The Rookie Rumble! (First come, first serve.)

[SubtleRoar]

*It wouldn't be long before Agatha began regretting her earlier decision- Even though her congenital ferocity and ability to remain as pliable as need be in times of uncertainty and turmoil, it seemed as though she had clearly met her match between the ropes. As the unrelenting, crippling pain that continued to bring her naturally quick feet to a sluggish hobble, she gasped at the sight of Michiko propelling her body forward for a devastating guillotine of an arm across her throat. With her feet stumbling backwards in an effort to delay the inevitable for just a bit longer, she was finally caught by the vicious forearm, sending the buxom blonde spiraling to the canvass.*

"GGNHH!" *The tenacious valkyrie was reduced to a pile of fatigue, her body plummeting to the ground with a spine-tingling "THUD!", making the horrified onlookers gasp from concern. Agatha felt her body beginning to twitch from sheer prostration- She realized that trying to catch her breath at this point would be an exercise in futility, as the debilitating pain kept her bound to the floor, so instead she reached out her right hand in an attempt to snag the bottom rope adjacent to her.*

"O..Odin..g..grant..m..me your..ggnhh..s..strength..." *She muttered a silent, yet sincere prayer while trying to muster a tincture of strength to power through her ordeal. The gods had found favor with her throughout the vast majority of her pious devotion towards them, and through her own unbreakable will, Agatha knew that those above her would bestow their approbation unto her once more.*

[CaptainL]

So far, so good. A crack rang out as Michiko's agility carried her forward, and her forearm connected with her blonde opponent's chest. She fell flat, then and there - it almost gave Michiko pause, as she reflected that sometimes not even she was aware of her own strength. Still, she reminded herself, she couldn't let herself get distracted with her concerns for her foe. This match had done enough for her to learn of how Agatha worked, and how she fought. Michiko knew that Agatha wasn't going to concern herself with matters of honor, or refrain from hitting someone while they were down. If Michiko went easy on her, she would only turn it to her own advantage. Instead, she had to follow through! Michiko's ears seemed deaf to Agatha's pleas for endurance, as the Japanese woman swiftly threw herself down on top of her opponent, then took her by the legs and rolled her over. Putting her weight down on Agatha's back as she locked her legs into place below her arms, Michiko performed a Boston Crab.

[SubtleRoar]

*It wouldn't be long before her relentless adversary swooped down and began mercilessly wrenching away at her vulnerable, lower limbs.* "Gnnhh...hrrrkk!" *Agatha hadn't suffered such an agonizing pain like this in ages, and given her fatigued state, she wasn't capable of suffering this terribly for large quantities of time before finally snapping like a twig. Her eyes frantically scanned the ring for any glimmer of hope, before she locked her sights upon a nearby rope- However, even though it was realistically a few feet away, the ordeal of surging towards it would make such a mundane task feel like a sojourn through Niflhiem, as it began to eclipse any form of hope she was baking on to guide her forward.*

"C..can't..l..let you...win!" *She shouted, feeling the collective shame of both being beaten by someone she deemed incredibly exasperating, but also before a crowd of engaged spectators that she felt needed to see her pull off a victory; this would honor the gods she worshipped, and give clout to those she fought for- Her ancestors, family, and anyone that had invested their time watching her perform.*

"G..gotta...move..f..fast..." *She muttered through her quaking lips, recognizing the all too familiar sensation of crippling prostration from the submission Machiko applied. However, this would not give Agatha pause- With the additional, ponderous weight immobilizing her lower region, Agatha shot forward and desperately reached her right hand outwards...success! She snatched the rope between her fingers, forcing an immediate rope break.*

[CaptainL]

Just like that, Agatha was in her clutches, and Michiko was on the attack, wrenching back on her legs as hard as she could manage. She grit her teeth, bearing through it as she tried to bend her opponent's back to its very limit - she wanted to start strong and make an impact. The crowds began to cheer louder, applauding the woman's sheer power, and her gall to put Agatha to her limits. But Agatha had a raw, blazing determination of her own, as Michiko would soon discover.

She looked back at the blonde as she began to crawl for the ropes, a bit surprised. Her escape was still a good ways away, and from the sound of it, Michiko had no idea if Agatha could even hold out the pressure for that long. But the Swede was headed for it all the same. "What...do you think you're-?" she said, and her voice even betrayed a bit of worry. She didn't want Agatha to break straight away if this was beyond her limits. But her hand reached out and grabbed the rope, and the ref girl blew a whistle at the sight.

Michiko released Agatha dutifully, and stood back up, taking a step back. She would wait for her to get back on her feet before her next move...but once Agatha had gotten back up, she wouldn't have much more time to react, as Michiko wouldn't let her guard down. Getting back into a stance the moment Agatha had steadied her footing, she went in for a shoulder charge! She wouldn't hold back a moment, not even for this.

[SubtleRoar]

"Gaaahh...haaah!" *Her laborious suspirations were indicative of the level of painful torture Agatha had just endured- Such an unprecedented amount of anguish kept her immobilized for a handful of seconds, before the intrepid bombshell began to steadily climb upwards. She wasn't in any rush to beat the count- Agatha knew she had a reservoir of energy for moments such as these, but even then, this degree of exhaustion was concerning for the scandinavian sledgehammer. With a tentative grin spreading across her face, she reached the top rope before swiveling around.*

"Y..you aren't...GRRHH!" *Before she could initiate her excessive monologue about the importance of never faltering in the face of adversity, she was rudely interrupted by the purple skulker's shunting motion, which instantaneously sent Agatha spiraling backwards and into the corner.* "THUMP!" *Her spine crashed against the turnbuckle, as her limbs immediately dangled against the ropes. Her breathing was still heavy and labored, but she refused to succumb to her exhaustion by any means necessary.*

"Hnnh...grrhh..s..so.." *Finally opening her mouth after convalescing in the corner for a brief moment, she shot Michiko a baleful gaze before finally finishing her initial statement.* "W..weak..and here I thought you and I were warriors." *She chuckled, the burning misery encroaching across nearly every inch of her wobbly legs and backside.*

[CaptainL]

Slowly but surely, Agatha was starting to lift herself back on her feet, getting her balance back in her and grounding herself. Michiko could see the exhaustion evident in her, her face red and panting from the fierce fighting both of them had been engaged in. All the same, Michiko wasn't just going to give her a day off. If she had managed to escape the Boston Crab, it only meant that she would have to try harder to bring this one down.

As Agatha tried to recover, Michiko was closing in on her, getting ready for the right moment. There she dashed in closer just as the Sledgehammer came to her senses, throwing her whole weight against her body to knock her straight backwards against the turnbuckle with a thud. She dusted her hands off, stepping back after the impact to examine her handiwork as Agatha went slumping against the post.

Sure enough, her gambit had worked, and once again the blonde was shaken. But just as Michiko was about to play to the crowd in celebration of her efforts, Agatha said something, something that caught her attention. "Ah-?" she said, starting to turn her gaze towards the Swede. "What do you mean, you and I, not warriors?" she chuckled. "Is that directed at me? I would think you'd certainly know it from the pain in your chest right now!"

[SubtleRoar]

"Ahehe..hehe.." *She knew this was tantamount to suicide, but Agatha had long abandoned the notion of personal preservation- Now, she was committing herself wholeheartedly to drilling the point home of just what she was capable of doing, regardless of how much disposable energy she had available. Her remark seemed to have had the desired effect, for as Machiko went to placate to the audience, she snapped her head around to address the statement personally.*

"Y..you stand there..p..pretending as if you're superior..b..but the last I checked, the match is still going.." *Summoning the latent vigor that had been building up deep within her, Agatha vaulted towards her cocky adversary, almost flying through the air with relative ease as she would inevitably plow into the violet assailant, the point of impact generating a resounding* "THUMP!" *As the two women collided, sending the weary warrior to her knees.*

"Hmm..y..you lack..t..the spirit..o..of a leader...t..to ever consider yourself my equal!" *Agatha proclaimed, struggling to properly maintain her balance as she crawled towards where Machiko had landed, in an attempt to lift her upwards, just so she could inflict a tremendous amount of damage with a brutal, right cross to the bridge of her nose!*

[CaptainL]

Michiko wasn't even sure if Agatha, in her current state, would even be able to come up with a worthy retort. But to her surprise, the blonde still summoned the energy to talk back. In response Michiko began to take a step back, putting her fists up to ready herself in a stance - at the very least, she wanted to look imposing enough for Agatha to know the match wasn't over yet. I'm...just getting st-" she started to say - and, ironically, she really did only have time to get started, when Agatha threw herself forward with sudden speed, snapping her out of it. Michiko might have realized this was no time to talk big, but she didn't have enough time to raise a guard before Agatha went slamming straight into her.

Agatha fell to her knees, but it wasn't too much of a setback, as Michiko herself had been thrown off her feet and landed on her rear in a sitting position. She could still feel her sternum vibrating from the brunt of the blow, as she tried to shake the cobwebs out of her head. "You haven't...seen the last of what I can do-!" Michiko began to say, but once again, Agatha had control. The blonde threw a punch straight at Michiko's nose, sending her buckling backwards from the momentum as she reached to shield her face from further damage.

[SubtleRoar]

"D..don't..y..you dare..u..underestimate..t..the will of a valkyrie..e..ever again!" *She fought through the encumbering torpor that weighed heavily on her broad shoulders, as with each step she took, Agatha continued to violently bombard Michiko with shot after menacing shot- First, her right fist recoiled, only to snap outwards and into her midsection. Once she felt it connect, her left hand's knuckles were eager to leave a wicked indentation on her chest with a rocketing hook aimed directly at her stomach. This wasn't the submissive, exhausted woman that had been recuperating in the corner just moments ago; this was someone fighting with a purpose, one of which entailed conquering the towering foe before her by any means necessary.*

"M..my gods are smiling down upon me this day!" *She howled with a furiously competitive grin stretching across her face, as she pantomimed a beaming expression of unbridled joy; she felt control swiftly shift in her direction, as the blistering momentum she had garnered began paying off in spades. Once she felt as if Machiko had sustained enough damage, Agatha shot forward before ducking low at the last second, spinning behind her target before latching her arms around Machiko's waist.* "And now...it's time I give you Valhalla's Regards!" *Her cadence resembled that of a kid in a candy store, eager and elated to introduce her haughty foe to the ground beneath them.*

[CaptainL]

Though the blonde's energy was visibly flagging from her pants and the weight of her limbs, it was readily clear to Michiko that she still packed a punch, taking back the momentum from the lilac-haired woman. Michiko tried to block the shots as they came, but Agatha was simply too quick, going faster and faster, and she swung her punches around Michiko's guards; she was simply moving too fast to keep up with. "Gah-! Ow! Ow!" came Michiko's cries as she went stumbling back with each punch that landed, barely able to get anything in edgewise. It seemed that Agatha's energy was returning to her with every moment, and her punches just got faster and harder. Michiko winced, gritting her teeth through the pain. The Scandinavian really was giving her a run for her money.

After a while of sustaining the assault, Michiko slumped to one knee, her body sore and peppered with bruises, like a mosaic of areas where she could and couldn't keep feeling. Her chest rose and fell slowly with the labored breaths she took, bent forward and trying to hold herself up. But she couldn't give up just yet, she thought. Her legs shaking, Michiko started to get up, digging her heels against the canvas to try and stabilize herself. She raised her hands, her fists balled and her muscles tensed. But just then, Agatha darted around her, and got her arms into place around her. Michiko knew where this was going - the setup to a German Suplex, or at least something similar. She sucked a breath in through her teeth, getting ready for what was sure to hurt...

No, it couldn't end this way, Michiko told herself! Just as Agatha had managed to capture a second wind, so too did Michiko, in the last gasps of it, feel her energy return to her. She didn't dare just let this slip through her fingers, not when a minute ago she had had Agatha where she wanted her! Drawing on the last of her strength, the girl found it magnified within her by her desperation - as with a twist of her hips, she managed to throw her opponent's hands off of her! While the blonde was left wondering what would come next, Michiko would act on her first impulse, to turn Agatha's momentum against her - as she ran behind, going for the Scandinavian's waist to return the favor for a suplex of her own!