Marzia Servelli vs. Jonathan Steele - I Quit Match

[CaptainL]

Marzia, it seemed, didn't know her own strength! One well-placed shove from her was enough to knock Jonathan back across the ring, sending him tumbling out over the top rope. Now that the Anomaly had gone down, the fearful and oppressive air that permeated the arena began to ease - if Marzia was capable of standing up to him, it meant that he wasn't so invincible after all; that he could be overcome. Perhaps there was hope yet! Now that they weren't afraid to speak up, a few of the fans cheered - not only was this a victory against the horrors of the Selection, it also meant that Marzia was finally standing up for herself. But for those who stayed silent, it was just that fact that made everything so worrisome. This wasn't like Marzia at all. And when the Anomaly was known for doing these sorts of things...

The Italian stood in the middle of the ring, her teeth clenched in a snarl. As she took in heavy breaths, her fists clenched and unclenched, her fingers curled like claws. When the cameras focused in on the look of animal rage on her face, everyone realized there was something different about this Marzia. This wasn't the same Marzia who held onto what she was good at and had faith in her skills in order to survive in a world where she was oppressed by doubt, who relied on her careful and strategic thinking to gain the edge over larger and stronger foes. It wasn't even the same Marzia who hesitated and hid behind a mask of mercilessness. This...wasn't even Marzia at all. This was who Jonathan had called Roxanne.

When the Anomaly got back in the ring, and came closer to her, Roxanne growled like a guard dog, pulling her lips back to bare her teeth the closer he got. But when he lay his hand on her forehead, everything stopped. The tension left her body, and her head bowed forward as she grew slack, standing at ease. Now, all of the fans could tell something was wrong. Even those who had been cheering a moment ago could only watch in terror when they saw Marzia idly bowing her head, and swearing loyalty to the demon.

"...I'm sorry, Master," she explained. "Seems I...got ahead of myself there..."

[Pegasus]

“You’re confused. I forgive you. It’s good to see you regardless,” Jonathan stated as he walked over to the ropes motioning for a microphone.

What was this match anymore? Marzia? Roxanne? Did she get a new gimmick? Is this even a match anymore? So many questions and none of them were getting any answers. The crowd watched in stunned silence as Roxanne fell in line with Jonathan as a scared ring worker hesitantly passed a mic to him. He smirked before brushing his hair back and raising the mic to his lips.

“Let this be a warning to those that thread too closely to darkness. You all have a side that haunts you. Scratching….clawing….waiting patiently….to burst from hibernation. Everyone can deny it, but it’s just a step closer to realizing the demon that lives in you all. Roxanne discovered it a long time ago before Marzia abandoned her. This wasn’t a match. This was a wake-up call. The Anomaly doesn’t take prisoners….he only makes victims and disciples. You all in the back had better pray the latter is your immediate future. And Roxanne? What do people get when they disobey The Anomaly?” Jonathan asked as he turned to the new disciple.

[CaptainL]

Now, even the fans that had been cheering for Marzia to make a comeback had been stunned into silence. Now, they could see what her resistance really meant. Marzia wasn't finally spurred to act, no. She was far from defiant - and this wasn't really Marzia. This wasn't the girl who would cry and run away and freeze up in the face of danger, no. Marzia had always been weak like that. No matter how much she hated herself for it, she could never escape it, even when she tried. Now, she realized why - it was because that was who Marzia was. In order to get away from what was holding her back, she had to shed her old self entirely. She had to let that anger and aggression take over, those feelings that Marzia was always holding in check. She had to be made anew. She had to become whole.

As Jonathan spoke, Roxanne began to move. Her breaths quickened, her chest and shoulders rising and falling as she panted like a wild animal. Slowly, she began to bend lower at the knees, getting into a stance like she was ready to pounce. Her fingers curled into claws, dangling at her sides. And perhaps worst of all, her mouth split open wide, into a great, toothy grin, as she spoke.

"What do they get? What do they get!? Eheh...I don't mince words. Those fuckers are getting torn limb from fuckin' limb." There was no hesitation any more; Roxanne spoke with the confidence of someone who had been over this in their head several times over. Then, suddenly, she pounded a foot on the ground, her voice growing into a roar. "You fuckers are all DEAD! You hear me?! You're DEAD!!"

[Pegasus]

The crowd wasn’t sure what to do at this point. They wanted to boo, but Roxanne’s words put their protests on ice and they weren’t sure if she could jump into the crowd to flay them. The Anomaly was definitely something to fear if something this powerful could create a being bent on fierce destruction and mega chaos. Jonathan snickered and then went off into a full laughing mood as he patted Roxanne’s head like a master praising its attack dog. Something told the audience he was the only one who could do that and not get slashed into pieces. However, Jonathan reverted back to his normal stern glare and raised the mic to his lips.

“But you aren’t going to be a lone wolf. The Heartbreakers were weak under Sachiko’s leadership. She did everything wrong to guide her friends even with an undefeated streak in tact. I proved how beatable they were when their tricks were used against them. They need someone to feed their lust for brutality. Roxanne, you shall lead them and make them truly prosper. Miza, Saka, come out here and greet your new leader. The New Heartbreakers!” Jonathan explained.

[CaptainL]

If Marzia barking in rage was a shock, what came next really showed the world that this was far from the same woman in the ring in front of them. Marzia had always had a fierce determination to prove herself. Even when she got brought low time and time again, facing humiliating defeats and never measuring up to her opponents, she always kept going for one reason alone - she wanted to show the world, and herself, she belonged in the ring, and that she could succeed. She wasn't the kind of person to submit to anyone without a fight. Her attempt at a heel run under Gail had only heightened that when she was determined to push away everyone close to her in the name of proving she could hold her own. But Roxanne had one master, and one master only. When she presented herself to the Anomaly, she lowered her head in deference, not even flinching as she bowed her head. The fans could only look on in bewilderment. Just what was happening?

Roxanne listened closely to everything Jonathan had to say, nodding her head as she rose. A smirk began to cross her face, one that opened just enough to show a glint of a toothy grin. Then, she turned to the entrance ramp - and two more women emerged from the curtains. The two remaining members of the Heartbreakers, Kyoko Kobashi and Misako Enjoji.

Spoiler

Except...something wasn't quite right. Their outfits had changed, and so had their entire personalities. The Heartbreakers had always been firecely independent themselves, living by their own code that wouldn't let the rules, the law, or anyone else get in their way. But they showed no such free thought now. Now, they too proceeded to the ring with even, unthinking strides, almost robotically focused on the path ahead of them, and their eyes were dead and glassy. Kyoko - or Miza? - waved her hands to the fans with a skip in her step, not even seeming to care that they were only staring blankly in disbelief, or that her head was dangling limply on her shoulder. Misako - or Saka? - was silent and unwavering, storming toward the ring without even the glare of disdain she usually reserved for any hecklers. And when they came to the ring, both of them kneeled in front of Roxanne, making every motion in unison, even as they lowered their heads to her. The last time anyone had seen them like this was in their match against Jonathan and Ryan. Were they still under the Anomaly's spell?

Roxanne took a step forward, still grinning as she placed a hand on either of the two girls' heads. "Ain't that the truth," she grumbled. "The Anomaly changed me. He helped me. It's because of him I'm stronger now, better now. I'm not gonna let the same old shit hold me back - and neither are you. Don't kid yourselves. You were never really the badasses you thought you were. You were just a couple of punk kids striking back at the world in the best way you could, because you knew, deep down, that you didn't have it in you to make anything really fucked up happen. That's all you had in you. Petty crimes and mockery. No longer. Now, you'll see too what the Selection can do for you. You need someone who really knows her shit if you wanna succeed...and I'm gonna do it for ya."

She turned her head up, while Saka and Miza remained motionless as statues. "You're not the Heartbreakers from now on. For now, we're the Wild Jackals. And we're under new management!"

[Pegasus]

Jonathan smiled when he welcomed Miza and Saka into the ring as they bent forward in front of Roxanne. Suddenly, the upper lights went out and the audience knew this nightmare wasn’t over just yet. Jonathan looked around smiling and chuckling to himself as one more member had to be introduced. The member that was the leader of his disciples. The demon. The monster. The Anomaly. The lights went out one row at a time until a single spotlight hung on Jonathan and then it faded out before rumbling could be heard from under the ring.

Phone lights went on from crowd members seeing every disciple now bathed in darkness and kneeling in obedience. This was turning more creepier by the minute and it left the ring announcer flabbergasted. Was this even a match at this point? Who won? Who lost? Did this even count as a disqualification? There was seemingly no LAW official that could tell her the truth as this match was officiated by a special guest referee so it seems no rules had to be enforced. Suddenly, a red spotlight shined on the middle of the ring and a black glove shot out from the middle while low growling came from under the ring. The fans noted that Jonathan disappeared when their phone lights hit the ring and they were afraid of what had become of him.

The other hand came out soon enough ripping the fabric of the canvas cover. The head of The Anomaly poked out as he unleashed a roar that scared many in the crowd and the ring announcer just bolted over the barricade to get away from ringside. She just told the timekeeper the match was over from there and ran away. The demon crawled out of the hole and his head twitches looking at every disciple as his low growls could be heard. Only one disciple got back to her feet and it was Kanon. The Anomaly beckoned her forward calling out: “DAUGHTER…..”

[CaptainL]

This match had gotten completely out of hand. It all started with a challenge made to win back an old friend...and it had descended into something that was all but unrecognizable, perhaps not even recognizable as wrestling. The Anomaly had revealed himself, just as unexpectedly as he had before. He had taken over Marzia's mind without so much as needing to lay more than a hand on her - and now, the Italian rose from the mat acting like a completely different person. Even Kyoko and Misako, the two brash and unruly delinquents fans knew as the Heartbreakers, were acting like puppets to the whims of their master. When the lights went out, a few dismissed it as little more than a technical issue. But after all that Jonathan had done...could anyone really be sure?

When the lights of the fans' phones shone down on the ring, Jonathan was nowhere to be found. One could reasonably assume that he had escaped in the darkness. And yet, in light of everything else that had happened, that explanation seemed simply too mundane to entertain. It couldn't be something that simple. The fabric of reality as they knew it simply wasn't obeying the rules it was supposed to, and it had to have been something unimagineable. All everyone could do was sit there, staring at the ring, completely transfixed. There was no way to predict what would happen next. All anyone knew was that it would be a shock when it happened - and when the Anomaly's claw burst through the canvas, followed by his roaring face, it certainly fit the bill!

Screams and gasps rang out as the arena was whipped into a panic. But despite all the commotion, the disciples - Roxanne, Saka, Miza, Ryan, and Kanon - were kneeling calmly in a circle, all around where he had emerged. Their heads were lowered in reverence, up until their master arose. As he settled his eyes on each of them, they raised their heads to meet him eye to eye. But it was Kanon who was last to turn to him - and when she did, she rose to her feet, taking a few steps closer. There she bowed her head low, awaiting what he had to say.

"What is your bidding, Father?" she whispered, her voice cold as an icy breeze.

[Pegasus]

The Anomaly twitched with every movement as he hovered over Kanon as the supernaturalist awaited his orders. The demon shuffled his right hand into his green trench coat as he brought out a brown book for his top disciple and he placed it within her grasp. The Anomaly then turned to his other disciples as he noticed that they all bowed in obedience like good students that they were. The demon pointed his left hand towards the exit of the ring and ordered “LEAVE.”

The Anomaly would have Ryan get up in order to make the walk over to the ropes in order to hold them open for the female members of the group.

[CaptainL]

Kanon was eagerly waiting on whatever Jonathan had to show her. She had pledged to serve him faithfully, and now, it was time for him to reward her for her loyal service. In truth, merely having the Anomaly's attention was more than enough for Kanon. But she was not someone to deny his gifts - if it was what he had chosen for her, then she was no one to deny the decisions of such a great being. As he lay the book in her hand, she bowed her head lower in deference to him, a smile growing across her normally expressionless face. Then, with Jonathan bidding his disciples clear the scene, she stood up straighter, turning to the exit without another word. The rest followed, moving in unison after Kanon and proceeding out of the arena through the rope Ryan held aside for them.

Even after everyone had left the arena, even as the lights finally came back up on an empty ring, the fans were speechless. No one could be quite sure what they had just witnessed, or what it boded for the future. The match had been set to answer the question of whether or not Marzia could stand alone, and it had ended no closer to an answer than it had started. Marzia hadn't proven herself. There didn't even seem to be a Marzia any more. Certainly, when the man who was supposed to be the referee showed no interest in officiating it, nothing could be said as to the finish.

But there was one thing everyone knew. The Selection was out there. They were growing. And surely they weren't done...

Match Ended by No Contest