Hey everyone! So...RAW was amazing! I saw almost all of my Musi's real-life counterparts! (happy sigh) I did see Shawn...My first crush, my first hero...There are no words. And Hunter is so awesome...Kane too...

And, I have to say, the Undertaker doesn't get a lot of credit sometimes, but the man is exceptionally beautiful! Powerful and imposing and beautiful...

When those three were in the ring together, I was literally shaking.

Anyway, I've had a hard time coming back to reality after that (I've also gained some new Muses!), so bear with me while I calm the heck down, haha!

Onto the story!

Shawn Michaels watched the Undertaker come out to the ring with an unreadable expression on his handsome features. Though he had hoped to at least finish his sentence, the Heartbreak Kid could not say that he wasn't pleased at the speedy appearance of the Phenom, smirking as the pale man climbed into the ring.

As far as he was concerned, it was about time that both the Undertaker and Triple H acknowledge exactly who was running the show around here.

Though the Deadman's heavy threat still resonated in Shawn's mind, the smaller, golden-haired man didn't even hesitate a moment before getting into the Reaper's face.

"Look," HBK began before the Undertaker's entrance music even had stopped playing, anger already building. "Before you even start-"

"Shawn, Shawn," the Undertaker interrupted in an unusually calm voice, placing a hand out in front of him to silence the fiery blond. "You did enough talking last week. Right now, it would be in your best interest...to shut up and listen."

He fixed the Heartbreak Kid with a side-long glare, daring him to speak.

Shawn looked down, mouth set in a tight frown, more than a little taken aback by the harsh command; eventually, however, he looked again into the Undertaker's green eyes and nodded once.

He would let the Deadman have his say.

"I've already told you," 'Taker began, still staring hard at Shawn, "That this match has to remain...pure. So before you and your buddy start making plans to-"

At perhaps the best, or worst, possible timing, Triple H's music hit, cutting off the Undertaker before he could even complete his thought.

The Deadman clenched his fist, expression tense and frustrated as he looked at Shawn, who gazed back at him with raised eyebrows, and blue orbs dancing with something near laughter.

'This DX shit again,' the Undertaker thought with a scowl, turning to face his soon-to-be opponent.

Tonight, Hunter's smirk from last week was absent, replaced by a hard, determined stare.

He made his way to the ring, never once taking his eyes of the Undertaker, off his dangerous foe.

However, when he entered the ring, he stood very, very near to Shawn Michaels.

The Undertaker looked between the two men, found himself staring into one fierce set of brown eyes, and one pair of cold blue ones, and a sense of resignation almost overcame him.

The bond Triple H and Shawn Michaels shared had been a bane to him in the past; without a doubt, it would factor in, and possibly even decide the match in the near future.

Against those two, what chance did he really have?

Shawn looked between the two men, saw the scowl on Hunter's face and the almost accepting nod of the Undertaker. He almost smiled.

Almost. Because Hunter's next words took the grin right from his face.

"You need to stop worrying about him," Triple H said matter-of-factly, pointing at Shawn, not even making eye-contact with him. "Because as much as Shawn's ego wants this to be about him..."

And now he turned, to look his best friend of almost 20 years dead in the eyes.

"It's not."

Shawn's blue eyes narrowed, as he took a menacing step towards Hunter, who wasn't backing down either.

Instead, he simply turned to the Undertaker, the man he had to worry about.

"It's about me and you," he continued, taking a few slow steps towards the Deadman. "It's always been about me and you. Like you said, it's our destiny to do this. Two parallel, legendary careers running side by side, connected by one thing."

For a moment, the same thought ran through the minds of the three men in the ring. There was, indeed, one thing that connected the Undertaker and Triple H; one thing that made this match about so much more than a win or loss; one thing that made this about destiny.

One person.

But Hunter knew that the Undertaker, and Shawn, who was silent at his side, understood this, so he went with the unexpected answer.

"The most demonic structure in WWE history: Hell in a Cell. There have been 24, just 24 Hell in a Cell matches since the beginning. You and I...We've been in 19 of them.

"It's not a coincidence.

"It's not a coincidence that the match that started off as the Devil's Playground became my proving ground. It's where I learned that if it didn't kill me, it made me stronger. It's where I learned how to push the limits of human endurance. It's where I learned what it takes to end another man's career!" He was right in front of the Undertaker now, eyes locked unblinkingly with the Deadman's.

"It's where I thrive. It's where I excel. All those matches...all of them...everything I've been through, have been for one moment: April 1st, Wrestlemania. Hell in a Cell."

Behind Triple H, Shawn couldn't keep a small smile from coming to his face. He had every confidence in his best friend's ability; he knew that the blond man in front of him was telling the truth about everything he had just claimed.

He knew that, when the match happened, the Undertaker was going to go through a Hell of the likes that he'd never seen, even in his wildest nightmares. In fact, even now, he could almost imagine the pain, the suffering the Undertaker had coming.

For Shawn, Hunter's speech was nothing short of sadistically pleasing.

Hunter couldn't see Shawn's wicked smirk, but the Undertaker sure as hell could.

"The whole world is going to see the end of an era," Triple H continued, nodding as though reassuring himself in his own decision, getting back in the Undertaker's face.

"Yours."

The Game and the Deadman again locked silent stares. The tension between them, the importance of the upcoming match, the genuine sense of destiny and fulfillment was palpable to everyone in the arena.

"And don't worry," Hunter added almost flippantly. "I know exactly what it is going to take inside that Hell to finish the job—"

"Do you?" the Undertaker interrupted suddenly, green eyes blazing, voice dropping to a low growl. "Are you sure? Your mind...your body, your soul..." He turned his head to the side slightly, expression sharpening as his voice took on a sinister edge.

"Your career," the Deadman growled, coming ever closer to Hunter, who was now as silent as Shawn. "Your wife, your kids...all this?" He almost smiled, voice slipping into a more casual nuance.

"Even your life?

"Are you willing to put it all on the line?"

Hunter stared into the Undertaker eyes, eyes that burned near the edge of madness. The Phenom's words had cut him, and cut him deeply; the thought of losing his family was something he had never wanted to consider...

And yet, the Undertaker was asking, demanding it of him. Forcing him to risk all that was precious to him in his life.

'No, not everything,' Hunter thought, for the first time looking back at Shawn. 'Not everything.'

In that moment, Triple H made a decision, one that he knew he might regret for the rest of his life...but one that he was absolutely certain was right.

"If it means giving you the end that you so richly deserve...then I am" He stood right in front of the Undertaker again, their faces now not more than a few inches apart.

"And. I. Will."

The Undertaker seemed to nod, looking down at the blond man with a mixture of respect and disdain.

'Just like Shawn,' he thought, starting to back away and out of the ring. 'His attitude is just like Shawn.'

Hunter was convinced that the Hell in a Cell was his proving ground; that, once and for all, he could give the Undertaker the 'end' he had earned for bringing about the end of his best friend. Whatever the risks were, Triple H was more than willing to accept them.

However, as he climbed out of the ring, the Undertaker wasn't thinking about Hell in a Cell; about how many he'd been in; about how much torture he and Hunter had put their bodies through to prove their toughness; about how much they were going to put each other through in just a few short days.

No. He was still thinking about destiny. About why this match was their fate. Because of that real one thing that bound the Game and the Undertaker together for all eternity.

Because of that one person.

He turned around suddenly; once again, Shawn and Triple H were side by side, the backs of their hands even brushing against one another, they were so close.

The Undertaker looked between the two men, gaze at last settling on his opponent.

Against DX, he knew he could not win.

However.

"You remember," he asked Hunter, "When I said that Shawn is better than you?"

The question hung like a scythe in the air, heavier than lead.

Hunter could feel his own heart pounding in his chest, could see Shawn's sudden interest and nervousness out of the corner of his eye as pure rage threatened to cloud his vision and drown out the world.

In fact, he all but knew where the Deadman was going with this as he got right in Triple H's face, a cold smile ghosting on his lips the Phenom spoke:

"He is."

The Undertaker left the ring at that, looking back only once to see the self-satisfied smile on Shawn's Michaels face, and the bitter anger on Triple H's.

Against DX he may not have a chance; but against Shawn he had already won, and against Hunter he had already been victorious.

Tonight, he was giving himself more than a chance.

The Heartbreak Kid, for his part, watched the Deadman go, nearly bursting into a wide smile. He knew what the Undertaker was up to; still that didn't make his words any less satisfying.

'If he's trying to win me over,' he thought, nearly laughing aloud, 'He's doing a dang fine job of it.'

Shawn realized, all at once, that Hunter was staring at him, was scowling at him from his side. His own grin faded as he looked into injured, angry brown eyes, and he knew deep down that the Undertaker's words were as much to win Shawn as they were to hurt Hunter.

For a full moment, looking into his friend's hurting eyes, Shawn did legitimately feel bad.

However, the moment Hunter looked away, looked back at the exiting Undertaker, Shawn could feel his smile return.

'It's not about me, huh?' he thought mockingly, casting a sly look at his best friend, smirk widening.

As far as Shawn Michaels was concerned, Hunter Hearst Helmsley would do well to remember, as the Undertaker did, that in the end, it was all about Shawn Michaels.

Somehow, Shawn is being SUCH a heel, haha!

Review? :)