Authors Note : Update for you. I hope you guys like what I've written. There's a kind of finality to the chapter, but I promise you there's one more twist to come. Please read and review guys. I disclaim! Lyrics are taken from 'Jump' by Madonna.
"The following Contest, is an "I Quit Match." to determine the new Number One Contender for the WWE Championship. Making her way to the ring, from Toronto Canada. She is one half of the World Tag Team Champions…Trish Stratus!"
'I haven't got much time to waste, it's time to make my way
I'm not afraid of what I'll face, but I'm afraid to stay
I'm going down my own road and I can make it alone
I'll work and I'll fight, Till I find a place of my own'
Her eye focused on the ring before her, Trish hoped back and forth slightly on the staging, feeling the warmth seep through her legs to her hips. Swinging her fists forwards into a few loose punches, Trish moved her neck from side to side, before calmly walking her way towards the ring. The grim determination set deeply into her chocolate brown eyes took the ring in before her eyes. Dispensing with her usual antics of saluting the crowd, despite their more than vocal support, Trish entered the ring, nerves threatening to make her throw up onto her own wrestling boots.
In the ring, she hopped back from side to side again, working her muscles loose to prepare for what was easily going to be the match of her life. In was insane task. Anyone could have told her that. Going up against Kane could only end in one possible way. And that was Trish getting beaten so badly she couldn't walk out of the ring under her own power. But Trish refused to give in. This is what she had wanted. Just the one chance to prove that she could handle herself in the ring, against anyone, even if they were a seven foot, three hundred pound monster.
Fear was outweighed by her own determination. By her own admission, Trish knew how stubborn she was. It was partly this stubbornness that had led her to ask Randy to stay backstage and not accompany her down to the ring. It's not that she didn't want him at her side, far from it. Right now, Trish wanted nothing more than to hide in his strong arms and squeeze her eyes shut until the big bad red machine went away.
But as much as Trish wanted this opportunity, Trish had known that it was something she had to do by herself.
Everyone expected her to bring Randy down to the ring with her. They expected Randy to be at her side and watch closely as Kane took his fiancé apart with each devastating move, before he could stand it no longer and throw himself at the monster, unleashing primal fury for hurting his girlfriend.
If people didn't think Trish was insane before, they certainly would now. She had actively chosen to fly solo into this match. If she was going to lose, then so be it, but it would be on her terms. If, by some miracle she won, it would be her victory and not one shared with her lover.
Randy had gotten extremely angry at her for forcing him to stay backstage. He had shouted and screamed, punching and breaking things in is fury. But Trish had calmed him like always, and explained her reasons why.
Reluctantly, he had agreed to her request, however much he was against it. Part of him respected her for having the sheer guts for facing Kane in the first place. The rest of him wanted to slap her for being so stubborn and plain stupid for doing this by herself. There was no way she could win. And there was no way he could protect her. Like everyone else, Randy was relegated to watching backstage through the monitor.
Feeling her bottom lip tremble with nerves, Trish visibly winced at the explosion of flame, heralding the arrival of Kane. His massive frame emerged beneath the video screen, a psychotic laugh tumbling over his mouth as he regarded Trish from afar. He had fantasised about such an opportunity to hurt her since he had been in the WWE. And now he going to get to break Trish for real. The idea made him lick his lips as he hulked towards the ring.
Clearing the top rope with a single sweep, Kane paced around the ring, shaking with laughter as he watched the retreating Trish as she crossed to the other side of the ring, keeping her distance between herself and Kane. The sound of the bell ringing shocked her to reality.
This was it. What she had been preparing for and dreading in equal measures since last Monday. The moment where she had to shine like never before. Squaring her shoulders, Trish felt the adrenaline surging through her veins. With a final exhalation of breath, she surged forward, directly into the path of Kane's outstretched hand.
'Are you ready to jump?
Get ready to jump
Don't ever look back, oh baby,
Yes, I'm ready to jump
Just take my hands
Get ready to jump'
At the last possible second, Trish ducked beneath Kane's arm, dropping down into a baseball slide between his legs and beneath the bottom rope and out of the ring. Stepping across the padded outside, Trish snatched up her Tag Team title from the time keeper as Kane watched her with an amused expression. Murmurs in the audience and backstage wondered if Trish had simply decided to forfeit and walk away. And who would blame her? There was not one superstar who could honestly say they would willingly face Kane in such a match.
Heaving her arm back, Trish slung her title belt into the ring, sending it over the top rope, narrowly missing Kane's body. Simply laughing as the belt clattered to the ground behind him, the towering monster dared Trish to get back into the ring. Knowing her plan was more than just insane, it was impossible, Trish sighed and went straight for it anyway.
Hurling her mass of blonde locks over her shoulder, Trish dove back into the ring, getting to her feet and dropping again, diving beneath Kane's legs. What he originally had found to be amusing now angered Kane slightly as he was outsmarted by the same move for a second time. Back to her feet, Trish rebounded off the opposite ropes in order to increase her momentum. Racing back at Kane, Trish dipped herself again, preparing baseball slide beneath Kane for a third time.
The Big Red Machine seemingly guessed her plan, and dipped his head to catch Trish as she slid. Grinning, Trish remained on her feet, instead launching into a running missile drop-kick, crashing her outstretched feet into Kane's lowered head. Black spots appearing before his eyes, Kane staggered slightly as Trish dashed behind him.
Exploding off the ropes once more on the rebound, Trish threw herself into the air. Grabbing Kane's head beneath her arm, she proceeded to plant his face directly onto the title belt in the 'Stratusfaction' bulldog. The crowd exploded with cheers as Trish got back to her feet, leaving the dazed Kane rolled onto his back, more than muddled at what had just happened.
Racing out of the ring once again, Trish vanished beneath the ring apron as she searched for the appropriate weapon.
Apparently finding what she was after, Trish re-emerged a second later, wielding the famed sledge hammer Triple H was more than known for, causing a great swell to emerge from the audience. Snatching the microphone from Lillian Garcia, Trish wedged it firmly into her pants before getting back to business.
Hauling the blunt weapon into the ring, Trish rolled to her feet, holding the hammer ready for Kane to get back to his feet. He did so more quickly that Trish would have liked, but she was unfazed as her considerable fear would allow.
Rushing at Kane, she slammed the head of the hammer with all the force her tiny body could manage into his lower back. Kane growled in pain as he slumped to his knees, hands clutching at his lower back. Slamming the weapon forward again, Trish rammed it with all forced into Kane's upper back, planting he heavy metal head into where his shoulder blades met. Kane yelped again, seemingly becoming unsteady on his knees.
Prepared for this, Trish stepped closer again, bringing the wooden handle around to the front of Kane's body, crushing it against his neck as she began to choke the Big Red Machine. Kane spluttered and coughed, the pain biting into his neck as he was unable to draw breath. Pulling back with everything she had, Trish choked as hard as she could, willing herself to not give into feelings of guilt at possibly injuring Kane. She had to win this, and it was no time to play fair. If Kane got his hands on her for just a second, it would be over for Trish. The only prayer she had of winning was keeping out of his reach.
However, all Trish succeeded in doing was flaring anger to life in Kane. Reaching his massive hands backwards, he gripped Trish by her own hair, dragging her forward over his head, sending her sprawling awkwardly to the mat. As Trish writhed on the mat the feeling of burning in her lower back, as Kane sniffed the sizeable clump of hair still contained in hands, ripped cleanly from her scalp.
His eyes glittering with menace, he tossed the hair away, grabbing at Trish's prone body. Hauling her to her feet, he glared at Trish, bring her face closer to his own.
Trish fought as hard as she had fought in her life, but her strength couldn't compare to the power of Kane. Gripping her face in his hand, Kane pulled Trish closer to his own. In a sickening display of dominance and passion, Kane dragged his tongue over Trish's cheek and across her lips. Feeling herself shudder in response to the vile feeling of Kane's tongue against her, Trish swung her leg forward, smashing her foot into the Big Red Machine's groin. Spiteful eyes going wide, Kane relaxed his grip on Trish, who landed on her feet with all the grace she could manage.
Throwing herself backwards against the rope, Trish exploded forward, dropkicking Kane's right knee with her added momentum. Feeling something pop as a result, Trish grinned darkly as Kane toppled to one knee. With him in such a prone position, Trish did exactly what came naturally to her. In one swift movement she landed a stinging 'Chick Kick' across the back of Kane's head, sending him face first into the mat.
Pushing her advantage to its limit, Trish clambered over Kane's form, grabbing the leg with which she had landed the dropkick. Gripping the knee in a vice like grip, Trish performed a single-legged Boston Crab, tearing at the knee and thigh muscle as best she could. With some hesitation, Trish noted that Kane's leg was almost the same size as her, making the move very difficult to effectively perform. Forcing the though out of her mind, Trish leaned backwards, exerting as much pressure as she could on the submission move.
Beneath her, she could feel Kane squirm in pain. Gritting her teeth, it was all Trish could do not to be thrashed loose because of the power in the thrusts as he wildly tried to break Trish's grip. Feeling her own bicep muscles scream in protest at the amount of pressure she was placing on Kane's leg, tears stung at Trish's eyes. She couldn't let go. She wouldn't let go. She had to win this. Not just for herself, but every girl. For every girl who had ever been told she wasn't good enough, that she wasn't included because she was a man. Trish would win this, no matter what.
'We learned our lesson from the start, my sisters and me
The only thing you can depend on is your family
And life's gonna drop you down like the limbs of a tree
It sways and it swings and it bends until it makes you see'
But ultimately, Trish just didn't possess the strength to compete. The final thrust of Kane's leg sky-rocketed Trish forward, freeing himself of the move. Throwing her hands forward to cushion her fall, Trish felt her wrist bend into an awkward angle as she toppled face first to mat. Groaning in pain, Trish rolled to her back, holding her arm close to her body, feeling the throbbing of her pulse crashing up her arm.
Too focused on her own pain, Trish wasn't aware Kane was back to his feet until she felt his massive grip on her throat. Choking at the pressure clamping onto her neck, Trish felt herself hauled from her back to high in air, her feet dangling feet above her ground. With the heel of Kane's palm crushing her wind pipe, Trish found breathing become a laborious task, with her chest heaving, but no breath entering into her lungs. Kicking with all she could muster, Trish's world began to fade from her eyes, dark spots appearing, filling her vision so completely she thought someone had turned the lights out.
Feeling bitterly disappointed at the match being over because she had been out manoeuvred, Trish felt herself moving back towards with incredible velocity, realising too late she was the victim of a chokeslam. All at once, Trish's back smashed with merciless force against the mat, sending paralysing shock waves of pain through her tiny body. Feeling the scream of agony well in her throat, Trish clamped her mouth together, refusing to let it loose, trying her best to ignore the white hot agony in the back of her neck.
Kane pounced on Trish again, latching into a choke hold, forcing the palm of his hand down onto her throat, choking the life out of Trish. Sliding his other hand down her body, he grabbed the microphone out of her pants, shoving it into her face. Grinning demonically, he dared to give up, to end the torment of this match before he inflicted more pain than she could ever survive. Feeling the bile rise up in her throat, Trish turned her head to the side, away from the microphone, blatantly refusing to give in.
The laugh Kane released sent chills through her beaten body, but Trish was happy with the momentary respite as the pressure became released from her throat. Groaning in unfelt agony, Trish slowly began wiggling her toes, trying to get some feeling flowing back through her body. If she could just clear her head, for a second, Trish felt as though she could get back into this match. The feeling did eventually return, bringing immense pain with it. Squeezing her eyes closed, Trish felt tears sting cruelly as she tried so hard to move, the throbbing in her neck preventing her from doing so.
Once again, Kane's grip took her by the hair, dragging her to her feet. Feeling him scoop her up, Trish didn't know what to expect but yelped at the sudden jar at her neck. When she eventually realised she was hanging upside down, it was all to obvious what Kane was attempting.
With the fight well and truly beaten out of her, Trish squeezed her eyes shut, just praying for it to be over quickly. For the first time ever in her life, Trish knew she had nothing left. And she gave in.
All around her, Trish heard the silence as the crowd took in a collective breath, several women screamed, as Kane drove Trish to the mat in a deadly Tombstone Piledriver.
Trish became vaguely aware of the agony in her neck and spine, but it overloaded her so totally, that she lost consciousness, not even aware of her back falling to the mat. The crowd boo'd so intensely, screaming abuse at the laughing Red Monster who exited the ring that is sounded as though the very foundations of the arena would collapse. Sauntering towards Lillian Garcia, Kane snatched at the steel chair she had been resting on. Slamming it shut, Kane looked as though he were stalking Trish as he took his time getting back into the ring.
Carefully, Kane set the chair up so that Trish's neck was fitted tightly between the fold of steel. Maliciously planned, it was obvious that any pressure on the opposite end to Trish's head, and it would easily snap Trish's neck in two, ending her career in one fell swoop.
And that was the best case scenario.
Grinning demonically, Kane motioned towards the opposite ring apron, scaling to the top rope, with the referee begging him to get down. His whole body shaking with laughter, Kane prepared himself to leap from the top, and plunge down onto the chair, finishing the match once and for all.
But he was never given the chance.
So focused on his amusement in injuring Trish, Kane had failed to notice Randy Orton tearing down from the back. In one swift movement, Randy tore up the ring steps, throwing a towel over the top rope and into the ring, signalling Trish's submission. The bell rang, officially ending the match. But Randy was far from finished.
Leaping off the ring steps, Randy flew into the air, catching at the Big Red Machine's head as he did so. Mid flight, Kane was ripped from the top rope, finding himself the victim of an RKO to the outside of the ring. His head connected with the thinly covered concrete with a sickening thud, sending repulsed groans through the crowds. Ignoring the own pain in his lower back from the impact, randy rolled beneath the bottom rope, crawling towards the referee who was carefully removing Trish's body from the folded steel chair.
Gently taking Trish into his arms, Randy felt the tears pooling in his eyes. This crushed form of Trish resting against his chest, Randy realised that his fiancé had finally been broken.
Vaguely aware, Trish opened her eyes, looking into the tear streaked eyes of Randy.
"I gave up…" her voice quivered, fresh tears spilling down her cheek, "…it hurts so much baby…" As quickly as she had come back, Trish vanished again as her eyelids closed for the final time.
As the ring became flooded with black and white stripes as referees scattered in all directions, Randy reluctantly let go of Trish as she was placed into a stretcher, the neck brace carefully slid around her neck. Tears slid their way from his crystal blue eyes as Randy watched Trish's chest rise weakly as she struggled for breath.
Finding himself at a loss for words and emotions, Randy silently prayed to whomever it was that he believed in, to just let Trish be okay.
But deep in his heart, Randy knew the truth.
Trish would never be the same again.
