Like Old Times

Raw
Live: Birmingham, Alabama
10/18/04

Paul wandered around aimlessly backstage for a little while trying to find out what had happened last week on Raw, but, more importantly, find Shawn. He stopped walking around once he saw Evolution standing near their locker room, speaking to the 6'8" Kevin Nash. Paul ran over to them excitedly and tapped Kevin on the back. "Hey Kev! Long time no see!" He yelled. Kevin turned around and looked at him before saying anything. Once he noticed it was Paul, he slightly bent over to give his old friend a hug. "Ah! It's only been about a year, Paul. How are you feeling? I heard you were a bit under the weather last week."

"Eh... I'm ok, thanks for asking. I'd actually feel much better if I knew where Shawn was and if somebody cared to tell me what the hell happened last week." Paul stated and looked at the members of Evolution. They looked at Kevin. Kevin's smile had faded. Once Paul looked back at Kevin, Kevin looked at Evolution. Who was going to tell Paul what had happened to Shawn the previous week? Nobody wanted to get punched by Paul "Triple H" Levesque...

"Well," Kevin started, breaking the silence. Paul looked at him now, his eyes much more intense than before. "Ya see... Last week I was at a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale... Relaxing... When I got this phone call from Shawn, saying he had this problem and he needed my help. There was a match last week... Shawn and a partner of his choice against Christian and Tyson Tomko. Shawn picked me as his partner... But... Those two weren't interested in a fair fight. They pissed Mike Chioda off so much that he disqualified them. After the match... They jumped me and threw me out of the ring, knocked the ref on his ass, and gave Shawn a HUGE conchairtoe! They knocked him out so bad; he was in la-la land with his eyes open." Kevin stated.

Paul's face turned from its normal color to red with anger. "WHAT?! HOW COULD YOU THREE LET HIM WRESTLE!? I ASKED YOU TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON HIM FOR ME! NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH SHAWN NOW! KEVIN DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON RECENTLY! I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED YOU THREE TO STOP HIM FROM DOING ANYTHING STUPID!" Paul yelled, making all three members of Evolution lower their heads, clearly ashamed of themselves.

Randy raised his hand like a school child to protest against Paul's statement. There was obviously something Paul didn't know that he needed to know. "You see, Paul... We honestly tried to help," Paul growled at the 24 year olds statement. "Honestly! Please, just listen," Randy paused again to see if Paul would interject, but he didn't, so he continued. "Last week, we did just like you asked. We tried to keep an eye on Shawn, but he was literally the first one to the arena. He locked himself in the D-X locker room and stayed there. Once more people started coming, he started to walk around. He must've got a hold of Eric Bischoff and threatened him for a match before we got to Eric, because when we got there, he was ashamed of himself and trembling a bit. We got Eric to admit he made a match for Shawn and we left to see him... Davey boy over here broke down the door... And that's when Shawn started acting all weird..." Randy ended his statement by looking over at Ric Flair.

Paul looked over at Ric as well, making him decide to talk. "Well... Shawn noticed that it said 'Shawn Michaels' on his door rather than 'D-X' and he swore it didn't say his name before he went back there. So... Sure enough... We looked at the wall straight across from the locker room and saw the 'D-X' nameplate hanging up. Next to it were pictures of both you and Shawn. The picture of you had a big 'X' across it. There was an arrow pointing to Shawn's picture. The arrow led to words which said 'you're next.' He tried to walk away from us... But... I think he tripped... Next thing we know, he's talking about a bounty..."

Paul hushed Ric there. "'Bounty?' What bounty?" He asked. Randy looked at Paul. "You don't remember, champ? The $100,000 bounty you put on Bill Goldberg last year. There was this one night Ric approached Shawn and started lecturing him.... Anyway... Shawn said 'don't want the bounty.' Then when Ric asked him about it, Shawn freaked out and jumped up, then ran off down the hall." Randy finished telling the story. Dave crossed his arms over his chest. "His attitude is completely different..."

Paul nodded his head."Yeah? Tell me something I don't know... I kinda figured that out after being in Miami with him 2 weeks ago... He's a changed man... Sadly, it's not for the better... I'm getting really worried over this..." Paul sighed and lowered his head. It was coming to the point where he didn't know what to do anymore for Shawn. You can't help a man who can't help himself. Shawn's voice rang in his ears. That was one of the smartest things Shawn had ever told him in the old D-X days. "You think he's having flashbacks or something?" Randy asked.

"What do you mean? Flashbacks due to his concussion?" Batista asked Randy. Kevin's eyes slightly widened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... What concussion?" He asked. Randy smacked himself on his forehead. "Dammit... Nobody told Kevin what's been going on here lately with Shawn..." Ric looked at Randy in shock. "What do you mean by that?! He doesn't know?" Ric asked. Randy nodded his head no.

"Wait... What's wrong with Shawn? What's going on here?" Kevin asked. He turned to Paul and stared him down. Paul looked at the members of Evolution, who were all doing the same. "Ok, then. I'll tell him," Paul paused to clear his throat. "About a month ago, Shawn was in a No Holds Barred match against Kane at Unforgiven... Kane kinda... Um... Hit Shawn too hard in the head too many times... Shawn collapsed after the match," Paul paused to inhale deeply. He was being a bit too dramatic. "We rushed him to the hospital. The doctor told us he had suffered a really serious concussion... And that resulted in Shawn getting Retrograde Amnesia... He forgot a total of 7 years, so Vince brought back D-X to help ease Shawn's mind. He was given medication to help regain his memory... I don't know if it's working or not... He hasn't said anything about a flashback to me... Jesus Christ I wish I knew where he was..." Paul stated and lowered his head. Randy put an assuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, H... We'll find Shawn and bring him back."

Paul looked up at Randy and smiled, saying 'thanks' with the gesture. He was about to speak but Kevin cleared his throat. "You're damn right you're going to find him! Why didn't you guys tell me this last week? I would've stopped him from going into that match," Kevin shouted. "Well... Like it or not, he wouldn't have listened to you. He hasn't listened to Paul or any of us for that matter... If he doesn't listen to us what makes you think he's going to listen to you?" Batista asked him. Kevin sighed and looked down, then looked at Batista. "I could've tried."

Vince McMahon walked over to the group of wrestlers and stepped in the center of them. "I'm only over here for one reason, and I'm going to find out what I want to know before I walk away. No small talk. No chit chat. I'm getting down to business, got it," When everyone nodded their heads, Vince exhaled deeply and continued. "Good. Where the HELL is Shawn?" He asked. The 5 wrestlers all looked around at one another, confused and ashamed. "We don't know, Vince..." Randy answered for the group and put his head down.

Vince smacked himself in the head and sighed, trying to keep his cool. "Jesus Christ, this is bad... I don't have a clue as to where he is... Rebecca doesn't know, his parents don't know... I was hoping you guys knew," Vince looked at the group. "Sorry, Vince... We don't... We were trying to figure that out before you walked over here. You checked with Becky and his parents?" Paul asked. Vince nodded his head yes. "Becky said she hasn't spoken to him since last week, and his parents didn't even know what I was talking about..," Vince sighed again, then snapped his fingers and looked at Paul. "Marty Jannetty is with us tonight," Vince paused and saw Paul roll his eyes, so he reached back slowly and smacked Paul upside the head. "He can help us out here, Paul! So bite your damn tongue and make peace with him!"

Paul narrowed his eyes angrily, but nodded his head in agreement with Vince. Anything to appease him... He thought to himself. "So... Where is he?" Paul asked and looked around the hallway sarcastically. Vince growled and tried to keep himself calm. "He should be here soon. I only called him to invite him here an hour ago, being he was in the area... When he comes I'll send Shane to get you." Vince stated and left the group.

Paul looked at Evolution and Kevin. "Why were you so mad about Marty coming here? I thought you two got along." Batista stated. Paul looked over at him momentarily before looking at the floor. "I don't like him, mainly because he helped Shawn get so messed up when they first came here. He got him hooked on pills," Paul was going to continue, but was cut off by Kevin. "Hey now, Paul! That's not completely fair! Marty didn't tie Shawn down and force him to take pills... Shawn did it of his own free will," Now it was Paul's turn to cut Kevin off. "Drunken will... He was drunk, Kevin! You can't think when you're bombed!" Paul shouted. "Ok, fine. Shawn may have been drunk, but that doesn't change the fact that Marty did NOT force Shawn to take drugs... And YOU know that!"

Evolution watched as the two former members of the Kliq stared each other down. Randy scratched his head uncomfortably and looked at Batista. "Do you think there's any way we can get them to stop looking like they're about to kill each other?" He asked. Batista nodded his head no, while still staring at Kevin and Paul. "I don't think so, rookie. Nothing will stop them from killing each other..," Batista paused to look at Randy and Ric. "That's why I hate having friends that disagree with me. They either agree with me or... Well... There isn't another option," Batista stated and looked back at Kevin and Paul. "I don't see why anybody would want to disagree with you, Dave," Once Batista heard Ric's voice, he looked over at him. "What was that?" He asked. Ric, still facing Paul and Kevin, chuckled. "Nothing, Dave."

Shane McMahon walked over to the group and tapped Randy on the shoulder, making him turn to look at him. "What's going on here," Shane asked, nudging his head in Paul and Kevin's direction. Randy looked at them, then back at Shane. "Well… Paul is pissed because he got here and found out about what happened to Shawn last week and is pretty damn angry because Shawn wasn't supposed to be in the ring at all… Oh, and he's missing. Nobody knows where he is," Shane's smirk made Randy stop talking. "Obviously… If somebody knew where he was, he wouldn't be missing…" Shane stated, making Randy narrow his eyes angrily at him. "Ok, smartass… Do you want to know the deal or not?" Randy asked.

Shane sighed and dropped his smile. "Ok, I'm sorry. What's the deal," Shane asked. "Ok… Well... Paul is just really aggravated that Shawn is missing and Kevin let him compete last week… He's even more annoyed that Marty Jannetty is coming here tonight… Oh, and he's pissed at me, Dave and Ric for not watching Shawn last week." Randy stated, making Shane sigh. "I was just about to ask if you guys were supposed to babysit Shawn last week... And out of pure curiosity… How the hell were you guys and Kevin supposed to keep Shawn from wrestling when everything he does is unpredictable? Doesn't Paul realize Shawn is back to his old ways and he can have an outburst at any time?" Shane asked as he rubbed his head.

Randy smiled. "Thank you. Finally somebody understands where I'm coming from... Do you know where he could be," Randy asked, making Shane nod his head. "No. But I can assure you, if I did, I would be out there quicker than Paul could sniff out a liar," Shane replied, making Randy chuckle. "Anyway… Shawn completely flipped on everyone last week… Especially when he had a flashback..," Randy stated. Shane looked at him in a weird way. "'Flashback?' What kind of flashback," He asked. "Well… Shawn locked himself in his locker room after talking to Eric Bischoff about getting a match… So Dave busted down the door so we could talk to him. Shawn noticed it said 'Shawn Michaels' on the locker room door instead of 'D-X,' which he claimed it said beforehand. Anyway, we looked over at the wall and saw the D-X nameplate hanging on it next to pictures of Shawn and Paul… There was a big red 'X' over Paul's picture and an arrow pointing to Shawn's, with the words 'you're next' under it. Shawn went to go walk away, I think… But he tripped… And started talking about a bounty. Ric knew exactly what he was talking about… Something about last year when Paul placed the $100,000 on Goldberg… But as soon as he questioned Shawn about it, he jumped up and ran off…" Randy explained. Shane nodded his head. "Ok… That's a good thing… He's starting to remember stuff…"

"What? You mean you knew about it," Randy asked. Shane nodded his head again. "Yeah. After Shawn and Paul got attacked in Miami and were brought to the hospital, the doctor ran a CAT scan on Shawn and diagnosed him better than the other doctor. He prescribed some sort of medication for Shawn… Amytal, I think… It's supposed to help him regain his memories… It's great that it's working… It's just sad to know he could be having dozens of flashbacks right now and he's not getting any explanations for them…" Shane exhaled deeply and nodded his head in disappointment. "It's a tough situation…" Randy agreed.

Dave decided to turn his attention towards Shane and Randy. "What's going on here," He asked, making both men sigh. "Nothing, Dave. Just discussing Shawn and the recent turn of events. Are they still at each other's throats," Randy asked. All three men paused to look over at Paul and Kevin. They seemed to have calmed down and were now talking in a civilized manner while Ric looked on. "Nope. Ric got between them and told them they needed to focus on getting Shawn back... So they stopped arguing…" Dave replied. Randy nodded his head. "Although Paul should have told Kevin about what happened to Shawn, they shouldn't let this argument ruin their friendship. Jannetty isn't worth it, if you ask me." Randy stated. "You're absolutely right," Shane, Randy and Dave turned to see Kevin, Paul and Ric looking at them. "Jannetty isn't worth our time, so let's drop the subject and move on to more important things." Kevin's voice continued. "Shane… I need to talk to you. Care to accompany me to the D-X locker room?" Paul asked, making Shane shrug his shoulders and nod his head. "Sure."

Shane followed Paul down the hallway until they reached the D-X locker room door, which Paul held open for his brother in law, then walked in and slammed it shut, making Shane jump. "What's on your mind, Paul?" Shane asked. He watched as Paul paced back and forth a little, then suddenly stopped and turned to face Shane. "Jesus Christ, Shane! What the fuck am I going to do about Shawn!? That screwed up mother fucker could be ANYWHERE! I don't know what to do about him anymore, Shane. I begged your dad in Miami… I said 'please, don't let him anywhere near an arena.' But NO! Your dad had to be a stubborn bastard and let Shawn into the arena… You know what, Shane-O… If your dad would have let me tell Shawn the truth from day one… You know, sit him down and tell him everything, then tell him to cool his jets until he regained his memory… We wouldn't be having this problem right now. Shawn would actually trust me enough to let me help him and not hide things from me. I ruined the trust I had with Shawn when I agreed to lie to him about everything. It's all thanks to your fucking dad, Shane! Your egomaniacal asshole of a father wouldn't let me help Shawn the right way! Instead I had to feed him lies because he's vulnerable enough to accept them without questioning them! Well the shit hit the fan now, didn't it, Shane?! Because Shawn is obviously smartening up to us, and your dad can't control him anymore. Hell, I can't even control him. Your dad is a fucking jackass, Shane! I seriously hope it doesn't rub off on you, because it's too late for my wife and you're the only McMahon kid with a fucking head on your shoulders! I can't believe the NERVE of that..," Paul's voice trailed off when he noticed what he was ranting about… His father in law. And who he was ranting to…

His sweet, sensitive, sympathetic, slightly ill-tempered, can-take-a-joke-if-it's-actually-funny, crazy brother in law, who people always wound up taking advantage of.

Shane's sister, who happened to be Paul's wife, gave Shane a lot of difficulty backstage, that he knew. His sister would constantly talk about him behind his back. Shane was approached by a few of the guys and was told about it, but he didn't care much. In fact, he agreed with a few of the things Stephanie called him. But how would he react to listening to a non-blood relative talking about his dad, a man Shane loved more than anything in the world? Paul looked up at Shane and saw his right hand was clenched into a tight fist, his knuckles turning white and his arm shaking in rage. Paul looked at Shane's eyes; the familiar dark brown was replaced by some odd blend of gray and blue. He knew Shane's eyes were weird sometimes, changing color at random to match his mood. Paul could tell Shane was angry, the fact that the young man's eyes were focused elsewhere, anywhere but Paul's face. "Shane… Shane I'm…" Paul tried to reach out to his brother in law, but jumped back as Shane's fist swung wildly in the air towards him. Shane stood up and moved backwards slowly, still not looking at Paul. "Just stay the fuck away from me, all right? Leave me the FUCK alone!" Shane shouted, then spun around and left the room.

Paul watched Shane slam the door behind him, then put his head in his hands and sat on a chair. Jesus Christ, what the hell did I just do to him!? Paul didn't even notice Chyna walking into the locker room until she dropped her bag, which made him look up at her in shock. "What the hell did you do to Shane!? He almost clothes-lined me in the hallway trying to get away from this locker room!" She shouted. Paul winced at hearing her words. "I got pissed off about everything that's happened. Shawn being missing and all… And I took it out on Shane. I insulted his father to his face and pretty much blamed him for everything that happened to Shawn."

Paul watched as Chyna's hand came flying at his face. She smacked him as hard as she could, making him fall off the chair. "You asshole! How could you do that to your brother in law, of all people!?" She turned on her heels and stormed out of the locker room. Paul pushed himself off the floor and rubbed his cheek. "How could you call my brother in law a pussy and a wimp, if you love him so much?" Paul mumbled, more or less to himself, and sat back down to sulk.

Shane stormed around the arena feeling much like Godzilla. He wanted to grab somebody and beat the shit out of them, but quickly decided against it when he realized Vince would have a fit. He didn't want to piss his father off. No chance in hell. He looked down at his right hand and saw it was still balled into a fist, so he cautiously un-balled it and rubbed it with his left hand. He hated when people got him angry, mostly because he would let all the rage build up inside of him. He never let anybody know he was angry, it was just the type of person he was. Shane looked up and stopped walking when he saw he had reached the doors which led to the parking lot of the arena. He turned around and took 10 steps forward, when he heard the not-so-nice sound of the doors opening. "Hey, Shane-O!"

Shane stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the source of the voice. Tomko and Christian… The two saw how angry Shane was and regretted stopping him in the first place. "Hey, Shane. What's the matter?" Tomko asked as he and Christian slowly approached Shane. "Nothing. Had an argument with the asshole of a brother in law," Shane responded, muttering under his breath. Christian and Tomko looked at one another, and then back at Shane. Christian slowly put an arm around Shane's shoulders as he stood on Shane's right side. "Why don't you come and chat with us, Shane-O," He asked. Shane nodded his head no. "I have to talk to my dad about the show…" Shane's voice trailed off when Tomko stood on Shane's left. He was really trapped now. "Come on, Shane. I insist. Walk with us."

Shane nodded his head and allowed Christian and Tomko to lead him in a direction he didn't really want to go in.

Paul went back to pacing the locker room until there was a knock on the door. "What do you want," He shouted angrily at the door, glaring at it as he did so. "Open the door, Paul. It's Kevin," Paul walked over to the door and opened it, then looked at Kevin. "What?" He asked. Kevin looked around the locker room. "Where's Shane?"

"Obviously not here," Paul replied and walked away from the door. Kevin walked in and closed the door behind him. "Ok… Well… Vince is about to have a meeting in his office, something about Marty Jannetty and his involvement later on in the night. He wants you there to hear it… And Shane. He asked where Shane was and I remembered him walking off with you, so I was sent here to fetch the kid… Where'd he go?" Kevin asked, making Paul sigh. "I kinda screamed at him and pissed him off… So he left. Hell, I don't blame him. But the problem is, I have no idea where he went."

Kevin sighed. "Well, that sucks… But we still have to go. Come on," Kevin stated as he grabbed Paul by the arm and led him out of the locker room towards Vince's office. Once they were outside the door, Kevin stopped again. "Listen… Let's not tell Vince all the details about what happened between you and Shane. We'll just say he took off without telling you where he was going," Kevin stated. "Kevin… Vince knows Shane isn't like that, especially with the war going on between us and Christian and Tomko. Besides… Chyna knows what happened. Shane nearly took her out when he was storming away from my locker room." Paul replied, making Kevin sigh. "Hopefully we got here before Joanie did. The last thing we need right now is to have her rat you out to Vince." Kevin stated, making Paul nod his head in agreement.

Kevin knocked on the door and waited patiently for somebody to either open it or tell them to come in. Linda McMahon eventually opened the door and ushered the two former members of the Kliq in, then shut it behind them. Vince looked up from his seat and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Shane? I thought you said he was with Paul…" Kevin looked back at Paul, and then looked at Vince. "I told you, Shane walked off with Paul before… I didn't know he took off not so long ago." Kevin replied.

Vince narrowed his eyes angrily and growled slightly. "That's very unlike my son. What happened," He asked. Kevin shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Paul. "He said he had something to take care of," Paul replied, looking his father in law in the eyes for the first time since he walked into the office. Man, I can't believe I said all that shit about him… Vince glared at Paul. "Oh, is that so? Did he say what he had to do? Shane knows better than to just walk off." He stated and looked at Linda, who nodded her head. Paul shrugged his shoulders. "He didn't say, and I'm not nosey. I refuse to pry into his life."

Paul looked over at Vince and saw he was on the receiving end of a glare, making him look over at Linda, who was nodding her head in disappointment. "It's not like Shane to take off like that… Something must be wrong… He knows better than to leave without saying anything during times like this, when you have an enemy and you don't know where they are..," Linda turned to look at Vince. "I think we should send some of the guys to look for him." She suggested, making Vince look over at her. "He'd get even more pissed than he already is, Linda. The last thing I want to do is push him further… And Paul, so help me God, if you did something to piss my kid off, I'll make sure your life becomes a living hell. So if you have anything to say, you'd better confess it now before I blow my top." Vince shouted.

The two former members of the Kliq once again looked at each other. "Ok, Paul. Tell him the truth." Kevin stated with a sigh, making both the elder McMahons look at Paul. "I asked Shane to come to my locker room because I wanted to talk to him… I got so pissed off that I took everything out on him," Paul saw the odd looks he was getting from the McMahons. "Don't worry; I didn't put a hand on him. I just started yelling… Blaming people for things they really didn't cause… I blamed you for the situation with Shawn… I admit I'm not proud of what I said… But I eventually stopped and looked at the kid. Boy was he pissed! His hand was clenched into a fist and his arm was shaking… And Vince, I swear to you, his eyes were gray and blue. I… I tried to apologize but he freaked and left… I have no idea where he went."

Vince once again glared at Paul. "So help me God, Paul Michael Levesque, if something happens to my son I'm going to…" Vince was cut off by Linda. "Vince! Would you stop with the threats?! Paul's actions were understandable, he was angry and Shane has always been an easy target for people to vent on… What if he went with Randy, Dave and Ric? I say we send someone out to look for him. It can't be too hard… I mean… How difficult is it to lose somebody with knee braces, let alone a McMahon with knee braces? Everyone knows him…" Linda stated. Kevin sighed. "It's not really that easy, Mrs. McMahon. As you said, Shane is an easy target for people to vent their anger on. A lot of people know that, including Christian and Tomko. I don't mean to scare you… But Shane pretty much shuts down when he's pissed. I don't think he would go to Evolution to talk; he doesn't like to vent his frustrations on people. I think he's alone…"

The knock on the door made Kevin stop talking. He turned around to open it and was greeted with the face of Marty Jannetty. Kevin stepped to the side, allowing Marty to enter the office, then shut the door and turned around just in time to grab Paul and pull him away from Marty. "Hey! Didn't I say I don't want any fighting between the two of you!?" Vince growled. Marty pointed to Paul. "Vince, how are you going to shout at me about that!? All I did was walk into this godforsaken office! Your son in law is the one who tried to rip my head off," Marty paused to look at Kevin. "Thanks for the save, Kev." He stated. Kevin chuckled. "I wasn't doing it to save you, I did it to save Paul's career."

Marty turned to glare at Kevin, and then looked at Vince. "So… Is it true? What I hear about Shawn, I mean? People are spreading a shitload of rumors and I want to make sure I have the story right before I flip out on the wrong people," Marty paused again to look at Paul. "Ok… So Shawn was in a match against Kane at Unforgiven. The two were told before the match not to do the tombstone onto the steel stairs, but Kane did it anyway and gave Shawn a severe concussion, which led to amnesia. Am I right so far," Marty looked at Vince, who nodded his head yes. "Ok… So Shawn decides to uphold to his contract and continue competing for your business as long as you re-establish D-Generation X, forcing you to bring back Chyna… And meanwhile, Shawn has no idea about his condition," Marty looked for approval, so Vince nodded his head yes again. "He does now, wise guy," Paul shot back, receiving an elbow to the gut by Kevin. "So you guys basically lied to Shawn in order to keep him working for the business. Great. Well, Christian and Tyson Tomko have been making it their business to bash Shawn's skull in, and they've attempted to do so week in and week out. Until tonight, because it's quite obvious to me that Shawn smartened up and left." Marty stated, making Paul scoff. "Listen to you talk, Marty. You don't even know what the hell you're talking about!"

Vince cleared his throat, making the two back away from one another. Kevin grabbed Paul by his forearm to keep him from moving again. "Would you two stop arguing like animals?! We have more important situations to deal with! Shawn is God knows where, walking around with a huge chip on his shoulder. If we don't find him, we're fucked, in plain English. Now I need you two to get rid of your huge egos and put your fucking heads together to try and find him," Vince shouted, making Marty frown. "What's wrong, Vince?" Marty asked. Paul sighed, making Marty look at him. "We have no idea where Shane went…" He stated, making Marty nod his head in understanding. "Enough about my kid, ok? He's probably fine! Stop worrying about Shane and deal with Shawn's whereabouts!"

Before they knew it, Raw was on the air and Vince McMahon was standing in the middle of the ring with a microphone in hand. "Well… I've taken into account the actions of a certain tag team here last week on Raw… Not only did we witness the return of Kevin Nash, we also witnessed Christian and Tyson Tomko perform a sickening conchairtoe on D-Generation X member Shawn Michaels. After enduring many complaints from Triple H and Evolution, I have come to the conclusion that… Tonight on Raw, there's going to be a Handicap Tag Team Match featuring Christian and Tomko against all three members of Evolution and Kevin Nash. A match of this kind deserves to have a special guest referee. I would have offered the spot to my son, Shane McMahon, but I decided to leave this in the very capable hands of… 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin!" Vince shouted, then tossed the microphone down and left the ring.

"What!? Are you kidding me? Why am I not in that match," Paul shouted at the TV in his locker room, making Kevin chuckle. "Relax, Paul. You have to make sure your ribs are 100% before you go storming into the ring. Besides, Evolution and I will be more than happy to throw in a few punches for you. Just relax, take it slow. You have to concentrate on finding Shawn. Speaking of which, why aren't you with Marty?" Kevin asked. Paul turned to glare at him. "Mind your own business, Kevin! I could care less about what Marty is doing right now. I'm the one that has to find Shawn… And I will not relax about not being in this match! This sucks! I should be in that ring, facing those two assholes and pounding their faces in for what they did to Shawn…"

Steve Austin invited himself into the locker room and looked at both Kevin and Paul. "Listen here, son… I heard you bitching and whining about not being in this match from down the hall. You need to do exactly what Vince and Kevin told you to do, and that's finding Shawn and bringing him back here," Paul looked away from Steve, making him grab Paul's chin and force it so the two were face to face. "Do you HEAR what I'm telling you, Paul!? Cut the crap and look for Shawn! We both know what he's capable of. WE will take care of Reso and Tomko. You and Jannetty better go look for Shawn, or else I'm going to shove my Texan foot up your ass!" Steve shouted.

Paul nodded his head quickly and practically ran out of the locker room towards Vince's office, where Marty Jannetty was sitting with Linda McMahon and Chyna. Shit. Joanie. Fuck. My. Life. Paul wanted to either smack himself in the forehead or slam his head into the wall but decided against both actions. The three looked up at Paul once the door shut. "I was expecting to see Shane… Have you seen him recently?" Linda asked him. "No, sorry. Steve Austin was just in my locker room giving me one hell of a lecture that made me open up my eyes. I need to find Shawn as soon as possible… I can't believe Shane is still missing. No one's seen him?" Paul asked. Marty nodded his head no. "We checked with Ric Flair, Dave Batista and Randy Orton. They haven't seen the kid either."

Paul ran a hand through his hair and turned to face the wall. "I was just discussing with Linda and Marty about how Shane acts when he's pissed as hell. We all know he avoids people on purpose because of his short fuse, even if he does refuse to let people know he's angry..," Paul turned to see Chyna talking and narrowed his eyes angrily. "If you say one more thing, I swear to God, I'm going to hurt you..," Paul growled, making her scoff. "Paul, I was just saying that Shane could be vulnerable enough to talk to Reso and Tomko." Paul's eyes widened when he realized she was right. "Shit. You're completely right… Sorry for what I said… Uh… Do you want me to look for Shane?"

Linda nodded her head. "It would be nice of you to do Paul. I'm not blaming you for him storming off, but I know what you said was a factor in it. I'm really worried about him…" Paul saw the tears glistening in his mother in laws eyes and lowered his head, feeling completely ashamed. "Linda… It is my fault Shane-O ran off… I pissed him off by screaming at him and blaming Vince for everything… And I pissed him off even more by trying to apologize. I think it's my responsibility to find the kid. And that's exactly what I'm going to do," Paul paused to look at Marty. "Marty, do you have Shawn's new cell phone number," He asked. Marty nodded his head. "Yes. I also have Rebecca's number," He replied. "Good. See what you can do via cell phone. I'll call you guys later." Paul stated and left the office. "Do you think he has a chance?" Marty asked. "Doubt it. Not even he knows what to expect from Reso and Tomko." Chyna replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Paul walked the hallways of the arena looking around for any sign of his brother in law, asking random workers if they had seen him. Some nodded their heads no, others shrugged their shoulders. Only a handful of them nodded their heads yes and pointed Paul in the direction he was walking in- the parking lot. Paul sighed. He didn't know that his words could deeply affect his brother in law. He was always able to take a joke. Hell, he even made fun of his father half the time.

He stopped walking when he reached the doors leading out into the parking lot and looked around. He saw a cell phone on the floor and tilted his head like a confused puppy, then walked over to it and picked it up. It looked like Shane's cell phone, and if it was, Paul knew it would have a security lock on it. Paul paced around, trying to remember what the code was. He knew for a fact Shane told him once or twice because his hands were full and he needed Paul to make a phone call for him. Paul tried three different codes he thought Shane would have used- his wedding date, his wife's birthday and his son's birthday. Paul smirked as the phone came unlocked. Code cracked.

Paul saw Shane had a few missed calls, which wasn't a big mystery being he made some of them. He sighed and started walking back to Vince's office when he noticed Shane's cell phone was vibrating. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Shawn. What the fuck!? Paul accepted the call. "Hello," He asked. "Paul? Why do you have Shane's cell phone," Shawn asked. Paul sighed. "Well… You're obviously not here and we're all worried about you… But now Shane vanished and we're panicking. I found his phone about two minutes ago. Enough about that. Where are you?" Paul asked. "That's a bummer. You'd better concentrate on finding the kid. Christian and Tomko will do anything to get back at us, Paul… Anyway, my whereabouts aren't important. You're obviously talking to me right now, I'm fine. Shane, on the other hand… Knowing Christian and Tomko, you have to expect the worst. Make sure you find him."

"Shawn," Paul asked. He heard Shawn sigh on the other end. "Yes," He replied. "Are you sure you're ok? And why do you think we should expect the worst with my brother in law? Wait a minute… Why are you calling his cell phone?" Paul asked. "Ok, one question at a time. Yes, I'm sure I'm ok. We all know Christian and Tomko are unpredictable. I mean… What I've been told happened to me last week… That was sickening. Who knows what they're gonna do to Shane, if they even have him at all? I'm calling Shane's cell phone because I got a text from some unknown number saying he was in trouble or something. I'm pretty damn sure that can't mean anything good… Go look for the kid."

With that said, both men hung up their respective phones. Paul jogged back to Vince's office and knocked twice before walking in. Vince and Linda looked up at him. "Guys… I have some news," Paul started, waving Shane's cell phone around in the air. When he realized it, he put it down on Vince's desk. "I was able to crack Shane's security code. I received a phone call from Shawn," Paul paused when he saw Vince pick up Shane's cell phone and look at him in an odd way. "Shawn?" He asked. Paul nodded his head. "Yeah. Shawn said he got some weird text saying Shane was in some sort of trouble, so he called Shane's cell and got me. I found it near the doors leading out to the parking lot."

Linda and Vince looked at one another. Vince suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on his desk. "God dammit! What the fuck are we going to do!? Paul, I swear to God… If those two are involved in this..," Vince's voice trailed off as Steve Austin and Kevin Nash walked into the office. "We're gonna go discuss strategy with Evolution. Wanna join us?" Kevin asked. Paul nodded his head and was about to leave with them but was grabbed by Vince. "No. You're not going anywhere with them. You're banned from ringside!" Paul's mouth gaped open as he turned to look at Vince. "What!? What the hell do you mean I'm banned from ringside!?"

"I think I mean you're not allowed near the ring during this match. Yes, that has to be it. After that little stunt you pulled earlier… Do you expect any less? Your buddies will be able to take care of Reso and Tomko. You aren't going anywhere near them. You're going to stay with Marty and Joanie in the D-X locker room for the remainder of the evening." Vince stated and stormed out of his office. "Vince," Linda attempted to call after her husband, but instead had the door slammed in her face. "Linda… What's up his ass?" Steve asked as he gestured towards the door. Linda sighed and looked at Steve. "It's all about Shane vanishing… He's wondering if he really is responsible for what happened to Shawn."

It was getting close to the main event when Vince decided to leave the cafeteria. He loved the face that nobody dared to come after him or call him. He had a reputation of being one of the meanest guys backstage when he was pissed off, surpassing even Mark Callaway and Glenn Jacobs, the Undertaker and Kane, respectively. He walked around the hallways, trying to clear his mind before going back to his office. He had been gone for over an hour, that he was sure. He wondered how much Linda was panicking by now, being both her son and her husband were nowhere to be found. But then again, anyone knew Vince went to the cafeteria to cool out when he was angry. Shane, on the other hand…. Shane just liked to stomp around like Godzilla. He found it funny how the two were so much alike, yet so different. Vince would yell back at somebody if they started an argument with him. Shane would bite his tongue and storm off, just to mentally abuse himself.

Vince walked past one of the unused areas in the arena and noticed how odd things suddenly seemed. He got a weird feeling that not only was somebody watching him, but there was also a feeling of mustiness, like when a person is being haunted. He noticed random drops of blood on the floor, leading to a door Vince never opened in all his years using the arena. He noticed blood on the handle and looked around the hallway. How is it that nobody is in this section of the arena? He slowly put a hand on the handle and turned it, then pushed the door open. The room, which seemed like a conference room, was torn apart from one wall to the other. I'm pretty damn sure it wasn't like this when we got here. God damn those drunken bastards I call employees. Vince slowly entered the room and observed the wreckage. He noticed there were blood stains on the walls, which only seemed to freak him out more. He heard a low groan and coughing, so he looked around even harder and saw a shadow moving in the far corner of the room.

He jogged over to the shadow and, as he got closer, realized it was his 34 year old son. Shane was on his side, right arm wrapped around his stomach and left arm holding onto his right elbow. His face was almost covered in blood, both from a cut on his forehead and a broken nose. Vince knelt down next to his obviously hurting son and put a hand on Shane's shoulder, making him jump and open his eyes to look at him. "Shane… Oh my God… Shane, relax it's me, its dad… Shhh," Vince paused as Shane made eye contact with him. "Shane-O… Is anything hurt really bad? Who the fuck did this to you?!" Vince slowly pulled Shane's upper body off the floor, making the young McMahon groan. He cradled his son's upper body in his arms and listened to Shane's rapid heartbeat. "Captain… Dumbass and… His sidekick… Gigantor." Shane whispered back, wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. Vince narrowed his eyes. Christian and Tomko…

Vince looked around the room, then back down at his son. "I need to get you out of here. Can you walk if I help you," He already knew what Shane was going to say, but he had to ask. "Yeah… I… I think so," Shane replied. Vince sighed and got to his feet, then slowly pulled Shane up and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Ok, kid, here we go..," Vince waited until they were walking at a steady pace before deciding to talk again. "Why did you storm off from Paul," He asked. Shane groaned at the amount of light in his face when they got into the hallway. "Pissed me off… And I didn't… Want to argue… Paul can get… Pretty bitchy… When you try to… Defend yourself..," Shane responded, letting his head rest on Vince's shoulder. Vince lowered his shoulder and quickly brought it up, making it bash into Shane's head. "You have to stay awake, kid, I can't drag your fat ass to the office. Come on, Shane, stay awake." Shane lifted up his head and let out a groan. "Who said… I was going to sleep?"

"I know you, Shane. I know how you get when you're half dead. You look like you're about to pass out, and I know for a fact you're only conscious and walking because I'm forcing you to. We don't have a long walk back to my office… So you'd better keep talking to me and answering my questions until we get there… Now… Do you mean Christian and Tomko are the ones who did this to you? How did they get their hands on you?" Vince asked. "Yes… I mean Christian and Tomko… They… They approached me when I was… Stomping around the hallway…"

Vince looked up to see why Shane stopped talking mid sentence. He saw Paul and Marty standing in front of them, both looking shocked at what they were seeing. But then again, who wouldn't be in shock? "Holy shit," Paul paused and walked closer to Shane and Vince, whereas Marty stayed put. "Shane-O..? What the hell happened," He shouted, making Shane wince and groan. Vince looked at the side of Shane's head sadly, then looked at Paul and frowned. "I'll give you one God damn guess as to who did this to him… Speaking of which, why aren't you in the D-X locker room?" Vince asked, trying to keep his voice at a reasonable volume as to not bother Shane too much. Vince watched as Paul's face turned red with anger. "God fucking damn Christian and Tomko… I'll fucking teach them to beat the shit out of my brother in law." Without warning, Paul stormed off in the direction of the ring, where the main event was taking place. Marty watched him go, then turned to look at Vince and Shane.

"Why the hell didn't you stop him, Marty," Vince asked. Marty shrugged his shoulders. "Vince, I think there's more important matters at hand than stopping Paul get revenge on Tomko and Christian… They have it coming to them, being they not only took out Shawn last week, but as you can see… They obviously attacked Shane… And they already caused so much damage between both Shawn and Paul..," Marty watched as Shane coughed and doubled over. "Vince, we have to get him some help… Fuck standing here and talking. Come on, let me help," Marty slowly took Shane's free arm and put it over his shoulders, then helped Vince get him to his office. They were glad to see Linda had stepped out. They sat Shane down and handed him a bottle of water. Marty looked back at Vince. "What do you want to do about him?" He asked. Vince paced around trying to think, randomly taking a look at the TV while he was doing so. He saw Paul had run down to the ring and attacked Tyson. Christian had tried to run off, but was quickly grabbed by Evolution and Kevin Nash.

Vince looked back at Shane and sighed. Although he seemed to be more conscious, that meant he was more aware of how much he was hurting. He sat next to Shane and put an arm around his son's shoulders, then pulled him closer and hugged him. "I don't know yet… Marty… What's that memo on the desk over there?" Vince asked. Marty looked over at Vince's desk and saw the paper he was talking about, then walked over and picked it up. His eyes widened as he read it, then handed it to Vince and backed away slowly.

Bret Hart in Montreal next week.


A/N: Well, I guess all I really have to say in this note is thanks for being patient while waiting for an update. I've had this chapter in the works for awhile, and I actually had a really good draft, but my laptop died and I had to rewrite it... I've been watching old wrestling clips from 1999, so that's where the random influence came from. Who knows, you long time wrestling fans might even recognize some stuff I use in future chapters.
OoOoOo... Bret Hart in the arena in Montreal? I wonder how that's gonna go.

Edit: Finally done editing the chapters!!! Time for some new ones! I promise to work on this story, I Do It For You and Dark Reflections equally from here on out.