Note: I'm so sorry that this has taken so long to update! I've finally got started with it again and I hope to get the last few parts finished, proofed, and posted by Sunday night. You guys rock for having waited so long!

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Part Twenty Two

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"Things have just erupted here at ringside, King!"

"You can say that again, JR, looks to me like Lita and her little buddy Jeff are in a world of pain. And who can blame them? I have no idea why Triple H is involved with this, but look, JR! Jeff Hardy's not the only one with new friends."

"Things have descended into chaos! Oh my God! That girl is less than half their size. What did Lita ever do to Kurt Angle? Or Ric Flair for that matter? This is just sick, King."

"Well, Lita won't be mouthing off about Matt again any time soon."

"Matt Hardy doesn't even look like he knows what's going on, King. My God, enough is enough! But wait, here comes the cavalry!"

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She wasn't exactly sure what had happened, only that it hurt. She could hear voices around her, the rush of the crowd in her ears, but none of it mattered as harsh hands grabbed at her. She tried to kick out, but the pain was too much and there was little to do but cry out when she was thrown over someone's shoulder.

She could hear Jeff calling her name, could hear the crowd erupting and assumed her rescuers had arrived. She knew it didn't matter.

They were too late.

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"Edge!"

She could sense people around her were looking, but she didn't care. No one was answering her. She hung up the phone and raced back to Devlan's room just in time to see things get out of hand on the TV. She crawled onto the bed, pulling the boy carefully into her arms as he whimpered.

"Auntie Torrie, why are they hurting Lita and Unca Jeff?" he asked and she could tell he was crying.

"I don't know, Dev, I don't know at all." She kissed the top of her head and forced herself to watch in silence as Lita was thrown over Triple H's shoulder and carted off through the crowd. She couldn't react, because she knew it would only upset Devlan more. Torrie clenched her jaw and didn't even bother to wipe her eyes.

They were too late. Triple H had Lita and there was nothing Shawn Michaels, or anyone else, could do about it.

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There was a loud bang echoing around the arena and they all stood back as Shawn continued to hammer at the nearest locker with a steel chair. He let out an almost animalistic growl as the finally dropped it and turned to look at them. The fire in his eyes was almost enough to send them all running from the room.

"We'll get her back," Jeff said fiercly and Shawn shook his head.

"Not until Hunter wants us to. No," the heartbreak kid continued, beginning to pace the floor, "he'll have her hidden away and he will taunt me with her for the entire match. If he wins, he still has Lita and he can use her for as long as he wants and if – when – I win, I still won't be able to find her." He swung around and kicked the damaged locker. "He's got me right where he wanted me and I practically offered him Lita on a silver platter! I should never have got any of you involved in this."

"Like you could have stopped her," Jeff retorted, his own anger still very much apparent. "And we were in this whether you wanted us to be or not. Matt's on his side and he wanted to lash out at Lita, can you honestly say you wouldn't have come out during our match anyway, even if you hadn't got to know us all over the last few weeks? Even if you hadn't started falling in love with Lita? Well?" Jeff demanded. "Can you? I didn't think so. So shut the hell up and think."

"We need to scour the arena," someone said and they all turned to find Chris Benoit standing in the doorway. He held up his hands in immediate surrender from the looks he was getting. "Look, I have no idea what the hell's going on here, not sure I even want to know, but that little girl didn't deserve what she got and she's got to be hurting," the Rabid Wolverine pointed out. "I only saw him hit her twice with that sledgehammer, but I wouldn't be surprised if he got more in that I didn't see."

Shawn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm going to go out to that ring and beat the shit out of Hunter until he tells me where she is. In the meantime, you want to look in the obvious places, right in front of our very eyes, because that's what he does. He hides things in plain sight."

"Why does it sound like you've worked this whole thing out?" Bill asked quietly.

"Because I have. Matt's probably in on this now," he said, shooting an almost apologetic look in Jeff's direction. "He didn't seem all that bothered by what was going on and I have seen him hurt Lita like none of you have. If he's in on this, we need to act quickly before he hurts Lita in another way." He didn't have to voice what he meant. Jeff looked ill and no one could blame him.

"Flair and Angle aren't wild cards here. I'm betting they've been in on it for months. In fact, my guess is that it was Flair who linked Devlan into this whole thing."

"Triple H contacted Devlan while he was at his dad's," Edge said, holding up his cell phone. "I got a frantic call from Torrie." He turned to Jeff. "I can't get in touch with her."

"You won't have to," Shawn continued, indicating the camera that was out in the hallway filming the whole thing. "Shut the door, she'll call us again."

Seeming to make his decision to stay, Benoit entered and closed the door behind him. "Well?"

"I thought Flair was one of the good guys."

"We all did," Rob muttered, wrapping an arm around Lilian, whom they had brought back with them, not wanting to trust that she'd be safe, not given her association with them.

"I saw him a few months ago, I was with Devlan and we got to talking. I didn't tell him anything," the Texan said, "but I think he might have seen me before I saw him. I'm guessing he put two and two together and used it as bait for Hunter."

"Bait?"

"Something he could use to get Hunter on his side. Flair is past it," Edge said bluntly. He was beginning to get where Shawn was going with his explanation. "He wants to link himself to someone who'll help keep his career going. He is the dirtiest player in the game after all."

"And Angle?" Jeff said.

"The man's a jackass, but he's not above making alliances when he needs to. I'm guessing he'll do the same as Flair and turn on H when he least expects it. Won't work, mind you, Hunter's too smart for that. But I'm betting that's their plan."

"What about Dawn Marie?" Lilian asked, jumping as Edge's phone started ringing again.

Seeing that it was the same number that had called him before, he handed the phone to Jeff.

"Hey Tor," Jeff said softly. "Yeah, I know. We're just about to head out and look. Yeah," he said, looking up. "I think we've done enough talking, too."

Everyone nodded and Shawn turned to Lilian. "I don't think it's safe for you to go back to ringside."

The blonde nodded. "I'll go with Rob to look for Lita." She indicated thesmallscreen behind them. "Looks like they found Finkle anyway."

Shawn nodded. "Dawn Marie will be guarding her, but I don't doubt the others will be nearby. You see them, run."

Lilian nodded again. "Why Dawn Marie?"

"Because," Benoit said, "she's screwing Hunter. I wish I didn't have the visual proof burned into my retinas for all time," the man said with a wince, "but it's true. I'm betting Matt doesn't know."

"Who gives a shit," Jeff said harshly. "Let's go." He hung up the phone and the others followed him out the door, leaving Shawn alone.

The heartbreak kid rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath, before heading out of the locker room. The look in his eyes was enough to keep everyone out of his way.

Triple H was about to discover exactly what Shawn Michaels was made of. He was going to pay for bringing Devlan into things, he was going to pay for making Shawn a target for his new 'group' – Shawn was under no illusions as to what Hunter was doing; he had always liked being part of a group, had always liked being in charge. And Shawn was the only person who had ever truly led him.

And the Heartbreak Kid was about to show his old friend exactly why that was. He was going to make Triple H pay for everything. And the man was going to wish he'd never laid a finger on Lita.

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End of Part Twenty Two

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Also, I'm still looking for writers who might beupfor taking part in a Lita Ficathon. Interested parties should check out the post on my LiveJournal (it's open to be viewed by all).

kyizi (dot) livejournal (dot) com / 111443 (dot) html