Crimson Legacy vs. Bambi and Thumper - Odd Man Out

[BlackAkuma]

Betty was having a good time. Too good, in fact - she honestly felt like she could’ve danced with Makie all day long, and a small part of her was wishing this had been a singles match so she could take her time and really - really - get to know the woman better. But, alas, that wasn’t what they were here for.

Not today. Tomorrow…well, who knew? She still intended to be in LAW for a while.

But no, this was a tag match, which meant she had Alex on hand, which meant Betty would need to tag out if she wanted to have sex tonight, which she very much did. So to the corner she went, pushing Makie, trying to get her in range for a little two-on-one action.

That was the idea, anyway, until Makie suddenly flipped the script and spun out of it, leaving Betty to stumble forward on awkward toes. She nearly smacked her face on the pads and abruptly spun about, face flushed, but Alex tapped her on the shoulder before she could get back in the action. ”I’m up.”

It wasn’t a suggestion. Alex said it calmly enough, but Betty knew the tone when there were no options being offered. She just shrugged, blew a quick kiss Makie’s way, then made her way through the ropes as her partner slid inside.

She didn’t approach Makie right away. Instead she kept her position and rolled her shoulders, looking her way, then beyond to her brother. She gave a slight nod. ”If you want to tag in your brother, I won’t stop you.” She folded her arms and titled her head to the side. Just a couple of degrees. ”I’m curious to see how far the apple fell from the tree.”

[Underdoggo]

If Makie was honest, she was enjoying this match a lot more than she thought she would. Betty was, so far, reliably matching her in the speed and skill department, and even though she was engaging in a fair bit of trash talk, she wasn't coming across as heelish or outright villainous as Makie was expecting. Plus, it was downright refreshing to have someone she could effectively banter with. She nearly managed to slam Betty back-first against the corner post. Nearly. This, though, at least gave Makie enough time to roll free and put some breathing space between them.

As she backpedaled, however, Betsy's teammate made the tag; almost instantly, the much, much taller Alex slid into the ring, looking at her like she would at her next plaything. She glanced at her, then at Kyo, and gave her the offer to go tag in her brother. Makie's response was to look Alex up and down, giving her a quick, appreciative look over.

"Nah," she said, "but I'm think I'm good right n--"

And then her shoulder was tapped.

She spun around. Kyo was leaning through the ropes, extending his arm far enough to tap Makie's shoulder. "My turn," he said, simply.

"BRO!" Makie exclaimed. "I had this under control! I was going to..." She stopped herself in mid-sentence, realizing that, as much as she hated it, it made sense to tag at this stage. Reluctantly, she rolled under the ropes, allowing Kyo into the ring.

"Sorry about that," Kyo said, nonchalantly rolling his shoulders as he circled Alex, looking over her with an analytical eye before settling into a crouch, motioning for a proper lockup. "Shall we?"

[BlackAkuma]

Truth told, it didn’t matter that much to Alex if Kyo tagged in. She would’ve been happy ragdolling Makie around the ring, and she would likely get that opportunity before the day was out, regardless. It wasn’t a hill she cared to die on.

…but, she would be lying if she said there wasn’t a part of her who wanted to see how well she stacked up against the fabled Kyo Akamatsu. She’d heard good things. Seen some of his better matches. While they were going to lock horns sooner or later, she wanted to do so when he was fresh, when she could get the full experience.

Plus, Betty liked seeing her beat up guys. That was a small factor.

And it seemed she was about to get her wish, too. After a little sibling squabble, here came Big Brother.

She circled around the ring as he did the same, giving him the quick up-down. Strong body, quite fit, but he didn't seem overwhelmingly so. Nothing she couldn't handle without some tricks, and she already had a few in mind.

She cracked her neck and lowered her stance, mirroring his as she edged forward. ”We shall.”

And they did. As Kyo came forward, Alex moved in to meet him with open arms and a steady base. She put her all into the forward charge straightaway, hoping to gain ground on him before he could properly adjust.

[Underdoggo]

The two of them collided in the center of the ring in a classic, honest grapple: right off the bat it became apparent that Alex was no slouch in the strength department, as for a few vital seconds, she and Kyo were deadlocked in the center of the ring. Kyo clenched his teeth: Alex was certainly no JJ or Valerie or Shin Utaka, but it was abundantly clear that he wasn't going to be able to simply overpower her either-- not without needlessly wasting time and energy.

And so, releasing his grip on one of Alex's arms, he suddenly spun around so that his back was facing her, and then dropped down, hoping to flip Alex over onto her back in a simple but effective arm drag. Once she was down, Kyo would try to kneel down against her back, pressing one knee against the side of her head while trying to pull back on her arm in a simple but effective armbar-- assuming that Alex didn't manage to get free, that was.

[BlackAkuma]

That…that was some power, Alex had to admit. She wouldn’t say she was expecting weakness out of him, but now that they’d locked horns and were vying for control, she had a better feel for his power, and it was certainly nothing to sneeze at. He was no powerhouse, but she wasn’t able to gain any ground on him either, leaving the two to justle for supremacy at the center of the ring.

It would only last until one of them pulled the trigger, and in this case, that was Kyo. Alex grunted in annoyance as she was flung over, effectively dropped on her back with an armdrag. The knee came next, pressing against her back, as he employed leverage against. Well done.

Alex suffered through it for a few seconds, before she planted one foot on the canvas, then the other, as if she were attempting to rise up. Instead, she waited until she was halfway, then reached up, grabbed Kyo’s head, jerked forward and tried to pull him up, over, and down with a quick snapmare.

[Underdoggo]

In a quick, smooth takedown, Kyo brought Alex down to the mat, planting a knee on her back to pin her there. A few seconds later, and he was wrenching her arm back in an expertly applied armbar, eliciting a grunt from Alex. Whether from pain or annoyance, he couldn't quite tell, but it didn't change the fact that, barely a few seconds into this exchange, he had her where he wanted her.

That was, until Alex partially rolled up onto her butt, looking like she was trying to get up to a seated position. That was, until her hand grabbed the back of his head: Kyo barely had time to react before he was flung forward, and hit the mat back first. He rolled instinctively, putting some distance between himself and Alex as he moved rapidly to get back to his feet...

[BlackAkuma]

From the corner, Betty looked on as Alex and Kyo kicked off their little duel, starting things slow and technical. Frankly, she was already glad that she hadn't drawn him to start out with - while she was sure that she would have to take on the big lug before this was over, she was more than happy to let her partner and ‘partner’ soften him up before they got to that point, like a jar of pickles.

She looked like she was well on her way, too, as she managed to dump Kyo on his backside with that snapmare. He was already trying to get back up to his feet and defend, but Betty was bouncing on her heels, knowing what was about to come next. Alex didn’t miss with this sort of thing. When you gave her an opening, she pounced.

And pouce, she did. The wrestler Alex took a backseat and the boxer Alex came out as she moved in on Kyo, immediately closing the distance before he could even fully rise. Jab, jab, jab, a quick flurry of light, stinging strikes with her left hand, before she stepped in and shot her right at his chest, trying to drive him towards the neutral corner, the last place any sane person wanted to be when facing her.

[Underdoggo]

The crowd was engaged as Kyo and Alex were now engaged in a quickly moving battle of throw, hold and counter, each of them rapidly transitioning into a hold and then escaping to counter the other. It was putting the skill of both fighters on display, and so far, honours were even as Kyo rolled clear of Alex, putting some space between the two of them after that snapmare.

It was space that Alex wasn't about to let him have: the blonde rushed at him, fists flying. One jab glanced his shoulder, the other glanced his cheek: his forearms came up immediately, deflecting shots, warding her away. Kyo's gut instinct was right: "Thumper" was a striker, someone who definitely came from a boxing background. He would have to watch himself if he didn't want to end up on the wrong end of a--

A brutal right hook came in low, forcing Kyo backwards: he felt his back against the corner. Not good, he realized: the was her plan all along, to trap him against the corner. He had to escape, and now. And the only way to do that was forward.

And so, he pushed forwards, moving at Alex, hoping, anticipating, that she would continue her barrage of punches. He would try to time this right: once she attacked, he would try to trap one of her arms under his armpit. Hopefully both: all he really needed to do was to snag her and use her momentum against her.

Regardless if he managed to snag one arm or two, he would then drop back, aiming to fling Alex overhead in another arm drag...and this time, hopefully, sending her crashing back-first into the corner post!

[BlackAkuma]

Fists low and loose, stance solid, hands flying, eyes locked. Alex knew that boxing and wrestling were quite different sports, and the referee would be moving in to break them out of the corner at any moment, but she also knew it wouldn’t much matter. All she needed was a few good seconds to land some key strikes, and she would be paying dividends throughout the match.

So far, things were going well. Kyo wasn’t defenseless in this area, he was doing a decent enough job on the defense, but she could tell this was far from his specialty.

Things were going well, she was working him over with a solid pace, just a little more pressure would lock things in. She wounded, prepared to go in deep-

She was coming in with her best right cross, when he snagged it clean out of the air and pulled her in tight. Before she could retaliate, she found herself flung forward and flipped, her back crashing hard into the pads, and she was only narrowly able to avoid landing on her head a moment later. Even without that, she was still left stunned for a moment, with only a modicum of wherewithal, enough to know she needed to create some space. With only direction to go, she rolled under the ropes and onto the apron, then grabbed the ropes and began to pull her way back from there, standing out on the edge of the ring.

[Underdoggo]

Kyo's counter was executed smoothly. Very smoothly, in fact: after being forced back by the relentless barrage of Alex's fists, Kyo was able to turn the tables on her, flipping her head over heels and sending her smacking hard into the corner post! The crowd collectively winced from the blow: as Kyo rolled back to his feet, he saw that Alex was already trying to get back in this fight, rolling under the ropes and crawling back up to her feet from outside the ring.

He knew he couldn't afford to waste any time. He sprang forward, arm drawn back like a blade, ready to execute a brutal forearm chop to Alex's temple or chest the moment she was standing again, aiming to knock her down to the arena floor...