Fever Aftermath (McBride Corporation CD)

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September 18th, 2021
Lincoln, Nebraska
Off Camera
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Backstage in the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska we find Karen McBride walking the halls in search for her sister, Blair McBride. It was Blair who had made her debut earlier against Brooklyn Smith. But it seemed as if the mere presence of the younger Melanie McBride drove Blair over the edge. Blair snapped and started attacking Melanie. Officials, along with Brooklyn and Karen, managed to break up the assault. But now Karen wants answers of her own. She has already spoken with Melanie and got her to a safe place, safely away from Blair. Now she wants to speak with Blair herself and hear her side of what went down. Karen walks on by and eventually spots referee Stephen Snuggs.

“Hey, Stephen, have you seen Blair?”

“Can’t say that I have, Ms. McBride.”

“Thanks anyway.” Karen walk on past Snuggs. Jake ‘The Heartthrob’ Storm, Fever commentator in the halls. “Jake, have you seen Blair?”

“Nope. I just got back here myself. Hey, is Melanie ok? That was a brutal attack.”

“She’ll be fine. She was more stunned that anything else. I got her a cab back to the hotel.”

“Good. If you find Blair tell her I send my best.”

“I will, thanks Jake.”

Karen continues her walk through the halls. Eventually she spots the familiar form of her sister, Blair, seated on the floor far away. She has her back turned to her and is obviously still dressed in her ring gear. The unusual thing is that Blair appears to have her Sigrun mask on. Karen quickly rushes up to Blair, hopefully to talk to her.

“Blair…” Karen gets up to Blair and bends down, gently shaking her to get her attention “...Blair?”

“Please, Mistress, call me Sigrun.”

“Oh God, Blair…” Karen grabs Blair and using all of her strength jerks her back to her feet. Karen then snatches the mask and pulls it off of her head. Karen can see tears in Blair’s eyes. “Oh, Blair...my god…”

“Please. Please give me the mask. It is the only way I can control it.”

“Control what?”

“Sigrun.”

“Sigrun? You mean your alter ego? Just like Melanie’s alter ego Skogul or Sierra’s alter ego Skuld?” Karen shakes her head. “Is that why you attacked Melanie? Because she created Sigrun?”

“Attacking her felt good, Karen. It felt good to give in to the hate. The mask representing shackles and chains. As long as I have the mask on, the hate and anger was chained up and shackled, it was controlled. That’s why I need the mask.” Blair tries to snatch it back but Karen keeps it out of reach.

“You do not need these mythical names or fancy masks as a crutch to control it. This mask and your Sigrun identity just represents your inner darkness.”

“How the hell would you know?! You didn’t go through what Melanie and I went through?!”

“Technically you didn’t go through what Melanie went through, either. Melanie thought she could recreate what The Nero Organization did to you but she failed to consider certain things and as a result all of this happened. And no, I didn’t go through what you went through. I haven’t endured that psychological and mental torture. I have never been broken and then remade. But I know the psychological and mental anguish of losing a sister to this cult.” Tears form in Karen’s eyes as she begins to break down emotionally. “I failed to protect Melanie from that cult and that was painful enough. But ever since I got Melanie back from that cult, I tried to reach out to her, I tried to find the old Melanie, and I failed. I see the cold sociopath that she has become and I fear that I will never see the happy, joyful sister that I loved ever again and it hurts so damn much.”

Karen reaches out and places a hand on Blair’s shoulder. “Please, do not make me go through that again. Don’t make me lose another sister.”

“What do you care? You and I never got along.”

“We may not have gotten along but we always had each other’s backs. You know I wouldn’t hurt a hair on Melanie’s head. When I found she was going to put you under that mask, I told her exactly what I thought about that dumbass idea...then I kicked her ass.”

“You risked the breakup of The McBride Corporation to try and save me?”

“I did, yes. And do you want to know who was the one who convinced Melanie to kick Mason Van Stanton out and reintroduce you back to the fold in the first place? Yeah, that was me too. I may not be your sister by blood, but the fact is that you ARE my sister and I would die for you.”

“Do you...do you mean that?” Blair is getting emotional as well.

“I do. And do you know what else? The Blair I remember is strong, tough, and independent. The Blair I know is a badass and doesn’t need some damn mask to channel and focus that anger. The Blair that I know can channel it on her own accord. And that is what you have to do. You need to channel that anger. I know that anger is directed mostly at Melanie for what she did to you, but on Livewire me and Melanie have a chance to become the GCW Global Tag Team Champions, and this TEAM, this McBride Corporation, we need to all be on the same page if we want to overcome The Sovereign and win the titles.”

Blair sighs. “I...I’m sorry, Karen.” Blair embraces Karen in a tight hug. “I am so sorry for putting you through this! I am sorry that the Nero Organization put you through this with Melanie!”

“It’s ok, Blair. You and I are good. Whatever bad blood we had, whatever grudge we had, as far as I’m concerned its over. But Melanie…” Karen sighs “...you and Melanie share a deeper bond now, especially after what you two have both been through. You two need to deal with this and I don’t mean just tonight’s attack. You need to get Melanie alone and talk to her face to face about this Nero Organization. Find a way to sort it out and deal with it.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.” Karen shrugs her shoulders. “In my ideal world, you both would rid yourselves of that rotten stain and go back to your old selves. I have almost given up hope of that happening, so I am hoping for at least you two getting back on the same page in time for Livewire and our tag title match.”

“Yeah, your title match. You need to bring those titles home.”

“No…” Karen smiles warmly and places a hand on Blair’s shoulders “...WE need to bring those titles home.”

“What do you mean? You and Melanie are the tag team.”

“You are every bit a part of this journey as we are. You are not just a manager and damn sure not a servant. You are our sister. You are part of this. We fight together, we win together, we lose together. But whatever happens, we do it together. Because from here on out, this McBride Corporation is a level playing field. You, me, Mel, the three of us are going to run this place.”

“That…” Blair wipes a tear from her eye “...that sounds great.”