[Callista]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19d2yTDKAGM

It started with a 90s trance beat, repetitive and pulsating, until about thirty seconds in, the synthed keyboard sounds that had long been a staple of J-Pop came in. 15 seconds later, the So the old bitch had done it, had she? Gotten someone from abroad to come in and try and knock me off my perch. Whoever it was would have known specifically what she was about, and would be prepared. My lips thinned as I looked grimly towards the stage.

The lyrics, fast and sung, went by too quickly for my relatively modest ability with the language to translate. Something about pain and tears, I thought that last bit was. I had bigger issues than linguistics, however. Whoever my opponent was had walked out onto the stage, but the lights pulled away from her. I was pretty sure it was a her, though, as she didn't seem very tall.

I squinted, unconsciously stepping forward, pressing my chest up against the top rope as I tried to see. When the spotlight realigned onto the woman on stage, I could see that it was...it was...what the fu-

RP: What the fu-
LvK: Careful, Rick! You know our producer threatened to take workman's comp if we strained his thumb with the bleeping button.
RP: C'mon, this can't possibly be Callista's opponent.
LvK: I don't see anyone else coming down that aisle.
RP: I do. That guy with the camera.
LvK: That's our cameraman.
RP: Still probably a better choice than-

Shizuko Fukumitsu. My opponent was Shizuko bloody Fukumitsu. I hadn't personally known a lot of the people in FTW beforehand when I first came here, but I certainly made sure to check them out afterwards. (That mistake with Rowan proved Gemma and Megan's “intelligence” was as reliable as an estate agent.)

I'd checked with a few American contacts about Shizuko, but none had heard of her. I checked my Japanese sources as well. Most there hadn't heard of her either, but the few that had all seemed to share some combination of the same words: “incompetent”, and “idiotic”. The Japanese, such a reserved people with their opinions, rarely spoke so bluntly. Their assessments had suggested to me that she was not worth my time. In her only match I'd seen her in, she'd been badly outclassed by Emily Layne.

And now I was to defend my title against her. My title. Of course. My jaw tightened as I realised how I'd been played. Of course. My first title defence, my first match with the gold for anyone too cheap to spring for the pay-per-view (and too dumb to find an illegal stream) would be against a blatantly unworthy competitor. And if I looked the slightest bit weak against her, I would look an undeserving champion. More so than the previous night with Sadie's interference.

That last wouldn't be totally unacceptable, but still. The plan was one thing. Pride was another. The crowd was booing as Shizuko slid under the ropes. They knew she wasn't a worthy challenger either, and didn't care for being toyed with, like that. That COULD be a problem. Hm. What to do?

Shizuko's music ended. She was wearing a lime green halter top, matching boots laced up to just below her knees, and a matching short skirt over white briefs, held in place by a slim black leather belt. She faced me, bowed formally...and struck a pose that was from no school of either wrestling or martial arts that I recognised. She shouted in Japanese “<YOU WILL FALL BEFORE ME!>”

The bell rang, but my brow raised at this confidence from Shizuko. Confidence that would seem unwarranted, really. Something wasn't right here. I needed more data. I moved to the middle of the ring and snapped to attention, hands at my sides, bowing in Shizuko's direction, not taking my eyes off of her as I did, before replying with one of the phrases I had memorised for my own journeys in Japan. “<I respect you and your traditions, but I will battle you with all my strength this night.>”

Shizuko's eyes widened in surprise. Clearly she didn't expect Japanese from me. She shouted back, “HAI!”

My brow arched at that. That phrase had garnered varied reactions in Japan, most commonly grudging acknowledgement of the respect shown, or occasionally offence that I'd dared to sully their language with my foreign tongue, but I'd never had “yes” shouted back at me. I took a chance, delving into the more touristy phrases I'd learned. Stepping casually towards Shizuko,  “<Do you think the volcano will erupt today?>”

“Hai!” Shizuko replied confidently, if oddly, given the dearth of volcanic activity in the Carolinas.

“<Are you the hotel maid?>”

Shizuko paused at this. “Hai?” she answered tentatively.

I stepped forward and leaned towards the girl, saying quietly, in English, “You don't know a bit of Japanese, do you girl?” Shizuko squirmed uncomfortably. “Where are you really from?”

“Los Ang-” she started to say before she was cut off by my forearm slamming up into her chin, sending her reeling back to the corner.

[Callista]

RP: Ha! Callista really suckered her in, there!
LvK: It would be too much to expect a fair beginning.
RP: Fair is for losers, van Keel. Callista is always thinking.

My thoughts were more base than Rick Perle might have imagined just then as I pounded wildly on Shizuko. 'Miserable' *punch* 'little' *punch* 'Spanish' *chop* 'bitch!' *uppercut* Shizuko slumped backward into the corner under my assault. I simply grabbed hold of the top rope with both hands and began stomping at the petite, as it turned out, American.

A voice permeated my rage as I stomped away, “Three! Four!” I stepped back, lifting my hands as I did, the referee admonishing me to get the fight out of the corner. I promptly obliged her, grabbing hold of Shizuko's legs and pulling her back away from the corner. She tried to hold onto the middle rope, but all this led to was her getting dumped back onto the mat when her grip failed.

I pulled her back into the centre of the ring before dropping down to my knees and wailing away at her with my fists once again. I'd started the match against Layne like this, all blood and thunder, but that had been part of a strategy. There was no strategy in this. All I wanted was for La Santa to feel just a tiny bit of my wrath in the form of the devastation I was going to unleash upon her ill-prepared surrogate.

And at that, I smiled. There was a better way to do that. I stood up. Shizuko was still reeling from my early assault, so I was able to reach down and pick up her left foot with no resistance. Lifting the leg up, I jumped a bit, bringing my leg forward and giving a kick-slash-stomp to Shizuko's left hamstring with my right boot. Shizuko wriggled on the mat, trying to free her leg, but I tucked the toes of her boot under my right arm, pressing that arm tightly to my side and letting myself drop down onto my back, wrapping my legs around Shizuko's.

LvK: She's got the heel hook locked in!
RP: That's the Callista I know and worship!
LvK: Yeah, I've seen the shrine. It's, uh...
RP: That hold torques the ankle AND potentially hyper-extends the knee as well.

The ref leaned over and asked Shizuko if she wanted to give. Thankfully the answer was no, because I wasn't done by a long stretch. Shizuko thrashed a bit, which wasn't doing anything useful for her, but it allowed me to chain into my next move, as I rolled to my right, turning both myself and Shizuko over so we were facing downward.

I still had her leg pinned under me, so I pressed down hard onto her ankle, using that point as a fulcrum to lever my feet up under me. Standing again, still with a grip on Shizuko's ankle, I lifted her leg up off of the mat, pulling a good part of her lower body up with it, before pushing down hard, sending her kneecap hard into the canvas. Shizuko rolled to her right, clutching at her knee. I took a couple steps back, sized her up and took a quick step forward, driving the instep of my boot into her back.

RP: GOOOOOOOO-
LvK: Stop.
RP: You never let me have any fun.
LvK: Shizuko Fukumitsu not having any fun either as Callista shoves her with her feet, rolling her under the ropes and off of the apron.

With Shizuko having been unceremoniously dumped onto the floor, I took a moment to remind everyone in attendance of something important. I held my arms out to the side and shouted, “BOW TO YOUR QUEEN!” lifting my head and basking in the booing that followed like it was pure adulation.

That done with, I climbed through the ropes, dropping down to the floor and reaching for Shizuko. She was trying to push herself up off of the ground, which made it more convenient for me to reach around her waist and lift her up off of the floor.

RP: This could be the gutwrench power bomb that she used to defeat Sadie Davis!
LvK: It might be, but I'm not sure there's room outside the ring to...oh no, she wouldn't.
RP: Yes she would.
LvK: Yes she would.

Yes I would. I lifted Shizuko up and hurled her over, sending her legs crashing into the edges of the steel ring steps. Shizuko sat up, eyes and mouth both wide open, though no sound came out of the latter. “Here,” I said, striking up a dialogue I expected would be largely mine to continue. “Let me help you up.”

I reached down, reaching around her waist from behind with my right hand and getting my left under her left leg. I straightened her up, getting her up to the level of my head, before dropping the back of her thighs across the guardrail, sending her tumbling back onto the floor at my feet. On the plus side, she'd managed to find her voice, though it was mostly just moaning and crying in pain or something.

The ref had reached the count of eight, so I rolled myself under the bottom rope and into the ring before rolling myself right back out again, breaking the count. The ref admonished me to bring the match into the ring, which I intended on doing anyway (ish). I picked Shizuko up off of the ground and set her on the apron next to the corner.

Pulling her left leg around the ring post, (and giving a tug on her legs, bringing her into undoubtedly unpleasantly firm contact with said post, I turned her right ankle in, slipping one leg through hers before kicking up with my other leg and letting my weight drop back.

RP: Ring post Figure Four! We might see a tap right here!
LvK: We might if it weren't an illegal move!
RP: What a stupid rule!

The ref stopped the 10 count to start a five count. At four, I let go of her, dropping onto my back on the floor while Shizuko hugged the ring post, anguish on her face. I assume that if I were capable of pity, I'd be feeling it right now, but since not, I gave Shizuko's leg a kick against the post before rolling back into the ring.

Was my point made? One can never be sure. I stood up, and grabbed a fistful of Shizuko's hair, yanking the sweaty black mane to pull her out of the corner. “Iie! Iie!” Shizuko yelled, possibly attempting to say “No! No!” in Japanese. It wasn't quite correct Japanese, (and it was entirely possible she was just screaming random vowel sounds at this point,) but in any event, I reached down to slap her in the side of the face before rolling her over onto her stomach.

I reached for her left boot, pulling it up back behind her and over my shoulder. I had barely gotten my arm over her ankle to lock the hold in before Shizuko began furiously slapping at the mat. The referee waved to the timekeeper, who proceeded to hit the bell three times, and my music started playing. Charlie Guiteau got off his arse and helpfully intoned “THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH AS A RESULT OF A SUBMISSION...AND STILL FTW CHAMPION...CALLISTAAAAA QUIIIIIIINNNNN!!!”

The ref turned back to raise my hand, only to run into a glare from me, and a snarled “Keep your bloody hand off of me!” The woman flinched, stepping backwards, and I got on with my business. I wasn't going to celebrate. I was going to send a message to someone who badly needed to hear it.

Steadying myself, I pushed up against the mat with my feet, straightening, pulling the screaming Shizuko up with me. Locating the cameraman on the apron, I took a few steps towards him, focusing right into that lens as I set my feet and began to bounce the dangling Shizuko up and down, wrenching at that leg I'd worked since shortly after the match began.

LvK: Enough already! You won the damn match!
RP: And as the winner, she's entitled to do what she likes.
LvK: Where does it say THAT?
RP: You've gotta read your contract closer, van Keel.

The crowd was booing and yelling their heads off and I ignored them. The announcers were tut-tutting about what an awful person I was, (well, one of them,) and I ignored them. The referee was trying to get in my face (not that she was tall enough to) and threatening to disqualify me, and I ignored her. I looked straight into that camera, eyes blazing with hatred and contempt for someone I knew was watching backstage, casually destroying someone's leg because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The referee tugged at Shizuko's leg, trying to free her, but I shook her off. After that, she went back over towards the announce table, explaining. Guiteau looked like he ate some bad sushi, but forced himself to say, “THE REFEREE HAS REVERSED HER DECISION. THE WINNER OF THIS MATCH, SHIZUKO FUKUMITSU!” There were some scattered cheers for that, but most of them were still booing. Me, I just kept staring into that camera, holding onto that leg of Shizuko's, bouncing her up and down...

[BustyTiffany35]

"Here you go, babe. Thought you could use a drink.. Uhm, Tiff?"


A dripping cold water bottle came into view from the corner of my eye, hovering just a few inches from my face. But I paid lil' attention to it, or the pretty raven-haired gal who brought me the drink. Instead, all my attention remained glued to the monitor in my dressing room. On it, the champ was straight torturing her opponent. Besides the noise that emitted from this brutal match, there was another sound that filled the room: My teeth, grinding into each other. My young 'frienemy' sighed softly to herself, retracting the water bottle as she realized I wasn't gonna respond to her. She knew well enough, by the look on my face, and that bright gleaming shade of death in my glare, that I was in my, as she liked to call it, work mode and not a lot was gonna get thru to me.


"Alright, alright, I can read the big F OFF sign stamped on your forehead. I get it.."
 

Anxiously, she adjusted her baseball hat that's never worn properly atop her pretty head and took a mighty long swig of my drink, turning away from me while I continued to watch the monitor. I felt a bit of regret, I mean I didn't mean to ignore her. I was grateful that the kid could make it down here tonight, it meant the world to have her around and support me. It's just this..this, match..no, ya couldn't even call it a match. They should have just tied a blindfold on Shizuko cause this was more like a public execution and Quinn was a one-woman firin' squad. I mean, this was ugly. It was a straight beating, an unfair, undeserved, utterly uncalled for whippin'. And while the brutality unnerved me, there was something else that was really irking me..something that really caught my eye and kept me watching as closely as I am doin' now. Quinn's a real calculating woman, ice-cold, methodical. She plans everything out, she knows exactly what she's doing. There's, something else to this than just senseless violence. Something more. This beating has a meaning behind it. This beating, well, it isn't even a beating at all. It's a message.


“All hail your queen!”


--Callista looked straight into that camera, eyes blazing with hatred and contempt for someone... watching backstage, casually destroying someone's leg because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time...


..kept staring into that camera..


“All hail your queen!”


..holding onto that leg of Shizuko's..


“All hail your queen!”


My eyes narrowed.


Message received.


"Oh, by the way. How's that leg of yours holding up? I seriously can't believe that little bitch suckered ya like that--"


She turned back to me, or rather, turned back to an empty chair and an empty dressing room. The door was wide open. Her widen eyes rolled and she sighed heavily, the startled expression on her face quickly changing to a look of annoyance, and a bit of amusement. Shaking her head, she dropped down into the seat I occupied barely a moment ago and watched the monitor, taking another swig of my drink, expecting to see me there on the screen at any given moment.


Time to respond.

[BustyTiffany35]

The boos were deafening. They rained down onto the ring from all corners of the arena as the fans were whipped into an angered frenzy. They all collectively were shouting and screaming their disapproval at the champ, as she continued to mercilessly destroy that poor gal's leg. Shizuko's pleas and cries could barely be heard, she was starting to lose her voice from all the tormented screaming and agonized wailing. But no matter how much she begged, she would received no mercy from Callista. No amount of begging was going to make Callista stop. So then I'll just have to persuade her to.

It was loud and sudden, booming from the PA like a high-powered explosive. A noise that at first startled the fans, probably because they were so swept up in booing the champ and her callous actions that they didn't have time to recognize these new sounds. But they quickly did, that sound, that music, pumping into the arena, they recognized it, they knew what it was. For the second time in the evening Thunderstruck blared noisily through the arena and instantly those boos turned to loud cheers!

The moment I sped out thru the curtains, racing down the ramp as fast as my banged up leg would allow me to, those cheers became earsplitting!

I was a platinum blur, racing down the ramp, sliding into the ring beneath the bottom rope, and just as my boots planted into the canvas I blitzed Callista. While my theme song blaring loudly throughout the arena easily tipped her off to my arrival, she still had barely enough time to react to my entrance, and just now as turning to face me. Or rather, my boot! Just as the champ let go of her victim and turned away from the camera man, I was there to plant my black boot into her face! The cheers from the fans seemingly became louder as my running boot caught Callista right in the face, causing her to clumsily stagger backward into the corner. I glared at her, that lean body slumped back heavily against the turnbuckles, a dazed look on her flustered face. But while she pretty was out of it, Callista wasn't down. Far from it. Stunned as she may be, she was still up, and looked rather pissed.

I was a bit startled by this. A kick like that would send a lesser gal into next week. But, this was the champ afterall, and ya don't become the champ unless ya can take a punch. Or, rather, a stiff charging boot to the face. I narrowed my eyes at her and licked my lips, my hands tightening up into stone hard fists. I watched her push herself upright, slowly shoving off the corner. She did not looked real pissed, in fact, that look on her face suggested she wanted to hurt me worse than she hurt Shizuko. She blasted outta the corner and charged right at me.

I ducked under her lunging right hand, crouched down and waited for her to turn around. She spun around quickly, practically tripped over her footing and fell into me, and I hoisted her up onto my shoulders, another round of cheers erupting all around us from the rabid fans.

For what this bitch had done to that poor gal, the excruciating pain she caused her, just to draw my attention, to call me out, to insult me? She needed to pay, she needed to be punished. Callista's actions called for swift, unrelenting justice.

I spun the champ around my body, flipped her around me until her back floated above the canvas, arm snaking across her chest as I dipped forward. Then, I drove her, straight down into the mat, dropping her as hard as I possibly could! The sound of her impacting the canvas now filled my ears, but the waves of exuberant cheers from the crowds quickly drowned out the echo of Callista's crashing descent. I glared down at Quinn as she lay on the canvas, gasping for air as her world most likely spun around her. I got up slowly and stood over her, planting both my boots on either side of her waist. For a few moments, I simply glared down at the stunned Callista, watching the pain rush across her face and body, reveling in this moment. Then, slowly, I spread my arms out, thrusting my fists out to either side of me, tilting my head back and posing over the fallen champ while the crowds broke into chants of "TIFF-A-NEE! TIFF-A-NEE! TIFF-A-NEEE!!"

[BustyTiffany35]

With her Doc Martins propped up on the edge of a table, the raven-haired gal in my dressing room idly inspected the Sadie Sings Abba CD in her hands.


"They still make CDs?" She questioned aloud, tilting her head curiously as she stared at the jewel case. Arching a brow, she bemusedly smirked at the cover art, which depicted the singing group posing in white hats against a black backdrop. Only, Sadie Davis' face was photoshopped over each group members' face..


"Hmm..I know this was free and all but I'm sure Tiffy would want a refund."


Nonchalantly she tossed the CD onto the table and glanced back at the monitor, seeing her frienemy standing tall and posing beautifully for the roaring fans after demolishing Callista Quinn.


"I don't even know why the old girl even has that CD..HEY! WHAT THE?!"




Ooh..did anyone catch the license plate of that truck? Ooww..


One minute, the fans were cheering excitedly and chanting my name, causing the arena to shudder as I posed over the fallen champ. Next minute, I'm on the mat, moaning in pain after something HARD smacked right into my back! I never saw it coming, but i sure as hell felt it--cold, unforgiving steel smashing into my lower back, sending me hurtling face-first into the canvas! And that first shot didn't end there, it kept coming, again and again, striking me in the back, crushing me, stunning and stinging me, knocking the damn wind outta me! My world just burst into pain as the chairshots continued to clobber my back, my body wincing and jolting with every hit. I lay prone and vulnerable against the repeated shots until finally they subsided, leaving me in a wrecked, breathless heap. Then, I felt that very same chair slide beneath my face, and for a brief moment I manage to lift my head to see who attacked me.


S-Sadie??! Where'd she..even come from..uhnn..


That damn brat, really walloped me butt-good..quiet as a mouse, and just bout' the same size, too..I'm really unnerved at the kinda strength the kid possesses. For a gal no bigger than Minnie she can sure hit hard when she wants to.. My face dips forward and slumps against the cool metal seat of the chair as the throbbing pain from those shots overwhelms me. I catch the lil' brat scurrying up to the top rope from the corner of my eye, and this tense feeling grips my stomach. I may be out of it, stunned and laying prone on this chair, but it certainly doesn't take long for me to figure exactly what she's got in store for me..


Gotta..move..


The lil' terror in a wet white tee goes sailing into the air, flying off to a chorus of boos from the ravenous fans. Knees tucked in tight to her chest, lookin' like a cannon ball, ready to drop those knees right into the back of my skull! Camera flashes go off round' the arena, the fans gasp collectively, and the sound of a body slamming into the canvas reverberates loudly throughout the arena!


Sadie flew and crash landed into nothing -- no Platinum Queen, not even the steel chair was there for her to drive her knees into!


At the very last millisecond I gathered my wits, snapped back into focus, and rolled outta the way, dragging the steel chair with me as I rolled to safety! A split-second later Sadie's body punched itself into the mat, and she flopped about in wild agony like a fish outta water! The fans erupted in cheers as they saw their Platinum Queen relatively safe, kneeling several feet away, clutching the steel chair now and breathing hard. Still looking a lil' disheveled, I got up to my feet, flinching as my back ached horrendously. Shaking my head and biting my lower lip, I glared down at the writhing Sadie Davis, narrowing my glaring eyes down on her. I glanced at the chair in my hand, considering to use it..she deserves it..just needs a good once-over with this chair..but, then again, I pulled the chair outta the way so she wouldn't have to crash land into the steel in the first place. No, she deserves to be punished..but I don't need this..I toss the chair away, and reach down with a snap of my hand, grasping a handful of Sadie's hair, clutching it tightly, yanking her up to another rousing cheer from the fans!


I'm supporting most of her weight as I grip her hair, her legs all wobbly and probably flaring with pain from that brilliant crash landing. For a brief instance I just hold her and.. glare at her. Though I may look pissed off beyond all hell, lookin' a bit deeper ya could almost see a hint of something in my eyes as I cast them on this pretty lil' troublemaker. Pity? Disappointment? Regret? Whatever it may be, it's gone in a flash, and a second later I have Sadie up on my shoulders! I grit my teeth and even stumble a bit as I'm still reeling from the chairshots, but I ignore the pain, and manage to posture up, regaining my balance, lifting Sadie high into the air, the fans going nuts as I stand in the center of the ring with Ms. Davis laid across my shoulders--


Sorry, kiddo!


Ready to drop her with The FLATINER!

[Lindsay C]

LvK: This is hideous! Sadie Davis and the Red Enforcer are mugging Tiffany! This isn't right!

RP: I couldn't agree more, Larry. They're having all the fun, while Queen Callista is still trying to recover after that weaselly, backstabbing attack from that Platinum Granny!

Just as those words leave Perle's lips, the Champion gets back up to her feet. And that icy glare she usually carries around has turned even colder (something I never even thought was possible). So she gets up and steps between Red and Sadie, who are still stomping away on the downed Tiffany. They pause for a moment and look at Callista who's just standing there and glaring down at the woman who might have saved Shizuko from having her leg ripped off.

The standstill doesn't last long as Callista now starts stomping away on Tiffany. The other two quickly join her, and the stomping is on again.

RP: Aaah, yes! MUCH better!

LvK: Are you kidding me?? Somebody stop this! Somebody has to come out and st....wait a moment!

RP: Oh what now?!

LvK: Here comes the cavalry!

The noise of the crowd turns from gasps and boos to cheers as I make my way down towards the ring. Sprinting as fast as my long legs carry me.

LvK: It's the Dragon Starrs...wait...no...it's only Lindsay! She's on her own...where's Lisa??

RP: Probably still washing the Guacamole out of her hair. I wonder why, that green worked great with the blue.

Luckily for me, the three in the ring are too busy stomping away on poor Tiffany to actually realize what's going on. As I slide into the ring under the bottom rope, I see Red turn around. Target number one I think to myself as I push up to my feet and run towards him. He tries to catch me with a Clothesline, which I duck under, running into the ropes behind him as he stumbles a bit, and just as he turns around, I run into him. My shoulder lowered a bit, arms tensed, as is my entire body.

UGHHH!

YAAAAAAAY!

I slam my shoulder, with all my momentum and body weight behind it, into the side of his chest. Sending the big guy flying and dropping on his back. I wince a bit and rub my shoulder, not used to running into THIS much weight. The girls are much lighter...and softer.

LvK: Buckeye Bodycheck on the Red Enforcer!!

RP: I don't like where this is going...

I turn to face the remaining two standing in the ring with me. Sadie turns quickly, narrows her eyes and yells at me. “WHAT THE *BEEP* DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!” before she charges in at me. Apparently she's very hungry for revenge after I leveled Red. From the corner of my eye I see Callista turn as well, but I can't focus on her right now as I have a little spitfire running right at me. Luckily, Sadie's movements are very wild. And once she's close enough, I throw my right leg up and slam the sole of my sneakered right foot into her face. Catching her with a Big Boot that takes down head over heels.

LvK: And down goes Sadie!!

And now to Callista! I think and turn my attention back to where she...was standing. “Uh oh...” I gasp as all I see there now is the downed Tiffany. This is not good....NOT good!

LvK: Watch out, behind....oh no...

“AAAHHH!” I let out a loud cry as, from out of nowhere, something slams into the back of my right calf. That something was Callista's right boot. With me being occupied with Sadie, she rushed behind me, off the ropes and kicked at the back of my leg like it was a soccer ball!

RP: Awww and she came SO close! Let's hope she learned her lesson. One does not simply beat the Countdown.

My leg flies up and I go down hard on my back. Clutching my hurting leg and looking up through pained, narrowed eyes just to see Callista stand over me. “Oh...shoot!”

[MileenaJade89]

Very nice action yet again!

[The Second City Wrestlerette]

*Five minutes ago*

“No, Linds! NO! We're going back to our motel and we're going there NOW!”

“But...but Lisa!”

Angrily stuffing my ruined Blackhawks sweater into my duffel bag, my back turned towards Lindsay who's still trying to calm me down after what went down with Sadie in the catering area.

“No buts!” I take a deep breath and turn around, now wearing my Second City Starr t-shirt “This day has been HORRIBLE! We're here even though it's our day off. We missed the big Countdown breakup 'cause you were hiding from a cat! And then that little bitch Sadie threw Guacamole at me! Oh and of course, I had to BUY my own f***ing shirt at some merch stand!  I've had enough for today. And I swear by the almighty gods, the next person who even looks at me funny is gonna eat my fist!!”

Lindsay takes a deep breath and sighs a little, looking at the floor “Let's just watch the Main Event, ok? Like...it's just one more match?” she points at the TV screen.

Looking up at it, I see Callista ruining Fukushima's knee in that Stretch Muffler and I shake my head “It's over. Let's go!” I finish packing my stuff and throw my bag over my shoulder “Can we?”

“But...she's not...I think that girl needs some help! Can't we-”

“There's your help!” as Tiffany runs in to clobber Calli “Can we go now??”

Then Sadie runs in “Oh no! I think we really should...”

Tiffany turns things around “See? She's got everything under control. Come on, now!”

Red comes in and they all start stomping away on Tiffany after Red and Sadie corrupted our Tag Finisher, which actually makes me narrow my eyes and growl at the TV.

“Lisa!! Look, she...she really needs help! Come on, let's go! We have to! It's the Countdown! You don't like Countdown! Come on! Tiffany doesn't stand a chance against those three! And...and you also get to take out Callista and Sadie, isn't that something?? Come oooooooon, Lisa!!”

I sigh and roll my eyes as she starts tugging at my arm like some needy child who saw an ice cream truck. “Alright, alright, LET ME GO!!” Pulling my arm free before around to put my bag back into the locker. “But we can't just run down there and swing at everything that moves! We need a plan. The best thing probably is for you to take out Red, I kick Sadie's head off, and then we can focus on Quinn. She wants to act like a Queen? So we're gonna give her a Royal Beatdown! How's that sound, Linds?”

I turn around to see...nothing!! “Linds?? Awe come on!!! WAIT UP!!”

Running towards the door, wanting to stay right behind her...or at least catch up. But just as I reach it, there they are again. The Mulkey Cousins! The slightly taller Billie supports Randi, one of her arms across her shoulders as that girl still looks a little shaken up after Sadie pulled her into my Superkick and I put her lights out. Billie stares down at me, not looking too happy, and then starts babbling in that South Carolina hillbilly accent.

“I think you owe Randi an apology!”

“Seriously? I got no time for this, Linds is out there and..."

“I think you owe Randi an apology!” she repeats in a much sterner voice

I look at Randi, then back up at Billie.

“I think YOU owe ME an apology!”

“What for?”

“For hurting my hand!” And with that my right fist flies up and, just like I promised Lindsay a few minutes ago, the next girl who even looks at me funny, in this case it's Billie Mulkey, eats my fist. Slamming her right in that pretty mouth of hers, which takes her down, and her cousin falls right along with her. The cousins lay in a heap as I shake my hand out and look down at them. Muttering a quiet little “Idiots...” before taking off to follow Lindsay. Hoping I can get out there in time to keep her from being bullied in a 3 on 1.

[The Second City Wrestlerette]

LvK: Lindsay has got to get out of that ring or she's going to end up just like Tiffany.

RP: That's what happens when you mess with Queen Callista and Countdown. You get conquered. She should have just stayed in the back. Now she's learning her lesson the hard way.

LvK: There's no need for this! They've proven their point. Just get out of that ring already and leave Tiffany and Lindsay alone!

RP: Nope! The message needs to be sent. And the only way these girls seem to understand it, is through violence. And we all know that Queen Callista is great at violence!

LvK: Would you please stop calling her that?

RP: NEVER!

Callista still stands above Lindsay, staring down at her as she slowly inches closer. Red crawls towards Sadie on his hands and knees, checking if she's okay after running right into Lindsay's Big Boot. It's obvious that Callista's mind is working right now. Thinking about how to dish out a maximum of pain with minimal effort.

Yeah...that's not gonna happen!

A pop bursts through the crowd as I come running down towards the ring to see the scene. Calli's back turned towards the ramp and therefore, me. But of course, being the super smart ring General that she is, she hears the sign and turns around. Problem for her is, that I'm pretty fast and already on the apron. And in one quick move, I leap up, landing on the top rope and pushing off towards her.

Her eyes grow as I'm airborne as soon as she turns and I come flying in towards her. My left foot extended, I press it against her shoulder for a little 'stand' and then swing my right foot around. Looking to repeat what she just did with Lindsay. Only that I'm not kicking at her leg, but aim for the side of her face.

And...

WHACK!!

LvK: Starr! From outta nowhere!

RP: Isn't that phrase copyright reserved?

LvK: And just in time! She leveled the Champion with the Stage Dive!

RP: Are you ignoring me?

LvK: Lindsay was about to be mugged! Thank god Lisa showed up in time!

RP: He's ignoring me!!

Calli goes down as I twist in the air and land on my hands and knees with a thud. The crowd's on their feet for a third time in just a few minutes now, after the third save in a row. It's going back and forth like on a Basketball Court right now! But now I'm here, and I'm here to beat the buzzer, get the Save, and all the other sports metaphors you can think of.

The Champ rolls out of the ring to recover as I get back to my feet. Looking around for a moment, seeing Sadie push Red away and jump to her feet. She doesn't look too happy, and neither do I. Round One in the backstage area ended in a draw. And neither of us likes that. Waving her in with my right hand, and here she comes!

Charging at me just like she did at Lindsay a few minutes ago. And it ends the same way...with a miss. I duck underneath her wild approach, maybe she's still a little woozy after being kicked in the head by Linds. She misses me, I set myself up, drop into stance. She turns around, and just as she does, I explode towards her.

LvK: SUPERKICK!

BAM! Right on the Money!! I see head fly, a bit of spittle as well, and slapping at my thigh causes this beautiful little SLAPping sound everyone loves to hear when these big kicks get thrown. Sadie falls, lands spread-eagled and I grin from ear to ear. Walking over to her, hands on my hips as I step over her body, standing tall above her. I bend over, staring into those glassy, unfocused eyes.

“Felt pretty good after avoiding this in the back, huh? Newsflash: When Lisa Starr wants to kick your head off...she DOES!” I grin and add “Oh and fyi...when you're coming off the top on an opponent in a Backbreaker, you aim for the FACE, stupid!”

That. Felt. Great. Dropping this mouthy little girl like this? Priceless! Sadly, it feels so good that for a few moments I forget everything that's happened around me. Including the fact that Red is standing in the ring with me. And I doubt that he's too happy about me kicking his little lover into oblivion.

Now it's time to return to reality. The harsh reality! Red quickly moves behind me and locks my arms up in a Full Nelson. And from there on, everything's going extremely fast! I'm pulled up and turned to the side so I'm not standing over Sadie's fallen body anymore. And then I'm going for a ride!

The back of my head and neck lands hard on the canvas as I'm taken down by Red's Shen Long Slam. Just drilling me into the boards with this powerful, quick, brutal Dragon Suplex. The momentum of the impact carries me over so I'm on my knees, staring straight ahead through glassy eyes before going down flat on my chest with my arms wrapped around the back of my head.

RP: And another one bites the dust! When will they learn? When will they ever learn?

LvK: And again, the strength in numbers pays off for the Countdown.

RP: What are you talking about?? I see one, two, THREE girls in the ring with Red, Sadie and Callista. It's a 3 on 3! Perfectly fair. It's not their fault that those blonde bombers were stupid enough to attack them one by one.

Red hisses at me before turning to Sadie again. With everybody down (or out of sight, like Callista who's recovering outside the ring), he takes care of his girl who's coming back to her senses, asking him to “Help me up!” And once she's on her feet again, she points at me “Get HER up! So I can put her down again.”

He obliges and pulls me up to my feet by my blonde and blue hair. Swaying on my feet, arms dangling underneath me as I'm bent over.

RP: Retribution time! Starr asked for it! Kicking that poor, helpless girl right in her pretty face for absolutely no reason at all! She deserves to be punished.

LvK: She had plenty of reason to do that!

And here she goes. Sadie runs into the ropes and comes charging in towards me at full speed. While I'm still held up by Red, she closes in and takes me down HARD with her running Angel's Kiss Swinging Neckbreaker, leaving me down on my back in the middle of the ring.

[Callista]

I do not like chaos.

To clarify, I do not like chaos which is not of my own making. This mess in the ring with bodies strewn everywhere and agendas thrown out in the heat of battle is not of my own making.

So I need to fix that.

Sadie and Red had just dropped Lisa, while Tiffany and Lindsay were both struggling to get back into the fight. The latter was right in front of me, and was (once again) not paying attention to me, so I reached under the bottom rope, taking solid hold of her right ankle, yanking the Yank twice, once to pull her off balance and send her crashing to the mat, and a second to pull her out of the ring, sending her crashing to the floor.

“Look me in the eye now,” I said tartly, giving the blonde a quick kick to the side of the head before rolling under the bottom ropes. Sadie and Red were checking on each other's well-being, (which is not a euphemism, thank whatever Gods you believe in,) but my attention was focused on Tiffany, the one who started all this in the first place.

“Her!” I said, pointing to the platinum blonde still not steady on her feet, adding, “In the corner!” before I rushed towards her. Tiffany tried to get her hands up, but I was able to seize her right wrist in my left hand, turning the arm behind her. She took a swing at me with her left, but I was able to get my right arm up to catch most of the blow. She didn't get a second chance, as Red came in and grabbed hold of that left arm. Before she had a chance to do more than struggle against our grasp, Sadie's boots came flying in between us, catching Tiffany right in her D cups and sending her staggering backwards.

“Put her in the corner, Red!” I said. He nodded and ducked his head, charging forward and driving his shoulder into Tiffany's abdomen, driving her back into the corner pads. He grabbed the middle ropes, pulling himself into her to keep her in place. Tiffany, still fighting, tried to drive a double axe handle blow in between Red's shoulder blades, but there wasn't a lot of force behind the blow, and the big fella held steady.

I climbed through the ropes, moving along the apron towards the corner where Tiffany was held. She was going for an axe-handle again, but got distracted by me smacking her in the side of her head, saying, “Enough of that, now!” Reaching around her head with my left arm, I took hold of her right wrist, pulling it across her neck and sliding my left arm under the crook of her elbow, tightening that hold in place.

I looked to Red right in front of me, and Sadie in the middle of the ring, taking a moment to decide what order to give next. I'm not knocking these two by saying if it were Megan and Gemma, I wouldn't need to. Those two have enough of a history with me, (to say nothing of an almost mystical connection to the mere concept of violence,) to just run with it, but it seemed clear to me that Red and Sadie, like most of humanity, needed to be led.

Unfortunately, also like most of humanity, they were vulnerable to an uppercut to the junk, which was what Lisa had just given Sadie in the middle of the ring. “Red!” I said, trying to alert him to the peril his erstwhile charge was in, when I felt two hands clasp my ankles. “Ah sh-” I started to say, not needing to look down to know who this was, when Lindsay pulled hard, sending me crashing down to the floor.

Looking up, I saw Tiffany drive a knee up into Red's solar plexus before my view was occupied by the tall blonde attempting the punch the living daylights out of me. I got my hands up, ostensibly trying to ward off blows, but eventually getting forward enough to grab for Lindsay's face, curling my fingers into claws and raking them across her, one finger getting enough of a poke in her eye to get her off of me. Pushing myself up off of the ground, I looked in the ring, and despite my best efforts, it was chaos once more.

Before I could do more than face off with a singularly angry-looking Lindsay, (had I ever seen that emotion on her before?) I was slammed into from the right side, driving my left into the ring apron. “NOW BLOODY WHAT?” I shouted, preparing to fight back when I saw Lindsay in the same predicament, as the rest of FTW's referees, security force, and what looked like assorted wrestlers who hadn't worked tonight all rushed down the aisle and into the ring.

A positive truckload of humanity (or whatever passed for it in Asheville interceded, separating blondetard and Countdowner alike.

LvK: About time Security took this mess in hand!
RP: Oh yeah, this is much better than the boring 3 on 3 fight we were watching before. Where did all these people come from anyway?

Sadie rolled out of the right side of the ring of her own accord, while I was able to pull Red out on my side. The impromptu riot squad seemed content to let us move about as long as it wasn't towards the others. Lindsay climbed into the ring, and she and Tiffany and Lisa all stepped up to the ropes, while Red and Sadie and I gathered on the ramp up towards the stage.

I pondered what to make of this. Tiffany coming down I could work with, but the Dragon Starrs complicated things. Some helpful fellow had retrieved my belt, and handed it to me. I held it aloft over my head.

RP: They might've forced a stalemate for now, but the Sadistic Saviour is still the champ!
LvK: For now, Rick. Meanwhile, Tiffany, Lindsay and Lisa are standing tall in the ring while the Countdown is retreating up the steps! Folks we're all out of time for now. For myself and Rick Perle and everyone here at FTW, thanks for watching!
RP: You realize that between the food fight and all of these people working for us there'll be nothing left at catering.
LvK: Oh godda-