Chapter 3: Crack in the Armor

A/N: So here's the next chapter in this little saga. I can't believe I'm getting this out so fast, but it's fun for sure to concoct this story. I want to thank all of those who have read and reviewed thus far. It means a lot to me that you're enjoying this story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Disclaimer: WWE and all related characters belong to Vince McMahon. I only own the plot and nothing more than that.

Seth was elated when he heard Dean's plan. Yes, he knew a lot about Hunter and Stephanie that many others didn't know, and he hoped to exploit them with the information. He already knew the best way to get to them and that was to talk to Kane. He figured since Hunter and Steph had kicked him to the curb, the next one they would revere would be Kane, though he hoped the big man wouldn't fall for it. The trick was to get Kane to see that The Authority didn't care about him and that they were just using him. Seth was hoping one of his brothers would talk to Kane about it because he was nervous about confronting the big man given their past feud together.

"So, the main thing is to talk to Kane and see if he'll listen," Seth said. "I know Hunter and Stephanie will do all they can to try and keep him in their good graces, but if we can get him on our side, that's a win for us. Who's up for doing that?"

"Not it!" Dean called.

"Not it!" Roman echoed.

Seth sighed in exasperation. There were times when he hated the "Not It" game, and this was one of them.

"Come on, guys, can't you just do this for me?" he begged.

"Hey, it's your idea, so you should do it," answered Dean. "Don't tell me you're scared of him."

"Well wouldn't you be if he chokeslammed you to the mat?" Seth asked him.

"Nah, I'd just get him back," replied Dean.

"So then why don't you talk to him?" asked Seth.

"Because you know Kane better than we do," explained Roman. "I figure that maybe you can get through to him better than we can since he doesn't know us."

"Okay, I'll try, but I don't know if it'll work," Seth said.

Before they could try out their plan, they were asked to appear at a local school for the Be A Star campaign. WWE was big on the whole anti-bullying thing, and The Shield were honored to be asked to represent the company and talk to the kids. After they were introduced, each of them had a chance to talk about their own experiences with bullying. The trick was to get the kids to see that even WWE Superstars have had problems with bullying in their lives so they could relate to the whole venture.

Dean got up first, a smirk on his face. "You know, I may be a Lunatic, but when I was your age, I was bullied a lot in school," he began. "I got made fun of for my height and my looks. People called me poor based on the clothes I wore and for the fact that I wasn't the best student even though I tried my best. This one kid took my lunch money one day and kept bullying me after that. But one day, I just couldn't take it anymore, and so I decided to do something about it."

"What did you do?" a girl yelled.

"I fought him, and he never bothered me again," answered Dean. "I gave him a pretty good black eye, and soon kids were bullying him because he got beat up by me."

Roman took the microphone from Dean and added, "But you kids should never fight a kid if they're bothering you. You should tell a teacher or the principal."

"Yeah, unless that kid keeps bothering you and then you fight him," added Dean.

Roman gave him a stern look. "No, not even then," he said firmly. "And the important thing is that you should never bully anyone yourselves. I may be a big guy, but when I was in school, I got bullied, too. I was told I would never amount to anything in life and that no one would remember me when I was gone. The funny thing is, they were wrong as you can see where I am now. In fact, I got a call from one of the kids who used to bully me one day. He said, 'Man, I always knew you were gonna do good things in life.' And do you know what I told him?"

"What?" a boy yelled.

"I told him that he was a liar because he never thought I was going to amount to anything and that I proved him wrong. And while I became a WWE Superstar, he was still flipping burgers at the local McDonald's."

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with McDonald's burgers," Dean said. "And they have all day breakfast now, too."

"I know, Dean, and that's not my point," Roman said. "My point is that he bullied me and acted like I wouldn't amount to much, and I proved him wrong. And while I have nothing against people who work at fast food restaurants, it was just ironic that the kid who told me I would be working fast food was the one who was working that job while I became a wrestler. At the end of the day, kids, only you know who you will be in life, not anyone else. So the next time someone tells you that you'll never amount to anything, just remember my story and how you can prove them wrong."

The kids cheered for Roman's story, and then it was Seth's turn to give his speech. Although he was in The Shield again, the kids responded with some boos though there were a few cheers as well. He knew it would take some time for the kids to know that he wasn't a bad guy anymore.

One boy in the front row yelled out, "What's he doing here? He's a bully, too!"

"He's not a bully," Roman said. "He's a great guy."

"But he turned on you," the boy protested. "He left you to join The Authority!"

Dean was about to say something, but Seth stopped him and gave a motion that he would field this concern. Dean nodded and stepped back to let Seth have the floor.

"You know, you're right, kid," Seth said. "I was a bully when I turned on my brothers, and I want you to know that it was the biggest mistake of my life. I regretted it every day and still do. The problem was that I was thinking about how my career would be better and how I could do great things on my own without them, so I made a bad choice. But I'm sorry for it, and Dean and Roman have forgiven me for my mistake. See, that's the key for all bullies. You just have to be sorry for what you do and mean it. Then you'll be forgiven for what you do. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes, and the important thing is that bullies need to learn that they can't keep doing what they did. I changed my ways because Dean and Roman reached out to me and helped me see that what I was doing was wrong. It can be the same for all of you. If you're being bullied, reach out to someone, and if you can, reach out to the bully, too. Most bullies are just people who are miserable and who are dealing with certain things. While it doesn't make it right for them to hurt people, some bullies may be in pain just like everyone else.

"Learn from my mistake and don't do what I did. Keep your friends close and know that you're not alone. I was bullied as a kid, too. I think that's why I always felt that I was angry and hated the world. And Hunter and Stephanie bullied me, too, when I was kicked out of The Authority. They turned on me, and in that moment, I knew what it felt like for Dean and Roman when I did the same to them I don't ever want to be that person again. I want to be better than that, and that's why I've stuck with Dean and Roman. They reached out to me, and I'll never forget how that made me feel when they forgave me for my mistake. But even though they forgave me, I have to remember not to do it again and to make sure that they can trust me because that's important too.

"I want every kid here to pledge that they won't be a bully and if they see someone getting bullied that they'll do something about it. Bullying is wrong and no one should have to suffer for it. If you're a bully, get help and know that there are others who feel your pain. I hope that all of you will learn from my example of what not to do and that you will always be good members of society based on your ambition."

The kids cheered and clapped for Seth as he stepped back and made his way for the next Superstar to talk about their experience. He was happy that he was able to talk to these kids and let them know how he'd made a mistake. Hopefully, they would listen to him and not follow his example.

After the session was over, the Superstars spent some time with the kids and signed things for them, too. Quite a few kids came up to Seth and thanked him for coming to talk to them. One kid gave him a big hug.

"I was a bully, too, but now I see it's wrong," the boy said. "I'll never do it again."

"Why were you a bully?" Seth asked him.

"Because people made fun of me for being learning disabled in math," he replied. "I know it was wrong of me to do that, and I'll never do it again."

"That's good," Seth said. "I'm glad you've realized your mistake and are willing to learn from it. That's very important."

"And that's why l liked you, too," the boy added. "You were a bully just like me."

"Yeah, but you know I was wrong, don't you?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, and I'm glad you're sorry and you're learning from that mistake. I'm going to do that, too."

"Good for you, kiddo," Seth said as he gave him a hug. "You better get back to your class now."

The Superstars decided to stay for the lunch period. Dean, Roman, and Seth claimed a table, and the boy Seth had been talking with decided to sit with them along with some of his friends.

Dean looked around the cafeteria. "Man, this takes me back," he said. "I remember starting a food fight in one of these once."

Roman rolled his eyes. "Why does that not surprise me?" he asked.

"Hey, my friend dared me to do it, so I took the dare!" Dean protested. "Hey, do you think I could start a food fight now?"

Roman gave Dean a stern look. "No, and I wouldn't advise it. We're supposed to be good role models, remember?"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a good role model and having some fun," Dean pointed out.

"There is if you get all of these kids sent to the principal," Seth replied with a laugh. "Actually, they would probably send you to the principal for starting the fight."

Dean shrugged. "I got sent to the principal on a regular basis, so I'd be used to it," he answered.

"But that's not a good thing, Mr. Ambrose," said one of the boys. "That's bad."

Dean ruffled the boy's hair. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "I was just kidding. Always be good and do what you're told."

"Much better," Roman praised his friend.

"Do you have any kids?" one boy asked Seth.

"No, I don't have any kids, but I do have a dog," Seth answered. "He's a Yorkshire terrier named Kevin. You wanna see some pictures?"

"Sure," the boy named Gavin answered.

Seth took out his phone and showed Gavin some pictures of his dog. Gavin smiled at one of Seth asleep on the couch with Kevin curled next to him.

"Dean took that picture," Seth said. "He figured it would be good blackmail."

"It worked though," Dean pointed out.

Lunch went smoothly with no incidents. The kids talked to the Superstars about school and asked what their favorite subjects were. Roman answered that he liked history, Dean said he liked recess best, and Seth admitted to loving English class. When asked why, Seth answered that he loved reading and that they often read some pretty interesting books in class. He also admitted that he read on his free time if he ever had the chance.

Lunch period ended, and the kids had to go back to class, though they were reluctant to leave their new friends. They thanked the wrestlers for visiting them and wished them luck in the show tonight. The men thanked them and left the cafeteria to go to the gym to work out a bit before they had to go to the arena.

"That was a nice time," Roman commented.

"Yeah, I liked how you used what you did in your speech, Seth," Dean commented. "It really got the kids' attention."

"I just figured it was a good way to explain how bullying was wrong and I figured if I admitted to my mistake, they'd catch on quickly about how wrong bullying is," Seth answered. "They seemed to take it in stride though."

"Yeah, they did," Roman agreed. "Now all you have to do is talk to Kane and see if you can get through to him."

"Piece of cake," Seth muttered sarcastically.

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At the arena, Roman and Dean went to their shared locker room while Seth sought out Kane. He knew this was going to be difficult, and he wasn't looking forward to having a talk with the big man after all they had been through. He ran into Daniel Bryan and an idea came to him. Daniel and Kane had been tag partners once, so maybe he would have an idea of how to reach Kane.

"Daniel, I have a favor to ask," said Seth.

"Okay, what's up?" Daniel asked.

"You were friends with Kane once, and I was wondering what would be the best way to approach him," Seth said. "I don't really like the idea of talking to him after our feud, but I need to."

"Well, the best way to get him on your side is to give him chocolate," Daniel replied. "Kane has a weak spot for chocolate."

"Are you serious?"

Daniel nodded. "Yep. I remember when we tagged together, he would always make sure to have chocolate all of the time. It made him less moody and more cheerful."

"Okay, I'll see if I can do that. Thanks, Daniel."

"No problem, Seth."

Seth went to catering and was pleased to see that there were some desserts including chocolate brownies. Seth grabbed a few and then looked around for Kane. He found the big man standing and warming up for his match.

Kane glowered at Seth. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Look, Kane, I know we've had our issues in the past, but I really want to talk to you," Seth began. He held out the brownies and hoped that Kane would take the bait.

The Devil's Favorite Demon looked at the brownies and smiled. "How did you know I like brownies?" he asked.

"A little birdie told me," answered Seth. "So, can we talk?"

Kane took the brownies and set them aside. "I can't eat them now because I have a match coming up, but I'll eat them later. And, yeah, we can talk. What's up?"

"I'm just worried The Authority is going to drop you like they dropped me," Seth said. "I want to warn you about that and let you know it's not a good idea to be with them. Get out while you can."

"Seth, the only reason The Authority dropped you is because you dropped the ball in that match," Kane replied. "They felt you were a liability, so they figured they had to get you out of The Authority because they figured you were weak and injury prone. They won't turn on me because I'm strong and fit."

"How do you know that, Kane? What if you get injured and they decide they can't have you either? Then what?"

"I can take care of myself, Seth," Kane said. "I don't really need The Authority. I just decided to join them to see what they could do for me. But if they drop me, it doesn't matter. I'm not afraid of that. I appreciate the brownies, Seth, but I'm happy where I'm at. Now, don't you have to join your boys? I heard you have a tag match."

Seth didn't answer and left Kane. He was frustrated that Kane didn't see what he did and that he didn't care about what The Authority was capable of. But Seth did know, and it was because of this that he was going to help The Shield put an end to The Authority. He joined Dean and Roman in their locker room.

"So, what did Kane say?" Roman asked.

"He didn't listen to me," Seth answered. "He says he doesn't care if Hunter and Stephanie drop him because he doesn't need them. He said we have a tag match tonight."

"Yeah, we're fighting The New Day," Dean said.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Great. More torture from that damn trombone."

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The match with The New Day started off pretty good. Dean started it off with Kofi and managed to hit a few good spots. Kofi's tag partners did all they could to stop The Shield, but the three men didn't let it happen. Xavier even hit Seth with the trombone, causing Roman to spear him and cover him for the win. That caused a brawl between The New Day and Roman and Dean. Seth did his best to try and get involved but his head hurt too much for him to even try. After the brawl was over, The New Day went to the back, leaving The Shield to help their fallen brother.

"Those guys are bad sports," Michael Cole said.

"I'm surprised Roman didn't shove that trombone somewhere else," Jerry Lawler joked.

"All I know is The New Day better watch out for The Shield," Booker T. added. "It's gonna get good."

After the show was over, The Shield headed to the hotel room. Seth had been checked out by trainers and was deemed to be fine and didn't have a concussion though his head hurt from the hit.

"I swear, they need to ban that trombone," Seth said. "Don't they realize how dangerous it can be?"

"Nah, the fans love it," Dean replied. "They won't let it be banned."

"I guess we'll just have to try and get back at them another time," Roman guessed. "Let's get some rest and then we can plan another strategy since talking with Kane didn't work."

The others agreed and settled down to sleep. Seth was disappointed that he hadn't gotten through to Kane and felt like he'd failed his brothers. But he still had a lot of dirt on Triple H and Stephanie, and the least he could do was to share what he knew and let the whole world know what was going on. With that last thought in his head, he drifted off to sleep.

A/N: And that's the end of another chapter. Sorry the match wasn't too descriptive, but I wasn't in the mood to write a long match. It just depends on my mood and whether I feel I can write a long match, and if I don't, then it's short. So now Seth hasn't gotten through to Kane, but what sort of dirt does he know about The Authority? All will be revealed next chapter. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.