Daughter of the Deadman III
Hey, all. Geez. I know it's been awhile, but I've been busy getting ready to move. And I had a bit of a hard time with this chapter. Anyway, I gotta send a thanks to Vader23A who helped me out with this chapter. Thanks so much.
Thanks to: duelistamy, blackbear1020, Cena's baby doll, and nattiebroskette for their reviews. You guys are awesome.
Alright, I will see you all at the bottom.
Chapter 25: Building it Up
It was the next week and everyone sat in the locker room. Everyone except Angel that is. She was pacing back and forth. All week, she had tried to figure out what she was going to about this whole thing and how the buildup was going to go. She didn't want to walk out and say stuff about her Father and Uncle. Nor did she want to have to go out and say things about Lesnar either, knowing that if she did so, she'd get herself hurt or killed.
Angel stopped pacing when she heard The Shield's music hitting. She stopped and looked. Roman and Dean were headed to the ring without Rollins in tow, which was surprising. She wondered what they were doing there.
The two men came into the arena through the crowd. The cameraman backed away from them. He could tell by the look on their faces that they weren't happy. They asked for microphones and climbed into the ring.
"The look on Dean and mine's faces probably say it all, but let me explain what happened last week. Triple H has put Angel in two matches in two weeks at the Over the Limit Pay-Per View. The first of them is a two on one handicap match with the Brothers of Destruction and the second is a one on one match with the Beast Brock Lesnar if she survives the first one. This is punishment for what Angel did to Jen and her friends" Roman stated.
"Now, Kane and Taker…they may be big vicious, and evil when they step into this ring, but outside of it, they love Angel and their whole family. That being said, they don't want to do this, but they have no choice. If they don't do it, something worse will happen to Angel later. Now, Roman and I have known Angel for quite a while. We met her when she first came back and was in NXT. I can tell she's kind and caring. Roman knows she's kind and caring too and so do the rest of you. Am I right?" Dean asked, holding the microphone in the air.
The fans screamed. Back in the locker room, Angel was beaming from ear to ear. She glanced at her father, Grandfather, two Uncles, and baby sister. Even though she couldn't see it, she could tell that they were beaming too. Wyatt was jumping up and down. Kristy was cheering. Bret and Owen were looking at each other, grinning.
"What Angel did to Jennifer and her friends was years of frustration coming to the surface. That's all it was. And Jennifer and company just happened to be on the receiving end of it. It really could have been anyone on the other side of that ring and Angel still would have done the same thing" Dean said.
"OK, enough. Dean and I could stand here all night and talk about what we're gonna do to Triple H on Angel's behalf and get our answers that way. Or he could be a man about it and come out to this ring and give Dean, Angel, all of you, and I some answers the easy way" Roman said.
The fans screamed for Hunter to come out and Roman and Dean waited as patiently as they could. After about ten minutes, there was still no Triple H. Dean sighed.
"Hunter, if you don't get out here right now, Roman and I will walk back there, drag your corporate ass out to this ring and do whatever we have to do until you give us answers" he snapped.
They waited again. This time, the Authority came out to Triple H's King of Kings song. Stephanie followed him, looking worried. She wasn't worried about what Dean and Roman would do. She was more worried if Angel was going to show her face and do something to Hunter. She hoped Angel wouldn't risk it since she was a talented Diva and Stephanie didn't want anything to happen to her.
Stephanie was outright furious with Hunter. So much so, that she had barely spoken to him all week. It wasn't the inter gender match idea that bothered her since she knew that Angel was more than capable of handling herself against the boys, given she had been trained by the Harts and the Brothers of Destruction. It was because Hunter's ego had gotten in the way of business. Although she didn't agree with Angel's actions, she understood that a person could only take so much before they snapped.
Roman and Dean stood there, using every ounce of restraint they had between them to not pounce on Hunter and kick his butt in the middle of the ring. Hunter asked for a microphone.
"I knew this was about what I announced last week" Hunter said.
"You're damn right it is. What you did is out of line! You had no right!" Roman said.
"I had every right, Roman. I'm the…" Hunter started.
"Yeah, yeah. Blah blah blah. You're the Chief Operating Officer. We know" Dean said.
"Hold on, you three. Hunter, Dean, Roman…wait a second, alright?" Stephanie said, stepping in between them, "Roman, I know…you're upset. I promise I'll try and convince him to change his mind, alright?"
Roman didn't say a word. He just opened and closed his fist a couple of times before nodding. Dean nodded too. Roman took the microphone from Stephanie, but before he could say anything Dean spoke up.
"As tempted as we are to destroy you right here, right now, we won't. Instead, we're gonna wait until our time is right. When that happens, you're going to regret this stupid decision" Dean said.
"And it will come sooner rather than later if something bad happens to Angel during those matches. Believe that. And believe in the Shield" Roman snapped.
The two of them threw down their mics and left the ring. They were headed for Angel's locker room when Seth came up behind them and put his hands on their shoulders. Dean and Roman turned around. They weren't surprised by the fact that he looked disgusted.
"You're defending that psycho?" he asked.
"Seth, shut your mouth unless you want my fist in your face" Roman snapped at him.
"Or my boot up your ass" Dean added.
"Is there something going on with you and Angel, Roman?" Seth asked.
"If there was, I wouldn't be stupid enough to tell you. You'd go running to everyone who would listen and tell them" Roman snapped.
They turned and walked away from Seth. The ties between the three members of the Shield were getting more and more frayed lately. Roman and Dean were sure that the inevitable break up was coming, it was all a matter of when and how. Roman and Dean walked to the locker room and knocked on the door. Taker opened it and let them in. Angel ran to Roman and gave him a hug and a kiss and then she hugged Dean.
"You guys...thanks. You didn't have to do that" Angel said.
"Hey, it was no problem, Angel" Dean said.
"Yeah. Oh, by the way, I think Stephanie knows there's something going on between us. And I think Seth has figured it out too" Roman said.
"Oh, that's just great" Angel said.
"Well, Stephanie could tell that he was really upset. And then jackass—aka Seth—asked him directly if there was something going on between you two" Dean said.
"I said that if there was, I wouldn't tell him because he'd go telling anyone and everyone" Roman said.
"What do we do now?" Angel asked.
"I don't think that the Shield is going to last much longer, Angel. There's a ton of tension between the three of them. It's only a matter of time now" Bret said.
"That is so not going to be fun" Kristy said.
"I hope it happens sooner rather than later. I'm getting awful sick of having to keep this whole thing bottled up and hidden. It sucks" Angel said.
"You two do realize that once he finds out, he's gonna make things hard on us...and you two. Right?" Dean said.
"Let him" Angel and Kristy told him.
Dean and Roman looked at each other, but nodded anyway. Angel grinned and slipped into the bathroom to change. She had to go out and talk to the fans, but this time, she was at a total loss for what she was going to say. When she came out of the washroom ten minutes later, she was wearing a black tank top, jeans, her sneakers and a trench coat. Kristy painted her dark circles under her eyes.
"Ang, what's with the coat?" Kristy asked.
"Gradual re-transformation" Angel said.
"Can you pull it off in two weeks?" Owen asked.
"I'm gonna try. I need to get back to my roots if I'm gonna make it through Over the Limit" Angel said.
"What are you going to tell the fans anyway, Angel?" Lea asked.
"Whatever comes to mind. Wish me luck." Angel said.
"Good luck" Lea and Wyatt said in stereo.
Angel laughed. She pulled off her jewelry and handed it to Taker. Then she gave him, Lea, Wyatt and Roman hugs and left the locker room. She was nervous this time. Usually when Angel went out to the ring, she had a rough idea of what she was going to say, but this time, she had nothing. Angel calmly walked down to the ring using her Three Days Grace theme song. She stepped into the ring and asked for a microphone. Then she took a deep breath.
"Usually, I come out here and put a mic in my hand and just say what I need to say. Usually what I need to say comes to mind no problem. However, this time, it's a little different. I'm not sure what to say about Triple H's announcement last week" Angel said.
Just then as if on some sort of cue, Angel heard Triple H's music hit. She sighed and rolled her eyes. Stephanie was following him too, but she didn't look happy to be there. The two of them got in the ring and asked for microphones. Triple H smirked.
"Angel, this is the part where you come out and say that you're going to beat the Brothers of Destruction and the Beast Brock Lesnar and you tell the fans how it is you're going to do it" he reminded her.
"If you think for one second that I'm going stand out here and mouth off about my Dad, my Uncle and Brock Lesnar, then you must really not be able to look past your nose. Contrary to what you think, Triple H, there is no way that I am that stupid" Angel said.
"Oh?" Hunter asked.
"I have too much respect for my father and Uncle to mouth off about them. Because honestly, they have worked harder than anyone I have ever known. They've also done a lot for the business. And frankly, I'm afraid of Lesnar and I know for a fact he would walk out to this ring and beat me senseless if I say things about him, so I'm not about to do that. Again, I'm not that stupid" Angel snapped at him.
"Angel, please do something for me would you?" Stephanie said.
"Uh...that depends on what it is. I know I usually do things without question or complaint, but this time, I don't know..." Angel said.
"This won't be so hard, don't worry. Say how you really feel about this to Hunter's face" Stephanie said.
"Are you sure?" Angel asked.
"I'm sure. Go ahead" Stephanie said.
She dropped her microphone and left the ring. She knew she would have to deal with Hunter's inevitable anger later, but she would deal with it when she had to and not before. He didn't like it when people stood up to him and she knew it, but this time she knew Angel was at a loss for what to say. She also knew that Angel was right. Kane and Taker had both worked hard to get where they were at and it wasn't right to have someone in their own family disrespect them. She also knew that Angel wouldn't do that. Then there was Lesnar, who probably would kill her if she said the wrong thing.
"Alright fine. You want to know how I feel about this Hunter?" Angel asked.
"Since you have Stephanie's permission to do this, I have no choice but to listen to it" Hunter said.
"I did what I did to Jennifer and her friends because I snapped. I'd had enough of the bullying. I'd had enough of Jennifer's whining and cheating and getting everything she wanted with no hard work. My frustrations boiled over. And what Dean and Roman said earlier is true. It could have been any Diva across that ring from me and the same thing would have happened" Angel said.
"And I'm supposed to care?" Hunter asked.
"No. What you're supposed to do is not punish someone for losing their temper. What you're supposed to do is realize that a person can only take so much before they snap. And above all, what you're supposed to do is look past your ego—which may be the one thing you have that's bigger than your nose—and realize that sometimes business needs to come first" Angel snapped at him.
"What's your point?" Hunter asked.
"I just made my point. What happened to your God daughter and her friends could have happened on any given night to any given Diva. I still would have snapped. My other point? Stop thinking about you and trying to feed your ego and start thinking about the WWE and what is best for the people on your payroll" Angel snapped.
"Why you little...you come out here and lecture me about how to run my business?" Hunter snapped.
"Last I checked, Triple H, your father in law was still the Chairman of the WWE. Therefore, that makes it his business, not yours. As for these matches you put me in, well, frankly, I hate it. I hate it because I'm being punished for no reason. But I also know that if I do manage to get out of it, you'll just do something worse to me later. So therefore, I'm just going to say this. I'm just going to give it everything I've got like I always do because that's what my family and the fans expect. If I beat the Brothers of Destruction at Over the Limit, then fine. That means I face Brock Lesnar. I...don't see myself winning that one in all honesty, but again, I'll give it my best" Angel said.
"How admirable" Hunter said.
"Oh, Hunter, by the way, you're going to learn a lesson of your own at Over the Limit" Angel said.
"And what is that?"
"You're going to learn that you can knock me down and even kick me when I'm down, but I will rise again and when I do, I will be stronger than ever. And I will make you Rest...In...Peace" Angel said, a slight growl creeping into her voice.
She dropped her microphone and left the ring. The fans cheered as she walked back to the back. She wasn't really looking where she was going and she bumped into someone. When the person spoke, she gasped. It was Brock Lesnar of all people.
"Uh...um...sorry about that...I..." Angel started.
"It's OK. I was looking for you anyway. I just wanted to tell you something before our match" he said.
"Oh?" Angel asked.
"I'm not happy about this either. I am a lot of things, but a Woman beater is not one of them. I actually feel like sending Hunter on a one way trip to Suplex City" Lesnar said.
"Be my guest, Brock" Angel said with a laugh.
"Seriously, though. If you happen to beat your Dad and Uncle and have to get in a match with me, I'll try to be careful, OK?"
"Alright. Thanks" Angel said.
She walked off, feeling shocked. This was the exact opposite of what she had heard about Lesnar. She had heard that he was hard to get along with and only back in WWE so he could make good money while at the same time do less work. She walked quickly back to the locker room and when she opened the door, Taker and Lea both hugged her and so did Kristy and Wyatt.
"It's about bloody time someone told him off" Kristy said.
"You know he won't be happy about this right? He got told off by a woman" Taker said.
"I don't care. Every word was true" Angel said.
"You OK, Angel?" Lea asked.
Angel nodded. Then she explained what had happened with Brock Lesnar in the hallway. Everyone was surprised except for Taker. He knew Brock quite well and knew that he had told the truth. Lesnar was a lot of things, but a woman beater he was not and he was only doing this because he had to.
"I've known Lesnar for a long time, baby girl. He has been called a lot of things by a lot of people, but he is not a woman beater. It doesn't surprise me that he's not happy about this" Taker said.
"That's what he said to me. I'm inclined to believe him for a change" Angel said.
"Are you and Kane going to have anything to say about this, Papa Taker?" Wyatt asked.
"Kane and I are like Angel. We don't really know what to say to the fans" Taker said.
"Somehow you two walking out and saying Angel is going to Burn in Hell and going to Rest in Peace and all that won't go over so well. Will it Daddy?" Lea asked.
"Somehow I don't think so" Taker said.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Owen was closest to the door so he answered it. Kane and Stephanie stood there. Owen let them in. Stephanie looked around and smiled.
"I knew there were things going on with you and Angel, Roman" Stephanie said.
"Yeah, there is. Just...keep it from Hunter will you? I don't want Hunter using me against Angel like he's done with Kane and Taker" Roman said.
"Right" Stephanie said.
"So what's going on?" Angel asked.
"You're taking the time between now and Over the Limit off, Little Angel. You need to be at a hundred percent for this one. It won't be easy" Kane said.
"And you've got a re-transformation to make from what I hear" Stephanie said.
"Yeah, I do" Angel said.
"And, well, next week...your father and uncle have to go out and talk about what they're going to do...at Over the Limit" Stephanie said.
"Lovely" Taker said.
"I know you guys don't like it, but it's part of the job" Stephanie said.
Taker and Kane looked at each other and nodded. They knew that Stephanie was right. They would have to go out and talk about the situation they were in right now. They weren't looking forward to it either. Neither one knew what they were going to say. They knew Lea was right and that going out and telling the crowd that Angel was going to Rest in Peace and Burn in Hell wasn't going to go over too well. Contrary to what Angel thought, fans loved her.
"Do they have to, Ms. McMahon?" Wyatt asked.
"Unfortunately, Little Guy" Stephanie answered him.
Wyatt nodded. Stephanie was right. It was part of the job and Kane and Taker were doing it because they had to and not because they wanted to. Stephanie said she was sorry and that she couldn't do anything to get Hunter to change his mind and that they would have to go through with this because he was more determined to see Angel punished after what had happened that night. Then she left. Kristy looked at Angel, Kane and Taker, looking stunned.
"Look, before you speak...we have no choice, alright? It sucks, but we're stuck with it. Hunter is out to punish me and that's fine. I've taken worse punishments before" Angel said, giving Kristy a meaningful look.
"I can't believe you're doing this" Kristy said.
"Do you want us to not do it and have to watch me go through worse later?" Angel asked.
"Well...not really" Kristy said.
"Alright then" Angel said.
She went and changed out of her ring gear. When she came out, she was wearing jeans and a tank top. She felt exhausted. She hadn't been sleeping well as of late. Her nightmares had returned full force ever since Hunter had announced this match. She rubbed her eyes. Lea hopped up on the couch and climbed into her sister's lap. She stared at her worriedly.
"Don't worry, Lea. As soon as this is over, I'll be fine" Angel said.
"But what about until then?" Lea asked.
"I don't know, Lea. I'll just have to deal with the nightmares I guess" Angel said with a shrug.
Lea nodded and gave her a sister a hug, but she still looked worried. She wasn't the only one. Everyone who was close to Angel was worried about her. Even Stephanie was worried about Angel and how this was going to affect her going forward.
Angel set Lea beside her and stood up. She picked up her bag and left the locker room, telling her father that she'd be waiting outside for them and that she needed to think. When she left, Stephanie turned to Taker. She started to speak, but Taker held up his hand and stopped her.
"The only way that this is going to affect Angel going forward is if your husband holds onto his grudge and makes life hard for her. Do your best to not let that happen and it'll be fine" Taker said.
Stephanie nodded. Taker knew Triple H quite well and knew that he could hold a grudge for a long time. Stephanie knew that as long as her husband was mad at Angel, it would indeed affect her going forward.
"I'll speak to him" Stephanie said.
Taker nodded and thanked Stephanie. Then they all left the locker room and met up with Angel. Then they headed back to the hotel. It had been a long couple of weeks and they weren't done yet.
Dun dun DUN lol cliffhanger! I hope you guys liked it! Please leave a review! Bye bye for now!~Taker's Soul Girl