Götterdämmerung and the Greater Good

The text alert noise from his phone was painfully loud, and it jolted Seth out of sleep like a kick to the head. Rubbing his eyes blearily, he reached over to the nightstand and fumbled around for his cell. Every atom of his existence protested the movement.

6:30 in the goddamn AM – a good hour before Seth would usually get up. And this morning, it felt like he'd only gotten a few minutes of sleep before being rudely awakened like this.

It was at that point that Seth remembered where he was. His and Dean's and Roman's hotel room, the Monday morning after Payback. The realization dropped a sledgehammer into his stomach. Judgment day.

He was almost kinda ashamed of how easily he'd fallen asleep that night. This was a big deal, right? And he'd taken an emotional beating the night before. Shouldn't he be, y'know, excited? Or anxious, or conflicted, or… something. But no, he was in a dead sleep mere minutes after Carly left them.

Maybe he'd earned it, like she said. He was freakin' exhausted after that pay-per-view. That epic swan-dive had been a spur of the moment thing. By the time he'd recovered from that Pedigree onto a chair, it was too late to get to the ring and help Roman. But Roman – beaten half to death yet somehow still standing – was staggering blindly towards the stage, to where Dean and Seth were. It was the closest Roman would ever get to a plea for help.

Seth couldn't believe nobody tried to stop him when he dragged himself backstage and started climbing up the back of the TitanTron. When he made it to the top, Dean was down again and Evolution was clustered around Roman, right in the perfect position. Seth knew he was only balanced up there for seconds, but it felt like so much longer. He took in everything in that brief instant. The screams from the crowd as they realized what was going to happen, the almost cartoonish horror in the eyes of Evolution, that grateful look on Roman's face just before he threw his arms up to shield himself.

With a mental apology to the big man – as well as a mental, not at all PG battle cry directed at Evolution – Seth jumped. Which, among other things, was the reason he felt like he'd been hit by a train this morning. It was kinda too bad that the best way to rescue Roman had involved that much collateral damage, but it'd been the same way at Extreme Rules. Beside, Seth was trying to make a point. Huh. Swan dive, swan song – what was the difference, really?

And it'd ended in a clean sweep, hadn't it? A total victory for the Hounds of Justice. The match was everything Seth had needed it to be, and everything that stupid voice in his head hoped it wouldn't be.

Right. Phone. Seth let out a groan as the light from his cell seared his retinas. Great, that was the one part of his body that didn't hurt before. He squinted his eyes, struggling to keep them open long enough to read the text.

Phone call in ten minutes, it said.

It probably wouldn't be a good idea to leave Triple H's contact info stored in his phone under the name "Darth Vader," would it? Seth changed it before he had a chance to forget. Stifling any more sounds of protest that threatened to force themselves from his chest, Seth hauled his aching carcass out of bed.

Dean and Roman were still dead to the world. Not surprising, considering the beating they'd taken the night before. They probably wouldn't wake up before he got back. Even if they did, Seth could come up with some excuse for why he'd left the room.

Seth snagged his wallet and crept out of the room as stealthily as possible. Good thing he was the one responsible for booking the Shield's accommodations. That way, nobody would ever know he'd also booked the room next door. Not exactly the most cost-effective method, seeing as he'd be using it as a glorified phone booth, but there weren't a whole lot of other options for having a private conversation in a Holiday Inn.

The other room was almost oppressively quiet. With its drawn curtains and neatly made beds, it gave Seth the weird sensation that he was inside a coffin. He ran a hand through his hair to shake that thought loose, yawning loudly. No sense letting himself get spooked by some bizarre comparison cooked up by his half-asleep brain.

Seth didn't bother sitting down. He was pretty sure the stiffness in his joints wouldn't let him get back up again if he did. Besides, he wasn't planning on this being a long conversation.

Shortly, his cell phone rang. Taking a steadying breath – and smothering another yawn – Seth answered.

"Hello?" he said.

"Seth," came Triple H's even voice, "Good morning."

He sounded awfully calm, considering the last time Seth had seen him, he'd been unconscious, with Roman's boot planted on his chest.

"Good morning, sir," Seth replied.

There was a brief pause on the other end, and Seth waited. He'd already decided he was going to let Trips lead the conversation. Seth didn't want to give him any reason to call of their deal.

"It appears," Triple H said finally, "That you were right. The Shield was able to defeat Evolution, and with a clean sweep, I might add. Very impressive."

"Thank you," said Seth.

"Now, to business," said Triple H, "I'm a man of my word. I'm willing to uphold my end of the bargain, if you're willing to uphold yours."

"Absolutely, sir," Seth said firmly.

"Now that's what I like to hear," said Triple H. Seth could hear the smile in his voice, "But please, call me Hunter."

Seth raised his eyebrows. They were on a first-name basis now? Apparently, he'd really earned the man's approval.

"You offered to destroy the Shield," Hunter went on, "I can only assume that you have some sort of plan?"

Seth barely managed to contain a derisive snort. The day Seth Rollins didn't have a plan would be the day hell froze over.

"Men like us always have a plan," he said.

There was a low chuckle on the other end. It was harder for Seth to read people when he couldn't actually see them, but he'd kept a close eye on Triple H. He was pretty confident that he could tell a genuine laugh from a detached one, and this was definitely genuine. Good.

Back when the Shield had worked for the Authority – even all the way back at FCW and NXT – Seth could always tell that Hunter liked him best. Seth was planning on using that to his advantage. Still, it'd be a balancing act. Go too far with it, and Hunter would start seeing him as a threat, and that'd blow the whole operation sky high.

"Here's what we're going to do -" Seth began.

Because he'd thought about this, pictured it over and over again in his mind. He was familiar with all the players in the scenario. Three of them would be under his control. The other two – well, Seth knew them. He knew exactly how they were going to react, and exactly what to do to counter it.

It was going to work. The whole plan was going to work. If there was one thing Seth had absolute faith in, it was his ability to strategize.

After the call ended, Seth crept back into the Shield's room and lay back down in bed, closing his eyes and letting his mind go blank. He didn't have to get up at the usual time. Carly would understand. He was just gonna lay there for a little while longer. He was going to stay in that moment – between the calm and the storm – for as long as he could.

When Dean and Roman finally woke up, Seth pretended he'd overslept. That, if nothing else, would've made them suspicious under any other circumstances. Because Seth never overslept. But, they were both a little distracted by how goddamn stiff and sore they were that morning.

Seth was pretty sure Dean set a record for how many swear words could be jam-packed into a single sentence. He buried his face into his pillow and groaned about how bad his head hurt, until he realized that Roman's back was so messed up that the big man couldn't actually move. Then Dean pulled himself together and stumbled off to go get some more ice, in spite of Seth's offers to do it.

A little ice, a lot of ibuprofen, and three hot showers later, the Shield had more or less put itself back together. Seth could see faint, blissful smiles crossing Dean and Roman's faces as they remembered how awesome they'd been the evening before. Still riding that victory high, battered bodies notwithstanding. Good. There's no way they'd be totally focused during the broadcast.

Seth was eventually able to herd them downstairs to the lobby. Carly – bless her – had crammed what looked like half the breakfast buffet onto one little table, and then was characteristically apologetic that she wasn't able to get more for them. It was easy enough for Seth to act like nothing was up. Everything felt so freakin' ordinary.

Still… every now and then, that anxious something fluttered in his stomach, and that stupid voice in his head urged him to agree with Carly. He could side with her, say they should take the night off. He could be the voice of reason. He could call the whole thing off.

No, no he couldn't. There was too much riding on this. The future of this company was at stake, at least in the short term. And the potential long term affects were nothing to sneeze at, either. He had to do this, and this was the way it had to be done.

Batista up and quitting was… unfortunate. Not exactly unexpected, and certainly nothing that would derail Seth's plans too horribly, but still. Things were just gonna have to be recalibrated slightly, that's all. And Seth could think of a few upsides to not having Batista around, so it wasn't a total bust.

Aside from that, the plan was proceeding as Seth had set it up to. Randy Orton issued a challenge to Roman, and Roman accepted without hesitation. Seth excused himself as the main event timeslot drew nearer. He slipped his hotel room key to the intern Hunter had arranged to have standing by. It was the key to the other room, where Seth's things were packed and waiting to be picked up and moved to his new accommodations. Even at that point, Seth felt weird about letting one of the Authority's lackeys into the Shield's room.

Seth turned to head back to the Shield, but stopped. There was just one more thing he had to do – one last factor that needed to be controlled. He made for the locker rooms, where he found Dolph Ziggler.

To be honest, Seth had always seen Dolph as… well, as a loser. In the literal sense. He didn't know if it was rotten luck or what, but the guy just couldn't seem to catch a break. Even with his less than stellar track record, though, Dolph never threw in the towel – which was sort of admirable in its own way, Seth supposed. And anyway, he and Carly had hit it off from the moment she turned on the Authority. Turns out Carly had some sorta superhuman tolerance for dealing with big egos.

Dolph looked up in surprise at Seth's greeting. He didn't really like the Shield any more than they liked him, but since he wasn't a big fan of the Authority either, the enemy of my enemy was etcetera, etcetera. Whatever.

"Hey, Seth," said Dolph, "Nice work last night."

Seth returned Dolph's smile. From one crazy risk-taker to another, he could tell Dolph meant the compliment sincerely.

"Thanks," said Seth, "I actually kinda have a favor to ask."

"Oh, yeah?" said Dolph, folding his arms and leaning against the lockers, "What's that?"

"In case something goes down during the main event tonight," said Seth, "We all agreed that Carly shouldn't come down to the ring with us. But, historically speaking, being backstage hasn't exactly been the safest thing for her either. I know you're a friend of hers. Would you be willing to, y'know, keep an eye on her?"

"Sure, no problem," Dolph nodded.

"You're a life saver," Seth said, relieved, "It'll be a huge weight off my mind to know she'll be safe back here."

"You expecting some kinda trouble?" said Dolph, tilting his head quizzically.

"Eh, better safe than sorry," Seth gave a dismissive shrug.

Dean's hackles went up at the idea of leaving Carly alone with Dolph. His cockiness and constant showboating had always rubbed Dean the wrong way, hypocritically enough. But, as far as Dean was concerned, knowingly leaving Carly in danger wasn't even an option, so that was that.

Now that the eleventh hour was fast approaching, Seth was finding it marginally more difficult to keep his composure. He focused on breathing normally, on maintaining a more or less neutral expression. It was only for a little while longer, anyway.

Seth almost flinched when he heard someone say his name. His thoughts jolted back the here and now, he became aware that Carly was looking up at him, a faint smile on her face.

"Everything's gonna be alright," she said.

Seth honestly couldn't tell if she believed her own words or not. By then, he'd hesitated just too long to reply, so he simply nodded.

"See you on the other side, Carly," said Roman.

As the Shield started to walk away, Seth felt something holding him back, and he didn't know what it was. Maybe something he needed to say? Before he could think better of it, he'd stopped and turned around. Seth's gaze met Carly's, and that was a mistake.

That stupid voice in his head started pounding on the door Seth had locked it behind. It begged him to tell somebody the truth, to tell her. Or to give her some kind of clue as to what he was planning. At the very least, to say goodbye.

No. Seth had already decided that there weren't going to be any goodbyes. Maybe his reasoning on that was melodramatic and purely philosophical, but he wasn't going to back down. He tore his gaze from Carly's and instead looked at Dolph.

"Take care of her, alright?" he said.

The last thing he needed was for Carly to interfere tonight, and he knew she would if he let her anywhere near the ring. Dolph nodded, stepping a little closer to Carly.

"I will," he said firmly, "I promise."

Catching that last scrap of reassurance, Seth turned his back on Dolph and Carly and walked away.

A new and unanticipated bit of doubt crept up on him as he fell in step with Dean and Roman. What if Triple H went back on his word? What if he let Seth turn on the Shield, and then pulled the rug right out from under him? What if he never had any intention of actually letting Seth join the Authority, and he just planned to let Seth make enemies of his brothers and then leave him without a single friend or ally in the whole damn company?

No. No, Hunter wouldn't do that. That sort of sneakiness wasn't his M.O. these days. And anyway, he'd already invested a lot of time and money into this "business venture," hadn't he? Hunter wasn't a man who let himself be trifled with, and he wouldn't waste his own time and money for the sake of one deception.

Besides, the Authority had already suffered one massive embarrassment already that night. Losing Batista hadn't looked good for them. It'd made them look weak. If Hunter was going to have any chance at all of saving face, he'd have to go through with their agreement. He needed to show that he still had power and control, and this little deal with Seth was his perfect opportunity.

Things were a little quiet while they waited just outside the doors. Both Dean and Roman seemed to know they were heading for something unfortunate, they just didn't know what. Seth knew. God, did he know.

That stupid voice in his head was making one last-ditch effort to force Seth's hand. It kept reminding him that this was his final moment as Dean and Roman's brother. It urged him to say something heartfelt while he still had the chance – in honor of the years they'd spent working together, if nothing else. Seth mentally kicked the locked door between him and the voice and ordered it to shut up.

He'd already decided this, damn it. No goodbyes. No hints. Nothing.

"Sierra – Hotel – India – Echo – Lima – Delta. Shield."

All three of their voices, distorted to sound like military radio chatter, had been a harbinger of destruction going on two years now. Kinda appropriate to hear it, considering how this was all going to end.

Dean cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, bouncing on his toes a bit.

"Showtime," he muttered, glancing back to grin at Roman and Seth.

Roman smirked and shook his head at Dean's enthusiasm. If Seth was a little more… reserved than usual, neither of them noticed.

His feet were moving before his mind had the chance to react. He and Roman were following Dean. Just like they did when this all started, this was how it was gonna end.

Were the stairs in this arena shorter than most? Seth barely had a chance to blink before he was standing in the ring. Dean was all keyed up, rambling about… something. Hell, Seth had no idea. He didn't even pay attention until Dean dropped the mic. That was his cue.

"'Adapt or perish,' that was the whole deal, right?" said Seth, well aware that Hunter would hear the double meaning in his words, "Last night at Payback, the Shield adapted while Evolution perished. And earlier tonight, the whole world was a witness to their implosion."

Because both sides had been right, in the end. This was the twilight of Evolution just as much as it was of the Shield.

"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."

Hunter would get the double meaning in that, too. Seth imagined that he'd find it amusing.

Roman rested his hand on Seth's shoulder – he'd learned to be a little less aggressively affectionate – and took his turn on the mic.

"They weren't brothers," he said, "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."

Seth could feel the confusion and annoyance rolling off Dean and Roman as Evolution's entrance music, not Randy Orton's own, poured through the speakers. And when Hunter and Randy stepped out from behind the curtain, their confusion only deepened.

They didn't even look back to see what Seth was doing as he hurried to retrieve two steel chairs from ringside, dropping one in the ring and keeping the other in his hands. Hunter had his sledgehammer, didn't he? It only made sense for Seth to bring in some equalizers.

The Shield didn't recognize the expression on Hunter's face, but Seth did. It was a sly confidence, because he knew what was about to happen, and the Shield would never know what hit it.

"In case you haven't figured it out yet," said Hunter, "What I do better than anybody is adapt. Last night was plan A. Tonight? Plan B. There's always a plan B."

Hunter smiled, and Randy watched eagerly. In the silence that followed Hunter's words, Dean and Roman shot each other a suspicious look.

This was it. Seth tightened his grip on the chair, willing his mind to let everything go. Everything, that is, except the memory he'd left close to the surface just for this occasion. He called up the sound of Carly's voice, letting it numb the final pangs in his chest.

Seth Rollins, I will always believe in you, no matter what.

His heart was fading fast as reality seemed to stand still. There were Hunter and Randy Orton below him, smiling with almost fevered anticipation for the coming slaughter. Just two steps ahead were Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, striding forward into battle, leaving their backs vulnerable to someone they thought they could trust.

Everything's gonna be alright.

Seth shut everything down, and attacked.

Roman first. He had to be eliminated while his back was turned. Seth had done a good job of keeping Roman from seeing into his soul for the past month. But if Roman were to look into his eyes at this instant, he would know. There was no way in hell Seth was going to let one look from that man destroy all his plans.

He heard the metallic clatter as the chair connected with Roman's back. He heard the pained groan that was forced from Roman's chest, knowing that his mind had probably turned to searing static in agony. That one calculated blow was enough to send the big man to the ground.

Dean flinched - a strangely delayed reaction. He stared down at Roman, apparently unable to understand why he'd fallen. Seth watched the minute shifts in Dean's expression as he moved from confusion, to disbelief, to denial, to realization. He didn't want to believe what his senses were telling him, but he had no choice.

Now Dean was gaping in utter shock. His gaze darted between them – the smiling faces outside the ring, Roman motionless on the floor, Seth.

No turning back. If Seth ever thought there was a possibility of doing so, of somehow explaining himself after the fact, he knew now there wasn't. It'd burned to ash in seconds, leaving a chasm of a few feet or a thousand miles between him and Dean.

He stared impassively at Dean's pale, blank face. Dean was frozen in place with the look of a man in a nightmare. Seth looked into those lost, devastated eyes, and felt nothing. Cold rage – the kind Seth hadn't seen turned on him in years – suddenly ignited in the other man's eyes. Dean charged.

Seth drove the chair into Dean's stomach, forcing the breath from his body before he could demand answers. He couldn't let Dean talk. That was dangerous. He had far too much power when he talked. As he was still doubled over, gasping for air, Seth brought the chair crashing down on his back.

Seth struck him over and over again, until the reverberations nearly made his hands numb. Seth didn't look at Dean's face, or Roman's either when he turned his attention back to prevent him from rising. This was his mission; these were his targets. That was all.

Seth flung the all but shattered chair out of the ring, panting from the exertion on his own battered body. He looked around at all the thousands of faces staring at him. So outraged. So shocked. Seth Rollins had shown his true colors, and now they hated him more than they'd ever hated Evolution. But that didn't matter.

He picked up the second chair. As he walked back across the ring, he paused a second to survey his handiwork. Roman lay in the corner, curled into himself in agony. Dean was sprawled at Seth's feet. Even after all that, he tried frantically to get up. Seth watched him struggle, still fascinated, even now.

Seth hadn't realized how deaf he'd been until he suddenly became aware that the wordless outcry of the crowd had unified into a single chant: you sold out. Certainly didn't mince words, did they?

Dean was showing far too much life now, and that wouldn't do. Hadn't Seth promised to destroy the Shield? He couldn't let Dean get to his feet before he and the Authority made their exit. Seth dropped the chair and nudged it under Dean's head. For all his fight, at least he wasn't aware enough to see this coming.

That curbstomp stunned the crowd into relative quiet, though Seth wasn't quite sure why. He pushed his hair back from his face. Dean was all but unconscious, and Roman was in too much pain to do more than watch. There. The deed was done. He'd kept up his end of the bargain.

Seth picked up the chair and made his way out of the ring, to Hunter's side. But for some reason, he kept looking back at his fallen former friends. Maybe there was an odd sort of pride in viewing that scene. After all, he'd singlehandedly been the end of the most dominant faction in WWE history. Other people might call that sick. But other people had hearts, and Seth Rollins had just definitely proven that he had no such thing.

Hunter and Randy were watching him expectantly. There was no mistaking the approval in Hunter's face now, but as for Randy… Well, Seth figured that this was as good a time as any to make a gesture of good faith towards the guy who was still apprehensive about including this young punk in the Authority. With one last look at the chair (and the weird feeling that he'd never be able to see the damn things the same way again) Seth offered it to Randy.

Hunter smiled as Randy accepted the chair and, by extension, accepted Seth. Randy turned his eyes to the ring, ready to take his turn in the destruction. Seth waited at Hunter's side to watch. He couldn't remember how long it'd been since he'd seen Hunter in such a good mood. But there the Game stood, grinning, one arm resting familiarly on his newest protégé's shoulder as he watched his old protégé go to work on the Shield.

Well, not on the Shield, per say. Dean may as well have not existed. Randy's attention was focused solely on Roman, and that was interesting. Whether it was because Roman was also a member of a wrestling family or because Randy saw the potential in him, Seth didn't know. Either way, Randy clearly viewed Roman as the biggest threat and the one who needed to be put down first. Seth would have to file that information away for later use.

A less resilient man than Roman Reigns wouldn't have escaped the resulting beatdown with his ribs intact. Randy was really outdoing himself with the viciousness of the assault. Hunter started making his way up to the ring and Seth followed. Randy was currently tearing off Roman's vest and shirt (for what reason, Seth didn't know, except maybe to expose his damaged back). He hauled Roman's limp body upright and RKO'd him onto the chair.

Strange how quiet the crowd was through all this, considering how loud their initial reaction had been. Maybe they'd had some hope that Dean and Roman would fight back, but Seth had been certain to prevent that from happening.

Seth followed Hunter through the ropes, and stood beside him and Randy over the all but lifeless bodies of the Shield. Hunter threw his arm around Seth's shoulders, grinning proudly at him, the way a father would look at his son. Or maybe the way a hunter would look at his favorite bird-dog.

"I win," Hunter said again.

That tableau – the three of them standing there – seemed to bring the crowd back to life. The chant started up once more: "you sold out." Well, they weren't wrong. As the other two gloated, Seth glanced down at Dean. He was still struggling to… do something. Stand? Fight back? Check on Roman? Who knew.

If Seth didn't seem very much inclined to speak, it didn't bother Hunter. He was too busy basking in the initial success of his most recent business venture. But, the medics were starting to get antsy, and the show was over anyway, so Hunter suggested that they take this celebration somewhere else. Have a few drinks, talk things over, that sort of thing. Randy and Seth were both amenable to the idea, and they followed Hunter out of the ring. But before they got very far, a sudden outcry from the audience brought their attention back to the top of the ramp.

Carly.

Seth cursed inwardly. Dolph had one job, and he couldn't even manage to do that right.

Carly's gaze was fixed on him, as if he was the only person in the room. Her face was deathly pale, and there was something blank and harried about her eyes, like the way an animal in a trap would look at a hunter. For a second, Seth wondered why nobody tried to stop her, but it was probably for the same reason he stood his ground. They all wanted to see exactly what she was planning to do.

Carly strode towards him, still seeming strangely detached until she was about three feet away. Her face twisted into a snarl.

"You son of a bitch!"

Seth didn't have a chance to react before Carly backhanded him across the face. Stunned by the surprising force of the blow, Seth staggered backwards. Everything was a blur for a few seconds. Carly lunged at him, seizing hold of his vest. Everyone was trying to separate them. Seth heard Hunter barking orders, felt Hunter's and Randy's hands on his arms, saw a swarm of people dragging Carly away.

"Let me go!" she was screaming, "I'll kill him. I swear to God, I'll kill him! Let me go!"

For a moment, Seth could understand how they could call her the daughter of the devil himself. He'd never been able to see it before, but then again, he'd never been on this side of Carly's rage before. It was melodramatic, but Seth caught himself thinking that there was hellfire in her eyes.

Seth felt part of his vest rip as they were finally able to pull Carly off of him. She was crying now, sort of slumped against the security personnel that were still holding onto her. Hunter chuckled and stepped forward, bringing his face down close to hers.

"Oh, Carly," he said, shaking his head, "I told you that one day, your luck was going to run out."

Carly didn't even look up, and Hunter smiled. He leaned closer still, until his mouth was an inch from her ear, and whispered:

"I win."

Hunter turned his smile back to Seth and Randy, stepping unconcernedly away from the destruction like he was some kind of god, aloof to the plight of mortals. It was impressive, actually. He balanced the sledgehammer against his shoulder and nodded towards the ramp.

"Come on," he said, "We oughta celebrate. After you two get changed, we'll head back to the hotel for drinks."

Randy glanced over to grin at Seth, and Seth nodded. Looked like Randy was finally warming up to him a little, or at least he wasn't as overtly suspicious anymore. And that was good. If Seth wanted to keep himself in the Authority's good graces, he knew he was gonna have to play nice and remember his place. Until he proved himself, that is.

As they walked backstage, the atmosphere changed. The hatred radiating from the fans out there? It had nothing on the sudden wave of hostility that slammed into Seth. He could practically feel the weight of the albatross they were imagining around his neck. He was prepared for it, though. He didn't react. It was interesting, though. Judging by the expressions, the predominant feelings were disgust and confusion, but there was also a little bit of envy coming from the members of the goon squad. But that was to be expected. Seth had found favor in the eyes of the Authority, and they hadn't. Of course they'd be jealous.

Hunter was, as usual, unfazed by it all, and Randy just seemed amused.

"Welcome to the dark side," Randy chuckled.

"I never left," said Seth, giving him a faint smile, "Huh."

Seth looked down at his damaged vest.

"What?" said Randy.

"She tore the patch clean off," Seth said, then shrugged, "Well, it's not like I'm going to need this thing anymore."

He unfastened the vest and casually tossed it into the first garbage bin they passed.

"Hey!"

A hand clamped onto Seth's arm and spun him around. Seth barely had the chance to register the rage-filled face, steely blue eyes, and disheveled blond hair before he was slammed against the wall.

"You bastard!" Dolph shouted, "That's why you wanted Carly out of the way, huh? So she wouldn't stop you! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Seth had to laugh, incredulous at the man's audacity. Who but Dolph Ziggler would go picking a fight with one of the Authority all on his own? Seth's careless reaction only seemed to piss Dolph off further.

"Whoa, take it easy!" said Seth, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

By that point, Hunter had summoned a group of referees to pull Dolph away. Second time something like this had happened, and it hadn't even been ten minutes since Seth joined up with the Authority. What a precedent to set.

"I want a match!" Dolph was yelling as he struggled, pointing forcefully at Seth, "You and me, Rollins, if you're half the man you think you are."

Randy stood back, his arms folded, and was watching the proceedings with a look on his face like he wished he had popcorn.

"Seth?" said Hunter, "You ready for your first opportunity to prove to everyone what you're really made of ?"

"I welcome it," said Seth, smirking at Dolph.

"Then he's yours," said Hunter, "You'll get your match next week, Dolph. Until then, I suggest you keep yourself out of trouble. Any repeat performances of this sort of thing, and there will be consequences."

"I don't care about any consequences," said Dolph, "As long as I get to teach that smug, traitorous coward a lesson."

He was still spitting like an angry cat, quite a contrast to the cool, borderline amused composure of Hunter, Randy, and Seth. Hunter, clearly finished with this whole fiasco, began to walk away, gesturing for the other two to follow. But Ziggler wasn't done yet.

"You better watch yourself, Rollins!" Dolph shouted, "Because I'm not the only one!"

That wasn't exactly a comforting note to go out on, but Seth wasn't worried about it. Not yet, at least. He had mingling to do with his new business partners.

xXx

Now this was the life. Being a part of the Authority had definite perks, and the accommodations were one of them. Seth's new hotel room was downright ritzy. It looked more like an upscale studio apartment than anything. The couch alone was nicer than the beds in any hotel he'd ever stayed at, and the bed was ridiculously comfortable. There were even complimentary robes in the bathroom, and just looking at the room service menu was making his mouth water.

Still… it felt a little too quiet in the room, and it was a little too big for just one person.

Seth stepped out onto the balcony. The weather was strange that night. It wasn't exactly what you'd call calm, but it wasn't tempestuous either. There was just an anxious sort of breeze feeling its way around the buildings, like it was searching for something that it knew should be there, but wasn't.

The city lights were pretty, in their own way, but they left a sort of film across the sky, and Seth didn't like not being able to see the stars. Anyway, it was late. He had a whole new life to start in the morning. He went back inside after a minute or so and got ready for bed. It didn't take long, since he didn't have to wait for two other people anymore.

As Seth settled back into the unbelievably plush pillows and closed his eyes, he made sure not to think about what he'd done that night. He focused on what he was going to have to do in the coming weeks instead. It was for the greater good. Seth knew that.

The whole thing was necessary, even if they didn't understand it now. But they would. He'd make sure they would, in time.

(Note: Well. It only took approximately five million years for me to update, but I did it! I'm so sorry for the involuntary hiatus, you guys. Things were not good for a while there, but it's getting better now. Even though it may take me a little longer to post new chapters than I'd like, I promise you that I'm gonna finish this story. If you're still with me after all this time, thank you so much for your patience and for continuing to read. Love you guys!)