Odessa Brock vs. River Styx - #1 Contender Match for the Hardcore Championship

"Call me 'dear' again and I swear, I'll rip your goddamn hair out and shove it down your throat."

Despite the hoarse, harsh tone in Styx's three-pack-a-day voice, she was extremely pleased to get that crotch shot in on Odessa. It wasn't just the way it felt sinking her forearm into that prim and proper pussy, though that was delicious all by itself. No, a lot of the satisfaction came from the look on her face after the blow landed. The sound of her squawking. The way her body shuddered and shifted along. It was amazing what you could accomplish with a little good timing, careful aim, and the ability to not give a single fuck. Outside, the crowd saw her move and showered her with boos, but if they thought that meant a thing to her, they hadn't been paying attention.

But Styx wasn't through. Not yet.

She burst out from the crouch and rushed towards Odessa. She wasn't light footed on her best of days, and having her head pounded didn't exactly increase her speed, but she banked on the black beauty being a sitting duck from the crotch shot and dedicated herself to the charge. Her arm came out and she swung it forward as she neared the target, trying to slam into Odessa with a fierce clothesline

Odessa wanted to be defiant and call Styx "dear" again, but right now she was in too much distress to be that cheeky. Odessa shuddered, stumbled, and slipped backwards, letting out a pained, angry groan as she was forced to catch onto the table to stabilize herself before she fell down onto the floor. Well, she should have expected something like that. In fact, she had expected something like that. She just had been blind to the fact that it was coming at that particular moment until it was too late.

She heard the crowd booing Styx's dirty move, and appreciated the support, though she thought their reaction was a little silly. It was a hardcore match, after all. There were no rules. No restrictions.

Styx came at her fast, and Odessa had no time to duck. The bald woman's arm slammed into Odessa's chest hard for a powerful clothesline. Odessa cried out again as she was thrown backwards, this time taking a tumble over the table, pushing various little trinkets off of it, and slamming back down to the floor on the other side. Odessa growled and groaned, putting her hands on the tiled floor, panting a little as she tried to rally and stop Styx's sudden surge. Turning to the table, Odessa would try to get under it and then lurch upwards, hoping to throw table into her foe.

Finally, Odessa was just like Styx preferred her women: bruised, battered, bitten, and howling in total pain. And if Styx had her way, she'd stay that way for the rest of the match.

She watched with child-like, insane glee as Odessa took a tumble over the table, and even though she was still going through quite a bit of pain herself, it was still enough to bring a smile to her scarred face. From her little jokes and taunts, she got the impression that Odessa thought River Styx was someone to be fucked with. Now, she was learning different.

She grabbed the edge of the table and jumped on top of it, landing in a crouch just in time to see Odessa roll underneath, probably trying to get cover - smart move. Styx had planned to  jump right on top of her. Wouldn't save her, though. "Can't hide from me, sugar-"

Styx had started to get into a good mood right up until the moment she felt the table start to lift up beneath her feet. It was right then that she realized three things: what Odessa was trying to do, that she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it, and how much it was absolutely going to suck. "Fuck!"

Styx cried out as she was hurl off the table as Odessa surged up, falling back ass-over-teakettle. The landing would've been bad enough on it's own, but she hit the back of her head on a shelf on the way down, tearing open a thin gash right above her neck as she fell down. She landed in a crumbled heap on the floor, rolling from side to side in agony as her hands rubbed along the back of her skull. "Fucking cunt, fucking cunt! Fucking hate you, fucking..."

Odessa took cover under the table, trying to gain a few seconds' rest, trying to catch her breath, trying to find some way to fight back before Styx could come after her again. She made a split-second decision to surge upwards and throw the table. She didn't expect Styx to be on top of it. Truth be told, she expected to try to throw it forward at her opponent, only to have it miss. Styx seemed to have all the momentum.

When Odessa put her hands on the bottom of the table and tried to push upwards, she immediately realized how heavy it was and where her opponent was. She did her best to keep pushing up, but she was already tired, and had to cut it off after just a few seconds. But she managed to tilt it enough to send Styx flying into the wall.

Odessa crawled out from underneath the table, panting, slowly getting up onto her feet as she surveyed her crumpled foe. She wiped at her brow with the back of her hand, wiping some of the sweat off of her forehead as she looked at the suddenly-bloodied River Styx, who was letting out a stream of curses right at Odessa.

"That...should teach you...not to climb on the furniture...dear." Odessa took a deep breath as she approached Styx. "You know, that cut on your head looks pretty bad...if you want to submit, just tell me. I don't want you to suffer any permanent injury from this fight, so please don't make me keep beating you until I do."

Having given that warning, Odessa would line herself up, then take quick steps forward, launching a kick towards Styx's chest.

Styx wasn't about to bleed out soon or anything, but there was steady trickle of blood coming out of the wound. Even so, she was hardly on the edge of quitting. Sure, the bump hurt so much that the simple act of thinking caused her pain, but that was nothing she couldn't get past. Pain was an old friend, after all, and she had to admit, she hadn't seen as much of him as she would like, these days. Odessa was changing that. So, at least that was a positive.

There was  a moment when Styx felt the old magic again, reminiscing over the days she spent in bar fights and in alleyway, throwing down against anyone who was stupid enough to give her a try. It was a good feeling, and then Odessa had to ruin it by opening her mouth and talking.

"Don't want any permanent injury..." Styx had a little chuckle through her groaning and placed her blooded hands on the floor, starting to push up. It was a nice effort, but it was stopped cold by the tip of Odessa's foot digging into her sternum, hitting with enough force to knock her into the checkout counter. Her back bumped against it and made it slide from the impact, knocking over a few pencils and a stapler on top of her head. Pleasant.

"The stupid thing is, I know you mean that shit." Styx turned her back to Odessa and grabbed the edge of the counter, trying to pull herself back up with one hand. The other tried to discreetly grab the stapler on her way up. Might come in handy. "Why the fuck do you care? Really?"

It wasn't like Odessa had anything to gain from being all nice and crap. Styx hurt her once, she'd gladly do it again if the opportunity presented itself, and she wasn't about to have some epiphany about the error of her ways. She didn't like the way the woman thought, but Styx could see she wasn't an idiot. She had to know that.

Odessa came at her foe as fast as she could with that kick, slamming a boot into Styx's chest, throwing the bald woman backwards as she started to get back up onto her feet. Styx fell back against the checkout counter, bringing some office supplies down on top of her head. Odessa winced slightly. Seeing pencils and staplers flying like that was not pretty. As innocuous as they were, Odessa was well aware that, if they found the wrong target, they could do quite a number on you.

"I do mean it...I really do," Odessa would say, pausing for just a second as Styx began to stand up. Odessa didn't intend to let her get all the way up onto her feet, but she could spare a couple of seconds as her opponent tried to stand. "We're all here to make money, but I don't think there's a single woman in this league who doesn't find wrestling fun in some way. Permanent injury isn't fun. Permanent injury means you can't make any more money. It ruins a career, ruins a life. I could never have that on me. I wouldn't wish any sort of grisly injury on my worst enemy, Styx, dear."

Having explained that, Odessa would lift a leg and move it forward. She would try to plant the sole of her boot on Styx's back and give her a hard shove, trying to force the bald woman's whole body up against the checkout counter and pin her there.

More talking. More talking.

It gave Styx a moment to recover. Physically. Mentally, it made her wish she still had hair, so she could have something to rip out from frustration and end all this sappy bullshit. Her only regret was that she was turned around at the moment, which meant Odessa couldn't see the look of utter revulsion on her face.

"Still not answering my-" Styx had been slowly pulling herself up, when Odessa's heel stopped that effort cold and pinned her against the counter, making the harsh metal on the edge dig into her chest. With the awkward position, she couldnt' do much more than take it. Maybe she could push off, but her head was still a little dizzy. Best to bide.

"Not answering my question." Styx looked over her shoulder, making sure Odessa could see the flames in  her eyes. "Why. Do You. Care? What's it matter to you if I'm making money or not? You don't know me. We're not friends. I'd punch you in the face sooner than I'd shake your hand. So what do you get out of it?"

Odessa wasn't shy about pushing on Styx's back with her boot. The bald woman was being a perfect little brat, and Odessa, though she was very much against causing any permanent injury, was perfectly happy causing Styx temporary pain if it meant she could control her and potentially win the match. She pushed hard, forcing Styx hard up against the counter, trying to pin her there.

While she had Styx in this hold, Odessa would answer Styx's question a little more thoroughly. "We're not friends. You're certainly right about that. And I don't care too much for your attitude or your fighting style. If you're thinking I'm going to say something about...about the two of us having a lot in common, or having the potential to be friends, I won't. Because I'm not sure if that's anywhere near the truth."

She would breath calmly, then continue: "It's not about you and I, River, dear. This is my ideology. We are all here for the same purpose, and it is something we choose to do. And, above all, this is a sport, which is, fundamentally, a game. No one wants to lose their livelihood thanks to a game. I wouldn't want it for myself, for you, or for anyone else. To be permanently injured in a situation like this..." She sighed and shook her head.

"I could never let that happen to an opponent. And I hope my opponents would show me the same courtesy—no matter how much they want to bash my face in. Does that make sense to you at all?"

Odessa wondered if it did. It had been a rather lengthy explanation, and it was a somewhat rambling one. She wasn't used to spelling it out like this. She hadn't ever practiced an explanation of that sort. To her, everything she had said was just common sense. She was an athlete, not some sort of hitwoman.

Odessa talked. Styx listened. It pained her too, but not quite as much as the boot digging into her spine. She could endure.

By the time it was finished and her peace had been said there was a haunting quiet over the store, save for the screaming fans on the outside and the whimpering referee in the stalls. Odessa had said a lot, and she could tell there was some deep thought behind it. But she only had two, small sentences to reply to it with. "No," She gripped the edge of the counter hard as the blood continued to make a steady stream down her back. "I don't. And I never will."

And that was probably the truest thing River Styx had said in her entire life.

If there was ever a time to make her escape, it was now, when Odessa was calming down and the adrenaline was draining. Styx put her feet down hard and pushed off the counter, hurling herself back and trying to make them go for a wild tumble. Probably wouldn't be too pleasant with all the crap around the store and the lack of breathing space, but Styx was willing to take the risk if it meant hurting Odessa just a little bit more.

Odessa knew Styx was going to make her move, and braced herself to try to stop it. But, when the move came, it was too strong. Odessa couldn't balance perfectly with her foot in Styx's back. Styx had more raw strength. Odessa fell backwards, and Styx came with her, falling backwards as well, on top of the ebony British beauty.

Odessa knew this was going to hurt. The floor behind them was already littered with underwear, pajamas, and more painful items, little trinkets and overturned clothing racks. Well, Styx was coming with her. As Odessa fell, she would throw her arms forward, trying to wrap them around her butch opponent's neck. Odessa would try to put her in a chokehold as they fell backward.

Odessa hit the floor hard, barely managing to keep her head from smacking into the tile. She winced as she felt something small with a corner dig into her lower back. Her whole back was now burning in pain, and Odessa bit her lip as she emitted a low growl. All the while, she would desperately try to keep Styx in her clutches, hoping she could squeeze the fight out of her foe before she could take advantage of Odessa's pain.