To Wrangle a Reaper: Maria Castillo vs Liz Page

Maria knew that taking her foot off the gas would be her undoing in two ways. At the risk of having this second wind leave her exposed, or giving Liz a second to turn the tide with a slam! She was lucky the last impact didn't spell defeat for her.....she couldn't say if she would be able to kick out of another.

Grabbing Liz by the arm, she wrenched the American up to lash out into her abs with some lightning fast kicks!!

Things were decidedly NOT going how Liz had planned. She was sure that her opponent was out of steam, that she'd had her with that last pin attempt, but there was still some sliver of fight left in her. All she needed to do now was to beat that last bit of spirit out of her, unfortunately she wasn't in any position to do that. Grumbling and cursing under her breath the Georgia peach reached up a hand towards the top rope, trying to climb up the ropes to regain her feet, only to have her hand intercepted on its way. Her arm was wrenched aside by Maria while her other was still hung over the middle rope and the woman began to lay into her midsection with a series of quick kicks.

The first couple of kicks were the worst, catching Liz off guard and making her cry out with a retching sound before she could tighten her muscles up to try and weather the rest. Still she was stuck, her feet kicking and flailing and her arms trapped between Maria and the ropes. The American was starting to panic, she couldn't just stay here and let this woman work her over forever. In a desperate gambit she unhooked her arm from the ropes to let her body drop down to the mat, trying to pull herself free of Maria's clutches and fully roll beneath the ropes to the relative "safety" of the outside.

Maria's flurry of kicks chipped away at the stone wall that was Liz, bit by bit. Her masked face shined with sweat on the parts that were visible, the moisture making her dark hair practically shine in the arena lights. Every kick was punctuated with a deliberate, "HA!" as boot impacted flesh and muscle.

Though her opponent managed to worm her way free, dropping to the canvas and rolling out of the ring, Maria did not hesitate. This would make or break her...this one choice. Dashing to the ropes, the luchadora flung herself into the air, clean over the top rope to flip and bring herself crashing toward Liz!!!!

Liz's bare feet hit the thin mats that lined The Outside, far less forgiving than the springy canvas of the ring but it bought her a moment and got her back to her feet. Now she just had to- Her arms were still folded over her stomach as she turned to face the ring only to find the luchadora vaulting over the top rope towards her. Bodies collided with a heavy thump, Liz endeavoring to catch Maria but was unable to stop her momentum. Liz was caught with a flying crossbody to the chest, carrying her down hard onto those thin pads and leaving her sprawled out beneath Maria. The world spun and the breath was forced from her lungs as Liz was taken further still from recovering her bearings. She was in grave danger of a pinfall had they still been on the inside, but the countout had already begun.

Lily hustled along the side of the ring, stopping at the nearest ringpost but venturing no closer to the action. She was only a spectator tonight and didn't want to distract the official by getting to near. She had no intention of cheating on Liz's behalf.

The collision was a gamble, to be sure. Even though she succeeded in knocking the giantess to the mats, Maria herself was the victim of a rather nasty fall and impact herself! The veteran rolled off Liz to lay beside her, panting heavily as her body ached terribly from the punishment. It took her some time to rise to her feet, gently grabbing Liz and pulling her along, with the two women fave to masked face.

"Y...you are strong senorita....one of the strongest I've shared a ring with." she gasped, before pulling her back to the ring, "You've been an excellent opponent..."

With that, she rolled the larger woman under the bottom rope just before a count of nine, dragging her own battered form along with her. After a moments adjestm3nt of her mask, she dragged herself up the turnbuckle, ascending to the top rope where she had a clear view of the America. Raisong her arms, she leaped skyward, extending her limbs to crash down with a beautiful frog splash! Should it hit true, Maria would hook the leg, confident her Flight of the Reaper would end this!!!

Liz found herself dragged back up to her feet, her balance shaky as she leaned into Maria more than she felt proud of. She didn't want to be back in the ring in this state, but she couldn't stay outside any longer without risking a DQ. She probably could have done something desperate and held them both outside until the match was called, but she didn't want that on her record. A loss still felt better than cravenly avoiding a result. She was shoved back beneath the bottom rope like a log and rolled out to sprawl upon the mat.

Her limbs flexed and stirred to life, her head still reeling making it difficult to coordinate them to work together to any appreciable effect, however. Everything ached, her muscles burned for oxygen and were lethargic to respond to her frantic insistence that they get her back to her feet one more time. Where was that woman anyway? She was prepared to kick out, maybe, but she couldn't find Maria. Oh... oh no...

Seemingly from nowhere the luchador's body dropped onto her again causing them both to bounce on the canvas and knocking the last vestiges of strength out of Liz's body. The older woman hooked the giantess' leg, while the big American could only groan in a plaintive sound as the ref began the count.

1

"Uuuhn... N-next time. I'll... I'll get..."

2

The impact took its toll on them both. The pain in Maria's chest made her cry out in alarm, but she shoved it away to hook the leg, laying on the muscular frame of the young woman, "I know senorita....I know....next time...things may end differently..."

3!!!!!

The bell changed out among the cheers, but Maria could only go limp as she rolled to Liz's side, groaning as the exhaustion finally took hold. Her shaking fingers moved to grasp Liz's hand, giving g a gentle squeeze of thanks for a warriors fight.

"Y...you...almost...crushed me....well done." she breathed, as the ref helped her to her feet to raise the exhausted veterans arm in triumph!

Liz was slowly pulling herself back together, but not nearly fast enough to beat the count. Her strength had all but left her completely and she couldn't even offer a weak effort to kick out of Maria's pin and get her shoulder up. Resigning herself to her fate she drew in a deep breath and focused on recovering as much as she was able so at least she'd be able to walk back up the ramp under her own power.

As her senses cleared she noticed something unexpected, a hand in hers, squeezing gently and the quiet words of her former opponent. In spite of herself she felt her cheeks flush slightly as she muttered, "Thanks... You... uh... uhm..." She searched for words, unaccustomed to such concessions, "are surprisingly... uhm... fierce."

While Maria took her stand with the ref and enjoyed her photo op, Liz would drag herself to the edge of the ring where Lily would be waiting for her, to help her backstage.

Maria continued her celebration with the crowd as her music blared, but even she had to pause and wince at her bruised body. Groaning slightly, she took her Aztec Championship and rolled out of the ring, gingerly making her way back up the ramp. She'd occasionally high five a fan or two, but the moment she went backstage, the veteran leaned against the wall heavily, replaying the match in her mind....particularly the whole first half. Beatdowns on her were becoming a common sight, and her body could only take so much offense before it would cave. Make no mistake...she survived this....she did not earn a decisive victory as she would have hoped, even as she gave Lily and Liz a small wave backstage

As soon as they were out of the view of the crowd, Lily stopped Liz and gave her a once over checking for any signs of more serious injury. The blonde endured her poking and prodding with barely restrained disdain and whispered protests. The manager also produced a bottle of water for the exhausted wrestler, insistently staying up against her side for Liz to rest some weight on her. Finally the giantess had enough coddling and pushed herself up off of Lily, "I-I'm fine! I can take care of myself, just go do whatever it is you do and I'll call you after I've showered." With that Liz unsteadily lumbered off into the backrooms of the arena.

Left alone Lily turned to look at the still nearby Maria and gave a 'kids these days' shrug and laughed. "Am I allowed to ask how you're feeling, or are you also too mature for me to worry about your health?" Closing the short distance between them she smiled and moved up next to Maria in case she was not too proud to lean on her shoulder.