Chapter 29

Tahlia giggled softly, her heart swelling with newfound love and respect for Taker at his words. He trusted her as much as he did Paul? That was pretty deep. "Proudly." She referred to his mark comment and hopped up on the counter to be more level with him. "Whenever I look down at it, I remember how understanding and kind you were to me. I mean, yeah, being locked up in a dungeon wasn't fun, but you never once hurt me or Mideon. And you allowed me to decide where to be branded instead of simply doing what you wanted. You listen to all of us and respect our choices. You're not just our master and leader, but you make all of us feel equal." Sliding her hand up his chest to rest it over his heart, Tahlia kept her eyes locked on him. "You may not want to hear this, but I'm saying it anyway. You are a great man and it's no wonder a lot of others look up to you in the WWF, myself included. I just had to make sure you heard that once…and I won't say it again unless you want me to."

Taker wouldn't lie, it was a little weird having her say all that to him and a bit overemotional. It was just awkward and, for once, he didn't know what to say, rubbing the back of his now flushed neck awkwardly. No one had ever thanked him before, not for kidnapping and branding them… that was just odd.

Paul met Taker's eyes when the younger man looked at him, almost helplessly and he flashed an amused smile. "This is the part where you say thank you."

"Thank you?" He echoed, looking down into Tahlia's face, blinking. "You, thank you."

Snorting, Paul took his stuff and left them to it.

Caressing his face with the back of her hand, Tahlia smiled warmly and nodded. "You're welcome."

Hopping off the sink, she walked out to help Brother Paul and ignored his squawking on not needing her assistance. Whether he liked it or not, she was helping him and he'd deal with it. Once the camera equipment was put away, Tahlia forced the older man to take a shower and get some rest. If Taker needed anything else, she would provide it. He looked dead on his feet, even after a week's vacation with his family. Then she checked on the others to make sure they were settled in, accepting embraces from Bradshaw and Farooq. Hopefully, she'd be able to accompany them to ringside like before, but something told her that wouldn't happen now that she was the Women's champion. To celebrate her victory, Bradshaw made her do a shot of moonshine before letting her leave their room.

"Wow, that moonshine is some strong shit." She commented, walking into the room she shared with Taker and closed the door behind her. "I sent Brother Paul to bed. He needs rest and I checked on the others too, so hopefully they won't disturb you until tomorrow."

Tahlia was, he had concluded, bi-polar. Only days prior she had been a vengeful wraith hell bent on vengeance and destruction. Then she had been his little house wife type and now she was mother henning his Ministry of Darkness.

"Don't get them used to being coddled, woman." He ordered gruffly, walking over to pull her against him, his nose wrinkling when he got a whiff of the moonshine. "You'll regret that in the morning when your tongue feels like sandpaper." Taker warned, speaking from experience.

Just one shot of that piss Bradshaw and Farooq liked to call liquor was enough to singe the hair on a bull's balls.

"I don't mean to coddle them, but…I care about them." Tahlia shrugged at his comment with the moonshine, glad he'd decided to remain shirtless. "Let me go brush my teeth and then we can get some sleep…unless you have other plans in mind."

Sliding her body against his, Tahlia walked into the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth and rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash. A few minutes later, she joined Taker in bed and leaned back against the headboard while Taker had some kind of boxing match on. It was his favorite sport besides wrestling, Tahlia perceived, since joining the Ministry. Sliding further down beneath the sheets and comforter, she snuggled against the pillow yawning loudly. Within seconds, she was out like a light, the moonshine working wonders on her body.

Taker HAD had other plans, but the minute she had walked in and made her announcement about the moonshine being strong he had known those plans were gone. Shaking his head, he shuffled himself down enough to wrap an arm around Tahlia, substituting himself for her pillow and also turned down the volume on his match. That stuff had knocked his own ass for a loop and he considered himself an accomplished drinker. His Acolytes were in a drinking league all their own; he would admit that on any given day and twice on a Sunday. He rested his head on the top of hers, smiling softly, deciding to wake her in a few hours when she had slept off the effects of the home brew.

Being woken up in the early morning hours for sex did wonders for the body. Tahlia was refreshed and ready for the day, especially after a romp in the shower with Taker. It was a good thing her body was used to physical activity, though the ache between her thighs was delicious. She was sore and loved it. After a quick breakfast with everyone, it was time to hit the road for Raw. Tahlia had decided to leave her hair pure black instead of putting streaks into her hair like before. Black suited her and it made her more exotic. Carting her luggage out of the house, Tahlia smiled as Bradshaw loaded it along with the others into the trunk. Her, Taker and Paul would be taking a different route to the arena than the others for obvious reasons.

Taker was ready for tonight and all day a wicked smirk graced his thin lips. Tonight would truly start the mental downfall of the McMahon's. Going after their company was boring and he would be the first to admit he wasn't looking to play politics or follow the leader. He just enjoyed a good game and really despised those bastards. Lucking out with Tahlia, Taker knew it, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"Ready, precious?" He all but hissed, no malice in it, just evil delight.

"Born ready, sir."

Tahlia was focused, keeping her distance from Taker for the time being. He distracted her and she had to have a clear mind, going over what she was going to say in the ring. Raw would kick off with that video montage followed by the lights coming on with the Ministry, and her, in the center of the ring. Then she would explain everything…while STILL acting like she wanted Shane, just to screw with him. It was going to be a glorious evening and one Shane McMahon would never forget. Her eyes moved to stare out the window while Paul drove, keeping a perfect stoic expression on her face. Right now, she was all business and there was zero room for anything else.

Shane was frantic. Paler than his usual, black circles under his eyes. He had barely slept all week, his mind playing all the possible scenarios of what could be happening to Tahlia, what probably was. Vince was back and had taken over, which suited Shane fine as he was busy conducting a search for his beloved. He had people searching all of Taker's publicly known haunts and it had proven futile to find his private residences outside of the one he had listed for his job. That place was empty. It looked like Taker hadn't been there in years.

"He better bring her back." He muttered, ignoring the looks Sable was giving him.

"Oh my god, what the hell is that?!" Sable cried, pointing to the monitor in the Corporation's room and covered her mouth with her hand at the site of a crying Tahlia with…the Undertaker.

"TURN IT OFF! SHUT IT OFF NOW!" Vince screamed, running out of the room down to the technicians, but it was no use. The footage of Undertaker tossing a screaming Tahlia on the bed to do god's knows what to her had played in full.

Sable didn't know what to think, seeing Shane had gone white as a sheet and wasn't surprised when he ran into the bathroom to toss his cookies.

Accept the Lord of Darkness as your savior – And allow the purity of evil to guide you.

"Uh…Shane? SHANE!"

Just as they had planned, the entire Ministry stood in the middle of the ring the moment Raw went live, the fans buzzing all around them and Tahlia stood in the middle of the group, the sickest smirk curving her lips. "Surprise Prince!" She cackled in the microphone, gripping the rope with her hand while the Women's championship shone brightly on her shoulder. "You know, when I was first approached with the idea to infiltrate your…precious Corporation, I had my doubts I could actually do it. But Shane…Shane, Shane, Shane…you made it so EASY! Too easy! All I had to do was play the part, the shy girl who fawned over you and helped you betray your Daddy by tricking you into making matches you normally wouldn't have. Oh but Shane, I have a little secret for you. Something you didn't know and I feel now is the right time to tell you. My Lord of Darkness, my master, has granted me this time to talk freely and I thank him for it. So camera man – camera man, I want you to get a closeup and I want you to really capture what I'm about to say. Shane, I've ALWAYS wanted you. I've been after you for a while now and joining the Ministry helped me accomplish what I wanted to do. Get close to you, be with you, screw you and make you THINK you held all the cards. But you never did, Prince. You actually betrayed the Corporation by shoving Chyna into a closet, after knocking her out, during my match with Sable, didn't you? Yes you did. You made it to where I could have a fair one-on-one shot at MY Women's title. And it worked and I can't thank you enough for that, Shane. I mean, I manipulated you into doing it, sure, but it was all your doing! But that still doesn't mean I don't want you, because I do. You are a McMahon after all and…just between us…wasn't it so much fun being with me? I'm a little psycho, I admit, a little dark, but that won't stop me from getting what I want…and that's you, on your knees, BEGGING me to end your torment. The fun has just begun, Prince, and if I were you, I'd sleep with one eye open from now on. Because you NEVER know who's lurking in the shadows."

Dropping the microphone, Tahlia then turned to Undertaker and lowered to her knees in front of him, feeling his fingers touch the top of her head. This way his way of telling the entire world she was back in the Ministry, completely. Just as she rose to her feet, the lights went out and when they came back on, the Ministry was gone.

"What…the…FUCK?"

What the fuck actually summed it all up. Everyone in the Corporation dressing room could only stare at the monitor, even long after it had gone black for a commercial break. Shane caught his father's eye, clearing his throat, his mind still struggling to process what they had just seen and heard. He got that it had all been a giant mind game, that part had come through, but he still wasn't getting it. All of it fake? All the little insights she had had, that were business savvy, the little things like their mini coffee dates in the various arenas? Fake?

Chyna stepped back when Shane vomited everywhere, hiding a smirk when it splashed onto Sable's boots. The smirk vanished at Sable's loud shriek of disgust. It seemed like Shane had bitten off more than he could chew and Vince looked torn between spitting out a 'told you so' and concern over his son. She was betting the 'told you so' would win out just because Vince was that kind of dick.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could've brought Tahlia down from the high she was on. Shane was probably beside himself with both grief and heartache…and it was only the beginning. She laughed when the Acolytes informed everyone Shane had left the arena to go back to the hotel, by orders of Vince. So the old man was already trying to protect him. Just as she planned, how delightful! Shane was in for a surprise when he arrived back at his room. Hotel staff could be such pushovers and naïve to boot. She could hear his bellows now as he walked into his room and saw thousands of pictures superglued to the walls of…them. That had been Taker's idea. Apparently, the Deadman had kept tabs on her and took countless pictures of her and Shane while they were apart. It was even better when Taker had I WILL HAVE YOU spray-painted across some of the pictures, mostly the ones with her naked in bed.

"Sister Tahlia, you will accompany the Acolytes to the ring for their match tonight."

Some things never changed and she preferred it that way. "Yes, Brother Paul." A hand reached out to stop her followed by amber eyes locking on emerald. "My Lord?"

"You did well." That was high praise coming from him. She had done perfectly on the microphone and, if he wasn't schooled in keeping his face expressionless, he would have smirked during her little speech. Taker was that pleased and amused by it. "I do believe… this will be a ride they won't forget." He also had a feeling Tahlia would prove herself very entertaining over these next few weeks, apparently there had been a stopper preventing her humorous side from exploding. He was rather looking forward to it. "Also, I have a gift for you."

At her confused look, Taker reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a velvet covered box. He bet she was really confused now, the way her amber eyes drew together in a clear 'what the hell' look, and smirked, flipping the lid. Inside was a pair of solid brass knuckles, designed especially for her and her delicate fingers. He had no doubt Vince would send people ringside when he realized Tahlia was out there. And everyone already knew the Undertaker was not above playing dirty.

"You might need these tonight."

They were beautiful, pure brass and no doubt cost a fortune. In the middle was Taker's symbol, the same one branded on her hip. "Thank you, sir."

She bowed her head to show gratitude and took them out of the box, testing the waters by sliding them on her hand. A perfect fit. If anyone came near her, she would knock them out and possibly make lose a few teeth. However, Bradshaw and Farooq had to win the titles on their own because she was a firm believer in earning championships. However, that wouldn't stop her from knocking anyone out that tried stopping her boys from winning gold. Slipping them off, Tahlia pushed them in the pocket of her wrestling attire and zipped it shut to make sure they didn't fall out. She would take care of them to the best of her ability, especially since they were a gift from Taker.

Mideon just watched in mild disgust, keeping his head lowered and kept berating himself for letting the master down.

"Come on Rooq, time to go win the gold with Tali!" Bradshaw crowed, lifting her over his shoulder and enjoyed hearing her squeal out in surprise.

Farooq shook his head, knowing one of these days, Taker would knock Shaw out and couldn't wait for the day to come. "We'll be back, boss, with the gold." He promised, walking out while Shaw carted Tahlia all the way down to gorilla position.

Shaking his head, he waved his hand imperiously, letting the rest of his Ministry know they were to carry on. If not for the fact that he had known Bradshaw longest, outside of Paul and trusted him as much as he trusted anyone who wasn't Paul, or now Tahlia, he might've been inclined to knock the other man's teeth down his throat. As it was, he knew Shaw viewed Tahlia as his sister, or perhaps an Acolyte mascot, which made him smirk. If Tahlia knew that, she'd likely knock Shaw's teeth out herself. She had made it clear she wasn't a locker room pet, for anyone.

"Mideon… go find a way to make yourself useful."

Paul watched with a slightly raised eyebrow as Mideon began polishing Taker's boots, shaking his head.