Clara Gaster vs Nerissa Labong III — Fight Pit Match

[Monsy]

FIGHT PIT MATCH

The ring is surrounded with a cage with a platform on top of it
Victory via KO or Submission!

BEGIN!

[skip-stop]

"Will you tell me yourself?" Victoria asked, getting up from the bench. "Or will I have to pry it out?"

Nerissa pursed her lips, but did not turn to the manager. Instead, she made two quick punches and completed the combination with a hard kick that caused the punching bag to move more than a meter aside. She took a deep breath and only then turned to face Victoria. There was no usual wide smile on her face, and in her gaze the Englishwoman caught something that she did not expect at all.

"Nerissa, what's the matter?" Approaching her, Victoria asked, in whose voice there was obvious concern. "This is completely unlike you and I want to understand..."

"You can't understand," the Native American woman said, looking away. "Because even I don't understand myself."

"Can you try to explain it anyway?" Victoria took off her glasses. "Please."

The brown-haired woman took a deep breath and went to the locker, from where she took out the Pride flag. She just stared at the cloth in her hands for a few moments, then sat down on the bench, putting the flag aside at the same time. Nerissa put her elbows on her hips, and confusion was visible on her face, which was completely out of character for her. Victoria assumed that her ward was trying to find the right words and therefore she did not break the silence.

"Perhaps..." Nerissa began somewhat hesitantly. "Perhaps I don't want to take part in this match."

"What?"

Both of Victoria's eyebrows went up, which was extremely rare. The manager blinked in surprise several times, trying to make sure that she understood Nerissa correctly. It was only when the first shock had passed that she began to draw conclusions. Now many things fell into place and now it became clear to her what had caused the strange behavior of the Native American woman lately. Victoria walked over to Nerissa, sat down next to her and took her hand.

"I've never had any doubts," Nerissa said, lowering her eyes. "Everyone I've ever fought in the ring has been nothing more than an obstacle in my path." She turned her head towards Victoria. "Becoming the best in pro wrestling is all I've ever wanted, and for that I've always been ready to beat the shit out of anyone who gets in my way, because only when you're on top no one else can look down on you." Her lower lip trembled slightly and she had to take a deep breath. "But she... I do not know how I feel about her, but I do not want to hurt her... not now..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Victoria asked, hugging Nerissa. "We would have dealt with it, we would have found a solution and then..."

"You didn't see her face..." Nerissa replied with a sad smile. "When she came and challenged me, she didn't think about anything but prospects." She turned her palm over and took Victoria's hand. "She wants to get to the top too, and now the way to that top is through me, so what am I to say no to her?" Nerissa exhaled sadly. "Unlike me, she still doesn't care who stands in her way and maybe this is exactly what it takes to get to the top." She smiled bitterly. "Now I understand why Charlotte is so eager to get rid of all emotions before the match, it protects her from pain in her heart."

Victoria blinked slowly. Despite the fact that she and Nerissa have established a fairly warm relationship, never before has the Native American woman been so open with her. She couldn't understand all the feelings of her ward because she wasn't a pro wrestler and she didn't know what it was like to fight someone you didn't want to fight. The manager smoothly took Nerissa by the chin and forced her to look up.

"I don't have any better words for you than your own," Nerissa blinked in surprise, not understanding what the Englishwoman was talking about. "Charlotte told me about your training with Astrid, in all the details, and although I'm not interested in the ways you maim each other, I remembered the words that you and Astrid said then." Victoria smiled the way a mother smiles when looking at her daughter. "She's my friend, but..."

"But in the ring she's my enemy..." Nerissa finished.

"Exactly," Victoria nodded with a smile. "Besides, in your previous match... well, let's just say that in that match you didn't compete in fighting skills, which means you still have to show that you are the better fighter, right?"

"Huh, that's right!"

A wide smile appeared on Nerissa's face from ear to ear, and all the sadness disappeared from her eyes. She hugged Victoria gratefully and then got to her feet. Tying the Pride flag around her neck, she took a deep breath and clenched her fists for a moment. Perhaps she really should have given up on this match, but now it was too late to change anything. And that only meant that she had to show not only her opponent, but also the whole world that she was capable of winning not only in a match based on sex.

"Well, then it's time to change the score in my favor!" Nerissa said as she headed out of the locker room.

"Do your best!" Victoria said goodbye.

With a curt nod to her manager, the Native American woman left the locker room and headed down a long coridor. Despite the doubts she felt, Victoria's words helped her look at it from a slightly different perspective. The manager was right. Despite the fact that Nerissa equalized the score in their rivalry, the second match was exclusively about sex, so in fact Clara was still stronger as a fighter. But if she wins today, she will have nothing more to prove. Not to the audience, not to her opponent, not even to herself.

Entering the waiting room, Nerissa stopped in front of the curtains. She still couldn't figure out herself and the feelings she was experiencing. Thanks to her rival, a strange period began in her life. She had never felt so much doubt before. However, she was still a fighter. And her goal still remained unchanged. Nerissa intended to get to the top, where no one else would be able to look down at her. Today's match should be the biggest step she needed on the way to her dream.

Entrance Music

Attire

For a few moments, all the lights in the arena went out, and then the walls shook due to three deafening chords announcing that the Echidna had arrived. The top of the ramp was filled with fog, which could be seen thanks to three flashes of light. And when the next three flashes of light shone on the ramp, there stood a figure wrapped in the Pride flag. Three chords and three flashes made it possible to see that Nerissa turned her head to the audience. It was at this moment that countless snakes appeared on the titantron and when the Native American woman turned completely to the audience, these snakes formed her name. She threw both hands up in the air, accepting the deafening applause.

Moving to the beat of the music, the Echidna began to descend the ramp and her every step was accompanied by high flames on her sides. The audience was clearly thrilled with this show, but it was just the beginning. As soon as she stepped off the ramp, the light returned to the arena, causing everyone present to gasp. Nerissa's lips stretched into a smile, because no doubt they liked her new outfit, which she was saving for a special occasion. And is there a case more special than a match with a woman she wanted to surpass?

After spending a few moments with the most devoted fans, to whom Nerissa presented several selfies and several autographs, she finally got to the ring. Stopping, the Native American woman let out a whistle, being very impressed with the structure above the ring that was to become the scene of the fight. Climbing the metal steps, the Echidna felt strange because there were no ringposts and ropes, only the mat. She untied the Pride flag and raised it over her head. And while she was doing a lap of honor, the ring announcer took the floor.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Introducing first! From hot San Jose! The one who lives freely! An ardent defender and representative of the LGBT+ community! The one who brings passion and blood to every match! Five feet five inches tall! Weighing one hundred and nineteen pounds! The one and only! Please welcome! Nerissa! Echidna!! Labong!!!"

The walls of the arena shook again because of the fervent greeting that the audience gave Nerissa. A shiver even ran down the Echidna's back. Sometimes she forgot about the popularity she had gained since the beginning of her career. Their support was definitely important to her. Especially today. In gratitude, she clenched her right fist and raised it over her head.

When her music came to an end, she immediately headed to the place that in another situation would be her corner, there she neatly folded the Pride flag. Then the Echidna took a deep breath. Deep down, she still felt that what was happening was wrong. She still hadn't figured out how she felt about the woman who was coming here soon. And the thought of hurting someone she'd had a great time with not so long ago... Nerissa shook her head. No, she shouldn't think about it. She should only think about the match.

[Vc0m]

As she put on her attire, got ready for the final non-title match of the card, as the ring was undone to prepare for the brutal encounter of Clara Gaster and Nerissa Labong, there was a swell…no, a whirlwind of weird feelings from Clara in regards to her opponent. It was difficult to just step from the lewdest affair possible in the form of their oil match, and, even if after a year, straight onto a physical, brutal encounter such as this. And Clara wanted this. She wanted Nerissa in the most familiar environment for her possible, one that mostly resembled her previous sport, with some flair from pro-wrestling. On top of the weird feelings towards the woman she genuinely wanted to defeat in a wrestling match, but also shared the ring with in a hentai encounter, there was another, what she believed to be even more problematic feeling towards Nerissa.

She still looked past her.

Clara realized just how bad a sin it was for her to keep doing to opponents in wrestling, let alone to the same one multiple times, let alone to the woman she genuinely respected. But she was looking forward...towards a potential title opportunity towards Nerissa's friend and rival Astrid. Clara knew that if she had another opportunity, she could beat her. Without any weapons or fouls, hardcore match or not...

And there she went again. Thinking about the potential match vs Astrid, instead of the match vs Nerissa. She shook her head, trying to dispel any thought that was not about the match tonight.

Knowing she had a few minutes to spare while the cage was being set up, she decided to leave her locker room for another set up private locker, politely knocking as she heard a yelp.

Her sister, Alice, would swiftly open the room, confused.

"Clara? Your match is soon, isn't it? What's..."

"I mean...I don't know if I would be conscious, let alone able to walk after this match, so going to your locker room would be an unlikely proposition right before the main event...I wanted to wish you good luck", Clara would say with a smile. It was weird to think that Alice would be able to do tonight what she's never been able to do, and win the Lightweight title...but surprisingly, she held no shred of envy towards her sister. Her mind was firmly set on winning the Openweight title right now.

With a smile, Alice nodded: "Break a leg...not your own, of course..."

"Pffft...I'll...I'll see.", Clara turned to leave, before Alice stopped her, lightly grabbing her arm:

"I saw how she was looking at you at the bar...", Alice would explain.

"What? What do you...""

"Look, my experience is zero when it comes to love. But I've seen enough cheesy romances in movies to see that Nerissa wasn't looking at you as a rival on that evening."

"I...I mean..."

Alice shook her head, chuckling: "You leave too good an impression on people. Look...", Alice would say, scratching the back of her head: "I wouldn't tell it to her, obviously, but these folks paid to see the two of you in a brutal match. Leave everything else behind. You don't want to regret this match, do you?"

Someone saying this to her outloud was something Clara needed. She and Nerissa were wrestlers. They were professionals at their job. And tonight, she wanted to remember the match for years to come.

"Thank you...", Clara would say, before hearing a callout from the back:

"Ms. Gaster! Ms. Labong is already doing her entrance! Please go to the Gorilla as soon as possible!"

"See you later, Clara...", Alice would say, closing the door to prepare for her own match, as the Shadow Lord put on her hoodie, swiftly getting her mask from her locker...

____________________________________

Theme

With Nerissa's entrance complete, Clara would make her way onto the entrance ramp. Her theme played as the lights were low, and the only spotlight shone from behind the curtain, creating a shadow-y silhouette image, before they darted apart, revealing the masked, yellow figure from behind. The spotlights at the Tokyo Dome shone all at once at Clara Gaster wearing her signature mask!

Entrance

With a flick of her hand, however, the mask was gone, thrown into the crowd for the lucky member of the crowd to catch, as Clara threw her head back to throw off the hoodie on her head!

In-Ring

Clara would confidentally walk to the ring, clapping hands, getting selfies with her fans, and doing quick autographs. Afterwards, she stepped towards her soon-to-be battlefield, inside the ropeless ring. The song's volume was lowered to allow Clara to be introduced:

"And her opponent! From Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England! The finalist of the inaugural Lightweight Championship Tournament! The Dark Symbol of LAW! The Mistress of 1001 Holds! Standing at Five feet three inchies and weighing at one hundred and nineteen pounds! The Shadow Lord! Clara! GASTER!!!"

At the announcement, Clara stood into a fighting stance, as black and purple streamers were thrown into the ropeless ring, specifically from behind Clara as they formed into dark wings behind Clara, the image that was immediately shared on all social media the moment LAW could post it.

However, at the end, Clara was left with streamers all around her, as she swiftly broke off the pieces off her body while her theme quiet down, as workers tried to quickly get rid of it before the cage was lowered.

With that, it was only Clara, Nerissa, and the ref left inside the ring, and as the cage was lowered down, Clara looked at Nerissa. This time, she wasn't looking past her. As Alice said, all that remained now between them was the match.

"Hey...", Clara greeted her rival, stepping towards her:

"I just wanted you to know...I picked this for the both of us. I want to prove how much I respect you. But for that, I will fight to the best of my ability. I will not hold back in the slightest, because I see you as an equal."

Clara took a deep breath, before continuing: "I am fighting this to win, however. And whatever our relationship has been outside or inside the ring before, the quiet disrespect, the lust during our last match...to what our thoughts on each other are now...I hope you come at me at your best. I hope you try and beat me...even though I am coming out on top tonight!"

She had to spike this last, arrogant comment in. The very slight motivation to Nerissa, to try and make the Brit eat her words in the ring tonight. Even if she might've overdramatized that last sentance, everything in Clara's speech has been completely honest.

As the cage finished coming down on the two competitors, Clara stuck out her hand for a respectful handshake...

[skip-stop]

No matter how hard Nerissa tried to concentrate her thoughts on the match, when Clara's music started, she felt a prick in the heart area. She turned her head to the side and found, without any surprise, that her opponent was in the best possible mood. Approaching their battleground, the brunette made several stops to please the fans. It was obvious that even though Nerissa's popularity was high, it was just a grain of sand on the beach compared to the popularity of her rival.

This once again made the Native American woman reflect that she had lost this rivalry even before it began. Victoria did not tell her about it, but due to a combination of circumstances, Nerissa managed to see some of her manager's documents. And even by the most conservative calculations, the facts were such that if she won today, her rating would rise by only a couple of points, while if she lost, it would fall to the level of the baseboard. Zugzwang. Literally.

The Echidna was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice how the British woman got to the ring without ropes. The voice of the ring announcer brought her out of her thoughts, as well as the show that Clara had arranged for the audience. As soon as her rival's music ended, the cage began to descend from the ceiling. It was at that moment that Nerissa stopped deceiving herself, now she clearly understood one simple thing. She doesn't want to be here.

But she's here.

And since there was nothing else she could do about it, she took a deep breath and headed towards the center of the ring. With each step, her legs grew heavier. Stopping, Nerissa did not dare to look up. As a fighter, she knew exactly what she had to do. But maybe for the first time in her life, she didn't want to be a fighter. She had never been as indecisive as she was now. It was something she had never encountered. And so she didn't know how to handle it. She didn't even know what to say.

The situation with her opponent was completely different. While Nerissa didn't know what to say, Clara started talking. And if up to this point the Echidna doubted the motivation of the British woman, now there is no doubt left. It didn't matter to the Shadow Lord what happened between them. She came here to win. On the way to this, she had already defeated one outstanding woman from Victoria's team and now she had to take another step because, admittedly, only Nerissa and Charlotte could compare with Astrid in Victoria's team. The Echidna looked up at her rival. Nothing has changed. Clara looked the same as the day in the bar when she challenged her. Only determination and nothing more. And now it became obvious that there are two completely different fighters in the ring at the moment.

“Yeah... of course...” Nerissa said vaguely, involuntarily looking away.

Being straight as a rail, the Native American woman simply did not know how to lie, so these words came very hard to her. She extended her right hand forward and joined their palms. This further enhanced the contrast as Clara's palm was hot and her grip was firm, while Nerissa's palm was cold and her grip was soft. Realizing that if she prolonged this moment out any longer, things would only get worse, she took two steps back.

The cage came down and became a symbol of the fact that there was no way back. The only thing Nerissa wanted was for this to end quickly. She raised both hands to chin level, clenched her right hand into a fist and left her left hand half-bent. The referee asked the fighters in turn if they were ready. After a moment of confusion, the Echidna nodded. The striped shirt raised her hand above her head and then brought it down sharply. Accompanied by a shout from the crowd, a bell rang through the arena.

Ding-Ding-Ding.

[Vc0m]

Clara paid close attention to Nerissa, still keeping her sister's words in mind. She was careful about her rival's body language and face, anything that would betray her current mental state...and Clara tried to maintain a poker face as she saw Nerissa's reaction to her words and the handshake.

Nerissa didn't want to be here.

There was no fire that Clara saw in the MMA fighter who transitioned to a wrestler, with a chip on her shoulder against the long time LAW veteran. A couple of months ago, she was roaring to fight Clara, to make her not look past her. In a way, Clara maybe expected the same fire here, seeing as she was fighting Nerissa partly to get at her stablemate... but no. Despite the brutal match up, despite Clara still having that slight disrespect at the Native American, that fire from their first match, from Nerissa's match against Alice, from their meeting in the cafe, was gone.

"Was...our second match a mistake?", Clara thought to herself. It was easy for her to transition her thinking from a lustful hentai match to a brutal cagematch. It was all competition. Everything that she left in the ring, stayed there...but another bit of selfishness on her part was thinking that everyone else was like her...

Even her hand in the handshake, she could feel her lack of want for this battle.

Soon, the cage closed behind them, and finally, the ref would call for the bell, their third match officially underway!

DING DING DING

Clara put her worries aside. Maybe once things heat up between them, the match would naturally get more heated. To that effect, Clara decided to start not with a hold like she usually did...no, she would approach Nerissa, and attempt to drive a hard Knife Edge Chop across her chest!

[skip-stop]

It was damn difficult to take the first step, but even despite all the contradictions, Nerissa knew that she simply could not stand still, so she had to take a step towards her rival. Knowing Clara's style, she was sure that another grappling was waiting for her ahead, because it was the bread and butter of the British woman. She even lowered her left hand, but that was exactly what became the Echidna's first mistake in this match.

Instead of throwing both hands at Nerissa's hands, Clara abruptly swung her right hand and the edge of her palm crashed into the chest of the Native American woman. The Echidna's breasts swayed, while she herself staggered back a step. A burning pain in her chest made her eyes widen. This kind of start of the match was more typical for her than for Clara, but it was this that made the audience shout loudly, welcoming the success of the Shadow Lord.

"Gmmhh..."

Trying to keep her distance, Nerissa threw her left arm in an arc forward. It was a classic left cross, but to those who were at least a little familiar with the basics of boxing, it was obvious that this punch was slow and inaccurate. The only logical excuse for this could be that Nerissa was stunned by her opponent's first attack. But, as they say, you can never know for sure.

[Vc0m]

Clara's strike rang true, the crowd cheered and wooed for the attack landing, and Nerissa let out a dissatisfied grumble. Everything for the first attack that Clara landed seemed to go perfectly the way she wanted, as long as it would finally wake up the Native American up to fight back.

And that she did, swinging at Clara...with a relatively slow and predictable punch in return! Clara wasn't about to let Nerissa's punches hit her intentionally, and managed to dodge by moving her head to the side.

"No...she is still barely fighting back..."

Clara grit her teeth in frustration, but still decided to continue physically goading Nerissa...this time, with an outright punch, a swift right hook to her rival's jaw!

[skip-stop]

“What the hell is she doing?”As if she couldn't believe her eyes, Victoria asked, turning her head first to Astrid, then to Charlotte.

But none of them gave an answer. Sitting in the front row and watching the match, each of them understood perfectly well what was going on. They understood it, but they refused to believe it. That's why they both kept silent, because it seemed to them that if they said it out loud, it would turn into an undeniable reality.

Nerissa knew that her manager and her best friends were watching her right now, but she had neither the time nor the desire to turn her head to the side. Her sluggish punch was like the pendulum of a huge clock for Clara, the brunette did not even have to spend her strength to evade it. Realizing the failure, the Echidna decided to take a step aside, still trying to keep her distance. But the Shadow Lord had other plans.

“Guuummhhh!!!”

As if out of nowhere, the British woman's fist slammed into her jaw. A hook is the most powerful punch possible, with the exception of a successful uppercut, since during the hook the fighter uses the entire mass of their body. The Echidna felt it for herself in every detail.

There was a ringing in her ears, and her body felt like jelly for a few moments. Involuntarily, Nerissa backed away. She only stopped when her right side pressed against the cage. She was even ready to fall to one knee, but her instincts made her grab the metal mesh with her right hand. There was a taste of blood in her mouth, and her head was still spinning from missing the punch.

[Vc0m]

Clara's punch was one of anger and desperation, maybe unintentionally so. She didn't expect for the full punch to land...but there it was. Nailing Nerissa straight on the jaw, the Echidna almost falling off her feet, as she supported herself with the help of the cage.

The Brit tried to maintain a poker face, but she was gritting her teeth. She didn't realize that the effect of their hentai match would be this big on Nerissa, to the point that she wasn't willing to bring out the motivation and fire she had when she was fighting Alice back at Apex...

...but maybe there was another way to bring it out:

"Heh...still a rookie..." she would say outloud.

The original reason for why there was so much animosity from Nerissa to Clara, the Brit unintentionally looking down on the relatively new wrestler at the time, might've been the only way to get the match that she wanted out of Nerissa. To that effect, Clara would rush the Echidna, delivering a hard knee strike to the middle of her body!

[skip-stop]

“Shit... shit... shit!" Nerissa was repeating in her head.

Nerissa had never taken part in theatrical productions because it was beyond her interests, but now she felt like a little girl on stage who had forgotten the text. Clutching the cage and trying to come to her senses, she clearly understood what she should do, but she just couldn't. Punches, kicks, throws, holds… she knew all this, but her body seemed to refuse to move.

A rookie.

The word pierced Nerissa's ears like a piece of rebar. And following that word, Clara's knee slammed into her upper abdomen. Nerissa's eyes widened in pain. She relaxed her right hand, releasing the wall of the cage, after which she collapsed to her knees.

“Kha! Kha!” With a cough, several drops of blood flew out of her mouth, formed after the previous punch.

And although at that moment Nerissa had to think about how to get back into the game, she was thinking about something completely different. Was her opponent really serious about this? Even after everything. That word always made Nerissa angry. But this time the word caused only pain. Not in the jaw or stomach. In the heart.