Post by dsb on Mar 17, 2019 18:01:57 GMT
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for our Main Event!” the Announcer called over the din of the crowd. “The following contest is scheduled for one fall with a thirty minute time limit and it is for the FAWN World Championship! Per order of Bethany Christian, Anciline de Cyr and Edward Wayne Thomas, any interference by members of the Black Court or the Church of Eternal Midnight will result in a one year suspension for the entire faction!”
The FAWNatics roared approval, all of them quite eager to see who would emerge victorious when the Ace and the Angel went to war.
“Introducing first, hailing from Stovington Vermont, she stands at five feet seven inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty pounds! Representing the Black Court, I give to you SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
Already on their feet, the Heartbroken throng managed to get a little higher when ‘Crown on the Ground’ barged its way into the arena. Shortly thereafter the Ace of the Black Court stepped into view and stretched her arms in a wide ‘T’ to call forth a ‘BOOM’ of zappy blue pyro.
CROWN ON THE GROUND:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPoIznBujEA
SUSANNAH BURLINGAME:
For her second go at the Daughter of Darkness and the Three Timer’s club, Susan sported a strappy gray ’Courting Disaster’ tank-top to make sure Miranda and her freaks knew who had their number. Seemingly unfazed by the lack of Court accompaniment, Burlingame grabbed the bottom edge of her top, then paused to offer the crowd a smirk when they broke into loud applause. Peeling it off only increased the noise, so she slung it over one shoulder and headed down the aisle. Beneath it she wore a dark blue two-piece with mellow golden trim. Matching boots and pads at knee and elbow completed the look, not that anyone paid too much attention to such trivial details as she vaulted onto the apron and over the top rope one right after the other. Wheeling around to face the stage as soon as she touched down, Sue sidled up to Nick Castle but didn’t allow him to commence final inspection until he’d counted the three fingers she held inches in front of his face. Shooing him away once the deed was done, Burlingame backed into the far corner and set her elbows on the top rope. Not once did her eyes leave the gloom of the entryway.
Susan‘s music was still fading when the Announcer resumed his duties. “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Oxrun Station Connecticut, she stands at five feet six inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds. She is the Weeping Angel, the Queen of Nightmares, the Daughter of Darkness and the FAWN World Champion, ADELAIDE BREWSTER!”
GLORY & GORE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVBkD4IRhg
The lights faded away as the soft, eerie opening ‘Glory and Gore’ poured through the speakers. For a moment there was nothing but darkness and pinpricks of cell phone light, then a few lights on either side of the stage ‘whoomped’ on to reveal an ankle-deep carpet of fog. An eerie tableau to be sure, yet the World Champion remained stubbornly hidden until a cold blue light illuminated the gloomy recession leading to the curtain. A figure swung down from the ceiling of that narrow throat, a figure hanging by her knees from a bar suspended just out of camera view. Arms crossed over her chest, Adelaide Brewster opened her eyes, then twisted loose and landed on her feet just as her anthem warned ‘Now we’re in the ring and we’re coming for blood.’
ADELAIDE BREWSTER:
Seemingly as eager as the challenger to settle their issues with no outside assistance, Adelaide reached to the small of her back and undid the clasp that held the World Title in place. Raising it to shoulder level, she extended her tongue and sloooooooooowly licked the glimmering faceplate, a habit that earned a disapproving jeer from those in attendance. Brewster met their disdain with little more than a sniff as she draped the belt over her shoulder and strode down the aisle. For tonight’s warmed over challenge the World Champion wore a gleaming black two-piece done in crushed velvet that showed off the power in her hips and shoulders in almost agonizing detail. The look was accented with a clunky black belt complete with a buckle done up as a snarling wolf’s head and matching black boots and pads. Approaching the squared circle at a brisk pace, Adelaide patently ignored the Rainmaker’s daggers as she ascended the steel steps and vaulted over the top rope. Forward progress took her to the center of the ring and would’ve ultimately led to the heiress’ corner if Brewster hadn’t turned on her heel, ‘snapped’ the title from around her waist and held it high for everyone to see.
Swinging around to face the challenger as she lowered the belt, Adelaide did not hand her prize off to Nick Castle, rather she laid it on the canvas at her feet and took a single step back. The official moved in only to freeze in his tracks when the Daughter of Darkness murmured, “That’s not for your hands, arbiter.” Castle retreated in short order, not that Brewster paid it any mind, she only had eyes for Susannah Burlingame. “This is the prize you seek, heathen? Of course it is, this bit of leather and gold is your ticket to the rarified air of the ‘Three Timers Club’. Yes, I can see the greed in your eyes.”
The Ace said nothing but kept her gaze locked on Adelaide.
“Come then. Challenge the Queen of Nightmares one more time and after you fail AGAIN I’ll make a meal of your terrified lead--”
Susan launched herself off the buckles and went low just as Adelaide’s head darted forward to unleash a vile spume of Crimson Mist! The southernmost edge of the cloud painted Burlingame’s forehead and hairline an arterial red, but her eyes remained mercifully clear which meant her aim stayed true when she buried a shoulder in the World Champion’s midsection! Plowing past the belt without so much as a second thought, Susan drove Adelaide into the canvas and immediately slid into a mount so she could pwak-pwak-PWAAAK away with an alternating series of Palm Strikes leveled at Brewster’s face!
Hardly thrilled at the prospect of enduring the same sort of chaos that’d permeated the last World Title defense, Nick rushed over to his charges and barked, “All right Sue, that’s enough, get offa her! C’mon, I haven’t even rang the bell!”
Burlingame paused her shelling long enough to grasp at Brewster’s wrists in an effort to prize apart the True Believer’s hastily erected guard. “Either ring the bell or throw the f*cking match out, Castle.” Sue growled. “Because I’m not getting OOOOWWWWWW BYTCH!”
Adelaide took control of the spirited hand fighting and yanked the Rainmaker’s left hand to her lips for a vile bite delivered between thumb and forefinger! Nick cursed along with the challenger, but did as Burlingame bade by throwing a signal to the Timekeeper. The resultant CLANG raised a cheer from the crowd and a louder shriek from Sue because the Weeping Angel began chewing on the first knuckle of her forefinger like she meant to have it as a (Eternal) Midnight snack!
Susan had the law on her side now that the match was officially live. She could’ve waited for Castle’s count and kept the mount without doing a damned thing, of course Sue Burlingame wasn’t one to wait for the system so she balled her non-chewed hand into a fist and brought it down on Adelaide’s right eyebrow no less than half a dozen times! Adelaide growled, reached up with her free (right) hand to protect her face, then snarled in surprise when Sue pulled her hand away and grabbed hold of that questing wrist! Spinning out of the mount so she was seated by the Churchgoer’s right shoulder, Burlingame threaded her legs around the exposed limb, then dropped straight backward and popped her hips like she meant to hyperextend the brunette’s elbow!
CROSS ARMBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHw__PjnZTM
“SUBMIT!” Sue roared over the explosion of cheers. “OR I’LL BREAK YOUR GODDAMNED ARM!”
“What do you say, Adelaide?” Nick asked the thrashing champion. “Need me to call--”
“NEVER!” Brewster screamed. “I’LL NEVER SURRENDER, THAT BELT BELONGS TO ME!”
Burlingame contradicted her with another vile jolt that had the brunette’s heels tapping against the canvas, yet Adelaide’s hand did no such thing, in fact it hung remarkably steady until she grabbed hold of the challenger’s left ankle. Bracing her feet as best she could, Adelaide yanked on her attacker’s foot as she sat up, a rough, awkward bit of repositioning that allowed her to regain a knee. It could’ve put Burlingame on her shoulders if she’d done a little adjusting, but Adelaide hadn’t the slightest interest in besting her rival with mere leverage. She sought nothing less than supreme ruination for Emily West’s most arrogant pawn, so rather than cover she wrapped her free hand around the Ace’s throat and began to squeeeeeeeze.
“Get off her throat, Adelaide!” Nick barked at once.
“Why? I can feel her pulse beating beneath my fingers. She’s hardly scared at all… yet.”
That wasn’t good enough for the Senior Official, so he started to count. “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
The Daughter of Darkness released the stranglehold, flattened that hand into a paddle and craaacked a slap across Burlingame’s cheek all in the span of heartbeats.
Sue absorbed it without complaint, shifted slightly to make sure one shoulder was clear of the mat. Then she pushed out with her legs, but the zealot stayed hunkered in close to effectively negate the worst of the joint-lock’s torque. “That all you’ve got?” she taunted after a few seconds of silence. “Big bad vampire bytch willing to keep her title by any means necessary so she starts with… spitting and slapping? You’re path--”
Adelaide crooked her fingers into talons and raked her from forehead to jawline. “Don’t forget clawing, my arrogant little scratching post.” She scored Sue’s cheek again, then treated her to a brisk slap on the mouth when the heiress snapped at her fingers. “Give me my arm back, heathen.” Brewster demanded. “Or I’ll shred your face.”
“Make me, bytcAAARRHHH!”
Adelaide sent her pincer south for a single heartless twist of the blonde’s left nipple. Determined to tweak and pluck until the Courtier abandoned this hateful Armbar, the brunette purred, “Is this what you had in mind, rich girl? Or perhaps I should reach beneath your disgusting trNGH! NGH! NGH! NNNNRRRRHHHHH!”
Susan unlocked her ankles, drew her right knee up snug against her chest, then scuffed her boot across the champion’s face no less than half a dozen times. “Lick my boot, bytch.” the Ace demanded. “Go on. Lick it clean before I smear your tongue all over the--”
The Weeping Angel abandoned the pincer for a much less painful grip on Susan’s waistband, though her new handhold proved all the more disconcerting because it allowed the brunette to return to her full height while slowly hoisting her heathen adversary into the sky! Grimacing as Brewster got her to shoulder level, Burlingame abruptly released her grip and dropped into an awkward landing on one kn-- Adelaide ignored the ache in her elbow to grab a double handful of hair so she could hold Sue’s head steady for the Kneelift she aimed between the blonde’s “OOOFFFHHH!”
The Rainmaker pounded a straight right hand into the zealot’s tummy, then fired off two more for good measure. With Brewster temporarily off balance, Susan slipped an arm between her stems and ‘hupped’ her into a Fireman’s Carry as she got to her feet. Adelaide squirmed mightily but couldn’t prize loose, thus Sue’s snarky smile as she turned in a slow circle. “Look at ‘em, Addy. Just look at them! They ALL came to watch you lose!”
“Then I will revel in their disappointment when I hurl your beaten body from the ri--”
Susan twisted her hips to the left, then snapped back to the right, the shift in momentum slinging Brewster off her shoulders even as the former World Champion collected her noggin in a Three Quarters FaceloNOOOO!
Adelaide clamped her claws into Burlingame’s shoulders and ‘smecked’ her legs around the heiress’ waist in a snug Bodyscissors. Circling one arm around Susan’s throat while her other hand cupped the blonde’s forehead, Brewster yanked back on the makeshift Sleeper, then bared her teeth and CHOMPED down on the soft skin residing between her shoulder and neck! Susan wailed, stumbled forward a couple steps, then caught her balance and waggled a finger ‘no, no, no!’ to make sure Castle knew she wasn’t about to tap to a little gnawing.
A woman with the experience of Burlingame knew some love bites weren’t what made her straits dire. As she staggered around the ring, trying to swing Brewster off unsuccessfully, Sue’s lids fluttered, her legs stepping in a fencepost hole or two from Adelaide’s tightening arms. The Daughter of Darkness cutting off the blood flow to her brain was much more lethal than drawing a little red and, as the challenger wobbled, she knew she had precious little time to change her destiny.
Instead of using her arms to reach back and find the Churchgoer’s locks, she scooped them around the underside of Adelaide’s sinewy thighs then turned her foe’s back to the nearest set of buckles. Backpedaling, Susan sandwiched the champ into the corner, splashing on top of her with enough impact to loosen Brewster’s grip. Sue stumbled out a few steps with an ‘Eternal’ backpack still in place and repeated the process, this time the Weeping Angel dropping from on high, her boots soles touching the ground behind the woman shooting for FAWN history.
As payment for the end of her ride, Adelaide drew both set of nails from shoulders to waist on Susan, Burlingame squealing as her back arched away from the stilettos. As the True Believer stepped forward, ready to switch places with Sue, the Black Courtier thrust her pelvis back, ramming her pert ass into Adelaide’s lower abdomen, folding the Nosferatu of the catwalk in half behind her.
Burlingame turned and ROCKED Brewster with a European Uppercut to the dipped chin of the corpuscle-loving brunette. Susan dipped her shoulders, grasped the middle ropes on either side, and continued to wreck Addy’s abs, diving into the champ’s midriff time and time again until Castle grabbed Burlingame by a shoulder after a half dozen impacts.
Sue turned with fist raised, ready to drop Nick like a bag of dirt, but she caught herself when Castle shied away.
Susannah spun to the gasping and bent Adelaide, snatching a handful of the Churchgoer’s dark locks then dipped to sweep an arm between the tanned stems of the Weeping Angel. Sue easily ‘hupped’ Adelaide across her shoulders and strode toward center stage.
“As I was saying,” Susan grunted.
With Brewster weakly wriggling, Burlingame gave the True Believer her freedom, throwing her out of the Fireman’s Carry but catching her with a Three Quarters Facelock and PLOWING the champ’s face into her knee with the Ace of Aces.
ACE OF ACES @ 00:16
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j53ygI28ZM8
Only through faith in the darkest of Eternal Midnight, Adelaide kept her feet under her, her arms pinwheeling wildly to maintain vertical. Burlingame responded to the ill-timed persistence with a spinning side kick that destroyed Brewster’s already bruised tummy and, with the World titleholder doubled, Susan lifted a long caramel-hued gam high and brought it down like a cleaver across the back of Addy’s neck, the Axe Kick sending Brewster face-first into the thinly-sheathed plywood.
Susan dropped to her knees next to her flattened foe and shoved the usurped Queen of Nightmares onto her back, climbing aboard in a Lateral Press. She hooked a leg for good measure and waited for Castle to put her in a new Gang of Four pantheon of three-time FAWN World Champions, joining Chrissy, Shea and Portia with the…
ONE…
TWO…
Adelaide threw a shoulder up from the grave-like stillness then rolled to her chest to make sure there would be no immediate repeat of the effort. She pushed to all fours but wasn’t reaching vertical at the speed Susan preferred. Already there, Burlingame ripped Brewster to her feet with a clench of thick, dark tresses.
As Addy rose, she lifted her arms, sweeping off Susan’s grip of her hair. In the blink of an eye, she snatched Susannah’s right arm at the wrist and folded the Ace’s arm back, opening a wide lane for the champ’s infamous defibrillating Heart Punch. But from nowhere, a black cloud emerges from Burlingame’s lips, the mist spreading across Adelaide’s startled features, blinding the Churchgoer!
Brewster turned and staggers away, furiously wiping at her eyes, while a Cheshire grin emerged on Burlingame, a drop of black ‘ink’ rolling down her chin before falling to the canvas.
“A little Black Court Magic,” Sue snarked to Castle since Adelaide wasn’t exactly in the mood for humor at her expense. The Rainmaker wiped her darkened lower lip clear with a forearm then cleaned the limb with a swipe of Nick’s zebra stripes, Castle giving a look of “What did I do?”
Susan chased after the sprayed Addy, unable to contain a darkened grin, her usual perfect pearlies stained. She wiped them cleaner with a roll of her tongue and called out to Brewster, who’s made a corner and was turned to face the middle.
“Live by the Mist, loser!” Burlingame bellowed as she advanced on the furiously rubbing Adelaide.
Enough eyesight recovered to realize Susan was in range, Brewster shot her right foot forward, hoping to dig it into the Rainmaker’s gut. It’s on target but Susannah caught the limb at the ankle before it could do any damage. She dragged Adelaide away from the corner, forcing the Churchgoer to hop on one leg to keep up. Throwing the captured leg toward Brewster, it ripped Addy off her planted foot with the pendulum-like momentum and the champ faceplanted into the deck, leaving a literal black mark on the canvas.
Taking delight in the sympathetic groan of the crowd to the face-first collision, Susan raised her arms high and rolled her eyes when it earned a mixed response, cheers outnumbering the boos. She shrugged at Orlando’s unwashed, watching as a battered Adelaide slowly climbed to her feet.
Rushing to the ropes next to the champion, Susan leapt to the middle cable and used it as a springboard to RAM a back kick into the collarbone of the Weeping Angel, dropping Brewster to the canvas with a thick thud.
SPRINGBOARD SPINNIN BACK KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoobWNOQDtA
Adelaide quickly spun to her chest to take away the invitation of a pin, but Burlingame used the positioning to drop to the canvas above the champ’s head and wrap up the noggin of the Weeping Angel in a Front Facelock.
The crafty veteran then wore on the reeling Addy with a Gator Roll, forcing Brewster through the spin cycle a half dozen times, to scramble her gray matter all the more.
GATOR ROLL:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-TbygCeF3k
Susan stacked the dizzied Daughter of Darkness on her shoulders in a vertical cradle, Burlingame’s midriff atop the buttocks of Brewster for the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
The jaws of that gator were strong, just not strong enough to keep FAWN’s Queen of Nightmares down for the count of ’THREE!’ Flashing Castle nothing more than a look of mild reproach, Burlingame laid claim to the champion’s left wrist and used it to haul Brewster to verticality. Still blinking owlishly in the wake of this heathen’s counterfeit mist, Adelaide snarled, “Miranda’s going to write a whole new volume dedicated to your suffering, you heathERRRGGGHHH!”
Susan spun her foe’s arm in a wide, smooth circle, the torque on her shoulder and elbow distracting the brunette from her prophecy of vengeance. It also meant she didn’t / couldn’t raise an adequate defense when the heiress planted on her right foot and thwack-thwack-THWACKED a trio of kicks across Brewster’s chest. The Churchgoer stumbled but otherwise yielded no ground, so Sue reset her feet, shifted slightly and lashed out with her right leg for a Side Kick that struck her opponent’s tenderized midsection with a sound like a baseball bat striking damp clay.
ARM WRENCH SIDE KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNzh162MvAk
Adelaide ‘OOOOFFFFFH’ed and doubled over though she couldn’t cradle her tummy as well as she liked because Sue still had that damned Wristlock in place. “Don’t slouch, honey.” Burlingame bent the brunette’s wrist backward to stand her up straight. “It’ll ruin your postu--” Adelaide lashed out, her nails streaking toward the Ace’s eyes, alas Susan’s knee proved the tiniest bit quicker and she THWHUMPED it against opposing navel. Burlingame snatched hold of Brewster’s hair for the sole purpose of straightening her up. Bracing that hand between her shoulders once the deed was done, she took two giant steps forward and pushed off with enough ‘oooomph’ to drop to one knee. Adelaide didn’t drop, she set off toward the far corner at a breakneck pace. Actually ‘set off’ wasn’t quite right, ‘launched’ was far more accurate because it better captured the lack of control over her own movements. Gritting those vaunted teeth as the buckles loomed larger and larger in her vision, Brewster slammed on the brakes but she was still moving at a pretty good clip when she BWUUUNGED chest-first into the top turnbuckle.
Bounced back by the force of the impact, Adelaide knew she needed to get eyes on the heathen as soon as possible, she just couldn’t seem to draw her arms away from the bruising ache in her chest. More than willing to take advantage of the champion’s predicament (she had created it, after all) Susan grabbed hold of Brewster’s wrists in both hands and pulled her arms down to hip-level for an effective straightjacket. Just like that she dropped her hips and bridged backward to take the Weeping Angel up, over and DOWN onto the back of her head with a huge German Suplex!
STRAIGHTJACKET GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p11t2rcpQWs
The landing folded Adelaide in half so Castle dove into position, yet in the end he didn’t even count a ‘ONE’ because Burlingame somersaulted over the Matchbooked Churchgoer and hauled her back to boot-leather. Transitioning from the Straightjacket to a Full Nelson in the blink of an eye, Sue dropped her hips again and-- Adelaide raked a heel down the Rainmaker’s left shin and bonked a short Headbutt off the point of her chin.
The challenger’s hands blunted the worst of the Headbutt, so she filled her hands with Brewster’s dark locks and gave ‘em a hard pull before jamming a Kneelift between her glutes. “Knock that cheap shyt off, honey.” she growled. “It’s unbecomEERRHHH!”
Adelaide raked her shin again, then worked her heel back and forth atop the Ace’s toes like she was trying to crush a cigarette. “You WOULD know something about unbecoming behavior, wouldn’t you? After all, I believe your father held some sort of emergency board meeting the first time his eldest daughter had her face used as a scratching post on NNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Burlingame hit her with another Kneelift, this one landing directly in the small of her target’s back. “Got your facts wrong, sparkles.” Sue hissed in her opponent’s ear. “The emergency board meeting was after I used someone ELSE’S face as a scratching OH NO YOU DON’T!”
Adelaide raised her arms as high as she could, then dropped to her butt to slip out of the Full Nelson like it a dime store magic trick. Stretching out on her back the instant she touched down, Brewster kicked her legs up and hooked them around the Courtier’s waist. She might’ve drawn her into some twisted Victory Roll if Burlingame hadn’t dropped into a deep crouch and wrapped both arms around Brewster’s waist. “Just where do you think you’re going, by--” Adelaide breathed a plume of Red Mist through two sets of splayed stems to catch the unsuspecting challenger flush in the face!
Her priorities completely rearranged by the burning murk of Brewster’s clotted breath, Susan abandoned the Waistlock and staggered for the ropes, knuckling her bloodshot eyes every step of the way. She was only a few steps from this goal when Brewster rushed in from behind and clouted her across the nape of the neck with an Elbow Smash that sent the former World Champion slopping into the strands. Collapsing onto her tush immediately thereafter, the heiress hooked an arm over the middle rope and barked, “ROPES! GET HER AWAY, NICK! I’M IN THE F*CKING ROPNNNGGGHHH!”
The Weeping Angel palmed Sue’s head in both hands, steadying her long enough to THWONK a vile Kneelift between her eyes! Burlingame’s noggin snapped backward, she probably would’ve dribbled onto one side if Brewster hadn’t neatly draped her arms over the second rope. “You’re so pretty.” Adelaide murmured in the blonde’s ear. “But I can’t wait to scrape up the ugly under--”
Castle stomped in with a brusque count so Adelaide hissed at him and backed away until the zebra did the same. This netted Susannah approximately six seconds of peace and quiet, not nearly enough to wipe the gunk off her face or clear the fog between her ea-- Adelaide charged, grabbed hold of the top and middle strands directly to Burlingame’s left and swung through the gap like she was thinking about some sort of Tiger Feint Kick. In reality she had something far worse on her mind, as Sue and the sold-out crowd discovered when the Daughter of Darkness locked her legs around the brunette’s right arm! In the same breath she curled her left arm around Burlingame’s throat and leaaaaaaaaaaaaned back, Brewster just bouncing in place while the Susan was pulled up and back, her feet thrashing and stomping through the whole of Castle’s freshest ‘FOUR!’ count.
ROPE HUNG OCTOPUS STRETCH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcz0Pu01PXU
Freedom from Adelaide’s trap let Burlingame collapse to all fours with her back to the strands, a dangerous position considering the True Believer had stepped halfway through and set her right foot on the bottom strand. The FAWNatics didn’t like Brewster’s looming presence very much at all and they roared for the Ace to watch her six, but Sue was still too blind and too breathless to pay them much attention. Licking her lips as the heathen clambered to verticality, Adelaide waited until Burlingame took a step forward before she whispered, “Behind you, sister.”
Sue whipped around as Brewster leapt, the black-clad World Champion flitting through the ropes like a specter to hook an arm (her right) around Sue’s head to make sure they were tightly linked when she spun through and laid out on her back. THAWHONK!
STENCH OF THE GRAVE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBqI6tPBHeo
Burlingame’s noggin bounced backward and in so doing led the way for the rest of her to tumble onto her back. It was the perfect opportunity to go for a pin, however Adelaide ignored it in favor of peeling her prey off the splattered canvas. Positioned behind her challenger, Brewster neutralized Burlingame’s arms with a Full Nelson, then turned ‘em both toward the hard camera and bared Sue’s throat with a rough handful of hair.
“Any more fire left in your blood, rich girl?”
“Whuuu… why don’t you BITE ME and find EEEERRRRRRRHHHH!”
Adelaide did, the brunette chomping and gnashing while Sue stamped her feet in helpless anguish. Nick Castle was far from helpless, so he strode over and started to count, “ONE! TWO! THREE FO--” Brewster sank into a deep crouch, popped her hips and PLANTED Burlingame flush on the back of her neck courtesy of a Dragon Suplex that left the challenger’s butt pointed at the rafters through…
DRAGON SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahLd_ZpnGqc
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
The FAWNatics siged in relief as one, Burlingame kicking free of the predicament with Castle’s palm holding perhaps a foot off the canvas. Despite her current placement in the Black Court, years of prior goodwill for Sue were something the Daughter of Darkness didn’t enjoy.
Control, however, she enjoyed that a great deal.
Brewster, kneeling next to the dazed heiress, piefaced her challenger.
“What will West do to you when you fail, heathen? Will she sic her diseased Raven on you?”
Susan shoved Adelaide’s hand away and rose to her knees as the Weeping Angel ascended to vertical. She snatched the Ace by her mop, tugging Sue to her feet and transferring her grip to a shoulder and wrist as she leaned them both deep into the cables.
The champ heaved Susannah on her way with an Irish Whip. Or so it seemed she would. Instead, Burlingame planted and pirouetted, sending the Churchgoer sprinting to the far cables. Susan moved to the middle to deliver payback.
The woman who forced FAWN to come to terms with an early competitor, WOLF, dipped for a Back Body Drop, but Adelaide had something else in mind. She leapt over the left shoulder of Burlingame. The Rainmaker tried to stop her with an off-balance tackle but the effort allowed Brewster to RIP Susan off her feet on the fly-by and absolutely DESTROY the Courtier with a Front Flip DDT that sounded like it drew a ‘WHOA’ out of every inhabitant of Orlando.
FRONT FLIP DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WGjrXUzfFg
Ending on her knees from the momentum of the vicious impact, the classiest chassis in the organization tipped and faceplanted onto the canvas, arms limp at her side, palms pointed to the rafters while Adelaide rolled to her feet and blew a smaller cloud of remaining red mist into the air in celebration.
Addy flashed her rosy-stained pearlies and strode to Susan’s carcass. She shoveled Burlingame to her back with a lifted boot under Sue’s near shoulder, the challenger flopping to a lifeless single file.
The True Believer genuflected, pushing her right knee into Susan’s chest for the pin that would guarantee her yet another successful defense and Gladiatrix cover with the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Perhaps a few molecules separated Castle’s palm from the third slap but there was no connection when a spasm rocked Burlingame’s frame and lifted a shoulder off the canvas.
Brewster turned to Castle with blood in her eyes.
“Must I drink from you before you understand never to blaspheme against Eternal Midnight?”
Castle swallowed hard.
The World Champion slapped the canvas to show Nick what he should strongly consider doing the next time Susan was prostrate beneath her for the required time.
As Brewster focused on the retreating referee, the would-be three-time champion crawled to the ropes and used them to struggle to her feet. Sue pushed away from the cables, trying to clear her head with a rattle of her braincase. She rubbed the back of her right palm across her eyes to clear away the blood-red remains of Adelaide’s last toxic spray.
Circling to Sue’s even blinder-side, Adelaide BASHED her challenger in the back of the skull with a forearm. Sue doubled at the waist, her arms hanging limply, Burlingame showing the wear of having the Weeping Angel unleashed in all her fury.
Sensing weakness, Adelaide leapt atop the lowered back of her foe. The champ scissored one arm and captures the other within her grasp. Sue tried to counter but the beating of the last minutes wouldn’t allow it and Adelaide RIPPED Susan off her feet with a signature Crucifix Driver that left Burlingame piled on her shoulders, ass pointed to the rafters, head bracketed by her own legs for the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
CRUCIFIX DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-eluUUF4qo
Somehow Susan tumbled out of the trap of the Daughter of Darkness, escaping into the increasingly dim light of survival, again by the narrowest of margins.
The challenger crawled toward the ropes desperate to abscond from the increasing dominance of the Weeping Angel, Adelaide showing how she’d become the most feared member of the Church, if not its leader.
Having risen and trailing behind the slithering Burlingame, Brewster snatched an ankle and lifted Sue’s right leg. She scissored the limb then drops to her back, the full leg in her possession but most importantly the Ace’s ankle in her grasp. The champion enthusiastically twistED Susan’s joint in an outward direction, eliciting first a bitten lower lip then a yelp of pain.
The Grapevine around the limb kept the leg stationary and Adelaide went to work on turning Burlingame lame for the rest of what seemed likely a short remainder of the match.
ANKLE LOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK4SDi50_h0
Sue shook her head vehemently when Castle asked if she wants to give in. She sank her nails into the canvas and agonizingly dragged the Daughter of Darkness the rest of the way to the cables. Burlingame wrapped a palm around the bottom rope then tugged herself closer so she could coil both arms.
“GET HER OFF!” Susannah screamed in no uncertain terms and Nick immediately began his count, skipping any preliminaries.
At ‘FOUR’ Adelaide responded, first releasing her Scissors and sliding from around the leg before giving the joint one final wrench. Brewster rose and hovered, Castle stepping between the Churchgoer and the embattled Ace.
Susan employed the cables to ease her way up. She gingerly put pressure of the stem, wincing. When Adelaide tried to step around the interceding zebra, the challenger slipped her torso between the middle and top rope, pointing at Adelaide.
“Let her get back in,” Castle demanded, going chest to chest with the champ.
“Tell the frightened lamb to reenter the pen,” Brewster purred. “Tell her I may just shear her if she’s polite. Otherwise she’ll be slaughtered.”
Susan, having slipped fully into the confines, reached over Nick’s right shoulder, jabbing a thumb into Addy’s left eye socket.
Squealing in pain, Addy spun from the conversation with Castle, Nick only able to guess what happened. He stared accusingly at Burlingame who shrugged as she limped after the retreating Adelaide.
Sue latched onto Brewster from behind, grabbing a wrist and spinning the Churchgoer to face her then face the rafters as the World Champion was decked by a stiff Clothesline.
Still favoring her injured leg, Burlingame kept things simple for the moment, hopping into the air above her flattened foe, crashing upon Adelaide with a simple Senton that nonetheless forced a burst of breath from Brewster.
Legs kicked up by the impact, Brewster’s groans of displeasure grew all the louder when Sue caught both stems thus turning it into a Back Press good for the…
ONE…
TWO…
Adelaide kicked out almost simultaneous with ‘TWO’, the Courtier’s resurgent flurry still not enough to keep the World Champion down.
Sue nodded in the wake of the almost near fall, she hadn’t expected it to do any lasting damage, though she did feel slightly galvanized by the sound of air ‘ooooffffh’ing from the brunette’s lungs. “Stole one of my moves earlier, bytch.” Burlingame muttered as she hauled her opposition up by the ears. “Means I gotta show these people how to do it right.” Adelaide answered with a soft punch to the challenger’s midsection, so Sue shivered her knees with a quick Headbutt, then spun the Churchgoer around and trapped her arms overhead in a Full Nels-- the Weeping Angel reached down with her left hand and snatched hold of Burlingame’s wrist before the heiress could lace her fingers. Prizing Sue’s grip apart, Adelaide turned her head and CHOMPED down on those encroaching knuckles.
“OOOOWWWW YOU HATEFUL CUNT!” Sue stamped her feet, pounded a few awkward punches into the side of Brewster’s skull, then snatched a handful of hair and pulled like she meant to-- Adelaide pumped an elbow into the pit of Burlingame’s stomach, thus loosening the blonde’s grip enough for her to twist loose at the cost of only a few strands of hair instead of a whole patch of scalp.
Coming out of her escape in a single serpentine rotation, Brewster THWHACKED a stiff Elbow Smash against Sue’s petulant mouth! Sue stumbled without going down so Adelaide planted a Toe Kick in her gut to bring her to one knee. Already honed in on her next target, Brewster took a couple steps back, lunged forward and leapt straight up, her right leg flicking up just to come down heel-first atop the crown of her foe’s skull!
ROARING ELBOW & AXE KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M3BOfT_1uE
Susan slumped to all fours, the sight of her bowed back and slumped shoulders earning an evil smile from the Queen of Nightmares. “I can hear your heart racing, heathen.” she helped herself to a handful of hair. “Soon I will open the tap in your throat and--”
Susan stuffed both hands against the brunette’s midriff and shoved Brewster into the ropes on her six. Catching her balance as she came off the strands, Adelaide chargTHWHUNK! Burlingame exploded out of her crouch with a gorgeous Jumping Knee Strike that landed just above her attacker’s left eyebrow!
JUMPING KNEE STRIKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvLtvhkHy9k
Caught flatfooted by the explosive response, Brewster spun around in a half swoon and would’ve tumbled all the way to the floor if not for the presence of the ropes. Barely vertical herself after the brunette’s heavy strikes, Burlingame closed her eyes to fight off the nausea, then threw herself at the ropes on the far side of the squared circle. Pace smoothing out by the time she crossed mid-ring on the way back, Sue put on a final burst of speed before she hopped up and DROVE both knees between the zealot’s shoulders! Sandwiched between the ropes and the challenger, Adelaide strained against the rubber-coated steel only to find her arms pinned overhead in another Full Nelson when Burlingame bounced away. No clever escapes this time, the Rainmaker immediately dropped her hips and snapped off a bridge to THWHUMP Brewster onto the back of her head and shoulders! Pushed onto tiptoe soon as the Dragon landed, Susan held the bridge through…
DRAGON SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy5xts1UVKI
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Adelaide twisted loose of the pin with a heartbeat to spare, the True Believer tumbling over onto her stomach where she would’ve stayed for quite some time if Burlingame hadn’t buried a hand in her hair and hauled her to boot-leather. Wheeling around behind the discombobulated champion, the Ace used her left arm to catch both of Adelaide’s biceps in a Double Chickenwing, then palmed the left side of her head with her free hand and spun her down NO! The Daughter of Darkness twisted out of the blonde’s clutches, grabbed a Wristlock and RAAAAAAKED her other hand across Burlingame’s eyes!
Sue shrieked and jerked away or at least tried to, Brewster still had control of her wrist and she circled ‘round behind to draw the limb tight against the heiress’ throat. The FAWNatics roared with full-throated disdain that grew exponentially when Adelaide slipped her free arm between Burlingame’s thighs and hoisted her up onto her shoulders. Oblivious to the jeers, Brewster turned to the nearest camera and promised, “You’re next, false quAAAAAARRRRRHHHH!”
Sue jammed a thumb into her rival’s left eye and managed to tumble down the brunette’s back when Adelaide released her hooks! Aware of nothing save her watering eyes, Brewster didn’t register Burlingame’s hand on her shoulder ‘til the blonde whipped her ‘round and-- Susan sprang, caught the Churchgoer in a Three Quarters Facelock and laid out on her back to THWHONK Adelaide’s face against the deck! The Ace Crusher got the crowd on their feet, but they didn’t really lose their shyt until the Rainmaker somersaulted backward with her right arm still in possession of Brewster’s head. The shift in position turned the simple grip into an agonizing Inverted Facelock which only got worse once Sue grabbed the brunette’s left bicep and hooked that arm back across the plank of her left thigh. Heels set snug on the mat, Burlingame settled into a deep crouch and CRAAAAAAANKED back on her opponent’s captured neck!
ACE CRUSHER TO ROOT OF ALL EVIL @ 1:06
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j53ygI28ZM8
“ASK HER!” Sue bellowed over Adelaide’s agonized wails. “ASK THAT BYTCH IF SHE QUITS!”
“NOOOOOOOOO!” Brewster screamed before Castle had a chance to voice the question. “I’LL NEVER TAP OUT YOU HEATHEN SLUT! LET ME GO RIGHT OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!”
Susan bounced in place, repeatedly driving her butt into the small of Adelaide’s back. “Then you’ll snap, honey.” Susan promised. “Because there’s no way I’m letting you eeerrrrrrggghhhhh GODDAMN YOU, STOP THAT!”
Brewster worked her face down into the blonde’s coil and sank those hateful teeth into the Ace’s bicep! The pain was hellish, yet Sue refused to break her grasp. Instead she crooked her left arm into a ‘V’ and pounded half a dozen smashes against Brewster’s exposed chest. From there she slipped a hand beneath the brunette’s cups, Burlingame fighting catty with catty as she tweaked Adelaide’s dials one after the other. “GIVE UP, BREWSTER!”
Adelaide had one arm trapped and the other planted for leverage, not to mention a mouthful of heiress arm, so she waggled her head ‘no’ as best she could and started dragging their combined weight toward the ropes. Eyes wide as she felt / saw the strands getting closer, Susan continued to wrench and yoke until Brewster stopped clawing and started reaching. She was still almost six inches shy of sanctuary but that wasn’t nearly enough distance for the challenger so she straightened up and backpedaled into center of the ring, where she sat down with every bit of her weight on Adelaide’s back. Brewster’s plant arm crumpled and she went down on her belly in what would’ve been a flat sprawl if not for the hellacious Inverted Facelock.
Not liking the limp fall of his charge’s right arm, Nick Castle took Adelaide’s wrist and raised it high as he dared before letting it go. It fell to the mat with no sign of life. Raising a finger for the Timekeeper, he repeated the test a second time to identical results. The roar was cacophonous now, yet the Orlando faithful found a way to get even louder when Adelaide’s hand fell for the third and final time.
The bell was still CLANGING when Emily West, Becky Clayton and for the first time in two months, Lenore Lemarchand dove under the bottom rope and popped to their feet, Susan’s fellow Courtiers taking up positions around their sister at arms to make sure Wainright’s flock couldn’t foil the Announcer’s proclamation.
EMILY WEST:
BECKY CLAYTON:
LENORE LEMARCHAND:
“Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via knock-out and the NEEEEEEEEW FAWN World Champion… SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
Releasing Adelaide at the sound of her own name, Burlingame crawled a little ways away and let her forehead rest on the mat. She didn’t rise until Nick Castle strode over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I believe this is yours… champ.”
Burlingame clambered up, took the ten pounds of leather and gold and raised it overhead. Shoulders heaving, she exchanged a fist-bump with Becky and Lenore, though it took the Raven a long moment to pull her attention away from the now former champion.
“Good work, Ace.” Clayton said. “Hell of a show.”
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you working her eyes.” Lenore murmured. “I appreciate that.”
Sue nodded wearily. “Thanks… thanks to you both. Drinks are on me lat--”
“Celebrations may have to wait, my friends.” Emily interrupted. “I believe we are no longer alone.”
MIRANDA WAINRIGHT:
HELENA GRAYLOCK:
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
TIFFANY MAYES:
Burlingame, Clayton and Lemarchand followed their leader’s attention to the entryway and sure enough, the Church of Eternal Midnight was lined up along the side nearest the entryway. The throng readied for another skirmish between the factions, yet that didn’t seem to be in the offering, at least not at the outset. Stepping out in front of Helena, Penny and Tiffany, Miranda Wainright raised a hand to slow her followers, then climbed onto the apron and slipped through the ropes.
“This is not a cessation of hostilities, sister.” the Prophet of Pain told the Amazing Academic. “Far too much remains unresolved between us, wouldn’t you agree?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. But that doesn’t explain your presence, Miranda.”
“I ask for nothing more than a reprieve. A moment to collect my fallen sister and return her to more welcoming environs. In exchange for this favor you and yours can celebrate,” Wainright didn’t falter, but Emily noticed the shadow of distaste that passed across her face, “Susannah’s rather historic victory with no threat of reprisal from the Church of Eternal Midnight.”
Emily considered it for a moment, then stepped to the side. “Your offer is accepted. On the condition that you and only you remove Adelaide from the ring.”
“That’s why I’m here, Emily.”
The rest of the Court cleared off, allowing Miranda to collect her first and most faithful congregant with a little assistance from Nick Castle. Turning her back on the Court like it was the easiest thing in the world, Wainright led the semiconscious brunette over to the ropes and carefully handed her over to Helena Graylock. Almost finished with this somber chore, Miranda turned to Em and tipped her hat. “This isn’t over and I meant it, Emily. But the End Game approaches. I hope you know that.”
“I do. And I look forward to seeing it through all the way to checkmate.”
“So you say.” The Septa of Sorrow dipped through the strands, hopped to the floor and started back up with aisle with the rest of her flock following a few steps behind.
Only when they were gone did Emily turn her attention to Susan. “Indulge me in a riddle if you would, Susan.”
Burlingame took the belt from her shoulder and snapped it around her waist. “Throw it at me, Em.”
“Complete this sequence for me. Daniel… London… VanBuren…”
The Ace’s dark eyes lit up. “Burlingame.”
The FAWNatics roared approval, all of them quite eager to see who would emerge victorious when the Ace and the Angel went to war.
“Introducing first, hailing from Stovington Vermont, she stands at five feet seven inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty pounds! Representing the Black Court, I give to you SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
Already on their feet, the Heartbroken throng managed to get a little higher when ‘Crown on the Ground’ barged its way into the arena. Shortly thereafter the Ace of the Black Court stepped into view and stretched her arms in a wide ‘T’ to call forth a ‘BOOM’ of zappy blue pyro.
CROWN ON THE GROUND:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPoIznBujEA
SUSANNAH BURLINGAME:
For her second go at the Daughter of Darkness and the Three Timer’s club, Susan sported a strappy gray ’Courting Disaster’ tank-top to make sure Miranda and her freaks knew who had their number. Seemingly unfazed by the lack of Court accompaniment, Burlingame grabbed the bottom edge of her top, then paused to offer the crowd a smirk when they broke into loud applause. Peeling it off only increased the noise, so she slung it over one shoulder and headed down the aisle. Beneath it she wore a dark blue two-piece with mellow golden trim. Matching boots and pads at knee and elbow completed the look, not that anyone paid too much attention to such trivial details as she vaulted onto the apron and over the top rope one right after the other. Wheeling around to face the stage as soon as she touched down, Sue sidled up to Nick Castle but didn’t allow him to commence final inspection until he’d counted the three fingers she held inches in front of his face. Shooing him away once the deed was done, Burlingame backed into the far corner and set her elbows on the top rope. Not once did her eyes leave the gloom of the entryway.
Susan‘s music was still fading when the Announcer resumed his duties. “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Oxrun Station Connecticut, she stands at five feet six inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds. She is the Weeping Angel, the Queen of Nightmares, the Daughter of Darkness and the FAWN World Champion, ADELAIDE BREWSTER!”
GLORY & GORE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVBkD4IRhg
The lights faded away as the soft, eerie opening ‘Glory and Gore’ poured through the speakers. For a moment there was nothing but darkness and pinpricks of cell phone light, then a few lights on either side of the stage ‘whoomped’ on to reveal an ankle-deep carpet of fog. An eerie tableau to be sure, yet the World Champion remained stubbornly hidden until a cold blue light illuminated the gloomy recession leading to the curtain. A figure swung down from the ceiling of that narrow throat, a figure hanging by her knees from a bar suspended just out of camera view. Arms crossed over her chest, Adelaide Brewster opened her eyes, then twisted loose and landed on her feet just as her anthem warned ‘Now we’re in the ring and we’re coming for blood.’
ADELAIDE BREWSTER:
Seemingly as eager as the challenger to settle their issues with no outside assistance, Adelaide reached to the small of her back and undid the clasp that held the World Title in place. Raising it to shoulder level, she extended her tongue and sloooooooooowly licked the glimmering faceplate, a habit that earned a disapproving jeer from those in attendance. Brewster met their disdain with little more than a sniff as she draped the belt over her shoulder and strode down the aisle. For tonight’s warmed over challenge the World Champion wore a gleaming black two-piece done in crushed velvet that showed off the power in her hips and shoulders in almost agonizing detail. The look was accented with a clunky black belt complete with a buckle done up as a snarling wolf’s head and matching black boots and pads. Approaching the squared circle at a brisk pace, Adelaide patently ignored the Rainmaker’s daggers as she ascended the steel steps and vaulted over the top rope. Forward progress took her to the center of the ring and would’ve ultimately led to the heiress’ corner if Brewster hadn’t turned on her heel, ‘snapped’ the title from around her waist and held it high for everyone to see.
Swinging around to face the challenger as she lowered the belt, Adelaide did not hand her prize off to Nick Castle, rather she laid it on the canvas at her feet and took a single step back. The official moved in only to freeze in his tracks when the Daughter of Darkness murmured, “That’s not for your hands, arbiter.” Castle retreated in short order, not that Brewster paid it any mind, she only had eyes for Susannah Burlingame. “This is the prize you seek, heathen? Of course it is, this bit of leather and gold is your ticket to the rarified air of the ‘Three Timers Club’. Yes, I can see the greed in your eyes.”
The Ace said nothing but kept her gaze locked on Adelaide.
“Come then. Challenge the Queen of Nightmares one more time and after you fail AGAIN I’ll make a meal of your terrified lead--”
Susan launched herself off the buckles and went low just as Adelaide’s head darted forward to unleash a vile spume of Crimson Mist! The southernmost edge of the cloud painted Burlingame’s forehead and hairline an arterial red, but her eyes remained mercifully clear which meant her aim stayed true when she buried a shoulder in the World Champion’s midsection! Plowing past the belt without so much as a second thought, Susan drove Adelaide into the canvas and immediately slid into a mount so she could pwak-pwak-PWAAAK away with an alternating series of Palm Strikes leveled at Brewster’s face!
Hardly thrilled at the prospect of enduring the same sort of chaos that’d permeated the last World Title defense, Nick rushed over to his charges and barked, “All right Sue, that’s enough, get offa her! C’mon, I haven’t even rang the bell!”
Burlingame paused her shelling long enough to grasp at Brewster’s wrists in an effort to prize apart the True Believer’s hastily erected guard. “Either ring the bell or throw the f*cking match out, Castle.” Sue growled. “Because I’m not getting OOOOWWWWWW BYTCH!”
Adelaide took control of the spirited hand fighting and yanked the Rainmaker’s left hand to her lips for a vile bite delivered between thumb and forefinger! Nick cursed along with the challenger, but did as Burlingame bade by throwing a signal to the Timekeeper. The resultant CLANG raised a cheer from the crowd and a louder shriek from Sue because the Weeping Angel began chewing on the first knuckle of her forefinger like she meant to have it as a (Eternal) Midnight snack!
Susan had the law on her side now that the match was officially live. She could’ve waited for Castle’s count and kept the mount without doing a damned thing, of course Sue Burlingame wasn’t one to wait for the system so she balled her non-chewed hand into a fist and brought it down on Adelaide’s right eyebrow no less than half a dozen times! Adelaide growled, reached up with her free (right) hand to protect her face, then snarled in surprise when Sue pulled her hand away and grabbed hold of that questing wrist! Spinning out of the mount so she was seated by the Churchgoer’s right shoulder, Burlingame threaded her legs around the exposed limb, then dropped straight backward and popped her hips like she meant to hyperextend the brunette’s elbow!
CROSS ARMBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHw__PjnZTM
“SUBMIT!” Sue roared over the explosion of cheers. “OR I’LL BREAK YOUR GODDAMNED ARM!”
“What do you say, Adelaide?” Nick asked the thrashing champion. “Need me to call--”
“NEVER!” Brewster screamed. “I’LL NEVER SURRENDER, THAT BELT BELONGS TO ME!”
Burlingame contradicted her with another vile jolt that had the brunette’s heels tapping against the canvas, yet Adelaide’s hand did no such thing, in fact it hung remarkably steady until she grabbed hold of the challenger’s left ankle. Bracing her feet as best she could, Adelaide yanked on her attacker’s foot as she sat up, a rough, awkward bit of repositioning that allowed her to regain a knee. It could’ve put Burlingame on her shoulders if she’d done a little adjusting, but Adelaide hadn’t the slightest interest in besting her rival with mere leverage. She sought nothing less than supreme ruination for Emily West’s most arrogant pawn, so rather than cover she wrapped her free hand around the Ace’s throat and began to squeeeeeeeze.
“Get off her throat, Adelaide!” Nick barked at once.
“Why? I can feel her pulse beating beneath my fingers. She’s hardly scared at all… yet.”
That wasn’t good enough for the Senior Official, so he started to count. “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
The Daughter of Darkness released the stranglehold, flattened that hand into a paddle and craaacked a slap across Burlingame’s cheek all in the span of heartbeats.
Sue absorbed it without complaint, shifted slightly to make sure one shoulder was clear of the mat. Then she pushed out with her legs, but the zealot stayed hunkered in close to effectively negate the worst of the joint-lock’s torque. “That all you’ve got?” she taunted after a few seconds of silence. “Big bad vampire bytch willing to keep her title by any means necessary so she starts with… spitting and slapping? You’re path--”
Adelaide crooked her fingers into talons and raked her from forehead to jawline. “Don’t forget clawing, my arrogant little scratching post.” She scored Sue’s cheek again, then treated her to a brisk slap on the mouth when the heiress snapped at her fingers. “Give me my arm back, heathen.” Brewster demanded. “Or I’ll shred your face.”
“Make me, bytcAAARRHHH!”
Adelaide sent her pincer south for a single heartless twist of the blonde’s left nipple. Determined to tweak and pluck until the Courtier abandoned this hateful Armbar, the brunette purred, “Is this what you had in mind, rich girl? Or perhaps I should reach beneath your disgusting trNGH! NGH! NGH! NNNNRRRRHHHHH!”
Susan unlocked her ankles, drew her right knee up snug against her chest, then scuffed her boot across the champion’s face no less than half a dozen times. “Lick my boot, bytch.” the Ace demanded. “Go on. Lick it clean before I smear your tongue all over the--”
The Weeping Angel abandoned the pincer for a much less painful grip on Susan’s waistband, though her new handhold proved all the more disconcerting because it allowed the brunette to return to her full height while slowly hoisting her heathen adversary into the sky! Grimacing as Brewster got her to shoulder level, Burlingame abruptly released her grip and dropped into an awkward landing on one kn-- Adelaide ignored the ache in her elbow to grab a double handful of hair so she could hold Sue’s head steady for the Kneelift she aimed between the blonde’s “OOOFFFHHH!”
The Rainmaker pounded a straight right hand into the zealot’s tummy, then fired off two more for good measure. With Brewster temporarily off balance, Susan slipped an arm between her stems and ‘hupped’ her into a Fireman’s Carry as she got to her feet. Adelaide squirmed mightily but couldn’t prize loose, thus Sue’s snarky smile as she turned in a slow circle. “Look at ‘em, Addy. Just look at them! They ALL came to watch you lose!”
“Then I will revel in their disappointment when I hurl your beaten body from the ri--”
Susan twisted her hips to the left, then snapped back to the right, the shift in momentum slinging Brewster off her shoulders even as the former World Champion collected her noggin in a Three Quarters FaceloNOOOO!
Adelaide clamped her claws into Burlingame’s shoulders and ‘smecked’ her legs around the heiress’ waist in a snug Bodyscissors. Circling one arm around Susan’s throat while her other hand cupped the blonde’s forehead, Brewster yanked back on the makeshift Sleeper, then bared her teeth and CHOMPED down on the soft skin residing between her shoulder and neck! Susan wailed, stumbled forward a couple steps, then caught her balance and waggled a finger ‘no, no, no!’ to make sure Castle knew she wasn’t about to tap to a little gnawing.
A woman with the experience of Burlingame knew some love bites weren’t what made her straits dire. As she staggered around the ring, trying to swing Brewster off unsuccessfully, Sue’s lids fluttered, her legs stepping in a fencepost hole or two from Adelaide’s tightening arms. The Daughter of Darkness cutting off the blood flow to her brain was much more lethal than drawing a little red and, as the challenger wobbled, she knew she had precious little time to change her destiny.
Instead of using her arms to reach back and find the Churchgoer’s locks, she scooped them around the underside of Adelaide’s sinewy thighs then turned her foe’s back to the nearest set of buckles. Backpedaling, Susan sandwiched the champ into the corner, splashing on top of her with enough impact to loosen Brewster’s grip. Sue stumbled out a few steps with an ‘Eternal’ backpack still in place and repeated the process, this time the Weeping Angel dropping from on high, her boots soles touching the ground behind the woman shooting for FAWN history.
As payment for the end of her ride, Adelaide drew both set of nails from shoulders to waist on Susan, Burlingame squealing as her back arched away from the stilettos. As the True Believer stepped forward, ready to switch places with Sue, the Black Courtier thrust her pelvis back, ramming her pert ass into Adelaide’s lower abdomen, folding the Nosferatu of the catwalk in half behind her.
Burlingame turned and ROCKED Brewster with a European Uppercut to the dipped chin of the corpuscle-loving brunette. Susan dipped her shoulders, grasped the middle ropes on either side, and continued to wreck Addy’s abs, diving into the champ’s midriff time and time again until Castle grabbed Burlingame by a shoulder after a half dozen impacts.
Sue turned with fist raised, ready to drop Nick like a bag of dirt, but she caught herself when Castle shied away.
Susannah spun to the gasping and bent Adelaide, snatching a handful of the Churchgoer’s dark locks then dipped to sweep an arm between the tanned stems of the Weeping Angel. Sue easily ‘hupped’ Adelaide across her shoulders and strode toward center stage.
“As I was saying,” Susan grunted.
With Brewster weakly wriggling, Burlingame gave the True Believer her freedom, throwing her out of the Fireman’s Carry but catching her with a Three Quarters Facelock and PLOWING the champ’s face into her knee with the Ace of Aces.
ACE OF ACES @ 00:16
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j53ygI28ZM8
Only through faith in the darkest of Eternal Midnight, Adelaide kept her feet under her, her arms pinwheeling wildly to maintain vertical. Burlingame responded to the ill-timed persistence with a spinning side kick that destroyed Brewster’s already bruised tummy and, with the World titleholder doubled, Susan lifted a long caramel-hued gam high and brought it down like a cleaver across the back of Addy’s neck, the Axe Kick sending Brewster face-first into the thinly-sheathed plywood.
Susan dropped to her knees next to her flattened foe and shoved the usurped Queen of Nightmares onto her back, climbing aboard in a Lateral Press. She hooked a leg for good measure and waited for Castle to put her in a new Gang of Four pantheon of three-time FAWN World Champions, joining Chrissy, Shea and Portia with the…
ONE…
TWO…
Adelaide threw a shoulder up from the grave-like stillness then rolled to her chest to make sure there would be no immediate repeat of the effort. She pushed to all fours but wasn’t reaching vertical at the speed Susan preferred. Already there, Burlingame ripped Brewster to her feet with a clench of thick, dark tresses.
As Addy rose, she lifted her arms, sweeping off Susan’s grip of her hair. In the blink of an eye, she snatched Susannah’s right arm at the wrist and folded the Ace’s arm back, opening a wide lane for the champ’s infamous defibrillating Heart Punch. But from nowhere, a black cloud emerges from Burlingame’s lips, the mist spreading across Adelaide’s startled features, blinding the Churchgoer!
Brewster turned and staggers away, furiously wiping at her eyes, while a Cheshire grin emerged on Burlingame, a drop of black ‘ink’ rolling down her chin before falling to the canvas.
“A little Black Court Magic,” Sue snarked to Castle since Adelaide wasn’t exactly in the mood for humor at her expense. The Rainmaker wiped her darkened lower lip clear with a forearm then cleaned the limb with a swipe of Nick’s zebra stripes, Castle giving a look of “What did I do?”
Susan chased after the sprayed Addy, unable to contain a darkened grin, her usual perfect pearlies stained. She wiped them cleaner with a roll of her tongue and called out to Brewster, who’s made a corner and was turned to face the middle.
“Live by the Mist, loser!” Burlingame bellowed as she advanced on the furiously rubbing Adelaide.
Enough eyesight recovered to realize Susan was in range, Brewster shot her right foot forward, hoping to dig it into the Rainmaker’s gut. It’s on target but Susannah caught the limb at the ankle before it could do any damage. She dragged Adelaide away from the corner, forcing the Churchgoer to hop on one leg to keep up. Throwing the captured leg toward Brewster, it ripped Addy off her planted foot with the pendulum-like momentum and the champ faceplanted into the deck, leaving a literal black mark on the canvas.
Taking delight in the sympathetic groan of the crowd to the face-first collision, Susan raised her arms high and rolled her eyes when it earned a mixed response, cheers outnumbering the boos. She shrugged at Orlando’s unwashed, watching as a battered Adelaide slowly climbed to her feet.
Rushing to the ropes next to the champion, Susan leapt to the middle cable and used it as a springboard to RAM a back kick into the collarbone of the Weeping Angel, dropping Brewster to the canvas with a thick thud.
SPRINGBOARD SPINNIN BACK KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoobWNOQDtA
Adelaide quickly spun to her chest to take away the invitation of a pin, but Burlingame used the positioning to drop to the canvas above the champ’s head and wrap up the noggin of the Weeping Angel in a Front Facelock.
The crafty veteran then wore on the reeling Addy with a Gator Roll, forcing Brewster through the spin cycle a half dozen times, to scramble her gray matter all the more.
GATOR ROLL:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-TbygCeF3k
Susan stacked the dizzied Daughter of Darkness on her shoulders in a vertical cradle, Burlingame’s midriff atop the buttocks of Brewster for the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
The jaws of that gator were strong, just not strong enough to keep FAWN’s Queen of Nightmares down for the count of ’THREE!’ Flashing Castle nothing more than a look of mild reproach, Burlingame laid claim to the champion’s left wrist and used it to haul Brewster to verticality. Still blinking owlishly in the wake of this heathen’s counterfeit mist, Adelaide snarled, “Miranda’s going to write a whole new volume dedicated to your suffering, you heathERRRGGGHHH!”
Susan spun her foe’s arm in a wide, smooth circle, the torque on her shoulder and elbow distracting the brunette from her prophecy of vengeance. It also meant she didn’t / couldn’t raise an adequate defense when the heiress planted on her right foot and thwack-thwack-THWACKED a trio of kicks across Brewster’s chest. The Churchgoer stumbled but otherwise yielded no ground, so Sue reset her feet, shifted slightly and lashed out with her right leg for a Side Kick that struck her opponent’s tenderized midsection with a sound like a baseball bat striking damp clay.
ARM WRENCH SIDE KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNzh162MvAk
Adelaide ‘OOOOFFFFFH’ed and doubled over though she couldn’t cradle her tummy as well as she liked because Sue still had that damned Wristlock in place. “Don’t slouch, honey.” Burlingame bent the brunette’s wrist backward to stand her up straight. “It’ll ruin your postu--” Adelaide lashed out, her nails streaking toward the Ace’s eyes, alas Susan’s knee proved the tiniest bit quicker and she THWHUMPED it against opposing navel. Burlingame snatched hold of Brewster’s hair for the sole purpose of straightening her up. Bracing that hand between her shoulders once the deed was done, she took two giant steps forward and pushed off with enough ‘oooomph’ to drop to one knee. Adelaide didn’t drop, she set off toward the far corner at a breakneck pace. Actually ‘set off’ wasn’t quite right, ‘launched’ was far more accurate because it better captured the lack of control over her own movements. Gritting those vaunted teeth as the buckles loomed larger and larger in her vision, Brewster slammed on the brakes but she was still moving at a pretty good clip when she BWUUUNGED chest-first into the top turnbuckle.
Bounced back by the force of the impact, Adelaide knew she needed to get eyes on the heathen as soon as possible, she just couldn’t seem to draw her arms away from the bruising ache in her chest. More than willing to take advantage of the champion’s predicament (she had created it, after all) Susan grabbed hold of Brewster’s wrists in both hands and pulled her arms down to hip-level for an effective straightjacket. Just like that she dropped her hips and bridged backward to take the Weeping Angel up, over and DOWN onto the back of her head with a huge German Suplex!
STRAIGHTJACKET GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p11t2rcpQWs
The landing folded Adelaide in half so Castle dove into position, yet in the end he didn’t even count a ‘ONE’ because Burlingame somersaulted over the Matchbooked Churchgoer and hauled her back to boot-leather. Transitioning from the Straightjacket to a Full Nelson in the blink of an eye, Sue dropped her hips again and-- Adelaide raked a heel down the Rainmaker’s left shin and bonked a short Headbutt off the point of her chin.
The challenger’s hands blunted the worst of the Headbutt, so she filled her hands with Brewster’s dark locks and gave ‘em a hard pull before jamming a Kneelift between her glutes. “Knock that cheap shyt off, honey.” she growled. “It’s unbecomEERRHHH!”
Adelaide raked her shin again, then worked her heel back and forth atop the Ace’s toes like she was trying to crush a cigarette. “You WOULD know something about unbecoming behavior, wouldn’t you? After all, I believe your father held some sort of emergency board meeting the first time his eldest daughter had her face used as a scratching post on NNNNNGGGGHHH!”
Burlingame hit her with another Kneelift, this one landing directly in the small of her target’s back. “Got your facts wrong, sparkles.” Sue hissed in her opponent’s ear. “The emergency board meeting was after I used someone ELSE’S face as a scratching OH NO YOU DON’T!”
Adelaide raised her arms as high as she could, then dropped to her butt to slip out of the Full Nelson like it a dime store magic trick. Stretching out on her back the instant she touched down, Brewster kicked her legs up and hooked them around the Courtier’s waist. She might’ve drawn her into some twisted Victory Roll if Burlingame hadn’t dropped into a deep crouch and wrapped both arms around Brewster’s waist. “Just where do you think you’re going, by--” Adelaide breathed a plume of Red Mist through two sets of splayed stems to catch the unsuspecting challenger flush in the face!
Her priorities completely rearranged by the burning murk of Brewster’s clotted breath, Susan abandoned the Waistlock and staggered for the ropes, knuckling her bloodshot eyes every step of the way. She was only a few steps from this goal when Brewster rushed in from behind and clouted her across the nape of the neck with an Elbow Smash that sent the former World Champion slopping into the strands. Collapsing onto her tush immediately thereafter, the heiress hooked an arm over the middle rope and barked, “ROPES! GET HER AWAY, NICK! I’M IN THE F*CKING ROPNNNGGGHHH!”
The Weeping Angel palmed Sue’s head in both hands, steadying her long enough to THWONK a vile Kneelift between her eyes! Burlingame’s noggin snapped backward, she probably would’ve dribbled onto one side if Brewster hadn’t neatly draped her arms over the second rope. “You’re so pretty.” Adelaide murmured in the blonde’s ear. “But I can’t wait to scrape up the ugly under--”
Castle stomped in with a brusque count so Adelaide hissed at him and backed away until the zebra did the same. This netted Susannah approximately six seconds of peace and quiet, not nearly enough to wipe the gunk off her face or clear the fog between her ea-- Adelaide charged, grabbed hold of the top and middle strands directly to Burlingame’s left and swung through the gap like she was thinking about some sort of Tiger Feint Kick. In reality she had something far worse on her mind, as Sue and the sold-out crowd discovered when the Daughter of Darkness locked her legs around the brunette’s right arm! In the same breath she curled her left arm around Burlingame’s throat and leaaaaaaaaaaaaned back, Brewster just bouncing in place while the Susan was pulled up and back, her feet thrashing and stomping through the whole of Castle’s freshest ‘FOUR!’ count.
ROPE HUNG OCTOPUS STRETCH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcz0Pu01PXU
Freedom from Adelaide’s trap let Burlingame collapse to all fours with her back to the strands, a dangerous position considering the True Believer had stepped halfway through and set her right foot on the bottom strand. The FAWNatics didn’t like Brewster’s looming presence very much at all and they roared for the Ace to watch her six, but Sue was still too blind and too breathless to pay them much attention. Licking her lips as the heathen clambered to verticality, Adelaide waited until Burlingame took a step forward before she whispered, “Behind you, sister.”
Sue whipped around as Brewster leapt, the black-clad World Champion flitting through the ropes like a specter to hook an arm (her right) around Sue’s head to make sure they were tightly linked when she spun through and laid out on her back. THAWHONK!
STENCH OF THE GRAVE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBqI6tPBHeo
Burlingame’s noggin bounced backward and in so doing led the way for the rest of her to tumble onto her back. It was the perfect opportunity to go for a pin, however Adelaide ignored it in favor of peeling her prey off the splattered canvas. Positioned behind her challenger, Brewster neutralized Burlingame’s arms with a Full Nelson, then turned ‘em both toward the hard camera and bared Sue’s throat with a rough handful of hair.
“Any more fire left in your blood, rich girl?”
“Whuuu… why don’t you BITE ME and find EEEERRRRRRRHHHH!”
Adelaide did, the brunette chomping and gnashing while Sue stamped her feet in helpless anguish. Nick Castle was far from helpless, so he strode over and started to count, “ONE! TWO! THREE FO--” Brewster sank into a deep crouch, popped her hips and PLANTED Burlingame flush on the back of her neck courtesy of a Dragon Suplex that left the challenger’s butt pointed at the rafters through…
DRAGON SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahLd_ZpnGqc
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOO!
The FAWNatics siged in relief as one, Burlingame kicking free of the predicament with Castle’s palm holding perhaps a foot off the canvas. Despite her current placement in the Black Court, years of prior goodwill for Sue were something the Daughter of Darkness didn’t enjoy.
Control, however, she enjoyed that a great deal.
Brewster, kneeling next to the dazed heiress, piefaced her challenger.
“What will West do to you when you fail, heathen? Will she sic her diseased Raven on you?”
Susan shoved Adelaide’s hand away and rose to her knees as the Weeping Angel ascended to vertical. She snatched the Ace by her mop, tugging Sue to her feet and transferring her grip to a shoulder and wrist as she leaned them both deep into the cables.
The champ heaved Susannah on her way with an Irish Whip. Or so it seemed she would. Instead, Burlingame planted and pirouetted, sending the Churchgoer sprinting to the far cables. Susan moved to the middle to deliver payback.
The woman who forced FAWN to come to terms with an early competitor, WOLF, dipped for a Back Body Drop, but Adelaide had something else in mind. She leapt over the left shoulder of Burlingame. The Rainmaker tried to stop her with an off-balance tackle but the effort allowed Brewster to RIP Susan off her feet on the fly-by and absolutely DESTROY the Courtier with a Front Flip DDT that sounded like it drew a ‘WHOA’ out of every inhabitant of Orlando.
FRONT FLIP DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WGjrXUzfFg
Ending on her knees from the momentum of the vicious impact, the classiest chassis in the organization tipped and faceplanted onto the canvas, arms limp at her side, palms pointed to the rafters while Adelaide rolled to her feet and blew a smaller cloud of remaining red mist into the air in celebration.
Addy flashed her rosy-stained pearlies and strode to Susan’s carcass. She shoveled Burlingame to her back with a lifted boot under Sue’s near shoulder, the challenger flopping to a lifeless single file.
The True Believer genuflected, pushing her right knee into Susan’s chest for the pin that would guarantee her yet another successful defense and Gladiatrix cover with the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Perhaps a few molecules separated Castle’s palm from the third slap but there was no connection when a spasm rocked Burlingame’s frame and lifted a shoulder off the canvas.
Brewster turned to Castle with blood in her eyes.
“Must I drink from you before you understand never to blaspheme against Eternal Midnight?”
Castle swallowed hard.
The World Champion slapped the canvas to show Nick what he should strongly consider doing the next time Susan was prostrate beneath her for the required time.
As Brewster focused on the retreating referee, the would-be three-time champion crawled to the ropes and used them to struggle to her feet. Sue pushed away from the cables, trying to clear her head with a rattle of her braincase. She rubbed the back of her right palm across her eyes to clear away the blood-red remains of Adelaide’s last toxic spray.
Circling to Sue’s even blinder-side, Adelaide BASHED her challenger in the back of the skull with a forearm. Sue doubled at the waist, her arms hanging limply, Burlingame showing the wear of having the Weeping Angel unleashed in all her fury.
Sensing weakness, Adelaide leapt atop the lowered back of her foe. The champ scissored one arm and captures the other within her grasp. Sue tried to counter but the beating of the last minutes wouldn’t allow it and Adelaide RIPPED Susan off her feet with a signature Crucifix Driver that left Burlingame piled on her shoulders, ass pointed to the rafters, head bracketed by her own legs for the…
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
CRUCIFIX DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-eluUUF4qo
Somehow Susan tumbled out of the trap of the Daughter of Darkness, escaping into the increasingly dim light of survival, again by the narrowest of margins.
The challenger crawled toward the ropes desperate to abscond from the increasing dominance of the Weeping Angel, Adelaide showing how she’d become the most feared member of the Church, if not its leader.
Having risen and trailing behind the slithering Burlingame, Brewster snatched an ankle and lifted Sue’s right leg. She scissored the limb then drops to her back, the full leg in her possession but most importantly the Ace’s ankle in her grasp. The champion enthusiastically twistED Susan’s joint in an outward direction, eliciting first a bitten lower lip then a yelp of pain.
The Grapevine around the limb kept the leg stationary and Adelaide went to work on turning Burlingame lame for the rest of what seemed likely a short remainder of the match.
ANKLE LOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK4SDi50_h0
Sue shook her head vehemently when Castle asked if she wants to give in. She sank her nails into the canvas and agonizingly dragged the Daughter of Darkness the rest of the way to the cables. Burlingame wrapped a palm around the bottom rope then tugged herself closer so she could coil both arms.
“GET HER OFF!” Susannah screamed in no uncertain terms and Nick immediately began his count, skipping any preliminaries.
At ‘FOUR’ Adelaide responded, first releasing her Scissors and sliding from around the leg before giving the joint one final wrench. Brewster rose and hovered, Castle stepping between the Churchgoer and the embattled Ace.
Susan employed the cables to ease her way up. She gingerly put pressure of the stem, wincing. When Adelaide tried to step around the interceding zebra, the challenger slipped her torso between the middle and top rope, pointing at Adelaide.
“Let her get back in,” Castle demanded, going chest to chest with the champ.
“Tell the frightened lamb to reenter the pen,” Brewster purred. “Tell her I may just shear her if she’s polite. Otherwise she’ll be slaughtered.”
Susan, having slipped fully into the confines, reached over Nick’s right shoulder, jabbing a thumb into Addy’s left eye socket.
Squealing in pain, Addy spun from the conversation with Castle, Nick only able to guess what happened. He stared accusingly at Burlingame who shrugged as she limped after the retreating Adelaide.
Sue latched onto Brewster from behind, grabbing a wrist and spinning the Churchgoer to face her then face the rafters as the World Champion was decked by a stiff Clothesline.
Still favoring her injured leg, Burlingame kept things simple for the moment, hopping into the air above her flattened foe, crashing upon Adelaide with a simple Senton that nonetheless forced a burst of breath from Brewster.
Legs kicked up by the impact, Brewster’s groans of displeasure grew all the louder when Sue caught both stems thus turning it into a Back Press good for the…
ONE…
TWO…
Adelaide kicked out almost simultaneous with ‘TWO’, the Courtier’s resurgent flurry still not enough to keep the World Champion down.
Sue nodded in the wake of the almost near fall, she hadn’t expected it to do any lasting damage, though she did feel slightly galvanized by the sound of air ‘ooooffffh’ing from the brunette’s lungs. “Stole one of my moves earlier, bytch.” Burlingame muttered as she hauled her opposition up by the ears. “Means I gotta show these people how to do it right.” Adelaide answered with a soft punch to the challenger’s midsection, so Sue shivered her knees with a quick Headbutt, then spun the Churchgoer around and trapped her arms overhead in a Full Nels-- the Weeping Angel reached down with her left hand and snatched hold of Burlingame’s wrist before the heiress could lace her fingers. Prizing Sue’s grip apart, Adelaide turned her head and CHOMPED down on those encroaching knuckles.
“OOOOWWWW YOU HATEFUL CUNT!” Sue stamped her feet, pounded a few awkward punches into the side of Brewster’s skull, then snatched a handful of hair and pulled like she meant to-- Adelaide pumped an elbow into the pit of Burlingame’s stomach, thus loosening the blonde’s grip enough for her to twist loose at the cost of only a few strands of hair instead of a whole patch of scalp.
Coming out of her escape in a single serpentine rotation, Brewster THWHACKED a stiff Elbow Smash against Sue’s petulant mouth! Sue stumbled without going down so Adelaide planted a Toe Kick in her gut to bring her to one knee. Already honed in on her next target, Brewster took a couple steps back, lunged forward and leapt straight up, her right leg flicking up just to come down heel-first atop the crown of her foe’s skull!
ROARING ELBOW & AXE KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M3BOfT_1uE
Susan slumped to all fours, the sight of her bowed back and slumped shoulders earning an evil smile from the Queen of Nightmares. “I can hear your heart racing, heathen.” she helped herself to a handful of hair. “Soon I will open the tap in your throat and--”
Susan stuffed both hands against the brunette’s midriff and shoved Brewster into the ropes on her six. Catching her balance as she came off the strands, Adelaide chargTHWHUNK! Burlingame exploded out of her crouch with a gorgeous Jumping Knee Strike that landed just above her attacker’s left eyebrow!
JUMPING KNEE STRIKE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvLtvhkHy9k
Caught flatfooted by the explosive response, Brewster spun around in a half swoon and would’ve tumbled all the way to the floor if not for the presence of the ropes. Barely vertical herself after the brunette’s heavy strikes, Burlingame closed her eyes to fight off the nausea, then threw herself at the ropes on the far side of the squared circle. Pace smoothing out by the time she crossed mid-ring on the way back, Sue put on a final burst of speed before she hopped up and DROVE both knees between the zealot’s shoulders! Sandwiched between the ropes and the challenger, Adelaide strained against the rubber-coated steel only to find her arms pinned overhead in another Full Nelson when Burlingame bounced away. No clever escapes this time, the Rainmaker immediately dropped her hips and snapped off a bridge to THWHUMP Brewster onto the back of her head and shoulders! Pushed onto tiptoe soon as the Dragon landed, Susan held the bridge through…
DRAGON SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy5xts1UVKI
ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!
Adelaide twisted loose of the pin with a heartbeat to spare, the True Believer tumbling over onto her stomach where she would’ve stayed for quite some time if Burlingame hadn’t buried a hand in her hair and hauled her to boot-leather. Wheeling around behind the discombobulated champion, the Ace used her left arm to catch both of Adelaide’s biceps in a Double Chickenwing, then palmed the left side of her head with her free hand and spun her down NO! The Daughter of Darkness twisted out of the blonde’s clutches, grabbed a Wristlock and RAAAAAAKED her other hand across Burlingame’s eyes!
Sue shrieked and jerked away or at least tried to, Brewster still had control of her wrist and she circled ‘round behind to draw the limb tight against the heiress’ throat. The FAWNatics roared with full-throated disdain that grew exponentially when Adelaide slipped her free arm between Burlingame’s thighs and hoisted her up onto her shoulders. Oblivious to the jeers, Brewster turned to the nearest camera and promised, “You’re next, false quAAAAAARRRRRHHHH!”
Sue jammed a thumb into her rival’s left eye and managed to tumble down the brunette’s back when Adelaide released her hooks! Aware of nothing save her watering eyes, Brewster didn’t register Burlingame’s hand on her shoulder ‘til the blonde whipped her ‘round and-- Susan sprang, caught the Churchgoer in a Three Quarters Facelock and laid out on her back to THWHONK Adelaide’s face against the deck! The Ace Crusher got the crowd on their feet, but they didn’t really lose their shyt until the Rainmaker somersaulted backward with her right arm still in possession of Brewster’s head. The shift in position turned the simple grip into an agonizing Inverted Facelock which only got worse once Sue grabbed the brunette’s left bicep and hooked that arm back across the plank of her left thigh. Heels set snug on the mat, Burlingame settled into a deep crouch and CRAAAAAAANKED back on her opponent’s captured neck!
ACE CRUSHER TO ROOT OF ALL EVIL @ 1:06
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j53ygI28ZM8
“ASK HER!” Sue bellowed over Adelaide’s agonized wails. “ASK THAT BYTCH IF SHE QUITS!”
“NOOOOOOOOO!” Brewster screamed before Castle had a chance to voice the question. “I’LL NEVER TAP OUT YOU HEATHEN SLUT! LET ME GO RIGHT OOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!”
Susan bounced in place, repeatedly driving her butt into the small of Adelaide’s back. “Then you’ll snap, honey.” Susan promised. “Because there’s no way I’m letting you eeerrrrrrggghhhhh GODDAMN YOU, STOP THAT!”
Brewster worked her face down into the blonde’s coil and sank those hateful teeth into the Ace’s bicep! The pain was hellish, yet Sue refused to break her grasp. Instead she crooked her left arm into a ‘V’ and pounded half a dozen smashes against Brewster’s exposed chest. From there she slipped a hand beneath the brunette’s cups, Burlingame fighting catty with catty as she tweaked Adelaide’s dials one after the other. “GIVE UP, BREWSTER!”
Adelaide had one arm trapped and the other planted for leverage, not to mention a mouthful of heiress arm, so she waggled her head ‘no’ as best she could and started dragging their combined weight toward the ropes. Eyes wide as she felt / saw the strands getting closer, Susan continued to wrench and yoke until Brewster stopped clawing and started reaching. She was still almost six inches shy of sanctuary but that wasn’t nearly enough distance for the challenger so she straightened up and backpedaled into center of the ring, where she sat down with every bit of her weight on Adelaide’s back. Brewster’s plant arm crumpled and she went down on her belly in what would’ve been a flat sprawl if not for the hellacious Inverted Facelock.
Not liking the limp fall of his charge’s right arm, Nick Castle took Adelaide’s wrist and raised it high as he dared before letting it go. It fell to the mat with no sign of life. Raising a finger for the Timekeeper, he repeated the test a second time to identical results. The roar was cacophonous now, yet the Orlando faithful found a way to get even louder when Adelaide’s hand fell for the third and final time.
The bell was still CLANGING when Emily West, Becky Clayton and for the first time in two months, Lenore Lemarchand dove under the bottom rope and popped to their feet, Susan’s fellow Courtiers taking up positions around their sister at arms to make sure Wainright’s flock couldn’t foil the Announcer’s proclamation.
EMILY WEST:
BECKY CLAYTON:
LENORE LEMARCHAND:
“Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via knock-out and the NEEEEEEEEW FAWN World Champion… SUSANNAH BURLINGAME!”
Releasing Adelaide at the sound of her own name, Burlingame crawled a little ways away and let her forehead rest on the mat. She didn’t rise until Nick Castle strode over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I believe this is yours… champ.”
Burlingame clambered up, took the ten pounds of leather and gold and raised it overhead. Shoulders heaving, she exchanged a fist-bump with Becky and Lenore, though it took the Raven a long moment to pull her attention away from the now former champion.
“Good work, Ace.” Clayton said. “Hell of a show.”
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you working her eyes.” Lenore murmured. “I appreciate that.”
Sue nodded wearily. “Thanks… thanks to you both. Drinks are on me lat--”
“Celebrations may have to wait, my friends.” Emily interrupted. “I believe we are no longer alone.”
MIRANDA WAINRIGHT:
HELENA GRAYLOCK:
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
TIFFANY MAYES:
Burlingame, Clayton and Lemarchand followed their leader’s attention to the entryway and sure enough, the Church of Eternal Midnight was lined up along the side nearest the entryway. The throng readied for another skirmish between the factions, yet that didn’t seem to be in the offering, at least not at the outset. Stepping out in front of Helena, Penny and Tiffany, Miranda Wainright raised a hand to slow her followers, then climbed onto the apron and slipped through the ropes.
“This is not a cessation of hostilities, sister.” the Prophet of Pain told the Amazing Academic. “Far too much remains unresolved between us, wouldn’t you agree?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. But that doesn’t explain your presence, Miranda.”
“I ask for nothing more than a reprieve. A moment to collect my fallen sister and return her to more welcoming environs. In exchange for this favor you and yours can celebrate,” Wainright didn’t falter, but Emily noticed the shadow of distaste that passed across her face, “Susannah’s rather historic victory with no threat of reprisal from the Church of Eternal Midnight.”
Emily considered it for a moment, then stepped to the side. “Your offer is accepted. On the condition that you and only you remove Adelaide from the ring.”
“That’s why I’m here, Emily.”
The rest of the Court cleared off, allowing Miranda to collect her first and most faithful congregant with a little assistance from Nick Castle. Turning her back on the Court like it was the easiest thing in the world, Wainright led the semiconscious brunette over to the ropes and carefully handed her over to Helena Graylock. Almost finished with this somber chore, Miranda turned to Em and tipped her hat. “This isn’t over and I meant it, Emily. But the End Game approaches. I hope you know that.”
“I do. And I look forward to seeing it through all the way to checkmate.”
“So you say.” The Septa of Sorrow dipped through the strands, hopped to the floor and started back up with aisle with the rest of her flock following a few steps behind.
Only when they were gone did Emily turn her attention to Susan. “Indulge me in a riddle if you would, Susan.”
Burlingame took the belt from her shoulder and snapped it around her waist. “Throw it at me, Em.”
“Complete this sequence for me. Daniel… London… VanBuren…”
The Ace’s dark eyes lit up. “Burlingame.”