94 reviews?!?!? Holy crap, do you guys rock! Thanks so much...geez...I'm gonna cry. This is awesome. Okay, so are we gonna try and break 100? That would be awesome. I can hardly even conceive of it. My review file is getting so long. (No joke, I copy and keep every single review, even the less-flattering ones.) Wow, honestly, thanks a bunch. This story has been the only really enjoyable thing I've been doing since I've been sick. Anyway, since there's no real way to summarize what's about to happen, I'll just let you on with the story.
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Lita crept cautiously around the backstage area. "Kane?" she called softly. "Kane, where are you? I just want to talk."
She turned a dark corner. "Kane? Kane, you don't need to hide from me. Can't you see I'm all alone?"
Silence and darkness prevailed. "Kane?" she whispered again, once, faintly.
"Who are you looking for?" a deep voice whispered smoothly in her ear behind her.
She didn't bother to turn around, already knowing she wasn't going to like what she was about to see. "Leave me alone, Hunter, this has nothing to do with you."
"I would leave you alone, if you and your little team would just back off of my title."
"Don't worry, it's not going to be your title for much longer, and after that, you won't have to worry about keeping up with it."
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, Triple H yanked her around to face him. He leaned his face in close to hers, speaking almost against her lips. "Big words, and here you are all alone. None of your precious boys are gonna run down to save you this time."
Lita cursed her stupid, stubborn big mouth. She might be able to afford making threats when she had the rest of ECW behind her, but why couldn't she learn to shut up at the appropriate times? Triple H used her hair to yank her head to one side, wrenching her neck painfully. He pulled her against him, nuzzling her neck, smelling the pale lilac of her skin. He nipped at the tender skin where the throat joins the shoulder, breaking the skin. He brought his face up to hers again and Lita was horrified to see a tiny bead of her blood on the side of his lower lip.
She bit her tongue, refusing to plea, refusing to abash herself. He was going to do whatever it was in his sick, twisted mind that he wanted to do, and she wasn't going to shame herself by asking his mercy. She was going to fight.
She kicked his shin, hard, right below the kneecap. He cried out in pain and surprise and went down, but he kept his hand tangled in her hair and brought her down underneath him. He raised his free fist, and Lita tensed, waiting for the explosion of pain.
It never came. She opened her eyes to see Triple H, still above her, staring up at Kane, who held his wrist in an iron grip. Kane was so tall that he'd had to half-crouch to do this, and Triple H looked more than a little terrified. In Lita's indominatable sense of humor, she hoped briefly that Hunter didn't wet himself with her still underneath him.
Kane's words were slow, clear, deliberate, a threat without the attempt to threaten even being made.
"Let her go."
Triple H nodded, wide-eyed and stood up, his eyes going back and forth between Kane's coldly enraged face and the giant's hand that threatened to crush the bones in his wrist and any second. When Triple H was fully standing, Kane released him violently, throwing him back a little bit. Kane stumbled a little, still stunned and wide-eyed. "Leave," Kane suggested quietly, and Triple H's rapid disappearance made it clear that he wholeheartedly agreed that was the best course of action.
Lita remained lying on her back on the floor, paralyzed with fear and confusion. She stared up at Kane wildly. He leaned down towards her...and held his hand out. Numbly, in shock she took it.
He pulled her to her feet with surprisingly gentle strength and released her hand with a touch that lingered just a nanosecond too long.
"You're bleeding," he said quietly.
She only stared blankly at him, all conscious mental processes seeming to have shut down. He gestured cautiously to her neck, not coming close enough to touch her, and a little bit of understanding broke out.
"Oh," she muttered dumbly, and gingerly fingered the painful bite on her neck.
Kane shuffled some of the stacked-up boxes of sound and light equipment around and dug out a medic's kit. He pulled out some disinfectant and cotton swabs, and held them out to her. She reached for them carefully. He looked down at the traces of burns around her wrists and looked quickly away again. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
Lita tried to pour a little bit of the rubbing alcohol on the cotton, but her hands were shaking too fast and she spilled it all over herself. The sharp medical scent permeated the air. "You didn't seem very sorry at the time."
Kane took the bottle from her hands and sanitized a piece of cotton for her. "I was."
"Then why'd you do it?"
He shrugged his massive shoulders, and it somehow made him look smaller...defeated and weak. He thought of everything he wanted to say, how he'd been angry, how he hadn't...*seen* her then. Seen her for what she really was. A woman of fire and light. How until she'd defied him, she'd been just another obstacle in his way to revenge and peace.
Lita studied him as he sat there on the box of sound equipment. His head was down, and he was motionless in thought. Lita felt a twitch of pity, and somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she thought, "He was human once."
"So why did you save me tonight?"
His head snapped up and he looked at her, dazed, so deep in his thoughts he'd nearly forgotten she was there. She looked into his eyes and felt drowned underneath all the pain she saw there. How could so much pain fill one life? She could see how he'd let it swallow him, let it become his existence.
He reached out, delicately, and cleaned the wound on her neck. She barely felt his light touch, except for the sting of the alcohol entering the broken skin. His eyes lost their lost, pained look and she could see him hardening himself, putting on the mask of the monster everyone expected to see.
"You were looking for me to talk to me, weren't you?" he said coldly. "I thought it'd be easier to understand what you were saying before Triple H did what he wanted with you, rather than after."
Lita kept her gaze even on him, and decided to press the issue, braving even his well-documented anger. "Is that the only reason?"
He glanced harshly at her face and looked back to the wound he was tending. "What other reason could there possibly be?"
Before she could answer that, he turned away from her, putting up the medical supplies. "It shouldn't get infected now."
"I didn't know you cared."
"I don't."
"Then why-"
"Because there's enough of Triple H's disgusting germs crawling all over this place between him and his groupies, and I didn't want any more growing."
Lita snorted. She hadn't guessed that Kane could have a sense of humor. "I thought you were basically indifferent towards him."
"Because I lost to him, I had to show my face. Did you forget?"
"Oh, that's right..." Lita murmured.
"The match that YOUR little FRIEND Rob Van Dam asked for." The anger was fueling up inside of him, the urge to destroy anything nearby increasing.
Lita saw his rage building and tried quickly to change the subject. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She laid her hand on his arm.
He stared at her, shocked. She took his momentary stillness to slide over to sit next to him.
He couldn't believe this beautiful woman would willingly come this near him, would willingly *touch* him. "I suppose you want to also try to tell me that Rob didn't mean for it all to happen?
"No. I know that he didn't mean for it to happen, but that's unimportant. It did happen and it's his fault. I want your help in bringing him down."
"I'm disfigured, not stupid. Why would you want to 'bring down' your precious little Rob?"
"He's getting in my way," Lita stated coldly and harshly. "He's getting too close." She let a little anger creep into her voice and build on itself as her words continued.
"He's always asking how I feel, wants to know whenever some little thing has happened to me, wants me to tell him everything. He thinks talking about problems solves them, but he gets nothing done. He's dragging me down."
Kane laughed bitterly. "I know exactly what you mean."
Lita scooted over closer to him so that their legs were touching, leaned up towards him as she pleaded, "So you'll help me then?"
"I would do whatever I can to be done with RVD."
"Good," she smiled brilliantly. "Because I have a plan."
"What is this 'plan' based on? How do you know it will work?"
"Because," her smile was perfect and poisonous. "He loves me."
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Dang, I love writing this. Things are getting a little more complicated, no? So who's side is Lita really on? Or is she only on her own side? Or am I on crack for trying to fit so many plot twists in one story? Should I cut back on my cough syrup and tylenol intakes? Do you hate this story now that it's not take the straightest line to the end? Please let me know something.
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Lita crept cautiously around the backstage area. "Kane?" she called softly. "Kane, where are you? I just want to talk."
She turned a dark corner. "Kane? Kane, you don't need to hide from me. Can't you see I'm all alone?"
Silence and darkness prevailed. "Kane?" she whispered again, once, faintly.
"Who are you looking for?" a deep voice whispered smoothly in her ear behind her.
She didn't bother to turn around, already knowing she wasn't going to like what she was about to see. "Leave me alone, Hunter, this has nothing to do with you."
"I would leave you alone, if you and your little team would just back off of my title."
"Don't worry, it's not going to be your title for much longer, and after that, you won't have to worry about keeping up with it."
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, Triple H yanked her around to face him. He leaned his face in close to hers, speaking almost against her lips. "Big words, and here you are all alone. None of your precious boys are gonna run down to save you this time."
Lita cursed her stupid, stubborn big mouth. She might be able to afford making threats when she had the rest of ECW behind her, but why couldn't she learn to shut up at the appropriate times? Triple H used her hair to yank her head to one side, wrenching her neck painfully. He pulled her against him, nuzzling her neck, smelling the pale lilac of her skin. He nipped at the tender skin where the throat joins the shoulder, breaking the skin. He brought his face up to hers again and Lita was horrified to see a tiny bead of her blood on the side of his lower lip.
She bit her tongue, refusing to plea, refusing to abash herself. He was going to do whatever it was in his sick, twisted mind that he wanted to do, and she wasn't going to shame herself by asking his mercy. She was going to fight.
She kicked his shin, hard, right below the kneecap. He cried out in pain and surprise and went down, but he kept his hand tangled in her hair and brought her down underneath him. He raised his free fist, and Lita tensed, waiting for the explosion of pain.
It never came. She opened her eyes to see Triple H, still above her, staring up at Kane, who held his wrist in an iron grip. Kane was so tall that he'd had to half-crouch to do this, and Triple H looked more than a little terrified. In Lita's indominatable sense of humor, she hoped briefly that Hunter didn't wet himself with her still underneath him.
Kane's words were slow, clear, deliberate, a threat without the attempt to threaten even being made.
"Let her go."
Triple H nodded, wide-eyed and stood up, his eyes going back and forth between Kane's coldly enraged face and the giant's hand that threatened to crush the bones in his wrist and any second. When Triple H was fully standing, Kane released him violently, throwing him back a little bit. Kane stumbled a little, still stunned and wide-eyed. "Leave," Kane suggested quietly, and Triple H's rapid disappearance made it clear that he wholeheartedly agreed that was the best course of action.
Lita remained lying on her back on the floor, paralyzed with fear and confusion. She stared up at Kane wildly. He leaned down towards her...and held his hand out. Numbly, in shock she took it.
He pulled her to her feet with surprisingly gentle strength and released her hand with a touch that lingered just a nanosecond too long.
"You're bleeding," he said quietly.
She only stared blankly at him, all conscious mental processes seeming to have shut down. He gestured cautiously to her neck, not coming close enough to touch her, and a little bit of understanding broke out.
"Oh," she muttered dumbly, and gingerly fingered the painful bite on her neck.
Kane shuffled some of the stacked-up boxes of sound and light equipment around and dug out a medic's kit. He pulled out some disinfectant and cotton swabs, and held them out to her. She reached for them carefully. He looked down at the traces of burns around her wrists and looked quickly away again. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
Lita tried to pour a little bit of the rubbing alcohol on the cotton, but her hands were shaking too fast and she spilled it all over herself. The sharp medical scent permeated the air. "You didn't seem very sorry at the time."
Kane took the bottle from her hands and sanitized a piece of cotton for her. "I was."
"Then why'd you do it?"
He shrugged his massive shoulders, and it somehow made him look smaller...defeated and weak. He thought of everything he wanted to say, how he'd been angry, how he hadn't...*seen* her then. Seen her for what she really was. A woman of fire and light. How until she'd defied him, she'd been just another obstacle in his way to revenge and peace.
Lita studied him as he sat there on the box of sound equipment. His head was down, and he was motionless in thought. Lita felt a twitch of pity, and somewhere deep in the back of her mind, she thought, "He was human once."
"So why did you save me tonight?"
His head snapped up and he looked at her, dazed, so deep in his thoughts he'd nearly forgotten she was there. She looked into his eyes and felt drowned underneath all the pain she saw there. How could so much pain fill one life? She could see how he'd let it swallow him, let it become his existence.
He reached out, delicately, and cleaned the wound on her neck. She barely felt his light touch, except for the sting of the alcohol entering the broken skin. His eyes lost their lost, pained look and she could see him hardening himself, putting on the mask of the monster everyone expected to see.
"You were looking for me to talk to me, weren't you?" he said coldly. "I thought it'd be easier to understand what you were saying before Triple H did what he wanted with you, rather than after."
Lita kept her gaze even on him, and decided to press the issue, braving even his well-documented anger. "Is that the only reason?"
He glanced harshly at her face and looked back to the wound he was tending. "What other reason could there possibly be?"
Before she could answer that, he turned away from her, putting up the medical supplies. "It shouldn't get infected now."
"I didn't know you cared."
"I don't."
"Then why-"
"Because there's enough of Triple H's disgusting germs crawling all over this place between him and his groupies, and I didn't want any more growing."
Lita snorted. She hadn't guessed that Kane could have a sense of humor. "I thought you were basically indifferent towards him."
"Because I lost to him, I had to show my face. Did you forget?"
"Oh, that's right..." Lita murmured.
"The match that YOUR little FRIEND Rob Van Dam asked for." The anger was fueling up inside of him, the urge to destroy anything nearby increasing.
Lita saw his rage building and tried quickly to change the subject. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She laid her hand on his arm.
He stared at her, shocked. She took his momentary stillness to slide over to sit next to him.
He couldn't believe this beautiful woman would willingly come this near him, would willingly *touch* him. "I suppose you want to also try to tell me that Rob didn't mean for it all to happen?
"No. I know that he didn't mean for it to happen, but that's unimportant. It did happen and it's his fault. I want your help in bringing him down."
"I'm disfigured, not stupid. Why would you want to 'bring down' your precious little Rob?"
"He's getting in my way," Lita stated coldly and harshly. "He's getting too close." She let a little anger creep into her voice and build on itself as her words continued.
"He's always asking how I feel, wants to know whenever some little thing has happened to me, wants me to tell him everything. He thinks talking about problems solves them, but he gets nothing done. He's dragging me down."
Kane laughed bitterly. "I know exactly what you mean."
Lita scooted over closer to him so that their legs were touching, leaned up towards him as she pleaded, "So you'll help me then?"
"I would do whatever I can to be done with RVD."
"Good," she smiled brilliantly. "Because I have a plan."
"What is this 'plan' based on? How do you know it will work?"
"Because," her smile was perfect and poisonous. "He loves me."
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Dang, I love writing this. Things are getting a little more complicated, no? So who's side is Lita really on? Or is she only on her own side? Or am I on crack for trying to fit so many plot twists in one story? Should I cut back on my cough syrup and tylenol intakes? Do you hate this story now that it's not take the straightest line to the end? Please let me know something.