Chapter 79 (Daily)

After the brutal Hardkor debut show, it was just a normal day for Xtrema. News went buzzing all around about the sadistic show that was televised nationwide.

Inside her office, Sayuri Rogue opened up her computer to see current events. She was quite fascinated by what had occurred recently. "So first, we've got Hardkor to worry about. Then, it turns out that Sakura's idol partner was Blue Panther. And now, Tiger Mask has sided with the Miracles? This is going to be interesting."

"Ms. Rogue." Ryuji said. "It's time to make your announcement."

"Got it." Sayuri said before logging out of her computer and exiting her office. She and Ryuji walked out to the gym main floor. There weren't as many wrestlers training there as before, but she made it work.

"Meeting! We've got a meeting going on!" Sayuri declared. Every Xtrema wrestler who was currently there gathered up around Sayuri and Ryuji. "Thank you. Now, for those who aren't with us, we'll give them the details of this meeting through their texts and emails. Now, as you all know, this upcoming Xtrema episode is the last we'll have until Xtrema Against the World. So time is running short to make a good enough impression to get the attention of those you wish to face. Ryuji."

She passed the conversation to her assistant, who cleared his throat and looked at his digital tablet. "Well, for the first four matches, we will be going through the first round of the Yin-Yang Tournament heel side. The first match will be Willow Powell against Mercy."

"Moi against zis brain-dead butch?" Willow Powell asked. "You're practically giving me ze Yin-Yang belt right now."

"You're calling ME brain dead?" Mercy asked. "At least I'm a real soldier and don't play one on TV."

"It's not TV. It's a movie." Willow corrected. "It was on ze big screen."

"That's the big screen?" Mercy asked. "I just thought your head was naturally that big."

"All right. Enough, you two." Ryuji said. "Next, we have Diana Diaz…"

"About time." Diaz said. "This Yin-Yang belt is the first step back to becoming the Ultimate Champion. So who do I have to squash to get my hands on that?"

"You'll find this interesting." Sayuri said. "You see, your first round opponent is going to be Eris."

"Me?" Eris asked. "Well, this should be fun."

"How perfect!" Diaz cheered. "I get to get closer to winning that belt and break the so-called goddess' streak while I'm at it."

Eris' only response was an air kiss she blew at Diaz' direction.

"Well, moving on." Ryuji said. "Next, we have N-Bomb and she will go against Electra Sinders."

"Finally!" N-Bomb shouted. "I've been waiting for a chance to throw my weight around."

"That's a lot of weight." Electra said.

"If you're trying to insult me, you're not." N-Bomb said. "Not even Al Bundy can get under my skin."

"Anyway…" Ryuji said, "Our next match is the last of the Yin-Yang Tournament heel round one, where Mewlie will face off against Neko Girl."

"Say what now?" Neko Girl asked. "Me and my mom?"

Mewlie chuckled. "You're kidding, right?"

"We kid you not." Sayuri said. "We're looking for something memorable, and this will certainly be memorable."

"Well, if it means I get to scratch out this bitch's eyes, then I'm game." Neko Girl hissed.

"You already tried that and all you got was a spanking." Mewlie taunted. "It'll be a pleasure to remind you who the Queen of Catfights is."

Neko Girl growled at her own mother.

"Since all that is taken care of," Ryuji said, "We can get on with the match to decide the TV Champion. We will be having a battle royal where you eliminate someone by throwing them over the top rope and out of the ring. The participants for this match will be Madame Python, Carly X, Scarlette, Zelda Logan, Clover, Hotrina, and Artemis Creed."

"Seven of us?" Zelda asked. "Doesn't pro wrestling battle royals traditionally have six or eight wrestlers?"

"We ran out of wrestlers." Sayuri said. "Anyway, whoever's left standing will be the Xtrema TV Champion."

Scarlette thought to herself. "Guess this is going to be an issue. One of my opponents is Clover, the only other wrestler who I shared my secret with. She's like a sister to me since I saved her. Another one of my opponents is Carly X, who my son has a crush on. This is going to be hard to focus on."

"Next," Sayuri said, "I'm going into the ring."

"Are you going to tell us who your opponent is yet?" Zelda asked.

"That's a surprise." Sayuri said. That was a lie. She still hasn't found anybody who was willing to challenge her, or at least, anybody who was available. She knew that Jackal Tojo was in the region, but they already had their match for XAW coming up. She cleared her throat before continuing. "And after that is the Xtrema World Championship match between Queen Bee and Clementine Cirrus. Where are they right now?"

"They each have their own training outside of gyms." Carly X replied. "That's what I've heard at least."

"Well, that's all we have for the next episode." Sayuri said. "Here's another announcement. Before we begin Xtrema Against the World, we will be hosting a special show to commemorate everything you've contributed to our company. That's right. We will be hosting the first ever Xtrema Awards Show!" The girls gasped in cheerful surprise. "Yes, we're excited. I know. Starting today, we will post a voting system for you and the public to submit your ideas for who or what should be nominated for said categories. Deadline is the night before the awards show, which is then replaced by the poll to find out which of the nominees are given their respective awards. Who knows? Maybe if you perform well at tomorrow night's show, you can be nominated." The wrestlers were excited once more. "I thought that might get your attention. So you better put on a great show tomorrow night. More details on the awards show will be posted on the Xtrema website. That is all."

The wrestlers (motivated by the idea of being in an awards show), went on and continued training harder than before. During that time, Sayuri went on back to her office with her assistant.

"We've got to find me an opponent by tomorrow night." Sayuri said.

"I'm on it." Ryuji said going through his laptop.

After the announcement, Poison left the Xtrema gym and headed to a coffee shop at the lower part of town. There, she smiled when she came sat across from an old friend of hers. They sat at an outside table.

"Hey, Roxy." Poison greeted.

"Poison!" Roxy cheered. "It's been a long time! How've you been?"

"Better than you, I've heard." Poison said. "Heard how you got your ass handed to you at that new Hardkor show."

Roxy chuckled nervously. "To be fair, that Steele girl was no pushover."

"She basically broke you." Poison said. "Which is surprising considering you're up on your feet without so much as a scratch on. What sort of treatment do they give at Hardkor?"

Roxy giggled. "Sorry. Yami and Jessica said that was confidential. Hardkor secrets only. But don't worry. I'm perfectly fine."

"Well, I trust you. At least, better than Diaz. I'm pretty sure she's on steroids."

"Yeesh. Trouble in paradise?"

"You have no idea. I thought that after Hugo was out of the picture, Diaz would at least be a good investment in his stead. But she doesn't see me as any more than a belt rack."

"Sounds like you need a new partner to manage." Roxy said. "I'd offer you a place at Hardkor, but I'm not sure how the rest of the wrestlers would react."

"You know what? Perhaps I do need a new partner. But that's gonna have to wait until after Xtrema Against the World since she and I have a tag match together."

"Well…" Roxy held up a cup of coffee. "To future partners."

"To future partners." Poison repeated with a toast gesture as well.

Down at the park, Jasper Jones kept doing push-ups into the grass. She could feel the sun shining down at the back of her neck… until the shadow came over her. Jasper stopped and looked up. Much to her surprise, Rio Kazama stood over her in her Berserk tracksuit with a hesitant look on her face.

"You again?" Jasper asked standing up. "What are you doing here?"

Rio paused for a moment before exasperating. "Fine. I… came to apologize."

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For your Blue Panther theory. I… I didn't take it seriously, so I didn't tell anyone."

"Seriously? After I just explained…" Jasper sighed.

"I know. I know. Your theory was surprisingly sound. Everything you guessed was exactly right. I just didn't take it seriously because the idea seemed too farfetched."

"Okay. I know all my theories are crazy out there, but I take them seriously. You're just lucky that Sakura won anyway."

"Yeah. It would be bad if that happened." Rio said. "Look, Jasper, I'd like to say I'm sorry. I've hardly ever apologized for anything in my life, but I'm doing that now. Next time you have a theory, no matter how crazy it is, I'll try to listen. And to prove it… I'll owe you one. If there's anything you need, anything at all, I'll do it."

Jasper nodded. "That's good. Now, if you don't mind, I gotta get to training."

Rio returned the nod and turned around. Right as she left though, Jasper's phone rang. She answered. "Hello?"

"Ms. Jones."

"Ms. Rogue?" Jasper asked. "What are you doing calling me?"

"Sorry, but I wanted to ask for your assistance." Sayuri said. "You've been a great help with the Aoife Leavy incident. So I've got a new case for you. Are you familiar with Yami, the boss of Hardkor?"

"I saw the show. That woman has absolutely no mercy." Jasper said. "What? Do you doubt she's the original Yami's granddaughter?"

"After what I just witnessed, I'd be surprised if she wasn't. No, I need you to look into her personal history. I feel like there's something up with her and I need to know what it is. Can you do that?"

"Sure. I mean, the woman's already shown her face. It wouldn't be too much of a hassle if given time."

"Thanks you, Ms. Jones." Sayuri said. "I'll be sure to remember this come payday."

"How's about this?" Claude asked. He exited his dressing room holding a pirate costume to present to Sam Hamilton. "A female Jack Sparrow might catch some eyes."

"Hmm… It doesn't really get me." Sam said. "I'm looking for a costume for Xtrema Against the World. If I'm doing this, it needs to be memorable."

"Well, I'm stumped." Claude said putting his costume on his counter. "Hey, you said your opponent dresses like a superhero in her comics, right? Maybe if you contact her, she could give you details about other characters so you can dress as them."

Sam tapped her chin smiling at the idea. "Yeah. That could work. Thanks, Claude." Suddenly, her phone dinged. She pulled it out and looked at it. "Huh. I just got a video notification about…" She frowned. "Oh. It's her."

"Who her?" Claude asked.

"My sister, Sarah." Sam answered showing a picture of Sarah the Machine brutalizing Cyclone Fuyuki with an armbar while she was bleeding.

"You have a sister?" Claude asked. "You never mentioned her."

"I didn't think I'd see her again, but here she is." Sam sighed. "And it looks like she's found her place."

"You mean she'd enjoy working at a place like Hardkor?" Claude asked.

"Not exactly. I don't think she likes it. It's just who she is. When we were kids, Sarah always had a nasty temper while I was happy go-lucky enough to put on costumes every chance I got. Sarah didn't like it, but she put up with it. Unfortunately, not everyone at our old school did. One girl bullied me and tore up one of my costumes and Sarah beat her up for it. She was expelled immediately for that."

"Immediately?" Claude asked. "Didn't you explain the situation to them?"

"It didn't matter." Sam said. "That girl's parents ran the parent-teacher association. They refused to listen and got Sarah expelled immediately. Shortly after that, Sarah disappeared and the bully and her parents were found in their rooms brutally beaten into comas. It was pretty obvious who did it, but I haven't seen her since…" She looked at her phone. "Until now that is."

"Wow." Claude said sympathetically. "Sam, I'm sorry to hear that."

Sam sighed. "It's all right. But if Sarah wants to mend things with me, she's going to have to come to me."

"I understand." Claude said.

After a long workout session, Dawn Sawyer went into town. She found a store that sold protein drinks and bought a cup. Surprisingly, someone else had a similar idea.

"Howdy, Dawn."

Dawn turned and saw Clementine Cirrus standing behind her. Dawn smiled and greeted back. "Hey, Clem."

"You getting protein drinks too?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna need all the energy I can get to kick your butt and keep my belt." Dawn said.

Clementine chuckled walking outside with Dawn next to her. "Still as competitive as ever."

"How long have we known each other?" Dawn asked. "I know. Our first match back at the Queen Bee gym was one of my most humiliating losses."

"What do you mean? It seemed normal to me. I even got to use the bronco buster for the first time."

"You misfired the buster and instead of my chest, your crotch landed on my face. It was very embarrassing to me."

Clementine chuckled nervously. "Oh, yeah. Right. Speaking of the past, did you hear about Fiona?"

"Ugh! Don't remind me." Queen Bee expressed in disgust. "Yeah. I heard how she won her first championship on her first night at that Hardkor place! Talk about a push, am I right?"

"It is a bit of a push." Clementine said.

"A bit? I've had to win my first five matches in a row before I faced Nyx for the Xtrema Championship. And yet, Fiona Fats wins her first belt on her first night. So shallow."

"Fiona Fats?"

"She gave me my insulting nickname. I figured I could give her one too. Turns out, I came up with a hundred of them."

Clementine chuckled. "Well, let's hope we get the chance to take her down one day."

"She may not be on my list, but if she faces off against me, she will receive no mercy."

Sayuri Rogue sat in her office anxiously tapping her fist. She sighed turning to Ryuji.

"How about Juri Sanada?" Sayuri asked. "I know she may want to face me after I faced Misaki."

"I asked. She told me she's taking Elena to spar against Jackal Tojo that night."

"Dang it. What about Mother Devil? She's quite a proud woman who doesn't take losses well. Surely, she should want a rematch."

"I don't know where she is. She's one of the few wrestlers we haven't yet located, much like Darkstar Chaos or Ranka Shimusen."

Sayuri sighed leaning in her chair. "This is harder than I thought. You sure no one volunteered to challenge me?"

"I checked a thousand times, ma'am. Apparently, you're so good, a lot of people already figured they'd lose, so they're not going to bother."

"Curse my talent." Sayuri exasperated. "What am I going to do?"

Suddenly, there was a beeping sound. It came from Ryuji's tablet. He opened it and widened his eyes. "Hold on! Ma'am! You just got a challenge!"

"I did?" Sayuri asked with a surprised smile. "From who?"

"From someone named… Ester Evil." Sayuri widened her eyes. "Must be a ring name." He noticed Sayuri chuckle softly. "What is it, ma'am?"

"Sorry. It's just… I can't believe I forgot about Ester."

"You know her?"

"She's someone from my old Shangri-La days." Sayuri said. "She's not quite on the same level as me and Jacky, but she's pretty damn close. Email her back. Tell her I accept."

Ryuji did so. Right after that, Sayuri went on her computer and typed in the name she just added. When she was done, she leaned back and read the match card ready for what came next.

Willow Powell vs Mercy

Diana Diaz vs Eris

N-Bomb vs Electra Sinders

Mewlie vs Neko Girl

Madame Python vs Carly X vs Scarlette vs Zelda Logan vs Clover vs Hotrina vs Artemis Creed (Xtrema TV Championship)

Sayuri Rogue vs Ester Evil

Queen Bee vs Clementine Cirrus (Xtrema World Championship)

*Xtrema Shorts*

Monica Everly approached her stage in her Chibi form waving toward the cheering crowd. As she sat, she waved at the cameraman, but it was mostly to get his attention since he was distracted by the attractiveness of their Chibi guest, Hotrina.

"Welcome to Xtrema Shorts, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Monica Everly, and joining us for tonight's interview will be one of Xtrema's newest and most beautiful…"

"Ahem!" Chibi Hotrina interrupted with a fake throat cough. "I'm not one of Xtrema's most beautiful. I am THE most beautiful. I also accept hottest, most gorgeous, and sexiest. Catrina Horace here, but you can call me Hotrina." She raised her eyebrows sensuously.

Chibi Monica cleared her throat. "Well, Hotrina, thank you for coming. Are you ready for your questions?"

"Sure. The standard ones plus the personal questions asked by Awesome ax10 only, right?"

"Essentially." Chibi Monica said. "Now, first question… How long have you been wrestling?"

"Not too long."

"Do you have any dream opponents?"

"Well, I'd love to face Queen Bee just to show her who truly deserves all the attention."

"How do you feel about your fans?"

"They may say they hate me, but I know they love me. Who wouldn't when I have these babies?" Chibi Hotrina made her point by shaking her chest left and right with her boobs bouncing at each side.

"Okay then. Next, what's the toughest match you've had so far?"

"The fatal four-way of course. You think a girl as beautiful as myself could handle three uglies like them?"

"What do you do for fun?"

"I have my own beauty vlog that I like to host. Look up Hot Vogue Vlog."

"What do you think makes a great wrestler?"

"Three things: beautiful body, sexiness, and pride in what you enjoy."

"Do you have any interests besides wrestling?"

"Photoshoots. Anything to get my hot bod out for the public to oogle their eyes at."

"Okay. Now, for the personal stuff. First, tell us about your relationship with Kaito Marx like how you met, what your relationship was like, and how and why you dumped him."

"Ugh! You want me to look back into those days? Fine. When I first moved to Japan, I spent freshman year at Kaito's high school. When I stumbled upon him when he was shirtless and rocking that body of his, I became interested. It was even better because he had famous parents. I promised I'd be the best girlfriend he ever had if he dedicated all of his wrestling matches' wins for me for everyone to hear. However, he kept losing and losing right in front of me. I couldn't bear seeing it. So after his losing streak hit double digits, I slapped him right in front of everyone in that arena and kicked him in the nuts. I told him how much of a disappointment he was, how he wasn't worthy of being with me, and that I was done with that sorry loser. I left and didn't look back leaving him humiliated in front of everyone."

"That's cruel."

"Trust me. You'd dump him too if you saw his pathetic performance."

"Well, do you ever consider Kaito better now? If so, then how do you plan to snatch him from Queen Bee while competing with new rivals?

"Not gonna lie. Kaito is certainly doing a lot better than he did when we were going out. If he manages to pull off a win, of course, I plan to take him back. I don't care if I have to put down his yellow girlfriend or any of those other skanks to get to him. He will be mine. That is, if he manages to pull off a win."

"Why did you choose to join Xtrema over big time leagues such as WWE or Shangri-La?"

"You want me to go to a scripted place like WWE where I have to lose when I'm told to? No way. And Shangri-La didn't approve of my gimmick. At least at Xtrema, I was free to show off my sexy self."

"Why didn't you go join Keijo since you're so confident in your breasts and butt?"

"First of all, I'm not just confident. I know my tits and ass are the best. Secondly, as much fun as that would be, I would like to be known for more than that. I want to choke a bitch out with a sleeper hold or knock her teeth out with a headbutt. Pro wrestling was the best middle ground for me."

"All right then." Chibi Monica said. "That's all the questions we have right now. If anyone has any more, ask away.

"I'm sure all of you are wondering who Ester Evil is. Well, she's an OC created by another fanfic writer named MasamuneNoirPrime. Through PMs, they requested I include Ester and another OC of his in the future and this seemed like a good start. If you wish to know more about her, here's a profile I made out of the information he gave me."

*Ester Evil

-Alignment: Heel

-Age: Early to mid 30s

-Birthplace: Liverpool, Nova Scotia

-Appearance: Mature with long, platinum blonde hair. Bright red lipstick and nail polish. Attire consists of a black top one piece with V neck that shows cleavage and covered in red and silver V's stretched across the torso. Thigh high black boots with red and silver vertical stripes. Black fingerless gloves. Dark red/maroon lipstick. Heavy eyeliner. Red claw marks painted across her cheek and eyes.

-Wrestling style: MMA

-Signature move: DDT; Earthquake drop

-Gimmick: Sexy wild bruiser

-Background: Born and raised in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Ester McDowell took up wrestling during her freshman year of high school eventually going good enough to go pro going by her ring name, Ester Evil. After graduating, she relocated to Winnipeg Manitoba. When she was in her mid 20s, she adopted a boy named Alex. These days, she loiters around various wrestling gyms such as Xtrema, Berserk, Miyabi, and others with intentions of scoping out and recruiting potential talent.

-Personality: While not malicious, Ester does come off as passive aggressive. She's much more friendly to acquaintances and family and the like.

-Relationships:

-Ester Evil has infamous rivalries with world champ vets such as Jackal Tojo and, mostly, Sayuri Rogue

-Rachel DeNunez (another OC of MasamuneNoirPrime): The two of them have a very close student/teacher relationship that's basically sisterly

-Alex: Ester's adopted son who she is a very good mother to.

"One more thing. I'm sure you all would like to know more about the Xtrema Awards show that was announced this chapter. Well, Epiclot214 is asking you for nominations. Then, the chapter before the awards, they'll select the best choices among the recommendations and come up with the winners. The following categories are to be included in the awards. It's up to you to decide the best moments that fit them. We'd appreciate it if you select more than one for each category as they are to be nominations.

*Superstar of the Year

*Match of the Year

*Rivalry of the Year

*Moment of the Year

*Finisher of the Year

*Sexiest Superstar (who is the hottest)

*Heel of the Year (puts on the best heel performance)

*Rookie of the Year (best newcomer)

*VIP of the Year (best guest wrestler)

"So you all saw the match-card. Who do you think is going to win? Find out soon. Any and all comments are welcome."