Chapter 43: The Wolf and the Outlaw
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Scene 1 – The Match Announcement
The show opened with chaos already rumbling beneath the surface.
On the tron, an official announcement was broadcast from WWE Headquarters:
> "Next week on RAW: The Outlaw vs. The Wolf."
Jaxon Cross vs. Kai Maddox
Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match
No Escape. No Allies. No Mercy.
Clips flashed across the screen — Maddox's defiant stare, Jaxon's bloodied fists, their shared past, and the brutal collision coming fast.
The arena erupted. This wasn't just a match anymore.
It was personal.
It was the end of something.
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Scene 2 – Crossed Wires
Backstage, Jaxon Cross sat alone in his locker room, wrapping tape around his hands. The walls around him pulsed with the distant sounds of a live crowd, but he was locked in silence. His expression wasn't rage — it was something else.
Burden.
The door opened.
In stepped Stephanie McMahon.
Not in her executive look tonight — just jeans, boots, and a leather jacket. The crowd popped the moment they saw her on-screen, but inside the room, things were quieter. More intimate.
Jaxon didn't even flinch.
"They send you to talk me off the ledge?" he asked.
"No," she said gently. "I came on my own."
He raised his head at that.
"You're not sleeping. You're not listening. You're bleeding more backstage than in the ring. And now you're about to throw yourself into a barbed wire cage with your brother."
Jaxon said nothing. Just kept taping.
Stephanie stepped closer.
"You built Reckoning with your hands. With your pain. And you inspired people — not because you were angry, but because you were honest. But you're starting to lose that."
He finally stopped. Looked at her.
"I didn't ask for any of this. The leadership. The power plays. Orton. I just wanted the war to end."
Her voice softened. "But when you survived it, you didn't ask who you were after, did you?"
That hit him. His jaw clenched. He looked away.
"You're not alone in this," she added. "You never were."
He looked back at her, and something unspoken passed between them. A flicker of memory. Of something shared when the lights weren't on. Before Reckoning. Before the war.
Jaxon's voice dropped.
"I remember the first time you said that."
Stephanie smiled faintly. "And I meant it then, too."
She turned to leave, but paused at the door.
"When you're ready to talk about you, not just the outlaw…"
She held his eyes one last time.
"I'll still be here."
Then she was gone.
And Jaxon Cross — the man who'd survived fire, betrayal, and steel — looked shaken for the first time in a long while.
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Scene 3 – The Wolf Responds
Later that night, Kai Maddox stood in a dark hallway lit only by a single flickering light above.
He stared into the camera, jaw set.
"Barbed wire. Steel. No escape. Sounds fitting, doesn't it?"
He walked slowly toward the lens.
"You wanted to lead an army, Jaxon, but you forgot what it means to fight side-by-side. You let someone else pull the strings while the rest of us got cut up in yours."
He stopped.
"You didn't just betray Reckoning. You betrayed me."
His hand reached into his jacket.
He pulled out something small — a cracked piece of the Reckoning logo from his old ring gear.
"I don't want peace."
He crushed it in his hand.
"I want your blood."
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Scene 4 – Warning Signs
Saint and Talon Creed watched the promo from the locker room.
Saint leaned against the wall, arms folded.
"He's gonna kill him," he said flatly.
Talon stayed quiet.
Saint turned. "You think Jaxon deserves it?"
Talon exhaled through his nose.
"I think… he needs it."
Saint looked shocked. "You serious?"
Talon stood, towering.
"I think Jaxon's carrying more than we know. And sometimes the only way to survive a storm—"
He paused.
"—is to let it break you."
Saint shook his head, unsure if that was insight or surrender.
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Scene 5 – The Voice of a Viper
In a shadowy corner of the building, Randy Orton stood in front of a backstage monitor watching everything unfold — Stephanie's appearance, Jaxon's silence, Kai's rage.
He smirked.
Then pulled out his phone.
He typed one word into a message draft and stared at it:
> "Checkmate."
But he didn't hit send.
Not yet.
He knew the board was still moving.
And soon, only two pieces would be left.
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Scene 6 – Jaxon's Message
The final segment of the night belonged to Jaxon Cross.
He walked to the ring alone. No theme music. No spotlight. Just the crowd murmuring as he stepped under the ropes and picked up a mic.
He looked around.
"This started with an idea."
His voice was low. Calm.
"That if we were broken, maybe together… we'd be strong. And for a while, we were."
A pause.
"I never claimed to be perfect. I never claimed to be the best."
He pointed at the tron.
"But next week, I walk into hell with the only man who knows every weakness I've got."
His eyes burned.
"And I'll walk out… or I won't walk out at all."
A beat.
"And Kai? When I'm bleeding? When you're standing over me?"
His voice broke just a little.
"Ask yourself if you're standing on a grave… or the start of something worse."
He dropped the mic and walked out, never looking back.
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Final Shot – Stephanie's Reflection
In her office, Stephanie watched from the monitor. Her expression was unreadable.
Concern?
Hope?
Maybe both.
But as the screen faded to black, she whispered one thing.
> "Come back to me."
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