Chapter 122 (Daily)
Sayuri Rogue and Ryuji Hashimoto exited their office to find the gym full of most of their roster. Sayuri was pleased to see them, but she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention and beckoned them to group up around her. Once she was completely surrounded, she gave her announcement.
"Hello, ladies… and Kaito." Sayuri said. "Tomorrow night is our first show since Xtrema Against the World, so let's not disappoint them. First of all, let's address the current state of our Yin-Yang Tournament. Tomorrow night, we'll go over the semi-finals of both the face and the heel brackets. For our face bracket, we have Amazon Aqua vs Jun Juli and La Calavera vs Cleopatra. For our heel bracket, our only finalized match is Eris vs N-Bomb. Mercy was originally going to face Mewlie, but after her match at Xtrema Against the World, I'm afraid the Queen of Catfights is hospitalized."
"Damn." Mercy grunted. "This is not what I wanted. I wanted to advance in the tournament with my skill. I don't want to advance by default."
"My thoughts exactly." Sayuri said. "That's why someone's going to have to take Mewlie's place in the Yin-Yang Tournament semi-finals. Remember that you have to be an official heel"
"Say no more." Neko Girl said stepping up. "I'll gladly take my mom's place."
"You?" Willow Powell laughed. "Please. Don't make moi laugh. You already had your shot in ze tournament, and you lost."
"Maybe, but it's only fair." Neko Girl growled.
"She's right, kitty." Madame Python said. "You had your chance. So I'll take Mewlie's place."
"Zat is not what I had in mind." Willow Powell said. "Obviously, I should go for I am ze most beautiful and powerful woman in Xtrema."
"If anyone's the most powerful, it's me." Liza Surkova said. "I'm taking that spot."
"Hey!" Sayuri shouted. "Look. All four of your make excellent points. So here's what's going to happen. Neko Girl, Willow Powell, Liza Surkova, Madame Python, after this meeting, the four of you meet in one of the practice rings and have an over-the-top-rope match. Last woman standing takes Mewlie's place. Understood?"
The four heels looked at each other and nodded.
"Good. Now, setting that aside, we've got four matches planned, so we have two left." Sayuri said.
"Ma'am, if I may," Midnight said, "I was hoping to have my own little segment in between matches."
"What kind of segment?" Sayuri asked.
"Nothing much. You see, I'm about to officially make Electra Sinders an official member of the Daughters of Darkness, and I'd like it to be public."
"Well, I have no problem with that." Sayuri said. "But do you really want to do it now? You wish to do this while Azraella is still in the hospital?"
"I already talked with her about it, and she said she will be there with me in dark spirit." Midnight said.
"Well, as long as you're in agreement." Sayuri said. "We've still got two more match slots to fill. So who would…"
"Excuse me." Kaito called out. "If it's all right, I'd like a match."
"Is that so?" Sayuri asked trying to hide a proud smile.
"Well, sure. After my win at XAW, I'd like to keep up my momentum."
"Okay then." Sayuri said. "Who would like to face Kaito tomorrow night? Skunk, I know you have a rivalry with him."
"Maybe some other night." The Skunk said. "I already have plans, and no matter how tempting it is to make him try between my cheeks, I shouldn't."
"A simple no would have been good." Kaito said. "What about you, my queen?"
Queen Bee rolled her eyes with a smile. "Sorry, but you're still leagues away from challenging me. Come back to me after… Let's say five wins."
"Fair enough." Kaito said.
"Well, if no one else is going to, I guess I can." Poison said.
"Really, Poison?" Sayuri asked.
"Sure. I mean, why not?" Poison answered before thinking in her head. "Heh. With Diaz gone, I'm going to need a new partner. I'm going to use this boy as a stepping stone for that. Just put up a good enough show and it'll be hard for anyone to say no to me."
"Any objections?" Sayuri asked Kaito.
"No, ma'am."
"Okay then. Now, for our last match, I've actually got a thought. It's in regards to the Tag Team championship. As you know, the Daughters of Darkness are going to defend their titles at our next pay-per-view. It's time we find a suitable team to challenge them. So for the interest of fairness, tomorrow night's main event will be a fatal four-way tag team match. The team who gets the first pin or submission gets to challenge the DoD."
"So who's in the four-way?" Carly X asked.
"That would be Team Spirit, the Galaxy Twins, the Thunder Ligers, and Scarlette and Clover."
"Oh. We're official now?" Scarlette asked her friend.
"We may not have a fancy team name, but it's not like we need one to be champions." Clover said.
"Then it's settled." Sayuri Rogue said. "Whoever wins the four-way battle royale, come see me afterwards so we can make your match against Mercy official."
Mercy shrugged. "Whatever. I'll take any of them on."
Sayuri Rogue ended the meeting and the girls resumed their workout. Although, most of them gathered around the nearest practice ring once it was occupied by Neko Girl, Liza Surkova, Willow Powell, and Madame Python. Ryuji joined the crowd surrounding the ring with a bell.
"Okay… go!" Ryuji commanded as he rang the bell.
DING-DING!
Willow and Neko Girl engaged each other while Python and Liza started grappling. The actress and the cat girl had each other in a collar and elbow tie-up until Neko Girl broke it up and launched a chop to Willow's chest. She made sure to use her claws during the chop to add in an extra sting. Willow certainly didn't like that. She shot a kick at Neko Girl's chest, but the Princess of Catfights caught it. Willow surprised her however by using her other foot to kick her in the head.
Liza Surkova and Madame Python locked up and moved to two different corners for the advantage. Eventually, Python caught it by jumping onto Liza and putting her in an octopus hold. Liza grunted before grabbing Python by her foot and twisting it. The snake lady gritted her teeth and loosened her hold. That gave Liza the opportunity to throw her off by her ankle and slam her to the mat.
Willow grabbed Neko Girl and Irish whipped her to the corner. She then stunned her with a right cross before spinning around and landing her elbow on her chest.
"Zis is easier zan I thought." She said before grabbing Neko Girl's legs and attempted to throw her out. However, Neko Girl stood her ground and refused to budge.
Neko Girl freed her legs from Willow Powell's grip and kicked her away. Neko Girl then ran at Willow and speared her into the mat. She grabbed her by her hair and put her in a guillotine hold before sending her down in a DDT.
Liza Surkova grabbed Madame Python's hair, but before she could lift her up, the snake lady surprised her by wrapping her legs around her head and slamming her down to the mat. She then applied her finishing move, the cobra clutch, around Liza's head choking her out with her own arm. Liza fought to escape, but Python held her submission move tight.
For a moment, it looked like Liza had stopped fighting. However, she got her second wind and struggled harder than ever. Python was surprised at the ferocity her opponent was showing, even more so when Liza reached her arm back and grabbed Python's waist. With her power, Liza returned with her feet while Python was still holding on. Liza shook herself until she managed to get Python over her shoulder. She then ran right to the ropes and dropped her backwards making her land just outside the ring.
Back at Neko Girl and Willow Powell, the former attempted to Irish whip the latter to the ropes. However, Willow reversed the throw and sent Neko Girl over the ropes instead. However, instead of falling out of the ring, Neko Girl landed on the apron. Willow Powell ran to push Neko Girl off, but at the last second, the Princess of Catfights ducked and pulled the top rope down making the actress fall over and land outside the ring instead.
Neko Girl took a moment to catch her breath, but her break quickly became her undoing. While her back was turned, Liza Surkova went right at her and elbow struck her head sending her off the apron.
DING-DING!
"That settles it." Ryuji said. "Liza Surkova faces Mercy in the Yin-Yang Tournament heel bracket semi-finals. Man, that's a mouthful."
"No!" Neko Girl shouted after getting back up. "I should be in the tournament! Not her!"
"You snooze, you lose." Liza taunted. She turned to leave the ring, but was stopped by Mercy. The army girl stood inches away from the MMA fighter in a face-to-face confrontation.
"You better be ready, Surkova," Mercy said, "Because tomorrow night, you're going to feel the full force of my army training."
Liza smirked and chuckled. "Let me tell you what's going to happen. I'm going to advance in the tournament and win the Yin-Yang Championship. You're just going to be a stepping stone. But then again, what else have you been good for since joining this promotion?" Liza walked past her and headed to Sayuri's office.
"Well, this should be interesting." Queen Bee commented.
Late that night, Carly X showed up at Matsuda and Juli's. She looked around the restaurant until a certain woman held out her hand and gestured her over. Carly walked on over and sat across from her.
"Hey, Mom." Carly said to Miss X.
"Hey, kid."
"So what's this about?" Carly asked. "Your phone call said to come here immediately."
"I'm celebrating." Miss X said holding her refreshment in the air. "I'm finally free."
"Free?" Carly asked. "Wait. You mean…"
"Yep. NJPW won the Final Wars just a few hours ago and GWM is shut down." Miss X said. "It all fell on the match between Tiger Mask W and Tiger the Great the Third. It was an intense battle, but Tiger Mask W pulled off the ultimate win."
"And you're happy?" Carly asked. "I mean, I get you didn't enjoy it, but now, you're out of a job."
"Yes, I've been thinking about that." Miss X said. "I've got an idea, but I need time to do some research. In the meantime, I'd like to spend time with my daughter."
Carly smiled. "Okay. So dinner for us two?"
"Actually, three." Lady said suddenly appearing in the seat right next to Miss X.
"Whoa! Where did you come from?" Carly asked nearly falling out of her seat.
"She's with me." Miss X said. "Sorry about this."
"Has she been here the whole time?" Carly asked.
"I just came from a place I had business in." Lady said before picking up a menu. "So what will we be having?"
"AAAAAHHHHH!" a loud, monstrous roar echoed throughout the Hardkor gym. It came from a practice ring where Tigress the Great stood at. All the other Hardkor wrestlers watched terrified as she stood over the bloody pile of Cerberus members she brutalized.
"Should we get in there?" Sarah the Machine asked.
"Are you kidding me? I want to live." AI answered.
"Is it weird that she's extra-hot when she's angry?" Penny Twist asked.
After her loud outburst, Tigress the Great breathed heavily through her mask. Her lethal gaze from her eyes petrified some of her fellow wrestlers who watched.
"The Third has been defeated." Tigress growled quietly. "Tiger Mask W will pay."
*Xtrema Shorts*
Chibi Monica Everly greeted the audience with a warm welcome and a friendly wave while sitting next to Chibi Madame Python.
"Hello, everyone. Welcome to Xtrema Shorts, where we interview our proud wrestlers of Xtrema. I'm your host, Monica Everly, and today, we have the privilege of questioning the slippery Madame Python! Welcome back, Python."
"Thank you, Monica."
"Now, you know the drill. I ask you standard questions followed by personal ones from our readers."
"Obviously." Chibi Python said. "Ask me your questions."
"Okay then. Question one… Who was your debut opponent?"
"Liza Surkova. We exchanged grappling techniques, but her fury got her the submission victory."
"What's it like facing Kaito Marx?"
"Scrumptious. He's sure to make the hunt quite beautiful."
"What do you think of Sayuri Rogue?"
"Well, I've got nothing particularly interesting to say. If she just gives me whatever matches she can, I'm not complaining."
"Who's the easiest opponent you've ever faced other than Kaito?"
"That would probably be La Calavera. Wouldn't exactly call it easy though. I'm just basing that on our first match against each other when she tried to moonsault me and I grabbed her with an abdominal stretch which she tapped out in."
"All right then. Onto our personal questions asked by Awesome ax10. First, which wrestlers do you like to predate other than Kaito?"
"Predate?"
"I guess it means to hunt."
"Oh. Well, obviously, it would be champions like Queen Bee and Clover. I'd also like to sink my teeth into Cleopatra. It's just poetic about a snake taking down the queen of Egypt."
"Following your loss to Kisaragi in XAW, will you switch targets or challenge her again?"
"Oh, I wish to challenge her again. No bunny makes a fool of Madame Python and lives to hop along."
"What species does your pet snake belong to?"
"Ophiuchus happens to be a reticulated python, the world's longest snake and one of the heaviest. Normally, they don't get along with humans, but Ophiuchus has taken a liking to me, and she wouldn't attack anyone else… unless I tell her to."
"Well, that's about all the questions we have for now. And frankly, it's all the questions we can ask for this second set at the moment. If anyone has any questions to ask our characters, please ask away. So far, the following characters have yet to be asked for this set: Eris, Mewlie, Kyoko Natsumi, Team Spirit, La Calavera, Mercy, Scarlette, Jasper Jones, Sam Hamilton, Platinum Mask, Clover, the Galaxy Twins, Jun Juli, Artemis Creed, Electra Sinders, and Kaito Marx. Any questions for these people will be appreciated.
"Now, we finally have our first match-card since Xtrema Against the World which will start in the next chapter. It goes like this…
1.) Amazon Aqua vs Jun Juli
2.) La Calavera vs Cleopatra
3.) Eris vs N-Bomb
4.) Mercy vs Liza Surkova
5.) Kaito Marx vs Poison
6.) Team Spirit vs the Galaxy Twins vs the Thunder Ligers vs Scarlette and Clover
"Who do you think will win? We'll see. Any and all comments are welcome."