Chapter 34

The bouquet was white and black roses with a silver band around the stems. It was perfect! "Brother Paul, you are the BEST!"

She hugged him tightly, kissed his cheek and then settled in front of the monitor to watch the show. Her match was right before Taker's Hell in A Cell confrontation against Big Boss Man. She had eyeballed the noose and smirked, knowing exactly what would happen tonight. Big Boss Man was about to becoming the next sacrificial lamb of the Corporation. The Acolytes left to do their match and defend their titles and Paul had walked out with them while the Brood -Edge & Christian- left to go take their place in the rafters for Taker's match.

"You need to be careful tonight. Boss Man will have that stupid nightstick of his and you know he's going to try using it along with the handcuffs." Tahlia murmured, knowing they were alone so she was free to speak her mind.

Taker nodded, turning to face her and stretched his arms over his head, frowning slightly. He already figured Ray would be bringing down his security blanket, that's all it was. A way for the idiot to feel safe, secure, by bringing a weapon. And that weapon did hurt like a son of a bitch… his eyes narrowed.

"I've got a contingency." So she needn't worry. Though… he walked over to sit on the bench, gesturing for her to come stand between his open legs. "You need to make sure you keep your eyes open out there. This is WrestleMania…" Vince's baby, his legacy. "Vince won't be letting us have our wins easily tonight, Tahlia. Not even yours." Because Vince really hated her.

"I know." Tahlia was prepared for shenanigans to happen during her match and reached down to unzip the pocket attached to her attire. There was one on each side just above her hips. "Which is why I'm bringing these." Pulling out a new pair of silver brass knuckles, Tahlia slid them on her fist and held it up to Taker, showing him she was prepared for whatever the Corporation had up their sleeve. "If they don't want precious Sable to be sent to the hospital alongside Boss Man, they'd better play by the rules or I'll end her…permanently." Her voice had dropped several octaves and filled with pure malice, even her amber eyes had glazed over momentarily. Sliding her fingers through his hair, Tahlia fingered his beard for a moment or two, turning her head when it was announced the Acolytes had retained the tag team titles. "That's my boys!"

For a moment, he questioned the idea of her using those brass knuckles. If she did mutilate Sable's face, the injuries might have a strong resemblance to the ones Mideon had possessed and that could raise some questions. On the other hand…. she would be on live television. Taker would trust her judgment. It could be explained away, part of the show; they were mocking the McMahon's as part of the storyline. "Tahlia," He was behind her now, resting his hands on her shoulders. "If you do use your equalizer, exercise caution." He was a little paranoid, preferring her to not become a part of the ongoing investigation McMahon was having a hard time putting to rest.

She understood his trepidation and leaned back against him, being careful not to wreck her hair, nodding. "I will, I promise." She turned to stare up at him, so much love and worry swirling through her amber orbs. It was all for him…and he didn't even know it. Or if he did, he chose to keep it to himself. "I'll only use it for self-defense." Her hands rested against his chest as their eyes remained locked, the tension between them so thick it couldn't be cut with the sharpest knife. "Promise me you will be careful too. I know you have backup and I know what you're planning to do, but…just promise everything will be okay. Promise you'll come back in one piece." Hell in a Cell scared her; it was one of the few matches in WWF that showed the brutality of their jobs to the fullest.

The look that spread across his face was pure arrogance. "Precious, Hell in a Cell is MY match. Trust me, all will be fine."

For him. Boss Man, not so much. After his bout with Foley, that crazy son of a bitch, he doubted anyone else would even cause his neck hair to stand up. She didn't look too relieved by his cocky attitude, so he nodded instead, letting the smirk fade away.

"I will be careful, Tahlia, I promise." He reassured her.

Gripping his beard, she pulled him down to be eyelevel with her and cupped his face in her hands. "You better. If I have to go to the hospital tonight because of you, I'm not going to be happy." Doing something she hadn't in a while, Tahlia softly kissed him and turned away just as the door swung open, moving away to sit in front of the monitor again while the Acolytes paraded around with their retained titles. "Congrats boys, I didn't have a doubt in my mind you'd win." She winked at both of them before turning her eyes back to watch the show, hoping Taker came out of his match tonight unscathed. All Tahlia could do was hope for the best and pushed it out of her mind for the time being, needing to focus on her own match.

Shane McMahon was gearing up for his own match, against Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman, the European championship up for grabs. It was HIS title and he had finally understood Tahlia's obsession with holding gold. It felt great. Never mind the fact that he hadn't won it legitimately; he never would, not as long as Vince was calling the shots. Shane was inclined to let him for the moment, obviously his own sense of judgment was severely lacking. So for now, he did things Vince's way. Shane was learning to wrestle, he wasn't a natural athlete though. It was taking him time. His match was right after Tahlia's, he wasn't sure if he would have to see her in the hallway or what, but he knew he definitely wasn't prepared for it, swallowing hard.

"It's time, Sister Tahlia."

Placing the veil over her face, Tahlia rose from her spot and grabbed her Women's championship, hoisting it over her shoulder proudly. Paul would walk her down to gorilla position alongside the Acolytes to ensure nobody screwed with her. She shared one final look with Taker on her way out the door, knowing he'd be watching and she had to make him proud. Just to make sure nobody saw what she was wearing until she stepped out on the WrestleMania stage, Tahlia had a black cloak on with the hood drawn up. Nobody could see her face or the white veil.

While standing at gorilla position, she spotted Shane and didn't say a word to him, instead focusing on annihilating Sable. The card had been shuffled; her match was supposed to happen before Taker's, but now it was Shane's after hers. Vince's idea of a mind game was pathetic. Once the Ministry's music hit, Tahlia smirked, shed the robe right in front of Shane to where he could clearly see what she was wearing and winked at his pale white face.

"Good luck out there tonight, my Dark Prince." Blowing him a kiss, she walked through the curtain and down to the ring, eyes focused and determined to destroy her opponent on the biggest and grandest stage of them all.

"Fuck, someone get a bucket for Shane!"

Shane just barely managed to hold it until that bucket arrived, now very green around the gills as he spewed chunks everywhere. He had been nervous enough performing at WrestleMania as an actual competitor, on top of his other issues, but seeing her in that… "Fuck…" He groaned, ignoring the offered towel and lowered his head to finish heaving. Everything he had eaten in the past few days had just come up.

"This is MY stage, bitch." Sable informed Tahlia when they came face to face, her hair teased a little more than usual and her make-up just a hint more caked on. "I hope you're ready to go back to being a nobody!" Her mouth was spewing venom, her eyes were taking in the outfit and her brain was wondering if she was screwed.

"So you think, slut. We'll see who's standing when this is said and done. And if you think about having any of your cronies come down to save you…" Tahlia trailed off, letting Sable mull that over in her head to make her own conclusions and stepped back as the referee came between them.

The SECOND the bell rang, Tahlia went on the attack and kicked Sable right in the face with a roundhouse kick. Sable crashed to the mat in a heap, blood pouring out of her mouth and Tahlia smiled in sick satisfaction as she began to cry. One of her teeth had literally been knocked out.

"Now, what was that you were saying about this being YOUR stage?"

Shoving the referee away from her, Tahlia yanked Sable up by her hair and delivered a DDT, making her face plant into the mat next. Then she stood up and raised her arms in the air, soaking in all the different reactions the fans had. However, she kept her eyes on Sable in case the slut tried something fishy. The referee kept checking Sable, asking if she could continue and the blonde responded by spitting out another mouthful of blood.

"GETH OUTH MY WAY!" Sable mumbled through blood, stumbling to her feet and toward Tahlia, screeching at the top of her lungs.

Rolling her eyes, Tahlia tilted her head slightly and caught Sable in a headlock, looking straight into the camera and mouthed 'mine' before dropping her on her head for a second time. It was her new favorite move – the DDT. Simple yet lethal at the same time. Sable could never wrestle to save her life; she didn't stand a chance against Tahlia. Instead of pinning her respectfully, Tahlia pushed her to roll over on the mat and planted her boot right on the woman's face, ordering the referee to make the three count.

"MY title, MY stage, MY house, slut." She spat viciously, stepping over Sable's body and grabbed a microphone, doing the cutthroat motion with her thumb. "I know who's coming out here next. I know my Dark Prince will reign over X-Pac and retain his championship. And I want him to know, I'm rooting for him and soon, we will be united…forever. Your Dark bride is waiting…" Dropping the microphone, Tahlia laughed out loud wickedly as the Ministry's music blared through the speakers and the arena blanketed in darkness.

"Is he going to be able to wrestle, or even… function, out there?" Test asked curiously, standing alongside a freshly returned Chyna.

Chyna had been out for a while, thanks to Tahlia and the Ministry. They had been standing there, watching Shane go from vomiting to dry heaving, to pacing around muttering under his breath. Tahlia's words had only made the muttering worse.

Chyna shrugged one shoulder, frowning. "Probably not. She's got him twisted."

Shane's head snapped up when he was told it was almost time, taking a deep breath. He had to get her out of his mind. This was what she wanted. Mind games, that was all it was. Dark bride… she truly was insane.

Entering the Ministry locker room, Tahlia was greeted by a bear hug from Bradshaw followed by Farooq, both congratulating her on her flawless victory. "Thanks…" She walked past them and planted right in front of the monitor, giggling madly at the condition Shane was in. Apparently, her heartfelt speech didn't set well with him. "Hmm…he looks like he's going to – there he goes."

Shane McMahon was VOMITING at WrestleMania, of all places and events! This was a dream come true to Tahlia. She took her veil off and set it to the side, sitting Indian style not taking her eyes from the monitor as Shane tried to pump himself up. Maybe she should go out there and screw with his mind some more.

"What do you think he'd do if the song 'Kiss from A Rose' suddenly blared through the speakers during his match?" She asked curiously, looking directly at Taker. "Sorry – sir." Tahlia added with sparkling amber eyes.

"Have you always been this twisted, girl?"

"That's for me to know and you to hopefully never find out, Rooq."

"By Seal?" Bradshaw looked sheepish when everyone looked at him. Tahlia was grinning, the rest of the Ministry seemed torn between amusement and disgust. He cleared his throat awkwardly, rubbing his palm against the back of his neck. "What? It's a good… song…"

"Yeah, we don't know each other." Farooq stepped away from his partner and friend, shaking his head. "Just pretend we never met, man."

Edge was staring at Bradshaw all funny too. "Don't you, like listen to country or something? That's chick music, you listen to it to get laid."

Taker was rubbing his temples.

"HEY! Don't knock it until you try it. Shaw, we should drink beer and listen to Seal sometime. Maybe add cigars so you feel manlier." Tahlia teased, continuing to watch Shane stumble through his match against X-Pac and rolled her eyes.

He was pathetic in the ring. There'd be no time to go down to the sound station and have that song play. There would be other times to play mind games, but now that she sat there with the adrenaline slowly wearing off, Tahlia began thinking of the lyrics to that particular song. It wasn't one of her favorites, she was more of a classic rock, Metallica type of gal. However, there were a few R&B 'chick' songs she did enjoy on occasion.

"AND STILL WWF EUROPEAN CHAMPION…"

"Damn it, my mind game didn't work." Now she was pouting, looking thoroughly disappointed.

"You're up next, my Lord."

Tahlia gave him one long lingering look, silently telling him to be careful and blew out a huge breath once Taker left the room.

The only reason Shane had managed to retain his championship was due to Test and Chyna interfering and cheating on his behalf. Not exactly the way he wanted to keep it, but… he wasn't in any condition to argue or do anything about it. Triple H had come out and turned on his old friends, joining Chyna in the Corporation. Just what they needed, more members… He needed to puke again.

The hallway near the ring entrance reeked of sweat, stage paint, and vomit. That last one was due to Shane McMahon no doubt. People steered clear of him as he made his way, robe on, eyes forward. Taker couldn't wait for Tahlia to see what he had planned.