Jonathan Steele vs Cecilia Lombard - Falls Count Anywhere/Cinematic Match

[CaptainL]

Cecilia shuddered, hugging one arm around the other, as the innumerable little cuts she'd taken from her crash through the window trickled with blood - and wherever the cool air touched that blood, she could feel its chill, causing her teeth to clench in a grimace. Every time she took a breath, her body shook from head to toe; her shoulders lurched, and her knees knocked together. Whenever she moved, she could feel something drop in the pit of her stomach. The more she moved, the more likely she might be noticed - that was a fact she was keenly aware of, more so than she liked. But when she was out of breath, panting just to keep the air in her lungs, and quivering with pain, she couldn't help it. And she knew, too, that the Anomaly was getting closer.

That much would become apparent, as Cecilia heard a loud crash coming from the door, followed by the clattering of items off the shelves. She didn't even need to look up to know what had happened. Stifling a yelp, Cecilia shrunk even further into the corner. She was quivering with rising anxiety, but she knew all the same that she needed to stifle that, to be silent and still. She hated that she was hiding at all; it made her feel so small, so weak, so hopeless. She shouldn't need to hide. But the Anomaly was out there - and compared to the Anomaly, Cecilia was less than nothing. All she could hope to do was to wait for him to pass. She wasn't even thinking about how she was going to beat him any more. She just wanted to survive.

But although the Anomaly seemed to have lost her, he wasn't alone. Roxanne took a few steps closer, holding her body low to the ground and taking the long, loping strides of the wolf she had become, as she took a few sniffs at the air. First toward one corner, then another, then under a few toppled shelves. Cecilia could hear each creek of the floorboards under her feet, and they were getting closer and closer. She could feel her heart pound faster and faster, and she curled up even tighter into the corner...but it was too late.

"'ey! Found 'er!"

Roxanne leaned over the counter - and at once, Cecilia jumped back up. She didn't want anyone to see her in such a vulnerable position, and she didn't want to leave herself open, either! Roxanne quickly dashed around the counter to close in on Cecilia, but with adrenaline running rampant through her veins, the brunette kicked out with both feet, slamming them into Roxanne and throwing her against the wall with a thud. Wasting no time, Cecilia scrambled to her feet, jumping on top of the counter. There was no use in hiding any more!

[Pegasus]

The Anomaly saw Roxanne get pushed into a wall as his growling turned to Cecelia jumping on the counter. This was getting to be too good. Cecelia actually still thought she had the high ground. Even in the face of true defeat, he had to give her determination. It was false determination, but determination nonetheless. He howled with a dark chuckle at her basically taunting her to do something to them. It was four against one even without Roxanne and the disciples looked ready to pounce if Cecelia didn’t think this through. She couldn’t hide anymore, she couldn’t run since The Selection had the exit blocked, and there wasn’t anything too useful from the shelves to use.

Except for the fire extinguisher on the wall in its holder. This place may have been abandoned, but it seems higher forces were giving Cecelia a weapon to use. If she could get to it, she could ward off The Selection even for a brief few minutes before her next move could be thought of!

[CaptainL]

Now that she had gotten up on the counter, Cecilia took a moment to catch her breath. Her fists clenched tighter at her sides as she tried to suck back the tension rising through her body. She could do this, she told herself. From her vantage point, she felt like she could actually see eye to eye with her pursuer. In reality, she wasn't that much shorter than the Anomaly, but she could be forgiven for letting that fact slip her mind - that creature had a presence, and one she couldn't simply shake off so easily. It made him seem so much greater, and her so much smaller - like he was stronger than any force of nature, and she was helpless before him. But now, at least, Cecilia could even the odds...

Though the first growl she heard from the Anomaly was almost enough to make her regret her choices. The doubts came creeping into her mind - had she acted too soon? Was she only getting herself into more trouble, exposing herself to this danger? After all, the Anomaly didn't even seem intimidated to have her staring him down - and now, she was cornered, with nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide. Her teeth clenched, and her eyes flit back and forth, too nervous to settle in one place for long. But she soon shut those eyes tight as her fist clenched even tighter, and she shook any lingering doubts out of her head. It was too late to turn back now. She'd made her choice, and one way or another, she was going to have to act on it.

Luckily, there was something here Cecilia could use. When she scanned the room, she saw the fire extinguisher on the wall. At once, she felt herself grasped by a sense of purpose. That would be the answer to everything! As long as she could get a hold of the fire extinguisher, she'd have nothing to fear! Turning on her heel, she took off running toward where it was hanging up on the wall, and there, she would jump up a few times, reaching higher up over her head each time to try and pull it down. She just had to get it in her grasp. Occasionally, she looked back over her shoulder, shuddering the closer and closer the Anomaly came - but as long as she had something to arm herself with, nothing else would matter! She could just hope she could get it in time...

[Pegasus]

The Anomaly saw Cecelia go for the fire extinguisher as he went after her, but tripped over the shelves and pieces of board he knocked down. What tried becoming his modius operani was slowly turning against him when he had the advantage. Cecelia reached the weapon and would most likely use it spraying the demon down with the white foam. The demon screamed and soon, the foam would go against the other disciples as The Anomaly was buried under the liquid matter. Cecelia had taken control for the first time in this match!

[CaptainL]

Come on, come on. Just a little closer. Every time Cecilia tried reaching for the fire extinguisher, it seemed like it was just barely out of reach - as though all she could do was graze its edges with the tips of her fingers. That made it all the more frustrating - her teeth clenched in a snarl, and she grumbled to herself as she tried jumping once again to reach for her goal, only to once again come up just short. She didn't have time for this - each time she looked back over her shoulder, she could see the Anomaly was there, steadily inching closer and closer. Her heart quickened, and a shudder ran down along her spine, raising the hairs on the back of her neck as it went. She couldn't afford to stall like this! She needed to make a difference, and fast - as she was all too aware of, if the Anomaly got his hands on her, it would be all over.

Fortunately enough, it seemed the demon took a step too far. He stumbled and fell as he tripped over the debris in his way - and that forced his momentum to grind to a halt, for just as long as Cecilia needed it to. Emboldened by her good fortune, she made another leap toward the fire extinguisher, and this time, she caught hold of it! A grin came over her face as she felt its weight and heft in her hands. At long last, it seemed, things were going to turn around.

That feeling would only grow stronger for Cecilia as she turned and sprayed the fire extinguisher right into the Anomaly's face! As he was buried beneath the foam, blinding him, she could feel her adrenaline rise - but this time, not from fear, but from excitement. She wasn't weak any more! She didn't have to run and hide any more! Now, she could fight back. She was proving she had that in her - and that her confidence hadn't been misplaced all this time, after all. Suddenly, the Anomaly didn't look quite so impossibly imposing. He could be beaten. He could be slowed down. Now...Cecilia might just have a chance!

Cheering on her own efforts, Cecilia hopped down from the counter, bringing the fire extinguisher with her - and going to slam it straight down onto the Anomaly's head, as she swung it in an arc! "Take THAT, bastard-!" she roared. Even as Roxanne came charging at her from the side, she whipped around and struck her in the stomach with the fire extinguisher, sending her to her knees. Cecilia's heart was still pounding in her chest. But now...it was because she knew she could actually fight back, and she wasn't going to let that go! For the first time since this match had begun, she felt like she just might win!

[Pegasus]

The force of the extinguisher didn’t hurt, but boy, it slammed the demon down some. He actually grunted as if he felt the pain and this was far from over, but Cecelia took a slight lead in this match. However, The Anomaly just chuckled darkly to himself as he got right back up standing over Cecelia. “Impressive” he would say if he could speak in normal sentencing and he had to commend to Cecelia that she was good at thinking on her feet, but it was going to take much more than that to beat him.

“MORE! MORE! MORE!” The Anomaly exclaimed as he wanted Cecelia to deliver more pain to him.

[CaptainL]

Striking the Anomaly with the fire extinguisher, Cecilia had managed to knock her nigh-unstoppable opponent to the ground - and with that came a feeling of relief that washed over her from head to toe. This whole time, the Anomaly had gotten in her head, making her feel helpless and hopeless. When Cecilia was throwing everything she could possibly imagine at him and nothing seemed to work, she had begun to question if anything she had in her was enough - if she really had become as strong and as dominant as she had vowed to be. The Anomaly was forcing her to confront her own insecurities, and when she saw them, she couldn't help but flinch. But now...Cecilia had managed to take back control. She had actually hit him, and actually taken him down! That was proof that such a thing was possible - and that if Cecilia would pursue this more, she just might have a chance! A grin began to take shape across her face as she drew back with the fire extinguisher, ready to let it fly again...

But the next thing out of the Anomaly's mouth made her pause. Even after taking such a blow, the creature didn't seem in pain at all. In fact, he was welcoming this. He had seen the aggression and the desperation he had brought out of Cecilia, her fear and her struggle for survival...and he fed on it. He was bringing out the fury in Cecilia he had wanted to spark in her.

And for a moment, Cecilia paused. The fire extinguisher hung in the air, and her eyelid twitched nervously as she stared down at her foe. At once, all the doubts she thought she had silenced were creeping back into her head. If the Anomaly was urging for her to keep up her assault, was it really working at all? Was she just giving this creature exactly what he wanted? She thought she was finally taking back something for herself - but was she, or was the Anomaly still in control?

"I...n-no..." She didn't know what to do. If she struck at the Anomaly, she would be giving him what he wanted; if she didn't, she would be letting him go free, and he posed an even greater danger to her in that state. Paralyzed by her doubts, Cecilia just stood there, not doing anything. Slowly she lowered the fire extinguisher in her hands, and a shudder ran through her body. The Anomaly hadn't struck at her - but his words were all he needed to throw everything she knew into question.

[Pegasus]

The Anomaly watched Cecelia lower her weapon and he could see the doubt in her eyes. The lump she was forced to swallow in her throat as the psychological warfare planted itself firmly in her cranium. It was all going according to what he envisioned. To force Cecelia to face the truth…that her pompous determination and perpetual dominance was just a work of fiction. She hadn’t faced her own insecurities and her flaws. When matched against the Anomaly, she was the one getting dominated and even through this slight sight of victory, the demon still had her number.

The Anomaly chuckled to himself as he took the weapon away from Cecelia’s hands and stuck out his right hand. This could all end right now and she would be at his mercy. To accept her fate as a member of the Selection. He wouldn’t have to turn her just yet, but he just wanted her to accept him as her guidance. To further prove his rule over LAW. To take down one of the most dominating forces in this company….by breaking their sanity. No pinfall or submission could ever satisfy him.

“It’s time, Cecelia. Your road is broken. Join the dark abyss. You have nothing left to prove. I wanted you to prove yourself and you passed. You’re a monster….like me. We can right the wrongs together. Nobody will ever stand in your way again. You have us. No need for others. It’s time,” The Anomaly spoke in a dark, raspy voice via his voice modulator as he pushed his right hand forward.

[CaptainL]

For once, Cecilia had a moment of strength. Of hope. She had managed to land a blow on the Anomaly, and it had actually taken him down. And then, just as quickly as that relief had come, it was snatched away from her - all in just a few short cries from the demon. Cecilia didn't know anything any more. She didn't know if what she was doing would work. She didn't know if she was only sealing her fate - if she was just giving the Anomaly more power. A day ago, she would have considered statements like that ludicrous, but now? There was no way to trust what she knew was and wasn't possible any more. In a split-second, she had gone stiff - the doubt was enough to freeze her in her tracks. In that second, her comeback ceased - and the Anomaly noticed.

The fire extinguisher had been drawn out of Cecilia's grasp before she even had a chance to realize what was happening. She looked down with a gasp at her now-empty hands - but then, if it had been that easy for him to do that, she knew she had let it happen. With that realization came a deep wave of dread that permeated through her whole body - her skin felt clammy, and her stomach churned. That meant she was weak. She was giving in. She never could become the strong, fierce, unbreakable spirit she had always sworn to be, the one that would only know success. Deep down, she was still quivering in fear from a world too big and too intimidating for her. All she'd ever accomplished was burying those fears beneath layers upon layers of denial - but the Anomaly had shown her the truth.

"No...no...stay back..." The dominance and defiance had faded from Cecilia's voice. It was only a soft whimper that escaped, as she slowly inched back, hugging her arms to her body. Her eyes darted to and fro - everything around her seemed threatening. It was dangerous - it was more than she could ever handle. Even if she ran, where would she go? There was nowhere here she would truly be safe.

In fact, as she looked back, there were Saka and Miza, standing amidst the shadows. When she looked the other way, there were Roxanne and Kanon. No matter where she turned, she was surrounded. How did they get there, where they weren't a moment before? Cecilia didn't know, nor did she care, at this point. All she knew was that she didn't stand a chance. She knew she couldn't take the creature's hand - but she had no choice. All she could do was drop down to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest, and let herself sob.

[Pegasus]

The Anomaly saw that Cecelia had pretty much admitted defeat. She realized no matter what she threw at him that it wouldn’t be enough. Nothing hurt him. Nothing could hurt him. He was immune to it all. Cecelia just wept on the floor being scared to death of being mauled by The Anomaly and his disciples before The Anomaly outstretched his hands sending his disciples away in fits of black smoke and he approached the Ice Bitch. He lifted her up in his arms and cradled her like the scared little girl she became. The Anomaly would cover the entire screen in black smoke as he made his exit and the audience would see the screen finally go black as the match was declared over.

Winner: Jonathan Steele via verbal submission