Description: In Tiffany's home town, she challenges the current holder of the Western Pro Belt. Can she stand up to the mysterious Widow, or has she fallen right into the wrestler's web?! (Winner: Widow)
==*== DRAGON ARENA, SUNSHINE CITY ==*==
The Dragon Arena in Sunshine City isn't quite as iconic a venue as some - not as grandiose as the Slam Masters Arena, certainly. Nevertheless, it is here that the Circuit of Champions' Western Pro title holder, the mysterious wrestler known as the Black Widow, has elected to defend the belt against its latest challenger. Why, one might ask, would a wrestler with a history with the CWA choose to defend the belt here, rather than the Slam Masters Arena?
This very question was asked earlier today in a phone interview with the Black Widow by a local radio station (98.9 PUNCH! FM), in fact. The Widow's answer?
"Simple. If the young upstart Ms. Lords wishes to be humiliated at my hands, I think it's only appropriate that I do so in front of her friends and family. It's more memorable that way."
The disparaging remark may have worked against the Widow, as a good number of listeners have turned up in the hopes of seeing the local heroine defeat the Widow.
The only response given to Tiffany herself when the challenge was issued was a text message saying 'Dragon Arena. Be in the ring at 7 PM.' There are plenty of crew members from the PFW franchise around to organize things and direct the challenger, of course, but the Widow has not yet been seen...
Being in the ring at 7:00 is no trouble for Tiffany; once she tells her father, he's already made the travel arrangements, cancelled his appointments, and gotten himself, his wife, his secretary, and three members of his board ringside seats at Dragon Arena. Tiffany Lords is nothing if not impossibly spoiled.
Tiffany, for her part, arrives exactly on time; she strides out to the ring at 6:59:00, giving the crowd pleasant waves and a big, bright expression on her face. Clad in the Pacific High cheerleading uniform that she's chosen as her look for public fights, she tugs one boxing glove on, then the other, rolling under the bottom ring rope and kipping up to her feet in the challenger's corner.
... aren't champions supposed to be more punctual than this?
The audience is already starting to grow a bit restless by the time that 7:00 PM rolls around, but they give the contender a cheer in greeting. A ring announcer, microphone in hand, looks to the tech crew for guidance. Then, putting on a smile for the audience as well, he steps toward center ring. The spotlights over the arena follow him, gleaming brightly as the other lights over the seating areas begin to dim.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome, this evening, to the Circuit of Champions Western Professional title bout, brought to you by Professional Fighting Worldwide! I'm sure that our champion will be entering the ring shortly, but in the meantime, allow me to introduce the contender! From right here in Sunshine City, it's Ms. Tiffany - "
Suddenly, the overhead spotlight cuts out, leaving the arena completely dark. The announcer pauses, apparently taken aback, as the crowd seem to be as well. Then, a couple of seconds later, the speakers cut in with something terrible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYBYVVIivBo#t=166
A black metal version of "You Are My Sunshine" plays over the speakers. The singer croaks all the way through to "Please don't take my sunshine away~" before the track switches suddenly and the Chorus of the Deftones' 'Change (In the House of Flies) is blaring over the sound system.
I watched a change in you
It's like you never had wings
Now you feel so alive
I've watched you change~
As the second song kicks in, the lights raise over the ring, this time in a blue tint, and Black Widow is standing on the ring post opposite Tiffany, facing the crowd. When the initial shock has worn off, a chorus of boos rain down on the champion.
Once the chorus is done, Widow flips backward off of the ringpost, landing on both hands and stretching both legs out in an odd display of flexibility before walking hand-over-hand to center ring, rolling over to a seated position on the mat with both legs still extended in a split position, then bringing them together and slithering up to a standing position in front of Tiffany.
Looming over the boxing cheerleader by a whole foot, the Black Widow smirks slightly, muscular arms folded across the front of the dark blue full-body costume.
"You're all on time. Good. I'd hate for any of you to miss the Black Widow pulling the wings off of another hopeful young fly."
The Widow's sing-song voice plays over the PA system, allowing everyone in the audience to hear - apparently the wrestler's costume includes a microphone somewhere. The announcer, for the moment, looks a bit uncertainly between the two contestants, before subtly offering the microphone toward Tiffany.
It's usually pretty difficult to get into Tiffany's head -- but this /definitely/ does it; when that dark music plays, she shrinks into her corner a little, leaning against the ringpost. She knows, on some level, that this is poor tactics... but she can't exactly control her reaction here.
When the Widow appears, Tiffany's stance gets a /little/ less cowed -- if she can see the strange wrestler, after all, she can fight -- but not completely. She draws up to her full height slowly, walking toward the center of the ring and locking eyes with the wrestler in the costume.
When she's offered the microphone, she takes it -- and /now/ she can really get her head back into it. "Don't act like I'm going to be easy pickings just 'cuz I only got cleared for this challenge a couple weeks ago!" Tiffany demands, before tossing the microphone rather unceremoniously back to the announcer.
The audience rapidly realizes the implications of the statement -- and while they're definitely still rooting for Tiffany... there's a faint hint of dread in the audience's muted cheering, now. This girl is cruising, most thoroughly, for at least one (1) bruising.
That doesn't seem to register to /her/, though; she stands tall, arms up and ready to block at a moment's notice, gaze still resting on the Widow. Unnerving entrance or no... she's ready to fight.
As Tiffany retorts, the Widow's smirk - the only visible aspect of the masked wrestler's expression - slowly broadens. As the cheerleader rises to her full height, the Widow sinks down to match it, hunching over in a bestial manner and swaying slightly and erratically, hands held out to either side. The announcer takes the Widow's silence as a cue to finish introducing the match.
"As I was saying!! The challenger, Miss Tiffany Lords!"
The crowd cheer loudly for Tiffany as the announcer extends an arm toward her, then sweeps it back across toward the masked wrestler.
"And the defending champion - from Hanover, Germany - the Black Widow!"
Most of the cheers turn to boos in reference to the champion, although there are always some who will laud the spectacle itself - and perhaps the Widow even has a few fans. In any case, the smirk remains drawn across the Widow's lips.
"And without further ado, count with me, folks! Three... two... one... FIGHT!"
The moment the bell sounds, the Black Widow springs into action, charging the blonde boxer and dropping into a hard sliding kick, momentum carrying the Widow's extended leg toward Tiffany's legs.
COMBATSYS: Widow has started a fight here.
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Widow 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Tiffany has joined the fight here.
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Tiffany 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Widow
COMBATSYS: Tiffany blocks Widow's Light Kick.
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Tiffany 0/-------/------<|-------\-------\0 Widow
Tiffany ducks low immediately; at first it had been with intent to come in for one of her signature techniques, but now it's simply to defend herself. Elbows meet leg -- and while it stings, Tiffany manages to hang on to her stance and most of her defense. "Oof -- seems like you're really serious about this!" she says, staggering back just a little.
This could get messy fast, she thinks; Widow almost certainly has her beat on raw speed, and probably on offense, too. But she can't just try to keep herself defended until she can pick a spot, either... something has to give. Hopefully, she thinks, it'll be the Widow's /defenses/. With that in mind, she finds herself with an idea.
Her stance switches again, back to 'tall;' it looks like, despite that initial stumbling, she's ready to go on the offense. Moving back a bit more, Tiffany throws herself into a forward cartwheel. Her legs slam down on the hopefully-still-low Widow, trying to hammer through the champion's defenses as thoroughly as possible.
COMBATSYS: Widow blocks Tiffany's Groovy Wheel.
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Tiffany 0/-------/-----<<|=------\-------\0 Widow
While the Widow's slide does put her at a height disadvantage against the boxer's retaliation, the wrestler is used to fighting in such situations. One arm comes up to intercept the strike, legs pounding against muscle. Still, the impact is enough to knock the wrestler back along the mat. A quick backward roll brings the Black Widow back to its feet.
"I see you don't limit yourself to using those ridiculous gloves. Good."
The Widow's voice is still an odd sing-song, that smirk ever-present. In a moment, the spider-like fighter is back on the offensive, crouching low and trying to slip around Tiffany's guard in an attempt to lock the Widow's powerful arms around the blonde's waist and lift her off the mat before slamming her back on her head and neck with a powerful suplex.
COMBATSYS: Tiffany fails to interrupt Spiderplex from Widow with Groovy Knuckle.
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Tiffany 0/-------/=======|==-----\-------\0 Widow
After having her gloves called ridiculous, Tiffany is most eager to put them to good use; unfortunately, rather than pay any meaningful dividends, this gets her a good, solid drubbing. She ducks low, trying to meet that attempt at grabbing her with a spinning backfist -- but she's just a /little/ too late on the draw for that one, and rather than interrupting the incoming grab, she practically presents herself for it.
The suplex completes, the Lords heiress slammed back down on her head and neck; she cries out in pain -- partially genuine, and partially for the sake of the crowd -- as she's sent down to the canvas.
She doesn't get up for a good, healthy while... but is she /hurting/, or is she trying to work the crowd?
The Black Widow circles its prey steadily as the blonde remains down on the mat, knees bent and shoulders rolling. The crowd begins to grow tense as the Widow's aggression relents, the wrestler seemingly waiting for something. Then, after a moment, the Widow stands fully upright, resting one hand on a hip and sneering.
"Oh, come now. Don't tell me that you can't get up. Even a fly wouldn't be crushed so easily!"
As the Widow speaks, one palm held upward and open, white energy begins to coalesce above the hand, taking on the shape of an eight-legged arachnid.
"If you're not going to stand on your own, perhaps I should offer some assistance!"
With that, the chi spider is flung at Tiffany. Should it connect, the chi would prove to have an oddly adhesive property - once attached, it would pull back toward the Widow, stretching into the shape of a spider's web.
"If you are worthy to share this ring, then come to me!!"
COMBATSYS: Widow successfully hits Tiffany with Tarantula Net.
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Tiffany 1/---====/=======|===----\-------\0 Widow
Pulled up from her slow attempt at standing with that spider-like chi, Tiffany -- sure enough -- is drawn to the spider, held fast. Straining against the webbing, she takes a few solid moments before she can actually do anything, and pulls something almost immediately; nothing for it, she thinks -- she just has to keep fighting into it.
"Nnnghhh..." she groans, through gritted teeth. "Shut /up/ already! Stop talking!" She clenches her fist tightly, finally getting all the way out of the web and getting herself ready to fight again.
Her eyes narrowed, Tiffany decides to start her comeback with a quick boxer's series; it's nothing that impressive -- just two quick jabs, and then a body blow -- but it's a start. Pacing, after all, is just as important as power.
COMBATSYS: Widow interrupts Medium Punch from Tiffany with Rising Cutter.
- Power hit! -
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Tiffany 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|===----\-------\0 Widow
There is a moment, as Tiffany is coming at Widow, where the smirk disappears from the wrestler's expression. It would seem as though, perhaps, the Widow is heeding Tiffany's instructions, remaining almost oddly silent and stooping low as the boxer comes in. Subtly, one of the Widow's fists clenches as a shoulder is turned into the jab series -
And then, abruptly, the smirk reappears.
The Widow's fist drives suddenly upward, smashing into Tiffany's ribs from below as the wrestler's entire crouched frame uncoils into the counterattack. The rising uppercut brings the Widow to its full height, then further into the air, launching upward several feet and carrying the boxer aloft as well.
As Widow reaches the apex of the flight, the spider twists in the air before spiralling back to the ring's floor, landing in a crouch, one hand planted on the mat. A faint intake of breath is discernible on the Widow's figure. Turning to face Tiffany, the Widow remains silent.
That smirk is still there.
No one would fault Tiffany, probably, if she threw in the towel at this point; she's lost control of the fight entirely and she knows it. The tone of the crowd has been steadily falling off into boos -- not 'if Punk loses we riot' boos, not yet, but it's pretty bad.
The uppercut has her laid out on one side of the ring... but she manages to get back to her feet at the count of seven. Her fists, inside her gloves, clench tight; she locks eyes with the Widow, still not giving in despite the fact that she really /should/.
Stepping up toward Widow, she ducks low, popping up with a bright, chi-laced spinning back knuckle; her momentum carries her around a second time, a third, a fourth, each punch brighter than the last! And should she manage to land them...!
COMBATSYS: Tiffany successfully hits Widow with Groovy Special.
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Tiffany 1/-------/<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Widow
Pinwheeling that arm and building up a veritable array of sparkles, Tiffany smashes it forward with full force, aiming to blast that smirk off of Widow's face completely with a jaw-jacking, chi-laced punch!
Widow's body swings into Tiffany's path, the wrestler crouching low so that the blue mask is level with the blonde cheerleader's own face. That smirk remains fixed as the Widow's hands hover at either side, seemingly in anticipation of defending against the incoming assault. But then, they just... stay there. Even as the first knuckle shot swings low into the Widow's midsection, the wrestler seems to make no move to defend. Punch after punch slams into the Black Widow's body, the force enough to steadily drive the wrestler back with each strike. And yet, that smirk remains on the Widow's face...
Right until Tiffany's glove sparkles as she winds up for another punch.
The blow sends the Black Widow flying into the ring ropes, the cords stretching and tugging at the posts as they struggle to keep the wrestler in the ring. And then, the Widow is launched back toward Tiffany, the arachnoid fighter lowering a shoulder into a dash. One hand reaches out, aiming to grab a handful of blonde hair and drag Tiffany along to the opposite end of the ring before forcing her neck against the top rope, choking her.
The Widow is no longer smirking - instead, a trickle of blood runs down the wrestler's exposed chin.
COMBATSYS: Tiffany interrupts Choke Hold from Widow with Beautiful Spin EX.
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Tiffany 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Widow
Now that Tiffany has her opponent's measure, she intends to take advantage of it for all it's worth; she's scared, but she can't afford to /play/ scared. She has to take the Widow seriously -- there's a reason the wrestler has come to the absolute top of the heap as the champion of this bracket of fighters -- but she can't shrink away, either!
Ducking low, she weaves her hair out of the reach of the arachnoid competitor, and once /again/ she spins around; this time, though, it's an upward-springing spin, feet first, that plows through that grab attempt and into the wrestler's midsection. She's at least shoved a little bit off course, and bounces off the ropes when she lants -- but for the most part, she's no worse off than she was going into the attack.
"C'mon -- is that the best you got?" she says, suddenly feeling herself again. "Let's -- let's do this!" She gives a wave to the crowd, but doesn't take her eyes off Widow for a second.
The cheerleader's spinning kick catches the wrestler off-guard, sending the Widow to the mat and apparently driving the wind out of the Western champion. A couple of seconds after, the Widow flips back onto its feet, breathing through parted lips, sculpted chest heaving slightly. The wrestler's tongue flicks across the lower lip, sweeping away the blood trail there. And then, that smirk is back.
"The best I've got?"
Widow sneers.
"Normally, I wouldn't waste such efforts, but since you asked!"
Abruptly, the Black Widow is engulfed in a faint, pale glow before darting toward Tiffany, attempting to embrace the girl by locking both arms around her own to pin them at her sides and lift her off the mat.
Should the Widow succeed, Tiffany would be carried high into the air above the ring as the wrestler launches skyward before inverting together at the peak of the jump. The Black Widow would then, with gravity's assistance and an explosion of chi energy, drive the girl back to the mat headfirst.
COMBATSYS: Widow successfully hits Tiffany with Vortex Fall.
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Tiffany 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|==-----\-------\0 Widow
It turns out, the best Widow has is too much for Tiffany to handle. Wrapped up and carried up into the air, Tiffany hits the mat hard; she takes the bump miserably, the explosion of chi serving only to punctuate a loss already well-locked-in.
The count might as well be to a hundred; Tiffany lies there after the tremendous hit, unmoving. If Widow wants to go for a pinfall victory, there's nothing stopping the wrestler from doing so; there's nothing stopping Widow from going for a ring-out rather than a failure to answer the count, either. The Lords heiress, for the most part, lies there like a puppet with its strings cut, after a blow like that.
Her father has already stormed out, no doubt to throw a tantrum at the organizers about whether his darling daughter was even cut out for this level of competition.
COMBATSYS: Tiffany takes no action.
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Widow 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Tiffany can no longer fight.
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Widow 0/-------/-----==|
Rolling away as the impact of the driving attack shakes the ring, Black Widow ends up in an upright standing position. The crowd is silent as the girl lies still in the middle of the ring; the referee looks to the Widow, as if waiting for something.
"I'm not going to pin her. She's a boxer. You can all count to ten, can't you?"
Despite, or perhaps because of the Widow's provocation, the hometown crowd refuses to join in as the referee starts the count. Instead, they opt to boo for the champion, even before the referee signals for the bell to end the match. Once he does, the Widow walks over to Tiffany's prone form, leaning low and speaking where the crowd cannot hear. "Your spinning is impressive, but you'll need to work on your weaving if you want to match mine."
With that, the wrestler slips out of the ring, heading down the aisle in the direction of the locker rooms amidst the boos filling the Dragon Arena.
Log created on 18:48:07 01/07/2015 by Tiffany, and last modified on 13:33:38 01/08/2015.