The Arena

"I win!" Jaguar yelled as she raised her hands in victory and began to dance around. Cheetah grabbed her and they both went wrestling under the water before finally ending up kissing again.

"Seriously, do you think either of us could take Tigress?" Cheetah asked.

Jaguar's ever expressive face took on a serious look. They were still practically nose-to-nose but Jaguar moved even closer. "Don't tell anyone I told you this," she whispered, "but Tigress is having some back problems, Master has been booking her against easy opponents that he knows she can defeat. She might need some surgery down the road if it doesn't get better." Cheetah thought about this and realized that she had seen less and less of Tigress in the training room. "If she was 100%," Jaguar continued, "I don't think there's a catfighter alive who can beat her, but right now she wouldn't stand a chance with either of us." Cheetah frowned, learning of Tigress's ailment.

When Master returned he was more tense than Cheetah had ever seen him. The warm greeting he usually gave each of them whenever he returned from being away was gone. Instead he immediately called Rush into his study and had a long discussion with her. The following day Ruth told Cheetah that she was going to teach her some new moves, intensify her training and prepare her for a major match. Over the next week, Cheetah trained like she had never before, spending more time in the training room and the pool as well as additional one on one martial arts training with Ruth.

One day she went into the pool and Tigress was leisurely doing some laps. When Tigress saw her, she swam over to Cheetah. "Do you know who you're going to be fighting next week?" Tigress asked, genuine concern showing on her face.

"No," Cheetah replied, "I have no idea."

"It's this girl called The Machine," Tigress told her gravely, "No one knows all that much about her, from what I've heard, she's really something. She's from the U.S. originally but she was trained and has been fighting in Japan. Apparently one of the owners recently bought her and brought her here to fight. I heard she's a real monster, that she doesn't just want to win, she tries to destroy her opponents."

Cheetah shuddered at hearing this, not just the fact that The Machine tries to destroy her opponents, but also the concerned way Tigress was telling it to her. She had never seen any bit of warmth or empathy coming from Tigress. It gave her real reason for worry. She had also never experienced Tigress talking in such a confidential way with her. They certainly weren't close, or even friends, but Cheetah wanted to take the opportunity of this intimate conversation to try and close the gap between them. "Thanks for the information," She said, giving Tigress a soft smile, "I'll do my best to keep on my toes and to watch out for myself. So... how have you been doing?" She ventured, hoping Tigress would open up a bit about her health issues.

Tigress immediately stiffened, sensing that Cheetah knew more than she wanted her to know. "I'm fine, don't worry about me, you just take care of yourself." She said, and climbed out of the pool.

Cheetah sighed watching her leave. 'Well, I blew that one.' she thought, and began doing her laps.

From the dressing room Cheetah could hear the crowd cheering from time to time. She was sitting on the massage table with her legs draped over the side. Her match with The Machine was the last of the night, the main event. Master had been pacing back and forth and now called Ruth to join him outside. Cheetah could see them through the window in the door and could tell that they were having a very intense argument. She looked at Jaguar who was also watching the pair, Jaguar shrugged at Cheetah when they eyes met. Tigress remained seated in a chair but she also looked on edge.

A few minutes later Master came back into the dressing room, Cheetah could see that Ruth was still standing outside with her hands on her hips, shaking her head. "Cheetah, I have very important to tell you," he said, placing a chair in front of her and sitting to face her, "this match..." he stammered, "well, I have a confession, I've done something really stupid." Cheetah stared at him and wondered what was going on. "This is not the way today was supposed to go down," he continued, getting more and more flustered, "you see..."

"I'll explain it." Tigress interrupted, getting up from her chair. Master sighed and got up and went to the window to stare out. "There's this owner named Sergeant, "Tigress said, taking the chair Master was in and facing Cheetah, "maybe he was a military guy or something, I don't know, but anyway he's pretty cruel with his girls. He got this new girl named Cindy, she must be a runaway or something, she can't be a day over 18. Sergeant got her drugged up and into catfighting. When Master found out about this, he challenged him to a 'winner-take-all' match for her. What that means is that the loser of the match becomes the property of the owner of the winner. All these matches are written up on contracts, and they are usually pretty typical and straightforward. In this contract, we found out later that while Cindy is the one being offered up as the prize, she's not the one who will be doing the actual fighting, The Machine is the one who will be fighting."

Cheetah's mind was racing trying to take all this information in. "You mean that if I lose to The Machine, I become the property of this Sergeant guy?"

Master turned from the window and placed his hands on the back of the chair in which Tigress was seated. "I'm afraid it's worse than that." He said gravely. "We found out that Sergeant doesn't actually own The Machine, he was just a front. A guy named Reno, who Jaguar has quite a bit of history with, owns her."

"WHAT?" Jaguar shrieked. "Are you saying that if she looses, she'll become Reno's property?"

Master and Tigress both lowered their heads. "I'm sorry," Master said, "this isn't the way this was supposed to go down. You were supposed to beat this Cindy girl in an easy match and I was then going to get her off the drugs and set her free."

Jaguar was beside herself, "You have to get her out of this, you have to do something!"

"I tried," Master said, raising his voice, "don't you think I tried?"

"Reno wants me, I'll fight The Machine!" Jaguar yelled.

"No!" Master yelled back, facing her. "That's what he wants, that would be far worse."

Jaguar stepped closer to Master till their noses were practically touching. "YOU CAN'T..."

"ENOUGH!" Cheetah shouted, standing up. "I'm going to fight this match and I'm going to win, that's all there is to it!"

Everyone was startled into silence for a moment. Tigress was the first one to break the silence. She stood up and hugged Cheetah, saying "good luck sweetheart." Cheetah looked into her eyes and knew it was a sincere wish. Jaguar was still fuming and stood off in the corner of the room with her arms folded in front of her.

Ruth finally came back into the room, she walked up to Cheetah, "I know this is a lot of shit coming at you all at once, but you have to put this all out of your mind and concentrate on the fight, if you dwell on all the drama, you'll be giving your opponent an advantage." Cheetah nodded, thinking that this was easier said than done.

The light above the door began to blink. "Showtime." Master said and attached the leash to Cheetah's collar. Ruth pulled her robe off and Master started to lead her into the Arena.

Cheetah stopped to look at Jaguar who was facing away from her. "Aren't you going to wish me luck?" Cheetah asked. Jaguar turned and Cheetah saw that tears were streaming down her face. Cheetah embraced her and Jaguar hugged her and held on like she never wanted to let her go. "Hey hey, don't worry, I'm going to be fine." Jaguar wanted to say something but the lump in her throat was too big.

"We have to go." Master said, and Cheetah broke their embrace and followed him out of the room.

A chill ran through Cheetah when she first laid eyes on The Machine. She was already standing at the center of the mat facing her, legs apart with her hands behind her. Cheetah estimated The Machine was three or four inches taller than her, maybe like 5'10" or so. Her nude body was lean and ripped. She looked to be mid twenties, attractive in a rugged sort of way. She had long black hair that fell loosely about her shoulders and piercing green/blue eyes that watched Cheetah's every move like a hawk. The expression on her face could only be described as menacing. Cheetah tried to maintain a calm demeanor but inside she was panicking.

"Our main event," The announcer's voice came over the loudspeakers, "will be a winner-take-all match." Most of the audience already knew this but a gasp came from those who were unaware. The announcer went on to describe the terms of the match. When he mentioned the name Cindy, Cheetah looked to see a young skinny dark haired girl who definitely looked like she was malnourished and based on the vacant look on her face appeared to be under the influence of some kind of drug. Cheetah looked back to The Machine and saw that she never took her eyes off of her for a moment. The referee explained the rules of the match to them and then the contestants returned to their corners to await the starting bell.

"Don't let her rattle you," Ruth said when Cheetah approached her, "just follow your training, concentrate and remember the new moves I taught you." Cheetah nodded and the bell rang.

Cheetah turned and took a step before she realized that The Machine was racing toward her, only a few steps away. She ducked as the Machine tried to punch her with a right cross, but she wasn't able to block the knee that immediately followed and landed squarely to her stomach. She buckled and The Machine grabbed her by the waist and lifted her off her feet upside down. Cheetah felt herself being carried back to the center of the mat and then slammed down on her back. Without even thinking about it, Cheetah rolled to her side and just barely avoided the knee that slammed down on the mat. Cheetah tried to scramble to her feet but The Machine grabbed her legs and tackled her. Cheetah spun onto her back and managed to free one leg, which she used to kick The Machine in the face. She felt the grip on her other leg loosen momentarily and quickly shed the grasp and bounced back up on her feet.

The Machine didn't give her a second to gather herself as she immediately charged again. Cheetah caught one of her arms as she took a wild swing and rolling backwards, used The Machine's momentum to flip her over her. The machine flew through the air for about five feet before landing violently in the first row of the audience. To Cheetah's amazement, The Machine got up and began charging her again. The charge was a bit slower this time. Cheetah saw her lower her hands, Ruth had told her that The Machine telegraphs when she's going to go for a leg-grab by lowering her hands. Cheetah swiftly moved to her right and then swung with one of her most powerful right crosses, which landed squarely on The Machine's jaw. Other women would have been sent sprawling by such a punch but The Machine shook it off like it was nothing. She did see The Machine take a step back and reassess her, like she now regarded her as some kind of a rodent instead of as an insect. The Machine came at her again and this time she didn't drop her hands as she dove for Cheetah's legs, tackling and landing on top of her. Cheetah felt The Machine's hands go for her throat and start to choke her. She swung her arms together hitting her opponent on each of her elbows but it had no effect. She tried again but the death grip on her throat was not broken. She tried to reach up for The Machine's face but her arms were shorter and she found that was no use. She gasped for air as her mind raced for a way to get out of this grip when she heard the bell ring ending the first round. The referee had to come over and break the grip before The Machine finally got off of her and went to her corner.

Cheetah staggered to her corner where Ruth placed a chair for her to sit. Cheetah tried to catch her breath. "She's too strong, she's too fast," she panted, "she learns instantly from her mistakes, I'm going to lose, oh god I'm going to lose." She said, not trying to conceal the hysteria in her voice. Cheetah looked over at her opponent who was not even sitting down, she was standing with her hands on her hips glaring at her.

Ruth grabbed her by her shoulders. "Listen, you can't think like that," she said blocking Cheetah's view, "she can be beaten, you can do it, you just have to concentrate..." Cheetah wasn't listening to her anymore, she felt drained after one round, her best punch hadn't fazed her, she felt as if it was hopeless. She was going to be ripped away from her home, from her family, from her lover and given to a stranger. A stranger who had brutalized and abused the woman she loved. 'How did I get myself into this mess,' She wondered, 'and how do I get myself out?' The bell rang and Ruth helped her to her feet. "OK now, remember what I told you." Ruth said.

Cheetah lumbered toward the center of the mat, trying to get her mind to focus. The Machine came at her again. Cheetah saw her hands drop and instinctively attempted to do her side step and punch move, but instead of diving down, The Machine came with her own right hook, catching Cheetah solidly on the left cheek. Cheetah staggered and then felt her right arm being grabbed. The Machine pulled Cheetah across her body and lifted her up so that she was lying on top of her shoulders. The crowd gasped as The Machine spun her around and then slammed her down to the mat. She then came down with both knees on top of Cheetah's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The Machine lifted Cheetah into a sitting position and then moved behind her locking her arm around her throat in a chokehold.

After a minute Cheetah stopped struggling. The referee knelt down to look into Cheetah's eyes, she then lifted one of Cheetah's arms and let it go, when the arm fell lifelessly back to the mat, the ref got up and waved her arms ending the match, the bell rang and the crowd cheered. The ref then began to pry The Machine's, which were still locked in a chokehold around Cheetah's throat. When she finally got her off, Cheetah slumped on her back on the mat. The referee raised her hand and announced, "The winner by technical knockout, The Machine!"

The Machine then dropped to her knees, straddling Cheetah's head and let lose a strong stream of urine, which splashed across her face. The crowd let out a mixture of cheers and jeers. Jaguar bolted from her chair and tried to run to the mat but Ruth caught her and held her back. Cheetah began coughing and sputtering as she regained consciousness.

Reno moved from the shadows and walked to the center of the mat. "Time to claim my prize." He said, watching the struggling Jaguar all the while. He was tall and gaunt with short unkempt black hair. He had a three-day growth of beard and his clothing matched his shabby appearance. He picked up Cheetah by her hair and threw a towel in her face. "Clean yourself up, you smell like shit."

Cheetah used the towel to wipe her face off and then scowled at him. Reno motioned to The Machine who went behind Cheetah and grasped her in a bear hug. Reno then slapped her violently back and forth across the face several times. "Slaves do not look their owners in the eye." He yelled at her.

Jaguar screamed, "YOU BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!" and almost broke free of Ruth's grasp.

"Tigress!" Master yelled and Tigress grabbed the struggling Jaguar by the legs lifting her off her feet.

"You need to get your girls under control," Reno sneered to Master, "I'll have this one whipped into submission in no time." With that he grabbed a fist full of Cheetah's hair and began pulling her toward the exit.

"RENO, I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU." Jaguar screamed.

Reno flipped her the finger without turning or breaking his stride as he exited the Arena. Reno dragged Cheetah to an old 70's Cadillac that looked like it had more rust than metal. He popped the trunk and The Machine grabbed her robe and put it on. Reno then instructed her to bind Cheetah's hands behind her back with some leather restraints that were also in the trunk. Cheetah was still nude when Reno pushed her unceremoniously into the trunk and closed the lid.

Jaguar was livid and inconsolable on the ride home. "We can't just leave her, we have to go back and do something!" she cried from the back seat. Ruth had her arm around her, trying to give some comfort. Tigress turned around from the front seat to face her. "Just what do you propose we do? You know what the terms of the match were, you saw what happened. What can we do?"

"I don't know but we have to do something," Jaguar continued, "Reno is a madman, he's going to do terrible things to Cheetah, I know I was with him. We have to..."

"Yes," Tigress interrupted, "and we got you away from him, and we'll get Cheetah back."

"How?" Jaguar fired back glaring at her. "Do you have a plan or are you just talking shit to make yourself feel better? What does it even matter to you? As far as you're concerned it's just less competition you have for keeping your place in Master's bed."

Tigress's face turned a shade darker. "Listen you little..."

"Quiet!" Master said. "Not another word from either of you. I got Cheetah into this situation and I'll figure out a way to get her out." Jaguar wasn't nearly satisfied with this answer but she didn't utter another word the whole way back, she sat brooding and glaring at the back of Tigress's head. When they arrived back at the house, Jaguar went to the exercise room without giving any of the others a glance and began pounding the heavy bag.

Ruth was almost as dejected as Jaguar. She had underestimated The Machine. Everything she had taught Cheetah had been useless, she had failed her. Ruth stumbled to her room and threw herself face down on her bed. While Jaguar had her anger to consume her, Ruth only had sorrow and regrets to occupy her, and for the first time in as long as she could remember, she wept.

Tigress followed Master into his study. Closing the door behind her, she moved next to Master who had walked over to his desk and sat on the edge. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked tentatively.

Master looked down and slowly shook his head. "I have a pretty good idea what Reno wants, he wants Jaguar back, he wants a winner-take-all match between her and The Machine. If I thought Jaguar had a hope of winning I'd go for it, but you saw her, The Machine is inhuman, whoever gave her that nickname knew what they were doing."

"I could try..." Tigress started to say, but Master knew where she was going with this.

"No," he interrupted, "I know you mean well, and if you were 100%, I'd consider it, but as things are with your back and all, it's out of the question." Master's eyes searched the room aimlessly. "I just don't know what to do." Tigress moved closer to him and they hugged each other.

Cheetah felt the car pull to a stop and then the engine was shut off. A moment later the trunk lid was popped and The Machine, who was now dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, grabbed a fist full of her hair and pulled her out. She was led this way into an old warehouse. The Machine took her to a corner of the warehouse where Reno was lighting a welding torch. Cheetah's hands were still bound behind her back as The Machine held her as Reno removed her leather collar and welded a metal collar in its place. Then with a large padlock, she was fastened to a chain that was bolted to the floor. The chain was heavy and about ten feet long, allowing Cheetah only very limited movement. Its heavy links pulled on her.