Hello readers, and welcome to my newest fanfic 9AM In Italy. Things are going to be played a little differently. This here is going to feature quite a bit of supernatural stuff, so I hope you're ready for an electrifying experience. This is the prequel story to xxFeistyxx's Dangerous Liaisons starring her OC Arianna Mendillo in Italy 1863, and of course stars the most electrifying man in sports entertainment, the Rock! So when you think of Ari, think of a 'dark side' AJ Lee and think of the Rock as…the Rock. You smell what the Rock is cooking? Good, now let's get going with chapter one of 9 AM in Italy!

Chapter 1: Way Back When

"if you smell what the Rock is cooking."

These 8 bold words molded into one iconic phrase was going to be the mantra that defined a generation. This phrase was going to define a great battle. This battle was going to define a man who would captivate the world. But only one person would personify the electricity and greatness that was to become of this soon-to-be legendary man, and her name was Arianna Mendillo.

The year was 1863, and city was Milano, Italy. The country had just gained its independence a couple of years prior, and things were definitely beginning to look up for the citizens. Was there a bright future ahead for the country? Only time would tell.

One person who definitely didn't care about bright futures this bright morning was a woman by the name of Arianna. Awaking from her deep slumber with cranky eyes, she grabbed her towel and made her way to her home's bathroom. The bathroom featured a huge rotating mill that could be used for a number of purposes, such as scooping up armfuls of water, showering, washing your face, giving pets a bath, or even washing your own clothes.

As Ari made her way in, she caught a glimpse of her older sister Amanda, shining her face up with as much cosmetic cream and baby oil as possible. "Damn sis, don't you think your face is shined up enough? You look like a mirror ball," Ari snarkily commented, as she made her way to the mill, brushing her teeth.

"Screw you Ari," Amanda said, rubbing more. "You can never ever put a limit on beauty. Many men are going to be at this gala tonight, and I intend to look as good as possible. Maybe one of them will take me home with them tonight," she said grinning.

Ari rolled her eyes at Amanda as she began washing her face. "You know damn well that all you want is their money anyway," she said in a sarcastic tone as Amanda scoffed. "That's not true at all and you know it! I'm just trying to secure a safe and financial future for myself! Not everyone can be the harbinger like you Arianna. Mom and Dad spoil the hell out of you," Amanda said, finishing up the last of her shining session.

"You've got an entire new wardrobe, they give you money anytime you need it, and you're engaged to that handsome aristocrat Alberto Del Rio," she said, slightly jealous. "You should feel honored that you've got it all."

Ari finished cleaning herself up and listened carefully to Amanda as she changed clothes. "Look, being me isn't all that it's cracked up to be. I love Alberto and all, don't get me wrong but—" she was cut off as the two ladies' older brother Aaron came barreling through, making his way into the bathroom and shoving them out as he closed it and locked it. "Get out of here, this one's gonna blow!" his voice echoes through the bathroom wall.

The smell whiffed its way through the cracks of the door, making both girls' faces grimace at the horrid smell. Their mother, Autumn Mendillo, happened to walk by, and paused, her nose catching a whiff at the horrible smell as well. "Did Aaron pull a muscle again?" she asked.

Ari shook her head as she began to walk by. "Trust us mom, you don't want to know," Ari said, picking up the pace as she began skipping away. "Stay out of trouble Arianna and make sure that Alberto is there to protect you, understand?" her mother called after her. "Yeah mom, thanks for caring!" Ari said, and as she grabbed her bag, headed out the door where her two good friends, Layla El and Eve Torres were waiting for her.

Eve had already known Ari's secret for quite a while, but for some odd reason, Ari refused to pull the trigger on telling Layla her secret just yet. Eve didn't know why, but she was willing to keep a secret for her best friend no matter what.

"Hey Ari, glad to see you again!" Eve said, hugging the brunette as did Layla. "Yeah, we haven't seen you in days!" Layla exclaimed, but Ari rolled her eyes.

"Big whoop. I've only been either stuck at home or over at Alberto's," Ari said, acting as if it was a big deal.

"You must love being engaged to him," Layla commented with a smirk, nudging her in the arm.

Ari sighed. "Hell no I don't. I'm not trying to settle down, I mean I'm only 20. Good grief, but my parents don't seem to care about that at all," she said. "He keeps trying to get me to take the next step, which is bed, but I'm not sure I want to," she said, as the girls started walking.

"Well he'll get over it eventually. Besides, don't you like a guy with a big ego anyway Ari?" Eve asked, as Layla grinned, both awaiting a response.

"You know I hate you two right?" she said, smiling and laughing with them as they trekked along. They immediately stopped in their tracks, and hid behind a dumpster when they witnessed someone being thrown into the side of a building.

From Ari's view, it looked like a homeless man who was getting the holy hell beaten out of him. The abuser? An apparent bald-headed giant who looked to be about seven feet tall and 400 pounds at the very least. The other girls hid behind Ari as she watched on.

The giant made his way over to the rather rough looking man, and seized him by his shirt. "Alright Foley, quit holding back on me. Where the hell is my money?!" he yelled in at the man named Foley, Ari had presumed.

Foley spat a loose tooth out of his mouth and it hit the giant in the forehead. "I already told you Show, I don't have any money for you. So you can toss me around all you want, just as long as you have a nice day when we're done here, alright?" Foley said. Ari had to admit, whoever this Foley guy was, he was taking this beating like a man.

She began to hop out and try to go help, but Eve pulled her back down, covering up her glowing hand. "Not here Ari," she hissed, making Layla raise an eyebrow. She would have to ask about that later.

As the three ladies poked their heads back out, they were astonished to see the giant called "Show" apparently slapping the hell out of Foley's chest, and tossing him around like yesterday's lunch.

What they didn't count on however, was a young looking man in his 20s turning the corner and entering the array. The man had on what looked like an expensive thousand dollar looking shirt, sleek black slacks, and some black loose-fitted shoes. What really caught Ari's eye was the tattoo that he was sporting on his right arm; it looked like a bull of some kind, and needless to say, she was definitely tuned all the way in now.

Right when the man turned the corner, Show had tossed Foley, and as if he had sensed it, the man with the Brahma Bull tattoo stepped to the side, although part of Foley's blood stained his expensive shirt, and Ari smirked at the displeasured look on his face.

Glancing at the giant, the man made his way towards him, stopped and rolled his shoulders. Show caught notice of this, and raised his arm in the air in a mighty fashion, roaring to the skies. The Samoan man simply quirked an eyebrow, then in mocking fashion, repeated the same action that Show had just done.

The giant roared. "You think you're funny? Why don't I just choke yo—" he stopped speaking in his tracks as the Samoan held up his hand. After looking around to make sure that everyone was quiet, he decided to captivate everyone in attendance with a dramatic entrance. "FINALLY, THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO MILANO, ITALY!" he rang out in charismatic fashion.

He then carried on. "You think you impress the Rock Big Show? With your overgrown hairy ass and your baby bald head, raising your hand up in the sky like you're reaching for a stack of toilet paper? The Rock says you are nothing jabroni," he said cockily.

"Nothing? How about I destroy you right now!" Show threatened, but the Rock slapped him dead in his face. "You ruined the Rock's shirt, so now the Rock's gonna return the favor by whooping your monkey ass all over Italy!"

Big Show glared down at the cocky man who called himself the Rock, backing up a few steps. "I'm not afraid of anybody! I can beat up Foley and I can sure as hell kick your ass!" Show responded, as Rock started to laugh.

"Sure you can jabroni. The Rock looks at you Show, and as he sees sweat rolling down your bald head, and piss rolling down your leg!" The Rock paused for a moment, before pulling out a footlong Italian sandwich from his bag and continuing. "The Rock says he's gonna take this long Italian bread sandwich, smooth it out real nice, put condiments on it, but hold the mayo because the Rock doesn't like mayo, toast the sandwich up, turn that sumbitch sideways and stick it straight up your candy ass!"

The Rock's ears perked up a bit as he sensed some hushed laughter from nearby, and as his shaded eyes searched his surroundings, finally landing on three ladies hiding behind a dumpster. Layla and Eve had ducked their heads down, but Ari stayed up watching with genuine interest. Her eyes were met with cool smile and an infamously raised eyebrow, causing her to slightly giggle as the Rock turned his eyes back to Show.

It was a good thing that he did too, because Show had a rather large balled up fist coming in strong toward his face. The Rock ducked to the side, beginning to deliver right hands to the giant repeatedly. As Big Show lost his balance, the Rock's last right hand sent him stumbling into a pair of trash cans. Still not content, Rock allowed Big Show to get to his feet before hooking his right arm around Show's shoulders, and dropping him straight to the hard pavement.

"if you ever mess up the Rock's expensive shirt again, there's gonna be hell to pay, you understand that jack?" Rock warned the giant, as he crawled away.

The man known as Foley made his way over to the Rock as the man with the bull tattoo took his shirt off and threw it to the ground. "Hey, Rock isn't it? I just wanted to say thanks for the save back there. I didn't think I would be able to take him alone," he said, flashing an odd-looking smile at the Rock to say the least.

The Rock shrugged him off. "Yeah whatever jabroni. Just don't expect the Rock to fight all your battles for you. He only did it for his shirt," he said, and even though Rock was shrugging him off, Foley felt as if they had somehow become best buddies.

"However, if we're going to be friends as you call it, you must remember one thing, and one thing always jabroni," Rock warned. "What's that?" Foley asked.

"If ya smell what the Rock is cooking!" he shouted out loud as electricity rang down from the skies in impressive fashion, and Rock was on his way.

Ari looked up at the sky in amazement. She definitely hadn't known that there were others like her around. Individuals capable of such amazing power. With this, she definitely was determined to find out just who the Rock was and what he was about, and just maybe on the side, get to know him a little better.

Not bad huh? I do hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter. It was definitely fun and there will definitely be more on the way, so stay tuned! I'd like to thank xxFeistyxx for allowing me the opportunity to write this prequel to her story because I'm having a ball with it. Be sure to read her fic "Dangerous Liaisons" as it will help make sense of what's going on now and what will transpire in the future chapters so stay tuned everybody and don't forget to review! (:

-Ronnie