Post by dsb on Jan 22, 2019 0:05:07 GMT
After a lengthy video package detailing the hostilities between Emily and Miranda‘s forces, the lights returned and the Season’s Beatings crowd cheered their appreciation for the Steel Cage squatting evilly behind the Announcer. “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is a Steel Cage Match for the FAWN World Championship, wherein all other members of the Black Court and the Church of Eternal Midnight have been barred from ringside! Violation of this order will result in a six month suspension for the offender, as well as every other member of her faction! Now, introducing first, representing the Black Court, hailing from Glen Echo Michigan, she stands at five feet seven inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-one pounds. They call her the Raven, I give to you… LENORE LEMARCHAND!”
Kula Shaker’s ‘Hush’ winged its way into the arena and a massive unkindness of ’Ravens’ took wing went up, Lemarchand’s ’unkindness’ reaching record numbers as she attempted to claim FAWN’s top prize for only the second time in her career. The Orlando faithful cheered all the louder when the Fair & Radiant Maiden stepped into view on the tail end of the Announcer’s proclamation. Allowing herself a single cursory sweep of the audience (could never tell if a threat, even a serious one, would keep Wainright’s zealots at bay) Lenore turned her attention to the cage before hooking her thumbs together and hoisting the Raven sigil to the rafters. Already loud, her supporters kicked it up that much higher when their heroine strapped an invisible belt around her waist before heading down the ramp.
LENORE LEMARCHAND:
For the last pay per view bout of the year, Lenore chose strappy bikini bottoms hued in a purplish-black and emblazoned with a faint design that careful inspection revealed as feathers. Her top was halter style, with the color and pattern matching her briefs, while her elbow and kneepads were matte black, the latter still obscured by loose, bell-flared 'leggings' that started just south of mid-thigh and dropped to ankle length. Those leggings were also black and featured a stylized version of Lemarchand’s raven insignia done in stark white. Her look was finished with shiny black boots and purple wrist tape that matched her togs.
Almost in the shadow of that menacing steel structure, Lenore slowed her march to better observe a sign that noted:
‘Despite all her rage, Addy’s still just a bat in a cage’.
“Smeared across will be more accurate by the time the night is over.” the brunette commented. “Not that I don’t’ appreciate the reference.” Leaving him with that, Lemarchand continued the rest of the way in silence, Emily’s Lady in Waiting pausing at the door of the cage to run a hand across those cool steel bars. “Not quite as final as a pit or a pendulum, but you’ll still do quite nicely.” The cage thrummed ever so slightly beneath her fingers, a good omen. “Soon, friend. You won’t have to wait much longer.” On that ominous note slipped through the ropes and made toward the far corner so Castle could get through final inspections before the lights went out.
Nick had just given the all-clear to Lenore’s pads and boots when the Announcer called, “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. Still no sign of the World Champion and that was the way it stayed 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:
Looking stronger than ever despite the conspicuous absence of Miranda Wainright or any of her other ‘sisters’, 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 headed for the cage. For tonight’s meal 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.
Reaching the ring quickly without once taking her eyes from the arrogant heathen bytch that‘d stolen the Madhouse out from under her, Adelaide stomped up the steps climbed through the ropes en route to claiming the center of the squared circle. Back purposely to the challenger, she looked over one shoulder to show Lenore her canines, then raised the belt overhead and blew a great plume of Crimson Mist alongside to properly acknowledge her arrival. Turning to Lenore as the red rain began to fall, Brewster handed the belt to Castle and backed to the opposite corner as she made a small show of licking her bottom lip clean.
With Bat and Raven duly accounted for, let’s take a moment to focus on the third player in this Main Event triptych. Nick Castle wasn’t just FAWN’s Senior Official, he was an avid fan of the professional wrestling business and considered himself a fairly accomplished amateur historian, especially when it came its more outré gimmicks. He knew for instance that the Steel Cage match was intended to serve as the be-all end-all for a feud, the sort of battleground where no one could get in, no one could get out and there was gonna be a winner not matter what, by God. And this steel cage was a particularly ominous example of its kind with an inner frame done in old-school flat gray steel and an outer ‘sleeve’ of chain-link around the whole works designed to keep potentially meddling hands from reaching in to interfere. Encroachment from the outside was all but impossible, yet this was more troublesome than reassuring because it also meant that the referee was the only bastion of order caught in a crossfire from two of the most talented and malicious wrestlers on the roster.
All of these thoughts passed through his mind in the span between heartbeats and were promptly followed up by a prayer to the Patron Saint of Referees. A glance to Lenore. “Ready?”
Lemarchand dipped her head ever so slightly.
Then to Adelaide. “Ready?”
“Ring the bell.” the champion whispered.
Castle took a giant step backward while he did as bade to keep clear of any potential blitzkrieg charge. This discretion proved fortuitous. While Brewster and Lemarchand didn’t quite sprint for the other, they wasted no time crossing the canvas to engage in a rough Collar & Elbow Lock-Up. Despite the oceans of bad blood between the two brunettes, the clench wasn’t simply an excuse to pull hair or claw at an exposed cheek. Indeed it was a textbook example of a ‘clean’ Lock-Up and it continued to stay that way as Churchgoer and Courtier moved around in a tense little circle. It broke apart just shy of the ten second mark, each woman taking a moment to appraise her adversary as they resumed circling.
Adelaide beckoned the challenger forward so Lenore obliged her at once. The second Collar & Elbow was just as snug as the first, though Nick judged this one a bit more mean-spirited because both wresters were quick to cup a palm over her foe’s chin. Of course neither said anything and even if they had, it wouldn’t have meant a damned thing in the cold confines of the cage. This engagement looked to be heading the way of the first before Brewster slid her hand from the nape of Lemarchand’s up into the thick fall of her hair. A single yank wrenched Lenore’s head backward, throwing off her balance enough for Adelaide to begin marching her toward the nearest corner. The hair-pull would’ve drawn a stern word from Castle on most nights, but he was little more than an observer for this contest and beside, the Raven hadn’t offered so much as a word of complaint.
Nick thought that might change with the buckles rapidly approaching and it turned out he was right, though the objection came from Brewster instead of Lemarchand. Sensing the dwindling space on her six, Lenore planted one foot and twisted her hips to reverse their positions in the span between heartbeats. Adelaide grunted in irritation, then let out a muffled snarl when Lemarchand segued from chin-push to full on Palm Smother! The Fair & Radiant Maiden maintained her silence, though the cameras most certainly caught the message delivered by her scathing eye contact with the squirming champion.
This is only the beginning.
Adelaide knew complaining about the hold itself was pointless, instead she removed her hand from Lenore’s hair, grabbed hold of the top rope and gave it a single quick shake. “Let her go, Lenore.” Nick said when the other brunette showed no inclination to honor the request. “I mean it. No Holds Barred doesn’t mean I can’t enforce a rope break. Let her go.”
Lenore pinched the champion’s nostrils that much tighter and added a slow, cruel twist in hopes of drawing a moan from the Churchgoer. But Adelaide only regarded her with wide, hating eyes so the Raven released her grip and slowly stepped back with both hands raised over-- Brewster caught her on the way out with a massive double handful of hair, then stepped out of the corner just far enough to sling the startled Courtier into the buckles she’d just occupied. Chesting in while the buckles were still shivering with the impact, Adelaide buried a hand in Lenore’s hair and wrenched her head to the left. No teasing, theatrics or foreplay of any kind, the Weeping Angel simply lowered her head and chomped down on the side of her neck! Lemarchand sucked in a sharp gasp, far from the startled scream Brewster had sought. Finding Castle after a quick glance around the ring, Emily’s Lady in Waiting grabbed the top rope.
“Off her neck, Adelaide.” the ref cajoled. “You can’t be that hungry this early.”
Adelaide stopped gnawing, though she made no effort to step back. Rather she let the tip of her nose trace up the edge of Lenore’s neck until her lips were brushing the challenger’s ear. “No one to save you tonight, raven.” she cooed. “But I’m sure Emily will put you up in a first class hospital suite before she picks Susan as her next second in command.” Barb administered, she slotted one knee between Lemarchand’s thighs and jostled it up n’ down before she raised her hands over her shoulders and took a step back to grant the ‘clean’ bre--CRA-CRAAACK!
Lenore tagged the zealot across the cheek with a pair of whipcrack Bytch Slaps landed one right after the other. “I didn’t need anyone to take your first title, remember Adelaide? You started that night as a queen and ended it as so much furniture. If you need a refresher I’d be happy to arrange a tour of the Madhouse. Your panties are still there on the mantle, occupying a place of honor between Elise and Ama--”
Brewster tried to take the challenger’s head off with a Haymaker only to curse in frustration when Lenore dipped aside and her fist BWAAANGED against a patch of the steel mesh. Leaned awkwardly against the buckles in the wake of the miss, Adelaide was still inspecting her hand for damage when the Raven snatched a double handful of hair and TWHUNKED the side of her head against the steel bars once, twice, three times! That gave the startled brunette all the impetus she needed to work through that quarter turn, unfortunately Lemarchand didn’t just block her egress, she damn near eliminated it by mounting the second rope! Treating herself to a HUGE handful of Brewster’s locks, Lenore curled her free hand into a fist and began to pound away on the zealot’s exposed forehead.
Though she hadn’t asked them to keep a tally, the capacity crowd was more than happy to provide such a vital service. ‘ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE!’
Lemarchand released Adelaide’s hair and hooked her thumbs together so she could hoist the Raven sigil to the rafters. It was returned a thousand-fold if not more so and even those that hadn’t mirrored the challenger’s pose happily punctuated that last punch with an emphatic ‘TEN!’ Dropping from her perch only after she’d resumed a grip on the zealot’s hair, Lemarchand prized Brewster out of the corner and led her on a high-speed sprint along the perimeter of the ring so she BWAAANG Adelaide’s forehead against those flat gray bars.
The Daughter of Darkness went to one knee, or would have if she hadn’t slumped awkwardly over the top rope. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve already had your fill.” Lenore tugged the other brunette’s hair just because she could. “We’ve still got three more sides to UUUFFFFHHH!”
Adelaide pounded a Back Elbow into Lenore’s stomach, straightened up and “UUNNGGGHH!” Whatever jailbreak she’d had on her mind came to an abrupt end thanks to that double handful of hair and the application of the World Champion’s forehead to one of those ugly steel crossbars! Lemarchand loved the resultant thrum that passed through that side of the cage. Though she longed to repeat it immediately the slender brunette pulled Brewster away and put the both of ‘em through a quarter turn so she could rush down that side of the ring and BWAAANG Adelaide’s forehead into an entirely different spot! Adelaide reeled away from the impact only to grab hold of the implement of her torture to keep from taking a knee. The cage did indeed prove a suitable anchor for the zealot, alas it also played accomplice for Lenore, who took the opportunity to raaaaaaaaaaake her nails down the other wrestler’s back in a display of unbridled bytchiness.
“HEATHEN SLUT!” Brewster shrieked in pain and outrage, neither of which proved adequate defense against the Double Axehandle Lenore pounded between her shoulders.
“Watch your mouth, sweetie.” Lemarchand’s hands were once again in Adelaide’s hair, she loved the feel of her nails scraping across the witch’s scalp. “Or I’ll scrape it off against the side of the cage.”
Another loping run helped emphasis the seriousness of this threat, as did the heavy BWAAANG of Brewster’s skull against the steel. Give the devil her due, Adelaide remained on her feet, though it took a two-handed death grip on the cage to maintain her verticality. This tenuous condition was tested further still when Lenore secured a Half Nelson on her left arm, thus wrenching it away from the cage. Right arm crooked into a tire iron, the Fair & Radiant Maiden unleashed with a most unfair barrage of Forearm Smashes directed at Brewster’s head and shoulders.
Caught in a rather precarious predicament, Adelaide managed to snatch hold of Lenore’s hair with her otherwise neutralized left hand, but this barely slowed the ruinous bludgeoning leveled against her noggin. Damned if she’d take a knee against Emily’s prissy lieutenant, the Weeping Angel stamped on Lemarchand’s toes only to endure a swift Kneelift to the glutes for her efforts. Teeth bared, Brewster raised her right foot as high as she could, then-- “EERRRRRRRHH!” the would be Mule Kick came to nothing because Lenore just buried her free hand in the Churchgoer’s hair and pulled back until she was looking at the lights.
“Don’t even think about it.” she murmured in Adelaide’s ear. “Because if you go to my trunks,” Lemarchand trailed off to deliver a single gentle kiss to the side of her opponent’s exposed throat, “I’ll go to your neck.”
“You arrogant bytch.” Brewster’s voice quavered not with fear, but an anger so hot she could scarcely believe it. “I’m not just going to beat you, I’m going to HUMBLE you. By the time I’m satisfied you’ll be begging me to taste your NGH! NGH! NGH! NGH! BREAK! DAMMIT CASTLE, BREAK!”
Patently uninterested in Adelaide’s threats, Lenore resumed her previous beat-down, another half dozen Forearms finally enough to convince Brewster to grab the top rope instead of the cage. Castle strode over and tapped the challenger on a shoulder. “Break it up, Lenore.”
Lemarchand stopped swinging, she did not however relinquish the Half Nelson. “Tuff girl here called me an arrogant bytch.” the Courtier reached around her prey and secured a gaudy grip on Adelaide’s right breast. “Seems an arrogant bytch would want to hear a count before she let go.” Her wish was Castle’s command and four long, jugg-mugging seconds later, Lenore prized the champion away from the strands. “One more side left.” she cooed. “Think your legs will hold up?”
“Guuuhhhh… go f*ck yoursel--”
The Raven set out on the final leg of this pate-pounding journey, Lenore’s sleek stems barreling both brunettes toward one more encounter with the NO! Adelaide kicked her right leg up at the last second. A tactic that would’ve resulted in a most painful crotch-to-cable collision any other night instead provided salvation as her foot thudded against the cage to prevent her skull from taking the worst of it. Startled by the desperation kickstand, Lemarchand yanked back on Brewster’s hair and “AAARRRHH!”
FAWN’s Queen of Nightmares scratched her latest royal decree on the parchment of Lenore’s face, her signature consisting of four hooked fingers swiped from one temple to the other. That finally liberated Adelaide from the Courtier’s clutches and to celebrate her newfound freedom she plunged both hands into Lemarchand’s hair, all the better to BWAAANG her face against the cage! The heathen’s groan of pain sent a thrill of delight down Brewster’s spine, but while she yearned to bash the bird’s hateful face against every inch of this righteous prison, she wasn’t about to simply follow in the heathen’s ignoble footsteps. No, she’d forge her own path and that meant--
Adelaide cinched an arm around the back of Lemarchand’s head and drew her into a grinding Side Headlock. Not just any Side Headlock, this one pressed Lenore’s face directly against the top rope. “I’d love to threaten you with some hellish tour around all four sides of the ring.” Brewster taunted as she began to lean her weight onto the back of Lemarchand’s head. “But we both know you’ll be screaming for mercy by the time I reach the first cornOOFFH! OOOFFH! OOFFH!”
Emily’s Lady in Waiting pumped three quick punches into Adelaide’s belly in a bid to escape, but the Weeping Angel only bore down that much tighter before she set out on a slow, sauntering stroll that draaaaaaaaagged Lenore’s right cheek and eye socket across every bit of that rubber-coated steel. The trip was a bright, stinging hell for the challenger, yet she defied Adelaide’s prediction so brazenly that the champion decided to bounce her head off the top turnbuckle a couple of times before continuing on with her sadistic constitutional.
Wailing as the rope abraded and gouged at her face, Lemarchand switched from punches to elbows and in so doing managed to slow Brewster’s progress with a blindside shot to the kidney. But rather than freedom this earned her a stern rebuke, Adelaide gutting her opponent’s trim midsection with a quartet of heavy Kneelifts. Hauling her up on tiptoe immediately thereafter, Brewster licked the lobe of Lenore’s ear and hissed, “The cage doesn’t discriminate, heathen. It’s high time you learned that.” Lemarchand was too short of breath to respond, not that Adelaide was interested in anything she had to say. Taking off at a run, Brewster closed the distance in half a dozen long strides then stopped on a dime and BUHWHAAAMMED the challenger’s forehead into the cage at top speed!
Lenore flew backward, landed flat and tumbled over onto one knee. Adelaide started toward her, meaning to haul the Courtier to boot-leather but Lemarchand rose of her own volition, so the Daughter of Darkness doubled back to the ropes and hopped onto the second strand. She caught the top rope for just a sec, then sprang away and twisted around in mid-air her right leg lashing out to THWHACK a gorgeous kick between Lenore’s eyes
SPRINGBOARD SHIN KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1l-xgSafC8
Lemarchand timbered to her back in a glassy-eyed sprawl, the Springboard Shin Kick leaving her with a lovely view of the twinkling overhead lig--“OOOFFFHHH!” Adelaide crashed down across her tummy in a miniature Splash that transformed into a pin the moment she hooked the far leg and pulled it close. Already close to the action, Castle dropped to one knee and smacked the canvas…
ONE…
TWO…
Lenore jerked a shoulder up simultaneous with ‘TWO’ much to the delight of everyone in attendance, including Adelaide Brewster. “That’s it.” the champion cooed as she filled her hands with Lemarchand’s hair. “Flap and beat against this cage all you like. I want you reduced to a bleeding mass of feathers by the time this is over.”
“Cuuuhhh… cage is your only hope for that, Brewster.” Lenore grunted. “No way you’re strong enough to do it on your NNNGGGGHHH!”
Adelaide cuffed a quick Forearm Smash across the back of the challenger’s head to keep her nice n’ quiet for the rest of the journey back to verticality. In dire need of retribution for her earlier ‘face time’ with tonight’s battleground, the Daughter of Darkness charged the ropes with Lemarchand in tow, then did her best impression of a Rumbrrr elimination only to have it come up FAR short because Lenore’s forehead BWAAANGED against the flat-gray steel! The Raven bounced or rather, flew back from the impact and would’ve landed flat on the deck if Brewster hadn’t interrupted her descent with a rough Waistlock. Taking a moment to ragdoll the challenger back n’ forth, Adelaide wheeled around so her back was to the bars.
“I’ve seen you do this against the corner soooooo many times.” she murmured in Lemarchand’s ear. “Thought you’d appreciate my take on it.” With that she dipped her knees and popped her hips, the Weeping Angel taking her burden up ‘n over with a German Suplex that stopped just beyond the apex when Lenore THWHAM-BWANGED into the unforgiving cage! Groans from the crowd and a wail from Lemarchand begat a beaming smile from the zealot, Brewster going so far as to ‘mwah!’ a single kiss onto her opponent’s cheek as she used the residual impact to twist another half circle. Then she got low and peeled off a mirror image of the previous German Suplex, only this one flowed to its natural conclusion with the back of Lemarchand’s head and shoulders THWHUMPING against the canvas.
The speed and force of delivery made a strong argument for Brewster holding her bridge, yet the Queen of Nightmares released on impact and Lenore went tumbling through the landing to end up on one knee like a woozy penitent. Even a moment to collect her senses would’ve done Lemarchand a world of good, alas the instinct to keep fighting returned the Fair & Radiant Maiden to verticality before her mind could protest. Adelaide certainly didn’t protest, indeed her smile proved wider than ever as she buried a Toe Kick in Lenore’s gut. Shifting around so she was a few steps off the brunette’s left side, Brewster flicked her right leg up like a Rockette and brought it down like Leatherface swings a sledgehammer. The Axe Kick caught Lemarchand flush on the back of the noggin but instead of putting her on the mat it sent her reeling back on her heels, thus ensuring she was a perfect target when Adelaide whirled through a quick circle and THWHACKED a heavy Elbow Smash off the side of her jaw!
AXE KICK & ROARING ELBOW:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJOv1fjJD1Y
Lenore landed flat, began to turn to one side and was jerked back to start by a handful of hip and shoulder. Stretching out atop the brunette’s chest in a snug Crossbody, Brewster hooked the far leg tight and nodded along with the count of…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Lemarchand shoved her away with some authority despite having only a half second to spare, the Courtier clearly not ready to give in to the darkness of Eternal Midnight. Rotating to all fours, she-- “NNNGGGGHHH!” Adelaide straddled her hips just to drop into a deep squat that THUMPED her glutes against the small of the challenger’s back. It didn’t put Lenore’s tummy on the canvas, it did however stymie her long enough for Brewster to hook her right arm at the elbow and draw it back across one strong, lightly tanned thigh.
“I have you on your knees, heathen.” Adelaide ran her left hand through Lemarchand’s hair before wrenching her head backward with a callous tug. “For once in your miserable life, do the right thing. Cast aside the false idol that is Emily West and swear loyalty to the Church of Eternal Mid--”
“Kiss my ass, Adelaide.” Lenore interrupted. “You lunatics are chaos, pure and simple. And I’ll NEVER allow you to ruin the game we’ve been playing these last five NGH! NGH! NGH! NNNNNGGGHH!”
The Weeping Angel relinquished her control over the challenger’s hair to deliver several short, rough elbows to the side of Lemarchand’s head. The first connected with her temple, but after that Brewster began to focus on the corner of the other brunette’s right eye. After a half dozen blows she stopped striking and started grinding, Adelaide just working the point of that bony alongside and into the heathen’s eye socket.
RIGHTEOUS ELBOWS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bdBiL0z8bk
Far from a passive participant in her own torture, Lenore tried to twist her head away from the punishment only to suffer another flurry of elbows to the side of the face. Another round of crude grinding followed, so the Raven pulled her left hand off the deck so she could muster at least some defense against the painful attack.
“Ask her.” Adelaide told Castle after another fifteen seconds of the cringe-worthy technique. “Better yet, don’t. Just tell me when that eye is swollen shurrrrggggggggghhhhh.. is that it, Raven? Is that all those vaunted claws can do at this AAARRRRRHHHHHH!”
Lenore, who’d given up defending against the elbow to rake her talon up and down Brewster’s right thigh, abruptly wormed her fingers beneath the snug pad and gouged deep into the pit of Adelaide’s knee! The pressure point back there lit the champion’s leg up like a neon sign, but the Queen of Nightmares endured the anguish long enough to wrest Lenore’s hand away from the throbbing joint. Just like that she pulled that arm across her left thigh and dropped to a seat to trap Lemarchand in a hold she knew all too well. “I have no idea if Singh’s even showing her face in public at the moment.” Brewster muttered once she’d cupped the other brunette’s chin in both hands. “But wherever she is, I hope she enjoys this!”
“Don’t worry.” Lenore grunted as best she could. “You’ll be joining her soon enoEEEERRRRRRRHHHHHHH!”
Adelaide reefed back on the Camel Clutch to put Lemarchand’s vaunted flexibility to the test in most agonizing fashion. “As the only other woman to make you submit with this hold?” Brewster taunted. “I’m sure you’re correct. But whereas the Empress only managed to bend you, I will BREAK that haughty spirit in a way she could only imagine!”
In an effort to carry out this threat Adelaide relinquished half the Chinlock so she could hook that hand into a three-fingered claw. This she immediately hooked into the Courtier’s right eye, the champ working her wrist like she meant to scoop it straight outta the challenger’s head!
“Knock that crap off, Adelaide!” Castle shouted at once. “Don’t you dare ignore me! All right, that’s how you want it? ONE! TWO! THREE! FO--”
Adelaide stopped clawing, though Nick noted she casually tap-tap-tapped those fingers against Lemarchand’s afflicted lid. “As I recall, this is a no disqualification match, arbiter.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ll let you intentionally injure her, Adelaide.”
Brewster smoothed the hair off Lenore’s forehead, then tugged her head back to better show off what she’d done so far. “Doesn’t look injured to me.” the World Champion chirped. “And if she WAS injured, well, she could just tap out to save herself, couldn’t she?”
“Keep away from her eye, Adelaide.” Nick repeated. “Don’t test me.”
“What about her mouth, then?” Brewster’s hook was back out and teasing the corner of her prey’s mouth. “Do you have any problem with thaEEEEEERRRGGGHH!”
Lenore replied with some hooks of her own, the cagey brunette having craftily worked her fingers into the pits of the zealot’s knees and dug for all she was worth. Bound and determined to keep the Clutch in despite the firestorm building in her knees, Brewster would’ve reached for the Raven’s claws if the suffering battler hadn’t just then twisted her head to one side and sank her teeth into the soft flesh between thumb and index finger!
Snarling in rage and pain as she was attacked on three fronts, Brewster curled her remaining hand into a fist and bounced it against the back of Lemarchand’s skull until she able to prize her other hand from the brunette’s jaws. She stood in the span between heartbeats, Adelaide abandoning the potentially gold-retaining hold to spare her legs further punishment. Wheeling around so she was dead ahead of the crumpled Courtier, the Queen of Nightmares filled her hands with Lenore’s hair and drove a single Kneelift between her eyes, a decision she regretted immediately because of the wave of pain that washed over the joint.
Of course Lemarchand didn’t just shrug it off, her head snapped back and only some well-placed hands kept her from ending up facedown on the canvas. “Don’t even think about trying to kiss my boots.” the champion huffed once she’d enjoyed a few enthusiastic hair-pulls. “You haven’t debased yourself nearly enough to earn that WHOOOAAANNNNGGHHHH!”
Lenore buried a shoulder in Brewster’s gut, wrapped her arms around the Churchgoer’s thighs and powered to verticality. A few awkward steps forward seemed to indicate the Fair & Radiant Maiden was thinking of a trip to the corner or perhaps a Sidewalk Slam. The reality proved far simpler, albeit no less painful for Adelaide. Sliding her grip from Brewster’s thighs to her ankles, Lenore stuffed the other brunette’s heels against her glutes, then pushed up on tiptoe and laid out on her belly to THWUNK both knees against the thinly-sheathed plywood! The Weeping Angel bounced up like the mat was electrified and immediately wheeled away from her opponent to stagger for the (relative) safety of the ropes.
As for Lenore, she made it to a knee quickly stuffed the heel of one palm against her watering eye. This steadied her vision just enough to get a proper bead on Brewster, who’d made it to within a few steps of the strands. Clambering up with a low growl in the back of her throat, Lemarchand charged the champ and lashed out with her right leg to-- THWHAAAP!
The Penalty Kick caught the back of Brewster’s left knee like a scythe and the zealot didn’t so much fall as she was flipped over, Adelaide landing HARD on the back of her head and shoulders. Give the devil her due, Brewster tumbled to all fours and rose within seconds, but this righteous tenacity played against her and the brunette swayed in place as victim to the resultant head-rush. Lenore suffered no such impediment (though her stinging, watery eye was hardly pleasant) so she stomped in brazen as you please and went low to take possession of the stumbling brunette’s left ankle. Curling her left arm around Brewster’s midsection at the same time she wedged the true believer’s heel against her glutes, Emily’s Lady in Waiting turned ‘em both around so that her back was to the strands, then bridged up n’ over for what could’ve been a hellaciously awkward toss over the top rope if not for the presence of that industrial grade steel!
As it was her head and shoulder BWAAANGED against the cage before Brewster dropped back the way she came for an equally vile landing shin-first atop her attacker’s posted knee! Adelaide wailed, bounced away and came to a stop flat on her back with that tweaked knee snugged tight against her chest. Satisfied that she’d pacified the Daughter of Darkness for several precious seconds, Lenore pressed the heel of one palm to her stinging eye, held it there for a bit, then drew it away and blinked several times. It still ached something fierce and the near constant urge to blink made things fuzzier than she would’ve liked, but Emily’s Lady in Waiting had endured worse and the prospect of a prolonged campaign against Brewster’s knee gave her a warm feeling down deep inside. Eager to feed that warmth into something far hotter, she stomped over to the vulnerable World Champion, snatched hold of her left ankle and drew it out full length like someone yanking on a tripwire!
Brewster snarled in pain and sat up at once, both hands flying to that wounded joint. These ministrations did little good when Lemarchand stepped around ‘n over the crooked limb and quickly dropped to a seat, the challenger just THWHUMPING the slim-thick curve of her backside across the side of Adelaide’s knee and thigh. Loathing every second of Lenore’s touch, Brewster raaaaaaaked her claws down the Raven’s back, then grabbed a fistful of hair and wrenched her head backward to get better access to the heathen’s face. But Lenore sensed the attack coming and she met it with her own show of force, namely a single rough bounce on that pinned knee and a quick twist on Brewster’s ankle.
Talon stymied by the pain in her lower leg, Adelaide sagged backward onto her elbows and grunted, “Let go of my leg, you heathen bytchHHHEERRRRRGGGHHH!”
Lenore gave that ankle another twist, then got to her feet and used the grip to turn Adelaide onto her stomach for a far more traditional application of the Ankle Lock. With Brewster’s ankle caught in the crook of her left elbow, Lemarchand gripped the point of her prey’s boot and set to work like she was trying to open the world’s most stubborn pickle jar. “Stop your whining, sweetie.” Lenore ordered over the snarls and groans of her suffering adversary. “This is exactly what you get for targeting my eye!”
Adelaide replied with a curse, dug her nails into the canvas and started clawing her way toward the ropes. The challenger let her get within a handsbreadth before she dug in her heels and walked the furious zealot back to the middle of the squared circle! “BYTCH, LET ME GO!” Brewster sounded simultaneously harried and furious as she managed to make it to her feet on one good leg. Balanced as best she could, Adelaide hopped forward a step or two and reached for the ropes as if simply doing so would close the distance. Alas it did not, in fact the very idea seemed to infuriate the Raven because she abruptly stepped in and stuffed Adelaide’s shin against her midsection to keep the limb quite neutralized while she slapped on a Waistlock. The Weeping Angel managed to wrest that leg free almost at once, unfortunately Lenore’s fingers were already locked and that meant there was nowhere for the other brunette to go when the challenger took her up, over and DOWN with a heavy Release German Suplex.
ANKLE LOCK & GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMIbAv_ybdk
Tumbled onto her belly in the aftermath of the Suplex, Brewster cradled the back of her skull with both arms and beat her boots against the mat until she fought through the worst of the pain. That accomplished, she braced her hands on the canvas and rose to all four--
Lenore closed in from the left, reaching under the champ’s torso with her right hand while the left snaked under Brewster’s left arm. Fingers laced tight, she twisted Adelaide’s chin to the left and got to her feet, thus forcing the zealot to do the same. “I should scrape your eyes along the ropes just for the hell of it.” she twisted in a half circle and took a threatening step toward the rubber-coated steel. “But I’d rather smash your head in.”
The Fair & Radiant Maiden punctuated this desire with a swift Kneelift to Adelaide’s forehead. Then another. And another. Reeling in place after three unprotected headshots, Brewster barely managed to swat at Lenore’s tummy in the second or two before the other brunette dipped her knees and popped her hips to PLANT the World Champion on the back of her head and neck courtesy of a savage Cravate Suplex. Adelaide rolled to a seat, then slopped out on her belly, right arm still reaching for the safety of the strands. Lenore paid it no mind, she simply tugged Brewster onto her back and stretched out on her chest with a Crossbody good for…
KNEELIFTS & CRAVATE SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXzx4vlOng0
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Adelaide popped her hips to shove Lemarchand from her perch with half a second to spare. “Yuuuhhh… you will not take what’s mine.” Brewster muttered once she’d made it to a weary seat. “You will not profane what’s mine. Never again, LenOOORRRHHH STOP THAT DAMN YOUAAAAARRRRRHHHHH!”
Lenore, who’d just isolated Adelaide’s left leg by bracing the champion’s left calf against the right side of her own neck, locked her hands against the meat of Brewster’s thigh and stood up, a shift that twisted her prey so that Adelaide’s head, right shoulder and left hand were the only parts of her body anchored to the mat. Bracing her right knee against the small of Brewster’s back, Lenore dropped into a deep, deeeeeep crouch that put agonizing pressure on her foe’s spine and injured knee. Scrambling frantically in the grip of this heathenish trap, Adelaide pushed off the mat with her left hand to alleviate some of the torque and line herself up with the ropes. Alas this only worked for a moment because the Courtier moved with her and deftly forced the Weeping Angel onto her chest, whereupon she planted her knee a second time and really CRAAAAAAAAANKED back on the modified Half Crab.
MODIFIED HALF CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz3IHIIpjig
“I don’t profane anything.” Lenore grunted after ten agonizing seconds ground off the clock. “I cleansed the Madhouse. Exorcised it, if you wi--”
“IT WAS MINE! IT WAS MINE AND YOU STOLE IT!”
Adelaide’s ferocity surprised the challenger but didn’t distract her from the task at hand. “The Queen’s Chambers are always open to receive you, Adelaide.” Lemarchand’s voice was a rough growl as blinked sweat out of her stinging left eye. “How is it my fault that you never had the guts to cross that threshold agNNNNGGGGGHHHH!”
Adelaide slithered from beneath Lenore’s posted knee and twisted onto her back, thus relieving most of the pain almost at once. Of course her left knee was still firmly in the other brunette’s possession so she put her good leg to work kicking and smashing at the challenger’s chest and shoulder. With both hands occupied by the leg-crank Lenore couldn’t muster a suitable defense so after half a dozen shots she broke the clasp and segued to a more traditional grip on her rival’s left ankle.
“Your grip is failing, little bird.” Brewster was braced on her elbows now, the Churchgoer dragging their combined weight toward the ropes as quickly as she could. “Settle for being Emily’s pet because you will NEVER be the World ChampiNNNGGHH YOU HEATHEN BYTCH!”
Lenore went up on tiptoe, then dropped to one knee to THUMP the bony joint into Adelaide’s crotch! The Daughter of Darkness sat up, then collapsed again, her only pretense at defense a trembling hand cradled between her thighs. Above her, Lenore gave that devastated left leg a single quick shake, then turned around so her back was to the prone champion. In a matter of heartbeats she’d threaded Adelaide’s left leg around her intruding right leg Spinning Toe Hold-style and snapped up the zealot’s right leg, which she threaded over Brewster’s left ankle before securing it between her thighs. With Adelaide’s strong legs reduced to mere tangles in a hellish Gordian knot, Lemarchand hooked her thumbs together and let the Raven fly overhead before she spun down onto her tush, put one hand against the mat for support and puuuuuuuussssshed up in what some might call a fanatical effort to ring submission from Brewster’s damaged knee.
TELLTALE LEGLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbmVNL3mMTg
Telltale Leglock, Lenore Lemarchand to Adelaide Brewster, center of the Steel Cage.
“AAAAAAAWWWWWW GODDAMMIT!” Adelaide shrieked in abject anguish, the usually icy battler tearing at her own hair to distract from the napalm creeping up her legs.
As close to his charges as he dared, Nick Castle knelt beside the World Champion and asked, “Are you ok, Adelaide? Just say the word and I’ll get you out of the--”
“NEVER!” Brewster slammed both hands against the canvas and powered her body off the mat by several inches. But the additional leverage / mobility put a nasty kink in the Churchgoer’s lower back and it was only a few seconds before she was crumpled onto her forearms and forehead.
“Give up, Brewster.” Lenore said even as she forced more power through her own straining stems. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I won’t feel bad about it either.”
“Huuuuuhhh… hurt me all you like, heathen.” Adelaide rasped into the crook of one arm. “It won’t bring you what you seek.” With that she pushed up on her elbows and began crawling / dragging her way in the direction of the ropes.
Lenore didn’t try to stop her, she just made the journey as vile as she could by gripping the toe of Adelaide’s left boot and repeatedly jostling that leg against her encroaching limbs. The pain was relentless and Brewster’s progress maddeningly slow, indeed she collapsed onto her belly more than once and the quaver in her right hand only strengthened the ‘TAP!’ chants from those in attendance. But Adelaide didn’t tap, she only shrieked into the crook of her left elbow and carried on until finally, FINALLY, the tips of her straining fingers touched the safety of the bottom ro--
“NOOOOOOOO!” Brewster wailed like the damned when Lenore abandoned the Telltale Leglock and clamped down on the zealot’s ankles so she could draaaaaaaaaaag her back to the center of the ring.
Once again laying claim to Brewster’s left ankle, Lenore got to her feet and muscled the crippled champion into a headstand just so she could THWHUMP that knee into the deck with a Stump Puller. Adelaide shrieked, curled into a near fetal ball and would’ve stayed there if the merciless Raven hadn’t buried both hands in her hair and hauled her to boot-leath--
Lemarchand saw the red leaking from Brewster’s mouth with no time to spare so rather than turn away she ‘smecked’ a hand against the zealot’s mouth and squeezed as hard as she could. “Not tonight you desperate NNNNNGGGHHH ARRRRRRRRHHHH FAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”
Adelaide pistoned a knee into the challenger’s crotch, then palmed Lenore’s head in both hands and gouged her thumbs into her eyes! Forgetting all about the previous threat once Brewster tried to blind her, Lemarchand grabbed hold of Adelaide’s wrists and managed to prize them loose but that left her totally exposed for the cloud of Red Mist the Weeping Angel ‘PFWOOOSHED!’ into her face!
Forced to protect her eyes for the second time in the span of five seconds, Lenore went to shove Adelaide away one handed and was only vaguely aware when the Churchgoer caught that wrist and bent it back behind her head in a sort of upside down Hammerlock. That blissful ignorance exploded when Brewster reared back for the Heart Punch only to PWAAAK her fist against the Courtier’s left eye instead!
Lenore sobbed, reeled around in a drunken half circle that only stopped because the Queen of Nightmares drew her right arm taut under the challenger’s chin, cut-throat style. Dipping down, Adelaide slipped an arm between Lemarchand’s legs and muscled her up across her shoulders for-- a roar of surprised relief when Brewster’s left knee gave way! Both brunettes hit the deck hard, Adelaide landing like a mewling penitent while Lenore came down on hip and shoulder, the blinded bird still scrubbing at crimson features.
Heart in his throat after the last few minutes, Nick Castle took a position between champion and challenger and began to count. “ONE… TWO…. THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NI--”
Adelaide and Lenore rose like zombies, the former barely able to put weight on her left knee, the latter keeping a hand pressed to her left eye which was either gummed or swollen shut at this point. Regarding the Raven with a poisonous hatred that would’ve frightened her if she hadn’t been half out of her mind with rage and pain, Adelaide turned her head to the side and spat the dregs of the Red Mist on the canvas. “You play a good game, little bird, but the game is finished. Now I feed.”
Lenore remove the hand protecting her eye, took a step back and beckoned the champion forward. “Since when do you feed from way over there? I think your eyes are bigger than your stomach, Brewster.”
“At least I still have two, bytch.”
“All the better to see me raise the World Championsh--”
Adelaide flew at Lenore with violence on her mind and the Raven did the same, her left arm ‘whicking’ through the air in a Lariat aimed straight for Adelaide’s throNO! Brewster dipped low, hooked her arm beneath the Courtier’s and used it as tether when she leapt up and draped herself across Lemarchand’s upper back. Threading her legs around Lenore’s right arm in an instant, Adelaide snapped back with every bit of remaining strength and tore Lenore loose from her moorings courtesy of a Crucifix Driver that THAWHAMMED the trapped brunette down on the back of her head and shoulders.
CRUCIFIX DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pmJ3eVYJSY
Legs kicked up over her head upon impact, Emily’s Lady in Waiting actually slopped off her shoulders to end up flat on her stomach, which would have been an improvement of Adelaide wasn’t still strapped to her shoulders with the Crucifix! The danger of the situation presented itself as soon as Adelaide pushed up on her left hand and began HAMMERING elbows into the side of Lemarchand’s face! Lenore took the first two flush on that swollen eye before she turned her forehead against the canvas and managed to drape her free arm over the back of her pounding skull. This defense slowed Adelaide for all of a second, she merely swatted the arm out of the way, snatched a handful of hair and wrenched the Raven’s head to the side so she could continue pounding away at cheek, forehead and most importantly, eye socket.
Lenore struggled through the first three, slowed at four, fell motionless at six. Seeing the Courtier go limp, Nick threw a signal to the Timekeeper, then caught Adelaide’s madly pounding arm in a hasty Half Nelson and barked, “Stop it Adelaide! It’s over! It’s over, she’s out!”
The CLANG of the bell echoed the referee’s sentiments, yet Brewster didn’t stop squirming in Castle’s grasp until the Announcer boomed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via official’s stoppage and STILL the FAWN World Champion… ADELAIDE BREWSTER!”
The victorious Churchgoer released her hooks and scrambled to verticality in a single violent motion, not that the disengagement did anything for her temper. If anything Brewster seemed even angrier as she stomped an uneven circuit around the squared circle. “WHERE’S MY BELT!” she roared at Castle. “WHERE’S MY GODDDAMNED BELT!”
Nick was extremely hesitant to leave Lenore even for a moment, but against his better judgment he hurried over to a spot by the door where a FAWN tech had slipped the leather and gold through a gap between cage and canvas. Practically throwing himself into Adelaide’s path to keep her away from the defenseless challenger, the Senior Official thrust the belt in her direction. “It’s yours, Adelaide. Now take it and calm the hell UUUUUNNNNNGGGGHHH!”
The Daughter of Darkness snatched it from Nick’s grasp only to THUMP it against his forehead! Castle went down like a ton of bricks and Brewster collapsed beside him, the World Champion’s demolished knee giving out on the follow through. Shrieking with rage and pain, Adelaide crawled over to Lenore, straddled her waist and plunged one hand into her hair.
“You took the Madhouse from me, I couldn’t stop you.” she whispered once she’d hoisted Lemarchand’s head off the mat. “But you will NEVER TAKE THIS FROM ME!” Adelaide forced the golden plate against the side of Lenore’s face, her swollen eye in particular. Working her wrist like she meant to scrape the Courtier’s face from her skull, the Weeping Angel bellowed, “YOU WON‘T EVER TAKE ANYTHING FROM ME, UNDERSTAND, BYTCH? NEVER AGAIN! IF THERE’S TAKING TO BE DONE, I’LL BE THE ONE DOING IT!”
Brewster threw the belt aside so she could palm Lenore’s head in her hands. Leaning in close, she murmured, “And I believe I’ll start with this pretty little eye.” She brushed her thumb across Lemarchand’s left eyelid and began to-- the lights went out all over the arena, when they returned Adelaide was no longer alone with her prey.
Hand on Brewster’s shoulder, Miranda murmured, “That is enough, sister. You have humbled Emily’s pet Raven beneath the bright lights, your superiority is without question.”
Adelaide stopped pressing, but she didn’t release her grip on Lenore’s noggin. “She took the Madhouse from me. She needs to suffer.”
“She is bloodied, helpless and STILL not a champion.” Wainright continued. “That is humiliation enough for an arrogant heathen such as Lenore Lemarchand. And even if it was not, the Church of Eternal Midnight does not rob anyone of the chance to enjoy the glorious darkness. Not even our worst enem--”
A murmur of surprise from the capacity crowd when Adelaide shrugged the blonde’s shoulder away. “She’s MINE.” Brewster hissed. “I’ve earned this.”
Another roar from the crowd, this one much louder. Miranda didn’t need to look up to know that the rest of the Black Court was on their way, probably at top speed. “Tiffany, Penny, take up defensive positions, please. Helena, stay with me.”
Mayes, Tremblay and Graylock did as ordered, the former setting up in a blockade by the cage door, the latter positioning herself directly behind the Prophet of Pain. As for Miranda, she stroked Adelaide’s hair for a moment, then snatched a huge handful and wrenched her head back at a sharp angle.
“This is escalation you don’t want, sister. Now let her go so we can take our leave.”
Brewster gouged at Lenore’s eyelid, the pressure and pain beginning to stir the Raven to fitful moaning. “Get your hands off of me, Miranda.”
There was a BWAAANG followed by a clatter as Susan and Becky reached the far side of the cage and began to climb. Always prepared, Emily West hefted a pair of bolt cutters and went to work on the heavy padlock.
“Tiffany, Penelope, to me!” Wainright barked. Then to Helena, “Collect her, if you would.”
The Gray Lady bent, looped an arm around Adelaide’s midsection and pulled her away from Lenore with a single tug. Brewster fought like a wildcat, but Graylock shifted to a snug Sleeper that kept her under control while Miranda scooped up the world title.
Tossing it over one shoulder just as Emily and her pawns breeched the cage’s defenses, Miranda tipped her hat to the Black Queen half a heartbeat before the lights went out.
The Church was gone when they came back of course, not that the Courtiers gave a damn, they were all kneeling beside the mangled Raven. The EMT’s were still on their way to the ring when the broadcast faded to black.
Kula Shaker’s ‘Hush’ winged its way into the arena and a massive unkindness of ’Ravens’ took wing went up, Lemarchand’s ’unkindness’ reaching record numbers as she attempted to claim FAWN’s top prize for only the second time in her career. The Orlando faithful cheered all the louder when the Fair & Radiant Maiden stepped into view on the tail end of the Announcer’s proclamation. Allowing herself a single cursory sweep of the audience (could never tell if a threat, even a serious one, would keep Wainright’s zealots at bay) Lenore turned her attention to the cage before hooking her thumbs together and hoisting the Raven sigil to the rafters. Already loud, her supporters kicked it up that much higher when their heroine strapped an invisible belt around her waist before heading down the ramp.
LENORE LEMARCHAND:
For the last pay per view bout of the year, Lenore chose strappy bikini bottoms hued in a purplish-black and emblazoned with a faint design that careful inspection revealed as feathers. Her top was halter style, with the color and pattern matching her briefs, while her elbow and kneepads were matte black, the latter still obscured by loose, bell-flared 'leggings' that started just south of mid-thigh and dropped to ankle length. Those leggings were also black and featured a stylized version of Lemarchand’s raven insignia done in stark white. Her look was finished with shiny black boots and purple wrist tape that matched her togs.
Almost in the shadow of that menacing steel structure, Lenore slowed her march to better observe a sign that noted:
‘Despite all her rage, Addy’s still just a bat in a cage’.
“Smeared across will be more accurate by the time the night is over.” the brunette commented. “Not that I don’t’ appreciate the reference.” Leaving him with that, Lemarchand continued the rest of the way in silence, Emily’s Lady in Waiting pausing at the door of the cage to run a hand across those cool steel bars. “Not quite as final as a pit or a pendulum, but you’ll still do quite nicely.” The cage thrummed ever so slightly beneath her fingers, a good omen. “Soon, friend. You won’t have to wait much longer.” On that ominous note slipped through the ropes and made toward the far corner so Castle could get through final inspections before the lights went out.
Nick had just given the all-clear to Lenore’s pads and boots when the Announcer called, “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. Still no sign of the World Champion and that was the way it stayed 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:
Looking stronger than ever despite the conspicuous absence of Miranda Wainright or any of her other ‘sisters’, 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 headed for the cage. For tonight’s meal 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.
Reaching the ring quickly without once taking her eyes from the arrogant heathen bytch that‘d stolen the Madhouse out from under her, Adelaide stomped up the steps climbed through the ropes en route to claiming the center of the squared circle. Back purposely to the challenger, she looked over one shoulder to show Lenore her canines, then raised the belt overhead and blew a great plume of Crimson Mist alongside to properly acknowledge her arrival. Turning to Lenore as the red rain began to fall, Brewster handed the belt to Castle and backed to the opposite corner as she made a small show of licking her bottom lip clean.
With Bat and Raven duly accounted for, let’s take a moment to focus on the third player in this Main Event triptych. Nick Castle wasn’t just FAWN’s Senior Official, he was an avid fan of the professional wrestling business and considered himself a fairly accomplished amateur historian, especially when it came its more outré gimmicks. He knew for instance that the Steel Cage match was intended to serve as the be-all end-all for a feud, the sort of battleground where no one could get in, no one could get out and there was gonna be a winner not matter what, by God. And this steel cage was a particularly ominous example of its kind with an inner frame done in old-school flat gray steel and an outer ‘sleeve’ of chain-link around the whole works designed to keep potentially meddling hands from reaching in to interfere. Encroachment from the outside was all but impossible, yet this was more troublesome than reassuring because it also meant that the referee was the only bastion of order caught in a crossfire from two of the most talented and malicious wrestlers on the roster.
All of these thoughts passed through his mind in the span between heartbeats and were promptly followed up by a prayer to the Patron Saint of Referees. A glance to Lenore. “Ready?”
Lemarchand dipped her head ever so slightly.
Then to Adelaide. “Ready?”
“Ring the bell.” the champion whispered.
Castle took a giant step backward while he did as bade to keep clear of any potential blitzkrieg charge. This discretion proved fortuitous. While Brewster and Lemarchand didn’t quite sprint for the other, they wasted no time crossing the canvas to engage in a rough Collar & Elbow Lock-Up. Despite the oceans of bad blood between the two brunettes, the clench wasn’t simply an excuse to pull hair or claw at an exposed cheek. Indeed it was a textbook example of a ‘clean’ Lock-Up and it continued to stay that way as Churchgoer and Courtier moved around in a tense little circle. It broke apart just shy of the ten second mark, each woman taking a moment to appraise her adversary as they resumed circling.
Adelaide beckoned the challenger forward so Lenore obliged her at once. The second Collar & Elbow was just as snug as the first, though Nick judged this one a bit more mean-spirited because both wresters were quick to cup a palm over her foe’s chin. Of course neither said anything and even if they had, it wouldn’t have meant a damned thing in the cold confines of the cage. This engagement looked to be heading the way of the first before Brewster slid her hand from the nape of Lemarchand’s up into the thick fall of her hair. A single yank wrenched Lenore’s head backward, throwing off her balance enough for Adelaide to begin marching her toward the nearest corner. The hair-pull would’ve drawn a stern word from Castle on most nights, but he was little more than an observer for this contest and beside, the Raven hadn’t offered so much as a word of complaint.
Nick thought that might change with the buckles rapidly approaching and it turned out he was right, though the objection came from Brewster instead of Lemarchand. Sensing the dwindling space on her six, Lenore planted one foot and twisted her hips to reverse their positions in the span between heartbeats. Adelaide grunted in irritation, then let out a muffled snarl when Lemarchand segued from chin-push to full on Palm Smother! The Fair & Radiant Maiden maintained her silence, though the cameras most certainly caught the message delivered by her scathing eye contact with the squirming champion.
This is only the beginning.
Adelaide knew complaining about the hold itself was pointless, instead she removed her hand from Lenore’s hair, grabbed hold of the top rope and gave it a single quick shake. “Let her go, Lenore.” Nick said when the other brunette showed no inclination to honor the request. “I mean it. No Holds Barred doesn’t mean I can’t enforce a rope break. Let her go.”
Lenore pinched the champion’s nostrils that much tighter and added a slow, cruel twist in hopes of drawing a moan from the Churchgoer. But Adelaide only regarded her with wide, hating eyes so the Raven released her grip and slowly stepped back with both hands raised over-- Brewster caught her on the way out with a massive double handful of hair, then stepped out of the corner just far enough to sling the startled Courtier into the buckles she’d just occupied. Chesting in while the buckles were still shivering with the impact, Adelaide buried a hand in Lenore’s hair and wrenched her head to the left. No teasing, theatrics or foreplay of any kind, the Weeping Angel simply lowered her head and chomped down on the side of her neck! Lemarchand sucked in a sharp gasp, far from the startled scream Brewster had sought. Finding Castle after a quick glance around the ring, Emily’s Lady in Waiting grabbed the top rope.
“Off her neck, Adelaide.” the ref cajoled. “You can’t be that hungry this early.”
Adelaide stopped gnawing, though she made no effort to step back. Rather she let the tip of her nose trace up the edge of Lenore’s neck until her lips were brushing the challenger’s ear. “No one to save you tonight, raven.” she cooed. “But I’m sure Emily will put you up in a first class hospital suite before she picks Susan as her next second in command.” Barb administered, she slotted one knee between Lemarchand’s thighs and jostled it up n’ down before she raised her hands over her shoulders and took a step back to grant the ‘clean’ bre--CRA-CRAAACK!
Lenore tagged the zealot across the cheek with a pair of whipcrack Bytch Slaps landed one right after the other. “I didn’t need anyone to take your first title, remember Adelaide? You started that night as a queen and ended it as so much furniture. If you need a refresher I’d be happy to arrange a tour of the Madhouse. Your panties are still there on the mantle, occupying a place of honor between Elise and Ama--”
Brewster tried to take the challenger’s head off with a Haymaker only to curse in frustration when Lenore dipped aside and her fist BWAAANGED against a patch of the steel mesh. Leaned awkwardly against the buckles in the wake of the miss, Adelaide was still inspecting her hand for damage when the Raven snatched a double handful of hair and TWHUNKED the side of her head against the steel bars once, twice, three times! That gave the startled brunette all the impetus she needed to work through that quarter turn, unfortunately Lemarchand didn’t just block her egress, she damn near eliminated it by mounting the second rope! Treating herself to a HUGE handful of Brewster’s locks, Lenore curled her free hand into a fist and began to pound away on the zealot’s exposed forehead.
Though she hadn’t asked them to keep a tally, the capacity crowd was more than happy to provide such a vital service. ‘ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE!’
Lemarchand released Adelaide’s hair and hooked her thumbs together so she could hoist the Raven sigil to the rafters. It was returned a thousand-fold if not more so and even those that hadn’t mirrored the challenger’s pose happily punctuated that last punch with an emphatic ‘TEN!’ Dropping from her perch only after she’d resumed a grip on the zealot’s hair, Lemarchand prized Brewster out of the corner and led her on a high-speed sprint along the perimeter of the ring so she BWAAANG Adelaide’s forehead against those flat gray bars.
The Daughter of Darkness went to one knee, or would have if she hadn’t slumped awkwardly over the top rope. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve already had your fill.” Lenore tugged the other brunette’s hair just because she could. “We’ve still got three more sides to UUUFFFFHHH!”
Adelaide pounded a Back Elbow into Lenore’s stomach, straightened up and “UUNNGGGHH!” Whatever jailbreak she’d had on her mind came to an abrupt end thanks to that double handful of hair and the application of the World Champion’s forehead to one of those ugly steel crossbars! Lemarchand loved the resultant thrum that passed through that side of the cage. Though she longed to repeat it immediately the slender brunette pulled Brewster away and put the both of ‘em through a quarter turn so she could rush down that side of the ring and BWAAANG Adelaide’s forehead into an entirely different spot! Adelaide reeled away from the impact only to grab hold of the implement of her torture to keep from taking a knee. The cage did indeed prove a suitable anchor for the zealot, alas it also played accomplice for Lenore, who took the opportunity to raaaaaaaaaaake her nails down the other wrestler’s back in a display of unbridled bytchiness.
“HEATHEN SLUT!” Brewster shrieked in pain and outrage, neither of which proved adequate defense against the Double Axehandle Lenore pounded between her shoulders.
“Watch your mouth, sweetie.” Lemarchand’s hands were once again in Adelaide’s hair, she loved the feel of her nails scraping across the witch’s scalp. “Or I’ll scrape it off against the side of the cage.”
Another loping run helped emphasis the seriousness of this threat, as did the heavy BWAAANG of Brewster’s skull against the steel. Give the devil her due, Adelaide remained on her feet, though it took a two-handed death grip on the cage to maintain her verticality. This tenuous condition was tested further still when Lenore secured a Half Nelson on her left arm, thus wrenching it away from the cage. Right arm crooked into a tire iron, the Fair & Radiant Maiden unleashed with a most unfair barrage of Forearm Smashes directed at Brewster’s head and shoulders.
Caught in a rather precarious predicament, Adelaide managed to snatch hold of Lenore’s hair with her otherwise neutralized left hand, but this barely slowed the ruinous bludgeoning leveled against her noggin. Damned if she’d take a knee against Emily’s prissy lieutenant, the Weeping Angel stamped on Lemarchand’s toes only to endure a swift Kneelift to the glutes for her efforts. Teeth bared, Brewster raised her right foot as high as she could, then-- “EERRRRRRRHH!” the would be Mule Kick came to nothing because Lenore just buried her free hand in the Churchgoer’s hair and pulled back until she was looking at the lights.
“Don’t even think about it.” she murmured in Adelaide’s ear. “Because if you go to my trunks,” Lemarchand trailed off to deliver a single gentle kiss to the side of her opponent’s exposed throat, “I’ll go to your neck.”
“You arrogant bytch.” Brewster’s voice quavered not with fear, but an anger so hot she could scarcely believe it. “I’m not just going to beat you, I’m going to HUMBLE you. By the time I’m satisfied you’ll be begging me to taste your NGH! NGH! NGH! NGH! BREAK! DAMMIT CASTLE, BREAK!”
Patently uninterested in Adelaide’s threats, Lenore resumed her previous beat-down, another half dozen Forearms finally enough to convince Brewster to grab the top rope instead of the cage. Castle strode over and tapped the challenger on a shoulder. “Break it up, Lenore.”
Lemarchand stopped swinging, she did not however relinquish the Half Nelson. “Tuff girl here called me an arrogant bytch.” the Courtier reached around her prey and secured a gaudy grip on Adelaide’s right breast. “Seems an arrogant bytch would want to hear a count before she let go.” Her wish was Castle’s command and four long, jugg-mugging seconds later, Lenore prized the champion away from the strands. “One more side left.” she cooed. “Think your legs will hold up?”
“Guuuhhhh… go f*ck yoursel--”
The Raven set out on the final leg of this pate-pounding journey, Lenore’s sleek stems barreling both brunettes toward one more encounter with the NO! Adelaide kicked her right leg up at the last second. A tactic that would’ve resulted in a most painful crotch-to-cable collision any other night instead provided salvation as her foot thudded against the cage to prevent her skull from taking the worst of it. Startled by the desperation kickstand, Lemarchand yanked back on Brewster’s hair and “AAARRRHH!”
FAWN’s Queen of Nightmares scratched her latest royal decree on the parchment of Lenore’s face, her signature consisting of four hooked fingers swiped from one temple to the other. That finally liberated Adelaide from the Courtier’s clutches and to celebrate her newfound freedom she plunged both hands into Lemarchand’s hair, all the better to BWAAANG her face against the cage! The heathen’s groan of pain sent a thrill of delight down Brewster’s spine, but while she yearned to bash the bird’s hateful face against every inch of this righteous prison, she wasn’t about to simply follow in the heathen’s ignoble footsteps. No, she’d forge her own path and that meant--
Adelaide cinched an arm around the back of Lemarchand’s head and drew her into a grinding Side Headlock. Not just any Side Headlock, this one pressed Lenore’s face directly against the top rope. “I’d love to threaten you with some hellish tour around all four sides of the ring.” Brewster taunted as she began to lean her weight onto the back of Lemarchand’s head. “But we both know you’ll be screaming for mercy by the time I reach the first cornOOFFH! OOOFFH! OOFFH!”
Emily’s Lady in Waiting pumped three quick punches into Adelaide’s belly in a bid to escape, but the Weeping Angel only bore down that much tighter before she set out on a slow, sauntering stroll that draaaaaaaaagged Lenore’s right cheek and eye socket across every bit of that rubber-coated steel. The trip was a bright, stinging hell for the challenger, yet she defied Adelaide’s prediction so brazenly that the champion decided to bounce her head off the top turnbuckle a couple of times before continuing on with her sadistic constitutional.
Wailing as the rope abraded and gouged at her face, Lemarchand switched from punches to elbows and in so doing managed to slow Brewster’s progress with a blindside shot to the kidney. But rather than freedom this earned her a stern rebuke, Adelaide gutting her opponent’s trim midsection with a quartet of heavy Kneelifts. Hauling her up on tiptoe immediately thereafter, Brewster licked the lobe of Lenore’s ear and hissed, “The cage doesn’t discriminate, heathen. It’s high time you learned that.” Lemarchand was too short of breath to respond, not that Adelaide was interested in anything she had to say. Taking off at a run, Brewster closed the distance in half a dozen long strides then stopped on a dime and BUHWHAAAMMED the challenger’s forehead into the cage at top speed!
Lenore flew backward, landed flat and tumbled over onto one knee. Adelaide started toward her, meaning to haul the Courtier to boot-leather but Lemarchand rose of her own volition, so the Daughter of Darkness doubled back to the ropes and hopped onto the second strand. She caught the top rope for just a sec, then sprang away and twisted around in mid-air her right leg lashing out to THWHACK a gorgeous kick between Lenore’s eyes
SPRINGBOARD SHIN KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1l-xgSafC8
Lemarchand timbered to her back in a glassy-eyed sprawl, the Springboard Shin Kick leaving her with a lovely view of the twinkling overhead lig--“OOOFFFHHH!” Adelaide crashed down across her tummy in a miniature Splash that transformed into a pin the moment she hooked the far leg and pulled it close. Already close to the action, Castle dropped to one knee and smacked the canvas…
ONE…
TWO…
Lenore jerked a shoulder up simultaneous with ‘TWO’ much to the delight of everyone in attendance, including Adelaide Brewster. “That’s it.” the champion cooed as she filled her hands with Lemarchand’s hair. “Flap and beat against this cage all you like. I want you reduced to a bleeding mass of feathers by the time this is over.”
“Cuuuhhh… cage is your only hope for that, Brewster.” Lenore grunted. “No way you’re strong enough to do it on your NNNGGGGHHH!”
Adelaide cuffed a quick Forearm Smash across the back of the challenger’s head to keep her nice n’ quiet for the rest of the journey back to verticality. In dire need of retribution for her earlier ‘face time’ with tonight’s battleground, the Daughter of Darkness charged the ropes with Lemarchand in tow, then did her best impression of a Rumbrrr elimination only to have it come up FAR short because Lenore’s forehead BWAAANGED against the flat-gray steel! The Raven bounced or rather, flew back from the impact and would’ve landed flat on the deck if Brewster hadn’t interrupted her descent with a rough Waistlock. Taking a moment to ragdoll the challenger back n’ forth, Adelaide wheeled around so her back was to the bars.
“I’ve seen you do this against the corner soooooo many times.” she murmured in Lemarchand’s ear. “Thought you’d appreciate my take on it.” With that she dipped her knees and popped her hips, the Weeping Angel taking her burden up ‘n over with a German Suplex that stopped just beyond the apex when Lenore THWHAM-BWANGED into the unforgiving cage! Groans from the crowd and a wail from Lemarchand begat a beaming smile from the zealot, Brewster going so far as to ‘mwah!’ a single kiss onto her opponent’s cheek as she used the residual impact to twist another half circle. Then she got low and peeled off a mirror image of the previous German Suplex, only this one flowed to its natural conclusion with the back of Lemarchand’s head and shoulders THWHUMPING against the canvas.
The speed and force of delivery made a strong argument for Brewster holding her bridge, yet the Queen of Nightmares released on impact and Lenore went tumbling through the landing to end up on one knee like a woozy penitent. Even a moment to collect her senses would’ve done Lemarchand a world of good, alas the instinct to keep fighting returned the Fair & Radiant Maiden to verticality before her mind could protest. Adelaide certainly didn’t protest, indeed her smile proved wider than ever as she buried a Toe Kick in Lenore’s gut. Shifting around so she was a few steps off the brunette’s left side, Brewster flicked her right leg up like a Rockette and brought it down like Leatherface swings a sledgehammer. The Axe Kick caught Lemarchand flush on the back of the noggin but instead of putting her on the mat it sent her reeling back on her heels, thus ensuring she was a perfect target when Adelaide whirled through a quick circle and THWHACKED a heavy Elbow Smash off the side of her jaw!
AXE KICK & ROARING ELBOW:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJOv1fjJD1Y
Lenore landed flat, began to turn to one side and was jerked back to start by a handful of hip and shoulder. Stretching out atop the brunette’s chest in a snug Crossbody, Brewster hooked the far leg tight and nodded along with the count of…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Lemarchand shoved her away with some authority despite having only a half second to spare, the Courtier clearly not ready to give in to the darkness of Eternal Midnight. Rotating to all fours, she-- “NNNGGGGHHH!” Adelaide straddled her hips just to drop into a deep squat that THUMPED her glutes against the small of the challenger’s back. It didn’t put Lenore’s tummy on the canvas, it did however stymie her long enough for Brewster to hook her right arm at the elbow and draw it back across one strong, lightly tanned thigh.
“I have you on your knees, heathen.” Adelaide ran her left hand through Lemarchand’s hair before wrenching her head backward with a callous tug. “For once in your miserable life, do the right thing. Cast aside the false idol that is Emily West and swear loyalty to the Church of Eternal Mid--”
“Kiss my ass, Adelaide.” Lenore interrupted. “You lunatics are chaos, pure and simple. And I’ll NEVER allow you to ruin the game we’ve been playing these last five NGH! NGH! NGH! NNNNNGGGHH!”
The Weeping Angel relinquished her control over the challenger’s hair to deliver several short, rough elbows to the side of Lemarchand’s head. The first connected with her temple, but after that Brewster began to focus on the corner of the other brunette’s right eye. After a half dozen blows she stopped striking and started grinding, Adelaide just working the point of that bony alongside and into the heathen’s eye socket.
RIGHTEOUS ELBOWS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bdBiL0z8bk
Far from a passive participant in her own torture, Lenore tried to twist her head away from the punishment only to suffer another flurry of elbows to the side of the face. Another round of crude grinding followed, so the Raven pulled her left hand off the deck so she could muster at least some defense against the painful attack.
“Ask her.” Adelaide told Castle after another fifteen seconds of the cringe-worthy technique. “Better yet, don’t. Just tell me when that eye is swollen shurrrrggggggggghhhhh.. is that it, Raven? Is that all those vaunted claws can do at this AAARRRRRHHHHHH!”
Lenore, who’d given up defending against the elbow to rake her talon up and down Brewster’s right thigh, abruptly wormed her fingers beneath the snug pad and gouged deep into the pit of Adelaide’s knee! The pressure point back there lit the champion’s leg up like a neon sign, but the Queen of Nightmares endured the anguish long enough to wrest Lenore’s hand away from the throbbing joint. Just like that she pulled that arm across her left thigh and dropped to a seat to trap Lemarchand in a hold she knew all too well. “I have no idea if Singh’s even showing her face in public at the moment.” Brewster muttered once she’d cupped the other brunette’s chin in both hands. “But wherever she is, I hope she enjoys this!”
“Don’t worry.” Lenore grunted as best she could. “You’ll be joining her soon enoEEEERRRRRRRHHHHHHH!”
Adelaide reefed back on the Camel Clutch to put Lemarchand’s vaunted flexibility to the test in most agonizing fashion. “As the only other woman to make you submit with this hold?” Brewster taunted. “I’m sure you’re correct. But whereas the Empress only managed to bend you, I will BREAK that haughty spirit in a way she could only imagine!”
In an effort to carry out this threat Adelaide relinquished half the Chinlock so she could hook that hand into a three-fingered claw. This she immediately hooked into the Courtier’s right eye, the champ working her wrist like she meant to scoop it straight outta the challenger’s head!
“Knock that crap off, Adelaide!” Castle shouted at once. “Don’t you dare ignore me! All right, that’s how you want it? ONE! TWO! THREE! FO--”
Adelaide stopped clawing, though Nick noted she casually tap-tap-tapped those fingers against Lemarchand’s afflicted lid. “As I recall, this is a no disqualification match, arbiter.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ll let you intentionally injure her, Adelaide.”
Brewster smoothed the hair off Lenore’s forehead, then tugged her head back to better show off what she’d done so far. “Doesn’t look injured to me.” the World Champion chirped. “And if she WAS injured, well, she could just tap out to save herself, couldn’t she?”
“Keep away from her eye, Adelaide.” Nick repeated. “Don’t test me.”
“What about her mouth, then?” Brewster’s hook was back out and teasing the corner of her prey’s mouth. “Do you have any problem with thaEEEEEERRRGGGHH!”
Lenore replied with some hooks of her own, the cagey brunette having craftily worked her fingers into the pits of the zealot’s knees and dug for all she was worth. Bound and determined to keep the Clutch in despite the firestorm building in her knees, Brewster would’ve reached for the Raven’s claws if the suffering battler hadn’t just then twisted her head to one side and sank her teeth into the soft flesh between thumb and index finger!
Snarling in rage and pain as she was attacked on three fronts, Brewster curled her remaining hand into a fist and bounced it against the back of Lemarchand’s skull until she able to prize her other hand from the brunette’s jaws. She stood in the span between heartbeats, Adelaide abandoning the potentially gold-retaining hold to spare her legs further punishment. Wheeling around so she was dead ahead of the crumpled Courtier, the Queen of Nightmares filled her hands with Lenore’s hair and drove a single Kneelift between her eyes, a decision she regretted immediately because of the wave of pain that washed over the joint.
Of course Lemarchand didn’t just shrug it off, her head snapped back and only some well-placed hands kept her from ending up facedown on the canvas. “Don’t even think about trying to kiss my boots.” the champion huffed once she’d enjoyed a few enthusiastic hair-pulls. “You haven’t debased yourself nearly enough to earn that WHOOOAAANNNNGGHHHH!”
Lenore buried a shoulder in Brewster’s gut, wrapped her arms around the Churchgoer’s thighs and powered to verticality. A few awkward steps forward seemed to indicate the Fair & Radiant Maiden was thinking of a trip to the corner or perhaps a Sidewalk Slam. The reality proved far simpler, albeit no less painful for Adelaide. Sliding her grip from Brewster’s thighs to her ankles, Lenore stuffed the other brunette’s heels against her glutes, then pushed up on tiptoe and laid out on her belly to THWUNK both knees against the thinly-sheathed plywood! The Weeping Angel bounced up like the mat was electrified and immediately wheeled away from her opponent to stagger for the (relative) safety of the ropes.
As for Lenore, she made it to a knee quickly stuffed the heel of one palm against her watering eye. This steadied her vision just enough to get a proper bead on Brewster, who’d made it to within a few steps of the strands. Clambering up with a low growl in the back of her throat, Lemarchand charged the champ and lashed out with her right leg to-- THWHAAAP!
The Penalty Kick caught the back of Brewster’s left knee like a scythe and the zealot didn’t so much fall as she was flipped over, Adelaide landing HARD on the back of her head and shoulders. Give the devil her due, Brewster tumbled to all fours and rose within seconds, but this righteous tenacity played against her and the brunette swayed in place as victim to the resultant head-rush. Lenore suffered no such impediment (though her stinging, watery eye was hardly pleasant) so she stomped in brazen as you please and went low to take possession of the stumbling brunette’s left ankle. Curling her left arm around Brewster’s midsection at the same time she wedged the true believer’s heel against her glutes, Emily’s Lady in Waiting turned ‘em both around so that her back was to the strands, then bridged up n’ over for what could’ve been a hellaciously awkward toss over the top rope if not for the presence of that industrial grade steel!
As it was her head and shoulder BWAAANGED against the cage before Brewster dropped back the way she came for an equally vile landing shin-first atop her attacker’s posted knee! Adelaide wailed, bounced away and came to a stop flat on her back with that tweaked knee snugged tight against her chest. Satisfied that she’d pacified the Daughter of Darkness for several precious seconds, Lenore pressed the heel of one palm to her stinging eye, held it there for a bit, then drew it away and blinked several times. It still ached something fierce and the near constant urge to blink made things fuzzier than she would’ve liked, but Emily’s Lady in Waiting had endured worse and the prospect of a prolonged campaign against Brewster’s knee gave her a warm feeling down deep inside. Eager to feed that warmth into something far hotter, she stomped over to the vulnerable World Champion, snatched hold of her left ankle and drew it out full length like someone yanking on a tripwire!
Brewster snarled in pain and sat up at once, both hands flying to that wounded joint. These ministrations did little good when Lemarchand stepped around ‘n over the crooked limb and quickly dropped to a seat, the challenger just THWHUMPING the slim-thick curve of her backside across the side of Adelaide’s knee and thigh. Loathing every second of Lenore’s touch, Brewster raaaaaaaked her claws down the Raven’s back, then grabbed a fistful of hair and wrenched her head backward to get better access to the heathen’s face. But Lenore sensed the attack coming and she met it with her own show of force, namely a single rough bounce on that pinned knee and a quick twist on Brewster’s ankle.
Talon stymied by the pain in her lower leg, Adelaide sagged backward onto her elbows and grunted, “Let go of my leg, you heathen bytchHHHEERRRRRGGGHHH!”
Lenore gave that ankle another twist, then got to her feet and used the grip to turn Adelaide onto her stomach for a far more traditional application of the Ankle Lock. With Brewster’s ankle caught in the crook of her left elbow, Lemarchand gripped the point of her prey’s boot and set to work like she was trying to open the world’s most stubborn pickle jar. “Stop your whining, sweetie.” Lenore ordered over the snarls and groans of her suffering adversary. “This is exactly what you get for targeting my eye!”
Adelaide replied with a curse, dug her nails into the canvas and started clawing her way toward the ropes. The challenger let her get within a handsbreadth before she dug in her heels and walked the furious zealot back to the middle of the squared circle! “BYTCH, LET ME GO!” Brewster sounded simultaneously harried and furious as she managed to make it to her feet on one good leg. Balanced as best she could, Adelaide hopped forward a step or two and reached for the ropes as if simply doing so would close the distance. Alas it did not, in fact the very idea seemed to infuriate the Raven because she abruptly stepped in and stuffed Adelaide’s shin against her midsection to keep the limb quite neutralized while she slapped on a Waistlock. The Weeping Angel managed to wrest that leg free almost at once, unfortunately Lenore’s fingers were already locked and that meant there was nowhere for the other brunette to go when the challenger took her up, over and DOWN with a heavy Release German Suplex.
ANKLE LOCK & GERMAN SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMIbAv_ybdk
Tumbled onto her belly in the aftermath of the Suplex, Brewster cradled the back of her skull with both arms and beat her boots against the mat until she fought through the worst of the pain. That accomplished, she braced her hands on the canvas and rose to all four--
Lenore closed in from the left, reaching under the champ’s torso with her right hand while the left snaked under Brewster’s left arm. Fingers laced tight, she twisted Adelaide’s chin to the left and got to her feet, thus forcing the zealot to do the same. “I should scrape your eyes along the ropes just for the hell of it.” she twisted in a half circle and took a threatening step toward the rubber-coated steel. “But I’d rather smash your head in.”
The Fair & Radiant Maiden punctuated this desire with a swift Kneelift to Adelaide’s forehead. Then another. And another. Reeling in place after three unprotected headshots, Brewster barely managed to swat at Lenore’s tummy in the second or two before the other brunette dipped her knees and popped her hips to PLANT the World Champion on the back of her head and neck courtesy of a savage Cravate Suplex. Adelaide rolled to a seat, then slopped out on her belly, right arm still reaching for the safety of the strands. Lenore paid it no mind, she simply tugged Brewster onto her back and stretched out on her chest with a Crossbody good for…
KNEELIFTS & CRAVATE SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXzx4vlOng0
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Adelaide popped her hips to shove Lemarchand from her perch with half a second to spare. “Yuuuhhh… you will not take what’s mine.” Brewster muttered once she’d made it to a weary seat. “You will not profane what’s mine. Never again, LenOOORRRHHH STOP THAT DAMN YOUAAAAARRRRRHHHHH!”
Lenore, who’d just isolated Adelaide’s left leg by bracing the champion’s left calf against the right side of her own neck, locked her hands against the meat of Brewster’s thigh and stood up, a shift that twisted her prey so that Adelaide’s head, right shoulder and left hand were the only parts of her body anchored to the mat. Bracing her right knee against the small of Brewster’s back, Lenore dropped into a deep, deeeeeep crouch that put agonizing pressure on her foe’s spine and injured knee. Scrambling frantically in the grip of this heathenish trap, Adelaide pushed off the mat with her left hand to alleviate some of the torque and line herself up with the ropes. Alas this only worked for a moment because the Courtier moved with her and deftly forced the Weeping Angel onto her chest, whereupon she planted her knee a second time and really CRAAAAAAAAANKED back on the modified Half Crab.
MODIFIED HALF CRAB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz3IHIIpjig
“I don’t profane anything.” Lenore grunted after ten agonizing seconds ground off the clock. “I cleansed the Madhouse. Exorcised it, if you wi--”
“IT WAS MINE! IT WAS MINE AND YOU STOLE IT!”
Adelaide’s ferocity surprised the challenger but didn’t distract her from the task at hand. “The Queen’s Chambers are always open to receive you, Adelaide.” Lemarchand’s voice was a rough growl as blinked sweat out of her stinging left eye. “How is it my fault that you never had the guts to cross that threshold agNNNNGGGGGHHHH!”
Adelaide slithered from beneath Lenore’s posted knee and twisted onto her back, thus relieving most of the pain almost at once. Of course her left knee was still firmly in the other brunette’s possession so she put her good leg to work kicking and smashing at the challenger’s chest and shoulder. With both hands occupied by the leg-crank Lenore couldn’t muster a suitable defense so after half a dozen shots she broke the clasp and segued to a more traditional grip on her rival’s left ankle.
“Your grip is failing, little bird.” Brewster was braced on her elbows now, the Churchgoer dragging their combined weight toward the ropes as quickly as she could. “Settle for being Emily’s pet because you will NEVER be the World ChampiNNNGGHH YOU HEATHEN BYTCH!”
Lenore went up on tiptoe, then dropped to one knee to THUMP the bony joint into Adelaide’s crotch! The Daughter of Darkness sat up, then collapsed again, her only pretense at defense a trembling hand cradled between her thighs. Above her, Lenore gave that devastated left leg a single quick shake, then turned around so her back was to the prone champion. In a matter of heartbeats she’d threaded Adelaide’s left leg around her intruding right leg Spinning Toe Hold-style and snapped up the zealot’s right leg, which she threaded over Brewster’s left ankle before securing it between her thighs. With Adelaide’s strong legs reduced to mere tangles in a hellish Gordian knot, Lemarchand hooked her thumbs together and let the Raven fly overhead before she spun down onto her tush, put one hand against the mat for support and puuuuuuuussssshed up in what some might call a fanatical effort to ring submission from Brewster’s damaged knee.
TELLTALE LEGLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbmVNL3mMTg
Telltale Leglock, Lenore Lemarchand to Adelaide Brewster, center of the Steel Cage.
“AAAAAAAWWWWWW GODDAMMIT!” Adelaide shrieked in abject anguish, the usually icy battler tearing at her own hair to distract from the napalm creeping up her legs.
As close to his charges as he dared, Nick Castle knelt beside the World Champion and asked, “Are you ok, Adelaide? Just say the word and I’ll get you out of the--”
“NEVER!” Brewster slammed both hands against the canvas and powered her body off the mat by several inches. But the additional leverage / mobility put a nasty kink in the Churchgoer’s lower back and it was only a few seconds before she was crumpled onto her forearms and forehead.
“Give up, Brewster.” Lenore said even as she forced more power through her own straining stems. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I won’t feel bad about it either.”
“Huuuuuhhh… hurt me all you like, heathen.” Adelaide rasped into the crook of one arm. “It won’t bring you what you seek.” With that she pushed up on her elbows and began crawling / dragging her way in the direction of the ropes.
Lenore didn’t try to stop her, she just made the journey as vile as she could by gripping the toe of Adelaide’s left boot and repeatedly jostling that leg against her encroaching limbs. The pain was relentless and Brewster’s progress maddeningly slow, indeed she collapsed onto her belly more than once and the quaver in her right hand only strengthened the ‘TAP!’ chants from those in attendance. But Adelaide didn’t tap, she only shrieked into the crook of her left elbow and carried on until finally, FINALLY, the tips of her straining fingers touched the safety of the bottom ro--
“NOOOOOOOO!” Brewster wailed like the damned when Lenore abandoned the Telltale Leglock and clamped down on the zealot’s ankles so she could draaaaaaaaaaag her back to the center of the ring.
Once again laying claim to Brewster’s left ankle, Lenore got to her feet and muscled the crippled champion into a headstand just so she could THWHUMP that knee into the deck with a Stump Puller. Adelaide shrieked, curled into a near fetal ball and would’ve stayed there if the merciless Raven hadn’t buried both hands in her hair and hauled her to boot-leath--
Lemarchand saw the red leaking from Brewster’s mouth with no time to spare so rather than turn away she ‘smecked’ a hand against the zealot’s mouth and squeezed as hard as she could. “Not tonight you desperate NNNNNGGGHHH ARRRRRRRRHHHH FAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”
Adelaide pistoned a knee into the challenger’s crotch, then palmed Lenore’s head in both hands and gouged her thumbs into her eyes! Forgetting all about the previous threat once Brewster tried to blind her, Lemarchand grabbed hold of Adelaide’s wrists and managed to prize them loose but that left her totally exposed for the cloud of Red Mist the Weeping Angel ‘PFWOOOSHED!’ into her face!
Forced to protect her eyes for the second time in the span of five seconds, Lenore went to shove Adelaide away one handed and was only vaguely aware when the Churchgoer caught that wrist and bent it back behind her head in a sort of upside down Hammerlock. That blissful ignorance exploded when Brewster reared back for the Heart Punch only to PWAAAK her fist against the Courtier’s left eye instead!
Lenore sobbed, reeled around in a drunken half circle that only stopped because the Queen of Nightmares drew her right arm taut under the challenger’s chin, cut-throat style. Dipping down, Adelaide slipped an arm between Lemarchand’s legs and muscled her up across her shoulders for-- a roar of surprised relief when Brewster’s left knee gave way! Both brunettes hit the deck hard, Adelaide landing like a mewling penitent while Lenore came down on hip and shoulder, the blinded bird still scrubbing at crimson features.
Heart in his throat after the last few minutes, Nick Castle took a position between champion and challenger and began to count. “ONE… TWO…. THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NI--”
Adelaide and Lenore rose like zombies, the former barely able to put weight on her left knee, the latter keeping a hand pressed to her left eye which was either gummed or swollen shut at this point. Regarding the Raven with a poisonous hatred that would’ve frightened her if she hadn’t been half out of her mind with rage and pain, Adelaide turned her head to the side and spat the dregs of the Red Mist on the canvas. “You play a good game, little bird, but the game is finished. Now I feed.”
Lenore remove the hand protecting her eye, took a step back and beckoned the champion forward. “Since when do you feed from way over there? I think your eyes are bigger than your stomach, Brewster.”
“At least I still have two, bytch.”
“All the better to see me raise the World Championsh--”
Adelaide flew at Lenore with violence on her mind and the Raven did the same, her left arm ‘whicking’ through the air in a Lariat aimed straight for Adelaide’s throNO! Brewster dipped low, hooked her arm beneath the Courtier’s and used it as tether when she leapt up and draped herself across Lemarchand’s upper back. Threading her legs around Lenore’s right arm in an instant, Adelaide snapped back with every bit of remaining strength and tore Lenore loose from her moorings courtesy of a Crucifix Driver that THAWHAMMED the trapped brunette down on the back of her head and shoulders.
CRUCIFIX DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pmJ3eVYJSY
Legs kicked up over her head upon impact, Emily’s Lady in Waiting actually slopped off her shoulders to end up flat on her stomach, which would have been an improvement of Adelaide wasn’t still strapped to her shoulders with the Crucifix! The danger of the situation presented itself as soon as Adelaide pushed up on her left hand and began HAMMERING elbows into the side of Lemarchand’s face! Lenore took the first two flush on that swollen eye before she turned her forehead against the canvas and managed to drape her free arm over the back of her pounding skull. This defense slowed Adelaide for all of a second, she merely swatted the arm out of the way, snatched a handful of hair and wrenched the Raven’s head to the side so she could continue pounding away at cheek, forehead and most importantly, eye socket.
Lenore struggled through the first three, slowed at four, fell motionless at six. Seeing the Courtier go limp, Nick threw a signal to the Timekeeper, then caught Adelaide’s madly pounding arm in a hasty Half Nelson and barked, “Stop it Adelaide! It’s over! It’s over, she’s out!”
The CLANG of the bell echoed the referee’s sentiments, yet Brewster didn’t stop squirming in Castle’s grasp until the Announcer boomed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via official’s stoppage and STILL the FAWN World Champion… ADELAIDE BREWSTER!”
The victorious Churchgoer released her hooks and scrambled to verticality in a single violent motion, not that the disengagement did anything for her temper. If anything Brewster seemed even angrier as she stomped an uneven circuit around the squared circle. “WHERE’S MY BELT!” she roared at Castle. “WHERE’S MY GODDDAMNED BELT!”
Nick was extremely hesitant to leave Lenore even for a moment, but against his better judgment he hurried over to a spot by the door where a FAWN tech had slipped the leather and gold through a gap between cage and canvas. Practically throwing himself into Adelaide’s path to keep her away from the defenseless challenger, the Senior Official thrust the belt in her direction. “It’s yours, Adelaide. Now take it and calm the hell UUUUUNNNNNGGGGHHH!”
The Daughter of Darkness snatched it from Nick’s grasp only to THUMP it against his forehead! Castle went down like a ton of bricks and Brewster collapsed beside him, the World Champion’s demolished knee giving out on the follow through. Shrieking with rage and pain, Adelaide crawled over to Lenore, straddled her waist and plunged one hand into her hair.
“You took the Madhouse from me, I couldn’t stop you.” she whispered once she’d hoisted Lemarchand’s head off the mat. “But you will NEVER TAKE THIS FROM ME!” Adelaide forced the golden plate against the side of Lenore’s face, her swollen eye in particular. Working her wrist like she meant to scrape the Courtier’s face from her skull, the Weeping Angel bellowed, “YOU WON‘T EVER TAKE ANYTHING FROM ME, UNDERSTAND, BYTCH? NEVER AGAIN! IF THERE’S TAKING TO BE DONE, I’LL BE THE ONE DOING IT!”
Brewster threw the belt aside so she could palm Lenore’s head in her hands. Leaning in close, she murmured, “And I believe I’ll start with this pretty little eye.” She brushed her thumb across Lemarchand’s left eyelid and began to-- the lights went out all over the arena, when they returned Adelaide was no longer alone with her prey.
Hand on Brewster’s shoulder, Miranda murmured, “That is enough, sister. You have humbled Emily’s pet Raven beneath the bright lights, your superiority is without question.”
Adelaide stopped pressing, but she didn’t release her grip on Lenore’s noggin. “She took the Madhouse from me. She needs to suffer.”
“She is bloodied, helpless and STILL not a champion.” Wainright continued. “That is humiliation enough for an arrogant heathen such as Lenore Lemarchand. And even if it was not, the Church of Eternal Midnight does not rob anyone of the chance to enjoy the glorious darkness. Not even our worst enem--”
A murmur of surprise from the capacity crowd when Adelaide shrugged the blonde’s shoulder away. “She’s MINE.” Brewster hissed. “I’ve earned this.”
Another roar from the crowd, this one much louder. Miranda didn’t need to look up to know that the rest of the Black Court was on their way, probably at top speed. “Tiffany, Penny, take up defensive positions, please. Helena, stay with me.”
Mayes, Tremblay and Graylock did as ordered, the former setting up in a blockade by the cage door, the latter positioning herself directly behind the Prophet of Pain. As for Miranda, she stroked Adelaide’s hair for a moment, then snatched a huge handful and wrenched her head back at a sharp angle.
“This is escalation you don’t want, sister. Now let her go so we can take our leave.”
Brewster gouged at Lenore’s eyelid, the pressure and pain beginning to stir the Raven to fitful moaning. “Get your hands off of me, Miranda.”
There was a BWAAANG followed by a clatter as Susan and Becky reached the far side of the cage and began to climb. Always prepared, Emily West hefted a pair of bolt cutters and went to work on the heavy padlock.
“Tiffany, Penelope, to me!” Wainright barked. Then to Helena, “Collect her, if you would.”
The Gray Lady bent, looped an arm around Adelaide’s midsection and pulled her away from Lenore with a single tug. Brewster fought like a wildcat, but Graylock shifted to a snug Sleeper that kept her under control while Miranda scooped up the world title.
Tossing it over one shoulder just as Emily and her pawns breeched the cage’s defenses, Miranda tipped her hat to the Black Queen half a heartbeat before the lights went out.
The Church was gone when they came back of course, not that the Courtiers gave a damn, they were all kneeling beside the mangled Raven. The EMT’s were still on their way to the ring when the broadcast faded to black.