"Do we really have to do this?" Dean whined as they walked toward Seth's locker room.

"Yes," Roman answered firmly. "We have to find out what he's up to."

"But I don't wanna."

Roman understood. Part of him didn't want to find out what Seth was up to either. They had begun to feel attached to the little weasel again in spite of themselves. If they found out that he was up to no good then they would have to stop hanging out with him. And that would hurt. When Seth had broken up the Shield, he had left a hole that apparently only he could fill. It would really suck to lose him all over again. "Better now than later," Roman said grimly.

Roman marched determinedly to Seth's locker room and threw open the door without bothering to knock. Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury scurried to stand in front of Seth as Roman and Dean barged into the room. They're loyal bodyguards, he thought, I'll give them that.

"It's alright, guys," Seth assured Jamie and Joey. "Why don't you give us some privacy?"

"But, boss—" Jamie began to argue.

"I said it's fine," Seth said, this time with a slight edge to his voice. "Just go on back to the hotel. I'll meet you there later."

Jamie looked like he was about to argue some more, but a hard look from Seth finally had them grabbing their bags and heading for the door.

Seth, Roman, and Dean all remained silent until the door closed behind them, and they were alone.

"Dean, Roman, would you like to take a seat?" Seth offered nervously, gesturing to the folding chairs scattered around him. "Or maybe you would like to go somewhere more comfortable for this… conversation?"

"This'll be fine," Roman said, pulling up a chair and sitting in it backwards. Seth and Dean followed suit.

After several long seconds spent just looking at each other, Seth broke the silence. "Well, what's this all about?" he asked.

Dean and Roman exchanged a long look before Roman finally offered a reply. "We think you know what this is about, Seth. What are you up to? Why are you suddenly being so friendly?"

"Well," Seth said, fidgeting with his hair, "I don't think it is really much of a mystery. I'm being friendly because I'm hoping…" He looked at his feet. "I'm hoping that maybe we can be friends again," he finished quickly, avoiding eye contact.

"We're not stupid. We know that much," Roman said. "What we don't know is why you're so eager to friends again. What's the angle, Seth? What are you hoping to gain now?"

"What do you mean?" Seth looked up, an expression of genuine confusion on his face. "There's no angle. I just want to be friends."

"Oh, isn't that sweet," Dean replied sarcastically. "Did you hear that Roman? Sethie here wants to be our friend. I thought I already explained this to you, Seth. Friends don't do the kinds of things to each other that you've done to us. Friends don't stab each other in the back."

"And friends don't steal their friends' WrestleMania moment and chance at the championship," Roman added coldly.

Seth looked at Roman and Dean in turn. "Oh, get off your high horse!" he finally exclaimed. "I only did to you what you were already planning to do to me. The only difference is that I managed to do it first!"

"What are you talking about? I would never—" Dean said angrily.

"You would never?" Seth interrupted. "I saw the text, Dean. I know what you were planning. You were going to betray me just like I betrayed you, so you can drop the holier than thou attitude right now. I was angry, I got revenge, and now I'm over it."

"You? You are over it? What do you have to get over? I don't know what you're talking about!" Dean yelled.

"Yes, I hope you're ready to explain yourself," Roman said, his voice icy, "because I was loyal to the Shield until the end."

"Oh, is that right?" Seth asked, looking Roman in the eyes. "You know, I take it back, Roman. You weren't planning on doing what I did at all. No, you had something else in mind. You weren't planning to betray the Shield. You were planning to transcend the Shield. Let's get something straight. You already had one foot out the door before I did anything. You weren't rooming with us anymore. You weren't riding with us anymore. The only time we saw you was at shows and even then you were distant. You might not have been planning to stab us in the back like Dean was, but it was going to work out the same nonetheless. You were still leaving; you were just hoping we wouldn't notice when it happened. That's bullshit! I trusted you! I thought we were family! I thought we were brothers! But I was wrong. If you two weren't going to be loyal to the Shield, then I wasn't going to be either. I created the Shield. I damn well wasn't going to let one of you destroy it!"

Seth stood up, turned his back, and kicked the wall. Roman thought he saw tears in his eyes. Dean sat open-mouthed in his chair. Seth swiped his hand across his eyes furiously and sat back down.

Roman cleared his throat, a bit unsettled after Seth's outburst. I think he actually believes what he's saying is true, Roman thought, surprised. Otherwise he's a damn fine actor. But one question kept niggling at the back of his mind. "Here's what I don't understand," he said aloud. "If you really believe any of this shit - that Dean was going to betray us, that I was going to leave - then why are you trying to be friends with us?"

"Because I miss you," Seth choked out miserably. "I tried to hate you for what you did. I tried really, really hard, but I can't. So… here we are." He lifted his hands helplessly.

"Seth, look. I don't know what you think you know," Dean said, " but I was never planning on betraying anybody."

"I saw the text, Dean," Seth replied wearily.

"Seth, Dean, please," Roman said. "It's clear that Seth has a very different idea of how things went down than we do. We were friends for a long time. I think it is only fair that we hear him out."

Dean nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, Seth. Could you please tell us what you think happened? Just start at the beginning." Roman instructed.

"Wait," Dean interrupted. "One more thing before we get started. If it's true that you just wanted to be friends again, then why all the games? Why not just be straightforward about the whole thing and come and talk to us?"

Seth looked at him skeptically. "You think that would have worked? I mean, maybe so, but I was pretty sure if I just walked up to you and said, 'Hey, man, can we talk for a minute?' that you would just laugh in my face or tell me to go to hell. So I thought it would be better if I kept you a bit off-balance, you know? So you wouldn't just reject me outright. And then I could kinda worm my way back into your lives." Seth shrugged. "Sorry if I was wrong."

Dean looked at Seth consideringly. "I hadn't thought about it like that," he conceded. "Yeah. Maybe. I don't know."

"Let's get back to the point. We don't have all night," Roman cut in. "Seth, the beginning."

Seth closed in eyes in concentration. "Sure, the beginning…"