Chapter 5

"Look, King! The Cerebral Assassin is back out here for the second time tonight!" J.R. yelled. "And he has his sledgehammer, too!"

"I see the sledgehammer, J.R., but do you see the shirt?" King replied.

"Oh my God, that's vintage D-Generation X! Why is The Game wearing that shirt here tonight?"

"I don't know, J.R., but I have a feeling we're about to get some answers."

Both commentators sat back in their seats and thought, once again, This definitely isn't in the script! They sat back to watch and wonder how this scene would unfold...

Hunter slipped into the ring with ease, coming up behind Chris Masters. Masters still had Shawn in the Masterlock. Shawn, the stubborn man, was still fighting, even though he could barely breathe. He didn't have what it took to tap out to the younger man. He would fight it until he died if the need arose.

Quickly, from behind, Hunter gave Masters a low blow. Masters immediately released Shawn, and Shawn fell gasping to the canvas, wondering why Masters had let him go. Masters fell to his knees, groaning in agony as his manhood throbbed painfully in his wrestling trunks. He rolled over on his back and peeked up to see Triple H standing nearby.

"Get up, punk!" Hunter sneered at Masters. He crouched, ready, as Masters struggled to his feet. As if on cue, Hunter ran for him, delivering a well-aimed blow to the head with the sledgehammer that knocked Masters down flat on his back again. Hunter bent down, appearing to taunt him, when he really was asking him if he was ok.

"Why do you care?" Masters groaned. "You totally just kicked my ass for no reason!"

"I had to. There's been a change in plans, and Shawn has to pin you."

"Bullshit," Masters spat. "Bet you guys had this planned all along..."

"What the fuck, Hunter?" Shawn asked, pulling Hunter roughly to his feet and giving him a light shove. "What are you doing?"

"Pin him!" Hunter ordered. "I'll tell you why later."

"You better have a damn good explanation for wearing that shirt, too," Shawn said, falling to his knees and covering Masters.

The referee, unsure of what to do, pounded out an extremely long and exaggerated three-count, then signaled for the bell to ring. Hunter pulled Shawn to his feet and presented him with the DX shirt. Shawn held it skeptically, then slipped it on. Someone tossed a mic into the ring and Hunter picked it up. The fans looking on, holding their breath.

"DX is back, baby!" Triple H yelled, and the crowd let out a collective cheer. "And whoever doesn't like it...They can..." He turned to Shawn.

"Suck it!" Shawn yelled into the mic, and he and Hunter both did the old "suck it" routine.

The crowd cheered as Hunter and Shawn rolled out of the ring and started up the ramp. The two men shouted obnoxious things to the crowd, which was typical DX behavior. They laughed and patted each other on the back, smirking at the crowd.

Once they stepped through the curtains and into the backstage area, it was a different story.

"Ok, Hunter, spill it," Shawn said. "What the hell is going on?"

"I said I wouldn't tell, but you're my best friend so I know I can trust you." Hunter sighed. "It's her."

"Her as in Stephanie?"

"No."

"Don't tell me... Lita?"

"No."

"Who is it then?"

"Our former group member, the Ninth Wonder of the World," Hunter said. "She's back for revenge. She's controlling me like a puppet, pulling my strings, threatening the people who are most important to me..."

"Oh shit," Shawn said with wide eyes. "I never thought... Oh shit."

"Oh shit is right," Hunter said, biting his lip. "I don't know what to do. I'd never live it down if Lita got hurt, and God, if Stephanie got hurt... I just don't know what I would do."

"Me neither, Junior, but I'm going to let you figure it out because I'm not going to let Stephanie get hurt," Chris Jericho said from behind them. "Now, I know there's no love lost between me and you, Trips, but I happen to like your wife." More like love, he added mentally.

"This is none of your business, Jericho. You have no idea what's really going on," Hunter said. "And if you did, you wouldn't be so eager to stick your nose in this."

"And you know a lot about noses," Chris said, joking. "But seriously, Stephanie is in danger and we can't let anything happen to her."

"How do you know about this?" Shawn asked suspiciously. "Are you in on it?"

Yeah, Junior, I'm going to really hurt the woman I love, Chris thought. He frowned. "No, I'm not in on it, assclown. I found this." He pulled out the note. "Not a good idea to leave stuff like this lying around, Trips."

Hunter sighed. "Man, I'm just out of it now. I must be..."

"I would be, too, if I was in your position," Shawn said. He looked at Chris thoughtfully. "You say you want to help. What do you suggest?"

"You have to fill me in on the details first," Chris said. "I mean, that's the only way I can put my insanely wonderful logic to good use..."

"Fine. Let's go to your locker room," Hunter said. No one moved. "Come on before someone sees us!"

The three men hurried to Jericho's locker room, which, luckily, wasn't that far away. They closed and locked the door behind them, then each sat down. Shawn sat on one end of a couch, Hunter sat on the other end, and Chris sat on the coffee table in front of them.

Hunter explained his whole situation to Chris. When he got to the part about him cheating on Stephanie with Lita, Chris looked outraged.

"You bastard! You cheated on Stephanie!" Chris exclaimed angrily. "She didn't deserve that... I should kick your ass."

"Calm down," Shawn said to Chris. "Just calm down."

Hunter continued talking. When he finally stopped, he looked about ready to cry. Shawn looked upset, but Jericho... He was, quite literally, pissed.

"That psychotic bitch!" Chris spat, referring to Chyna. "To threaten the life of such an intelligent, sweet, and absolutely gorgeous woman..."

"I know, right?" Shawn said. "And all for some stupid revenge."

"This really sucks," Hunter said. He looked at Chris. "Put your insanely wonderful logic to use and help me save my relationship with my wife," he pleaded.

Must you rub it in my face that she's YOUR wife? Chris thought bitterly.

"Chris, did you hear me?" Hunter asked. "Do you have a plan?"

Chris smiled. "I'm a genius, Trips. Here's what I propose, just for starters..." Both Hunter and Shawn leaned toward him as he leaned forward and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone. "Let me join DX."

"That's your big plan?" Hunter asked, disappointed. "How's that gonna help?"

"Don't know," Chris said honestly, a glum look appearing on his face. "It would give me a reason to hang out with you guys, and then we'd have time to devise some kind of foolproof plan."

Hunter and Shawn looked at each other. Shawn just shrugged with this whole "It's fine by me if it's fine by you" look.

"Fine, Jericho, you're in," Hunter said. "Now do what you do best and...help me save my wife."

Chris shook both their hands. "I will do anything to protect her." Because I love her, he added silently. "Now let's start brainstorming..."

A/N: Slow chapter, I know. It's hard to imagine what should happen next, you know? Their situation is complicated!