Three hours earlier…
Once she was alone, Amanda was grabbed from behind and dragged into a locker room as she kicked and struck at the person… only to turn and see that it was Chris Jericho.
"You just about gave me a heart attack, you stupid idiot! What is this about?" Amanda responded after catching her breath, using one of Chris's modern era insults against him as Chris rubbed at his now bruising right arm.
"There's someone here who ain't supposed to be, so watch your back…" Chris answered in an active, shushed voice.
Amanda started swearing, Chris cutting her off by putting his hand over her mouth.
"You've got to work on some better habits, kid." Chris said after lowering his hand and seeing that she had the bruises covered up.
"I thought hiding them would've gotten people to back off… and sorry for hurting your arm." Amanda responded, Chris ruffling her hair and Amanda letting out a slight hiss. "Ow, watch my head and neck!" She replied.
"That rough of a night?" Chris asked, Amanda nodding.
When it was time for Amanda's scheduled match against Naomi, the brunette waited patiently in the ring… but instead of Naomi showing up, The Second Coming by CFO$ blared through the arena and the fans went crazy with cheers when Seth walked out to the ring, knee brace gone and Seth got into the ring, the music stopping after he grabbed a microphone.
"Well if everyone thought things couldn't get crazier, they just did!" Mauro Ranallo responded from the commentators table as Seth turned to Amanda.
"Picked the wrong moment, get your crazy ass back to the backstage area!" Amanda replied, Seth laughing humorlessly before lifting the microphone up to his mouth.
"Oh no chance, I've got a few things to say before that happens, you might want to grab a seat." Seth responded with a glare, before he looked around at the audience as they began their chanting and shouting in response.
"This is fucked up." Amanda muttered, Seth glancing back at her with narrowed eyes.
"Patience before you quote on it, you might change your answer." Seth responded.
Amanda had that feeling that trouble was brewing from the way Seth observed her before he turned back to the crowd, who were booing him as Amanda grabbed a microphone.
"Two things I'm thinking of: You've got something that you think will turn the odds in your favor. Or, from the lack of the knee brace you had to wear since November, that knee is 100% and you're looking for a fight." Amanda responded, the fans loudly chanting "Demon Mistress." as she spoke. "Ach tá tú ag lorg an chineál mícheart troid! And if you want that kind of fight, you'll get your ass handed to you, boy!" She replied, Seth approaching her and noticing that the bruises that were hidden earlier were becoming visible again… before he smirked.
"Like you handed yours to Balor, it would seem." Seth responded with his smirk, before he called back out to the audience. "Demon King, Demon Mistress… who's up for Demon Prince or Princess, hey?"
Amanda shook her head and clicked her tongue.
"Shouldn't have gone there… fucking low, even for you." Amanda said quietly after dropping the microphone, Seth turning startled as he realised that character was broken and standing in front of him was the Amanda that he knew off screen prior to The Shield… and then Seth turned around, Finn punching him right in the face.
Seth fell to his knees and then Finn grabbed Amanda's right hand and got her out of there… in the backstage area, Amanda looked down at the floor even as Finn sat down and pulled her into his lap… until she buried her face into his left shoulder and his right hand lightly rubbed up and down her back. Out of concern, Mauro had followed them and rested his left hand on Amanda's left shoulder, Amanda looking up at him with tears running down her face.
"You never let it on out there… well, who really does? Back here is a different story." Mauro said as he crouched down level with where Amanda was sat.
"I've been keeping it quiet for 8 ½ years... I have Endometriosis. I tried to have a child with an ex a few years ago and it didn't work so he turned around and cheated on me, claiming that I didn't keep myself healthy enough…" Amanda admitted before she took a few seconds to breathe. "It wasn't my fault but he didn't see that. Having what might not happen thrown in my face… I cracked out there." She replied, brushing her tears away as Finn continued to hold her and Mauro lightly stroked Amanda's hair, hating that the woman he thought of as a daughter was hurting.
"It's understandable that you did… I wouldn't say it's impossible, nothing is, just… hard to obtain." Mauro said in response.
"He's right… one day, it'll happen." Finn replied, Amanda resting her head on his left shoulder in an attempt to calm down…
Present time…
The hotel was quiet, most of the guests having settled into their rooms for the night… setting their things down, Amanda closed and locked the door and Finn turned to her.
She had been silent after what had happened earlier… and Finn pulled her into his arms, the two holding each other.
"I want to see him crash and fall off that damn pedestal he put himself on." Amanda replied after hours of silence, Finn lightly rubbing his right hand up and down Amanda's back and his left hand resting on the right side of her face.
"He'll get what's coming to him, Darlin'. He has no right to treat you like he does." Finn replied… before they felt the ground under their feet tremble.
Finn grabbed on tighter to Amanda, opening the door and holding her close to him in the doorway as the trembling increased to violent shaking and she clung onto him as the frightened screams nearby echoed.
And then it all stopped… the screams were replaced by an eerie silence, Finn looking around after activating the flashlight app on his phone. The damage was minimal but the power was out as Amanda finally lifted her head up and looked around.
"You alright, Darlin'?" Finn questioned after getting Amanda to look at him, Amanda nodding.
"I don't see any debris blocking the stairwells… think it's safe to move?" Amanda replied, both knowing the chances of an aftershock… but they were worried that their friends were hurt.
The two grabbed their phones, battery pack chargers and what they felt they needed with them before deciding to check on the others, Amanda's left hand entwined with Finn's right one.
