Chapter Thirteen: The Castle

The castle loomed over them in all its splendor. Massive, stacked high into the cobalt sky, the castle seemed to be an impenetrable fortress, stripped of any beauty that King Hunter and Queen Stephanie may have put into the house. Lita and Batista realized that this was the place that they would need to bring Stephanie when she was found.

Batista pried open the doors that were caked shut with years of mold and moss. They opened with a creak. "After you?" he replied with a smirk.

"Scared?" she teased, walking past him.

"Always," he replied, following her in. The castle was pitch black, encased in darkness.

"See if we can find anything to start a fire or something," Lita mused, searching around the darkness for any sign of a lighter or a torch.

With a spark, a torch was lit. Lita stared at Batista. "Boy scout?" she asked, motioning to the sticks in his hand.

"Let's not go there," he answered. She laughed and the two of them made their way up the steps towards the main floor of the palace.

When they reached the floor that was used as King Hunter and Queen Stephanie's living quarters, they stared at each other before staring down the sleek black hallway. She could see yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. "Dave..." Lita began. She slapped his arm, and motioned her head down the hallway. He stared. He could see the seven foot monster standing out of the darkness.

"Who goes there?" the creepy voice called out. Lita clutched onto Batista's arm for protection. This was a monster of a man, dressed in red and black, bald, his face marred with the permanent look of a serial murderer.

"Who the hell are you?" Batista called back. He didn't fear this guy; not in the least.

"My name is Kane. I am brother of Undertaker, guardian of King Hunter's statue."

"We're here to find Queen Stephanie," Lita called out, frightened. "Candice and Beth sent us."

Kane stopped. "Well, why didn't you say so?" he asked, his tone taking on a somewhat friendlier tone. It still sounded creepy. "Come on down here, you guys. What can I help you with?"

"Is King Hunter really in here?" Lita asked.

"Yeah. You want to see him?" Kane asked. She nodded, her hazel eyes still wide with fear. Kane opened the door and followed the duo into the room.

It was the bedroom quarters. The room had obviously been left the way it was when Stephanie was taken. It was disheveled and destroyed, with King Hunter's stone body laid out on the bed. He was a large man, the stone carving out the long hair that he had. The nose was monstrous, but Lita didn't say anything to that. She didn't think it would be tactful.

"Were you there that night?" Batista inquired. Kane shook his head.

"Shortly after I heard the news, I had to see it for myself," he confessed. "Sure enough..."

"Your brother was the Undertaker?" Lita asked. Kane nodded.

"Is. When Queen Stephanie is found, his life will be restored," Kane told her defiantly. She moved a step behind Dave in fear.

"What do you know about the women Vince has behind him?" Batista asked.

"I know that one of them is the king's ex-girlfriend, and since he scorned her, she's looking to destroy any type of love she can find," he replied. "So you and your girlfriend need to watch..."

"What?" they both started to laugh. "No," Lita said, "he's not my..."

"Just watch yourself. Is it just the two of you?"

"No, there are four others."

Randy Orton and Layla were still nowhere near the castle. And things weren't too good for him right now. Aside from a splitting headache, she was still talking and driving him insane. He felt like grabbing her around the neck and just squeezing.

"Wow. We meet again."

The duo whirled around to see Kristal and Stacy behind them. He had to admit, the blonde one was really cute. He shot a little nod at her and she smiled coyly. She was into him. "What brings you ladies out here?"

"Just out wandering," Kristal replied, shooting a smile to Layla, who reciprocated the smile. "You guys heading over to that castle?"

"Yeah. Thought it would be a neat tourist attraction."

"Be careful," Stacy replied, her voice full of fake worry. Of course, Randy was so oblivious to it, and Layla was just busy thinking about her own thing. "We heard that there's this seven foot monster there. He'll kill you if you don't slay it."

"Really?" he inquired. The girls nodded, Kristal widening her eyes in fear for emphasis. "I wouldn't worry. I'm known for kicking ass on the football field and this will be no different," he promised.

"Wow. You're so strong and brave," Stacy flirted, running her fingers up Randy's arm. He cocked a curious eyebrow at her. Layla only rolled her eyes. "Can we come with you?"

"Let me think – hell yeah," he replied. He was just happy that he didn't have to talk to Layla anymore. He had the lovely Stacy.

Cena and Maria were making their way up the castle steps. "Hello?" Maria called out into the hallway.

The bedroom door open and Kane emerged. "You Cena and Maria?" he inquired. They stared at him, mystified.

"That would be us," Cena nodded.

"Come on in. King Hunter's in here," Kane replied. Cena and Maria stared at each other quizzically, but went into the room nonetheless.

They walked in to find Lita and Batista sitting on the bed by King Hunter's stone body. "Lita!" Maria exclaimed, rushing to give her friend a hug.

"Yo, man, s'up?" Cena inquired, slapping hands with Batista.

"Not too much. Kane's here getting a hold of our girls."

"Think they'll come down."

"Yeah. Kane was saying that Torrie was panicked about something on the line."

Just then, Candice, Torrie, Beth and Mickie showed up on the balcony. Pulling the glass windows open, they were urgent. "Have a seat, we have some really bad news for you guys." Taking a quick seat, they stopped talking and listened.

"Vince knows you're here," Candice replied. "He's had his deviants tracking you through the mission."

"How could he find out?"

"He can find out anything; he's a sorcerer," Mickie informed them.

"What's so big with me?" Kane asked.

"It's Randy and Layla. Randy's under Stacy's spell and they're on their way to kill you and take King Hunter's body."

"Come out and play!"

They all froze. It was Randy Orton's taunting voice down the hallway, begging Kane to show his face in the hallway.