Tension 24/7 Title Match: Carmen Rodriguez(C) Vs. Clyde Gastin

Carmen heard a few boos coming from the televesion as soon as it became clear what she was going for, and she didn't quite get them. Maybe hitting Clyde with his own move could be seen as an insult, but Carmen almost saw it as a compliment. She knew firsthand how devastating of a move it could be. Effective, extremely painful, and very difficult to escape from with this sort of match. He had a good tool. Why not use it?

Clyde, of course, fought it tooth and nail, squirming around like a madman and not making it any easier for Carmen to hit a move she'd never done before. She raised her foot up, preparing to just stomp the resistance out of him and go for the move, anyway, but timing was against her - he pushed his legs out at just the right time and sent her stumbling back, back, back...

Carmen felt something on her back and jerked around, going on pure instinct. She felt something hit her eblow as it swung around, she heard something hit the floor behind her, and by the time she turned around, she found the referee. On the floor. On her back. Holding a blood nose.

"...crap."

Clyde managed to kick-shove Carmen off him, unfortunately while looking past her, he'd see Carmen and her flailing arms suddenly strike the nose of the poor ref girl who hit the floor.

Clyde winced in remorse towards the ref before he put his hands on the floor and rolled back to get into a crouch before leaping up and trying to slam his boots right into Carmen's chest to send her down the hallway.

Carmen sighed and looked down at the fallen referee, wincing as the blood gushed from her nose. She had been in more boxing matches than she cared to count in a casual moment, all her life. Never, not even once, had a referee accidentally gotten hit in one of them. In wrestling, it happened all the time, and she still didn't quite get why that was.

"Clyde, we need-" She'd just started to turn back around when she was greeted by Clyde's feet, knocking her down and sentding her tumbling into right into a water fountain. She crashed into it, back first, and laid against it while she hissed in pain.

"Hey, what the fuck?" Army glared Clyde's way as he went to check on the referee. "Cheap shot!"

After kicking Carmen, Clyde looked at the Ref with concern knowing he could let his guard down a bit more now but when he heard a familiar voice yell at him, he turned and looked to see...

"...Aw hell! Whatchu doin' here!? Clyde barked in shock and surprise, only for his eyes to narrow at Army's second set of words. His face contorting into a scowl.

"Fuck off, prag. Only fools lower their guard like that durin' a match. You ain't even supposed ta' be here anyway!" He growled at Army taking a step back when he got in close to check on the ref girl. That was fine.

Clyde tried to walk past Army and approach Carmen while she was down by the fountain.

Army had a couple of choices. He could either, A) stand by and watch as the guy who just kicked the crap out of his sister and called him a 'prag' - whatever the fuck that was - continued to beat on his sister. Or he could B) do something about it.

As Clyde would probably guess from the right hook in his stomach as he tried to move past, he chose 'B'.

Meanwhile, Carmen was starting to recover, get her senses back. She was still a little hazy on her surroundings, but she'd pieced enough together to figure out that things just became exponentially more complicated.

Clyde's focus was solely on Carmen, the current champion. He didn't like Army one bit but didn't count on the guy to jump in the fight.

Clyde then paid for being careless with one single punch that destroyed his abs.

"-OGUUHHK!!" Clyde emitted a raspy, gagging cry as Army's fist drove into his stomach, immediately making Clyde double over as his eyes shot wide, his knees buckling before he dropped to his knees and flopped  onto his side, cradling his punished stomach, gasping for air.

Punching Clyde was the most refreshing, satisfying thing Army'd done in a long, long time. So satisfying that he wanted to do it a lot more. "Come on, Clyde." He grabbed the Texan by the ankle and started to drag him down the hallway, heading towards the spa. "Let's you and me have a little talk about that word you called me."

---

Carmen leaned against the water fountain and stood up, just in time to watch Army dragging Clyde off. Definitely not something she'd approve of, but as she started to go after him, the aches and pains in her body began to flare all up at once, forcing her back to a knee. No more adrenaline flowing through her veins. Energy was starting to fade. Whatever was going on with those two, she wasn't in any shape to jump in the middle of it.

"Tch." She spat to the side, getting some blood out of her mouth. "Men."

Carmen made her way over to the dazed referee and helped her get back up, letting her lean on her shoulder for support. The bleeding on her nose was pretty bad, definitely broken, but they would have some first aid on the bottom floor - if they got things fixed up, there might even still be a chance for a legitimate finish.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up." She took the referee over to the elevator and headed down, going towards the bottom floor...

Belle B. Barker flipped over a card from the deck and  grinned at the patrons sitting around the black jack table she was situated at. "Blackjack. Sorry folks, house wins again." She said as the patrons groaned. Belle had been swindling a few of the Omega Hotel's high rollers for about an hour now. They didn't mind. The girl was polite, conversational and dressed to kill.

Spoiler:

The Omega Hotel's first floor Casino had been buzzing with people who had come to place some bets on the match that was happening in the penthouse. Betting on a match while rolling dice or playing cards was an excellent hedonistic diversion for many rich, enthusiastic wrestling fans. Belle had been able to convince the Tension brass to let her come to Omega Hotel as a guest dealer to add some extra spice to the patron's already eventful evening.

While she dealt another round, she turned and watched the elevator doors opened and Carmen, the referee and a cameraman spilled out of the elevator. "Ok, everyone, Place yer bets!" She chirped as she carefully watched the 24/7 champ take care of her business. The medical staff was ready, and rushed to take care of the referee and, soon enough, a new referee was brought, ready for Carmen and Clyde to finish things off.

Belle looked down at the cards. "Oh, twenty one." She laughed. "Guess I've got all the luck tanight." She then grabbed the deck of cards, pulled them out from their holder and tipped her head. "Sorry folks, that's all I've got for ya, but there's a real good show startin up in just a few seconds. If ya just stay put, I'm sure you'll have the best view in the house!"

Belle hopped over the black jack table and ran at Carmen. She licked her lips as she approached and when she was close, bridged the deck of cards at Carmen's face and then with a knee aimed at Carmen's gut. "It's Belle! I came ta pick up that belt I been lettin ya hang onta!" She chirped as she attacked, her eyes wild and her grin devilish.

Carmen had to give the AFW credit: they were used to controlling chaos. She'd initially been skeptical about the idea of having the match at the hotel, but now when she got down to the lobby and saw how quick everything was taken care of, she had to admit, she was impressed. They swapped a referee in fast, getting things set up wihtin only a few minutes. She was a little worried that it might be too long for Clyde's liking, but not too worried - knowing Army, he was biting off more than he could chew upstairs. Clyde was small, but resourceful, and a lot more skilled at wrestling than her younger brother. With any luck, there would be enough of him left for a real fight by the time she returned. If not, well, it wasn't like he had to wait for a rematch.

She took a moment and sat down on a bench, drinking a little water while business was taken care of. The new referee, a shrimpy little girl with pink pigtails, came over after she'd seen her collegue off, giving her a quick wave."Ready to head back up?"

"More than ready." Carmen tossed the water bottle she'd been drinking away and stood up. "Just keep your distance when we get up there. It'll get out of control." She tightened up her gloves, stretched out her fingers. "Fast."

Her attention was taken away as she caught something moving her way out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a woman heading straight towards her. One of the dealers, it looked like, and Carmen wasn't too surprised. She wasn't the biggest star in the AFW, but people recognized her, and every once in a while someone would rush her for an autograph. Nothing new.

Then she saw the purple hair, the shape of the dealer's body, and the crazy little glint in her eye. The puzzle came together just a second too late.

"Urgh!" Carmen croaked as Belle's blow launched her, sending her off her feet and making her sit down on the same bench she'd gotten off of a moment ago. It was a strong shot, and it wouldn't have been pleasant to take even if Carmen was 100% fresh. But she wasn't. Clyde had dragged her through hell, and she was still feeling the effects. With a referee nearby. And a woman who'd already made her intentions for the 24/7 Title abundantly clear.

As Carmen wrapped her arms around her stomach and reeled from the blow, she recognized just how a bad situation she was in, and she started to think of ways to get out of it. So far? Nothing occurred.

Winded by the punch he took, Clyde was easy pickings for Army as he felt himself get pulled along by the ankle. "H-Hhh..." He wheezed, clawing at the floor and walls, trying to prevent himself from being dragged away from Carmen. There was No DQ, Army could whoop up on him and Carmen could pin him. This wasn't good.

"F-Fffuck... Offfff..." Clyde groaned as he was dragged down the hallway.