No Holds Barred 2v3 Handicap Match: The Heartbreakers vs. Jonathan Steele and Ryan Brown

[CaptainL]

Misako had had enough. She was sick of the trickery, the mind games, the messing with her head - she wanted to show the world that the Heartbreakers weren't here to lie down and submit to anyone, and she wanted to put a stop to this. Narrowing an angry glare on Jonathan, she shot out with a punch aimed right for his face, and with a crack, it landed. Once again, it seemed almost too easy. He wasn't even trying to dodge or block, no matter how telegraphed her shots were; he was just standing there and taking them. Misako grit her teeth with a groan - she wanted to say she didn't care. Hell, she wanted to feel satisfied that she had actually hit him, but she couldn't. She still felt on edge, her muscles tensing and her teeth clenched. At the back of her mind, she couldn't shake the thought that if it had been this easy, Jonathan had let her hit him. And when he started laughing, her eyelid began to twitch - her suspicions had all but been confirmed.

"F-Fuck off..." Misako hissed as she stared back at Jonathan, but the whole while her voice was cracking with uncertainty. She dug her heel into the mat, trying to stand her ground, yet it was all she could do to keep herself from turning and running, from shrinking back, from doing anything that would shatter the good name of the Heartbreakers and make them all into laughingstocks. But it wouldn't change the fact that, as Jonathan raised his hands and the lights went dark, she had no idea what was going on. As the red spotlight shone on the mat beside her, she had no idea what was to come - not until a pair of gloves shot through the canvas, and someone - no, something - dragged its way up from the hole, staring at her.

"WHAT IN THE-!?" Misako had no way to defend herself any more. She raised her arms protectively, trying to shield herself, as this...thing came closer and closer to her. It was moving slow, it had a limp in its step, and yet that didn't seem to ease Misako's concerns one bit. Misako began to back up into the corner, keeping her arms raised in front of her. When she had nowhere else to move, she froze in place; every time she so much as tried to move a muscle she found herself locked up in fear. Her breaths quickened, and a trail of sweat ran down her brow. But this creature didn't want her. Instead, it turned to Sachiko.

And it was Sachiko who was caught in the middle of it all, watching this chaos unfold, watching as this creature came closing on on her. Her eyes were wide, her face was pale. She had gone into this match thinking it would be an easy win over a couple of veterans past their prime, and one that would help cement the Heartbreakers as a threat to LAW. But now...she didn't even know what she was up against any more.

Frozen in terror, Sachiko barely paid any heed as Ryan struck out at her teammates, bringing Kyoko to the mat with a thud, and Misako followed soon after. She could only look up at this creature unblinkingly, her mouth open in a gape. She wanted to say something, she wanted to form words, but nothing came to her. This all felt like a bad dream, but it was one she couldn't wake up from.

And perhaps worst of all...this creature wasn't out to hurt her. Once it was in her face, all but breathing down on Sachiko...it raised its hand to her, speaking one word, but a word that the delinquent understood all too well - a word that cut straight to her soul.

Join.

"J-J-Join...you..?" Sachiko stammered nervously. Her heart was pounding hard and fast, and her breaths had all but turned into frantic heaves. Her eyes ran back and forth across the ring, seeing where her teammates had fallen. She was all too aware she was alone - vulnerable, exposed, and with a monster mere inches from her. There were no other options. This creature had offered her a choice, she knew. And now, it was up to her to take it.

But...what could she do? Her mind ran through her choices, her gaze constantly flitting between the hand extended to her and the ground. Did she take it? If she did, she would be turning her back on the Heartbreakers - her friends, her teammates, her partners in crime, and just about the only people she had. She couldn't do that. She was their leader; they depended on her, and she believed in loyalty too much to let them down! For that matter, she would be turning back on Veronika, someone she had perhaps grown even closer to. The very thought of betraying them, any of them, made the bile rise in her throat.

But on the other hand, if she didn't...what would happen to her? What would happen to them? Already she had seen things that she'd previously thought impossible, and she was left with the sickening suspicion that she hadn't even seen the full depths of this creature's power. A shiver went through her whole body, and she began to sob. She had always wanted to be the cool, tough, badass sukeban she had held herself to be - but in this moment, faced with a threat greater than she could ever hope to be, Sachiko was scared out of her mind.

At last, she looked back up at the monster, her eyelid twitching anxiously as her shoulders heaved and shook. "F-F-Fine...I'll...I'll do w-what you s-say..." Her hand began to rise at her side, stretching out toward the one that hung before her. Time seemed to slow to a crawl; every second was an eternity. Sachiko's arm quivered and shook as her breaths came harder and faster, but her fingertips stretched just a bit further, until they had almost touched those before her...

And then, just before they could, Sachiko's arm went slack. She took in a gasp, and her breathing stopped. Her face pale and her eyes glassy and wide, she fell flat on her back, unconscious. At the last moment, the tension had grown too much for her, and she had passed out then and there!

[Pegasus]

The creature, known as The Anomaly, didn’t necessarily have a long backstory on what he is. He is a side of Jonathan that is usually kept locked away and kept hidden to save others from damnation. The creature corrupts those that come too close to him or accept him as a savior or even more dramatically, their god. It’s like if you introduced a local tribe of people to a supernatural being of unsurpassed power. They would likely see it as a monster to worship to spare their own lives and would help it achieve what it wanted to accomplish. The Anomaly had his hand out ready to accept Sachiko’s allegiance to it, but before the punk leader could grasp the monster’s gloved hand, she fell backwards on the canvas. It seems the trauma and mind games grew too much for Sachiko to handle so she passed out from total fear.

A medical team ran down as soon as they got word from the referee and the official thought about stopping the match to prevent Misako and Kyoko from meeting a similar fate, but knowing this monster was only a few feet from her didn’t make her decision any easier to make. The ring announcer came into the ring as one of the doctors confided in her about their decision and a stretcher was called for the leader of the Heartbreakers. Sachiko was rolled out of the ring to safety as the ring announcer raises up the mic.

“Per the doctor’s orders, Sachiko Koizumi is unable to compete. This is now a tag team No Holds Barred Match!”

The referee walked up to both Misako and Kyoko asking them a simple question in advance to this newest development.

“Do you girls wish to continue? If not, this match ends in a forfeit.”

[CaptainL]

Sachiko thought she was tough. She thought she could handle anything. She was the biggest, toughest bitch around, and nobody in LAW was going to stand in her way as she ran over everyone she needed to to rocket herself to the top. But tonight...even Sachiko had come face to face with something bigger than she could ever imagine. And in the face of such power, power that seemed to surpass anything she had even felt possible - against the weight of her emotions pulling her in different directions, her conscience telling her not to compromise her principles or her friends but her fear telling her there was no way she could stand up to the Anomaly alone, eventually, something had to give. All the voices in her head were growing louder and louder, drowning each other out into a cacophany. And finally, faced with such a dilemma...Sachiko shut down. The light dimmed from her eyes, and she flopped back against the mat. The fans looked on speechless - if what the Anomaly had done already seemed impossible, the thought of Sachiko herself going out like this seemed even worse.

Kyoko and Misako collected themselves, picking themselves back up as the paramedics rushed the ring to help Sachiko onto a stretcher. As they turned to the sight, they froze. The color drained away from their faces, and with wide eyes they glanced back and forth between each other and Sachiko's motionless form. Not even they could believe what it was they were witnessing - that Sachiko could have gone down like this, that her composure could break. Even when the referee approached them, confirming that Sachiko was officially out of the match, they could hardly believe it, and for what seemed a painful eternity, they were fixed in place, unable to even form the words. Everything felt so surreal, so wrong, and yet it kept going anyway.

But it wouldn't take long for them to realize where they had to go next. No matter what happened, even if they didn't have their leader...Kyoko and Misako were still the Heartbreakers. They had known each other and fought side by side longer than any of them had even known Sachiko. And they had committed themselves to never giving up! They would never surrender, and they had to fight it to the end - because to do anything else would be to lay down and let the world walk over them, and to the Heartbreakers, that was a fate worse than death! With another look at each other, they nodded their heads. Both of them knew what the plan was, and both were ready for it.

"Hell no, we won't quit!" Kyoko shouted back, stepping forward and balling her fist. "I don't know what Sachiko ate that made her pass out like that, but it's not gonna stop us!"

Misako rolled her eyes, unsure if Kyoko was trying to feign confidence to stand up to their opponents, or if she was just being herself. Still, she continued. "All it means is that we're just going to work twice as hard to make up for her. So really, you idiots screwed yourselves!" She cracked her knuckles, stepping up at Kyoko's side. "You guys have been staying back and ganging up on us long enough, so I say you just go ahead and pick your legal man so we can settle this the old-fashioned way! I'm ready for it!"

"In fact," Kyoko chipped in afterward, "I don't even care - I can take you both right now!"

"Huh!? Wait, Kyoko, don't-!" The Heartbreakers thought they had perfect coordination, anyway. But while Misako insisted that against an opponent this dangerous it would pay off to be cautious and to take them on one at a time in order to feel out their strengths...Kyoko was just charging headlong into the thick of things, as she took off toward the Anomaly to throw herself toward him in a spear. Misako could only shrink back, clenching her teeth, and hoping that it wouldn't prove too disastrous, at the very least...

[Pegasus]

The Anomaly had waited for Sachiko to accept him into her life and serve him, but his open hand would stay out in the air as she passed out and couldn’t take any more. Right at the start of the match, too! The crowd gasped and were shocked at seeing The Heartbreakers toyed so easily and these two men took out the leader like she was a thin piece of paper easily ripped to shreds. Sachiko was taken up the ramp into an awaiting ambulance outside the arena just to take her in medical care and get her woken up again. The demon laughed as the crowd heard a monstrous combination of Jonathan’s human laugh and The Anomaly’s low demonic laugh.

However, even when the odds were stacked against them, Sachiko’s troublesome cohorts didn’t know when to quit. So much so that they deluded themselves into thinking they stood a chance, but their pride and their respect for their fallen leader compelled them to continue on. The Anomaly scrunched his gloves together and roared at the young girls in anger. Ryan had his staff at the ready hoping to strike some fear into Misako and Kyoko while the girls readied themselves for the uphill battle of their lives. Kyoko charged forward first after the demon and nailed him with a Spear able to take him down with ease, but the demon swiftly got up to his feet not feeling anything from the move as he chuckled darkly.

The creature grabbed the straps of Kyoko’s leotard and hurls her straight towards Misako in an effort to make both girls crash down on top of each other. Ryan then set his staff aside in order to wait for both girls to rise stalking them before bouncing off the ropes going for a Running Double Knee Strike using both knees to knock the girls outside the ring!

[CaptainL]

Despite the threat they had faced him with, despite their defiance in the face of the ultimate danger, the Anomaly didn't even seem bothered by Kyoko and Misako stepping up to the plate. He just laughed, a low, inhuman laugh that left the two girls shuddering. He didn't consider them a threat at all - and for that matter, something about him just felt off in a way they couldn't place, as though nothing should have been able to make that sound. For a moment, Kyoko and Misako stalled, staying where they were and exchanging glances with one another. Perhaps neither of them fully believed in their ability to stand up to the Anomaly; deep down, there were still the same worries eating away at them. But they at least hoped they could convince him they did - or, at least, to convince the fans watching, and to salvage the reputation they had worked so hard to establish.

Kyoko had been the first to break formation, charging straight into the Anomaly. Misako had tried calling out to her, her heart pounding faster at the thought that her brash companion's impulses could have gotten them into even deeper trouble - but it was already too late; Kyoko was taking off at full speed. And when she hurled herself off her feet, she came crashing into the Anomaly with all the force of her charge behind her, bowling the two of them to the ground!

Misako blinked a few times in disbelief. After all she had seen from the Anomaly, and all the power he seemed to possess, she wasn't expecting that to actually work. Kyoko, meanwhile, didn't seem in the least bit concerned. She looked up at Misako with a laugh, waving her hand to her friend. "Haha, see? We got all worked up for n-"

But, as the Anomaly was quick to show her, Kyoko had spoken too soon. As though the collision hadn't even slowed him down at all, the creature was quick to jump back to his feet, where he grabbed her by her shoulder straps and hoisted her into the air! Kyoko's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped into a gasp as she kicked at the air, twisting back and forth in an effort to struggle free. Misako tried moving in closer, reaching out to grab a hold of her - but before she could, the Anomaly hurled Kyoko into her tag partner. With a thud, the two of them were sent to the mat in a tangle of limbs as they rolled closer to the ropes, kicking and grabbing at the air and the canvas to try and stabilize themselves. And they wouldn't have much of a chance to rest there, either, before Ryan bounced off the ropes next, coming crashing into both of them with all the momentum of his charge to knock them both out of the ring!

The two girls hit the floor, groaning and gasping with each turn they took and each bump they hit as they rolled away from the ring. At last, they lay there panting and groaning, trying to collect themselves. "Okay...maybe...that wasn't such a good idea..." Kyoko huffed in between gasps.

"You think!?" Misako cut back. She looked around her, getting a sense of her surroundings - and that was when it hit her, as soon as her eyes fell on an empty chair by ringside; evidently, someone had left to go to the bathroom or get a drink or something like that. At least it would mean one fewer person had seen them so humbled like this - but more to the point, it meant she had something she could use to even the score. And at a time like this, Misako needed that more than ever! As she nodded her head, she reminded herself this was a No Holds Barred match. If the two of them wanted to bend the rules...no one could stop them!

"Kyoko. Stay back and distract them, I got this..." she whispered, beginning to crawl away. Kyoko, meanwhile, nodded her head and saluted to Misako as she sat up on her knees, flashing the most confident grin she could in such a situation. "You got it!~ Distraction's my middle name!~"

Misako sighed at how her partner didn't seem to get the message about not letting their opponents in on the plan. But a diversion was a diversion, and if it worked, it worked. She began crawling toward the chair, while Kyoko pushed herself back to her feet, dusting herself off and shaking herself out before cupping her hands to her mouth and calling back at their opponents.

"Hey, ugly! Ya think that just because we're outside the ring, it's gonna stop us!? We're the Heartbreakers, for crying out loud! Why don't you just come down here and try to catch us, huh?!"

[Pegasus]

For the Heartbreakers, The Anomaly sensed their fear. Sensed their doubt. It was growing second after second and soon, they would be too terrified to even try to fight back. Kyoko’s Spear did no damage whatsoever, but the demon knew this would be over too easy if he went for a straight win. No, better to continue toy with them and wind them down until they quit on the spot. Ryan had hit them to the outside and followed them as Kyoko made their threat while Misako went after the empty chair. Lyra would start walking over to the hidden woman and stand right in front of her!

The Anomaly did another low chuckle as Misako was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The monster didn’t need to handle this one, Lyra would handle it for him and bring his prey back to the ring. Ryan, on the other hand, came after Kyoko, but the girl would stay ahead of him keeping her distraction dancing up to make sure one of the disciples was taken care of. Ryan would try for a Roundhouse Kick to finish this farce off!

[CaptainL]

If there was one thing that Misako knew, it was that she could count on Kyoko. Sure, she wasn't exactly a strategic genius, and she couldn't be sure that she would stay quiet about their plans - but if she needed someone to hold the line, she was both loud enough to draw the attention of anyone they needed to distract, and tough enough to withstand any punishment they met her with. The opponents they were up against were strong, to be sure - perhaps, Misako had to worry at the back of her mind, even too strong for her to handle. But she bit her lip, pushing those thoughts out of her head. Kyoko didn't need to keep them busy for too long, she told herself. All she needed was eyes off of her for a few minutes once she got the chair, and maybe if she found something else for Kyoko to arm herself with, too. Then, they might be able to help even the odds. Even if it was only by a little bit...she'd take anything at this point.

She had to drag herself across the floor, still winded from the landing; the ache going through her back had yet to die down. But, little by little, even if she had to groan and grimace each step of the way, Misako was coming closer and closer to the chair. She reached out to grab onto the barricade, using it for support as she pulled herself up, and from there her fingers clung to the bars tenaciously as she tried to make her way toward her target, hugging the railing. But before she could get there, Lyra cut in front of her, blocking the way forward!

Misako's teeth clenched as she stared back at Lyra through a glare, bending at the knee to lean in closer to her even if she had to rest against the barricade in doing so. "Hey, what's your problem!?" she snapped to the fortune teller. "This isn't your business, so scram!" Misako was still pretty sure that words wouldn't be enough to get Lyra to step out of her way - but she could do plenty of talking with her fists too, and she went to lash out with a punch aimed right for her face!

That left Kyoko back to deal with Ryan and the Anomaly on her own. Even one of them was an intimidating prospect for any wrestler to contend with, let alone on their own and without the leader of their crew around - but Kyoko wasn't going to let herself be intimidated, and she met the challenge with a grin. Some might have called it foolishness, but she had the spirit and the defiance of the Heartbreakers alive in her, and it told her not to let anyone tell her how to feel. Even if Sachiko wasn't around, she was more than willing to make up for her!

"Hah! Nice try!" As Ryan's leg swung out toward her, Kyoko would move to raise her arm, attempting to deflect it with an elbow. It that worked, she would send out a high kick of her own aimed at Ryan's jaw to trade him back!

[Pegasus]

Lyra muttered to herself as she wobbled back and forth as Misako clung to the barricade closely. The Anomaly rested on the ropes as he looked at both battles waging seeing his disciples do his dirty work for him. Misako tried punching Lyra, but Lyra blocked with her cloak as she just stood there mainly acting as a defense force to prevent Misako from reaching the chair. Lyra would not be ordered to combat or anything as the monster enjoyed toying with his victim and his demonic growl lingered in the air.

However, the same could not be said for the shaman as Kyoko had deflected his kicks at every turn. Mirroring Lyra’s purpose in the match thus far, Kyoko is the distraction until Misako could reach the steel chair laying out and she managed to land a kick to Ryan’s ribs making the shaman back up. The Anomaly looked over growling as he walked over to the hole made in the ring jumping in as the audience had to wonder what could come from that development. Suddenly, thuds and crashing noises could be heard from under the ring as The Anomaly appeared from behind the apron coverings grabbing out at Kyoko’s legs to drag her under the ring!

[CaptainL]

Just as Misako's fist lashed out toward Lyra, the fortune teller twirled around in place, causing her to strike at her cloak instead. Misako's eyes narrowed into a glare, and she clenched her teeth in frustration, grumbling to herself. When she heard the growl rumble through the air just above her head, she tensed for a moment - but she squeezed her fist tighter, shaking the cobwebs out of her head. This wasn't helping anyone - she needed to think!

"Goddammit...whatever! This doesn't matter anyway-!" Ordinarily, she might have been asking for a fight, but Misako knew that now they were up against an opponent they simply couldn't stand up to on their own merits, no matter how much they wanted to. They would need her to even the odds if they wanted to stand a chance, and she could reason out that if Lyra wasn't fighting back, she was only trying to slow her down. Her fingers coiled tighter around the bars of the barricade to support herself, and her teeth dug into her lip as she tried to brace herself against the pain running through her body. But Misako knew she needed to push past that! Shoving her feet against the floor, she pushed herself into a lunge away from Lyra and toward the chair, hoping she could move quickly enough to mitigate any pain she might still be feeling.

On the other hand, Kyoko saw that she had managed to kick Ryan down, and for a moment, it seemed, she had forgotten that she was supposed to act as a diversion. In fact, she felt she had already won! She had just overcome the big scary monster who had been acting like he was so far beyond any of their abilities to fight back! Of course she was going to be a little smug about that! With a grin on her face, she hopped into the air, pumping a fist in a victory dance. "Ha-HA! Not so tough now, huh? You just got served! Ya see that? Huh? Huh!?"

Had Sachiko or Misako been there, they would have warned Kyoko not to let her guard down. But when the redhead was on her own, she was so caught up in her own apparent victory that she wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her. She didn't even notice that the Anomaly had disappeared into the hole. And she certainly didn't know he was now getting behind her - up until she felt him grab her by the legs, suddenly sweeping her off her feet! As the ground gave way beneath her, Kyoko let out a gasp, falling forward and landing on her face. "W-Whoah! HEY-!!" Her hands flailed, and she tried to grab at the canvas to hold herself in, digging her nails into its surface - but it was no use, and soon, she dropped down to the floor outside the ring!

[Pegasus]

The Anomaly crawled over Kyoko as she fell down hard on her back and his growl grew closer and closer into her ears. He ran his right hand over her face before getting up and checking on Ryan. The shaman used his hands to prop himself up as he glared down the redhead and the monster looked down on the scared girl before them. The Anomaly growled getting on his knees and raising his left gloved hand as he looked to put the favor back in his hands and seeked to corrupt Kyoko’s mind. Surely turning one of the Heartbreakers against each other in the match would prove successful and it would be easy to control her movements to make it nearly impossible for Misako to get the upper hand.

Speaking of the more competent member, Misako dove past Lyra grabbing the steel chair. Lyra growled as the smaller girl managed to get past her and she gave chase running for Misako. The lone Heartbreaker succeeded in getting her chosen weapon, but now it turned into 3-on-1 since Kyoko looked to be preoccupied with the men for the moment as The Anomaly’s left hand came closer to touching her forehead and turning her into a mindless disciple. Misako didn’t have an extra hand in this match so she needed to hustle and channel her inner street brawler to get her friend out of this mess!