Raging Storm
Chapter 24: A War on Two Fronts
By: Jay
Winger
Note: this is set the Monday after "Chapter 23: Highway to Hell"
To recap: After much taunting and yelling by the Storm, Billy Rose accepted the Hell in a Cell stipulation of the Summerslam match. The Cell stip didn't sit well with the Storm's friends, or Commissioner Foley, but the Storm was unwavering. The following Raw, the Storm had been given the week off, so Rose tried to settle his feud with the Alliance by abducting Stephanie and stealing Triple H's WWF Championship. The Storm, meanwhile, was in Connecticut, going to the warehouse where the WWF built its PPV sets and watched as the Cell was constructed. On Smackdown!, Rose told Foley that Triple H was free to take the title back, if he could outsmart him. In his match with Kane, Rose was saved from a chokeslam by Brick, but then Triple H ran out to attack Rose. Rose fought back, and Brick again saved him, but the Alliance attacked him with steel chairs and sent him packing. The Storm was now outside San Antonio, where he visited the ranch of none other than Shawn Michaels, so he could pick his brain about the Cell.
Teaser: The Storm returns to Raw and continues to pick the brains of Cell survivors, while Rose continues to fight two factions at once.
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.")
MONDAY: Raw is War, 21 August
Billy Rose, Rhino, and Brick were gathered in their locker room when Harvey Whippleman stuck his head in the door. "Um, Billy?" Brick, who was lurking by the door, turned and growled at him. "Sorry, uh, Mr. Rose?"
"That's better," Rose smirked, turning as he pulled the stolen WWF Championship belt from his bag. "What do you want, Harvey?"
"I just spoke to Commissioner Foley, and he's booked some of tonight's matches," the wimpy stagehand said.
"And this should be of any importance to me why?" Rose said, getting out his tights and ring gear.
"Um, first, Brick's got a match against Bradshaw," Harvey said. That got Brick's attention. The APA hadn't been heard from in several weeks, not since Rose and Brick had attacked them backstage. Bradshaw had been the worse injured, getting squashed against concrete by Brick before being thrown onto the roof of a car and getting a 2x4 broken across his back. Brick made a low rumbling sound in his throat.
"No sweat," Rose smirked. "That beer-swilling Texan idiot doesn't stand a chance."
"Also, Rain's got a match tonight against Lita," Harvey went on, consulting a list in his hands. "Number one contendership for Ivory's Women's title."
Rose hummed a bit, glancing at Rhino. The man-beast caught the look and grinned sadistically, squeezing his wrist. Rose gestured for Harvey to continue.
"The Storm's got a match against Rhino." Rhino blinked and glanced to Rose. Rose shushed him before he could protest, and nodded to Harvey. "And, um, Mr. Foley's booked you in a match too."
"Really, now?" Rose said. "Who against?"
"Undertaker," Whippleman said. Rose's smirk faded as he went on, "and if you lose, you have to give the title back to Triple H."
"Well that ain't gonna happen," Rose said. "You can go now. Brick, come on, we've got strategy to plot."
* * *
The Storm pulled into the arena's garage and climbed out, his face as unreadable as ever beneath his black sunglasses, as immobile as stone. He swung his duffel bag onto his shoulder and headed toward the locker rooms. As he stepped into the hallway, he stopped a passing stagehand. "Where're the Z-Men?" he asked.
The stagehand pointed. "Down the hall, third door on your left."
"And the Alliance dressing room?"
"Uh... second turn on your left, first door on your right."
"Thank you," the Storm said, not looking at him as he walked off. He went straight to the Z-Men's commandeered restroom, dropped his bag on the sink, pulled his "ugly-stick" out of it, and tapped it in his palm as he walked straight back out. Rain, who had just finished tying her boots for her upcoming match, ran out after him.
"Storm!" she said, running around in front of him and halting him. "Where are you going?"
"Gonna have a small chat with Helmsley, s'all," the Storm said. He followed her gaze down to his ugly-stick. "This is just insurance, in case Prick Bastard tries anything. I'll see you before your match." He pushed around her and continued on toward the Alliance VIP room. Rain watched him go with worry, then returned to join the Z-Men.
* * *
Test looked up as someone knocked on the door to their room. He looked around, took stock of who was there, then picked up a 2x4 as he went to the door. "Who is it?"
"It's UNICEF," came a sarcastic reply. "Just open the freakin' door."
Test opened it part way, peeked out and then immediately started to shut it, but the Storm wedged one end of his ugly-stick into the doorframe. "What the hell do you want?" Test demanded.
"Hunter in there?" the Storm asked.
"Why do you care?"
"I just wanna talk with him, that's all. About Hell in a Cell."
Test blinked, and looked back at the Game, who picked up his sledgehammer and held it ready. Triple H nodded to Test, who opened the door all the way. The Storm caught his ugly-stick and let it dangle in his fingers. "I come in peace," the Storm said. "Besides, as it stands right now, we've got something of a common enemy."
"Rose," Triple H growled.
"Exactly," the Storm said. "Seeing as how I've got him at Hell in a Cell in less than a week, I thought I'd pick your brain."
Hunter blinked and looked at him. "What?"
"I want," the Force of Nature repeated, "to pick your brain. You've been in two Cell matches before. I want some insight as to what to expect in there."
Triple H frowned a bit as he mulled that over, then looked over at Rattler. "You and Test keep an eye on things here for a bit. Storm and I gotta have a little talk." He kept hold of his sledge as he left with the Storm to go across the hall into an empty locker room, where they sat facing each other.
"You wanna talk about Hell in a Cell?" Triple H asked. "All right. You think you're ready for it?"
"I've been wanting Rose in a match like this for seven damn years," the Storm replied. "Damn straight I'm ready."
"You're not," the Game said bluntly. "You've been competing in Street Fights and some of the most brutal matches I've ever seen, and that's a good start. But you're nowhere near prepared enough for Hell in a Cell. Even when I fought Cactus Jack in the Cell, even though I won that match, I wasn't prepared for it."
The Storm just gazed back at Triple H coolly as the Alliance ringleader continued. "I was a match for Cactus Jack in the Street Fight, but Hell in a Cell was a whole different ball game. I don't think even he was ready for it. The sheer physicality of it is one thing, but the mental aspects of that match is another."
The Storm inclined his head to the side. "Mental aspects?"
"You're trapped in there," Hunter said to him. "It's nothing like a steel cage. The steel cage is different, you do feel trapped inside it, but there's always the possibility of escape. The Cell is something else. Even though it's bigger than the cage, it's more claustrophobic. You get outside the ring, and you're still trapped inside it. Even when you brreak out of the steel and fight on the outside, somewhere, deep down, it's still got you in its grasp. There's no getting out of it. Hell, the first time I heard Cactus say the words 'Hell in the Cell,' even though I'd never been inside one before, I already felt it -- sinking its claws into my brain."
"I never felt it," the Storm said. "When I made that challenge, I didn't feel a damn thing except anticipation."
"You're either very brave or very stupid," Triple H replied. "You can look at Rose -- that smarmy prick, calls himself the 'Mental Elite' and all that -- and you can tell he felt it. When you look at the tapes of Cactus challenging me, you can tell that, even though he was the one issuing the challenge, he felt it too. You're getting yourself into a no-win scenario, Storm. Even if you win in the Cell, your body and your mind are going to take a beating. Mark my words: Hell in a Cell is a bad idea." He stood up. "And if you can't see that, if you can't feel that, then you're even crazier than I thought." He walked past the Storm and back out the door and returned to the Alliance VIP room.
The Storm sat in his chair for several moments, tapping his ugly-stick on the floor, then stood and left into the halls again.
* * *
"And Bradshaw is trying to build some momentum here, King," Jim Ross said to his broadcast partner. "This man's a hoss, I'll tell you that, but I don't think he can get any momentum going against the seven-foot-one, 350-pound Brick."
"Of course he can't, J.R.!" Jerry 'the King' Lawler replied. "Brick's too big and too mean to just let a drunk, foul-mouthed slob like Bradshaw take him down!"
In the ring, the big Texan Bradshaw had managed to get the bigger Philadelphian Brick in a corner and was pounding on him with right hands and the occasional chop to the chest. Brick let out grunts and growls at the blows he received, but just seemed to be absorbing the punishment. "Come on, you big son of a bitch!" Bradshaw shouted in Brick's face before going for the Irish whip across the ring. Brick planted his feet and reversed it, barreling after him and all but flattening him with a huge clothesline.
Bradshaw groaned as he staggered out of the corner. Brick hammered on him with massive fists and then an open-handed slap to the chest. After a few moments of that, Brick pulled him out of the corner and whipped him off the ropes, ducking his head for a back body-drop. Bradshaw halted himself on the rebound and swung his forearm down into Brick's back. "You got nothing, you big, dumb retard!" the Texan shouted again.
All at once, Brick's hand shot up and grabbed Bradshaw by the throat. The APA member gagged as Brick started to set him up for the Breaker Chokeslam, but Bradshaw slugged him in the kidneys. Brick grunted and released him to clutch the area, the Texan going off the ropes for his strong lariat finish.
Brick swung his boot up as Bradshaw came at him, knocking him down before the Clothesline from Hell could connect. The behemoth pulled Bradshaw to his feet, then locked his hand around his throat again. With a mighty roar, he hoisted him overhead in the gorilla press, then swung him down into the Breaker Chokeslam. Bradshaw shouted in pain as this happened, and then Brick descended to make the pin, pressing his forearm into Bradshaw's face for the 1-2-3.
Brick stood and spread his arms wide, clenching his fists and bellowing to the rafters. He stood over Bradshaw, growled in his face, then turned and jerked a thumb to the words printed on the back of his shirt: DO NOT TAUNT. Brick left up the ramp, leaving Bradshaw lying in the middle of the ring.
* * *
Rain paced in the gorilla position backstage, Zed and Zeta nearby. "Where is he?" she asked. "I haven't seen him since he got here!"
"Give him his freakin' space, man," Zeta said. "He's got a lotta freakin' stuff in his head right now, and he don't need you droppin' more shit on him."
"He said he'd be here before my match," Rain said. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He hasn't been the same since he got out of the hospital."
"Hey, maybe he's right," Zed remarked with a shrug. "Maybe he has got brain damage. At the very least, he's got tunnel vision. He won't stop talking about Hell in a Cell."
"You don't have to tell me that," she said. "I went into his hotel room before I came here. He was watching a video tape of Badd Blood, of the first Cell match. I also saw tapes for King of the Ring, No Way Out, and Armageddon. Coupled with the fact that he was near San Antonio last week, at Shawn Michaels' ranch, and the fact that he went to talk to Triple H tonight, I'd say he's becoming obsessed with Hell in a Cell."
"Hey," Zed said, "don't get yourself in a knot over this. Skinner's a resilient guy. On a good day, he's one tough SOB. When he's got a headache, he's even meaner. I don't think he's going to have a problem."
"Listen, man," Zeta spoke up, "forget about Skinner. You're match is up! Just get out there!"
* * *
During her match with Lita, Rain was quite obviously distracted. Although she started off fairly strong, keeping the high-flying diva on the ground with various wrestling moves, soon Lita started to build momentum, slipping several attacks past Rain's defenses. The real turning point came when she hit a headscissors takeover and flipped the Dallas woman to the mat.
Rain attempted to rally back when Lita started to set her up for a superplex, shoving her down and going for a Windfall, but Lita dodged the move and quickly hit a Twist of Fate to put Rain down. Lita climbed the ropes to go for her moonsault finisher, but that's when things went wrong.
Rhino burst out of the crowd with a steel chair in hand. He swung it once and only once, straight into Lita's head, with a sick crack. The tattooed beauty fell to the mat and didn't move as the Detroit Man-Beast threw the chair to the floor with a clangor, then slid into the ring, crouching in the corner, holding a rope with one hand as he beckoned for Rain to get up with the other.
Rain staggered to her feet, turning slowly in a circle as the fans screamed for her to get out of the ring, but it was not to be. Rhino charged across the ring, lowering his head with a roar. His shoulder plowed into Rain's stomach, practically folding her in half as she hit the mat with a loud crash. Boos descended down on Rhino, who stood up and thumped his chest with a fist. "Who's da man?!" he shouted as he rolled out of the ring and stalked up the ramp, while the referee checked on the two women.
* * *
When the attack happened, the Storm was searching for Commissioner Foley's office. He found Debra there instead, arranging the stuffed puppies on a shelf. "Deb, you seen Foley?" he asked.
"He went out to the garage," Debra said quietly, looking at him in shock.
"Why?" the Storm asked.
"You don't know?" Debra asked, incredulously.
"Know what?"
"Rhino attacked Rain, he Gored her. She's unconscious!" the blond woman told him.
It was a good thing that Debra could not see the Storm's eyes behind those black sunglasses, for the fury in his cold gray eyes was an awful thing to see. His grip tightend on his ugly-stick. "I see," he said quietly. "Thank you." And he abruptly turned and started running for the garage.
He arrived just in time to see Rain on a gurney, moaning as the EMTs shined lights in her eyes and put an ice pack under her head where she struck the mat. "Rain! Claire!" he said, shoving his way through the EMTs. "Talk to me. You okay?"
"Matthew..." she groaned. She looked at him with pained eyes. "I don't know where your head is, but get it together, Goddammit." She turned away from him as she was raised into the back of the ambulance. The Storm started to climb in after her, but Mick Foley walked up and put a hand on his arm. A second ambulance had its EMTs gathered around Lita, who was getting similar treatment, and looked about ready to take a similar trip.
"Let her go," Foley said. "You've got a match tonight anyway."
The Storm stared into the back of Rain's ambulance for several moments, then turned to Foley. "I was looking for you. Wanted to pick your brain about Hell in a Cell, but fuck that. Rose just made things way more personal."
"Look, Storm--" Foley started to say, but the Storm ripped off his sunglasses and glared into the hardcore legend's eyes.
"No, you look! This thing between me and Rose is beyond anything you've ever known, Mick. The things I want to do to Rose are so violent I doubt even Paul Heyman would air it in his little bingo hall. The rage he's built up inside me is so hot it puts your infamous Cactus Jack persona to shame. Nothing you say is going to convince me to take back my challenge, especially not now. You can't even suspend me, because the fans would come back here and have your hide." He advanced on Foley, backing him toward a wall. "Ever since I made my challenge, the fans have been talking. They want this Hell in a Cell match. They're going to get this Hell in a Cell match. If you take it away from them, they will crucify you. Now stop trying to reason with me and just get the fuck out of my way!!"
The Storm shoved Foley aside as he started marching toward the ring.
* * *
Rhino came back out to the ring, his aggressive music almost drowned out by the massive chorus of boos that came at him. Rhino just glared through his long, greasy, stringy black hair as he squeezed his wrist. "The following contest is scheduled for one fall! Introducing first, from Detroit, Michigan, weighing in at 280 pounds... RHINO!" Rhino, who wore his black-on-black tights tonight, rolled into the ring and stood up, raising his fists in the air, then turning to face the ramp.
The producer just skipped straight past the intro to the Storm's music and launched straight into the music. "I'm a Force of Nature, I'm outta control! I live in the lightning, let the thunder roll! I kill the sunshine, bring on the rain! I am the Storm, and I'll bring you the pain!" The Storm came out onto the ramp, eyes blazing, still clutching his ugly-stick. "And his opponent, from Dallas, Texas, weighing in at 240 pounds... he is the 2002 King of the Ring, THE STORM!" The Force of Nature sprinted down the ramp and slid into the ring, still holding his black baseball bat.
The ref was shoved straight out of the way as the Storm flew at Rhino, beating on him with the ugly-stick, not even letting the former ECW Champion get a breath in edgewise. Referee Jack Doan tried to take the bat away from the Storm, who shoved him to the mat and continued beating on him. Finally, the Storm tossed the ugly-stick aside and raked Rhino's eyes before continuing to beat on him mercilessly. The Storm whipped him across the ring, going for the follow-up. Rhino swung a foot up, but the Storm stopped, caught the boot, and shook his head before throwing it back to the mat. He delivered a sharp reverse elbow to Rhino's nose, then proceeded to continue his relentless attack.
The Storm pulled him out to the center of the ring, wrenching Rhino's arm. He jerked him down to the mat, then locked his legs around the man-beast's shoulder as he pulled on the twisted arm. "This is for Rose, you son of a bitch!" the Storm screamed at him. "You tell him I got plenty more where this came from!" Rhino shouted in pain as the Storm intensified the armbar. Finally, the Force of Nature relented, allowing Rhino to get back to his feet. Rhino, doubled over and clutching his injured shoulder, did not see the Storm look to the audience and make a chopping motion at his shoulder. The Storm whipped Rhino again, but instead of letting go, he planted his feet and yanked back, pulling the arm out of its socket with a distinct pop. Rhino screamed in pain as the Storm jabbed his left fist into the injured area several times.
Finally, the Storm decided to end it. He twisted Rhino's injured arm back into a hammerlock, then clipped his feet to press him belly-down into the mat. The Storm brought his knee up and pressed it down on Rhino's wrist, then locked his hands under the jaw and pulled back. The fans popped as they saw the Necksnapper get locked in. Rhino screamed in pain again and quickly started tapping the mat as the Storm leaned back and bellowed, "Let's hear the snap!" Jack Doan called for the bell as he tried to pull the Storm off of Rhino, but to no avail. Finally, after several long moments, backed by several other referees, Doan managed to dislodge the Storm, who stood up and glared around at the refs, who scattered. "Force of Nature" played as the Storm glared down at Rhino, who cradled his injured arm against his side.
* * *
Later that night, Billy Rose was taking on Undertaker, who had Kane lurking at the ramp to prevent any more run-ins. The Dead Man had been the early dominant force in the match, but after scoring a low-blow that went undetected by referee Earl Hebner, Rose started to bulid momentum. The Big Red Machine looked about ready to go assist his brother, who had been locked into the Deadly Blossom, when Brick ran out and clubbed Kane in the back of the head with a massive forearm. The two big men started brawling along the rampside, disappearing backstage soon. Undertaker had managed to grab the bottom rope to break the hold, but Rose was not finished by a long shot. He slipped out of the ring and grabbed the timekeeper's chair, sliding back into the ring as `Taker pulled himself to his feet. Rose shoved Hebner out of the way and smacked the chair into Taker's sore arm. Hebner called for the bell as Rose then brained the Undertaker with the chair, sending him to the mat.
Rose smirked and hit his smug little pose in the ring as he stood over the Phenom, but then the audience popped loudly as the Storm came charging down the ramp. Rose, who hadn't turned upon the crowd's roar, smirked again, then abruptly swung the chair around as the Storm came at him. With a mighty crack, accompanied by a loud groan from the fans, the Storm went down. Rose smirked again, then set the chair on the mat. He pulled the Storm to his feet, then hooked his head under one arm. Rose sneered at the crowd, then swung around and delivered Brain Damage onto the steel chair. There was a dull thud, and the crowd groaned again, booing heavily as the Californian stood over the Storm.
Rose reclaimed his stolen title belt from ringside, then squatted next to the Force of Nature. "You think I didn't see that coming, you fucking moron?" Rose whispered harshly in his ear. "I saw it coming a long time ago. I planned it, you psychopath. Everything I did tonight was orchestrated to get you here in the ring so I could give you Brain Damage. And I did." He smirked. "Face it, Skinner. I'm smarter than you. Deal with it."
Rose stood up again as his music played, smirking and posing with the belt in one hand. Oh, yes, indeed, there would be hell to pay.
-more to come-
Next: Summerslam and the Cell are just three days away as forces converge on Rose and as the Storm picks the brain of the biggest Cell veteran of them all, and with the tensions where they are, the fans can only say "This is Getting Good."
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.