A case of mistaken identity?! (For Caboose and Tarantulust)

Ashley had been watching the fight fairly closely, swaying her hips left and right in anticipation for her turn to battle the so called “Tension champ”. To be fair, she was watching her friend Misty far more than John, cheering her friend on every time she landed a hit on the man, and booing loudly whenever it even looked like John was getting an advantage. The tiny red head was protective of her busty buddy, but she loved to watch her work, applying some of her tactics Ashley had come to expect from Misty, including the deadly hip attack!

As usual, Misty’s classic move proved to be quite effective, knocking John back to the ground and into a slight daze. At least, that was what Ashley thought, until the man seemed to break into a fit of laughter. It went on for about a minute or so, just long enough for Misty to puff out her cheeks adorably then point dramatically.

At first, Ashley wondered if Misty was talking about one of her finishers. The blue powerhouse had a myriad of devastating attacks that could be used in a multitude of situations, but upon reviewing the exact phrasing of the words, the red head knew what would come next.

Just as she expected, Misty rushed over and tagged her in, asking her to make the man pay! Well, she couldn’t ay “No” to her bestie~

Using one of the ropes, Ashley sprung up high into the air, revealing her high flyer status. With a few spins, Ashley landed dramatically in the ring, crossing her arms dynamically, with one hand covering her eye and pushing her bangs up slightly.

“It seems my great power has been summoned.” Ashley said in a deep, dramatic voice. Despite the tone she was trying to give off, it was clear as day she was proud of her entrance, as it was the first time she had pulled it off without stumbling over due to her momentum. Her twin tails almost seemed to wag, betraying her façade of a deep hidden power.

John would give his thoughts on Misty’s tactic, the man standing back up while Ashley got into a proper fighting stance.

“Hmph! Maybe she just softened you up, and now this IS the late game, for you!

John insisted he could take whatever the pair could dish out, and Ashley was willing to test that theory. After all, she couldn’t disappoint Misty. She told Ashley to get him, so she would get him.

As fast as a bullet, Ashley seemed to burst forward, looking as if she was coming straight towards John himself. Instead, just as she got close, she would duck underneath him, then bounce off of the ropes behind him, looking to both deliver a surprise and heavy dropkick to his back.

So now John was fighting Misty's partner now, John could gather that she wanted to have a go at him since they met. That was another thing that came with the industry. For no reason it seemed the master of creation earned her ire, John was no stranger to adversity and disdain from his fellow peers. So the artist took this in stride, besides Ashley would get her chance. But Mr Carnaby was intent on making this no where near easy, they talked a big game. "I very much doubt all of your statements, your actions will speak for you." John remarked in a tone akin to that of a badgered person. John knew this girl probably would like to rile John up and undermine him, but Mr Carnaby was no stranger to dealing with this. He played it cool and trusted in his skills.

Now that he'd caught his breath John would take care, Ashley being a tag partner likely played differently to Misty. John's boss for example was a classic power based grappler through and through, Mr Carnaby however preferred a more "Out fight rather than overpower." Ashley was already bolting towards the master of creation, who had settled into his stance. Only instead of trying to meet the master of creation head on she ran under him.

Getting a feeling of deja vu John promptly turned around to witness Ashley leaping off the ropes, John relied on his experience in his next move. Ryan's sibling Lucy was known to employ a similar sort of attack. Trick the opponent then use the ring to their advantage. John had the perfect counter, dodge. The artist scrambled down low, Ashley missing him by just that much. When the redhead landed Mr Carnaby would quickly seek to try and take the advantage by moving behind her and attempting a full nelson hold. Better try and keep this little firebrand restrained if he could.

Did Ashley like John Carnaby?

Well, to be honest she didn’t really hate him, but neither did she like him particularly. For one thing, she thought his methods were a bit strange, just going around gyms, then challenging people he just met to a sparring match. Then there was how he treated Misty at the start, and while Ashley accepted it was all a misunderstanding, it still left a bad taste in her mouth. In a way, Ashley thought of Carnaby as something like a slight rash, nothing too bad at all, but she would prefer not to have one if she could help it.

So, the tiny red head felt little remorse delivering a sneaky drop kick at John’s back. He kept saying to give them their best, and that he could take it, so Ashley would oblige. The drop kick would have packed a mean punch, but apparently, John had already seen a move like this once or twice before, as he nimbly dodged it, leaving the red head to soar past him and fall to the floor, Ashley rolling as to minimize the impact.

“It seems even a champion fears my pow-Hey!”

Suddenly, Ashley felt her arms get locked up in a full nelson hold, restraining the fiery red head. Ashley sent a mean-spirited glare towards John, pouting like a child who just got scolded…until a sinister smile spread across her face.

“Ever heard of a self-defense class, Johnny boy?”

With quite a bit of force, Ashley stomped her heel into Carnaby’s foot, attempting to push her upper body forward, before pulling back to try and slam the back of her head into John’s chin. If it hit it would be quite the brutal blow, but as he was a former champ, Ashley would not worry about it.

John was willing to admit that Ashley was reminding him of a certain someone he knew, which was only serving to irk the master of creation somewhat. Was he gonna get triggered? Not likely, if one could see anything of John it was he was a patient man. Being an artist meant you needed to sit down and work on it. So Mr Carnaby wouldn't be having his jimmies rustled any time soon. After all the master of creation was acting as a sort of mentor to people new to Tension if they accepted it. Ashley's somewhat familiar approach worked in John's favour, performing a move that was routine to deal with an attack like that. But John highly doubted Ashley was going to stand idly by. She came across to John as too much of a spitfire for that.

Suddenly Ashley retorted by stomping hard on John's foot, earning a loud grunt from him. She tried to jerk about, the sudden strike prevented Mr Carnaby from controlling his opponent in his grasp as he would like. But Ashley continued with a sudden and unfamiliar blow directed at John's jaw, it wasn't enough to outright send John crashing down to the mat. However John would stagger backwards twice and clutch his chin before falling to one knee, thank goodness he wasn't talking there when his jaw got clamped shut. Mentally however John was kicking himself, he just wasn't getting a chance to set up anything.

As he tried to cope with the pain to his head John would think back to the words of his boss. *When your opponents prove to be too aggressive or fast do not attempt to outpace. Instead settle down and find the chink in their armour, the most clear crack in the glass.* John knew he wasn't faster than Ashley, new game plan. Take the pain, slow it down and wait.

Ashley had taken all sorts of classes in preparation for her wrestling career. Sure, there was the basics, like a wrestling coach and going to the gym, but she would also go off and do track to build up her stamina and speed, swimming to build up some sort of endurance, and self defense classes to get out of basic holds and to defend herself (and maybe Misty) from attackers. John’s hold was very much the kind that those self defense courses taught how to avoid or get out of, and the so called “master of creation” left himself wide open for it.

Ashley’s heel dug into the artist’s boot, earning her a grunt of pain as she quickly used the distraction to loosen his arms by thrashing about. With her new-found freedom of space, it was as simple as pulling her head up to crack her skull against his jaw, disorientating the man enough for him to lose his grip, and provide an escape for the red head. She recalled her teacher often recommended that if the perpetrator still seemed to be a threat, there was also the option to throw them over your shoulder while they were still disoriented, but Ashley had always been a bit too small to pull that move off.

So, John stumbled backwards unimpeded, falling to one knee as he gripped his chin with a scowl. Ashley simply smiled mischievously at the downed former champ. She actually started giggling at him, her cheeks turning red from trying to hold in the laughter.

“Well now, I bet you thought I was just a little sweet heart, didn’t cha’?” Ashley gave a quick, magical girl-esque pose, continuing to show off her dramatic side, “But maybe I’m…~A~Bit~Too~Much~?” Each word getting a wave of the finger to accompany it.

“Well, either way, I aim to impress, so get ready!”

Without a moments hesitation, and like a bullet shot from a gun, Ashley dashed forward getting in close to the downed foe before spinning around to deliver a very tough roundhouse aimed at the mans muscular chest!

John was no stranger to going on the defence, he wasn't often a rush in sort of fighter. Better to try and go at your own pace and take the opponent down when they revealed a weakness. John just needed to remind himself of his boss's teachings, find a weakness and exploit it. Ashley was fast and scrappy, John however had a strength and technical edge. The master of creation was content to simply wait and let Ashley come to him now, Ashley could have her fun. Talk a big game, but John was going to teach one important lesson before this spar was done. Talk was a waste, John and his boss when the match started were on a mission and didn't deviate from it. John didn't respond back to Ashley's trash talking, actions spoke louder.

All that did was let the master of creation regain his breath and footing. Still John didn't act like he'd recovered, he'd do a little sneaky trick of his own. And with his great sense of artistry John could feign a good wounded state. John wouldn't lie in one fact, Ashely did get him good. He just had to wait for her to do something, and it was likely that.....yep she'd try to press the advantage. Running at John.

Ashley may catch the fact that John seemed to be smiling, just a little. That was because he'd already planned his next move, it seemed to be the redhead was attempting a strike. A roundhouse kick, John would spring forth like a coiled snake. Catching the leg and taking the strike with his forearm, before moving in and closing the distance and wrapping his right arm around it before quickly grabbing hold of Ashley and intending to send her down hard with a spinebuster from outta nowhere. John was intending to catch Ashley completely off guard by this and remind them that John wasn't a former title holder for nothing.

Ashley was no stranger to speed. One moment, she was standing still in a cute pose, the next, she was coming at John like a rocket, full steam ahead. She was coming down on him with little regard for her own safety, after all what was there to worry about? John had just taken a nasty headbutt to the jaw, and now he was lying on the floor, just asking to get kicked. Misty was watching, so of course Ashley was going to knock Johns head off his shoulders! The faster he went down, the sooner they could all go out for something sweet to eat!

Like ahead on a chopping block, John rubbed his Jaw, setting himself up in the best position Ashley could have asked for, and like the guillotines blade the red heads leg swung into a roundhouse kick, looking to knock dear ol’ John unconscious.

“It’s been fun, but its time to say-!” Suddenly, John shot up ant Caught Ashley’s kick dead on, the red head’s expression suddenly turning from confidence into shock, “Nighty night?”

The next thing Ashley knew, she was suddenly in an immense amount of pain, John had picked her up and slammed her back down to the ground in a powerful display.

“OWIE OWIE OUCH OUCH!” Ashley screamed quickly, moving to massage her back that was suddenly on fire. The blow to the head made everything a little weird, like the room was spinning, but slowly, not enough to bother her.

“Get offa me you big dumb jerk!”

Suddenly, almost violently, Ashley began to flail about, looking to hit, punch or just plain throw John off of her so she could escape. If she managed to do so, her first goal would be to scamper over to Misty, as she was the muscle of their group. If she could succeed remained to be seen, however.

John was adept at counterattacks, it came with his grappling style. Fast opponents could be brought to heel and it let John set up his own gameplan, plus he would admit it was always a sight when the fast talking foe was taken down a peg. Ashley's technique there was solid, but John was intent on showing what it could mean to face a former title holder. Besides if Ashley and Holly were here in Tension they'd need to face guys sooner or later. And also have an idea on what to do when things go wrong. Ashley just got an almost literal crash course at the moment when John nailed her directly with a spine buster. The master of creation was aware of his opponent's spitfire like nature however, sure enough Ashley was already kicking about.

Mr Carnaby recoiled backwards, a wise decision given her shuffling about. But he did respond with a retort of his own with "Dumb? I did a pretty good counter there I think." John as mentioned before usually stuck to simply going to work, but given Ashley's frequent use of trash talk there John felt it poetic to apply it against her. Regardless Ashley's response was to try and escape, a sound idea on paper. But not applicable for certain reasons.

First, what was Ashley going to do to facilitate her retreat? Throw a tantrum it seemed, but John responded by simply moving out of reach. She gained distance, but all it would take was to close the distance as Ashley tried to scramble. Mr Carnaby would simply grab Ashley's nearest leg and proceed to attempt to cinch the redhead into a Texas Cloverleaf, in John's mind Ashley made a rather dumb move herself and sought to capitalise on it. This was a case of learning by example and Mr Carnaby at least hoped they'd pick up on that.

Ashley was a huge loud mouth. She rarely seemed to keep her mouth shut if she felt anything at all about a subject. Love, hate, confusion, if she had an opinion she would let you hear about it in a voice loud enough to hear across the room. Some would say it was part of her charm, others a good reason why they disliked her.

A good example would be Misty. Ashley could sound the Praises of her blue friend up and down the street for hours on end. She could talk about her kindness towards others, the sparkling smile she gives to those who look sad, the way her friend will sit down and chat with anyone who looks as if they need it. She could sing like a bard in the days of old about Misty’s beautiful hair, her soft touch, even the adorable way she sneezed and seemed to get embarrassed every time she did so.

But there was also the other side of the coin. The people on her personal spit list she called the “No You” list. So far John was somewhere near the bottom, or is better to be on top of the list? She could never decide on that. Point was she did not really like the master of creation all that much. She could play friendly with him, maybe even hold a conversation with the guy when no one was in the room, but the entire interaction she was having with him was…sour. Ashley hated sour things, and right now she wanted her sweet as candy friend.

Which is why she was thrashing about really hard to get away from John. She could hardly see where anything was because her body was arched in such a way her head was drooping down. Much to Ashley’s surprise, it sounded like John was trying to trash talk her…unsurprisingly, it went about as well as his greeting with Misty moments ago. Ashley had enough time to give him a type of was that it? look before crawling off his knee and scampering away. Even on all four’s she was a rather speedy little devil, motivated to get to her beastie and shoo away from John, who was still grating her nerves.

Of course, John would not let up. He seemed determined to get between Ashley and Misty, or at least that was how the little red head saw it. Just as she was sure she was going to make it, she felt his grip around her leg. It was a tight grip, one that stopped her in her tracks and caused her to fall onto the ground. It hurt, but she had seen the situation hundreds of times before, all of them either in horror or action movies. Honestly, John may have been taking the little punk a bit too lightly, as he seemed to forget how vulnerable that position was when the opponent was as spunky as her.

Ashley quickly spun around onto her back, pulling her trapped leg in while lashing her other one violently towards John’s chest, looking to kick him hard. Of course, in the action movies she had seen, it always took a few kicks to the head before the bad guy let go, usually to fall down a long way for one reason or another. So, Ashley was more than happy to kick at John, aiming for his head, torso, anything she could land and get her freedom back.

John was wondering where Ashley and Misty learned and how, it was like they had stuff and were a bit....unorthodox. Certainly John didn't have much of a prior record to draw on against them. But he was able to draw up some assumptions, namely one flaw that was apparent with Ashley. The instant John got the better of the redhead her composure was nonexistent, really Ashley's answer was....to basically throw a temper tantrum. Mr Carnaby knew full well that wasn't going to sit well if she wanted to reach the big leagues, you had to keep a cooler head. If she was fighting in a proper match this would have led to a wayyy worse situation that what John was currently doing.

Now it was time to set up John's game, but of course the master of creation was aware that Ashley was explosive at this point. It was going to be an issue locking her into a submission, but now that Ashley was down on the mat she played into John's game. Ground grapples were an art form to him and an aesthetic that he loved to develop. Ashley was putting up a fierce struggle but Mr Carnaby had an idea, at least after that first shot. Ashley managed to get a kick into John's chest as he prepped for the cloverleaf. Earning a loud cough from the master of creation, but John was determined to put up his best effort in this spar. John quickly assessed the situation, he needed to neutralise the free leg and keep himself in check. John would shift about with his upper body, weaving like a boxer to make himself a harder target to lock down. Just try to let Ashley flail around while she battled him at the place where John fought best.

An idea quickly formed to mind, since turning his back was going to be a dangerous idea. Why not face Ashley to keep her in check? John would attempt to trick Ashley into digging her own hole. Waiting for her next kick and then shuffling his arms to lock her into a Modified Texas Cloverleaf John was known as one of the best submission experts in Tension, if the traditional hold didn't seem viable as an artist John was happy to put a unique twist on the artwork.