The crowd was rowdy that night. It had, admittedly, been a fantastic show so far. But, the crowd did need a break, and a break they would have. The crew set up the fold out table, a table many a superstar was all too familiar with, cloaked in a black table cloth. At this point in the evening, no one would be going through the table. Instead an unsuspecting victim would sign her freedom away, as if it was worth nothing. Lita rubbed clammy hands together, no one around to help soothe her nerves. She just hoped to God that Kane wouldn't think to ask her just how many contracts she had in her bag after this was over. No doubt he was watching.
Contract in hand, bound formally in a black leather folder, she heard her music blast on, and set off to the ring.
Freyja went up alone, Andone had assured her he'd be right behind her. The older man stood in the crew area, chattering to his brother, Xabi. How proud of his daughter would Xabi be after this news?
"Oh, yes, this is a huge deal!" Andone chattered into the phone, propping it between his ear and shoulder to fix his cuff. One has to look their best at these sorts of things.
"I know she's safe in your hands, Andone." Xabi replied gleefully from half the planet away.
"Of course! In fact I'm headed over to accompany her to the ring right now! I just want to look over the contract before she signs it. Can't be too careful, you know?" Andone started on his way, hearing Xabi agree wholeheartedly. But, that conversation was ended all too soon.
The last thing Andone remembered from that conversation was the sharp twang of a steel chair colliding with the back of his head. The cold, grey floor rushed up to meet him with crushing force. He was fairly certain he hadn't caught himself, a pain in his cheek ever growing, where he'd undoubtedly collided face-first with the floor. Groaning, he attempted to rise.
What the fuck was that? He thought groggily, only to have his attempt to get up thwarted by another strike. This time it was hands that walloped on him, and finally, the older man stayed down.
On the other end of the reciever, Xabi had heard it all. He called into the phone, worried he said,
"Andone?"
"Andone, are you alright?"
But Xabi never got his answer, Edge walked over to the discarded flip phone and gingerly pressed the tiny red button, cutting Xabi off from the reality of what had happened to his brother. The man tried to reconnect with Andone, but given Andone's current state, it was a lost cause.
4 more calls from home went unanswered by the time someone found Andone, writhing and groaning on the unforgiving concrete.
Medics and stagehands alike all flocked to the older man, checking his eyes, limbs, and the spot on his cheek that was quickly becoming discolored. A frenzy of worried voices called to him,
"Are you alright?"
"What happened to you?"
Andone struggled to lift his body from the ground, relenting to some help from the gaggle of people milling around. He was absolutely unable to distinguish one voice from another, and simply addressed the group.
"I need.." Andone heaved, trying vainly to shove everyone off him, "To go to Freyja."
"Oh no, absolutely not!" A harried young woman fretted over him. "You need medical attention, your client will be fine on her own."
Andone shook his head, in pain and out of breath, but never got the energy to argue more. Another stagehand, a strapping young man, buried himself beneath Andone's arm and helped him up, leading him over to waiting medical staff.
Andone managed to steal a glimpse at a monitor in the hallway and realized with a sinking feeling: Freyja had already gone to the ring.
~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~
Freyja bounced nervously on her heels as Lita, her future opponent, made her way to the ring. Where was her uncle? He was supposed to come out with her. She needed him.
Lita waited impatiently in the ring, folder open wide to expose Freyja's damnation to the world. She knew what the hold up was, Edge had obviously done his job and she'd put him up to it, but still, time was wasting. Freyja needed to get out here.
But Andone wasn't around, he said he'd be there, but he wasn't. Freyja waited as long as she could until a mousy stagehand came to her, his voice rushed and a little panicked. "Ma'am, you have to get out there!" he demanded anxiously.
Freyja looked around the hallway confused. She didnt want to go out there. Not without her trusty manager. "But, Andone-"
"There's no time!" The stage hand interrupted, grabbing a soft hold on her arm and tugging lightly. "We have to get you out there, the crowd is getting restless!"
Freyja finally relented, letting the kid guide her toward the gorilla to the tune of her own walk-on music. She pushed the door aside quickly, and strolled out to the ramp. There were a few cheers, not many, a lot of the more casual fans still had no idea Freyja even existed. But here she was, before everyone, determined to make a name for her self. She strode quickly down the ramp, head held high amidst the roar of the fans. Ascending the stairs, she motioned to the crowd for a few more cheers before sliding between the ropes and taking a seat on the other end of the table.
It was Lita who spoke first, raising the microphone to her lips, "You know, young ambition is the lifeblood of this company."
She smiled at the cheers from the crowd. None of these people had a fucking clue. Freedom was so close for Lita. Despair so close for Freyja.
"And sitting before is that young ambition." Lita continued. "I'm pleased to announce that next week, right here, live on RAW, I've promised to give the young, new talent a shot." The crowd murmured woth excitement and curiosity. "If Freyja Kutlass can beat me, I will relinquish my Women's Title shot to her."
The crowd was positively buzzing at that, looking on at the fresh face of this Freyja Kutlass, finally emerging fully from the minor matches to give Lita, of all women, a run for her money. Freyja beamed at the crowd, not seeing Lita's little smirk at how easily she'd fooled her colleague. "Along with, a little suprise of my own making. If and only if! She wins."
The audience emitted a "What?!", nearly vibrating with curiosity.
"Oh, no, no, no. I'm not just going to ruin the suprise." She couldn't possibly give away the 'suprise'. It wpuld ruin everything. "Now, Freyja. Is there anything you'd like to say to the people?" Lita pressed, trying to move this along.
Freyja paused, looking about at the massive crowd, and took the mic from Lita's fingers.
"I thank you for the opportunity." Freyja spoke, finding a confidence that was difficult to dig up without Andone. "But talk is cheap, and I'm not here to wax poetic about how gracious it is of you to extend this chance to me." Freyja's sarcasm was biting, but she finished it off with a good-natured wink. She didn't want to make an enemy of Lita, but if she was too nice, where would be the fun in that?
Freyja quickly swept up the pen from the table to twirl it in her fingers. Off mic, she asked, "Where do I sign?" the anxiety of the situation, and any suspicions she had, had been completely lost to the excitement of the cheering crowd.
Lita pointed out the dotted line, and watched with glee as Freyja, against her better judgement, made her mark on the paper in neat, slanted cursive.
There it was. It was signed. Kane had signed it, Freyja had signed it, and now only Lita had to sign it. But, that was the easy part. Lita couldn't have been happier, and she quickly signed on her own page. The women exchanged one firm handshake, and Freyja turned on her heels, taking the mic with her.
As she left she ducked through the ropes, but stopped halfway, and back tracked. "Oh, there is... one thing."
The audience exploded enthusiastically with a, "What?!"
Freyja smirked at the audience and turned to Lita, "I'm gonna kick your ass next week." she said with a smirk, and winked once more.
Lita couldn't help but laugh. Freyja didn't have any idea what was about to happen to her. Lita had come to terms with it. The contract had been signed by everyone and she no longer felt guilt. Instead, it had been replaced by excitement, and relief.
Knowing she only had one more week with Kane brought her more relief than she'd ever felt in her life.
The crowd oooohed as Freyja sauntered up the ramp, turning once more to wave the crowd off before returning back stage, leaving Lita in the ring, disguising her triumph.
Next week, Lita would be a free woman.
~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~
STAY TUNED! Next chapter is a fight! And! My sweet little bby Freyja finds out what was in that contract she totally didn't read.
How will everyone react? Stay tuned to find out!