(A/N) Well it's that time of year again for me… EXAMS! Argh… I'm going to be bogged down for the next week or two with work and study. So please bear with me, I will finish this story. P.S. One of the many secrets in the story will be put out in the open and there will be severe reprocussions. Won't give anymore clues, you are going to have to read on to find out. Let's get down to it.
It was finally going to happen. The biggest fight of the year. It had been built up over the weeks and it was finally going to happen, tonight. Hundreds of people packed into Hunter's club to watch two men with a bitter history, tear each other apart. It was the second best thing Hunter could hope for. The leaders of his two rival gangs were going to go at each other like never before, and with some luck, they would take each other out. Hunter sat in his office thinking about this propect and he smiled to himself.
"This competition has been a success. We have made thousands of dollars, our club has become the hottest spot in the city, and Chris and John are going to kick the shit out of each other. It's all fallen into place perfectly." Hunter said to his crew.
"As it always does boss." Randy called out.
"True. And you know why? Because we are Evolution, and Evolution are winners. Anyone who isn't in Evolution… is a loser." Hunter said as he looked at Batista.
Dave returned the icy cold stare. A soft tapping on the door broke the tension in the air.
"Come in." Hunter called out.
The door opened and Torrie walked into the room.
"Hey honey, watsup?" Hunter enquired.
She stood in the doorway, as she switched her gaze between the four men in the room. "I need to talk to you Hunter."
"Sure, come in." He motioned for her to enter the office. "Alright boys. Go out and get everything ready. Randy, go and work the crowd. I want them screaming for blood."
The three men left the room as Torrie came in and sat in the chair previously occupied by Dave, and turned to face Hunter.
"So, watsup? What did you want to talk to me about?" Hunter asked.
"It's about John."
Chris was in the toilets in Club Evolution, washing his face. Boy was he nervous. His hands were shaking, his legs were trembling, and he felt as if he was going to throw up. Chris looked at himself in the mirror. His long blond hair had grown all wild and shaggy. Such a contrast to Rick's short, neatly cropped hair. His face was also a lot different from Rick's. Chris had his mother's pretty face, while Rick was more ruggedly good looking, more like their father. Visions flowed back to Chris, of his childhood days. Him and his brother would go to the park everyday to play football with Adam and Jay. When they got home, their mom would have her apron on, with lunch already on the table. After lunch, they would have some of her freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Those were the good days. The days before Rick started to get involved with drugs and booze in high school. The days before Rick got involved in his gang. The days before his mom got sick and weathered. The days before the two of them were torn cruely from his life. Tears began to fall from Chris' eyes. He stood in the bathroom for a while, sobbing. Chris wiped his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror one more time. He was determined to put an end to the demons that had been haunting his dreams for the past seven months. Chris was going to start by putting an end to the demon that was John Cena tonight.
"What about John?" Hunter queried.
"Well, I've been meaning to tell you this for quite a while, but I never found the right time. You see…" Torrie hesitated for a while. A knock on the door interrupted her before she could continue.
"Come in." Hunter called out.
Dave stepped into the room, Christy behind him. "Everything is set boss."
"Good, good. Come in Dave, I need to talk to you." Hunter ordered. "We'll continue this conversation after ok honey? I promise." Hunter told Torrie. She wore a sort of frustrated, yet at the same time relieved expression on her face as she left the room. Dave filed in and Christy followed.
"Um… I sort of need to see you in private." Hunter said, motioning to Christy.
"Wait outside for me okay?" Dave said to Christy. She too, left the room reluctantly and shut the door behind her.
Hunter leaned forward in his chair to get closer to Dave. "Alright. Now look, after tonight, there will be a winner, and that winner will leave my club with the 250 grand cash prize. Your job is to make sure the winner doesn't get to his house with that money. I want you to beat him down into the ground. Pummel him off the face of the earth, and take back the money."
The two men stared into each others eyes, both consciously aware of the hatred for each other.
"No way. That is lower than even you Hunter." Dave refused firmly.
"I don't think you are in a position to choose Dave." Hunter said menacingly.
"SCREW YOU HUNTER!" Dave was now on his feet.
"SIT YOUR ASS DOWN!" Hunter was now also on his feet.
"Make me you lousy son ova bitch." Dave spat out as he turned his back on his boss and prepared to leave the office.
"I would seriously think about what you are doing Dave. For Christy's sake."
Dave stopped dead in his tracks.
"That's right. If not for your own sake, for Christy's sake." Hunter repeated.
Dave turned around with a beaten expression on his face.
"When is this going to end Hunter? When are you going to stop doing this to me and Christy?" Dave asked, expression totally void from his voice.
"It ends when you want it to end Dave. When you stop disobeying my orders. Now… you know what you have to do. Go and do it." Hunter ordered as Dave reluctantly left the room.
Christy, who had her ear pressed to the door, heard everything. She quickly stood up straight and waited for Dave to come out of the room.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight, someone will go home as champ, and someone will go home as chump. Someone will go home a quarter of a million dollars richer, and someone will go home with nothing more then a few broken bones. Two men, who have beatenthe toughest competiton New Yorkhas to offer, will put an end to the bitter history between them. There can only be one winner. The question is, who is it going to be? Well we are about to find out right now! So without further a due, introducing first, the doctor of Thuganomics, JOHN CENA!" Randy's voice blared out into the club.
The crowd was on their feet. Everyone was screaming and shouting and there was an air of excitement in the club.
"And challenging him tonight, in the final of all finals, the battle royal, the super bowl of street fighting… CHRIS JERICHO!" Again, the crowd went nuts. The crowd was split directly in half for the two men who stood in the ring facing each other.
Chris and John approached the centre of the ring, eyes locked, teeth clenched, fists at the ready.
"Now boys, I want a good clean fight. Give the crowd what it wants, but do it fairly." The ref stated. Chris looked deep into John's eyes. His vision was blurred by cold fury. Chris began to turn away, but turned back and spat right in John's face. Cena didn't flinch, but casually wiped the saliva off his face. The ref was saying something to Chris, but neither of the two men heard a word he said. Eventually the match started, and straight away, they went at it.
Chris charged straight at John, not really thinking it through first. John was ready for it, and was determined to get Chris back for the show of disrespect before the match started. He ducked his shoulder and brought Chris down to the mat. John began swinging at Chris' face and got a few clean hits in before Chris heaved him off. Chris was on his feet, and so was John. Jericho swung at his opponents face but John scouted the move and ducked just in time. However, he couldn't scout the next move as Chris connected hard with a uppercut. John stumbled back, a little dazed form the previous shot. Chris went straight at John, showing no signs of slowing down. The crowd was going crazy over the fast pace at which the match started. Chris was a man possessed, his swings coming in from all directions. A couple knees here and there made it hard for John to block the shots. John eventually managed to get himself out of the corner. He paced around the ring, trying to catch his breath. Chris didn't let up though, he went straight back on the attack. Punches and kicks were finding their targets as the match swung Chris' way. John managed to grab one of Chris' wrists. He held on tight but Chris came in with the other fist, again and again. John ducked under one swing and it was then he found his first opportunity to mount a solidattack. While still holding onto Chris' right wrist with his right hand, he drove his shoulder up into Chris' abdomen. Chris stumbled back a little, but continued to pound away at John's back. John drove his shoulder in again and Chris doubled over. John took over the fight from there.
Chris was feeling winded. Those blows to the stomach had saw the momentum shift to John's favor. Now John was having his way with him. Chris desperately tried to get the momentum back, but he was exhausted from the earlier assault. He didn't feel John's blows on him anymore and realized that the ref was counting him out. Chris quickly scrambled to his feet to break the count but felt himself get lifted and dropped back down again. His body rattled with pain. He knew that he couldn't lose focus. He had to concentrate, and strike when he got the chance. That was the only way he was going to get out of this. Once again, John had let up to let the ref count him out. Chris stayed down, biding his time. He used the time to regain his composure and refill the tank. He used all the time he could squeeze out of the count and got up just in time. John strode towards him, confident that Chris' was still hurt. When he was in range, Chris exploded out of the blocks with a huge fist straight to the jaw which knocked John off his feet. The ref began his count. John barely climbed to his feet when the ref got to nine. Sheer determination to not get knocked off this early was the only thing powering John's wrecked body. The punch had really shook John up and he could barely stand on his own two feet. Chris helped him back down onto the mat with a shoulder charge. He stood over his fallen enemy, just as John probably did when his brother was killed. The rage rose and rose as Chris just stood over John. Chris looked up and the rage boiled over. He saw Shawn, cheering up the back with Adam. Shawn Michaels, the man that pulled the trigger was standing no more than a few meters from him. His thoughts wandered to Adam. Maybe Shawn was here to tell John about the plan. Adam would be dead if that happened. He thought about going over there right now to shut Shawn up permanently, but the roar of the crowd and the refs voice brought him back to reality. The ref was up to seven and John showed no signs of movement. But now it wasn't about winning or losing to Chris. It was about sending a message. Getting revenge. Chris picked John up off the mat,to the surprise of the crowd and of the ref. Chris probably had the match won, but Chris stopped the count on purpose to inflict more pain. He locked eyes with Shawn as he mercilessly beat John down. Shawn gave Chris a little wave. Chris mouthed some sort of foul word in Shawn's direction and continued to pound on his opponent.
"So, what about John was it that you wanted to discuss with me? Has he been harassing you again? Cause if he has, I'll go out there right now and beat him to a pulp with my bare ha…"
"No Hunter. It's not that." Torrie interrupted. "No he hasn't been bugging me. Look, if I am to tell you, you have to promise me that you won't get mad and do something stupid." Torrie said with a pleading look in her eyes.
Hunter, who now sensed that it was something serious, leaned forward in his chair. "What is it Torrie?"
"Promise me Hunter." She asked again.
"Yeah, ok, whatever. Just tell me." He hastily replied, not really thinking about what he said.
Torrie was now very hesitant. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She couldn't bare to see John get hurt time and time again because of her. She was hoping that maybe, if she told Hunter the truth, he would sort things out and John would leave them alone. But somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, she knew that would never happen. She could hope though. "Well… believe me when I say I tried to tell you earlier… You see, me and John went out a long time ago."
"What?" Hunter said, a little shell shocked.
"It's ancient history though. Please believe me." Torrie begged. Now getting desperate.
"What do you mean 'went out'? You mean you use to sleep with that slime bag?"
"Hunter, please…I'm sorry."
Hunter sat in his chair for a while. Torrie was sobbing quietly, afraid of what she had done. Hunter's eyes carried no expression. They were like ice.
"That lousy mother fucker isn't walking out of my club alive." Hunter said as he stood up and made his way out of the office.
Torrie stood up and tried to stop him. "NO! PLEASE!" She wailed but to no avail. Hunter pushed her away and exited the office.
John was slowly getting his life beaten out of him. Chris was absolutely relentless. Not one second passed without John getting a knee or a fist pounded into his face or body. John started to cough up blood, but even that didn't stop Chris' assault. John was now in a headlock and the oxygen was cutoff from his body. Blood trickled from his mouth and John's vision began to go all blurry. He was slipping into unconsciousness.
Chris had his arm locked tightly around John's neck. John's limp thrashes were starting to stop and Chris felt that John was slowly but surely being drawn into unconsciousness. Chris looked up and had the shock of his life. Shawn was standing about a meter away from him. Somehow, Shawn had managed to shove his way to ringside and was now taunting Chris. The rage began to build again as his whole body trembled. However, he was unaware that he had subconsciously loosened his headlock.
Shawn was smiling at Chris. He made hand gestures of a talking mouth and he was signaling to Chris that he was going to tell John about his and Adam's little scheme. With any luck, Chris would take care of John for him. With John out of the way, Shawn would take over the gang, he would get rid of Adam, and slowly but surely wipe Chris off the face of the earth as well. Everything was working out for Shawn Michaels.
John felt Chris' arm loosen around his neck. He wasn't sure why this was, but frankly he didn't care. He was grateful for the air which was allowed back into his lungs as he gulped it in. His vision was becoming relatively sharp again and his body didn't ache as much as before. His head was still spinning but it wasn't anything John hadn't over come before. John used both hands to grab onto Chris' arm which was around his neck. With a sharp and forceful tug, his head came free. John scrambled to his feet, and was up before Chris was. He sent his knee flying in and it connected with Chris' face. John moved forward as Chris slowly climbed to his feet. John came in with a fist, and then another, and another. Chris was on his knees now, blood pouring from his nose and his cheek. In fact, the mat was covered in red splotches. A mixture of both his and Chris' blood. John waited for Chris to get up on his feet. He backed away and charged at him full speed. The impact shook John, but Chris came off the worse of the two. He was sprawled out limply on the mat. John grabbed the rope to steady himself. The ref was up to five but Chris was showing signs of movement. John was about to go back on the attack, when he heard a single voice ring in his ears amongtsthe roar of the crowd. A voice that would never ever slip his mind.
"NO! HUNTER DON'T!" Torrie's voice rang out.
John spun around to the source of the voice but a blow full of power and animosity struck him in the face and knocked him off his feet. He felt his body get lifted off the mat as Hunter struck him again and again. The ref rang the bell and the match was called off.
Out of the corner of his mind, Chris heard the bell sound. He was devastated when he heard it as he thought he had lost the match. When he looked up, he saw that it was indeed a different story. He saw the ref try to pull an enraged Hunter off John's limp body. Chris cursed to himself. This wasn't the way he wanted it to end.
"John probably deserves what he is getting." Chris thought to himself as he got to his feet.
He turned his back on the beating and began to walk out of the ring. But somewhere inside of him he knew it was wrong. You never beat a man when he is down. Even if he did have a hand in your brother's death. Besides, Chris' was going to be the one to kill John, not Hunter. And at the rate Hunter was going, he was dead set on doing just that. Chris spun around and jumped on Hunter's back. He wrapped his arm around his neck and Hunter dropped John. Hunter reached over and grabbed Chris by the hair. He heaved him over his shoulder and Chris went crashing onto the mat. A much fresher Hunter made easy pickings of Chris as he began to beat down on him. Soon the whole of Evolution and even some of the spectators were in on the action. All trying to pull Hunter off. Eventually the enraged leader of Evolution was subdued, and John and Chris were taken out of the ring to get treatment. The crowd slowly cleared out of the club, all of them disappointed with the outcome.
(A/N) OH MY GOD! I am soooo sorry everyone. I know you will all hate me for this. It may well be one of the biggest anticlimaxes in the history of the universe. But I needed for this to happen to make the end part of my story work. Please please please please please forgive me!