No one gave Stephanie a second glance as she walked backstage, despite the
fact that the corridors were filled with people from the talent roster and
crew who all knew her well. She was thankful that she'd worn such casual un-
Stephanie clothes, they were so used to seeing her in her skintight low cut
affairs that they didn't recognize her dressed casually. She smiled as she
continued walking; it was all going to plan. As she turned a corner, she
bumped into someone; they reached out a hand to steady her. She looked up
from under the peak of her baseball cap to see Rob smiling down at her
mischievously.
"Sorry ma'am" he apologized
"That's ok" she replied trying not to laugh before adding in a quieter voice "good luck against Guerrero, not that you need it"
He flashed a wide RVD smile and gave her a thumbs up before moving on. She resumed her course and reached the women's restroom, praying silently that it would be empty, it was. She retreated into one of the stalls and began carefully unpacking her bag she'd brought with her, it was time to transform into a business woman, Stephanie McMahon, co-owner of the WWE to be precise. She pulled a soft chocolate brown pants suit out and hung it up on the door; glad it was non-crease, adding a white button down shirt beside it. She pulled out her make-up bag and hairbrush, she just had to change and add the finishing touches, and she'd had a manicure the day before in preparation much to Shane's disbelief. Shane had told her to just be half an hour before meeting him in the office while he smoothed things over with Daddy. She didn't have much time to lose.
*
Shane took a shaky breath; this would be the hardest part of the plan. He went to knock on his Dad's office door when it suddenly opened and Ric Flair walked out. He beamed when he saw Shane who put a finger to his lips to silence Flair. Flair nodded and beckoned him away from the door.
"Shane! Great to see you! What you doing here?" he asked
"Got a little business to finish up" Shane replied, trying to sound cheerful
"Business first, that's the McMahon way" laughed Flair "good luck kiddo, I'm off to prepare to kick Austin's ass"
With a wave, he disappeared down the corridor. Shane smiled a little; Flair always made him smile, being so positive about everything. He knocked on the office door and heard a sharp command to enter. With a lump in his throat, he did. This was it.
Vince had his back turned, talking on his cell phone but when he turned around and saw Shane, his face changed and he hurriedly wrapped things up on the phone. He looked at his soon with a mixture of suspiciousness and anger, waiting for him to speak.
"Hey Dad, everything ready for the PPV?" asked Shane weakly
"Not going to be bad, Austin's gonna finally get what's coming to him" replied Vince still suspicious "but you didn't come here to talk about PPV, what do you want?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you walking into my office like nothing's happened when we both know that we haven't exactly been on civil speaking terms since the day after Survivor Series so what do you want?" asked Vince, his voice getting louder
"I didn't want to leave things bad as they were between us, especially since the company's doing so well" said Shane, warming up "I mean you have Flair as a co-owner, one of the all time greats, you've got Austin where you want him, two great rosters of superb talent, everything, I didn't want your family to be the only thing letting you down and I wanted to say sorry for putting this off for so long"
Vince looked at him slowly, trying to read his son's face but Shane stared back impassive, and he knew how to lock his dad out. Vince nodded a little and motioned for Shane to sit down.
"I'm pleased to hear that Shane" he said at last "Stephanie hasn't talked to me for a while, I think she's still mad that she's not on TV and I know she's having problems with Hunter, I'm glad to see that one of my children isn't lost, that you can take it like man and have the courage to swallow your pride and admit defeat"
Shane nodded; he wasn't admitting anything but Vince didn't need to know that. Pretending to go along with his father was the best tactic possible right now.
"Well Shane, I accept your apology, it's good to see you back"
They shook hands, stony-faced, knowing that neither of them trusted the other but it was a start.
"I take it you're watching the show tonight?" asked Vince as he sat at his desk, beginning to sort through the papers on it
"Yeah, got a ticket and everything" laughed Shane lightly "In fact, I told a few people I'd meet them so I'd better go and find them"
He got up from his seat and headed for the door.
"Oh Shane?"
His father's voice stopped him, Shane turned around expectantly
"You try anything to mess with my show and I'll have security throw you out faster than you can blink"
Shane smiled, he didn't expect anything less. His father was a McMahon after all and he wasn't a fool. "Got it Dad"
As soon as he closed the door, he couldn't stop smiling. Phase one complete, he quickly texted Steph to let her know he was on his way. Phase two was about to start.
Stephanie looked up anxiously as she saw Shane approaching and put an indignant look on her face. "What are you doing here?" She asked once he could hear her.
He looked at her with the same practiced look of disdain the McMahon's were so good at. "I could ask you the same thing dear sister of mine."
"If you insist on knowing." She started evenly, not having to look around to know that people backstage had stopped and were now staring. "I have some things to take care of with writing department." She didn't wait for his response and brushed by him on her way to Vince's office. She heard the faint 'good luck' he whispered and she had to hide her grin.
*
Vince looked up as his door got knocked on for the umpteenth time that time and was pleasantly surprised to see his daughter, peering in the opened door cautiously. "Come on in Steph." He called.
She smiled nervously and silently congratulated herself on being the terrific actress she was. "Hi Daddy." She managed out, taking a seat across from him. "Just let me talk so I can get this out." She rushed, seeing Vince getting ready to talk. He held up his hands in surrender and smiled as he sat back. "I just wanted to apologize for acting the way I did a couple of months ago. I was upset with having to take a backseat, but you're right." She grinned. "The writing team does need me."
"You know, I'm proud of you for coming to your senses." Vince complimented. "You're apology is accepted." Stephanie smiled widely and tucked her hair behind her ears and reached for her purse when he stopped her. "Steph, did you know Shane was here?"
Stephanie put a look of surprise on her face. "Really? What's he doing here?"
Vince shrugged. "I'm not sure. But can you do me a favour and make sure he doesn't try anything? And if you see anything suspicious going on let me know?"
"Of course Daddy. The last thing I'd want to happen is your Pay-Per-View gets ruined." She said pleasantly, standing up. "I'll come to you if anything gets weird." She assured. "Bye Dad!" She walked out of the room and once the door shut behind her, let out a huge sigh of relief.
*
Shane finished making his rounds with the security and headed back to their office. Threats had to be made, but there was no way either of them was getting thrown out for being a disturbance. He looked around and stepped into the room and saw Stephanie sitting at the chair, her legs crossed with a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Everything went perfect." She said before he could say anything. "He bought everything and he's a little suspicious of you, but has me watching out for you."
"He has you watching out for me?" Shane asked incredulously.
Stephanie nodded and glanced at her watch. "We have five minutes. Does everybody know where they're going to be and what they have to do?"
"Yup, we're good." Shane assured, pulling his jacket on over the button up shirt. "Sound booth has our music, technicians have our lighting. Our microphones are right there." He pointed to where they laid on the bench. "And our talent is ready." He said proudly.
They glanced at each other nervously before jumping up at the same time.
"Let's go." Stephanie said in a low voice, grabbing her microphone and hiding it under the jacket. She waited as Shane went out a couple of minutes before her and counted to fifteen before making her way out. She saw him walking ahead a couple of feet and put a look of disgust on her face. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and followed him up the stairs to the curtain.
Shane gave her a quick squeeze on the arm and listened to the countdown the stage manager was whispering to them. Stephanie peaked out through the curtain and watched as all the lights went black. They heard the exclamations from JR and the King and the general tone of confusion from the audience. There was a noise behind them and turned around to see the Undertaker and RVD standing behind them, nervous looks on their faces.
"You guys come out when we give you the cue." Shane instructed quickly as the opening notes to their music, 'The Game' by Disturbed, rang throughout the arena. They all listened as the opening lyrics passed by and Stephanie was proud of herself; the words had been perfectly fitting.
[Tell me exactly what am I supposed to do/ Now that I have allowed you to beat me/ Do you think that we could play another game/ Maybe I could win this time]
[I kind of like the misery you put me through/ Darling, you can trust me completely/ If you even try to look the other way/ I think that I could kill this time]
There was a pause as the opening guitar sounded and the pyro went off as Shane and Stephanie McMahon stepped through the curtain and back into the limelight.
The audience had to see who was interrupting the Pay-Per-View, but exploded in cheers when they saw Vince McMahon's two children back in the company.
The two walked down the ramp, side by side, and Stephanie grinned at the positive reaction.
"What the hell are those two doing here?" JR exclaimed. "This is incredible! I never thought they'd have the courage to come back here to face their father!"
"Who cares why they're here!" The King yelled. "They're going to create conflict and try to save the WWE!"
Stephanie knew that most of the applause was for Shane and not her, but didn't let it get to her. She was back where she belonged. She climbed up the steps as Shane followed and she stood in the middle of the ring, hands resting on her hips.
Shane waited until the audience had quieted down and the music faded before brining the microphone to his lips. "Damn it feels good to be back!" He exclaimed, earning even more cheers. Stephanie stayed quiet for the time being, realizing she could switch the mood in a matter of seconds.
"I guess that Stephanie and Shane want what's rightfully theirs." The King commented while keeping his eyes glued to the ring.
"I still can't believe it." JR muttered, shaking his head.
Stephanie picked up her own microphone upon seeing the confused look on the older announcer's face and smirked before talking. "Now I know I'm the last person any of you would want to see." She paused as the audience started booing and turned to Shane, who gave her a comforting glance. It was his turn to be the reassuring McMahon child. "But I'm speaking for everyone when I say that this company has gone nothing but downhill ever since splitting up the roster and shows." This time there was a little less booing and more cheering. She was about to say something else when their father appeared at the top of the ramp.
"What the hell is the meaning of this and where is security?!" Vince demanded with an outraged look on his face.
"Take a look for yourself." Shane said smugly. The Titantron turned on to reveal footage of the security office. Most of the guards were tied to the chairs and they were being guarded heavily by Test, John Cena, and Randy Orton.
Realization dawned on Vince's face and he figured out what was going on right before being blindsided by RVD and then choke slammed by the Undertaker.
"Sorry ma'am" he apologized
"That's ok" she replied trying not to laugh before adding in a quieter voice "good luck against Guerrero, not that you need it"
He flashed a wide RVD smile and gave her a thumbs up before moving on. She resumed her course and reached the women's restroom, praying silently that it would be empty, it was. She retreated into one of the stalls and began carefully unpacking her bag she'd brought with her, it was time to transform into a business woman, Stephanie McMahon, co-owner of the WWE to be precise. She pulled a soft chocolate brown pants suit out and hung it up on the door; glad it was non-crease, adding a white button down shirt beside it. She pulled out her make-up bag and hairbrush, she just had to change and add the finishing touches, and she'd had a manicure the day before in preparation much to Shane's disbelief. Shane had told her to just be half an hour before meeting him in the office while he smoothed things over with Daddy. She didn't have much time to lose.
*
Shane took a shaky breath; this would be the hardest part of the plan. He went to knock on his Dad's office door when it suddenly opened and Ric Flair walked out. He beamed when he saw Shane who put a finger to his lips to silence Flair. Flair nodded and beckoned him away from the door.
"Shane! Great to see you! What you doing here?" he asked
"Got a little business to finish up" Shane replied, trying to sound cheerful
"Business first, that's the McMahon way" laughed Flair "good luck kiddo, I'm off to prepare to kick Austin's ass"
With a wave, he disappeared down the corridor. Shane smiled a little; Flair always made him smile, being so positive about everything. He knocked on the office door and heard a sharp command to enter. With a lump in his throat, he did. This was it.
Vince had his back turned, talking on his cell phone but when he turned around and saw Shane, his face changed and he hurriedly wrapped things up on the phone. He looked at his soon with a mixture of suspiciousness and anger, waiting for him to speak.
"Hey Dad, everything ready for the PPV?" asked Shane weakly
"Not going to be bad, Austin's gonna finally get what's coming to him" replied Vince still suspicious "but you didn't come here to talk about PPV, what do you want?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you walking into my office like nothing's happened when we both know that we haven't exactly been on civil speaking terms since the day after Survivor Series so what do you want?" asked Vince, his voice getting louder
"I didn't want to leave things bad as they were between us, especially since the company's doing so well" said Shane, warming up "I mean you have Flair as a co-owner, one of the all time greats, you've got Austin where you want him, two great rosters of superb talent, everything, I didn't want your family to be the only thing letting you down and I wanted to say sorry for putting this off for so long"
Vince looked at him slowly, trying to read his son's face but Shane stared back impassive, and he knew how to lock his dad out. Vince nodded a little and motioned for Shane to sit down.
"I'm pleased to hear that Shane" he said at last "Stephanie hasn't talked to me for a while, I think she's still mad that she's not on TV and I know she's having problems with Hunter, I'm glad to see that one of my children isn't lost, that you can take it like man and have the courage to swallow your pride and admit defeat"
Shane nodded; he wasn't admitting anything but Vince didn't need to know that. Pretending to go along with his father was the best tactic possible right now.
"Well Shane, I accept your apology, it's good to see you back"
They shook hands, stony-faced, knowing that neither of them trusted the other but it was a start.
"I take it you're watching the show tonight?" asked Vince as he sat at his desk, beginning to sort through the papers on it
"Yeah, got a ticket and everything" laughed Shane lightly "In fact, I told a few people I'd meet them so I'd better go and find them"
He got up from his seat and headed for the door.
"Oh Shane?"
His father's voice stopped him, Shane turned around expectantly
"You try anything to mess with my show and I'll have security throw you out faster than you can blink"
Shane smiled, he didn't expect anything less. His father was a McMahon after all and he wasn't a fool. "Got it Dad"
As soon as he closed the door, he couldn't stop smiling. Phase one complete, he quickly texted Steph to let her know he was on his way. Phase two was about to start.
Stephanie looked up anxiously as she saw Shane approaching and put an indignant look on her face. "What are you doing here?" She asked once he could hear her.
He looked at her with the same practiced look of disdain the McMahon's were so good at. "I could ask you the same thing dear sister of mine."
"If you insist on knowing." She started evenly, not having to look around to know that people backstage had stopped and were now staring. "I have some things to take care of with writing department." She didn't wait for his response and brushed by him on her way to Vince's office. She heard the faint 'good luck' he whispered and she had to hide her grin.
*
Vince looked up as his door got knocked on for the umpteenth time that time and was pleasantly surprised to see his daughter, peering in the opened door cautiously. "Come on in Steph." He called.
She smiled nervously and silently congratulated herself on being the terrific actress she was. "Hi Daddy." She managed out, taking a seat across from him. "Just let me talk so I can get this out." She rushed, seeing Vince getting ready to talk. He held up his hands in surrender and smiled as he sat back. "I just wanted to apologize for acting the way I did a couple of months ago. I was upset with having to take a backseat, but you're right." She grinned. "The writing team does need me."
"You know, I'm proud of you for coming to your senses." Vince complimented. "You're apology is accepted." Stephanie smiled widely and tucked her hair behind her ears and reached for her purse when he stopped her. "Steph, did you know Shane was here?"
Stephanie put a look of surprise on her face. "Really? What's he doing here?"
Vince shrugged. "I'm not sure. But can you do me a favour and make sure he doesn't try anything? And if you see anything suspicious going on let me know?"
"Of course Daddy. The last thing I'd want to happen is your Pay-Per-View gets ruined." She said pleasantly, standing up. "I'll come to you if anything gets weird." She assured. "Bye Dad!" She walked out of the room and once the door shut behind her, let out a huge sigh of relief.
*
Shane finished making his rounds with the security and headed back to their office. Threats had to be made, but there was no way either of them was getting thrown out for being a disturbance. He looked around and stepped into the room and saw Stephanie sitting at the chair, her legs crossed with a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Everything went perfect." She said before he could say anything. "He bought everything and he's a little suspicious of you, but has me watching out for you."
"He has you watching out for me?" Shane asked incredulously.
Stephanie nodded and glanced at her watch. "We have five minutes. Does everybody know where they're going to be and what they have to do?"
"Yup, we're good." Shane assured, pulling his jacket on over the button up shirt. "Sound booth has our music, technicians have our lighting. Our microphones are right there." He pointed to where they laid on the bench. "And our talent is ready." He said proudly.
They glanced at each other nervously before jumping up at the same time.
"Let's go." Stephanie said in a low voice, grabbing her microphone and hiding it under the jacket. She waited as Shane went out a couple of minutes before her and counted to fifteen before making her way out. She saw him walking ahead a couple of feet and put a look of disgust on her face. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and followed him up the stairs to the curtain.
Shane gave her a quick squeeze on the arm and listened to the countdown the stage manager was whispering to them. Stephanie peaked out through the curtain and watched as all the lights went black. They heard the exclamations from JR and the King and the general tone of confusion from the audience. There was a noise behind them and turned around to see the Undertaker and RVD standing behind them, nervous looks on their faces.
"You guys come out when we give you the cue." Shane instructed quickly as the opening notes to their music, 'The Game' by Disturbed, rang throughout the arena. They all listened as the opening lyrics passed by and Stephanie was proud of herself; the words had been perfectly fitting.
[Tell me exactly what am I supposed to do/ Now that I have allowed you to beat me/ Do you think that we could play another game/ Maybe I could win this time]
[I kind of like the misery you put me through/ Darling, you can trust me completely/ If you even try to look the other way/ I think that I could kill this time]
There was a pause as the opening guitar sounded and the pyro went off as Shane and Stephanie McMahon stepped through the curtain and back into the limelight.
The audience had to see who was interrupting the Pay-Per-View, but exploded in cheers when they saw Vince McMahon's two children back in the company.
The two walked down the ramp, side by side, and Stephanie grinned at the positive reaction.
"What the hell are those two doing here?" JR exclaimed. "This is incredible! I never thought they'd have the courage to come back here to face their father!"
"Who cares why they're here!" The King yelled. "They're going to create conflict and try to save the WWE!"
Stephanie knew that most of the applause was for Shane and not her, but didn't let it get to her. She was back where she belonged. She climbed up the steps as Shane followed and she stood in the middle of the ring, hands resting on her hips.
Shane waited until the audience had quieted down and the music faded before brining the microphone to his lips. "Damn it feels good to be back!" He exclaimed, earning even more cheers. Stephanie stayed quiet for the time being, realizing she could switch the mood in a matter of seconds.
"I guess that Stephanie and Shane want what's rightfully theirs." The King commented while keeping his eyes glued to the ring.
"I still can't believe it." JR muttered, shaking his head.
Stephanie picked up her own microphone upon seeing the confused look on the older announcer's face and smirked before talking. "Now I know I'm the last person any of you would want to see." She paused as the audience started booing and turned to Shane, who gave her a comforting glance. It was his turn to be the reassuring McMahon child. "But I'm speaking for everyone when I say that this company has gone nothing but downhill ever since splitting up the roster and shows." This time there was a little less booing and more cheering. She was about to say something else when their father appeared at the top of the ramp.
"What the hell is the meaning of this and where is security?!" Vince demanded with an outraged look on his face.
"Take a look for yourself." Shane said smugly. The Titantron turned on to reveal footage of the security office. Most of the guards were tied to the chairs and they were being guarded heavily by Test, John Cena, and Randy Orton.
Realization dawned on Vince's face and he figured out what was going on right before being blindsided by RVD and then choke slammed by the Undertaker.