[Standard Match] Charlotte Ravel' vs Angela Belti - Up to the top (Apex Qualifier Match)

[skip-stop]

Yes. Yes. Yes, damn it! This time it was a success. It was not in Charlotte's rules to give in to emotions, but at the moment when she managed to first close Andela in the hold, and then send her head to the mat at an insane speed, a shiver ran through the Frenchwoman's body. She failed to use this finisher last time. Last time, Amy counterattacked and it resulted in the Sand Lizard's defeat. So what did it mean that she managed to do it this time?

She really got stronger. Strict discipline did not allow the Sand Lizard to enjoy every little thing. And yet at that moment she felt a warmth in her soul, because her efforts were not in vain. Angela was an outstanding woman, no less outstanding than Amy. And so the pink-haired woman had only one thing to do.

She was so tired that she didn't even have the strength to hook Angela's leg. Charlotte simply lay down on her opponent, distributing the weight all over the Italian woman's body. In another situation, a blush would have appeared on the cheeks of the Sand Lizard, since she usually tried to avoid such close contact of bodies. But now was not the time for such thoughts. The referee made sure that Angela's shoulder blades were pressed against the mat, and then...

"ONE!"

Charlotte felt no resistance. And she wasn't going to complain about it. Even though she had improved her endurance, she knew that there was practically nothing left of her reserves of strength. And being honest with herself, she wasn't sure she'd be able to give Angela anything else if she broke the pin.

"TWO!!"

Charlotte gritted her teeth and held her breath. Was that enough? This match was a test for her. And now it's time to find out if she did well enough to earn the right to the Apex match. The referee's hand began to descend for the third time. It seemed to Charlotte that time had slowed down at that moment.

Angela's body tensed. Charlotte felt it in every place where their bodies touched. It only took a split second, but the Sand Lizard knew what was coming. The purple-haired woman jerked and lifted her shoulder over the mat, which caused Charlotte's body to shift. To the deafening shouts of the crowd, the referee raised her hand above her head, showing only two fingers.

"Mmmhhhhh..." Charlotte moaned desperately.

She was still in touch with her opponent's body. But now it was more like not a pin, but the embrace of two tired women after sex or something. Charlotte felt exhausted, which is why she let out a moan. She failed. Even after all, she couldn't beat Angela. It made her want to scream, but she just didn't have the strength to do it.

Placing her palms on the mat, Charlotte pushed herself up, getting up on all fours. Because of her heavy breathing, she made hoarse noises. The hair tie slid down. Her pink hair was loose, although many strands stuck together due to the copious amount of thick sweat.

"Phhh... phhhh..." she felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest.

The noise in her ears told her that soon her body would stop working properly. This means that if not seconds count, then minutes for sure. She didn't want to lose. She aspired to the top just like everyone else. Charlotte wanted to be on a par with those who were considered the best of the best. She wanted to leave her name in the history of martial arts.

The Sand Lizard gritted her teeth and threw both hands forward, intending to grab Angela's wrist and elbow. Trying to overcome the pain and fatigue, Charlotte was going to get to her feet, and then force the Italian woman to do the same. Her finisher didn't give her the victory. It only meant that Charlotte must to use something else. And she had one thought about it.

She was about to take a step to the side, at the same time pulling Angela's arm and pushing her in the back in order to send her to the far ropes with the help of an Irish whip. If Charlotte had not met resistance, she would have taken a second to take a deep breath, and then would have followed her rival.

It seemed to her that her body was on fire. Every movement was given to her with incredible difficulty. But she wasn't going to stop. The Sand Lizard wanted to catch Angela after she bounced off the ropes. The audience would surely recognize this, because that's what brought her victory in the match against great Aira. Charlotte intended to abruptly put her right foot slightly to the left of her left foot, starting to spin to the left.

Her left leg began to rise, but it was not followed by a kick. Charlotte only bent this leg at the knee, at the same time pushing off the mat with her right foot. Soaring into the air, she relaxed her arms, which allowed her body to make a second spin. Yes, that's right. It was one of those kicks that are catastrophically difficult to master. And this kick was one of the most powerful in Charlotte's arsenal because this kick could break any defense! The Sand Lizard was about to abruptly straighten her left leg, aiming the foot right at Angela's head in order to send the Italian woman down with an outstanding 720 tornado kick!

[BlackAkuma]

Angela could sympathize with the moan that came from Charlotte when she kicked out of the count, beating it at the last second. Few things in wrestling were more demoralizing than working so hard to put someone down, throwing your all into the effort only to come up short by less than a second, to fail by a blink. Moments like this were where matches were decided, with the best wrestlers able to endure and push on and go the extra mile they needed to secure the victory.

Was that what Charlotte was made of? They were about to learn together.

She took in deep breaths as the referee confirmed the two count, taking a moment to gather her wits and take stock of what she had left in the tank. It wasn’t much, if she were being honest, with her limits being pressed. If she could get some advantage, squeeze out even a few moments of respite, she might be able to pull through, but as it stood, she was wading into deep water without a paddle, and it was already up to her neck. The two of them laid together, breathing in tandem, for what had to only be a few seconds but felt so much longer.

Aching, hurting, Angela rolled to her side and shook her head, trying to clear her vision. Everything was growing into a blur, and having the sweat in her eyes wasn’t helping the image clear up. She only just put her palm to the floor, contemplating the idea of getting to her feet, when she felt an arm around her wrist. She was being lifted up, forced up to her feet. Given what had transpired so far in this match, that likely meant one thing: Charlotte was gearing up for something. Something big, something impactful.

She was up, she was standing, but she wasn’t able to do much at all before her opponent shoved her off, sending her running with a tight Irish Whip. Angela broke into a run, nearly stumbled along the way, but kept her pace strong by the time she hit the ropes. As risky as going along with this was, it was her best chance to turn this around. She just had to wait for it, wait for the right moment…

There.

A kick was coming towards her face, and a powerful one at that, one that had Charlotte spinning at high speeds. As wobbly as Angela was, her instincts worked at her time of need, giving her the time to duck under the blow and let it sweep overhead. She spun around after she came out on the other side, then spun again and lashed out, hitting her with a Roaring Elbow to the face.

[skip-stop]

Oh. It was a moment that at least once, but certainly was in everyone's life. When Charlotte's foot passed over her rival's head, the pink-haired woman felt a cold breath on the back of her head. After Angela ducked and thereby dodged the kick that was supposed to be her end, one extremely clear thought sounded in the head of the Sand Lizard.

"I screwed up..."

Due to the fact that she had nowhere to transmit such a powerful impulse, Charlotte continued to spin. In addition, inertia continued to drag her forward. And when she landed on the mat, she almost fell due to the complete lack of balance. Most likely, everything would have ended like this if there were no ropes ahead.

The Frenchwoman's back pressed against the ropes, and after just one second her body bounced off them. Fatigue and dizziness are a terrible combination. The primary task for the martial arts master was to restore her balance after such a failed attack. However, even before she tried to do it, she discovered that her opponent was rapidly approaching her. It was as if their roles had been reversed.

Angela spun sharply around her axis, acquiring an additional impulse, which she sent straight to Charlotte's jaw in the form of a crushing elbow strike. The Sand Lizard's brain reacted with lightning speed, giving the command to raise her hands for protection. However, at that moment, her body simply could not keep up with the order of her mind.

When the Italian woman's elbow crashed into her jaw, it seemed to her that someone had hit her with an iron crowbar. Her entire upper body leaned to the side and her feet came off the mat. Charlotte collapsed onto the mat with a loud crash. She felt like her jaw was broken. And although it was an exaggeration, it perfectly described the pain she felt at that moment.

Her gaze was unfocused. The Frenchwoman put her palms on the mat and tried to get up, but literally in the same second collapsed on the mat again. She was groggy. She completely lost control of her vestibular apparatus. And even though she was desperately trying to force herself to get to her feet... so far, she couldn't deal with the consequences of her mistake.

[BlackAkuma]

This had to be it. It had to be.

Charlotte was pushing Angela to the limits, testing the upper boundaries of her stamina. Even in her waning years, she still had enough spark left in her body to put up a good fight and go longer than most women, could still hang with the toughest bruisers and do heavy damage. She could probably outlast most women in LAW, going pound for pound with the best. She should’ve been able to go the distance with anyone.

And yet, here she was with Charlotte. Struggling. Nearly at the end of her rope. As Dizzy would say, ‘it wasn’t a good look’.

After she landed the Rolling Elbow, Angela collapsed to her knees and gasped, taking in lungfuls of air to stay awake. She shook her head, clearing out the cobwebs, then looked up to focus on Charlotte. It was hard to believe the woman had just pinned her a few moments ago - it didn’t look like she had much left to give, either. Just a little more, a little harder, and she could finish this. Her first win, her best win.

She only had to get up. And she needed Charlotte to get up, too.

Angela reached out and wrapped her hands around her opponent’s head, holding it with two strong mitts and lifting her up, holding her forcing her to her feet. As soon as they were standing, Angela reeled back and let fly with a punch, hammering Charlotte in the chest. Another came straight away, targeting her foe's stomach, continuing to drive her back towards the corner. She had a sliver of an idea in mind, but there was still a way to go in order to get there.

[skip-stop]

"Merde... merde..." Charlotte was repeating in her head. "Get up... get up..."

It was like a nightmare she had recently saw and after which she woke up in a cold sweat. In that nightmare, she was fighting against some woman she didn't know. As in the case of Angela, that woman was significantly superior to Charlotte in weight and age. And although the pink-haired woman gave more than a hundred percent, it all ended in her crushing defeat, which destroyed all her aspirations.

Therefore, the Sand Lizard was desperately trying to force herself to get to her feet. Her palms were on the mat and she was telling herself to tense her muscles. However, she failed every time. After her opponent's fierce counterattack, Charlotte's head was in a truly terrible state.

Pain and fatigue literally were trying to bring her to unconsciousness. And if she hadn't spent such a huge amount of time developing her endurance, she would probably be drooling now. However... there was nothing to hide here, despite the fact that she remained conscious, her prospects looked very bleak, because she could not even get to her feet.

Tho... Angela was happy to help her with this. There was no doubt that after the last strike, she felt the taste of approaching victory. Charlotte knew that feeling. And at the moment when the Italian woman grabbed her by the head, she was sure that Angela intended to go to the very end.

It seemed to the Sand Lizard that her body weighed several tons. And even after, thanks to Angela, she found herself in a more or less vertical position, she could not raise her arms in order to take a fighting stance. Because of this, the purple-haired woman's fist crashed into Charlotte's chest unhindered.

"Gmh!" She was so tired that she didn't even have the strength for loud painful groans.

Charlotte staggered back. Her legs were shaking so much that it was a wonder she didn't fall after the first blow. However, the first was almost immediately followed by the second, this time in her bare stomach. The Frenchwoman staggered back, covering her stomach with her hands, while saliva mixed with blood dripped from her mouth.

"I... can't... lo..." flashed through her mind.

However, she didn't have time to finish this thought because of the next blow. A white veil covered her eyes at the moment when she took an involuntary step back again. The Frenchwoman felt a tingling sensation in her fingertips. She knew the feeling. Her body had reached its limit. She knew that after the next blow she would fall.

And this blow was not long in coming. The young Frenchwoman staggered back limply, and then began to fall. And she probably would have fallen on the mat, but there was a corner behind her, to which she pressed her back. Mechanically, the Sand Lizard grabbed the top ropes in order to keep the chance to stay on her feet. However, now she looked as if she had been run over by a road roller.

Her head was lowered, blood was dripping from her chin, and her eyes empty. And the only reason she was still standing was her willpower. Her most passionate desire was to become a worthy example for all future generations of fighters. And so, even though her body was damn beaten, she just couldn't afford herself to give up.

[BlackAkuma]

Angela was not a boxer by any real definition. Wrestling training involved striking, sure, but it rarely went as in depth as it did with most striking martial arts, like muy thai or kickboxing or karate. You were taught chops, punches, kicks, barebones basics to get you by, and it was oftentimes just a level above street brawling. Maybe even indistinguishable from it, on some level.

But with that said, it didn’t mean that Angela was incapable of doing damage. Her blows might not have been as refined as the ones Charlotte threw out, but they were heavy, solid hits, each one delivered with the iron will to not lose. Power could make up for skill in many cases, and this seemed one of them, she drove her foe back, back, back towards the corner, hammering her with the best shots she had to offer.

”Just. Give. Up!””

There was a commanding tone to her order, as if it was delivered with a military authority, but there was desperation, too. It felt like every hit took more out of her than it did Charlotte, as she was draining the last vestiges of her power to deliver them. There was a chance, a real chance, that her body would just give from the exertion, and she was flirting with that possibility. This needed a resolution.

That was why she had driven Charlotte towards the corner. Not simply to cut off her options, though that was a part of it. No, Angela had plans here. Big plans.

With Charlotte dazed and in the corner, Angela put her plan into motion. She reached down, grabbed her opponent by the waist, and lifted her off the mat, forcing her up to sit on the top turnbuckle. From there, she placed one foot on the bottom rope, then the other, and began to ascend as the crowd grew louder with anticipation.

The end was coming. They could see it. They could feel it.

[skip-stop]

These words... in the words that Angela said, Charlotte clearly heard the intransigence with refusal. Just give up. Funny. Before the bell rang, Angela said that it's she who is going to be the best woman of this match. And now she, albeit firmly, but with a note of despair, demanded Charlotte to give up. Things are changing, aren't they?

And although at that moment Charlotte was busy trying to survive under the barrage of her rival's blows, these words touched the most delicate strings of her soul. And there was a reason for that. A reason that only her best friends and her manager knew about.

Despite the fact that Charlotte, Astrid and Nerissa considered each other best friends, they had an unimaginable amount of differences. However, at the same time they had no less in common. One of the things that united them was their attitude to losing. Yes, of course, no one likes to lose, especially when it comes to sports. But Charlotte, just like her friends, literally hated losing.

Therefore, the words that should have broken her spirit, instead became another reason why the Frenchwoman did not fall down like a rag doll. Perhaps it might have seemed to someone that it did not matter, because despite the fact that Charlotte was on her feet, she literally was not able to move. But such people are simply not given to know the truth. The words of her master from the Chinese monastery sounded in the head of the Sand Lizard.

"The fight is not lost as long as you still have the desire to fight."

Even with the fog in front of her eyes and the confused thoughts in her head, Charlotte knew exactly why she was in the corner. Angela wanted to end it all. And she wanted to do it in such a way that the pink-haired woman did not have a single chance. No matter how strong a fighter is, sooner or later there comes a moment when even the toughest willpower breaks down.

Charlotte got much closer to such a moment when Angela grabbed her by her waist and then lifted her body above the mat. With just one movement, the Italian woman put Charlotte on the top turnbuckle. The pink-haired woman's body leaned to the right side and she was forced to grab the top rope with her left hand in order to find at least some semblance of balance. Falling to the concrete floor would mean imminent defeat. In a way, Charlotte was on the edge of a precipice. Between life and death. Between victory and defeat.

Defeat...

"No..." she said almost noiselessly, barely moving her swollen lips.

Fight to the very end. This is a promise she made to herself on the very day her family kicked her out. And she never broke that promise. Even during the match against Amy. Yes, she lost. But only after she lost consciousness instead of to submit and give up. So... would she break that promise today?

Releasing the rope, the Sand Lizard sent her left hand forward to grab the back of Angela's head. Almost every part of the Frenchwoman's body was covered with bruises, sweat on her skin mixed with blood, and she literally trembled because of the pain, which was intensifying by any movement. And yet, she raised her head. Dirty pink hair slid back, giving a view of her battered, bloody face. She looked straight into Angela's eyes.

"You give up!" Her voice was hoarse due to fatigue and dryness, but at the same time so confident that these words sounded like a lion's roar.

And with these words, Charlotte clenched her right fist, pulling her right arm back to take some space for acceleration. Unfortunately, her options at that moment were limited, as she could not fully use her legs. Usually she used her entire body in order to compensate for the lack of muscles. However, this did not prevent her from throwing her right arm forward and at the same time turning her torso to the left in order to get an additional impulse, which she intended to use for a forearm smash strike aimed directly at Angela's head! Yes, the end was coming. But it hasn't come yet.

[BlackAkuma]

Why did Angela say that? She knew - she had to know - that there was zero chance of the young woman actually taking her advice and conceding the match. There was a fire in this woman’s eyes, the kind that you most often saw when people were fighting for championship belts and tournaments. She couldn't imagine why, but she got the distinct impression that beating her in this random match was of the utmost importance for Charlotte, as if this was a make or break situation.

It was unfathomable, but there it was, and her drive made Angela want to push that much harder. Once they were done, maybe she would even ask what led to such a ferocious push - but, for now, she had only one concern: winning. Decisively, destructively, definitively.

Charlotte, naturally, had other ideas. Ideas that involved her blurting out her defiance with inflamed eyes, yelling louder than Angela had even thought her capable of. The woman had been oddly quiet through the match, not nearly as chatty as she’d come to expect from wrestlers in this generation. Focused? Yes, certainly. And retaliation was coming her way.

It came her way in the form of a clubbing blow. Their position made technique meaningless, but she doubted it would’ve mattered much to Charlotte, either way - they were long past the point where they had the stamina for finesse. It was all about raw power, now and her opponent demonstrated that she had plenty of energy to spare for it.

The blow came down hard on Angela’s brow, hitting with a sharp crack that left her ears ringing. She leaned back, glassy eyed for a moment, before she rallied her senses, shook her head, and fought off the dizziness, enough for her to realize what she needed to do.

Charlotte was good, yes - but she needed space to work with. Space that she could deny her. While Angela wasn’t a skilled technician by any means, she knew just the right move for the job.

Angela reached out, wrapped one arm under Charlotte’s shoulder while the other went around her neck, and pulled her in tight, trying to catch her with a tight arm triangle.

If Charlotte wouldn’t give up, she would simply take the choice out of her hands.

[skip-stop]

Refusing to give up, Charlotte did the only thing she could in that situation. Trying to use every inch of free space, she swung her right arm and sent a hard forearm striketo her opponent's head. The sound of bones colliding echoed through the arena, clearly indicating the success of the Sand Lizard. And it was even more clearly indicated by how much Angela was shaken.

Indeed, it seemed that with this sudden charge, Charlotte was able to avoid what her rival was preparing for her. And so, despite the terrible pain and fatigue, the Frenchwoman clenched her teeth and sent her right arm back. One more strike and Angela will fall to the mat. Just one strike. Charlotte did not hesitate and sent another forearm strike to the purple-haired woman's head.

The spectators remained excited throughout the match. They always see how much effort the fighters put into becoming the winner. They always see when one or another fighter literally out of nowhere finds the strength to go beyond. And this time was no exception. When Charlotte's hand went to Angela's head, the audience gave a surprised, but no doubt enthusiastic cry. But the reason for this cry was not the successful attack of the Frenchwoman.

Before the Sand Lizard's forearm collided with Angela's forehead for the second time, the Italian woman's arms wrapped around Charlotte's neck and attacking arm. The martial arts master's eyes widened and for the first time during the match, panic could be read in her eyes. She had enough experience to understand the situation she was in. In less than a moment, she lost all access to oxygen as her neck was trapped between her own arm and Angela's.

"Gphplh..." the pink-haired woman croaked.

It is unlikely that there would be anyone other than Charlotte who could appreciate Angela's decision. With this hold, the Italian woman deprived the Sand Lizard of one of her arms and almost completely limited any free space that she needed in order to saturate her blows with force.

Feeling the oxygen in her lungs rapidly disappearing, the martial artist used the only thing she had left at that moment. Charlotte clenched her left fist and started sending punches into her opponent's ribs. One. Two. Three. Four. And it was all useless. She couldn't fool herself. She didn't have the space to hit hard. She was tired. And there's almost no oxygen left.

"Why..." sounded in her head. "I've been training so hard... why am I still..."

Charlotte sent another punch into Angela's ribs. But this punch did not reach its intended goal. Charlotte's hand dropped lifelessly at exactly the same moment her eyes rolled back. The noise in her ears was so loud as if a grenade had exploded near her. And although she hadn't completely lost consciousness yet, she couldn't feel her body anymore. A tear rolled down Charlotte's face.

The referee, to the deafening screams of the audience, clearly amazed by this turn of events, gently took Charlotte's left hand by the wrist and raised it. For one brief moment, the world seemed to freeze, and then she let go of the Frenchwoman's hand, as a result of which the hand fell as if it belonged to a rag doll, and not to a fighter who a minute ago was going to win this match.

"ONE!"

[BlackAkuma]

Angela had never much cared for submissions. Aside from just not being all that good at them, she always hated their more methodical, cruel nature. Yes, she was a wrestler, so hurting people came with the job, but she was never the type to enjoy breaking a woman in such a deliberate, spiteful manner. Something about winning through a pinfall always felt cleaner, more direct, more…honorable, perhaps? The few submissions she had garnered through her career always left a sour taste in her mouth, but when she won the normal way, by pinning an opponent’s shoulder to the mat, she could more easily accept the win. As if that was the way it was supposed to be done, as if that was the right, virtuous, and fitting way.

The few times she had won in that manner, it had been because she was pushed to. Because she had no other choice. Because her back had been against the wall, pushed to her limits, and she had to go with something that she knew her opponents wouldn’t expect, something to take them off their guard.

This was turning out to be one of those times. She had to give Charlotte her flowers, for that much.

Angela gripped her opponent tight, holding her captive in the lethal hold. She didn’t exert maximum pressure straightaway, not wanting to make the mistake of overexerting herself with what precious little energy she had left. Instead, she staggered her efforts. Exhaling. Inhaling. Squeezing harder each time, applying more pressure with every expansion, so that her foe would find less room with every breath she took.

She didn’t expect Charlotte to take all this without a fight, however, and sure enough, blows came shooting into her midsection in short order. Close, compact, Angela winced along with every impact, as they felt more akin to stabs than strikes, each one feeling like it shot past her bones. Even at this range, in this hold, her foe was still dangerous, hadn't lost any of the lethality in her attacks. All the more reason for Angela to pour on even more pressure, knowing that another chance like this wouldn’t be coming her way in this match again.

She persevered, and that perseverance paid off when Charlotte finally lost some sting in her blows, throwing one that was scarcely harder than your average tap. A good sign…for her, anyway.

Now, all she had to do was hold on and wait. Just a little longer. A few seconds, and this would be all over.