Jenny Jacobs vs. Sydney Deschain

His nerves fluttering in a way they rarely managed anymore, the Ring Announcer let out a long breath before he raised the mic. “Ladies and gentlemen, the following contest is scheduled for one fall with NO time limit! Introducing first, hailing from Antonio Bay, California, she stands at five feet four inches tall and weighs in at one hundred twenty seven pounds. She is the Innovator of Offense, the NorCal Sensation, the Girl of 8,675,309 Holds… JENNY JACOBS!

JENNY JACOBS:



Deafening love from Jacobites all over the arena when ‘Jenny Says’ hit the speakers. Storming through the curtain like a blonde bolt from the heavens, Jacobs raised both hands in Double J’s which were returned a thousandfold. “TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT!” she roared to the faithful at the top of her lungs. “TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT THE INNOVATOR BEATS THE TECHNICAL MARVEL!” Her fans cheered even louder, most of them loved the brunette almost as much as their heroine, but they desperately wanted to see Jenny finally triumph over her longtime nemesis. Bolstered by their support and armed by the knowledge that destiny was on her side, Jenny Jacobs made her way to the ring.

For tonight’s war she sported the star-spangled version of her usual indigo briefs, as well as a matching halter-style top that featured equally celestial cups held together by a small metal buckle in the shape of a star. Her boots and pads were still the same crisp white and her hair still curled in a sleek golden bob that fell to just below her ears. Almost to the ring, Jacobs put on the brakes to scope out a sign that read:

YOU GOT THIS, JENNY.
WE BELIEVE IN YOU!

“I know you do.” she told the sign waver without a hint of her usual smile. “And I won’t let you down. Promise.” Then she sprinted the rest of the way down the aisle and bounded to her feet as soon as she’d cleared the bottom rope. Offering her wrists and knees to head referee Nick Castle as soon as she reached her feet, Jacobs thanked him with a smile before heading to her corner. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon.” the Innovator muttered as a breathless, anticipatory silence filled the arena. “Get out here, Sydney. It’s time we finished this.”

The quiet demand was still on Jenny’s lips when the Announcer resumed his duties. “And introducing her opponent, hailing from Woodsboro California, she stands at five feet six inches tall and weighs in at one hundred and twenty seven pounds. She is the Technical Marvel, the Woodsboro Mangler and the brunette buzz-saw! Please join me in welcoming… for the last time…. SYDNEY DESCHAIN!”

SYDNEY DESCHAIN:


Everyone did so as loud as they could, the manmade thunder strong enough to dwarf the booming gong at the beginning of ‘Wherever I May Roam’. The Marvel stepped into view a moment later and the noise rose by several more decibels. Sydney observed the reaction with her usual cool stoicism… then broke into a wide smile as she lifted an index finger high overhead. Damned near every hand that wasn’t busy holding a sign returned the sigil and it was a memorable sight, believe me. Shifting her attention the camera that’d closed in beside her, Syd said, “So this is it. The last time. Ready to make the walk? I know I am.” With that she turned away and started down the aisle.

For the very last chapter in her twenty-five year career, the sturdy brunette wore a black bottoms with thin white trim and matte gray boots and pads. Instead of the usual ’Tap Out Tour’ of months prior, she wore a black tee-shirt with faded red lettering that read: 25 Years of Terror, Woodsboro Mangler still at large!’ Walking the ramp with her arms outstretched for the first time since… ever… Deschain clapped every single hand extended her way, then made a circuit around the ring to make sure she didn’t miss anyone. Once that was complete she climbed the stairs to the apron, took a breath and slipped through.

Once in the ring she strode to the center posted up directly in front of the hard camera. Offering it the ghost of a smile she grabbed the bottom edge of her tank-top and peeled it up to reveal the usual black white-trimmed tankini top beneath. Tossing the wadded garment out into a sea of questing hands, Syd locked eyes with Jenny as she backed into the far corner. “Bring it.” she mouthed to the Innovator. “Bring it all.” Jenny nodded ever so slightly. “You have no idea, baby. No idea.”

Considering it was Deschain’s last match, the FAWNatics had expected a brief show of respect after the bell, perhaps a handshake or even a quiet exchange of words. Imagine their surprise then when the Innovator exploded off the buckles, crossed the ring in half a dozen long strides and THAWHUMPED Syd against the corner with a picture perfect Avalanche Splash. Clamped down on the stunned brunette’s right wrist before her boots touched the mat, Jenny stepped back, dropped her hips and hurled Deschain toward the corner she’d just vacated. Understandably discombobulated by the sudden emphatic application of tummy to face, Syd barely got turned around in time to avoid taking another punishing blow to the sternum. Alas that evasion only meant she had a better view as the rampaging blonde charged, took to the skies and CRUSHED her with a second huge Avalanche Splash!

Sydney’s legs didn’t give way but they were definitely showing a lot of rubber when Jacobs cupped her ears and pulled her out into the middle of the ring. A European Uppercut snapped Deschain’s head backward and had her checking her chin, at least until Jenny grabbed hold of her questing left hand. “’Mania was stolen from me, Syd.” Jenny muttered as she dipped around behind the Marvel to secure a Hammerlock. “I’m not gonna let that happen again.” Using her left hand to keep the joint-lock in place, Jacobs worked her way under Deschain’s right arm to wind up positioned almost directly beside her foe. Everyone knew what was coming and they roared as one, either to cheer the NorCal Sensation or to urge the Mangler to get clear of THWHACK! Jenny smashed her longtime rival across the chest a ‘Captivating’ Lariat that echoed into the cheap seats.

CAPTIVATING LARIAT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iay0bXZC7hQ

Knocked flat on her back by the heavy blow, Sydney groaned her displeasure when Jenny pounced across her chest for the…

ONE…
TWO…

She kicked out at ‘TWO’ thus ending the worst fears of her entire fan base. “No mercy tonight, baby.” Jenny exclaimed as she hauled the veteran up with a double handful of hair. “My boot’s gonna be on your throat all night, so you better learn to deal with it right now!” Syd lunged for a Lock-Up but Jacobs turned her away with a single CRAAACKING Knife-Edge Chop to the chest. Quick to walk down her retreating prey, Jenny grabbed a handful of waistband and reeled Deschain into a Forearm Smash across the lower back.

“Been waiting for this a LONG time.” she whispered into Sydney’s ear. “You suffer, I strut and the world looks on.”

Another Forearm Smash silenced any potential reply and kept Deschain compliant when Jacobs wedged her head under her left shoulder. Controlling the other Californian with a half Waistlock, JJ put her left hand against Syd’s rump and muscled her up onto the point of her right shoulder. Even Deschain’s fans surrendered a cheer for that angle, it wasn’t often that anyone put their heroine’s backside on display and lived to tell the tale. Jenny showed off her prize to all four sides of the arena, then started to spin in a tight circle. Slowly at first, but it grew faster and faster until she’d achieved speeds just slightly below that of an Airplane Spin. Only then did she hit the brakes and sling Sydney down onto the post of her right knee.

Tawdry crowd pleaser or not, the Spinning Atomic Drop was no joke, as evidenced by the way Deschain popped onto her toes and babystepped away from the scene of the accident. Mildly irritated that the brunette was still vertical and not sprawled on the mat rubbing her ass, Jenny raced by on the right, hit the strands and roared back with a more traditional Lariat at the “NNNNNGGGGGGGGHHH!” Sydney ‘smecked’ her arms around the blonde’s hips, squeezed her tight and popped her hips to send the startled Innovator flying halfway across the ring courtesy of an Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex! Jenny hit hard, bounced and sat up straight, one arm reaching for the ropes while the other massaged her spine.

OVERHEAD BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=58MpLe8w4Ic

She was still working the kinks out when Deschain rushed up on her six and THWHACKED a vindictive Soccer Kick between her shoulders. “Pearl Harboring me didn’t work when you were an impetuous teenager, princess.” Syd taunted as she filled her fingers with the blonde’s hair. “It’s sure as hell not going to work now.” Jacobs reached for those encroaching claws and ate the broad side of Sydney’s left thigh across her midsection for the trouble. The Mangler added on a second Thighlift for good measure, then switched over to a basic Wristlock. “Now lets see how you deal with tummy on tits, Jen.” She pulled away, sank into a crouch and tossed Jenny into the far corner. Like her nemesis before her, Jacobs got her back into the buckles and just like Syd, it meant she had an excellent view when the brunette mashed her against the thinly-padded steel with an Avalanche Splash of her own. The air whooshed from Jenny’s lungs, leaving her sullen and cranky for the next high-speed trip across the squared circle.

OOOOOHHHHHHHH’s! from the sold out crowd when Deschain tied the knot in this Splash contest and followed up with a quick jugg scrub to Jenny’s flushed cheeks. “Get outta there, baby.” Syd took Jenny by the scruff of the neck and led / tossed her into a wobbly little somersault that left the Innovator stretched out flat on her back. Not quite ready to consider the ledger balanced just yet, Deschain wheeled around, bounced off the ropes and skipped over Jenny with a full head of steam. A trip to the other side leant even more speed and quite a bit more power to the vertical leap that ended with the technician THWHUMPING down atop Jenny’s tits. Blonde legs flew up but Sydney paid them no heed, choosing instead to sit on Jacobs’s chest, a domineering, controlling cover good for…

ONE…
TWO…

Jenny sank her claws into those hated glutes and shoved hard enough to shove Deschain off with a full second to spare. “Keep that ass outta my face, SydNNNNGHHNNNNGGGHHH!”

Syd stomped on the younger woman’s midsection, followed up with a second tummy-crushing Splash. “Haven’t you heard, Jenny? This is my last night on the job!” Sydney said after she leaned back on her haunches and tucked some loose hair behind her ears. “That means I don’t have to worry about playing nice anymore, so if I want to embarrass the punk that tried to blow my doors off a minute ago…” she flattened her hands into paddles and spanked Jenny’s exposed tummy before joining them in a Double Axehandle that found a new home in the pit of her blonde’s stomach.

“I’m naahhh… not gonna play nice either.” Jenny huffed as she struggled to a seat. “Your fans might not like it, but your career is going to end with MY ass on your faceERGGHHH!”

Sydney caught a double handful of hair which she used to yank the squirming Innovator to boot leather. This was followed by two brisk ‘don’t try me, sweetie’ slaps that cracked off the younger woman’s cheeks. “And your fans won’t like watching you get worked over by a superior wrestler.” she noted while reeling Jenny into a Front Facelock. “But that won’t stop me from humbling you all night long.” Tossing the blonde’s near arm across her shoulders, Deschain snagged a big handful of indigo bottoms and powered Jacobs all the way to high noon. Form and technique were perfect, yet Sydney didn’t fall backward at the apex. Taking that as an unwritten request to start counting, the FAWN faithful did exactly that. “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! FIVE! SIX! SEVEN! EIGHT! NINE! TEN! ELEVEN! TWELEVE!” The Technical Marvel swung her burden back the way she’d came, pivoted her hips and sank to one knee to THAWHUMP Jenny’s navel across her posted knee in a big ol’ Gutbuster.

SUPLEX LIFT GUTBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mELz9-K3Lkg

Jacobs ‘oooofffhed’ but didn’t slide off the veteran’s knee because Sydney looped her right arm over Jenny’s waist and held on tight. “Remember how many times I’ve beaten you, Jenny? Here’s a reminder.” Jacobs’s eyes had just enough time to go wide before Deschain’s left hand ‘SPANKED!’ against her rump. The crowd, still fresh from tolling off that Vertical Suplex, got right back into the act and wouldn’t you know it, that count reached ‘TWELVE!’ as well.

Twisting like a livewire with each cheek-tingling shot, Jenny sucked in a gasp with the pause and drove one awkwardly delivered elbow into her attacker’s ribs. “Let. Me. Go.” she growled. “I swear to God, this is not the night to test F*CK!” Sydney fetched her one more lick, then braced her hands against shoulder and hip and sent Jacobs tumbling off her knee. Up to one knee almost immediately, Jenny stared a hole through Deschain while she adjusted her distended bottoms. “You’re playing a dangerous game, grandma.”

The brunette took a step back, one index finger crooked and beckoning. “It’s a game I’m winning… little girl.”

Jenny took a deep breath, stood up and tucked some hair behind her ears. “Is that how you want this?”

“You rushed me. You tried to end the last night of my career in less than two minutes. I’ll wrestle you however I damned well please. And spank your whiny little ass whenever I damned well please.”

That was all Jenny could take. “Hands up, cougar. Defend yourself.”

No other warning was given, not that Syd needed one when the infuriated blonde came at her with eyes and claws flashing. Lunging to meet the clench, Deschain found herself grasping at nothing because Jenny dropped to one knee and PWAAAKED a straight right hand into her tummy!

The Mangler ‘guuuhhhh’ed’ and doubled over, meaning she was that much closer to the short little Uppercut Jacobs chipped off her chin. Jenny rose as the older woman back on her heels and snatched a double handful of hair to make sure she didn’t get away. Too motivated to worry about the ref chiding her for the hair-hold, the NorCal Sensation sprang up and went down on one knee to slam the other bony joint between Deschain’s eyes. Sydney still didn’t go down, she did however stagger in a loopy circle that offered her back to the resurgent Innovator. Presented with this alluring gift, Jenny took to the skies, laced both hands across her foe’s chin and laid out flat to THWUNK Deschain down on the back of her head with a flawless Reverse Neckbreaker.

SINGLE KNEE FACEBREAKER & REVERSE NECKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=me36FQgCTRw

Sydney bounced and sat up, or would have if Jenny hadn’t palmed her shoulders and forced her back to the mat. “Here’s how you end, baby!” She slid forward and planted her backside firmly atop the Marvel’s startled mug. Startled and pleased by their heroine’s show of, ahem, cheek, the Jacobites roared and raised their J’s to match the pair Jenny showed. Beside her, Nick Castle counted off…

ONE…
TWO…

Syd sank her nails into the blonde’s encroaching buns and shoved her off simultaneous with ‘TWO!’

“NOT DONE YET!” Jenny told the throng as she pulled Sydney back to verticality. A Toe Kick doubled Deschain over before she was fully upright and an equally snappy Front Facelock powered the DDT that THWHONKED her forehead into the mat. The brunette somersaulted onto her back, tried to cradle her head and got another faceful of butt for her trouble. “KISS IT!” Jenny demanded as she pressed both hands into Deschain’s gulping midsection. Syd didn’t kiss anything, she was too busy struggling against the pressure that meant to end her glorious run with the most ignominious of views.

ONE…
TWO….

“OOOOWWW BYTCH!” The Girl of 8,675,309 Holds gave up the perch of her own volition because Sydney snatched a double handful of indigo briefs and yaaaaaaaaaaanked them a great deal higher than fashion suggested. Tugging the wedgie out of existence in the space between heartbeats, Jenny circled around on the vulnerable veteran and unleashed three straight Elbow Drops to the technician’s sternum.

“Used to the taste yet, old timer?” Jenny wiped a hand across her glutes, then maaaaaaasssssshed it into Sydney’s face until the Marvel was able to twist away. “Don’t worry if you’re not, we’ve still got plenty of time left.” She transformed that hand into a claw, plunged it into Deschain’s locks and forced her to stand on rubbery legs. There was no need to bother with the Toe Kick this time around, Syd was too stunned to offer any real resistance when Jacobs bent her over for a Standing Headscissors.

“You’ve probably lost track of how many times you did this to me. And not because you’re getting old.” Jenny snarked in the midst of squeezing her prey’s noggin. “But I never did, Sydney. This is for each and every time you showed off my ass to the crowd… with a little tacked on for interest.” On that vindictive note she snagged a double handful of Deschain’s black bottoms and yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanked them northward in the most brutal of wedgies. Hardly content with mere sawing, Jenny stopped tugging and started clawing, a splay-fingered, two handed grip that covered a good portion of Deschain’s recently bared backside. “GIVE IT UP, SWEETIE!” Jenny bellowed over the incredulous delight of the fans. “GIVE UP AND YOU’LL GET THIS OLD ASS BAWHOOOAAAAAH!”

Galvanized by the dismissive treatment of her haunches, Syd got her hands on Jenny’s knees and pushed forward even as she straightened up at top speed. While not often mentioned in the same breath as Janel Manning, Dominique Daly or Lily Burlingame in terms of overall agility, Jenny was still more than quick enough to soar through the would-be Back Body Drop to land on her feet. “TOO QUICK!” Jenny told the capacity crowd as soon as her boots touched the canvas. This was followed by another pair of upraised J’s and an about face to remind Deschain just what she was up aga--

Sydney caught her across the jaw with a vicious backhand that snapped the Innovator’s head to the side. As if that wasn’t bad enough she put her smackin’ hand against Jenny’s cheek and shoved her away with a disrespectful pie-face. Now it was the Marvel’s fans out of their seats and cheering for their leader’s answer to her foe’s brazen grandstanding. Taking a moment to fix her bottoms before the action picked up again, Syd sucked in a deep breath and let it out slow. “You’re not too quick, Jenny. You’re not too strong and you’re sure as hell not too good. The fact is you’re NOT GOOD ENOUGH. That’s why you’ve never put my shoulders on the mat. That’s why you’ve never made me subNNNGGGGGHH!”

Jenny stormed into the breach and clouted Deschain’s kisser with a Bytch Slap just as vile as the one she’d so recently endured. Syd didn’t give much ground which was fine by the blonde, it meant she didn’t have far to go when she pressed her lips to the Mangler’s ear. “Everything you’ve done to me in the last decade is going to vanish the instant that bell rings and I’m still mounted up on your little pug nose, gramUUUFFFHHHH!”

Sydney sent her reeling with a colossal two handed shove that could’ve proven unpleasant if not for the presence of the ropes. “Adelaide Brewster promised to sit on my face too, Jenny.” the veteran said coldly. “Remember what happened to her?”

“I’m world’s better than that party store hack.” Jenny snarled.

“You sure about that? Brewster took her shot, missed and accepted it. She didn’t whine her way into a match she didn’t deserve, then steal it from a woman who might’ve had a chance of beat--”

“Shut your f*cking mouth, Sydney.” Jenny said in a near whisper. “Shut it right the hell now or I swear to God they’ll cart you out of here on a stretcher.”

“You want me to shut my mouth, Jenny? Come over here and make me.”

“As you wish.” Jenny pounced, cranked her right arm back for a Flying Forearm Smash and ‘UUNNNGGHHH!”

Her progress came to a dead stop when Deschain wrapped both arms around Jenny’s waist and bore down in a crushing Bear Hug. Jaw hung open in a silent scream, the NorCal Sensation tossed her head back and clawed at the air in search of a target she couldn’t reach. Sydney noted the reaction with a hardworking smile, then leaned her cheek into the swell of her target’s chest and squeezed the coil a little tighter. Recovering her wits after perhaps five seconds, Jacobs set her feet wide and reached for the brunette’s hair “GUUUUHHHHHHHNNNNNGGGGHHH!” The Mangler ground her knotted fists against the hollow of Jenny’s spine and hauled up on the Bear Hug just enough to hoist the smaller battler off her feet.

“How are you doing, Jenny?” Nick Castle asked almost at once. He’d been drawn by the frantic scrabbling sound of boots on canvas. “Wanna give it up?”

“NO!” Jenny barked. “I’D DIE FIRST!”

“Don’t wanna kill you, Jenny,” Syd huffed against her opponent’s heaving chest. “But I will bury this idea that you can beat NGH!”

Jacobs looped her left arm around the back of Deschain’s head, raised her right hand high and THUNKED the point of her elbow against the brunette’s skull. “You’re not better than me.” the Innovator growled. “You’re gonna suffer every time you say GUUUUHHHRRRRRK!”

Sydney hauled Jenny up a little higher and proceeded to whip the struggling blonde left n’ right with a rag-dolling shake straight out of Cassandra Vale’s playbook. “I AM better than you, Jenny.” Deschain said after she’d stopped jostling the blonde’s guts. “So either do something about it or tap out and stop wasting my timMMEEERRMMPHHH!”

Happy to take the Marvel’s advice on this subject (if not anything else) Jenny plunged her hands into Sydney’s hair and twisted her head around so she was staring straight ahead. A nice view as Al Carpenter could’ve told you, but Deschain didn’t enjoy it for more than a heartbeat before Jacobs drew her into a nose-crushing Front Sleeper. Gripping her own elbows for extra leverage, the angry blonde stuffed Sydney’s face against her cleavage and rolled her shoulders to scrub the other wrestler’s face like a madwoman. “THERE!” Jenny bellowed down at the mumbling, muffled technician. “GET YOUR FAT OLD FACE IN THERE!”

Syd answered with an angry squeeze that made Jacobs yelp, but it wasn’t enough to make her loosen the Front Sleeper. In fact she hopped up, threaded her legs around Sydney’s hips and added a crushing Bodyscissors to the mix. The first constriction forced a cranky moan against Jenny’s encroaching bust, which in turn brought a wicked smile from the younger beauty.

“That’s right.” she laid her cheek against the top of Sydney’s head and smirked. “Huff and puff and blow yourself out. Wheeze like an old lady shuffling up a hill. Writhe and twitch until your legs give out and then, THEN, smack one of those arthritic talons against the before you pass ouNNNNGGGGGGGGH!”

Sydney finally abandoned her grip on Jacobs’s waist and laced her hands across the top of opposing noggin instead. Then she pushed onto her toes and dropped to her knees. Jenny’s cheek struck the Marvel’s skull hard enough to make her eyes water. The impact also undid the Scissors and loosened the Jugg Smother until it was little more than a loose wrap around the veteran’s skull. More than glad to have air in her lungs again, Deschain curled both hands into fists and PWAAKED ’em against blonde belly until the Innovator cleared off. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Jacobs.” Syd huffed from one knee. “But if you don’t knock that shyt off you’re going to--” THWHACK! Jenny rushed in, planted her left foot on the brunette’s posted knee and clouted her upside the head with a lightning-quick Enzugiri known as the Glimmering Warlock.

GLIMMERING WARLOCK:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8I1M16Fv-s

Deschain’s skull whipped back, then flopped forward and the rest of her followed in a slow motion sprawl that left her stretched out facedown on the mat. Jenny didn’t let her stay there long, she grabbed the veteran at shoulder and hip, rolled her onto her back and looped her arms around both legs. Hands locked, Jacobs folded Deschain in half, pointing her vaunted bum into the rafters while Nick Castle and the rest of the FAWNatics counted…

ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!

Sydney bucked the younger woman off but couldn’t sit up, a development Jenny didn’t miss. “I’m wearing you down, Syd.” she noted in the midst of filling her hands with the other woman’s hair. “You got a great engine in there, no one will argue that. But it’s got a LOT of miles on it and they’re finally catching up.” No response was offered from the Mangler, not that Jenny was terribly interested. She’d already cupped her nemesis’s ears and started scraping Deschain off the mat. Give the brunette credit, she wrested free of Jacobs’s control and *almost* drew her into a surprise Collar & Elbow before the Girl of 8,675,309 Holds shut her down with a stiff Thighlift across the tummy.

“You’ve shown off against me for the last time, Syd.” Jenny’s blue eyes were like chips of eyes as she brushed some hair back from her forehead. “Now it’s your turn to play the girl stretched out on the mat.”

With that she reeled Sydney into a Front Facelock and tossed her left arm across her shoulders. A sturdy cradle followed immediately thereafter and then Jenny popped her hips to THWHUMP Deschain down on the back of her head and shoulders in a Fisherman’s Suplex. Castle swooped into position, raised an arm and would’ve counted off if the blonde hadn’t broke the bridge and rolled onto her tummy with cradle and Facelock quite firmly in place. Back on her feet in a flash, Jacobs crouched, torqued and planted her adversary with a second Fisherman’s Suplex! Jenny didn’t even attempt a bridge this time, she rolled to her stomach at once and hauled Syd along for the ride. While Jenny didn’t offer up any of her usual theatrics, she did channel her inner Sammain for a shrieking war cry that had all of her fans whooping and hollering well before she administered her third Fisherman’s Suplex. Only then did she push onto her toes in a flawless bridge, one that held firm through…

TRIPLE FISHERMAN'S SUPLEX:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSvIpY2broE

ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!

Sydney didn’t just slap Jenny’s tummy, she crooked her fingers into a claw and RAKED it as hard as she could!

As far as resistance went it wasn’t much, yet the sight of those stinging pink welts across her midsection awoke an anger she hadn’t felt in a very long time. “YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN ME!” she roared at the Marvel even as she scraped her off the mat. “NOT TONIGHT! MAYBE YOU WERE ON EVERY OTHER NIGHT BEFORE THIS ONE, BUT FROM HERE ON OUT YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN NNGGGGHH!”

Sydney smacked Jenny’s hands away at the cost of several strands of hair, then dented the blonde’s chin with a Palm Strike that ‘clacked’ Jenny’s teeth together. The Innovator’s hands flew to her mouth and she stumbled away, instinctively turning her back to keep her mouth safe from another blow. This strategy succeeded quite wonderfully in that regard, alas it left the blonde’s back woefully exposed, as she soon learned. Catching a handful of Jenny’s waistband, Syd pulled her back and put the blonde on notice with a Thighlift of her own, one that THWHAPPED across her prey’s lower back. Jenny hissed, staggered again and found herself steadied when the brunette secured her in a tight Waistlock. “You wanna be better, Jacobs?” the cagey veteran whispered in Jenny’s ear. “Then prove it. Don’t just say it.”

“You’re gonna find out how true it WHOOAAANNNNNGGGGH!” Jenny went on a short, unpleasant ride, one that dumped her flush on the back of her head and shoulders. Not about to break her grip when there was a Suplex score to settle, Deschain twisted onto her knees and stood up with the Innovator lagging a half step behind. The knotted fists dug into her tummy proved the least of Jacobs’s concerns when Deschain took her up, over and down in a second cringe-inducing German Suplex. Jacobites around the arena urged their heroine on as enthusiastically as they could but they were doomed to watch as Jenny endured her third German in less than twenty seconds.

Syd didn’t bother to bridge after the final throw, rather she let loose and rolled to one knee while the blonde slopped over onto her side with one arm swaddling her aching neck. After a moment the brunette stood up and said, “Get up, Jenny.” Jacobs groaned, then pushed into a seat but made no other effort to rise. “I said get up, Jenny.”

“I heard you the first time.” she grunted. “And I’ll get up whenever I damned well please. Got that, old laEERRRGGGHHHHHH!”

Sydney filled her hands with the younger woman’s hair and yanked her a good two feet off the mat before THWHUNKING the stunned Innovator down on the back of her head. “When I tell you to get up,” Deschain’s voice was remarkably calm for someone who’d just erupted in violence, “I mean GET YOUR PETULANT, SULKING ASS UP RIGHT GODDAMNED NOW!”

In her defense Jacobs was hustling to comply now, unfortunately Sydney made her return to verticality far from easy thanks to that same double-fisted hair hold. Stepping back as soon as Jenny got boots beneath her, the Mangler twisted her hips and sent the blonde spinning through the air with a savage Hairmare. Jenny landed flat on her belly, started to curl up and instead let out a startled yelp when the infuriated veteran practically shoved her out under the bottom rope with a flurry of stomps. “C’mon Syd.” Castle cajoled his charge while she crowded the ropes. “You don’t want to wrestle your last match that way.”

She threw him the quickest of glances. “You’re right Nick, I don’t.” Deschain grabbed the top rope in both hands, put one foot on the bottom strand and hoisted herself up high enough to lean down and yell, “BUT THIS WHINY PUNK INSISTS ON FIGHTING LIKE THE SAME COCKY BYTCH SHE WAS TEN YEARS AGO, SO I HAVE TO TREAT HER THE SAME WAY NOW AS I DID THEN!”

Gripped by a rage that rivaled anything she felt for Emily West, Maddy Crane or even Lisa Dream, Jenny struggled to her feet and locked eyes with the Marvel. “Take it back.” she whispered.

“No.” Deschain answered flatly. “What happened to you, Jenny? You wrestled your best match since your return to beat Lenore, did you burn yourself out on her?”

Resisting the urge to dive under the bottom rope, Jacobs grabbed the middle rope in one hand and pulled herself onto the apron. “Lemarchand got a taste of my best. You’re getting all of it.”

“Bullshyt. I’ve wrestled your best and this isn’t it. That pisses me off, Jacobs. I only get one Retirement Match and I’m wasting it on a chick I’ve beaten a dozen times. For f*cks sake Jenny, if you weren’t going to give me your best you should’ve let Lemarchand sign the contract. At least then there’d have been some doubt about who was going to--”

Jenny CRAAACKED her across the cheek with a Bytch Slap that sent Deschain reeling back on her heels. Just like that she snatched hold of the top rope, leapt up onto it and “UUNNNNNGGGGHH!” Syd rushed in with a Forearm Smash to the jaw that would’ve sent Jenny hurtling to the floor if the brunette hadn’t caught her under the armpits and dragged her into the squared circle. With Jacobs far removed from the safety of the ropes, Deschain hooked her left arm across the blonde’s chest and slung Jenny’s left arm over her shoulder in the same instant. Then she snagged Jenny’s left leg in a snug cradle and sent her flying courtesy a big Exploder Suplex. Jenny THWHAMMED down hard on her right hip and lower back en route to a short roll that left her flat on her back.

EXPLODER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1cAb9ZfRPg

Far from satisfied with how things were going, Sydney stomped around to Jenny’s feet, crouched down and claimed a boot in either hand. These she tucked under her armpits before locking her hands in a nigh unbreakable loop. “You pride yourself on being innovative, Jenny.” the Mangler muttered. “Whereas I pride myself on being the very best this ring has ever seen. Now innovate your way out of this.” She lifted Jacobs up until only her shoulders were on the canvas, thus making it far easier to flip the discombobulated battler onto her stomach. Syd stepped over immediately thereafter and dropped into a deep squat that only exacerbated the pressure on the small of her opponent’s back.

BOSTON CRAB @ 00:18
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOBP0dQb0tw

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!” Jenny reached for the ropes, then cradled the back of her head in both hands and finally pulled her own hair as the Boston Crab did terrible things to her frame.

“What do you say, Jenny?” the ref asked quickly. “Do you give up?”

“NO!” Jenny’s answer was as immediate as it was emphatic. “I TOLD YOU TO STOP ASKING ME THATAAAGGHHOOOWWWW!”

Syd hopped, a short, sharp thing of no more than four inches, it still earned a rousing yowl from her younger rival. “GIVE IT UP, JENNY! RIGHT NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RING! TELL ‘EM WHO’S BETTER, ONCE AND FOR ALL!”

“SCREW YOU!” Jenny’s answer was all defiance and fire despite the agony etched in her face. “YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S GONNA TAP THIS MATTAAAAAAWWWWW GAAAAAAHHHHDD!”

Sydney dropped into a full crouch, the heavy curve of her glutes resting solidly in the hollow of her lower back. “Tap out whenever you’re ready little girl.” Deschain snarled. “I’m through playing with you.”

Jenny didn’t answer her, she was too busy shaking her head ‘no, no, no!’ for Castle, who looked increasingly concerned about the curvature of the blonde’s spine. Unwilling to even consider the humiliation that would come with tapping out to the Marvel, Jacobs braced both hands against the mat, sucked in as deep a breath as she could and proceeded to scream through clenched teeth as she pushed her whole body off the mat. Sydney responded with another small hop, which even more punishment than the first but failed to raise a scream.

Wasn’t for lack of trying, the NorCal Sensation was clearly in agony yet she put it aside in favor of focusing on something more productive. Raising herself the tiniest bit higher, she tucked her chin against her chest and scraped the crown of her head against the canvas to sloooooooowly pull herself through the veteran’s parted legs. Doing so alleviated all the torque on her spine, more importantly it allowed JJ to wrap her arms around Deschain’s ankles. A sudden pull and twist pulled Sydney down on her shoulders while the Innovator was rolled into a slumped seat. Just like that it was a fierce battle between Syd’s wriggling legs and Jenny’s straining arms, each seeking a different resolution to the count of…

ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!

Sydney kicked loose, rolled away and scrambled to her feet while Jenny clambered to one knee in slow motion. Angered by the near-fall, Deschain closed on her penitent adversary and helped herself to a double handful of hair. “Of course that’s how you’d try it. Flash pins are the only way you could beat WHOOOAAANNNNNNNGH!”

Long term consequences be damned, Jenny clamped her arms around the brunette’s upper thighs, powered up onto her tiptoes and promptly sank to one knee to THUMP her attacker’s undercarriage with a vicious Inverted Atomic Drop. Barely resisting the urge to plant the toe of her boot square in Sydney’s crotch, Jenny settled for a kick to the gut that made her Standing Headscissors a breeze. Focused solely on the vulnerable veteran, Jenny snarled, “Wail for me, bytch.” Then she grabbed a double handful of black briefs and rearranged them into the most heartless wedgie she could inflict.

But that was only the beginning of Sydney’s troubles. After ten seconds of tog torture Jenny traded in the wedgie for a Waistlock and hefted her up onto the ball of her left shoulder like she was an ultra-lightweight and not one of the sturdiest wrestlers of the last twenty-five years. Hands knotted just below the swell of her opponent’s breasts, Jacobs ignored the pain in her own back in favor of giving Deschain a taste of her own torturous medicine. “GIVE UP!” Jenny jounced and rocked in place, her every movement designed to exacerbate the agonizing ‘U’ curve of her opponent’s frame. “I MEAN IT, SYD! SUBMIT TO ME OR YOU’LL LEAVE HERE ON A BACKBOARD!”

CANADIAN BACKBREAKER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXhgq6AV7VA

The vindictive Innovator squeezed / rocked a little harder to prove she was dead serious. There was no doubt in Sydney’s mind that the blonde was telling the truth, just as there was no doubt in hers that she’d ignore the request. Jenny might pin her. Jenny might even knock her out. But the veteran would endure shredded ligaments and broken bones to make sure the last match of her career didn’t end with a submission. Explaining that to her opponent and the referee would’ve been too daunting at the moment so instead she conveyed the message by reaching up and SMACKING the side of Jenny’s head.

“Uhhhhnnnnggggghhh…. is that the buuuhh…. best you can do… Jacobs?” she groaned. “I thought I was gonna leave on a backAAAAAWWWHHHH GAAAAAAHHHHDD!”

Jenny stopped rocking and started stomping, the exhausted, enraged Innovator actually hopping in place in her effort to make Deschain’s toes touch the crown of her skull. “I WILL BREAK YOU!” she bellowed at the top of her lungs. “I WON’T ENJOY IT, BUT I SWEAR TO GOD I’LL BREAK YOUR BACK BEFORE I LET YOU BEAT ME AGNNNNNGGGHH!”

Dangerous even when folded in half the wrong way, Syd fashioned one hand into a claw and snugged it into place against the blonde’s mug. She had no illusions of actually submitting Jacobs with the maneuver, she only wanted to free herself from the murderous Backbreaker. “Geeerrrgggghhh… get your hag’s claw outta my FACE!” Jenny demanded around the brunette’s encroaching hand.

“What’s wrong, Jenny?” Syd rasped. “Afraid you’re going to tap out one more time?” She punctuated the last three words by shoving the heel of her palm into the underside of her attacker’s nose.

Eyes watering, back twitching, Jenny decided to give the Marvel what she wanted, but in her own special way. Shrieking around the five fingered intrusion, the NorCal Sensation rocked up on her heels, then dropped to her butt while swinging Deschain forward and down to THWHONK! Sympathetic groans from those assembled as Sydney was laid to waste by the Revenge of Elizabeth Dane.

REVENGE OF ELIZABETH DANE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfRJQ3rXg3s

Dropped square on her head, the battered brunette flopped backward onto her knees before pooling out in a defenseless sprawl. Truly confident for the first time since she’d escaped the Boston Crab, Jacobs straddled her nemesis’s chest and slid forward until the fork of her crotch was pressed to Sydney’s mouth and nose. “IT’S OVER!” she prophesized with a pair of raised J’s and the love of a whole legion of Jacobites.

ONE…
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!

Sydney kicked up her legs, hooked them under the blonde’s armpits and pulled her down flat for an improvised Sunset Flip. Careful to avoid the younger woman’s mistake, Deschain pressed herself into the Innovator’s upturned haunches and laid her heels across those wriggling biceps as well. Close enough to check Jenny’s shoulders without the slightest bit of delay, Castle confirmed them down, then counted…

ONE…
TWO…
THRNOOOO!

Jenny tumbled loose of the predicament, came up on her knees and claimed possession of the brunette’s ankles. “Big mistake, baby.” Jacobs’s voice was ice cold as she clambered to her feet and stretched those captured stems wide. No hesitation whatsoever, Jenny simply dropped to her knees and THWHUMPED her forehead between the Mangler’s thighs. A mixture of cheers and jeers from the fans, as from some angles it looked like a low but perfectly legal Headbutt while from others it looked like Jenny landed the blow dead center of her opponent’s trunks.

Asking Sydney would’ve been the most prudent course of action, but at the moment she was practically folded up around her aching midsection and in no mood to comment. Didn’t bother Jenny in the slightest, she only wanted two or three words from the brunette and she knew just how to hear them. She was rising with those captured boots in tow when Castle said, “Watch where those Headbutts land, Jenny. That looked a little low.”

“Well it wasn’t. If I’d hit her in the junk she’d STILL be crying about it.”

That closed the subject for Jacobs so she stretched Syd’s stems wide and turned around (being careful to switch control of those boots from one hand to the other) so that her back was to the flattened veteran. “I beat your Crab, Deschain.” the weary blonde growled over one shoulder. “Now it’s time for you to beat mine.” Then she dipped her knees and stepped over, turning Sydney onto her belly in the process. Painful from the outset, this particular hold grew all the more devastating when the Girl of 8,675,309 Holds dropped into a deep, deeeeeeeeeeep crouch.

INVERTED BOSTON CRAB @ 1:02
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S15AgvaE7c

“Submit.” Jenny demanded the instant Sydney started to groan. “Submit while you can still leave this ring with your head high.”

The Marvel shook her head ’no’ and waggled an index finger at Castle for emphasis. “I’ll leave this ring however I see fit, Jacobs.” she grunted. “Just like I’ll leave you IN IT, however I see NNNGGGHH AAAAAAAAAHHHH SSSSHHHHIIIIITT!”

“Remember when I said I’d break your back?” Jenny sank that much lower, the curve of her butt was less than three inches from the hollow of Syd’s back now. “I meant it! If you don’t tap out in the next ten seconds I’ll snap you in half, then roll ya over and sit on your face until they send a whole gang of referees to stop me!”

Deschain didn’t reply with words. Instead she drew in a deep breath, pressed her hands to the canvas and rose by no more than four inches. “Oh, you’re going for the ropes?” Jacobs scoffed. “Fine! Crawl along old woman! See if your bones can last that long!” Sydney still didn’t rise to the bait, not when every inch of her journey seemed to bring another nasty twinge in her back. Hurting or not, the brunette closed on her target, indeed she actually picked up the pace in the last two feet or so because the fans were cheering themselves hoarse. Above and behind, Jenny’s grim confidence gave way to incredulity and finally volcanic anger when the veteran was within six inches of freedom. Easing up on the pressure to increase her own mobility, Jenny draaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged a flailing, fading Sydney right back to where she’d started. “Ya know Syd, I feel like you’re not taking me seriously and that pisses me off. So I’m going to MAKE you take me seriously, even if it means I pay for all your medical expenses.”

Upbeat in spite of the looming expense, Jenny stuffed the Mangler’s ankles a little deeper into her armpits, then crouched down in search of her foe’s wrists. Syd, who’d been punishing rivals with versions of the Romero Stretch for years, knew exactly what was coming and pulled her arms under her chest to keep the blonde from clamping down. “Oh, that’s not gonna be enough, gramma.” Jenny reached out like she was gonna clap Deschain on the butt, then earned shocked cries all around when she snatched hold of those gray bottoms and pulled them down over the jutting shelf of Syd’s glutes!

“BYTCH!” Syd shot an arm back to her offended tights and Jenny caught her at the wrist. “You’re mine noOOOOOOWWWW!”

The Innovator threw back her head and screamed when Deschain gouged her nails into the soft skin beneath the blonde’s wrist. Ignoring her displaced bottoms in favor of greater concerns, Deschain shifted her weight onto one hip and jerked Jenny into a rough, facedown landing right beside her. Jacobs grunted, went to reach for her nose and let out a worried little grunt when the Marvel stretched her captured arm away from her torso. The grunt blossomed into a full on shriek when Sydney maneuvered into a seat and slung her right leg over the exposed limb. “What was that, Jen?” the brunette muttered as she trapped her foe’s forearm in the pit of her knee. “Who belongs to who?” She laced an S-grip across Jenny’s chin and YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANKED back as hard as she could.

OMAPLATA CROSSFACE:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f478nBhqtU

Jenny didn’t answer, COULDN’T answer. The NorCal Sensation was too busy prizing at Deschain’s hands in a desperate, savage attempt to free herself from the Omoplata Crossface. Sydney wasn’t having it, not after the punk had practically stripped her less than two minutes prior. She squeezed her legs a little tighter to put even more pressure on that twisted shoulder and jerked her hands from side to side, either to disorient her prey or possibly bloody her nose or lips, at that point the Mangler didn’t much care either way.

“Do you give, Jenny?” Nick Castle asked it not five seconds after the hold was sunk in, he knew this version of the Crossface did serious damage and did it fast. “What do you say, Jenny? Do you want me to call it?”

“NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Jacobs wailed all the louder as Sydney poured more and more power into the neck-wrenching hold. Right arm stretched to its absolute limit, JJ reached for the ropes but found herself several feet shy. Faced with one choice, survive or submit, Jacobs opted for the former, or at least tried. Working ever so slowly she twisted her hips around so that she was resting on her side instead of her stomach. It was hardly ideal, but it at least allowed her to skid n’ bump her way across the canvas at awkward little intervals. After what seemed like forever she dropped her right ankle across the bottom rope and bellowed, “BREAK! GET THE F*CK OFF ME, HAG!”

Sydney did, but not until she’d milked every last heartbeat of Castle’s ‘FOUR!’ count. Rising to one knee immediately thereafter, she pulled her togs back into place, then reached out and punished Jacobs with the opposite, a heartless wedgie that made the grounded grappler wail out loud all over again. The fire of the wedgie dimmed the instant Syd let her loose, the inferno in her left shoulder on the other hand only seemed to get worse. “Yaaaa…. you bytch.” she muttered to the veteran after making it to one knee. “You tried to break my arm. It’s not enough to end your career, you’ve gotta try to end mine too?”

Syd stepped forward, backed off when Castle raised a hand. “Save that whiny bullshyt for Lisa, Jenny.” the Marvel growled. “I don’t have to break your arm because I’m flat out better than you.”

Jacobs looked up from her gimpy arm, the hate clear in her blue eyes. “The f*ck you are.”

Sydney stretched her arms wide. “I’m on my feet in the middle of this ring. You’re down on one knee, pressed against the ropes with a ref guarding your back. Yeah, I’d say I’m better.”

Jenny struggled to verticality but didn’t come off the strands. “I’ll come at you when I’m ready. For now I’m going to stand here and catch my breath after enduring that piece of shyt Crossface.”

“It was enough to bring tears to your eyes.” Deschain snapped. “What does that make you, princess?”

Very slowly, very deliberately, Jacobs raised both hands to chest level. “F*ck. You. Hag.” she said over an identical set of middle fingers.

That was enough for Syd. If the blonde felt well enough to flip her off she could damned well get off the ropes. Closing in despite Castle’s presence, the Woodsboro Mangler reached around / over the official and snatched a double handful of hair. Professional that he was, Nick tried to disengage at once, unfortunately he ran into trouble when Jacobs grabbed the collar of his shirt.

“Keep her back, Nick!” the blonde demanded. “She’s gonna try to cripple me!”

“I’ll do what I can!” the startled zebra consoled her. “But I can’t do anything until you let WHOAAHH HEY NOWWWNNNGGGGHH!”

Jenny bulled forward, thrusting her shoulder into Castle’s chest which in turn drove him backward into Syd. More to the point, the back of his head struck Deschain between the eyes, resulting in both of them crumpling to all fours. For a moment it looked like Jenny sprawl over the downed official but at the last second she hopped onto his back and jumped off in a high rise Low Angle Dropkick that THWHACKED against the side of her nemesis’s skull. This admittedly clever bit of improv earned cheers all around, yet the sharp eared fan noticed a murmuring undercurrent as the FAWN faithful tried to decide if the last few seconds happened by accident or design.

The question only got murkier when Jacobs buried her hands in the brunette’s hair and hauled her to boot leather. She locked up with Syd at once only to have the veteran force her away with a quick Kneelift to the belly. Jenny ‘oofffhhed’, backed off and lunged again. Only this time she stopped short, all the better to swat down the Kneelift Deschain aimed at her midsection. The second lock-up was far more successful, primarily because of the Kneelift Jenny drilled just above her opponent’s waistband. This was followed by a second Kneelift, one that even the staunchest of Jacobites admitted looked a bit too low for regulation.

Not that there was a referee to check and really, their qualms vanished the instant their heroine grabbed Syd’s head and forced it between her thighs. “I’ve been waiting ten years to show you what this feels like, baby.” The NorCal Sensation slipped her hands beneath Sydney’s biceps and locked her hands across the veteran’s back to secure the Double Underhook. Love from the Jacobites, disgust from the Mangler Maniacs and surprise all around as Jenny upended Sydney and dropped her on her head with the biggest gimmick infringement heist of her career.

DESCHAIN DRIVER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoqK1XUmJOM

THWHONKED flush on her head by the Deschain Driver, Sydney flopped over onto her back and let out a muffled little moan when Jenny straddled her face. Knees splayed wide, the Innovator hooked her archrival behind the knees and bundled her up into a Reverse Matchbook while the whole arena counted…

ONE…
TWO…
THREE…
FOUR… FIVE!

`Jenny looked around in confusion, then nearly screamed with frustration when she realized the only person who hadn’t counted her cover was Nick Castle. “Nick!” she snapped. “Dammit Castle, get over here!”

He only groaned and shook his head, it wasn’t a denial, he was still trying to clear it after the rough collision with the Marvel. Taking the Innovator’s boots between his shoulders hadn’t helped much either. Forced to relinquish the perch she’d been seeking for the whole of her career, Jenny tossed Deschain’s legs aside and got to her feet, but not before she treated the veteran to a high speed paint-shaker waggle of her hips. ‘Flicking’ her bottoms back into place as she rose, the Girl of 8,675,309 Holds stomped around to Sydney’s ankles and took one in each hand.

Deschain started to struggle as soon as her legs were pulled off the mat. She might’ve eaten her own finisher not fifteen seconds prior, but the brunette still knew trouble when it came her way. “Knock that shyt off, everyone knows you’re done!” Jacobs dug in her heels, trying to keep the Marvel from getting any closer to the ropes. Sounded nice and authoritative when she said it, but it didn’t do a damned thing to slow Deschain down. “I mean it, Syd! You lost! So lose with a little class!”

Syd gouged her elbows into the mat and glared up at the blonde. “That bell hasn’t sounded yet, Jacobs. I haven’t lost anything and you haven’t won sh--” Jenny’s boot shot straight down and it was only the Marvel’s quick hands that spared her the anguish of a point-blank Low Blow. “Really?” Deschain asked after she’d steadied the blonde’s encroaching foot. “You’re so desperate to beat me that you’d take that sort of asterisk next to your UUUNNNNGGH!”

Jenny tore her foot loose and stamped down again, only this time her heel gouged deep into the brunette’s navel. “Don’t you dare judge me.” she told the wheezing veteran. “No one’s EVER run up this sort of score on you.”

Syd couldn’t answer, in fact all she did was wheeze while Jacobs tucked her left foot under her right arm and folded her right shin across the pit of her left knee. Then she slipped her left hand through the center of that deadly ‘4’, laced her hands across the wide, dense plank of Deschain’s right thigh and dropped into a deep crouch that’d help secure her foe to the Jacobs’ Ladd--”EERRRGGGH!” Winded but clearly not defenseless, Syd curled her right arm around the back of Jenny’s head to better hold her in place for a tooth-loosening set of half a dozen Forearm Smashes! Jenny rocked back on her heels, caught her balance and instinctively dropped her knees for a second Ladder attempt. This one ended the same as the one prior, perhaps even a bit worse, as Deschain made a point of leading with the point of her elbow.

Head fogged by the brutally simple counter, Jenny straightened up once more and pounded a second hard stomp into her opponent’s belly. The air ‘whooshed’ from Deschain’s lungs even as the NorCal Sensation threw herself into a low bridge, not the Ladder but the same Figure Four Jackknife Cradle she’d used on Lenore Lemarchand back at Thanksgrieving. A pin might’ve seemed like an odd choice if Nick Castle hadn’t just then crawled over to count…

ONE….
TWO…
THRENOOOOOOOO!

Sydney wrenched loose with half a second to spare and in so doing captured her opponent’s arms in what looked like a Double Chickenwing. It wasn’t until she rolled onto her knees and hauled Jenny along for the ride that the FAWNatics realized she’d secured a Double Underhook. The Innovator realized it too, unfortunately that wasn’t nearly enough to keep the Mangler from flipping her upside down. Toes pointed toward the rafters, the Jacobites could only brace for impact as Sydney broke into a short, shambling run and leapt into the air before THWONKING the crown of their heroine’s skull into the canvas. Blown loose of the brunette’s clutches by what was possibly the very last Deschain Driver FAWN would ever see, Jenny landed stretched out facedown and would’ve stayed there for a good long while if Syd hadn’t hooked a Half Nelson and shoveled her onto her back.

Instinct screamed at Syd to just hook the far leg and be done with it, but pride couldn’t let the blonde get away with poaching her finisher and her favorite pin which was why she swung a leg over Jenny’s head and sat firmly upon her upturned face. Jenny’s knees came up the instant her air was cut off so Deschain drew ‘em that much higher by hooking her calves and leaaaaaaaaaaaaaning back into a Reverse Matchbook. Delighted for Syd and despondent for Jenny, Nick slid in close and slapped the mat…

ONE…
TWO….
THRENOOOOOOOO!

The Girl of 8, 675,309 Holds eased her nemesis off with half a tic to spare and in so doing eased the burdens of thousands (possibly millions) of Jacobites worldwide. Didn’t get her out of trouble though, not by a long shot. As stunned by Jenny’s escape as everyone else, Sydney shook it off much faster, probably because she was close enough to fill her hands with the Innovator’s hair. Stone-faced as she’d ever been during the last twenty years, Sydney doubled Jenny over and forced her into a Standing Headscissors. No repeat of the Driver this, she looped both arms around the younger woman’s waist and muscled / spun Jacobs onto her shoulders. Jenny’s head hadn’t even finished bobbling when Deschain took off toward the corner at top speed. A mutual inhalation all over the arena, followed by a groaning exhalation as Sydney tossed into a BWUUUNGING spine-first collision with the turnbuckles.

Caught at ground zero of that spine-wrecking Powerbomb, Jacobs bounced out of the corner, landed on her knees and skidded to a stop on all fours not too far from her rival. Syd surveyed the situation for a moment, came to a decision and nodded once. Plan in place, she bent over, cupped Jacobs’s ears and scraped her off the mat. A Toe Kick to the gut doubled Jenny over and gave the brunette more than enough time to turn around and hook her arms at the biceps. What looked like it could’ve been a Decrescendo shifted to something even more unpleasant when the Mangler swiveled around and stood up. Jenny ended up draped down the Marvel’s back with all the blood rushing to her throbbing head. “Nnngghhhh,” Jacobs reached for her forehead, as of yet unaware of her peculiar inversion. “Whuu… what the? Oh shyt, noooooEEERRGGGGGGGHHHHH!”

Clarity only came when Deschain shifted both of the blonde’s legs over her right shoulder. After that she tucked Jenny’s feet under that arm, then twisted the Innovator’s body around the left side of her torso and dropped to one knee, neatly trapping Jacobs’s right arm beneath her left thigh. With her left arm hooked to Jenny’s left bicep and her right hand in thorough control of the NorCal Sensation’s boots, Sydney leaaaaaaaaned forward and started to jerk on the latter, a tactic that put ungodly pressure on Jenny’s spine.

THE KNOT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5F1TguXbc8

“AAAAAAAGGHHHHH!” Jenny shrieked to the heavens as the hold known only as ‘The Knot’ tried to touch her toes to the back of her head.

“Give up, Jenny!” Syd demanded as she craaaaaaaaaanked on her foe’s boots. “You’re not getting out of this!”

Castle was inclined to agree. He’d only seen Deschain use this particular stretch a handful of times and it never failed to net a surrender. Don’t tell that to Jenny though, she shook her head frantically ‘NO!’ “I TOLD YOU I WON’T GIVE! NOW GET AWAY FROM MEEEEEE AAAARRHHHHH FAAAAAAAHHHHHK!”

Sydney jostled The Knot that much harder, forcing Jenny to wail pitiably while the hold did its work. The Marvel’s fans could tell the blonde was fading and so they sprang to their feet with cheers of ‘TAP! TAP! TAP!’ on their lips. The Jacobites immediately countered with ‘PLEASE DON’T TAP!’ and for fifteen seconds or so the whole arena was a raging cacophony.

More than willing to work her trap until the bitter end, Sydney streeeeeeeeeetched her victim’s spine a little bit more. “No way out, Jenny.” she huffed. “Give up while you can still walk outTEERRGGGGGGHH!”

Desperate in a way few women would ever know, Jenny curled her right hand into a claw and applied it to the brunette’s undercarriage. The angle was far from perfect and the pressure wasn’t great, but it was all she had and she squeezed until her knuckles turned white. “ALWAYS A WAY OUT, SWEETIE!” she bellowed to the groaning veteran. “NOW LET GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Sydney redoubled her efforts on the blonde’s legs. “Let go of my trunks right now, Jenny.” Syd growled through clenched teeth. “Or I’ll make you sorRRGGAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

Jenny gave up her grip just long enough to get under her foe’s briefs. “F*CK OFF, SYD! YOU WANT YOUR TIRED OLD JUNK BACK? LET GO OF THIS UUUNNNNNNGGGGHH!”

The Mangler clambered to her feet, let loose of Jacobs’s legs and dropped to a seat to THWHUMP the beleaguered battle down on her face, chest and tummy. Her claw totally forgotten, Jenny was so much dead weight as Deschain pulled her to all fours. Kneeling by her opponent’s head, Sydney angled her right leg over Jenny’s left bicep, then repeated the trick on Jenny’s right bicep. With Jacobs’s arms salted away in the pits of her knees, Deschain dropped back onto her butt, which pulled the Innovator into a sort of seat (she was stretched out across Syd’s right thigh), albeit one where her arms were trapped behind her in an awkward ‘V’ arrangement.

LAMENT CONFIGURATION:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWeAXvBm3b4

The Marvel’s fans roared for the Lament Configuration and indeed Syd reached forward, presumably to lock her hands around the back of Jenny’s neck to complete the hellish stretch. But instead of a neck clasp she put one hand against Jenny’s chin and pushed, forcing her noggin back at an unpleasant angle. The other she curled into a nasty ‘C’ talon and affixed it to Jenny’s crotch!

“AAAAAUUGGGHHH AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH SSSSHHHHIIIIIIIT!” the trapped battler screamed as she came ‘round to a combination of shoulder-wrenching anguish and trunk tearing torture.

“Give it up, Jacobs!” Deschain demanded. “There’s nowhere to go!” She punctuated this reality by squeeeeeeeeeezing her rival’s center that much tighter. Jenny kicked her legs, rocked her shoulders and shook her head frantically ‘no’ when Nick Castle asked if she wanted to quit. She did all this and much, much more, but what she did not do was escape. The battle had been too long, too taxing and now her once deep reserves were all but exhausted.

Faring only a little better despite her dominant position, Syd turned her chin-push into an Iron Claw to make things that much more unbearable for the Innovator. “I mean it, Jenny. Give up right now. I don’t want to ruin you, but you’re not getting out until OOOWWW!”

Jenny squirmed her face loose of Syd’s grip and managed to nip her fingers before the Marvel pulled away. “Kiss my ass, Syd.” Jacobs rasped. “You should’ve retired the instant you realized you didn’t have the guts to finish this the NNNGGGGHHH!”

Sydney SLAPPED her across the mouth, then wrapped that hand around the blonde’s throat and squeezed. Working the choke, claw hold and arm-wrench in perfect harmony, Deschain kept Jenny’s air at a premium until the ref reached ‘FOUR!’ on his count. “Last chance, Jenny.” Sydney said quietly. “Tap out or I’ll submit you as hard as I--”

Jenny leaned forward and spit. It didn’t reach the brunette’s face, but even in falling short it made her position perfectly clear. “Go f*ck yourself.” she growled. “If you’re going to beat me, beat me. But don’t you DARE ask me to beg for your mercy like it’s some kind of gift. I’ve earned better than that.”

Sydney took a deep breath, nodded once. “Yes. You have.” The words were barely out of her mouth when she jammed the middle and ring fingers of her free hand into Jenny’s mouth in a Mandible Claw. Down below, the Crotch Claw continued to chew and grind. The Mangler’s fingers never actually ventured under her prey’s trunks, but that was of no consolation at all. And last but certainly not least, the Inverted Lotus Lock kept on torquing the NorCal Sensation’s shoulders, the constant pressure slowly but surely reducing those strong pipes to so much sagging lead.

Eyes closed against the numbing pain of both claws, Jenny Jacobs streeeeeeeeeeetched one foot toward the ropes ‘til the bitter end. She grabbed hold of Deschain’s damnable thighs and gouged as best she could, even though her fingers felt like crudely formed clay. And she kept shaking her head ‘no, no, no’ until the bell abruptly sounded and she realized she was nodding ‘yes, yes, yes!’ in hopes of making the pain go away before she passed out.

In that aim she was successful, though it could be considered a mixed blessing because she was awake to hear the Announcer say, “Ladies and gentlemen, your winner via submission…. SYDNEY DESCHAIN!”

The victorious Marvel let her hand hang for a few seconds after Castle released it, knowing full well she wouldn’t ever get another moment like this. It was about then that a low rumble began near the cheap seats. Pretty soon it caught on everywhere and the whole arena rang with three words. ‘PLEASE DON’T GO!’ Deschain put a hand to her mouth and rubbed the corners of her eyes with index finger and thumb. You could hardly blame her, it was awfully dusty in there tonight. After a moment she looked to Nick and murmured something to low to make out. He nodded, then strode to the edge of the ring to procure a microphone. When the ref returned Syd gave him a long hug before accepting the mic.

By then ‘PLEASE DON’T GO!’ had gave way to ‘SPEECH!’ and Deschain obliged after a few seconds to compose her thoughts. “I wrestled my first match in January of nineteen ninety. It was in the Woodsboro High School gymnasium and I’d turned fifteen all of three months prior. In the twenty five years since that night I have wrestled on six continents against some of the greatest talents in the world and have made memories I wouldn’t give up for a whole lifetime of ache-free mornings. If I had my way I would do this job forever because I love it and it’s the only career I’ve ever known. But life very rarely agrees to the terms you want and time has caught up with me just as it’s caught up with every other woman who stepped through the ropes before me. Don’t worry, this isn’t the part where I tell you I’ve been wrestling with a broken neck or a blood clot or anything like that. Truth be told I managed to go an entire career without losing any serious time to injuries. In fact I think I could go another two or three years, maybe even five and--”

The crowd interrupted her with a thunderous demand of ‘DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!’

Sydney smiled and shook her head ‘no’. “It’s tempting, believe me. You have no idea how badly I want to accept the contract Anciline left in my room. But I can’t. I won’t. Much as I love this business, I’ve seen it eat up too many men and women who just didn’t know when to walk away. When I started down this road, I made a promise to myself. I would come down to this ring every night and wrestle the best match possible. The instant I couldn’t do that, I’d quit. I’ve kept that promise for twenty five years, but for the last two years I’ve lived with one nagging fear. It wasn’t about losing, everyone loses, I came to grips with that a long time ago. No, the thing that really scared me was the idea of hearing Joanna or Gordy or Meltzer say ‘Tonight was the night we saw Sydney Deschain get old in the ring’. I feared that more than anything else, which is why I’ve pushed myself so hard here at the end of my career. And it’s why I decided to go on this tour. I wanted,” she paused, then corrected herself. “No, I NEEDED to face the best women FAWN had to offer and show that I could still compete at their level. Twelve wins later, I’d say I did pretty well for myself.”

She smiled when the crowd started in again, this time with ‘TWELVE AND OH! TWELVE AND OH!’

“But streaks, if taken too far, get broken. ALWAYS. Mine would’ve done the same and I’m proud enough not to want to see that happen. So I’m leaving under my own power and of my own volition, rather than letting some hot new twenty-something make the decision for me. All of that said, there’s a lot of people, friends and enemies alike, to thank and rest assured I’ll see all of you before I leave the building tonight. But there’s one woman I need to address right now… that’s you, Jenny.”

The NorCal Sensation was about a third of the way up the aisle and moving very slowly. Her head was down, her hands were on her hips and while she wasn’t crying, holding it back looked to be a losing effort. At the sound of her name she turned around and looked to the ring but made no effort to return.

That was ok with Syd, who’d already moved to the ropes. “I’m not going to tell you to not be disappointed. I’m not going to tell you I know how you feel. I’m not even going to tell you to come back here to shake my hand, because I know the ring is the last place anyone wants to be after a hard loss. There are two things I will tell you however, and I hope you take them to heart. First, when you go through that curtain, you better do so with your head held high, because girl, you have NOTHING to be ashamed of. You kicked out of the Driver, broke the Knot and took some of the stiffest work I’ve ever unloaded all while kicking my ass all over this ring.”

The Jacobites cheered this roundly, then gave their heroine a round of applause to emphasize their agreement. Jenny glanced to the stands for a moment and there might’ve been the ghost of a smile on her lips, but it didn’t last long. Failing to hang an ‘L’ on the departing brunette just hurt too damned much.

Back in the squared circle, Deschain held her peace until the crowd quieted down. “One more thing and I’ll let you go. A week ago you told Joanna Coleman that I wouldn’t really respect you until you’d beaten me. That’s not true, Jenny Jacobs. If I didn’t respect you there’d be no reason for this to be my last salute to the FAWN arena.”

She dropped the microphone and raised both hands high overhead.

Thumb and forefingers were crooked into a pair of J’s.

Identical signs went up all over the arena and Jenny did cry then, thankfully not a full on ugly cry, as she’d tell Al Carpenter a little later, but the show of undiminished support in the wake of a hard loss was a little too much for her to bear.

Syd picked up the mic one more time. “Don’t let tonight define you, Jenny Jacobs. Use it to build your own defining moment. You’ll already done wonders for the Intercontinental Championship. Now it’s time you did something I never managed… put the FAWN World Title around your waist.”

This idea was met with unanimous approval and the noise grew downright cacophonous when Jacobs raised her index finger and held it high overhead, a mirror of her rival’s longtime salute. “Thank you.” she mouthed to the brunette. “Thank you.” Jenny lowered her hand, nodded once and turned around to finish her trek up the aisle. This time her head was raised and she exchanged high fives with everyone close enough to reach.

After she’d gone, Sydney offered a wave to all four sides of the ring before stopping on the hard camera. “Thanks for watching my work, I love you all.”

Then she stepped through the ropes and started up the ramp to the stage, where a small crowd of wrestlers, referees and other backstage personnel had gathered to offer their congratulations on a quarter century of battles well fought.