Noblesse Oblige: Maria Crawford vs. Emily Nelson

[BlackAkuma]

Maria, for her part, had hung back in the corner while all this was going on, as shocked as anyone to be blindsided like this. The four of them had ambushed Thunder Ryuko when they started their campaign, but she had been fairly quiet in the intervening weeks, and she figured the woman just decided to keep her distance, hanging in the corner. She’d caught the others off guard, but she would be ready.

She waited for the woman to turn away from her, then came out of the corner, looking to strike her from behind. Closer, closer, closer, and-

Emily came at her from the side, running into her and knocking her back to the mat. Already winded from the match, she didn’t relish the thought of spending even more time in the ring with the Noble Fighter - no, she was just about done, too.

Maria rolled out of the ring and made her way to the floor, joining the other Fallen Angels at the bottom of the ramp. They stayed close, but none of them were quick to make their way back into the ring, knowing that Ryuko had the high ground. It was a fight they could probably win, with numbers in their favor, but no one wanted to charge in and be the first to get crushed.

Freia stepped forward after a moment, glaring up at Ryuko, managing a small smile despite the situation. ”Ryuko-chan, there you are. I was afraid we’d scared you off before. Glad to see you, but there had to be a better way to say hello.”

[Highfly]

Ryuko leaned over the rope shouting to the Fallen Angels while shaking her head at them. "Oh you are always the same fake Freia, saying one thing meaning another. You were always a coward who dodged fighting me solo. I was one of the top women in Wrestle Angels and occupied a spot all of you wish you had! Worst of all, in a tradition of honorable, hard fighting Japanese female wrestlers you are a shame on a great legacy." Ryuko said, airing all her grievances of Freia getting some things off her chest that had been there quite some time.

"Emily is a foreigner in a Japanese ring sure, but she fights well. She is one of a select few who has proven they deserve to be here." Ryuko said. "That is something none of you have done."

[Underdoggo]

Emily hung back as Ryuko leaned over the top rope and began to hurl verbal abuse at the Fallen Angels, keeping her distance so that she could stop and come to terms with the situation. She was still trying to wrap her head around so much of what had just happened: she had been about to receive the mother of all beatings from Freia and her allies when Ryuko had intervened. Why the Thunder Empress had chosen to help her, Emily still didn't know: they had only barely acquainted with one another back in the old league, and knew one another more by reputation than anything else-- and Ryuko's was a stellar reputation, easily making her one of the all-time greats of Wrestle Angels.

It was as Ryuko yelled at Freia and her gang that Emily learned the truth of the matter: Ryuko, despite not knowing her personally, considered her to be a worthy wrestler who deserved her place here in LAW. The Noble Fighter found herself blushing at this unexpected compliment: she had not expected Thunder Ryuko of all people to think so highly of her, let alone to charge into the ring on her behalf. If this was how Ryuko felt, then Emily was not going to let the Thunder Empress stand against these fiends alone.

She moved up to lean against the ropes as well, making sure to keep all five of the heels in her field of vision. "If ye want to take either of us on, then name a time and place, ye silver-haired hag!" she yelled to Freia. "O'erwise, you'd best get gone before either of us get cross!" For all of her bravado, Emily knew that she and Ryuko were badly outnumbered, and that if it came down to a fight, here and now, then they would lose, even with the referee's intervention. All the same, she was not going to let Ryuko stand alone after the way the Japanese wrestler had saved her just now.

[BlackAkuma]

Freya rubbed her shoulders as she looked on towards the ring, contemplating the next step. This had been an unforeseen difficulty, but not an insurmountable one.

They had the numbers advantage, a fact that she was quite keen on. While Thunder Ryuko was a fierce opponent, she was one woman, and Emily was in rough shape. Even if Maria stayed out of things, they could overwhelm them. Perhaps not without taking a lump or two, but it was doable.

She moved forward, prepared and eager to do just that, when Emily spoke up and made a challenge. It gave her some pause - as much as she would’ve loved a simple beatdown, it wouldn’t serve any real purpose. They could do that anytime, easy. But a match? That could turn heads.

”I’ve a better idea.” Freia leaned forward with hands on hips and the devil’s smirk. ”How about both of you. Same time. Tag match. And hey,” She threw her arms up. ”Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll even let you pick your poison. Any two of us you want, just name it.”

[Highfly]

Ryuko stood with her arms crossed and smirked. "Any two, you all deserve to get beat down for acting like spoiled brats." She said with a shrug. "Emily here was on the wrong end of a beatdown so if anyone should pick it is her although I know there is no way you will fight clean." Ryuko added as she glared at Freia. Truthfully Ryuko wanted to take on Freia solo but any way she could show that she was the big bad former top of the Wrestle Angel ladder was fine with her.

[Underdoggo]

Emily paused for a moment. She had fully expected Freia, or even Ryuko, to set the terms of this tag team. To her surprise, though, Ryuko had decided to hand the reigns back to her and let her decide. She hadn't expected such magnanimity from the Thunder Empress, and while she wasn't complaining either, the question now was...who to choose?

Maria, she had just fought, as so she knew what to expect. Sa-KI...from what little she had heard and seen the woman was a sadistic submission specialist. Zero was a highly effective striker and high-flyer. And Freia herself, well...even if one discounted her heelish tactics, she was still a frighteningly effective wrestler. And of course, that wasn't even mentioning the way Freia and Sa-Ki were infamous for breaking and humiliating their foes in lewd ways. Emily still remembered what had happened to poor Chisato...

Her mind snapped back into clarity. Zero and Maria were a natural tag team, as were Sa-KI and Freia...so it made a lot of sense to break those teams up.

"Maria," Emily said, growling down at her former opponent, "as far as I'm concerned, I won that bout of ours; ye would have tapped if Zero hadn't intervened, an' you know it." She glared to the rest of the Fallen Angels. "As for ye, Freia...I intend to show ye that this team of yours is as shallow an' empty as ye are. I pick Zero and Sa-KI: let's see if this wee fan club o' yours can really be called a team!"

A part of her really wanted to take on Freia, and yet was also really afraid to. But as far as Emily was concerned, the best way to deal with Freia would be to deal with her underlings first...

[BlackAkuma]

The Fallen Angels looked on as their future opponents revved up the crowd, watching as the first real resistance to their reign coalesced before their very eyes. Freia wasn’t sure what to make of it, knowing that it would be a good opportunity, but also realizing what it would mean for their fledgling group. While they’d done a good job establishing themselves so far, they hadn't truly been tested up until this point. Whatever ambitions they had in LAW, this was the time to show what they could truly do, and it would all come down to whoever these two choose to take on.

Freia would’ve liked to get in there and scrap herself, and she almost thought she was who Emily would gun for - but no. She had other designs, it seemed.

At the mention of their choices, Zero had absolutely nothing to say, as usual, sticking to her with the same frozen demeanor that had helped earn her frightening reputation. SA-KI, on the other hand, had enough words for the both of them and a little more besides. She strode forwards, hands on her hips and chest jutting outwards.

”You want me? You’ve got me. The Terror From Beyond The Stars is ready for you.” She held up a cautious finger. ”But when you’re screaming and begging and pleading for us to stop, I want you to remember just one thing: You asked for it.”

[Highfly]

Ryuko clapped and smiled back at the Fallen Angels. "Big talk from a bitch who hides behind her friends. Can't wait to slam ya around this ring so much that your fat ass shakes as much as these ring ropes will from the impact. Bye bye." Ryuko said grinning and waving at them. She knew this was going to be a tough, not at all fair fight. Still she was the thunder empress and she would show them why she achieved success the way she did in Wrestle Angels. She would get that here in LAW too she was sure of it, and stomping out these hyenas would go a ways in helping her continue to establish herself.

Emily? For a foreign wrestler she wrestled very well and Ryuko had recently come to accept that Japanese women didn't singularly hold the "greatest wrestlers on earth" pedestal to themselves anymore.

[Underdoggo]

As expected, SA-KI was quite happy with being chosen as an opponent. As expected, she played up her whole supervillain persona as she strode forward, delivering a mocking monologue of a reply to Emily and Ryuko. And as expected, she did all of the talking while Zero simply stood there in sullen silence. As SA-KI made her diatribe, Emily leaned against the ropes and glared down at her.

"Aye, I asked for it," she replied, "but dinna get too ahead of yourself, luv. As far as I'm concerned, ye're just an appetizer before Ryuko and I get to the main course." She glanced icily at Freia as she said this, before turning back to SA-Ki. "We're not just going to defeat ye: we're going to dismantle your whole bloody team."

And with that, she backed away. As she did so, she took a sidelong glance at Ryuko. "Thanks," she finally said to the Dragon Empress. "Didn't think ye of all people would come to the rescue." This was not meant to disrespect Ryuko or her character: the two of them had simply barely ever met back in Wrestle Angels, and had never fought each other. This had made Ryuko's sudden rescue just that much more unexpected for Emily, and she still didn't know how to react to it.

[Highfly]

Ryuko kept looking up the ramp, keeping her gaze focused there before turning to face Emily. "You are a better more proper wrestler than any of those women especially Freia. I have never liked her and I have wanted to get hold of her between the ropes for a long time. They are all a pack of cowards. You deserve better." Ryuko said finally. Usually Ryuko was vocal about the best female wrestlers being from Japan but even though Emily was clearly not from Japan in the eyes of Ryuko she had proven herself.