"MILLIONAIRE?!" Lina gasped.
"Come on, Lina!! You can't believe this...!" Zelgadis said.
Lina turned to him, "But... he said MILLIONAIRE!!"
"What is a Millionaire??" Gourry asked.
Lina ignored Gourry's question, and turned back to Mr. McMahon, "Ok... what's this deal you
have for me?"
"Since you're from here and people supposedly know you ... judging from your ego ... you will bring the locals to our show!" Mr. McMahon explained. "In exchange for bringing in locals, we'll pay you - I guarantee it! But I need ALL of you working for me... not just one!"
Lina thought quietly to herself, "Mmm hmmm... well, surely you've noticed that none of the locals really want you here, right?"
"Well... yes... I did notice the townsfolk seemed to be rather annoyed..."
"So here's the deal. We'll be in your show IF you take all these obnoxious outsiders and leave Dalnar!"
"The outsiders, as you call them, will leave once we're gone..." Mr. McMahon explained.
"Good! Then you will leave this town in peace! Got it?" Lina said.
"Well... that depends..."
"Depends on what?" Lina asked.
"Depends if you win! If you win against my Wrestlers, we will PAY you and promise not to return to Dalnar!" Mr. McMahon replied. "If you lose, we have the right to return, and you don't get anything!"
"No money?!?!" Lina said. "Well..." she smiled, "We won't lose then!"
"Lina, you're not seriously thinking of making a DEAL with this person?!" Zelgadis asked.
Lina looked at Mr. McMahon, "Excuse me while I speak to my associates..." she got into a huddle with Zelgadis, Gourry, and Amelia, "Guys... come on! This way, the people of Dalnar can come back to their homes... and WE get paid by the BAD GUYS to do it!!"
Gourry nodded. Zelgadis rolled his eyes.
"But it's not just!" Amelia said.
"It's very just!! We get money FROM the bad guys for DEFEATING the bad guys...! And the
townsfolk of Dalnar win as well! How is that not just?!"
"Well... I guess..." Amelia started hesitantly.
"You know we can beat them!!" Gourry said proudly.
"Why do I have a feeling it won't be a fair fight?!" Zelgadis muttered.
"When have we ever had a fair fight, Zel? We've defeated Mazoku! We can defeat a few wrestlers! Now... are we agreed?" Lina asked. Amelia and Gourry nodded. Zel frowned, but
didn't protest any more.
"Good. It's settled then." Lina said. She turned back to Mr. McMahon, "We have a deal!"
***
Mr. McMahon decided to show Lina and the others around and introduce them to the men and women in the dressing room. "This is my son, Shane," Mr. McMahon said, introducing a young man who looked almost exactly like him. "Shane, this is the Dragon Spooker, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia"
"My name is NOT Dragon Spooker!" Lina shouted.
"It is now..." Mr. McMahon explained. "Excuse me, I need a moment alone with my son..." Mr.
McMahon went into the dressing room, leaving Lina and the others outside.
***
"Pops, what's going on here?" Shane asked.
"These are the trouble makers that burst into the Mobile truck. The ones our inept security
couldn't seem to catch!" Mr. McMahon explained.
"And what are YOU doing with them?!"
Mr. McMahon smiled, "I made a deal with them. They'll be wrestling tonight... and hopefully that will be the LAST we see of them! I have opponents for those four that they'll NEVER defeat!"
***
"Now Lina... " Mr. McMahon started as he joined the quartet again, "I have already picked out an opponent for you. Since you like fire, your opponent will be a person we call KANE... who has an interesting history with fire..." He walked down the hall and knocked on a dressing room door. A large man, in a black and red mask and suit, opened it. "Kane... I'd like you to meet your opponent for tonight. The DRAGON SPOOKER, Lina Inverse,"
Lina looked up... way up... at the 7 foot man who stood before her, "WHAAAAAAT?? I have to fight HIM?!!"
"We made a deal... remember..." Mr. McMahon said.
"Yeah... but... he's HUGE!"
"I'll fight him!!" Gourry said, and reached for his sword.
"No... Lina has to fight him tonight. That's the deal..." Mr. McMahon said.
"Fine, fine..." Lina said.
They left Kane in his dressing room, and Mr. McMahon lead them to the next one, "Gourry... since you seem to be a knight, I have an opponent for you..." he knocked on the next dressing room door.
A young man, looking a lot like Gourry, opened the door, "What is it?" he asked.
"Gourry... meet Chris Jericho," Mr. McMahon said.
"Ah, Wince! You forgot to add that I am Chris Jericho, the savior of the WWF! The man for the new Millennium..." Jericho stopped for a moment and took a look at Gourry, "Who are YOU? Some sort've KNIGHT?? Let me tell you, Gary, I am a REAL knight in shining armor... not some hack like you in a cheap--"
"Yes... thank you, Chris," Mr. McMahon interrupted. "Now on to the next dressing room..."
"Hey, I'm not finished yet!" Jericho protested.
"You WILL be if you don't be quiet!" Mr. McMahon warned.
Jericho shut his mouth and quickly went back into his dressing room.
"Next we have Chyna! She will be YOUR opponent, Amelia!" Mr. McMahon knocked on the next dressing room door. A tall, muscular woman opened it, "It's what I call 'battle of the silicon'..." Mr. McMahon explained. "And you seem to have a fair amount of it..."
"Silicon? I don't have any of that..." Amelia started.
Mr. McMahon looked at her, "But you---" he stopped and shook his head, "Must have developed really young..."
"What IS silicon anyway?" Amelia asked.
Chyna glared at Amelia, "It's what I'm going to turn YOU into, little girl!"
Amelia backed a few feet away, into Zelgadis. Zelgadis looked down at her, then at Mr.
McMahon, "That woman is twice Amelia's size!"
Mr. McMahon simply looked at him, "Your point?" then smiled, "Next, I'll show you YOUR opponent!"
Mr. McMahon headed to the next dressing room and knocked. The door opened, and a pale man dressed in black stood there.
"WHAT are YOU?" Zelgadis asked.
"I am The Undertaker!" the man hissed.
"Who's there?" a voice said from the back of the dressing room. Xelloss suddenly appeared
beside the Undertaker, "Ahhh... Lina! Zelgadis! Amelia! Gourry! You're all here!!"
"Xelloss??" Lina started, eyes wide, "What are YOU doing here?!"
Xelloss smiled, "That is a secret!"
"XELLOSS!!" Lina snapped.
"We are a tag team known as Armageddon," The Undertaker spoke.
Mr. McMahon looked at Lina, confused, "You know Xelloss?"
Lina nodded, "Figures he'd team up with someone named The Undertaker!" Lina said, then muttered something about annoying Mazoku. Luckily, Mr. McMahon didn't hear her. She turned to Xelloss, "So... do you have an explanation for why you're here?"
"The Undertaker is a friend of mine. I thought it would be interesting to be a wrestler for a
night..." Xelloss said.
Mr. McMahon looked at Xelloss, then behind him in the dressing room. Someone was missing.
He turned back to Xelloss, "Where is The Big Show??"
Xelloss turned to Mr. McMahon and winked, "That is a secret!"
"Xelloss... you knew what was going on here all along??" Lina asked.
"Perhaps...." Xelloss answered. "But I'm glad you've joined us! You can meet a friend of mine named Gangrel while you're here..."
"I don't WANT to meet a friend of yours!! Do you know I'm fighting some 7 foot burnt guy?! When you told us to help the people of Dalnar, you failed to mention that we would have to fight guys three times our size to do it!"
"I did not tell you to help them. I simply said they could use some help. How you chose to interpret my words was up to you..." Xelloss explained.
Lina grabbed for Xelloss, "Interpret THIS!!" She shouted, and wrapped her hands around his neck.
"Lina!! Don't wear yourself out before your match tonight!" Zelgadis said as Gourry once again
pulled her away from Xelloss.
Xelloss smiled, "Ahh, such a fiery spirit you have, Lina! It will be of good use to you in your match!" he replied, and kissed her hand. Lina grew bright red.
Gourry's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he looked from Xelloss to Lina, and back to Xelloss. Gourry glared at him angrily, "XELLOSS...!!!"
Xelloss looked innocent, "Ahhh... have I treaded on forbidden ground, Gourry?"
Gourry reached for his sword, and Mr. McMahon knew he had to bring the situation back under control. He jumped in between Xelloss and Gourry, "Save it for tonight..." he said, then turned to Zelgadis, "It seems I knocked on the wrong door. Your opponent is not The Undertaker, or this weirdo with the purple hair. Follow me!"
Finally, they came to the right door. Before Mr. McMahon knocked, the door swung open,
"What the hell do YOU want?" the man asked.
"Zelgadis, meet Stone Cold Steve Austin! He's your opponent tonight."
"He doesn't look like stone to ME!" Zelgadis replied.
"Uh... it's a figure of speech..." Mr. McMahon explained. Zelgadis shrugged. Mr. McMahon walked down to another door, "Here are your dressing rooms! I'll bring some ring-attire for you to change into, and you can prepare for your matches in peace," then he smiled, "Let's see if you're as good as you claim to be!!" With that, Mr. McMahon left.
Lina watched him as he walked arrogantly down the hall. There was something about his last words that left Lina feeling as if she may have bitten off more then she could chew.
To Be Continued
