Summer Splash 2020: River Styx Hardcore Title Open Challenge

Christie didn’t even hear the crowd that sent jeers and cheers towards Styx and her. Christie was far more invested in the fight at hand then what a bunch of mouth breathers and pansies thought about their performance. If they had something to say, they could do it to her face. But of course, that would never happen, and so she didn’t bother giving any of them any space in her head. Besides, any attention she might have had to spare was quickly being gobbled up by the hardcore champ! Christie had managed to score a direct hit on Styx, her knuckles burying themselves in her cheek as she felt her fist bust the taller woman’s lower jaw! That certainly made Styx stumble...for a bit! Before Christie knew it, the woman was already charging at her again! Pushing through the pain, Styx was already on Christie before the Grave Keeper had time to blink! The barreling brute slamming her shoulder into Christie’s abs and dragging her along for a ride!

One that ended with Christie’s back smashed into a steel barricade!

Christie just barely managed to bite down on a scream. The steel bars smashed right into her spine, with the momentum of the tackle practically giving her whiplash! Topped off with Styx’s shoulder still buried in her guts, and the entire thing served to be a very painful experience. One that really, really, pissed Christie off.

On one hand, she would probably admire the fact that Styx wouldn’t go down with just a few hits. So many in this league always seemed to pass out after a few strikes and a finisher. Styx wasn’t like that. Christie was beginning to think she could take a wooden bat and crack the champ over the head with it, and that still wouldn’t be enough to take her down. But on the other hand, Christie was brawling with the bitch. And with a bruised leg, a somewhat sore chest, and a Barricade imprint on her back, she wasn’t really giving Styx any more credit then she had to. It was starting to feel like whatever she threw at Styx, the woman would simply take and keep going! Like she was unstoppable!

But...even warmachines need fuel to fight, maintenance to run properly, and ammo to kill.

I just need to keep piling it on! Outlast this stupid bitch and let her stamina run out! After that…I’ll tear her to shreds!

If Styx was still in a low stance, Christie would try to separate herself by winding up another hook, looking to drive it down right onto her opponent's exposed ear! Christie wanted to deliver some sharp pain of her own, to get back at Styx for the hits she’s taken! If the Grave Keeper managed to succeed, she would push herself off the barricade, and move to the more open area by the ring.

Styx put her all into the charge, hammering Christie into the barricade with a triumphant scream. It was unearned, she knew, with the Grave Keeper still dealing the lion’s share of the damage in this match, but she didn’t let that realization bother her too much. Hardcore matches were marathons, not sprints, and the winner went to the one who could endure the longest, more often than not. In that regard, she was confident in her skills, strongly felt that she could go the distance here, and in this moment, she seemed right to hold that belief. Christie was fast, nimble, but when Styx caught her, she could bulldoze the woman.

The sound of the impact was a sweet one, though it would’ve been better if she could get this woman to make some noise on top of it. Shame, there, but not the end of the world, as she knew there would be many more opportunities to try out Christie’s singing voice.

She’d just started to stand up for another try, when Christie lashed out, clocking her clean on the ear with a sharp strike. Getting hit in the head always sucked, but a blow on that spot was overly effective, and she was forced to back away far sooner than she would’ve liked, taking a step to the side and leaning on the barricade for support. A quick glance showed that Christie was making some distance between them, trying to recover, and that wouldn’t do at all. She needed to hit this bitch with something, right now.

Or someone.

There was a guy in front of her - small, barely over five feet, wearing a Silver Ace t-shirt. While she would’ve done what came next regardless, that last detail made her feel even more justified, as she reach out, grabbed him by the collar, got a running start and hurled him over the barricade, sending his body flying towards Christie as he screamed bloody murder.

“Tsk!”

Christie winced slightly as she finally pried herself from the barricade, eyeing Styx’s exposed back after the Grave Keeper succeeded in landing a blow to the ear! A blow like that tended to mess with your head, really fucking up your sense of balance as all you could hear was a steady and annoyingly loud ring. Plus the sharp, prickly pain that seemed like a needle was being stabbed in your eardrum. It was nice to know that even though Styx was a colossal bitch, there were some aspects of her that were still semi-human. There was a tempting desire to pursue Styx while she was distracted, but the Grave Keeper quickly tossed such a thought aside. Closed spaces was where Styx had the advantage, the woman able to power through Christie’s strikes and deal more than her fair share in just a single throw! Getting out into a more open space, preferably away from the barricades, was the smarter choice. It gave Christie some wiggle room to maneuver, or at the very least make Styx have to think a bit before she charged at Christie again.

The Grave Keeper was able to get a couple of feet from Styx, the ring at her back and the padded floor on both sides of her. The freedom of direction was hers, while Styx was somewhat limited. Once the brute recovered, she had to deal with Christie’s speed and superior mobility, along with her vicious attacks that shifted targets. The Grave Keeper was already unearthing a plan, deciding to focus on that leg she had begun to damage earlier.

But before she did anything, she wanted to know what Styx would do. Getting slammed into the barricade wasn’t any fun, and Christie was hesitant to do anything even close to that again. She had silenced her scream once, but if Styx managed to pull off a move like that again, Christie wasn’t so sure she could hold in her pain a second time. Caution was being put into the Grave Keeper’s strategy more and more as Styx began to make her power known. Not yet enough to intimidate Christie, but she wasn’t as carefree as she had been walking into this fight. Styx was keeping her on her toes, something that was long overdue from this place.

The woman’s snake eyes watched as Styx looked over her shoulder, noticing the distance the Grave keeper had earned and the position she was in. The champ seemed to roll her eyes before turning her back on Christie one again, but not for the same reason. Before, Styx had been hurt, but this time, she was...reaching for something?

Was the woman reaching for one of the crowd's seats? Christie had heard of some wrestlers getting weapons from audience members, but who in their right mind would bring a folding chair to a place like this?

Before Christie got too far down that train of thought, a sharp, pathetic cry could be heard over by Styx! Christie couldn't see past the woman’s broad back, but what happened next surprised even her! She had expected a weapon of some sort. A chair, a bat, maybe even a hammer! But instead, what Styx wielded was no weapon...but a person!

The man screamed as the taller woman hoisted him up and threw him at the Grave Keeper. In her defense, Christie had never seen a person be used as a weapon before, and this was the first time anyone had intentionally thrown someone at her in a fight. It was a first Christie had never thought she would see. When he smacked into Christie, it wasn't so much painful as it was forceful. The man's body managed to drag the fighter down with it, and it wasn’t long before some of the audience members expressed their jealousy.

“GET THE FUCK OFF ME!”

Before even a minute had passed, Christie was already kicking the man off of her! Quickly recovering from her confusion and understanding exactly why Styx had thrown the man. The Grave Keeper was quick, but the flailing audience member was proving to be an annoyance that was frustrating her to no end!

“DAMN IT! STOP FLAILING YOU BASTARD!!!”

There were a lot of good reasons for Styx to do the move she did. It was a way to catch Christie off guard, and as had been proven repeatedly in this match, that was the winning strategy. The woman was good, but she couldn’t anticipate everything, and every good hit she’d taken so far had been a result of the champion mixing things up in an unorthodox way. In this, the hardcore match would work to her advantage, with her only limit being her imagination and what she could get her hands on at any particular time.

And it was effective. Styx could hit this woman with a lot of things, but how many of those things would flail about and make more of an obstacle after the impact? It was something that could buy her a lot of time.

But on top of all that, it was just funny as hell. The way he went flying through the air, the noise he made, the look on Christie’s face as she realized what was happening, and the scene of her with the guy on top of him, squirming about, wide open and vulnerable. But she wouldn’t be that way forever. Christie was a quick thing, after all. How could she take advantage of that?

A wicked smile crossed her lips as the realization dawned on her.

Security had started to move in to try and separate the two, when they heard the distinct sound of Styx storming their way at full blast. They leaped out of the way, thinking that she might be coming at them for whatever reason, but they weren’t the target. Instead, she kept her focus on her foe as she leaped off the floor, kick her feet out and proceeded to come down on the man’s back with a senton - a move that would drop a lot of weight right onto Christie all at once.

A fucking person?!? The fucking bitch threw a whole god damn person at me?!?!

Christie was already frustrated with the decent shots Styx had gotten in this far, but having to deal with the Champ’s unexpected projectile brought a whole new level to Christie’s already poor mood. For one thing, the little shit sure liked to flail! The dipshit almost smacked Christie in the face twice, and it seemed every other attempt to sit up involved touching a softer part of her body! A part of her was wondering if the little bastard was doing it on purpose! He sure fucking apologized enough to know exactly what he was doing. Every time she tried to untangle from him, he somehow got another limb wrapped around her. The entire thing was frustrating as hell, and eventually, Christie decided to settle things the way she usually did.

She socked him in the jaw.

Luckily for him, he went down with just one punch. The limp loser went from a thrashing mess to simple dead weight. At least that was something she could freaking manage. The bastard was still a bit heavy, but she was already wriggling free from underneath him. Security was already approaching the two of them two minutes too late as usual, probably to get the loser out of the way of the fight. Or maybe to restrain Christie from hitting the kid anymore. Either way, they didn’t get too far before a fairly distinct rumble began to emerge from the crowd.

Everybody’s head turned towards the noise, Christie included. What followed was a sight that was more akin to a bull charging then a woman running. Some of the guards must have thought Styx had taken issue with their presence, because two of them split off immediately in a hasty retreat. The leader looked like he was about to step up and try to stop her, but Styx didn’t hesitate to speed up even faster. The Grave Keeper was well aware of who the woman’s real target was, and decided to take advantage of the fodder that had jumped in between them.

Of course they didn’t last long. The guards all split up or dodged out of Styx’s way as the woman came charging in like a loose locomotive. A stupid smile was still plastered on Styx’s face as she lept off the floor with about as much grace as a boulder, kicking her legs out in what would probably have been an extremely painful drop. Were Christie still under the boy, of course.

She had waited only until she was sure what Styx’s plan was. The brute was too smart for her own good, and Christie wasn’t about to be taken off guard again right after having a person thrown at her. Styx was unorthodox as a fighter, cunning and creative. So while Christie could guess what was going on in the brute’s head, she had no desire to pay the price for a misread. Lucky for her, Styx was throwing her weight around again. Something Christie had some experience with. As soon as the woman’s feet left the ground, Christie made her play, kicking the boy off of her and using her legs to launch the boy at Styx midair! He didn’t make it too far off the ground, but the push was excellent in giving Christie some momentum to escape the point of Styx’s impact. Hopefully, the surprise of both her target slipping away and having her own projectile tossed at her would make Styx have a rough landing. If not, well...Christie would make sure getting off the floor wouldn’t so easy, as the Grave Keeper straightened up onto her feet.

It was a shame that Styx didn’t have the time to stop and admire her handiwork, because, from what she could see, it was damned funny. Christie seemed to be having a hell of a time getting the Japanese man off of him, far more of a difficulty than you’d expect from something that should’ve been a simple task, and if she’d been watching this from a place of comfort, she’d likely have gotten a full belly laugh out of it. She made a mental note to come back and check it on her hacked AFW Network account.

For now, she was all about taking advantage of the situation, and it seemed like an easy enough play. He was down. She was pinned. The guards were wise enough to give her a wide berth. All she had to do was leap up, kick her legs out, and let her old friendy gravity pile on the damage.

A good idea in theory. In practice, it was a little more complicated.

She was flying through the air like a free falling wrecking ball when something messed up her trajectory, crashing into her as she descended. It took her a moment to realize what it was, but it clicked fast enough - it was the guy, or his limp body, to be more specific. Which meant only one thing of importance - Christie was moving.

There wasn’t anything she could do until she hit the ground, though, and it wasn’t a happy landing. She came down bad on her back and rolled away, tossing the guy away as she did to avoid any obstacles. She pushed her way up to her feet as fast as she could, which wasn’t too fast at all, and tried to get a lock on where her opponent had ran off to. ”Going somewhere, bitch?”

Sadly, getting to see Styx take a very small dose of her own medicine was not a luxury Christie could enjoy. Right now, getting up and paying the woman back for the utterly ridiculous projectile she dared to throw at her was the Grave Keeper’s main priority. The humiliation of being pinned under such a person as well as getting caught off guard would only be washed away with River Styx’s blood and the sounds of her screams. The latter was probably too much to hope for, but the former? That could easily be achieved thanks to the position Christie had earned herself. The heavy sound of Styx impacting against the floor let her know that the champion’s descent had been a trainwreck, as planned. Too bad that wouldn’t keep the bitchdown much longer than a few seconds.

Like a spider climbing its web, Christie silently clambered up the ropes and maneuvered her way towards the corner post. Perching herself on top, Christie’s snake eyes watched Styx’s slow ascent to her feet. She had summarized Styx was like a tank. Strong, slow, and durable. Something like that had to have a weak spot, and judging by the way Styx adored pushing through punishment to get to her foe as well as being a taller competitor, the Sadistic Succubus figured the champ wasn’t too fond or familiar with getting pounded from above.However, her attempt to test that theory fell through thanks to Styx’s ability to give herself a short speed boost whenever she was truly panicked. Once again, Christie had the element of surprise, but…

Christie’s eyes rolled towards the masked bitch. She was still a ways off, near the barricades. A verbal warning might be difficult with this much distance, the woman’s shouts would be washed away by the white noise of the audience. But, Styx wasn’t stupid. She’d probably already guess where Christie went. If she wasn’t in front of her or behind her, where else would Christie go but above her? Such tight corridors allowed little else when the Grave Keeper decided to forgo the option of weapons for this fight, since Styx had yet to use any.

Wait a minute…

Those snake eyes widened in realization, darting towards the security guards that were dragging the unfortunate audience member back behind the safety of the barricade. Styx had used something in the fight, didn’t she? Unconventional, certainly. But a foreign object no less. A small smirk made its way onto Christie’s face, the fight turning into a much more dangerous and deadly competition then it was a few moments prior.



“Going somewhere, bitch?”

“Already here, Champ.”

The smirk on Christie’s face didn’t budge as she stood up on top of the corner post. She didn’t mind Styx spotting her. In fact, it might prove to be useful for her in the end. Christie was banking on Styx’s speed, or lack thereof. If the behemoth tried to chase after her, so much the better!

“You threw a fucking person at me, Baldy. Clever, but I fucking hate it.”

Jumping off the corner, Christie landed inside the ring only to turn on her heel and walk towards the opposite side. Her goal wasn’t anything inside the ring, but rather, under the ring! Normally, she would have used the shovel she often brought along with her. But since she didn't remember it,something else would have to take its place.

Hope this place can afford a freaking sledgehammer!

Styx wasn’t sure where she expected Christie to be - maybe running at her for some sort of attack, maybe trying to sneak up on her from behind, maybe doing any number of crazy ass things. What she hadn’t expected, would never have thought, was to look up and see the woman perched on the corner post like some kind of 90’s superhero, looking like she was getting ready to descend form on high and swoop down on her. For a second, that was what Styx was sure she would do, and she was ready for it. She hadn't’ pegged this woman as the sort of stupid high-flyer would jump down on a person who could clearly see her coming. If Christie wanted to be a dumb bitch, she wasn’t going to stop her from being a dumb bitch.

Sadly, though, that wasn’t what happened - instead, the woman got down the safe way. Kind of anticlimactic, really.

”Good!” Styx spat back at Christie’s review on her hardcore wrestling tactics. The bitch hated it? That was just fine with her. She intended to do a lot more things that she didn’t like. Just as soon as she got over here.

Which she wasn’t doing.

What the hell was she doing?

Styx watched as her opponent dropped down into the ring and made it to the other side. The confusion drifted away quick enough, when she realized what the woman was going for. She had a point, there - this hardcore match was lacking in one of the best ingredients - weaponry. High-time to fix that.

Instead of chasing after her, Styx ducked under the apron and started going through whatever she could get her hands on, fumbling around in the darkness. She could see Christie on the other side, doing much the same. ”Better find something good over there!”

As for herself, she did a quick check to see what she had on the menu.

A steel chair? Old-school, reliable, but she wasn’t feeling it. Not if there were better options.

A kendo stick? She was never a big fan of them. Easy to use, fast, but they broke so fucking fast.

A dildo? No. Just...no.

”Here we go, here we fucking go.” She finally settled on a good choice - a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, nice and tight. Not as prone to breaking as the kendo stick, but almost as light, easy damage. Bringing it out, she held it up to some sporadic cheers, before she began to stalk around the ring with it resting on her shoulders.

Playtime.

Christie ducked under the apron of the ring to begin her search, and got a small cloud of dust for her trouble. It was surprising just how dark it was down underneath the ring, Christie’s eyes trying to adjust but failing due to her constant checks on Styx. Sure the champ was slow, but it wasn’t a long distance from one end of the ring to the other. She didn’t have much time to make a-

“Better find something good over there!”

Christie blinked in surprise, peeking her head back under the apron only to find Styx’s mug looking at her from the other side. Her viper eyes narrowed considerably at Styx’s grinning mug, taking the time to show the champion her favorite finger before continuing her search. On the bright side, Styx’s mug helped let some light crawl underneath the apron, giving Christie a bit of an easier time to see. Still, most of what she grabbed was by touch alone. There were plenty of items underneath the ring, it turned out...but very few were actually useful, as she tugged out the first item under the ring.

A crusty red speedo.

I really fucking hate this company.

Tossing the obviously used article of clothing aside, Christie reached under the apron again and again trying to find something.

A nine tailed whip.

A Tri colored electric Dildo.

A broken Kendo stick.

A pair of fluorescent tube lights, and a bear up trash can.

“What the fuck is wrong with this place? Honestly?”

The Grave Keeper tossed the garbage weapons into the beaten up trash can, just in time to catch Styx pulling out a wicked looking baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. A part of Christie wanted to be mad, but the way things had been going it seemed perfectly normal to get screwed over in an area like this. It was a shock that there wasn't anything like what Styx had found on her side. No chains, no wrenches or hammers! Not even a regular baseball bat. A single wheel of wire as the closest thing to a weapon she could see. She was going to have to think of something else and-

Wait a minute!

Christie actually saw something she recognized. A handle she had seen countless times before! What it was doing under the apron of a wrestling ring, Christie didn’t know or care! At least it was something she could use! Reaching under the apron for the final time, the Grave keeper practically had to lean all the way in to reach the tip of the weapon! But once her fingers wrapped around the handle, it took no time at all pulling it out from the dark void.

A shovel! Not unlike the one she brought along with her so often to these kid fights. This one was a standard shovel, rather than the flat head kind she personally preferred. It had a slightly different weight then she was used to, but the Grave keeper would happily take this over the garbage items and used loathing she was finding under the apron. Hell, she might have even taken it over Styx’s barbed bat!

Speaking of, Styx was making her approach around the ring. Her approaching, mountainous form wasn’t hard to spot anymore. The barbed wire glimmered in the overhead lights, the sharp bits of metal protruding all across the weapon, promising a violent bite!

“Time for some fun.”

Adjusting her grip on the wooden handle of the shovel, Christie tested the weight of the curved metal. Her hand moved quickly, twirling the weapon in her hand twice before stopping it in her grip. Once she felt comfortable, Christie wasted no time!

Like the flicker of a shadow, Christie seemed to be standing still one moment, and gone the next! Her form charging towards Styx like a snake striking from the bushes! Rather than swinging it like a bat or other blunt weapon, the Grave Keeper thrusted the shovel’s face right at Styx’s gut as though it were a spear! Christie taking full advantage of the superior reach of her weapon and using it to her advantage!

Nothing quite like a stroll around the ring. Just a girl and her extremely deadly blunt object. Nothing could be better.

The thought was enough to bring back Styx’s smile all by itself, giving her a little extra pep in her step as she made her way around the ring. A small part of her wanted to thank the Gravedigger for even coming out and proving to be this big of a pain in the ass. It was every day she got a chance like this, had the chance to throw down with someone who could handle the pace. Kind of an honor, really.

Not that she’d ever let this woman know that shit, of course. That was one of many secrets that would be following her to the grave. But the sentiment was still there. That was worth something.

As she made her way around the ring, she caught sight of Christie doing the same, approaching her with a...spade? No, a shovel. Huh. Lucky her, she found a weapon that fit her theme. Styx had never cared much for that thematic shit, but she had to appreciate the choice, and she was happy for the opportunity to smack her around with it at the first chance. ”Gonna dig your grave with-”

Her taunt was cut off as the woman closed the distance at rapid speed. She gripped the bat and prepared for a clash, but that wasn’t on Christie’s itinerary, it seemed. She shot her shovel out and hit Styx clean in her stomach, right on target, knocking the wind clean out of her. She staggered back and might have fallen altogether until she found her back against the announcer’s table.

That was where she stayed for the moment, too, and the announcers behind her were already in the process of packing their stuff up and getting out of the area. Smart move - Styx had the feeling this area was about to get quite hectic.