Hollywood vs. Idol: Clash of Celebrities Contract Signing (for CaptainL)

[Pegasus]

Kennedy had Sanae right where she wanted her. They didn’t even have their match yet and it was clear who held the major advantage when it came to leveraging star power as well as knowing the ins and outs of mind games. Sanae had star power, but never used it fully or had any experience in psychological warfare. Kennedy, in just the short few months of being more famous, knew how to weed her way through Hollywood and the suits that ran the roost. She knew her worth and she knew which roles suited her such as getting a main lead in her upcoming movie. Just like her character in said film “Natalya Ruseman,” she is a cold and clocked person ready for action! Ready to score major bucks by stealing from the oligarchs in Russia! And now, she stole Sanae’s confidence and drive! How fitting.

However, it seems….something else caught wind of this as the titantron suddenly started flickering on and off. The crowd started cheering loudly not even caring that they knew who was set to come out. Anything right now would be better than Kennedy the spiteful movie star. Even if Sanae maybe made a few misjudgments in her encounter with Alizeh, her fans still loved her and they wouldn’t tolerate Kennedy putting her down.

The Selection’s Theme

https://youtu.be/Mb7nCR0_UCM?si=Dtm9AN7Sx0gXISsT

Just as the lights cut out, the beginning melody of “London Bridge is Falling Down” began to roam around the arena. Kennedy was flabbergasted searching around the place as she tried searching for any sign of the freaks coming from the shadows, but it was useless as the darkness catered only to The Selection and the master they followed. The lights came back on as Lyra stood right in front of Sanae glaring down Kennedy from inside her hood as her red eyes could be visible in the arena lights. Kennedy looked forward slightly unnerved, but held herself in place firmly raising her mic.

“What the fuck do you freaks want?!” Kennedy demanded.

“This relationship……is none of your business……, Lyra cited as she threw back her hood gaining a massive cheer from Sanae’s fans. “I won’t…..tolerate attacks thrown….at my beloved.”

Lyra turned her head slightly looking back at Sanae and grabbed her girlfriend’s hands letting her know it was more her in control rather than The Anomaly telling her to do this. Using his power to help Sanae stand a chance against Kennedy. Besides, Kennedy wanted to play on a field only reserved for one master of the game…..and that was only him. Lyra looked back at Kennedy with distain on her eyes.

“Have fun dealing with my best friend. Roxanne and her jackals will love playing with you,” Lyra stated as she snickered coldly.

[CaptainL]

Going into this contract signing, Sanae was anxious at the thought of dealing with the new Kennedy Lee face to face. But in the face of adversity, and with her fans cheering her on, she was able to shake off those fears enough to take back some control for herself, and she could feel the pride well up inside of her, knowing she'd proven she was tougher than she looked. But as confident as Sanae might have thought she was, all it took was Kennedy looking her dead in the eye as she rose to her full height for her to realize she was powerless here. And when Kennedy played her trump card - revealing that she knew about Sanae's relationship struggles - it just left the green-haired girl all too woefully aware of how unprepared she really was. How could she expect to go up against someone who seemed to know her inside and out - all of her deepest secrets and most intimate concerns?

Sanae already felt like she was being backed into the corner. When the lights flickered for the first time, she let out a yelp, jumping back in her seat. Kennedy was behind this - she knew that; she had to be behind this! She always was! Perhaps this was another psychological tactic! But when she heard the music playing - the music she recognized as the Selection's theme - she could feel the goosebumps rise on the back of her neck. Was Kennedy with the Selection? Was that why she had changed so suddenly!?

Her face pale and her eyes wide in shock, Sanae tried to shrink back, squirming away from Kennedy. Now, she was convinced that Kennedy had more power over her than she ever could have imagined. Which meant that it truly caught Sanae by surprise to see, when the lights turned back on, it was Lyra standing in Sanae's defense - and with Kennedy looking on in shock!

"...L-Lyra..?" Sanae's heart was pounding, and her jaw dropped. She didn't know what to think of this. On one hand, Lyra had come to save her - that should've been enough to prove Kennedy wrong. But she was doing so as part of the Selection - which Sanae knew as a ruthless faction who ruled by fear and wanted to take hold of LAW by force. Did that mean Sanae was being drawn into this?

Indeed, at Lyra's cue, the lights began to rise on the entrance ramp, and there stood Roxanne Wolf, the leader of the Wild Jackals, and her two compatriots Saka and Miza at her side. Roxanne pounded a fist against her palm, growling under her breath, while Saka's eyes narrowed into a glare, and Miza waved her hand flippantly. The crowd cheered, knowing that Sanae had backup. But...wasn't this a dangerous bargain?

Roxanne

Saka

Miza

"Lyra..." Sanae whispered to her girlfriend, "what are you doing? This...isn't you..."

[Pegasus]

Kennedy was absolutely flabbergasted that any one of these horror movie buffoons were out here. She knew of The Selection and even their current pursuit of going after Astrid, but she was too busy with her side career to really care. This would be her first interaction with them and right away, she knew they meant total business. Either stay out of their way or you were going to be part of their problem to fix. Kennedy was even cornered as she saw The Wild Jackals blocking an exit route, but like hell Kennedy was going to run. She wasn’t a damn coward and she was going to let them know it.

“If you want a piece of me, you better be ready for an appetite for the floor padding! No makeup session will fix the aftermath!” Kennedy threatened.

“Save your motion picture drivel. We aren’t threatened by posers,” Lyra scoffed at the Glamorous One.

“Posers? Hon, I make more money per film and doing the same five commercials for a simple product than you do sitting and looking at a fake crystal ball. We don’t compare and we never will,” Kennedy retorted.

“Yet you feel threatened and afraid of what we can possibly deal you. Such a predicament to be stuck with,” Lyra conversed more with Kennedy as the blonde suited woman had to grit her teeth.

“You fucking parasite! This is all your doing! I don’t know how much you paid your girlfriend and these LARPERS to pull off this publicity stunt, but it’s fucking annoying!” Kennedy cursed as she shot an accusatory finger at Sanae, but Lyra pulled Sanae close holding her protectively.

“It’s no act. It’s your curtain call. Jackals, advance!” Lyra ordered to Roxanne and the rest of her posse as Kennedy went outside to stand her ground growling in her tiger impression ready to pounce.

Lyra heard Sanae’s words before turning to her with a saddened look as she gave her girlfriend a comforting hug.

“I understand, Sanae, but I’m doing this for you. To help you. To help us. Because I love you,” Lyra whispered back to her girlfriend.

[CaptainL]

Sanae looked back and forth, her gaze flitting from Kennedy, to Lyra, to the Jackals, and then back again. Things were escalating quickly, and it seemed like the tension was ramping up more and more by the second. Everything was getting out of control - and she had no idea what to do! She had gone into this expecting an ordinary contract signing - probably one where Kennedy was going to antagonize her, sure, but she certainly hadn't anticipated this. Now, the Selection was involved. And what was perhaps even worse was that they were on her side. At least she wasn't alone and defenseless against the ruthless force that was Kennedy Lee...but was this the start of something worse?

When Kennedy jabbed the finger toward Sanae, she jumped back in her seat. "What!? Me!?" She shook her head. "Believe me, I didn't know anything about this! I'm just as confused as you are-!" No matter what she said, though, Sanae was sure she wouldn't be able to get out of this powder keg so easily. With such fiery tempers as Kennedy Lee and Roxanne Wolf on the scene, things could only boil over. And in fact, when Lyra gave her order for the Jackals to strike, Roxanne didn't hesitate.

"Eheh...thought you'd never ask," she muttered with a nod. Not even intimidated by the sight of Kennedy crouching down and ready to pounce, she rushed straight toward her, prepared to ram her full weight into Kennedy with a shoulder charge - even if the blonde outweighed her, and even if she rushed her back, Roxanne just figured that she would hit her hard enough that that didn't matter! Meanwhile, Saka and Miza strafed around to the side, ready to take the flank for their leader. If Kennedy engaged Roxanne, they would each swing a kick for her, aiming to strike with simultaneous force!

Needless to say, Sanae wasn't prepared for this at all! She let out a yelp, but reached out instinctively to cling to Lyra as she came close, her arms pulling tighter around her sides. When everything was spiraling out of control, Sanae was desperate to have an island of stability. Lyra seemed to be all of that - and when Sanae buried her face in her side, she let out a sigh, allowing her muscles to go slack and rest against hers. But at the back of her mind, something still didn't feel right. If the source of her comfort and reassurance came from the Selection...was that really such a good idea?

And yet...Lyra's words seemed so calm, so comforting, so peaceful, that Sanae couldn't help but breathe a little easier hearing them. "I...love you too, Lyra..." But was this Lyra? And when she looked back at the chaos unfolding, half-wanting to look away but never finding the strength to do so...did she want to be part of this?

[Pegasus]

Kennedy growled as Roxanne and the other Jackals surrounded her not backing down as she was about to go on the hunt. Her jungle woman instincts never left her even after changing her personality completely. Kennedy is still at home where her heart is and she isn’t afraid to break some nails…..or even skulls at this moment. Roxanne rushed her as Kennedy grunted being driven into the apron, but she wasn’t going to be held there for long. Miza and Saka tried surrounding her and going for kicks to her shoulders as Kennedy tanked the hits with another loud grunt. Luckily for Kennedy, she had endurance so she muscled Roxanne off her to send her rolling into Miza taking them both out! Kennedy then charged for Saka hitting a hard forearm right to the head taking her down!

Kennedy toppled over the first half of the steel steps and grabbed Saka lifting her for a Bodyslam to crash her down on the base steps with a loud metallic noise of pain! She went around Saka and grabbed the top half of the steps to place down on Saka firmly to keep her pinned so she could at least increase her chances of survival. Kennedy would stalk Roxanne and Miza untying her suit tie as she straightened it out before going over to Roxanne using her tie to start choking the leader of the Jackals as she thrashed the Italian’s body around!

“Come on, puppy dog! I have aerobics classes tougher than this beating!” Kennedy insulted as she dragged Roxanne away from Miza.

[CaptainL]

All Sanae could do was stare blankly at the chaos unfolding around her. She didn't know what to think - or what she should feel about this. On one hand, Kennedy had shown her nothing short of merciless intent, and she wanted to break down the idol's confidence bit by bit, even before they were in the ring. She should, by all means, have been cheering on the site of Kennedy getting her comeuppance. But she couldn't - not when it was coming at the hands of the Selection. That wasn't Lyra at her side; not really. Sanae knew how the Selection operated - how their motives were shrouded in mystery, and how they always seemed out to advance their agenda through less than obvious means. How could she be so sure that Lyra really had her best interests at hand? Her heart wanted to believe her. She was her girlfriend, after all. But could she trust it?

The Jackals had all come charging at Kennedy, trying to surround her and hit her from all angles. But even if it was three against one, Kennedy wasn't even the least bit perturbed! She just let their blows bounce off of her, until she could shove Roxanne backward into Miza, causing both of them to collapse in a heap! Saka would soon follow, when Kennedy slammed her against the steps! A loud metallic clang echoed through the air as Saka went down hard, and her arms and legs flopped around her limp as she fell dazed. A few groans of sympathy could be heard from the crowd - if this was what Kennedy was capable of, then it was a preview of what was in store for Sanae. And if that was the case, the idol seemed to have an uphill battle ahead of her!

Roxanne was still reeling, her head spinning and her body aching from the rough landing she had taken. She and Miza had begun to pick themselves back up, rolling onto their hands and knees, but they'd still been slowed down. And that meant that Kennedy was able to get behind Roxanne, throwing her tie around her throat and pulling it back hard! Coughing and sputtering, Roxanne was jerked backward against the blonde, her face growing red against the pressure and her brow budding with beads of sweat as her windpipe contracted down. She tossed herself from side to side, trying her hardest to struggle free. She was in no enviable situation...but even still, she wasn't going to give in that easily. She didn't show weakness to anyone. If anyone was going to try to make her feel helpless, it'd just make her even angrier, and Kennedy was going to know that first-hand!

"RRRGH-!!" Roxanne roared, letting the anger fuel her. She reached up to grab for the tie around her throat and pull at it, trying to take back more room - at the least, enough to breathe. If she could create any room to move her body closer against Kennedy's, enough to reach up and grab onto her head, Roxanne would suddenly throw her legs off the ground, trying to hurl herself downward and drop Kennedy's jaw onto her shoulder for a stunner! If she managed to free herself that way, she'd give the reigns over to Miza, who was running over to land a few stomps on Kennedy the moment she hit the ground!

[Pegasus]

Kennedy started wrenching harder and harder on the chokehold as it seems Kennedy had done just as much as Astrid did against the Selection just with less difficulty. Kennedy was a hulk of a woman, but that never did limit herself to being just a powerhouse. She was strong, cunning, agile, fast, and sexy. Kennedy could walk the Jackals around in circles if they weren’t as strong as they were now and she intended to do the same to Sanae when her horror whores were dealt with. Kennedy had her own battle to contend with as Roxanne was fueled by getting angry and even when you threw her back against the wall, it only stifled a small chance of relief you would get, because Roxanne hardly had any reason to surrender. She did that about her whole life as Marzia, but not anymore. Not when The Anomaly was counting on her.

Roxanne yanked at the tie making Kennedy stumble forward and that led to Roxanne reaching up to secure Kennedy’s head for a Stunner! Kennedy jerked back toppling to her back and Miza came in to throw down kick after kick after kick as Kennedy grunted and groaned rolling on her side. She pushed Miza’s leg away from her and tackled the redhead on the ramp throwing punches at her head thinking she could at least keep Miza down for a bit not in the know that Miza still had Kyoko’s body and Kyoko was never known to go down with light damage. Kennedy got up kicking at Roxanne’s face to get her on her back and even added a few stomps to the abdomen in any attempt to keep the leader of the Wild Jackals subdued. Kennedy then rolled back in the ring getting up as she leaned over the contract table.

Kennedy looked up with a heated glare grabbing Lyra by the blonde locks as Lyra gritted her teeth not ready for Kennedy’s quickness. Kennedy kicked Lyra in the gut bending her between the legs before looking at Sanae.

“With all due disrespect, fuck your relationship,” Kennedy spat with venom before hoisting Lyra up and powerbombing her through the contract table!

Kennedy got instant boos out of that as they just got louder and louder, but she wasn’t satisfied with just a table spot. She grabbed Lyra up again even if Sanae might try and ward her off. Kennedy would just elbow Sanae in the face before bending Lyra between her legs yet again and hoisting her up glaring daggers straight into Lyra’s corrupted eyes. Lyra looked behind her still dazed from going through the table as she saw the padded floor coming right up as Kennedy walked towards the ropes! Kennedy chucked Lyra up in the air and threw her down right on the floor as Lyra’s back hit with a ferocious impact! Lyra screamed with a blood-curdling wail as she spazzed all around the floor, but even so, she guarded her face with her cloak. A small smile was forced through and hidden as this was what Lyra wanted. Lyra knew that Kennedy would be formidable physically, but the mind games of challenging her dominance was where the strikes would be more brutal and Kennedy lost her cool. The joys of psychological warfare. Let your opponent think they hold the advantage until they are hit with a brutal reality check.

Lyra took a fall for Sanae and even if Sanae wasn’t fully a Selection member, the bait would be taken by her as well. Sanae wouldn’t let anyone hurt Lyra and she could only taste the blood that was starting to boil.

Tick, tock….tick, tock…..tick, tock…..like a bomb, Sanae surely would explode.

[CaptainL]

Kennedy's grip on Roxanne's throat was nigh-ironclad. Her face was growing red under the strain, her teeth locked in a grimace as she began to groan and gasp more and more with every ounce of breath that was being driven out of her. But if there was one thing Roxanne knew about herself - whether that was a weakness or a strength - it was that she wasn't going to roll over and take this so easily. She was going to fight back with every ounce of strength she still had in her, whether or not that seemed like it was going to do anything! Some wrestlers would have resigned to their fate if they found themselves in such a predicament, but not Roxanne - she yanked back at Kennedy, clearing enough room to drive her down onto her shoulder as she dropped off her feet for the stunner!

The blow landed with a crack, and Kennedy was thrown to the floor. Miza was close behind, coming charging toward the blonde with stomps and kicks. But Kennedy wasn't going to go out that easily either! She managed to grab for Miza's leg and pull her over, pinning her down under her weight before unleashing a few solid blows against her face. Miza let out a squeal from the impact, but started to throw a few punches at Kennedy's side - she had endurance on her side, and she wasn't going to go down so easily without a fight! In the end, though, every blow Kennedy landed was starting to slow her down, until she could safely pull away and deliver a few parting blows to Roxanne, driving the air out of her lungs as she delivered a stomp to her gut that caused her to sink back low against the ground.

That left Lyra - and Kennedy certainly had plans for her. The outside of the ring had completely descended into chaos, but Kennedy wouldn't be satisfied until that had been brought into the ring as well. Sanae was still looking back and forth at all the commotion unfolding around her with a blank face and a slack jaw, trying to process it all - she hardly even realized where Kennedy was going until she clamored back into the ring. But the moment she kicked Lyra in the gut, Sanae jumped back with a gasp. And when Kennedy threw in that remark about her relationship, the green-haired girl locked onto Kennedy with her undivided attention, her eyes wide and the color draining away from her face. It was as though a chill had taken hold of her whole body. No, she though to herself. She couldn't have gone there - she wouldn't dare!

But Sanae could only watch as Kennedy hurled Lyra straight through the table! "LYRA-!!" she screamed, jumping up to her feet with such force that the chair she was sitting on toppled over behind her. She couldn't even get caught up in questioning whether or not she could trust Lyra right now. Right now, all she saw was Kennedy unleashing a ferocious beatdown on her girlfriend, and as soon as the shock passed through her, she could feel a sickly sensation in the pit of her stomach. Sanae wasn't okay with this at all. She couldn't just sit back and let this happen. She needed to do something!

Sanae took off in a charge toward Kennedy - but the blonde would only meet her with an elbow to the face! She cried out in pain, falling backward into a seated position and grabbing at her face, which seemed to go numb from the impact. But when she had rubbed that numbness away, she looked up to see that Kennedy was running roughshod over Lyra, who seemed completely defenseless! As she blinked the fatigue out of her eyes, Sanae's gaze began to narrow into a pointed glare, and her fists balled tighter; her teeth clenched. The Wild Jackals had gotten back up now, and they were closing in around Kennedy. But Sanae realized she couldn't rely on them to help her. No, she needed to step up to the plate.

"HOLD IIIIIIT!!" Sanae screamed. And in that moment, everything seemed to grind to a halt at her command. The fans fell silent. The Jackals stalled where they were. And Sanae pushed herself back up to her feet, gasping for air, but still folding her arms over her chest with a glare fixed on Kennedy.

"Enough is enough!! I don't need you. This is my battle, and I need to fight it! As a matter of fact, Kennedy...I don't even care what you come up with to threaten me with any more! It doesn't matter what the contract says! You've crossed a line today, and it's a line I can't stand back and watch you trod over any longer. No matter what you set the rules as...I'm going to face you! And I'll make sure, with everything I have in me, that I will win!"

The fans sent out a cheer. Finally, it seemed, Kennedy had managed to push Sanae over the edge. There was absolutely no hesitation in her any more. Only a burning will to stand up for Lyra, and for herself!

[Pegasus]

Suddenly, the turnbuckles started spewing fire as it caught everyone off guard and the spotlights started to turn dark red. The crowd started panicking as they knew who this color belonged to and who it meant was coming out. That dreaded demon. The leader of The Selection. The Anomaly is near…..

Jonathan Steele’s Selection Theme

https://youtu.be/gFCu_YK6yPE?si=y43-WDTWKe040dRA

The new theme music started popping off as the cameras cut to the garage area where the revving of an engine could be heard. A motorcycle with two big wheels in the back and one big wheel outstretched could be seen as it had a sleek black color with metallic grey on the engines and exhaust. Atop the bike is a mysterious figure with a black leather jacket on adorned with a hood and a silver mask covers his face. The mask is a theater mask with the happy smile and dreaded frown merged into one expression. The biker nods to the camera and sits up adjusting his black fingerless gloves before he starts up the bike riding down the straight line before he pulls a hard right turn going through double doors that lead him into the backstage area.

The rider drives the bike for a few seconds before coming out to another part of the garage pulling another right turn before heading down to another set of double doors. He comes through another part of the main backstage area where workers instantly see him and the rider revs the bike driving through the hallway as people dive out of the way. The rider revs the bike hard coming down the hallway just before arriving to gorilla as he turns to see a door. The rider exits the bike leaving the engine running as he looks at the camera with a cold stare before he opens the door which reveals a dark room except for scented candles filling out the middle of the room in a dark circle. A large red pentagram stained the floor as the camera people revealed Kanon Fujiwara within the circle chanting spells from a book she was reading.

The rider removed his hood revealing brunette hair and took off his mask as he revealed himself to be Jonathan Steele to the camera with shocks and gasps going around the arena. He is here and he is back…..Jonathan looked at the camera with his dark red eyes.

“Kanon, my daughter, let’s show everyone here who really runs the show. Lights out!” Jonathan explained to the camera as he snapped his fingers and the entire arena once again engulfed in pure darkness.

[CaptainL]

Sanae's heart was pounding - but she knew she was doing what needed to be done. She stood stiff, her eyes fixed on Kennedy with an unblinking stare, and her fists were balled tight at her sides. No matter what happened, she couldn't back down. She had to be stronger than that. She had to believe she could do this, and she had to show that to the world! When Sanae's words brought everything to a halt - all the fans turning toward her with rapt attention, and the chaos around the ring taking a pause so that everyone could take in her burst of defiance - she stood a little taller, feeling just a little bit more powerful. Kennedy might have set this situation up to make Sanae feel small and helpless, but she had just taken everyone's attention fully in her grasp!

But Sanae only thought she was in control. When the Selection was involved, there was always one thing to be sure. There was only one person in control. And that person was about to make their presence known.

As the video came over the screen, Sanae jumped up with a gasp. Where had that come from!? One moment, she had taken back some much-needed confidence - but the next, all of that had melted away. A new variable had been thrown into the mix, and it was one she had no way of preparing herself for - it threw a wrench into all of her plans! "WHAT-!?" she yelped, looking back and forth between Lyra and Kennedy. "I...do you...whose idea was this-!?" Was the masked biker on Kennedy's side? Lyra's? Something else entirely?

Any questions Sanae might've had were soon answered when the rider turned the corner and came face to face with Kanon Fujiwara, her white hair standing starkly pale in the darkness of the room. She sat on her knees in the center of the pentagram, a flat, disinterested look in her eyes, which focused on nothing in particular - almost as if she was in a trance. The moment Kanon came up on screen, Sanae's heart skipped a beat. The idol hadn't met Kanon face to face, but she knew full well the power she held over the Selection. This had to be her doing! And when it was Jonathan's face that lit up across the screen - Jonathan, who was leading it all as the Anomaly - all Sanae's fears were confirmed. They were behind all of this - and surely they wouldn't stop here!

Kanon looked up toward Jonathan as he approached, though her body barely budged, as though it had settled into the most natural position it could be made for. Without another sound, she nodded her head curtly. Then, she whispered a few more words. "Fiat tenebrae."

With that, the screen went dark. And so did all the lights in the arena, plunging everything into darkness - Sanae couldn't even see an inch in front of her! She screamed in a panic. What was going on? What did this even have to do with her match with Kennedy? Any answers she might have taken for herself had now been thrown out the window!