Post by bigfan on May 7, 2017 1:13:55 GMT
The office of Edward Wayne Thomas, ten days prior…
“So what brings you to FAWN?”
It was a question that Edward Wayne Thomas often asked of new talent, and one he rarely expected a response to, or at least a response other than some banal platitudes about seeking money, or fame, or glory.
“I have nowhere else to go,” the waif of a young woman responded without looking up as she dotting the i’s on the signature that finalized her contract and officially put her on the FAWN roster.
“You have nowhere else to go…” Thomas repeated with a curiously raised eyebrow as he glanced at the personnel profile of one Maria Alves. “Ah yes… I remember now. It’s been a few years and the details are still hazy, but I recall something about ‘illegal armbar’ and ‘blackballed from judo’ and ‘outstanding warrant for grand theft.’”
Maria made a soft sighing sound as if annoyed.
“The very concept of an ‘illegal’ hold goes against the spirit of competition,” she said in a tone that suggested she’d had this exact conversation many, many times before. “And in my defense, that woman has had an excellent second career in futebol. Secondly, theft is a victimless crime and I have been unfairly persecuted by the Rio de Janeiro police.”
“Victimless? What about the people whose things you take?”
“What about them?” Alves replied with a shrug, sounding quite bored.
Edward chuckled heartily and slowly clapped his hands together.
“Maria, you are going to be a most excellent addition to our roster! I can feel it! That said, let’s get down to the matter of your first match --”
“I would prefer someone who would not be so squeamish about ‘illegal armbars.’ Perhaps your current champion. Surely she would not protest my tactics, given her predilection for summarily executing her opponents with a machine gun.”
“Hmm… yeah… no,” Thomas countered. “I’ll tell ya what though, quite a few girls from the Jungle are down here in Orlando for spring training. Let’s get you in the ring with one of them first, and then we’ll play it by ear...”
SPRING BREAK PAY-PER-VIEW EVENT
It had been a rough year for young Charlie Dawson. The federation had made the decision to move her from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico to the Jungle developmental league all the way in Bangor, Maine. It was unfamiliar, cold, and rainy, and thus Charlie was overjoyed to have the chance to make the trip down to Orlando for the first time since the early days of 2016. No matter what else happened, the FAWN Arena and the fans within always made her feel at home.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer declares, “your following contest is scheduled for one fall, with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, from Albuquerque, New Mexico by way of Spokane, Washington... She stands five feet two inches tall and weighs in tonight at one-hundred and twelve pounds... Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... CHHHAAARRRLLLOOOTTTTTTEEE DAAAWWWSSSOOONNN!!!!!”
The FAWNatics do just that, turning things up to eleven as Taylor Swift’s Style begins to play over the sound system.
Just a couple of moments later, the stunning, bedimpled young blonde who had been generating such a buzz bursts through the curtains. Once the beaming Dawson arrives, however, they remarkably manage to raise the decibel meter further still! The youngster brings her hands to her ears, covering them as if the roar might be painful--but the smile that remained planted on Charlie’s lips illustrates just how much she’s enjoying the moment. Blushing, the blonde motioned downward with her hands...
CHARLOTTE DAWSON:
But even in Orlando, the capacity crowd will have none of it.
Finally, Charlie shrugs her shoulders and takes off toward the ring.
Charlie might not be an expert in architecture, but it feels to her that the length of the aisle down to the FAWN ring might be longer than the whole BUILDING known as the Left Turn--and the number of waiting fans along either side of the railing might very nearly equal the developmental facility’s full capacity. But that doesn’t stop Dawson from trying to make sure she slaps EVERY single hand offered her way--and ESPECIALLY the younger ones.
Finally, the Darling of the Desert turns and darts to the ring. After sliding under the bottom rope, Dawson springs to her feet. After unzipping her hot pink hoodie, Charlie slips off the garment, revealing a light blue fightin’ two piece that, in spite of its somewhat modest and innocent cut still manages to raise the blood pressure of quite a few spectators. Charlotte moves to her corner, taking a moment to adjust her white pads before she starts stretching.
“And her opponent… from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil… at five foot four and one hundred sixteen pounds… please welcome, Maria Alves!”
Paper Planes by M.I.A. announces the entrance of the Brazilian rookie. Maria steps through the curtains at the top of the entrance ramp, dressed in a white pull-over tunic that resembles a judo gi complete with black belt, albeit much more form fitting. Unlike her standard judo-wear, Alves goes without pants for her professional wrestling debut at the behest of marketing and wardrobe, bare below the hips save for a pair of black bikini bottoms to preserve her modesty. To the delight of the fans, she is in effect wearing a very, very short skirt, and after taking in her surroundings for a few seconds, she calmly strolls down the entrance ramp, occasionally bobbing her head to the beat of her music.
MARIA ALVES:
Alves climbs into the ring and claims the corner opposite from her opponent. When the referee comes over for a cursory inspection, she deftly picks his wallet out of his back pocket while the man’s eyes are perhaps a bit too focused on her bare thighs. In a matter of seconds, she fishes out a credit card and memorizes the sixteen digit card number, the expiration date, and the three digit CVS code on the back. The crowd chuckles in amusement, and she quickly replaces the card in the wallet, and then the wallet in his pocket, the official being none the wiser the entire time.
“Out of curiosity, what would you say your credit limit is?” Maria asks the referee. “Could you hypothetically buy a three thousand dollar pair of Louboutin boots?”
The official seems taken aback by what he thinks is a non-sequitur question, and instead of answering he gestures towards the timekeeper to begin the match.
The bell rings, and Charlie strides out to the center of the ring, sticking out her hand for a handshake as a sign of goodwill. She feels a bit awkward when Maria leaves her hanging and reciprocates with a stiff, formal bow instead, and Dawson scrambles to return the gesture, lest she be seen as rude or disrespectful. Wordless pleasantries exchanged, the Desert Flower drops into a springy grappler’s crouch and begins cautiously circling her opponent, ready to react to any move Alves might make.
For her part, the Brazilian rookie stands stock-still in the center of the ring, regarding the blonde with a curiously raised eyebrow but nothing more. Even when Charlie shifts around to her six, Maria does not bother turning her head or spinning around to keep eyes on her foe, seemingly unworried about the possibility of an attack from behind. Finally, when Dawson completes a full revolution and circles back in front of her, Alves speaks.
“Charlie Dawson… what are you?” she asks, her accent and uneven cadence hallmarks of someone who learned the language via classrooms and textbooks rather than her environment.
The question catches young Charlie off guard, and she directs a silent, quizzical glance at Maria.
“What are you?” Alves repeats. “I am told that here I can find the most remarkable, most… unorthodox fighters in the world, so what makes you… you? Are you a master of eight million, six hundred seventy five thousand, three hundred and nine holds like Jenny Jacobs, perhaps?”
“Uhh… no. No, I -- I don't think so...” Dawson says, crinkling her nose in confusion.
“Just between you and me, I doubt Jenny really knows eight million, six hundred seventy five thousand, three hundred and nine holds either,” Maria says, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“Err… suuuurrrre… Whatever you say…”
“Are you a remorseless scalawag like Alexis Uguitan-Dollars, who claws, bites, and smothers her way to victory?” Alves asks.
“No! I'm not --”
“So if you are not an innovator, and you are not a scoundrel, then surely you must be an insatiable sexual deviant who makes passionate love to --”
“NO! NONONONONO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!” Charlie vehemently shrieks, her face turning bright red at the mere thought of being lumped together with FAWN’s most tawdry predators.
After taking a few seconds to apply a cleansing dose of mental bleach and regain her composure, she says, “Look, I don't know what your game is, but eight million holds, or cheating, or… or… FAWN stuff…that's not me. All I do is come out here, and WRESTLE MY ASS OFF! ISN’T THAT RIGHT, ORLANDO?!”
The FAWNatics collectively shout their assent for the little blonde spark plug, but her opponent is decidedly less impressed.
“Oh...” Maria says flatly, the corners of her mouth turning downwards into a small frown as if disappointed. “Is that all? You just… wrestle? Well… come on then. We should get this over with.”
Not liking the dismissive tone in the Brazilian’s voice, Dawson steps forward and fires a Snap Kick aimed at Alves' gut. Maria catches the incoming boot, however, and she steps forward to clutch Charlie around the neck before the blonde can launch her Enzuigiri. Standing belly-to-belly and cradling her opponent's right knee in her left hand, Alves dips her knees then pops her hips to throw Charlie over and back with a Capture Suplex that rattles the ring.
CAPTURE SUPLEX:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=pRe_5_LCkdo
Dawson lands on her shoulders, though to her credit she immediately bucks free of Maria’s grasps and scrambles to her feet despite her discombobulation. Having actually beaten the brunette to verticality, Charlie lunges forward to engage her with an Elbow and Collar tie-up.
The pair of wrestlers are locked for not even a second before Alves steps through with her right leg and then forcefully swings it backwards to sweep out both of Dawson’s knees from behind. Suddenly left without a leg to stand on, Charlie’s head, neck, and shoulders are driven into the deck for the second time in as many seconds by Maria’s STO.
STO:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7t02HA9BbS0
This time Dawson can't slip free on impact, and her right arm gets scissored between the judoka’s legs while her skull gets trapped in a surprisingly brawny Side Headlock. Charlie groans when Maria wrenches her neck, though she retains the presence of mind to roll her left shoulder off the mat to avoid a potential pin while at the same time wiggling a finger ‘No’ to preempt the referee asking for a submission.
“It seems I am also able to wrestle your ass off,” Alves says placidly. “I am giving you another chance and letting you go now. Try to make this interesting, Charlie.”
With that said, Maria releases her grips on Charlie and gets to her feet, and Dawson does the same in short order. The blonde sizes up her foe with a look of indignation, then breaks into a head-on charge. Alves sighs softly in exasperation as she watches Charlie approach, and then she gets into a ready position -- widening her stance and sinking down into a slight crouch -- in preparation for throwing the American to the mat once again.
Maria tips her hand too soon, however, and when she tries to grapple the hard-charging blonde, she finds that Charlie has gone low, slipping between her parted legs with a Baseball Slide before popping up behind her. Alves whirls around, but she's a beat too slow because Dawson as already taken flight with a twisting, legs-first leap.
Charlie latches on a Bodyscissors around the brunette’s slender waist, and then she tumbles into a front somersault. At the end of the roll, she ends up sitting atop Maria’s chest, the Brazilian folded into a matchbook with shoulders flat against the mat.
CASSADORA VICTORY ROLL:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QSgqm9Ge8
The referee drops down and counts…
ONE!
TWO!
...before Alves shakes her ankles free of Dawson’s grasps and fights her way out of the Victory Roll. The blonde scrambles one way and the brunette the other, and the pair of wrestlers get to their feet on opposite sides of the ring.
“That was quite -- UNNFF!”
Whatever Maria was going to say, she doesn't get a chance to finish the sentence when Charlie runs at her and delivers a Sliding Gut Punch to her solar plexus. Dawson pops to her feet from her knees and secures a Side Headlock on the doubled-over brunette as a little payback for earlier. Rather than try to wring her opponent’s neck, Charlie takes off once more, this time with the judoka in tow. She leaps into the middle rope and then pushes off again, pivoting in mid-air before dropping to a seat and mashing Alves' face into the canvas with a beautiful Springboard Bulldog.
SPRINGBOARD BULLDOG:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=IqWPGaB2ax0
The FAWNatics cheer loudly, appreciative of Charlie’s first big spot of offense in the match, and she quickly rolls a stunned Maria into a face-up position before covering for a pin.
ONE!
TW --
Alves shrugs a shoulder off the mat and rolls free at one-and-a-half, though she opts to stay down and check her face for damage rather than get to her feet.
“You attacked my face…” she groans. “Do you have any idea how many cosmetic surgeries I have invested into this face?”
“Umm… three?” Dawson ventures as a blind guess.
“None!” Maria hisses. “How dare you imply otherwise!”
Her face scrunching in irritation, Charlie pounces on her opponent who is still lying on the mat and attempts to drop some Forearm Smashes into the brunette’s purportedly unaltered visage. Her very first blow is parried, however, when the Brazilian snatches her wrist and overthrows her mount. In the span of a heartbeat, Charlie finds herself flat on the deck and looking at the ceiling. More distressing is the fact that her right arm is stretched out to the side and scissored between the judoka’s legs, and when Maria’s hips bridge skyward to increase the pressure on the Jujigatame, Dawson yelps in pain as she feels her elbow bending the wrong way.
JUJIGATAME:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwUAspDqV7A
Shouting a ‘No!’ to the referee, the blonde pries at her opponent's legs, searching for a way out of the simple yet devastatingly effective armlock. After about ten seconds, Maria seems to do Charlie a favor when she voluntarily uncrosses her ankles, but any relief the American might have felt is quickly and literally squashed when Alves plants her left foot into Dawson’s throat and grinds her heel into the exposed windpipe.
“HEY! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” the official bellows to no effect as the Brazilian continues to work both the foot-choke and the arm bar.
“I can do anything I want for five seconds,” Maria counters, as cool and unflappable as ever.
The man knows she’s right, so he begins counting and Alves finally relents at four-and-a-half, apparently unwilling to take a disqualification as she had done so many times in her competitive judo career. A red-faced Charlie rolls clear, coughing, gagging, and desperately trying to rub the lingering pain out of her right arm. She barely manages a breath or two before Maria pads over and drags her upright by the injured limb, then Alves wrenches both her arms behind her back and locks on a Double Chickenwing hold by looping a forearm under each of Charlie’s elbows.
Despite the bolt of pain in her arm, Dawson has enough sense to snap her head backwards and deliver a stunning Reverse Headbutt that lands right between the Brazilian’s eyes, allowing her to slip free. Charlie doesn't hesitate to go on the offensive, clamping on a Front Facelock then throwing herself backwards to spike Maria’s head into the mat with a DDT.
DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv4gBuDXARw
Alves remains face-down after the impact, covering her head with both hands while beating her feet against the canvas. Rather than go for a pin, Dawson drops to a seat on the small of her back, tucks her left ankle under an armpit, and leans back into a Single-leg Crab.
Relatively unaccustomed to pro-style holds, Maria fails to squelch a pained yelp as she feels the pressure in her spine and hip. Nevertheless she quickly regains control of herself and begins crawling her way to edge of the ring, relieved that the ropes offered an avenue of escape that would not have existed on the judo mats. Using both arms and one leg, she keeps a steady pace in spite of the weight of her opponent on her back and the “TAP TAP TAP!” chants of the crowd, and soon she’s able to grasp the bottom cable in her hand.
“Guess who’s getting her ass wrestled off NOW?!” Charlie exclaims jubilantly after she releases her hold and retreats to the other side of the ring.
“My delicate sensibilities have been offended by your vulgar, hurtful insult,” Maria groans, slowly getting to her feet. “You are a most dastardly villain, Charlie Dawson.”
The blonde doesn’t know how to respond to such accusations, so she decides to let her actions to the talking for her. She dashes at her still gimpy opponent, only to swerve away at the last moment before contact in order to leap onto the middle turnbuckle adjacent to the Brazilian. She takes flight again a moment later, twisting mid-leap to secure a Three Quarters Facelock on Maria, and the assembled fans collectively gasp and hold their breaths as it seems that the Upstart-in-Training is just fractions of a second away from hitting her Charlie Cutter finishing move.
CHARLIE CUTTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdjOQ8NHZ1A
It was not to be, however, as the judoka quickly wraps both arms around Charlie’s waist, preventing her from dropping to the mat and completing the maneuver. Alves spins in a half circle towards the middle of the ring to maintain her own balance, and then she pops her hips and arches backwards to slam the Dawson’s shoulders and spine into the deck with a wicked Ura-nage that draws a few cheers, the crowd impressed by the move despite their affection for the ragdolled blonde.
URA-NAGE:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=4s_dYqMDIkw
Charlie bounces from the booming impact and tumbles head-over-heels, coming to a rest with her back propped up against the bottom rope at the the edge of the ring. She groans weakly, the harsh landing having taken the wind out of her sails, and the referee quickly steps in front of her, both to check on her condition and to shield her from any subsequent attack until she has at least five seconds to recover. Charlie assures the man that she’s able to continue despite the lingering wobble in her legs as she hauls herself upright, and then she begins to stagger towards her opponent.
Maria, however, merely holds up a hand in a placating gesture, apparently not ready to resume the action just yet.
“I must admit, you are better than I anticipated. You are actually quite…quite...” Alves' brow creases, as if she’s deep in thought, and she falls silent for a long pause.
“...I am sorry, Charlie. This new language bedevils my tongue and I cannot think of the right word...” she finally says.
“‘...Good?’” Dawson tentatively offers, but the Brazilian immediately rejects the suggestion with a shake of her head.
“No. No, that is not it. ‘Good’ is too lofty of a compliment,” Maria says thoughtfully while stroking her chin. “FAR too lofty…”
Charlie narrows her eyes in irritation at the brunette’s haughty dismissal of her skills and growls, “Okay, if --”
“No, not ‘okay’ either,” Alves blithely interrupts, either unaware or uncaring of her opponent’s frustration. “‘Okay’ implies a consistent level of mediocrity. What do you call one who is typically ‘abysmal’ except for the rare moments of inspiration in which she rises to the level of merely ‘awful?’ I am very embarrassed, I just recently learned the perfect term for this, but now it appears I have forgotten...”
Charlie launches herself at her opponent with a battlecry, although her babyfaced good looks and normally cheerful demeanor sabotage her attempt at appearing fearsome. She tries to tackle the Brazilian to the mat with a Lou Thesz Press, but when she leaps at Maria’s chest the judoka counters by cradling both arms under her thighs, boosting her even higher into the air before falling back and splattering her into the deck with a Flapjack Facebuster.
FLAPJACK FACEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czm5nbmQy0
Dawson’s hands instinctively shoot to her face, and she’s too stunned to roll clear before the brunette straddles her lower back, leans forward, and traps her arms in a Full Nelson. She squeals and wails when Maria roughly scrubs and scrapes her face against the abrasive canvas, the judoka ignoring the referee’s warnings until he begins counting. After a four-count and half a dozen back-and-forths across the mat, Alves finally relents and the official forces her to retreat to a safe distance.
After taking a moment to ensure that her nose is still attached and well-aligned, Charlie gets to her feet and approaches Maria much more carefully than before, trying to cut off any angles of escape while slowly backing Alves into a corner. Dawson is just about about to engage with an Elbow and Collar when the brunette suddenly yells, forcing her to take a startled hop backwards.
“KYLIE SANDERS!” Maria triumphantly shouts. “The term I was thinking of is ‘Kylie Sanders!’ Yes indeed, Charlie Dawson, you are very much like a young Kylie Sanders.”
There had been a time not too long ago when Charlie would have been flattered and honored to be mentioned alongside the erstwhile Pleasant Valley Princess. Nowadays, however, any comparison to the infamous turncoat currently known as Vanilla Chill makes Dawson sick to her stomach, and she glares daggers at her opponent.
“You were mildly amusing, Charlie, but I fear our time is at an end,” Maria says with a shrug before beckoning her opponent forward. “Come on then, time to do what you do best.”
Dawson didn't have to be asked twice, storming into the breach with a shout of, “What I do best is pinning smart-alec assholes like you!”
Charlie tries to lock up with the Brazilian, but rather than engage directly, Maria turns her back and in the same motion reaches both hands over her right shoulder to grasp the straps on the blonde’s top. The judoka explosively thrusts her hips backwards while yanking forward and down with her arms, thus flipping the American over her shoulder and onto the mat with a textbook Seoi-nage.
At least that was the plan. The Earth’s gravitational hold on Charlie proves to be stronger than the straps on her top, and all Maria succeeds in doing is stripping Dawson topless while the blonde herself remains rooted to her spot on the mat. Time seems to freeze as everyone in the building needs a few seconds to mentally process this surprising development, and then all at once everything lurches into motion again. The crowd showers the pair of wrestlers with catcalls and wolf whistles, Charlie covers her breasts with an arm as she turns beet red, and Maria is left fumbling with the torn remains of Dawson’s top.
“That was not my intention,” Alves mutters as she tries and fails to tie the garment back together. “I am not a barbarian who strips my opponents for cheap thrills. I only wanted to drop you on your head and give you a concussion, or perhaps break your neck.”
If Charlie is listening to anything the Brazilian is saying, she gives no sign of it as she wordlessly opens and closes her mouth, lips quivering and eyes welling. She had been shorn of her top before in a match against Georgie Lawson, but that had been after the bell and Sammie Sinclair had come to the rescue with a spare shirt. Now, the Little Sparrow is nowhere in sight, and with the match still live, Dawson would be expected to continue wrestling even in her state of undress.
“Do not fret, Charlie Dawson,” Maria says in a calm, soothing voice. “Your breasts are small and unremarkable, and I am sure they will fade from memory as soon as the next garish act of fornication occurs in this ring.”
“You're not making me feel better!” Charlie snaps.
Alves rolls her eyes, sighs, and tries a different approach.
“You will be more popular this way. The wrestlers with the most fans are also the wrestlers with the least clothes. Or at least that is what the wardrobe department said when they refused to give me pants,” she says while gesturing to her own bare legs and feet.
When that still doesn't cheer Dawson up, Maria is left with no other recourse. Not saying another word, she removes her own gi-styled tunic, pulling it up over her head as it does not actually open in front like a jacket. True to the wardrobe department’s wisdom, FAWNatics cheer once more as the Brazilian exposes more of her olive skin, now wearing only a black two piece bikini. Alves hands the garment to a very surprised Charlie, and then she motions for the referee to come over so that the two of them may form a human wall to shield the blonde from prying eyes and cameras.
Maria literally giving her opponent the shirt off her back leaves Charlie blinking back tears, clearly moved by the gesture. The blonde wordlessly mouths a ‘Thank you’ before she slips into the tunic, and then she embraces the Brazilian in a hug to cheers from the audience, although there are more than a few in the crowd who are disappointed that Dawson’s breasts are no longer on display.
“I was wrong about you, Maria,” Charlie whispers. “I thought you were just a bitch in sheep’s clothing, but you're aaaaAAAAHHHH NGH!”
Maria doesn't allow her opponent to finish the sentiment as she grabs the lapels of the faux-gi, spins, and yanks. Alves' tunic is far sturdier than Dawson’s bikini top, and this time the judoka succeeds in flipping Charlie over her shoulder and spiking the crown of the blonde’s head into the deck.
SEIO-NAGE:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oc7fJXv4A4E
A dreadful shiver runs through Dawson’s body, the impact of the Seio-nage leaving her briefly stuck upside-down like a lawn dart before crumpling to the mat.
“Apology accepted, Charlie,” Maria says through a beaming smile as she covers for a pin.
ONE!
TWO!
THRNOOOO!
Charlie shudders and brings a shoulder a fraction of an inch off the mat to break the pin. Maria regards the referee with a cocked eyebrow, though she does not argue further when the official silently holds up two fingers rather than three.
Rising to her feet and adjusting her bikini top to avoid inadvertently exposing her own modest assets, Alves claims hold of Dawson’s left ankle and lifts the captive limb off the mat. She steps over with her left leg, planting her foot next to the blonde’s right hip, and then she throws herself into a forward roll. Both wrestlers go into a tumble and end up on their backs in the center of the ring, Charlie’s left leg scissored between Maria’s while the tip of her boot is tucked under the brunette's left arm.
“AWWWWW GAAAAAWWWWWD!” Dawson screeches when Alves starts pushing on her left heel, putting joint-shredding torque on both her ankle and knee with a devastating Rolling Heel Hook.
ROLLING HEEL HOOK:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=YsuMiPZy2io
Charlie’s anguished wail is so heartbreaking that the referee immediately asks for her submission, and though she can't help but scream in agony, the blonde still firmly shakes her head ‘No.’ Unfortunately, her resistance only prompts Maria to increase the pressure, as Alves gives her captured foot another savage twist.
“I suggest you submit, Charlie,” Maria calmly advises. “Otherwise you might soon find yourself crippled and limited to wrestling in the Paralympics.”
Regardless of the threat, Dawson continues to brave the agony, inching her way towards the ropes by dragging herself on her elbows and kicking against the mat with her free leg. Her efforts are significantly hampered, however, when the judoka neutralizes her right leg as well by planting a foot in the pit of her knee and pushing, thereby pinning Charlie’s right thigh against her abdomen and stomach and rendering that leg unable to assist in her jailbreak. Still several feet away from the nearest set of ropes, Dawson holds on for another ten seconds before deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, electing to fight -- and to walk -- another day.
“I GIVE! I GIIIIIIIIVE!” the blonde plaintively wails while she slaps her hand against Alves’ leg.
Maria gives one final Forget-Me-Not twist, earning a shriek from her opponent and boos from the audience just as the bell sounds, and then she releases her hold without further ado. She gets to her feet and gives another stiff bow to the vanquished, sobbing Charlie, who’s too busy holding her ravaged knee and ankle to pay much attention to anything the Brazilian is doing.
“I being humorous when I implied that I would cripple you and reduce you to a Paralympics wrestler,” Maria says politely. “There is, of course, no such thing as a Paralympics wrestler! Do you understand the levity in what I said, Charlie? Do you?”
When the blonde still does not respond with anything other than a few stifled sobs, Alves sighs, “Your sense of humor is sorely lacking, Charlie Dawson.”
With that said, Maria gracefully slips out of the ring just as the ring announcer officially proclaims her the winner of the match, and she starts padding back up the entrance ramp. She’s about halfway up the walkway when a small medical team hustles past her going the other way, and then she stops and turns on her heels. She watches the EMTs clamber into the ring tend to Dawson for a few moments, and then she starts nonchalantly strolling towards her opponent again.
“Is anything broken?” Maria asks one of the men who is helping Charlie onto a gurney.
“No, nothing an ice pack and a whole lot of ibuprofen won’t fix,” the EMT reassures.
“Hmm… then I should use more pressure…” Alves muses to herself before addressing her foe, “Hey, Charlie?”
“...what?” Dawson softly sniffles.
“This is mine.”
Maria grabs the bottom of the tunic that Charlie is still wearing and gives a hard yank, causing the blonde to fall from the gurney to the floor while stripping the garment up and over Dawson’s head to leave her topless once more. Having retrieved her ringwear, Alves turns and heads up the entranceway once more, this time not stopping to regard either her opponent or the jeering crowd.
“So what brings you to FAWN?”
It was a question that Edward Wayne Thomas often asked of new talent, and one he rarely expected a response to, or at least a response other than some banal platitudes about seeking money, or fame, or glory.
“I have nowhere else to go,” the waif of a young woman responded without looking up as she dotting the i’s on the signature that finalized her contract and officially put her on the FAWN roster.
“You have nowhere else to go…” Thomas repeated with a curiously raised eyebrow as he glanced at the personnel profile of one Maria Alves. “Ah yes… I remember now. It’s been a few years and the details are still hazy, but I recall something about ‘illegal armbar’ and ‘blackballed from judo’ and ‘outstanding warrant for grand theft.’”
Maria made a soft sighing sound as if annoyed.
“The very concept of an ‘illegal’ hold goes against the spirit of competition,” she said in a tone that suggested she’d had this exact conversation many, many times before. “And in my defense, that woman has had an excellent second career in futebol. Secondly, theft is a victimless crime and I have been unfairly persecuted by the Rio de Janeiro police.”
“Victimless? What about the people whose things you take?”
“What about them?” Alves replied with a shrug, sounding quite bored.
Edward chuckled heartily and slowly clapped his hands together.
“Maria, you are going to be a most excellent addition to our roster! I can feel it! That said, let’s get down to the matter of your first match --”
“I would prefer someone who would not be so squeamish about ‘illegal armbars.’ Perhaps your current champion. Surely she would not protest my tactics, given her predilection for summarily executing her opponents with a machine gun.”
“Hmm… yeah… no,” Thomas countered. “I’ll tell ya what though, quite a few girls from the Jungle are down here in Orlando for spring training. Let’s get you in the ring with one of them first, and then we’ll play it by ear...”
SPRING BREAK PAY-PER-VIEW EVENT
It had been a rough year for young Charlie Dawson. The federation had made the decision to move her from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico to the Jungle developmental league all the way in Bangor, Maine. It was unfamiliar, cold, and rainy, and thus Charlie was overjoyed to have the chance to make the trip down to Orlando for the first time since the early days of 2016. No matter what else happened, the FAWN Arena and the fans within always made her feel at home.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer declares, “your following contest is scheduled for one fall, with a twenty minute time limit. Introducing first, from Albuquerque, New Mexico by way of Spokane, Washington... She stands five feet two inches tall and weighs in tonight at one-hundred and twelve pounds... Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... CHHHAAARRRLLLOOOTTTTTTEEE DAAAWWWSSSOOONNN!!!!!”
The FAWNatics do just that, turning things up to eleven as Taylor Swift’s Style begins to play over the sound system.
Just a couple of moments later, the stunning, bedimpled young blonde who had been generating such a buzz bursts through the curtains. Once the beaming Dawson arrives, however, they remarkably manage to raise the decibel meter further still! The youngster brings her hands to her ears, covering them as if the roar might be painful--but the smile that remained planted on Charlie’s lips illustrates just how much she’s enjoying the moment. Blushing, the blonde motioned downward with her hands...
CHARLOTTE DAWSON:
But even in Orlando, the capacity crowd will have none of it.
Finally, Charlie shrugs her shoulders and takes off toward the ring.
Charlie might not be an expert in architecture, but it feels to her that the length of the aisle down to the FAWN ring might be longer than the whole BUILDING known as the Left Turn--and the number of waiting fans along either side of the railing might very nearly equal the developmental facility’s full capacity. But that doesn’t stop Dawson from trying to make sure she slaps EVERY single hand offered her way--and ESPECIALLY the younger ones.
Finally, the Darling of the Desert turns and darts to the ring. After sliding under the bottom rope, Dawson springs to her feet. After unzipping her hot pink hoodie, Charlie slips off the garment, revealing a light blue fightin’ two piece that, in spite of its somewhat modest and innocent cut still manages to raise the blood pressure of quite a few spectators. Charlotte moves to her corner, taking a moment to adjust her white pads before she starts stretching.
“And her opponent… from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil… at five foot four and one hundred sixteen pounds… please welcome, Maria Alves!”
Paper Planes by M.I.A. announces the entrance of the Brazilian rookie. Maria steps through the curtains at the top of the entrance ramp, dressed in a white pull-over tunic that resembles a judo gi complete with black belt, albeit much more form fitting. Unlike her standard judo-wear, Alves goes without pants for her professional wrestling debut at the behest of marketing and wardrobe, bare below the hips save for a pair of black bikini bottoms to preserve her modesty. To the delight of the fans, she is in effect wearing a very, very short skirt, and after taking in her surroundings for a few seconds, she calmly strolls down the entrance ramp, occasionally bobbing her head to the beat of her music.
MARIA ALVES:
Alves climbs into the ring and claims the corner opposite from her opponent. When the referee comes over for a cursory inspection, she deftly picks his wallet out of his back pocket while the man’s eyes are perhaps a bit too focused on her bare thighs. In a matter of seconds, she fishes out a credit card and memorizes the sixteen digit card number, the expiration date, and the three digit CVS code on the back. The crowd chuckles in amusement, and she quickly replaces the card in the wallet, and then the wallet in his pocket, the official being none the wiser the entire time.
“Out of curiosity, what would you say your credit limit is?” Maria asks the referee. “Could you hypothetically buy a three thousand dollar pair of Louboutin boots?”
The official seems taken aback by what he thinks is a non-sequitur question, and instead of answering he gestures towards the timekeeper to begin the match.
The bell rings, and Charlie strides out to the center of the ring, sticking out her hand for a handshake as a sign of goodwill. She feels a bit awkward when Maria leaves her hanging and reciprocates with a stiff, formal bow instead, and Dawson scrambles to return the gesture, lest she be seen as rude or disrespectful. Wordless pleasantries exchanged, the Desert Flower drops into a springy grappler’s crouch and begins cautiously circling her opponent, ready to react to any move Alves might make.
For her part, the Brazilian rookie stands stock-still in the center of the ring, regarding the blonde with a curiously raised eyebrow but nothing more. Even when Charlie shifts around to her six, Maria does not bother turning her head or spinning around to keep eyes on her foe, seemingly unworried about the possibility of an attack from behind. Finally, when Dawson completes a full revolution and circles back in front of her, Alves speaks.
“Charlie Dawson… what are you?” she asks, her accent and uneven cadence hallmarks of someone who learned the language via classrooms and textbooks rather than her environment.
The question catches young Charlie off guard, and she directs a silent, quizzical glance at Maria.
“What are you?” Alves repeats. “I am told that here I can find the most remarkable, most… unorthodox fighters in the world, so what makes you… you? Are you a master of eight million, six hundred seventy five thousand, three hundred and nine holds like Jenny Jacobs, perhaps?”
“Uhh… no. No, I -- I don't think so...” Dawson says, crinkling her nose in confusion.
“Just between you and me, I doubt Jenny really knows eight million, six hundred seventy five thousand, three hundred and nine holds either,” Maria says, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“Err… suuuurrrre… Whatever you say…”
“Are you a remorseless scalawag like Alexis Uguitan-Dollars, who claws, bites, and smothers her way to victory?” Alves asks.
“No! I'm not --”
“So if you are not an innovator, and you are not a scoundrel, then surely you must be an insatiable sexual deviant who makes passionate love to --”
“NO! NONONONONO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!” Charlie vehemently shrieks, her face turning bright red at the mere thought of being lumped together with FAWN’s most tawdry predators.
After taking a few seconds to apply a cleansing dose of mental bleach and regain her composure, she says, “Look, I don't know what your game is, but eight million holds, or cheating, or… or… FAWN stuff…that's not me. All I do is come out here, and WRESTLE MY ASS OFF! ISN’T THAT RIGHT, ORLANDO?!”
The FAWNatics collectively shout their assent for the little blonde spark plug, but her opponent is decidedly less impressed.
“Oh...” Maria says flatly, the corners of her mouth turning downwards into a small frown as if disappointed. “Is that all? You just… wrestle? Well… come on then. We should get this over with.”
Not liking the dismissive tone in the Brazilian’s voice, Dawson steps forward and fires a Snap Kick aimed at Alves' gut. Maria catches the incoming boot, however, and she steps forward to clutch Charlie around the neck before the blonde can launch her Enzuigiri. Standing belly-to-belly and cradling her opponent's right knee in her left hand, Alves dips her knees then pops her hips to throw Charlie over and back with a Capture Suplex that rattles the ring.
CAPTURE SUPLEX:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=pRe_5_LCkdo
Dawson lands on her shoulders, though to her credit she immediately bucks free of Maria’s grasps and scrambles to her feet despite her discombobulation. Having actually beaten the brunette to verticality, Charlie lunges forward to engage her with an Elbow and Collar tie-up.
The pair of wrestlers are locked for not even a second before Alves steps through with her right leg and then forcefully swings it backwards to sweep out both of Dawson’s knees from behind. Suddenly left without a leg to stand on, Charlie’s head, neck, and shoulders are driven into the deck for the second time in as many seconds by Maria’s STO.
STO:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=7t02HA9BbS0
This time Dawson can't slip free on impact, and her right arm gets scissored between the judoka’s legs while her skull gets trapped in a surprisingly brawny Side Headlock. Charlie groans when Maria wrenches her neck, though she retains the presence of mind to roll her left shoulder off the mat to avoid a potential pin while at the same time wiggling a finger ‘No’ to preempt the referee asking for a submission.
“It seems I am also able to wrestle your ass off,” Alves says placidly. “I am giving you another chance and letting you go now. Try to make this interesting, Charlie.”
With that said, Maria releases her grips on Charlie and gets to her feet, and Dawson does the same in short order. The blonde sizes up her foe with a look of indignation, then breaks into a head-on charge. Alves sighs softly in exasperation as she watches Charlie approach, and then she gets into a ready position -- widening her stance and sinking down into a slight crouch -- in preparation for throwing the American to the mat once again.
Maria tips her hand too soon, however, and when she tries to grapple the hard-charging blonde, she finds that Charlie has gone low, slipping between her parted legs with a Baseball Slide before popping up behind her. Alves whirls around, but she's a beat too slow because Dawson as already taken flight with a twisting, legs-first leap.
Charlie latches on a Bodyscissors around the brunette’s slender waist, and then she tumbles into a front somersault. At the end of the roll, she ends up sitting atop Maria’s chest, the Brazilian folded into a matchbook with shoulders flat against the mat.
CASSADORA VICTORY ROLL:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QSgqm9Ge8
The referee drops down and counts…
ONE!
TWO!
...before Alves shakes her ankles free of Dawson’s grasps and fights her way out of the Victory Roll. The blonde scrambles one way and the brunette the other, and the pair of wrestlers get to their feet on opposite sides of the ring.
“That was quite -- UNNFF!”
Whatever Maria was going to say, she doesn't get a chance to finish the sentence when Charlie runs at her and delivers a Sliding Gut Punch to her solar plexus. Dawson pops to her feet from her knees and secures a Side Headlock on the doubled-over brunette as a little payback for earlier. Rather than try to wring her opponent’s neck, Charlie takes off once more, this time with the judoka in tow. She leaps into the middle rope and then pushes off again, pivoting in mid-air before dropping to a seat and mashing Alves' face into the canvas with a beautiful Springboard Bulldog.
SPRINGBOARD BULLDOG:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=IqWPGaB2ax0
The FAWNatics cheer loudly, appreciative of Charlie’s first big spot of offense in the match, and she quickly rolls a stunned Maria into a face-up position before covering for a pin.
ONE!
TW --
Alves shrugs a shoulder off the mat and rolls free at one-and-a-half, though she opts to stay down and check her face for damage rather than get to her feet.
“You attacked my face…” she groans. “Do you have any idea how many cosmetic surgeries I have invested into this face?”
“Umm… three?” Dawson ventures as a blind guess.
“None!” Maria hisses. “How dare you imply otherwise!”
Her face scrunching in irritation, Charlie pounces on her opponent who is still lying on the mat and attempts to drop some Forearm Smashes into the brunette’s purportedly unaltered visage. Her very first blow is parried, however, when the Brazilian snatches her wrist and overthrows her mount. In the span of a heartbeat, Charlie finds herself flat on the deck and looking at the ceiling. More distressing is the fact that her right arm is stretched out to the side and scissored between the judoka’s legs, and when Maria’s hips bridge skyward to increase the pressure on the Jujigatame, Dawson yelps in pain as she feels her elbow bending the wrong way.
JUJIGATAME:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwUAspDqV7A
Shouting a ‘No!’ to the referee, the blonde pries at her opponent's legs, searching for a way out of the simple yet devastatingly effective armlock. After about ten seconds, Maria seems to do Charlie a favor when she voluntarily uncrosses her ankles, but any relief the American might have felt is quickly and literally squashed when Alves plants her left foot into Dawson’s throat and grinds her heel into the exposed windpipe.
“HEY! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” the official bellows to no effect as the Brazilian continues to work both the foot-choke and the arm bar.
“I can do anything I want for five seconds,” Maria counters, as cool and unflappable as ever.
The man knows she’s right, so he begins counting and Alves finally relents at four-and-a-half, apparently unwilling to take a disqualification as she had done so many times in her competitive judo career. A red-faced Charlie rolls clear, coughing, gagging, and desperately trying to rub the lingering pain out of her right arm. She barely manages a breath or two before Maria pads over and drags her upright by the injured limb, then Alves wrenches both her arms behind her back and locks on a Double Chickenwing hold by looping a forearm under each of Charlie’s elbows.
Despite the bolt of pain in her arm, Dawson has enough sense to snap her head backwards and deliver a stunning Reverse Headbutt that lands right between the Brazilian’s eyes, allowing her to slip free. Charlie doesn't hesitate to go on the offensive, clamping on a Front Facelock then throwing herself backwards to spike Maria’s head into the mat with a DDT.
DDT:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv4gBuDXARw
Alves remains face-down after the impact, covering her head with both hands while beating her feet against the canvas. Rather than go for a pin, Dawson drops to a seat on the small of her back, tucks her left ankle under an armpit, and leans back into a Single-leg Crab.
Relatively unaccustomed to pro-style holds, Maria fails to squelch a pained yelp as she feels the pressure in her spine and hip. Nevertheless she quickly regains control of herself and begins crawling her way to edge of the ring, relieved that the ropes offered an avenue of escape that would not have existed on the judo mats. Using both arms and one leg, she keeps a steady pace in spite of the weight of her opponent on her back and the “TAP TAP TAP!” chants of the crowd, and soon she’s able to grasp the bottom cable in her hand.
“Guess who’s getting her ass wrestled off NOW?!” Charlie exclaims jubilantly after she releases her hold and retreats to the other side of the ring.
“My delicate sensibilities have been offended by your vulgar, hurtful insult,” Maria groans, slowly getting to her feet. “You are a most dastardly villain, Charlie Dawson.”
The blonde doesn’t know how to respond to such accusations, so she decides to let her actions to the talking for her. She dashes at her still gimpy opponent, only to swerve away at the last moment before contact in order to leap onto the middle turnbuckle adjacent to the Brazilian. She takes flight again a moment later, twisting mid-leap to secure a Three Quarters Facelock on Maria, and the assembled fans collectively gasp and hold their breaths as it seems that the Upstart-in-Training is just fractions of a second away from hitting her Charlie Cutter finishing move.
CHARLIE CUTTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdjOQ8NHZ1A
It was not to be, however, as the judoka quickly wraps both arms around Charlie’s waist, preventing her from dropping to the mat and completing the maneuver. Alves spins in a half circle towards the middle of the ring to maintain her own balance, and then she pops her hips and arches backwards to slam the Dawson’s shoulders and spine into the deck with a wicked Ura-nage that draws a few cheers, the crowd impressed by the move despite their affection for the ragdolled blonde.
URA-NAGE:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=4s_dYqMDIkw
Charlie bounces from the booming impact and tumbles head-over-heels, coming to a rest with her back propped up against the bottom rope at the the edge of the ring. She groans weakly, the harsh landing having taken the wind out of her sails, and the referee quickly steps in front of her, both to check on her condition and to shield her from any subsequent attack until she has at least five seconds to recover. Charlie assures the man that she’s able to continue despite the lingering wobble in her legs as she hauls herself upright, and then she begins to stagger towards her opponent.
Maria, however, merely holds up a hand in a placating gesture, apparently not ready to resume the action just yet.
“I must admit, you are better than I anticipated. You are actually quite…quite...” Alves' brow creases, as if she’s deep in thought, and she falls silent for a long pause.
“...I am sorry, Charlie. This new language bedevils my tongue and I cannot think of the right word...” she finally says.
“‘...Good?’” Dawson tentatively offers, but the Brazilian immediately rejects the suggestion with a shake of her head.
“No. No, that is not it. ‘Good’ is too lofty of a compliment,” Maria says thoughtfully while stroking her chin. “FAR too lofty…”
Charlie narrows her eyes in irritation at the brunette’s haughty dismissal of her skills and growls, “Okay, if --”
“No, not ‘okay’ either,” Alves blithely interrupts, either unaware or uncaring of her opponent’s frustration. “‘Okay’ implies a consistent level of mediocrity. What do you call one who is typically ‘abysmal’ except for the rare moments of inspiration in which she rises to the level of merely ‘awful?’ I am very embarrassed, I just recently learned the perfect term for this, but now it appears I have forgotten...”
Charlie launches herself at her opponent with a battlecry, although her babyfaced good looks and normally cheerful demeanor sabotage her attempt at appearing fearsome. She tries to tackle the Brazilian to the mat with a Lou Thesz Press, but when she leaps at Maria’s chest the judoka counters by cradling both arms under her thighs, boosting her even higher into the air before falling back and splattering her into the deck with a Flapjack Facebuster.
FLAPJACK FACEBUSTER:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czm5nbmQy0
Dawson’s hands instinctively shoot to her face, and she’s too stunned to roll clear before the brunette straddles her lower back, leans forward, and traps her arms in a Full Nelson. She squeals and wails when Maria roughly scrubs and scrapes her face against the abrasive canvas, the judoka ignoring the referee’s warnings until he begins counting. After a four-count and half a dozen back-and-forths across the mat, Alves finally relents and the official forces her to retreat to a safe distance.
After taking a moment to ensure that her nose is still attached and well-aligned, Charlie gets to her feet and approaches Maria much more carefully than before, trying to cut off any angles of escape while slowly backing Alves into a corner. Dawson is just about about to engage with an Elbow and Collar when the brunette suddenly yells, forcing her to take a startled hop backwards.
“KYLIE SANDERS!” Maria triumphantly shouts. “The term I was thinking of is ‘Kylie Sanders!’ Yes indeed, Charlie Dawson, you are very much like a young Kylie Sanders.”
There had been a time not too long ago when Charlie would have been flattered and honored to be mentioned alongside the erstwhile Pleasant Valley Princess. Nowadays, however, any comparison to the infamous turncoat currently known as Vanilla Chill makes Dawson sick to her stomach, and she glares daggers at her opponent.
“You were mildly amusing, Charlie, but I fear our time is at an end,” Maria says with a shrug before beckoning her opponent forward. “Come on then, time to do what you do best.”
Dawson didn't have to be asked twice, storming into the breach with a shout of, “What I do best is pinning smart-alec assholes like you!”
Charlie tries to lock up with the Brazilian, but rather than engage directly, Maria turns her back and in the same motion reaches both hands over her right shoulder to grasp the straps on the blonde’s top. The judoka explosively thrusts her hips backwards while yanking forward and down with her arms, thus flipping the American over her shoulder and onto the mat with a textbook Seoi-nage.
At least that was the plan. The Earth’s gravitational hold on Charlie proves to be stronger than the straps on her top, and all Maria succeeds in doing is stripping Dawson topless while the blonde herself remains rooted to her spot on the mat. Time seems to freeze as everyone in the building needs a few seconds to mentally process this surprising development, and then all at once everything lurches into motion again. The crowd showers the pair of wrestlers with catcalls and wolf whistles, Charlie covers her breasts with an arm as she turns beet red, and Maria is left fumbling with the torn remains of Dawson’s top.
“That was not my intention,” Alves mutters as she tries and fails to tie the garment back together. “I am not a barbarian who strips my opponents for cheap thrills. I only wanted to drop you on your head and give you a concussion, or perhaps break your neck.”
If Charlie is listening to anything the Brazilian is saying, she gives no sign of it as she wordlessly opens and closes her mouth, lips quivering and eyes welling. She had been shorn of her top before in a match against Georgie Lawson, but that had been after the bell and Sammie Sinclair had come to the rescue with a spare shirt. Now, the Little Sparrow is nowhere in sight, and with the match still live, Dawson would be expected to continue wrestling even in her state of undress.
“Do not fret, Charlie Dawson,” Maria says in a calm, soothing voice. “Your breasts are small and unremarkable, and I am sure they will fade from memory as soon as the next garish act of fornication occurs in this ring.”
“You're not making me feel better!” Charlie snaps.
Alves rolls her eyes, sighs, and tries a different approach.
“You will be more popular this way. The wrestlers with the most fans are also the wrestlers with the least clothes. Or at least that is what the wardrobe department said when they refused to give me pants,” she says while gesturing to her own bare legs and feet.
When that still doesn't cheer Dawson up, Maria is left with no other recourse. Not saying another word, she removes her own gi-styled tunic, pulling it up over her head as it does not actually open in front like a jacket. True to the wardrobe department’s wisdom, FAWNatics cheer once more as the Brazilian exposes more of her olive skin, now wearing only a black two piece bikini. Alves hands the garment to a very surprised Charlie, and then she motions for the referee to come over so that the two of them may form a human wall to shield the blonde from prying eyes and cameras.
Maria literally giving her opponent the shirt off her back leaves Charlie blinking back tears, clearly moved by the gesture. The blonde wordlessly mouths a ‘Thank you’ before she slips into the tunic, and then she embraces the Brazilian in a hug to cheers from the audience, although there are more than a few in the crowd who are disappointed that Dawson’s breasts are no longer on display.
“I was wrong about you, Maria,” Charlie whispers. “I thought you were just a bitch in sheep’s clothing, but you're aaaaAAAAHHHH NGH!”
Maria doesn't allow her opponent to finish the sentiment as she grabs the lapels of the faux-gi, spins, and yanks. Alves' tunic is far sturdier than Dawson’s bikini top, and this time the judoka succeeds in flipping Charlie over her shoulder and spiking the crown of the blonde’s head into the deck.
SEIO-NAGE:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=oc7fJXv4A4E
A dreadful shiver runs through Dawson’s body, the impact of the Seio-nage leaving her briefly stuck upside-down like a lawn dart before crumpling to the mat.
“Apology accepted, Charlie,” Maria says through a beaming smile as she covers for a pin.
ONE!
TWO!
THRNOOOO!
Charlie shudders and brings a shoulder a fraction of an inch off the mat to break the pin. Maria regards the referee with a cocked eyebrow, though she does not argue further when the official silently holds up two fingers rather than three.
Rising to her feet and adjusting her bikini top to avoid inadvertently exposing her own modest assets, Alves claims hold of Dawson’s left ankle and lifts the captive limb off the mat. She steps over with her left leg, planting her foot next to the blonde’s right hip, and then she throws herself into a forward roll. Both wrestlers go into a tumble and end up on their backs in the center of the ring, Charlie’s left leg scissored between Maria’s while the tip of her boot is tucked under the brunette's left arm.
“AWWWWW GAAAAAWWWWWD!” Dawson screeches when Alves starts pushing on her left heel, putting joint-shredding torque on both her ankle and knee with a devastating Rolling Heel Hook.
ROLLING HEEL HOOK:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=YsuMiPZy2io
Charlie’s anguished wail is so heartbreaking that the referee immediately asks for her submission, and though she can't help but scream in agony, the blonde still firmly shakes her head ‘No.’ Unfortunately, her resistance only prompts Maria to increase the pressure, as Alves gives her captured foot another savage twist.
“I suggest you submit, Charlie,” Maria calmly advises. “Otherwise you might soon find yourself crippled and limited to wrestling in the Paralympics.”
Regardless of the threat, Dawson continues to brave the agony, inching her way towards the ropes by dragging herself on her elbows and kicking against the mat with her free leg. Her efforts are significantly hampered, however, when the judoka neutralizes her right leg as well by planting a foot in the pit of her knee and pushing, thereby pinning Charlie’s right thigh against her abdomen and stomach and rendering that leg unable to assist in her jailbreak. Still several feet away from the nearest set of ropes, Dawson holds on for another ten seconds before deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, electing to fight -- and to walk -- another day.
“I GIVE! I GIIIIIIIIVE!” the blonde plaintively wails while she slaps her hand against Alves’ leg.
Maria gives one final Forget-Me-Not twist, earning a shriek from her opponent and boos from the audience just as the bell sounds, and then she releases her hold without further ado. She gets to her feet and gives another stiff bow to the vanquished, sobbing Charlie, who’s too busy holding her ravaged knee and ankle to pay much attention to anything the Brazilian is doing.
“I being humorous when I implied that I would cripple you and reduce you to a Paralympics wrestler,” Maria says politely. “There is, of course, no such thing as a Paralympics wrestler! Do you understand the levity in what I said, Charlie? Do you?”
When the blonde still does not respond with anything other than a few stifled sobs, Alves sighs, “Your sense of humor is sorely lacking, Charlie Dawson.”
With that said, Maria gracefully slips out of the ring just as the ring announcer officially proclaims her the winner of the match, and she starts padding back up the entrance ramp. She’s about halfway up the walkway when a small medical team hustles past her going the other way, and then she stops and turns on her heels. She watches the EMTs clamber into the ring tend to Dawson for a few moments, and then she starts nonchalantly strolling towards her opponent again.
“Is anything broken?” Maria asks one of the men who is helping Charlie onto a gurney.
“No, nothing an ice pack and a whole lot of ibuprofen won’t fix,” the EMT reassures.
“Hmm… then I should use more pressure…” Alves muses to herself before addressing her foe, “Hey, Charlie?”
“...what?” Dawson softly sniffles.
“This is mine.”
Maria grabs the bottom of the tunic that Charlie is still wearing and gives a hard yank, causing the blonde to fall from the gurney to the floor while stripping the garment up and over Dawson’s head to leave her topless once more. Having retrieved her ringwear, Alves turns and heads up the entranceway once more, this time not stopping to regard either her opponent or the jeering crowd.