Hammer and Tongs

Something was wrong.

Aside form the fact that Army was on his back, being squeezed by a somewhat crazed MMA Queen with iron thighs, and the way his arms felt like they were about to be dislocated, and the rather disturbing impression on Alicia’s face as she mangled his innards.

No, what was most wrong was the fact that his breathing was becoming more and more difficult. He was trying to get in as much as he could be, but he was getting lightheaded.

Thoughts slowing down.

Vision fading.

Slower and slower and…

He was going gently, until Alicia seemed to decide it wasn’t quick enough. She clamped down, exerting a ridiculous crushing pressure. Suddenly, there was no calm roll down the hill - he was getting thrown off the cliff, rapidly falling into dreamland. Army’s body went into a spastic fit, flopping all about with a silent scream, one final spasm as the last of his energy was forced out of him.

Then, finally, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and all movement ended. Army was out. Cold. Done.

A bell rang a moment later, cementing Alicia’s victory and revealing that the two of them hadn’t been as alone as they’d originally thought. Carmen emerged from the shadows on the far side of the room next the ring bell, a curious smile on her face as she approached the ring. Her arms were folded and her gait was slow, taking in the scene of her unconscious brother and his conquerer.

There was a definite limit to how long Alicia could hold that much pressure. It wasn’t just a question of how long her legs could take it before things started cramping, it was a matter of how long her arms would support her weight before she needed to relax.

Luckily, it didn’t come to that. Almost as soon as she hit him with that extra force, Army started down the road she knew very well – all the signs that he was going out right now.

He twitched and jerked, or tried to, his body doing everything it could to dislodge the anaconda wrapped around his belly but without success. Unable to see his eyes, the British amazon held the hold up until she was absolutely sure he was out, then she slumped back to the mat and let the pressure ebb away.

It wouldn’t do to crack his ribs now, after all.

And that was probably just as well for Army, because that bell that rang almost immediately afterwards had Alicia jerking around in surprise. And, had she still been squeezing him, she might have squeezed tighter.

As it was, Alicia’s head snapped around to fix on Carmen where she was walking towards the ring.

While it didn’t show on her face, the big redhead was more than a little uncertain of the reaction she’d get as she twisted herself free of Army’s dead weight. For one thing, it was anyone’s guess how long Carmen had been watching them go at it. True, she’d clearly been watching long enough to realise it was a match but the kickboxer couldn’t read her. She couldn’t tell whether the other Rodriguez was happy, unhappy, about to kick her out, about to kick her butt – and Alicia’s reserves were drained enough that she’d definitely be able to manage it.

But, well, there was only one way to find out and it wasn’t like she had much choice in the matter.

And she was in no way ashamed of this.

She’d done nothing wrong. And absolutely nothing Army wouldn’t have done to her if he’d got the chance.

Her only regret, to be honest, was that she hadn’t got him to tap first.

Disentangling herself from Army at last, Alicia crouched by his side, giving the muscles of her legs a chance to rest before she tried to stand.

Her violet eyes were fixed on Carmen as she took in deep, even breathes, letting the other woman make the first move.

Army liked to think he was a hard guy to read, that he could get away with more than he really could. Carmen knew better. If there was one thing she understood more than anything else in the world, it was her ‘little’ brother. She’d grown up with him, raised him with their father wasn’t around, seen him develop. It was one of the main reasons she typically came out on top whenever they sparred. There wasn’t much he could really surprise her with.

So, when he’d said he was going out for the night and made up a half-assed excuse, it wasn’t hard to put the pieces together. Army never did like letting a fight go. Nobody in their family did, but especially him.

Carmen had arrived about halfway through their little fight, slipping in through the back entrance and sticking to the shadows. Not that they would’ve noticed her if she hadn’t been trying to hide. The two of them were so focused on each other, there might as well have not been a planet outside of the ring. She couldn't have stopped them if she wanted to. And she didn't.

Not that Alicia could know that. There was a palpable tension in the air, as the two fierce, fighting women stared at each like tigresses in the long grass. It could've gone on a while, too.

Carmen broke through first with a little smile, as she rolled a water bottle across the ring to Alicia. ”Good match.” She pulled her way up to the apron and looked Army’s way with an appropriate amount of concern.

”You didn't hurt him too bad, right?” She canted her head to the side. ”Nothing broken?”

There’s a long silence.

Well, alright, it probably wasn’t actually that long. But it felt that way to Alicia at least, kneeling besides one fallen Rodriguez and in no way sure that she wouldn’t be taking on a second momentarily.

Carmen Rodriguez, the 24/7 Champion. So, theoretically, if they did go for it, Alicia could walk out with a belt.

She wasn’t too familiar with the rules.

But it really didn’t matter because she was pretty sure that was a fight she wouldn’t win.

And she already knew this was a fight Carmen wanted. It was a fight she wanted too, just not right now.

So Alicia’s shoulders drooped a tiny bit when the boxer let it go in favour of rolling a bottle of water her way. Grabbing it as soon as it rolled into range, the British amazon nodded back.

”Thanks.”

Slowly, taking it easy on her back, she climbed back to her feet to stretch. That hadn’t been as bad as it could have been but the Boston Crab had still left things stiff in places and the extended scissorhold had taken its toll on Alicia as well.

Ok. Not to the same degree as it had on Army but that sort of ongoing pressure had its own downsides next to a wham, bam, done crusher.

Then Carmen asked if she’d broken anything and the kickboxer shook her head, took a draft of water and wiped her hand across her mouth before answering.

”He shouldn’t walk on that foot for a bit, if he doesn’t want to be limping for days. I got that tendon good and hyperextended the foot down to boot.”

She took another gulp, shrugged.

”He’ll be fine. Once he wakes back up anyway.”

To the outside observer, Carmen’s behavior might’ve seemed a bit odd. She was concerned about Army’s well-being, but not too much. She didn’t feel the need to intervene, even when Alica had seemed intent on squeezing his body out through his nose.

The outside observer, however, wouldn’t know how many times Army had been in this particular sort of situation, getting himself into fights. She’d helped him get of them quite a bit in the early days, before he became a mountain of muscle, but that was the ancient past. He was a grown man, now. If he made the mistake of getting in between Alicia’s thighs, well, she wouldn’t help him get out of it. Not unless things got really serious. Thankfully, they didn’t.

”That’s good to know.” She nodded back and leaned up against the ring, occasionally glancing Army’s way while she spoke. ”Impressive work, there. Seen a body scissors before, but never seen someone quite do it like that.”

She mimed with her hands, bringing them closer, then expanding them out like a rising chest. Tighter and tighter each time, until her palms were touching.

”Tell me,” She turned around and leaned, eyes peering over the ropes. [color=#400000]”You know you best. What do you think you could work on, style-wise. If you trained here, what would you want me to teach you? What could I teach you?”[/color

Once she’d satisfied herself that Carmen wasn’t going to roll into the ring and go for her, Alicia decided she’d like to lean against something now. The turnbuckle nearest her was looking good, so she made her way across the ring and dropped down so she could sit on the apron near Carmen while she drank her water.

”I got the idea from big snakes. You know, pythons and anacondas – that sort of thing. No matter how tough someone’s abs are, they’ve still got to breathe. So my legs keep constricting their breathing room until…”

She shrugged, glancing back to Army.

”That happens. Or their precious abs go all squishy and I crush them flat. Either way works for me.”

It was actually more work than that, with needing to hold her pressure steady and gauging when they’d breathe in and out so she could time the squeezes. But somehow she didn’t think that was the sort of thing Carmen wanted to chat about. And, while her breathing was in better shape than Army’s, Alicia had still been through a gruelling match.

There was a limit to how much she wanted to chat right now.

Still, Carmen’s questions were good ones and she deserved a good or at least considered answer. The redhead took a moment to ponder

”What could you teach me? I’m guessing there’s ways I can improve my punches. And you’ve definitely had more time in AFW than me, so I’m sure there’s in ring stuff you can teach me. But I don’t think I’ll know exactly what until we spar or what you think I ought to work on. But I’d want you to teach me anything you can.”

”Anacondas, huh?” Carmen’s eyebrows perked up at the way Alicia described her technique. Not because it was that far out there on principle, just a rather well-thought out and slightly vindictive way of putting someone out. ”Most times I see a scissorhold, it’s usually around the neck. I think that’s the first time I-”

Carmen was abruptly interrupted by a deep, rumbling sound. Army was a snorer. it had been so long since they’d had to share the same room, she’d almost forgotten.

With a cough and a small smile, she continued. ”I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone knocked out by a bodyscissors.”

Carmen stood up and took a step back, giving Alicia a final look over. She looked tired. Damn tired. It was late, and they all needed a long, hard rest. Time to lay it all out.

”I could certainly show you a few things You’re already fit and trained for the ring, so you’ll take to the boxing quick, I imagine. As for wrestling…” Carmen held up her hands, mimicking a grappling stance. ”I’ve picked up a lot from people I’ve met and trained with and fought - Clyde Gastin, Adrian Kytes, Akino Sanada...” She had a moment’s hesitation at that last name, but quickly straightened up and moved on. ”I can pass it on. And I still need help learning new submission moves and expanding my kicks, so that’s an area you can help me with. So...”

Carmen looked down and pondered for a moment, contemplating, before she met Alicia’s gaze again.

”Come by when you’re ready, and we’ll spar. Iron it, develop a routine for each other. We’ll crosstrain for a few months, and then we’ll have a real match. Sort of like a final test for both of us.” Carmen started to walk around the ring, nearing her snoozing brother. Getting him out of here wouldn’t be easy, but it’d be nigh impossible while he was still konked out. ”Sound fair?”

”I prefer bodyscissors,” Alicia shrugged again, after she glanced back at Army with a laugh at the snoring, ”Plus my thighs are too big to easily get around a lot of necks. Sure, I can squeeze someone’s head until they tap, but it’s more fun… more of a challenge to go for the ribs.”

Another gulp of water interrupted her thoughts.

”It’s only the second time I’ve KOed someone with them. Usually, I just pulp them until they tap. No offence, but I kind of wanted to make a point to your brother.”

Somehow, Carmen didn’t seem the type to take offence.

It was a measure of Alicia’s lack of knowledge of a lot of Friction and Tension’s stars that she hadn’t heard of either Gastin or Kytes yet. But, tired as she was, she didn’t think much of it and she’d met Akino already naturally.

Otherwise, it seemed a good deal. She helped Carmen with the stuff she knew and Carmen helped her with the stuff she didn’t.

”More than fair,” She agreed immediately, not needing to think about it as she pushed up to her feet, [color=crimson]”I’d say I’ll be by tomorrow but my back’s going to be killing me. Mind if I use your showers again before I head out?”[/b]

The redhead would go straight back to her apartment if that’s what Carmen would prefer but it’d be nice to wash some of the sweat out before she left. Somehow, she didn’t think the boxer’d need her help with Army. This almost certainly wasn’t the first time this had happened, so she didn’t worry about offering.

Instead, she rested against the apron while she waited for Carmen to decide. Either way, she would definitely be back as soon as her time allowed for it. This would definitely be a useful way to both hone and add to her skills.

And, naturally, Alicia was already looking forward to that real match, to maybe having another go with Army and even to testing out the rest of Carmen’s students.

So long as their egos could take a little bit of a bruising, that was.