Astrid Ostberg (c) vs Selket - Falls Count Anywhere Match for the LAW Heavyweight Championship Match

[CaptainL]

This was no time to stop and think. Selket was on the rampage, and she was fully intent on punishing Astrid for every second she wasted. But Astrid couldn't mount a defense, still in the haze of thoughts that the Egyptian's taunts had awoken in her - which meant that she had made herself a prime target! The next thing she knew, she had gone down, with Selket atop her and her face locked in the crushing pressure of an iron claw! Astrid tried to twist and turn with her head and shoulders, doing her best to pull herself free from her opponent's grasp. Her groans were muffled into Selket's palm, and no manner of struggling was making the Priestess's grip ease!

Growing frustrated, Astrid began to kick her legs in the air before she reached for Selket's wrist to attempt to pull her off. But she was lagging a step behind, and the challenger was already on the move to keep up her dominant position. She hauled Astrid to an uneasy stance, her knees buckling beneath her; it would only be thanks to the hold Selket had on her arm and face that Astrid wasn't crumpling to the floor. But she wouldn't be up for long, as Selket soon threw her back down - into the steel steps!

"AAAAUGHH-!!" A pained cry from the blonde split the air, her back buckling into an arc as she came down hard on the steps. She landed with a clang, her face contorting in agony as her body seized up. Selket may have missed the first time, but she was still making sure Astrid would hit the steel at some point in this match!

With Astrid reeling, she was powerless to defend herself as Selket stepped up to her from behind, and as she dug her nails into her skin, drawing her hands downward with a swift sweep. Once again, she bellowed with pain, tears budding in her eyes as her body went tense and her head raised to show the cameras an agonized grimace. Astrid needed to strike back at Selket, that much she knew. But she couldn't - first, she had hesitated, and now she was stunned from the pain!

Selket wasted no time in grabbing a hold of Astrid, snatching her up by the hair and dragging her back to her feet. The blonde gasped and groaned, stumbling back toward her foe as she grasped blindly at the air, looking for anything she could use to hold onto and stabilize herself. But soon, she was pitched over the barricades, going head over heels as she tumbled to the floor below! Gasps and screams rang out as spectators fled in all directions, clearing the way as Astrid came crashing to the unforgiving floor below with a thud. She lay sprawled out on her back, her teeth clenched and her fists balled so tightly her nails dug into her palms. Astrid's chest rose and fell with labored breaths, as she tried to recover before Selket was on her again.

Slowly, though, Astrid worked up the fortitude to open one eye, then the other. When she looked up, she would realize that she wasn't doing any good biding her time. Selket was going to throw everything she could at her, and even if she didn't like it, Astrid would have to adjust to her tactics! Forcing herself back to her feet with no shortage of groans and hisses, Astrid grabbed at a nearby chair, brandishing it in front of her like a shield. Ordinarily, she wasn't the type to use weapons, but she would still need to collect herself before she was ready to go back into the thick of things, and Selket wasn't about to let her do that. She needed to even the odds.

[Bare]

Selket's face at this moment was a perfect marriage of extremes. Beautiful yet cruel, elegant yet vicious, joyous but through inflicting despair. Her true colors were showing in vivd detail as she assaulted and tormented the woman known as the heavyweight champion, determined to humiliate and destroy the woman not only in personality, or body, but even her image and legacy. Selket was aiming to tear it all down brick by brick and by hand no less. Not only because it would aid her in defeating the champion, hell not even because her opponent was a face and she was a heel. She was doing it cause she just enjoyed it immensely, reveled in it even, and she was far from done.

After thoroughly and viciously tearing apart the champion at the seams with whatever kind of offense she could come up with it was time to humiliate Astrid. Not by doing something mundane like tearing her clothing or putting her in a hold or some other such juvenile drivil, but by turning the champions body into a weapon against the people she cared the most about... her fans.

"Hahahahaha!" Watching as the audience scattered with cries of panic and fear Selket cackled in response. Finding the reaction of both the champion and the fans nothing short of hilarious. Believing the champion to be down and out for a good while Selket did a slow circle from her place in the middle of the entrance ramp before dropping to her knees. "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT YOU'RE FUTURE CHAMPION!"

With an uncharacteristic scream Selket commanded all eyes on her, reveling in the symphony of cheers, boos, jeers, chants, and whatever other noise the fans were capable of creating. She was taking it all and she was loving every single second. Standing back up to her feet Selket turned and walked over to where she had thrown Astrid. Climbing onto the barricade Selket with a gymnast's grace turned herself around on it to where her back was to Astrid. "LOOK AT HER YOU'RE PATHETIC CHAMPION! WATCH AS I CONTINUE HER DESTRUCTION! THEN WHEN I CAST HER INTO THE DARK WORSHIP! ME! AS! CHAMPION!"

With her words to the audience finished Selket's break from character subsided as she took a few breathes, her former elegant and poised features returning to normal as she bent her knees in preparation for her next move. After all a quick glance over her shoulder showed that Astrid was just barely getting to her feet meaning now was the perfect chance to strike. Gesturing with her hands Selket brought about another mixed reaction as she further fed off the crowd's reaction, both negative and positive before leaping up, backflipping towards her opponent with a moonsault off the barricade, completely unaware of what her opponent had managed to do since getting to her feet!

[CaptainL]

Selket was out to break Astrid down, little by little. Before she would take down her body, she was going after the Norsewoman's confidence, and her good name. If she could undermine how Astrid believed herself to be a champion who lived by what it meant to be a champion, she could gain a leg up on her without even needing to break a sweat. And for that matter...it was working. As she lay on the floor, over the barricade and amidst a slew of scattering, panicked fans, Astrid panted for breath, her muscles tensing as her fingers tightened into a fist and she bit down on her lip. Astrid didn't know if she could beat Selket, now - and even if she did, would she even manage to keep her reputation intact and unsullied?

As Selket climbed the barricade, standing tall atop it as though a magnificent statue atop a pedestal, Astrid looked up from below with a shudder. She felt the Egyptian's shadow fall over her, she heard every taunt that left her mouth, and she knew that this was exactly what Selket wanted. She was standing tall and proud, while Astrid was crumpled beneath her as the vulnerable, helpless victim. If Astrid didn't turn this around, that was exactly what she would become.

The Norwegian knew she wouldn't like it, but in the end, she realized what had to be done. It was this, or lose her title and all she cared about to someone so heinous and underhanded, and to Astrid, that thought was unforgivable.

Drawing in a long breath of air, Astrid's legs tensed, steeling herself as she rose back to her full height. She grabbed the now-vacated chair to her side, holding it defensively in front of her like a circus performer holding off a hungry lion - and, from the sweat beading on Astrid's brow, one could tell that in her own mind she felt she may as well have been! But she had Selket's back turned to her, which would buy her more time - precious time, time she desperately needed right now. The Egyptian had no idea what she had planned, and everything was lining up just right. Timing each second, Astrid watched closely as Selket leaned back, pushing her feet up from the barricade and springing off it. She knew that was her moment to strike!

At that very same time, Astrid sprung. In one swift motion she whipped her body around to the side, swinging the chair through the air in the process as she turned it to slam into Selket's body! If everything lined up, both challenger and weapon would collide at the same moment, throwing Selket violently off course!

[Bare]

Selket was in control. She had Astrid crumpled and miserable on the floor, already humiliated and in pain, her reputation officially in danger after what Selket had forced her to do. Naturally Selket felt proud of her accomplishment. Proud to decimate the blonde warrior, to damage her reputation far worse than with a simple loss. Proud that soon she'd be the new Heavyweight Champion. Or at least in her opinion that was what was to come. After all with the way Selket had tossed around Astrid there was no way the woman could bounce back right? Well that was Selket's assumption so she took this opportunity to once again rub into Astrid's face the difference between them by standing on the barricade and bidding the fans to worship her.

This is what Selket wanted, all the bodies she had dropped, the injuries she caused, the tears she wrought... it was all for this. For her to show her might and command the attention a goddess reincarnate such as herself deserved! The crowd, whether they liked Selket or not couldn't deny the power Selket now showed! Likewise however they could all see what was happening behind Selket... and none saw fit to warn the woman.

Leaping off the top of the barricade Selket brought herself down through the air, aiming to finish Astrid off with a graceful and violent moonsault! However... rather than Astrid's broken and soft body.. Selket instead felt cold and unforgivable steel smash into her body. "GAHHHHHH!!!" Screaming in utter agony for the first time in her tenure at LAW Selket was redirected away from Astrid and instead left to crash utterly into a cluster of other steel chairs as she did so.

"Ugh.. agh.." Gasping and groaning in pain while laying on her side on the floor there was little Selket could do. Her side where Astrid's weapon had struck had done the most damage and hurt the most. But her collision with the other chairs surrounding them left her sore all over as well and that was without even taking into account the damage cause by Selket's impact with the floor itself. Needless to say the sudden reversal had completely turned the tides of the match with Selket now being the one crumpled on the floor.

But even so... despite the hero wrenching sure victory out of the hands of the villain that was Selket... she had to use a weapon to do so. As a result a mixed response of cheers and boos bellowed down from the rafters. Some fans just glad to see Selket on the receiving end of a beating, others true die hard Astrid fans glad to see her winning. But there were a notable number of boos as well.. Either from those supported Selket, or those fans who felt betrayed by what Astrid was resorting to do to win...

[CaptainL]

The scream that ripped through the air, as Astrid struck out with the chair and slammed it straight into her opponent's body, was enough to make her freeze. Even if Selket was her opponent, and even if she was an opponent who had done nothing more than antagonize her and gone out of her way to make her life hell, Astrid was still shaken by her cries of pain. It wasn't that she felt any remorse for what she had done. If anything, Astrid was struck by how out of place it seemed - it was unthinkable that Selket, this woman who had put up a face of invincibility, who had held herself as an unshakable, implacable monster, could actually feel such pain.

But just as unthinkable was the thought that Astrid, who held herself not only as the champion of the Heavyweight Division but as the champion of wrestling itself, and who believed with all her heart in its sanctity and the honor of its codes, could have stooped to such lows - even if it had been necessary to gain the upper hand. Her eyes went wide, staring down at Selket's crumpled form amidst the heap of toppled chairs. Her fingers slackened, and the chair dropped from her hand, going clattering to the floor below. Then, the boos came - and Astrid began to back away, like a criminal retreating from the scene of the crime. She looked up, eyes wide, and held her hands up in supplication.

"I...I did what I had to do-! Please!" Astrid protested. But her words couldn't stop the boos raining down on her from the stands - nor could they bring the Norsewoman herself to believe that she was beyond reproach in what she had done. She grit her teeth, her once-stoic stance showing the trembles going through her body. As Astrid settled her eyes on Selket, crouched beneath her, she swore she would have to strike back - if nothing else, just to prove that she could lay a hand on the Egyptian woman by her own merits! She drew back her foot, prepared to land a kick against Selket at the moment she would begin to rise!

[Bare]

Selket had no idea what hit her. Literally. She had been in control, she was cementing her superiority and control over both Astrid and the crowd. She still had so much torture and pain in store for the blonde... Yet as she descended backwards, aiming to smash into Selket with a moonsault, the crowd on their feet from the athletic feat from a heavyweight such as herself. But as she neared Astrid, as she turned midair, she spotted what was in the champion's hands. For the briefest of moments Selket's eyes widened in shock before everything went sideways.

Falling out of the air and tearing through the other chairs situated around the two Selket was laid out, in shock and pain. Pain for obvious reasons given the violent and and hard nature of her landing and the welts that would no doubt be forming on her later. Shock, not just from the hit she just took, but that Astrid was still able to get up and fight, let alone do so by using a chair. Of all things the priestess never expected Astrid to dig the hole further for herself, something she at least knew was done from the boos raining down, but unlike before Selket was in no position to work this into her advantage.

"Ugn... agh..." Hissing sharply in pain Selket tried to push the chairs to her side Selket was slow to get back to her feet, the damage she took leaving her sore nearly everywhere and making it hard to control her limbs. Nonetheless however now was the worst time for her to show weakness. She needed to show Astrid who she was dealing with, and why she wouldn't lose here. Getting up to her feet Selket looked up right in time to see Astrid's boot collide with her face! "Gah!" She cried out in pain as the boot of her opponent crashed into her sending the Egyptian tumbling backwards into a another chair, taking it down with her as she tumbled over backwards!

[CaptainL]

In one instant, everything had been turned on its head. On one hand, Astrid had struck true, smacking her opponent to the ground with a thunderous clap ringing out through the arena as Selket went sprawling to the floor below. When, up to this point, Selket had her web woven around Astrid and was controlling the Norwegian's body and mind with every move, dominating her on levels mental and physical alike, such offense coming from the champion stood as a turning point in the match. But it was just as equally a turning point for Astrid, who would never have dared to use such underhanded tricks before - up until now, when Selket had just about pushed her to the brink where it became necessary to break her own vows.

She grit her teeth as she listened to the continued boos, her brow furrowing as her fists balled tightly at her sides. She dug her nails into the heels of her hands to try and force herself to think of something, anything, besides how much she had betrayed her own values. Even in her moment of defeat, even when she'd been slammed to the ground, Selket had still struck a blow against Astrid, getting in her head and working at her confidence. Neither of the two women had walked away from this exchange unscathed.

Astrid shook those thoughts from her head. She just needed to keep moving forward, she told herself; stopping to hesitate, or considering where she had erred, could only spell disaster. Now, as she had landed a kick to Selket's head, she had managed to intercept the challenger in the process of getting up from the ground, buying her some more time. As far as Astrid was concerned, this match had gone on long enough outside the ring. If she could just get back behind the ropes, she would be back in her element, and ready to face whatever her foe had in store.

Astrid bent down to where Selket was sprawling, the muscles in her back stretching and tensing as she reached for the Egyptian. Sucking in a breath through clenched teeth, she would attempt to drag her opponent up onto her shoulders before she looked back at the ring. There, Astrid would begin to stride back toward it, hoping that Selket would stay down long enough to allow her!

[Bare]

In a single moment the tides of the match had been changed drastically. One moment Selket had quite literally been on top of the world, about to further injure and humiliate her norse rival. Yet as she descended she was struck down, knocked from her pedestal quite literally and left to crash into the cruel metal earth below. Body contorting unnaturally and painfully against the steel steps Selket was left to wallow in the first real moments of pain she had felt since coming to LAW, a true moment of weakness that was exceedingly rare for the Egyptian to show, especially in public as she moaned in pain from the crash.

But before she had the chance to reclaim her dignity, or her advantage in the match, she was once again made to taste the cruel world below. The moment she stood she received a boot to the face that floored her, literally and sent her back into the unforgiving chairs that Selket herself had led the two towards. Now she was left to lament that choice in agony as she laid amongst the steel trying to force herself up only to groan as she felt Astrid claw for her and succeed in getting a grasp of the fallen priestess.

Before she knew it Selket was brought up onto Astrid's shoulders! Eyes widening Selket began writhing furiously, sure that Astrid would do what Selket herself would do and once again send her crashing back to the chairs... except she didn't. Eyes widening in shock however Selket saw that didn't seem to be the plan.. Instead Astrid was just walking! 'You... you wonderful fool!' She thought to herself in a mixture of elation and bewilderment as it appeared Astrid was intent on taking this back to the ring, giving Selket a window to turn this around once again!

Crossing her legs around Astrid's arm Selket suddenly surged back with much more fire than before, struggling and squirming in Astrid's grip but she already knew dislodging herself would be difficult, especially considering the desperate situation Astrid found herself in... So Selket would do what she was best at and fight.. creatively. "Grah!" She roared surging down onto Astrid's shoulder and sinking her teeth into the champions flesh biting down as hard as possible, knowing that there would be no consequences from the ref in this match type. If successful Selket would also shift all of her weight backwards, hoping that between the pain and weight bearing down behind her that Astrid would be taken off her feet, and if successful slam the champion down shoulder first into the floor with a crucifix!

[CaptainL]

The last few moments Astrid had witnessed had shaken her world. She had managed to land a blow against Selket, an opponent who seemed invincible and unshakable, and brought her to her knees. So too had she, after so many years of knowing and taking pride in her status as a fan favorite, heard the crowd greet her with boos for the first time, and met it with a blank stare. The experience was wholly alien to her, and for a moment, she was left pondering the nature of her reality. She knew nothing of where to go from here, when "here" was a place she had never imagined.

But Astrid quickly shook herself back out of her thoughts. If there was only one thing that she knew, it was that this was no time to sit around pondering anything. This was a time that called for action! She had Selket down in a brief and all too precious moment of vulnerability, and if she let such an opportunity slip through her fingers, she'd be in deep trouble!

She bent down, grabbing onto Selket and hoisting her higher. At the sight of the Norsewoman exerting some control over her devious foe, a few of the crowds, despite Astrid's tactics earlier, still found the will to cheer for her, knowing that she was about to take things back for herself. More than ever before, with her hands on Selket, Astrid felt emboldened by the thought that she stood a chance. She looked back toward the stands, and a smile crossed her face as she closed in on the ring. Nothing, she thought, could hold her back now!

But it was just then that Selket interjected, knowing the champion know that things were far from over. She grabbed at Astrid's arm, putting down the pressure and wrenching her joint, and the blonde let out a groan as the pain forced her to bend her knee. Little did Astrid know, that was far from the worst that would happen to her - as Selket proceeded to go for an even more excruciating move, sinking her teeth down into the flesh of her arm!

Astrid threw her head back and let out a scream, her features contorted into a mask of pain. Blood trickled down her arm from beneath the Egyptian's teeth, and her fingers wildly coiled and uncoiled as though she were trying to grab onto something. Without her strength about her, Astrid had no power to take back control over her opponent or avert her fate. She could only wait as Selket threw her weight backward, turning Astrid's own attempts to manuever her against her, as the champion was forced to let her go, plummeting to the ground and landing with a thud! Her body shook from the impact, and she bounced up from the ground, throwing herself on her back and clutching at her shoulder as she wailed in pain!

[Bare]

Selket hissed and growled inhumanly in Astrid's grasp, unable to comprehend the fact that the blonde woman had managed to lay her out, let alone lift her up and hold her! This was not part of her plan at all. In fact the only good thing right now was the decidedly mixed response being thrown towards Astrid in response to the tactics she resorted too in order to secure this advantage. But as much as Astrid's increasingly deteriorating sense of self was good for her in the long run, the short run wasn't going at all to plan!

Luckily Astrid was just as foolish as before. Rather than further damage her while she had a chance the blonde was instead determined to bring Selket back to the ring. 'Idiot.' Selket thought to herself as she enacted her escape plan, biting down on Astrid's arm and breaking the skin drawing blood like a vampire as she threw her weight back topping the giant who's shoulders she rested on.

With a crash the two women met the floor in unison. But at least in this position Selket now had her freedom from Astrid's thick muscular arms. Every fiber of her being urged Selket to continued her attack on Astrid. To punish the champion for DARING to strike her let alone use her own tactics against her. To humiliate the champion further while in sight of her fans. But Selket knew she couldn't. She may have been freed but she was hurt, Astrid may have been too but she needed to put the match back on her terms.

Rolling out from under the blonde woman Selket would get her feet under her while glaring at Astrid's writhing form, lines of Astrid's blood still drawn along Selket's mouth from her bite staining the woman's teeth crimson. "I think you're fans have seen enough of you for now... lets take this fight somewhere more... intimate." She said in a sinister tone and glower before pursing her lips and suddenly... "Pwah!" She spat out lobbing a glob of saliva and blood at Astrid's face.

After the taunt Selket would turn and immediately start to hobble away. Pushing chair and drinks and food from the fans out of her way Selket made her best effort to make a break for the door to inner section of the arena. The match type was inherently in her favor with Selket being much more willing to use the environment to her advantage. But Astrid had just shown she was too. So Selket in order to turn the favor back towards her knew she needed to change the setting, and in doing so give herself the edge. After all Astrid was after her now, that meant that the moment she stopped was the moment she had found something she could strike back with. For now however she needed to tear Astrid away from that precious ring of hers.