The Second Step: Aizen Yuzuriha vs WYVERN II

[BlackAkuma]

It was safe to say that little exchange could've been better for Aizen. Despite the fact that he was on the offensive not even that long ago, he was already feeling the winds start to shift - if there was one thing he was coming to understand about Wyvern, it was that she was resilient, amazingly so, and no doubt driven even harder by her desire to make up for the last time.

The strategy was already forming in his mind - he needed to back off, make some space, play defensive while he recovered and tire her out. A good idea, but with a fatal flaw: It assumed she would give him space.

She did not.

Instead, she closed the gap as soon as he was up, and Aizen was greeting with a blazing punch to the face, crashing straight on his nose, taking him before he could even dream of a guard. Hs head jerked back, and the rest of his body went with, as he staggered away from her. He might have fallen flat if his back hadn't found the barricade before that could happen.

Blinking, groggy, Aizen’s instincts kicked in and brought up guard, but it was a basic, weak one, and he had little doubt it Wyvern would cut through it. The next few moments were likely to be painful, and he gritted his teeth to prepare for the worst.

[Hills]

While the lunge strike had paid off in spades, enabling a devastating follow-up that prevent her opponent from recovering, it also stopped Wyvern from doing any more as she needed to return to a standing height after rendering herself nearly horizontal. That hardly matters, though, with Aizen knocked for a loop by the unexpected blow and barely able to guard himself, let alone take advantage of Wyvern's brief opening. Returning to her feet, Wyvern takes a brief moment to review her options before breaking into a sprint. She wasn't going to give any opportunity for Aizen to reverse momentum again or recover more than he already had.

Running is already painful. Her muscles are screaming for relief, her soaked clothing clings to her skin, and a combination of dehydration and a possible concussion have seen to it that her vision is still ever-so-slightly blurred. Not enough to impede her, but definitely noticeable. None of this deters Wyvern from throwing absolutely everything she has into picking up speed, ignoring her bodies protests as she reaches maximum velocity before dropping forward at the last second. With all of the force she can muster, Wyvern dives under Aizen's guard, aiming to slam into his midsection with a spear powerful enough to send both wrestlers tumbling through the barricade!

[BlackAkuma]

Survive. All Aizen had to do was survive. He was awake on his feet, he was pulling through. No, he wasn’t in the best spot, but he had been in bad spots before. He could pull through, recover, formulate a new strategy and turn this around. He only needed space. A moment to breathe. A moment to think.

And WYVERN seemed to realize it, too, because she wasn’t about to give it to him.

He tensed up for an attack as she came rushing in, thinking she might try to lay into him with punches or go for some kind of wild hold. Instead, she plowed into him, full force, turning herself into a living freight train and crushing his guard in an instant. There was nothing to be done, no way to stop it. He was going back, hard, right into the barricade, right through the barricade, and-

The pair came crashing into the crowd, creating an explosion of flying popcorn, overpriced snacked, and sticky soda, to say nothing of the human bodies that were sent scattering. It was a mess of human carnage, and there, in the center of it all, Aizen laid on his back, wiped out and barely moving, his jaw opening and closing with her eyes screwed shut in pain.

[Hills]

The impact from the spear is brutal, even for the one delivering it. Wyvern had known what she was getting herself into when she started her reckless charge, but it still didn't feel good. A jarring shockwave ripples through her entire body, painfully tweaking her relocated shoulder and exacerbating the many hurts she had already acquired from the match. To her, though, it was worth it. The pain was temporary. The exultation of such a brutal fight would be a cherished memory for the rest of her life.

After a few moments of exhaustedly laying on her downed opponent, Wyvern painfully hauls herself to her feet, grabbing a still-standing section of the barricade nearby for support. Releasing it as soon as she's up, the Irish wrestler stumbles back a few steps but manages to stay upright, huffing for a second before flicking some popcorn from her hair. As much as she'd like to continue putting the pressure on, she needs time to recover just as badly as Aizen had previously. Even if it offers him the same, she stays her hands for the moment. The referee begins the count.

"One!"

[BlackAkuma]

”HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!”

Aizen returned to the waking world with blinking eyes, looking at the lights blaring down on him. The audience’s cries were distant at first, but the grew louder as his senses returned, pounding harder and faster until they tickled his ears. They were in frenzy, but he wasn’t sure why. What happened? Why was he down here in the first place? Where was he, exactly?

“2!”

It all came back to him as he heard the referee’s count. The match. WYVERN. He looked up, saw her stumbling away, saw the ruined barricade, and the pieces all came together.

”3!”

He flopped back down, sighing, as he struggled to collect himself and steady his breathing. He needed to get up, clearly, but his body wasn’t wholly on board with the idea. It didn’t follow his commands at first, only twitching about, as if something wasn’t connecting with his brain. Come on, come on…

”4!”

He took in some quick breaths, filled his lung, and found the will to force his body into action, managing to roll over onto his stomach with a single, defiant burst. Even that took far more energy than it should’ve, but he kept on and stayed with the effort, pressing his palms to the mat and pushing his way up.

”5!”

He flopped back down after the first attempt but tried again immediately after, undeterred. Reaching out, he grabbed one of the abandoned chairs and used it for support, aiding him as he rose this time and making a big difference. He could do this. Just a little more…

He didn’t know where WYVERN was in all of this and couldn't spare a thought for her. Right now, he just had to stand up. He’d worry about his opponent soon enough.

[Hills]

Resting felt good. That was what always made it so dangerous, particularly in the middle of a match. Even standing, the simple act of not moving, and not needing to focus every ounce of her attention on her opponent, was intoxicating. Relaxing. If she stays here, Wyvern knows from experience that the accumulated hurts of the match will start piling up and making themselves known, and fast. Staying in motion was how she staved off the consequences of the destructive fight. She didn't fear the pain, but anything that could throw her off even the slightest amount could be fatal against an opponent of Aizen's caliber. Last time, a single error was all it had taken for him to end the match.

This time, there would be no such mistake. Her pride as a warrior wouldn't allow it. She needed to win.

Forcing herself to begin moving again, Wyvern ignores the screams of protest from her muscles as she forcefully stalks forward. Not towards Aizen; he was still downed, for now, but she could tell that he would be up before the 10 count finished. He was already almost up to his knees. No. If she wanted to put him down for good, she would need more than that. Reaching the steel steps at the nearest corner of the ring, she grabs the metal wedge forming the top step with both hands and lifts it, hefting it to get a better grip before turning her attention to Aizen. The referee gives her a concerned look, but she ignores him. Everything was permitted in Last Person Standing. She wasn't going to ignore that.

As soon as Aizen stands and faces her, Wyvern lets loose with the steel structure, hurling it at her opponent! Her aim with the unwieldy weapon is off-center, but even a glancing blow with that much force behind it could be enough to decide the match!

[BlackAkuma]

”7!”

Seven? Were they on seven? For his life, Aizen couldn't remember hearing the sixth. That wasn’t a good sign, it likely meant he was fading in and out of consciousness. If it happened once, it could happen again, and next time he might not be able to wake up before the ten counts, much less stand on his feet. He didn’t have the luxury of resting or catching a breath.

Gritting his teeth, he powered up, planting one foot on the floor, then the other, breaking the count just the referee made it to 9. It was slippery, thanks to some spilled soda, and he stumbled along the way, but he found his footing and continued up, refusing to lose this match because of Diet Pepsi.

He stood straight, shook it off, and faced his opponent.

Just in time to see the steel steps flying towards him.

The way Aizen ducked under them, you’d have been forgiven for thinking she hurled an ax at him. He went low as someone behind him screamed and threw himself forward, going into a roll along the floor to close the distance. As soon as he came out of the tumble, he popped up, swung his arm out, and tried to hit her with a lariat across the chest, throwing his all into the maneuver.

[Hills]

Wyvern feels only grim satisfaction as the stairs crash into the crowd behind Aizen. She had expected, or more accurately hoped, that he would still have the stamina and awareness necessary to get out of the way of the heavy steel. Failure to avoid the projectile would have been disappointing, but it also would have been a decisive end to the fight. She could have been satisfied with what they had done so far, but she still wanted more. She hadn't reached her limit yet. She could still push farther. Only just, though. After the exertion necessary to throw the stairs, she barely has enough strength to stand, stumbling a bit to catch her balance and swiping at her forehead as sweat threatens to run into her eyes. Her lungs are burning. Her head feels light, her body off as dehydration takes its toll.

What she was not expecting was for Aizen to turn the dodge into an attack. She had anticipated an effort to put more distance between the two; that was how most opponents reacted to something like that this late in the game. Still recovering, she isn't able to set up a proper defense in time. As Aizen springs to his feet and extends his arm into a lariat, Wyvern has only one response left. She had always preferred attacking over defending, anyway. Swinging one arm out of its limp hanging at her side, Wyvern extends her own lariat, both combatants' arms collding with the other's sternums at once!

[BlackAkuma]

Aizen had no idea what happened.

He knew what should have happened. His plan - as much as something you thought up in three seconds could be called a ‘plan’ - was simple. He would roll up, catch her by surprise, and take her down, banking on the shock of it to catch her off guard and make the blow more potent than it would have otherwise been. As skilled as WYVERN was, there was no way she could see a counterattack like this coming. She was going down.

And she did. His lariat connected; he could tell how potent the blow was from the followthrough and the recoil. But he was also falling, and he only realized why immediately before he hit the ground. She’d hit him, too. The same strike, at the same time, with the same force.

Insane, impossible, incredible.

He hit the floor, crashing so hard and making such a resounding splat that it left his ears ringing. His back arched as his spine contracted, only for him to sink back down a moment like a deflating souffle.

[Hills]

Even tired, hurt, and running on fumes, Wyvern is still hellaciously strong. While she doesn't have Aizen's forward momentum to aid her strike, raw power makes up the difference, leaving their clash equal and sending both tumbling to the ground once again. Lacking the energy to properly cushion her fall, Wyvern lands heavily on the hard mats. The lights above were harsh, glaring into her eyes even as she tries to refocus her vision and calm the horrible throbbing in her head.

She could barely move. She could barely even think. Luckily, Wyvern had never been one to stop in the absence of conscious thought. While the possibility of remaining horizontal is increasingly tempting as the match drags on, the Irishwoman slowly begins to sit up, forcing herself off the ground even without her arms. Blinking as her eyes readjust to normal light, she immediately focuses on Aizen. Nothing else matters. Not the pain, not the crowd, not even the exultation that threatens to overwhelm her as she feels the absolute limits of her endurance approach her. Come hell or high water, she would still fight. Slowly and stiffly, she begins to gather her feet under her before rising from the ground.