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And it's About to Explode
She should leave. The Shield was getting focused and ready for their match. Carly knew she should go. But she couldn't deny that she was afraid to let them out of her sight.
Dean was dancing and singing softly to himself, naturally. Roman was finishing up taping his wrists. Seth was staring off into space, his hands as restless as a cat's tail. It was time for her to go.
"Well," she said. Her voice ricocheted jarringly through the silence, "Good luck. Take care of each other out there, alright?"
"Alright," said Roman, smiling faintly.
"We don't need luck," Dean said confidently, "Evolution's is about to run dry."
Seth said nothing. Carly didn't know if he'd even noticed that she'd spoken. If anything, he looked worse than he had last night. Well. This wasn't getting any easier. With an awkward nod at the Shield, Carly turned to leave. Before she could get two steps, she was halted by a hand grabbing onto her arm. Seth pulled her back and hugged her tightly. He stepped away just as quickly, before she'd even had a chance to return the hug.
"Thanks," he said tersely.
Carly smiled at him and hesitated a second more, then turned and walked off. She would be very glad when tonight was finally over.
She probably could've gotten a seat in the arena to watch everything go down. She could've hung around one of the backstage monitors like she had at Extreme Rules. But Carly didn't feel up to being around people, whatever the outcome of tonight was. Once again, she found an empty dressing room, picked the lock, and shut herself inside.
The air in the room was strange, at once still and silent but humming with all the energy of the arena and everyone in it. Carly flicked on the monitor and settled herself onto a couch to wait. The Divas Championship match was still going on. Carly didn't know who was fighting Paige and she didn't really care. It would be an understatement to say that her thoughts were elsewhere.
Suddenly, Carly heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. Fantastic. Some maintenance person or arena employee must've seen her go into the dressing room. She'd have to do some quick talking to avoid getting kicked out. But the last thing Carly expected was for the door to open to reveal Stephanie McMahon.
Carly could feel the blood drain from her face as she stared in shock at her smiling half-sister. What on earth was she doing here? They hadn't so much as crossed paths since their match nearly two months ago. Carly jumped to her feet as Stephanie stepped into the room.
"What do you want?" Carly snapped.
"Now, just calm down," said Stephanie, throwing up her hands, "I'm not here to hassle you. I can be a woman of my word, too, you know."
"That's nice. Do you want a sticker?" Carly said sarcastically, "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"
"Alright, Miss Impatient," Stephanie laughed, "It was brought to my attention that you came in her alone. And I thought it must be so lonely for you, to have to watch your little friends get beaten all by yourself. So I thought I'd come down here and join you, and we can watch the match together."
Carly wanted to slap that insincere smile right off Stephanie's face. She was speechless in disbelief. Not only would she have to watch what was sure to be a brutal match, but she'd have to endure this woman's mockery the whole time? Carly felt sick.
"Unless, of course, you have somewhere else to be," said Stephanie, folding her arms and smirking.
Carly almost ran, almost stormed out of the room. But you know what? No. It was going to be all too satisfying to see the look on Stephanie's face when the Shield destroyed Evolution. Carly gestured to the couch with mock politeness.
"Oh, no. By all means, dear sister," she said, her voice dripping with disdain, "Be my guest."
Carly sat down, trying to look as relaxed as possible, as Stephanie sat beside her. This was going to be a long match.
Evolution entered first. Batista, inexplicably enough, was wearing blue. Carly knew he'd worn red at Extreme Rules, but that was somehow less glaringly out of place when the other five men were wearing black. Carly was calling it right now – everybody in the WWE Universe just thought up the nickname "Blue-tista" at the same time.
Carly watched in silence and tried to keep the worry from her face as the Shield entered. Stephanie, curse her, looked as smug and unconcerned as ever. But the boys were ready.
Evolution and the Shield lined up on either side of the ring, staring each other down. Evolution was blank-faced, arrogant - three seasoned warrior kings - each one confident, but each standing alone. The Shield stood their ground but strained forward – the hounds, the fearless knights – ready to fight and sacrifice with and for their brothers-in-arms.
Dean and Randy Orton charged at one another almost before the bell started to ring, and the battle began. It was evenly matched, to begin with, starting in the ring and soon spreading so only Triple H and Seth were left within the ropes. Then Seth caught Triple H with a kick to the head and followed him as he rolled out of the ring.
It was almost something of a relief, having the action so split up that the cameras didn't know what to show. Carly couldn't focus on one thing long enough to be too concerned because there was Roman and Batista, and how on earth did that bank of lights get broken? No matter, Dean was completely in control of Randy Orton. But then Seth was getting tossed into the barricade by Triple H. Oh boy.
Seth tossed Triple H back to ringside. The cameras showed Randy Orton slamming Dean spine-first onto the top of the barricade while the announcers shouted about Roman throwing Batista into the steel steps. The fighting had converged now. Everybody was ringside. The tables were turning on Dean and Seth a bit, but Roman was still going strong.
And then suddenly, this brawl broke down into a wrestling match. Roman had thrown Batista into the ring and was now going to work on him. Orton and Triple H stood on the apron in Evolution's corner. Seth was in the Shield's corner, but Dean had yet to make it back from being tossed into the timekeeper's area. And now there was nothing to distract Carly from what was sure to be a hell of a fight.
Seth was tagged in and continued to wear Batista down as Dean finally made it up onto the apron. Seth was in control until Batista reversed an Irish whip and sent Seth flipping painfully into the turnbuckle. Carly couldn't hold back a sympathetic wince. She didn't think physics worked like that but, man, did that look painful.
Batista dragged Seth into Evolution's corner and Orton tagged himself in. Seth was trapped now, getting the living daylights beaten out of him. This was bad. Carly did everything she could to ignore the smugness that radiated off the woman sitting next to her. At least Stephanie had the decency to keep her mouth shut. But Seth was making a comeback, and leveled Orton with a dropkick to the chest. Cover and a kickout and the match went on.
Dean was tagged in, and he and Seth double-teamed on Orton, hitting him with a suplex and then a knee to the chest from Seth followed by an elbow from Dean. Dean's half-crazed enthusiasm and the sight of Orton getting stomped on did wonders for Carly's morale. Dean continued to wear Orton down before dragging him into the Shield's corner to let Roman take a crack at him.
It was still anyone's game. Orton got away from Roman and tagged Batista in, who was quickly floored by a clothesline. Roman leapt into the air and drove his elbow into Batista's chest as he landed. A headbutt disoriented Batista enough for him to stumble into the Shield's corner on his own, and then it was Dean's turn.
Batista rallied quickly and caught Dean with a spinebuster, then tagged Triple H in. Carly reminded herself not to bite her lip, or wring her hands, or do anything to alert Stephanie of her worsening nerves. After throwing Dean into the three of the four turnbuckles, Triple H received a boot to the face, giving Dean time to roll away and tag Roman in. Good. This was good strategy. Frequent tags made sure no one got worn out too quickly.
Time seemed to stop for a moment. Roman slowly stepped into the ring, walking forward as Triple H sized him up. They circled each other with wary confidence as the crowd screamed. Roman, his chin raised proudly, actually winked at his opponent. If Carly hadn't been so anxious she might've laughed. Triple H seemed almost stunned for a moment, before anger broke through his incredulous expression. He circled back, Roman following his every move. Both men stared each other down. But Triple H was calm. Roman was starting to get impatient.
Just when Carly thought Roman was about to charge, Triple H made the first move. They fought into the center of the ring. Triple H rebounded off the ropes and right into Roman's shoulder, which knocked him off his feet. He scrambled back into the corner as Roman watched him, eyes wide, the mane of his hair tangled across his face. Triple H got to his feet and circled Roman once again.
Triple H kicked Roman in the ribs, and the fight was on. Triple H tried to gain momentum off the ropes again but was flipped right over Roman's head. Roman got Triple H's arm twisted around, jerking it downward to weaken his shoulder, getting to the corner so Dean could make the tag. Dean punched Trips in the ribs, then headbutted him so hard it knocked him to the ground and stomped on his chest. With a self-satisfied smile, Carly wondered how Stephanie felt about her husband getting tossed around like a rookie.
Triple H stumbled into the Shield's corner, where Roman and Seth held his arms so Dean could charge and catch him with a shoulder to the ribs. Seth came in off the tag, and Dean held Trips in place so Seth could get a running start to blast him with a clothesline. Seth hit Triple H with three consecutive suplexes. He went for the cover and got a near-fall. Trips was in trouble. Evolution was in trouble.
Dean elbowed Triple H in the spine, then dragged in into the turnbuckle just so he could stand on Trips' head. Another near-fall on Triple H. Dean hopped over the ropes and climbed on top of the turnbuckle. Unfortunately, he jumped right into Triple H's boot. Triple H managed to rally first, making that tag to Batista, who dragged Dean from the ring. Nevermind. Now the Shield was in trouble.
Batista made good use of the barricade in demolishing Dean. He hoisted Dean up over his shoulders and barbarically slammed him down neck-first on top of the barricade. Carly inhaled sharply at the look of agony on Dean's face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stephanie's gaze dart in her direction. Carly willed herself to keep it together. Batista threw Dean back onto the apron, so his head was hanging over the edge. Oh no. This was going to be bad. Fired up by chants of "Blue-tista!", Batista sent a vicious kick to the side of Dean's head.
Batista climbed back into the ring, stomping on Dean's head once more for good measure. Carly was starting to feel sick again. She was very aware that her breathing had audibly quickened, and she knew Stephanie had noticed.
"Are you feeling alright, Carly?" she asked, mock-solicitously.
Out of nowhere, Triple H jumped from his corner and elbowed Dean in the head, then proceeded to rain down blows on the helpless Dean.
"Oh, it has to hurt to see your poor little boyfriend being made somebody's bitch, doesn't it?" said Stephanie.
Batista grabbed hold of Dean's legs and fell backwards, propelling Dean's body upwards, slamming his throat into the bottom rope.
"Well," Stephanie laughed, "That'll finally shut him up, won't it?"
"Give me a reason," Carly growled, her voice shaking with rage, "Give me a reason and I swear I'll wring the arrogance from your throat with my bare hands."
Stephanie only laughed again as Batista tagged Orton in. Dean couldn't even protect himself as Orton stomped on his knee, his ankle, even his hand. Sadistic creep. But as Orton hauled Dean to his feet, he began to fight back. Catching Orton off-guard with blows to the ribs, to the face, Dean was starting to pick up steam.
But not for long. Orton seized Dean by the hair and threw him to the ground, stomping viciously down onto his ribs. Carly flinched as Dean cried out in pain. Now Triple H had straddled Dean and held him by the hair while throwing punch after punch to Dean's head. Completely disoriented, Dean had no chance to dodge Triple H's knee as it came crashing down on his skull. Three times.
Dean, defying all logic and physics, somehow rallied and managed to reverse an Irish whip and somehow sent Triple H flying over the ropes and crashing to the ground. Seth and Roman leaned desperately over the ropes as Dean tried to drag himself within reach. But Triple H recovered first, pulling himself back into the ring and kicking Dean in the head.
Just as Triple H was starting to mop the floor with him, Dean managed to pull a rebound lariat out of nowhere and knock Triple H to the ground. Seth and Roman were nearly beside themselves, shouting encouragement to Dean as he crawled desperately towards them. Dean just managed to make the tag to Roman as Triple H tagged Batista. Relief flooded through Carly as Dean rolled out of the ring to safety.
Roman exploded, going after Batista like a force of nature. Roman caught him with clotheslines and punches that almost took his head clean off. As Orton tried to interfere, Seth ran in and landed a kick to his head. Seth followed him outside the ring while Roman dropped an interfering Triple H, and then ran to hit Batista with an apron dropkick.
Thank goodness. The tide was finally starting to turn in their favor. The crowd went wild as Roman signaled for a Superman punch. It connected decisively. Roman went for the cover and…
Would've had it, if not for Orton's interference, curse him. Orton went after Roman, but Dean slid into the ring to fend him off. Now all of them were back in the ring. The match had turned back into a brawl.
Seth was sent crashing to the floor, and Triple H followed. Orton and Dean were fighting ringside as well, leaving the dazed pair of Roman and Batista still in the ring. Trips sent Seth flying into the barricade. Orton slammed Dean's head twice into the steel post. Carly didn't even have to look at Stephanie to know that she was smiling.
Now Triple H was thrashing Seth left, right, and center through the audience. He dragged Seth into the tech area, slamming his head into one of the metal crates. While that had been happening, Dean had turned the momentum against Orton, and was now chasing him through the audience as well. And then… oh no. This wasn't going to end well. Triple H got his hands on something that looked like a TV monitor. While his back was turned, Seth scrambled on top of the crates. Seth dove at Triple H and right into a crushing blow to the skull from the monitor. Seth was sprawled facedown on the floor where he'd landed, unmoving.
Then the cameras switched back to the ring, where Roman and Batista were both on the floor. This was only literal in Batista's case. Roman seemed to have gained the upper hand again. (Who knew what had happened to Dean and Randy Orton.) Roman starting tearing apart the Spanish announcers' table, but Orton came flying out of nowhere and attacked him from behind. He beat Roman down to the ground, and Triple H suddenly appeared. There was no sign of Seth or Dean anywhere. Roman was in danger, and he was alone.
Triple H threw Roman into the steel steps, and Roman lay where he fell. Batista had managed to struggle back to his feet by this point. Carly felt cold all over. Roman was alone and defenseless, and surrounded by Evolution. And now Triple H dragged Roman over to the table. Carly knew exactly what was coming next. Roman, unable to fight back, was Triple-Powerbombed through the announcers' table. Hatred was becoming an all-too-familiar feeling for Carly.
Roman was down and out. Evolution stood back and seemed to be discussing something. Carly couldn't hear what they were saying, but she knew enough to be very anxious about it. And of course, Evolution had to take a moment to be spiteful and hold out their fists in a mocking imitation of the Shield.
From out of nowhere, like an avenging angel, Dean came flying over the announcers' table and took down all three members of Evolution. Orton and Triple H crawled away, getting to their feet at the other side of the ring just in time for Seth to flip over the ropes and come crashing down on them like the wrath of God. Carly laughed out loud at the sudden shift in fortunes.
Dean hauled Seth to his feet as Evolution tried to crawl to safety. Dean caught up to Orton and unloaded on him, but Triple H joined into the fray. Batista dragged Seth along, and Evolution drove Dean and Seth up the ramp, throwing them into the metal barriers along the way. Triple H slammed Seth into another bank of lights.
In desperation, Seth pulled a chair from somewhere, but Triple H wrested it from his hands and brought it down hard on his back, then moved on to do the same to Dean. Orton set up another chair and slammed Dean down onto it, spine-first. Dean writhed on the floor, too badly hurt to even cry out. Seth tried to drag himself to Dean's aid, but was caught by Triple H and Pedigreed onto a chair as well.
Suddenly, Triple H pointed to the ring, and the camera swung around. Roman, God knows how, had managed to drag himself back into the center of the ring, and was now desperately trying to struggle to his feet. No. No, no, no. This was bad. This was very bad. Evolution slowly made their way back to the ring, surrounding Roman.
Roman valiantly tried to fight on, but was quickly put down by Batista and Orton. Triple H was calling out orders now. Carly watched in perplexed horror as Triple H and Orton stripped off Roman's vest and shirt, while Batista brought the steel steps into the ring. Then, as Orton slid three kendo sticks into the ring, Carly understood.
"You bastards," she gasped.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Stephanie said brightly.
After slamming Roman's head twice into the steel, Triple H stretched Roman across the steps so his bare back was exposed and vulnerable. Triple H held onto Roman's wrists as Orton picked up a kendo stick and passed another to Batista. Orton raised the stick high above his head and brought it screaming down. As that first strike bit into Roman's back, Carly realized that she'd never truly known hatred until this moment.
All three of them now took turns laying into Roman's back. Roman cried out in pain, and the sound pierced straight through Carly's heart. Blow after blow rained down on the helpless man. Tears stung Carly's eyes as she willed herself not to look away.
"Those spiteful, sadistic cowards!" she choked out, altogether failing to keep from sobbing in ineffectual rage and misery.
Roman screamed. Carly pressed her hands tightly over her mouth. She didn't care about that Stephanie could see her crying. She didn't even care that Stephanie was laughing. Carly felt sickened to her very soul at what she was witnessing. She would destroy Evolution. She would destroy the Authority and make them pay for everything that they'd done. She would unleash on them a hundredfold what they'd done to Roman and Dean and Seth, if it was the last thing she did.
"In the old stories," said Carly, her voice breaking unheeded, "Torturers always get what's coming to them."
"Well, it's a good thing this isn't one of the old stories, isn't it?" said Stephanie.
Carly finally turned to look at her, a fierce light in her eyes, a mirthless smile trembling on her lips.
"Give me one reason more," said Carly, "And see how quickly I can go medieval on your whole little empire."
Before Carly turned away, she could almost swear she saw a flicker of fear in Stephanie's eyes.
Orton stood in the ring, holding a chair aloft. Roman suddenly leapt to his feet and vaulted over the steel steps to land a Superman punch to Orton. The rally was short-lived, as Batista and Triple H beat him down again. Triple H hauled Roman to his feet, only to slam a chair into his ribs and bring it crashing down on his back. Roman rolled out of the ring and slumped to the floor. Carly felt sick all over again, looking at the horrific welts on his back.
Just as Roman managed to stand, Triple H struck him with a chair again. Roman staggered forward, stumbling up the ramp. As he reached the stage, Triple H struck again, sending Roman to the ground.
A shock of hope thudded in Carly's chest at what she could see, but Evolution could not. Dean, now recovered, was hiding behind a bank of lights, waiting. When Evolution closed in on Roman, Dean burst from concealment. He knocked Orton of his feet, punched at Triple H, then tore into Batista. Bless Dean's crazy, valiant heart. He was trying to take on all three at once to save Roman.
And save Roman he did, but only by drawing all their fire. Evolution now concentrated their attack on Dean. Triple H and Batista anchored the bank of lights while Orton hauled Dean over it, setting up for a DDT. Orton fell backwards, and Dean's head bounced off the steel of the stage, laying him out cold. Only now did Carly start to wonder where Seth was. He'd been put out of commission by that Pedigree up on the stage, but now he was nowhere to be seen.
Evolution turned its attention back to Roman. Triple H threw down another chair, and the three of them herded Roman towards it. As they surrounded him, preparing to do their worst, a movement near the top of the screen caught Carly's eye and answered the question of what had happened to Seth.
Somehow, God knows how, that reckless maniac had climbed up the backside of the TitanTron and was now standing balanced on top of it. Carly's stomach dropped. In a split second, Seth calculated his trajectory and threw himself down onto Evolution. Now all six men were sprawled out on the stage. Seth writhed on the ground, his face contorted in pain.
Carly stared in shock. What on earth was he thinking, pulling a stunt that suicidally crazy? He saved Roman, true, but at the expense of his own body, and Roman's, too. Just like what he'd done at Extreme Rules, only that time Dean took the brunt of it.
Seth was moving now, dragging himself down the ramp towards the ring. He could barely crawl, only finally getting to his feet at the base of the ramp. Seth staggered forwards and managed to pull himself into the ring. Evolution was close behind.
Batista got into the ring as well, charging at a cornered Seth who caught him with a boot to the face. Seth struggled, forced his body to climb up to the second rope. He leapt down at Batista only to be caught by a spear. Batista grabbed Seth, setting up for a Batista Bomb.
But Seth fought free, jumping over Batista's head and leaving him open for a spear out of nowhere by Roman. As Roman rolled away, Seth rolled back to the downed Batista. Seth's arm was across Batista's chest. The ref's hand hit the mat one, two, three times, and finally, thank goodness finally, Batista was eliminated.
Unable to stop herself, Carly shouted and punched the air. Stephanie flinched. This was good. This was fantastic. One down and only two to go. It wasn't too late. The Shield, beaten as they were, could still win this.
Seth painfully tried to stand, unaware that Orton was doing the exact same thing behind him, and stumbled right into an RKO. Orton rolled Seth onto his back and went for the cover, but it was broken up by Roman. As Roman got to his feet on the apron, Orton caught him, dragging him through the second rope to set up for a DDT. But there was no one to watch Orton's back, and Dean came likewise out of nowhere with a chair to strike Orton down. Dean threw down the chair, caught Orton around the neck, and planted him with Dirty Deeds. One, two, three, and goodbye, Orton.
Carly laughed, relief and triumph and adrenaline mixing a strange cocktail of emotions. Stephanie's posture had faltered slightly. Carly glanced in her direction, and was pleased to see that she looked downright concerned. About time, too.
And then there was one. Triple H dragged himself into the ring as Dean eagerly scrambled to stand. But as he made a grab for Triple H, Trips' hand came up and caught him with a low blow, sending Dean to his knees. What a cheap, spiteful thing for a grown man to do. Even if it was technically legal in the match.
Triple H got to his feet, setting Dean up for a Pedigree, only to be hit by a Superman punch. Then Roman was speared by Batista.
Wait, what? Batista had been eliminated! He should've been gone. Who did Carly have to punch for letting him back in?
Oh, now the officials order him off. Great work, guys. You've been real helpful.
Dean had been sent flying out of the ring. It was down to Roman and Triple H, both exhausted, both trying to be the first man to get to his feet.
Wait a minute, that was Randy Orton. Who let him back to ringside? What were they paying these useless zebras for, anyway? Orton ducked down and the ring skirt suddenly shifted, and Carly had the sinking feeling that she knew exactly what he was doing out there.
Orton reached into the ring, sliding the sledgehammer to Triple H. This was bad. This was extremely bad. Roman was laid out, and Triple H was struggling upright. But now Dean dragged himself into the ring. He staggered towards Triple H, but was struck down by a sledgehammer to the head. Triple H turned his gaze back to Roman, who was pulling himself up on the ropes unawares. Thus distracted, Triple H never even saw Seth Rollins climb up onto the turnbuckle, and only turned just in time for Seth's knee to collide with his face.
Triple H stumbled dazedly, leaving himself completely open to Roman, who speared him so hard it knocked the sledgehammer from his grasp. Roman lay on top of Triple H as the referee counted one, two, three.
And it was over. It was all over. Carly was too stunned, too deliriously overjoyed to even cheer. The Shield lay in the ring, exhausted, badly beaten, but victorious. Summoning some reserves of strength, Roman dragged himself over to Seth and reached out to him. Seth reached back, clasping his hand and pulling himself closer. As Seth propped himself up on the ropes, Roman crawled over to Dean, and they clasped hands as well.
Shakily, Carly stood and looked down at Stephanie, who was wearing an expression of absolute disbelief.
"Well," said Carly, "The old saying holds. The best men won."
Carly couldn't stand to wait around any longer. Taking off as fast as her legs would carry her, she ran the short distance past the locker rooms, around the curtain, and down to the ring. Roman's vest was still on the ground where Triple H had thrown it. Carly picked it up.
Roman, who had managed to stand, caught sight of her holding it. Too breathless to even speak, he gestured weakly at her, and Carly understood. Climbing into the ring, Carly carefully pulled the vest over his arms. She zipped it quickly, flashed Roman a smile, and dodged out of the way again.
Seth and Roman pulled the barely conscious Dean upright, and they stood together over Triple H's fallen body. First Roman held out his fist, then Seth, then Dean, who was only able to stay standing by leaning against Roman. Roman planted his foot on Triple H's chest.
The Shield stood together. The Shield stood victorious. Because the Shield stood together, they would always be victorious.
xXx
"Dean, you know I love you, man. But if you don't stop singing right now, I'm gonna come over there and kill you," Seth groaned.
"I'd like to see you try, brother," said Dean, still in a sing-song voice, "I'm invincible tonight."
"Alright, kids. No more singing or fighting, and especially no homicide. Time for sleep," Carly interrupted.
Carly sort of wanted to smack whoever had the brilliant idea of making the Shield sit through an interview after that match. Dean spent the majority of the time with his head down on the table, and the rest was spent in ill-advised sarcasm that Roman was one-hundred percent not having. Not that Carly could blame either of them. The boys had been put through the wringer tonight, and she was glad when she could finally get them back to the hotel and put them to bed.
Dean and Seth probably would've been up for going out to celebrate their victory, but Roman was in no condition to do so. Carly certainly didn't mind just ordering pizza to the hotel room and having a more or less quiet night with the Shield. But as Seth and Roman settled down for the night, Dean only seemed to get more awake.
"What she said," Roman muttered into his pillow.
After eating, Roman had stretched out on his stomach on the bed and hadn't moved since. Carly couldn't look at the poor guy's back without wincing. She took the ice-packs off it so Seth could carefully pull the sheet over Roman.
"Goodnight, Roman," Carly said, leaning down to give him a kiss on the forehead.
"'Night, Carly," he mumbled sleepily.
"But I'm not tired," Dean continued to protest as he sat up in bed.
Carly walked over, took him by the shoulders, and gently pushed him back down.
"Dean, sweetheart, you got hit in the head a lot of times," she said patiently, "Go to bed."
Dean settled his head into the pillow, then looked up at Carly with a roguish grin.
"Hmm, call me 'sweetheart' again?" he asked.
"Dean," Seth and Carly simultaneously, and in the same warning tone.
"Alright, alright. I'm sleeping," said Dean.
He curled up on his side and pulled the covers tight under his chin. For a grown man, he could be incredibly childish. Carly shook her head, and turned back to the other one who fit that description.
"You too, Seth," she said.
She watched him a little warily, remembering how difficult he'd been the last time she'd tried to look after him. Seth seemed to remember as well. He smiled disarmingly and held up his hands.
"I'm not gonna fight you on this," he said.
Seth climbed into bed carefully, doing his level best not to jostle the mattress – and, by extension, Roman – excessively. Carly drew the covers over him, and he laid his hands across his chest. Seth couldn't seem to keep his hands still, though, and even in the dim light Carly could recognize that distant look in his eyes. She sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hand over his.
"You were very brave tonight, Seth," she said softly, "I mean, you're an idiot, but you're very brave."
"A crazy, brave little idiot," said Seth, "Wonder who else I know who fits that description."
"Hilarious," said Carly with a wry grin.
Dean suddenly shifted, mumbled something, sighed heavily, and then was still again. Carly glanced over at him confusedly.
"Is he asleep already?" she asked.
"Told you," said Seth, "He sleeps like a rock. Roman's out, too."
Sure enough, Roman's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and even. Sleep had softened expression of pained exhaustion on his face. Carly smiled down at Seth, pushing a stray lock of hair back from his forehead.
"Get some rest, alright?" she said, "You've earned it."
Seth gave a short, quiet laugh.
"Thanks, Carly," he said.
With that, Carly got up, shut off the lights, and left, quietly closing the door behind her.
xXx
Carly, being the only one who hadn't gotten the daylights beaten out of her the night before, was also the only one to get up at the usual time. She'd expected the boys to sleep in, after what they'd been through. But now it was twenty to ten, the breakfast area had mostly cleared out, it looked like the staff was going to start cleaning up, and there was no sign of the boys. Carly frowned worriedly and considered texting one of them. Then, ignoring the confused stares of the hotel staff, she loaded up two trays with all the fruit and muffins and cereal she could get her hands on. Dropping them off at her table, she went back and started making as many waffles and slices of toast as possible in the time remaining.
She stopped at ten on the dot. No sense being rude to the employees. Carly gathered up the toast and waffles, along with some eating utensils, milk, syrup, and butter, and sat back down. Ten minutes later, just as Carly was contemplating the logistics of carrying three overloaded trays up to the Shield's room, the boys finally appeared.
"Morning," said Carly, looking them over critically, "You three look like death warmed over."
"Well, it's good to know we look better than we feel," Roman said wryly.
All three of them were moving slowly and stiffly, Roman more so than the others. He leaned forward when sat down, careful not to let his back touch the chair.
"Is this for us?" asked Dean, gesturing at the food.
"No, it's for the other three ravenous war-heroes that I know," said Carly, "Yes, it's for you. Sorry if I didn't quite get what you wanted. I just grabbed everything I could while the employees were shutting things down."
"Thanks," said Seth as he stifled a yawn, "I didn't realize how late it was."
"No problem," Carly smiled, "Go ahead and eat. I'll grab you guys some coffee. Lord knows you probably need it."
Tired and hurt though they were, the boys were in good spirits this morning. Carly listened as they talked over the events of the night before, congratulating each other on the amazing triumphs they'd made. Still, she was worried. Evolution had put them down hard after their victory at Extreme Rules, and they hadn't been nearly as damaged then. She didn't like the idea of them walking into another beat-down tonight.
"You know," she said at a lull in the conversation, "You guys could just not make an appearance tonight. Give yourselves a chance to rest and all."
"Not a chance," Dean said emphatically, "Hunter made that whole big deal about last week being 'the last time we'll ever see the Shield on Monday Night Raw'. We're not gonna give him the satisfaction of feeling like he was right, and we aren't running scared."
"I'm not saying that you are," said Carly, "I'm just saying that you guys are in no shape to defend yourselves after what you've been through. Especially not Roman."
"Don't you worry about me, princess," said Roman, "Long as I can stand, I can fight."
Of course, just like boys. They had to prove to the whole world that they were invincible, consequences be damned.
"Seth, back me up on this," Carly pleaded.
"Sorry, Carly," said Seth, "I'm on their side. We stood together yesterday, and we're gonna stand together tonight, come what may."
"Alright," Carly sighed, "But I have a bad feeling about this."
xXx
"And so long, Batista!" Dean crowed, high-fiving Roman.
Carly stared at the monitor as Triple H shouted abuse at the resolutely exiting Batista. That had been something of a surprise. She knew he'd have to go off and promote his movie eventually, but to just up and quit? Then again, the things he'd said weren't exactly untrue. Batista had been promised that title shot. Regardless of whether Carly or anyone else thought he deserved it, that promise had been made, and Triple H had broken it. And in this moment, the cracks were showing in the foundation of Triple H's empire. Not even their allies were protected, not really.
"I guess all those prophetic words came true," said Carly, "Only one faction survived Payback, and that's the Shield."
"Believe that, princess," Roman smiled.
But Carly wasn't about to stop worrying yet. Triple H was still ranting about how this wouldn't be over until the Shield was no more. He was like a spoiled child, determined to get his way. Only this spoiled child had the power to call down suffering and destruction on anyone who got in his way. From the stern look on Seth's face, Carly imagined he was considering this as well.
Suddenly, an intern came scurrying up to them.
"Excuse me, Roman," she said, "There's been a change in the line-up. Randy Orton has challenged you to a match, in the main event timeslot."
"Tell him I accept," said Roman.
"Wait. Roman, no," Carly protested.
"It's alright, Carly. Remember, Randy's not at one-hundred percent either. Besides," said Roman, reaching out to put a hand on Dean and Seth's shoulders, "The numbers are in our favor now."
That was true, but it did little to reassure Carly. The broadcast passed uneventfully, though. Seth and Dean discussed strategies with Roman, suggesting maneuvers that would do the most damage to Orton without putting unnecessary strain on Roman. Dean was confident, as was Roman, but Seth's hands moved more and more restlessly as the match drew nearer.
"Excuse me," Seth said, abruptly getting to his feet, "I'll be right back."
Dean and Roman shrugged at each other and continued warming up. Carly assumed Seth had gone off to think. She couldn't blame him. It was impossible to know what Triple H had in store for the Shield, but Carly was willing to bet that it was nothing near as simple as a singles match between Roman and Randy Orton. The last thing Carly expected was for Seth to return with Dolph Ziggler in tow.
"What's he doing here?" Dean asked suspiciously.
Dolph's eyes narrowed. Because of their crusade against the Authority, the Shield had an uneasy truce with much of the roster, Dolph Ziggler included. But that didn't mean they liked each other.
"We don't know what Triple H is gonna try to pull on us tonight," said Seth, "And I don't want anything to happen to Carly while we're out there, so I asked Dolph to stay with her. Dean, don't start. You know we can trust him to protect her if anything goes wrong."
"Fine, fine," Dean grumbled, "We better get going anyway."
"Don't worry, Dean," said Carly, "Be careful out there, Roman. And Seth? Everything's gonna be alright."
Seth blinked, then gave a tense nod. Poor guy. This not knowing was wearing on him just as much as it was on Carly.
"See you on the other side, Carly," said Roman, smiling with all the confidence he could muster.
Roman clapped Dean on the shoulder and the Shield began to walk away. Seth stopped suddenly. He turned back, and his eyes met Carly's. He held her gaze for a moment, opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then stopped himself. He turned to look at Dolph.
"Take care of her, alright?" said Seth.
"I will," said Dolph, "I promise."
And with that, Seth quickly turned and hurried to catch up with Dean and Roman.
"What's eating him?" Dolph asked.
"Stress, I guess," said Carly, "He's had to deal with a lot for a long time."
"Huh. Well, come on, Carly," he said, "I scored a private locker room. We should be safe hanging out in there. Y'know, I never thought about it before, but you really do get jumped and kidnapped and beaten up a lot, don't you?"
Carly sat down next to Dolph in his locker room and tried to relax. She tried to focus on the incredible victory the Shield had enjoyed last night. That's right. When push came to shove and the stakes were at their highest, they'd beaten Evolution twice. Not only that, but the Shield had gotten a clean sweep in an elimination match. They'd pretty much done the impossible. They were on top of the world right now, and that was a position they'd well and truly earned.
Dolph was completely at ease. He'd thrown his arm across the back of Carly's chair, almost instinctively. Carly had to admit that it was oddly reassuring to have him there.
"I gotta say," Carly smiled at him, "You're much better company than I had watching the match last night."
"Why?" said Dolph, "Who were you with last night?"
"Stephanie."
"Yikes," Dolph winced sympathetically.
Carly put her faith in the Shield's skill and their infinite resilience. Whatever knocked them down could never keep them down. They were brothers, and that made all the difference. Carly relaxed into her seat, breathing a little easier as the Shield stepped into the ring.
"How do we look?" Dean asked, a cocky smile lighting up his face as he rolled the microphone between his palms, "Because we feel great. Bruised, beaten up, for sure. 'Cause last night we faced our biggest challenge to date: a no holds barred elimination match against Evolution. When that napalm settled, we did exactly what we were gonna do – a clean sweep. We eliminated every single member of Evolution without suffering a single casualty."
Thank goodness for Dean's infectious confidence. Carly couldn't help but smile as she watched him strut around the ring, proud as could be of himself and his brothers.
"Now that is what I call domination!" Dean shouted.
He dropped the mic as the crowd cheered in agreement.
"'Adapt or perish,' that was the whole deal, right?" said Seth, "Last night at Payback, the Shield adapted while Evolution perished. And earlier tonight, the whole world was a witness to their implosion."
Seth raised an eyebrow and chuckled, waiting for the cheering to die down.
"And the reason Evolution perished," he continued, "Was because, even though they are three of the greatest superstars in the history of this industry, last night they were not one, like the Shield. In the end, they were just three strangers who happened to be standing on the same side of the ring."
"Kinda poetic, actually," Dolph commented, "Oughta give that kid more credit."
"They weren't brothers," said Roman, laying a hand on Seth's shoulder, "The men standing in this ring are brothers. So, Randy Orton, bring your ass out here and let me break your jaw with the symbol of excellence."
Roman clenched his right hand into a fist and tossed the microphone over his shoulder. He was looking better, more ready. The rush of being this close to a fight must have overridden the pain in his body. Carly hoped he could last. Still, if anyone could, it was Roman Reigns.
But this? This could not be good.
"Would you look what the cat dragged in," Dolph muttered.
As Evolution's theme blared through the arena, Randy Orton stepped around the curtain. To Carly's dismay, he was accompanied by Triple H, and Triple H was accompanied by his sledgehammer.
"Somebody has got to get rid of that guy," Carly groaned.
As Orton and Triple H approached, Seth slipped out of the ring, grabbed two folding chairs from the timekeeper's area, dropped one in the ring, and held onto the other as he went back to stand with his brothers. Good. That was good thinking on Seth's part. Equalizers would not go amiss when your opponent is a madman with a hammer.
"In case you haven't figured it out yet," said Triple H, "What I do better than anybody is adapt. Last night was plan A. Tonight? Plan B. There's always a plan B."
"The hell is he talking about?" Dolph asked.
Carly just shook her head. That had been oddly cryptic. The Shield looked as confused and suspicious as Carly felt. But, not being ones to let big talk get in the way of a good fight, Dean and Roman stepped forward.
Seth did not.
Carly's heart stopped. Because in that moment, in that electric silence before, she knew.
Paralyzed, Carly watched as Seth raised the chair and swung it at Roman's unprotected back.
She was dimly aware of Dolph swearing in shocked disbelief.
Roman dropped like he'd been shot, falling facedown on the ground.
No. No, this was wrong. This was a mistake. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.
Dean froze, stared down at Roman, his face blank and uncomprehending. His eyes darted from Roman, to Evolution, to Seth, to the chair in Seth's hands. Panicked denial quickly turned to horrified realization as he stared dumbly, rooted to the spot.
Seth watched silently. There was nothing in him. There was nothing in his eyes. No anger, no triumph, no answers. He was empty.
No. This was all some horrible dream. This could not happen. There was no possible world where this could be real.
Outraged, Dean stumbled, charged towards Seth. The chair caught him in the ribs, came crashing down on his back.
Again and again, the reverberations of striking steel echoed through the ring. Seth prowled around Dean, raining down blows on his back, his chest, his arms, then Roman's back as well, until the chair was nothing more than a twisted useless wreck that he flung violently out of the ring.
Stop. Good God, why doesn't he stop?
Seth picked up the second chair, walked slowly back to Dean. The crowd, quicker to understand than Carly had been, was chanting now. Over and over at Seth: "You sold out!"
He couldn't. They're his brothers. He could never –
Unconcerned, Seth stared down at Dean, who was struggling to rise. He dropped the chair at his feet, waited until Dean had gotten to his hands and knees, rebounded off the ropes and then-
Carly gasped as Dean's head was slammed into the steel. Her hands flew to her mouth to smother a sob.
"Carly?" said Dolph anxiously, "Oh my God, Carly…"
Dolph's arms were around her shoulders, but she felt nothing.
After yesterday, after everything… How?
Seth picked up the chair, stepped down from the ring. He walked to where those two jackals stood and waited. Seth glanced back, looked at the chair for a moment. Then, he handed it to Randy Orton.
Dolph swore loudly.
"Are you kidding me?" he shouted.
Orton stepped into the ring, brought the chair down onto Roman's back once, twice. Orton flipped the chair around and slammed it down twice more, like he was stabbing Roman's spine, then rolled Roman onto his back and stabbed at his chest once, twice, three times. Roman coughed, struggled to breathe. Merciless, that creature laid into Roman's back until he screamed.
Stop. Why did nobody stop him? Please, dear God, somebody make him stop.
Orton ripped off Roman's vest and shirt. Dean lay where he had fallen, powerless to save Roman. Triple H stepped into the ring now, and he followed.
They leaned over the ropes, watching, as Orton dragged Roman upright and RKO'd him onto the chair.
Now they stepped into the ring, looked down at the broken bodies beneath their feet. Triple H's arm was around his shoulders, his hand tousled his hair.
No. Don't you touch him. Get your filthy hands off him.
Nobody was going to stop this. Nobody dared.
But she would.
Carly's hands trembled as she lowered them to her sides. She stood, somehow, stepped shakily towards the door.
"Wait! Carly, don't!" Dolph scrambled to stop her.
Carly just stared at him, shook her head, kept walking.
"Please, I'm begging you. Don't go out there," he pleaded.
But he did not stop her. He knew he couldn't.
"Carly!" she heard him call one last time.
She could feel nothing. Only cold spreading throughout her body, only the twisting, sickening knotting of her insides, only the ripping, tearing in her chest. Her footsteps did not jolt. She was floating, her mind full of static.
The sound of steel beneath her feet. The muted rumble of thousands of voices. Three men standing beside the ring.
Him.
She walked down the ramp, heard nothing, saw nothing but that figure in black. Words bursting unbidden from her lips.
"You son of a bitch!"
Carly raised her arm, backhanded him across the face so hard that he stumbled back.
Voices shouted, arms grabbed her, tried to pull her away.
No. No, they couldn't stop her. He wasn't going to get away.
She reached out, hands latched onto him, something ripped as they dragged her back.
"Let me go! I'll kill him. I swear to God, I'll kill him! Let me go!"
She was screaming now, sobbing in rage. Triple H's face leaned down close to hers, blocked out all the light.
"Oh, Carly," he chuckled, "I told you that one day, your luck was going to run out. I win."
Then he was gone. Then, he was gone.
Carly's knees gave way. It felt like the ground had fallen away beneath her. The hands that held her back lowered her to the floor. She curled tightly into herself, clutching onto that last tattered remnant of the colors she'd fought under.
It was over. Seth was gone.