Gemma Faraday vs. Valley Doll - Age Before Beauty

Valley wasn't looking Gemma's way when she crashed, but she didn't really need to - even without her own personal experience to paint a picture, the camera made sure to get a close up of the impact and put it up on the big screen.. Sure enough, it had been a nasty one. Valley turned around to see her body on the floor, looking lifeless and limp, and there was a horrifying moment where she feared some real damage might have been done. Unrepairable damage.

She breathed a long sigh of relief when Gemma started to move again, though it was somewhat hampered by the tears in her eyes. How much of that was just from the pain, she couldn't know, but it was a sign that things might've been reaching a critical point. Her first instinct was to go and see if Gemma was all right, comfort her a little, but she held back - she was seeing far too much of herself in the spirited young wrestler. This was a match. Valley wouldn't want Gemma to hold back and coddle her, so she wouldn't do it, either. The best thing she could do was finish things, quickly and cleanly.

Just a little more work, and she'd be done. Valley was sure of it.

"1!"

Valley nodded to the referee as she started her count, and moved back over to Gemma. There was a little pain in her steps, still weary from the takedown her skull had endured, but she was good enough for what would come next. "Come on, let's get you up."

She reached down and grabbed Gemma, one hand under the shoulder with the other gripping her hair. She tugged up, forcing the spunky Steampunker to stand, whether she liked it or not. As soon as she was up, Valley let go, took a quick step back, then brought her leg up fast and gave her opponent a fierce roundhouse kick to the chest, lashing out with lightning speed to knock her towards the ring.

Gemma could see the hazy outline of her opponent, approaching her in the spaces between the glare of the arena lights. Gemma still hadn't roused herself from her position on the floor, only gave the most pathetic twitches of pain.

"God damn it, Gemma," she whispered, knowing full well she had no one to blame for this but herself. The ref girl's voice cut through it all, though, with the count. Gemma's legs twitched, as she tried to get up, but did nothing for her.

It was Valley, that finally pulled her body off the floor. Gemma was on wobbly legs, and if Valley hadn't held such a good grip on her hair, Gemma would have collapsed right back to the floor. The Brit focused, closing her eyes, trying to block out the pain and regain control of her body.

"Nn!" Gemma winced, as Valley yanked her head upright. Gemma bit her lip, widening her stance enough to allow her to stay upright.

"Two!"

Gemma swayed forward when Valley released her, eyes opening to see what was going on. Gemma didn't have time to brace herself at all, before Valley planted a boot straight into the punk's soft chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her reeling toward the ring.

"Oooofff!" Gemma cried out, staggering, collapsing against the ring apron. Gemma's hands massaged her aching breast, until she flopped against the ring. One hand clung to the bottom rope, weakly trying to pull herself back into the ring, knowing all too well that she was still utterly at her veteran opponent's mercy. At least she had the decency not to mock her, Gemma thought, unsure if she could take that at the moment ...

It wouldn't be a Valley Doll match unless she kicked her opponent at least a couple of times, and, unfortunately for Gemma, the Slamazon was long overdue. Her strike landed right on target, with a resounding impact that could be clearly heard through the stadium, even over the chants and cheers.

"For the record," Valley balanced on one leg after the kick, keeping her striking foot cocked back in the air for a moment before she slowly brought it down. "You're tough. Heck of a lot tougher than I was at your age. That really wasn't saying much, but she didn't feel the need to add that part in. It was a little odd, but a small part of her wanted to comfort Gemma. That was going to be a little difficult to do while she was continually pummeling her into the mat, but...

Compassion or not, Valley was still firing on all four cylinders today, and she wasn't about to stop. She jumped up onto the apron and grabbed Gemma by her reaching hand, pulling her along as she stepped back in through the top and middle rope, entering the same way the flying Brit had left. Valley yanked her back in until her upper body was in while her waist and legs were still outside, and then - right then - she reared back and gave Gemma a snap kick in the chest, slamming her shin into the same place she'd struck a moment ago. The goal was to knock the life out of Gemma and leave her folded in half on the middle rope, hanging, vulnerable, and set up for what Valley hoped - maybe prayed- would be a way to finish her off. She wanted to bring this to a close without bringing out the biggest guns..

Gemma was gasping to breathe, as she hung for dear life against the ring. Her head was spinning, between the shame of her botched dive and the pain of Valley capitalizing like a pro. Gemma's braids were beginnig to come loose, hair shaking around her head, highlighting how disheveled she really was.

From beneath loosened bangs, Gemma looked over to Valley, and saw just how composed the older wrestler was. To Gemma's mind, it highlighted the difference between the real wrestler, and the grungy little punk girl playing fighter. Gemma winced, as she listened to Valley. The steampunker was in no mood to be complimented, right now. Still gasping for air, Gemma reached out with her free hand, and could only offer a two-finger salute, in response.

Valley hooked her and pulled her back up on the apron without trouble. Gemma followed Valley into the ring clumsily, trying to get her bearings. And just as Gemma's slender waist was crossing the middle rope, she came to a hard stop, yet again.

"Aaawwwhhh!" Gemma wailed, as Valley's boot drove the air from her soft breast yet again. The stinging pain was all the worse, for the bruises that were already forming there. Gemma fell then, hanging halfway in the ring. Her torso dangling inside the ring, her bottom and legs swaying on the outside in humiliating manner. Hands clasped protectively over her chest, Gemma grimaced in agony, shaking her head violently. "D-dammit ..." she gasped, "not, not done ... not yet ..." Still, the Brit was in no shape to offer resistance, as Valley prepared for whatever was next.

Valley's kick landed on target once again, not that she could really miss when she had Gemma in a position like this. The crowd winced along with the impact and she couldn't help but share in their emathy - her chest had bore the brunt of many, many attacks in her day, and even though she'd recently gotten it reduced, she doubted that would change anytime soon.

"Get her off the ropes, Valley!" The referee warned, not sure what Valley had in mind, but not liking the setup all the same. She started a count, but the Slamazon immediately let Gemma go, leaving her to dangle on the ropes. Not the most flattering position, but she didn't plan to keep her there for long.

"Nope," Valley nodded at Gemma's defiant words, as she stepped away. "Not yet."

The last word had barely left her lips before she bolted off to the side and hopped up, bringing her feet down on the middle rope. She used the rope's bouce for a backflip, sailed through the air in a perfect arc, and let her foot come down right of the back of Gemma's neck, nailing her with a springboard Pelé Kick - unorthodox, but effective.

Gemma could hear the ref telling Valley to let up, heard the crowd's expression of sympathy, but none of it was making her feel better. Gemma's torso swayed loosely from the rope, as she tried and failed to pull herself into the ring. Instead, she was just able to bounce and sway on the ropes, somehow highlighting her fragility and leave her further frustrated. When she heard Valley's response to her, however, it somewhat roused the Brit.

"What ...?" she gasped, managing to turn her head up, slightly.

All that allowed Gemma, though, was a chance to see Valley deftly navigate the ropes for her next attack. For a moment, Gemma was envious of the veteran's ability, wishing that she could hit her spots with half that accuracy and confidence. She was so caught up in watching Valley's technique, that she didn't realize how bad things were about to get, for her.

"NO!" Gemma wailed, instinct and fear giving her the adrenaline necessary to duck her head and pull her arms up, protectively. It was hardly enough to protect her, however, as Valley's shining white boot connected with the kick. The crowd clapped appreciatively, even those that had sympathized with Gemma acknowledging just how much skill that kick had taken. The blow bounced Gemma off her perch, her belly digging painfully into the rope as her torso sank further into the ring. Her bum and legs flipped upwards, clumsily swinging into the ring. Gemma flopped into the mat. She came down hard, arms still wrapped around her head, body curled up into the fetal position. Hardly able to think straight, Gemma collapsed in on herself, trying to roll back to corner post below the ropes, where the rules would hopefully protect her from further assault from the veteran.

The move required perfect timing, perfect distance, perfect execution throughout, and Valley was a little iffy on being able to pull it off. But when she sailed through the air and heard the deafening smack of her boot connecting on Gemma's skull, she couldn't help but smile. Nothing felt quite as good as the rush she got from a move well-done.

Valley landed on her knees, rolled forward, and played to the crowd with a little bow, acknowledging the claps. A little  cocky, but she figured she had time - Gemma had to be reeling from that blow, and all the Slamazon would have to do was pick her up, get the Siren on her feet, and hit her with a Valley Bomb. 1, 2, 3. Quick way to end the match, without hurting her too much.

She promptly turned around and started to go about it, when she saw Gemma making a hasty retreat, rolling towards the corner. "Hey, hey!" Valley started to run after her, preparing to jump and hit her with a baseball slide before she could get away, but the Brit was already too close. She made it under the corner before the distance could be closed, and the referee moved in between them.

"Back up, Valley!" They pressed one hand against Valley's chest, giving Gemma some precious time to recover. Frustration came over the Slamazon's face, but she did as told and made her way to the center of the ring, cursing under her breath along the way. She couldn't blame the young star for the wise move, but that didn't make it any less irritating. Almost had her...

Valley bounced back and forth on her toes with her eyes set on Gemma, waiting for her to come out of the corner so they could get back to business.

Gemma's head was spinning, as she managed to find the corner. The British steampunker's hands flailed upwards, managing to grasp the ropes. She could hear Valley's voice calling after her, frustrated, just as she heard the referee admonishing her.

Gemma white-knuckled the ropes, trying to pull herself up. It took a moment, her body heaving as she tried to force air into her lungs despite her bruised, aching chest. "Ugh, ghughh ..." she panted, "Guhgod- dammit ..."

Gemma's lithe figure was quivering, as she pulled herself up on the ropes. Sweat was soaking through her ring gear, weighing down her hair, making her braids look even more disheveled. The Brit wasn't proud of herself, at the moment. Retreating to the ropes wasn't a veteran wrestler's move, wasn't something the crowd wanted to see. But in her desperation, that was exactly where she went.

After a moment's struggle, Gemma was able to pull herself up to one knee. Still grunting with pain, the steampunker glanced over her shoulder, saw Valley anticipating her, waiting eagerly to take the fight back to Gemma. The Brit wondered how Valley could do it. How someone could be so dedicated, so tenacious, while still managing to be so graceful and beautiful in her movements.

Gemma shook her head, putting those thoughts out of her mind. Propping her hands against the turnbuckle, Gemma planted her boots to the mat. Gemma's legs straightened, while she arched her spine. The stretch was helpful, but didn't do as much as she would have hoped to alleviate the pain. And still, Valley was hanging over her shoulder.

"What's the matter, ducks?" Gemma said, gasping for the words as she struggled to get enough breath. "On the clock? Worried you won't beat me before you have to retire?"

Valley swayed from side to side and did a few squats while she waited for Gemma to make her way up. It was a slow going, but she was pulling it off, groggily working her way up. Good tenacity, no doubt there, though Valley was having a little bit of a tough time seeing it over her annoyance. Unlike half the women in the AFW, she didn't get some perverse pleasure from wailing on her opponents. She wanted to end this clean, save Gemma from the ordeal of a match that went on far longer than it really needed to.

But the woman just had to be stubborn about it. It was simultaneously inspiring and infuriating, and the words that came out of Gemma's mouth next didn't help matters.

With the crowd's roar, the Air Raid Siren's voice didn't carry past the second row of seat, but even then, there were a few people who laughed at her joke. She could've sworn the referee snickered, too. Valley didn't share in the amusement, and furrowed her brow as some anger began to seep in. She didn't want to bring out the meaner Valley, the Valley Doll that had gotten ticked off at Summer Splash and gone too far against Jocelyn. But Gemma was pushing it.

She rolled her tongue over her teeth, trying to play it off with a wry smirk. "You know-"

Valley started to speak, then cut herself off and bolted towards Gemma in a flurry of movement. She shot her leg out and tried to hit her in the stomach with the point of her foot, nailing a quick toe kick.

For a moment, Gemma couldn't help but grin as her snide remark carried over the crowd. There she was, getting right back in the thick of it. At least, that's what she told herself. The Brit was grateful at having survived thus far, her shame at her mistakes giving way now to pride that she'd managed to survive this far. Maybe she was wearing the vet down, Gemma told herself. Maybe she was going to pull this one off, after all. Taking a few tenuous steps towards the action once again, Gemma looked Valley in the eye. And then, she immediately regretted all of it.

"What, too soon?" she said, before she could cut herself off. The steampunker noticed the cold glare in Valley's eyes, the obvious anger that overwhelmed what began as a dismissive smirk. Mostly, though, Gemma noticed the boot coming up her way far too quickly for her to escape it.

"Hoooooffff!" Gemma grunted, the hard tip of Valley's leather boot hitting hard against her soft belly. The air was driven from Gemma's body, doubling the poor girl over. Gemma's arms wrapped tight around her abs, while her legs struggled to keep her upright. The Brit was doubled over, folded at the waist, realizing now just how worked up she had gotten her opponent. Gemma looked up to Valley with wide, worried eyes, and even considered apologizing. But she simply couldn't. Let the veteran bring it, she told herself, gritting her teeth. She could take it. She hoped.