we were not meant to be. I played Seth Rollins, just like he plays everybody who doesn't support his career, and it felt good." She pauses as cheers and some clapping breaks out, then shakes her head.
"You know what your problem is, Seth? What it's always been? You wanted too much for yourself… I admired it at first. That thirst for being at the top of your game. And I was right there by your side when we first started out. I couldn't think of anything better than to take this company by storm and look a little different while doing it.
"But you were compensating for something weren't you? I don't know what — I guess I never will — but you try and make out like you're superhuman. You're not. You're just some random guy who weaselled his way into the position he's in today. The guy I knew who said he was going to make something of himself one day? Don't get me wrong, he did. He just did it in a cowardly way.
"So, let's talk about why I came up with this plan to show you up.. all that time I duped you into thinking my feelings were real, that I could see the real you… I did. Just not in the way you realised. All I saw in you, Seth Rollins, was a little boy who needed his ego and his career well protected…."
As Paige stops for a moment to reign in her growing anger, Dean moves to lean against the ropes behind her, surprised to see so much emotion come from her. He knew, of course, that she held a lot of animosity towards her ex-best friend but right now - in this moment - he can see a lot of himself in her. They're both just two people who feel betrayed beyond words. He smiles. They're going to be friends for a long time to come, he can just tell. Moments like these bond people.
Finally, she asks, "Do you even know how to do anything by yourself? You're always the victim huh? You were being held back; you had to create an opportunity for yourself because you were being overlooked; Roman and Dean were more popular than you...
"But you haven't showed any of us anything. You didn't turn on your boys by yourself, you didn't win the briefcase by yourself, and you sure as hell didn't get this far on your own merit. Face it: you're not the future, you're just a blip on the radar who got lucky.
"So call this karma, call this you being a bad friend, or whatever you like. But it wasn't just The Shield you betrayed. It was me too."
The Diva is quick to toss the microphone Dean's way, fearing that if she doesn't so much more will spill out of her that is better left unsaid, and to dwell on privately.
Thankfully, the crowd moves onto Dean easily, and it's his short turn in the spotlight. "I reckon by now that you guys know how I feel about Seth Rollins… and I think you know that I wouldn't have stopped at just chairs and kicks and punches last night if I hadn't been stopped." He pauses to glance over at a smiling Summer Rae. "So there's not really a lot that I want to say right now."
The crowd jeers a little, indicating their desire for a good ol' Ambrose rant that they'll inevitably be cheering for by the end of it. He smirks. Why the WWE universe relates to someone as "unstable" as him he'll never understand. He adds, "But I do want to introduce you to someone, a good buddy of mine and the new WWE—"
The Authority's music hits.
A scattering of boos fill the entire arena as Stephanie, Hunter, the Bella twins, Big Show, Kane, J&J security, and Seth appear together on the stage. Natalya leans against the ropes confidently as the woman she put in a sharpshooter last night stares daggers into her; Paige's stare crosses automatically to Seth, although the man refuses to look at her, looking childish instead as he stares down at the floor with his arms folded stubbornly; and finally, Dean waves at Hunter, a spark in his eye because he can tell they're both thinking about last night.
With the passionate fans acting so rowdy, Hunter has to speak through the response even if he isn't guaranteed to be heard properly. "Paige, you appear to forget that you are not invincible around here."
"And that we are in charge." Stephanie adds, the contempt in her eyes clear to see. "So let's get one thing straight—"
"Let's!" Dean exclaims with an easygoing smile, waving one hand around and keeping the microphone glued to the other. "Last night I embarrassed your husband, and Natalya over here did the same with you."
The Canadian Diva initially hides her smile as the cheers pour in, but then she realises how much she sacrificed to be a part of this plan, and makes a promise to herself never to hide away again. Tyson might hate her for lying to him all this time and Stephanie might punish her for her actions, but this is her time so she's going to relax for once in her career.
Dean continues, "While I would have gone out there and kicked your ass for free, we had a statement to make. I'm not sure you heard it last night so let me introduce you to a man who'll be more than happy to repeat it."
Only when Roman's music hits does Seth look up. Clenches his jaw. Runs his hands through his hair. Paige watches him the whole time, feeling an undercurrent of pleasure sweep through her. The Golden Boy is angry. Good.
"We want a match." The first words to come out of the new champion's mouth once he's standing in the ring, and a sentence that has The Authority — and the audience — curious to hear more. "We started all of this with an endgame: to get you out of power. So, how about it? Extreme Rules. You lose, you never show your face in the WWE again. Ever. No coming back. No reinstatement."
Stephanie's already shaking her head, and Hunter is flat-out laughing. "Roman, you're the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, not the decision maker. That would be me. And we'll continue to run this show no matter who our champions are."
Fairly amused, his wife asks, "What makes you think we would ever agree to that?"
"Because what have you got to lose?" Natalya answers on behalf of her friends, surprising them all. "If The Authority truly is in power then what's the problem? Unless you think there's a chance you can't beat us…"
"Unless you think Brie and Nikki aren't a good enough addition to The Authority," Summer teases, a little smile on her face as the latter of the twins rolls her eyes.
This prompts Brie, usually one to hide behind her sister, to step into the spotlight by grabbing Stephanie's microphone and exclaiming, "Please, we could beat you in your sleep."
"Prove it."
The crowd are amused with Summer and Brie's little exchange but silenced when Stephanie forcefully takes the microphone back and gives the woman standing beside her a cold stare, which the twin understands as a sign to back down. Though her frustration shines brightly, Stephanie pastes a tight smile on her face to address the others once again. "So, Extreme Rules huh, Roman?"
"Yeah," the champion confirms, a smirk curving the corner of his mouth.
"Listen, I get it, and it's cute that you're trying to recreate a Survivor Series moment. So cute. But we're smarter than that."
"Are you?" Dean queries, feigning confusion. "Because if I recall, Paige duped all of you into thinking she really loved pretty boy over there and you willingly made her a member of Team Authority. I mean that's gotta suck realising all this time that she was plotting against you. We were plotting against you."
"For what, Ambrose?" Kane pipes up, shaking his head. "We have the power. Right now I could put you in any match I want... I could make you face the whole roster. Was your little stunt last night worth it?"
"Pretty sure it was."
"Really?"
Paige shakes her head. Knowing Dean Ambrose, he can make this conversation go on forever, when all they really need is confirmation of a stipulation match at the next pay-per-view. "Here's our proposal," she starts. "5 on 5. Me, Summer, Natalya, Dean and Roman against... well, anybody from The Authority who dares to take us on."
Having been silent ever since stepping out onto the stage, Seth takes Hunter's microphone. His stare is directed towards Paige, and despite its coldness, the look has a grip on her that won't break. "We accept," he states without much emotion.
It's spoken so calmly that at first she isn't sure she's heard him right. But judging by the crowd's uproar, then her friends' smiling reactions in the ring, the Diva's soon made aware that those two words were certainly spoken. Hunter's at his prodigy's side in an instant to give him a talking to but Stephanie's staring out at the crowd trying to conceal her irritation; she knows the seed has been planted and it would look cowardly to back down. There's also something building inside her. A need to prove her dominance somehow.
Just as Hunter is turning away from a fuming Seth to calmly address the crowd, his wife gets there first. "You know what... yeah, we do accept." The malice in her tone is unmistakable. She is not budging for anyone, even her concerned spouse. "But when we win, all of you are fired. Now get the hell out of my ring and out of this building because you're banned from Raw."
The hasty decision has the crowd reacting negatively once again but the five wrestlers in the ring aren't about to argue. Dean shrugs. So, they're banned for the evening? Fine. It'll just give them a chance to prepare for Thursday Night Smackdown. He's sure they'll have something up their sleeve for them.
The Authority disembark one by one. Paige blows a kiss at Nikki before she disappears, happy in her own right to face the woman again. "You're gonna regret this," the Bella twin shouts to her. But the Diva's Champion blows off the statement easily. In this moment surrounded by her best friends — people who have boldly stood next to her to face up to The Authority — Paige doesn't regret a thing. Even if their jobs are on the line.
"A month until they're out of power," Summer comments, referring to their Extreme Rules 5 on 5 match-up. The woman who was so concerned about her career being put on the line before this plan even played out is nowhere to be found; in her place is a confident, self-assured Diva.
"Yep," nods Paige, proudly. "And you know what means, right? We've got to be better than ever."
As the show continues following the power versus position revelation, Seth feels his shock from Wrestlemania begin to dissipate. He stands in The Authority's office surrounded by a bunch of people who can't seem to stop arguing with each other about if they should have accepted the offer, but he remains completely silent, refusing to be goaded by the people whose team he'll make sure is prepared by the time Extreme Rules rolls around. His shock is definitely fading; now all he feels is anger.
Sick, focused anger.
"Enough!" He yells suddenly, surprising everybody.
His dangerous look shifts from Brie to Stephanie to Hunter and just about everybody else. They're all waiting for him to say something.
"We're Team Authority and we're going to win. They're going to regret ever going against us. Against me," he spits out.
Hunter starts smirking. He might have been frustrated at Rollins accepting on behalf of everybody before, but now he can see how smart the decision was to look those individuals in the eyes and stand up to them. They won't be running scared. Stephanie nods, accepting Seth's statement. She, too, is of the belief that this could be a good thing... and in truth? She's certainly not through tearing things up in the ring. She'd love to get her hands on Natalya after the stunt she pulled last night.
Now that he has everyone's attention, he preaches, "They think they can just walk around our place of business and be in control when it couldn't be any further from the truth. I say we put them through hell and wear them down so they won't even make it to Extreme Rules. Roman and Paige are champions now, but a champion has to defend what's theirs right? It's only fair..."
Brie and Nikki exchange perfectly devious smiles, while Show pats Kane on the back, growing more content with this idea after all.
Seth feels his own smile growing too. The first one since Paige broke his heart. "We'll break them down," he remarks, confidently. "And then we'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget."
