Author: eena_angel2001
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Rating: PG-13, for now.
Category: BTVS/WWE
Pairings: Willow/Matt Hardy, Faith/Jericho, Lita/Edge, Fred/Matt Hardy, Trish Stratus/Jeff Hardy.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, any of them. I kind of wished I owned Jeff, but alas, no such luck.
Spoilers: End of Season Six for BTVS, though Willow doesn't go insane, just leaves Sunnydale for LA. Beginning of Season Four for Angel, but Connor is not kicked out of the house, but placed under house arrest. Gunn and Wes are not going to appear in the fic, but they are around, don't worry. I just don't have a use for them, so
the whole Gunn and Fred relationship doesn't exist in this story.
Summary: Challenge Response. The wrestlers need our girls help, as usual.
Original Challenge:
A BtVS/AtS/WWE crossover where at least one of the BtVS/AtS characters saves at least one wrestler from a vampire or demon attack.
Must have:
1. Either Willow/Raven, Willow/Shane Helms, Willow/Kevin Nash or Willow/Matt Hardy
2. Either Faith/Edge, Faith/Jericho or Faith/Randy Orton
3. Either Lita/Edge, Lita/Jeff Hardy or Lita/Test
4. Faith needs to have done her jail time and is now working for Angel
5. The Hurricane gets a new sidekick (totally up to you who and what their "super" name is)
6. Buffy portrayed as a very self-absorbed
7. Faith and Willow save Stephanie from a Jamal & Rosie attack
8. Faith smacking Brock Lesner on the ass
9. Paul Heyman getting put through a table
Use At Least 5 of These Lines:
1. Don't start with me, you will not win.
2. I'm trying to see things your way, but I can't get my head up my butt.
3. Screw you guys, I'm going home.
4. Sorry cowboy, but in my corral 8 seconds ain't no ride.
5. It's been lovely, but I have to scream now.
6. I didn't do it. You can't prove it. Nobody saw me. The sheep are lying.
7. I'll rise, but I won't shine.
8. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
9. Please talk to my face, my breasts can't hear you.
10. You can't spell TEAM without ME.
11. I'm a PBS mind in an MTV world.
12. I do what the voices in my pants tell me to do.
13. If I loved my neighbors as I love myself, there would be a lot more smiles in my neighborhood.
14. Looks like you need a visit from the love monkey.
15. Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?
16. If you can't say something nice about a person, you've come to the right place.
17. A six-pack is not a support group.
18. What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it is all about?
19. Has anger solved your other problems?
20. My cult-like following is now accepting applications.
Use At Least 3 of These:
1. A melted ice cream cone
2. The Electric Slide
3. A TLC match
4. Edge with purple hair
5. Frogs
6. Jeff Hardy in a tuxedo while Matt Hardy wears a bunny suit
7. A Wizard of Oz-esque dream sequence
8. Drunken Faith, Willow and Lita streaking through a hotel lobby
9. Edge, Jericho or Test baby-sitting
10. Faith borrowing Taker's bike
~*~Part One~*~
"It's not my fault Angel! They followed me home!"
Angel pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the massive headache he was starting to develop. When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't help the flicker of amber that washed over his dark orbs when he took in the sight before him.
Faith Wilkins shuffled her feet a bit, hanging her head under the vampire's heavy gaze. She knew he would be kind of angry that she brought them here, but they seemed like they needed help. And they really did follow her here. What was she supposed to do? Just ditch them and leave them to their own devices? She already had to rescue them from one group of demons tonight. They wouldn't make it out of the city alive if she tried to throw them off her trail.
Winifred Burkle sat perched on the lobby couches of the Hyperion. She looked anxiously between Angel, Faith, and the new arrivals. The group of people, if that's what they were, looked decisively frightened and wary of her boss. His low growling probably wasn't helping the matter much. She wished he would stop that, it was
really frightening the group. And her for that matter.
Willow Rosenburg sat rather gingerly on the top of the staircase, looking down at the assembled with a bit of fear in her heart. Angel looked about ready to lose it. She honestly didn't know why, Faith had done a good thing when she saved those people. And this was Angel Investigations, they helped the hopeless here. And if these
people were in trouble, what was Angel's big problem?
"What are they?"
The whisper from her side caused the redhead to jump slightly, jerking her head around to see the person who had come up behind her. Connor, finally slinking out of his Dungeon of Teenage Gloom to see what was going on in the lobby.
"I don't know," she whispered back to the boy finally. "But I don't think they're human. Not entirely anyway."
"Look," the clear voice that rang out startled everyone out of their thoughts. One of the new arrivals had stepped forward, wringing her hands in front of her. Her long red hair was a mess, and she looked worse for wear, but the LA crew could see the strength in the woman.
"We didn't mean to cause any trouble," she pleaded, eyes intent on Angel in front of her. "We're just scared, and we followed her because she killed that thing. We've never come across anyone who could hurt one of those."
"Well, that's because Faith's the Slayer," Angel revealed, ignoring the squeak of protest from the girl in question. "She has the ability to fight these things."
"She can't be," the redhead declared. "The Slayer is an annoying blonde who's living in Sunnydale and refuses to leave there."
Willow bit back a laugh at the rather curt description of her former best friend. Faith laughed outright, sobering when she saw the flash of annoyance in Angel's eyes.
"It's a long story," Fred piped up a bit nervously. The brunette girl gave the newcomers a hesitant smile, pushing her glasses up her nose a bit. "But Faith is a Slayer. There's two on account of Buffy always dying and coming back, which I know is supposed to be impossible, but really not. Apparently the Chosen One prophecy
wasn't made loophole free."
"Then will you help us?" the blonde from the group spoke up, joining the redhead in front of Angel. "I know this sounds weird, but we can explain everything. We need help."
"First, you're going to tell me what you are," Angel ordered, raising a hand for silence. "And then you're going to tell me what's up with this demon thing and why there's a whole bunch after you. And you should give ample consideration on how you plan on convincing me that you deserve our help."
"Angel!" Faith hissed, frowning at the vampire. "We aren't supposed to pick and choose who we help. We help those who need it, not a select few."
"We'll pay you," came the offer from the final member of the group. All eyes turned towards the final stranger, taking in the brunette figure who stood behind her friends.
"We can pay you well," the woman continued, stepping right up to face Angel. Her face was set firm, her gaze never wavering. She had an air of confidence and strength about her. Willow could tell from her spot on the staircase that this girl had power, whoever she was. And that this stranger was also very sure in her power.
"We need your help though," she pressed on. "All the years that we've been hiding from these things, it doesn't help at all. We can pretend to hate each other, to like each other, and to not even know each other, but they don't care. They keep coming for the three of us, and now we've found someone capable of killing them. I'm not
about to pass that opportunity up."
"But again, you fail to answer my first question," Angel grumbled. "What are you?"
The three woman exchanged a glance, the redhead and the blonde shrugging their shoulders in defeat. The brunette turned back to the vampire.
"I'm Stephanie," she introduced herself. "And this is Lita and Trish. And as for your first question, we are not humans. We're sidhe."
Willow felt the gasp leave her lips, but didn't even register it.
She couldn't believe what she had heard. Connor had stiffened next to her, obviously concerned about her reaction to the news, and his father's reaction as well.
Angel stood stock still in the wake of the revelation. Faith and Fred were confused, not sure what to do. Was being a sidhe a bad thing? They had no clue. Faith just hoped Angel wouldn't lose it on the girls she had saved. They seemed to scare pretty easily.
But what the vampire actually did astounded them. There were no words in them for what happened next, because there was no way that they could have anticipated what the vampire did next.
Angel regarded the trio in front of him with a numbness in his heart. He had heard them say it, and he had no doubt of their words once they said it. Left with no other choice, the vampire did what he was obliged to do.
Angel fell to his knees and bowed his head to the three women in front of him.
~*~Part Two~*~
Faith wasn't sure what was going on. Angel was on the floor, bowing to some girls she had rescued from a particularly ugly demon. Only they weren't quite girls, they were sidhe. And as soon as Angel heard that, he was bowing. What the hell was going on?
"Um Angel? Why are you bowing?"
Leave it to Fred to get to the bottom of things. The vampire in question looked up, giving them a half-shrug.
"They're sidhe," he explained. "I have to bow."
"Okay," Fred shot Faith a confused look, which the Slayer returned.
The brunette turned to sidhe with a plea on her face.
"What the hell?" she asked, pointing to Angel. The girls were busy being distracted by Angel's bowing. Lita, the redhead, was looking a bit exasperated while Trish, the blonde, was looking embarrassed.
Stephanie seemed to be the only one unfazed by Angel's actions.
"He's paying proper respect," the dark-haired sidhe explained. "And he can get up now."
Angel started, giving the trio an almost afraid look and got to his feet.
"Angel, what the hell?"
Faith was starting to feel very irritated.
The vampire just gave her a helpless look, turning his gaze to the top of the staircase.
"You two come down for this," he called out. Faith frowned, craning her neck to see who he was talking to. Willow and Connor both peeked their heads over the railing. Fred darkened at the sight of the boy, turning cold eyes forward and refusing to meet his gaze. Fred was still very angry with Connor, something she made sure everyone knew.
No matter how many of them had forgiven the boy, the little Texan could not be moved on the subject. Faith herself was more than a little surprised to see Willow peeking her head over the railing. Ever since the little redhead had shown up on Angel's doorstep just before summer, she had hardly ever left her room. Faith knew the redhead was hurting from the death of her lover Tara. Xander called everyday to check on the redhead, but they could barely coax her to the phone even. But now, here she was, making her way down the steps to see the sidhe, Connor trailing not far behind.
Once they had reached the bottom and everyone had settled on the couches, Angel stood before them and began his story.
~*~*~
Sidhe, apparently, were humans, but not. They were in fact the links between the souls of the earth and the heavenly plane. Essentially, all souls were bonded to the earth through the sidhe themselves. They were amazing creatures, born sporadically to the human race. They were gifts, responsible for much of the good that was in the world. And the sheer amount of power that ran through them was shocking.
But they were mortal. And very easy to kill. Because for all the power in a sidhe, they didn't have magic at their disposal. They were in fact, defenceless against the supernatural of the world.
"And that's why we need your help," Stephanie explained to them. "We've tried everything we can think of to avoid them. We acted like we hated one another, so that they wouldn't suspect us."
"How would that make them not suspect you?" Fred piped up.
"Sidhe are very connected," Trish replied. "We can sense another one a mile away. And we're drawn together because we recognize the power in one another. Sidhe are best friends with one another, and fiercely loyal to their own kind. When we all first met, we decided it would be best to act as if we hated each other. Our jobs have us in public eye a lot. We didn't want to give it away."
"What do you do?" Faith asked out of curiosity.
"We're wrestlers," Lita answered. "Well, Trish and I are wrestlers. Steph's just the boss's obnoxious daughter."
"Bite me Lita," Stephanie returned good-naturedly. "Anyway, we pretended like we hated one another. Even did some really bad things to one another, but it didn't matter in the end. These things, whatever they are, found us anyway. So we decided to stick together, in hopes of keeping the danger down. But it's not working so great."
"But Faith here kicked its ass!" Trish exclaimed. "And my god, we were so close to being killed. We need your help."
"Angel?" Fred ventured. "What are we going to do?"
The vampire sighed, looking between his friends and the sidhe.
"I don't know. But I'm going to figure it out."
~*~*~
"Are they settled?"
Fred nodded at Angel's question.
"They had to call some of their friends, but now they're all in bed," the little brunette sighed, looking at Angel in earnest. "Have you figured something out yet?"
"I want to go with them," Faith piped up. "I can protect them until we find out what these things want."
"You're not going alone," Angel spat out automatically.
"I can go with her," Fred offered, rushing her speech when Angel opened his mouth to protest. "I would like a vacation and since Gunn is all busy with Lorne trying to find Cordy, well, what other option do you have?"
"I still don't like it," Angel muttered. "Just the two of you? There's three of them, each with her own thing to do. How would you keep an eye on all of them?"
"I can go with them."
The offer, whispered from the door, drew everyone's attention that way. All were shocked to see Willow standing there, looking more alert than they had seen her since her appearance in LA.
"You want to go?" Angel asked her, disbelief in his voice. "You sure you're up to it?"
"I am," the redhead affirmed. "I've been couped up in my misery for long enough. Time to get back out there and get back to saving people."
"You sound awfully cliche-ish," Faith raised a brow at her. "Been going to some support group or something."
"Not unless you count my rather spirited friend for the past few weeks," Willow gave a bitter laugh.
"A six pack is not a support group," Fred interjected. "But strangely, it does provide for some good therapy."
"And we're moving on from this topic before I get overwhelmingly big brother on all of you," Angel interrupted the mini-conversation.
Willow nodded, straightening from her spot in the doorway.
"I can do this Angel," she promised. "I think I need to do this."
Angel stared at his old friend for a very long time, eventually hanging his head in defeat.
"You can go."
"Wasn't aware that we needed your permission," Faith snorted, yelping when Fred kicked. The smaller brunette frowned at the Slayer, shaking her head in disapproval.
"Quit while you're ahead for once."
"What if I don't want to?" Faith countered snidely. Fred rolled her eyes at her.
"You're so immature."
"You're so prim and proper. Get the stick out of your butt."
"Hey! Leave my butt out of this!"
Willow watched the squabble with wide eyes, noting the laughing Angel in the corner.
"They've been like this since Faith got out," he informed her, clapping the redhead on the shoulder as he made his way out of the office.
"Have luck Little One. You're going to need it."
~*~Part Three~*~
"I'm trying to see things your way, but I can't get my head up my butt."
Faith let out a growl at that, glaring at the redhead in front of her.
"I'm thinking I like silent and moping Willow better," the brunette muttered darkly. "Quirky and smart-mouthed Willow is less fun."
The redhead smirked at the Slayer, tilting her head to the side and grinning.
"I'm still not doing it," Willow stated, talking more to Stephanie than to Faith. "And there is no way that I'm going to do that sort of storyline. I refuse to hit on some jerk just to get into the WWE. Forget it."
"Okay, getting in through Eric Bischoff is out," Stephanie consented. "I didn't actually think you would go for it. But going in on my side, well, that might alert the demons to the fact that you're there to protect us."
"All the better," Faith grinned. "That way, they come in full force, and I can kill all the bastards in one shot."
"And that's Faith talk for I'll do my best for you," Fred piped up. "And I agree with Willow, no hitting on dirt bags."
"Okay, well, what would you like to do?" Trish asked, leaning forward and a twinkle in her blue eyes.
"I want to be a bitch!" Fred exclaimed, blushing when everyone looked her way. "I meant, that I want the wrestlers to be kind of scared of me. That way, they'll leave me alone."
"Or some of them will challenge you directly," Lita laughed. "You can be as tough as you want, there will always be some asswipe in the WWE who will try and make a name for themselves at your expense."
"That's encouraging," Willow muttered under her breath. "Well, tell me this, what exactly are we expected to do?"
"Wrestle or fight, whatever you can do," Stephanie shrugged. "Eric is a jerk who will try and put you in a lot of gimmick matches."
"Gimmick matches?" Fred repeated.
"Bra and panty, lingerie matches, the usual," Trish supplied. Fred went deathly pale.
"You better not tell Angel about that part," the slight brunette laughed nervously. "I'm not sure you should have told me. I don't like the sounds of those matches. They sound like they involve nudity."
"They do, but I'll try and keep you out of them," Stephanie promised.
"What exactly do you do there?" Willow couldn't help but ask.
"I'm the Co-Commissioner with Eric," the brunette sidhe revealed, a disgusted look on her face. "We were both once general managers of the individual brands, but when Daddy reunited the shows, we were both made Commissioner."
"I have no idea what any of that meant," Faith grinned. "But this place sounds like fun."
"Violence and mayhem," Fred snorted. "Right up your alley Faith."
"Bite me Texas," Faith sing-songed back the other brunette.
"I'm starting to miss my days locked in my room," Willow rolled her eyes. "You two behave. You're acting like Buffy and Dawn, and that's really bad."
"Back onto the show," Lita quickly changed the subject. "How soon can you make it?"
The three humans exchanged a look. Faith smiled at the sidhe.
"How's now?"
Stephanie let out a sigh of relief.
"Now sounds great," the brunette smiled. "But we're going to have to move fast. I can have you signed by SmackDown. But you're going to have to get ready."
"Ready?" Fred frowned. "What entails ready?"
Trish let out an excited squeal, jumping to her feet in joy.
"We're going shopping!"
~*~*~
"I can't wear this."
Faith laughed at the look on Fred's face as the other brunette picked at the outfit Trish had bought her. Willow didn't actually join in, frowning at her own new ring attire.
"I think we don't have a choice," the redhead sighed, throwing her clothes onto her hotel bed. "It could be worse."
"How?" Fred demanded.
"You could have to wear what I'm wearing," Willow shrugged. "At least you should be able to breathe in yours."
"What are you two so grumpy about?" Faith giggled. "I like our new clothes."
"That's because they resemble your old clothes," Fred shot back. "This is not me. It's more like, I don't know, it's not even you."
"I think it resembles Lita's style," Willow offered. "And I think that mine is supposed to be modelled after Trish. Faith lucked out and got Steph."
"You're being negative for no reason," Faith rolled her eyes. "We're on a free vacation, helping out some innocents, and are bound to have a blast here. Can't you imagine how much fun this is going to be? Especially considering the story Steph cooked up for us."
"It is going to be kind of fun," Willow relented begrudgingly. "But I just wish it didn't involve so much leather. How am I supposed to fight without popping out of this thing?"
"Well, they'll probably give you a tank top for your matches," Faith offered helping, poking at the leather tube top Trish had purchased for Willow.
"I'm just glad Angel is on the other side of the country right now," Fred sighed, pulling at the clothes that she had bought this afternoon. "I think he'll like this less than I do."
"That's for sure," Faith grumbled. "We're going to so be in for it once we actually debut. I don't think Stephanie even told him she was going to hide us on the roster."
"He wouldn't have let us go," Willow shrugged. "She knows as much. And as a nice a girl as she is, she's too scared to let anything stop us from helping her. They're in a lot of trouble right now."
"When are they coming to get us?" Fred asked, absently folding her new clothes on top of her bed.
"I think they said four," Faith scrunched her nose up, turning to look at the clock behind her. "And it's three thirty now. We should get ready."
"Can we change there?" Willow asked in a little voice. "The less time in this, the better."
"You know, if you hadn't looked so pale when Trish passed the leather store, you could have avoided this," Faith laughed. "Your reaction probably earned you that outfit."
Willow made a face at the bouncing Slayer in front of her.
"Leave me alone before I turn you into something unnatural," the redhead threatened primly. Fred sighed, shaking her head at her companions.
"Has anger solved your other problems?" she asked them both.
"No," Faith answered truthfully before breaking out into another wicked smile.
"Anger beat the shit out of my problems."
Willow sighed, shaking her head at that.
"And to think, you got out on good behaviour."
~*~Part Four~*~
"You know, I don't think this is a such a good idea."
Lita looked up, noting that it was Edge who had spoken. She smiled softly at the sound of her boyfriend's voice, turning to lean into him a bit. He flashed her a brief smile of his own, before turning back to the monitor in front of him and darkening.
"She shouldn't be out there," he insisted, eyes on the figures of Stephanie and Eric Bischoff in the ring. "That guy's a bastard. And he's tried to have her hurt before."
"I don't think Stephanie much cares," Trish announced from the back of the room, throwing her Women's Title into her duffel bag and slinging the bag over one shoulder. She walked over to her friends, pausing at the side of Jeff Hardy as she watched the happenings in the ring as well.
"She just wants everyone to know that she's not scared of him," the blonde continued, throwing her hair over her shoulder.
"She doesn't have to be afraid," Jeff countered from her side. "She just has to be careful. It's not like Eric is above setting up women for beatings. Are we forgetting the Moolah, Lillian, and Lita incidents so quickly?"
Edge's face darkened further at the mention of the attempted attack on his redhead a few months back. He pulled Lita closer, resting his chin on her head as he glared at the monitor.
"And he did it to Stephanie once before too," the blonde man continued. "He's going to do it again. Why the hell is she out there?"
"Why does she go out there to tell off Brock Lesnar? Why does she publicly defy her father?" Trish asked with a grin. "She's Stephanie McMahon, that's why. And she knows that if she ever expects anyone to do what she says, she has to enfore her own rulings every now and again."
"Why does she enforce them herself?" Jeff asked sourly. "She knows she's heading for trouble when she does. I can't believe I'm saying this, but why doesn't she get goons like Eric has?"
"Because you can't trust goons," Lita answered with a grin. "And Stephanie wants to have people at her back that she can trust. It's like an obsession with the girl."
"Can you blame her?" Trish asked softly, watching her friend as she stood up to Eric in the ring. "After all the crap that people have done to her? All the crap that her own father did to her?"
"And since when are you guys such Stephanie fans?" Jeff asked with an arched brow. "I know you can act civil every now and then, but don't you guys hate each other?"
"I used to hate Trish," Lita shrugged. "Now she's one of my best friends."
"And people change," Trish added. "I'm going to be the example again for that one."
"But people don't always change for the better," Edge put in. "Let's use Y2Jackass as an example for that one."
"We are never going to agree," Lita piped up, raising her hands for peace. "Let's just leave it where it is."
"Or get our butts in gear," Jeff murmured in alarm, looking at the monitor. "Eric's talking about time right now. It's only going to be a matter of time before he makes his way to three minutes."
Edge turned his head to the screen, nodding his head in agreement.
"Let's go."
~*~*~
Willow fidgetted slightly, pulling her tube top up higher. Faith noticed what she was doing, slapping at the redhead's hands.
"You keep doing that, it's going to fall off," the brunette warned her. "Just stop touching it."
"What's our cue again?" Fred asked nervously from the front of the two, peeking her head around the ramp to look at Stephanie in the ring. Faith joined her, eyes scanning the crowd. Stephanie had told them that Eric Bischoff was probably planning something tonight and asked them to help. The three girls were waiting by the side of the stage, more or less out of sight, as the two Commissioners talked in the ring.
"When he starts looking at his watch," the Slayer murmured in answer. "He has this thing about three minutes apparently."
"Probably a bit of bitterness on his part," Willow added from behind. "Only can keep things entertaining for three minutes."
"You know, that was pretty mean," Faith smirked, turning to look at the redhead behind her. "I approve."
"Thanks Faith."
"Is he still blabbering?" the redhead asked suddenly with a distasteful frown on her face. Faith nodded.
"Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?"
Willow could only nod in agreement.
"He's looking at his watch!" Fred cried out, turning to her companions. "I think we better get out there."
Both girls nodded, hefting their weapons up as they moved out to the ring, Eric still talking on the microphone as they did so.
"Did I just say three minutes?"
~*~*~
Stephanie did her best to seem alarmed when Eric mentioned three minutes, not letting her laughter get the better of her. She knew full and well that Rosie and Jamal were hiding somewhere waiting for Eric's cue. Little did Eric know that Stephanie had a plan of her own.
The brunette heard the fans screams, seeing Rosie slip into the ring out of the corner of her eye. Stephanie whirled around, feeling Eric grab her upper arms and held her still. A bit of deja vu for the brunette.
But as the two large men towered before her, Stephanie finally let out the laughter she had been holding in. All three of the jerks seemed confused. Stephanie could only smile and point behind them. Confused, Rosie and Jamal turned around.
And were both met with chair shots to the head.
~*~*~
Fred wanted to cringe when she heard the contact of the man's head and the chair in her hand. But she didn't, forcing herself to feel anger at him instead. He was going to attack poor defenceless Stephanie, a woman half his size. This idiot Rosie deserved what was coming to him.
Both men faltered backwards, not quite knocked out by the shots, but definitely knocked for a loop. Fred dodged both flailing men, turning to her attention to Stephanie and Eric. Willow and Faith could take care of the monsters. Fred had dibbs on the sleazeball.
~*~*~
Willow couldn't help but laugh as she twirled the metal pipe in her hands. It wasn't right for anyone to attack an unarmed person, especially if that person was way smaller. She figured these two idiots had it coming to them.
The redhead planted her feet, gripping the metal pipe just like a bat. Xander's advice from way back in middle school came back to her, bringing a smirk to her face.
"Never imagine hitting the ball Wills. Try to imagine hitting through the damn thing."
And she did just that, swinging the pipe right at the midsection of Jamal.
~*~*~
Faith realized that she didn't need the sledgehammer she had just now, but it was best to appear as if she wasn't superhuman. Beating him into a pulp with her bare hands was likely to raise a lot of questions.
On the other hand, if she used a sledgehammer, no one would be the wiser. At least, that's what Stephanie told her. And Faith was going to take the other brunette at her word.
Gripping the tool in her hand, Faith turned the head to the front and slammed the thing into Rosie's face.
He went down and didn't get back up. Smirking, Faith made sure there wasn't too much damage before throwing him out of the ring. She turned just in time to see Willow nail Jamal in the head with the metal pipe, sending the large man flying over the ropes. The two goons were taken care of.
And that left Eric.
~*~*~
Stephanie had seen Fred coming, bringing her foot down on Eric's. As the man yelped and hopped about on his good foot, Fred got in reaching distance of him. And let loose with an awesome right hook.
Eric hit the floor, hand going to his shocked face. Fred saw Faith and Willow dispose of Rosie and Jamal, tossing a grin at Stephanie.
The Commissioner was heading to the ropes, motioning for a microphone. The three other women had circled Eric by that time. He got up facing Fred, only to receive a smack across the face. That sent him reeling towards Faith, who gave him the similar treatment. And then finally, that turned him to face Willow. Who reared back
with her leg and nailed the man where the sun don't shine.
Eric fell to his knees in agony.
"So Eric, didn't I tell you not to mess with me? Didn't I tell you that exact thing? I remember saying it, I remember saying 'don't start with me, you will not win'. But you didn't listen did you?"
Stephanie chortled into the microphone, stalking around until she was looking down at the man. "You may have your three minutes, but they pale in comparison to my three ladies. And now Eric, let me introduce to the women who are going to be a royal pain in your ass from now on. Faith, Willow, and Fred, the Fury!"
Willow put a sneer on her face, but inside her mind was going a mile a minute. The Fury? What the hell kind of name was that?
Stephanie tossed the redhead a grin, as if she knew what the girl was thinking. Shrugging it off, Willow followed her friends out of the ring, turning back to look at Eric on their way out. The four women slung their arms around one another, forming a female chain, and all laughing at the fallen men around the ring. Fred couldn't help but
smirk to herself at the sight of Eric blubbering the ring.
That was kind of fun.
~*~*~
"I told you she could handle it."
Edge shook his head, staring in shock at the monitor. He turned suspicious eyes to the twinkling ones of his girlfriend.
"Did you know that was going to happen?" he demanded. Lita gave him a pout, a look of feigned innocence coming to her face.
"Would I keep that from you?"
"Yes," came the answer from Jeff. "That would be the only explanation for both you and Trish stopping us from going to ringside. You all knew."
"Maybe we did," Trish laughed. "What does it matter? Everyone's okay. Well, everyone that matters."
Edge shook his head, looking at the women with Stephanie. Two brunettes and one redhead. The lighter of the brunettes looked positively fragile. She was dressed in cargo pants that were barely being held up by a belt and a halter top that left very little to the imagination. The other brunette was dressed in a sheer black tank top and black leather pants. This one looked a bit more imposing, he could see the slight definition of muscles on her forearm. The redhead was exactly like the other brunette, frail looking and tiny. She was dressed in scarlet red leather, a hugging tube top and dangerously tight pants. All had smirks on their faces, looking somewhat dangerous for a second.
And they had just totally annihilated Rosie, Jamal, and Eric Bischoff, which made Edge believe that they were very dangerous. No matter how frail and tiny they looked.
"Who are they?" he couldn't help but ask. Lita rolled her eyes at him.
"Did you not hear Stephanie?" his girlfriend asked him. "They're the Fury."
"I'd laugh at the name," Jeff put in. "If I hadn't just seen what I just saw. It's fitting."
Trish grinned.
"It is," she agreed. "And it's only going to get better."
Edge gave her a look at that.
"What does that mean?" he asked suspiciously. "How much do you two know about these new girls?"
"A whole lot more than we're going to tell you," Lita answered cheerfully. "But let's not dwell on that. Show's over, let's get our butts back to the hotel."
The three other wrestlers consented, reaching for their bags and heading out the locker room doors.
~*~Part Five~*~
"Oh come on Angel. You know me. I do what the voices in my pants tell me to do."
"Xander, you're getting far to wound up about this. There was no nipple showing."
"But you let Faith say dawg!"
Trish and Lita stopped still in the doorway, turning to regard Stephanie with curious looks in their eyes.
"They're overprotective brother figures are upset," the brunette sidhe explained. "And our bodyguards are trying to calm them down. At least, they should be anyway. I think Faith is just trying to rile up Angel."
"For the last time Xander, I don't care this there was nipple!"
Willow yelled into her cell phone at that moment. "It's my nipple and if I don't mind it showing, there is nothing you can do about it. Besides, it was cold, what did you expect me to do?"
Trish arched an eyebrow at that.
"Willow's best friend found her top to be far too skin tight," Stephnaie offered her friends. "He insists he could see her nipples through it."
"Look Angel, we're undercover. And if I want to get under anything or anyone else, you'll just have to deal with it," Faith fumed into her phone. "I'm an adult. And besides, you gave us permission to come here."
"Angel is not happy with the cover we came up with," Stephanie whispered to the other divas.
"Fine, then can I at least say hood?" Fred whined into her cell phone. Lita and Trish turned, waiting on Stephanie's explanation. The brunette noticed their attention and shrugged her shoulders.
"Even I don't know what that's about," she giggled. "But it's a very interesting one-sided conversation to listen to."
"Fine, bye!" Faith turned off her phone, scowling at the machine in her hands.
"I love you guys too," Willow sighed before ending her conversation.
"I don't understand. Who's Fluffy?" Fred looked horribly confused, frowning at her phone. "I fail to see how Fluffy means that. Well, maybe if you let me learn the lingo I won't be so clueless next time. Fine, whatever, I don't care. Just find Cordelia Charles. I'll talk to you later."
And with that, Fred hung up the phone, turning to give her friends a bit of a smile.
"They haven't found Cordelia," she told them. "But Lorne was being held prisoner by some evil casino guy."
"What?"
The question brought the three private investigators' attention to the other occupants of the room. Willow was quick to favour them all with a smile.
"Our friends are crazy," she explained. "And they all have a knack for getting into trouble. Don't worry too much about it."
"Right, well, we just came to collect Willow and Faith," Lita shrugged.
"Faith, you're going have to bunk with me," Trish informed the brunette. "There weren't any adjoining rooms, so we had to settle for that."
"And I got Willow a room right next to mine," Lita jumped in. "I wasn't able to get a double bed one, well, because-"
"Because Edge wants to make with the loving," Stephanie interjected with a snicker. "And Lita needs to keep her man satisfied."
The redhead blushed deeply at the giggles Stephanie's comments ellicited, turning to shove her friend slightly.
"You're mean," she pouted. Stephanie just offered her a grin.
"No, I'm a McMahon," the brunette replied. "We're just really good at the cutting remarks."
"You should meet Xander," Willow smirked. "You two would get along."
"Later," Faith cut in. "Because it's late and we need to get these ladies to their rooms. What's on the menu for tomorrow?"
"Um, well Lita and I are training in the morning," Trish answered. "We'll be at the gym for a few hours. After that, I think we're just shopping and hanging out with the boys."
"Well, we can be at the gym at the same time without raising too many eyebrows," Faith mused. "But the shopping thing is going to require cover. Don't want tip your friends off to the whole bodyguard thing. They might not get it."
"Or, we could meet up and act like friends," Lita suggested with a grin. "The boys already suspect we know more about the Fury than we're letting on. We could probably manage to hang out a lot without raising causing too much speculation."
"Besides, Stephanie made it seem like you were brought in to bug Eric," Trish added. "And Lita and I have made no secret of the fact that we hate Eric."
"Sounds good," Willow nodded, turning to Stephanie and Fred. "How about you two?"
"Well, since it seems like the Fury was brought in as my lackies, I should have no problem being seen with Fred a lot," Stephanie shrugged. "People will just think we're scheming. It'll be fine."
"All right then," Faith grabbed her duffel bag and nodded at the door."Let's get to our rooms."
~*~*~
Willow looked around the small hotel room, feeling a lot better than before. She might have needed to do this job, for herself and to make herself come out of her shell, but that didn't mean the witch still didn't starve for privacy. Being around with other people most of the day was fine, but the redhead still wanted a few hours to herself. When she could be alone with her pain for just a little while everyday. Willow felt like she owed her beloved Tara as much, and she was going to make sure that she never passed a day without giving her lost love the proper amount of consideration.
And at least it didn't make her cry uncontrollably anymore.
Willow sighed, moving to sit on her bed. She picked at her pyjamas, smiling softly at the print of Scooby Doo there. Tara brought her these pyjamas, not too long after Xander had explained the dynamics of the Scooby Gang reference to her. The blonde witch had always been horribly amused by it, but she was always proud to proclaim herself a member of the Scooby Gang.
Willow let herself fall back on the bed, eyes going to the ceiling. Lita was safe next door with her boyfriend. And as long as no giant demon came roaring down the hotel hallway in the middle of the night, Willow was content to leave her there. Love was great once you found it, a person should be able to soak up all of it while they could.
Idly wondering if she should try for sleep or just watch television for a little while, the redhead was startled when the knocking on her door began. Confused, Willow paused to reach for a stake before she made her way to the door. She undid the lock and opened it a crack.
"I don't need you."
Those were the slurred words that greeted her. Willow frowned, staring at the dark-haired stranger in front of her in confusion.
"Huh?"
"I don't need you," he repeated. "You think that I do, but I never did. I'm actually glad that you left me, because then I didn't have to bother doing it myself. It's no big loss Lita."
Willow started at the mention of the other redhead's name. She peered closely at the drunk man in front of her, recognizing him eventually as Matt Hardy. Lita's ex-boyfriend.
"I'm not Lita," she told him quietly. He squinted, leaning in real close to her face to see.
"You're not," he agreed, frowning deeply. "Where is she? I have to tell her I don't need her."
"I think she got the memo," Willow returned with a sigh, shaking her head at the swaying man at her doorstop. "Go back to your hotel room Matt."
He was startled by the sound of his name.
"Do I know you?" he asked slowly.
"No," she replied truthfully. "But I know all about you. And I think you better leave Lita alone."
"I don't care about Lita," he insisted. "I don't care that she left me for the tall blonde idiot. What does she see in him anyway? She was supposed to love me forever."
Willow watched his one-sided conversation carefully, coming to a realization quickly.
"You miss her," the redhead declared breathlessly. He jerked back at that, frowning at her.
"No I don't," he denied. "I don't need her."
"Then why are you looking for her at oh, one in the morning?"
"To tell her that," he returned defiantly. "I don't need her. Don't need anyone. Matt Version One is all better by himself."
"You really miss her," Willow laughed. Matt swayed dangerously for a second, glaring at her as he tried to stumble away.
"No I don't!" he insisted. "I don't-"
He tripped then, falling to the floor in a heap. Peering down at him, Willow noticed with aggravation that he had hit his head and was out like a light. She could have just closed her door and left him there for Edge to find in the morning. No doubt Lita's new boyfriend would have plenty of misery in store for the elder Hardy if he discovered him right outside of Lita's door.
But she couldn't do that. She had seen right in his eyes when he was denying his feelings for Lita. He still loved the other redhead, he missed her terribly. And Willow knew how much it sucked to miss the one you love.
Grumbling to herself for being a sentimental fool, Willow grabbed the man's ankles and pulled him into her room. She moved around him, going to close the door while she frowned down at him. What the hell was she going to do with a drunk wrestler? She should have left him outside.
She honestly was too nice for her own good.
~*~Part Six~*~
Matt had a really bad headache. You know, those pounding migraine like ones that just wouldn't dissipate. And the worst thing is, you know that you had to have done something to bring it down on yourself. Something really bad, involving an insane amount of alcohol. And Matt knew that it was exactly what was happening to him.
At least he was sleeping somewhere comfortable. There was a blanket covering him, a soft mattress at his back. Maybe he had made it back to his hotel room last night. But he couldn't quite remember doing that. He couldn't quite remember doing anything after downing his seventh beer at that bar last night.
Groaning, Matt rolled over, reaching out for the warmth that he knew wasn't there. Only after he turned onto his side did he remember that Lita wouldn't be there.
So imagine his surprise when his arm landed on something, well someone. Reflexively, he wrapped an arm around that body, even though he knew that it wasn't Lita. Which meant that he probably did something really stupid last night. The person in his arms turned around, snuggling closer to him. For the contact he could tell one
thing, it was a woman.
His mind finally started shouting commands at him, telling him to open his eyes. Relenting, he opened them, thinking he would find the likes of Dawn Marie or Stacy in them. But instead, he found one of the cutest little redheads he had ever seen. She was laying next to him, wrapped up in her own blanket. Her features were small, fairy-like almost. Her red hair was lighter than Lita's, a reddish gold colour that fell beneath her shoulders in layers. It was kind of mussed up with sleep, covering half of her face while she slept. She was definitely adorable. But most importantly, he recognized. This was that Willow girl, one of Stephanie's new Fury.
And she was waking up.
~*~*~
Willow felt the arm drape around her, trying to pull her closer. In her sleepy haze, she complied, reaching almost instinctively for Tara's warmth. Her mind started yelling at her immediately, telling her that something was wrong.
First, the arm around her was very muscular. Two, the chest she was resting her head on was lacking something, well two somethings. And that led Willow to one conclusion. This was not Tara.
She opened her eyes, one at a time, and stared at a t-shirt clad chest. Frowning, Willow turned her head upwards, looking right up into a pair of confused brown eyes. She took in the face, mind clicking as she remembered.
"Oh, it's you."
~*~*~
Matt was still horribly confused as the redhead in his arms calmly extracted herself from him and made her way out of the bed. She obviously knew him, or knew who he was, but he was still lost.
"What happened?" he asked, wincing at the dryness of his throat. He tried to sit up in bed, stopping when his head protested to the sudden movement. Willow just tossed him an exasperated look, heading over to a bag lying on the armchair in the corner.
"You don't remember?" she asked, rummaging through her things.
"No," Matt answered, trying to get a good look at his surroundings. Looked just like his room, meaning that at least he ended up at the right hotel.
"You showed up here drunk," Willow explained. "Looking for Lita, convinced that you needed to tell her that you didn't need her at one in morning."
He felt a blush creeping up his neck. He went in search of Lita. Great, just great. It was easier pretending that he didn't miss her terribly when sober. Now this girl he didn't even know knew that he was still hung up on his ex. Great.
"Um, how did I end up here? And in your bed?" he asked.
"Well, you came looking for Lita," she shrugged, turning back to him. He saw she held a bottle of aspirin in her hands and was heading to get a glass of water. She handed both to him when she returned to the bed, settling at the foot of it while he swallowed the pills and water.
"Lita's room is next door," the redhead continued. "I'm guessing you misjudged the number and knocked on my door. And then you fell, knocking yourself out. I dragged you in here and thought leaving on the floor would have been a bad idea. I probably should have left your drunk ass out there-"
"And why didn't you?" he interrupted. Willow seemed to withdraw at that, turning her head away so he couldn't see her eyes.
"I know what it's like to miss the one you love," she answered quietly. "All the while knowing that you're doomed to miss them forever. Felt sorry for you I guess."
"I don't need pity," Matt rasped out. She turned back to him, eyes taking his form in coolly.
"No, you don't," she agreed. "You need to get a grip. One of these days, you'll end up at the right door while drunk. And then Edge would probably kill you, or seriously maim you at the very least."
"Why do you care?" he snapped.
"I don't," she shrugged. "I just felt sorry for you for half a second. It doesn't seem like it will happen again any time soon. Not with that attitude. If you're going to be so disagreeable, there's the door. Might want to clear the hallway before Edge and Lita leave for breakfast. Edge might spear the hell out of you just on principle."
And then she went about her business, seemingly ignoring him. Matt glared at the glass she had given him, feeling angry with himself. Yeah, he was rude, but why did he feel bad about it? The new Matt Hardy didn't need anyone, didn't feel bad about anything. But low and behold, here he was, feeling bad.
"I'm sorry."
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Sighing, and giving up on feeling angry with himself, Matt managed to tumble out of the bed. He stared at the redhead in front of him, offering her an apologetic smile.
"The hang over must be making me more of an ass than usual," he shrugged. "Thanks for this."
"Don't mention it," Willow waved off. "Really don't mention it. I'll never hear the end of it from Faith."
"And Jericho and Christian would annoy me to death if they found out," Matt agreed, looking around for his shoes. Pulling them on, he turned to the redhead with another smile.
"Thanks again, I'm sorry for any problems or anything offensive that I might have said or done."
"You were surprisingly well behaved," she grinned. "Drunk or not, I've known a lot of guys who would have tried something while sharing a bed with me."
"Well, I guess I'm not all bad," he gave a hollow laugh, climbing to his feet and heading towards the door. "Thanks again, Willow."
"No problem Matt," the redhead returned, following him to the door.
She opened it for him, waving goodbye.
"Just try to lay off the alcohol. Drunkedness is unbecoming."
And with that, she shut the door on him. Matt stood there for a second, scratching his head as he stared at the closed door. She was kind of weird.
Sighing once more, the elder Hardy made his way back towards his room. Weird or not, the redhead was right. Edge finding him in this hallway was doomed to result in violent confrontation.
And for once, Matt just wasn't looking forward to it.