Alena Stepanova vs. Spectre

[CaptainL]

Hooking her legs around Alena's arms, Spectre intended to cut the Russian grappler's comeback short then and there, pulling her back down and into her grasp. But that didn't work for Alena. Alena had fought hard to get to this point and reclaim the top position; she wasn't about to let Spectre take that away from her so soon! She was never the type to let other people stand in the way of her goals, and if she had to silence them by force, then so be it! As she fell back, her leg swept through the air, her heel pointed to drive down into Spectre's face like the blow of a hammer. And with the sound of a crack, it fell, knocking Spectre down onto her back once more! Whether Spectre liked it or not, Alena wasn't done with her yet!

"That's more like it!" the brunette huffed. Rolling her hips, Alena sat back up straight, perched on top of her opponent's chest. Her eyes narrowed in a glare as she looked Spectre dead in the glassy eyes, and as she sucked in a breath, every muscle in her body firmed up; a ripple went through her skin from the tension that pulled taut through her body as she readied herself for what would come next. Now, it was time to unleash the beatdown she had come here for - and nothing Spectre could do would stop her! Balling her fists tight, she began to rain punches down on Spectre's face, knocking her head this way and that! She wouldn't let Spectre go until she truly felt what Alena had in store for her!

[Monsy]

Spectre’s world was inverted into her head. Inside there was light in there, red, full of colours expanding and shrinking. The world outside was messy. Someone spilled their water colours. Now she was staring at it with the utmost confusion. Then there was this massive blob on-top of her chest, taller with smudges of orange and making it hard to breathe. She stared up at it, batted her lashes like some garbled flirt…

Hey pretty girl, where did your face gooooo?

Then she got smacked. Her head veered one way and she was dizzied. Then the other. The pain now squeezing her cheeks. Her mask was hit. And again. Left-right-left-right. Snap. Snap. Snap.

Her fingers flinched and curled, uncurled. The hands spasmed. Her knees slid up, then down. One stayed up. The toes curled. She was starting to taste her spit as it began to smother the inside of her grill. The saliva-touched carbon fibre inner-layer now wiping on the corner of her lips.

Left-right. Left-right.
Twitch-twitch. Twitch-tremble.

The crowd howled approval with cupped hands, stomped their feet and motioned their hands in a sort of swinging action, “Ohh!” “Ohh!” “Ohh!” “Ohh!”

[CaptainL]

Spectre had caused Alena too much trouble. The Russian grappler was determined to cement her dominance over her, and to stand up to the threat she posed to LAW, but despite her best efforts, the masked girl just wouldn't go down. But if Spectre was going to make this hard...all that meant was Alena was going to have to step up her game. But if the tide was rising, Alena would rise to meet it. Now, at last, she had managed to overpower her opponent and clamor on top of her. Spectre had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Alena finally had the top position she had been chasing after...and she was going to make the most of it!

Punches rained down, again and again, all over Spectre, striking her head left and right, from one angle and then another and back again. Every blow she landed sent a crack through the speakers, and every blow was punctuated by a cheer from the fans. With how she had put herself out to face one of the most feared and most notorious names in LAW today, Alena was certainly a bold one, and when she'd announced her challenge, quite a few fans had been skeptical about her chances. But if there was ever a time to believe that Alena just might be able to beat Spectre, and go down in the history books as the first to do the deed...that time looked to be now! Now, everyone wanted to believe in Alena, and everyone was rooting for her!

Alena grinned wider, energized by the support coming from her loyal fans! She knew that everyone was counting on her now - and she was more emboldened than ever before to deliver on her promises and bring forth the glorious victory they had faith in her to bring about! But more than anything else, that strength came from her faith in herself - and the cheers were giving her reason to believe it was well warranted! Her muscles coiled tighter, putting more and more strength behind every blow she threw! But, as she looked down, there was one thing that she made note of - Spectre's mask. Every time her knuckles graced its surface, she could feel the hard, unforgiving material meet her fist with a clang, absorbing the brunt of the blow and leaving her hand throbbing. It wasn't going to slow her down, of course. The ache in her fist was nothing compared to the adrenaline rush that grasped her right now, and she steeled herself in the faith she held in her own strength. But it did tell her that mask was protecting Spectre. And if she wanted to get through to do some real damage against her, the mask had to go!

Gritting her teeth to steel her nerves, Alena reached down to grab Spectre by the head, pressing her palm against her forehead. With her other hand, she rained down a few more punches with the force of a hammer blow, all of them aimed for the redhead's mask! If she could just break through it, she'd have what she wanted!

[Monsy]

Blows after blows after blows.
Her head was becoming more like a speed bag, bouncing to the hymn of many cheering fans and an eager Russian who only sped up the more her hand swelled. Her mask was to thank for cushioning some of these blows. It was a mix of plastic composites, isoprene rubber, carbon fibre, some aluminum framing then electronics for voice modulation and communication. The mask was an extension of her person. And her most armoured point.

Pressed into the mat by her forehead, forced to look straight up for once at an extended forearm, then eat more fists on her face, the first thing she noticed was the utter lack of pain. Her mouth piece was a thicker section in the mask. A grill with carbon fibre cloth underneath. The fists made her head throb, but she was no longer tossing and turning and spinning in a daze. It allowed her to recollect, notice where she was and then act.

She noted their deliberate targeting. The lack of respect.
And so…
Her hands snapped to grab onto Alena’s wrist near her forehead, then the fist that tried to beat her mask into a soup. The mask held. But she was in no mood to test its structural integrity in the field.

Instead, she’d say — very lowly and with authority, “Enough.”

Then with more effort than she’d admit, she stomped her boots down and tried to turn this position right into a sideways roll, hopefully landing on top and in Alena’s guard! If she could get there, then her first mission would be to apply Alena’s wrists on her own chest and use that as a crutch to rise, draw a fist up and then drive it into Alena’s gut again!

[CaptainL]

For a moment, Alena had Spectre. She was right where she wanted her - pinned down beneath her, and lined up for the Russian girl to deliver the punishment she had been out to deal since she made her challenge. From such a vulnerable place, there was nothing Spectre could do to defend herself from the volley of hard-hitting punches raining down on her like hail. Ironically, the odds would only tip when Alena realized what she was doing wasn't working and decided to change tactics. Spectre's mask, she thought, was shielding her from the brunt of her blows. She would need to get past that if she wanted to really do some damage - and, in all her boldness and stubbornness, Alena could imagine no better way to bypass Spectre's defenses than breaking through that mask with sheer brute force. She was out to prove she wasn't afraid of Spectre; that she had what it took to bring her down. Now, when she directed her ire at the mask that had become an icon of Spectre just as much as her ruthless demeanor and her death-defying stunts, Alena wasn't just trying to get through to the soft and vulnerable center. She was out to shatter Spectre's image to the world; to show everyone she could be beaten!

Alena's eyes narrowed on her target. She could see the cracks beginning to form, and the pieces that were scattered from the grill every time the mask rattled and shook. Just a little more, she thought to herself - she just had to keep this up, but she was about to break through! She wouldn't dare stop now! But if she was so focused on Spectre's mask, that meant she wasn't as focused on the head it sat on. And that gave Spectre the opportunity to catch her breath and regroup. While Alena worked away futilely at the mask, Spectre could think through what she would do next. And she would soon put those plans into action! Right as Alena drew back her fist another time...Spectre's hands darted out with lightning speed, catching both of Alena's own!

Just then, everything ground to a halt. The grappler let out a gasp, no longer strung along by the adrenaline rush that could only come from bringing the dreaded Spectre to heel. In the heat of the moment, she'd been able to convince herself that her victory was assured - that every blow she landed was a step in the right direction. But now, Spectre had her under her control. And with that leverage...Spectre was going to act.

Alena felt her weight tip over to the side as Spectre forced her center of balance over. She toppled onto the side, and then onto her back. She was still reeling from the shock as Spectre braced her hands against her chest and forced herself to her feet. And she couldn't do anything to protect herself when Spectre's fist shot down, right onto her unprotected midsection!

The slap of knuckles against abs rang out through the air. Alena wailed in pain, twisting and turning from side to side as Spectre's fist drilled down deeper into her stomach. Her eyes began to water with tears of pain; her breaths became hoarse pants, and she looked up at the redhead through an eye that was squeezed into a squint. But the pain wouldn't stop Alena. It would only make her stronger - more determined to stand up to Spectre and show her that her evil ways wouldn't triumph. Even now, she wouldn't let herself be dominated! She tried to roll her hips to center her balance on the small of her back, and from there, to throw one leg around Spectre's arm, attempting to hook it around her elbow and pull it out to the side to try and offset her stance!

[Monsy]

Now this feels much better. Alena was squirming from just a fist driving down. She can only imagine when this became her boot. Or when she added height. Or when the force coming down isn’t all restricted by meagre stature and posture. Metal. She’d focus quite intently on her work. An artform taking shape by the twists of her wrist and weight of her shoulder, trying to carve out a very specific bruise. Though she had no idea on how to do that. No better place to experiment.

She was taken down with a leg wrapped around her arm. When the elbow couldn’t bend any further, her shoulder took the burden and made her lurch. She hit her face on the mat. Annoyance tinged with a tensed eyebrow. She placed her second hand down, elevated her hips, then turned inward towards Alena to get towards her back. Now both of their toes were pointing near each other’s heads.

Now Spectre sat up and curled over. Well. Attempted to.
She did so to reach and grab the heel of Alena by wrapping her arm underneath it, tucking it to her pit, then leaning back with it, attempting to free her second arm and isolate the leg. Because if and when she did, she’d immediately re-situate her grip. Her arm would go under the heel and come up over the calf, to which her second hand could lock. Then she’d squeeze, cranking the heel towards Spectre’s body counter-clockwise. A Heel Hook!

[CaptainL]

Alena had taken a nasty blow. Spectre's fist had all but drilled the air out of her lungs, and her midsection threatened to collapse inward against the pressure. A red splotch was painted across her belly, and she was sure it would give way to a bruise by the next morning. But Alena didn't have time to let that slow her down. In fact, she didn't even have time to think about it. Spectre was trying to get in the way of her momentum; to keep her down and control her. If there was one thing Alena couldn't stand for, though, it was the thought of being controlled. She was in wrestling to live her life as she wanted to live it - to carve out her own path, and to make a name for herself on her own merits, by virtue of her strength and tenacity alone. The last thing she would ever stand for was to let Spectre call the shots for her! And being at her mercy didn't push her toward despair - it just filled her with the burning will to resist!

Her legs shot out, going to grab Spectre by the arms and push her away. But Spectre, too, would adapt. She'd just roll with the momentum, turning herself around - and grabbing hold of Alena's leg! Unable to hold on against the leverage her opponent was applying, Alena's grip on the masked woman slipped away - which meant that Spectre had the opportunity to lock her arms around Alena's leg, bracing it in place so that she could twist her heel inward! Alena's body stiffened as she felt the torque on her joints; her teeth locked in a grimace, and her eyes watered from the pain. But she wasn't going to let that stop her. She'd vowed to fight back to the end, with every ounce of strength she had in her, and that was a promise she intended to keep!

Looking to brace herself, Alena leaned forward to grab onto her own leg, pulling back at it to limit how much Spectre would be able to rotate it. That would buy her some time - because with her other arm, she'd grab onto her own shin to pull it away from Spectre's legs as she threw herself to her back. Hopefully, that would pull her leg free of Spectre's grasp...because if she could do that, the Russian grappler would try to scissor Spectre's thigh while pushing down at her ankle to counter with a kneebar!

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrzZkbLgRFk

[Monsy]

It was the first time she rolled with a competitive and professional grappler outside of training. Alena was quick, knew what to do, didn’t stay idle for long, didn’t scream and became a machine for action. The two were tangled into each other. Legs over and under legs. Their bodies lay in opposite directions. Heel Hook formed. And in any moment, a finish was possible. A few front-row crowd members now stood to see the tangle better. The announcers were loud. And the referee was hovering above them, waiting to ask Alena if she submits…

But…

In a twist, Alena again switched it around. The crowd cheered. The announcer yelled with praise. “Excellent counter by Stepanova! The kneebar is in deep!--”

And Spectre did everything to hold it together. She balled her fists, threw her head back into the mat and then released a quiet, low grunt with an arched back. She glared, tightened her lips beneath her mask, heaved in with her chest then acted.

First, with Spectre on her hip, she would take her free leg and wedge it on the back of Alena’s knee. She shoved that leg up, hoping to break the scissor. If that happened, then the threat of being submitted was treated. For now. So she used that wedge to shove on Alena’s body as a whole, retracting her leg and hoping to slot it out from Alena’s hands.

Spoiler

And in the next moment, she predicted Alena would sit right up to avoid being tackled. And so Spectre gambled. She sat up as fast as she could, leaned towards Alena in an attempt to tackle her back down, then thrust her open hands towards her face. A thumb directly aimed to jab one of her eyes!

[CaptainL]

If Spectre had won the match here, no one would be particularly surprised. There were plenty of grappling competitions that had ended with a heel hook, and Spectre's had been masterfully executed. But she wasn't the only master of grappling in the ring right now. And not even in the grasp of a heel hook would Alena let herself be deterred. After all, she had been the one to seek out this challenge - and she wasn't about to fall short in it! As long as she could still stand and fight, as long as she still had a say in the matter, Alena was going to do everything in her power to ensure she would live up to the standards she'd set for herself. That she would be the one to conquer Spectre! And that had spurred her onward, enough for her to reverse Spectre's move into a kneebar!

The reversal had won Alena plenty of goodwill from the fans. They cheered, not just for her skill in her discipline, but for the fact that she was putting the feared Spectre in her place! However, as accomplished and as skillful of a grappler as Alena was...Spectre was just as talented. Their skills were on even footing. All of that had been quite apparent in how Alena had known how to counter every move that Spectre threw at her...but if everything was equal between them, it meant Spectre could just as easily counter her too.

Spectre was able to push her leg against Alena's. The Russian girl grit her teeth, growling under her breath; she tried to squeeze as hard as she could with her legs to prevent her opponent from breaking her hold, but in the end, Spectre was able to generate enough leverage to pull her leg out from Alena's embrace. Alena fell forward, going to her hands and knees, and she rubbed at her head to try and recenter herself and collect her thoughts. But by that point, Spectre was already upon her. When Alena felt her weight coming crashing into her from behind, she let out a yelp, falling flat onto her face. She tried to brace her hands against the mat and toss her weight from side to side to try and shake Spectre off...only for the masked woman to jab her in the eye!

Alena was well versed in submission grappling. As long as this match followed the rules of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, she would be prepared for anything. But in wrestling, there was far more to contend with - and Alena hadn't quite made the adjustment to everything this strange new world entailed. She wasn't used to opponents who were going to try and rake her eyes. So when Spectre jabbed a thumb into her eye, Alena let out a yelp, dropping down onto the mat as her legs kicked at the air! Her hands shot up to clutch at her face as she writhed in pain, but for now, she was open - and Spectre, no doubt, was far from finished.

[Monsy]

The crowd gasped at the eye assault, then jeered. Glares gripped many of the most visible in the closest rows. Their chests now ached for a quick comeback, to not slip against such cheats!

Come on, Alena -- many would think but not say.

The referee wasn’t certain, tempted to kneel down to investigate. But Spectre kept up the momentum to push on her newly gained advantage. Alena was vulnerable to Spectre's eyes, but not nearly enough. She sat up on their spine, grabbed a handful of their hair, held them towards the ground then slammed her fist into whatever was open. Even the back of her head would do for practice. One-punch. Two-punch.

“Regretting anything yet, Stepanova?”

She waited for a response, shaking out her hurting knuckles.

“You will.”

Three-punch. The crowd’s boo got a little louder. And Spectre felt an itch to see them cry. She slid her knees up, postured her feet down, stood while bent over and used the hair grip to pull Alena off the ground. Then she squatted on Alena’s back, knees hooked under Alena’s pits. She then worked on trying to break Alena’s grip to situate her arms over Spectre’s thighs where they’re supposed to be.

If she completed the setup, then she attacked by grabbing Alena’s chin with one hand while a second grip made a claw over Alena’s face, with her index and middle finger hooking the tip of Alena’s nose. Both pulled back with Spectre’s TUG, executing a villainous camel clutch!