Hey guys. Sorry for the bizarre mood swings as of late. Just stressed about school stuff (not to mention the fact that it's *that* time of the month). Anyway, this story has basically finished itself in my head, so I might as well go ahead and write the next chapter. Hope y'all dig it.
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Lita met Kane at the predetermined spot backstage. She motioned silently for him to follow her, and walked off quickly, not looking back to check that he was behind her.
Kane followed as best as he could, but Lita was surprisingly swift. He broke into a half-jog, and nearly lost her on one turn except for the flash of red hair he saw whipping around a right corner. However, the pride of the man inside the monster kept him from calling out for her to slow down.
Lita ducked around one corner and stopped, pressing her back flat against the wall. So far so good. The plan seemed to be working. Any second, Kane would turn the corner and fall right into the glass coffin ECW had planted there.
They all stood in a wide semi-circle, waiting for him to come. He did just as expected: turned the corner, ran into the shin-high end of the coffin, lost his balance...but didn't fall.
Lita didn't hesitate for a moment. While he was still unsteady, she lurched forward to knock him off his feet. Grabbing the closest thing he could for balance, he pulled her down into the coffin on top of him.
The automated lid slammed shut and locked, just as planned. What was not planned, of course, for Lita to be inside.
Lita could faintly hear Rob beating on the bulletproof glass above her head, yelling her name, but since she was laying on her stomach face-to-face with Kane, and the coffin hadn't been intended for two, she could not turn her face to see him. So she focused on the problem at hand.
"All right, Kane, listen quickly, because I don't have much time to explain this. There are pumps connecting this coffin to the boiler room. Soon it will begin to fill with water. There's a four-digit code to unlock this door. I'd point out the control panel to you, but my back's kinda to it. Anyway, I know you can see it."
Kane nodded, still stunned from the so sharp and recent turn of events.
"Now, here's the deal. I propose a truce. You end this feud with RVD, and cease seeking him out to attack him."
"No."
"All right then." Manuevering as much as she could in the cramped space, she folded her arms across his chest and laid her chin on them. "I guess we'll be the last people we'll ever see. Beats dying with Triple H."
Kane closed his eyes and tried to ignore both her and the water he felt creeping up underneath him. It was unpleasantly cool, and smelled of rust in the pipes. Lita continued on like she didn't notice.
"I wonder which of us will die first. I mean, how long will it take? How long does it take to drown?" She made herself more comfortable, relieving the strain on her neck by settling her head down on his chest. "You're heart seems to be beating pretty fast. Are you sure you're not scared?"
Her voice was slightly muffled to Kane. The water had reached the level of his ears. "Kane?" she asked. "Come on, you're not drowning yet. You can still talk to me."
He continued to keep his eyes clenched shut, and she sighed. "Maybe I'll drown first; then at least I'll have shut up and you won't have to listen to me. You could just watch me die."
"All right!" Kane yelled, and a little bit of water spilled into his mouth. He coughed and sputtered some as it went the wrong way down his throat. "Enough; give them the signal and get us out of here. I'll leave Rob alone."
Lita patted the side of his face. "Good boy." As the water continued to rush in, Lita began the slow and painful (for both of them) process of twisting around so that she was on her back. Fortunately, they'd designed the coffin with Kane in mind, so it was plenty wide for her.
Outside, Rob was losing his senses. "Why won't she give us the code? The water's all filled in; I can't see what's going on. Lita!" he began banging on the door again.
"Calm down, man, you're not getting through that door," Spike shuffled nervously on his feet. "Besides, she'll give us the code."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because she has to!" Spike yelled, breaking down. "Because, if she doesn't, then..."
"Then we'll stand here guarding our Snow White in her casket of glass, but with no Prince Charming coming to save her," Raven whispered quietly.
"Oh, shut up you freak!" Bubba snapped. "It's not helping!"
"Are any of us helping?" Stevie asked. "We're just standing here not doing a damn thing."
"What are we supposed to do?" Lance asked.
"All of you, shut up!" Rob yelled as Lita's hand slammed against the glass, holding up all 5 fingers. She repeated it again with 3, then 2, then 3 again.
"The code!" Justin yelled, while Tommy assured him, "Don't worry; I'm already putting it in."
The door swung open, and before it had even finished its arc, Rob was pulling Lita out. Hitting the air, she shivered from the cold. Immediately, the other guys were rushing to get towels out of gymbags to dry her and warm her up. Rob pulled her close, rocking her, ignoring the fact that she was getting him soaking wet.
"How could you do that to me?" he murmured. "How could you? I thought I was about to die at any second."
Lita laughed, hugging him back and snuggling against him. "You were out here; you were just fine."
"My world was in that casket," he whispered fiercely. "And I had to sit here and watch while a flood nearly washed it all away. How can you be so calm?"
"I didn't know it meant that much to you," she whispered seriously, apologetically.
"You mean that much to me."
He looked into her eyes, and Lita wanted more than anything to kiss him right then and there, comfort him and show him she was just fine. "What am I thinking?" she wondered, but her pondering was interrupted by the guys wrapping her up in towels and hugs, trying to keep her dry and warm. Raven smirked suspiciously.
"What?" she asked him, grinning a little herself.
"5-3-23. I should have thought of that. Pretty inane, if you ask me."
"Well, I didn't ask you. Anyway, I thought it was a good code."
"?Que significa?" Rey asked, still a little too emotional to trust his english at the moment.
"It's the numbers of the letters of the alphabet that spell our name. 'E' is the fifth letter, 'C' is three, and 'W' is 23."
"Es tan estupido," Rey teased, but pulled her into a big, dripping hug anyway.
Kane sat, for the moment forgotten, slumped against the side of the coffin, his lungs burning with the newfound air, his skin tightened with the wet and the cold, and no one to warm him. He sat watching ECW, and for the first time since he lost his childhood, a tear slipped down his face, disguised among all the other water on him.
Lita looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled, and suddenly the fact that she'd actually remembered him, had *seen* him for who he really was, made it all worth it. Unfortunately, her kind action drew the attention of the rest of ECW.
"So, what about him?" Tommy asked.
"What about him?" Lita replied to his question with a question. "It's Kane. He works for the WWE, too. And that's our relationship now. He sees one of us backstage, or one of us sees him, no big deal. No fighting, no ambushing, no plotting, nothing. It's over."
"Now, you boys have some matches tonight you need to go get ready for. Maybe you should get to it."
Every single one of them hugged her by as they left, Spike shyly kissing her on the cheek before running off.
Rob waited for them to leave, and turned to her. "Why'd you take the risk? You could have both drowned and even you yourself admit that Kane cares little for his life."
"No, he doesn't," she admitted quietly, looking back at where the Big Red Monster was walking off. "But he wouldn't have let anything happen to me."
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Lita met Kane at the predetermined spot backstage. She motioned silently for him to follow her, and walked off quickly, not looking back to check that he was behind her.
Kane followed as best as he could, but Lita was surprisingly swift. He broke into a half-jog, and nearly lost her on one turn except for the flash of red hair he saw whipping around a right corner. However, the pride of the man inside the monster kept him from calling out for her to slow down.
Lita ducked around one corner and stopped, pressing her back flat against the wall. So far so good. The plan seemed to be working. Any second, Kane would turn the corner and fall right into the glass coffin ECW had planted there.
They all stood in a wide semi-circle, waiting for him to come. He did just as expected: turned the corner, ran into the shin-high end of the coffin, lost his balance...but didn't fall.
Lita didn't hesitate for a moment. While he was still unsteady, she lurched forward to knock him off his feet. Grabbing the closest thing he could for balance, he pulled her down into the coffin on top of him.
The automated lid slammed shut and locked, just as planned. What was not planned, of course, for Lita to be inside.
Lita could faintly hear Rob beating on the bulletproof glass above her head, yelling her name, but since she was laying on her stomach face-to-face with Kane, and the coffin hadn't been intended for two, she could not turn her face to see him. So she focused on the problem at hand.
"All right, Kane, listen quickly, because I don't have much time to explain this. There are pumps connecting this coffin to the boiler room. Soon it will begin to fill with water. There's a four-digit code to unlock this door. I'd point out the control panel to you, but my back's kinda to it. Anyway, I know you can see it."
Kane nodded, still stunned from the so sharp and recent turn of events.
"Now, here's the deal. I propose a truce. You end this feud with RVD, and cease seeking him out to attack him."
"No."
"All right then." Manuevering as much as she could in the cramped space, she folded her arms across his chest and laid her chin on them. "I guess we'll be the last people we'll ever see. Beats dying with Triple H."
Kane closed his eyes and tried to ignore both her and the water he felt creeping up underneath him. It was unpleasantly cool, and smelled of rust in the pipes. Lita continued on like she didn't notice.
"I wonder which of us will die first. I mean, how long will it take? How long does it take to drown?" She made herself more comfortable, relieving the strain on her neck by settling her head down on his chest. "You're heart seems to be beating pretty fast. Are you sure you're not scared?"
Her voice was slightly muffled to Kane. The water had reached the level of his ears. "Kane?" she asked. "Come on, you're not drowning yet. You can still talk to me."
He continued to keep his eyes clenched shut, and she sighed. "Maybe I'll drown first; then at least I'll have shut up and you won't have to listen to me. You could just watch me die."
"All right!" Kane yelled, and a little bit of water spilled into his mouth. He coughed and sputtered some as it went the wrong way down his throat. "Enough; give them the signal and get us out of here. I'll leave Rob alone."
Lita patted the side of his face. "Good boy." As the water continued to rush in, Lita began the slow and painful (for both of them) process of twisting around so that she was on her back. Fortunately, they'd designed the coffin with Kane in mind, so it was plenty wide for her.
Outside, Rob was losing his senses. "Why won't she give us the code? The water's all filled in; I can't see what's going on. Lita!" he began banging on the door again.
"Calm down, man, you're not getting through that door," Spike shuffled nervously on his feet. "Besides, she'll give us the code."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because she has to!" Spike yelled, breaking down. "Because, if she doesn't, then..."
"Then we'll stand here guarding our Snow White in her casket of glass, but with no Prince Charming coming to save her," Raven whispered quietly.
"Oh, shut up you freak!" Bubba snapped. "It's not helping!"
"Are any of us helping?" Stevie asked. "We're just standing here not doing a damn thing."
"What are we supposed to do?" Lance asked.
"All of you, shut up!" Rob yelled as Lita's hand slammed against the glass, holding up all 5 fingers. She repeated it again with 3, then 2, then 3 again.
"The code!" Justin yelled, while Tommy assured him, "Don't worry; I'm already putting it in."
The door swung open, and before it had even finished its arc, Rob was pulling Lita out. Hitting the air, she shivered from the cold. Immediately, the other guys were rushing to get towels out of gymbags to dry her and warm her up. Rob pulled her close, rocking her, ignoring the fact that she was getting him soaking wet.
"How could you do that to me?" he murmured. "How could you? I thought I was about to die at any second."
Lita laughed, hugging him back and snuggling against him. "You were out here; you were just fine."
"My world was in that casket," he whispered fiercely. "And I had to sit here and watch while a flood nearly washed it all away. How can you be so calm?"
"I didn't know it meant that much to you," she whispered seriously, apologetically.
"You mean that much to me."
He looked into her eyes, and Lita wanted more than anything to kiss him right then and there, comfort him and show him she was just fine. "What am I thinking?" she wondered, but her pondering was interrupted by the guys wrapping her up in towels and hugs, trying to keep her dry and warm. Raven smirked suspiciously.
"What?" she asked him, grinning a little herself.
"5-3-23. I should have thought of that. Pretty inane, if you ask me."
"Well, I didn't ask you. Anyway, I thought it was a good code."
"?Que significa?" Rey asked, still a little too emotional to trust his english at the moment.
"It's the numbers of the letters of the alphabet that spell our name. 'E' is the fifth letter, 'C' is three, and 'W' is 23."
"Es tan estupido," Rey teased, but pulled her into a big, dripping hug anyway.
Kane sat, for the moment forgotten, slumped against the side of the coffin, his lungs burning with the newfound air, his skin tightened with the wet and the cold, and no one to warm him. He sat watching ECW, and for the first time since he lost his childhood, a tear slipped down his face, disguised among all the other water on him.
Lita looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled, and suddenly the fact that she'd actually remembered him, had *seen* him for who he really was, made it all worth it. Unfortunately, her kind action drew the attention of the rest of ECW.
"So, what about him?" Tommy asked.
"What about him?" Lita replied to his question with a question. "It's Kane. He works for the WWE, too. And that's our relationship now. He sees one of us backstage, or one of us sees him, no big deal. No fighting, no ambushing, no plotting, nothing. It's over."
"Now, you boys have some matches tonight you need to go get ready for. Maybe you should get to it."
Every single one of them hugged her by as they left, Spike shyly kissing her on the cheek before running off.
Rob waited for them to leave, and turned to her. "Why'd you take the risk? You could have both drowned and even you yourself admit that Kane cares little for his life."
"No, he doesn't," she admitted quietly, looking back at where the Big Red Monster was walking off. "But he wouldn't have let anything happen to me."