Chapter 28: Changes
January 30-March 5, 2012

Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything that has to do with WWE. Also, the mention about Hunico: it was an idea that I had with Sin Cara.

Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, for helping me write this chapter.

While she and Edge spent a lot of time together to make up for being separate for a while, Pandora still missed being a part of wrestling. She wanted to be Edge's valet again but knew that he needed time to get used to being a demonic wrestler. She did love being around Punk, especially since she had a lot of fun bickering with him, and wished she could do so again. However, she knew better because of Kane getting more and more dangerous by the day. So she decided to wait for the right opportunity to return but Fate had a different plan for her and it all started the night of the Royal Rumble.

That night, Edge and Pandora watched the Royal Rumble. They were relieved that Punk retained the championship and that Laurinaitis behaved with the threat of his evaluation by Triple H looming overhead. Watching Kane, Pandora knew that she was not afraid of him; instead she was scared for him because of how poisonous his hatred was. The actual Royal Rumble match was one that they loved. They enjoyed the showdown between Mr. Socko and the Cobra, the return of legends and Hall of Famers, Ricardo getting treated like dirt, and Sheamus winning the match by eliminating Jericho. But the biggest surprise was the return of Kharma. Pandora had released her a few days prior (she was ready to defend herself since Tai's poison had left her system, evident by her braids being all black); Pandora asked her when she would return to WWE and she answered with, "It will make an impact." Pandora was surprised and then proud when Kharma helped eliminate Cole, attacked Dolph, and eliminated Hunico (which was very humiliating to him because he was a natural born half-demon). Seeing the rogue come in and battle with the big boys made Pandora miss the business even more. At that moment, she contacted Kharma and offered to be her manager (since she knew the truth about the rogue and believed that being around Kharma would keep herself from being affected by Kane) but Kharma declined, stating that she wanted revenge on Tai first. Later that night, after a passionate session with Edge, Pandora drifted off and sleepily realized that there was something about the Royal Rumble that she was disappointed about: Undertaker did not show up. But she found out why the next morning.

January 30, 2012

That morning, Pandora woke up, still a little dazed with passion from last night. She took a small look at Edge and kissed his chest softly. "So hot…"

She then sat up and stretched her wings a little. Shuddering with delight, she put on one of Edge's shirts and started to head to the bathroom. Feeling the weight change in the bed, Edge rolled over and looked at Pandora. "Morning."

Pandora heard him and was about to answer him when she froze. Noticing this, Edge sat up. "Pani? You okay?"

Pandora did not answer so Edge wrapped a nearby towel around himself and turned her around. Her eyes were completely white and her Undertaker symbol on her forehead was glowing. Remembering the night before Hell in a Cell, Edge let Pandora go and watched her. She stayed still for a few minutes and then gasped, her eyes turning normal again. Edge asked, "What is it?"

Pandora looked at him. "It is time."

Edge raised his eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Pandora sighed softly and touched her head. "Father is returning…for number 20."

Edge felt his spine tingle a little. "Who's he going after?"

Pandora just said one word: "Rematch." Triple H was the target.

Later that night, Pandora arrived at the arena, back in her Undertaker outfit. Wanting to make Undertaker's return a surprise, she stayed in a hidden stairwell, similar to where she and Undertaker stayed the night Paul Bearer returned. She tried to contact him but was unable to for some reason. While she waited for him to arrive, she watched the show from her phone by hacking the live wire with her powers. While she enjoyed the show, she was distracted; she could feel her dedication for her Father taking over. After Kane escaped from a fired up Cena, the stairwell suddenly became dark. She smiled and stood up. When she did, the lights came on and she came face to face with Undertaker. She smiled wider and hugged him. "You have returned."

Undertaker touched her head and led her out, still keeping them in the shadows until they reached the entrance. On a nearby screen, Pandora saw that Triple H was starting his evaluation on Laurinaitis. Her hatred for the Interim GM temporarily taking over, she grinned. "He's going to get what he deserves, that bastard."

Undertaker said nothing and watched the monitor. After Triple H described Laurinaitis' performance as Interim GM (backstabbing Triple H to get the job and then abused his powers to make himself a star and therefore needed to be replaced, like McMahon and Triple H before him), Laurinaitis interrupted with the statement that he would do anything to keep his job. Little did he know that that statement would awaken the DX in Triple H. Pandora snickered. "Laryngitis is going to get it now."

Triple H demanded Laurinaitis to apologize to the WWE fans and that he would even reconsider his decision if the fans accepted his apology. Laurinaitis did apologize; not only did the fans not accept the apology, it was barely heard over their boos. Pandora giggled. "Sorry, not accepted, Laryngitis."

Undertaker peeked at her and said, "Punk has rubbed off on you, hasn't he?"

Pandora blushed a little and watched the screen. After hinting at having a gauntlet match where every Superstar that had a beef with Laurinaitis could come out and beat him up, Triple H suddenly remembered something that McMahon did: when someone had to prove their loyalty, said person…had to join a certain club. The audience cheered and Laurinaitis paled; every WWE fan, including Pandora, knew what that club was. But then the moment became even funnier: Laurinaitis put on Chap Stick, got on his knees, closed his eyes, and puckered up! Pandora laughed out loud and then covered her mouth, not wanting anyone to find them. "Oh man, he's desperate."

Triple H then humiliated Laurinaitis even further: he laughed and said, "You're really going to do it, aren't you, you freak?"

Pandora laughed against her hands and murmured, "You can take the man out of DX but you can't take DX out of the man."

Undertaker looked at Pandora, who turned serious again, and asked, "You like Triple H, don't you?"

Pandora shrugged. "He took care of me for a while and I have a lot of respect for him. But there's no one who has my loyalty like you do, Father."

After a minute, Undertaker nodded once; that corresponded with the bell sounding in the arena. Unfortunately, it sounded when Triple H was just about to fire Laurinaitis. Forgetting herself, Pandora demanded, "What are you doing? He was just about to fire that disease!"

Undertaker gently took Pandora's chin as the bell sounded again. "He robbed me of the chance to tell you who I was to you…now he feels the pain I felt."

Hearing that and feeling his touch, Pandora forgot everything but her dedication to her Father. As the bell kept ringing, Undertaker started to walk out and Pandora followed him.

Out in the arena, Triple H and the audience were stunned when his music started. The feeling intensified when Undertaker and Pandora came out: the father/daughter team had returned after almost a year of absence…but for what reason? As they started their traditional slow walk to the ring, their eyes never left Triple H. Triple H was on guard, ready to defend himself against the demon. When they came into the ring, they circled their prey; all the while, Pandora told Triple H, "I'm sorry. You have my respect but Father has my loyalty, forever and a day."

Triple H did not even acknowledge her; all his attention was on the demonic wrestler. Undertaker then decided to give Triple H a taste of his own medicine: after staring intensely at the human, Undertaker and Pandora slowly looked up…at the Wrestlemania XXVIII sign. They subsequently looked back at Triple H and made their intentions clear. Undertaker gave Triple H the RIP throat slash and Pandora said, "How about it, Triple H? One more match."

Undertaker took one more look at the Wrestlemania sign and waited for Triple H's answer. The human's reply was a shock to all: he patted the Phenom's shoulder…and left. Pandora tried to go up to him to demand a real answer but Undertaker kept her back. Watching Triple H, Pandora demanded, "Where are you going? How can you deny him like that?"

Triple H ignored them. Undertaker touched Pandora's shoulder and she looked at him as he looked at the Wrestlemania sign. Triple H hesitated at the entrance but left all the same. The two demons looked at the entrance. They could not believe that Triple H turned down the chance of a lifetime…but they knew and everyone in the arena knew that they would not rest until Triple H agreed.

The following week, Triple H remembered last year's Wrestlemania, where Undertaker had to be carried out for first time in his entire career and then explained why he was turning down Undertaker's challenge. For the last twenty years, he was still humble in front of the demon…but not last week when Undertaker made the challenge for the rematch of rematches. Triple H admitted that he felt bad for The Phenom and that made him choose to remember Undertaker in a different way (the dominant years, not the way he was after last year's match). After all, the demon's legacy was his dominant force, not his matches, and that's why Triple H said no. Not only that, but the only end that would happen if they were to face off again would be for the human to end the demon. Triple H did wonder if Undertaker actually wanted Triple H to end him but the human still refused, especially since even the demon has limits (similar to a line Triple H once head that said "even death can die"). Because of that, The Game refused to push Undertaker beyond the limits and ended the issue about the Wrestlemania rematch.

After his explanation and decline, the bell rung and everyone saw a clip of Undertaker and Pandora in his lair. Seated in their thrones and holding hands, they were watching scenes from last year's Wrestlemania match. But the scenes were focused on the scenes where Triple H was dominant and the aftermath where Pandora was crying and Undertaker was carted away by the demons. He adamantly stated that that last image of him, he did not want that to be the last image that people were left with. He wanted vengeance…and the nearby wall covered with Triple H pictures showed how obsessed the demon was at getting it. Triple H understood but remained stone-faced.

Pandora understood how obsessed her Father was as well and was determined to stand by him. But they discovered that Pandora needed support as well…for an entirely different thing in her life

February 13

Because Edge had a match, Pandora arrived early and ended up napping in the corner. An hour later, Undertaker arrived and found her. As he approached her, he sensed something about her that silently surprised him. Her wings shuddered in his presence, waking her up. Groaning a little, she saw him and shot to her feet. "Oh! I'm sorry, I must have dozed off."

Undertaker looked at her, silently wondering if she knew what he sensed. Seeing his look, Pandora asked, "What's wrong? Something on my face?"

That told Undertaker that she did not know. He knew that he could tell her but decided to let her find out for herself. Besides, they had other things to focus on: Shawn Michaels was coming back for one night to get answers out of Triple H.

When Shawn came out and "officially" started Wrestlemania season, he admitted that he wanted to hear Triple H's answer to Undertaker's challenge and, when his friend turned down the demon, HBK knew that he had to return to prove that Triple H was messing around and would take the challenge. When Triple H came out, he avoided Wrestlemania by suggesting that Shawn come to RAW more than once a year. Shawn got on the ball, wanting to know Triple H's answer to the challenge; The Game continued to deny the challenge (speaking as him, not the suit) because he won the war last year. Shawn was not going to accept that answer and started to push his friend's buttons, calling him one of them (after marrying Stephanie), a sellout, and finally a coward. Triple H tried to leave but finally angrily poured out his reasons: Undertaker was nothing more than a brand to the COO, the three represented the last of an era (one Triple H was not going to end), and he refused to let Shawn live vicariously through him. After hearing the reasons, Shawn said that he was at peace with his life…but Triple H was not. HBK knew that The Game wanted to end the streak. Shawn then challenged Triple H to look him in the eye and say that he did not need/want this. After hesitating and looking at the Wrestlemania sign, Triple H said "No!" Shawn knew his friend was lying and left in a huff.

Triple H tried to leave but Undertaker's bell sounded, revealing another video. In his lair, Undertaker heard Triple H's statements. Undertaker then got out a straight razor and cut his hair down to his shoulders. But he then did something that showed how serious he was: he did the same thing to Pandora's hair (she only agreed to this when Triple H called her Father a brand). Despite the message, Triple H refused to change his mind.

A couple minutes later, Pandora looked down at her new outfit. When her hair was cut, her outfit glowed and changed. Still in all black, she now had ballet shoes, pants with a belt, a shirt with a zipper that was open enough to reveal her stomach, gloves, and a jacket that only covered the upper part of her chest and her arms, a long part in the back that was like a cape, and a hood over her head. She did not understand why her outfit changed but she accepted it. As she took off her hood and prepared to leave, Undertaker touched her shoulder. She looked back at her. "Yes? Was there something else?"

Undertaker said nothing, making Pandora confused. Throughout the night, he had been touching her shoulder constantly and never explaining why. "Father, what is it?"

Undertaker told her, "You will know soon."

Pandora was about to ask but he vanished. She sighed, felt her now-shoulder length hair and chuckled. "I wonder how Edge will react." She giggled and teleported back home.

However, she did not get a chance to ask Edge: as soon as she got home, her stomach turned and she raced to the bathroom where she became sick. Hearing her, Edge came to the bathroom and knocked on the door. "Pani? You okay?"

Pandora coughed and looked at the door. "No…"

Edge came in and touched her back. "You come down with something?" Pandora groaned in response and leaned against Edge's legs. Edge squatted down and stroked her hair. "You need anything?"

Pandora shook her head. "The wave has passed. Take me to the couch?"

Edge nodded and picked her up. On the way, he smirked and said, "I like your new look."

Pandora smiled. "Thanks."

For the rest of the week, Pandora stayed in bed, throwing up constantly. Edge tried to take care of her but nothing he did could make her feel better.

February 19

They watched Elimination Chamber and enjoyed the two Chamber matches. But the first Chamber match caught their attention in an unexpected way. When Punk came out with a cleanly shaven face, the two mates noticed something. Pandora wondered, "Why does he look familiar?" Edge did a double take and put down the demonic booze, blaming it for tricking his eyes.

After the show, Pandora became sick again. Edge rolled his eyes. "That's it. I'm calling your Mother."

Pandora groaned. "You're supposed to say things that'll make me feel better."

Edge ignored her and contacted Lacti, asking her to come over and check on Pandora. He then told his mate, "I haven't been able to make you better. Maybe she'll have better luck."

Moments later, Lacti appeared and went to Pandora. "So what's wrong?"

Pandora simply told her, "I'm throwing up everything and all the medicines have no effect on me."

Lacti nodded and was about to ask something else when she sensed something and she paled. Edge and Pandora wanted to ask her what was wrong but Lacti said first, "Pandora, you're not sick."

Pandora raised her eyebrow as Edge demanded, "Then how do you explain her throwing up?"

Lacti glared at Edge before telling Pandora, "You're not sick…you're pregnant."

Pandora immediately sat up and Edge, though shocked, asked, "How do you know that?"

Lacti told him, "A demon that doesn't have any human in them can sense when a demoness is pregnant." She then demanded, "When did you twist her wings?"

Edge thought for a moment and honestly answered, "I don't remember ever twisting her wings."

Lacti concentrated and determined, "It would have been in late January, according to the human calendar."

Edge thought back to their sessions (since they were very active) until he came to their session after the Royal Rumble. His face slowly went from remembering to realization. Pandora looked at Edge. "What?"

Edge had to sit down. "After the Royal Rumble…I did…to increase the pleasure."

Pandora thought back and remembered herself, making her pale. Lacti sighed. "Why didn't you two know at that moment?"

Pandora was too shocked to answer. Thought dazed as well, Edge admitted, "During our sessions, we get drunk with pleasure."

Lacti sighed again and stood up. "Well, you're in this situation now. What are you going to do?"

Edge looked at Pandora, who was frozen on the couch. He sat next to her. "Pani, you in there?"

As Lacti left, Pandora slowly touched her stomach. "Pregnant…"

Edge nodded. He had to admit, he did want to have kids with Pandora but he did not expect this to happen so soon. Pandora looked at him. ."What are we going to do?"

Edge smiled at her. "Come on, Pani. You know me. Whenever life gives me something, I take it on. This is no different." Pandora looked down a little as Edge kissed her deeply. "Pani, this is great. Happened sooner than I would have liked but I do want this."

Pandora looked up at him. "You really want this?" when Edge nodded, Pandora smiled, feeling better. "A baby…"

Edge held her close. They were dealt an expected hand by Fate but they were determined to take on this new challenge together.

February 20

That night, Pandora arrived at Undertaker's lair, nervous at the prospect of telling her Father the news. She did not know how he would react. She found out when he arrived, dressed in an outfit that was similar to his Ministry outfit, sans the cloak. Pandora looked at him and got very nervous. Undertaker sensed her nervousness and asked, "What is weighing down on your mind, Pandora?"

Pandora lowered her head and fiddled with her fingers. "Um…Father, I, uh…I'm-"

Undertaker calmly said, "I know."

Pandora's head snapped up. "You know?"

Undertaker nodded once. "I sensed it the last time we were together." Despite him being born a human, he was powerful enough to sense that she was.

Pandora was stunned. "How could you not tell me?"

Undertaker reached out and touched her cheek. "Such news is best discovered on your own."

Pandora understood and nodded.

In the middle of the show, Undertaker and Pandora appeared. Everyone made note of their new outfits. With Pandora watching, Undertaker began to talk. He said for the past year, the memory of his Wrestlemania beat down and Pandora's screams had been haunting him, making it a hell of uncertainty. He could not take it anymore and that's why he came back and made the challenge…but did not get the answer he wanted. While Triple H made his choice, he could not stop the apocalypse of their era of wrestling; The Game could try to hide with the suit and tie but the demon knew better. After saying that Triple H could lie to everyone but himself or to the Undertaker, the demon called out the human. Pandora looked at the entranced and murmured, "Just give him what he wants."

Undertaker put a little more emphasis on this being the apocalypse and thus bigger than the two wrestlers. Triple H came out, as calm as ever. Pandora moved next to her Father and smiled softly. "Please…Father needs this."

Triple H looked at her before turning to the demon. Triple H tried to explain what he saw in Undertaker's eyes but the demon angrily shut him off, saying that he did not need pity. It was Triple H who was pitiful because of all his excuses. Pandora agreed. "Where's the man I respect? This is not him."

Triple H kept calm, knowing how obsessed the demon was. He said that he knew that it was the end of the era but it was their fate not to end it but to make sure it carried on: Triple H would do that by making sure WWE had a future and Undertaker would do that by (as always) carrying the torch for the next generation. To extinguish that flame would be bad for business. Undertaker immediately replied, "Hey, business man. Then make this clear for me…because it's really been bothering: it is bad for business if I'm gone…or is it bad for business…that you'll be gone?"

Pandora looked at her Father. She knew that he wanted this match but had no idea that he would go personal with his words. Triple H did not get upset; he just said it was bad for business. He said he was certain and believed the demon was certain too. He then said Undertaker was not looking for redemption, salvation, or vengeance…he wanted an end: the demon wanted the human to end him and the human refused.

Triple H tried to leave but Undertaker was not done. He said, no matter how much it was spun, Triple H would always look in the mirror and see a coward. Pandora was taken aback that her Father would stood that low. A nerve touched, the human came back in and said angrily that he was sick of being called a coward. But he caught himself, realizing the ploy, and still refused. Pandora looked at Undertaker. "Father?"

As Triple H tried to leave, Undertaker went even more personal: he said the real reason why Triple H was refusing was because he knew he could not do what Shawn Michaels could not do…because The Game knew HBK was always better than him! Pandora gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Even she did not know Undertaker would say that.

But it worked: taking off his jacket and tie, he went back to the ring and said it had nothing to do with Shawn since he knew he could finish the demon. Pandora was getting scared as Triple H took off his layers symbolically…and accepted the challenge. Pandora sighed in relief, thinking it was over. But Triple H was not done: they had to go all the way. He would face the demon…in Hell in a Cell! Pandora paled. "No! Not that! You'll kill him!"

Undertaker patted Triple H's shoulder and left, holding Pandora's hand. The demon stopped at the entrance and smirked at Triple H before the demons left. It was official and Pandora was extremely worried about her Father.

On March 5, Shawn Michaels opened the show and stated that, while things got heated between him and Triple H, it was not relevant anymore because Triple H finally took the challenge. Thing was, Shawn did not know what it was that made Triple H agree and he wanted to find out immediately so he called out his best friend. Once Triple H was in the ring, Shawn immediately recalled the last time they were in the ring together, with Shawn pushing the limits with what he was saying and even calling Triple H a coward (which is something one just does not do). However Triple H, being a man of intergrity, did not budge even with that insult….but something changed his mind last week. Shawn asked what it was but, before Triple H could respond, Shawn stopped him and decided it was better to show it from last week. When the clip of Undertaker telling Triple H that Shawn was better than The Game, Shawn coldly stared at Triple H. He was a little mad that that comment was all it took to get Triple H to agree and make it a Hell in a Cell match. Triple H immediately said that that remark had nothing to do with him taking the challenge. He then admitted that he was tired of listening to people like the Undertaker saying that Shawn was a failure because he could not break the streak. After all, a lot of people (including Triple H) believes that Shawn is the best wrestler to ever exist and Triple H could not stand to look at Shawn and see a loser. Because of that, he was going to end Undertaker and end the era that he wanted to preserve: he was going to do it for him and, most importantly, he was going to do it for Shawn. After listening and sarcastically thanking Triple H, Shawn remembered that he was in pain when he could not tell Triple H that he could break the streak last year…especially since he was right, even though Triple H came very close to ending it. This year, Shawn stated that he knew who was going to win. As he tried to leave, Triple H and the audience thought that simply Shawn had another prediction. But Shawn came back and dropped a bombshell: the reason he knew was because…he was made the Special Referee! Now the stakes were even higher…and the chances of the streak continuing were even slimmer.