Phantom Menaces

Angel held Ace close, squeezing her tight against herself, but once she felt the girl starting to pull back, she willing let her go, watching as the younger girl moved away.

She forced herself to smile again, meeting Ace's gaze as the girl thanked her, then spoke up again, keeping her voice soft, and quiet.

"So...you're going to kick her ass once you get back to Japan, right chica?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest. "No way she's going to get away with that bullshit, right?"

Ace nodded vigorously, though she had to stop, the movement hurting her sore neck.

"Yeah, no way. Soon as I'm back, I'm going after her full force. By the time I'm done, she'll be ready to leave Japan for good!"

Ace smirked, before looking back at Angel.

"What about you? Your coming back soon too right?"

Angel shook her head at Ace, and looked away from the girl, looking towards the window of the room, and out towards the city.

"I don't think so. Not yet, chica." She let out a sigh, her shoulders drooping down. "I...I need some time off. To clear my head, you know?"

She looked back at Ace, and gave her a sad sort of smile. "I'll be back, don't worry. I just need to get away from everything for a bit, that's all."

Ace smiled back.

"I understand. Take your time. When you do get back though, I wanna see you kicking all the ass! Hell, we can team up and kick ass together!"

Ace exclaimed, sounding excited again.

Angel grinned at Ace's words, a genuine smile spreading across her face.

"That sounds good to me, chica. I want to see you kickin' that blonde bitch's ass that screwed you out of a title first though, alright?"

She laughed a little bit, then shook her head, settling back into the bed, her voice suddenly going soft.

"Thanks," she said quietly, glancing away from Ace again. "I needed this. I've been down as hell since last night and haven't had anyone to talk to or anything. It's nice to have someone checking up on me, you know?"

Ace leaned in, gently wrapping her arms around Angel to give her a soft hug, holding her carefully so she didn't hurt her.

"Yeah...I needed it too..."

She said, holding the hug for as long as Angel liked.

Angel returned Ace's hug, holding the girl gently against herself for a few long moments, before letting her go, letting out a light sigh, shaking her head and forcing herself to smile again.

"Alright, chica. That's enough of the emotional part of this visit." She grinned up at the girl, lifting her arms to fold them behind her head. "I want to hear more about how you're going to stomp Gwen's ass when you get your rematch!"

Ace chuckled a little, already feeling more at ease as she sat up.

"Oh I'm gonna break her butt. Then I'm gonna break her face. Then when she comes back, I'll break her butt again, and so on, until I get my belt back."

She laughed, wincing a little after.

"Heh...honestly though, I'm just gonna come after her. Over and over. Every time she's in the AFW Arena, she's my target, and I'm hunting her every week until I get what I deserve."

Angel nodded along with the enthusiastic Ace's words, feeling more and more relaxed as the seconds slipped by.

"Don't let up on her. Make her so pissed that she wants to give you a rematch," Angel advised, closing her eyes and settling into her bed. "That...ugh. That's what Taylor did to me. Called me out and annoyed me enough that I wanted a rematch just so I'd get the chance to wreck her shit and get her to shut the hell up."

She sighed, and shook her head from one side to the other. "I shouldn't have let her get to me like that. I really should have just ignored her or told her to fuck off or something."

Ace nodded sadly.

"Yeah...you played her little game of manipulation, played right into her hand...you even gave her a match type that gave her every advantage, when it wasn't your style at all...She picked up some tips from Lukretia I bet."

Ace replied, bringing up Angel's disadvantage in a No DQ/Falls Count Anywhere Match. Reaching out though, she rubbed Angel's shoulder, a smirk on her face.

"For what its worth though? I know she got in your head, but she never should have gotten a rematch anyway. She needed a match without rules, with every advantage possible, weapons and all, just to beat you. Anybody can fight, and throw a punch, and use a weapon. It's a cheap way to become champion, not as focused on skill. You though? Your the best damn wrestler in this company, and Taylor, for all her bragging and ego and having Akashi and Junko shill for her every time they show up, knows that because: You out-wrestled her."

"So yeah, she won last night...and she proved that she needs every advantage to get it, because otherwise, she just can't beat the best wrestler in the world."