Facing the Demon (For Alexandra)

[url=http://afwrpg.informe.com/forum/post262257.html?hilit=Amethyst#p262257:2gf0ntol]Continued from here...[/url:2gf0ntol]

Valley hated hospitals.

This wasn't the first time she had been in one for an extended stay, though it was her first time in a Japanese one. Back home with the Slamazons, it seemed like she would spend a night under some hospital's care at least once a month. Broken bones, typically. The occasional stitches. Back problems from high-flying moves gone wrong. Nothing major, most of the time.

There were a few occasions where she had taken an even worse beating than the one Amethyst dished out, true. But this time it was different. This time it wasn't part of the show, not something to put on for the audience. This time she wasn't being ambushed by three pissed off girls. She wasn't outgunned or outmanned. Amethyst had simply gotten the drop on her and beat her within an inch of her life.

The laughing in the darkness. The raw brutality of the assault. The stunning, cold efficiency with which it was made. The promises, the threats that came along with it...in all her years of wrestling, with all the opponents she had faced, none of them had even come close to Amethyst Velour. The psycho was simply on a new level, one Valley wasn't sure she ever wanted to touch.

She had been in the hospital for a solid two weeks - a new, personal record - and tonight she had finally been discharged. Her head was still a little tender from the concussion, but the doctor cleared her to wrestle after another week of rest and medication at home, one she fully intended to take.

Just glad to be going, she was moving through the parking lot, fumbling with her keys, when she just stopped. Listened. And heard...nothing.

The parking lot was still - deathly still. Like it had life that was just sucked away, leaving nothing but skin and bones. She didn't hear anyone or anything. She was alone. Impossibly alone.

She sighed, closing her eyes and standing as straight as she could manage. She should have seen it coming.

"I know you're there, Amethyst." She looked around, scanning the deck. "Show yourself."

Amethyst had been waiting calmly for this moment, waiting for Valley to be released from the hospital. It had been a long two weeks since Valley had ended up in the hospital, and the wait had been killing Amethyst. She wasn't just content to hurt her like she did in the gym. No, she wanted to ruin Valley. She wanted to make her so scared, so fearful of her, that she wouldn't be able to walk out of her own front door without worrying that Amethyst was there!

She waited behind in a pillar in the parking lo, patiently waiting for Valley to arrive, and sure enough there she was, right on time. She waited, preparing for just the right moment to make her appearance, when Valley suddenly called her out. Amethyst blinked a few times, wondering how the blonde knew she was there. It didn't matter though. If Valley had been smart she would have just ran to her car and gotten the hell away, instead of calling Amethyst out.

With a sick grin on her face, the violent violet stepped out from behind her pillar, tilting her head curiously towards Valley.

"Nice to see you, Barbie. How'd you know I was here...?"

Speak the devil's name...

Sure enough, Amethyst came out of her hiding place. It actually didn't take much of a guess, given the woman's psychosis. She was obsessed. Really, truly obsessed. Valley had met more than her fair share of asshole bitches in her career, but they all paled in comparison. Velour was just insane. No other word for it.

On the outside, she stayed composed. On the inside, she was dancing in panic as memories of the beating flashed through her head. She was better, but not 100%. Not yet. If it came down to it, Velour could put her right back in that hospital.

She reached in her pocket, fingering the pepper spray she bought from the gift shop.

"Because you have nothing better to do with your day then follow me around, apparently."

Amethyst just smiled, letting out a tsk at Valley, as she stepped in front of her pillar, leaning back against it. She remained calm, not letting herself get too excited yet. She didn't want to ruin the moment, after all.

Her eyes darted down over the woman's body, then back up again, Amethyst slowly licking her lips at the sight of her. She wanted to attack her. She wanted nothing more then to put her right back into the hospital. But she could wait. She could bide her time.

"Why wouldn't I want to follow you around, my little Barbie?" she asked in a low voice, meeting the Slamazon's gaze, lifting her arms to fold them against her chest. "You're such a pretty little doll, and I do like playing with my dolls..." She then laughed, a raspy, mocking sound. "You seem upset to see me! I'm a little hurt, Barbie. Shouldn't you be excited to play with me again, huh?! Shouldn't you be glad to see me, here to welcome you out of the hospital?!"

"Cut the shit, Velour." She spat - literally spitting at Amethyst's feet. The witch was playing games. That's all this was, really. A sick, little game being played out by a sick, little person for her own sick, little reasons. And Valley through being the game board. She had plenty of time to think about a great many things while she was in that bed, replaying that crazy night over and over again.

"You want to play with me again? Fine. We can play. But why here? Why not where everyone can see?" She looked her over and took a step back, trying to exude some confidence. "As far as the world is concerned, I still beat you in our first match. I'm still winning over you. Do you want to change that?"

Amethyst chuckled softly as Valley spit at her feet, going into her little tirade. "Why here, Barbie?" She took a step towards the woman, even as the blonde backed away, her eyes meeting the gaze of the Slamazon as she moved closer to her. "Why not? There's plenty of things here I can hurt you with...or you can hurt me with..." She grinned, her lips spread practically from ear to ear, as she took a second step towards Valley. "Can't you just imagine? What it'd feel like to have your head smashed through the window of one of these cars...? Or to feel yourself slammed up against the cold, unloving metal of their bodies...?" She took a third step, lowering her voice to a soft whisper. "Or maybe you'd rather slam my head through, huh? Maybe you're already thinking about what to do if I attack you. You are, aren't you? You're already thinking of how to use the parking lot against me. Since, you know, you can't be me by yourself..."

She raised her voice back up, taking on a harsh, cold tone again. "You may have beat me in that first match, but I made you suffer in the gym. I hurt you. I could have ruined you forever. I could have fucked your pretty little body up so bad that you could never wrestle again." A fourth step forward, the violent violet moving closer towards Valley as she spoke. "But I didn't. Do you want to know why I didn't break you completely, my little toy...?" She stopped, standing calmly in place as she stared down Valley. "Go ahead. Ask me. I'll tell you why, promise..."

As much as Valley hated to admit, Amethyst was right. She was completely right.

It was the only way she could keep from just folding into the pressure - thinking about hurting Amethyst took her mind off that night. She imagined spraying her in the face, blinding her, then slamming her into that car. Or knocking her against that pillar. Or throwing her down those stairs. It was comforting. It made her feel better. Even though she didn't want it to.

She stood her ground as Amethyst neared, staring back at her, holding a trembling hand behind her back. Taking deep breathes. Keeping everything she could inside, where it belonged. "Okay." She tightened her grip around the pepper spray. "Go ahead. Tell me."

"Because I need you!" Amethyst cackled, spreading her arms wide, as if she was going to try and hug Valley, while a big, maniacal grin crossed her face. "You're my favorite fucking toy!" She cackled again, shaking her head at Valley as she stood there, sounding just as insane as she usually acted. "Why would I ever possibly break you completely?! If I did that, then who the hell would I play with anymore?! Who else would I be able to hurt?! You! You can take it! You can take my beatings and fight right back! I like that, Barbie! No...I fucking love that! Just look at you! You're totally ready to throw down with me right now!"

And then, there it was. Suddenly, Amethyst lunged in at Valley, grabbing her by her shoulders, staring right into her eyes, her face covered in a mask of childish, almost innocent glee, though obviously there was nothing innocent with her words. "I want to break you Barbie! I really, really do! I want to beat you and break you and ruin you like the worthless little bitch that you are! I want to hurt you so bad that you never show your face around the arena again! But...I don't want to lose you either! I never want to lose you! You're just so much fucking fun for me! So I'll never break you completely! Ever! I'll just beat you to your limit and let you go! That way, you can rest up, and we can keep dancing this dance forever!"

She then stepped back from Valley, spreading her arms out wide again. "So come on! Right now! Let's fight, Barbie! Let's see just how bad we can hurt each other!"

Valley was only thirty years old, but she felt much older than that. She chalked it up to leading a full life. Most people only had a few highlights, a handful of standout moments. She'd had dozens upon dozens in her time as a wrestler. Been to places and done things most people just fantasized about doing. A wild, but complete life.

But this? This was completely off the map and around the bend. Every time she thought Amethyst had reached the peak of psychosis, every time it seemed she could simply not be any more crazy, she would say something like that and just take it to an entirely new level.

Valley didn't even know how to respond, not at first. How do you respond to that? How do you engage a person that isn't working on the same level of logic that everyone else is? It was almost like trying to talk with an alien - everything about Amethyst was just so off that she almost didn't seem like a human, but something that was trying hard to pretend to be a human and failing miserably at it.

Valley opened her mouth to speak, then just dropped her head and shook it, rubbing her. "Hail Mary, full of grace...look." She stood up straight, staring at Amethyst with the most serious face she could muster. "Amethyst, you want to fight - we can fight. But not here and not know and not like this. I want a match."

She tightened her grip on the mace - if Amethyst took one step, just one crazy step towards her, she was spraying the stuff in her face. She was starting to wish she'd ordered a taser, too.

Amethyst tilted her head at Valley, as the blonde rubbed her head, shaking it from side to side. She waited, listening to the Slamazon's response, her smile slowly fading from her face as she heard Valley's refusal.

"Not here...? Not now...?" She shook her own head, lowering her arms to her sides. Valley was refusing her? Did the woman really think she had any kind of a choice? "I wasn't asking you, Barbie. I was telling you. I was being nice enough to let you know that we're fighting right here before I started to kick you ass!" She snarled a little at Valley, starting to take a slow step towards her. "You don't get to turn me down, Barbie! You're my toy, and I'll play with you whenever the hell I want!"

With that said, she suddenly began to lunge towards favorite plaything, spreading her arms wide as she neared her, as if she meant to try and tackle the woman to the ground.