The Arena

"But that means you're going to set up a match, right?" Jaguar insisted.

"Depending on the conditions. I have some ideas, but it's a long shot, I'm not going to set up a match unless I can work things in our favor." This seemed to satisfy Jaguar, she was certain a match would be set up. Ruth was now her new target, she badgered her about techniques she could use to defeat The Machine. Ruth told her she had some thoughts but needed to do a little research.

A few days later, Ruth called Jaguar into the den. There was a 60" plasma screen TV mounted on the wall, Jaguar looked at the screen and there was a frozen image of a boxing match. "This was a match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier." Ruth said, starting the player, "Watch their styles." Jaguar watched as Frazier kept advancing and charging, Ali kept backing away, retreating around the ring but continuously landing punches on Frazier as he danced away. Ali was so swift with his footwork and fast with his punches that it appeared as though Frazier just kept walking into a buzz saw.

"That's the idea," Ruth said. "Keep away from her, keep backing up and keep pounding her. She's a mauler, don't let her get a hold of you." Jaguar nodded. "The main difference here is that Frazier could only punch his opponent. The Machine will be able to tackle you or wrestle you or anything she wants. If she does wrestle you to the mat, try to tie her up, just grab onto of her and keep her from striking you until the ref breaks it up or the round ends."

The next few days they practiced in the gym where Ruth would put on protective equipment and play the role of The Machine, charging and mauling while Jaguar practiced dodging and striking. Jaguar learned quickly and was soon very proficient at avoiding attacks while dealing out damaging blows. Ruth was still concerned though, she had never seen anything like The Machine. She hoped this strategy would work.

Master was grim when he returned home one day. He called Ruth, Tigress and Jaguar into his study. He was leaning against his desk with his arms folded. "There's good news and bad news." He said when they all arrived. "I have set up a match but Reno dictated some unusual fighting conditions." Jaguar bounced slightly upon hearing the news that a match had been set up. "It's going to be a winner-take-all match. The contestants are going to be Jaguar verses The Machine, the prize, depending on the outcome, will be ownership of Jaguar or Cheetah."

"That sounds pretty straightforward." Tigress said.

"That part is," Master replied hesitantly, "here's where it gets tricky. There are not going to be any rounds or time limit. The match will continue till one of the contestants either taps out or is knocked out." Ruth groaned at this. "Also," Master continued, "there is not going to be a referee, there will be no one to control the match," He looked at Jaguar, "you're going to be on your own in there."

Tigresses looked at Jaguar and then back to Master. "You said there was some good news too."

Master nodded and smiled slyly, "I have a little guile myself, after being tricked by Reno, turnabout is fair play, follow me." He said walking out of the study towards the front door. He led them out the front door to the parking area where a brand new Jaguar XJ with the license plate 'FIGHTER' was sitting. "Reno doesn't know it, but this is the Jaguar I am offering up as a prize." Master grinned.

"How did you get that past him?" Tigress asked laughing.

"Some very clever wording I put into the contract," Master replied. "I held my breath while he read it over three times, fortunately he never figured it out." Turning to Jaguar he said, "Do your best, if you win we get Cheetah back, but that girl is a monster, if you get in trouble, just tap out, all we'll lose is the car." Jaguar nodded.

"Looks like you're going to have some company soon." Reno said with a vicious laugh as he strutted into the warehouse. Won't that make us a cozy little family?"

"What do you mean?" Cheetah asked.

Jaguar, that little slut is going to be fighting for your honor, isn't that romantic?" He said with fake emotion. "And when she loses, she too will become my property." Reno unlocked Cheetah's chain and led her over to a table, where he laid her down on her back and fastened her arms to the table outstretched over her head. She was positioned so that only her upper half rested on the table, her legs draped down to the floor.

"What does it matter if you own us?" Cheetah asked. "I'll never fight for you and I'm certain that Jaguar will never again fight for you."

"I had been thinking just the same thing," Reno replied while removing the bar between Cheetah's ankles, "and you are right, I realized that you would never fight for me, but that's OK, I own the best fighter in the world, I don't need any more fighters."

"Then what's the point?"

Reno smiled. "I have other plans for you and for Jaguar, something that is sure to change both your dispositions." Reno lowered his pants and spread her legs and entered her. He slid in slowly and when he was fully inside her, he brought his face down to within an inch of hers and looked her in the eyes. "Motherhood."

The match between Jaguar and The Machine was held at a neutral location. The Arena Association insisted upon that. The Association was also aware of Master's deception, he talked it over with them and they gave their blessing. They wanted to make some amends for allowing Reno to obtain Cheetah under false pretenses. The Association also did not like Reno, they felt that his type gave the entire sport a bad image.

Many people had heard the story and knew the stakes of this match, the largest Arena in the area was booked for the event and the day of the fight, it was filled to capacity.

The news of the terms of the match had deflated Ruth's hopes of Jaguar winning. Jaguar had been training with a single minded intensity that Ruth had never before seen, but she didn't know how Jaguar would ever win if there were no rounds or referee. If The Machine managed to wrestle her to the ground, Jaguar would have no other choice but to try and fight her way out of it, which Ruth didn't think she would be able to do. She didn't express these doubts to Jaguar though, she didn't want to dampen her spirits. Besides, if she got in trouble, she could always tap out and the car would be the only loss.

Jaguar was in the Arena dressing room along with Master and Ruth, awaiting her match when Tigress came in. "They're here," she said, "I just saw them go into a dressing room."

"Was Cheetah with them? How does she look?" Jaguar asked excitedly.

"She's with them and she looks much better than last time. Reno still isn't letting her wear any clothes but apparently he isn't smacking her around anymore." Jaguar felt relieved to hear this. She had been terribly worried since she saw how battered Cheetah had been the last time she saw her.

"I wish I could talk to her," Jaguar said, "I need to know how she's doing."

"I'm going to see if I can sneak a word with her." Tigress said. "There are only three of them and Reno can't be in two places at the same time. He has to lead The Machine into the Area to begin the match, meaning he'll either have to leave Cheetah in the dressing room alone or more likely, he's going to have to tether her up somewhere in the Arena while he's doing it. Either way, I should be able to talk to her briefly."

Jaguar looked at Tigress. "Tell her... tell her I love her."

Just as Tigress predicted, Reno brought Cheetah out of the dressing room and into the Arena, He went to a pillar and wrapped the chain attached to her collar around it before locking it in place. He then pushed her down to sit on the floor before returning to the dressing room.

Tigress made her way around the Arena and came up behind to where Cheetah sat nude on the floor. Tigress touched her on the shoulder and Cheetah spun her head around. Tigress gave her a warm smile and Cheetah smiled back. Tigress then hugged her tightly. "I have to tell you a few things about this match," Tigress said. She then went on to explain to her how Master had deceived Reno and that if Jaguar lost, the only think they would lose would be a car. She also told Cheetah that Jaguar told her to tell her that she loves her.

This brought a tear to Cheetah's eyes. "Tell her that I love her too." She then went on to tell Tigress of Reno's plans to impregnate her and his desire to impregnate Jaguar also.

"That guy is a class "A" creep. Tigress shuddered, then looking around she said, "I have to get back, you take care and keep your fingers crossed."

"I will." Cheetah replied and they hugged again.

"OK, some last minute stuff I want to run past you," Ruth said, standing in front of Jaguar, who was seated on the massage table, "how serious are you about this match?"

Jaguar looked at her as if she was joking, "This is the most serious I've ever been in my life." She replied.

"Alright," Ruth said reaching into a bag she had brought with her. She pulled out a pair of scissors and a razor. Ruth looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Still serious?" she asked.

Jaguar took a deep breath and nodded. "Do it!" she said. Ruth grabbed a hand full of hair and started shearing the locks. When she cropped the hair as short as she could with the scissors, she used the razor to shave the rest.

"One last thing," Ruth said, placing the mitts on Jaguars hands, "no ref means no rules, there's no one to call a foul or assess penaties. We didn't set up the match this way, Reno did, but if we can take advantage of that, we will. I'm not lacing your mitts on you, as soon as the match starts, throw them off." Jaguar grinned and nodded.

Cheetah watches as Reno, leading The Machine, were the first ones out of the dressing room and making their way to the center of the mat. It wasn't until they were standing there for a few minutes that Master led Jaguar out of her dressing room. Cheetah was momentarily shocked when she saw Jaguars clean shaven head, but she quickly understood the advantage this gave her in this kind of match. The Machine, who was unique among catfighters in that she always wore her long hair loose, did not seem to be fazed in the least by Jaguars bald head.

When both contestants had reached the center of the mat, the announcer's voice came over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a winner-take-all match, there will be no referee and no time limit." Jaguar scanned the audience till she spotted Cheetah, she gave her a determined nod. "Victory," the announcer continued, "will be by either knockout or submission. Contestants, return to your corners and when the bell sounds, come out fighting."

Jaguar backed to her corner without taking her eyes off of The Machine. When the bell sounded, she slapped her mitts to the floor and bolted toward the center of the matt.

The Machine spun around and was about to charge when she found that Jaguar was already on top of her, she didn't have time to react before Jaguar pounded her with a right hook. The Machine staggered for a moment and then lunged for Jaguar, who danced to the side and hit her with a left jab. The Machine backed off for a moment, studying her opponent. Then she began stalking her again.

Every time The Machine tried to grapple with her, Jaguar would make her pay with punches to her face. While these were quick hits without a whole lot behind them, that fact that they were not cushioned by mitts made them all the more punishing. The Machine backed off again and tried to remove her mitts, but they were tied tightly to her wrists As she tried to bite at the laces, Jaguar measured her, bouncing on the balls of her feet and then spun around with a vicious round house kick aimed at The Machine's head. The Machine reacted at the last moment and just managed to dodge the full force of the kick, taking a glancing blow off her temple.

Taking a boxer's stance, The Machine decided to try switching strategies and duke it out. She took a wild swing at Jaguar but Jaguar dodged it and countered with her own punch, which landed on The Machine's jaw. Every time The Machine threw a punch, Jaguar would counter with one or two of her own. Jaguar kept bobbing and weaving, keeping The Machine off balance.

As the fight went on, Jaguar was amazed at the amount of punishment The Machine was able to take without going down. Every other girl she had faced would have been out long ago. She hit her again and saw The Machine stagger and go down to one knee. This was the opening she was looking for. Jaguar set up for another roundhouse kick, but as soon as she spun The Machine lunged for her and knocked her off her feet. Jaguar found herself on her back with The Machine on top of her. Obviously The Machine had tricked her into thinking that she was more dazed than she actually was.

Cheetah's heart sank as she saw Jaguar go down and The Machine land on top of her. She knew what it was like to be in that situation. Jaguar's success in the early part of the match had given her hope that she might actually win, but now The Machine was in control.

Jaguar struggled to keep her hands free and protect her face as The Machine tried to pin them back so that she could start hitting her. The Machine finally caught both or Jaguars wrists with her hands, she lifted up and slammed her knee into Jaguars abdomen. The pain made Jaguar want to double over and she closed her eyes. The Machine took the opportunity to rear back with her right arm and punch Jaguar in the face. The blow stunned jaguar, she tried opening her eyes and saw that the vision in her left eyes was blurry. She brought her arms up to protect her face and The Machine punched her hard in the stomach. As soon as she dropped her hands, The Machine landed a series of punches to her face.

Jaguar spun around so that she was lying on her stomach. The Machine got her arm around Jaguars neck and started to choke her. Jaguar desperately tried to take a breath but her windpipe was totally choked off. Tears filled her eyes, she knew she had to do something quickly or she would pass out. She reached up with her right arm and grabbed a hand full of The Machine's hair and pulled with all the strength she had left. It took a minute but The Machine eventually broke her hold and Jaguar pulled her to the side and scrambled to her feet.

Once up, Jaguar felt wobbly, her legs felt like they were made of rubber. She watched as the Machine rose up and began moving towards her. She needed to buy some time to recover a bit. She brought her arms up again in her boxing stance but The Machine could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't have much left.

Tears began flowing from Cheetah's eyes when she saw the condition her friend was in. A cut had opened up on Jaguars forehead and blood was trickling down her face. "Jaguar! Just give up, it's no use." She cried.

When The Machine lunged at her, Jaguar tried to sidestep and counterpunch, but she was too slow. The Machine grabbed her around her legs and lifted her up. Before Jaguar could react, The Machine slammed her down on her back. Jaguar was dazed, the room was spinning and her head felt foggy, but she knew she had to move. She tried to scramble to her feet but The Machine kicked her viciously in the side. Jaguar groaned and slumped back down on the mat.

The Machine stepped up to her head and started trying to stomp on her face with the heel of her foot. Jaguar covered her head with her arms and rolled away to avoid the constant attack. The Machine then began kicking Jaguar in the back. Every kick landed with a heart-rending thud and caused Jaguar to cry out.

Cheetah was sobbing watching this brutal scene. "JAGUAR PLEASE, TAP OUT! TAP OUT! PLEASE TAP OUT!" she cried. She knew that the only thing Jaguar was risking was the loss of the car and that she was doing this all for her. She closed her eyes and squeezed the chain attached to her collar with all her might in frustration. She heard Reno chuckling next to her.

"This is great entertainment, isn't it?" Reno laughed.

As The Machine reared back for another kick, Jaguar rolled to face her and caught her leg when it landed. She rolled in the opposite direction causing The Machine to trip over her and land on her face. In a flash, Jaguar jumped on top over her back and snaked an arm around her neck putting her in a chokehold, squeezing with all her might. The Machine grabbed at Jaguars arm, trying to pry it loose but Jaguar wouldn't budge. She then got to her knees and lifted Jaguar up on her back. She tried bucking Jaguar off of her but Jaguar just kept choking her.

The Machine quickly rose up and launched herself backwards so that her full weight landed on Jaguar. Jaguar grunted when she crashed to the mat with The Machine slamming down on top of her but she never loosened her grip one bit.

Jaguar felt The Machine's hands try again to pry her arm loose, but they were weaker this time. Jaguar bore down even more and soon The Machines hands fumbled and then slumped to the side. Jaguar did not release her grip until she heard the bell sound ending the match. A cheer erupted in the Arena as Jaguar pushed The Machine's limp body off of her and staggered to her feet.

Cheetah sprang to her feet and jumped up and down cheering. "Son of a bitch!" Reno yelled and stomped off.

Master, Tigress and Ruth all ran to Jaguar to congratulate her but she was already making her way to Cheetah. "I must look like hell, how do you like the bald head and bruised look?" Jaguar asked as she reached Cheetah.

"You look beautiful." Cheetah said, throwing her arms around her. The others arrived and surrounded Jaguar and Cheetah in a group hug.

Jaguar tried to pull off Cheetah's chain. "Where's the key? Where's Reno?" She asked.

"He left as soon as the match ended. Cheetah replied looking around. "I don't know where he went."

"We need to get some ice on your bruises," Ruth told Jaguar, grabbing her by her arm and turning her to look at her wounds, "or your face is going to swell up like a balloon."

"Ruth, you take her to the dressing room," Master said, "Tigress, stay here with Cheetah, I'm going to talk to the officials and see if Reno left the key with them. Jaguar gave Cheetah another hug before letting Ruth lead her off to the dressing room.

As she sat on the table in the dressing room, Jaguar felt like her entire body was one big ache. Her head was throbbing and her stomach was sore, but she was elated. She had won, she had freed her love, Cheetah. She smiled as Ruth fumbled through the First Aid supplies.

"Damn it, there's supposed to be ice in here," Ruth swore, "Here," she said pressing a compress to the cut on Jaguar's forehead, "hold this in place to stop the bleeding, I'm going to go get some ice."

Ruth walked back into the Arena. Jaguar never heard Reno enter from the outer door. "This was too easy," he hissed into her ear as he slipped up behind her and pressed a blade against her throat, "keep Cheetah locked up and hide a little ice and you're all mine, don't you know I always win in the end?" Jaguar felt her rage build as he pressed the cold steel against her. "Now put your hands behind your back or I'll cut that pretty little head right off you."

"NO!" Jaguar screamed as she slammed her elbow back into Reno's side. Reno gasped and staggered back, surprised by the blow. Jaguar sprang to her feet and faced him.

Reno held the knife out towards her. "Turn around and put your hands behind you back or I'll carve you like a Christmas turkey!"

"I saw what you did to Cheetah you bastard," Jaguar said as she advanced towards him. Reno held the blade out at Jagua but he was backing up, maintaining a distance from her. "I told you I'd kill you for what you did to her," she roared. Reno stumbled over a footstool and Jaguar was on him in a flash. She grabbed the wrist holding the knife with her hand and kneed him in the groin as she landed on him. Reno howled and doubled over. Jaguar shifted behind him and locking his head between her powerful arms, she violently twisted it to the side snapping his neck.