Like Old Times
Raw, 10/4/04
Atlanta, Georgia
D-X made their way through a large crowd outside the arena in Atlanta, Georgia. They stopped to sign several autographs for some fans, mostly for little kids. They noticed that the show was already going on and they were 10 minutes late. Because they were late, they didn't know about a feud that would start between themselves and Evolution. The feud wouldn't last long; because it would end with Evolution helping D-X rid themselves of Christian and Tyson Tomko. When they got into the arena, Evolution stood by their locker room and blocked the hallway. Triple H wasn't happy by this.
"Hey guys. What's up?" Shawn cheerfully asked Evolution. Ric Flair looked at him and gave him the finger. Shawn dropped his gym bag and wondered what was going on. He went to get in Ric's face, but Triple H stopped him. "What was that all about?" Triple H asked his onetime tag team partner. "We don't appreciate you guys coming here and talking about us behind our backs." Randy announced.
"What? What are you talking about?" Shawn asked. "Don't play dumb with me, Michaels." Randy stated, but Batista cut him off. "He's not playing dumb, Randy... He is dumb. He is a dumb son of a bitch." Batista shouted. Shawn leapt at him, but was caught and thrown to the floor by Triple H. "What the hell did you say that for? Huh, Dave? Why the hell would you say something like that?" Triple H shouted. He was furious with Batista for what he said. Not only because he said Shawn was dumb, but the fact that Shawn didn't know about the amnesia.
"Hey! Dave, clam down and back up, okay? Shut up while you're at it. Trips, listen... He didn't mean that... As a matter of fact, we were joking around..." Ric stated. He could tell that Triple H didn't know about the feud by the look on his face. Shawn looked at Ric, then at Triple H. Shawn stood up and got in Batista's face. "Why don't you say it?" Shawn asked. "Say what, Michaels?" Batista asked.
"You know what he's talking about, Dave." Triple H angrily yelled. "Ok, you don't know? I'll tell you. Why don't you say that you were joking around? Don't make Ric Flair say it. I want to hear it come out of your mouth." Shawn stated and stared at Batista. Batista looked at Ric, then at Triple H. His eyes finally settled on the small man in front of him, who had no fear. "Fine. I was joking around. Do you want me to spell it for you?" Batista asked. Shawn looked to the side of the hallway, nodded his head in disappointment and punched Batista in the face. Triple H grabbed Shawn and threw him to the floor again, whereas Ric Flair and Randy held Batista back.
"Chyna, take our bags to our locker room. We'll be there in a minute," Triple H stated. Chyna got Shawn and Triple H's gym bag and walked to the D-X locker room. Triple H stood up and gripped onto Shawn's shirt so he wouldn't think about trying to attack Batista. "If you have a problem with us... Let's settle it in the ring." Triple H stated and began to walk away. He forgot about restraining Shawn and let go of his shirt. "Or, you can just suck it!" Shawn shouted, taunted them and ran to catch up with Triple H. All three members of Evolution narrowed their eyes in anger.
The cameraman shut the camera off, so Evolution ran to catch up with D-Generation X. "Hunter? Triple H!" Ric shouted, and Triple H turned around to look at him. "What?" He asked, quite furious. "Listen, I guess you didn't know about it, but that was all an act." Batista told him and Shawn. "What?" Shawn asked. "We're supposed to be feuding with you guys for a little while, then turn on Christian and Tyson Tomko and join forces with you. We didn't really mean what we said... It was just a joke. Honestly. I guess you guys didn't get the memo earlier..." Randy stated. Triple H looked at Shawn.
"Memo? Shawn..." Triple H looked at Shawn's eyes and saw he was really lost and confused. "I don't know what he's talking about. What memo? Guys, we just got here!" Shawn shouted at Evolution. Randy looked at Ric. "Well, go in your locker room and see. Vince left a memo..." Ric started, but Chyna came out with a note in her hand. "Guys? I found this note in here. It's from Vince saying that you guys will have an argument with Evolution because you're feuding." She stated. Triple H, Shawn, Ric, Randy and Batista shrugged their shoulders and sighed. Triple H took the memo and read it.
"That explains a lot... Sorry, guys... We didn't know... Dave... Why?" Triple H asked. Shawn looked at Triple H's face and saw it was his time to go in the locker room. "See you guys later." Shawn stated and jumped in the locker room. "I'm sorry, Paul. I didn't think that statement would hurt your feelings... I forgot about the... Um... You know... I was joking around, anyway. Just like when Randy said guys like HBK were extinct." Batista stated. Triple H knew that Batista didn't lie unless he was joking, and he knew for a fact that Batista was serious. "Would we honestly make fun of Shawn for not being quite 'up-to- date'? I would never do such a thing..." Ric honestly told Triple H. What they didn't know was that Shawn was leaning against the door to the locker room, listening in to what they were saying. He knew Triple H wouldn't like him listening in on the conversation, but he knew it was something about him, and he wanted to know why everyone was treating him weird.
"Ok... I get it... I know you guys didn't mean it... I didn't know, so I took it offensively... I'm sorry for getting so mad at you... I should've known you weren't making fun of Shawn and his amnesia." Triple H stated. Shawn went wide-eyed when he heard 'amnesia' come from Triple H's mouth. He walked away from the door and sat on the couch. "When the fuck was he going to tell me about it?" He asked himself. He sat and stared at the wall until Triple H came in the room, which wasn't for another 10 minutes. Triple H settled things with Evolution and walked into the locker room. The first thing he was Shawn sitting on the couch, staring at the wall.
Triple H walked closer to Shawn and looked at his eyes. He could tell Shawn was deep in thought because he was in a daze. Triple H looked at the wall, then back at Shawn. "Something wrong?" Triple H asked Shawn, who didn't stop looking at the wall. "No." Shawn answered. It was a flat answer, so Triple H knew something was bothering him. Triple H sat down next to Shawn on the couch.
"Something's wrong. What happened? Want to talk about it?" Triple H asked. Shawn looked at him in a certain way that sent a chill down Triple H's spine. Triple H thought maybe Shawn had remembered something about their feud. Shawn choked. "When were you going to tell me?" He asked.
Triple H was shocked. He found out about the amnesia... Dammit! He thought to himself. "Tell you about what?" Triple H asked, hoping that it really wasn't about the amnesia. Shawn thought long and hard. He didn't want to ruin his relationship with Triple H over him finding out he has amnesia. So, he decided to keep it a secret. "When were you going to tell me we weren't mocking the wedding tonight?" Shawn asked. Triple H started thanking God that Shawn didn't find out about the amnesia… But things still seemed fishy to him.
"I forgot myself... Sorry, Shawn... Why did you seem so pissed off when I came in?" Triple H asked. "I was thinking about what Batista said about me... I know he said he was just joking, but I don't think he was... I am slow and a bit dumb... Could you help me out? What's going on with me? Why do I feel like this? What are you hiding from me? I feel... Distant and it seems that I'm getting treated as if I was an alien." Shawn stated. Triple H stared at Shawn the whole time and never interrupted him no matter how many times he got the urge to tell him the truth about everything.
"Stop thinking like that. We all love you. You should know if there was anything going on, we would tell you. Don't you trust us enough to know that?" Triple H asked. He wanted to smack himself silly. He couldn't believe he was lying to his best friend. Triple H wanted to believe he was lying to Shawn for the better of it, but he knew it was a lie. He was lying to Shawn for no apparent reason. He felt stupid for that. Shawn smiled. "Thanks. I knew you would make me feel better. I'm a wrestler, Paul. In order for me to be successful at that, I have to trust you. I've been here a while, so that means I trust you. Right?" Shawn asked. In response, Triple H smiled and shook his head.
"We have a match with Evolution tonight. Get ready." Triple H stated as Shawn got up and walked away. "Ok." Shawn replied and got his wrestling attire. He went to change, leaving Triple H, who was still sitting on the couch, alone. He continued thinking about Shawn. Could he have found out about the amnesia? It was a mystery to Triple H. His brain screamed no but something said yes. When Shawn came out in his wrestling attire, Triple H went to change.
Triple H came out to find an empty locker room. Well, Chyna was sitting on the couch watching Raw, but Shawn was nowhere to be found. "Chyna? Where's Shawn?" Triple H asked. "He left when you went to change. He didn't say where he was going. All I know is that he was heading towards Evolution's locker room, and I heard that Vince is here tonight. Vince's office is right across the hall from Evolution's." Chyna told Triple H. Triple H threw his wrist tape across the room and ran out of the D-Generation X locker room.
Triple H saw Randy Orton coming down the hall. So, Triple H stopped Randy dead in his tracks. "Where's Shawn? Randy, have you seen him? Please tell me you have," Triple H stated. Randy looked at him. "I haven't seen Shawn since earlier tonight. But, now that I think about it... I did see him. He was hanging around near Vince's office talking to fans with backstage passes." Randy told Triple H. "Thanks! Um... If you were a girl I'd kiss you, but I'm married and I don't kiss guys. See you!" Triple H shouted and ran down the hall.
Triple H stopped in front of Evolution's locker room and knocked on the door. Ric Flair answered. "Look, if this is about earlier tonight, I already said I'm sorry," Ric started. "No, this isn't about tonight. Do you know where Shawn is?" Triple H asked. "Yeah, he's with Vince McMahon. He told us to tell you if you came around." Ric stated. Triple H smiled and knocked on Vince's door. He heard Vince's voice scream 'come in,' so he opened the door and walked inside the locker room.
"Hey Paul." Linda stated, smiling at him. Stephanie ran to her husband. "Hey sweetie!" Stephanie shouted and hugged him. Triple H smiled. Vince stood up and walked over to his son-in-law. "Is there something wrong?" Vince asked. "Yeah, there's something wrong. I lost Shawn... Randy and Ric said he's with you. Is he here?" Triple H asked. Vince nodded his head no.
"He went with Shane to deliver a message to Kane. They should be back soon." Linda told Triple H, who started to freak out. "What about Tyson Tomko and Christian! They've been looking to make Shawn brain damaged since D-X came back!" Triple H shouted. "Brain damaged? Is there something going on that I don't know about? Why are you going crazy about finding Shawn?" Stephanie asked. She wasn't in much contact with Paul or her family, so she wasn't aware of Shawn's problem.
"Shawn was in a match with Kane at Unforgiven and was diagnosed with a serious concussion. He's suffering from amnesia. He still thinks D-X is together..." Triple H told his wife, who seemed to be shocked. "I forgot about Tomko and Christian... If they're smart, they'll stay out of it and leave Shawn alone." Vince stated, out of nowhere. Triple H smiled, as in saying 'thanks.' The door slammed open and Shawn and Shane walked in.
"Shawn, you are a very bad boy. I was looking all over for you. I thought Tomko and Christian HBK-napped you." Triple H lectured. "Calm down, Trips. Shawn was with me. I HBK-napped him." Shane stated and smiled. Triple H looked at his brother-in-law and narrowed his eyes angrily. "Match time?" Shawn asked. It was the only thing he could think of, so he decided to say it.
"Yeah, our match is coming up soon. Come on, let's go." Triple H announced, grabbed Shawn's arm and dragged him out of the room. "What's wrong?" Shawn asked Triple H once they were away from Vince's office.
"Nothing." Triple H stated and continued dragging Shawn. "You know, Paul, I can walk on my own. I don't need you dragging me." Shawn said through gritted teeth. Triple H stopped walking and looked at Shawn. Both men were pissed off.
Triple H let go of Shawn. "What is your problem, Paul?!" Shawn shouted. Triple H continued staring at him. Shawn didn't know why he was so pissed off, but he clearly wanted to find out. "Why did you leave? You didn't tell anybody." Triple H stated, clearly pissed off. Shawn figured that wasn't what it was about.
"Come on Paul, please tell me the truth. If you want me to answer that question, I left a note. The note said that I would be with Shane. If you didn't get the note, Chyna is a jackass. I gave her the note to give to you." Shawn stated. Triple H looked at him, and a small smile appeared on his face. "Ok. You want me to tell the truth? What are you not being truthful about? You know something, and you're not telling me." Paul told Shawn, whose face became emotionless.
"I know something and I'm not telling you? I bet I know everything you know. But I think you're hiding something from me. I don't think you want me to do anything stupid, so tell me the truth." Shawn demanded. Triple H thought about it. "I'm not hiding anything from you." He stated.
"Oh, you're not?" Shawn asked and gave Triple H a look that once again sent a chill down his spine. He saw it was the same look as earlier that night after his chat with Evolution. "What? Were you snooping? Do you know something that I'm trying to hide from you? What? What is it, Shawn?" Triple H angrily asked.
"I heard you talking to Evolution before. I didn't try to snoop, but I couldn't help myself. God forgive me. You've been hiding something from me for a long time, haven't you? I didn't want to say anything because I thought it would ruin our friendship. It starts with an 'a' and ends with an 'a.' That's the answer to why I feel stupid." Shawn stated, and went to walk away, but Triple H stopped him. "Shawn... Listen to me... I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I'm glad that D-X is back, so I thought telling you would ruin it. I thought you would hate me for it... I wanted to tell you so many times, but Vince told me not to... Shawn... I'm sorry... I really am..." Triple H said, in a very sad tone.
"So... It's true. I do have amnesia. I thought you were joking. I don't believe this..." Shawn stated and walked into the D-X locker room. Triple H was so upset, pissed off and confused that he didn't know what to do. He walked into the locker room and saw Shawn sitting on the couch. He was writing something in a book. He seemed to be expressing himself by writing whatever he was writing. "Shawn... Our match is up next... Are you coming?" Triple H asked. Shawn never answered him. So Triple H left the room and headed towards the ramp to face all three members of Evolution on his own.
D-Generation X vs. Evolution
Fans were shocked when they saw Triple H come down to the ring alone. Some people thought Shawn ditched Triple H, others thought something happened. Evolution was standing in the ring. Randy, Ric and Batista couldn't believe that Shawn didn't come out with his tag partner. Triple H started off against Randy. Surprisingly, Evolution didn't tag each other in a lot. They laxed on it since Triple H was facing them alone.
Triple H was doing great until Randy tagged Batista into the ring. Batista was destroying Triple H, and the match soon turned into a tornado tag. Each member of Evolution was beating on Triple H. Everyone was shocked to hear D-X's song once again blare over the loudspeakers. Shawn ran onto the ramp, only to get ambushed from behind by Tyson and Christian. Chris Benoit, William Regal and Eugene came out and pulled Christian and Tyson off of Shawn, then outnumbered them in a brawl. Shawn ran down to the ring once he shook the cobwebs out of his head. He slid into the ring and helped Triple H get Evolution to back down.
When each member of Evolution was out of the ring, Shawn helped Triple H stand up. They exchanged looks for a while, then hugged and apologized to each other. Shawn blamed himself for what happened, but Triple H thought it was his fault for not telling Shawn the truth in the first place. D-X thanked Benoit, Regal and Eugene and went to their locker room. They sat down and had a long chat and expressed themselves.
"Listen, Shawn. I think it's all my fault. I should've told you in the first place... But when you started acting like D-Generation X was together... Vince told me that he'll make it happen. He told me not to tell you about the amnesia... I don't know what we would've done when you came out of it... The doctor said you were going to be like this for a few months. Vince wanted a big fan pop... He figured that bringing D-X into the picture will increase Raw's ratings… Anyway… I'm sorry." Triple H stated.
"It's my fault too, Trips. Don't take all the blame for it. I know you didn't tell me the truth, and that's breaking a friendship rule. But I should've told you that I knew. I just found out when you were talking to Evolution. I snooped. That's also breaking a friendship rule. I'm sorry, too. I knew everyone was keeping a secret from me... I wanted to know why everyone was treating me weird. If anything, we can share the blame for this. 50/50. Right down the middle... Let's forget this conversation ever happened..." Shawn told Triple H.
"You bet your ass this conversation never happened. So, we're going to drop it and go on with our lives... In D-Generation X... Together?" Triple H asked. "Of course we're going to be in D-Generation X together. Did you think I was going to abandon you? Never! Now, we never had this conversation, and I never found out about the amnesia." Shawn truthfully stated, and the two men hugged.
A/N: Uht oh... Shawn found out about the amnesia... Bad news for Triple H. Very bad news. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I thought it should be something different. Don't worry, I'm not going to get rid of D-X. This isn't going to affect Triple H and Shawn's friendship, either. I'll give you hints/spoilers for the next chapters:
Chapter 7: A certain member of D-X is attacked by Tyson Tomko and Christian in a parking lot.
Chapter 8: The member who wasn't attacked is faced with confusion and a lot of problems when he's all alone on Raw. New character introduced
Chapter 9: The Heartbreak Kid is nowhere to be found, and everyone is worried.
Chapter 10: WWE Raw returns to Montreal, Canada. Bret Hart makes an appearance.
Heh heh... This story will go past 10 chapters. Don't think I'm stopping there. There's so much to tell and a story can only have so many chapters... Especially under the circumstances of this one, being that D-X will only be together for a short amount of time... Peace out and happy new year. –Dylan
Edit: Wow…. Just wow…. Oh yeah, I removed the summary and character list from each chapter, cause I think you understand what's going on by now.