Chapter 13

Royal Rumble arrived with the Ministry of Darkness on a mission. A new recruit would happen tonight. Along with her ring attire, Tahlia was required to wear a black velvet robe for what they would be doing tonight. There was no match scheduled for any of the Ministry. They were all focused on the task their master laid out before them and that was the 500-pound Mabel. The man was downright scary, very heavyset and wore ridiculous clothing.

What was even MORE ridiculous was the fact he'd been beaten by Mankind, of all people, in just over 5 minutes in a squash match. Then he was in the Royal Rumble and had been eliminated almost as soon as he arrived in the ring, showing more failure. Tahlia stood beside Taker, staring straight ahead with the Acolytes beside her and Mideon next to Paul, all of them waiting. Once the lights went out in the arena, Mideon and the Acolytes rushed out to start beating down Mabel in the aisle while she trailed behind alongside the master silently.

Taker knew what he had told people about Mabel, about recruiting him, and it was partly true. Mabel would be very loyal and, by the time they were done with him, he would make quite the enforcer. However... he needed someone just a bit more pathetic than Mideon and that was for Mideon himself. Someone Mideon could actually feel like he was above because Mideon was definitely at the bottom of the totem pole. Those he actually wanted, who had drawn his actual attention, that trio would come along soon enough. Not so much the boss, but the two beneath him. They had potential. Bradshaw, Tahlia, these two... they were the ones who would endure long after the Ministry was gone.

"This is a joke." Ron muttered, shaking his head as Mabel went down just a bit too easily. They were going to have to get his ass to the gym more often or else he'd never last.

"Can you see a purpose for him, Tahlia?" His tone made it sound like he was asking about the weather.

Tilting her head slightly with the hood up, Tahlia kept her arms folded in front of her chest, the only skin to be seen was her face…if the camera came too close. "Yes, my Lord." When he asked her to elaborate, she didn't respond at first and continued staring at the 500-pound man, nodding confidently. "He is broken, but fixable and we can do that for him. He can be the monster he used to be." This man had actually crushed Undertaker's face with his thigh after performing a leg-drop and required the master to wear a face mask for a few months. Tahlia knew her wrestling history, submerged herself into it at a young age and had it burned into her memory. "He can give us an edge in the war to come, sir." He had asked her opinion and she gave it, bowing her head the moment Taker stepped toward Mabel to remove his hood while the Acolytes and Mideon held the big man still.

There was that too, he conceded. Mabel had broken his orbital bone, to be exact, hence the reason for the mask. It had protected the entire region, allowing that bone to heal. Not the most stylish of looks, but... he had done what was needed. Taker made a mental note to put the man on a treadmill, just because he was petty and that would be an amusing revenge.

"I think he's ready." He made a gesture, not surprised when Bradshaw caught it and nodded. "Tahlia... I don't think the cage is going to hold him if he decides to get himself to full steam." Which he doubted, Mabel hadn't been Mabel in a while; it was like the man had drowned his potential in bad gimmicks and Cheetos.

Nodding, Tahlia stepped back a few feet out of harm's way alongside Paul, watching as Mabel was continuously struck by the Acolytes and Mideon. This was part of the initiation, though she hadn't been beaten down. Her match had been against Ivory and the lights had gone out. She was pulled from the ring, remembering something being slapped over her mouth and woke up in the cellar alongside Mideon. She'd been in a white ragged dress, feet bare and hair down, face devoid of the makeup she'd worn. Instead of freaking out and making a spectacle, she merely sat there waiting to first find out where she was and second, the explanation.

Mideon had hung from the ceiling in shackles and chains because he had fought tooth and nail, yelling out for someone to help him. Tahlia had finally told him it would do no good because nobody could help them and to stop. Soon after, he listened and the shackles were removed before they were brought before the Undertaker. It had shocked her, but after hearing what he had to say, Tahlia and Mideon agreed to join him. Being promised to recapture the WWF Women's championship was also too tempting an offer to pass up.

Some would say he was the devil, promising glittery and golden things in exchange for souls, so to speak. And the likeness wasn't all wrong because he did like to bargain for things he wanted, such as able bodies. Sometimes he even lived up to his end of the bargain. Taker followed lazily as Mabel was beaten backstage and then down the hallway, ignoring the shocked stares of the sheep who worked for Vince, the whispering. He did fall back, making Tahlia and Paul walk before him. Paul, he needed, Paul was his right-hand man and as such, he was a target. He was also fat and slow, easy pickings. Tahlia... well, many females were jealous. He had put her in a very, very interesting place; something no woman had had before. She was a target as well.

"Paul?"

"Cars are waiting."

All the bags were packed and already waiting to take them to a place on the outskirts of the place. It was an old apartment building of sorts, but had been condemned years ago. Tahlia ignored the glares shot her way and kept her head up, her face stoic and expressionless. People were under the assumption Taker had brainwashed his followers when, in reality, all he'd done was make the chosen offers. It was an honor to be chosen to follow the Phenom and Tahlia didn't care what anyone else thought or felt about her choice.

However, when she bypassed Shane McMahon, her eyes briefly swept him just to see if he had anything planned, another ambush, and the barest hint of a smirk curved her lips before walking out of the building. Once she was in the car with the Acolytes, who had taken a shine to her traveling with them, Tahlia finally removed her black robe and sighed with relief. The robe wasn't cool by any means.

"So, does anyone know why he chose Mabel?" Ron asked curiously. "He used to be a powerhouse back in the day, but..."

Unless Taker thought he could awaken that beast... speaking of beast... Mabel's large backside was sedated and in the small U-Haul trailer they had rented to cart him. If those sedatives wore off, Ron did not want to be in a car with the man. There was a lot of damage a pissed off Mabel could do in a tiny, moving space.

"Maybe he feels pity for the man. I mean, they did battle back in the day and Mabel even broke Taker's face. Maybe he wants to awaken that monster again and use him against the Corporation." Tahlia could only guess along with the Acolytes, hoping this wasn't a mistake on their master's part and immediately pushed that aside. No don't question what he does, she reminded herself, knowing doubts wouldn't do her any favors. "We just have to trust what he wants to do."

"Hey, I do trust Taker, for the most part. Known him a long time, we both have. But at the same time, you got to be careful." He'd never actually say that in front of Taker, just because he liked where his head was and Taker had a very long reach.

"John!" Ron wasn't stupid; he knew Tahlia had a relationship with the Deadman that was different from the rest of them. No idea what kind and he wasn't speculating.

"Just... we all need to make sure we're eyeing that board of his carefully. We're pawns, and he will... you know." He was loyal to Taker, but he also knew how the Deadman operated if something suddenly changed. He'd cut his losses and change his plan, including those in it.

Somehow, Tahlia knew that was directed at her, but she didn't lash out at Bradshaw because he meant well. He was looking out for her and so was Farooq. They were her boys and they had confided in each other quite a bit lately. She had started accompanying them to the ring during their matches and, surprisingly, the men didn't seem to mind it. Tahlia had no idea why they decided to start liking her, assuming Taker had ordered it, but either way at least they were all on the same page for the moment.

"We're the pieces on his chess board." She nodded, showing Farooq she understood what he said and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving." She hoped wherever they were being taken for the evening had food and a shower to use.

"Yeah... me too." Paul went out earlier and apparently made this place 'livable'. "Said the water runs, but it's cold." The place had been condemned, was on the outskirts of a crappy area, in other words, perfect for them to use for a few days. "He also said we had to stay on the lower floors because Taker was up there earlier and a lot of the flooring is bad." It would never support their combined weight. With the exception of Tahlia, they were all some hefty boys.

"Great." Tahlia did not sound thrilled about these circumstances at all, not bothering to hide her disdain and wished they could stay at a regular hotel. However, this recruit meant a great deal to their master and they had to abide by what he ordered. "If not, we could probably run out and grab something."

The sedative wouldn't last nearly as long on Mabel as it had Mideon. Tahlia was certain she'd been ethered during her own abduction and suddenly felt pity for Mabel, hoping the big man cooperated or else they would have a huge problem on their hands. What the hell was she supposed to do with a 500 mastodon like him? Short of being in the way…Tahlia wondered why exactly she was brought into the Ministry and couldn't figure it out, turning her head to stare out the window.

Taker was waiting impatiently when the Acolytes finally showed up with his cargo. He rubbed his hands together gleefully, a wicked smile lighting up his otherwise pale, demonic face. "Open it up."

"It sounds like he's waking up."

"Open. It. Now." His tone didn't leave for argument in the light of the moon and what few streetlamps remained, Paul could see Taker slid something over his fist. When it was opened, he was there to greet the groggy Mabel, who looked ready to attack out of panic. "Welcome to darkness." He sneered right before planting his weaponized fist right in the bigger man's forehead. Mabel was out again. "Get him inside."

"That's gonna leave a mark." Tahlia muttered to herself, cringing as the big man crumpled to the group in a heap.

She felt bad for Bradshaw and Farooq, who were forced, with Mideon's help, to cart the man inside. Grabbing her bag, Tahlia took in her surroundings and saw they were literally in the middle of nowhere. The snow crunched under her feet as she tightened the black coat around her body and more had started to fall. There was at least 7 inches on the ground, hopefully a storm wasn't on the way. Paul hurried everyone inside where it was warmer, the heat cranking in the old building and Tahlia could only hope it remained that way until they left in the morning to head to Raw.

"Your room, Sister Tahlia." Paul handed over her key before giving the Acolytes and Mideon theirs, the rooms all side-by-side, but not connected.

"Brother Paul, please tell us you added food into this plan."

"Yeah man, we can't waste away here."

Paul sighed, rolling his eyes at these grown men acting like children. "There's a kitchen stocked. I will cook something…"

The fat man was on the verge of keeling over, his face beat red from doing all of Taker's bidding that night. "Brother Paul, I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries, but…you look exhausted. Why don't you let me handle cooking tonight? Please?" She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly, worry flooding her eyes for him.

Paul considered her, finally nodding. Sometimes, he forgot he wasn't a spry young man anymore and he knew Taker forgot as well. Or perhaps Taker just didn't care. It was hard to get a read on his Phenom these days. He was in on most of the younger man's plans, but... he knew there were things Taker didn't tell him, or anyone else for that matter. He kept his secrets closely guarded.

"Thank you. I am going to go lie down."

Taker heard that and studied his right hand thoughtfully. "Your services won't be needed tonight, Paul."

He caught the nod Paul gave him in acknowledgement. Taker idly wondered who would take Paul's place when the old man was gone. He'd need to start grooming a new right-hand since Paul wasn't in the best health or a spring chicken anymore.

"I've already dosed Mabel again. He should be asleep until morning." Just in case that loaded punch didn't keep the behemoth down.

Tahlia made her way down the hallway and found the kitchen with ease, seeing it had been sanitized already for cooking. Probably Paul's doing, the man really was on top of everything. Pulling her Walkman out and clipping it to the waistband of her jeans, Tahlia got started and pulled out the thawed pork chops from the fridge. She took the saran wrap off of them, seasoned them with salt, pepper and rosemary while the oven heated up. Once it was preheated, she popped them in and moved her head to the beat of the song playing off her Metallica album. The sides would include mashed potatoes and vegetables –Paul already had them prepared and they just had to be warmed up- and she had to peel a lot since there were all huge men within the Ministry to feed, especially Mabel. Sitting down, she began the process with the peeler and started humming softly, trying to her mind off of everything for a little while.