MITB Qualifier - Cicilia De'Reignhardt vs. Belle Christensen

Cicilia De’Reignhardt. It had been quite awhile since Belle last heard the name. It was one that stuck with her through the passing months. The professional boxer who found her way to the AFW wrestling ring and into her life. The image of this woman had been drilled into her mind, joining Yukari Tooru on her list of most hated people within the league. Getting a chance to face her again here tonight had been a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, Belle had wanted to put herself up to the challenge. Party hard had faced the woman as a duo back then, and both women hadn’t really been prepared. These days Belle had a far better handle on her abilities and limits and wanted a chance to test her mettle again. Burying her fist in the woman’s face was an added bonus… Still, there was a bit of trepidation. She might come up short this time when so much more was on the line. That money in a bank match was a ticket to a title shot for Party Hard.

"I’m so proud of you.”

She froze at the sound of those words, the encouragement was almost foreign to her. The brunette turned, glancing back to her partner in crime standing behind her. Kaylee stood by, smiling with hands clasped in her casual clothes. Belle was shocked her friend had even showed up to watch let alone support her like this… She had been a bit scared of what the blonde was going to say in regards to her taking on a solo match, even if it was for the betterment of both of them.

“Thanks.” She averted her gaze for a moment, finishing up her wraps before slipping on a pair of fingerless gloves. She was going in simple tonight. Some white washed daisy dukes, deep crimson sleeveless shirt, and some simple black boots and pads. No fancy outfits, just some street clothes and a mission.

“Gosh, don’t sound so excited.” Kaylee closed one eye, popping out her tongue at her partner. Stepping up behind Belle she wrapped her arms around the other woman to pull her into a hug from behind. The brunette remained still, feeling the other woman’s breath on the back of her neck as she sighed. “Just sad you have to go it alone. But I’ll be front row, watching… and the first one that is going to congratulate you after to pull down that briefcase. You can do this Belle.”

Belle had remained rigid, unsure how to really take the sort of affections from Kaylee. They had always been close… sometimes a bit closer than other times. After she had secretly started a relationship with Tatiana, Belle had made an effort to avoid getting roped into anything she would regret. She had her fair share of issues with Kaylee, ones she could drone on about forever… but it was times like this that made ehr remember how much she cherished her friendship with the other girl. She reached up, gently setting a hand over top of the arms crossed in front of her from the blond, giving them a small squeeze.

“Thanks… I mean it.” The brunette felt a small squeeze from her friend followed by a light nuzzle against her shoulder before the blond released her, seemingly careful to not overstay her welcome. She found herself grinning back to her smiling partner as she turned to face her completely. “How do I look?”

“Like a sexy brawler. Trying to make me stop designing costumes for you or something, hmm?” Kaylee canter her head slightly while her bright green eyes roamed up and down over Belle. The brunette broke eye contact just slightly, a faint blush upon her cheeks that had the blond leaning in a bit closer to milk the moment. “You are going to kick her ass.”

“That's the plan.” Belle was incredibly thankful for the return to the important meat of their conversation, focus shifted away from her again. This was her comfort zone, firmly in the driver's seat with a destination laid out for her. After one quick check and adjustment of her gear, she gave Kaylee a firm nod and silently made her way out of the locker room on her way to gorilla position.

---

She felt bigger, badder, more confident. Kaylee was one of the only people in the world that was able to build her up so easily… the only other was Tatiana these days. There was a notable spring in her step, bolstered by the thought of the redhead. She slipped fingers into her pocket, fishing out her phone. The duo of Party Hard always had the devices on them or near them during matches for the social media stuff. She slowed her walk, turning the phone on it's side to send a few quick texts.

Belle: Hey beautiful
Belle: About to qualify for that month in the bank match.
Belle: Wish me luck.

She waited with anticipation for the response and encouragement she knew would come, grinning like a fool as she made her way down the long hall. The nearly empty corridor had the faint echoes of the distant crowd prepared with some rushing footfalls coming from back the way she came. Some production aid late for a cue or maybe even Kaylee remembering something else she wanted to say. Belle moved to one side of the hall out of reflex in case it was the former, not wanting to clog the throughway.

One… no, two. The brunette glanced up from her phone, curiously glancing over her shoulder to see what the cause for the rush was. Two figured were moving up the hall towards her at full tilt, grabbed in nondescript black leathers and sleek full face biker helmets. The slight was strange to her, brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of it. She opened her mouth to ask what they were doing but the words never came out, stopped prematurely by the sight of a pipe I one of their hands and a pry bar in the other.

The first one caught her mid turn, just behind the knee with a wide swing of a pipe. Her leg gave in against the metal, buckling and sending her towards the floor. Her knee screamed as she planted it on the cement, swinging in a wild arc, catching one of her attackers in the side. She could hear a muffled gasp as one staggers back before the second came in swinging, knocking her forward.

Her phone clattered along the floor as her palms hit the ground, unwilling to go down but unable to fight back as both of her attackers hammered into her with impunity, leaving no spot unkissed from their weapons. Her body caved, dropping her flat to the cold hard floor, cheek pressed against the concrete as her eyelids fluttered to stay open.

There were voices, muffled… to muffled to make out. Her head was so hazy.

“Hey! Someone! Help!” A familiar voice. A scraping of metal. She opened her eyes to see two figures running off down the hall out of view by the time she had finished a blink. Kaylee ran past with something in hand, a steel chair? Belle couldn't make sense of what she was seeing, not when everything was sideways like this… why was she so low to the ground. It was like being a kid again… but it hurt so much. She closed her eyes, they felt heavy.

“Belle! Belle hang on, okay? They need you to stay awake!” Belle's eyes cracked open to see Kaylee was crouching over top of her now, the chair was gone… there were others there, several in clean whites and gloves. She tried to move her head but someone was holding it… Annoying. That was fine… she didn't want to do that anyway.

“What?” Belle blinked unevenly as her vision slowly faded, with it the shouting voices of her friend and a bunch of strangers telling someone to calm down and another calling her name droning on about keeping her eyes open. They all seemed so small and far away as her lids fell shut, inviting the darkness around her.

Cicilia didn't know quite how to feel when going in to face that one vlogger again... Belle, her name was... On the one hand, she had a debt to collect in the form of this rematch, a win she intended to rip from her cold, unconscious form. Such a chance she relished in the most honest of ways, her warrior spirit refusing to let such a loss go unanswered!

...On the other hand, that match had some bad memories for the Juggernaut... Specifically, how utterly insane that mind-cracking rage she had gone into half-way through the fight... She couldn't believe it... Forget the power it granted, the virtual immunity to pain and all that garbage... She was almost afraid to recount those times based on the horror she had turned herself into! It was truly nightmarish, the beast that had utterly flattened that one girl... and was luckily stopped by Belle at the end... Were Cicilia in the crowd, watching that fight go down from the sidelines, she would've been one of the first to cheer the brunette  on once that dark wrestler had been put down!

...So she was at an impasse of good and bad... and the most she could do was hope that she had enough restraint this time to keep it all inside. She wouldn't be facing the two of them after all. Only one...

...And maybe... she could... you know... apologize for how she treated her...?

"You're an idiot." She grumbled softly to herself as she was called to make her grand appearance to the crowd. "...You were a monster... What makes you think she cares if you're sorry?"

The crowd cheered as the boxer's theme played across the stadium, announcing her arrival as she appeared... and Cicilia couldn't feel any more uncomfortable. A frown was firmly etched upon her lips, her brow scrunched inward in a frustrated expression, the Juggernaut walked down the ramp and into the ring, unable to look at any of the people around that called themselves her fans... It was like two of the same magnet-poles moving to touch one another... Her gaze just bounced off.

Shame. Remember this feeling...? Being ashamed of who you are...?

She slipped into the ring without a word, no signs of a showy entrance, as per normal... But something was obviously bothering Cicilia... Belle would be able to see it, when she stood toe-to-toe with her.

There was a still sense of anticipation within the area as Cicilia's music faded. Excited murmurings of the return to the ring for one half of what had become a rather popular duo in AFW despite not having really made significant waves within the locker room. The brackets of the tournament had been announced and posted, there was no mistaking what they had been in store for, what some had even come here for. Signs littered the audience calling for "PARTY HARD" and some noting that they were "Daywalkers" a nickname most of those who followed the duo had been given by Kaylee.

Nothing came through the curtain though.

Hope began to sour as the murmurs grew lower and more chaotic. Fans left in waiting, impatient. No music, no communication, left waiting they stirred to light and rose from their chairs expressing there disappointment in an anger threatening to bubble over. The official started to slowly pace the ring a watchful eye on the crowd as anger built, a finger to the side of there ear to hold in a bud as she got real time updates. Security staff stood ready in the unlikely chance a riot of fights broke out, they weren't taking chances.

To those seated at home, they were far more in the know than anyone at ringside, AFW staff included. Cameras had been hounding the duo ever since the attack, swarming like vultures around Belle as she was treated on the spot and moved from floor, to stretcher, and now to an ambulance for more thorough treatment. Kaylee had been at her side the whole time, red eyed and tearing up, holding her best friend's hand and whispering her soft assurances that Belle would be alright. This was one of the few instances the blond media star had been caught on film without doubling down to post on her own social media, seemingly too concerned to even pull out her phone to even tweet. Kaylee pressed her hand to the back of the ambulance doors as they closed having declined an offer to ride along... she had a job to do.

"She obviously can't compete. We're on a crunch here, the other two backups are out too. They aren't picking up." AFW staffers watched from the sideline, trying desperately to salvage the makings of their qualifiers. The fans came for a show, bumping someone due to a sudden injury and how they were already riled was going to end poorly. The blond slowly made her way over, wiping tears from her face gracelessly with her forearm, trying to make herself look more presentable.

"Let me do it. I have my gear. Let me do it for her." She spoke with a shaky voice, staring back at skeptical middle management with a hint of fire. Cameras panned, circling the gathering, putting the executives on the spot. One held up a clipboard, trying to obscure their face while the other stood firm, eyeing Kaylee quietly. They hadn't even considered the blond up until now, the last injury she had received in the ring had cost them dearly in medical compensation as well as loss of a high draw star. Did they really want to throw her in the ring with Cicilia? A woman who normally had knock down drag out fights? Still... the angle was too good to pass up. At worst Kaylee would get crushed quick, at best it would be a massive feel good moment as an underdog secured a big victory in the name of her best friend... What were they to do?

---

Kaylee Day:

Party Hard:

To the booming sounds of Party Hard's tag theme Kaylee Day pushed her way past the curtains from gorilla position. Tonight was different, serious. Unlike every other match she had within AFW her phone was nowhere to be found. She wasn't tweeting or streaming, this was a woman focused on one thing. She paused briefly at the top of the ramp, looking over the crowd seemingly in full support of her sudden inclusion into the match. She cracked a faint but sad smile, shaking her head as if to push back thoughts swirling in her mind before making her way down to the ring.

There was little in way of fan service for the audience but to ight they didn't seem to care now that she had arrived. Kaylee's eyes locked onto Cicilia as she slowly made her way around the ring towards the steel steps, never once letting the boxer escape her sight. Their last bout had been a brutal one and their was no doubt the social media star understood how dangerous her opponent actually was.

She stepped gracefully up along the apron, trailing her fingers along the ropes as she moved along the outside as if it were a catwalk. Once she had been certain to put the official between herself and Cicilia she ducked down to slip between the top and middle ropes. Rising back to her feet she bounced lightly, getting a good feel for the ring again. It had been awhile since she set foot into a AFW ring... But she had been preparing for her inevitable return. After having her arm ripped from the socket, changes had to be made, changes she was about to show the world.

"This one's for Belle." She canted her chin upward in the direction of Cicilia, lips curling into a familiar cocky smirk that had been on full display last time they fought. With that she half turned, bringing her hands up defensively and dropped one leg back behind her. She rose and fell with the bob of her stance, ready to engage the moment the bell sounded.

...Cicilia's mood was reflecting that of the crowd in that she was getting rather impatient waiting for Belle to show herself. The brunette never seemed like she was a coward, at least, not while they were fighting. She was so dug-in and headstrong... so what was keeping her...? She had been standing here for FIVE WHOLE MINUTES! If the crowd was frustrated with this in their seats with popcorn and drinks in hand to occupy them, imagine how the German felt with almost all the eyes on her... as if they were looking to HER for answers.

...But it was then that her opponent appeared... and it was not the one that was expected! Cicilia blinked in shock, fore the girl before her was the OTHER half of Party Hard, Kaylee!...Something seriously wasn't right here. The Juggernaut's eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed suspiciously, crossing her arms as the blonde slipped into the ring, muttering something about how this was for Belle.... But where the hell WAS Belle???? AND WHY WAS SHE HERE???

"...Where's your friend?" Cicilia asked, biting back the sharp tone of distrust that had been building in her throat! "I'm not scheduled to fight you."

...Was this change a problem...? Well... No, not exactly. Cicilia was confident she could take down either member of the team alone without too much issue, seeing as they had only defeated her (and a close defeat at that) when they worked together to tire her out. It was more that... Belle was the one she wanted to talk to. Sure, Kaylee could be a suitable surrogate, she supposed, but the things she had worked out were not for the blonde's ears.

...Whatever. Forget it... Forget all of it. She'll figure it out later. For now... she had a new opponent I guess.

"...Well... good luck...and all that." Cicilia muttered, raising her fists and centering herself in her boxing stance. She'd make this quick... before she forgot the message she had for Belle.

“She can't make it tonight. A bunch of cowardly goons jumped her backstage. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you Ms. Temper Temper? You were preeeeetty salty last time after Belle caved your skull in. Hmmmmm.” Kaylee smirked, tone playful but with a sharp accusatory edge directed at her opponent as the two shifted into their ready stances. She canted her head to the side inquisitively as she stared Cicilia down.

At the sound of the bell she went into motion, closing in fast with a few galloping hops to make it seem like she as playing the aggressor after having questioned Cicilia's motives to the beat down of her partner. It was a prod meant to tilt or infuriate, trying to get under the boxers skin to get her fighting angry again as soon as possible. She was waiting to react, looking for a punch to duck or grapple to cartwheel away from. If nothing came, she would just dart back without throwing an attack of her own, opting to continue their chat.

“You can always own up to it now. I am sure if you give up who you hired they will go easy on you. Too scared to lose to Belle so you had her taken out so you didn't have to deal with her. An easy win by forfeit or them scrambling to put some greenhorn in her with you to stomp. Really dirty stuff. You should be ashamed.” Kaylee had a way of talking that turned the baseless claim into something that sounded like truth. It was incredibly hard to tell if she wasn't being genuine with the whole thing.

The blond flexed her fingers, crackling with a sudden visible energy. She was fired up, finding a motion to her movements as she circled Cicilia. In this moment, save for her colorful attire she seemed more like a legitimate fighter than anyone had seen her before. There was a dangerous aura about her even with the disparity between both woman's known fighting prowess.

Cicilia's eyes widened as the state of her true opponent was revealed to her... but the true shock came from the accusations being thrown at her! Apparently, Kaylee believed that Cicilia herself was responsible for the beating Belle had taken backstage because... what... she lost...? Did she really think she had enough money or conviction to hire a bunch of thugs to beat down some girl when she was FULLY capable of doing it herself? Did she think that the German was so underhanded, so lazy, that she would go about extracting her revenge with a pair of hands that weren't her own?

...And did she dare to assume that Cicilia was so petty... she would attack someone back-stage, by extension of some thugs or no, because she was mad that she LOST??? Already, her surprise and even a bit of regret BLOOMED into a flaming flower of rage in the German's eye. HOW DARE she think this... HOW DARE she accuse her? This girl, who called her out so certainly and almost... eagerly... in front of a crowd over something she had NO WAY of knowing who TRULY caused it?

...It almost felt like something Margaux would do, the manipulative bitch!

...What were they odds Kaylee was using her friend's misfortune to do the same, damn thing? What were the odds this was all some kind of fucking set-up...? Cicilia, though CLEARLY angry and hostile, stayed still... quiet as she looked over her NEW opponent, trying to figure some things out... What kind of girl would hire a group of guys to hurt her own friend...? She had no reason to believe Kaylee had such a cold heart but... she was the only one accusing her here so that made her the only lead! If she was that kind of a monster... she would get vengeance for Belle... AND for herself for this unprovoked assault! If she wasn't... then this would just be a regular fight, if a meaningless one. She would have to figure out for SURE who hurt Belle... and who was framing her! ...It was more than Kaylee was giving her.

"...Why are you smiling when you're telling me your friend is hurt?" Cicilia asked, sickened by what she saw. "...Were I you, I'd be fucking pissed. You almost look happy." She followed Kaylee as the two circled each other, but she made no move to attack...

There had been a lot learned over these last few months when it came to fighting in the squared circle. It wasn't often Kaylee had to really try… she was a natural at most tasks set before her. When faced with a challenge it never took her long to overcome it by some means or another. Cicilia was no different really. There was no doubt in her mind if the two went blow for blow, she would lose but after their first fight she believed she had found a winning strategy if she was a bit smarter about her engagements.

“At the end of the day, we're here to entertain. That's the difference between you and me, I have a sense of showmanship. Just because I wear a smile doesn't mean I'm not hurting. I can't do anything for Belle right now besides beat you. The sooner I do that, the sooner I can be at her side to see her through this.” The blond took a step forward, throwing out a swift kick towards Cicilia's shin and calf of her forward most leg. She was using her reach and staying low where she was unlikely to have her limb grabbed. With any luck she might actually break the other woman's balance.

“Don't expect you to know what it's like to be as close to someone as I am with Belle. We have been a team since we were children. We do everything together.” She took another step in, feigning a kick before hopping back, working to condition responses from her opponent before the fight really got going. “I would take a bullet for her without a second thought. What about you huh? Can you say you have that with anyone else?”

Kaylee stayed on the defensive, waiting to see if she struck a chord with Cicilia enough to make another good opening. She was fishing for something, anything to let her get in and out for free at this point. She could be a bit more offensive once she had made some ground on the German powerhouse.

Cicilia's eyes only narrowed as the blonde attempted to justify her seeming lack of care for the state of her friend, remarking how "the show must go on" and all that garbage nonsense. What a friend this girl was, hiding behind the fact SOMEONE had to fight her as justification for not being at Belle's side... Cicilia might've not liked either of them, and, in fact, might've had a debt of disgrace to settle with the pair but even THEN did she know this was fucking wrong... Of all the things she could've said, this was probably one of the most low-down. Debts could be collected at any time... and this girl chose her over her supposed friend.

...Disgusting.

Kaylee lashed out with a kick at Cicilia's shin, one the Juggernaut simply stepped back from, allowing it to sweep wide of it's target... Inside her chest, the German's heart began to feel heavy behind her ribs, as dense as a wad of iron... but still just as flammable... As easy as it was to explode in the face of all this, the Juggernaut simply remained silent, containing the flames in her breast in a prison until it could hold them no more! She wanted to hear everything she could before she lost herself... before she submitted to her urges to exact vengeance upon this girl...

"Its easy to say you would take a bullet when you haven't." Cicilia growled, looking the blonde dead in the eye. She doubted this girl had even taken an scraped KNEE for her friend before, much less a bullet... Here Cicilia was, trying to protect her most precious from people who would gladly see her DIE just to make the German that much more angry, here she was sometimes FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE and this girl... Kaylee... Who would leave her friend alone in the darkness for... what... the sake of her job? Her followers? To make a point? What a crock of BULLSHIT! If she was HALF the woman she claimed to be, she'd sacrifice EVERYTHING to be with the one she cared about, to hold her close and be there because she DID care.

...But Kaylee didn't, Cicilia concluded. Without a word, the German tossed off her jacket, revealing all the scars that peppered her body, running all up and down her pale, white skin. Scars that had become a symbol of protection, scars that proved she was the punching bag between her lover and herself... the one that kept the attention of the monsters so that her lover wouldn't be subject to them...

"You think I'll tell you anything?" Cicilia asked genuinely, raising an eyebrow at the blonde. "You, who would pick ME over your 'best friend?' You, who would rather show off to THESE people..." She waved a hand at the surrounding crowd. "...than comfort someone you're 'close with?' Go die in a hole, you lying bitch."

...Already her rage was starting to boil over, the German juggernaut's eyes blaze... but still in control... Cicilia still had enough self control to keep listening... There was no mercy, however... Kaylee lunged in for what seemed to be a false-kick, one the boxer simply walked into with the blonde-wrestler retreating quickly from her feint! The Geramn simply advanced, hands raised, her anger only growing with the increasing proximity!

In a sport so fueled by wild theories and off the wall drama, almost anyone else may have become the focus of suspicion at the slightest drop of a hat, Kaylee however was almost bulletproof when it came to wrongdoing. She wasn't just the internet sensation most people around AFW knew her as, she was a household name and the voice of a generation. The child actress had grown up alongside the world on “Coming Together” when it first aired, and now in syndication it started all over again. She was a surrogate for many, a best friend, a sister, a daughter for others. One of America's sweethearts.

Unlike many children stars that faded into obscurity however, Kaylee had bottled the lightning of her early career and turned it to an upward rise through social media. So much of her life was documented on the internet, everyone thought they knew her so well… how could they not?

The accusations thrown at Kaylee rang on deaf ears to most. It was like the equivalent of taking a stranger at their word over someone you knew your entire life, it was unthinkable. Cicilia further doomed her side of things by rounding on the fans, many quick take take insult to not being worth the time or the effort despite they had come here and paid good money. The social media star hadn't even had to try to rally the crowd to her, they were already fully infested on her end as the boxer burned the bridge for the last vestige softly support the audience had been giving her.

“It's called professionalism. It doesn't matter if it was you or anyone else. This match is for Belle's career just as much as it is for mine. When we win that suitcase, we have our shot at the tag titles.” Kaylee was wise to keep her distance, taking small hopping steps back as Cicilia trudged forward. Just as it seemed the boxer had blocked her into a corner she darted to the side, circling to keep her options open and clear.

“We spent our entire lives brightening up people's days. Belle wouldn't want us to slow down just because of what happened. She would want us to put on the best darn show we could. You're lucky she couldn't be here now… she would have wiped the floor with you. I'm not going to put you down for me. I am going to win for Party Hard!” The crowd met Kaylee's exclamation with a resounding cheer, a deafening cry that drown out most other sound. As it died off, in its place was a rolling chant for her team, an overwhelming amount of support being poured down over her from nearly everyone in attendance.

“Well then, let's see if you've got what it takes to crush all the hopes and dreams of everyone here tonight! I have to beat you, for Belle, for everyone here tonight, all of us!” Kaylee's eyes narrowed, a hardened edge of seriousness to her expression as she ceased retreating to hold her ground. With a quick pop of her heel from the mat she threw out a kick directed at Cicilia's midsection that was cut short, another feign! With a quick snap she brought the foot back to the mat, body twisting to sharply bring her other leg up high and around directed right towards the side of the boxers head.