A Lesson in Submissions | Morgan Pendragon vs. Halloween Sonohara

[3ho]

Callie found herself running through the corridors of the venue for LAW today. On her day off. It wasn't her first choice but when she caught wind of the line-up today, she had to hurry over before it was too late.

Morgan had her first singles match.

Alone. While not exactly being good at wrestling. Okay, that is Callie being nice. She was bad. Not awful but to put it in a measurable way, Callie always thought she was at the Do's and Don'ts level of knowledge in how to wrestle. A simple list of things that she should do and not do. She was not even close to strategy guide levels yet.

The Indie found herself rounding a corner towards the ready rooms but lucked out to catch Morgan on her way out right now.

"Morgan!" Callie called out, waving. It might have been fine if her opponent was another Young Lioness but this was against someone in the main roster. One of two people who already faced her and probably knows she isn't at a heightened level yet. It wasn't even the one that might take it easy. Halloween might have been the worst person to face on the roster right now.

"Oh hey, Callie. Come to wish me good luck?" Morgan giggled, raising a hand to cover her mouth. She was already dressed and ready to go.

Morgan

"Why'd you rush to sign up for a singles match? Maybe in a couple tag matches, you'd be ready but right now-" Callie was cut off by Morgan, "So get this, I was pulled aside after our match last week for an interview. They asked what is next so I thought I would say a singles match. I mean at that point as I was all sweaty and gross so the lights probably caught that made me look like I was shining and we were riding that victory still so I..."

She kept going, rambling. Was she nervous, Callie thought. It was tough to tell because Morgan sometimes rambled.

"...and that's how I got scheduled for a singles match. It should be fun!"

Callie remained motionless. What?

"Morgan, maybe I sh-"

"Oh hey! My song! Hold that thought and wait to celebrate a win for me!"

Morgan pranced off towards entrance. Callie was going to offer going to ringside, but she had a feeling that maybe she didn't want to watch this match.

As for Morgan, she didn't even feel nervous. She had been on stage hundreds, no, thousands of times in her lifetime. This was no different as she emerged to sparkle of cameras going off, the lights overhead and her music being blasted. She hopped over to the ramp and then threw her arms up to the cue of setting off a flare of fireworks that went off. Only her color this time because Callie wasn't with her.

She skipped down the ramp, making sure to offer a few fans high fives, she even pulled a card from her wrist band and gave it to a lucky fan <3.

Sliding into the ring, Morgan bounced back up to her feet and readied for her singles debut to begin!

[BlackAkuma]

And she wouldn’t be waiting for long.

The moment Morgan’s music died down, the lights began to fade. One by one, a dimness set in over the arena, shadows creeping out of every corner. First, the arena lights went off. The advertisements flickered and faltered, one by one, as if they all malfunctioned at the same time. This, in itself, was nothing new to the LAW crowd - it seemed like some wrestler made her entrance by turning off the lights every week. But this was different. Darker. Dangerous.

The gloom brought with it a cool chill that froze the veins, weaving its way through the seat. As if a dread hand was sifting among them, looking for a soul to claim.

Next came the fog. In the blackness, a thick glowing steam emanated from beneath the ring, billowing and flowing over the floor, a miasma that seemed to move on its own accord. Working its way through the barricade, it slithered through the audience, working its way around them and taking them in its gloomy embrace. Screams emanated from the shadows. Shouts. Cries. Hollers, inhuman and human alike.

Those shouts turned to groans and moans, as figures shambled their way out of the smog, working their way around the ring in a dread march. What little could be seen of them was ghastly. Their flesh, palid and pale, sagging on their bloated, bleeding bodies. Rife with corruption and decay, reeking of the grave. Walking corpses, moving along as if puppeted by an unseen force.

Something dark. Something arcade. Something evil.

They made their way up the ramp as a red glow bathed the entryway, and a single small, silhouette made its way out of the curtain. The figure was unmistakable, even as the dead walkers swarmed around her: Halloween Sonohara was here.

The lights came on all at once, revealing the Scream Queen amidst her zombie horde as her

played, blasting out at full volume through the arena.

♪”You hear the screeching of an owl, you hear the wind begin to howl
You know there's zombies on the prowl!”♪

Halloween danced through the horde, twisting and swinging and flipping as they jerked and juked around her, moving like some insane parody of a dance hall. Looking wild and free, she raced through thick cloud, scrambled up on the apron, straddled the turnbuckle and banged her head along with the music, totally lost in the mad chaos of it all.

♪”It's terror time again
They got you running through the night!
It's terror time again
And you just might die of fright!
It's a terrifying time!”♪

Halloween brought her hands about her hand and clapped, summoning a bolt of lightning that flashed through the air above them. The lights flickered once more, another moment of pure darkness, and when they came back, the undead horde was no more - just Halloween, Morgan, the cheering crowd, and a bewildered referee. ”Whew! Feels good!” She hopped off the turnbuckle and sauntered her way to the center of the ring, waving to Morgan as she went. ”Rubia, hey. Missed me that much, couldn't stay away?”

[3ho]

Oooo dark and scary.

Morgan watched as the effects around the stadium slowly trickled in like a creeping dread in a horror movie. She titled her head and watched, as a fellow performer, she took notes on the things she request to use for her entrances because she only knew about the fireworks. It seemed like there were fog machines, AC, and every digital screen and light in the arena. She could probably do a couple of cool illusions that way. She had thought about one to make her appear in the stage after some grandiose pomp but that would some construction under the ring which the league wasn't too keen on. Too dangerous, they say.

Fair, but Morgan was just a little disappointed.

The screams and cries were interesting. Morgan didn't like them, though, because they were too scary for her. It didn't make audiences want to cheer or be dazzled but cower. A cowering audience was not an attentive one.

Then came the appearance of zombies. Creepy though they were, Morgan's eyes went wide with possibilities. Actors??? They can use actors in their entrances? What the heck? Why had management been so stingy when they gave her entrance options. She wanted actors to make disappear as she walked down, maybe one for each victory she had. That was a fun idea.

All of this spooky scary was kind of funny to Morgan as she watched Halloween dance her way through the horde of zombies and onto the ramp. Halloween was the least scary appearing person she had probably ever seen. Well, second to Lovers because they were small and cute. Halloween would probably not be happy to hear that so Morgan had to be sure to tell her.

Onto the turnbuckle. Morgan had to admit, this was catchy. She wasn't a rock person, but she knew a catchy theme when she heard one, Though she had to admit, again, the soundtrack didn't quite play to horrifyingly scary, so it clashed with the really creepy build up. If anything, this reminded her of Scooby-Doo. Halloween should consider a super Kitch-y intro. Get rid of the spooky realistic zombies and get a monster mash of creatures dancing with her. Maybe doing the Monster Mash. That would be fun. Morgan would have to give Halloween her notes sometimes.

Anyway, that was over in another lights out moment with the zombies clearing out and it was just left to the two of them.

Morgan waved back. "You would never really believe how I got started on ending up in a singles match. I could go on, but I think they just wanted someone similar. Or maybe they think we are feuding, huh. You're not mad that I beat you in a tag team match? That could be a feud especially when I win here tonight." Morgan, as habit, giggled like she normally did.

[BlackAkuma]

Hm. Callie wasn’t here.

Halloween had kind of expected her to, what with her and Morgan being partners and all, but it wasn’t any big deal. Probably wanted to give the rookie some space, let her fly solo, leaving the nest and all that. Maybe not the wisest choice, considering how quick the woman had been to get weird in their tag match even when she was supervised, but hey - you had to learn sometime, right? Experience could be a great teacher, and Halloween planned to give her a lot of it.

For her part, Lovers had just been too busy to come, doing…whatever Lovers got up to in her free time. Halloween frankly had no idea what the woman occupied her time with when she wasn’t being watched, and getting a straight answer from her could be like pulling hen’s teeth. But if she could be here, she would be here. Especially since Morgan was here, as well.

She wasn’t about to tell the blonde this now, but she’d been the topic of discussion more than a few times since they parted ways, with Lovers taking quite the shine to her. In fact, when she’d heard about this match, Lovers had explicitly requested that Halloween didn’t go too hard on the poor thing, a promise that Halloween tepidly agreed to. A lot of it was going to come down to how much or how little this woman pissed her off tonight. They’d see.

”Pfft, dme, mad? No, never, kind of, sort of, maybe, a little.” She shrugged and waved it off. ”Honestly, was more mad about being in that match in the first place. Lovers sprung it on me out of nowhere, just out of the blue, when she knows we’ve been broke up since…”

She shook her head, not wanting to get into this now. Not Morgan’s business, not even close. ”Forget it. No partners tonight, just you and Dama De Los Muertos. Before we start, though, I got one question for you. Just a small thing.”

She leaned and licked her lips, as a slim smile began to creep along her face. ”What’s your favorite scary movie?”

[3ho]

Ooo drama.

Morgan had a sense that Lovers and Halloween had a little bit of a messy breakup on account of them arguing about it while she was held in a submission hold. She still hadn't really gotten over that one but it took hindsight to really see it. It is like, come on guys, really. Am I joke to you? But Morgan had to admit, it was funny. Kind of.

Anyway, Halloween had a question for her. The blonde tilted her head as it was a curious request. What question would she have right now? How awesome she is? Just how she does it? Wrestling pointers? That last one would be funny and that is probably what Morgan would ask herself in Halloween's position.

What's her favorite scary movie?

Oh.

No, actually that question was on brand for Halloween. It was in the name after all. She raised a finger and tapped at her cheek, even puffing up one of her cheeks to express the thoughtfulness in a cuter way. "Hmm..." She hummed in thought. Her family weren't really movie people so she hadn't seen a lot. They were on the road a lot so as a kid, she did watch Scooby-Doo a lot. That's why she thought of Scooby-Doo earlier. Would Halloween accept that as an answer? It did have a monster in it. Probably not.

"Oh, hey!" That was a fun movie and it was scary. "Coraline. It still had a cute style and it was really scary." Morgan, crossed her arms under her breasts and nodded satisfied with her answer. It was uniquely her choice, still scary, and an unexpected pick. She definitely had Halloween figured out.

[BlackAkuma]

Ah, Coraline. 2009, stop-motion, directed by Henry Selik, based the Neil Gaimen novel of the same name. Not Halloween’s favorite, but she had watched it quite a bit in her younger years, one of the earliest movies she could remember. She was always a sucker for stop-motion, such a lost art form these days, and she loved its quirky, off-beat style. 4 out of 5 skulls…no, no, she was feeling generous. 4 and a half.

”’Be wise, be brave, be tricky.’ Nice pick.” She gave the woman a quick nod, acknowledging her taste. ”Okay, chica, I’m ready.” She snapped her fingers. “Let’s wake the dead.”

Preambles out of the way. Time to dance.

The referee called for the bell and Halloween kicked them off with a slow stroll around the ring, not engaging straight away. Though they’d both been in a match together before, Halloween had the sense she better under Morgan’s style than the woman understood hers. She was young. Brash. Energetic. Headstrong. Granted, all those things could be said about Halloween, too, but she’d been in the wrestling game longer and had a better idea of how to get down. That was something she could use against the blonde.

After a few step, she moved forward with arms up, challenging Morgan to lock with her for a collar-and-elbow tie-up.

[3ho]

Morgan was pleased. She didn't know many movies off of the top of her head but that was one, because it probably was her favorite scary movie. She liked pleasing people and teasing them right out of their skin. The two were not mutually exclusive. Speaking of, Halloween was long overdue to be teased and tricked.

"OoOo waking the dead." She howled like a ghost waving her arms in front. "SpooOoOoky, huh~" She continued before finally breaking into a giggle as she approached her opponent.

There was nothing at the beginning aside from some stepping around. It was a little boring. Much to slow for Morgan's taste but finally her opponent approached, and the blonde's grin widened like she was hiding something. Whether Halloween suspected something or not, didn't matter because right as Morgan went in to match that tie-up, the blonde brought her hands together in a clap right before her opponent's face.

The act itself was unusual but the immediate aftermath was chaos as a flurry of 51 cards flew out into Halloween's face just as Morgan opened her hands. It was a tidal wave of cards that crashed and scattered every which way. Very distracting cards. Cards that liked to block vision. Those kind of cards.

While Halloween was dealing with that, Morgan slipped around to her backside to try and sneakily end this match before it even began. She lifted an arm to wrap in between her opponent's legs, pulling Halloween down onto her back in a sneaky roll-up pin that Morgan leaned her weight into.

The ref blinked, still stunned but quickly slid in to start the count.

"1..!"

[BlackAkuma]

What could Halloween say? She had her traditions. She liked to start her matches with a little trivia, got her more in the mood for things. Sometimes, it even gave her a better idea of where her opponent’s mind was at, their thought processes, how they got down—all vital information.

Plus it was fun, and Halloween was all about the fun. Both the holiday and the wrestler.

Seemed like Morgan was of much the same mind. It looked like the two of them were about to get down to business, and she moved in, eager to kick things off, only to find herself dealing with a flurry of cards. Halloween yelped at the shock of it, taken off guard by the magic trick, and her opponent used that time wisely. The next thing Halloween knew, she was taking an express ride to the canvas, dropped flat on her back and pinned.

The referee was just bringing her hand down a second time when Halloween kicked out, swung her legs up, and rolled away on her shoulder. She popped up to her feet and kept going until her back was up against the turnbuckle. She stayed there for a moment, until her look of shock changed into a wry grin.

”Oh, ho, ho. You know a little magic, too, huh? Dabbling in the dark arts? Cute.” She came out of the corner and raised her hands again, this time looking for a Test of Strength. ”But you’ll need more than ‘cute’ to beat me, chica. You’re dealing with the original Black Magic Woman.”

[3ho]

Morgan suspected she wouldn't be quite so lucky to nail a pin off of the opening move with a little underhanded move, but man, would it be funny if she did. She'd never let Halloweenie live that one down.

Perhaps another day she'd get a victim for her trick. Oh well.

Rising to her feet she stood in the center as Halloween deduced something Morgan had thought was quite obvious. "Weelll yeah... I'm a magician and escape artist ever since I was a child." Morgan lifted her shoulders in a lazy shrug. Maybe she needed a new ring outfit to help convey that. She looked cute and she had sex appeal, too, but where was the magician in it? Thoughts for later, for now she had tackle something that was starting to gnaw on her.

"Who is or what is a Black Magic Woman and what is being the thing about being the original one?"

Morgan asked but she didn't really care much for an answer as she Weenie approaching again, this time with her hands out like she was a bear. Oh, the test of strength. She could probably out stretch the Shrimp.

"Oooh thinking you can out strength me, huh~ Well you are quite a shrimp, Weenie, so let's find out!"

Morgan chirped as she lunged and met Halloween's grip, hand-to-hand, in a lock as she began to try and use her height to press Halloween down to her knees.

[BlackAkuma]

Halloween supposed she should’ve been mad about that little trick, but she couldn't find it in herself to be, really. She was no stranger to using tricks from time to time, and if she’d known how to do it, she could easily see herself doing something like that—a good way to get over on a slower opponent.

But Halloween wasn’t slow, not one bit. She was fast. Fast enough to lock down this little trickster? Oh, she thought so. There was one way to fight out, she knew that much.

”Carlos Santana.” She wiggled her fingers and prepared to engage, as the referee moved about them and hurriedly kicked the cards out of the ring, using her shoe like a broom. ”Look him up once I’m done pinning you, chica.”

Undeterred by Morgan’s slight height advantage, Halloween came over to meet her and locked horns, pitting their power against each other. While she was strong for her size, the blonde was for hers, too and that was enough for her to win the war between them on this front. Soon enough, Halloween found herself getting forced down, down, down to a knee, buckling under the pressure.

Not a contest she was winning, so why even try? She let go all at once and threw Morgan’s hand to the side, breaking away in a swift motion. At the same time, she threw herself to the side, kicked out her legs, tried to snag Morgan’s calves between them, then spun about, attempting to make her foe fall flat on her face with a drop toehold.