Hart Dungeon
Finn stands across from Bret Hart sweating bullets breathing heavily. Finn looks around to see his fellow classmates laid out aching in pain. Bret folds in his arms in nodding his head a bit as he seems to be somewhat impressed that Finn is still standing but just barely.
"I gotta hand it to you, kid, you got guts. Your team barely made it halfway through this training but you're still standing and pushing through and doing it with only one arm." Bret said.
"It's gonna take a lot more to keep me down." Finn said groaning as he grabs onto his shoulder still in a sling. Finn rushes at Bret who takes him down with a hip toss. Finn grinds his teeth bearing through the pain as he gets right back up. Finn runs at Bret again but Hart grabs his free arm and twists it. Bret kicks Finn in the back of the knee forcing him down to just one.
"You got real heart that's no question about that, but when it comes to wargames that's a whole different story." Bret said as he lets go of Finn.
"I thought this was all about endurance." Finn said as he stood up almost out of breath.
"Oh no, it is but there's more to it than just tolerating for a long period of time. Sure, you may have great endurance but if your team doesn't then you won't survive wargames. You're good but you can't take on the whole world by yourself. You gotta lead by example." Bret said.
"I like to think that I am a leader." Finn replied.
"Is that so? I doubt that because if you were a real leader then you'd have at least one or two of your team still standing strong behind you. During this whole training, you were solely focused on yourself that you didn't even bother to check on them. A real leader makes sure his troops are doing just as good as he is because without them he doesn't stand a chance." Bret said tapping Finn on the shoulder which brings him down to one knee. "You got talent, Finn, so don't be discouraged. It's all part of the process."
"I guess so." Finn said lowering his head and whipping the sweat off his face just as Mr. Snow comes waltzing down the steps and observes the training.
"Yeesh! You must really put them through the wringer, Bret?" Mr. Snow asked.
"Nah, I kinda went easy on them." Bret said much to the dismay of Class J.
"Easy? You call that easy? I can hardly breathe!" Apollo cried out just barely lifting his head up only to lay it back down.
"Hey, he's not lying to you. Now, if his old man were still here, you wouldn't last five minutes with him." Mr. Snow proclaimed. "Say, can they take a break? I know that's not usual when it comes to the Hart Family training but they could use it to get some energy back."
"Sure. Alright, kids let's take 15. Get some food in you and then we're gonna get right back into it." Bret shouted to the kids who could barely stand up on their own feet.
"Ughhhhh! My hair is a mess!" Alicia cries out.
"Dude, I can hear my heart beat fast. Is that normal?" Curt nervously asked much to the delight of Mr. Snow.
"Yeah, I can see how you went easy on them. Alright, gang let's go try some of my famous Snow melts! They're healthy but also yummy!" Mr. Snow said as he leads Class J upstairs with the exception of Finn who was still kneeling.
"You alright, Finn?" Bret asked.
"I knew it would be a challenge but I didn't think it would be this difficult." A deflated Finn said as Bret taps on his shoulder.
"Listen, take a break, and then meet me on the porch. I'll give you a history lesson." Bret said as he heads upstairs with Finn looking on.
Later That Day
Hart Mansion
Class J was seated at the table and after a break and some food seem to be full of life once more.
"Whew! Mr. Snow, I wasn't so sure about your cooking but man that hit the spot." Apollo stated.
"Dude, you should have worked in the cafeteria. This is much better than the crap that serves us." Curt added.
"Nah, I don't think Vince would allow me to do it." Mr. Snow said with a slight smirk on his face just before turning his attention over to Finn. "Finn, you doing alright that buddy?"
"I don't know. You tell me." Finn said with a tone in his voice.
"Hey, we'll get through this okay? It's going to be hard at first and that's just life but if you're able to will yourself through you separate yourself from everyone else." Mr. Snow stated.
"Yeah sure but what good is it if I can't lead? I use to hang out with a group of guys but then they all turned on me and since then I've been by myself. I forgot what it is like to have friends to depend on." Finn stated as he got up from the table to leave as Class J looked concerned.
"You guys gotta rally behind him and push him not to give up so easily. I'll go to talk to him but right after I use the bathroom! Boy, that Canadian bacon hits you hard!" Mr. Snow stated as he hurries up running to the bathroom.
"Oh, Finny! Guys, Mr. Snow is right! We gotta do better!" Alicia stated.
"Hey, we're doing the best we can okay." Curt replied.
"But it's not enough! Finn's the only one here who seems to be really putting in the effort. He needs us to do better. I refuse to let him down anymore! So, that's why I'm telling you guys let's do better!" Alicia exclaimed.
"We hear you, Alicia, and trust me we all want to help Finn out but we got limits of our own. We gotta be realistic here. I hate to be that guy but it is what it is." Apollo stated which caused Alicia to rise up and slam her hands on the table startling everyone except Rowan.
"It is what it is huh?" Alicia asked as she let out a maniacal laugh. Alicia looks up leering at everyone at the table with this grin on her face. "Do you all remember Summer Rae? Remember how she tried to embarrass me in front of the whole school? But I had something in store for her and I don't need to remind you of what I did because you all witnessed it and it wasn't pretty. Now, either you all can push past your limits or share a fate similar to Summer Rae? So, what's it going to be boys?"
"O…...O…..Ok, Alicia. We will." A scared Apollo said, nodding his head along with Curt Hawkins as Alicia shot glares at them.
Outside sitting on the porch, Finn broods as he looks out at the snow-filled area. Bret steps out of the house carrying something in his hand. Bret takes a seat next to Finn looking out as well.
"It's not New York or Florida or L.A even but there's just something about home that other cities can't come close to. Now, I told you I would give you a history lesson, so here it is." Bret said as he opens up an old yearbook and points on the page. "See this guy right here?"
"Wait a minute? That's you? You went to McMahon high?" Finn asked curiously.
"That's right. I was a top student there too. Now, this was back when Vince actually wasn't a maniac but I'm starting to think he always was and that my eyes were finally starting to open up and see him for who he truly was." Bret stated.
"So you were a part of the Class of 97?" Finn asked
"No. I transferred from there not too soon after that." Bret stated.
"Really? Was it because of the principal?" Finn asked.
"Something like that. You see this guy ahead of me?" Bret said pointing on the book. "That's Shawn Michaels. He was a classmate and my rival. We came in at the same time and at first things were ok between us but somewhere along the way things started to change. I don't know if it had to do with him being jealous that I was the top student for so long or what."
"Shawn Michaels? Did you guys fight a lot?" Finn asked.
"Oh yeah, we've had our fair share of fights inside the ring and out as well." Bret said. "As you can see in this book, he's ranked number one and I am number two. It should have been the other way around since I was the best there is, best there was and best there ever will be at that time. Shawn, despite my hating his guts then was incredibly talented in his own ways. I felt I should have been number one but for some reason, Shawn brown-nosing Vince seem to do him some favors."
"Wow! How can he be allowed to run a school while showing favoritism?" Finn questioned.
"Make no mistake about it, I always thought I was Vince's favorite. We had such a great relationship in the beginning but it started to denigrate during my final days there. I'll never forget that fall of 97. I challenged Shawn one on one to truly determine who was the best since he got me the last time we fought. Since we would be graduating it would be our last encounter. Vince didn't like the idea too much but signed off on it anyway. Now, I voiced my concerns to Vince on how he was running the school as he was just letting Shawn and his kliq run wild without any consequences." Bret stated.
"So, what did you do?" Finn asked.
"I tried my best to keep the peace but I got fed up with everything there. So, I asked my father if I could transfer but not before I had one last fight with Shawn and the date was settled. It was the beginning of the end." Bret said, sighing heavily.
"Did you win?" Finn asked.
"No, I didn't win but I didn't lose either." Bret stated, confusing Finn as he raised an eyebrow.
"So it was a draw?" Finn asked curiously.
"Let's just say I know how you feel. I know what it's like to get screwed over. The point I'm trying to make here is that no matter how much he throws at you, no matter how hard he tries to make your life a living hell, do not give up you hear me? Don't give up! Continue to fight because you have fire in you so you can't allow it to be easily put out. Do better than me and my peers when Vince made things difficult for us!" Bret said staring at Finn processing everything that's been told to him. Finn nods his head as he stood up.
"Let's get back to training." Finn said firmly as Bret stood up and smiled back at him.
"Now that's the spirit. Let's go." Bret leads Finn back inside the mansion as they make their way in they head straight towards the basement. Upon entering the dungeon they see everyone waiting and ready to get back started.
"Finn, we know we haven't been giving it our all today. We're really sorry about it! So, we're ready to take whatever the old man can dish out at us!" Alicia said firmly while standing tall and proud.
"Foxy. Guys, I'm the one who needs to apologize. Today I realized that I need to work on trusting you more. You're my friends and there will be times where I'll have to rely on you and I'm ok with that." Finn stated as Alicia embraces him with a hug but barks at the guys to back off so she can only hug him.
"Ok, now that you got that sentimental stuff out of your systems, let's get back to work." Bret said as he claps his hands and Class J gathers around him.
Later That Day
Hart Mansion
Class J exits the mansion with their belongings as they're preparing to depart. Class J stands before Bret who stands on his porch.
"Mr. Hart, on behalf of Class J, I just want to say thank you for teaching us and just know we'll be applying everything you taught us in wargames." Finn said as his fellow teammates nod their heads.
"Don't mention it. Just make sure you get em. And, Al." Bret said as Mr. Snow stops just before he enters the RV. "Call me if anything happens."
"Gotcha. Alrighty gang, let's hit the road! We got a long drive ahead of us. New York here we come!" Mr. Snow said as he and Class J pile into the RV. Class J waves from inside as the RV drives off.
48 Hours Later
Workshop Classroom
Class J enters a decent size lecture hall. Class J is awe at the size of the classroom just before they take their seats.
"Whoa! So is this what college looks like?" Apollo asked.
"Mr. Snow, after we train can we go sight-seeing and possibly shopping? I know you boys probably don't care for the second one but I always wanted to see New York stores!" Alicia said with excitement.
"I'm afraid not, Foxy. We're here to train not on vacation. Plus, we're on a time schedule so it's important we handle our business and get back to school by late night tonight or Monday morning." Mr. Snow said much to the disappointment of Alicia.
"So, Mr. Snow, who's this guy who's going to be teaching us about promos?" Curt asked.
"Well, I wouldn't call him an old friend. Let's just say out of all the people he's worked with in the past, I dislike him the least. However, I must admit he is a maestro of promos. He has a way with words that captivate you." Mr. Snow described.
"If he's so great why is he so hated?" Finn asked.
"Well, let's just say he has a real bad habit of being honest. That's all I'm gonna say about that." Mr. Snow said as Class J looks at each other skeptical of this person he speaks of. Suddenly, the door opens and in walks a man with a firm pep in his step. The man walks up to the board grabbing a marker as he looks out at Class J.
"So, I take it that you're Class J? Hmmm, a very diverse group of students you have, AL." The man said with a smirk on his face as he turned around to write on the board. "So, you're here to learn how to do promos, correct? Well, who better to teach you than me? However, before I begin allow me to introduce myself. Lady and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman!"