Snowslide

The AFW crowd let out a cheer as Edge of The Moment began playing over the speakers, signaling the arrival of Frictions new Entropy Champion, Silver Ace.

Ace walked out, clad in a Journey shirt and black pants, shiny Entropy Title belt around her shoulder, began making her way down the ramp, slapping the hands of fans as she headed for the ring. She couldn't help but be excited. It had taken almost an entire year, but the crowd had, for the most part, finally accepted her. They had seen her at her lowest, at her absolute worst, and had seen her at her best and highest so far, and after being uninterested in her, and at times even outright hating her, they had finally seen what she was made of, and had finally respected her.

Sliding into the ring, Ace got up and had one of the ring crew hand her a microphone, taking a few moments to let her music keep playing, deeply enjoying Neal Schon's amazing guitar solo, before signaling to have it cut.

Raising the microphone, Ace grinned, starting to speak.

"So...as everybody knows, Avalanche is soon to be upon us, coming from loving Geneva, Switzerland, home of delicious chocolate!"

Her eyes sparkled a little, licking her lips as the crowd chuckled.

"So as Entropy Champion, it falls upon me, the awesome Silver Ace, to name my own challenger for a title match at Avalanche, and believe me, I love a good fight, and I have the perfect opponent in mind to give you guys a match that will steal the show!"

Ace began pacing, accepting the cheers from the crowd. They weren't huge cheers, not giant Akashi/Taylor sized uproars of love and belief, but they were still a fair amount of cheers, and more importantly, they were cheering for her. No wonder those girls acted the way they did, it was a damn powerful feeling being cheered for like this, it went to your head.

"Now, you guys have seen a lot of my past opponents. Jocelyn, Valley, Nikolette, Akashi, Taylor, Miss USA, The Crimson Daze, Iron Maiden. All of them great, all of them tough....But none of them are getting a shot at me at Avalanche.

You see, The Entropy belt has a pretty....odd legacy. You've had great wrestlers hold it, like Taylor and Lady Lakota, but then you've also had some really stupid crap happening with it.  That Brittany girl that beat Taylor only did so because Taylor was fighting with broken ribs like a dummy. Then the belt got stolen by some Kawaii girl, the adorable Wells Quinn...who in her first defense, lost it in a shame of a match to my old manager, that worthless pervert Tai, who got tricked by Akashi into doing a match he couldn't win, then she shamed both herself and him by using his libido against him to win the belt, then lost it the same damn day in a battle royal to that bitch Kelly somehow. Then Kelly lost to Lady Lakota, who was the first girl since Taylor to bring a little credibility to it. Sadly, while a great wrestler, Lakota didn't get to have world class competition."

She stopped and took a breath, shrugging her shoulders.

"So, given that the title's history has been full of ups and downs and downright stupidity, I want to start things off right, by facing a world class competitor, and making sure we get the best Entropy Match ever for Avalanche. Who do I pick you ask? A girl with an almost spotless record, a girl with incredible skill in grappling and submissions, a girl who, an Avalanche ago, you all watched go through the fight of her life, putting her career on the line in the process. She's someone who I've been compared to unfavorably for a long time now, and I've been wanting a chance to get in the ring with her and prove myself against her for a long time now. So I hope you guys are ready for a bad ass match, because the opponent I pick, is going to be the best young talent in Friction today, beside's myself of course, CASSIE ELLIOT, COME ON DOWN!!"

Ace yelled, giving a little showmanship to the situation as she waved towards the entrance ramp.

Cassie was not having a good day. Her body still ached from her match against Kelly, and the loss still weighed heavily on her mind. She wasn't in much of a mood to act tough.

Her music heralded her arrival at the top of the ramp, but she couldn't match its energy. She paced out into view, arms at her sides, clad in black leggings and sparkly silver Ugg boots and a light sweatshirt. Even in her unimpressive state, the crowd cheered for her, and she was quickly blushing. She managed a shy wave that only egged them on.

In one hand was a microphone. She bashfully raised it to her lips.

"Um..." She said, the sound reverberating through the arena. The volume of it took her by surprise, and she lowered the mic before trying again. "Hi, Ace. I'm really flattered that you picked me. If you want a match with me, I'd be..." She hesitated. The crowd waited. "That'd be okay. I'd be happy to have the chance to compete with you."

She didn't know what else to do, so she took a small, respectful bow.

Okay......okay!?

"Cmon Cass! Show a little spirit! I know your great, but that doesn't mean your so far above me I can't compare. We're talking about one of the best title matches in AFW history! I mean, cmon, who here wouldn't want to see Cassie try to take this belt away from me!?"

Ace yelled, letting the crowd's overwhelming cheers answer her question for her. They certainly liked the submission specialist. Ace smirked, shaking her finger.

"Well, not that I would make it easy for her or anything, I can guarantee I'd give Cassie there the biggest fight she ever had! All that's left to decide upon is what kind of match I get to beat her in! It's Challenger's choice, and I'm willing to take whatever match I have too in order to prove myself. So cmon Cassie! What kind of match do you think will give you the best shot against me?"

Ace finished. She hoped she didn't come off too arrogant to her opponent, but damnit, she had been wanting this match for some time, and she felt it deserved all the hype it could get.

Cassie blinked in surprise. Her, above Ace? She thought it was the other way around. Ace had fought top competition, won and lost, but always been competitive. Cassie hadn't.

"Yeah, um..." She hesitated. The match type. Right. "Uh... Just a standard match would be fine, I think. That'd be nice." She nodded. "Um... Is there anything else?" She raised her eyebrows and stepped on her toes with her other boot.

Ace raised an eyebrow.

"You uh....you alright Cass?"

Ace asked, noticing Cassie's rather....un-excited reaction to getting a title match at AFW's biggest show.

Unfortunately for Ace, she wouldn't be able to get an answer, as some strange music Ace wasn't familiar with began playing over the PA system, causing Ace to look at the entry way, a confused look on her face.

Ace blinked several times as she got a good look at this new girl, who promptly insulted Cassie and talked down to her about her recent loss. Ace, admittedly, hadn't followed it, being too focused on winning her belt and dealing with Valley again. It would explain Cassie's attitude though. Raising her microphone, Ace prepared her reply.

"So First of all...who the fuck are you?"

Ace asked, getting a laugh from the crowd. Ace honestly didn't know who the girl was, but the crowd certainly didn't seem to like her very much. After the way she just talked to Cassie, Ace didn't care much for her either.

"Second of all...What kind of gall does it take to come out here and talk shit about a girl like Cassie? Have you not seen what she can do? This girl fought people that kicked my ass and made them look like chumps! She's probably the single best submission wrestler AFW has ever seen!

Now I dunno what happened between her and that bitch Conway, but if that's the reason for her looking so down right now, then frankly she needs to get over it. One loss hardly makes a wrestler worthless! I mean honestly, no offense to her, but everyone's lost. Me, Taylor, Akashi, everyone. It happens, learn what you can from it and move on."

Ace said, taking a second to breath while looking at Cassie, hoping the girl didn't think she was being cruel to her or anything. From their limited meetings, Ace honestly liked Cassie, but every time they met, it seems something happened to make Ace look like a bitch.

Moving past that, Ace focused on this newcomer in her fancy blue outfit, raising the microphone again.

"But this is hardly the place for that, so why don't you tell me, miss blue dress lady, just what it is you want out here. My guess would be you want some of the shiny sitting on my shoulder, what say you?"

"Excuse you!?"

Ace replied, glaring at Gwendolyn. Insulting her was one thing, but insulting Valley...that was too far. While she hadn't spoken to her ex since their recent match, she was forced to admit to herself during it that she still had feelings towards her ex. Having her friend, her ex, and herself insulted, Ace now had a change of heart as she raised her mic, calling to the retreating girl.

HEY! Hold it! Get back here damnit!"

Ace yelled, one rich girl yelling at the other. Cassie had left while Gwen was giving her speech and, while Ace felt bad for the girl, she was going to have to take back her original choice.

"Gwendolyn! Today's your lucky day! I wanted a match with my first choice, but you know what? You've gone and pissed me off now! So tell you what, I am hereby picking you, Gwendolyn Betten-whatever, to be my opponent in an Entropy Title match at Avalanche! Even better, you get to pick the match yourself. So do me a favor, and please, please, pick a match where I can have fun kicking the pompous, egotistical crap out of you!"

Ace finished, the crowd letting out a cheer, the night proving more surprising than they thought.