Chapter 42 (Xtrema vs Berserk)
In the locker room, Carly X was lacing up her boots knowing her match was up next. That's when the door opened up and her opponent, the Sweet Diva idol, Sakura Hagiwara walked in. Carly scoffed at her.
"What do you want?"
"I just came to wish you a good match." Sakura said. "I've heard of your work, and I'm kinda excited."
"Coming from you, that doesn't mean much." Carly said.
"What's your issue?" Sakura asked. "Do you have a problem with me?"
"Honestly, yes." Carly answered standing up straight. "When I first heard I was going to participate in Xtrema's first ever joint event, I was actually excited and honored. But then, all my pride went to dust after I heard that my opponent was someone with a losing streak as long as my arm."
"Why?"
"'Why'? When I first joined the world of pro wrestling, it was to gain someone's attention. But after I learned she doesn't want to see me here, I decided to keep wrestling for the sake of wrestling. I take pride in my work now. But to go against a jobber like you… Well, I'm sure you can get it by now."
"Hey, I'm doing better."
"Doing better would mean you actually have a win. All you did was stop submitting to one move. If I lose, it will make me look bad. If I win, it won't do anything for my reputation. There is no gain from this match. And I'll show you in the ring in a minute." Carly walked past Sakura and into the hallway.
The idol was left with a frown on her face. She then pulled herself together and slapped both of her cheeks. "Don't let her get to you, Sakura. You'll prove her wrong. Win or lose, you'll show how much you've improved."
*Carly X vs Sakura Hagiwara*
Carly X made her usual entrance to the ring. She entered the ring looking excited, but inside, she's indifferent. Sakura followed running toward the ring. Before going in, she looked and saw her fan club that was slowly returning since she stopped submitting to the Boston crab. She gave them a wave before stepping into the ring on the other side of her opponent.
"Our fourth match, ladies and gentlemen! The Stylish Tiger, Carly X, is about to go toe-to-toe against the Sweet Diva idol, Sakura Hagiwara. Sakura doesn't have the best win record in the world of pro wrestling, but she's slowly beginning to improve. Will this result in her first win or will Carly X give the Sweet Diva her last loss before her rematch against Rio Kazama next week?"
DING-DING!
Sakura raised her arms meeting Carly X in the center of the ring. She attempted to grab her shoulders, but the Stylish Tiger countered with a shoulder throw dropping Sakura on her back. Carly then grabbed her hair and raised her up before throwing her to the ropes. Sakura bounced off and Carly hit her with a dropkick to her face. Sakura yelled in shock as she fell backward.
Carly dragged Sakura to the center of the ring and applied a figure-four leglock. Sakura yelled trying to escape the hold, but Carly held her in place. The referee knelt down and asked if Sakura gave up. She didn't.
"Endure…" the Sweet Diva gritted through her teeth. "Endure…" She repeated that word for the full minute while she was in that hold. She used her elbows to move herself and Carly in the same direction until she grabbed the ropes. The referee made Carly let go, which gave Sakura the opportunity to say "…AND COMEBACK!"
Sakura launched both her feet and knocked Carly away from her. She jumped back to her feet and tackled Carly to the ground. She then gave her own figure-four leglock making Carly grit her teeth through the pain.
"How do you like that?" Sakura taunted.
"Carly X, do you give up?" the referee asked.
"Never!"
Carly thrashed her legs around until she managed to slip out of Sakura's legs. She raised herself up to her knee.
"What the hell was that?" Carly asked herself. "That wasn't some jobber's luck I just felt."
Sakura still had the advantage when she grabbed Carly's head and dropped her in a bulldog. She went for the cover.
1… 2…
Carly lifted her shoulder up. Sakura brought her back on her feet before lifting her up and dropping her in a suplex similar to what Hornet used to finish her match before. The referee counted once more.
1… 2…
Carly kicked out again pushing Sakura way with her legs.
"Seriously?" Sakura asked. "I thought for sure that was going to work. What am I…"
In her confusion, she was too late to respond to Carly kneeing her in the gut. Carly then grabbed Sakura's head in a guillotine hold before leaping herself up. She dropped back down connecting Sakura's head with the mat with her finishing move, the DDT-X. It stunned Sakura stiff when Carly rolled her over for the pin.
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
Xtrema: 3
Berserk 1
"And that's the match, everybody! Shame for Sakura to lose again, but knowing her, she'll recover and keep on trying! And what a good performance from her opponent as well!"
Sakura took a deep breath sitting back up. But then, she was surprised to see Carly offering her hand. Sakura took it and stood back up.
The two who just fought entered the locker room and faced each other.
"Okay. I admit. That was a good match… for a jobber."
"Yeah." Sakura said rubbing her head. "Misaki said all I need is a finishing move, kinda like your DDT-X. I've been looking for about a week, but nothing seems to come to mind. You got any tips?"
"I'm afraid no one can help you select a finishing move." Carly answered. "It should be whatever you want. I went with a variation of the DDT because I was a natural at it. I jump to give it extra force. If you want a finishing move, it should be something that means something to you."
"Means something to me, huh?" Sakura asked. "Thanks. I'll think about it… hopefully, before my rematch against Rio."
"Yeah. I've seen her match against Zelda. She does not hold back."
"No kidding. The last time I faced her, she destroyed and humiliated me in front of all my fans. And the whole reason I have a grudge against her is because he hurt my friend. But lately, the whole world of pro wrestling seems bigger than I ever imagined. Now, it seems like my match against Rio is a lot smaller than I imagined. Is that crazy?"
"Not that crazy." Carly replied. "Like I told you, I only joined pro wrestling to get close to someone only to be disregarded. But now, I've got more reason to wrestle than before. Once that happened, I stuck with wrestling and worked on being the best."
"So what? You think this is my life now? Because I told my friends at Sweet Diva that after I beat Rio, I should return to them."
"That's up to you. But I'm sure you know by now, this life can be addicting. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to see the next match."
Carly left Sakura in the locker room. The idol couldn't help but think about what the Stylish Tiger talked with her about.
"Yeah." She said. "I guess it is kind of addicting."
*The Daughters of Darkness vs the Hirano Sisters*
The lights turned off for a moment. They flashed back on for a moment to show Midnight and Azraella Bloodstone standing on the stage. The lights blackened again, but when they came back on, the two were standing at the bottom of the ramp. The lights went off again and again with those two ending up closer to the ring. The lights flashed bright and red again revealing the Daughters of Darkness in the ring without their entrance gear on.
"Okay, that's scary." Maya said as she peeked out of the entrance stage. "Think we may be in over our heads, sis?"
"No way." Selena said. "Look. Those two may have flair, but we have actual wrestling skill."
"Didn't those two used to be tag team champions?" Maya asked.
"Yeah, but then, they lost their belts to a couple of cheerleaders. Trust me. We've got this in the bag."
"Glad to see you two have Maria's enthusiasm."
The two girls turned to see who just spoke to them. Much to their surprise, it was a Spanish woman with a sugar skull-themed mask.
"I don't believe it." Maya gasped. "You're La Calavera!"
"You were our mom's friend back in Mexico!" Selena said.
"Thank you. Actually, I'm here to give you a couple of tips." La Calavera said.
"Really?" Selena asked. "Aren't you on the Xtrema team? Why help us?"
"Because A: I don't have a lot of love for the Daughters of Darkness. And B: you're Maria's kids. I'd do anything for a friend."
The two sisters peeked outside of to the eager crowd waiting for them before giving their nods.
"Good. Now, for Azraella, when she feels backed into a corner, she usually attempts to resort to some mist trick."
"Mist?" Maya asked.
"She stuffs her mouth with green powder before spitting out a spray that'll burn your face."
"Yeesh." Selena said. "What about Midnight?"
"Well, the best advice I can give you is, don't mention Twilight. She hates the series and will break out in a rage when she gets compared to it."
After thanking La Calavera for her advice, Maya and Selena exited the stage. Maya was in her bat-themed outfit and Selena was in her jaguar-themed outfit. The two of them went into the ring and confronted the Daughters of Darkness. The Daughters decided that Azraella should go first while the sisters decided that Selena would do the same. Their partners stood at their corners.
"This is a great match coming! I can tell already! Coming from a wrestling family, Maya and Selena Hirano are out to prove themselves worthy of following in their parents' footsteps, which is why they decided to challenge Xtrema's darkest tag-team, the Daughters of Darkness. Did the sisters bite off more than they could chew or will they make their mark in the world of pro wrestling tonight?"
DING-DING!
Azraella decided to make a strong start by charging forward immediately and punching Selena. Thankfully, she saw the attack coming and ducked before lifting Azraella up by her waist and slamming her down. Selena then got up and began stomping on Azraella's face. The devil woman stopped it by grabbing her foot and throwing her aside.
Azraella grabbed Selena in a hammerlock and pushed her into a sitting position. She then used her other hand to grip onto Selena's shoulder and squeeze it hard. Selena gritted her teeth to endure the pain.
"Selena, do you give up?" the referee asked.
"No way!" Selena answered. She swung her free elbow backward and hit Azraella's knee. Azraella weakened the hold, which gave Selena the opportunity to slip out of the hold and deliver a strong left cross with her free hand. She then Irish whipped Azraella to her and Maya's corner.
Selena tagged her sister in and double teamed Azraella for a moment with a double clothesline. Selena went to the corner while Maya grabbed Azraella's arm and applied an armbar. Azraella gritted her teeth at this just like Selena did earlier.
"Bloodstone, you give up yet?" the referee asked.
Azraella shook her head before flexing her stretched arm so much, it powered out of Maya's grip. Quick as a flash, the devil wrestler got up and clotheslined Maya down. She then picked her up by the throat and lifted her up the mat with both hands before slamming her back down on the mat. After that, Azraella saw her partner reaching her hand out for the tag and went to clap her hand.
Midnight and Azraella changed places. The vampire woman brought Maya up to a seated position and put her in a sleeper hold. Maya struggled to breathe.
"Nice costume." Midnight whispered. "If you were a few years older, I'd ask you to join my brides. Or at the very least, you'd be invited to join me and Azraella."
"Then… it's a good thing… you're three times my age." Maya taunted.
Midnight released the sleeper hold and stood Maya up on her feet. "You're gonna regret calling me that, little girl."
Midnight grabbed Maya's wrist and threw her to the ropes. She was ready for the rebound, but Maya surprised her with a dropkick to her stomach. With Midnight down, Maya rushed to her corner and tagged her sister in.
Selena climbed up to her corner and jumped off landing an elbow drop to Midnight's stomach. She hooked her leg for the pin.
1… 2…
At that moment, Azraella rushed in and kicked Selena off of her partner breaking the pin. The referee told the devil woman to return to her corner. But before she could, Selena ran to her and kicked her in the face throwing her out of the ring. The crowd certainly enjoyed that.
At that moment, Midnight returned upwards and waited for Selena to turn around. When she did, Midnight kicked her in the stomach and dropped down with her finishing move, the Darkest Hour. She hooked her leg for the pin.
1… 2…
Like Azraella did, Maya ran in and pushed Midnight away. Maya didn't wait to return to her corner when Midnight was starting to get frustrated. She watched as Selena used the ropes to return to her feet. The jaguar girl turned to Midnight and smirked.
"Come on! What are you waiting for, Edward?"
Midnight's eyes became angry. She recognized the name of the lead vampire in her most hated book series. And just like La Calavera warned the sisters, she charged in like a rampaging maniac. However, that was part of her plan.
Selena ducked down just as Midnight got close enough to the ropes. That's when Maya surprised her with a kick when her head hung off the ropes. With Midnight stunned, Selena tagged Maya in. Together, they grabbed both of Midnight's wrists and threw her to the corner. Selena then hit her with a dropkick before Maya did the same.
Azraella started to climb into the ring getting her mist spray reay. Selena did her sister a favor and charged toward her spearing her out of the ring apron. The impact made Azraella spit out her spray into the air. Meanwhile, Maya prompted Midnight to the top rope. When she was set up, Maya Hirano connected with her finishing move, the Comazotz Drop. The crowd cheered loudly while Maya held the vampire down.
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
Xtrema: 3
Berserk: 2
"Next point goes to Berserk! The odds were against the Hiranos against the Daughters of Darkness, but these two sisters managed to pull through for their gym! Good work, Maya and Selena!"
The two girls posed for the crowd before leaving the ring. As they entered backstage, they laughed in celebration.
"Wow! I can't believe that worked!" Maya said.
"Believe it." Selena said. "I'm actually more surprised we didn't get two points since it was the two of us who won."
"Well, what can you do?" Maya asked. "We should probably thank La Calavera for her help."
"Yeah. Maybe even tell Mom she said hi." Selena said. "And while we're at it, we should probably call Yoshi and brag about our win."
The two girls continued laughing as the next match was about to begin.
*Clementine Cirrus vs Digger Yamamoto*
Western music filled the ring while Clementine Cirrus entered the ring proud and ready to rumble. She leaped into the ring and threw her hat to the audience. She posed and flexed her biceps until the music changed. Digger Yamamoto made her way to the ring with three of her League of Evil goons joined her at ringside. Digger made an attempt to intimidate her opponent by breaking bamboo sword into two with her bare hands.
"And now, we're looking at one of the most anticipated matches tonight! Digger Yamamoto, co-leader of the League of Evil and half of a tag team championship, is up against the Western prodigy of combat sports, Clementine Cirrus! This will be a shady match with Digger's fellow members beside her! I can tell already! But Clementine doesn't back down from a challenge!"
DING-DING!
Clementine and Digger locked in a collar-and-elbow tie-up. Clementine leaned down to grab Digger by her thigh and drop her in a suplex. Her sheer strength surprised everybody. She held her down for an early pin.
1…
It was a quick kick-out though. Digger growled before grabbing onto Clementine's head to deliver a strong headbutt. She grabbed Clementine's wrist and threw her to the ropes. She attempted to grab Clementine for a suplex, but the cowgirl avoided it and countered by rolling her up for a pin.
1…
Digger kicked out. She rolled out of the ring and Clementine followed. She grabbed her head when she noticed the League of Evil girls getting close. She let go for a moment to swing her fist. The League of Evil moved away from that, but Digger took the opportunity to push Clementine right to the ring post. She picked her back up before slamming her head to the post again. That's when she pushed her back into the ring.
Clementine attempted to get up with the ropes, but Digger pressed her knee to her back pressing her hard against the ropes. She let go because the referee said so, but while she was being lectured, the League of Evil picked up a steel chair and bashed it on the cowgirl's face. Digger grinned wickedly before hooking Clementine's leg for the pin.
1… 2…
Clementine kicked out. Digger growled before picking her up on her feet. She swung her fist to Clem's stomach, but the cowgirl managed to catch it and spin Digger around. She then pushed Digger to the corner before grabbing onto her shoulders and throwing her to the center of the ring. She was about to charge after her again, but she felt a pair of hands grab onto her ankles. She looked and realized that it was the League of Evil holding onto her leg tightly.
Digger growled and charged in for a shoulder tackle. She connected, but Clementine didn't budge. Instead, she attempted to push back and wrestle for control. Clementine shook the League's grip from her ankle and moved onto the center of the ring where she broke her grip on Digger and swung her arm for a clothesline that sent Digger down. She hooked her leg for the pin.
1… 2…
Digger kicked out of it. She crawled to the corner and sat in a seated position, which was exactly what Clementine needed. She went to the far end of the corner and charged back in landing on Digger with her signature bronco buster. With that, Clementine dragged Digger back to the center and held her down for the pin again.
1… 2…
Before the referee could finish her count, two members of the League of Evil grabbed her ankles and pulled her out of the ring. The fall made the referee nearly unconscious. At the exact same time, the third member ran into the ring and kicked Clementine off of Digger. The other two quickly got into the ring, each grabbed one of her legs, and locked in their single-legged Boston crabs. The third member sat on top of Clementine's back and locked in a camel clutch while Digger sat back up. The crowd was clearly against what the League was doing, but they didn't care.
"I'm going to teach you not to mess with me, cow!" Digger shouted. She continuously kicked Clementine in the face making her more and more dizzy.
When they were done, the League of Evil grabbed a rope they had on them and circled it around Clementine's throat choking her. She gagged tryint to escape, but Digger made it harder by applying a stomach claw to her.
"Is that all you got?" Digger laughed. "How pathetic! It's time to end this!"
"You're… right!" Clementine shouted. She reached out both her arms and grabbed the wrists of the League of Evil members who held the ends of the rope.
With her sheer strength, Clementine threw her captors off of her and slammed them to Digger. The third member jumped on top of Clementine with a sleeper hold and bodyscissor combo. The cowgirl quickly broke out of it by running backwards slamming the goon to the corner.
The referee slowly woke up and saw the ring full of League of Evil members on the mat. She returned to the ring and ejected all them out leaving Clementine with the kneeling Digger.
"It is time to end this!" Clementine shouted as she charged to clothesline Digger.
However, the League of Evil co-champion got her second wind. Digger shot her arm up and lifted Clementine by the neck before slamming her in a choke slam. Clementine coughed for air after the impact, which gave the obese wrestler the chance she needed to lift the cowgirl over her shoulders and drop her in a Samoan drop. She held up Clementine's leg for the pin much to the disapproval from the crowd.
1… 2… 3!
DING-DING!
Xtrema: 3
Bersek: 3
"It's three to three, folks! Clementine might just have the advantage in a fair fight, but as we know the League of Evil for, this match was going to be anything but fair! Even though her fellow Leaguers have been ejected, Digger managed to claim the win! It's now anyone's night here as we move on to the next match!"
Digger roared in triumph while Clementine mumbled and left the ring.
From the locker room, Queen Bee sighed as she watched Clementine and Digger's match end. She felt sorry for the cowgirl because she was her first friend since signing up to Xtrema. Suddenly, she heard the door open. She turned and scowled when she saw her future opponent.
"Beatrice."
"Just thought we could have some private time before our match, Dull 'N Broken." Hornet mocked.
"That nickname lost all its meaning a long time ago, Beatrice." Queen Bee said. "I am Queen Bee now."
"Yeah. I know. It's just a bit ironic that you, a bee, thinks you can stand up to me, a hornet. After all, you couldn't even sting Queen Elizabeth. I saw the match."
"Then you didn't watch it right. I did sting her. I was a second away from beating her. And as I remember, she's even tougher than you. So really, I don't like your chances."
"You talk big, but we both know the truth. You're still the same pathetic loser who's used to being swatted on a regular basis. You may have stung her, but bees can only sting once before dying. And after this next match, it'll be my pleasure to pin you to the wall."
Queen Bee rolled her eyes and scowled back. "How many bug puns do you think you can pull off? Because they're getting old. Just get out of my locker room, Beatrice!"
Hornet smirked and left the room.
*Xtrema Shorts*
In the Chibi room, Chibi Kurea sat across from Chibi Midnight with her brides behind her. "Hello, everyone. This is Kurea Fujishita with another interview with a wrestler I'm sure everyone is curious of. Please, welcome Midnight."
"Hello, Ms. Fujishita. Where's your handsome partner?"
"Natsuki? He said he didn't want to come. He was convinced you were going to try to seduce him. Tried to talk me out of it too."
"Smart guy." Chibi Midnight commented. "No need to worry about you, though. I've heard about your back. I don't really go after broken goods."
Chibi Kurea's eye twitched. "Thanks, I guess. Now, I'm going to ask you some standard questions followed by a couple of personal ones. You ready?"
"Ask away."
"How long have you been wrestling?"
"About two and a half years give or take."
"Do you have any dream opponents?"
"Scarlette. It might be because she's wearing the color red like blood, but something about her really makes me want to sink my teeth into her."
"How do you feel about your fans?"
"Such an adoring crowd of men and women. Most of them are forgettable, but there are some among them I'd love to have join my brides"
"Which is the toughest match you've had so far?"
"My own partner, Azraella Bloodstone. I invited her to become my best bride, but she turned me down. I went against her in a match to show off my skill. In the end, we decided to just be partners. I still fantasize about her, but upon our partnership terms, we've agreed that I shouldn't go after her."
"What do you do for fun?"
Chibi Midnight grabbed her biggest male and female brides and gave them passionate kisses that both lasted ten seconds. "Does that answer your question?"
"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"
"A great wrestler should be more like me. Strong. Crafty. Willing to take what she wants. And most importantly, willing to do dark things to win."
"Well, then. Onto the more personal questions. You always bring your… 'brides' around, but you never talk about them."
"Well, if you must know. The big guy is Bruce, a professional bodybuilder who had a wife that was way low-grade for him. Thankfully, I was there to help him have better taste. Then, we have Taki. He helps me with my finances and taxes, which makes him quite good with his hands. I also have Gwen, also known as Nyx. She used to the first Xtrema Queen Bee won the title from her two months later. She was in a bit of a depressed and vulnerable state when I got to her. Lastly, this is Priya. She's an acrobat from India who I had the pleasure of talking to after one of her greatest shows."
"Good to know. Next, what's with your fascination with vampires?"
"I always found vampires to be relatable. Unlike most monsters, they are classy as well as powerful. Not to mention, they rule the night with their brides by their side, unlike those glittering abominations in Twilight."
"Okay. Last question. There's a rumor going around that you are interested in Xtrema's sole male, Kaito Marx. Is there any truth in that, and if there is, why?"
Chibi Midnight smiled. "Well, you've got to admit, there's something hot about having a guy you can dominate no matter how much of a fight he puts up. But aside from that, I like how much he's slowly growing as a wrestler. I'm starting to see a potential for wrestling talent stirring up within him and I'd like to have him when he does. As soon as I take care of that bumbling Queen Bee, I'll be happy to take him off her hands."
Chibi Kanae finished writing in her notepad and turned to the reader. "Well, there we have it. The second part of Xtrema vs Berserk is over. Tell us what you think about it. And remember, if you have any personal questions you'd like to ask any of our wrestlers, do not hesitate to ask. That'll be all. Any and all comments are welcome."