AV 17 Tag Title: Imperial Order (c) vs. Masuyo & Valley Doll

Akiha managed to drag Valley to the center of the ring before laying on top of her and hooking one of her legs, going for the pin. She would then watch the referee slide beside the two of them and raise her hand into the air. Akiha would make sure the pin was secured as the referee brought her hand down for the first count. Hearing a large smack, the Japanese wrestler would nod her head in approval. She then watched as the referee girl brought her hand up for a second time, now going for the two count. Just like before the referee girl hand would slam the mat for the two count. Now, everything just needed to happen one more time and Valley Doll would be out of the match. Watching the referee hand come up for a third time before having it come down, Akiha would wait to hear the three count but before that happened, her opponent managed to kick out.

The Japanese wrestler eyes would widen in shock, after all that, she still managed to kick out. She still could not believe what happened. Akiha needed to hit Valley Doll with something that would take her out for good. Getting back on her feet, the crimson hair crusader would rush towards the ropes before jumping onto the middle ropes and then leap back and flip her body. She would try to land right on top of foreigner opponent and hit her with a lionsault.

The audience - saved for a few Imperial Order holdouts - breathed a collective sigh of relief when Valley’s legs shot out. This match, as grueling as it had been so far, was still in its infancy. Masuyo hadn’t tagged in yet, hadn’t had her turn, and the crowd was eager to see how these two veterans handled the promising newcomer.

They wouldn’t get their chance, though. Not if Akiha had her way. She was already moving position to finish the Slamazon, taking to the ropes to showcase her arie prowess. She hit them hard, bounced off, flipped backwards…

...and came down right on Valley’s upturned knees.

The Slamazon managed to get them up at just the right second, summoning what little will remained from the beating to pull it off. It would be satisfying to knock the wind out of Akiha, certainly, but she knew that wouldn’t be enough. The redhead had far more stamina than her at this point, which meant her only hope of survival was to get to the ropes as fast as possible and make the tag.

Akiha would get to the ropes and then bounce off them and flip herself in the air.  As she started to shift her body and was about to land, she would see her opponent raising her knees.  The Japanese wrestler would gasp for air as her eyes widen at the sudden shock and pain.  She would roll off her opponent and hold her stomach, moaning in pain.  The crimson hair wrestler would move back and forth. She would then open her eyes and start to get on her hands and knees.

And it worked. Like a charm. Valley got her knees up in time, and Akiha nearly broke her back in two when she came down. Must’ve had the loveliest look of anguish on her face. Valley wished she could catch it on a replay.

Sadly, she had far more important things to do. Like tagging out and keeping herself from being beaten straight out of this match.

Valley started pulling herself forward, crawling across the canvas like a soldier in the trenches. She wasn’t sure what state her partner was in, but she had to be better off than Valley was, what with her being mudstomped into oblivion.

Just a little further, just a little further…

Nobody had to tell Masuyo that something bad was happening without her. The ever growing amount of boos and jeers couldn’t have all been for her. She had to get in there. Though that was easier said than done, with the worst headache of her life pushing her back down. She’d clipped those stairs bad. It sent a chill down her spine, a shock to her system, and it felt like her head was peeling apart from the top down.

But she’d be damned if she was going to sit the biggest match of her life out on the sidelines. She reached up and slapped her hand against the canvas, hoisting herself up to a crouched position on the ring apron, peering over the edge of the ring to see exactly how bad things had gotten.

Masuyo’s heart sunk as she looked on, seeing her partner on the ground and her crimson adversary bearing down, thinking she had managed to catch a glimpse at the beginning of the end. To her relief, Valley got out of it. Of course she did. She’d expect nothing less from the Entropy champion as the woman crawled her way towards her. Masuyo let out the breath she’d been unconsciously clinging to as she stepped fully to her feet.

None of it, however, did anything to help the growing pit in her stomach. It was her fault that she let herself be blindsided, plucked away and taken to the ground in one fell swoop. Her teammate was in this position because of her and she fought admirably. Now Masuyo had to return the favor and pull her out of it. She was going to if it was the last thing she did tonight.

She reached out, leaning forward as far as she was able across the apron. Her arm extended far past the bottom rope and trembled as it hung in the air. Her middle digit waggled left and right incessantly, inching it way towards the touch of Valley’s hand.

A little further. A little further...

Akiha was gasping for air as she clutched her stomach and roll back and forth a bit. She would try to get a bit of oxygen into her body as she got onto her hands and knees. Yet as she took in a bit of air, she would see her opponent making her way to her tag partner, crawling herself inch and inch closer. Not wanting her opponent to make a tag and get some rest, Akiha would give chase on her hand and knees. If she could, she would try to grab Valley Doll legs and attempt to pull her back in hopes of stopping the tag. If Akiha managed to do so, she would then get back on her feet and attempt to drag her all the way back to her corner, where Gwendolyn would be waiting.

Just a little further, just a little further. Masuyo was so close now, they could make the tag and save this match, and keep her from getting kicked all over the ring in crushing fashion…

...or not.

Valley’s heart dropped when she felt the hands around her ankles, but she knew there wasn’t any stopping what happened next, as she was dragged kicking and screaming back across the canvas, heading far from where she wanted to be. She couldn’t blame Imperial Order for being so relentless, they had to know how dangerous Masuyo could be if she stepped into the ring, and they were working hard to make sure it didn’t happen - not before they had a clear numbers advantage, anyway.

Even into their fourth consecutive title defense match, Gwendolyn was still unaccustomed to being the humble spectator at ringside while the fate of her championship title reign hung in the balance. Not that she didn't have absolute trust in her aristocratic companion to emerge victorious in her stead, of course~...but with stakes perpetually this high, Gwendolyn couldn't help but feel that they should always be putting their most skilled combatant at the forefront..even if that combatant was still recouping from Valley's earlier antics.

Gwendolyn squeezed onto the top rope tighter and tighter with an irritated glower after witnessing Akiha's lionsault come up woefully short of it's intended target. With the uncouth Californian beginning to crawl towards her salvation, Gwendolyn was already contemplating a timely intervention when Akiha assured her that it wouldn't be necessary. The deflated audience sinking into their chairs at the disheartening sight of Valley being dragged back to enemy territory with Gwendolyn promptly tagging herself in against Akiha's back.

"Never doubted you for a second, Madam Kosha~... " Gwen outright lied while taking hold of Valley's other leg and helping to flip the Californian onto her back. With both aristocrats holding her legs high into the air, Valley could probably see the wishbone split coming, but that might not do much to make it feel any less painful as the haughty noblewoman attempted to drop to their back in tandem with eachother.

All at once, Valley was being reminded of the reasons she’d stayed away from tag team wrestling for so long. She’d tried a brief stint of it back with the Slamazons, and it hadn’t gone too well, leading to her giving it up after three or four matches. It wasn’t that she or her partner lacked for skill, either. That was the problem when it came to these matches. You could be good apart, but if you didn't quite gel, things wouldn’t work when you pooled your strength.

That was the problem, here, and it wasn't Masuyo’s fault. Valley should’ve tagged her in sooner, gotten her more involved, and now she was paying the price for that failure. With Gwen and Akiha both gripping her leg, there was little she could do but sit back and wait for the pain to come.

Valley let out a hoarse shriek as the the two went their separate ways and took her legs with them, splitting her straight down the middle. It was all she could do to roll over and nurse her aching groin, hissing as the raw pain tore through her pelvis, the sort of agony that typically only came from the worst Atomic Drops.

“Damn it!”

Her fist slamming into the canvas was a decent summation of the feelings storming inside of Masuyo’s head right now. There was scarce a moment in her life where she felt so useless, least of all in the middle of a fight.

All she could do was just sit here and watch her partner get double teamed, see her situation worsen with every passing second. Masuyo bared her teeth, fighting back her body’s reaction to flinch away from the Imperial Order’s takedown. Although, there was plenty of frustration mixed in her scowl too. It should be her in there. Even that did just mean getting beaten to a pulp. So stupid…

The MMA maven clicked her tongue. Can’t think like that. Of all the moments she could choose to falter, now was the worst possible time.

“Hey!” She called out, slapping her hand against the canvas. “Hold on, Val! I’m right here! Hold on!”

She didn’t expect her words to suddenly rouse the Entropy champ to life. She wasn’t expecting a second wind to come anytime soon. She just wanted to give her something to focus on. Something other than the pain and keep her head clear for what came next.