A Maiden's Maiden Match: Zhu Chao-Xing (D) vs Alice Evans

[ReticentCone]

When Chao-Xing finally came to, it was while she was being hoisted on to Alice's shoulders. In a standard match and in many hardcord matches, she'd have already lost, there and then. But match stipulations were clear. The winner had to be alone on the wooden platform for a full 10 seconds. Which meant not only sending one's opponent of the platform, but rendering them in capable of climbing up onto the platform.

One consequence of this was that one might well pull off a match ending move on the platform and still need to deposit their opponent of the platform. Of course, you could remove them from the platform any way. But the smartest thing to do was to take the opportunity to truly finish them off while helpless. The Crimson Lotus intended this for Alice, but now Alice would be doing it to to her.

Chao-Xing wish she was in position to fight back, but she absolutely wasn't. Alice was incredibly tired, but so was Zhu, except, she'd also just been dropped on her head. When the movement stopped, she knew what was coming and waited for how she'd be tossed over. To her horror, she could immediately tell. Alice was sending her off the platform head first. Between the lift and the height of the platform, she was set to drop nearly 10 feet on top of her head. Her neck took the piledriver, but this? Chao-Xing desperately threw her arms ahead of her to brace herself as she plummeted...

Crack!

The audience wouldn't know, right away but the crack was not of Zhu's neck, but of the wooden pallets below the padding around the platform. Had Alice picked her up even a moment earlier, the Crimson Lotus could've become the Crippled Lotus in her debut match. Which wasn't to say she was in any shape to keep fighting despite avoiding the worst.

1...

The count started for her opponent being alone on the wooeden platform and Chao-Xing, still sprawled on the ground hadn't stired beyond breathing and settling into a supine position.

2...

Anyone looking closely would have noticed that Chao-Xing's head turned in an attempt to catch sight of her foe. She was conscious, lbut the pain was so unbearable, she almost wished that she wasn't.

3...

The Macao women's right leg curdled as she grabbed her head with both hands while in obvious pain, as if she was trying to press her head back together.