Cerebella's House
March 9th, 2:45PM

"Player, will you hurry it up! You been in there for too long!" Cerebella calls out from downstairs while the Player was changing in the bathroom.

"Dude, you brought all this unnecessary gear, it's taking forever to get it all on!" The Player's muffled shouting could be heard from upstairs.

"Don't make me come up there and put it on myself!"

"You aren't gonna put anything on! I'm almost done!"

"Well hurry up!" Cerebella sighs impatiently and goes back to the kitchen where Filia was sitting at the table. "He sure knows how to keep a girl waiting."

"Tell me about it." Filia chuckled.

"You know you can help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, Filia. Want something to drink?"

"Oh, no. That's okay. Thank you. I don't want to impose."

"Pfft, screw that." Samson spoke for himself and grew out his arms and legs, in his bipedal form he pushes back the chair and stands up, going to the fridge in search of snacks. "Got any booze?"

"Samson!" Filia tried resisting Samson's ability to drag her along to no avail. "I'm sorry, Cerebella."

Cerebella scoffs and crossed her arms. "Stop apologizing. Seriously, it's cool. Help yourselves. No beer, Samson. Just water, juice and soda."

"Lame." That didn't stop him from rummaging to see what else would catch his eye.

"I'm still shocked the Player is going to be working with…THE Beowulf." Cerebella says in disbelief, but nevertheless pleasantly surprised. "How did he even manage that?"

"He just went in for the audition and got the job." Filia answered.

"I understand that, but he got chosen! Out of the thousands of people who were there!"

"Actually, he said nobody showed up."

"Makes sense. That Wulfamania crap is old news. It's all about Vixenmania." Samson smirks, grabbing a can of soda.

"Vixenmania?" Filia asked.

Cerebella's face twists in disgust at the name. "He's talking about that garbage female wrestling show. It's so fake and corny."

"And Wulfamania is any better? With all that mama drama nonsense?" Samson argues.

"It's so much better, and it's the original. Man, I bet Beowulf hasn't lost an ounce of that form." Cerebella's eyes sparkle as she fantasized about Beowulf's modern appearance. "I can't wait to see him back in action, in those tights with that tight little-"

"I'm here." The Player walks into the kitchen dressed in the costume Cerebella brought for him, getting everyone's attention.

The new costume was far more fitting than the previous, he had a wolf headdress that extended down to his back which helped keep his bare torso from being fully exposed save for the one-sided fur mantle that covered his left shoulder. He had a pelt draped around his waist tied with a red sash and Black pants underneath tucked into a pair of knee chaps. Other details included arm guards, fingerless gloves and an eagle feather accessory pinned onto the wolf headdress.

Cerebella was impressed with his new look and grins at her work. "Heeeey, there he is. Lookin' good!" She pointed finger guns at him.

"It's a bit much, isn't it?" The Player held out his arms looking unsure of the costume.

"Nah. You're good." Cerebella assures with a thumbs up.

"I think it looks cool." Filia agreed with a chuckle.

"Literally anything was better than that garbage you had before." Samson adds, it wasn't a compliment and yet it was as close to one as Samson was going to get.

The Player was still doubtful, but he couldn't deny it was snazzier and surprisingly comfortable. He shrugs off his initial dismissiveness and rolls with it. "I guess. By the way - I appreciate this, Cerebella. You're always coming through for me."

"Keep in mind she's doing it for that wrestling doofus, not you." Samson corrects him with a taunting grin, now taking a drink.

Cerebella turns to Samson with a pointed finger. "Hey!" She stares at him extensively "…Beowulf is not a doofus."

"Forget me, right?" The Player openly states with a sarcastic smile.

"Come on now. You know she was doing it for you too." Filia playfully pats his back and then looks over to Cerebella. "You've got an eye for this stuff, Cerebella."

"Sure do." Cerebella placed her hands on her hips and held out her chest as if to boast, but that pride deflates a second after. "Man. You're so lucky. I saw a few of those fliers hanging around but I thought it was fake news and paid it no mind, but Wulfamania is really making a comeback! You know any wrestling moves?"

"Not really, no." The Player answers.

"…No?" Cerebella questioned. "Wait, wait. Hold up. You're getting into Wulfamania and don't know any good wrestling techniques?"

The Player slouches at the question and runs his hand through his hair, simultaneously pulling back the wolf hood of his headdress. "Can we please not make this a big deal?"

"Oh, it's a big deal. Follow me."

Cerebella grabs Vice Versa off the kitchen table and makes her way to the basement door just to the Player's left. As she walks down the stairs the Player and Filia look at one another, the Player clearly uninterested in whatever Cerebella had planned.

"Come on! Let's go!" Cerebella shouts from the lower level.

The two look at the basement door and then back at each other once more.

"Can we just go home?" The Player pleads to Filia.

"I mean, we're already here. Might as well play ball. Come on." Filia motions him to follow her to the basement.

"Filia, please! Look, she has carpet, if we tip toe she won't know we left."

"Just come on. Let's see what she's offering."

The girls' minds were made up, there was no point trying to fight against this and the Player knew it. He was going to be dragged into whatever Cerebella had planned regardless of his choice, if it wasn't today it was going to be before Wulfamania began.

With great hesitation the Player follows behind Filia.

Once downstairs the duo were surprised to find that the basement was quite spacious with gym equipment and a boxing ring at the center.

"Damn. What is all this? Is this really a basement?" The Player comments at a near loss of words.

"Dude! She's freaking loaded!" Samson expressed his astonishment with an amused smirk. "To hell with that dingy apartment, we're about to live here."

"She definitely has space to accommodate the three of us." The Player adds.

"What? I'm not talking about you. Just Filia and myself. You and worm food can keep that apartment."

"Yeah. That can work too. That would eliminate us having to see your ugly face." The Player retorts.

"There is a ring right there. We can throw down right now.

"Enough drama, ladies." Cerebella speaks up before the boys' shenanigans could escalate. She came dressed in a sport bra, shorts and fingerless gloves. "All right. I'm gonna teach you how to wrestle."

Filia casually looks at Cerebella, no big deal - she changed into fitting sport attire, but when she looks over to the Player she sees him enthralled with Cerebella's new look. He wasn't the only one Samson angled himself just enough to notice Cerebella and of course his eyes were having a hard time trying to find a distraction.

"On second thought," Filia speaks up on behalf of the boys "maybe we should just go home."

"This is going to be a valuable experience for me, Filia. I can't possibly pass this up." The Player denies with a smile.

"Player, please! If we distract her with a lie she won't know we left."

The Player kicked his shoes off and darts over to the ring Cerebella had already stepped into awaiting his arrival.

"But- But-! Oooh! I hate him sometimes." Filia crossed her arms and sulks adorably.

"I get a turn after him." Samson smirks enthusiastically.

"Shut up, Samson." Filia flatly dismisses Samson, unimpressed with him just as much as the Player.

In the ring the Player meets with Cerebella at the center, still holding that goofy smile. Just looking at him made Cerebella smile back and then chuckle.

"Eyes up, rookie. We're going to be at this all day if you aren't focused." Cerebella instructs.

"I am focused." The Player assures as his head angles on a decline.

Cerebella placed her index finger under his chin and manually lifts his head so that they were at eye level. "Focus up here. Good boy. Now, Player, the first thing you have to understand is Wulfamania isn't just a clash of convictions between fighters from other kingdoms, it's a dazzling display of patriotism and a reminder why Canopy is the toughest there is."

"I think a lot of that bravado comes from the fact that Skullgirls are native to Canopy." The Player said. "If I was the leader of any other kingdom I wouldn't risk getting on Canopy's bad side either. Who would want an all-powerful demigoddess knocking on their door?"

"The Skullgirl pales in comparison to Canopy's undying spirit when faced against perilous danger!" Cerebella corrects. "Wulfamania opened everyone's eyes when the Gigans attacked."

"It baffles me how much spectator sports can warp the mind of a-"

Cerebella wraps her arms around the Player's torso from behind and locked her hands together. Using all her strength she lifts the Player off the ground and arches back - time felt like it came to a crawl and even paused when the Player realized he was suddenly looking up to the ceiling, his expression on a definite pause since he wasn't even sure what the heck was even going on.

…WHAM!

The back of the Player's head met with the floor of the ring.

…WHAM!

His legs were raised in the air.

…WHAM!

One of his boots flew off from his leg being flung up so fast.

A triple replay of Cerebella's supplex. Filia and Samson just watch as the attack happened as fast as it did.

"PFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Samson erupts into a heavy and rasped laugh.

Filia flinches at the sight of the attack and runs to the rings side. "Trinity have mercy! Player, are you ok?!" Samson's laughter didn't die down, getting Filia to look up at the delirious Parasite. "Stop laughing!"

"Hahahahaaaaaaa-!" Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeze "-AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Cerebella does a kip-up to get back on her feet and turns to the Player. "We're gonna start by teaching you all the iconic grappling moves." Cerebella flexed her right arm and made her bicep bulge, she then grabs it with a loud smack of the left hand and smirks. "You'll be a Wulfamania star when I'm done with you."

"Cerebella!" Filia smacks the ring's floor to get her attention. "That was dangerous! You could've at least given him a warning!"

"A warning? Your opponent won't give you a warning when in a match, Filia." Cerebella spoke matter-of-factly

"It's not real!" Filia retorts.

A sinister aura radiates off of Cerebella once the comment was drawn, she had her arms crossed with a red sphere appearing where her eye would be and her face blackened to shadow all but the red gleam in her eye.

"You calling Wulfamania fake?" Cerebella inquired, humorously cold in tone.

Filia paused and smiles timidly, she knew she had to choose her words carefully. "Uuuuuh. Heh. Samson said it was." She points her thumb at Samson.

"I ain't say damn thing." Samson assured after seeing the Player get put down as hard as he did.

"Good." Cerebella smiles adorably, that menacing fangirl aura gone at the blink of an eye. "Anyway, come on, Player. Get up. We have a full day of training ahead of us."

The Player was still just lying there, legs in the air and all, with a hollow unmoving expression that had only the faint remnant of a broken smile. His response; "Eeeeeeeeeeeee-" a prolonged squeal matched by the cries of a mouse in volume.