[Tables Hardcore Match] Charlotte Ravel' vs Amy Evans - The parable of the Lion and the Lizard (Apex Qualifier Match)

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Match type: tables hardcore
Victory conditions: pinfall, submission, knockout
Special conditions: hardcore rules are applied; tables are draped against each turnbuckle; there are also many tables around and under the ring

"I should have demanded a standard match," Victoria said, adjusting her glasses.

Charlotte did not answer immediately, although she understood perfectly well why her manager had such an idea. The Frenchwoman took a diagonal step to the side, sending two punches into the punching bag. Taking a deep breath, she filled her lungs with air, and then pushed off the floor. The jumping kick was the end of her warm-up. Landing on her feet, the Sand Lizard raised her straightened palms to her chest, taking her one more deep breath.

"I can understand you," the pink-haired woman said, turning to Victoria, "but you shouldn't worry so much about it."

And yet Victoria was worried. She always tried to do her job perfectly. And after Charlotte's last match, she thought that another hardcore match was not what her ward needed at the moment. That steel cage match was a bloody ordeal for the Frenchwoman, largely because of her opponent, who seemed to be devoid of any moral principles. And although Charlotte was only one step behind Astrid, Victoria was sure that the second match with hardcore rules in a row was too much.

"A real fighter never refuses a challenge," the Frenchwoman said with a slight smile, approaching Victoria, "for me, only one thing matters, I always strive to become stronger than I was yesterday, but this is possible only thanks to hard matches with strong opponents, so..."

Victoria adjusted her glasses again, but then smiled slightly. They have known each other for a sufficient amount of time and she has already managed to understand what Charlotte is made of. But these unshakable moral principles and far from the most standard views on life still caused her strange feelings. Victoria couldn't say that she really understood Charlotte, but there was a very unusual aura around this Frenchwoman. And she couldn't help but just nod, because she trusted all the decisions of her ward.

Charlotte nodded in response, and then left the locker room, heading down a long corridor. Usually, the Sand Lizard always remained calm, especially when it came to matches. But she couldn't deny that she felt a little different today. This will be her last qualifying match on the way to the world title. Of course, this could hardly be called a great achievement. But nevertheless, three matches were over. Even Astrid couldn't boast of such a thing.

The young woman entered a small waiting room and stopped in front of the curtains. She had heard a lot about her rival, and although Victoria said it every time, now the manager made a special emphasis on the fact that the Sand Lizard should be careful. These words were superfluous, since the Frenchwoman had never been in the habit of treating her rivals lightly. Besides, in the last match, Gabriella's cheap strike before the bell rang taught her a good lesson. The last qualifying match. Charlotte knew that she had to show everything she was capable of. She was ready.

Entrance Music

Attire

The lights in the arena dimmed a little, and a thick fog appeared at the top of the ramp. Thanks to the spotlight, a large silhouette of a sand lizard appeared in the very center of the fog. With the first sounds of the musical theme, this silhouette seemed to begin to move. And then, accompanied by loud chords, Charlotte came out of the fog, dissecting it with three quick punches. The Frenchwoman raised both hands, accepting the applause of the audience.

For LAW, Charlotte became something new and therefore she managed to take a place in the hearts of viewers and fans. Unlike many other girls and women here, the Frenchwoman was guided by a strict code of honor and tried to follow the path of a real fighter. Martial arts were the meaning of her life and she liked to demonstrate it in the ring. She had some doubts about whether she was worthy of taking part in the race for the world title. But now the answer seemed obvious.

Charlotte started walking down the ramp, although she had to stop several times in order to take some photos with the most devoted fans, as well as sign several posters. When she was first asked to do it, it really turned her head. There was very little room for warm feelings in her life. But the fans who believed in her helped her to feel the warmth in her heart again.

The Sand Lizard stopped one more time in front of the ring. Oh, it wasn't a joke. There were unfolded tables here and there, not to mention draped tables inside the ring. It reminded her of her first qualifying match, because that time she also had to deal with tables. A slight smile appeared on the Frenchwoman's lips. Pushing off the concrete floor, she rushed forward. The Sand Lizard jumped onto the edge of the ring and then grabbed the top rope in order to use it as a springboard.

Landing on her feet inside the ring, she didn't stop. Charlotte quickly ran to the center of the ring. It became a kind of tradition that the audience loved. Therefore, the young woman intended to put her right foot slightly to the left of her left foot. Starting to spin, she pushed off from the mat. Her left leg made a wide arc, after which the Sand Lizard gracefully landed on her feet. This spinning heel kick was her gift to the audience.

Her music was coming to an end. Accepting the last applause, Charlotte raised her clenched fist above her head. Yes, it was in the ring that she felt the best. This was the place she belonged. And that's why today Charlotte was going to take the last confident step to her Apex match.

When her music ended, the Frenchwoman greeted the referee and headed to her corner. Pressing her back to the table, she crossed her arms under her chest. Each of her rivals gave her an incredibly tough match. And the Sand Lizard was sure that today's match would be no exception. Only the strongest aspired to the world title. And Charlotte was glad of it. Because only in a fight with a strong opponent can you become stronger. Not every one of her rivals was a good person, but thanks to each of them, Charlotte was able to get something new. And in this match, she was determined to show that all this way was not in vain.

[Fairy Dragon]

Amy had no idea what someone had heard to want this kind of match from them but it seemed that Apex wanted the best from everyone or to weed out anyone who wasn't as hard working as they pretended to be. From her cage match with Karina, to this she knew that she was going to be fighting from start to finish all the way to Apex. For some this was crazy, but for Amy this was just the way she liked it, having to fight upwards even in crazy situations was when the Lion could be her most dominant and in a series where the best thing was to win and look good nothing looked better then slamming someone through a table and pinning them in the splintered remains. All good fun for the Lion as her music played and the wrestler came out looking excited, crawling out before standing up and roaring she got a strong cheer from excited fans. They knew the kind of match they were in for and were ready for it, Amy wanted it too and ran to the ring basically leaping through the ropes and springing back up to her feet.

Spoiler

"So Charlotte, how many tables you plan on breaking through this match, or do you just want to slug it out?" Amy said, finally noticing her opponent. Charlotte looked impressive physically, had a kickboxer's build and look so while Amy seemed to have the power advantage she might be dealing with someone with striking power most wouldn't want to mess with. The match type added to the mystery, while she was tough this was not a match type she was used to so either it was one Charlotte was good at or both of them were being put into it without experience. None of this faced her, as someone who tried to be the dominant predator she was going to fight her own way no matter what and watching Charlotte she wondered what the Sand Lizard would be trying once the bell rang.

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When the unfamiliar music started, Charlotte turned her head to the side. Her opponent received more than a loud welcome from the audience and fans. The corners of Charlotte's lips lifted slightly. The blonde's roar reminded her of another woman, and even standing in the ring, the Frenchwoman could notice a certain similarity between Amy and her Norwegian friend.

The American woman did not hesitate and quickly ran towards the ring. And when she was inside the squared circle, the Sand Lizard had the opportunity to run her eyes over her rival from top to toe. This is the first match for Charlotte when she will have to face a heavyweight. Amy's physique was clearly more dense than Charlotte's, although the Frenchwoman was to some extent taller than her rival. Some might say that weight categories were invented for a reason. Pure physical strength was not the main feature of the pink-haired woman, but she had quite a lot of ways to bypass it.

The Sand Lizard pushed off from the table, intending to head to the center of the ring in order to greet her opponent. Although Amy was ahead of her. Hearing the blonde's words, Charlotte slightly raised her left eyebrow. It seems that what she had heard about this woman was the pure truth. Amy's words exuded confidence in her abilities. Charlotte herself would not use such words before the start of the match. But at least there was no direct insult in these words, as was in the case with Harmonia. Besides, after these words, the young woman had something to say to her rival.

She calmly but confidently walked into the center of the ring. Her eyes were glued to the blonde's. Charlotte clenched her right fist and pressed it against her straightened left palm. To show respect to the opponent is the duty of someone who follows the path of a real fighter. Charlotte bowed to the American woman.

"Charlotte Ravel'," she introduced herself officially straightening up to her full height, after which a confident smile appeared on her lips, "the number of tables I plan on breaking through depends on how many tables you can withstand."

In another situation, she would probably have offered her rival a more classic handshake after bowing. But the memories of Gabriella were still fresh in Charlotte's mind, so she didn't want to get a mean blow because of her indiscretion. First she had to find out who Amy really was. And to do this, she needs to exchange a few blows with her. A fight always shows who a person really is.

Therefore, after responding to Amy in her own manner, Charlotte was determined to leave her right foot a step back. She intended to raise her clenched right fist to the level of her chin, and leave her left fist at the level of the middle of her torso. Taking a fighting stance, she would nod to the referee girl, making it clear that she was ready. It was only necessary to get the same confirmation from the blonde. And then nothing else will prevent the bell from ringing. The last qualifier match. Charlotte has come a long and incredibly hard way. Each of the matches she went through made her stronger. And today she was going to demonstrate it.

[Fairy Dragon]

Amy knew that Charlotte must be pretty confident in herself seeing as when she came barreling in her she didn't see any shock or concern from her, Amy was not someone you wanted moving that fast towards you but Charlotte remained unintimidated by her. It helped that despite being the smaller frame she was the taller fighter and clearly knew how to use her body to her advantage which meant that Amy would be getting something out of this fight. When she boasted that she planned to put her through all the tables she could take Amy looked around at all the tables.

"I don't think there's enough tables here to pull that off Charlotte. If you know the name Amy Evans you know how much I can take, if you don't know I guess that's something to learn when we get started." Amy said. She didn't offer a handshake or anything since that wasn't her style for people she didn't know and she also knew that some people might try cheap tricks from offers like that. The Sand Lizard didn't look shady but looks had been deceiving in this profession often, she'd know her better once she put a hammer to her and saw for herself what came out of it. Instead she just backed up waiting to start this match, letting the moment last before the bell rang and the fight really started.

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Charlotte had to make some effort not to snort in response to her rival's words. The Frenchwoman was very annoyed by this attitude. Apparently, like many others here, her opponent believed that greater number of matches made her several steps higher. One of the biggest misconceptions that for some unknown reason was very common.

"Bragging about your name?" Charlotte asked, pursing her lips slightly. "Then I'll show you that only talent and hard work really matter."

It was because of this delusion that a gap was created between many fighters. While champions and other veterans basked in the glory, many newly arrived fighters had to survive for at least a small place in the sun. While the attention of the general public is focused on veterans, the sparks of talent are extinguished before they turn into a bright flame.

And in most cases, the so-called veterans did everything possible to ensure that everything remained that way. For the sake of ratings, they are looking for matches only with other big names. Charlotte was really disgusted by this. Looking at the referee, she let her know that now is the time to start the match. The striped shirt raised her hand high, and then abruptly lowered it. Charlotte's eyes flashed at that moment.

Ding-Ding-Ding.

Under the loud shouts and applause of the audience, the Sand Lizard rushed forward. She hasn't lost a single match. She reached the last qualifier match. And if her rival thought she had the right to stand here and brag about her name as if Charlotte didn't have a chance against her, then the Frenchwoman was determined to knock that shit out of the Lion's head. Charlotte was never a very proud woman, but she never lost her self-respect.

Using a basic boxing technique, the Sand Lizard began to shift from side to side with each step. At the same time, she slightly changed the position of her fists in order to make it harder for Amy to understand where the first attack would come from. She had not yet had to work with an opponent who was significantly heavier than her in weight, but she was ready to test her skills. Charlotte took a deep breath.

When she burst into the blonde's space, putting her left foot on the mat, she had to take one more step in order to send a quick jab or a powerful cross along with it. But instead, the Sand Lizard shifted her weight onto her left leg. She was going to turn to the side, lifting her right leg bent at the knee.

All she had to do was point her foot in Amy's direction and straighten it out at the very last moment. The angle clearly indicated that it would be a roundhouse kick right into the left side of the American woman's torso. And only at the last moment the Sand Lizard was going to increase this angle in order to direct her foot not into the torso, but directly into Amy's head! More difficult, but even more dangerous a redirected roundhouse kick!

[Fairy Dragon]

Well that confused her. "My name? I'm bragging about my skills, a name means nothing besides what has been backed up by what you do." Amy said not sure why that would need to be qualified, she was sure anyone would have been able to understand that. "You're kinda weird you know that?" Amy said. She was really hoping this wasn't someone who looked for reasons to be offended, she had seen too many of those in today's world where if Amy said anything it would turn into a reason to fight.

"Look if you don't want small talk we can just do this. Fight good and we'll be cool, okay?" Amy said annoyed at the way she had seemingly offended Charlotte and given her the impression she was bragging about her name, as if the name was what was to be feared and not the person that name belonged to. No one would care for Amy Evans if Amy Evans hadn't backed things up herself and now if Charlotte had gotten that twisted she would find out the hard way that she could knock anyone on her ass. When the match started Charlotte moved in and Amy prepared herself for the attack, her arms up trying to defend herself when Charlotte went for a kick. The Sand Lizard moved in to try and knock her down with a roundhouse kick. Her hands were up but she noticed the shift and the kick soon moved to try and hit her in the head.

"Gnnggh!" Amy growled as the foot hit the side of her head. The impact was painful, hard enough to knock most people out if they weren't trained fighters, thankfully Amy was tough and she could still stand even as it rattled her. She reaffirmed herself and moved to throw a hard jab to Charlotte's chest to see what else she might try or if she was fast enough to counter.

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Unfortunately, although perhaps even fortunately, the Sand Lizard did not have time to respond to the nonsense that began to pour out of the mouth of her rival. This American woman came into the ring and almost directly said that Charlotte should shudder just because of the name Amy Evans. And now she pretended that it was a small talk, and not an attempt to crush the Frenchwoman with authority.

After the first qualifying match, it became like some kind of joke. Every woman Charlotte met after the match with Aira considered herself on top of the world for one reason or another. First Harmonia, then Gabriella, and now Amy. It seems it's time for the young woman to get used to the fact that most of the fighters here can't see beyond their noses because of an overly inflated ego.

She hoped that at least her last qualifying match would go without attempts to belittle her even before the match started. But not everyone gets what they want. Moreover, not everyone gets what they deserve. Therefore, Charlotte could only do what she had done in every previous match. To knock this conceit out of her rival's head. It was for this purpose that the Frenchwoman rushed to the blonde.

Kicks are a great and powerful weapon, but every kick is somehow associated with risk. Any kick is always more powerful than any punch. But at the same time, a kick usually does not have the same high speed as a punch. In addition, the trajectory of the kick can be very obvious, which gives the opponent the opportunity to use a block or even evade the kick. Therefore, Charlotte paid special attention to the technique of kicks in order to smooth out these shortcomings as much as possible.

Using both speed and technique, the Sand Lizard bypassed the defense of her rival. Her foot crashed into the blonde's head. Charlotte was fully aware of the strength of her kicks, she knew that such a kick should be enough to stun most fighters. However, she did not forget that today she was up against a woman who was in the next weight category. These circumstances were unusual for her, but she got her alias for a reason. Like a lizard, she was able to adapt to her rivals.

Therefore, she remained vigilant and tried to lower the attacking leg as soon as possible, because even with all the power of this kick, she suspected that it would not be enough to completely stun Amy, who clearly surpassed her in weight and pure physical strength. After a few moments, it became clear that Charlotte was right about this.

Despite the painful groan, the American woman did not even recoil to the side. Instead, she threw her left hand at Charlotte's chest. It was simply impossible to block such an attack in the current situation. However, the Sand Lizard was considered a martial arts master for a reason. Using her right hand, which was still performing defensive functions, she was going to direct her palm directly to the wrist of her opponent's attacking hand.

Charlotte tried not to think of it as a battle of strength and speed, but right now it felt like that. To avoid the powerful blows of her opponent, the Frenchwoman had to move as fast as possible. Therefore, she intended not only to grab Amy's wrist, but also to turn her torso sideways to the blonde, thereby leaving the line of attack. She wanted to use Amy's momentum against her by turning around in order to twist the American woman's arm with a quick arm wrench hold. Thus, she not only wanted to put pressure on her opponent's shoulder joint, but also to tilt her forward. For what?

In order to make sure this time Amy's head starts to spin. Because if she really succeeded, then nothing would prevent Charlotte from lifting her left leg, bent at the knee, and then straighten it towards the blonde's head in order to hit her with a push kick, which together with the captured hand could be called a short-arm push kick!

[Fairy Dragon]

Amy wanted to move in quickly and start attacking, nothing could be done that would stop her now since she had to be ready to take the fight to Charlotte. If her punch wouldn't connect, and Charlotte tried to pull and use her arm against her Amy would try to pull it away and instead grab Charlotte's arm. She didn't want to give the Sand Lizard too much room to move if she thought she had some sinister plan. And frankly her pompous attitude and projecting one on her of all people made Amy so annoyed she simply didn't want Charlotte to get an early lead to gloat about and treat like it was Amy's fault. If she could grab her head she would try to pull her close and lock her arms around her head to twist her around and throw her to the floor with a headlock.

Without saying much Amy would try to squeeze on the headlock and attempt to pull her head up and club the top of her head. She didn't have a big plan yet besides holding Charlotte down and keep her from using whatever kicks and attacks she could try on her feet but with her weight she felt bringing her to the floor was what she needed to do anyway if she wanted to win.

[skip-stop]

Acting at the limit in the very beginning of the match was not in Charlotte's style. She preferred to build up the pace gradually. But, nevertheless, she tried to use enough speed in order to be one step ahead of her opponent. The Sand Lizard understood that she should be wary of the blonde's strength and therefore she needed to act with surgical precision, but without wasting time.

It seemed that her plan should work, because she managed to get away from her opponent's line of attack. And the moment she twisted Amy's arm, she needed to put the finishing touch. But, apparently, the Lion had a fairly high reaction speed. Realizing what Charlotte was up to, she used her pure physical strength.

Before the Frenchwoman could lift her leg to kick Amy's head, her opponent pulled her closer and grabbed the Sand Lizard's head. Once trapped, Charlotte immediately threw her hands up, trying to loosen the grip of the American woman. But it was too late for that, in such close contact, the advantage was not on her side.

This became more than obvious at the moment when Amy threw Charlotte over her hip with amazing ease, forcing the Frenchwoman to fall on the mat. Such a throw wasn't too painful, although the Sand Lizard's face still twisted a little. The biggest problem was that the Lion didn't let go of her head. This led to the pink-haired woman being pinned to the mat by the weight of her opponent. It seems the blonde decided to exhaust her.

"Gah!" Charlotte cried through clenched teeth.

No, it wasn't what Charlotte thought. Instead of focusing on the neck of the Sand Lizard, her opponent decided to start hitting her on the head. In order to protect herself, Charlotte threw her hands up again, covering her head. Such pain could be tolerated, especially considering that Amy's position was not the most ideal for delivering serious blows. However, even so, it was far from the most pleasant pastime.

"Merde..." thought Charlotte.

She needed to get out of this position as soon as possible. In another situation, she would probably have more problems with this. But since Amy used only one arm to hold the Frenchwoman's head, she had a better chance of success. Whatever it was, but despite the difference in weight and muscle mass, the Sand Lizard was not weak or fragile.

Continuing to cover her head with one hand, Charlotte put her other hand on the mat. At the same time, she was going to pull her knees up to her chest in order to find at least three confident points of support. She hoped that this would be enough to push off from the mat and slip out of her opponent's grasp, rolling some distance to the side.

[Fairy Dragon]

Positioned like this, Amy couldn't really go for any big hits to Charlotte's head so she was relying on a series of blows to do the trick instead of one or two big hits to the head. Charlotte scrambled under her, trying to slip out and keep Amy from trapping her down but the Lion wouldn't let her prey out of her jaws that easily, and she tried to club past Charlott'es own defense. She tried to press her against the mat so she couldn't slip out of her one arm grip but even with all that Charlotte was able to push off the mat as well arching her body and trying to use that to slowly slip her head out of her arm, Amy tried to bring her other hand down and grab her head to stop it, but Charlotte had slipped out too much and soon she pulled herself out and rolled away from Amy to stop her from just grabbing her again.

"Damn..didn't hold her down for as long as I'd have liked...It's okay still plenty of time for that." Amy said to herself. All she could do was stand back up and prepare herself, rolling a shoulder and jumping on her feet a little while getting herself prepared for another confrontation. She had more of an idea of how Charlotte fought but so did the Sand Lizard, now both of them would approach with more of a game plan now that the feeling out process was almost done.