Like Old Times

Cleveland, Ohio

11/8/04

Shane once again stumbled and caught himself using the wall. He looked up at the person he knew was staring at him. "Can I help you," Shane asked as he lowered himself to the floor and took a deep breath. His head was beyond pounding and he had enough nausea to light up Times Square. "I can't believe you were so quick to go ahead and align yourself with your father… Do you know what that crazy asshole has in mind for Paul and Shawn?" Ric Flair shouted. Shane winced and leaned his head against the wall to try and cool off his head. "Yes, I know some things… Why do you think I'm doing this, Ric? I'm doing this so I can try to warn them in some way… Either that or convince my father not to pound on them so bad. I mean… Shawn is human… His head can't possibly take any more damage."

Ric raised an eyebrow at the young McMahon. "And how are you holding up? I see nothing has changed from last week. You're still oozing around like you're going to collapse and turn to jelly at any time." Ric stated. Shane looked at him semi-sarcastically. "Turn to jelly..? I'm just fine, Ric. Just… Normal aches and pains finally catching up to me. I'm not as young as I used to be."

Ric barked into laughter. "You're certainly younger than me, that's for sure! There's no possible way you're suffering from normal aches and pains… Just what on earth is going on behind the scenes? Is your dad letting Tomko bully you? Or is this all from last week?" Ric asked. Shane sighed and closed his eyes. "The majority of it is from last week… My balance and depth perception haven't been that great since last week… I've been falling a lot recently… I fell down a flight of stairs at least three times in the past two days… So you could imagine what's wrong with me."

Ric glared at Shane. "Yeah. You have an untreated concussion."

Paul watched as Shawn paced back and forth in the D-X locker room. They hadn't heard from Christian in about three days and didn't know what to make of Shane joining forces with Vince. Sure, Paul told Shawn that Shane had something up his sleeve, but there was something else going on that they didn't know about. And it was starting to worry them. Shane wasn't a person to give in so easily when there was so much at stake. He wasn't stupid enough. He couldn't be stupid enough.

"Shawn… You're going to wear a hole into the floor. Please stop pacing so much. You're making me dizzy from watching," Paul stated. Shawn stopped pacing to turn and look at the other man. "I'm just pissed and slightly worried, I guess. You know, the stuff with Jay and Shane." He replied as he sat down next to Paul. "Yeah, I know… You have to relax a little, though. You're going to worry yourself into either a stroke or a heart attack."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic… I have a pretty damn good reason to worry. Nobody has heard from Jay in a few days and Shane-O was pretty fucking quick to join forces with his daddy. We both know they're going to try to take us down. How the hell can you be so calm about all of this? And, yes, I do realize that I've always been the overdramatic one that seems to jump to conclusions… But rightfully so! I deserve to be a little crazy right now!" Shawn shouted as he jumped up and gestured angrily with his arms.

Paul laughed as Shawn's flailing arms finally calmed. "Oosa, Shawn. You definitely have a reason to be a little crazy, but you need to calm down, sit down and take some deep breaths. First off, I bet Jay is just fine and is only distancing himself from us to try and ease the tension… Second, I told you Shane has something up his sleeve. We both know that kid isn't as gullible as everyone likes to think he is. He knows damn well what his dad is capable of and knows it's wise to watch his every move carefully… More important… To never turn his back on his father."

Shawn narrowed his eyes. "Yeah… Judging by how many times Shane has seemed to have had a head on his shoulders, only to turn and join his father in whatever scheme he had planned, I'd say we're off to a great start in stopping this damn thing," He shouted. Paul 'tsk'ed' at him and nodded his head no. "Calm down, Shawn. Shane was just faking the majority of the time. He knows what he's doing. Remember… He did what he did to save our jobs. I know how you feel about him doing that… Trust me, I would've rather lost my job than see Shane being forced to do things he doesn't want to do… But that doesn't mean we can't acknowledge and respect his decision to protect us from his father." Paul stated. "Yeah? But that doesn't mean we have to like it, either." Shawn replied.

"What are you implying, Shawn?" Paul asked, raising an eyebrow at his best friend as he did so. Shawn shrugged his shoulders and knelt down to look Paul in the eyes. "Well… I realize that you're probably right about Shane having something up his sleeve… But… You know this as well as I do… From now on, we're enemies."

Vince raised a slightly agitated eyebrow at his son when he saw him stumble into his locker room. "Where the hell have you been all this time," He asked, only slightly concerned when Shane fell to his knees and groaned as he was literally smacked in the face by a wave of nausea. He was able to situate himself so he was able to lean with his back against the wall and close the door, then look over at his father and sigh. "Talking to Ric Flair… He was asking me if I was feeling okay." Shane stated, not strong or brave enough, for that matter, to move from the wall. Vince looked slightly concerned for a moment. "I can see why. You look like hell."

Tomko chuckled from his spot in the room, which was on the couch in the far corner. "He looks like he got his ass kicked last week… And that's exactly what happened." He stated and chuckled. Vince narrowed his eyes at Tomko, making him stop mocking the younger McMahon. Vince looked back at his son. "Do you think you can take part in Raw tonight? I think we have a pretty interesting segment planned… You really have no choice; I'm just warning you so you can go to Mark Eaton and take something for whatever the hell is wrong with you." Vince stated as he tossed a copy of the script over to Shane.

Shane eyed the script, then looked up at Vince with confusion etched all over his face. "What's this," He asked. Vince looked at him oddly. "You've been in this business for how long and you don't know what the show's script looks like? There must be something wrong with you." He remarked. Shane sighed and picked up the script. He flipped it open and groaned as he was hit with another wave of nausea. He saw that the main even consisted of a match between Tomko and Shawn… With Shane as the special guest referee. "Dad… I understand the feud and everything… And I understand what I agreed to last week… But this is ridiculous."

Vince narrowed his eyes at Shane. "No, it isn't. And you're going to do what you're told."

It was now Randy Orton's turn to glare at the young McMahon stumbling around the hallway. He honestly couldn't believe the nerve of Shane. How could he walk around like nothing was wrong? He only turned his back on D-X, two of his closest friends, to align himself with his father… Of all people. Then again… Shane didn't look himself today. And Orton wasn't going to let him get off so easy.

"McMahon," He shouted, then watched as Shane stopped walking, leaned on the nearest wall and turned to look at Randy with a mechanical slowness that wasn't like him at all. Shane looked almost afraid until he noticed it was only Randy, then closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. "What is it, Randy?" He asked. Randy approached him and glared at him. "What the hell do you mean by that? You should know damn well what I want, Shane. The same thing Ric wanted when he stopped you earlier… Why the hell did you turn your back on Shawn and Paul? You know damn well they need you more than your father does!"

Shane sighed and rubbed his temples. "I merely aligned myself with my father to see if I could prevent him from pounding on Shawn's head more. I'm trying to help them, Randy. You guys are only making things harder for me by storming up to me and yelling at me about it."

Randy looked slightly dumbfounded. "I feel like an ass now… Why didn't I think about possible motives before getting offended and feeling the need to beat your face in..? I should've known you would never willingly screw your friends over," Randy stated and slowly backed away from Shane. "I'm sorry."

Shane smiled at him and pushed himself off the wall. "It's okay, Randy. I really don't care… Let people believe what they want to believe about what I did… Just don't go around telling everyone I'm doing it to spy, okay? I'm not allowed to talk to Shawn and Paul backstage… So… Would you mind telling them what I told you?" Shane asked.

The angry look on Randy's face suddenly vanished and was replaced by a look of pure happiness. "Of course I wouldn't mind telling them! I'm sure they're having some problems seeing the meaning behind your so called betrayal as well… Perhaps I can shed some light on it for them and even tell them to try and watch out for you… Even though… Wow. You look like hell! What the hell happened to you?" Randy shouted, making Shane put a hand to his head and groan.

"Not so loud, please, Orton… Jesus Christ… I swear, you guys are going to make me go deaf before my next birthday..," Shane sighed and lowered his hand. "I'm okay, Orton. Don't concern yourself with me… Make sure Shawn and Paul are alright."

Randy sighed and nodded his head obediently. "You got it, McMahon. Just… Please, watch yourself. You should know better than anyone that trusting your dad is a dangerous thing to do." He stated. Shane chuckled. "Believe me, I know… I can take care of myself, though. Thanks a bunch for this." Shane smiled, then sighed as he watched Randy walk away.

What the fuck did I get myself into this time?

Randy knocked impatiently on the D-X locker room door. He knew Paul and Shawn were in there, and he knew better than to walk in. Especially since he heard them arguing through the door… It was something about Shane and Vince and… Randy grumbled incoherently and pounded a little harder on the door. He was relieved when Paul opened the door and glared at him.

"What do you want, Orton?" He shouted. Randy merely raised an eyebrow at the older man. "I'm here to talk to you and Shawn… But I have to come in, in order to do so… So… Can I come in please?" Randy asked. Paul sighed, then looked over at Shawn, who shrugged his shoulders. Paul stepped to the side and let Randy come in, then shut the door behind him.

"What's the problem, kid?" Shawn asked. Randy sighed and watched as Paul sat down, then looked from one man to the other and back again. "Okay… I just got done speaking to Shane… And he gave me the low-down on everything. Ya know, the reason why he did what he did… And he sent me your way to tell you… Ya know, since he can't come over here and tell you himself…"

"Yeah, okay," Randy looked over at Shawn when he heard his voice. "I don't care what lies that kid told you to tell us. He was so damn quick to give in to his old man last week. Why the hell should we believe anything he has to say after he joined forces with his satanic asshole of a father? Hmm? Does he think we'll assume he's still our friend and only joined Vince because he was trying to watch out for us? Go back to him and tell him we don't CARE why he did what he did!" Shawn shouted.

Randy looked over at Paul, who was staring at Shawn with wide-eyes. He finally locked eyes with Randy and couldn't even mutter an apology for what Shawn had said. He slightly shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh. "…What did he say?" Paul finally whispered, making Shawn glare at him.

"He said he's really sorry for what he did… And he's doing it because he wants to manipulate his father into not beating on you guys anymore."

"Okay, it's nearly match time," Vince shouted as he re-entered his office and clapped his hands together. He looked from Tyson Tomko, who was standing in the corner of the room, to his son Shane, who was sitting on the floor with his head resting against the wall. "Okay, don't everyone jump up at once… Why the long faces?" Vince asked. Tyson turned to acknowledge Vince's existence and started shadowboxing. "No long face here, Mr. McMahon… I was just thinking of all the ways I can destroy Shawn Michaels tonight… You know, if your son would be as of so kind to be on my side." Tyson stated. He and Vince looked down at Shane at the same time. He was only able to respond by looking up at them rather pathetically.

"Oh, don't worry. He will be."

Shane made his way down to the ring and tried to clear his head. He could feel every member of the audience glaring at him like he stepped on their dogs and tossed them out the window. Some of them were confused. Others were enraged. He did what he had to do to save Shawn and Paul's careers. The fans would forgive him eventually. They always did.

He slid into the ring and looked up at Lilian Garcia. He saw her lips moving, but her voice wasn't registering in his ears. Please don't black out now… He silently willed himself to stay alert during the match… Hell, if he didn't, Shawn would be history. He turned around as slowly as humanly possible and saw Tyson making his way down to the ring with Vince at his side.

Tyson climbed onto the canvas and watched as Vince rounded the ring and took a seat next to Jerry Lawler. Tyson got into the ring and stormed over to Shane. "If you don't call this match the way you're supposed to, I'm going to knock you into next Friday! Do you understand me?" He shouted. Shane backed away from him and narrowed his eyes somewhat angrily, but bit his tongue and nodded slowly.

D-X made their way to the ring next. Paul stood by the stairs on the side of the ring closest to the TitanTron. Shawn got onto the canvas. He was careful to avoid Tomko's angry fist of fury. Once Shane was able to get Tomko to back up, Shawn smiled at the crowd and hopped into the ring. He looked over at Shane, hoping to see if the younger man was looking back at him… Anything to prove he didn't mean what he did the previous week and it was all a work. Unfortunately, Shawn wasn't going to get any type of answer from the somewhat hotheaded Shane McMahon. His eyes were cast down, almost as if he was ashamed of himself.

He has every damn right to be!

The bell rang before Shane could even lift his hand to signal for it. He wanted to turn and glare at his father, but the fact he saw Tyson Tomko charge at Shawn made him keep his eyes on the men in the ring. Things were probably going to get ugly during the match, and Shane would be damned if he stopped paying attention and allowed Tomko the opportunity to hurt Shawn more than he already did. Shawn ducked under Tyson's arm and used his size to outwit the man in the ring, dodging every move quickly and responding with a knife-edge chop. Shawn ran towards the rope and bounced off, then charged at Tomko.

…Unfortunately for Shawn, Tomko grabbed a strong hold of him and powerbombed him hard onto the canvas. Shane knelt down to see if Shawn was in la la land or not. He was extremely happy that Shawn was looking at him with a calculating face, contemplating whether or not he should trust him. It took Shane a moment to realize he had an extremely disgusted look on his own face. That's definitely why Shawn looks like he wants to kick me in the gullet…

Tomko bent over, grabbed a hold of Shawn and pulled him off the mat. Shane stood up a tad too fast for his own liking and stumbled to the side. He looked up just in time to see Tyson Tomko Irish whip Shawn in his general direction, so he once again stumbled to the side. Shane was able to grab a hold of the rope to steady himself. He turned just in time to see Shawn duck away from Tomko, then bounce off the other side of the ropes and hit him with a flying elbow. Shawn nipped up and turned to look at the top turnbuckle. Anyone who watched Shawn's matches knew the routine from here on out. Elbow drop, Sweet Chin Music, pin fall.

Shane turned his back to the match and heard an 'ooooooh!' from the crowd. He steadied himself against the ropes and turned to look at the two men in the ring with him. Shawn was on the canvas, grimacing in pain and rolling around, and Tyson was working on getting vertical. Once he stood up, he stormed over to Shane.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, jackass," Tomko grabbed Shane by the shirt and shook him back and forth. "Are you going to shake the damn cobwebs out of your head and officiate this match the correct way, now? Or do I have to teach you a lesson in front of all of these fans? I have no problem knocking some sense into you, Shane. You should know that from last week. Now, wake the fuck up and get to paying attention!"

Tomko glared at Shane for a moment longer, then shoved him backwards and released his shirt. Shane grabbed a hold of the rope again to steady himself. He smirked when he noticed Shawn was on the other side of the ring, getting ready to perform some Sweet Chin Music on Tomko. Once the bigger man turned around, Shawn's boot rocketed at his face and connected with his cheekbone, making him drop down to a knee. Shawn then delivered a half assed enzuguri, knocking Tomko completely to the canvas. Shawn hopped up in no time at all and turned to look at Shane.

"What'd he tell you, huh? Gonna turn your back to the match some more so he can get some illegal shots in? He should've been disqualified for that low blow before!" Shawn shouted, obviously fed up with the match. Shawn was surprised by the fact Shane was looking him in the eyes and had a confused expression on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about… I was dizzy and needed to… You know what? Just focus on the damn match," Shane shouted and gestured to Tomko.

Shawn turned around in time to dodge Tomko's right hand, but was caught in the face by Tomko's left hand. Shawn continued to dodge punches and eventually dished out a few of his own. Shane watched the brawl for a moment or two, trying to figure out what to do about it, then decided it would probably be best to break them up before it escaladed into something far worse. He walked over to the two and was able to get in between them without a fist flying. "Hey, hey, hey! Knock it off, you two! Stop it!" He looked back and forth from Shawn to Tomko, who suddenly grabbed Shane by the back of the neck and shoved him to the canvas. Shawn looked down at Shane and actually felt kind of bad for what he just saw, especially when he saw Paul stop pacing dead in his tracks and turn to glare at the ring. "What the hell did you do that for?" Shawn asked.

Tomko raised an eyebrow at Shawn and chuckled. "Kid is useless, Michaels. You should know that… He can't even keep in character long enough to show you two that he's a villain… There's something wrong with that kid's head… Vince should've had him locked away years ago… But, whatever. Let's continue this… There's no referee to stop us now." Tomko threw his fists up defensively and waited for Shawn to strike him.

"Wait a damn minute," Vince shouted, making Shawn and Tomko turn to see Paul standing on the steel stairs with a chair in his hands, no doubt about to enter the ring and bash Tomko's brains in. "If you even think about hitting Tyson Tomko with that chair, I'll have you, Shawn, Shane and Christian fired so fast, it'll make your head spin! Put that damn thing down now and step away from the ring. Shane, get up and finish officiating the damn match!"

Shane turned to glare at Vince, then looked back at Tomko, Shawn and Paul. He pulled himself up and looked at Paul. "As much as I don't want to do this, you have to get off the steps… I don't want to eject you… Back up, Hunter," Shane stated calmly, then watched as Paul slowly stepped down. Shane turned back to Tomko and Shawn. "You two fight fair, got it?" He shouted. Tomko rolled his eyes and snickered at Shane, then turned to Shawn. "Let's give him a show." He stated. Shawn raised a confused eyebrow. "What?"

Tomko ran straight at Shawn and grabbed a hold of the smaller man, then pounded on his back and the back of his head. Shane went to take a step to break them up, but he heard his fathers voice on the microphone. "Back away, Shane. Get the hell away from them! Let Tomko have his fun!"

Shane turned to face his father and scowled at him. "You're kidding me, right," He asked. Vince smirked. "No, I'm not kidding you. Do your damn job and IGNORE the match, unless you want me to take legal action against D-X…" Shane watched as Paul stormed over to Vince with the steel chair and cracked him in the head with it. "Shut the hell up, old man!" Paul shouted. He turned back towards the ring to see what was going on. Shane was gesturing at him angrily. "What the hell did you do that for? I can't save you from getting fired after that!" He shouted.

Paul sighed and slowly approached the ring, holding the steel chair defensively, even though he had no desire to use it on Shane. "Back away, kid. I'm gonna get in there and help Shawn." Shane took a step or two back and watched Paul slide into the ring. "You're going to regret doing that." Shane stated as Paul stood up, picked up the chair and stormed towards Tomko with it. He brought the chair down onto the back of Tomko's head and watched as the bigger man fell over. Paul knelt down next to Shawn and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay, buddy?" He asked. Shawn grimaced in pain and rolled onto his back to face him. "Never been better..," Paul extended his hand and helped Shawn up. The two turned around to see Shane staring them down. "We took down your dad's slave, McMahon. What are you going to do about it?" Shawn growled. Shane smirked and took a few steps closer to D-X. The only one to get defensive was Shawn. "Announce you the winner." Shane responded.

Just as he was about to call for the bell, Vince stood up with a microphone in hand. "I don't think so! Shawn Michaels did NOT win this match. You two are lucky I don't ban you from the arena. You made a mistake, Triple H, and you WILL pay for it. We'll start with that right… Now."

Paul and Shawn looked really confused until they heard Evolution's music start playing.

"Oh, no…" Paul mumbled as he and Shawn turned to face the TitanTron. Shawn whirled around to face Shane. "What's your involvement in this, you two-faced son of a bitch?" He shouted. He instantly regretted saying it the moment he looked into Shane's eyes. He looked as equally confused as they were, and the fact he was barely conscious didn't seem to help matters.

Tyson Tomko slid out of the ring and watched as Dave Batista and Ric Flair walked out from backstage and made their way to the ring. The three of them turned to look into the ring. "How about that..? Just when you think you know someone, they go and turn on you…" Paul mumbled to Shawn. "Fucking unbelievable. Dave wouldn't have a career if it weren't for you and Ric… And where the hell is Randy? That prick had better not jump us from behind… We already have one douche bag in the ring."

Paul turned to look at Shane, then looked back at Shawn. "He's on our side, moron," He grumbled, then looked back at Ric, Dave and Tomko. "What's the matter, Hunter? Cat got your tongue?" Dave asked. Paul raised a confused eyebrow at him. "No, actually. I'm just waiting for you to get your asses in the ring." He replied, trying to grab a hold of Shawn as the older man rushed towards the ropes and nearly launched himself over them. "Where's Orton?" Shawn shouted, completely ignoring Paul's attempts to calm him down. "Too much of a wimp to come out here." Ric replied.

Paul was able to grab a hold of Shawn and drag him back towards the other side of the ring, which was where Shane was still standing. They somehow wound up with one on each side of him. "What do you say, Shane-O?" Paul asked, glancing at Shane while he did so. Shane looked back at Paul and smirked. "Nobody fucks with you guys and gets away with it." He replied. Shawn snorted. "You fucked with us, Shane. What's the difference?" Shawn asked.

Before Shane had a moment to respond, Tomko, Dave and Ric slid into the ring and charged at them. Tomko wound up fighting Shawn, Dave was fighting with Shane and Ric was brawling with Paul.

"Show 'em whose boss!" Vince shouted.

Dave gave Shane a powerful jab to the temple, making him reel. He quickly grabbed a hold of him and powerbombed him, then joined Ric in taking down Paul. Tomko Irish whipped Shawn into the ropes, then powerbombed him onto Shane. "Oh fuck!" Shawn shouted. He heard something crack, but he wasn't quite sure of what it was. Tomko walked over to the chair Paul brought into the ring earlier and cracked Paul in the head with it, making him crumble to the mat. Vince took a moment to slide into the ring and observe the carnage.

"Well, well… Isn't this interesting? I told you not to mess with me, D-X. But of course, you wouldn't listen… Always more concerned with what the fans want to see. Don't your careers mean anything? I can make you OR break you. Obviously you want me to break you, so I took what mattered most to you… Your friends," Vince gestured to Dave and Ric. "There will be hell to pay this Sunday at Survivor Series. I'm adjusting the match Eric Bischoff made several weeks ago… Instead of D-Generation X vs. Christian and Tyson Tomko, it'll be D-Generation X vs. Tyson Tomko, Ric Flair, Dave Batista and..," Vince looked around slightly inconspicuously. "My son Shane!"

"That's not really fair…" Shawn mumbled. He felt Shane hit him in the side. "Shut the hell up. You're in enough trouble as it is." Shane mumbled back. Vince gestured to Shane. "Tomko, grab a hold of him and bring him with us. Teach him a lesson along the way, I could care less."

Vince slid out of the ring with Dave and Ric close behind. Tomko pushed Shawn away from Shane and grabbed a hold of him, then pulled him up and tossed him out of the ring. Paul and Shawn watched helplessly as Tomko nailed Shane in the head with his huge fists all the way up the ramp.

"Suck it, Vince McMahon… Suck it." Shawn shouted.

A/N: Wow. This chapter took me a ridiculous amount of time to type. I couldn't decide on what I wanted to have happen, as you could probably tell from reading it.

Anyone who is a fan of Sarcastic Nightmare should message her with some warm wishes. Her daddy passed away the other day and there's only so much I can do from a distance.

I love Shane McMahon with all of my heart, but he should be dropkicked for leaving the business.

I believe that is all. Look for 'Dark Reflections' to be updated before the month ends. Then I'll write the Survivor Series match for this story.

Have a great week, guys!