Scene 1 – The Morning After Hell
The sky over Nashville was gray when Jaxon Cross stepped out onto his hotel balcony, a black hoodie thrown over his bandaged shoulders. The city buzzed below, but his world had narrowed down to a cup of lukewarm coffee and the ache in his ribs.
Stephanie joined him minutes later, barefoot, wrapped in one of his old t-shirts, a legal pad tucked under one arm.
He looked over.
"Work already?"
She gave a small smile. "The Board doesn't sleep. Not even for happy endings."
Jaxon chuckled. "Was that what last night was?"
Stephanie leaned into the railing beside him. "You walked out of Hell with your soul intact. That's about as close as anyone gets."
Jaxon stared out at the skyline.
"Then why do I feel like something's missing?"
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Scene 2 – The Weight of Peace
Back at the arena, RAW opened with a video package:
> Jaxon Cross conquering Orton.
Reckoning reunited.
Stephanie entering the Cell.
The Outlaw embracing the one thing no one expected him to fight for — love.
The crowd was on fire. Chants filled the air before a single spotlight lit the ring.
Jaxon entered alone.
No Reckoning.
No Stephanie.
Just him.
"Last night," he said slowly, "I did something they said I never would."
"I survived."
The crowd popped.
"But you know what no one tells you about victory?"
He looked around.
"It's quiet."
He let the silence stretch.
"I've lived every day of the last year with enemies on all sides. Betrayal in my locker room. Fire under my boots. Blood in my mouth."
He paced the ring.
"And now that I've beaten the devil… I don't hear anything."
A pause.
"But that's when peace lies to you. That's when you let your guard down. That's when they strike."
He looked to the hard cam.
"So if anyone's waiting in the shadows… don't wait too long. Because I still know how to fight."
He dropped the mic.
---
Scene 3 – The Next Chapter
Backstage, Kai Maddox, Saint, and Talon Creed gathered in their locker room.
The energy was different now.
Looser.
Lighter.
But Kai noticed it first — the unease in Jaxon's shoulders when he arrived.
"You alright?" he asked.
Jaxon nodded. "Still adjusting."
"To what?" Saint asked, half-laughing. "We won. Orton's gone. You got the girl. The crowd loves us again."
Talon leaned forward, arms on his knees.
"Or maybe he's waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Jaxon didn't argue.
Because they were right.
---
Scene 4 – Her Name in Their Mouths
Later that night, during a backstage interview segment, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller dropped a bomb.
The duo, known for stirring controversy, leaned into the camera with their usual arrogance.
"Let's be honest," Waller said. "Jaxon Cross didn't win Hell in a Cell. Stephanie McMahon booked him to win. She handed him the match."
Theory added, "Nepotism's a hell of a performance enhancer."
The crowd booed instantly. Twitter blew up.
Backstage, Stephanie sat in production, lips pressed tight.
Jaxon stormed out of the locker room when he saw the clip.
But Talon caught his arm.
"Don't."
"They brought her into it," Jaxon growled.
"They want you to explode," Kai said. "Don't give 'em the match until you can end it."
Jaxon stared.
Then nodded once.
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Scene 5 – A Quiet Corner of the World
That night, Jaxon and Stephanie sat in catering after the show, alone in the corner booth, half-eaten food between them.
"I told you this would happen," she said gently.
"Yeah," he replied. "Didn't make it easier."
She reached across the table and took his hand.
"You don't have to protect me from the noise."
"I'm not trying to protect you from them," he said. "I'm trying to protect us from becoming them."
A beat.
Stephanie's eyes softened.
"You think we already have?"
He looked at her.
"No," he said. "But peace is a liar. And the moment you believe you're safe, the wolves come back."
---
Scene 6 – The Wolves Arrive
SmackDown the following Friday.
The lights dropped halfway through the show.
On the tron: surveillance footage.
Grainy. Raw.
A nighttime parking lot.
Jaxon Cross and Stephanie McMahon walking toward a black SUV.
Then — three figures attacked from the shadows.
Hoods. Steel pipes. Flash strikes.
Jaxon fought back, but it was too fast, too calculated.
One of the assailants smashed the window of the SUV with a crowbar. Another drove Jaxon into the hood.
Stephanie screamed.
Security footage froze.
Then glitched.
Then revealed the final frame.
A gold coin.
Dropped next to Jaxon's bloodied hand.
On the face of the coin: a wolf's head.
A new faction?
A warning?
Nobody knew.
But Reckoning was watching.
And so was Jaxon.
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Final Scene – The Outlaw Reignites
The final moment of the show: Jaxon backstage, shirt torn, blood down his temple, Stephanie beside him with a medic.
His voice was calm. Icy.
"They made it personal."
He stood.
"They thought the devil was gone."
He turned toward the camera.
"They forgot I was born in hell."
Cut to black.
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