Post by dsb on Feb 11, 2020 0:41:06 GMT
“Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, hailing from Stillwater Minnesota, she stands at five feet five inches tall and weighs in tonight at one hundred and thirty-five pounds. She’s one Sweet Disaster… BRIDGET STROUD!”
BE LEGENDARY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmidz2s4scM
The energy level in the FAWN Arena shot somewhere into the stratosphere when everything went purple and a dozen spotlights played over the crowd. Then the speakers offered up Pop Evil’s ‘Be Legendary’ and the ‘tron showed selections from Stroud’s ever lengthening highlight reel, as well as earlier footage from her rock climbing career. The chaotic sweep of lights continued through most of the first verse, though their pace seemed to increase as the sound system roared:
Our name in stone, forever more.
We want more!
We want more!
We want more!
BRIDGET STROUD:
The spots honed in on the entryway with the third recitation and Bridget exploded through the curtain, the former rock-climber turned indy wrestling darling turned FAWN breakout skidding to a stop at the top of the stage just to throw her arms up for a brawny double bicep flex. Chants of ‘SWEET DIS-AS-TER!’ rang out at once, a building roar crafted by fans of her indy stint as well as the new fans she’d made since hitting Orlando early last year.
Looking uncharacteristically grim as she surveyed the capacity crowd, Bridget took a deep breath and seemingly banished the memory of All Hallows Evil before she pivoted ‘round on one heel and swung her hips in time to their chant while pointing to the ‘Sweet Disaster’ stretched across her purple briefs.
Another about-face followed shortly thereafter and the copper-skinned brunette hardbody took off down the ramp, Bridget going with arms outstretched to return the favor to everyone who greeted her so warmly. For the first PPV of the new year, Stroud chose purple trunks, a halter-style bikini top with one cup done in matching purple and the other in a pumpkin orange, purple and orange armbands that crisscrossed at bicep and forearm to meet at wrist and shoulder, orange pads with a purple splatter pattern and purple wrestling boots that ended a few inches shy of her knees. A study in frenetic energy the entire way to ringside, Bridget made a high-speed circuit of the front row, then leapt to the apron to the top rope and stayed there for a several seconds to bask in the roar of the crowd. Once she hopped down Stroud made her way to Al Carpenter so he could check her pads and boots.
“All good here, Bridget.” the he noted once the inspection was over. “You doin’ ok?”
“I’m fine, Al. I’ll be even better when I’ve got my hands on Tremblay.”
Carpenter started to respond, but ultimately said nothing because Bridget stomped to the far corner to await the arrival of her archrival in tense silence.
“And introducing her opponent, hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the Soul Survivor and the only Hope of a Dark Tomorrow, I give to you ‘BAD’ PENNY TREMBLAY!”
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8yo7l43Yoo
The house lights went dark as the speakers came on, the low hum of a guitar and a repetition of vaguely ecclesiastical ‘oh’s’ that marked the beginning of Thirty Seconds to Mars’s ‘Walk on Water’. The gloom was nearly omnipresent, and the combination of ghostly blue lights at floor level and a thin carpet of dry ice fog only added to the claustrophobic, disorienting atmosphere.
Can you even see what you're fighting for?
Bloodlust in a holy war.
Listen up hear the patriots shout,
'Times are changing.'
In the end the choice was clear,
Take a shot in the face of fear.
Fist up in the firing line.
'TIMES ARE CHANGING!'
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
Penny materialized with the chorus, the Angriest Acolyte rising up on a mechanical lift hidden in the dark so it looked as though she appeared from thin air. Claiming the stage like the ghost of Crusades gone by, Tremblay stretched her arms wide and tilted her head back, Penny listening to some guidance meant only for her ears. Thus sanctified by the music of the spheres, Tremblay headed for the killing floor that those less blessed called a squared circle. For tonight’s wicked work she wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks.
Ignoring the reaching, judging hands of the sub-humanoids (save to slap them away if one dared draw too close) Tremblay made her way down the ramp but was still several long paces from the squared circle when Bridget burst from the far corner and threw herself into the ropes on the opposite side. Stroud’s subsequent trek across the ring was fast, yet not so fast as to elude one Al Carpenter, who threw himself into the brunette’s path to foil her pre-bell assault. “Don’t do it, Bridget!” he warned. “I know tempers are hot tonight but--”
“Don’t offer the little brat lenience of any sort!” Tremblay snarled. “Not only is she a poor loser, apparently she’s a cheater as well! Certainly not the behavior I’d expect from a woman who holds herself as a role model for the weakest and most gullible among--”
Al rounded on her, dipped between the top and middle ropes and pointed a finger in Penelope’s direction. “You’re NOT helping, Penny! Let me handle WHOAH!”
The official’s intentions were noble, alas his plans were fully thwarted the instant he turned his back on the Beautiful Disaster. Running the ropes again, she came back at full speed and tumbled over the zebra AND the top rope en route to bowling down Tremblay with a breathtaking Somersault Senton!
As oblivious to the roars of the crowd as she was to Carpenter’s aggrieved exclamations, Bridget scrambled to boot-leather and delivered a few heavy Stomps unto the taller wrestler’s flank before hauling her up with a double handful of hair. “This isn’t cheating, Tremblay. This is your bill come due.” Stroud explained even as she shifted to one side and hurled the other brunette into the steel guardrail with a resounding BWANG!
Tremblay hissed and went down on one knee, Carpenter continued to call his charges to the ring proper and Bridget just helped herself to another fistful of those long, dark locks. Doing her best to placate Al with an ‘in a minute’ sorta index finger, Stroud took Tremblay by the scruff of the neck and marched her toward the apron only to whip ‘round in a circle and BWONK Penny’s forehead against the solid steel ring-post!
“Dammit Bridget, enough of that already!” the lanky official pleaded from his place near the ropes. “Throw her inside so I can ring the bell!”
Bridget snatched hold of Penny’s hair with one hand and tapped the lobe of one ear with the other. “Listen to that, Al! They LOVE this! Which means brass loves it too!” Al didn’t dare legitimize that notion with a response, so he stayed silent while Bridget powered Penelope to verticality. “Shyt, busted open and the bell hasn’t even rang!” Stroud murmured in response to the small but bloody cut that’d opened a few inches above her rival’s left eye.
“Huuuuhhh… hypocritical whore.” Tremblay growled as she tried to steady her shivering knees with a firm grasp of the bottom rope. “If you think a little blood is going to stop meNNNNNNGGHHHHEERRAAAAARRRHHH!”
Bridget went up on tiptoe to put that much more ‘oomph!’ into bouncing Penelope’s forehead against the apron. Still holding a double fistful of Tremblay’s tresses, Stroud leaned down and in to make sure all her weight was on the wounded wrestler as she draaaaaaaagged Penny’s forehead back and forth against the narrow canvas ledge!
“YOU DON’T GET TO JUDGE!” Bridget almost screamed at the writhing bendy-back. “Not after you went to my trunks over and over and over ag--”
The bell CLANGED, turning Stroud’s attention to Al in a heartbeat. For one horrible moment she thought he’d thrown out the whole match, mercifully this fear was assuaged when she saw him raise a hand and call, “ONE!”
But relief curdled into anger when Penny jabbed the point of her left elbow deep into Stroud’s flat tummy. Not about to let go, Bridget bounced Penny’s noggin twice more, then segued into a Side Headlock that allowed her to keep Tremblay’s face that much closer to the apron. “You don’t get to judge.” Stroud repeated in a more controlled tone. “Not after what you did. You’re more than welcome to bleed though, Penny. You just go ahead and bleed ALL. YOU. WANT!”
Bridget leaned into that face-erasing Headlock and trundled right until she’d reached the corner. Al’s count hadn’t even reached ‘TEN!’ yet, so the former rock climbing standout bounced her nemesis’s skull a couple times more, then grabbed some hair just above the nape of the neck and forced her to stand straight. “I’m gonna bounce you offa every metal surface at ringside, honey.” Stroud promised. “And don’t even get me started at what’s gonna happen once we’re inside those ropes again.”
Tremblay’s only response was an insensate hiss, so Bridget charged the far corner (the one housing the ring steps) and hurled her burden straight intoNO!
Penny mirrored Stroud’s grip on scruff of her attacker’s neck and spun on her heel in a smooth circle to BAWONK Bridget forehead-first into the steel post! Sweet Disaster’s legs shuddered violently and she rocked back on her heels but ultimately she maintained verticality by catching hold of the ring-post in a loose hug. Sighing with relief as she cleared off, Tremblay rolled under the bottom rope whereupon she paused only long enough to point a baleful glare at Algernon Carpenter.
“Reset your tally, little man.” the brunette growled. “And do be so kind as to take your time.”
Carpenter protested more for form’s sake and fell silent the moment Penelope rolled back to the floor. Sticking close to the apron, Tremblay backed to within a few feet of the opposite corner, then raced down the length of the ring and took to the skies to jam an upraised knee between Bridget’s shoulders which in turn BWAAANGED her head against the post!
The force of it jolted the top half of the steps forward by several inches yet neither it or Bridget collapsed, so Penny cozied in behind her, grabbed hold of the smaller brunette’s left wrist in both hands and very casually bwong-bwong-bwong-BWONGED it against the top step no less than half a dozen times!
Stroud shrieked in surprised anguish and tried to prize loose of Tremblay’s grip, but the Angriest Acolyte put a stop to that shouldering her prey in against the post until the jailbreak had stilled. Smiling despite the blood streaming down one side of her face, Penny Tremblay pressed her rival’s hurting hand against the top step and carefully held it in place as she clambered up into position beside it. “Your grip strength is impressive Stroud, even I can’t deny you that.” Tremblay admitted once she’d planted her right foot atop the exposed extremity. “I’m not even sure why I sound surprised, savage animals often possess some remarkable talents.”
“Kiss my ass, honey.” Bridget shoved at Penelope’s calf with her free hand, but still couldn’t slide out from beneath Tremblay’s boot. “We both know ‘this animal’ can claw a submission from you the moment she gets a good griPOOOOOOHHHHHFAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHK!”
Penny grabbed the top rope in both hands, braced her other foot against the apron and sank into a deep crouch, the vindictive brunette putting every ounce of her lean hundred and thirty-plus pounds into grinding that merciless talon into so much meaty slush.
“CHEW YOUR WAY OUT!” Tremblay demanded over her foe’s shrieks and the increasingly angry roar of the FAWNatics. “C’MON STROUD, CHEW YOUR WAY OUT LIKE THE FERAL BYTCH YOU RRRGGGHH!”
Bridget jammed a short, awkward Shoulderblock into the side of Penny’s knee to knock her off that agonizing perch. Stuffing her left hand to her chest the instant it was free, Stroud backed away and rolled under the bottom rope. Sitting up straight, she kept the strands to her back and butt-scooted toward the opposite corner in the hopes of getting as much of a breather as possible before Tremblay came searching for the blood she’d just drawn.
In the end it was only the matter of a few strong heartbeats, at least that’s how it felt to Bridget when she heard the other brunette tromping up the steps to the apron. The noise paused long enough for Stroud to look up from her hurting hand to make sure she hadn’t lost track of the Angriest Acolyte. She hadn’t, Penny was right where she’d thought she’d be, but the vicious bendy-back had delayed her return to the ring seemingly for the sole purpose of getting Bridget’s attention. When she had it, Tremblay took the top rope in both hands and made a very deliberate show of wiping the soles of her boots on the apron. Then she smiled, dipped between the strands and started for her rival.
Seeing this approach, Stroud forced herself to open and close the injured over and over again, Sweet Disaster working hard to ease the worst of the pain even as she scrambled to boot-leather. “Call to him.” Penelope sneered. She’d slowed her pace considerably though it wouldn’t be long until she was within easy reach. “Go ahead, call to the referee, Bridget. Your back’s already pressed to the turnbuckles and the urge is stamped all over your coward’s face, so do it if you can find your voice for anything beyond a scr--”
Stroud came out to greet her with a quick Toe Kick that would’ve skewered the taller woman’s navel if Penny hadn’t caught her ankle in both hands. Tremblay offered Stroud a smirk and said, “Pain has made you slow, rock climb--”
THWHACK!
Bridget sprang off her plant foot and cracked it upside Penny’s head with a picture-perfect Enzugiri! Already close to the ropes, the willowy warrior didn’t have to worry about keeping her footing, she simply leaned against the rubber-coated steel and shook her head to clear the cobwebs. This mental dusting was still underway when Stroud barreled into her with a lowered shoulder and plowed the both of ‘em all the way back to the corner nearest the steps!
Only slowing her forward progress when she felt Tremblay’s tush shiver against the second turnbuckle, Bridget grabbed hold of the middle rope with her good hand and hooked it with her left elbow on the other side. This was quite a bit more awkward than the usual arrangement, but it still allowed her enough leeway to draw back and lunge forward, the purple & white-clad grappler just throwing every bit of her weight into Tremblay’s trim midsection. She’d managed more than a half-dozen when Al hurried over and tapped her between the shoulder. “Back it off, Bridget. Don’t make me start the count.”
Bridget didn’t, though she made a point to ‘walk’ a few more steps into the last Shoulderblock before she straightened up and cleared off with both hands rai-- “OOOOWWWWW!”
Stifling her own pains to inflict even more upon her opponent, Tremblay followed the other brunette just far enough to jab a thumb into her left eye! Bridget staggered, instinctively raised her left hand to press it against that watering socket and paid a high price when Penelope intercepted her efforts with a Greco-Roman Knucklelock! Shrieking in anguish as Tremblay ground delicate bones together, Stroud went up on tiptoe and stuffed a hand in her attacker’s face, the sort of panicked defense that earned nothing more than an irritated snarl before she whipped around and forced Bridget against the corner in her stead.
The broadest part of her thigh delivered at a sharp angle across Stroud’s stomach stopped the brunette’s keening long enough for Tremblay to break her grip and then drape the smaller brunette’s arms over the top rope. Alas, this did not mean an end to Bridget’s suffering because Penny folded that arm tight against the strand, then cupped her elbow with one hand and resumed the Knucklelock with the other. Simultaneous pressure at both ends wrenched a most pitiable howl from her opposition.
“DID YOU REALLY THINK A LITTLE BLOOD WOULD STOP ME, MOUNTAIN CLIMBER?” Tremblay bellowed practically in Stroud’s ear. “DID YOU THINK I WOULD TURN TAIL AND SCAMPER AWAY JUST BECAUSE YOU--”
“Let go of her arm and back off, Penny.” Al ordered his charge.
The last True Believer regarded him with a withering glance, but actually complied without the need for so much as a one-count. The reason for this seemingly effortless compliance revealed itself when Tremblay turned her right shoulder toward the other brunette’s chest and just CRAAACKED her across the décolletage with a Knife-Edge Chop that had everyone in floor seats groaning and holding their own chests in sympathetic anguish.
“Dammit Penny, don’t make me tell you again. Back off so she can--”
Another Chop laid lightning across Stroud’s tits and settled her butt so heavily against the buckles that Tremblay felt justified in sparing the official a long, steady glare. “I’m not MAKING you do anything, good sir. Those choices are entirely your own and should not be held against me when I am simply trying to--”
“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
The count worked faster than the warning ever could, though the ref didn’t much like the daggers Tremblay glared in his direction. As for Bridget she immediately extricated her arm from the rope and drew it against chest to once again minister to her mangled hand. “How’s your hand doing, Bridget?” Al asked after Sweet Disaster had several seconds to herself. “Do I need to get Vannacutt out here?”
Bridget looked up at once, her dark eyes showing resolve beneath the obvious pain. “Don’t even think about it, Al.” she replied. “I’ll be happy to take an ice pack after the bell. AFTER I’ve put that brat on her bacOOOFFFHHH!”
Already bored with their idiot’s babble, Tremblay rushed in with a Low Dropkick that THWHAPPED both boots deep into the pit of Stroud’s stomach! Bridget gaped and doubled over without taking a knee, which made it that much easier for Penny to help herself to a double handful of hair when she returned to verticality. Peeling her prey out of the buckles, Tremblay swung Bridget around, then ducked low and forced her head beneath Stroud’s left arm. A palm against her butt and an arm around her waist meant Sweet Disaster was strapped in nice and snug when Penny dipped her knees and hoisted the wounded brunette up onto the point of her shouldNO!
Bridget flipped out of the Suplex attempt to land on one knee directly behind her startled nemesis. Without really thinking about it she straightened up, grabbed a Waistlock and drove forward to sandwich the taller wrestler between the top turnbuckle and herself. Uncharacteristically pleased by the breathless ‘nnnngggghh!’ when Tremblay’s sternum met the thinly-padded steel, Stroud dragged her knotted fists back ‘n forth across Penny’s tummy, then squatted so low her butt was nearly touching the mat, all the better to wrest Tremblay away from the corner and down onto her shoulders for a beautiful pinning predica--or not. Bridget had already rolled through to a seat above her opponent’s upturned haunches, but rather than hold her down for a cover she dipped again and slooooooowly peeled Penelope off the mat in a slow motion deadlift that picked up a whole lotta speed once she was over Stroud’s head and THWHUMPING down flat on the back of her head and shoulders!
CHAOS THEORY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHzK4DhFMKs
Up on tiptoe in the aftermath of the Chaos Theory, Bridget held on tight while Carpenter and a whole lotta FAWNatics counted off…
ONE…
TWO…
Penny popped her hips to end up on all fours with a full second to spare, while Stroud pushed to one knee and swept a hand (the good right) through her hair. For a moment it looked like she might say something, though in the end Sweet Disaster held her tongue in favor of standing up and reeling her rival into a snug Headscissors. Still quite cautious of her injured hand, Bridget bent down and wrapped her arms around Tremblay’s waist, but rather than simply locking her hands she grabbed hold of her left wrist to complete the grip. Knees bent deep, Stroud grit her teeth and slooooooowly muscled the larger brunette off the canvas and up onto her shoulders, Penny ending the ascent slumped forward over the top of Bridget’s noggin.
Give the devil her due, Tremblay must’ve recognized the trouble she was in because she twined her fingers in Sweet Disaster’s hair and did her best to remove it from opposing scalp. Only in this case her best wasn’t enough to dissuade Stroud from her intentions, as the purple and white-clad battler simply swung Penelope down and dropped to her butt to THAWHAM Tremblay onto the deck with a ring-shivering Sit-Out Powerbomb! Tremblay bounced violently but stayed on her shoulders, so Bridget snuggled in close, pressing into the back of her opponent’s haunches to keep her flat through…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
SIT-OUT POWERBOMB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBEWXOmddoI
Penny brought her knees together on each side of Stroud’s noggin to break the count with a half second to spare. The escape flopped Tremblay onto her stomach but she might’ve made it to her feet in short order if Bridget hadn’t seized her ankles and dragged her out into the middle of the ring. “Let go of me, bytch.” Penny snarled as she scratched and clawed at the canvas. “Unless you want to lose your other hand tooRRGH!”
Clearly displeased by mention of her hurtin’ hand, Stroud stepped onto the back of the taller brunette’s thighs and neatly tucked Penelope’s shins in against her own shins. Halfway to something exceedingly unpleasant, Bridget sank into a crouch and CRAAACKED a few hard slaps against her opponent’s flanks. “Give me your hands, Penny.” she demanded.
Tremblay, who’d tucked her forearms beneath her chest the instant Stroud secured her perch, dug both elbows into the mat and began inching her way forward instead. “Pain and despair are the only things I’ll ever give you, Stroud. Anything else you’ll have to takeEEERRRGGGGHHHH!”
Bridget slapped the bendy-back’s flank just above her right hip, then dug in with a white-knuckled Claw. Flashing a smile as the crowd validated her efforts with a loud ‘TAP!’ chant, Stroud offered a counterproposal. “Better idea. GIVE me your hands or I’ll TAKE some guts.”
Tremblay hissed a curse but wouldn’t surrender her hands. Instead she pushed up on her elbows (which did nothing for the strain in her legs and lower back) and resumed her efforts to reach the strands.
Not about to let Bad Penny out of her clutches, Bridget worked the Claw for several more seconds but couldn’t halt her opponent’s progress. Eventually she relinquished the grip and returned to her original mount standing on the back of Tremblay’s thighs. “Last warning, Pen--”
“F*ck your warnings, mountain climbAAARRRGGGHHH!”
Stroud hopped up and STOMPED down, Sweet Disaster just putting all of her weight into the hard-hearted attack. The agonizing jolt freed Tremblay’s legs, allowing the Angriest Acolyte to draw in on herselNO! Bridget seized her ankles again, but rather than attempt the Surfboard a second time she angled Tremblay’s right ankle into the pit of the brunette’s left knee and folded that leg over it in a quick Figure Four. Gripping Penny’s left ankle to keep her knot in place, Stroud slid forward and planted a knee in her foe’s lower back while simultaneously sitting on those knotted stems. “F*ck my warnings, Penny?” Bridget growled as she laced her fingers beneath the prone woman’s chin. “F*ck you!” Sweet Disaster pulled up and leeeaaaned back, the infuriated hardbody showing off a whole load of lean, compact power as she tried to bend Tremblay into a ‘U’ with the Camel Clutch STF.
CAMEL CLUTCH STF:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-v-i0wSsSo
Noting the pained reaction of his charge, Al strode over to the action and leaned in as close as he dared. “What do you say, Penny? Need me to call for the--”
“NEVER!” she interrupted. “LEAVE US BE!”
Bridget bared her teeth, jostled Tremblay’s head up and down. “You heard her, Al. Girl wants to suffer in silence!”
That might’ve been Penny’s desire, alas Stroud wasn’t willing to grant it, as evidenced by the way she continued to wrest, twist and otherwise crank on the body-breaking submission. Or perhaps ‘body-bending’ was a more accurate description because trapped though she was, Tremblay never stopped reaching for the ropes. Not only that, she managed to twist herself a full ninety degrees to the right, an awkward, humping adjustment that put her a little bit closer to freedom. Seeing the strands still well beyond her fingers, the Angriest Acolyte let out a furious snarl and slammed both hands against the canvas so she could draaaaaaaaaaag their combined weight toward freedom.
Bridget didn’t try to stop her, however a careful observer could note the frustration playing across her face as Tremblay continued to resist. Indeed, in less than fifteen seconds the last of Miranda’s True Believers was less than six inches from the bottom rope. Deciding it was time to repay the mauling she’d endured at the beginning of the match, Penny halved the Chinlock so she could crook her left arm into a ‘V’. Honed in on the cut above her nemesis’ left eye, Bridget demanded, “Submit.”
“Walk off a cliff.” Tremblay hissed at once. “You can’t submit meNNNGGGHHH!”
Sweet Disaster brought her left elbow down fast, jabbing the pad-sheathed joint into Penny’s cut. “I think we both know that’s a lie.” Stroud spat. “But even if I can’t, I can make you bleed buckets and that’s good enough for me.”
On that vindictive note she resumed dropping those dagger-point elbows into Tremblay’s bleeding pate with a coolly methodical thunk-thunk-thunk! The bludgeoning finally stopped Penelope’s progress, the trapped brunette forced to protect her features from the heathen’s vile elbow. This defense was little more than a stopgap however, Tremblay knew Stroud wouldn’t stop unless forced because that’s exactly what she would’ve done if their positions were reversed. This revelation did nothing for Penny’s mood, indeed she gave voice to an enraged banshee shriek before she abandoned the crude guard in favor of one last bit of frantic crawl--
“BREAK!” Tremblay exclaimed as soon as she’d grabbed hold of the rubber-coated steel. “Break the hold you miserable bytcAAARRRRHHH STAAAAAAAP!”
Willing to punish Penny in ways she’d deem unacceptable against any other opponent (with the possible exception of Sutton Stonecliffe) Bridget stopped dropping elbows so she could rake her rival’s forehead over and over again! Distressingly aware of the bloodlust that’d fallen over both competitors, Al Carpenter bypassed the usual warning in favor of a stern count. “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!
Sweet Disaster disengaged and retreated to the center of the ring where she wiped her bloodied hand across her own fluttering stomach with a look of disgust. As for Penelope Tremblay, she clambered to a seat and twisted around so she could keep an eye on the other brunette. For a moment her expression was unadulterated rage, then she did something that sent a chill down Bridget’s back. She smiled. Struggling to boot-leather, Penny leaned back against the strands and huffed, “There you are. It took four matches and most of a year, but I finally found you. The real you.”
Bridget rolled her shoulders, didn’t give any ground. “Bullshyt. I’ve never tried to hide who I am.”
“Yes you did, pretty girl. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you. The perky ‘I’m so happy to be here!’ former game show contestant is nothing more than an act. Deep down you’re as malicious I am and this…” Tremblay reached up, wiped the blood off her forehead and cheek and showed it to Stroud, “proves it.
Stroud shook her head in an emphatic denial, her features stamped with angry incredulity. “Bullshyt. The only thing it proves is that your brand of crazy is catching if chicks aren’t care--”
“Don’t f*cking lie to me, Stroud.” Penny snarled. “This right here?” the willowy warrior didn’t just point to her bloody forehead, she struck it with the heel of palm until it started dripping anew. “That’s the sign of someone who enjoys her work. You’re just as damaged, just as angry as I am, which means you’re just as worthy of their scorn.” Tremblay trailed off into another smile. “I’ll see that you get it.”
Bridget took a deep breath, then rolled her shoulders and tapped the mat with the toe of her right boot. “You wanna give me something, big girl?” Sweet Disaster pressed down and swept an undeniable demarcation between herself and the other brunette. “Step up to this line and give me all you’ve got.”
Anyone expecting Tremblay to hesitate was destined for disappointment because she went toe-to-toe with Stroud within the span of heartbeats. Making a point to look down her bloodied nose at the shorter wrestler, Bad Penny murmured, “Smashed my forehead against the post, rock-climber. You could write that off as an accident and I won’t hold it against you. But going after it later with the point of your elbow?” she tsk’ed in the back of her throat, a soft, disapproving sound. “That was bloodlust, pure and simple.”
Bridget stepped over her own line to chest up on the Angriest Acolyte. “You call it bloodlust, I call it a receipt. You’ve had that coming for--”
“Careful of your footing, little girl. That sanctimonious moral high ground is starting to crum--”
Stroud sent the bendy-back staggering with a rude shove, then stepped after to follow up with a snappy SLAP across Tremblay’s unmarred cheek. “And you’re hanging by a thread, brat. So keep your mouth shut and--”
Penelope answered the shove and immediately raised courtesy of a disrespectful pie-fie! Stroud reeled, caught her balance and hurled herself at-- the black-clad battler stepped in with a stern Kneelift aimed between Bridget’s thighsNOOOOO! Sweet Disaster swatted the Low Blow down with both hands, drew her head back and smashed it against Tremblay’s sternum with a cringe-worthy THWHUNK!
BOULDER SMASH HEADBUTT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tcUTo9N_zY
Penny’s arms dropped to her sides and she started to timber to the deck only to remain (mostly) upright when Stroud reached out and caught her not by the hair, but by her left ear! Twisting the cartilage hard enough to make Tremblay hiss in pain, Bridget fetched Penny a retaliatory slap across the mouth before jabbing her index finger beneath the other wrestler’s nose. “Go for my trunks one more time and I swear to all that’s holy I’ll AAAAAAAWWWWWW FAAAAAAAAAAAHHHK!”
Penny caught hold of her rival’s exposed digit and craaaaaaaaanked it back like she meant to touch it to Bridget’s wrist! Forgetting old affronts in the face of fresh agonies, Stroud pulled at Tremblay’s clutching fingers and threw several Kneelifts at her nemesis’ tummy, but Penny was able to weather the storm until a lull let her raaaaaaaaaake her nails across Stroud’s eyes!
Al and the FAWNatics called her out at once, unfortunately this did nothing for Bridget, who was effectively wailing and blind when the Last True Believer relinquished her finger-trap to slip an arm through the wounded wrestler’s thighs. An effortless scoop put Stroud in position for a Slam, but rather than simply drop her burden, Tremblay secured Stroud’s noggin in the crook of her left arm, then dropped Sweet Disaster’s legs so she was effectively caught in an Inverted Facelo-- Penny laid out the instant Bridget’s boots reached the canvas, which meant that much more impact on the back of her head and shoulders! Bridget rolled onto her side and swaddled her head in both arms, though Tremblay noted the former rock climber didn’t (or couldn’t) do much with her left hand. Putting this information to immediate use, Penny sidled in from Stroud’s left, hooked both legs in a snug bundle and pointed Stroud’s tush toward the lights for…
CEMETERY GATES:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iVSesWeKd8
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Bridget bucked her hips and twisted onto her stomach to escape defeat with no more than half a second to spare. The near-fall didn’t seem to bother Penny in the slightest, in fact her expression was almost serene as she rose to her full height above the prone Disaster. Though her attention was riveted on Stroud, her next words were directed to the official. “Mr. Carpenter, would you ask Bridget if she would like to submit?”
Al regarded her quizzically. “I know she’s in rough shape, Penny. But I’m pretty sure she’s not going to submit to you standing over her.”
Tremblay’s dark eyes widened in a remarkably good facsimile of surprise. “Silly me, I’m getting ahead of myself.”
Damned if Carpenter wasn’t about to say ‘No worries’ when Penny raised her right knee past her chest and just STAMPED down on the vulnerable brunette’s wounded left hand! Bridget sobbed and spasmed to her knees, Sweet Disaster shouldering into Tremblay’s legs like a madwoman in an effort to free her hand from that callous trap. Features positively beatific in spite of the blood (or perhaps because of it), Penelope smiled at Al and said, “NOW, you can ask her.”
“DON’T WASTE YOUR BREATH!” Stroud bellowed. “I DON’T SUBMIT! I’LL NEVER SUBMIT TO THIS NNNGGGHH!”
The Angriest Acolyte snatched a double handful of Bridget’s hair and stepped off her hand just to THWHONK the point of that knee into point of her opponent’s chin. Sweet Disaster reeled back on her haunches but didn’t topple and damned if she didn’t manage to slip her traumatized left hand into the relative safety of her right armpit. “Suuuuhhhh… you sadistic witch.” Bridget rasped to the looming bendy-back. “I’ll never be like--” THWHACK!
BUZZSAW KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SeHk6cpTVY
Penelope caromed a Buzzsaw Kick off the side of Stroud’s head but didn’t bother to go for a pin even when the smaller brunette sprawled out flat on her back. “Don’t sell yourself short, rock climber. You’re exactly like me, you’re just not very good at it, at least not yet.”
With that she planted a foot on either side of Stroud’s hips, facing her feet. From there she took hold of Bridget’s boots and lifted them off the mat so the left ankle could be tucked into the pit of the right knee and that leg folded over in a Figure Four. Reaching through the gammy gap with her right hand to cup the grounded brunette’s right ankle, Tremblay doubled down on the grip with her other hand, then stepped back and yaaaaaaaaaaaaanked up to drag Bridget into a yowling handstand. “You’re mine now, Stroud.” Penny taunted. “Admit it or I’ll shred your knees like I shredded your hand.”
“F*CK YOU!” Stroud wailed in the midst of fighting for purchase on the mat. “YOU’RE NOT GONNA GET ANYTHING FROM MEEEEEEE ARRRRGGGHHHHHH GAWDDAMMIT!”
Tremblay sank into a crouch, then earned an ‘oooooohhhhh!’ from the crowd when she muscled Bridget high into the air! Flailing wildly as she searched for any available purchase, Stroud eventually braced her hands against Penny’s knees. This alleviated the worst of the strain on her knees, though it also put considerable pressure on the small of her back.
HANGING INVERTED CLOVERLEAF:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTfuv4xZTcw
No prompting from Tremblay this time around, Al was right there to check on his suffering charge. “What do you say, Bridget? Need me to call it? What do you say?”
Stroud shook her head miserably and Carpenter could hear the tremor in her answer. “No. NO! No, I won’t submitOOOOOHHHHH GAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Penny spun ‘em through three full rotations before she set her feet and began to bounce the hold more violently than before. “Don’t lie to me, Bridget.” Penny cooed. “I know you’ll submit. The only question is when.”
Shaking her head ‘no’ to ignore the hateful confidence in Tremblay’s tone, Stroud once again found her hands scrabbling to Penny’s thighs in an effort to make the hold even slightly more bearable.
It didn’t work, not really.
Stability made it a little easier to collect her thoughts, but the strain in her lower back was vile as ever and growing worse by the second. Jaw clenched to better stifle a miserable sob, Sweet Disaster went to reach for the impossibly distant ropes, only to stop when the tip of one finger caught the bottom edge of Penny’s left kneepad. Tremblay didn’t seem to notice the fresh resolve that coursed through her suspended prey, in truth she didn’t realize anything had changed until Bridget yanked that protective sleeve down and sank her fingers DEEP into the pit of the other brunette’s left knee!
“Grrrrrhhhhh… bytch, don’t think that death-grip is enough to save you.” Tremblay sneered once she’d absorbed the initial shock. “You’re going over the edge and you’re going right goddamned noOOOWWWWWWW!”
Penny had two knees and Bridget had two claws so Stroud de-sheathed Tremblay’s right knee and set to work with a second batch of the same white-knuckle gouging. Credit the legs of one Penny Tremblay, they endured this enervating punishment for almost ten seconds before their owner escaped the trap by simply relinquishing her hold on Bridget’s legs.
Startled by the sudden freedom, the former rock-climber barely got an arm across her face to ensure she didn’t break her nose in the impact. Accepting the awkward landing as a small price to pay, Bridget rolled over and sat up, one hand flying to the small of her back while the other checked her nose for any signs of THWHACK! Incensed by Stroud’s cockroach-esque ability to escape the deadliest pitfalls, Tremblay ignored the fresh twinges in her own knees to run the ropes ahead of the other brunette so she could drive her right heel between Bridget’s eyes!
BASEMENT ROCKET KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo5maWPYgB4
Sweet Disaster went down and stayed there, or rather she didn’t move until Penny took hold of her left wrist and ankle and draaaaaagged her over to just a little beyond center-ring. Tossing Bridget’s limbs aside like she was something meant for the landfill, the Angriest Acolyte stalked to the corner, grabbed the top rope in both hands and vaulted all the way to the high-rent district with a single feline leap. Already facing the squared circle before she landed, Penelope looked out at the audience, then put a hand to her brow as if to emphasize the great distance between the summit and the base.
“Can barely see you from all the way up here, rock climber.” Tremblay hissed under her breath. “Thankfully I’m not above fighting on your level.”
On that note she leapt into the void, Miranda’s ‘Bad’ Penny seeming to vanish into the overhead lights for a few heartbeats before reappearing in a flawless mid-air crunch that only straightened out so she could THAWHAM down across Stroud’s upturned knees!
Oblivious to everything save the anguish of oxygen leaving her lungs, Tremblay bounced up and practically flew away, the gut-shot bendy-back landing on her left side some distance from the other brunette.
Speaking of whom, the desperation counter had taken a heavy toll on Sweet Disaster as well, Bridget beating her heels against the canvas to spread out the concussive nausea of that failed Splash.
A quick check on each competitor told Al Carpenter the match could go on, assuming of course that one or both wrestlers could reach their feet in the allotted time. Neither seemed much inclined to rise at the moment, so the zebra tried to tempt his charges with a slow internal five count. Alas, they were still quite mat-bound at its culmination so he drew in a breath and barked out, “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NINE…T--”
Bridget drew her knees up to her chest, then pistoned both legs out and shot to her feet in a gorgeous kip-up that almost doubled her over on landing.
As for Penny, her return to verticality wasn’t nearly so dramatic, but the tenacious overhand rope-assisted climb meant she looked much steadier when she got there. Regarding one another from across the ring with baleful, hating eyes, Bridget and Penny remained silent for several seconds as they tried to coax fresh oxygen through their battle-strained frames.
Eventually Stroud nodded and huffed, “Pretty impressive, Penny. I thought you’d have been content to lie down and whimper until the medics showed up.”
Tremblay flipped hair out of her eyes, took a threatening step forward. “Don’t project onto me, brat. We both know you can’t follow the trail I’ve blazed.”
Bridget’s dark eyes narrowed. “Screw you, psycho. The only advantage you have is a willingness to go low when you’re--”
The Soul Survivor sprang at her rival with a handful of talons aimed at Stroud’s face only to dip beneath the other brunette’s answering clinch at the last possible instant. Whipping around on her heel as soon as she was clear of Sweet Disaster’s grasp, Tremblay lashed out with a viper-fast Toe Kick, not the pit of Bridget’s stomach but to the fork of her crotNO!
Stroud caught the taller wrestler’s ankle in both hands and tossed it down with enough force to bend Penny ov--“NNNNGGGHHH!” Knee met forehead with a grim, hollow ‘thonk!’, Penny rocked back on her heels by the ‘OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!’ Surprise, followed by a cheer of righteous delight from the FAWNatics when Bridget planted her own kick between Tremblay’s thighs!
Just as shocked and infinitely more vulnerable than those assembled, Penny up for the second time in as many heartbeats and could muster no defense when Bridget twisted around and caught her noggin in a Three Quarters Facelock. “Now babe,” Stroud wrenched her opponent’s head from side to side, “you’re gonna follow MY trail.”
The purple & white-clad brunette loped to the nearest corner with Tremblay in tow, Bridget looking as sure-footed as one would expect from a rock climber when she planted a boot on the middle turnbuckle and ‘walked’ up until her toes were pointed into the rafters. Spinning back the way she’d came, Stroud held on tight and simply let gravity bring her to rest on her butt while Penelope THWHUMPED flat on her face, chest and belly!
CLOUD SKIMMER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMuGREYMsVs
The Cloud Skimmer bounced Tremblay onto her hands and knees, a position she could’ve occupied for quite a while if Stroud hadn’t caught a double handful of hair and forced her to stand on rickety legs. Turning her prey in place, Stroud did the same, then reached back and grasped Penny’s biceps to stretch her arms out in a Crucifix. From there she muscled the taller brunette up onto the point of her right shoulder so she could cinch one arm around Tremblay’s tummy and cup her free (left) hand atop opposing chin. The fans knew what was coming, not that familiarity kept them from getting very loud when Bridget swung Penny over, caught a Facelock on the way down and laid out to THWHONK her nemesis’ skull into the deck! The Cliffhanger bounced Penny onto her back in an insensate sprawl and Bridget was right there to pounce, Sweet Disaster bundling both of those long legs in an inescapable Back Press that lasted through…
CLIFFHANGER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKxrcbPEewc
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!
Stroud broke the cover and rolled to her knees so she could pound a triumphant fist against the mat while the Announcer proclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall… BRIDGET STROUD!”
Carpenter strode over to offer his hand and Bridget started to accept before she apparently remembered something important. Collecting Penny at trunks and tresses, Bridget scraped her opponent off the mat and unceremoniously dumped her through the ropes to the floor! “Jump me now, bytch.” Stroud growled down at the prone wrestler. “Jump me now.”
Tremblay did not, so Bridget retreated to center ring and allowed Al to raise her hand, though she was careful not to take her eyes off the spot concealing her rival. This proved fortuitous because it wasn’t long before Penny Tremblay clawed her way back into view, the lithesome brunette pale and disheveled, but still putting off hate like a furnace.
“Two-two, cutie.” Bridget growled. “The summit’s in sight and it belongs to me.”
“You’ll get to the top, that I promise.” Tremblay answered. “I’ll drag you there myself so you can enjoy the view and I can savor the sound of your diminishing scream once I hurl you out into the vo--”
“Enough of your spooky bullshyt.” Bridget interrupted. “I don’t care about the stakes, I don’t care about the stipulation. I’ll fight wherever and however you want. Because in the end I’m not going to just BEAT you, Penny. I’m going to make you regret ever setting foot on this mountain.”
The Angriest Acolyte answered with a slow, calculating smile.
“Congratulations, Bridget. You’ve just signed your career over to me. Enjoy tonight. It’ll be the last moment of joy you know for a very long time.” Penny slapped an angry hand against the mat, spun on her heel and stormed up the ramp ignoring the taunts and jeers thrown in her direction.
Bridget watched her go, not quite daring to believe Tremblay was gone until she’d vanished through the curtain. Only then did she treat herself to a long delayed tour of the turnbuckles, Sweet Disaster offering up thanks and flexes for everyone who’d supported her through the war with Bad Penny. Tremblay was right about at least one thing, Stroud WOULD enjoy this moment. But she wouldn’t truly rest until the peak… and her vicious rival, had been conquered once and for all.
BE LEGENDARY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmidz2s4scM
The energy level in the FAWN Arena shot somewhere into the stratosphere when everything went purple and a dozen spotlights played over the crowd. Then the speakers offered up Pop Evil’s ‘Be Legendary’ and the ‘tron showed selections from Stroud’s ever lengthening highlight reel, as well as earlier footage from her rock climbing career. The chaotic sweep of lights continued through most of the first verse, though their pace seemed to increase as the sound system roared:
Our name in stone, forever more.
We want more!
We want more!
We want more!
BRIDGET STROUD:
The spots honed in on the entryway with the third recitation and Bridget exploded through the curtain, the former rock-climber turned indy wrestling darling turned FAWN breakout skidding to a stop at the top of the stage just to throw her arms up for a brawny double bicep flex. Chants of ‘SWEET DIS-AS-TER!’ rang out at once, a building roar crafted by fans of her indy stint as well as the new fans she’d made since hitting Orlando early last year.
Looking uncharacteristically grim as she surveyed the capacity crowd, Bridget took a deep breath and seemingly banished the memory of All Hallows Evil before she pivoted ‘round on one heel and swung her hips in time to their chant while pointing to the ‘Sweet Disaster’ stretched across her purple briefs.
Another about-face followed shortly thereafter and the copper-skinned brunette hardbody took off down the ramp, Bridget going with arms outstretched to return the favor to everyone who greeted her so warmly. For the first PPV of the new year, Stroud chose purple trunks, a halter-style bikini top with one cup done in matching purple and the other in a pumpkin orange, purple and orange armbands that crisscrossed at bicep and forearm to meet at wrist and shoulder, orange pads with a purple splatter pattern and purple wrestling boots that ended a few inches shy of her knees. A study in frenetic energy the entire way to ringside, Bridget made a high-speed circuit of the front row, then leapt to the apron to the top rope and stayed there for a several seconds to bask in the roar of the crowd. Once she hopped down Stroud made her way to Al Carpenter so he could check her pads and boots.
“All good here, Bridget.” the he noted once the inspection was over. “You doin’ ok?”
“I’m fine, Al. I’ll be even better when I’ve got my hands on Tremblay.”
Carpenter started to respond, but ultimately said nothing because Bridget stomped to the far corner to await the arrival of her archrival in tense silence.
“And introducing her opponent, hailing from Hobbs End, New Hampshire she stands at five feet-eight inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and thirty-two pounds. She is the Soul Survivor and the only Hope of a Dark Tomorrow, I give to you ‘BAD’ PENNY TREMBLAY!”
WALK ON WATER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8yo7l43Yoo
The house lights went dark as the speakers came on, the low hum of a guitar and a repetition of vaguely ecclesiastical ‘oh’s’ that marked the beginning of Thirty Seconds to Mars’s ‘Walk on Water’. The gloom was nearly omnipresent, and the combination of ghostly blue lights at floor level and a thin carpet of dry ice fog only added to the claustrophobic, disorienting atmosphere.
Can you even see what you're fighting for?
Bloodlust in a holy war.
Listen up hear the patriots shout,
'Times are changing.'
In the end the choice was clear,
Take a shot in the face of fear.
Fist up in the firing line.
'TIMES ARE CHANGING!'
PENELOPE TREMBLAY:
Penny materialized with the chorus, the Angriest Acolyte rising up on a mechanical lift hidden in the dark so it looked as though she appeared from thin air. Claiming the stage like the ghost of Crusades gone by, Tremblay stretched her arms wide and tilted her head back, Penny listening to some guidance meant only for her ears. Thus sanctified by the music of the spheres, Tremblay headed for the killing floor that those less blessed called a squared circle. For tonight’s wicked work she wore a midnight blue two piece consisting of a sports-bra top and strappy briefs, both edged in copper trim. Pads at knee and elbow were matte gray while her boots matched her trunks.
Ignoring the reaching, judging hands of the sub-humanoids (save to slap them away if one dared draw too close) Tremblay made her way down the ramp but was still several long paces from the squared circle when Bridget burst from the far corner and threw herself into the ropes on the opposite side. Stroud’s subsequent trek across the ring was fast, yet not so fast as to elude one Al Carpenter, who threw himself into the brunette’s path to foil her pre-bell assault. “Don’t do it, Bridget!” he warned. “I know tempers are hot tonight but--”
“Don’t offer the little brat lenience of any sort!” Tremblay snarled. “Not only is she a poor loser, apparently she’s a cheater as well! Certainly not the behavior I’d expect from a woman who holds herself as a role model for the weakest and most gullible among--”
Al rounded on her, dipped between the top and middle ropes and pointed a finger in Penelope’s direction. “You’re NOT helping, Penny! Let me handle WHOAH!”
The official’s intentions were noble, alas his plans were fully thwarted the instant he turned his back on the Beautiful Disaster. Running the ropes again, she came back at full speed and tumbled over the zebra AND the top rope en route to bowling down Tremblay with a breathtaking Somersault Senton!
As oblivious to the roars of the crowd as she was to Carpenter’s aggrieved exclamations, Bridget scrambled to boot-leather and delivered a few heavy Stomps unto the taller wrestler’s flank before hauling her up with a double handful of hair. “This isn’t cheating, Tremblay. This is your bill come due.” Stroud explained even as she shifted to one side and hurled the other brunette into the steel guardrail with a resounding BWANG!
Tremblay hissed and went down on one knee, Carpenter continued to call his charges to the ring proper and Bridget just helped herself to another fistful of those long, dark locks. Doing her best to placate Al with an ‘in a minute’ sorta index finger, Stroud took Tremblay by the scruff of the neck and marched her toward the apron only to whip ‘round in a circle and BWONK Penny’s forehead against the solid steel ring-post!
“Dammit Bridget, enough of that already!” the lanky official pleaded from his place near the ropes. “Throw her inside so I can ring the bell!”
Bridget snatched hold of Penny’s hair with one hand and tapped the lobe of one ear with the other. “Listen to that, Al! They LOVE this! Which means brass loves it too!” Al didn’t dare legitimize that notion with a response, so he stayed silent while Bridget powered Penelope to verticality. “Shyt, busted open and the bell hasn’t even rang!” Stroud murmured in response to the small but bloody cut that’d opened a few inches above her rival’s left eye.
“Huuuuhhh… hypocritical whore.” Tremblay growled as she tried to steady her shivering knees with a firm grasp of the bottom rope. “If you think a little blood is going to stop meNNNNNNGGHHHHEERRAAAAARRRHHH!”
Bridget went up on tiptoe to put that much more ‘oomph!’ into bouncing Penelope’s forehead against the apron. Still holding a double fistful of Tremblay’s tresses, Stroud leaned down and in to make sure all her weight was on the wounded wrestler as she draaaaaaaagged Penny’s forehead back and forth against the narrow canvas ledge!
“YOU DON’T GET TO JUDGE!” Bridget almost screamed at the writhing bendy-back. “Not after you went to my trunks over and over and over ag--”
The bell CLANGED, turning Stroud’s attention to Al in a heartbeat. For one horrible moment she thought he’d thrown out the whole match, mercifully this fear was assuaged when she saw him raise a hand and call, “ONE!”
But relief curdled into anger when Penny jabbed the point of her left elbow deep into Stroud’s flat tummy. Not about to let go, Bridget bounced Penny’s noggin twice more, then segued into a Side Headlock that allowed her to keep Tremblay’s face that much closer to the apron. “You don’t get to judge.” Stroud repeated in a more controlled tone. “Not after what you did. You’re more than welcome to bleed though, Penny. You just go ahead and bleed ALL. YOU. WANT!”
Bridget leaned into that face-erasing Headlock and trundled right until she’d reached the corner. Al’s count hadn’t even reached ‘TEN!’ yet, so the former rock climbing standout bounced her nemesis’s skull a couple times more, then grabbed some hair just above the nape of the neck and forced her to stand straight. “I’m gonna bounce you offa every metal surface at ringside, honey.” Stroud promised. “And don’t even get me started at what’s gonna happen once we’re inside those ropes again.”
Tremblay’s only response was an insensate hiss, so Bridget charged the far corner (the one housing the ring steps) and hurled her burden straight intoNO!
Penny mirrored Stroud’s grip on scruff of her attacker’s neck and spun on her heel in a smooth circle to BAWONK Bridget forehead-first into the steel post! Sweet Disaster’s legs shuddered violently and she rocked back on her heels but ultimately she maintained verticality by catching hold of the ring-post in a loose hug. Sighing with relief as she cleared off, Tremblay rolled under the bottom rope whereupon she paused only long enough to point a baleful glare at Algernon Carpenter.
“Reset your tally, little man.” the brunette growled. “And do be so kind as to take your time.”
Carpenter protested more for form’s sake and fell silent the moment Penelope rolled back to the floor. Sticking close to the apron, Tremblay backed to within a few feet of the opposite corner, then raced down the length of the ring and took to the skies to jam an upraised knee between Bridget’s shoulders which in turn BWAAANGED her head against the post!
The force of it jolted the top half of the steps forward by several inches yet neither it or Bridget collapsed, so Penny cozied in behind her, grabbed hold of the smaller brunette’s left wrist in both hands and very casually bwong-bwong-bwong-BWONGED it against the top step no less than half a dozen times!
Stroud shrieked in surprised anguish and tried to prize loose of Tremblay’s grip, but the Angriest Acolyte put a stop to that shouldering her prey in against the post until the jailbreak had stilled. Smiling despite the blood streaming down one side of her face, Penny Tremblay pressed her rival’s hurting hand against the top step and carefully held it in place as she clambered up into position beside it. “Your grip strength is impressive Stroud, even I can’t deny you that.” Tremblay admitted once she’d planted her right foot atop the exposed extremity. “I’m not even sure why I sound surprised, savage animals often possess some remarkable talents.”
“Kiss my ass, honey.” Bridget shoved at Penelope’s calf with her free hand, but still couldn’t slide out from beneath Tremblay’s boot. “We both know ‘this animal’ can claw a submission from you the moment she gets a good griPOOOOOOHHHHHFAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHK!”
Penny grabbed the top rope in both hands, braced her other foot against the apron and sank into a deep crouch, the vindictive brunette putting every ounce of her lean hundred and thirty-plus pounds into grinding that merciless talon into so much meaty slush.
“CHEW YOUR WAY OUT!” Tremblay demanded over her foe’s shrieks and the increasingly angry roar of the FAWNatics. “C’MON STROUD, CHEW YOUR WAY OUT LIKE THE FERAL BYTCH YOU RRRGGGHH!”
Bridget jammed a short, awkward Shoulderblock into the side of Penny’s knee to knock her off that agonizing perch. Stuffing her left hand to her chest the instant it was free, Stroud backed away and rolled under the bottom rope. Sitting up straight, she kept the strands to her back and butt-scooted toward the opposite corner in the hopes of getting as much of a breather as possible before Tremblay came searching for the blood she’d just drawn.
In the end it was only the matter of a few strong heartbeats, at least that’s how it felt to Bridget when she heard the other brunette tromping up the steps to the apron. The noise paused long enough for Stroud to look up from her hurting hand to make sure she hadn’t lost track of the Angriest Acolyte. She hadn’t, Penny was right where she’d thought she’d be, but the vicious bendy-back had delayed her return to the ring seemingly for the sole purpose of getting Bridget’s attention. When she had it, Tremblay took the top rope in both hands and made a very deliberate show of wiping the soles of her boots on the apron. Then she smiled, dipped between the strands and started for her rival.
Seeing this approach, Stroud forced herself to open and close the injured over and over again, Sweet Disaster working hard to ease the worst of the pain even as she scrambled to boot-leather. “Call to him.” Penelope sneered. She’d slowed her pace considerably though it wouldn’t be long until she was within easy reach. “Go ahead, call to the referee, Bridget. Your back’s already pressed to the turnbuckles and the urge is stamped all over your coward’s face, so do it if you can find your voice for anything beyond a scr--”
Stroud came out to greet her with a quick Toe Kick that would’ve skewered the taller woman’s navel if Penny hadn’t caught her ankle in both hands. Tremblay offered Stroud a smirk and said, “Pain has made you slow, rock climb--”
THWHACK!
Bridget sprang off her plant foot and cracked it upside Penny’s head with a picture-perfect Enzugiri! Already close to the ropes, the willowy warrior didn’t have to worry about keeping her footing, she simply leaned against the rubber-coated steel and shook her head to clear the cobwebs. This mental dusting was still underway when Stroud barreled into her with a lowered shoulder and plowed the both of ‘em all the way back to the corner nearest the steps!
Only slowing her forward progress when she felt Tremblay’s tush shiver against the second turnbuckle, Bridget grabbed hold of the middle rope with her good hand and hooked it with her left elbow on the other side. This was quite a bit more awkward than the usual arrangement, but it still allowed her enough leeway to draw back and lunge forward, the purple & white-clad grappler just throwing every bit of her weight into Tremblay’s trim midsection. She’d managed more than a half-dozen when Al hurried over and tapped her between the shoulder. “Back it off, Bridget. Don’t make me start the count.”
Bridget didn’t, though she made a point to ‘walk’ a few more steps into the last Shoulderblock before she straightened up and cleared off with both hands rai-- “OOOOWWWWW!”
Stifling her own pains to inflict even more upon her opponent, Tremblay followed the other brunette just far enough to jab a thumb into her left eye! Bridget staggered, instinctively raised her left hand to press it against that watering socket and paid a high price when Penelope intercepted her efforts with a Greco-Roman Knucklelock! Shrieking in anguish as Tremblay ground delicate bones together, Stroud went up on tiptoe and stuffed a hand in her attacker’s face, the sort of panicked defense that earned nothing more than an irritated snarl before she whipped around and forced Bridget against the corner in her stead.
The broadest part of her thigh delivered at a sharp angle across Stroud’s stomach stopped the brunette’s keening long enough for Tremblay to break her grip and then drape the smaller brunette’s arms over the top rope. Alas, this did not mean an end to Bridget’s suffering because Penny folded that arm tight against the strand, then cupped her elbow with one hand and resumed the Knucklelock with the other. Simultaneous pressure at both ends wrenched a most pitiable howl from her opposition.
“DID YOU REALLY THINK A LITTLE BLOOD WOULD STOP ME, MOUNTAIN CLIMBER?” Tremblay bellowed practically in Stroud’s ear. “DID YOU THINK I WOULD TURN TAIL AND SCAMPER AWAY JUST BECAUSE YOU--”
“Let go of her arm and back off, Penny.” Al ordered his charge.
The last True Believer regarded him with a withering glance, but actually complied without the need for so much as a one-count. The reason for this seemingly effortless compliance revealed itself when Tremblay turned her right shoulder toward the other brunette’s chest and just CRAAACKED her across the décolletage with a Knife-Edge Chop that had everyone in floor seats groaning and holding their own chests in sympathetic anguish.
“Dammit Penny, don’t make me tell you again. Back off so she can--”
Another Chop laid lightning across Stroud’s tits and settled her butt so heavily against the buckles that Tremblay felt justified in sparing the official a long, steady glare. “I’m not MAKING you do anything, good sir. Those choices are entirely your own and should not be held against me when I am simply trying to--”
“ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”
The count worked faster than the warning ever could, though the ref didn’t much like the daggers Tremblay glared in his direction. As for Bridget she immediately extricated her arm from the rope and drew it against chest to once again minister to her mangled hand. “How’s your hand doing, Bridget?” Al asked after Sweet Disaster had several seconds to herself. “Do I need to get Vannacutt out here?”
Bridget looked up at once, her dark eyes showing resolve beneath the obvious pain. “Don’t even think about it, Al.” she replied. “I’ll be happy to take an ice pack after the bell. AFTER I’ve put that brat on her bacOOOFFFHHH!”
Already bored with their idiot’s babble, Tremblay rushed in with a Low Dropkick that THWHAPPED both boots deep into the pit of Stroud’s stomach! Bridget gaped and doubled over without taking a knee, which made it that much easier for Penny to help herself to a double handful of hair when she returned to verticality. Peeling her prey out of the buckles, Tremblay swung Bridget around, then ducked low and forced her head beneath Stroud’s left arm. A palm against her butt and an arm around her waist meant Sweet Disaster was strapped in nice and snug when Penny dipped her knees and hoisted the wounded brunette up onto the point of her shouldNO!
Bridget flipped out of the Suplex attempt to land on one knee directly behind her startled nemesis. Without really thinking about it she straightened up, grabbed a Waistlock and drove forward to sandwich the taller wrestler between the top turnbuckle and herself. Uncharacteristically pleased by the breathless ‘nnnngggghh!’ when Tremblay’s sternum met the thinly-padded steel, Stroud dragged her knotted fists back ‘n forth across Penny’s tummy, then squatted so low her butt was nearly touching the mat, all the better to wrest Tremblay away from the corner and down onto her shoulders for a beautiful pinning predica--or not. Bridget had already rolled through to a seat above her opponent’s upturned haunches, but rather than hold her down for a cover she dipped again and slooooooowly peeled Penelope off the mat in a slow motion deadlift that picked up a whole lotta speed once she was over Stroud’s head and THWHUMPING down flat on the back of her head and shoulders!
CHAOS THEORY:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHzK4DhFMKs
Up on tiptoe in the aftermath of the Chaos Theory, Bridget held on tight while Carpenter and a whole lotta FAWNatics counted off…
ONE…
TWO…
Penny popped her hips to end up on all fours with a full second to spare, while Stroud pushed to one knee and swept a hand (the good right) through her hair. For a moment it looked like she might say something, though in the end Sweet Disaster held her tongue in favor of standing up and reeling her rival into a snug Headscissors. Still quite cautious of her injured hand, Bridget bent down and wrapped her arms around Tremblay’s waist, but rather than simply locking her hands she grabbed hold of her left wrist to complete the grip. Knees bent deep, Stroud grit her teeth and slooooooowly muscled the larger brunette off the canvas and up onto her shoulders, Penny ending the ascent slumped forward over the top of Bridget’s noggin.
Give the devil her due, Tremblay must’ve recognized the trouble she was in because she twined her fingers in Sweet Disaster’s hair and did her best to remove it from opposing scalp. Only in this case her best wasn’t enough to dissuade Stroud from her intentions, as the purple and white-clad battler simply swung Penelope down and dropped to her butt to THAWHAM Tremblay onto the deck with a ring-shivering Sit-Out Powerbomb! Tremblay bounced violently but stayed on her shoulders, so Bridget snuggled in close, pressing into the back of her opponent’s haunches to keep her flat through…
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
SIT-OUT POWERBOMB:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBEWXOmddoI
Penny brought her knees together on each side of Stroud’s noggin to break the count with a half second to spare. The escape flopped Tremblay onto her stomach but she might’ve made it to her feet in short order if Bridget hadn’t seized her ankles and dragged her out into the middle of the ring. “Let go of me, bytch.” Penny snarled as she scratched and clawed at the canvas. “Unless you want to lose your other hand tooRRGH!”
Clearly displeased by mention of her hurtin’ hand, Stroud stepped onto the back of the taller brunette’s thighs and neatly tucked Penelope’s shins in against her own shins. Halfway to something exceedingly unpleasant, Bridget sank into a crouch and CRAAACKED a few hard slaps against her opponent’s flanks. “Give me your hands, Penny.” she demanded.
Tremblay, who’d tucked her forearms beneath her chest the instant Stroud secured her perch, dug both elbows into the mat and began inching her way forward instead. “Pain and despair are the only things I’ll ever give you, Stroud. Anything else you’ll have to takeEEERRRGGGGHHHH!”
Bridget slapped the bendy-back’s flank just above her right hip, then dug in with a white-knuckled Claw. Flashing a smile as the crowd validated her efforts with a loud ‘TAP!’ chant, Stroud offered a counterproposal. “Better idea. GIVE me your hands or I’ll TAKE some guts.”
Tremblay hissed a curse but wouldn’t surrender her hands. Instead she pushed up on her elbows (which did nothing for the strain in her legs and lower back) and resumed her efforts to reach the strands.
Not about to let Bad Penny out of her clutches, Bridget worked the Claw for several more seconds but couldn’t halt her opponent’s progress. Eventually she relinquished the grip and returned to her original mount standing on the back of Tremblay’s thighs. “Last warning, Pen--”
“F*ck your warnings, mountain climbAAARRRGGGHHH!”
Stroud hopped up and STOMPED down, Sweet Disaster just putting all of her weight into the hard-hearted attack. The agonizing jolt freed Tremblay’s legs, allowing the Angriest Acolyte to draw in on herselNO! Bridget seized her ankles again, but rather than attempt the Surfboard a second time she angled Tremblay’s right ankle into the pit of the brunette’s left knee and folded that leg over it in a quick Figure Four. Gripping Penny’s left ankle to keep her knot in place, Stroud slid forward and planted a knee in her foe’s lower back while simultaneously sitting on those knotted stems. “F*ck my warnings, Penny?” Bridget growled as she laced her fingers beneath the prone woman’s chin. “F*ck you!” Sweet Disaster pulled up and leeeaaaned back, the infuriated hardbody showing off a whole load of lean, compact power as she tried to bend Tremblay into a ‘U’ with the Camel Clutch STF.
CAMEL CLUTCH STF:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-v-i0wSsSo
Noting the pained reaction of his charge, Al strode over to the action and leaned in as close as he dared. “What do you say, Penny? Need me to call for the--”
“NEVER!” she interrupted. “LEAVE US BE!”
Bridget bared her teeth, jostled Tremblay’s head up and down. “You heard her, Al. Girl wants to suffer in silence!”
That might’ve been Penny’s desire, alas Stroud wasn’t willing to grant it, as evidenced by the way she continued to wrest, twist and otherwise crank on the body-breaking submission. Or perhaps ‘body-bending’ was a more accurate description because trapped though she was, Tremblay never stopped reaching for the ropes. Not only that, she managed to twist herself a full ninety degrees to the right, an awkward, humping adjustment that put her a little bit closer to freedom. Seeing the strands still well beyond her fingers, the Angriest Acolyte let out a furious snarl and slammed both hands against the canvas so she could draaaaaaaaaaag their combined weight toward freedom.
Bridget didn’t try to stop her, however a careful observer could note the frustration playing across her face as Tremblay continued to resist. Indeed, in less than fifteen seconds the last of Miranda’s True Believers was less than six inches from the bottom rope. Deciding it was time to repay the mauling she’d endured at the beginning of the match, Penny halved the Chinlock so she could crook her left arm into a ‘V’. Honed in on the cut above her nemesis’ left eye, Bridget demanded, “Submit.”
“Walk off a cliff.” Tremblay hissed at once. “You can’t submit meNNNGGGHHH!”
Sweet Disaster brought her left elbow down fast, jabbing the pad-sheathed joint into Penny’s cut. “I think we both know that’s a lie.” Stroud spat. “But even if I can’t, I can make you bleed buckets and that’s good enough for me.”
On that vindictive note she resumed dropping those dagger-point elbows into Tremblay’s bleeding pate with a coolly methodical thunk-thunk-thunk! The bludgeoning finally stopped Penelope’s progress, the trapped brunette forced to protect her features from the heathen’s vile elbow. This defense was little more than a stopgap however, Tremblay knew Stroud wouldn’t stop unless forced because that’s exactly what she would’ve done if their positions were reversed. This revelation did nothing for Penny’s mood, indeed she gave voice to an enraged banshee shriek before she abandoned the crude guard in favor of one last bit of frantic crawl--
“BREAK!” Tremblay exclaimed as soon as she’d grabbed hold of the rubber-coated steel. “Break the hold you miserable bytcAAARRRRHHH STAAAAAAAP!”
Willing to punish Penny in ways she’d deem unacceptable against any other opponent (with the possible exception of Sutton Stonecliffe) Bridget stopped dropping elbows so she could rake her rival’s forehead over and over again! Distressingly aware of the bloodlust that’d fallen over both competitors, Al Carpenter bypassed the usual warning in favor of a stern count. “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!
Sweet Disaster disengaged and retreated to the center of the ring where she wiped her bloodied hand across her own fluttering stomach with a look of disgust. As for Penelope Tremblay, she clambered to a seat and twisted around so she could keep an eye on the other brunette. For a moment her expression was unadulterated rage, then she did something that sent a chill down Bridget’s back. She smiled. Struggling to boot-leather, Penny leaned back against the strands and huffed, “There you are. It took four matches and most of a year, but I finally found you. The real you.”
Bridget rolled her shoulders, didn’t give any ground. “Bullshyt. I’ve never tried to hide who I am.”
“Yes you did, pretty girl. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on you. The perky ‘I’m so happy to be here!’ former game show contestant is nothing more than an act. Deep down you’re as malicious I am and this…” Tremblay reached up, wiped the blood off her forehead and cheek and showed it to Stroud, “proves it.
Stroud shook her head in an emphatic denial, her features stamped with angry incredulity. “Bullshyt. The only thing it proves is that your brand of crazy is catching if chicks aren’t care--”
“Don’t f*cking lie to me, Stroud.” Penny snarled. “This right here?” the willowy warrior didn’t just point to her bloody forehead, she struck it with the heel of palm until it started dripping anew. “That’s the sign of someone who enjoys her work. You’re just as damaged, just as angry as I am, which means you’re just as worthy of their scorn.” Tremblay trailed off into another smile. “I’ll see that you get it.”
Bridget took a deep breath, then rolled her shoulders and tapped the mat with the toe of her right boot. “You wanna give me something, big girl?” Sweet Disaster pressed down and swept an undeniable demarcation between herself and the other brunette. “Step up to this line and give me all you’ve got.”
Anyone expecting Tremblay to hesitate was destined for disappointment because she went toe-to-toe with Stroud within the span of heartbeats. Making a point to look down her bloodied nose at the shorter wrestler, Bad Penny murmured, “Smashed my forehead against the post, rock-climber. You could write that off as an accident and I won’t hold it against you. But going after it later with the point of your elbow?” she tsk’ed in the back of her throat, a soft, disapproving sound. “That was bloodlust, pure and simple.”
Bridget stepped over her own line to chest up on the Angriest Acolyte. “You call it bloodlust, I call it a receipt. You’ve had that coming for--”
“Careful of your footing, little girl. That sanctimonious moral high ground is starting to crum--”
Stroud sent the bendy-back staggering with a rude shove, then stepped after to follow up with a snappy SLAP across Tremblay’s unmarred cheek. “And you’re hanging by a thread, brat. So keep your mouth shut and--”
Penelope answered the shove and immediately raised courtesy of a disrespectful pie-fie! Stroud reeled, caught her balance and hurled herself at-- the black-clad battler stepped in with a stern Kneelift aimed between Bridget’s thighsNOOOOO! Sweet Disaster swatted the Low Blow down with both hands, drew her head back and smashed it against Tremblay’s sternum with a cringe-worthy THWHUNK!
BOULDER SMASH HEADBUTT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tcUTo9N_zY
Penny’s arms dropped to her sides and she started to timber to the deck only to remain (mostly) upright when Stroud reached out and caught her not by the hair, but by her left ear! Twisting the cartilage hard enough to make Tremblay hiss in pain, Bridget fetched Penny a retaliatory slap across the mouth before jabbing her index finger beneath the other wrestler’s nose. “Go for my trunks one more time and I swear to all that’s holy I’ll AAAAAAAWWWWWW FAAAAAAAAAAAHHHK!”
Penny caught hold of her rival’s exposed digit and craaaaaaaaanked it back like she meant to touch it to Bridget’s wrist! Forgetting old affronts in the face of fresh agonies, Stroud pulled at Tremblay’s clutching fingers and threw several Kneelifts at her nemesis’ tummy, but Penny was able to weather the storm until a lull let her raaaaaaaaaake her nails across Stroud’s eyes!
Al and the FAWNatics called her out at once, unfortunately this did nothing for Bridget, who was effectively wailing and blind when the Last True Believer relinquished her finger-trap to slip an arm through the wounded wrestler’s thighs. An effortless scoop put Stroud in position for a Slam, but rather than simply drop her burden, Tremblay secured Stroud’s noggin in the crook of her left arm, then dropped Sweet Disaster’s legs so she was effectively caught in an Inverted Facelo-- Penny laid out the instant Bridget’s boots reached the canvas, which meant that much more impact on the back of her head and shoulders! Bridget rolled onto her side and swaddled her head in both arms, though Tremblay noted the former rock climber didn’t (or couldn’t) do much with her left hand. Putting this information to immediate use, Penny sidled in from Stroud’s left, hooked both legs in a snug bundle and pointed Stroud’s tush toward the lights for…
CEMETERY GATES:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iVSesWeKd8
ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!
Bridget bucked her hips and twisted onto her stomach to escape defeat with no more than half a second to spare. The near-fall didn’t seem to bother Penny in the slightest, in fact her expression was almost serene as she rose to her full height above the prone Disaster. Though her attention was riveted on Stroud, her next words were directed to the official. “Mr. Carpenter, would you ask Bridget if she would like to submit?”
Al regarded her quizzically. “I know she’s in rough shape, Penny. But I’m pretty sure she’s not going to submit to you standing over her.”
Tremblay’s dark eyes widened in a remarkably good facsimile of surprise. “Silly me, I’m getting ahead of myself.”
Damned if Carpenter wasn’t about to say ‘No worries’ when Penny raised her right knee past her chest and just STAMPED down on the vulnerable brunette’s wounded left hand! Bridget sobbed and spasmed to her knees, Sweet Disaster shouldering into Tremblay’s legs like a madwoman in an effort to free her hand from that callous trap. Features positively beatific in spite of the blood (or perhaps because of it), Penelope smiled at Al and said, “NOW, you can ask her.”
“DON’T WASTE YOUR BREATH!” Stroud bellowed. “I DON’T SUBMIT! I’LL NEVER SUBMIT TO THIS NNNGGGHH!”
The Angriest Acolyte snatched a double handful of Bridget’s hair and stepped off her hand just to THWHONK the point of that knee into point of her opponent’s chin. Sweet Disaster reeled back on her haunches but didn’t topple and damned if she didn’t manage to slip her traumatized left hand into the relative safety of her right armpit. “Suuuuhhhh… you sadistic witch.” Bridget rasped to the looming bendy-back. “I’ll never be like--” THWHACK!
BUZZSAW KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SeHk6cpTVY
Penelope caromed a Buzzsaw Kick off the side of Stroud’s head but didn’t bother to go for a pin even when the smaller brunette sprawled out flat on her back. “Don’t sell yourself short, rock climber. You’re exactly like me, you’re just not very good at it, at least not yet.”
With that she planted a foot on either side of Stroud’s hips, facing her feet. From there she took hold of Bridget’s boots and lifted them off the mat so the left ankle could be tucked into the pit of the right knee and that leg folded over in a Figure Four. Reaching through the gammy gap with her right hand to cup the grounded brunette’s right ankle, Tremblay doubled down on the grip with her other hand, then stepped back and yaaaaaaaaaaaaanked up to drag Bridget into a yowling handstand. “You’re mine now, Stroud.” Penny taunted. “Admit it or I’ll shred your knees like I shredded your hand.”
“F*CK YOU!” Stroud wailed in the midst of fighting for purchase on the mat. “YOU’RE NOT GONNA GET ANYTHING FROM MEEEEEEE ARRRRGGGHHHHHH GAWDDAMMIT!”
Tremblay sank into a crouch, then earned an ‘oooooohhhhh!’ from the crowd when she muscled Bridget high into the air! Flailing wildly as she searched for any available purchase, Stroud eventually braced her hands against Penny’s knees. This alleviated the worst of the strain on her knees, though it also put considerable pressure on the small of her back.
HANGING INVERTED CLOVERLEAF:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTfuv4xZTcw
No prompting from Tremblay this time around, Al was right there to check on his suffering charge. “What do you say, Bridget? Need me to call it? What do you say?”
Stroud shook her head miserably and Carpenter could hear the tremor in her answer. “No. NO! No, I won’t submitOOOOOHHHHH GAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Penny spun ‘em through three full rotations before she set her feet and began to bounce the hold more violently than before. “Don’t lie to me, Bridget.” Penny cooed. “I know you’ll submit. The only question is when.”
Shaking her head ‘no’ to ignore the hateful confidence in Tremblay’s tone, Stroud once again found her hands scrabbling to Penny’s thighs in an effort to make the hold even slightly more bearable.
It didn’t work, not really.
Stability made it a little easier to collect her thoughts, but the strain in her lower back was vile as ever and growing worse by the second. Jaw clenched to better stifle a miserable sob, Sweet Disaster went to reach for the impossibly distant ropes, only to stop when the tip of one finger caught the bottom edge of Penny’s left kneepad. Tremblay didn’t seem to notice the fresh resolve that coursed through her suspended prey, in truth she didn’t realize anything had changed until Bridget yanked that protective sleeve down and sank her fingers DEEP into the pit of the other brunette’s left knee!
“Grrrrrhhhhh… bytch, don’t think that death-grip is enough to save you.” Tremblay sneered once she’d absorbed the initial shock. “You’re going over the edge and you’re going right goddamned noOOOWWWWWWW!”
Penny had two knees and Bridget had two claws so Stroud de-sheathed Tremblay’s right knee and set to work with a second batch of the same white-knuckle gouging. Credit the legs of one Penny Tremblay, they endured this enervating punishment for almost ten seconds before their owner escaped the trap by simply relinquishing her hold on Bridget’s legs.
Startled by the sudden freedom, the former rock-climber barely got an arm across her face to ensure she didn’t break her nose in the impact. Accepting the awkward landing as a small price to pay, Bridget rolled over and sat up, one hand flying to the small of her back while the other checked her nose for any signs of THWHACK! Incensed by Stroud’s cockroach-esque ability to escape the deadliest pitfalls, Tremblay ignored the fresh twinges in her own knees to run the ropes ahead of the other brunette so she could drive her right heel between Bridget’s eyes!
BASEMENT ROCKET KICK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo5maWPYgB4
Sweet Disaster went down and stayed there, or rather she didn’t move until Penny took hold of her left wrist and ankle and draaaaaagged her over to just a little beyond center-ring. Tossing Bridget’s limbs aside like she was something meant for the landfill, the Angriest Acolyte stalked to the corner, grabbed the top rope in both hands and vaulted all the way to the high-rent district with a single feline leap. Already facing the squared circle before she landed, Penelope looked out at the audience, then put a hand to her brow as if to emphasize the great distance between the summit and the base.
“Can barely see you from all the way up here, rock climber.” Tremblay hissed under her breath. “Thankfully I’m not above fighting on your level.”
On that note she leapt into the void, Miranda’s ‘Bad’ Penny seeming to vanish into the overhead lights for a few heartbeats before reappearing in a flawless mid-air crunch that only straightened out so she could THAWHAM down across Stroud’s upturned knees!
Oblivious to everything save the anguish of oxygen leaving her lungs, Tremblay bounced up and practically flew away, the gut-shot bendy-back landing on her left side some distance from the other brunette.
Speaking of whom, the desperation counter had taken a heavy toll on Sweet Disaster as well, Bridget beating her heels against the canvas to spread out the concussive nausea of that failed Splash.
A quick check on each competitor told Al Carpenter the match could go on, assuming of course that one or both wrestlers could reach their feet in the allotted time. Neither seemed much inclined to rise at the moment, so the zebra tried to tempt his charges with a slow internal five count. Alas, they were still quite mat-bound at its culmination so he drew in a breath and barked out, “ONE… TWO… THREE… FOUR… FIVE… SIX… SEVEN… EIGHT… NINE…T--”
Bridget drew her knees up to her chest, then pistoned both legs out and shot to her feet in a gorgeous kip-up that almost doubled her over on landing.
As for Penny, her return to verticality wasn’t nearly so dramatic, but the tenacious overhand rope-assisted climb meant she looked much steadier when she got there. Regarding one another from across the ring with baleful, hating eyes, Bridget and Penny remained silent for several seconds as they tried to coax fresh oxygen through their battle-strained frames.
Eventually Stroud nodded and huffed, “Pretty impressive, Penny. I thought you’d have been content to lie down and whimper until the medics showed up.”
Tremblay flipped hair out of her eyes, took a threatening step forward. “Don’t project onto me, brat. We both know you can’t follow the trail I’ve blazed.”
Bridget’s dark eyes narrowed. “Screw you, psycho. The only advantage you have is a willingness to go low when you’re--”
The Soul Survivor sprang at her rival with a handful of talons aimed at Stroud’s face only to dip beneath the other brunette’s answering clinch at the last possible instant. Whipping around on her heel as soon as she was clear of Sweet Disaster’s grasp, Tremblay lashed out with a viper-fast Toe Kick, not the pit of Bridget’s stomach but to the fork of her crotNO!
Stroud caught the taller wrestler’s ankle in both hands and tossed it down with enough force to bend Penny ov--“NNNNGGGHHH!” Knee met forehead with a grim, hollow ‘thonk!’, Penny rocked back on her heels by the ‘OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!’ Surprise, followed by a cheer of righteous delight from the FAWNatics when Bridget planted her own kick between Tremblay’s thighs!
Just as shocked and infinitely more vulnerable than those assembled, Penny up for the second time in as many heartbeats and could muster no defense when Bridget twisted around and caught her noggin in a Three Quarters Facelock. “Now babe,” Stroud wrenched her opponent’s head from side to side, “you’re gonna follow MY trail.”
The purple & white-clad brunette loped to the nearest corner with Tremblay in tow, Bridget looking as sure-footed as one would expect from a rock climber when she planted a boot on the middle turnbuckle and ‘walked’ up until her toes were pointed into the rafters. Spinning back the way she’d came, Stroud held on tight and simply let gravity bring her to rest on her butt while Penelope THWHUMPED flat on her face, chest and belly!
CLOUD SKIMMER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMuGREYMsVs
The Cloud Skimmer bounced Tremblay onto her hands and knees, a position she could’ve occupied for quite a while if Stroud hadn’t caught a double handful of hair and forced her to stand on rickety legs. Turning her prey in place, Stroud did the same, then reached back and grasped Penny’s biceps to stretch her arms out in a Crucifix. From there she muscled the taller brunette up onto the point of her right shoulder so she could cinch one arm around Tremblay’s tummy and cup her free (left) hand atop opposing chin. The fans knew what was coming, not that familiarity kept them from getting very loud when Bridget swung Penny over, caught a Facelock on the way down and laid out to THWHONK her nemesis’ skull into the deck! The Cliffhanger bounced Penny onto her back in an insensate sprawl and Bridget was right there to pounce, Sweet Disaster bundling both of those long legs in an inescapable Back Press that lasted through…
CLIFFHANGER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKxrcbPEewc
ONE…
TWO…
THREE!
Stroud broke the cover and rolled to her knees so she could pound a triumphant fist against the mat while the Announcer proclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via pin-fall… BRIDGET STROUD!”
Carpenter strode over to offer his hand and Bridget started to accept before she apparently remembered something important. Collecting Penny at trunks and tresses, Bridget scraped her opponent off the mat and unceremoniously dumped her through the ropes to the floor! “Jump me now, bytch.” Stroud growled down at the prone wrestler. “Jump me now.”
Tremblay did not, so Bridget retreated to center ring and allowed Al to raise her hand, though she was careful not to take her eyes off the spot concealing her rival. This proved fortuitous because it wasn’t long before Penny Tremblay clawed her way back into view, the lithesome brunette pale and disheveled, but still putting off hate like a furnace.
“Two-two, cutie.” Bridget growled. “The summit’s in sight and it belongs to me.”
“You’ll get to the top, that I promise.” Tremblay answered. “I’ll drag you there myself so you can enjoy the view and I can savor the sound of your diminishing scream once I hurl you out into the vo--”
“Enough of your spooky bullshyt.” Bridget interrupted. “I don’t care about the stakes, I don’t care about the stipulation. I’ll fight wherever and however you want. Because in the end I’m not going to just BEAT you, Penny. I’m going to make you regret ever setting foot on this mountain.”
The Angriest Acolyte answered with a slow, calculating smile.
“Congratulations, Bridget. You’ve just signed your career over to me. Enjoy tonight. It’ll be the last moment of joy you know for a very long time.” Penny slapped an angry hand against the mat, spun on her heel and stormed up the ramp ignoring the taunts and jeers thrown in her direction.
Bridget watched her go, not quite daring to believe Tremblay was gone until she’d vanished through the curtain. Only then did she treat herself to a long delayed tour of the turnbuckles, Sweet Disaster offering up thanks and flexes for everyone who’d supported her through the war with Bad Penny. Tremblay was right about at least one thing, Stroud WOULD enjoy this moment. But she wouldn’t truly rest until the peak… and her vicious rival, had been conquered once and for all.