"A pleasure to Punch you!" - Brielle and Armando

[Afterhoursclub]

Brielle faded for a couple of seconds, losing track of time and space...

But, getting your stomach caved in by the equivalent of a raging bull would do that to you...
By the time Army stopped ramming his shoulder against Brielle's gut, the dark haired gal was left dazed, gasping heavily for air while barely clinging to consciousness, draped over the man's back like a wet towel.

It wasn't until she felt Army's clumsy yet firm moves climbing the turnbuckle with her in tow that she recovered some of her senses. Still panting heavily while being seated above the top of the corner pad. Seeing nothing but Armando's muscular figure in front of her.

"Woah..." She finally managed to form some words again, and honestly the view wasn't the worst thing she could have woken up to... Among teases and jokes, she could have even complimented the intrepid wrestler...

But right now, her aching stomach only served to remind her that she was still in a fight...

-SMACK!-

She fired the first punch at Army's toned midsection.

-THUMP-

A second punch came, slamming the same spot right above his belly button.

"Not so fast... Little boy!" Brielle shot, with no lack of irony in her words.

The following strike was a Swift elbow, right to the side of his jaw, a blow aimed to stun and disorient her opponent. She would then press her hands against Armando's chest and push him off the corner, and down back to the canvas below them.

[BlackAkuma]

As fun as this had all been, Army was thinking he needed to start bringing this match - if you could really call it that - to a close. For starters, the manager's nervous looks were getting to him, and he was starting to worry that they might damage the ring and have to pay for it, a big concern. He didn’t know how much a ring cost, but he was willing to bet it was a lot more than he wanted to pay.

Besides that, he was starting to reach his limit, or at least, the limit he wanted to go through wrestling a woman who’d just been his date not long ago and technically still was. The last thing he wanted was for this to end up in a hospital, so he needed to start bringing this home with some finality. But how to make that happen?

None other than one of the most effective techniques in combat sports: Lifting someone up really high, then dropping them.

A superplex. Army made his way up on the ropes with the full intent of grabbing Brielle and taking her for a ride, but the woman had other ideas in mind, it seemed. The two shots to his gut he could take, but the followup blood to his skull was too much, and he was sent reeling, falling out of the corner.

Army was just able to put his feet under him at the last second, saving him from a nasty fall, but that was about it. Stunned, he took a moment to rise up fully and cast his gaze back Brielle’s way, not knowing what to expect next from her, but knowing he’d find out in a couple of seconds.

[Afterhoursclub]

"Good!"

The goth exclaimed, successful in her attempt to push the man off, although disappointed at the fact that his fall wasn't as damaging as she had hoped. No matter, that last elbow had done its job, leaving him stunned enough for what was coming next.

The match had been fun, more than the dinner from earlier... But it was time to wrap things up... And as much as Brielle enjoyed the challenge, she was too tired to continue much longer.
It wasn't the ideal position, she had hoped that Army would fall on his back, but... What the hell! She wasn't going to get another chance like this. With whatever strength she had left, the Brit pulled herself up and over the top rope, standing over the turnbuckle.

Fixing her eyes on Armando... Crossing stares for a brief moment with him... And there she noticed, smirking... Both had the same idea in mind, the same thought.

Whatever happened next, would decide who came out on top.

Brielle jumped, soaring through the air like an eagle swooping down onto its prey...

A shooting star press.

She would have preferred her target to be dropped down onto the canvas, but in her mind, taking him down with the move was just as good. Then, it would be a matter of remaining on top of him for the pin.

[BlackAkuma]

Army would never be 100% sure what possessed him to do what he did. He’d never done it before, so it wasn’t a reflex or anything.

Oh, he’d done a Spear before. A few times, actually, enough that he’d made it a finishing maneuver with some success. But he’d only ever done it on the ground. He’d only ever thought of doing it on the ground. It had never occurred to him to use it like some sort of ant-air attack.

And yet, when he looked up and saw Brielle flying towards him in a, frankly, beautiful arc that he wouldn’t have thought her physically capable of, the first thing that popped into his mind was to try and Spear her out of the air. Despite never doing it before. Despite not even knowing he could do it.

It was funny how the brain worked sometimes. There was no time to deliberate or considered whether or not it was a good idea, only enough time to execute. So, he executed.

As Brielle came down, Army went up, leaped into the air with her arms open, attempting to intercept her downward descent with a Spear, right into those proud abs of hers.

[Afterhoursclub]

It was poetry in motion.

For a short lapse, the entire world seemed to freeze, all the noise and the cheering stopped, giving way only for them to continue their dance and hop into the last number of the night.
They seemed to move in slow motion, a single second turning into an eternity in which a thousand things coursed through their minds. The match... The excitement... The crowd. All part of an unexpected night that kept bringing more and more surprises as it went on.

Brielle was flying, falling straight towards Armando, turning herself into a bullet looking to put a stop to their struggle. In turn, and just as she should have expected after spending a couple of hours with this man, instead of running away or trying to dodge, her chose to meet her head on.

It was one of those moments where a single action turns into a "one in a million" chance; perhaps, if things had happened differently- a second later even, the story could have had a completely different outcome. But Army decided to charge when he did...

A spear.

A raw maneuver that, much like Brielle was doing, turned the user's entire figure into a weapon...it was risky, but if done properly, it could lead to great results.
The collision was something to behold, a loud impact that echoed through the entire restaurant.

Army's shoulder met with Brielle's slick skin, and her entire body folded in mid air. His shoulder digging deep into her abdominal wall, much like it had done earlier in the night, but with double the strength now, turning the Brit's own momentum against her this time.

"Oughhh!" A single gasp escaped her lips, and then... Both fell to the mat in a thunderous heap. Just as the rest of the world came back to normal.

Brielle hit the mat back first, and in a single instant... Everything went dark for her.

Spread on the canvas, arms above her head and an almost peaceful expression adorning her gaze... As if she were sleeping calmly. Looking past the heavy breathing, the reddening of her face and the heat emanating from her body after such an exhausting encounter... Of course.

[BlackAkuma]

It wasn’t just a bad idea; it was a dangerous idea. Army could almost hear his sister chiding him for it. She wasn’t a big fan of that high-risk stuff in general, but throwing himself out like that was particularly reckless, she’d say. So many things could’ve gone wrong. Her could’ve missed her, or gone too high and cracked their skulls together, or gone too low and flown out of the ring into the crowd, causing all kinds of damage. They could’ve landed poorly and broken something important.

It was dumb luck that it worked, but that was Army’s favorite kind of luck.

Their body’s connected with a thunderclap, and the two of them came crashing down. Brielle wasn’t a giant, but she was a solid woman, and they slammed into the floor with enough force to make the referee yelp and leap back. It wasn’t a happy landing for Army, coming down on his shoulder and numbing it up immediately.

But Brielle had gotten the worst of it. Easily. Army rolled over and started to go for the pin, when he caught sight of the look in her eyes - or, rather, the lack of any look. She didn’t seem like she was in pain, wasn’t even reacting. He knocked enough people out and been on the receiving end more than a few times, he knew it when he saw.

”Shit!” Army kneeled at her side and gave her a few good shakes. ”Fuck! Brielle, wake up!”

[Afterhoursclub]

Darkness, for a good couple of seconds Brielle's entire world disappeared, replaced by a deep slumber that felt surprisingly similar to falling asleep...

Then, slowly... Everything started to come back to her.

First the noise, deafening cheering...

Then, the strain and the pain running all over her body... Feeling as if she had just run a marathon.

Then, her vision... Bright lights, and some shadows looming over her... Shadows that little by little transformed into familiar figures:

The referee girl, who had been acting like a lost puppy most of the match. And... Armando.
Shaking her like a madman...something that might indeed have helped her to recover faster, but that now was only making it harder for her to fully focus her eyes.

Then, everything hit her like a flash: the jump, the fall and the sudden collision midair. She was caught with that spear.... But, if that was true then...

Why wasn't he celebrating? Why wasn't the referee raising his arm... There's no way she could have escaped a pin attempt after that... Unless...

"Ouch..." She finally opened her eyes completely, blinking a few times before crossing stares with Army, a confused look drawn over her features...

"You... Huff...huff..." She tried to rise up to a sitting position, but her aching abdomen prevented it "you... truly are a fool, aren't you..."

"You could have won... You know?"

Her words might have sounded like an insult at first, but they lacked the sting of animosity, instead... They carried genuine surprise...

[BlackAkuma]

Army breathed a long, haggard sigh of relief when Brielle finally opened her eyes and showed those pale gloves. For a second, he’d worried that he might need to call some medical help for her, thinking she might’ve taken a serious hit from the fall. She didn’t seem to be bleeding or anything, but that didn’t mean she was okay. There could be a fracture on the skull, concussion, maybe even neck damage…

But she was up. She was awake. Didn’t mean she was 100% okay, but enough to put him at ease.

That was, until she started speaking. He gave a queer look for a moment, blinking, not fully processing what was coming out of her mouth. Could have won? What was she-

Ah, right, the match. He’d legit forgot all about that for a second, there. Did they say knockouts didn’t count? He couldn't remember, but he guessed it didn’t matter at this point.

”Well, I mean, you were out, so, like…” He scratched the back of his head. ”You weren’t moving, so I thought, I mean-”

It took him a moment, but he pushed his way up - or tried to. He stumbled halfway, but got it together after taking a second to plant his feet and continue to rise. ”Fuck the win, I’ll buy the wings. Good match.” He extended his hand and looked her over again. ”How are you feeling? Can you stand?”