Never say it couldn't get any worse

[skip-stop]

“Charlotte, wait!.." Victoria exclaimed.

“I have nothing more to say to you,” the Frenchwoman replied, shaking her head. “I'll let you know when I'm ready.”

With these words, Charlotte Ravel' left her manager's office.

Charlotte Ravel'

Once in the corridor, the pink-haired woman took a deep breath to try to calm her emotions. She was well aware that Victoria's entire team had been going through difficult times lately. Karen lost all possible matches. Nerissa lost the most important rivalry of her life and two matches in the tournament after that. Lily lost two of the most emotional matches for her. Even Lunara managed to embarrass herself in a non-hentai match first, and then lose the lead in the hentai division.

“But they all have nothing to do with you...” Charlotte reminded herself in a low voice.

When she reached the elevator, she pressed the button, and then closed her eyes. Of course, her career started very well. Until she lost to Amy Evans. It was one of the qualifying matches of the Apex event. Yes, it didn't really affect the final result, because in the end she won her final Apex match and got the opportunity to claim the openweight title. But for her, it was one of the hardest defeats of her career.

After entering the elevator and pressing the lobby button, the pink-haired woman involuntarily bit her lower lip. She still remembers the moment when Amy declared before the match that she was better than Charlotte and that her victory was literally a foregone conclusion. In that match, the pink-haired woman gave more than one hundred percent, but it wasn't enough. Amy really turned out to be better than her, despite all the efforts she put in.

As she rode the elevator down to the lobby of LAW headquarters, Charlotte couldn't stop thinking about it. After Amy's defeat, she managed to get her career back on track. She won some very high-profile and important matches. She had the determination and unwavering desire to make her dream come true. She wanted to escape from her past as far as possible.

Once upon a time, she was completely different. She was an uncontrollable monster who beat her own sister to a pulp. Since then, Charlotte has found a new path. She tried to take control of her emotions and no longer allow to happen the situation that made her change her whole life.

After exiting the elevator, she slowly walked towards the exit through the lobby.

Heavy thoughts continued to overcome her. Yes, she rebuilt her career after losing to Amy. But then, after several successful matches, she lost to Yumie, thereby paving the way for her match against Astrid. The Frenchwoman strongly blamed herself for this defeat because she had let down her friend, who had trusted her. But anyway, it didn't really affect her position in the middleweight division, because after all, Yumie was a heavyweight.

So Charlotte got her title shot against Kyoko.

She got a chance to make her dream come true.

And she failed.

No matter how, she lost. Defeat is defeat. And now the Sand Lizard felt as empty as ever. She might never get a chance to become a champion again. She might never get a chance to escape far enough from her past again. All the way she's come in the last seven years of her life has been in vain. Thinking about this, the martial arts master felt a wild pain in her heart area.

“Merde...” she muttered in French.

It couldn't get any worse.

[Teenwrestler]

The business of professional wrestling or rather any type of combat sports was a complicated one. Most people who do well in this business believe that you cannot and should not trust anyone in the world of combat sports. Anyone and everyone is a enemy and target. Managers, friends and even family have the potential of turning against you if that benefits them or their career in any way. A wise man once said that there are no friends in pro-wrestling and that emotions such as those are weakness. That all applied to LAW equally as well, but with a hentai division- things would only get even more complicated! Nonetheless, the second star of this story really never delved into those matches.

Enter Ami Takeuchi. The blue haired supermodel who had gained success in LAW (and AFW before that), much more success than people thought she would ever get. A former Tension world champion in AFW, and had some decent wins here at LAW with the most recent one coming against Armando Rodriguez. Her wins were certainly not without controversy but she did not care. She believed in one thing only and that was winning. She was not here to make friends, allies or managers. She was here to win wrestling matches which is why she believed she was a cut above the rest.

Spoiler

Of course, one would not presume Ami's rather vicious and mean nature judging by her looks. A former supermodel, Ami had the looks of a innocent and ditzy woman but she was far more cunning than she looked. She would choose her opponents carefully, and of course if anything ever went bad- she would have her brother and boyfriend bail her out. Which is why she was going to target one individual in particular.

Charlotte Ravel.

Ami had a bone to pick with Charlotte for two reasons. One, her career was on a downward spiral. Having lost her recent rivalry match, failed in a tournament and even lost a title match. Two, Charlotte's victory over Ami's beloved brother. The bluenette believe Charlotte would be a easy victory, her head was not in the right space and a losing streak would break anyone's confidence and momentum. Plus, revenge is a great motivator and Ami's desire to get revenge for Daisuke was strong.

The bluenette picked her moment well, waiting to intercept the pink haired Frenchwoman while she was walking in the lobby towards the exit. Ami was near the exit door, leaning against the wall with her arms folded under her chest with a smirk on her lips when she saw Charlotte approach. "Kanojo ga iru. Ano bakana pinku kami no bitchi. Ā, ano bakana kao ni wa gamandekinai [There she is. That stupid pink haired bitch. God, I cant stand her stupid face.]" Ami would say, her left eye twitching a bit as she tried to control her temper.

The supermodel would then begin a slow-clap for Charlotte, clearly mocking her. "Well well well, look who we have here! A failure walking out to the exit door? You were gifted so many opportunities to make a name for yourself here and what did you do? Oh that's right, you blew it!" Ami said in a sneery tone. "Weellll its no surprise! I think your manager is losing her touch for recruiting losers like you and the rest of the losers she's working with. OH! Wait- hahaha" she laughed, pointing at Charlotte. "It must really suck to see your blonde friend be the champion and get all the fame, while you're at the bottom? I hope you're not jealous of her! After all, she's the only one who's achieved anything of worth from your stupid little group" Ami mocked, clearly looking to stir the pot.

[skip-stop]

Trapped in her own thoughts, Charlotte hardly noticed anything around her. Acting almost automatically, she just wanted to leave the headquarters, order an Uber and go home. No more, no less. Because of so many negative thoughts, she even had a slight headache. After this series of unfortunate events, she really thought it couldn't get any worse, so she wanted to believe that at least a little peace would do her good.

However, when she was just a few steps away from leaving the building, she heard applause, or rather very slow and sarcastic handclaps. At first, the Frenchwoman did not even pay attention to this because it could not even occur to her that this was referring to her. But then the words reached her ears, which made Charlotte raise her head and look at the woman to whom those words belonged.

“Beg your pardon?” Charlotte did not understand, raising her left eyebrow.

Yes, even though no names were mentioned, it wasn't difficult for her to understand that this blue-haired woman was talking about her. Charlotte really missed the biggest opportunity of her life. However, this woman was a complete stranger to her, so the pink-haired woman's first reaction was surprise. However, then…

“What?" At the mention of her manager, Victoria, the martial arts master's eyes widened and her palms involuntarily clenched into fists.

All of this, of course, was unexpected, but she finally began to understand the essence of what was happening. Whoever this woman was, she was definitely aware of everything that had happened in Charlotte's life lately. And, damn it, she knew exactly the right leverage. Victoria was one of the people Charlotte treasured more than anyone else in the world. Victoria had done hundreds and perhaps even thousands of times more for her than her own mother, and therefore it was unbearable for Charlotte to listen to all this. Yet…

The Japanese woman moved on to the final part of her tirade, touching on Charlotte's best friend Astrid. At this point, both her fists and her entire body began to shake. No, she had never envied Astrid, this woman had always been a role model for her, the best warrior she had ever known, the best wrestler this federation could deserve.

“But you really couldn't achieve what she did...” a voice sounded in her head.

That voice didn't belong to Charlotte. She hadn't heard that voice in a very long time. That voice had haunted her for years. But she thought she had found her way. She hadn't heard her younger sister's voice since. And now again... again, she heard that voice that completely agreed with the words of that blue-haired woman. The only thing Charlotte wanted at that moment was to rush forward and hit this stranger.

“You...” she said through clenched teeth.

Her emotional state was extremely unstable. Everything she'd ever wanted had turned to dust. She was a monster back in days. But she devoted seven years of her life to fix it. If she became a champion, she would be able to prove that all this way was not in vain. But now it's just a pipe dream. She wanted to defeat Kyoko and prove that she was more than the piece of shit she once was. But now…

“Who are you again?” She had to put together all the willpower she had left after she lost the opportunity to fulfill her dream. “I don't know you, and you don't know me at all, so fuck off!”

It was well known to those who were close to Charlotte that she almost never swears. However, it was the real cry of her soul at this moment. She was still a fighter. She was still trying to adhere to her moral code. She was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but she still wanted to maintain some dignity. That's why she gathered her strength and decided to avoid conflict. She didn't know this woman, so she did her best to ignore everything she had just heard and just continue on her way out of the headquarters.

[Teenwrestler]

If there was one talent that Ami had beyond the talent of her exceptionally good looks and wrestling talent, was the ability to piss anyone off. The bluenette certainly had a way with words and was quite infamous for her verbal spats over tweets and generally when interacting with people in the gym or locker room. However, this was not just her insulting a random stranger that she met and did not like but it sounded personal. It would be strange though, why would it be personal because Charlotte and Ami had never met. So why then, would Ami personally take the time to find Charlotte and really hit the words where they were going to hurt the Pinkette?

The answer was simple. Family.

Daisuke had helped Ami quite alot in her early career, whether it be training, interfering in matches and even helping her win the Tension world championship back in AFW. However, once she was an established wrestler, the two went their own ways but would still help the other if the time ever name. The time had indeed come now. Ami saw what Charlotte did to her brother, and this was going to be revenge.

Her words really stung the Pinkette, and Ami would have a sadistic grin on her face when she saw Charlotte get really angry at her. Her plan worked flawlessly. "I'm Ami Takeuchi and I'm going to be your worst nightmare, bitch" she said in a cruel manner. "Ohhhoo sooo scary!" she pretended to be scared when Charlotte told her to F off. "I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying right here. The only one that is going to leave is you. That' right, I just insulted you and called you for what you are, A LOSER." she said, making an L with her fingers in front of Charlotte's face.

"And guess what are you going to do about it? Oh that's right. Not. A. DAMN. Thing. You're going to continue walking out of this door, you're going to go home and cry about what a loser and failure you are. Then you're gonna quit LAW because you fumbled the biggest match of yoru career" she continued.

"So if anyone is going to 'fuck off' it's going to be you" she said, pointing at Charlotte. The bluenette's plan was simple, she was going to piss the pinkette off to try and tip her over the edge.

[skip-stop]

Seven years of continuous self-improvement, seven years of trying to take full control of emotions. Yes, since she joined LAW, she has several times found herself on the very edge where she could not always control herself, but each time she managed to suppress all internal impulses. Exactly until recent events. A series of failures, which led to the complete destruction of her dreams, greatly shaken Charlotte's morale.

That's why she decided to just leave Ami behind. It was the easiest and safest option because she was fully aware that she couldn't make rational decisions right now. Her heart was beating at breakneck speed, so she hurried to take a few steps towards the exit. However, there was one problem. Apparently, this blue-haired woman wasn't going to let her go so easily.

As if out of nowhere, she stood right in front of the Frenchwoman, which made Charlotte snort nervously. However, then she heard something that made both her eyebrows rise again. She finally found out the name of this woman who appeared in her life like the devil out of a snuffbox. Ami Takeuchi. The sister of the black-haired guy whose ass Charlotte had kicked not so long ago, provided that he was the one who challenged her to the match, choosing the conditions that, in his opinion, should have given him an undeniable advantage.

“Takeuchi...” Charlotte said with obvious disdain. “Explains a lot...”

Not wanting to have anything to do with Ami or her brother anymore, Charlotte was about to take a step towards the exit again. Let this blue-haired idiot continue to send her insults in the back, it doesn't concern her at all.

At least that's what she thought until Ami mentioned that Charlotte was going to leave LAW because she lost her middleweight title shot. It was at this moment that something clicked inside the Frenchwoman. All her efforts to become a worthy champion flew before her eyes. And then all her recent failures flew before her eyes, including her loss for the middleweight title.

At that moment, she lost control.

It was as if someone else had taken over her body and mind.

The monster she was seven years ago.

Completely out of control, she grabbed Ami by the collar with both hands.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs at the entire lobby.

Only then Charlotte regained control of both her body and her mind. It was only now that she fully realized what she had just done. It was only now that she discovered that the heads of literally all the visitors to the headquarters were turned towards her. She was still holding Ami by the collar, her breathing was ragged, and her heart was about to burst out of her chest. She knew that this situation could not be fixed, there was no way back.

“Not a damn thing?” She asked, then gritted her teeth and pulled Ami a little closer to her. “You're wrong, bitch!” Even though she could control herself, there was still undisguised hatred in her voice, which was completely uncharacteristic of Charlotte. “What I'm going to do is kick your sorry ass, just like I did with the cowardly jerk you call brother!” Charlotte understood that this was probably what Ami wanted, but she didn't care anymore. “I challenge you to a standard match, Ami Takeuchi, and when you fall, I will make you choke on every word you said!”

After that, Charlotte pushed Ami back, thereby releasing her. All the heads in the lobby were still turned towards her, many even started filming what was happening on their phones. But that didn't bother the Frenchwoman at all. She had already lost everything she could, and she had nothing more to lose. At least that's what she was thinking at that very second.

[Teenwrestler]

Judging by the state that the Pinkette was in, the supermodel knew that it would not take too much to get under her skin. She had lost one of the biggest opportunities in her life as a wrestler at LAW and all Ami had to do was kick Charlotte when she was already down. To her credit though, she was doing a pretty good job at suppressing her emotions but Ami knew how to get her to react, all she had to do was keep pushing and pushing before really firing the dagger right in her heart. Hit Charlotte where it would hurt the most to solicit the reaction and oh boy did her plan work. The Pinkette would suddenly grab Ami by the collar and scream at her to shut up. Ami was unphased, she simply smirked while watching her masterplan unfold. She had broken Charlotte.

All eyes were now focused on the commotion, with others ready to intervene if fists were thrown. Ami was not going to stoop to that level just yet, however, if Charlotte started the fight here and now, Ami would have no problems finishing it either. Ami got pulled in closer, still maintaining that evil smirk on her face while she heard Charlotte rant. Calling her brother a coward made Ami narrow her eyes and get angry a bit but she still did her best to remain calm.

Then, she got what she wanted. A match against Charlotte Ravel. The supermodel was soon let go and she staggered back, fixing her collar and dusting her shoulders to mock Charlotte. She chuckled a bit, placing her hands on her hips while staring at the Frenchwoman. "Oh, I accept. We'll see who chokes...I mean you have a history of choking, right? You choked the biggest match of your career so I don't see why you won't do it again?" she said in a low, menacing tone.

"I'll see you in the ring, bitch" she would say grinning, now eager to face the Frenchwoman in this personal match.

[skip-stop]

Adrenaline and rage continued to flow through Charlotte's veins even after she released Ami. Yes, she was starting to think more clearly than when she grabbed the blue-haired woman by the collar, but she still felt a wild urge to tear the bitch to pieces. For the first time in a very long time, the Frenchwoman almost completely lost control of herself. Normally, it would have scared her, but right now she didn't care at all.

As expected, Ami happily accepted Charlotte's challenge, because that's exactly what she wanted from the very beginning. Another taunt from the Japanese woman made Charlotte grit her teeth. Every time Ami reminded her of the title match, the pink-haired woman seemed to reach a boiling point with a snap of the fingers. However, it didn't last long. After getting what she wanted, Ami said goodbye to Charlotte with another insult.

“Go fuck yourself, bitch...” the Frenchwoman growled after her.

It wasn't until Ami disappeared from her field of vision that Charlotte finally began to notice what was happening around her. It was only now that she realized how many people around had witnessed this scene. Some of them had phones in their hands, which clearly hinted that in the next few minutes loud headlines with Charlotte's participation would appear on the Internet.

This made the pink-haired woman snort in annoyance. Surely Victoria will not be happy about these events. On the other hand, Charlotte was in absolutely no mood to think about anyone else right now. This brazen bitch dared to hurt what little remained of the honor and dignity of the Frenchwoman. And Charlotte couldn't just let it go. She simply had no other choice.

Trying to ignore the people around her, she headed out of the headquarters. Her heart was still racing. Perhaps somewhere very deep in her soul she realized that she had made a mistake. Decisions made in a fit of emotion were rarely the right ones, she knew that well. It didn't matter, though. She had dealt with Daisuke, which meant she could handle this vile woman. Maybe that was exactly what she needed.

Yes, that's right. Ami will be the first step that will help Charlotte get out of the hole she found herself in. It can't be any other way. At least that's what she told herself in her head as she left LAW headquarters.