(A/N) Hey guys. Thanks for all the reviews. I really do appreciate them. Hoping to get 100 reviews soon. I hope that everyone that is reading my story is reviewing, at least just once. Just so that I know about how many people my story is reaching. I know I can't force ya…but just do it…or else…okaaaay…awkward silence…hmmm…on with the story then…
It had been weeks since the last fight at 'Club Evolution'. Some minor delays, but finally the night of Chris' fight was on. He was in a dilemma. He didn't want to go too hard at Edge tonight, in fear of hurting his friend badly. He was sure Edge would do the same as well. But if he didn't go hard enough, John would suspect something. Cena was going to be there watching. Chris guessed that Cena wanted to make sure that Edge was for real. Chris was in a dilemma.
Adam and Cena were sitting at a table at 'Club Evolution' sipping drinks. Cena was downing shot after shot of hard whisky. Adam was drinking ice water. He needed to have his nerves about him for his fight which was set to go down in minutes. It would be a complicated matter. The line between fighting for real and putting on a show would be very fine. He had to be careful not to cross it on either side.
"How you feeling? Fightin aginst your old boss an shit?" Cena asked. His words seemed a little slurred. Like he was drunk. But it was all a show. If Adam though Cena was drunk, he might open up to him a little more. Cena was all about playing the game.
"Normal, I guess. It'll be the same as all those other shmucks. I'll put him down faster than you cum." Edge joked.
"Hahaha. Very funny lucky loser. You just remember that you are only in this cause you got a second chance. Where as me, I got in legit." Cena shot back.
"Hey, did you think about what would happen if I won tonight? I would have to fight you."
"And your point is…"
"Well, we are partners right? I can't hit my partner." Edge thought out loud.
"Hey man. This is street fighting. It ain't about partners or homies. It's about fighting. Once you start, all dat shit bout friendship and family goes out the window. In my opinion, you only really know a man after you have fought him. Ya herrr."
Adam thought about that statement for a while. John had know idea how much relevance that statement had for tonight's fight.
"Besides, it's not that you can't hit me because I'm your partner. You wouldn't be able to hit me because I'd dance circles around you all night homie. I'd drop you faster than yo momma dropped you."
The two men joked for a little while longer until Randy started to state the rules, his voice booming out of the loudspeakers.
"Now with all that legal mumbo jumbo out of the way, let's get down to it. Fighting for the right to face John Cena in the final is EDGE!"
Edge gave a final good luck handshake to Cena and stepped into the ring. He spotted Chris, behind a group of spectators, pushing to get to the ring. His stomach lurched. He was going to have to fight his best friend since third grade. Adam and Chris never had so much as push and shove. Their longest argument lasted about a week, and it wasn't about anything as big as this. In fact it was about a stupid girl in the fifth grade. All the memories came flooding back to Adam. But reality struck. He was going to have to fight Chris for real. And he was going to have to give it everything he had.
"And standing in his way to the finals, is CHRIS JERICHO!" Randy yelled.
Chris stepped into the ring to face his opponent. He stared his best friend in the eyes. Just by looking at him, he could tell what Adam was thinking. He was loathing this just as much as he was. But Chris had a job to do. The fact that if he won, he would get a chance at Cena had not crossed his mind until now. If he beat Adam, he would get a shot at avenging his brother's death. At least partially. He wouldn't be satisfied until both Cena and Shawn lay 6 feet deep.
The match had started. Chris and Edge were both a little subdued in the beginning, both trading small blows, but nothing major. It was Edge who decided he needed to make it a little more convincing. He began his advance on Chris, slowly pacing towards him, calculating his next move. As Edge took a swing, Chris ducked, which was what he was counting on. Edge brought his knee up hard, smacking Chris on the jaw. He went down. Edge shot a quick glance at Cena, who was cheering furiously. Edge did not let up as he picked Chris up off the mat and started beating him down. Every hit sent a shot of pain through Chris' body, and a wave of regret through Adam's.
Chris was being manhandled. By his best friend. There were a few times that Chris could have taken the advantage, but he hesitated. Edge didn't hesitate. He saw his opportunity and he struck. Chris was bleeding from his mouth. Edge had apparently become a more seasoned fighter as the years passed. He had become ruthless. Maybe too ruthless. What if Edge had turned. What if Edge was playing Chris like a puppet… No way. Adam, his best friend wouldn't turn. But maybe Edge, the fighter would. This new outlook on the plan sent uncertaintyflooding intoChris' head. But Chris had to leave the thinking for later. He had to get back into the fight. Chris decided to let the fighter inside of him take over. Next time, he wouldn't hesitate. He would hit Edge just as hard as he hit everyone else. And then, his opportunity came. He was lying on the ground, and Adam was slow in walking over towards him. Adam began picking Chris up. He must have thought he would be too hurt to strike back. But Chris was playing possum. Chris took a last look at Adam's face through his own eyes. He hesitated for a second, but he let himself be controlled by the fighter inside. He didn't see Adam's face anymore. He saw his enemy's face. Chris shot up like a bullet, his legs exploding like powder kegs. His head collided with Edge's chin and both men went down. Both stayed down for quite a while but the ref couldn't start the count until one of them was up. Chris was clutching his head. Blood was trickling out of the cut obtained from the impact of Edge's chin. Adam lay prone on the ground close to him. He wasn't moving.
"Maybe he is knocked out." Chris thought to him self. Chris got to his feet as quick as he could so that the ref could start the count. He wanted to get this over with, so he wouldn't have to fight his friend anymore. He didn't want to have to let the fighter out again. But Edge had plans of his own. He stirred. He had now crawled onto all fours, trying to shake off the previous hit. But he had to be able to at least kneel on two legs for the ref to stop the count. The ref was on nine when Edge rocked back onto his knees. He was now kneeling on two feet so the ref continued the match. Chris swore under his breath, but knew what he had to do. He had to see it until the end.
Edge was absolutely out of it. He still hadn't completely shaken off the effects of Chris' head butt. And he wasn't going to get a chance either, because Chris was on the attack once again. Adam was lifted off his knees. A punch to his face made him stumble back. He was backed up against the ropes, trying to cover up from Chris' blows which were coming in from every direction. Chris was relentless. Adam caught a glimpse of Chris' eyes. They were glazed over. Like they were made of ice. The emotion wasn't there anymore, like it usually was. Chris was a different person. Edge tried desperately to mount his own offence, but failed time and again. Chris was just too agile for his uncoordinated swings. However he got a lucky break moments later. He sort of fell just as Chris took a swing. Chris' arm got caught in the ropes and Edge saw his window of opportunity open up. He grabbed his opponents legs, and swept them off the mat. Chris fell onto the mat and Edge climbed on top of him. Edge started teeing off on his friend. Chris tired to cover up, but Adam's powerful swings made it hard for him. Chris heaved his hip upwards and threw Edge off. Jericho climbed to his feet but Edge was on him again. Swinging and ducking. Weaving and striking. Edge was running on adrenaline right now. He found a new source of energy and made the most of it. Edge had now made Chris bleed heavily. His opponents face looked like something from a horror movie. But just as suddenly as the momentum had turned, it turned back just as quickly. The adrenaline had run out and now Adam was dead on his feet. He began to stumble around and fell limply to the mat. He had over exhausted himself, the effects of the concussion were starting to wear in as the adrenelin wore out. The ref sensed something was wrong as did Chris.
Chris was on his feet. The ref had stopped the match momentarily to check on Adam. Chris was worried for his friend. Had Chris crossed that fine line when he lashed out and head butted him? He could seriously be hurt now. The ref had finished checking up on Edge and decided that there was nothing he could do but resume the match. He started his count, to get the match over and done with so that he could get proper treatment to the hurt fighter.
"Please stay down Adam. Please stay down. I don't want to fight you anymore. Just stay down for your sake, and for mine." Chris prayed. Once again, Edge had different plans.
John was cheering hard. He was willing Edge on. John got the shock of his life when Edge started to get up again though. He seriously thought the match was over when Edge collapsed, but he started to get up. The crowd went absolutely mad, and so did he. This guy was the real deal. He was tough. And by god did he have the will to fight. Maybe he was true on his word like he said. He would never know if he didn't give him the chance. So at that point, John decided to give Adam his full trust.
"Fuck!" Chris swore under his breath. What was it going to take to keep him down? He knew that Edge was tough, but with the amount of pain Edge had endured during the match, it surprised Chris that he could even move.
Adam had finally made his way to his feet. He looked at Chris, who had a frustrated expression on his face. He also had a worn expression. Like he was mentally, physically and emotionally drained. But Adam still had some fight in him left, and he wasn't going to let up until that fight was gone. Chris charged at him, tackling him to the ground. Edge quickly rolled out of potential danger. The crowd had sort of swung his way, and he used that to his advantage. Once again Chris came at him, but his time Adam moved out of the way. Chris spun around to take a swing but he ducked. Adam punched Chris in the stomach, and he doubled over. He slammed his fist in again and Chris sagged to his knees. A huge fist to the jaw sent Chris sprawled out on the mat. The momentum had shifted. Adam was actually going to do it. Chris got up groggily to his feet. Adam came in swinging. Chris was in no shape to dodge anything and just took all the hits head on. But if Chris was anything, he was tough as nails, and Adam knew that. He knew it would take something very special to put him away. Edge crashed his knee into Chris' abdomen and he stumbled onto his knees. Edge saw an opportunity to finish Chris off. He backed up, and charged in, looking to smash his knee into Chris' face. But Chris was ready. He sprung up andslammed his shoulder into Adam's torso. He then wrapped his arms around his opponent's legs and lifted him clean off the mat. Chris had spun Edge into an almost vertical upside down position and drove his head into the mat in a perfectly executed tackle. Edge was knocked out for the count.
"CHRIS JERICHO IS THE WINNER!" The ref yelled as soon as he finished counting Edge out. Chris stood up to survey the damage. He took one look at his best friend, sprawled out on the mat, bloodied and battered and probably concussed, and he instantly felt a pang of guilt. He had done that to his best friend. Chris certainly didn't feel like a winner.
The crowd was on their feet. Both applauding the gracious winner, the determined loser, but mostly applauding one of the greatest fights ever to be showcased. Chris took one more look at Adam, who was being attended to by medical staff, before leaving the ring. After he was also patched up by the medical staff. He was about to leave theclub when Randy's voice called out from the loudspeakers.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! WE NOW OFFICIALLY HAVE OUR TWO FINALISTS! COMING SOON, WILL BE THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY! CHRIS JERICHO VS JOHN CENA!"
Chris stopped dead in his tracks. Reality had struck him. He had won and now he was in the finals with a chance at the prize money and the chance at John Cena. He turned around to see John staring at him. Their eyes locked. Chris turned around and left as John also turned to help Edge out of the ring. The match was set.
(A/N) So we got our two finalist. Surprised? Happy? Mad? Tune in next time to find out what happens.