(Summary/Disclaimers: See Chapter 1)
Chapter 10: Showdown at the Dome
"So did you find out what's going on?"
"Yeah. Some girl named Hardykat convinced a bunch of people to come to Georgia to save Matt."
(laughter) "Talk about the blind leading the stupid. They really are sheep! Don't they realize it's just a story line?"
"Yeah. They're dumb. Anyway, we gotta make sure they don't do anything to Amy and Adam. They're so fanatic they just might hurt them. Especially after what happened on the last Raw."
"You're right. I'll call Nikki and see what we can come up with. Meanwhile, you stick with them. We need all the info we can get."
"You got it."
Saturday. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, GA:
Jaycee aka Hardykat and Dariachick waits anxiously for Milena (Edge-Chan)'s plane to finish unloading. Both are wearing V1 shirts and orange TMHcom wrist bands so that Milena would recognize them. Dariachick and Kelly(Daughter) had arrived earlier that day by plane. Kelly decided to stay back at the motel.
"That was really nice of you to pay for Milena's plane ticket and Raw ticket." Dariachick says to Hardykat. "I know she had been wanting to come to the States."
"Let's just hope my uncle doesn't find out that I took a major dip into my savings account." Hardykat responds with a small smile. "I'm gonna have to work over time for the next couple of months to replace that money. But it's well worth it to help somebody out."
"Look!" Dariachick says happily. " I think that's her"
Milena (Edge-Chan) enters the terminal and instantly looks around. In her hand she carries a printout of a picture of Hardykat. She wanted to make sure that she found the right person since this is her first trip to the US!
"Milena!"
She turns toward the shout of her name and smiles when she sees Hardykat and Dariachick running toward her.
"Hey girl!" Hardykat exclaims as she and Daria give Edge-Chan a big hug. "Welcome to the US!"
"¡Gracias!" Milena replies as she returns the hug. "Was so anxious the entire way here, but a little sad also. I want to help Matt but what about Edge?"
"No worries!" Hardykat assures her. "Tomorrow when everyone gets here, we'll voice all of those concerns."
"How long was the trip anyway?" Daria asks curiously.
"15 long hours." she says with a frown.
"Ouch." Hardykat winces. " How about we get your bags and get you to my house so you can rest?"
"That's cool. I need it."
Later Same day. Another State:
Amy stops in front of Adam's room. On this trip he decided that they should get separate rooms. She's been sharing rooms with Trish or Victoria since the other Divas won't have anything to do with her.
She reaches up to knock on the door when she hears Adam's voice. It sounds like he's on the phone. Amy knows she should just walk away and give him his privacy, but curiosity gets to her. Especially after hearing Adam say his wife's name. She places her ear to the door.
"Lisa stop it!" Adam exclaims. He calms his voice to soothe his estranged wife's nerves. "Baby, after Raw you and I will have the whole week to work things out…I know that it's not enough, but it's a start right? I'm willing make this work. I want to make this work. I love you Sweetie."
Amy could feel her heart fall out and hear it shatter at her feet. Could it be? He's getting back with his wife? Is she nothing but a booty call? She silently steps away then walks back to her room.
A phone conversation between Johnny Ace and Vince McMahon:
"Hello Mr. McMahon! How are you tonight?"
"Oh I'm great!" Vince responds in his loud, boisterous way. "I've been great since the Raw ratings started to skyrocket."
Ace chuckles. "I'm glad you like that, Mr. McMahon."
"I mean, I'm real impressed at how you and Matt Hardy came up with this interactive angle. Making Matt the victim with the electric collar and telling his fans to stop chanting…pure genius! And now we have Lita and Edge together on camera! This angle is in the bank!"
Johnny Ace tries his best not to laugh. " You're right as always Mr. McMahon."
"And by the way, John, I'm going to be at Raw on Monday. I want to see this progress up close and personal."
"Vince is going to be at Raw!" Johnny Ace thinks. " Can that night get any better?"
"Everything will be prepared for your arrival"
Sunday Afternoon. Jaycee's uncle's house in Atlanta, GA:
"Ok, the "Save Matt" meeting is now in session"
Some of Matt Hardy's loyal MF'ers are gathered in the family room: Hardykat (Jaycee), Dv8me (Jon), Dariachick, Daughter (Kelly), Edge-Chan (Milena), B1 & Only (Ben), Mandy, Live for the Moment (Kendra), Lianamoore (Barbara), Lori, and Nine Tails. On the phone via party line are Dan Smith, Hardyfan20, Red Devyl and Tamran. Scarlet, another close friend of Matt's, is there via web cam.
"Everybody should have a copy of the map of the Georgia Dome. If not here's a stack of them here." Hardykat points out. "We have more people that are going to help us, but they won't be here until tomorrow. For the past week, I'm been scoping out the Dome from the inside and out. As you can see I've marked out where the trucks, especially where the TV trucks will be, along with the wrestler's locker and dressing rooms and the wrestler's parking lot."
"Damn talk about thorough." Dv8me says as he leafs through the notes.
"We have to be." Hardykat replies. "What we're doing is basically borderline criminal."
"Could you just imagine tryin' to explain it to the cops what we're doing?" Lianamoore ask.
"I guess I can't bring this then." Nine Tails pulls out a pair of bolt cutters from her back pack.
"You brought bolt cutters!" B1 says in disbelief.
"How the heck did you get them on the plane is what I wanna know?" Dan asks.
"I bought them here once I landed." Nine Tails answers proudly. "I said I was gonna bring them didn't I?"
"We didn't think you were serious!" Live for the Moment giggles.
"It might come in handy." Mandy adds. "We got to get that collar off somehow."
"True." Hardykat agrees. "But first we gotta get close to him."
"Didn't you say that you had some help on the inside?" Lianamoore inquires.
" Yeah. That's how I got the layout. My boys Shane and Beatbox works security."
A few giggles break out.
"Beatbox?" Daughter laughs.
"His real name is Brandon. Long story about the nickname. But anyway. I was thinking this: not only are we gonna save Matt, we're gonna expose the WWE for what they are."
"A bunch of crack smoking asshats?" Dv8me pipes in.
"Well…yeah." Hardykat chuckles. "When we do get Matt out of there, Tamran and Scarlet are gonna take him home."
"Just y'all be careful." Tamran warns. " We don't have the money to bail anybody out of jail."
"What Tam said." Scarlet adds. "Matt won't want any of his MF'ers hurt either."
"No we'll just hurt Edge and his skank girl friend." Red Devyl growls.
"NO!" Edge-Chan shouts in objection. "Don't dare hurt Edge!"
"Not cool" Hardyfan20 says.
"Don't worry, EC, " Lori puts her arm around Edge-Chan's shoulders. "We're not gonna hurt him. We're not even gonna stoop to his level."
"We're not gonna hurt anybody." Hardykat adds. "In fact, if you can avoid any contact with any of the wrestlers. All we're there to do is get Matt and go. Agreed?"
Everyone voices their agreement. For the rest of the night, the rescue group work on their plan.
Late that night. Hotel, The Heart Throbs & Matt's room:
Antonio and his tag team partner Romeo are lying across the king size bed wearing nothing but white towels. Both are watching "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" on the Bravo channel.
"Romeo," Antonio whines as he nudges Romeo in the side with his toe. "He's been in there for an hour. Go check on him."
"But I checked on him the last time." Romeo whines back.
"No you didn't. I did and you're closer to the bathroom door."
Romeo grumbles as he gets up from the bed and storms over to the bathroom.
"Hardy!" he shouts as he pounds on the door. "You alive in there?"
"No…" comes the reply from the other side.
"Okay." Romeo says. "Hurry up in there. We have an early call and we need our beauty sleep." He walks back to the bed and resumes his place.
Meanwhile in the bathroom, Matt barely recognizes the person staring back at him. He hasn't slept in weeks. His chocolate eyes don't have any life in them. Matt rubs his hand over his face. He lets out a sigh as he closes his eyes for a brief moment. When he opens them again, he focuses them on the collar. Even after all this time, the metal still shines and the blue light still mocks him by blinking back its reflection in the mirror. He can't contact his friends or family. He can't leave or someone innocent will get hurt. His MF'ers continue to show their support by chanting. Why is Johnny Ace still keeping him? There's no reason. All Matt wants to do now is to move on. But how can he if has his life thrown back into his face via this ridiculous angle with Amy and Adam…no, it's Lita and Edge.
Suddenly and without warning, Matt punches the bathroom mirror. No emotion is shown as he feels the crunch of glass under his hand and he sees the spider web-like cracks appear. He needed that bit of reality. He looks down at his bloody knuckle. Some of the blood drips down onto the white tile floor, the counter, and the sink. He doesn't even hear the pounding on the door. Matt's only focus is his hand…and his plan to get out of there.
The M-Board:
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Krazy K
Site Admin
Joined: 19 Jan 2005
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Mattitude Followers of the world unite! Let's continue our support for Matt Hardy. If you're going to attend the Raw show in Atlanta tonight, don't forget to show off your orange wristband and shout it loud so that everyone in the WWE can hear us: WE WANT MATT!
Monday 2:30pm, Atlanta, GA.
A silver Infinity Q45 pulls up into a parking spot in the parking lot of the Georgia Dome. Next to it parks a beige 2004 Ford Focus. Once the motors have been turned off, the four doors to each car open. From the Infinity steps out Hardykat, Edge-Chan, Lianamoore, and Live For The Moment. From the Focus steps Dariachick, Daughter, Lori and Nine Tails. All are wearing Matt Hardy/V1/Hardy Boyz t-shirts and the orange TMHcom wristbands. The group walks across the parking lot to the dome. Hardykat is on her cell phone talking to Jon (Dv8me)
"We just got here." she tells him. "We're on our way to meet my friends now. Have you seen Matt yet?"
"Not yet." Jon replies. "Ben and Mandy went to the wrestlers' parking lot to see if they could spot him."
"Dang it!" Hardykat curses. " I hope they don't go thru some secret entrance. We have to be exactly where Matt's gonna be or we'll be out of place to catch him." she pauses to look at her watch. "Besides they should be in the talent meeting right about now."
"What about Edge?" Edge-Chan whispers to Hardykat. "Has he come out?"
Hardykat smiles at her as she ask Jon about Edge. He tells her that he hasn't seen him and she relays the message to EC.
"Shoot!" mumbles Edge-Chan.
"You'll get to see him before you leave." Daria tells her.
"Hope so."
Wrestlers' entrance. Georgia Dome.
Jon finishes up his conversation with Jaycee then goes back to scouting. A few seconds later, someone drapes their arm over his shoulders. Jon uses his quick reflexes to swing around and puts his assailant in a headlock.
"HEY!" a female's voice yells at him. "It's us, Stokes! Let Dan go!
Jon looks up to see Hardyfan20 standing in front of him. He looks down to see that he has Dan Smith in the headlock. He quickly lets go.
"Aw man!" he says apologetically. "I'm sorry. I though you were some clown that wanted to start mess."
"No worries." Dan says after coughing a few times.
"I thought it would be three of you guys."
"Red Devyl said that she would be coming later." Hardyfan20 tells Jon. "She said that she was having car issues."
"That sucks."
"Did Matt show up yet?" Dan asks
"Not yet. Ben and Mandy will call me if they see him."
Wrestlers' parking lot. Georgia Dome.
"You think we'll be able to pull this off?" Mandy asks her boyfriend.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we could." Ben says as he scans for arriving cars.
A black Ford Exposition, pulls up to the Dome. A few seconds later both the passenger and driver side doors open. The Tag Team Champions, The Heart Throbs get out of the SUV.
"Hey!" Mandy exclaims at the recognition. "Isn't that-"
"Yep." Ben confirms. "Wonder if Matt's with them."
His question is answered as Matt emerges from the backseat. From what Ben and Mandy could see he definitely didn't look good. Matt follows the Heart Throbs into the building.
"Better call Jon and Jaycee." Ben thinks as he reaches for his cell.
Meanwhile…
Hardykat and the girls were able to catch up with Hardykat's friends Shane and Beatbox. From them, they were able to get backstage passes, a set of keys and a map of unguarded entrances. As they were heading toward one of the entrances, Hardykat gets the call from Ben about Matt.
"Okay girls!" Hardykat says after ending her call with Ben. "that was Ben he spotted Matt and the Heart Throbs entering the building."
"So when do we do the rescuing thing?" Lori asks.
"Yeah, I can't wait to use the bolt cutters to get that collar off of him." Nine Tails pipes in.
"You didn't really bring them did you?" Dariachick asks warily.
"I said I would didn't I?" She opens up her backpack to show off the bolt cutters.
"Nine, you do realize they check your bags at the door." Lianamoore informs her. If you get caught with those, you wouldn't be allowed in the building or worse be sent to jail."
"Maybe we should tell the cops about your plan and have them arrest you now."
The MF'ers turn to see a group of eight approaching them. Some are wearing either Lita or Edge t-shirts but all are wearing red wristbands with the words "Edge and Lita" written or sewn on them.
"Oh I don't believe this!" Daughter responds flabbergasted. "Edgeheads!"
"Oh no…" Edge-Chan groans as she lowers her head.
The leader, a girl with dark blonde hair wearing an Edge Silhouette T-shirt and jeans, steps up to the group. Her cocky smile is enough to ruffle the feathers of some of the girls, especially Hardykat and Dariachick. "So this is what the enemy looks like up close." She laughs. "I'm really not impressed."
"Why doesn't it not surprise me to see you here, Renee?" says Dariachick.
"That's Renee!" exclaims Hardykat.
"The one and only." Renee says smiling.
"Who?" Daughter asks all confused.
"The webmistress for Edge's website" Lori informs her.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Hardykat's voice breaks through the building tension. "What do you mean calling the cops and telling them about us? We're here to see Raw!"
"Please!" Renee hiss at her. "Just because you're dumb enough to believe what Matt Hardy tells you, don't assume the same about us! We know you're here to 'save' him."
No way! How could they- Edge and Lita fans of all people!- know? Unless somebody ratted them out. A slightly chubby girl with brown hair and glasses walks up and stands beside Renee. She too wears an Edge t-shirt but also wears a Lita Heart necklace and visor.
"You really need to watch who you let in to your little group, Jaycee, or should I say Hardykat." she says.
"Fuck!" Hardykat swears under her breath. "You never had problems with your ride did you?"
"Nope!" The girl says proudly. "You people are just sheep! You'll believe anything Matt says. How can you follow somebody like that?"
As soon as those words came from her mouth, the MF'ers knew exactly who she was.
"Lady Fucking Dizzy" Hardykat growls. "It makes sense now. Red Devyl(equals)Taz(equals)Dizzy Devil"
"Why?" Edge-Chan asks.
"We're here to make sure that you people don't do anything stupid like hurt Amy or Adam.
"So what if we were?" Lori yells at them. "They deserve it for what they did to Matt!"
"If Matt was man enough, Lita wouldn't have left him!" Lady Dizzy yells back.
Renee looks over to Edge-Chan. "Edge-Chan, right? I recognized you from the picture you posted on the M-board."
"Yeah, and?" EC says as she braces herself for any insults that is about to be thrown her way.
"Why are you with them? You claim to be an Edge fan yet you're with 'Mattitude Followers.'"
" ¿Qué demonios? I am an Edge fan!" EC retaliates back. "I'm a MF'er too." she points to the MF'ers. " They like me for me. Not who I like."
"You tell 'em, Milena!" Kendra (Live For The Moment) cheers her on.
"Look, don't worry." Hardykat says. " We're not going to do anything to Edge or Lita. They are not our concern. Matt is. So you and your crew can rest easy, Renee."
"Good." Renee says. "Because if you do anything to them, we'll blow your little plan right out of the water."
Both groups walk off in different directions.
"Crap!" Nine Tails says. "What are we gonna do now?"
"Nothing." Hardykat answers here. "If she says anything, she risks getting herself in trouble. She's just making herself look hard in front of her friends."
"So when do we make the save?" Lori asks.
"After the show's started." Dariachick replies. "Right now, too many people backstage."
"Daria's right." Hardykat admits.
Backstage in Mr. McMahon's dressing room
"Matt, good to see you again."
"Nice to see you again to, Mr. McMahon."
Matt forces himself to be as cordial as he can. With Johnny Ace in the room with the remote to his collar, he has no choice.
" I'm glad that you and Laurinaitis here were able to come to an agreement. It was a shame to let you go at that time, but we had no choice. It was business."
"Yes sir." Matt acknowledges blandly.
"He's one of our most hardest workers, Mr. McMahon." Johnny Ace continues. "I'm glad that he saw the error of his ways and came back to us."
Johnny locks eyes with Matt. He could see that Matt is just waiting for the opportunity to get at him. In fact he even dares him to through his eye contact. It is Matt that breaks away first. Johnny smirks. He's got him right where he wants him.
Vince studies then exchange. Maybe all is not well. Maybe this is just a show for his convenience.
"Well," he says just before clearing his throat. "Let's make tonight one that no one will forget."
"Oh we plan on it sir." Johnny says.
Matt is the first to leave the dressing room. Johnny follows. As soon as they are in the hallway, Johnny starts to berate Matt.
"Don't forget who owns who here, Hardy!" Johnny Ace spits at the young man. "All it takes is the turn of the dial to-"
Matt grabs Ace and throws him against the wall, pinning him there. Johnny franticly fumbles for the remote in his pocket.
"Try it!" Matt growls at him. "I dare you! Let's see you weasel you way out of trying to explain why you killed one of Vince's cash cows!"
Matt shoves him to the ground before walking away.
"So what are our plans for after Raw?"
Amy follows Adam into their dressing room. Because of the air of hostility in the back for both of them, management decided to give them their own space.
Adam plops down on the couch then looks up at Amy.
"I don't know what your plans are, but my plans are to go back home and rest my body." He then opens his bag and starts pulling out his things.
"Does going home include seeing Lisa." Amy shoots back.
Adam pauses in mid unpacking. "Well she is my wife. I do have an obligation to her since I did marry the woman."
"Obligation." Amy snorts in ridicule. "Whatever…"
"What is your problem?" Adam snaps at her.
"One minute you're telling me how much you love me, the next you're saying the same thing to your wife. Which one is it?" Amy snaps back.
"You've been listening to my calls?"
"Yeah so what if I were! I messed up my relationship with Matt because I listened to your lies! You know what? Forget this! I'll see you later."
This time it is Amy's turn to walk away from a speechless Adam.
During Raw:
Jaycee looks over to see that Milena is really enjoying the show. She looks up to see that everyone is enjoying the show.
"You can stay here if you want." Jaycee tells Milena. " I don't want you to miss you first Raw."
"I want to help" Milena tells her.
"You sure?"
"Yes!"
Jaycee tells the others that it's time. Nothing else is said until they have all gathered into the hallway.
"Edge and Lita's segment is coming up soon." Jaycee tells them. "Jon, Ben, Mandy, Milena, Daria and Nine are coming with me. Dan, Lori and Kendra. You guys find the lights to this place." Jaycee gives them a map to help them. "Call me once you do. Then at the right time, I'll call you guys back to give you the signal. And hurry!
"We're on it!" Kendra says as she Dan and Lori rush off.
Jaycee then calls Scarlet to see if the getaway car is ready.
"Gassed up and ready to go!" Scarlet says as she and Tamran watch raw on Tamran's laptop. "Kirby and Jeff wanted to help so we brought them along.
Jaycee says. "Tell them we said thanks!" She ends her call then turns back to the group.
"Barbara, Kelly and HF20, I need you to provide the distraction in the arena. Get the crowd hype, Get them to boo the hell out of Edge and Lita! "
"Gotcha!" Barbara (lianamoore) says.
The group splits up to complete their tasks.
Backstage a few moments later.
A knee to the gut causes Matt to crumble to the ground.
"That's for the shit you tried to cause last night!" Antonio growls at him. He uses his feet to nudge Matt onto his back.
Romeo takes out the remote to Matt's collar then turns it on. The electric currents run thru Matt's body like a raging fire.
"Suffer little piggy." He says in a maniacal tone.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Get rid of whoever it is!" Romeo snarls at his partner.
Antonio get up, opens the door and is met with a punch to the face courtesy of Ben's fist. The others bum rush their way into the room. Jon tackles Romeo, causing him to drop the remote. It slides under the couch. It's still on and Matt is just a few seconds away from passing out from the pain.
Jaycee shouts, "How to turn this thing off? It's gonna kill him!"
She, Mandy, and Kendra hold down Matt while Daria, Nine and Milena look for the remote. Milena finds it under couch and immediately sets the switch to off. Matt's body instantly falls into a relaxed state. Jon and Ben pull Antonio and Romeo up on their feet.
"Good thing we saw these clowns come in here at the last minute." Ben says smiling.
"Who are you?" Antonio asks as he tries to fight out of Ben's grip.
"We're the rescue party." Jon replies. "And your worst nightmare."
"You two start talking!" Jaycee demands.
"We ain't got nothing to say to you, bitch." Romeo grumbles at her.
"Okay." Jaycee puts on her most sweetest smile. "Cat, get your bolt cutters and make these boys the women they've always wanted to be."
"My pleasure." An almost sadistic grin appears on Cat's (Nine Tails) face as she pulls out said weapon.
"OKAY! WE'LL TALK!" Romeo pleads.
"Good." Jaycee says, pleased with the response. "Now while we get this thing off of Matt, you tell us who put you brainless twits up to this."
The Tag Champs glance at one another but don't say a word. Seconds later they both receive slaps to the back of their heads.
"Answer her, Stupid!" Jon orders.
"Maybe we should use the cutters on them." Ben suggests.
"Ace." Antonio answers.
"Johnny Ace!" Daria says. "Why?"
"To stop the chants…." Matt says weakly.
"Stay still, Matt. I have to cut this off." Nine Tails carefully cuts through the lock of the collar. Once the lock was broken, it falls from his neck and to the ground. The metallic clank echoes through the room. Everyone cringes at the ugly red bruise the collar left in its wake.
"He wanted to control the crowds." Matt continues as he slowly sits up. "He had people watching my family. If I didn't come back, he would hurt them or one of you guys."
"What the hell?" Kendra responds in shock and disbelief.
"Come on, Matt. Your ride home is waiting outside " Jaycee says as she and the other girls help him to his feet. Ben and Jon manage to lock Antonio and Romeo in the bathroom of the dressing room.
"Can't leave just yet." He says as he bends down and picks up the collar.
"What?" Mandy gasps. "You're free. There's no reason to stay."
"Yeah, but what's stopping Laurinaitis from doing it again or making good on his promise to hurt people?" Matt points out. " I have to make sure that doesn't happen."
Matt walks out of the room toward the arena. The MF'ers have no choice but to follow.
In the arena:
Edge and Lita are in the ring and things do not look good. Lita looks like to be on the verge of tears and Edge looks beyond pissed. Barbara (lianamoore), Kelly (Daughter) and Hardyfan20 make good on their promise and gets the crowd into the Pro-Hardy chants. Edge couldn't say anything without getting the hell booed at him.
"You people can kiss my-"
Out of nowhere the lights go out. The chants and cheers die down a little and confusion takes over. Lita backs into one of the corners of the ring while Edge stands his ground. A few seconds later, the lights return and the majority of the crowd cheers hysterically. There in the middle of the ring standing eye to eye with Edge is a shirtless Matt Hardy. In one hand is the collar, the other a mic. The MF'ers are surrounding the ring watching their sensei. Thanks to Jaycee's friend Beatbox, Security was told earlier not to interfere.
Backstage in Mr. McMahon's dressing room
" LAURINAITIS, WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON? WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE IN MY RING?" Vince yells into his cell phone.
"I'm taking care of right now." Johnny Ace tells him.
"YOU BETTER OR YOUR ASS IS FIRED!"
(CLICK)
In the ring:
Matt never takes his eyes off of Adam as he brings the mic to his lips.
" You have five seconds to get out of the ring." He looks over Adam's shoulder at Amy. The love he once had for her has now turn cold and hard. "And take that backstabbing whore with you."
A couple of seconds pass by before Adam and Amy leave the ring. Adam glances at the MF'ers surrounding the ring. His green eyes spots the Edge necklace around Edge-Chan's neck. EC notices and silently prays that he won't hate her for what she's doing. He smiles at her as he and Amy walk up the ring. EC smiles back.
"He didn't hate me" she whispers to herself.
"Adam. Lita. Don't think I've forgot what you did to me. You will pay and pay dearly. I'm gonna make your lives a living hell."
The crowd begins to chant, "You will pay!" Lita run as fast as she can to get to backstage. Adam only smirks. He too disappears backstage. After they are gone, Matt speaks again.
"Johnny Ace! Get your ass out here!"
Matt, the crowd and the MF'ers await his arrival. A few moments later he appears at the top of the ramp with several armed Atlanta's Finest. The crowd and the MF'ers voice their disapproval loudly.
"Matt, we can work this out." Johnny says into the mic. "Why don't you come with me and we can-"
"Shut the hell up!" Matt shouts. "Why don't you tells these folks how you had the Heart Throbs kidnapped me from my home, drug me, and beat me up. And how you forced me to wear this thing!" He holds up the collar for all to see. "Tell them how you threatened to harm my family and my MF'ers if I didn't come back."
Johnny could feel the sweat running down his face. He had to defuse this quick or he would be in some deep trouble.
"Matthew…" Johnny says with a nervous laugh. "It's just an angle. Why are you making things up? Do you want an apology? Okay, I'm sorry for firing you the first time. There. Happy?"
"Look at my neck!" Matt refers to the bruises there. "How the hell could I make that up? That's ain't make up. So don't even try it! Now it's my time to give the orders!"
The crowd rallies behind Matt with its cheers.
"You're gonna let me and my friends walk out of here. No fear of getting arrested or beaten up. No charges will be filed. And you…you won't get my fist in your face or my foot up your ass."
"And what if I don't let you walk out of here?" Johnny Ace says with a cocky grin.
"Not even death will keep me from getting you."
The confident grin quickly disappeared. Deep down inside, he knew that Matt Hardy would make good on his promise.
Matt gets out of the ring. He and the MF'ers head up the ramp and through the curtains. Like promised, the cops did nothing. After the last of the MF'ers pass through the curtains, Matt suddenly sucker punches Johnny Ace!
"I lied about the fist thing." Matt says with a smirk just before disappearing through the curtains.
Not a word is spoken until everyone is outside in the parking lot. A black corvette and a Silver Ford Explorer pulls up to the group.
"Matt!" Jeff jumps out of the corvette and runs up to his older brother. He embraces him tightly. Matt returns the hug.
"Miss me much, bro?" he chuckles softly.
Kirby, Tamran and Scarlet join the group. More than a few tears are shed. The guys in the group of course try playing them off.
"I'm just glad I can finally see you. You had us all worried, dude. " Jeff says as he pulls away.
He looks over to the MF'ers. "Thank you."
Matt turns around. He holds out his arms. Jaycee is the first to give him a hug. The others join in for the group hug.
"Thank you guys. You risked a lot to help me." he tells them.
"It's the least we could do, since you stuck your neck out for us." Jon says.
"We can let him go now." Jaycee says while still hugging Matt. "He needs to breath and so do I."
A few nervous laughs come from the group as they break up the hug fest.
"Let's get Matt back to the hotel." Scarlet says. "He gonna need some rest."
Jeff ,Tamran, and Scarlet walk Matt to the Explorer. Kirby stays back with the group.
"You guys gonna be ok?" He asks concerned. "Matt's right. You guys risked a lot for someone you barely know."
"It wouldn't have been right to let Matt suffer like that." Lianamoore tells him.
The others agreed.
"But what if this was an angle?" Kirby decides to play the Devil's Advocate.
"The way it was playing out told me that it wasn't a storyline or angle" Jaycee answers him. "I just had to go with my gut instinct and I'm glad that I did. I'm glad I wasn't the only one not feeling the collar story."
Kirby talks with them some more before he joins Jeff in the corvette. The Mattitude Followers wait until both vehicles pull away and are out the driveway before leaving themselves.
"Let's make tonight one that no one will forget."
Vince was right. It was truly a night that no one would forget.
THE END
I dedicate this to all my fellow MF'ers around the world and to the Sensei of Mattitude himself, Matt Hardy. (throws up the V1 sign)- Hardykat