Amanda finished getting into her ring gear and zipped her Balor Club hoodie up over the leather and lace before she left the locker room.
'Something doesn't feel right…' Amanda thought as she reached Hunter's office… and heard the yelling from him.
Amanda kicked the door open and charged in, Liviana screaming in shock as Amanda jumped on her and put her in a headlock.
"Get the fuck off of him!" Amanda yelled, tightening her grip but it wasn't long before she was slammed right into the wall.
Several of the others jumped when they heard that… and Finn grabbed a nearby shotgun and loaded it, turning to Bayley and Sasha.
"Lock the door." Finn said before disappearing down the hall.
"Enough!" Hunter yelled as he managed to restrain Liviana by putting her against the wall… only to hear muffled growling from within the helmet and jump back as a blue glowing beam was extended from her hand, forming the outline of a burning hot sword, enough that it left scorch marks across the wall where it activated.
Liviana turned to them as Hunter helped a sore and disoriented Amanda sit up… and she stepped back when she saw Amanda's hazel eyes look at her.
"What the…" Amanda tried to ask.
Liviana tried to speak in return… but her helmet would muffle it, let alone the fact that inside it a bolted in rod prevented her jaw from moving. So she stared at Amanda, thinking of how to answer her… before turning to the wall with the sword in her hand, and slashing it across the painted brickwork multiple times in different directions, until the marks spelled out the initials 'L.D'. And Amanda looked at it and thought… before she figured out what they meant.
Liviana Diesel. Her first and middle names.
Liviana backed up and deactivated the sword when she saw Finn with the shotgun before it was handed to Hunter and Finn helped Amanda up to her feet, one hand on her back and the other on the side of her face with her hands braced on his arms.
"Did that thing hurt you?!" Finn questioned, Liviana tilting her head down a bit… hearing it made her only more certain that to their view, a 'thing' was all she was now.
"It's Liviana." Amanda whispered, Liviana looking up at them as they looked at her.
"What happened to you? Who did this to you?" Finn asked, Liviana only glancing towards the wall for a second before looking back to him. "You… can you speak?" He questioned, Liviana looking down again with a slight shake of her head.
Amanda tried to stand up, Finn not letting her.
"Livi…" Hunter said, Liviana looking up at him and the look clearly said "I'm sorry.".
Liviana stepped over to him, briefly placing her hand on Hunter's shoulder before stepping past and standing by the window, looking outside… she wanted to see the beauty, the blue sky and green trees, even the grey concrete of the roads… but all she could see was computerized red outlines on a black background, with numerous lines of text flashing and scrolling over her right eye.
"Get her to the medics." Hunter whispered, Finn helping Amanda up and noticed that she was cradling her left hand to her body… carefully pulling her right hand back when they were in the other room, he saw that her thumb was bruised and cut open.
"Damn it, what happened?!" Enzo asked as he ran to them with one of the doctors following him.
"Liviana's back… but she's not herself." Amanda answered once she was stretched out on the examination table and her thumb was being checked on.
"It's like… she's trapped in this suit, she can't talk… she's almost robotic." Finn added.
"Who or what did that-" Enzo started to ask, jumping slightly when Amanda screamed out as her thumb was moved and Finn held her right hand in his left one.
When it was stitched up, it was x-rayed… nothing was broken but at the same time, Liv Morgan had walked into the room and reeled back in a startled manner.
"You were right about that loud thud!" Liv shouted down the hall, Colin running to her.
"Damn, who the hell jumped you kiddo?!" Colin asked once he saw Amanda.
"I'll explain that… when I stop feeling pain." Amanda answered as Finn held her close to him. "There goes my match tonight… but I'm still heading out there for yours and Joe's, you guys worked so damn hard in this tournament." She whispered.
"I wouldn't blame you for it… but take it easy while you do." Finn said… Before the two heard the echoes of a synthetic sounding voice coming from Hunter's office.
"Kill me?! Why?!" Hunter asked, Liviana holding his phone on which he'd downloaded and brought up an app with many different buttons on it, each one a word which would be played through the speakers.
"Alter. Time. Collapse. Company." Liviana tapped out, the voice playing sounding emotionless, every sound spoken in the same tone.
"Liviana…" Hunter said, Liviana repeating her actions.
"Can't. Do. It. Though… You. Mean. Too. Much. To. Them."
"What are you gonna do then?" Hunter asked.
"Get. Free." Liviana tapped, before looking down, her helmet only allowing her to look enough to see her feet. "I. Feel. Much…" She stopped there… But Hunter saw her thumb shakily suspended over the button 'pain'.
"Pain…" Hunter said, helping her sit down.
"Go. Check. On… Mandy." Liviana tapped, Hunter doing so.
"She's hurting…" Amanda managed to say once she was stood up, Finn's right arm wrapped around her back and her thumb bandaged.
"Very much… I don't know what we can do about this one…" Hunter responded.
"Keep her hidden until we figure a way to help…" Amanda said as they hugged for a few seconds, Amanda cringing slightly as she stepped back as the painkillers hadn't set in yet.
By the time that the match was scheduled to start, Amanda was feeling better when the pain edged off and leaned against the wall, hearing the roar of the crowd as Finn rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Think she'll be okay back here? Maybe watching the show will help her relax a bit." Amanda said quietly.
"Might do… Knowing her though, she probably already knows how this event will end." Finn replied.
Balor/Joe vs Lucha Dragons…
"Well we were supposed to start off tonight with Amanda vs Bayley but there was an altercation backstage that left Amanda injured. Bayley, you're out here watching with us, any ideas on what could've happened to your friend?" Tom Phillips responded as the match progressed.
"I can't be sure exactly, but one thing I do know is that it takes a lot to get Amanda to really fight someone, out of the ring. Whatever did go on, someone really must've pushed it way too far." Bayley replied, not about to give any indication that she actually knew about Liviana and what happened in Hunter's office.
"That's an understatement, she's not standing straight up-" Corey starts to say.
Amanda jumped back as Kalisto jumped through the middle and top ropes, launching himself at Joe. The match spilled to the other side and eventually back into the ring.
"How the hell would someone stop Samoa Joe?" Tom asked.
"You don't, that man is a wrecking machine in the ring." Bayley answered with a slight laugh.
When Finn tagged himself in and jumped off the top rope, both his feet connected with Sin Cara's torso with a little too much force than intended. After the pin, the fans cheered and Amanda and Finn hugged tightly… but she let out a low hiss as the hug was too tight.
In the backstage area, Amanda had calmed down from the adrenaline a lot faster than she intended and was leaned against the wall, Finn rubbing one hand up and down her back while the other was resting on her right shoulder as Bayley and Joe reached them.
"Just checked on her, she's still quiet." Bayley said softly.
Amanda nodded as she sat down, closing her eyes for a few seconds and taking a deep breath.
"Can you take me back to the hotel, please?" Amanda asked after looking at Finn.
"Yeah, of course…" Finn responded, brushing his hand up and down her upper left arm before looking at Bayley. "Any idea… Why she won't talk?"
"Hunter and the doctor examined her during the match… They think that the helmet has some sort of attachment that's locked her jaw shut, but it's metal means they can't use an x-ray to be sure." Bayley replied.
"Damn machine would either scramble the scan or lock her to it by her helmet." Joe said as Finn picked Amanda up into his arms.
Back at the hotel, Amanda was helped to the bed after a hot shower and getting into her pajamas.
"And I thought getting slammed into a steel cage was painful…" Amanda whispered.
"When did that happen again?" Finn asked after sitting down.
"I was just about 20 years old… it was at a live event, Wade Barrett was scripted to do so. I told him I'd be okay… but he used too much force and broke three of my ribs. John was royally pissed off… it was weeks before Wade could walk without a limp." Amanda answered.
"He understood though… you don't hurt someone's little sibling and get away without a beating inflicted on you." Finn said as he stretched out.
"Randy got a much worse beating once…" Amanda said quietly.
"At the… end of your relationship." Finn said, Amanda nodding slightly.
"The scar on my upper back… it was from him shoving me into a mirror. When John found out, he nearly killed him." Amanda answered as she tried to turn towards him but nearly screamed as pain shot through her bruised back. When she managed to, his hand was immediately on her back and rubbing it to take the pain away. "I was really young… it was hard to walk away, he was the first guy I loved. But we weren't healthy for each other… we needed to be away from that toxicity." She whispers after a few seconds.
Out in the hallway, Liviana stopped when she heard footsteps and looked, seeing Carmella.
"Li… Livi?" Carmella managed to ask. "H… hey, it's alright…" She said when Liviana took a couple of steps back.
Carmella stepped carefully towards the trapped girl ahead, Liviana relaxing a bit once she felt Carmella's hand on her shoulder, though it was only the pressure through the suit that she did feel.
Liviana pointed to the door and then lowered her hand, Carmella knowing that Liviana was worried about Amanda after what had happened.
"Mandy's gonna be okay." Carmella said quietly, the two heading down the hallway.
