It was about ten minutes until NXT was set to start taping that Bayley and Aestrid saw John's orange Charger pull up into the garage.
"Uh oh… the older, overprotective brother ready to drag his little sister home." Bayley said nervously as Aestrid walked over to John.
"Where is she?!" John asked after getting out and locking the car.
"She's wherever you're not, with how you are right now! Take a moment to sit your ass down and pull your ears open!" Aestrid answered.
John did so, Aestrid sitting down.
"Any idea who originally put the video online?" John asked after a few minutes.
"No one's come forward as being sober enough to remember yet… but eyes are on Alexa with how she's been lately." Aestrid replied.
"No surprise there… she's just… I don't know what her problem is with my sister." John manages to say.
"Me either… some people are just royally twisted." Aestrid replied as she saw Bayley head into the building and finding Amanda and Finn.
"Do we need to run? How mad is he?" Amanda asked.
"Aestrid's calming him down… you sure about this? Going out there?" Bayley questioned.
"No turning back now…" Amanda said after she and Finn stood up, in their ring gear… and for once, Amanda was glad she was facing Liv instead of Alexa.
The three exited the locker room, finding John and Aestrid… Amanda's eyes widened when John stepped forward but she turned confused when John hugged her.
"Ace explained what happened." John said quietly.
"Everything went haywire, John…" Amanda whispered after they let go.
"I know it did… what happened to your neck?" John asked, seeing the bandage.
"Just… an accident caused by early morning drowsiness." Finn explained, hoping John wouldn't kill him. John nodded, letting the two get ready for their matches.
10 minutes later, Amanda Cena vs Liv Morgan…
"Enzo, you're observing closely… worried that your friend and your girl will hurt each other?" Byron Saxton asked.
"There's always that kind of worry… I'm not the only one freaking out-" Enzo says, jumping back as Liv shoved Amanda like she was supposed to… but the back of Amanda's head hit the turnbuckle with a thud and Amanda fell, Finn running over and reaching into the ring, resting his right hand on Amanda's head as Liv crouched down, worried for her friend.
In the backstage area, Aestrid rushed to the doctors.
"Is the ref stopping the match?!" Dr. Amann asked.
"Just did, come on!" Aestrid said before they followed the medics out there along with John.
"My ears won't stop ringing…" All three heard Amanda say through the pain as she tried to sit up, Finn, Enzo and Liv stopping her.
"I swear, it was an accident!" Liv said, panicking as Enzo held her.
"What matters right now is that she's okay, we'll go through what happened later." Aestrid said.
Put onto the backboard with a neck brace on, Amanda flinched as Dr. Amann shined a light into her eyes and let out a muffled cry as she tried to shove the light away.
"It's okay, that'll wear off…" Dr. Amann said reassuringly.
"John?" Amanda asked, seeing her brother's worried blue eyes when he squeezed her right hand.
"We're right here, Mandy, it's okay." John whispered as Amanda was moved onto the stretcher.
Amanda was still looking around, hearing all the disoriented voices with concern in them until another set of blue eyes were visible.
"I screwed up out there… the headlock was too close to the turnbuckle, I wasn't watching around me." Amanda whispered as Finn lightly stroked her hair.
"These things happen, to all of us… you'll be okay." Finn said quietly.
In the distance, Alexa watched through narrowed eyes until Carmella swatted her.
"Knock that off!" Carmella hissed, her New York accent slipping through as Aestrid watched for a second before turning back to Amanda, who's breathing was rapid as she tried to unstrap herself.
"Just for a second…" Finn said, unstrapping Amanda and helping her sit up as Amanda threw up into a bucket as an aftereffect of the head injury and Finn held her hair back.
"Never any less disgusting, even after so long!" Aestrid said, covering her eyes.
Amanda nodded in agreement after she was strapped back down and loaded into the ambulance.
At the ER and with the brace off and her on a different gurney, Amanda felt a cup of water placed into her right hand and slowly sipped it as Finn lightly rubbed her right shoulder.
"I still feel a little out of it…" Amanda said after setting the empty cup down, the concussion at a mild level.
"That was a hell of a blow you took to your head… has the ringing stopped though?" Finn said, asking the last part.
"Yeah… can't wait til we get out of here." Amanda answered as Aestrid and John walked in.
"It's a damn mob scene out there!" Aestrid said after a few seconds.
"Most of the roster's out there, they usually are after a bad blow like that." John says as he walked over, him and Amanda hugging.
"But it's not just them… what else happened?" Amanda asked after they let go, knowing that look in her brother's eyes. "Liara? Where is she, what happened John?" She asked, having been friends with Liara and the gang since last year.
"They were all just out calmly, car riding or strolling… Liara got shot in the street." John said.
"Where is she?! Here, in the OR?! Where?!" Amanda asked, tears forming in her eyes. "She's gone… they couldn't save her." She said quietly, letting the tears fall.
"There were too many shots… two of them severed two of the arteries to her heart, there was no chance." John said, carefully holding Amanda in his arms.
Amanda wasn't able to keep it in anymore and sobbed, Finn resting his hand on her back and lightly rubbing it as Aestrid walked into the waiting room… she had reached the reception desk when she felt a hand on her arm and saw Ty.
"Come here…" Ty said, taking Aestrid into his arms.
"I'm so sorry, guys…" Aestrid whispered.
"Do… they know?" Ty managed to ask after they let go.
"John's telling them… and the others in the group, I was with them when we all found out." Aestrid said, pointing down the hall towards where the others in the gang were.
"She should still be here… we were all in the audience earlier, Liara was so angry when Mandy got hurt, that's why we were out so she could calm down…" Ty said, walking down the hall and into the room.
Amanda was on her right side now, facing away from Ty and unaware of him being there until he rested a hand on her left arm… but while she knew he was there, she didn't look at him, her head hurting too much to move.
"Did they catch who did it?" Amanda asked quietly.
"Shooting was in a drive-by style, no ID seen but the car was recognised… and just found burnt to a crumbling crisp by the state border." Ty answered.
"She and I were talking before the show… me and Finn were gonna meet up with you guys at the bar afterwards…" Amanda said after she tried to sit up, Finn and Ty stopping her.
"I know… we were just out looking around for things, you know how we do it… then the car just came out of nowhere, five claps and made tracks." Ty said.
The group heard a loud bang, followed by "Ow, fuck!" being yelled and saw Val walk in with a dented food tray in her hands.
"And don't come back!" Val shouted out the glass door before slamming it, the others briefly seeing Alexa.
Amanda noticed blood on Alexa's shirt and Finn saw her tense up, resting his hand on Amanda's right arm and lightly rubbing it as he and the others knew that Amanda was boiling with rage.
"Don't… it can't have been her in the shooting." Val said quietly, her throat hurting from her screaming, then having to yell constantly to be heard over the chaos of the shooting scene.
"That's splattered blood on her… she saw who did it." Amanda says as Finn took her into his arms, his right hand running along her left side.