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"Shane, get you ass off the floor boy!" a voice rumbled through Shane's consciousness
His head felt as though it had exploded, leaving him unable to open his eyes. Someone shook him hard, jolting him further out of the thick heavy fog that seemed to surround him and more back to reality. He braced himself and opened his eyes a crack to find Undertaker bending over him, a furious look in his eyes. Shane bit back a groan, he seriously wasn't in the mood for a confrontation with Taker, that required full consciousness and sharp thinking, both of which he lacked in right now.
"I know you're awake so you'd better tell me what the hell happened!" ordered Undertaker
Steph wouldn't have stood for being ordered around, especially by Undertaker but Shane understood that sometimes it was best to let these things happen. Slowly he sat up, letting the swimming colours before his eyes settle so that he could take everything in; he was sitting in the corridor, a tender lump forming on the back of his head. Undertaker was dressed in his ring gear, pushing his shades up from in front of his eyes to on top of his head, he hadn't been in the ring yet Shane noted
"What match is going on?" asked Shane suddenly
"Jericho and Hunter are in the cell" replied Taker "but that don't matter, what matters is that I found you sprawled out in the corridor like a dead man so you owe me an explanation"
Shane frowned as he tried to remember, it all seemed to be swimming around in his head without finding a distinct landing spot. Then it all rushed back to him in jarring clearness
"I was attacked from behind" he said slowly "steel chair shot to the head, I was knocked out so before you ask, I dunno who did this"
"Where's your sister?" asked Taker abruptly
"In the office probably" replied Shane puzzled "why?"
"Because I've been ringing her on that cell of her's since I found you but she ain't answering"
"She hasn't answered?"
"Nope"
Shane frowned, Steph always kept her cell on her wherever she was, just in case someone rang her. She never left it behind anywhere, unless...
"Oh hell" swore Shane "I bet they've got her"
He began trying to unsteadily getting to his feet before wobbling and nearly collapsing when Taker grabbed his arm to stop him falling.
"You'd better get your legs straightened because I sure as hell ain't carrying you into that office" warned Taker
Shane nodded, his head clearing a little now as he began walking slowly back towards the office. The door was shut tightly. He knocked hard but there was no answer, he tried again louder but still no one answered. He pulled a key from his pocket and quickly shakily unlocked it, throwing the door open and rushed in. Steph's cell-phone lay on the arm of the chair she's been sitting on, the screen showing the number of messages Taker had left for her. Shane picked it up then threw it back down again, swearing under his breath as he brought a hand to his aching forehead. Taker stood in the doorway not speaking as he watching Shane start to panic
"Shane" he said finally "how do you know she's been taken?"
"On a night this important, Steph would never leave without telling me where, for one thing it's Hunter and Jericho's match and she really wanted to see that, she just wouldn't do this alright? She just wouldn't" Shane trailed off miserably
"Want me to call in the troops?" asked Taker, scratching his chin lazily
Shane nodded wearily. Steph might not be willing to let the Undertaker take on a leadership role but under the circumstances, Shane definitely thought it was for the best.
"Get as many of them as you can back here, we can start planning how to find her" he sighed
"You got it boss" Taker said with a faint trace of sarcasm, a smile playing on his lips
Shane grinned; he knew that in his relationship, you could never tell who was in charge
*
"You let me go! Do you hear? Let me go?"
Steph's voice was getting dangerously close to screech level, Edge winced at the pitch of her voice. Steph continued to beat his back with her fists, determined not to let them see her worry or afraid, just her anger, her most dangerous weapon besides her sharp barbed tongue. She could see Jericho walking languidly behind them, whistling cheerfully and sometimes miming an air guitar. She rolled her eyes, it was probably that band he liked so much Fozzy, he was always singing or humming or whistling one of their songs. It was one of the many things about him that drove her crazy.
"Well I have to get going now Edgster" Jericho spoke up "I have a cell to enter and an opponent to destroy"
"Knock yourself out" replied Edge "catch you later though?"
"Whatever remains they scrape off the steel will be delivered to the room" answered Jericho, a smirk in his voice "though I suspect it'll be Hunter's remains that'll fit in a box not mine"
He bent down so that he was looking into Steph's face. She looked back blankly, willing herself to hide every shred of anger and insults she wanted to throw at him, she smiled a little. Jericho smirked, when he began speaking, she could smell pizza on his breath
"Have a nice ride Princess" he said sneering "looks like your invasion just got derailed"
"Bye Chris" she said sweetly, secretly applauding herself for her self control
Jericho gave her a strange look, like he wasn't able to work her out before straightening out, turning on his heel and walking away. Steph smiled evilly to herself, one to her. With a jolt Edge started moving again then he stopped just as suddenly as he started
"Here we are" he said cheerfully "that'll be five dollars and a tip for the ride"
"I'll be sure to tip you after the return trip" Steph replied, once again keeping the anger out of her voice
Edge knocked on a door in front of him, Steph heard it swing open squeaking and the slap of hands meeting in a jubilant high five. She was about to find out the reason she'd been grabbed and that was when she'd let her anger loose.
*
"Stephanie!"
"Where are you Steph!?"
"This is hopeless." Shane said glumly to RVD.
He shook his head in response. "No it's not. We just gotta keep looking. She has to be somewhere in the arena."
Shane looked up at the group of security that approached him. "Well did you find her? Hear anything about her? Know who it was?"
One stepped forward and shook his head. "Sorry Mr. McMahon, we haven't heard anything about your sister."
*~*~*~*
Stephanie scowled as she was pushed down into a chair and faced the leather chair that was turned away from her. "So." She started, drumming her fingers against the arm of the chair. "Did you bring me here for a reason or are you just going to stare at the wall the whole time?"
The person in the chair turned around and she found herself face to face with her dad.
"What a surprise." Vince deadpanned. "My children show up out of the clear blue and they try to take me over again."
"We succeeded." She corrected quickly.
Vince ignored her. "What makes you think you can get away with this again? That was not meant to be answered." He continued when she opened her mouth to speak. "I brought you here because I'm willing to make a deal with you."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that's going to happen anytime soon."
They both looked up as somebody started pounding on the door.
"Come in!" Vince called, keeping a close eye on his daughter. "Austin, what a surprise to see you here."
"Cut the talking Vince." Austin snapped, giving him a knowing look. "Hey, why don't I do you a favor and take the princess off your hands."
Vince caught his almost sadistic look and smirked. "Be my guest."
Austin yanked her up by the arm and Stephanie protested loudly as she was pushed out of the room.
"Where the hell do you think you're taking me?" She demanded, shaking her arm free. They kept walking and she scowled. "I think I'd rather be with my dad right now." She nearly bumped into him as he came to an abrupt stop. "What are you doing?" She looked up and saw that it was her office.
"Well are you going in or are you going to stand out here gaping like it's gonna start singing?" Austin asked, an emotionless look on his face.
Stephanie glanced at him cautiously and walked backwards to the door. Her hand found the knob and she pushed the door open. Austin gave her a quick nod and she stumbled into the room, shutting the door behind her.
"Where were you?" A voice demanded.
She whirled around and saw John Cena and Randy Orton sitting on the couch, relieved looks on both of their faces. "I have no idea what the hell just happened." She breathed out, easing herself down into the recliner.
"Was that Austin?" John asked curiously.
"Yeah." Stephanie nodded. "I think he just saved me from my father."
*~*~*~*
"So I think it was pretty productive tonight." Shane commented in the limo afterwards.
Stephanie shot him an irritated look before turning to look out the window. "Yeah, especially when I was kidnapped."
"Hey I was knocked unconscious." Shane shot back.
"Whatever." She muttered, keeping her eyes glued to the buildings passing them by.
The car pulled to a stop in front of the hotel and Stephanie didn't say a word as she brushed by Shane, grabbing her bags on the way.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning." She called over her shoulder while waiting for the bellhop. "We need to go over the plans for Raw. I have them all set but you don't know about them yet." She greeted the guy with a pleasant smile as he grabbed her luggage and she followed him into the elevator without another word to Shane.
"You get used to the mood swings." Test commented, dragging his suitcases behind him. "She'll be fine by tomorrow morning. I think the whole Vince/Austin thing freaked her out."
Shane nodded. "Yeah I know. I should probably go up and apologize for getting knocked unconscious." He said sarcastically and Test laughed.
"Good luck."
"Thanks." Shane looked up the room she was staying in and got into the elevator. He waited impatiently and when the doors opened he sprinted out, nearly knocking over the cleaning lady. "Sorry." He said briefly. He found her room and knocked on the door.
*~*~*~*
Stephanie got into her room and tossed her suitcases onto the free bed, an exaggerated sigh of relief slipping past her lips. She quickly got changed into her flannel pajamas and threw her hair up before throwing herself on the other bed. Pulling the covers over her, she picked up the book she'd started and read in peaceful silence until a pounding was heard on her door. She looked up in alarm. "Who's there?" She called meekly, thinking that she had told them to keep her room a secret.
There was no answer and she saw the door slowly being pushed open and flung the covers over her head. "Hello?" She asked quietly, hearing somebody as they began to laugh. She slowly lowered the blanket and saw her brother holding onto the doorframe for support. "Jackass." She muttered. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to apologize." Shane said simply. "I tried my best to keep that from happening and honestly, I thought we did really well tonight."
Stephanie grinned and shook her brother's outstretched hand. "We did. And tomorrow is a brand new day."
"Shane, get you ass off the floor boy!" a voice rumbled through Shane's consciousness
His head felt as though it had exploded, leaving him unable to open his eyes. Someone shook him hard, jolting him further out of the thick heavy fog that seemed to surround him and more back to reality. He braced himself and opened his eyes a crack to find Undertaker bending over him, a furious look in his eyes. Shane bit back a groan, he seriously wasn't in the mood for a confrontation with Taker, that required full consciousness and sharp thinking, both of which he lacked in right now.
"I know you're awake so you'd better tell me what the hell happened!" ordered Undertaker
Steph wouldn't have stood for being ordered around, especially by Undertaker but Shane understood that sometimes it was best to let these things happen. Slowly he sat up, letting the swimming colours before his eyes settle so that he could take everything in; he was sitting in the corridor, a tender lump forming on the back of his head. Undertaker was dressed in his ring gear, pushing his shades up from in front of his eyes to on top of his head, he hadn't been in the ring yet Shane noted
"What match is going on?" asked Shane suddenly
"Jericho and Hunter are in the cell" replied Taker "but that don't matter, what matters is that I found you sprawled out in the corridor like a dead man so you owe me an explanation"
Shane frowned as he tried to remember, it all seemed to be swimming around in his head without finding a distinct landing spot. Then it all rushed back to him in jarring clearness
"I was attacked from behind" he said slowly "steel chair shot to the head, I was knocked out so before you ask, I dunno who did this"
"Where's your sister?" asked Taker abruptly
"In the office probably" replied Shane puzzled "why?"
"Because I've been ringing her on that cell of her's since I found you but she ain't answering"
"She hasn't answered?"
"Nope"
Shane frowned, Steph always kept her cell on her wherever she was, just in case someone rang her. She never left it behind anywhere, unless...
"Oh hell" swore Shane "I bet they've got her"
He began trying to unsteadily getting to his feet before wobbling and nearly collapsing when Taker grabbed his arm to stop him falling.
"You'd better get your legs straightened because I sure as hell ain't carrying you into that office" warned Taker
Shane nodded, his head clearing a little now as he began walking slowly back towards the office. The door was shut tightly. He knocked hard but there was no answer, he tried again louder but still no one answered. He pulled a key from his pocket and quickly shakily unlocked it, throwing the door open and rushed in. Steph's cell-phone lay on the arm of the chair she's been sitting on, the screen showing the number of messages Taker had left for her. Shane picked it up then threw it back down again, swearing under his breath as he brought a hand to his aching forehead. Taker stood in the doorway not speaking as he watching Shane start to panic
"Shane" he said finally "how do you know she's been taken?"
"On a night this important, Steph would never leave without telling me where, for one thing it's Hunter and Jericho's match and she really wanted to see that, she just wouldn't do this alright? She just wouldn't" Shane trailed off miserably
"Want me to call in the troops?" asked Taker, scratching his chin lazily
Shane nodded wearily. Steph might not be willing to let the Undertaker take on a leadership role but under the circumstances, Shane definitely thought it was for the best.
"Get as many of them as you can back here, we can start planning how to find her" he sighed
"You got it boss" Taker said with a faint trace of sarcasm, a smile playing on his lips
Shane grinned; he knew that in his relationship, you could never tell who was in charge
*
"You let me go! Do you hear? Let me go?"
Steph's voice was getting dangerously close to screech level, Edge winced at the pitch of her voice. Steph continued to beat his back with her fists, determined not to let them see her worry or afraid, just her anger, her most dangerous weapon besides her sharp barbed tongue. She could see Jericho walking languidly behind them, whistling cheerfully and sometimes miming an air guitar. She rolled her eyes, it was probably that band he liked so much Fozzy, he was always singing or humming or whistling one of their songs. It was one of the many things about him that drove her crazy.
"Well I have to get going now Edgster" Jericho spoke up "I have a cell to enter and an opponent to destroy"
"Knock yourself out" replied Edge "catch you later though?"
"Whatever remains they scrape off the steel will be delivered to the room" answered Jericho, a smirk in his voice "though I suspect it'll be Hunter's remains that'll fit in a box not mine"
He bent down so that he was looking into Steph's face. She looked back blankly, willing herself to hide every shred of anger and insults she wanted to throw at him, she smiled a little. Jericho smirked, when he began speaking, she could smell pizza on his breath
"Have a nice ride Princess" he said sneering "looks like your invasion just got derailed"
"Bye Chris" she said sweetly, secretly applauding herself for her self control
Jericho gave her a strange look, like he wasn't able to work her out before straightening out, turning on his heel and walking away. Steph smiled evilly to herself, one to her. With a jolt Edge started moving again then he stopped just as suddenly as he started
"Here we are" he said cheerfully "that'll be five dollars and a tip for the ride"
"I'll be sure to tip you after the return trip" Steph replied, once again keeping the anger out of her voice
Edge knocked on a door in front of him, Steph heard it swing open squeaking and the slap of hands meeting in a jubilant high five. She was about to find out the reason she'd been grabbed and that was when she'd let her anger loose.
*
"Stephanie!"
"Where are you Steph!?"
"This is hopeless." Shane said glumly to RVD.
He shook his head in response. "No it's not. We just gotta keep looking. She has to be somewhere in the arena."
Shane looked up at the group of security that approached him. "Well did you find her? Hear anything about her? Know who it was?"
One stepped forward and shook his head. "Sorry Mr. McMahon, we haven't heard anything about your sister."
*~*~*~*
Stephanie scowled as she was pushed down into a chair and faced the leather chair that was turned away from her. "So." She started, drumming her fingers against the arm of the chair. "Did you bring me here for a reason or are you just going to stare at the wall the whole time?"
The person in the chair turned around and she found herself face to face with her dad.
"What a surprise." Vince deadpanned. "My children show up out of the clear blue and they try to take me over again."
"We succeeded." She corrected quickly.
Vince ignored her. "What makes you think you can get away with this again? That was not meant to be answered." He continued when she opened her mouth to speak. "I brought you here because I'm willing to make a deal with you."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that's going to happen anytime soon."
They both looked up as somebody started pounding on the door.
"Come in!" Vince called, keeping a close eye on his daughter. "Austin, what a surprise to see you here."
"Cut the talking Vince." Austin snapped, giving him a knowing look. "Hey, why don't I do you a favor and take the princess off your hands."
Vince caught his almost sadistic look and smirked. "Be my guest."
Austin yanked her up by the arm and Stephanie protested loudly as she was pushed out of the room.
"Where the hell do you think you're taking me?" She demanded, shaking her arm free. They kept walking and she scowled. "I think I'd rather be with my dad right now." She nearly bumped into him as he came to an abrupt stop. "What are you doing?" She looked up and saw that it was her office.
"Well are you going in or are you going to stand out here gaping like it's gonna start singing?" Austin asked, an emotionless look on his face.
Stephanie glanced at him cautiously and walked backwards to the door. Her hand found the knob and she pushed the door open. Austin gave her a quick nod and she stumbled into the room, shutting the door behind her.
"Where were you?" A voice demanded.
She whirled around and saw John Cena and Randy Orton sitting on the couch, relieved looks on both of their faces. "I have no idea what the hell just happened." She breathed out, easing herself down into the recliner.
"Was that Austin?" John asked curiously.
"Yeah." Stephanie nodded. "I think he just saved me from my father."
*~*~*~*
"So I think it was pretty productive tonight." Shane commented in the limo afterwards.
Stephanie shot him an irritated look before turning to look out the window. "Yeah, especially when I was kidnapped."
"Hey I was knocked unconscious." Shane shot back.
"Whatever." She muttered, keeping her eyes glued to the buildings passing them by.
The car pulled to a stop in front of the hotel and Stephanie didn't say a word as she brushed by Shane, grabbing her bags on the way.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning." She called over her shoulder while waiting for the bellhop. "We need to go over the plans for Raw. I have them all set but you don't know about them yet." She greeted the guy with a pleasant smile as he grabbed her luggage and she followed him into the elevator without another word to Shane.
"You get used to the mood swings." Test commented, dragging his suitcases behind him. "She'll be fine by tomorrow morning. I think the whole Vince/Austin thing freaked her out."
Shane nodded. "Yeah I know. I should probably go up and apologize for getting knocked unconscious." He said sarcastically and Test laughed.
"Good luck."
"Thanks." Shane looked up the room she was staying in and got into the elevator. He waited impatiently and when the doors opened he sprinted out, nearly knocking over the cleaning lady. "Sorry." He said briefly. He found her room and knocked on the door.
*~*~*~*
Stephanie got into her room and tossed her suitcases onto the free bed, an exaggerated sigh of relief slipping past her lips. She quickly got changed into her flannel pajamas and threw her hair up before throwing herself on the other bed. Pulling the covers over her, she picked up the book she'd started and read in peaceful silence until a pounding was heard on her door. She looked up in alarm. "Who's there?" She called meekly, thinking that she had told them to keep her room a secret.
There was no answer and she saw the door slowly being pushed open and flung the covers over her head. "Hello?" She asked quietly, hearing somebody as they began to laugh. She slowly lowered the blanket and saw her brother holding onto the doorframe for support. "Jackass." She muttered. "What are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to apologize." Shane said simply. "I tried my best to keep that from happening and honestly, I thought we did really well tonight."
Stephanie grinned and shook her brother's outstretched hand. "We did. And tomorrow is a brand new day."