"Because The Authority always does what's best for business."
The place was absolutely packed for Monday Night Raw. The atmosphere was something electric; the kind of environment that can never be described fully, it was felt. It takes a special kind of place to be able to witness something such as what was in the building that one hot Monday night, see it in its magnitude. Few minds could truly remember what was happening, witness it detail by detail. Feel the air, the hot temperature rising, taste every moment. It felt like such a blur to everyone involved, including The Authority.
Comprising of "The Game" Triple H, his pretty wife and one of the principal owners of the company Stephanie McMahon, "The Devil's Favorite Demon" Kane, Seth's former lackeys Joey Mercury, Jamie Noble and, of course, "The World's Largest Athlete" The Big Show. All 6 stood in the middle of the big ring, a place that had been the home to pure wrestling since many years before. A place that had showcased the raw athleticism and storytelling only few individuals in the world were capable of. A spot that had forged so many men, each of distinct and unique backrounds, every one with a dream. That was the one place that had taken those men, made them into legends. The one location, the one source of serenity for anyone looking to write their name a part of that same list they'd come to idolize in their youth. A Stone Cold Steve Austin or a Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Even a Hulk Hogan was amongst the dreams of men, despite the idea being far fetched. Despite different personalities coming to play, one thing remained common for anyone who had ever stepped into that ring or was about to, the place of warriors. Each boot laced up, each bottle of oil used to garnish a sculpted body means something. And there are no limits. No limits to what they could get to be. Once a dream becomes an action, it cannot be tainted or stopped.
Which is what immediately crossed the minds of 3 men. The 3 individuals standing behind those double doors, the heavy entry which had once become their solace, their one serenity. It was weird for them to be standing there, waiting their queue, their opportunity to enter the arena. So it was all beginning once again. What they had all been too eager to begin, but too scared to bring up.
A damn reunion.
In all honesty, who would've thought. How that one single, invisible spec of idea could've once again become a thing none of them knew; yet there they were, standing right next to each other, awaiting. Examining carefully. Stephanie and Hunter going on and on about their ideals and plans as The Authority. How much greater they were, how separated they remained to everyone else in the "WWE pyramid". The same words being muttered over and over again, making Dean near insanity, if that was even more possible given his mental state.
"Aaaagghh." The brunette moaned in frustration, making Roman chuckle and smile a bit, "When are they going to STOP?" He walked over to the wall Roman was leaning on and pressed his forehead firmly against the cold enclosure, "They have been yapping and yapping for about 30 minutes now. They are driving me crazy!" He turned his head a little, gaze met with the Samoan's, serious tone of voice now in place, a nod following, "Crazier than usual."
The older man just shrugged apologetically, "That's how they usually start. You know The Authority. They take their time."
Now it was Ambrose who leaned back-first against the block wall looking over to his other now-teammate, "I know but I usually didn't have to listen. I was well into my 20th chicken wing by that mark." Seth chuckled, Dean nodding briefly towards him, "Don't know how you put up with that crap consistently. You had some balls."
Rollins let out a pretty loud laugh, shaking his head, "Nah man. I usually tuned out after, uh, H's second word."
Both Roman and Dean too let go of carefree laughs. This was typically how their conversations backstage turned out, making fun of WWE's silly personalities, praising the good ones. They were all ecstatic the tradition had not been lost.
Roman shook his head briefly before soaking his luscious, black hair with Dasani water. He was always saying how his hair was washed only with a list of good, manly products. The older man would always elicit a chuckle from Dean and Seth whenever he complained about having to spray tap water on the long locks. It was no secret his mane looked better than most of the Diva's expensive extensions.
"Wonder what The Borethority will have to say." Dean sighed.
"Borethority?" Seth regarded the young man who was leaning against the wall right in front of him with a smile and a scoff, "Don't know man. Don't know if we'll find out their point at all given the rate this is going. They aren't past their usual mark yet."
As custom demanded, Ambrose was not able to stay still. It was specially noticeable now that he was anxious to go out there and give a piece of his mind to everyone in that ring. He'd been the most affected of the 3 and wasn't about to let that pass, "Can't we just go out there? NOW?"
"No Dean." It was Roman who spoke, elbows on his knees, head down letting the water drip, a usual routine, "We have to await the right time, remember?" An unspoken conversation flowed amongst them without making eye contact. Yes they all remembered. Crystal clear.
"Well they better hurry it the fuck up. I ain't gonna wait much longer. Not for them." The Ohioan started bouncing on both feet lightly, another one of the usual routines within their group. It was all so known to them at this point. So known and still remembered. Picture perfect.
Sierra
Hotel
India
Echo
Lima
Delta
SHIELD
"Well, there you go." Roman spoke, raising his eyebrows, smirk forming on that handsome face, "Let's go." He let both Dean and Seth walk out first, their usual formation. Placing a hand on Ambrose's shoulder, he spoke quietly but to the point as they both walked out, "Hey and, uh... refrain from speaking for now, alright."
Ambrose looked up at the slightly bigger man briefly before stopping a little to witness the crowd, Roman pausing next to him, "Why the fuck not?"
Upon stepping out there and feeling the atmosphere, it was impossible to answer back to Dean. They were all taken aback by the urgency felt within the crowd. It was an involuntary response by all 3 of them, something they could not help. Something that just happened. Everyone was absolutely unglued.
Their music was drowned in the sea of chants and cheers. Every living soul on those stands were on their feet. It was all so damn... electric. A natural reaction from the fans.
Roman looked over to his brothers. A smile automatically crept up when he saw just how in awe they both were. They sure had missed this. There was nothing quite like that feeling; whenever they would walk through the crowd to that sick theme, in that badass way only they knew how to portray, all eyes on them. There was nothing like it, and if there ever was, it would just be too hard to explain. The perks that came with being The Shield was as close as it came.
"There they are ladies and gentlemen. The Shield." Michael Cole spoke through the too-big-for-a-human-face headset, excitement clear on the announcer's cheery voice, "The men who singlehandedly decimated Randy Orton last week at Payback in a fatal-four-way between him and the 3 individuals now walking down the steps."
"The crowd is electric tonight!" Jerry "The King" Lawler spoke loudly. Another enthusiastic soul in a sea of many.
"Well of course these jerks are cheering for them!" Now it was JBL who chimed in, not quite as vivid as his 2 peers, "These people will side with anything going against The Authority. The Shield are just the flavor of the month for now. It don't matter if they're back together. They will fade again, just like last time."
"Will they now?" Cole spoke, shaking his head, "I don't think so John, I-"
"Of course they will Maggle! They always do!"
Cole chose to ignore his colleague, "Well... and as we're all well aware of by now, that same match had quite a lot at stake, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The same title now around... Dean Ambrose's waist?"
By this point, the 3 guys were already inside the ring. Ambrose was shaking wildly, just itching to actually do something. Actions spoke so much louder than words to him. That was the way things had always worked, the way he'd not-so-generously been taught by life. Seth, on the contrary, was trying to keep his calm, failing in the process given how damn excited he was, crowd not making matters easier for him either. He, however, chose to not mutter a word. It was damn too soon for that.
Roman on his part was the one, that after taking a step forward, spoke, "So Hunter. Here we are. The people you despise so much are standing right in this ring. Right in your face." He paused to encourage crowd reaction, and boy did they react. A brief chant of "This is Awesome" had broken out even before they'd hit the place, "Now since we are actually here... what are you gonna do about it?"
There was nothing from the other side of the conversation. 6 pairs of eyes looked on in a mixture of pure shock and disbelief. All those emotions were felt but more than that there was... anger. Pure anger emanating from The Authority. It was palpable and no loud crowd could drown that. Such a strong feeling could not be stopped or contained.
Triple H furrowed his brow, taking a step forward as well, facing Roman with such intensity in his eyes, "Who do you think you are?" Reigns raised his eyebrows briefly, "Who the hell do you think you are coming here. Coming here to personally attack what I have built." Their foreheads were now touching and the tension was now too strong to be cut down. Tension both men were immensely submerged into they did not notice what was happening a few feet away from them.
Off-mic, Seth spoke quietly, "Ambrose. Hey Dean... Dean!" He was trying hard to contain the man who could not stay still urging to force his fist right through Hunter's face, make him swallow that damn ego of his. Seth placed his hands on the Ohioan's shoulder, trying desperately to hold him, keep him from doing something too stupid. No. Now was definitely not the time, "Dean, hey. Look- look at me." His tone of voice was quiet attempting to promote peace, something that seemed to be having little effect, with Ambrose bouncing wildly in place now, muttering curses to himself. After many attempts at making the older man look into his eyes, blue finally met chocolate brown, "Please calm down man alright. Please calm down. It's not worth it alright. Not worth it."
Ambrose paced back and forth a short distance as Seth followed quickly behind to settle him down, or at least try. The Authority regarded both men intently, everyone having something to say. It was Stephanie who spoke, "Gentlemen." Dean and Seth now moved their gaze to her pretty face, "Look, we- we can work something out okay. We can-"
"And what will that be Steph eh?!" Dean had released himself from Seth's protective, calm bubble and was now walking towards her, anger emanating from him like sweat, "What the hell are you going to do huh!?" Her expression registered nothing short of shock, no response coming out, "ANSWER ME!"
"Dean. Hey! Dean." It was Roman who stepped up this time, turning and placing both hands on each side of the wildman's face. Seth looked on, relieved. If there was anything or anyone who could calm Dean Ambrose down, if there even was such a thing, it was absolutely Roman, "Calm down okay. This is not the right time-"
"And when is it going to be the right time huh Roman!? When!?"
In that moment, their re-occurring argument was cut short by a familiar tune. In the midst of it all, "The Viper" Randy Orton came out walking slowly into the ring. His pace was eternal, his look menacing and calculating. He'd been the man they'd all attacked just a short week ago but they would be lying if they said they'd kept that in mind. They had failed to really remember the attack, their focus completely kept in The Authority and its members.
The handsome man remained outside the ring, ready to attack. He was one simple walk away from the steps, but as always, The Shield was just one step ahead. Dean and Roman had noticed Orton's gaze kept fixated Rollins the entire time. Yes he was angry at all 3 of them but wanted to get his hands on the youngest first, that bit was obvious.
And so they did what they had to do. Both finally got on the same page and walked right in front of Rollins, Dean handing him the title in the process, which he took quickly. It wasn't like he really cared who of the 3 carried it, it was The Shield's championship now.
Everything in that one fragment of time seemed to have stopped. The crowd was now completely silent. Nothing was heard, no movement shown. This was the most quiet a WWE show had been... ever.
This silence, however, was good. It aided thought and encouraged mature action. Time seemed to have gone on forever, an infinity of minutes pacing along patiently. In reality, only a mere few seconds had ran by, as quick as light.
Roman took the microphone to his lips but one simple question interrupted, "Why now?" Hunter. He'd taken a step back. Posture was still pretty tense but the man was really trying to not lose it fully, "Why did you guys do this now? I- I don't understand, Seth-" He looked to Rollins who shuddered a little, Ambrose immediately took a step forward, fully shielding the man, "I thought- I thought that The Authority was your place. It doesn't make any sen-"
"Our little meeting here is over." Roman now had the floor. He'd seen Hunter trying to get close to Seth, feed him guilt, an easy entryway for his lies. Being outsiders for a year meant he and Dean could see right through their little games; Seth on his end was extremely vulnerable to the bullshit, something they could never again afford, last time being painful enough. With his brother's well-being in mind, Reigns spoke as clear as ever, leaving no questions behind, "Only one thing I can say to you Hunter." The Samoan took the step forward Hunter had taken back and placed his index finger on the COO's chest, pressing firmly against the fresh cotton of the expensive-looking suit. He was surprised to not have gotten the taste punched out of his mouth or any other movement coming from the man. He knew right then and there, however, that the motive was in place. Hunter wanted to do it with all his being, it was evident in his eyes, he just knew better, "For the life of you and..." He eyed Steph who was glued to her spot, breath held, "everything you have built, stay clear of us." He paused one more time to eye the crowd, spectators of the show not once moving a muscle, few of them starting to cheer, "Stay away from The Shield's path. Do not question it. The consequences can be quite painful for you and your little group here as you have learned in the past, only this time will be much, much worse. You've been warned."
With that and a chuckle from Dean, who tried to step in Hunter's face and beat the living shit out of him only to be quickly refrained by Roman, all 3 men got out of the ring, Seth being the first one exiting with the strap.
The Authority was absolutely fuming, a strong sentiment felt even from afar. Despite wanting justice to rule in WWE, The Hounds knew it was something that was going to take some fight; some quick, strategic, strong fight. It all had to happen, and soon for the sake of everyone.