Tales of the SFL 07: The Fight

"I still think it's a trap."

"Uh huh..."

"And you're still going out there?"

"Yep."

"Without any backup?"

"Yes, for the thousandth time."

"You keep saying it, but it's not making me feel any better. I mean, are you sure you can-"

"Daniel!" Melanie finally cut him off, stopping mid-step to study the barely concealed worry written all over her training partner's face.

Fully decked out in her ring gear, she had just finished tying her long, flowing blonde hair into a ponytail.

The two were still backstage in a hallway leading up, just five minutes away from Bux Bunny's match with the equally petite Chelsea Cheer.

Crossing his arms against his white SFL T-Shirt, Daniel Derrick respectfully held his tongue as she stared up at him with those always dazzling emerald eyes.

"We have been through this for hours now," she reminded him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "My answer's the same now as it's always been: I've got this."

"Famous last words," he scoffed mirthlessly, pointing out in turn, "I mean, just so we're clear, you're going to be in the ring with the same girl who made the freaking' Mantaur her man-bitch. Sam's been asking around the locker room all day, and no one's seen the big guy stomping around since."

Rolling her eyes bemusedly, she tilted her head up at him playfully, "And that's supposed to scare me how again?"

Smirking to himself, Daniel fished inside one of his jean pockets and produced his cellphone.

Unlocking it, he accessed his photo gallery and then showed the blonde a fullscreen image of a male sexfighter in the trainer's room, presumably after a match.

"This is Gavin the Great. Check out his face," he instructed her, his finger gesturing towards the distinctly feminine footprint stamped all over his facial features, leaving visibly angry blotches all over his once menacing expression.

"Doesn't look so great now," she commented, raising an eyebrow as his drooping eyes gave off those unnatural "nobody's home" vibes.

"This is him just five minutes after their match. That he won, by the way," he told her.

"Okay, so maybe she took a few kickboxing lessons. You, of all people should know that I'm just as skilled in that area," Melanie reminded him knowingly.

"Sam says that she calls them the Spirit Stomps. Chelsea takes you by the arms and gives you a nice little souvenir to take backstage, the kind that doesn't wash off so easily. Before this match, dude was almost as handsome as me."

"Almost?" she teased him lightly.

Narrowing his eyes, he continued on, "He underestimated her big time, got caught up in the heat of the moment, and then promptly got the ever-loving shit kicked out of him. Somehow, he managed to finger an orgasm out of her, but she was the only one who walked out of that ring. Afterwards, his noggin was so messed up Sam said he wasn't just seeing stars; he was seeing constellations."

"If you're trying to convince me not to do this, babe, you're not doing a very good job," Melanie told him candidly.

"I'm just telling you what you're in for. Chelsea prances around like it's still high school or something, but once that bell rings, she just changes. Like-"

"Like her whole valley girl routine is just an act, and she's actually a killer in a cute skirt?" Melanie finished for him coyly.

"All I'm saying is don't let your guard down. I don't need the image of your pretty face being stomped into the canvas on my conscience, okay?" he cautioned her.

"Sure it won't be the other way around?" she smiled up at him in her usual upbeat tone.

Sighing, Daniel was just about to respond when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere...

"I've been looking for you all day!"

The sickeningly sweet sound of the Goddess was quickly followed by her Amazonian frame sauntering right up to them.

Wearing an enticing yet fashionable white halter top that covered as much of her upper body as a sports bra, her midriff was bared leaving only a pair of tight jean shorts that rather generously clung to her voluptuous hips.

Almost out of instinct, Daniel's ever curious eyes trailed down her long, tanned legs all the way to her sandaled feet, before quickly rising back up to her usual smug visage.

"Oh my God, you guys are so adorable!" she greeted them with a cheerful grin, showing off her pearly whites as Melanie folded her arms together irritably.

Wearing a skeptical scowl, the petite blonde was not amused at all, "You stalking me now, Kenzie?"

"Only if you want me too, babe," the Goddess smiled right back at her with a suggestive wink.

Daniel nevertheless shot his partner a cautionary glare before clearing his throat rather loudly. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Knock 'em dead, Mel."

The two exchanged a brief fist bump before Dan Danger brushed past the Amazonian woman and exited the hallway towards the locker rooms.

Cocking her head in his general direction, a wry grin tugged at the veteran's facial features. "You know, I think he's starting to like me now."

"I wouldn't think too hard on that," Melanie muttered under her breath, her sarcasm apparently unnoticed as the Goddess turned back to face her.

"You seem nervous, Melanie," Kenzie observed, a hint of concern in her usually smug tone.

"That obvious, huh?" she thought to herself, smoothing out her jacket sleeves.

Reluctantly, she admitted, "Well, I'm almost always nervous before matches. Certainly didn't help when I found out Chelsea was the one who took down the Mantaur."

Scoffing, the blonde woman waved that accomplishment off. "Oh please, that roided up freak would've got his balls busted sooner or later. He got big beating up jobber girls in the midcard but put a real woman like myself in the same ring as him, and he'd have learned his place real quick. I wouldn't waste time pretending to be his little plaything. Within like five minutes, he'd be on his knees begging to worship me, just like all the other wannabe tough guys around here."

Melanie raised an eyebrow at Kenzie's more natural overconfidence swelling in her voice, but eventually the Goddess came down from her verbal pedestal and got back on topic. "Point is, I know you'll kick ass out there. Chelsea's been in the ring with a few heavy hitters, sure, but she's never been in the ring with you, Mel. And, just from personal experience..."

Despite her positive encouragement, the rookie couldn't help but cringe as the painful memory of their last match came back up to the surface.

"... I know she'll be in for one hell of a surprise," Kenzie finally finished, flashing her an encouraging smile.

Somewhat finding solace in her words, Melanie teased her one last time, "If I turn around, you're not going to attack me again, are you?"

Grinning at the comment, Kenzie encouraged her on, "You so got this, babe."

Nodding appreciatively, Melanie twirled around and headed towards the staging area as the show finally came back from commercial.

***

"Ladies and gentlemen, this match is scheduled for three falls. Introducing first..."

As soon as her opening cue hit, Melanie was visibly startled by the considerable pop she had received before even showing her face on camera.

And yet, as she finally did saunter out on the entrance ramp, the crowd's enthusiasm only went up a notch, threatening to drown out her own entrance music.

"... and weighing in at 115 pounds, I present to you...BUX BUNNY!!" the ring announcer enthused, projecting his voice louder than usual as the audience showered her with quite a sizable ovation.

She took in the applause for a moment longer before starting down the ramp, her petite hips doing all of the talking necessary.

The confident click-clacking of her high heels at least helped her stay focused as she neared the squared circle.

Very much still the Bux Bunny of old, she found time to blow sultry kisses at various starstruck members in the front rows and enjoy the sporadic Bunny chants.

Kicking off her shoes on the outside, she started up the steel steps, sensually striding across the ring apron with one seductive leg crossing the other, before finally completing her now signature pose.

Draping one leg inside the ring, she bent her shapely posterior at a suggestive right angle to allow the audience some rather strategic photo-ops, before finally entering.

Taking off her jacket to reveal her usual all-white bra-and-panties combo, she handed it off to the striped official to be discarded appropriately before finding a corner to do some light warm ups in anticipation of-

"Give me an S!"

Not even waiting until she had even completed her first leg stretch, the teen pop-inspired entrance theme of Chelsea Cheer instantly blasted through the arena loudspeakers.

And only a second later, out she came.

The crowd erupted in a similar reaction as her opponent made her energetic presence known, almost leaping onto the entrance ramp wearing a grin so visibly that even Melanie could make it out from her current position.

"And introducing her opponent, from Seattle, Washington, and weighing in at 106 pounds, give it up for...CHELSEA CHEER!"

She was dressed almost identical to her previous match with the Mantaur: cheerleader shell top with the same color scheme, a white skirt that certainly kept things interesting from various angles, and her slightly worn Chuck Taylor sneakers.

Cocking one hip out to the side with her hair also tied in a ponytail, Chelsea struck a confident pose for the cameras before skipping down to the ring.

Heeding Daniel's advice, Melanie kept her eyes glued to the equally petite woman as she kicked off her shoes near the steps before finally sliding in underneath the bottom ropes.

Warily coming out of the turnbuckle with her limbs adequately warmed up, the rookie walked up to the middle as the hazel woman did the same.

"At least it's someone I don't have to stand on my tiptoes to stare at," she thought to herself bemusedly, noting that they were both of a similar height.

Going in, Melanie had prepared herself, physically and mentally, for anything that Chelsea could throw at her before the bell had even rung.

She expected an initial shove to get the physicality going.

Or, more likely, she had expected the usual trash talk to determine who would start with the match with the verbal edge.

But, what she wasn't expecting was Chelsea throwing her arms out and suddenly capturing her in a friendly hug!

Melanie instinctively froze up as the cheerleader wrapped her toned arms around her midsection, and squeezed as if she was a long lost friend and not the woman aiming to dominate her physically and perhaps even sexually.

Even the referee was a little perplexed at this unusual display of amicability.

Pulling back just seconds later, Chelsea formally greeted her with humble eyes and an even gentler voice, "It is such an honor to finally meet you, Bux. I'm like, a huge fan."

A bit taken aback by this sudden modesty, Melanie was nevertheless flattered. "Thanks. I didn't know I had fans backstage."

"Well, you sure made a lot after that match you had with the Goddess last week," she teased her with a playful jab to the gut.

Conceding the point, Melanie was still a little suspicious. "Look, I appreciate the kind words and all, but-"

"But you think I'm playing mind games with you?" Chelsea finished for her, eliciting an honest nod from Bux Bunny.

"I don't blame you. This place makes you real paranoid about who you can trust," she sighed.

Detecting a hint of sadness in the young woman's voice, Melanie quickly followed up, "But you totally sound cool and all."

Chelsea perked up. "Really?"

Melanie smiled at her. "Yeah, you're like the first woman here who hasn't tried to cheapshot me yet before the match."

"Yeah well, all bets off when the bell rings, right?" Chelsea joked back at her, extending a hand towards her.

Still grinning, Melanie shook her hand.

"May the best woman win."

___________________________________________

Melanie's emerald eyes narrowed with concentration as the opening bell sounded, prompting both sexfighters to emerge from their respective corners.

Remaining light on her feet, she licked her lips with both anticipation and slight caution as Chelsea kicked things off with her usual skipping routine.

Her long, flowing blonde hair perfectly framed the look of focus and concentration in her emerald eyes as she stared down the overly enthusiastic sexfighter.

The crowd was equally invested as the two women continued to engage in the traditional circular dance, remaining just out of grappling range but close enough that one could sense the barely concealed intensity in the other's eyes.

They remained at a standstill for a moment longer, sizing each other up, before finally...

"Hah!" Both competitors collided in a standard yet tense collar-and-elbow tie-up, a fierce exchange of twisting limbs and grimaces.

Planting her feet firmly, Melanie held firm for a moment or two before finally wrenching her hazel-haired adversary into a side headlock.

Interlocking her fingers together, she gave the struggling woman a few patented squeezes before she felt a hand on the small of her back.

With a grunt, Chelsea pushed Bux Bunny off of her and towards the opposite end of the ring.

Bouncing off the ropes, Melanie instinctively leaped into the air as Chelsea Cheer threw herself down to the mat bellyfirst before springing back up as her opponent rebounded off the other end and ran directly into a-

"Ugh!" A pained grunt escaped the rookie's lips as she was caught flush with a near pitch-perfect dropkick courtesy of her opponent.

Dropped on her back, she sorely felt her lower jaw as Chelsea performed a cheer jump with her toes nearly touching her hands.

Spotting the young woman's beaming expression out of her periphery, Melanie attempted to get up on her own accord, but Chelsea was on her not even a second later.

Grabbing the petite sexfighter by the hair, the hazel woman was almost giddy with excitement as she brought the slightly dazed Bux up to full standing.

Holding her up by the chin, she measured Melanie up for a right hand, winded her dominant hand back, and then...

... felt her knuckles caress empty air as the blonde beauty ducked underneath her armpit and reappeared on her blindside.

Assuming a boxing stance as Chelsea twirled back around, Melanie's return punch was already mid-swing when the girl in the cheerleader skirt suddenly cowered away.

Shielding her face with both hands, she almost comically flinched from the rookie's raised fist before it could connect.

Obviously seeing through Chelsea's games, Melanie feigned lowering her guard only to suddenly bring her front leg up and catch the young sexfighter square with a sharp kick right between her eyes.

"Ow!" Lurching backwards with her hands wrapped around the bridge of her nose, Chelsea was too busy bemoaning her actual pain to notice Melanie approaching her with a determined glint in her eyes.

First grabbing her wrist, Bux Bunny waited until Chelsea had snapped out of her brief stupor before suddenly and quite violently straightening out her elbow joint much to the young woman's chagrin.

Twisting underneath the captive arm, Melanie now had both hands wrapped around her wrist, and without a moment's hesitation, torqued it downwards.

Wincing in audible pain as her arm was now forcibly wrenched into a wristlock, her previous youthful exuberance was now marred by a visible grimace as her arm continued to be wrenched against her will.

Utilizing only the most minimum of effort on her part to cause the cheerleader the maximum amount of discomfort, Melanie kept the pressure on despite her opponent's bodily protests.

Squirming and struggling against her firm grip, Chelsea eventually relied upon a new method of escape: brute force.

Biting back her pain with a snarl, she landed a particularly stiff punch right at Bux Bunny's unprotected midsection.

Grunting but not loosening up her hold, Melanie held strong even absorbing another desperate blow by the cheerleader.

Winding back with her free hand yet again, Chelsea was about to aim for her blonde opponent's face when Melanie, thinking two steps ahead, responded rather proactively.

Still twisting the hazel woman's arm, she fell backwards out of striking range but not before hooking Chelsea's front leg with her two ankles.

Knocked off balance as a result of the blonde's shift in momentum, Chelsea Cheer tumbled over unceremoniously to the concrete while Bux Bunny's descent was much more controlled and concise.

Flailing facefirst to the mat, Chelsea's first move was to scurry over to the ropes for support but that was quickly stopped when Melanie rises to a kneeling position with the majority of her weight now pressing down on her captive arm.

Wrenching upwards into a seated variation of an armbar, Melanie only had to lean back to fully implement the excruciating effect of the submission maneuver on the now writhing sexfighter.

"Thank you Daniel," she whispered to herself, recalling one of her many training sessions with her partner as her petite face scrunched up in brief strain.

Kicking the mat frantically, Chelsea was in a near state of panic as her right arm continued to be wrenched and hyperextended almost to an unbearable degree.

Every other limb in Chelsea Cheer's control stretched out desperately for the ropes, but they were too far away in all directions.

Pulling back on the arm with considerable pressure mounting on her opponent's joints, Melanie closed her eyes in silent concentration as she focused purely on the task at hand.

With Chelsea still struggling underneath her, she could almost sense the-

"Oh Melanie!"

Her eyes opened.

The world around her suddenly came to a standstill as the Goddess stepped out from behind the curtain to make her presence known at the entrance ramp.

Still dressed in her casual but still provocative clothing, she was armed only with a microphone and a beaming smile.

What the fu-

Not even finishing her thought, the rookie released the armbar, her attention now focused on the buxom blonde currently waving at her from afar.

Immediately rolling over on her side, Chelsea sorely cradled her right arm as the rookie slowly rose to her feet with a mixture of emotions running wild all over her face.

As the referee dropped down to check on her opponent, Melanie came over to the side of the squared circle facing the entrance ramp as Kenzie's almost sheepish expression dominated the JumboTron.

"Melanie, I am so, so sorry that I forgot to tell you this," she finally spoke into the microphone, her usually confident blue eyes almost hinging on apologetic.

Chelsea stopped writhing around on the mat.

"And look, you are totally going to hate me for not mentioning this earlier but uh..." Almost worriedly fidgeting around with the microphone, Kenzie took a long, deep breath as if she was about to disclose a long lost secret to the blonde rookie.

Peering at Melanie's confused and visibly frustrated face, she finally came clean, "This match is actually no disqualification."

Not even a second later, a blur of movement from behind smashed directly into Melanie's back, knocking her to the ground with force.

Gracing the canvas with her teeth, the rookie felt a throbbing sensation pounding away between her shoulderblades, but that was nothing compared to the pure shock that took hold as she looked up to see-

"Ughh..." Chelsea Cheer's bare foot buried itself deep within her exposed gut, causing her to gasp and groan audibly.