Chapter 106 (Headcanon)
An entire audience of people had booked passage on a special cruise ship that soon sailed freely on the open water. On the main deck, a wrestling ring was set up and a beautiful woman entered the ring wearing a black bikini which everyone adored, especially the men.
Sayuri Rogue held the microphone to her mouth and made her announcement. "Hello and good day, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the third Summer Special of Xtrema! We've had a fun three years, so let's make this third special memorable! That's why instead of a tropical resort, we're having our matches here on this beautiful cruise ship, the Czar of the Seven Seas!
"Now, here is ho this summer special is going to go. We will have nine matches, each diverse and memorable! The winners of each match will be eligible for the MVP voting competition and a huge paycheck delivered personally by me! Now, if everyone's ready to see what they paid hundreds of dollars for, let's get this event started!"
*Scarlette vs Kyoko Natsumi*
After leaving the ring, Sayuri Rogue made way for two new wrestlers who followed. One was Scarlette who wore a red, skimpy two-piece that was as red as her mask. The other was Kyoko Natsumi who, along with her kabuki face paint, wore her signature black leotard which highlighted her toned arms and legs.
After letting her two wrestlers get to their corners, Sayuri addressed the crowd. "For our opening match, we will begin the event with a standard rules match! Pins and submissions only, and any disregard for the rules will result in disqualification! First off is our red-masked show-stealer, Scarlette! And her opponent, the muscular dancer of the theater, Kyoko Natsumi! Who will win? One way to find out!"
DING-DING!
Kyoko charged at Scarlette and swung a kick at her direction. Scarlette charged and slipped behind Kyoko before locking in a headlock. Kyoko quickly broke out of it by shooting an elbow into Scarlette's chest. After being released, Kyoko swung another spinning kick that actually struck at the side of Scarlette's head.
After knocking Scarlette down, Kyoko grabbed Scarlette's legs and turned her over with a liontamer. Scarlette let out a yell in response to the yell while the referee knelt down to her.
"Scarlette, do you give up?"
"No!"
Scarlette shook herself trying to get free, and sure enough, she did. She rolled out from underneath and gave Kyoko a shove with both her feet. She kicked up to both her feet just as Kyoko bounced off the ropes. Scarlette met her with a kick to her stomach, but it did little effect since her stomach was just as solid as her arms and legs. After that, Kyoko latched onto Scarlette and tossed her in a fisherman's suplex. She stayed there for the pin.
1… 2…
Scarlette kicked out. Kyoko picked Scarlette up and put her in a guillotine hold. Her toned arms put a lot more pressure on her than usual. Thankfully, Scarlette managed to escape the hold. She slipped out of the hold and twisted Kyoko's wrist in the hold. Kyoko tried to get out with an elbow strike, but Scarlette ducked out of it and countered with a German suplex. She put Kyoko in a dragon sleeper hold, but before transitioning to a Scarlette Lock, Kyoko shot her knee back to strike her into letting go.
Kyoko jumped up to her feet and hit the stunned Scarlette with a dropkick. The red masked wrestler was knocked back to lean on the corner. Kyoko then attempted to Irsih whip her to the corner, but Scarlette countered with her own Irish whip which sent Kyoko crashing to the corner. Scarlette ran over to her for a full attack. Kyoko quickly recovered and swung her arm for a lariat, but Scarlette ducked under and kept running. She jumped up to the top rope and bounced off just as Kyoko turned around. The leap worked and Scarlette splashed right onto Kyoko pinning her to the mat.
1… 2…
Kyoko kicked out, but Scarlette wasn't quite done yet. She put her arms around Kyoko's head. The kabuki girl attempted to knee Scarlette's head again, but the red masked wrestler kept her head out of the way. She eventually locked in her Scarlette Lock which got Kyoko Natsumi by surprise. She tried to break out, but she had no luck. After a minute of being trapped in Scarlette's finishing hold, she tapped out.
DING-DING!
Scarlette released Kyoko when she heard the bell and took in the cheers from the crowd. Sayuri went into the ring and held Scarlette's hand up.
"Congratulations, Scarlette! You just won the first match of the Summer Special! There are still eight matches to go, but I can tell that you're going to be tough to top when it comes to the MVP selection. Once again, congrats!"
*Kaito Marx vs Mercy*
Once Scarlette and Kyoko cleared the stage, the next two people to fill it were Kaito Marx and Mercy. Kaito still wore his blue mask, but had on blue shorts. Mercy had a green sports bra on along with matching undies. Unlike Kaito, Mercy had on a pair of black boots which she used to make a stomping gesture toward him. Both wrestlers were given towels that matched their signature colors.
Sayuri held the microphone in her hands as she stood at ringside. "Coming up next is a new kind of match called a towel match! Now, towels are pretty much basic tools for summertime fun, but in this case, the last thing you need is a towel! If our male wrestler, Kaito Marx, or our army girl, Mercy, can wrap their respective towels to trap their opponent, that person will win! Other than that, there are no rules! So let's get this started!"
DING-DING!
Kaito was nervous about facing this military brute, so he erred on the side of caution. Mercy on the other hand wasn't as careful. She rushed toward him with fury in her eyes. Kaito ran to dodge, but he wasn't fast enough. She grabbed him by his ankle and made him fall on his face. She then pulled him in and applied an ankle lock. With each wretch on his foot, he yelled even louder. Mercy kept the hold on for a full minute before letting go.
After getting up, Kaito was met with an elbow strike from Mercy sending him back. She struck again leading him to the ropes. She delivered one last strike while at the same time placing her foot behind Kaito's. The result left him falling right near the ropes. Mercy took advantage of her opponent's state and lifted his head up to the middle rope. She then pressed his back with her knee choking him with the same rope.
While choking out Kaito, Mercy was just close enough to her corner to take her green towel from it. She released Kaito and let him cough out some ait before continuing to choke him. This time, she was using her towel to choke him. She pressed the towel against his throat and pulled it hard with both of its ends. She bent over backwards putting Kaito in a crossface while using the towel to choke him.
"This is too easy." Mercy taunted. "What, do you like being choked? Is that the sort of bedroom fetish Queen Bee does to you?"
Kaito could barely answer. He just gagged. Eventually, Mercy let him go and stood above him as he recovered his breath and stumbled up to his feet. Mercy placed the towl over her shoulders before lifting her fists up and bouncing around a bit like a boxer.
"Come on, jobber boy. Show me what you got."
Kaito gritted his teeth before raising his fists. He threw the first punch, but Mercy swatted it away and countered with her own punch that struck him hard in the throat. He coughed again before wailing on him with a variety of punches across his face.
"Take that! And that! Remember, this hurts you a lot more than it hurts me! Weakling!"
In the end, Mercy jumped up and slammed her elbow to the top of Kaito's head. He was so dazed that he allowed Mercy to Irish whip him to the corner. Thankfully, it was his own corner, so after he crashed, he removed the towel and waited.
Mercy charged at him with a devastating attack, but Kaito dodged it letting her crash to the corner. He then quickly began to wrap his towel around her body and arms. He succeded, but he struggled to carefully secure a knot, especially when Mercy thrashed herself around trying to get free. She got her arms out of the towel, which the then used to grab him by his head and deliver a shattering headbutt to him. He released his towel which Mercy stole and threw out of the ring.
Mercy sat herself on top of Kaito's chest and punched him in the face some more. Each impact left the audience wincing.
"Beg, jobber! Like a dog! I wanna hear it!"
Kaito stopped the wailing by grabbing Mercy's hand, but the army girl countered with a guillotine hold. She held on tight as she picked herself and Kaito up to their feet. She flexed her free arm before dropping Kaito in a DDT.
Once the attack landed, Mercy wrapped her legs around Kaito's head choking him once again. He gagged and fought hard to escape, but each time he did, Mercy would punch him in the head. This time, Kaito didn't escape. He simply lost consciousness. Mercy took the advantage and removed her towel from her shoulder. She lifted him up to his knees and proceeded to tie him up with her towel without any more of a fight.
DING-DING!
Mercy pushed Kaito down on his face and stepped on his back. She placed her hands on her hips and relished in her victory as Sayuri came in.
"Mercy, you did well! You won the towel match, but you have to admit, Kaito did a lot better than he originally would've…"
"Don't praise that weakling." Mercy interrupted. "Just tell me I'm the winner."
As much as she didn't like the attitude, Sayuri went along with it. "Very well. Mercy is the winner!"
*The Storm Ligers vs The Pantheon*
Sayuri lead the crowd to the away from the ring and to a volleyball court. On one side of the net, Carly X and Thunder Mana stood with the former wearing a tiger-print bikini and the latter wearing a purple leotard. On the other side, Eris and Platinum Mask stood with the former wearing a purple bikini and the latter wearing a leotard that matched her mask. Next to each team was a weapons rack that was stocked with red water guns.
"Behold, the volleyball match!" Sayuri presented. "For the next five minutes, the Storm Ligers and the Pantheon will attempt to score a win over their opponents with volleyball scores. Whoever has the most wins when the timer runs out wins. And as an extra addition, each team is given water guns however they want. Players ready? PLAY BALL!"
DING-DING!
5:00
The ball was placed under the net and both teams were rushing at it. Carly was about to take it, but Eris outlasted her and swiped it first. She kept up her momentum to help her throw the ball up. Platinum Mask jumped above Eris and bashed it over the net. Thankfully, Thunder Mana intercepted the ball and knocked it back. Eris shot the ball back before rushing to the weapons rack. Carly X knocked the ball back which was then hit by Platinum Mask. Carly X was about to hit the ball again, but at the last minute, Eris shot her water gun and blasted a stream of water at her face. She missed the ball and it landed on the Storm Liger's side.
The Storm Ligers: 0
The Pantheon: 1
4:15
"Boom! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!" Eris taunted. "And speaking of chicken, how are you, Carly?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Carly asked in offense.
"Don't let her get to you." Thunder Mana said. "Let's just get the match going. Right now, it's our move."
"Right." Carly said picking up the ball. She tossed it up before knocking it over the rope. Platinum Mask jumped up and returned it. Carly was about to jump to stop it, but something startled her. Eris' water gun was sent to her face and she was startled into missing until she realized it hit the net.
The Storm Ligers: 0
The Pantheon: 2
4:00
"Hey!" Carly protested. "You can't do that!"
"Why not? It's nothing." Eris said picking up the water gun. "Is that the problem, Carly? Are you afraid of nothing? Guess you really are a chicken."
Carly growled. "I'll show you a chicken!" She was about to go after Eris, but Thunder Mana stopped her.
"Don't! That's what she wants!" Thunder Mana said. "Focus on the game! This time, I'll serve."
Carly growled before heading to the back of her team's side of the court. While she was there, she took a water gun from her team's weapon rack and got herself ready. Thunder Mana took the ball and got ready to serve. She jumped up, tossed the ball and struck it over the net. Eris emptied one of her hands and used it to bat the ball into the air. It went to the far end of the court, but thankfully, Carly returned it over the net. Platinum Mask jumped and bashed it down, but Thunder Mana shot a hand up to send the ball past Platinum Mask. Neither she nor Eris could stop the ball from hitting their field.
The Storm Ligers: 1
The Pantheon: 2
3:55
After the ball landed, Eris walked up to Platinum Mask. She chuckled for a bit, but Platinum knew that behind her smile, there was a godly rage.
"PM, let's make sure that's the only point they make. Okay?" Eris asked while patting on Platinum Mask's face.
"Yes, my goddess." Platinum Mask nodded. Before the round started, she went on over and got herself a water gun.
Eris took the volleyball and called service. She shot the ball over the net and Thunder Mana responded by returning the shot. Eris tossed the ball back and Thunder Mana was about to hit it. However, Platinum Mask surprised her with a shot from her water gun. Carly X tried to rush to Thunder Mana and hit the ball back, but Eris shot her own gun at Carly making her disoriented and missing the volleyball.
The Storm Ligers: 1
The Pantheon: 3
3:10
Eris laughed while Thunder Mana and Carly wiped the water from their heads. "3-1. Not looking good for you. Not to mention you have poor hair."
"So will you!" Carly yelled. She shot her water gun at Eris, but the Goddess of Chaos laughed.
"Is that your best? I've felt worse at my front yard sprinklers. Besides, the fans like seeing me wet. Though you may have your mommy's jugs, you certainly didn't inherit her brains."
Carly then saw red. She dropped her gun and rushed under the ropes. Thunder Mana tried to reach out to stop her, but she couldn't grab her in time. Carly ran underneath the net and to Eris, who saw her coming and caught her with a knee strike to her stomach. Thunder Mana got up to save her partner, but Platinum Mask tackled her down.
After getting kneed, Carly fell flat down. Eris sat on her back and gave the girl a small spank making her blush.
"Such rage. You gotta relax. You're on summer vacation, you know."
Carly shook herself until she managed to get out from underneath Eris. As soon as she noticed Thunder Mana grappling with Platinum Mask, she rushed to the rescue. She managed to kick at Platinum Mask's back making her release Thunder Mana. The masked wrestler then retreated back to Eris.
"Are you all right?" Carly asked.
"Better than you, it seems." Thunder said. "You learn your lesson?"
"I think so." Carly said.
"Good. Because we might regret it." Thunder Mana said pointing at the clock. Carly's eyes widened at the remaining countdown time.
2:05
"It's still going?" Carly asked.
"It's like a timer in a boxing match." Thunder Mana said. "It's not going to stop just because someone is down. That's what Eris was counting on."
Carly panicked and rushed to the volleyball. She threw it upwards and quickly slammed it down. Eris returned the ball over the net where it was intercepted by Thunder Mana before Platinum Mask shot it back. That's when Carly made her move. She picked up her water gun and blasted it at Platinum Mask's face. The silver-masked wrestler knelt down to wipe her face while Thunder Mana returned the ball. However, Eris sprinted over Platinum Mask's back and jumped over her to blast the ball back to the other side of the field. Neither Carly nor Thunder Mana could stop it.
The Storm Ligers: 1
The Pantheon: 4
1:25
Both teams knew the outcome was inevitable. The Pantheon had already gained victory, but the Thunder Ligers kept on fighting. They gave each other nods in order to save time in talking about their situation. Thunder Mana gripped the volleyball in one hand and tossed it up. She jumped to shoot it back.
What came after that was a relentless exchange of the volleyball attacks. No one was landing the final blow. No one was taken off-guard by the water guns. Eventually, everyone threw out their guns and proceeded to keep using their hands to beat the volleyball. They kept going until…
DING-DING!
Everyone stopped beating the ball around and looked at the final score. Though it was clear, they still looked.
The Storm Ligers: 1
The Pantheon: 4
Sayuri clapped her hands. "That's it for the Pantheon! They both secured their positions for the MVP candidacy with a nearly-dominant win over the Storm Ligers!"
Back to the other side of the field, Carly sighed. "Man, I blew it."
"Don't say that." Thunder Mana said. "You did your best. If anything, it's all Eris' fault. She knew what would get to you."
Carly sighed once more before smiling. "All right. Thanks, Mana."
"Hey, don't worry about it, kid." Mana said. "Win some, lose some. In the meantime, let's just enjoy the cruise."
Author's Note: That's the first part of the 2022 Summer Special. What do you think so far? Any and all comments are welcome.