Lyra Heartfield vs. Yukino Fuyumi: A True Taste of Real Darkness

[Pegasus]

It was clear to anyone in the crowd that Lyra only wanted to seek destruction. She wanted to hurt Yukino and she wanted to see her squirming in fear. That is what The Anomaly wanted as well and it ordered her to finish the job. However, the referee would be the one last saving grace for Yukino as the winter idol still knew she could escape this all by beating the count and winning in the most convenient way for her right now. Yukino would grab Lyra’s ankle and twist it to the side throwing Lyra back as the corrupted fortune teller screamed backing away. Yukino made it back in to her safety net in the nick of time and right as the referee counted “10!”

The crowd cheered overwhelmingly as they saw Yukino finally win this match fair and square. Lyra had been defeated! And justly this time! It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. However, there was no bell ringing. The referee stared in complete terror as Lyra gritted her teeth at the official. The referee realized her horrid “mistake.” She counted out Lyra and knew there would be consequences if she didn’t throw out the ruling.

“No! No! It’s not over yet! The match continues!” The referee blurted out as the crowd was in complete disbelief!

[CaptainL]

Yukino's heart was pounding, and adrenaline was pouring through her veins. Even when she was still sore from the punishment she had endured, she knew one thing - she couldn't let Lyra keep her down like this, when doing so would almost certainly cost her the match! Pinned down under her foot, Yukino would be powerless to do anything more than watch as the referee counted her out, unless she made her move. And the threat of letting Lyra win - of letting the Selection win; of letting down all her fans when they believed in her more than ever to make a difference - was all Yukino needed to spur her onward. When it felt as though certain defeat was staring her in the face, just then, she found it in her to grab Lyra by the ankle, yanking her off of her, and diving for the safety of the ring!

Yukino knew it would be close. She wasn't even fully convinced she would make it back in in time. But at last, she rolled under the bottom rope - and when she propped herself up on the canvas, gasping for breath, her body began to relax as she let out a sigh of relief. She was safe. Not just that - the referee just counted the ten, disqualifying Lyra from the match!

It might not have been the triumph Yukino had wanted, but it would do - by this point, she just wanted the match to end with her mental and physical health intact, and against the Selection she knew there was no guarantee of coming away with either. At last, she wouldn't have to worry any more. She had won, one way or another...

Or so she thought. Just as the referee had been intimidated out of disqualifying Lyra before, so too did the fortune teller have other plans now - as she cast the official a glare, causing her to back off and reverse the decision! At once, the fans began to gasp, some of them booing and others crying "BULLSHIT!" But even when Yukino let out a yelp, stiffening and going pale as she sat back up straight, she didn't question what was happening. She knew exactly what the logic was. As long as Lyra was in this match, the rules didn't matter. The blonde was going to do as she would with her, and nothing could save her!

"No-!!" Yukino gasped, her voice weak and strained. Rolling up to a seated position, she began to scoot back from Lyra, holding her hands up to try and shield herself. Now, she knew, anything could happen, and nowhere was safe...

[Pegasus]

Lyra got on the ring apron and stepped inside as she smirked mischievously stomping towards Yukino as the crowd poured boo after boo on her. This wasn’t the sweet and innocent Lyra they knew. It was a woman influenced by The Anomaly and they could hardly blame the blonde fortune teller for her actions when it seems her mentor brainwashed her into hurting Yukino. The winter idol had tried all she could it seemed. There was nothing more she could muster in order to have her gain the upper hand when it seemed Lyra could just reverse the rules with a single stare.

Lyra simply planted her left foot on Yukino’s chest as she uttered “You are no hero, child. You were not meant to win this encounter. The Selection only grows powerful when we win. This was a no contest from the beginning of our battle. You and your allies will soon bow and obey to the will of my master.”

The referee saw the pin and just shamefully dropped to her knees looking apologetic towards Yukino as she slapped the mat once.

“1!”

The crowd went into a flurry of “NO!” chants to try to sway the referee from ending the match this way considering Yukino had won twice, once by disqualification and once by count-out. This match should’ve concluded!

“2!”

[CaptainL]

Whatever hope Yukino might have held in her heart - the hope that she might be the one to stand up to the Selection, to at last make a difference, and to put an end to their reign of terror over LAW - all of that melted away from her now. Now, she had seen the depths of Lyra's cruelty, and all she was willing to do to her. The rules of the match meant nothing to her, and even as the referee tried to reign her in, it was hopeless - the terror she commanded was enough to intimidate the official into backing down. Now, there was nothing Lyra couldn't do to Yukino. This wasn't a match any more. This was a beatdown. Yukino was locked in with a monster, and there was nothing she could do to stop it!

"No!! Please!!" Yukino tried to crawl away from Lyra, doing whatever she could to stop her fate. But in the back of her mind, she knew, she was only prolonging the inevitable. Lyra's foot stomped down against her chest, driving the air from her lungs and forcing her to let out a gasp as she dropped back flat against the canvas. There, Yukino looked up at Lyra, looming down from above. Her breaths grew shallow, her face paled, and her eyes went wide. And when the referee began to count, Yukino barely did anything to save herself. Lyra hadn't even hooked her leg - it would've been an easy enough move to escape from. And yet, she was too terrified to do even that...

No. What was she thinking!? Those thoughts shot through Yukino's head, stirring her back to her senses. She was only letting Lyra win. She was letting the Selection get away with this! If she let their fearsome reputation slow her down now, when she knew she could escape, what message would that send? She would be letting all her fans down, and proving she didn't belong in the ring - that there were challenges too great for her. That she would never make it to the main event scene. That was something Yukino couldn't abide by. And when she thought about all that would happen if she lost, her muscles began to stiffen. She found the last bit of strength she had in her.

"Thr-"

"NO!!" It was Yukino who cut the ref's count off - with one burst of strength, she suddenly sat up, grabbing Lyra's ankle and shoving it off of her at the last minute! At the sight of her defiant comeback, the fans let out a cheer. Yukino wasn't out of this match yet! But would it be enough?

[Pegasus]

Lyra smirked as this would be the clincher. The one pin that ended this match. She had reversed prior decisions for this match as Yukino should’ve had this in the bag by now, but Lyra’s intimidation only fueled the fear in the referee to keep the match going until she got the decision she wanted. However, as scared as Yukino was, she couldn’t let everyone down! Not when the future of LAW hanged in the balance! She pushed Lyra’s foot off her disturbing the corrupted fortune teller as she stepped back and growled darkly at Yukino. The referee backed up fiddling with her fingers as she just wanted this to be over with.

“Yukino, please, just give up. I’ll count you out! Hit me! I’ll disqualify you! I don’t want you getting hurt!” The referee pleaded.

[CaptainL]

Yukino's heart was still pounding. Even after she had kicked Lyra off of her, the adrenaline was still pounding through her veins. She no longer felt like she was up against an opponent she could predict or understand. She was trapped here - and Lyra wouldn't be done until her sadistic desires were satisfied. And when it was all too clear that there was nothing too low for the fortune teller to stoop to when it came to tormenting her opponent, she could only begin to imagine what lay in store for her. The very knowledge that Lyra had the will and the know-how to harm her in all the ways she could made her shudder just to think about it...

But Yukino couldn't let that keep her down. She just as soon shook those thoughts out of her head, turning back to set her eyes on Lyra with a glare as she rose to her feet. Her fist clenched, and she leaned in a little closer, prepared to make a move should she need to. She had to remember why she was here, and why she was fighting. She was out to prove that the Selection couldn't rule LAW by fear. If she gave into fear, she had already lost. But if she could push ahead, she could send a message - she could prove they could be defeated! As long as she kept that thought in her head, she would be all the more motivated to fight on!

However, a second later, as Yukino took a step closer to her foe, she heard the referee call out to her from the side - begging her to disqualify herself, just to end the match! At first, Yukino's jaw dropped as she looked on, baffled by the idea of doing such a thing. The tension in her body began to ease as her thoughts slipped from the task at hand. Turning to the ref, she shook her head. "No-! Why would I do that..?"

But Yukino knew full well why the ref wanted her to do it. As long as she was in the match with Lyra, she was in grave danger. As she thought about it, a shudder went up her spine, her knees trembled, and the color drained from her face. If even the referee officiated this match was afraid for her...just what could Lyra do? It was the uncertainty that terrified her more than knowing - anything could be lurking around the corner, but she knew it wouldn't be pretty. As long as Yukino thought about that, she was frozen in fear. And as long as she was frozen in fear, she was vulnerable...

[Pegasus]

Lyra smirked at the referee’s pleas for Yukino to just give it up. It all fell right into her lap and she wanted to please her master by bringing a nice victory to The Selection. Yukino was too timid of a creature to think she could actually beat her one-on-one. Even when the winter idol supposedly won twice by now, Lyra would turn the tides of this match back into her favor and even made the referee just want to end this fight anyway. The slow realization that there was no way out was starting to become unsettling for Yukino as she froze in place as Lyra darkly chuckled holding her head in laughter.

“Be still, child. There’s no salvation against my dark master or his enforcers. I promise to bring victory through these minor obstacles and you would do well to just surrender yourself. Get on your knees and submit to order. Get on your back and beg for mercy. You may be spared….,” Lyra ordered as she walked right up to Yukino’s face and pointed at the mat ordering the idol to get down to bow to Lyra.

[CaptainL]

Striken by fear, and staring down what seemed to be the face of terror itself, Yukino had been shell-shocked. The color drained away from her face, and her eyes were wide and glassy as her breaths quickened into frantic pants. With Lyra closing in on her, she knew all too well that anything could happen to her - and none of it was pleasant. All she could do was wait and see what would come next. Even if she knew she should have gotten up, she should have fought back, she was painfully that against Lyra, it was going to be useless.

Yet when Lyra spoke again, even the rise and fall of Yukino's shoulders, and the in and out of her ribs, with every gasp she drew in slowed to a still silence. She had been scared, sure. But up until this moment, Yukino didn't know quite how scared she really was. Now, she knew. Now, she knew the fear she felt was all-consuming, paralyzing; she was afraid to even breathe, lest the slightest motion draw Lyra's ire. Somehow, on some deep and instinctive level, she knew she had hit rock bottom. Despite all the pain she'd been dealt at Lyra's hands, it was this - merely a few select words - that had hit Yukino the hardest.

But it was what Lyra said that made it all so chilling. She wanted Yukino to surrender. To her - and to the Selection. The more Yukino thought about it, the more she shuddered. To do so would admit that this was all pointless; that she never stood any chance of beating them from the start. Perhaps even that they couldn't be beaten. That this had all just been an embarrasment. It would be a betrayal of everything she had promised, to the fans and to herself. And what was worse...she had seen what had happened to those who lost to the Selection. She'd seen how they'd come back...changed. Lyra herself hadn't always been this way. If Yukino surrendered now, would it truly be a mercy? Would she...become one of them?

No. No, she couldn't do it! Her teeth clenched, and her eyes squeezed shut to stifle the tears that welled up in the corners - but Yukino had made up her mind. No matter what beatings she'd endure, no matter how much she'd be tormented, it was better than turning her back on everyone. And she was going to do just that the moment she surrendered! The people in her life meant too much to forego them, either by failing them or becoming someone she wasn't!

At last, she looked back up at Lyra, pushing herself up from the mat as she shouted to her in defiance! "No!! I won't do it! Do whatever you want to me-! But I'm not...going to bow my head to you!!" Yukino knew she couldn't withstand whatever Lyra's backup plan was. But at least she'd go out on her own terms!

[Pegasus]

Lyra hadn't really expect Yukino to give up on such short notice and at most, it was mind games and a scare tactic to truly see if the fear was settling in. The Selection relied on becoming the faces of fear itself and bettering it to their advantage to gain more recruits. Yukino showed potential and she was resistant to any form of joining their cause. She might be a worthwhile addition some day, but not today. Yukino was unproven, timid, and weak even after showing her defiance. Lyra snapped a look at the crowd and saw the crowd just staying silent even after Yukino stood in defiance and while some cheered her on, they were slowly accepting that Lyra had their beloved idol beat. Good enough for her.

Lyra simply stepped forward and bent Yukino forward as she kept a good hold on her opponent and went for Sister Abigail as her coup de grace against the winter idol! The final nail in her coffin before swiftly ending this match! Lyra put some extra force behind the fall to the canvas and jumped a little bit when her own back hit the mat. She would nudge Yukino's body over and cover her knowing this was the final crack in the ice.

"1!"

[CaptainL]

Even after saying her piece, Yukino had to ask herself if she had made the right move. She sucked in a breath, her teeth clenched tight and her eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to shield herself for whatever horrors lay ahead for her. Was it really so wise to give Lyra the opportunity to do her worst, when she had already made it more than clear that she was fully capable and fully willing to leave her broken and helpless in the middle of the ring? Could her very career be in danger - perhaps even her life? A nervous sweat trickled down the back of Yukino's neck. All she could do now was await the inevitable, and to hope she wouldn't regret it.

But, she told herself, if she was going to go down, she'd have gone down fighting. She wouldn't concede to the Anomaly, something she was all too sure would be worse than losing could ever be. She would still go out on her terms. Maybe she didn't need to be the hero to take down the Selection. Maybe she just needed to be the one to tell them their tricks wouldn't be welcome here. Yes, that was it. That meant it wouldn't be so bad...

No matter how much Yukino tried to psyche herself up, though, nothing could prepare her for what would come next. When she felt Lyra's arm squeeze tighter around her head, she shuddered, all the more reminded of how much pressure she was capable of exerting if she put her mind to it. A shiver went down her spine; she knew something was coming - but what it would be, and when it would land, was entirely in Lyra's hands. Every second that passed was an agony, leaving Yukino waiting for the moment it would all come crashing down. But when that moment came, it was over in a second. Lyra flipped herself back through the air, swinging Yukino around in a corkscrew pattern on her way down to the mat. She didn't even have time to scream before she landed with a hollow thud.

Immediately, Yukino bucked up into the air, then laid out flat, as though her whole body was laden with weights that caused her to sink into the canvas. Her eyes rolled back, and her head fell limp. Lyra moved to cover her, but it was barely necessary at this point. That one blow had taken Yukino out, causing her to go dark the moment her head hit the floor. The referee, seeing Lyra get into position for the pin, started counting as fast as she could, lest Lyra take any issue with what she did. But the count was just a formality.

"Two!! THREE!!"

With that, the bell rang. The match was over. And in the center of it all lay Yukino's cold, unmoving body, knocked unconscious by the sheer power of the Sister Abigail.