Daughter of the Deadman III
Chapter 20: Crossing Another Line
It was the next week on Raw. Angel noticed that everyone she walked by seemed to stare at her. Even though she couldn't see it, she could feel everyone looking at her. Angel sighed as she headed to the Shield's locker room. When she walked in, she found Dean and Kristy sitting there talking to each other. Wyatt was sitting in between them, listening. Kristy explained that Roman was changing and he'd be out in a second.
"And where's the idiot?" Angel asked.
"Around." Dean said.
"Who cares?" Kristy said.
"Point taken." Angel said.
Just then, Roman came out of the washroom, changed and ready to go. He grinned when he saw Angel standing there. Angel walked over and gave him a hug. Then she turned to look at Dean and Kristy.
"Look, you guys…about tonight…I have to do this alone, alright?" Angel said.
"But Aunt Angel, it's not safe." Wyatt said.
"Wyatt, every time someone gets in the ring it's not particularly safe." Angel said.
"Ang, at least let Roman go with you." Kristy said.
"No. I've got to do this my way." Angel said.
"But Angel…" Dean started.
"No." Angel said.
"You can't go out there alone, Angel! What if Seth…?" Roman started.
"No, Roman. It's not that I don't appreciate the help, but I need to do it my own way." Angel said.
"You are so much like Uncle Taker. It's almost scary." Kristy said.
"I'm not that much like him." Angel said.
She walked into the bathroom with her bag and closed the door. Dean and Roman looked at each other and then looked at Kristy. They were surprised that Angel was being downright stubborn and digging her heels in about this.
"I don't get it." Dean said.
"What's not to get? Aunt Angel is like Papa Taker. Really, really stubborn." Wyatt said.
"OK, I get that part of it. The part I don't get is…isn't she just the tiniest bit worried about Seth?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. You'd think she'd be worried after what Seth pulled on SmackDown." Roman said.
"Nah, she's not worried. To Ang, the most important thing is going out there and letting the fans know why she did what she did last week. She knows how WWE is. If she doesn't explain herself, any of the Divas who don't like her or think she shouldn't be here—and I'm sure there's a few—will start telling everyone that she did it on purpose, despite the fact that everyone heard what was said." Kristy said.
"Ouch." Dean said.
"Damn." Roman added.
"Mommy, do I have to stay with Lea and the others again tonight?" Wyatt asked.
"Just while the show is going on, sweetheart. I don't want you hurt. Besides, I think Angel needs to talk to Lea." Kristy said.
"Why?" Dean asked.
"Uncle Taker told me that on SmackDown when all that was happening, she wanted to run to the ring and get between Angel and Uncle Taker because she didn't want to see one hurt the other. I told Angel. She's not upset with Lea. Just a bit worried." Kristy said.
Dean and Roman nodded. Just then, Angel stepped out of the bathroom, holding her eye liner. She was wearing one of her father's t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers and still had all her jewellery on. Kristy caught the look that Roman was giving Angel and just shook her head. Then she walked over and put Angel's eye liner on. Angel put it back in her bag once Kristy finished.
"I thought it looked like something was missing, but I couldn't put my finger on it." Dean said.
"Do I look alright?" Angel asked.
"You look fine." Kristy said.
"OK, good. We'll be back later." Angel said.
Kristy and Angel left, closing the door behind them. As soon as the door closed, Dean looked at Roman. He was staring a hole through his best friends' forehead, as though trying to figure something out.
"What?" Roman asked.
"Would you just tell the woman already?" Dean asked.
"What do you mean?" Roman asked.
"I mean Angel, you loon. You'd better tell her how you feel before someone else comes along." Dean said.
"I'll get to it." Roman said.
"You'd better hurry it up." Dean said.
Roman sighed, but didn't say anything to Dean about doing the same for Kristy. Down the hall, Angel opened the door to the locker room without knocking on it. As soon as Lea saw that it was her sister, she jumped up and ran to her, giving her a big hug. She looked worried.
"Am I gonna get in trouble?" she asked.
"No, Baby Lea, you're not in trouble." Angel said.
She walked over and sat down on the couch. Lea sat next to her sister. Wyatt climbed up and sat on Angel's other side. Lea looked up at Angel worriedly.
"I heard that you wanted to come running out to the ring on SmackDown…" Angel started.
"I…just didn't want you to have to hurt Daddy." Lea said.
"I know, Lea. I know you didn't want me to hurt Daddy, but from now on, please don't think about doing that. Even if you really want to, don't ever come running out to the ring if you see Daddy or me or anyone we care about in trouble. I don't want you hurt. And the same goes for you too, Mr. Hart-Smith." Angel said.
"I can't promise that it won't happen, Angel, because you never know what will happen in WWE…but we'll try not to." Lea said.
"Yeah. We'll try really hard." Wyatt said.
"Good enough for me. Kristy, is that OK with you?" Angel said.
"Works for me." Kristy said.
"Angel, do you know where Daddy is? He dropped me off here and then left and hasn't come back yet." Lea said.
"I think I know where he is. Don't worry." Angel said.
"Where is he?" Wyatt asked.
"I'm not going to ruin it, but let's just say he's on standby in case Rollins shows up and tries to hurt me." Angel said.
"What do you mean? Aren't Dean, Kristy and Roman going with you, Angel?" Bret asked.
"No. Ang wants to go it alone this time. And don't try to talk her out of it. She's as hard headed and stubborn as Uncle Taker, so it'd be like talking to a brick wall." Kristy said.
Bret sighed, but nodded anyway. He knew that Angel was stubborn as Taker and sometimes it was best to just let her do what she felt she had to. Kristy was learning that too. It wasn't that she wasn't still protective of Angel, she still was, just not to the degree she used to be.
Ever since Angel had woken up from her coma and started getting better, she realized that it was alright to let Angel make mistakes once in a while. Most of the time, however, it seemed that her judgment was pretty good. Kristy had learned quickly that it was alright to trust it that was for sure.
"OK, Angel. Just be careful, alright? We don't want you to get hurt." Bret said.
"I will, Bret. Don't worry." Angel said.
"That's my girl." Bret said, giving her a hug and making Angel blush.
Then she left the locker room and headed for the ring. She felt a little nervous. It wasn't often that she put a microphone in her hand, even with her new persona. She was a lot like Taker in that she preferred to let her fists do the talking. She was shocked when she got to the curtain and found Kane standing there. He looked worried about his niece. Angel tried to ignore him, but he blocked her path, making it impossible for her to walk any farther.
"Get out of my way, Uncle. I've got a job to do." Angel said.
"Little Angel….about last week….I'm…" Kane started.
"What? You're sorry? You're sorry that you blew up and that you very well could have choke slammed me to hell if Daddy hadn't been there?" Angel snapped.
"Well, yeah." Kane said.
"Mom already yelled at you. I don't need to. I don't have anything to say to you at the moment." Angel said.
Kane sighed, knowing that he deserved that. He stepped aside and Angel walked to the gorilla position where she waited for the show to open. Kane watched her as she kissed her Mom's wedding ring and looked up at the sky. Then her music hit. Angel walked out to the ring while the fans cheered and whistled at her. Angel got in the ring and asked for a microphone. She took a deep breath.
"I…know you all saw what happened on SmackDown and I also know that-contrary to what a lot of the Superstars, Divas and hell even the people that run the place think-the WWE Universe is not full of stupid people. You're the reason we put our bodies on the line and do what we do. That being said, I owe you an explanation as to why I did what I did last week because you know that what I did was completely out of character and totally out of line, I might add." Angel said.
The fans cheered. Angel was shocked when they started chanting her name too. She couldn't help but grin as she stood in the ring. She had thought that they would all hate her guts for attacking her father, and for good reason. He was a legend in the WWE and he was always cheered, no matter how long it had been between appearances or if he was a good or bad guy.
"Thanks. Now, since SmackDown, I've tried to find the right words or the right way to justify my actions and…well, it would have been easy for me to come out and say "Oh, well, my father told me to do it", but that doesn't seem good enough. I can't justify my actions last week and I'm not going to come out here and make excuses either. What I did was wrong and…" Angel started.
She was interrupted by the Shield's music playing. Angel looked around and saw Seth Rollins coming from the crowd. The fans were booing. Angel rolled her eyes. Seth hopped the barricade and climbed into the ring. He asked for a microphone.
"What are you doing out here? You don't come out here without my permission." Seth said.
"Excuse me? Your permission? I don't need your permission to do anything, Rollins. I'm a grown woman." Angel snapped.
"Do you people want to know why Angel did what she did last week? She did what she did last week because I told her to. I was testing her loyalty and she passed with flying colours." Seth said.
"Excuse me, Rollins? What was done last week wasn't done on your orders. There are a select few people in this world that I will listen to, and you are not one of them." Angel said.
"And why is that?" Seth asked.
"Because no man—especially not a sorry excuse for one—is gonna tell me what the hell to do." Angel snapped.
"Why…you…" Seth snapped.
"It was my father that told me what to do last week. Not you. And he told me to do it because he didn't want Kristy and I to have to watch you, Dean, and Roman beat him up. He knew what it would do to us if we had to watch that. Am I proud of what I did? Hell no." Angel said.
"You mean you're not proud? It takes a lot of guts to do what you did last week." Seth said.
"Yeah, because hitting a man in the head with a led pipe takes a lot of guts. If you ask me it was a no good, lousy, sneaky thing to do." Angel said rolling her eyes.
"I think you did just fine." Seth said.
"You would because your ego is so big you can't look past it to see that what you say and do affects the people around you. You also can't see past you ego to realize that my family and I we're smarter than you think. We know who you're going after to try and bring Kristy down and if you go through with it, you'll be lucky to make it out of this arena alive." Angel said.
"Oh?" Seth said.
"We know you've been talking to Kristy's mother, Diana Hart-Smith. She gave you the idea for me to attack my father. You're not smart enough to come up with something like that on your own." Angel said.
"Oh really? Where's the proof?" Seth asked.
"I'm glad you asked me that. Roll the footage." Angel said.
Everyone looked at the Titan Tron and saw what had happened between Dean, Roman, and Seth on SmackDown. Seth hadn't seen the camera man with Dean and Roman because he had stayed out of sight just enough. When the footage ended, Seth looked surprised and angry at the same time. Back in the back, Dean and Roman were laughing at the idea that someone who claimed he was tough as nails was getting told off and outed by a twenty three year old woman.
"You….little….all three of you…you, Roman, Dean…I don't believe this! OK, Angel, if you're so smart, maybe you can tell the people who I'm supposed to be going after tonight." Seth said.
"You're targeting Owen Hart. Kristy's Uncle and the person who's been there for Kristy from day one. And I mean that literally. He's been there for her from the moment she took her first breath." Angel said.
"Well, what do you know? You and your family are smart after all." Seth said.
"Yeah, we are. Whereas all you have is air in the space between your ears." Angel said.
Seth dropped the microphone and clotheslined Angel. It flipped her around so she landed on her stomach. She started to get up and then she stopped, knowing that if she tried to get up, she was putting herself in perfect position to get Curb Stomped. Rather than risk it, she just laid there and didn't move, despite Rollins yelling at her to get up so he could do it. Angel just waited. A second later a gong sounded and the lights went out. Then Taker's voice filled the arena. He sounded angry.
"Rollins, causing my daughter to attack me is one thing, but telling my daughter to get up so that you can hurt her is another." Taker's voice growled.
Then the gong sounded again and the lights came back on. When they did, Taker had Rollins by the throat. Then Taker lifted Rollins up in the air and choke slammed him. Then he did the Rest in Peace sign and Tombstoned him. Then he helped Angel to her feet. He noticed that Angel was crying. Taker looked at her confused until he noticed that Angel's necklace was missing. Taker brought the lights back up. The necklace wasn't anywhere in the ring. They looked around on the floor too and it wasn't there either.
Angel slid back into the ring and walked over to where Rollins was lying. She uncrossed his arms and checked the inside of his gloves. There was nothing there. She stuck her hand in his pocket and pulled out her necklace. Or what was left of it anyway. The chain was snapped, but what was worse was that her mother's wedding was broken in half. She clenched her fist around it. Then she picked up the microphone.
"You wanted me gone? You wanted me out of the Shield? Fine! I'm done! I'm out of the Shield. And so help me if you ever put your disgusting, vile hands on me again, I will kill you! And that's not a threat, it's a promise!" Angel shouted into the mic, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Then she left the ring. Taker followed her back to the back, although she was walking so fast, he could barely keep up with her. When she finally stopped, Taker spun her around. Angel took a deep breath and opened her fist, showing him the broken chain and the broken ring.
"That bastard! How dare he do this?!" Taker growled, the glass above their heads shattering.
"Daddy….can you…fix it…?" Angel sobbed.
"I don't know, baby girl. I'm gonna try." Taker said.
Angel nodded. Taker hugged her. He completely understood how Angel felt at the moment. He felt like a part of his heart had been ripped from his chest. He had given Bethany that ring twenty years ago on the day he had married her and after she had passed away, Kristal had taken it from her daughter's body and from there it had wound up in the hands of his daughter.
He knew the story of the mysterious present that Angel had received when she was a child and how she had told Amber to throw the ring away because she didn't know that the two names on the ring were her parents and that the year was not only the year they married but the year she was born.
However, Amber had taken the ring and stored it away. Angel had found it after Amber had passed away and having learned the truth from Amber while she lay dying in the hospital, had put it on a chain and worn it as a necklace ever since then. Taker calmly took Angel back to the locker room. When they got there, Dean and Roman were there too.
"Ang, what is it?" Kristy asked.
Angel didn't say anything. She just opened her fist, showing the broken chain and broken ring to everyone. Then she ran into the washroom, slammed the door and locked it behind her. Everyone in the room looked completely stunned. Dean and Roman looked at each other. They had no idea what that ring meant.
"Can I ask?" Roman asked.
"That is more than just your ordinary necklace." Owen said.
"We've gathered that." Dean said.
"The ring that Angel wore on that chain was the same one I put on Bethy's finger twenty-three years ago when I married her. It's the only thing that Angel had to remember her mother by." Taker growled.
"Oh, my God…" Roman said.
"That no good scumbag! How could he do this?!" Dean asked.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find him and beat his ass!" Roman snapped.
"I hate Seth! I can't believe he would do something like this!" Dean said.
"I can't either. Come on, Dean. Let's go find him." Roman said.
"I'm going too." Kristy said.
Dean and Roman nodded. They left the locker room. They wandered around the back for a bit, looking for Seth. They found him in the training room, still a bit dazed from having been Tombstoned by Taker.
"What the fuck did you do?" Kristy snapped.
"What do you mean what did I do?" Seth asked.
"Do not play dumb, Seth. How did Angel's necklace get broken like that?!" Roman snapped.
"The chain snapped when I clotheslined her. I must have stepped on the ring by accident in the dark or something." Seth said, trying to play innocent.
"Sure you did. I'll bet it was on purpose." Kristy said.
"Why didn't you just reach into Angel's chest and rip her heart in two, Seth? It would have been a lot faster!" Roman snapped.
"What's the big deal? It's just some stupid ring." Seth said.
That earned him a slap in the face from Kristy. Dean and Roman were ready to jump on him and beat him to a pulp, but they held back, preferring to let Kristy verbally blast him.
"You are nothing but a sick bastard, Seth Rollins! That was my Aunt Beth's wedding ring! It's the only thing Angel has left of her! Not to mention Uncle Taker! He slipped that ring on my Aunt Beth's finger at their wedding twenty three years ago! You never think before you do anything, Rollins!" Kristy said.
"I didn't…" Seth said.
"You didn't think! Yeah, yeah. We've heard that before!" Dean snapped.
"Now, we know for a fact that stepping on the ring was no accident." Roman said.
"Fine! The chain snapped. The ring rolled away and hit the tip of my boot, so I stepped on it! Happy now?" Seth snapped.
"You are such an asshole, Rollins." Kristy snapped.
"You don't even care. All you care about is the fact that Angel has officially left the Shield. To you, the end justifies the means." Roman said.
"You think she was serious?" Dean asked.
"I've never heard Angel sound more serious in my life. And that includes when she said if you ever put your disgusting, vile hands on her again, she was going to kill you." Kristy said.
"What do I care about that? She's just a whinny brat." Seth said.
"My best friend is no whinny brat, you son of a bitch!" Kristy said.
"Seth, I suggest you use your head for once. Stay as far away from Angel as you can get. That way you're not tempted to do something stupid like intentionally provoke her by putting your hands on her." Roman said.
He walked out of the room. Kristy looked at Dean. Dean nodded. He knew what was wrong with his friend. Seth looked from one to the other, trying to figure out what the two were thinking.
"Let me guess…you have no idea what's wrong with him?" Dean asked.
"Not really." Seth said.
"Roman loves her! He doesn't want to see her walk away from the Shield! I don't either! Angel's become one of my best friends. Hell, she's a lot like a little sister! Not to mention she's heart broken and Roman wants to help, but he has no clue where to start or what he should do!" Dean told him.
"Not to mention that he's worried to death that you've hurt her so bad, she'll leave the company." Kristy added.
With that, the two of them walked out of the trainer's room. They went back to the locker room. Angel was still locked in the bathroom and Roman was over there, banging on the door, trying to get her to come out because he needed to tell her something. They all heard Angel yell at him to leave her alone and she didn't want to be bothered.
"Let her be, Roman." Taker said.
"Alright. I just wanted to check on her." Roman said.
"She's not alone in there. Trust me." Taker said.
Roman nodded. He was sure that he knew what Taker was talking about. Beth was there with Angel. She was probably trying to get Angel to calm down before she came out and talked to any of them. Sure enough, Angel sat there in the washroom, crying her eyes out as she stared at what was left of her Mother's wedding ring. Beth could see the heartbreak written all over Angel's face.
"Mom…can…Daddy get it fixed…?" Angel sobbed.
"Maybe, Angel Baby, but you've got to give it to him so he can try." Beth said.
"How could he?! Why didn't he just reach into my chest and rip my heart out?! It would have hurt a lot less!" Angel sobbed.
Beth knelt down and wrapped her arms around her daughter. She had seen Angel get upset before, but this was worse. Angel's whole body was shaking and she was sobbing so much that she could barely speak. Beth just sat there and hugged her and told her that it would be alright and that Taker would try to fix it. All she had to do was give him the ring.
After what seemed like hours, Angel stood up. She washed her face in cold water to get her makeup off and unlocked the bathroom door. When she opened it, she was shocked to find everyone still there. She walked over and placed what was left of her necklace in her father's hand. Taker nodded. Roman walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. Then he asked if he could speak to her in the hallway for a second. Angel nodded and they left the locker room.
"Angel…look, I have to tell you this now, alright? I'm scared to death that what he did tonight is going to make you leave the company and there might never be another chance for me to say this." Roman said.
"OK. What's up?" Angel asked.
"Well, first off, Dean and I don't want you to leave The Shield. He thinks of you as a little sister….and….I…" Roman said.
"What, Roman?" Angel said.
"Well…it's you…when I look at you...I see this beautiful, kind, caring, and most importantly strong woman. And…it's…I…" Roman said, faltering a little.
"Roman….are you saying that you…?" Angel started.
She was cut off by something completely unexpected. Roman had leaned over and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her at the same time. Angel put her arms around him and relaxed, secretly hoping that no one caught them. She wasn't worried about anyone in their locker room. It was more Seth and the other Divas. She knew Seth would blow up and she had no idea what the Divas would think.
After a minute, Roman pulled away. Angel didn't let go of him. For some reason, she felt safe and comfortable. Not to mention she was so dizzy, she would have probably fallen over had she let go at that moment.
"Roman….if that was your way of saying I love you. Then….I love you too." Angel whispered.
"Angel, please don't leave the Shield." Roman said.
"Roman….I…can't be out there with Seth there. I love you. And Dean's like my crazy big brother, but if you put me anywhere near that scumbag, he's most likely going to get stupid and intentionally provoke me. I'm….really sorry." Angel told him.
"That's alright. I understand, sweetheart. Now, I think we need to tell your family about this, don't you?" Roman asked.
"Sure." Angel said.
Angel opened the door and walked back into the locker room with Roman. She had been blushing the whole time and her cheeks still had a tinge of red in them. Kristy figured it out right away and jumped up and hugged the both of them.
"You finally did it, huh?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I did." Roman said.
"What did you do?" Lea asked.
"I told Angel that I loved her. And she told me that she loved me back." Roman told her.
"What?!" Lea asked, her eyes going wide.
"Lea, honey. I know what you're thinking, but family is important to Roman, just like it is to me. He's not going to take me away. I swear. Right, Roman?" Angel asked.
"Right. I see how much you and everyone else here loves Angel and I would never want to take her away from you." Roman said.
Lea nodded. She jumped off the couch and gave Roman a hug. Then she forced him to pinky swear that Angel wasn't going anywhere. Angel grinned. That had gone a lot better than she had expected it to. Angel looked at Taker and saw him smiling, even though his eyes told another story.
"You get one warning and one warning only, boy. You hurt my baby girl and I'm going to be the first in a line of people to kick your ass." He said.
"Somehow I knew that was coming." Roman said.
"Don't worry, Daddy. Roman won't hurt Angel on purpose. He's not that stupid." Lea reassured her father.
Taker nodded, but Roman said that he completely understood and had expected no less from the Deadman, given how protective of Angel he was.
It was after this that Angel decided to go and get her things from the Shield's locker room. She left and when she came back ten minutes later, she looked like she'd been crying again. Taker hugged her. Then, they headed back to the hotel. It had been a long night and they all needed rest.