A/N: AU turn and graphic injury in flashback.
A half hour later…
Hunter usually didn't find many of his friends or employees at a park… but he could tell something was off when he found Finn and Amanda at a nearby bench, the older man walking over.
"What happened, kids?" Hunter asks.
"The majority of the company is pissed at us." Amanda says, her tired eyes looking at the man who had become like an uncle to her... no matter how much she tried to hide it with makeup, Hunter could tell when she was tired and bruised.
Out jogging with Roman, Aestrid was listening as he explained it.
"Most of that developmental branch throws sex parties every chance they get and yet had the nerve to trash Mandy and Finn." Roman says, his long black hair pulled back.
"Well that's the pot calling the tea kettle black if it ever happened." Aestrid says.
"Yep… fucking crazy, I think half of them are on cocaine or something. Ain't much changed since the 80s." Roman says as they stopped, him stretching his back and hearing a 'crick'.
"That has to cause you hassle sometimes, right?" Aestrid asks.
"Makes me feel older than 30." Roman says.
Aestrid saw Amanda and Finn but couldn't hear them talking to Hunter… but she could see the expression on Amanda's face and then the one on Roman's… it was clear that it hurt him seeing her so upset.
"All this stress makes me worry for her health…" Roman said quietly.
At the Amway Centre for the non televised event, Roman decided to call Galina.
"Hey, babe. Everything okay?" Galina says after answering her phone.
"Far from it, Lina. It's not me this time, it's Mandy. She's upset and I don't know how to comfort her." Roman says.
"What all happened, Roman?" Galina asked, concerned because she also thought of Amanda as a sister.
"Mostly everyone held a meeting earlier about Mandy and Finn's friendship… it was brutal how they were tearing them down, I went and punched a few of the men before I left it." Roman says.
"One of them was Seth…" Galina says, knowing already from how her husband sounded.
Down the hallway, Aestrid saw Amanda walk past her and briefly nod, the eye makeup in the more natural cat eye look that Amanda preferred… before Aestrid heard a sickening smack and a scream.
"You backstabbing bastard!" Amanda yelled, Seth's mouth split open.
"He'll feel that in the morning." Aestrid muttered… but with a small smirk, knowing that Seth was getting what he and the others deserved.
"Hey, hey! What the hell's going on here?!" Dean exclaimed as he rushed over to pull them apart from each other but by then, Amanda's small fists had hit Seth repeatedly. "Mandy, did someone tell you what went down at the meeting?" He asked.
"That it was similar to them treating me and Finn like criminals who are more suited for death row!" Amanda said, face red from anger.
"Well yes but not Roman or me, you know we'll never do that to you. Sami and several others were just as pissed." Dean says.
"I know… but it's starting to seem like I should have known better than to trust the others the same." Amanda says, her eyes briefly clenched shut as she said the second half.
"Go cool down." Dean says, kissing her on the side of her head before she left and then glaring at Seth.
"A death glare, Dean? That's a bit much." Seth says.
"You broke her fucking heart when you injured her! And yet you got pissed when she turned to someone outside our group, why?!" Dean growled, grabbing Seth by his shirt collar, which startled Aestrid a bit.
The locker room door opened and closed quickly, Finn turning and seeing Amanda with bruising and bleeding knuckles and walking to her.
"I let all hell loose on that son of a bitch…" Amanda says as Finn found a first aid kit and patched her hands up. "I know you say anger doesn't help but I saw that smug smirk and I snapped." She admitted, flinching slightly as the lidocaine started to sting the cuts.
"Some of these bruises are shaped like you hit his ribcage…" Finn says as the door opened and a startled Sasha was guided in by Aestrid.
"She's seen through the wars." Aestrid says, guiding Sasha to a bench and sitting her down.
"That was brutal… were you an ECW fan as a child, Mandy?" Sasha says.
"Yeah… flaming tables and barbed wire bats, no wonder it aired late at night." Amanda says as Finn had finished bandaging her hands, Aestrid cringing at the thought of a table on fire and a wrestler being put through it.
"They're crazier in New Japan… never fully forgave Kenny for giving me a concussion once." Finn says.
"Why was it a Taipei Deathmatch? I thought those were banned after Mick lost part of his ear." Amanda says, Aestrid wondering the same thing.
"He lost part of an ear?!" Aestrid asked.
"That was one of many injuries that nearly ended Mick Foley's career." Amanda says, sitting down.
"I remember what nearly ended my skating a year and a bit back… you ever fallen, then looked down and realised that your foot was suddenly on backwards?" Aestrid says.
"Well, not my foot or me to an extent but..." Amanda started to explain, Aestrid remembering.
Two months ago, NXT: TakeOver: Brooklyn…
She didn't even want to open her eyes, his screams piercing her brain and ears as she tried her best to free Kevin's trapped arm.
"Kevin, stop struggling!" Amanda yelled in panic before the former NXT Champion kicked her across the ring, Amanda landing hard against the exposed turnbuckle as her eyes shot open before she fell.
"Mandy!" Finn says, forgetting about Kevin and running to the small brunette, helping her sit up as Kevin had fallen out of the ladder that had trapped his now bleeding right arm.
Amanda screamed in fright as she realised that it wasn't just Kevin's arm… his right thumb was completely backwards and cut open deep, Kevin realising it after Amanda had screamed.
In the backstage area, it was a mob scene as Aestrid pushed her way through the crowd and saw that Amanda had thrown up after seeing the blood and broken thumb… but she hadn't seen it herself as the camera had cut away to the parking lot of the Barclays Center.
"The fuck is going on?! They cut the feed as it happened!" Aestrid shouted over the noise of everyone else.
"It was horrible, he had…" Bayley sobbed, Aestrid trying to calm her down. "There was too much blood…"
Aestrid reached Amanda and Finn, who had his hands rubbing up and down Amanda's back as she was frighteningly pale.
Amanda looked at Aestrid… and then down at her own thumb, making a small motion as if it were twisted backwards, Aestrid realising why she was horrified.
"Well… fuck, that's why it's so chaotic and the feed cut… good job protecting the children, control room." Aestrid says.
"They didn't need to see it… I went with what the script said, to dropkick him… it was an accident, I swear I wasn't trying to…" Amanda said through her tears, Finn pulling her into his arms.
"They made the ring out of cheap crap, not you… I'm gonna see if I can… stomach checking on him." Aestrid says before standing upright again from her crouched position.
Aestrid left, finding Kevin on a nearby gurney with tears trailing down his face.
"All that blood… Mandy told them no dropkicks into ladders and they wrote it down anyway…" Kevin said through the agonizing pain as he tried to prevent Aestrid from seeing the wound.
"Minus the blood, my foot looked just like that a year ago, It's okay… whoever designed that ring set needs to be shoved out the door." Aestrid says.
"I said that after it caved in twice. Is she okay, did I break her ribs?" Kevin says, managing to brush his tears away.
"I don't think so… she's heaved back up her breakfast, mind you." Aestrid says, resting a hand carefully on Kevin's shoulder.
"Damn…" Kevin says…
Present time…
"Ladder matches can go horribly wrong… before that, the last one that did had Joey Mercury being sent to the hospital." Amanda says after standing up.
"I never liked ladders in general… always freaked me out when someone would start off up those lighting frames." Aestrid says.
"We all block out the danger… being up there, you feel that rush of energy…" Amanda says before the door opened and Hunter walked in, dragging Seth by his right ear.
"Do we even want to know where you found him?" Finn asks, his right hand resting on Amanda's back as she tensed up.
"Out in the parking lot, armed with a baseball bat, trying to escape security and not necessarily peacefully." Hunter says, letting go of Seth after closing the door.
"Just like Tijuana all over again." Sasha mutters.
Amanda turned to unzip her bag, Hunter seeing her bandaged hands.
"See?! Told you she tried to kill me!" Seth says angrily, Aestrid seeing Amanda holding something and realised they were the Crossfit wrist wraps and Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim hoodie before she shoved them at Seth.
"I don't want anything reminding me of you… now go." Amanda said quietly, Seth leaving... Amanda leaned into Finn as his arms wrapped around her shoulders, her left hand squeezing his right one as he kissed her forehead.