Chapter 21: Turbulence
January 14, 2011-February 18, 2011
After beating Kane and retaining his World Heavyweight Championship on the first SmackDown of 2011, Edge wanted to spend time enjoying both the championship and his demonic lover. But they got a harsh reminder later that night that, whenever a superstar has a belt, they have a target on their back. This time, the pursuer was Dolph Ziggler. While he had every right to go after the belt, he became the #1 Contender because his girlfriend pulled a few strings and abused her powers as Acting General Manager…and the only reason why she did that was because she had a personal vendetta against Edge.
January 14, 2011
That night, Edge and Pandora hosted the Cutting Edge. Their guest was Dolph Ziggler and (unfortunately) his girlfriend Vickie Guerrero. Pandora hated that she had to look at the woman she made the hatred vow against. Edge knew that as well and was determined to not let Pandora get to Vickie since the demoness told him that, once a demon got hold of someone they made a hatred vow against, they do not stop until the person was destroyed. Demon or not, Pandora was in the human world and was under their laws.
When Vickie and Dolph came out, Pandora sneered at Vickie but resisted the urge to let her other self out to attack the woman she hated, especially when Edge said he wanted things to be mature and professional. When all three agreed, Edge tried to bring up the controversial manner in which Dolph became the #1 Contender but Vickie quickly brushed it off, saying there was no controversy and that Dolph would get the belt at the Royal Rumble. While she was talking, the audience gave her their usual boos, which were encouraged by Pandora.
Edge looked at Vickie and figured it out: she was still pissed at him. He flat out told her that the ship has sailed and he kissed Pandora to solidify that message. Pandora then stuck her tongue out at Vickie, knowing that it must have killed the human that Edge went from her to someone who still looked like she was eighteen. Dolph quickly came to Vickie's rescue, trying to stop the show. Edge called them back and tried to make things "better" by pulling up all the things that he called Vickie in the past. In reality, he did that to make Pandora laugh, which she did.
Vickie quickly cut off Edge and then tried to make herself the victim. She claimed that she regretted marrying Edge, especially since she did it because she was young and naïve. Edge and Pandora were surprised to hear her say that she was young back then. Edge pointed out that she is 10 years older than him and currently calls herself a cougar. Pandora snickered at that. Dolph took over by saying that he was grateful that he had Vickie in his life and then pointed out that Edge should be grateful that he had Vickie at all because she helped revive his career, a career that Dolph promised to kill at Royal Rumble.
When Vickie started to gush on Dolph, Pandora felt sick to her stomach and loudly gagged. Edge kept his snicker in at Pandora's reactions but they were interrupted by Vickie introducing a clip that showed what Dolph would not do if the two of them got married. It was a clip from two years ago where footage of Edge cheating on his then-new-bride Vickie with the wedding planner was revealed the wedding reception. Pandora started cracking up when she saw the clip, infuriating Vickie even more. Pandora grinned and admitted, "I sent that, bitch!"
Vickie glared at the young demoness as Edge, though grinning, tried to talk to Vickie, only to have her shriek in his ear. Pandora covered her ears in pain as Vickie then turned her hostiles to her. "How could you send that clip?"
Pandora simply said, "Because I hate you."
Vickie hissed, "How could you? You almost destroyed us!"
Pandora scoffed. "Really? Can you blame him going after a hot girl when he knew he would have you?" Vickie wanted to slap her but Dolph kept her back. Pandora then smirked. "Besides, don't put all the blame on Edge. I mean, you've cheated on him." Vickie started to look confused until Pandora said, "Where do you think Cena got that clip?" and pointed to herself.
Pandora was referring to the clip of Vickie's affair with Big Show that Cena used as blackmail to get in the World Heavyweight Championship match a couple years ago. Vickie screeched, "You little bitch! How could you do that? Do you get pleasure out of destroying relationships?"
Pandora smirked. "No, just yours."
Edge looked at Pandora in surprise. "You sent those clips?" Pandora nodded and Vickie hoped that her ex-husband would get on her side with this. To her surprise, Edge smirked and said in a teasing tone, "Shame on you, Pani! Shame, shame! You're a naughty girl…" His smirk then grew. "A naughty girl in bed, too."
Pandora blushed and giggled as her hand touched her flower. She then noticed that Vickie looked shocked. The demoness grinned. "What's the matter? Jealous of that I got something…you never had?"
Vickie wanted to scream and attack the demoness but Edge took over, going back to the subject of cheating. He admitted that it was a serious crime in relationships and then offered the clip of Dolph cheating on Vickie with Kaitlyn a couple months ago. Pandora giggled at the clip, especially when Edge started to point out all the details of the clip to Vickie. Dolph retaliated with an attack but Edge quickly kicked Dolph down. Vickie then started to shriek and slap Edge for him cheating on her all those years ago. Pandora wanted to attack Vickie but Edge kept her back, both because of the hatred vow and because he knew how to handle Vickie's temper tantrums.
Edge then wanted to spear Vickie to shut her up but changed his mind…only to change his mind back when Vickie laughed at Edge for being unable to touch her. This time, Pandora was going to spear Vickie with him and Edge was going to let her. However, Dolph stopped and attacked Edge, giving him the ZigZag onto the steel stairs. Pandora went to the aid of her lover, ignoring the make-out session that was happening above their heads. A feud had been born, a feud that was more personal than usual.
As the feud continued, Pandora's hatred vow towards Vickie grew, starting when Teddy Long was found unconscious. Everyone assumed that it was The Corre since they exchanged harsh words with Teddy moments ago and Barrett was known for leading attacks on people he hated. But two things happened to both cleared The Corre and made the attack more suspicious. First, The Corre denied that they had anything to do with the attack and everyone knew that Barrett and his group were the type who would brag about their attacks, not deny them. Second, Acting General Manager Vickie immediately made a match between a member of The Corre and Edge and told The Corre to really let Edge have it. From there, things went from bad to worse.
The SmackDown before Royal Rumble, Vickie decided to make sure that Dolph would get the World Heavyweight Championship at Royal Rumble…by banning Edge's finisher, dubbing it too dangerous. Edge and Pandora knew that Vickie was abusing her power to get what she and her boyfriend wanted but they could not do a thing about it. But they could use loopholes. At Royal Rumble, Kelly Kelly (knowing that Pandora was close to killing Vickie) came in and attacked the older woman, knocking her out. Moments later, the referee was accidentally knocked out when Edge was trying to get out of the Sleeper Hold. Seizing the moment, Edge hit the spear on Dolph and then the Killswitch when the referee was looking, thus retaining his World Heavyweight Championship. Vickie was pissed off but not even she could overrule the referee's call, especially since she did not see the spear herself.
The following two weeks were a roller coaster. The first week, Vickie made a match with Kelly Kelly teaming up with Edge (since Pandora had no ring experience and would most likely lose control) to fight LayCool and Dolph, the winning male getting the World Heavyweight Championship. Edge and Pandora were worried about Kelly Kelly being in the fight and their concerns made Kelly Kelly snap in the ring. She did the spear to Layla and won the match; unfortunately, she was immediately fired by Vickie because of the ban on the spear. While Pandora tried to console her friend, Vickie revealed that Edge would once again face Dolph the following week for the World Heavyweight Championship…with Vickie as the referee.
The next week, Vickie was the referee and was a very unfair one, counting too fast when Edge was pinned and even putting Dolph's foot on the ropes when Edge pinned her boyfriend. Pandora had her other self out and really wanted to destroy the vile woman. Edge did all her could to both try to retain the belt and keep Pandora from attacking. In the end, though, they got a laugh and unexpected help. Her anger at the boiling point, Vickie tried to spear Edge…only to run into him and land on her butt, hurting her ankle. Edge was surprised at her attempt and Pandora thought it was the funniest thing she ever saw. With Vickie now injured, both Edge and Pandora seized the moment and speared Dolph twice, ignoring Vickie's warnings. All of a sudden, Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers emerged wearing a referee shirt and declared that Edge was the winner, to the anger of Vickie. Edge retained the belt with help but, the following Monday, Vickie revealed that she would fire Edge and Pandora the next SmackDown because she had evidence that they were the ones who attacked Teddy…
February 18, 2011
Vickie made good on her threat: she fired Edge and Pandora for both ignoring her rule and attacking Teddy. Edge was stunned that this happened, especially since he was innocent of the attack, and Pandora was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She had no idea that Vickie would go that far to give Dolph the belt. But, as they headed backstage, she got an idea, an idea that would help Edge, be her way of thanking him for saving her, and get back at Vickie. As soon as they reached Edge's room, Pandora told him, "Wait here."
He looked at her numbly. "Why?"
Pandora repeated, "Wait here. Don't leave without me. I'll be right back." She then disappeared.
Later that night, Edge was losing patience. Pandora had been gone for too long and he just wanted to leave; he did not want to be around when Dolph got the World Heavyweight Championship. He tried to call her a few times but she did not pick up. He finally threw his phone across the room before starting to pack and vent his anger. He started to talk trash about Pandora, calling her a demonic bitch and a lapdog because of her strong dedication to one wrestler at a time. He did not mean the things he said but his frustration towards Vickie abusing her powers and getting him fired had boiled over. Just as he was finished packing and growling, there was a knock at the door. Edge groaned in anger and flung open the door. Standing there was Big Show and he held someone that made Edge feel guilty about what he said.
Big Show was carrying Pandora and she was in bad shape. She was paler than usual and had dark circles under her eyes. She appeared to have trouble breathing and coughed every now and then. Her wings drooped from her back and her legs and arms were limp. Even her flower was drooping. Big Show calmly said, "She told me to bring her to you."
Edge felt like a jerk, calling his girlfriend all those things when she looked as sick as she did. He silently nodded and took her in his arms. Pandora moaned and looked up at Edge as Big Show left. She smiled weakly and said softly, "Edge…you…stayed…"
Edge sighed. He was worried about her but wanted answers as well. "Yeah, I stayed. Now what the hell happened to you…and what the hell were you doing with Big Show?"
Pandora nuzzled his chest slowly. "Went to…the wrong place…when I…got back. Go to…the monitor…near the…stage…you'll see…what I did…"
Not realizing what he was about to witness, he nodded and carried her to said monitor. To his disgust, it was Dolph's World Heavyweight Championship coronation. He looked at her. "Why are you making me watch this?"
Pandora turned away to avoid seeing Vickie and smiled weakly up at him. "Just…keep watching."
Edge laid his head on top of hers and kept watching the screen as Dolph celebrated the fact that he got the belt that most superstars only dreamed of achieving. The Rated-R superstar glared dangerously at Dolph but stopped when a familiar theme song started to play; both Dolph and Vickie froze in shock as well. Sure enough, Teddy Long headed to the ring. Edge looked at Pandora in surprise. "Pani…what did you do?"
Pandora smiled. "Healed him…and brought him…here to…fix the mess."
Edge did not fully understand and said the first thing that came to his mind: "Is that why you look this way?"
Pandora slightly glared up at him. "Shut up…I gave him…my health…and used all…my energy…to get him…here…to help you. My way…of thanking you…for saving me."
Edge felt floored; this was a big gift she just gave him. He felt guiltier for his vents towards her. He kissed her deeply to thank her. Pandora smiled in the kiss as they overheard that Teddy revealed that it was Vickie who was behind Teddy's attack, since she had the most to gain with Teddy gone. When the kiss broke, they watched as Vickie squirmed at Teddy's words and finally hung Dolph out to dry by blaming the entire attack on him, to Dolph's shock. Pandora winced. "Damn, that's…bitchy even…for her."
Edge stayed quiet; he knew how bitchy Vickie could be from his marriage to her. On screen, Teddy made a World Title match with Dolph and the rehired Edge. Pandora smiled and hugged Edge. "My gift…to you."
Edge smirked and quickly got in his zone as he came out into the arena. He carried Pandora with him, wanting her to be there when he got the belt back. Vickie and Dolph were trying to protest this match, saying that there was no reason for this and the belt belonged to Dolph now. Teddy ignored their protests, making Pandora weakly grin with pride. Her other self wanted to come out and scare Vickie but Pandora's body was too weak to handle the evil persona so Pandora kept her back. Edge set her down on the stairs near the commentators' desk and then focused his attention on Dolph.
Pandora tried to cheer for Edge but could only watch and pray to the darkness that the human she loved would get his belt back while ignoring Vickie's screeches. She did not have to pray for long; the match was short and Dolph had no chance to retaining the belt since Teddy lifted the ban of the spear. When Edge won the belt back, Pandora smiled and crawled over to Edge, hugging him across the chest. Edge helped her up as he was both relieved and happy that he got both his job and the Championship back. They also could not resist with rubbing their feelings and Edge's Championship in Vickie's face. Edge put Pandora on his shoulders as Teddy came out with one more piece of news: Dolph was fired! Edge looked up at Pandora. "Did you ask for this?"
Pandora truthfully answered: "No…I just…asked him…to fix…the mess." She was disappointed that Vickie was not fired with Dolph because of Pandora's now stronger hatred vow but she still took Dolph being canned. Edge smirked, both because things were right again and because Pandora's girls were against his head, and celebrated the 600th episode and Dolph being fired with the audience. Despite being weak, Pandora could not help but smile, giggle, and hug Edge's head; things were going their way once again.
Backstage, Damien was waiting for the right opportunity to take Pandora. Because of her weakened state, she would not put up a fight when he snatched her. When he saw Edge carrying her, the demon grinned; this was the perfect time. He started to go forward but he never got a chance to even get close to her. A familiar lightning bolt struck the floor in front of him, knocking him off his feet. Damien immediately looked around, looking for the demon that made the lightning bolt. Instead, he heard the familiar voice: Damien, son of Satan…stay away from Pandora or I will personally take you to the lowest level of Hell.
Damien got the message. No demon wanted to go to that level of Hell; the only one strong enough to handle the evil down there was Damien's father. Not only that, but his father would not help him because he never helped his children whenever they were in trouble. Keeping that in mind, Damien decided to cut his losses and left.
Pandora could not heal on her own since her energy and health were zapped at the same time. But she was stubborn enough to go to Elimination Chamber with Edge. He wanted her to stay in the hotel room but she insisted on going with him. Because of her decision, she was able to watch Edge retain the belt and witness the return of Edge's friend Christian.
Pandora did not have to wait long for Vickie to be fired: the following week, Vickie and Drew McIntyre lost to Edge and the rehired Kelly Kelly and Vickie was fired as a result. Not only did she get to see her nemesis fired, Pandora was by that time fully healed…thanks to a visitor the morning of 2.21.11.