Disclaimer: don't own anything, except Shadow and Amanda who are creatively based on people in real life. The rest are owned by Vince Mcmahon and the WWE

"Come on Raven!" Amanda said, clapping

She and Shadow sat side by side in the Commissioner's office watching the match on the monitor. Regal sat beside them, concentrating hard on the action, nodding approvingly when Raven took control of the match

"That Raven may dress a little scruffily but his ring style is to be commended" Regal said aloud "you see that he takes every opportunity he has and uses it as best he can with what he has, most impressive"

On the screen, Raven slammed a trashcan into Jericho and pounded him with it until he lay face down on the mat. Raven bounced off the ropes and delivered a baseball slide to Jericho's face before getting a two count. They fought their way up the ramp and soon were making their way through backstage, along the corridors

"Uh oh, I think they're heading for here," warned Shadow, getting up from her chair

Sure enough the door was slammed open and Raven thrown through, hitting his head hard on the desk. Jericho stormed in after him followed by the referee.

"Get out of my office, you bloody juvenile!" yelled Regal

"Forget it, I'm here to prove to your assistants that I can get the job done" smirked Jericho

As he turned around, Raven ripped Regal's framed picture of the Queen off the wall and smashed it over Jericho's head. Regal protested angrily, yelling at both wrestlers now but they ignored him, intent on their fight. Jericho kicked Raven in the gut unsteadily and threw him against the wall. As Regal began yelling at the referee to clear out of his office, Amanda and Shadow began assaulting Jericho. They began punching him as hard as they could before grounding him with a double clothesline. They threw him towards Raven who hit his Raven Effect DDT and got the pin. Regal grabbed hold of Jericho's limp dazed body and threw him out the door, following him out, yelling about being invaded by vandals. The referee handed Raven his title belt and hurried out of the door to try and separate Jericho and Regal. Shadow pushed the desk back into it's place and began trying to straighten the piles of paper on it. Amanda nudged her and motioned to Raven who was beginning to walk out of the door. Shadow raised her eyebrows and then nodded. Quickly they put the office back together and followed Raven out of the door.

"Excuse me? Raven?" Shadow called, running to catch up with him

He turned around, a hand to his head, his eyes full of pain

"What can I do for you?" he asked, his voice had an incredible dark quality to it

"We were wondering if you would help us out," said Amanda

"What with?"

"With our ring training, we're wrestling school pupils, we know quite a lot but we need to further our training" explained Raven

"So ask one of the divas" Raven replied

"We have, well...she has, she trains with Trish but Trish said to get better she'd have to train with a guy" Amanda said

"Why pick me?" Raven asked softly

"You're different," said Shadow simply "you don't just wrestle, you have a style of your own that makes you stand out, you know what you're doing"

Raven looked at them, not blinking at all, which made them both uncomfortable.

"What are your names?" he asked finally

"I'm Amanda and she's Shadow" supplied Amanda

"Meet me back here in fifteen minutes"

He walked off abruptly without another word, leaving the two of them alone together.

"One trainer hired" said Amanda, pretending to strike something off a list "I think he's the right choice, though I am having second thoughts about accepting Edge and Christian's offer"

"You would" laughed Shadow "Raven can teach us so much more, he was an ECW icon, he knows how to defend himself in and out of the ring, that's important"

"I know, lets go see if we can calm the Commissioner down before we come back"

*

When they arrived back fifteen minutes later, Raven was already there, sitting on a case by himself, dressed in his blue denim cut-offs and a dark cartoon T-shirt. He raised his head when he saw them and slowly got to his feet.

"It's not going to be conventional" he said "Each day before a show, be it a house show or a televised one, I'll train you for a couple of hours, one hour in the ring and one hour out of it"

"So we start out of the ring tonight?" guessed Amanda

"That's right"

Raven led them to a deserted area of the corridor; it was dark and cold as well. He didn't say anything for a minute just stood and watched.

"One of the most important things you have to learn is how to adapt to different conditions, I'm guessing you were trained in a regular way, learning holds and throws and so on, but you also have to learn what to do when someone attacks you backstage, or if you're battling in a hardcore match and it spills out of the ring, I'm guessing you haven't learnt that"

Shadow and Amanda both shook their heads. He nodded.

"I want you both to lock up with me so I can test your ability, Amanda first" he ordered

She walked forward and locked up with him before he powered her into a headlock. He released her suddenly and motioned for Shadow to come forward and did the same thing to her.

"Good, you know how to lock up well, I'll test you further when we get to the ring later on, now answer this, why won't a lot of moves work when you fight backstage?"

"Because there's no ropes or turnbuckles" answered Shadow

"Right, but some will work even better because you're fighting on concrete so you have to learn which ones work and which ones don't and even have to invent some especially for hardcore or backstage brawls, try to attack me, Shadow first this time"

Shadow hesitated, more than a little nervous about it. He motioned her forward so taking a deep breath, she launched herself at him, throwing hard punches. He blocked a few off then grabbed one of her fists and used it to throw her lightly into the wall. She fell back, a little dazed but not hurt

"You have to learn how to use your environment, when I see a wall, I don't see something that creates a building, I see something to be used in a fight, you have to learn to think that way so that eventually if you are attacked backstage, instinct will take over"

He pulled a trash can lid out from behind a pillar and held it out to them. Amanda reached for it and as soon as her finger closed around the rim, Raven pulled her in and clotheslined her to the floor with his other arm

"Never trust others backstage if you know they hold a grudge or you have something they want, they'll take any opportunity they can to injure you"

He helped Amanda to her feet and handed her the lid.

"Take this and see if by before the show tomorrow, you're able to think of some sort of combo together using it and the wall too if you want"

"Where are we going to meet tomorrow?" asked Amanda, a hand rubbing her sore neck

"In the ring a couple of hours before and then we'll move backstage, see you tomorrow, work hard at that combo, I'll be able to tell if you've asked someone else"

With that, he walked away. Shadow smiled a little and turned to Amanda who was staring at the lid in her hands.

"I think we're going to enjoy working with him, his training will be full of surprises" Shadow commented

"That's for sure," said Amanda as they began walking down the corridor.

As they reached a crossroads, talking to each other, they nearly bumped into someone coming the other way. Shadow laughed when she saw who it was

"Long time, no collision" she laughed

Matt Hardy, still hot and sweaty in his ring attire with an arm around Lita, smiled giddily at her. Jeff appeared behind them, a gold championship belt wrapped around his waist, the biggest most unstoppable smile on his face.

"So how does it feel to be tag team champions again?" asked Amanda, already knowing the answer

"Fantastic!" crowed Jeff "Never thought I'd be thankful Christian inferred in one of our matches"

"See, he has some good in him" said Amanda

The other four looked at each other and then looked back at her with identical looks of disbelief on their faces.

"What? He has, you lot just don't understand" protested Amanda

"Is your friend nuts?" asked Jeff in a loud whisper, leaning closer to Shadow

"Oh yeah" replied Shadow "Just like me"

"You been valeting again?" asked Lita "I heard you've been causing some trouble for one Chris Jericho"

"You're right, we just cost him the Hardcore title in a match against Raven when they battled their way into the Commissioner's office" answered Amanda proudly

"Wouldn't want to be you when Jericho gets hold of you," said Matt, shaking his head

"You're wearing a Hardyz pendant!" exclaimed Jeff suddenly, pointing at Shadow

Shadow blushed, wishing she'd remembered to tuck it under her top. She tried to shrug it off

"Yeah, I'm a fan but I didn't want you guys to know in case you thought I was some kind of insane groupie who'd managed to sleep her way backstage"

"Which we are anyway," added Amanda, slinging an arm around her friend's shoulders "except the whole sleeping bit"

"Hey, can I ask you some questions about some of the stuff we've done?" asked Matt eagerly "it'll give me some ideas of fan reaction and which direction to go in, it would be really helpful"

"Tonight is a night for celebration" laughed Lita, smacking Matt playfully in the chest "But I've got an idea, do you two wanna come to a club with us? It's just that otherwise I'm stuck with these two all night, it would be good to have some girl company for a change"

Shadow and Amanda looked at each other incredulously, had Lita just invited them to spend the night with her and the Hardyz at a club? They grinned at each other

"Sure, that would be great!" Amanda answered "How long do we have to get ready?"

"Oh, half an hour" said Matt "we've gotta shower and change too, meet in the hotel lobby then yeah?"

"OK" answered Shadow, unable to stop smiling

After the Hardyz and Lita disappeared, the girls grabbed hands and raced down the corridor together; they had no time to lose.

*

The noise in the club was incredible. It was as loud as the arena but in a different way, the arena was filled with a collective roar, here a pounding beat sounded in time with your heart or the other way around, the music filled your ears until it was all you heard. They all sat round a table, squashed in tight so they could hear each other. Lita leaned across to the girls from where she sat on Matt's lap

"You two look great" she said loudly over the music

"Thanks" said Shadow, smiling

"Can you tell we shop together?" laughed Amanda, spreading her arms out wide

They both wore tight fitting black. Shadow wore a pair of tight pants that hugged her hips but flared slightly at the bottom and a tiny sleeveless wraparound belly top, they were both decorated with spray painted orange tiger stripes wrapped around the sides and not meeting in the middle, they matched the chunks in her hair, some of which she'd plaited. Amanda wore a skirt that ended just above her knees and a one vest strap top, both with what appeared to be white dust scattered from the hemline up and around the edges of the top, she'd pulled her hair up into a ponytail, the blonde colour changing in the lights.

"Did you think me and Jeff would split after the Rumble?" asked Matt

"I wasn't sure, I thought you might but then you were fighting for a shot at the title so I thought you'd reconcile your differences" answered Shadow

"I thought you might split on the Raw after," added Amanda

"Will you stop interrogating the girls Matt?" groaned Lita "You've been asking them questions since we got here an hour ago!"

"It's research" he protested, smiling

"Well the research stops here" Lita said hopping off his lap and dragging him to his feet "we're gonna celebrate tonight and you're gonna dance with me"

"Oh man! I hate dancing" complained Matt

"Shut up, you love it" answered Lita as she pulled him into the thick of the packed club, causing them to disappear

"You enjoying in the company?" asked Jeff, stretching out in the space the others had left

"It's overwhelming and exhilarating" laughed Shadow "Unbelievable"

"What we've always wanted to do," added Amanda "I mean, you enjoy it, right?"

Before Jeff could answer, someone tapped him on the shoulder. A couple stood beside him, the guy was the one who'd got his attention with the girl standing a little behind.

"My girl Christine doesn't believe that you're Jeff Hardy" he said, bending down so that Jeff could hear him

Jeff smiled and shrugged, his arms held out wide

"What do you think?" he asked slyly

"I think I want your autograph" replied the guy laughing, handing him a piece of paper and a pen

"Who to?" asked Jeff, poised to write

"Mark" the guy replied

Jeff scribbled with a flourish and went to hand it back to Mark but Mark shook his head and pushed it towards the girls

"I want your autographs too," he said

"Really?" asked Shadow, completely astonished

"Sure, we think you guys are great" he said

The girl came forward as they signed their names and bent down to talk to them

"Why are you guys beating up a guy as hot as Chris Jericho?" she asked

"You'll see, we've always got a plan" laughed Amanda, handing the paper back

As the couple walked away, Jeff turned to them, smiling

"First autograph" he said "weird huh?"

"You're telling me" replied Shadow, shaking her head in disbelief

Jeff jumped to his feet and grabbed a hand of each of them, pulling them to their feet

"Time to dance guys, we're here to celebrate!" he called over his shoulder as he pulled them into the crowd

"This is just too surreal" gasped Shadow as she tried not bump into anyone

"Why?" asked Jeff

"I'm used to seeing you on my TV screen, not talking to and dancing with you" she laughed

"Well, enjoy" he replied as they reached Matt and Lita

Matt, for all his complaints, was evidently enjoying himself, throwing himself about with enthusiasm. Laughing, Shadow and Amanda began dancing, determined to enjoy the unusual night they'd got themselves into, no matter how dream like it would appear in the morning

Read, enjoy, review! Thanks to the great people who take the time to read and review, I am mega grateful (shout outs - Fallen Angel: sorry for refusing Christian, I promise Amanda will get to be with him sometime, u'll just have to wait, sorry and BizGirlCharlie: ur right, Edge, Christian and Jericho r yummy! Lol, what r OCs? Or am I being stoopid? Lol) Keep reading and writing!