The next night called for drastic measures on Vince and HHH's part. Unfortunately for them, they had signed an ironclad stipulation contract, stating that if HHH's opponent won, they lost everything. HHH lost, and they did lose more than they thought they could deal with. On RAW, HHH is in with what is left of the McMahon clan, as well as a cameraman. HHH is bandaged up all over his body, as is Vince.
**HHH: That whole damn match wasn't fair at all, Vince. I didn't know that my opponent was gonna be the Undertaker. That right there should've been illegal.
**Vince: Hunter, look, none of us knew. He'd been gone for over 6 months, and we didn't expect him to come back.
**HHH: And look what 'not expecting' got us! We've lost Steph in all ways possible!
Vince looks thoughtful. HHH eyes him suspiciously.
**Vince: Maybe not. Maybe not…
**HHH: What are you thinkin'?
**Vince: Come with me. I've got an idea.
"No Chance in Hell" comes over the sound system, and Vince, followed by HHH, comes walking out, and continues briskly to the ring. After both men enter the squared circle, they both grab mics.
**Vince: Last night, Triple H and I were caught unaware and unprepared. Everyone in the back knows that having a match, any match, with the Undertaker, without preparing first, is signing a death warrant for the competitor against him. Triple H lost a vicious match, the title, and his wife as well, and look at him right now, all bandaged up and all.
**HHH: Taker, you must think it's pretty funny, but it's not. No one's laughing, save you. I'm a heartbroken man. You took my love away from me.
**Vince: I propose a rematch tonight; more like a finalization match. If you win this one, the stipulations stand. If Triple H wins, the title changes hands once again, and the stipulations take the backseat. What do you say?
The lights go out suddenly. The crowd begins to stand and cheer, as well as light their lighters, making yellowish dots in the stands. The bell tone sounds, and the eerie music pours through the arena. From behind the curtain comes the one man that strikes fear into the hearts of every person, the Undertaker. He pauses at the top of the ramp, surveying the scene. His hair is in a half-ponytail at the back of his head, and the WWF Championship belt is around his waist. Slowly, almost mechanically, he walks down the ramp. He steps up to the top of the steel steps, rolls his eyes into his head, lifts his arms, and brings the light back on. He steps between the ropes, and for a moment, just glares at HHH and Vince, then goes toward the opposite side of the ring, and gets a mic from the ring announcer.
**Taker: I've already beaten both of your asses, yet you want another match? {both men nod} You must've hit your heads a little hard, or you wouldn't even think of proposing your challenge! I will not give you any more humiliation than you already have. This is over; Stephanie is no longer yours.
Suddenly, the lights go out again, but this time, no music comes. The TitanTron glows with life, and then there is a black-cloaked figure on the cloth screen. All three men look to the TitanTron. It speaks with the same warped voice from weeks before.
**Warped Voice: Undertaker, you will defend your title tonight, and it will be against Triple H, whether you want to or not.
**Vince: {shouts, pointing to screen} You were supposed to battle Triple H last night!
**Warped Voice: {laughs} Yes, I was, but I decided to send one of my minions to do my dirty work, just like you do, Vince.
**Vince: Damn you! Then the match last night doesn't count. You didn't battle; Taker did, so the match is void!
The TitanTron zooms out a bit to show Stephanie, crying on her knees, next to the robed figure.
**Warped Voice: Vince, I suggest that you shut your hole before Stephanie feels any more pain. Even more pain than your latest minion has inflicted upon her. Triple H, you have caused this girl the most pain, you lying bastard. You didn't tell her that you were using her only for her status and her money, so I had to break the news to her. You made the challenge, and I have accepted it on Taker's behalf, whether he likes it or not.
The voice laughs as the camera zooms onto Stephanie's crying figure, and the TitanTron fades to black. The lights come back up, and all three men look more than a little peeved at this declaration. Suddenly, HHH begins to speak.
**HHH: {pointing to Taker} This whole thing rests on your shoulders because you are its slave. Tonight, right here, I will win that title back, as well as my wife.
Vince and HHH drop their mics, and storm out of the ring. Taker stops them when they reach the top of the ramp.
**Taker: I may be doing their work for the time being, but I will promise you right now, I will NOT lose. What is to happen tonight will happen for a reason, and neither of your can do anything to stop it!
Taker rolls his eyes into his head again, and the crowd begins to cheer madly. HHH begins to fume as his face grows completely red with rage and tries to rush back to the ring, but Vince prevents it. Finally, both men leave as the show goes to a commercial break.
After an hour and a half, it is time for the main event match: Taker vs. HHH for the Title and Stephanie. "1, 2, is this on?" comes over the PA system, followed by a green glow over the arena. Quickly, HHH and Vince come from behind the curtain, and pause at the top of the ramp. The crowd gets on their feet, half chanting "Ass-hole! Ass-hole!" while the other half are cheering for them. Briskly, both men walk down the ramp to the ring, and the lights return. Like the night before, Vince enters the ring first, whereas HHH steps up onto the outside edge of the ring, lifts his arms, and spits water onto the crowd before climbing into the ring. Vince and HHH converse, quite sure of a victory, before the lights snap off quickly.
The crowd lights their lighters, and start chanting, "Ta-ker! Ta-ker!" A blue glow hangs over the whole arena, and the eerie music sifts through the PA. Once again, the Taker walks from behind the curtain, not pausing at the top of the ramp like usual. Instead, his glare is locked on HHH and Vince, his eyes full of anger, hate, and evil intentions. The championship gleams brightly from his waist, and just seeing the belt on Taker boils HHH's blood. Taker approaches the steel steps, and easily steps up to the top step. Once there, he rolls his eyes into his head, making it seem like he had no eyes to begin with, and lifts his arms slowly, bringing the lights back on again. After that task is finished, he steps into the ring, and stares at the smaller men in front of him.
Suddenly, the lights go out yet again. A darker shade of blue centers over the ring and the ramp. In the light, the crowd can see the surprise on all three men's faces as they watch and wait for whoever is entering. A warped theme begins to play; a mixture of Taker's theme, Chyna's theme, Kane's theme, and McMahon's theme, but only in a more evil, warped way. The fans are excited, but they have no clue who could be coming out now. Not long afterward, the curtains begin to move. At first, no one can believe who they see come through those curtains, but after a few minutes, they see the line-up: Chyna first, then Kane, who's followed by Mick Foley, Test, and finally, a black-robed figure, who finds themselves seated on a high-backed chair.
The lights come back on as the figure sits down. The three men in the ring are stunned. Suddenly, the bell rings, signaling the beginning of the match, but from nowhere, Mick acquires a mic
**Mick: No, no, no, people! This match does not start until the final entrant is here.
From behind the strange ensemble, the curtains move again, and two other robed figures appear, carrying Stephanie between them by her arms. Immediately, HHH tries to run forward, but Vince stops him, afraid for their safety, as well as Steph's. The robed druids set Stephanie down at the first figure's feet.
The bell rings again, and this time, there is no hesitation. Taker lunges for HHH, barely giving Vince enough time to exit the ring. Without stopping for a heartbeat, Taker throws all the way across the ring, and is throwing hard-packed punches at HHH just as fast. HHH can only hold his fists in front of himself to block his face. Finally, when Taker intimidated the ref out of the ring, HHH gains the upper hand by jumping Taker from behind. Immediately, HHH tries the same tactics, hard punches and that sort. As soon as both men are back on their feet, they exchange blows, one giving a punch to the head, then the other follows, until Taker has HHH stumbling, and he gives HHH some major head-butts.
By now, those from the entrance area, except for the robed figures and Stephanie, approach the ring, slowly, but sure of their intent. Vince looked fearfully at the group of wrestlers approaching, to his daughter at the feet of the one whom they follow, and back at the match. Taker is easily climbing the turnbuckles after he had twisted HHH's arm around. Much like a cat, Taker walks the top rope, and delivers a hard shot to the shoulder area of HHH by jumping off the rope, yet landing on his feet. A cat, indeed!
HHH barely has a moment's rest, for the Taker lunges at him with his arm extended away from his body. HHH ducks, runs and bounces off the ropes, and both men collide in the middle of the ring after a double-clothesline. The ref begins counting over the fallen competitors. He reaches six before HHH begins to roll onto his side, and Taker does the same after a moment. Once both men reach their feet, they begin to start over by delivering blows to each other's heads. Suddenly, Taker gets his second wind, and as HHH launches himself at Taker after he comes off the ropes, Taker grabs HHH's neck with one gloved hand, and easily applies a chokeslam.
Taker looks up at the ramp, as if waiting for approval, then turns to the crowd. He places his hand at his neck, thumb against his skin, rolls his eyes into his head, and drags his thumb across his throat. The crowd becomes wild, for Taker is signaling for the end of the match. HHH slowly lumbers to his feet, and immediately, Taker picks HHH up and heaves him over his shoulder. A second later, Taker has HHH upside-down in front of him, and Taker drops to his knees, delivering the Tombstone-Piledriver. Taker crosses HHH's arms over his chest, and flips his hair back. The ref administers the three-count as Vince, hands on his head in shock, the robed figures, the wrestlers, and the crowd looking on.
**Garcia: The winner and still Champion, The Undertaker!
Taker grabs his belt from the ref, and watches as the wrestlers finally enter the ring. He nods agreeably, and the wrestlers attack HHH without mercy. Vince is frozen in fear. After a few minutes of brutality, Taker signals for the wrestlers to stop, whereas the wrestlers tie HHH's arms in the ropes. Taker bends over, grabs HHH's chin, and whispers something in his ear. Taker then punches HHH, and leaves the ring, the wrestlers following him.
Finally, Vince gets in the ring, and unties HHH's arms from the ropes. Both men stand in the center, glaring at the group at the top of the ramp. The group stare back, and Taker extends his forefinger as a cameraman zooms in.
**Taker: This is just the beginning of the end, the beginning of your demise, Vince!
The group on the top of the ramp departs for the backstage area, Taker begin the last one to leave as he has a glaring contest with the two men in the ring. After another minute, Vince and HHH exit the ring area, and storm up the ramp as Raw comes to a close.
The next few days pass slowly for Vince and HHH. Anticipation is high, and excitement is soaring for the fans. Finally, after much waiting, Monday arrives, and the overly hyper fans quickly file into the arena in Houston, Texas. At eight o'clock, on the dot, the fireworks go off, signaling the start of RAW.
Immediately after the fireworks have subsided, Vince struts out to "It's Our Time' with HHH. As soon as they're in the ring, Vince grabs the ring announcer's mic.
**Vince: As most of you all know, I set up a main event match for tonight. The Undertaker will defend the WWF Championship title in a fatal four-way match with three unnamed opponents.
Crowd begins to chant "Taker! Taker!" with extreme volume. It takes the greater part of five minutes for them to lose their volume.
**Vince: After tonight, Taker will no longer BE you chumpion! Tonight, in this very ring, Taker will defend that title against {counts on fingers} Triple H {crowd boos} Kane {mixed reaction} and Stone Cold Steve Austin! {Mixed reaction, but more cheers than boos}
The lights suddenly snap out. A bell gongs, and the TitanTron comes to life as the Undertaker appears on the screen.
**Taker: Vince, throw all you wish at me, and I will dominate. A fatal four-way will not stop me. Fatal…I like that word. Reminds me of death and destruction, which is what will happen to Kane, Triple H, and Steve Austin tonight. Vince, it's only the very beginning of things to come. I shall never let you rest…in…peace! {rolls eyes into head, and laughs menacingly}.
TitanTron fades, while the cameras zoom onto a stunned Vince and a fuming HHH. Vince and HHH leave the ring in a hurry to re-strategize.
The time comes for the main event match, and everyone's pumped and ready to experience this thrill. As soon as RAW is done with its last commercial break, the lights go out, and BAM! Fire shoots out of the corners of the stage, and Kane walks down the ramp. After he enters, he stands in the middle of the ring, flips his head back, lifts his arms, and snaps them down, bringing fire up from the posts. The fire show is a crowd favorite everywhere.
Suddenly, glass shattering is heard through the arena. Everyone in the crowd jumps to their feet and begin to cheer. The bald-headed Texan walks down the steel ramp with purpose in his step and determination embroidered on his face. Austin steps into the ring, up onto the second rope at all four turnbuckles, and lifts his arms straight into the air, making his hands fists. About three-fourths of the 20,000 people in the stands are giving one-finger salutes, Austin's trademark.
"1, 2, is this on?" blasts onto the sound speakers, and quickly, the cheers turn to boos. HHH and Vince come out onto the ramp and stop at the top. They both look over the crowd, then proceed to the ring. As usual, Vince goes into the ring, and HHH stands outside the ropes, spitting his water out toward the crowd. As HHH enters the ring, everyone in the arena impatiently awaits the champion's entrance.
A bell tone breaks the silence, and the Undertaker's eerie entrance theme begins to play. Nothing happens for a few minutes. The sound crew plays his theme again, and still nothing. Vince finally grabs the ring announcer's mic.
**Vince: {laughing} I guess the Undertaker is too much of a chicken shit to show up. Undertaker, if you don't show up, you forfeit the title, and these three will battle to find the new champion. You wouldn't want that-
Music interrupts Vince. This time, it is not the Undertaker's theme. It is the warped theme heard once before; the demented mixture of Taker's theme, Chyna's theme, Kane's theme, and McMahon's theme. Robed figures file out from the backstage area, two by two. Before long, there more than thirty figures in a line that starts at the top of the ramp, circles around the ring, and ends back at the top of the ramp. The four men inside the ring are in disbelief.
Suddenly, Taker's music hits once more. The lights snap out, and blue spotlights cover the crowd, the ring, and the ramp. Four figures emerge from behind the curtain. The first is Mick Foley, and he is escorting a tied Stephanie. Mick sits Steph down beside the high backed chair from the week before. The last two figures are the mysterious 'Higher Power', as it has been called, and the Undertaker, with the WWF championship around his waist. These two pause at the top of the ramp, surveying the ring area, standing side-by-side. The cloaked figure is much shorter than Taker, which is extremely apparent. The 'Higher Power' and Taker look at each other for a moment, then the figure sits in the throne while Taker makes his way down to the ring.
Taker steps up to the top of the steel steps, rolls his eyes into his head, and lifts his arms, bringing the lights back on. As he steps between the top two ring ropes, he removes the championship belt, watching his three opponents look cautiously around the ring at the druids. He hands the belt to the ref, and looks into his opponents' eyes. They're almost scared stiff.
HHH strikes first, flying toward Taker, but Taker is fast to react. As HHH tries to connect with a clothesline, Taker ducks, which forces HHH into the turnbuckle. As he turns back around, his face meets Taker's fists. Suddenly, the other two men attack Taker from behind, both slamming their fists into Taker's spine. Taker kneels in apparent pain, and is triple-teamed by HHH, Austin, and Kane. For a good minute, all three beat down Taker. With sudden strength, Taker manages to push them all away, with HHH and Austin falling out of the ring.
Taker stands back up, and comes face-to-face with Kane, his supposed younger half-brother. They stare each other down until Austin comes from behind, and chop-blocks Taker's knee. Taker goes down on one knee, but gets back up as Austin and Kane try to double-team him. HHH comes back into the fray, and with all three, they manage to get Taker down. Austin kicks Taker down, and covers him. He gets a one-count before HHH and Kane grab both his legs, and pulls him off. The three beat each other up.
Meanwhile, Taker catches his breath in one of the ring corners, and gets back to his feet. He launches himself on his three opponents, bringing them all down. Taker grabs Austin's arm, pulls him up, and twists the arm. Taker climbs the turnbuckles, walks across the top rope, and jumps, bringing his arm down on Austin's. Austin falls to the canvas and rolls out of the ring, where the druids begin beating him up some more.
Taker next grabs Kane by the throat, and pulls the taller man to his feet. Taker throws Kane's right arm over his right shoulder, and chokeslams his "sibling". The crowd's reaction to everything has been positive, with the loudest cheers ever heard. Kane rolls out of the ring, and is met by the druids' brutal attacks.
By now, HHH has regained himself, and is on his feet. When Taker turns back around, HHH runs toward him. Taker, the quicker man, grabs HHH by the throat, stopping him in his tracks. Raising his hand, Taker puts his fist, thumb out, to his own throat, and brings it to the other side, getting even more cheers. Taker hoists HHH on his shoulder, positions him accordingly, and falls to his knees, delivering the Tombstone. Taker crosses HHH's arms over his chest, and flips his head back. The ref is quick to the canvas, slapping the mat one, two, three. Taker stands back up, grabs the title from the ref, and walks back up the ramp. The 'Higher Power' meets him at the top.
**Vince: {acquired a mic} Wait just a damn minute!
Taker and 'Power' face the ring.
**Vince: You had all these damn druids do your dirty work! I demand a rematch! Who, in God's name, do you think you are?!
Taker gets a mic from Mick.
**Taker: I am the World Wrestling Federation Champion, the Lord of Darkness, the Undertaker! You won't ever be able to forget my name, for we will wreck havoc on this company.
**Vince: We?
**Taker: Yes, we…{waves at the druids}
Druids, one by one, begin to remove their hoods. When the last druid on the ramp revels themselves, it is plain to see who they are: the ones from the Undertaker.net website. Ones like Supersinc, Xena, the Lady of Darkness, the Lord of Darkness, Kkane, Angel of Light, Demon Reaper UK, Devilz Angel, ^V^, and many, many more.
**Taker: These are my COTN, and we shall rule.
**Vince: {looking at the COTN around the ring} Then who is your 'Higher Power'?
'Power' removes their hood…and it is none other than Devil Child of Darkness!
**DCoD: {taking mic from Taker}I am Devil Child of Darkness, know better as DCoD, and I'd like to clear a few things up. First off, Vince, I am not 'higher' than Taker or anyone else, and Taker is not 'higher' than me or the others, no matter height. Second of all, guess what, Vince? We've got one more surprise for you. {Turing to Mick} Bring her here.
Mick brings Steph to DCoD's side. At DCoD's nod, Mick unties Steph's hands, and she stands up, an evil smile crossing her face.
**DCoD: {an evil grin on her lips as well} Your precious daughter was on our side the whole time, Vinny!
**Steph: {taking mic} Daddy, I told you I would get you back for everything you didn't do with me, but you did with Shane. You didn't listen to me, did ya? For your ignorance, you shall pay, and we {motioning to Taker, DCoD, and the COTN} shall make you pay for it all!
Taker nods to the COTN, and the COTN begin to enter the ring. They brutally beat down the four men in the ring. Taker, DCoD, and Steph are laughing at them. The three leave, and are soon followed by the COTN.
**JR: Oh my God! Stephanie was on their side the whole time! She, Undertaker, and this woman called DCoD have wrecked havoc here tonight! What will now happen to the World Wrestling Federation? Time will only tell…Goodnight, everybody!
