Post by alyadmirer on Nov 26, 2015 3:18:26 GMT
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer begins, “the following Mud Match is scheduled for one fall, and is for the FAWN Lightweight championship! Introducing first, the challenger... Hailing from Tempe, Arizona… She stands five feet three inches tall and weighs in this evening at one hundred and twenty-two pounds… Ladies and gentlemen, she is the Nubile Navajo… NYYYYYSSSSSSSSA BLLLOOOOOOODDDDWWWWIIIIINNNNNNNDDD!”
NYSSA BLOODWIND:
The murmur of the crowd is interrupted by the first note of Rage Against the Machine. But instead of the elder Bloodwind's ‘Killing in the Name‘, the speakers blare the defiant chords of ‘Testify‘. An instant later and Nyssa pushes the curtains aside, exploding out onto the aisle, the fans bursting into warm cheers for the talented lightweight. The pedigree is no doubt responsible for part of her reception, but perhaps some of it tonight comes from the less than ordinary black silk robe sheathing her, tied in a sash around the waist...
“TESTIFY”:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_zyb-XXWz0
Admittedly, the younger member of the Bloodwind tribe’s career had not gotten off to the hottest start in FAWN history. In fact, Nyssa could once be said to have been the next in a long line of “lovable losers” that won the hearts of the Orlando faithful while losing matches--a lineage that traces all the way back to the likes of Kylie Sanders and Cynthia Mitchell. But, much like the Pleasant Valley Princess and the Cynful One before her, the Nubile Navajo had not just gained seasoning, but had become a champion three over, twice on her own and once alongside her big sister--and she’s managed to do so without sacrificing the adoration of the masses, the way Cynthia and Kylie had.
Buoyed by the support of the FAWNatics, a beaming Nyssa makes her way down to the pit, stopping just along the edge to undo her sash... and to reveal a rather bewitching turquoise fightin’ bikini, her trademark faux deerskin traded in for the night, as well as her Uggs for two bare feet.
With the challenger padding around her corner of the mud pit, the Announcer resumed his duties. “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Stovington, Vermont, she stands at five feet two inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and ten pounds! She is the Star Strider and the FAWN Lightweight Champion… LILY BURLINGAME!”
The Cellar Dwellers leapt to their feet and cheered wildly when the lights went out. From within that murky fall darkness came a thumping drum and a matched set of snapping fingers, the two bits of percussion bouncing to and fro in a rat-a-tat riff. A keening guitar note joined the beat and a few seconds later the situation got brighter in no small part due to the tongue of flame that licked at the base of the ramp. As the note held steady, the fire set off on a beeline for the top of the ramp.
The wick shrank in time with the arrival of more guitars and an Earth-shattering KA-BOOM of red pyro that almost swallowed the first verse of ’Comeback Kid’. From the center of this flash and flame a figure emerged, shooting up from the floor to land flawlessly before the capacity crowd. Launching herself from that brand spankin‘ new crater, Lily Burlingame pumped a fist for the crowd, then smacked the belt snapped around her waist and flew down the ramp in a blur of black, red and white. For her first ever encounter with a former Lightweight Champion, Lily wore…
LILY BURLINGAME:
...well, it was hard to tell because she was covered from shoulder to mid thigh by a deep red silk robe. An unusual addition to her attire of course, yet it didn’t seem to encumber her movement because she tore down the ramp then leapt from the floor to the apron to the top of the padded barricade in the span between heartbeats. Walking along it as easily as a cat on a windowsill, Burlingame strutted around one corner and made it halfway to the next before turning to the audience and launching into a gorgeous back flip that set her down in the middle of the pit with a heavy SPLORT!
Grinning out into her legions of fans, Lily plucked at the knot on her belt and shrugged the robe off in a single flourish. Beneath it she wore gleaming black bottoms accented by swirling galaxies of stars done in red and white. Her top was halter-style sports bra done in an identical scheme, the red and white seeming to shimmer and twine with her every move. Kneepads were matching black and also sported the galaxy motif, white on the left and red on the right. Her hair, though free of the mask, was still pulled back in a long, sweeping ponytail. And of course there was the ten pounds of leather and gold around her waist, that was always an eye-catcher.
The belt came off with a quick tug and she handed it off to the referee known only as Merle. More than ready to go, Burlingame rounded on Nyssa. “Ready to get dirty, sweetie?” she asked.
Nyssa smiled back. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
That brought another grin from the champ. “Yes I will. And so will you.”
When the bell sounded those lunatics in the Madhouse basement (the front office cheerfully referred to them as ‘fans’) roared all the louder. Sure they were all well schooled in the art of professional wrestling techniques, they knew the standard and specialized names for all the strikes, slams, stretches, head drops and holds in Jenny Jacobs’s arsenal and would gladly offer a standing ovation to any women who offered them such a contest… but there was just something about the Mud Pit that made them forget such niceties. For the moment all they wanted was to see two good girls treat one another very badly.
Lips twisted in a slightly snarky grin, Nyssa dropped down a deep crouch and worked her hands into the ankle deep mud. She curled her hands into fists and it squelched through her fingers in little waves. Bloodwind liked the sound, knew she would like it that much more when it was Lily that made it. On her feet a second or two later, she clapped her hands together and padded toward the center of their battleground. “C’mon space case!” she called to the champion. “Time for a roll in the mud!”
Lily snorted but refrained from rolling her eyes. Instead she curled her toes, letting the mud run through them while she acclimated to the pit. She’d wrestled in dozens of gimmick matches throughout her still burgeoning career but mud… that was a new one. While it wouldn’t have been her first (or even fifth) choice for battling a talent like Nyssa Bloodwind, she wasn’t going to shy away from any gauntlet thrown at her feet. And she hadn’t won at ‘Mania just to get her ass handed to her in a glorified catfight. Noting the sheen of sludge on Nyssa’s hands, Burlingame anointed hers in identical fashion, then got to her feet ands strode out to meet the challenger.
Bloodwind stuck out her hand at the champion’s approach. “You ready to do this, ‘Lil? I am.”
Lily took the other brunette’s hand and matched Nyssa’s squeeze with one of her own. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, Nyssa. The venue’s not what I had imagined but ring or pit, this story ends the same. You on your back and me showing off the gold.”
Nyssa’s dark eyes narrowed and she pulled away. “You got it all wrong, champ. This ends with you facedown in the mud while I put the Lightweight Title around my waist again. And that pressure you’re gonna feel pressing down on your overrated butt? That’ll be my foot.”
Now it was Lily’s turn to glare. “Overrated? I crushed the girl who put you on the shelf. And just last month I hung an L on the bytch that left you KO’ed and crying at the bottom of a pit on these very groun--”
The Nubile Navajo stepped in close she forced Lily back a half step, the subject of Miranda Wainright was clearly verboten. “Yeah, she did kick my ass. And if Mercy hadn’t saved yours at Mania I’d be taking out that freak instead. So I’m gonna take the title off your OVERRATED ass and then I’m gonna finish my business with Miran--”
Lily walked right into the challenger, knocking her back on her heels. “Call me overrated one more time.” she growled. “Do it and the only thing that’ll separate you from this mud will be your tears.”
Nyssa nodded almost imperceptibly. “Guess we’ll just have to see.” She shoved Lily away then pounced to catch the Star Strider in a Collar & Elbow when she was off balance. Forward momentum meant Bloodwind had an advantage from the outset and she used it to march the other brunette over to the nearest corner. The relatively low level of the padded wall meant Lily’s shoulders had no support as Nyssa continued to push.
Working hard to maintain her balance in this precarious position, the youngest Burlingame said, “Break, Nys.”
“You know I don’t have to, right? But since you were so polite about it…” Nyssa unhooked, stepped back and ‘smacked’ her muddy palms into her foe’s chest. “Just this once.”
Lily opened her mouth, closed it without saying anything. There were more emphatic ways of getting a point across. Taking a moment to flick off what little mud she could, the Interstellar Angel exited the relative safety of the edge and walked down the challenger. Nyssa raised her hands at the other woman’s approach and Lily did the same, but when Bloodwind reared back for another lock-up the champ turned her right shoulder toward the other brunette, reached across to her left shoulder and CRAAACKED Nyssa across the décolletage with a Knife Edge Chop that said more words ever could.
Hissing through clenched teeth as lightning laced her skin, Bloodwind stamped around in a half circle with one forearm pressed tight to her stinging top. The worst faded in a few seconds, but the anger that replaced it burned twice as bright. “Is that how you want it, Lily?” she asked quietly.
“That’s how YOU want it, Nyssa. I’m just meeting you on your level. Guess you took to the mud better than I thought you--”
Bloodwind came for her and while Burlingame didn’t shrink from the charge she didn’t meet it blindly. Rather she hunkered forward and slammed her right shoulder into the Arizonan’s flat tummy. Straightening up as soon as she felt Nyssa fold against her back, Lily slung the other Lightweight up, over and down in an improvised Back Body Drop.
Nyssa landed on her back with a heavy PLOP that earned a raucous cheer from those assembled. More stunned than hurt by the impact, Nyssa rolled to her stomach after a deep breath and scrambled to all fours. She would’ve returned to full verticality within seconds of Burlingame hadn’t rushed over and driven her back down with a quick but heavy Splash.
Barely aware of the mud slicked to her thighs and forearms, Lily pushed to her knees and swung a leg across Nyssa’s lower back, all the better to climb aboard. “Think you can just throw attitude in my face and not get smacked for it?” Burlingame asked as she grabbed Bloodwind’s elbows and pulled her arms back n’ over her own thighs.
Squirming her legs twice as hard now that her arms had been neutralized, Nyssa tucked her chin against her chest, fighting valiantly to delay the last step even though she knew it was only a matter of time. “If you can’t take a little sass I think you’re in the wrong line of work, little sisNNNNGGGGHHHHH!”
Lily boxed the challenger’s ears and cupped her hands under Bloodwind’s chin when her head came up. “I can take whatever you can throw out, little sister.” Lily snapped after the first few seconds of the Camel Clutch ticked off the clock. “I just thought that someone like you would appreciate all the trouble I went through to reach this moment. But if you think being a bytch will make it easier for you to regain the title let me remind you how I treat bytches.” Halving the Chinlock, Lily reached down with her left hand, scooped up a good dollop of mud and squuuuuuiiiiissssshed it against Bloodwind’s protesting face!
Nyssa coughed and spat, an effort made all the more difficult when Lily doubled down on the Camel Clutch again. “You think I’m gonna play nice against you?” the Nubile Navajo grunted. “You stole what’s mine and I want it back!”
Lily’s determined grimace transformed into an incredulous frown. “Stole? I STOLE from you? I beat Polly fair and square! You could have too, if you weren’t dumb enough to take a match when you’ve got a freakin’ concussOOOOFFFFHHHH!”
Nyssa crooked her hands into the pits of Burlingame’s knees and pushed to her knees with a loud roar. In a normal match she might’ve clambered all the way to her feet and stomped to a corner but in the mud she only threw herself backward into her attacker. Lily went down on her back sandwiched between the mud and the challenger. It didn’t hurt that much, but it knocked the breath out of her, leaving the Girl That Gravity Forgot slowed just enough for Nyssa to squirm around into a heavy seat on her tummy.
Nyssa bypassed any pretense at scientific wrestling in these environs, as well as any semblance of courtesy to her fellow babyface, snatching a couple of handfuls of Lily’s dark tresses and lifting her head up, only to SLAM the back of Burlingame’s skull into the floor of the pit. While the mud might have softened the sound of the collision considerably, its impact on the force of the blow isn’t quite as pronounced...
And with the Interstellar Angel dazed, Bloodwind turned her attention back to keeping Burlingame breathless. The mud would certainly nullify some of Lily’s usual grace and agility, but as long as the champion had plenty of oxygen in her lungs, she could probably find ways to defy gravity even in this muck. So Nyssa raised her backside, only to drop the hammer again into Lily’s breadbasket, two taut cheeks forcing a grudging gasp past Burlingame’s lips...
... and a second butt drop resulted in a louder gasp.
Satisfied for now with her efforts to neutralize Lily’s bread and butter, the Nubile Navajo’s feet sought out her opponent’s own, Nyssa hooking the fair skinned (that is, when she wasn’t all muddy) beauty’s ankles as she secured a Grapevine. Bloodwind’s hands then coiled around the Lightweight champion’s wrists, pressing her arms down above her head. While it might primarily be a show of dominance, it also constituted a pin, so...
ONE...
TWO...
Lily pushed a shoulder off the ground.
In an ordinary match, that might have been that. But with the mud, Burlingame’s thrust resulted in a small slip which caught the Girl That Gravity Forgot off-guard--and which allowed Nyssa to push Lily’s shoulder back down flat.
ONE...
TWO...
The champ forced her shoulder up again.
“Y’know,” Bloodwind hissed through a smirk, “there’s a fine line between being determined and just being stubborn. But I’m pretty stubborn, myself. I’m walking out of her tonight with MY belt back, and there’s not a damned thing you can do to stop me.”
“Nyssa,” Lily snarled, writhing furiously underneath her challenger, “with all due respect, would you SHUT YOUR SMUG MOUTH before I HAVE to shut it FOR you... WITH MY ASS?!?!”
Nyssa arched an eyebrow. “Not sure that’s a can of worms you REALLY wanna open...” Releasing Lily’s wrists, Bloodwind climbed to her feet, the former Lightweight champion remaining in a standing straddle above the reigning title holder in a standing straddle as Burlingame rolled over and began pushing up to her hands and knees...
... at which point, the Nubile Navajo performed a small hop into the air, dropping her hindquarters down atop the small of Lily’s back, sending the Star Strider into the much with a damp, squishy thud. Of course, Burlingame wasn’t the only one dealing with the mud, and Nyssa’s feet slipped for a moment upon her landing, but she regained control enough to drop to her knees and into a seat on Lily’s back.
“But I’ll be more than happy to oblige, if that’s what you REALLY want,” Nyssa added. Once more filling her fingers with Lily’s dark locks, Bloodwind roughly SHOVED the Interstellar Angel’s face down into the mud, brushing the brunette’s face left, then right, then left again. As her opponent rose off of her, Burlingame lifted her head out of the goop, eyes blinking, one hand moving to sweep some of the gunk away from her features...
She barely noticed Nyssa stuffing her right foot behind her left knee, or Bloodwind’s shin pressing into hers to hold her gams in place. But when the Nubile Navajo reached around to gather up and pull back on her wrists, realization started to dawn on the champ--especially when Lily felt the Native American’s sole pressed against the back of her head. “Nononooooo...” the Star Strider began to protest...
... but Bloodwind still thrust downward, unleashing one of the messier Curb Stomps in FAWN history.
A moaning, shuddering Burlingame tumbled over to her back--and Nyssa dropped to a seat atop the other brunette’s chest, employing an elementary schoolgirl pin for the...
ONE...
TWO...
THNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Lily bucked loose, the slime possibly conspiring with Burlingame to keep Nyssa from being able to remain in the saddle.
Scrambling to her feet, albeit deliberately, the Nubile Navajo once again turned her attention to Lily’s gams, this time stuffing Burlingame’s LEFT foot against the pit of her right knee, Nyssa’s right foot almost nonchalantly positioned between the Star Strider’s thighs. By the time she was done with her efforts, Bloodwind had finally brought a little wrestling to the mud pit, trapping the champion in her Indian Deathlock...
INDIAN DEATHLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqOmTQiyx0
Keeping her footing proved to be quite the challenge, but Nyssa didn’t put up much of a fight before falling into the mud herself. Lily had no choice but to sit up with a howl of anguish, before she too toppled back into the gunk. Reclaiming verticality proved harder still for Nyssa, the footing she could manage with her free leg far from reliable, and Burlingame’s thighs posing an impediment to her other foot.
But the Nubile Navajo eventually succeeded. Leaning down, Nyssa gathered another helping of Lily’s tresses, pulling her fellow brunette’s upper body out of the mud...
... and then, in the spirit of vengeance for moments ago, Bloodwind unleashed a Knife-Edged Chop that ‘THWACK!’ed into Burlingame’s sternum.
Knocked free of the hair-hold by the power of the strike, Lily crumpled to her back with a scream locked behind her jaws. It hurt like hell no question, but she choked it down to a soft groan strictly to spite her opponent. After a single deep breath she pushed up on her elbows and taunted, “And I thought Jaime’s European Uppercuts were soft. At least she’s mastered proper techNNNNGGGGGGGHHH!”
The challenger snatched a handful of hair, cocked her right elbow high overhead and brought it smacking down on the center of Burlingame’s forehead. “You wanna talk about proper technique, sweetie?” Nyssa huffed down at the trapped grappler. “I could damned well take you apart in this hold if I wanted to!”
Lily bared her teeth in a pained but taunting smile. “So you’re telling me you DON’T want to take me apart yet, Nys? Guess you don’t want the title as much as you GEERRGGHHHHH!”
Bloodwind arched back in a beautiful bridge that put her palms and the crown her skull in the mud on one and her tangled legs on the other. “Ask her!” she barked to Merle the instant she caught his eye. “Ask that pampered little snot if she’s had enough!”
Merle cringed, knowing the answer before it was even out of his mouth. Glooping his way through the mud, he crouched beside Lily and tapped her shoulder. “How are you doing, Lily? Need me to call it?”
She shook her head ‘no’. “I’m not Polly or one Nyssa’s other favorite quitters.” she grunted. “It’s gonna take a lot more than this weak-ass bridge to stop me!”
Nyssa snorted, clearly fuming at the champion’s tone. “Weak, huh? Say that again after your knees have popOOFFHHH!” Burlingame rocked hard to the left, not enough to break the hold, but it upset Bloodwind’s balance and she ‘splatted’ onto her back. Even so, the Deathlock was still in place and the Nubile Navajo scrambled to one knee almost immediately. “I didn’t come in here meaning to break you down.” Nyssa said coldly. “But if that’s what it takes to get my belt back… and shut your mouth, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.” To that end she curled her hands into claws and applied both to the champion’s crooked left knee.
Lily wailed, shook her head ‘no’ and buried both hands in her hair to keep them from doing something foolish. “GIVE UP!” Nyssa gouged her fingers into the sides and pit of the other brunette’s knee, an extremely simple tactic made all the more effective by the tension caused by the Deathlock. Lily balked again, so Nyssa pulled her right hand away and raaaaaaaaaked it down Burlingame’s shin half a dozen times in rapid succession.
“I SAID GIVE UP!” she squeezed all the harder. “DON’T MAKE ME PUT YOU ON THE SHELF, LILY!”
Lily clambered onto her elbows to fix the domineering challenger with a defiant snarl. “Starting to sound a lot like Polly, Nys. Guess some of her stink rubbed off on you at ManiNNGH!”
Nyssa flicked a hand out, Bytch Slapping Burlingame’s head to one side. “Watch your damned mouth, Lily. I’m NOTHING like that bytch.”
Lily forced herself to sit up as best she could even though she really wanted to tend to the stinging welt that was her face. Instead she smiled and replied, “You’re right. Polly actually managed to beat--”
Nyssa reared back for another rack-torching Knife-Edge Chop only to yelp in shock when Lily snatched her wrist at the absolute last second. A single colossal yank tugged Bloodwind forward and onto her tummy while simultaneously undoing the gammy knot of the Deathlock. Ignoring the cramps in her stems for the time being, Lily snatched each of Nyssa’s pigtails, yanked her up onto her knees and THWHAPSPLATTED her face, chest and tummy-first into the hungry mud.
Nyssa spat glop, twisted her head to one side and spat a little more. She started to rise so Lily put one hand between her shoulders and the other on the sturdy shelf of her backside.
“You’re not going anywhere, cutie. It’s my turn to run this clinic.” With that she pushed off in a flawless headstand made all the more impressive in the slippery wasteland of the mud pit. After a moment she tucked her knees and swung down and in to land heavily across her opponent’s back. Bloodwind moaned loudly, started to rise again. And this time Lily forced her foe’s face directly into the mud! “I said enjoy the mud, bytch!” She hooked two fingers into the side of Nyssa’s mouth and yanked hard, a wicked fishhooking to avenge the Butt Bombing she’d endured earlier. Nys couldn’t do anything but flail and sputter, which she did quite emphatically until Burlingame busted off a second Handstand Knee Drop.
That left her decidedly more docile, which allowed Lily to relinquish the fishhook and rise without any interference. Stepping onto, then over the flattened challenger, Lily posted up on Bloodwind’s left side and stretched her arms wide. “Nyssa probably thinks I can’t fly in the mud--” ‘Mud’ was barely off her lips when the Star Strider leapt straight up, flipped over backward and came down with both knees tucked a little below chest-level. THWHUMP!
Nyssa wailed aloud and pushed up on one hand while the other reached for the small of her compressed vertebrae. Lily didn’t interfere, indeed she’d already slid off the challenger to claim a comfortable seat on the other brunette’s right side. With Nyssa’s head raised it was child’s play to lock her hands across opposing chin in a simple S-grip. Then she kicked her legs forward, planted her feet in the goop and leaaaaaaaaaaaaaned back to wrench Bloodwind’s head at an agonizing angle.
Forgetting all about the pain in her back (well, almost) Nyssa jammed her elbows into the mud and grabbed at Lily’s hands in a brawny attempt to escape the Crossface. Lily shook her head no and crrrrraaaaaaaaaaanked all the harder, thus forcing a loud wail from her opponent. “DONE, BABY?” Lily asked about five seconds later. “ARE YOU DONE, NYSSA?!”
Nyssa couldn’t shake her head ‘no’, couldn’t speak, so she pulled a hand away from the Crossface and waggled a denial to the official.
The Interstellar Angel snorted in anger, increased the pressure yet again. “I don’t want to hurt you either, Nyssa! But I WILL make sure you learn where you stand in relation to meEEERRRGGGGHHH!” Forced by the mud to work cattier than she usually liked, Bloodwind forced Lily’s hands up directly against her mouth and chomped down hard.
Hissing in anger, Lily released the hold and scrambled away with that stinging hand pressed tight to her muddy tummy. “Little witch.” she snarled. “I never pegged you as desperate.”
Nyssa sat up with one arm crooked against the back of her aching neck. “I never pegged you as the kind of girl who’d fishhook my mouth. Guess the mud shows us for who we really are.”
“I don’t need this pit to tell me who you are, Nyssa. I can see it in your eyes.”
The youngest Bloodwind glared daggers at the champion. “Do tell, rich girl.”
“You’re so insecure it’s disgusting. You can’t stand the fact that I put my stamp on Polly first. You hate that I beat her for the title she stole from you. But that’s not your real problem and we both know it. What really eats at you is the indisputable FACT that I accomplished everything I did without anyone knowing I was Susan’s little sister. And deep in your heart you know you got a spot based on your last name.”
Nyssa drew in a long breath and let it out slow. “Are you done?”
“Not until you’re quitting on your back.”
“Yeah, you’re done.” Bloodwind charged Burlingame and met her in the center of the pit with a heavy, muddy SMACK! Tummy to tummy, nose to nose, the pair of slime-slicked brunettes sought the other’s hair and pulled for all they were worth. Not about to show the challenger any mercy after the rough treatment she’d endured in the Deathlock, Lily pounded a knee into Bloodwind’s navel, then twisted around behind her and looped her right arm around Nyssa’s neck. Palming the back of Nyssa’s head with her free hand, Lily clamped down on the Sleeper and dropped onto her back with the Nubile Navajo squirming in her lap.
A Rear Naked Choke probably would’ve been the best tactic, but Burlingame went another direction. Sliding her shins into place against the trapped woman’s calves, she streeeeeeeeeetched Bloodwind’s legs in an agonizing Double Leg Grapevine. Sleeper cinched deep, Lily wrenched Nyssa’s head back n’ forth for at least ten seconds before pausing to deliver her command. “TAP OUT, NYSSA! QUIT RIGHT NOW!”
As precious a commodity as oxygen was to her right now, Nyssa spared enough of it to grunt out a, “NUUHHHOOOooooooooooohhhh...” To be honest, it was less a response to Lily and more an alert to Merle that she was in no way willing or ready to surrender. Still, in this mud pit, her options were considerably more limited than in a standard ring. She couldn’t rely on the possibility of a rope break, even if Lily’s skillful Double Leg Grapevine hadn’t rendered her all but motionless...
... and even if Burlingame’s arms weren’t rendering her increasingly sluggish, or her vision ever more darkened. Her eyes beginning to blink rapidly, the Nubile Navajo started rocking side to side on top of the Interstellar Angel, perhaps aiming to roll over, but Lily would not be budged. Bloodwind’s last couple of attempts resulted in little more than the boneless flopping of her increasingly leaden arms.
“Nyssa?” Merle Oberon asked. “You still with us, Nyssa?”
Bloodwind barely heard him over the pounding of her own blood in her ears, and though her lips pursed to respond, no sound emerged from them.
“Do you hear me, Nyssa?” the referee asked again, but there wasn’t even the faintest flicker of a response from the Nubile Navajo. Gingerly, Merle took her right wrist, raising her arm.
When he released it, Nyssa’s wing fell ONCE...
It fell TWICE...
It fell a THIRD time...
... but ONLY HALF WAY!!!!
Nyssa’s arm stiffened, trembling in the air, her fingers curled into a tightly clinched fist. Her eyes fluttering to HALF open, Bloodwind managed to croak in a throaty rasp, “Caaaan’t... maaaaake... meeeeee... quiiiiit...”
“Don’t NEED to, Nys,” Lily snarled in response, wrenching on the noose her arms had formed around the Nubile Navajo’s noggin. “I just have to put YOUR OVERRATED ass unnnNNNNNNGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
Her fist still balled, Nyssa suddenly swung her elbow downward, driving it into the tender meat just above the champ’s right hip.
“That the best you goooOOOPPPPPPPHHHHHH!!!!!!”
What had begun as a question became a gasp when Bloodwind landed another, harsher elbow, one which Lily opted to respond to not with words but with another tug on the sleeper. Only the Nubile Navajo would NOT be dissuaded, Nyssa landing a THIRD elbow--and this one loosens the knot around her throat.
The resurgent Native American kept landing elbows into Burlingame’s flank, and after almost ten shots, Nyssa manages to shrug her head loose from the sleeper. The Star Strider rolled away, one arm falling to swaddle her tummy as Bloodwind also tumbled over--but Nyssa promptly pushed up to her hands and knees. And from there, the Nubile Navajo started to surge back toward verticality...
... which MIGHT have been ill-advised, under these circumstances.
First of all, the sudden change in elevation did a wicked number on Nyssa’s still oxygen-starved brain, the challenger experiencing a wave of nausea that hit her damn near as strong as any Cherry Warhead ever might, knocking her off balance... and, barefoot in the mud, Bloodwind’s balance was already a precarious thing. Feet slipping out from under her, the Nubile Navajo took a header back into the muck...
... and she had barely splashed down when Lily Burlingame dove onto her back, securing a NEW Sleeperhold!
“Nighty night, Nys,” the Interstellar Angel whispered into her challenger’s ear, rolling over to her back. And once there, Burlingame snaked her legs around Bloodwind’s waist, adding a Bodyscissors to complete the Rear Naked Choke. “Maybe you can dream about walking out with the Lightweight belt, cause your dreams are the ONLY place where you’re gonna beat me...”
“Goooooo... go fuuuuugggghhhhhh...” the Nubile Navajo rasped, and with greater use of her legs this time without the grapevine, she at least managed to roll over, valiantly starting to rise up to all fours with Lily glued to her back. But with Bloodwind barely recovered from the first sleeper, all it took was a pulse of the champ’s deceptively strong thighs and a wrench of her arms to sent Nyssa crashing back into the slime...
... and after one feeble attempt to lift herself out of the mud, Bloodwind fell still.
Now, it was standard operating procedure in FAWN to milk things for as much dramatic (and, more cynically, commercial) value as possible. As such, referees were well known to wait before starting a count, and in the case of breaking a hold, occasionally they would be known to count slower than regulation. But these were not normal circumstances. Nyssa was facedown in a pool of ooze, a situation that could become serious if Merle left it for TOO long. So he took Bloodwind’s right wrist, quickly raising her arm...
It ‘SPLOSH’ed back into the gloop ONCE...
TWICE...
THREE TIMES!!!!
Promptly, Merle signaled the end of the match, then began to tug on Lily’s shoulders. “Alright, she’s out,” he muttered. “Let her go, Lil.”
Burlingame released the Sleeper, unhooked her ankles and pulled her right foot up, bracing it against the challenger’s hip. A single hard push sent Nyssa rolling away, her limbs rag doll limp as she came to a squishy stop on her back. Resting on her knees, Lily leaned back and raised a triumphant hand as the Announcer seconded the ref’s opinion. “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via knockout and STILL the FAWN Lightweight Champion… LILY BURLINGAME!”
Merle stepped up beside her and offered his hand, but the victorious battler shook him off. Instead she crawled over to Nyssa and slid down into the muck beside her slumbering foe. Resting her cheek on one hand, Burlingame swiped the worst of the grime off Bloodwind’s face, then leaned in to murmur in her ear. “You know what just happened, Nyssa? You got dominated. You can spin it any which way you want, but everyone in the building just watched you get bogged down and used up. Think about that the next time you’re inclined to call me overrated.”
With that she straightened up, slid back and started to rise. Halfway through an idea must’ve crossed her mind because the Girl That Gravity Forgot paused for a full three seconds or so.
“Of course you just slept through all that, so who knows what sort of dumb crap you might have to say after they bring you around. Guess I’ll have to deliver this message a second time, just to make sure you really understand.”
Lily claimed possession of Nyssa’s ankles and got to her feet. Some of the rowdier elements encouraged a stomp between the vulnerable wrestler’s splayed stems but the champ shook her head ‘no’. She was out to humble, not hurt. To that end she forced Nyssa’s feet together and pushed them down over her head in a perfect Matchbook. In securing her pin Lily planted her right foot on the other brunette’s left side and dropped to one knee which planted her right thigh and buttock atop Bloodwind’s upturned haunches. Smiling brightly as the AHE crowd cheered this show of face on face domination, the Star Strider released Nyssa’s ankles and stretched her arms wide.
When the loudest of the uproar started to fade she called, “Count with me?”
Always happy to oblige, the FAWNatics cheered approval, but didn’t actually contribute until Burlingame raised her right hand and SMACKED Nyssa’s upturned glutes! ONE! TWO! THREE!
Lily jostled Nyssa’s tush after the last shot, smiling as she did so. “Getting off easy tonight, Nys.” Lily said softly. “Next time you call me out though, I’m gonna make my point in a very different way. And I’ll make it…. right there.” She reached down with her left hand and tapped the tip of Bloodwind’s nose with her index finger once, twice, thrice.
No response from Nyssa, the pair of Sleepers had left her sleeping the sleep of the dearly departed. Satisfied that her point was made, Burlingame rose and stood over her fallen foe, a final reminder that she was a force to be reckoned with in the wrestling ring, the mud pit or anywhere else. Striding away from the Nubile Navajo without a second look, Lily hopped over the padded wall and promptly accepted a towel and the Lightweight Title, in that order.
With thoughts of a shower looming large, the Interstellar Angel still made a point to exchange pats and high fives with all the fans on the aisle but even as she approached the curtain part of her was still back in the pit with Nyssa. That part of her wanted Nyssa to wake up and get cleaned off so they could do this all over again. In a proper ring this time, one where she could truly unleash the full force of her arsenal on the former champion. Brightened by the thought, Lily raised her hand one more time, pressed the button on her invisible detonator and stepped out of sight on a resounding BOOM!
NYSSA BLOODWIND:
The murmur of the crowd is interrupted by the first note of Rage Against the Machine. But instead of the elder Bloodwind's ‘Killing in the Name‘, the speakers blare the defiant chords of ‘Testify‘. An instant later and Nyssa pushes the curtains aside, exploding out onto the aisle, the fans bursting into warm cheers for the talented lightweight. The pedigree is no doubt responsible for part of her reception, but perhaps some of it tonight comes from the less than ordinary black silk robe sheathing her, tied in a sash around the waist...
“TESTIFY”:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_zyb-XXWz0
Admittedly, the younger member of the Bloodwind tribe’s career had not gotten off to the hottest start in FAWN history. In fact, Nyssa could once be said to have been the next in a long line of “lovable losers” that won the hearts of the Orlando faithful while losing matches--a lineage that traces all the way back to the likes of Kylie Sanders and Cynthia Mitchell. But, much like the Pleasant Valley Princess and the Cynful One before her, the Nubile Navajo had not just gained seasoning, but had become a champion three over, twice on her own and once alongside her big sister--and she’s managed to do so without sacrificing the adoration of the masses, the way Cynthia and Kylie had.
Buoyed by the support of the FAWNatics, a beaming Nyssa makes her way down to the pit, stopping just along the edge to undo her sash... and to reveal a rather bewitching turquoise fightin’ bikini, her trademark faux deerskin traded in for the night, as well as her Uggs for two bare feet.
With the challenger padding around her corner of the mud pit, the Announcer resumed his duties. “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Stovington, Vermont, she stands at five feet two inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and ten pounds! She is the Star Strider and the FAWN Lightweight Champion… LILY BURLINGAME!”
The Cellar Dwellers leapt to their feet and cheered wildly when the lights went out. From within that murky fall darkness came a thumping drum and a matched set of snapping fingers, the two bits of percussion bouncing to and fro in a rat-a-tat riff. A keening guitar note joined the beat and a few seconds later the situation got brighter in no small part due to the tongue of flame that licked at the base of the ramp. As the note held steady, the fire set off on a beeline for the top of the ramp.
The wick shrank in time with the arrival of more guitars and an Earth-shattering KA-BOOM of red pyro that almost swallowed the first verse of ’Comeback Kid’. From the center of this flash and flame a figure emerged, shooting up from the floor to land flawlessly before the capacity crowd. Launching herself from that brand spankin‘ new crater, Lily Burlingame pumped a fist for the crowd, then smacked the belt snapped around her waist and flew down the ramp in a blur of black, red and white. For her first ever encounter with a former Lightweight Champion, Lily wore…
LILY BURLINGAME:
...well, it was hard to tell because she was covered from shoulder to mid thigh by a deep red silk robe. An unusual addition to her attire of course, yet it didn’t seem to encumber her movement because she tore down the ramp then leapt from the floor to the apron to the top of the padded barricade in the span between heartbeats. Walking along it as easily as a cat on a windowsill, Burlingame strutted around one corner and made it halfway to the next before turning to the audience and launching into a gorgeous back flip that set her down in the middle of the pit with a heavy SPLORT!
Grinning out into her legions of fans, Lily plucked at the knot on her belt and shrugged the robe off in a single flourish. Beneath it she wore gleaming black bottoms accented by swirling galaxies of stars done in red and white. Her top was halter-style sports bra done in an identical scheme, the red and white seeming to shimmer and twine with her every move. Kneepads were matching black and also sported the galaxy motif, white on the left and red on the right. Her hair, though free of the mask, was still pulled back in a long, sweeping ponytail. And of course there was the ten pounds of leather and gold around her waist, that was always an eye-catcher.
The belt came off with a quick tug and she handed it off to the referee known only as Merle. More than ready to go, Burlingame rounded on Nyssa. “Ready to get dirty, sweetie?” she asked.
Nyssa smiled back. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
That brought another grin from the champ. “Yes I will. And so will you.”
When the bell sounded those lunatics in the Madhouse basement (the front office cheerfully referred to them as ‘fans’) roared all the louder. Sure they were all well schooled in the art of professional wrestling techniques, they knew the standard and specialized names for all the strikes, slams, stretches, head drops and holds in Jenny Jacobs’s arsenal and would gladly offer a standing ovation to any women who offered them such a contest… but there was just something about the Mud Pit that made them forget such niceties. For the moment all they wanted was to see two good girls treat one another very badly.
Lips twisted in a slightly snarky grin, Nyssa dropped down a deep crouch and worked her hands into the ankle deep mud. She curled her hands into fists and it squelched through her fingers in little waves. Bloodwind liked the sound, knew she would like it that much more when it was Lily that made it. On her feet a second or two later, she clapped her hands together and padded toward the center of their battleground. “C’mon space case!” she called to the champion. “Time for a roll in the mud!”
Lily snorted but refrained from rolling her eyes. Instead she curled her toes, letting the mud run through them while she acclimated to the pit. She’d wrestled in dozens of gimmick matches throughout her still burgeoning career but mud… that was a new one. While it wouldn’t have been her first (or even fifth) choice for battling a talent like Nyssa Bloodwind, she wasn’t going to shy away from any gauntlet thrown at her feet. And she hadn’t won at ‘Mania just to get her ass handed to her in a glorified catfight. Noting the sheen of sludge on Nyssa’s hands, Burlingame anointed hers in identical fashion, then got to her feet ands strode out to meet the challenger.
Bloodwind stuck out her hand at the champion’s approach. “You ready to do this, ‘Lil? I am.”
Lily took the other brunette’s hand and matched Nyssa’s squeeze with one of her own. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, Nyssa. The venue’s not what I had imagined but ring or pit, this story ends the same. You on your back and me showing off the gold.”
Nyssa’s dark eyes narrowed and she pulled away. “You got it all wrong, champ. This ends with you facedown in the mud while I put the Lightweight Title around my waist again. And that pressure you’re gonna feel pressing down on your overrated butt? That’ll be my foot.”
Now it was Lily’s turn to glare. “Overrated? I crushed the girl who put you on the shelf. And just last month I hung an L on the bytch that left you KO’ed and crying at the bottom of a pit on these very groun--”
The Nubile Navajo stepped in close she forced Lily back a half step, the subject of Miranda Wainright was clearly verboten. “Yeah, she did kick my ass. And if Mercy hadn’t saved yours at Mania I’d be taking out that freak instead. So I’m gonna take the title off your OVERRATED ass and then I’m gonna finish my business with Miran--”
Lily walked right into the challenger, knocking her back on her heels. “Call me overrated one more time.” she growled. “Do it and the only thing that’ll separate you from this mud will be your tears.”
Nyssa nodded almost imperceptibly. “Guess we’ll just have to see.” She shoved Lily away then pounced to catch the Star Strider in a Collar & Elbow when she was off balance. Forward momentum meant Bloodwind had an advantage from the outset and she used it to march the other brunette over to the nearest corner. The relatively low level of the padded wall meant Lily’s shoulders had no support as Nyssa continued to push.
Working hard to maintain her balance in this precarious position, the youngest Burlingame said, “Break, Nys.”
“You know I don’t have to, right? But since you were so polite about it…” Nyssa unhooked, stepped back and ‘smacked’ her muddy palms into her foe’s chest. “Just this once.”
Lily opened her mouth, closed it without saying anything. There were more emphatic ways of getting a point across. Taking a moment to flick off what little mud she could, the Interstellar Angel exited the relative safety of the edge and walked down the challenger. Nyssa raised her hands at the other woman’s approach and Lily did the same, but when Bloodwind reared back for another lock-up the champ turned her right shoulder toward the other brunette, reached across to her left shoulder and CRAAACKED Nyssa across the décolletage with a Knife Edge Chop that said more words ever could.
Hissing through clenched teeth as lightning laced her skin, Bloodwind stamped around in a half circle with one forearm pressed tight to her stinging top. The worst faded in a few seconds, but the anger that replaced it burned twice as bright. “Is that how you want it, Lily?” she asked quietly.
“That’s how YOU want it, Nyssa. I’m just meeting you on your level. Guess you took to the mud better than I thought you--”
Bloodwind came for her and while Burlingame didn’t shrink from the charge she didn’t meet it blindly. Rather she hunkered forward and slammed her right shoulder into the Arizonan’s flat tummy. Straightening up as soon as she felt Nyssa fold against her back, Lily slung the other Lightweight up, over and down in an improvised Back Body Drop.
Nyssa landed on her back with a heavy PLOP that earned a raucous cheer from those assembled. More stunned than hurt by the impact, Nyssa rolled to her stomach after a deep breath and scrambled to all fours. She would’ve returned to full verticality within seconds of Burlingame hadn’t rushed over and driven her back down with a quick but heavy Splash.
Barely aware of the mud slicked to her thighs and forearms, Lily pushed to her knees and swung a leg across Nyssa’s lower back, all the better to climb aboard. “Think you can just throw attitude in my face and not get smacked for it?” Burlingame asked as she grabbed Bloodwind’s elbows and pulled her arms back n’ over her own thighs.
Squirming her legs twice as hard now that her arms had been neutralized, Nyssa tucked her chin against her chest, fighting valiantly to delay the last step even though she knew it was only a matter of time. “If you can’t take a little sass I think you’re in the wrong line of work, little sisNNNNGGGGHHHHH!”
Lily boxed the challenger’s ears and cupped her hands under Bloodwind’s chin when her head came up. “I can take whatever you can throw out, little sister.” Lily snapped after the first few seconds of the Camel Clutch ticked off the clock. “I just thought that someone like you would appreciate all the trouble I went through to reach this moment. But if you think being a bytch will make it easier for you to regain the title let me remind you how I treat bytches.” Halving the Chinlock, Lily reached down with her left hand, scooped up a good dollop of mud and squuuuuuiiiiissssshed it against Bloodwind’s protesting face!
Nyssa coughed and spat, an effort made all the more difficult when Lily doubled down on the Camel Clutch again. “You think I’m gonna play nice against you?” the Nubile Navajo grunted. “You stole what’s mine and I want it back!”
Lily’s determined grimace transformed into an incredulous frown. “Stole? I STOLE from you? I beat Polly fair and square! You could have too, if you weren’t dumb enough to take a match when you’ve got a freakin’ concussOOOOFFFFHHHH!”
Nyssa crooked her hands into the pits of Burlingame’s knees and pushed to her knees with a loud roar. In a normal match she might’ve clambered all the way to her feet and stomped to a corner but in the mud she only threw herself backward into her attacker. Lily went down on her back sandwiched between the mud and the challenger. It didn’t hurt that much, but it knocked the breath out of her, leaving the Girl That Gravity Forgot slowed just enough for Nyssa to squirm around into a heavy seat on her tummy.
Nyssa bypassed any pretense at scientific wrestling in these environs, as well as any semblance of courtesy to her fellow babyface, snatching a couple of handfuls of Lily’s dark tresses and lifting her head up, only to SLAM the back of Burlingame’s skull into the floor of the pit. While the mud might have softened the sound of the collision considerably, its impact on the force of the blow isn’t quite as pronounced...
And with the Interstellar Angel dazed, Bloodwind turned her attention back to keeping Burlingame breathless. The mud would certainly nullify some of Lily’s usual grace and agility, but as long as the champion had plenty of oxygen in her lungs, she could probably find ways to defy gravity even in this muck. So Nyssa raised her backside, only to drop the hammer again into Lily’s breadbasket, two taut cheeks forcing a grudging gasp past Burlingame’s lips...
... and a second butt drop resulted in a louder gasp.
Satisfied for now with her efforts to neutralize Lily’s bread and butter, the Nubile Navajo’s feet sought out her opponent’s own, Nyssa hooking the fair skinned (that is, when she wasn’t all muddy) beauty’s ankles as she secured a Grapevine. Bloodwind’s hands then coiled around the Lightweight champion’s wrists, pressing her arms down above her head. While it might primarily be a show of dominance, it also constituted a pin, so...
ONE...
TWO...
Lily pushed a shoulder off the ground.
In an ordinary match, that might have been that. But with the mud, Burlingame’s thrust resulted in a small slip which caught the Girl That Gravity Forgot off-guard--and which allowed Nyssa to push Lily’s shoulder back down flat.
ONE...
TWO...
The champ forced her shoulder up again.
“Y’know,” Bloodwind hissed through a smirk, “there’s a fine line between being determined and just being stubborn. But I’m pretty stubborn, myself. I’m walking out of her tonight with MY belt back, and there’s not a damned thing you can do to stop me.”
“Nyssa,” Lily snarled, writhing furiously underneath her challenger, “with all due respect, would you SHUT YOUR SMUG MOUTH before I HAVE to shut it FOR you... WITH MY ASS?!?!”
Nyssa arched an eyebrow. “Not sure that’s a can of worms you REALLY wanna open...” Releasing Lily’s wrists, Bloodwind climbed to her feet, the former Lightweight champion remaining in a standing straddle above the reigning title holder in a standing straddle as Burlingame rolled over and began pushing up to her hands and knees...
... at which point, the Nubile Navajo performed a small hop into the air, dropping her hindquarters down atop the small of Lily’s back, sending the Star Strider into the much with a damp, squishy thud. Of course, Burlingame wasn’t the only one dealing with the mud, and Nyssa’s feet slipped for a moment upon her landing, but she regained control enough to drop to her knees and into a seat on Lily’s back.
“But I’ll be more than happy to oblige, if that’s what you REALLY want,” Nyssa added. Once more filling her fingers with Lily’s dark locks, Bloodwind roughly SHOVED the Interstellar Angel’s face down into the mud, brushing the brunette’s face left, then right, then left again. As her opponent rose off of her, Burlingame lifted her head out of the goop, eyes blinking, one hand moving to sweep some of the gunk away from her features...
She barely noticed Nyssa stuffing her right foot behind her left knee, or Bloodwind’s shin pressing into hers to hold her gams in place. But when the Nubile Navajo reached around to gather up and pull back on her wrists, realization started to dawn on the champ--especially when Lily felt the Native American’s sole pressed against the back of her head. “Nononooooo...” the Star Strider began to protest...
... but Bloodwind still thrust downward, unleashing one of the messier Curb Stomps in FAWN history.
A moaning, shuddering Burlingame tumbled over to her back--and Nyssa dropped to a seat atop the other brunette’s chest, employing an elementary schoolgirl pin for the...
ONE...
TWO...
THNOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Lily bucked loose, the slime possibly conspiring with Burlingame to keep Nyssa from being able to remain in the saddle.
Scrambling to her feet, albeit deliberately, the Nubile Navajo once again turned her attention to Lily’s gams, this time stuffing Burlingame’s LEFT foot against the pit of her right knee, Nyssa’s right foot almost nonchalantly positioned between the Star Strider’s thighs. By the time she was done with her efforts, Bloodwind had finally brought a little wrestling to the mud pit, trapping the champion in her Indian Deathlock...
INDIAN DEATHLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKqOmTQiyx0
Keeping her footing proved to be quite the challenge, but Nyssa didn’t put up much of a fight before falling into the mud herself. Lily had no choice but to sit up with a howl of anguish, before she too toppled back into the gunk. Reclaiming verticality proved harder still for Nyssa, the footing she could manage with her free leg far from reliable, and Burlingame’s thighs posing an impediment to her other foot.
But the Nubile Navajo eventually succeeded. Leaning down, Nyssa gathered another helping of Lily’s tresses, pulling her fellow brunette’s upper body out of the mud...
... and then, in the spirit of vengeance for moments ago, Bloodwind unleashed a Knife-Edged Chop that ‘THWACK!’ed into Burlingame’s sternum.
Knocked free of the hair-hold by the power of the strike, Lily crumpled to her back with a scream locked behind her jaws. It hurt like hell no question, but she choked it down to a soft groan strictly to spite her opponent. After a single deep breath she pushed up on her elbows and taunted, “And I thought Jaime’s European Uppercuts were soft. At least she’s mastered proper techNNNNGGGGGGGHHH!”
The challenger snatched a handful of hair, cocked her right elbow high overhead and brought it smacking down on the center of Burlingame’s forehead. “You wanna talk about proper technique, sweetie?” Nyssa huffed down at the trapped grappler. “I could damned well take you apart in this hold if I wanted to!”
Lily bared her teeth in a pained but taunting smile. “So you’re telling me you DON’T want to take me apart yet, Nys? Guess you don’t want the title as much as you GEERRGGHHHHH!”
Bloodwind arched back in a beautiful bridge that put her palms and the crown her skull in the mud on one and her tangled legs on the other. “Ask her!” she barked to Merle the instant she caught his eye. “Ask that pampered little snot if she’s had enough!”
Merle cringed, knowing the answer before it was even out of his mouth. Glooping his way through the mud, he crouched beside Lily and tapped her shoulder. “How are you doing, Lily? Need me to call it?”
She shook her head ‘no’. “I’m not Polly or one Nyssa’s other favorite quitters.” she grunted. “It’s gonna take a lot more than this weak-ass bridge to stop me!”
Nyssa snorted, clearly fuming at the champion’s tone. “Weak, huh? Say that again after your knees have popOOFFHHH!” Burlingame rocked hard to the left, not enough to break the hold, but it upset Bloodwind’s balance and she ‘splatted’ onto her back. Even so, the Deathlock was still in place and the Nubile Navajo scrambled to one knee almost immediately. “I didn’t come in here meaning to break you down.” Nyssa said coldly. “But if that’s what it takes to get my belt back… and shut your mouth, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.” To that end she curled her hands into claws and applied both to the champion’s crooked left knee.
Lily wailed, shook her head ‘no’ and buried both hands in her hair to keep them from doing something foolish. “GIVE UP!” Nyssa gouged her fingers into the sides and pit of the other brunette’s knee, an extremely simple tactic made all the more effective by the tension caused by the Deathlock. Lily balked again, so Nyssa pulled her right hand away and raaaaaaaaaked it down Burlingame’s shin half a dozen times in rapid succession.
“I SAID GIVE UP!” she squeezed all the harder. “DON’T MAKE ME PUT YOU ON THE SHELF, LILY!”
Lily clambered onto her elbows to fix the domineering challenger with a defiant snarl. “Starting to sound a lot like Polly, Nys. Guess some of her stink rubbed off on you at ManiNNGH!”
Nyssa flicked a hand out, Bytch Slapping Burlingame’s head to one side. “Watch your damned mouth, Lily. I’m NOTHING like that bytch.”
Lily forced herself to sit up as best she could even though she really wanted to tend to the stinging welt that was her face. Instead she smiled and replied, “You’re right. Polly actually managed to beat--”
Nyssa reared back for another rack-torching Knife-Edge Chop only to yelp in shock when Lily snatched her wrist at the absolute last second. A single colossal yank tugged Bloodwind forward and onto her tummy while simultaneously undoing the gammy knot of the Deathlock. Ignoring the cramps in her stems for the time being, Lily snatched each of Nyssa’s pigtails, yanked her up onto her knees and THWHAPSPLATTED her face, chest and tummy-first into the hungry mud.
Nyssa spat glop, twisted her head to one side and spat a little more. She started to rise so Lily put one hand between her shoulders and the other on the sturdy shelf of her backside.
“You’re not going anywhere, cutie. It’s my turn to run this clinic.” With that she pushed off in a flawless headstand made all the more impressive in the slippery wasteland of the mud pit. After a moment she tucked her knees and swung down and in to land heavily across her opponent’s back. Bloodwind moaned loudly, started to rise again. And this time Lily forced her foe’s face directly into the mud! “I said enjoy the mud, bytch!” She hooked two fingers into the side of Nyssa’s mouth and yanked hard, a wicked fishhooking to avenge the Butt Bombing she’d endured earlier. Nys couldn’t do anything but flail and sputter, which she did quite emphatically until Burlingame busted off a second Handstand Knee Drop.
That left her decidedly more docile, which allowed Lily to relinquish the fishhook and rise without any interference. Stepping onto, then over the flattened challenger, Lily posted up on Bloodwind’s left side and stretched her arms wide. “Nyssa probably thinks I can’t fly in the mud--” ‘Mud’ was barely off her lips when the Star Strider leapt straight up, flipped over backward and came down with both knees tucked a little below chest-level. THWHUMP!
Nyssa wailed aloud and pushed up on one hand while the other reached for the small of her compressed vertebrae. Lily didn’t interfere, indeed she’d already slid off the challenger to claim a comfortable seat on the other brunette’s right side. With Nyssa’s head raised it was child’s play to lock her hands across opposing chin in a simple S-grip. Then she kicked her legs forward, planted her feet in the goop and leaaaaaaaaaaaaaned back to wrench Bloodwind’s head at an agonizing angle.
Forgetting all about the pain in her back (well, almost) Nyssa jammed her elbows into the mud and grabbed at Lily’s hands in a brawny attempt to escape the Crossface. Lily shook her head no and crrrrraaaaaaaaaaanked all the harder, thus forcing a loud wail from her opponent. “DONE, BABY?” Lily asked about five seconds later. “ARE YOU DONE, NYSSA?!”
Nyssa couldn’t shake her head ‘no’, couldn’t speak, so she pulled a hand away from the Crossface and waggled a denial to the official.
The Interstellar Angel snorted in anger, increased the pressure yet again. “I don’t want to hurt you either, Nyssa! But I WILL make sure you learn where you stand in relation to meEEERRRGGGGHHH!” Forced by the mud to work cattier than she usually liked, Bloodwind forced Lily’s hands up directly against her mouth and chomped down hard.
Hissing in anger, Lily released the hold and scrambled away with that stinging hand pressed tight to her muddy tummy. “Little witch.” she snarled. “I never pegged you as desperate.”
Nyssa sat up with one arm crooked against the back of her aching neck. “I never pegged you as the kind of girl who’d fishhook my mouth. Guess the mud shows us for who we really are.”
“I don’t need this pit to tell me who you are, Nyssa. I can see it in your eyes.”
The youngest Bloodwind glared daggers at the champion. “Do tell, rich girl.”
“You’re so insecure it’s disgusting. You can’t stand the fact that I put my stamp on Polly first. You hate that I beat her for the title she stole from you. But that’s not your real problem and we both know it. What really eats at you is the indisputable FACT that I accomplished everything I did without anyone knowing I was Susan’s little sister. And deep in your heart you know you got a spot based on your last name.”
Nyssa drew in a long breath and let it out slow. “Are you done?”
“Not until you’re quitting on your back.”
“Yeah, you’re done.” Bloodwind charged Burlingame and met her in the center of the pit with a heavy, muddy SMACK! Tummy to tummy, nose to nose, the pair of slime-slicked brunettes sought the other’s hair and pulled for all they were worth. Not about to show the challenger any mercy after the rough treatment she’d endured in the Deathlock, Lily pounded a knee into Bloodwind’s navel, then twisted around behind her and looped her right arm around Nyssa’s neck. Palming the back of Nyssa’s head with her free hand, Lily clamped down on the Sleeper and dropped onto her back with the Nubile Navajo squirming in her lap.
A Rear Naked Choke probably would’ve been the best tactic, but Burlingame went another direction. Sliding her shins into place against the trapped woman’s calves, she streeeeeeeeeetched Bloodwind’s legs in an agonizing Double Leg Grapevine. Sleeper cinched deep, Lily wrenched Nyssa’s head back n’ forth for at least ten seconds before pausing to deliver her command. “TAP OUT, NYSSA! QUIT RIGHT NOW!”
As precious a commodity as oxygen was to her right now, Nyssa spared enough of it to grunt out a, “NUUHHHOOOooooooooooohhhh...” To be honest, it was less a response to Lily and more an alert to Merle that she was in no way willing or ready to surrender. Still, in this mud pit, her options were considerably more limited than in a standard ring. She couldn’t rely on the possibility of a rope break, even if Lily’s skillful Double Leg Grapevine hadn’t rendered her all but motionless...
... and even if Burlingame’s arms weren’t rendering her increasingly sluggish, or her vision ever more darkened. Her eyes beginning to blink rapidly, the Nubile Navajo started rocking side to side on top of the Interstellar Angel, perhaps aiming to roll over, but Lily would not be budged. Bloodwind’s last couple of attempts resulted in little more than the boneless flopping of her increasingly leaden arms.
“Nyssa?” Merle Oberon asked. “You still with us, Nyssa?”
Bloodwind barely heard him over the pounding of her own blood in her ears, and though her lips pursed to respond, no sound emerged from them.
“Do you hear me, Nyssa?” the referee asked again, but there wasn’t even the faintest flicker of a response from the Nubile Navajo. Gingerly, Merle took her right wrist, raising her arm.
When he released it, Nyssa’s wing fell ONCE...
It fell TWICE...
It fell a THIRD time...
... but ONLY HALF WAY!!!!
Nyssa’s arm stiffened, trembling in the air, her fingers curled into a tightly clinched fist. Her eyes fluttering to HALF open, Bloodwind managed to croak in a throaty rasp, “Caaaan’t... maaaaake... meeeeee... quiiiiit...”
“Don’t NEED to, Nys,” Lily snarled in response, wrenching on the noose her arms had formed around the Nubile Navajo’s noggin. “I just have to put YOUR OVERRATED ass unnnNNNNNNGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
Her fist still balled, Nyssa suddenly swung her elbow downward, driving it into the tender meat just above the champ’s right hip.
“That the best you goooOOOPPPPPPPHHHHHH!!!!!!”
What had begun as a question became a gasp when Bloodwind landed another, harsher elbow, one which Lily opted to respond to not with words but with another tug on the sleeper. Only the Nubile Navajo would NOT be dissuaded, Nyssa landing a THIRD elbow--and this one loosens the knot around her throat.
The resurgent Native American kept landing elbows into Burlingame’s flank, and after almost ten shots, Nyssa manages to shrug her head loose from the sleeper. The Star Strider rolled away, one arm falling to swaddle her tummy as Bloodwind also tumbled over--but Nyssa promptly pushed up to her hands and knees. And from there, the Nubile Navajo started to surge back toward verticality...
... which MIGHT have been ill-advised, under these circumstances.
First of all, the sudden change in elevation did a wicked number on Nyssa’s still oxygen-starved brain, the challenger experiencing a wave of nausea that hit her damn near as strong as any Cherry Warhead ever might, knocking her off balance... and, barefoot in the mud, Bloodwind’s balance was already a precarious thing. Feet slipping out from under her, the Nubile Navajo took a header back into the muck...
... and she had barely splashed down when Lily Burlingame dove onto her back, securing a NEW Sleeperhold!
“Nighty night, Nys,” the Interstellar Angel whispered into her challenger’s ear, rolling over to her back. And once there, Burlingame snaked her legs around Bloodwind’s waist, adding a Bodyscissors to complete the Rear Naked Choke. “Maybe you can dream about walking out with the Lightweight belt, cause your dreams are the ONLY place where you’re gonna beat me...”
“Goooooo... go fuuuuugggghhhhhh...” the Nubile Navajo rasped, and with greater use of her legs this time without the grapevine, she at least managed to roll over, valiantly starting to rise up to all fours with Lily glued to her back. But with Bloodwind barely recovered from the first sleeper, all it took was a pulse of the champ’s deceptively strong thighs and a wrench of her arms to sent Nyssa crashing back into the slime...
... and after one feeble attempt to lift herself out of the mud, Bloodwind fell still.
Now, it was standard operating procedure in FAWN to milk things for as much dramatic (and, more cynically, commercial) value as possible. As such, referees were well known to wait before starting a count, and in the case of breaking a hold, occasionally they would be known to count slower than regulation. But these were not normal circumstances. Nyssa was facedown in a pool of ooze, a situation that could become serious if Merle left it for TOO long. So he took Bloodwind’s right wrist, quickly raising her arm...
It ‘SPLOSH’ed back into the gloop ONCE...
TWICE...
THREE TIMES!!!!
Promptly, Merle signaled the end of the match, then began to tug on Lily’s shoulders. “Alright, she’s out,” he muttered. “Let her go, Lil.”
Burlingame released the Sleeper, unhooked her ankles and pulled her right foot up, bracing it against the challenger’s hip. A single hard push sent Nyssa rolling away, her limbs rag doll limp as she came to a squishy stop on her back. Resting on her knees, Lily leaned back and raised a triumphant hand as the Announcer seconded the ref’s opinion. “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via knockout and STILL the FAWN Lightweight Champion… LILY BURLINGAME!”
Merle stepped up beside her and offered his hand, but the victorious battler shook him off. Instead she crawled over to Nyssa and slid down into the muck beside her slumbering foe. Resting her cheek on one hand, Burlingame swiped the worst of the grime off Bloodwind’s face, then leaned in to murmur in her ear. “You know what just happened, Nyssa? You got dominated. You can spin it any which way you want, but everyone in the building just watched you get bogged down and used up. Think about that the next time you’re inclined to call me overrated.”
With that she straightened up, slid back and started to rise. Halfway through an idea must’ve crossed her mind because the Girl That Gravity Forgot paused for a full three seconds or so.
“Of course you just slept through all that, so who knows what sort of dumb crap you might have to say after they bring you around. Guess I’ll have to deliver this message a second time, just to make sure you really understand.”
Lily claimed possession of Nyssa’s ankles and got to her feet. Some of the rowdier elements encouraged a stomp between the vulnerable wrestler’s splayed stems but the champ shook her head ‘no’. She was out to humble, not hurt. To that end she forced Nyssa’s feet together and pushed them down over her head in a perfect Matchbook. In securing her pin Lily planted her right foot on the other brunette’s left side and dropped to one knee which planted her right thigh and buttock atop Bloodwind’s upturned haunches. Smiling brightly as the AHE crowd cheered this show of face on face domination, the Star Strider released Nyssa’s ankles and stretched her arms wide.
When the loudest of the uproar started to fade she called, “Count with me?”
Always happy to oblige, the FAWNatics cheered approval, but didn’t actually contribute until Burlingame raised her right hand and SMACKED Nyssa’s upturned glutes! ONE! TWO! THREE!
Lily jostled Nyssa’s tush after the last shot, smiling as she did so. “Getting off easy tonight, Nys.” Lily said softly. “Next time you call me out though, I’m gonna make my point in a very different way. And I’ll make it…. right there.” She reached down with her left hand and tapped the tip of Bloodwind’s nose with her index finger once, twice, thrice.
No response from Nyssa, the pair of Sleepers had left her sleeping the sleep of the dearly departed. Satisfied that her point was made, Burlingame rose and stood over her fallen foe, a final reminder that she was a force to be reckoned with in the wrestling ring, the mud pit or anywhere else. Striding away from the Nubile Navajo without a second look, Lily hopped over the padded wall and promptly accepted a towel and the Lightweight Title, in that order.
With thoughts of a shower looming large, the Interstellar Angel still made a point to exchange pats and high fives with all the fans on the aisle but even as she approached the curtain part of her was still back in the pit with Nyssa. That part of her wanted Nyssa to wake up and get cleaned off so they could do this all over again. In a proper ring this time, one where she could truly unleash the full force of her arsenal on the former champion. Brightened by the thought, Lily raised her hand one more time, pressed the button on her invisible detonator and stepped out of sight on a resounding BOOM!