Post by SammieSinclair on Dec 20, 2014 19:12:02 GMT
“Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall--”
No further did the Announcer get before the FAWNatics let loose with a torrent of jeers and derision. The source for their discontent was atop the stage in the form of a blonde and a brunette. Miranda Wainright and Adelaide Brewster, two thirds of a faction known far and wide as the Church of Eternal Midnight. Tonight the former wore a black tank-top emblazoned with the phrase ‘A Pillar of Fire By Night’ and a green and black plaid skirt as well as her ever present black hat. As for the latter, she wore a simple white sundress made far more ominous by the presence of a faint red spatter.
MIRANDA WAINRIGHT:
ADELAIDE BREWSTER:
Ignoring the heathens entirely, Miranda raised a microphone to her lips and honed in on the Announcer. “Save your prattle for the misbegotten creature opposing us tonight, crier.” she purred. “Our sister deserves a proper herald, not your senseless blasphemies.”
Never one to argue with the truly devout, the Announcer stepped back into a corner and kept his mouth shut while Wainright tended to his duties.
“Listen closely, divine and defiled alike, for tonight I bring to you the woman who will teach this so called ‘super hero’ a lesson about the true nature of heroics and villainy before snuffing the Crimson Dawn like yet another guttering candle. Hailing from Princeton New Jersey, she stands at five feet four inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Please rise and witness the rebirth of our sister, the Queen of Hearts, TIFFANY MAYES!”
HEAVEN KNOWS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2LdI7rzowk
TIFFANY MAYES:
Her proclamation was followed by jangling bell, which quickly gave way to guitars and drums, the former cutting out a simple riff which the latter strengthened with a staccato stomp. That was perhaps the only tie to the Tiffany Mayes prior to her conversion as the woman who brushed through the curtain in time with the first chorus of ‘Heaven Knows’ proved a far more dangerous individual indeed. Gone was the plaid skirt, the bustier, the shortened tie and even the dark brown locks. It’d all been replaced by a lot of lightly tanned, toned skin, a few swatches of black leather in the form of a bandeau style bikini top and matching bottoms, matte black pads and wrestling shoes and a long tangle of golden blonde hair almost identical to that of the Malevolent Moralizer.
Framed by her dark sisters, Mayes didn’t so much as blink until Wainright leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Then she licked her lips and made her way down the aisle with an almost serpentine swagger in her step. While the ’heathen’ Tiffany Mayes would’ve wasted time and energy interacting with everyone on the aisle, this new and improved version ignored them all, save for those dumb enough to reach for her. Those she swatted away without hesitation, as their heretical touch was far too much for her to endure.
Springing from the floor to the apron with feline grace, Tiffany hopped over the strands with Adelaide and Miranda a few steps behind. Taking point in their unholy triad, Tiffany spread her arms wide, dropped to her knees and raised her face to the rafters. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked toward the aisle. “Come to me, hero.” she whispered. “Show me your face and I will show you the cool, sweet mercy of Eternal Midnight.”
COMING OF THE CRIMSON DAWN:
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=73BzbXYpnVY
The lights in the arena dimmed as dark music swelled through the arena. On the big screen, a red mark began to rise slowly until it formed a half sun, small red rectangles coming up from it until the symbol filled the entire screen. The crowd went wild at this symbol and music, having grown to love the underdog super heroine in her previous matches. Some in the crowd actually leapt to their feet, clapping and cheering when suddenly, a large white spotlight hit the rafters. Standing on a girder was a woman in all black aside from the red symbol on her chest, the same as the one seen on the screen.
CRIMSON DAWN:
Grasping a harness around her waist with her right hand, and a strong cable in her hand with the other, she suddenly lowered into the ring, quickly at first, slowing as she got closer to the ring, until she set down gracefully in the ring, dropping to a crouch, before rising to her feet with the grace of a trained dancer. As she looked out to the crowd they got their first good look at her.
Standing in the centre, her frame was 5'5 inches, with her boots, and about one hundred and twenty-five pounds. She wore a black full length nylon body suit, the symbol mentioned above in the middle of her chest. Her boots and gloves were both made of red leather. Over her face was a red domino mask. Coming from her back is a black cape. She reached and unhooked the cape, never letting her gaze leave Tiffany, having learned her lesson from facing Eva May at All Hallows Evil. She backed up slowly to her corner and drops the cape, her eyes narrowed on the former good girl as the Announcer cleared his throat.
"And her opponent, standing five foot, five inches, one hundred twenty five pounds, from parts unknown, CRIMSON DAWWWWWWN!" the crowd broke into another round of applause as the ref checked their pads and boots.
Once the inspections were complete, the official stepped back and called for the bell. The sound of it wasn’t nearly so sweet as her beloved Church bells, but Tiffany was quick out of her corner nonetheless, the slinky blonde stunner making a beeline for the centre of the squared circle.
“You call yourself a hero to these people.” she called over the din of the crowd. “You hold yourself up as a role model. Someone they should aspire to be like. And yet when confronted with adversity, you’re as quick to flaunt the rules as they are! That doesn’t make you a hero, freak. It makes you just another sinner who needs the guidance offered by the Church.” Mayes raised her right hand overhead and curled it into a claw, daring the masked woman to meet her. “I can offer you that guidance, Dawn. All you have to do is take my hand.”
Crimson's jaw dropped, slightly, remembering the desperate claw she'd had to use to escape being choked by Eva May at All Hallows Evil. Her eyes widened in her mask then narrowed to angry slots. "I'm not here for your cult's guidance... I'm here to put an end to your villainous ways, Tiffany... you know the things you do in this ring... the things you do back stage here are wrong... You've been brain washed... FIGHT it!" she came nearer her opponent, maybe arm's length, not reaching out to hold the hand of her opponent, but not taking the opportunity to attack either.
Mayes cocked her head to one side, a small smile on her mouth. “What an apt choice of words. You’re correct, my brain was washed. Washed clear of the filth and sin and depredations of these people who saw me as nothing more than grist for their insatiable mill. As bloody meat for their altar. Adelaide changed me. Miranda saved me. Now it’s my turn to further to the cause. You will be my contribution to the Church, Dawn. My… tithe… if you will. Whether or not the conversion is of your own volition--” the leather-clad blonde darted forward and flicked out her upraised hand to CRAAACK Crimson square across the mouth. “That is entirely up to you.” Still smiling, Tiffany lifted her hand again.
The crowd booed as the ref circled the two women. The hit had sent Crimson Dawn to a knee as she turned from her opponent. Her eyes wide at the cheap shot. Balling up her own fist as Tiffany lifted her hand up; Crimson pushed up from her knee and landed her fist hard into Mayes' abdomen, trying to knock the wind from her with an uppercut to the abs, the crowd cheering once more at the fight in the underdog super heroine.
Tiffany grunted as the blow pounded her stomach, but after a step back and a single sharp breath she’d returned to her former implacability. “Very well then. Consider your choice made.” She curled her fists as if she meant to brawl, only to storm into the breach and sweep the other blonde into a Collar & Elbow Tie-Up.
After a few seconds of hard shoving, she wrapped an arm around Crimson’s noggin and dragged her down into a tight Side Headlock. Crimson pushed at Mayes’s elbow with one hand, curled the other into a fist and pounded short punches into her attacker’s ribs. The Queen of Hearts endured them for a moment, then halved her grip on the Headlock to grab Dawn’s punchin’ wrist, which she promptly stuffed between her bicep and torso on the other side of the Headlock. Resuming her previous grasp, she ground the super heroine’s temple against the point of her hip and muttered, “It didn’t have to be this way. Everything that happens now is on you.”
Crimson grimaced being ground tightly into Mayes’s side. Gritting her teeth with one arm in Mayes' arm, the other free, Crimson wrapped her free arm around Mayes's nearby inner thigh, pushing up hard to straighten out and then letting herself fall backward, slamming Tiffany and herself back first into the canvas with an impromptu Side Suplex. The crowd went crazy when Tiff hit the mat and they got even louder when Dawn held onto Mayes's leg and used the impact to hold her shoulders to the canvas as the ref slid in to count…
ONE…
TWO…
Tiffany managed to kick her legs free of the early pin. Crimson rolled away and up to her feet, a little smile on her face as the crowd cheers, allowing her to forget the frustration of not ending Tiffany's "evil" early tonight.
The Churchgoer rolled through the improvised Back Suplex and pushed to her knees, one hand pressed to the back of her aching head. Conceding the first skirmish to the heathen by way of a small nod, she got to her feet and started circling.
Crimson matched her and it wasn’t long before they were pushing against one another in the second Collar & Elbow of the night. Like before Tiffany wrenched her opponent down into a Side Headlock, unlike before she didn’t give her any chance to prepare a retaliatory Suplex. Instead she let loose without warning and threw herself into a high speed pirouette, one that would seamlessly transition into a Drop Toe Hold in the span of mere heartbeats.
TIGER SPIN:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcNb3t9U54
Crimson grunted on the impact, and even those in the audience had to gasp and applaud at the grace of the move put on by Tiffany. Snarling and wincing as pressure was put on her leg and ankle, she clawed at the canvas with her leather gloved hands, trying to pull them toward the ropes so that she could get a clean break. Inching their bodies closer and closer to the ropes as the pain in her leg went from being pressed down on the fulcrum of Tiffany's own calf.
Sensing her foe would reach sanctuary far more quickly than she would’ve liked, Tiffany relinquished her control over the other blonde’s leg and slid into a snug straddle in the hollow of Crimson’s back. Rather than pin the other woman down, Mayes simply went along for the ride. At least until Dawn’s fingertips were less than six inches from the bottom rope. Then she dug her knees into the mysterious woman’s ribs and snatched hold of her wrist. Slamming Crimson’s hand to the mat like it was a snake in need of throttling, Tiffany put her other hand against the side of her foe’s face and pressed down hard, grinding her cheek into the abrasive canvas. “Surrender now, hero. While there’s something more than this tawdry costume holding you together.”
Dawn huffed and pounded a fist against the mat as the crowd booed Tiffany's humiliating position. Hissing out "NEVER!" when her foe demanded a submission, Crimson reached her free arm up, snaking it around her opponent's head, and rolled her body to the side trying to throw her opponent off as hard as she could, getting them both on their sides though, her right wrist was still pinned to the canvas.
Far from angered by the resistance, Tiffany smiled brightly when the other blonde rolled her off. For now she had Crimson’s back and there were so many delightful things she could do with such a gift. First things first she used her Wristlock to twist Dawn’s right arm behind her back in a painful Hammerlock. Using her body to keep the hold in place, she abandoned the Wristlock only to slip her hand up through the triangle created by her foe’s bicep and forearm. Then she hooked her left arm around Dawn’s throat and locked her hands against the right side of her opponent’s jaw to complete the Crossface Chickenwing. Wrenching back on the painfully simple hold, Mayes fought to get her legs around the vigilante’s waist before she could work her way any closer to the strands.
CROSSFACE CHICKENWING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsyzsxdb-ww
Crimson's eyes went wide as Tiffany managed to apply another hold. A quick gag and wince at the application of the Chickenwing as her shoulder and wrist burned and she felt the pressure on her throat and neck. She wiggled her hips, trying to keep her opponent's legs off, but to no avail. Her free hand reaching desperately for the ropes now, as the crowd boos and chants her name.
Scissors dug in deep, Tiffany stretched her legs and gave them a hard squeeeeeeeeeze while simultaneously reefing back on the Crossface Chickenwing. “I could break your arm right now,” she murmured to the struggling battler. “Would you like that, Crimson? Or would you like to carry on this charade of ‘fighting the good fight?’ Quickly now, I break things when I’m bored.”
Crimson's hand fell to the canvas, her gloved palm resting. She shook her head in the Chickenwing. Swallowing a little in desperation as she murmurs out "I.... will never... stop fighting... your kind!" stretching her arm out once more, though her fingers were inches away. She tried to push her boots against the canvas.
Tiffany took umbrage at the use of ‘your kind’ to describe that which had saved her professional life. “My KIND,” she hissed in the blonde’s ear, “are those that will finally show FAWN its true place in the world. We are cold. We are efficient. We are brutal.”
“And yet, we are not entirely without mercy.” came another voice, this one from just beyond the saving strands. Tiffany and Crimson both looked up to see Miranda Wainright watching the struggle with calm. “Especially not for those who would flourish under our tutelage. What say you, Tiffany? Is this… anarchist… entirely beyond redemption?”
“No one is beyond your redemption, Miranda.” the Queen of Hearts replied at once. She only needs to be shown the way."
Wainright nodded. “Then in that case…” the Prophet of Pain took the bottom rope in one hand and pushed it toward Crimson’s straining fingers.
Wincing hard, Crimson's hands spread out, not grasping the ropes just yet, confused by this action. Breathing heavily, staring Miranda in the eyes for a moment before lowering her head and grabbing hold of the bottom rope tightly. The crowd, just as confused as Crimson, but they applauded loudly as the ref warned Tiffany to release the hold!
The one-time Prep School Princess relinquished the hold at once, not because the ref or even the rules bade her do so, but because it was Miranda’s will. Sliding her leg out from under the other blonde, she put a foot against Crimson’s tush and pushed her that much closer to the ropes.
On the outside, Wainright leaned her head forward so she was looking the super heroine dead in the eyes. “My sister has placed a great deal of faith in you, vigilante. If it proves to be misplaced, she will be quite angry. And when my flock is angry, I am furious.” With that she pulled back and strode away to join Adelaide at her spot in front of the Announce desk.
Crimson stared, confused. She grasped the middle rope with her now freed arm, then winced, letting it drop and grasps it with her right, releasing the ropes. She breathed heavily for a moment before reaching out to the middle rope with her right hand and started pulling herself to her feet, leaning on the ropes, having to rest her left arm now from the brutal Crossface Chickenwing.
Crimson was still holding her throbbing arm and puzzling over Miranda’s mind games when Tiffany roared up on her six and THWHAPPED a hard Forearm Smash across the back of her head. Seeing nothing contradictory about her message of benevolence and attacking her rival from behind, Mayes fired off several more shots, staying in close to the defender of the citizenry.
It wasn’t long before the official hurried over and started to warn her off, so the Churchgoer grabbed hold of Dawn’s right wrist and used it as a tether to rip her away from the ropes. Feet set, she slung Crimson toward the other side of the ring, but dug in and pulled her back the way she’d come. Then she lowered a shoulder and dove forward with every intention of burying a Spear in her foe’s midsection.
Crimson bounced off the opposite ropes running like a woman out of control, when "UNGFFFF!" the wind rushed out of her body and she fell backward hard, laying spread eagled against the canvas. Groaning with the Churchgoer atop her body. Coming up to her knees atop Crimson's legs, Tiffany offered the jeering crowd a satisfied grin.
Pushing off the gutted wreckage of Crimson Dawn, Tiffany backed off to a far corner, choosing one that’d make sure she had the other blonde’s back when she rose. Said rising happened several seconds later, Crimson returning to verticality with her rotten right arm pressed tight over her impaled midsection. Wounded but more than ready to continue the battle, she would’ve turned around if Miranda hadn’t caught her eye. Smiling beatifically, the Straight-Edge Siren murmured, “Be at peace, sister.”
The benediction sent a chill down her spine and Dawn whirled as fast as she could, the realization that she’d fallen into a trap first and foremost in her mind. Sure enough she had a split second to watch as Tiffany raced in and curled her right arm across the back of Crimson’s head. Gripping the vigilante’s bad arm in her left, Mayes launched into the air, swung around in a silky smooth half circle and dropped to her butt to THWHUNK Dawn’s jaw against the point of her shoulder with the murderous Inverted Jawbreaker she called the Cheshire Trap.
CHESHIRE TRAP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNLTOmSU1o
Bounced onto her tiptoes by the pinpoint shot, Crimson timbered to her left and barely twitched when the Queen of Hearts slithered into place for a lateral press. Wedging the prone blonde’s right arm between her thighs. Tiffany scissored it up but good and wedged her forearm across Dawn’s face just as the ref swooped in to count…
Crimson's chest rose and fell. her breath slow and heavy as she laid slowly beneath her opponent.
ONE....
The crowd booed vociferously, urging Crimson to fight back or get up, but no sound even entering the prone super heroine's head....
TWO....
The ref slapped the canvas a second time. The crowd went deathly silent, one fan in the front row actually near tears, seeing, for the first time, Crimson Dawn, who'd managed to lift up the hopes of so many FAWNatics in her arrival, laid low by the villainous trio....
THREE!
DING! DING! DING!
The Announcer lifted the microphone "And your winner...." but was abruptly cut off…
Shooing the heathen away with a little flick of her wrist, Miranda brushed off the purloined microphone and raised it to her lips. “We’re going to bypass the formality of announcing the winner, as even you poor doomed sinners knew what fate had in store for our foolishly noble vigilante. But the mere clang of a bell does not mean this sermon is over. Far from it in fact.” She turned to the Weeping Angel and extended an arm to the ring. “Would you care to join me, sister?”
Adelaide looked to the vulnerable form of Crimson Dawn and broke into a smile that showed a lot of teeth. “I do believe I would, sister.” Moving single file, the other Churchgoers ascended the steel steps and slipped through the ropes only to be intercepted by the official.
“I don’t know what you two have planned, but just knock it off right away. Don’t make me reverse the deciUUNNNGGH!”
Tiffany decked him with a Running Forearm Smash to the back of the neck, then grabbed a double handful of scruff and waistband and dumped him through the ropes, bum’s rush style. “Thank you, sister.” Wainright said to the other blonde. “Please excuse us for a moment, Adelaide and I must tend to your masked friend.”
“Shall I prepare the altar?” Mayes asked with an anticipatory smile.
“If you’d like. Though there’s no need to rush. In fact, stick close for the time being. She might require a friendly face.”
Silence fell among the Church of Eternal Midnight as they closed in on the wounded super heroine. Adelaide stopped at her feet and took possession of both, Miranda circled around to her head and Tiffany posted up just to Crimson’s left. Already knowing what Wainright wanted, the Daughter of Darkness spun around her prey’s left leg, dropped down and crooked it into the shorter part of the ‘4’, which became a genuine Figure Four Leglock almost immediately thereafter.
Up north, the Malevolent Moralizer dropped to a seat, leaned back on her palms and neatly slipped her legs up under Dawn’s arms. Then she crossed her ankles across the base of the trapped blonde’s neck and pushed forward, adding a Lotus Lock to Crimson’s already considerable list of aches and pains. “Do not fear the pain, Crimson Dawn.” Wainright admonished as she and Adelaide poured power into their respective holds. “For pain is just weakness leaving the body. And your weaknesses are legion!”
The impact of both holds added enough pain to wake up the fallen super heroine. Crimson felt the need to scream, but held it in. She didn't want to give the satisfaction to the three Churchgoers as they added pain to the pain that already existed from the beating she received in the ring. Shaking her head back and forth as her neck was pressed forward to her chest. The pain in her legs shooting up her spine
Dropping to her knees beside the struggling battler, Tiffany curled one hand into Crimson’s hair and wrenched her head back. “Join us and it will all be over.” Without waiting for an answer of any kind she balled her other hand into a fist and PWAAAKED it deep into Dawn’s leather-armored tummy. “Will you join us, Crimson?” (PWAAAK!) “Will you help us (PWAAAK!) spread (PWAAAK!) the (PWAAAK!) word?” (PWAAAK!)
Crimson coughed and groaned with each punch to her abs. Some of the material actually starting to rip showing her pale skin around her navel. Finally she looked into Tiffany's eyes. "I...." she spat hard into Tiffany's face. "Will never join you!"
Mayes’s dark eyes flashed with murderous fire as Crimson Dawn literally spat in the face of her offer. Jerking the other blonde’s hair with vile force, she looked between Adelaide and Miranda and spoke two words. “Rack her.”
They obliged her at once, bearing down on their respective traps so viciously that the masked woman had to grit her teeth to keep from screaming. Tiffany meanwhile resumed her pounding of Dawn’s midsection tenfold, the one-time Prep School Princess getting after the lycra like it was a heavy bag and not the defenceless midsection of her opponent. Pausing only when her shoulder started to ache, she leaned in forehead to forehead with the breathless beauty and whispered, “I’ll only ask one more time. Will. You. Join. Us?”
The punches had completely ripped the material away from Crimson's abs, revealing her pale stomach in its entirety. She groaned and twitched beneath the fists of her opponent, her body stretched out hard between the two Churchgoers. Groaning weakly as Tiffany leaned into her face. She groaned out. "I...will... not...join you.... "
Tiffany sighed and leaned forward, as if she were exhausted. “Very well, then. You’ve made your choice. Now it’s time I made mine.” She pushed to her feet and spoke to her fellow believers. “Excuse me, ladies. I need to prepare the altar.”
Miranda and Adelaide wished her well, so Mayes spun on her heel and stalked to the nearest corner. Going straight from the canvas to the top turnbuckle in a single leap, the Queen of Hearts rose to her full height and told the FAWNatics, “Heroes rise and heroes fall, but Midnight comes to one and all.”
They boos had only just begun when she sprang up, curled into a ball and spun a hundred and eighty degrees on the X-axis while buzzsawing through a full four hundred and fifty degrees on the Y. Stretching full length a heartbeat before impact, she THWHMMED down full force on Crimson’s defenseless midriff.
PHOENIX SPLASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hHX9mIt50w
The crowd went silent, a few actually in tears over the treatment of their hero, having cheered every time she remained defiant against the Churchgoers. Her body goes limp on the impact of Mayes' splash. The occasional twitch was seen but her body didn’t move. Completely unconscious in two holds with Tiffany Mayes resting on her now bare abs. No longer fighting either hold, no longer any fight left in the heroine's body.
Miranda and Adelaide finally disengaged when Tiffany pushed back off the ruined remains of Crimson Dawn. Still stinging over the freak’s rejection of her generosity, Mayes reached for her victim’s mask and actually had it hooked under her fingers before Wainright grabbed her wrist.
“Stay your wrath, sister. I have a better idea.”
Tiffany took a deep breath, then nodded once. “Show me the way, Miranda.”
Showing people the way was her favourite thing in the world, so Wainright got to her feet and made her way to the ropes facing the Commentator’s Table. There she exchanged words with a FAWN tech and after a little hemming and hawing, the heathen brought her a bundle of black cloth. It wasn’t until the Pious Punisher shook it out that her followers and the audience realized it was Crimson’s cape. Returning to the scene of the crime shortly thereafter, she presented it to Tiffany like a trophy. “A prize for a battle well fought, sister. Do with it as you will.”
Mayes thought about it for a moment, then stepped into place above the vigilante’s head and laid it out over her like a funeral shroud. The boos, which had almost gone silent after the Phoenix Splash, rose to near deafening levels as first Tiffany, then Adelaide and finally Miranda each planted a boot atop the sheathed woman laid before them. “Her mask.” Tiffany said quietly. “When can I take it?”
Adelaide spoke first. “When she has nothing left.”
“Yes.” Miranda confirmed. “Emphatic though your victory was, this one still denied your kind offer. Another sermon or two should change her mind. And when she’s accepted us, you won’t have to take her mask. She’ll GIVE it to you of her own free will.”
The Queen of Hearts smiled widely, delighted by the prospect. “To the next sermon, then.” “And the sermon after that.” Adelaide murmured. “World without end, forever and ever. Amen.” Miranda finished. Without a word, the Churchgoers sank to their knees and the lights went out. When they returned, the trio had vanished, leaving only Crimson Dawn and a devastated FAWN arena as evidence of their presence.
No further did the Announcer get before the FAWNatics let loose with a torrent of jeers and derision. The source for their discontent was atop the stage in the form of a blonde and a brunette. Miranda Wainright and Adelaide Brewster, two thirds of a faction known far and wide as the Church of Eternal Midnight. Tonight the former wore a black tank-top emblazoned with the phrase ‘A Pillar of Fire By Night’ and a green and black plaid skirt as well as her ever present black hat. As for the latter, she wore a simple white sundress made far more ominous by the presence of a faint red spatter.
MIRANDA WAINRIGHT:
ADELAIDE BREWSTER:
Ignoring the heathens entirely, Miranda raised a microphone to her lips and honed in on the Announcer. “Save your prattle for the misbegotten creature opposing us tonight, crier.” she purred. “Our sister deserves a proper herald, not your senseless blasphemies.”
Never one to argue with the truly devout, the Announcer stepped back into a corner and kept his mouth shut while Wainright tended to his duties.
“Listen closely, divine and defiled alike, for tonight I bring to you the woman who will teach this so called ‘super hero’ a lesson about the true nature of heroics and villainy before snuffing the Crimson Dawn like yet another guttering candle. Hailing from Princeton New Jersey, she stands at five feet four inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Please rise and witness the rebirth of our sister, the Queen of Hearts, TIFFANY MAYES!”
HEAVEN KNOWS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2LdI7rzowk
TIFFANY MAYES:
Her proclamation was followed by jangling bell, which quickly gave way to guitars and drums, the former cutting out a simple riff which the latter strengthened with a staccato stomp. That was perhaps the only tie to the Tiffany Mayes prior to her conversion as the woman who brushed through the curtain in time with the first chorus of ‘Heaven Knows’ proved a far more dangerous individual indeed. Gone was the plaid skirt, the bustier, the shortened tie and even the dark brown locks. It’d all been replaced by a lot of lightly tanned, toned skin, a few swatches of black leather in the form of a bandeau style bikini top and matching bottoms, matte black pads and wrestling shoes and a long tangle of golden blonde hair almost identical to that of the Malevolent Moralizer.
Framed by her dark sisters, Mayes didn’t so much as blink until Wainright leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Then she licked her lips and made her way down the aisle with an almost serpentine swagger in her step. While the ’heathen’ Tiffany Mayes would’ve wasted time and energy interacting with everyone on the aisle, this new and improved version ignored them all, save for those dumb enough to reach for her. Those she swatted away without hesitation, as their heretical touch was far too much for her to endure.
Springing from the floor to the apron with feline grace, Tiffany hopped over the strands with Adelaide and Miranda a few steps behind. Taking point in their unholy triad, Tiffany spread her arms wide, dropped to her knees and raised her face to the rafters. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked toward the aisle. “Come to me, hero.” she whispered. “Show me your face and I will show you the cool, sweet mercy of Eternal Midnight.”
COMING OF THE CRIMSON DAWN:
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=73BzbXYpnVY
The lights in the arena dimmed as dark music swelled through the arena. On the big screen, a red mark began to rise slowly until it formed a half sun, small red rectangles coming up from it until the symbol filled the entire screen. The crowd went wild at this symbol and music, having grown to love the underdog super heroine in her previous matches. Some in the crowd actually leapt to their feet, clapping and cheering when suddenly, a large white spotlight hit the rafters. Standing on a girder was a woman in all black aside from the red symbol on her chest, the same as the one seen on the screen.
CRIMSON DAWN:
Grasping a harness around her waist with her right hand, and a strong cable in her hand with the other, she suddenly lowered into the ring, quickly at first, slowing as she got closer to the ring, until she set down gracefully in the ring, dropping to a crouch, before rising to her feet with the grace of a trained dancer. As she looked out to the crowd they got their first good look at her.
Standing in the centre, her frame was 5'5 inches, with her boots, and about one hundred and twenty-five pounds. She wore a black full length nylon body suit, the symbol mentioned above in the middle of her chest. Her boots and gloves were both made of red leather. Over her face was a red domino mask. Coming from her back is a black cape. She reached and unhooked the cape, never letting her gaze leave Tiffany, having learned her lesson from facing Eva May at All Hallows Evil. She backed up slowly to her corner and drops the cape, her eyes narrowed on the former good girl as the Announcer cleared his throat.
"And her opponent, standing five foot, five inches, one hundred twenty five pounds, from parts unknown, CRIMSON DAWWWWWWN!" the crowd broke into another round of applause as the ref checked their pads and boots.
Once the inspections were complete, the official stepped back and called for the bell. The sound of it wasn’t nearly so sweet as her beloved Church bells, but Tiffany was quick out of her corner nonetheless, the slinky blonde stunner making a beeline for the centre of the squared circle.
“You call yourself a hero to these people.” she called over the din of the crowd. “You hold yourself up as a role model. Someone they should aspire to be like. And yet when confronted with adversity, you’re as quick to flaunt the rules as they are! That doesn’t make you a hero, freak. It makes you just another sinner who needs the guidance offered by the Church.” Mayes raised her right hand overhead and curled it into a claw, daring the masked woman to meet her. “I can offer you that guidance, Dawn. All you have to do is take my hand.”
Crimson's jaw dropped, slightly, remembering the desperate claw she'd had to use to escape being choked by Eva May at All Hallows Evil. Her eyes widened in her mask then narrowed to angry slots. "I'm not here for your cult's guidance... I'm here to put an end to your villainous ways, Tiffany... you know the things you do in this ring... the things you do back stage here are wrong... You've been brain washed... FIGHT it!" she came nearer her opponent, maybe arm's length, not reaching out to hold the hand of her opponent, but not taking the opportunity to attack either.
Mayes cocked her head to one side, a small smile on her mouth. “What an apt choice of words. You’re correct, my brain was washed. Washed clear of the filth and sin and depredations of these people who saw me as nothing more than grist for their insatiable mill. As bloody meat for their altar. Adelaide changed me. Miranda saved me. Now it’s my turn to further to the cause. You will be my contribution to the Church, Dawn. My… tithe… if you will. Whether or not the conversion is of your own volition--” the leather-clad blonde darted forward and flicked out her upraised hand to CRAAACK Crimson square across the mouth. “That is entirely up to you.” Still smiling, Tiffany lifted her hand again.
The crowd booed as the ref circled the two women. The hit had sent Crimson Dawn to a knee as she turned from her opponent. Her eyes wide at the cheap shot. Balling up her own fist as Tiffany lifted her hand up; Crimson pushed up from her knee and landed her fist hard into Mayes' abdomen, trying to knock the wind from her with an uppercut to the abs, the crowd cheering once more at the fight in the underdog super heroine.
Tiffany grunted as the blow pounded her stomach, but after a step back and a single sharp breath she’d returned to her former implacability. “Very well then. Consider your choice made.” She curled her fists as if she meant to brawl, only to storm into the breach and sweep the other blonde into a Collar & Elbow Tie-Up.
After a few seconds of hard shoving, she wrapped an arm around Crimson’s noggin and dragged her down into a tight Side Headlock. Crimson pushed at Mayes’s elbow with one hand, curled the other into a fist and pounded short punches into her attacker’s ribs. The Queen of Hearts endured them for a moment, then halved her grip on the Headlock to grab Dawn’s punchin’ wrist, which she promptly stuffed between her bicep and torso on the other side of the Headlock. Resuming her previous grasp, she ground the super heroine’s temple against the point of her hip and muttered, “It didn’t have to be this way. Everything that happens now is on you.”
Crimson grimaced being ground tightly into Mayes’s side. Gritting her teeth with one arm in Mayes' arm, the other free, Crimson wrapped her free arm around Mayes's nearby inner thigh, pushing up hard to straighten out and then letting herself fall backward, slamming Tiffany and herself back first into the canvas with an impromptu Side Suplex. The crowd went crazy when Tiff hit the mat and they got even louder when Dawn held onto Mayes's leg and used the impact to hold her shoulders to the canvas as the ref slid in to count…
ONE…
TWO…
Tiffany managed to kick her legs free of the early pin. Crimson rolled away and up to her feet, a little smile on her face as the crowd cheers, allowing her to forget the frustration of not ending Tiffany's "evil" early tonight.
The Churchgoer rolled through the improvised Back Suplex and pushed to her knees, one hand pressed to the back of her aching head. Conceding the first skirmish to the heathen by way of a small nod, she got to her feet and started circling.
Crimson matched her and it wasn’t long before they were pushing against one another in the second Collar & Elbow of the night. Like before Tiffany wrenched her opponent down into a Side Headlock, unlike before she didn’t give her any chance to prepare a retaliatory Suplex. Instead she let loose without warning and threw herself into a high speed pirouette, one that would seamlessly transition into a Drop Toe Hold in the span of mere heartbeats.
TIGER SPIN:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcNb3t9U54
Crimson grunted on the impact, and even those in the audience had to gasp and applaud at the grace of the move put on by Tiffany. Snarling and wincing as pressure was put on her leg and ankle, she clawed at the canvas with her leather gloved hands, trying to pull them toward the ropes so that she could get a clean break. Inching their bodies closer and closer to the ropes as the pain in her leg went from being pressed down on the fulcrum of Tiffany's own calf.
Sensing her foe would reach sanctuary far more quickly than she would’ve liked, Tiffany relinquished her control over the other blonde’s leg and slid into a snug straddle in the hollow of Crimson’s back. Rather than pin the other woman down, Mayes simply went along for the ride. At least until Dawn’s fingertips were less than six inches from the bottom rope. Then she dug her knees into the mysterious woman’s ribs and snatched hold of her wrist. Slamming Crimson’s hand to the mat like it was a snake in need of throttling, Tiffany put her other hand against the side of her foe’s face and pressed down hard, grinding her cheek into the abrasive canvas. “Surrender now, hero. While there’s something more than this tawdry costume holding you together.”
Dawn huffed and pounded a fist against the mat as the crowd booed Tiffany's humiliating position. Hissing out "NEVER!" when her foe demanded a submission, Crimson reached her free arm up, snaking it around her opponent's head, and rolled her body to the side trying to throw her opponent off as hard as she could, getting them both on their sides though, her right wrist was still pinned to the canvas.
Far from angered by the resistance, Tiffany smiled brightly when the other blonde rolled her off. For now she had Crimson’s back and there were so many delightful things she could do with such a gift. First things first she used her Wristlock to twist Dawn’s right arm behind her back in a painful Hammerlock. Using her body to keep the hold in place, she abandoned the Wristlock only to slip her hand up through the triangle created by her foe’s bicep and forearm. Then she hooked her left arm around Dawn’s throat and locked her hands against the right side of her opponent’s jaw to complete the Crossface Chickenwing. Wrenching back on the painfully simple hold, Mayes fought to get her legs around the vigilante’s waist before she could work her way any closer to the strands.
CROSSFACE CHICKENWING:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsyzsxdb-ww
Crimson's eyes went wide as Tiffany managed to apply another hold. A quick gag and wince at the application of the Chickenwing as her shoulder and wrist burned and she felt the pressure on her throat and neck. She wiggled her hips, trying to keep her opponent's legs off, but to no avail. Her free hand reaching desperately for the ropes now, as the crowd boos and chants her name.
Scissors dug in deep, Tiffany stretched her legs and gave them a hard squeeeeeeeeeze while simultaneously reefing back on the Crossface Chickenwing. “I could break your arm right now,” she murmured to the struggling battler. “Would you like that, Crimson? Or would you like to carry on this charade of ‘fighting the good fight?’ Quickly now, I break things when I’m bored.”
Crimson's hand fell to the canvas, her gloved palm resting. She shook her head in the Chickenwing. Swallowing a little in desperation as she murmurs out "I.... will never... stop fighting... your kind!" stretching her arm out once more, though her fingers were inches away. She tried to push her boots against the canvas.
Tiffany took umbrage at the use of ‘your kind’ to describe that which had saved her professional life. “My KIND,” she hissed in the blonde’s ear, “are those that will finally show FAWN its true place in the world. We are cold. We are efficient. We are brutal.”
“And yet, we are not entirely without mercy.” came another voice, this one from just beyond the saving strands. Tiffany and Crimson both looked up to see Miranda Wainright watching the struggle with calm. “Especially not for those who would flourish under our tutelage. What say you, Tiffany? Is this… anarchist… entirely beyond redemption?”
“No one is beyond your redemption, Miranda.” the Queen of Hearts replied at once. She only needs to be shown the way."
Wainright nodded. “Then in that case…” the Prophet of Pain took the bottom rope in one hand and pushed it toward Crimson’s straining fingers.
Wincing hard, Crimson's hands spread out, not grasping the ropes just yet, confused by this action. Breathing heavily, staring Miranda in the eyes for a moment before lowering her head and grabbing hold of the bottom rope tightly. The crowd, just as confused as Crimson, but they applauded loudly as the ref warned Tiffany to release the hold!
The one-time Prep School Princess relinquished the hold at once, not because the ref or even the rules bade her do so, but because it was Miranda’s will. Sliding her leg out from under the other blonde, she put a foot against Crimson’s tush and pushed her that much closer to the ropes.
On the outside, Wainright leaned her head forward so she was looking the super heroine dead in the eyes. “My sister has placed a great deal of faith in you, vigilante. If it proves to be misplaced, she will be quite angry. And when my flock is angry, I am furious.” With that she pulled back and strode away to join Adelaide at her spot in front of the Announce desk.
Crimson stared, confused. She grasped the middle rope with her now freed arm, then winced, letting it drop and grasps it with her right, releasing the ropes. She breathed heavily for a moment before reaching out to the middle rope with her right hand and started pulling herself to her feet, leaning on the ropes, having to rest her left arm now from the brutal Crossface Chickenwing.
Crimson was still holding her throbbing arm and puzzling over Miranda’s mind games when Tiffany roared up on her six and THWHAPPED a hard Forearm Smash across the back of her head. Seeing nothing contradictory about her message of benevolence and attacking her rival from behind, Mayes fired off several more shots, staying in close to the defender of the citizenry.
It wasn’t long before the official hurried over and started to warn her off, so the Churchgoer grabbed hold of Dawn’s right wrist and used it as a tether to rip her away from the ropes. Feet set, she slung Crimson toward the other side of the ring, but dug in and pulled her back the way she’d come. Then she lowered a shoulder and dove forward with every intention of burying a Spear in her foe’s midsection.
Crimson bounced off the opposite ropes running like a woman out of control, when "UNGFFFF!" the wind rushed out of her body and she fell backward hard, laying spread eagled against the canvas. Groaning with the Churchgoer atop her body. Coming up to her knees atop Crimson's legs, Tiffany offered the jeering crowd a satisfied grin.
Pushing off the gutted wreckage of Crimson Dawn, Tiffany backed off to a far corner, choosing one that’d make sure she had the other blonde’s back when she rose. Said rising happened several seconds later, Crimson returning to verticality with her rotten right arm pressed tight over her impaled midsection. Wounded but more than ready to continue the battle, she would’ve turned around if Miranda hadn’t caught her eye. Smiling beatifically, the Straight-Edge Siren murmured, “Be at peace, sister.”
The benediction sent a chill down her spine and Dawn whirled as fast as she could, the realization that she’d fallen into a trap first and foremost in her mind. Sure enough she had a split second to watch as Tiffany raced in and curled her right arm across the back of Crimson’s head. Gripping the vigilante’s bad arm in her left, Mayes launched into the air, swung around in a silky smooth half circle and dropped to her butt to THWHUNK Dawn’s jaw against the point of her shoulder with the murderous Inverted Jawbreaker she called the Cheshire Trap.
CHESHIRE TRAP:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=slNLTOmSU1o
Bounced onto her tiptoes by the pinpoint shot, Crimson timbered to her left and barely twitched when the Queen of Hearts slithered into place for a lateral press. Wedging the prone blonde’s right arm between her thighs. Tiffany scissored it up but good and wedged her forearm across Dawn’s face just as the ref swooped in to count…
Crimson's chest rose and fell. her breath slow and heavy as she laid slowly beneath her opponent.
ONE....
The crowd booed vociferously, urging Crimson to fight back or get up, but no sound even entering the prone super heroine's head....
TWO....
The ref slapped the canvas a second time. The crowd went deathly silent, one fan in the front row actually near tears, seeing, for the first time, Crimson Dawn, who'd managed to lift up the hopes of so many FAWNatics in her arrival, laid low by the villainous trio....
THREE!
DING! DING! DING!
The Announcer lifted the microphone "And your winner...." but was abruptly cut off…
Shooing the heathen away with a little flick of her wrist, Miranda brushed off the purloined microphone and raised it to her lips. “We’re going to bypass the formality of announcing the winner, as even you poor doomed sinners knew what fate had in store for our foolishly noble vigilante. But the mere clang of a bell does not mean this sermon is over. Far from it in fact.” She turned to the Weeping Angel and extended an arm to the ring. “Would you care to join me, sister?”
Adelaide looked to the vulnerable form of Crimson Dawn and broke into a smile that showed a lot of teeth. “I do believe I would, sister.” Moving single file, the other Churchgoers ascended the steel steps and slipped through the ropes only to be intercepted by the official.
“I don’t know what you two have planned, but just knock it off right away. Don’t make me reverse the deciUUNNNGGH!”
Tiffany decked him with a Running Forearm Smash to the back of the neck, then grabbed a double handful of scruff and waistband and dumped him through the ropes, bum’s rush style. “Thank you, sister.” Wainright said to the other blonde. “Please excuse us for a moment, Adelaide and I must tend to your masked friend.”
“Shall I prepare the altar?” Mayes asked with an anticipatory smile.
“If you’d like. Though there’s no need to rush. In fact, stick close for the time being. She might require a friendly face.”
Silence fell among the Church of Eternal Midnight as they closed in on the wounded super heroine. Adelaide stopped at her feet and took possession of both, Miranda circled around to her head and Tiffany posted up just to Crimson’s left. Already knowing what Wainright wanted, the Daughter of Darkness spun around her prey’s left leg, dropped down and crooked it into the shorter part of the ‘4’, which became a genuine Figure Four Leglock almost immediately thereafter.
Up north, the Malevolent Moralizer dropped to a seat, leaned back on her palms and neatly slipped her legs up under Dawn’s arms. Then she crossed her ankles across the base of the trapped blonde’s neck and pushed forward, adding a Lotus Lock to Crimson’s already considerable list of aches and pains. “Do not fear the pain, Crimson Dawn.” Wainright admonished as she and Adelaide poured power into their respective holds. “For pain is just weakness leaving the body. And your weaknesses are legion!”
The impact of both holds added enough pain to wake up the fallen super heroine. Crimson felt the need to scream, but held it in. She didn't want to give the satisfaction to the three Churchgoers as they added pain to the pain that already existed from the beating she received in the ring. Shaking her head back and forth as her neck was pressed forward to her chest. The pain in her legs shooting up her spine
Dropping to her knees beside the struggling battler, Tiffany curled one hand into Crimson’s hair and wrenched her head back. “Join us and it will all be over.” Without waiting for an answer of any kind she balled her other hand into a fist and PWAAAKED it deep into Dawn’s leather-armored tummy. “Will you join us, Crimson?” (PWAAAK!) “Will you help us (PWAAAK!) spread (PWAAAK!) the (PWAAAK!) word?” (PWAAAK!)
Crimson coughed and groaned with each punch to her abs. Some of the material actually starting to rip showing her pale skin around her navel. Finally she looked into Tiffany's eyes. "I...." she spat hard into Tiffany's face. "Will never join you!"
Mayes’s dark eyes flashed with murderous fire as Crimson Dawn literally spat in the face of her offer. Jerking the other blonde’s hair with vile force, she looked between Adelaide and Miranda and spoke two words. “Rack her.”
They obliged her at once, bearing down on their respective traps so viciously that the masked woman had to grit her teeth to keep from screaming. Tiffany meanwhile resumed her pounding of Dawn’s midsection tenfold, the one-time Prep School Princess getting after the lycra like it was a heavy bag and not the defenceless midsection of her opponent. Pausing only when her shoulder started to ache, she leaned in forehead to forehead with the breathless beauty and whispered, “I’ll only ask one more time. Will. You. Join. Us?”
The punches had completely ripped the material away from Crimson's abs, revealing her pale stomach in its entirety. She groaned and twitched beneath the fists of her opponent, her body stretched out hard between the two Churchgoers. Groaning weakly as Tiffany leaned into her face. She groaned out. "I...will... not...join you.... "
Tiffany sighed and leaned forward, as if she were exhausted. “Very well, then. You’ve made your choice. Now it’s time I made mine.” She pushed to her feet and spoke to her fellow believers. “Excuse me, ladies. I need to prepare the altar.”
Miranda and Adelaide wished her well, so Mayes spun on her heel and stalked to the nearest corner. Going straight from the canvas to the top turnbuckle in a single leap, the Queen of Hearts rose to her full height and told the FAWNatics, “Heroes rise and heroes fall, but Midnight comes to one and all.”
They boos had only just begun when she sprang up, curled into a ball and spun a hundred and eighty degrees on the X-axis while buzzsawing through a full four hundred and fifty degrees on the Y. Stretching full length a heartbeat before impact, she THWHMMED down full force on Crimson’s defenseless midriff.
PHOENIX SPLASH:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hHX9mIt50w
The crowd went silent, a few actually in tears over the treatment of their hero, having cheered every time she remained defiant against the Churchgoers. Her body goes limp on the impact of Mayes' splash. The occasional twitch was seen but her body didn’t move. Completely unconscious in two holds with Tiffany Mayes resting on her now bare abs. No longer fighting either hold, no longer any fight left in the heroine's body.
Miranda and Adelaide finally disengaged when Tiffany pushed back off the ruined remains of Crimson Dawn. Still stinging over the freak’s rejection of her generosity, Mayes reached for her victim’s mask and actually had it hooked under her fingers before Wainright grabbed her wrist.
“Stay your wrath, sister. I have a better idea.”
Tiffany took a deep breath, then nodded once. “Show me the way, Miranda.”
Showing people the way was her favourite thing in the world, so Wainright got to her feet and made her way to the ropes facing the Commentator’s Table. There she exchanged words with a FAWN tech and after a little hemming and hawing, the heathen brought her a bundle of black cloth. It wasn’t until the Pious Punisher shook it out that her followers and the audience realized it was Crimson’s cape. Returning to the scene of the crime shortly thereafter, she presented it to Tiffany like a trophy. “A prize for a battle well fought, sister. Do with it as you will.”
Mayes thought about it for a moment, then stepped into place above the vigilante’s head and laid it out over her like a funeral shroud. The boos, which had almost gone silent after the Phoenix Splash, rose to near deafening levels as first Tiffany, then Adelaide and finally Miranda each planted a boot atop the sheathed woman laid before them. “Her mask.” Tiffany said quietly. “When can I take it?”
Adelaide spoke first. “When she has nothing left.”
“Yes.” Miranda confirmed. “Emphatic though your victory was, this one still denied your kind offer. Another sermon or two should change her mind. And when she’s accepted us, you won’t have to take her mask. She’ll GIVE it to you of her own free will.”
The Queen of Hearts smiled widely, delighted by the prospect. “To the next sermon, then.” “And the sermon after that.” Adelaide murmured. “World without end, forever and ever. Amen.” Miranda finished. Without a word, the Churchgoers sank to their knees and the lights went out. When they returned, the trio had vanished, leaving only Crimson Dawn and a devastated FAWN arena as evidence of their presence.