He's Me…But Different

A/N: I'm still reeling from Monday Night's ups and downs…damn roller coaster is what that was. Cancer is a touchy subjects for me, having lost my dad in 8th grade to cancer and then both of my grandfathers within a couple years of losing my dad…all three to the same thing…cancer of the Esophagus. Then watching Dean have an emotional breakdown and just…snap…that was hard. Hopefully it's out of his system now and the boys can move on…but I doubt it. This chapter is short…sorry about that, but hopefully still good.

Chapter 4 – Torn Apart

When Raw began in Providence, Rhode Island Roman was the first one out but he looked…troubled and unhappy. When he began speaking the entire arena went silent, fans and superstars alike hanging on his every word.

"I feel like I owe everybody an apology. For months…maybe even a full year…I've come out here and spoke as Roman Reigns and I've said a lot of things you know? I said that I'd be here every single week…I said I'd be a fightin Champion…I said I was gonna be consistent…and I said I was gonna be a workhorse, but…it's all lies."

"It's a lie because the reality is…my real name is Joe…and I've been living with Leukemia for eleven years…and unfortunately it's back."

"…and because the Leukemia is back I cannot fulfill my role, I can't be that fighting Champion and I'm gonna have to relinquish the Universal Championship. I'm not gonna lie…I'll take every prayer you can send my way but I'm not lookin for sympathy, I'm not lookin for you to feel bad for me…because I have faith. When I was 22 years old I was diagnosed with this…and very quickly I was able to put it in remission…but I'm not gonna lie, that was the hardest time of my life. I didn't have a job, I didn't have any money, I didn't have a home, and I had a baby on the way…and football was done with me…but you wanna know what gave me a chance? The team that gave me a chance was the WWE…and when I finally made it to the main roster and I was on the road they put me in front of all of you…the WWE universe, and to be honest ya'll have made my dreams come true…and it didn't matter if ya cheered me…it didn't matter if ya booed me…you've always reacted to me and that is the most important thing…and for that I have to say thank you so much."

"Thank you…but you all know the deal…ya'll know how life is…life's not fair, it's not all peaches and cream…sometimes life throws you a curveball…and right now the best thing for me to do is to go home…to focus on my family and my health…but I wanna make one thing clear…by no means is this a retirement speech…because after I'm done whoopin Leukemia's ass once again I'm comin back home…and when I do it's not gonna just be about titles and bein on top, no, it's about a purpose. I am comin back because I wanna show all of you, the whole world, my family, my friends, my children, and my wife…that when life throws a curveball at me…I am the type of man that will stand in that batter's box, I will crowd the plate, I will choke up, and I will swing for the fences every single time…because I will beat this, and I will be back, so you will see me very, very soon. Once again thank you so much, god bless you, and I love you…believe that."

As Roman leaves the ring the fans start chanting his name which soon morphs into more "Thank you Roman" chants. As he steps onto the stage Dean, Jon and Seth come out from behind the curtain, Seth clearly crying while Dean is making odd faces trying to hold his emotions back…Jon seems mostly unaffected as he hasn't known Roman for very long but he clearly doesn't like seeing his twin upset. Dean and Seth join in the hug and then Roman turns to face the fans and puts his fist out. Dean, Jon and Seth join their fists with his before Dean buries his face into Roman's neck for a moment, with Seth doing the same on Roman's other side. All three men are clearly struggling with the overwhelming emotions of Roman's news while Jon is just watching Dean closely and has an arm slung across his twin's shoulders. Once they get into the back the show goes to a commercial break to allow the fans a little time to process the news before moving on with the show. Backstage Roman is wrapped in hug after hug with words of love and encouragement as leaves the arena to head to the airport for his flight back home to Florida.

When the commercial is over Finn Balor heads out to the ring for his match against Bobby Lashley…which he wins. This helps boost the fan's spirits a bit and get them back into the mood for the rest of the show. The next match up is Ruby riot with her Riott Squad in her corner against Sasha Banks with Bayley and Natalya in her corner. Ruby managed to pull off the win and the Riott Squad made their way backstage crowing in triumph. Liv sees Jon and bounces over to him which earns her a dimpled smile from the man.

"Jon! Did you see? Ruby kicked Sasha's butt!"

"I saw Bubblegum…ya did good Ruby."

"You ok Jon? You seem a bit…out of it…"

"Just worried about Dean…he ain't takin this shit well at all…"

"Take those two back into ya'll's locker room and let them settle in peace and quiet. It might help."

"Thanks Bubblegum…off with ya now fore I end up kissin you again."

"You say that like it'd be a bad thing…"

"Go Bubblegum…celebrate with your girls."

After Liv and her girls leave Jon takes Seth and Dean back into the Shield's locker room and the three of them basically sequestered themselves from the rest of the roster. Dean and Seth were trying to get their emotions back under control so they could focus on their title match later in the night.

Jon, for his part, was pissed off at Roman for not warning Dean and Seth before dropping that little bomb on live TV. Seth had just openly wept in front of everyone and Jon knew his twin well enough to know he was struggling to keep his emotions under control because he hated looking weak in front of others. Jon was the same way and it was one of many traits they shared. He knew Roman probably had a lot on his mind lately with this shit but still…he couldn't have at least warned his brothers a day in advance at least…let them come to terms with it so it wouldn't be such a huge shock for them?

Shortly before their match is set to begin the remaining Shield men meet up with Charley for a little interview, both Seth and Dean clearly still struggling with their emotions though they're a lot calmer now. Dean speaks up first, followed by Seth, and then Jon.

"Seth, Dean, Jon…are you able to put into words the emotions of tonight?"

"There are not words…to describe…the ride that the three of us have been on together…for the last six years. There are not words…to describe…the ups, and the downs, and the highs, and the lows, and everything in between. When you don't know what to what to do…and you don't know what to say…you just gotta do…the only thing you know how to do, and you always do…so tonight…we're gonna do what we always do…win."

"There are no words…but there are plenty of emotions…and tonight we are gonna channel those emotions. I've decided that, since I have this title…I'm gonna let the brothers go after the Tag-Team titles together…so they are gonna go out there, beat Drew, beat Dolph, become the new Raw Tag-Team Champions…and we're all gonna do it for you Roman…we love you…Believe that."

"Look…I haven't known the Big Dog all that long…I only just came out of a coma a few months ago…but he's been there for my twin these past years while I was out…and for that…I owe him. You fight hard Roman…we'll be here when ya get back."

The three of them left the area and eventually made their way up to their usual entrance spot at the top of the stairs. The roar of the fans when they came out was just incredible as they descended the stairs and Dean and Jon climbed into the ring. Dolph and drew came out next and looked ready for the fight.

Dean and Jon dominate the match from the start, Dean's emotions and Jon's worry for Dean fueling their energy as they throw their opponents out of the ring. Later Jon clears the ring on his own until Drew pushes him off of the top of the turnbuckle and he lands in a heap on the mat. When Jon goes to tag in Dean Dolph drags Dean down off the apron so Dean chases him only to get slammed down by Drew. Eventually though Jon manages to make the tag to Dean who really takes the fight to Drew, letting his emotions out in the best way he knows how…with his fists. Jon nearly gets the pin several times with Dean and Seth both running interference, and a constant back and forth between the two teams begins.

Braun comes out and distracts Dolph and Drew, but his focus is on Drew after Drew gave him a Claymore kick earlier in the night and he ends up chasing the Scotsman through the fans and out into the back of the arena while Dean just watches from the floor and stays out of the way. Jon accidentally runs into the referee during the distraction as he and Dolph end up hitting the mat hard. Dolph sits up to realize he's by himself now, and that the Ref is out, so he slips out of the ring and grabs one of the title belts. He climbs back into the ring, clearly intending to hit Jon with the belt only to have Dean pull the belt out of his hands…and then Dolph turns around into a kick from Jon who then gives him a spinning side-slam known as Moxicity and goes for the pin. The ref is only just coming around so Dean and Seth help him back into the ring and he hits the mat for the three count, making Jon and Dean the new tag-team champions. Dolph rolls out of the ring as the ref hands them their belts and the two men manage to stand up for a hug before Seth climbs into the ring with them.

Seth holds the twins hands up and then pulls dean into a hug, saying something to him as they pull apart…and then after the hug Dean drops the belt and pulls Seth into a Dirty Deeds. Jon can hear Renee and her fellow commentators reacting in shock but honestly he's surprised it took this long for Dean to snap. While Seth lays there in shock Dean looks like he's having a mental breakdown as he pounds on the mat with his fists and at one point he bites his own fist and screams, "I can't do this!" but Jon crouches next to him and starts speaking to him in a low tone. Seth says "it's ok" while reaching towards him and Dean's attention snaps back to Seth and he just unloads on him in a flurry of punches. Apparently Seth asks why somewhere during the punches because Dean screams at him, "I thought I told you why!"

Dean starts screaming at Seth while attacking him and Jon looks over at Renee whose just staring in open-mouthed shock with the other two announcers, Michael and Adam, unable to form words either…just a constant repeating of 'oh my god' and 'what the hell is happening'.

"Say it's ok, say its ok! Buddy…huh? Say it again huh? Say it again. Say it! Say it again."

Dean throws Seth out of the ring and into the barricade then sits on the apron and says something to Jon about time before going after Seth yet again. He slams Seth into the timekeeper's area while screaming at him to, "Watch your mouth. Watch your damn mouth." while kicking him. Dean picks up Seth's title belt and throws it at his head while saying, "That's what's important to you right?" Dean goes over and rolls up part of the protective padding at ringside, exposing the hard concrete floor beneath, and advances back towards a barely coherent Seth.

"Yeah, now what huh? How you gonna talk your way outta this one?"

Renee manages to grab Jon's arm as he moves close to her and covers her microphone while asking him if he plans to stop Dean. Jon shakes his head at her question and then pulls away from her as Dean grabs Seth and drags him over to the exposed floor and starts screaming at him again.

"Suck it up. Suck it up! You asked for this! You asked for it! You told me…you told me it was gonna happen…you asked for it!"

Dean plants Seth's head into the concrete with a hard Dirty Deeds and then rips off his Shield shirt and tosses it into the ring, pacing around a bit before hopping the barricade. He waits for Jon to catch up to him with their new title belts before heading up the stairs through the fans who are torn between cheering him and booing him. As they reach the top of the steps Dean looks back down at where he left Seth, his eyes misty as he holds back his emotions, and he kneels down to perform the sign of the cross before standing back up and walking out. Jon pauses long enough to see the referee helping Seth to his feet, with Seth using the barricade for help, before following his twin out of the main part of the arena.

Once they make it back to the hotel Jon finally sits Dean down to talk about everything and figure out what they're going to do next…aside from defend their titles next week against Drew and Dolph who will undoubtedly want their rematch immediately.

A/N: Ok…so this chapter is a bit short…sorry…but I need to think out what happens from here as I just took this story away from the main show's storyline by having Dean and Jon win the titles instead of Dean and Seth. Notice Jon did nothing to even attempt to curb Dean's anger and violence? Yeah…somehow I don't see Moxley being unhappy about violence lol. I just need to figure out where to go from here with this story now. Let me know what you think of my little twist and if you have any suggestions.