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

[skip-stop]

It was a trap. And Charlotte, who was rightly considered more than a universal fighter, should have foreseen such a scenario. However, during the match you can't calculate everything. Angela was a very experienced fighter and it helped her to deprive Charlotte of any opportunity to escape with just one move. The Frenchwoman lost not only the ability to breathe, but also so much needed space for blows.

The Sand Lizard's mind was racing somewhere on the border. She still felt everything that was happening to her. However, she just couldn't bring herself to do something. And what's the point anyway? She tried to free herself from the grip of her opponent, but in such a position she simply was not able to deliver a strong blow. This was the end. Absolutely everyone believed in it, including the audience and the referee.

The striped shirt, not noticing any signs that Charlotte was able to continue resisting, raised her hand a second time. And when she opened her fingers, the pink-haired woman's hand fell lifelessly down again.

"TWO!!"

Yeah. It was a good match. Charlotte knew that this match would be an experience for her, because that's exactly what happened after the match with Amy. She used that defeat to become stronger. And yet, even now, she felt a deep disappointment deep in her soul. She again lacked the strength to overcome a heavyweight. But there are things that you just need to accept. Maybe it was one of those things. So when Charlotte felt the referee raise her hand for the third time, it was as if she let her mind free. There was no point in worrying about defeat anymore.

"Can you do that?" The master asked her.

Charlotte, who had only recently crossed the middle of her studies at the monastery, stood with her eyes wide open. A moment ago, her master punched through a thick enough wooden board. During the time that she spent here, she managed to see many amazing things that greatly influenced her. However, she had never seen something like this before.

"I can, but not that close." She said, realizing that such an answer would not suit her master.

What was surprising about the fact that he had just punched through the wooden board? He made this one from no more than one inch away. Charlotte really learned how to use her body to maximize the impact of any strike, but she would never have been able to deliver such a powerful blow from such a short distance.

"Then you can't! What if you opponent is one inch in front of you? What do you do then? Curl into a ball... or put your fist throught them? Now begin!"

The scars on her knuckles from those trainings will stay with her forever. She got them as a result of the fact that she had been trying to punch through the wooden board for almost six months. And even when the blood from the knuckles was flowing down her palm, she kept trying. That training made it clear to her that all her skills were just a kindergarten. She understood exactly what she needed to do, but day after day she failed. In order to repeat that punch she needed to perfectly synchronize every part of her body. But every day, pain and fatigue stood in her way.

Just like now. Just like at the moment when the referee let go of her hand for the third time. Just like at the moment when her hand started to fall, accompanied by wild screams from the audience, who were anticipating the end of this great match. Pain and fatigue. No. She won't let these things stand in her way anymore.

The referee was ready to raise three fingers over her head. But about halfway through, Charlotte's hand stopped. It was difficult to describe the reaction of the audience, who could not believe that the Frenchwoman still had the strength to resist the grip of her rival. However, at that moment, the Sand Lizard did not hear their screams. At that moment, she seemed to have withdrawn from everything earthly. Her mind was calm. She straightened her palm and the tip of her index finger touched Angela's solar plexus.

Perfect synchronization. Yes, that's why she couldn't use it on a permanent basis. But today... Charlotte filled her lungs with air. The phalanges of her fingers began to bend. Her wrist, forearm and shoulder moved forward in tandem. Her torso began to turn to the right. Her legs began to unbend as if she wanted to straighten up. Just a fraction of a second. It only took a fraction of a second. However, this fraction of a second was enough to combine the strength and speed of different parts of the body into a single whole.

Clenching her fist completely, the Sand Lizard intended to hit Angela right in the solar plexus. And as soon as her knuckles crashed into her opponent's body, she would immediately pull her hand back in order to complete a truly unique strike, which took her six months to master. The one-inch punch!

One inch punch

[BlackAkuma]

Angela wasn’t sure what happened next. She was just sure that it hurt. Quite a bit, in fact.

She had Charlotte dead to rights - or so she thought, anyway. While they were both reaching their limits, she was sure that she had more in the tank, if only by virtue of her size and stamina. She had powered through matches like this before - perhaps not exactly like this, no, but the same general rules applied. Wrestling was, at its core, a game of endurance, and she had shown time and time again that she could outlast the best in the squared circle. She had lived through cage matches, had weathered street fights, had even been inside Hell In A Cell a couple of times. Not places she wanted to be, but she had gone through them all the same and came out victorious. She had more Iron Man matches in her career than most wrestlers ever dreamed of. She could do this.

And she would prove that shortly. Just one more second. One more fall of the hand. And then…

The audience was shocked - real, genuine shock - when Charlotte came back to life, and they weren’t alone in that feeling. Angela was so taken aback by her sudden burst of life that she nearly dropped her opponent then and there. She held tight at the last second and saved her hastily-created submission, but there was no hiding the stroke of fear across her face, and she found herself wondering if the woman in her arm was, indeed, human. It didn’t seem normal that a body like this could endure such punishment.

But she stilled her heart when she realized that it wouldn’t be anything to worry about. Conscious or not, alive or not, Charlotte didn’t have anything that could hurt her at this distance. She was safe.

It was that moment of relaxation, that instant of security, when the blow struck like a bolt of lightning. The first blow landed right in the breadbasket and drove the air clean out of Angela’s body, but that was nothing compared to the second hit. That strike felt as if it went through her entirely - a powerful, crushing blow that shot through her entire body and came out the back. It forced spittle out of Angela’s mouth, made her feel like her innards had all been stirred up, and her entire body shut down all at once.

Wheezing, gasping, panting, all she could do was fall and fall hard, landing flat on her back and hitting the mat with a resonating crash. Her weak arms went to rub her stomach, as she stared up at the lights and tried to piece together what she had just been hit with.

[skip-stop]

It is for the sake of such moments that pro wrestling exists. It is not every day that you can see how this or that fighter goes beyond their limits. However, when something so incredible happens in front of your eyes, it is almost impossible to forget it. Charlotte was less than a step away from defeat. However, this was not the end. Hopeless situations do exist. But it was not the case. On the way to the openweight title, she became stronger and this helped her overcome the grip in which Angela held her so tightly.

Combining all the strength and speed of her body, Charlotte hit her opponent in the solar plexus with such force that Angela literally flew away from the pink-haired woman. Her groans and coughs mixed with the cheers of the audience, who were literally amazed by what they saw. Despite the fact that Charlotte has several times shown skills that no one has ever seen in this ring, this punch was something completely different.

The Sand Lizard has gained freedom from her rival's hold. Her airways became open again and oxygen rushed into her lungs. Many probably thought it was a relief for her. But after so long without oxygen, she felt so much pain in her lungs that she almost lost consciousness again. Her first deep breath, which she took completely involuntarily, made her cough so violently, as if she intended to spit out her lungs.

"KUAAHH!! KHA!! KHAAAHH!!!"

In order not to fall from the top turnbuckle on which she was sitting, the pink-haired woman grabbed the rope with her left hand, while covering her mouth with her right hand. There were still tears in her eyes, and her face was so red that even a crayfish in boiling water would seem pale as death. But none of that mattered. She did it. She stayed in the game. She didn't lose.

Wiping sweat and tears from her face, Charlotte looked at her rival below. With this punch, the Sand Lizard not only threw the Italian woman away, but also knocked her breath. This put them in about the same position, because Charlotte herself also barely found the strength to continue breathing, taking barely noticeable short breaths instead of deep ones that only gave her pain.

"Don't stop..." she told herself mentally.

Right. She managed to free herself. But that wasn't the hardest part. The hardest part was still ahead. She didn't know how much strength she and her rival had left. But she knew for sure that this was her last chance to defeat this woman. The audience also understood this, and they expected that Charlotte would get down to the mat in order to lift Angela to her feet for a throw or even close her in some submission hold. But instead...

"Up..." she muttered, barely moving her lips.

Gritting her teeth, since this was the only way to restrain groans, Charlotte intended to bend her right leg at the knee and place her foot on the top turnbuckle. It felt like a ton of lead had been poured into her body. Each limb was so unnaturally heavy that the mind literally protested against any movements. But at that moment, her desire to win was much stronger than anything.

Contrary to the expectations of the audience, Charlotte intended not to go down, but to go up. And so, holding her breath, the Sand Lizard channeled strength into her legs and forced herself to get to her feet, right on the top turnbull. The blood instantly went to her brain and for a second her eyes went dark. The martial arts master staggered and some spectators let out a frightened scream. It seemed to them that now she would fall outside the ring.

"Balance in all things..." she reminded herself.

Freeing her lungs from the air as if to relieve inner pressure, Charlotte forced her legs to stop shaking and thereby she found her balance. When the pink-haired woman opened her eyes, her gaze was focused solely on her rival. And despite the fact that the Frenchwoman's body was covered with a lot of bruises, and her strength was literally at zero, there was nothing but confidence in her gaze. She didn't come all this way to stop now. A real fighter always keeps going forward. That's exactly what she was going to do.

The last deep breath, after which the Sand Lizard slightly bent her legs at the knees. Everyone could see how much the multiple muscles of her legs were straining. Until today, she has not demonstrated this move. Perhaps this was without exaggeration the most powerful thing in her arsenal. But now the time has come. It was the only option against such a strong opponent as Angela.

And so, as soon as the purple-haired woman started to get to her feet, Charlotte intended to release all the remaining strength she had. Having pushed off from the top turnbuckle, she was going to jump forward, making a corkscrew rotation. The wind rustled in her loose pink hair, and she felt a pleasant coolness on her face. Charlotte intended to grab Angela's head with both hands, and then land in a sitting position to drive the neck and jaw of the Italian woman into her shoulder! This was her most powerful move, which she called the flying lizard, and with this move she was going to crush her mighty rival once and for all!

[BlackAkuma]

”Get up!”

Where was that voice coming from?

Angela blinked a few times, trying to clear her foggy vision and see through the gloomy haze. She wasn’t so out of it that she couldn't hear the crowd around her, but she’d long since learned to tune them out for the most part. It was especially easy to do so in Japan - while she was decent with the language, she wasn’t so used to it that she could make sense of it in a cacophony. It was all just a bunch of noise, interspersed with the occasional name she recognized. ‘Angela, Angela’ this, and ‘Charlotte, Charlotte’ that, often spoken with a broken accent.

Through it all, though, she was able to pick out a specific voice, one that slipped through the din and made its way through to her ears clearly. She scarcely registered it at first, but then familiarity set in. She knew that voice well. The tone, the pitch, the tenor, all of it. It was like a password in her mind, something that she could recognize no matter what was going on. As addled as she was, she just needed a few seconds to register it properly.

”Dizzy?”

Angela looked over and saw her daughter in the crowd, sticking out with her red hoodie, jumping up and down like the little maniac she was. It was rare to see her so excited about anything. She was always the type to try and play it cool, rarely raised her voice, never yelled, and yet there she was - bouncing around and cheering like a true fan. It was the kind of sight that Angela always wanted to see, what she cherished, and it was just one more reason - perhaps the best reason - for her to get back up.

So she did. Slowly, groggily, but she made it happen, pushing her palms flat against the mat and raising her way up, inch by inch, like an old battleship rising out of the waters. She swore, she could hear her bones cracking, to say nothing of the aches in her joints, as gravity demanded that she stay glued to the mat. But she ignored it and pulled up, regardless, knowing that once she locked eyes on Charlotte, she could…

…where was Charlotte?

”Look out!”

Angela heard her daughter’s cry at the last second, but it was a second too late. She looked up, just as a flash of movement came into her vision, and her head was caught in a hold - what kind, she couldn't register in time. All she knew was that it involved having her jaw slammed into a part of Charlotte’s body, it felt like getting hit with a sledgehammer.

Angela catapulted away, looking like she’d been hit with a shotgun, so far that she nearly slammed into the hapless referee. She came to a rest on her back and stayed there, still and motionless, eyes glazed over and still.

Done.

[skip-stop]

For most, it lasted only one short moment. But for Charlotte, while she was in the air, it lasted forever. If six years ago she had been told that one day she would jump from the top turnbuckle, she would have taken it with maximum skepticism. But time changes everything. After her travels around the world, she realized that martial arts don't have one specific form. And when she discovered pro wrestling for herself, her heart stopped being empty.

For many years she tried to find her ways. And when she first got into this ring, it was like she had an epiphany. This was where she belonged. And so Charlotte intended to go this way from beginning to end, no matter what it cost her. A real fighter strives to get better every day. Yes, she didn't have enough strength to defeat the heavyweight in the previous match. But hard work gave her the opportunity to take a step forward and overcome her own strength.

The Sand Lizard's arms wrapped around her opponent's head. And when she landed on her butt, the arena shuddered due to the enthusiastic shouts of the audience, who for the first time had a chance to see her critical finisher. Angela's head crashed into Charlotte's shoulder with such force that the Italian woman practically soared into the air. But this flight did not last very long. Barely avoiding a collision with the referee, Angela collapsed on the mat. Without a single sign of movement.

"Pha... pha... pha..."

In her heart, she was ready to start singing, because she had just found the strength to do what she failed to do last time. However, her condition was so terrible that her upper body involuntarily leaned back. The Frenchwoman barely managed to put her right hand on the mat in order not to fall.

Turning her head to the side, she saw excited spectators even despite the fog in her eyes. But the girl near the ring attracted much more attention. Taking another deep breath, Charlotte cleared her gaze enough to see the worried expression on Dizzy's face.

Charlotte heard her rival's daughter scream in an attempt to warn her mother of the approaching attack. The pink-haired woman did not approve of such things, but she would be a liar if she said that she did not want to have someone who would root for her as much as Dizzy for Angela. This girl's feelings were beautiful. But this is life. This is the ring. This is pro wrestling. And the one you support doesn't always win here. Everyone here is striving to the top. And it was a lesson to be learned for a lifetime.

With a groan of pain, Charlotte turned to the side, getting up on all fours. She wasn't sure she had the strength to get to her feet, so she started crawling towards her opponent. The muscles and joints exuded pain. It seemed to her that she had been hit by a truck because every time she moved her limbs forward, her mind seemed to be trying to force her to get down on the mat and fall asleep. But if she did, then it was all in vain. And that was clearly not what she wanted. Charlotte wanted all the efforts she made to surpass this great woman to bring her victory.

Leaving a trail of sweat behind, the Sand Lizard reached Angela. By that time, her arms and legs were shaking so much that she, completely out of control, literally fell over the purple-haired woman, pressing her chest to Angela's. It seemed to her that she had no strength left even to continue breathing. But if she really has become stronger since the beginning of the Apex, then it's time to prove it. Charlotte wearily reached out to Angela's far leg and hooked it under her knee. Pulling Angela's leg up to her chest, Charlotte closed her eyes. All or nothing. Under the deafening screams of the audience, the referee fell next to the women who gave absolutely everything to each other in this match. And after a moment, her hand slapped the mat for the first time.

"ONE!"

The audience echoed the first count with such volume that it could have been heard even outside the arena. For Charlotte, these screams did not exist. But she heard the striped shirt raised her hand a second time. That was all that mattered to her at that moment. Despite all her composure, Charlotte knew that two more seconds and her qualification would be over. Two more seconds and she would get the opportunity to take part in the Apex match. Just two more seconds...

"TWO!!"

[BlackAkuma]

From the sidelines, Desdemona looked on with…awe? That seemed like the most obvious word to describe what she was feeling at the moment, and yet, somehow, it just didn’t quite fit. Dizzy could be in ‘awe’ of a mountain range. She was in ‘awe’ when she saw fireworks. A great painting, a fine song, an amazing meal, these were the kind of things that gave you ‘awe’. Your mother getting battered half to death, then having her skull drilled into the canvas at breakneck speeds? That wasn’t the first thing that came to her mind in these circumstances.

Horror? Yeah, that was a better fit.

That was a lot closer to what she felt when Charlotte grabbed her mother’s head and rammed into her shoulder with the…the…what was it, again? Her mother was always trying to get her to learn and memorize all these techniques, but most of the time she forgot the name less than a day after she heard them, and this was no exception. It looked a little like that stunning thing she’d seen a wrestler do once, but Charlotte had leaned out more to hit, to say nothing of coming up from on high like that.

Whatever it was, it worked. Her mother - the big, the powerful, the unstoppable Angela Belti - was laid out on the mat, an unmoving heap, easy prey for Charlotte, as the smaller woman moved over her body and secured the pinfall.

Dizzy cried out with the first count, but her voice was lost in the drone of a thousand voices, smothered by an ear-piercing, united shout. She jumped back, then grabbed the barricade to help steady herself, and as the referee’s hand came down the second time, she threw out one last shout, trying to rouse her mother back to consciousness, one last attempt to pull her out of the fog.

It didn’t work. The referee’s hand came down like a guillotine, hammering into the mat one final time, and the audience’s eruption came soon after, a cacophonous roar that seemed to make the rafters shake and left Dizzy’s ear ringing. It was almost enough to drown out the ringing bell that followed soon after, as the referee gave the signal and made it official: Charlotte had won the match. 1, 2, 3. Just like that.

What was Dizzy feeling now? Relieved. Sad, but relieved.

[skip-stop]

A thousand thoughts tried to force their way into Charlotte's head. Was that enough? Will she be able to continue the match if Angela breaks the pin? Has she really become stronger? Too many questions. Too many. But the Frenchwoman was not going to let these thoughts shake her confidence. She will get answers to all these questions anyway just in one next second.

The referee raised her hand for the third time.

For one brief moment, if not for everyone, then for Charlotte for sure, the whole world seemed to stop. All sounds disappeared. And nothing mattered except the palm, which began to approach the mat. Unable to control her emotions, Charlotte held her breath. It wasn't just a match for her. It was her Rubicon. The last step on the way to her Apex match. And she could only believe that all her efforts were enough...

"THREE!!!"

Charlotte abruptly opened her eyes as if she had woken up after being in a coma for several years. She definitely wasn't the first fighter to feel something like this. Perhaps even she once felt something similar. But this feeling has never been as strong as it is now. She just couldn't believe it was over. No. No, no, no. That palm clap wasn't enough. She needs something else. Something that will let her fully realize that she has just surpassed a real pro wrestling veteran...

Ding-Ding-Ding.

Yes, that was enough. A sigh of relief escaped Charlotte's mouth. As if at the snap of her fingers, her body went limp. She let go of her opponent's leg, and then wearily rolled off Angela's body. However, she was in no hurry to get to her feet. Lying on the mat head to head with the Italian woman, Charlotte just breathed. And the air filling her lungs had never seemed so sweet to her. There was practically not a single living place on her body. But there was a smile on her lips. A smile that spoke without any words about how she felt. She did it. She won.

But to make it official, there was one more thing left. It was just a formality, but the Sand Lizard couldn't help but do it. Turning over heavily on her stomach, she got up first on all fours, and then on her feet. The pink-haired woman staggered, but forced herself to take a deep breath in order to find balance. Only now her hearing fully returned to her. The referee approached the Frenchwoman and then...

"Here is your winner, and officially qualified for the Apex Event match, Charlotte Ravel'!!!"

Under the thunderous applause that caused the walls of the arena to vibrate, the referee raised the hand of the pink-haired woman. And although Charlotte could barely stand on her feet, at that moment she felt that all the pain seemed to have left her body. Looking at all those who shouted her name, she felt a wave of warmth ran over her skin from the top of her head to her toes. Her lips trembled. Her breathing became ragged and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

She decided to take part in Apex in order to find out the limits of her capabilities. She reached that limit in the match against Amy. Despite all her skills, she was unable to defeat the Lion. But this defeat gave her a push. She expanded her limits. She became stronger. Charlotte didn't want to get to the top for fame and fortune. She wanted to get there because she wanted to be an example for future generations of fighters. Martial arts were an integral part of her life. She chose this life herself and she didn't want another life. Therefore, after the defeat, she worked on herself every day. And now everyone could see the results of her labors. This was her moment. And although it may have been a little selfish, Charlotte thoroughly enjoyed this moment.

However, it didn't last long. Immediately after the striped shirt let go of the Frenchwoman's hand, she approached Angela in order to check her condition. Charlotte did not leave the ring immediately. Turning to the side, she also approached her rival. For a few seconds she just looked down at Angela. The words spoken by the Italian woman before the start of the match rang in her head again. And although Charlotte didn't know if Angela had changed her mind, the Sand Lizard bent slightly, extending her right hand to her rival in order to help her to her feet.

"Good match..." she said in a weakened voice, in which, nevertheless, one could easily hear respect for the veteran.

[BlackAkuma]

The roar of the crowd, the flicker of a thousand flashing lights all at once, the rush of cheers and jeers, and the thunderous rush of applause - yes, Angela had been here before. Quite a few times. She was having trouble recalling specifics of those moments, what with the severe head trauma that she had just gone through, but she could vaguely remember similar scenarios. Being laid out like this was just a natural part of wrestling, one that everyone had to get used to, sooner or later. If she couldn't show her daughter how to win, at least she could show her the proper way to take a defeat. That was a small win, by itself.

Speaking of which…

”Mom!”

Angela felt like laying down for another ten or so seconds - maybe even minutes - but she forced herself to sit up when the sound of her daughter’s voice once again came shrieking in, along with the busied shouts of security trying and failing to keep her back. She looked up just in time to see her daughter slide in under the ropes, pop to her feet and rush over to her side, looking as if she was just coming over to a car crash and not a wrestling match. Angela might have felt like that was the case, but she knew the damage wasn’t so severe. ”Mom, are you okay?”

”I’m fine, Dizzy.” She nodded with a soft smile, biting back the aching in her skull to keep it together. Once she was home, behind closed doors, she had a long date with an ice pack. ”Help me up.”

With the size difference, there wasn’t much help Dizzy could give her, but she tried anyway, adding in an appreciated 10% as she rose to her feet. She stood tall, arched her back, grimaced, winced, then looked over as Charlotte came her way, still basking in the adulation of her win. Gracious, she looked down as her opponent came over and extended her hand.

”Yes,” Angela nodded and took the handshake, gingerly shaking back. ”Yes, it was. You were a fine opponent. I hope, sometime, that we can have another match. Until then…”

Angela gave Charlotte a small bow, then turned away and made her way out of the ring, with Dizzy under her shoulder. Smiling, head held high, she made her way up the ramp, as the crowd gave them all one, final cheer.

Winner: Charlotte Ravel

[skip-stop]

Charlotte didn't have to help Angela to her feet. This was to be expected. Immediately after the bell rang, Desdemona got up in the ring in order to help her mother. Therefore, when Charlotte approached her rival, she was already on her feet. However, this did not prevent the Frenchwoman from extending her hand for a handshake.

For one brief moment, she even thought that the purple-haired woman would not accept it. However, Charlotte's doubts were dispelled when Angela not only accepted the handshake, but also expressed the hope that someday they would meet again in a match. The corners of Charlotte's lips lifted and she confidently shook her opponent's hand.

And then something happened that the martial arts master did not expect at all. Releasing Charlotte's hand, the Italian woman bowed slightly to her. They say that the ring is able to reveal your true nature. At the beginning of the match, Angela disparagingly said that she planned to be the best woman today. Charlotte has never been a supporter of such words, no matter who her opponent is. And that's why she didn't like Angela's words. But now...

"Ready when you are." Charlotte said, responding to the possibility of another match.

With these words, she pressed her right fist to her left palm and respectfully bowed to her opponent. The viewers definitely liked that it ended with mutual respect between them. Straightening to her full height, Charlotte glanced briefly at Desdemona.

"Your mother is a great fighter," she said. "And you must not lag behind her."

Charlotte was never good at advice, but her words were sincere. The Frenchwoman smiled one last time before Angela and Desdemona left the ring. She followed them with her gaze to the curtains, and then took a deep breath. It was time for her to take a shower and rest, too. Now that the adrenaline was out of her blood, she felt again how much damage her body had gone through in this match.

The sand Lizard rolled under the bottom rope. Landing on her feet, she headed up the ramp. Today she took a big step forward. The path of a fighter never ends. Yes, the qualification is now behind us. But the Apex match is waiting for her ahead. Today she got the opportunity to earn a chance to become the new middleweight champion or the first openweight champion. But that wasn't the most important thing for her.

The defeat from Amy was very hard for her. But thanks to her hard work, she was able to defeat Angela, another outstanding heavyweight. And this means that she has already become stronger, that she has already become better than she was yesterday. This is the most important thing. It was with this thought in mind that Charlotte, raising her fist above her head, disappeared behind the curtains.

[skip-stop]

The winner by pinfall is Charlotte Ravel'