Chapter Eleven Great Beautiful Strong Pair
The plasma television glowed into life.
"I hope we've not missed … oh, its ok, they haven't made their entrance yet."
Reiko settled herself onto a comfortable black leather settee. Next to her Benikage had taken control of the remote. They had the viewing room to themselves. On the screen, The Axis of Evil, Makoto and Aigle's opponents, were already lounging insolently in their corner. Anesthesia wore her usual sexed-up nurses uniform, cut away at the belly, with a short tight skirt, while her partner was costumed as a devil in red latex, complete with horned mask, and a long, barbed tail.
Reiko muttered, "I thought the organisers said only swimwear was allowed. Funny kind of clothes for the beach."
Benikage turned up the sound, and they caught the commentary coming from surround speakers "…the third tag debutante is Evil Rose, and from what we've seen so far that's a pretty good description of her disposition."
Using the remote, Benikage switched to a camera showing a view of the pair from slightly below. Anesthesia's white-lace stockings filled the screen. Reiko murmured impatiently and glanced at the ninja. She had a strange smile on her face. Taking the hint, the kunoichi changed the angle again, this time to a close-up of Evil Rose.
Reiko shuddered, "Oh … her eyes."
Evil Rose was staring straight into the camera. The full-face mask showed two red slits where the eyes should have been.
Benikage grunted and said shortly, "Contacts."
The camera panned down, rather voyeuristically taking in Evil Rose's prominent, well-sized bosom, focusing on a tattoo upon her left breast. It appeared to be the image of a demon's head and wings.
The shot altered to a deutch angle of Anesthesia's face and upper torso, the camera held below and tilted. The nurse seemed to be looking down on the viewer aslant, smiling ominously, hand on chin. Reiko wondered if she was also covering the bruise from her encounter with Aisha, but when Anesthesia suddenly removed her hand, no mark could be seen. Reiko supposed it was masked by a combination of careful make up and a heavy tan.
There was a sudden burst of melodious music. A voice announced, "Makoto Aihara and Aigle, the Great, Beautiful, Strong Pair!"
Reiko rubbed her hands excitedly. "I've been really looking forward to their entrance. It sounds so cute! You see, they start by adjusting the bows in each other's hair, then they walk together holding hands, then …"
Benikage grunted again. The screen was showing the columned entrance backdrop. Blue velvet curtains were pulled aside to reveal Makoto Aihara. She was standing alone.
Reiko gave an exclamation of surprise. "But that's not …"
Makoto seemed uncertain and embarrassed. Her cheeks red, she bowed nervously in all directions, then looked backwards, perhaps hoping for some support. Receiving none, she advanced tentatively along the walkway, swinging her arms a little too much, wearing an old-fashioned, almost Victorian-style bathing costume.
Reiko said, "Hmmm, if she'd asked me … still it suits her in a kind of a retro way."
Benikage asked, "What can be wrong? Where is Aigle?" The words had scarcely passed her lips when the nomad appeared.
Her swimsuit, like Makoto's, was fairly conservative, a one-piece affair that revealed only a moderate amount of cleavage. However the Mongolian wrestler had considerably more of this to boast about. Her small but well-muscled frame seemed to be almost bursting from the costume. Her jet-black hair and fine, strong features held a wild and brooding beauty.
It appeared that something had occurred to arouse the nomad's temper. She had a glowering expression on her face, and took long, angry strides. While this was hardly unusual behaviour for a wrestler and the daughter of a warrior race, it wasn't in the cutesy script Reiko was expecting.
She said, "Oh, no, they must've quarrelled about something! What could it be? I hope it won't effect their teamwork."
That the Great, Beautiful Strong Pair could have a problem with team spirit was becoming increasingly obvious. The looks between them were in stark contrast to the bounciness of their signature tune, which carried on regardless of how cheesily false it had come to sound. Once in the ring, the two wrestlers continued to ignore each other, staying as far apart as possible, until the preliminaries were completed. Then, with a sulky expression, the Mongolian took up her position in the corner, and an apprehensive looking Makoto advanced to face off with Anesthesia.
Unsurprisingly the nurse was making the most of Makoto's inexperience and hesitancy, drawing herself up to her full height, hands on hips, and shaking her head in disbelief.
"You're a judo gold medallist? Small – and you don't look very strong."
Makoto replied stoutly enough, "Better to bend than to break, wrestling's no different."
"Oh, but you will break my dear. Run away now while you still can."
Anesthesia's jibes seemed to be getting through to Makoto. "Stop making fun of me! Let's do this!"
"You're so cute, little one, let's see what you've got."
In a typical opener, Makoto charged, attempting a low takedown. Speed was one of her main assets, but Anesthesia anticipated the move, and slid even lower to trip the Judo Babe. Before Makoto could react, Anesthesia was entwined around her like a snake, applying a submission hold. Perhaps surprised that the nurse would even try this so early in the fight, Makoto took longer than expected to wriggle free.
As both regained their feet, Anesthesia said, mockingly, "Have you got so slow in the head? That comes of spending too much time with peasants."
Almost as if bewitched by the nurse's words, Makoto did seem to be moving rather slowly, shaking her head slightly. Her next charge was clumsier and even more predictable. Anesthesia countered with a lashing kick with her long legs, but didn't bother to follow it up this time. A pattern was established. Anesthesia continued to easily avoid Makoto's more and more desperate lunges. She would occasionally strike back but mostly remained content to let the Judo Babe tire herself out. At the same time, she gave Makoto nothing to feed off in terms of her own counters.
Eventually Anesthesia appeared to tire of playing cat and mouse. "That's enough foreplay. Its time for - a Touch of Evil."
Anesthesia tagged, and Evil Rose bounded into the ring. She had a strange, low, crouching gait like an animal's and the ring mikes picked up her fast, panting breaths. It was almost as if Makoto were confronting a wild beast in the arena.
Evil Rose stole forward, her movements exaggeratedly feline, as though she were a mime artist attempting to portray a leopard or other large member of the cat family. Makoto remained for a moment rooted to the spot, hypnotised by this outlandish display. Then she seemed to come to herself. As the rubber-clad wrestler advanced, the Judo babe snaked out a leg and executed her signature move, Tornado Form, a sweeping throw of immense power. Evil Rose crashed to the ground and, with a shade less speed than normal, Makoto prepared to follow up the attack on an opponent she naturally expected to be stunned.
Instead the devil in red gave a wild, bestial cry, and kicked upwards, flinging Makoto back, and at the same time, leaping back to her feet. Seamlessly she counter-attacked with a combination of fierce kicks and punches of such strength that they completely swept aside Makoto's wavering defence. She was forced back onto the ropes, cowering away from the punishing blows that continued to pummel her, eventually collapsing to the canvas. Nimbly Evil Rose vaulted onto the ring apron, then hand-sprung over the ropes in a huge leap that ended with her landing feet first on the small, prone figure. Reiko clapped her hands to her ears to shut out the Judo Babe's agonised shriek.
Evil Rose pinned Makoto down with her legs, at the same time holding out an arm for Anesthesia to tag. The nurse casually strolled forward to comply, taking over control of the helpless young wrestler.
An outraged Reiko yelled at the screen, "That tag was illegal! Why doesn't the referee call the foul?" Benikage shook her head disapprovingly.
Anesthesia was employing her speciality technique, a bridging submission hold known as Flying Stretcher, similar to Dixie's Double Bridge Hold, but even more vicious in that it very slowly and remorselessly drained away the victim's resistance, leaving her flapping uselessly to escape like a bird with a broken wing.
Reiko cried, "Oh, poor Makoto! Why isn't Aigle ready to rescue her?"
Instead of trying to help, the nomad had folded her arms, and was watching the spectacle of Makoto's humiliation with an expression of bored contempt. Anesthesia shifted her position slightly, so Makoto could see this, then began to taunt her.
"Oh, isn't your little friend coming to save you? Have you two fallen out? What could you have done to make her so angry with you?"
Makoto could only respond with gasps; it seemed only a matter of time before she would have to submit.
Suddenly the tannoy system coughed into life with a buzz of feedback. A voice announced emotionlessly, "Code violation, Axis of Evil. Please release the hold. Disqualification will follow any further offence."
Reiko said, "Oh thank goodness! Why didn't they call it earlier, before she was so badly hurt?"
Anesthesia got to her feet, unruffled by the chorus of boos from the crowd. She watched, hands on hips, as Makoto crawled pathetically towards her corner. The official intervention seemed to have come almost too late for the Judo Babe. She was clearly all in, and scarcely had the strength to reach for Aigle's hand. With a grim look, the nomad silently made the tag.
Anesthesia confronted Aigle, wrinkling her nose and fanning the air.
She said, "Whew! What's that smell? Has someone let a goat into the ring?"
The nomad gave the nurse a puzzled glance. "What lady mean? All Aigle's goats clean animals."
"Well, you could've fooled me. And that look of yours would curdle their milk. Come on now." Anesthesia adopted the deceptively jovial manner of an ogre toying with its victim before eating it. "I know you're dying to tell us what's upset you. Why don't you get it off your chest?" Seeing the Mongolian was looking down at her own breasts in confusion, she added, "Did someone do something to offend you?"
Aigle regarded Anesthesia suspiciously, "Why lady want to know?"
"At my clinic I provide courses in anger management. I could sign you up for one – but first you have to tell me what made you angry?"
Aigle's brow darkened. "Creepy lady speak with serpent's tongue. Not care about Aigle. Aigle need no help. I have warrior's heart – warrior speak with hard blows." She slapped her thighs hard with her hands.
The nurse grinned derisively. "Play it like that if you want. My friend here will give you your fill of them. But I can guess what happened. You think people are your friends for one reason, and then it turns out to be quite a different one. Goats are simpler to handle."
So saying Anesthesia backed away and tagged with Evil Rose.
Aigle approached the bizarrely costumed figure with the kind of caution a hunter might adopt when tracking a rare and dangerous animal, raising her head as if to snuff for a distinctive scent. Her examination of her foe complete, she blew on her hands, and held herself ready.
"She uses all her senses. That is wise." Reiko started, for it was the first time the ninja had spoken during the fight.
"I hope she doesn't charge in like Makoto did. That woman's the very devil in disguise, for sure. She may try something tricky."
Reiko's fears looked about to be realised, as Aigle made a lunge forward. But at the last moment she checked herself, and as Evil Rose swung her leg in a roundhouse kick, Aigle caught the outstretched limb. She held it long enough to pull the unbalanced wrestler towards her and deliver a stunning open hand strike. Then she seized her dazed opponent round the waist, and clinging as tightly as if she were the mythical Proteus, used her weight to swing her across her body to the canvas, using the momentum to repeat the action a second time. After the subsequent impact, Aigle flipped back to her feet, leaving her adversary prone.
"Be careful now!" Reiko urged, under her breath.
Unlike Makoto, Aigle made no attempt to take control of her opponent on the ground at such an early stage. Instead she stamped down hard, perhaps hoping to weaken or infuriate the masked wrestler by humiliating her.
Benikage again spoke unexpectedly. "A true warrior does not fight like an unthinking barbarian, but with the head before the heart."
Almost as if to confirm the truth of the ninja's words, Evil Rose leapt back to her feet, and with a bestial roar, charged Aigle, arms outstretched. With no hint of discomposure, the nomad placed her boot firmly into her onrushing opponent's chest, then rolling backwards flung her over her head in a full sacrifice. The masked wrestler somersaulted through the air, her legs catching the top rope and bouncing her back ringwards to fall awkwardly on her back. While she was still writhing from the heavy fall, Aigle rushed in to follow up with an elbow drop, and once back upright, chopped downwards to pound her opponent with both fists clenched together.
Evil Rose remained on the canvas, gasping. Aigle raised an arm exultantly, and shouted, "You weak! Aigle is winning!"
Perceiving that her opponent was unwilling or unable to respond to this taunt, the nomad maintained the initiative by hauling her to her feet and swinging her like a hammer towards her own corner in an Irish Whip. Makoto was still too weak to attempt to double team, even if she had considered such a manoeuvre to be within the bounds of fairness. Aigle did not seem to need or want such help in any case. She charged like a battering ram to crush Evil Rose against the turnbuckle. Then seating her opponent on it, she took hold of her to execute another overhead throw, propelling the increasingly punch drunk wrestler back into the centre of the ring.
Despite falling like a sack of potatoes, Evil Rose began to stagger to her feet, perhaps driven by a desperate need to escape more punishment. Her partner was stretching out to make the tag, but the distance was too great, and Aigle was not about to let that happen. Sensing the moment for the coup de grace was near, the nomad initiated that move formerly known as Mongolian BBQ but renamed, at Makoto's request, Mongolian Fire, which the Judo Babe thought more dignified. Whatever the designation, it involved Aigle stretching both arms backwards and outwards before whipping them forwards and together to repeatedly smash her opponent on the side of the head. Few were able to withstand this double barrage of blows, and as the fourth struck home, Aigle gave an ululating cry of triumph.
"Great Father, I fight magnificently and make tribe proud! Aigle is warrior!"
But Evil Rose did not fall. Instead she stood holding her head in her hands. From her mouth came a bubbling wailing, as though a demonic banshee had taken possession of her soul, and was shrieking its misery to the heavens. The continuing sound was blood curdling enough to make Reiko shudder, and as she glanced at her companion, she saw the ninja was leaning forward, eyes narrowed, unwaveringly focused on the spectacle.
Such behaviour was bizarre enough to make even the phlegmatic Mongolian step backwards, and Aigle's amazement was mingled with a hint of superstitious fear. However her pragmatic nature was such that any consternation was superseded by the desire to finish her opponent while she was at a disadvantage, unrestrained, as Makoto might have been, by any notions of chivalry. She grabbed for the distraught wrestler's legs, preliminary to lifting and pile driving her into ground with her finishing move, White Doe.
The events following occurred with the unexpected swiftness of summer lightning, yet seemed to Reiko to move at glacier speed inside a bubble of time that would remain forever frozen in her memory.
As Aigle began to take hold, the masked woman shook her head in the manner of one who seeks to free herself from a nightmare. She reached low to counter grapple the nomad, pulling her inwards, and with casual ease and strength hoisted her onto her shoulders, before slamming her forwards and down with unstoppable force. While Aigle lay stunned under the impact of the power bomb, her opponent executed a backwards somersault of near supernatural agility, her body describing a graceful arc and seeming to fly through the air until she was perched atop the turnbuckle. Then with the same balletic beauty so different to her previous stance and actions, she reversed the movement and plummeted like a descending angel towards her fallen foe.
The bone-crushing concussion could almost be felt rather than heard. Aigle screamed.
She may have broken her leg. But the phrase drifted through Reiko's head as though it were meaningless. She wet her lips, finding it difficult to form the words.
"So … strange."
Benikage asked quickly. "What is it?"
"I … I … That move. It was so like … so like the one our mother taught to my sister and I. And the style of it … the … artistry. That … grace … was something only Fujiko could achieve."
"Your sister is a professional wrestler like yourself? Surely someone else could copy her style?" The ninja sounded markedly offhand.
"Yes – but she …" Reiko fell silent. The television pictures showed Aigle laying flat in the ring, gasping, holding her leg, her face twisted in agony. Pitifully Makoto was crawling forward from her corner on her hands and knees, presumably to try to help her. But Evil Rose paid neither of them any mind. She continued holding her head, as if in terrible pain, and the ring mikes were picking up a low moaning, an almost animal-like noise.
Seemingly oblivious to the drama enacting in the ring, Benikage asked casually, "And where is your sister, now?"
The question caught Reiko by surprise, and she said, falteringly, "I … don't really know. I … haven't seen her for a long while."
The camera now focused on Anesthesia. She was approaching Evil Rose, and with a disdainful look, appeared to be offering to tag with her.
In a sudden movement, Evil Rose lowered her hands and violently shoved the nurse backwards. As her tag partner sprung back off the ropes, Evil Rose caught and lifted her and then almost nonchalantly threw her out of the ring. Anesthesia landed with a splash in the tidal pool, and lay cursing, holding her back. The masked wrestler resumed holding her head.
Continuing to watch expressionlessly, Benikage asked, "Did your sister ever undergo special training in the martial arts – at a monastery or temple for example?"
Feeling a little irritated at the distraction, Reiko leant forward to examine the screen, once again zooming in on Evil Rose's grimacing visage. Absently she said, "Most Japanese wrestlers employ martial arts techniques, of course. But, no, I'm sure she never went anywhere like that – at least not before she left Japan. We were close then, and she would've told me. Why do you ask?"
"Curiosity only." The ninja sounded disappointed, but Reiko was too involved in what was happening in the ring to wonder why.
Makoto was kneeling beside Aigle, seemingly trying to sooth her injuries. The nomad, however, kept her face resolutely turned away, a sign that she did not want, or could not admit to needing her partner's support. Evil Rose remained as before, but now a new development was taking place outside the tidal pool marking the edge of the fighting arena.
The camera had panned to take in an orderly procession making its way along the boardwalk leading to the moat. It consisted of three men and one woman, dressed in the white uniforms of medical orderlies. As they reached the water, the retractable bridge extended to allow them to cross.
Back in the ring, Makoto had regained her feet a little unsteadily, apparently defeated in her efforts to render assistance to Aigle. Reiko saw with astonishment that her features were contorted in what looked like anger, except that she could not recall ever seeing her friend lose her temper. With a shrill cry, Makoto charged Evil Rose from behind, an action which Reiko knew the Judo Babe would normally consider dishonourable.
As if she had eyes in the back of her head, the woman in red ceased her writhing long enough to flip Makoto out of the ring with a controlled speed and power in contrast to her earlier feral stance. The Japanese wrestler splashed into the sea trench, and remained huddled miserably next to Anesthesia who, after a brief contemptuous glance, ignored her, continuing to watch events in the ring with folded arms.
The medical team had sprung over the ropes with practised ease. All were Japanese, and the resemblance they bore to one another was notable, even when seen through the eyes of a compatriot such as Reiko. They were of a small build, yet wiry and muscular, faces almost as one in an aspect of passionless calm. The woman carried a doctor's bag, from which she now produced a hypodermic needle. This action caused a chorus of boos to break out from the watching audience. Undeterred, the white-coated men confidently approached Evil Rose, with the apparent intention of restraining her.
As soon as they were close enough, the afflicted wrestler lashed out, punching twice at one, and kicking at another. To Reiko's surprise, the medics easily dodged or blocked the attacks, and moving with great speed and fluidity, surrounded their reluctant patient. She continued to resist, but was unable to land any significant blows. Suddenly, one of the men stepped rapidly behind her, and placing a hand to the back of her neck, seemed to press with his fingers. Instantly the masked head slumped forward, lolling in disorientation, and the female medic quickly moved close enough to apply the hypodermic. Evil Rose staggered, and her befuddled movements suggested she was losing interest in her surroundings. Supporting her between them, two of the men began to haul her out of the ring. The booing was louder now and continuous, and here and there fists were raised in the crowd.
Reiko glanced at Benikage. The ninja was watching with apparent detachment, yet the young woman sensed in her a barely suppressed excitement, and stranger still, a vast satisfaction, as if the scene in front of them was playing out exactly as she had predicted or planned. But who could have anticipated … Reiko returned her attention to the screen, as a crackle from the tannoy temporarily quietened the jeers.
"Having previously warned contestants about illegal tagging, the Rumble Roses committee disqualifies Makoto Aihara, and awards the match to the Axis of Evil. Please do not attempt to leave the arena until medical personnel have completed their work."
Reiko said, "But … that's not fair."
Many in the crowd gave every sign of sharing Reiko's view, regarding this announcement as the final straw. Rather than obey the tannoy instruction, knots of onlookers were attempting to mount the boardwalk, to hinder the progress of the medics marching offstage with Evil Rose. Others were fording the pool surrounding the ring, or picking up stones and pieces of driftwood and hurling them indiscriminately.
Cameras were being disrupted or overturned, and the director seemed to be trying to cut away from the rioting, without much success. Using her control, Benikage switched to an overhead view of the ring. In the midst of the confusion Reiko spotted that Makoto's trainer and personal physician had reached Aigle's side, along with the distinctive figure of Miss Spencer, still dressed in her semi-formal clothes despite the heat.
The announcer was asking the crowd to remain calm - a request impossible in the circumstances – followed by a warning that violent and unruly behaviour would be suppressed by security. Another camera angle showed the muscle behind this threat. From one side of the stage, a blue wedge of figures in tactical vests and face-shielded helmets was moving towards the boardwalk. The flashes of a private security firm were visible on their uniforms, and they were already laying about themselves with batons on anyone within their reach. This aggressive response, rather than suppressing the riot, served to inflame the situation further.
Most of the crowd were now willingly or unwillingly involved in the fracas, some simply trying to get away, others to fight back. Reinforcements in full SWAT gear were arriving, herding them like sheep. The ring mikes picked up the howls and shrieks of fear, rage and pain, the rattle of stones on shields, the dull crump of tear gas grenades exploding. The noises rang in Reiko's head like one collective, primal scream of terror and anger, and she put her fingers to her ears, looking pleadingly at the kunoichi. A little reluctantly, Benikage turned down the sound on the surround speakers.
Half-sobbing, Reiko cried, "It's horrible … horrible." To the ninja, she said urgently, "Quick, see what's happening to Makoto and Aigle, are they alright?"
Benikage switched back to the high camera. The ring was mostly clear of rioters, and the reason for this became apparent. Miss Spencer was firmly ejecting any intruders, using methods that would probably not have found favour with her school board. The teacher's deployment of painful arm locks to apprehend miscreants showed a sound grasp of technique and a cool-headed determination to restore order. Reiko noted with relief that Aigle and her trainer appeared safe, but she could see no sign of Makoto.
Benikage flicked between multiple camera shots of the arena, which now resembled a battlefield, strewn with the bleeding wounded and veiled in white clouds of drifting riot gas. The harrowing scenes burned themselves on Reiko's sight, and she found herself dreading each new picture.
The ninja eventually found what she was looking for. A camera panned, and then focused on a nearby mound of sand. Atop it were two figures, one tall, one short. The taller was Anesthesia, and next to her Makoto crouched low, making herself seem even more diminutive. The nurse's hat was perched at a somewhat rakish angle, but she gave the impression she was otherwise unharmed and unruffled. She had a hand on Makoto's shoulder, as if to protect or comfort her, yet the gesture struck Reiko as having something sinister about it. The Judo Babe herself looked to have sustained no additional injuries, but her eyes seemed to stare and stare and perceive nothing. Around them the melee continued, within which they stood as though in a charmed circle, the eye at the centre of a storm of chaos. The camera zoomed in on Anesthesia's face. The nurse looked about her with a kind of fierce glee, and though nothing could be heard above the tumult, the movement of her mouth showed she was laughing all the time, louder and louder.
Reiko said, "That's it, I've seen enough. We've got to get down to that arena. Makoto and Aigle need our help."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
Reiko and Benikage turned to look behind them. The director of the shoot was standing in the doorway. The woman's iron-grey hair combined with a drawn expression to make her look suddenly careworn and older than her years.
"I've just been informed that all travel on and off the island has been halted for a minimum of twenty four hours due to the emergency. By order of the Florida State and the Rumble Roses committee."
*Looks like I'm going to break my resolution to reduce the A/N.
This chapter is not in any way meant to imply wrestling fans have a tendency to riot. I'm sure you're all mostly peaceful types. It's purely for story purposes.
Aigle's move is still officially known as Mongolian BBQ. It's just me (not Makoto or Konami) who thinks Mongolian Fire sounds better.
Apologies for making classical references like I'm some kind of Victorian author. For those unfamiliar, Proteus was a mythical being able to change his shape, and would only return to his original form (and help you) if you held on to him long enough.
As my most regular reviewer has raised some questions about some aspects of the story, especially with regard to the characters' credibility in the previous two chapters, I thought I would show I pay attention by explaining the rationale.
Firstly he wondered why Reiko persisted in going out with Aisha, in spite of Dixie's warnings and apparent disapproval. The simple answer is that in some relationships partners allow each other a certain amount of freedom, and Reiko, having asked her opinion, took Dixie at her word when she said, "You're your own woman, darlin'".
Secondly it was suggested Benikage seemed to have developed a very rapid "crush" on Reiko. In fact the ninja is shown quite early in the story to have a particular fascination with Reiko (for unspecified reasons) and to imagine that they have some kind of "connection". Also both women have recently fought against one another, and that in itself has brought them into intimate contact.
Naturally I'm as ever fully appreciative of the efforts of all my reviewers, as they hopefully keep me on my toes. Thank you again!
Lastly, but by no means least, I have to acknowledge the help Steveothepirate gave me with this chapter. I found the solution to a very tricky wrestling sequence only at the last moment, but without his advice it would never have been completed to my satisfaction. Another big thank you to him.*