Ambre Brault vs Astrid Ostberg

[Bearhug Goddess]

Ambre straightened up and got up on her feet, preparing for the rest of the match. She had to prepare for this kind of thing and be willing to come close to victory if she ever wanted to become a good wrestler. She had asked Astrid to consider this match as a title defense and she had to behave like a challenger in her turn. Ambre had improved enormously in this match but despite this, the pressure was enormous, more intense than at the start. Was it because of fatigue or not wanting to disappoint the people who watched this match and believed in her victory. Maybe a bit of both, Ambre wasn't used to having this much support from other people but she was still going to do her best.

The Black Pearl was nowhere near as experienced as the Norsewoman and had to take the advantage quickly. Although her stamina had improved, she was not as tough as her opponent and her reflexes were not as good... She had to fight in an explosive manner before slowly imposing her rhythm and leaving no escape to Astrid, nothing better for that than a ground fight!

She quickly threw herself at Astrid, jumping towards her, opening her arms to tackle her to the ground with a spear, but the Norsewoman was now as fast as the Frenchwoman! She managed to shift to the side, letting the Black Pearl jump onto the void to fall on her stomach, sighing slightly in pain. It was a bad sign, she expected to be tired but not to the point of being as fast as her opponent. The rest of this match was going to be more difficult than expected, especially with this mistake.

"GUH !"

[CaptainL]

Astrid knew that if she let Ambre hit her, it wouldn't do her any favors. She had already seen enough from Ambre to know that she could hit like a truck, and when she was already winded from the effort she'd been forced to expend throughout this match, she didn't know if she could take many more head-on blows. But then, Astrid wouldn't need to let Ambre hit her. The Frenchwoman was already in motion, but all the momentum she picked up could just as easily be used against her, if Astrid only got out of the way! She wasn't going to try to absorb the damage if she could avoid it instead - and Ambre had nowhere to go but crashing down, as she fell to the mat with a thud!

Astrid took in a few deep breaths to bring the air back into her lungs, but when she shook herself out and looked back at where Ambre had fallen, she still smiled. She was beginning to pick up on the holes in Ambre's strategy now - Ambre, for as driven as she was, was perhaps too stubborn in her determination to win, and to prove her strength to Astrid. Even when she risked burning herself out and setting herself up for a trap, if she saw an opening, she was going to take it. It didn't matter if that opening would be good for her in the long run, or indeed, if she stood to lose anything if it failed. All Astrid needed to do now was to stay out of the path of danger, and sooner or later, Ambre would deliver herself right into her clutches. In fact, right now, it looked like that was just what was happening!

With a smile on her face, Astrid came up behind Ambre, throwing her arms around her waist to try and lift the Frenchwoman up off the ground. If she could get a good grip on her, she'd lift her up before dropping down to one knee - going to throw Ambre's tailbone onto her knee for an atomic drop in order to further weaken her defenses!

[Bearhug Goddess]

The Frenchwoman's spear missed its target, causing Ambre to fall to the ground, lying on her stomach against the mast with a small sigh of pain. If Ambre feared something it was her fatigue! Although she had worked enormously on it during the last six months and had improved her endurance, it was still far from being comparable to that of Astrid who continued to be as constant as at the start of the match. This made the Black Pearl hesitate slightly, wondering if currently, in her current physical condition, would she be able to defeat the Norsewoman once again in a test of stregth?

No time to answer the question or even think about it, she already had to get up and prepare to fight again... But it was too late! The Black Pearl barely got up on her feet before her hips were already trapped between her opponent's arms and that didn't mean anything good. Indeed, Astrid simply lifted the Frenchwoman into the air before dropping her so that she fell against the Norsewoman's knee. The blow didn't look very impressive but it was one of the most painful blows Ambre had suffered in her life, along with the liver punch.

“AOUTCH !..”

The French woman sighed in pain and remained standing despite the pain in her tailbone. She quickly turned around, grimacing in pain, and then tried to attack Astrid when she least expected it. She turned around rather quickly and began to lift her leg for a Big Boot but the Black Pearl remained frozen for several seconds after raising her foot a few centimeters. Her tailbone pain was more painful than she had imagined, it immobilized her for a few seconds while remaining in front of Astrid with one leg slightly raised. It was the worst thing that could have happened to her.

[CaptainL]

Ambre had built up her endurance, all right - she had to, if she wanted to stand a chance against what Astrid was capable of putting out. But where Ambre was training and perfecting how long she could last and what she could squeeze out of her reserves, Astrid had been living by those standards for years. Her endurance and toughness was one of her greatest assets, up there with even her incredible strength - and it was going to take a lot more to get her to tire out! Even if Astrid couldn't overpower Ambre, it seemed she could outlast her. And she was doing a whole lot of overpowering her, regardless!

Astrid had hurled Ambre down onto her knee with the atomic drop, and there she landed with a thud that made several fans in the crowd wince at the thought of how hard a blow it must have been for the Frenchwoman. But after that blow landed, Astrid took a moment's pause. She panted a couple of times, drawing air into her lungs; her muscles were sore, and a bead of sweat dripped off of her brow. For as tough as Astrid could be, even she had her limits - and Ambre was certainly pushing her close to them. The Norsewoman was going to have to fight with every fiber of her being if she wanted to keep up with the test Ambe was putting her to! For now, though, her muscles felt sore, and her body was stiff. For a moment, Astrid had stalled - and Ambre was ready to take advantage of that. She turned around, raising her leg...

But then...she stopped. If Ambre had hit Astrid at full force then, it could well have taken the Norsewoman down. But it was right then that she froze up from the pain coursing through her back still, halting her in place! Astrid panted a few times, catching her breath - but it didn't take long for her to realize the opportunity right in front of her. Ambre was wide open! And Astrid could take advantage of that!

"Heh...you thought that was bad...there's more where it came from-!" she called out. Then, she reached out to grab onto Ambre's raised leg! Astrid would pull that leg toward her as she fell to her back - and as she did, she would lift her knee in the air, such that Ambre's leg would come crashing down onto it for a legbreaker!

[Bearhug Goddess]

Ambre had an opening, a moment of weakness coming from Astrid and she didn't waste a single millisecond to seize it. She planned to deliver an incredible and powerful Big Boot on Astrid's chest again, seeking to weaken her to be able to better chain her blows and finally moved on to a fight on the ground where she would use her Rear Neck Choke to finish this match. But that was without counting on the last blow she took.

It was more serious than Ambre had imagined and that was normal, the French woman had never been hit in this place! She didn't expect the pain to immobilize her especially by just lifting her leg! Ambre was gradually starting to regret her choice and the intense pain was making her sweat again. After a few seconds of immobilization, she tried to put her foot back on the ground but it was too late, Astrid had just grabbed her leg and had completely raised it in the air.

“GAAARHHH!!..”

The pain was incredibly powerful, enough for Ambre to moan in pain and still find herself helpless. the Norsewoman was ready to continue her offensive and took advantage of this moment of weakness coming from the Frenchwoman to make her take a legbreaker, putting the Black Pearl on the ground, curling up on herself while holding her knees with both hands and rolling from right to left side because of the pain.

“Aaaarghhh!..”

[CaptainL]

Astrid was clearly throwing Ambre for a loop - and it was clear now that the Frenchwoman was struggling to keep up with what she could do. She surely knew going into this match that Astrid would absolutely test the limits of her strength, skill, and endurance, but Ambre didn't realize she would be tested quite this much! At the sight of Ambre sputtering from the pain in her leg, Astrid could only smirk to herself. "There's a lesson for you," she explained; "conserve your energy! You've done well keeping up with me thus far...but no matter how much work you put in, you're still only human!"

In fact, this provided Astrid with an opportunity she was going to take advantage of! Now that the pain had caused her to lock up, Ambre was open - and Astrid was ready to swoop in and take advantage of that, bringing the girl down hard onto her wounded leg! When Ambre was already sore there, the impact left her reeling, causing her to roll over on her side trying to nurse the pain. And more than a few of Ambre's supporters groaned and winced in sympathy.

With every successful blow Astrid made, and with every bit of momentum she gained from her opponent, the cheers calling out to her were growing louder and louder - and Astrid could feel that invigorate her! She was just as spent and weary as Ambre herself was; her body was sore, her muscles aching, and she had nearly succumbed to the pressure a few times already in this match. But Astrid's determination, as always, was carrying her through - and when she saw just what an impact it was having, she was all the more emboldened to keep running with that momentum, to see just how far she could take it! Ambre was an opponent who deserved her best, and she was going to get it!

Sucking in a deep breath, Astrid made a fist with one hand and pounded it into the palm of the other. She sucked in a deep breath, and all her muscles began to expand as she readied herself for her next move. But she had no hesitations. Ambre was wide open - and Astrid was ready to put her away with what she was sure would be a heart-pounding conclusion to this match! She would be surprised if Ambre could even get out of this one - and if she could, Astrid would be quite impressed indeed!

As the Norsewoman let out that breath, she lunged forward and grabbed Ambre by the leg and shoulder. Then, she pushed herself back up to her full weight, draping Ambre over her shoulders in the process. If all went well, the Frenchwoman would be set up for Astrid's finishing move, the Stavanger Buster - and as she bellowed out a battle cry, she was ready to throw herself back down to hit it with all her might!

Spoiler

[Bearhug Goddess]

Bad luck after bad luck, error after error, nothing has pleased the Black Pearl since she missed the end of the match. As she rolled on the ground holding her knees, Ambre reflected on her last minutes in the ring which were intense in emotion but above all in pain! What was happening? Why did she have so much trouble regaining control of this match when the beginning and middle of the match were going rather well? The answer was simply herself, she fought the same way from start to finish... And that wasn't something to do!

Her injuries, the numerous pains in her body and her fatigue prevented her from being the strongest all the time. She had a limit and she had just crossed it, that's what made her less strong! She had to learn to know herself better and as Astrid had just advised her, she had to learn to conserve her energy and not always attack until she was exhausted to place her finisher.

"Uhhhg... Ughhhh.. Right...."

She sighed long, gradually calming the throbbing in her body to apply her opponent's advice as quickly as possible and recover her strength as quickly as possible. The only inconvenience and not the least is that she was without guard for a good ten seconds and Astrid did not miss this chance to lift the French girl and carry her on her shoulders. This position was painful and could make a wrestler as small as Ambre dizzy but she knew it wasn't the worst thing that was going to happen to her.

Ambre knew very well what was going to happen to her because she knew all of Astrid's signature and finisher moves. She was going to get a Stavanger Buster and had to prepare herself to not fall unconscious and out of breath when she was slammed against the mat. She tucked her head into her neck to prevent her head from moving too much, sucked in a large breath of air and held her breathing for a long second, ready to endure her opponent's most powerful finisher.

[CaptainL]

When Astrid lifted Ambre up onto her shoulders, everyone knew what was coming next. The Norsewoman had her opponent set up for a horizontal muscle buster, the very move she had used to flatten the competition at the height of her title run. The mere fact that Astrid, winded and weary as she was, was even capable of lifting her heavier opponent at all was worthy of cheers, and the fans were certainly letting their appreciation be known as they called out to Astrid with applause! Straining under the weight of fatigue, Astrid moved in stiff bursts, a little at a time. She winced and groaned the straighter she stood, as every muscle grew tense to brace herself against the load. As she lifted herself higher still, her back shuddered as she began to sink lower against Ambre's weight. But Astrid had made it this far - she couldn't back down now. She knew full well that she needed to do what she was doing right here and now. Ambre had come to test herself against the utmost limits of what Astrid was capable of. So far, Astrid had thrown everything short of the Stavanger Buster at her, and it still hadn't been enough - Ambre's fiery spirit and burning determination had prevailed! But if Astrid needed to reach her last resort in order to take her down...she was prepared for it!

At last, Astrid had Ambre locked into place on her shoulders - and with that, she hurled herself straight down, swinging Ambre into the mat like the blow of a hammer! A loud crash rang out through the air as the whole ring rumbled and shook, the canvas bowing inward against Ambre's impact! Not even Astrid herself could walk away unscathed from such a monumental blow - as the dust cleared, she held her side and hissed in pain, taking a moment to brace herself against the aftershocks. But as she took in a few haggard breaths, Astrid realized that she had Ambre down and vulnerable. This was her chance!

Summoning all her strength, the Norsewoman grabbed for Ambre's leg, lunging closer to try and pull it up into the air! She would attempt to throw her weight down atop the Black Pearl, moving in for the pin - and the referee was right there to count!

"ONE!!"

[Bearhug Goddess]

Being on Astrid's shoulders was not a luxury, Ambre could feel her muscles stretching and especially her back bending slightly in half, while awakening the pain in her tailbone! It was one of the worst, if not the worst, situations that she absolutely had to avoid with Astrid. Being lifted by Astrid was already an ordeal but what awaited her was going to be even worse!

But Ambre accepted her spell, she overcame the pain that this position would give her as best she could and recovered her breath, as much as possible, before preparing for the fall that awaited her. She breathed slowly, slowing down her heartbeat so as not to drain the energy she was recovering, she curled her head on her neck to protect her from the ground and the powerful jolt to avoid the KO and blocked her breathing so as not to gasp when she'll get crashed to the ground.

Then the fateful moment arrived, the one where the Norsewoman finally used her finisher by throwing herself to the ground with Ambre, crushing the Frenchwoman first before crushing her under her weight in the process. The Stavanger Buster was a powerful move that shook the ring and the ropes like never before, leaving the crowd silent during the fall before they all started screaming and cheering for Astrid for having so much strength at this point in the match.

“URGHHHHHhhhhhh!..”

A long and powerful moan was still heard at the same time as the cries of the spectators. The Black Pearl was perhaps prepared to take Astrid's blow but she was not able to get up or even open her eyes. Her strength had left her, she barely felt her legs being lifted by Astrid's powerful grips and the referee starting the pinfall count, in addition to being accompanied by the audience who followed the count.

“ONE!!”

[CaptainL]

The Stavanger Buster was one move that never failed to make a splash whenever Astrid pulled it off in a match - and this was certainly no exception! In fact, for this match in particular, the Stavanger Buster seemed to mean so much more. Not only was it Astrid's much-celebrated finishing move, a move that had heralded many of her proudest victories - and for good reason, given how hard it hit - tonight, the fact that Astrid could even pull off the Stavanger Buster at all seemed to be a symbol of pride and defiance in the face of adversity. By all means, Astrid had no right to be able to lift up Ambre. Not only was the Frenchwoman heavier than she was, it came after a long and grueling ordeal of a match that had drained Astrid's stamina. Her muscles shuddered and her joints popped as she held onto Ambre with a white-knuckled grip, struggling to hoist her up just a little at a time. But Astrid knew she couldn't stop now - not after she had come this far, and fought so hard. She was determined to bring the fight to Ambre and give her a challenge worthy of the champion she was determined to become - and no matter how herculean a feat it would be to pull off the Stavanger Buster here and now, Astrid was going to go for it!

Sure enough, she hurled Ambre down into the mat, and the whole ring rumbled with the force of the impact, as the arena burst out into cheers! The fact that Astrid could even pull off such a move in the first place seemed just as worthy of praise as anything else that had happened in this match! Now, as she lay atop her opponent, panting for breath, Astrid could feel the aches in her muscles and the sweat running along her skin. She needed a moment to find the strength to keep moving, let alone to keep up the fight. But when she looked down to see Ambre was powerless beneath her, a smile came to her face nonetheless. Ambre was wide open - and Astrid was ready to move in for the kill!

Ducking down, the Norsewoman went to hook her leg for the pin! The referee made the first count - and shortly thereafter, called out with the "TWO!!" The whole time, Astrid looked on, her body stiff and her teeth clenched. It was all up to what might happen next. If Ambre was going to break out of this pin, it would have to be now. After all she'd been through, it would be an impressive feat indeed for her to be able to do it. And yet, she wouldn't put it past her either - she knew what Ambre could do if she had the right motivation, and she certainly had that here!