Mind Games

"Now if you bunch of goldfish could manage to focus on something for five seconds, I have an announcement to make," said Triple H.

"I'm guessing it's that he ran out of insults, and he wants to hire somebody to come up with better ones," said Dean.

"Maybe he's going to apologize for those stupid-looking Evolution t-shirts," Carly suggested.

"Shh!" Seth feigned annoyance, "We're gonna miss his big announcement."

Dean, Seth, Roman, and Carly sat backstage at the arena while Triple H was speaking down in the ring. The spectators did not seem to appreciate the insult, and the "Hounds of Justice" chant that had been going on dissolved into booing. Triple H and Randy Orton didn't appear to mind the negativity. Quite to the contrary, it brought smiles to their faces. Batista didn't look happy, but then again, he never did. Maybe that was just his face.

"Tonight," said Triple H, "We're going to have a Cincinnati street fight between the Viper, Randy Orton-"

A loud and decidedly mixed reaction followed that name, but Carly was pleased to note that it was mostly boo-ing.

"And Dean Ambrose," Triple H finished, "Since this is your hometown, Dean, I'm sure this is something you'll enjoy."

Dean grinned, rubbing his hands together. Carly noticed that Seth and Roman did not look nearly as enthusiastic. Frankly, she couldn't blame them. The last two encounters with members of Evolution had ended in injuries for both of them. Roman's shoulder at least was mostly healed, if still a little sore, but Seth wasn't cleared to compete yet. Hopefully their interference wouldn't be necessary. But if the past few weeks were any indication, the chances of that being the case were slim at best.

"Now, I know you're all thinking 'but this isn't going to be a fair fight!'" Triple H continued, raising his voice in a whiny, mocking tone, "So I'm hereby banning myself and Batista from ringside. But don't get any funny ideas, Dean. I'm also going to ban Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, just to keep us all honest."

Triple H ended with a derisive laugh. The crowd was less than pleased to find that they would be deprived of two-thirds of the Shield. When the reaction had ebbed a bit, Randy Orton took the microphone.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing what you're made of Dean," he said, "And one more thing. Even though your brothers won't be able to help you out, Carly is more than welcome to join us."

Randy looked into the camera with a leering grin a moment longer before Evolution's music began to play. Carly and the Shield glanced at each other in confusion.

"Well, this is obviously a trap," Carly said finally, "Or the weirdest proposition I've ever received."

"I don't like the look of it either. I get the feeling they want a little payback for what we pulled on Orton and Batista last week," Roman shook his head, "What do you think, Seth?"

"Whatever the plan ends up being," Dean interrupted, raising his hand, "I vote that it involves me getting to kick Randy's teeth right out of his stupid face."

"Of course," said Seth, ruffling Dean's hair, "The question is, is Trips trying to trick us into sending Carly out there with you, or keeping her with me and Roman?"

"Trying to figure out what Triple H is thinking is some serious Princess-Bride-iocane-powder level stuff," said Roman, "There's no way we're gonna know."

"Right," said Seth, "So I say we just pick one or the other, and then make some kind of contingency plans for anything that could go wrong."

"I vote we keep Carly with me and Seth,' said Roman, "She'll be safer."

"Why not let her come ringside with me?" Dean asked, "Show the stuffed shirts they haven't got us running scared."

"What do you think, Carly?" said Seth, "I mean, the choice is ultimately up to you."

Carly pursed her lips. Even a vague non-threat like that should be taken seriously when it came from Randy Orton.

"Knowing Triple H, he probably has back-up plans to sabotage the match no matter what we decide to do," said Carly, "But in my opinion, I prefer to walk into a trap with my eyes open, if I have to walk into one at all. I'll watch from ringside."

"I don't like it, but you're probably right," said Roman.

"But Dean, do you think you can handle this?" asked Carly.

"Your confidence in me is very reassuring," said Dean, raising his eyebrows and leveling his gaze at her, "Sweetheart, I can handle Randy Orton any day of the week. I'm surprised you don't know that by now."

"That's not what I mean," said Carly, "I know you can take him in a fight. I'm just worried about your ability to focus if he goes after me to psych you out. You know he's going to."

"Carly," said Dean with an irritatingly confident smirk, "I will be focused like a laser. Promise. Cross my heart and hope to make the creampuff cry."

Roman raised an eyebrow skeptically, and Dean's confidence slouched into an annoyed grimace.

"I don't appreciate what you're insinuating, Roman," said Dean, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a match to get ready for."

With a haughty lift of his chin, Dean strutted off. Seth sighed and shook his head, smiling bemusedly.

"Don't worry, Carly," he said, "If we have to interfere and bail you out, it won't be a problem. Street fight rules don't allow disqualifications, remember."

"You two be careful, whatever happens, alright?" Carly said earnestly, "I don't want you guys getting hurt again when you just started to heal up."

"We promise, princess," said Seth.

"Let's hope we won't have to get involved in the first place," said Roman, "Dean sorta has two settings when it comes to fights. It's either a controlled burn, or a nuclear meltdown. Maybe he'll stick with the first one. Hey, don't give me that look, Seth. It could happen."

xXx

Apparently, they'd gone with a baseball theme in honor of the Cincinnati Reds. Among the paraphernalia was a concession-stand style kiosk covered in bags of popcorn and peanuts, and a rack of baseball bats. A section of chain-link fence formed into a backstop covered one corner of the ring.

Carly paced distractedly. She knew this was going to be a rough match to watch, regardless of whether or not she became an unwilling participant. With no disqualifications and all these potential weapons available, this was going to be solid chaos and violence. Dean was going to be in his element. Unfortunately, so was Randy Orton. Carly couldn't help but remember what Roman had said about Dean getting overzealous in his protectiveness. She was sure Dean would be less likely to go overboard protecting her than if it was his brothers in danger, but still. If Randy managed to get inside Dean's head, there was going to be trouble.

The Shield's music started up, and every head in the arena turned to look for Dean Ambrose walking through the audience. The ring announcer made sure to note that Cincinnati was his hometown, earning some extra cheering on top of the already overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception.

xXx

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. And what a main event we have for you here tonight: a Cincinnati street fight between the Lunatic Fringe, Dean Ambrose, and the Viper, Randy Orton."

"Both of these men are what you might call 'eccentric', so this is sure to be one heck of a brawl."

"You can say that again. Watching from ringside will be Carly Caden, the Shield's manager, who is evidently unconcerned by the rather strange invitation Randy Orton made earlier tonight."

"What do you mean, 'strange'? You make it sound like Randy Orton has some kind of ulterior motive."

"I'm just questioning why he should care at all where she is during the match. Carly Caden has been called the Rebel Princess because of her crusade against the Authority. As part of Evolution, Randy Orton is on the Authority's side. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out."

"You're right. It doesn't take a genius to spout wild conspiracy theories."

xXx

"Nice playground they got set up," said Dean, surveying the ring.

"Do you even like baseball?" asked Carly.

"I like baseball bats," Dean grinned impishly, "Don't you worry about me, princess. Look at these hands. Steady as a rock."

"Just make sure you stay that way," said Carly, "And stay focused, alright? No matter what happens. I don't want to have to watch you get hurt by that posturing lout."

"I never knew you cared, sweetheart," Dean said with a devilish wink, "I'll be sure to break off a piece of him for you."

Carly rolled her eyes as Dean got into the ring. Randy was making his entrance to a mostly nonplussed reaction. Dean paced eagerly in the ring, itching for the fight to begin, as Randy stood on the ropes to make his stupid look-at-me pose. Seeing them, just the two of them, together in the ring like that, it suddenly struck Carly that Randy was significantly bigger than Dean. Carly took a deep breath and tried to position herself in a place outside potential lines of fire.

xXx

"And Dean Ambrose taking control of this match right off the bat, as it were."

"Street fights were made for men like these two. Guys who don't know when to quit, and are just crazy enough to get creative."

"Oh! Ambrose sending Orton right into that chain-link backstop, and viciously continuing to slam Orton's face into it. But an elbow from Orton creates enough space for him to escape and roll out of the ring."

xXx

Dean hopped down out of the ring, following Randy as the Viper dragged himself along on his stomach. Dean seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. His gaze landed on the concession stand. He swaggered over to it, picked up a bag of peanuts, and made his way back to Randy in no apparent hurry.

As he passed Carly, Dean offered her a handful of the peanuts. Carly accepted them with a reproachful look. Dean just smirked.

"I'm focused, I'm focused," he said.

Dean returned to where Randy was still facedown on the floor. He forcefully drove his knee into Randy's back, and then proceeded to try to shove handfuls of the peanuts into Randy's mouth, shouting something that Carly could not make out over the cheering of the crowd.

So far, things were going well, but Carly knew better than to be relieved just yet. Still, at least she had a snack now. Carly began shelling and eating the peanuts. She wondered if it would be in poor taste to go over and grab herself a bag of popcorn.

Dean had pulled Randy to his feet, and was setting up to throw him headfirst into the barricade. Randy countered, flipping Dean into the seats. Carly cringed inwardly. Now things were going to get messy.

Carly was too far away to see exactly what was happening, but she could tell that Randy was thrashing Dean left, right, and center through the audience. They didn't get into the upper sections, thankfully. Randy drove Dean back around to ringside. Dean rallied suddenly, shoving Randy so he hit the barricade spine first. With a punch to the jaw, Dean knocked him head over heels back over the barricade.

Unfortunately, the time it took for Dean to hop the wall was just enough for Randy to regroup. He assaulted Dean savagely, driving him past the announcers' table and dumping him into the timekeeper's area. Randy paused, seemingly to catch his breath. Then, he turned his eyes to Carly.

That unsettling, abhorrent grin spread across his face. He glanced over his shoulder once at Dean, and began to walk towards her. Carly stood her ground. She wasn't about to let this creep know just how much being in close proximity to him made her skin crawl. Also, it wouldn't do to let Dean see her get upset. If he was supposed to stay level-headed and focused, she was going to as well.

"Carly," Randy greeted her.

"Mr. Orton," she said flatly.

"Are you enjoying the match?" he asked.

As he spoke, Randy put an arm around Carly's shoulders. Carly stayed stone-faced, though repulsed by any physical contact coming from him.

"Get away from me now," she ordered.

She could see Dean getting to his feet, stumbling out of the timekeeper's area. He spotted her and Randy, and his expression hardened. With all her might, Carly willed him to focus, to keep it together.

"What's the matter? Don't you enjoy my company?" said Randy, "You've been hanging around those dogs for too long."

Randy reached over to brush his fingers against Carly's cheek. It took all of her resolve not to scratch his eyes out then and there.

"I will break all of your fingers, one by one," she said evenly.

"Will you?" said Randy, "Uh-oh, looks like your boy is getting upset."

Dean stood facing them, glaring daggers at Randy. His shoulders trembled with fury. Carly shook her head at him, silently pleading for him to stay calm. Randy laughed.

Keeping his eyes locked with Dean's, Randy slowly leaned his face down beside Carly's, inching closer, slowly inclining his head, and even more slowly kissing her on the neck. Carly could feel the sadistic smile on his lips, and it turned her stomach. Even worse, she knew, with a sinking feeling, that this was the last straw for the Lunatic Fringe.

Carly saw the instant something snapped behind Dean's eyes. With a roar of rage, he charged at Randy. Randy sidestepped him, knocking Carly to the ground and letting Dean run himself headfirst into the concession stand. Before Dean had a chance to recover, Randy kicked him in the head.

Dean collapsed, insensible. Randy grabbed the back of his shirt, dragging him back to the ring and throwing him inside. While Dean lay motionless, Randy took a chair from the timekeeper's area and tossed it into the ring as well. Then, he began fishing around for something under the ring. Carly watched with equal parts confusion and horror as she saw him hold up a roll of duct tape. Randy set to work taping one of Dean's wrists to the bottom rope.

xXx

"What is Randy Orton up to now?"

"Looks like the Viper is setting up to teach Dean Ambrose a lesson."

"We're seeing shades of the torment Orton once visited on Triple H years ago. If Carly knows what's good for her, she better run."

xXx

Randy finished as Dean was starting to recover. He dropped the roll of tape, and turned back to Carly. She had the feeling she was about to find out exactly why he'd wanted her out here for this match.

"You stay away from me!" she ordered, but Randy kept advancing towards her.

Carly turned to flee, but she didn't get very far. She tripped over one of the camera cables, which gave Randy enough time to catch up to her. He grabbed a fistful of her hair.

"Oh no you don't," he laughed, "You know what they say: turnabout is fair play."

Carly scratched at his arms, struggling to free herself, but to no avail. Randy dragged her up the steps and pulled her through the ropes into the center of the ring. He yanked her head back so she could see that they were facing Dean. Realization struck Dean as he watched helplessly with enraged and panicked eyes.

"No!" he yelled, desperately trying to get loose.

As Randy stepped slightly in front of Carly, reaching his arms back around her head, she knew what was coming.

xXx

"RKO! And Dean Ambrose is powerless to come to Carly's rescue."

"Looks like this was Randy Orton's plan all along."

"Unfortunately, this is all legal, and with the rest of the Shield banned from ringside, Carly Caden and Dean Ambrose are in serious trouble."

xXx

Carly dimly felt Randy grab her by the hair once more and pull her upright so she was kneeling in the ring. As her vision cleared, she could see Dean frantically biting and tearing at the tape around his wrist. Randy crouched behind her, wrapping an arm across her neck to hold her in place.

"What's the matter, Ambrose?" he taunted, "Did I strike a nerve?'

Dean lunged forward, straining against the rope. Randy was just out of reach. Dean kept struggling, completely given over to a crazed frenzy. Carly had never seen him like this in such close proximity. It was like watching a star go nova. She could almost feel the confidence and high spirits that usually kept Dean grounded shattering, exploding outward, leaving him with only raw madness.

"You get your filthy hands off her!" Dean snarled, "I'll kill you. I swear to God, I'll rip your throat out with my bare hands!"

Randy laughed mockingly. The simmering hatred Carly felt towards him suddenly boiled over, scalding the insides of her ribs. Randy Orton thought he had the mad dog chained, did he? Well, it was about time he learned that the Hounds of Justice weren't the only ones who knew how to bite back. Carly grabbed his arm and bit down hard. Randy roared in pain, trying to shake her off, but Carly just bit down all the harder. Randy staggered to his feet. He finally managed to free his arm and threw Carly down.

Carly tried to drag herself away. She cried out as Randy stomped down onto her knee, wrenching it sideways and grinding it into the mat. He stomped on it again, and the pain forced Carly to a halt. As she lay on the mat, she saw Randy walk over to pick up the steel chair. He walked slowly back towards her, glowering. Carly scrambled to crawl toward the edge of the ring.

But, to her horror, Carly saw that Randy had thrown her into the corner that was blocked off by the chain-link fence. There was no way out. Even if she could manage to stand, there was no way she'd be able to get past him. Randy stood over her, raising the chair to strike. Carly turned away to let the blow land on her back.

Instead of a chair, however, Carly felt a body collide with hers. Dean, who had somehow gotten free, threw himself across Carly's back just as the blow fell. Carly felt the vicious hit thud through Dean's body. He groaned in pain, putting his arms around her and continuing to shield her as Randy struck him again. This was bad. This was very bad. Now they were both trapped, and Carly was certain Randy would take full advantage of the opportunity to batter Dean's unprotected back.

"Dean, no!" said Carly, "Get out of here!"

"Not a chance," Dean said through gritted teeth as he was struck a third time.

Carly felt Dean tense up, waiting for the next blow to fall, but it never did. She heard the audience suddenly break into wild cheers. Dean released Carly, and they both turned just in time to see Seth and Roman slide into the ring. Randy had dropped the chair. He was facing Seth and Roman, shouting at the ref to do something. Suddenly taking advantage of the situation, Dean leapt to his feet and seized Randy, hitting him with Dirty Deeds.

"Street fight rules! No disqualifications!" Seth taunted the annoyed referee, in the same tone a small child would say 'I'm not touching you!'

As soon as Dean made his move, Roman ran to help Carly, carrying her to the base of the ramp. Carly cast a worried glance back at Dean. He seemed unable to keep still, his eyes fixed on Randy as if he was ready to tear him apart. That air of madness still hung around him.

"Don't worry about Dean," said Roman, "Seth'll take care of him."

"Dean? Dean, stay with me, man. Focus," said Seth, taking Dean's face in his hands, "We got Carly. She's safe. You just worry about finishing the match. You got this, alright?"

Dean nodded. Seth clapped him on the shoulder and slipped out of the ring to join Carly and Roman. Roman had set Carly down on the floor and let her lean back against him. She was still a little dizzy from that RKO.

"You alright, Carly?" asked Seth.

"Well, my knee sure wasn't meant to bend that way," Carly said wryly.

Back in the ring, Dean had been looking at the still downed Randy Orton with a calculating expression. A smirk spread across Dean's face. He jumped out of the ring and made his way to the rack of baseball bats. Selecting one, he got back into the ring just as Randy was starting to stand.

"Come on, Randy! Come on!" Dean yelled, gesturing for him to get up as he readied the bat.

Randy's back was to Dean. He got to his feet and turned just as Dean swung away.

xXx

"And Dean Ambrose nearly takes Orton's head off with that swing!"

"Would you call that a home-run?"

"I would if I was the Shield. Ambrose is laying into Orton's back with that baseball bat, returning the favor for those chair shots earlier. Orton is down, but it doesn't look like Ambrose is going for the cover. No, Ambrose is locking in a submission hold, a Regal Stretch, to add insult to injury for Orton!"

xXx

"I'm not gonna let you off the hook that easily, Randy," Dean growled as Randy struggled, "I'm not letting go. You're gonna tap out, you bastard. You're gonna tap out, or so help me, I'm gonna tear your arm right out of its socket."

xXx

"Ambrose turning Orton every which way but loose… and Orton taps! Dean Ambrose wins!"

xXx

The arena exploded with cheering. Dean released the hold, pausing a moment to spit at Randy before raising his arms in victory. Seth bolted into the ring. He threw himself at Dean in an enthusiastic embrace, which Dean returned with equal fervor. Carly exhaled slowly, feeling at ease for the first time all night. Dean had done it. Well, more or less. He'd won, but regardless of what he'd said, he still let Randy get into his head.