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

[skip-stop]

At first it seemed that everything was going according to plan. At least the blonde didn't have time to jerk to the side at the moment when Charlotte jumped to her. The Sand Lizard even grabbed the Lion's head. There was only a second left until the moment when the pink-haired woman would fall on her back and smash Amy's head into the concrete floor. However, something was wrong.

Charlotte felt the American woman push her almost immediately after she grabbed the blonde's head. Because of this, she lost a part of the momentum, and the trajectory of her movement shifted. Charlotte fell on her back and still managed to send Amy down. However, there was not even a smell of success, since the Lion's head did not collide with the floor.

The Frenchwoman's chest rose and fell heavily, while large drops of sweat flowed down her face. Considering that she was acting much more actively than she was used to, her strength was leaving her much faster. And the fact that Amy prevented two attacks in a row clearly didn't play into the Frenchwoman's hands. Although she couldn't deny that the Lion's willpower deserved respect. This pushed the Sand Lizard to do more.

"Stubborn..." Charlotte muttered, barely moving her lips.

Charlotte was going to roll over on her stomach and then get up on all fours. Fatigue was making itself felt, she felt pain in her muscles, which was clearly not the best sign. If she wants to win, then she must keep attacking until her opponent's willpower breaks.

Therefore, the Sand Lizard would try to grab her opponent's head, thereby fixing a front facelock hold. Now was not the time for something too elegant, so Charlotte decided to give something simple but effective a chance.

She was determined to get to her feet and thereby force her opponent to get up too. And then, not wanting to waste time, the Sand Lizard would immediately lean back in an attempt to drive the Lion's head into the floor with a classic DDT.

[Fairy Dragon]

Amy stopped one disaster, knowing that Charlotte would be feeling that one even as she nearly fell down. But not landing on her head after that was a victory for her, but she was still trying to get back up when Charlotte came after her again. She had no idea how she could get up that fast, Charlotte should have been down at this point but what should have happened wasn't what actually happened and before she could get into a fighting position she was pulled along an driven down into a DDT onto the floor.

"Gnnggh!" Amy groaned her head crashing into the floor, which was only slightly better than not being driven down from a big cutter like before. Her head felt like it was busted open and the pain in her neck nearly surpassed the pain her head was in as Amy rolled to her side and grabbed her skull. She was slow to move after that and bit too dazed for her liking given what her opponent seemed poised to do to her now that she was like this.

[skip-stop]

Charlotte was panting. She could no longer breathe evenly due to the fact that it was not enough to saturate the blood with oxygen. The Frenchwoman suspected that she would have to face this, since Amy strongly reminded the Sand Lizard of her friend. In sparring with Astrid, she also often had to work at the maximum pace, which was not the strongest side of the martial arts master. However, in this match, the need to work at the maximum pace came much earlier than she expected.

But she had no other choice. Amy was so resistant that any delay could have turned the tide of the match, Charlotte was sure of it. Therefore, she had no choice but to send pain and fatigue to hell, continuing the offensive. Which she did, grabbing the Lion and then slamming her head into the concrete floor.

Amy's scream mixed with the screams of the audience, and then the blonde rolled on her side. The only thing she had enough strength for was to grab her head, which, after such a hard landing, was clearly not in the best condition. Charlotte spent those few seconds gasping for air. Her pink hair has long been sticky because of the amount of sweat that she thought covered every millimeter of her body.

"I... won't..." thought Charlotte, not noticing that she quietly said it out loud.

The Sand Lizard considered herself quite a calm and reasonable woman, but even she had pride. She was taught that if a fighter doesn't have pride and principles, it's the same as if a fighter doesn't have a soul. Faced with someone who had gone through more matches and used this argument to belittle her, Charlotte felt obliged to defend her honor. She didn't come here to be perceived as a whipping girl. That's why she wasn't going to lose.

If there was a falls count anywhere condition in that match, then now she would probably have gone for a pin attempt. However, the harsh reality was different. Before going to the pin attempt, she had to get Amy back in the ring. And this led the Frenchwoman to the question she had already been thinking about a few minutes ago. Was it enough for the Lion to stay down?

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte rolled over on her stomach. It wasn't hard to see that fatigue was beginning to affect her movements. The pink-haired woman did not rise immediately. After she rolled over, she snuggled up to her opponent's body. The mind and body of the Sand Lizard asked for rest, but the young woman could not satisfy this request. She was going to grab her opponent by the head and arm, and then start to get to her feet, lifting Amy to her feet too.

If they were both on their feet, Charlotte would have taken a step to the side, still holding her opponent's head. She wanted to get at least some momentum, and then use it to throw the Lion into the ring, forcing her to roll under the bottom rope. She failed to make one of her heaviest moves when they were on the table. But at least Charlotte was sure that now getting out of the pin for Amy would not be the easiest task.

Therefore, if she managed to get the blonde back into the ring, she would immediately follow her, rolling under the bottom rope. She didn't want to take risks, so instead of the classic pin, which she preferred most often, Charlotte would have acted differently. She was going to throw her leg over her opponent in order to sit on her bare stomach.

She would have joined their palms, interlacing her fingers and pressed Amy's palms over her head. Leaning forward, Charlotte would let their breasts press into each other. The Frenchwoman's head would be on the side of the Lion's head, she could even hear her rival's breathing. Perhaps someone would find it provocative, even Charlotte to some extent. But in this way she wanted to put maximum pressure on the entire body of the blonde, depriving her of the opportunity to easily break the pin. And she could only hope that looking at this, the referee would not forget that she had a job to do, because in any case, Amy's shoulder blades would have been pressed to the mat.

[Fairy Dragon]

Head trauma was nothing fun to deal with once your head started to hit the floor. Charlotte's refusal to do anything but something that was aimed to cripple her seemed to indicate how desperate she was to do something and now Amy had to count to 10 in her head just to prove that she could...and it took her about 30 seconds to do that much. Her arms started to move along with her legs, but she couldn't coordinate actually pulling herself up and her movements seemed to only register that she was still awake, for Charlotte to come along and pull her up. Despite having one functioning arm she was able to get her to move up as Amy felt compelled to follow her direction and was directed back into the ring. Rolling a few feet inside while the Sand Lizard had followed her and placed herself on top, placing herself right on top of her and pressing her body against Amy for a pin attempt. Amy didn't move much so the ref thought the match might be over and settled down for a pin.

"ONE!"
"TWO!

Amy felt her body shuffle which caused her to accidentally rub herself against Charlotte. Her head was slightly focused now once it had healed a little and with the extra time more and more things started to get processed in her head, from what she could tell Charlotte had been rude to her all because she thought Amy was being boastful about her name and not her skill...as if Amy had ever coasted on her name. Now she had not once but twice done everything in her power to drop her on her head on the concrete floor which she brought them on...and if she won this Charlotte would consider Amy some annoying pest who she beat because size doesn't matter...it made Amy angry just thinking about the stupid thoughts that would run through Charlotte's head and she wasn't even going to hear those! As the ref came down for the third count Amy would push herself up and break the pin by pushing against Charlotte with an adrenaline boosted roar. Charlotte was going to learn that the thing she should fear was what the Lion could do not what she talked about and tried to throw a punch to Charlotte's side as a follow up, wanting to make Charlotte feel pressed even with Amy on the floor.

[skip-stop]

When the referee slapped the mat for the first time, Charlotte tensed even more. It is unlikely that she could increase the pressure on the Lion's, but it was an involuntary reaction. When victory is close, any fighter feels something similar. The feeling that the match can be completed in the next two seconds always causes an appropriate reaction. Charlotte even involuntarily closed her eyes.

Hearing the second slap, and how loudly the audience shouted the second count, the pink-haired woman felt that her heart began to beat harder. The last time she felt such excitement was in a match with another blonde, who also turned the match into something personal from the first second. Charlotte still remembered the words Harmonia had said to her and those words were very similar to the words Amy had said to her. And both blondes, for some strange reason, immediately after that began to pretend that it was okay.

If you know my name, then you know how much I can take, if you don't know, then you'll learn that soon. Yes, indeed, it wasn't about the name at all. The point was that these words meant the same thing as if Amy had directly said that she was better and that Charlotte would have to learn it soon. And what did she expect after that? That Charlotte would fall to her knees and beg for mercy in front of the great Lion? Whatever she hoped for at that moment, after Amy's words, Charlotte was going to do only one thing.

She held her breath the moment the referee raised her hand for the third time. And at the moment when this hand began to approach the mat, time seemed to slow down. The next second, the arena was filled with noise. But not because the referee's palms slapped the mat for the third time, but because Amy jerked sharply and violently to the side, thereby throwing off Charlotte.

The pin was broken, and Charlotte was on all fours on the right side of her opponent. But before she could decide what to do next, the blonde's fist crashed into her right side, causing her to emit a painful hiss, as well as collapse on her left side. It seems the match is not over yet.

"Tu es obstinée..."

Yes, there really were too many parallels with the match against Harmonia in this match. Even Charlotte's attitude towards both of these blondes. She was able to respect their fighting skills. And at the same time, she had no reason to respect them as persons. Charlotte hated those who considered themselves superior to others, forgetting about the banal sports respect. Sometimes she just didn't understand what prevented some people from just shaking hands with an opponent before a match instead of throwing loud words, showing amazing arrogance in all its glory...

Gritting her teeth, Charlotte intended to mvoe her left arm forward in order to use it as a support for the rest of her body. The blow she received in the ribs was not the strongest, it was rather a gesture that Amy does not intend to back down. Well, if that was really the case, then Charlotte wanted to respond with the same gesture. She was going to swing her right leg, making a wide arc. Why was she going to make a wide arc? To then sharply direct her heel down and hit her opponent's bare stomach with an axe kick from the ground. Yeah, she wasn't going to back down too.

[Fairy Dragon]

Amy broke out of a losing position and now she had a bit of room to breathe, find time to fight back and start to turn things around. She hadn't had a favorable start since the match left the ring and now that they were back in it she wanted to make sure the momentum followed the pattern. She heard the words Charlotte gave which was almost funny considering that the nature of wrestling demanded some stubbornness. "I did warn you...about how much I could take..It wasn't an idle boast." Amy said, her endurance being one thing she was known for. Of course she was bringing up the words that seemed to anger Charlotte again but at this point Amy didn't care what angered Charlotte, anyone easily offended over such trivial things such as being confident and proud of your stamina and hard hitting history needed to get dropped on their head once...or twice. Amy had been trying to put her past as a brutal and mean person behind her and she would still hold herself to that and not do anything cruel like she was known for doing post match but she had to admit she felt herself thinking of some mean things to say to her after she had won.

Of course she still needed to get up to actually do that, when Charlotte came for her again Amy could make out the sight of her foot coming up to completely crush her stomach and the Lion had to do a barrel roll to avoid that. Just getting a second of space was what she needed and she would retreat near the ropes so she could actually get up and prepare for another attack. If the pattern she had noticed was accurate Charlotte would be coming back at her, and Amy needed to plan for what she would do and how to strike or she would need to strike first and stop Charlotte before she got her attack in.

[skip-stop]

Charlotte hissed softly at the moment when her heel crashed not into her opponent's stomach, but into the mat. It was far from the most painful sensation, so the hissing was caused more by disappointment that she didn't manage to make it in time and this gave the blonde the opportunity to evade. The position the Sand Lizard was in did not allow her to instantly follow her opponent, which led to a slight pause.

While Amy started to get to her feet near the ropes, Charlotte did the same, staying in place. Her pale skin seemed to have turned diamond because of the thick sweat. It wasn't until she got to her feet that the Sand Lizard fully realized how much effort she had expended in this match. This was reflected not only in heavy breathing. Usually, the pink-haired woman was able to notice even the smallest details. But because of such a fast pace, she didn't even feel that the tie on her hair had loosened. And therefore, at the moment when the Sand Lizard fully rose to her feet, her hair was loose.

Glancing at the tie that had fallen on the mat, Charlotte slightly pursed her lips, then ran her hands through her hair, putting them behind her ears. After that, her eyes turned back to her opponent. Charlotte had nothing to say to the Lion's last words. She perfectly heard the same words at the beginning of the match. The meaning of these words was as simple as a cork. Amy looked down on her, being confident of victory from the very beginning.

A classic story. I am better than you and now you will find out. Therefore, instead of words, Charlotte was going to concentrate on something else. To prove that the Lion can take her overblown ego and shove it up her ass. But she was restless in her soul and this had a negative impact on her. Feeling how fast her heart was beating, she closed her eyes for a moment.

"As the Japanese say..." Charlotte mentally told herself, "kenzen naru tamashii wa, kenzen naru seishin to, kenzen naru niku tai ni yadoru."

She put her right foot back a step and raised her hands, clenching her fists. The young woman filled her lungs with oxygen, taking a deep breath through her nostrils, after which she slowly exhaled through her mouth. Only then she opened her eyes, regaining concentration and control over her breathing.

The Sand Lizard rushed forward. She didn't accelerate at every step, because she didn't need it right now. It was only at the very last step that she made a dash forward so that her left jab, aimed at the Lion's chin, gained additional momentum. She needed to either stun the blonde, or force her to move her hands up for protection, because right after the punch, the Sand Lizard planned to send a right knee strike into her opponent's stomach.

[Fairy Dragon]

Amy had some stamina and defense that was getting worn down, but right now Amy was starting to feel a little tired with how badly things had gone at points. She was clearly still banged up despite her toughness, not that she'd give Charlotte the pleasure of knowing that with how she seemed to still be steamed at the blonde. Right now she just wanted to knock Charlotte down again, and instead of trying to wrestle her down Amy would bring her arms to a more defensive stance and wait her out until Charlotte eventually rushed her to restart the fighting, throwing her body forward to try and send a punch to her chin. Amy's hand came up to block it, feeling the power of the fist ripple in the muscles in her arm just from that and stepping back to adjust and keep her arms ready.

The first punch was legit, but it was still only the first step before Charlotte would try to go for Amy's stomach with a knee. Amy had taken some measures to avoid a follow up attack and would use her other arm to try and check the knee, the speed of which made it difficult to do much besides keep the brunt of the knee from hitting her stomach. Amy would try to stop Charlotte from going into another combo by giving her one of her own, but instead of punches and kicks she decided to go for punches, aiming first for Charlotte's head with a jab to either stun her or force her back. After which Amy would go low and aim for the head again with an uppercut to her chin.

[skip-stop]

Having calmed both her breathing and her soul to some extent, the Sand Lizard rushed to attack. Even though this match had been going on for quite a long time, especially considering the high tempo, it still wasn't over. Therefore, she could only make even more efforts in order to defeat the Lion.

Giving her body extra acceleration, the Frenchwoman threw a left jab at her opponent's chin. Amy reacted quickly enough, trying to block this punch. Charlotte was fine with this option, because now she had the opportunity to take advantage of the gap in the blonde's defense.

Following the plan, she immediately sent a knee into the naked belly of the American woman, hoping thereby to deprive her of breath. However, Amy seemed to read the pink-haired woman's plan. Shifting her guard again, she prevented Charlotte's knee from crashing into her stomach. Realizing that now she would not be able to continue the attack, the Sand Lizard immediately decided to go on the defensive.

And this decision was correct, because literally at the moment when the attacking leg of the martial arts master was again on the mat, the Lion went on the attack. Her left fist began to approach Charlotte's chin like a cannonball. And she did not want to receive such a punch at all. Given her opponent's strength, even a blocked jab could create a lot of problems for her.

Therefore, Charlotte made a quick decision, which she hoped would save her from the blonde's punch. Charlotte pushed off with her right foot from the mat, trying to shift to the left in order to get away from the jab line. And it really worked, as Amy's fist passed to the right of her head. But Charlotte did not take into account that her opponent was ready to continue the combination.

As soon as the jab failed to find its target, Amy sent another punch to Charlotte's chin, which was much more powerful. Amy's fist was moving up to Charlotte's chin, slicing through the air. The young woman threw both hands down in order to hit the curve of her opponent's elbow with her palms. It is almost impossible to block an uppercut, but it is quite possible to weaken it if you slow down the attacking arm.

"Phag!" came out of the pink-haired woman's mouth.

Even if she managed to slow down the Lion's punch, it was only to a very small extent. The uppercut crashed into the chin of the Sand Lizard, causing a storm of painful sensations. Charlotte's head fell back, and her body began to turn around. There was a ringing in her ears.

"PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!!!" she literally shouted at herself in her head.

Right. Now was not the time to show something less than the maximum. Charlotte held her breath and bit her lower lip to distract herself from the pain in her head. Despite the fact that her body started to turn involuntarily due to the power of the Lion's punch, she was going to try to use it. The Sand Lizard intended to shift the weight to the left leg, and bend the right leg at the knee. But only to then straighten that leg in the direction of Amy's stomach in a second attempt to hit her core with a sudden back kick!

[Fairy Dragon]

The Sand Lizard was standing tall and trying to face her again, Amy was standing tall as well moving in to counter and knock her down once more. She tried to avoid the first few punches and give some of her own, but only managed to connect with the uppercut after Charlotte's defenses held up. Still Amy knew that she could push the attack by closing in and going for another punch to her head to rattle Charlotte some more. Her continued pressure allowed Charlotte to twist with it and instead go for a big kick that came right for Amy just as she was pressing in for more.

"Agggh!" Amy growled, falling backwards as a foot hit her stomach. The air was knocked out of her while she took a few steps back, staying on her feet with her arms slightly around her stomach Amy kept to herself for the moment. Looking at Charlotte to see what she would try now, and seeing her cold eyes focus on attempting to block out the pain like some super human fighting the Lion.