Post by dsb on Jun 14, 2019 0:46:25 GMT
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the Announcer came to centre stage and, with the voices of the Legionnaires in attendance already gathering in intensity, they threatened to drown him out before he could get his duties out of the way. “The following contest will be for one fall and the EuroAsia Title! Introducing first, the challenger, standing in at five foot four and one hundred and ten pounds, hailing from Nottingham, England, she is the People’s Princess, SAMANTHA! SINCLAIR!!”
GOOD TIME
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsF2L1Jmkow
The moment Samantha Sinclair appeared on stage, that was when the FAWNatics truly lost their sh*t, the Leader of the Upstart Nation standing as tall as her perfectly petite mass would allow her, catching the light in all the right places as she whipped both her arms up high and waved. Five foot four and one hundred and ten pounds of athletically sculptured, miniature might, Sammie Sinclair was every inch the People’s Princess as she cheered back, shimmering in her golden/yellow attire with her dimple, freckled cheeks flushing a delightful shade of crimson.
SAMANTHA SINCLAIR
Sporting her ever familiar ensemble, family colours bright and on show, Sinclair’s identity was impossible to confuse. Her sports bra, smoothly curved about her small, proud bosom left her softly sculptured tummy bare and her upraised arms the same way. About her hips snugly sat a short skirt which, with a generous slit running up the right side, revealed a wonderful shot of her firm thigh as the baby brown eyed darling hopped up onto her tip toes and spiralled. Her boots were a bright blue and reached upwards to just beneath her knees, tanned from firm leather and sporting lacing right up the front.
With the flourish of her spiral completed, the People’s Princess set her feet apart and kept her fingers wiggling heavenwards, nodding to her followers with a knowing smirk just before she lead them in her usual declaration of intent, a three beat mantra that the Legionnaires watching were always a part of. Once they were ready, she brought her hands together...
ONCE!
TWICE!!
THRICE!!!
With her statement of intent made clear she pointed directly towards the squared circle, a hearty explosion of pyrokinetics erupting to either side of the stage that she was standing on. Samantha Sinclair was here and, with a joy induced skip she headed down the aisle at a swift sprint, the second-generation superstar with chocolate curls bouncing free about her slender shoulders now a little older, a little wiser and a worthy inheritor of her Father’s legacy. The girl was now a young woman, and she was looking all the bolder for it.
Fearless? Perhaps not, but nerve?
She most defiantly had nerve.
The moment Sinclair reached the squared circle, a deft run, skip and jump took her clean up onto the apron. Grasping the top coil with both of her hands, the Bright-Eyed Wonder leaned back and, following a cheeky shake her pert buttocks, she shot right up and over the top rope with an applause worthy sault.
Landing lightly on her feet and clapping once more, she headed on over to the corner to surrender to an inspection, fidgeting ever so slightly with her attire and hoping that it didn’t betray her nerves. Like it or not, this was to be her third run at the coveted Title and, despite what the sentiment might suggest, third time was not always the charm, especially with the likes of Yoona Park standing in the way. She inhaled deeply, leaning backwards into the turnbuckles as she grasped the top ropes. It took her a few moments longer than she would like to realise that a chant had begun forming the length and breadth of the audience. They were three words put together that had begun following her where ever she went this past year following both her schism with Elizabeth Cromwell, and her ongoing war with Irma Irons.
It was an honorific that she had not asked for but, much like when the title of People’s Princess had been placed upon her, it left her deeply humbled.
“WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLD! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT!”
With a sheepish rosining of her freckled features, Samantha held up her hand for a thankful salute back, inhaling deeply as she experienced a surge of confidence. At FAWNMANIA, she had been willing to throw herself off the top of a Steel Cage and through an Announcers Table in order to win a grudge match, at least tonight the highest either of them could fall from was the top turnbuckle…
After the referee’s inspection predictably failed to turn up any shivs, brass knuckles, cayenne powder, or any other tools of malfeasance hidden within the Upstart’s gear, Sinclair claimed a corner for herself and waited for her opponent to appear.
And waited…
...and waited…
...and waited.
The nervous anxiety steadily building in the FAWNatics seemed to infect Samantha as well and she began to jog in place to burn off some excess energy, shifting her weight to and fro from one foot to the other. Just as the crowd was wondering if the champion were about to no-show her first title defense of the new year, the ring announcer spoke up once more.
“By special order of Bethany Christian, the following contest is now a LADDER MATCH!”
The sudden swerve made Samantha freeze in her steps and sent a gasp rippling through the audience. While the Little Sparrow was not known as the Little Sparrow for her fear of heights, the sorts of acrobatic frippery in the usual ladder match were far outside Yoona Park’s modus operandi.
Sinclair didn’t have much time to dwell on what all of that meant, however, because the woman in question finally decided to appear, tearing through the curtains at the top of the steel walkway and stalking her way down to the ring. Apparently Park hadn’t waited for her cue and caught the production team off guard, leaving her without musical accompaniment during her entrance and forcing the announcer to quickly blurt out an introduction.
“And your champion, at five foot seven and one hundred twenty eight pounds, Yoona Park!”
Yoona wore her typical ring gear -- bustier-cut one piece, elbow length fingerless gloves, and knee-length compression stockings that left her feet bare, all in black trimmed with gold -- but on this particular night she looked anything other than normal, all of her usual swaggering braggadocio and lurid sex appeal replaced by menace oozing from every pore.
After being honored as 2018’s Wrestler of the Year by Gladiatrix, the reigning EurAsian champion had yet to defend her title or appear at any official event in the first half of 2019. Rumors swirled that the notoriously enigmatic and unapproachable Slim Reaper was holding out as part of negotiations for anything ranging from a bigger paycheck to a World Title shot to better catering services. Whatever her demands, however, the humorless scowl etched across her features suggested that things had not gone as planned, and all signs indicated that she would vent that displaced anger at her challenger’s expense.
Clearly, she intended to send a message and a violent reminder of her dominance as champion.
YOONA PARK
Trailing a few steps behind Park and dressed in street clothes was Camille Cosworth. With her demeanor and moral compass much more closely aligned with the challenger’s than with her own girlfriend’s, Camille looked ill at ease over concerns of what might happen to either of the two wrestlers. She stayed silent and at arm’s length all the way down to ringside before she finally squeaked out a tentative “Good luck” that Yoona didn’t even seem to hear.
After taking a moment, Cosworth found it in herself to speak once more, this time louder and in Korean, <<Yoona, wait…>>
Park stopped in her tracks halfway through climbing between the ropes.
<<...keep it clean. Please.>>
Yoona acknowledged the request with a soft snort, then she stepped into the ring and flippantly tossed her championship belt to the referee. Production assistants brought a pair of folding eight-foot step ladders into the ring, the official held the gaudy strap aloft for the entire arena to see, then he hooked it to a cable that pulled it higher and higher and higher until it was dangling fifteen feet above the canvas -- Samantha gazing wistfully at the belt all the way up and Yoona simply staring at her latest challenger, her dark eyes flashing with malicious intent.
Try as she might, Sinclair couldn’t take her eye off the prize, noggin craned back as the Title swung suspended high above her head. Giving her recent penchant for doing herself mischief by leaping from said high places, she was momentarily unsure as to whom Ms. Christian was attempting to stick it to with the last-minute stipulation to the contest, the Challenger or the Champion.
Considering the Commissioner in question, it was probably both.
With a tentative swallow, the brunette of slender frame inhaled deeply and shook her shoulders out, steadying her nerves as she tore her eyes away from the Gold that meant so much to so many, and the woman she had to take it from. It hadn’t escaped her attention that Yoona did not look the happiest on this particular evening, nor did the arrival of the two ladders inside of the ring, and while Sinclair had every intention of walking away tonight with prize in hand, that didn’t mean that she had to be a bytch about it.
“Look, I want to you know,” Sammie began, her posture unguarded before the bell rang, “this wasn’t my ide…”
With a swift kick to Sinclair’s exposed midriff, the Slim Reaper cut off the People’s Princess with a savage attack that was as unprovoked as it was uncalled for, the smaller brunette folding forwards with a sharp yelp and explosion of air.
The FAWNatics called foul, for the bell had not rung yet, but Park was far from listening, pacing forwards into the breach and grabbing a double fistful of her challenger’s hair, seemingly determined to set the tone for tonight’s affair as swiftly as possible. With her gasping opponent already unsteady, Yoona dropped down to one knee and ripped the Upstart Supreme down with her, SMACKING her forehead clean against the posted joint with a resounding CRACK!!
Sammie jolted from the impact and shimmy was sent through her hips, the young woman already unsteady from the barrage of blind siding attacks. As such, she was in little position to protest as the EuroAsia Champion dragged her back up to vertical and, after seizing a wrist, twisted about and flung the Little Sparrow into an involuntary sprint by way of an Irish Whip.
Sinclair dashed across the canvas and, while the coils that surrounded the squared circle were often perceived as her allies, right now that were proving to be more of a liability. Turning herself about at the last moment, the brunette rebounded off the ropes across her shoulders before she swiftly began returning to sender and, while the Legionnaires may have hoped that this would prove to be the beginning of some manner of reversal, they were to be swiftly proven otherwise.
Wasting not an ounce of momentum, Yoona seized the smaller Sinclair by her firm thighs and pivoted sharply about, whipping Sinclair back first towards the waiting canvas by way of a ballistic Spinebuster!
Sammie’s resulting groan was heavy with escaped air as she bounced from the impact with the barely yielding plywood, recoiling into a spin that rolled her over onto her front. She grimaced, immediately attempting to push her way back up onto her hands and knees, only for Park, still feeling far from charitable, grabbed the athletic Upstart by her mane once again.
“Jesus, Yoona,” the Official protested, “the bell hasn’t rung yet.”
“What about my demeanour suggests I give a f*ck!?!” Yoona snapped, a raw and festering sense of indignity poisoning her glare as she seized a second handhold of her Challenger, this time securing the girls belt. “Ring it if it makes you happy, but there’s only one way to win this match, so don’t expect this shit to get any more comfortable. The People’s Princess is my Bytch tonight!”
Fraught with indecision, but knowing damn well that Bethany would have his guts for garters if he tried to call the match off now, he called for the bell to officially begin the contest, much to the protests of the FAWNatics.
Yoona scarcely paid it any attention, instead turning about sharply with her cargo in tow, bum rushing the Leader of the Upstart Nation towards the nearest corner ring post before releasing her!
Like a shot, Sammie hurtled towards a perilous destination, moments from connecting with the steelwork of the ring as the bell finally rang. In all likelihood, what was to follow was purely a coincidence, but it was an auspicious one indeed as that very sound seemed to snap Sinclair right out of her stupor, permission given for her to shift out of neutral as, at the last moment, she shifted her course from one of disaster, to instead dashing up the turnbuckles!!
Akin to some manner of beguiling simian, Sinclair deftly hopped up the pedestals as though it had been her plan from the start and, before anyone was quite ready to readjust their expectations, she reached the apex of her ascent and sprung herself backwards into a leap. With a backflip she glided threw the air and, before Yoona could compensate, Sammie snagged her in an inverted, front headlock and utilized both gravity and momentum to DRAG her down into an equally Inverted DDT!!
BACKFLIP INVERTED DDT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXS1WLNvZ8I
The back of the Champions head was SPIKED!! into the canvas, planting her with enough authority to elicit a raw from the FAWNatics as she grasped her cranium in pain.
Sammie, for her part, bounced away from the landing far more pleasantly and, for the briefest of moments, opted to display the better part of valour in an effort to regain her bearings. With a spin, duck, Sinclair rolled with the momentum of her own assault to slip beneath the bottom rope and to the outside of the ring, landing on her feet with a bounce and little spiral.
She inhaled deeply and grimaced slightly, already feeling more aches than she was happy with, but at least she wasn’t still shell shocked. Sinclair held up a hand to the Legionnaires to assure them that she was still with it and, as she turned about, it was with more than a little surprise that she almost came face to face with Camille Cosworth.
Sammie released a small yeep but, with a small clearing of her throat, she managed to compose herself well, hands on her hips as she attempted to not appear embarrassed.
“Camille,” she greeted, adjusting her posture to try appear less flustered, “you’re looking spry.” Sinclair smiled at that, her tone laced with so much sincerity it couldn’t be anything other than genuine. The Upstart Supreme was no stranger to potentially life altering injuries, her neck still pained her at times, and it pleased her no end to witness Cosworth back on her feet again.
“She’s in a mood,” Sammie changed the subject on a dime, pointing back into the ring.
Camille, for her own part, looked painfully conflicted given the circumstances. Sinclair, not entirely oblivious to such things, let her off the hook swiftly.
“Works for me,” Sammie affirmed, nodding to herself and inhaling deeply, diving back inside the ring now that Yoona Park was dragging herself back up onto her feet.
“Be careful,” Cosworth finally spoke, the tentative tone and lowered volume of her voice making it clear that her words were meant for the challenger, not the champion.
Sinclair glanced at the other woman over her shoulder and out of the corner of her eye before she gave a single, curt nod, then she set her sights on Park once more. For her part, the Korean cranked her neck one way and then the other to get the lingering cobwebs out, then she stomped forward with both fists tightly clenched at her sides.
As soon as she was within striking distance, Yoona let loose with a looping, overhand Haymaker. Samantha stooped down and ducked under the blow, feeling the champion’s fist harmlessly whisk through the hair on top of her head. Her well-timed dodge granting her an opening, Sinclair pivoted about to take her opponent’s back…
...only for the Slim Reaper to spin about on one leg while whipping the other into a vicious Roundhouse Kick directly into the Little Sparrow’s ribcage.
The crushing blow took the wind out of Samantha’s sails, dropping her to one knee and forcing her to protectively swaddle both arms around her left side. Yoona grabbed the smaller wrestler, left hand in the hair and right hand on the waistband, then with a roar of effort, she spun around in a tight pirouette and threw Samantha headfirst into the pair of ladders.
The aluminum frames toppled like dominoes, ending up on the mat in a haphazard heap with a dazed and battered Sinclair on top of them. Park wasn’t far behind either. She took one big stride and leapt into the air before coming down knees-first into the challenger’s unguarded midriff, an impact made all the worse by the unforgiving metal underneath Sinclair’s back.
Had she any oxygen left in her lungs, Samantha would have screamed, but in her current state all she could manage was a silent, tortured howl. The FAWNatics collectively gasped in concern, then they gave the Slim Reaper a barrage of boos for her unrelenting brutality. Still kneeling atop the wreckage, Yoona took a few seconds to look around the arena, her gaze eventually settling on her girlfriend at ringside. Camille opened her mouth as if to say something, but after a silent pause, she bit her lip and averted her eyes to the side.
For a moment -- just for a moment -- Park’s cold, hostile expression faltered, uncharacteristically rattled by Cosworth’s tacit disapproval and resigned weariness. A second volley of jeers from Upstart Nation had the opposite effect, however, hardening her resolve and snapping her eyes back into sharp, spiteful focus.
An angry growl rumbling in the back of her throat, Yoona clambered out of the pile and dragged her opponent along with two handfuls of hair. Park hauled the People’s Princess to the edge of the ring, then draped her backwards across the top rope before pulling the middle rope up and over Sinclair’s arms.
With her challenger trapped and entangled in the steel cables, the champion scoffed, “Waste of goddamn time… ’Best Brit’ my fucking ass…”
Samantha started to respond, only to find herself abruptly and violently interrupted by a Knee Strike to her increasingly tenderized abdomen.
“You ain’t SHIT, Sinclair!” Yoona hissed as she wrapped her right hand around the Little Sparrow’s windpipe and squeezed. “Only thing special about you is your daddy’s name. Remember that before you even THINK about stepping to me again!”
Fortunately for the Legionnaires and their leader, Park stepped away from the wheezing and gagging challenger after having said her piece. She turned around and looked up at her title hanging high in the air, then she grabbed one of the fallen ladders and began setting it up in the center of the ring. With Samantha still tightly bound by the ropes, the FAWNatics let out a loud groan when it seemed that the match would be coming to an early and uncontested conclusion.
The People’s Princess would not be denied so easily, however. Though her arms were ensnared, her legs were still free. Samantha planted her heels under her hips and pushed off into a somersault up, back, and over the ropes. She landed gracefully on the apron, but more importantly, her acrobatics unwound the cables and sprung her from Yoona’s trap.
Despite her ailments, Sinclair hurdled the ropes and was back in the ring in the blink of an eye. Park was still securing the ladder and failed to notice the other wrestler’s escape, and the challenger quickly took advantage of her opening. Hitting top speed in just a couple of strides, the Little Sparrow took flight, sailing cleanly between the legs of the A-frame and delivering a picture perfect Dropkick to her opponent on the other side of the ladder.
Yoona was blown backwards by the impact against her collarbones. She tumbled through the ropes behind her before falling to the floor, dazed and discombobulated though largely unhurt. Park rose to one knee and shook her head, then she gave an enraged, wordless shout as she punched the ground in frustration. The Slim Reaper got herself fully upright just in time to see Samantha hurtling through the splayed legs of the ladder again.
This time the People’s Princess went headfirst and through the ropes as well, turning half a forward somersault in mid-air to pancake the champion beneath her with a Diving Senton.
DIVING SENTON (0:30):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWH6ymEJfrk
The spectacular impact left both wrestlers laid out on the ground in a jumble of limbs, though having had Yoona to break her fall, Samantha was showing a bit more signs of life. Ignited by the back-to-back display of aerial acumen from their idol, the Legionnaires urged the Little Sparrow onwards and upwards by chanting her epithet and battlecry.
“WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLD! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT!”
Given the nature of their respective landings, it was no surprise to anyone that Sammie was back up onto her feet first, albeit with somewhat of a stumble. She prevented a pratfall by grasping the handrail that was suddenly there before her, but momentum almost threatened to flip her up and over the barricade and into an ‘unfortunate’ fans lap.
While the gentlemen in question tried his best to hide his disappointment that the Miniature Brit of Perfectly Petite Proportions hadn’t been deposited into his possession, Sinclair herself tried equally as hard to conceal her embarrassment at the near fall. Both largely failed to do so, but when she spied his shirt proclaiming his support for the Suplex Machine, Wendy Smith, Sammie gave him a hearty thumbs up in approval.
Having made his day on multiple counts, the diminutive brunette turned about…
…and Yoona was there to greet her, back on her feet and swinging a vicious haymaker…
…which Sinclair prevented from being unloaded, her bright eyes opening wide just before she snapped off a sweet as you like Sammie Kick!!
Whipping her right stem up, out and high, she connected the sole of her boot with the underside of Yoona’s chin with a meaty CRACK!!, snapping the Champions head back with the same, ‘out of no-where’ force that had won her so many matches. The Slim Reaper teetered backwards, her eyes staring blank, before she dropped in a heap to the concrete, sitting with her back to the apron.
The FAWNatics, already in high spirits, erupted anew following the blistering strike, and Sinclair reset her posture following the instinctive attack… before her shoulders slumped visibly.
“Great,” she huffed, looking her taller opponent over, her error dawning on her only after the deed was done. “Now I have to shovel you back into the ring.”
To her credit, it only took one further moment for her to realise her real error, almost the entirety of her diminutive posture popping with renewed enthusiasm as she recalled where she was. “Wait, what am I saying, I don’t need you,” she explained as her eyes returned to the Title hanging suspended above the squared circle, immediately moving to bypass her opponent as she climbed back up onto the apron.
“Sorry,” to apologised to Yoona, despite the fact that she obviously wasn’t listening, “sometimes, I can be slow on the uptake.”
The Legionnaires were in full voice as Sammie ducked between the top and middle rope, urging her on, that is until the tenor of their collective demeanours shifted to alarm.
That arena wide shout of warning came too late however as a shell shocked yet intensely stubborn Park bullishly pushed through her own stupor, dragging herself back up to some semblance of standing. She reached across the canvas and, after seizing the Upstart Supreme by her ankle, she YANKED!! backwards as hard as she was able.
While she didn’t fall, Sammie did stumble, overbalanced to the point that she almost fell face first back down onto the mat. Instead she was able to regain her balance the moment she reached the opposite set of ring ropes.
That was all of a delay that Park needed, the Champion injecting herself back inside the squared circle following a stiff shaking of her head, back on her feet again as her Challenger turned herself about. She was on the front foot again as the duo advanced, winding up to deliver a stiff clothesline…
…Only for Sinclair to pile on the acceleration as only the most Babyfaced of Lightweights could do, ducking beneath the beheading blow and diving into a neat, forward roll. The moment that she popped out of it, and Yoona was turning herself about, Sammie threw herself backwards into a beautiful backflip, swinging her lithe legs up and over into a sweet little handstand.
Snapping her ankles together to either side of her opponents unsuspecting noggin, Sinclair inhaled briefly before, with a mighty heave with the entirety of her diminutive frame (and a hearty helping hand from Lady Momentum), she swung herself about and RIPPED! Park from off of her feet!!
Yoona was sent toppling head over heels by the crowd-pleasing manoeuvre and, while the bump to her back was indeed jarring, she was not slow in getting back up onto her feet.
Unfortunately for her, as she turned about to retaliate, Sammie was no slouch in recovering either, quickly tucking her knees up to her chest before she positively LAUNCHED herself back up to vertical with Fawn’s Favourite Kip Up!! She was up onto her feet in a flash, and she was back off them again just as quickly, the Little Sparrow hopping into a standing leap that allowed her to deliver a breath stealing dropkick!
BACKFLIP HEADSCISSORS TAKEDOWN/DROPKICK COMBO
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU7e8W-2yi8
With the soles of both of Sinclair’s boots connecting with her unguarded torso, Yoona went down hard to the canvas with the air being forced from her body. She snarled in frustration, pushing through the discomfort as she rolled over onto her knees following her involuntary drop to the canvas, perfectly aware that her opponent had, once again, returned to blood leather without missing a beat, buoyed somehow by the FAWNatics chanting.
Sammie was on a roll, determination written adorably across her features as she hopped into a sprint, hurling herself towards the furthest set of ring ropes. She didn’t wait to reach them, instead leaping a good two paces away, landing deftly upon the second coil and, turning herself about in mid-flight, used the recoil to propel skywards…
…and straight into a wicked spear!!
SPEAR INTERCEPTION: @4:33
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy-pOPvYFT4&t=392s
The Slim Reaper had cried out with more than a little bloodlust as she had thrown herself into the air as though she was a javelin, her shoulder positively IMPALING!! Sinclair’s trim tummy, both striking the young women from the sky, and pinning her to the deck. With a yelp that was heartfelt, the Upstart Supreme genuflected about that penetrating joint before she collapsed boneless to mat, moaning with small shivers as her thighs twitched periodically.
With her own adrenaline now surging, it was Park’s turn to be on her feet in no time, pacing in a sharp half circle before zeroing in on her soon to be victim. Without thought she snatched her opponent by both her hair and the belt of her skirt before bodily dragging the small girl upwards, yet again turning about a sharp half circle before both heaving and positively hurling the People’s Princess through the ropes and to the outside of the ring…
…blinded by her immediate need for retribution, Yoona had not realised until it was too late that the human projectile that she had created had been thrown in the immediate direction of Camille Cosworth!!
Physically gifted as she might be, Camille was caught flat-footed by the wayward wrestler suddenly coming her way and unable to brace herself for impact. Samantha’s shoulder barreled straight into her chest, knocking her backwards and causing her to bang into the steel barricade behind her. Cosworth laid in a heap, hissing in pain as she cradled the back of her head with both hands, while just a few feet away Sinclair was laid out with her own ailments. Perhaps out of sheer babyface instinct, Samantha still found it in herself to check in on her fellow wrestler and inadvertent victim, crawling over on hands and knees.
“Ahhh geez…” she groaned, “...are you alri --”
That was as far as the Little Sparrow got before Yoona waylaid her with a savage punt to the head.
“YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!” Park screeched, practically incandescent with fury and hate as she grabbed the nearby railing with both hands for support and began stomping away at the beleaguered challenger.
Sinclair had the good sense to put up her arms and protect her head, although doing so left the rest of her body unprotected against the savage assault. The Slim Reaper’s bony heel repeatedly found its target in her chest and gut, further pulverizing her midsection. Those in attendance at ringside did not take kindly to Yoona trying to turn a long-time fan favorite into a mudhole, and they showered her with boos and handfuls of popcorn and empty hotdog wrappers tossed her way.
Their ardent condemnation, both verbal and physical, only fueled Park’s rage, however. She redoubled on her efforts to seemingly crack Sinclair’s ribs or worse, and she very well may have had Camille not grabbed her by the waist and dragged her away just a few seconds later.
“Yoona, wha -- what are you DOING?!” Cosworth gasped, still rubbing the back of her head with one hand but otherwise no worse for the wear. “What’s wrong with you?!”
Breaking out of her girlfriend’s grasp, Yoona pointed an accusing finger at Samantha and angrily snarled, “She -- !”
She cut herself off, her bloodlust cooling considerably as she tried to verbalize Sinclair’s offenses and came up with nothing.
“Oh, fucking hell,” Park groaned while she ran a hand over her face, and her countenance curdled from rage into disgust.
Camille started to speak again, but this time the Korean wrestler silently cut her off by clasping a hand around the back of her neck and pulling her in so that they were nose-to-nose and forehead-to-forehead.
“Mianhae,” Yoona softly murmured before breaking away again.
Her expression inscrutable, she cast a sideways glance at the still-flattened People’s Princess, then she gave her head a couple of shakes and slid back into the ring. The mortified official came over to deliver a stern if useless reprimand, but Yoona simply shoved her way past the man and retrieved one of the ladders again. She set it up directly under her dangling EurAsian title belt, and once she’d confirmed that Sinclair was only now stirring back to life, Park began climbing up towards another successful defense.
Much to Yoona’s chagrin, standing on the top step and extending her arm high overhead still left the prize about a foot and a half out of reach. The ladder didn’t provide a stable platform to leap from either, so she took a couple of seconds to gather herself, then she jumped for it.
The FAWNatics gasped as Park batted one end of the strap with her right hand, but she couldn’t quite manage to latch onto the swinging belt, and a moment later she found herself tumbling back down as she exclaimed, “SHIT!”
The champion landed on her feet then rolled to the mat to lessen the impact on her fragile ankles. Even so, she was left grimacing from the stinging jolt that was now running from her hips all the way to the tips of her toes. Yoona needed a few moments to massage her bare soles and rub away the worst of the hurt, then she pounded a fist into the mat as she rose to a stand. Her eyes locked onto the ten pounds of leather and gold hanging above the ring, she started making her way up the ladder for another try.
“YOONA! WATCH --” Camille cried out from ringside, but it was already too late.
Park was just past halfway up before a recovered Samantha leapt from the nearest set of ropes and cracked a wicked Forearm Smash into the side of her jaw.
SPRINGBOARD FOREARM SMASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EECiN46rShU
Sinclair’s Legionnaires erupted in jubilation as the Springboard Forearm Smash sent Yoona crashing to the canvas before the ladder itself toppled onto her. The challenger took a hard bump as well following her Hail Mary effort, but the sheer magnitude of the moment propelled her back to her feet in a flash. With the Slim Reaper buried in a heap for the time being, Samantha set the second ladder in place and began her ascent.
Her climb was much slower and more tortured than Park’s, however, as the Little Sparrow kept her left arm wrapped around her midsection at all times, leaving her just one hand with which to climb. She managed to throw an arm over the uppermost rung when a concerned murmur rippled through the building, signifying that Yoona was getting back in the fight.
Samantha quickly did the mental calculus. With her opponent still staggering and unsteady, Sinclair decided to keep going, hoping to snatch the title before Park could stop her. No such luck for the People’s Princess, however, as Yoona lunged forward and snagged her right calf, halting her upward progress. Sinclair tried to cling onto the ladder for dear life, but a bony elbow smashed into her lower back loosened her grip, then she found herself hauled onto Park’s shoulders and stretched out backwards in a Torture Rack.
TORTURE RACK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab9vIXYVs4M
Although she was known for her deft striking, technical grappling, and salacious submissions, Yoona showed there was power and wiry strength in her frame too as she stomped a few laps around the ring while jouncing the smaller wrestler up and down.
Nevertheless, the Little Sparrow resolutely refused to tap out or utter a word of surrender. Never before had she been made to quit in a FAWN match, and she didn’t intend to start now, especially with a stipulation that made such an action pointless. She clenched her jaw and gnashed her teeth together as she felt the strength draining from her body, determined to make her opponent expend as much energy as possible in maintaining the hold even if she could not escape.
After about thirty seconds or so, Sinclair’s thrashing resistance had dwindled to nearly nothing, her limply dangling arms and legs swaying to and fro as Park gave her a couple of final bounces. Satisfied that she had wrung all the fight from the People’s Princess, Yoona made her way over to the fallen ladder and prepared to dump her opponent onto the metal frame, a coup de grace that would send the challenger straight to the infirmary and allow the champion to retrieve her title uncontested. Tuning out the desperate protests of the partisan crowd, Park dipped into a crouch before exploding back to a stand, using the momentum to launch her opponent’s flaccid form off of her shoulders and into the air.
Plummeting towards her doom sparked Samantha back to life, however. Already in freefall, she couldn’t save herself, but she could take Yoona with her. She reached over her right shoulder to clasp the Slim Reaper’s head with both hands, then she let gravity take its course. A heartbeat later, Sinclair’s spine smashed into the ladder and Park’s jaw simultaneously smashed into Sinclair’s shoulder, leaving both wrestlers down and seemingly out thanks to a Sammie Stunner out of left field.
SAMMIE STUNNER OUT OF LEFT FIELD:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhNEi0xV4Z4
For several, long moments, neither young woman displayed a desire to continue moving, both laid out pedicular to one another atop a ladder. Sammie lay face up towards the rafters, inhaling softly with a small parting of her lips, Yoona remained face down against the canvas, her right foot kicking at erratic intervals. They remained that way just long enough for the Official to grow concerned, before the Challenger inhaled a deep, pained breath.
“You,” Samantha exhaled and immediately regretted it, her trim tummy spasming in protest. Never the less, she soldiered on, she had something to say, and she wanted to get it off of her chest. “You are, an ass.”
“Bite me,” was the Champions equally Shakespearian retort, Park grimacing as she braced both of her palms down against the mat.
With a semblance of life returning to the squared circle, the trepidation of the FAWNatics transformed rapidly into excitement, enraptured as they were as the race was now on. Neither competitor wanted to get up, both of them were too damn proud to stay down, Sammie rolling over onto her front as Yoona pushed up onto her hands and knees.
Despair threatened to grip the audience as Yoona showed every sign of finding vertical first, a reality exemplified as she grabbed the smaller brunette by her hair. With the People’s Princess so ensnared, the Slim Reaper yanked HARD on the girls curls and, with a wince, the Upstart Supreme was pulled slowly to her feet.
Evidently, however, Sammie decided that was quite enough of having her mane pulled for one evening as, just as Yoona was about to seize her by the throat, Sinclair stepped up the momentum.
Snagging a hold of her opponents’ wrist, she pulled the offending limb away and went on to display her impressive flexibility, slinging her right stem up and planting the sole of her boot beneath the chin of the Champion. Boot leather so secured, Sammie dropped suddenly backwards, YANKING Yoona forwards with her before the canvas provided a sharp brake to her descent, JOLTING the base her foot right up into the underside of her opponents exposed jaw!
EAT DEFEAT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTdWpldVzmU
With her teeth forcibly gnashed together, Park SNAPPED back up to vertical and stumbled away, almost tripping over one set of ladders on her journey to the ring ropes. She clutched at her mouth as she cursed through her fingers, the coils supporting her just long enough for her to regain her bearings. With ill intent, Yoona turned herself about…
…and Sammie was coming right for her, the FAWNatics whooping with delight as she charged.
The miniature athlete released a (not exactly fearsome) war cry as she launched her petite mass not so much into a spear, but more along the lines of a shoulder tackle. While it wasn’t a great deal, it was the most elegance that she could summon at that precise moment, but it most certainly got the job done, punting her posted joint into the midriff of her opponent and, with Park gasping for air, sent her tumbling even less gracefully through the top and middle ropes.
During her fall to the outside of the ring, Yoona managed to bypass the apron entirely, albeit not deliberately, taking the most direct route possible to the barely padded concrete below. She kept on rolling, regardless of the jarring impact, spitting kittens after she arrived at the barricades and almost immediately began dragging herself upwards.
She wasn’t listening to the audience, not at this precise moment, and perhaps that would have been to her benefit as, inside the ring, Sammie’s momentum was building swiftly towards critical mass. The Legionnaires held their collective breadth as the Brit of their Affections threw herself against one set of ring ropes and rebounded back towards the others.
As she approached them, she leapt, fuelled by little more than determination as she all but vaulted up onto the top coil. The rubber coated steel flexed beneath her feather like physique before springing taught, propelling the Little Sparrow into the air as the brunette tucked her lithe frame into a sweet little, forwards flip.
Spreading herself out, Sinclair SPLASHED down atop the Champion, flattening Yoona against the barricade with a SLAP of well-toned bodies.
SPRINGBOARD FORWARD SAULT: @7:29
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SObNk3nM73A
Both competitors dropped to the concrete, and the FAWNatics were left in full voice, chanting their appreciation to the rafters.
“I don’t suppose I could convince you,” Sammie huffed with effort, freckled cheeks rosy with exertion, “to stay put?”
For once, the notoriously loud-mouthed champion was without a retort, offering nothing but a gurgle and a groan as she laid on the floor. Sinclair took that as a sign that Park would in fact stay put, so she clambered up onto shaky legs and shambled back into the ring. Samantha’s ribs felt like they’d been tenderized with a sledgehammer, but that didn’t stop her from resetting the ladder and making the climb once more, making sure to keep the Slim Reaper in the corner of her eye at all times.
This time the People’s Princess made it to the top undisturbed as Yoona was still trying to peel herself off the ground. Sinclair took a deep breath to steady herself and immediately winced from sharp pang of pain in her midsection, and then she leapt.
All at once, the tens of thousands of people in attendance gasped in anticipation, as if sucking all the air out of the building would allow the Little Sparrow to soar just a bit higher and just a bit further towards golden glory. For the briefest of moments as Samantha was airborne -- her outstretched hand coming closer and closer and closer to the dangling prize -- an eerie, reverent silence permeated the FAWN Arena while staccato flashes of light came from the Gladiatrix photographers at ringside.
A fraction of a second later, Sinclair’s graceful, parabolic arc was abruptly arrested as she latched onto the bottom of the belt with her right hand, and just like that, the stillness was shattered when the FAWNatics returned all their borrowed oxygen in one mass exultation.
“YES!” Samantha cried out, not that she could hear herself over the eruption of the crowd as she remained suspended high above the center of the ring.
And therein lay the problem, as Sinclair realized once that initial wave of euphoria had washed over her. The EurAsian title belt was still securely fastened to the harness -- too securely fastened for her petite mass to rip free. With the palm of her hand clammy and slick with perspiration, she couldn’t maintain her grip either, and soon she was sliding down…
...down…
...down…
“NO!” Samantha cried out again, despondent and forlorn as the championship quite literally slipped through her fingertips.
Able to defy gravity no more, the Little Sparrow plummeted towards the ring beneath her. Her landing was far less controlled than Yoona’s had been earlier, Samantha slamming spine-first onto the canvas before her neck whiplashed and caused the back of her skull to violently bounce off the deck as well. Sinclair’s vision and hearing exploded into a furious cacophony of light and sound, and through her fluttering eyelids, she saw the Slim Reaper stalking towards her.
Samantha forced herself to rise up and meet her opponent head on, but her rattled senses failed her, and she stumbled right into Yoona’s grasps. Park drove another vicious Knee Strike into her gut as soon as Sinclair was in range, then clasped both hands around the back of her neck and followed up with three more. The Little Sparrow sunk to her knees after being pummeled in her opponent’s Thai Plum, and a moment later, she found her arms trapped behind her back in a Double Underhook.
“Get fucked, asshole,” Yoona grunted as she straightened her posture to lift Samantha into the air by their interlocked arms.
Sinclair bicycled her legs in the air as she hung upside down, but it was no use. Just a moment later, Park dropped to her knees and drove the crown of Samantha’s head into the canvas with a brutal Tiger Driver.
TIGER DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR9mRfrnEKc
The impact folded Samantha’s surgically-repaired neck into a gruesome angle for a split second before she bounced free from Yoona’s clutches, then she finally settled into a broken, boneless heap in front of the Slim Reaper.
Quite exhausted herself at this point, Park forced herself up with a groan and a hiss. She fired a hateful punt into the side of the challenger’s ribs, and when that elicited nothing more than a reflexive shudder, the champion turned her attention to the ladder and the dangling belt once more.
Unlike the beloved Upstart Supreme, the Slim Reaper made the climb to appalled silence from the audience. Nevertheless, the Korean appeared undaunted, and soon enough, she was standing on the top rung and gauging the distance to the prize. Having come up short on her first lunge earlier in the match, Yoona needed a bit more time to steady her nerves for a second try.
She spread her feet apart as far as she could, then she crouched down deep and sprang upwards with a mighty roar. The recoil of her jump sent the ladder tumbling to the deck behind her, but her effort was not in vain as she got a few extra inches of height and managed to snag the end of the belt with both hands. Park’s gloves found better purchase against the grainy leather than Sinclair’s bare palms, though it seemed that the champion’s additional twenty-ish pounds of mass was still not enough to tear the strap from its moorings.
“Goddamn it… c’mon! Fuck! FUCK!” Yoona snarled as she thrashed her body to and fro in an attempt to wrest her title free, all while the FAWNatics watched with their hearts in their throats.
After about ten seconds of struggle high above the ring, the crowd collectively screamed as the harness gave way.
But only a little bit.
The belt -- and Park with it -- dropped maybe a foot before it violently snagged again. The sudden jerk broke Yoona’s grip, and with a wordless, primal shriek, the Slim Reaper plummeted towards the mats. This time Park’s fall was much less graceful and controlled, and rather than landing on her feet and rolling with the impact, she smashed her back flat against the fallen ladder she had climbed not even a minute ago.
Yoona spasmodically arched her spine and howled, squeezing her eyes shut as hot tears of pain, frustration, and rage ran from the outer corners of her eyes. A few feet away, the People’s Princess was beginning to stir.
Jolted from her stupor by Parks cry, Sammie was not feeling overly eager to get back up, swallowing painfully before rolling over onto her side, her back spasming so violently she almost yelped. She didn’t, gritting her teeth so tightly she was certain that at least one of them would crack, and she reached out to grasp the nearest coil to hand, forcibly dragging herself up to sitting.
“Stay! Down!” Yoona threatened, lacing her pained tone with enough venom to flatten a herd, sitting back up with a visible wince of her own. “I’ll not warn you again.”
With an involuntary sigh, Sinclair flopped backwards into a corner, sitting on the canvas with her arms draped over the middle ropes. “Why?” she exhaled, the picture of sincerity. “I could do this all day.”
Yoona, her mood already seething, could not have been more humorless as her temper reached critical intensity, replaced with a cold fury that was frightening in its singularity of focus. With a single, sleek motion she dropped and rolled beneath the bottom rope to the outside of the ring, zeroing in on the timekeeper’s desk and, with a CLANK of folding metal, secured herself a steel chair. Without missing a stride, Park slipped back into the ring with her new weapon in hand, striding towards Sinclair as though her opponent were a wounded antelope.
Sammie, wearily, had hauled herself back up to some semblance of vertical, her petite frame shivering as she felt her legs threatening to give out at a moment’s notice.
“Fuck it, we’re done,” Yoona stated flatly, brandishing her weapon, “I’m going to ruin you Sinclair, I’m going to enjoy it.”
She swung the steel chair about…
…and Sammie sprung into action, positively PLANTING the sole of her boot clean against the flat of the Champions weapon with a BLISTERING Sammie Kick, forcibly WHACKING the steel backwards squarely into Park’s unprotected features!
The resulting CLANG!! was audible to even those sitting in the highest rafters and, after Yoona teetered for just a moment, the Loyalist Legionnaires ERUPTED after she tumbled into a stunned stupor, a puppet with her string’s cuts.
Sammie almost fell over herself, almost using up the last of her reserves for the single effort and, after swaying this way and that, she managed to remain upright seemingly via the support of the FAWNatics. She exhaled deeply, looking about with a glassy expression as if she had forgotten what she was doing, before she settled on what she was after.
The Upstart Supreme, following the prompting of those sitting closest, grabbed the closest set of ladders and, with a heave and a puffing of her freckled cheeks, she was able to bring them up to standing. Ensuring that it was secure with a few slaps, she exhaled a weary sigh before she began climbing, not quite sure why the tenor of those in the audience had grown increasingly less positive the closer she got to the top.
It wasn’t until she reached the peak of Everest that the People’s Princess could acknowledge her mistake, looking about herself and realizing that where she had planted the ladders was far from central. With a groan that was heartfelt, Sammie slumped her slender shoulders and threw back her head with a world-weary sigh.
“Great,” she remarked, unimpressed with her blunder, “back to square…”
Collectively, the FAWNatics let out a shout that was more of a panicked yelp than a cry of warning, several in attendance spotting Yoona diving for the ladders upon which their beloved, Little Sparrow was precariously perched. Park slammed herself into them with a furious shout, and the framework toppled with alarming swiftness…
Sammie did not have time to think, not as the ‘ground’ fell away beneath her and, in a single, instinctive moment, she planted her foot atop the highest step before it gave way and positively LEAPT into the void.
The arena held its breath, more than a few looked away, and Sinclair’s heart skipped several beats as she soared through the air and held out her hand…
…grabbing ahold of the strap dangling so high above the ring.
Momentum, however, was a fickle bytch and, given her trajectory, the audience was forced to gasp as the miniature brunette kept on swinging, hurtling one way, and then the other like some manner of perilous pendulum, Sammie clinging onto a strap that clung equally stubbornly to a harness.
Against her better judgement, the People’s Princess scrunched her button nose and, far too stubborn to be denied, grasped the strap with both hands and YANKED downwards. Her eyes opened wide as something, finally, gave way, the belt popping open and freeing itself from its prison…
…which would be cause for celebration were she not swinging this way and that like a miniature wrecking ball wrapped in gold and blue. She YELPED before letting the belt go with one hand and reaching out for the only thing within reach, however temporary it may be, her fingers just barely snagging themselves about the now vacant harness and halting her downwards trajectory with a painful JOLT to her poor shoulder.
She exhaled a loud shout regardless, one filled with as much panic as it was joy, the young woman still swinging above the squared circle like one of the Flying Grayson’s, albeit in increasingly less frantic rotations, a prize worth fighting for clasped with her free hand. She wanted to hold it up, but couldn’t find the strength to, and so satisfied herself with not falling to the mat far below.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the Announcer jumped in, making the outcome official after the bell rang, “Your Winner, and NEW EuroAsia Champion, SAMNATHA! SINCLAIR!!”
The Loyalist Legionnaires were in full voice following the pronouncement, and they filled the arena with the sound of their approval, bringing their voices together to repeat three words.
“WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLD! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT!”
Sammie, while she certainly wasn’t unappreciative, had more immediate concerns after she finally dared herself to look down, far more distance between the tips of her toes and the mat for her liking. “Guys,” she cleared her throat politely, not wanting to be rude.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could someone, maybe, fetch me a ladder?”
With his official duties concluded, the referee quickly set about erecting another ladder to help the newly crowned EurAsian champion return to terra firma. It turned out to be unnecessary though, as the entirety of Upstart Nation came tearing down the entrance ramp in aid of their fearless leader -- the effervescent Chloe Fields at the head of the pack and Bunny Cooper bringing up the rear. FAWN’s preeminent babyface stable slid into the ring and formed a human landing pad under the Upstart Supreme, allowing the Little Sparrow to safely drop into the waiting arms of Jaime London and Katya Michalka.
Altogether they tossed Samantha into the air, then caught her on the way down, then tossed her, then caught her, then tossed her, then caught her all to the rhythm of the crowd as they continued to proclaim, “WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”
A few feet away from the euphoric celebration, the now former champion was digesting some very different, very bitter emotions. Yoona stood stock still, almost catatonic as she continued to grip the steel chair in her right hand while indignation, disbelief, and rage flashed across her features. Her gaze never left the golden belt that had been hers and hers alone for the last year and a half, her anger doubling and redoubling every time she saw it rise and fall and rise again while in the grasp of a usurper. It didn’t take long for her temper to boil over, and with a snarl on her lips and a weapon in her hand, the Slim Reaper stepped towards the unsuspecting Upstarts...
...only to be stopped by something clasped around her left bicep.
“Yoona, no.”
Park stopped dead in her tracks, though she didn’t let go of the chair.
“No,” Camille repeated, her tone pleading but her hold on her girlfriend as unyielding as adamantium.
“WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”
After a few tense seconds, she added, “Look, I’m sure you could get a rematch if you --”
“Fuck the rematch,” Yoona bitterly spat as she finally let the steel chair clatter to the canvas. “Trash-ass title for trash-ass people.”
With that, Cosworth loosened her grip, allowing the Korean to slide out of the ring and stomp away without another word or glance backwards. Camille observed the Upstarts for a little while longer -- still jubilant and still oblivious -- and just for a moment she wondered if she should go over and congratulate the new champion.
“WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”
The feeling passed just as quickly as it had come on, however, and Cosworth silently hopped over the ropes and to the floor before jogging after her girlfriend.
“WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”
GOOD TIME
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsF2L1Jmkow
The moment Samantha Sinclair appeared on stage, that was when the FAWNatics truly lost their sh*t, the Leader of the Upstart Nation standing as tall as her perfectly petite mass would allow her, catching the light in all the right places as she whipped both her arms up high and waved. Five foot four and one hundred and ten pounds of athletically sculptured, miniature might, Sammie Sinclair was every inch the People’s Princess as she cheered back, shimmering in her golden/yellow attire with her dimple, freckled cheeks flushing a delightful shade of crimson.
SAMANTHA SINCLAIR
Sporting her ever familiar ensemble, family colours bright and on show, Sinclair’s identity was impossible to confuse. Her sports bra, smoothly curved about her small, proud bosom left her softly sculptured tummy bare and her upraised arms the same way. About her hips snugly sat a short skirt which, with a generous slit running up the right side, revealed a wonderful shot of her firm thigh as the baby brown eyed darling hopped up onto her tip toes and spiralled. Her boots were a bright blue and reached upwards to just beneath her knees, tanned from firm leather and sporting lacing right up the front.
With the flourish of her spiral completed, the People’s Princess set her feet apart and kept her fingers wiggling heavenwards, nodding to her followers with a knowing smirk just before she lead them in her usual declaration of intent, a three beat mantra that the Legionnaires watching were always a part of. Once they were ready, she brought her hands together...
ONCE!
TWICE!!
THRICE!!!
With her statement of intent made clear she pointed directly towards the squared circle, a hearty explosion of pyrokinetics erupting to either side of the stage that she was standing on. Samantha Sinclair was here and, with a joy induced skip she headed down the aisle at a swift sprint, the second-generation superstar with chocolate curls bouncing free about her slender shoulders now a little older, a little wiser and a worthy inheritor of her Father’s legacy. The girl was now a young woman, and she was looking all the bolder for it.
Fearless? Perhaps not, but nerve?
She most defiantly had nerve.
The moment Sinclair reached the squared circle, a deft run, skip and jump took her clean up onto the apron. Grasping the top coil with both of her hands, the Bright-Eyed Wonder leaned back and, following a cheeky shake her pert buttocks, she shot right up and over the top rope with an applause worthy sault.
Landing lightly on her feet and clapping once more, she headed on over to the corner to surrender to an inspection, fidgeting ever so slightly with her attire and hoping that it didn’t betray her nerves. Like it or not, this was to be her third run at the coveted Title and, despite what the sentiment might suggest, third time was not always the charm, especially with the likes of Yoona Park standing in the way. She inhaled deeply, leaning backwards into the turnbuckles as she grasped the top ropes. It took her a few moments longer than she would like to realise that a chant had begun forming the length and breadth of the audience. They were three words put together that had begun following her where ever she went this past year following both her schism with Elizabeth Cromwell, and her ongoing war with Irma Irons.
It was an honorific that she had not asked for but, much like when the title of People’s Princess had been placed upon her, it left her deeply humbled.
“WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLD! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT!”
With a sheepish rosining of her freckled features, Samantha held up her hand for a thankful salute back, inhaling deeply as she experienced a surge of confidence. At FAWNMANIA, she had been willing to throw herself off the top of a Steel Cage and through an Announcers Table in order to win a grudge match, at least tonight the highest either of them could fall from was the top turnbuckle…
After the referee’s inspection predictably failed to turn up any shivs, brass knuckles, cayenne powder, or any other tools of malfeasance hidden within the Upstart’s gear, Sinclair claimed a corner for herself and waited for her opponent to appear.
And waited…
...and waited…
...and waited.
The nervous anxiety steadily building in the FAWNatics seemed to infect Samantha as well and she began to jog in place to burn off some excess energy, shifting her weight to and fro from one foot to the other. Just as the crowd was wondering if the champion were about to no-show her first title defense of the new year, the ring announcer spoke up once more.
“By special order of Bethany Christian, the following contest is now a LADDER MATCH!”
The sudden swerve made Samantha freeze in her steps and sent a gasp rippling through the audience. While the Little Sparrow was not known as the Little Sparrow for her fear of heights, the sorts of acrobatic frippery in the usual ladder match were far outside Yoona Park’s modus operandi.
Sinclair didn’t have much time to dwell on what all of that meant, however, because the woman in question finally decided to appear, tearing through the curtains at the top of the steel walkway and stalking her way down to the ring. Apparently Park hadn’t waited for her cue and caught the production team off guard, leaving her without musical accompaniment during her entrance and forcing the announcer to quickly blurt out an introduction.
“And your champion, at five foot seven and one hundred twenty eight pounds, Yoona Park!”
Yoona wore her typical ring gear -- bustier-cut one piece, elbow length fingerless gloves, and knee-length compression stockings that left her feet bare, all in black trimmed with gold -- but on this particular night she looked anything other than normal, all of her usual swaggering braggadocio and lurid sex appeal replaced by menace oozing from every pore.
After being honored as 2018’s Wrestler of the Year by Gladiatrix, the reigning EurAsian champion had yet to defend her title or appear at any official event in the first half of 2019. Rumors swirled that the notoriously enigmatic and unapproachable Slim Reaper was holding out as part of negotiations for anything ranging from a bigger paycheck to a World Title shot to better catering services. Whatever her demands, however, the humorless scowl etched across her features suggested that things had not gone as planned, and all signs indicated that she would vent that displaced anger at her challenger’s expense.
Clearly, she intended to send a message and a violent reminder of her dominance as champion.
YOONA PARK
Trailing a few steps behind Park and dressed in street clothes was Camille Cosworth. With her demeanor and moral compass much more closely aligned with the challenger’s than with her own girlfriend’s, Camille looked ill at ease over concerns of what might happen to either of the two wrestlers. She stayed silent and at arm’s length all the way down to ringside before she finally squeaked out a tentative “Good luck” that Yoona didn’t even seem to hear.
After taking a moment, Cosworth found it in herself to speak once more, this time louder and in Korean, <<Yoona, wait…>>
Park stopped in her tracks halfway through climbing between the ropes.
<<...keep it clean. Please.>>
Yoona acknowledged the request with a soft snort, then she stepped into the ring and flippantly tossed her championship belt to the referee. Production assistants brought a pair of folding eight-foot step ladders into the ring, the official held the gaudy strap aloft for the entire arena to see, then he hooked it to a cable that pulled it higher and higher and higher until it was dangling fifteen feet above the canvas -- Samantha gazing wistfully at the belt all the way up and Yoona simply staring at her latest challenger, her dark eyes flashing with malicious intent.
Try as she might, Sinclair couldn’t take her eye off the prize, noggin craned back as the Title swung suspended high above her head. Giving her recent penchant for doing herself mischief by leaping from said high places, she was momentarily unsure as to whom Ms. Christian was attempting to stick it to with the last-minute stipulation to the contest, the Challenger or the Champion.
Considering the Commissioner in question, it was probably both.
With a tentative swallow, the brunette of slender frame inhaled deeply and shook her shoulders out, steadying her nerves as she tore her eyes away from the Gold that meant so much to so many, and the woman she had to take it from. It hadn’t escaped her attention that Yoona did not look the happiest on this particular evening, nor did the arrival of the two ladders inside of the ring, and while Sinclair had every intention of walking away tonight with prize in hand, that didn’t mean that she had to be a bytch about it.
“Look, I want to you know,” Sammie began, her posture unguarded before the bell rang, “this wasn’t my ide…”
With a swift kick to Sinclair’s exposed midriff, the Slim Reaper cut off the People’s Princess with a savage attack that was as unprovoked as it was uncalled for, the smaller brunette folding forwards with a sharp yelp and explosion of air.
The FAWNatics called foul, for the bell had not rung yet, but Park was far from listening, pacing forwards into the breach and grabbing a double fistful of her challenger’s hair, seemingly determined to set the tone for tonight’s affair as swiftly as possible. With her gasping opponent already unsteady, Yoona dropped down to one knee and ripped the Upstart Supreme down with her, SMACKING her forehead clean against the posted joint with a resounding CRACK!!
Sammie jolted from the impact and shimmy was sent through her hips, the young woman already unsteady from the barrage of blind siding attacks. As such, she was in little position to protest as the EuroAsia Champion dragged her back up to vertical and, after seizing a wrist, twisted about and flung the Little Sparrow into an involuntary sprint by way of an Irish Whip.
Sinclair dashed across the canvas and, while the coils that surrounded the squared circle were often perceived as her allies, right now that were proving to be more of a liability. Turning herself about at the last moment, the brunette rebounded off the ropes across her shoulders before she swiftly began returning to sender and, while the Legionnaires may have hoped that this would prove to be the beginning of some manner of reversal, they were to be swiftly proven otherwise.
Wasting not an ounce of momentum, Yoona seized the smaller Sinclair by her firm thighs and pivoted sharply about, whipping Sinclair back first towards the waiting canvas by way of a ballistic Spinebuster!
Sammie’s resulting groan was heavy with escaped air as she bounced from the impact with the barely yielding plywood, recoiling into a spin that rolled her over onto her front. She grimaced, immediately attempting to push her way back up onto her hands and knees, only for Park, still feeling far from charitable, grabbed the athletic Upstart by her mane once again.
“Jesus, Yoona,” the Official protested, “the bell hasn’t rung yet.”
“What about my demeanour suggests I give a f*ck!?!” Yoona snapped, a raw and festering sense of indignity poisoning her glare as she seized a second handhold of her Challenger, this time securing the girls belt. “Ring it if it makes you happy, but there’s only one way to win this match, so don’t expect this shit to get any more comfortable. The People’s Princess is my Bytch tonight!”
Fraught with indecision, but knowing damn well that Bethany would have his guts for garters if he tried to call the match off now, he called for the bell to officially begin the contest, much to the protests of the FAWNatics.
Yoona scarcely paid it any attention, instead turning about sharply with her cargo in tow, bum rushing the Leader of the Upstart Nation towards the nearest corner ring post before releasing her!
Like a shot, Sammie hurtled towards a perilous destination, moments from connecting with the steelwork of the ring as the bell finally rang. In all likelihood, what was to follow was purely a coincidence, but it was an auspicious one indeed as that very sound seemed to snap Sinclair right out of her stupor, permission given for her to shift out of neutral as, at the last moment, she shifted her course from one of disaster, to instead dashing up the turnbuckles!!
Akin to some manner of beguiling simian, Sinclair deftly hopped up the pedestals as though it had been her plan from the start and, before anyone was quite ready to readjust their expectations, she reached the apex of her ascent and sprung herself backwards into a leap. With a backflip she glided threw the air and, before Yoona could compensate, Sammie snagged her in an inverted, front headlock and utilized both gravity and momentum to DRAG her down into an equally Inverted DDT!!
BACKFLIP INVERTED DDT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXS1WLNvZ8I
The back of the Champions head was SPIKED!! into the canvas, planting her with enough authority to elicit a raw from the FAWNatics as she grasped her cranium in pain.
Sammie, for her part, bounced away from the landing far more pleasantly and, for the briefest of moments, opted to display the better part of valour in an effort to regain her bearings. With a spin, duck, Sinclair rolled with the momentum of her own assault to slip beneath the bottom rope and to the outside of the ring, landing on her feet with a bounce and little spiral.
She inhaled deeply and grimaced slightly, already feeling more aches than she was happy with, but at least she wasn’t still shell shocked. Sinclair held up a hand to the Legionnaires to assure them that she was still with it and, as she turned about, it was with more than a little surprise that she almost came face to face with Camille Cosworth.
Sammie released a small yeep but, with a small clearing of her throat, she managed to compose herself well, hands on her hips as she attempted to not appear embarrassed.
“Camille,” she greeted, adjusting her posture to try appear less flustered, “you’re looking spry.” Sinclair smiled at that, her tone laced with so much sincerity it couldn’t be anything other than genuine. The Upstart Supreme was no stranger to potentially life altering injuries, her neck still pained her at times, and it pleased her no end to witness Cosworth back on her feet again.
“She’s in a mood,” Sammie changed the subject on a dime, pointing back into the ring.
Camille, for her own part, looked painfully conflicted given the circumstances. Sinclair, not entirely oblivious to such things, let her off the hook swiftly.
“Works for me,” Sammie affirmed, nodding to herself and inhaling deeply, diving back inside the ring now that Yoona Park was dragging herself back up onto her feet.
“Be careful,” Cosworth finally spoke, the tentative tone and lowered volume of her voice making it clear that her words were meant for the challenger, not the champion.
Sinclair glanced at the other woman over her shoulder and out of the corner of her eye before she gave a single, curt nod, then she set her sights on Park once more. For her part, the Korean cranked her neck one way and then the other to get the lingering cobwebs out, then she stomped forward with both fists tightly clenched at her sides.
As soon as she was within striking distance, Yoona let loose with a looping, overhand Haymaker. Samantha stooped down and ducked under the blow, feeling the champion’s fist harmlessly whisk through the hair on top of her head. Her well-timed dodge granting her an opening, Sinclair pivoted about to take her opponent’s back…
...only for the Slim Reaper to spin about on one leg while whipping the other into a vicious Roundhouse Kick directly into the Little Sparrow’s ribcage.
The crushing blow took the wind out of Samantha’s sails, dropping her to one knee and forcing her to protectively swaddle both arms around her left side. Yoona grabbed the smaller wrestler, left hand in the hair and right hand on the waistband, then with a roar of effort, she spun around in a tight pirouette and threw Samantha headfirst into the pair of ladders.
The aluminum frames toppled like dominoes, ending up on the mat in a haphazard heap with a dazed and battered Sinclair on top of them. Park wasn’t far behind either. She took one big stride and leapt into the air before coming down knees-first into the challenger’s unguarded midriff, an impact made all the worse by the unforgiving metal underneath Sinclair’s back.
Had she any oxygen left in her lungs, Samantha would have screamed, but in her current state all she could manage was a silent, tortured howl. The FAWNatics collectively gasped in concern, then they gave the Slim Reaper a barrage of boos for her unrelenting brutality. Still kneeling atop the wreckage, Yoona took a few seconds to look around the arena, her gaze eventually settling on her girlfriend at ringside. Camille opened her mouth as if to say something, but after a silent pause, she bit her lip and averted her eyes to the side.
For a moment -- just for a moment -- Park’s cold, hostile expression faltered, uncharacteristically rattled by Cosworth’s tacit disapproval and resigned weariness. A second volley of jeers from Upstart Nation had the opposite effect, however, hardening her resolve and snapping her eyes back into sharp, spiteful focus.
An angry growl rumbling in the back of her throat, Yoona clambered out of the pile and dragged her opponent along with two handfuls of hair. Park hauled the People’s Princess to the edge of the ring, then draped her backwards across the top rope before pulling the middle rope up and over Sinclair’s arms.
With her challenger trapped and entangled in the steel cables, the champion scoffed, “Waste of goddamn time… ’Best Brit’ my fucking ass…”
Samantha started to respond, only to find herself abruptly and violently interrupted by a Knee Strike to her increasingly tenderized abdomen.
“You ain’t SHIT, Sinclair!” Yoona hissed as she wrapped her right hand around the Little Sparrow’s windpipe and squeezed. “Only thing special about you is your daddy’s name. Remember that before you even THINK about stepping to me again!”
Fortunately for the Legionnaires and their leader, Park stepped away from the wheezing and gagging challenger after having said her piece. She turned around and looked up at her title hanging high in the air, then she grabbed one of the fallen ladders and began setting it up in the center of the ring. With Samantha still tightly bound by the ropes, the FAWNatics let out a loud groan when it seemed that the match would be coming to an early and uncontested conclusion.
The People’s Princess would not be denied so easily, however. Though her arms were ensnared, her legs were still free. Samantha planted her heels under her hips and pushed off into a somersault up, back, and over the ropes. She landed gracefully on the apron, but more importantly, her acrobatics unwound the cables and sprung her from Yoona’s trap.
Despite her ailments, Sinclair hurdled the ropes and was back in the ring in the blink of an eye. Park was still securing the ladder and failed to notice the other wrestler’s escape, and the challenger quickly took advantage of her opening. Hitting top speed in just a couple of strides, the Little Sparrow took flight, sailing cleanly between the legs of the A-frame and delivering a picture perfect Dropkick to her opponent on the other side of the ladder.
Yoona was blown backwards by the impact against her collarbones. She tumbled through the ropes behind her before falling to the floor, dazed and discombobulated though largely unhurt. Park rose to one knee and shook her head, then she gave an enraged, wordless shout as she punched the ground in frustration. The Slim Reaper got herself fully upright just in time to see Samantha hurtling through the splayed legs of the ladder again.
This time the People’s Princess went headfirst and through the ropes as well, turning half a forward somersault in mid-air to pancake the champion beneath her with a Diving Senton.
DIVING SENTON (0:30):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWH6ymEJfrk
The spectacular impact left both wrestlers laid out on the ground in a jumble of limbs, though having had Yoona to break her fall, Samantha was showing a bit more signs of life. Ignited by the back-to-back display of aerial acumen from their idol, the Legionnaires urged the Little Sparrow onwards and upwards by chanting her epithet and battlecry.
“WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLD! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT!”
Given the nature of their respective landings, it was no surprise to anyone that Sammie was back up onto her feet first, albeit with somewhat of a stumble. She prevented a pratfall by grasping the handrail that was suddenly there before her, but momentum almost threatened to flip her up and over the barricade and into an ‘unfortunate’ fans lap.
While the gentlemen in question tried his best to hide his disappointment that the Miniature Brit of Perfectly Petite Proportions hadn’t been deposited into his possession, Sinclair herself tried equally as hard to conceal her embarrassment at the near fall. Both largely failed to do so, but when she spied his shirt proclaiming his support for the Suplex Machine, Wendy Smith, Sammie gave him a hearty thumbs up in approval.
Having made his day on multiple counts, the diminutive brunette turned about…
…and Yoona was there to greet her, back on her feet and swinging a vicious haymaker…
…which Sinclair prevented from being unloaded, her bright eyes opening wide just before she snapped off a sweet as you like Sammie Kick!!
Whipping her right stem up, out and high, she connected the sole of her boot with the underside of Yoona’s chin with a meaty CRACK!!, snapping the Champions head back with the same, ‘out of no-where’ force that had won her so many matches. The Slim Reaper teetered backwards, her eyes staring blank, before she dropped in a heap to the concrete, sitting with her back to the apron.
The FAWNatics, already in high spirits, erupted anew following the blistering strike, and Sinclair reset her posture following the instinctive attack… before her shoulders slumped visibly.
“Great,” she huffed, looking her taller opponent over, her error dawning on her only after the deed was done. “Now I have to shovel you back into the ring.”
To her credit, it only took one further moment for her to realise her real error, almost the entirety of her diminutive posture popping with renewed enthusiasm as she recalled where she was. “Wait, what am I saying, I don’t need you,” she explained as her eyes returned to the Title hanging suspended above the squared circle, immediately moving to bypass her opponent as she climbed back up onto the apron.
“Sorry,” to apologised to Yoona, despite the fact that she obviously wasn’t listening, “sometimes, I can be slow on the uptake.”
The Legionnaires were in full voice as Sammie ducked between the top and middle rope, urging her on, that is until the tenor of their collective demeanours shifted to alarm.
That arena wide shout of warning came too late however as a shell shocked yet intensely stubborn Park bullishly pushed through her own stupor, dragging herself back up to some semblance of standing. She reached across the canvas and, after seizing the Upstart Supreme by her ankle, she YANKED!! backwards as hard as she was able.
While she didn’t fall, Sammie did stumble, overbalanced to the point that she almost fell face first back down onto the mat. Instead she was able to regain her balance the moment she reached the opposite set of ring ropes.
That was all of a delay that Park needed, the Champion injecting herself back inside the squared circle following a stiff shaking of her head, back on her feet again as her Challenger turned herself about. She was on the front foot again as the duo advanced, winding up to deliver a stiff clothesline…
…Only for Sinclair to pile on the acceleration as only the most Babyfaced of Lightweights could do, ducking beneath the beheading blow and diving into a neat, forward roll. The moment that she popped out of it, and Yoona was turning herself about, Sammie threw herself backwards into a beautiful backflip, swinging her lithe legs up and over into a sweet little handstand.
Snapping her ankles together to either side of her opponents unsuspecting noggin, Sinclair inhaled briefly before, with a mighty heave with the entirety of her diminutive frame (and a hearty helping hand from Lady Momentum), she swung herself about and RIPPED! Park from off of her feet!!
Yoona was sent toppling head over heels by the crowd-pleasing manoeuvre and, while the bump to her back was indeed jarring, she was not slow in getting back up onto her feet.
Unfortunately for her, as she turned about to retaliate, Sammie was no slouch in recovering either, quickly tucking her knees up to her chest before she positively LAUNCHED herself back up to vertical with Fawn’s Favourite Kip Up!! She was up onto her feet in a flash, and she was back off them again just as quickly, the Little Sparrow hopping into a standing leap that allowed her to deliver a breath stealing dropkick!
BACKFLIP HEADSCISSORS TAKEDOWN/DROPKICK COMBO
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU7e8W-2yi8
With the soles of both of Sinclair’s boots connecting with her unguarded torso, Yoona went down hard to the canvas with the air being forced from her body. She snarled in frustration, pushing through the discomfort as she rolled over onto her knees following her involuntary drop to the canvas, perfectly aware that her opponent had, once again, returned to blood leather without missing a beat, buoyed somehow by the FAWNatics chanting.
Sammie was on a roll, determination written adorably across her features as she hopped into a sprint, hurling herself towards the furthest set of ring ropes. She didn’t wait to reach them, instead leaping a good two paces away, landing deftly upon the second coil and, turning herself about in mid-flight, used the recoil to propel skywards…
…and straight into a wicked spear!!
SPEAR INTERCEPTION: @4:33
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy-pOPvYFT4&t=392s
The Slim Reaper had cried out with more than a little bloodlust as she had thrown herself into the air as though she was a javelin, her shoulder positively IMPALING!! Sinclair’s trim tummy, both striking the young women from the sky, and pinning her to the deck. With a yelp that was heartfelt, the Upstart Supreme genuflected about that penetrating joint before she collapsed boneless to mat, moaning with small shivers as her thighs twitched periodically.
With her own adrenaline now surging, it was Park’s turn to be on her feet in no time, pacing in a sharp half circle before zeroing in on her soon to be victim. Without thought she snatched her opponent by both her hair and the belt of her skirt before bodily dragging the small girl upwards, yet again turning about a sharp half circle before both heaving and positively hurling the People’s Princess through the ropes and to the outside of the ring…
…blinded by her immediate need for retribution, Yoona had not realised until it was too late that the human projectile that she had created had been thrown in the immediate direction of Camille Cosworth!!
Physically gifted as she might be, Camille was caught flat-footed by the wayward wrestler suddenly coming her way and unable to brace herself for impact. Samantha’s shoulder barreled straight into her chest, knocking her backwards and causing her to bang into the steel barricade behind her. Cosworth laid in a heap, hissing in pain as she cradled the back of her head with both hands, while just a few feet away Sinclair was laid out with her own ailments. Perhaps out of sheer babyface instinct, Samantha still found it in herself to check in on her fellow wrestler and inadvertent victim, crawling over on hands and knees.
“Ahhh geez…” she groaned, “...are you alri --”
That was as far as the Little Sparrow got before Yoona waylaid her with a savage punt to the head.
“YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!” Park screeched, practically incandescent with fury and hate as she grabbed the nearby railing with both hands for support and began stomping away at the beleaguered challenger.
Sinclair had the good sense to put up her arms and protect her head, although doing so left the rest of her body unprotected against the savage assault. The Slim Reaper’s bony heel repeatedly found its target in her chest and gut, further pulverizing her midsection. Those in attendance at ringside did not take kindly to Yoona trying to turn a long-time fan favorite into a mudhole, and they showered her with boos and handfuls of popcorn and empty hotdog wrappers tossed her way.
Their ardent condemnation, both verbal and physical, only fueled Park’s rage, however. She redoubled on her efforts to seemingly crack Sinclair’s ribs or worse, and she very well may have had Camille not grabbed her by the waist and dragged her away just a few seconds later.
“Yoona, wha -- what are you DOING?!” Cosworth gasped, still rubbing the back of her head with one hand but otherwise no worse for the wear. “What’s wrong with you?!”
Breaking out of her girlfriend’s grasp, Yoona pointed an accusing finger at Samantha and angrily snarled, “She -- !”
She cut herself off, her bloodlust cooling considerably as she tried to verbalize Sinclair’s offenses and came up with nothing.
“Oh, fucking hell,” Park groaned while she ran a hand over her face, and her countenance curdled from rage into disgust.
Camille started to speak again, but this time the Korean wrestler silently cut her off by clasping a hand around the back of her neck and pulling her in so that they were nose-to-nose and forehead-to-forehead.
“Mianhae,” Yoona softly murmured before breaking away again.
Her expression inscrutable, she cast a sideways glance at the still-flattened People’s Princess, then she gave her head a couple of shakes and slid back into the ring. The mortified official came over to deliver a stern if useless reprimand, but Yoona simply shoved her way past the man and retrieved one of the ladders again. She set it up directly under her dangling EurAsian title belt, and once she’d confirmed that Sinclair was only now stirring back to life, Park began climbing up towards another successful defense.
Much to Yoona’s chagrin, standing on the top step and extending her arm high overhead still left the prize about a foot and a half out of reach. The ladder didn’t provide a stable platform to leap from either, so she took a couple of seconds to gather herself, then she jumped for it.
The FAWNatics gasped as Park batted one end of the strap with her right hand, but she couldn’t quite manage to latch onto the swinging belt, and a moment later she found herself tumbling back down as she exclaimed, “SHIT!”
The champion landed on her feet then rolled to the mat to lessen the impact on her fragile ankles. Even so, she was left grimacing from the stinging jolt that was now running from her hips all the way to the tips of her toes. Yoona needed a few moments to massage her bare soles and rub away the worst of the hurt, then she pounded a fist into the mat as she rose to a stand. Her eyes locked onto the ten pounds of leather and gold hanging above the ring, she started making her way up the ladder for another try.
“YOONA! WATCH --” Camille cried out from ringside, but it was already too late.
Park was just past halfway up before a recovered Samantha leapt from the nearest set of ropes and cracked a wicked Forearm Smash into the side of her jaw.
SPRINGBOARD FOREARM SMASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EECiN46rShU
Sinclair’s Legionnaires erupted in jubilation as the Springboard Forearm Smash sent Yoona crashing to the canvas before the ladder itself toppled onto her. The challenger took a hard bump as well following her Hail Mary effort, but the sheer magnitude of the moment propelled her back to her feet in a flash. With the Slim Reaper buried in a heap for the time being, Samantha set the second ladder in place and began her ascent.
Her climb was much slower and more tortured than Park’s, however, as the Little Sparrow kept her left arm wrapped around her midsection at all times, leaving her just one hand with which to climb. She managed to throw an arm over the uppermost rung when a concerned murmur rippled through the building, signifying that Yoona was getting back in the fight.
Samantha quickly did the mental calculus. With her opponent still staggering and unsteady, Sinclair decided to keep going, hoping to snatch the title before Park could stop her. No such luck for the People’s Princess, however, as Yoona lunged forward and snagged her right calf, halting her upward progress. Sinclair tried to cling onto the ladder for dear life, but a bony elbow smashed into her lower back loosened her grip, then she found herself hauled onto Park’s shoulders and stretched out backwards in a Torture Rack.
TORTURE RACK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab9vIXYVs4M
Although she was known for her deft striking, technical grappling, and salacious submissions, Yoona showed there was power and wiry strength in her frame too as she stomped a few laps around the ring while jouncing the smaller wrestler up and down.
Nevertheless, the Little Sparrow resolutely refused to tap out or utter a word of surrender. Never before had she been made to quit in a FAWN match, and she didn’t intend to start now, especially with a stipulation that made such an action pointless. She clenched her jaw and gnashed her teeth together as she felt the strength draining from her body, determined to make her opponent expend as much energy as possible in maintaining the hold even if she could not escape.
After about thirty seconds or so, Sinclair’s thrashing resistance had dwindled to nearly nothing, her limply dangling arms and legs swaying to and fro as Park gave her a couple of final bounces. Satisfied that she had wrung all the fight from the People’s Princess, Yoona made her way over to the fallen ladder and prepared to dump her opponent onto the metal frame, a coup de grace that would send the challenger straight to the infirmary and allow the champion to retrieve her title uncontested. Tuning out the desperate protests of the partisan crowd, Park dipped into a crouch before exploding back to a stand, using the momentum to launch her opponent’s flaccid form off of her shoulders and into the air.
Plummeting towards her doom sparked Samantha back to life, however. Already in freefall, she couldn’t save herself, but she could take Yoona with her. She reached over her right shoulder to clasp the Slim Reaper’s head with both hands, then she let gravity take its course. A heartbeat later, Sinclair’s spine smashed into the ladder and Park’s jaw simultaneously smashed into Sinclair’s shoulder, leaving both wrestlers down and seemingly out thanks to a Sammie Stunner out of left field.
SAMMIE STUNNER OUT OF LEFT FIELD:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhNEi0xV4Z4
For several, long moments, neither young woman displayed a desire to continue moving, both laid out pedicular to one another atop a ladder. Sammie lay face up towards the rafters, inhaling softly with a small parting of her lips, Yoona remained face down against the canvas, her right foot kicking at erratic intervals. They remained that way just long enough for the Official to grow concerned, before the Challenger inhaled a deep, pained breath.
“You,” Samantha exhaled and immediately regretted it, her trim tummy spasming in protest. Never the less, she soldiered on, she had something to say, and she wanted to get it off of her chest. “You are, an ass.”
“Bite me,” was the Champions equally Shakespearian retort, Park grimacing as she braced both of her palms down against the mat.
With a semblance of life returning to the squared circle, the trepidation of the FAWNatics transformed rapidly into excitement, enraptured as they were as the race was now on. Neither competitor wanted to get up, both of them were too damn proud to stay down, Sammie rolling over onto her front as Yoona pushed up onto her hands and knees.
Despair threatened to grip the audience as Yoona showed every sign of finding vertical first, a reality exemplified as she grabbed the smaller brunette by her hair. With the People’s Princess so ensnared, the Slim Reaper yanked HARD on the girls curls and, with a wince, the Upstart Supreme was pulled slowly to her feet.
Evidently, however, Sammie decided that was quite enough of having her mane pulled for one evening as, just as Yoona was about to seize her by the throat, Sinclair stepped up the momentum.
Snagging a hold of her opponents’ wrist, she pulled the offending limb away and went on to display her impressive flexibility, slinging her right stem up and planting the sole of her boot beneath the chin of the Champion. Boot leather so secured, Sammie dropped suddenly backwards, YANKING Yoona forwards with her before the canvas provided a sharp brake to her descent, JOLTING the base her foot right up into the underside of her opponents exposed jaw!
EAT DEFEAT
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTdWpldVzmU
With her teeth forcibly gnashed together, Park SNAPPED back up to vertical and stumbled away, almost tripping over one set of ladders on her journey to the ring ropes. She clutched at her mouth as she cursed through her fingers, the coils supporting her just long enough for her to regain her bearings. With ill intent, Yoona turned herself about…
…and Sammie was coming right for her, the FAWNatics whooping with delight as she charged.
The miniature athlete released a (not exactly fearsome) war cry as she launched her petite mass not so much into a spear, but more along the lines of a shoulder tackle. While it wasn’t a great deal, it was the most elegance that she could summon at that precise moment, but it most certainly got the job done, punting her posted joint into the midriff of her opponent and, with Park gasping for air, sent her tumbling even less gracefully through the top and middle ropes.
During her fall to the outside of the ring, Yoona managed to bypass the apron entirely, albeit not deliberately, taking the most direct route possible to the barely padded concrete below. She kept on rolling, regardless of the jarring impact, spitting kittens after she arrived at the barricades and almost immediately began dragging herself upwards.
She wasn’t listening to the audience, not at this precise moment, and perhaps that would have been to her benefit as, inside the ring, Sammie’s momentum was building swiftly towards critical mass. The Legionnaires held their collective breadth as the Brit of their Affections threw herself against one set of ring ropes and rebounded back towards the others.
As she approached them, she leapt, fuelled by little more than determination as she all but vaulted up onto the top coil. The rubber coated steel flexed beneath her feather like physique before springing taught, propelling the Little Sparrow into the air as the brunette tucked her lithe frame into a sweet little, forwards flip.
Spreading herself out, Sinclair SPLASHED down atop the Champion, flattening Yoona against the barricade with a SLAP of well-toned bodies.
SPRINGBOARD FORWARD SAULT: @7:29
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SObNk3nM73A
Both competitors dropped to the concrete, and the FAWNatics were left in full voice, chanting their appreciation to the rafters.
“I don’t suppose I could convince you,” Sammie huffed with effort, freckled cheeks rosy with exertion, “to stay put?”
For once, the notoriously loud-mouthed champion was without a retort, offering nothing but a gurgle and a groan as she laid on the floor. Sinclair took that as a sign that Park would in fact stay put, so she clambered up onto shaky legs and shambled back into the ring. Samantha’s ribs felt like they’d been tenderized with a sledgehammer, but that didn’t stop her from resetting the ladder and making the climb once more, making sure to keep the Slim Reaper in the corner of her eye at all times.
This time the People’s Princess made it to the top undisturbed as Yoona was still trying to peel herself off the ground. Sinclair took a deep breath to steady herself and immediately winced from sharp pang of pain in her midsection, and then she leapt.
All at once, the tens of thousands of people in attendance gasped in anticipation, as if sucking all the air out of the building would allow the Little Sparrow to soar just a bit higher and just a bit further towards golden glory. For the briefest of moments as Samantha was airborne -- her outstretched hand coming closer and closer and closer to the dangling prize -- an eerie, reverent silence permeated the FAWN Arena while staccato flashes of light came from the Gladiatrix photographers at ringside.
A fraction of a second later, Sinclair’s graceful, parabolic arc was abruptly arrested as she latched onto the bottom of the belt with her right hand, and just like that, the stillness was shattered when the FAWNatics returned all their borrowed oxygen in one mass exultation.
“YES!” Samantha cried out, not that she could hear herself over the eruption of the crowd as she remained suspended high above the center of the ring.
And therein lay the problem, as Sinclair realized once that initial wave of euphoria had washed over her. The EurAsian title belt was still securely fastened to the harness -- too securely fastened for her petite mass to rip free. With the palm of her hand clammy and slick with perspiration, she couldn’t maintain her grip either, and soon she was sliding down…
...down…
...down…
“NO!” Samantha cried out again, despondent and forlorn as the championship quite literally slipped through her fingertips.
Able to defy gravity no more, the Little Sparrow plummeted towards the ring beneath her. Her landing was far less controlled than Yoona’s had been earlier, Samantha slamming spine-first onto the canvas before her neck whiplashed and caused the back of her skull to violently bounce off the deck as well. Sinclair’s vision and hearing exploded into a furious cacophony of light and sound, and through her fluttering eyelids, she saw the Slim Reaper stalking towards her.
Samantha forced herself to rise up and meet her opponent head on, but her rattled senses failed her, and she stumbled right into Yoona’s grasps. Park drove another vicious Knee Strike into her gut as soon as Sinclair was in range, then clasped both hands around the back of her neck and followed up with three more. The Little Sparrow sunk to her knees after being pummeled in her opponent’s Thai Plum, and a moment later, she found her arms trapped behind her back in a Double Underhook.
“Get fucked, asshole,” Yoona grunted as she straightened her posture to lift Samantha into the air by their interlocked arms.
Sinclair bicycled her legs in the air as she hung upside down, but it was no use. Just a moment later, Park dropped to her knees and drove the crown of Samantha’s head into the canvas with a brutal Tiger Driver.
TIGER DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR9mRfrnEKc
The impact folded Samantha’s surgically-repaired neck into a gruesome angle for a split second before she bounced free from Yoona’s clutches, then she finally settled into a broken, boneless heap in front of the Slim Reaper.
Quite exhausted herself at this point, Park forced herself up with a groan and a hiss. She fired a hateful punt into the side of the challenger’s ribs, and when that elicited nothing more than a reflexive shudder, the champion turned her attention to the ladder and the dangling belt once more.
Unlike the beloved Upstart Supreme, the Slim Reaper made the climb to appalled silence from the audience. Nevertheless, the Korean appeared undaunted, and soon enough, she was standing on the top rung and gauging the distance to the prize. Having come up short on her first lunge earlier in the match, Yoona needed a bit more time to steady her nerves for a second try.
She spread her feet apart as far as she could, then she crouched down deep and sprang upwards with a mighty roar. The recoil of her jump sent the ladder tumbling to the deck behind her, but her effort was not in vain as she got a few extra inches of height and managed to snag the end of the belt with both hands. Park’s gloves found better purchase against the grainy leather than Sinclair’s bare palms, though it seemed that the champion’s additional twenty-ish pounds of mass was still not enough to tear the strap from its moorings.
“Goddamn it… c’mon! Fuck! FUCK!” Yoona snarled as she thrashed her body to and fro in an attempt to wrest her title free, all while the FAWNatics watched with their hearts in their throats.
After about ten seconds of struggle high above the ring, the crowd collectively screamed as the harness gave way.
But only a little bit.
The belt -- and Park with it -- dropped maybe a foot before it violently snagged again. The sudden jerk broke Yoona’s grip, and with a wordless, primal shriek, the Slim Reaper plummeted towards the mats. This time Park’s fall was much less graceful and controlled, and rather than landing on her feet and rolling with the impact, she smashed her back flat against the fallen ladder she had climbed not even a minute ago.
Yoona spasmodically arched her spine and howled, squeezing her eyes shut as hot tears of pain, frustration, and rage ran from the outer corners of her eyes. A few feet away, the People’s Princess was beginning to stir.
Jolted from her stupor by Parks cry, Sammie was not feeling overly eager to get back up, swallowing painfully before rolling over onto her side, her back spasming so violently she almost yelped. She didn’t, gritting her teeth so tightly she was certain that at least one of them would crack, and she reached out to grasp the nearest coil to hand, forcibly dragging herself up to sitting.
“Stay! Down!” Yoona threatened, lacing her pained tone with enough venom to flatten a herd, sitting back up with a visible wince of her own. “I’ll not warn you again.”
With an involuntary sigh, Sinclair flopped backwards into a corner, sitting on the canvas with her arms draped over the middle ropes. “Why?” she exhaled, the picture of sincerity. “I could do this all day.”
Yoona, her mood already seething, could not have been more humorless as her temper reached critical intensity, replaced with a cold fury that was frightening in its singularity of focus. With a single, sleek motion she dropped and rolled beneath the bottom rope to the outside of the ring, zeroing in on the timekeeper’s desk and, with a CLANK of folding metal, secured herself a steel chair. Without missing a stride, Park slipped back into the ring with her new weapon in hand, striding towards Sinclair as though her opponent were a wounded antelope.
Sammie, wearily, had hauled herself back up to some semblance of vertical, her petite frame shivering as she felt her legs threatening to give out at a moment’s notice.
“Fuck it, we’re done,” Yoona stated flatly, brandishing her weapon, “I’m going to ruin you Sinclair, I’m going to enjoy it.”
She swung the steel chair about…
…and Sammie sprung into action, positively PLANTING the sole of her boot clean against the flat of the Champions weapon with a BLISTERING Sammie Kick, forcibly WHACKING the steel backwards squarely into Park’s unprotected features!
The resulting CLANG!! was audible to even those sitting in the highest rafters and, after Yoona teetered for just a moment, the Loyalist Legionnaires ERUPTED after she tumbled into a stunned stupor, a puppet with her string’s cuts.
Sammie almost fell over herself, almost using up the last of her reserves for the single effort and, after swaying this way and that, she managed to remain upright seemingly via the support of the FAWNatics. She exhaled deeply, looking about with a glassy expression as if she had forgotten what she was doing, before she settled on what she was after.
The Upstart Supreme, following the prompting of those sitting closest, grabbed the closest set of ladders and, with a heave and a puffing of her freckled cheeks, she was able to bring them up to standing. Ensuring that it was secure with a few slaps, she exhaled a weary sigh before she began climbing, not quite sure why the tenor of those in the audience had grown increasingly less positive the closer she got to the top.
It wasn’t until she reached the peak of Everest that the People’s Princess could acknowledge her mistake, looking about herself and realizing that where she had planted the ladders was far from central. With a groan that was heartfelt, Sammie slumped her slender shoulders and threw back her head with a world-weary sigh.
“Great,” she remarked, unimpressed with her blunder, “back to square…”
Collectively, the FAWNatics let out a shout that was more of a panicked yelp than a cry of warning, several in attendance spotting Yoona diving for the ladders upon which their beloved, Little Sparrow was precariously perched. Park slammed herself into them with a furious shout, and the framework toppled with alarming swiftness…
Sammie did not have time to think, not as the ‘ground’ fell away beneath her and, in a single, instinctive moment, she planted her foot atop the highest step before it gave way and positively LEAPT into the void.
The arena held its breath, more than a few looked away, and Sinclair’s heart skipped several beats as she soared through the air and held out her hand…
…grabbing ahold of the strap dangling so high above the ring.
Momentum, however, was a fickle bytch and, given her trajectory, the audience was forced to gasp as the miniature brunette kept on swinging, hurtling one way, and then the other like some manner of perilous pendulum, Sammie clinging onto a strap that clung equally stubbornly to a harness.
Against her better judgement, the People’s Princess scrunched her button nose and, far too stubborn to be denied, grasped the strap with both hands and YANKED downwards. Her eyes opened wide as something, finally, gave way, the belt popping open and freeing itself from its prison…
…which would be cause for celebration were she not swinging this way and that like a miniature wrecking ball wrapped in gold and blue. She YELPED before letting the belt go with one hand and reaching out for the only thing within reach, however temporary it may be, her fingers just barely snagging themselves about the now vacant harness and halting her downwards trajectory with a painful JOLT to her poor shoulder.
She exhaled a loud shout regardless, one filled with as much panic as it was joy, the young woman still swinging above the squared circle like one of the Flying Grayson’s, albeit in increasingly less frantic rotations, a prize worth fighting for clasped with her free hand. She wanted to hold it up, but couldn’t find the strength to, and so satisfied herself with not falling to the mat far below.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” the Announcer jumped in, making the outcome official after the bell rang, “Your Winner, and NEW EuroAsia Champion, SAMNATHA! SINCLAIR!!”
The Loyalist Legionnaires were in full voice following the pronouncement, and they filled the arena with the sound of their approval, bringing their voices together to repeat three words.
“WORLDS! BEST! BRIT! WORLD! BEST! BRIT! WORLDS! BEST! BRIT!”
Sammie, while she certainly wasn’t unappreciative, had more immediate concerns after she finally dared herself to look down, far more distance between the tips of her toes and the mat for her liking. “Guys,” she cleared her throat politely, not wanting to be rude.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could someone, maybe, fetch me a ladder?”
With his official duties concluded, the referee quickly set about erecting another ladder to help the newly crowned EurAsian champion return to terra firma. It turned out to be unnecessary though, as the entirety of Upstart Nation came tearing down the entrance ramp in aid of their fearless leader -- the effervescent Chloe Fields at the head of the pack and Bunny Cooper bringing up the rear. FAWN’s preeminent babyface stable slid into the ring and formed a human landing pad under the Upstart Supreme, allowing the Little Sparrow to safely drop into the waiting arms of Jaime London and Katya Michalka.
Altogether they tossed Samantha into the air, then caught her on the way down, then tossed her, then caught her, then tossed her, then caught her all to the rhythm of the crowd as they continued to proclaim, “WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”
A few feet away from the euphoric celebration, the now former champion was digesting some very different, very bitter emotions. Yoona stood stock still, almost catatonic as she continued to grip the steel chair in her right hand while indignation, disbelief, and rage flashed across her features. Her gaze never left the golden belt that had been hers and hers alone for the last year and a half, her anger doubling and redoubling every time she saw it rise and fall and rise again while in the grasp of a usurper. It didn’t take long for her temper to boil over, and with a snarl on her lips and a weapon in her hand, the Slim Reaper stepped towards the unsuspecting Upstarts...
...only to be stopped by something clasped around her left bicep.
“Yoona, no.”
Park stopped dead in her tracks, though she didn’t let go of the chair.
“No,” Camille repeated, her tone pleading but her hold on her girlfriend as unyielding as adamantium.
“WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”
After a few tense seconds, she added, “Look, I’m sure you could get a rematch if you --”
“Fuck the rematch,” Yoona bitterly spat as she finally let the steel chair clatter to the canvas. “Trash-ass title for trash-ass people.”
With that, Cosworth loosened her grip, allowing the Korean to slide out of the ring and stomp away without another word or glance backwards. Camille observed the Upstarts for a little while longer -- still jubilant and still oblivious -- and just for a moment she wondered if she should go over and congratulate the new champion.
“WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”
The feeling passed just as quickly as it had come on, however, and Cosworth silently hopped over the ropes and to the floor before jogging after her girlfriend.
“WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT! WORLD’S! BEST! BRIT!”