Chapter22 [ Backstage ]

"You lied to me!" Andrew screamed, his eyes dancing in fury. "You made me believe that DDP tried to kidnap you, you even faked that damn nightmare! You had me scared shitless for you and feeling like I should have been able to protect you from DDP, protect you from a man who ends up to being one of your damn buddies! You could have at least told me Stephanie! Told me that you two were planning that scheme, at least I wouldn't have been out in that ring looking like a dumbfounded retard like I was tonight!" Andrew screamed.

Shane glared at Stephanie. "The street fight was a part of the plan too? DDP kicked my ass, and it was at your orders? I could have been killed out in that street fight, hurt beyond words, I could have been hospitalized and it was all a part of your little plan? I can't believe you Stephanie!" Shane screamed as well.

Stephanie brought up her hands. "First lower the voices, and secondly to achieve what we want in life we have to make sacrifices. DDP wouldn't have hurt you to the extent where you needed to be hospitalized, I screamed at him for hurting as bad as he did and Andrew I'm sorry I scared you. But if I had told you guys the plan then you two wouldn't have been able to pull off the act, you two needed to believe it was true to make the plan more believable. Shane, you yourself, have told me to win the war you sometimes have to bring your personal life into it and despite how bad your loved ones think you are being by dragging them in your war, they will understand once you come out on top. And that is exactly what I did, and we are going to come out on top at InVasion, especially with my surprise ally." Stephanie said, grinning.

Shane ran his hands over his face. "Dare I ask?"

Andrew shook his head. "Excuse me, I'm still angry over here! It's not the fact that you conspired with DDP, or the fact that you didn't fill me on it, the fact that has me so damn angry Stephanie is --- that you lied to me. You told me you were scared of DDP and didn't know if you would ever feel safe, and the whole time you were supposedly spilling out your heart to me, you were lying to me the whole time." Andrew replied, staring straight into Stephanie's icy blue eyes, a hurt look reflecting in his own eyes.

"Andrew -- " Stephanie started, she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have lied to you, but you're not the only one I lied to! I lied to Shane, Jericho, Chyna, and Benoit! I knew from the beginning that you guys would be majorly upset over my lies, but I knew what I had to do. Don't you get it? As long as my dad is in charge of the WWF, he runs *all* our lives, Hunter may say he's sorry, but he's not. My dad and Hunter are going to keep trying to tear us all apart, but if we beat my dad at InVasion with WCW, ECW and the WWF on the line, the WWF will be ours, and Hunter will no longer bother us, there will be no more unfair beatings, finally things will start going the way they should. Believe it or not, I was thinking of you two when I started this plan with DDP, you two were in my heart, and I wasn't being selfish. DDP is a smart man, he may not look like it, but he is a smart man and along with my surprise ally, we will come up on top, and we can finally get rid of my father and Hunter, and then I, we, all of us, can live our lives." Stephanie replied staring at Shane and Andrew.

Shane scratched above his left eye. "Andrew, Steph's right. As long as my dad owns the WWF, he can run us out of business, and then he can tear us all apart. Stephanie's plan is brilliant, sure how we found out about it isn't, but the plan itself has tons of potential. To win a war you have to put yourself, your friends, your enemies and even your loved ones on the line, because in the end it makes the victory even more sweeter." Shane stated.

Andrew sighed and took in everything Stephanie and Shane had said. "NEVER lie to me again Steph."

Stephanie nodded. "I promise Andrew, I will never lie to you again, and after InVasion we won't have to worry about Hunter, my dad or anybody else." Stephanie replied, smiling.

"To InVasion." Shane said putting his hand on top of Stephanie's.

"To InVasion." Stephanie said, smiling.

Andrew was still for a while, then he finally sighed. "To InVasion." Andrew replied, putting his hand on Shane's.

Stephanie grinned, pulling her hand away. "So about this secret ally ... "

[ Stephanie's locker-room ]

Stephanie looked at her reflection in the mirror, her brown hair was down, resting against her skin loosely; Stephanie took in a deep breath, she couldn't believe she had come this far, Stephanie couldn't believe she was here, in this exact place. All the events of Stephanie's life had happened so fast, that she didn't have time to look back on everything she achieved, but with InVasion creeping up, Stephanie had time to look at herself and realize where she was, and what she had done, and who she was with.

Stephanie was no longer married to Hunter, a man she thought she would be stuck with forever. Stephanie was back with the man she desperately loved, she had reunited with her brother and created The "WECW", she had re-patched her rocky relationship with her mother and was able to make loyal friends.

And if everything went according to plan for InVasion, Stephanie would finally have a life of her own, a life she could call her own, a life she had fought for. InVasion was the end ... either they lost or won, but WCW/ECW wasn't the only thing on the line, Stephanie's freedom was. If Stephanie didn't win, she would lose to her dad and Hunter, the two men who have been trying to bring her down the most. Stephanie had gathered all the allies she could and now all she had to do now was wait and watch things unfold.

"Come in." Stephanie said, when she heard a knocking on her locker-room door, Stephanie's eyes widened. "What are you doing here? If you remember, we're enemies."

Trish walked into the room and stared at Stephanie with a serious look on her face. "I want Hunter to suffer, he used me to just get a rise out of you, and now I want him to feel real pain, I want him on his knees because the pain is too much to bare! And I want to become one of your allies for InVasion." Trish replied.

Stephanie smiled. "Welcome aboard Trish, you're going to enjoy your stay."

Trish smiled, grabbing a chair and sitting down. "Hunter pays right?"

Stephanie nodded. "He will feel so much pain, he won't be able to stand it, he'll be begging for us to go easy on him and then you can do whatever you want to do with him, and with my blessing. InVasion is ultimately the biggest PPV event in WWF, WCW or ECW history, because everything is on the line; All of the companies are on the line and whoever wins, takes it all and we do *not* want my father to win, we want to crush him like he did to my poor grandfather so many years ago, oh yes my daddy will feel pain."

Trish grinned. "Maybe you should re-think a new company name ... WECW sounds stupid, how about ... " Trish thought for a while before coming up with a name. "How about 'The Alliance'?"

Stephanie smiled. "That is a great name, the alliance! We are the alliance, I love it."

[ Vince's Office ]

"Listen Steve, my daughter and son are pulling their final trick in their big book, and this is trick is a HUGE trick. InVasion is the most important PPV ever in the world of the WWF and the other wrestling federations; All the companies are on the line, and that is why we all need to be ready for any surprises my daughter is going to throw at me. In a way we don't need to worry so much about Shane, Stephanie is the brain between this, Shane is going to follow Stephanie's lead, we also have to look out for the Rock and Paul Heyman." Vince stated.

Steve watched Vince pace back and forth in his office. "Look Vince, I know recently we have bumped our heads on a lot of things but I won't let you down, because the WWF is my company and I will work to my death for this company." Steve replied, smiling.

Vince smiled back. "Great Steve! I knew I could count on you."

Steve smirked, but wiped it off quickly. "Just don't go expecting me to call ya boss." Steve laughed.

Vince smiled, despite the fact that there was something different about Steve; Vince just couldn't put his finger on it. Steve's personality seemed a bit different, more laid back then it usually was, he wasn't being paranoid or violent, or even touchy feely, Steve hadn't tried to hug him at all, something was going on with Steve and Vince could tell. "So how do you feel being tag team champion again Steve?" Vince asked.

Steve smiled. "It feels great, me and Kurt have a lot of plans for these belts, especially at InVasion."

Vince stared at Steve curiously. "The tag team belts aren't being defended at InVasion..."

Steve nodded. "I know." With that Steve got up and left without another word to Vince.

Vince watched Steve walk out of his office, Vince blinked not knowing what to think of Steve's last words, they seemed a bit cryptic. Vince sighed, Steve was his last resort in defeating WECW, Steve was his lost resort in defeating Shane and Stephanie, but right now Steve didn't seem that trustworthy, but when was a rattlesnake ever trustworthy?

[ Kurt's locker-room ]

"Kurt, we need to talk buddy." Steve said, walking into Kurt's locker-room, he shot Kurt a glance, a serious look was reflecting in Steve's eyes, a look Steve only got when shit was about to hit the fan.

Kurt pushed himself up from the floor where he was stretching, Kurt caught the look Steve was giving him; Kurt grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his face. "What's wrong?"

"InVasion, what are we going to do about it?" Steve asked, already knowing what he was going to do, just wanting to make sure Kurt would be on his level with the swerve.

Kurt sighed, changing into a different shirt, he turned back to Steve and let out an exasperated sigh. This was the biggest challenge all three companies were going to have to face, but the bigger challenge for Kurt was deciding to stand by his friend or the company he worked for. Kurt never had to make a decision like this before because Stephanie was in the WWF as well, but now she was with WECW, and now he had to choose. Kurt looked at Steve, and automatically saw the look on Steve's face, Steve had already made his choice.

"Kurt?" Steve asked, looking at his friend and the other holder of the tag team championship belts.

Kurt rubbed his hands over his face. "I've been in the WWF for two years, you have been in here longer, and we're just going to defect to WECW?" Kurt asked, quietly.

Steve leaned against the wall. "We're not going to defect to WECW, we're just going to bring in a new owner for the WWF, come on Kurt, you have to admit Vince doesn't treat half of us like the way we should be treated. Everything is on the line, all the companies, and if Vince wins he takes everything and there is no way we will ever get respect, but if Shane and Stephanie win it will be a whole new WWF."

Kurt nodded. "But what sort of new WWF? What if Stephanie ends up being worse then Vince? Sure Stephanie is my friend but she is also a McMahon, and ALL McMahons should not be trusted."

Steve sighed. "Kurt, whose side are you going to be on? Vince's ... or Stephanie and Shane's? I have already made my choice, I need to know where you stand on this." Steve replied, looking at Kurt.

Kurt was silent for a long time, before he actually spoke again. "Stephanie and Shane's." Kurt mumbled.

Steve smiled. "You picked the right team, so everything folds out at InVasion, don't tell ANYONE the plan get it Kurt? We don't anyone knowing our plans and going to Vince before we can do anything -- here's the plan." Steve leaned into Kurt and whispered the plan in Kurt's ear, making Kurt grin.

[ Torrie Wilson's locker-room ]

Stacy Kiebler walked into Torrie's locker-room, and grinned at her, Stacy walked over to the leather couch in Torrie's locker-room and sat down on it. "Word is you're fighting Lita at InVasion."

Torrie pulled her hair up and snorted. "Which one is she again? You know you get all those WWF bimbos mixed up, I can't tell the difference between Trish and Terri." Torrie said, snickering.

Stacy laughed. "Lita is the redhead, with that tattoo on her arm." Stacy said with a snort. "I would never tattoo myself, too much pain and plus what happens when you grow sick of it? You can't just say oh well take it off, oh wait you can ... well that besides the point." Stacy said, straightening her body up.

Torrie smirked at fellow blonde friend, before sitting down next to her. "Oh yeah her, she's friends with the younger Hardy boy, he is so cute in that weird sort of way. Oh I heard you're fighting Molly Holly, you know that bubbly blonde who is going out with the scrappy youngest Dudley brother? The *one* who wouldn't join WECW, big mistake there by the way, if little ol' Spikey doesn't want to join our team, too bad for him. Paul should have never asked anyways, Spike is too scrampy to be on our beautiful, alliance. Was I the only one who was cheering Buh-Buh Ray and D-Von on when they sent poor little Molly Holly though a table?"

Stacey shook her head. "No I was laughing too, I have to fight Molly at InVasion? Gross. Her stupid cousins are probably going to try to save Molly when I kick her ass all around the ring at InVasion. I am going to make Shane and Stephanie proud, like I --- we always do." Stacey said, smiling.

"Hey girls." Shane greeted them with a smile, as he walked into the locker-room.

"Shane!" Stacy said, walking over to him, she linked arm with his.

Shane smirked he looked to his left where Torrie had gone too, Shane grinned before actually speaking up. "Hello to you girls too. I presume you heard of your matches at InVasion? I know that you probably don't want to fight them but we need to make a impression on the WWF before we snatch it from my father's grasp, he will never see us taking the win, and making the WWF ours." Shane shook his head, smiling.

Torrie giggled. "Don't worry Shane I will destroy Lita."

Stacy smiled, shaking her head. "Molly Holly doesn't have a chance against me."

Shane smirked. "That's good to hear Stacy and Torrie, we need all the victories we can get; I know I can count on you two, and even if you lose, which I doubt you will, I know you will look beautiful out there." Shane replied, turning up the charm before unlinking his arms from Torrie and Stacy.

Torrie smiled. "Of course we will look good, because with my boobs and Stacy's butt, we are the most desirable women in the WWF, WCW, or ECW." Torrie said smirking.

"Oh is that so?" Stephanie asked, walking in, she shot Torrie and Stacy a look, before walking over to where Shane was, the two siblings shared a hug, before Stephanie looked back over to Torrie and Stacy.

Stacy shook her head. "I mean definitely after you Stephanie, we don't even compare to you."

Torrie nodded. "Yeah Stephanie, you have way better boobs."

"And my butt doesn't compare to yours." Stacey said, with a hopeful smile.

Stephanie laughed. "Calm down girls, I didn't come here to make you two uncomfortable, I just wanted to make sure I wished you good luck with your matches against Lita and Molly Holly, although if all goes like I planned we won't need it. I don't think I need to remind you two how important InVasion is to us." Stephanie replied.

Shane nodded. "Yes girls, despite you two will not be in the main event, this is serious, everything is on the line. And we need to know that you two will give it your all." Shane replied.

Torrie shook her head. "You don't need to remind us, me and Stacy WILL come through for you."

[ Jericho's locker-room ]

"This is complete bullshit!" Jericho muttered, stretching. "Vince knows for a fact that I'm friends with Stephanie and Shane and that is why he did this; To get back at us, for being friends with her."

Chyna stared at Jericho with concern in her eyes, she had seen Jericho get upset about some things but his anger was at an all new high. "Look Chris I understand that you don't want to fight against Stephanie and Shane's team but you don't have a choice do you? Vince is your boss, our boss, and if he tells you to be on Team WWF, you don't have a choice in the matter." Chyna replied, in a matter of fact tone.

Jericho turned around and stared at Chyna. "Maybe I do have a choice."

Chyna stared back at Jericho oddly, trying to understand the real meaning of Jericho's words but they were laced with an unreadable emotion. "What do you mean Chris?" Chyna asked, curiously.

Jericho just waved a dismissive hand. "Didn't mean a thing Chy, just me talking about nonsense, pay no attention to me, I didn't mean anything by it." Jericho replied, going back to his stretches.

Chyna arched her eyebrow up. "I know you Chris, and you're lying to me, do you have a plan? If you do, you should tell me." Chyna said, staring sternly at Jericho.

Jericho stopped his stretching and turned to Chyna, he looked at her. "You know what Chyna? When I have a plan that you should know about I will come to you and tell you, but right now I have no plans." With that Jericho grabbed his jacket, he put it on. "I need coffee, I'll be right back."

Chyna watched Jericho walk out of the room, she could tell he was lying to her, but knowing the mood Jericho was in she decided to let him go find whoever he was obviously going to talk to. "Don't do anything stupid."

[ Coffee Room ]

Jericho walked into the coffee room, where he found Stephanie standing by the coffee, drinking her coffee slowly. "Stephanie, we need to talk." Jericho said, walking up beside her.

Stephanie turned around and smiled at Jericho. "Hey Chris, yeah I assume we do, especially with InVasion creeping it's way upon us. Look Chris, when me and my brother challenged my father at InVasion, it had nothing to do with our friendship, just giving my father the payback he deserves." Stephanie replied, drinking her coffee.

Jericho nodded, pouring himself a cup of coffee as well. "I understand Stephanie, the challenge was completely business and nothing more, and I think we should agree not to let business get in the way of our friendship, it will make what is going to go down at InVasion." Jericho replied, staring at Stephanie.

Stephanie nodded. "Yeah InVasion is the biggest PPV for all of our companies, a lot of stuff is going to go down at InVasion, a lot of stuff is going to change and I just need to ask whose side are you on?" Stephanie asked.

Jericho looked at Stephanie and smiled. "Always the friends side."