Chapter 10:

Scotty leaned up against the bare stone wall of the backstage area, his arms folded across his chest nonchalantly. He kept his gaze firmly fixated on the small TV monitor situated on a table a few feet away, watching as the Bashams did battle with Cena and Guerrero. He was vaguely aware of the presence of Kurt Angle and his two henchmen, but he paid them no heed; they were off bothering Mysterio and RVD, and Scotty didn't want anything to do with the Olympic Gold Medalist at the moment.

Shannon Moore, however, had no qualms about shooting disdainful glances towards the conversing Olympian when he wasn't paying half-hearted attention to the screen in front of him. He leaned in close to Scotty's ear and whispered, "What do you make of all this? You think he plans on getting involved in the match tonight?"

"No doubt," Scotty sighed in resignation, "We'll just have to be extra cautious when we're out there, that's all."

Shannon snorted silently, "Well, that's a bit easier said than done, don't you think? If we have to worry about our two opponents, we can't have three other guys distracting us. Angle is going to cost us those titles for sure."

"Not if we don't let him," Scotty reminded his partner, "Look, I know Angle is going to be doing everything in his power to make sure we end up losers tonight, but we can't give him that pleasure. I, for one, am not going to let anything ruin our match tonight. We're going to win those titles no matter what Angle tries to do to us."

Shannon blinked and leaned up against the chill next to his partner. He shot another glance towards the Olympic Gold Medalist and his companions and said off-handedly, "I sure wish I had your confidence, man."

Scotty chuckled slightly, "If there's one beneficial aspect about taking time off, it's the development of confidence. I tell you what, I feel damn near invincible right now. I'm just eager to get back in the ring and compete again and show the world what I can do, you know? What better way then to win some gold with one of the people who have stood by me through it all?"

Moore rolled his eyes in amusement as a slow smile formed over his youthful face, "Alright, your flattery has done the trick. Damn, man, your energy is infectious, you know that?"

"I try," Scotty responded with a wink.

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by the ring of a bell emanating from the television screen. Scotty and Shannon turned their attention back to the match taking place. Doug Basham was arguing heatedly with the referee, a metal chair placed at his feet while Eddie lay on the mat laughing behind the referee's back. Ring announcer Tony Chimmel announced the outcome: "Ladies and gentlemen, due to a disqualification, the Basham Brothers have been eliminated!"

Amid the cheering crowd, most of the superstars gathered in the backstage area found themselves unable to resist the urge to chuckle. It looked like Eddie Guerrero had stolen another victory from the Bashams like only he could.

The irate Basham Brothers had barely exited the ring before Kenzo Suzuki's music began to play over the speakers. Kenzo turned to his partner, barked a harsh order in his native language, and strode over to the entrance area with his characteristic scowl firmly affixed to his face. Akio silently followed his partner to the entrance, his demeanor speaking of untold confidence.

Scotty watched them leave out of the corner of his eye. Cena and Guerrero had better be careful with those two, the young superstar thought to himself, There go two no-nonsense guys . . . it's going to take a bit more than sly tricks to take them out.

A sudden tapping on his shoulder caused Scotty 2 Hotty to snap out of his musings; Shannon Moore was trying to get his attention. The former US Champion glanced over at his partner and caught sight of Kurt Angle walking purposefully towards the two cruiserweights, a deceptively innocent smile on his face. Reigns and Jindrak remained standing nearby, ready to move if their mentor gave them the appropriate signal. Luther Reigns had the US Championship flung carelessly over his shoulder, his beady eyes never resting in one place for more than a few seconds. He was obviously distracted about something, though what that 'something' was, exactly, remained a mystery that only Reigns was aware of.

Scotty brought his attention back to the Olympic Gold Medalist, whose smile seemed to grow even larger as he approached his rival. Scotty sighed, "What do you want, Kurt?"

Angle came to within an uncomfortable distance and glanced over the returning superstar, his crystal blue eyes taking in the sight before him, "Nothing, really. I just wanted to see how all the competitors in this match were feeling tonight, maybe give them my blessing if they feel they need it. You know, just the –"

"Oh, cut the crap, Angle," Scotty interrupted, "I know what you're here for. You want to try to distract me and Shannon from the match we have tonight because it would tear you apart to see me with gold around my waist once again, wouldn't it? Just take your false blessings somewhere else, alright?" he said sternly.

Angle squinted his eyes slightly, the playful look disappearing from his gaze completely. He raised an eyebrow and slowly extended his hand outward, indicating that Scotty should do the same. The Olympic Gold Medalist said quietly, "I just want to wish you good luck out there Scotty. I sincerely hope nothing bad happens to you on your triumphant return to Smackdown."

"Whatever, Angle. If you think I'm going to buy your load of bull, you've got another thing –"

"Shake my hand, Scotty."

The commanding edge in Angle's voice was so forceful that Scotty flinched reflexively. He cast a disdainful glance at the former WWE Champion's outstretched hand and shook his head slowly, "No, I don't think I will."

"That isn't very sportsmanlike, Scotty. Shake my hand."

"Buzz off."

"I'm not giving you an option, Scotty. Shake my hand. Now."

"He said no," Shannon Moore interjected.

"This doesn't concern you, junior," Angle spat at the young cruiserweight. He turned his attention back to Scotty 2 Hotty, "Do I have to ask you again?"

"Hey, come on, Kurt, that's enough," the gruff voice of Luther Reigns sounded from behind the Olympic Gold Medalist.

Kurt Angle slowly turned around to stare at his henchmen, a look of confusion on his face. Luther swallowed nervously and shifted his weight to his other foot. He licked his lips quickly and said, "Look, don't you think now would be a good time . . . ? You know, that thing you wanted to talk to the Dudleys about . . . "

Upon hearing the mention of their name, the Dudley Boys immediately broke away from the hushed conversation they were having a short distance away and looked in the direction of Reigns and Angle. D-Von shouted, "Speak to us about what?"

Angle only continued to fixate his puzzled gaze at his muscular henchman for a few more moments before turning his attention back towards Scotty and whispering, "You'd better watch your back out there."

The Olympic Gold Medalist slowly turned away from the returning superstar and stalked over to where the Dudleys were waiting patiently, their titles latched proudly around their waists. Angle gave Luther a cryptic glance as he passed by the big man and continued his steady march across the bare concrete floor. Reigns and Jindrak instinctively fell into step behind their boss as he approached the Dudley Boys, though Reigns appeared to keep just a bit of distance between himself and Angle as he did so.

Scotty silently watched the three of them approach the Tag Team Champions, his mind trying to make sense of just what he was witnessing. Could it be that Luther Reigns was actually . . . sticking up for him? The whole notion seemed silly at best, but from what he had seen throughout the day, Scotty was beginning to think that that was the case here. But why? Why would the man that put him in a hospital for nearly two months try to defend him now that he had returned? Surely Reigns wasn't beginning to regret hurting Scotty so badly, was he? Reigns was not exactly the kind of guy who was known to show compassion in any form, but what other reasoning could possibly be behind this behavior? What other motives could he have for defending the returning superstar? What was Reigns thinking inside that shadowed and secretive mind of his?

"Scotty? You alright?" Shannon Moore asked his tag team partner, the concern evident in his voice.

"Huh? Oh, yeah . . . yeah, I'm fine. I was . . . just thinking, that's all," Scotty answered distractedly, one eye watching his enemy and possible ally confer with the Dudleys and the other eye concentrating on the TV screen in front of him.

He was suddenly broken out of his reverie by the cheering of the fans in the arena. Scotty cleared his mind of all his distracting thoughts and turned his attention towards the television monitor. John Cena had Akio up on his shoulders, and Suzuki was being occupied by Guerrero on the outside of the ring. Cena turned towards the camera, smiled confidently, and delivered a devastating F-U to his opponent. As Akio hit the mat and clutched at his back, Eddie Guerrero quickly scaled the top turnbuckle and delivered a flawless Frog Splash onto his prone foe. Kenzo Suzuki struggled to get back into the ring, but Cena kept him distracted just long enough for Guerrero to pin Akio and pick up the victory.

The excited Montreal crowd all cheered in unison as Tony Chimmel announced once again: "Ladies and gentlemen, the team of Kenzo Suzuki and Akio has been eliminated!"

"Alright, Rey Rey, time to go kick some ass," the ever-relaxed Rob Van Dam told the masked superstar as he sauntered over to the ring entrance.

Mysterio fastened the chin-strap to his mask and fell into step beside his partner for the night, "Let's do this, 420-style."

Van Dam laughed confidently and disappeared behind the entrance curtain alongside Mysterio. Their music hit a moment later amid the excited cheering of the crowd. RVD and Mysterio appeared to be the favorites going into this contest, and with Cena and Guerrero feeling the aftereffects of two straight matches, they were sure to encounter their fair share of difficulty in grappling with the high-flying duo.

Scotty sighed and watched the match start up on the monitor, his heart beating against his ribcage in eager anticipation. He and Moore would be going out to face the winner of this match, and the returning superstar knew that it would be in his best interest to watch the proceedings from this point on. If either member of either team happened to reveal a weakness or injure a body part, Scotty wanted to make sure he knew about it.

As the match progressed, however, the returning superstar could not help but find his mind wandering back to the conversation taking place between Angle and the Dudleys. His gaze continually slipped back to the small gathering just a short distance away, and he strained his ears to catch any important word that he could. He knew Angle was up to no good; with the sadistic nature of the Dudleys paired with the spitefulness of the Olympian, trouble was sure to be on the way for Scotty and his blonde-haired partner.

Angle mumbled something to the WWE Tag Team Champions, who both appeared to be regarding the Olympic Gold Medalist with an equal mixture of suspicion and annoyance. Angle gestured excitedly with his hands and the Dudleys both assumed an offended look. Bubba Ray responded in a voice just loud enough for Scotty to hear, "What makes you think we can't beat those two chumps all by ourselves? We're the freakin' Tag Team Champions; we can handle a pair of wanna-be contenders who each weigh about as much as my arm."

Angle quickly said something else to placate the Dudleys, though Scotty could only catch a few words of the Olympian's response, "Look, just . . .nothing . . . all you have to . . . they can't . . . just making sure . . . but whatever else . . . after that."

D-Von just folded his arms across his muscular chest while Bubba Ray placed his hands on his hips. Once again, the boisterous Bubba spoke just a bit too loudly, "Yeah, and what do we get out of all this?"

Angle smiled and motioned towards Luther Reigns, who had simply stood off to the side as a neutral party up until this point. Angle spoke up in a voice loud enough for Scotty and Shannon to hear, "You do this for us, and I'll give each of you a shot at the US Title, no questions asked. You would each have the chance to become a double-champion, something that very few superstars ever get the chance to accomplish. What do you say to that, boys?"

Reigns just stared at his mentor incredulously while Bubba Ray and D-Von conversed among themselves. Scotty blinked in shock as Angle's offer sank into his mind, Did Reigns know he was going to say that?

After a moment or two, both of the Dudley Boys nodded in greedy satisfaction. Bubba answered, "Alright, you've got yourself a deal. Consider it done."

Both of the Dudleys looked in Scotty's direction and smiled smugly; Scotty just glared back at them in defiance. Angle did likewise and motioned for Reigns and Jindrak to follow him as he made his way down the hall in the direction that they had arrived. Jindrak followed after his mentor without hesitation, but Reigns simply stood there for a moment or two, his gaze firmly affixed to the retreating Olympian's broad back. The scowl on his face was enough to indicate that he was not pleased with the transaction which was just made between his boss and the WWE Tag Team Champions.

The Dudleys both snickered at the big man and gazed covetously at the golden belt draped over his shoulder. D-Von pointed to the belt and commented, "Better enjoy it while you can, big man," before walking off towards the entrance area with his brother in tow.

Reigns sneered at the boastful tag team champions and reluctantly followed after Kurt Angle, his stride indicating that his mind was elsewhere at the moment.

Scotty watched in fascination as the entire transaction took place, his curiosity getting the better of him in the end. It seemed as though his suspicions were correct: Angle was dead-set on preventing Scotty from walking out of Montreal with gold around his waist, and the Olympian had apparently enlisted the aid of the Dudley Boys to help him hold true to this desire. Scotty sighed in anger and frustration; he had had just about all he could take of the Olympic Gold Medalist and his spiteful ways, I'll be damned if I'm going to lose this chance to win the Tag Team gold with Shannon just because he refuses to stay the hell out of my business, the returning superstar thought to himself, his anger threatening to overcome his better judgment.

The young man turned to his tag team partner and asked quietly, "Did you see all that?"

Shannon nodded solemnly, "Yeah, I did. I can't believe he would go to such lengths just to get back at you."

"I can," Scotty said bitterly, "Just be sure you're on your best game out there; we're going to need to be at our best if we want to overcome these odds."

Shannon smirked, "Overcoming the odds, huh? Sounds like fun."

As Scotty turned back to his partner to respond, a flurry of activity on the television screen before him suddenly caught his attention. Rey Mysterio was lying prone on the mat in the middle of the ring while Eddie Guerrero climbed to the top rope to deliver his patented Frog Splash. The crowd began to get to its feet in preparation for the end of the match, but as Guerrero flew downward towards his opponent, Rey quickly rolled out of the way. Unable to stop his descent, Eddie crashed into the mat below and clutched at his midsection in pain.

As Guerrero writhed on the mat, Rob Van Dam sprang up onto the top rope and delivered his own 5-Star Frog Splash in a matter of seconds. He connected, and Eddie Guerrero quickly ceased his writhing. In the blink of an eye, Rey Mysterio bounced off the ropes and delivered a leg drop right onto his old friend's head. He rolled Guerrero over onto his back and covered him for the pin-fall while Van Dam dealt with Cena on the outside of the ring.

"One . . . two . . . three!" the referee counted and motioned for the bell.

Tony Chimmel spoke up a moment later, "Ladies and gentlemen, the team of Eddie Guerrero and John Cena has been eliminated!"

As the defeated duo of Cena and Guerrero slowly began to exit the ring, the adrenaline began to course through Scotty's veins once more. He and Shannon were up next, and all of his earlier excitement suddenly came flooding back into the young superstar's body like a jolt of electricity. This was the moment he had been anticipating for nearly two months now. This was his chance to return to the ring and prove that he hadn't lost his touch in his time spent away. The moment of his return to the world of professional wrestling was here, and the very thought left the young man with a surreal feeling.

"You ready to do this, man?" Shannon asked his partner as he cracked his knuckles in excitement.

"I've been ready for a long time," Scotty responded quietly as he and Shannon made their way towards the entrance.

As they passed by the awaiting Dudley Boys, the WWE Tag Team Champions snickered quietly. Bubba Ray spoke mockingly, "Good luck out there, fellas. Don't wear yourselves out too much."

Both Scotty and Shannon just shot the champions venomous glances and ascended the small set of stairs leading up to the entrance. Shannon Moore's music hit the speakers, causing the young cruiserweight to take a deep breath. He winked at the returning Scotty and pushed past the curtains as the crowd cheered at this unexpected surprise. None of them were expecting Shannon Moore to be taking part in the Tag Team Turmoil Match, so his presence generated its fair share of excitement from the Montreal fans.

Scotty inhaled the musty air of the arena deeply as irrepressible energy electrified his veins. This was it. This was his big moment.

"Turn it up!" the speakers all around the arena announced as Scotty's music began to play. The Montreal crowd instantly erupted as they recognized the theme music of a man they had not seen since Survivor Series. The reception was absolutely deafening, and for a moment, Scotty simply stood there behind the curtain, too overcome with indescribable emotions to even bring his hand up and draw back the black piece of fabric. He knew the people would be excited to see him return, but he had never expected their reaction to be so incredibly loud and heartfelt. It was almost too much for him to bear.

Scotty shook his head, effectively clearing his mind of the gratifying emotions which threatened to consume him. He had a job to do. Without a trace of hesitation, the returning superstar threw back the curtain and dashed out onto the metal stage amid a cacophony of cheers from the Montreal crowd.

Shannon was waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp, a pleased look on his youthful face. He watched as his tag team partner stood on the stage and looked out into the sea of faces with a euphoric look dominating his features.

Scotty's face was beaming as he made his way down the stage. He had been away from the ring for far too long, and at that moment, he realized why he continued to work in this business day after day despite all the emotional torture that Angle put him through: this was where he belonged. This was the only profession for him. This was his dream and the fans loved him for it. His worries about Angle suddenly didn't seem so bad.

"Looks like you're a pretty popular guy tonight," Shannon shouted to his partner over the din of voices that surrounded them.

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Scotty laughed in unbridled glee, "Let's give 'em a show they won't soon forget."

And with that, Scotty 2 Hotty and Shannon Moore made their way to the ring to do battle with Rob Van Dam and Rey Mysterio while Angle and the Dudley Boys watching intently from backstage. The night was just about to get interesting.