Blaise Cameron vs. Stone - The Distance

Blaise wasn't the heaviest guy in Tension by any stretch of the imagination, but he was far from the lightest, either. Similar could be said of Stone - she was one of the biggest wrestlers out there, but there were far bigger. Rebecca Tomko came to mind, as well as a recent addition to the Tension roster, Hana Fujioka. In the unlikely event she ever had to face them, brute strength wouldn't mean anything for her side of the fight.

But she was strong. Stronger than most. Strong enough to lift Blaise high above the ring. And even though the crowd booed and jeered her way, their cameras went into a flashing fit. They were impressed. They'd never admit it, but they were.

Getting punched in the head significantly ruined her mood, though, as well as her equilibrium. Her initial plan had been to drop Blaise down across her knee and fold him in half, but this little burst of energy was taking her by surprise. One of the punches caught her clean in the eye, and Stone dropped to a knee and let Blaise merely fall behind her, distracted by her aching face.

Punch! Punch!

Blaise feels the foundation wobble. It's working! So with all the determination of a lumberjack hacking away at one of Japan's great natural resources, he throws a few more!

One punch nails her right in the eye, and he feels that difference. Socking someone in the eye is quite different from bopping someone on the temple. It's a hollow sort of feeling, with something mushy being right against the backs of the fingers. Blaise doesn't thrill himself on causing excessive damage to an opponent, and his knee-jerk reaction is to make sure he hasn't really hurt her. But fortunately, that instinct gets shelved the moment he slips from her hands.

"Ack!"

The teen manages to land on his hands, one knee, and the toe of his other boot. It's graceful in a nearly feline way, and thanks purely to his acrobatic tendencies with a dash of dance finesse mixed in. But as soon as his mind catches up with him, he realizes Stone is on a knee.

'This is it!'

The young dynamo suddenly surges to the ropes and pivots, pressing his sore back into them. The ropes snap back, and Blaise is rushing back in her direction. Using her upturned knee as a ramp, he swings his other leg inwards to crack his boot-covered shin against her head with a shining wizard!

As powerful as Stone is, the gap between her and Blaise is unfortunately not so wide that she could weather too many punches in the face without having them take a toll on her braincase. She was stunned. It wouldn't last forever and she was quickly making her way out of the funk, but for a brief moment, she was wide open.

So it wasn't any surprise that Blaise took advantage of the situation. The move he went for, though? That was a surprise.

Stone's eyes widen as Blaise came towards her with extreme momentum, moving far faster than she would've thought possible with the damage he'd took. It was just a sign that she'd have to work him over that much harder from this point on, but that was a thought she entertained for all of a half-second. That was all the time it took for Blaise's knee to crack Stone hard in the face, landing the blow right on her jaw.

Stone's arms swiveled as her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her legs wobbled, and then, for the first time in the match, she fell flat on her back with a dull thud. The crowd, of course, went wild.

Knee crashes to jaw, and the momentum carries with both wrestlers falling square to the mat. The drop certainly isn't comfortable for Blaise after the beating he's already endured, but it looks like Stone is in worse shape. At least for now.

The audience is roaring. Cameras are flashing. The referee looks like she's about ready to start a double count-out. The teen pivots onto all fours and throws himself across Stone's body, half over her stomach, half over her breasts. He presses his body firm into hers, hoping to score a surprise pin while she remains dazed on her back. No time to hook a leg into the air, no time to try to secure things better. If she breaks loose, he'll try to bring her down again, but this moment is all he's focusing on right now.

"C'MON!," he shouts to the ref'. The girl obediently drops beside them to begin the count.

"One...!"

Stone's eyes widen as she hears the first count, like a shock to her system bringing her back to life. She'd been so stunned by the Shining Wizard that she almost hadn't noticed Blaise covering her and starting the pinfall, but sure enough, there he was. Laying across her body, as if one move would be enough for him to close the deal.

Not going to happen. Mako would immediately kick her out of the gang, and for once, she'd be completely right to.

"Two...!"

Stone bridged her back and tossed Blaise off with a mighty heave, sending him tumbling towards the referee. She started to rise and glared at him as she did, with a look on her face to match her nickname.

The first count, he expected. The second, Blaise could only hope for. A third would be a miracle comeback. Though frankly, the audience might think they were scammed if he managed to pull that off. So when Stone bridges out, Blaise is rocked back to the mat, scooting a foot or so until he's bumping into the referee girl. He's disappointed, but he'd be kidding himself if he didn't expect it.

And in the end? Stone might be more annoyed to find Blaise laughing in breathless merriment. "Aaalmost had ya!," he calls. Fortunate enough to not be taking any additional beatings, the ache in his body has dulled somewhat. Not a lot, but enough to put some energy back in his step. He turns to all fours and tries to reach his full height - where he hopes to take her by surprise with a direct punch aimed for her tight abdominals.

Maybe it'll work where the discus clothesline didn't! Abs could be more vulnerable than a collar! Hopefully.

Blaise wasn't just resilient, he was strangely confident, too. Most men, after the taking the intense hammering he'd been through, would've grown a bit cautious about the prospect of taking Stone head on, even if she was coming off of a nasty move like that. Maybe taken things slow, worked away on her legs, tried to exploit weaknesses in her defense. Smart moves like that.

Nope, not Blaise. He waltzed right up and punched her in the stomach, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Guts or stupidity, she couldn't tell.

The blow connected clean and made Stone wince, even caused her to bend forward a bit, but not too much more than that. He hit hard, maybe even a little harder than Mako, but he'd need more quantity to go with that quality. At any rate, if he wanted to brawl, Stone would brawl. Not her first choice of fighting, but she could adapt.

She returned the favor and upped the ante, throwing a hard right hook straight towards Blaise's face.

The sound of the audience, the fact that he had Stone down for a solid two-count; these things make for a renewed, upbeat Blaise. Mentally, at least. Physically, he's still hurting. But that fist blasts against her bare midsection, knuckles digging into her abs. She bends in, and he cranks back, ready to follow up with something from the other hand when it's promptly interrupted.

Stone's fist plows into his cheek, forcing his head to whip aside and knocking him into a stagger. The teen fumbles on his boots and ends leaning back into the ropes. His left hand balances himself while the right sets over his cheek. The older woman is given a dirty look - but the look somehow lacks venom.

"Watch the moneymaker!," he chides. An impish grin betrays the look he was giving her moments ago, and he starts to pull himself from the ropes in an effort to find his feet again.

"You don't seem like a nasty person. What're you doing this for?" She'd said 'fighting' before, but there has to be more to it than that. Stone's had a lot of opportunities to be a jerk, and she's not taken a single one that he's seen.

Even in her roughest times, before she became a wrestler, Stone hardly ever fell back on her punches, preferring to use holds to squeeze and crush opponents into submission, throw them around and work the environment against them. But you don't join a gang like the Valkyries lead by a bitch like Mako without coming away with at least some ability to throw a good blow, and when the occasion called, she could lay down some good damage.

That was the sort of experience and power she was laying on Blaise, and what was his response? A smile. Not even that, really. A grin.

"It's complicated." Stone gave him a simple answer and moved back in as Blaise came off the ropes and intrecepted him, reaching for his shoulders. She tried to grab hold of him and fall back with her foot in his stomach, wanting to send him flying over her with a monkey flip. Nothing too heavy or damaging, but she wanted him on his back for a little while, and definitely not in the way he would've liked.

Blaise seems to collect himself as Stone gives her answer, and he looks rather unsatisfied with it. "What, they got dirt on you?," he asks as he moves forward. It's a sincere question, for as flippantly as it may sound in delivery.

He closes in as Stone does, herself, and starts to grab for her. It seems like she has the same idea at first, grabbing at her torso in return. He didn't have long enough for his hands to find purchase before Stone is rolling back and kicking her boot up into his abs again. "Aack!" The teen is tossed backwards and lands on the mat flat on his back. "Unf!" The impact wasn't so terrible this time, as it didn't have her powering him down or really leading with a strike, but it's still disorienting.

He starts to lift to his elbows, shoulders propping from the mat. "You.. related to that leader of theirs or something?," he asks next.