Big Time

Sunday, at the Friction Gym. Typically, Valley tried to catch a church service on Sunday mornings, but today was an exception. On this day, she was hanging out at the mostly empty gym, dressed in her pink workout shorts and matching sports bra. Ready to build up a sweat, and she wasn’t alone.

Life could take some funny turns. Especially if your life included professional wrestling.

Valley had learned this lesson fairly well through the years, and her current situation was a good example of it. Less than a month ago, she’d been in one of the hardest matches of her career against a dark horse rapidly making her way into the light - Alicia Wells. It had been a trial, to put it in a mild way. A painful experience, and one that Valley had only narrowly come out of victorious.

Afterwards, Alicia had made no secret her intentions: the next time she and Valley met, she was going to knock her out and leave her laying on the mat.

On paper, that would sound like an unfriendly way to part company. But, in reality, she respected the newcomer, even if she could be a little too aggressive for Valley’s tastes at times. Alicia was a solid competitor, and that was something the AFW needed more of. All she needed was a guiding hand to help her along. Valley wanted to provide that.

So, when Alicia called her up and asked if they could work out together, she jumped at the opportunity. Haley was laid up after some thugs attacked her during a match with Angel, so she needed someone to workout with while her girlfriend got better and prepared to Ace Crush her foes into oblivion. Given the power behind Alicia’s legs, she wagered it would be something worth seeing.

And here Valley was, laying on her back with the leg press machine, steadily pushing up and down, feeling a good burn on her legs.

She kept her eyes focused forward, only sparing a couple of quick glances to Alicia as she finished her set. ”Okay, so.” Up. Down. ”Tell me.” Up. Down. ”How’d you wind up.” Up. Down. Halfway there. ”Competing for the hardcore title?”

Alicia’s run in with Adrian Kytes had… Well, it hadn’t unsettled the British amazon, because it’d take a lot more than the Hardcore champion threatening to put her in a hospital bed to unsettle her, but it had put her firmly on notice. And, whatever else she might think about winning or losing, she certainly now had every intention of making this a match Adrian Kytes was going to remember for a long, long time. And part of that was doing her research and Alicia was good at doing research. Admittedly, up until recently, that had mostly been in old dusty libraries, but the same skills largely applied. In this case, it also meant asking around, finding out the stuff that wasn’t in the official records and preferably from a more first-hand source than bad Youtube clips.

It was probably telling that her first port of call was Valley Doll. While the last time they’d spoken had been at the end of their match, there hadn’t seemed to be any animosity on either part – well, Alicia knew there wasn’t on her end. So calling up the blonde had seemed like a plan. She’d meant to ask over the phone but, at the last minute, had decided she wanted to do it in person instead. Hence the invitation to work out together.

That said, she hadn’t realised the news had spread that quickly.

Dressed in a sleeveless black leotard, Alicia hadn’t gone for the leg press machines unlike Valley – at least not at the moment. Instead, the big redhead was doing squats, a bar laden with weights across her shoulders as she rose up and dropped back down in a steady rhythm punctuated by her grunts of effort. She could feel the effects in her quads, her thighs starting to ache in the reassuring way that told her she was actually exercising the muscles. She’d already done a set of front squats before this but this was going to be a leg day.

Valley’s first answer was a harsh, slightly breathless chuckle as Alicia squatted down only to push herself back to standing again.

”According to the Champ herself,” She too was still moving as she talked, ”It’s because I won that triple threat hardcore match – I’m guessing you watched that one?”

Purple eyes flicked in the Slamazon’s direction, Alicia more than a little curious about how the veteran felt about that match. Not that it mattered per se but… She was curious.

It was weird watching Alicia workout. And maybe a little mesmerizing.

It wasn't because Valley was attracted to Alicia - though she wasn't unattracted - but it had more to do with the sight of the twin pillars she called legs. Valley had seen them up close before, but it was a little hard to appreciate them when she was busy trying to not get her head kicked off, or suffering from painfully compressed ribs. Here, she had the full view. She could appreciate the rising. The bulging. The flexing.

It was impressive to watch so much effort go into honing two limbs. Also, a stark reminder that she’d be seeing them up close again, someday.

But, for now, everything was nice and casual.

”Oh, yeah, I saw it.” Up and down. ”The second half of the match, anyway.” Up and down and...done.

Valley eased down and put the lock up, keeping the leg press in place while she slid off. ”Don't usually watch hardcore matches, nearly skipped it until I saw you were in.”

Valley raised and lowered her let, getting some feeling back into it. ”You did good, really good. Everybody gets put in a hardcore match or something like that sooner or later, but most don't come out on top the first time.” She snagged a water bottle from the floor and started to unscrew the cap. ”How'd it feel? Did you get a taste for it?”

She’d have nodded at that, but well, she had a heavy bar across her shoulders. Alicia settled for a hum of acknowledgement as Valley explained she’d seen the second half and that she’d only watched the match because she was in it. Well, that was kind of nice, actually. She appreciated that and she appreciated the compliment.

She was just a bit busy, working through the last couple of squats in her routine. Up and down, one, two, one and two, up and down…

A taste for it? Alicia huffed a short laugh, straightening up and backing up to deposit the bar back in the rack full of them. With the weight off her back, the redhead stretched and stooped to scoop up her own water bottle before she answered.

”I wouldn’t mind rolling with Abattoir again sometime, just her and me without the weapons. She was seriously tough. And the three-way thing was interesting, I guess. Tactically speaking and whatnot. But one on one’s more my style, and I don’t think I’m a hardcore kind of girl. I like some rules and for my matches not to feature staple guns.”

Ok, yes – she was slightly fixated on that thing. And yet could you really blame her? It was a loaded staple gun. Seriously. Pondering who’d thought that was a good idea yet again, she cracked the top off and took a long drink of the cool water.

”Thanks though,” She added after a moment’s thought. She didn’t really think she needed to point out that she’d won in part at least because Abattoir and Liberty seemed to hate each other’s guts a lot more than they’d cared about her. Valley would have noticed.

Valley moved over behind Alicia as she moved to redeposit the weight bar, trying to help her ease it back down. Not that she thought her kickboxing companion needed any help, but if she was going to be here, she wanted to make herself useful. It never hurt to have a spotter.

”Abattoir is good.” Valley nodded and stepped away, giving Alicia some space to move. ”Haven’t seen much of her hardcore stuff, obviously, but she had a match against Ace a while back, did pretty well. She’s certainly got the moves and the stamina.”

That was the polite way to put it. Most of what she’d heard backstage painted Abattoir out as being too crazy to go down, that she was borderline psychotic, that she drank the blood of her enemies, that she had no jaw under the mask, so forth and so on. On top of all that, there were recent events to consider...

"Just...be careful if you take her on. She runs with a mean crew, these days. It might not be as one-on-one as you'd like." Valley tried to keep it light, but there was a little wavering in her voice. After what had happened to Ace and Angel, the last thing she wanted was for anyone else to get torn up in a similar situation.

”But yeah," Valley started back up, bringing some of her smile back. "Hardcore matches like that aren’t for everyone. Most people either love them or hate them, not much in between.” Valley started to adjust the weights on the squats, getting them down to a more reasonable level before she used them. Her legs were strong, but they weren’t Alicia Wells strong. ”I’ll hit you with a chair if you try to hit me with a chair, but that’s not my first go-to. And sharp stuff is a just right out a bad idea in wrestling for so many reasons.”

Valley moved over to the other side, keeping the balance right and redistributing a few weights. ”You’re facing the hardcore champ, though. Don’t need to tell you it might get messy.”

”I can believe that,” Alicia’s voice held nothing but respect for the nak muay, crazy witch with questionable taste in clothing or not, ”At the end there, I thought her ribs were going to go before she started tapping. I didn’t get to see a lot of her moves though.” There was an odd note to her voice there, almost one of longing – that was partly why Alicia was interested in a rematch. She felt that she’d only had the briefest glance of what a fight with Abattoir could be like and she wanted-

Well, Valley knew all about the hunger that dwelt beneath Alicia’s surface.

She wanted more.

Still, her eyebrows rose – after the tall woman directed a nod of thanks at Valley for her help – at the rest of it. That didn’t sound promising. She hadn’t seen anything like that in their match before but she was hardly finger-on-the-pulse-of-Friction material and the blonde presumably knew what she was talking about. Alicia was happy to take anyone on anytime in a one on one fight but she wasn’t stupid enough to boast about how things would go if Abattoir had friends jumping her from out of the woodwork.

And there was that note of concern to deal with. Definitely not a moment for levity.

So Alicia dipped her chin in another nod. ”Got it. I’ll watch my back.”

Why couldn’t people keep things simple? All she wanted was a good, fun fight – was that so much to ask?

She watched the blonde redistribute the weights thoughtfully, keeping her opinions to herself though she principally agreed. Certainly, weapons took a potentially dangerous occupation and made it dangerous for everyone, particularly as so many people – like her – didn’t have the first idea how to use a lot of them safely.

”Speaking of our illustrious champion,” Alicia allowed a slightly barbed note into her tone as she took a seat on the machine Valley’d just finished with, still watching, ”I was hoping you’d be able to tell me a bit about her. She’s going to be doing her research on me, I figured I ought to return the favour.”

”Yeah, yeah, I remember that.” Valley sighed, remembering that moment in the fight where Alicia had Abattoir secured tight, wrapped up in what she could only describe as the most painful looking submission hold she’d ever seen. All that force, all the crushing power, and the woman just wouldn’t tap. There was a second where she thought Alicia was going to break something that wouldn’t be coming unbroke for a while. Not easy to watch.

But she pushed those thoughts aside. There were more pleasant topics to address.

Valley started tightening up the weights after she’d gotten the proper ones on, and did a few stretches as she made her way to the middle. ”Adrian…” Valley rolled her eyes around, pondering. ”I know she’s been around a while. She was a big name in the AFW when I joined two years ago. She’s taken on some heavy hitters, future champs. Not always won, but she’s come out pretty decent.”

Valley grabbed the bars and started to stretch, making sure her back was kink-free. ”She’s not the biggest or the strongest or the fastest, but she’s solid all around, and she’s a pretty smart wrestler. Lots of ring experience. And she’s fought someone like you before. Somewhat like you.” Valley grimaced a bit at the thought, but moved on. ”Didn’t beat her, but she’s probably improved since then.”

Valley snapped her fingers and looked back at Alicia. ”Also, her girlfriend is a giant. So maybe don’t antagonize her too much. Don’t want a piece of that.”

She started to look away, then realized who she was talking to and chuckled. ”Then again, maybe you do.” Valley moved under the bar and got into position. ”Spot me?”

From where she was perched, Alicia listened carefully to what Valley had to say. Admittedly, it’d have been even better if she’d had personal experience to draw on, but she’d take what she could get. And it was all useful info, particularly if Adrian was going to be as thorough in researching Alicia as she’d suggested.

So far, it was still nothing revolutionary. The champion had been around a while, she already knew from her own investigation. Still, it gave her a bit more of a time frame, some idea of what she was up against and Valley’s impressions could probably be trusted. So. Adrian was smart, fast and strong. All were areas Alicia felt she could probably match the champion. Experience, however, was one area she fell short in both Friction in general and hardcore matches in particular. Whatever she’d said to Adrian and whatever she knew to be true about some champions, she didn’t think they applied here. She doubted anyone would stay at the top of a division including the likes of Abattoir and Liberty without being very, very good.

Good. That promised a fun match.

Lost in her head for a moment, she nearly missed Valley’s question.

”Sure,” Alicia shook her thoughts out of her head, moving over to stand alongside the blonde as she lifted the bar, ”Maybe I do, but I think I’ll leave tangling with the giantess until I’ve got past the champ. One on one fights are way more fun.”

She eyed the weights Valley was using and one eyebrow rose.

”That’s it?” Colour her slightly disappointed. She’d have thought Valley could lift more than that. ”Who’s this someone somewhat like me?”

Slightly off topic perhaps, but that certainly had intrigued her.

”Not all of us have cyborg legs, go easy on me. I do well for a mortal.” Valley had a huffy laugh, then started on her set, gradually raisined up and down. Even with the exertion coloring her voice, she couldn’t hide the annoyance in her voice - it wasn’t aimed at Alicia, but more on the subject she was about to talk on.

”Taylor Parker, the former world champ.” Valley took a quick second to readjust her foot placement, getting a wider stance, then moved. ”Didn’t have your leg strength, but she brought a lot of mixed martial arts into the ring. Knees, elbows, kicks, in-your-face style wrestling.” Valley grunted, half from the word and half from irritation. ”Never much cared for her. Bit of a loudmouth.”

That was simplified version of her opinion, but Valley felt it was best to dumb it down. No need to open a can of worms in the middle of a workout. She could move to a more pleasant topic.

”Now that I think about Adrian’s also taken on Angel, another former champ. You’re fighting style’s actually a lot like hers - kicks, submissions, scissorholds. She’s almost like a smaller, Latino version of you.” Valley took the last few reps slower, getting the most out of her movements. [color=#ff0080]”Adrian didn’t beat either of them, but all the same, she gave them both good fights. Held her own. And the woman she beat to get the hardcore belt is the current world champ, so that shows what she’s capable of.”

Valley finished up and sat the bar on its rest. She took a moment to stretch, then went back to the sides and started to place the weights back on. “Just be ready - she’ll surprise you if you let her.”

Cyborg legs, huh? For a girl who’d gone through most of her school years being called ‘Thunder Thighs’, that was definitely an improvement. Alicia’s response was a low chuckle, and a slight shake of her head. As for Valley doing well, probably. It’d actually been a while since she really paid attention to what other people regularly pressed and, back home, her competition hadn’t been as professional as the other AFW ladies.

She was tempted to make a joke about it but something in Valley’s tone dissuaded her. Instead Alicia just watched and listened as the blonde worked her way through her routine, simultaneously elaborating on the two women she’d been talking about in the context of her upcoming match. Neither of them rang any bells immediately though she knew the current champion by name and had checked up on some of her matches. Taylor Parker’s name she’d heard but that was about it.

Interesting that Valley didn’t like her though. And somehow it sounded like there was more to it than that but, well, she wasn’t here to ask about Taylor Parker.

It did make it sound like Adrian had been up against people with similar styles to her own, had lost but that didn’t mean she hadn’t learnt from the experience, and had beaten people with much more AFW experience than Alicia herself had.

Her lips twitched into a grin for a heartbeat. Well. That sounded like it might be a fun fight.

Moving over, she went to help Valley move the weights.

”I’ll keep my eyes open.” Alicia promised, ”There’s a gimmick or whatever you call it for the match too though – the Lion’s Den. Heard of it?”