Rising to the Challenge

[CaptainL]

The longer Astrid remained in striking range to Cecilia, the more her opponent would be able to hammer away at her with blow after blow. Each fist that landed caused her body to quake and her knees to buckle, with bruises forming over her skin - but no matter how much of a beating the Norsewoman was taking, she couldn't stop now. She was tougher than that, she told herself. She had to remember that Cecilia was within her reach, too - and for every blow she dealt back to Astrid, Astrid would pay her back! That was well worth the price of retribution!

But Cecilia had far more in her arsenal than brawling - and when they had gone backstage, there was plenty she had at her disposal. She would get right to making use of that fact when she wrapped her arms around Astrid, managing to scoop her up in the air! The champion let out a gasp as her feet left the floor, and she kicked them in the air - but her struggles wouldn't get her anywhere, and Cecilia soon hurled her backward through a table! Its surface splintered under the weight of the two heavyweights, sending a cloud of dust up into the air as they went clattering to the ground below.

Astrid's whole body was sore - she could still feel a throbbing sensation in her spine where she had crashed through the table. Her chest rose and fell with haggard gasps as she tried to draw the air back into her lungs. But she still looked up at Cecilia - her eyes narrowed in a glare, and her teeth clenched in a grimace. She couldn't back down now; if anything, Cecilia had just given her an idea. If this was the way she wanted to fight, Astrid was ready for it!

She threw her arms into place around Cecilia's sides, squeezing as tightly as she could around her ribs! Even on the ground, she still had the trusty Ostberg bear hug to fall back on!

[Devastated]

Slamming Astrid through the table was quite satisfying, Cecilia could honestly admit that it satiated some carnal lust for violence within her whenever she slammed a powerful foe through a piece of furniture and broke it. Would have been even better if she had broken Astrid along with it, but as Cecilia soon found it, the Heavyweight Champion continued to be a troublesome foe.

The arms of the fellow blonde latched around Cecilia's sides and the Hardcore Queen soon got to feel the squeezing of that painful bearhug! She clenched her teeth and her hands moved down against the floor, placing her palms against it as she glared down at Astrid. She felt her ribs being compressed against....though with their positioning the Hardcore Queen had already figured out a way to punish Astrid for this hold.

A cruel smirk appeared on Cecilia's face, as the blonde powerhouse would swing her head down! Looking to smash her forehead down against the bridge of Astrid's nose and make her see stars with a powerful close range headbutt!

[CaptainL]

Astrid thought that dealing with Cecilia would be easy enough - and now, she was quickly finding out the hard way that she was getting far more than she bargained for. Cecilia was known as the Hardcore Queen for a reason - she was ruthless and inventive enough to use anything as a weapon, and she wouldn't let any concept of what was fair or within the rules stop her from doing as she pleased. And now that they were brawling backstage, she was in her element - surrounded by potential weapons, and with no one to stop her! As she lay on the ground, Astrid could still feel the aftershocks of her crash through the table ringing through her. Her teeth were clenched in a grimace, and a throbbing sensation pounded through her back. Her muscles were sore and heavy. But if she had started this fight, she was going to finish it - and she had anything to say in the matter, it would only finish with her emerging victorious!

Clearly, it was time for Astrid to do what she did best - if nothing else could slow Cecilia down, she had to fall back on her most trusted technique, the bear hug! Throwing her arms tightly around her opponent's waist, she squeezed with all her might, trying to wring the air out of her lungs! Her teeth clenched, and she hissed out a choked, tortured groan as she tried to summon forth as much strength as she could - and then some! Her muscles might have been stiff and sore, but Astrid needed all of their power now. She needed Cecilia to feel this!

Astrid's face had grown red under the strain, and the veins in her neck were bulging. She had put all of her focus into maintaining this hold - so much so that she wouldn't see it coming when Cecilia drew her head back, and hammered it straight down into Astrid's face! But when it struck, it struck her hard - a crack rang out, and the Norsewoman's head snapped backward as a wail of pain filled the air! A pounding soreness slammed through her skull then, and the world around her began to spin!

As she drifted away and her grip slackened, her hold on Cecilia began to ease. But Astrid couldn't let go now - no, she had come too far, and suffered too much, to concede it all to Cecilia. Hissing under her breath, she would only muscle her way in closer, thrusting her chest and shoulders against her opponent's own. Even if she wasn't holding onto Cecilia's sides as firmly, she would dig her fingers into the back of her jacket to anchor herself - and she would swing her own head forward to batter it into Cecilia's own, returning the headbutt! No matter how much her head was throbbing or her ears were ringing, she'd just deal out just as much force against her opponent!

[Devastated]

Cecilia's headbutt struck hard upon the fellow blonde's head, smashing into her with force enough to knock out a grown man, she figured it would let her escape the torturous bearhug of the Heavyweight Champion, and it did...sort of! She was free from the pressure on her ribs and back, a surge of relief crawled through her frame from deep within as she had forced her way out of the champion's most trusted technique!

Yet, she still felt those hands clawing at her back, digging into her vest as she then saw that head of Astrid come launching towards her. Her own senses were dulled by her own headbutt, but it came in hard and snapped her head back with its impact! The impact sent a sharp piercing ringing through Cecilia's ears....she grit her teeth so hard that she wouldn't be surprised if she'd cracked a molar!...

The Hardcore Queen stood though. She didn't back away. She remained pressed against Astrid, partially because of how the fellow blonde clung to her. However it was mostly by the stubbornness of Cecilia that kept her engaged. Her arms shot up. Astrid wasn't the only one who favoured bearhugs! As the powerful arms of The Swedish-American woman latched around like Astrid's frame! Cecilia's goal though was for her arms to trap Astrid's against the fellow blonde's sides. Though there was no squeeze yet, simply a firm embrace. For she had a score to settle before any bearhugging would happen.

Cecilia pulled her head back again, flashing a wicked grin. If Astrid wanted to test who was more hard-headed, then Cecilia would oblige! Rocketing her head forward again she sought to snap into Astrid's face once more with a fearsome retaliatory headbutt!