Raging Storm
Chapter 23: The Highway to Hell
By: Jay Winger

Note: this is set immediately after "Chapter 22: Dead Men Walking" and parts of it take place during "Viper's Revenge" by Boulder, in Chapter 16 ("Messing with the Game") and Chapter 17 ("He's Gonna Pay.")

To recap: Commissioner Foley met the Storm as he arrived at the arena, asking what the stipulation was going to be for the Summerslam match, but the Storm told him he'd already cleared it with Vince McMahon and that Foley would find out the stip later. Elsewhere, Billy Rose told Rhino he didn't care what the stipulation was going to be, that he had made the Storm who he was (and that the Storm would still be "Metalhead Matt," a jobber in CIW, if it weren't for him), and that he would un-make him at Summerslam. The Storm's match that night was a 6-Man Tag with Kane and the Undertaker against Rose, Rhino, and Brick. In the match, Rose had delivered Brain Damage to the Storm, then bloodied him a bit until `Taker intervened and sent Rose for the Last Ride, allowing the Storm to pick up the win. Later, as the Storm was cleaning up backstage, Stone Cold and Rain got upset with him for refusing to tell them his stipulation. Finally, the Storm hit the ring and called out Rose, and told him: "It's time to end this, Billy. I'm gonna send you to Hell -- in a Cell!"

Teaser: The stipulation has been named: Summerslam, Billy Rose and the Storm, Hell in a Cell. Nobody can believe it, but the two are now on a one-way trip to a brutal match.

Rating: R - for violence and profanity

Disclaimer:  All things WWF are property of Titan Sports.  The characters of Matthew "the Storm" Skinner, Claire "Rain" Whittaker, Billy Rose, Brad "Brick" Dickerson, Roger "Zed" Ziger, and Mike "Zeta" Zahn are completely fictional.  I do incorporate a few traits from existing WWF wrestlers, but for the most part, they're my creations.  The lyrics to Brick's entrance theme and the Storm's were written by myself as well.  (For those who are curious, I title Brick's theme "Breaker" and the Storm's "Force of Nature.")

THURSDAY: Smackdown!, 10 August

"Okay, Billy, here's how it goes. We have a match at Summerslam. We could have ourselves a regular match, but that's not good enough. I wanted something very special, something far worse than that Street Fight we had just a few weeks ago. So I started thinking about what sort of match we could have in Los Angeles, what sort of match we could have in front of the very people who helped us become who we are today, what sort of match we could have in front of the CIW fans who will no doubt be in attendance.

"So I started thinking about how we got to where we are today. And I realized something. Billy, we've been beating the hell out of each other from the moment we met in CIW. You did some sick stuff to me, Billy, and that's what turned me into a survivor, someone who had to withstand the insane things you tried to do to me, and that, in turn, turned me into the Force of Nature. But my very rebellion against you led to you trying to take me out personally. You couldn't rely on your cronies, so you fought me yourself, and we beat the living hell out of each other! We've beaten the hell out of each other in the ring! We've beaten the hell out of each other in the locker rooms! We've beaten the hell out of each other in the street, in the hotels, even in the goddamn hospital!" He paused, leaning over the ropes to glare at his nemesis. "It's time to end this, Billy. I'm gonna send you to Hell!

"--in a Cell!!"

"Oh, my God!" Michael Cole said in unison with his broadcast partner.

"The Storm's lost his mind!" Jerry Lawler wailed.  "Hell in a Cell with Billy Rose? He's gotta be crazy!"

The look on Rose's face was as though he'd seen a ghost.  He stared at the glaring face of the Force of Nature in the ring, then lowered his eyes as he scratched at his temple.  The Californian raised the microphone to his mouth, then lowered it, pacing to the side for a moment as he tried to come to grips with the Storm's pronouncement.  Finally, Rose turned back to him, stared at him a moment longer, then finally said: "You're outta your fucking mind!"  The Storm just smiled a psychotic smile.  Rose shook his head, then repeated, louder, "You're outta your fucking mind!  Hell in a Cell?  Are you crazy?"

"Probably," the Storm said.  "S'like I said, Billy, getting Brain Damage from you's cleared things up a bit.  I mean, come on, Billy, why're you so scared?  You've never shied away from fighting me before!  Hell, you've taken great pride in the shit you've done to me in the ring, breakin' glass jars over my head and trying to tear my arm off."  Rose scowled and shook his head.  "Whassa matter, Billy?" the Texan sneered.  "You scared?  Is that it?  Are you scared to face me in front of our former comrades in CIW?"

Rose scowled again, and the Storm went on, "Come on, Billy, this is right up your alley!  You always like to talk about how you are the 'Mental Elite,' and how you can outwit anybody in the ring.  Well here's your chance to prove it, Billy!  Beat me at Hell in a Cell and everybody'll know.  The most brutal kinda match the WWF can offer!  Are you man enough to accept?"

The former owner of CIW's eyes narrowed.  There was a pause as the fans cheered and chanted "Storm! Storm!" Finally, Rose raised the mike to his lips.  "You got yourself a match."  There was an eruption of cheers.  "In a few weeks at Summerslam, you're gonna fuckin' die, Storm.  I'm not just gonna give you Brain Damage, I'll break your freakin' skull in!"

The Storm just smirked as the fans booed Rose.  "Billy, I'm giving you notice.  You've got two weeks to get your affairs in order, get yourself right with God or whatever, and get set to get wrecked, because when you face me at Hell in a Cell, you won't be dealing with just a survivor, you won't be dealing with Matthew Skinner, you'll be dealing with one unstoppable Force of Nature!" The fans popped.  "And that--" The crowd chanted the rest of the phrase with him: "--is your Storm Warning!"

The Storm threw down his microphone and climbed up on the turnbuckle, raising a fist in the air, a wild look on his still blood-stained face as Billy Rose frowned from the ramp, the music of "Force of Nature" playing in the arena.

* * *

Minutes later, the Storm was heading back to his rental car in the garage, Rain, Zed, and Zeta walking along behind him, clamoring ineffectually about his announcement.  Wrestlers appeared in doorways as he walked by, staring in shock.  The Storm finally came to a halt as the form of Commissioner Mick Foley appeared before him.  The hardcore legend stared hard at him, then turned to Rain and the Z-Men.  "Rain, guys, could I speak to Storm alone for a minute?"

They nodded, gave the Storm a worried look, then left down the hall together.  Foley jerked his head to the side, indicating for the Storm to join him in his office in the boiler room.  Once there, Foley wheeled on him.  "Are you out of your mind?!" the former Mankind roared.

"No," the Storm said simply.

"Are you seriously telling me you want to face Rose in a Hell in a Cell match?" Foley demanded.

"I am seriously telling you I want to face Rose in a Hell in a Cell match," the Storm confirmed.

"Why?!" Foley snapped.

"I made my reasons clear," the Force of Nature said.  "And no amount of yelling or arguing is going to convince me not to have this match at Summerslam.  And, yes, I know you speak as the voice of experience, having been in two Cell matches yourself, but you are not going to talk me out of this.  Vince McMahon has approved of this match, against his better judgment, and you cannot overrule him."

Before Mick Foley could argue further, the Storm turned on his heel and walked out of the boiler room, leaving the Commissioner to throw one of his stuffed animals at the wall in frustration.

MONDAY: Raw is War, 14 August

Billy Rose, Brick, and Rhino all arrived early for the show and quickly set up shop in one of the locker rooms.  Rose was pacing, running his hands through his highlighted blond hair, clenching his fists periodically.  Brick was seated in a chair by the door, seeming to take up an entire corner of the room.  Rhino, meanwhile, watched Rose pace before speaking, "So what's the plan for tonight?"

Rose snapped at him, "I'm thinking, dammit!  Gimme a minute!" He stopped, turned his face heavenward, sighed, then resumed pacing.  "I've got two things to take care of here: Hunter and his damn Alliance, and Skinner and his fucking death wish."

Rose paused suddenly, tilting his head as something occured to him.  A smile slowly crept across his face.  He turned to Rhino.  "I've got an idea.  I know how to get under Hunter's skin and get the Alliance all fucked up.  I have a job for you, Rhino, as soon as the Helmsleys get here."

"What about the Storm?" Rhino asked.

"Don't worry about him, he's not here," the Californian said.  "I spoke to Foley, and he's given him the night off.  Hell, I hear he's not even in town, so relax.  We can focus all our attention on Helmsley."

* * *

Rhino lurked in the corridors, turning the small canister of mace over in his hand.  He heard the sound of the limosuine's tires halting on the concrete in the garage, and prepared himself.  His mouth twisted in a smirk of anticipation, then waited for Triple H and Stephanie to walk into view.  The WWF Champion was whispering something to his wife, who giggled.  Rhino stepped into view.  Triple H immediately scowled.  "What do you want?" he snapped, stepping in front of Stephanie.

"Rose told me to give you something," Rhino said, casually flicking the cap off the mace behind his back.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Rhino raised the mace before the Game's nose. "This."  He squeezed the trigger, and Triple H shouted in surprise and pain, hands clapping to his eyes.  Rhino threw aside the mace, stepped back, screamed a battlecry, and charged forward, all 280 pounds of his body driving into Hunter's abdomen, and slamming him into the wall.  Stephanie screamed in fear as Rhino stood back up, turning to her immediately.  Steph's eyes widened as the man-beast grabbed her without a word, and carried her off, WWF title in her hands, ignoring her protests and struggles.

* * *

Many states away, Matthew Skinner calmly parked his rental car in front of the warehouse in Connecticut.  He stepped out into the warm summer air, squinting briefly into the setting sun through his sunglasses, then turned and closed the door.  Claire wasn't with him, as he had left her with Roger and Mike while he did this on his own.  He locked the doors to the car, then went into the warehouse.

Within, several workers were busy constructing parts of the Summerslam set, which did have the standard stylized "SS" logo, but also appeared to consist of several burned-out car wrecks.  The backdrop for the TitanTron was there as well.  Scaffoldings and metalwork was everywhere, but none of that got Skinner's attention.

What did get his attention, however, was the metal mesh being welded and put together near the center of the room.  Any wrestler or fan would have recognized it in an instant.  They had seen it as part of a menacing structure that had been part of some of the most brutal matches in WWF history.  They had seen Mick Foley sail off its top twice, crash through it to the unforgiving mat below twice.  The very mention of its name sent chills down some people's spines.

"Hell in a Cell," Skinner whispered as he gazed at it.  Behind his sunglasses, his eyes gleamed, as beautiful but violent images drifted through his mind.  He reflected back on some of the matches that had taken place, how he had watched them from hotel rooms or wrestling houses that he shared with some of his fellow workers back in CIW.

Skinner recalled quite clearly how, while he was still in CIW, he would gather with Zed, Zeta, Hal Maxim, and Nate Starr in their shared house to watch pay-per-views, especially the WWF ones.  The PPV Badd Blood in `97 was almost overshadowed in his thoughts because of another, much more infamous event that took place that year.  But Skinner, who at that point had shed his blood countless times before the CIW fans and had been put in matches as equally brutal as the first Hell in a Cell, remembered it because of the uniqueness of the match.  No one, to his knowledge, or anyone else's that he knew, had ever built a structure like the Cell before.

Less than a year later, Skinner and his friends gathered again to watch King of the Ring, and they were all in various states of shock and awe after witnessing the Mankind/Undertaker match.  By the time another memorable Cell match took place, Skinner was no longer in CIW, and was either in Texas or touring in the Japanese circuit.  February 2000, he was finishing up a Japanese tour and didn't see No Way Out, though he had Claire tape it for him.  The brutality of that Cell match was something he intended to watch several times for ideas, just as he had watched the Royal Rumble Street Fight of that same year before Fully Loaded just a few weeks ago.

Skinner was resolved that he was going to end this feud at Summerslam, come Hell or high water.  And he was going to mentally prepare himself as best as he could.  First thing he was going to do was get in touch with some of the people who had survived previous Cells.

Skinner looked back at the mesh structure being put together in the middle of the warehouse.  "See you soon," he whispered, before leaving.

* * *

Back at the arena, Rose was leaving his locker room, Brick and Rhino following.  Within the locker room lay a semi-conscious Triple H, having just received a belt shot between the eyes, the Alliance gathering around him.  Rose smirked, shouldering the stolen WWF title belt as he headed for his limo.  On the way, he was confronted by a frowning Commissioner Foley.  Rose smirked at him.  "Hello, Mick.  What can I do you for?"

"You can give back that title," Foley growled.  "It doesn't belong to you."

"Possession is nine-tenths of the law, Mick," Rose replied.  "It does now."

"You didn't win that title in the ring," Foley said, "so it isn't legally yours.  Give it back, now."

"Not gonna happen, Mick," Rose said, pulling it off his shoulder and prodding the Hardcore Legend in the chest.  "Look, I do what I want, when I want.  You try to screw me, and I'll kill what few brain cells you've got left.  I'm smarter than you.  I outsmarted Triple H, simple as that.  If he's fool enough to leave his guard down like he did tonight, then he doesn't deserve to carry around this belt.  So, if you'll excuse me, I've got a plane to catch."

He shoved Foley out of his way and started to walk away, but the Commissioner lashed out and grabbed his arm, turning him back around.  "Look!" the former Mankind shouted.  "I'm the Commissioner of the World Wrestling Federation, and like it or not, you will respect that fact.  I have the ability to make your life very, very miserable around here.  So unless you start listening to me, you're liable to find yourself wishing you'd never sold CIW and come here in the first place.  Get it?"

Rose's eyes narrowed slightly.  "Okay, Mick," he said after a moment.  "If Triple H wants his title back, all he has to do is try and get it.  Simple as that.  If he can outsmart me, then I'll give it back."  He yanked his arm out of Foley's grip and left down the hall.  Rhino followed, and after glaring at Foley for several moments, so did Brick.

THURSDAY: Smackdown!, 17 August

Rose had a definite confidence in his smirk as he rode in his limo to the arena. Skinner was not in town, according to rumors. He was apparently down in Texas somewhere, but for what reason he didn't know. Rose didn't give a damn, either. All he knew was that he didn't have to worry about that maniac jumping him.

Instead, he had Triple H to worry about, but Rose wasn't too worried. He was more than capable of dealing with him. He was still smirking as the limo pulled into the arena. Brick was the first to step out of the limo, scowling at hapless interviewer Kevin Kelly, who stepped back in fear. Rose chuckled to himself as he climbed out, wearing the (stolen) WWF Championship belt around his waist. Rhino climbed out next as Kelly asked, "Billy, can I get a quick word?"

Rose smirked. "Sure thing, `cuz I'm in the mood to talk."

Kelly asked, "Thank you, Billy. A lot of people are wondering how can you stomach the sick games that you played on Triple H, first with Rhino attacking the Game and abducting his wife and WWF title -- which you still wear to this day -- and then the ambush on him back in the locker room that left him having to be carried out by the Alliance. Your response to this?"

Rose frowned a bit as he thought of a response, then smiled in that unsettlingly evil way of his. "You know, since coming to the WWF I've made quite an impact. My street fight with the Storm is now regarded as a WWF classic moment. Mankind being thrown off the Hell in the Cell cage -- phht, child's play to what I've done. I've crippled the Storm, destroyed Lone Star, put Austin on the shelf and now the Alliance -- which has been a thorn in my side since that loser Viper lost the title to my man Rhino here -- is next on the hit list. Triple H claims to be the king of mind games, heh, not anymore. Anyway, as Storm often puts as now one of his most favorite phrases I'm not a prick bastard…I just don't care."

Rose shoved Kelly away and strutted off with Brick and Rhino in tow. When he reached his dressing room for the evening, he found Commissioner Mick Foley waiting for him. Rose's smile faded quickly as he glowered at him. "Commissioner, what do we owe the displeasure?"

"Just thought I'd tell you you've got a match tonight," Foley replied with that irritating little smirk of his.

"Really?" Rose said, smirking in kind. "Good. Help warm me up for the Cell match."

"Against Kane," Foley concluded, then walked past the stunned Rose and out the door, humming his entrance music as he left. Brick watched him go, then growled a bit to Rose.

"I know, Brick, you want Kane," the Californian replied. "Don't worry, you'll get him."

Rhino asked, "What about me?"

"You keep an eye out for Helmsley. I don't want him getting anywhere near me without getting Gored, get me?"

"Got you."

"Good."

* * *

"The following contest is scheduled for one fall," Tony Chimel announced.

There was a pause, then the OvalTron lit up with the face of Rose glaring out. "How long? How long? How long? -- I said how long? I said how long? I said how long? ... Until you crack..." Rose himself then strode out to a resounding chorus of boos. He wore his usual ring attire, a dark set of tights with crimson trim and his loose, unbuttoned red overshirt. Around his waist was the WWF Championship, which Rose gestured at before raising his arms to the sides and hitting his smug-smirk pose. "Introducing first, from Los Angeles, California, weighing in at 245 pounds... BILLY ROSE!"

"This man is sick," Michael Cole remarked. "Playing head games with Triple H and actually stealing the WWF title belt! That belt doesn't belong to him!"

"Billy Rose is a very smart man, Michael," Jerry Lawler said. "He outsmarted the Game, why shouldn't he have a title?"

"Because he didn't win that title, King," Cole said. "He stole it, by sending his crony Rhino to ambush Triple H and kidnap his wife!"

Rose shrugged off his shirt and tossed it aside, then removed the title belt, stepped out of the ring, and went over to the timekeeper's table. "You make sure no one takes this, get me?" he threatened the man. The timekeeper nodded nervously. Rose rolled back into the ring and posed again, just before there was a massive explosion of red pyros on the stage. Rose blinked and turned to face the ramp as the lights dimmed and turned red.

The masked form of Kane strode out of the smoke and toward the ring. "And his opponent, weighing in at 325 pounds... KANE!" The Big Red Monster climbed onto the apron, over the top rope, pointed at Rose, then flicked his head upward as he raised his arms overhead, then snapped them down. Red pyros exploded at the corners of the ring, and the lights returned to normal as Kane adjusted his glove.

Rose circled Kane warily, then lunged forward and aimed a kick at the midsection. The big man caught the foot, shook his head, then spun Rose around. The Californian tried to come out of the spin with a lariat, but it didn't faze Kane, who floored Rose with an uppercut. Rose staggered to his feet, then ran off the ropes and tried a clothesline. It got a similar result and Kane just clotheslined him back. Rose crawled to his feet again, then yelled as he was whipped hard into the corner. Kane caught him from behind as he bounced off the turnbuckle and gave him a back suplex.

Rose held his back in pain as he rolled to his knees, then got punched against the ropes. Kane punched him a few more times, then whipped him across the ring. Rose came off the ropes and ducked under Kane's clothesline, shot off the ropes again, and lunged back at Kane with a front dropkick. Kane grunted and staggered back against the ropes. Rose quickly rolled to his feet and snapped his forearm across Kane's chest. The audience whooped as Kane grunted from the arm-chops. Rose chopped twice more, then tried to whip Kane across the ring. Kane planted his feet, started to reverse the whip, but he held onto Rose's hand, then whipped him back at the ropes he'd just vacated. Rose went flying over the top.

Rose rolled to his feet with a slight groan as Kane dropped to the floor nearby. The Californian raised his head as Kane grabbed him by the hair. Kane cocked back a fist to wallop him, but Rose threw his elbow into the masked man's stomach, driving the air out of his lungs. Rose got to his feet, grabbed Kane's head and slammed it into the steel stairs. Kane grunted loudly in pain, and Rose quickly slipped down and clipped Kane's leg with a drop toehold, bringing Kane's face into the steps again. The "prick bastard" looked up at the ref, who was shouting for them to get back in the ring. Rose made a dismissive snapping motion with his fingers at him, then pulled Kane back up. He quickly draped an arm over the Big Red Monster's shoulder, held on and clipped a leg, dropping Kane hard to the floor with a side Russian leg-sweep. The Californian stomped a few times, then pulled Kane up and rolled him into the ring.

Rose looked down at the still unmoving form of Kane, then went over to the corner. He climbed to the top, guaged the distance, and launched off for a Savage Elbow. While he was in mid-air, Kane did his trademark 'Michael Myers' sit-up. As a result, Rose landed hard on the mat where Kane's head had been moments before. Rose held his arm in pain as the Masked Monster stomped him a few times before going off the ropes and dropping a big elbow on Rose's chest. Kane scoop-slammed Rose on the mat, then climbed to the top rope and waited. Rose stumbled to his feet, turned around and got flattened by the flying clothesline.

Kane stood up and raised a hand in the air, waiting for Rose to stagger upright again. As soon as he did, Kane clapped his hand around his throat. Rose gagged, trying to fight free. Rose could see over Kane's shoulder toward the ramp, and managed to smirk. The reason became clear as the titanic form of Brick climbed into the ring and drove his forearm into Kane's back, breaking the choke. The ref called for the bell as Rose slipped out of the ring and grabbed the WWF title belt from ringside. Chimel announced Kane the winner by disqualification while Brick held Kane up long enough for Rose to blast him in the forehead with the belt.

Brick continued beating on Kane as Rose urged him on, but then the Californian looked up as he heard the fans start cheering inexplicably. Rose frowned, then realized what was going on. He turned just in time to see Triple H slide into the ring, sledgehammer in hand. Rose ducked the hammer swing and dropped the title belt, kicking Helmsley in the stomach and peppering him with fast right hands. Before long, however, the Game blocked one swing and fired right back, the crowd's cheers growing with each blow that landed. Finally, Triple H gave him a gutshot, then positioned him for a Pedigree. By this point, however, Brick had turned from his beating of Kane and wrapped his meaty hand around Triple H's throat, lifting him overhead in a gorilla press. Rose dropped to the mat, grabbed the WWF title, and started for the ramp, but stopped half-way there. The rest of the Alliance was on its way, carrying chairs.

"Brick, time to bail!" Rose hollered to him before jumping the barrier and escaping through the crowd. Brick turned, saw the approaching threat, and dropped Helmsley behind him. Viper struck first, but Brick only staggered a bit. Soul, Rattler, and Test followed up with their own strikes, one after the other, but the Breaker refused to go down. Triple H was on his feet by now and directed Rattler and Test to deliver a double boot to the face, knocking Brick over the top rope. The fans clamored as Brick landed on his feet, backing up the ramp with a large scowl on his face. Triple H glared after him as the big man disappeared backstage.

FRIDAY: 18 August

Matthew Skinner drove his rental car across the state of Texas, face as blank as ever as he approached his destination. His cell phone rang. Skinner glanced at it, then punched the speaker button. "Skinner," he said by way of greeting.

"Matthew," came the concerned voice of Rain, "where are you?"

"Texas, just outside of San Antonio," Skinner replied.

"What are you doing there?" Claire asked him.

"Preparation. For the Cell. Listen, I'm almost there. I'll call you back later." Skinner hung up before his girlfriend could protest. He turned off the road and down the drive of a small ranch, toward the house on the land. Skinner parked his car, climbed out and went over toward the man in the cowboy hat who was tending to some manner of yardwork near the fenced-in corral.

The man in the cowboy hat turned around as Skinner approached. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked in his gravelly voice, a voice which countless WWF fans knew in an instant. It was tinged with a hint of anger at the intrusion, but Skinner recognized the voice, no doubt.

"Shawn Michaels?" Skinner asked.

The Heartbreak Kid's eyes narrowed a bit. "That's right."

The Force of Nature offered a hand. "Matthew Skinner, aka 'the Storm.'"

Michaels frowned a bit, and the angry look on his face evaporated. "Oh, hey, I've seen you on Raw and Smackdown! You've got talent."

Skinner smirked a bit. "Thanks. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Michaels tilted his hat up and frowned a bit. "What about?"

Skinner paused before answering, removing his sunglasses and looking determinedly at HBK. "Hell in a Cell."

-more to come-

Next: The Storm returns to Raw and continues to pick the brains of Cell survivors, while Rose continues to fight "A War on Two Fronts."

Afterword: If you have any ideas for who you think the Storm, Rain, Zed & Zeta, Brick or Billy Rose should team up with or go up against, drop me a line at jay_winger_2k@hotmail.com. If I misrepresented anything about HBK or how the WWF does their set-designing, my apologies. I took creative liberties. By the way, there won't be any more with HBK in the next fic. This was a one-shot thing.