Lyra Heartfield and ? vs. Countess Dante

[Pegasus]

Match Type: 2-on-1 Handicap Falls Count Anywhere Match
Rules: There are no count-outs or DQs enforced in this match. Lyra and her mystery partner will conduct this match under tornado tag rules. Pinfalls or submissions are counted anywhere in the building.

The Selection knew that they had a firm grip over the widespread landscape of LAW and it showed when they came out to the ring. No matter who was in the ring, the rules didn’t really matter and even if they should have lost plenty of more matches due to their antics breaking the rules, the referee body count would’ve skyrocketed. And if their last hardcore match against Astrid was anything to go by….they are deadlier whenever it came to no rules enforced at all. Naturally, someone like the Countess would surely take notice and be angered by the mere fact such insufferable stage magicians would dare lay claim to being more terrifying than the supposed rightful owner to that mantle. Dante would soon learn that the error of her ways and crossing the Selection wouldn’t be tolerated.

The lights started filtering in and out as the arena stood on tense toes and Misa immediately ducked out of the ring not wanting any part of what these monsters had in store. They could make their own entrance anyway.

The Selection’s Theme Song

The droning voice and neutral tone of the singer sent chills throughout the arena. The spotlights went over to the curtain as Lyra Heartfield entered the fray. The black curtain dragged along her form as she was adorned in her blue cloak with the hood covering her head. At the same time, a masked figure walked out next to her as this person wore a white hockey mask with “RAMPAGE” written across the top in crude marker. This mysterious person wore a black tactical vest, black leather pants with the same name on the mask going down her left leg in blood red lettering, and brown combat boots. Lyra spoke briefly with the masked person as they made their way down the ramp.

They were a curious duo and the audience had been drawn into the mystery of who laid under the mask. They were sort of concerned for Dante, but with how much the grandmaster boasts, they couldn’t feel too sorry for her messing with these dark forces outside her comprehension. Lyra and the masked figure made their way slowly and strolled to the ring with a calmful, but demanding presence. The masked figure went forward climbing the ring apron and Lyra went for the steel steps heading up them. The masked figure heads between the ropes growling under mask as Lyra steps in herself ready to do battle as she uncovered her face and showed off the red gleaming eyes that she shared with her master.

[CaptainL]

The Selection. That was a name that struck fear into the hearts of anyone who heard it. Like something between a sinister cult and a dominant stable, they were out to take control of LAW by whatever means were necessary. They certainly cut an intimidating enough presence to make anyone think twice before picking a fight with them, and that was without getting to the litany of carnage they had left in their wake, terrorizing even some of the biggest names in LAW and leaving them cowering at their feet. They seemed determined to rule LAW by fear - and few doubted that they easily had it in them to do so.

But if one woman wouldn't let herself be afraid...that woman was COUNTESS DANTE!

Spoiler

After the Selection had made their appearance in the ring, the curtains flew open again. Now, standing atop the ramp was a small girl in a black gi, but nevertheless with her eyes fixed in a stern glare pointed right at her opponents. She wasn't worried. What did she even have to be afraid of? A bunch of posers in Halloween costumes? She was the grandmaster of the Black Dragon Fighting Society, and the Deadliest Woman Alive! She could just as easily give every member of the Selection a crippling heart attack with just the touch of a finger! If the Selection wanted to rule by fear, Isabella would be the first to show them she wouldn't be intimidated. In fact, if she could take them down now, that would only stand as proof that she wouldn't be cowed!

The arena had fallen into a hushed silence. No one knew what Lyra's motives were tonight, or who the masked figure at her side was. There was no shortage of whispered speculation between them. But none of it would bother the Countess, who brought her fist against her palm and cracked her knuckles as she walked down toward the ring!

"You FOOLS! You dare to call yourselves the masters of panic and fear? Your minds cannot even GRASP the terrifying potential of a TRUE MASTER OF THE FIGHTING ARTS! I haven't seen even ONE of you master Dim Mak, or the dreaded Poison Hand! And yet, you still want to call yourselves a threat? At the end of this day...I, Countess Isabella Caramelita Dante, second-generation grandmaster of the Black Dragon Fighting Society, the DEADLIEST WOMAN TO EVER LIVE, will set that matter straight!"

Isabella slipped through the ropes, standing in front of Lyra with an unblinking stare...at least, that was what she hoped. Facing down two members of the Selection - one of them so shrouded in mystery that no one could even begin to guess what they might be capable of - was a daunting task. Even Isabella, cocky as she always was, couldn't help but twitch a little as she looked back at her foes. But she sucked in a breath and firmed up her muscles, reminding herself it couldn't stop her now. The power of Dan-Te would save her, right?

[Pegasus]

Countess Dante sure thought herself to be a brave soul wondering closer to the border of Armageddon. It was truly an interesting sight to behold. However, the Selection usually doesn’t handle showboaters with the utmost care and Dante was facing down two of the most deadliest women right now in the promotion. The masked wrestler growled under her mask as she stepped closer to Dante before sprinting to batter the grandmaster down as her punches went flying over Isabella’s body giving no time for recover. The bell officially rang starting the match as the referee kept herself back being almost entirely useless to stop anything the Selection had and it seems Dante was going to ask for their best showing, but it wouldn’t be an equal showcase of deadly martial arts. Just pure aggression-filled brutality. Lyra just stood still as the masked wrestler kicked Dante out of the ring and followed suit going under the ring for a kendo stick and proceeded to whack Dante on the body multiple times!

[CaptainL]

The Countess had extolled the virtues of her discipline of martial arts countless times. According to her, conventional styles wouldn't get anyone anywhere in a real fight - they were only good for showing off. Only the masters of the Black Dragon Fighting Society knew the secrets of how to overcome any foe, no matter the situation, and with deadly efficiency! So...it was something of an embarrassment for Isabella when all those deadly fighting secrets didn't save her here. The Selection wouldn't even wait for a bell - they were the ones in control here, and they made the rules; no one was going to tell them what they could and couldn't do. At the very second Isabella entered the ring, the masked woman was on top of her, catching her with a volley of punches she couldn't even see coming!

"Ackhpff-!!" Dante fell to her back, her arms and legs flailing in the air as her foe continued to rain down punches on her. Every impact caused her to shake and shudder, and she was quickly developing a patchwork of bruises all across her skin. She tried to push, shove, and kick at her assailant, but nothing worked - her attacks were coming at her too quickly! Before long, Isabella found herself shoved out of the ring, hitting the floor and tumbling aside a couple of times. And before she could get back to her feet, the mystery woman was already after her, bringing down a kendo stick across her back just as she turned over to expose it to her opponent!

A loud crack rang out as the weapon struck Isabella solidly, leaving a stinging sensation along her spine. She winced and hissed - but all the more so, Isabella reminded herself that she couldn't keep letting this happen. The Deadliest Woman Alive was surely better than this, and she couldn't let herself be made a fool of if she allowed herself to take such a beatdown! Hissing through her teeth in frustration, she rolled on her back and reached up, trying to grab at the kendo stick as it came down on her again; if that worked, she'd kick the girl in the knees to try and shove her away!

[Pegasus]

The Selection didn’t pull punches or take prisoners. If you wanted to get in their way, prepare to pay the heftiest consequences for it…Dante was not necessarily getting in their way, but she was put against them so they would see to it she was eliminated or recruited like so many others in their ranks. The masked woman wailed the stick on the back of the grandmaster before Dante turned on her back to give herself a reprieve. The torment would look to continue, but just as the masked woman brought down another strike, Dante caught the stick which began a tug of war as the masked woman tried burying the stick to Dante’s throat! Dante had her own idea in mind kicking at the legs of her opponent which tripped the masked woman to fall on her behind and let go of the stick!

[CaptainL]

With every smack that came down against her back, the Countess hissed. Red stinging welts were spreading across her skin beneath her gi. It felt as though she was being flogged on an 18th century naval ship - and she knew that was nowhere she wanted to be, nor was it a fate befitting of the Deadliest Woman Alive! She couldn't just sit here and take this offense - that would be bad for her image! The world needed to know that she would take no prisoners and never back down, and that no one in LAW could compete with her lethal power! No matter how much it might've hurt...Isabella still needed to fight back!

Powering through the pain with all her might, she rolled herself onto her back! She looked up at her masked foe with a glare that cut straight through her - and when the stick came near her again, she reached out and grabbed it! She could still feel a sting in her back, but she smiled regardless - if she was standing up to the Selection, it was proof that what she was doing was working, and that the world would see that she really meant business. The masked woman pulled hard at the stick to try and take it back - but Isabella would cut her off in the act when she aimed a hard stomp directly at her shins, managing to throw her backward!

Now, the Countess scrambled back to her feet, clutching the kendo stick in her hands. She tapped the stick against her palm a couple of times as she stared down her foe. It was a pity she had that mask on, because Dante would have loved to see the look of terror on her face when she realized her luck had turned, and that she was now staring the force of retribution right in the eye. But that didn't matter - what really mattered was what she was about to do!

"You must know," Isabella boasted as she jabbed the kendo stick in the masked woman's direction, "I don't need to arm myself in order to prove a DEADLY THREAT to you, and to anyone else arrogant enough to stand in my way. The only weapons a master of Dim Mak needs are their OWN BARE FISTS! I could kill you with those FAR more efficiently than any gunman could! So look at it this way - the pain I'm about to unleash upon you is NOTHING in comparison to what I could do instead!!"

It was a defiant boast indeed. It was almost a pity that she was just blustering her way through a justification for why she was using weapons when, if everything she said was true, she shouldn't have had any need for them. But it wouldn't mean the mystery woman had any mercy to look forward to, considering Isabella drew back her stick to smack it straight across her foe's face!

[Pegasus]

If Dante thought she had the Selection in her web of torture, she was more foolish than they originally thought. Isabella was anything, but in any superior position to talk down to them and her boast about not needing weapons just showed that her confidence is semi-genuine. The masked woman got hit hard and got knocked over on her side with slight grunts coming from underneath the shadows of comfort her disguise gave her. The masked woman sat up not deterred fully and looked up at Dante glaring through her mask. It as was if it was an invitation to hit her again if the grandmaster truly dared.

[CaptainL]

In a stroke of luck for Isabella, her blow struck true - the masked woman was sent toppling backward, buying herself some precious time. She rolled back up into a seated position, panting for breath. That was too close - it was much too close for anyone, let alone a master of Dim Mak who should've well known better! Perhaps the Countess was slacking off in her training if she'd let such a fate befall her? No, no, nonsense - that would never happen! The only thing that could explain it was that the stranger just got lucky! Regardless, Isabella was through making mistakes - it was time the masked woman paid for her arrogance! Her eyes narrowed on her with a glare, ready to deliver payback!

With a loud battle cry, the Countess would whip the kendo stick down in an arc to smack her opponent right across the top of the head! Perhaps she was in danger if she was staying this close, but that wouldn't matter. Isabella was quick enough to fear nothing!

[Pegasus]

A nice cracking sound protruded around the arena as the masked woman grunted going down on her back on the hard black mats outside. The crowd actually gasped that Dante really managed to hurt a member of the Selection so easily and that said person would even allow it to happen. The masked woman didn’t even show any signs of discomfort or pain as they laid still on their back with their head obscured and hidden under the ring covering. The audience had to wonder if the kendo stick shot even did anything to the assailant hiding under the darkened disguise. Dante wouldn’t even have a chance to make another boast about the situation as the crowd turned their heads seeing Lyra take advantage of the distracted grandmaster trying to down her with a Suicide Dive!

[CaptainL]

At last, Isabella had scored a blow against her assailants. The masked woman had gone down, and she'd come away from the ordeal with a weapon for her efforts that could even the odds against her two fearsome foes. Of course, Isabella didn't need to arm herself - her own body was as deadly of a weapon as she would ever ask for! But she wasn't going to say no to it, either. She rose to her feet, her grip on the kendo stick tightening as she stood triumphantly over her fallen opponent. Maybe she didn't seem hurt, but at least it was a blow that hit, and that was enough. Besides, the crowd would see soon enough that there was plenty more where that came from!

Or so she thought. Just as Isabella began to raise the kendo stick to bring it down again...Lyra suddenly pounced, tackling the Countess back against the floor! Bowled over by the rush, she sputtered and gasped as she landed, the air driven out of her by both the sudden move and her hard impact against the floor outside the ring. She had forgotten that there was still another force in this match that she had to contend with! But she wasn't going to let Lyra interrupt her moment of glory that easily!

"Rrgh...get off-!" Dante growled under her breath. Still clutching the kendo stick in her hand, she would attempt to swing it against Lyra's side to crack it across her back!